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Ezio, my friend! How may I be of service?
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After killing The Quill, Eivor reunited with Goodwin at a ale house to report her success.
Goodwin:Eivor!
Eivor:Is this where justice hides when she's tired?
Goodwin:Hides? S'plood, no! This is a wake, my friend. A celebration to ease The Quill on her way to eternal damnation.
Eivor:You heard.
Goodwin:Hilda's were not only eyes in Wincestre. My spies tell me stories of an avenging angel striking down the unworthy.
Eivor:I have been called worse.
Goodwin:Be thou hale, Ealdorbana! That's life-destroyer in our dialect.
Eivor:I sat easy with my kins-bane, old honey-waves alive in my horn, and my eyes on the door, expecting my death, yet unafraid.
Goodwin chuckled.
Goodwin:You're quite safe with me, Dane. For now. If the mead is fresh and the air is cool, you may often find a friend, even amongst your enemies.
Eivor:I could use someone like you in my settlement. With ink on his fingers and a sense of honor.
Goodwin looked off to the side and relaxed at the thought.
Goodwin:I would love to devote myself to the study and practice of the law. There is a weariness in war I wish I could shake off.
Eivor:Impossible. Even in death, our battles will rage on. It's the way of things.
Eivor:What does a reeve do, exactly? Besides sniff around the king's coattails for the scent of praise?
Goodwin scratched his chin.
Goodwin:I enforce and interpret the laws here. Not man's, but God's law, the natural laws that move the world and hold it together.
Eivor:Well, if it keeps you busy...
Eivor:Your English mead, Goodwin... it tastes like cat piss.
Goodwin raised his eyebrows, then smiled.
Eivor:In Mercia we would drink ten times this. And feast till our names were forgotten and our britches were lost to the forest.
Goodwin:Does that happen?
Eivor:As often as possible.
Goodwin:I must thank you before the ale dulls me. By cutting The Order down to size, you have given England a hope of unity. It must be a sour apple to swallow, knowing that you are the last of Wincestre's enemies.
Eivor:Are you sure The Seax is dead?
Eivor:A reward will ease my hurt. As much silver as a longship can carry.
Goodwin:All in good time. A witan has been called to deal with our dead bishop. When this business is done, Aelfred will shower you with silver.
Eivor:Are you sure The Seax is dead?
Eivor:Where is your king now?
Goodwin:Aelfred is busy with the Ealdormen of Wessex. A witan was lately called to discuss the little matter of a bishop's timely death.
Eivor:Are you sure The Seax is dead?
Eivor and Goodwin discussing The Seax
Goodwin:The bishop is dead, that's certain. And if the bishop was The Seax, The Seax is dead. A transitive property of mortality, you see?
Eivor stood up in disagreement.
Eivor:I don't believe it. Too much theater in Wincestre. Overwrought prayers and wailing women.
Goodwin:Well, you could pay your respects and see for yourself. The funeral is today.
Eivor:If he rots, I will leave with my silver. But if he lives, there's work to be done.
Goodwin:Watch your step, Eivor. He'll be a hefty corpse in death. Alive he'd be much bigger.
As Eivor left, Goodwin gave a parting remark.
Goodwin:Whether you find or make a corpse, meet me at the witan with your report.
Eivor at Bishop Ealhferth's funeral
Eivor took her leave of Goodwin and arrived at Saint Peter's Church in time for Ealhferth's funeral.
Eivor:If the bishop is worm meal, then here should be the proof.
A woman prayed at the side of the displayed body, draped in a burial cloth.
Harriet:Lord, grant my brother Ealhferth eternal bliss, where joy endures for all those beloved of God.
Eivor investigated the funeral by talking with the attendees, one by one.
Eivor:A sad day for Wincestre.
Anglo-Saxon Man 1:Maybe now, God will reward us with a man who truly believes in him.
Eivor talked with the man adjacent.
Eivor:Did you know Bishop Ealfherth?
Anglo-Saxon Man 2:No, but I plan to write an epic poem of his grisly demise. O, poor Ealhferth, scorched of face. All your woeful companions, bold byrnied (armored), weeping, weeping as you are... er...
Eivor:Sleeping?
Anglo-Saxon Man 2:Perfect! Yes!
Eivor talked to a man outside the vestibule near the body.
Eivor:Are you the bishop's family?
Anglo-Saxon Man 3:God no. Just here to make sure that impious bastard is actually dead. He bedded my wife, the randy bastard!
Eivor talked to one of the women attending the funeral.
Eivor:Such a grisly fate. Did you know Ealhferth?
Anglo-Saxon Woman 1:By reputation, I did. He was no friend of Aelfred's. I once heard them quarreling at a witan.
Eivor talked to another female attendee.
Eivor:I am sorry for your loss.
Anglo-Saxon Woman 2:Makes no odds to me. But I am sorry for Harriet. She cared so much for him, more than a sister should.
Eivor asked a third woman about the bishop.
Eivor:Did you know Bishop Ealhferth?
Anglo-Saxon Woman 3:Barely. But can you still smell the burned flesh? It's rife across the whole graveyard.
Eivor investigated the body up close.
Eivor:Only his face was burned. That seems like a strange accident.
Eivor:Only his head and neck are burned. Is this what Wemba meant? That they stole his friend's face?
Eivor:These clothes do not seem to fit this frail body.
Eivor:The face is burned, and his clothes don't seem to fit his frail body. It could be Wemba's friend.
Eivor:And this corpse's build is slight, frail. Goodwin said Ealhferth was a brute.
Eivor investigated the graves closer and found some dirty clothes, stripped off and left in a heap in the bushes away from the courtyard.
Eivor:A peasant's clothes? Strange discovery in a churchyard.
Eivor:Threadbare clothes. Did they belong to Wemba's friend?
Eivor questioning Wemba
Eivor talked to a large man near the graves, whose manner of speech stood out.
Wemba:Wemba's always here. Helping the sleeping. Singing to them, so they are not frightened before they meet God.
Eivor:The sleeping? You mean the dead?
Wemba:Wemba helps the monks. Dig, dig, dig.
Eivor:You dig the graves. Did you bury Ealhferth?
Wemba:Have you seen Leof? My poor friend. Poor, poor Leof.
Eivor:Leof? What happened to him?
Wemba:Sleeping, sleeping like my dog when I hugged him too hard.
Eivor:Someone hurt Leof?
(Found the pile of clothes)
Eivor:I saw a pile of dirty clothes just here. Is your friend Leof a beggar?
Eivor:I am not interested in your friend, you moon-calf. I want to know what you've seen.
Wemba:Leof spoke with the bishop's friend. They showed him their gleaming blade.
Eivor:Someone hurt him? Is that what you mean? Speak up!
Eivor:What about the bishop, Ealhferth? Did you dig his grave?
Wemba:No, no. I don't bury a lord in a pauper's husk. Poor Leof, they showed him their gleaming blade.
Eivor:Someone hurt your friend, Leof?
Wemba:Yes, yes. And while he sleeped, they stole his face.
(Investigated the body)
Eivor:Not just stolen, but burned.
Eivor left Wemba to continue investigating, but eventually spoke to him again.
Wemba:It's you. Did you find dear Leof? It is lonely without him.
Eivor:I'm sorry, Wemba. I think someone killed your friend.
Wemba:Hm. Then I will sing a sad song, for he was the only one who ever cared for me. May angels welcome him. (humming)
Wemba:Are we friends now?
Wemba:You hurt Wemba with your stinging words. Bad, bad, bad.
When Eivor had gathered all the evidence she needed, she determined the truth of the bishop's passing.
Eivor:This funeral is a shadow-play. The Order killed an innocent, burned his face so no one could tell, and interred him in Ealhferth's place. His sister knows more than she lets on.
Eivor questioning Harriet
Whether she completed her investigation or not, Eivor returned to the body and spoke with Harriet directly.
Harriet:Leave me to my grief.
Harriet:What now?
Eivor:A pretty show you've laid on here. But I know the truth.
Harriet:You would dare speak to me? When my poor brother Ealhferth lies cold in his shroud?
Eivor:Your brother is The Seax. And no more dead than I am.
Harriet:Heresy. My brother was the bishop of Wincestre!
Eivor:How better to hide than behind a bishop's robes? He is no man of God. He serves The Order. And you buried him when Goodwin got too close to the truth. Or rather, you buried another in his place, the poor gravedigger's friend.
Harriet:I, no, you cannot just...
Eivor:When Goodwin got too close to the truth about your brother's place in The Order, you buried him. Or rather, you buried another in his place. The poor gravedigger's friend, burning his face so no one would know.
Harriet:How did you... no... I—
Having caught Harriet off-guard, Eivor pressed her further.
Eivor:Your brother's not in that crypt. Tell me where he is before more lives are lost.
Harriet:I will not tell you anymore. Guards!
Harriet began to walk away after summoning the guards.
Harriet:Alright, alright. Have your way. It won't do you any good.
Eivor:Talk now or you will join the poor unfortunate you murdered in his grave.
Harriet:You bastard Dane! You're as bad as them. I only ever wanted to serve God. Guards!
Harriet began to walk away after summoning the guards.
Harriet:Alright, alright. Have your way. It won't do you any good.
Harriet:Do you not see I am in prayer?
Eivor:May we speak of your brother's death?
Harriet:Have you no shame? Leave me.
Eivor:I know the burden you bear. Such a weight of sin you have taken on, and all for your brother's sake. I know he lives.
Harriet:No, he's... he said it was for the good of all, he... I am his loyal sister, and I tell you he is dead. You hear me? Dead!
Harriet began to walk away after summoning the guards.
Harriet:Leave me alone, I cannot betray my brother.
Eivor:We both know your brother's faith was a cloak of lies. He used your God's words for his own ends.
Harriet:Who are you to judge a man of faith? You, a Dane who believes in giants and wolves that eat the sun! Begone!
Harriet began to walk away after summoning the guards.
Harriet:Get away from me, demon.
Eivor:I will leave you in peace, then.
Eivor left to investigate further.
As the guards came in to attack Eivor, Harriet continued shouting.
Harriet:Guards, protect me!
Eivor defeated the guards as the other funeral guests fled. Harriet cowered in the nearby vestibule. Eivor approached and interrogated Harriet a final time.
Harriet:Why are you doing this?
Harriet:Why won't you leave me alone!
Eivor:Enough of this cat and mouse. Where is your brother, the one they call The Seax?
Harriet revealing her brother's mission to "remove" Alfred
Harriet:He's a ghost now. But he will make himself flesh once more at the witan. And Aelfred will be king no more!
Eivor:He means to kill Aelfred?
Harriet:Regicide? No! The king will step aside, and Ealhferth will lead us all, risen and resplendent as the Lord.
Eivor:You are a damned fool.
Eivor left Harriet and raced across the city to the Witan Hall to confront Ealhferth, but found the doors were locked. She climbed some scaffolding to an open window and perched on the rafters inside.
Eivor:The Seax must be hiding in the crowd, biding his time to strike at Aelfred.
Eivor scanned the crowd for the bishop as Alfred gave a speech. She deduced that he was one of the four large-built bannerets in the hall.
Alfred:In the past, Anglo Saxons prospered in both warfare and wisdom. But the decay of English prose has been creeping. Not priest, clerk, or abbot can turn the letter of their sermons from Latin to English. And how can we understand God's words if they are not spoken in our tongue? Ealhferth is dead. And we mourn him. But the foul deeds of the unrighteous are sown among our holy deeds like cockles and tare in a field of wheat. Education, wisdom, enlightened thought, this will raise us above the sins of our fathers. These I will demand of the next bishop of Wincestre. And so we meet to discuss all worthy candidates. And choose the man who will shepherd our flock.
Working through the crowd to stand before the king, Ealferth announced himself.
Ealhferth:The king is mine!
Goodwin:By God, it is true, the bishop lives!
Ealhferth:Stand down, Goodwin.
Eivor clambered across the rafters to make her strike at Eahlferth while Goodwin maintained his standoff.
If Eivor delayed too long, she was detected and forced to fight the bishop conventionally instead of assassinating him. Ealhferth was aided by the other three bannerets while Goodwin fought beside her.
Anglo-Saxon Man 4:They'll kill us all!
Anglo-Saxon Man 5:God save us!
Ealhferth:Why do you defend this tarnished crown?
Goodwin:Enough, you scheming cur!
Alfred:Greater men than you have died on my sword.
Eivor assassinating Ealhferth
After killing Ealhferth, Eivor saw Ealhferth knelt at his grave in the Memory Corridor as he was approached by a ghostly Odin and Eivor.
Ealhferth:How sweet is the Shepherd's pipe when he calls his lambs to slaughter. I was born to Christians in the northern wilds. My mother would cradle me beneath the stars and whisper dovelike, "God watches over you."
A shadowy group of Danes appeared in the distance.
Ealhferth:Then your people came. And God fixed his stout eye as they slit her throat for a copper ring. No stars threw down their spears as barbarians smeared her blood through fields of broken wheat. God watched all... and I hated him.
Ealhferth in the Memory Corridor
As Ealhferth pushed down his Christian headstone, Eivor responded.
Eivor:It may be Aelfred's God was testing you. A trial you failed.
Ealhferth:Aelfred's God is weak. Yet he would chain us all in His service. From our first breath to our death rattle. My Order wishes to break these mind-forged manacles. I am the wolf in lamb's wool.
Odin leaned over to whisper to Eivor.
Odin:He takes on the role of a god himself. A worthy path to walk.
Ealhferth then threw his medallion to Eivor, who caught it.
Ealhferth:One more gift to you, Dane. A deadly truth, if you can find it.
Ealhferth gestured to a key left on a shovel.
Ealhferth:With my death, The Order will not die. It will only transform... into something far worse for all of us.
Ealhferth then walked down into his grave and folded his hands across his abdomen, his spirit immediately vanishing. Eivor walked towards his grave and picked up the key. As Eivor stood up from Ealhferth's corpse, she talked with Aelfred and Goodwin.
Aelfred thanking Eivor for saving his life
Eivor:Ealhferth will not cheat Loki's dread daughter twice.
Alfred:I owe you my life.
Eivor:An irony not lost on me, Aelfred.
Goodwin:My king, we'll go by back streets to the Old Minster. Eivor may find us there when all has settled.
Goodwin and Alfred left as Eivor pondered Ealhferth's key. Soon, a tearful Harriet ran in.
Harriet:Ealhferth, my love! No!
Harriet dropped to her knees.
Eivor:Curse you, Dane. My brother served God!
Eivor:He was not a Christian, he abhorred your god.
Harriet:But why strike him down? Have you no compassion for good men!
Eivor:He wrapped himself in a death cloak to murder your king.
Harriet:Shouldn't you rejoice at the death of a king? You are a heathen and a devil!
Eivor:We both have more questions than answers. But if you know this key, perhaps we can help one another.
Harriet stood up to face Eivor.
Eivor:Where is its home?
Harriet directing Eivor to the ruins beneath her brother's home
Harriet:You treated me with kindness, but this damned order. Their machinations killed my brother, so the rest may rot. Take this key to the ruins beneath the bishop's house. You may find answers there.
Eivor left and ventured to find the bishop's home. Locating his home, Eivor entered the Bishop's Residence. Exploring his abode, Eivor came across a door, opened it with the key, and found a Temple of Mithras under Wincestre.
Eivor:This must be it. The door to Ealhferth's secrets.
Eivor investigating the temple
Investigating the temple, Eivor came across a letter near the entrance.
An Unsealed Letter
The Mark is Aelfred, a withered sprig from his father's trunk. We should have seen it earlier. Someone calling himself a Poor Soldier is colluding with our king and feeding him names. Lunden and Eoforwic have already fallen to this treacherous rat.
Eivor:I'll send this to Hytham. He may make some sense of it.
After manuevering inside the temple, Eivor found a decree among a bunch of scrolls.
A Faded Decree
A Universal Decree, Writ this 870th Year of the Christian Jesus,
Bulwark England against outside agitators. She is our last great fortress upon this earth, with walls not only of timber and stone, but of will, that have repelled our ancient rivals for over four centuries. Yet now we face a new threat. Ravenous Danes who have not yet accepted our supremacy. We must fight to turn them, or eliminate them.
Though embattled, our sects in Francia and Ireland stand ready for our glorious return. Be ever resolute. Though our Order may diminish, our truths are eternal.
The Father
Eivor:Everything they did was to undermine Aelfred.
Eivor completed her investigation, but found little information of value from Harriet's suggestion.
Eivor:She lied to me. There is nothing here of The Order. I should see Aelfred for my reward.
Eivor left the temple and headed to speak with Aelfred.
Arriving at the Old Minster, Eivor entered and felt a dozen eyes upon her. Within the chapel, Eivor saw guards posted, Sigebeald sitting in the pews, and Aelfred standing at the altar.
Alfred:Come forth, Eivor.
Eivor:Here is far enough.
Aelfred offering Eivor the choice of converting to Christianity
Alfred:When wrongdoers came to devour my flesh, these enemies stumbled and fell.
Aelfred walked towards Eivor. Eivor took a step forward in kind, but noticed a soldier to her side reach for his sword.
Eivor:Have the laws of hospitality been thrown out, Aelfred? I did exactly as we agreed.
Alfred:That you did. But do not mistake necessity for friendship.
Eivor:You are a man of your word. A man of God.
Alfred:Indeed. By His example, I live my life. Goodwin...
Goodwin approached them, bearing Eivor's reward.
Goodwin presenting the Christian cross to Eivor
Goodwin:Here's the only silver fit for one of your dragon-boats. A reminder of Christ's sacrifice and our charity.
Goodwin handed Eivor an encrusted silver Christian cross.
Alfred:This too, I offer you. Live here among us in peace as a Christian, or die a pagan in a blood soaked field. All you have to lose is life everlasting.
Eivor:And if I choose neither?
Goodwin:He offers you hope, Eivor. A life of purpose above and beyond this one. You'd be a fool to refuse.
Eivor rejecting the offer of conversion
Eivor:Your reign will end, King of the West Saxons. Raven wings will beat until your throne crumbles to dust.
Alfred:You were wrong, Goodwin. This one is beyond saving.
Aelfred nodded at Sigebeald, who left immediately, as an escort of guards surrounded Aelfred as he left. Goodwin took his leave just as the bell rang, placing the entire city on high alert. As Eivor tried to run, Goodwin pulled a dagger on her.
Goodwin:You had your chance, damn you!
Eivor:I did not want it.
Goodwin ran out as Eivor glanced angrily. As Eivor ran, guards immediately noticed her.
Eivor:Damn you, Aelfred.
Eivor escaped from Wincestre. After riding far enough, the alarms of the city faded away behind her.
Eivor:I'll return to Hytham and Randvi. They'll want to know what happened here.
Eivor found and assassinated The Seax and uncovered failed Order plans to take out Alfred and other sects in Francia and Ireland. Afterwards, Eivor talked with Alfred, who offered a conversion proposition, and Eivor denied. Thus, Eivor ran out of the hostile city of Wincestre after an alert was made.
