The Governor and the Witch

It took a few days for Rosamund to fully recover. Sure, there was the issue of him drinking a glass of something that shouldn't exist under this sun, and he regretted it for most of the day after passing out in the garden with Adanita. But he also suffered a bad adrenaline crash just before it, and it took him a bit of time to process the near-death experience. During that time, he was mostly resting in his- Adanita's cabin, but he also exchanged another letter with Nivelir. He found time to visit the pirates' meetings two more times, and had Ekliptik look into some things for him, too.

First things first, his would-be assassin's name was Pronyscher Zaum. He was currently under the care of one of their few doctors, and he seemed to be recovering well. Pronyscher Zaum was not mentioned in Adanita's little diary, and a woman named Cinda was listed as the first mate who took over after Adanita killed Captain Lotus.

So it was safe to assume that Pronyscher was supposed to die sometime between this point in time and before Duchess Almukantarat approached with the talks for the original Pardon. Pirate life was hard and deadly, after all.

Meaning that he got his good deed of the week done - Zaum's life was saved and spared.

Secondly, Ekliptik brought news of how the people were reacting to all this. They were mostly afraid. It was the other countries that caused these people to end up here, after all. What would recognition from them mean for these people? And what will their new leadership look like?

He wasn't entirely certain, either. He decided to completely leave internal issues to Adanita. It was her country, and she and her people should decide how to run it. It was also, therefore, her responsibility to reassure her future citizens. And she was working on it. This wasn't something you could just do overnight.

She was doing quite well, if you asked him. Those two other meetings he came to (and played a decorative plant in) went quite well. He somehow also managed to not run into Captain Lotus so far. According to Adanita, she came to some of their meetings, but it seemed they've missed each other. He somehow had a feeling she will come up before he leaves for Hipparcos. But that was a matter for a later time - for now they had another issue on the table.

He promised Adanita he will have a chat with Teodolit. The man hasn't left the house for days according to her and Ekliptik.

It was time to go and handle that. Normally he'd also say this falls under Adanita's division, but apparently Teodolit wanted to speak with him too. Not to mention all the questions he had about the man's magic.

And so, he made his way through the town alone, tailed by one of Ekliptik's spies. Apparently Ekliptik was too busy to come along today.

He finally found Teodolit's house again after getting lost and asking around for help. They weren't very friendly towards him, and he worried they'd intentionally get him lost even more, but he managed to find the place. Good people.

Before entering the man's garden, he adjusted his cravat. After he woke up with that hangover, he found a note and a nicely folded silk cravat on Adanita's table. She apologized again for Zaum's murder attempt and gave him the new cravat. What he found wrapped in it was that beautiful bixbite pin that caught his attention the first time he went to look through her cabin. It fit him well. He wondered if she just gave him any random thing she found, or if this was a present because the stone was the same color as her hair.

Probably a random thing, he decided, entering the garden. The path was paved with a few flat stones with quite a distance between them, so perhaps calling it paved was an overstatement. The garden looked overgrown, but tended to. It seemed like the plants were all healthy and well, and he couldn't see any parasites anywhere. While he was walking to the small house, however, he heard some strange noises coming from the bushes. Aside from cicadas, he could hear some heavy rustling. He stopped on his way to the house to try and figure out what was making the sound.

It suddenly dawned to him: snakes. No wonder the people didn't mind telling him where to go.

He sighed and decided to just move forward. No sane man would have snakes in his garden without an antidote ready. If he gets bitten, he was sure he would be fine.

And so he reached the house and knocked on the door.

A muffled voice answered from the inside. "Aye?"

"It is I," he said. "May I enter?"

"What?" Something heavy fell inside, but not heavy enough to be Teodolit. He could hear him cursing in Franac before his distinct footsteps told him he made his way to the door. "What are you doing here?" he asked, opening the door. He was a bit of a mess, Rosamund noticed. He didn't shave in a few days, and his hair was all tangled up. Somebody clearly wasn't feeling well.
"You said you wished to speak with me, and I would also enjoy to talk to you. I have some questions, if you do not mind."
"No, I mean, why are you here. I have snakes in the garden specifically so that people don't come."
"Do you? I haven't noticed." He held his face perfectly straight while Teodolit was staring him down.

"Right," he said. He pushed the door to open fully and let Rosamund inside. "You weren't bitten, were you?"
"No, I was not. Do you have the antidote?" he curiously asked.
"No, I don't."
Rosamund eyed him from head to toe as he passed by him.

Good gods, the man was serious.

Focus. "I didn't bring you anything," he said, mildly regretting it. He should've brought him something like cookies. Wait - was that why Adanita had that scent of cookies on her a few days ago - no. Nevermind now.
"You didn't need to," Teodolit said tiredly. "Come in, make yourself comfortable. Do you want tea?"
"Certainly. Do you need help?"
"Just- just stay out of the way, I suppose."
"Of course."

He closed the door behind him, looking around the small house. The bed and the kitchen were all in one room, and he could see that he had two other doors, currently closed. Presumably one was a washroom, and the other would be what? Food storage room, perhaps. The man also had a distinct lack of shelves for the amount of books he had around the house. Well, he had the shelves, but he had far more books than what would fit comfortably into a small house he lived in. They were stacked neatly, aside from one that was lying in a painful position on the floor next to the messy bed. He mercifully picked it up before the pages got bent out of shape completely. Considering its weight, this must've been the cause of that crashing noise he heard from the house. On Extraction of Substances and Magical Essences from Common Weeds and Rare Herbs, Volume Six by Sisters Dee? Now this was quite advanced.

"Are you an alchemist?" he asked, setting the book down.
"No. I just like to make good tea," Teodolit answered without turning around. He supposed it was easy for him to guess why he asked. The water on the stove was about to boil, and he sat down at the table while he watched the small man go through the herbs that were hanging from his ceiling, picking out dry leaves and flowers that caught his fancy and adding them into the pot. Rosamund decided to let him work in silence. He did invade his home, somewhat. Letting him collect himself was the kind thing to do.

A few minutes of silence later, Teodolit set two cups down at the table, and sat across him. "You know, usually people announce themselves," he said.
"Captain Vervain was worried about you," he said. "I saw no reason to set up a proper meeting with you. You may consider this to be a bit of an intervention instead of a proper visit you'd get in high society."
"Intervention?"
"I was told by Ekliptik that you haven't left the house for days."
"And your intervention would be what? Throwing me out?"
Ah, he had to remember the time he was in. "No. I am here to hear you out. What's on your mind?"

The man leaned back in his chair. Alright, he clearly asked that too quickly. It was time to dial it back and go to the destination in a roundabout way again. For now, Teodolit can set the pace of the conversation.
"Heard you almost got stabbed," he said instead of answering.
"In the neck, yes. By Pronyscher Zaum, if you know him."
"I met him a few times. A bit of a hothead. What'll you do with him?"
He was asking if he'll have him killed for that. Right. "Nothing. I will take him to Hipparcos and he will study along with others."
"Really? Despite him almost killing you?"
"Need I remind you that Captain Vervain did kill me? If I had a personal vendetta against every idiot who wanted me dead, I'd barely have the time to breathe, let alone work."
"He didn't only want to kill you, he tried to."
Was he really testing how far his patience went? "And he failed. And if my assessment of his character is correct, he'd still like to kill me."
"And you'd let him go free?"

"Dead people can't learn," he said. He was dead serious about it. An impulsive fool who ran out of arguments and reached for a knife was not an enemy. "I have no interest in killing him." They had no census nor citizen records in this place, and Ekliptik couldn't find any information aside from his name and nationality, but the man looked like he was barely twenty. Barely. He just didn't want to kill him.

"Right," Teodolit said. "Alright. Your funeral, probably."
"I like to imagine myself as merciful," Rosamund said, wisely not telling him that he hopefully directed the man towards trying to kill Adanita in the future. His odds of success will be zero, considering who his new target was. But it will certainly be a learning experience for everyone involved. "Everybody deserves another chance."
"Oh gods, if you don't shut up I will actually just kill you." He buried his face in his hands.
"You seem to have an issue with me, too. Would you like to talk about it?"
"No."
"Alright, then." Rosamund tried his tea. It had a soft herbal taste, neither bitter nor sweet. It reminded him of an open field of wildflowers, and the warm sunshine. How vivid... perhaps that knowledge of alchemy truly did have a better way of use than magic. He allowed himself a soft smile. "This is very good."
"Thank you."

A peaceful break in conversation. Let it be. He enjoyed his tea while letting Teodolit gather himself. He was a very old, and a very patient man. And it paid off.

"Nita said you had some questions for me," Teodolit said, breaking the silence.
"Yes, I have."
"What do you want?"
"I would like to know more about you and your magic... As much as you feel comfortable telling me, that is."
"Right. And what do I get in return?"
"What do you want?" he asked.

He could guess what he wanted easily. Some way to be sure he was working in their best interest, that he wasn't going to turn around the situation in his favor and throw them all under the bus. He wanted a reason to trust Rosamund. But he also knew he couldn't do that with words alone. Trust comes with time, with every action taken to reassure your intentions. Time he didn't yet have.

And Teodolit knew that. "Let's get back to that later. Ask away."

For now, all he could do is hear him out. "What can you tell me about the minor blessings?" he decided to ask.
"They come from minor gods. Gods that are specific to something. Sunrise, sunset, open sea, brackish water, phases of the moon, rivers, lakes... Minor gods pick their favourites based on one aspect of their lives. It is exceedingly difficult to get noticed by them."
Is that so? He thought that the minor blessings came from the gods, too, just like other divine powers. "And the minor god of brackish waters is connected to drowning?"
"Yes. Every natural phenomenon is also connected to something that can happen in your life. It is a bit similar to astrology, where you can connect the way stars in the sky are to aspects of your life. I take it you didn't learn this?"
"No. My religious education was mostly focused on the three sleeping gods of this world," he said. "I've never heard of minor gods until now. Does that mean that the priests who wield divine powers also have a blessing?"
"A blessing from the sleeping gods, yes. Your minor blessing is a form of divine power too, but they are on a whole different level."
"Interesting. I did not know any of this. Thank you for telling me," he said. "So I presume that your magic is somehow connected to these minor gods?"
"Somewhat..."

Rosamund gave him a moment to elaborate his answer, but he did not. Very well, he will ask him directly, then. "Are you a priest of minor gods?"
"No. My power is not divine."
"So you have not been blessed?"
"I am as blessed as that alchemist brother of yours. Your people call people like me a witch... The power I possess doesn't change or remove the magical essences out of nature. I am neither an enchanter nor an alchemist. What I can do is take what is there already and bend it to my will. I couldn't create a storm of any sort, but if one was already there, I could, for example, direct its winds favorably for me. As you have seen me do."
That explained that thread of magic that he saw. What he saw him do was astonishing, beyond the level most alchemists and enchanters could do even with preparation. But it seemed his powers were also heavily limited. "And what do the minor gods have to do with that?"
"Absolutely nothing. I can only see their influence on this world to a limited degree, much how you can see the magic at work. But both the minor gods and witches tend to be condemned on most of Ganimed. Cooperation between druidic worshipers and witches is just the end result of this... discrimination."
Cleansing. "I see."

Teodolit seemed like the words were being forced out of him whenever he was talking. Rosamund permitted him another break, sipping his tea and pondering what he learned. Witches, from what he knew before, could influence the nature and summon devils and evil spirits. Ruin crops, bring disease... That was the common belief and what he was taught about this world, and he didn't question it too much. Considering that his younger brother was quite literally magic, he could accept that this world operated on different rules.

However, it seemed that superstitions and fear of minorities were not foreign here either.

He set the teacup on the table. "I'd like to learn more about you," he said.
"There isn't much you would like to hear," Teodolit answered.
"Please," Rosamund said. "I'd like to-"

Teodolit cut him off. "No. I- I am not an exhibit for people like you. My life won't be a tale for your entertainment!"

Rosamund stopped in his tracks. The man was almost terrified of him. He didn't want this. "I apologize," he said. "I didn't mean to pressure you or to cause you distress. I truly am sorry."
"Right." Teodolit seemed somewhat calmer now, but Rosamund could see his hand slightly shaking when he pushed his hair out of his face. He clearly hated this situation, the whole conversation was a pain for him. For a man who enjoyed speaking to him to be reduced to this state... He must've truly been distressed by the plan he made with Adanita. His questions about the life he lived up to this point probably made everything worse.

Rosamund leaned back in his chair, feeling quite terrible for the pain he caused. This wasn't an interrogation. He was curious, but who wouldn't be? Nonetheless, it was his fault. He didn't need to know this man's entire life story to understand more about his magic. He got what he wanted, and he wasn't going to pry further. For now, it seemed his apology fell on deaf ears, but you can't force forgiveness either. He regretted his questions, but it was up to Teodolit to accept it.

"Allow me to brew us more tea," he said. "We can talk about something else instead. You wished to speak to me, too." Perhaps he should leave him be, but leaving after this entire conversation felt cowardly and wrong. He found him in a bad state, and he made it worse with how curious and inconsiderate he was.
"...sure."

Rosamund got up and carefully walked around the stacks of books on the floor. He checked the stove and made sure the fire was burning well.

He set the kettle on it, and waited for the water to boil.