Thousand Suns

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=><= $titlefont[(css: "font-size: 240%;")[''Thief'']] $titlefont[''of the''] $titlefont[(css: "font-size: 240%;")[''Thousand Suns'']] (css: "font-size: 50%;")[//$version Dom Kaye © MMXXII//] [[//Incipio//->Dramatis Personæ]]

###//Dramatis Personæ// //Billy Bard//, a rogue, a thief and oft times a dandy //Grimm//, an Albidosi |4>[$footnote[(link-rerun:"i")[(show:?3)]]] barbarian (rumored to be a Pictish giant), sword for hire, a man of great strength, but a child of mind and heart //Mr. Twill//, a poacher of some renown //Markus//, A bandit of Wolfsmoor //Timothy//, A bandit and sword for hire, currently in the employ of Markus //Aileen//, A bandit, renown for her skills with the bow, and lover of Markus //Eithne//, a (link-reveal: "Banduri")[ //(female druid)//]. //Pacificus//, A Benedictine |6>[$footnote[(link-rerun:"ii")[(show:?5)]]] monk, known for his love of apples. //Scene begins during the reign she who ''video et taceo'' |2>[$footnote[(link-rerun:"iii")[(show:?1)]]]// [[Act I: Scene I: The Meeting Place->The Meeting Place]] { |3)[$footnote[(link-rerun:"i")[(hide:?3)(show:?4)]] $footnotetext[What the Picts were known to call themselves]] |5)[ $footnote[(link-rerun:"ii")[(hide:?6)(show:?4)]] $footnotetext[The Ordo Sancti Benedicti, a monastic religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedict]] |1)[ $footnote[(link-rerun:"iii")[(hide:?1)(show:?2)]] $footnotetext[//I see and keep silent// - Motto of Elizabeth I, Queen of England and Ireland, the Virgin Queen, Last of the five monarchs of the House of Tudor]] }

###Act I: Scene I: The Meeting Place //On a bright afternoon in late winter, in a Cumbrian alehouse, sitting at a rough table are two men, hooded cloaks pulled back, mugs of ale before them. Enter another man, bearded and wearing a heavy jacket strung with feathers// ''Billy:'' Mr. Twill! Well met. ''Mr. Twill:'' Aha, ‘tis the bard himself, how are ye? ''B:'' Well of late Mr. Twill. Won’t ye join us for a pint and a tale? ''MT:'' A pint I’d gladly accept, but a tale would depend on the length and quality. //`[`Mr. Twill sits heavily and lets out a sigh`]`// ''MT:'' Well met young Mr. Grimm. Has this rogue brought you trouble yet? ''Grimm:'' He’s no trouble Mr. Twill. He’s clever! ''MT:'' Aye, that’d be the problem. ''B:'' //`[`quietly`]`// The tale, Mr. Twill, is one I was hoping ye would bring? ''MT:'' //`[`quietly`]`// Of course Billy, but let’s not rush to business //`[`louder`]`// on a day so filled with sunshine! ''G:'' I miss sunflowers. ''MT:'' Aye, lad, we all do, but winter will end and flowers will bloom again, Until then, the sun reminds us that he will grow brighter and warmer again. ''B:'' //`[`takes out a small bag`]`// [[Something we agreed to]].

//Billy Bard has to choose the price of Mr. Twill's tale// \(set: _rerun to (rerun:?Coin))\ |Coin>[ \(set:_plusLink to (cond:$billycoin > 0, (link:"`[+1]`"),(hidden:)), _minusLink to (link:"`[-1]`"))\ |= The bag to give to Mr. Twill: =| (text-colour: black)[$twillbag] _plusLink[(set:$twillbag to it + 1, $billycoin to it - 1)_rerun] (if:$twillbag > 0)[_minusLink[(set:$twillbag to it - 1, $billycoin to it + 1)_rerun]] |==| Billy's own coin: (t8n:'pulse')+(t8n-time:0.4s)+(text-colour:(cond:$billycoin > 3, black, $billycoin > 0, #e5742e, red))[''$billycoin'']] (link-goto: "'Tis Good", (history:)'s last)

//The negotiation between the two men (if: (history:) contains "Something we agreed to")[continues](else:)[begins]// //Billy:// //`[`Offers [[the bag]] to Mr. Twill`]`// //Mr. Twill// //`[`Takes the bag and glances inside`]`// |longstory)[//MT:// That’ll do Billy. //B:// And what doth it get us? //MT:// A road, a river, a forest and //`[`quietly`]`// a temple. //B:// //`[`Sits up taller`]`// I’m [[all ears]].] |shortstory)[//MT:// (either: "And I thought we was friends Billy!", "And now ye insult me Billy!", "A feeble offering at best Billy!") Well, I'd best be off! //B:// Hold Mr. Twill! Perhaps I could [[sweeten the tongue->the bag]]?] (click: "glances inside")[ (if: $twillbag > 10)[(show:?longstory)] (else:)[(show:?shortstory)]]

//Mr. Twill speaks in a low voice, throughout the telling of the directions. Billy nods often// //MT:// Past the river beyond the old poacher’s walk ye turn right after the hill with the ruined tower. Cross the same river again and the field beyond it. Then, enter the forest where a fallen tree leans on his comrade. There is an animal track to follow, mostly. Do not enter the forest after dark - the land beyond was called Wolfsmoor for a reason! Cross two clearings and a stream in the forest. Then, by three fallen trees you will find the ruined temple that you seek. But hark: the air feels most peculiar there and I could not away from it quick enough! //B:// Very good, Mr. Twill, very good! //`[`Loudly`]`// barkeep, whatever this man wants to sup, and another three ales to sooth the afternoon! //[[Persequor->Onto brighter things]]//

###Act I: Scene II: The Road There //A long road winds around hills on a late winter’s day. The two men walk with cloaks loosely wrapped and hoods up. The sun is close to noon and the day unseasonably warm// //Grimm:// //`[`singing`]` (text-indent: 24)[Widdershins and deiseal the turning goes,] (text-indent: 24)[Dizzy is the head and light are the toes,] (text-indent: 24)[The thousand suns the thousand sounds,] (text-indent: 24)[The stones, the stars, the weather turns,] (text-indent: 24)[The stones they break the stars they burn,] (text-indent: 24)[Widdershins and deiseal the turning goes.]// //Billy:// Where’d that song come from? //G:// Where does any song come from? The rivers, the wind, old memories? //B:// Ye never cease to amaze young Grimm, with your poetic heart! //G:// I heard it when I was a wee one. It was very important we learn it, but I can’t remember why. //B:// Nursery rhymes have a cadence that feels important, like a chant or a spell. P’raps they do carry some kind of magic. //`[`The two come to a river`]`// //B:// Here is the river; beyond which is the hill with the ruin. We’re getting closer. //G:// The evening’s a fair drawing in. Is the ruin a good place to camp for the night? //B:// It is. There be two walls that provide shelter from the wind and a place for a fire. //G:// No ghosts? //B:// None that I’ve seen. Mr. Twill and I would oft use it as a place to stay while poaching yonder. Ye go there to that copse and gather some firewood. I’ll sweep out a place for sleeping and see if I can catch some trout in this here river before it gets too dark. //`[`Grimm nods and heads off to the nearby cluster of leafless trees`]`// //[[Exeunt->The Campsite]]//

###Act I: Scene III: The Campsite //Up on the hill, on the edge of the ruin, Grimm piles small logs and stuffs brush and leaves underneath them. Down by the river, Billy lies on his belly with one arm in the freezing water of the river. He flicks some breadcrumbs onto the water and waits, then flicks some more. After a while, Grimm comes down to watch and sits on his haunches. Then there is a flash of the fading light on fish-scales and Billy, in a lightning-quick move, scoops a trout out of the water and flings it up onto the riverbank behind him. He stands, triumphant and shakes the water off of his arm// //Grimm:// Good catch Billy! How ‘e flew! //Billy:// Like a quiet thunderbolt I was! //`[`He bounds up to catch the trout, flopping on the bank. In a deft move, he smacks in on the head with the back of his fist. The trout moves less. He hits again and the trout lies still`]`// //B:// ‘Tis a smallish one, but will make a good dinner for us. //`[`A small ribbon of smoke has begun to rise from the fire above`]`// //G:// I started the fire with the tinder-box |2>[$footnote[(link-rerun:"i")[(show:?1)]]] ye gave me Billy. //B:// Good lad. I be glad ye are using your birthday gift well. //G:// I like the sparks and ‘tis so quick to light. //B:// It’ll be a little while before the fire is hot enough to cook this fish. Let me find a stick to stake it after I gut it. //`[`Still by the river, Billy flicks a small dagger into his palm from its hiding place in his sleeve. In one fast movement, he slices the belly of the fish open and then scrapes out the guts letting them splash into the river at his feet. He rinses the fish in the river before finding a long thin stick and joining Grimm up at the fireplace. The sun is almost down now and the stars have begun to show`]`// //[[Exeunt->The Forest]]// |1)[$footnote[(link-rerun:"i")[(hide:?1)(show:?2)]] $footnotetext[A metal box for holding tinder and usually a flint and steel for striking a spark]]

###Act II: Scene I: The Forest //The two men have come to two trees that form an “A”, beyond which an animal track enters a dark and forbidding-looking forest// //Billy:// We enter here in accordance with Mr. Twill’s directions. //Grimm:// It looks like a place of ghosts Billy. //B:// Immaterial spirits don’t worry me, Grimm, it’s the very material bandits that do. //G:// We have our swords. //B:// And our wits; come! Careful we go. //`[`The two enter the forest and try their best to walk the path quietly, but there is a lot of dry fallen branches and leaves and their footfalls eventually are noticed`]`// //G:// Hi an arrow in the tree before me! //B:// Draw your sword Grimm! //`[`Draws his own rapier and turns with his back to Grimm. Grimm draws his bastard sword and hunches his shoulders as he grips it with both hands`]`// //[[Persequor->Swords Ready]]//

//There is tension as the two men face-off against the forest bandits// //Markus:// Hold up; //Billy// and //Grimm// - where have I ‘erd of you afore? //Billy:// We are mercenaries renowned; bound from battlegrounds in France! //Timothy:// Them’s thieves I reckon. //M:// Braggarts and grifters I would guess, but I care not but for the color of thy coin; give it up gentlemen! //Grimm:// We is gentlemen of the road. //`[`The other three laugh`]`// //B:// Aye and we fight to keep what is ours! //M:// The more foolish ye be for it then! //`[`The archer draws her bowstring. Timothy raises his sword. Markus, lifts two daggers`]`// //[[Persequor->The Standoff]]//

//Markus leaps with daggers ready and Timothy swings and clashes swords with Grimm. The archer’s arrow flies and misses its mark. Billy deflects Markus’ attack and Grimm spins away from Timothy as the archer readies another arrow// //Billy:// Ye’ll find that we are not easy marks! //Markus:// But this is still a fight unnecessary. //Timothy:// Yet it is a fight we’ll take. //`[`Grimm ducks as an arrow pierces his hood next to his face and moves in quick to stab the archer, pinning her to a tree`]`// //Aileen:// Markus, I am slain!(set: $aileendies to true) //Markus:// No! Back, villain! //`[`Billy, quick to take advantage of Markus’ distraction, catches him in movement, freezing the man in place, rapier by Markus’ throat`]`// //Markus:// Hold up Timothy! //`[`Timothy stops, assesses the situation and lowers his sword`]`// //[[Persequor->A Death]]//

//(either: "Billy has to make a decision", "Billy needs to decide their fate", "Billy has to be swift of tongue")// { (set: $holdaction to "do we really need to fight?") (set: $offeraction to "We are no richer than thy!") (set: $decisionaction to "Let us rethink this!") //Billy:// (either: "Hold up there!", "Hold up!", "Hold!", "Wait now") (cycling-link: 2bind $holdaction, "Do we really need to fight?", "Is thou fools and braggarts all?", "Perhaps we can come to an arrangement?") - (cycling-link: 2bind $offeraction, "We are no richer than thy!", "Thy enemies are our enemies!", "I could share a few coin with thee cousin!") - (link-reveal: " What say you?")[(if: $offeraction is "I could share a few coin with thee cousin!")[ //Markus:// Let us see [[the color of your coin]]!] (else:)[ //Markus:// We are just poor denizens of the forest and ye are simply our harvest. //B:// (cycling-link: 2bind $decisionaction, "Let us rethink this!", "We have but little coin, but that that we have we have no wish to part with. We fight!", "We Fight!") - (link-reveal: "Now I say...")[(if: $decisionaction is "We have but little coin, but that that we have we have no wish to part with. We fight!" or $decisionaction is "We Fight!")[(goto:'Melee')](else:)[(goto:'The Standoff')]]]]}

//Billy Bard has to decide what it costs to avoid a fight// \(set: _rerun to (rerun:?Coin))\ |Coin>[ \(set:_plusLink to (cond:$billycoin > 0, (link:"`[+1]`"),(hidden:)), _minusLink to (link:"`[-1]`"))\ |= How much to offer Markus: =| (text-colour: black)[$markusoffer] _plusLink[(set:$markusoffer to it + 1, $billycoin to it - 1)_rerun] (if:$markusoffer > 0)[_minusLink[(set:$markusoffer to it - 1, $billycoin to it + 1)_rerun]] |==| Billy's own coin: (t8n:'pulse')+(t8n-time:0.4s)+(text-colour:(cond:$billycoin > 3, black, $billycoin > 0, #e5742e, red))[''$billycoin'']] {//Billy:// (link-reveal: "I offer this to thee.")[(if: $markusoffer > 10)[ //Markus:// Come friends, the toll is paid, let us leave these travelers! //`[`The three bandits melt into the trees`]`// //[[Exeunt->The Temple]]//](else:)[ //Markus:// And now he offers insult! [[We fight->Melee]]!]]}

###Act II: Scene II: The Temple //The two men walk down a forest path and come to many a fallen and moss-covered stone surrounded by tall trees who’s roots have become entangled with stones from what was once some kind of structure// (if: $aileendies)[//Grimm:// It is a dark day today Billy, why be we here?](else:)[//Grimm:// What search us for Billy?] (if: $aileendies)[//Billy:// I am most sorry for that woman ye slew Grimm, but that’s the choice that was made and we must go on with't now. We are here for this.](else:)[//Billy:// This!] //`[`Sweeps his hand over the fallen stones`]`// //G:// A ruin? //B:// Not just any ruin; the last known place of a gem of great beauty in a fallen temple from Roman times! I had heard of it from a soldier in France who’s father had found it in his youth. He was ne’er sure why his father had not taken it, but was resolv’d to go back for it. Most sadly, he died in battle, but before his last breath, what he told me lead me to fair Cumbria, and our many months of poaching and thieving have been for this. //G:// Look by that bush, an entrance! Billy, I have seen it afore! //B:// How now? This is the first time we’ve been here. //G:// I know not, but I have been here. //B:// //`[`Hacks at the bush with his rapier`]`// Some help Grimm? //G:// //`[`Tugs branches and the remains of the bush from the entrance`]`// 'Tis dark, bus one of the other wall has fallen, so I can see a little within. //[[Persequor->within]]//

//The two enter and Billy piles some branches on the floor. He strikes a flint and as the branches catch fire it illuminates the inside of the temple, the light catching in a gem-cluster on a large carved stone// //Grimm:// ‘Tis the thousand suns! //Billy:// What is? //G:// That great jewel; 'tis the thousand suns from the rhyme! //B:// Ah, what a gem! How’d you know it’s name? //G:// I have been here afore, when I was a small boy. There was a village just yonder. I lived there, I learned the rhyme there. Before it all went away. //B:// Ye are full of surprises lad. See how the dragons carved above the gem twist in the light. That’s a Pictish carving that is. //G:// The little spots of light all around are like stars. //[[Persequor->The Thousand Suns]]//

(if: (history:) contains "The One Who Waits")[ //Grimm looks out of the temple entrance// //Grimm:// Billy, This was where we met my grandmother. //Billy:// Bah! Let us try a different turn then. //[[Persequor->The Thousand Suns]]//](else:)[ ###Act III: Scene II: The One Who Waits //It is mostly dark in the temple, but some light falls through the entrance// //Grimm:// What happened? //Billy:// I know not, but our fire is gone. //G:// And the wall repaired itself. //B:// How could that be? //G:// It is warm in here. //B:// Come, let us look outside for more brush to create a fire; I can’t see the gem in this light. //As they emerge into the sunlight, they are surprised to find that the temple is no longer in the forest, and that the forest has gone. It is warmer, like late springtime |4>[$footnote[(link-rerun:"i")[(show:?3)]]]. A tiny old woman sits at a fire nearby, over which a pot of something hangs and steams. In the distance behind her are the ruins of many small buildings. She looks up at the two and waves them over. Her face is heavily wrinkled and covered with the tattoos of blue stars. She is wearing a silver ''Albidosi chain'' |2>[$footnote[(link-rerun:"ii")[(show:?1)]]] about her neck. Grimm looks suspiciously at the pot and the old woman// //Grimm:// //`[`speaks quietly under his breath to Billy`]`// Could be that she’s a witch. //Billy:// Could be many things lad, but there is a world of weird going on and she seems like a good place to begin to understand. //Eithne:// Come lads; I speak your tongue. Come sit by my fire so I can tell thee how far thy hast travelled. //[[Persequor->The Fire Sit]]// |3)[$footnote[(link-rerun:"i")[(hide:?3)(show:?4)]] $footnotetext[It is in fact midsummer during the //Late Antique Little Ice Age//]] |1)[$footnote[(link-rerun:"ii")[(hide:?1)(show:?2)]] $footnotetext[An Albidosi/Pictish silver chain of 22 pairs of large circular links and a broad open ring, the latter engraved with typical symbols]] ]

//The two men approach and stand by logs surrounding the fire opposite the old tattooed woman// //Billy:// Who ist thou? //`[`Sits`]`// //Grimm:// What is in the pot? //`[`Sits with a suspicious glance at the river woman, and then looks with curiosity`]`// //Eithne:// Eithne I be, a Banduri - the last Banduri of those parts. And the pot holds a stew of coney and herbs lad. //G:// What’s a Banduri? //B:// //`[`aside to Grimm`]`// a druid. //G:// Is that like a witch? //B:// More like a soldier is to a guard. //`[`Grimm looks puzzled, Eithne smiles`]`// //E:// Ye look familiar lad, what be your name? //G:// Grimm. //E:// Your real name; that of your birth. //G:// I was called Eo. //E:// Ah! Eoganan! Now I understand the familiar face! Oh, gods be blessed; I lived in hope that if I dedicated my remaining days to telling the tale of the Thousand Suns to those that traveled here then one day ye would come back. //`[`She stops and tears run down her face`]`// //G:// How be ye know my old name? //E:// I am your grandmother lad. I took you in on the death of your parents, murdered by some thieving Romans. //B:// Romans! Woman, there has not been Romans in these lands for generations! //E:// That is part of my tale, friend of Eoganan; ye did not travel to a place, ye travelled to a time far before your own. //B:// //`[`Laughs`]`// Ye must think us as mad as ye must be! //E:// So where did the forest go, swordsman? How did the temple change? How is there a ruined village suddenly behind me when, afore you turned the Thousand Suns, ye were in a place of trees? //B:// //`[`Shakes his head`]`// I know not, but this is a strange thing to fit inside a head. //E:// Aye, but perhaps my tale will help, and perhaps Eoganan will be able to add to the tale. Have some of this stew with me and listen. //The three fill bowls. Eithne hands them wooden spoons and they eat in silence for a moment before she begins// //[[Exeunt->The Tale of the Thousand Suns]]//

###Act III: Scene III: The Tale of the Thousand Suns //The two men and the old woman sit by the fire. The old woman tucks her legs against her and covers them with her calico robe// //Eithne:// Some say that it fell from the stars or was the falling tear of a dragon say others, but that was long ago. At the time I became a Banduri along with my husband (your grandfather, Eoganan), the Thousand Suns and the carving in which it is placed was already ancient. We were tasked to care for it and the temple that housed it and told that it kept the world and the seasons in balance. And so it did, until the Romans came. //`[`She shakes her head`]`// //E:// By the time the Romans reached these parts, their empire had already started to wain. They had pushed too far in their arrogance, grown too greedy. The empire was pulling back, but some of them did not want to leave just yet; some of the leaders became warlords and soldiers joined them to fight and plunder and burn. //`[`She coughs and spits`]`// //E:// One of these, Tarquin Septimus was known in these parts and had burned several villages already. His time was running short as Rome had called him back and he wanted quick wealth. Some accursed louse had told him of the Thousand Suns and on a June morning he and his cutthroat band came to our village. //`[`She looks sadly into the fire`]`// //E:// While his men held us at bay with their swords, Septimus entered the temple. Your grandfather broke free of the swordsmen using his staff as a bludgeon and followed the Roman scum inside. //`[`She looks a while at Grimm, who furrows his eyes as a memory begins to make itself known`]`// //E:// What happened inside the temple, I heard later from your grandfather. //G:// I remember a little too. //E:// He said that when he entered, Septimus (a tall man), was pushing his sword into the side of the Thousand Suns, trying to pry it from the stone. Your grandfather swung his staff and as he hit the Roman, the Thousand Suns moved and the whole world froze. //She looks up at the two men in turn// //[[Persequor->The Frozen World]]//

//The two men sit by the old tattooed woman by the fire. Their bowls of rabbit stew forgotten as the tale continues// //Eithne:// This I too remember. I could think. We could see. We all could. But none of us could move. Eoganan, ye were out playing in the field behind the temple prior to this and although none of us could move at all, ye was still walking about. The last I saw of ye was your wee naked feet as ye followed your grandfather inside the temple. //Grimm:// The world had stopped. The birds were froze in the air. The silence was so thick it pressed against my ears. Little sparks of color chased me as I walked. I saw all the people not moving. I had seen grandfather go inside and I was afeared. //`[`Grimm stares at the fire as memory flows`]`// //G:// Grandfather was frozen. His stick was on the other man’s back. The other man had his sword on the Thousand Suns and a rainbow was leaking from it all over the room. I called to him, but he did not move, nothing moved but the rainbow light. I cried and was afeared. Then I touched grandfather’s leg and all was gone and I was alone in the dark. I cried out many times, but no one came. I left the dark and the forest that was suddenly there and I walked a long time until I found a family of farmers who I stayed with until I was big. //E:// Your grandfather said he could see ye, and on your touch, the world became bright and then dark forever for him and Septimus. Their eyes became black gemstones. The world unfroze and the empire fell. //`[`Billy shakes his head`]`// //B:// But how? //[[Persequor->All Empires Fall]]//

###Act III: Scene III: A Gathering of Druids //Days have passed. In a small hut, Eithne lies of a straw-filled pallet. Grimm kneels beside her// //Eithne:// Today is my last day here, so I will give this to thee to see to thy future. //`[`Eithne takes the beautiful ''Albidosi'' chain from around her neck and hands it to Grimm`]`// //Grimm:// It is of great beauty grandmother. //E:// Eoganan, be a kind as well as a strong man. See the forest as a friend not a place of darkness. Be not afraid of that which ye don’t know, but curious, and above all, listen before ye act. I am most grateful to the gods to have seen ye before I breathed my last. //`[`She pulls a small bag out from under her pillow`]`// //E:// And give this to thy, friend, Eoganan. for him to help care for my grandson. //`[`She hands him the small bag of coins`]`// //E:// My time grows short, and the Thousand Suns must turn. Your place is with your friend now. Mine is to slip into the folds of history. //G:// I am happy to have met you grandmother. //E:// I rest now. //[[Persequor->Outside The Hut]]//

(if: (history:) contains "The Dry Land")[ //Grimm looks out of the temple entrance// //Grimm:// Billy, This was where we saw the dragons! //Billy:// Quick! Another turn then. //[[Persequor->The Thousand Suns]]//](else:)[ ###Act IV: Scene I: The Dry Land //The two scramble out of the fallen temple. The forest is there again, but short and sparse, surrounded by dry grassland. The air is dry and warm. There is now a roadway nearby and the two walk to it. It is mostly packed dirt with some fragments of blackened stone-and-tar// //Grimm:// Look at the long thin clouds Billy! //Billy:// //`[`looks up from his puzzlement of the road`]`// Mayhap ye turned the stone too far? Dragon-lines in the sky! Look at the front of some of those clouds! //G:// Tiny dragons! //B:// Mayhap just far up and not small. //G:// What be that there? //`[`He points to an area nearby, roped-off with some kind of placard next to it`]`// //[[Persequor->Once a Sword]]// ]

(if: $thetaletold is false)[ //Grimm and Billy look at each other in the gloom// //Grimm:// Billy, I feel that there is more to this. I am afeared, but our story is not told. //Billy:// Aye. I am in suspicion of this weirdness, but it must play to the end! Let us try wrest that gem again. //[[Persequor->The Thousand Suns]]//](else:)[ ###Act V: Scene I: One Last Turn //Without speaking, the two leave the temple and then drag some fallen branches across its sunken door. They stand and look at it a moment before turning to walk along the forest animal track// //Grimm:// Billy, we is now gentlemen of the Thousand Suns! //Billy:// //`[`Laughs`]`// Aye lad; gentlemen of the Thousand Suns indeed! Come, let us away to find friend //Derry// so I can hear of his adventures and he can teach ye the quarterstaff. //G:// We can tell him of //our// adventures. //B:// Most would think us mad with this tale Grimm, but I'll find a way to tell it that doesn't break too many of the strands of reason! //The two walk, still talking into the forest// $titlefont[(css: "font-size: 240%;")[//[[Finis]]//]] ]

###$titlefont[Finis] (css: "font-size: 120%;")[//Thus ends the tale $titlefont[''Thief of the Thousand Suns'']//] (css: "font-size: 60%;")[//$version A work of Interactive Fiction © MMXXII Dom Kaye//] //Dom Kaye:// I wrote this Shakespearean-esque (link-rerun: "Interactive Fiction")[(open-url: "https://iftechfoundation.org/frequently-asked-questions/")] story/play using (link-rerun: "IA Writer")[(open-url: "https://ia.net/writer")], (link-rerun: "Vim")[(open-url: "https://www.vim.org/")] and (link-rerun: "Twine")[(open-url: "https://twinery.org/")] in New York in February MMXXII |2>[$footnote[(link-rerun:"i")[(show:?1)]]]. I hope it was as fun for you to read as it was for me to write. Fare thee well, and //Keep exploring; keep searching for good stories!// |1)[$footnote[(link-rerun:"i")[(hide:?1)(show:?2)]] $footnotetext[2022]]

//Eithne is silent for a moment and then looks at Billy//{(set: $thetaletold to true)} //Eithne:// A curse or a blessing from the gods? Who can know, but there is always a price. Septimus’ men slew him for the gemstone eyes, even as they burned our village and we fled. Your grandfather never saw the light again, but the two of us lived nearby for many years, protecting the Thousand Suns and telling a version of this tale to all who appeared in the temple from a distant time. //Billy:// It is some tale to be sure. //E:// Why did ye come here Billy Bard? Or should I say your real name? //B:// How know you even my nom de guerre? //E:// The Banduri listen to voices from far ahead and far behind and some carry names. //G:// We came for the Thousand Suns, but that was afore we knew what it was. //E:// Take it now Billy Bard and the empire you come from will fall too and ye'll be too blind to see it. //B:// Old Bess will end? Not even an armada stood against her? //E:// All empires will fall. //G:// Billy, we cannot take it! //B:// Aye lad, we cannot. Our journey hast been in vain. //E:// Ye have learned your place in the wild turns of the world. This is a gift. I have not got long now, this winter of my life will not come to another spring. Ye should be heading back to the time ye will prosper in again. //G:// Nay; we will stay with you a while grandmother. //B:// Aye, we will stay. //[[Persequor->A Curse and a Blessing]]//

//The two men find their way back to the dark entrance of the temple and set a branch to burning to light their way inside// //Grimm:// My grandmother said to turn the Thousand Suns widdershins. //Billy:// Aye, let us enter. //[[Exeunt->The Thousand Suns]]//

// The three men sit surrounded by the jovial sounds of those who enjoy the company of others// //MT:// Onto brighter things, Billy. Hast thou seen the latest of thy namesake? //B:// The one about the men of Verona? Aye. //MT:// ‘twas not my favorite. //B:// I am still in thought ‘bout it myself. //`[`The food and drink are delivered, Mr. Twill falls upon it like a man starved`]`// //G:// I like the funny ones. //MT:// //`[`Mouth full`]`// And yet, Mr. Grimalkin, are you not named from the witches familiar in McBet… //B:// //`[`cuts him off`]`// Ye never say the name; ‘tis known as the Scottish play! //MT:// apologies. The Scottish play. //G:// I don’t like witches. Billy, is my not-real name that given by a witch? //B:// Nay, Grimm; thy //nom de guerre//, //''Grimalkin''//, is a common name for a faerie cat in the north, and not only for the mouths of witches. //G:// What’s a nomdigerr? //B:// That special name I gave thee to keep us secret and safe. //G:// I like cats. //MT:// Thou is as graceful as one Mr. Grimm - I have seen thee hunt. //G:// How far is it we go Billy? //B:// I’d say a three day walk. What say you Mr. Twill? //MT:// //`[`Takes a long draft from his mug`]`// Aye, three days sounds about right. But stay out of that forest at night //`[`shivers`]`// even I don’t poach there once dusk kisses the trees. And speaking of dusk, I’d best be off. //`[`Thumps his mug on the table and stands`]`// Be careful lads. //B:// We always are Mr. Twill. //G:// Good afternoon Mr. Twill. //MT:// Listen to him, so like a gentleman! //B:// That’s us Mr. Twill; //gentlemen of the road!// |2>[$footnote[(link-rerun:"i")[(show:?1)]]] //`[`All laugh`]`// //[[Exeunt->The Road There]]// {|1)[$footnote[(link-rerun:"i")[(hide:?1)(show:?2)]] $footnotetext[Also an excellent book from a later era by Michael Chabon]]}

//A figure, clad in green and brown emerges from the brush like a phantom. Another from the other side drops to the ground from a tree branch, and yet another steps out from behind a tree - this one, masked, with a bow holding arrow, but not drawn// //Markus:// Who have we here walking our shortcut toll path? //Billy:// This is no toll path, but a poacher’s haunt! //M:// It be a toll path if we say it be a toll path, ‘eh friends? //Timothy:// Aye! //`[`The masked archer nods`]`// //B:// Our swords say otherwise, ‘eh Grimm? //Grimm:// Aye Billy. //B:// It would seems that we are at a [[decisive moment]]!

//Fighting has ceased. The archer is pinned to the tree by Grimm's sword// //Grimm:// The archer is a woman! //Aileen:// Is the life of a man any less? For a few coin! //`[`Coughs blood into her mask`]`// As thou sword has me pinned to this tree and stolen my life like a hapless butterfly, be now that thy find a way to restorest a life as easily as thy hast taken it or be thy thrice damned; to never love, to loose all that thy care for and to die forsaken by all. //`[`She dies, eyes hard fixed on Grimm, who lets go of the sword in shock`]`// //Timothy:// A curse from the dying. //G:// //`[`lowers his head in sorrow`]`// I was never one to kill woman or child, I shall ne’er wield the blade again. //Markus:// She was the best archer, and a good friend. You two have become the robbers here. I greatly regret our meeting. //B:// Aye. This did not end as I would have wanted it to either. Come Grimm, let us move on and leave these to their sorrow. //`[`Timothy and Markus tug fruitlessly on the sword, trying to free Aileen`]`// //T:// Some help, barbarian? //`[`Grimm Looks back up. Nods, and tugs the sword out with one hand and drops it to the ground. Aileen falls into the arms of the two, who lay her down gently`]`// //B:// We go. //`[`He picks up Grimm’s sword`]`// //[[Exeunt->The Temple]]//

//Grimm exits the hut to stand beside Billy who is leaning against the wall. Several druids begin walking to the hut// //Grimm:// It is time to go Billy. //Billy:// She has gone, Grimm? //G:// Aye Billy. She gave me and ye a gift. //`[`Hands Billy the bag of coins`]`// //B:// //`[`Billy looks at the coins |2>[$footnote[(link-rerun:"i")[(show:?1)]]], his eyes light up`]`// Many thanks lad, but 'tis a sad day all the same. Let us away to the temple afore night falls. //`[`They gather their traveling things`]`// //B:// Ye have forgot your sword. //G:// (if: $aileendies)[I shall nae wield it again Billy. What that archer said is happened.](else:)[Whenever I weild it, people die. It is time for me to set it aside.] //B:// (if: $aileendies)[Don’t tire yourself with those words Grimm.](else:)[Ye choose a strange time to be pacific!] //G:// (if: $aileendies)[But I do.](else:)[It is time Billy.] //B:// How will ye defend yourself? We live in a rough world Grimm. //G:// I will pickup the quarterstaff; like your friend the Inch. He can show me those wondrous moves. //B:// Aye, this I can see. And it gives us a destination not filled with sorrow. Come lad! Let us back to the temple. //They leave the druids and the small crumbling village and make their way back to the temple// //[[Persequor->The Beginning of the End]]// |1)[$footnote[(link-rerun:"i")[(hide:?1)(show:?2)]] $footnotetext[Roman gold coins of Constantine III]]

//The two men walk up to the roped-off area. The placard has a rendering of an old sword that looks worn but familiar// //Grimm:// Why is there a picture of my sword on this board? //Billy:// (if: $thetaletold)[Perhaps the druids left it there and now it was found](else:)[I know not]. The writing is odd and I struggle to read it, though it seems to be in English of a sort. I know not what archaeology is. //G:// Billy! Look! Something comes along the road. It flies low! //B:// Fie! With eyes that blind! Come Grimm, we hide in these bushes! //`[`The two hide down behind bushes. There is a hum and roar of wind as something flies by about waist-level. They are covered in a cloud of dust and leaves. Within seconds, the thing is gone`]`// //B:// The age of dragons is upon us lad! //G:// Billy, I don’t like this place! //B:// I agree; this is not a time for us! //`[`jingles the Roman coins`]`// Let us return to a time and place we know. //The two climb back through the brush to the temple. // //B:// One last turn, this time deiseal? //G:// Aye Billy, one more. //They enter the temple.// //[[Exeunt->The Thousand Suns]]//

//The gem cluster that is ''The Thousand Suns'' (either: "glistens", "twinkles", "sparkles", "shines") between the two Pictish dragon carvings.// //Billy:// (either: "It is a grand gem for the likes of us", "What a magnificent jewel", "What a beautiful gem", "How it shines")! (either: "Help me up Grimm", "Give me a leg up there Grimm", "Hold me up Grimm"). //Grimm (either: "lifts Billy up", "helps Billy get closer", "clasps his hands together and Billy steps up").// //{Billy turns the gem cluster (cycling-link: 2bind $direction, "widdershins", "deiseal"), (cycling-link: 2bind $strength, "hard", "gently") and (link-reveal: "pulls")[ (if: $direction is "deiseal" and $strength is "hard")[(set: $year to $year - 1170)(goto:'Transition')](else:)[ (if: $direction is "deiseal" and $strength is "gently")[(set: $year to $year - 585)(goto:'Transition')](else:)[ (if: $direction is "widdershins" and $strength is "hard")[(set: $year to $year + 1170)(goto:'Transition')](else:)[ (if: $direction is "widdershins" and $strength is "gently")[(set: $year to $year + 585)(goto:'Transition')]]]] ].}//

{(if: $year <= 410)[(set: $year to 410)](else:)[(if: $year >= 2750)[(set: $year to 2750)]]} (either: "There is a deep howling wind", "There is a roaring wind", "There is a great rush of wind", "There is a cold blast of air and the sound of a howling wind"). (either: "It grows bright and dark", "Lights flicker all around", "The light becomes painfully bright and then dark", "A bright light bursts forth and then darkness"). (if: $year is 410)[The fallen stone on the far wall that was providing light jumps back up into the wall.](else-if: $year is 995)[A vine appears in the gloom across the carving.](else-if: $year is 1580)[Things look as they once did](else-if: $year is 2165)[Dirt and pieces of stone fill the corners of the temple.](else-if: $year is 2750)[The temple fills with dirt, throwing them off balance.] //(link-reveal: "Exeunt")[(if: $year is 410)[(goto:'The One Who Waits')] (else:)[ (if: $year is 995)[(goto:'The Monk')](else:)[ (if: $year is 1580)[(goto:'One Last Turn')] (else:)[ (if: $year is 2165)[(goto:'The Dry Land')] (else:)[ (if: $year is 2750)[(goto:'The Jungle')] (else:)[(goto:'The Thousand Suns')]]]]]]//

(if: (history:) contains "The Jungle")[ //Grimm looks out of the temple entrance// //Grimm:// Billy, It is a jungle outside again! //Billy:// Blast! Let us turn this gem again. //[[Persequor->The Thousand Suns]]//](else:)[ ###Act IV: Scene II: The Jungle //The two emerge with difficulty into crushing tropical undergrowth. It is dark, but mostly from the great green leaves and gigantic trees all around. Roots and vines criss-cross the foliage and the air is dense and hot with humidity. The sounds of hoots and calls of jungle animals throb through the air// //Billy:// By god it is hot here! //Grimm:// The forest has grown up Billy! //B:// Aye, grown up into a monster. I’ve aheard tales of forests like this - they call them jungles. //G:// How come it here like this? //B:// In a strange day of days, this seems the lesser strange, but I have no answer for thee. //`[`There is a slithering behind them and a cracking of branches. The two turn to see a monstrous snake sliding into view - it is easily longer that the two of them put end-to-end`]`// //G:// Fie! That is a snake! //B:// The kind a saint would slay Grimm. Let us away in the temple until it passes; I fear my sword would do no more than anger it. //The two quickly climb back into the temple, pulling back the branches to cover the entrance again// //[[Exeunt->The Thousand Suns]]// ]

(if: (history:) contains "The Monk")[ //Grimm looks out of the temple entrance// //Grimm:// Billy, we have been here afore, I see the bald man. //Billy:// Fie! Then let us try another turn. //[[Persequor->The Thousand Suns]]//](else:)[ ###Act III: Scene I: The Monk //The two emerge into a grey late morning. The air is chilly. The forest is quite robust, but mostly leafless. On a rock by a worm path sits a monk in a sacking-brown robe. He is mid-bite on an apple and sits back startled as they emerge from the undergrowth// //Pacificus:// How now friends. Ye have me startled here! I a simple monk on the way to Durham with no coin to my name. //Billy:// Sit well, good monk, we be not bandits, just two simple travelers who got turned around from the path. //P:// Good it be. I be Pacificus last of Embria. Would ye like an apple? //`[`Opens a sack by his feet, filled with apples`]`// //B:// Aye, I would. I am Billy, and this is Grimm. //`[`Grimm nods to the monk`]`// //`[`Pacificus looks cautiously at Grimm as they each take an apple`]`// //B:// This place looks different to what I remember. Who holds this land now? //P:// Here we be subjects of Waltheof, who is Ealdorman |2>[$footnote[(link-rerun:"i")[(show:?1)]]] of Bamburgh. Though for how much longer it remains to be seen as his son Uhtred the Bold is taking land as we sit here. Ye donst work for the Bold do ye? //Grimm:// I’ve not aheard of him. //P:// On God’s grace shall ye remain in that ignorance. His boldness reaches into the coffers of the church. //`[`The three crunch without talking for a time`]`// //G:// Someone comes. //`[`Pacificus squints looking down the path`]`// //P:// Mercy to come another day. ‘Tis soldiers of the Bold. I must depart good friends. //B:// Aye, we have no tuck with soldiers neither. Come Grimm, let us back to the Suns. //The monk scampers into the undergrowth and the two men climb back into the temple// //[[Exeunt->The Thousand Suns]]// |1)[$footnote[(link-rerun:"i")[(hide:?1)(show:?2)]] $footnotetext[A term in Anglo-Saxon England which originally applied to a man of high status, including some of royal birth, whose authority was independent of the king]] ]