Chapter 31: Bonecharms
Emily woke up feeling nauseous. This, unfortunately, was not a new feeling. She spent the entire day after the soiree sick, and while the following morning was no better, she was optimistic after managing to keep down a meal toast and multiple apples. Emily groaned into her pillow. It had been two days- whatever was wrong must have sorted itself out, right?
She felt her shoulder being lightly prodded, and she turned her head to peer at her prodder.
"Are you still feeling poorly?" the Outsider asked, concerned.
They had all but given up sleeping in separate rooms after they started having sex, something that Emily personally appreciated. Sleeping beside the Outsider seemed to come with the lovely side effect of never having dreams of any sort. Well, he was beside her at the start of the night. No matter where he first lay down in her bed, he always ending up on the floor with half of the blankets and three quarters off the pillows. Right now he was sitting up from his nest on the floor, leaning against the mattress, dark hair still mussed from sleep.
In response to his question Emily groaned, keeping her mouth shut. He frowned, his head tilting.
"Perhaps you should see a doctor," he suggested. "Consistent nausea does not just go away."
"Maybe it will go away tomorrow," Emily grumbled, pressing part of the pillow into her nose.
"It has been three days," the Outsider leaned forward, bringing his face closer to hers. She immediately reached out, placing her fingertips over his mouth, pausing him.
"Your breath stinks," her voice was muffled by the pillow as she focused on the clean scent of the linen rather than her lover's terrible morning breath.
"Oh, sorry," he recoiled, blushing. His dark eyes regarded her from the safe distance, and he self-consciously covered his mouth with his right hand as he spoke again.
"In the meantime, I made you this," the Outsider flicked his left wrist, twisting his fingers as tendrils of the Void wrapped around his pale fingers, coalescing to reveal a flat scrap of bone, metal, and string. "It took a while to get some of the ingredients; otherwise I would have given it to you yesterday."
Curious and rather touched, Emily held out her hand as he dropped the odd little bonecharm into her open palm.
Immediately when the bone touched her skin the nausea fled, prompting her eyes to widen and gape at him in shock.
"So I take it that it worked?" he lowered his hands, a hopeful look in his eyes.
Emily sat up, the bonecharm clenched in her fist. "It more than worked! I am cured!"
"No, you are not cured," the Outsider corrected, his concern reappearing. "All the charm does is banish your nausea as long as it touches your skin. It does not prevent vomiting, or treat the underlying problem. If there is a problem, I do not want to ignore it."
Emily leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. "I won't ignore it," she promised. "Thank you very much for this."
He smiled, briefly but warmly. "It is the least I can do. I only hope that it is not something serious."
She waved him off with a smile. "I am sure that it is nothing."
The Outsider tucked himself beside the throne, a bit of fang deer antler in one hand and a carving knife in another. Corvo acknowledged his arrival with a glance; Emily was focused on the petitions of the elderly Morlean farmer before her. The old man was protesting his son's eviction, and seeking Emily's aid in overturning the "wrongful ousting of an innocent family".
Eulalia fluttered down to the armrest to perch beside his head, invisible to all but Corvo and Emily, and perhaps Eulalia too. He started working on the pale antler, carving old designs into the bone as he listened to Emily respond to the petitioners, one after the other.
The cases of many were simple. Emily granted a reprieve for the Morlean famer and his son, chastised siblings squabbling over inheritance, and presented an elderly widow with a pension long overdue. The Outsider let the words and problems of the people flow through one ear and out the other. There was no point in attempting to get invested in their issues, as far as he could see none would really matter in the grand scale of things. Perhaps they might- after all, life has a funny way of working out. But for now it was best to leave their petty matters to Emily, and focus on the gift he was making.
Not a moment later was he startled out of his creative trance by the next petitioner throwing themselves to the ground with an audible thud, prompting everyone present to flitch. Eulalia squawked angrily and briefly shimmered scarlet, making her upset known.
"Please, oh wise Empress!" entreated the petitioner loudly and tearfully. "I beg you to have mercy upon my mother and save her from death!"
The dramatics of it all finally prompted the Outsider to turn his head, and he felt his heart drop into the void as he beheld the girl prostrate on the floor. She wore the black and brown robes of an ancient cult, the same one responsible for the Great Burnings just over a thousand years ago. Yes, the cult had been tamed by the conveniences of society, and thoroughly crushed by the Abbey of the Everyman. But that did not banish the feelings of dread and foreboding that arose when he saw that uniform.
"Who is your mother, and what can I do for her?" Emily asked, leaning forward with kindness in her even voice.
The girl sat up, wiping tears from her face. "She is Jane Willoughby of Redmoor, but she now dwells just outside Bastillian with me. She has been arrested by Vice Overseer Byrne on the charges of witchcraft, but she has done nothing wrong! All she and I do is make medicines and tend to our animals."
The Outsider peered at the veiled girl, sensing she told the truth as she knew it. He could see flickers of her feeding gazelles and treating injured farm animals. But something creeped at the edge of her mind, of the void within herself. It seared and burned as he tried to approach it, much like the strange barrier between himself and the Void proper. Thoroughly warned he retreated, a new wariness installed atop his previous misgivings.
"I am afraid that I do not have the power to overturn convictions regarding witchcraft," Emily replied, a sympathetic look on her face. "I can get you an appointment with the High Overseer and you can bring your case before him."
This just provoked a fresh wave of tears from the girl. "The Abbey does not know the difference between old remedies and harmful magic! And they will never see what happened as an accident! We warned the farmer that the stream had turned sour, but still he let his cattle drink from it. It was not our fault his herd died!"
"High Overseer Chopin is a fair man," Emily soothed. "I am sure you can prove that it was an honest mistake and your mother has been falsely accused out of spite. She will be alright."
The girl nodded, trying mightily to hold back her tears. Her eyes flickered around the room, and they suddenly landed on the Outsider, widening in shock. He found himself scowling. How could she see him?
"Empress, an evil thing sits by your right hand," she warned, her voice shaking.
Emily, utterly confused, looked at Eulalia. "What, my pet bird?"
Corvo leaned over to look at Eulalia, his placid expression threatening a smile. The girl laughed a choked laugh, a fearful look on her face.
"No, your bird is fine," she replied weakly. "I suppose you cannot see him, the Outsider. He sits at your right hand, crafting some curse."
Emily went very still, looking at the girl. "Well, let me assume your eyes are not playing some trick upon you. What do you suppose I do with him? I can ask him to leave but what if he refuses?" The girl trembled and Emily softened her voice, projecting as much kindness as she could. "I thank you for warning me, but unfortunately I can do nothing. If he wants to bend me, the most I can do is try to resist his words and magics. And that resistance being successful is not guaranteed."
The Outsider turned his gaze away from the girl with a scoff. Crafting some curse indeed! She was certainly telling the truth of being no witch, for even novices in magic could tell you that fang deer antlers were poor curse vehicles. Her ability to see him was most curious though, perhaps the Void might have answers for him. In any case he wanted the strange girl gone.
She got to her feet with a nod. "Thank you for your help Empress."
"Visit Maurice Seller on the first floor, he will put you in touch with the High Overseer," Emily dismissed gently. "I wish you and your mother the best."
The girl bowed with a grateful smile and left. Much to the Outsider's relief, the rest of the petitions were normal. Yet he could not shake his unease. Something was very off about that girl. Perhaps he should go to a shrine and try to solve this mystery, rather than waste time whittling a charm.
Greta sighed into her tea, pleased to finally be seeing Emily after a long week. It was nice to be able to vent to another willing ear, as well as hear about how Emily's last week went.
"You must have been very busy last week," Emily opened the conversation, raising her eyebrows as she took a sip from her cup. Eulalia fluttered over to her hand and as soon as the cup was free thrust her head into the tea. Almost immediately she popped up again, feathers bright red as she chirped angrily. Greta smiled at the bird briefly before taking in a breath.
"Ugh, I have no idea what happened, but that week Overseers from all over the Empire DESCENDED upon my freaking archive," she groaned. "So we have the largest collection of books pre-dating 1400, and EVERY SINGLE brother of mine was demanding to read them. The last one left after services yesterday, finally freeing me up."
Emily hummed, frowning. "You could not leave them with the books?"
"Nope, just in case something popped out of the books and infected them or something," said Greta, taking a long drag from her tea. "Pretty much my whole support group had to be keeping an eye on them as well after what happened to me on the 9th. It's been a trial for all of us."
"Wait what happen to you?" Emily put down her tea and leaned forward, worried. "Are you alright?"
"I think so?" she fiddled with the teacup. "I was hoping that I could talk about this with the Outsider too, because he might have insight on the matter."
Emily sat back, no less concerned. "It must be really serious."
Greta waved it off. "It is not anything that can't wait. Now, tell me how your week went. I saw in the social section of the paper that you took the Outsider to the national philosophers' soiree that Lady Boyle hosted."
"That was written about?" Emily picked up her tea, an incredulous look on her face.
"People are interested in your beau," Greta replied with a shrug. "Hope and Marzia have taken up following any news stories that mention him, mostly to see if he's behaving and doing you proud."
Emily rolled her eyes at that. "I have full confidence that the Outsider will not embarrass or shame me. He did very well at the soirée, and I believe Solokov has taken a shine to him." Eulalia gave an annoyed beep from her perch on Emily's lap. She laughed, and rewarded the bird with a few scritches. "And they loved you too, little one."
Greta flashed a brief smile before it ran off her face. "I'm sure he did well, it is just good to remember that some people might not think the same," she gently pushed. "The opinion of him within the article was good, but rather judgmental of his low birth and refusal to talk about magic. Eileen told me that a recent opinion section in an industrial journal heavily cited him when arguing about finding alternative energies. Apparently that stoked a lot of debate because of his lack of credentials, not to mention that one person said the writer ripped his argument wholesale 'from the mouth of Mr. Pharmakós'."
Emily simply nodded, a rather stern expression fighting with a proud one upon her face. "I wonder when high society will understand that the Outsider has no desire to properly join it. It is just not his nature. I doubt that he will ever be comfortable at soirées or balls, but I know he would try for me. But I do not want to force him to come if he cannot be at ease."
"As long as you do not pressure him to attend every little event you should be fine," Greta said with a shrug. "Definitely insist on him attending major soirées and balls if you intend on making him your consort. Having him appear at those will go a long way in gaining some respect from the aristocrats. Though not giving a damn is, in my opinion, a perfectly viable and preferable way to operate."
Emily snorted into her tea, clearly amused. "We will just take it as it comes then."
Greta smiled, draining her cup. She looked around for scones, but all she could see was very plain biscuits, and Eulalia happily helping herself to them.
"Say, where are the scones?"
"Oh gosh, how selfish of me!" Emily smacked her forehead. "I have been feeling ill since the day before yesterday. The Outsider made me this charm to help with the nausea, but eating some food still makes me rather ill. Unfortunately, scones are one of those foods." She held out the charm for Greta to see.
Greta leaned forward to examine the small square scrap of bone, making a noise of interest. "That was very sweet of him. What he made is an anti-seasickness charm, but a really old one. We have one in our collections, and it dates back to 1631. The newer ones look like rather standard bonecharms. Maybe this version is more effective."
"In any case, it has made the day leagues more bearable," Emily leaned back with a sigh. "I am not sure what exactly is wrong, but I have promised to see the doctor if it does not clear up by tomorrow."
"Good," Greta said sternly. "I would not like to see you ignoring something serious."
"Speaking of ignoring something serious, should I summon the Outsider now?" she proposed, giving Greta a sharp look.
Greta waved her hand, prompting Emily to sing the short ancient song. A moment later the Outsider appeared, bedecked in a colorful scarf, the hide of some sort of marbled cat, and- atop his head and ears- delicate chains of gold and tiny gems. His hands and feet (bare of shoes) were dyed red, and he wore an expression of relief on his face. Emily raised her eyebrows and looked him up and down.
"Where have you been?"
The Outsider let out a long, exasperated sigh, immediately shedding the cat hide. "There was a petitioner that struck a chord in me earlier today, and not a good one. So I wanted to see what I could find out about her and her mother Jane Willoughby, and the easiest way to do that is to go to a shrine and work with the Void to see their past and their characters. Instead of cooperating, the bloody Void sent me to spend the last three hours watching the world's most boring marriage take place."
"The Void sent you, to watch a wedding?" Greta asked, both incredulous and confused.
"It does that sometimes, pushes me to observe certain things that I have not personally seen as worth my attention. It is through me that it is able to get all sorts of information and formally communicate." He took a seat on the floor, cross-legged, and started to remove the jewelry from his head.
"So the Void wanted you to crash a random wedding?" Emily leaned on her elbow, propping her chin up with her hand. "How did the guests react? From your clothes it looks rather positive."
"They were kind people," the Outsider said as he untangled a few chains. "Fortunately for me it was considered good luck for me to show up, all they needed to do was "make me decent"."
Emily smiled at him appreciatively. "It does not look half bad," she said with a flirtatious tone, prompting him to blush.
Greta rolled her eyes at the two of them. "Anyway, did the people there recognize you as a deity, or just some random person?"
The Outsider turned redder at the Sister's question, causing her to wonder what was so embarrassing.
"They seem to think I am some sort of fertility deity," he muttered.
Both Greta and Emily barked a laugh, Greta laughing way harder at the reply than her friend.
"You, a fertility deity?" Greta declared, giggling. "That's like calling me Esma Boyle!"
"Exactly!" agreed the Outsider, holding out his hands to emphasize his bewilderment. "What about me and my interactions with this world have left people with the impression that I could be a fertility deity?"
Emily, shaking with suppressed laughter, opened her mouth and was immediately silenced by Greta leaping out of her chair and covering her friend's mouth. Greta was not keen to hear about their sex life.
"I would rather us get to the reason we called you here," she rushed to say, offering a too-large grin at the Outsider who regarded her with curiosity. Emily took Greta's hand off her face, and Greta returned to her seat, giving Emily an apologetic look. She waved it off and turned to the Outsider.
"Greta told me that something happened to her early last week, but wanted to wait for you to be here before telling me what exactly happened," Emily said, concerned.
The Outsider nodded mutely and Greta found the two of them staring at her, waiting for her to explain. She cleared her throat.
"So High Overseer Chopin came to the Chapel on the 9th to look at our resources on bonecharms and runes, and was interested in seeing our collection of bonecharms. So I brought him into Storage, and he was seated at the table when I walked over to the cabinet were we keep the bonecharms. I was reaching for the inventory binder when… how do I describe it? I heard this ghostly, ghastly demand of a whisper."
His brow furrowed as the Outsider frowned, confusion on his face. "What whispered?"
Greta threw up her hands with an exaggerated shrug. "Beats me. My bet though is on the bonecharms. Anyway, next think I know I come to in Sister Mary's arms, bonecharms scattered around me, cold and silent. Chopin said I passed out after touching a corrupted bonecharm, but I honestly don't believe that answer."
Emily cleared her throat, just as confused as the Outsider. "What did the bonecharms whisper? Knowing what they said could help us figure out what is really wrong."
"I…" Greta shoved her fingers into her curly hair as she wracked her brain. "I cannot remember; It as if my whole memory was poorly wiped, leaving traces and hints but no real answers."
"No real answers indeed," the Outsider murmured. "Nothing but depowered bonecharms."
"Depowered?" Greta and Emily said in unison, causing the Outsider to blink in surprise.
"Without exception all working bonecharms emit some sort of heat and hum a song," he answered, fiddling with a ring on his thumb. "The only time they do not is when they are robbed of their power. That can be done through curses, certain rituals, poor construction of the charm, or through that awful music box you brothers wield."
"Can you just suck the magic from them though?" Greta asked, and her jaw dropped when he shook his head. "No?! Really, can you not remove magic from enchanted things?"
The Outsider stretched his arms above his head, joints cracking, and a thoughtful look on his face. "I can remove magic from things where I imbued or bestowed the magic in the first place. I have Unmarked people in the past, and Delilah co-opted that ability from me when she stole Corvo's Mark. But no, I cannot ignore rituals and simply suck the power out of a bonecharm."
Greta flopped back into her chair with a huff. "So you have no idea what could have done this?"
"No, not one bit," the Outsider replied, clearly annoyed. "It was not me; I doubt it was some loose spell because all spells must have some intent behind them. It could be a random witch, it could be a bloody star, all I know is that I don't know."
The room was silent after his small rant. Emily turned to Greta with a small shrug.
"Do you think it is tied to the memory lapse you had when we made the rune?"
Greta let out a long sigh, finally pouring herself more tea. "I do not know. I can only hope it is nothing serious and just push it out of my head for now. I do not need to know the answer to everything."
The Outsider flicked his hands, summoning a couple biscuits off the plate and a notebook and pen from a nearby desk. "I'll see if my followers know anything. Might as well make them useful for once. I need to go back to the wedding anyway, they took my shoes."
He proceeded to shove the biscuits into his mouth and disappeared, notebook in hand. Emily regarded the now vacant space fondly, much to Greta's amusement.
"That was kind of him to investigate," Emily murmured. "I hope he gets his shoes back, those are his only pair."
That remark caused Greta to turn to her friend in surprise. "Did you not just get him a full wardrobe?"
"Oh I did," she replied with raised eyebrows. "But he is very particular about shoes. I was hoping to get copies of his pair made, but if they are lost that is going to take a while."
Greta hummed in understanding, taking a sip of tea. "Perhaps he is so particular is because he went without shoes for so long?"
Emily gave her a funny look before understanding replaced it. "You are referring to the song are you not?"
"Indeed I am," Greta replied with a nod. "How much of it do you think is true?"
Emily sat quietly, a somewhat sad look on her eyes. "Probably all of it. I do not ask him about his past."
"But he knows all about you past," argued Greta gently.
Emily shrugged. "For people hurt as badly the Outsider, it is best to let them share willingly rather than pry it from them. When I listen long enough, it comes out."
The two sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, Emily munching on a biscuit, Greta nursing her tea. Eventually Emily broke the quiet again.
"I was recently told that Blanche White lost half her wardrobe in a game of Nancy."
"Really? To whom?"
"Speaker Flaherty."
"I am honestly not surprised."