Happy Halloween, everyone!

Chapter 13:

In Which a Quest is Undertaken

It took less time than expected to recover the volume that Dr. Rach had asked for, and soon enough Jack and Mo Li were making their way back to the study. It was just after they had crossed the landing, on their way up the opposite wing of stairs, that they encountered Hagen and Raphael.

"What's the rush, gentlefolk?" asked the elder of the two lads, though his voice was decidedly more somber than its wont. "You don't seem near as down as one might expect."

Mo Li offered a smile that was as much gentle pity as reassurance and said that she thought Hagen needn't be so very gloomy after all.

"But Miss Liú," Raphael pointed out gravely, "Lord Prime is missing, and mightn't return at all! Why should we be light of heart?"

"I never said to be light of heart, you know," answered the young woman, "Only that it serves us no purpose to mourn at present. Lord Prime is alive, or we'd have heard something of it from Lord Kaon. I'm certain he can't abide keeping a secret if it would harm our House."

"That is true," remarked Hagen in a musing tone, "He is a braggadocious blighter if I'm not mistaken. Still, can't say as I like the thought of Lord Prime being his prisoner."

"Nor can I," answered Jack, "But unless I am very much mistaken, Dr. Rach seems to have some inkling of a response to this horrific turn of events already in mind."

He made no mention of Lord Prime's ring, nor Miss d'Iacon's unsettling declaration of what his duties might be should the head of House Prime fail to return to them. He feared the alienation of his peers, for he had all too few friends or close companions outside of the House. Instead, he suggested that they follow him back to the study to deliver the book to the doctor. Raphael excused himself from the party with a shake of his head.

"Sorry Jack," said he, "But just now, I'd like to be with my brother if you don't mind. Brendan's in an awful state, you know. I think I'd best get him back to our parents."

"Of course, Raph," Mo Li said gently, "And give my love to your sisters, won't you?"

"I shall," the boy answered, and the first hints of cheer began to color his cheeks again. "And shall I also pass similar greetings on to our Mr. O'Garvie?"

The girl affected an affronted air and turned up her nose. "Why, Mr. O'Rourke, I'm sure I haven't the slightest idea what you mean!" But the slight flush tingeing her own cheeks suggested otherwise. The other lads had also noticed that Miss Liú was indeed quite fond of Brogan, though the young stablemaster seemed not to be aware of it at present, but they had not intended to say anything aloud. Then again, Raphael was only a little lad after all and might have been excused an instance or two of poor manners.

With an impish smile, the first merriment the lad had displayed, Raphael took his leave of the elder three, and slipped back down the staircase to disappear into the maze of hallways.

The remaining three made their way back into the study, where Doctor Rach, Miss d'Iacon, and Mrs. Darby looked no less solemn, though perhaps a hint of hope had begun to show in their eyes. If they were surprised by the presence of Mo Li and Hagen, it did not show on their faces. Jack held out the volume taken from Lord Prime's library and his mother took it quickly.

"Why, this is a book of Arthurian legends," she exclaimed, "My dear doctor, you have already relayed to us the origins of the thing, what more will this tell us?"

By way of answer, Rach turned instead to Arcee. "Miss d'Iacon," said he, "You are perhaps better acquainted with the library than anyone save perhaps Lord Prime himself. Concerning lore surrounding Martin Mere, what chapter would I find that in?"

Something seemed to come over the woman, and she stole a furtive glance at the ring upon the desk, then back at the doctor. For an instant, she was without words. Then she hastened to the task, turning through the pages until she had come to an old ink etching that marked the beginning of a chapter on Lancelot du Lac.

"More of your English fairytales?" Mo Li sighed and, in a fit of frustrated nerves, took to twisting a length of her hair round her finger. "Full of doleful tin soldiers rampaging across countrysides in the name of an idle noblewoman who barely knows they exist, like as not. And sure to show the wrong kinds of dragons again."

"Dragons aren't to be toyed with, y'know," Hagen answered knowingly, "A bad business."

"Indeed!" Mo Li tossed her head, "What sort of boor would be so rude as to attack a dragon? Don't they know that dragons bring luck?"

"Do they now?" the younger member of House Prime looked intrigued. "They don't try to eat you straight off? Can't say as you've ever mentioned what fairytales are like back home for you. I think I like your dragons better than ours."

"If we might return to the subject at hand," Doctor Rach said rather severely. Both lad and lass had the grace to look sheepish and shut their mouths.

Then, with the air of a schoolmaster about him, the doctor began to pace the study with the book balanced on one hand, the other gesticulating wildly as he read. "Merton Mere is one of the proposed locations of the fabled lake from which King Arthur supposedly retrieved Excalibur. The Lady of the Lake - that same lake - once gave to Sir Lancelot a ring called Dispel, which could break any enchantment. Lancelot used the ring at Gorre, at a place called the Sword Bridge."

"On his way to rescue Guinevere from Maleagant, yes, I recall," Miss d'Iacon interrupted, and noted that Lord Prime had showed her old volumes in which past Lords of the House had debated whether Maleagant was some ancestor of the Lords of Kaon. A bit far-fetched, she thought, but no more so than vampires.

"But in that particular tale, it was not the wearing of the ring that broke the enchantment, but taking it off and peering through it like a telescope, Doctor."

At this, Doctor Rach looked a little peaked and asked whether there were to be any more interruptions before he had finished what he had intended to say. A little abashed, all fell to an encouraging silence to allow him to continue. "What I tell you, naturally, I trust you will all keep in perfect confidence - yes, Hagen, you rascal, and you, Miss Liú, I mean this as emphatically for you as for any other here - and breathe not a word of to another soul. Not even to other members of our own House!"

Mo Li thought that this sounded just a bit unreasonable, and so asked what purpose limiting the knowledge might serve.

"Because, my dear," June answered in Dr. Rach's stead, "Should one of the others be questioned by forces of a more hostile intent, they can rest assured that they are speaking the truth when they claim they've no knowledge of the matter. Not even torture can make a man remember a thing he never knew in the first place."

One might have expected that a young girl would find such a statement frightening, and at the very least she might pale a few shades at the hearing of it. But Miss Liú had braved much and had seen a great deal more of the world than most young women of her age and social status. An expression of understanding crossed her face, and Mrs. Darby knew at once that her mind was on those harried, frightful days before she had the protection of the House, when she lived in hiding from her parents and the House of Kaon.

"It is logical," Mo Li said. "Please, continue."

The doctor explained that, as he had previously related to Mrs. Darby and Miss d'Iacon, the Lords of Prime had long carried the very ring that Nyneve had gifted to Lancelot, and that the artifact was now in the hands of the House, separate from its master. That because of this, Lord Megatron had discovered an opportunity to place upon the head of their House some spell or hypnotism to make him believe he was another man entirely. Of the three younger members present, Jack alone was aware that Lord Prime had not taken his family ring into battle, and so he alone came to the conclusion that the item his benefactor had given him for safekeeping was of more importance than he had realized, social implications aside.

The lad's shoulders fell as though he bore a great weight upon them. "Then it is my fault that Lord Optimus has not returned to us!" he cried.

At first, the man made no answer, for what answer could there be that was not in the affirmative? It staggered the mind to think that Optimus might have done something so foolhardy when his had always been a temperament of caution and consideration where interactions with the enemy were concerned. Nevertheless, Dr. Rach soon decided that the man was of altogether too reasonable a disposition to have passed the Ring of Dispel to another without first having fully examined every possible outcome of the impending battle. Whatever he had done, he must have done it believing that it was in the best interests of the House.

"Lad, Lord Prime may not have made clear to us the extent of his intentions, but he would not have acted without a good and sensible reason. It is not for us to question him."

Had he strained his ears, the doctor would have caught the low tone in which the lad dryly questioned whether, should the worst come to pass and he take up the title that accompanied the ring, he would then be allowed to question his predecessor's decision-making skills. Despite the gravity of the occasion, Miss d'Iacon was hard pressed to muffle a little twitter of laughter at the childish remark.

Dr. Rach ignored this and, with a gesture towards the desk, bade Jack pick up the ring and place it on his finger. "We've a fair amount of traveling ahead for us, and you, young sir, must guard that ring with your life."

"To find Lord Prime?" Hagen asked.

No, said Miss d'Iacon, to find Martin Mere, rather. When worn, she postulated, the Ring of Dispel prevented the wearer from being ensorcelled, but no writing in the volume nor suggestion from Doctor Rach gave any indication of the same being effective in the case of one who was already under a spell.

"Then we go to the Mere because it is where this Lancelot was meant to have found the ring?" Mo Li leaned over the desk with a hint more enthusiasm than she had previously displayed.

Pleased that her flatmate so quickly caught the threads of the idea, Arcee confirmed that this was, indeed, the plan and that as soon as they had ascertained the next movements of the House of Kaon, they would leave for the Mere.

"Hold hard just a moment there, Miss Arcee," interrupted Hagen. He began to pace in fitful bursts of movement and ran his hand over his face with increasing fervor, as if he might scrub the freckles from his skin. "I know I ain't the Eton type, but the talk wasn't so afternoonified that I didn't follow. Just what good is legging it to Martin Mere going to do for poor old Lord Optimus, I'd like to know?"

A touch peevishly, Arcee replied that, of the several proposed locations for the Lake in the legend, Martin Mere was the only one that was mentioned more than once in House annals. "If it is the very lake from which Lancelot received the Ring, it might not be wholly unreasonable to seek some clue regarding the original giver at that very lake."

"Do you believe that the Lady of the Lake, provided she exists at all, might show us how to use the Ring of Dispel to break an enchantment over someone not wearing it?" Mrs. Darby's eyes at last lit with recognition. "These strike me as long odds, my dear. Who is to guard the House if you leave and Jack goes with you?"

It was decided between Miss d'Iacon and Doctor Rach that the Bull Horn Band would keep a continuous watch over the House of Prime and its allies. Inspector Fowler would be asked to look into matters concerning the House of Kaon, as the House of Prime would need to maintain discretion for a time. For any other concern, Brendan and Raphael were nominated to suss out any leads.

"You've only to ask it of us," Brendan stolidly announced once he and his youngest brother had been summoned. "And rest assured that we'll have Peter listen for chatter at Eton in the meantime."

"If Lord Prime is yet in good or reasonably good health, we'll discover what's become of him," Raphael added in staunch determination, "Leave it to us."

A coach was summoned in all haste - for they knew better than to take one of the coaches belonging to the House, lest they be recognized - and with supplies enough for a two-day journey a party of Mo Li, Miss d'Iacon, Jack, and Hagen set out for Martin Mere. The sun rose deceptively bright, and the air seemed somehow clearer than it had in previous weeks - quite a feat for London in the early morning, when the gaslights still struggled to push their hazy halos beyond the dark fog.

Much of the journey was spent in silence, with Miss Liú reading fitfully from a book of poetry, and Hagen displaying a hitherto unknown talent for sketching. With hands as quick as his eyes, he captured rough outlines of trees and houses, streets and alleys as the carriage rattled on. Miss d'Iacon would only occasionally break her silence, and that usually to quiz Jack on some or other matter of House politics and the proper ways to interact with the highest of high societies. It was all quite discomfiting for the lad, who now prayed more fervently than ever that they would recover Lord Prime alive and whole. Considering how flustered he felt himself becoming at the very thought of shouldering the House's responsibilities, he was now more certain than ever before that Lord Prime must have made a mistake or else was not thinking clearly when he entrusted the ring to him.

They stopped just shy of Nottingham, long after nightfall, and found themselves staying the night in a rather crowded inn. A cheerful fire in the grate welcomed them into the room, though some suspicious looks were cast at Miss Liú. Nevertheless, rooms were paid for and a simple meal was laid out on a table near the fire for them.

"I think," said Miss d'Iacon dryly, "That if we had pushed the horses a few more hours we might have made it to Sherwood Forest before dawn. A slightly more hospitable prospect, don't you think?"

"At the very least," Hagen agreed, "It might be worth seeing if any old traps of the Merry Men were still there."

From here, Mo Li and Hagen fell into a lively discussion regarding the probability of Robin Hood and his Merry men having existed as historical figures. Mo Li believed it tasted of local folklore and tall tales to be wholly true, and Hagen argued that they hadn't any room to say anything of the sort when they'd been hunting down items and figures from the Codex for the last two years. Mo Li was obliged to agree after that.

As they spoke, Jack remained pensive, gazing around them. He did not know whether the others blamed him for Lord Prime's capture, but he certainly blamed himself. The ring in his breast pocket seemed almost to grow heavier, and when he drew it out, it lay against his skin as hot as shame.

"Chin up, old boy." Hagen had broken off his debate with Miss Liú and now leaned across the little table with his hands wrapped around a mug of something that looked suspiciously like ale. Jack suspected that Mrs. Shackleton would've boxed the lad's ears for it if she'd known, but it wasn't as though he were still thirteen. The bartender was allowed to sell to Hagen whether or not he or anyone else approved.

Then again, with the quality of the tea in the small establishment, Jack had his doubts concerning the safety of the drinking water.

Hagen let go of his mug with one hand and thumped Jack heartily on the shoulder. "He made his own choices, you know. It's no good pulling a frog's face and looking as though you'd like to turn yourself over to the constabulary, like." With a sprightly grin, he remarked that it wasn't as if Jack could have politely refused the ring and walked away.

"I suppose you're right," Jack agreed with some reluctance.

The younger boy affected an air of haughtiness. "Of course I am! Now," and he lowered his voice, casting conspiratorial glances towards the bar, "I reckon that you three had best pay up and get to bed before you catch eyes. I see a face I recognize at the bar, and I'm not keen on him raising the view halloa when he catches sight of ye."

Miss d'Iacon made the briefest of turns to see who Hagen might have meant and turned back. "I recognize him too," she whispered, "That's that Drake fellow, the one that hangs around Ottenwilder. The one who fought with Brendan the day you and Raphael decided to torment that Kaon man's hawk."

She ignored Hagen's less than polite remark about the Kaon man and agreed that they ought to slip out of sight. There was no telling if Drake was there to seek them or not, and it was no good taking chances.

"I should think someone ought to find out what he's up to," Mo Li remarked, and wrapped a scarf a little more securely around her face.

"Never you mind about that, Miss Liú," Hagen made a cheerfully mocking bow and a shooing motion. "I'm one face as he never did learn. I'll see if I can't catch some ossified prattle from the fella, won't I?"

And with that, he disappeared into the press of bodies, making his way towards the bar. Arcee didn't quite like the idea of him facing the large man alone, but Hagen Shackleton was no fool. If he looked to be outmatched, he'd scamper to safety before Drake had time to think.