After many hours, of which Agnes only felt the passing of maybe one, Frederick approached her and invited her to join him for lunch. Although she didn't feel particularly hungry, it was not often she had the opportunity to eat like a lord, so she happily agreed. The lunch was spread out under a grand pavilion she had not noticed before near the main tent with fabric walls billowing softly in the gentle midday breeze. "Perhaps they only set it up for occasions like this?" She thought for a moment. The table, a long, sturdy oak piece, was laden with an assortment of dishes that seemed out of place amidst the dirt and toil of the rest of the camp. Fine porcelain plates bore roasted meats glazed in honey and herbs, their golden-brown skins glistening under the sun. Silver platters overflowed with assortments of cheeses, their aromas ranging from sharp to mellow, mingling with the scent of freshly baked bread still warm from the oven. Bowls of fruits, their skins polished to a shine, added splashes of color among the more savory offerings: apples, pears, and berries ripe for the taking.

Agnes's eyes widened in amazement at the selection before her. She had expected a nobleman to eat well, but nothing to this extent. She wondered how can any fruit be fresh after so long, but gave the thought no voice.

* "My Lord, this is quite the feast, she remarked, unable to keep the awe from her voice."

Frederick, watching her reaction with a hint of amusement, waved a hand dismissively.

* "One must maintain certain standards, even in the field. Please, help yourself."

Agnes tentatively reached for a piece of the roasted meat, and realised she probably should have used a utensil. Embarrassed she tried to cut off a piece with more grace than usual and took a bite. The juicy, seasoned meat melted with flavor in her mouth. She closed her eyes to savor the moment, which Frederick acknowledged with a chuckle. She opened her eyes, catching herself, and pointed at the food while saying:

* "It's really good."

* "I'm glad to hear that!" -He smiled.- " Tell me, Agnes," -he began, his tone casual yet undeniably curious,- "how does one such as yourself learn to be a scribe? Your skills are...uncommon, especially for a woman, especially one of your... station. I mean no offense, of course."

Agnes, caught a bit off guard by the question, paused with her fork midway to her mouth. She set it down, choosing her words carefully.

* "A long time ago we found some notes about how to write and use certain runes. Ever since then, I have been practicing and carefully experimenting with them, until I could create a few of my own."

This was not something Agnes had told any stranger before, but she knew she wasn't a great liar, and if she wanted to get that book she needed to make sure Frederick had no reason to distrust her. And she really wanted to get that book.

* "Create a few of your own?" -Fredericks' shock was clear in his voice.- "That is just fascinating." -He rested his head on his hand, looking at Agnes intently.

She regretted saying that all of a sudden. Truth be told she never spoke about runes to anyone, ever. That has been the rule she and Harek and everyone else in the band followed and it served them well, but it also ensured that her only source of knowledge related to the topic came purely from context clues and occasional mentions, so she knew very little of the inner workings of the church and its various orders. Never mind what was considered common or uncommon within them. Books about that sort of thing were few and far between.

* "Well, it's just trial and error really, rarely does anything happen at all if it doesn't work, so if you've got time on your hands and you're careful there's no reason not to fiddle with it."

She boasted carefully and let out a forced weak chuckle as she was trying to downplay her experiments with the runes. She truly did not think it was anything special but apparently, it brought even more attention to her. Frederick seemed trustworthy enough but she'd prefer to not become too interesting for him.

After some thinking, Frederick leaned forward and in an intrigued voice asked:

* "Do you know what is the accidental rate of death among scribe apprentices?" -Without waiting for an answer he continued.- "Two out of ten. Do you know how many get seriously injured? Four out of ten. And how many graduate without any accidents? Zero. No one. Every one of them goes through something unfortunate during their studies, be that big or small. They do this while learning to use existing runes, and carefully replicating them over and over, perfectly, making sure they match exactly, to the finest detail. And yet you say you mess around with them to see what happens, without issues?"

* "I...Well a rock did shoot through me one time. - She laughed awkwardly. - That was rather unpleasant."

She didn't know what to think of this. She just worried whether Frederick would keep his end of the deal when the time came, and wondered what was going through his head now, whether he would tell someone. As if reading her thoughts he spoke up:

* "You're secret is safe with me, don't worry. The last thing I'd want is for the church to get its hands on someone like you. You, my dear, are the future." -He downed a glass of wine and poured himself another.- "Knowledge you see should be free, it should be shared, to the benefit of humanity. Now that is where me and the old goat disagree."

* "Weren't they ordained by the Great Cipher from among the first men to maintain his world?"

She was reciting doctrine, of course, but he seemed eager to talk about his philosophy and she was curious so why not humor him? She thought.

* That is the doctrine yes." -He said with a sigh.- "But why would that knowledge and know-how belong to them only?" -He started with a passion.- "Shouldn't it be our shared responsibility as a people? And what about other aspects of faith within the followers of the Cipher? The modelists, the tritheists, the arianists, not to mention the naturalists."

He stopped to laugh and stood up to pace around.

* "Okay they are probably wrong, but is everyone else? Is the nature of God so clear-cut as the Patriarch would have us believe? Are the records of the Star Keepers just pointless scribbles? And I'm not even talking about heresies like those damned Égarists, but how could we have faith in the Keepers of the Cipher if instead of making sure the gifts of this world are used responsibly they hoard it all in their caves and tell us it's for the greater good?"

He was breathing heavily, he was almost shouting by the end of his ranting. This was not the first time he had this argument with a currently non-present partner. Whether it ever happened at all or he was just waiting for that day, Agnes couldn't tell. Why he was on such bad terms with the representatives of the church was quite clear, however. Some of the names he just said were unfamiliar to her, but she didn't want to look uneducated, so she decided not to ask.

* "I apologize I got carried away." -He sat back down.

* "I understand, and I think you're right."

* "You do?" -He asked with a surprise.

* "God is the purest truth, therefore seeking the truth is seeking the Divine, the highest of all pursuits."

* "Jacques Beaumont. Not many have read him. As sharp as beautiful. You remind me of my daughter Elisabeth." -He chuckled.

With nothing better to read Agnes often read the books they looted during jobs or ones she could buy for cheap from wherever they were at the moment. She didn't remember much of Beaumont's writing as it was dreadfully dry, but she did remember some snippets that stuck with her. Today that paid off.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

* "Is she a heretic as well?" -She risked the joke.

Frederick laughed heartily.

* "Oh no, I'm afraid, quite the contrary. She's as devout as they can be believe it or not. Whose pubescent daughter turns to the church instead of away from it? My daughter of course. Youthful rebellion will always find a way."

After some silent eating, Frederick pointed another question at her.

* "Does anyone know? That you can create runes not just use them?"

* "No one." -She said shortly.- "No one that would put me in danger for it."

* "They might not intend to Agnes, but what you can do, it's unprecedented. Well, as far as we know. Maybe the order has hundreds of scribes creating new runes. How would we know?" -He shrugged comically.- "Ah but I'll not get into it again, just be careful about who you tell that to."

* "I will, sir. If I may, and please tell me if I'm out of line here, what's so important about this castle? It seems rather..."

* "Old and decrepit?" -He laughed.- "Ah it's quite selfish. You see my father, well he was a prick." -He made a circle around his chest and then pressed on his heart while looking up briefly.- "But his older brother, William wasn't. He practically raised me here and..." -He looked longingly at the castle and at the ever-larger sea of men under it on this side of the river.- "Well it means a lot to me, but he didn't have any sons and there were some deals being made and..." -He waved a hand dismissively.-

* "And you're selfish." -She finished for him.- "Um, sir."

He nodded.

* "So here we are." -He smiled at her while eating.

After some pause, he spoke up once again:

* "Excuse me for poking you with questions relentlessly dear, but your company is quite refreshing from the dreadful conversations I'm forced to conduct here." -He wiped his hands and started washing them in a prepared bowl.

* "It's quite alright your grace."

It has been a while since she had the opportunity to talk with someone interesting, so she relished the opportunity as well. She liked the rest of the band, loved them like family even, but there's only so much you can talk about with the same people, doing the same things.

* "Bah!" -he waved his hand- "It's just us, call me Frederick, please."

She nodded and was glad to realize now the purpose of the water bowl nearby. As she reached into it she noticed flower petals by now sunk to the bottom, which gave it an ever-so-faint floral scent.- "I could get used to this." -She thought.

* "So where do you hail from Agnes?" -He wiped his mouth finally, then poured himself a bit more wine.

* "Originally from the other side of Gezlov, near the Havas mountains." -She said with some unease in her voice.

* "Ah, beautiful region, I passed through there once a long time ago, and how did you end up with Harek? I asked him in passing before but he was rather tight-lipped. Not one for conversation that one."

* "You'd be surprised."-She said under her breath.

If Frederick heard her, he said nothing but gave an ever-so-faint smile.

* "Well, I don't remember much of it to be honest. Mostly in bad dreams. But Harek told me a Yulbar band raided our village. I survived by chance according to him."

* "Ah." -He stayed silent for a moment.- "My condolences. That far from the border? Tragic." -He shook his head.

She nodded but said nothing.

* "Was Harek from your village then?" -He asked curiously.

* "Oh no, he..."

She stopped for a moment. She really shouldn't talk about this, she thought, but for some reason, she started trusting this man. Maybe he reminded her of someone she couldn't place. Regardless, she continued:

* "He was serving under the Yules, for some time. Against his will." -She added.- "He killed one of their leaders and ran after they left our village and there he found me."

Fredericks raised an eyebrow in surprise.

* "Run from the Yules? Brave... And how old were you two then?"

* "I was about 10 I think. Harek a few years older than me.

He looked strangely saddened as he looked away into the distance. It's not a jovial story, but not a rare one either she thought. He collected himself quickly however and looked back at her.

* "And how did you two manage to survive on your own? Did someone take you in eventually?"

After shaking her head and a few seconds of looking for the right words, Agnes finally said.

* "However, we could. Harek learned a lot from the Yules and I learned from him."

* "Ah..." -Frederick paused for a moment- "My apologies, I was impolite."

Agnes gestured "It's nothing.", so the man continued.

* "You're a bright young girl. With a formal education you could make it far, then again, maybe you could make it further still without one." -He mused and held a cup up in her direction.- "Still...if you ever feel inclined, please do visit me at my estate in Dorong. Would be more than happy to sponsor your studies in whatever capacity you feel comfortable."

She was dumbfounded by the offer. It was a very generous one, especially from someone he barely knew for a day.

* "I..."

* "Oh, you don't need to decide now. The offer has no time limit. Whenever you feel ready."

* "Thank you, Frederick." -She managed to say.

* "So what did you find out from that book? I didn't want to bother you while working, but the curiosity is killing me to tell you the truth." -He laughed.

Agnes considered how many times he bothered her by glaring over her shoulder or asking probing questions and wondered what 'bothered' would have looked like, but she was also relieved that after getting to know him better, he seemed unlikely to go back on his word, just because she doesn't have all the answers.

* "Not as much as I hoped."

She started diplomatically, not wanting to curb his enthusiasm.

* "But still quite a lot. I'm not familiar with the runes the church uses, but the ones in the book don't even seem like runes really. They are more similar to my base runes if anything."

She cocked her head, thinking.

* "Not in the same way at least. They use some of the same characters I do, but also many other new ones. These seem to form complex sets of instructions rather than the concise yet complicated command structures that you described earlier. These seem a lot less intricate by themselves than what I imagine the church-sanctioned ones to be, but as a whole, they are deeply intricate in their own way. Certainly more so than my own."

* "The whole greater than the sum of its parts?

* "Precisely, yes."

After a moment of thinking he asked:

* "Would you mind giving me some of your rune work? It sounds unlike anything I've met before and I have a few colleagues who'd relish the chance to study them."

Agnes heard alarm bells going off in her head, but couldn't think of a way to refuse him. She was on his good side and she'd prefer to keep it that way.

* "Yes, sir."

Perhaps sensing her unease he added:

* "Not to worry Agnes, I wouldn't want to get you in any trouble. I promise."

Strangely, she believed him. Frederick stood up to pace around. It seemed that was a habit of his, Agnes thought.

* "I hope you'll take me up on my offer, you're not the first one I've shown that book to, but you gleamed the most from it so far and in a short time as well."

He said while looking towards the castle.

* "Well, it's mostly guesswork on my part." -She laughed awkwardly.- "I don't have a lot of samples to compare so I'm just, uh, guessing."

* "Guessing from incomplete knowledge is perhaps the most valuable of skills. Don't sell yourself short young lady." -He turned around to look at her.- "And the runetablet?"

* "That is more difficult. It's nothing I'd ever seen and the book has no mentions or illustrations that are anything like it. Granted, I would have to translate the book first to really be able to understand what it says..."

She trailed off, unsure what else to say, but luckily Frederick quickly replied.

* "Hm, interesting. So whoever made this has to have an unusually high level of understanding of how the Cipher thinks?

* "I would imagine so yes. You are more of an expert on what's considered high-level knowledge among scribes, sir."

* "Troubling, highly troubling. But very good to know. Thank you, Agnes, for both the information and the pleasant company."

He bowed his head slightly.

* "O-of course sir." -She jumped to her feet and tried to do a curtsy. Without a skirt, it looked a bit comical which Frederick acknowledged with a smile.- "Thank you for the meal, and the offer...and the book."

* "If you'll excuse me I have some letters to write. You can use the table with the maps on it in my tent to continue your work."

With that, he left. Agnes, unsure what she should do now, took an apple as a snack and headed back to the tent.