Issue 1 Downtime

Haley slipped out of her room and into the cool night air in a warm jacket, and headed towards the maze.

Well...if he kills me, at least I won't have to deal with Reg....oh fuck me, god damnit.

Sighing, she focused on the task at hand and floated into the air over the hedge maze, moving towards the center.

Roland was waiting by the statue.

"Haley....I was beginning to wonder if you'd come at all..."

"Well. Your note wasn't exactly...clear on a time," she explained, slowly descending to the ground, keeping her distance.

"So...what's up?"

Haley looked scared. Not nearly as bad as she had been the other night, but it was clear she was nervous.

"I think we needed to talk. Do you think we need to talk?"

"...as long as talking doesn't mean stabbing me, yes." she joked (maybe?) nervously.

"I promise, if I ever try to kill you, you'll be aware, facing me, and armed."

Well. That was mostly reassuring.

"Okay. So. Let's talk," she said, sitting down on a bench.

"What was with that image I saw when I touched the armor? Was that really you? Did you really do that?"

"Was...yes. Yes it was me. What you saw, I think, was the Battle of Roncevaux Pass -- under Charlemagne. You know who Charlemagne was?"

"That guy from Rome who was Holy or something?"

"...Sure, why not.

I was tasked with providing support for his armies, as they retreated from Al-Andalus, and we were attacked.

Now. I've...I've been in battles before. And since. A lot of them. Serving Charlemagne was just the most recent in a long line of combat -- there's something....something equalizing about two people trained in the ways of warfare...

But...every now and again...my family, you see. My family pissed off some very powerful people. Charlemagne doesn't mean anything to you; what about Hera?"

"So, everyone in that village attacked you, so it was, you know, cool to just murder the whole village?"

"No, no. It very much was not, as you put it, cool.

...Did you want to come inside?" Roland said, awkwardly.

"If it wasn't cool then why the hell did you do it?"

Haley shivered.

"...yeah, sure."

She got up and moved closer to Roland and the entrance to the secret passage.

"I get...these moments," Roland said, hitting the switch and leading them down into the passageway.

"Moments of intense....bloodlust sounds wrong, but...

I don't know what happens during them. I become...dangerous. There no longer really feels like there's a distinction between friend or foe. It's happened somewhat regularly -- Ronceavaux, Jamestown, Thessaloniki...

I blame it on the Gods...but what if it IS just me. It's...frightening," Roland admitted.

Inside, what could be considered the 'treasure room' was more or less unchanged from when Haley saw it last -- flags, banners, weapons, all lining the walls, boxes overflowing with valuable goods and paintings, racks of clothing. Two things were different -- first of all, the coffin they had spent so much time trying to get out of the boat was displayed in a corner, and secondly, a table was set out with a tablecloth and some pasta.

Haley rubbed her arms, still trying to shake off the chill from outside.

"So I saw one of those times when you lost control then?"

"Yes. It...I mean, I never thought about it, but bad places leave Psychic imprints, I bet...

Have...have you ever, like, been to...you know, somewhere like Auschwitz?"

"No. Until I came here for school, I'd never even left America."

Haley shivered again, her mind flashing back to the scene she saw in the armor.

"Yeah. my tutors tell me that all sorts of things can have sort of... echoes from the past stuck in or on them."

"Then I truly....I mean, I deeply apologize. I had no idea you would have such a ... strong reaction. I need to make it up to you.

Sit. Have some food. I have some wine -- not the best vintage, but good enough."

Haley's expression softened slightly.

"Apology accepted," she said after a moment's thought, a smile almost starting to creep across her face.

"Thank you," she took a seat at the table. "I'm sure it's fine. Better than the shit I was drinking the other night at least..." she smirked. "This...this smells really good."

"I've had some experience," Roland smiled. "You pick up things, here and there."

Haley at this point felt comfortable enough that she didn't have to run away screaming--hopefully not incorrectly--that she slipped out of her jacket, revealing a University Of Texas sweatshirt and jeans.

"Anyway," Roland said, pulling back the chair for Haley. "When I had that...flashback you sent me, I...what's the word? came unglued? I was afraid I WAS going to hurt y...people."

"Sorry...didn't mean to share that," she said, taking her seat.

"Of course you didn't. I wouldn't expect you to be that cruel.

Unless it's to classic automobiles."

Haley blushed.

"That was entirely Regan's fault," she grumbled.

"That does not surprise me. Are you doing alright after her...attack, or whatever it was?"

Haley poked at her food as she thought about the question.

"I guess. It was kind of intense. I...well...sort of experienced a bunch of her memories. Like it was me bein there."

She twirled a small forkful of pasta and chewed thoughtfully, staring down at her plate

"Sort of a new perspective on her, I guess," she shrugged.

Haley looked back up at Roland. "This is really, really good."

"I'm glad you enjoy it.

She's not what she seems at first glance, then?"

"I don't even know how to describe her," she sighed.

"She's still a huge bitch but...I dunno. She's seen a whole lot. Had a whole lot of really horrible shit done to her, you know?"

She took another thoughtful bite of her food.

"...I kind of got drunk and made out with her. Maybe other stuff too. I can't remember."

"I'd like to see her compare with my horri...you what?"

"...it was pretty horrible. She like...died, first of all, and then some creepy demon guy like. Tortured her and screwed around with her head."

Haley was kicking herself for mentioning the other more recent development, but there was probably no coming back from that without further explanation.

"I thought you were with the mechanical man?" Roland said, responding to the much more important bit of news.

"...I still am. So I really hope that all I did was make out with her," she sighed.

"...it's alright, Haley, we all make mistakes. We just have to try to...get beyond them," he said, uncomfortably.

"Yeah, I guess," she said pushing her food around a bit before grabbing another forkful, and then taking a long sip of wine.

"This is good too...what is it?"

"It's Limnio -- it's a Greek wine. Diluted with a bit of water.

I tried a bit of winemaking once -- failed horribly, I'm afraid."

"Don't want to get me drunk?" she smirked slightly.

"Hrm? Oh, no -- you don't drink wine undiluted; that's what barbarians do. It could drive you insane, or even kill you."

"My mom drank wine poured straight out of the bottle all the time, and she didn't seem like a barbarian."

Roland raised an eyebrow. "Trust me, this is how civilized people do it.

...Listen to me, lecturing on civilization. There's a laugh."