Paul waits near the edge of the grounds, the Feudal pieces wrapped in cloth beneath his arm. Parsley stands several paces away, giving him and Lewis the privacy he has asked for. Together, the boys turn toward the larger Phoenix Company dormitory in School House.
Paul Foot
Courage is useful when something is happening. Records are useful when it has happened. But what do we do afterward?
The dormitory receives them with its familiar darkness, wooden beds, and narrow strips of autumn light. Paul sets the wrapped game pieces on a table, but does not unwrap them.
Paul Foot
I want to learn Feudal, certainly. I want the Company to remember what we have promised. But I do not want Malvern to become the whole measure of us.
Parsley
It need not be. We can write to one another when we are no longer sleeping under the same roof. Proper letters, not only reports and evidence.
Parsley
If Lewis leaves this place, the friendship need not be left behind with it.
Parsley takes a pressed leaf from his pocket, its veins held flat and brown beneath paper. It is the same kind of small treasure he once showed in the dark, now offered as a promise that the Company is not the boundary of their bond.
✓ Quest Accepted
Begin an ongoing correspondence with Paul
“Lewis admits that he intends to write all if them. And he hopes maybe they can meet over the summer”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Oratory, rolled -2)
“Lewis admits that he intends to write all if them. And he hopes maybe they can meet over the summer”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Oratory, rolled +0)
C. S. Lewis
I intend to write to all of you. And perhaps, in the summer, we might meet again.
The promise settles into the room more firmly than any rule in the Company notebook. Paul looks down at the wrapped game, then reaches for the loose paper.
Paul Foot
Then let us make it ordinary. A letter when there is news, another when there is none, and no shame in either.
Parsley
We can keep the addresses together. If one of us moves, the others will know where to send the next letter.
Paul unwraps the Feudal pieces and uses the cloth to clear a space beside the inkpot. On the paper, he writes the heading for their first list: names, addresses, and the best months for a visit.
Paul Foot
Summer may be possible. My family will need notice, of course, but I would like it to happen. What shall we write first?
✓ Quest Accepted
Meet Paul again
Quest Complete
Begin an ongoing correspondence with Paul
“Lewis starts by adding his name and address. He says that he would love to write Paul about the books they are reading, but also just about the goings on of their lives.”
C. S. Lewis
I should like to write about the books we are reading, Paul, but also about the ordinary goings-on of our lives.
Lewis adds his name and address beneath Paul’s entry. Paul turns the sheet slightly toward him, making room for both kinds of news.
Paul Foot
Then we shall not wait for grand adventures. The ordinary things may prove the best part.
“Lewis stays quiet for a moment before looking to Parsley. "Can we talk real quick? I have something I need to ask you that I have been putting off. Paul can listen if that is ok with you?"”
SUCCESS (Superb Etiquette, rolled +0)
C. S. Lewis
Can we talk, Parsley? I have something I have been putting off. Paul can listen, if that is all right with you.
The room grows still around the three boys. Paul lowers his pen and waits, leaving the choice plainly with Parsley.
Parsley
Yes. You need not ask as though I were a door you might open without permission. I am listening, and Paul may listen too.
Paul Foot
I shall listen, then. I will not turn your confidence into a story for anyone else.
Parsley moves from the window to the table, setting both hands beside the pressed leaf. The little token lies between the inkpot and the correspondence list.
Parsley
Whatever it is, say it plainly. If you want an answer from both of us, we can give you one together.
Quest Complete
Meet Paul again
“Lewis says that he received word that there is a letter waiting for him at the main office. He doesn't know if it is from his father or not. He heard about it yesterday and has been trying to work up the nerve to go face it.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +3)
C. S. Lewis
I have heard that a letter is waiting for me at the main office. I do not know whether it is from my father. I heard yesterday, and I have been trying to find the nerve to face it.
The admission settles over the table. The correspondence list, with its ordinary addresses and visiting months, suddenly seems very small beside the unopened possibility.
Parsley
Then it is not the letter you have been avoiding. It is the moment when it becomes real. You need not make that moment private.
Paul Foot
We can go with you to the main office. Not to read it, and not to answer for you. Only so that you are not walking there alone.
Parsley
And if it is from him, you may open it when you are ready. If it is not, we shall still have gone there for the truth of what is actually waiting.
Paul turns the correspondence sheet and writes the main office beneath their names, adding a clear note to ask for the letter directly. The practical line gives the fear a shape, and gives Lewis two companions without taking the choice from him.
Paul Foot
Shall we make this our first ordinary expedition together, then, and collect the letter before the next lesson?
✓ Quest Accepted
Retrieve the waiting letter
“Lewis nods. And he thanks them for going with him. He's been a bundle of nerves all day. He suggests they go now before Lewis loses his nerve.”
FAILURE (Legendary Willpower, rolled -4)
C. S. Lewis
Lewis nods. Thank you, both of you. I have been a bundle of nerves all day. Let us go now, before I lose my nerve.
Therefore, the three boys leave the dormitory together. Their route through School House is ordinary, but Lewis's pace falters before the main office comes into view.
At the corridor's turn, he stops with one hand against the panelling. The office door stands ahead, close enough to reach, and suddenly impossible to cross.
Paul Foot
You have not failed us. But we cannot pretend you are ready to walk in. Shall we stop here, or go back and make a smaller plan?
Parsley
The choice remains yours. We can stand beside you at the door, wait around the corner, or return when the fear has a shape you can bear.
The expedition has reached its true threshold without reaching the office. Paul keeps his place beside Lewis, while Parsley leaves the next step open instead of taking it for him.
“Lewis asks Parsley to just hold him a second and let him recompose himself. As scary as it is, he wants answers.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
C. S. Lewis
Lewis asks Parsley to hold him for a moment while he gathers himself. He still wants the answers.
Parsley crosses the remaining space and folds Lewis into a brief, careful embrace, giving him support without steering him.
Parsley
Take the second you need. Then we will ask for the letter together, and you will decide what happens after that.
The embrace ends. Lewis straightens, and Parsley keeps one hand lightly at his shoulder as they turn toward the office.
Paul Foot
I will stand with you. If the answer is difficult, we can make the next ordinary thing be tea, or the correspondence list.
They reach the office door. From within, a clerk looks up from the ledgers and waits, pen poised above the page.
The Housemaster of School House
Lewis? Your letter is here. Shall I bring it out, or will you come in for it?
“Lewis asks him to bring it out to him. He doesn't want to face it alone.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
C. S. Lewis
Please bring it out to me. I do not want to face it alone.
The Housemaster of School House
Very well, Lewis. You shall not have to.
The Housemaster leaves the ledger and crosses the office. He takes the sealed letter from its place among the papers, then carries it through the open doorway.
Parsley
We are here. Nothing beyond this moment has been decided for you.
The Housemaster places the letter directly into Lewis's hand. Its paper is cool, its seal unbroken, and the long wait ends without another person claiming the choice.
Paul Foot
Afterward, whether you read it now or later, we can make tea and add the next ordinary item to our correspondence list.
The Housemaster of School House
You may use the office passage for a few minutes, if you require quiet. What you do with the letter is your affair.
The corridor falls still around the three boys. The letter rests in Lewis's hand, while Parsley and Paul remain beside him, waiting without pressing.
Quest Complete
Retrieve the waiting letter
Skill Upgrade: Survival Mediocre
+ New Item Acquired
Sealed letter
“Lewis moves with the others to the office passage for privacy. He takes several deep breaths before breaking the seal.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
The three boys move into the office passage. Behind them, the Housemaster draws the office door nearly closed, leaving the corridor's bustle beyond and a narrow, private quiet here.
Lewis stops beneath the passage window. He draws several slow breaths, the sealed letter held level between both hands.
Parsley
Take the time you need. We are staying.
Paul Foot
And afterward, tea. Even if the letter says nothing useful, tea remains useful.
Lewis breaks the seal. The paper gives with a small, unmistakable crack, and the folded letter opens in his hands.
Parsley
Whatever is written there, you do not have to carry it by yourself.
Paul sets the correspondence sheet on the sill beside the inkpot, leaving room for the opened letter. Their ordinary plan waits beside the difficult one.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what the opened letter says
“Lewis moves so the others can read with him, and he unfolds the letter”
Lewis shifts the unfolded pages outward, making room for Parsley and Paul to read beside him. In his father's unmistakable hand, the first lines are plain: “I have received your letter. We shall discuss it when you return.”
Paul Foot
Then we put it on the list. A reply to send, and tea afterward.
Send a reply to Paul
Quest Complete
Learn what the opened letter says