Lewis wakes beneath the infirmary’s pale lamps. His shoulder is secured against his body, and the taste of dust and medicine remains in his mouth.
Parsley
You are awake. I am here, and Edwin is outside. Neither of us will ask you to speak before you are ready.
The doctor leans over the bed, checking Lewis’s pulse, pupils, and breathing. Parsley stays seated nearby, while Edwin waits beyond the half-closed door.
the doctor
The shoulder is held securely. You may have a concussion, so answer slowly, and stop if the pain worsens.
The Housemaster of School House
I have brought paper. Your account must begin before the assault: where you were, what you saw, and who may have arranged it.
The Housemaster places the paper on a small table, leaving the pen beside it. He does not touch Lewis or the sealed evidence from the shed.
The Housemaster of School House
Give us what you can remember, Lewis. Names, voices, faces, and anything that seemed prepared in advance. We will record it exactly.
✓ Quest Accepted
Give an official account of the attack
“I will give the Housemaster the account, slowly, from the beginning.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
C. S. Lewis
I will give it slowly, from the beginning. I went to the cricket supply shed, and the door was already open.
Lewis pauses between each sentence. The doctor watches his breathing, while the Housemaster writes without interrupting and Parsley remains quietly beside the bed.
C. S. Lewis
There were two of them. The first wore a prefect’s ring. The second had a pale nick through one eyebrow. I did not know his name.
C. S. Lewis
They gave me a command, then seized me when I did not obey quickly enough. I remember rough hands, being forced upward, and the rope around my arm.
The doctor steadies the paper when Lewis’s hand trembles. The Housemaster records the pauses as carefully as the words, preserving the account without pressing him faster.
C. S. Lewis
The first voice called me an example. Then they gagged me, and everything became confused. When I woke, the words were written across me, and the shed was empty.
The Housemaster of School House
I have it. Two attackers, one bearing a prefect’s ring, one marked by the pale eyebrow scar, and an accusation that this was meant as an example. We will preserve every detail.
Quest Complete
Give an official account of the attack
“Lewis asks how long he was unconscious?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
C. S. Lewis
How long was I unconscious?
the doctor
A little over twelve hours. You were found yesterday afternoon, and you have slept through the night. Your waking is a good sign, but your head still requires care.
The doctor checks Lewis’s pupils again, then adjusts the sling beneath his arm. Morning light has replaced the infirmary’s night lamps, thin and grey beyond the curtains.
Parsley
We came as soon as we were allowed. Edwin has been waiting outside, and the Housemaster kept the door quiet so nobody would trouble you.
The Housemaster of School House
The shed remains sealed. No boy has been permitted to enter, and the evidence has not been altered. Your account is the first testimony taken from you.
the doctor
You may continue only if you remain clear. If the pain, confusion, or sleepiness worsens, you stop immediately. Your health outranks the inquiry.
Parsley
Twelve hours, and he has woken to questions. I must help keep the questions from becoming another burden.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the Housemaster’s formal acceptance of the recorded testimony
“Lewis attempt to give more details. He remembers them shoving the gag in his mouth. And being struck by a belt and cricket clubs. He remembers them twisting his arm behind him until it broke. He thinks that was before the hung him from the rafters. He vaguely remembers them jeering and laughing at him.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -2)
C. S. Lewis
I remember more. They shoved the gag into my mouth. Then they struck me with a belt and cricket clubs.
Lewis’s voice falters, and the doctor raises one warning hand. The account remains factual, while the memory’s violence stays outside the room’s immediate detail.
C. S. Lewis
They twisted my arm behind me until it broke. I think that was before they hung me from the rafters.
The doctor’s fingers tighten around the edge of the sling as Lewis’s breathing turns shallow. Pain sharpens across his shoulder, a concrete cost of forcing the memory into words.
C. S. Lewis
I vaguely remember them jeering and laughing. They wanted me to know they thought it was amusing.
The Housemaster of School House
I have recorded the sequence as uncertain where you have marked it uncertain: gagging, blows, the injury to your arm, then the suspension. The jeering matters too.
the doctor
That is enough for this sitting. You have given us the additional details, but you must rest now. The account can continue when your head is clearer.
“Lewis nods and relaxes back. His gaze finds Parsley almost immediately.”
Lewis nods and relaxes back against the pillows. The doctor lowers his hand, satisfied, while the strain leaves Lewis’s breathing by degrees.
His gaze finds Parsley almost immediately. Parsley remains beside the bed, hands still in his lap, offering neither questions nor hurried reassurance.
Parsley
There you are. You have done enough for now. I am still here, and nothing needs answering this minute.
Parsley holds Lewis’s gaze without asking him to maintain it. Beyond the half-closed door, Edwin remains quiet, leaving the room’s attention with the injured boy.
the doctor
Rest is the proper treatment now. If you need anything, signal rather than speak, and we shall understand.
Parsley
You may close your eyes if you wish. When you open them again, I will still be here.
“Lewis thanks Parsley through tears and asks if Edwin can sit with them too.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
C. S. Lewis
Thank you, Parsley. I am sorry. Could Edwin sit with us too, if he wants to?
The tears remain on Lewis’s face as Parsley rises. He opens the half-closed door without haste and looks toward Edwin in the corridor.
Parsley
He can, if he chooses. Edwin, Lewis has asked for you to sit with us.
Edwin
Yes. I would like that. May I come in?
The doctor gives a small approving nod. Edwin enters quietly and takes the chair beside Parsley, close enough to be present without touching the bed.
Edwin
I am here, Lewis. You need not speak again. I can simply sit with you.
Parsley
And you need not apologize for wanting both of us near you. We are here because we choose to be.
“Lewis relaxes back again. Relieved to see them both.”
Lewis relaxes back against the pillows. The tension leaves his uninjured hand, and his breathing settles as Parsley and Edwin remain beside him.
Parsley
That is better. You need not hold yourself rigid while we are here.
Edwin
We can sit quietly, or talk about ordinary things. You may choose, Lewis.
The doctor watches Lewis’s breathing, then adjusts the blanket without disturbing the sling. The infirmary remains quiet beyond the half-closed door.
Parsley
Would you like us both to stay where we are, or shall one of us fetch something familiar from the dormitory?
Edwin
He asked for both of us. I can be here without making him answer for what that means.
the doctor
You may have company, provided it remains calm. Lewis must rest, and neither of you is to press him for conversation.
“Lewis says to just stay and talk about normal things. He might fall asleep listening, but it helps.”
C. S. Lewis
Just stay and talk about ordinary things. I may fall asleep listening, but it helps.
Parsley settles back into his chair, while Edwin draws his nearer without touching the bed. The doctor resumes his quiet watch, satisfied that the room remains calm.
Parsley
Then ordinary things it is. John has apparently declared war on Latin, and Morris claims the marmalade is governed by constitutional law.
Edwin
I have begun my next letter. The first sentence took an absurdly long time, because every possible beginning seemed too important.
Their voices remain low and unhurried. Edwin speaks toward Lewis without demanding his eyes, while Parsley watches the boy’s breathing between sentences.
Parsley
You could begin with the weather, Edwin. It is difficult to make a mistake with rain, though Malvern may yet punish us for describing it improperly.
Edwin
Then I shall write about rain, marmalade, and the fact that Lewis is listening. If he sleeps, I will count that as a successful letter.
“Lewis chuckles and keeps listening”
Lewis chuckles softly, careful not to disturb his shoulder. The sound is small but genuine, and both boys glance toward him before returning to their quiet conversation.
Parsley
There. That is an endorsement. Edwin, you may safely write that your first sentence survived inspection.
Edwin
I shall record it precisely. Lewis laughed, Parsley exaggerated, and the rain continued its constitutional duties outside.
The doctor makes a faintly amused sound but keeps his eyes on Lewis’s breathing. Edwin lowers his voice further, while Parsley folds one ankle over the other.
Parsley
You might write about the library passage. The tall windows, the dust, and the way Morris pretends not to enjoy maps.
Edwin
That sounds ordinary enough. I could say that being given room does not make the room emptier. It makes the ordinary things easier to notice.
Edwin lets the thought rest without asking whether Lewis approves it. Parsley smiles toward the bed, and the infirmary settles around their voices like a quiet, familiar room.
“Lewis keeps listening as he drifts in and out of sleep. Not trying to fight it now.”
FAILURE (Terrible Health, rolled -1)
Lewis lets his eyes close and stops resisting sleep. The infirmary voices soften, but the ache in his shoulder keeps drawing him back before rest can fully take him.
Parsley
You need not follow every word, Lewis. We shall keep talking, and you may come back whenever you do.
He drifts, then surfaces at the sound of Edwin’s quiet laugh. The room returns in fragments: rain at the window, linen beneath him, Parsley’s steady voice.
Edwin
I think I shall write that the rain made the library windows silver, and that ordinary things became easier when nobody demanded an explanation.
Lewis cannot remain asleep, but he no longer treats waking as failure. Each return gives him another piece of their conversation, gentle enough to receive without answering.
Parsley
That is a beginning, Edwin. Lewis can hear it when he wakes, and read it later if he chooses.
Edwin
Then I shall leave room for him to answer in his own time. The letter can begin with rain.
“Lewis quietly asks how the others are taking this. He worries that some in Pheonix Company might react rashly.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
C. S. Lewis
How are the others taking this? I am worried some of the Phoenix Company may react rashly.
Parsley turns from the rain-streaked window. Edwin closes his notebook, and both boys answer the question without pretending the Company is calm.
Parsley
John is angry, and Morris is trying to make that anger useful. They have agreed nobody will confront the Bloods privately or go looking for them.
Edwin
Francis blamed himself for finding you alone, though the Housemaster told him plainly that discovering you was not a failure. He wants to stand guard.
The doctor watches Lewis’s breathing but does not interrupt. Outside, footsteps pass the infirmary door, then fade as the Company keeps its distance.
Parsley
Porridge is helping keep everyone together. They mean to bring the record to the Housemaster, not answer cruelty with more of it.
Edwin
I told them you would want the truth preserved and the boys protected, not avenged. They listened, Lewis. They are frightened, but they are listening.
“Lewis sighs with relief. He admits dryly that he could see Frecal or Edwin pulling a blood into a dark alley. So he had to check.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
C. S. Lewis
Lewis sighs with relief. “I could quite imagine Frecal, or even Edwin, pulling a Blood into a dark alley. I had to check.”
The admission loosens something in the room. Edwin’s notebook remains closed, while Parsley studies Lewis with concern rather than amusement.
Edwin
I would not pull anyone anywhere. I might follow someone who did, which is not quite the same thing and perhaps no safer.
Parsley
And Frecal would need stopping before he made a clever plan into a dangerous one. You were right to ask, Lewis.
Edwin
Francis wanted to stand guard, too. John told him that guarding means staying with the Company, not hunting the boys who hurt you.
The doctor adjusts the blanket near Lewis’s uninjured shoulder, listening without intruding. Beyond the door, the school continues its morning discipline, unaware of the careful restraint inside.
Parsley
We checked because we know what fear can make us do. But nobody has gone into an alley, and nobody will answer violence by becoming its pupil.
“Lewis clarifies he meant he could see Edward doing that, not Edwin. His thoughts are a little muddled.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -2)
C. S. Lewis
I meant Edward, not Edwin. I could imagine Edward pulling a Blood into a dark alley. My thoughts are muddled.
The correction comes slowly, and Lewis loses the thread halfway through it. His shoulder throbs beneath the sling, forcing him to close his eyes until the room steadies.
Edwin
Edward, yes. I understand now. I am glad you corrected it, though I confess I was beginning to wonder what I had done.
Parsley
Your meaning is clear enough now. Edward might do something rash if he believed it served the Company, but Edwin has not offered violence.
the doctor
That confusion is precisely why you must rest. You have clarified the point, but the effort has cost you pain and concentration.
Edwin
I shall not take offence at a muddled name. I will remind you who I am, and you may correct yourself without having to defend the mistake.
The room settles again, though the doctor marks the episode on his paper. Outside, footsteps pause at the infirmary door, then move on without disturbing them.
“Lewis smiles and nods, focusing on relaxing”
Lewis smiles and nods, then lets his uninjured hand rest loosely atop the blanket. He stops trying to follow every thread of conversation and allows the room to remain simple.
Parsley
That is all you need do. We can carry the conversation for a while, and you can listen when you wish.
Edwin
I shall report that Lewis has approved the policy of resting. It is a remarkably sensible policy, though difficult to enforce.
A faint smile answers them. The doctor watches Lewis’s breathing grow slower, while rain ticks softly against the infirmary window.
the doctor
Good. Keep your eyes closed if that is comfortable. You are not required to remain awake merely because company is present.
Parsley
We are still here, Lewis. You need not check that every minute.
Edwin
And when you wake properly, I will tell you whether the letter about rain survived its second sentence.
“Lewis says quietly that he loves them.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +4)
C. S. Lewis
I love you both.
The words are quiet, but neither boy mistakes them. Rain continues against the window while the doctor watches Lewis’s breathing and gives the silence room.
Parsley
I love you too, Lewis. You are not required to prove it, explain it, or choose between us.
Edwin
I love you too. I am glad you said it, and I want to answer freely, not because you have made me responsible for your happiness.
Lewis’s uninjured hand remains atop the blanket. Parsley lays his fingers beside it without touching, while Edwin waits until Lewis looks toward him.
the doctor
That was a great deal of feeling, but not a medical emergency. You may remain together if the room stays quiet.
Parsley
Then we shall stay. And when you wake properly, Edwin can tell you how the letter about rain ends.