The Abbot's Gambit

The Abbot's Gambit was a virtual representation of one of Eivor Varinsdottir's genetic memories, relived by Layla Hassan through the Portable Animus HR-8.
==Description==
Eivor travelled to Cent to track down Fulke and her brother Sigurd.
==Dialogue==
Eivor spoke with Randvi about pledging to Cent.
*Eivor: Tell me more about Cent.
*Randvi: Basim has written, claiming to have found the woman Fulke and asking for your aid. He has taken shelter at Saint Hadrian's Priory.
*Eivor: Any news of Sigurd?
*Randvi: Nothing he mentioned. But if he has found the Paladin Fulke, Sigurd cannot be far behind.
Eivor pledged to Cent.
*Eivor: I will go as soon as I can.
*Randvi: Good. Be safe, Eivor. 
Eivor went to leave but halted to talk with Dag Nithisson in the main hall.
*Eivor: Dag. Basim has brought word of Sigurd's location. We are leaving at once to find him.
*Dag: Well done, Eivor. After so long, it finally occurs to you to search for our jarl. I applaud your half-hearted effort. I will not be joining you.
*Eivor: Dag, this is no joke. On the ship. Now.
*Dag: Someone needs to stay home and direct the affairs of the settlement. As you seem to shun this place as often as possible, it must fall to me.
<tabber>
|-|You must join us=
*Eivor: Sigurd's life is at stake. We need you there.
*Dag: No. I am needed here.
|-|Do as you please=
*Eivor: If you wish to stay, so be it. But when Sigurd is back among us, we will see what status you have among the raiders.
*Dag: Say whatever makes you feel superior, Eivor. I know Sigurd will understand my decision.
</tabber>
*Eivor: Do you doubt me so completely that you will not raise your axe to save your jarl?
*Dag: A fine way of putting it, Wolf-Kissed. But go... find the jarl, bring him back. Only do not get lost along the way, as you seem to more and more these days.
*Eivor: This is not done, Dag. We will speak when I return.
Eivor left Dag behind as a different raider took his seat on the Sea-Chariot.
After sailing and riding through the southern shires of England, Eivor finally crossed the border into Cent.
*Eivor: Basim has news of Sigurd. I should find him soon.
Eivor followed the roads to Saint Hadrian's Priory. Upon arrival, Eivor found Basim conversing with priests near some barrels.
*Brother Hortbert: Did not Augustine make a distinction between faith and understanding? That is my point.
*Basim: So you hold no stock in faith, only in rational proof? The science of the divine. You're bold to defy your teachings.
*Brother Hortbert: No... no... that's not what I mean. Let me... let me explain if I might. How to put it...?
Eivor joined the conversation.
*Brother Hortbert: What I mean to say is, faith is paramount. Yes. For without it, Christ's sacrifice means nothing.
*Basim: He died to save us, did he not? From the original sin of Adam and Eve? Yet evil persists.
*Brother Hortbert: Yes, evil persists. Because he gave us free will.
*Basim: Does a newborn babe slain by a despot have free will?
*Brother Hortbert: Yes... no, I mean... that is too simplistic.
*Basim: Or the priest who's heart is torn from his chest by the wolf? Judas, who was predestined to betray the Nazarene?
*Brother Hortbert: Some argue Judas was used...
Another priest walked into the conversation.
*Brother Cedric: Do my ears deceive me, Brother Hortbert? You question the scriptures? Declare Judas an innocent? A preposterous blasphemy!
*Brother Hortbert: N-no, that is not what I said! Brother Cedric... am I not the most pious of His servants?
*Brother Cedric: Out! Out!
Brother Cedric pushed Brother Hortbert away as Eivor went to talk with Basim.
*Eivor: Making new friends?
*Basim: A person's tongue gives you a taste of their heart, Eivor. And such information is often useful.
*Eivor: And how do these sallow Christians taste?
*Basim: It was only a figure of speech, Eivor. And I have tired of it already.
*Eivor: Is this how it must be between us?
*Basim: Of course not. I'm grateful that you have come.
<tabber>
|-|You've found Fulke?=
*Eivor: So what of the joy-canker Fulke? In your message you say you tracked her to Cent.
*Basim: She is here somewhere, and as of last month, Sigurd was with her. But there is no guarantee this will be the case tomorrow.
|-|We're wasting time=
*Eivor: we're wasting time, Basim. Fulke took Sigurd for some dark purpose. Let's find them before it blackens.
*Basim: I agree. The time for talk is long past.
|-|What does Fulke want with Sigurd?=
*Eivor: What happened in Mercia still puzzles me. Fulke saw something in Sigurd. A power, a legacy. What is it she wants?
*Basim: Her motives are difficult to fathom. But that can come later. Let's find your brother first.
*Eivor: Agreed. If we do this, you'll earn the right to call me friend ten-thousand fold.
</tabber>
*Eivor: So, what is your plan?
*Basim: We are deep in their god's heartland, a heathen and a heretic. To hunt Fulke, we'll need a Christian snare.
*Eivor: Fulke is hardly a saint herself. These Christians abhor her strange ideas.
*Basim: True. But unlike us, she can carry herself as one of them. She won't hide from everyone, not with a prisoner in tow.
*Eivor: So where to begin?
*Basim: I've made a friend. Abbot Cynebert. Full of pious fire, but with ambition that far outweighs his wit.
*Eivor: And what does your friend Cynebert know?
*Basim: Come, I will introduce you. And we'll hear the full tale together.
Both Eivor and Basim started to walk together.
*Eivor: Have you found some peace in your time alone, Basim?
*Basim: I am always at peace. And never alone. I move along the people of the world with great joy. I watch them, study them, learn from them at all times. This is our duty, the Hidden Ones' calling.
*Eivor: You know, for the first time since we've met, you sound more like your apprentice than yourself.
*Basim: Hm. Surely Hytham sounds like me ... if I have taught him well.
*Eivor: Your creed and your tenets, you mean?
*Basim: That's right. And our sense of... how should I sa ... deep responsibility to the betterment of mankind.
*Eivor: That's quite an ambition. But it doesn't explain what you see in Sigurd. My brother is not so generous.
*Basim: Ah, but your brother is... someone special. Important. And I want him to see that. I hope to show it to him.
Eivor and Basim walked to talk with the abbot.
*Cynebert: Is this not a blessed plot? God's own country. And this Eden should be given to his servants to tend.
*Basim: Abbot Cynebert. This is the Norse I spoke of.
*Cynebert: Ah, yes, and quite a fearsome one at that.
*Eivor: Basim says you know the paladin, Fulke.
*Cynebert: Indeed. The Lady Fulke passed this way not more than a month ago. We talked, we drank. A very pleasant woman.
*Eivor: And where is she−
*Basim: Eivor will be your axe, abbot. Whether to fell a tree or hew the limbs from an enemy.
*Eivor: What have you promised him?
*Cynebert: O, just a trifle, Eivor. A little problem I believe you can help me with.
<tabber>
|-|Speak plainly, abbot=
*Eivor: Speak your terms plainly, abbot. I will decide if the bargain is worth my time.
*Cynebert: Ah! Your wolf shows its teeth, Basim.
|-|Where's the paladin, Fulke?=
*Eivor: If you know where Fulke is, do not rattle my bucket. Tell me now and we'll talk terms later.
*Cynebert: The hot-tempered one stirs up strife, Basim! Will this rebellion-caked Dane do what I ask?
|-|...=
Eivor stood silently.
*Basim: This Norse is one who knows the value of silence and secrecy. The perfect choice for our subtle business.
</tabber>
*Eivor: Let's cut to the point. What favor would you ask in exchange for Fulke?
*Cynebert: Some weeks ago, our ealdorman in Cent was called to God. A terrible loss. King Aelfred has chosen his replacement, but has not yet announced the name. I must know it... now.
*Eivor: All of Cent will see soon enough which thegn he has chosen. Why not wait?
*Cynebert: I want... early access. To woo him, before his exalted position is made public and every fool is at his door.
*Eivor: Who else knows the chosen man?
*Cynebert: The king's emissary. Sent with a letter of congratulations to the new ealdorman. Intercept him and bring me the news. When I know the thegn's name, we'll discuss how I might win his favor.
<tabber>
|-|Why not be ealdorman yourself?=
*Eivor: Why not kill him in secret and petition Aelfred for the seat?
*Cynebert: As a man of God, I cannot. Besides, he who stands behind the throne can better pull on the puppet's threads.
|-|Aelfred will not be happy=
*Eivor: Your king will not be happy, his Church meddling in his politics.
*Basim: Does this not delight you, Eivor? A chance to defy Aelfred?
*Cynebert: I am God's humble shepherd, sent to protect his lambs. If Cent's new ealdorman is a wolf, I would blunt his claws.
|-|And Fulke?=
*Eivor: If we do this, how will you find Fulke? I want some kind of assurance.
*Cynebert: Do you have ears in every church, abbey, and cathedral in Cent? Because I do. And I will find her.
*Basim: And we will do the deeds too staining for a Christian soul?
</tabber>
*Eivor: This emissary. How will I find him?
*Cynebert: Tonbridge Monastery sent word that the king's men always pass a few nights in their hospitality. Begin there.
*Eivor: I'll get the ealdorman's name, you find Fulke.
*Cynebert: All in good time. Now, if we are done, I have business up the south coast. Folcanstan has the best fish in Wessex.
*Eivor: Then I will find you there when the ealdorman's name is mine.
Cynebert nodded and left Eivor and Basim.
*Basim: Cynebert is ambitious, but well-connected. We will not find Fulke without him.
*Eivor: I suppose we'll see. What will you do?
*Basim: I am not done playing with these Christians yet. I will see you in Folcanstan.
Eivor and Basim shook hands and departed from each other. On her way out of the priory, she witnessed the two monks from earlier engaged in a brawl.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 1: Augustine said "Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand"?
*Anglo-Saxon Man 2: In the four centuries since Augustine wrote, many advances have been made in our understanding of the scripture!
*Anglo-Saxon Man 1: I... only meant that the scripture alone...
*Anglo-Saxon Man 2: Enough! I will not hear another word. The scripture alone... this is bordering on blasphemy.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 1: Blasphemy! No, no brother...
*Anglo-Saxon Man 2: Never speak again until you have learned to obey God's will and not your own.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 1: You would force a vow of silence simply because God gave me an enquiring mind?
*Anglo-Saxon Man 2: Ah! Blasphemy! Blasphemy!
Eivor traveled to the inn south of Tonbridge Monastery.
*Eivor: If Aelfred's emissary spent a few days here, someone may know where he went.
Eivor spoke to a man.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 3: You're not welcome here.
Eivor spoke to another man, who brushed her off twice.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 4: I have no time for your twittering.We are not friends, be gone.
Eivor overheard some commotion from behind the inn.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 5: Did she speak to you of the Betrayer's scriptures? I am troubled in my spirit.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 6: Shhh, it is heresy to even think of it. Forget her words, her blasphemies. Think only on Christ and his redemptive message.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 5: She spoke freely of a deceit of angels. That we are the defiled race, ones who can never find salvation!
*Anglo-Saxon Man 6: If you are Hell-bent on believing this, you are already lost to the Lord of Flies.
Eivor spoke to a woman.
*Anglo-Saxon Woman 1: Stay away from me, stranger.
Eivor spoke to another woman.
*Anglo-Saxon Woman 2: I'm busy, leave me be.
A third woman also brushed her off.
Anglo-Saxon Woman 3:'Get away with you.
Eivor also overheard two women speaking to each other.
*Anglo-Saxon Woman 4: A bear? Of fur and tears? Why does he cry?
*Anglo-Saxon Woman 5: My brother saw him in the old stone ring with his own eyes. Rubbed them twice to be sure.
*Anglo-Saxon Woman 4: Someone should do something.
*Anglo-Saxon Woman 5: What? Ask him to move on? Or perhaps he can live with us here and the children will ride his matted back?
She also overheard some women talking about the Danes.
*Anglo-Saxon Woman 6: They sent my husband to work at the Beamasfield, the lumber mill. They mean to fortify us against the Danes.
*Anglo-Saxon Woman 7: My sister said they're all tall and strong. Muscles rippling, hair braided and woven with spice.
*Anglo-Saxon Woman 6: And what will you do if one carries you off?
*Anglo-Saxon Woman 7: Dream of the pretty, straw-haired bairns (children)I'll have.
Eivor spoke to a drunk man near the barrels.
*Eivor: Are you sober enough to answer me?
*Anglo-Saxon Man 7: You have fine hair. It shimmers like... woven silk.
*Eivor: I don't have time for flattery. I seek Aelfred's emissary.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 7: The only man of Aelfred's I know is Orvyn the legless.
*Eivor: And he is...?
*Anglo-Saxon Man 7: Hm. Haven't seen him in years. Probably dead drunk, or just dead in a ditch. Why do you think they called him legless?
*Eivor: Because he has no legs?
*Anglo-Saxon Man 7: Baw! It's a figure of speech, Lord in Heaven.
Eivor overheard another conversation about Cynebert's ambitions.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 8: God teaches obedience and humility, and yet our abbot would defy Aelfred?
*Anglo-Saxon Man 9: How so? He is simply being a good shepherd, keeping Cent and her rich lands in the hands of the Church.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 8: But the Danes? Do they not nestle at our borders? Like ash-scaled serpents?
*Anglo-Saxon Man 9: Danes in Cent? I don't believe it. Aelfred overspeaks their danger so he may take from us as he pleases.
Eivor also heard chatter about the previous ealdorman.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 10: I heard he was captured by Danes, and they ate his heart.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 11: Ealdorman Deogol got blind drunk and likely staggered off the white cliffs.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 10: So who will take his place? Thegn Fairfax? Landry? Tedmund?
*Anglo-Saxon Man 11: None are worth the shit on a sheep's arse. I would not case my vote for one of them.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 10: A defiant stance for one who cannot cast a vote.
She overheard some soldiers.
*Anglo-Saxon Soldier 1: He's gotten so paranoid now, he won't even leave the keep tower. Captain's calling him Mouse-Balls.
*Anglo-Saxon Soldier 2: What's made him so frightened?
*Anglo-Saxon Soldier 1: He said the Danes are coming. Coming for him. He saw it in a dream. Let's hope Mouse-Balls doesn't end up our next ealdorman.
Eivor found and talked to a man writing at a desk.
*Eivor: I'm looking for someone.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 12: Speak your piece, I have work to do.
*Eivor: Seen anyone here on the king's authority?
*Anglo-Saxon Man 12: I've been wondering that myself! Did someone bring news of the ealdorman? Lord Landry's make a good one.
Out of all the Anglo-Saxon men and women gathered at the inn, only three were of any value to her investigation.
<tabber>
|-|Soldier=
Eivor went inside the stables and found a soldier by himself.
*Anglo-Saxon Soldier 3: You trying to catch flies, or would you ask something of me?
*Eivor: I'm looking for a man. He passed through here on the king's business.
*Anglo-Saxon Soldier 3: Bugger off, eh? Or I'll call the guards. I'm sick of people. You need to heal your own ills.
|-|Flyter=
Eivor spoke to a man within the crowd of drinkers gathered behind the alehouse.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 13: I'm in no mood for wind-belching. So choose your words well?
*Eivor: Aelfred's emissary. Where?
*Anglo-Saxon Man 13: Him and the bard ended up in the copse by the bridge doing the Lord knows what. Sounded like they were murdering a cat.
*Eivor: Singing?
*Anglo-Saxon Man 13: If you say so.
The man's information was somewhat helpful, but Eivor needed more.
|-|Sleeper=
Eivor may have found a man behind a barred door and talked with him.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 14: Who are you? Loitering and lollygagging?
*Eivor: I'm looking for someone, an emissary from Aelfred. Have you seen such a man?
*Anglo-Saxon Man 14: O, la-di-da. Listen to you all high and mighty. Get away with you, yer valley-lily.
*Eivor: You're a strange fish. Did you see the man or not?
*Anglo-Saxon Man 14: I did. He was getting pie-eyed with that bard Gowan and causing quite a ruckus. They left together. See? That wasn't hard was it?
*Eivor: Harder than it should have been.
The man's information was somewhat helpful, but Eivor needed more.
</tabber>
With her investigation around the inn exhausted, Eivor left to find the bard.
*Eivor: There was a bard drinking with the emissary. I should find him, see if he knows anything.
Eivor went to the bridge above the inn and looked around its premises.
*Eivor: That ale-swamped scop can't have gone far.
Eivor looked around and heard a voice below the bridge.
*Drunken Bard: ... So cold... brrrr... Someone stole my trews?
Eivor spoke to the drunk bard.
*Eivor: You there... you alive?
*Drunken Bard: Patience is a tired horse, plodity, plod, plod.
*Eivor: Another tottering teat-sucker who can't hold his drink. Let's clear your head.
Eivor sobered up the bard as she found a note by him.
:Musical MusingsThese bells! What incredible music they make. It is like the singing of angels. A waste to bury them away in churches! I would love to compose a great work to harness their beauty. The deep knell of the largest would provide the anchor of the piece. The harmonious tolling of the smaller bells would be the choir and the smallest would soar above the tune, a descant of chimes.Gowan the Bard
<tabber>
|-|Threw him in the water=
*Drunken Bard: It's cold as a witch's tit in here!
|-|Hit him=
*Drunken Bard: Ow! Why do you smite me so?
</tabber>
Eivor spoke to the lucid bard.
*Eivor: God's trews! Fie on you. What infernal wakes me?
<tabber>
|-|Are you the bard?=
*Eivor: Are you the tale-weaver?
*Gowan: Gowan the dandelion, for the seeds of my stories flit upon the winds of Wessex! But why, mule, do you kick my noggin?
|-|A fearsome Norse=
*Eivor: I'm the one you sing of, bard. Stern of eye and scant of mercy. Have you not seen the ravens feasting in my wake?
*Gowan: Enough! Your word-mangles are making my hair ache!
|-|It does not matter who I am=
*Eivor: Who I am is no concern of yours.
*Gowan: And I do not care. Did you want something, or did you just wake me to torment me?
</tabber>
*Eivor: You and Aelfred's emissary were drinking in the tavern. Tell me where he went.
*Gowan: Were we? I was so ale-addled... perhaps a small and silver thing upon my palm might help me recall?
<tabber>
|-|How about something long and sharp?=
*Eivor: How about something long and sharp in your gut?
*Gowan: Alright! No need for that. You paint a vivid picture, Dane. He was headed to the white coast to the southeast. Dover Fortress. He said it is where they train those religious fanatics. Zealots! They pray all night instead of sleeping.
|-|Tell me what you know=
*Eivor: No one would drown themselves in weeping with one less bard in the world. Tell me what you know.
*Gowan: You Danes aren't ones for bargaining, are you? He was headed to the white coast to the southeast. Dover Fortress.
|-|(165 silver) Do not spend it on more ale=
*Eivor: Have some coin. And rent a proper bed for the night.
*Gowan: Ah, bless you, for stories are my currency friend. How else am I to make my living?
*Eivor: A more honest profession? Plowing fields, milking cows...
*Gowan: Manual labor! God's blood! There's a fortress to the southeast where paladins pray by night and fight by day. Dover, on the white cliffs.
</tabber>
*Eivor: My thanks, and in return, wisdom. Too much beer-bibbing will grow a fool in wit and words.
*Gowan: My thanks, weaver of the obvious. Now leave me to my unholy punishment.
Eivor left the bard and began a long journey across Cent to Dover Fortress.
*Eivor: The emissary made for Dover Fortress, on the southeast coast.
On her way to the fortress, she overheard two more soldiers opining on the state of Cent.
*Anglo-Saxon Soldier 4: Cent is in disarray.
*Anglo-Saxon Soldier 5: How so?
*Anglo-Saxon Soldier 4: No one to lead us, no hand upon the helm.
*Anglo-Saxon Soldier 5: Aelfred will choose a new ealdorman.
*Anglo-Saxon Soldier 4: He already has, and yet we know nothing. And now all trace of the edict is gone.
*Anglo-Saxon Soldier 5: Someone will step up, take the reins. And it will be as it ever is. They will lead, and we will follow.
*Anglo-Saxon Soldier 4: You have the curiosity of a day-dead flounder.
Eivor arrived in the vicinity of Dover Fortress.
*Eivor: Dover. The emissary is somewhere here. Perhaps I can find the letter without bloodshed? The bard said paladins trained at this fortress. This will not be an easy fight.
Eivor made her way through the fortress and eventually overheard the emissary bemoaning his task.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 15: I carry the king's word, but there's no hand to put it in.
*Eivor: If I could steal the letter without killing the emissary, it would keep me out of trouble.
:If caught, the emissary cried out.
:*Anglo-Saxon Man 15: Who interferes with the king's business? Guards! Guards!
:Eivor had to fight her way through any guards that came to his aid, before ending the emissary himself.
Eivor took the letter from the emissary and read it.
:King Aelfred's OrdersI, Aelfred Rex of the West Saxons, appoint Thegn Tedmund as the ealdorman of the territory of Cent.May he serve me, his God, and his lands well.
*Eivor: Aelfred's chosen ealdorman is a thegn called Tedmund. The abbot Cynebert will want to know.
Eivor escaped the fortress and headed towards Cynebert.
*Eivor: I should meet Basim and the abbot in Folcanstan.
==Outcome==
Eivor learned the name of the next ealdorman of Cent for Abbot Cynebert.
==Behind the scenes==
The additional ambient conversations in this memory may trigger at other points than the ones listed, so long as there are sufficient "Anglo-Saxon Man" and "Anglo-Saxon Woman" NPCs in close enough proximity. For example, the conversation between two men that are clearly discussing Fulke may trigger at the church in Saint Hadrian's Priory, and the conversation about Abbot Cynebert's ambitions may trigger between two guards in Dover Fortress.
Although there are at least three interrogations available at the inn, the progress bar will fill and the objective will update to seek the bard after two are completed, and all other conversation options will disappear. The "soldier" at the stables, however, will complete the objective all by himself, provided the player does not use the "Fight" option.
==Gallery==
ACV The Abbot's Gambit 2.png|Basim at the priory talking to a monk
ACV The Abbot's Gambit 5.png|Eivor meeting Basim at the priory
ACV The Abbot's Gambit 10.png|Eivor questioning a man behind the barred door
ACV The Abbot's Gambit 11.png|Eivor questioning a man near the inn
ACV The Abbot's Gambit 14.png|Eivor arriving at the Dover Fortress
ACV The Abbot's Gambit 15.png|Eivor tracking down the emissary
==References==
*Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
Category:Memories of Eivor Varinsdottir
Category:Memories relived using the Animus HR-8.5