Beaumonde: Pedal to the Metal - Abbey, Serenity Episode 3

[Shepherd Book]

<< Continued from "Pedal to the Metal". >>
(Ooc-to avoid confusion, I created this thread for the goings-ons at the Abbey. Simon sightly GM'd with his permission)

BEAUMONDE-CITY OUTSKIRTS

Book rode in the front seat and was quiet through the short trip to the abbey. Their young chauffeur drove fast and inexperienced, but the old shepherd just shrugged it off. After all, he had seen much more risky driving from the pilot of Serenity, so he had developed a sort of tolerance for it.

The Stangleford Abbey was not too large, so a problem arose when there was a sudden influx of pilgrims and residents to their halls. Book could see that the Abbot dealt with this in an interesting manner. Rather than go through the trouble of acquiring new land to extend the complex, they simply built up, adding more floors to the main chapel until it was now well over fifteen stories tall, a metallic scaffolding embracing the entire structure.

As per tradition, the entire complex was constructed of a simple red stone thrown as refuse from the local mines. The buildings were all incredibly simple on the outside, with no adornment of any kind. The chapel itself reminded Book of a giant bunker, rising monolithically above the surrounding landscape. The only things that gave the buildings away were the windows. Massively complex stained glass etched across the front of every building there in delicate patterns, hinting that all the beauty was on the inside, again as was the tradition.

The car came to a stop at the front of chapel steps and the driver motioned for them to get out. Book stood on the small stone plaza, smiling as Abbot Matthias walked up and shook him warmly by the hand. Were it not for the fact that the Abbot of Strangleford was constantly smiling, he would have looked frightening. His ancient face was gaunt to the point where it looked like someone had taken a skull and wrapped it in a thin layer leathery skin. His voice however was very thick as though he had been an opera singer in another life.

“Shepherd Derrial Book, it is so good to have you here!” He saw Simon getting out of the car slowly and turned to him.

“And this must be your nameless friend, the doctor, and his…sister was it? Welcome to the Strangleford Abbey.” He offered his hand to the younger man.

[Simon Tam]

“And this must be your nameless friend, the doctor, and his…sister was it? Welcome to the Strangleford Abbey.” Book had thought it best that Simon and River remain nameless; using their real names could place the abbey in danger, and Simon was reluctantly forced to concede that River could not be counted upon to consistently maintain a false identity.

Simon gave a slight nod of acknowledgement and stepped forward, trying to hide the slight element of nervous fear that he and River might be found out. "Ah, yes, I am a doctor." Struggling to find something else to say, he added on. "I was told you have people who ... that there were people I could help. My sister will be assisting me." It sounds better to say that then, 'My sister had her brain rutted with by the Alliance and now I can't risk letting her out of my sight.' The new medicine I have her on seems to be helping ... but I cannot take any risks. He had seen promising results many times before with River, but it never seemed to last and he had learned not to get his hopes too far up.

"So," Simon continued, "if you could just show me where the patients are I can ..." Simon's eyes drifted to his sister, "I mean, we can get started."

[River Tam]

Groundcars were different than aircars. Roads got worn into the ground. You could feel the feet, the wheels, the currents that pulled people here and there. Did the powerful fly or hover everywhere because it was faster, or because it let them ignore the ground better . . . deadened their feet so they could walk on the graves they made, and the ones made in their names? The road to the abbey was a river at flood. The pond it fed could only rise in its narrow bed. So many people pulled in here, such a strong current, but muddied. Others crossing, opposing.

Violence.

There had been blood here. Recently. They knew more was coming. The red giant rose over her, its eyes wanting to be gentle, shining prism color, illuminating the within, but it had hardened itself against intruders. Its walls echoed pain.

"They'll keep coming." she said, looking up at the Abbot. "They need to, to feed their need for control. They want to dam the river, control the flow, harness it to their power. That's why the people are broken."

She looked up at Simon.

"That's why they need you. It's not safe here. But they need you."

The others were in their own streams, being pulled along, converging and seperating. This place scattered danger from its walls. She could feel it around her, but it wasn't the worst.

It wasn't Them.

But They too wanted to Damn the River.

"Let it flow. she whispered. "Don't call the flood."

She looked back up at the Abbot.

"Do you have the same book he does?"

[Abbot Matthias]

The Abbot frowned at the girl that had come with Book’s doctor. Half of what she said made no sense, and the half that did gave him pause, because it sounded like she knew what was going on. But how could she?

"Do you have the same book he does?"

Again slightly confused, he looked at the Shepherd, who was smiling and tapping the cover of a rather patched up looking Bible in his hand. Realization dawned on the Abbot. He turned to the girl, a kind look on his face.

“You mean the good book? Yes, yes I do have the same book he has, although mine is in a slightly more...pristine condition. In fact, we have many books at this abbey, and one very, very special book. Do you know what a Gutenberg Bible is, child? It is a very ancient version of the book our Shepherd holds in his hands, one of the first printed texts in all of man’s history, which makes it doubly special and rare. In fact, the Strangleford Abbey is the possessor of one of the last known Gutenberg Bibles in the whole ‘verse! It was truly God’s will when it was discovered, and the pilgrims it drew in allowed us to begin the construction you now see all around the Abbey. Unfortunately, as the Lord saw fit to bestow great gifts upon us, He also decided to test us.” The Abbot’s wizened face took on a note of sadness and looked at Simon. “There have been…accidents during the construction. While normally we would just send for one of the local doctors, but there would be a standard investigation of our site if we that and they would find out that, due to costs, we are operating without a permit. The police would make us shut our work down, and we would possibly never recover. So you can imagine my joy when Shepherd Book said you would be willing to help our wounded. Speaking of which…” He motioned a wizened hand to a younger monk, who came forward. “Brother Theo here will take you to our hospital wing to perform your god-given talents, after which you are free to have a look around our grounds. I need to speak with our Brother Book here in private, so if you will excuse us, unless you have any questions?” He looked at the pair of young people expectantly.

(Ooc-At this point, aside from the Abbot, River and Simon may feel free to gm any of the people at the abbey, like hold conversations with random monks or order them about and such.)

[Simon Tam]

As River began to speak in her normal cryptic and confused way Simon gently put a hand on his sister's shoulder, hoping that the contact might help River stay a bit more anchored to reality. Between her words and the abbot's response he could guess that something odd was going on at the abbey, but what it might be was beyond him for the moment. I suppose we had best hope the Captain never finds out about the Guttenberg Bible here ... the last thing we need is him finding out about another priceless artifact of Earth-that-Was and thinking it might be worth stealing ... the Lassiter was bad enough.

Simon turned his attention to the monk that the cadaverous abbot had introduced as Brother Theo and said. "Well ... I suppose I had best get to work then. Lead the way." As the monk set off Simon gave a slight tug on River's shoulder to indicate that she should follow him. "Come on River, we should let the Sheppard and Abbot talk in peace."

[River Tam]

River watched after the departing Abbot.

"Komm, Schöpferischer Geist . . ." she whispered. "Besuche die Gedanken der deinen, Füll mit höchster Gnade Die Herzen der von dir
Geschaffenen."

She cocked her head to one side, like a bird's, looking up at Simon.

"Gutenberg had a lot of legal troubles." she said, matter-of-factly. "In 1436 in Strasbourg, Ennelin zu der yserin Thüre accused him of breaking his promise to marry her. I wonder what he promised on?"

She looked back to the towering stone edifice, its shadow looming above her, its secrets swirling away in the dust beneath the Abbot's feet.

"It's an older book." she said. "The father of the many. I should see it. Maybe it can answer why its children are so problematic."

German = "Come, Creating Spirit,
Visit the minds of those who are yours,
Fill with the highest grace
The hearts of those whom you have created."

Attributed to Hrabanus Maurus, 766-856

[Simon Tam]

"I imagine we can arrange something with the Abbot about viewing it while we're here, just ..." Simon hesitated as he searched for the most delicate way to word his next statement. "If you find any mistakes in it check with me or Sheppard Book before you fix them, we might be able to help."

"Here we are Doctor." Brother Theo announced, moving his arm in a sweeping gesture through the open doorway into the hospital wing. "If you need anything ask one of the brothers and we will be more than happy to assist you."

Simon gave a nod in acknowledgement of the man's words, then asked. "Are there any patients whose injuries require immediate attention?"

Simon was quickly led to the bedside of an elderly man who had a large bruise developing on his forehead. "I think his hip is broken too, but since you're a doctor it might be wise if you confirmed my diagnosis." The brother who was currently attending the man informed Simon.

"Alright." Simon said, quickly opening his bag and pulling out any equipment he was likely to need. That done, he handed the bag to River and said, "River, would you mind checking my equipment and re-sterilizing it?" Simon had already done that on the ship before leaving for the abbey, but since he wouldn't be able to keep an eye on his sister and tend to the patients at the same time it seemed like a good idea to give River something to do in order to keep her occupied.

[River Tam]

River reached out and took the bag, a reassuring weight of familiarity in the shadow of the abbey. Her fingers brushed his as the handle slid into her palm.

"You always did need me." she said, smiling. "It's good that someone still does."

She turned to the elderly man, bruised in his bed.

"Don't worry." she said. "This is the good kind."

She took the equipment. It was safe. It was Simon's, not theirs.

"Sterilize. Clean away what hurts."

She began.

[Zoe]

*Zoe's voice comes crisply over the portable com-unit*

"Shepherd Book? I'm sorry, but you and the Doc need to make grace back to the ship. I'm afraid we've got a deadline to meet."

[Shepherd Book]

The sun streamed through multicolored windows as Book and the Abbot walked into the deeper parts of the monastery. Construction was still going on in several parts of the interior as well, the intricate architecture of the walls obscured by scaffolds reaching up into the darkness of the ceilings. At a central alcove was a pedestal, and on that pedestal sat a very careworn and massive tome, ornate scrollwork decorated the book’s leather cover in graceful patterns. Carefully Book ran hand across it and slowly opened the cover. Then he straightened and turned to the abbot.

“It’s not the real book.”

The Abbot of Strangleford nodded, showing no surprise. “No it is not. We keep the actual book under guard in the cellar. If you do not mind my asking, how did you know?”

“Not near enough security for something so precious. One monk as a guard and the book sitting in open air…sticks out as a decoy to those who know to look.”

The Abbot smiled. “So I hear. We can show you the genuine article in a minute. What do you say we head to my chambers and sit for a spell?”

---SOME TIME LATER---

The quarters of Abbot Mathias were cozy and lived in, made more so by the hearty laughter shared by the two men occupying it.

Book spoke in between his chuckles. “So there he is marching about the ship, naked as the day he was born, but nobody said a thing, and he just looked so proud. I think it was because he was glad it was just his clothes she took!” The abbot roared with laughter and doubled up. It took a while for him to regain some of his composure.

Book took a breath as he waited for the Abbot to calm. “Now then Brother Matthias. I have regaled with some tales of those I travel with, would you mind telling me what you really wanted to speak with me about?”

The Abbot’s wizened face turned serious. He leaned back and took a deep sigh before he spoke. “When I said that we were having complications it was an understatement. Recently the abbey has struck up an impressive amount trouble with a tong. Yellow Sash. Do you know of them?”

Book nodded slowy. “Unsophisticated bunch of thugs, pirates, killers. Last I heard they were being pushed out of the core worlds by the bigger, stronger organizations like the White Lotus and Grey Hammer tongs.”

“Well they were pushed out it would seem. And they set themselves down on worlds like Erza, Boros…and Beaumonde. Absorbed or killed most of the little crimelords in the area, or so the locals tell me. Originally they ignored us as being too poor for their interests. But now…”

Book finished for him. “But now they see you doing all of this construction and wondered if your coffers were deeper than you let on.”

Matthias nodded. “They have been trying to shake us down. Problem is, the money get from pilgrims goes straight into more building materials, supplies, and keeping the Abbey alive. The tong’s local leader, a nasty piece of work who calls himself the White Rooster, does not believe me when I tell him this, and his patience is running thin. It started out with lots of threats and posturing, but recently several monks have been attacked when they were outside the walls of the abbey.”

“And your ‘construction accident’?”

"Not an accident. A man dressed as a pilgrim tossed some sort of explosive into one of the scaffolds and made it collapse. We caught him and found out he was a Yellow Sash thug.” His voice shook with a bit of anger now. “We turned him in to the local authorities, and his paperwork got magically lost, so he was released the next day with a wrist slap. The local enforcement is either too scared, too far away to care, or corrupt, and when we went to the Federal Marshall offices, they just told us to take our problems to the local law enforcement!”

“Sounds like you have a pack of troubles, but what does this have to do with you inviting me here?"

The Abbot lowered his voice a bit. “Brother, I do not know if you know this, but you are becoming something of a legend among the circles of not just the churches of your order, but a good amount of the Christian sects of the rim entire. Calling you the ‘Shepherd of the Rogues’ and whatnot-”

Book’s face reddened slightly. “Well The Lord seems to prefer me among the sinners rather than the saints. And all I have to ask is who is in more need of my council to be set in my path for that respect. Now if people want to start giving me titles…” he looked down in thought.

“And then there is what Southdown told me about how you actually came to join their order-”

The Shepherd looked up sharply. “I would kindly prefer it if we kept that part of my life buried in the past.”

“Of course forgive me. I am curious though, have you told you crew anything about your previous life?”

“No, for one I fear their reaction, especially the Captain’s, were they to know the full truth and two…” He smiled a bit. “It’s pretty entertaining to see them twist and try to figure it out from what little hints I give them.” His smile faded slightly. “Back to the point, please.”

The Abbot began to look a little nervous. “Yes, well of course you were welcome to visit anyways, even if you are a Thomasite Shepherd.” He smiled weakly “But I invited you here because of what I had heard of you, and I wanted to ask your advice about what I should do of my situation.” He did not sound desperate, but the air of it suddenly came heavy in the room.

Now it was Book’s turn to lean back in his chair and look weary. “Well brother, I am flattered, I think, that you would want to seek me out for this. However-” He was cut off by his radio crackling to life.

"Shepherd Book? I'm sorry, but you and the Doc need to make grace back to the ship. I'm afraid we've got a deadline to meet."

“Abbot If I know Zoe that tone means I must leave now and in a hurrying manner. As for my advice, the best I can give is to look for as many friends outside the Abbey you can find. People you find in groups like the Yellow Sash tend to respect only one thing: their own lives. You are gonna have to find someone to threaten that respect to get them to back off.” The shepherd realized he was saying rather un-shepherdy things and stood quickly.

“Now if you will excuse me, which way is it to the hospital wing?”

* * *

Book took one last look at the massive edifice of the abbey as he, Simon, and River piled into the car. He turned again to the Abbot, who stood at the foot of the stairs, a weary smile on his face. Book smiled warmly.

“Have faith Abbot, and contact me if things change. Farewell, and thanks for inviting us here.” He sat down inside the car and shut the door quietly.

“Driver, if you could get us back to the docks and hurry, we would take it as a kindness.”
-----------------------------------
(Ooc-For the sake of speed, River, Simon, And Book are back on the Serenity thread, and anything that happened in the car or before that can be conveyed via flashback, past tense talking, etc.)
Side note of what a Tong is for clarification. A tong is basically Chinese Mafia, although in the future most forms of mafia have been incorporated into the tong system (The Grey Hammer tong for example is the remains of the Russian mafia). Tongs ore vary fractious in nature, and the behavior of them are often quite different. They run the range from vicious killers who covet power above all else, petty thugs, slavers, and pirates who cll themselves a tong to get more respect, high standing socialites who run the tong like a corporation, to benign organizations just looking to keep their holdings in good standing and profitable. Some tongs are as old as the founding of the worlds and some are brand new. Mind that the tongs only represent part of the organized version of crime and are mostly located in the located in the core, out of the way of micro-empires like Niska’s. I hope this sits well with you people as an idea.