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Sunday, April 26, 2015

09 - The Last Day of Magic

April 1776

In the week leading up to the end of April, Fisher and Rose continually checked in with Franklin to see if there was anything they could do to be of service but the answer was the same every time - nothing.  Franklin's efforts in propaganda and diplomacy had amounted to nothing and his patience was wearing thin.  Franklin's confidence in Congress' fool-hardy scheme was all but gone.  The Canadian's were not going to join the rebellion.  The best Congress could hope for was that the Continental army could hold back the British alone and that meant capturing Quebec.

At the same time dismal reports were coming in from the front lines of the siege of Quebec.  As of April 15th more than half of the short-term enlistments of the 1,900 Continentals had expired.  With their strength recently cut in half, and the camps suffering from disease and hunger, the moral of the troops was shattered.  Luckily, General John Thomas had just arrived in Montreal, fresh from Boston, with a small contingent of men with which to reinforce the beleaguered Continentals.  Thomas reported to Arnold upon arrival in Montreal and Arnold gave him orders take command of the siege.  Arnold hoped that Thomas would inspire confidence in the men since he had just successfully lead the men in Roxbury and on Dorchester Heights to victory over the British in Boston.  Thomas was told to leave for the Quebec as soon as weather permitted.

At the close of the month Fisher and Rose had accomplished little and their prospects of being useful were quickly disappearing.  Finally Fisher decided to seek an audience with General Arnold to offer his services again.  Fisher still had his reservations about joining the army but he wanted to help with the situation in Canada and Arnold was the only man in Montreal who could make use of him.
Charlotte, on the other hand, had absolutely no interest in joining another siege camp.  One siege had been plenty for her.  Instead she wished to return to New York to perform or aid Knox and Washington with the defense of the city.  She made her opinion known, but Fisher remained determined to fight and proceeded with his proposal to Arnold anyways.

Arnold welcomed the two magicians back to his office with great warmth.  He expressed his deepest respect for their craft and art.  Arnold confided in them that he believed the only reason that the Continentals failed to capture Quebec in their initial attack was the result of there being no magician to coordinate favorable weather conditions.  Arnold believed that had Crowe stayed with his forces, instead of being called back to Boston, Richard Montgomery would still be alive, and the Continentals would currently have been reinforcing Quebec to repel the British reinforcements.

Before long Arnold was urging Fisher to join his men, saying that his involvement could be the difference between success and failure.  Fisher explained that he wanted to join but didn't want to commit to an enlistment.  Arnold explained that without enlisting Fisher would never be able to assist the siege.  Arnold explained that the troops wouldn't respect him, that the officers wouldn't trust him. Still worse, he would almost certainly be laughed out of the camp or killed for fear of being a spy.  As the two men talked Fisher began to understand that Arnold was right and that if he wanted to help he would need to enlist.

Charlotte, fearing that she would be separated from Fisher as a result of his enlistment, pleaded with Nicholas to reconsider.  Arnold eased her fears by explaining that she would not be separated from Fisher.  Instead the two of them would be kept together as long as Fisher remained in service to the army.  By joining the army Fisher would be given the rank of Captain and leeway to accomplish his magic in whatever manner he saw fit.  Charlotte would be able to join the camp as his dependent and travel with him wherever he needed to go.  Furthermore Arnold ensured Charlotte that Fisher would not be sent to fight on the front lines, or storm the city, since magicians typically performed their duties from the rear of the battlefield.

Charlotte never warmed up to the idea but in the end she agreed to let Fisher join so long as his enlistment was limited to 6 months, and that upon immediate completion of the siege that Fisher be transferred back to New York under the command of General Knox.  Arnold agreed to the terms and Fisher signed his enlistment papers right then and there.

Fisher's first orders from Arnold were to report to General Thomas and help him secure safe passage to Quebec up the St. Lawerence River.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

08 - The Last Day of Magic

April 1776

Fisher and Rose eventually set off from Boston for Montreal with Crowe and a small contingent of troops.  They retraced the path they took with Knox's expedition back through the Berkshire Mountains and then up through Albany.  As they passed through Saratoga Crowe experienced the natural power of the town that Fisher and Rose had felt as they came through on Christmas of last year.  The shear magnitude of magical energy was so profound to Crowe that he requested they spend a day in Saratoga so that Fisher could take him to the epicenter.

In the afternoon, after the troops were settled in, Fisher and Rose accompanied Crowe out to the epicenter. The open field looked just as unassuming as it had when they had performed their Christmas spectacle just a few months previous.  Crowe was enamored and spend the next hour exploring the area until an old gentlemen approached the three magicians out in the field.  The man wore a spring coat and hat, he had on his a pair of round spectacles, and he walked with a pronounced limp.  He introduced himself as Benjamin Franklin.

Franklin heard from the men in town that three magicians from Boston were there in Saratoga so he took it upon himself to walk out and meet them despite a debilitating flair of gout that he was suffering through.  Franklin explained that he knew a thing or two about magic himself.  Franklin even performed a brief display of magic for the magicians. The trick turned out to be more of a chemical reaction than practical magic, however Franklin's trick spurred a conversation amongst the four of them.  They discussed weather, magic, science, and politics for sometime until Franklin excused himself from their company to get off his feet and rest, but before he left he invited them all for dinner to continue their conversation.

That evening a small banquet was hosted for Franklin in Saratoga. Fisher, Rose, and Crowe were invited as guests of Franklin.  Polite conversation was carried out during the meal, most of which centered on Franklin, however sometime after dessert Franklin turned the conversation towards practical magic and science.  The small company of dinner guests soon pressed Franklin to demonstrate a small display of electricity as he was known to do at such dinner parties.  Franklin agreed.

The demonstration Franklin gave was one he had done countless times.  He fetched from his luggage a medium sized Leyden Jar.  He explained to the guests that the jar already contained a charge of electrostatic energy from days ago, before he left Philadelphia.  He asked for a volunteer and sheepishly a man stepped forward.  Franklin gave the man a metal fork from the table and instructed him to slowly move the fork towards the metal rod sticking out of the Leyden Jar.  The man cautiously moved the fork towards the metal rod until a small flash of electricity arched between the fork and the metal rod shocking the volunteer mildly.  The guests were pleased with display but Franklin quickly dispelled their applause.  Franklin explained that arch had been a small one and that he thought there was enough of a charge left in the jar for one more demonstration.

Franklin again asked his volunteer to approach the jar with the fork, but this time Franklin gave a knowing glance over his shoulder at Fisher.  Fisher understood at once what the old man was thinking.  Before the volunteer began his second approach Fisher slide his chair back, stood up, and blew out all but one of the candles in the room.  The dining room was cast into near darkness.  Just as he had hoped the darkness heighten everyone's excitement for the second shock; Fisher could feel the air grow even heavier with magical energy.

The volunteer was visibly shaking as he approached the Leyden Jar the second time.  As the fork came within two feet of the jar Fisher pooled all of the energy in the room and feed it through Charlotte.  The energy was palpable, and with it, Rose directed the energy into the air between the jar and the fork.  The air tingled and then cracked with electricity.  From the jar erupted a thick blue vein of electricity that briefly illuminated the whole room as it greedily consumed the magically charged air between the jar and the fork.  The fork was blasted from the volunteer's loose grip and clattered along the floor.  The room went dark again and everyone was stunned, nobody said a word for quite some time.

Soon after clearing away his equipment Franklin excused himself and left the dining room.  The guests were still buzzing from the display, all of their conversations centered on the spectacle. After several minutes it became clear that Franklin was not returning so one by one the guests left the party.  After the last guest left Franklin reentered the dining room where Fisher, Rose, and Crowe were still sitting, quietly talking amongst themselves.

The conversation that followed amongst the magicians and Franklin was brief but enlightening.  Franklin proved to the magicians that he in fact knew a thing of two about practical magic, whether he could actually perform magic himself was unclear, but the man seemed to know more than most.  Franklin explained that some magic, like the magic they had witnessed that evening was based on perception.  Fisher and Rose admitted to experimenting with such magic, while Crowe denied that it was possible.  Franklin metaphorically refereed to himself as a Leyden Jar; just a Leyden Jar holds an electrical charge - so too could he.  Franklin explained that when people see him they expect certain outcomes due to his fame and notoriety.  The expectation that people have of him generates a magical charge just like the jar.  A magician can then harness and direct that energy the he generates, Franklin likened himself to a catalyst or battery for magical energy.  Fisher and Rose were encouraged while Crowe recoiled further and further from the prospect of such practices the more Franklin spoke.  Eventually Franklin grew tired and had to excuse himself.  The four retired for the night.

The next day all four set off together for Montreal.  They shared the road up to Fort George, and then by boat they journeyed up Lake George, past Fort Ticonderoga, up Lake Champlain and nearly a week later arrived in Montreal. Along their journey Franklin discussed mostly magic and politics with Fisher, Rose, and Crowe.  The most interesting point of discussion concerning magic was related to the practical magic that the Native American's practiced.  Franklin told of stories he had read or heard of that the Natives practiced a sort of spiritual magic, very similar to the type of magic that Charlotte was able to perform.  Franklin had few details to share but he did know that there were Indians who could sense and wield the magic that comes from men.

The magicians came to learn that Franklin was traveling to Montreal as a embassy on behalf of the Continental Congress.  Franklin was charged with the task of winning the Canadian populous over to the cause of rebellion against the British.  However, for reasons political, economical, social, and religious Franklin had very little hope of succeeding in convincing the Canadian's to join the fight against the British.  Nevertheless, Franklin would try his best to succeed against all odds.

When they arrived in Montreal they parted ways.  Crowe reported to Benedict Arnold, Franklin went to begin his work establishing a free press to distribute propaganda, and Fisher accompanied Rose to find her family.  To Rose's relief her aunt and uncle's home still stood.  The City of Montreal had for a brief time been a battleground and a number of structures showed signs of the struggle to that took place when the Continentals took the city by force.  From the street she could even see her aunt and uncle moving within the home.

Rose asked Fisher to give her some time to explain things to her family.  Fisher obliged and left for a nearby tavern.  The reunion didn't go as Rose had planned.  At first her aunt and uncle were relieved to see her alive and safely home, but as Rose explained where she had really been, and what she had been doing for the past few months, her aunt and uncle became angry with her.  In their eyes she had foolishly been carousing with the enemy, the American rebels, and had squandered her good name and prospect of attracting a suitable husband.  Rose took serious offense to her aunt and uncles dismissal of what she had accomplished.

Rose's emotions got the best of her and she stormed up to her room like a defeated child and locked herself in.  She sat and thought on her situation until night when, finally she determined that she would not stay under her family's roof any longer.  If they couldn't see what she saw in the American rebellion then they truly were the enemy.  With a heavy heart Charlotte packed up what belongings she could carry and slipped out her window into the night to find Fisher.

Fisher was surprised to hear that Charlotte had fallen out with her family, but he was glad to have her at his side once again.  They found accommodations that night and woke the next morning ready to seek out Franklin to help him with his mission.  It didn't take long to track Franklin down, he was the talk of the city.  When they arrived at the building where Franklin had set up his printing press they found him busily working.  General Benedict Arnold had also come to pay the printer a visit and the three were introduced.

Arnold apologized that he couldn't stand to greet them properly as his leg was wounded from a gun shot wound he took when his forces failed to seize Quebec a few weeks ago.  Arnold explained that he had been fortunate despite his injury, his commanding officer General Richard Montgomery, the man who lead the Continentals in the capture of Montreal, had been killed in the battle.  With Montgomery dead, Arnold had assumed command of the troops laying siege to Quebec.

When Fisher and Rose asked Franklin what they could do to help his mission Franklin deferred to Arnold.  Franklin explained that the success of his mission hung, in large part, on the success of the siege and capture of Quebec.  The only thing stopping the Continental's from capturing Quebec was Guy Carlton and his mixed force of 800 loyalist militia and British regulars.  Guy Carlton, the Captain General and Governor-in-Chief of Canada, had retreated from Montreal and was now fortifying Quebec to stave off the Continental army long enough for 8,000 British troops to arrive from England.  If the Continentals could seize Quebec before the British reinforcements arrived they would control the harbor and could stop the British from landing in, and taking back Canada.

Franklin believed that the magicians would be best used as part of Arnold's forces stationed outside Quebec.  Due to his injury Arnold was forced to command the troops from the rear at Montreal in order for him to recover from his wound, however he had already sent Crowe to the front lines to reinforce his troops.  Arnold asked if Fisher and Rose were up for the task of joining the fight.  Fisher and Rose were, but Fisher was reluctant to officially join the Continental Army.  Arnold sensed Fisher's apprehension and made it clear that he had no interest in recruiting men who's hearts were not in it.

Fisher and Rose once again asked Franklin how they could best serve him, but Franklin didn't have any specific answer for them besides helping Arnold.  For the time being the two magicians where stuck at an impasse, a hard decision awaited them - commitment or inaction.




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