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.