Chain of Custody


Brennan and Signy depart the ostentatious cluster of Royals hovering around Martin, and Tenacity is swept along in their wake.

Brennan turns to Tenacity and says, "If you're interested in that Squire position, here's your first job: Go find my cousin Robin and set up a meeting between her and I. Signy and I will walk slow back to the celebration and when you come back with news and arrangements I'll introduce you to some of the Knights, and they'll make arrangements, get you kitted out and ready to leave in a day or so." He thinks that over, then adds, "If you're not interested, do all that anyway and we'll skip the introductions and kitting out and you can consider it a bullet dodged."

Brennan lets her move off on her own, then says to Signy, "Two birds with one stone-- I trust my squires with a lot, but there's going to be a lot we all talk about in the next day that would put her life in danger to hear about. So you're caught up in rough terms on all this business about Tir and the King and Cambina?"

Signy nods slowly. "And we think that the same one that was in Tir with Cambina is involved with the King, right?"

She sounds hesitant, still not quite sure if she's connecting all the dots correctly.

"That's the theory. And if you're feeling confused and like you've only got a fraction of the story, well, I feel the same way. And I'm getting tired of it," Brennan says. "Hence the meeting late tonight. It's cards on the table time. I just hope we don't degenerate into the cloak and dagger, advantage seeking, secrecy for its own sake mentality as our parents' generation," he grumbles. It sounds as though he might physically knock heads together if that starts up.

"We do need to stop at my quarters briefly. There was a chain that we brought back from when we rescued the Queen, and I wonder if it's somehow related or might provide some further insight into what's going on."

"Right, I remember hearing about it and talking about it, but never actually seeing it," Brennan says, as they enter. "Yes, that's too dangerous to leave lying around. It might also be too dangerous to bring to the meeting, so I don't know what to do about that. Edan supposedly has some device he stole from them, and I haven't see that, either. Do me a favor and keep a weather eye on that thing, Sorcerously if you have to, while you're in close proximity to Edan tonight. If there's time maybe I can take a look at it, too."

Signy listens quietly to Brennan as he speaks.

"There is a spot, on the road down to Rebma. When I was travelling down there the first time with Red Fox Claws and Brother Tomat, we spent the night in a cave with some sort of stone thing that looked like a seated figure. I slept, and dreamed that the same woman was there gazing off into the distance. She seemed intent on something, but when I tried to see more I ended up waking as things were shaking like an earthquake."

She pauses, before glancing at Brennan. "It seems like that location and that event is important somehow, if only something that should be mentioned to the Queen so that she can try to guard or watch that site as best she can?"

Brennan almost breaks stride when Signy mentions that. "I know the site," he says. "It was holding a key to Rebma's Pattern chamber that I conjured. Celina knows about it, too, because we talked about it, and Conner because he was there. But bring it up tonight anyway-- I haven't thought about that in a while and it's the sort of thing people need to know about if they don't, reminded of if they do. For what it's worth, the figure on that throne is the Queen." And he obviously doesn't mean Celina. "Tell me about this dream?" Brennan asks.

Signy sighs quietly, thinking back for a moment.

"Tomat, Red Fox Claws and I were travelling to Rebma. We reached a cavern on the road where there was a statue that looked sort of like a person on a throne, but not clearly. We decided to pause there to rest, and set watches. The room was lit up with magic, though, that much I could see when we checked it out."

She pauses, licking her lips, before continuing in a quieter, more cautious voice. "Red Fox Claws had the first watch, and I was asleep as soon as my head hit my pack. I woke after some time, and I was by myself. The rock formation looked much more like a person than it did when I went to sleep, and was sparkling on its own."

She pauses, remembering little details. "The statue looked like it was breathing, and had been holding a long weapon of some sort.

"I tried using Sorcery to look at the formation, see what it really was, and it cracked open and She was there. It was weird - that close to a source of Order, and the working was effortless. She was gazing off into the distance, and seemed...eager, and also worried. She also felt like she wasn't really there, so I tried to see where she was projecting from. It was far away, and I couldn't really figure anything else out about where she was projecting from. Or when."

She sighs. "At that point I wanted out, and tried to use Pattern to force myself back into the real world. It was weird -- She felt like she somehow connected to the Pattern, and when I was using that instead of Sorcery were the only times that she seemed to take any notice of me. It seemed like she had just figured out who I was or something when Red Fox Claws woke me up. In the dream the cavern felt like an earthquake was happening, but after waking the room was just a little more dusty."

"Well, now you know the reason she seemed connected to the Pattern," Brennan says. "She is to Tir as Oberon was to Amber.

"Was there a mirror in the chamber when you were there? And-- a weapon? What kind of a weapon?"

Signy pauses her narrative to think for a bit. "I don't recall seeing a mirror. I don't know what the weapon was, but it was a longer one, a spear or a sword."

She thinks for a moment longer. "So Dworkin created the primal. Then, for some unknown reason at some point Oberon created Amber, She created Tir, and it was one of Cneve or Lir that created Rebma. Then, at Patternfall, Corwin created Paris and Random Xanadu. Does this pattern imply something about Corwin and Random's relationship over time? And do we have any idea what the event was that caused the creation of the three?"

"Well, that's interesting. You'd remember the mirror if it had been there. It was not subtle," Brennan says. "And I'm pretty sure it was Moins herself who created Rebma. Lir's background is obscure. The most credible story I've heard is that he's her son. The second most credible is that he was her lover so if you find yourself talking to someone personally invested in any part of those stories.... step very gingerly.

"No, I've go no idea why Amber and Tir and Rebma were made, if they were even made at the same time, just the vague notion that it might have been part of the defense against Chaos. But then I'm an old soldier-- I look at that arrangement and think towers or bastions." He shrugs. "Don't forget Benedict's Avalon, or the really weird stories of a Paris under King Carol. Your friend Firumbras claims to have been a member of Carol's court. All of those events are so long ago they're all but out of living memory. Most of them are so far before Benedict's time they were legend and myths during his youth.

"What about Weyland," Brennan asks suddenly. "Does he deal in things other than swords?"

Signy listens to Brennan's take on the layout quietly. "I wonder -- we had the Ruby, and the Sapphire. Was there a stone for Tir? It feels like there might be some balance there, and things might be upset with three Patterns made with the Ruby?"

She sighs.

"Weyland made any number of things for people. Mostly it was people showing up with projects that were worthy of his skill, and who would pay the price he set. If you went to him and asked him for a sword he would hand that off. A sword that's bound to the Pattern, on the other hand...." Her voice trails off for a moment.

"It's harder than it looks, too," she says a bit more conversationally. "I tried to make a gauntlet for the Queen not too long ago. It...didn't go well."

Brennan looks interested-- very interested-- when Signy mentions this gauntlet, but doesn't want to get sidetracked quite yet.

"That's a hell of a good question, about a jewel for Tir. It's one I've asked myself. If you ever find out, let me know, it's probably critically important given... what Bleys described." Even on horseback switching back and forth up a mountain cliff, Brennan doesn't quite want to discuss Random's condition in the open air. "And you're very perceptive-- I'd be fascinated to know if Weyland could produce such a Jewel, but I think asking the question would reveal a greater depth of ignorance than I'm comfortable with.

"But I was thinking about information in general. Piecing things together, including what I've heard from Benedict, I think Weyland belongs properly to the same age of antiquity as Lir-- which is to say, legend to even someone as old as Ben. Other than Dworkin and oddities like Firumbras, he may be our best bet for information that is someone's living memory. The rest of the Family doesn't seem to think much of him, and I can begin to see why-- they say he'll forge anything for a price. But will he speak true, answer questions for a price?" Brennan asks.

Signy gives Brennan a sober look. "I don't know, to be truthful. He might, though he never really was willing to talk and open up to me, outside of smithcraft that didn't touch on the Family. I had no clue about the Pattern blades and his involvement until I walked the Pattern."

She pauses, and considers her next words carefully. "If you do approach him, be very careful with the bargaining. I've seen many people not be specific enough about what they want out of him, and leave having given up a lot and not gotten what they really wanted in return. I've also seen people get what they want, but give up far more than they expected to. It all depends on his mood, and your skill as a negotiator."

She pauses again. "You may not want to mention that you know me all that well, we didn't part on great terms."

She switches back to the other thread of the conversation. "Is it just me, or does it seem like Dworkin had a few children, and a lot of this is the result of Oberon's power plays with his siblings?"

"Oh, I'm sure he thinks mostly highly of me, too, for my role in that. There was no chance we were going to leave you behind if he tried to imprison you again-- that just wasn't going to happen," Brennan says. "I'm not even sure if I'm asking for myself or just to raise the possibility for someone more... diplomatic... to go in all our steads.

"And I don't know. I'm not even sure that Moins or the other one were actually his siblings, much less this mysterious Carol-- are you? It stands to reason, but I have no evidence other than that. And if there is anyone who can explain to me in detail what happened with Tir-na Nog'th, they're not telling. Ambrose and I were hoping something would turn up in Brand's papers, because we know he thought there was some problem with her Pattern, we just don't know what or why. So what's this gauntlet you mentioned?" Brennan asks.

Signy shakes her head in the negative. Things still don't seem to add up.

"Dworkin had Oberon, and Oberon had Brand and Dierdre and all the rest. But the Pattern swords are as Ordered as anything that is out there outside of the Patterns themselves. I'm new at a lot of things, and clearly have a lot to learn about my craft, but I don't see any way that a non-Ordered being could craft those blades.

"So that raises the question of where Weyland fits into our family tree -- is he some other lost generation of Oberon's children, or did Dworkin have more than just Oberon? Moins drew a Pattern, so she's Ordered as well. She..." and here, Brennan hears the particular emphasis that she's talking about the red-haired woman from her dream, "only really became aware of me once I started to apply Pattern. I think I could have thrown Sorcery at her until the end of time, and I don't think she would have noticed in the slightest."

She sighs, and feels a familar ache behind her eyes as she runs through the Family tree again and again, making and discarding variants.

Brennan's had this discussion with enough people, enough times, that he's gotten past the reflex to argue it to the hilt.

"The gauntlet? Wasn't my proudest moment. I'd wanted to craft something special for Celina, something that would be proof against most normal blades and would let her quickly form a mirror with a palm full of water.

"It wasn't...normal, but it wasn't really what it was supposed to be. It lacked something, but it's a something that's on the tip of my tongue, that I just can't quite express somehow. I'm pretty sure my father would know right away, and the Queen suggested Dworkin might be of assistance as well."

"Reality?" Brennan asks.

Brennan and Signy have had to take the last bit of path to come round the corner to where the castle is and have now rounded that corner. The castle (where Signy left the chain) is before them, with the usual guards in place.

Brennan lets Signy lead-- since she knows where they're going-- but not, if he can help it, linger.

Signy moves quickly into the castle, making a straight line to her quarters. She keeps the two of them moving quickly enough that the inevitable staff moving throughout the halls don't feel the need to stop them.

They rapidly get to the Family quarters, and Signy slows down and stops outside one of the doors. She puts her hand on the handle, before turning to Brennan. "My pack's in here, so we should be in and out. Is there anywhere in here that you want to stop before we head out to the big meeting?"

"I have to talk with Robin, if she's available. I probably should have had Tenacity tell her to meet here, but as it is... it's back to the square, I guess," Brennan says. "Don't feel bad, either, but that's going to be a private conversation."

Signy pushes on the door to open it, and strides in, motioning Brennan in behind her, as she heads for the chair next to the small desk where her pack hangs over the back.

The chain is where Signy left it. It's a thin chain like a (large) jewelry chain, but strong as anything. Five feet long, made out of silvery metal, shiny not matte, and very bright. It looks like something that someone should have gotten off Tir.

Brennan grunts in mild surprise when he sees it. "I was expecting something... heavier," he says.

"If you don't mind?" he asks before taking it.

Signy nods and hands over the chain for inspection. She keeps one eye on Brennan while he inspects it as she rummages through her pack to produce a pair of daggers, the first one that she belts to her hip.

Everyone's on a schedule, so Brennan doesn't take too long, but he'd be derelict in multiple duties if he didn't take the chance to inspect the chain at least briefly. He opens his Third Eye and starts with Bleys' trick of looking at shadows-- he and Signy should both be solid enough to cast shadows in that sense. Then if it seems safe he moves to an inspection of the thing itself. Since this is one of Maeve's or the High Marshall's toys, and since Brennan is not without his own understanding of time and space, he looks particularly to see if there are lengths or links that are hidden in some time-like or space-like way.

Is it a closed loop or an open length? He pays attention to see if there are any topological tricks incorporated, like the one he's put into his own Knight-Commander ring.

The chain is an open length, about 5 feet long, and tremendously strong.

With his Third Eye, Brennan sees that each loop is bound magically to the next in a way that reinforces the connection if any stress is put upon it. It's a good design for a very light, immensely strong chain. And it would be a hell of a time-consuming task to enchant.

"This... is going to take some effort to break, if we ever decide we need to break it." Signy may have the feeling this is a vast understatement even by Redhead standards. "This is less an enchanted chain than a collection of individually enchanted links made into a chain that becomes stronger under stress." Brennan hands it back to Signy. "If you decide you have to break it, don't try main strength, that'll almost certainly fail."

Was the enchantment on the chain Sorcery/Chaos-y or Pattern-y/Ordered?

Brennan would say it's an Ordered thing. It's reinforcing its own properties. It seems particularly 'real' to his senses.

He looks thoughtful for a moment. "Have you shown this to Bleys or Fiona yet? What did they say about it?

Brennan is already moving toward the door, since he sees no reason to linger.

"Brita said that her mother had looked at it briefly, but that was it. And...Bleys knew of it, several of us chatted about it at one point in time." The missing 'Uncle' is audible in there.

She pauses, and glances at a sword hanging off of a belt on a hook by the chair.

"Do you think that's needed?" she asks, offering him one of the daggers in her hands.

"For you to be armed?" Brennan asks. "Not so much armed, as ready for anything. Which means.... yes, armed." Brennan declines the dagger, since he and his Knights were armed and armored out of respect to Edan's new order.

"To break the chain? I don't know. But it's a thing of Ordered magics, which is to be expected. And it's more like a jewelry chain than I expected. And Bleys is saying that whatever is happening to the King is leveraging his connection to the Jewel. So I'm suspicious, but not crazy enough to try to break it right here. I'm not sure we'd succeed anyway," Brennan says.

Signy swiftly crosses over and grabs the belt and has it fastened around her waist by the time she gets back to the door. One of the knives is sheathed and hanging from her belt, and the other seems to have disappeared somewhere on her person.

"It seemed to change, somehow, when we disrupted... whatever it was." She sighs at how maddeningly vague that must sound. "It went from chains to secure a captive to, well, this."

As she reaches Brennan at the door, she hesitates. "At the time, the King made some offhanded comment to the chain being 'smaller than he remembered', but I don't think anyone ever pressed him for more details on that."

"He'd seen it before," Brennan says, his voice suddenly flat.

He had been turning to the door, but stops suddenly, caught in thought. His expression grows cold and dark and angry, like someone who wasn't even aware that he was taking part in a game but suddenly comes to realize that he's one of the marks.

"He'd seen it before. Maybe I have, too. I mentioned the statue in the chamber between Rebma and Paris, where I conjured the key to the Pattern Chamber of Rebma. The key, when conjured, was stone, and part of the statue, and I chiseled it off. I didn't pay too much attention to the statue-chain at the time, but.... the length of it would be about right, and the style of it. I don't know what that means," Brennan says, "but I do not like it."

Signy's hand reaches for the door handle as Brennan speaks, but stops as she takes in his words. Her fingers absently tap on the handle for a moment.

"I wonder if that room maybe needs to be watched. There seems to be a lot of important signs and events that happened there recently," she muses.

She pushes down on the handle and starts to swing the door open.

"I also wonder if there's anyone that has memories that go back far enough that will talk plainly in our Family," she sighs softly.

Tenacity is standing outside the door, and waits for Brennan to come out. She bows quietly to Signy; it's not clear she knows exactly who she is other than Important.

"I saw you coming up, Sir, and asked to find out where you were going. I spoke to Lady Robin. She's with Lady Hannah, Sir Edan, and Lady Paige and they're all going to the Grove, Sir, and would like to speak with you there."

Brennan nods. "Good enough for me," he says. "Tenacity, meet my cousin Lady Signy, daughter of Princess Deirdre; Signy, my page Tenacity."

To Signy, he says, "Looks like the grove is my next stop. You?"

Tenacity bows to Signy and waits for further instructions, if any, or for a dismissal from Brennan.

Signy gives Tenacity a brief nod and the hint of a smile before turning to Brennan. "I don't have any other business now that I have what I came for, and since Martin was rather explicit...." she trails off.

It's clear that for now her path is still with Brennan, assuming he is willing.

He is, but he takes the liberty of borrowing some stationery and a quill or a pen or whatever writing technology Xanadu has converged on. He jots a hasty note which he gives to Tenacity and says, "Take this to the Chapterhouse," by which he can only mean the Chapterhouse of the Order of the Knights of the Ruby in Xanadu, "and give it to Dame Pebble. Wait there, take what she gives you, and follow her directions."

The note is sealed with his signet and reads:

Dame Pebble,

This young woman, Tenacity by name, is my new page. See that she is outfitted properly, armed and armored, for a long journey. If any squad departs with me, make sure she is with it.

Sir Brennan Brandson, KCOR

(Dame Pebble is known among the Knights for her ability with logistics and fine details, and is herself already assigned to the squad Brennan hand-picked for a return to Avalon. The general expectation so far is that that group will be the one to move out with Brennan, but all is in flux.)

Tenacity bows, takes the note, and is off with it to Dame Pebble.

Once Tenacity departs, Brennan looks at Signy, shrugs, and says, "Off to the Grove, then," and heads off, probably to encounter one or more cousins on the way back down the mountain.


Garrett nods once after hearing Martin's instructions. He leans over to squeeze Lilly's hand. "Be careful. See you in a bit," he says quickly, releasing her hand.

Turning back to Jerod, he shifts the duffel on his shoulder and asks, "Any idea where Fiona might be?"

"Well, we could go looking where we saw the King last, but there's no guarantee she'll be there with her brother." Jerod says, reaching into a pocked to pull out his Trumps as they walk.

"Or we could find an isolated spot and give her a shout." and pulls out Fiona's card.

Garrett nods and subtly shifts his position to block the card from public view while Jerod chooses an appropriate spot.

When Jerod tries to contact Fiona, he is unable to do so; it feels to him as though her mind is busy with something that is taking her full attention and she is unable to respond. Sort of like the effect he'd feel if he'd Trumped Dad while Dad was hellriding or something.

Garrett cocks his head in question, looking concerned, as he recognizes the difficulty Jerod is having getting through.

Jerod stops once he recognizes the interference, then puts the card away.

"No dice." he says quietly. "Busy it would seem. We'll be doing it the old fashioned way it would seem."

"Right," Garrett agrees with a single nod. He gestures toward the stables. "We can go grab horses. Hope they don't shy at the load," he suggests, shrugging the duffel on his shoulder to indicate his meaning.

Approaching footsteps eventually herald Conner's arrival. "Evening cousins. How interesting has your night been?"

Garrett, who's carrying a heavy-looking duffel bag over his shoulder, turns to answer. "Evening, Conner. Very interesting so far," he smirks. "And you?"

"Fairly moderate, given the situation." Jerod replies. "Came away from a battle that nuke Gateway, got decent scotch, found out my sister is out politicking and now stuff is going to hell with the King. Should've stayed in the battle I'm thinking.

"We need to deliver a zombie-head to your mom, and up the hill is where we go. Time for horses."

"I only got to see the Silver Towers rise." Conner replies. "And it seems you've heard my news of the King but I've clearly missed news of an undead nature." Conner replies. "I'm looking for Mother too. Catch me up on the ride?" Conner asks.

"We should be able to get horses at the stable," Garrett says, nodding in that direction and starting to walk there. He hefts the duffel bag into a more comfortable position on his shoulder and continues speaking once they have escaped the worst of the crowd. "I don't know the whole story, but Martin brought this back from the place he and Folly have been living. Sounds like he's been encountering them across shadow, which is alarming," he explains grimly.

"Then let's be off for the horses." Jerod says. "Cause alarming is beginning to sound like the new norm. We had zombies in Gateway too. Took down two the three Triumvirate, with some help from Weyland who was apparently looking for some vengeance time because of Marius. The third of the crew is apparently under the remains of the Citadel that we blew to pieces, raising an undead army."

The group makes their way, at speed then, to the stables, where Jerod, in typically Prince like fashion, makes an announcement that three horses are required immediately for business of the Crown. He then waits for a second or so in case any of the locals want to complain before he gives them a look that will make them want to shrivel up and die...

And if that doesn't work, then Conner can try to sweet-talk them... while threatening to kill them or feed them to his Mom.

"As much as it pains me to have to say anything other than 'with pleasure' to you gentlemen," the stablemaster says, wincing, "Lord Vere and the rangers have just taken the last of our horses--on Crown business. But for Crown business, I am sure one of the nearby merchants or householders would be happy to lend them to you and Prince Garrett, good sirs."

Even as the stablemaster is speaking, Garrett is surveying the nearby shops for the one most likely to have a horse with a carriage or small cart. Settling on a bakery on a nearby corner, he turns back to the stablemaster and says, "Thank you for your help, sir. That's a good idea." He catches the eyes of his companions and nods toward his target, then starts to lead the group in that direction.

The stablemaster looks relieved that Prince Garrett has the matter under control.

Since Garrett has a target already in mind, Jerod goes with the flow.

Garrett leads them around to the service door at the rear of the bakery, looking for either a horse and cart or someone to ask about those things.

Well, there is a cart-horse, and also what look like several plough-horses. They're attached to wagons that might've been bringing flour to the bakery.

A baker's boy comes around the corner. "Hallo, Sirs, we are closed for the festivities."

"Good evening, young sir. I am Prince Garrett," Garrett begins politely. "I and my cousins are in need of a horse and cart to return to the castle on crown business.

"If we can borrow this one," he says, pointing to the cart-horse, which appears to Garrett to be the best horse of the bunch, "we will happily send it back with a batch of flour specially ground for the royal kitchens to use in your bakery."

The boy turns white, which is a feat with all the flour on him. Whiter. "Ah, of course your majesty. Anything you desire. Ma will be most happy to have assisted you."

"Damn but he reminds me of someone young and new to the world." Jerod says quietly, a very slight smile on his face looking at Garrett.

Garrett is still focused on the boy, but apparently heard Jerod based on the quick smirk that flashes across his face. "Good man. My thanks," Garrett says to the boy with a smile.

Turning to his companions, he nods at the cart. "Gentlemen? Shall we?"

"We await on his majesty's pleasure." Jerod replies, even as they move off, keeping mindful of the zombie head.

The cart rumbles through the street, pulling the three royals. It's a bit livelier than it would be were it full, but it is still a street-barge.

At last, the last turn is made and the cart comes into view of the castle.

Garrett steers the cart to the stables and pulls it to a stop on the edge of the stable yard. After ensuring that their parcel is safe with Jerod and Conner, he turns the reins over to the nearest stable-hand with instructions that several bags of flour from the castle kitchens should be on board when the cart is returned to its owner.

Once the directions are given, he returns to Jerod and Conner. "Would she be in the Royal Chambers, you think?" he asks them.

"She would be attending the King. Were this an ordinary time, I'd say to check his studio over his quarters." Conner shrugs. "Let's head that way and hopefully find a page that can tell us where the King or Mother is in residence."


"If there's one thing I learned on a ship," Raven says as she approaches the group, "it's that when the officers cluster, something's going on. What needs doing still?"

Silhouette dips her head respectful to those assembled.

Martin's hard to read but he looks relieved that someone is here to lend a hand and not give him some guff. He has a child in his arms, presumably his daughter, and he starts ticking things off on the fingers of one hand. "First and most important: Apparently Dad's been taken over by the boss lady of the city at the top of the stairs, who is wearing his wife like a glove. Second, meeting at midnight in the local equivalent of the Grove. Family only. Third, Garrett's got a zombie head that I brought back from San Lucien for Fiona and apparently she's busy so we may need someone to run it up to the castle. Zombies in this crowd would be bad, so let's not.

"Also someone needs to get hold of the women with Hannah, which is basically all the redheaded women, to tell them. Also my wife. Last but not least, no going alone, so if you find one of us going solo, take 'em with you and make sure they get to the meeting. Any questions?"

Silhouette smiles, "How may I serve you best, cousin? And should we call Victor into this discussion?"

Raven shakes her head immediately. "Leave Victor out of it for now. Should be able to lay hands on him if needed." She frowns and nods in the direction of the girl. "Whoever's collecting the kids needs to round up a page named Max while they're at it. That's my brother. Other than that - sounds like we're headed for the castle with a head or where the cards are, which I think is the castle...?"

"Some people have things that will take them up there. Others are doing things down here," Martin clarifies. "And I think Max will be fine; we're having a council and Lark here--" he bounces the little girl "--is a special case." He glances at Brij and adds, "I don't want anything or anyone of Folly's or mine near either Dad or his wife right now."

Raven nods her understanding.

Brij starts to say something but a young Rebman page approaches and coughs to let everyone know she's there. "Lady Silhouette," she says, "Queen Celina is departing for Rebma now. I believe she wishes you to join us if you are ready to leave."

Silhouette turns to the woman and nods. "Thank you."

She turns back to Martin, "Forgive me, my Prince. My Queen calls, and I must answer. With your permission, I will take my leave. But, if you require me, I am at your service." She pauses, thinking. "If you wish, them safe, I can escort your wife and child to Rebma. While certainly not what they're accustomed to, my home's guest room is designed for comfort. And seclusion."

"Thank you," says Martin, "but Lark is staying with me. And when I get hold of Folly, I'll convey your gracious offer, but I suspect she's already up to her elbows in royal business here." And he turns back to the page. "Convey the greetings of Prince Martin to my kinswoman the Queen, and tell her that I would speak with her briefly before she leaves, if possible, on matters of state. I will remain in the square for perhaps an hour or a bit less, but then must go onward to our next destination.

"If she cannot reach me, ask her to contact her brother Prince Merlin."

The page nods. She's been trained in the Rebman fashion, so she'll be able to repeat the message verbatim and convey tone when she speaks to Celina.

"Good luck, Silhouette." Fletcher, Raven, and Silhouette can guess he means you're gonna need it.

Silhouette bows graciously, "Thank, sire. Until we meet again."

She dips her head to the others, "Cousins."

And with that, she gestures for the page to lead on.

Fletcher watches Sil leave, and turns to Martin. "I've been wracking my brain trying to remember anything that might help from my days in Amber. I don't have any great ideas about the mechanics of previous victories, but I will stand with you as long as I'm able. I attend in the grove of course. In the meantime, how immediate do you believe the danger to you and Lark may be? I can remain with you if needed."

"And if not, looks like I'm out a partner," Raven points out. "Unless I can catch up to someone else."

"Your offer is gracious, Sir Fletcher," Martin says, and something in his tone makes Lark straighten in his hold, "but I would not keep you from your duties. Having said that, though," and here he looks from Fletcher to Raven, "there are three of us, and I really don't want any of us going anywhere alone, especially not after what we've all heard. So let's make our way up to the grove in a few minutes--after Brij here has gotten herself safely to the Mayor's house."

And he give Brij another look. "Kiss your gramma goodbye, Lark, because we may not see her again for a while."

Lark dutifully kisses Brij on the cheek and gives her a hug as best she can given the size differential. Martin's not a big guy but Brij, like Folly, is tiny. "I'm glad we got to spend time together," Brij tells her.

"I'll miss you, gramma," Lark says.

Brij takes off a necklace she's wearing and puts it over Lark's head. "Hang on to this for me, sweetie, till we meet again." And then, after another hug, Brij is off, across the courtyard toward the Mayor's house.

Fletcher nods in agreement with Martin, hopefully not giving away his confusion about why he's adding up the four adults in the group and coming up with three. "Good night Lady Brij."

"Night, ma'am," Raven says, with a nod in Brij's direction as she leaves. And then she looks to Martin. "If anybody spots any more strays, feel free to point me at them. Sounds like there's enough to do that it ain't worth it to have more than three of us in one spot right now."

"Is that Ossian?" Martin asks, indicating what looks like Ossian moving out from the Mayor's house where Brij is headed. "I don't know who that is with him, but we need to make sure he's in the loop. If you would, Captain."

"Aye, sir," Raven answers, and there's probably only not a salute there because the captain is out of the habit now. She nods a brief farewell to Fletcher and heads off in Ossian's direction.

"Thanks," Martin says as Raven leaves, and then turns back to Fletcher. "I need to stay here long enough to see whether Celina's coming, or if we don't get anything back from her, we need to move on in about a quarter-glass, if not sooner. We've got a hike coming.

"Yes we do," he adds to Lark, who can clearly tell something is going on and has shut up to listen and figure it out.


Once Huon departs for the Port side, Celina pulls out Trumps and tries to get Llewella.

The response comes quickly. "Who calls?"

Celina speaks clearly and quickly, "It is Celina. There is a Family crisis to speak of."

Llewella yawns. "I thought that wasn't for hours. Are you safe? Do you need to come through? Do you need troops?"

As they speak, Silhouette and a female page cross the hall, heading toward them. Seeing the group involved, she pauses at a respectful distance - waiting to be invited over.

Celina reacts to the sounds of movement, but does not split her concentration with the Trump, "I wanted to let you know things are escalating. It has been suggested strongly that I leave here, but I want to gather Valeria before I go so she is safe too. Xanadu may be compromised by Tir. Your sister, the senior redhead may be fighting this, or already in too deep in defense of the King. Conner is fine so far and taking a direct hand. I don't suppose you have a Trump of Valeria? We were to meet later, but I need to find her now."

Llewella stretches, taking in all of Celina's points. "I think a Trump would burn out her tiny mind. And until the end of Father's reign, we didn't know that anyone but Dworkin could make them."

"Ah," Celina replies, adding that to the pile of things she should have known if she grew up in Rebma.

Celina lifts a finger, pointing at the female page, then Sil. She gestures them to stand near to her. How she manages to do this so precisely while staring at the card is a mystery.

The page is used to imprecise commands given with a high level of precision, and stands where she is instructed.

Silhouette moves closer, nodding to Celina as she joins the page.

"Yes, well, be safe, be wary of strange summons. This seems to be shaping up as worse than the Green Death." Celina pauses, now that Llewella is warned and other persons are not.

Llewella frowns. "We are not ready for a war with our brother, and have not tried to be. Where do your father and Uncle Benedict stand on the matter?"

"I can hardly say as we have not had the felicity of the Family conference," Celina responds. "Benedict has not appeared as yet. Do call me if Benedict arrives in Rebma. Prepare for Bad Things. I have to go. Huon is bringing my Archivists back by ship." Celina shows remorse at the shortness of the exchange.

The Page, as soon as she sees that Celina has made eye contact, moves her lips without speaking aloud. Lip reading is endemic in Rebma, and she only hopes the Queen has the skill. "Message from the Crown Prince, Your Highness" is what Celina sees her 'say'.

Celina motions the page forward pointing at her ear, she leans down, keeping the card focus, "A moment, Aunt. Word comes."

Llewella nods and waits.

The page leans in and, without touching Celina (and therefore not joining the contact), repeats Martin's message, only changing person where necessary. "I convey the greetings of Prince Martin to his kinswoman the Queen. He would speak with you briefly before you leave, if possible, on matters of state. He will remain in the square for perhaps an hour or a bit less, but then must go onward to his next destination.

"If you cannot reach him, he asks you to contact your brother Prince Merlin."

Celina nods to the page, "Thank you so much." She then speaks for Llewella and Sil, "Martin has arrived and wants to talk to me before I leave. Since I have to gather Valeria, I'll be delayed anyhow. I'll have Silhouette with me if we run into rough stuff. Anything else?"

Llewella speaks again, perhaps to additional courtiers in Rebma. "We will have a celebratory parade when you return, your Majesty. I will personally spend time preparing the military."

She seems ready to close the contact.

Celina blows a kiss and closes the Trump. She asks the page to lead them to Martin. And letting the page step out a couple paces, she moves whisper-close to Sil. "Do you have a 'find person' magic handy? I want to get Valeria out of here and I don't want to go to the castle at all."

Silhouette considers this, offering a vague smile. "I would require something personal of the target. Location spells generally necessitate the use of sympathetic magic."

A pause, "I would also need access to my tools. So, I suggest a more tactile and less arcane approach, my Queen."

Celina nods, "All right, tactile. My plan is to make a blood compass. Valeria and I are close family." Celina pronounces the lower case 'family'. "It should get us started in the right direction. Let's talk to Prince Martin."

Silhouette nods, "He sends his greetings and does wish to speak with you over a matter of state. I believe we can find him in the square."

She falls in beside Celina as they walk. In a whisper only the Queen can hear, "Your Trump contact went well, I hope."

"Rebma is warned," Celina whispers back, "and maybe now we can save a few lives. I'll be delighted." She looks more closely at Silhouette. "I have an awful feeling about leaving all this before the Family gets together."

Silhouette offers a faint mile in return, "May I ask, if you are attempting to create blood magic, have you spoken to Huon? He seems to excel in the craft? If he can send creations across Shadow, a compass seems a trifle to him."

Celina does not slow down, now sighting the crowd where she notes Martin's blond head. But she sounds excited to Silhouette, "Really? How very interesting. We shall talk then."

Martin catches sight of Celina in the crowd and waves them over. Fletcher is still there, keeping an eye on things. He leans in to speak to Celina, carefully, his lips not moving much in case they're being visually scryed on. "We're meeting in the pool that's the analogue to the Grove of the Unicorn at midnight to decide what to do. Can you come or do you need to leave immediately?"

"I promised Conner I would go, but Silhouette is dependable. I want to take Valeria with me, she's not safe here. Do you know where she is?" Celina gives Sil a look that says, 'this is going to be crazy but I won't stop you.'

Silhouette dips her head at the Queen's praise. At Celina's glance, she offers a faint smile. "Whatever action best serves the Great Good, I shall undertake it. But my first duty is to the Queen. If she wishes I remain at her side, then that is where I shall be."

Martin makes a disgruntled noise and Lark, who is in his arm, pokes at him to try to cheer him up. "We're going to disperse after we all talk. I don't think anyone wants to be put in the position of vowing fealty, or refusing it. But we can at least do something about finding Valeria. Fletcher, can you find a member of the Royal Guard in the square and ask him to find Lady Valeria and have her present herself at the Mayor's House? I'll meet her there late tonight or in the early morning, depending on how things shake out."

"Of course, Your Highness," Fletcher answers.

He looks back to Celina to see if that will do for her, while Fletcher starts looking around for a Royal Guard (of whom there have been some about and they're not all dispersed, not with the intimations of trouble and the Rangers riding out.)

Celina nods assent to Martin about his help. She removes bracelet and hands it over to Fletcher. "Have the guard give this to Valeria. She was concerned about her safety, with reason it seems, and this will say you have my permission." Celina turns to Sil, "So we wait in the Mayor's house. At least two hours."

Silhouette bows her head, "Of course, milady."

Celina looks back to Martin, "We will not be at the Grove, but we send you with our Blessing. We will make our way back to Rebma, but help is only a Trump call away."

And Celina asks more quietly, which is the Mayor's house, for reference.

Martin point it out. "The Mayor is Lord Ash and his ladies are Haven and Tjaden. Convey him my greetings and tell him that I have asked him to extend the King's hospitality. If he requires verification that it's actually me, tell him I think his tuning on the tenor still sucks. He'll know what I mean. Same for Soren if he shows up. I'll see if I can get Conner to take the news to you afterwards. Your wisdom will be much missed."

"That's not very nice," Lark tells Martin.

"It's true. If the bass isn't properly tuned, the bass line isn't happy, and then nobody's happy, kiddo."

Celina nods, "Well that seems to be all of it. We'll hope for further news from you all after this impromptu session at the Pool of the Unicorn." She turns to Sil. "We may yet have some excitement. Let's go meet the Lord Mayor Ash."

Silhouette bows her head, "Of course." She steps back while Celina says her goodbyes.

Celina hugs Martin and then Lark with equal seriousness.

Lark and Martin hug Celina back. "May the Unicorn guide us all. We're going to need it."


Raven heads straight across the courtyard to the pair, or at least as straight as she can without drawing too much attention.

"Ossian!" she hails as soon as she's close enough to do so without raising her voice enough to get the attention of everyone in the area. "Need to have a word or two, pretty much now..."

The woman who is with Ossian -- clearly a warrior even if she's not currently armed -- takes clear notice of Raven, but waits for Ossian to respond before answering.

Ossian bows "Cousin Raven. This is my mother, Regenlief."

Raven nods. "Ma'am."

"Kinsman," Regenlief replies.

"Things are moving quickly now." Ossian steers the others out of the crowd to some more quiet place. "What's the news?"

"Aye, looks like." Raven lowers her voice. "Prince Martin asked that family meet at midnight at whatever's the local Grove of the Unicorn. And that nobody walk around alone. Didn't say so, but I'm thinking 'alone' probably also means 'without family.' And I didn't follow all the why, but sounds like the King and Queen ain't a part of that, and might be the reason why it's needed."

Regenlief takes all of this in and waits for Ossian to reply.

Ossian nods. "We would do well stay away from the King and Queen according to the latest news I heard. Keeping together is probably wise, also, but I'm not considered wise..."

"You are welcome to join us. Between the three of us we should be able to fend off most threats. Did Martin say anything else?"

"Garrett's got a zombie head to deliver to Princess Fiona," Raven answers, "which I'm thinking means the dead are rising in two different places. Can't say I'm thrilled about that. Otherwise - spread the word to anybody that doesn't know, which I guess is a lot of the girls, and collect anyone that's alone." She shrugs. "I got the idea there's going to be show and tell tonight. At least, I hope so, because I'm not sure I've heard all the interesting bits yet."

"Most likely not" Ossian agrees. "There is change coming. I even managed to have a conversation with cousin Jerod, where we agreed on something.

"So what is your plan until then? Find the girls? I suggest we follow Martin's advice and stay together."

"The 'girls' will have gone wherever the one who was ready to give birth meant to do that," Regenlief says. "Wherever that would be." Which Ossian or Raven will know better than she will, or so apparently Regenlief thinks.

"Kinda hoping it's up there," Raven answers, jerking a thumb in the direction of the castle. "If not, your guess is as good as mine. For plans - aye, the only outstanding order was finding them. Seemed like everything else was covered or not a problem right now. So unless there's something else that's in need of doing that we spot..." She shrugs. "Well, and I was hoping someone else knew exactly where it is we're going. Ain't been here enough to know for sure."

"I have some guesses where to find them up in the castle. There should be some hustle around a royal birth. " Ossian smiles. "Let's sneak into the castle."

Regenlief had been about to say something but Ossian pre-empts her and she looks at him a bit quizzically. "Why would we have to sneak in? Do you think the whole of the castle has already been turned against us?"

Raven looks to Ossian for the answer to that as well.

Ossian shrugs. "No. I don't mean literally sneaking, that would be silly. But we should keep a low profile. We should avoid the king and queen, as far as I get it.

"Let's go" Ossian starts walking towards the castle.

Regenlief is satisfied by this answer. (She's pretty straightforward and while sneaking is definitely in her repertoire, she likes to avoid it when we can.)

"I was wondering if I should re-arm there or whether I should wait until later. Sounds like I can still find something before we go off for this midnight meeting." Regenlief moves off with Ossian, expecting Raven to fall in with them.

"Given the day I've had," Raven says dryly as she follows, "I'd re-arm there. I'm thinking things ain't going to get less busy."

"Then let us all re-arm there, because I would rather have an extra dagger than one too few," Regenlief says, equally dry.

They move towards the castle.

When they get to the castle Ossian asks a page if they know where Paige is. Or Hannah.

"They were in the birthing room but the lock was broken," offers one of the young pages. "We can see if we can find them. I know a page was looking for someone else that was with them, but I think she's gone off to return a message.

None of the pages are older than about 14 or so.

"Or maybe they're with the knight who came up a little while ago."

Another one runs off to see if they can find Hannah or Paige.

Ossian frowns, but asks in a calm and non-alarmed voice "Do you know who else where with Paige and Hannah? And have you seen Lady Brita?"

"Lady Brita was with Ember and the Queen," one of the pages says. "They asked for tea. And the new girl."

"Allie."

The first page agrees, "Yes, her, and then they were going to the King's apartments."

Regenlief doesn't like it but Ossian has the lead here, so she's looking to Ossian and Raven for the correct reaction. (Court is clearly not her thing.)

"Brita next?" Raven suggests to Ossian. "I know that ain't exactly what we'd planned, but seems to me she might need an update on family business sooner rather than later."

Which is about as close as Raven's going to get to 'we should rescue Brita from the maybe dangerous queen' in front of a pack of kids that don't really need to know what's going on.

Ossian nods. "Yes. Paige is quite capable of handling doors properly, I think."

He turns to the page. "I think we can manage getting there by ourselves."

Turning back to his mother and cousin he says, "This likely means meeting the king or queen. Or both. We'll have to be very careful. And if I say run, we run. I don't think fighting is a viable option.

"Let's hope someone else got there first. This operation is sadly way too uncoordinated."

"That's the problem with having dozens of you and no field commander. Or one who's compromised," Regenlief says.


Back to the logs

Last modified: 8 April 2018