[Results on Paige and Jerod's efforts with the hoarders after Kris has had a chance to answer. Reid is also still involved when he comes back from his voyage, so Chuck should also put his two cents in. Similarly, the Paresh stuff is still contingent on some off-list business with James.]
Vere and Cambina continue to research the question of how the same amount of food can possibly be feeding the population of Amber more completely. No immediate answers present themselves based on the current direction of the research.
Gerard puts Brita in charge of the Rangers for the duration of the war. He also requires them to take up Crown badges, which disgruntles them highly, but they do it. None of you ever see a ranger without a crown badge. Her efforts to rein in the rowdier elements of the Rangers meet with some success. Rangers assigned to accompany travellers on the Garnath border bitch a lot, but do the job.
Lucas and Solange continue to investigate who was responsible for the deaths and the fire at Wind Grove village. Associates of Badger, the dead Ranger, are brought in to be examined by the inquest. Over several months, it becomes clear that Badger had confronted the errant settlers more than once as they poached on the Arden side of the border, and that he probably started the conflict that led to his death.
Solange would like to figure out whether it's politically feasible to drop the thing with no further trials, then. The settlers are now sticking to their side, the Rangers are no longer policing with excessive force, I Hope Everyone Has Learned A Lesson From This, right? Solange will ask Brita if she thinks the Rangers will be satisfied with a finding that it's not possible to determine who actually inflicted the fatal blow on Badger.
Brita will draw the Rangers together to discuss the steps that have been taken in finding those responsible for the deaths of Badger and the settlers. She will touch on the investigation into the fire and the escalation of hostilites. (She's trying to make them remember that no one is blameless in these events.) She will explain to the Rangers that we must put aside old greivances for now in order to amass our strength and create an effecient, elite team of Rangers. She will mention that the Regent has shown his regard for the Ranger's abilities by honoring us as crown troops and formally bestowing on us the responsibilities of protecting not only Arden, but Garnath and all of the King's subjects in this time of need. (Brita will be hoping while she is saying this that Gerard is not too put out by her stating of his opinions without consulting him.)
[Gerard won't mind too much.]
"We have been called upon by the crown to continue our duties as guardians of Arden but also to expand our protection to all of the King's subjects. Lord Gerard has expressed his gratitude for the efforts the Rangers have made in protecting our much needed trade routes and existing links to the lands outside of Amber. He has honored us with crown badges so that all may know that we are Rangers, guardians of Amber's lands and people." Brita is pacing back and forth before the assembled Rangers. "The council is working to reestablish connections to the outer realms and relieve the burden on Amber's lands that the Sundering has caused. The Rangers will continue to assist those that have settled in Garnath and the regions close to Arden while insuring that the King's interests in Arden are protected."
"Are there any suggestions for further improvements?" Brita asks the assembled Rangers.
Brita will have to give this speech a number of times, since there is no way to gather all the Rangers at once (based on patrol schedules, Ranger enclaves, etc.). Fewer than half a dozen times will suffice to cover 99% of the Rangers.
No problem. Brita would have started with senior Rangers and those patrols in the area first anyways.
The Rangers don't have a lot of ideas beyond what has been suggested so far, but they have a lot of questions.
- If we're in Crown badges for the duration of the war, how long will we be at war?
"I can't answer how long we will be at war. My understanding is that the council is working to reestablish contact with the world beyond Amber and Garnath. Hopefully, we will soon hear from our army at the other end of the world."
- What are we at war with now? There's not so much of a threat of things wandering into Arden with the Black Road gone these couple of years.
"Yes, the Black Road is gone, but until we reestablish contact with those that were sent to Chaos, we cannot relax our guard. We are not fighting anyone here, but we must be vigilant and protect the return to a normal way of life for all of Amber's citizens."
Nobody says "what about Julian?", but Brita can tell that many of the Rangers, even those like Needle who are her friends, are wondering.
- How are we going to bring enough people on board to cover the additional duties?
"I will ask the council and the Lords in Garnath to set up recruitment posters or announcements to try to draw more people to the Rangers. Beyond that, we will just have to be more efficient in our patrols and current duties. [Consider the requests for recruitment posters/announcements sent to the council.]
Gerard signs off on this. Additional Rangers will be forthcoming over time.
- Are there any additional duties the Crown wants to impose?
"I do not know of any additional duties as yet. As I have discussed before, we could be called upon to assist in other areas normally covered by the Navy or Royal Guard since they are just as shorthanded as our Rangers; but I know of no immediate need in those areas.
"I will, however, keep the Crown informed of our excellent progress in organizing our patrols and becoming more efficient. The accident that occurred recently was unfortunate, but wildlife is sometimes just that - wild. I have asked the council to keep us informed of any excursion into the forest so that we can provide protection or at least warnings of areas to avoid."
Gerard is happy to hear about excellent progress.
(possibly others depending on the answers to these, and whether the GMs come up with any after a good night's sleep ;)
It's unclear how the fire started, but the Rangers grudgingly admit that they didn't do a good enough job putting it out, to the detriment of the forest. Everyone puts up with the punishment Gerard metes out without a lot of public grumbling and a sort of truce appears to be in hand on the Arden-Garnath border.
At Gerard's request, Folly interviews the Golden Circle ambassadors. Some of them have become impoverished with no trade from their homeland to support them. Several are political opportunists who'd like to use this matter to pry things out of Gerard, when the situation gets back to normal. A couple think that Gerard has deliberately abandoned his treaty obligations. A few are afraid they'll never get back home.
If food is not as big a problem, Paige will be willing to make the "find the GC Shadow" trip this time. Worth available as a captain again?
To the council, Folly suggests offering the stranded ambassadors stipends, paid for by crown funds, with the understanding that the funds will be repaid to Amber by the ambassadors' governments once contact is re-established.
So long as the Ambassadors are amenable, Jerod has no objections - her ideas seem quite reasonable. Even if we can't get them back to their home shadows, the loss of funds will be small in comparison to the goodwill that can be generated if we do get them back.
Folly tries to reassure the ambassadors, particularly those who have lost hope of getting home. She provides a sympathetic ear, pointing out that she, too, has had no contact since before the Sundering with the land where she grew up, but that she has faith she'll see her home again when the war is over. Even if that doesn't cheer them up, the song she sings while serving the tea and biscuits probably will.
Folly's efforts ease the situation, but she is not under the impression that she has effected a permanent solution to the problem.
If needed, Jerod's available to sooth over various nervous ambassadors if they are unwilling to accept Folly's offerings...or to step on the one's who are getting a bit too grasping. He also keeps his ears open after she makes her recommendations to find out what is being said of it, and how the various ambassadors are reacting to it.
Jerod puts Martin, Paige, and Ossian through a series of hoops to determine who is the most fit for shadowpath-laying activities. To the surprise of probably nobody, Martin is best fit as far as Jerod can tell, mostly because of his superior endurance.
[Paige]
"Told you so."
Jerod has not been able to test Solange yet, due to her continuing involvement in the inquest. Martin suggests that she would be a promising student.
Assuming he can get a few days with Solange, and assuming she is willing, Jerod will set up the tests to see if she can do the job of shadow-path work. The more, the merrier.
Assuming that Solange is willing: she tests out to be generally more likely than Paige, but not so good as Martin. Her endurance is not Martin's equal, but she's definitely able to work for longer than Jerod, and, he thinks, than Paige would be.
[Solange]
Willing!
Gerard wants suggestions for the shadow to which the next shadowpath should be laid, and the timing. Plus, he wants to do something for the existing Bellum path, to keep it from fading.
Paige still likes the idea of finding Heerat. It was a trade center and Martin's more than familiar with it...
Jerod's actually hoping that two people would be available for shadow work - Solange and Martin. Since Solange is handing over some of her work to Brita, especially in day-to-day operations with the Rangers, that means maybe she's more available for travel (hopeful look). If that's the case, Jerod wants two people along for the trip - its a bit of drain, but if he can get two trained, that's a big step and then three paths can be laid down instead of two. It also means there's an extra person to help re-do Bellum instead of doing new paths.
Solange also hopes that she'll be able to travel more.
Excellent...then Jerod's definitely going to put forward the idea of taking Martin and Solange with him for the teaching routine to the Council, and assuming they support that idea, Gerard gets the proposal. The benefits will be more than considerable (in Jerod's opinion), and if there's any hesitation on Gerard's part, Jerod's willing to ask Solange to soothe any of his concerns, as well as to put the screws to him to let his daughter go out and travel more (never under-estimate the power of the daughter to wrap daddy around her fingers...:)
Martin is not keen on the idea. "I'm sorry, Jerod, but I just don't think spending eight-plus months for three members of the council to lay another path that's hard to negotiate, has almost an order of magnitude more hops and break points, and will last no more than a year is a profitable way to spend our time. You can get Vere to run the numbers if you like, but think about how much cargo you and Solange and I can ship in over the same period of time. If the Bellum path had lasted, that would be one thing. But it's not lasting, and you know perfectly well that you're stronger with the requisite skills than anyone else here, with the exception of Gerard."
He pushes his hair back out of his face. "I hate to suggest this, but is it possible that it really took people like Gerard and Corwin and Caine to lay those paths? Reid, what do you know about all this? Is there any hint you can give us about how they managed, or was that after your time? Because I hate to think we're wasting our time on a fool's errand, with nothing to be gained in the long term."
"I'm actually amazed that Bellum's path is still in place." Jerod says. "I wasn't even sure it would last a week. But given I did it with no onside aid, and it was the first one I'd ever done, I'd say that's a pretty good indication. The next one should be a bit easier...or barring easier, it should last longer. I'm not overly keen on breaking my brain for eight months either...but can we continue to personally lead ships by ourselves? Its not going to help us grow beyond what we are now, and we're not doing great right now. It could be ten years before the others get back. Or hell, maybe a hundred...we don't know. I'm not sure how long we can afford to wait."
"At the very least, I'm going to want to take one person with me on the next path expedition."
"The problem with this entire Council is that none of you want to wait," says Martin, sounding a tad testy.
Cambina smiles triumphantly, as if she's scored a point somehow, and he glances at her, still irritated. "All right, not you. But the point still stands."
He continues: "Look, we can run three or four voyages a year each for several decades if we have to. If our uncles show up, we let them forge new paths -- they did it before and they have strength and power and skill and endurance that none of us can match. If not, that'll buy us some time to strengthen our skill and precision with the Pattern, especially me and Solange. Because neither one of us can do what you can do with the Pattern, Jerod. I can outlast you, but I can't outdo you, and neither can she.
"You're counting on the fact that we can last longer to make the trip shorter, reduce the number of hops. That's a big gamble, to spend so many months of our time with the likelihood being we'll get nothing better than the Bellum path. Especially when you can make two trips to every one trip the rest of us make."
"But that's brute force." Jerod counters. "And that's why I think the Bellum path is unstable. I had to force it, to smash it. That's why I want someone with a bit more perception coming along. I don't see laying down a shadow path to be something akin to smashing your way through shadow. More like finding the flaw line in a diamond. All the strength in the world won't help you...you need to see the line to cut it properly, and the focus to make the most precise cut possible. There's still a need for some Pattern skill...its not work for a novice.
"That's why I think one of you can do the same as I can. If I'm right, and yes it's a gamble, but if I am, you won't need brute force like I do. You'll be able to see how to do it with less force...more finesse. And I think that's where the stability comes from for the paths too.
"And here's the final point I'll put forward. It will take several months to prove me right...or wrong. But we'll know...for certain. If I'm wrong...then we've lost a bit of time. We can work around that. But if I'm right..." and he leaves it at that.
"You want finesse, Jerod, talk to my Dad. Not me. If you want me to have finesse, wait a year or three or five or ten of intense shifting practice on my part -- like, say, a lot of shipping runs -- and I'll see if I can get any. We can spend the year or so attempting a permanent path any time. And we can bring in more crops like potatoes and creatures like the sheep so the city has a better chance of sustaining herself without us if we are wasting our time," says Martin.
"Right now what we do is the difference between a full belly and an empty one for people at night. We don't need to worry about permanent paths until we're closer to squaring that away. Vere says we're getting there, though the Unicorn alone knows how. If we can get all the way there, we can afford to do this right instead of half-assing it because we don't have the time or the skill to do it any other way."
"Then how long til we're square?" Jerod asks, looking at Vere.
"Let's hope it is not too long." Ossian sighs.
"I wish that the trumps would work." he adds to the nearest standing person.
Paige smiles, "You and me both, cuz."
[Vere]
"That is unfortunately difficult to answer. The fact that the figures do
not work out correctly, that we are not as badly off as I think we should
be, indicates that there is a factor I am currently unaware of. Until that
factor is discovered and understood I am concerned that any predictions I
make are inaccurate to an indefinite degree." He pauses, the continues, "I
am reminded of Paige's suggestion when I first brought up this subject,
that perhaps Amber is losing people. It is possible that Amberites are
simply ceasing to exist. Portions of Amber may follow. I do not know if
this is possible, I do not understand these things well enough. It should
be investigated, however."
"Are you seriously contemplating the idea that Amber may be losing its cohesion?" Jerod asks. "I've got a couple of ideas of how to investigate this...but it would take a lot of effort to do...and I'm figuring there wouldn't be too many of us who could do this investigating either."
"I think it is something that needs to be considered." Vere looks deadly serious. "We have no idea of what the lack of the Pattern will do to Amber in the long term. I am not advocating turning the main focus of our attention to this matter, at least not yet, but I think that those of us who have a better understanding of the nature of the Pattern and of Shadow need to think about this possibility, before we walk out of the castle one morning to find that the sun has mysteriously vanished."
"The Pattern isn't gone." Jerod says. "Just not here. If it goes the way it usually went like with the Shadows I visited prior to the Sundering, there will be no long term change without some kind of outside intervention. Although if we were to remain..." and he pauses, the look on his face the kind when one might be making a breakthrough (or not...:).
"If this place is like shadow now...if we remained in a place long enough, it would become real because of our presence." Jerod begins. "Dad explained that to me early on. We adjust the reality around us just by being there...we make it the way we want it to be. In this case, we've got multiple people reinforcing the reality, enforcing a reality based on our collective desire."
He looks over at Cambina and Reid. "Are there any notes on Amber in its early years...about shadow travel or anything like that? I'm wondering because maybe the same thing happened when the Pattern was first drawn. If that's the case, then this condition would fade as time passed. As we make this place more real by our continued presence here, maybe we bring it closer to the real Pattern. And if none of our aunts or uncles was around at that time, maybe they wouldn't realize it. They might have grown up always figuring that Amber was perfectly real...when in fact it was just more real because Grandfather had been here so long already." and he shakes his head. "I've got all these ideas running through my head all of a sudden. Not sure how many of them are realistic."
Cambina replies. "The histories, including my own, are rather sparse on the topic. There isn't much interest until you have powerful merchant houses, which antedate the founding period. Occasionally they mention a favor from one of the Princes. There is one I recall with a tantalizing hint that there was a Princess who laid a trade route as a favor to a nobleman.
"Well, there are more Golden Circle shadows than there were in my youth. Most of them are new, a few are the same, a few are missing. Unfortunately the missing ones are probably lost -- I sure wouldn't remember them all, and I doubt I visited very many..." Reid comments. "And last time I was in Amber, there weren't any princesses, so I can't really comment on the last portion. I do recall the paths requiring maintenance. Finndo was involved quite a bit, I guess pattern weaving was a specialty of his. Though I wasn't involved in the mechanics, so I couldn't tell you how often they needed reinforcing, or what other problems might have cropped up."
[Cambina]
"But shadows are state secrets; that hasn't changed, so there is really not
much written about them. The people know that the royal family can make
ships travel between worlds, but they wouldn't know about the pattern or
shadows per se. I've often wondered if the Episcopapy Laws weren't to
prevent them worshiping us."
[Reid]
"Those laws must be new, relatively speaking. I don't recall them."
"Crap..." Jerod says, pushing his hair back. "Well...I can speculate to the ends of the earth and I doubt it'll do us any good. Though I'm still figuring that the world isn't going to vanish on us any time in the next few decades."
Cambina looks momentarily uncomfortable, and chooses to answer Reid rather than her brother. "They are, we think, about 500 years younger than yourself. Sometime just before Clarissa was queen. There is some speculation that Oberon went south looking for a bride because of something that happened that caused those laws to be made. But nobody knows, of course--it's all speculation."
"Well, either way it appears that maintenance is required for Bellum." Jerod says and he stops for a moment. "What about this? I've done Bellum's path once already. I do it again...see whether or not I can put it down stronger. I take someone with me while I'm doing that so they can see what's happening. Then we find our second shadow...whichever one we agree with. We locate it, then we bring the path back to Amber, as opposed to reaching out towards it. I was considering this before after my first attempt...maybe some of the trouble I was having was trying to get somewhere else, as opposed to coming home."
Gerard, and a few others with reasonable to high water are also going to pick up that Jerod's interested in trying to find the real Pattern again...and he's figuring if enough shadow crew are available to help with paths and such, that frees him up to try his idea to find it.
Those with high waters can also tell that Gerard thinks it will just free Jerod up to take a bigger share of the work at home. ;)
Yeah...well Jerod'll work on that bit and get his mind changed...:)...
Since Ossian is released from the prospect of laying shadowpaths, he and Folly go hunting for spuds. They come back with a number of wagonsful of spuds and immediately get roped into interviewing would-be settlers, in an extension of the Lucas-Solange resettlement program.
Folly spends much of the trip listening -- to the differences between Ossian's and Martin's shadow-shifting, to whether she can pick out the spud-like elements in what Ossian is doing. She also spends a lot of time being frustrated that she can't quite work it all out on her own. Some days she curses so colorfully that Ossian feels like he never left the docks.
It seems to Folly that the shadowshifting takes Ossian's full concentration; he is totally exhausted each time they stop. Moreover he gets very irritated with himself when he cannot get the details right.
There are differences both qualitative and quantitative between Martin and Ossian in their ability to shift shadow. Martin is almost tireless and it takes him much less effort and concentration to make the shifts, so that he is able to speak and teach Folly even while he's working. He's also a lot more patient. But Folly suspects that this kind of work plays to Martin's strengths rather than to Ossian's, and that Martin also has a lot more experience than Ossian.
Folly is unable to pick out the spud-like strains in Ossian's shifting.
Solange would like to test a few of these spuds to see if they cook up well... she hasn't had a good potato chip in years...
How are you planning to do the deep-frying? The delightful deep-fryer of my childhood won't work in Amber.
A book titled _A Guide To Financial Management for Ladies_, by 'A Gentlewoman' appears for sale at the booksellers in the city (Note: the city has printing presses, booksellers, and broadsheets, but none in great quantity). The men of the city find the prospect of the book highly amusing, and it generates a lot of talk in the clubs.
[Solange]
Does it have a bright yellow cover?
The first edition, published by Heap, does; but the second edition does not. A rival publisher publishes it in red leather to go with other books in the library of the wealthy and the middle class.
It generates a second round of talk when the first edition of perhaps 500 books sells out in about a month, and there is a clamor for a new edition. Regular visitors to the family library note that a copy is shelved among books written by relatives. Jerod sees someone reading it at Diogenes and Martin reports the same at Red Mill. Ossian and Reid hear much about it from their pupils.
[Solange]
Do the pupils mention whether they find it useful and/or
entertaining?
Some of them find it useful, some of them think they'll never need to worry about it, some of them are horrified. Solace complains that it makes her head hurt, but she does read it, because it's very fashionable to do so.
Paige will pick up several copies and give them away to people who ask...
Paige doesn't really have a lot of lady friends other than in the castle.
Solace accepts a copy. Vialle also accepts a copy and asks various members of the household, such as Lucas, Jerod, and Folly, to read it to her over time.
Curious - Jerod will check up on the book, seeing who is reading it and where it came from. He also keeps his ears open and listens to anyone offering an opinion on the book.
It was originally printed by a broadsheet printer named Heap, who isn't saying who wrote it -- "the lady requested anonymity" is the rumor. Speculation is rampant about the author. Cambina is one of the prime suspects. Others say it must be a man, because no woman could possibly have written it.
The second edition is one of Stout's red leather editions, which are familiar to all upper class Amberites. Stout always binds in red leather so his books always match. ;)
After the printing of the second edition, the book is everywhere. Lucas sees a copy on the bedside table of his lovely mistress Silken, whom he is sure in his own mind knows plenty about managing her money. Vialle, Paige, and Solace all have copies. As mentioned elsewhere, Ossian and Reid's students are all reading the book, and copies of it are available at the clubs.
Lady Vesper has read it, and every woman in the family can tell you she thinks it is Not Proper. Aunt Felicity has read it, and may change some of her investments based on the advice -- once the economy is going again, after the war is over.
Opinions vary. Some people think the book is silly, others think the author aimed at the wrong audience but the advice is sound, others still think it's a brilliant idea. The more conservative elements think it's subversive; the more liberal elements are enamored of it.
All in all, about what you'd expect.
Ossian borrows it for a few seconds from one of his students (why not Bethany), and leaf through a few pages, then throws it away in disgust. "Don't you have anything better to do with your time? Practise painting, maybe? Go riding on Kolvir? Listening to good music? Economics is such a waste!"
Later he complains to Folly: "That book is not good for my students. Wasting their time on economics! Bah."
If it makes its way to Lucas, he'll comment over a game of hazard at the Red Mill, "Well, glad the people running the country have their priorities straight..."
If Ossian overhears this comment, he looks at Lucas with his most innocent look: "Do you insinuate that I run this country?"
"You are part of the council, aren't you?"
"Yes, Of course. But as things are I think I'm more running errands than running the country."
Lucas smirks and comments, "Well, hard to argue with that." He then goes back to his dice.
"It is boring as all get-out," says Folly, who only ever manages to stay awake while reading the book by reading it out loud to Vialle, "but on the plus side, maybe some of the women who read it will learn to support themselves in ways that don't involve marrying guys who make them spend all their time taking care of chores and babies and dull social obligations, thus freeing them to spend more time making art. So, really, there's an upside."
[Ossian]
"You might be right, but...they are losing focus. They should focus on
finding beauty, not secure their future economy. "
Perhaps Folly, raised in Texorami, doesn't have the cultural references necessary to enjoy some of the subtle humor used in the book? It's not an all-out laff-riot, Solange concedes, but it looks to her like it was written with an intent to entertain while informing. She'll even try to point out some of the funny bits to Folly, but this falls flat; it's kind of like trying to appreciate the humor in Jane Austen without having the knowledge of the customs of the time.
Folly agrees that it's well-written, and she even gets a little of the humor -- especially when she reads out loud and sees Vialle smile at parts of it -- but the book is still about finance, which, in the reckoning of Folly's interests, falls somewhere between household chores and fungal diseases of the toenail.
It should be pointed out that the first sentence of the book is, in fact, 'It is a truth universally acknowledged that a lady in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a husband.' before it goes on to explain how things have changed. Also, much in the style of Miss Manners' Perfect and Awful families, there are illustrative characters who rejoice in the names of Lady Pennywise and Lady Poundfoolish, as well as two gentlemen named Wastrel and Thrift.
Last modified: 1 Jan 2002