The clothes are discarded quickly once Paige is in her rooms. She settles for a sponge bath in the bedchamber, this morning's luxurious soak at the Prince seeming weeks away, but more than adequate for dinner with Family tonight. The longest bit would have concerned her hair and Lalal's windstorm, but the short length means that with a few dozen brushstrokes, she's settled and cleaned it.
As she dresses again, easier since last evening's cataloguing of the wardrobe, Paige considers the petty squabbling between the twins' grandmother and Arcadian aunts. Diety seems incovenient at the best of times, but could they be any of her cousins. Hadn't her own feelings toward Jerod or Brennan or even Martin been just as childish?
So, dinner with Family, and her father preoccupied with that disturbingly familiar woman. A dress is needed. Paige curses herself for not leaving more vagueries about her clothes options, the better to cheat with, and settles on a teal number with a shorter hemline than Amber proprieties would accept, but still more than modest.
Leaving the Jade Dawn atop her bed, she takes her Trumps and heads for the West Gallery.
Paige arrives to find Brita standing in front of a portrait of Oberon. She turns as Paige approaches, "Cousin," she says in greeting. "You wished Assistance in Ferrying people to Forest Broceliande?"
"I've accepted the duties of Warden of Broceliande and will need someone to lead the recruits' ships back to Xanadu," Paige explains. "I had hoped to do it myself, but apparently Lalal has a geas against the sea, so I need to lead the immigrants by land."
Brita nods in acceptance, "If you Must Go by Land, I can Take the Sea. How many Ships?"
"I promised Random that I would lead whichever ships were prepared to leave once I completed recruiting His Rangers," Paige answers. "I hope we should know more in the next day or two. Couth only began recruiting today and I only learned of Lalal's inability to travel by sea a few hours ago."
"Then I shall Await Further Knowledge and Remain Here until then," Brita notes.
"It makes me wonder if the sea is an anethema to her sisters as well," the redhead muses. "I wonder if it would be somehow useful knowledge.
"It would be Best to Know Before you Partition Forest Broceliande amongst Them," Brita nods in agreement. "You would Not Wish to Barricade One against Another's Only Access Out."
"I seem to be one of the few of our cousins that doesn't evidence some godhead."
Brita snorts, "And the Better you Are for Lack of One. Just See how it Limits One - Not Able to Travel by Sea, Forced into Eternal Battle with One's Kin, Seeding the Entire Population of ..." Brita stops and glances back at Paige. "Sorry." She glances up at the paintings above them. "You are the Pure Form of This," she gestures to the paintings. "Pure Reality. You are Not Tainted by a Mindset Ingrained in Your Very Being. You Have a Choice. You Could be a God, if you wanted, or you Could Just be You - Daughter of Reality. I am Always Both." Brita sighs. "Master Reid Often said I needed to Step Away from my Goddess Side and Not Rely so much on It, but It is Difficult."
Paige smiles, looking at their grandfather's portrait. "I'm not 'pure' in most any definition of the word, Brita. I dabble, some Trumps, but not half the Artist of my own student in Merlin, some Shadow-walking, but not enough to forge paths or truly protect the children, some fighting, but not enough to fight in Julian's war against the Dragon. Far from pure."
She considers the painting of Clarissa, perhaps comparing it with the woman she met. "Is that what a godhead requires, a balance? Some bane to counter the bounty? Power leveled by restrictions?"
"A Bane or at Least a Constraint, Something one is Compelled to Do. It has taken me A While to Recognize that Compulsion and Control It rather than Letting it Control me." Brita begins to move down the gallery towards the hall leading to the dining room.
The others are not here yet, but the servants assure Brita that they will be here shortly. They offer Brita (and Paige, if she followed), a before-dinner drink.
Shortly after, Brennan arrives, in a calmer mood if not necessarily a better one. He's freshly bathed and newly clothed in black and dark colors-- the scent of soap and fresh laundry are apparent, the various types of blood and ichor are gone, and his hair is back in place from its previous seawater-treatment-followed-by-mountain-chase styling. He moves like he's been bruised and banged up a bit, but he isn't bandaged.
"Cousins," Brennan says. He doesn't seem to be in a particularly talkative mood.
Paige raises a glass of burgundy in his direction and offers a warm smile, but obviously is willing to allow him the distance he wishes.
The redhead rubs the back of her bare neck, still missing her missing hair. "It makes me wish I were on better terms with the twins' grandfather or perhaps Corwin. One of them must have the portfolios of Finndo's descendants in Arcadia."
Brita appears to be sipping water. She nods to Brennan as he enters and responds to Paige with "Knowing the Family History does Help. Even Recognizing one is of Reality and all That Entails helps."
Ossian comes with Brennan, dressed in blue and white as usual. He looks amused.
"We might want to find out why every problem we stuble into seems to have long-forgotten historical roots."
Bleys is in the doorway, laughing. Brij is on his arm. Both are once again dressed for dinner. Bleys has managed to find time to shave. "A very good question, Ossian. I would say the answer is twofold. Primus, the tractable problems are more easily sorted, and Secundus, we as a people have been known to love our memory so well that we remake it in the most convenient image, which is to say our own. Turning memory in to narrative often elides key details. With a trump, it doesn't work if you don't make it as true as you can. With History the opposite is often true."
From the other doorway, Prince Caine comes in. "Philosophy hour is over, we're on to business. The King is too busy to take a report via trump, and wishes to have someone go to him and report in person. Any volunteers? It can wait until after we eat."
Bleys has wandered over to the bar and is pouring drinks while Caine talks.
"I'll do it," Brennan says. "I was there for the Rebma half and the Amber half, anyway."
Robin peeks her head in the door and looks around noting people's mood. Her face is surprisingly clean and her hair is sans her usual bric-a-brac of beads, bones and feathers. As she takes in the ambiance a resigned pout pulls at her lips. Dung, he must've gotten away.
With a sigh, the girl steps into the room. She's earing a rather pleasant green dress that doesn't look like it was made for her but fits well enough despite that. It clashes with the sheathed sword and swordbelt though.
At the sight of Brita and Ossian, Robin's s face lights up and she smiles to them and to Paige. The brooding Brennan gets a wary nod and Brij a small waive. Then, Robin makes her usual beeline toward the windows -- if there are any.
Ossian smiles and even winks at Robin.
Paige offers a nod in greeting.
Garrett arrives and joins his uncle at the bar. His hair is freshly combed and still a little damp from being washed. He is dressed formally in dark trousers and jacket with a white shirt. His boots have been freshly polished.
"I could go as well, Uncle," Garrett offers, having heard the last bit of conversation as he entered the room, "but I still have yet to report the events that happened on the other side. Lady Signy and I landed in the middle of a firestorm, it appears."
Ossian stays quiet, his eyes sparkling.
Paige addresses both Caine and Brennan, "I have nothing of note from Arden, save that I need lead Lalal's people via a land route to Broceliande, so Brita may very likely lead the next batch of refugees and my recruits via sea."
Caine looks around the table. "Your great enthusiasm for leaving my presence is noted and appreciated."
"Your dedication to providing our King with intelligence is laudable," Bleys adds.
"Brennan, I think you have the first pieces of this story. For the benefit of those of us who were trying to have dinner the first time the bell rung today, would you like to tell as much of the story as makes sense to have you tell?"
Caine looks annoyed at Bleys. "Yes, how did you come to fall out of a trump, dripping wet, with Huon, the Queen of Rebma, and a disputed Pattern sword?"
Brennan starts in before Bleys or Caine have a chance to say anything that would cause him to murder one of them. "It's a long story. I'll try to keep it as short as possible, but it doesn't start in Rebma. The reasons will become apparent. It starts in the Plain of Towers. Under it, to be precise. I was hunting a thing of Chaos called, at that time, Robin Goodfellow. It had been variously known as a pwca, the Pwca, the Hob, and the Eater. It is a continuation of the thing that Daeon and Lilly had encountered on the way home from the War, which took his blood in the event that created the FireLillies. It is what Signy, Marius and Lilly encountered on the Plain of Towers which consumed the Aisling's affine, CloudEater."
Brennan begins cutting his dinner rather aggressively, but continues. "I tracked it through the Plain, where it had caused a war between two peoples called Aelfs and Dvarts, by stealing a gem which would grow into a Prince of the Aelfs. It did this in the form of a Dvart and retreated under the Dvartish holdings, leaving those peoples to fight uselessly. I took a small team of both and followed it farther, to a living, burning, undergound lake, which it had eaten. Signy might know the place.
"Predictably," Brennan continues, "there was betrayal. I allowed the Aelfs to slay the Dvarts, while I fought the Eater, before it could properly assimilate its new meals. I had killed the lake part outright and was gathering the rest of it to properly end it when it... dissolved back into the dead waters. In its wake was a fragile Shadow path, and I do not believe it was there before. I do not believe the thing could have made that on its own.
"So," Brennan says, "I followed it, down through the dead lake, Dignity, the Aelfs and I. It turned into a long stone tunnel through Shadow, still underwater, where the water is breathable. It was not the Faiella-Bionin that connected Rebma to Amber, but it was similar-- no doubt if I headed back, I would have ended up in Paris, not the Plain. It opened out into a cave which in turn opened out onto Rebma, and I saw the various banners at play, aligning themselves for battle. The thing of various names was nowhere near." He takes a few bites of his meal, almost mechanically.
"I contacted Llewella, who conducted me to Khela, Jerod, and Conner, informing them of the situation-- that a thing of Chaos was loose within the range of their private war with Huon. But Huon was calling for a parley, so I went with Khela and Conner, while Jerod went back to his units in the field." Brennan eats a few more bits, mechanically, before continuing. "My advice to her," he says very precisely, "was, 'Make sure he doesn't make a grab for the blade, which is what he really wants.'
"It wasn't much of a parley," Brennan continues. "Khela gave him a welcome, and he gave us an ultimatum: Either we hand over the Green Sword, which Khela wore, or Huon would destroy the Pattern and then take it anyway. A blood-bomb, he called it, smuggled into the Pattern chamber. He very generously gave us a moment to confer."
Brennan isn't even making a pretense of eating, any more. "So we withdrew. Conner and I looked into the Pattern chamber and saw.... someone. Someone covered in blood, in a red cloud, and with features, as best we could tell, similar to Huon's. I thought-- I thought it might be a son or a brother." The fork is down, but the knife is still in Brennan's hand. "It was suspended high above the Pattern by the thing of Chaos. Waiting.
"I told Khela what precedent there was for those who would destroy a Pattern," Brennan says coldly, "and then Conner and I held our own council. We contrived to Part the Veil into the Pattern Chamber. The last thing I heard as I went through was Huon screaming as though he had been betrayed, somehow. I left Conner and Khela behind, so you'll have to ask them for the details they saw, or Jerod. What I saw was... red. I came out in the cloud of what I thought was blood. It wasn't. It may have been the gem that the Aelfs sought, grown large, about to hatch. I don't know. I think it was.
"There was a moment when I couldn't move, but if that's what it was, the thing hatched. Explosively. It hatched me, and it hatched something I can only describe as a blood-golem. An animate, manshaped creature made entirely out of blood, looking mostly like Huon. It tried to kill me." The hand that isn't holding the knife reaches up, scrubs through Brennan's hair and comes to rest on the back of his neck. "While the thing that once called itself Eater tried to bargain with me.
"A hundred yards up from the Pattern of Rebma, fighting a creature made literally of the Blood of Oberon, distracted by a thing of Chaos." Brennan shakes his head. "I couldn't try to kill the golem, for fear that it would explode into the bomb Huon described. I could only start to force it back, away, down toward one of the passages that lead out of the chamber, trying not to actually stab the thing and accidentally destroy the Pattern, trying not to get stabbed by the thing and accidentally destroy the Pattern.
"That might have worked but-- I'm guessing here-- someone probably hit Huon outside on the battlefield, because the golem started leaking-- bleeding-- as from a spear wound. It looked like it hurt the thing. A moment later, it doubled over in pain and sprung another leak. I know I hadn't stabbed it. That thing," Brennan says, in a very tightly controlled voice, "was connected to Huon. It was Huon's blood. If we still had Huon here, I'd verify the similar locations of the stab wounds.
"But it was distracted by the wounds," Brennan said, "So I did the only thing I could-- threw my cloak over it to try and contain the blood, used the only Trump that wasn't going to ask for an explanation, and tackled it. I said that thing was Huon's blood. It was, becuase Huon came through at the same time. As for Jerod and Khela, they must have been touching him and got dragged along with all the rest. The Chaos thing took the opportunity to run away while I was busy."
Brennan's teeth are grinding. "The rest, of course, you know. Huon, at the top of the pile by luck, made a grab for the blade, because that's what he really wanted, and off down the mountain he went."
Brennan puts the knife down and pushes his plate, still mostly full of food, decisively away from him, appetite lost. "Now, I don't for a minute believe that Huon was capable of summoning the Chaos thing as I think happened. Or engineering that explosive blood golem, with or without the Aelf-gem. So what I really want to know is this," Brennan says, in a cold, controlled, slow-burning fury: "Who helped him?" Who am I going to kill for this?
Brita has been quiet throughout the recitation, eating slowly and digesting Brennan's tale. "Perhaps the Moonriders. They Appear to be More Active at a Coincidental Time," she says in response to the question.
As Robin seats herself as near to the windows as she can get, she chuckles at Ossian's wink. She also cocks her head curiously toward the young man at the table she doesn't know (Garrett) but figures introductions will be later.
While listening carefully to Brennan's report, Robin does not neglect to eat. Not at all. She works at putting as much fuel into herself as she can as quickly as possible without being rude.
The girl frowns at the mention of CloudEater's death/amalgamation. She had hoped Amber could do better by it than that - but, hey, she can't even keep her own men from being amalgamated much of the time. And it's still loose. Her eyes wander as she worries about how local it still might be.
"Is *munch* the blood golem completely splashed or does it retain some integrity?" she asks around a full mouth. Cause there's a link that's worked once and who better to answer the 'who helped Huon' question than the man himself.
The young man that Robin does not know smiles at her politely when she catches his eye. Garrett is of slight build, but the shoulders under the sleeves of his jacket appear strong and wiry. His dark hair threatens to fall down across his bright blue eyes, which Robin may recognize as being very similar to the King's, but he has the tanned complexion of one who has spent much of his life outdoors.
At first, Garrett eats his meal with as much enthusiasm as Robin does. However, as Brennan's tale progresses, his chewing slows and he listens raptly. As the questions are posed, Garrett regards Brennan, awaiting his answers.
Paige wakes her way over to the bar near her father and the unknown woman, a small smile on her lips as she decides who she reminds her of. She doesn't distract from the conversation by introducing herself, yet.
Bleys nods at Paige and gestures with his drink towards the bar, then addresses Brennan's question. "Well, it wasn't a very clever plan, so Mother's beyond suspicion. Also, she wouldn't want to kill me. Today. Other old enemies? Harder to rule out. Moonriders are fanatical and don't collaborate well with anyone. Dara? Whatshisname, her ex-father?" He shrugs. "There's not enough information. Maybe there's more in Abfort."
Caine frowns. "Or whatever stirred up the Asirians. Jovian's 'Floating Woman'. There are many options. It ended with Dragons, could it have started with one? Either from Arden or the one in Rebma?"
Ossian follows this conversation with fascination.
Brita rolls her eyes at the mention of Dara and the long list of current unfriendlies.
To Robin, Brennan says, "His blood is, unfortunately, back in his body, as far as I could tell from when I went with him through the Trump."
To Bleys and Caine, he says, "I'd add Moire or a Rebman faction to the list. It's not in their interest to destroy Rebma, but it is in their interest to destabilize the situation, grind Huon and Khela against each other, then come back and pick up the pieces. The rest can be explained by a double-cross, for which Huon might conceivably possess the requisite animal cunning. Given the geasa on the blade, it makes a certain amount of sense, especially if Huon does not understand them... and I'm sure Moire would not explain them."
Brennan frowns, a more natural frown of puzzled dissatisfaction than the one caused by the failure to perfectly suppress his dry burning anger; he's not happy with the answer. "Still, that would be a fairly elaborate double-cross. Rebma seems like a partial and likely, but not full or certain answer."
Paige continues as part of the peanut gallery, starting on her second glass. Leaning toward the unknown woman and her father, she whispers, "When did I miss Moire's abdication?"
Caine looks over at Paige. "Llewella's daughter is claiming is that Moire never properly claimed the throne after Moins, so she's doing so now."
Bleys nods. "If she makes it stick, it'll be legal, in the way that the winner's actions so frequently are in a war. I don't think she planned it this way, but between Moire's abandonment of Rebma during a war and Khela's victory over Huon, the Rebmans might not take Moire back if she showed up with an army of Parisians at her back."
Bleys grabs a roll and rips it in half. "Khela was a friend of Prince Martin's. I wonder what he thinks of all this..."
As the talk turns to Rebman stuff, Robin continues to eat listening with half an ear.
Brita has finished her meal and pushed back slightly from the table. She is just listening for now.
"A Parisian army?" Ossian asks "Where does Corwin stand in this?"
"That depends at least in part," Brennan says, "on what Corwin thinks of a Triton Libertist on the throne of Rebma, if he cares at all. Caine, Bleys, you know him best." Brennan watches for Caine's and Bleys' reaction on that one.
Bleys looks up at the arms on the wall. "Corwin sired a child on Moire, but then he did so on Dara as well, so there's no surety that he would take up her cause.
Caine nodded. "Fair maiden, in distress, the lonely, beautiful queen who has lost her kingdom to the treachery of others..."
Bleys nods. "Quite, but he's also just back from the war. Shall we wager on it?"
Caine smiles in response. "Stakes?"
Bleys pauses, "I'll wager a keg of Paxian Fire-Brandy against that first edition of Admiral Mars' "Following the Paths Across the Waters" that I happen to know you have."
Caine raises his eyebrows. "Done."
Bleys turns to Brennan. "We don't know."
Brennan watches Bleys' and Caine's banter without any visible entertainment. "In the intervention column," he says, "we have an old flame, the future disposition of a spare heir, consolidation of influence along the Road, and the prevention of a large legion of obviously Chaos-descended things gaining their independence on his borders. In the non-intervention column, we have a native sense of fair-play, a hypothetical unwillingness to wage war along the Road, the fact that the Chaos things are-- so far-- not adapted to land, and Llewella's certain opposition."
Brennan shrugs. "Corwin's going to do whatever Corwin's going to do. What exactly are those things, anyway? I've only heard of one major source of Chaos near Rebma. Is the obvious logical jump also the correct one?"
Robin cocks her head and watches the Bleys-Caine quippage, chewing thoughtfully. Is that how one goes about not-stabbing a relative one has to live with for centuries? Hmmmm... She turns back to her own over-cooked, over-spiced fuel and ponders.
Garrett's brow furrows as he listens to his elders and tries to mentally organize the potential threats into some hierarchy of importance. His inexperience nags at him uncomfortably. He holds his own tale until some resolution comes out of this one.
Ossian nods. "And where does Celina stand in this?"
Brita remains quiet although she rolls her eyes at her Uncle's banter. Sounds like the typical warrior-talk around the table in Valhalla.
Bleys looks up from his meal. "Isn't the entire war about her affections?" He returns to carving his dinner.
Brennan notes the lack of answer to his question, and flags it as something that Bleys and Caine don't want to talk about and therefore a subject for intense research at a later date. "What else needs to get reported back to Random?" he asks. "Paige, can you add some context to what you said before, in case he asks questions? Who's Lalal and why are we leading her people to Broceliande? When is this happening? Brita, anything about your own adventures in Rebma you want mentioned in particular? Anyone else?"
Brennan's still not eating, and by his posture seems quite content with that lack.
Garrett speaks up. "This is for reporting to this group, not back to Father. We found the Queen. She had been taken by the Marshall of the Moonriders, but she's back in Xanadu safe now." He glances over at Brita to see if she wants to elaborate.
"We Did Find the Queen, but it was Not Obvious How she Got in the Misty Forest with the Moonrider Marshall. They Both seemed Trapped in the Tableaux. Then there was the Whole Episode with Uncles Pinnabello and Huon on the Pattern. Why would the Pattern Tie That Episode with the Broken Pattern?"
Robin's just chewing and listening.
Brennan stares from Garrett to Brita and back again, over the sound of Robin chewing. "I just heard," he says, very very calmly, "that the High Marshall kidnapped Queen Vialle and transported her by means unknown to some forest or other where they were all trapped until we recovered them. As reports go, it was missing many details, chief of which is: Do we have in custody the man you just implicated as Cambina's murderer, or did we perhaps also decide to throw him unguarded through a Trump so he could escape?"
Garrett meets Brennan's eyes and forces himself not to look away, but he can't help the color that rises in his cheeks.
Robin's eyes narrow and she puts down her utensils. A scowl lines her face but this is neither the time nor the place to have it out with arrogant princes of Amber who think they know everything.
Paige levels a look at Brennan, suggesting he play nice for the moment, knowing that she has no place to enforce or even encourage such a suggestion. "Lalal is one of Artemis's sisters, so a cousin. Random has made me Broceliande's warden, and I've his warrant to accept the pledges of refugees. As a goddess of Arcadia, Lalal apparently has a geas against sea travel."
Paige's words distract the Ranger and a momentary look of contemplative sadness flits across her face to be followed by a nod of understanding. "Sister," she says quietly. "One of five. And a cousin."
Brita goes into report mode. "Ossian and I were in Mirror Rebma Searching for Cousin Meg or Dara. We went Down but came Across a Scent of Amber's Blood. Tracking it, We found Uncle Huon, but One who Did Not Recognize Us or Our Time. He Said His Brother was Walking the Pattern. We went to the Pattern room and Found Uncle Pinabello on a Broken Pattern. We did What We Could to Try to Save Him, but the Pattern Fought Back and we Were Forced to Trump Away to Uncle Caine. In so doing, We All, with Cousin Paige and Cousin Signy, were Trapped in a Trump-Like Bubble of Uncle Caine's Office. We Managed to Escape, Again Through Trump, but Uncle Pinabello did Not Survive. We ended up with The Kings in Uncle Benedict's Shadow Avalon. King Random was Searching for the Queen and We Joined in his Search on the Other Side of Tir Na Nog'th. There, in the Forest, we were Attacked by Another Robin and Rangers with Guns fighting against the Tyrant Brandom. We Fought and King Random called Lightning to Scatter the Foe. We continued and Found a Tableaux, in a place Much Like the Grandmare's Grove, of a Sighted Queen on a Throne above a Basin of Ranger and White-Skinned Corpses. In Heavy Chains beside the Throne stood the Shadow Random and Shadow Robin; the Chains Held by one Resembling the Moonrider Marshall. All were Still, then Pattern was Used and the Scene came to Life with the Moonrider Marshall asking the Queen what to do with the Prisoners. She wanted Shadow Robin Killed and to Question the Other Random. We attacked. I was Able to Tackle the Chain to Distract the Moonrider Marshall, but Cousin Signy's Attack went Through Him and he Fell Through Her. Then All but the Unsighted Queen were Gone." Brita finally turns to Brennan with a raised eyebrow.
At the beginning of Brita's report, Robin is nodding and fitting things into place. But as her Cousin goes on, Robin's face gets paler and paler and little tremors begin to twitch her through her muscles. By then end, her eyes are looking elsewhere as she scans the room desperately. Vere? Dad? Jov...? They're not here. None of her anchors are here!
She stumbles upright knocking her chair over. As blackness starts dancing at the edge of her vision, Robin fights to stay here. "I... I didn't... yet... not going to..."
Garrett had been preparing to fill in his portion of Brita's story, but Robin's actions stop him. He jumps up, knocking over his own chair, and rushes to her side. "Y'all right?" he asks worriedly, reaching out to help steady her.
Ossian calmly stands up, and walks to the closest window, and opens it. "Air." he says.
Brij also reaches out to steady her aunt.
With the window open, Bleys says a word and a stream of fresh air comes in and blows on Robin.
Caine watches all this, grumpily. "What's wrong with--" he starts to say, when suddenly the air erupts as three very tiny, but very angry dragons come flying in, chittering at the top of their lungs and flying at people who are near Robin. Brij gets buffeted in the face by the largest one, and retreats, scratched and bleeding, to Bleys.
Garrett is also getting battered and scratched by the tiny dragons.
The don't quite know how to tell Robin, but it's clear that they are there to protect her from the Bad Thing.
Brita has just risen from her chair to aid Robin when the dragons come in. The look that flashes across her face can only be called joy, but it is quickly shuttered by Goddess Ranger. "She Was Not You," she states to Robin. "Deep Breaths, Cousin Robin. Control."
"OW! What the ---" Garrett yelps, grabbing at his bloody, newly-pierced ear with one hand as he swats at the beasts with the other.
"Oh... OH!" Color comes back to Robin's face and her eyes light as they dart around the room, taking in her three little, chittering, wonderfully protective, brave and angry... anchors. The smile that spreads across Robin's face is a heady blend of love mixed with relief. Which transforms immediately into embarrassment and worry.
"Peep! Chirrup! Ooot! Oh... brave... love you... stop!" Robin backs up to the window and the air, gifted to her by her Family. The same Family that is now under attack. "Brita -- throw me that haunch, will you?
"Peep! Come here. Chirrup! Leave him alone! Oh, sweeties. I'm okay, I'm okay. Come to big sis." Robin's alls are interspersed with croons and chirps that mimic the little dragons' hitterings as she strives to both breathe and stay calm as well as take command of the situation. She does her best to project that to her little dears at the same time as she means it -- not the threat! Stand down!
A faint smile runs over Ossian's face. He stays quiet.
Garrett backs away from Robin and scowls at the pesky flying critters. Dabbing at his ear with a napkin, he finishes Brita's comment. "No, it wasn't you, Robin. We knew that. It was some kind of shadow. None of them were acting as they should have. The Queen could see! It was all wrong. And when we broke the tableau, they all disappeared like they were reflections on glass. Except the Queen, but she was back to normal once it was broken."
Brita has selected a nice sized piece of meat - one she believes can be torn easily into three parts - and tosses it to Robin as requested.
Brennan does nod at Paige's update, and then watches the rest, from Robin's episode through to the Attack of the Mini-Wyverns, almost resignedly. Brennan has conceived of a spell to quickly ground the mini-wyverns, but unless they go after him directly, he does not use it.
Brennan gives Caine a long, stoic look. "Maybe I should just go give that report." And don't you wish you could leave, too? "On the assumption that the King might still be occupied, may I use Gerard's card for the transfer?
Paige had reached for the blade she's not wearing, but her thoughts go instinctively toward the twins, her concern that the Deep Green was advancing, because now would seem the poetic moment. She calms as Robin begins to tend to her gaggle... murder... whatever... of lizards, too similar to dragons for the redhead's comfort, but still she concentrates on her children's safety for a long moment.
The little dragons settle on Robin, the largest wrapping her tail around Robin's neck and glaring balefully at whoever is speaking.
Caine nods at Brennan. "I think the more of you can go, the better it will be."
"Oh, yes," says Bleys. "That will provide him with the clearest of pictures." Bleys smiles broadly, but Caine pretends not to notice that he's being mocked.
Robin plumps herself down on the open windowsill, softly crooning to her fair. She tears little lizard mouthfuls of food off of the meat Brita has provided and encourages her friends to eat. After all, little growing ones are always hungry.
Deciding that she's made quite enough of a spectacle of herself for now, the girl listens quietly to those around her.
"I'm staying here for at least a day or two." Ossian says. "Then, Random already knows what I know."
Brennan looks at Caine, then looks around the room at whoever else might want to go.
Garrett rights his chair and sits back down, determined to finish his meal before accepting dismissal. "The King was available, last I knew," he offers to Brennan. "Things had settled by the time I left."
Brita is slowly inching her way towards Robin. She is holding two pieces of meat in one hand and a third, slightly larger piece in the other. Without looking away from the little dragons, she adds, "Uncle Random has My Report with Cousin Ossian's as well. I will Remain Here at Cousin Paige's Disposal for the Transfer."
Paige has moved to Brij's side, concerned, but not interfering. She nods at Brita's comment, obviously content with Brennan carrying her update.
Brij looks at Bleys, who nods, infinitesimally. "We'll be going as well."
Caine almost shows emotion. "So, Brennan, Garrett, Robin and Brij will be going with you, Brother? Try to round up Signy and her collection of hangers-on as well."
Robin visibly startles. But, but, but she's got a war in Arden to prosecute! However, mindful of her little fair, the girl stifles any further emotional outburst.
Garrett's expression echoes Robin's, then his brow furrows suspiciously. He too refrains from comment.
Bley opens his mouth, then closes it. "As the regent desires, of course. May we finish dinner or is time of the essence?"
Now Caine smiles. "By the grace of Random, King of Amber and Xanadu, you may finish your dinner before departing." He turns to the younger set. "Is there anything more I need to know before I let you all free?"
Robin gulps as that last word hits her and her eyes slide to her Uncle. Ooookay, if going to the King keeps her out of Caine's niece-box, weelllll then she goes to the King.
Ossian feels the familiar mental tugging. Someone is calling him by trump.
Turning her eyes back toward the approaching Brita, Robin does her best to push aside her fears and keep herself and her little friends calm. She croons soft comforting noises to the firelizards and strokes them gently.
And... cocks her head at Brita, noting the expression in the warrior's The green demon of spite that Robin has carried in her heart for oh-so-long strikes one last time -- Hah! Now she has something that Brita wants!
But with that last sting, it dies, leaving only the sense of a burden lifted in its place and Robin smiles with true unrestrained welcome to her cousin.
Deciding that he has fulfilled his father's order to "give Caine the news," Garrett resumes eating his dinner, but he looks uneasy. Something about being summarily dismissed from Amber nags at him, but knowing a direct assault on the command is not wise or winnable, he silently considers other options.
Ossian seems a bit distant as he says "Who is it?", already stretching out a hand.
Brennan stoically does not roll his eyes at the way his cousins caved in to being thrown out of Amber. At this point, he's just waiting for Bleys to finish-- he has no further business here.
Brita smiles at Robin's smile, caught in her peripheral vision as her eyes are still focused on the small dragons. She offers out the small treats on her palms. She is ignoring the Uncles now that her report is complete.
Paige reaches for her Trumps and shuffles out one of the two Randoms that are near the top. She offers it to her father with the explanation, "A replacement for the one you loaned me that dissolved into Dworkin's psyche along with my hair." She shakes her head, wiggling the bob.
Bleys takes the card and looks at it. "A fine trump to replace the trump lost inside a trump. Rather like Pinabello, in some ways. Perhaps if you'd left a trump with him, it would've maintained the unreality." Bleys shrugs. "I've been thinking about the hair, though. It will be an interesting question if it grows back or not. Normally, the second corollary of the sixth equation would indicate that if the hair was a part of your core self-image, then it would regrow, like Lucas' ear or Corwin's eyes, but the trump means the fourth equation is involved. If it doesn't regrow, we don't know anything, but if it does.."
Caine watches Ossian, and steps back from the table when he reaches out his hand.
Ossian looks worried "Hand Ambrose through, then." If Ossian can do anything to make it easier on Lilly to hand Ambrose through, he does so.
Noticing Ossian's actions out of the corner of her eye, Robin takes a deep breath to calm herself. While Brita is reaching out is not a good time to get all... excitable.
"This is Peep," she says introducing the little queen to her cousin. "And Chirrup. And Ooot." Robin can't help the warm fond smile as she strokes and calms her friends, trying to encourage them toward Brita's treats. "They're still babies... and a little wild. But they're brave and loyal and so, so smart."
Having nearly finished his meal, Garrett pushes away from the table to be ready for the arrival of newcomers. He watches Ossian curiously.
Paige finally begins to consider what she's hungry for, and hears his name. "Ambrose?" the redhead asks rhetorically. She turns to watch Brennan's son.
Brennan also turns to watch and see who Ossian brings through.
Lilly nods to Ossian. He can clearly see the pain etched onto her features as she reaches out her free hand to Ambrose. She looks to the red-head and says, "Yes. Take my hand and I will pass you through to Ossian."
Her attention then returns fully to Ossian. "This will be the easy part," Lilly says and attempts to smile but it fails leaving a concerned expression in its wake.
"No," Ambrose says, "I know of Trumps from my father, and I will bring you through. I will not let you fall." He takes her hand and gets behind her, where he can support her shoulders. He reaches out to Ossian, once he is in place, and comes through, doing his best not to let Lilly collapse.
Once they are through, he lays her down, doing his best to keep her leg immobilized.
The fire lizards look over from their meal, but apparently don't think it odd to see people pop into a room. They return to eating once they see that Robin isn't further upset.
Caine turns to the first available castle servant. "Send for the surgeons."
Brita had stiffened at the smell of blood and charred flesh. "Cousin Lilly?" she whispers, her eyes locked on Robin's before she turns.
Robin meets Brita's eyes. Staying calm, staying out of the way. Despite the girl's growing concern.
But just before Brita turns, she might catch a hint of blue coming into the Ranger's green eyes.
Garrett's eyes grow wide with alarm when he sees who Ossian brings through. He rushes over and kneels beside her, though not so close as to impede the surgeons when they arrive. "Lilly," he croaks worriedly. Not wanting to tire her with explanations, he turns to Ambrose. "What happened?"
Lilly reaches for Garrett's hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze before taking in the assembled family. Perhaps it would have been better to trump Father, she thinks. Too late for that now. At least someone here should be able to help get her back on her feet. Her eyes then settle on Brennan. "You win," she says to him in a quiet, somewhat breathless tone. "Yours is by far the most dysfunctional family I have yet to meet."
At this Ossian smiles weakly.
Brennan watches this first with a what-fresh-hell-is-this? expression, then with real concern as he sees the extent of Lilly's injuries. He's on his feet as Caine is sending for the surgeons, and calls over his shoulder to the servant telling him where he and Lilly are going to be so the surgeons can meet them.
He goes to Lilly's other side and doesn't care if he's in the hypothetical surgeons' way or not. He gives Lilly a professional, almost triage-style examination, and assuming she can be moved, says to her, sterly "Don't fight this, and don't move." Brennan turns the air around her injuries solid, with just a tiny bit of flex. The effect he is aiming for is all of compression bandage, splint, and stabilizer so she can be moved more quickly and safely.
Somewhere in there, he flicks a glance at Ambrose to let him know he's listening, too. Although he's got a halfway decent idea who the culprit is already.
"Take care of her." Ossian says to his father in a tone not even Paige has heard him use.
"Does anyone know where Hannah is?"
"She was Returning with Uncle Corwin from Misty Tir Na Nog'th and on her Way to Report to King Random in Reality Xanadu earlier This Day," Brita notes.
Dammit! Sorcery -- again! Okay, okay. Robin breathes deeply and looks over at the cluster of people around Lilly. Listening carefully, she tries to determine if any of her other relatives are tugging on the Threads of Amber. And Listens even more carefully for the... whatever of Brennan's sorcery.
If possible, Robin hums quietly under her breath, calling forth the blue fire that is her Heritage -- gently, gently. She doesn't want to disrupt the frayed cheesecloth upon which they are all standing, nor does she want to interfere with Brennan. Her hope is to gently make things... go better for Lilly.
And all of that requires harmonizing... blending... with the Land, with Brennan, with Lilly's very Lilliness. So harmonizing it is and Robin hums quietly under her breath along with the song/weaves she Hears.
Robin finds that no matter how she tries she cannot harmonize with Brennan. The more she attempts to do so, the less she succeeds.
Brennan inspects the damage. It looks bad and, in another, would be fatal or crippling. But not in this family. Brennan has had as bad, but not worse. Given good care and time, she'll be fine.
The spell is difficult. More difficult than it should be. Bleys steps towards Robin. Brij is on his arm and comes along. "Robin, stop. At best you'll cancel out Brennan's Sorcery, at worst you'll set up a nodal imbalance and you'll get wild fluctuations in power level. Let him finish."
Robin grits her teeth, nods and stops immediately. While she doesn't exactly understand Bleys' terminology, she's very clear on what he's talking about. "Shit..." she murmurs quietly. "Just like inside the Dragon. Blocks my line of fire. If he wasn't so damn competent, a girl could get pissy."
The firelizards hiss madly at Bleys, flapping their wings, but Robin hangs on tight and stuffs their maws. Crooning -- just crooning -- to them and to herself to stay calm.
Paige shows some restraint and lets Brennan be the center of the storm, despite her desire to jump in and offer her own skills. A quick assessment from range wouldn't give her enough to treat, but she gathers what she can from Lilly's vocal tone, personal posture as well as the coloring of whatever exposed skin there may be.
Ambrose looks at Brennan. "Lilly and Edan were rescuing me and the remnants of the Uxmali army from Chantico and her Gods and Armies when Chantico challenged them to single combat. Chantico kicked Lilly. It would have shattered a human, and many a God, but it laid her out. Then Edan and Chantico both cheated, and Edan won that battle. He left to look for his horse, and asked me to bring her here to get help."
Softly, Lilly adds, "There is a bit more to it then that." She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. "But it will wait."
Caine turns as two surgeons come in. "See if you can help him," he tells them, gesturing towards Brennan.
Garrett squeezes Lilly's hand gently and gives her a quick, tense smile. "Fighting gods, eh? Figures," he teases her.
Lilly's eyes flutter open. "A new challenge," she offers before seemingly drifting back off.
To Brennan, he says, "What do you need?" He does not seem to expect an answer until Brennan is finished with what he's doing. However, by the determination in his voice, it appears the only answer he will not accept is 'leave.'
Brennan frowns in puzzlement as he's working the spell, and when Bleys speaks to Robin he just shuts his eyes, shakes his head, then shoots his brother a glance that doesn't look like it can suffer much longer, and when the interference stops he ties off the spell. Once he's assessed the damage and established that Lilly is not in critical danger of dying, he gives her that prognosis in the way soldiers do: "You're bleeding all over the carpet. We're going to have to move you," with a squeeze to the shoulder.
To Garrett, he says, "Get a gurney. Conjure if you need to, outside." Because there won't be any more Sorcery in the immediate future. To the surgeons, he says, "We're going to move her in a minute, and get her back to the infirmary. Don't poke at the wound, not yet." To Ambrose, nothing yet, but another apologetic look that says he knows he's there but can't talk just yet.
Brennan isn't exactly forbidding anyone to come with him and Ambrose and Garrett to the infirmary, but he's pointedly passed up the chance to hand out invitations.
Brita offers, "Cousin Brennan, Cousin Garret, the Small Side Table in the Portrait Gallery should Just Fit Cousin Lilly. I Doubt the King would Mind the Loss of the Table." She remains standing back by Robin as the surgeons move in.
"I'll see if I can get Hannah here." Ossian says, already flipping open his sketch pad. He tries to remember the Spirit Walk session he had with her. Ossian intends to make a sketch, with just enough duration to allow for one talk with Hannah.
With all the fuss going on around her, Lilly is infinitely aware of the seriousness of the situation. Since it appeared the gods were not going to let her die, the only other real option, as far as she was concerned, was a full recovery. Therefore, is forcing herself to be the model patient.
Paige is procuring her own sketching supplies, just as her cousin Ossian does. "I'll find my brother." Her intention is to create a sketch strong enough for drawing Edan and Aramsham through if they wish, but only the once.
Caine steps up as Paige and Ossian gather their supplies. "No, you will not find your brother. I don't want any more of you, I want you all to leave. This is not, contrary to popular opinion, a hospital waiting room. Nor is it a hotel or even a palace. This is a castle. That is to say it is a defensive edifice used to protect the land and the people from attack. It is a castle that recently had a prisoner escape from it's most secure cells and it will be nothing but a working castle for the immediate future.
"If you are not actively serving that mission, which means working for me because I chose you to do so, then you are more than welcome to find lodgings in the City. Carriages will be provided for those who do not wish to walk, ride, or trump away.
"Supper is over, you may leave. I recommend you take Lilly to Xanadu. It's got better facilities."
Bleys lays a restraining hand on Brij, who looks as if she is about to explode.
Robin nods to herself. She shoots a sympathetic look to Brij. "Absolute monarchy."
Juggling firelizards, Robin plucks the leather-wrapped package that Bleys gave her earlier from somewhere in her garments and holds it out to him. "Thank you," she murmurs quietly.
"Brita?" The girl turns her intense green eyes to her Cousin as she eases herself off of the window sill. "Will you get a message to Vista for me? Tell him I'm okay, but that I've been kicked out of Amber and sent to Xanadu.
"And... and... and when the Regent of this working castle calms down -- will you mention to him that I... I'm beginning to suspect that the Dragon isn't a meat-being but a place-being? A-and that I don't know how much damage we did inside her -- what with Pattern blades and dueling Uncles and holes being conjured in her side and... stuff. But I-I think that the land, the actual Land, of Arcadia is going to rise up against Arden s-soon. A-and that someone of, of H-heritage -- strong Heritage -- should be there to hold the gr-ound down. Please? He... he'll probably listen more to you than me anyway."
She finishes with a weak smile as she moves closer to Bleys and Brij -- for easier transport -- all the while doing her best to keep herself and her little lovelies under control.
Garrett, who had slipped out almost as soon as Brennan requested the gurney, returns with the table that Brita suggested. He glances up at Robin, noting her discomfort as she speaks and feeling the tension in the room. His main concern is for Lilly, however. He stands ready to help Brennan move her.
Brita nods to Robin. "Before I too Leave, I will Alert Ranger Vista and Relay your Perception to the Regent," then with a slight smile and a definite twinkle in her eyes, she adds softly, "whether He is Calm or Not."
Ossians eyes flash with anger at Caines words. He quickly tears out a piece of paper out of his sketch book and scribbles something on it. With quick, nimble fingers, he folds the paper in a complicated pattern. When he's finished it is folded into small thickish envelope, with the name "Lilly" written on it in Ossian's neat handwriting.
Ossian steps up to Garrett, sticking the envelope into his hand. "Garrett? Would you please give this to Lilly when she's starting to recover."
Garrett steps away from Lilly, surprised as Ossian speaks to him. "Uh, yeah, I reckon so," he says. He takes the envelope and stuffs it into a pocket of his jacket.
A smile flashes over Ossian's face. "I'll be in your debt, then" he says and leaves.
Paige wonders at Robin's rambling, but lets it go. She rises and nods to Bleys, "I am still contacting my brother, but apparently I'm doing it from the Prince."
A show of sympathy from Uncle Caine would have been far more worrisome to Lilly than this outburst. There was logic to his demands, even if she lacked the necessary information to form it for herself. Therefore, given the circumstance, Lilly will continue to entrust her safety to Brennan and Garrett and follow any instructions they give.
Brennan's instructions are, to Lilly, "Stay there and let yourself be moved," and to the surgeons, "Move her onto that table, and follow me. Now." Caine may currently be the winner of the worst mood in the room award, but Brennan is still a contender and he's not waiting for anyone.
He supervises the surgeons doing manual labor, and departs. The only thing that slows him down, and that only for a heartbeat, is that when he passed by Robin on the way out, he brushes against her upper arm and murmurs, "Speak with me before you leave."
While Brennan is supervising the surgeons, Ambrose comes over to speak quietly to Brita. "When I'm done helping with Lilly, I have to go back to fetch my mother and the rest of my people. I'm going to Xanadu. I hope I'll see you there."
Brita nods. "I am With Cousin Paige to Retrieve her New Charges to Forest Broceliande. I Will Return to Reality Xanadu afterwards. Good Luck in your Retrieval."
And [then Brennan is] gone, with Ambrose and Lilly.
Garrett exits behind them.
Robin nods her thanks to Brita with a weak smile, her words starting to abandon her completely. When Brennan brushes by and murmurs, she stiffens and the fire-lizards hiss, but the girl fights to keep everyone under control.
Angry uncles on one side telling her to get out, angry cousins on the other ominously telling her to stick around. Tension crackling around the room; confusion, resentment, fear, coating her tongue like oil. Time she and her little anchors were gone.
Without even a backward look to Bleys and Brij, Robin bolts for the window. After a quick check for her route down, the girl clambers outward into the open air and away.
Bleys shuffles a card to the top of his deck, and says "I'll send whoever wishes to go to Xanadu. Any takers?"
"Are you coming?" asks Brij.
"I'll stay on a bit, arranging the transport for Lilly. You should go ahead and let Gerard know what to expect. He'll probably want to oversee the infirmary himself."
Brita has watched Robin's exit through the window with a slight smile. She bows slightly to Bleys and Brij. "Fare Well," she says to both as she leaves the room.
Brita's plan is to find a page and set up a short meeting with the Regent for the next day. She will then find a place to stay in Amber. She's waiting on Paige to indicate when the exodus is to begin.
Brita finds a page and requests such a meeting. She is told that she should return in the morning to see when the Regent can see her.
Brita nods and thanks the page for his assistance and proceeds into town.
Last modified: 22 September 2009