When all the last-minute preparation is complete, Ossian opens the connection to Abford with the trump of the orphanage courtyard. The foursome steps through into the courtyard. It is mostly empty, but a few orphans are there. Meg recognizes most of them.
One of them, Hugh, runs up to her. "Mistress Carper! Mistress Carper! We all thought you were dead!" The other children, excited, all start to run over, with the exception of an older girl, who goes into the orphanage, presumably to alert figures in authority.
Meg keeps moving forward towards the kids. As she does so she grabs the sketch map of the town and passes it to Brita. "No, no, Hugh, turns out I'm alive," she says with a smile to the boy. She looks at Brita.
"I may be held up here for a little while. Could you see my family stays safe until I get there?" she asks in a low time.
Brita nods in response as she accepts the sketch. She glances at it and with a motion to Ambrose to follow heads off to the house indicated on the map.
Ossian bites his upper lip. "Be careful." he says quietly to Brita and Ambrose.
Ambrose nods a farewell to Ossian and Meg, and follows Brita.
As the group of children gathers around her, she uses her own momentum to keep the group moving slowly towards the doorway.
"Now, Hugh, what's been happening since I had to go away?"
Ossian follows Meg, and smiles to the children.
The children are a bit shy with Ossian, but they seem to know Meg. Meg notices they seem to be a bit older than she recalls.
Ossian notices that while Meg's body language remains cheerful and open towards the kids, her tension level has suddenly increased.
"Oh," says Hugh, "The Protector and his people came. They took the town, but then he and his men gave it back."
"Ah," Meg nods at this information as without reacting to the gross impertinence that lies beneath it. It's not Hugh's fault. "When did that happen?" she asks.
Ossian takes in the surroundings, but stays quiet. It's better to let Meg run this.
"Oh, two or three months, maybe," Hugh says cheerfully. "He was a good man, the Protector. We were sorry to see him leave. He gave the orphanage a lot of money."
Together, they all go into the orphanage and head toward what is probably Mother Humility's office.
Meg shuts her mouth tightly and then lets out a breath. She glances at Ossian and her expression is not at all happy.
"Was there a parade when he left?"
Ossian looks impressed, but mutters, for Meg's benefit. "Something's strange."
Meg nods.
Ossian fingers his Trump case.
Hugh ignores the stranger's comment, but says to Meg, "People turned out to see the men off, the ones that hired on to his army. One of your sons went with him, I think. Mother Humility will be able to say better," he adds apologetically.
Meg almost misses her footing, but recovers her balance and doubles her pace.
They arrive at the office door and knock on it. After a moment, Mother Humility answers. Hugh says, "Mother, it's Mistress Carper and a stranger." Mother Humility looks shocked for a moment, then pleased.
"Mistress Carper," she says, "We all thought you dead in the battle. Come in." She gestures Ossian and Meg into the office.
[Change of plan, AKA Meg goes spare.]
Meg doesn't bother to knock. She slams the door open and glares at whoever is inside.
"Which of my sons went with that bastard Huon?"
Ossian quickly adopts a stern composure, as if supporting Meg.
Hugh is flabbergasted and Meg has to push past him to get into the room.
Mother Humility is sitting at her desk, clearly working on accounts or some kind of other paperwork. She looks up as Meg and Ossian enter the room, and then rises from her chair, looking shocked. "Mistress Carper!" she says, her expression shifting to sternness as she takes a moment to react. "I'll thank you not to refer to St. Trista's patron in such a manner!"
Meg smiles, hard and bright. "It's true, his mother wasn't married to his father." She rests her fingers on the edge of Mother Humility's desk. "Are you going to answer my question?"
Ossian stays quiet.
Mother Humility has turned cold. "I'm not certain that a foundling has any business criticizing the parentage of others. I think your question is better addressed to your own family, Mistress Carper. Not least because I don't know the answer."
"No, then, I won't take up more of your time now then." Meg turns on her heel to leave. As she reaches the door she laughs and turns back for a moment, her hand resting on the handle. "He's my uncle, you know, and all that power and money he has, the rest of the family have a thousand fold. Only he's on the outer with them, and I'm not." Having got that out of her system she smiles again, but with sympathy this time. "I'll tell you about it later, but a lot is changing at the moment."
And with that she storms off to Peter's house.
Mother Humility doesn't pursue her, and Hugh is left standing in her dust.
Brita is able to find her way to what she thinks is the Carper house, Ambrose in tow. When she arrives, the house appears no different from any other home in the neighborhood. The neighborhood looks prosperous, and none of the houses appear to be damaged. The front door is closed.
Ambrose looks to Brita to take the lead.
Brita glances at him but proceeds up to the door and knocks briskly. She steps back slightly after knocking so she is not crowding the door. [any peep holes?]
[No peep holes]
Ambrose has his hand on the hilt of his knife, but Brita knows that it's more a spellcrafter's tool than a weapon.
A young woman, younger than either Brita or Ambrose, answers the door. Brita recognizes her from the scrying as one of the women of the house. "Yes? How may I help you?" she asks, looking at the odd strangers with a certain wariness.
Brita bows as she says, "I am Brita, Cousin to Your Kin Mistress Meg [Brita would use the formal name although her player can't remember it right now] Carper. She has Returned to Town Abford and wished Our Cousin Ambrose [she gestures to Ambrose] and I to Ensure Her Family was Safe while she Reconnected with Those at the Orphanage. She was Concerned given the State of Affairs when she Left."
The young woman eyes both Brita and Ambrose with suspicion. Something Brita said seems to have rubbed her the wrong way.
Brita notices that she's wearing a black armband.
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, Mistress, ah, Brita. I don't think I can help you. Good day." She moves to close the door.
Brita's hand stops the door motion. "Before you go, Cousin Meg - when she finishes speaking with Young Hugh and the Other Children - will Wish to Know if all in her Family are Well and Safe. Her First Concern was for her Family, although she has been Detained by Obligations at the Orphanage. Town Abford was under Attack when Cousin Meg and her two Companions were Taken Away to a Safe Place." Brita drops her hand as she continues, "Cousin Ambrose can take any Message you Wish to Relay to Cousin Meg. I will Remain here [and she indicates the front walk] until Cousin Meg arrives."
The young woman looks terribly upset all of a sudden. "I think you'll be waiting a long damn time then, Mistress Brita," she says. "My mother-in-law is dead. She died in the assault. Good day." She closes the door behind her with something that almost counts as a slam.
Ambrose looks disconcerted. "I'll get Ossian and Cousin Meg," he says, and unless Brita moved to stop him, he hastens back toward the orphanage.
Brita nods at Ambrose and watches him go. The young woman's distress is to be expected and Brita has no way to prove to her that Meg is alive except to show her. Her first move is to ascertain what lies to the sides and behind the house (she will not trespass beyond the front yard but just sniffs around). She then positions herself at the front end of the walk, away from the house, with an eye for the street towards the orphanage. She stands there calmly waiting, her demeanor relaxed. It is not by accident that the gentle breeze, on this spring-like day, blows across the house towards her.
The house is surrounded by others like it. The buildings nearby are all close--there's not much in the way of yards--and there's an alley behind, looks like, although Brita would have to make the block to be certain. All is normal at the house, as far as Brita can tell. There are two women and a good round half-dozen children inside. She does not smell Amber Blood in the house.
[If there should be any pets or other living creatures, please advise, Claire.]
There's food cooking in the house, Brita can tell. Also, slops behind, human and probably animal.
After a few minutes of breathing deeply with her eyes closed, Brita pulls out her notepad and begins sketching. Apparently focused on the page in front of her, she keeps her stance relaxed. She studiously ignores the two small faces that keep peeking out around a front window curtain, although a small smile drifts across her face with the soft breeze.
After a couple of times seeing the children peek out, Brita realizes it isn't always the same two faces. There are at least three children, maybe more, and either they can't all look out the window at the same time or someone is serving as a lookout.
Brita is sketching the house and surrounding area. She is not doing a Trump sketch as she is concentrating more on the scents right now and keeping watch than the sketch. Her sketch is surrounded by small sketches of the children - each added to as they return to the window. Occasionally, she'll flip back in her Sketch book to add something to her Trump of Conner when a particular movement or expression of one of the furitive scouts reminds her of him.
After a little while, a lad comes running up to the house. He doesn't appear to be a threat and seems to know where he's going.
Brita does not interfere, although she does turn more towards the door and turns to a new sheet on the sketchpad.
He knocks on the door. It opens, and the young woman who spoke to Brita and Ambrose appears. She and the boy speak in hushed tones for a minute, but Brita can tell that the youth is excited and whatever he said has agitated and excited the young woman.
The young woman looks at Brita for a moment. Her eyes narrow, but then her expression softens. She ushers the boy into the house, and the door closes.
A moment later, the children at the window vanish.
Brita's eyebrow goes up as the door closes on the youngster. Glancing back down at her sketchpad, she judges the quick sketch she has done of the woman. She adds some touches to the hair and then turns back to her sketch of the house. She turns towards the lane leading to the orphanage, fully expecting to see Ambrose and Meg approaching soon.
After a couple of minutes, Brita sees another face peek out from the edge of the curtains. It's the young woman who has opened the door twice now. After a moment, her face is replaced by that of an older woman, whom Brita remembers from the scrying.
Brita bows a greeting to the second woman, then returns her attention to her sketches. She adds some additional touches to the sketch of the younger woman.
After a moment, she, too, leaves.
When they are on their way out of the orphanage (way out of sight from Mother Humility) Ossian grabs Meg's shoulder.
Meg spins and lifts her arm ready to break his grip, and then stops herself.
"That was fun." he grins. In a more somber tone he continues "Now, cool it. We will need some friends here to get your family out."
"I am calm," Meg replies. "And she'll forgive me."
Ossian grins.
While Meg and Ossian are speaking, Ambrose arrives on the scene, looking concerned. "Brita is at your family's house, Meg. It looks as if everything is well enough, but they seem to think you're dead. Brita stayed there to keep an eye on the place, but you'll need to come to get them to talk to us."
"Yes," Meg agrees. "We've lost too much time. It's been months, not days. Huon left 3 months ago. I don't know how long it's been all up." Her brow is creased with worry. "And one of my sons has gone off with Huon's army, into another world, I imagine."
[What's the weather like? It was early Summer when Meg was last in Abford.]
[Pushing into fall. 3-4 months seems right.]
Ossian shakes his head "An army leaves big tracks. We should be able to follow it. But we need to find out what is funny with the time differential."
Meg frowns in disagreement, but doesn't waste time arguing.
"After all we saw Huon through your lens, only a few minutes back." Ossian says to Ambrose.
Ambrose shakes his head. "I don't know," he confesses. "Unless--paradoxes work strangely. We specified seeing Huon and we specified this shadow. If he was here, and then he wasn't, the spell might have compensated for it." He frowns, and his gaze turns inward.
[But if you guys head to Casa Carper, he will follow.]
Ossian shakes his head again, grinning. "Looking back in time. That's useful."
"Let's go and talk to your family." he says, turning to Meg.
"Yes," Meg points, "this is the quickest way." And she'll lead them quickly and efficiently through the streets.
When [Brita] sees Ambrose returning with Meg and Ossian, she tucks the sketchpad and pencils back into her pocket and stands at ease, her hands clasped behind her back, awaiting their approach.
Soon enough, Meg leads Ambrose and Ossian back toward the house. Ambrose looks lost in thought as he follows Meg and the others.
Meg has a frown on her face, which eases when she sees Brita.
[You guys can converse as you like. Ambrose is still parsing the sorcerous problem. He'll answer if you guys talk to him, but don't wait for him. Otherwise, carry on to the point where you knock on the door.]
Brita nods to her cousins and gives her report, "Cousin Meg, there are seven Children and two Women in the Home. Everything Appears Normal in and Around the House."
"Good," Meg smiles, but it is a worried smile. "It's been months since I was last here. This is going to be harder to explain than I hoped."
Meg heads to the door.
Ambrose stays at the edge of the property (unless everyone else follows Meg).
[Taking the liberty of assuming Meg knocks.]
She does. She raps on the door with her usual knock.
After a moment, the door opens and Leslie opens it. "Mother Carper! It's true! You're not dead!" And she throws her arms around Meg.
Meg pulls her close, "Oh Leslie love, no, I'm not dead." Meg's hand shakes a little as she strokes Leslie's hair.
"I'll tell you all about it, but let's go in and have a cup of tea while I explain."
Ossian watches Meg and Leslie, and says quietly to Brita "Something is funny with the time differential. Probably Ambrose's spell showed us something, well... not from now."
"Some Weavings are more Complicated for the Sister Fates than others. Shadow Asgard's Time was more Paced than Master Ngyen's Shadow." Brita watches the reunion as she responds to Ossian.
"We set conditions on the sorcery. We didn't think to make one of them that it show the present," Ambrose explains. He looks annoyed with himself.
Meg turns from Leslie to look at Ossian and Brita, and then Ambrose. "These people have been helping me while I was away, so we shouldn't keep them waiting on the street."
Leslie waves them toward the house. "Come in! Come in! There's tea and cakes for everyone." Her eyes light on Brita and she flushes a little.
Ambrose offers Brita his arm and escorts her to the front door.
Brita is getting used to the odd notions of her male cousins that she needs to be guided around. Her brief hesitation is barely noticeable now. Her expression is one of calm - there was nothing abnormal about her waiting outside.
Soon enough, after more delighted embraces, they're all seated around a table: Meg presiding, Jenna, Meg's daughter-in-law, hosting, Leslie, who's also a daughter-in-law, serving, and Ossian, Brita, and Ambrose as honored guests. The children are all Meg's grandchildren, belonging to Jenna and her husband and one of Meg's other sons.
Around hugs Meg distributes little packets of candied fruit.
Having gotten a better scent of her now, Brita feels Leslie may be broody because she's pregnant. None of these people smell like Amberites to her.
"You'll be wanting to hear what's happened to everyone, Mother," Jenna says. "Peter's well enough, still working with the Council, or what we have now after the Protector came and went with his men. Garth's recovered from the wounds he took in the burning of Renady, and he's back to work. Jacob signed on with the Protector and I don't know when he's coming back--but he left our Leslie with a baby!" Jenna touches the younger woman's cheek affectionately, and Leslie smiles and flushes a little.
Meg jumps up to hug Leslie again. "Oh that's wonderful news, I'm so pleased!" Meg looks at Jenna again. "And what about Morris, and Simon and Maureen?"
"Simon and Maureen are well enough, although Simon's business isn't as good as it was with all the changes in Renady and now with the soldiers gone." Jenna frowns at that. "Morris was helping out Garth and Katie while Garth recovered from his injuries. He's fine now."
Megs stores up questions for later.
"Now, I must make some proper introductions. I left so suddenly because I found a clue to who my parents might be. I haven't found them yet, but I have found some other relatives. This is Brita, who is a cousin." She indicates Brita with a smile.
Brita nods her head in greeting (since she's seated and can't bow properly) and returns the smile shifting to include the rest of Meg's family, "My Honor to Meet you All."
"And this is Ambrose, another cousin," Meg continues.
Ambrose smiles at Jenna and Leslie. "A pleasure," he says quietly.
"And Ambrose's nephew, Ossian."
Ossian smiles broadly "I am very pleased to meet you. Now I understand why Meg was so anxious to see that you were ok."
"Welcome to Abford," Jenna says. "We're happy to meet relatives of Mother's."
Leslie says to Brita, "I'm sorry I shut the door on you before. We'd been told that Mother Carper was dead, you see--that she died in the invasion. So you understand that we thought it was a bit odd that someone would come saying she was with them." She sounds a bit embarrassed.
Brita says, "There is no Problem. I Knew Cousin Meg would Arrive to solve the Confusion."
"A bit odd is the right way to put it, love." Meg folds her hands. "And it gets odder." Meg looks speculatively around the room before beckoning over the eldest of the children. "William, can you take the others, find your uncles and aunts, and bring them here so we can all talk together?"
When the children have gone, she asks. "The last I saw, the walls were being blown to pieces. What happened after that?"
Ossian is quiet but looks at Meg with a furrowed brow.
Jenna continues the tale. "That was the Protector's army, coming after taking Renady. He won, with his strange weapons and his army that knew how to use them. Peter helped negotiate the surrender. His men had taken Garth and Jacob as they fled Renady to try to warn us. I don't think we'd have had much of a chance, anyway." She shrugs.
Meg nods her agreement.
"Funny thing was, the Protector wasn't interested in making himself King. He just put people to work--the smiths and jewelers, of all the guilds. And he paid a decent price for everything he took, and helped rebuild the walls. And he was generous to that lickspittle Mother Humility, too. Bought something expensive from her to give to a strange lady who visited. Rumor had it she was green."
"Ohohoho! Did she?" Meg rocks back in her chair and laughs. "Poor Humility, she's a knack for being inconvenient. The green lady really is green. I haven't met her, but she's another cousin of mine."
Ossian laughs too, but it might be that he doesn't think this is funny at all. He's still looking at Meg.
Leslie looks a little disturbed by the laughter. Jenna just continues her story. "After a while, when the guilds had finished making the things the Protector wanted--something to do with his weapons, if the rumors are right--he said he was going away. He offered the young men a chance to join his army. Since there was no trade, and no money otherwise, Jacob signed on. There was a rich bonus for those who did. And he didn't know about Leslie."
She concludes: "That was three months ago or so. And then the Protector went away with his army and his men, and life went back to normal."
Brita asks, "Who helped Protector Huon with these Weapons?"
"We should find that out," Meg agrees. But she's interrupted by the opening of the door, and more of Meg's family arrive. There's another round of exclaiming and hugging, and Meg introduces her eldest son Peter, Jenna's husband, and two others who appear to be twins, Morris and Garth. Garth has burn scars that haven't had time to fade and Meg takes her time in letting go of him.
Ossian greets the family members cheerfully.
Ambrose greets them with some reserve. He's not unfriendly, but still a bit preoccupied.
Is he worried, or something else?
He looks like he's doing higher math in his head.
"I need to tell you where I've been since the attack," Meg tells her sons. But I also need to know more about what Huon did while he was here. Morris, was Master Fawkner one of the jewellers who did work for him?"
"He had all the jewellers working for him, as best we could tell, so I'd assume so," Morris says.
"Meg, tell us if you want to be alone with your family." Ossian glances briefly at Brita, then continues. "Regardless, I'd like to speak with you in private for a moment."
Brita volunteers, "Cousin Ambrose and I can Speak with Those that Aided Protector Huon."
Meg looks between Ossian and Brita, a little flustered and seems to think for a moment.
"That could be very helpful, Brita," she replies. "Morris can take you, and introduce you. And..." Meg rests her fingers on her chin. "perhaps we could lend you a headscarf?"
Brita tilts her head to one side, her single thick braid of red sliding across her back with the motion. "Do you have One in Red, Cousin Meg?"
Jenna speaks up. "I have one that will do, cousin." She beckons to Brita and gestures toward the rear of the house.
Ossian smiles, and turns to Brita and Ambrose "I think I could use Ambrose's help too before we leave Abford."
Ambrose nods. "There are things I'd like to ask you and Brita, as well."
He turns back to Meg "But I am at your disposal for now. Anything you want me to do?"
[Assuming the Carpers are in another room.]
When Ossian and Meg are alone, he looks her in the eyes and says with a low voice: "I just want to know that you have paused and thought before you tell your family too much. They seem happy here. Do you still want to take them with you?"
Meg doesn't answer the question. She leans back a little to look at Ossian's face and then asks, "Do you know how to change how fast time passes in one world compared to another?"
Ossian shakes his head "That's beyond my capabilities. I'd guess Random knows, and Bleys, but they might not want to share the knowledge. You want to slow it down here?"
Meg sighs and folds her hands. "I don't know how long it will take to find Huon's army and get Jacob back. A few days means a few months? I'd like to get him home before his baby is old enough to ask where he is."
Ossian frowns. "You want to change the time flow of a whole shadow for that? Changing things too much can be dangerous. Dangerous to the shadow that is."
Meg shrugs. "I don't want to change the time for that, I want the problem to not be a problem. I'm trying to think of options. What sort of danger do you mean?"
Ossian gets an ironic look on his face. "The Abford collapsing unto itself and vanishing-sort of danger, I imagine. At least if I tried to do it.
"If you could persuade Random to do it, it could possibly be safer.
"Maybe we should just trump Huon and ask for Jacob?"
Meg grins. "Maybe. Do you think he'd hand him over?"
Ossian shrugs "Whatever he is, he does seem civilised. And we need to know what he wants anyway. I would be surprised if Jacob meant very much to him. Even if Huon wants to cheat us, I think he would hand Jacob over as a gesture of good intentions.
"I think it is worth the risk, even if I would prefer to talk with Merlin first."
"So would I," agrees Meg. "And I want to know what else he's done here, as well." She gives Ossian a wary look. "He's been interfering at St Trista's, who knows what he might have done to any evidence about your mother?"
"I suppose he could have manipulated things. If there is anything to manipulate. But I don't see a motive.
"Unless he thinks I'm Bleys' son..." Ossian says with a twisted smile. "We have to talk with the people at St. Trista's."
Meg nods.
"But until then, what are you planning to tell your family?"
"Not everything," Meg sighs again. "That I still don't know who my parents are. That I'm somehow related to a bunch of strange nobles from far away in another world. And that while they're very nice in the main, they can still be dangerous."
"Sensible. Will you let them stay here?" Ossian asks.
"For the moment, at least," says Meg. "What would you do if you had a family like this?"
Outside the parlor, they hear Jenna and Brita coming back down, but they don't open the door or disturb Meg and Ossian.
Ossian lowers his voice. He gives Meg a sad look "I'd cry. For a while." he pauses "You will survive them all.
"I think letting them stay here is the right choice."
Meg crosses her arms and looks at Ossian. "How old are you?"
"Twenty-five in my time-line. Give or take a few years." Ossian shrugs. Then he looks worried. "Did I offend you?"
Meg chuckles. "No," she uncrosses her arms and pats him on the shoulder. "At twenty-five, you're not doing too badly."
Ossian looks confused, but smiles.
"Let's discuss it with Ambrose and Brita. There's such a lot we don't know still." Meg suggests.
Jenna leads Brita upstairs into what is obviously her bedroom and dressing area. She starts looking in the clothespress. "So you're a relative of Mother Carper's, a cousin, she said? You know, she was raised in the orphanage here. We didn't know she had any relatives at all."
"Yes. Yes. Our Extended Family is quite Large but Far Flung due to extensive Travelling. Thus, we may not Know our Kin until we Trip over them." Brita watches Jenna digging for a moment. "Your Family appears quite Extended as well."
"My husband's late father had a house full, yes. Mother Carper was his second wife."
Jenna comes up with a handful of headscarfs in different colors. "I had barely noticed that you weren't wearing a scarf. But you have lovely hair. Your husband will be very happy when you show it to him someday."
She comes to sit down on the bed near Brita, and beckons to the younger woman to sit next to her. "I don't think I have a red one. Maybe this one will do?" She hands Brita a pink one.
"Did you find out who Mother Carper's parents are?"
Brita's look of horror at the pink scarf is quickly concealed. "That one is Too Fine. Perhaps I may Borrow this one?" She points to a somewhat larger, soft green scarf.
"Of course," Jenna says, and sets the pink one aside.
She ignores the comment about a husband as if it didn't exist, but she sits down and submits to having her plaits covered. "Our Family Tree is Not Easily Traced. We have had Little Time to Discern Your Mother Carper's Branch. Her Parents have Not Stepped Forward as of Yet, but they May be Traveling or Otherwise Oblivious."
"Ah, that's very different from how we do things in Abford." Jenna is trying very hard to be a good hostess and conceal her disapproval, but Brita intuits that she wishes Mother Carper's family were more like Abford.
Jenna's hands in Brita's hair are very gentle. She's obviously done this many times before. "It's just almost unheard of that a child find her parents after she's left at the orphanage. I can't imagine why someone would allow that to happen to their child. But maybe if you all travel a lot, it was a man and he didn't know where he'd scattered his seed. That happens."
After a moment, she says, "I shouldn't say such things in front of you, Cousin. I'm sorry."
"There is Nothing to be Sorry for," Brita responds. Her eyes are closed. "Her Parents probably Believed the Orphanage would Lead to a Better Life for my Cousin Meg." Brita opens her eyes and turns to Jenna. "They were Obviously Correct."
Jenna smiles, a bit shyly. "We try to take care of Mother Carper, as much as she'll let us. My husband will want to know what kind of people are taking his mother home. I can tell him that you're all decent people, at least."
Brita smiles wryly as she stands. "I Doubt Your Mother Carper will Remain with Us. She began this Rescue from the Instant she arrived at Castle Xanadu. She harangued The King, finagled Information and Support out of the Princes of Amber." Brita sounds very admiring of these acts. "She will never Leave Town Abford or Those That Live Here for Long and will Always carry Her Family with her in her Heart."
The words "King" and "Princes" cause Jenna's brow to crease, and she starts to say something, but chooses not to say it when Brita speaks again.
Brita guestures to the door. "Shall we Return to the Others?"
"Of course." Jenna leads Brita back downstairs. Meg and Ossian are nowhere to be found, but Ambrose is sitting at a desk in a study visible from the hall--probably Jenna's husband's--and appears to be doing some sort of work on paper with a very scratchy-sounding quill.
"Cousin Ambrose, I return Properly Adorned," Brita notes as she moves over and glances at his work. "Attempting to Resolve the Dilemma? Have you Factored in the Family? Perhaps that was the Time we were Directed to See." She glances back up at him from the paper, "The Question would be Who wanted us to See or Not See?"
"Merlin would be the obvious answer to that question," Ambrose replies. He frowns. "Unless Huon is also a magus, unknown to us all. Which is not impossible." He gestures at the papers, which Brita can't read at a glance. They're in a language that's strange to her, full of glyphs. Perhaps it's the language of Ambrose's homeland.
"Would you be able to Decipher Who Directed our Sight if we were in the same Location we Saw our Cousins in?" Brita asks as she examines the glyphs for patterns.
"Maybe," Ambrose says. "I think it was the interaction with a trump. It's a strong fixity, and I didn't think I had to specify 'now'. I'll know next time."
Brita nods in response.
Outside the room, Ambrose and Brita can hear the parlor door opening and footsteps as someone -- Ossian and Meg, most likely -- head down the hall their way.
Last modified: 10 July 2006