Vere gives his relatives a general nod as he leaves the room. He gives another brief nod to Regenlief, pausing long enough to say, "I regret not having a chance to speak with you, lady. Perhaps we shall have a chance at a later date. If you are agreeable, of course."
Then he is on his way out of the mayor's house. He pauses on the steps, looking over the crowd, for anyone he recognizes as a senior member of Paige's Rangers.
It's hard to tell her Rangers from other Rangers, and there aren't that many of anyone's Rangers here. Paige's sometime associate Alain LeClaire is on the dais, across the way. Alain is the quartermaster of the Rangers, so he's at least a lead. Her son is on the dais, as well.
In the middle of the crowd, Vere recognizes Prince Martin, talking to Garrett and Lilly.
Vere heads through the crowd towards Alain, but keeps an eye on Martin as well.
Martin keeps talking to his brother, but while doing so, he flips his rucksack over and holds it in front of him, and then cold-cocks it. It stops moving so much.
Alain is one of several people on the dais, including a number of Rebman archivists and Brother Tomat. He bows when he sees Vere approaching him. He seems oblivious to any alarms or events and is enjoying the music and the night.
Vere joins Alain on the dias and nods a greeting to him and to Tomat and the archivists. "Step aside with me," he tells Alain, and pulls him off a short distance away from the others. Keeping his eyes on Martin, he asks, "Can you assemble the captains of Paige's Rangers who are here? Immediately."
Alain's smile doesn't drop, but his manner tenses. "Of course, your highness. Discretely, or do we raise the hue and cry? The latter will involve other Rangers and belike Princes."
"Discretion, please," Vere answers. "We do not want a general alarm. That is the reason I did not use cadence to summon them." He frowns, watching Martin's group beginning to move. "Damn. I had hoped someone else would talk to him." His eyes switch back to Alain quickly, and he leans towards him, speaking quietly directly into his ear, "Paige is up at the palace and does not know the situation yet. We need to guard the stairs to Tir. No one goes up, or comes down. Until Paige can be notified I will be taking charge. I need to speak with Martin, then will meet you at the stables. Get everyone you can find there, and continue spreading the word. Those available will head to the stairs immediately, others to follow as they are notified."
And with a final nod he dismisses Alain and heads toward Martin.
Signy slips off as the Queen and Silhouette make their way towards the dance floor. The closest thing to entertainment that ever happened at Weyland's was watching some poor visitor find out that he had gotten the short end of the stick when bargaining with the famous smith.
A wicked smile briefly twists her lips as she heads towards the bar. If she were to go out there and dance, that may end up with Random revoking his challenge, and quite possibly cancelling the holiday.
She catches the eye of a bartender, and she quickly brings Signy her drink. She leans her back against the countertop, eyeing the throngs taking their King up on his offer, before noticing Jerod within arms reach. She tips her glass briefly in his direction in a silent salute and takes a pull.
"Cousin." she says with a nod and a smile, before taking another pull from her drink.
"Signy." Jerod replies, passing his empty glass back to the bartender only to find another ready before he has a chance to even motion for a refill.
"We've not had the opportunity to properly meet I believe. We find ourselves in a fortunate circumstance then at the moment. How fare you this day?"
Signy pauses and thinks back before ruefully shaking her head.
"No, I don't believe we have met. I'm sorry -- it's hard to keep track of whom I've met and whom I've just heard of."
She mentally traces the Family Tree in her head, remembering where Jerod fit.
"I'm well enough, though I've spent the past...." Here she frowns, trying to figure out the time of the whole thing before giving it up as a lost cause. "Well, however long in Aunt Fiona's Shadow working on a project for Ambrose.
"Where have you been lately?"
"Where lately?" Jerod replies, taking a long slug on his drink. "I'm not sure the bartender has that much booze." and he looks back at the bar. "Though it might be worth trying to find out.
"Dealing with a situation in Gateway actually. Involves Marius, some rather unpleasant mages who sorely needed to have their asses handed to them, and some regime change. Managed to take care of some of that, though one mage is still...well, active I think is the correct word. Not sure about alive or dead....not yet at least.
"And we ran into Weyland the Smith." he says, taking a sip of this drink while waiting to see Signy's return serve.
Signy stalls for a moment by taking a sip from her drink, before realizing that her sip managed to empty the full glass. She gestures at the bartender for a refill at the same time as the bartender places a new glass in front of her.
"Yes, Brita may have mentioned that you ran into him."
She takes another drink.
"What was my father doing in Gateway? That seems rather far afield for him."
"Officially? His stated reason was vengeance upon the Triumvirate for their actions against Marius." Jerod replies, his slight smile ever so precise from years of Court. "Which from an immediate, no questions asked, perspective, makes perfect sense. I'm pretty sure that any Prince who had family treated thusly would have been burning Gateway to ash.
"Now unofficially? Not sure. After everything went to hell, we actually were heading out into Shadow, to the Tower Lords. Didn't get there of course, but we were heading in that direction. We were dealing with some chaosian tag-alongs that were merged with the Triumvirate. The paranoid side of my personality always looks to wonder where a gift-horse is really a Trojan one, but so far nothing has come up."
Signy decides to just give up at this point, and quickly tosses back the rest of her drink. She gives the bartender a welcoming smile at the drink that appears next to her elbow before the empty glass makes its landing.
"Of course, if we're asking questions it would be interesting to know how someone who has been more of a rumor and myth to the Family came to know not only that his son that he had never met had been stabbed, much less the ones that were responsible."
She takes a mouthful of the new drink, thinking.
"I wonder if there was anyone in the Family that Weyland was close to, that may still be in touch. I tend to doubt that anyone holding one of his Blades would have been overly fond of him, knowing how he deals."
She lifts her glass again, but pauses before taking her next drink.
"Did he know about our little gathering tonight and tomorrow?"
"He knows we were called back, but not why...that I can verify." Jerod says. "He is apparently somewhat bemused by the idea of Trumps, so that would suggest he is not fully aware of our abilities. It is possible he has assets here that could provide him with information on Marius, or us, whether those assets are family or otherwise. Given his connection to the family through Marius, via Deirdre, we should discount nothing. I do know that Corwin actually once offered to get me in touch with Weyland if I were interested in one of his weapons, so that tells me he at least had an ability to reach out. I decided then that I'm dysfunctional enough all on my own without adding to it." and he smiles, finishing his drink.
"Since he is a Chaosian, I would be hard-pressed to be surprised that he could not track his own offspring through Shadow, or to follow-up on rumors concerning whereabouts of said offspring. Given that the Triumvirate were foolish enough to do what they did, they had to realize that we would retaliate at some point. Even word of that would send out ripples to be noticed by those with the talent for listening."
Signy takes another mouthful from the tumbler while her cousin speaks before putting it down on the bar. Her fingers remain curled around the glass loosely, one finger absently tapping out a steady rhythm.
"He remains in his Tower all those years," she muses. "Doesn't really leave for Patternfall, no mention of my having a brother all those years, a man who is infamous for a lack of sentimentality, then suddenly he's off to wreak Family vengeance."
The chain doesn't appear to add up too well for Signy, but she also doesn't seem to have any way to come up with a better answer.
"I wonder if there was ever anyone in the Family that he was close to."
She pauses for a beat.
"Well, besides my mother."
"No idea." Jerod says. "Given that he was mythic to most family would tend to indicate he has minimal family involvement directly that others are willing to share. Doesn't mean people might not know him... just that they're not talking about it. With his history of providing weapons of power to individuals, I'd guess in the good ole days no one would talk about it because he'd be a resource for them. Don't want to give your enemies access to better weapons and all.
"As for now, who knows. Dara's rather nuts about her son Merlin, so there's always the possibility that he does care, though if he's following Dara's path, it's more about re-absorbing a stray of himself to gain what it has learned. Not a lot of familial love and affection on that path."
Signy frowns, thinking about Dara and Chaos and Family.
"What is Madoc's status with the Family?"
"No idea." Jerod replies, finishing his drink. "Never met him. Only have third hand knowledge, much of it suspect and not verifiable so I won't bother repeating it. The redheads would be a better source to approach for answers to that if they are necessary, since if you actually do get anything, it's likely to be more reliable."
Signy nods and files that away for later.
She gestures with her glass at the surroundings. "I noticed a lack of our parents at the big event," she notes. "I'd have thought that some of them would at least have made more of an appearance."
Jerod smiles slightly. "Well, both of mine have good reasons for being absent. Though yes, I did notice that. One would think with the usual family gathering going on that more of them would be around, at least for a brief time," he says as he looks around, then frowns.
"And it would seem we're missing some of our own crew as well. The number of cousins has dipped noticeably."
Signy looks around at how few are left and blinks in surprise.
"How...odd."
She thinks for a moment, scanning the surroundings again.
"What is the etiquette on these things? How much of an insult to not attend the event like this? I get that not showing for tomorrow's meeting is a Big Deal, since the King commanded it, but this...."
She waves her glass vaguely at the surroundings.
"One can get away with not showing up here." Jerod says, his glass on the bar as he moves out to look more fully.
"I'm not seeing a bunch of people who I was just talking to a short while ago." as he frowns, putting pieces together as to missing parties, in particular the redheads and Vere and he moves closer to Signy to talk without raising his voice.
"I'm thinking someone went to find the King."
Signy nods soberly, though her face somehow doesn't change expression.
"His speech after Edan's dance seemed oddly...subdued. Should we go and check on them as well?"
"Uhhh....not yet." Jerod says slowly, deciding that patience is better in the situation. "Enough of the cousins are out of touch that having two more show up isn't going to do anything besides clutter up a meeting room and reduce the supply of any available alcohol or food. If they want us, they'll come get us. I'm guessing if they want someplace invaded or smashed into rubble, they'll come get me. I'm hoping they don't - still have stuff in Gateway and the Weir to settle. If it's seriously important, then we'll find out in due course. Tonight if it's a screaming, the-universe-is-about-to-implode problem, or tomorrow if it's just the run of the mill world-ending problem.
"Let us instead keep an eye on things out here. Never know if one of the not-so neutral delegations decides they want to cause a problem. I'm very surprised right now that our kinslaying unworthy-to-wear-the-title-of-uncle Huon hasn't been stabbed yet by his one-time allies, for example. Their restraint would appear to be considerable." and he points out Hannah's people should it be necessary.
Signy suppresses a sigh and masters her brief flash of impatience.
"Huon was one of the ones that had his hand involved in what happened to Marius, right? Do I need to be worried that my brother might try something?"
Keeping an eye on things proves immediately fruitful. Jerod and Signy both spot Prince Martin, looking as if he's just come in from the woods, talking to Garrett and Lilly.
"Ah, things are appearing to get more interesting." Jerod says, spotting his friend. "As for your brother, I suppose that would depend on whether Marius will choose to disobey the King to seek vengeance. Uncle Random has meted out his judgment on Huon and everyone is expected to follow it. I understand why Random is worried about Huon's death curse and all. Too much crap going on right now to deal with that kind of stuff too.
"Though I suppose if your brother did want to kill Huon, he could always do what Caine did and shoot him in the throat like with Brand. Or like I tried with Huon and stab in straight through the heart. If you can't speak, you can't curse."
He motions to the bartender for a drink that is very large and in a mug that is not going to be missed if left somewhere before motioning to Signy. "Come on...let's see what his Majesty the Crown Prince is up to. Who knows...we might get into trouble." and he smiles a little wolfishly.
Signy quickly collects one last glass for herself, and falls into step with her cousin.
"I don't know him well enough to know if he is the type to completely disregard the King if he felt like it, though I think that it would also depend on what the consequences might be," she muses quietly, almost to herself, clearly thinking about the King's edict about their Uncle.
"You may rest assured that Martin is the son of the King." Jerod says quietly. "That means he'll do what he needs to do, when he figures it's needed. And then see about asking for forgiveness later.
"Oh, and he'll definitely know where to bury the bodies. Make him your friend."
The drumming was magnificent. As the amazing display of rhythm and precision wraps up, Garrett finds himself breathless and shaking his head in awe, completely forgetting the company of Max, Victor and Abd-allah nearby. His father's speech is half over by the time it registers to Garrett that the King is speaking.
As he begins to regain his composure, Garrett glances around the circle of faces at the front of the audience. Many of them are familiar; lords and merchants and relatives mingle together in the crowd. At the far edge though, one face in particular causes Garrett's breath to catch in his throat once again.
Lilly.
Her head turns, eyes locking with his. Panic flares in her chest. Would he want to talk to her? Had her departure ruined any chance they had at a lasting relationship? Perhaps Garrett had already found another. At once Lilly feels both foolish and afraid. But their eyes had met. Running, as she had during dinner, would only make her feel more pathetic.
Swallowing hard, Lilly pushes through the crowd. As she comes face to face with Garrett, words fail. She stops a few feet away, her fear keeping her from going any forward. How is this harder than combat, she wonders vaguely. Unable to speak or move, she stands, holding her ground and trembling ever so slightly. A single tear flows softly down her cheek.
As Lilly starts to move through the crowd, so does Garrett. He slows as she comes up short and stops just out of reach, his head cocked and expression tentative. He gulps involuntarily, but that seems to be all that's needed to clear his expression. A small smile starts at one corner of his lips. He remains still, but holds out his hand gently, as he might approach a timid and unfamiliar mare, allowing it to come if it will.
The hint of a smile is enough. Lilly closes the gap in a single movement throwing her arms around Garrett, pulling him into an embrace. "I've missed you," she says into his ear. "I didn't think I would be gone so long."
Garrett grunts as her weight suddenly hits him around the middle, but he eagerly wraps his arms around her, bear-like, and lifts her feet off the ground. "And I you," he breathes back. Setting her back on her feet, he breaks the embrace, but reaches for her hand. "We should talk," he suggests, nodding toward the edge of the crowd. "Come on."
Lilly nods her agreement as she comfortably allows him to take the lead. "You are lacking the small child I saw you with at dinner. Who was she?" she asks in a neutral tone as they walk.
"My niece, Lark," Garrett declares proudly. "She's a spitfire, that one."
He looks back at Lilly as what she said just registers, "Wait. You were at dinner? I didn't see you."
"You were quite caught up with Lark," Lilly responds with the hint of a smile. "And then Gerard, I believe. While I was hiding over with Corwin. I slipped out quietly. I wasn't sure I wanted out reunion to happen amidst a family meal. They are unsettling enough as it is."
Garrett leads them to a garden beyond the worst of the crowd and offers Lilly a seat on the wide stone ledge that surrounds it. He sits beside her, at a comfortable but not intimate distance. "That they are," he replies, "And yeah, I reckon I was distracted when I came back to dinner. You probably came in while I was out taking the Trump call from Folly to bring her and Lark in." At that thought, Garrett frowns and lowers his voice before continuing, "She needed her whole household brought in as well. There's trouble in the Shadow she came from. Martin's still out there."
"Everyone is just so full of good news this evening," Lilly responds flatly. She shakes her head and sighs. "What happened? Is Martin safe?"
Something in Lilly's tone makes Garrett turn to look at her quizzically. A little smile of apology appears and his eyes grow softer. "I'm sorry. I'm mucking this up, aren't I?" he says, taking her hand and resting their joined hands between them on the seat. "I haven't seen you in forever and I open with disaster. Martin can wait. Where have you been?"
Shaking her head, Lilly responds gently. "You are not mucking this up. You know that Martin is like a brother to me and I would prefer to know if he is in some sort of mortal peril. The tale of my travels can wait. It wasn't that exciting. Time with Benedict is more about education. But I did learn quite a bit and now I'm back. That's about it."
Garrett looks solidly into her eyes and nods. "I had forgotten that you and he lived together for a time. At the Tecys, wasn't it?"
Lilly nods.
"Anyway," he continues, "Folly said that she believes the trouble he's in involves Klybesians. That makes sense, considering that the name keeps coming up in pretty much every conversation I've had since my return. He encountered what Folly called 'zombies' - ghost men in physical form, I believe - in both the shadow they were in and another shadow he frequents. It sounded like he had things under control for the moment," and Garrett's expression conveys that Martin's version of 'under control' probably differs from his own, "but Folly will likely be calling out the cavalry if he's not here by morning."
"I'm sure she will," Lilly agrees with another nod. "We seem to be under attack from all sides. Brennan has concerns. It seems that a 'ghost island' of sorts has just appeared far too close for comfort. And there are rumors of other strange occurrences. I am not convinced that anywhere is safe. Keep your wits and stay armed. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you."
Lilly's last words appear to take Garrett by surprise. He smiles reassuringly and starts to speak, but seems to be at a momentary loss, perhaps deciding that this is not the time to make light of her concerns. "I will," he agrees finally. "And you as well. You're more likely to be on the offensive if anything comes up. They'll put me to guarding Queen and Castle, I reckon," he says, with no indication that that is a bad thing.
"Did Brennan say anything more about his concerns?" Garrett asks. "I didn't see anything particularly odd while I was traveling, but then again, not having much experience in shadow, I might not have recognized something as being out of place."
"Just that Islands suddenly appearing right outside of Benedict's stronghold seems to be cause for concern," Lilly replies dryly. A moment passes and she shrugs. "The death of a cousin. Threats in shadow. Old enemies appearing. Lots of details best discussed in less public places. So many things coming together at the same time. He's alarmed and that's enough for me to be on my guard."
"Yeah, Brennan doesn't alarm easily," Garrett agrees flatly. He sighs and rubs the back of his neck wearily. "And you're right. There's naught to be done for it now. Or here," he gestures at the crowd.
Garrett's eyes soften as he changes the subject. "So you said you were hiding by Corwin at dinner. Were you really hiding?" he asks gently.
Lilly cocks her head and shrugs. "Maybe, " she responds with a grin. "You did come in with a date after all. Perhaps I was feeling intimidated." Not a lie, the warrior maid decides as the words come out. Young children were truly frightening creatures.
"Well, Lark IS sort of a force of nature," Garrett smirks, then adds more seriously, "Did you think she was mine?"
"Maybe," the grin remains. "There is a family resemblance. And, with the way time flows in shadow it was possible that I was gone much longer than expected."
Lilly shrugs, as her features melt into seriousness. She pulls a homemade ring from a pocket and holds it out to Garrett. "This hasn't left me since you gave it to me. It has been my constant companion on my toughest days. But with so much time passing... I just... I just wasn't sure that I should still be wearing it." She takes a deep breath. "I wasn't sure you would want me to or maybe that you would be hoping I lost it or some other thing." Lilly shakes her had and tries to laugh. "I'm sure I sound insane and I'm sure I'm over thinking everything."
Garrett carefully takes the well-worn horseshoe-nail ring from Lilly's fingers. It still resonates the warmth from her body. He looks down at it, rolling it gently in his fingers as he speaks. His hair drops over his forehead to hide his face. Uncharacteristically, he does not brush it back.
"I was angry at first," he begins softly. "And hurt. I wondered for a long time why you didn't tell me where you were going. Or that you were going at all." He pauses and sighs. "Then I reckon I... I guess I just... moved on. Sort of. Got busy with assignments and obligations and such. And once I was out on my own, in shadow, I didn't have much contact with the family for months, if not more. There was no one to ask."
He glances up at her shyly from under his hair. "Sometimes in the rigging, on watch in the middle of the night, with the breezes blowing... I'd wonder. Think about you and wonder where you were. If you were all right. I reckoned you must still be alive somewhere 'cause no one ever told me you weren't. I reckoned you were doing like I was...exploring and learning."
He shrugs and raises his head, still turning the ring in his fingers as he looks at her fully. "And then I got called back and things happened so fast from there that it never hit me that you might be here too. I never even thought about it. Or what I would say if I saw you. And then I DID see you," he smiles then and offers the ring back to her, "and all there was was 'Lilly.'"
Lilly takes the ring with a nod, the ghost of a smile playing upon in her lips. "Our parents... or maybe I should say my father has long forgotten how time passes for our generation. There was a need to leave suddenly and he told me it would be for a very short while so I went. I felt a duty to do so. In his mind, we have only been gone a very short time. It's the perspective of his years. I am sorry. I think, if we want to continue having any sort of relationship, that we need Trump of each other. Surely one of our cousins can help with that. I might need to offer a favor in return but I am happy to do that for you."
"You're right," Garrett says with a quick nod. "Folly drew one of me some time ago. I'd trust her to do one for you. She might not even ask for a favor, though I expect she'll have her hands full for a while. Have you ever had a Trump drawn of you?"
"Paige and Ossian were both working on them," Lilly replies. "Between the three of them, I am sure some one can help out. In the meantime, I may just have to stay put and if duty does call I promise to give you a warning before running off."
"That's all we need for now," Garrett nods with a smile. "We both know duty comes first. Next time, I'll know not to question it." He squeezes her hand to emphasize the point.
Lilly squeezes his hand back as she leans in to kiss Garrett gently on the cheek. She steps back and takes a moment to reorient herself with their surroundings. They can not afford to let their guard down for too long.
When they look up, there's Martin, looking like he's been drug through a wringer in a burning swamp, with a short duffel over his shoulder that's moving. "Hi Garrett; hi, Lilly. Good to see both of you. I just got here and Ben said to check in with you and find out what's going on.
"I've got some cargo for Fiona here and we probably ought to get it stowed safely. Would you mind helping me with that?"
Lily eyes the bag suspiciously. "Not a problem at all," she responds. "We can catch one another up on the way once that's done."
Garrett stands, his expression matching Lilly's. "Of course," he says with more enthusiasm than his body language reveals. He steps around to look the bag over while asking, "Are you all right? Have you seen Folly yet?" Leaning in closer and squinting at the bag, he adds, "And...what's the best way to 'stow' it?"
"Yes, no, and probably a cold room in the castle well away from the food. And restricted to family access only if we can get it. Is something going on with Folly?"
Jerod and Signy are making their way over from the bar to join Garrett, Lilly and Martin.
The duffel makes a thumping noise and jerks like something is moving in it. Martin flips it over his shoulder so the bag is in front of him, not behind him, and punches the side of the duffel. There's a echoing thump inside the duffel, like he smacked the side of a box hard enough to knock whatever was in there to the other side.
"Might want to get a move on with getting this thing properly secured. Letting it loose here would be bad."
Signy and Jerod show up after having made their way over from the bar. Signy polishes off a glass of a translucent amber liquid as they join the three of them on the dais.
She gives Lilly a quick smile of greeting, before turning her attention to the other two. "It seems like the party may be getting kicked into high gear," she notes in a bored tone of voice that doesn't carry beyond the five of them, pointedly not looking at Martin's sack. "At least, if you know where the good after parties are."
If she notices Brother Tomat nearby, she doesn't seem to give any sign or indication.
Martin has tossed the duffel, which is now quiet again, back over his shoulder.
"I think it's time to head up the hill. I've got a delivery for Fiona in here and I don't want to delay it getting to her for too long. Where is everybody? What's going on?"
Lilly is still eyeing the duffel. "Let's walk and talk, shall we? I'd hate to have to stab Fiona's souvenir." She takes Garrett's hand as she starts moving towards the palace. "The Family is all supposed to be here at the party. Is Fiona expecting the package or do we need to call her?"
"I hope she's expecting the package. That's Folly's end of things," Martin says.
Garrett seems surprised at Lilly's display of affection, but he takes her hand with a smile and begins walking along. "First off, Folly was fine a couple hours ago. That was when I saw her last. And so was Lark," he assures Martin quickly. "Everyone scattered after Edan's performance, so other than those who stayed in the square, I'm not sure where they all went. Lilly and I got to talking and I wasn't paying that much attention," he admits with a rueful smirk.
"They seems to have all disappeared into the official manors as it were." Jerod says, also pointedly not looking at the sack, though Martin gets a nod that combines official, friendly and curious all at the same time. Must be a Rebman thing.
"That was just after the King's official comments. There are a few bits of information from Vere and Brennan that would be good to review with them, that I figured would be coming out in the official family gathering tomorrow. They're not for public commenting however, if you get my drift," as he pointedly ignores the people around the group.
Martin says oh shit but the words come out, "Sure, let's have story time while we walk after we get up the hill."
Vere is heading down from the dais toward them as well.
"Cousins!" Vere calls out cheerily. "Well met indeed!" He is smiling, but the look in his eyes does not match his smile or his voice. As he draws near he continues, "I was just speaking with Uncle Bleys and a few of our cousins," he waves a hand airily. "Quite a jolly gathering. Folly, Conner, Brennan, Edan, a few others. You would have enjoyed it. Such amusing anecdotes about the family." He shakes his head and gives a little laugh. "It would do you no end of good to speak with one of them, I tell you."
"Then I'd suggest we bring his highness up to speed on Tir...now. Cause part of me is thinking that what you told me previously is just the fuse to a much bigger bomb." Jerod says. "And that part of me also thinks it's been lit."
"Fantastic." Lilly shakes her head. "I was hoping this family gathering would be interesting." Her sarcasm is somewhat hidden by her flat tone. "Brennan did have quite a story earlier. Let's get this package stowed. If the party gets rowdy, it would be nice to have one less thing out here in the streets to worry about."
Signy falls in with the group as they move. She herself is not up to speed on Tir, so contents herself with listening for now while she scans to see if anyone outside of the Family seems to be inserting themselves into their conversation, or following along a little too closely.
Having nothing new to add to the conversation, Garrett listens as they walk, keeping himself and Lilly between any curious townspeople and the duffel bag.
"We do not want this package loose. It's aggressive. Also possibly contagious," Martin says, and it's like he had another word in mind for aggressive and decided against. "Why don't we all get moving, and Vere, you can catch us up while we're on the road." There's no question mark in that nominal question because it's not really a request so much as Martin really wanting to know what's going on.
Fletcher finds himself at the edge of the dais as the receiving line is breaking up. Edan has moved on and people are either dancing or sitting out dances.
"Fletcher!" says a voice from behind him, "There you are at last."
It's Brij, Martin's monther-in-law, with her granddaughter in tow. "I knew I'd find a helpful cousin eventually. I need a favor, which is to ditch of my awful ex. Can you pick up Lorelei and help me find Haven and Tjaden?" Her tones are smooth and friendly, but if Fletcher hears a bit of desperation, it's not his imagination.
Fletcher looks up quickly, pulling himself out of his personal reverie. Too much time inside one's own head can be a problem. A damsel in distress is just the thing to distract the knight. "Of course!" He waves to Lorelei, "We may not have been formally introduced my lady. I am Sir Fletcher, you cousin. You've grown up quite a lot since I first heard you." He extends his arms, "Will you help me see if we can find the others for Lady Brij?"
Lark puts her hand out to shake his, and it's clear she's Martin's child even at this young age. "I'm Lark. Pick me up and tell me what they look like."
Fletcher shakes Lark's and kneels to scoop her up.
Brij takes his other arm and lets herself be led into the crowd.
"I suspect we can spot them by looking for valleys opening up in the adult crowd where they pass through. Lady Brij, do you know what colors they're wearing?" Fletcher asks as they wade into crowd.
"They'll be wearing the last of my daughter's unnatural materials that haven't turned to rags yet. Check the bandstand first, they're both musical. Tell me about yourself. They say you're older than the King..."
Fletcher steers them through the crowd toward the bandstand, eyes intently seeking their quarry. "Oh, me. Well, yes. Though we seem to have more than one King in the family these days, so it's more accurate to say I'm older than the local King. Corwin is still older than me. I grew up in Amber. My court title is Defender of the Faith, and part of that responsibility was dealing with religions and religious issues for the Crown. Amber attracted all sorts of people, including believers in any number of things that weren't native to Amber. I'm also a Knight of the Unicorn. It seems that only some of them have made the trip from Amber to Xanadu so far. But all of that was some time ago. I spent much of the interim walking in shadows, handling problems for Grandad in places that can't be gotten to quickly or easily. Generally trying to keep problems from getting unmanageably big. Of course given where we are it's clear that all it takes is one problem getting too big. What about you? I gather you settled down in Texorami?"
Brij laughs, genuinely amused by his wording. "The last thing I did in Texorami was 'settle down'. I was born there, and I didn't know about my Grandfather's heritage. My grandmother, like me and like Folly, picked up strays. Hers was Julian, mine was Huon, and Folly's were Random and Martin. I kicked at the traces pretty hard there, until I figured out I really didn't belong there."
Fletcher pauses a moment and looks at Brij. "Oh. That must have been... awkward. Learning about it all later. There must have been a lot of catching up to do." He thinks he spots one of the kids in the crowd and turns to look again. He asks, "Do you see them Lark?" To Brij he continues, "Then again I was raised in Amber and I'd hardly say my formal court upbringing prepared me for all of this."
Brij shrugs. "I never knew any different. People assumed I did crazy workouts and diet and surgery to stay young looking, but really, I haven't aged much since about 30. I looked even younger when I had Folly and people used to talk. You were raised in Amber? I've seen it, but I hear it used to be more... something."
From her perch on Fletcher's arm, Lark calls out, "I see them!" and points to the bandstand. Sure enough two women wearing stretch metallic fabrics are standing next to the band, apparently waiting their turn to take the stage.
Fletcher's head snaps around in the direction Lark is pointing and sighs, "Yes, it was something, but we'll have to continue this after we finish our hunt." He begins making a way for their group politely but forcefully through the crowd. "Keep your eyes on them," he tells Lark. And a moment later once under way he asks, "Shall we prevent them from taking the stage?"
Brij, being small, follows in his wake. "As long as not too much blood has to be shed, that would be good. Otherwise you might have to dance with us."
They push through the crowd and reach the two women, who are now waiting as the prior band packs up. The audience is clapping. "Jade!" shouts Brij, "Hey, Haven!"
Haven turns and pulls on Tjaden's arm and the two of them usher another act towards the stage. "We'll swap," Haven says.
The sudden replacements rush on stage and start setting up.
"Hey, I was just with Folly and she made me promise to introduce you to her daughter. And also to her cousin-uncle, Fletcher. Fletcher just saved me from a boring and/or terrifying discussion with my ex-.
"Jade, Haven, this is Lark. She's grown up fast."
"Mamma's teaching me to sing your parts," Lark says to Tjaden.
Haven says hello to Fletcher. "Cousin-uncle?"
Fletcher bows slightly, giving the added effect of Lark dipping slightly as well. "I am both Lark's first cousin once removed and (if I understand correctly) her first cousin three times removed, because nothing in our family is every simple. The 'uncle' part is probably a reference to how terribly ancient I am. Laaa-dy Brij was concerned about the durability of your shining armor so I was happy to help her find you." Fletcher may only have a vague idea of who Haven and Tjaden are, but figures it's safe to at least tweak Brij in return for 'cousin-uncle.'
"More like Lady Brij really has no idea who's related to whom." Brij laughs. "Apparently we're no longer trying to mass-murder my ex- and he's a relative, too. Folly tried to explain it all to me and my head started spinning. Mister Not-My-Favorite-Person is here with the Queen of Atlantis, and they're pals, but I think it's politics.
"And what my ancient uncle is trying to say, is that we found you because nobody else is wearing silver lamé spandex."
Tjaden turns to Lark. "OK, sing one with me. I can do all of Folly's parts."
Haven leans in to Brij. "Is something wrong with Sid?"
Brij looks around. "Yes. Or I think so. Soren was totally out of his mind in the castle and dragged Folly away as soon as he saw her. Can you get Ash prepped for... whatever? I don't know if it'll be an intervention or a kidnapping. But something."
Neither one of the two women seem to mind that Fletcher is next to them, hearing their talk.
Fletcher asks, "I was under the impression we were supposed to go somewhere. Is there time for a performance?" He looks scans the surroundings for possible carriages to commandeer.
Brij smiles his way, her nose wrinkling up. "We're not supposed to be anywhere until tomorrow, and then only you and Lark, because I'm not in the club. But I don't think they're going to perform, just sing at each other."
Haven looks at the crowd, and does a double take. "AoD is here."
Tjaden stops singing.
Fletcher shifts Lark to make sure he has unimpaired access to his sword and inconspicuously scans the area, still smiling. He asks, "Who's Ayodie?" He pauses a beat and then continues conversationally, "And what's this about exclusive clubs? I don't remember getting any membership cards."
Brij blinks. "Almost assuredly, you literally did, but let's not get into family semantics at this point, I can tell you later about me. A.o.D. is a code-name certain people have for Martin Prince of Xanadu, Duke of Earl, Earl of whatever comes next, Knight-Commander of the Order of the ahem Card, and Lark's father."
She points him out in the crowd. "He's the scruffy looking one who needs a bath over there, beating up his own duffle bag."
After Brennan takes leave of Regenlief and Ossian, he makes his way with as much haste as is seemly back to the square where Edan's great demonstration took place, and where the Knights of the Ruby were congregating. Basically, where he just Trumped away from. When there, he corners all of the following at the same time: Dame Patience, Sir License, Sir Whither and Sir Xenial.
Patience and License are already part of the squads slated to head back with Brennan to Avalon and with Edan to wherever he rides, respectively. Brennan reinforces that they are to be ready to depart quickly, and he puts a hard deadline on it: Be ready by midnight. Whither and Xenial were not part of either squad, but are informed that between them they'll gather up most of the rest of the Knights and also be ready to go by midnight, but to await orders. The Knights who Brennan expects to stay in Xanadu include Dame Tempest the disguise artist and Sir Whither, the scout. If Brennan doesn't have a chance to talk to them, Sir Marius will.
Above all, they are not to make an obvious fuss about this-- they're not to depart the gathering en masse, but separately, quietly, and spread out.
Everyone seems excited, alert, and worried as all hell. They want to know who the enemy is, Sir Brennan.
They'll be briefed later, is Brennan's terse answer.
That done, he surveys the square: What is the mood and who if anyone among Family seems to be present?
Martin is in a crowd near the exit, it looks like he's about to lead a group up the hill. Every military man, Prince, and Princess on the field is watching to see what happens there. The mood of the crowd is more frenetic than it was before Random's announcement. People are picking up on the mood, but the band is playing on.
Brennan hauling ass across the square will generate more attention that he wants to generate, so instead he sends one a senior page to head over to Martin's clique, letting them know he's on his way. She is to walk long enough that she won't be seen taking off like a shot directly after talking to Brennan and then get there as fast as she can.
Another page is sent to encourage the band to, and the page is encouraged to relay these words exactly, "Play cheerful and celebratory tunes or else." If it's appropriate to encourage them with money, Brennan will do so.
Another thirty seconds to give the first page some distance, and Brennan starts moving Martin-ward with as much speed as is reasonably possible.
Brennan is on his way by the time the music gets particularly cheerful and celebratory.
Vere joins the group as they walk, glancing around to see how close possible listeners are to their group. "I do not have much time, as I am ordered to take Paige's Rangers and guard ... certain steps. And the news I have is not the kind that can be spoken in any kind of open forum." He frowns. "I had really hoped that Folly or Brennan might have found you, and been able to explain the ... situation."
"Then we'll get right to it." Jerod says, his voice now stilted, altered and much quieter. Martin would certainly recognize it from Court, soft speech with no lip movement, to confuse observers and reduce detection underwater.
"Vere made a visit up the steps. What he saw was the monarch up there apparently held Cambina there until she fell, while Vialle was doing a walk."
Fletcher has been navigating his way toward Martin, carrying Lark, [presumably with Brij too] and has had the ill fortune of arriving just as Jerod began his little story. He hopes he's misheard or misunderstood some of what Jerod just said, and decides that this isn't the moment to interrupt. He shrugs to the group in greeting.
Lilly gives a nod to her brother. Though paying close attention to what is being said, her gaze is focused outward as she continuously takes in their surroundings. She did not want to be caught unaware.
Signy listens, before glancing at Jerod. "There's some implications in the second half of your recap, correct?"
Garrett glances quickly at Martin, gauging his reaction, though he knows very well there may not be a visible one. Lack of reaction says something too. "Indeed there is," he answers Signy quietly, but leaves it to his elders to determine how much to explain in this venue.
Fortunately for everyone waiting for Martin to explode, Brij and Lark show up, trailing in Fletcher's wake, and Lark interrupts anything he might want to say with "Daddy Daddy Daddy Daddy DADDY!" Martin hands the bag to Garrett (assuming he'll take it) and accepts an armful of child from his mother-in-law.
Brij and Martin smile at each other with the cordial loathing of two people who can't understand how the person they share puts up with the other one. "You're late," she tells Martin. "The party's already started."
"I brought it with me," Martin says when he disentangles enough from Lark to reply. And then he turns back to Jerod and Vere and says, "What the actual f**k?" Like he heard what they said but needs to be sure he heard it right.
"Someone give him a drink, he's gonna need it," says Brij.
Fletcher, who is almost supernaturally aware of the nearest source of liquor at all times, acquires a couple of drinks from the nearest source, probably over-tipping in the extreme (whether money was even required or not) and not at all worried about it. He smirks at Brij and offers one of the drinks to Martin. As an after thought he decides to offer the second to Brij.
Martin takes his and tosses it back. "Thanks," he says.
Brij takes hers, raises it to Fletcher, and does the same.
Vere glances at Brij for a moment, but then with a slight shrug he says, very quietly, "It is even worse than that. Bleys says that Fiona has discovered a spell on Random, somehow using his ties to the Jewel of Judgement and the Pattern against removing it, causing a single-minded focus on Vialle, their child, and having the Family swear allegiance to the child as his heir. Folly had an independent report from Soren that the King is completely apathetic and directionless when not in the presence of Vialle."
Signy listens to what Vere has to say, expressionless.
"This sounds suspiciously like what we encountered when we rescued the Queen for the King," she says just barely loud enough for the Family to hear.
"There was also a chain we brought back, that might be worth being looked at."
Martin looks at Signy and says, "Get it. Don't go alone." He sweeps his gaze over the group and says, "Fletcher, go with her. We need to figure out what the f**k to do and Garrett and I can't go up there right now. We have to get the package to Fiona, so we need a courier for that. One of us."
"Where is my daughter?" Brij asks, before the group can break up.
And Lark, who has been absorbing all this with big eyes, because she clearly knows who some of these people are but not all of them, repeats, "Where's mama?"
Vere glances at Lark, one eyebrow rising slightly, and then smiles at her. "Folly and Edan went to the palace," he says, striving to remove any sense of urgency or concern from his voice. "To obtain some 'device' of Edan's, if I understood correctly." He looks at Jerod. "Brennan was going to look for you, Cousin Jerod, to explain the situation and suggest a diversionary target. Reme, which is apparently a Klybesian stronghold. Ossian will have a clandestine mission there, under cover of your overt mission. Conner was to inquire of Queen Celina and Llewella if they knew anything of the King and Vialle's supposed trip to Rebma last night." His gaze goes back to Martin, "And now, your Highness, with your permission I must be about my own mission, to guard the steps in case of a Moonrider attack from a different time."
"What is it with everyone wanting me to blow things up?" Jerod asks with the vaguest hint of annoyance.
Garrett adjusts the bag on his shoulder. Turning to Martin, he asks, "Can't we trump it to Fiona?"
"I'm guessing you'd have done that already if it was allowed?" Jerod says, looking at Martin. "I'm tempted to do courier duty, just to do something before wandering off to set more of the universe on fire."
"If she's working with Dad, Fiona needs us not to distract her," Martin answers Garrett. He turns back to Vere. "Don't go alone. We go in pairs now." He scans the group and starts to say something, but a page runs up to the group.
"Highness," she says, "Sir Brennan is coming and would speak with you."
"Still don't go anywhere," Martin says to Vere. "If we're doing this, we're doing this, and nobody goes alone. We need Brennan's report."
Shortly after being named, Brennan appears. He is less out of breath than young Tenacity because, not wanting to put the crowd any more on edge, he didn't sprint over to them. On the other hand, people do tend to move out of Brennan's way more readily than some page. To the page he says, "Don't go too far-- Think about whether you want to be a squire."
Turning his attention to the group, he says, "Prince Martin, everyone. We're going to have to find some better place to discuss this-- I assume everyone has Vere's news and the bomb that Bleys dropped in our laps?" He waits a beat for someone, anyone, to nod before continuing.
Martin nods, once.
"Right. I have some very trenchant ideas about what needs to happen. As I'm sure you do and, by my count, the dozen or so cousins who also know by now." Brennan makes a gesture with his hands that might be ten people all running off in different directions, or might be an explosion. Or maybe he hasn't decided.
"And there's a lot of us who don't know-- yet-- that deserve to know what they're walking into." Brennan says. "So here's a thought: if we can't contain it, get in front of it. Get everyone together than can be got, tonight. At least cousins." He seems to notice Garrett's bundle, blinks, and mouths, "Zombie?" He's probably more concerned about upsetting Lark than being overheard-- he really hasn't said anything that anyone without context could understand.
"It's a zombie," Lark agrees, very serious.
Lilly smiles slightly, "She needs a sword." Her expression takes on a more serious tone. "And we need a plan. It's clear that this is some sort of set up. I'm not fond of being on the defensive."
Vere's lips quirk very slightly for an instant. Then his head turns to look away for a moment (to what only the most intuitive watcher might conjecture to be the direction of the distant steps to Tir), before sweeping back around the square looking for any of Paige's Rangers that might be visible, then turning back to Martin.
Garrett smiles slightly at Lilly's remark and glances over at Lark, but remains silent, deferring to those more experienced than he in matters of magic or battle. He continues to hold the duffel tightly closed over his shoulder.
Signy glances at Fletcher to catch his eye before turning back to Martin. "Where should we plan on meeting up," she asks.
"The Spring of the Unicorn," Martin says, "It's the analogue to the Grove here. If you don't know where it is, pair off with someone who knew where it was in Amber; it's in roughly the same place. Nobody goes anywhere alone, including Brij here, who needs to get to Ashe and Tjaden and Haven," he adds with a look at her like he's expecting to get an argument.
"Also Vere, you may have to drop in by Trump. Take Lilly with you, all right? Anything else? Anybody else?"
"I do not have a Trump of any of our cousins," Vere says, "And I do not think any have one of me."
Jerod shakes his head, thankful for the opportunity to not have to blow anything up right away, while eyeing the bar to get a bottle to take to the Spring.
"Figure about midnight?" Brennan says. "Gives the revel time to wind down without making our absences conspicuous. Gives us time to spread the word discreetly, too. Other things, yes, speaking of spreading the word. Conner is hustling-- or trying to hustle-- Celina out of the city, but they both need to be part of this too, by Trump if need be. Someone needs to hustle to find them before one or both leaves, if that's their plan."
Martin nods, once.
Brennan turns to Lilly and says, "Half the Knights were ready to move in the next day or two anyway, in two groups. Now it's almost all of them, in four groups. No set assignments for the other two, yet, just readying."
To Vere, "Take someone who doesn't have that problem, or borrow one. I don't have one of my own to give, or I'd hand it over now."
Back to Martin, "I'm going to go start spreading the word by finding Robin, unless there's something else urgent. She and I have something we need to talk about." Apparently the zombie doesn't count. He starts to leave, then turns back to address Lark in a less clipped and business-like tone, says, "It was nice to see you again, Lorelei," in that way all grown-ups have when they want to tease someone too young to remember them. "Sorry I can't stay."
"Nobody goes alone," Martin says. "Signy, you're with Brennan. Luck to you both."
Barring objections, Brennan will soon be off, trailing Tenacity if she hasn't decided to run far and fast at the thought of being Brennan's squire.
Martin pulls out his trump deck and shuffles out a card to Vere. "Call Merle, tell him what you need, get him to come. He has all the cards you'll need. Remember, nobody goes alone. Good luck, Vere, and you too, Lilly."
Vere accepts the card, frowning slightly. "You want Merlin to join Lilly and me, and the three of us to guard the steps to Tir together with the Rangers? And then trump you at midnight for a general conference?"
"Yeah, unless you have a better idea that involves not going alone." Martin asks.
Vere shakes his head, "Just confirming that I understood correctly." He turns to Lilly with a bow. "Shall we depart, then? I gave orders for the Rangers to meet at the stables. Unless you have some business that must be handled before we leave...?"
Continuing with giving directions, Martin adds, "Garrett, I'm going to ask you to go with Jerod. Jerod, don't let anybody have the zombie head. We're immune but everyone else is not. And Fletcher, that leaves you with me. Brij, it's been a delight as always, but I need you to get to Soren and that means Ashe and his merry band of troublemakers. Can you tell them the round and stinky has hit the rotating blades and Syd is in trouble? And stay safe after that, and away from Vialle."
"Avoid your father's wife, right. I think I can handle that," Brij says. "What about Lark?"
"I've got Lark," Martin says.
"And where do I tell her mother that you've gone?" Brij prompts.
Martin sighs. "The spring where Paige took people when we first got here. She'll remember."
Last modified: 8 April 2018