Boys' Night Out

Martin is waiting for Jerod. He's changed into clothes a little more appropriate for a night on the town.

"If I'd've known Benedict was planning a run-through of the battle, I wouldn't have dragged you out," he says apologetically. "Ben promised me a private analysis after the coronation. I'm sure he won't mind having a slightly larger audience."

Jerod laughs, glad to be away from the crowd and the gossip...finally! "Now you see one of the perks of being heir to the king." he says. "I promise to be an innocuous addition to the audience. And thanks for putting Benedict on hold...walking away from one of his battle analysis is quite the price to pay for dinner."

The stablehands bring out horses for Martin and Jerod, and they ride down into the city. At the inn, they are recognized and ushered to one of the private drinking rooms. The service is particularly attentive; the dark-haired wench who waits on them has served them before, Jerod recalls, and she knows their preferences.

Martin orders dinner, which comes as no surprise; there's no way he could have gotten enough to eat as a latecomer to the buffet. He's more sparing with the drinks than usual, though. He clearly has something on his mind, but seems to be willing to let Jerod direct the conversation.

Jerod also orders a meal, focussing more on what he likes (the seafood and such), not having quite had enough to suit his own tastes during dinner, despite his best efforts. He also has no desire to down too much alcohol tonight - tomorrow promises to be a busy day and he's not going to screw up having to deal with the redheads (or one of them) during breakfast.

He concentrates primarily on the meal, catching up mostly on small talk, events that happened while he was gone to the Land of Peace (thus justifying the reading of the logs so that Jerod can now say "yeah, he knows it"). Once the majority of the meal has passed by, and the drinks and dessert arrive though, he settles down to a more serious discussion.

"Did your father mention that he talked to me about Rebma?" Jerod asks, swirling his glass a bit.

Martin looks up from his plate. "No," he replies, "we haven't had a chance to talk privately since I got back. I'm supposed to talk to him tomorrow afternoon."

"He asked a few questions about it." Jerod replies. "I got the impression that making any contact in that direction is likely to be done, if possible, on the QT. And that he might have been sizing me up, seeing whether he could trust me to be one of those who might be sent in. That made me think about Conner's little escape route. You can be sure that mommy is going to be hitting up Conner for all the details he can offer, and if she's going out to look for the Pattern, there's nothing to stop her from making a side trip to look for Rebma while she's away.

"Which leads me to you." and Jerod leans in a bit. "Do you think you could find that entrance?"

"Not between now and tomorrow afternoon," says Martin, "but I might be able to do it with enough time. The memory was pretty vivid. You don't forget your first time breathing air or going out under an open sky, do you?"

"Oh yeah. But I was probably a lot younger than you were." Jerod says. "Dad took me out when I was just seven. Still remember it though." and he smiles a little, staring at his drink for a moment, remembering better days. The thoughts turn slowly to sadness but not for long and he suppresses that train of thought viciously, determined not to allow a good evening go to waste.

Martin takes a drink of his Irish coffee. "But you're right, Jerod, you have to beat the redheads back down there. Conner's an idiot. It's a redheaded thing, I think: it's all about me, or about us, or about something that's mine. As if someone breaking mirrors in Llewella's townhouse and sending Tritons after his sorry butt has anything to do with Amber."

"More likely Moire than anything." Jerod replies.

Martin shakes his head in obvious disagreement.

"But as to what...it could be anything. I still need to speak to that Gateway Ambassador. And find mom's ex. See what he knows about the deal. Then we can afford a bit more of the luxury of speculation."

"As for the shadow, we can find that later - hopefully before Fiona or someone else gets too close. The next few days are going to be nuts so we'll have to survive it and see when we can do it. And speaking of nuts...how are you handling it?" he asks. "I mean, the whole 'Prince' deal?"

"Better than I handled being Prince of Rebma, I hope." says Martin wryly. "It was a shock, but I'm getting used to it. At least there's enough work to be done that I don't have to worry about reverting into a layabout.

"But Jerod," he says, "you and I have to deal with this Rebma thing now. I've been dodging it because it didn't seem like there was any way for Conner to get back and stir up more trouble without me being able to stop it. But with Ben back and us all about to scatter after the coronation, we can't hold off any longer."

He continues: "We both know who could order the Tritons to beat up on an ambassador or a senior member of his staff. There are seven people unless we have more relatives I don't know about. You and I alibi each other, and Llew's alibi is pretty solid, even if we assume she would want to send Tritons after the guy who's investigating all her mirrors getting broken. It's not Grandmother: she'd have hauled Conner down to the castle and done what she wanted herself. And unless your mother has changed a lot since I was a boy, it's not her speed either, especially not if the Tritons come from the same person who trashed Llew's home. Aunt Rilsa's more ... I don't know, passive-aggressive in family dealings."

"Mom prefers that people see her way of doing things." Jerod says, with a chuckle that might be humorous...depends on what he's thinking at that moment. "It's when you decide to not see it her way that things get unpleasant."

Martin takes another drink of his coffee. "There's still too much we don't know, and I'm convinced that Conner's not telling us everything, even if it's just protecting that girl who's hiding out in the Gateway embassy. I've inquired there, and I've put out feelers for your mother's ex, and I get nothing, Jerod, nothing. We've got to find out what's going on. Especially if I'm right about who's behind the Tritons."

He pauses again, and says: "They're my kinswomen, and your sisters. I can't turn them over, not just on suspicions and on the word of a cousin I'm not sure I trust completely myself."

"Which one would you suspect? Valeria or Loreena? Unless you've got something really good, you can't seriously think Loreena's involved." Jerod says. "Valeria...that's another matter. Piss her off and she'll bury people."

Martin sort of shakes his head and shrugs, and Jerod recalls that Martin doesn't know his sisters, having left Rebma before they were born.

[Jerod]
"It would make sense too...at least with the connection to Harga'rel. Tenuous perhaps, but there."

Jerod leans back in his chair, holding his drink. "Given that Conner's likely going to listen to whatever mommy-dearest says, you know we're not going to have much time. He'll hit up Benedict at the first opportunity. With luck Uncle Benny will be out of town and safely away for at least a couple of weeks. Conner might hit you up again if Benedict doesn't pan out. And you can be sure that Bleys will find out soon enough. That means that one of us has to head down there. And unless your dad is suddenly interested in sending you into the lion's den, you won't be his first choice. You're too sensitive a target.

"I...on the other hand...am just expendable enough to your old man to suit the bill."

"You know the lay of the land, as it were," Martin agrees. "And it's not like you're expendable; you're not going to end up thrown in a dungeon. Or, for that matter, a gilded cage, which is what I'd get tossed into if I were dumb enough to go back. Grandmother is going to be heartily pissed when she hears Dad and I have made friends."

Jerod nods, knowing quite well the value Martin would have as a bargaining chip...in both kingdoms. And he secretly thanks whatever luck he has that he no longer fits that bill.

Martin stops nursing his drink and finishes it. He uses the bellpull to summon the dark-haired wench to ask for another round. Jerod notices an odd crystal coin among those Martin retrieves from his pouch to pay for the drinks. Martin keeps the coin out after he has paid the girl and flips it once or twice, as if mildly fidgety, while he speaks.

"Which, I suppose, brings me to the other thing. If you go down there, you're going to ask around about Vialle and about me, aren't you?"

"Among other things. Conner's on that list...plus selected stuff about Llewella, and any redhead connection that might be down there." Jerod says, tossing back his own drink, and making sure that Martin notices that Jerod has seen the coin. "You two get along about as well as I'm figuring Bleys and I will...just outside of weapons range for both our sakes."

Martin makes a snort that might be the start of a half-suppressed chuckle.

"You wanna give me the low-down on that now...or should I wait to be surprised?" Jerod asks. "And what's with Vialle and Folly? And you? It's certainly not the purple hair."

Martin looks at the coin again. "I thought I'd put this thing away for good after Grandfather died. I don't know if it still works, but with all the talk of mirrors, and Dara being on the loose, and our little Chaosi spy being back, I figured it was better than nothing. I wish Merle were here. We could be sure, then, but this isn't talk he needs to hear." He sighs and sets it on the table, where both he and Jerod can see it.

"Promise me that what I tell you won't leave this room," Martin says, and he sounds serious.

"I'm not going to hear a word you're about to say." Jerod says, making note of the "white-noise" generator sitting on the table now. "And with luck, no one else will."

Assuming Martin's water scores are adequate, he'll know Jerod's serious in his reply. They both know that nothing is permanently secret, given the right circumstances, but it'll take a hell of a lot more than anything the Elders or his cousins have got (or can threaten) to get Jerod to talk.

Martin looks like he wishes he had that fresh drink.

"I've always admired your sister, you know. She would have been as well suited to succeed your father as you were. She has all the knowledge and training, but an accident of birth--her sex--meant it would never happen. Or that she'd have had to work twice as hard to get half as far as you would. That was how it was for me, except when it became obvious to me that I wasn't ever going to get anywhere, I didn't take it as well. Your sister became an intellectual: a historian and an author. I became a trophy f*ck." He smiles bitterly.

Martin's mention of his sister...and his admiration, is enough to get an eyebrow to rise, but Jerod says nothing and continues to listen.

"When Vialle came to court, she was a friend of Lady Ursula's. This was back when Ursula was the youngest of Grandmother's ladies-in-waiting. Vialle was young then, too, and more anxious about her place in the world than she has since become. I was a conduit to influential people. So." He spreads his hands on the table, not looking at Jerod.

"Llew had explained to me about the Pattern, and how I'd walk it some day. I made the mistake of asking Grandmother about it, and she locked it up against me. Vialle hung around with Ursula, and Ursula had access to the key. Vialle had sworn her undying love and all that--not that I believed her; I was never that naive--and it occurred to me that she might be able to get me that key. I came up with a way to do it where nobody would have known she did it."

He continues: "Vialle has always had a very clear sense of what's best for other people. What was best for me, she thought, was for me to stay in Rebma. Or maybe she thought I'd marry her. That's all currents under the waves now. But what she did--" and Martin makes a face that's half sad, half angry, "what she did was she went to Grandmother and turned me over. And Grandmother rewarded her by giving her a minor ceremonial post, I don't even remember what any more. It was her first court job, although I understand she was a lady of the bedchamber at the end. And she mooned after me even though I wanted nothing to do with her."

He looks back up at Jerod. "It took me another ten years to shake off suspicion and come up with another plan. Atrios got the key for me. He'd been my mother's Triton, and he was fanatically loyal to me. I think he blamed himself, although nobody else ever did. He saved my life, or at least the life I have that's worth living. I owe him in ways I can't possibly repay. I just hope nobody ever figured out he was the one who did it."

There's a knock at the door and Martin answers it. It's the fresh round of drinks: another Irish coffee for Martin and another scotch for Jerod. After he closes the door and sends the dark-haired girl away, Martin hands Jerod the scotch and takes a swallow of his coffee.

"I know Vialle is your friend, and I know you believe what everyone else believes: that Vialle cleaned Dad up and made a man of him. But it's not true," and here Martin offers the ghost of a smile. "I've watched her long enough to know she hasn't changed. She'll protect herself first, and someone has to protect my father from her."

Jerod accepts the scotch but does not drink it immediately. "I'm assuming you've not spoken to your father about this?" he asks. "You made mention of not trusting Vialle several times. And since I've had a better chance to get to watch her here, there have been instances of behaviour that corroborate what you've said. But your dad's not stupid. Vialle's as trustworthy as most of our Rebman relatives...she's nice so long as she gets what she wants. When they don't, they revert to the *you're a male* argument. Mom tried that once or twice with Dad when they first met and found out real quick it didn't work. I'd figured your father would pick up on that line pretty quick.

"That is, unless you think he's letting the past, with what happened to your mother, cloud his judgement."

"I wouldn't know," says Martin in an absolutely unreadable tone. "We haven't discussed my mother in the month we've known each other."

He continues: "But Vialle is very good at making a man feel like he's king of the universe, like she wants to nurture him and care for him. And she's good at making men want to protect her in turn. I think she really wants what she feels is best for him. It's just that what she thinks is best for him is what's best for her."

He takes another drink of his coffee. "I can't tell Dad any of this either. It's not just that I've slept with her; he'll find that out eventually anyway. It's that ... when Dad brought me home, I had to let things fall out a certain way, so Corwin could find out about Merle. And some of that involved playing dumb about things that it's now pretty obvious I knew a lot about, like Dara. So I don't have a lot of credit to burn with Dad to explain why I trust Vialle about as far as I can throw Mt. Kolvir."

"How much of the playing dumb came from Oberon?" Jerod asks, noting the unreadable expression with the mention of Morganthe, expecting nothing less. "I'm wondering because based on what I find out in Rebma, some of that will get back to your dad for sure. It might be wise to know so that, if I need to, I can...tailor?...what I report back on."

"I had specific instructions on things I couldn't let Corwin know about Dara and Merle. I might have handled things differently had he not been there when I talked to Dad about it all," Martin replies. "As for how I spent my time in Rebma, I told Dad that much on my own, even before I knew he was married to Vialle." He grins, a bit wanly. "Dad doesn't have any room to bitch about my conduct with women.

"I'm sure Vialle's already started working on him about me, though. She's made it clear to me she wants me out of Amber. There are too many things I'm likely to oppose her on and some of them are too important to her. It's why Grandmother married her to Dad, so she'd do Grandmother's dirty work in keeping us apart."

"I'd figured grand-mama wanted her as a forward agent." Jerod said, using his pet term for Moire, a less than complimentary term. "It only made sense - she had a perfect opportunity to insert someone into the family without receiving a lot of resistance. Doing something nasty to Random wasn't really an option - Dad might not have like it a lot at the time, but it would have given him an excuse to censure Rebma had she hurt your dad. She wouldn't have allowed that. But marriage as a remedy is hardly a terrible inconvenience. Dad couldn't realistically bitch about that. At least, not publically." and Jerod smiles a little.

Martin has been slowly relaxing a little as Jerod speaks.

"I'm pretty sure she's probably working on a whole lot of people. Which of course means that the new crew are the next set of targets for her. Unless they've been around here, they won't have any clue about the relationship between Amber and Rebma. I'll be curious as to how this Lilly reacts to Vialle. Whether she picks up anything or just toddles along with her like a good little drone." he says, leaning back in his chair to sip his drink.

"Which leads me back to Folly? What's the story with her and Vialle? She's more than just condescending with Folly. Might take a while, but even I can see that. I'm pretty sure Folly won't tell me anything about what's behind that. It can't just be the hair and the dock-work. If it is, we need to dump Vialle into the ocean with a lead weight or something."

This last ratchets Martin's tension level up again. He takes another drink of his coffee, clearly thinking of what to say next.

Finally he replies, "You're right that there's something there, Jerod, but it's not my secret to tell. Vialle sees Folly as a threat, and she wants her gone. It's one of the things Vialle and I disagree about so hard."

Jerod purses his lips for a moment, thinking. "Enough of a threat to send Tritons after her? Or the equivalent from up here?" Jerod asks. "I think maybe I'd better talk to Venesch tonight."

Martin almost drops his coffee.

"No!" he says. "Jerod, you can't do that. If you talk to Venesch, it'll get back to Dad. We can't force that confrontation, not now."

He sets the cup down on the table. "It's like I said before: people think she cleaned him up. You know that. What's it going to do to how people take him as king if we go after her? Can he afford to do anything without solid proof? Because I don't have any of that, not yet, and until I do, it's my word against hers."

Jerod listens to Martin's reply, even though it is obvious that Martin has misinterpreted Jerod's response, before he says anything. It would appear that Jerod is...annoyed.

"You know...I think people have taken my act about being thick a bit too far." Jerod says. "I'd have figured you'd know I wasn't going to tell Venesch anything. I did mention before that I wasn't going to hear anything, remember?"

Martin leans forward and buries his face in his hands for a moment, then sits back up, pushing his hair out of his face.

"Venesch knows that I like to keep up on things. Like what's happening with Gerard? Or Court assignments, Kingly decisions, that sort of thing. He might appear to be the dutiful little guard captain but we both know otherwise. He'll keep his ears to the ground now that everyone's back. So if Vialle does something that Venesch hears about, Random's going to find out eventually. But that doesn't mean that you or I will hear about it from your dad. But I will from Venesch. And if he runs into a situation that gives him a conflicted loyalty, which is certain to happen then he's got someone to go to first. He's Family...he knows I won't screw him over if he comes to me in confidence."

"If Vialle does anything like that, we'll be burying Folly," Martin says very quietly. Then, louder: "Look, Jerod, I'm sorry. This whole thing just has me wigged. It's not that I don't appreciate the idea, it's that that's not how Vialle operates."

He continues: "You know she had some people moved today to get chambers for all our aunts and uncles, right? Well, it just happens that two of the people who got moved were Paige and Folly. Do you think she didn't take the opportunity to have someone rifle their stuff? And she had me moved into the new wing where she and Dad are. I got a chance to unpack a little and I know someone went through all my things. I don't keep anything really private at the castle anyway--never have--but if I had, I'd assume Vialle knew about it now." Martin pauses for a moment to see if Jerod follows his logic.

"I've lived with that all my life. As soon as it was mentioned, I knew that Vialle or someone else would have searched their quarters. Hell, everyone else's too. Even with Kenner around to run interference, I figure that happens to me once in awhile. And I don't even consider trusting my secretary - he's for certain to be in someone else's employ. I keep nothing valuable, in any form, anywhere that people know that I live or frequent." Jerod says, reminding Martin that he's lived in the heir role his entire life.

Now it's Martin who looks a touch annoyed, as if to say _duh_.

"If you haven't told Folly and Paige that yet, it's the next thing on your list to do. And if they're foolish enough to keep journals, tell them to burn them, even if they've been read already. They might think I've been paranoid, but now they'll have a taste as to why I've always been... cautious." and he smiles a little. "Whatever Vialle found in my quarters, will be exactly what I wanted her to find...bland, polite, utterly loyal in content. In other words...absolutely nothing."

"Which is what they found when they looked through mine. Jerod, I lived as one of Moire's potential heirs in Rebma for more years that you've been alive, and the last ten of them I lived under constant watch: not just suborned secretaries, but real live actual minders and babysitters to make sure I didn't walk the Pattern or ditch some other way. I know how bad it can get. I'm not dumb enough to leave anything incriminating where Vialle or her lackeys can find it; most of it isn't even in Amber. And I don't mean some hidey-hole in Garnath either."

With that little bit of steam blown off, Martin sits back and pushes his hair out of his eyes again, even though it hasn't fallen back forward. He looks back up at Jerod. "Look, Jerod, I'm sorry. I don't want to fight about this. Maybe it's just that I'm not used to having someone to talk about it with who understands--that I don't have to explain everything to. We both know what I'm up against; no point in letting it get to me." He lets out a breath. "I just hoped it would be ... different ... with Dad, y'know?

"And, Jerod, don't underestimate Dad's ability to make people loyal to him. You wouldn't think I'd have much reason to stay here and watch his back, but here I am." An odd expression crosses Martin's face, as if he isn't quite sure why he's doing it either.

Jerod chuckles, leaning forward a little. "Your old man tried to put a crossbow bolt through my father's chest. Six months later, I'm working to negotiate him out of a prison cell. I suspect I've got an idea about that."

He leans back then. "I'm more worried about what the others are going to do when they detect Vialle's little scheming. Her skill at making people like her be damned, she's going to be up against Benedict and the red-heads. Caine as well. They'll only go along with it so far before they figure it out. Once they figure something's up, they'll be looking to see how it can be used to their advantage. That's where the trouble is going to come. And that's where the younger crowd will get buried if they're not careful."

Jerod takes a deep breath, scowling for a moment as he thinks. "It might be wise for Folly to spend the majority of her time with her own crew, down on the docks. So long as she can trust them, she'll be surrounded by loyal types. It'll be harder for someone to make a move. Not impossible, just harder. And I think maybe you should...suggest...that when she's up in the castle that she stays in close proximity with a few others...you, Reid, myself. I'd suggest it but I don't think she'd buy it. If it comes from you, I think she'll be more inclined to agree."

Martin nods, putting aside other emotions in favor of the business at hand. "Folly already knows she needs to get rid of her journal. I didn't have the heart to suggest it before--it has some of her last links to her old home--but you're right, it has to go now. I've already asked Solange to keep an eye on her, and Paige does it anyway. If I can explain things to Merle, he might be some help, too. Reid, though ... not on this one, Jerod. He's good at weaseling out what's going on, and I can't be sure if it comes down to brass tacks, he won't sympathize with Vialle."

He pushes his hair back yet again. "That's what really scares me, Jerod. If--when--someone else, like Caine, figures out what's going on, he might decide to help Vialle out. And Gerard already knows too much. If it were just him, it would be one thing. He's fond of Folly. But Caine doesn't know her and doesn't care, and I know enough about how Caine operates--" and he stops.

"Maybe I'm just paranoid, Jerod. Unicorn knows living like we do makes a man see enemies under every rock, hidden in every shadow. It's one thing when it's me, and even when it's Merle--he knew growing up what it would be like, lived it in Borel--but when it's Folly ..." He trails off. "I'm not rational about this, and I know it, and with the stakes this high, I can't afford to f*ck up."

"We won't." Jerod says firmly, looking over at his friend, that infamous arrogance (or confidence) readily apparent. "We take it one day at a time. And we keep each other in the loop. Especially her. Folly's got to know what's up too. I warned her about this once...about how life might get nasty. Looks like that time is coming sooner than I thought."

He pushes back on his chair to stand up, tossing a quantity of gold coins on the table, more than sufficient to cover the meal (and way past then some) before moving around to stand beside Martin. "Listen...we've got one advantage in this whole sordid deal." Jerod says. "Our oh-so devious family relations don't work together, at least not well. That means we might be fighting multiple targets, but we can be facing them one at a time. That gives us the edge. As for the dangerous people, like Caine, I'll have my sister keep an eye on him. They get along famously it would seem."

"We'll arrange a little escape route, just in case we need to get Folly out of town for awhile. And you arrange to introduce me to Merlin. I want to see for myself what he's like. I'll leave it up to you how much he should know, assuming you haven't told him anything yet. Let me know what he knows though, so I don't give him more than he needs to know."

He reaches out with his hand to put it on Martin's shoulder, squeezing a bit. "Us Rebman boys gotta stick together, right?" he says, giving his friend a nod.

Martin finds a smile, and it's a real one, not diplomatically pasted on. "Yeah," he says, "we do." He stands up from his chair, picking up the crystal coin and putting it back in his pocket as he rises.

"And Jerod? Thanks."

Jerod smiles a little, his way of saying "you're welcome"...without making it overt or pushy. But he stops Martin before he pockets the crystal. "One more thing left to do tonight I think. You heading to the Red Mill?"

"Planning on it," says Martin. "There's a lady who will be very disappointed otherwise."

"Good." Jerod says. "She's going to find her life changing rather radically over the next little while. Let's hope it's for the better. Are you going to move her out of there? Vialle's probably going to know about her. She'd be a very easy target."

Martin chews on that for a moment. It's obvious that he's thought about it and really doesn't like it. "It wouldn't be the done thing to leave Violet there in any case, fortunately. I've already asked Lucas for advice, and I'm having dinner with him tomorrow to discuss it, unless Dad sends me out again."

He grins, then. "It's not like I really need to worry about moving her into a fashionable neighborhood, really. Wherever I move her will become fashionable."

"True enough. Certainly wouldn't hurt with urban renewal projects." Jerod says. "A pity dad never sanctioned that sort of volunteer work." and he grins himself.

"Come on. I'll head over to the Mill with you. After that, I'll be heading back to the castle. Gotta get ready for my morning meeting with everyone."

Martin nods and they are on their way.

Conner grabs a page to deliver the note to Admiral Winters, sees five minutes of Benedict's brilliance, and then heads to the carriage house.

Caine is already there and a carriage arrives shortly. He is dressed rather like his trump description, including the three cornered hat. He greets Conner as the carriage pulls up.

"Evening Shorn", he says to the coachman. "The Naval at four bells, by way of any interesting sites we should see on the way. I haven't been down to the city since I returned."

"Yes, your highness."

After you settle in to the carriage, Caine speaks. "Well, Conner. We have quite a lot ahead of us. How much have you been involved in Admiralty business since you left Rebma?"

"Been helping out a bit in between mollifying diplomats and being a shadow merchant." Conner replies. "Enough to be familiar with the names again and the basic procedures."

Caine doesn't reveal much, but tries to find out Conner's opinions on Naval needs and problems. One might suspect that Caine is testing Conner, or perhaps checking someone else's test paper...

How does Conner feel he has done in this round of quizzing. I know Caine isn't giving away much, its more a 'how does the student feel coming out of the test' type question.

How does Conner respond to the questions? Does he waffle? Does he admit when he doesn't know, or does he BS?

When he knows the answers, he answers as fully as he can. When he doesn't know, he admits it but adds the names of the people he'd have to ask about that in future, to show he at least knows where to find the information needed.

How much does Conner know about the current state of the Navy? How much does he know about the state of the fleet?

Excellent question. I was going to ask you. The Naval is still Conner's club of choice and Navy business is talked often over a pint I'm sure. I would say he's has no where near Vere's level of information but has kept up on the major issues.

Conner feels like he got a low pass. He would have gotten a high pass if he'd known more.

Considering he's only been in charge of the Navy for about an hour, that's about as good as he could hope.

The coach arrives a few minutes before the appointed hour and Conner and Caine sweep into the private club. Caine moves deliberately but consistently into, through, and past, the foyer and the lounge. He greets people but does not stop. "Evening Brazen, how's the knee?" to the man who takes his cloak. "Hello, Snout, my usual and a brandy for my Nephew." to the bartender as he passes. Then Caine is on the stairs and Conner is being swept along with him. He opens the door to a terraced room overlooking the harbor just as a bell is struck four times.

"Your funeral was very moving, your highness," says the older man, who is looking out the opened french doors.

"You're not the first to have expressed his enjoyment of it, Admiral. A pity I couldn't attend. Pressing business elsewhere..."

"So I've been told. And do you know his majesty's pleasure with his Navy?"

"Why, he intends to use it, Admiral. I will be in Arden, returning sailors to the sea. My nephew, Captain Conner, will be here, coordinating from the Harbor and representing the Crown's interests.

Conner smiles thinly, appreciating how deftly he has been given the grunt work.

"Conner, you'll have to decide if you want to camp here or in the harbormaster's office. The Marquess will provide your needs."

"And what can the Naval provide for the Crown?" asks the Marquess, looking at Conner.

"The Crown will need the Naval's expertise and advice. The reintegration of the navies will not be easy." Conner replies. "And a set of rooms for me would be appreciated." Conner smiles.

"That can be arranged," the Marquess replies. He turns to Caine. "Has your nephew filled you in on the fleet from the Land of Peace?"

Caine smiles, a bit thinly. "Not completely, but perhaps he can rectify that for me now."

"Jerod and Solange brought them back from a Shadow path forging expedition that went wrong." Conner replies. "50 ships worths of sailors from the Land of Peace, a shadow Bleys used as a staging ground for his fleets. So the docks are swarming with the crews. Pirate types for the most part and I understand literal backstabbing is considered good business practices over there. Its a powderkeg waiting for a match." Conner smiles wryly. "We're keeping a close eye on them and so far no major problems, but the sooner we get them out of here the better."

"Does anyone else know how to get back to this shadow?" Caine asks. "With the paths broken, do we have sufficient goods to trade with a fleet this size? Have we got a line into exploiting the divisions among these people? Or is the plan to lead them somewhere other than home?"

"Aside from Bleys, only Jerod and Solange have been there." Conner replies. "This fleet is about three times the size of a normal trading expedition. I doubt we could fill them all with goods for a return voyage. As for exploiting divisions, getting two of them vying for the same thing seems to end with one of them dead. Jerod and Vere are the current experts on them though. The plan has always been to send them back to whence they came."

"Sure about that, are you?" says M. "Whose plan? Three times as many ships as we could handle, crewed with pirates. over-crewed, really, and the ships not exactly slow, peaceful merchantmen. All brought in, handy as you please, by Eric's son. Just 'send them back' is such a poor plan that it couldn't have been the original reason, even if the original plan didn't pan out with the return of the army."

Caine addresses Conner. "The Admiral always has been the Navy's chief paranoiac, but we survive by listening and making sure his worst fears aren't true. He's probably already doing something about it from the Naval side. We could wake up tomorrow and have to dredge a complete foreign fleet out of the bottom of our harbor. Conner. you've known Jerod more recently than I have. How has he been, these last few years?"

"Outwardly loyal to Amber." Conner replies. "He's been the fellow that gets the dirty jobs or the ones that need a hard edge. He and Cambina stick together as usual. More often than not he takes a leading role in getting things done." Conner looks up. "In short, he's been his father's son."

"That's quite a recommendation," says M. "Does he have the talent to go with the ambition that comes with that heritage, do you think, Conner?"

"I think he thinks he does." Conner quips then muses for a moment. "He is quite competant." Conner replies. "His moves are well thought out and built on past plans and strengths. Given time to hone his arrogance into true confidence and appraisal of his own abilities, yes. I'd say he has the talent."

"You said he's 'outwardly loyal'," Caine comments.

"Indeed." Conner nods. "Like so many in the Family he has his own agenda to be sure, but he has done nothing these past years but be a useful and productive member of the regent's council. Perhaps I read too much into his parentage but I prefer to be on guard."

[M]
"Time is on his side. He only needs be treacherous once, while we must be eternally vigilant."

Conner makes a noncomittal noise that sounds positive, as only a diplomat could.

Caine raises an eyebrow at this, but does not answer. After a brief, unembarrassed silence, the admiral continues. "If His Majesty is planning on re-establishing the trade-routes, I may have some suggestions on what would best serve the Navy."

"That is indeed planned. Please, speak your mind." Conner nods.

[Caine]
"If the Navy is allowed to have some say in which places are allowed to have trade-routes, then we can keep piracy and the need to show the Amber Flag down to a minimum for decades. If the merchants prevail and there is a gold-rush of trading, then we'll have chaos. We're not ready to be a wide-open sea-port.

"If the trade-routes are restored, they should be done for the benefit of those who are friends of the Navy. I'd rather have the Navy deal with supply issues than police a horde of grabby foreigners."

Conner nods his head thoughtfully. "Prudent suggestions both. I shall make sure His Majesty hears your concerns."

At this point the discussion is likely to go into specifics, which we'll gloss, or wind down. Caine is letting Conner take the lead here, perhaps as another test. Does Conner go for specifics now or let the discussion wind down?

He lets the conversation wind down. Conner wants to have more information at his own fingertips before he dives into such matters with the Admirals.

Either way, what does Conner do afterwards?

Well Conners starts his Naval networking this night, sharing a drink of three while starting an informal poll of the Naval's patrons that night on what needs to be done in the Navy. Every officer has an opinion on that after all and needs little prodding to tell someone.

After that, he heads back to the Castle to arrange for his things to be packed for move to the Naval before turning in for the evening.