Reporting

This is the general order of coronation events, of which all characters should be generally aware:

Windsday 5 Archer
Afternoon: Memorial service for Oberon and Deirdre and our glorious fallen war dead

Thirtsday 6 Archer
Morning: Coronation, oathtaking, and honors
Brief lunch break
Afternoon: Family processes down to the Harbor (for locals, replaces parade)
Random blesses the fleet
Evening: Coronation masquerade

Freeday 7 Archer
Citywide festival continues
Royals sleep in and rest after big party and probably get new assignments from Random

The Amber Crier appears on Windsdays. In the edition that appears on 5 Archer (the day before the coronation, aka day 13), there is a new column: "The Dirt" by someone named Glitter. Those who have lived in places where they have TV and tabloid newspapers recognize it at once as a celebrity gossip column.

A particular lady of the court has managed to finagle her family connections to climb the social ladder to new heights during the Regency. Until now, she has been unchecked. But has she finally gone too far this time? Even the kindest and sweetest royal ladies appear to have lost their patience with her pushiness and demands. Even her relatives may not be able to save her if one particularly annoyed royal lady has her way.

Rumor has it that the leaders of the foreign fleet currently in harbor have been seen at the embassy of one of Amber's trading partners. Your correspondent is unsure whether it would be better if they all left or they all stayed.

Recently one of the royal ladies was presented with a fine Hamakaido blade by one of her kinsmen. Those familiar with the situation wonder if the gentleman in question is hoping she'll be polishing his blades in the future, and speculate that the lady in question is so oblivious to the poor fellow's charms that he's out of luck.

Two of the younger royals were out for a late-night carriage ride last week. Observers report that they stopped at the Sundering Memorial and were looking awfully cozy.

One of the members of the Regency council has been seeing far less of his foreign ladylove of late. Has his mother's return put the kibosh on a promising romance? Royal-watchers will be looking for the pair at the Coronation Masquerade.

Yesterday in court, the King greeted the first delegation to arrive from Rebma since the Sundering. The leader of the delegation levelled wild and unproven charges against a royal nephew. Current court opinion is that relations with Rebma will not be thawing in the new reign.

One of the best-regarded members of the Navy will be returning to sea after a long landwards retirement despite the fact that his meritorious service to the Regent has reportedly earned him a peerage. His former ladylove was rumored to have publicly dallied with someone else recently. It is the hope of his friends and family that a stint at sea will mend his broken heart.

After a particularly unrestful night, Robin rises on the day of the Memorial early. A quick stop at the baths to clean up and then once more to try to find Vere.

Getting directions from the ever-patient page staff of the Castle, the Ranger does her best to memorize the local of Vere's office and sets her feet in that direction.

After only getting lost once, Robin finds herself and the door. Taking a deep breath and clearing her expression, she raises a hand and knocks, much more tentatvely than she hoped she would. Darn hands!

"One moment," Vere's voice calls from within. Within a few seconds the door opens. Vere regards her silently from the doorway for a few moments. He has already dressed for the day's service, and gives the impression that he has probably already been up for several hours.

Robin's green eyes gaze back at him, letting the man take his time. The girl is somewhat rumpled, but no more so than usual, and she is dressed much as she was yesterday - browns, greens, leathers, sword. She doesn't look entirely comfortable to be here, a fine line of anxiety is visible in the trace of her shoulders. No fear, but perhaps... uncertainty? "Vere."

"Lady Robin," he says. "It is a pleasure to see you. Would you care to step within, or shall we find a more comfortable place for conversation?"

A flicker passes through the Ranger's green eyes, she never even thought of going anywhere else. Her green eyes drift for a moment as she considers. "No, please. I think inside would be best. Thank you." She finishes slightly awkwardly.

He steps back and gestures for her to enter, then silently closes the door behind her. The chamber is small and Spartan, and there are two chairs in front of a table, and another behind it with its back to the wall. "Please," he says, "take a seat. Would you care for some water? I keep nothing stronger in this chamber, although I could send for something. But that is not your preference, as I recall."

As Robin steps into the room, she casts a quick glance to the wall at her back. Regardless of what she sees, the gesture itself brings a quiet flash of self-directed humor to the girl's lips. A flash that is quickly repressed.

The wall is bare, the entire office looks as though it has recently been given a thorough cleaning, and there is almost nothing within it to indicate that it is currently being used. Vere gives no obvious reaction to her gesture, anyone who didn't know him would probably assume that he didn't notice it.

Robin seats herself in one of the chairs facing the desk, with some reluctance. There is the slightest twitch of one hand, a restless fluttering, as she perches delicately. "Thank you, Vere. But no, I don't think I'd care for anything to drink right now." She smiles up at him, though the flickerings in her emerald eyes don't exactly match that smile.

Vere moves the other chair in front of the desk a bit farther away from the one Robin is in, then turns it to face her and sits. He waits silently for her to speak.

"Uh, okay." The Ranger runs one gauntleted hand through her hair, pulling it back from her forehead nervously. "Two things, before things get really... wacky between us." Another of those weak smiles.

"Vere, I'm really sorry Jovian dumped that on you in front of an audience. That was never my intention. And then I said too much too. I apologize." Not easy for her, but right and necessary.

"Also..." she draws the word out, and then jumps in. "Do you have a genealogical chart or family tree or whatever of the royals that I could get a quick look at? Please?" Her eyes say that she really didn't want to ask this when there were issues between them, but time has trapped her on this.

"There is no need for an apology," he replies. "Your brother no doubt felt that I should know at least the basic information as quickly as possible, and I do not fault him for that decision. The conversation took place in front of no one but family, and considering how much personal information I have gathered on everyone else in this family it is only fitting that they have a chance to repay the compliment." He smiles. "Your apology is unnecessary, but the fact that you offered it is appreciated, and I thank you for that."

A quick understanding smile dashes across the Ranger's, echoed by a slight chuckle at Vere's decision on how to interpret the events of yesterday. She shrugs one shoulder at the end of the Danu's statements and drops her eyes almost bashfully. Some of the tension eases out of her shoulders.

"As to the chart, I do not have such an object immediately available, although I believe that the Princess Cambina has one. Nestor is also almost certain to have created one. If you need it immediately, then I can sketch one out for you right now. However, I should warn you that recent events and conversations have led me to understand that there are certain deliberate errors in the publicly available information."

Those green eyes come up to meet Vere's, flashes and flickers in their depths. "I don't need it immediately. Just before the coronation. And, thank you for the lead on Cambina and Nestor. If you don't mind, I'll probably check with them too." Cambina. Dung! This homework project her father's got her on is taking her to just all sorts of wonderful places. Bleeahhh!

"I don't know how much time the two of us will have before the coronation. So if you want to draw or talk about... other stuff, it's up to you."

"By all means speak with them, they are both fascinating people, and I have never found a single moment in their company to have been wasted." Vere pauses and considers her before continuing, "For right now, I think it is more important that we discuss 'other stuff' as you put it." He stops, and seems to be waiting for her to speak.

"Yeah." The Ranger pushes her hair back from her face again. And leans back in her chair. For a moment, her eyes dart around the barren room as Robin gathers her thoughts.

"I was riding through shadow, Vere. And I stopped to get a bite of hot dinner. At the Osprey?" She looks over at him to see if he's heard of it.

Vere nods at the name of the inn.

"I swear, Vere, if I had known where I was - I would've kept on riding. I don't mess with other people's homes. But by the time I knew, I... was already entangled."

"Anyway, there was an armed man in the courtyard, brushing down his horse." Robin proceeds to give a very 'law enforcement' style description of Hartwell. "He followed me into the Osprey, bought me a drink, asked me my business. Told me I couldn't have missed the signs of war on the road I rode in on." Robin shrugs, she hit the road too late to see any signs of war.

Robin becomes silent for a moment with an unhappy flat line to her lips. She sighs and continues. "Then he invites me to a meeting with the Chancellor. Said invitation was backed up with drugged ale and a tankard to the head."

"When I wake up, I'm restrained without visible means in a room with a view." Robin again proceeds to describe the room, the table and the Chancellor with an keen observer's eye. She does not neglect to mention that someone was standing behind her. "Lady didn't introduce herself. She... had my Trump of Prince Julian and began asking me questions about it. I was less than polite in my responses." Wryly.

"She was not amused. So I was... escorted ^V like a balloon - to the dungeons." The Ranger stops, licks her lips and can't prevent herself from glancing around the small, confined, bare ce... room she's in now. "Listen, Vere. Would it be okay if I didn't sit?" Despite her best efforts, Robin's gone a little pale and her respiratory rate is climbing.

"Of course," Vere is up in an instant and pauses, waiting to see if she will accept a hand to rise from the chair, or if the gesture will irritate her. If he judges it to be the latter he will abort the gesture almost before it begins.

Robin bolts from the chair as though released from a leash.

Her green eyes catch Vere's almost-gesture and a quick smile flashes across her lips as she minutely shakes her head. She hates that 'handing' stuff. For a brief moment, an actual beam appears from the girl at Vere's consideration. Something that by its brief brilliance shows just how shaded Robin has been in the past.

"Would you mind if we continue this conversation as we walk through the garden?" he asks. "I confess that I am finding this room less than conductive to good listening." He strides to the door and opens it, and waits for her.

A relieved snicker shakes the Ranger. "Dung, Vere. I'm sorry. I really hoped I could do this, you know, indoors." She gestures around the room. "But it gets better and yeah, I'd better have more air if I'm to get anything across to you. If you're going to be okay with the security levels in the garden, then I guess I can be too."

The Ranger approaches the open door with cautious steps, though there is a hint of eagerness in the lines of her calves.

Vere laughs softly, "If anyone bothers to go to the trouble of spying on this particular conversation," he says, "They are welcomed to also offer to come along with me to the Isles. I could certainly use the help of a good spy when I get there."

When Vere mentions returning to the Isles, Robin smiles quietly to herself. The girl is, again, relieved of something that she hasn't mentioned.

The Ranger doesn't quite run out of the office, but there is a certain efficiency and speed of movement to her.

Once they are in the corridor he will lead her outside to the expansive gardens of Castle Amber. Vere will respond politely to anything Robin says while they're still in the castle, but will be mostly silent until they are outside.

The Ranger is silent as they walk. Her paleness fades, her breathing returns to normal. However, a little knot of tension reforms in the line of her brows.

They're emergence into open air and greenery is like an elixir to Robin. Deep breaths go in, steps lighten, her hands begin to float at her sides, and her whole body becomes somewhat invigorated. Though from her expressions, Robin isn't too fond of some of the more... exotic forms of gardening, topiaries and such.

The girl strides as far away from the towering heap of stone walls as she can get.

Once they are in the gardens, and some distance away from any working gardeners (assuming the day of the Memorial is not a holiday for them), he will look at her and raise an interrogative eyebrow.

"Dungeons." Despite her surrounding, Robin shivers a little as she re-orients herself in her story. "I was dropped on my ass in the dark, released from whatever was holding me. And the echoes of the clang... from the door died down when I heard a male voice. Asking me if I was Avis." Those green eyes look over to Vere. "The voice identified himself as one Siege, a fellow prisoner and former Commander of the Brotherhood of the Stag. He said he'd been locked up for declining to compromise his principles." Robin shrugs with a fond half-smile for the memory.

A brief fond chuckle escapes Vere at the mention of Siege's statement about his principles.

"Anyway, I asked... that he keep talking while I worked on the cell door." Robin's tucks her gauntleted hands under her armpits for a moment. "He said that he had served under the Lady in three wars, the most recent being 'her current war against Chancellor Vianis, who has betrayed the Mother and the church and reverted to olden ways.'

"He said the 'civil war has lasted a decade and many brave Danu have died fighting each other.' He said that his 'troops have been harrying the Dark Ones around Lady's Town' which is called Mothersport, these days and that 'Avis, the Lady's daughter was keen to recapture it.'

"He also mentioned your name Vere. Their plan was to take the town, and contact you for aid. And they need it. They do."

Robin looks over to her cousin.

Vere has a slight frown, but he meets Robin's eyes and nods. "I will return to the Isles, as soon as possible. I do not believe I am the aid they need, but I seem to be all they will receive. Discovering a cure for Father's condition will take too long, and he cannot return to the Isles in his current state. Not if there has been a widespread return to the old ways."

"I'd go back if I could, Vere. But..." the Ranger shakes her head, "I won't be able to any time soon. And maybe not ever." She looks unhappy at that thought.

He regards her silently for a moment, then asks gently, "What else occurred?"

"I got pissy. And heavy-handed." Robin sighs. This kind of thing seems to happen to her. A lot.

"I wasn't quiet when I tore out my cell door. And after I let Siege out, we were kinda in a time crunch. So... so we... ummm, the sewers go under the dungeons, you know." The girl pales for a moment and swallows visibly, her eyes on other things.

Then a graveyard laugh drifts past Robin's lips as she looks to Vere. "The ambitious middle sons of Mothersport should look toward futures in waterworks maintenance. I was... kind of agitated. So the moss, it'll be pretty verdant if I don't miss my guess."

"We made tracks... tracks a 'tracker-ray' could follow. It seems that my enthusiasm with the cell-door left behind a fine sample of my... blood." She finishes, not able to come up with a cutesy way to say that she screwed up that one too.

"Anyway, Siege and me are a dangerous two-some when armed with iron pokers. Tracker ray was not a problem... the flood was." Again that pained, pained look.

"We... ran. Eventually, we make it to open ground. And Siege gives me the rundown on possible pursuit vectors. Soooo, I start tweaking little things ^V the weather, the foliage... Again, I'm sorry, Vere. But if I had let them put me back in that hole, it would have been worse. Much, much worse." The Ranger's voice is grim.

"Anyway, Siege wants to check on where his people were camped, so we dodge and scamper our way hitherward. That's when someone else starts messing with the climate." She stops. "Listen, Vere. I'm not going to be telling you Jove's bits. Those are his. Okay?"

"Of course," Vere replies. "One can make what one believes to be some fairly accurate assumptions based upon what you have already told me, in any case."

Robin looks uncomfortable at that, but she doesn't really know what else to do. If she withholds too much, Vere's under-informed - lethal considering where he's going. She's just got to hope that Jovian will understand. Whiiiich is going to be tricky, considering him.

He is silent for a moment before continuing, "You cannot be faulted for doing whatever was necessary to prevent being retaken."

He captures her gaze and repeats, in a calm, measured tone that conveys understanding and acceptance, "Whatever was necessary."

A shiver goes through the girl as she looks at him with large emerald eyes. "Oh, don't write me the carte blanche yet, Vere. More went down than that. And you're going to have to contend with more than a rebellious spider.

"See, we hit Siege's camp to find the three-day old signs of a lost battle. Siege says that two of his brothers died there. And that Avis - his commander ^V had been captured. And that's where Vianis' hunters finally get us cornered.

"Things get... real busy. Siege takes one to the head and goes down. And I'm... tearing things up, Vere. There's no other way to put it." She sighs. "I wasn't careful, I wasn't kind and I was still losing."

Vere nods thoughtfully, his thoughts not showing on his face.

"Then, in the nick of time, Jovian and the draconic cavalry arrive." She chuckles fondly. "End of game for Vianis' trackers.

"It only takes Siege a couple of minutes to get his eyes refocused. He says that he's not feeling so well, after being beat up and imprisoned for six weeks. But he walks it off pretty good." A moue of uncertainty crosses Robin's forehead at the memory of Siege's speedy recovery. "Mostly he's concerned about Avis. And what will happen to her. The word 'sacrifice' comes up."

An extremely faint sound, almost a snarl, comes from Vere, but nothing shows on his face.

"The lot of us decide hole up elsewhere and Siege tells us that the excuse the Chancellor used to start her little rebellion is that the Lady wouldn't summon her husband ^V the God Gerard -- to win the war against the black warriors or sacrifice himself for the good of all."

Robin darts a gaze to her cousin. "I didn't have anything useful to add at that point.

"While we're looking at options, Siege also mentions that many of the... Priestesses have 'followed his grandmother into infamy.' And that there was a fleet in the making in the port. Though Siege figured it wouldn't be ready for a couple of weeks, yet, but that he thought that it was being readied for an assault on their hold at... Methrin, I think."

"Methrin's Isle," Vere says, "Yes, that makes sense."

"Annnnnd it kinda slips out at that point, who Jovian and I are." A soft snort of fond exasperation fluffs the hair over the Ranger's forehead.

"Things go back and forth for a while, but eventually a plan comes together for a two pronged assault on Mothersport. Annnnd I do a little more creative work, kind of in preparation. Since the gulls were a matched set, Vere, it's possible that they could breed. If they do, no witch-queen or staff-wielding priestess will ever walk in the open safely again." Robin winces at the possibilities on that one.

Vere smiles at the image, "It would do the priestesses good to have a natural enemy in the ecology of the Isles," he observes mildly. "When I was growing up I often thought that a certain culling of the herd would not be a bad thing."

There's an answering glint of something feral deep in Robin's eyes. "Watch for them then, Vere. If the gulls survived the trap, they'll go to shore. They're only two now. But they could be a... harbored resource for other - ummm - like-minded fellows."

The Ranger takes another deep breath, looks around the garden and pushes on.

"Jove... does something dangerous and tricky that I still do not understand and can't predict the ramifications of. You'll have to get details from him. But we get into position.

"The dragonriders are scheduled to hit the main lighthouse and pound the fleet. By this time, there's... something already kind of odd about the storm. I've had my talons in the air too much, and it's slipping away from me...

"Siege, me and a rider named M'corli... uh, we get back into the Chancellory the same way we got out." Robin gulps again. "Signal is given, we hit 'em.

"Annnnd, of course," lots of 'Duh!' coming from the Ranger here, "run straight into the trap that Vianis has set for us. It's in one of the small rooms in the dungeons. She's there. One of her priestesses is there - very, very concealed. And a lady tied to a chair with a bag over her head."

Robin gives another of those law-enforcement style descriptions of the room and its occupants.

"We charge in, but there's some kind of magical barrier inhibiting forward movement. I throw a spear, just to check, and yep, it stops wood too.

"Vianis drags the girl over in front of the spear, removes bag and Siege gets all tense. It's Avis."

Vere nods once again. Careful planning combined with the brilliant use of changes in the situation, that's the Spider all right.

"Me and Vianis start puffing out our chests at one another, when... there's this," Robin tastes for the word, "ping? Twang? Something, somewhere... something major just snaps. You can feel it down through your bones." Her brows furrow as she tries to convey the sense of what she... sensed.

Vere lifts an eyebrow. "I understand what you are saying," he says slowly, "But I do not think that I actually understand it. If you see the difference."

"Ah, yeah. Actually I do." A soft snort shakes the girl and her green eyes dart over to Vere with an odd flicker there for a moment. "I see, Vere. I hear, too."

Those eyes sweep out over the gardens, restlessly, as though seeking somewhere else, anywhere else, to settle. But their search ends in disappointment. The Ranger ruffles her shoulders and reluctantly returns to the past.

"Vianis starts back-pedaling from her plans. Still has enough one the intimidation table to take a stab at calling me Julian's kid. Even though she doesn't recognize the man on the card she's holding over the flames." Robin ticks her tongue and shakes her head. The spider got that one wrong on several counts.

"I'm still scooping out the barrier ^V selective to sound, impervious to motion, heat, scent ^V when Avis makes her move." A grim admiring smile finds its way to Robin's face. And she nods in approval. "Girl's got balls. And smarts. I'll give her that." She looks up at Vere.

"Without a move or a sound, she targets the no-sense-'em priestess behind me and... gives her life into my hands." Robin falls silent for a moment. "Courage too.

"I nail said priestess, though I think Siege gets the kill on that one. Barrier falls. I dive for the spear. M'corli hits Vianis." Robin nods in satisfaction, that at least went well.

"I'mmmmm not totally in time, Vere. It was my spear that holed your sister's arm." An unhappy moue pouts Robin's lips, she hates it when that happens.

Vere nods his understanding, accepting this statement without comment.

"Anyway, I get to my feet and stoop to help M'corli with Vianis... heh. Who knew an old lady could move so fast. She throws the rider into me and we go down into the burning oil on the desk. M'corli is injured... his eyes. Siege throws his sword through Vianis, through as in passing through like a wind. No resistance, no damage, no kill. And Vianis disappears. Damn! Damn!" Robin stamps once, then glances over to Vere and brings it quickly under control.

"Has M'corli recovered? Does he require assistance? I'm not a healer, but if there is anything I can do...?"

"M'corli was blinded. He's not going to recover normally." Robin says sadly as she toes the ground.

"But then, Aisling's a not-normal healer, isn't it? Father mentioned that there had been a... difficulty with Daeon. And I heard Jovian mention M'corli's name to it in the courtyard yesterday." Robin looks up to Vere, hoping that he can find hope where she has.

Vere appears to be considering the matter. "Dame Aisling is an extraordinary healer. While there are limits to what she can do, my understanding is that she can do astonishing things. I cannot make promises for her, but there is reason for hope."

A faltering smile crosses the girl's lips and she nods her thanks.

He turns away from Robin and gently touches one of the nearby roses, giving her a chance to regain her composure in some measure of privacy. "I have always preferred flowers growing upon the bush," he observes quietly. "Their beauty is a part of the world, giving pleasure to the eye as they serve to bring forth the next generation. Cut from their parent and artfully arranged in the vase their beauty becomes more sterile, and they act as a reminder of how we use the death of others to further our own ends." He shrugs, "I can be overly fanciful at times, I fear."

Robin raises an eyebrow. For a moment, her lips part as though to speak, then quickly clamp shut again. She shakes her head against something internal, frustrated.

He turns back to her. "And after the Chancellor vanished?" he asks.

The girl's voice, quiet until now, becomes even quieter, a low murmur that mixes with the breeze but carries no further than Vere. Her head cocks to the side and for just a moment, her attention comes off of the Danu to carefully become aware of surroundings, hearing, listening, feeling for anyone else's proximity or attention."

Vere smiles slightly, more than a hint of approval in his manner.

"M'corli was screaming. Avis... she generated a blue light from her hand, and 'disconnected him from the pain' long enough for me to restrain and bandage him.

"But her voice, Vere. She was burning muscle for fat and had been for a long time. Game, but very very blown. She recovers my Trump from the wreckage of the desk and Siege gets her bandaged up.

"M'corli gets it under control enough to tell us that Antrith - his bonded - wants us upstairs right away. Which, despite my proclivities," a dash of graveyard humor, "was not what I had in mind.

"See, the stairwell... there's a substance hovering in the air. It looks like smoke, smells like burning acid, behaves however it wants to and I've... run into it before. On the Black Road. I can't tell you what it's exact properties are. I can make arguments for hallucinogenic, temporal distortive, spatial displacement and necrotic... probably all of the above and more besides. But..." she sighs, "up it is. So I gather up M'corli, Siege gets Avis and up we go. Through that stuff."

Robin stops and shivers, despite the sunlight and the air.

"Interesting," Vere observes. "I had some experience with the manifestation of the Black Road in the Isles, we called it the 'Black Woods.' Things came out of it. Things dangerous enough to cause us to begin fighting alongside the Witch Queens to defend our world, an alliance which had never happened before. In retrospect, that might have been a mistake, as it might have been what eventually led the Chancellor to seriously considering turning back to the Old Ways. The Witch Queens never abandoned those ways." He falls silent for a moment, then continues, "I am handicapped in never having walked the Pattern. I understand intellectually the abilities that it can confer upon an Initiate, but I do not truly understand what it is to have those abilities, and what it does to one's senses and perceptions. I must count upon your experience in these matters. Do you think that this 'smoke' that you went through is somehow related to the Black Road, and does its presence in the Isles after the defeat of Chaos somehow indicate that Chaos retains its influence in the Isles?"

Robin thinks about that question, her green eyes turn inward and she licks her lips thoughtfully. A couple of times, she opens her mouth to speak. Stops. Rethinks...

Vere waits patiently, doing nothing to attempt to force her answer. He gives the impression that he would wait, contentedly and silently, if it took her all day to formulate her response.

"What the Pattern does... is make one's senses and perceptions... manifest. Thus, certain questions have a real danger of becoming circular." She bites her bottom lip and looks up at the Danu. "And my assessments have been known to be... occasionally overly dramatic, Vere. Keep that in mind." A rueful ironic smile darts across her face.

A small smile turns up the corner of Vere's lips.

The girl folds her arms across her stomach nervously. "I don't know from Chaos, Vere. I never made it that far. But yes, I think the Black Road was active in the Isles during the time I was there. The question is - was it active before or after I was there? Or did I bring it with me?"

"Later, Prince Julian surveyed the scene. He has much more experience than me with both the Black Road and Chaos. He also knew of my concerns in that direction. He gave absolutely no indication that there was any evidence of Chaos or the Black Road in the Isles."

The Ranger shrugs with a sad smile. It's not much, but honestly, it's the best she can do.

"I very much hope to have a chance to speak with your father on these matters before I return to the Isles," Vere says. "So I think we can turn from unanswerable questions for the moment."

"Please do, Vere. If there's anyone who can see the right in this mess, it's Prince Julian." Absolute confidence rings in the voice of the Ranger.

He pauses, then continues, "After you passed through the smoke on your way up the stairs?"

The Ranger looks off into space, not seeing the garden, and the color leaches away from her tanned face. "The Temple," she whispers hoarsely.

Those green eyes dart around taking in the thing that isn't there. "I... I'd seen it before too. On the Black Road. Arches. Windows lit by fi... no, by lightning this time. Outside the storm was mad." She gives that word the connotations of both anger and insanity.

"Candles. Like lives flickering in the wind." Her eyes dart to one side. "The Altar pushed aside. Broken. Sucking darkness beneath it." There's no clinical description this time, but a swelling of emotions. Dread inevitability finely tempered with rising panic.

Robin blinks herself back to the present. She glances up at Vere and blushes deeply.

"I... uh... Siege didn't recognize the place. But Avis says it was changed. Avis returns my Trump. But the two of them are plenty upset."

"M'corli moans. There's fire outside the windows. And the building is shaking. I had to get the three of them out of there. So we head for the door. I kick it open. And... and behind us," Robin's expression begins to lighten, a quizzical smile of strange amazement.

"Behind us, over the Altar and the hole, the building just... collapses. Gigantic stones burying the whole thing." There's almost something gleeful there.

"But that's not a good thing for Siege and Avis." The girl sobers. "Avis... Vere, she was completely gone to shock. Stone-faced staring. I think she forgot to breathe for a while there."

"Understandable," Vere says. He's silent for a short while after that. "Buildings become invested with significance," he says finally. "Perhaps it is a good thing that events will occasionally occur which remind us that it is not the building but the people that are important." He looks back at the castle, and its ruined tower. "Buildings can be rebuilt."

Robin flinches a little. Okay, the Temple was a big ouch. Poor Vere.

Looking up, she follows the Danu's eyes, but from her, the tower evokes a grimace and a repressed shudder. She turns back to the greenery and draws a deep breath.

"It shouldn't take destruction to remind us of that," she murmurs sadly to herself. Then she presses on.

"By then Antrith has landed in the main courtyard. M'corli makes a bee-line for his bonded and I get Siege and Avis moving dragonward. It's a heavy load, but Antrith manages to get us out of there."

"A really quick hop to the mainland, and the whole flight does a bit of regroup and triage. Kourin and T'dor see to Avis and M'corli. While Jovian's getting things together for the up and out, I take a look back at Mothersport.

"Vere, even on the mainland - it's raining. It... really should not be raining." The Ranger looks to Vere, with her voice and her eyes she tries to convey how absolutely WRONG it is that it's raining. "Much less monsooning.

"And Mothersport-way?" A sad shake of her head, "The shadow is torn, and fraying away from me. Energies are loose and discharging randomly. It's still cohesive, somewhat, but..." she shakes her head.

"I get... afraid," the Ranger admits with some chagrin, "that if I try to fix it, not only am I going to fry myself and everyone around me, but the whole shadow is going to disappear in a nice pretty explosion." She doesn't really want to meet Vere's eyes at this point.

"So that's when we call Prince Julian."

Vere has become very still. He waits for her to continue without comment.

Robin flinches and a soft croon of worry emerges from her. She ruffles her shoulders.

"P... Father's assessment is not so dire." Her eyes flicker to Vere and back to the ground. "Remember, me dramatic, him experienced and sensible. He says that we are in no immediate danger. And he doesn't indicate that the shadow is either."

Vere relaxes. Not completely, but certainly enough for Robin to notice.

"Avis..." Robin shakes her head again in admiration, "she approaches him right away. The thing on her mind that she cannot relay fast enough... the hole under the Altar? It was a tomb. The tomb of someone whose name I'm not going to mention in this place." A brief flicker of.. something from the Ranger.

"Prince Julian directs us out of the storm. He doesn't seem... twitchy about using 'abilities,' so I try to calm down. He says it's bad to claw at the air, but that the immediate existence of Danu is not in doubt.

"Jovian and I get a brief history lesson, and Father mentions that the No-Name's ghost has been risen. Whiiiich sounds like a bad idea, even to me." There's heavy irony in Robin's voice for that one.

"All this while, Prince Julian has been doing some quiet investigation of the... damage. He says that he had forms some preliminary conclusions. But... he didn't share them with me, Vere. I'm sorry."

Vere makes a waving-away gesture with his hand at this apology, but doesn't elaborate upon it verbally.

"Prince Julian gives Avis a note for Lady Corvis and sends Avis and Siege to Methrin's Isle via dragon courier. You can see in Avis' eyes - she had hoped that we were their saviors. Instead we're a pair of idiot kids.

"We mount up and take a swing over Mothersport on the way out. A fleet of 50 to 60 warships is splinters and ash. A lighthouse is broken off at the top. A Temple is collapsed on one end. And it's still raining hard and heavy.

"We get here and Julian makes for your father at best speed... and I'm out of the discussion by that point." She shrugs.

"Sooooo," Robin looks back to Vere, "Avis is profoundly shaken, truly exhausted, slightly skewered, and kind of disappointed. And home.

"One other thing, that just doesn't quite fit into the story anywhere, but I think I should mention... my ocarina is still there. With Vianis." A hollow wind blows through Robin's soul at that thought. But there was no time.

"Your ocarina." Vere smiles, a look of genuinely delighted bemusement. "I will certainly keep it in mind once I'm back in the Isles. Defeat Chancellor Vianis, put down the practice of the Old Ways, save the Isles from complete destruction, and recover your ocarina." He closes his eyes for a moment, and when he opens them he says, "Polished wood, about so big," he gestures with his hands, "and apparently carved from a single piece of wood. Correct?"

Robin raises an eyebrow. "Yep. That'd be it. You know, the thing I've played the music of my soul through. The thing I've backed with the power of the Pattern to conjure life, deflect fate and seal destinies. The thing that is held by a Witch Queen who has my blood and has raised the ghost of my m..." Robin bites it off there. She stops, rubs her eyes. "Okay, I'm being... dramatic again."

"Ah," says Vere. "I did not quite understand." He gives her a half bow. "I will do my best to reclaim it, I assure you."

"Reclaim it, destroy it, whichever works best for you. I... just wanted you to understand its... potential." Robin's voice is apologetic for her little bout of pissiness.

"Vere. What can I do? What more do you want to know? What aid can I give you?" She's serious. It's time to pick the knives. And Robin's willing to help.

"First of all, I owe you a debt of gratitude already. You rescued my sister and my closest friend, you and your brother destroyed the Chancellor's invasion fleet, and you brought my father and myself the news of what was occurring. Thank you." He frowns. "I am not sure what other information I need right now. It depends on how I will be returning to the Isles, how quickly, and whether I will be going alone or not. I need to speak with Prince Julian about the situation, and seek his advice. I need further conversation with my father on this matter." He tilts his head to one side, regarding her silently for a moment before speaking. "Most of all, I need to know that if I do not return Father will continue in his efforts to find a way to heal his legs and walk again. Solange will continue to push him, of course, but if you could see to it that Prince Julian also makes certain that Father does not once more decide that everyone else's problems are more serious than his own, I would be very grateful."

Vere pauses for a long moment and stares our across the gardens. "I have been happy here," he says, "Despite all the problems, despite the fact that in many ways I do not think this truly is Amber without the Pattern. Do you know, I do not believe I have even touched a sword in all the years I have been here. I have not been challenged to any duels, I have not been forced to prove myself in combat, I have not led men to their deaths against other men or against fell beasts out of nightmare." He looks back at Robin. "I have read!" he says, with what may seem to Robin to be undue force. "And no one has criticized me for it. If I were still in the Isles I would be leading the Brotherhood now, or such of it as remained faithful to my mother. And no doubt my mother would already have found a wife for me, most likely an aging noblewoman with a large force of men at arms and bags full of gold to bring to my mother's cause, or else a politically powerful priestess or an exceptionally able sorceress who wants her granddaughter to have a chance at becoming The Lady. In any case, it would be a wife who well knows that a husband's duty is to listen and obey. And now I return to all of that, for the good of my people and my land." He falls silent for a moment, then shrugs. "So be it. I am my father's son, and I will not turn from duty. But it was a sweet dream, while it lasted."

Robin is fiercely shaking, her emotions visibly warring in her, tears welling in her emerald eyes. "Vere," her voice tearing in low hissed intensity, "Dammit, Vere!" She crouches slightly, as though in pain. One gauntleted hand reaches out for her cousin, tentatively, like a wild animal stepping into an open place, not sure how the gesture will be received or even if it's desired.

Vere reaches out and clasps her gauntleted hand with his bare one, not tightly, just a moment of contact. "Thank you," he says.

Closing her streaming eyes, Robin nods, gulping without words.

After that brief moment he releases her hand, and turns a determined face back towards the castle. "I should probably go back inside, it would not do to be late for any of today's ceremonies. I am spending the morning closing the last few matters I had to attend to, and preparing my office for whoever takes it over next. I do not expect I shall ever use it again."

"Yes, you will." It's a low growl. And a promise. When Robin opens her eyes to look up at the Danu, there's a green inferno burning there behind the tears - a fountain of ferocity and passion. "When I'm done with my own war, Vere, you had better be back. Or I'll be coming for you. Come hell or high water."

The Ranger takes a small step backward, not trusting herself. She's gone so far already.

He meets her eyes for a moment, then lowers his head. "Lady," he says. It's half acknowledgement of what she's said, half something else altogether than even Vere would be hard pressed to put into words. After a few seconds he raises his head. "Good fortune attend thee and thine," he says. Then he turns and walks calmly, and with no sign of emotion upon his face, back towards Castle Amber.

From behind him comes the sound of a soft lonely croon, that twists off into a snarl. A sound only Robin could make.

And though she makes no sound, the Ranger is gone - running deeper into the garden to find some sequestered spot hidden by lowered branches where she can curl up and cry herself sick.