Physical Therapy

Paige finishes the request for more supplies and breaks off, letting Ossian finish the call with Vere. She turns her attentions to getting the wounded that are still within the tent moved to better quarters.

Calling to a few of the men, she directs them to start taking down the other walls to clear the air and begin moving the supplies after the wounded are moved. She'll take moving "nekkid-boy" herself, careful to not jar him or further aggrevate his wound.

"I'm going to make sure out cousin's taken care of. Why don't you see if we're going to be initiating any Trumps from here to the group in Shadow, or if we're to be waiting on them," Paige comments to Ossian. "I've got Martin's, if we want to try him, or Merlin's. If Aisling's right, he's there too."

"I promised Vere I should report to Random. But I guess that could wait a few minutes. I think I should start with Martin, since he knows my features. "

If Ossian gets Martin's Trump from Paige he will try to set up a contact.

[Assume that Paige does so, based on the Adonis thread below.]

Paige settles Daeon in his new tent and covers him, for the others sake, with a clean sheet that smells of the fire a bit less than the others. She pulls a stool over and takes her cousin's hand. "Tell Conner that I'll stay with him, and I'll call if I need help."

After a while, Adonis' thumb gently caresses the back of her hand as she holds his. It happens the once, then stops, though Adonis stills seems thoroughly KO.

Paige smiles and has one of the troops fetch the satchel hanging on her saddle. She pulls out a leatherbound sketchbook and props it on her lap with her free hand, and finds her charcoal. Primary points of the ensuing character study include their hands, his wound, and the sublime peace of a god in repose.

There does seem to be something peaceful about him; remarkable, bearing in mind her experience of him to date.

Since all the waking people seem to have exchanged descriptions, now might be a good time to describe what Paige sees: the boy before her is in his mid-late teens, perhaps 5' 8" but well-muscled, despite his youth. He's surprisingly lacking in body hair and she doubts he needs to shave yet. His hands seem larger and stronger than you'd expect in a man of his height.

Curly black locks frame a face possessing an almost feminine beauty, especially now he's asleep, despite the very slight hook to the nose. Lying as he is, he might seem effete but Paige remembers the power in his eyes, which were so dark she couldn't discern pupil from iris. Even though he's been cleaned up, there's the faintest smell of animal musk about him.

Paige probably can't make up her mind how he'd look with clothes on and will no doubt prefer to leave the study as a nude - OTOH, that's probably how she prefers most of her portraits so no one will be very surprised there, I imagine. ;-)

Paige sketches for a while, becoming almost entranced by the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. A fresh page has been devoted to picturing him in an ornate canopied bed, the room and page bordered by thorns. Sitting beside him is the silhouette of a feminine form leaning over to awaken the sleeping beauty with a kiss. Castle residents might recognize the rooms as from the new family wing. As she fills the shadows and blends with her thumb, a smile quirks her lip.

Setting the sketchbook aside, she stands, still holding his hand and leans over him gently. A brush of her lips on his, softer than the touch of the sun on the morning dew, "Awaken, sweet prince. Return to us."

As to the wound, I'm afraid only the GMs can tell you how it looks now. [The only thing I need to know before Adonis wakes is whether the tissue around the wound still bears the signs of Aisling's therapy.]

[Should Adonis awaken, he finds that his wound, if not in the exact condition it was when Lilly cut him open, is sufficient unto his needs and healing naturally under a well-made bandage.]

His eyes don't open but his face turns, lifting in search of hers. Then Paige feels a firm hand tangle itself in her hair, pushing her back down into something a lot more passionate than a mere 'brush of the lips'. [I think there's a Blackadder quote that sums it up if you don't mind a gender paraphrase, "He's got a tongue like an eel and he likes the taste of a woman's tonsils." I am, of course, wilfully assuming that Paige does not fight him off, things may obviously go very differently if she does. :-)]

A slight squeal of surprise from Paige is muffled as their lips meet again. Adonis finds himself matched as she returns the kiss with equal passion.

The Kiss is electric and goes on for a while; about the time a small piece of Paige starts wondering if breathing is as important as she'd always thought, Adonis' hands slide away [his other seemed to have found her waist unnoticed] and she settles back in her seat with a bump, lips tingling, somewhat in need of air.

A small sigh as her tongue absent-mindedly runs across her lips and her appraising glance seems a bit more intense.

Adonis, eyes still closed, has resumed his previous inertia but is now smiling gently. Paige begins to think he all that in a coma when he speaks drowsily, as if still half asleep, "Not...a prince..." The smile broadens slightly and, as he opens his eyes, Paige is reminded of sunrise on a misty spring morning. The dark eyes regard her for a few seconds then their owner seems to gently scent the air. "Spring...sniffs again...in Arden...and you are...?"

"Not a princess," she says with a lopsided grin. Her hazle eyes laughing, she continues, "I'm Paige, your cousin, daughter of Bleys.

"Welcome home."

He returns her laugh. "Thank you, Paige. It is nice to be back."

Noticing that she still hasn't released his hand, she does so, placing her sketchbook back in the satchel. Rising and finding the water bucket she brings it to him,

The moment her back is turned, Adonis plucks the IV needle from his arm, dropping it in distaste. Paige turns to catch him turning the spigot on the feedline. He's rubbing his arm as she returns...

...offering a ladle full, helping him raise his head. "You seem better. How are you feeling?" she asks with genuine concern.

"Thirsty!" He replies, eyeing the water warily, "I would like a 'drink'." Something about the way he says the word makes her think he doesn't equate 'water' with 'drink'. He smiles...winsomely. If Paige has the slightest shred of motherly instinct she feels a strong urge to care for him while he's vulnerable.

Paige looks thoughtfully at him for a moment, before setting the bucket and ladle down. She retreives a golden flask from her satchel, unscrews the top and offers it to her cousin, after taking a sip herself to prove the lack of poison. (Or at least her accessability to the antidote...)

Adonis reaches for the flask as it appears and seems slightly put out that she sips first, clearly not understanding her intent. He's happy enough once it's in his hand, though.

"For medicinal purposes only, but if Conner asks, you didn't get it from me," she says.

Adonis swigs copiously, spilling not a drop even though his lips don't touch the metal. "Don't worry about Conner; the evidence will soon be gone." He takes another swig, clearly intent on draining the flask as quickly as possible.

As he drinks, "I'll defer to your judgement on this, but are you well enough to lose the IV like that, cousin?"

Both Adonis' eyebrows rise and for a second he seems confused by something. Then his eyes flick down to the dangling needle and he nods to himself, before raising the bottle for the third time as Paige continues her commentary.

"You've lost a great deal of blood, and your episode in the other tent didn't help the wound at all." Adonis can tell that she's very interested in asking for the reasons behind his actions, but won't pry. Her tone is almost motherly, and she hasn't strayed any further than she did when she got the bucket of water.

Dipping a cloth in the cool water she wipes his face, looking deep in those dark eyes. "There's been enough deaths in the family of late, and I don't want to explain to your father how you made it back to Arden only to die."

The mention of the 'episode in the other tent' makes him frown like someone trying to remember some ancient event. He wipes his lip with the back of his hand, staring into nothing, voice far away.

"I remember dreaming...I dreamt...of music? Yes...a beautiful melody...a song of hedgerows and spring." He looks up in wonderment. "And I knew the words to the song...and I tried to sing...'Let me bring you love from the field: poppies red and roses filled with summer rain. To heal the wound and still the pain'..."

He chokes off in his song and his tone turns dark and bitter, his manner one of rising agitation, a shadow of his previous dementia. "But then the dream turned to nightmare and I thought I woke to find a...foul demon of Chaos pawing at me, changing me inside; befouling, perverting...desecrating the Temple!"

[Minor retcon of Steve's comments, GM sanctioned... Nobody else in the "ward"... Paige found them a private pavillion, so just incase Adonis had problems again, he wouldn't endanger the other wounded... Convenient now, isn't it...]

Adonis all but screams the last, his hands flying up to cover the lower half of his face, one still holding the half-full flask. His eyes stare in unfocused horror. [Adonis' expression is close to someone confessing to a nurse that they'd dreamed their legs had been cut off to hear the reply, 'funny you should say that...']

Paige is instantly at his side, offering support in both her hands and her eyes. _Relax. You're safe here._

Suddenly Adonis throws off the blankets and tears back the bandage. There's a break of a few seconds while what he sees and feels sink in, then he collapses back with a sigh of relief. As he slaps the bandage back with one hand, he takes another swig from the flask. When he speaks, his voice sounds firm, back in control and very relieved.

"By my Mother's breasts! It is overcome." He drains the flask before handing it back to Paige, all dreamlike wonderment replaced by down-to-Earth matter of factness. "If you want to see me well, bring me a bucket of wine - in a vessel of wood, glass or leather; anything but metal - play me music and give me..." he smiles rogueishly, undressing her with his eyes, "...a little of your time..."

Suddenly he seems much older than he looks. :->

Paige lays him back with a soft kiss and smiles as stray red locks fall across his face. "You wait here and I'll see what I can do about the wine." Her expression seems amused almost as she heads for the tent's entrace.

She makes quick time to the rear of the mess tent after placing a sentry without Adonis's pavillion, with orders to let no one enter or leave it other than herself or with her permission.

Taking care to avoid her cousins, in short order she returns with a wooden bucket of what in an average inn might be the house wine and two loaves of dark bread.

Adonis is very glad to smell the wine; in her absence, he's taken the opportunity to clean the place up a bit - well actually he's got rid of the IV stand and any loose metal items. They'll later be discovered behind the tent, shoved out under the canvas. It also helps him assess how restrictive his injury is. By the time Paige gets back, he's back on the bed rather than in it, singing a song to himself.

She offers the wine to her charge softly humming a tune under her breath. While he's drinking she turns back toward the entrance tying the flap shut. Walking across to his bed, she slowly loosens the laces on her bodice, her eyes now thin slits, her smile predatory.

Adonis drinks deeply from the bucket, held in both hands, watching her outthe corner of his eye. As she walks back, he sets the bucket on the floor and dunks one of the loaves.

"Wine, women and song? Is that what the doctor orders, cousin?"

He nods, smiling joyfully as he chews on the wine-soaked bread.

She shrugs out of the bodice, as she kisses him deeply again, this time enough to make his toes tingle, and most likely other parts, too. She pulls herself atop him, leaning down to meet his mouth with hers, her breasts pressed firmly against his naked chest through the thin ivory material of her blouse. Adonis can feel the bare skin above her stockings as her legs straddle his taut stomach, careful to avoid the wound.

"I've been but a minstrel's apprentice, so you might need to wait for the song," she whispers at his ear, "But I have a feeling you can make a woman sing as only a man can. No?" He mouth covers his again even as she reaches back beneath her skirts to find his interest.

Adonis is interested but pulls back her hand, swallowing and laughing. "Bide, woman!" He offers her a piece of winy bread. "Let us take our time. We need an introit to our song and I need to replace body fluids before spending any more." He dips his fingers in the bucket and lets her lick them clean while he caresses a breast through her blouse.

Sucking them deep into her mouth, her teeth nip at his fingertips when he removes them. She says, "I'm looking to speed you along your recovery, cousin. While your prescribed course might be preferred, there will be others who disagree." Kisses trail down along his neck finding the hollow of his throat and nibbling gently, her nails running lightly along his face. Even so, Adonis can tell that she's slightly worried about their level of privacy here, and her resolve might be shaken.

Paige probably realises that Adonis cares nothing for privacy at all but he realise she's in a hurry and will be put off by an intrusion. However, he does have some basic needs to attend to first. In the interests of giving the woman what she wants and doing himself a lot of good into the bargain, he lifts the pail from the floor with one hand, kisses her firmly just once in a 'just a moment, I'll be right back' style and proceeds to drain the bucket to the last drop.

What's now in his veins isn't exactly blood but oxygen can at least dissolve in it. With no further delay, Adonis takes on his aspect and raises up his atribute [cribbed from Lord of Light, I'm afraid, but still appropriate, I reckon ;-)].

I can see no reason for Adonis to stop until one of two events happen - a) he's not quite as well as he'd thought and therefore passes out or b) Julian addresses the sentry outside. [It's also possible that Paige will want to stop before either but my money's on the first two.]

[Right - I assume HoC isn't about to go the pornographic route so from here we'd better describe things in more general terms. :-)

[Spoil sport. Well, if we're offending delicate sensibilities of players or lurkers, we can always take it off-list. The GM's are fully aware of my comfort threshold on such matters. As are several of the Ambersiders. ;)

I'm sure. :-) However I can't see too much point in getting graphic; Adonis is probably better at finding and exploiting Paige's erogenous zones than I am [incredible but true]. :-)

In line with the above, Adonis wants to slow Paige's ardour but otherwise intends enjoying her delights as fully as he can - while downing as much of the bread and wine as he can.

Paige will make it clear that she's looking for a quickie here. She has concerns of the other cousins coming looking for them. [Thank the Unicorn that she hasn't thought about the fact they were supposed to be Trumping your father...]

The GMs can tell Paige how Adonis performs but he is the God of Love so I imagine she'll be disappointed if he's not outstanding. I don't think she'll be disappointed but if he's not at his best, remember he's got a big hole in his side and an echo where his haemoglobin should be.

Points of reference, Paige first of all isn't a demanding lover, at least not the first time. She accepts what is given freely and places no obligations or expectations on her lover. Second, Paige is aware of Adonis' injuries. In fact she had a harder time convincing herself that Adonis was OK enough for this than Adonis would've convincing her. Third, Paige is totally unaware of the "godling-factor". If she knew he was a fertility diety, things might be rather different.

However, regardless of the pure sexual athletics and how often either comes, etc, etc, I hope Paige comes to feel ['scuse the pun] that she's loved, in the deepest, most meaningful sense - hopefully, she finds the experience spiritually uplifting.

This'll depend on the outcome of the scene above. If Adonis wishes to take too long, she may have to settle for putting off the spiritual experience until they're assured more privacy.

All good points, hopefully addressed above. However, while she may not be aware of Adonis' status, he is, and he regards handling her appropriately as part of his deific duties - OTOH, if she's really interested in a quickie, he can and shall oblige. :-)

And I've just realised an important difference between real and internet sex. In the latter, you get to say, 'how was it for me?' ;-)

However, by my reckoning, Julian cannot be far away, especially as we've not established how long Adonis was out after the firelilly episode. Do the two lovers get to consumate their passion or does dad shapeshift into a gooseberry? :-)]

When Conner is told of this, he merely says deadpan, "Can't think of anyone better to handle a naked man." He then turns to Caine and Solange. "Well I guess we should contact Julian and his Majesty. Who wants to Trump who?"

"I'll talk to His Majesty," Solange offers. It doesn't take a very high water score to guess that she's a little nervous about contacting Prince Julian. She pulls out the Trump of Random from her deck, and offers the rest of it to Caine.

Caine accepts the remainder of the deck and shuffles out Julian's card, concentrating on it.

Solange likewise concentrates on Random's card.

"Random's Head. Random speaking. Who's there?"

Solange barely suppresses the urge to say, "It's the plumber. I've come to fix the sink," and instead says, "It's Solange. Ossian said something about you wanting a report from Heather Vale. So I'm reporting. What did you want to know?"

"I hear my brothers and sisters are starting to show up. Who all has joined the party?"

"Let's see. Princess Florimel came through, and I think she's already back at the castle; Prince Caine came in carrying someone he said was Julian's son Daeon, who's wounded. Aisling, who got here a little ahead of them, tried to patch him up, but he seemed to take exception to it, and Brita had to cold-cock him so he wouldn't hurt himself worse. Paige is looking after him now. Princess Deirdre's son Marius is also here, and Aisling said his injuries are magical, and I don't think anyone here knows exactly what to do about that. I think that covers everyone... oh, wait a minute, a dark-haired guy on a humongous grey horse just came through the Trump Uncle Caine was holding, that's got to be Prince Julian. Anything else?"

"Ask them to check in once they've got the troops settled. And how'd Daeon get wounded? He was doing fine when I left. Too much partying?"

"It looked like a sword cut, actually. I didn't get an explanation. Maybe you can ask him when he wakes up," Solange suggests, with the definite undertone that she thinks her new cousin is a few bricks short of a load. "I'll pass your words along. Later?"

"Yup, Later. Excruciatingly painful and awkward family dinner at Compline, with a dangerously introductory cocktail hour beforehand. I expect everyone." You can hear his grin.

For just a moment as you are disconnecting, you get the feeling that Vialle has just entered his presence.

With Caine, Solange, and Ossian engaged in Trump contacts, and Paige engaged with Adonis, Conner and Brita are left to their own devices for the time being.

"I'm suddenly feeling left out." Conner smiles to his sister. "Nice punch by the way."

"Yeah, it's lonely at the top." Brita notes. "Thanks, I thought about using my normal strength the first time since he _is_ a cousin, but he looked kind of young. Now I know." Brita shakes off her reverie and moves into action again. "We should go find out what Cousin Vere had to say to Cousin Ossian and see to the distribution of the new supplies. I am starting to think my initial choice of 'fire-proofed' tents will not be adequate when the dragons arrive...."

Brita makes her way outside to where Ossian was originally trumping to Vere. Noting that he is now concentrating on Martin's trump, she looks around for some Rangers to harass.. er, help.... :) Actually, Brita will seek out Needle and find out how the distrubution of supplies is going and how the Rangers are holding up.

The Rangers are doing fine, but Needle wonders what the plans for further arrivals are. More wounded? Regular troops? Someone said something about dragons ....

The news that Julian is alive and well is spreading through the Rangers like wildfire.

"My understanding is that there are not going to be any more wounded, at least not to the extent of the wounded here - perhaps more 'walking wounded'", Brita pauses for a second looking at the valley. "There are a significant number of troops and, yes, there will be dragons. I am not sure of the timing, yet, however."

Sir Archer arrives and wishes to speak to Vere privately.

Vere will meet Sir Archer and escort him into a private room. "What can I do for you, Sir Archer?" he asks.

"There are rumors in the city, Lord Vere: some good, some ill, some indifferent. The best of them say our army is about the return; the worst of them say we may be invaded, or that the fleet from the Land of Peace plans to attack. The rumors speak specifically of provisioning arranged by yourself and certain other members of the Royal family.

"I don't need to know what's going on in detail, but I do need to know what the Watch should do. We are at His Majesty's disposal."

Vere nods. "Indeed, Sir Archer, I have been remiss in not having given you more information before this. The Army is indeed returning, although His Majesty has decided to minimize the immediate impact upon the city by arranging for a temporary segregation of the returning troops. The Princess Florimel is already in the Castle, and certain other members of the Royal Family have also returned. I do not have an exact timeline for the Return, but it is proceeding fairly rapidly at this point." Vere smiles. "We won, by the way."

"That's useful to know," says Sir Archer.

Vere considers Sir Archer thoughtfully for a moment, then continues, "For now, the most important thing the Watch can do is to maintain order without increasing the citizens' level of concern. We do not want rumors and fear to lead them to unwise actions, so control needs to be maintained, but neither do we wish them to feel that the Watch is being more forceful than usual, as that might lead credence to the stories that we are anticipating an attack or some other trouble. A narrow pathway, but we have faith in the Watch's ability to walk it."

Sir Archer nods.

"Is there any other information that the Watch needs? Or is there anything I can do to assist you? And if you, personally, have any further questions about the situation I will be happy to answer them."

"How long of a temporary segregation are we looking at? The city will be nervous with a lot of foreign troops about. People haven't forgotten those little furry friends of Prince Corwin's."

Vere frowns slightly. "I am not actually sure. My hope, and I must emphasize that this is merely my personal hope and not based on any actual information, is that the various foreign troops will be thanked for their efforts and sent to their respective homes forthwith. But I have no solid information on this, nor upon how long it will be before the natives of Amber who served in the Army will be returning to the city. I cannot think it will be very long."

Vere pauses, and regards Sir Archer for a few moments in silence before continuing, "For your information only, one of the problems is that there has been a major temporal shift between us and the troops. While we have experienced several years since they left, the Army has been gone for only a matter of a few weeks, perhaps less, from their perspective. This is one of the reasons for the decision to segregate them. You can imagine the emotional reactions that this difference is liable to produce when the troops return to the city."

"I see," says Sir Archer. "That can't be kept a secret past the time the first soldier sets foot back in the city, of course. I'll need to make some arrangements to handle these things, so it would be useful if you'd keep me posted about how many men we're expecting and when."

Vere nods slightly without saying anything.

He continues: "Do you need any reserves to help keep the troops segregated? Is there anything else the Watch can or should do, or be alert for?"

"Unfortunately, there is nothing specific I can tell you. I know that overly general 'keep the peace and watch out for trouble' orders are the most problematic, but for right now I cannot be any less vague. I will pass information on to you as I obtain it.

"If there is nothing else....?"

"No, your lordship, I think we understand each other well enough. I will be at your disposal, and His Majesty's, should the need arise." And Sir Archer takes his leave.

Bleys and Corwin are in conference, perhaps in Trump contact with Fiona. Those paying attention to the exchange think they are planning the trump exchange of the army.

Jerod has excused himself from Brennan, Merlin, Martin, and Jovian to speak with Julian. Reid may choose to join them, to speak with Cambina (who is making more coffee), or to mix with the dragonriders. (Other people can also choose to find different conversational partners, of course.)

Martin has been eyeing the dragons and says to Jovian, "Your mounts are impressive. I can only imagine how useful they were in a dogfight with wyverns. Are they coming through to Amber, or are you taking them directly home?"

The wingleader, dividing his attention somewhat, looks back to Martin and nods with a smile. "Their intelligence and discipline were as important as their size down there. We were able to coordinate our actions seamlessly, that's what really made the difference. I'm proud of how they handled themselves.

"We'll be coming back to Amber, at least briefly, but sometime soon they'll have to return to their home shadow. They're very social, and even in a group of this size they'll be missing the company of their own species before long."

Jovian's smile gives way to a look of concern. "Not to mention their rather awkward super-predator niche in the ecology."

Martin grins at that. "I guess it shows that I've been on supply for the last few years; that was the first thing I thought of. What do dragons like for din---" and his expression grows a bit distant. "Bide," he says, and it's a bit curt for a request, but he looks very distracted now.

Brennan has lapsed into a quieter mood, for the moment.

He gravitates toward coffee, of course, so he's probably near Cambina. Since he's not terribly good at small talk, though, he's not saying much unless someone speaks to him or something really catches his eye.

He's half in an introspective mode, and half just watching everyone else. Eventually, he's probably going to have to Trump someone back at the Army and haul through a lot of troops, again, so in some sense he's preparing for that, too.

Well that's not very Brennan-like. So we'll stick to what we wrote, but once people fall out into their respective groups and Brennan has recharged himself by sucking down half of what is probably his fourth coffee for the day, he'll snap himself out of it, thank Cambina kindly for the coffee, and then head over to Bleys, Corwin, and Reid, to help with the planning of the next Shadow-hop.

Reid drifts towards Bleys & Corwin. He's paying attention, and is interested in the planning.

"...Speaking of which, the Marshall of Ghenesh is a few hours ride from here in shadow. He still doesn't like me." Bleys grin is wolf-like.

"Right, he'll have to pass the tree if he's heading that way."

Corwin nods at Reid, and indicates that he should wait for Bleys, who is available in a moment.

Bleys looks at Corwin and nods in Reid's general direction. "About what we figured. Benedict went looking for his missing daughter and Caine trumped through here to Arden, without leaving anyone in charge. Fi has it under control, but some of these troops aren't used to HQ just haring off..."

Corwin nods. "Oh, Brennan, good. We were just about to come looking for you. Can you and Reid get in touch with this group in Arden and see if they're ready to take the main force in? Ideally, they'll want to know numbers and have some idea of how many wounded we have. You've got those numbers, right?"

"Just rinsing the taste of the Marshall's coffee out of my mouth with some of the good stuff. I don't think he likes me much, either." Brennan obviously overheard that last bit, and his eyes are still pine-forest cold with the memory.

"Yeah, I've got good numbers--brought half of them through to the last rest stop. Who's there for me to call? Caine? Random? Gerard doesn't know me yet, if he's in Amber."

Bleys adds "And we'll want an update on Daeon, since Julian is here."

"Probably seducing his nurse. What happened, anyway? He make a pass at Lilly?"

He's reaching for the deck already.

Reid beats him to the punch, producing a card of Brita. "Allow me."

To the trump... "Brita? Are things ready on your end?"

[back in Arden]
Brita gets a slightly distracted look and says [for the benefit of others, although Needle won't know that], "If you will excuse me, Ranger Needle, I must see what my Cousins are up to." [Note, Brita does use titles a lot, but not normally with Needle.]

Once Brita has moved off to the tents a ways, she says quietly, "Hello, Master Reid. Please continue." She is continuing to move towards the tent of wounded and is searching for Conner.

And Reid continues: "I've got Brennan here. He's got stats on the troops, and I think we'll be moving them through soon enough. Oh, and an update on Daeon's wounds, if possible. His da is around here somewhere."

He offers Brennan the opportunity to join the contact.

Brennan takes him up on the offer.

"Brita? I'm your cousin Brennan, and I'm here with Reid and the others at Yg. We're getting ready to begin the transfer of the bulk of the main army from out past Chaos. We need to know the status of things in Arden, too."

"Ah! Another Cousin! It is wonderful to have a big, healthy family!" Brita will hopefully have found Conner - perhaps overseeing the tending of the wounded. She grasps his arm and almost hauls him back outside.

Brita retains contact with Conner so he can hear the conversation. "It will be good to meet in person, Cousin Brennan."

[Perhaps at this point Folly and Aisling approach?]

Brita continues, "We are as prepared as we can be for the army. I assume that you will want to set up multiple contacts to make a wider transition than funnelling everyone through me. Cousins Folly and Aisling are with me now. I have a sketch of Conner that I can pass through to you," At this she looks at Conner questioningly to determine if he is willing to be a contact point, "although he may want to remain free to deal with any more wounded. I can alert Cousins Paige, Solange, Ossian and Uncle Caine. Cousin Daeon is here as well, but perhaps not well enough to assist."

If Conner nods his assent on the other end, Brennan will take the sketch that Brita presses on him. Likewise, he gives her the relevant numbers of troops that are soon going to come pouring through various Trump Gates.

Conner indicated she can pass on his Trump sketch.

[Brennan]
"Alerting Caine would be good, and anyone else with a relevant Trump, to or of someone. We're in the planning phase here, right now, but I'd guess we're going to be looking at anywhere from three to five streams of troops, so we'll need that many on your end and twice that many here at the mid-station."

[Brita]
"Cousin Daeon has created a small ruckus that burned one of the medical tents, but Cousins Paige and Ossian were able to requisition more supplies from Amber through our Cousin Vere."

[Brennan]
"So Daeon is still alive? Julian will be--" He looks up. "--Receiving that news from other sources, I see. Good to hear, though. I'll gather from that, that he's not likely to die in the next few minutes?"

"Not likely", Brita responds.

[Brita]
"Will the dragons be coming through first?"

"The dragons? No, I doubt it. They're big, and as I understand it not prone to squeezing through Trumps." Brennan glances over at Jovian. "Likely, Jovian will be bringing them home the long way around." Jovian has a chance to confirm or deny at the periphery of Brennan's consciousness.

There is a sense of disappointment and almost frustration through the Trump. Brita continues, "Tell him to hurry."

Assuming Brennan is close enough to Martin et al., Jovian's attention is caught by hearing his name spoken - just enough to glance over from his exchange with Jerod. "What? Yes, we're flying straight." His gaze returns to Jerod and his response to the query about other casualties.

Brennan nods thanks [for the Trump sketch], but he's distracted by the Trump contact with three (four? Is Conner there?) people in it, and the prospoect of trying to talk to two groups at once.

[I think that Conner is tied in and listening, but not active to the conversation. Much as Reid is being as well...]

"Okay, then, here's what makes sense based on what I know," he says. Brita can tell that he's trying to split his attention between her, and Bleys and Corwin, but with what success it isn't easy to tell. He's obviously speaking for both groups, now.

"How about Corwin and Bleys both go back army-side, with Llewella and Fiona to form the first group of senders. Jovian, Jerod, Cambina and I stay put to form the first group of receivers. Reid, Martin and Merlin stay here, and Aisling comes back to form the second group of senders. You and Conner stay there to form part of the second group of receivers, since we have Trumps of you already. Caine is already there, and so I suspect is Julian, by now, to help on the receiving end and maintain some semblance of a continuing command presence until Bleys and I get back-- it'll look like we meant to do it this way. Can you round up Aisling, Julian and Caine?"

[Brita]
"Yes. That will not be a problem."

[Brennan]
"If we can find Benedict, we'll probably find Lilly, and another two can help form a fifth circuit. I believe Bleys mentioned a daughter and there must be someone over there to act as a fourth. Chains can be determined in a moment, but that's the basic structure. Can you hold for a moment while I get the reaction to that here?"

Ossian thought bubble: "Been in Amber for over five friggin' years. Still not trusted enough to take a fickle army through. Grumble."

Of course Brennan does not know anything about Ossian, and probably not that Jerod has a Trump of him either. (And Jerod do not trust Ossian overmuch, I guess.)

"I can wait." Brita appears to be looking at something other than Reid and Brennan, perhaps something in Arden... [...perhaps two Princes walking across to Daeon's tent, one of which she now knows and the other who must be that legendary leader the Rangers are always harping about.....Ah, but what a magnificent specimen! - the horse, by the way :)]

He takes his hand off Reid's shoulder so he can concentrate on everyone else. He's not expecting anyone to have more of a quibble than whether they're in the first receive group or the second sending group-- a detail to be considered later as far as Brennan is concerned.

"Sounds workable to me," Jovian answers as he approaches with Jerod. "You'll have to deal out a hand of cards, though; many of us don't have them."

Jerod is already pulling the deck from his belt, silently sifting out the cards for the four elders in question. He pauses for the briefest of moments as he chooses which elder he wishes to be in contact with and settles for Llewella before offering a card to Jovian and Brennan (if required).

And having offered the cards, at the end of the entire transport episode, Jerod informs the gods of all creation (ie: the GMs) that Jerod DOES obtain the cards back from anyone who might have them during this portion of the transport...and he will use whatever means necessary to acquire them, including and not limited to brutal violence...:) (Random will get his deck back - trust me). I'll just let the GMs know this in advance in case Jerod's player forgets (I'm far more absent minded than he is).

Folly observes Brita's expression as she and Aisling approach. When she sees Brita's face fall slightly and hears the words, "Tell them to hurry," Folly glances at Aisling and says under her breath, "I think she may already know about the dragons."

Aisling lets Folly do the talking as they come up to Brita and Conner, particularly since the shoulder-clasping vague look is one she suspects is trump. She follows Brita's gaze to Morgenstern, looking pleased, and then takes in Caine and Julian.

She's looking pretty much like she was when she arrived; capable and snazzy.

When they've drawn near enough to address Brita without shouting, Folly asks quietly, "What's the story?" Her manner indicates that she'll wait 'til the trump contact finishes if Brita isn't free to answer immediately.

Brita focuses on Folly. "Those at the halfway point are planning to set up four links through Ygg to get the troops home. It might go to five if we can find a few missing players." Turning slightly to give a slight bow of acknowledgment to Aisling,"They have requested that Cousin Aisling go back to Ygg to even out the numbers there. I'm waiting on Brennan to confer on that end." Brita pauses, thinking for a moment and - assuming Reid is still in contact - ways. "Master Reid, with Cousins Solange, Paige, Folly, and Ossian, there could be a fifth link. You might suggest that to Brennan if the others cannot be found."

Aisling bows slightly back to Brita. "I would be glad to go back to the waystation," she says, stepping closer to Brita so she can go through. "But, who is missing?"

"Uncle Benedict and ...," Brita thinks for a minute. What was that name? Started with an 'L'.... Some kind of flower :) "Lilly?"

"Indeed," Aisling nods. "Do you have the particulars?" On one hand, Aisling is pretty confident in Benedict's abilities, and Lilly seemed quite competant, too. On the other, she's still a slight bit worried.

"No, no details." Brita responds distractedly.