Trump Roundup

When Ossian's done with Random he will go directly to his own room, and then trump Reid. I guess we need the GMs to solve the timing issues here.

Reid builds a fire and he and May eat. In small groups, the others do the same. No group is more than five, and most are one or two people. You and May sleep watch and watch. It is shortly before dawn and most of the fires are out or (like yours) burning low when you hear a sound from the forest. You hear a snort, as if from a large animal, and a clink, as if metal is rubbing against metal. May is asleep, but her hand is on the hilt of her knife.

Reid draws his blade and wakes May by shaking her shoulder, low enough on the arm to keep her blade from being pulled on him. He indicates a silent state of alertness, his eyes saying more about the current situation than words ever could. Thus the irony when he does speak... "Breakfast."

With that, in a low crouch he turns to face the direction of the noise.

May rolls into a crouch and draws her knife. She is ready, as Reid is, when a troop of horsemen crosses the ridge, charging down yelling at the sleeping refugees. The riders seem not so intent on killing anyone as on breaking up resistance. There are also men at arms following the riders. A rider spots you, and calls out to another and they lower their spears and charge the two of you.

Reid tries to identify the allegiance of the riders before doing them serious harm, but he will try to incapacitate any who get close enough. He will hold his ground, if breaking things up seems to be the riders goal. At the same time, he will try to arrange himself so he can't be circled. (Handy trees and such, as much as possible.)

No banners, no badges. They speak Thari at each other. The men at arms seem to be rounding up the people, some with nets. You and May both back up to the nearby trees, a feat possible because of your good position and early awakening. May looks at the spear and curses. She starts pulling herself into the tree, which you don't think will help.

Reid holds his ground at the base of the tree, positioning himself between May and the riders.

The leftmost rider salutes you with his spear, and then charges. It's pretty clear he does not have much skill in mounted combat and probably expects to win because he's the only one with a horse and a spear.

The horse gathers momentum and the spearpoint wobbles precipitously. The rider is probably less dangerous than the mount.

The horse is upon you and you deftly sidestep it, slashing at the hamstring of the rider, who yells out in pain. He does not fall off, but he drops his spear and holds his leg.

The second rider is lining up for a charge, and looks more skilled. The shout is bound to have gotten the attention of others, as well.

Reid tries to read the body language of the rider, anticipating the angle of attack, and adjusts his stance accordingly.

The rider spurs his horse forward and Reid feels the familiar mental tingling of someone initiating a trump contact.

Reid assesses the distance between the second rider and himself, notes how they are outnumbered, and takes a gamble.

Opening the connection without thought to who's on the other end. "Two to come through. NOW please." Reaching up to grab May's leg dangling from the low branches above him with one arm, and extending his other hand towards the contact.

Ossian grabs Reid's hand. If Reid still seems to be stretching to reach that other person Ossian waits for a short moment before bringing Reid through.

Reid's sword falls to the ground and May yelps as Reid grabs for her. He grips her surprisingly well and she begins to fall out of the tree just as Reid begins to fade in a ripple of corruscating rainbow light. Reid feels a thump that almost jerks her foot out of his grasp and he braces for the impact as the two of them come falling off-balance into Ossian's rooms and arms.

Correction, three of them. Apparently the rider jumped May. He is on top and she has gone limp. He seems to be reaching for a weapon at his belt.

Seeing that they're in Ossian's quarters, and not a more populated place, Reid continues to keep his conversation terse... "Ossian! Guards!" Reid will attempt to deal with the rider himself, but does not want him loose in the castle. Hoping that the change of surroundings might, at least temporarily, startle the uninvited guest, Reid goes at him with two purposes. One: To disarm him, or at least keep him from reaching the weapon. And two, to keep him alive, but preferably incapacitated. To that end, he'll try to wrestle the rider onto his back and use either the floor or a nearby bedpost (depending on where they landed) to knock the intruder out.

Reid knows weight isn't on his side, but they're too close to unwanted outcomes for him to try reaching for his own blade and positioning himself to put it to use. Hand to hand is his best bet at this point, and it's not something he's practiced in a while...

If Reid seems to have the upper hand Ossian will run to the door and shout for guards. If Reid seems to need any immedeate help Ossian will try to help him by holding the rider, mainly keeping the rider from hurting anyone.

[As I envision things, Ossian was sitting at his desk, rather far into his room, but rose from his chair and turned towards the door when he should pull Reid through. Thus Ossian would be farthest from the door with the three people in front of him, between him and the door.]

Reid struggles with the stranger and it is unclear who has the upper hand. Ossian jumps in and grabs the assailant and holds him, just long enough for Reid to land a solid punch on his jaw. The stranger goes slack in Ossian's arms.

Ossian and Reid hear shouts and suspect that the guard will be bursting in momentarily.

"Thank you, cousin. Sorry to make a mess of your room, but I do appreciate both your hospitality and your timing. See that he doesn't have anything sharp and nasty within reach in case he wakes up. We do want him for questioning, so let's not give the guard any reason to be overzealous when they arrive. I need to check on my friend here and make sure she's still breathing..."

With that, Reid moves to check on May's condition.

She's breathing, but she's bleeding a bit from where her head hit the flagstones. She groans.

Ossian searches the rider quickly and removes any weapons. "I shall remember to make my next Trump call directly from the dungeons." he says with a grin. "Who's the girl anyway?"

"Her name is May. She's from the city. She was helping me try to track down some of the citizenry that has gone missing." Reid replies. "I think we were on the right track when some riders came out of the woods and started scooping up people in nets. We didn't have much time to figure out whose side they were on before they started coming after the two of us. As I mentioned, your timing was welcomed."

"Now I remember why I charge the castle so damn much." May says from the floor. She sits partway up. "To whom do I owe my rescue?"

Reid stands and offers May a hand up, if she so desires. "May, this is my cousin Lord Ossian of Amber. It is he we have to thank for not putting my combat skills to too much trial today."

Ossian bows. "My pleasure."

You hear pounding footsteps and the door opens. Two guards arrive, short swords out, and look around the room. They look from Ossian to Reid.

Reid nods at the lead guard in acknowledgment. "Do you suppose you could take this gentleman to a more secure location?" He waves his foot to indicate the rider on the floor. His tone is conversational -- not that of giving orders. "I'll be wanting a word with him in a while, so do try not to lose him."

A new voice comes out of the end of the hall. "Is he especially dangerous?" It is Sergeant Barrell, coming up behind his men.

"Not necessarily, Sergeant. All the same, I wouldn't want him loose in the castle. Three should be enough to see him to a cell. I'm sure no extra guard will be necessary once he's confined, however." Reid replies.

May looks at him. "He looks familiar. I think he's from the docksides."

Reid furrows his brow and take a second to actually look at the face of his attacker, hoping for any signs of recognition.

[GMs]
Not obviously.

"I wonder if we could get one of Folly's friends to identify him?" Ossian says.

"Shall I send a guard for Lady Folly?" asks Barrell. "And do you or your guests need medical attention?"

May says, "No, I'm bruised but not broken. I've got a good mad-on for Girth, though."

Ossian looks at Reid, then says: "I think I should go get Folly personally, if she is in her room. How much haste is needed in identifying our prisoner.?"

"Not much. We'll probably want to keep him, no matter who he is..." Reid replies.

"Ok. I'll go and check if Folly is in her room right away. If she isn't this can wait then.

"Keep that guy here until I return" Ossian says to the guard "This should only take a few minutes.

"And Reid. I'd like to talk to you later tonight. About trumps."

Sargeant Barrell nods. He sends the other guard with a report to his Captain, and settles in to wait with Reid, May, and the prisoner.

Folly is findable in short order. When Ossian explains the situation to her, she accompanies him back to Reid's room to examine the prisoner.

[It's actually Ossian's room...]

"There seems to be more luck here than I actualy like. Not only did I Trump Reid exactly when he needed it; one of the attackers also followed through the link. That is more than Reid could hope for, I guess." Ossian says on the way there.

"I still don't know what he was doing, though."

"Curious," Folly says. She, too, seems a bit troubled by the situation.

As you arrive at Ossian's room, so does Venesch. He nods at all the royals and waits for someone else to speak.

The stranger is still unconscious.

"There he is." Ossian gestures at the stranger, looking at Folly "have you seen him before?"

Folly gives the man a good hard once-over, grimacing a little when she notices the bruise on his jaw. "Ouch. Remind me never to piss you off," she mutters in Reid's general direction.

Reid takes her literally, and files such a recommendation away for future use.

Folly has not a glimmer of recognition.

May says "I think he's been gone for years, but I can't name him. You should drag him down to the Halfhand. Preferably behind a fast horse." She rubs her hip, which seems to be stiff.

"It would be easier to just send the head for identification. Too bad I've decided it should stay attached for now. No, we'll invite Archer to come up to the castle for a private viewing. I have no desire to parade this man through the city until I know a bit more about who he is and what he's been doing. He may, indeed, have friends still in town." Reid offers soberly.

"And of course if you want his visage available for identification while still leaving him alive enough to answer your questions, you can always just sketch him and show the picture around," Folly adds with an unspoken "duh".

Reid shrugs.

"Master Venesch? How fare the family dungeons? Can we keep this man under the castle for a while without disrupting the other duties of the Guard? Or, if disruption is indeed a consequence, can he at least be held securely, whether or not someone is around to check in on him regularly?" he queries.

Ossian is quiet.

Folly looks like she's holding back a question or two 'til Venesch has a chance to answer.

"It is a duty of the guard to keep prisoners when there are prisoners to be kept, your highness. We shall do our duty."

Ossian smiles. "It's good you came, Venesch. I actually meant to visit you later on other business; I need a few word with you."

Venesch bows. "Sergeant, detain this man. Send a messenger to Sir Archer telling him of the incident and inviting him to the castle to help us."

He turns to Ossian. "Shall we speak now, or shall I expect you at a later time, Lord Ossian?"

"I guess cousin Reid has a few things to see to?" Ossian says, halfway turning towards Reid, "so now will probably be fine."

Reid escorts May from the room. On the way out, he glances at the windows to try to gauge the time. [guessing early morning since the attack came just before dawn...]

[logmistress]
[Well, not necessarily. As I understand it, Reid left Amber on Day 2 of the Return, spent one night in the forest, and Trumped back on, like, Day 6, after Ossian had his meeting with Random. I'd been assuming it was afternoon, but that's just my own personal bias, based in part on my dislike of morning meetings. :) ]

[GMs]
[It is Afternoon! The magic of Time dilation! Reid, that seems to happen to you a lot...]

When Reid, May and Folly have left (after appropriate farewells, and a reminder to Reid to meet Ossian later), Ossian introduces Venesch to the Trump chamber plans. Ossian will ask if Venesch has any suggestions. Ossian does think that the chamber should be guarded.

"Hmm. A pretty problem. If it is inside the wall, it is a risk that someone can undermine our defenses. If it is outside, it might not be available at need and it might be captured or taken by an enemy. If it is inaccessible, then it is not useful. I like the idea of a dungeon cell, but that is inconvenient. Will these trumps as you call them be movable? Or permanently attached to the walls?"

"Oh. They are not big at all. One man can move them with ease. We'll keep them in a box in that chamber." Ossian proceeds to show Venesch a Trump and a sketch, and describe their properties quickly..

"...so I guess the best solution would be keeping them close to the castle, but still outside the walls. With a guard or two, who have the order to bring them inside in case of emergencies."

"Perhaps in the gatehouse. There are two sides, one of which merely houses soldiers on duty."

He thinks for a moment.

"Are there any negative ramifications if they are destroyed?"

"Not that I know of. If you just destroy them, that is. An enemy skilled enough could probably use them in one way or the other. On the other hand there are lots of Trumps around with all the Princes and Princesses.

"But the Trumps are the fruit of a lot of work, so destroying them should only be a very last move."

"I will show you the space I have in mind."

He leads Ossian towards the main gate to the castle, and leads you to a room on the southward side of the main gate tower. It is a storeroom behind a guardroom, on ground level, and windowless.

"We can man this guardroom, if the king so wishes. And clean out the stores in here, of course. Will this do?"

Ossian sniffs the air. "If it's dry all year. We don't want any moisture near the Trump sketches. I think this will do fine, Venesch.

"And we will want to man the guardroom. Discreetly, though."

Venesch nods. "We will clean out the storeroom and mount the guard immediately. Any curiosity will die down before you install your magic.

Ossian grins "Dear Venesch, you are a treasure. I wouldn't call it magic, though. You may think of the Trumps as a convenient communications device, if you want to."

"Is there anything else, my lord?"

"No. And thanks for the help."

Once in the hall, Reid turns to May. "Would you like to head back to town? Or do you want to stick around for a while? I think I'll let our prisoner worry about his situation for a while before I question him, but you're welcome to stay for breakfast."

"I have a religious prohibition against turning down offers of breakfast...usually." She rubs her sore ribs. "How long was I out?"

"Not too long. But it seems lunch may be more appropriate at this point..." Reid replies.

Folly, who followed out of Ossian's room, looks at Reid curiously. "So, where've you been for the last few days? And where were you when you got attacked?"

"We went into the woods. May here thought she had a lead on some of our disappearing population. We joined up with a group on their way along some of the more interesting paths through Arden, but were set upon by some men with nets."

Folly's eyes widen in surprise.

"You're welcome to join us for lunch if you'd like," Reid volunteers.

Folly considers for a moment, then says, "I'm afraid I'm gonna have to pass. I've gotta get into town to work on my part of the troop reintegration. But I'll be interested to hear what you find out from your prisoner. Should I ask Archer to come up here and try to ID the guy?"

"No, that's OK. Thanks for the offer though." Reid smiles politely.

After lunch with May, he offers to escort her back to town.

When Reid returns to the castle, after having lunch with May, he arrives at his room and gets the note [from Jerod about the poker game].

I'll be there. Been in the woods. Interesting outcome, yet to be determined. I'll keep you informed.

Jerod reads this and "Hmmm...."s to himself. "Gotta get more spies." he mutters.

Ossian will want to know if Reid has the time to paint a few sketches for the Trump chamber, and will ask that in the same evening he brings Reid through.

[Reid]
Certainly, as time permits.

Ossian will ask Reid if he can take care of Cambina, Lucas and Brennan if they should happen not to have any trumps.

"Gladly. I'll get right on that." Reid offers.

What will Reid tell Ossian about the incident in the woods. (Ossian will ask Reid when they meet later on day +6 to discuss Trumps)

Reid explains that he and May were looking for missing citizens and their camp was ambushed at dawn.

"Ambushed? Did you get any idea why you were ambushed?"

"I intend to find out. There were men capturing citizens in nets. Rather barbaric, but I'll look into it." Reid replies.

At some time in the latter part of the first week after the return almost all cousins get a note from Ossian (Vere and Martin are excluded). The note is something like (the tone might of course be a bit different with different cousins)

Dear Cousin,
The King wants a collection of Trumps or Trump sketches of all of us, to keep in a chamber. It seems all of us will have access to that chamber too, until more Trumps have been painted. If you could provide us with a one of yourself it would be greatly appreciated; if you cannot, contact me and we'll get one painted.

Ossian

Solange will get a PS: I see several good reasons to paint you among the first. Shall we?

[Solange]
Consider the necessary arrangements made and the portrait started.

Lucas will reply:

Dearest Cousin,

I will require your talents as an artist, as I have no trump of myself.

- Lucas

P.S. I'm assuming that you will not wish to draw me on the privy, so please indicate when and where would be a good time for it.

Lucas,
I suggest that you find your favourite sofa in the Castle, and that we paint the sketch of you there. As for when, I suggest that we start as soon as possible, as it will take some time to complete. (This is no ordinary portrait) When can you get a day free?

Ossian
PS. We could do a privy Trump later if you really wish to have one.

Lucas names a day and time when he is available.

Olof: Did you want to roleplay this out at all?

Sorry. I seem to have forgot your message. But no, I don't think I want to roleplay Ossian painting Lucas. In the end it might turn out that Reid will paint Lucas. The timing is a bit off.

Fair enough. I merely wanted to note that Lucas would be waiting at the meeting place resplendantly nude, regardless of who arrived to paint him. =)

Reid arranges the time & place and comes prepared for, well, anything. He's not bothered by Lucas's nudity, and once the sketch is done, Lucas will find the portrait captures his inner essence well, in addition to being fairly accurate on the actual anatomy.

I dread to think what Reid considers Lucas' inner essence.

Jerod scowls when he reads the message, though he recognizes that this can work him. With that he seeks out Folly and shows her the note, knowing she would have received one as well.

"You trust him?" Jerod asks.

"Yeah," Folly replies. "He can be plenty mischievous, but he's not malicious."

"Then this can work to our advantage, assuming we time it right." Jerod says. "Ossian knows how much I despise trumps. Go speak to him and tell him you have managed, through use of your feminine wiles and a suitable bit of guilt-laden pouting, to have me available for trump painting and that I won't bite his head off.

"He knows how difficult a subject I could be for this, so if we use it right, he will suitably pleased and grateful. Grateful enough perhaps to do up a second one for you to have after he's done the first one for Random. And at the same time, you can finagle a pair of trumps of yourself...one of which will go to me."

"I'll see what I can do," Folly replies, nodding. "My understanding is that actual Trumps take a really long time to finish, so I suspect no one will be willing to make duplicates 'til we've got a full initial set. I can probably swing getting Trump sketches in the meantime, though."

Assuming Folly agrees, Jerod will nod and then look at her. "Oh, by the way, you need to pout at least once before I leave."

The very suggestion that Folly would ever resort to pouting to get her way causes her to pout. She only holds it for a moment, though; then she grins and sticks out her tongue. "Good enough?" she asks.

Jerod chuckles. "Good enough. All we're saying is that you pouted and used your feminine wiles. We don't have to tell him whether or not it actually worked."

Upon recieveing thq request for Trumps, Conner trumps Brita and asks if she has time to do some Trumps or Trump sketches of him.

"I already have one sketch, Brother. It should not be difficult to make more. It will take time to do the full trump, but it would be good to have a permanent one of you... and one of me for you."

"Agreed." Conner nods. "Once my dealing with the Navy calm down, I shall ride out to Arden."

The missive finally reaches Brita after several hectic days in Arden. She jots off a quick response and then forgets for several days to get it sent off. Finally, she spots the missive again as she is working through a messy stack of papers dumped on her new desk at Post 8. She can't find her response anymore and after about ten minutes of looking, finally sits down to write:

Cousin Ossian,
I have several sketches of myself and a couple of others. I can provide my own and Conner's for the King. If you need any help in creating the Trumps, I am available outside of my normal duties to the King.

Brita

She then immediately tracks down one of the young Ranger runners and gives him the task of delivering the note to Ossian directly.

Ossian sends back the runner immedeately with this answer:

Dear Brita,
I am thankful for the help I can get. Let me know when you are finished with the sketch of Conner.

Ossian

Ossian...Ossian...have I been introduced to an Ossian? I don't recall him. I'm sure I've seen him around. Hrm. Well, if the King wishes, such is his command. Perhaps it would be best if one is not provided but prepared. Besides, that will give me a chance to meet this "Ossian."

Marius will send back a polite message summing some of the above up with a note that he's only available "late."

Ossian will answer (very politely) that he is sorry they haven't had the opportunity to meet yet. He will gladly make some preliminary sketches any evening soon, say two days later (that would be day eight or possibly nine, by Karen's reckoning). Ossian will however need at least a few hours of sketching in daylight too before he can start on the Trump sketch.

That might be able to be arranged. Wanna run through Ossian and Marius' meeting?

Yes. I'd like to do that. Heh. Let's see if Ossian can spoil his relationship with yet another male cousin...

Within two days of receipt of Ossian's note, Lilly pens a reply.

Cousin Ossian,

Paige has graciously offered to do my sketch. She will have it for you as soon as possible.

Lilly

Ossian receives a response whose lag in-game is not as great as the lag out-of-game would otherwise imply. Ah, the glories of PBEMs....

Cousin,

I possess no Trump of myself at all, much less a spare to pass around; thus, I will require the expertise of you or another resident artist to comply.

If you arrange the time, shall I arrange the place?

Brennan

Brennan son gets an answer from Ossian:

Cousin,

I have talked to Reid, and he has agreed to paint a sketch of you. He will talk to you about the details.

Ossian

After her conversation with Jerod, Folly finds Ossian. She tells him that she thinks Jerod is going to be willing to sit for Ossian and that she will, too, if he's got the time to sketch her.

"I will have time for both you and Jerod. When shall we start?"

"Whenever's good for you," Folly replies with an eagerness that suggests sooner is better than later. Ossian, who has painted her portrait before, knows that Folly rather enjoys being an artist's model, even if she sometimes has trouble sitting perfectly still. That this will be a Trump portrait makes the prospect even more appealing to her.

"Oh, and Jerod has promised not to bite your head off," she adds, grinning.

"He has? I will have to protect my hands, I guess." Ossian is joking.

Folly laughs.

Ossian will want to start painting the Folly sketch in a day or two.

Aisling's note in reply reads,

From Dame Aisling, to Lord Ossian,
Greetings.

I would be pleased to speak more of Trumps with you. Shall I seek you out this evening at the Grouse?

Ossian answers:

"Dear Aisling,
I will gladly come to the Grouse tonight.

Ossian"

Aisling, then, is at the Grouse a little before the usual party there starts; unless Ossian is there later; somehow, she doesn't appear until he's there. :) It's apparent only to Ossian that the point of her entire outfit is to provide a natural habitat for the long swathes of lace at the cuffs that hide her hands, or more specifically, the bandaged hand... But it does a very good job, and she looks fine besides.

Ossian arrives some time before the Aisling. She will find him sitting in a corner with a glass of white wine, drawing something in a large sketch book. (normally he carries around a small sketch book, but this one is larger) He is easy to find as he sits at the most well-illuminated table in the pub. (He has got an extra lamp/candle/whatever for his table) He looks up.

"Ah, Dame Aisling." He rises, bowing (as he knows Aisling doesn't like hand kissing). "Can I get anything for you?"

"A glass of whatever is good here would be fine, thank you," she replies, bowing in turn to him with a smile. She scoots around to look at the sketchbook, curiously, before taking a seat.

Ossian gets Aisling a glass of the same white wine he drinks himself. He has been working on a sketch of Folly. (Does Aisling check more than the first page?)

Hm... Probably no.

Too bad.

He can take note of her interest and show her some more, if he wants... :)

"Curious on my doodling?" he asks, turning a page in the sketch book.

On that page there is a sketch of Amber harbour. Only that there is a new island on it, an island with a huge statue of a man sitting on a throne.

Aisling's eyebrows jump a bit, and then she pages slowly onwards, if Ossian does not seem to mind.

She finds several sketches of Vere, and one of Robin. Two pages are full with pictures of different kinds of fantastic clothing.

One page contains only a few lines; the outline of a face. Aisling would say it was very like Jerod, but that is not provable.

"Who is this?" Aisling asks Ossian, flipping back to the sketch of Robin.

"It's supposed to be Robin, one of our lost cousins. She vanished soon after Random came back." Ossian says

Aisling nods, examining the sketch. She's heard of Robin.

"We thought that painting a Trump sketch would one way to reach her. It is hard painting someone who isn't present to stand model, though."

Ossian will flip over a fresh page and start sketching a little when he talks to Aisling.

"You wrote that you wanted to talk about trumps?"

"I believe that is the topic of the hour?" Aisling grins. Then, diverted by curiousity, "How long does it take to make a trump?"

"A full Trump?" Ossian answers, somewhat absently, while drawing, "That depends. A few days. A year. It depends on how well I know the subject."

"What I will be doing now is Trump sketches. That goes much faster. I still think some of you will take a week or more to draw."

"What is the difference between a full Trump and a Trump sketch?" Aisling asks.

Ossian produces a paper with a sketch of Vere and a card with a picture of a man that can only be Brand.

Aisling lightly drifts her hand across them, first the Trump, then the sketch, quite absorbed in looking at both.

"This is a sketch, and this is a Trump" he says, "the main difference lies in how well they reproduce the essence of the subject. You see, how shall I put it? the full Trumps capture the essence for eternity, while the sketches do not. Every person and place change with time, and so the sketches get less and less valid. In the end they doesn't work.

"The sketches are also worn by use, the full Trumps are not."

Aisling nods, curiousity momentarily satisfied enough that she can continue and tell Ossian of the relevant stuff she came here to say... "Has Bleys made it known to you that our cousin Merlin created a trump sketch of me, such that they could feed energy to me while I held the valley in which the troops left Chaos? I would not wish for you to waste your time..."

"Waste my time? In my mind wasting time is mutually exclusive to painting your Trump."

Aisling smiles. It's mostly at the turn of the phrase, though; she's only a bit flattered.

"Then of course we need that collection of Trumps to be finished soon. Who has that Trump sketch?"

"I would guess that Merlin has it, but I do not know. Bleys would know, and possibly Fiona. Why is there urgency about the assembly of this collection?"

"We want to be able to communicate quickly with everyone. Especially the people away in different Shadows. It seems Random fear loosing the people sent out."

Ossian smiles a wry smile. "But there might also be some other trick up his sleeve, of course."

Aisling smiles back, and then shrugs. "Perhaps you should check with Prince Bleys before diverting your attention further this evening from the delights of food and song..."

Ossian looks directly into Aisling's eyes: "You know, I have been able to eat and hear music for the last five years, but not making Trumps. And Trumps are my favourite kind of art. I don't waste my time. But I might be wasting yours."

Aisling's expression is a politely blank wall automatically appearing in the face of attack.

The look on Ossian's face is not at all aggressive, it's sincere.

"On the other hand the lighting in here is barely enough for a first sketch.

"I will talk to Bleys, or Fiona. There is a potential problem, though. Who owns a certain Trump?"

Aisling shrugs, grins with faint wickedness, "Is not the question, 'Who would hold their trump back from the good of Amber?' "

Ossian shrugs. He obviously does not agree.

She nods to Ossian, explaining the time-wasting thing, "You see that I have trepidation about having trumps drawn of me. It was only a week ago that I first went through a Trump, and the contact I made with you was the first I'd ever done...

"They are powerful structures of Order." She shrugs again, "And yet, I am not loathe to let you attempt to draw my form; it is that I would be pleased if the sketch that ended up in Random's gallery was Merlin's." /[she doesn't want him to have it]/ She regards Ossian, eyes just slightly narrowed, to see if he gets it.

Ossian nods. "Ah. I will stress the point that we don't have the time to paint a sketch of you if there is one availible.

"Although I hope I will get the chance later."

Aisling bows slightly in her chair with a smile, "I would be honored. ...Some of those new paintings in the library are by your hand, are they not?"

"Yes. Some are mine and some are Reid's. I did the earlier ones, like Folly and Lucas." Ossian chuckles "And the Jerod painting is mine too."

"I'm curious. What is the difference between me and Merlin? You don't have to answer, of course." Ossian smiles.

Aisling thinks momentarily, and decides to do him the honor of not turning this into a graceful gavotte of prevarication. She smiles, and replies gently, "Then I shall not."

Ossian grins.