The First Week

It might have been unclear, so let me add that Vere considers the disappearance of people as part of the above "fading away", and would have included the information on the disappearances in his report on this matter. He also included a full rundown and explanation of what all the various members of the Council have said regarding their opinions, or lack of opinions, on these disappearances, if His Majesty seemed interested.

[GMs]
OK, just being clear on what Random knows and doesn't.

The night of Random's return, Folly invites Paige and Solange to her quarters for a bit of a chat. (I'll initiate that in a separate thread.)

Folly doesn't seek private audience with Random, exactly; rather, she quietly suggests that if he needs a break from being serious, or someone to vent to or shoot the shit with for a few minutes, he can set up a meeting with her. (Folly strongly believes that the most valuable thing she can offer Random right now is friendship; this is her way of trying to achieve that without causing too much of a stir.)

Random is a really busy guy. Somehow he seems to be extra busy whenever you're in the castle. People keep bringing things to him to deal with. About the only time you might get alone with him is late one night.

Folly also schedules a little time one afternoon or evening to visit with Gerard, if he's available -- tea or a friendly game of cards or a little music or somesuch. It occurs to her that suddenly being relieved of his Regenting duties may well be something of an emotional blow for him, since he can't exactly go right back to his former vocation.

Gerard seems to be looking forward to being a royal nuisance. He plans to spend time at the Naval and may take up writing tales of the sea. You can absolutely tell he is jollying you along.

Gerard seems to be as happy to be out from under as he is sad at having less to do. There's some talk of physical therapy for the legs, although realistically Folly thinks it has to be too late for that.

Doesn't it?

Other than that, Folly spends much of the week among the docksiders, getting a read on the vibe once they've heard the news of the new king and the returning army, expressing to her friends and contacts her hopes that the new regime will prove sensitive to the needs of the working class, and listening to their concerns. She also keeps an ear open for any changes in the tension between the locals and the foreign sailors once the news is announced.

The docks are seething with tension. Rumors fly everywhere and crime is up. The common sentiment about Random is 'Prince Which?' Is he that redheaded one? Yeah, he seems like everyone's buddy, but you know, _Princes_. He'll be looking out for uphill interests just like King Eric."

She will use the dinner meetings (assuming they're still happening this week) to keep everyone appraised of what she learns.

Out of hearing of anyone else, Folly arranges a late-night get-together with Solange and Paige to continue their earlier conversations.

When they arrive at her quarters, she has changed out of her presentable clothes and into a tank top and loose, sloppy linen pants. She offers them a big plate of cookies and a pitcher of milk and oversized throw- pillows if they want to sit on the floor; and the whole affair has the feel of a girls' movie night or a slumber party, except that Folly checks the door and the windows two or three times to make sure they're closed and locked.

Likewise, Solange is not in her sober, respectable Renaissance gowns, nor yet in her boyish riding gear, but in a T-shirt and a broomstick skirt, and her house-slippers look remarkably like Chinese Mary Janes. Her hair is down her back in a single braid instead of coiled up.

Paige is in a big terry cloth robe, he hair all down, the only accessory being a hair brush.

Once they've gotten settled and Folly has moved the pitcher of milk to a high shelf to keep the cat out of it, she plops down on a pillow and looks at Solange. "So, I think you've figured out at least part of what I was talking about earlier," she says. "Do you still think I'm worrying over nothing?"

"No, I don't," Solange says forcefully. "The real question is, is there anything to do about it? Never mind can -- should we? If you look at it one way, she'll make a pretty good Queen -- she's been a very competent chatelaine, and seems to like the job, which is why I let her do so much of it while Dad was Regent, because it gave me the time to do more interesting, less 'ladylike' things... my worry about it is that she seems to care more about being Queen than she cares personally about the King. And he deserves better than that. Even though I never knew him before, I can see that. And then there's the other worry -- that her reverence for tradition will undo every bit of progress we've managed to make these past few years. So, here's the problems as I see them: Does she love him? Maybe not well enough. Does he love her? I have no idea. And can the royal lady cousins, as a group, counterbalance her influence? I hope so." She takes a bite out of a cookie, and washes it down with a large swallow of milk. "Did I miss anything?" she asks.

[Paige]
"That her reverence for tradition, isn't for Amber's traditions, that's my worry. She comes from a place where the ladies of the Court run the Kingdom, and she won't settle for undoing what we've done. While that society bred some amazing lovers, if I wanted to live there, well... I'd live there."

Folly looks like she could flying-tackle-hug Solange out of sheer relief.

Solange passes her the plate of cookies.

"That's the gist," she says, "but it's not quite the whole story." She hesitates, looks at Paige, looks down at her own hands. "Let's leave love out of it for now" -- maybe it's all the milk, but she almost chokes on the word "love" -- "and look at the rest of the picture.

"You're right, she could be a good queen. But even more importantly, a lot of people will think that Random is fit to be king because of her. That's utter bullshit, of course, but it is a damn good story, isn't it? So even if she turned out not to be a good queen, I don't think he could dismiss her so easily without eroding some people's faith in his judgement."

Solange is nodding.

"And then, how does one judge between 'good' and 'bad' anyway? I would bet that she is more likely to do good things for Amber for selfish reasons than she is to destroy Amber through well-intentioned but ill-thought acts. If, in the end, good things happen for Amber, how much does it matter what the motivations were?"

"That depends on how many people get hurt in the process," Solange offers. "Go on."

Folly hesitates again, and when she continues, she's obviously choosing her words carefully. "My biggest fear, though, is that she will prove dangerous, and I don't know how to deal with that. I mean, if you come upon a tiger in the woods, and you don't want it to hurt you, you can try to trap it or kill it -- or you can just sneak away quietly and not go poking it with a big stick.

"I seriously doubt she would try to do us in for disagreeing with her about women's rights. But with someone she viewed as a threat...." She looks at Paige. "Martin.... Before he left, he cautioned me that -- that I should watch my back. Maybe he's being over-cautious, but if he's not -- well, you can see my concern about what might happen if she's in a position of power."

"There's bad blood there, too, between the two of them, that neither one will talk about." Paige nibbles on a cookie. "I'd give most anything to have an hour with a member of that Court that was willing to talk about it. I don't think even Jerod's got a clue, and other than Merlin..." Paige starts rummaging in her pocket and produces her Fortunes, shuffling through and trying to find her student...

Folly makes a small head-movement indicating her agreement with Paige's speculation about Jerod. (Whether she's agreeing about this specific instance or in general isn't as clear, though.... )

"Martin asked me to watch out for you, too," Solange says. "Not that I wouldn't have, anyway, the way things turned out at the announcement. Look, I don't want to sound conceited or anything, but it's pretty clear you're more vulnerable than I am when it comes to intrigue... you haven't got a protective father and brother around to take your part if people get nasty. And much as I'd like that sort of thing to be obsolete, right now I'm not going to scorn taking advantage of it. So, what I think, is I should make sure people know that I agree with your unpopular opinions, maybe agitate for them on my own as well, so that you can't be singled out as the Lone Troublemaker, and people won't get the idea that they can make your ideas go away by making you go away, because I'll be right there saying and doing the same things, and if they tried to make me go away, they'd have to deal with Prince Gerard and Lord Vere. Does that sound like a plan?"

Now Folly does give Solange a big hug. "You're so cool, you know that?" she says. "I've still got some, uh... some complicated personal issues to sort out, but I feel a lot better just knowing you've got my back."

She dunks a cookie in her glass of milk, takes a big bite, and wipes her mouth on the back of her wrist. "And you don't sound conceited," she says firmly. "I'm not completely without defenses, but they're certainly not as... obvious as yours." She grins, then pauses to turn things over in her head.

A new thought suddenly takes her, and she looks at Paige.

"Will you teach me to make Trumps?"

"Sure, if you really want to," Paige smiles. "You plan on trying to do them by sound?"

"Eventually, yeah, but I should probably learn the regular way first, don't you think?" Folly grins.

"And yes, I do really want to learn," she continues. "I don't think I'm ever going to be the Pattern Master you guys are, but from what you and Ossian have said about Trumps.... Well, I just get the feeling it's something I'd really get, y'know? And besides that -- having the means for a quick getaway -- and I mean away -- suddenly seems a lot more important."

"Until then, we'll make sure you can use the Trumps and if you've got a specific place you want to go, we'll see what I can do about making you a 'getaway' Trump, OK?" Paige says. "It'll be fun to teach again and Hell, it probably won't hurt my skill.

Folly smiles her thanks to Paige.

Paige finds a copy of herself in her Fortunes and hands it to Folly.

"That sounds smart," Solange agrees. "But you're exaggerating when you call me a Pattern Master. I can find my way from Point A to Point B, and I can generally find what I want in my pockets or under the couch cushions, but that's, like, beginner stuff. There's a reason I'm not one of the people headed out to the back end of beyond to help get everyone home."

"Yeah, but you're young yet, right?" Folly counters. "Give it time. One of these days, you'll arm-wrestle the universe and win, I've no doubt." She flashes a big grin.

Paige smiles, "Sure. It's not like I'm dedicated enough to do any of that, so it'll have to be you." Her smile quirks and she offers Solange a wink.

"I'm just worried Father's going to come home and decide I need to be married off. I'm sure young leClaire will be asking the Crown for a divorce once he's got his crown on straight and then pressing my Father for my attentions." Paige sighs and takes another cookie.

Folly scowls. "And don't you get any say in any of this nonsense?"

"More than the average woman and maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to settle down... Don't worry too much," Paige chuckles. "Father knows I'll take off back to Shadow if needs be, before I'd do something against my will. And not being around, means I'm not openly defying him in front of the Court."

"On that front," Paige smiles at Solange, "Can you convince your Papa to ask Random for a peerage for Worth? He deserves it for putting up with me this long, but really for the service he's given during the Regency, well... he won't accept anything else. Hells... he wouldn't accept that, but he can't say no to the King, right?"

The afternoon Reid hears from Brita, he tries to gather the various parties still in Amber who will be involved in getting the troops back, all in one room for a planing/status meeting.

"I believe the way we left things, Martin is hellriding to Ygg as we speak. When he arrives, he'll trump me [Reid], Jerod & Cambina to join him. Jerod will be there to help stabilize shadow, and Cambina & I will take reins on the trumps."

"Brita, Ossian, Paige, Vere and Conner will all be in Arden. Brita, Ossian and Paige will all take trump duty, while Vere & Conner will help with the resettlement of the troops as they arrive. It seems that Robin has gone AWOL. I'm not too terribly worried, but that means one less ranger liaison in Arden when the troops get back, and possibly a pissed off Julian if she's not reachable. I'm hoping he has a trump of her, if none of us do."

"I'll work on a Trump sketch of her. I probably won't have it finished before Martin reaches Ygg, though." Ossian says, turning a page in his sketch book. "I love painting girls." he adds with a grin.

[Reid]
"Martin has my trump to get our party to Ygg. Brita & I have trumps of each other, Martin has Ossian's trump, and Paige has a trump of Merlin for making contact between Arden and Ygg."

"Vere, Brita has made a sketch of the landing location and possible camp site for the troops. Unless you need it right away, she wanted to keep working on it until close to show time."

Vere nods, and with a dismissive gesture of his hand says, "There is no need for it until we are ready to begin transporting materials and personnel."

[Reid]
"Depending on the strength of 'signal' between Chaos & Ygg, and Ygg and Arden, I'd like to try to set up a pass-through--- get the troops to Ygg through one gateway, and keep walking through another gateway to Arden. If it's too tough for one of us to handle a gateway solo, we'll have to use Ygg as a layover point. I'd like to avoid that if we can... No point in disorienting the troops more than we need to."

"Are there any other logistics that need to be covered? I'd think that Martin's hellride should get him to his destination in the next day or so unless something made him stray from the path."

"Let's hope that doesn't happen. Finding Ygg without him would not be easy." Jerod says.

"I have three Trumps sketches of Vere. And will have two more Trumps of myself ready soon. I'll keep one Vere sketch myself. Who else needs one?" Ossian takes two sketches from his sketch book.

[Jerod]
"We've got the food, accomodation and security requirements pretty much covered it would seem for the army. Is there anything we need to worry about from the other end?" he asks. "The people in the city and countryside for example. Do they have an idea as to what's up? Someone's going to start putting something together when we begin diverting all those resources."

"I am certain that they already have a good idea of what is occurring," Vere responds, "There are surely enough individuals in the city who have seen the Elders use trumps upon occasion for our Family's peculiar method of transportation to have become known to the more discerning members of the local population. The fact that King Random has returned, and has publicly announced that we are preparing for the return of the army, is common knowledge. They can put all of this together." He pauses before continuing, "I expect that the most common reaction will be expectation and relief. The only source of concern would be anyone who has managed to achieve a position of greater power and authority during the Regency than they had before, and who will see the return of the status quo as a threat. Off-hand I do not know of any such individuals, although I would suspect that they would be most common among the criminal classes." He pauses again, and then adds, with an apologetic look at Folly, "And, possibly, among any of the common folk who have embraced the new theories of equality and see them threatened by this turn of events. I hasten to add that I know of no evidence that any such feeling exists, it is merely a possibility."

"Then I'd suggest we keep ourselves open to that possibility. It may be nothing, but just in case." Jerod says.

"I'm doing what I can to allay such fears," Folly says, "but I don't think that's going to be our most immediate concern. We're about to increase -- significantly, if I understand correctly -- the population of a city that has recently experienced food shortages. The added population will be comprised almost entirely of fighters of some form or another. Your average commoner isn't going to be as worried, right now, about whether she'll someday be eligible to inherit her dad's boat as she is about whether next week she'll be able to feed her family a decent meal without worrying that rowdy sailors will burn her house down for the table scraps."

"Well, the population increase shouldn't be too big, should it? I'd expect that the forces from Shadow will return there from the bivouac site in Arden, no? Has anyone given us a hard number on how big the returning force is and how many have the right to stay, or we're offering the right to?" Paige asks.

"Now the Lands of Peace sailors, well that's another story." She shakes her head. I'm sure we could've spared someone to lead them out again, if for no other reason than to make a supply run."

"It's me or Solange for that." Jerod says. "And they're still not ready to go yet. Motivating them to leave without full holds might be a lot worse than the inconvenience of posting additional guards. I think they can wait. We can get figures from Random concerning the numbers for returning army troops. That'll give Vere an idea of what he needs as far as resources, and Brita for security and perimeter control. It would be nice to have Robin back here though. Anyone got an idea of where she's run off to?"

"My gut says she's run off to find her father on her own, now that she knows it's possible by Random's return. Not necessarily the best move, since we have a plan in place, but I sensed she wasn't terribly interested in our ideas." Reid replies.

"That bites." Jerod says. "If she's not careful we might wind up having to go after her...wherever she might be."

Once in Arden, Brita relays the news to Needle and the Rangers that King Random has returned and that preparations must be made to bring the troops - including the Rangers under Lord Julian - home. She outlines the plan to use Heather Vale as a staging point to house the troops and indicates that the Rangers will play a key roll in ensuring the safety of all concerned and in protecting the forest as well.

The Rangers are all very excited about the news.

What does Brita tell them about Robin?

After mulling over her discussion with Reid, Brita tells the Rangers that Robin has been given a more direct role in bringing the troops home.

There is a lot of curiosity about what that status is ...

After relaying the information, Brita will set up patrol teams to monitor the Arden/Garnath borders and to relay information as necessary between Heather Vale and the existing posts. She will take a small team - Needle, Gris, Avid, and Bay - with her to Heather Vale to determine the lay of the land and the best places to set up the camps (to cause the least damage).

This will take up the better part of the week. What kind of camps does Brita plan to set up? How does she plan to lay them out? Etc.?

Brita moves several of the larger tents from the main post to Heather Vale. She sets up a "command center" at the eastern end of the valley near the crooked pine she had sketched. The supply tents are spaced along the valley at regular intervals and are stocked with some necessities - a few pots and pans, extra blankets, some small tents/tarps. (Brita assumes that the troops will have bedding and some cooking supplies of their own.) From the rocky side northern side of the valley, Brita and the Rangers gather small stones and fallen logs to create various campfire sites along the valley. (She does not want the troops ransacking the forest after they arrive and hopes to prevent this by presetting the camps.)

Did we ever get a read on how many troops there are now? What is the status of the individual groups? Are some more likely to want to be separated from other groups?

Brita attempts to contact Reid several times during the week with these questions...

Reid is available for what answers he can give through the week, and upon getting trump contact from Martin, lets both Vere and Brita know so they can get into place.

Reid obviously won't be the one with solid statistics on troop size or status, but will have an overall knowledge of scale since he's going to be instrumental in getting them from Point A to Point B to Point C. He'll try to get Brita what she needs to get organized though, acting as go-between until he gives up and provides Vere with a trump of Brita so he doesn't have to be in the middle.

Assuming Reid consults Random with these questions, he does remind Reid about the dragons and says that there are several groups of troops that would do better off if separated. Key among these are Caine's sailors and Eric's men, and, unfortunately, Julian's rangers and Eric's men.

Reid passes along the info.

"Dragons! How cool! We'll have to put them in the widest part of the valley, away from the forest.

Brita would, of course, ask "How separated should these groups be? Would the dragons provide enough of a buffer?"

"I would hope that dragons would be enough to keep opposing points of view at bay. Yes, if you can situate the dragons betwixt some potentially unruly camps, while still having the camps themselves in reasonable proximity for supplying, communication, etc., that might work best." Reid offers.

Jerod gets back in touch with a few of his court associates, having determined that most of his previous duties have been successfully passed over to the other family members (such as Conner). Under those circumstances, he continues working to arrange trade contacts for the foreign fleet captains. For that to work and to cover all the bases, he ensures that he gets information from either Vere, Conner or Paige (or her legal assistant) to cover the requirements of trade logistics, diplomatic support and legal. He's aware that there's a limit to how much can be done in this venue, but while there's still time he wants to arrange the groundwork such that while he is gone, the interested parties can work out trade agreements and bring those details back to Vere and company for approvals. With luck, once he returns from the army expedition, the fleet can be brought up to speed and he can see about taking them back.

In that vein, to the GMs...part of his request to see Random will involve the trade fleet and the expedition into Shadow. He would like to "borrow" one of the trump decks sequestered by Uncle Gerard after the Sundering. Jerod will explain that he could not find his father's own deck, and now that trumps are operational, it would be advised that he have a deck for use while away. He's not altogether thrilled about asking for the deck, but he's not foolish enough to turn down a useful tool.

Random wants you to leave after the coronation. He can't spare you right now, not for a long sea voyage.

Jerod understands that. He was figuring the sea work would come after things had settled down a bit. Does Random agree to the use of a deck? If the group gets separated or something goes wrong at Ygg, Jerod can possibly try to continue on his own at that point to find his uncles and aunts.

Random has no problem digging up and loaning a deck. "Keep an eye on it and bring it home. These things have a way of going missing."

Jerod's expression as he accepts the deck would seem to indicate that he wouldn't mind if they all just up and vanished. But he accepts the deck and promises to return it (cleaned, pressed and fumigated).

There is in fact some trouble on the docks in the first couple of days after the announcement of the King's return. M looks awfully smug about there not being any riots.

By the end of the week, a delegation from the fleet from the Land of Peace will ask to see the King. The King wants Jerod and Vere to handle it.

Jerod gets ahold of Vere to see if he has any reports on the activity of the various fleet elements from the Land of Peace (LoP) during their stay, especially if there have been questionable dealings and the like. He'll also check with his own people and see what the nobles and merchants have been up to where the LoP crew is concerned.

Vere will send a request to M for a full report on what they have been up to, which he will share with Jerod.

M's report is that a full report is not possible as operations may be ongoing, but that he has his magesty's request well in hand and there were not, as you may note, riots on the evening of Random's return.

He requests that he be informed of any formal complaints they levy, so that he can assure that his staff's efforts are both effective and within the law.

Far less informative than Vere would have liked, but he is aware that M sees no need to explain himself to the Youngers, so he will not push for anything more at this time.

Jerod goes over the report with Vere in case anything unusual or unexplained pops up, just to get an idea of what they might be facing, as well as to be sure their both on the same wavelength as far as what any such event might mean.

Once that is arranged, they can set up a suitable venue for meeting with the delegation. Jerod will make sure that he's got an idea as to where Random is during the meeting and that Random is "officially" involved in something that will make him indisposed to anyone else who might wish to speak to him (ie: the LoP are dealing with Jerod and Vere, or nobody...:)

Vere does want to inquire of the King before hand as to what, if anything, he wants done about the LoP fleet. Vere believes that the King simply wants them to continue their trading preparations, not make any trouble, and go home as soon as we can spare someone to guide them. He will request that the King confirm or correct this impression before the meeting.

The King wants a trouble-free kingdom. He suggests that listening to them without making any promises would probably be a good start.

Something that Jerod would agree with...time to see what the delegation wants.

Jerod would ask Vere what he thinks of the idea of doing the "good cop, bad cop" routine, in case things get a bit sticky. Jerod figures that where stonewalling is concerned, Vere could do it hands-down better than Jerod, and since Jerod arranged the original trip here in the first place, he's more logical to be the "sympathetic ally".

Vere nods. "I shall take the unsympathetic, 'we shall have to consider the matter in full at a later date' side of the interview."

"Excellent." Jerod says with a slight grin. "Then let's have at them, shall we?"

[GMs]
In the "it sucks to be you" department, it happens that Jerod has to depart before the meeting can be arranged. What does Vere do in his absence? Who else does he enroll in his scheme, if anyone?

Vere will ask his sister if she would care to sit in on the meeting with the delegation from the Land of Peace. With Jerod gone, she is now the resident expert on them, and might notice something that Vere misses.

Solange will be happy to do so.

"Thank you, sister. Having the children of the Regent hear their petition in the dawning days of the new King's reign should be confusing enough to throw them off balance. It is a situation that could be intended to convey so very many different messages." Vere seems amused by the thought.

The appointed day comes, and a delegation of half a dozen of the captains, including Ramala, Hassan, and Navneeth, arrives at the castle.

Vere greets them warmly, has food and drink brought, asks after their health and the well-being of their crews, and comments upon the pleasant weather we've been having lately. He thanks them for the courtesy and assistance that they showed his sister during her visit to the Land of Peace, and on the voyage back to Amber.

They would like to know when the Amber cargoes will be ready to be loaded and when they will be able to return to the Land of Peace.

Vere agrees that this is an important question, and assures them that he will make it his first priority to get that information for them. He asks for details on everyone they've been dealing with, and questions them closely on their impressions of the various merchants and nobles of Amber that they've encountered so far. He conveys the impression that their opinions are extremely important to him.

They also bear gifts for the new King, and have questions about him and his policies. (Vere thinks they really want to know whether he'll honor his predecessor's commitments.)

Vere thanks them warmly for the gifts, and comments upon the outstanding merits of each of them. He asks questions about the origins of each of them, making profuse notes about their construction, the craftsmen who made them, and the various locations in the Land of Peace where each came from. He solicits Solange's opinions on each of the gifts as well.

Solange may remember that her and Jerod's business with Abban was also lubricated by gift exchange.

When the discussion turns to the King Vere praises his trustworthiness and nobility, his dedication to Amber and Amber's friends, and somehow manages not to actually make any statements about what his actual policies might be.

They are apparently a little confused or disturbed that it's Gerard's children dealing with them, and inquire after Jerod.

Vere conveys Jerod's disappointment that duties called him away from the palace at the last minute, and made it impossible for him to attend this meeting. He's certain that they understand how much there is to do in the beginning of a new reign, and how busy everyone is. We certainly don't want them to think that they are being ignored, or that we don't consider their trade mission to be very important. Vere conveys the King's desire that this shall be the beginning of a profitable and mutually-beneficial relationship between our lands.

The next day following his meeting with the King, Jerod goes looking for Conner. Seems he wants to discuss the situation in Rebma, and more about his escape from the Tritons with the Ambassador and Sir Montage.

Jerod will have one of his messenger crew verify the location of the Ambassador and Sir Montage, in case he wishes to speak to them that day.

[GMs]
OOC: Montage is in Rebma and has never been in Amber. Are you talking about Montage, or someone else?

Who was it that assisted Conner then to escape? My notes of Jerod's conversation with Conner are on the fritz at the moment.

[She-GM]
Thalia, the ambassador from Gateway to Rebma. And Demond Hagarel (apostrophe omitted, 'cause I can't remember where to put it), Jerod's mama's ex-husband.

[He-GM]
Harga'rel

Noted Amber merchant family. Most likely off on his family estate.

Ah...him...:)

so noted.

Please replace Montage with Hargarel...(well, so to speak). If anything, Jerod will have a good reason for dealing with Hargarel (it's called Profit).

Thalia is staying at the Gatwegian Embassy. Harga'rel left for his family estate the day he arrived. The Harga'rel family has a townhome, but Demond Harga'rel hasn't been seen there.

[Blake]
How far is the family estate by horse?

Conner manages to free up enough spare time from his job of coordinating things between Vere and Brita to talk to Jerod. "What can I do for you?" Conner asks looking up from a Vere-sized report.

Jerod looks in at the Vere sized report, shaking his head and wondering if Conner has even gotten past the table of contents yet.

"I wanted to speak to you a bit more on the matter of Rebma and how you escaped. I'm looking to see about trying your route, but I wanted to talk to the Ambassador first, and Har'garel." Jerod says.

"Any reason not to use the front door?" Conner asks. "I was given to understand the ways were open once more."

"I was not aware that the stairway had returned." Jerod replies. "Who informed you of this?"

"Thalia." Conner replies.

"Interesting. I will have to verify if her statement is true." Jerod says. "In any event, there are reasons to consider a more discrete approach, and since such an entry way exists, it is wise to keep it under consideration. The King has asked whether I will be returning anytime soon. There is some...concern...about the Rebman situation."

"As one that has a personal Rebman situation I can relate. Pray tell me more." Conner replies.

Jerod smiles. "You first. Why would the Tritons want the Ambassador dead? You had mentioned they were going to frame you for her murder. If that was because of your investigation then you must have found something you shouldn't have. But why her? A murder is murder, so the choice of the victim in this case seems significant."

"Perhaps she too was nearing the truth of something." Conner shrugs. "On the other hand, they had dressed her in a white robe. It brought to mind the notion of a sacrifice."

Jerod snorts a little. "A sacrifice to what? Last time I checked we were notoriously deficient in the god department. And Random's witnessing of Brand's demise helps reduce the loonie toon contigent as well."

"You get me definitive knowledge of the beliefs of Triton's and I'll scoff too." Conner shrugs. "But since you doubt my theory, what's yours for bothering to change the clothes of a kidnap victim?"

"Not having much contact with the Tritons recently, I do not know." Jerod says. "I find it unusual that someone would go to all that trouble though just to kill someone. Too much effort. It makes it sound much more than just a political problem. And I dislike handling anything that is religiously based."

"The King is concerned about Rebma's behaviour...enough that when I return it is likely to be a very quiet affair. He's not too thrilled that his nephew nearly got whacked and Moire has never been thrilled with Random. Him being king will make things worse. I'll be investigating that.

"Would your friend the Ambassador speak to me if you introduced us?"

"I see no reason why not." Conner replies. "Indeed I should be interested to hear her answer to your questions."

"I have some time later today if that would be convenient. I must also find time to speak to Har'garel. Hopefully soon before Martin calls in." Jerod says.

"I'll see if she will join us for dinner this evening." Conner nods.

"Good. I'll be sure to be there." Jerod says. "In the meantime, we'll see if Har'garel is around." and with a nod, Jerod departs in search of him.

She would be happy to join you two for dinner. Of course, Jerod was called to Ygg before he reached Harga'rel and before dinner.

Are you pursuing this without him, or waiting until he gets back?

A few questions over dinner to be sure. Namely, is there reason they would hae singled you out for the kidnapping, and have you seen Harga'rel lately to start with.

Thalia has not seen Harga'rel since they returned to Amber. She has been keeping pretty close to the Embassy grounds. She did hear that he's gone to his country home or some such.

She's not really certain why the Tritons would kidnap her, but she can come up with several speculative possibilities, all of which depend on the Tritons' motives. She doesn't know a lot about them, but no one does, really. She's sure Conner has come up with roughly the same list of possibilities she has.

Paige busies herself in the time waiting for Martin's call with a quick trip to Heerat via Trump, if it works, and one to Shadow Earth, along the same lines... That one brings coffee by the bag and several dozen cartons of Salems.

[OOC: Random isn't one of those pretentious Dunhill-only kind of guys, but Salems are a little close to Virginia Slims for him. He conjures his own these days, one at a time, lit.]

The trips won't take more than a day so, unless she's demanded at Court or the courts, Paige will spend the days at the Prince turning the Non-Trumps sketches into Trumps, starting with Folly's and going further based on what the GM's tell me I can get accomplished.

As the rest of our cranky Trumpster crew has learned, Trumpmaking is slow. Let the GMs know who Paige wants to make Trumps of, and we'll let you know what the time frames are.

She'll want to talk to Cambina about making it to the Tir.

The night of Random's return was a full moon, and Cambina reports that the stairway to Tir did not reappear.

[Since the null response to Ossian's offer of Trump sketches of Vere, and Trumps of Ossian himself he will decide who gets what...]

About 4 days after Random's return Ossian approches Jerod (somewhere in the castle?), and hands him a paper: "Take this Trump sketch of Vere. Since he runs the administration on our side, someone in Ygg might want to reach him. Of course it is not certain he's reachable on that distance, but it is worth a try."

"We'll find out I suspect." Jerod says.

He gets a hard tube for storage of the sketch so that it is not damaged during travel.

He also gives one such sketch to Random together with a Trump of Ossian. Also he searches Folly out and gives her a Trump of himself. "Do you know how they work?"

Folly's face lights up. "Wait here," she says, giddy as a kid with a new toy. Then she's off like a shot, down the hall and into another room.

A moment later, she's staring at Ossian's Trump, trying to make contact just the way Martin explained it to her.

The image of Ossian goes alive, with Ossian grinning. "Ah. It's good that they work again. And you seem to know how to use them."

Folly beams back at him. "This totally rocks!" she says.

Ossian laughs: "Yes, it does. You see what I have missed those last years?

"I have to make one or two Trumps of you also soon.

"Do you want to try stepping through?" Ossian asks streching his hand towards Folly.

Folly looks both excited and trepidatious at the prospect. "Let's hope it goes more smoothly than the last time I tried it," she says. She reaches out, takes Ossian's hand with a somewhat firmer grip than he might've been expecting, and steps through.

And blinks. And grins. And starts hopping around in a giddy little dance of joy. "Way better than last time!" she says. "And Paige is going to teach me to draw them, too!"

Ossian joins her dance for a few moments, looking amused. "She is? You might have talent, you know. If you need more than one teacher, just ask me."

"I will," Folly responds with obvious enthusiasm. "I definitely want to get your perspective."

Ossian nods. "Remember that perspective is only one dimension of painting; there's colour, te xture, sharpness..." Folly realises that Ossian is joking only partly.

Ossian gets in a more serious mode: "We don't know what will happen in the next few days. You'd better keep the Trump close at hand. Don't hesitate to call if something happens.

"Of course, I might be busy transporting the army."

Folly stops dancing and looks up at him. "Thank you, Ossian," she says, laying her hand on his arm. She seems about to say something else, but decides against it; instead, on impulse, she goes up on her toes to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Ossian touches his cheek tenderly, smiling, blinking. "You're welcome."

Then she unbuttons a pocket in her skirt, pulls out a wooden card case, and slips the Trump into it.

[GMs]
[We join this discussion in progress. For timing purposes, it's occurring within a day or two of Random's return; Vere is free to be dragged into existing conversations.]

Vere refuses to fall for the bait. "I am certain the King, in his wisdom, will appoint someone to oversee the kingdom while he is gone on this quest, and we are seeing about your recovery. Once you are hale again we can turn our attention to matters of the Family."

"And how d'ye think ye'll be working on a cure if ye havena taken the Pattern yet?" Gerard asks, frustrated that Vere didn't take the bait.

Vere tilts his head to the side and regards his father with a serious expression. "You shall shift Shadow while I push you," he says.

"Yu're na help," Gerard says.

"The realities of the situation, Father," Vere replies. "You are in no condition to handle any problems that may come up. Consider the frustration that you felt during your Regency. Do you wish that to continue? I accepted your reasoning during the Regency, but now that the King has returned...." he allows his voice to trail off and falls into silence for a few seconds, then says, "If my memory does not fail me, the exact quote was 'All I'm fit for is to shuffle papers. I'll be taking lessons from you, I suppose.'"

He regards Gerard without expression. "I forget very few things that have been said to me, Father."

Gerard says, "That's not how I meant it and ye know it!" half-angry and half-embarrassed. Changing the subject: "And what d'ye plan to do about yer sister?"

Vere lifts an eyebrow. "Do about her?" he asks. "I do not plan on *doing* anything. Naturally, I shall inform her of the fact that you have finally agreed to the logical course of action, unless you would prefer to do that yourself. I have no doubt she will wish to do everything she can to assist. She has that right, and if you think things through you will realize that she will undertake the quest to find a cure for you, whether you give her your permission or not. Better if she does so with some guidance, rather than simply setting off on her own, do you not agree?"

"I'm sure her sense of duty coincides with yours," Gerard grumbles.

Vere nods in agreement. "We are indeed your children," he says.

He considers his father gravely for a few seconds, then continues, "There is much preparation still to be done for the Return, especially if we will be leaving Amber shortly thereafter. By your leave I will be about my duties."

"Aye," says Gerard, and he sounds oddly tired.

Before Vere can quite get out the door, Gerard speaks again. "Vere?"

Vere stops and turns to look at Gerard. "Yes, Father?" he asks.

"I don't agree with some of the choices you've made today, son, but I am proud of you for being a man who could make them. That's all."

Vere looks at his father for several long moments without speaking or allowing any emotion to show on his face. Then he bows his head slightly, turns, and leaves the room.