As the kitchen social breaks up, Folly makes plans with Solange to meet in an hour or so for a nice long sisterly chat. First, though, she has a couple of calls to make.
She returns to her quarters, settles onto the comfy couch, and pulls out her trump case. She sets aside her half-finished Fortune deck and the few pasteboard portrait sketches she's been practicing to hone her skills; she quickly sets aside Martin's trump, too, knowing that her desire to talk to him would activate it almost immediately if she let herself contemplate it.
Thoughtfully, she considers the two trumps remaining; then, slowly, sets aside Paige's trump. That call, she thinks, will be longer and more complex, so best to tackle the other one first.
She stares at the remaining trump and concentrates, willing it to life.
After Meg is called away, Ossian and Marius (and, to a lesser extent, Ce'e), are able to mix with the crowd for a while and get a feel for the people of Abford. Ossian learns that the records he wants should be in the orphanage, and that he should probably go to St. Trista's to inquire about them sometime in the next few days.
After taking leave of Meg, Ossian and Marius goes searching for The Red Fingered Man. On the way there Ossian asks: "That didn't go too well, I think. Maybe I should have prepared better, done more research before seeking out the Mother?"
Marius grins. "The passing of time is always a tricky question. I recalled only vaguely the idea of numbering the years differently, from a place I once sailed, and hoped it would support the foreign aspect we offered." He glances at Cloudeater, but says nothing to the affine. "Perhaps we will meet a town crier or someone who will give away the numbering of the year and you can make the comparison." He will only slightly influence the possibility of this happening.
"It would give us some help." Ossian says, smiling "Although I have to figure out what year I left too. Which might be harder."
"Events? Libraries?" Marius prompts, patiently.
"I think I should talk to someone at the church." Ossian says with a frown. "There are some things there I could use for dating purposes. Hm. We should have no problem learning about how long Mother Prudence was Mother. She wasn't when I left."
"We could also try to figure out how old Mrs. Carper is. Would you venture a guess?"
"I think..." Marius trails off for a moment, "While fate moves of its own accord, I would suspect highly the idea of the orphanage itself not having records of your arrival and departure only if Someone moved it that way. Tell me; does the Tower occupy any more of your thoughts?"
"You mean it's existence has something to do with the prescense of a relative of ours in this area of Shadow? At some point in time, I mean?" Ossian asks. "Honestly, I haven't thought about the Tower since we came here."
"I think..." [Marius] pauses, and then continues. "I believed Mistress Carper was sincere in that looking for such answers may lead to...finding truths best left alone. Of course, if we were men to be concerned with such worries, we would never have left Amber's confines!" He laughs. "I have considered it myself. Perhaps that my father had been a member of the Family, for nothing worse could occur." He shivers. "Or my father a cruel pirate, a rapist, someone who lowered my mother's prestige, and that's why she never gave me the name of him. Or he could be an incubus, a demon, or even one born from the Pit, from Chaos," he smiles sadly and shakes his head, pressing his lips together. "In the end, I found that it did not matter. Even had he been her most romantic match, someone whom she loved and who loved her, I do not need to know his name. There is freedom apart from another man's legacy." He shrugs. "Have you thought on what you will do if you find the information you are seeking? Will you confront them?" he asks, genuinely curious.
"Probably. I am trying to free myself from another man's legacy." Ossian says, frowning "Really, I'm not looking so much for my parents as for what Brand intended for me. The best current guess is that he wanted to use me for something. But for what?
"We could say I'm doing this to protect the family. After all Brand did have a lot of influence on me. I'd like to get some insights in what is genuinely me and what he planted." Ossian bites his lip "I know the truth is probably painful. But not knowing is dangerous. Yes. I will confront my parents if they are alive. But I'm not looking for parents, only for answers.
"And maybe a brother or a sister." he adds quietly
"But at the heart of it there is a story." Ossian says, his eyes looking dreamy. "Most of all I want to catch a glimpse of that."
"Romantics," Marius scoffs, not bothering to hide his huge grin. "No, I understand...that particular worry. It is a needle in my own tapestry, and I shall not see the weave and weft until time does its own reveal." He's quiet for just long enough. "Sometimes I wonder if we were all born to be used, including the old King." He smiles a little. "Populating the board with our pawns." He shakes his head. "It is a cynical thought, but one that helps keep me from the same mistake, I hope." Marius laughs. "Of course, I expect it will depend on the mother as well." If his hand moves towards a particular favor, we gloss over it. "I do not forget that you clear your name in the search, but I ask you, do you think there is something planted indeed?"
"Yes, I do believe so." Ossian smiles wryly. "That is not the same as saying it is a bad thing. At least not entirely."
Marius smiles, but it is a grim smile, perhaps of understanding something more than he should. He finishes it off with a nod.
"What do you think of card readings, Marius? I think I will want to consult the cards when we get to that inn. I haven't done a reading for myself since before I met Brand last time."
"I have..." Marius pauses, then continues, as if deciding something, "...dabbled in it myself a time or two. Would you like a second viewpoint on what draws are made?" he asks, offering.
"I would appreciate that very much, yes." Ossian says "or even a first viewpoint, if you want. I am a bit wary of me putting my wishes into the reading."
"The Red-Handed Inn?" [Marius] asks, amusedly. "I think she suspects something of us. Or she sends us to a bordello."
"Do we look like we need a bordello?" Ossian says, suddenly grinning. "I'd say we could get the girls we want without paying.
"But if she suspects something of us, there is not much we can do about it. It's better that she can find us easily; it's not like we can hide anyway if we want to get those records. I think we should follow her recommendation."
"I have no disagreement, Cousin." He seems to be smothering a laugh. He will hold the door open for Ossian with a semi-mocking bow.
Ossian acknowledges that with a mock lordly nod as he steps into the inn.
After they have settled things with the innkeeper (about staying for a few days etc), the boys order a meal. Three plates, one for Ce'e too, not that he's going to eat anything, but Marius and Ossian will want his food too. They settle in a quiet corner of the inn, and Ossian picks up his cards, and shuffles them once. "Heh. I have given away all Trumps of myself. Could I borrow yours for the casting?" Ossian asks.
[Supposing Marius lends him the Trump.] Ossian shuffles thoroughly, and then cuts the deck. Then he lays the spread, slowly. "The theme of this spread is 'Ossian in Abford'." he says as he lays the first card.
Autumn, The Creator (reversed), The Usurper
Overlooking the Diamond (reversed), Folly (reversed)
Brand (sideways)
Ossian frowns as he places the Folly card on the table, but smiles a little when he finally draws Brand.
As Ossian looks at the cards, he feels the stirring of a Trump contact.
"Someone wants to talk to me" Ossian says to Marius, pointing at the Folly card. "Her I think."
He opens the Trump contact, grinning. "Your timing is exquisite, Folly."
Folly grins back. As she comes into focus in his mind's eye, he sees that she is stretched out on a comfy-looking couch he doesn't recognize from anywhere in Castle Amber. "So I've been told, but that's usually when I'm playing music, or dancing. Does that mean I've called just exactly in time for story-time?"
"It's not a bad time for a story. But the timing is maybe more facinating than that. I turned up your Trump sketch in a reading only moments ago. It's here on the table in front of me right now."
"Oh, really?" says Folly, utterly intrigued.
As Ossian speaks to Folly (the entire situation bringing an amused and patient smile to Marius) the Knight Commander spends some time observing the cards and making his own interpretation ready for Ossian's attention, whenever that may come back to the here and now. (I've got all sorts of fun interpretations, but I'll wait for story.)
"Have you heard about a place called Abford?" Ossian asks. He seems a little worried.
Folly catches the worry in his tone and frowns as she thinks. "Er, no," she says after a moment, "not that I recall. Should I know it?" Something occurs to her suddenly, and her eyes widen. "Have--- have I shown up in its Past? ...Or its Future?"
"Well." Ossian frowns "Maybe it should not be interpreted as you. The card is the Fault, but it's reversed. It could be one of your parents, or it may not be a person at all. Could be the ... less rational part of myself even, I guess."
"Maybe we should take the reading before the story?" he asks with a smile.
Folly nods. She is obviously completely intrigued by what the cards might be saying.
"I think Marius should be with us when we do that, however." Ossian says places his hand on Marius' arm, letting him join the contact.
Marius shoots Ossian a look of gratitude.
Folly smiles as Marius comes into the contact. "Greetings, cousin, it's good to see you," she says. "Now, tell me more about this reading...."
"A pleasure," Marius says. He has a distant look for a moment, one Ossian could read as a, "Is Sir Ce'e likely in any trouble?" then he focuses downwards and lightly brushes his hands across the table near the cards, as if reluctant to touch them yet, at the same time, fascinated.
"I will read them first as spread. Autumn, The Creator in the role reversed, The Usurper," he pauses, "Overlooking the Diamond reversed, yourself, sweet Cousin, similarly reversed, and," he takes a breath, but there's no otherwise obvious pause, "Brand sideways."
"As the reader, would you like to interpret first, Cousin?" he defers to Ossian.
Ossian nods, smiling. "Folly will need to know the question, also. It was "Ossian in Abford'.
"Let's start from the top. Brand regulates the fate. I don't think that means that he brought me here in the first place, even if it could mean that. It could be that he still has some influence here. People who like him or hate him...I wonder how well Sister Prudence knew him.
"Another valid interpretation is that my view of Brand will be changed by what we can find here.
"Recognizing opportunity." Ossian gestures at the virtue card. "This is good. I don't think this has happened yet. We'll need to keep our eyes open.
"The Fault is more interesting" Ossian continues. "As I said it could point at a weakness in my personality. That's not impossible.
"But I find it more probable it refers to an actual person resisting my work here. A relative. Not you." he shakes his head at Folly "But maybe someone closely related to you. Or to me. We need to watch for that, Marius.
"I don't have a good guess as to what the reversal of the card means, unless it is 'Not Folly'.
"Autumn in the past." Ossian frowns "This is somewhat strange. Does it suggest that I should have returned here sooner? That I could have found out more that way? Or does it only say the orphanage was good for me? Or maybe this Shadow has benefitted from my prescence?
"And in the present, Abandonment." he touches the middle card in the last row. "This suggest our current amount of success is small. Or that something has been taken from Abford by our arrival." Ossian makes a wry face, then chuckles "Or it means we will not get any help from Meg.
"She's a girl from the orphanage" Ossian explains to Folly. "Eh, well, a woman now of course.
He pauses for a few seconds beefore continuing "The Usurper in the Future." Ossian pouts with his mouth "A megalomaniac would say this suggest I am the Usurper force. That's not it, of course. The Usurper could mean chaos, or a revolutionary event. Things will not be the same afterwards. For me or this place.
"Or it's tied to the local Usurper. Do you have a guess of what the Usurper force of Abford is, Marius ?"
"And also -- either of you -- who this other 'not-Folly' possible relative might be, if it really is a real person?" interjects Folly, who has listened quietly but intently to Ossian's interpretations. "You've mentioned two people there so far: Sister Prudence, and the girl Meg from the orphanage. Could it mean one of them? Or maybe somebody else -- one of your parents, or something -- who has been there in the meantime and... I dunno... stolen or altered the information you're looking for...." She chews her bottom lip thoughtfully, and both Ossian and Marius can tell she's still working out what to make of the spread.
"When a Trump of a person shows up in spread, I normally associate it with an Amberite, if not necessarily the person on the card. That rules out Sister Prudence and Meg, unless... well, that would be unlikely indeed..." Ossian frowns "It's much more likely to be one of my parents. Unless Meg..." Ossian shakes his head. "We might want to check that to be sure."
Marius smiles. "I was thinking of the spread in far larger terms. I had forgotten that the questions are sometimes closer to home." He pauses. "Perhaps it is that this individual, this `Not-Folly,'" his smile grows slightly larger for a moment, "is related to Folly in some measure, or that Folly's influence will help to bring him or her out?" He shrugs. "I wouldn't rule Folly out from being involved simply because the card is in reverse." He taps near the Brand card. "I would discount him," he does not capitalize it, but it's scoffed at anyway, "mostly because the both of us have so many obvious connections. We cannot forget him, whether or not he is directly a part of blood and bone. Sideways, he influences us and our quests obviously." He takes a deep breath, "I have suspicions as to an Usurper force, but nothing solid or specific. I expect we will find it once we delve directly into the mystery, especially where we find reluctance." He smiles. "As for the rest, I think we still come across as wealthy in many respects, so that may relate to Autumn, although both of us have issues related to the abandonment of a Creator reversed, and we are, of course, sifting through the chaff for something of value, so the Diamond is not overlooked." He shrugs. "Properly, though, I think we need to know more about our environment to plug the right pieces together into this puzzle."
"Ain't that always the case?" Ossian asks, sounding rather happy. "But do you have any ideas of how Folly could be involved in a way that is not good to us? Unless this Trump contact..."
Marius chuckles slightly, but doesn't respond [further].
"Well, keep your eyes open, both of you, and be careful," Folly implores. "A Usurper force in your future and Brand the Fate -- well, that could spell trouble. And as for the rest of it...." Her eyes narrow in concentration for a moment. "Well, I can see a few possibilities.
"First, the Past. You know, your question, 'Ossian in Abford,' could mean either your whole history here, or just your present quest. Ossian, you've already considered that it might refer to your earlier life here. But what if---" She pauses, thinking, and bites her lip.
"You know, the Autumn card isn't merely Plenty, it's the celebration of Plenty. The feast of the harvest. You - you haven't shown up in Abford during a holiday, have you? Because--- well, by symmetry, if your Past is the recent past, then the Usurper is right on your heels. But if your Past is your childhood, then we're probably looking at longer-term, more gradual effects overall.
"Which brings us to the Present, which likewise isn't merely Abandonment in general principle, it's the separation of a child from his mother." She looks at Ossian and grins. "I think the cards are teasing you. I'm convinced the damnfool things think it's funny to tell us what we already know -- so it's telling you that your Present is the Orphanage." She shakes her head in wry amusement.
She continues, "The Virtue I think you've already got the gist of, but I'll add another possible piece: You've got an idea what you're looking for, but you may need to let go of something else in order to grasp it, just as the laborer must set aside his load to grasp the diamond. I don't know whether it's literal or figurative, though. You may need to compromise with someone to find what you're looking for, or you may have to let go of a preconceived notion to make sense of what you find. I don't know."
She pauses, and a mischievous sparkle creeps into her eyes. "And now I'm going to suggest something completely off-the-wall, oh Brother-Who-Isn't-My-Brother. I think the cards are telling you that you have a sister. And it is a Fault either because it's not me, which is of course sad and wrong but unfortunately probable, or because she will stand in your way somehow." She regards both men through the contact with a little half-smile. "That could just be a baseless hunch. Or maybe the cards are being comedic again and it means 'Sister Prudence'. But, y'know, keep an eye out. Just in case.
"That just leaves the Fate," Folly continues, "which I admit I'm not quite as clear on. Perhaps you will learn whether Brand was your real father, or why he knew where to find you? I don't know. 'The Fate of Ossian in Abford is Brand.'" She shakes her head and concludes, "I dunno, but it sounds... potentially dangerous, depending on what Brand means to you. Brand the Artist? Brand the Guardian? Brand the Mentor? Brand the Usurper? There are a lot of possibilities. Be careful." She smiles, warmly. "But I said that already, didn't I?"
Ossian, whose smile has widened through Folly's analysis, now grins. "We might need a reminder now and then.
"The short-term interpretation of the last row is very interesting. And it gives a very hands-on interpretation of the cards. I like that. As for me having a sister; Marius here has rightly warned me that my wish for brothers and sisters may cloud my vision. But it would be fun, even if she is working against me."
"I am afraid that...my teacher did not encourage too much in the way of frivolities when interpreting the Visions," Marius admits. "I was cautioned that I have always had the tendency to overanalyze and bring in too many possibilities," he says, keeping a straight face despite the mirth thus aggrandized. "Still, the two questions I use for each reading are as follows: does it tell me something I don't know or am otherwise treating too lightly, and does it give me any plan of action? The first I think we've thrashed out without taking so much time as to build a wild tapesty of supposition. We know to be wary that our mad Uncle Brand has had his touch on this place. We know our own fears of abandonment. So what do we do with this knowledge? I say we test our suspicions just as those with suspicions will test us, if you see what I mean." He raises a couple of eyebrows with additional amusement.
"Well, I don't recommend going poking usurpers or possible sisters with sticks -- or if you do, at least try not to be obvious about it -- but aside from that it sounds like a sensible approach," Folly says, and smiles. "Whatever you learn, you've now got a framework to hold it up against. Once you start doing that, the particulars of the reading will probably become a lot clearer."
Marius looks about to say something about poking usurpers with sticks, but he merely smiles and decides to leave it unsaid.
Her smile deepens. "And I'm sure that will make quite a nice story for our next story-time."
"Yep." Ossian says. "Let's leave the reading for now, and get on with the storytelling. You or I first?"
"Oooh, I've got a kind of entertaining one," Folly says, "but you might've heard it already. Of course, that won't stop me from telling it." She grins, and her eyes sparkle with gleeful mischief. "Have you heard the one about the young prince who thought he was a stablehand?"
"I do assume you want to hear too, Marius?"
"Gladly," he says. "And any news of the Lady Paige," he adds, sounding surprised that the words crossed his lips.
Folly's eyes widen. "Did you see her before you left?" she asks excitedly. "If so, your news is probably newer than mine. I mean to Trump her later this evening to find out more. I just found out about the twins this afternoon from Brennan." She smiles. "I can't wait to meet them."
"Send my greetings!" Ossian says "I wasn't able to see her before I left."
"I will be sure to do so," Folly agrees with a smile.
Marius smiles. "I saw them and did not see them at once, for I saw them in repose, and I was blinded by their and their mother's charm." In other words, don't ask him for details because all he can say is, `They were cute.'
Ossian smiles, but stays quiet.
Folly laughs with delight. Her cadence begins to lilt, her eyes to sparkle, as she continues, "But my story is about another offspring entirely:
"There was a boy who worked with horses
'Til his life was shaped by forces
Out of his control:
It seems the dad he thought he had
Had actually only wed
To cover up his mother's bad:
(She rode a Royal Stallion
and ended up With Foal.)
"And no-one knew -- not boy nor king --
The man who wore his mother's ring
Was not his flesh and blood
Until one night, a sibling fight
Dragged unknown truth into the light;
The boy did not believe it right
Until his Mum confessed it
(And his sister caught it good.)
"So this boy took a little trip
T'explore his newfound kinsmanship
And learn what he could know.
But sadly for the stablehand,
Th'excursion was too quickly planned,
And so out set his merry band
Without a word to Mum or Dad
Of where they all would go.
"So stormed the castle hastily --
In rage his Mum moved race-tilly --
To see where he had gone.
And to the king, her onetime fling,
This tempest in a teapot bring
Demanding where her son had ging --
(His home may have been Stable,
But his mother's very Un-).
"But in Not Talking, blood runs true;
The cat takes tongues as is his due,
And men, too, will be boys:
So while his Mum assailed the bum,
Beat the door 'til her hands were numb,
He calmly beat upon his drum
And matched her screams of anger
With an awful lot of noise.
"Meanwhile, the son has made a home
In Xanadu's fair pleasure dome
And here, impatient, waits.
For though they talk, his father balks
When he asks when he gets to Walk
So in the meantime he must stalk
The answers to his questions
With a certain Knightly date.
"And as for all the rest of us?
We're feeling all adventurous
And full of giddy cheer.
The king's delight is oh-so right:
The studio! Electric light!
And though I know it may sound trite --
The weather's quite amazing,
But I do wish you were here."
She grins broadly at both her cousins through the contact.
"Nice story." Ossian laughs "So we have a new cousin, one of the stable boys? I must be blind. Who is it?"
"In retrospect I'm really quite surprised I missed it, too," Folly says. "I'll give you a hint: it's his eyes that give him away." She grins, knowing that for an artist, that unusually bright shade of blue should indeed be a giveaway. Then again, perhaps Ossian hasn't spent quite as much time as she has gazing into the eyes of stableboys.
Marius shakes his head. "I had heard of Amberites hiding their get amongst the ships, but not amongst the horses. They swim quite well, but not sufficient enough to get from Amber to Mincart." In other words, ahem, he doesn't stare at the eyes of stableboys either.
Ossian is quiet for a number of seconds, thinking. "His mother thought it clever to hide him right under our noses? It must be that boy... he did run messages from time to time, didn't he?" Ossian suddenly grins
"-'Can I take that horse?'" he asks in a slightly mock voice "'Yes, my lord. '" Ossian answers himself and nods once, in an almost perfect imitation of Garrett.
Folly laughs merrily, and Ossian knows he has guessed exactly right.
"Indeed we have been blind. Can't say I remember his name though."
"He's called Garrett," Folly says, her voice tinged with fondness. "He's the one that taught me to ride when I first got to Amber. He's a great guy, if perhaps a bit overwhelmed at the moment at his newfound lot in life...."
With a sudden spark in her eye, she adds, "If you ever decide to sketch him, you should get him on a horse. He rides passionately. It's really quite beautiful to behold...."
"I'll remember that" Ossian says thoughtfully. He becomes quiet for a moment too long; maybe he tries to envision the trump. "I do think his brother might think that such a painting is inappropriate. After all that was Brand's pose on Dworkin's Trumps of him..."
Folly's eyes widen, and she nods: yeah, Martin may well have a thing or two to say about that.
"...but I'll do Garrett's one in a different manner."
"Yeah," Folly agrees, "that'd be a good idea. Those most likely to think the resemblance is due to your sense of humor are unfortunately the ones least likely to appreciate your sense of humor, I think...."
"Some of them might not even realise that I would only do it to taunt them." Ossian says with a sly grin. "My Brand Trump does not contain any horses."
"As for my tale, here it is" Ossian says, taking a deep breath.
This is a tale not all true from the journeys of Ossian and Marius.
Early they started, the morning was quiet, but something was breaking the stillness.
Beats from a drum could be heard far away, with a rhythm slow and even.
"Should we avoid getting close to the source of the drumming?" asked Marius.
"No", answered Ossian, his voice now excited "let's find out I'm curious".
Leaving their horses they slowly advanced 'til they came to a tower.
Tall, octagonal it stood there, surrounded by ruins and ashes.
Fire consumed long ago the whole place; everyone fled the village.
Now it was dead, empty and barren, the tower was all that was standing.
Still the same drumbeat was heard from the uppermost floor of the tower.
Ossian gritted his teeth, "Would it hurt with some variation?
Inside the tower, nothing was left but the uppermost level.
Hard to get up it would be with no stairs to the hatch in the ceiling.
There, on the floor lay remains of a man, from the hatch he had fallen.
"Look there", said Marius, "At least we'll get down, very quickly, if needed."
Finally, climbing, the boys reached the room at the top of the tower.
Nothing was there but the drum that sounded allover the district.
No one was beating but strangely the drum skin still boomed as if beaten.
"Let's have a look" whispered Ossian "Oh, something is written upon it."
"All fled the fire forgetting the poor man who gave them the warning."
"Therefore I curse them, this place and this drum, may it never be peaceful!"
Marius he cut it apart with his sword, now forever it's silenced.
"Missing a beat can be healthy at times" was Marius' conclusion.
Ossian furrows his brow a little when finished. Probably he's not fully satisfied with his own tale.
Folly grins. "Oh, sevens! That's quite good, and I've no trouble believing that it's mostly true. But don't tell our beloved monarch the part about cutting a drum in two, even if you made that bit up...."
She suddenly looks much more serious. "Oh, dear, I hope your magic drum isn't the herald of your usurper...."
"We'll see the Usurper whether we want it or not. But that place was very different from this. It felt kind of...dead, while this place is bustling. I haven't felt any tendency of decay here, have you, Marius?"
As an afterthought Ossian adds. "Hm. I wonder where those people went after the fire."
Marius looks up almost startled as if Ossian's comment had disturbed him from thinking. "Deeper. They went deeper," he says. "They always do," his frown fades almost before it reaches his lips. "Mostly true indeed," he adds to Folly. "I'm sorry. I had a thought that had distracted me," something like `My player has been sick for a week,' "but I don't see anything I can do to put action on it. I will see to our lodgings. It has been a pleasure, Folly," he says, before cutting out and doing exactly what he said he'd do. When he returns to the table it will be to pick up Ce'e and take him to their room(s).
At which point, he wishes to clean up and get some rest. His brain briefly wavers at doing something his player is going to need to ask the GMs about, but he is going to stretch out the travelling kinks (sounds like a band, eh?) and probably fall asleep.
Because, you know, he has nothing to fear from his dreams.
Ossian smiles fondly as Marius leaves "I like him a lot." he says to Folly when Marius has left. "But he seems to lack direction..."
Folly nods her agreement to both parts of Ossian's statement. "He has the soul of an Artist, but he doesn't seem to have found his art yet. He'd make a wonderful poet, though, don't you think?"
"He at least has the looks of a wonderful poet." Ossian smiles again "We probably only have to get him to start writing. Think about it, and we'll make a plan for that next time we talk."
[I think we can let the conversation drift into non-important chit-chat here...]
"One more thing. Could you carry a message to the king?" Ossian asks.
"Of course," Folly replies.
"Tell him I might have a solution of how to take a pretty large number of people from Amber to Xanadu. It will not move the whole population, only a small part, but it might still be worth considering."
Folly looks intrigued. "I will let him know," she says, "and I look forward to hearing more about it myself, too."
"Well, he was not too enthusiastic over my last suggestion. Maybe this is more to his taste.
"Oh, and this time it does not involve any geothermal activity." Ossian adds with a sly grin.
Folly laughs merrily. "I'm sure he and Amber will be relieved to hear it."
Still smiling, Folly says, "Good luck on your quest and take care of yourself, dear brother-who-is-not-my-brother; I'll call you again in a few days." Her eyes twinkle as she adds, "And say 'hi' to your sister for me, if you find her...."
"I'll do that. Take care."
And with one last fond smile, she closes the contact.
Meg is very busy for the rest of the afternoon, and doesn't get another chance to catch up with Ossian and Marius.
Meg doesn't mention her concerns about Ossian's appearance to Mo... Sister Prudence, but if she does get a chance to talk to her as she's helping her, she tries to draw her on anything she remembers about Ossian without rousing suspicion.
Sister Prudence does remember Ossian. He was a boy when Meg was there, and when Sister Prudence recalls some incidents, Meg finds that she vaguely remembers the boy herself. But the ages are all wrong, which Sister Prudence doesn't seem to recognize.
If she gets a chance to talk to Sis... Mother Humility, she mentions that someone has come wanting to look at the records but their story is a bit suspicious. She's done her best to stall them for a few days, but maybe it would be best to see exactly what they're looking for first, in case they're looking to harm St Trista's somehow. Meg adds in a good undertone of concern that it might be Political and damaging to Mother Humility and the political interests backing her.
Meg is indeed able to impart this message to Mother Humility, for which Mother Humility thanks her.
When she returns home, there is a message for her in the usual place--Jaimsey would like a word with her this evening.
Meg smiles involuntarily as she sees the message, and shifts the position of the pot of thyme by the back door to signal assent.
Late that evening, when everything is quiet, and everyone else has gone to bed, Jaimesy is waiting at the back door. After Meg lets him in and greets him, he takes her hands and tells her, "My Daisy, I have news for you, and not all of it's good."
Meg's hands, in his own, grip tightly. "Peter? Or Jacob?" she asks in horror. Her eyes rake his face looking for any sign.
"Oh, no, Daisy, not the boys. They're well enough." Jaimesy pulls her close as he speaks. Obviously whatever news he has has him so preoccupied that he didn't consider that Meg would interpret his comments that way.
Some of Meg's tension fades away as she wraps her arms around him in return. As long as her children are safe, she can cope with any other news.
"It's the news from Renady. The ships. I think--Meg, I don't think they're here to trade." Jaimesy looks almost frightened. "I think they may be here to lay ground for invading Renady."
Meg pulls back a little to look him in the face. "Invading? That..." she stops herself from saying that doesn't seem very likely simply to ease his fear, because it wouldn't work. He's smart enough to have reasons. "What makes you think that?"
"I've had lads keeping an eye on the men from the ships. So have some people I know in Renady. The reports I hear, well--if they were traders they'd be looking out for who to bribe to make their money, and they do some of that, for sure. But they're also looking for legbreakers as well as inside men, and they ask too many questions about the army. That's not something you do when you're just after trade terms. That's the kind of thing you might do if you were looking to take something over," Jaimsey explains.
"And why would they be looking for my kind of turf? If they're scouting, it's not for what I do."
Jaimsey looks into Meg's eyes. "I know it sounds crazy, but I have a bad feeling."
"Oh," Meg replies. She looks down at his chest then back at his face. "Oh, that does sound a bit off." She pulls away from Jaimsey and turns to the fireplace. She fetches the jug of perry warming by the fire and two cups. Her hands move automatically while her mind is busy thinking.
"Do you think they're preparing for next summer? It's a bit late in the season, isn't it? And who are they?"
"I don't know who they are. But this is their coin," Jaimesy says and pulls out a heavy silver piece that's never seen a clip. He hands it to Meg to look at.
Meg takes the coin, and automatically begins assessing it.
Meg has had enough experience with good coin and bad to have some idea of what a good coin feels like, and on a basic examination, which she suspects Jaimesy would also have given it, it seems like a fine one, one that the Carpers would be happy to receive in trade, if only for the metal value.
The obverse of the coin shows a man's head in profile. His hair is short and he is clean-shaven. There's also some writing in an unfamiliar script. The reverse has more of the writing, and the device of a horn.
"I've never seen one like it before," Meg says with a frown. "The first thing I thought was they could be from the East, looking to get back at them, but that makes no sense. If they had an army to invade Renady, they would have won the war with them. Unless one of the Eastern Princes got enough money out before Renady took over to buy an army?"
Jaimesy shakes his head. "I don't think so. I've seen some of their coin, and it's all animals, and the writing looks different. I think this is the new foreigners."
"It'd be a lot of trouble to re-mint coins, just to hide where the money was coming from," Meg muses aloud. "It's not us. You or I would have heard if Abford or any of the Alliance were planning an invasion. More's the pity, because with Renady overstretched, now'd be the time to do it. It's somebody who needs to ask, so they don't get regular news already."
Jaimesy nods in agreement.
Meg stops her rambling and thinks.
If Jaimsey doesn't say anything, a minute later she says "I met three men today, asking odd questions and at least one of them was lying badly. I was going to tell you about them anyway, because they didn't seem quite right, but they might be part of the same thing.
"They were mercenaries, or men at arms of some sort. At least two of them used to hard work, but also used to good food, good cloth and having people bow their heads to them."
"You're thinking they're foreign spies." It's not a question. "Tell me about them. Do you know where they're staying? I'll arrange for someone to take a look at them."
Meg's worried face breaks into a broad grin and she leans forward to plant a swift kiss on the tip of his nose. "You always could read my mind." She turns serious again. "I recommended the Red Fingered Man to them, because I know Chegwin owes you a favour or four. They want my help, so they've no good reason to slight my advice. I'd be grateful if someone could keep a quiet eye on them."
"Good girl," Jaimesy says, and lights up with a grin of his own. "I'll have someone look in on them."
"There's three of them, like I said. Two who look like brothers, or maybe cousins, but some sort of kin, and they were quiet, barely saying a dozen words between them. The other is the talker, though I don't know if he's the brains or simply the mouth. He's..." Meg pauses and looks for the right words. "He's introducing himself as Ossian, an orphan from St Trista's who was adopted by an 'uncle' as a small boy. I don't know if you remember Ossian, I think you left soon after he did, but I remember him as a little kid, maybe a handful of years younger than us. He'd be at least two score by now, approaching two score and ten. But the man I met today has little more than 20 some years to his name, whatever that may really be, or I'm the Empress of Gathsharba.
"But it's odd. It's like someone heard of a boy called Ossian once, but not directly, and thought it would be a useful excuse to come to Abford, but didn't know enough to get the details right. I couldn't think why anyone would want to come and poke around St Trista's if they were a fake, but your news makes it make more sense. A long lost son of the town returned after many years has a wonderful excuse to go around asking 'When were those walls built? And gosh it seems much busier than I remember, how many do you have in the watch these days?' and all sorts of tomfool questions." Meg finishes on a tone of disgust, knowing that she'd have happily answered such questions without a thought.
"I don't remember Ossian at all." Jaimesy shakes his head. "That's really strange. How much looking in do you think I need to do?"
Meg thinks. "I'm not sure. I want to know what they're really after, but who knows what that is? They've asked to look at the records at St Trista's because this 'Ossian'," Meg drops quotation marks around the name with quiet scorn, "claims to be looking for anything about his parents." A dark look flits across Meg's face. "Could you just check they're still there and so on? And any gossip about them that floats about?"
"That much will be easy. Chegwin will keep an eye on them."
"Oh, good," replies Meg.
Jaimesy frowns. "I wonder what's in the records at St. Trista's? You've got access to them. Can you go through them and see if there's anything interesting? Something that might make it worthwhile to send this 'Ossian' here. Maybe someone is looking for a child who's not really an orphan and there's some proof in the records about it or something." The last sentence isn't quite a question, but Jaimesy's tone rises speculatively nevertheless.
"I'll try have a look tomorrow. Both for anything about the actual Ossian, and then anything that seems interesting in the years this Ossian is asking about. And if that doesn't show anything up, I suppose I look through the lot from beginning to end." Meg grins. "It's only two hundred years of records to go through.
"At least there's things I can do," she says. She frowns and continues, "but these men on the ship..." she takes up the coin again and feels the weight in her hand. "What's to do about them?"
"I'll be looking into that, and seeing if I can figure out who this 'Ossian' is going to report back to when it's all done." Jaimesy makes a grumpy noise. "But for now, my Daisy, I think we've better ways to spend our evening than worrying about what we'll fix tomorrow. Don't you?"
He gives Meg a wicked grin.
Meg returns the grin. "Oh, you think, do you? Just when I thought I knew all your ideas, now you tell me you've got a new one," she teases.
"C'mere and I'll show you," he suggests.
Much later, after Jaimesy has left, Meg retires alone. She has disturbing dreams, but cannot recall them when she awakens.
Last modified: 11 May 2005