Sister Prudence takes Ossian and Reid to Sister Courage's office. She isn't there, but one of the other sisters, a young, pretty thing, tells them that she is with Mistress Carper in the treasury, so they go to a small room in the heart of the orphanage where they find the two women.
The newcomers find Meg and Sister Courage putting away some coin chests. Meg seems to be doing most of the putting, and if those chests are filled with coins, she's a lot stronger than most of the people of Abford.
[Um, query. Why would the treasury have chests that would be too heavy for the a sister alone to lift? Then the treasurer would not be able to do her job. Aren't cash chests traditionally pretty small for precisely that reason? So they look ickle and dinky, but if you drop one on your foot, you're likely to be crippled for life.
Also, Meg is moving the chests slowly and carefully, as specified previously, knows her own strength, and is in the habit of hiding it. Not saying that they can't pick up on her hiding it, just reminding you it's an ingrained habit she's had all her life.]
[The chests are not too heavy for a sister to lift, but they're significantly lighter for Meg than for Sister Courage. The lads are looking for signs that Meg is out of the ordinary. Meg would have to be very good at concealing her strength from people who are very good at spotting things and looking for evidence for them not to have any clues.]
Meg is a neat little woman, almost running to plump, dressed in warm brown tones. She has a full skirted dress, and her head is covered in a scarf, hiding her hair completely. If her hair matches her brows, it's dark brown. Her eyes are grey. And at the moment, she's rather dusty, with smears on her skirt, and a slight smudge above her right brow, where she's obviously rubbed her hand without realising.
Meg looks surprised at the men's arrival.
"Master Rand, good day to you," Meg smiles a greeting. She looks from Ossian to Reid, and her gaze stays on Reid, looking slightly puzzled.
"This is Master Reid, another relative of mine, who also happened to be here." Ossian says "Reid, meet Mrs. Carper. She is the friend I spoke about the other night."
"Another kinsman," Meg exclaims. "How nice for you!" It's not that she's insincere, more surprised and running on social pleasantries.
Reid smiles slightly and bows.
Sister Prudence starts to explain what Ossian is looking for--his uncle's donation--and Sister Courage laughs. "All our good work undone, Mistress Carper! At least we know which chest to bring down now."
Reid offers to assist in any lifting if necessary, and manages to do so without implying that he thinks Meg isn't up to the job. Years of time spent with Brita have helped him fine tune his technique in such offers. ["Yes, I know you can lift that ox cart out of the mud without any help, but I can at least offer, can't I?"]
"Oh thank-you, sir!" Meg replies with every appearance of gratitude. "It's that one. These chests are always heavier than they look, don't you find?"
"Why not take it out to the office since it's a bit of a squeeze in here for all of us?"
Meg moves to lead the way. "I usually get my sons to lift cash boxes for me. Once my eldest dropped one on the stairs. It stayed locked, but it would almost have been better if it had broken open, for it put the largest dent in the banister," Meg chatters over her shoulder as she heads to Sister Courage's office.
Reid ticks off the lies, one by one in his head as he helps.
The boxes aren't too heavy for a man to lift, but they are by no means light and while Reid has no trouble, he observes that even with her natural caution, Meg handles them more easily than he does.
A few minutes later, Sister Courage has located the correct box, unlocked it, and displayed its contents for Reid and Ossian to see. When Ossian picks up and examines the coin, he immediately recognizes the glyphs around the edge: Uxmali.
Cool.
Some questions: Are all the coins exactly alike? If there are differences, are these small, like different year markings, or are they more substantial? What more than the Uxmail glyphs can be found on the coins?
The reverse, which Ossian started with, is full of Uxmali glyphs in some sort of frame with curlicues around it. The obverse is Brand's face in profile, which unfortunately emphasizes his weak chin. There are more glyphs around the edges of the coins.
There are gold and silver denominations. Ossian hasn't learned enough Uxmali to know what the differences in the writing are. Could be denominations, could be mottoes, could be any number of things.
"These come from him alright." Ossian turns towards Sister Courage "Would it be possible to buy two or three of these from you? I would like to bring them to an expert.
"Yes." Ossian sounds a bit distant as he looks very closely at the coin. Reid will probably immediately realise that Ossian is talking to someone over trump.
"It is a rather disturbing that you should turn up in the treasury of this orphanage."
Sisters Courage and Prudence look a little confused. Reid can tell they don't quite understand the antecedent of the pronoun.
Meg hangs back a little to give Ossian room to look at the coins, and just happens to be standing by the doorway. She tucks her basket under her arm and clasps her hands in front of her.
As Ossian inspects the coins, she addresses Reid, though she is obviously paying attention of Ossian. "Well, Master Reid," she says with the air of one making conversation with a freshly introduced acquaintance at a dinner party, "did you meet up with Ossian and his fellows by plan, or was it lucky chance?"
"Chance, indeed. I'm not sure if luck had anything to do with it though. I was searching for an area where I had spent time as a child... a place called Clervaux. I believe I found its ruins, as it seems to have been vacated for quite some time. It was upon leaving that place that I picked up on what happened to be my cousin's trail that eventually led me here."
Reid seems amused, and saddened at the same time. "It belies how similar we are, in spite of our resistance to familiarity, that we'd be both investigating our childhoods at this time."
Meg looks intrigued. "What were you looking for in your childhood?" She wracks her brain. "I've never heard of Clervaux. Where was it?"
Reid sighs. "A few days hard ride from here, at most. Clervaux was a city of learning, with a collection of private colleges and institutions, as well as those run by the church. My mother and grandmother had brought me there in my youth but when I departed to search for the battlefield where my father fell, I lost touch with my women elders." Reid knows this won't generate a great deal of sympathy from an orphan who knew neither parent, but tells his story in an empathetic tone, nonetheless.
Meg's eyes widen. "Oh, so you're looking for your mother?" she asks and stretches out a hand as though to touch Reid's arm. But she stops before touching him, and clasps her hands together over the handle of her basket to stop them straying again.
After some thirty seconds or so of silence, Ossian puts back the coin he studied and picks up two others. One silver, one gold, both as newly minted as he can find.
"With your permission I will take these two coins" he says, placing a small stack of gold coins from his own puch on the table, their collective weight being about twice that of the two Uxmali coins together. The pace and intensity in Ossian's voice has changed. Gone is the playfulness, replaced by authority, more authority than Reid has ever heard Ossian use. "This should more than cover their value"
Sister Courage, perhaps a little startled at Ossian's sudden change in tone, accepts the coins. "Thank you, Master Rand." She begins examining the coins he just handed her.
He immedeatly turns towards Meg "Ms. Carper. I need to talk with you now. There are some things you need to know."
Meg frowns unconsciously at the strange prefix, but turns to return Ossian's look. "What do I need to know?" she asks in genuine surprise. "What's wrong with the coins?"
"Well, they do have the face of the man that fetched me on them." Ossian says with a smile as he puts the coins into his pocket. "But no, the coins are not the reason I need to talk to you. You see..."
Ossian shakes his head "Marius was supposed to do this, he went looking for you this morning." Ossian shrugs "We are in a bit of a hurry, our Enemies have found their way here too, so we are going to leave Abford as soon as possible. Otherwise we put ourselves and the city in peril."
Meg's expression shifts through fear and worry to determination.
Ossian hopes that Reid is as clever as everyone claims. He picks a stack of cards out of a small leather case he has in another pocket. "Say, Meg. Your children, are they stepchildren or actually children of your blood?"
Meg ignore the later question. The earlier news occupies the whole of her attention.
"Leave now then, if you put Abford in danger," she says. She looks from Ossian to Reid and back again, her eyes imploring them to do as she says. "Stop only to tell us of your enemy, so we are warned, and leave." Meg extends her left hand towards Sister Courage and Sister Prudence, presuming to include them in her next statement. "We would offer you any help we can in finding your heritage, but Abford is not built for war and we cannot defend you against trouble that follows in your footsteps."
Sister Prudence, who is behind Ossian and Reid, cannot really step through to join Meg in the little closet that serves as St. Trista's treasury, but Sister Courage comes to stand beside her, taking Meg's hand and looking for all the world like her namesake virtue.
"Meg, " Ossian says, almost pleading now. "I will tell you what I know about our enemies. But that information is dangerous. The sisters will not benefit from knowing, it will be dangerous to them. But you need to know.
"Let's get out in the corridor."
It is at this point that Ossian feels the tickle of a trump contact.
[Marius runs] back to the Red Fingered Man, gives himself a second to compose outside so he doesn't look to be in too much of a hurry, and then saunters _quickly_ up to the rooms, with an eye towards catching Papillon if possible. Otherwise, he'll gather Ce'e to himself, in a not-spooky-Chaosian-way.
Ce'e is in the chamber Ossian and Marius slept in last night, waiting for his Lord. Papillon is not in the inn; perhaps she is shopping in Abford.
"My Lord, what has happened? You seem very disturbed," Ce'e asks.
Marius schools himself to calm. "I did not expect to need to leave in haste, but events have been arranged," he says that smoothly, as if the thought that coincidence is but unobserved whim had occurred to him previously, "so that leisure is not an option." He gathers his and Ossian's things, glad that both he and his Cousin observed the rules of packing smart and packing light.
He looks at Ce'e, after gathering the packs. "I am still ignorant of much of your knowledge, Sir Ce'e. I hope for opportunities to learn more of you. Are you ready to travel once again?"
Once Ce'e has answered in the affirmative, Marius will attempt his Trump of Ossian once more.
[The trump thing here is assuming it is Marius on the other end]
//You ok?// Ossian seems rather stressed.
"Got Ce'e, no sign of Papillion."
Meg looks really worried at Ossian's level of emotion. She studies his face, then comes to a decision.
"I will take you to Councillor Cooper," she says. She stoops to pick up her basket. "He can call the Watch Captain and other things. And he will see me straight away."
She stands expectantly by the door, ready to leave.
The sisters look to Meg for guidance on whether they should permit her to leave the room with these two strange men.
Meg waits for the men to go through the doorway first. If they will do so, she'll nod to the sisters to follow too. As Sister Courage passes her, reaches out to touch her wrist gently.
"Come with me to the street door," she mouths silently.
Sister Courage nods. She looks a little frightened, but very determined. Sister Prudence seems less concerned by Ossian's strange behavior.
Ossian moves toward the door slowly, sounding a bit tired: "Soon, but first I need to talk to you, Meg."
//If you have another Trump, use it, and call me back immediately. Be prepared to pull me through.// The words leave Ossian's mind as machine gun fire.
Marius nods, perhaps a bit confused, closing the contact.
"Meg, I know I haven't given you any reason to trust me." Ossian says. He has halted when he sees the sisters following. "And I don't expect you to. But this is for your ears alone. I don't mind if they watch us talking, if that makes you feel better. I would prefer if the sisters didn't hear it, though.
"But if you want to expose them to the risk, it is up to you." he adds, with a hint of anger in his voice.
Reid gives Meg his best "My cousin's not insane. Really." look -- both compassionate and earnest.
Meg lifts her chin.
"If matters are so urgent, I don't know what you're standing around here for," she says. She nods down the corridor. "The street door is that way. You can talk with me as we walk. If you keep your voice low, nobody will overhear us in the street. And we'll get to the councillor faster and you can get out of here."
Meg tilts her head but her chin remains high.
"That works." says Ossian with a weak smile. Then he turns to Reid
"Reid." Ossian says "Since we did not plan for this; do you want to go find Papillon, or will she manage without us?"
Reid replies, "I fully expect that she can take care of herself, but times being what they are, I think keeping her close would be preferred."
To Ossian, Reid adds, "Contact me if flight becomes imminent."
Reid then turns to Meg, "A pleasure meeting you. I hope we're able to talk again soon, under less hurried circumstances."
Meg boggles at Reid. "If the Goddess wills it." Though her manner is polite it's fairly clear that Meg feels that if the Goddess has any sense or compassion, she'll do nothing of the sort.
With a bow, both to Meg and the onlooking Nuns, Reid twirls his cloak grandly, and moves on to make a hasty exit in search of his companion.
"Goodbye," says Sister Prudence. Sister Courage looks to Meg to see what to do next.
Meg looks to Ossian, her surprise plain, "Will he be alright wandering around the orphanage by himself? Not to cast aspersions on your friend, but we don't usually let strange men in unsupervised. To protect the children from unnatural folk," Meg explains.
Ossian nods "Sure, he'll find his way out. And he's no danger to the children."
"It's not that far to the door, dear," Sister Prudence reminds her. And it's not like he'll be wandering among the dormitories."
Her body language still indicates her willingness to get away from the treasury and walk towards the exit after Reid.
Ossian will follow Meg whichever route she chooses out of the orphanage.
The nuns will go with them both.
[Marius's] player is assuming that Ossian meant to use another Trump of someone else, and then pull Ossian to 'safety.' He looks through his deck. Not seeing the card he really wants, he chooses another.
Marius tries Caine's trump. After all, he should be given...information.
Caine takes a moment to answer. "Who?" he asks.
[Assuming Marius identifies himself.]
Which he does, promptly.
The image solidifies. Caine is somewhere in Castle Amber, from the look of the background. He looks tired and through the trump contact, Marius can sense that Caine is somewhat annoyed, although probably not at him. "Marius, where are you? There's been an attack on the castle, and one of your cousins is dead."
Marius' first instinct is to ask, "Who?" but his training holds, and he answers. "Abford, sir, the shadow of Ossian's known origins, and similarly under attack. Is it safe to return to Amber, or should I find safe harbor somewhere else?"
"The assault here is over," Caine replies grimly. "Adonis is no more. Brita was burned; two servants died. What colors do your enemies fly?" He offers his hand to Marius.
"Tragic," Marius murmurs with sufficient sympathy. Brita's wounds are of more concern to Marius than the death(s), and perhaps there is a brief moment of guilt about that, but neither seems to be remarked upon. "The Knight Ce'e first," he suggests to Caine's outstretched hand, as a matter of security.
[presuming Caine allows Ce'e to transfer first and all goes well with that, Marius will follow]
Caine looks less than pleased, but he takes Ce'e and brings the Chaosian through, and then brings Marius to him. They are in Caine's office in Castle Amber.
Caine can just suck it up. It's better than leaving a Chaosian somewhere in Shadow where he might be picked up by the enemy.
Erm.
"Suck it up" is my phrase for it. Not Marius'. Marius would be very carefully concentrating on that last part.
Here Ce'e can be reprogrammed if necessary. A little infusion of Order is calming, right?
"I overheard that they held the device of a Horn. Have you," he pauses perhaps significantly, "had any similar occurances?"
Caine pauses and looks hard at Marius for a moment. "That's a device I haven't heard of in centuries. The name it belongs to, however, has come up recently in circumstances that leave me less than pleased when I combine it with your news. We'll need to talk to brother Bleys and let him know that whatever pocket shadow he stuffed the b*****d into didn't keep him." Caine grins with feral anticipation at Marius.
Marius looks intrigued, his smile growing despite himself at the thought of Bleys on the hotseat. "I would be glad to, Uncle," he says, the familial relationship rising to the top of the feelings of connection, at least briefly. It also says, "My information is yours," if only because it pleases Marius so much to see what a master of such things can do with it. (Funny, that's one of my kinks, too. Um.) "I would also," Marius continues aloud, "note that I must contact Ossian momentarily, for if I am not mistaken, he is in careful negotiations with a woman we found there and believe to be of the Blood."
"Bloody pit," Caine swears disgustedly. "Am I the only man in this family who can keep his trousers buttoned? What makes you and Ossian think she's one of us?"
Marius chuckles aloud. "I have considered the thinking that what is spread far and wide is in less danger of destruction, Uncle, but I have not had the urge to create a dynasty." That's as familial and intimate as he's going to get with Caine, so Big Change Of Subject Now.
Caine's scowl is disapproving, but he doesn't say anything.
Good. Marius was _so_ close to Squick.
"It culminated from a combination of efforts, including a Scrying and some faint pieces of evidence that pointed to that conclusion. Enough to test it, at any rate." The latter makes it sound like, "Oh, you know, the usual superiourity complex. Better, faster, different." His smile fades a little. "The Usurper," he says aloud. "That also showed up." Little hints and pieces are connecting in his brain.
"The proper interpretation of that card is usually either completely clear or completely hidden. My working theory is that it was a placeholder for the horn."
Oh good, the bluff went through. Marius nods, lost for a moment in thought, or perhaps even memory.
"How do you plan to test your theory about this woman? And what are we doing about the safety of your cousin Ossian in this Abford?"
"I had hoped to interview her gently, and then apply some better tests, perhaps those of strength or even power," Marius says. "However, we were interrupted before I, Ossian, or our visiting Cousin Reid," yeah, probably should mention him, too, "could accomplish this. I should Trump him now," he suggests, moving towards a wall or someplace best out of the way before trying Ossian's Trump once more.
"Do so," the Admiral says, with a nod of his head. "I would very much like to meet someone who convinces the three of you that she is of us."
Good, he can deal with a knife.
Well, for that matter, so could Marius, but it's fun watching Ossian squirm.
Marius nods, smiling, and will try Ossian's Trump.
Ossian starts walking down the corridor, deliberately walking slower than Reid. As soon as Reid gets out of sight, Ossian starts shadowshifting. (Minor things, like the shape of the floor tiles, details in decoration, etc. The idea is that Meg should not catch it until they are well outside the orphanage.)
The shifts seem very abrupt, but Meg is preoccupied with other things and doesn't notice the changes Ossian is instituting.
[cards: Death for Ossian, the Griffin reversed for Meg]
"Your children, Meg." Ossian says as they walk down the corridor. "It's important if our enemies come here. Are they your step-children?"
"Leave my children out of this," Meg replies. "I don't know what you want, but they're no threat to you." Her voice is full of both dread and determination.
"That's not why..." Ossian sighs "Ok. We'll leave them for the moment."
When they reach the door to the street, Ossian will try to make sure that Meg does not shut it between them, preferably by holding up for her - he can be a gentleman...
On the country, Meg quickly looks out into the street. She's looking to see how many people are in the street. She's plotting out a route to the watch house that will follow the most populous streets, so she is alone with Ossian as little as possible.
The street that they have opened out onto seems normal enough to Ossian, but Meg knows at once that this is not the familiar road that she would use to go into town or home from St. Trista's. The street is busy, but Meg recognizes none of the people walking around. Their manner of dress is different" the colors and the fabrics are wrong, and the language they speak is subtly off from the tongue of Abford.
Sister Courage gasps and grasps Sister Prudence's hand. "Where are we?" Sister Prudence asks, and she sounds very frightened.
Meg turns on Ossian in an instant, whipping the breadknife out of her basket.
[Aim is to get the knife against this throat.]
Ossian tries to catch her arm, and keep the knife away from his throat. He use the opportunity to judge her strength, and show his own strength to her. This is a purely defensive move; he does not want to disarm her, just keep the knife a decimeter or two away.
"Demon!" she shouts, "What have you done?"
"Please be rational about this, Meg. You are not in Abford anymore. If you kill me, you cannot get back." Ossian looks into her eyes, his own showing compassion and some fear, his voice is calmer and cooler than his eyes suggest. As he puts his Trump deck back into his pocket with his free hand he adds "Besides, if I'm a demon, you are a demon too."
[card: the Defender upright for Meg. Sucks to be you, Ossian.]
Meg has the knife at Ossian's throat. She's not much stronger than he is, if at all, but she has a handy turn with that bread knife and slips by his attempt to grab her and ward her off.
Sister Prudence and Sister Courage stare at Ossian and Meg, aghast.
There is an explosion from somewhere not that far away. If they were in Abford, Meg would say someone was assaulting the walls.
Having got inside his guard Meg keeps the knife at his throat. She's holding it like a veteran of street fights.
"Undo the charm," she orders. "Put the world back!" just in case she didn't make herself clear.
She smiles suddenly, "Or I'll cut your hands."
Ossian quickly puts his hands behind his back, leaving himself pretty exposed to the knife.
He raises his voice (not quite shouting, but close), sounding angry and upset: "Listen to me for once! Getting us back there would be death or worse for you and me. If you really want to help your family and Abford you will come with me instead. As it is you stand no chance against that." he makes a slight nod in the direction of the explosion. "We can help you."
It's at this point that Ossian feels a trump contact forming in his mind.
//Marius?//
//Are you in Amber?//
"I'm here." Marius is going to reach out immediately. Reid and his butterfly can figure something out; the Family is nothing if not resourceful.
//She has a knife. I'm in negotiations. Just hold.//
"I can see we're going to get along quite well," Marius says. He will continue to hold.
Meg can see that Ossian is somehow distracted, but cannot tell what he's seeing.
Meg takes advantage of his distraction to grab him, keeping the dagger a threat. She tries to drag him back inside the doorway they just stepped out of.
Ossian does not struggle, but will try grab Meg with one of his hands (just establishing a firm grip, preferably on her arm)
Another explosion comes from the walls. People are rushing by, but they're not stopping. Most of them seem to be either fleeing the walls, or running toward them as defenders. "We have to get to shelter," Sister Courage says. "What should we do?"
"Get inside," says Meg. The building may not be St Trista's orphanage anymore, but it's solid.
The nuns scurry back into the orphanage.
[Assuming Meg pulls Ossian within walls]
Sister Courage slams the door shut behind them.
"You," [Meg] says to Ossian. "Talk fast."
There is a sign of relief on Ossians face. "I took you out of Abford because you are a member of my family. Sister or cousin. So you would not fall into the hands of those guys." he tilts his head in the direction of the artillery once again "And so you can get tools to fight them with.
"I stand in contact with cousin Marius. He's in a safe place. I can get you all there within seconds."
Marius will wait patiently; he's got enough endurance to hold this for a while, I think.
"You can get me what I need to save Abford?" Meg asks, not quite daring to believe it but hope still rising in her voice. "In no more than seconds?" Meg things fast. "Give me a dozen men at arms and take us back to Abford within the hour, and I will go with you."
Ossian shakes his head. "In seconds, I can get you to a safe place, not save Abford. And you can't help Abford until you know how to get back there by yourself.
"I will help you with that. And help you fight them afterwards." The desperation in Ossian's voice is rising again. "For mercy's sake, let's get us and the sisters out of here."
"Not good enough!" shouts Meg. "How dare.." Meg gives Ossian a look of pure loathing and shuts her lips firmly. She steps away from him and lowers her knife a little.
"You're useless, aren't you? Well, take us to someone who isn't," says Meg, sounding tired.
Ossian has a number of weaknesses. Pride is not one of them. He sounds a bit more calm, there is even a hint of a smile on his lips. "I will try to do that.
"I will send you through one and one to cousin Marius. It might look a bit scary from this side, but I assure you it is not dangerous. I think we should start with you." Ossian hold out his hand to Sister Prudence.
//Two nuns first, then Meg.//
As Prudence passes Meg, Meg reaches out and quickly squeezes her hand. She gives her a smile, trying to hide her worry.
Sister Prudence takes Ossian's hand and he passes her through to Marius. Meg sees Sister Prudence vanish in rainbow colors; it's like nothing she's ever seen before. Beside her, she can hear Sister Courage murmuring a prayer to the Goddess.
Meg gasps.
Another explosion shakes the building. Still outside, but nearer. They may have breached the walls, based on the nearness of the sounds.
Sister Courage looks at Meg, then reaches out to Ossian.
Meg's eyes are still wide, but she bites her lip and maintains her self-control.
She nods. "Sister Prudence will worry if we take too long in following her," she says to Sister Courage.
Ossian hands Sister Courage through to Marius.
Once Sister Courage has gone through Meg drops her knife into her basket, and holds out her hand to Ossian.
Ossian smiles warmly towards Meg as he takes her hand "You are brave." Then he sends her too through.
"That was a trial" Ossian says to Marius and reaches for his hand.
Reid leaves the orphanage with no trouble, and finds himself out in the courtyard near the church. There are people moving about purposefully, more than would be accounted for in the normal course of business. Reid can sense that something is happening in the town: the people seem anxious and frightened.
Since the natives are restless, Reid will look for the parts that are out of place -- scanning for the person who's been caught up in the shuffle but isn't actually vibrating at the same frequency as everybody else; the loose ball in the pinball machine. He'll traverse the town veering purposefully towards any shops that he think would interest his traveling companion, and work in a serpentine fashion up and down the streets eventually ending at the inn if he hasn't spotted her before then.
As Reid starts to search the town, he notices that the people are going in two directions: men, some of whom are armed, are headed out toward the walls. Women and children are headed into town. Shops, taverns, and such are mostly closed. It's hard to tell what's out of place, other than a few people like himself, who are moving slowly.
There's a distant noise Reid recognizes: whistling, then an explosion. Cannon fire. The pace of the women and children moving into the center of town picks up.
Reid doesn't think he has very long until he's either drafted to defend the walls or into a fire brigade, such as the bucket-carriers running toward the wall in the wake of the explosion.
Papillon is nowhere in sight on this street.
Reid continues his search with a bit more urgency, and a hand on his dagger. He's likely to slit the throat of the first person to try to stop him against his will.
Perhaps the locals sense the trouble in Reid's expression, because they leave him alone as he searches the town. Intermittent explosions come from the area of the walls; Reid doesn't think Abford can hold out very long against them. But it's strange that they would have been able to bypass the sentries completely, unless it happened suddenly, or there was some magic involved.
It reminds him of what he's learned about the demise of Clervaux.
Not long after he turns back toward the inn where he was staying, he sees Papillon. She catches sight of him and pushes her way through the crowd toward him. Reid can sense that she's terrified; she looks like she's about to cry from either terror or relief.
An explosion punctuates her approach, and Reid misses her first words, shouted over the noise in the street. "--surrounded! How do we get out of here?"
As Reid reaches her he's already pulling out his trump deck. Quickly ariving at his trump of the cafe in Paris, he takes Papillion's hand and prepares for their exit, attempting to open a connection that will lead them to safety.
Reid opens the connection, not without some difficulty from the distractions, and he and Papillon step through into Cafe Tubulaire. There is a moment when a number of the patrons and staff look at them strangely, perhaps because arrival in a stream of rainbows is not the norm, but they are Parisians, so in a moment they go on about their business.
Papillon is shocked, but relieved to be away and out of the war zone. Reid can feel her trembling slightly in his grasp.
[Does Reid want to rest in the cafe, go back to his rooms, go to the castle, or something else?]
Reid leads his travelling companion to the nearest empty table where he seats her, then himself, and quickly orders some food and drink.
He keeps his cards out on the table in front of him, but doesn't let them distract him from his company. "So... did you see anything about where the attacks were coming from?"
Papillon is still clutching Reid's hand. "Not exactly. Outside the wall, like there was an army trying to take the town. I don't know who it was, either, but I did hear someone say that Renady had fallen the same way. Whatever Renady is ..."
From his vantage point with his back to a wall, Reid sees his friend and neighbor M. Caniche come into the cafe. He notices Reid and Papillon, and begins to make his way toward the rear of the cafe toward them.
"Reid," he says when he arrives at the table, "I'm glad you're back in town. Someone from the palace sent a messenger for you yesterday and he's been hanging around waiting for you ever since." He bows politely to Papillon, who smiles nervously at him.
"Could I trouble you to send him here? I'm afraid we've just come from an experience that has put us in a bit of a shock, and it's best that we re-gather our wits here rather than dash off after a possible moving target." Reid's request is kindly put so as to draw sympathy from his neighbor. One look should also impart that Papillon's nerves are on high alert and should back up Reid's excuse not to look for the messenger on his own. (Reid himself is more collected than his companion, but he takes the brunt of it in his explanation rather than call attention to her uncharacteristic frailty.)
"Of course. I'll go immediately," Caniche says. "Let me know if there's anything I can do." He pats Papillon reassuringly on the arm, and bows before making his way out of the cafe.
Papillon watches Caniche go for a moment before turning her attention back to Reid. "We're safe here, aren't we?"
Reid gives her his best reassuring look. "We're safe here. For now. Firstly, there's no direct indication that the forces behind this are even aware of my existence, so the likelihood of them following me is slim. Second, if it were their intent to wish me harm, they are not likely to expect me to arrive here, nor for them to have a direct route which would bring them here so swiftly. At the moment, we know that something is happening and that it is spreading, but we don't have enough information to second guess the motives behind the actions. Perhaps the messenger will be able to shed more light..."
Their drinks arrive, and Papillon has something to steady her nerves. Not long after, their food arrives and Reid and Papillon are able to indulge themselves in a fine meal.
It is about the time when they are considering indulging themselves in an after-dinner brandy or something similarly fortifying that Corwin's messenger arrives. He is escorted by a gendarme, who is no doubt the real source of the discomfort of Reid's neighbors. The maitre d'hotel points him to Reid, and he comes over and presents himself with a bow to Reid and Papillon.
"A message from His Majesty. I am to wait for a reply." He hands Reid a sealed note.
The note is as follows:
Nephew,
I hope this message finds you well. Please forgive the overbearing nature of the messenger; I needed to be sure you would receive it as soon as possible.
There has been an attack on Amber. Your cousin Adonis, Julian's son, is dead, and Brita was injured. She is expected to recover, but she was burned trying to save Adonis. There is to be a memorial service in Amber tomorrow. If you would like to attend, come up to the castle as soon as possible and we'll go together.
Your uncle,
Corwin
Reid frowns slightly, wrinkling his nose as he imagining the burning flesh of his cousin before recalling that she has been on the other end of the torch in the past. His eyes flutter over the table, taking in what is available. Taking a white napkin off the table and a piece of graphite from one of his pockets he neatly writes: "1+? to Amber within the hour". Folding the napkin into a crude, but tight self-contained envelope, he dribbles some wax from the candle and seals it with the back of his fork, twice, in a criss-cross fashion, before handing the parcel back to the messenger. His eyes go directly to Papillon, allowing the messenger to depart without so much as a dismissal. "There has been some trouble at home--we're rallying the family, and, unfortunately, requiring a funeral, which I should attend. I should leave anon, after a quick visit to my rooms, as our belongings have been left in Abford. You may, of course, join me, as far as Amber or just to the Castle if you wish to see your brother. While a brandy here might be nice, the King might have a better store. If Corwin deems Paris in danger, your brother may join us to Amber as well."
Reid lets her collect herself for an answer before making any move to depart the table or her company.
Papillon takes a moment to think before agreeing to come with Reid to the palace at least, and probably to Amber as well.
They find their way back to Reid's garret and collect a change or two of clothes, then to Papillon's rooms for the same. When the cab deposits them at the Louvre, they are dressed in sober, dark clothes suitable for a funeral.
Reid's name procures immediate admission to the presence of the sovereign, who greets them both. He's dressed in the height of Edwardian fashion, in the severest of funeral garb with only the slightest of silver touches. "Reid. I'm glad they were able to find you. I didn't know whether you'd left the city or not, but Merlin said you hadn't answered trump attempts, so I was beginning to worry."
"We were out and about for a bit. Ran into cousins Ossian and Marius and might have found a new relative at the nexus of that encounter. If they made it out OK, I expect we'll be seeing the recent discovery Amberside." Reid replies, pleasantly.
Corwin looks mildly surprised. "I'll want to hear that tale after our duty in Amber is discharged." He turns to Papillon. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure, mademoiselle ..." and he trails off, waiting for her to supply a name.
"Papillon," she says after a moment.
"Mademoiselle Papillon, welcome to the Louvre. Will you be joining us in Amber? We need to leave immediately to arrive at the funeral on time."
Papillon looks at Reid for a cue. Reid feels she is nervous about the prospect of meeting his family, but would very much like to stay with him.
"If we can manage to keep the funeral less chaotic than the coronation, which, knowing this bunch, seems increasingly doubtful, the trip to Amber should at the very least be an aesthetically pleasing diversion." Reid smiles at his companion sympathetically.
Corwin is thumbing through his well-worn card deck for his Amber trump.
Reid smiles to himself thinking, "the house always wins..." and takes Papillon's arm to guide her through the gateway once ready.
Corwin finds the trump and looks around. "If I were winning, Rein wouldn't be off with Jerod now, when I need him. No matter." He stares at the trump, willing the contact to open. His hand reaches out and grasps Reid's and the three of them arrive at the gates of Castle Amber. The flags are lowered in mourning.
Papillon is still a bit surprised by the trumps, and clings to Reid's arm.
Last modified: 22 August 2005