Assuming there's no public lynching of Jerod at the Council meeting (a highly dubious prospect at best in his view), shortly after the meeting, Jerod collects his secretary and arranges for a variety of meetings, lunches, dinners and outings with various people. They will get invitations, requests, and notes as the situation requires (invitations for meals, requests for reports, notes for personal stuff).
To Conner - the new kid as it were (only jokingly of course), Jerod wants to arange a lunch to hear about Rebma. That's one of the first priorities on his list. The only thing that comes before that is a breakfast with his sister. He gets an invite.
Conner gladly accepts and suggests Conner's table at the Naval.
A good club...(would have been Jerod's choice if Dad hadn't told him to go to the Diogenes instead). And he arrives just slightly ahead of time.
To find Conner already awaiting him. He rises from his book and glass of wine and greets Jerod with a handshake and brilliant smile. "So glad to get the chance to finally sit with down you, Jerod."
Jerod makes his way through the club, nodding to one or two individuals with whom he has a passing acquaintance before reaching Conner's chair. He returns the handshake firmly and the smile, though not as brilliant, appears sincere...:)
"It's been a busy few days. Thanks for taking out some time so we could talk."
"My pleasure." Conner nods. "We have many stories to share. But as you called the meeting, you can go first. What would you like to know?"
Jerod settles into a comfortable chair, waiting until a glass of something dark brown and strong arrives before beginning.
"Anything in regards to Rebma would be welcome." he says. "It's been since before the Sundering since I've seen anyone there. There's no major damage I hope? The Queen is alright?"
"Aside from the stairs to the surface collapsing, Rebma was untouched." Conner replies. "There was no seaquake to match what happened in Amber. I was rather surprised to see all the damage when I arrived here." Conner sips his wine. "The Queen and all the royals were fine. Aside from things being lean due the lack of trade, it was all business as usual."
"And the Queen's daughter, my mother? She is well also?" Jerod asks, his expression focussing a bit.
Conner nods yes. "Your mother was fine as was all her holdings."
"How familiar are you with the Queen's personal staff?" Jerod asks. "There is a woman in particular, who serves as an archivist. Her name is Carina."
"Carina." Conner muses. "I don't recall any specific information about her. You might try H'argarel or Thalia of Gateway." Conner suggests. "They were closer to the court than I."
"I'm figuring neither of them came with you." Jerod replies. "It was a long shot however. I wasn't figuring you'd know her except in passing."
"Both of them came with me and are here in Amber." Conner replies. "That's why I suggested you speak with them."
An eyebrow goes up momentarily. "Ah, then I shall arrange to do so." he says. "My thanks."
Conner nods. "Without their aid I would not have escaped Rebma." Conner comments. "Their contacts at court detected the trap set for me before mine could."
"Tell me of this trap?" Jerod asks.
"Once more I try to make the long story short." Conner smiles refilling his wine glass. "I was asked to investigate a break in at Llewella's townhouse. The place had been attacked. Every piece of glass was smashed, files were rifled through, that sort of thing. Sir Montage and his sister Bend were assigned to the case. Most odd to assign such a group of troubleshooters to simple break in. In any case I started my own investigations and basically made it known I was involved hoping to provoke a reaction. Soon I had someone tailing me and then I started tailing him and rather foolishly followed him into an alley."
Conner sips his wine. "That's when two masked Tritons showed up and gave me a friendly beating. They were surprised I put up such a strong fight but I could barely hold them off long enough for the watch to arrive. I managed to pull one of the masks off but only glimpsed a flash of tattooed skin before his hand slammed into my face. Montage was with the watch patrol and seemed most alarmed at my story. Apparently forces were moving that worried him. Anyway, I spent the next day recovering in bed and went to dinner with Thalia that night. Rumors were already floating around the court that I was involved with smugglers and other such lowlifes. The court seemed to be laying the groundwork for whatever story they would decide was the truth to the public."
Conner takes another swallow of wine. "I deemed it wise not to be where they thought I was and accepted Thalia's offer of a safe house. She went to meet H'argarel at the Gateway Embassy to assure that the escape route they had looked into was available and to see if I needed to use it. On their way back to the safe house, they were ambushed by Tritons. H'argarel was knocked out and Thalia kidnapped."
Conner's features went hard. "They were going to kill her and frame me for her murder." Conner tosses back the rest of his glass and sighs. "When they didn't come back right away I went looking for them and found H'argarel just coming to. He summoned to guards from the Gateway embassy and we sped off in pursuit. We caught them and left the two Triton's dying on the sea floor. The guards went back to melt into the background. The three of us fled to the escape route found, a tunnel beneath Rebma that led to an air filled cavern and then upward to a shadow not to far from Amber. It was a strange place, small villages on the coast and a large castle on an island protected by winds and waves that could not be shadow shifted away. It seems they knew of the language Thari in the villages and liked it not. That they and their enemies fought in that place and left nought but destruction behind. They were glad to be rid of them both. After that it was a simple matter to find a boat and shift here." Conner replies. "And that was my summer vacation in Rebma." He smiles.
"It would seem you've displeased someone in the royal court...enough at least to be used as a patsy to further their agenda." Jerod says. "Not the best way to spend your off-time."
"It also sounds very strange that a simple burglary would be the starting point for all this. No doubt ther eis more to it. However, unless you can return to Rebma I suppose you'll just have to wait to find out what's up. I take it you could not reverse your trip to find this cavern? And this land with the people...did you tell this to Vere? I was wondering if there might be a connection to this and our mysterious Paresh."
"I have told all this to everybody." Conner replies. "And I am certain I can find this land and cavern again."
"Then if you have no objections, assuming it's later than sooner, would you mind having a guest tag along?" Jerod asks. "If it allows us to find a way into Rebma, I'd be willing to help out."
"Once the kingdom can spare us both, I'll take you up on that offer." Conner smiles.
"Hmmm...that'll be in about three hundred years then." Jerod says, muttering to himself. "We'll see how busy we are after I get back from my trip. We can pieces."
"Worth a try anyway." Conner nods. "I just hope we don't find it collapsed or guarded when we go looking for it once more."
"I'd be more worried about it not being there, or collapsed. If it's guarded...well, we can always get around guards." Jerod says with a smile.
"I know from experience that Tritons are rather hard to bypass." Conner smiles. "But we shall see what we shall see."
"Yes, we shall." Jerod muses. "I'm curious about these Tritons you mentioned. How many did you face?"
"Two in hand to hand combat." Conner replies. "Another two armed with a spear and three friends. Very tough opponents. Doing some research here with Vere I discovered I didn't even face particularly strong Tritons for which I am grateful but disturbed."
Jerod thinks for a moment. "I've got some time tomorrow morning. If your schedule is up to it, meet me in the training yard. You were up against that many, and I'd like to see how I'd fare by comparison."
Conner nods. "Very well." He smiles. "I haven't sparred in a while so it should be fun."
[Jerod]
In that case, we pass this to the GMs for adjudication...:)
[GMs]
[Trying to remember who all Jerod has sparred with]
Jerod: Conner's not the sort of guy who can barely handle a petty-sword at dances. He certainly has the skills and abilities to acquit himself creditably on the field, but he's not up to the standard of either Martin or Brita as a sparring partner by more than a little.
Conner: Jerod could wipe the floor with you without trying. He's good.
[Jerod]
So noted.
[GMs]
He's picked up some good disarm techniques somewhere, though nothing you
can't cope with.
[Jerod]
Then perhaps they can work out together to trade techniques...given [Jerod]
grew up with his mother for awhile, he'd have learned some training for
underwater fighting, but he's always interested in learning more.
Conner chuckles after his pasting. "That is why I negogiate peace instead of fighting wars." He smiles. "If you want to trade techniques I'd be happy to."
"Dad always told me that I could learn anything I wanted...including how to be diplomatic." Jerod laughs a little at that comment. "But he also said if I didn't know how to fight, I might not live long enough to learn to be diplomatic.
"I think a few others might find your techniques interesting. Have you shown them to Brita?"
"Not as yet." Conner smiles. "Our meetings in Arden have been of a more peaceful nature."
"Next time you see her...talk to her about a sparring session. I suspect she'd be interested as well in learning some more. I don't think she's done much work against Tritons." Jerod says.
"My sister and I have much to teach each other." Conner nods and then chuckles. "You know I still can't believe I have a sister. I was taught to expect anything but that floored me."
"No doubt your mother had her reasons for not revealing it to you." Jerod says. "You can question her on that matter once the army has returned."
"I intend to." Conner nods. "I have a few other aunts and uncles to seek out as well."
"Anyone in particular?" Jerod asks curiously.
"Llewella to tell her of things in Rebma and Benedict for he seems to know of this tunnel to Rebma." Conner replies.
Jerod looks at him for a moment. "Benedict seems to know about it? How did you come by that information?"
"Martin." Conner replies. "He has a childhood memory of Benedict coming to Rebma and leading him from there through an air filled tunnel. Until I told my story he thought it was dream or misremembering."
"Did Martin to find this tunnel again after you informed him of this?" Jerod asks.
"Not that I know of." Conner replies.
Jerod nods but does not say anything for a moment, lost in thought.
"Well, I think I've asked all my questions for the moment. Nothing else comes to mind." Jerod says. "Anything you're interested in?"
"Give me your opinion of all the cousins." Conner asks. "I've interacted with some of them but others keep to their own haunts."
Jerod chuckles. "Do you want me to be polite, or blunt?"
"As amusing as it would be to decipher polite, let's save time and go for blunt." Conner smiles.
"For the most part they're okay." Jerod says. "None of them has done anything obviously treacherous to the kingdom, otherwise I'd have killed them for certain." (low to moderate Water scores are pretty certain that Jerod's not kidding about that comment). "Though everyone has their own agenda and wants to advance it cause they think it's best."
"Depending on the circumstances, you can trust all of them...at some point. It's just important on picking out what circumstances to associate with which cousin. Anyone in particular come to mind for you?"
"Lucas." Conner replies. "All I've seen of him is that he is fertile and has a sardonic wit. Where do his strengths lie?"
"That he's fertile and has a sardonic wit?" Jerod offers, but smiles a moment later. "Lucas is not stupid. He's bitchy and foppish, but he hasn't survived as long as he has without knowing just how far to push, and where not to push. He was the first of the family out on the trade expeditions and he's been involved in negotiations throughout Amber. He knows a lot of people, more than he shows. He presents a front that is very easy to under-estimate. His mother is the same way."
Conner nods. "One other question." Conner's face grows concerned. "How is Gerard really doing? He seems the same old Admiral in conversation but I know this can't be easy for him."
"You're asking the wrong person that question. If anyone would know it would be Vere or Solange." Jerod replies, taking a drink. "Gerard's good at maintaining the front for the troops. He won't admit there's a problem, or do something for himself if there's a hint it might be considered personally motivated. Doesn't do well with the troops. And I'm one of the troops..." and he smiles.
To Vere - it's time to bring him up to speed on the events that have transpired so he sends an invite to a lunch/meeting - he figures Vere might be interested in what he saw in the Land of Peace as far as shipping and the like goes, as well Jerod is interested to hear about the Paresh situation in more detail and Vere's opinions on this. He gets a note.
Vere joins Jerod for lunch at the appointed time and place, arriving at precisely the hour Jerod had suggested.
"I am not certain, Cousin, that there is anything more to be said regarding the Paresh. I fear that they may have moved through Shadow, their ships were not overly fast and yet the Naval vessel I sent to look for signs of them and the missing Navy ship was unable to find anything other than the old wreck. Possibilities suggest themselves, but none have a high enough degree of probability for me to consider it anything other than mere guesswork. I am happy to answer questions of course; perhaps your insights will suggest things that I have overlooked. Quite frankly, it has been too busy here for me to devote much time to the matter. And I am certainly interested in hearing about your voyage, and this Shadow that Uncle Bleys used as his staging area."
Jerod grabs a drink and leans back in his chair while awaiting the arrival of lunch. "Well, it's an interesting shadow that he picked out. The trade magnates there are not the nicest of people. Greedy, conniving, well- focussed on business. Our contact Abban could be a thoroughly underhanded individual. Makes Carver look like a gentleman. The fact that he killed our crewman Chase to ensure his business contract went through, and considered it a personal favor to me, says a lot." and Jerod smiles thinly. "I suspect Uncle Bleys fit right in."
"However, despite that, the people weren't all bad. They seem decent enough. The place is well populated, comfortable in regards to technology and natural resources. Nice culture too. Your sister and I had an opportunity to wander a bit and shop, as it were. They've got a good harbor, at least where we were at, and they seemed to do a lot of business. And Uncle Bleys did do us one favor, even if by accident. He introduced us to them, if you think about it. That was a big door to open." and he takes a drink.
Vere nods. "How large a merchant fleet do they have?" he asks. "And do they have an organized Navy?"
"You think the Paresh vanished into Shadow. Did the ship you sent out have any trouble returning?" Jerod asks. "These naturally forming shadow routes are giving me some ideas...and none of them are terribly appealing."
"The ship I sent to follow the Paresh discretely never returned. After seven weeks I sent a small, fast vessel after them. They found nothing except for the site of an old wreck. I sent three ships to search the site of the wreck, but they found nothing. I do not believe the ships of the Paresh could have captured or destroyed the Naval vessel, so I am forced to conclude that it was either prevented from returning or else was destroyed by some other force."
Vere frowns. "We are rapidly approaching Elder Germaine's Doomsday date, and I am concerned that these Shadow paths are a precursor to whatever event his voices were warning him of."
Jerod purses his lips for a second. "Could be." he mutters. "Though I'm still suspecting that the good Elder got his interpretation wrong." and he shakes his head. "Something about this doesn't quite add up right. It's like shadow is in flux, trying to stabilize. But into what? Amber is supposed to be stable. The heart of Order if you will. But will things re- stabilize with Amber as center of that Order again? Crap...thoughts like this make my brain hurt."
"I'd like to see that wreck if I could...assuming it doesn't take too much time." Jerod says. "It probably won't do any good. But if there's been any recent shadow travel, or a path that's been formed, it might have left a trail that I can follow. Something my father taught me early on."
"As for your question about the naval forces of our shadow friends. That I'm not sure about. There were a lot of ships in the harbor, but I didn't get much identification from them. Speak to Captain Station - he probably has a better idea concerning what was around at the time and could likely give you a much better bit of identification. As for an organized military navy, I'm not sure. But I'd go on the cautious side and say yes."
"What do you think of these disappearances...of the people?"
"I am concerned, but unsure of what it means. I am still of the opinion that it has something to do with Shadow, and Amber's removal from the center of Shadow, but I simply do not have sufficient information on the nature of Pattern and Shadow to hazard any guesses whatsoever. Father only spoke of such matters occasionally before I came here. I also think the failing economy is related to this matter - it is not behaving according to any known economic pattern. It is as though wealth were a liquid that is leaking out throw small holes in the bottom of Amber."
"Hmmm...an interesting theory." Jerod says. "I've got an idea about that too."
Vere raises an eyebrow.
Jerod notes his reaction but does not immediately comment.
[Vere]
"As for the wreckage, I too would like to have a look at it. It is several
weeks travel along the coast, and I have not been able to afford the time
to spend on this matter that I would like. If it is related to Shadow then
obviously I would be useless, but if you think it is important enough to
justify your absence from the City I will assign the Captain of the ship
that discovered it to you."
Jerod shakes his head. "Too long. At least, right now. I'll have to wait until I come back from my next trip. With luck the wreck will still be there, though by then any trace I was looking for will be gone."
"I suspected that would be your conclusion. It is a pity, but matters here are simply too pressing, especially if you are going to lead the merchant fleet back to their home."
Vere pauses for a minute, then continues. "And I would be very interested in speaking with Captain Station. What can you tell me of the Captain?"
"He was our captain for the ship we were on during our path laying." Jerod says. "I don't know him personally but he seems reliable. He made a comment early on after we arrived in the shadow that it was likely one of our uncles had been there already. I'd be curious to hear what you could find out about him through your navy contacts."
Vere nods. "An interesting statement to have made. Was it unprompted?"
"Yes it was." Jerod replies. "I wondered after awhile, when your sister figured out that this was Bleys' forward base, if our good captain might have been in Bleys' service and had been here before. I don't think we'll ever figure out who all his people are, and the ones who haven't been found out are likely to keep their heads down for awhile...just to be safe. I could see if Station was one of Bleys' men that he might see it as being wise to ingratiate himself with us...just in case we figured out where we were on our own. However, that's just idle speculation on my part and most likely just vapors." and he smiles a little.
"As for leading the fleet back, there's not much that can be done about that. It's either me or Solange. Hell, we needed both of us to bring this many ships through in the first place. I'm gambling now that we're back I'll only need one. I'm going to want to take two back with me there so we can get people acquainted quick." Jerod looks at Vere for a moment. "Who do you think would be best for it, given recent sailings?"
Vere tilts his head to the side. "Martin and Paige," he says. "Martin is excellent at this sort of thing, of course. And Paige has the added benefit of acting as a possible magnet for any remaining partisans of Bleys who are still there. I would rather have any such forgiven and brought back to Amber than remaining hidden as a possible future threat."
"And if not forgiven, at least identified." Jerod adds. "Okay. I'll talk to your father later when things have settled down a bit. Since they've been in Heerat, with luck they can provide some information as to applicable trade goods that would work for transit between both shadows.
"I understand you've been busy in Court."
"Indeed? I do not believe that I would characterize myself that way. I have been more active in Court matters during your delayed return, most of us have to some extent, but I have certainly not done anything out of the ordinary."
Jerod laughs a bit. "Perhaps I should have said...you've been busier than you were previously. It's all relative I suppose.
"How's your father been doing? I've been catching up on some of the news concerning some of the social changes. I was wondering when someone was going to finally speak up about that the nobles were trying to be our equals."
Vere nods. "Father is as well as can be expected. Now that Solange is back, I expect him to be even better." He pauses for a few seconds, then continues. "Watching the social evolution has proved interesting. I saw no reason to oppose those of our Cousins who deserved to attempt social experimentation. Perhaps some of their efforts will even be advantageous."
"Perhaps." Jerod replies. "But the fact that we ran into problems with the nobles is also disturbing. I'm figuring you guys have had some run-ins with them since Solange and I have been gone. They've been wanting more control or autonomy. Carver's little stunt of hiring a lawyer and trying to prolong a court case was along those lines." and Jerod snorts. "If Oberon, or my father, were in power, Carver wouldn't have even thought about trying something like that. They'd have been hanging by their neck an hour later."
"My Mother was similar," Vere agrees, "Although she would regard it as a failure on her part if she allowed it to progress to that point. She would rather maneuver another faction into taking care of the problematic individual for her, thinking it was their own idea, thus giving her a chance to punish them and reduce their power as well. However, I never knew Amber in a 'normal' situation, so I am hesitant to comment upon her current state. And my few suggestions of taking a harder stance against the nobles have not been met with universal acclaim." He moves his shoulders in a minuscule shrug. "The situation has not yet moved to a serious stage, and with any luck the Elders will eventually return. Then all the current maneuvering by the nobility and merchant houses can be forgotten as the matter of the Kingship takes center stage."
"Oh yeah, and won't that be a barrel of laughs." Jerod says. "Just be thankful your father is liked by pretty much all of our uncles and aunts. He won't be involved in any of the bloodletting that's likely to come about once they start picking at the crown. Though one can always hope for better."
Jerod takes a quick sip of his drink, thinking for a second. "I've got a month I'm figuring to prepare, to get the ships ready and arrange contacts. I'm going to be setting up contacts in the next week between the ship captains and the merchant groups. During that time, we're going to need to put together some kind of itemized list of things we want to see sent out as trade goods, and more importantly what we want coming back. I'm sure the merchants and nobles have their own ideas, but I'm not too interested in that at the moment."
He leans forward a bit. "I want you to put that prodigious organizing skill of yours to work. Get me a list of things that Amber needs...food, equipment, technology, medical supplies, whatever. And get me a list of cargos that are suitable as trade goods to go out and who's got them. You'll have your naval and merchant contacts to help. I want to fill those 50 ships and send them back with stories of gold over the rainbow. If we can do that, we've got our in at this place. We can turn it around and use it with Heerat to start getting off the ground.
"Think you can do it in three days?"
Vere nods. "I will have Ossian and Worth handle my duties with the Fleet while I prepare the information. Would you prefer partial reports as I finish them, or to wait until the entire project is completed and receive everything at once?"
"Partial reports." Jerod says. "Enough that I can point some people in the right directions. As we get the meetings going we can arrange for more detailed reports...that's when we'll need the meat of the reports, during the harder negotiating sessions. Prior to that, people will be doing their usual political meanderings, feeling out each other to determine their strength of resolve prior to settling in."
Vere nods, his eyes focused slightly over Jerod's left shoulder. "Do we want to place an Ambassador yet?" he asks. "We will need someone there to receive reports from our spies, after all."
Assuming it's nothing (besides Vere being like his sister), Jerod continues. "Not yet. We've no guarantee we can lay a path to this place. And putting an Ambassador in position is something that the Regent would need to be involved in. At least at the present time."
[Vere]
"Of course. But I suspect the Regent would not do so on his own
initiative, seeing his position as purely temporary. If the Council were
to suggest such an action he would consider it, and listen to our arguments
for or against it. However, you are correct that it is not a necessary
step at this time."
"It is good to have you back, by the way, Cousin. I have missed our talks."
Jerod sits back and takes a drink. "It's been interesting for sure, trying to find someone to have our...talks...with." and he smiles a little. "Your sister, however, does do well in that department, though not in the same way as you do."
Vere smiles quietly. "You have given me a lot to do in a short time, Cousin. Is there anything else you wished to discuss before I begin assembling the information?"
Jerod thinks for a moment before shaking his head. "Not at the moment. But when we're both done in the next few days, maybe we'll sit down and just talk for a bit...and not about work. Maybe I can get one of Barenthkov's lady friends to sing for us."
Vere nods. "I would truly enjoy that," he says. He stands and nods his head towards Jerod. "I will send reports to you as they are ready, Cousin," he says before departing.
Jerod also stands up. "Thank you Vere. I look forward to reading them...well, in precis format." and he smiles just a bit.
Over the next three days after Vere's talk with Jerod he will work exclusively on assembling the requested information on trade. He will ask Ossian and Worth to handle his duties at the harbor, and will send requests to all of his Cousins and his Sister for their input. Lists of what we have in Amber that would be useful on this mission, what we want to come back, and what we can do to emphasize our position as the most desirable trading partner possible. Vere will use all his contacts in the Navy, the merchant marine, and among the merchant houses and nobility, and will do his best to convey to everyone his firm belief that Amber has hit the lowest point in her economic decline, and is now poised to begin a rapid ascent back to her rightful position.
No one outside the Family who speaks with him on this topic can have any doubt of Vere's unbounded optimism about the coming mission.
For the next three days Vere keeps up a constant stream of messages sent to the Family, including his Father, to a variety of nobles, merchants, and naval officers, and to anyone else that he has any reason to believe would have a useful opinion on the matter of trade with the Land of Peace. He'll send frequent reports to Jerod on everything that has been suggested, along with analyses of the pros and cons of each suggestion. For those three days he will get by on as little sleep as possible, and will only bother to eat if someone actually puts food on his desk, and even then while continuing to work.
Vialle makes sure food is brought to him while he is at the Castle, and assigns someone to do the same if he goes to the harbor.
Vere's pages are getting awfully tired by the end of the three days.
Deprivation builds character.
[Jerod]
Only when it's followed by a good reward...:)
[Folly]
Yeah, Vere -- give 'em a co-author credit.
(That's the usual reward for mind-numbing work above and beyond the call of duty, right?)
[Vere]
I'll mention them on the dedication page:
To Cousin Jerod, who made this report necessary, Ossian and Worth, who took over my duties so that I could complete it, and countless other people who assisted in its preparation, my thanks.
Jerod would recommend something nice in their pay this week.
Vere will toss each of them a page treat.
He's got to get a secretary, as soon as he can find time to start interviewing.
To Brita - He's in serious need of a workout and she's the one who can give it to him...(and everyone who's brains are in the gutter can suffer at Brita's hands...:) He also wants to catch up on stuff and find out what happened with Kina. She gets a note...:)
To Robin - another new person in Jerod's life...he's not too sure about how to go about introductions with her, so he includes a note for her that goes along with Brita's and explain that she's invited as well if she wishes...Brita will explain the workout...:)
Brita gladly accepts the invitation for a workout and goes to seek out Robin (assuming Jerod mentioned his invitation for her). "Jerod has invited us to workout with him. He is an excellent partner," she says to Robin, "There is no need to be _careful_ [OOC: remember that conversation with Folly, Robin?] like when I workout with the Rangers."
Robin is dumbfounded.
"BOTH of us? I don't - "
[Jerod]
Hey...Jerod's good...he's just not that good...:) (well, not yet)...
[Robin]
And once that misunderstaning is cleared up...
" 'Work out?' You mean _spar_, right?"
If Brita actually means _exercising_ the way contemporary westerners do, Robin is dumbfounded again. Why would anyone bother with such a thing?
Robin will find that sparring means actual combat...Jerod trains as close to actual fighting as is possible without killing or grievously wounding people (which means, no face shots, nothing to the throat or groin, but everything else is fair game). It's obvious he's been in combat and he likes to push the limit (he has none of the hesitation that might mark a skilled but untested fighter). He does not, however, enjoy fighting...he does like competition and seeing how far he can go and what he can achieve, but fighting for the sake of fighting gives him no pleasure.
So when he spars with Brita, for example, he knows he's up against someone as good as he is...he's gotta stay in form and up to snuff...screw up once and she'll nail him. For him, that's the prize...staying in control and being the best. When he's up against Martin, there's another prize...sheer endurance...:)
Jerod is curious to see what prize he can pick up training with Robin.
See the discussion below for info on Kina. Brita would explain all this to Jerod, but doesn't want to type it twice. :)
[Brita has no clue of the double entendre. If someone points it out to her, they will at first get a really quizical look and then a hearty laugh. "Jerod and me? I mean he's nice to look at and all, but he's my _cousin_."]
On other notes, Brita would have organized a meeting with Solange and Robin to cover the events in Arden since Solange's departure. Most of this has been posted in everyone else's responses. Pretty much, we had a patrol go missing and tried to search for them with no luck. Folly suggested using Kina to help track them and Martin volunteered to come along to see if there were any weird probabilities happening. One day while tracking, Kina did not return and Martin noted that we had somehow left the true Arden and slipped into shadow. Kina had actually stayed in the true Amber and ended up back home, a little worse for being "abandoned", but okay. We picked up the patrol's trail there and finally met up with them and Robin - who had been gathering up lost Rangers much like Peter Pan gathers the lost boys. When we returned, Robin began helping map out the changes in these natural shadow paths in Arden.
Robin confirms Brita's story, and relates the ice cave misadventure that convinced her to finish out the winter in town or beyond.
"The changes definitely make Arden more dangerous to get around in."
She says that like it's a good thing.
"Interesting." Jerod says. "I've been considering doing some exploring once I get back from the next fleet trip. If one of these natural paths is still there perhaps you can show me it."
Solange's player must have missed something in there. Who's Kina? I can't find her on the website.
*chuckle*...Kina is Jerod's falcon. He introduced her to Folly early on.
While Solange is interested in hearing about these new shadow paths and the mapping, she is even more interested to hear how the Rangers are adjusting to wearing the Crown badge, and whether there have been any more Ranger-settler tensions in Garnath, since those were her headaches with them.
To Solange - she gets a note saying thanks for the trip...and there's a package with the note...coffee, and good stuff too. Seems he acquired it from Abban's collection somehow...:) (the player takes a bit of artistic license at the moment...I'm figuring it would be something Jerod would have done...he's certain that it would have been available, and the servants would not have decided to enter the room at the moment he was acquiring it.)
Solange is further certain that we made sure to put LOTS of coffee in with our trade cargo, since coffee was available in The Land of Peace. If the gentlemen's clubs have enough cash reserves to extend loans to their members, then they can probably also afford to buy coffee for their dining rooms, and the dreaded Dried Fish Paste Substitute will be a thing of the past...
But Abban's private coffee is sure to be prime stuff, and Solange sends a thank-you note back to Jerod.
*chuckle*...it can be oh-most certainly assured that a large crate of "supplies" was loaded onto the ship that Jerod was on, with instructions "DO NOT TOUCH!"...the smaller containers inside carefully distributed to various individuals (such as members of the Diogenes Club) for their personal use...for awhile the aroma of coffee will fill the rooms...:) Jerod figures that alone will be sufficient incentive for the nobles to bring out the cash to front for further expeditions.
To Paige - she gets a invite to lunch. He's curious as to the legal situation and wants her opinion on it.
To Reid - he's interested in finding out how things have been going on the slightly seamier side of town...and if there's been any change with the merchants. He's also curious to see if Reid can find out some information for him...so it's an invite for Reid for a drink.
Reid's more than happy to oblige.
Excellent...
Jerod arranges to have a private spot available at the Diogenes Club main library where they can sit and talk without interruption. This would be a day or two after Jerod has returned and managed to settle down into a semi-active routine. He would already be there by the time Reid arrived, having finished speaking to the club president about the status of the club and other events.
Reid takes an appreciating look around him as he is led into the library. "I haven't ventured too far into most of the clubs. Not really my thing, I suppose. But quite a nice place they've got." He sits across from Jerod, sinking comfortably into the back of the chair and raises a questioning eyebrow at whatever drink Jerod indubitably has for himself before motioning that he'll have one of the same regardless of its nature.
Jerod's favored drink is scotch, single malt. He does drink other stuff but his preference, when he can indulge it, tends to run in that direction. Thankfully, Flora had excellent taste in choosing shadow Earth as the place to watch over Uncle Corwin - made acquiring scotch so much easier...:)
Reid opens the dialogue, "Speaking as someone who was away from Amber considerably longer than anticipated, myself, I trust you're glad to be in your own quarters again?"
Jerod chuckles. "I suspect I have a bit less dust build up than you did when you returned. Things seem to be about in the same place as when I left them though, yes. And it is nice to be back in my own bed. Here at least the problems are more familiar."
Reid grins at the latter. "Familiar, yes. But at times no less confounding. And perhaps even more so due to our complex relationship with shadow. Solving problems in Amber seems to be a somewhat unique challenge at times."
"My biggest problem here is that I can't run away from my solutions." Jerod says. "At least in shadow, if we screw up, we can usually outrun it."
"So, what can I do for you?" Reid asks.
"I'm curious as to the situation in Amber. You've had access to some of the less savory characters...people who probably wouldn't associate with me." and Jerod smiles a little at that thought. "I'm wondering if anything interesting has been happening since I've been gone."
[Reid]
Uh, did Reid have anything interesting in the logs. Probably. They
discuss it.
"Nothing too out of the ordinary, I'm afraid. Crime is still crime. Doesn't pay, except when it does, and then, the one holding the purse goes down harder."
"Tis always the way. Did any of it involve our merchant friends?" Jerod asks.
"Just one of the printers. Our friends from the food warehouse incident seem to have been on their best behavior lately. Guess we may have scared some sense into them." Reid replies.
"One can hope." Jerod says. "I suspect however it means they've just gotten smarter. I think maybe they got cocky thinking they were dealing with children. Now that they've gotten bit, they'll be more careful to cover their tracks."
Lucas, Folly and Ossian probably are seen regularly through the usual Council meetings and the like, and there's nothing that Jerod has immediately to ask them about. Although he will stop by Lucas to visit again briefly with him and see how married life is going and how his wife and children are doing.
To the GMs, who are busy and can respond at their convenience, Jerod places the most excruciating demands...:)
An update from his secretary on all events since he's been gone, plus any outstanding issues. That'll be a request.
[Folly]
Jerod's secretary directs him to the Log located at
www.spatzel.net/alfrey/hoc/logs.html and suggests he might be
interested in the entries starting with "Broadsheet Smackdown."
He sits down with Kenner to catch up on the latest gossip...that'll be a single malt, no ice and where's the rest of my bottle?!!!!
He gets ahold of Martin and finds out when that poker game and drink are scheduled...
He arranges for a breakfast with Cambina the very next morning and a lunch or breakfast the next day with Vialle.
He arranges a workout schedule with Venesch and gets caught up there.
And one of those many days while he's out busy working, he disappears for an afternoon...the GMs know where he goes...:)
Last modified: 18 Mar 2002