The Hanged Man

Edan mounts Aramsham, makes sure that he has everything with him (including Kyauta), and starts a trek that should end not terribly far from the border of Broceliande- ideally, a place of level limestone and moss-covered boulders, close to a water source and with the forest beginning in the far distance.

Edan takes the trek, riding for days across the hills that eventually become mountains, then more Xanadu-like hills, covered with trees. He ends his ride on a level plateau somewhere near a forest that should be Broceliande. A few valleys over, he sees a mountain rising from the forest. He looks down over the valley nearest to him. It is a deep, pristine forest with a river running down from his plateau.

Edan isn't sure exactly what makes him think this, but he suspects that he is not the first one to reach this valley.

Edan frowns at this, wondering what he's stumbled into, then decides that it's more important to know if something is still here than if something had crossed through here in the recent past. It's not impossible to find out if one of the Family or someone Real had been through here, but the spell is involved, and he has something more important to cast in this place.

So he dismounts, and builds a small campfire, and meditates on the principle of Space; and when he is ready, he withdraws certain powders from inside his robe, and sprinkles them on his fire, and watches the color of the fire change from moment to moment. Then he chants for a full minute, and opens his arms to the sky, and casts a spell to see if someone is still here, watching him.

[Spell: Distance eye: Lets Edan see those who can see his fire, even if they're hidden. Prowess + Performance (1 min) + Props + Fire present = Target (prolly 7 or 8) + Duration (a moment) + Effect]

The visions are disjointed, as if several people were watching him at once. He sees a flash of red hair, a group of curly-haired soldiers in armor marching through the woods, and something reptilian.

Edan drops his arms, sits back a moment, and thinks tactics. Red hair probably means Paige, hopefully with her own support, and it was really too bad he didn't get a better look to make sure. Rangers don't march, they don't wear armor, and these men aren't wearing the colors of either Amber or Xanadu. Only a glimpse of the reptile, too, also too bad, but it isn't draped in colors or have a collar or jess as far as he can see.

Primus: Edan is closer to Broceliande than he wanted to be, and Paige has seen him and his fire (although it was necessary, really, for this to work). Creating a Gate will have to wait until they talk.

Secundus: the armored men are an Incursion into Broceliande, with or without Paige's permission. She is likely aware of their presence.

Tertius: the reptilian thing is probably not a pet of either the Rangers or the Incursion. It is probably a free-acting agent, and something to take note of if his spell focused on it.

Quartus: Edan himself has little or no woodcraft, but has a fire, and that is a powerful ally. However, his Sorcery may become less effective and less reliable if he enters the valley.

Edan's gut instinct is to do nothing, just wait. If Paige is there, then she's seen him. With no woodcraft and no further intelligence, Edan might cause more harm than help. The most prudent thing to do would be to hide himself, since he's made himself a bright, shiny target.

Stay with me, Kyauta. I might need your senses to tell me if something is nearby. With that, he slaps at his fire with the palm of his hand. The fire goes out, and a great amount of white, misty smoke billows forth. Edan crosses to Aramsham and mounts up, and moments later they are surrounded and covered by the moving smoke, which moves and spreads and roils down into the valley. When the smoke clears from Edan's impromptu campsite, they are gone.

Edan moves away, the smoke concealing his exact movements, but creating a large unnatural cloud of smoke that isn't dissipating. He sees no unusual movement on the part of what he assumes is Paige, but the other group stops. They may be sending out scouts.

He would. Edan hmphs. It will take time for scouts to make it up to the plateau, and they will have a limited number of paths. One option would be for him to flee the field, but that would be a last resort. Hiding is a bad option, as they may be found, and then be in worse shape. The next strategy would be a... snare.

Edan may not know the forest, but he knows terrain. The quickest, easiest ascent would be... there. Taking that spot as a best guess, he directs part of his smoke down the ridge and lets it spread out into the trees. He lets Aramsham pick his way down the smoke ladder near this spot, and they move back until the ridge is at their backs and gives him some cover.

Scouts will probably be coming from... that direction. Escape routes for Edan and company would be... there, and there. The land is at his back, and the snare will be the area before him. Yes. Edan chants a spell, and brings his arms forward, and the remaining smoke near him twirls and snakes around the nearby trees before it fades. He checks his weapons; saber, yataghan, the binar in his boot. Then he draws his saber and waits.

Edan waits, his patience extending for some short while. A man steps into the target area--olive-skinned and curly-haired, he has armor on and moves well, for a human in the forest. His armor seems to be cured leather with some metal strapped to it. If his party has two men in it, his partner is far enough behind to not be in the trap.

Unfortunate, but not unexpected. The other will just have to be drawn in, then, Edan thinks. Let us see if they share the almost universal belief that a good magician is a lousy swordsman.

Edan has his sword extended in a slightly shaky hand, having no doubt that he's a good enough swordsman to pretend being a bad one. "Stay back," he says in Thari, moving slowly to his right (past the trees, giving an archer fits). "I didn't mean to see you there. Leave me alone, and I'll just go on my way. Never saw you."

The swarthy man calls out something, in a language that was probably Thari ten generations ago, and draws a short, wide blade. He waits a moment and is joined by another, the two call out more unintelligible gibberist, and then start to split up to flank Edan. They're trained, but Edan is more than a match for both with a sword. Unless there's a third, he can do as he pleases.

Edan will rush forward once it's apparent that they're splitting up to flank him. It occurs to him that Rangers work in threes, but of course that doesn't mean anything here; if there is a third, Kyauta will be the one to warn him. That's all part of the risk. As for the first two opponents, rushing forward should bring both of them to him, and the plan is to knock one's sword out of line and flash-freeze him, then render the other one unarmed and unconscious. Severely wounding or killing them isn't a priority, but he'll do it if necessary. If there is a third, and he or she moves into his trap, Edan will snap his fingers to set off the entanglement.

Like a dance or a dream, Edan's movements are graceful and economical and it is over before his opponents can do as much as grunt. A man is frozen and a second is unconscious and unarmed. The trap wasn't even used.

Are these available? asks Kyauta. I hunger.

Edan blinks, apparently having discovered Kyauta's feeding cycle. You must be very hungry, my affine, if humans appeal to you. Or are they human? Either way, I need to question them first, and one is probably already dead. He sets about finding vines, or in extremis, magic, to bind the unconscious one's hands, remove his weapons, and hang him upside down from a convenient tree limb.

"If I were to help you with him, I could help you with him... replies Kyauta.

The man is soon disarmed, bound, and hanging upside down from a tree limb. His head is below Edan's. The act of hoisting him apparently awakens him. Once he's firmly in position, his eyes open and he looks at his captor. He strains against his bindings but makes no headway.

Then stay in the link with us, my affine, but also I must charge you with watching the area around us. My concentration will be upon this man, Edan thinks. I don't know his language, so pictures will have to do.

And he starts a spell. He picks up a dead twig from the ground, breaks it into small pieces, and lets it catch fire in the palm of his hand. Waving his hand over the flame, he chants for a minute, then uses the fire as a link to contact his prisoner's thoughts.

The spell is a simple one, using the flame as a focus to reflect his and the man's thoughts. Edan indicates himself, says, "Edan," then the fire reflects an image of himself, memories of the Land of Peace, and finally an image of Amber and Amber castle. He lets the pictures fade until the flame is pure again, then points to his prisoner and raises his eyebrows.

The prisoner speaks, although the spell still works. It's somewhat difficult to understand his accent, and his langauge is some sort of pigin or creole. Probably a trading dialect. "You a Thariman?" The image that goes with this is of Amber, seen from a distance. The feeling is one of mild contempt for the barbarians and foreigners. "My army is behind me." The image is of a column, larger than the one that made the movements Edan observed before. "Free me, we have no quarrel."

"Yes... I am... a Thariman," Edan says softly. "As you say. And we might have a quarrel, if your army is going to march through the great forest Broceliande without the Warden's permission. What is your name? Where are you from? What is your army's intention towards Xanadu?" Edan peers intently at the man at that last, his golden eyes almost aglow.

"Twards who? That's talk for the Lochagos." He smiles. "Let me down, and we'll take you to him."

Edan glances at his affine. "I guess not yet, then. We'll take care of it soon." He turns back to the prisoner, says, "I do not know this title, if it is a title." After a moment of hesitation, he moves behind the man and cuts the bonds to his hands. "If you have words of safe passage and conduct, I will hear them now," Edan adds.

The man shrugs. "I've none, other than 'it is I'." There are few enough that the sentries know who is scouting." The man twists, turning towards his fallen partner for the first time. "Is he injured?" he asks, his concern seemingly genuine.

Edan sighs. "Battle magic is not gentle," he says. "He should be quite well preserved, if he survived the freezing process, that is. I can attempt to revive him, and I suppose that would be a gesture of good will, if as you say we are not enemies. What is your name? What is his?"

He nods, seemingly accepting his friend's risk. "I am Orvis, He is Aetos. My I ask, sir, which Goddess you serve?"

Edan tries not to flinch, but he does look away for a few seconds. "I...am from a different place, where there are no Goddesses," he says. "I worship...no one. If you want to aid your friend, help yourself down, prepare four torches from the wood of these trees, and set them into the earth around Aetos at the four compass points."

Orvis bends at the waist, an impressive feat for a man in stiff armor, and grasps his ankle. He kicks his left foot free and dangles, momentarily, by one foot, with his outstretched knee almost swinging into Edan.

He takes a deep breath, reaches up, and, throwing his free leg over the limb, manages to finally free himself and swing down. The man gathers four torches. They are perhaps not the most robust of torches, but they should do. He places them as Edan ordered.

"They say the Gods are the only ones who do not worship the Gods," the man says, perhaps to his companion. Certainly he is not looking at Edan when he speaks thusly.

"I did, once," Edan says.

If the soldier notices, he does not say.

[Edan] turns his attention to the frozen man and begins drawing a circle in the dirt which touches each of the torches. Once he has the area circumscribed, he draws a series of symbols within the circle, then another layer, then another. The process takes some time (more than a minute but certainly less than a watch), then Edan holds out his arms, palms upward to the sky, and chants.

Aetos unfreezes and continues the shout he was making when Edan froze him. He sits up suddenly and then passes out. Normally.

His friend looks at Edan, and checks his friend's wrist, then relaxes when he finds a pulse.

"We'll need to carry him."

Now may I eat him, Great Lord?

Edan barely hesitates as he moves to Aramsham and starts to adjust his horse's saddle and pack. "You can walk alongside and watch after him while I lead my horse. I want my swords free. There is still some kind of... thing... out there in the forest." He turns back to Orvis. "When I said I would hear words of safe guarantee, I meant hear them from you. I want you to take the responsibility. I do not know, exactly, what that other threat is, and we work at cross-purposes we could all end up dead."

It seems I must save these as a gift, my affine. But I will not leave you to hunger. Go hunt, and then find me later. Don't eat the humans, and be wary of that turkey-lizard that we saw.

Thank you, Great Lord! Kyauta flies off. I will vanquish the Turkey-Lizard if I see it, but will not hunt for it, Great Lord!

The man watches him leave and says something which may well be a prayer to some form of your dead cousin, because it mentions dragons. Or possibly a prayer for protection against your cousin.

"My Lord," says the soldier. "I am a simple soldier. If my Lochagos ordered me to hunt and kill you, I would. I can give you word that I can take you safely to him, and you can discuss the matter there."

"I'll take that," Edan says with a nod. "Direct us, then. I won't press for details of your army that you would not provide anyway, but perhaps you would tell me: is your Lochagos a reasonable man? Does he have an open mind, willing to listen?"

He stands in his assigned place beside Aramsham, who does not seem pleased, but does not complain. "I have no idea, Lord. He is an officer and I am a soldier. The Phylarch relays his orders to us. I do know he has kept us alive under difficult circumstances, where a lesser Lochagos might not. If you are ready Lord, I am. Head down the trail we took up the hill, and we will come to my camp."

There are enough of them that this man only knows his sergeant well, Edan thinks, but nods. "So be it, then." Keeping as alert as he can, Edan leads them towards the camp.

The trail is of recent make, and consists of the branches someone broke on a previous passage through the woods.

Aramsham whinnies as they approach the creek at the bottom. Anyone with the tactical sense of a newt would place the ambush just across the water. It looks as if someone is waiting for Edan.

Edan stops on the far side, and when he speaks he tries to use the same speech conventions he's heard from the scouts. "I know you're there," he calls out. "We're coming across. Come on out! I would rather no one else get hurt today." He turns his head slightly and says behind him, "Tell them this also, yes?"

The prisoner says "tell who?"

Across the river, a man stands up from the ambush spot. It's the Ranger that serves in Paige's household, Couth. He waves Edan across the river.

Edan resists the urge to smack himself on the forehead. "Not... what I was expecting," he says. "Never mind, Orvis. We've been seen, and marked. I'd say we are all now guests of the Warden. You, ah, might not want to make any sudden moves. Let's go on across." And with that, Edan starts to wade across the river, if it is ford-able.

Edan comes across, leading Aramsham. Orvis follows, keeping his friend from getting wet. The frozen man moans. That may be a good sign.

Couth nods to Edan. "Welcome to Broceliande, My Lord. Warden Paige sent us ahead to scout. Are you the flashy magician we saw on the mountainside or do we have yet another person of interest in this idyllic, empty valley?"

Coming out of the forest are two more familiar faces. Estimaza and Arthur Elm. "Greetings to you, Firedancer and to you, Lord of Horses," says Hannah's father, addressing them both. Aramsham whinnies softly in reply.

"Ranger Couth," Edan says, with a little bow. "And Estimaza, and Arthur Elm. May I present Orvis, and Aethos. I was heading to see their commander, for they say they are not our enemies. That was indeed my fire... it was on purpose. I was able to see everyone who saw it, at least for a moment. I regret ruining anyone's plans, for I didn't have the full picture until I did the spell."

Couth bows at the two not-prisoners, and Estimaza approaches Aramsham and the unconscious man. He leans in close to Aramsham and then looks to the man.

"Not at all, my Lord. We came here tracking a missing ranger patrol who may have been set upon by a cockatrice and also your niece and nephew, who set off on the same mission before us, and without permission. Have you seen them?"

"I haven't, but they might simply not have been in a good position to see my fi-" Edan's had jerks up. "Cockatrice? That turkey-lizard thing was a cockatrice?" He looks out into the wide, deep forest. "I just sent my affine out there..."

After a moment, Edan's head turns fractionally back in Couth's direction. "I'll... warn him. In the meantime, is there any service I can provide to my... to the Warden?"

Couth purses his lips in thought. "Hmm. We got four missions. One, find and kill the cockatrice. Two, find and don't kill the children. Three, rescue the missing rangers. Four, deal with the column of solders we saw coming down the hill, who're walking into a valley full of us and a cockatrice, which ain't safe. And we got no idea who they are and why they're here.

"I'd say, my Lord, that if you don't know about the first three, I'd take your help with the soldiers. You could also ask the Warden, yer sister, that is. She's along the far ridge of the valley there," he adds, gesturing vaguely behind himself.

Edan smiles, probably the first relaxed smile of the day. "She likely has her hands full, but I can at least take your advice and relieve her of the latter task. Now that you know it's me, it is an easy thing for her to reach me when and where she wills. One of the Warden's great strengths."

Couth nods. "I tole her you was here. She'll let me know if she needs something. How do you want to handle this, now as you have more hands, and family backup in the valley?"

"It won't change what I need to do," Edan says. "I will go with these men, and start negotiations with their officer. If negotiations go well, I will fly my flag with theirs and we will wait for an escort just inside the valley, once the dangers are past. Subject to change, of course, if the Warden contacts me directly, of if negotiations... do not go well."

Couth nods. "I'd rather not take on a whole army, but I like our chances if we have to run. We'll do as you say, m'Lord."

Edan turns his head further so that Couth can see his eye and the deepening smile. "Not to worry," he says. "If things go badly, you will only be dealing with a small fraction of an army. Good fortune, Ranger Couth. Give my regards to my sister."

Couth looks confused. "My Lord? I was intending to accompany you. That was the whole context of the 'if we have to run' discussion. D'ya want us to leave?"

Edan blinks, and then smiles. "Forgive me, I misunderstood. No, please, come with me. You are most welcome."

Edan heads over to Aramsham and the two mailed men, and says, "Are you ready to continue? It appears that I can be a more, ah, official spokesperson to your force. The sooner I speak to your officer, the better."

The injured man is awake, but still weak. He just nods. His partner speaks. "We're ready, Lord Thariman."

Edan opens his mouth, then shuts it and just nods. No point correcting something like that here. "Let's go, then," he says, and lets them walk slightly ahead of them for a few moments.

Kyauta? Can you hear me?

Great Lord? I can always hear you. I am hunting birds. They look edible. It is a valley full of foodstuffs!

Couth wrinkles his nose. "They need to learn how to march in the woods without bringin' the smell of the city with 'em. They're over the rise, My Lord."

I found out that the turkey-lizard is a cockatrice. Do you know of them? Legend says that they can turn their prey to stone. I do not know the mechanism. Be careful.

Kyauta hears, Great Lord.... Lord, may I use that to replace my stolen rain? I will be careful.

To Couth, Edan nods slowly, then turns to Aethos. "You will announce us, yes? So that there is no ambush, and no misunderstanding."

Aethos nods. He shouts something in a language that isn't really Thari anymore and shortly three armed men come into view. The leader has better Thari than Aethos. "Hail stranger, what brings you to our camp?"

Edan bows. "Well met. I am Edan ibn Bleys ibn Oberon al-Kehribar al-Salaam al-Djinn-al-Ghanii. I have come to greet you in the name of my sister, the Warden of Broceliande, and ask your purpose here."

He nods. "Ah, local people. Have you seen any others like us? Curly haired, forest tribes? We're searching for them."

"I... have not." Edan turns his head towards Couth if the ranger has anything to add. "However, it is dangerous here. Very dangerous to continue without an escort."

The cockatrice is the very essence of corruption, Edan thinks towards Kyauta. How do you know it would not corrupt you?

What is 'corruption'? I am not like you, Great Lord. I am an unordered being.

"Oh?" the leader says. His casual word belies his less-than-casual pose. "What dangers are there?"

His men seem to take a cue from him, and all are more alert.

"There is a cockatrice in the woods ahead, and efforts are being made to eradicate the beast," Edan says. "But beyond that, to go further is to enter the demenses of the King of Amber and Xanadu, of which the Warden rules this forest in his name. You can imagine that an armed force travelling forward would be... worrisome."

The man nods. "Amber has long ignored us and all Arcadian doings. We are far from his realm, I think, and into lands neither King nor Goddess claim. If the King of distant Amber wishes to contest with us over them, he would find, Goddess willing, that we are not easy to dislodge."

He smiles. "I am certain you must understand my position. We will not stop our pursuit of our enemies, under orders from our Mother-Goddess, merely because of danger or claims that we intrude on the demesnes of far distant Kings. I suspect that by the time he became aware of us, we will have moved on. Not interfering with should be your most expedient path."

Edan tilts his head. "Let me see if I understand this. You and your force are from Arcadia. You are pursuing another tribe or tribes from Arcadia, who are your enemies. I assume that they worship another goddess. You do this on orders from your own Mother-Goddess. The other tribe came through here ahead of you, and you do not know their fate. Even if this land belongs to the King of Amber, you think that he is far away, and you are strong, and you hope to have your business done before he notices or cares. And if I am wise, I should advise the Warden of Broceliande that she would be better served not interfering in your affairs. Do I have that all aright?" The head-tilt grows a little more pronounced. "May I have your name, and hear which Goddess that you serve, that I may also tell this to the Warden?"

The leader nods. "You have it right, Edan of the many ancestors. If our positions were reversed, would you turn your army away from a task ordered by your King on the word of a few men that you were entering the realm of our goddess, assuming you knew that that realm was on the far side of your kingdom? We mean you no harm, but we do not recognize your authority to stop us.

"And this, you may tell your Warden, is the word of Herodion, servant of Lalal."

Edan gives a bow from the neck. "I understand your position, Herodion of Arcadia. I shall pass this along to the Warden, and let her decide as to how she wishes to proceed." He hesitates. "If I were to say anything to you, it would be that the paths have changed. You are far away from Amber now, but not so far away from Xanadu. But, I know that would not change your mind." He bows again, letting that be his message to end the conversation, and will withdraw with Couth and Aramsham (sans passenger) unless stopped.

No one stops them, but the visible parts of the forces here do not seem to drop their guard.

Kyauta... I decided when you were given to me that you should have free will where it was possible. I do not like the thought of Eating this cockatrice, I worry that it will turn you against me or change you beyond our pact, but I would not forbid you to do it. Do as you see fit, and we will talk of it later.

I waited, Great Lord, and the Small Lords killed it! But there are more. I can smell them.

Couth leans into him. "I reckon we've got a fair chance of getting back to the river, but not unwatched. After your first victim tells that one what you did to 'em, I don't know if they'll try in force or not. I'd say 'not', but I'm not so sure I'd fail to prepare for a sneak attack."

Iron Eye steps into the conversation. "Shall we share the news, Lord Edan, while we are sure we still can?"

Do as you will, then. Don't get Eaten. Edan has a slight smile that turns into a grin when he faces the others.

"I was about to say, 'we've got a few minutes before they send the other scouts out after us'. Iron Eye, yes, we should share this news, and quickly, either by cadence or in person. Or both. I would like to know what my sister wants before I ruin any of her plans." He starts working a thread out of the sleeve of his robe. "As for followers, I have a way to delay pursuit. It was clever of them to come out and meet us, so I could not see their numbers. Did anyone else see any clues? I could keep an army busy for months... years, by myself. But they hav e Goddess on their side, and if she comes to them in person she might be able to undo some of my workings. It would be good if someone... Couth, say... knew a few dangerous places in this wood where I could lead them, if need be."

Iron Eye nods. "I saw signs of more than seven fires, so more than a score of men, unless they are wasteful."

Couth trots over to a hollow tree he'd apparently spotted earlier. He picks up a rock and says "Watch for trouble." He beats out a pattern on the log, and it echoes across the valley.

Edan nods at Iron Eye and Elm, letting them take over that task while he stretches his thread between his fingers. Reaching into a pocket, his fingers come out dirty with charcoal, which Edan rubs onto the thread by stretching it out again and again. After a minute, he has a tangled, off-color thread in his hands.

"As the charcoal holds the memory of fire, let the thread hold the memory of a path," he half-sings, and moves back to let the thread snag in some of the vegetation behind them. When he returns to the others, he says, "Don't double back to there. Don't disturb the thread. Our pursuers should follow a illusionary trail by compulsion for a couple of hours once they happen across it."

Arthur Elm looks perplexed, but Couth speaks up first. "Good enough for us," he says with some finality. "Where to, Lord Edan? I think we need to get across the river. Paige or Robin will be able to talk to us from wherever they are, if they ain't busy."

Edan nods his agreement. "An excellent suggestion. Please, lead us there. You're our expert, Couth, so if there's something I can do, just tell me."

Couth holds up a hand for quiet as they walk. Edan can hear a sound, buried in the natural sounds of the valley, that he suspects is Ranger talk. Other than his family, few except the Rangers would even know it was there, unless they were taught to listen for it.

Couth whistles quickly like a bird. "Robin says they killed two Cockatrices and part of the missin' patrol is with her. We should join them."

"Kyauta told me there's more than one," Edan says. "I agree, let's join up with them." To be safe, he scans the area with his Third Eye, before they move or as they move, making sure that something hasn't followed them yet.

They reach and cross the river with ease, although they hear the sounds of misguided pursuit in the distance. About halfway to the valley's edge, Couth notices something. "Some's in the woods, a gauche--I mean to the left. Shall we welcome them to the valley as nicely as we did the last one?"

Edan kneels down, draws the knife from his leg sheath, and starts digging a small hole in the ground. "I can make an illusion of a lake," he says. "They could spend hours trying to skirt the edge of a water-filled hole I will dig here. They won't even care that they didn't see it before. But is it the same group?"

Iron Eye purses his entire face in thought. "Could it be the missing rangers?"

Couth looks surprised. "If it's one of her Rangers, it's one of the new pups. Not a great forest hand, but not those louts from before. We'll know soon enough, he's coming this way."

Arthur Elm looks at Iron Eye. "Wait, Aren't the missing Rangers followers of Lalal? How can that Army be, too?" Iron Eye holds up a finger. "Later," he whispers. The Rangers fade back into the trees, taking hiding places so that they can surprise the stranger or at least support Edan.

Edan, for his own part, continues kneeling next to the small hole he's dug in the ground, eventually filling it with water from a waterskin he finds in his robes, looking for all the world like this is something people do every day. He does move, however, so that he's facing the direction of the newcomer.

A somewhat wild-eyed man comes through the brush. He's wearing leathers typical of the Rangers, although they seem to have had rough times recently. For all that, he looks as if he could be Herodion's brother.

He stops, short. "Hello?", he says. His Thari is heavily accented.

Edan's eyebrows climb skyward. "Hello, there," he says back. He points to the man's leathers and says, "are you one of the Warden's rangers?" He looks past the man. "Er, are you being followed?"

"Are you a Ranger? There's birds here! Birds that kill. They got Cotter. String and I ran and I ... got lost."

"My sister's woods are perilous," Edan agrees. He takes out a piece of charcoal, which bursts into flame, which he then drops into the pool. "I am not a Ranger, but I am brother to Paige, if that helps you. There are... more dangers than just birds here. If you will come over here and stand behind me, I will set a perimeter for us with magic. There are foreign troops not terribly far behind you."

The pool starts bubbling up, as if Edan has tapped an underground sprint. It widens considerably and flows down to meet the river that the scouts just crossed. Edan believes it will achieve his objectives.

Couth steps into the clearing, alone. "Easy, Ranger Poach," he says to the wild-haired man. "You're among friends. More are coming, too. The Warden is in the valley."

Edan stands up and dusts off his hands. "My illusion is in place," he says. "Those who come this way should be kept busy for quite a while. We should go find the others."

Couth says "Good as done, my Lord." He's smiling.

Robin eases into the clearing. Paige's twins are right behind her.

It's as though the leaves and shadows of Broceliande have coalesced into a Ranger, so much a part of her environment is Robin as she slides out of the concealing underbrush into the open. Robin's rumpled green tunic and smudged leathers cling to a well-rounded figure that moves with the unself-conscious grace of a wild thing. Short knife-cut blonde hair is twined with small bones, stones and feathers and dances around a deeply-tanned apple-cheeked face. The Ranger is armed with a common but highly functional spear, a sword sheathed at her side and numerous other sheathes and belt pouches.

The vibrant green eyes that dart around the clearing taking in everyone and everything in, are sparkling and snapping with life. As Robin takes in Couth's smile, she relaxes slightly and nods to him with a fond smile of her own. Then those eyes turn toward to Edan, curiousity for him and his unnatural puddle flickering through them.

"That's..." Edan grins at Couth. "Efficient." Smiling, he looks very similar to Bleys or Brennan, except that he's painfully thin and has brown skin. He's wearing light-colored travelling clothes and a white turban pinned with a ruby. Two crossed swords are in his sash, and from the way he stands, probably a large knife is strapped to his leg. Edan's eyes are a brilliant liquid gold.

His head tilts, seeming at a loss for words, before he opts for the immediate and obvious. "I made an illusion to deter the soldiers of Lalal who have crossed into the forest," he says to Robin. "If you step into the false lake, you might disturb the illusion. Worse, you might be caught in it. Aramsham, come over here." A magnificent black stallion snorts and bobs his head and moves away from the puddle and over to Edan. He casually tries to step on Edan's foot when he stops; Edan just as casually moves his foot out of the way.

Paige follows just behind the twins. She's nowhere as in tune with her surroundings, but much closer than anytime her brother has seen her in town. The clothes are cut for riding, the blade at her hip with a slight curve to the intricately carved hilt of green jade. She smiles at her brother's appearance, chuckling at Couth's high-muckity-muck Cadence.

"Well met brother," she offers. "Lalal's soldiers? Have they given any clue to where they march?"

Couth and Van squat down and look at Leif and Brooke, who go over and squat with them in a small circle.

Iron Eye and Arthur Elm walk over to Poach, both avoiding the quondam lake.

Robin has to think a little but eventually she gets it. "Edan." She gives the man a nod. "Aramsham." Same for the horse, though with a smile for a cantakerous critter, which is far more understandable than redheads. "I'm Robin, daughter of Julian. Well met."

Then she'll let the important stuff get discussed.

Edan hesitates a little again, to work out the social niceties in his head, then bows to Robin. His fingers touch his heart, then his forehead, then extand outward. "As-salaam alaykum, Robin, daughter of Julian. I am honored to finally meet you. And Paige, I am overjoyed to see you, as well. The soldiers of Lalal, they are seeking another tribe that serves another goddess, one that passed this way. They are trying to slay them, I think. Their leader has been warned that they have moved into yours', and Xanadu's, influence. They do not care, or at least they think they will fulfill their purpose before they attract enough notice. I... am afraid I do not have an exact count of them, though Iron Eye guessed twenty from their fires." He stops. "If those fires are still burning, if you wish, I can let us see through them."

Robin takes in Edan's information with a thoughtful frown. She wouldn't have pegged Lalal as a poacher. Maybe these men are getting a little eager on their own.

The Ranger casts a measuring eye over the group around her. And a quick dark smirk dances across her lips. Those twenty men are in a world of trouble. Heck, she could take them herself but with the others? One warband gone.

"Well, three of that tribe are the Rangers we're seeking, one the children found, one the corruptors found." Paige worries her lip. "They've the King's protection and thus this is our problem people.

"I can't assume the Warden of Arden felt any differently, but we're King's Men and they threaten Rangers as well," she says to Couth and Robin.

"Brother, can I ask you help in this? I'd like to negotiate, but am ready to do so aggressively if the need arises."

Edan smiles Bleys's devil-may-care grin. "I am due for a meeting in Xanadu, possibly overdue, but I shall attend to you first. Whether by sword or spell, mind or body, I am always available to aid my sister, and Broceliande, in need."

Robin nods her in-ness too. Even if it's to an "agressive negotiation" as opposed to a frolicsome trouncing.

Paige nods and waves the Ponca, Rangers, Van, and the twins in for the strategy session. "The illusion should allow us to ensure the element of surprise, so lets use that to our advantage," she begins. Sketching in the dirt, Paige draws the valley, the limits of the illusion as Edan describes them.

"Brother if you can locate them roughly through their fires, it would be appreciated, as would solid numbers," she tells her brother.

"Robin, I'd like you and the Ponca to watch their flank so we can hit them should negotiations go poorly. Van, Brooke, Leif, you're with them." The look she gives Van suggests that any allegience to her should be applied doubly so to the twins, not that she has any doubt that it will be.

Robin nods her understanding with a toothy grin. Hand-grenade in the pocket. That's a job she can do.

The twins grin. "Can I borrow your extra knife, Couth?" asks Leif. Brooke hits him in the shoulder and he grins sheepishly. "Sorry, 'Ranger Couth'."

"String, Poach, these soldiers are looking for the Children of the Moon. You're going to stay here within this glen, so as to not provoke them to action."

They look rebellious for a moment, then agree.

"Couth, you and Edan are with me, for the talking bits," she finishes. "They're hunting my Wood, and my people, so there's no quarter if it comes to blows, understood?"

Couth nods, grimly.

Edan nods. "As you say," he says. "Give me a moment to prepare and make a smokeless fire, and I shall show our enemy to the rest of you." He spreads his hands in an expansive, 'I warned them' kind of shrug.

Robin nods again. Definitely a job she can do.

Given a moment to prepare, Edan shows a number of fires, perhaps twenty. The view shifts between them, and walking around the fire here is like walking around there. Within this fire, the view from those campfires is clear. There are between five and ten men at each fire, and the largest is in front of a command tent. The view lingers here and the two children of Lalal gasp when the tent, and the leader come into plain view.

Edan nods at that last. "That's their leader, Herodion. I am thinking that you have seen him." He looks away at that last, absently picking up a few acorns here and there from the ground.

"Something I should know, Rangers?" the Warden asks.

Robin raises an eyebrow at the interplay but keeps her peace for now.

String is wide-eyed. "That is Herodion, his legend was taught to us all as children.

"He, and his army, disappeared at the end of the Age of Legends." He looks down. "It is said that he angered the Goddesses by being overproud of his own skills at war and they punished him by casting him out from Arcadia."

Poach just continues to gape.

"If he was cast out," Edan says slowly, "then why would he be hunting those of Lalal? He agreed that he was following a goddess."

Poach swallows, visibly. "There are older legends. Darker ones. Some say the World-Dragon cursed him, and he and his men march throughout the underworld, seeking a return to the land of the living. They say they live forever and will only reach their goal at the end of the world."

Robin chuckles as she leans forward to get a closer glance at the man in the fire. End of the World? They're late. Buuuuuutttt given the stories so far, Robin can't help but wonder if she's looking at another cousin.

Then she leans back and looks over the forest around her, comparing what she's seen in the fires to the sounds of men and smells of smoke. Once she's got a good idea of the best flanking position, she shoots a quick glance to Paige to make sure that all is okay.

Paige give an authoritative nod that she learned from another cousin.

Robin gathers the Ponca, Brooke & Leif and Van, with a cheerful wave of her hand and heads her band off into the green.

Edan's expression is a giveaway that he shares Robin's thoughts of another cousin; but he says nothing, even when the spell ends and he pockets his handful of acorns. He nods to Paige that he's ready to proceed.

"Fine, even more important that you stay here. Their world is ending, so perhaps I might lead them to the land of the living," Paige decides.

She begins toward the illusion's edge, only pausing to ensure that Couth and Edan are with her.

Couth is at her side, his sword sheathed but ready to come into play. Across the river there is no sign of the intruders. If there were any here, Edan's magic may have misled them.

Couth walks silently, even on the forest trail, and his eyes dart everywhere. After a few minutes he points to a rise ahead and makes a hand-signal. Beyond this rise is where Edan met Herodion.

Well, they're the ones doing the talking. Edan moves up to Paige, falling into step with her, but giving her the dominant position to the right of him. Otherwise, he watches and waits.

He's not a cockatrice, but Paige centers her sense of Self again before heading over the rise.

"Any questions?" she asks.

Edan quells a shrug. "How much damage do you want me to do, if this falls apart? I could have removed them before, but also, possibly, many miles of the surrounding forest. It would ruin the reason why I came this way in the first place."

Paige nods, "I can't condone hurting the Wood, but I won't have enemies at my back. You damage them until I say stop, but finesse, not force if such a differentiation can be made."

Paige and Edan continue down the path and over the rise. Beyond it they can see a small number of men tending horses. Behind them is a camp which looks to be in the process of breaking up. The grooms spot Edan and Paige and one is about to raise some sort of alarm when Herodion puts his hand on the boy's shoulder. He walks forward with two officers.

He smiles at Edan. "Greetings again, Tharimen. I had not considered that you would have wizardry at your disposal, but my men tell me otherwise."

Edan bows. "I have many talents, Herodion of Arcadia. Since your men came to watch me, I could not disappoint them." He turns his head slightly towards Paige, and then back to Herodion. "Your presence, and your story, were important enough that I felt they should be shared quickly."

The redhead smiles and offers Herodion a slight bow, her eyes never leaving his, "I am The Warden of Broceliande, Enchanted Wood of Xanadu, Niece of King Random the First," Paige introduces.

"My brother has told me that you hunt for the Children of the Moon that emigrated to Xanadu," she begins. "If your intentions are honorable, I will be happy to lead you to them." Her words are warm and welcoming, but her left hand rests on the end of her hilt even as her right is open and expressive.

Herodion may be many things, but he is not skilled at hiding his disbelief. "Your pardon, Lady, but your claim seems to be far too good to be true. My men and I have sought the Children of the Moon for a long time, and have met none in our travels who did not wish us spite. Even in these latter days when we have been released from our nightmares, we have found none who would do more than trap us and none of those had heard of our land or our Lady.

His officers take their lead from him. "Can you prove your claims?", one adds.

Paige nods. "I would hear your intentions before making such promises, but I believe that I can, yes. While there may be none that you remember, I have within my own Rangers some of Lalal's children. They could be called upon if needed, and before I might lead you to the city where most of the Children of the Moon reside now."

[If this is correct, that is... Last I remembered Random stood fast on the No Settling The Wood statute.]

[OOC: Yep. The Lallalians are building the town, so some harvesting the woods. Mostly south, away from Broceliande.]

"As you say, you've been released from nightmares. Arcadia is itself falling to the war raging there, and not suited to your return," she explains, scanning the officers reactions. "King Random would welcome you to his realm, I expect."

Edan lets the silence stretch to three beats after Paige stops speaking. "And what will you do, once you find them?"

He smiles at Edan. "Why, that would depend, magician, on the dictates of the Goddess."

He turns to Paige. "If our people are at war, it is either cruelty or enmity to them to keep their army from them."

"Your Goddess's Mother is at war, not your people. They chose to leave that conflict, hence their settlement here," Paige answers. "I will have need of warriors to protect them and this Forest if you are concerned with the need for employment."

Edan, for his part, doesn't say anything; his eyes narrow at Herodion's words, but then he smiles.

[Herodion] smiles at Paige's words, sadly. "The battles of Goddesses are fought by mortal soldiers, Lady, and Lalal blesses us and we are her people, but the role of the people of the Goddess is to do her will. Forgive my bluntness, but you mentioned you had children of Lalal in your service. Did you capture them fairly in war and what is their ransom price?"

Paige shakes her head. "They have taken service freely with King Random and His Rangers, with leave from their Goddess. Lalal and His Majesty came to an accommodation before their resettlement in Xanadu."

He pauses. "Resettlement? Has Great Delos been destroyed then? This will, indeed be a bittersweet reunion, I suspect. Who are our enemies that have reduced our people thus?"

And answering that, Edan thinks, could take a fortnight. He continues to hang back, though, reading the body language of the people around them to watch for an attack.

"Not destroyed, no, but the same cosmological cosmos changes that lost you have shaken loose elder powers."

His laugh is short and bitter. "I think we were loosed, Warden. For we wandered for years in lands that had not heard of Arcadia, with no way of finding our home. It has been mere weeks since we first saw trees again. For a forest people, the lack of trees is a hardship. Do you know who is High Priestess of Lalal now?"

"Lalal introduced me to Penelope, before we left Arcadia," Paige answers. "She is in the new settlement. How long have you searched for your people now?"

Herodion looks disappointed, as if he expected to hear something else. "Years, Lady Warden. Nigh on a decade, I believe. It is hard to say, precisely. Not every place we have marched has had seasons as we know them."

Paige looks at Couth, considering for a spare moment. "Call String and Poach in," she directs.

Couth takes two steps and is gone from Paige's sight.

Turning back to Herodion, she says, "So, you have met my brother previously, have your intentions changed since last you encountered him?"

Edan suddenly looks almost, but not quite, relieved.

Herodion smiles. "I try to allow myself to change my mind when I receive new information. You have suggested that you could choose to reunite my army with our people, a thing we devoutly wish. I await your proof and to find the cost of the boon you suggest is in your power.

"My intentions, Lady? They have not changed. If appropriate, I am willing to change my tactics. And you hold the power to accomplish that change, or so you say."

Paige nods, returning his smile. "And if possible, I will grant the boon without cost to you and your army."

She looks thoughtful for a moment before asking, "Are you sure of your welcome upon return? As you say a decade may have passed, or more since you've seen your people.

"Might I ask how you became seperated in the first place?"

"I left to fight a war, against the enemies of the Goddess. It was a siege of many years, and many Kingdoms fought it in and many brave soldiers fell. As to my welcome, there can be no doubt. I am the King of Great Delos, divinely anointed." He may mean the last literally.

Edan stares at Herodion at that last, then glances away, probably remembering something in his own past that troubled him. When he looks back, he says, "You are their king? In what manner, then, will you wish to enter the city and meet your people?"

"Wish, My Lord? Why for a dramatic entrance. We march in to the sound of lyres, bloodied but triumphant. In the background lightning strikes, signifying the goddess' pleasure with the restoration of the rightful order.

"In reality? First I shall need to hear of the fate of Delos."

Couth whistles softly. Birds in hand, bringing them in.

The grizzled ranger follows his whistle, with the two newcomers behind him. They seem to be in awe rather than fear.

The pair approaches Herodion, and each drops to one knee, heads bended. After a moment he says "arise", and the rangers do.

The Lochagos looks at Paige and Edan, perhaps to check their reactions.

Paige is concerned at how quickly her Rangers fall back into old loyalties, but doesn't let it find her face.

Edan's neutral expression immediately hardens into stone, which probably reveals more about his feelings on that subject than he would have wished.

"Tell me of our people." The request is remarkably mild and open.

String replies, solemnly. "Your highness, we have fled the destruction of Delias. All Arcadia had descended into war and the Tharimen offered us a route to safety. Lalal herself has spoken to them."

Herodion looks to Paige. His officers look like they have been struck.

"As I said, a great war," Paige answers. "My apologies if something I said mislead you into believing something else previously, but the King has left the management of your people just so, to your people.

"Perhaps I could find my cousin-goddess Lalal, and she might explain things better," she offers.

Edan tenses a little at that, but doesn't say anything.

He shakes his head. "It is not mete for me to ask the Goddess for anything, that is the High Priestess' duty." He turns back to String. "Tell me of Priestess Penelope. I know naught of her, and yet I hear she has succeeded to Aglaia's throne."

String looks surprised. "My Lord King! I..." He glances at Paige and Edan. "It is not mine to explain, my Lord."

Not recognizing the name, Edan merely raises an eyebrow and shifts his head fractionally in Paige's direction.

"String, answer him as best you can, as it will be some time before we make your people's camp," the Warden orders.

String nods reluctantly and his partner tenses.

"My King, the throne has been vacant for over a millennium. The line of High Priestesses is unbroken, but none has sat your throne since you departed."

One of the officers faints, and Herodion turns to them. "I will cleave the tongue of any who tells this to the men." He turns back to Paige. "If your offer to take us to meet with Priestess Penelope still stands, we will accept it." His face is a mask and his voice is unwavering, but Paige can tell he's just compartmentalized away his feelings.

Edan looks to Herodion, then back to Paige. The look to Paige is slightly relieved, as if to say, 'not only do I agree, but it looks like things will become much more manageable once a meeting between them takes place'. It is plain that he wasn't aware the people of Lalal have been without a secular leader, just a religious one, for generations.

Kyauta, we will be leaving soon. Return to me.

Yes, Great Lord! I return!

Paige nods once much like one of her cousin's suggesting she agrees.

"Couth, I will lead the King and his men back, You would take charge of the Rangers still on patrol and complete the recconaissance," a nod toward where she expects Robin and the twins have deployed. "I will take String and Poach with me," she suggests.

"Brother, would you travel with us, or do you have a destination in mind?" she asks.

"I happened to be Working with the Principles when I discovered what was going on in the valley," Edan says. "I had found a good place to talk to the earth. I do want to come to Xanadu...perhaps I could collect my affine and catch up with you on the way. I can come with you now, however, if you wish."

"Yes, Warden," replies Couth. "Are we taking the entire army back or just the King and his staff? The King can probably move faster with a small retinue."

The King makes preparations to depart, and as quickly as possible is ready to go.

From body language, Edan thinks the smaller number would be a better idea, but he keeps quiet and lets Paige handle that one.

Paige answers Couth first. "My apologies for being unclear previously, but I was thinking just the King and his entourage," the Warden chuckles. "My father's the one that leads armies upon Anchors of Order, not me."

Couth keeps a remarkably straight face, but cannot completely hide his shock from Paige. He nods.

"Brother, I will be available for your call should, or when you, need me," she offers.

A small flying lizard lands on Edan's arm. It smells like a dog that has rolled in something dead and wet.

I return, Great Lord! I have eaten. I only found a small beast.

Edan tries to hold his face still against the obvious revulsion from the filth and the smell, which means it's obvious to everyone that he's trying to hide it. He bows quickly to both Paige and Herodion so that he can move back and not expose them to the same. "And the same for me, my sister," he says. "Peace be with you both." And he smiles, a little, and moves out of smelling range.

Walking away from the army group leading Aramsham, Kyauta on his shoulder, Edan reaches into one of his pockets and decides that someone snuck an unlit cigarette in there, probably some time ago as a joke.

Another taboo broken, he thinks, lighting it, but it is probably the strongest thing to do about his affine's smell without trying to erase the odor magically. Edan almost changes his mind after the half-minute of wracking coughs that seize his body following a few puffs, but after they subside he decides that it might not kill him, after all.

His steps take him away from the army, back in the general direction of the knoll he originally found at the edge of the valley. Wait a minute, Kyauta. You said you only ate a small beast. A small... what?

beast repeats Kyauta. The mental image he sends at the same moment is not very clear, but look furry rather than squamous. It doesn't look much like a natural animal, but it might be as filtered through Kyauta's perceptions.

The twins pair up--Van with Leif and Brooke with the Ponca. The cadence shifts to a quieter, more tactical approach. Robin suspects that some of it is for her, and some for Couth, and some may not be intended for anyone but the twins. Nevertheless, they keep the party in touch, even as everyone is moving quickly into a flanking position.

Robin uses her own abilities to find herself (and anyone else who might want or need one) a serviceable bow and a quiver of decent arrows. Just in case of the need for some diplomacy at range.

They're an unfamiliar style, but the cache seems servicable. Everyone who isn't armed takes one of each.

The only really worrying fragment seems to say "mother did not say not to". Robin missed whatever that was in response to.

The Ranger represses a quick chuckle. Yeah, she'd rather do it in Wolf form if she could too.

Van and Leif are the first to come up with something, before the team can flank the meeting-place. "Picket. Alone." is the Cadence. "Alone" would mean "and out of contact with the rest", if it were a Ranger report. Robin isn't sure what Leif means.

"Take. Quick. Quiet, hidden. Alive." is Robin's Cadence response. She waves Brooke and the Ponca on into position while she keeps her attention on the area of Leif's message.

It's hardly a moment before the Cadence reply comes back. "Got 'em!" Robin heard the man being grabbed, but most would not have. Leif can be quiet when he wants to be.

Brooke and the Ponca take up positions. Brooke heads up into a tree where she can get good sight-lines to the meeting place.

"Good work! Secure. Take position." Robin replies. And she moves into another arboreal site that would let her set-up a crossfire with Brooke.

From the vantage, Robin is in an ideal spot to watch as Paige and Edan come over the hill. The Arcadians spot them, but before a commotion can be raised, the leader walks forward. He looks quite a bit like Daeon.

Robin nods in satisfaction when she doesn't see Couth. Good, that means he's got their backs.

Then she frowns at the Daeon-ganger. Despite her grumpiness right now and her natural bloodlust, she'd rather not fill a potential cousin who looks like her brother full of arrows. Oh, wait. It's Daeon. Problem solved.

Robin's lips cock in an ironic smile as she strings her bow and makes ready her arrows.

To some degree, they all look like Daeon, but something about him in particular. Might be the swagger.

Couth signals discreetly from behind the rise. He's out of sight, but close.

Robin replies softly with her own position and that of her team.

The meeting is going well, in that no one has drawn a weapon (or poorly, if weapon drawing was what one was hoping for). Body language indicates to Robin that the Arcadians are suspicious of Paige.

Well, this is a problem Paige can screw into submission so they're right to be suspicious. 'Course Paige might have learned her lesson with the mommy-hood. Time will tell.

Robin doesn't take her eyes off of the unfolding scene near the tents, but she does check in with her three little sweeties, just to make they're all sneaky but still on guard for any more cockatrix that might decide to make things interesting.

So far neither Paige nor the Daeonites are doing anything interesting. At least not that can be seen from here.

Unexpectedly, Robin hears a rapidfire burst of Cadence from Leif. Prisoner. Come Talk.

Hunh. Given both the boy's general rowdiness and his innate competency, this could be good. Robin rustles a quick flurry back to Leif. "On way." And then to the others, "Out of position."

She slithers down out of the tree and ghosts through the green to Leif's post.

Robin reaches Leif and Van. Leif has the man tied from a tree by one ankle, his hands tied behind his head and a gag keeping him quiet. The boy's goal seems to have been to keep the man quiet rather than comfortable. He seems to have the man cowed.

Leif gets a toothy grin of approval from his auntie.

Leif notices, but doesn't reply. He's pretty good at not responding.

Van moves over to Robin. "I asked Leif to call you. It's very strange, Lady Robin. He speaks as if he left Arcadia when Corwin was Warden of Arden. I don't think they are what they seem to be."

Robin raises an eyebrow. If that's true, that's one heck of a fairy hill they've stumbled out of. But she knows someone who's trip was longer.

"Is something other than the time dialation twigging you?" she asks Van.

He shakes his head. "Weeks or months are one thing. Centuries need some explaining."

As she listens to his answer, Robin asks Leif with her eyes if she can approach his catch.

(Assuming it's okay) The girl approaches the tied man with all senses fired up and the Pattern firmly in mind.

The hanged man looks like a typical Arcadian soldier; Dark, tight curls on his head and a strong nose. He looks to be no more than twenty. He is bound by one foot and his hands are tied behind his head.

Leif is crouched beside him, at about the level of the upside-down man's head.

Robin cocks her head at the man. "I'm Robin, daughter of the current Warden of Arden. Working with the Warden of Broceliande, the forest you hang within. My companions don't believe you are what you say you are. Care to explain?"

Despite the civil words, Robin's eyes are as feral as Leif's.

The upside down man takes a moment to breathe and then addresses her. "I know not, Noble Lady. I told them of our long search for our home, a decade of wandering foreign lands searching for our way back to Delos. It is a strange tale, full of wicked monsters and wickeder people, but it is not unbelievable. It is the way of war.

"I know not your Broceliande, but I have heard of the Warden of Arden, a demi-god whose brother was said to be the sire of the Goddesses of Arcadia, and thus the father of our civilization."

Robin nods. "My uncle."

And crouches down to put her head level with the soldier's eyes. "I know not of your Delos. And the land here is... impatient with war bands. What will your people do?" The glint in her eyes says that 'that's for the general to decide' is not an acceptable answer. If these men have wandered foreign lands and lived strange tales for a decade than Hanging Man will know which way they tend to jump.

He hesitates, as if contemplating exactly the answer Robin does not wish to hear. He looks to Leif, who seems no more yielding than Robin, and then he speaks. "We want to go home, Lady. Men who left infants with their wives should have sons who are grown men now. Parents, Children, Wives that we have not seen in these many years. We serve the Goddess, but ours has been a harsh term of servitude."

Robin nods, understanding and sympathy lightening her expression a little. After all, it as only a little while ago that she returned the dragonriders to what Calusa had become. And that thought prompts her to ask. "And if Delos is gone?"

"I know not, Lady. If you returned to Amber after a war and it had been destroyed, what would your army do?"

Robin is blank, oh so very blank, for a second.

He does not pause. "I suspect we would try to extract a price from those who had destroyed our homes, if the Goddesses and the Lochagos so willed it."

"Noted." Robin stands from her crouch. "Warden willing, we'll see if Lalal's available to take charge of you guys. You'll do what she says? Even if you don't like it?"

Religion. Robin's never understood it anymore than she has honor.

He shrugs. It looks awkward and leaves him swinging slightly. Leif reaches out and stops his motion. "There is a saying amongst our people, that a man who wishes a tranquil life does not bring himself to the attention of the Goddesses. It might be said that a man who does not wish to find himself hanging from his ankle should not bring himself to the attention of demi-goddesses or heroes."

Robin snorts in amusement, though her eyes are still those of the wild.

"We follow the Lochagos. He has long been in the eye of the divine, as befits a great King and warrior."

"Will you tell me of your Lochagos." It is curiosity that tinges Robin's voice, not the demand of an interrogator - though no positions have changed.

The man nods, eagerly. "Herodion, our King. In peacetime, he is just, In war, like a lion. He has personally saved the lives of us all, many times over. It is said that Lalal's sisters were so jealous of the mighty champion that she had as King of Delos that they blocked our return for these past years."

Leif makes a short grunt. Then gestures to the hanging man.

He continues. "I will introduce you, if you wish."

Robin nods. "Please."

But her eyes narrorw in thought. Was Herodion the main contender before Daeon and Dione were born? Now there's both Brooke & Leif and Fur & Fang in the mix. This could definitely get ugly. A dark chuckle ripples through her at the thought that it might have been her father who blooked Herodion and these men from returning to Arcadia. Or more likely, it was strict inter-Arcadian politiphysics.

"Any particular sister?" she asks.

This line of questioning brings the man up short, or as close to it as he can come from where he currently hangs. "The King? No, not that I know of. None that he has spoken of."

Brooke's Cadence is quick but clear. Couth has joined the Warden, as have the new rangers.

"Hmmm..." Robin rubs her chin in thought. Outwardly, she gives no sign that she's picked up Brooke's message.

"What's your name, soldier?" Again, not an interrogation, just a question.

"Strepsiades, Lady. May I request a more comfortable imprisonment? The next scout may not be as clumsy as I am and I would hate it reported back how badly I had failed."

"That'd be up to Lief. You're his catch." Robin tilts her head to her nephew. "Strepsiades." She says in farewell.

Robin nods curtly to the hanging man. Her green eyes dart to Leif and a bob of her blonde head says 'good job, keep it up.' Then she looks over to Van. Weeellll, okay. He's right to have his suspicions even if Robin doesn't share his concern over a century or two. After all -- Reid, Corwin, herself -- sometimes, there's just... accidents that way.

As she departs, Strepsiades asks Lief a question, and gets a curt 'no' in reply.

Then, as quickly as she came, she's gone. And back into her cross-fire position to guard Paige & Edan's backs. A quick burst of Cadence to let all know she's back in the pocket, bow strung, arrow ready, critters on guard. Robin's ready for trouble.

Robin climbs the tree. From her perch, she can see that Couth has indeed brought up the two found Rangers. They've bowed to the stranger and there is a three-way discussion going on. So far, no one looks like they're going to break the peace, but the men behind the leader look upset.

Robin presses her lips a little at the bows. Ah, well. New Warden, new Rangers, not the ways she grew up with any more. She hopes that Paige can understand the depth of some of her older Rangers loyalites as she tries to blend them with folk who think Rangerin' is a job. Poor Solange.

The talk-fest continues. One man on their side faints, perhaps from boredom.

Robin holds her position like the predator she is. However, she cannot resist a quiet tick of her tongue, she would faint too. The talking is even more boring to watch then it is to do. Except for watching Vere talk. That's completely different.

As the familiar stab of Miss Him shoot through the girl, Robin distracts herself by focusing on her new cousin - the one who looks so unfortunately like his father.

Without Brita's particular olfactory gifts, it's hard to be sure if he's a cousin, or just a typical Mediterranean warrior. Given how unlike Daeon and Father are, he could be Daeon's cousin without being her cousin.

It's hard to tell.

Hmmm. So that maybe-cousin is boring.

How about the definitely-cousin who looks so like Ossian in Masquerade attire and yet is so distinctly unlike Ossian? Robin's eyes narrow in concentration as she takes her opporunity to thoroughly check out Edan from the cover of the green depths without having to endure the same from him.

Soooo much better this way.

What Robin notices about Edan is that he is tall, taller than most men from Amber. His skin is a dusky brown, and his hair is dark with a strong hint of red. It is short, and he is beardless, uncommon things from that land. Edan has the physique of a runner or a dancer, but thin and sere as though all the excess water of his body had been burned from him.

It's clear from here that he is Paige's brother.

He's armed with two curved blades and moves comfortably with them.

Things are happening below. The maybe-cousin is directing some of his men to break camp. It looks like he may be going with Paige, who doesn't seem surprised by his actions.

And a tiny dragonet has landed on the definitely-cousin's arm. Robin can sense three very interested dragonets of her own, all looking at the newcomer. He seems very comfortable with the creature.

An unconcious chirrup of curiosity escapes the girl as her attention is diverted in the same direction as her little friends. Ooo-ooooo. Robin rustles the wings she doesn't really have but feels nonetheless. Definitely-cousin's friend definitely has to be investigated. And soon.

But in the meantime, Robin shakes her head back to the man-swarm. Break-downs make excellent opportunities for surprises so she re-sharpens her focus on all the swirling men to make sure that nothing untoward starts happening.

The Ranger slips a quick stream of Cadence to Leif into the forest sounds, "Bundle prisoner. Bring to me." She'll figure out some way to reunite Strepsiades with Maybe-Cousin in a way that preserves something of Strepsiades' dignity. Or maybe not, Robin's not the most understanding of dignity, but she figures it's worth a shot.

Then she frowns as she catches Couth's reaction to some joke of Paige's. Ooops. Ah well, Couth is a good one for the Warden to practice not stepping in the dung with. Hopefully Paige will figure out what's stuck to her boot and not do it again.

By the time she finishes her scan of the camp, Definitely-cousin has faded off into the Green. Verde!

Buuutttt, the Family is safe, Cockatrixes are accounted for, Army not too jumpy right now. It really is time to be getting back to Xanadu for the stoopid duel. Hopefully it won't take these guys too much time to break camp.

Before camp breaks, Leif appears in the tree, the erstwhile scout over his shoulder.

Once the Warden and delegation are safely under way, Robin sends a quick Cadence message to Paige to ask to meet her within the green shadows. (If Paige is ameniable) Robin hits the highpoints in typical laconic Ranger fashion. She asks Leif to turn his prize over to the Warden. Then she asks the Warden if she can separate off to clean up cockatrice messes and head back to Xanadu. And if Paige agrees, Robin asks her if she can use her Trump of the King to report in that the cousins are separating ('cause she promised she would do that and people seem to get all upset if they don't know where she is -- whatever.)

(If all of that goes well) Robin slips away back into the dappled wilderness of Broceliande with a fond wave of good-bye to the Cadence-chatty twins.

Her plan with the cockatrice mess though, that's something Robin would rather not have any witnesses for. So she's very careful about potential watchers and keeping under concealment herself. While she's promised the King that she wouldn't bring any cockatrixes into Xanadu, Robin is going to safely package and pack as many cockatrice bits as she can. Especially the potent casting stuff -- eyes, tongues, hearts, livers, claws, etc. And while Robin won't bring any viable eggs (she shakes 'em really hard to make sure), she does collect as many of the eggs as she can safely carry as well. The rest she disposes of as thoroughly as a lifetime of this type of work can manage.

Then Robin turns her boots back toward Xanadu. As she nears the city, the girl finds a good deep cold (and unoccupied) crevasse in which to store her bag of "goodies." A quick visit of a rushing waterfall to clean off herself and her buddies a little, and she reluctantly drags her as... self Castle-ward.