The Queen Is In The Cards

As Vere looks at the list [of the disappeared], he feels the stirrings of a trump contact.

"Bide a moment," Vere says to Siege, and steps away from him.

"Yes?" Vere asks.

Solange finds herself comforted in his mental presence. Spreading this news had quickly gotten wearisome and she was glad he was the last--for now, at least.

"It's Solange. There are bad tidings from Xanadu. Cambina is dead. We believe she fell from Tir but the circumstances are not yet clear. The Queen, last seen with Cambina, is missing and Random has left to search for her. Father sits as regent in Xanadu."

Vere is silent for a moment, then says, "She foretold her death. I had hoped it was still a long time off. How are Jerod and Brennan?"

"Coping," Solange replies. "Vere...if we can't find answers, would you be willing to talk to Cambina? Find out what happened to her?"

Vere frowns. "I cannot leave my people while I am transporting them through Shadow," he says. "However, could you take my trump to where her body is? I do not know if I can speak with the dead through trump, but it is worth an attempt. And while it is important to learn what happened to Cambina, if the Queen is in possible peril it is even more vital to learn what became of her as quickly as possible."

She nods. "King Random is searching and Garrett has gone to help him. If you can communicate with Cambina, then she may also be able to tell us about the Queen. Can you do this now?"

Vere nods. "Yes. We are stopped for the night. It is as good a time as possible."

"Very good. I'll call you back momentarily." She drops the contact.

Solange carefully removes Vere's trump sketch from the wall. After a moment's consideration, she also removes the sketch of herself.

On the way back to Kyril and Cambina, she stops a page and has him deliver a message to Prince Gerard that his daughter Solange requests his presence in the infirmary. Even though Gerard's likely to pitch a fit that she suggested Vere do this, Solange wants her father to hear what Cambina has to say. And if Vere cannot raise Cambina through the trump, then she can offer to trade places with him so if Vere comes through to Xanadu he has a means back to his people in shadow.

It was a plan. She hastens her step.

Kyril looks up as Solange enters. "Good timing. I'm finishing up here." He is. There is a sheet over the body and he's sitting with a notepad writing details down.

"It's a talent I have, arriving 'just in time' for things," she says. "So what did you find?"

"Everything I can do here is consistent with 'She fell from a great height and hit the water'."

Solange exhales and turns from the sheeted body to face Kyril. "Which is about all we expected to find, but it needed to be done. There may be another way, though." She lays the trump sketches on the desk in front of him. "Vere can talk to Cambina. I'm waiting now for Father to join us before I contact him."

Kyril waves his pen around, the way he does when something is frustrating him.

"This is where we have another one of those 'let's break Kyril's brain' moments, isn't it? Let's be clear. You expect Vere to come here, which I get, and he'll talk to Cambina, who is manifestly dead in front of me. In addition, she'll probably reply, and we won't need to do too much deductive reasoning about what she did or where she went, because she'll tell us."

"That's the plan. Vere wants to try to do this through his trump, which will be a neat trick."

"Will she be mad at me for performing an autopsy?"

"Don't worry, I'll protect you." It's pretty clear she's teasing him.

"I keep forgetting to be blasé about the freaky stuff you all do. This conflict between everything I've ever been taught or believed and my own lyin' eyes is damned inconvenient.

"Anyway, I'm not afraid of her ghost. The last one we met was interested in you, and didn't talk."

Kyril picks up a book from the counter. "Dworkin is your grandfather, right?"

"Great-grandfather, actually. Why?" She looks at the cover of the book he picked up.

The book's cover is nondescript. It looks as if it were a manuscript in folio form rather than a mass-produced printed book.

"I was reading this book that Cambina wrote, and he's in it, but as sort of a court jester, or magician. Probably just someone with the same name." Kyril shrugs. "Not important."

"Oh? No, I'm sure she's talking about the same person. The knowledge of his relationship to the family is a relatively new thing, if you'll pardon the pun." Solange smiles. "What part caught your eye?"

"The introduction. She's writing about how hard it is to write a history of Amber. Half of the problem is that the principals are still alive and the other half is that people used to purge the books. Dworkin was listed as an example of that." Kyril puts the book down and sighs. "I was trying to get a feel for her as a person."

At that moment, Gerard rolls up to the door.

Solange's thoughtful expression drops and something more guarded replaces it. She turns toward the door. Without preamble she says, "Father, I've contacted Vere. Upon my request he's agreed to try to talk to Cambina." She purposefully avoids using words like "ghost" and "raise" in an attempt to make the whole thing sound as innocuous as possible.

"Since the king is not here to witness, I requested you as regent be here instead."

Gerard's mouth opens and he's clearly about to protest, but what comes out is a harsh, "Bide," and then a "Who's there?"

There's a pause, and then he answers, "Aye, come through then." Gerard reaches out into space.

Solange straightens and watches curiously.

Hannah comes through first, taking a few extra steps to make room. She nods at Solange, but it is Kyril's eyes she seeks. "Were you able to find anything unexpected?"

"Hannah," Solange greets her sister, smiling.

Corwin comes through right behind Hannah and gives Gerard a fraternal clasp. He nods at Solange, too.

Solange nods back.

Kyril speaks to Hannah, and he's clearly in professional colleague mode. "Injuries were consistent with blunt force trauma. She fell from a great height and landed in the water and it killed her."

While Kyril is talking, Corwin moves over to the body and starts to pull back the sheet. Kyril moves to stop him. "Sir, you won't want to do that. Remember her as she was. We've identified the body; no reason to subject yourself."

Solange picks up the trump sketches of Vere and herself. She watches Corwin and Kyril closely, ready to step in if Corwin should take offense.

Hannah moves to stand right next to Corwin. "Further, your majesty, we should limit who touches her, at this point, for scientific integrity," she says quickly looking like a woman who won't hesitate to slap his hands away.

But she adds more gently, "Si vous avez besoin de voir votre niéce, allow Kyril and I a moment to prepare her first, Corwin, s'il vous plait."

"Merci bien, mademoiselle," Corwin murmurs quietly after a moment to Hannah, and raises his voice to a more normal volume to speak to Kyril. "Of course, doctor. Should Gerard and I leave you to--whatever needs to be done next?"

Kyril gives Solange a look of mute appeal. Obviously the last thing in the world he wants to do is explain to Corwin what Solange and Vere have planned.

Fortunately for him, Gerard forestalls both of them. "They want ta speak with her ghost, Corwin!"

Corwin's eyebrows go up and he turns back to look at Gerard and Solange. "What?"

Hannah just tilts her head back to look around Corwin at Solange and sighs heavily. "Did someone ask you to?"

"I asked Vere if he would talk to Cambina and he agreed to try," Solange says, looking from her father to Corwin and to Hannah. "We all want to know what happened to her and this is one of the more definitive ways we have to find out."

"Or a gross shortcut with possible unintended consequences," Hannah says and crosses her arms.

Corwin looks at each of them in turn, crossing his own arms. Gerard looks like he's about to say something, but Corwin's glance quells him.

Kyril shrugs helplessly. "I'm a scientist. I used to not believe in this stuff, but then we ran into that ghostly floating woman on the island, and now I'm not so sure--"

Corwin cuts him off. "Hold it, stop! What woman? What island?"

The younger man quails a little under his gaze. "Solange and Lucas and I saw her on the island where the crazy seer lived. Germaine, wasn't that his name?" Kyril looks to Solange for support.

Solange flushes. "Um, yeah. Germaine."

Gerard wrinkles his brow, looking confused, at Corwin and then again at Solange and Kyril. "Germaine of the Paresh?" he asks.

Corwin cuts him off with an impatient gesture. "Solange, Kyril, I need you to tell me everything you can about this floating woman." He glances at Hannah. "This may bear on what we do tonight."

Hannah gives him an annoyed look, but shrugs. She begins wandering the perimeter of the room, tidying up.

Solange's expression turns guarded. "Can't we do this later?" Or never. "Vere is waiting for me to trump him."

"Vere can wait," Corwin says dismissively. His eyes narrow as he looks at Solange, hard. "This is important. What about this floating woman? Who are the Paresh, and what's their connection to her? Did they summon her?"

Kyril looks distinctly uncomfortable, and he glances at Solange in mute appeal.

Gerard, like Hannah, seems to be waiting for all this to play out. He's clearly uncomfortable, but he's deferring to Corwin.

Solange returns Corwin's hard stare, bristling at his treatment of her foster-brother. She gestures emphatically at the sheeted body. "And finding out what happened to Cambina isn't important? Look, Vere is in the middle of leading an exodus through shadow and his time is both valuable and short. I caught him at a good time but that won't last while I'm busy answering all of your questions.

"On the other hand, Tir won't be up for several more hours. You have time. He does not.

"You're welcome to stay and witness this if you like, or you can leave. I don't mind either way. But I'm not talking to you right now."

Hannah shuts a cabinet a little too hard. She turns to lean against it, her eyes searching Gerard's face from across the room before she adds anything to the current tension.

Corwin gives Solange a look and turns to Gerard. "Gerard, get your daughter in line before I summon the guard and have her thrown in whatever Random's conjured up for a dungeon in this place."

Gerard is drawing in a breath for his reply.

Solange's expression is incredulous. "You have no jurisdiction here to make such a demand."

Hannah pushes away from the cabinets and walks back into the conversation. "She's right, you know. Also, while Solange may be acting rudely, she hasn't insulted you, and now you're being insulting. Not just to her, but nearly everyone else in the room. None of whom, I think, are very keen to see her locked up."

Hannah dares not pause for breath but just keeps plowing through. Ah, the lessons of counsel meetings. "And I'm not sure she's wrong that your question can wait. What can't wait is a discussion about why it is a bad idea to raise a ghost in a place wherein exists a binding power." Hannah's eyes slip over to Solange. "What if it means binding what is left of Cambina here to wail for all time?"

Solange looks at Hannah and raises her eyebrows.

Gerard overrides whatever answer Solange might have to that. "There'll be nae raising of the dead, sae we can just quit wi' that talk. And Corwin, what the devil are you on about?"

Kyril looks like he'd gladly sink into the floor about now. He has his best impassive doctor's face on, and there's no living patient to keep from hearing the relatives squabble.

"If the Queen of Air and Darkness is loose, it's vital that Hannah and I know that before we go up to Tir. I can withstand her, but if Hannah met her, she would almost certainly kill her," Corwin explains. He looks at Hannah apologetically for a moment, but continues to ignore Solange.

Hannah puts a hand over her heart, tilts her head at Corwin, and completely fails to hide the sarcasm in her 'frightened' expression.

Solange exhales impatiently, greatly annoyed at being dismissed by her father. She never should have talked to him about raising Cambina--but he was acting regent and needed to know. Would Random have let them do it? Damn it all, anyway. "If it's the same being we're talking about, then I met her and she didn't kill me."

She gives Kyril a quelling glance that warns him not to elaborate on that particular scene and turns back at Corwin. "Who is she, then, and who is she seeking?"

Kyril raises both hands slightly and shakes his head. I am so not involved in this.

"And follow that with an explanation of why she'd kill me that doesn't include my not being able to comprehend it," Hannah adds, crossing her arms again.

Corwin addresses himself to Hannah. "The Queen of Air and Darkness is one of the inhabitants of Tir. Cambina certainly knew of her--even if she thought she was a myth--and if that's what Cambina encountered, in her place of power, I'm not surprised she didn't survive it. I can defend myself, and probably you." Corwin touches Grayswandir, hanging at his side, and turns his gaze to Gerard. "Didn't you bother to teach your daughter any of the family history? With the Moonriders on the loose, and possibly trying to reach her, the last thing we need is her out of Tir."

Gerard growls, "There's nothing to that old story."

"The Moonriders might beg to differ." Corwin gestures back at Cambina. "You can tell Cambina that. Or get your daughter to explain--because it'd be folly by even my standards to go up there thinking the Queen might be loose, and you're already going to have to explain this talking-to-the dead scheme to Random. If you think that's a better bet, be my guest."

There's a harrumph from Gerard.

Hannah gives Solange a sympathetic look and gets out from between her and Corwin, just in case Solange decides to deck him.

"Corwin, is it just that I need your sword to fight her?" Hannah asks, smiling slightly. "Or would you like to... actually explain?"

Solange looks away and slowly counts to ten.

Corwin says to Hannah, "To someone who is ignorant of family traditions through absence from Amber, and not because she doesn't care to know them--or wasn't taught them--" and here he gives Gerard a look, to which Gerard returns anoher harrumph "--yes. But we'll do it in transit."

Hannah's mouth opens and closes, her eyes fall in irritation on the cards, and then she just rolls her eyes.

Solange looks back at Corwin sharply. She never expressed anything resembling contempt for family traditions.

As he speaks, Corwin is shuffling out a trump. He looks at it and makes contact. "Random, it's Corwin. We have a problem on our hands. Bring us through." He offers his hand to Hannah to help her through first.

Hannah quickly looks to Kyril. "I'm so sorry. If you can't do it, try to find someone who can prepare her as much as possible for the loved ones - but I may try something a little magical later, if there is time, if I can get help, so... don't manipulate her too much." Hannah cringes in apology at this request, and reaches for Corwin's hand.

One last look back at Solange. "Please think about my question. I was serious."

Solange nods once and watches Hannah disappear into rainbow. She turns back to her father.

"Was he always like that?"

Gerard shakes his head. "Nae, he's much more civil than he used to be. Once when yer ma sassed him like that at dinner, he backhanded her."

Solange makes a face.

Kyril's eyes get big. "O-kay. Time to change the subject. Now that we've had the family harmony discussion, now what?"

"Commercial break over and back to our program: Vere attempts to raise Cambina," Solange says.

She spreads her hands as best she can to forestall Gerard's predicted knee-jerk reaction--she's still holding the trump sketches of herself and Vere. "He's been talking to the dead since he was a boy. Why are you so against this?"

Gerard scowls. "The customs of the Isles, in the Isles, are one thing. I dinna hold with bringing them here, and neither do many of the rest of the family, as ye just saw. And in any case, there'll be nae speakin' with the dead until Corwin returns, for he forbade it, and Regent or nae, he's still senior in the councils o' the family."

"He didn't say anything at all about it," Solange says, looking at Kyril for confirmation. "We got crossed arms and a stern look from Corwin when I mentioned raising Cambina, but then Kyril mentioned Floaty Woman and he forgot all about her. Not once did he say 'I forbid you to try it' or anything even suggesting it. You said something about it, but he didn't.

"All right," she continues before Gerard can reply, "you don't want to bring the customs of the Isles here, and Hannah has reasonable reservations about talking to Cambina here, so we don't do this here.

"'l'll trump Vere. Kyril and I will take Cambina to him, then trump you to come back. It'll all be over in a matter of minutes, perfectly safe, and we'll have definitive answers.

"Father, if there was something to what Corwin said then Cambina will likely know about it. I think it behooves us to find out as much information as we can before they ascend to Tir.

"Please...let me do this. For Cambina. And for Corwin and Hannah's safety."

There. She's said her piece. She gives her father an imploring look to back it up.

Gerard shakes his head in the negative. "I canna let anyone take Cambina. What about Jerod? What about the funeral?"

"We'd be gone a few moments only..."

"And ye know as well as I what Corwin meant. This is no moment for equivocation and the smooth talk of a redhead, Solange. This is a moment for the family to pull together, not to look for loopholes to get our way." He sounds terribly disappointed.

Solange sighs and passes a hand over her face. Her father was being so shortsighted. "I'm also very concerned for Queen Vialle. She was last seen with Cambina and there's a high probability Cambina knows something of what happened to her."

She gestures expansively.

"Don't you think we owe it to both Vialle and Random to find out information about Vialle's disappearance by any means possible? Her life could depend on it."

"And at this point if we wait a few minutes, we'll have the King's own word on the matter. She's dead and gone. Do you believe every word that comes from a dead spirit's mouth?"

"But this is Cambina..."

"Raising the dead's nae such a good idea. If we can find out what we need another way, and it seems likely enough we can, then there's no need. If it's to be done at all, speaking with Cambina will be the last resort." Gerard says this with a finality that suggests the argument is finished, whether Solange is or not.

Solange grits her teeth. "Fine. If you so 'dinna hold' with bringing the Isles here, then why is she?"

Without waiting for an answer, she stalks out the door.

The contact closes. Siege is still waiting, patiently. "A death, brother?"

"I fear so," Vere answers. "A cousin, the Lady Cambina. She was the daughter of the brother of King Corwin, to whose kingdom we travel. As well, when last seen she was in the company of the Queen of Xanadu, who is the wife of Random, heir to Oberon, and the ruler of all the Royal Family. The Queen is now missing, and there is great concern for her welfare."

Siege nods. "Our earthly chaos is a reflection of that in the realms of the gods, then? I am not surprised. What was she Goddess of?"

Vere smiles slightly. "We shall move over the matter of whether that question is completely apt in reference to the family," he says. "As for the Lady Cambina, while it was not a gift she was best pleased by, nor one she could control, she was noted for her abilities as a seeress."

Siege nods. "Ah, a seeress. There is always a price to be paid for commune with the divine." For a man who thinks Vere is part-God, he seems at one with this sentiment.

"It may be so," Vere responds. He glances back at the list of names in his hand while he awaits Solange's call.

Based on the names, Vere suspects that Siege's conjecture about a single island origin is likely true. What's more, it's a distant island with a history of fractiousness. It's not a place that many would miss.

Vere frowns thoughtfully. "It is possible that they found a place that suited them better than staying with people they do not agree with," he says to Siege. "Or perhaps the Goddess felt they themselves were not suited to make this trek." He hands the list back to Siege. "Be certain that Avis sees this, if she has not already. And keep me informed of other disappearances. If a pattern develops, I wish to know."

Siege nods and gives the salute of the Brotherhood of the Stag.

Vere returns the salute, then smiles and relaxes. "Thank you, my brother," he says.

Siege relaxes as well. "If all we lose are the unloved, we will be a lesser but greater people when we arrive."

Vere nods, but says nothing to this.

Siege departs, leaving Vere alone in his tent.

Vere stares after him for a while, thinking, then he shakes his head and sits down, pouring a mug of ale for himself and waiting.

Vere sits quietly for a while after Siege leaves, thinking and waiting for Solange to contact him. After a short while goes by without trump contact he quirks an eyebrown upwards and smiles slightly, then pulls out his deck of cards.

He shuffles them while talking quietly to himself. "Cambina is not the current issue, although her death must be resolved and avenged, if needed. But for the moment the Queen is the more important matter. Her location..." he pauses, then adds, "...and her part in this. Whether a victim of the same murderer or a kidnapped pawn. Or, if may be, whether she herself is somehow responsible. The situation in Rebma, coupled with the death of Eric's daughter... leads one to muse on deep plans, coming to fruition after long planning."

He finishes shuffling the cards and holds them for a moment, considering. "Location or part played? Which is most important?" With a decisive nod he says, "For my own peace of mind, it is the question of part played. Where are Queen Vialle's loyalties, and is she victim or villain in this matter?"

He begins to lay out the cards.

Bottom row:

The Eagle reversed

The Phoenix

The Dragon reversed

Middle row

The Fool reversed

The Peasant reversed

Top row:

Law (sideways)

Vere stares at the cards silently, considering them with narrowed eyes. "Not conducive to a sanguine outlook," he murmurs. "Whose lack of connection is the issue here, and whose rage?" He taps his fingers on the table thoughtfully. "And why do I feel there is some connection with Demond Harga'rel's murder?" He continues to watch the cards, as though expecting them to say or do something.

"Has there been a murder, Prince Vere? That is disturbing news on top of the disappearances." The Spider stands at the entrance to the tent, politely waiting to be invited in.

"An old murder, Chancellor, and far away. But perhaps linked to a new murder, if murder it is." He gestures to a seat at his table. "Please, join me." He leaves the cards where they are in front of him, and asks her, "Would you care for ale?" He takes a mug and prepares to either pour ale into it, or else set it aside again, depending on her response.

"No, My Prince," she says, sitting. "Would you care to tell me of it? I may be able to provide some insight into the issues at hand. I have been involved in too many investigation of acts of passion as Chancellor."

Vere sets the ale down again and smiles faintly. "I suspect this is more a matter of politics that passion. Although..." he taps the reversed Dragon thoughtfully, "... there may be something of passion involved. Politics can be very personal among my family."

The Spider's eyebrows arch slightly. "I would not trust impersonal politics, Prince Vere. Even when the prince has no stake or interest in the matter at hand, he must have a personal tie to the goddess whose justice he enacts. A murder in your family seems fraught with danger for the masses, as it ripples throughout the cosmos from Amber, your seat."

Vere nods thoughtfully. "A wise thought, Chancellor," he says slowly. "My cousin Cambina, daughter of Eric, son of Oberon and Faiella, died under mysterious circumstances. It might have been a mere accident..." he shakes his head. "My instincts say not, however."

Her eyes open slightly. "The child of the King. Reflected here, is there risk to Avis?"

Vere shakes his head. "I think not," he answers. "Eric was not truly king. He was crowned in the mistaken belief that Oberon was dead, but the Old King still lived, it was all a ruse to confuse his enemies. Eric's false kingship was reflected in the uncertain status of rulership in the Isles before the succession was decided." He smiles slightly, his eyes meeting hers, and does not pursue that line of reasoning.

"Avis, I think, is more connected to Random, who succeeded Oberon." He pauses then, before adding quietly, "And perhaps to whatever change is coming in the realm of Rebma, where we travel. My band is loyal to the Queen there, and I owe her my thanks, but I cannot help but think she may not have as firm a grip on the throne as she did while Oberon still lived. Change in rulership is sweeping through all Creation."

He examines the cards thoughtfully for a moment before continuing. "The Lady Cambina was a Seeress of no little power, though her gift was uncontrolled. Has there been anything out of the ordinary among our seers in the recent past?"

She smiles, slightly. "Your highness, of course, is well aware that the past decade have been a time of such extraordinary portents and signs that no meaningful comparison can be made to what is ordinary. Goddesses speak to us in person and by vision and they are at odds with each other.

"The others see much of the moon these days, as we travel. I think that is naught but fear of change reflected from themselves to their visions. None of us are perfect mirrors, but it behooves us to understand the flaws we add to the images we show."

"The moon is ever changing," Vere agrees thoughtfully, "And in uncertain times change can be disturbing." He continues to regard the cards for a bit longer before saying, "But the moon is perhaps more than that, here. The Lady Cambina died while attempting to ascend to the City of the Moon, a place of visions that is only accessible while the full moon shines. I wonder at the possible connections."

She nods. "Our people are more entwined with the destiny of the Goddesses than most. It is not out of the question that both are in some ways true on different levels. Who would want her dead? And how was she killed?"

"On a personal level, I know of no enemies who would go to such lengths. On a political note, I would say enemies of her Father, of whom there were many, enemies of her brother, Jerod, of whom I do not know, but whom I believe must exist, knowing the man, and enemies of her Uncle, King Corwin. Also, any who feared her prophecy." He shakes his head. "But it is made more complicated, in that it is believed she ascended to the City of the Moon in the company of the wife of King Random, who is herself a lady of Rebma. It may be that Cambina's death was merely a ancillary act in the kidnapping of the Queen."

"Would not such an action precipitate a war? Who would benefit from starting that war? Is there anyone the new King would like to have a war against for which he would require a casus belli?"

She shifts in her seat. "Such thoughts are not pleasant, Prince Vere. It is best to say them, weigh them, and dismiss them when they are unfounded rather than allow them to remain unformed, yet powerful."

Vere nods. "I agree, Chancellor. Let us examine the possibilities. The most obvious is that the King might wish to war on Rebma. He has a certain personal animus towards Queen Moire, or she to him. He had a son by the Queen's daughter, and it is reported that the princess committed suicide after he abandoned her. Their son is now the King's most trusted advisor, but the King's second wife, the Lady Vialle of Rebma, and the prince are not the best of friends. If evidence were produced that Rebma had murdered the Lady Cambina and captured Queen Vialle, all Amber and Xanadu would clamour for war."

She leans back in her chair, not speaking for a moment. "Indeed, that is a powerful force. Who else might benefit, or expect to benefit, from war between these poles of Heaven?"

"Ah," Vere says, "The poles of Heaven. That brings to the fore a more dangerous possibility than Rebma. While the forces of Order won in the war against Chaos, the Lords of Chaos were not destroyed. From what I know of them, I do now know that such is possible, in a philosophical sense. At least one Lord of Chaos remains adamantly opposed to the forces of Order, and she has already revealed that she can strike to the heart of Amber, if not to Xanadu. To take the Queen of Order herself, that would be a great coup for her, or for any other Lord of Chaos. And as the Great Powers of Chaos seem to gain knowledge and power by devouring the very essence of other beings..." he shakes his head. "That could prove most distressing for the King, were it the case."

"So there are external foes, this rival kingdom which we attend, challengers at home, and the king himself may be a suspect. Have you ruled anyone out, Prince Vere?"

Vere smiles thinly. "Have you had any dealings with any outworlders recently, Chancellor?" he inquires.

The Chancellor steeples her hands in front of her. "I'm pleased to be considered a candidate. Yourself, your relatives, and the very air we're breathing, but otherwise no. Your relatives were across a battlefield, by proxy, for the most part. This will be a difficult line of questioning to follow with every possible suspect, will it not?"

"Indeed." Vere indicates the card spread with a spare gesture of his hand. "I sought with this reading to divine the place of the missing Queen in this matter. Whether victim, villain, or pawn." He smiles thinly. "It is somewhat ... ambiguous. As card readings so often are. What do you make of it, my lady?"

The Spider looks at the cards. Her fingers open and close in what some rumor to be the characteristic way that earned her her nickname. It's the nicest version of the tale.

"Hmm. I do not know the meanings associated with the cards, so I can only go by the images on them. Primus, it strikes me as significant that so many are reversed. The bottom row is composed of a normal bird, a monstrous bird, and a birdlike-monster, so flight is involved. That makes sense for a site in the air." She leans back. "The second row is people, men, who both look to be from the bottom of their social strata, one attached to the land, the other to the court. Reversed, what do they mean? A conflict between a King and a great lord? Or between the King and his own land?

"And the last card looks to be a card of righteousness in the balance, one sees that figure and knows him to be a god of judgement. Will he accept the offerings of his people or do they displease him?"

She blinks, once. "I am not trained in the use of your cards, Prince Vere, but if some higher power wished to send you a message, she may have used me as her vessel, and thus guided you to cards that I could interpret in my naivete."

She sways slightly in her seat, as if tired, and awaits Vere's reply.

"I am not a believer in a single way of interpreting the cards, Chancellor," Vere responds. "Rather, I see them as changing in response to the needs and methods of the reader. A naive reader, as you so humbly put it, can quite possible read them as well as an experienced diviner, if she has sensitivity and talent." He smiles at her. "Whatever differences we may have had, I have never doubted your possession of either of those qualities."

He looks back at the cards. "The bottom row is most commonly seen as representing temporality, the Past, Present and Future as it relates to the question. The Eagle is a creature of thoughtfulness, reversed it can mind distraction or action without proper consideration. The Phoenix is rebirth, a creature that dies in flame in its old age to be born anew. And the Dragon, ah the Dragon, how worrying to see her in the future of this matter. Reversed, she is blind fury, rage at thwarted plans.

"Your point is well made, that all these are creatures of the air is significant. It was not mere coincidence that Lady Cambina's death occurred at Tir. This was no attack of convenience, the location itself is important.

"The second row indicates the forces working for and against the questioner, or the subject of the reading. Which can be annoyingly difficult to analyze, as I am sure you can appreciate.

"The Fool is indeed associated with Court, he is the jester, the one outside social conventions, the insane shaman whose foolishness reveals truth. Reversed, it can indicate a lack of connection, a freedom from all social ties that make us human." Vere is silent for a moment, then continues. "It is hard to imagine what that means in this context. How can lack of connection be of aid?" He shakes his head, then moves on. "The opposing force is the Peasant, the common tiller of the soil. Reversed, he is lack of foresight. He is so tied into the way things are done that he cannot see beyond this season."

He settles back for a moment, regarding the cards. "Yes," he says finally. "I think you are correct. They should not be seen so much as individuals as conflicting forces. But reversed, they both are more important for what they lack than for what they possess. Perhaps because the Queen..." he shakes his head again then, and says, "Oh, no, surely the cards would not be guilty of so obvious and cruel a pun?" He lifts his head and meets the Chancellor's eyes. "The Queen is blind," he explains. "And here we have a card that represents lack of vision." He shakes his head a third time. "No," he says, "I wonder if it is not more the Queen's concern over her place in the King's heart..."

He looks back down at the final card. "The Fate," he says. "Always laid side down, for it is not yet resolved. The final outcome. In this case, the card of Law. The very card of Order itself. Or, if it is the Law used for ill purposes, then the card of Treachery."

He looks at Vianis once more. "Are you well, Lady?" he asks. "You seem tired."

She smiles. "It's nothing. Interpreting visions is tiring work. Given what you say, I would look for signs of Treachery from someone very close to the Queen. A vision is only of value if it corroborates what can be determined by more profane means."

"Indeed." Vere nods. "I have noticed a tendency among my family for a preference to pragmatism, and I am beginning to believe this is the result of long experience in the nature of reality. Theory is interesting, but application is of paramount importance." He is silently thoughtful for a moment, then adds, "I think now of another possible interpretation of the second row, based upon your comment about the king and his kingdom, and my interpretations of lack of vision and lack of connection. What if the kidnapping of the Queen is a distraction, intended to draw the King's attention away while an attack of some sort if launched at his kingdom? Considering the card of Treachery, it could even be an internal coup. There are members of the Royal Family subtle enough for this." He frowns. "I mislike this thought greatly."

"Or something more subtle even than that. The Queen missing draws the eye of the King and some petty thing that the King would normally involve himself in is now free of his influence. Are there any reasons you can see that might have to do with some enemy or value of the Queen independent of her role as consort to the King?"

"She is a perceptive woman," Vere responds. "She might well have seen something that someone wished kept from geeral knowledge. As well, she is a noblewoman of Rebma, and might be of value in the plots and schemes of that realm. Alas, I am woefully unaware of her exact position in Rebma before she was wed to Random. That information might be of importance in interpreting what the cards seek to reveal."

"Rebma, the kingdom to which we go?" She nods, not needing confirmation.

The Spider gathers herself up and leans forward.

"More importantly, what do you intend to do with your vision? It seems to raise more questions than it answers,"

Vere nods. "Indeed," he replies. "I do not know that I have enough information to act upon, as of yet. Nor even enough to pass along, other than a concern that the close advisers of the King watch for something that he might be too distracted to notice. For now, I think my best course might be to keep this in mind as I review any new information that becomes available, and continue to attempt to assemble this puzzle."

She nods again. "Given my reputation and what I am called, I can hardly disapprove of your plan of staying at the center of your web and seeing what strings are pulled, my Prince. Is there anything else I may assist you with?"

Vere tilts his head thoughtfully. "What do you think of the disappearances, Chancellor?"

"Ours are more mundane than yours, Prince Vere. A simple case of malcontents leaving while the opportunity is available. The community is stronger without them. There will be those who clamor to either stop and rescue them and those who wish to place guards and spies with the families least likely to be loyal."

She waits a moment. "Both are bad courses of action."

"I agree," Vere answers her in a steady voice. "We cannot take the time to search. And I would not do so, even if I thought that they had not left of their own free will, but had been lost accidentally. As for the second suggestion, if some wish to leave, we would be fools to force them to stay. We are better off without them. And the rumors of their disappearance may serve to convince others of the dangers of becoming separated from the main body of the Exodus."

She smiles. "I will make your will known, Prince Vere."

"Thank you, Chancellor." He nods his head to her, then stands.

She stands, bows, and departs, giving him the full honors a senior priestess gives to a prince on leaving his company, with a hint of a smile on her lips.

Vere remains standing for a space after she leaves, staring after her with a considering expression.