The sun hasn't quite burned off the morning fog that's rolled down from the mountains, but it's making a good effort and has reduced it to a thin gruel of a mist. Still, everything is damp.
The riders come up to the tower, nestled in the foothills of the mountains that start so abruptly here. The tower looks highly defensible -- tall, sturdy, windowless, and is completely impervious to Third Eye viewing.
As Conner and Raven ride up, the door opens, although no one is in sight.
In other contexts, that might be seen as 'welcoming'.
"Well." Conner says after taking that in. "Presumably this means getting out will be the tricky bit. Still what can't be cured must be endured. Let's not keep our host waiting." Conner moves towards the tower at a slow walk, mounted if the door is large enough, afoot if not.
Raven follows, with a shake of her head. "Ain't getting out usually the tricky bit at times like this?"
The door is human sized, although there's something odd about it. Conner thinks it's concealing something, somehow.
Inside is a room that takes a quarter of the bottom of the tower. It has a table, coathooks, and bales, boxes, and sacks of something against one wall. It's well lit, but the source seems to be magically concealed.
Near the door is a human-ish figure. Nearly five feet tall, it has dark gray coloration and is either extremely hairy or about to molt. Perhaps it is a dvart.
"Good day, then! It's nice to see foreigners who aren't horse-people for a change. What's your business with Master Weyland?"
"Master Weyland recently visited Gateway and while there freed it from the control of the Triumvirate." Conner explains. "The current government of Gateway has sent us as envoys to ensure good relations between the Master and Gateway henceforth. After that task is taken care of, I have some personal business with the Master regarding this." Conner shifts his stance so that the hilt of Halosydne is clearly visible and gestures towards it.
"And I think he had some questions he was wanting to ask me," Raven adds. "We didn't get a chance for him to ask those in Gateway."
"Follow me, please," it says, hopping down from the tall stool it's been sitting on. It walks in the unusual fashion of people for whom knees are optional, and it makes no sound on the stone floor.
It doesn't seem to be made of muscles and bone and sinews, at least based on how it moves.
Raven and Conner are led to a parlor of sorts, with comfortable chairs and a tea set. The rock butler, or whoever it is, shows them in and departs.
Weyland is in the room, sitting in the chair near a window. It can't be a real window, because it's against an interior wall, but it lets in sunlight and warmth nevertheless.
"Hello, children. I didn't expect you'd follow me home."
"Well, it is not everyday one has a chance to meet one such as you. How could I resist the opportunity?" Conner replies. "Besides, the people of Gateway were quite anxious to be assured that they were in your good graces now that your recent business there has been concluded." Conner moves inside the room towards Weyland but does not sit down unless Weyland indicates that he should do so.
Raven follows Conner's lead on entering and not sitting, but offers, "For my part, didn't plan to leave you to finish up that business when we'd meant to help."
Weyland looks over at them over the tops of his glasses. It's entirely possible that he wears them for appearances, since he doesn't seem to need them to see.
"I managed without help, as you could see." He looks at Conner. "It's not every day one of my swords returns to me. May I see it?"
Raven just nods, although that's not exactly the point she was trying to make.
Conner draws Halosydne and lays the end of the blade over his left wrist. He steps closer to give Weyland a better view. After a moment he asks, "Is it as you remember it?"
For her part, Raven stays where she is and watches - and if she falls into that particular stance of a sailor waiting for the officers to dismiss everyone, well... it's a habit.
Weyland doesn't touch it, but looks up and down it. Conner thinks that if he had a magnifying loop, he'd use it.
"It's as I expect it to be. And I'm not surprised it was found now. It's not like the Jewel. It's not going to kill you if you don't attune to it. How did it come to you?"
Raven feels the strange mental pressure that comes when someone attempts a trump contact.
Raven gets a puzzled frown, but it clears after a moment as she recalls what this is. "Stepping outside," she warns, as she moves back into the hallway. "Someone's calling."
She accepts the call as she's crossing the threshold, responding with a low-voiced, "Aye. Hello, Signy. Guessing there's news?"
Weyland waves Raven out, not rising. He doesn't stop examining the sword.
Signy looks up from her cousin's Trump and rolls her shoulders to relieve the tension in her neck and upper back before looking around to see what everyone else is doing.
Random seems pretty busy, but Fletcher seems to be free. Solange is making trump calls.
Signy steps over to the table near Fletcher, and scoops up the Trump of Raven. "How did your calls go," she asks, though her voice is pitched low enough to only carry to the two of them.
He doesn't answer.
Signy sighs inwardly, figuring that Fletcher must still be wrapped up in his call. Hopefully nothing is too amiss there, though she can't quite make out the card he's holding. She turns away and focuses on the image of Raven in front of her.
"Raven? It's Signy."
Raven's walking when she answers, moving out of a parlor of some kind and into a hallway, although she's not in enough of a hurry to do so to prevent Signy from seeing who's in that room over her shoulder.
"Aye. Hello, Signy," she answers quietly. "Guessing there's news?"
Signy's eyes focus on her father in the background, an icy emerald glint the only expression on her face. "Yes, some, though it looks like you and Connor also have a story to tell."
She pauses, and her eyes focus on Raven as she gets into the hallway. "The King seems better, and looking to touch base with everyone. We seem to be talking with the Moonriders, and Brennan thinks that the younger generation should maybe get together to talk as a group."'
"Somebody," Raven jerks her head in the direction she just came from, "took care of the undead in Gateway while nobody had an eye on him. And Gateway asked nicely if we could talk to him and make sure he ain't of a mind to come back and destroy the tower Conner just put back up for 'em. Not much of a story." She shrugs slightly and leans back against the wall, propping one heel up on the surface. "I'm game to try this meeting thing again, maybe without the surprise duel to the death this time," that comes out dry, "but there's a whole lot of 'seems' in the rest of that. What's 'seems better' mean, anyway?"
Signy frowns. "Be careful negotiating with him," she notes soberly. "He usually gets the better of any bargain, especially when you think you've won or broken even with him."
She sighs.
"The King was...not himself, for a while. We suspect that his Queen was being used by the other one. There's a lot of moving parts, and a lot that I don't understand," she offers with a rueful shrug. "It may be worth seeing if he offers anything up about Tir, or the Moonriders."
Raven nods. "I'll pass it along." She frowns a little. "I got that part, about the whole not-himself thing and the Queen. Knew that when we all scattered. I was just thinking there's a lot of room between 'he's fixed' and 'he got better at acting like he ain't crazy.' Guessing something happened?"
If she hasn't already noticed Folly's approach in her peripheral vision, Signy becomes aware of her presence as she clears her throat and says, "Er, Signy, sorry to interrupt, but I've got Martin and Edan on the line and they'd like to borrow the chain, if you've still got it. I warned them about our concerns." She's got a card in her hand and is holding it up so she can half-see Signy while, presumably, maintaining her own contact. She is keeping a small but deliberate distance between herself and Signy.
"I'm not talking to Dad," Martin warns Folly. "Just get the thing and we have to go."
Signy opens her mouth to reply to Raven, but as Folly approaches she holds off. "Hello again, Folly," she says, more for the benefit of Raven. "I'm just Trumping Raven."
Her hand slips towards the belt pouch where she stowed the chain, and she makes sure she's positioned so that her back is turned towards the rest of the room.
"I've already let the Captain know this," she says with a carefully pitched voice. "Brennan's suggesting that our generation have a meeting to try and make sure we're all staying informed and in the loop."
She hopes that the unspoken context of 'Elders not really needed' comes through.
Raven straightens up and stops leaning on the wall at Folly's name, but doesn't interrupt.
"Yes, a youngers meeting is a good idea, even if some have to join remotely," Folly says, nodding. "Lunch, Xanadu time. We'll gather and wait for our cousins elsewhere to join when they're out of danger. I can signal my husband when we're ready and have him call me back when he can. And in the meantime we can reach out to others to wait for our call, or our signal."
Folly holds out her hand, slightly cupped, palm up, ready to accept the chain. "Try not to touch me," she says. "Unfortunately, now is not the time to experiment with a party line. But say hi to Raven for me."
"Do not try a party line," Martin says. "Cousins meeting on the other side, Trump in when it's safe, got it. Things are getting a little hairy here, and we really need the chain if we're going to do what we need to do in that kind of time frame."
Signy nods, and deftly pours the chain into Folly's outstretched hand in one swift motion. "It likes to change shape and size from time to time."
Folly nods at the warning, takes two steps backward, and extends her hand into the contact to Martin to pass off the chain. "Signy says it likes to change shape and size from time to time," she says. "Be as safe as you can."
She does not say "I love you," but she's thinking it loudly enough that Martin can feel the intent.
The chain disappears from Folly's hand. "Size changing, check. OK, we have to go now. Stay safe, and we didn't have this conversation. We'll talk later when it's safe." He does his best to close the connection, which is pretty good, though Folly can get in some last words if she doesn't want to hold it open.
Raven says to Signy, "I'm gonna guess that's something to do with one of the things we're all going to talk about when we meet?"
Signy nods at Folly before focusing back on Raven.
"Yes -- it was something that we brought back from an expedition, and it might be helpful for someone else."
She pauses.
"Or it might not. Which isn't all that helpful."
Out of the corner of her eye, Signy sees Folly slip her card back into its case and then flash a thumbs-up in her direction before setting off to talk to others in the room.
Raven snorts in amusement. "Aye, that's not very helpful at all. Sounds like a hope and wild guesses kind of thing, but I guess we'll know if it worked later. You were going to say, before all that...?"
Signy nods, and takes a second to rewind back to the original conversation.
"So, the quick summary is that there was a duel, we now have a hostage in the Moonrider Marshall's daughter, and they're now looking to parley."
She pauses, and involuntarily adds "And I got to see some of their craftwork when they gave me a token to bring to the King. It was...breathtaking."
"Was there for the duel and the hostage-taking - well, more the hostage volunteeering. It was..." And Raven's voice goes very, very dry as she frowns and finishes, "It was something." She shifts, leaning back against the wall again, and shrugs. "And then we all went off to our errands, so's things would get done, even though the King wasn't himself. Kind of why I was asking what 'better' means when you said he's wanting to touch base. What was the token?"
Signy offers a half-shrug by way of apology. "I was posted well away from the action last night myself, so all of that was news to me."
She glances around quickly, before focusing back in on Raven. "I don't entirely know what happened, but something happened overnight, and while nobody seems like they've let their guards down they're a bit more relaxed, like we've made it past one of the Veils and can focus on what's ahead. The Queen is gone as well, and I don't know what the plan is there. Martin and Eden have her, and they just took the chain we brought back to see if it might be helpful."
"Huh. And Folly and Martin are in favor of this whole meeting plan?" Raven asks.
Signy rocks her hand back-and-forth. "Folly seemed pretty positive about it, but I think Martin and Edan may have had some reservations."
She pauses for a beat.
"Or they may have just been a bit preoccupied."
She glances over Raven's shoulder, but the hallway doesn't show anything of interest. It could have been any one of a dozen such nondescript hallways. "My father has ties into the Courts as well, so he may have access to information that you may find helpful as well."
Raven considers the answer for a moment and then nods like she's made a decision. "Right. Good enough, I guess. Mark us down as planning to be there, assuming we don't lose time anywhere and unless somebody hears elsewise. You got something in mind to ask about? Because I'm pretty sure they're in there talking swords, and there's the whole Gateway mess, but that's all I knew we were here for. Oh, and the statue." She pauses there and frowns. "You know the people outside the tower think you're dead, aye? It ain't a problem that he probably knows you're not, seeing as how I answered with your name?"
Signy nods slowly at the end. "I'm not surprised -- I came back shortly after I first left, and found that the leader of my warband had aged and was older than my father, while my tutor looked the same as he ever did. I'm pretty sure he already knew I was still alive, I don't think much catches him by surprise."
She pauses, gathering her thoughts. "I don't know precisely, but my father has to have been around and know the Moonriders and...Her. Some thoughts about what happened, and why."
She stops, and blinks for a second. "What statue? The one on the path to Rebma?"
Raven shakes her head. "One of the mages that we were taking down in Gateway. The only one still alive, if being frozen in place didn't kill her. I think he said he was putting her in a hallway somewhere," she says dryly. "But Jerod had a point that folks back in Xanadu might want to talk to her, so... she's on the list."
Signy nods slowly.
"If he asks, I haven't spoken to my brother recently so I don't have an update to give you if he asks."
She sighs. "I wish I knew how far to trust him. He never showed any signs of being attached to anything any more than he could use it, including people, but then he went and pulled Gateway down over a son he never knew."
"Less Gateway and more just the three that were in charge of it," Raven says, "but aye, point taken. Guess I ought to get back in there, unless there's anything else?" She pauses. "Oh, and when's this meeting supposed to happen?"
Signy shakes her head in the negative at the first question. "The plan is tomorrow, our time, but I don't know how that will work for you and Connor. I left for a couple of weeks, and came back to find that years had passed at my father's place."
Raven makes a face at that. "And overnight in Xanadu was ten days for Gateway. Well, I guess time'll work in our favor for getting done what we mean to here, aye?" she says. "Thanks for the check-in."
Signy nods. "Hopefully you or Connor have Trumps if you need to get hold of someone quickly."
With a brief nod in place of a longer farewell she closes the Trump contact.
"By the will of two Queens of Rebma." Conner replies. "Khela, the daughter of Llewella, tracked down what she called the Paxblade in the Tomb of Cneve. She used it to rally Tritons to her cause to overthrow Moire as Queen of Rebma. As part of a deal to gain my alliance, she promised to make me Knight of Rebma and wielder of Her Pattern Blade. When Queen Khela died in her turn, her successor Queen Celina, reinvested me in that office. I have also traversed Rebma's Pattern wielding her. I have named her Halosydne."
He turns his head, ostensibly to look down the blade. "Khela never explained to me why she wanted it. I'd heard she died, but not how. I knew her father.
"'Born of the sea'," he says. "Well, she is that. It's a name associated with Tritons, which is also fitting." He turns his head back towards Conner. "Do you have any idea what this Celina has planned for Rebma?"
Conner ponders this for a long moment. "The Queenship came to Celina swiftly and unexpectedly." He begins. "I think she is still seeking an answer to that herself." Conner pauses again. "I know she cares for Rebma deeply and wants Her to be well. She seeks a Rebma where the Tritons are citizens rather than servants. She seeks to give Rebma what it has lacked for a long time: a Queen tied to the land by blood, tokens of rule, and ancient wisdom. We seek Rebma's Jewel for that purpose."
Weyland nods, unsurprised. "Moire looked for it for centuries. But then she also didn't have Halosydne. It's possible to lose oneself in such a quest. I advise against that."
"And I thank you for the good advice." Conner nods. "But it is a road I must travel at least once. How can Halosydne help in tracking down the Jewel?" he asks.
Weyland makes a show of thinking about his answer. "Hmm. Well, it can slice up anyone who gets in your way, but you knew that. More mystically, I'd use it via sympathetic magic. Since it used to be connected to it and they're both as real as nearly anything that isn't a pattern, it may be possible to magically use it to find it." He lets Conner think about that for a moment, and then makes another suggestion.
"You could get tremendously drunk and hold it out and walk through shadow letting it lead, but I'd be afraid that might get messy."
"It would not be the first time I got incredibly drunk in the pursuit of knowledge." Conner admits. "But drinking the Bellumite Ambassador under the table had a better risk/reward ratio." He chuckles.
"Turning to another topic, I recently encountered a Moonrider wielding another blade of your design. She called it Tizon, once the Flamberge." Conner says casually. He pauses to see if Weyland will comment on that.
Weyland nods. "That one was always fickle. The blade has freedom, and chooses her wielder. I'm not surprised that the Queen's Guard has it. It was always going to gravitate to powerful swordsmen. It has a price, but not as high as the blade you carry."
Conner blinks and then smiles. "Well, you now have my full attention. What price must the wielders of Tizon and Halosydne pay for bearing the blade?" Conner asks.
Weyland chuckles. "She didn't tell you any of this before bestowing it upon you then? At least the other champions get notice. You're probably safe, young man, unless Moins comes back. But if she did, you couldn't kill her with Halosydne. You might find yourself one day compelled to defend the pattern of Remba. And it can be taken from you, if the Queen wishes it."
Conner relaxes. "That much had been explained to me but more as duties of the office rather than a price to be paid." Conner explains. "But it was also stated as if those were standard to Pattern blades. How is the Flamberge different for example?"
Weyland looks at him. "It may be more restrictive than you think, but I have said that to more than one champion, so why should I break my streak at this late date? But tell me whose swords and patterns you know of."
"As far as swords go, I knew only of Werewindle linked to the Pattern of Amber and Grayswandir linked to the Pattern of Tir." Conner admits. "It was assumed that there was a blade linked to Rebma's Pattern which has now been confirmed." Conner smiles wryly. "I know of three Patterns that to my knowledge do not have swords linked to them: the Primal Pattern, the Pattern of Xanadu and the Pattern of Paris. Then there is Tizon, a blade whose Pattern linkage is unknown to me."
Weyland leans back and gets a faraway look in his eyes. "It was called Durendal when Orolando carried it, and later owners called it the Strong Flame. It can cut stone, they say, but please do not take my blades to masonry. It was the keystone and anchor of Charlemagne's pattern.
"That was a long time ago. I haven't thought about that sword in years."
"Do you know if the Pattern of Charlemange still exists?" Conner asks simply.
"I'd've said 'it's as dead as its maker' yesterday," replies Weyland. He sits back, further from Halosydne. "Today, that is still true, but it may mean something different."
Conner considers that for a moment. "I met a man from the distant past named Sir Firumbras that claimed to be a vassal to King Carol of Paris and there are ancient carvings in King Corwin's 'brand-new' city that speak of a Carol le Magne as its founder." Conner pauses. "Is Tizon now again linked to the Pattern of Paris?"
Weyland shrugs. "Don't know. It's never happened before, or hasn't that I know about. Your lot are supposed to be the mathematical wizards."
"Mathematics is hard when you don't know all of the variables." Conner replies. "So if you'll indulge me I'd like to ask you the same question you asked me. What are all the Patterns that you know about?"
"Mathematics is hard when you do know all of the variables, or it is for some of us." He closes his eyes for a moment. "Don't think of them as Patterns, but projections. Shadows of a light shining upon a flaw in a crystal, carved into rock to make them seem permanent, but shadows nonetheless. With no light, there is no shadow. The first were planned, like the towers of a castle wall. The first Kings and Queens built a ring of patterns to surround and protect the first. Lost Paris, Damaged Tir, Rebma the Shattered Mirror, and Fading Amber.
"The Kings and Queens of those days assumed they would last forever, and when they fell, the universe, lessened, would be overrun by Chaos. They didn't imagine that there would be Patterns by later generations. It was unthinkable."
He pauses. "But they also didn't imagine at the time that they would have children, or that they would have wars amongst themselves. They were not an imaginative lot."
He looks around towards the door. "Is your friend coming back? How long does it take to report my whereabouts anyway?"
"Not long but with so much going on I am sure there is much news," Conner opines. "Since we have more time, would you care to see Tizon? It is below with my horse."
"Aye, there were a few things from Xanadu," Raven agrees as she comes back into the room.
Weyland looks up when Raven enters."I can look at Tizon when I show you out. You can tell me how you came to have two such swords. Captain Raven, would you like some tea? How are the powers of 'Xanadu'?"
"Aye, tea would be fine," Raven says. "Sounds like some of the things that were up in the air when we left town have found a place to settle - someone's talking with the Moonriders, for one, and of course they were wondering how our trip to Gateway was going. Signy said the Crown is doing well," and she glances at Conner, "but that that meeting we were forced to miss didn't and probably won't be happening."
Weyland fetches a cup and pours tea for Raven. "Gateway is resolved, but if they poke their heads into my business again, they may find themselves with bloody stumps for necks. There will be less mercy if there is a next time."
Raven nods as she accepts the cup. "What happened to the one you froze, if you don't mind my asking? Didn't notice her standing in a hallway anywhere as we came in."
Weyland snorts. "I don't want to see her every day for the next thousand years.
"Don't worry, I have no intention of letting her go free."
"Will she stay alive like that?" Raven asks, morbidly curious. After dropping a tower on one and exploding the other, it seems like a reasonable question to ask.
"No idea," he replies, with an air of boredom. "I've never done exactly that before and I'm not inclined to undo it to check up on her well-being. She has some nasty little tricks up her now-immobilized sleeves." He looks suspiciously at Raven. "Why, do you want to thaw her out?"
Conner slides back into the conversation. "Well there are still unanswered questions about what the Triumverate did during their time ruling Gateway and knowing who was pulling their strings would prove useful. If further study of what they left behind doesn't bring answers, it would be nice to know if questioning the source is an option."
Raven nods. "Aye, exactly. Can't really ask the other two - not much question on if they're dead or not."
Weyland looks between the two of them, not showing much emotion on his face. "Hmm. I'm not inclined to let her go. It was a lot of trouble to put her on ice in the first place. But I'm not an unreasonable man. What would you be willing to do to get her?"
Conner considers for a moment. "At the present time, not a thing." Conner admits. "Aside from the given that any information about what happened to Marius and why would be shared immediately." Conner replies. "Or do you have that information already? As you seem satisfied that your Vendetta is complete, I presume you feel the insult to your line ended with the three."
"I think you wanted to ask me about being in prison in Gateway with Marius," Raven says. "But that ain't a thing I think needs to be bargained with, since I already agreed."
Weyland nods, and refills his cup. "I'd like to hear the tale, and I'm not a damned Klybesian. I prefer your Uncles' method of passing news by being gossipy old hens."
He offers refills to Raven and Conner. "Now, tell me of my son."
Conner accepts the refill and turns to listen attentively to Raven while discretely watching Weyland for any reaction to her tale.
Raven likewise accepts a refill, partially as an excuse to pick how she's going to start the story. "Without getting into too much of my own history - I was captain of a ship that got very, very lost for years. We ran across Gateway as we were trying to get home to Amber," she says. "First place we knew that we'd seen and been able to reach since we left, actually. Figured we were home free at that point... but seeing as how we had been that lost, we didn't know that Dexamene and her pals had ordered that anyone from Amber be arrested." She scowls at that. "The harbormaster was her brother, so the minute we pulled in and I brought over the papers, he took it on himself to arrest us, with no more word why than that he was supposed to."
She takes a sip of her tea. "They sent my crew off to a normal gaol, but me? I got put in some sort of storage shed or the like that they'd pressed into service as a jail. That's where I ran into Marius. He was... not well." That's blunt and matter-of-fact. "I was more interested in getting out of there than in worrying about exactly what happened to him, but he moved like he'd been badly hurt - maybe the arm? - and had been working on getting better for a while. Not weak, but like a good stiff wind might knock him over if he worked too hard at something before it blew." She pauses, then snorts and adds dryly, "And he was in better spirits about the whole being imprisoned simply because we were from Amber thing than I was.
"We didn't stay put for long. I got the idea that he was waiting to get stronger before he tried, but me being there meant he could leave sooner. So, he got some extra rest, we ate, and then we broke down the door and got to work getting out of there." She pauses, considering. "Only real problem we had after that was running into a mage that Marius knew. She ended up being on our side - helped us get back to sea and came with us back to Amber. That's where he and I parted ways. I got sent on to Xanadu from there."
Weyland frowns slightly at the mention of the mage. "You just freed your crew and strolled back to your boat? Either impressive or a setup." He leans back.
"I can pick up the tale from there." Conner slides in. "Marius was sent to Paris where the family had gathered to discuss recent events. Marius told us that he had been kidnapped by men loyal to Prince Huon of the Horn. He was brought to Gateway where he was subjected to Sorcerous rituals that involved draining him of blood." Conner sighs as the memories return.
Weyland looks like he had something to say, but lets Conner finish.
"When the family meeting broke up I accompanied Marius to the infirmary to examine him both medically and with the Third Eye. Physically, he was fine. His arms bore signs of cutting to encourage bloodloss. He was pale and weak but nothing some rest and good food wouldn't cure. To the Third Eye though," Conner pauses and takes a long drink from his cup, "the brightness of his Pattern was dimmed. It was marked by dark striations as though sorcerous tendrils were engrafted into his spirit and then ripped free. I have never seen the like before or since."
"Well that all sounded right, and matched up with what I've learned until that last bit, and that is, as far as I know, far beyond anything Dexamene or Huon the Pipsqueak could manage. Has he recovered?"
"Haven't heard otherwise, but I couldn't say for sure," Raven answers, with a glance to Conner. "Haven't run into him since."
"I saw him briefly at the most recent family gathering. I only saw him from a distance but physically he seems recovered," Conner replies. "I have not had the opportunity to examine him through sorcerous means since the first time." Conner drains his cup. "I shall be sure to pass on that you inquired after his health."
"Pass an invitation to visit me, if you will." A quill starts writing on a piece of parchment when Weyland gestures at it.
"So is that our meeting? We drank some tea, told a few tales of swords and such, you inquired after my frozen sorceress, I told you that I was willing to discuss loaning her to you, and you decided you weren't in a hurry, since she was in my back hall and likely to stay there, and you're conveying my greetings to Marius?"
"And we talked about Gateway," Raven supplies, "and how you'll leave them alone so long as they leave you alone, which I'm pretty sure ain't going to be a problem."
"In fact they have produced a fancy document to that effect if you would be so kind as to sign it." Conners offers it for Weyland to consider.
Weyland looks annoyed. "Hmm. Don't like limiting my options. What are they going to do, cry at me if I don't?"
"Somewhere between nothing and sending ever more obsequious envoys in hopes of convincing you." Conner shrugs. "Besides I don't see a piece of paper stopping you from doing as you will should the situation change."
Raven quietly finishes her tea and listens.
"You can write the following down, or I will." He gets a new pieces of paper and points at his writing quill. "I, Weyland The Smith, have extracted justice for the attack on my son and hereby cease hostilities upon Gateway. I consider this matter closed and will entertain no further obsequious envoys. If Gateway restores the old leadership, I find new evidence of collusion, or otherwise attempts harm to me or mine, this statement will cease to be operative. This is as good as you're getting."
He waves at the quill with a flourish and it signs a large 'W' on the page. The paper reads as he has recited, and he offers it to Conner.
Conner accepts it, scans it briefly, carefully folds it and places it in his pocket. "That will do nicely. Thank you. I shall endeavor to keep them sufficiently cowed on your behalf." Conner smiles at Weyland. "Thank you for the tea and for the conversation. I appreciate you taking the time to meet with us."
"Aye," Raven agrees.
With that, they depart. Conner hands over their horses to pay their guide, Parts the Veil back to Gateway, and tells the Chancellor that Weyland is probably not a problem.
Last modified: 15 October 2020