AmberCourtThreadBrieanneRecoveryRoomIndex Brieanne Recovery Room An interminable amount of time later, Brieanne comes to consciousness. Her head aches but she can at least The color of the walls, the number of beds, the medical staff all point out to where Brieanne has been taken. She is in the infirmary. On the bed lying next to her, visible without even turning her head, is Hadrian. In front of her bed, like sentinels, are her two hounds. Nearby, too, are Galen, Gazalarnith, and Noys. "I think." Noys says in an amused tone, her head indicating that Hadrian, too, is rousing at last. "Its a tie as to which of my cousins awoke first." "Ugh." Brieanne complained, propping herself up on her elbows to frown at her location. "That went worse than expected." She rolled onto her side, rubbed her eyes and then looked over at Noys, Gaz and Galen, still propped up on an elbow, but making no effort to sit up or stand. A look of concern briefly washes over Gaz's face. Galen tries to remain more cool and detached. "I'm afraid to ask.... What'd we miss?" "Well, I have no knowledge of what happened after I helped get the two of you out of Court." Noys says wryly. Hadrian, out of sight of Brieanne's limited field of view, gives off a slight groan. "You managed to get the two Chaosians through--a nice trick by the way, but I'll talk more about that promptly." Noys says. Brieanne nodded slowly, having some idea since she was the one who'd stuck her head through someone's ward. "The Chaosians delivered their request for Jayson's head, and it went as predictably poor as you might imagine. Uncle Random wasn't buying it, he told them to go talk to Aunt Sand. When one of them tried to appeal to the rest of Court for information, the Rebman with William, and Martin, both told them to sod off. I was too involved with you to mention to the Chaosians where Jayson really is. And if Martin wasn't going to volunteer it, I wasn't going to contradict him." Brieanne made a sour face, but she didn't comment, and then one pale brow arched in an unspoken question, wondering where that might be and what Noys knew. And how... "Then the pair of Chaosians were hustled one way, and we headed the other, to get you two into the infirmary." Noys finishes. "It's moments like this I dearly miss Uncle Eric." She gave Noys a sympathetic look, wishing her cousin had had opportunity to meet her father and then braced her head into her hand, trying to press away her headache. "What would be perfect is if Jayson were still in the Courts and we could just point them home...." She looked up at Noys, waiting for correction, if her cousin was willing to divulge what she knew. "After all of the trouble we went through..." Hadrian agrees, in a voice that suggests his pain is within an order of magnitude as Brieanne's. Galen and Gaz, too, look attentive and look toward Noys. "I'm sure that Martin told Random this already...and I haven't been told that its a State Secret." Noys begins. "What happened is simple. With Random's blessing, Jayson recruited a number of cousins to deal with the remnants of Apollo once and for all. You know, you've seen what happened when Jayson and our universe got purged of Apollo--the Shockwave that has roiled up Chaos and a lot of shadow all the way up to here. What is less known is that Uncle Corwin's universe is, was even more under Apollo's influence." "So myself, Jayson, Alais, Oliver, Bhangbadea...even Cyllene and Lorius." ventured into Corwin's universe. Alais, being from there, did a lot of the driving. We tangled with minions of a temporal power that Apollo had influenced." "We finally decided on a two pronged approach." Noys continues. "Myself, Martin, Krysta, Cyllene and Oliver went to Corwin's Pattern in Versailles. The others were battling in Alais' home shadow, source of a Primal Power that Apollo coveted. We figured we could cleanse the Pattern with each of us walking it, since we were untouched by Apollo." "Cyllene and Oliver walked the Pattern and transported themselves to Lorraine. Martin was next. He managed to make it to the center, when the universe fell apart." "The three of us, Martin, Krysta and Noys fell, and fell, and landed back in the Amber universe, in a shadow where we ran into those two Rebmans, Meriel and Priya, amongst others." "Something bad happened to Corwin's universe, Brieanne, and all of those who were still within it. I don't think Jayson could or did survive. Lorius might know more, since he survived too...and apparently brought a new cousin to Amber in the process." "Cyllene and Bhangbadea... did they make it back?" Brieanne pushed herself upright, ignoring the throbbing pain in her head to draw herself eye level with Noys. Understanding why Random was such a complete ass became secondary to the possible loss. Noys shakes her head. "I have neither seen nor heard anything from them. Or any of the others you haven't already seen." Noys says gravely. "I do have Cyllene's trump, but not have tried it. I do not have a trump of Bhangbadea. I don't know anyone who has." "I could make a sketch of either of them fairly readily." Hadrian says, slowly. "I didn't make a trump of Bhangbadea, or Bishop for that matter, as I normally would have by this point. We talked about Trumps on our way to Amber. She made it clear to me that such a working should only be done with her permission or under extreme circumstances." "I believe this counts." Brieanne answered Hadrian, slowly swinging her feet around and sliding to the edge of the bed. "And we will try Cyllene... and I will buff out the dings Random put in our relations with the Chaosians." She sighed, stretching her neck gently, her eyes closed and when she felt as ready as she was going to get, she cautiously felt out how bad it would be to Trump Kennard. Hadrian closes his eyes a moment and opens them again. "An analgesic might be welcome before we try anything" he says. As he does so, Brieanne can comfirm with her own head. Trumping is certainly possible, but like anything that requires thought, its painful and difficult to do when a headache seems to threaten to make a gully down the centerline of Brieanne's head. "I can get you both some aspirin." Noys says, turning and walking in the direction of the nurse, giving Brieanne and Hadrian only the company of Gaz and Galen, and the hounds for a moment. "If I thought it would do any good, Brieanne, I would command you to rest for an entire day before doing this." Gazalarnith rumbles. He looks sidelong at Hadrian and seemingly decides to amend his statement. "The both of you." It was lopsided and showed signs of strain, but Brieanne managed a smile, glancing sideways at Gaz. "You could try. He might listen, especially when Dora gets her say in." Brieanne drew a breath, smile fading, "Where is she?" "Carrying messages around for your father." Hadrian replies, rubbing his temples, and half closing his eyes as he does so. "Prince Julian and Prince Carl have come around to the idea that a sentient flying messenger can be more useful in some situations than the hawks he favors. Like now, with a Chaosian force sitting in Arden." "Ah, the little dragon that Brieanne mentioned." Gaz rumbles. Galen gives a nod to Gaz. Hadrian adds. "Who knows." Hadrian adds. "Maybe if DuMarque officially joins the Golden Circle, your father will want to foster some of the Rangers there in order to bond them with Wyvernets. It may be cold and glacial, but we do have pretty big forests. Mostly cold weather pines and evergreens though." "My Father might not wait for DuMarque to join the Circle and the Rangers take all kinds. Some will love snow and pines and many will withstand the climate for a chance at a bonded when what you have with Dora is more than can be had with the hawks or hounds." Though she cast a fond look over at her two, who she wouldn't trade for a dozen Dora's. Hadrian rubs his temple and nods. "I would be happy to help you, your father and your brother with any arrangements." Brieanne let the conversation lapse, rubbing her temples and resting while she waited for Noys' return, giving the unfamiliar pills a suspidious glance before taking them and making the mistake of biting into one before she hurriedly washed them down. "Those," she groused, face pucked in distaste, "are wretched." "I think" Hadrian says after swallowing his "that you aren't supposed to try and taste them." "I will therefore decline to sample them." Galen replies. Brieanne took another glass of water to wash the taste out, set it down and turned to Noys. "If you have Cyllene, lets see if we can reach her." She continued to lean against the bed, concerned that if she was going down again, she hit something other than the floor, but not really wanting to fall off the bed. "I do." Noys says. She pulls out a trump deck, and flips through the deck, coming to Caine's daughter. As in the most common trumps of Cyllene, it depicts her on the bridge of a ship...that sails the seas of space rather than water. Noys hands the card to Brieanne. Without being asked, Gaz lifts and hefts a chair so that Hadrian can sit in a chair next to Brieanne's bed and cranes his neck so that he can concentrate as well. Noys swims out of view; out of the corner of her eyes, Brieanne can see her actions have raised the ire of the infirmary staff. "Ready?" Hadrian asks, looking at Brie and then at the trump. Brieanne turned to see where Noys was and accounted for Galen as well, her gaze passing over the staff without lingering or answering any of them. Rolling her head on the hinge of her neck and then her shoulders up, back and down, she shed the distractions and concentrated. Galen and Gaz are watching the proceedings hawkishly, watching the two artists as the card is made ready for the two of them. Noys is talking with one of the nurses. She hasn't raised her voice, but her strong tone rings slightly into Brieanne's consciousness. "Always." The reply was low, almost absent-minded as her full attention turned to Caine's daughter and whatever divide might stand between them. Two minds are better than one, especially when both minds are attuned to the process. The card slowly, very slowly goes cold, with an agonizing slowness. Two things become clear to Brieanne, and likely to Hadrian, after about a minute of this effort. One: Cyllene is somewhere *very* far away, too far away to reach by normal trump methods, even with two artists. Two: Continuing to try to do this will put both Brieanne and Hadrian under the table...again "We're done." The announcement was as much for Hadrian as anyone else as Brieanne withdrew from the contact. "We will try again another day when we are not already wrung out." She addressed Hadrian, hand clutching the card in frustration before she forced herself to set it aside. "That may be why it failed." Hadrian says, but with a clearly dubious tone in his voice as he does so. He closes his eyes and places his fingers against his head. Brieanne spent a short moment rubbing her temples and then cleared her eyes and looked around. "I'd very much like to catch up to Kennard and the others, but I'm going to ask Noys to use Father's Trump to bring me through or I won't have legs to stand on when I get there." She looked to see if Noys was done with the nurses and had heard her and then looked back at Hadrian. Noys seems to have placated the nurses and has swung back in Brieanne's direction. Hadrian opens his eyes as Brieanne looks at him. "Why don't you get some rest, get a bite to eat and we'll see about reaching Bhang tomorrow if nothing else imposes." Without one last trick, she didn't expect that effort to go any better than it had for Cyllene, but they'd try. "You need rest as well." Gazalarnith responds, cutting off Hadrian before he can speak. "You *will* do so." he adds. "Are you a doctor?" Noys asks, looking, looking up at Gazalarnith. Galen raises his eyebrows slightly, and then gives a nod of agreement with Gaz. Hadrian decides to say nothing and simply rub his temples. "No." he says. "However, Brieanne's well being is important to me." He turns to look at Brie and crosses his arms. Brieanne listened to the exchange silently and met Gaz's gaze when he turned to her. She bit the inside of her lip instead of grinding her teeth, searching his eyes and clearly weighing options as she considered the boundary being put on her. Most times she would bluff or bully her way past, but she knew she was up against someone that wouldn't work with any better than it would her father. She had the grace not to growl at him, all but holding her breath until she came to her conclusion. "I really do need to speak with Kennard." She spoke low enough that only her immediate audience could hear her, her gaze never leaving Gazalarnith. "Preferably in Arden. I could send the boys with a note, but that's ...limited." She made a face, knowing the hounds could deliver it, but their approach could easily be misinterpreted, blocked or interfered with. "If we can find a way to reach him quickly that doesn't split my head, I'll accept it." She sat, hands braced on the bed and waited for his reply and any suggestions anyone else might have. "I could t..." Hadrian begins. Gazalarnith's steely-eyed look in his direction keeps him from continuing. The Dragon does not see the need to elaborate. Noys shakes her head and looks at Brieanne. Brie can read her lips: "Men!" The dark haired woman then blinks her eyes. "I'm not dressed for it, but why not send me along to speak with Kennard?" she says. "I might not quite be as smooth talking as William, Martin or Pollux, but I'd like to think I could handle it. And if he wants a familiar face..." Noys looks at Galen. "Galen, you were with Brieanne when you met Kennard, were you not?" "Yes, I was. It would provide reassurance to Kennard if someone from the Inn was present" Galen says. He then looks toward Brieanne. Brieanne grit her teeth, staring Gaz down, and decided this was likely the best she was going to get right now. Except, if she was being forced to rest, she'd rather do that in Arden, too. "Thank you." She turned to Noys. "If you could just tell them....." She wrinkled her nose. "I'm not sure how much of what you just told me that we want to tell them except that Jayson might be dead and the confusion over that is part of why no one stepped forward to answer them at Court. I could spin Random being a complete ass too, but I don't know if I care about that and half of what I'd say would put him in a worse light because..." She decided against finishing her sentence, mentally changing gears and tone. "And tell Kennard they don't need to haul out immediately unless Father says they must. Personally, I think they should be allowed to catch their breaths before trekking out. Morning should be soon enough, shouldn't it?" She tilted her head, grinning, ideas already percolating. Noys smiles back at Brieanne's grin. Galen says nothing, Gaz raises an eyebrow,and Hadrian watches the byplay between the two cousins with interest. "So let's recap." Noys regards Brieanne. She lets her fingers move a lock of her dark hair away from her eyes as she leans her head in Brieanne's direction. "I'll go out to Kennard, tell him about the Jayson mess, and that unless Uncle Julian has commanded otherwise, the Chaosian party can wait at least until morning before marching back South." "That should give you enough time to rest...and make your plans." Noys adds. "Yes," Brieanne paused, "I hope. But lets see if we can't get ourselves out of this smelling like roses." There was a very specific 'our' in that, but she knew Noys understood. Noys smiles slightly, showing that she indeed understands Brieanne's connotations. "I'd like to have at least a smidgen of good will if things go poorly somewhere down the line." Brieanne wrinkled her nose, expecting that there would be a few who would add to the going poorly part. "In the meantime, I'll be good, gather my strength and ready myself to leap back into the breach." She winked at Noys and turned an innocent gaze in Gazalarnith's direction, knowing it wasn't going to make a dent in probability that he was going to stand there and make certain she cooperated. "You will be very welcome when you do. Perhaps I should rely on more mundane methods than trump calls to keep you updated." Noys says, speculatively looking at Gaz. Gazalarnith, for his part, says nothing. Brieanne rolled her eyes slightly and answered with an impish smile. No one had to know if she answered a Trump. =-) Noys claps her hand. "All right. To business." She nods to Galen. The Moonrider inclines his head, and then turns to Brieanne. "Rest well." Galen says. "Thank you." She replied politely, leaving off the grumpy bit about not having a choice. Galen follows Noys out of the infirmary, leaving Brieanne, Hadrian, and of course, the implacable Gaz looking at both Brieanne and Gerard's son. At least, the worst of the headache is now definitely fading from Brie's, and presumably's Hadrian's,consciousness. Blatantly cooperative, Brieanne laid down and for a moment might even have closed her eyes, but then she began to shift and twitch, little movements as she tried to get comfortable and failed. She propped her head up in her hand and stared back at Gaz. "Can I get up if I promise not to do anything that isn't entirely mundane? Like, if they can't do it, I won't?" She indicated the hounds, using an elbow to keep Briarsting out of her face, but otherwise ignoring the hound when he purposefully mistook the gesture and jumped into her bed. "Because, if I'm really supposed to rest, I'd much rather be in Arden then in here." She wrinkled a nose in distaste, eyes pleading silently. Hadrian looks from Brieanne, to the hounds and to Gaz. Gazalarnith regards Brieanne for a long moment, speculatively regarding Julian's daughter and her proposal. "I should refuse." the dragon declares, punching his chest with a fist. "However, I find it difficult to refuse you a reasonable request. If you would convalesce better in the forest, then in the forest, you shall." "I suspect there aren't any handy available glaciers for your cousin's healing." he adds, looking at Hadrian before returning to Brieanne. "However, *you* are my charge, and he is not." "I will do better," she answered, "and no, we don't have glaciers near here." She frowned, trying to think if she knew were any were. "I'll keep the nurses busy." Hadrian says softly to Brieanne. "I'd be very surprised if they gave us trouble." Brieanne replied, since she'd never expected any problems. She glanced at the nurses, shrugged and sat up, swinging her legs out of bed. "Even if they might argue with me, they will likely back down for him," she indicated Gaz with a tilt of her head, "and everyone gives ground to them. They might bite." She added sagely as she slid out and tested the feel of her feet on the floor. "The Hounds, sure." Hadrian says. He remains in the bed for the moment, keeping his fingers together, tilting his head to regard Brieanne. "Gaz, though, I suspect that his ability at intimidation is more than natural." In response, Gaz merely folds his arms, and looks in the direction of one of the nurses who has decided to edge closer to Brieanne, Gaz, Smoketredder and Briarsting. The nurse stops edging closer. Hadrian doesn't quite laugh, but manages a pained smile in the direction of Brie. Brieanne answered with a smile of her own, having assumed he'd made the connection earlier, but now not so sure. But they could talk later. "I suppose if you need me, you know how to reach me." Hadrian adds. "Good luck, cousin. Rest well." "Once I'm allowed," she agreed with a wink and she stepped away from the bed, looking up at Gaz. "It's a long walk... if I gave you a card, maybe you could trump my father?" She wasn't sure how that would go, but walking the whole way would be counter productive. "I had not intended for you to walk the entire distance. Nor myself." Gazalarnith declares, as he leads Brieanne away from Hadrian's bed. At her heels, the hounds follow. He had been leading Brieanne toward a shadowed corner of the infirmary room but stops his progress between a pair of beds. "If I were to trump your father, that would be an acceptable alternative to what I had decided." he says. turning to look at Brieanne. "And perhaps it would be less noticed." "And since when do I worry about being less noticed?" She grinned, having lost all interest in Trumping her Father in favor of finding out what Gaz had planned and how the corner figured into it. Given his title, she assumed it had something to do with the darkness, but she wasn't going to hazard any guesses out loud. "You may prefer to be open about such matters." Gazalarnith has stopped, and regards the corner for a few moments before continuing. He looks at the nearest glowglobe, serenely hanging on a chandelier. He reaches up with his hand, being just tall enough to touch the globe with his hand. Without a word, the amber light within the glass sphere extinguishes itself, further darkening the shadows and corner in which Brieanne and Gazalarnith currently stand. "Take my hand." he says in a voice of clear command. "And do not release it." Briar and Smoke look a little unhappy at the command, but both sit stock still, watching Brieanne and Gazalarnith attentively. Hadrian leans forward, watching with furrowed interest. "An audience." Gazalarnith says, bemused. He turns toward the wall, and begins to walk toward the wall, Brieanne in tow. One, two...the next step should carry both of them smack into the wall. It doesn't. Having trusted that he wouldn't walk her into a wall, having been half a step behind...and having asked people to trust her to do stranger things, Brie only blinks as they move forward the wall fails to contain them. Instead on the third step, the world around Brieanne is now...different. The world looks like it is in black and white, and shades of grey. The sun is not yellow, but a pale white against a dark grey sky. Behind her is the Castle, smaller than she remembers, and somewhat different in shape. There is less of the keep on the one hand, and two twisted towers that aren't in the original one. Ahead of them, a dark mass against the water seems to be Amber City, a different, dark shape ahead and to the right, downslope must be Arden. Or whatever Arden is, in this place. Gazlarnith's grip on Brieanne's hand is unforgiving, and he begins walking toward the dark Arden, towing Brieanne along. It's not that easy for Brieanne to keep up, and her strides, and Gaz's, seem to bring the dark Arden much closer with each step. The slender gap between them vanishes in a stride as Brieanne tucks their clasped hands into the curve of her waist. Shifting her weight to her toes, her heels never hit the ground as she springs forward at a trot that makes it easier to match his stride. She twists, reaching blindly with one hand until it rests on his chest as she looks around at the alien surroundings. Gaz blinks slightly at Brieanne's change of pace and forward motion, but he doesn't slow down significantly. With just her toes on the ground, the unnatural coolness of the grass, even ostensibly for early spring, feels a lot more noticeable. It might be even considered an unnatural chill, just like everything else seems to be in this place. From her looking around, the trees of the forest, fast approaching, are dark, twisted, and gnarled. Its as if the entirety of Arden was populated by the dark, malevolent trees that certain regions in the Nexus that Brieanne knows so well. The city looks older, with a wall that wasn't there before, and a rough hewn construction to the buildings that definitely looks different than her last visit to the real city, today. "How close to the edge is this place where the Chaosian troops are quartered?" Gaz enquires, slowing his approach. Even with smaller footsteps, the forest still seems to come much closer with each stride than it possibly should. Brieanne's head swivels to look forward again, the hand on his chest lifting to indicate where she thought the festival grounds should go. "There. But if Noys is already on her way, I don't much feel the need to get involved right now. She'll take care of them for the moment." Brieanne had genuine faith in that, trusting her favorite King's daughter to handle the Chaosians. "Good" Gazalarnith seems very pleased with this answer, as if any other would have been somewhat dicey. He looks in the direction Brieanne points. The festival grounds, in this aspect of the place, look darker and decidedly less inviting with the strange palette on the landscape. He pauses their motion for a moment and then continues to stride forward. "Your father or your brother's homes have stood in Arden for a long time, yes?" he asks as he heads for what looks like one of the main roads through the greenwood...or blackwood, in this place. Again, like the approach to the forest, the passage on the road is rushed, quick, the trees like a black blur with each stride. "Father's, certainly." Brieanne agreed, but she didn't want to go there, either. Instead she stretched a stride so she was in the lead for a fleeting moment and pointed. "There." She pointed deep into Arden, to a grove that predated her father's house, and glanced up at Gazalarnith. "I want to go there." Gaz looks at the grove suspiciously for a long moment, and then changes his leading path, so that the footsteps of the two of them now carry them in that direction rather than further along the road. The trees rush up quickly, and Gazalarnith slows his stride to single, deliberate steps that still carry the two of them too far and fast, but its a slower process. Brieanne tried to anticipate where each step would take them, looking and feeling for 'landmarks' of various sorts to guide her. They are dark and eldritch versions of the real world landmarks. Brieanne is intimately familiar with the landmarks of the Great Forest, and so can and does recognize them, even in twisted and malevolent looking forms. The oak tree struck by lightning ten summers past, for example, in the real world shows few scars. Here, its a twisted version. Brieanne gets a feeling that the version of the tree, here, felt palpable pain from the injury, and has grown here with that pain. Without hesitation or thought, Brieanne stepped toward the tree. Her free hand lifted, reaching for it, captivated by its pain and her need to ease that. But she still moved with Gazalarnith, their hands still firmly clasped, and the next stride carried her away. She glanced back sadly, worry knitting her brows and then turned forward again, her free hand fitting over Gaz's, unsettled. Finally, the pair stand at the edge of the grove, the shadows giving the grove the air of a very dangerous place in which to stand--like some of the groves in the darker portions of the forest in the Nexus. Lips pursed, Brieanne looked around with a frown, not liking the transformation. "You may wish to close your eyes" Gaz rumbles. "We are going to return and its broad daylight." With a nod and a last look around, Brieanne closed her eyes and ducked her head to protect her eyes until they could adjust to the comming change. Gazalarnith takes three steps with Brieanne, and on the third step, the sunlight creeps on the edges of her vision. When she finally starts to adjust her eyes, the broad daylight of an early spring day is dazzling. Not so much that the day is particularly bright, given the angle of the sun, but in comparison to the dark realm she just left, the return is jarring. The dragon holds onto Brieanne tightly even as the adjustment finishes. Thoughtfully, Gaz has guided the two of them to one of the trees in the clearing and Brieanne can rest against it and fully re-engage her senses. "We have returned" Gaz rumbles. "And in Arden, for you to find better rest." She did not need to open her eyes to know where she was. She could hear it. The warmth of welcome as real as the sun and undappled by shadows. For a moment she rested where she was, letting that warmth chase away the cold that had crept into her. Secure again, she blinked her eyes open slowly and looked up at Gaz for a long moment. There was wondering in her gaze. Speculation and curiosity plain to see as she stared into the dragon's eyes, but then she smiled, slipped her hand free and stood on the tips of her toes to brush his lips feather light kiss. Gazalarnith regards Brieanne silently, and slightly bemused. "Wait for me." She whispered and she stepped back, dropping all the walls that kept her to herself so that he stood in the grove with only the trees for company. "Yes" comes the single word from the dragon, but by that time, Brieanne is already gone. Brieanne napped, the world something distant and only faintly percieved and in deeper sleep it was only a realm of fantasy. Metaphors of the mind that she imagined in place of the world she shared with others. When she returned she drew a deep breath that rustled the leaves, opening her senses to examine her surroundings before stepping out to rejoin Gazalarnith. By the time Brieanne emerges from the tree, the position of the sun shows that a few hours have passed. Leaning against one of the trees, not far away from where she left him, is Gazalarnith. The first thing she hears is the snap crisp of the bite of an apple that he has just taken a bite out of. "Welcome back." he says, taking a second bite of the apple for emphasis. "You certainly look more hale than you did." "I said I would rest better here than in the castle." She approached closely, holding his hand and standing on her toes to steal a bite of his apple. She enjoyed the taste, but left the rest to him. "I think now might be a good time to reconnect with Noys and see how our unhappy guests are doing before we get back to Hadrian to try for Cyllene and Bhang." She mulled that over, tempted to do things the other way around, but deciding that Hadrian might be better off with a bit more rest. Gazalarnith lowers the green, tart apple to within reach of Brieanne's bite. He only withdraws it and takes another bite when its clear she wants no more of it. "Do you intend for us to travel overland to where the Chaosians are encamped?" he asks. "I am not certain that you might enjoy another shortcut like the one we used to get here so soon." "But, then, you have asked surprisingly little about it, o curious faerie." Gazalarnith rumbles, with a note of humor in his voice. "Sometimes its best to be cautious with questions. They cannot be unasked and you have to live with the answers." As serious as the reply could be taken, there was a smirk tugging at the corners of her eyes and lips. "This is true" Gaz replies simply. "But I will get around to asking." She promised before she dug out Noys' Trump and concentrated. The contact goes much better, with far less distress, than the previous contact that Brieanne attempted. And far easier than her brief breaching of the wards in the Throne Room in Castle Amber. The contact resolves to find Noys at the edge of what looks to be a tent city much like the one the Chaosians set up that Brieanne infiltrated in shadow. The basic lines of the layout look the same in any event. Eric's daughter smiles as the contact completes. "You certainly look better, and more at home than in a Castle Infirmary, Brieanne." Noys says by way of greeting. "Oh yes." Brieanne agreed. "It can safely be said that this is where I belong." She gestured out widely, smiling. "And now that I am rested, I thought I should see how things stood with our 'guests'." "If I compare our guests to ants, the anthill in which they reside is more than a little agitated at present." Noys replies. "I suspect that they didn't quite expect the reception they got from Uncle Random and family." "Right or wrong, good or bad, I think the Chaosians have decided on being offended by the entire contretemps in the throne room." Brieanne rolled her eyes. "Uncle Random is an idiot." Shaking her head, she braced her hands on her hips and considered her options. "And I had them in a nice civil mood when I brought them in. You'd think he'd be smart enough to play off that." "I think other things weigh upon our King." Noys says thoughtfully. "Perhaps pieces of this that neither of us know anything about." Eric's daughter shrugs her shoulders, a rolling motion that has all of the body control and poise of Flora, her son or her daughter. Brieanne shrugged as well, not the least sympathetic toward their uncle. Silent a moment while the wheels spun, Brieanne looked up at Noys, still pondering. "Think they'd be happy if we managed to drop them off right near to Corilaine? ...Not that I'm entirely sure where that is..." She chewed on that snag while she waited for Noys' response. "We need to better educate you on Golden Circle Geography." Noys replies. "Although if the King gets wind of that, he'd have assigned you to William's tour. Unconscious, it would have been hard for you to refuse." "Nonesense." Brieanne sniffed. "I am perfectly capable of doing a great many things unconsciously." Noys turns and looks back at the camp for a long moment before returning her attentions firmly on Brieanne. "If I remember my geography properly, the nearest shadow of consequence to Corilaine that we might use for the purpose is Menuis." Noys replies. "Two Monarchs, one Human, one dragonmen. They've had disputes with Corilaine in the past, but they are Golden Circle and provide a fair amount of grain in trade to us. There is a well known path from there that runs into Sand's Forest of Night on the other side of the border." She lowers her voice, almost as if the two were in a corner whispering. "If they had a clue, or divine his nature, they would worship Gazalarnith. Literally." "That could be quite useful." Brieanne perked up, glancing up at Gaz. "I don't know how he'd feel about it, but I can add it to my list of questions to ponder." She smiled up at him briefly and then promptly turned her attention back to Noys. "Shall we help them along then? It is in everyone's best interest that there are no incidents after all. " She smiled, for now having only her own interests at heart and knowing that Noys was fully aware of that. "Its in your interest, and mine, that we get them out of Arden. You might not mind them, your brother and father might tolerate them as long as they don't do anything stupid, but their presence within the Kingdom is not, evidently, a Good. So they should get a helping hand from you and I to complete their mission and reduce the chance of incident." "The question is how you want to do it." Noys says. "Get to Menuis and open a Gate? Lead them through shadow to there? I don't think Uncle Gerard will want to lend us a ship. At least, not one large enough to take all of them." "I'm not partial to trips on ships," Brieanne wrinkled her nose... Noys smiles slightly at Brieanne's reaction. "and I can't gate anywhere I haven't been. But maybe Hadrian went through there at somepoint? Really, anyone who can give me a clear mental image will do..." Brieanne fished out the Trump Hadrian had given her. It was a thin deck and all that would fit in the pocket. "That or we walk... which has to be better than what they were doing." "My conversations with our new cousin suggests that he and his familiar have been to a staggering number of places in the Golden Circle." Noys replies. "Hadrian apparently likes to be a tourist. It wouldn't surprise me if he'd been there. Hopefully he'll save us all a long walk or a ride." "I will ask." Brieanne announced, since it would also give her an opportunity to retrieve her hounds. "And I will see if he feels up to joining us." She smiled, flashed a wave and let the contact drop when Noys was ready so she could concentrate on Hadrian. "One hopes, cousin." Noys says, and then she allows Brieanne to drop the contact. When Brieanne turns her attention to Hadrian, the response comes back a little more slowly than Noys, and the image resolves to show Hadrian is still in the infirmary. He is sitting up in bed. The hounds are just visible on one side of the bed. They are alert and a little active, since Brieanne can see that, sitting in a chair nearby, is a visitor for Hadrian Cousin Asteria "Hello Brieanne." Hadrian says aloud, and then switches to a mental voice. *I see that you seem to be much more hale and hearty now as well. Asteria was just checking on how I was feeling and telling me of what happened after we departed from the Throne Room.* "It might be useful to know," Brieanne shrugged knowing that Asteria had her uses. "I will let you get back to her gossip, I only wished to know if you had been to Menuis? And if you might have a place where I could land us so that we can hurry the Chaosians along." She tilted her head, her expression hopeful. "And, if you're feeling up to it, you're welcome to come along, I promise it shouldn't be anything taxing....." She looked mildly guilty for what he'd suffered, but the only thing she'd ever really promised anyone was that life would not be dull. "Menuis." Hadrian looks thoughtful for a moment. "Yes!" he says after a moment's thought. "Part of Amber's golden circle. I had gone because Dora had hoped to meet a friendly dragon..." Hadrian looks thoughtful. "I did do a trump of the Obelisk of Fandor, I thought it was a pretty interesting landmark, rising out of the forest on a tall hill." "Why would the Chaosians want to..." Hadrian stops and then he blinks. "You want to give them a shortcut to Jayson's Mom's shadow, right?" Brieanne smiled sweetly...almost gleefully, added, "and I could help with introductions if Dora is still interested." "I'd have to retrieve Dora from Arden, but I am certain that she would be as interested as I would be in a trip to Menuis." Hadrian responds, looking more alert and eager. Out on the side, Asteria just raises the fraction of an elegant eyebrow in response. She, however, says, nothing. "When would you want to leave?" he says. And then he speaks aloud. "At this point, really, I am ready to leave the infirmary. I suspect that since Father isn't around, I won't be stuck here any longer than usual. Cousin Asteria is trying to talk me into taking me to lunch." "Um... now?" Brieanne tilted her head to regard him. "I've got restless unhappy Chaosians and I'm already in Arden." She smiled, pointing out how easy it would be to retrieve Dora. "Maybe you could do dinner with Asteria instead?"
"Asteria" Hadrian turns his attentions toward Flora's blond haired daughter. "Cousin Brieanne is impressing upon a debt I owe her in order to do her a favor this afternoon. Perhaps we could convert that invitation for lunch into dinner tonight, instead?" Asteria smiles and her eyes go bright. "I should not want to deny Brieanne your help. And I would absolutely be delighted to enjoy dinner with you. Do give my regards to our dear cousin." She puts a hand on Hadrian's cheek, smiles a several megawatt smile, turns her back, and sweeps out of the room. Brieanne can feel the roiling of emotions from Hadrian. And then the intimacy of the trump call and the mind to mind allows Brieanne to see Hadrian briefly summon an image from the bonfire party after the Festival, of Dulcinea. Brieanne lounged against Gaz as she listened ... and watched, eyes crinkled slightly with a repressed smile. "I think that's settled now" Hadrian says into the contact. "She might get you in trouble you know." As much as she was teasing him, it was a sincere warning and there was a slight pause before she stretched out a hand to bring him through. "Who, Asteria?" Hadrian asks, although a ghostly afterrimage in his mind of Dulcinea suggests that the line between the two women in his mind is somewhat blurred--and perhaps he knows that Brieanne suggests it. He stands up, and reaches through the contact, and steps into Arden from the infirmary. He stops and looks around and bows to Gazalarnith. Gazalarnith seems bemused enough to give Hadrian a nod. "I thought you were at the Chaosian delegation." Hadrian says. "Or were you expecting me to retrieve Dora first? Are the Chaosians near?" "We can call Noys for that." Brieanne replied, but with an increasing, distracted frown. "And we should probably call someone at the castle, because the infirmary staff are very upset right now... and there will be many more people very upset shortly and then Lord Henden is going to be rather peevish with me all over again." She looked up at Hadrian. "We left the boys. They'll be peturbed." Hadrian gets a look of shock on his face. She looked in the castle's direction. "I do hope someone opens the doors for them." "I'm...sorry. I didn't realize..." Hadrian stammers, looks nervous, and then looks away for a long moment. He then pulls out his deck, finds a card and concentrates on it. Hard, from what Brieanne can see. He gives the card all of his attention. Hadrian abruptly disappears in a telltale rainbow nimbus of light. "Can he handle them all by himself, do you think?" Gazalarnith says gravelly. "I don't know." Brieanne mused, leaning back against Gaz again as she regarded the spot where Hadrian had stood. "He'll smell freshly of Arden and me, which should get their attention, but ...that can be somewhat... double-edged." "Indeed" Gazalarnith rumbles. She paused a moment, and then continued. "And it's somewhat curious. I was going to leave it to all of them to work out. I didn't really think about going back." "Perhaps Hadrian felt that he should handle the situation himself. He does seem to have a sense of Order about him." Gazalarnith rumbles. "And something of a touch of Elemental Ice. You smelled that, yes?" And then Brieanne gets a trump contact. Expecting Hadrian, Brieanne answered, surprised to find herself facing Asteria. "Oh. Hello." Expecting that it wasn't going to be good, she gave her cousin an opportunity to explain. The scene is in one of the sitting rooms in the Castle. Behind Asteria, Brieanne can see a figure, and two hounds swarming him, what looks like play. For the hounds at least. "Hadrian asked me to call you, since he is a bit...occupied." Asteria seems a combination of bemused and horrified. "He came back, and the hounds came after him like he was a favored chew toy." "I've seen hellhounds attack things they don't like. So they must be playing with him." Asteria pauses a beat. "I think." Backlinks |
