MorningDoingsIndex SB: Brieanne: Morning Doings Brieanne finished what she was eating, chased it with a ladly-like sip of tea, wiped her fingers and her mouth and then hopped up to go greet her father with a smile. As Brieanne leaves the kitchen to head to the entrance, she can hear Hadrian speak softly to Noys. "Is that...?" Hadrian begins. "Yes" Noys replies, brightly. In the meantime, when Brieanne reaches the entrance, her father has dismounted. Even if she had not heard the hoofbeats of Morgenstern, the scent of the spring forest is upon him. "Good morning!" Julian says with a warmness that few other people ever get to see, as he strides toward his daughter. "Dare I ask what you have been and now are up to?" Brieanne laughed softly, the slight shake of her head causing curles to bounce. "Nothing you could not discuss with the king if you knew." Julian looks slightly relieved. She greeted him with a hug and then stepped back again. "We saw the Chaosians off to Shadow, safely beyond the Golden Circle where hopefully we shall hear nothing more of them because there is nothing more to know and then we did a little detour to watch the sunrise, and now we're hungry." She led the way toward the kitchen with a bright smile. Julian blinks once, and then follows his daughter toward the kitchen. "Oh, and Galen is upstairs sleeping the day away. I'm rather afraid keeping time with us has taken a toll on him." She seemed sorry for that as she returned to her seat Noys gives a nod of the head and a smile to Julian as he enters the kitchen and looks about. Hadrian, on the other hand, gets off of his seat (with Dora on his shoulder) and bows from the waist. Julian just gives a nod and walks briskly in the direction of food. His amused reaction to Brieanne is extremely subtle. "Moonriders were not known for enjoying excessive amounts of daylight." Julian says briskly. With an apple in his hand, and still standing, he takes a decisive bite, and crunches it as he regards Brieanne and the group. Noys returns to her food. Hadrian seems to be trying to sneak bites when Julian isn't looking. "And your plans after you break your fast?" Julian enquires before he takes another bite. He seems to, from Brieanne's perspective, included all three Amberites and Dora in his address "Or are you at liberty to look into a matter?" "I think I'm free.. At some point I'll have to do something with Galen's people, but I think we're waiting for them... and .... I think that was all that was official." Perched at the end of her seat, Brieanne paused to consider before looking at Noys. "Do you remember if there was anything else I was supposed to do?" Noys laughs. "If you remember, you and Hadrian trumped the Chaosians into the Throne Room, past Auntie Fi's wards, and went promptly unconscious." "For all the King knows." she begins "you're both still in that Infirmary, even though we've done quite a bit since." Hadrian nods in agreement. Julian raises a slight eyebrow at this but does not interrupt. "We did have the Cyllene and Bhangbadea problems--or everyone who got trapped in Paris, in general." Noys says. "Other than that, and the Moonrider situation, I think you have an open calendar, Brieanne. I don't recall anything the King wants ME to do. And Hadrian was in the same spot as you." "Good." Julian says. He looks at his daughter to await her reaction to Noys' answer. "Oh good, so I wasn't forgeting anything." She smiled brightly and turned to her father. "What do you wish?" "Well, then." Julian says with satisfaction. "I find a disturbing lack of your counterparts available this morning, so I am most pleased, Brieanne that you came back this morning with two of them." Hadrian gulped slightly. Noys shook her head at him. "To the point." Julian continues. "I don't think it has anything to do with the Chaosians. However, Captain Lyriel of the Rangers, you know her, Brieanne. She sent a message by eagle last night with a report from one of the patrols under her on the outer edges of Arden, where it bleeds into shadow. Something about some sort of strange doings in and around some of the villages and hamlets. Sightings of strange fungal...things, the report was none too clear. "My first thought, and probably yours." Julian looks at Hadrian, Brieanne and Noys "...is that its from our recent visitors, but this report is from nowhere near the path the Chaosians took. Since its within Arden's borders though, its my responsibility. Amber's responsibility." "I thought, with all that has been happening, that sending family to look into it might be best, if it is something truly serious. The Three of you in fact." Brieanne father looks at Dora for a moment and amends his speech with a slightly less edgier tone "Three, and companions." "Fungal ...'things'?" Brieanne had mostly stopped listening there, captivated by the wild things she imagine. "Like giant mushrooms or slimy, fuzzy, white stuff?" She was fascinated but didn't seem concerned by the possibilities. "Something ambulatory, Uncle?" Noys adds, after Brieanne's question. Hadrian and Dora remain quiet, pensive looking. Julian nods at Noys. "Infections of ordinary creatures, and people, by fungal elements, is my guess from the report." Julian says. "Certainly nothing as melodramatic as walking mushrooms. However, that's why I want the four of you there, to find out precisely what is going on, how its happening, and take appropriate measures." "Since this is within Arden, I would prefer that Random be presented with a solved problem, rather than something else to worry him." Julian adds. "Fungal." Brieanne still seemed intrigued and a bit perplexed. "You should probably finish that." She looked at Hadrian's food, checked to see how Noys was doing and then got up to get herself something else to drink. "You're right, Brieanne. I am not a fan of eating mushrooms." Hadrian says. Noys chuckles. Julian's slight shift suggests to Brieanne is that he is amused. She peppered her father with questions until she knew exactly where she was going and then fell silent. Thinking about what was there from her perspective that might have allowed something odd like this. Imagination was getting the better of her and she began to fidget, waiting for her cousins to finish eating so they could be on their way. A few tentative questions from Hadrian, and some from Noys firm up, along with Brieanne's, just precisely where the village of Baudette , the center of the region, is located. More important, Julian gives explicit instructions on how to get there. Its clear the instructions are a little more intended for Brieanne than her cousins, given the slight looks of confusion on their faces. Julian gives Brieanne a hug, and excuses himself to give the trio time to finish. Soon enough, though, breakfast is done. As Dora nibbles on a small remainder of the food, it seems both of her cousins are ready. "Do we let Galen sleep, or do we shanghai him into this?" Noys asks. Brieanne considered the matter, staring up at the ceiling. "It would be kinder to let him sleep ... but I will leave him a note." "If he could manage to catch us, that would tell us something about his abilities." Noys points out. "But I don't think that's practical." she adds brightly. "We don't want the Rangers to *hunt* him if he goes down the wrong paths" She went to her room for paper, leaving a short note to tell him where they went, why, with the Trump sketch since she didn't have a spare card. She was fairly certain her father wouldn't approve, so she certainly couldn't ask him for a card, and while she could have asked Hadrian, this should work well enough and she slipped them under the door with enough of a scoot to get it out somewhere obvious. Brieanne manages the deed without any trouble, or being seen by anyone. Returning to Noys and Hadrian, she led the way to the stables to get them horses. They were saddling up when the hounds strolled in with happy doggy expressions. The greeting was quiet instead of rambunctious and they sat beside her to watch the proceedings. When everyone was ready, Brieanne slipped a leg over Polt and they were on the road again. And without much ado, the three riders, and two hounds, begin their journey toward the village of Baudette, deep within Arden. While Brieanne might never have been explicitly there, the weave and weft of Arden's paths and the route there, as detailed by her father and her own knowledge, is relatively straightforward. "Is it true what they say about what they...eat?" Hadrian asks, motioning his head toward the trotting hounds. Noys laughs slightly but does not answer. "What they eat?" Brieanne looked from Hadrian to the hounds with a perplexed frown. "They eat whatever they want." She looked back at Hadrian, wondering what he was talking about. "If they catch it ... it's theirs." She shrugged. "I make sure mine don't eat anything important, but if you have something you don't want them to eat.... you probably shouldn't bring it here near dinner time, and don't leave it unguarded." "I recall Bhangbadea's friend." Hadrian says. "But I wasn't sure they were playing with Bishop, or if they had other motives. I have a bond with a Wyvernet, not augmented canines. "I don't think they'd have done very much to Bishop..." Brieanne pursed her lips, thinking back on it. "I think the tail swishing at the end of their noses was just too much temptation. A few bumps and bruises maybe, but they can grab things without biting really hard." Smoketredder looks up, briefly at his trot, as if being more than a little aware of what Brieanne and company are talking about. Brieanne blew him a kiss and smiled. Dora laughs sibilantly. "There's another question for you, Brieanne." Hadrian pipes up. "Another?" Noys says, amused "Yes" Hadrian says. "There is plenty of road between here and this village. I figure trading questions or just conversation will pass the time." "Hadrian." Dora puts in. "If Brieanne wißhes to play, ßhe mußt get the chance to aßk a question before you do." Brieanne laughed softly, tilting her head to gaze just at Dora. "If I have a question, I'm very good at finding the answer, and I rather enjoy hunting for them without having to ask very much of anything at all." She winked at Dora and turned again to watch were they were going. The sun continues to climb in the sky (however muted by the thick forest), and the road continues on and on. Hadrian and Noys and Dora seem to accept Brieanne's answer for the moment, and time goes by with relatively idle conversation. The wonder in Hadrian's eyes doesn't ever leave. The course set by Brieanne sends the group not only through uncut groves of trees, but other visual delights as well. Like the high meadow, for instance, that the group crosses. In summer, there will be wildflowers, but for now, Brieanne can hear the seeds sleeping in the ground, waiting for the warmth of a few more days of Spring before starting their growth. Like the sinuous piece of raised terrain next to Rainy Lake, a lake whose other bank is much more familiar with Brieanne. "An Eßker" Dora says as the group rides along the road on this stretch. Hadrian nods in agreement. (Does Brieanne have any agenda or things she wants to do short of getting to the scene of the crime) "An Esker?" Brieanne looked around, taking in the scenery here. She understood what gave the land its various shapes, but she never worried about what they might be called. "Yeß" Dora says. "More common in glacial landß. There may have been a glacier here, once." "There was once," Brieanne nodded, "and a strange, spindly forest before that, and a great fire before then, but nothing here is old enough to remember before the fire, any that survive it must have perished with the glacier and all that is left are those who woke to a sea of cold ash." She looked around at the trees that towered above them. "And that is none of these, they are too young." Hadrian looks at Brieanne in wonder. "And you should go ahead and ask before you burst." Brieanne laughed, looking at Hadrian. "If I don't want to answer, I won't." The gleam in her eyes was impish, but honest. "Or you will think she answered, even if you didn't." Noys says amused. "As befits her nature." "THERE is a question." Hadrian says, finally speaking as if releasing a deep breath. "I know there is some delicacy about that sort of thing. You've heard the story about my Mother and father and how I was raised, I think..." hadrian says. "I have to admit that especially given that shadow you took us to, I don't understand the maternal side of your family. So I'm curious about *that*." "The maternal side of my family?" Brieanne looked genuinely confused, but she tilted her head as if considering. "I really can't say I have a maternal side as mother had no siblings and her parent's death was the cause of her own. Unless, of course, you wish to believe in fairy tales?" She turned again to Hadrian, her expression an opaque mix of concern, bafflement ... or maybe that was just a mask for the fey gleam that dared him to. But, then, that was just as likely to be a ruse to draw him in for something too farfetched to believe without the proper set up. "Fairy tales?" hadrian says. Dora blinks draconic eyes at Brieanne, not quite sure what to make of Brieanne's response either. "Fairy tales." Noys says, with a smile. "We'd be better armed with someone like Brandeigh here to interpret the truth in a fairy tale though. Or maybe Shannon." Hadrian pauses a moment. Finally he nods. "All right, then." Hadrian says. "Tell me the fairy tale." He glances at Brieanne and smiles. "Please." "Let me see if I can remember how it was told...." Her face scrunched in concentration and Poltergeist slowed, turning to glance at his rider when he noticed that she wasn't paying any attention to where they were going. In turn, Hadrian and Noys slow their mounts. The hounds still course as they will, but have made a tighter pattern around Brieanne and her two friends. "Once, before there was time, there were two Beings. And they didn't think of themselves as Brother and Sister, but now in the retelling of things, this is how we regard them. They went as they pleased in the shifting shadows of reality and watched from the solid places as other Beings came to be. Like all the things in the Then before Worlds, they took many shapes and they did not concern themselves with Power or try to force other Beings to be their way, nor did they answer to others. "One day the Sister took a new shape and she explored it in many fashions and the brother sat and watched her grow and change but he was sad when she did not change again. She stretched far above him, green fingers rippling and all was quiet. Time passed and he returned to her now and then, waiting and lonely. "Finally, she came forward to meet him, but only half of herself. The rest she left behind and she explained to him the wonders she had found, anchored now in this bit of solidness. How it had left her free to reach further in some ways. He did not understand and he was angry that she would not give this up to be with him again. But she could not. She had given that up, a price paid for what she had found. The brother went on his way, but frequently lingered near. A day came when other creatures came. Violent beasts born lately from the demons who had come before and with intent to destroy this creature they'd found who could neither fight nor run. The sister cried out for her brother and he came to her, There were many of the beasts and they turned to him with sharp weapons but he had watched a great serpent rise from the abyss and he took now a shape akin to it, with great claws and fangs, wings that stirred great gales and a tail that could shake the earth and he set into them with terrible fury. When all was quiet again, he wrapped himself around his sister's form, as close to a hug as they now could be and they listened to the quiet together. As they did, he realized he could hear strange music. Haunting music. He searched and he found that it came from the decorations the creatures had adorned themselves with. He gathered them, and tried to share them with her, but she heard nothing from these metal things, just as he could not hear the music that had her so enthralled. She had few daughters, he had many sons, but still as unlike as they seem, no dragon will bear harm to a dryad, nor shall one ever be the cause of harm lest the first answer her cry." Brieanne paused and then shrugged. "I think I've left out a part, but it was something like that." Noys makes a non committal sound after a moment. Hadrian remains quiet. Dora's eyes remain focused on Brieanne. When Hadrian does speak, it is as if he is embarrassed to speak, haltingly. "Is that...I mean, is that why..." Hadrian stops for a moment. When he speaks again, its clearer, cleaner. "is that why you get along so well with Dragons? Because of your ancestral tie to them?" "If such a thing is true and such a bond could stretch so far?" She tilted her head, shoulders pinching upward. "I suppose, and it would explain why I do not feel the fear they often inspire, but for some of them.... I think I'm a pet." Hadrian looks slightly shocked at Brieanne's admission. She considered that, "and others are amused, and then others are vexed and try to understand why they are amused, which might be why they are, and then there are Albernoth and Gaz and so long as they say I may trespass where I will, I may. Though I almost never do so without asking." She seemed to take that last rather seriously, at least judging by the look she flashed toward her companions. "Almost never." Noys says in confirmation, and a slight smile. Dora shudders. "I would not want to anger a dragon." She says sibilantly. "Large coußins are not to be trifled with, even the unintelligent oneß." "She means forest and mountain Wyverns." Hadrian explains. "They aren't intelligent like the dragons we met with you, but they are fearsome and dangerous." "Dumb does sometimes make strong things more dangerous. It can make them unpredictable." Hadrian nods in agreement, and Dora lets out a sibilant sound that sounds like concurrence with the thought. [Brieanne] wrinkled her nose in distaste and then the expression was more thoughtful. "Dragons, when angry, are very loud. You can feel it all the way to the bones from very far away, and if you are too close.... your ears will ring for hours." She rolled her eyes and sighed, clearly speaking from experience. "There is one difference between you and others, Brieanne in that regard." Noys says. "What is that?" Hadrian says. Brieanne looked equally curious. Noys smiles to Hadrian, but then looks at Brieanne as she responds. "Most others would not live to be able to say that Dragon's anger rings in their ears. They would be more concerned about their bodily survival." Brieanne giggled. "It was Gaz and I was in more danger from the ceiling stones coming loose than from him... of course, he was angry because I'd done something to make another dragon very, very angry and while that one didn't know it was me, Gaz had figured it out. So I got to see ranting and raging at a distance and up close. It's quite impressive, and ... no... I don't recommend it. Like playing a practical joke on a Red, entertaining, but not safe." "You definitely have a strong practical knowledge of types of Dragons." Noys says. "Indeed." Hadrian says. "I've seen more Dragons in the last 24 hours than I imagined I ever would in my lifetime." "Intelligent Dragons!" Dora hisses, enthusiastically. "It was unusual for me as well to have met them." Noys says, amused. She looks at Brieanne and waits for her horse to get over a troublesome root blocking the path before continuing. "So tell me cousin, how many kinds of Dragons *have* you met?" "Um.... Greater, or lesser?" Brieanne replied, looking at her cousin quizzically. "There are the Princes, but where I go, that's Albernoth, Gaz and a red named Necromaths, and they hold their Courts... which is a rather loose term. Then there are golds, silvers and platinums, blues and greens, reds, and lesser dragons like waters and the woodland dragons most people know. There are skywings too, but I've never met any of those close enough to talk." She shrugged since it was really only a matter of time in her mind. "I feel like I should be writing this all down." Hadrian says "Yeß!" Dora says, enthusiastically, bobbing her head up and down as she sits on Hadrian's shoulder. "If you don't mind my saying." Noys says. "Albernoth seemed like a much more social dragon than Gazalarnith does. I felt he was kind of apart...different somehow, even for a dragon. Like he was doing you a favor by coming to Amber. Introducing him to us, and so forth." Noys cocks her head and regards Brieanne expectantly. Brieanne considered this, her gaze turned inward and her expression serious, as if she really had not given the matter much thought before. Poltergeist cocked his head as well, slowing until he finally stopped, his attention on his inattentive rider. Up ahead, the hounds took note of the stop, Briarsting sitting while his pack mate stood to wait and watch. Brieanne can feel the attentions of both Noys and Hadrian on her as she mentally comes up with her response. "Among all the lands I know, with dragons I would consider True, there are many golds and silvers, even a few I would call bronze. There are many more reds and greens, but there is only one Black and only one White. They are both something different, but Gaz is still someone ... apart." Her gaze shifted, looking outward and returning Noys' regard. "They call him the King of Death, and his court has no dragons in it the way Albernoth and Necromath's hold Court, and yet they say all dragons belong to him and he goes where he will, whether it is to land beside Albernoth, or to fly rings in the sky with Necromaths. I know only one person who might rival them in age, and of the three, I think Gaz is the youngest, but even he can tell me stories of times long before Amber's founding." She paused again, choosing her words. "I think, so long almost always alone, will do things to someone." Now it was Brieanne who's head tilted quizzically. Her gaze dropped away again and she made a face that was almost sad before she nudged Polt back into motion and got them on their way again. "Alone." Noys says with a nod. Hadrian doesn't say anything. The horses pick up their pace and so Hadrian and Noys follow along with Brieanne. Out of the corner of her eye she can see Noys give Hadrian a glance and then she looks resolutely forward. Both of them are quiet and thoughtful. Brieanne took note, but said nothing, finishing the ride in relative quiet. And so the rest of the ride is indeed in relative quiet. Not precisely silence, there are a few comments here and there, but no sustained conversations. Both Noys and Hadrian (and to be fair, Dora too) seem a little restrained. Brieanne hummed softly for several minutes, seeming to daydream a bit with a faint smile on her face. When she shook that off she looked around, taking interest in things they passed and answering a bird's song with a whistle. She answered each time it called until it came to investigate, whisteled in what sounded like annoyance, and flew off again. She was amused and in good spirits, unaffected by whatever had taken hold of her companions. This restraint ends, though, as the riders, and hounds, reach the outskirts of the village of Baudette. The road that the group taken reaches the village from a rise in the terrain, and given the layout of hamlets and other small villages, Baudette is both the largest and first habitation that the riders reach. Brieanne and company can look down from the rise toward the village ahead and below. Baudette is an average looking village for the most part. Farms and farm buildings on the approach. A cluster of buildings in a cross shaped where another road meets this one. A small inn, smithy, store, and the other needs of a village, all laid out for view. It is the tallest building that draws the eye. It looks like a church, probably a church of the unicorn, but it doesn't look quite right anymore. Even from here, Brieanne and her companions can see that it is...fuzzy, hairy, along its edges. Changed. Briarsting and Smoketredder, without command, have moved into a tight, protective formation around Brieanne and Polt. "How curious." Brieanne blinked, lips pursing. She rode closer, keeping a wary eye on woods, farmlands and outbuildings as they passed them, looking for people, animals ... pretty much anything that might move. "Things seem to have gotten worse since the report." Noys says, raising a hand over her eyes briefly to look at the church. Riding forward, Brieanne and her companions do not have to travel far before they run into signs of life. Hadrian points in the direction of one of the farms. Figures, near the farm building, walk fitfully in the shadow of the building. They seem to be trying to stay out of the direct sunlight. "It's completely deserted." Hadrian says. And then, a few figures from the center of town appear from the cluster of buildings and start walking toward Brieanne. Even as Brieanne and company are riding, she notices that the grass on the side of the road has given way to a row of white meadow mushrooms. These mushrooms do not extend into the roadway itself as yet, but now line it like a border. And the people, or human sized figures anyway, about 10 in all, carrying farm implements, walk down the road toward Brieanne, Noys, Hadrian, Dora and the hounds. Brieanne motioned for Poltergiest to a stop, glancing at the sky to look for clouds and making certain she was in full sun. People brazenly walking toward her rarely gave her warm feelings and right now she didn't want fuzzy ones. Noys and Hadrian bring their mounts to a stop as well, neatly forming a triangle between the three of them, spanning the road. Neither of them or their mounts touch the mushrooms, but come fairly close. Hadrian looks down at the row of mushrooms, as does Dora. She looked again at the mushrooms neatly dotting the edge of the road and frowned. "I don't like this." She murmured and looked at Noys, "and you two are probably less safe than I." Her gaze fell to the hounds next, worried, but she held Polt where he was, waiting for the people to get closer and studying them while they approached. "I'm not certain you are safe either:" Noys says quietly. "Hmm..." Brieanne grumbled quietly, half in agreement. As the people approach, dressed in typical villager closes, Brieanne notices several things. Point: They are all men. Ranging in age from a young man to a balding man with thinning white hair, there are no women amongst the group Point: They are all possessed, regardless of age, of a shambling gait. They walk slowly, with obvious difficulty, although there is no signs of obvious injury that would cause this Point: All of the men have a slightly sweat-glistened, yellowish cast to their skin. "You are not welcome here" the lead man says, in a bellow, while still yards away. "Turn around and leave peaceably." The men stop their advance, eerily in lockstep. "And who is it who makes such a demand of those who are now sovereign in this land?" Brieanne leaned slightly forward and tilted her head, body language and tone more jovial than challenging. She made no threats or boasts, but she stayed right where she was and waited for them to answer. "Sovereign. You are not sovereign in this land, you three children of the Unicorn." the man says. He looks at Brieanne. "And of the Tree." He looks at Noys "And of the Sphinx.". He narrows his eyes especially at Hadrian "and of the Griffin." Dora hisses slightly as the man stares at her and Hadrian. "Dragons are not welcome here either." he says, pointedly. "The Veniss are sovereign here" he continues, returning to look at Brie. "and I, Fynch, as their representative speak to you, thusly: Return to whence you came." "Oooooh...." Brieane drawled, her voice dropping an octive lower than usual. "Do not tempt me." She laughed, gave a little shake of her head and then settled again. Noys is amused. Hadrian is a little more reserved, staring at Fynch. "The Veniss...." She wrinkled her nose and pondered that. "I've never heard of you, which leads me to think that whatever you are, you weren't so great because no knowledge survived the ravages of time and now you wake, forgotten, diposed of whatever you once had and you're trying to reclaim it, or at least make do from whatever you can steal from a realm that has no sympathy for you. What's sadder, is that I think you're pawns, brought forth by an enemy who wants to make my House weak so it can kill us all. You included." She added. "It was said that there are those of the Unicorn who spin pretty words." Fynch replies. "The son of the strongman, for one. The child of the Sphinx is said to speak well, when she does deign to speak." Fynch glances at Noys who looks placidly back. Brieanne can tell, though, her cousin is calculating, plotting, evaluating. Fynch continues as he looks at Brie again "I had not thought the daughter of the Tree would attempt to emulate them. It is said that you shoot first and ask questions second." "Not that it will avail you against the Veniss. And it matters not if you know nothing of the Veniss, Children of the Unicorn. The Veniss are as old as the rock and soil, and now, as so many things do, the cycle has turned and they rise again." "We are not pawns of the Veniss." Fynch says. "We *are* the Veniss." "You, who speaks, might be, the body hosting you is more like a victim of piracy, which would be why I didn't shoot first." Brieanne pointed out. "And, it's the Veniss who are likely the pawns." She gestured head to foot at Fynch. "The cycle has turned too soon and for many people, gods and others. You're all tools of an enemy, though I will admit that it's a very neat trick on their part." She had to grant the Door people that. She wasn't sure how they'd managed it, but she didn't think so many things could happen just like so without a hand behind to guide them. "Quite a neat trick on their part." Noys comments, as if having thoughts similar to Brieanne. She shifts herself slightly. Hadrian takes a half pace backward and to the side, watchful, and careful. "I...I..." there is a brief look of lucidity, of normalcy, in Fynch's eyes. "I don't know..." The internal conflict in Fynch dies, however, as the sun setting behind a horizon. He, or whatever controls him, shakes his head slowly, carefully, like a dog trying to remove a flea. "The Veniss serve no one. Enough. Once more. Depart. The soil here now is for the growing of the Veniss and not for the blood and treasure of the parasites that serve the children of the Unicorn. All you would be good for, if you remain, is for your blood and flesh to grow the Veniss." "That is unlikely to happen. You fell once before, and those who do not stand in the united front must be dealt with so you do not offer witless aid to the enemy." Her expression was displeased, or perhaps frustrated. "I'm not overly familiar with fungus, but information is never out of reach, so I should tender my apologies to you now. I do not know if there will be opportunity later." She stared hard at Fynch, gaze like a surgeon's knife, seeking the one who lay deeper, if such still existed, and then she wheeled Polt tightly and kicked him into a brisk trot without a backward glance. If there is something of Fynch still within what now holds him in thrall, it is difficult, for Brieanne to see it beneath the Veniss. He is there, though, as the mental struggle Brieanne just witnessed makes clear. Fynch says nothing as Brieanne turns around, and in fairly good synchronization, Noys and Hadrian manage to turn their horses and ride along Brieanne. "What's the plan?" Noys says, once the group is a few yards away from the townspeople. "Reinforcements? Return to Uncle Julian?" "Disenchantment of some kind?" Hadrian says "Try and turn them back somehow?" "They are not following." Dora announces. "But they are still watching us." Brieanne said nothing for a moment, holding Polt to a steady pace until the forest began to close around them and she was more securely in her environment. "I'm not sure magic is our answer," she replied to Hadrian first. "There are elements in the plant world that repel fungus, or kill it and we might be able to use that as a poison. Lorius might have an idea if magic would work better than i, and if it comes down to it, we'll see if the reason they don't like dragons is fire. But before I tell Daddy to let me burn it all to the ground, lets see what else we can learn first." "I suspect burning the village in order to save it is an option even your father would be reluctant to employ." Noys comments. She turns toward Hadrian. "You and I have been lucky in seeing a more moderate mien from Brieanne's father. His reputation otherwise is somewhat cold. Unjustified, mind you, but cold and uncaring for anything but his and his own." "I wouldn't be saving the village, I'd be protecting everything else." Brieanne admitted darkly, not fond of the idea herself. "A last resort" Noys says. "Mmmm..." Brieanne nodded in agreement. She threaded her way through the woods, abandoning the path and heading for much higher, rougher ground. The vale she sought was narrow, westward facing and tucked away from the glaciers that had scoured the land. In it was a handful of lanky, ancient trees that bore little resemblance to the ones that populated Arden now. She intended to see what they might hold in their collective memory. If she found nothing of the Veniss, her fire idea would have greater weight, something she wasn't actually happy about. Noys and Hadrian remain quiet as Brieanne picks her way to one of the older parts of the Forest. Trees that were old, or at least out of youth, perhaps, when a King in Amber built what would become Castle Amber. Trees that have seen much in the long, slow passage of time. Trees that remember much. The Bristlecones, the ancient ones. "This is like a cathedral." Hadrian whispers as the horses slowly clomp into the clearing. Even Briarsting and Smoketredder are subdued and quiet in the presence of these trees. The disadvantage to trying to use such trees of course, is that they are old, and tired, and sleepy. As Brieanne, Noys, Hadrian, Dora and the hounds reach a very loose collection of the bristlecones, it occurs to Brieanne that trying to rouse their memories might not only be difficult, but the weight of their years could threaten to overwhelm a lesser mind. But they are there, if Brieanne does wish to tap into them. Brieanne slid off her horse and stood a moment, looking around carefully. She shook one hand once.. twice, as if loosening it up to snatch something. "You might want to keep that Trump of me close." She glanced at Hadrian. "I might need help getting back." Hadrian pulls out his deck and shuffles Brieanne's card to the top. He glances at the trees and then back at Brieanne. "Is this going to be like the first time we met?" Hadrian says. "When it was difficult to get you out of the tree after those Omphalos tried to burn down that copse?" "Yes, but at least this time you'll have a piece of me to start with." She offered that, though she wasn't sure how much help that would actually be. Turning away from the others, she walked among the trees slowly, getting a sense of them. Finally she picked a spot and settled down, laying on her back comfortably, one trailing against the trunk of the tree. The sun warmed her and she closed her eyes, listening as the hounds approached, and curling her free hand around Smoketreader when he rested his head against her. "I think I am going to be gone longer than your are comfortable with, but for as far back as we need, I will have to go deep and these are sleepy trees." She stroked 'treader's head and let out a deep sigh, letting go of attachments and ready to depart. There is a soft whine from Briarsting as Brieanne moves away from the two of them. They stand alert, and watchful as the Bristlecones await. Even before Brieanne steps into a tree, she can feel the weight of years from here. Centuries. Millennia. This tree was middle aged when Amber Castle was first built. Brieanne was middle aged when Oberon built his Castle. Even longer ago than that, Brieanne can remember the wave of power, of reality, that washed over this portion of Arden, transforming and fixing it in place, when an old man and a unicorn drew the Pattern... No, that's not right. Brieanne wasn't there, was she? Its not a hostile act of the tree, but the old intelligence of the tree threatens to overwhelm the daughter of the dryad, and replace, overwrite, supplant her memories with its. Forever. Like a swimmer who dove into water far colder than expected, Brieanne returned to the surface with a soft gasp, back arching as she pulled herself free. Disoriented, she look a moment to focus her eyes back in the here and now, reaching for Smoketreader as she did. Fingers buried in thick gray fur, she pulled the hound close, using the weight of his body as an external anchor. "If this goes badly, you're going to need Gaz because you're going to need Albernoth or Mith to put me all back together again." She tried to sound jovial, as if that weren't such a tall order, as she scrubbed a hand through her hair and relaxed again. "Put you back together again?" The words are almost said in concert by Noys and Hadrian. But the words are already being lost on Brieanne, as she tunes. This time, instead of turning in, she turned out first, listening for Smoketreader, Noys, Hadrian and Dora. Listening for the sounds of her own tree, and feeling for the connection she had with it. Smoketreader rested his head on her chest, keeping her arm around him. She was aware of this, distantly, as another realm of Being came fully into focus. She would hold this as her anchor as surely as her arm had held Smoketreader, and she readied herself for the task ahead. The Trees, even the one tree in front of her is overwhelming. As her perceptions shift, change and tune toward the trees, only one thing really stands before Brieanne and the annihilation of her self, or at least its submergence into the self of the Tree. Brieanne's Song. Like the song of a Dragon's gold, Brieanne's song is what sustains her, and keeps her mind alive and unspoiled even as she seeks communion with the Bristlecone. But Brieanne's song is not of gold, or metal, or even less tangible things like smoke, light or water. Brieanne's song is of the people who make up her life. The people whom she has made into her Nakama, her personal family. Pollux, as it so happens, loves the complexity of the type of music that Brieanne's song really is. A music of many voices, in different tones A fugue. The first voice in the fugue of Brieanne's music is her father. A strong voice, dominant, powerful, loving toward Brieanne but with a chill in the air toward nearly everyone and everything else. The second voice, in harmony with the first, is her brother. Not quite as overpowering as the first, and only subtly different than her father. The third voice is draconic, and provides a counterbalance of age to the Trees. The Lord of Midnight's gold inflected voice. Gazalarnith. Next is a voice from the past. The Uncle she loved best, and lost. Caine. Why his voice should still exist when he is departed is--somewhat of a puzzle. And yet it is there, helping to define Brieanne in ways her brother and father cannot--and in a way only she and her uncle truly understand and comprehend. Lesser voices enter the fugue, too. One of someone close by, Noys, an enthusiastic, female sort of voice, very different than the other voices thus far. Perhaps Brieanne's best female friend in the family, and both of them know it. Next come a pair of voices, together. A pair of voices representing twins. The family's twins. Castor, and Pollux. Castor's voice shows more bass, deeper, more resonant. Pollux as befits him is more complex, convoluted, and requiring patience and intelligence to follow. All of these voices come together into Brieanne's song, Brieanne's Fugue. And yet, there are other voices that she might draw, and add to her song, if she finds it needful. Hadrian, and Dora, for instance, are almost naturally in the fugue already. And perhaps others lurk waiting to be born into the fugue as well. But for now, the fugue remains stable and keeping her grounded to reality These voices in the Fugue will, if Brieanne holds onto the song long enough, certainly recognize what Brieanne is doing on their end, to some extent or another. But she may now ask her questions of the Tree safely. For now. The music wrapped around her, warm and familiar, appreciated but rarely looked at in such detail. That Caine somehow remained with her was surprising, but comforting and she twinned the threads around herself blissfully, enjoying what she had for everything it was worth. Then, with the music playing out like a mountaineer's safety line, she dove back into the depths of the tree and its memories. Veniss. The word was as much hissed as whispered, her distaste apparent in her tone. She waited a moment for a response and then asked again, looking for a reaction that would lead her to the memories they might have. She kept the lifesong firmly in the periphery of her mental vision, wanting to focus on the task at hand, but not daring to let that fade. She would have explaining to do, but at least it would be to people who loved her. The songs strain slightly as the Tree remembers, and passes that memory onto Brieanne. For such an old memory, to dig so deep, the Tree has to expand its consciousness, unfold and let it bloom in a way that touches upon the lifesong, tugging at Brieanne to pull away from it. Veniss. Mushrooms. An old word, one not spoken for a long long time. Brieanne sees... Brieanne sees a sky, not quite the blue color of Amber, a little darker, a little more toward black. The sun...the sun in that sky is red. Dim, not very nourishing. Only adaptable trees like the bristlecone could and did survive this time. And below them, in the valleys, in addition to the hardy plants are lichen, and mushrooms. And the Veniss. In some of the valleys in what would one day be Amber, when the sun was red and dim, the Veniss ruled their valleys. Vast mats of lichen on bare stone instead of fields of crops. In addition some ferns, mosses...and the omnipresent fungi. And the greatest of these fungi, the sentient graycaps. The Veniss. Brieanne let the memory sink in, trying to remain detatched, letting the details sink in without examining them. From this deep memory, she moved toward herself, watching for interaction between the Veniss and other, more human and animal like creatures. Before their eventual fall, she expected that there should be something, some conflict, so she moved gently, searching for them. Her touch light, more of her attention on holding the song clearly in her mind so she did not get lost. The song strains a bit as Brieanne continues to search the memory of the ancient bristlecone tree for the information she seeks. The weight of years behind the dragon, behind her cousins still balances the call of the tree to be subsumed within it. But that call is strong and potent. Under the Red Sun, the first conflict that Brieanne sees is between the Veniss and another race. They are not human, somehow, they seem more fae and less purely human. Although they create soil, till fields, and build civilization as they start to populate the far end of the valley from the Veniss, they aren't quite human somehow A word comes to Brieanne's mind from the Tree. Tiste. These Tiste do eventually fight with the Veniss, as the Tiste spread toward the Veniss lands. Its unclear to the bristlecone who strikes first. There is a war, as the Veniss burn and the Tiste are infected. Both sides are decimated, weakened. And then...Brieanne sees in the midst of this conflict, a new, third force. Refugees from somewhere, or explorers, pioneers. They come in wagons, carrying all of their possessions. People. Humans. At this point,though, Brieanne is starting to slip. To learn more, Brieanne still could draw on new voices for her fugue, add them officially to her song, with all that implies. Or she could risk drawing on her existing song even more powerfully. It didn't matter to Brieanne who struck first, no doubt each would blame the other, but far more interesting was this idea that, like the villagers, the Tiste were infected. But what had they seen? Tempted, she hovered, unwilling to surface with clues and possible answers so close. She rejected the thought of adding others as soon as she acknowledged the possibility, but she had absolute faith in the strength of her existing connections. Concentrating, the song as a whole amplified, and so emboldened, she dove back in to seek more clues. Brieanne can feel the strain on the song sustain her, and buoy her, and keep her able to listen and learn more about the conflict. Focusing on the conflict between the Tiste and the Veniss, Brieanne can see that the Veniss struck when the sun was low in the sky, or at night. Spreading spores in clouds, by subtle traps, and carefully waged warfare. As far as what the Tiste had seen...great caverns, beneath the land, beneath the lichen and moss covered rock. It is here that the Veniss arose from, in the darkness and the deep. Through the bristlecones observations of the Tiste, Brieanne can see that it is here that the Veniss arose, and here that they struck and are ultimately defeated, as their possessions on the surface burn and are destroyed. The Bristlecones senses of that subterranean world are slowed limited, and clouded. It is a lot of work for Brieanne to only get the glimmerings of sensations beyond the idea of great caverns where the Veniss were aborning. It takes time and effort, and to truly become one with the Bristlecone to get even this far. Moments pass by like long nights and days. And it is at this point, that Brieanne feels that she is being pulled away, away from the view, and back toward reality. Her time was up and she was satisified with what she'd learned, so Brieanne answered the tugging, extracting herself from the bristlecone to return to Noys and Hadrian. Indeed, the tugging that Brieanne feels draws her exactly back to where she started from. The tugging, combined with her own momentum, is enough to draw her consciousness and waking mind back to her body. "Welcome back, cousin." Noys says, as Brieanne opens her eyes--her real ones. "You worried us for a moment." Hadrian adds. "Your hair and your body turned the same shade of brown as the trees here." "And your sskin was as bark." Dora adds. She is perched on Brieanne's shoulder. "They ....I ...." Brieanne paused, pursing her lips and looking at the trees. "It would be very easy to be lost in there, with them. They are so big, in their way, that I am not certain that they really knew I was there. It was all I could do to nudge their dreams one way or another, and not have them roll me up in them." She glanced up at Noys and a big grin splashed across her face. "Thanks for holding on to me." She reached up to take Noys' hand and hop back to her feet. "I felt like I was your life-line."Noys admits, helping Brieanne with her grasp. "Felt there were others too. Helping." "I didn't feel anything like that.." Hadrian says. "Perhaps..." Noys looks at Brieanne "next time you will. Especially if its a few years if you try the stunt again, cousin" "He might ... but Dora might save him." Brieanne mused aloud, seeming serious. The serene expression she wore instead of her father's poker face hid more than it let on, but there was a tone that suggested she was sincere and thought saving was a good thing. "As for the life line...." She used her whole body to shrug and stepped out of arm reach. "You were. Without you and father and Carl..." her hand continued to circle, "I might have been lost. I certainly wouldn't have seen anything useful." "Well, then I am glad to have saved you." Noys declares with a smile. "Even if I didn't love you like a sister, Brie, your father would have done bad things if I let you get lost." "And her brother." Hadrian muses. "Hmm... they would have been ... upset." Brieanne agreed. Mildly upset at the thought, though she wouldn't have been the one suffering the consequences. "Fire will work, but they're down in caverns, so it might be best to locate those, and we won't be the first people they've fought. We just have the advantage of a much brighter sun, so the Veniss can't come up here fully, and I'll have to warn Daddy.... the Rangers need masks of some sort, or we're going to lose more people in the night." She looked at Hadrian and Noys with a worried frown. "They use spores to infect people." "Much brighter sun?" Noys enquires. "It wasn't always like this." She gestured to the sky overhead. "It was once dim enough Galen would have walked boldy at noon and suffered no consequence. Noys, and Hadrian are speechless at Brieanne's announcement. [Brieanne] headed for Polt on that note, ready to return with what she knew. "Spores." Hadrian says. "Lichens, fungus can live in the cold. Fire..." he looks at the forest, mounting up. "We'll have to be careful not to burn Arden when we eradicate them." "Agreed" Dora adds. "Masks." Noys says briskly, mounting up. "Fire. Brieanne, I think we need someone from the family more talented in the arcane than I am. They might have some bright ideas on how to help handling something like this." "They might. But sometimes it's still the simple things that work best. And, with a little warning, Arden can weather a normal fire. It's the arcane assisted ones that hurt." She winced and turned Polt toward home. "But I won't argue if you want to call someone." "Not until you talk to Julian." Noys says, and looks toward Hadrian, who nods. "That's the way it should be." "There's a question no one has answered for me yet." Hadrian says, as the three horses and their riders, and the hounds, plus Dora head back in the direction of the main body of Arden. "Just how did your Dad get this job?" Hadrian says. "I don't see Uncle Benedict, or Dad, or anyone else really in control of a bunch of territory around Amber. Or is that the wrong way to think about it?" "I think it is the wrong way to look at things, but I've never asked. It just is, it seems unlikely to change, and I am happy with that." Brieanne shrugged, and while her thoughts did briefly turn to the matter, it was only for a few minutes before she was again thinking of the problems at hand. "Well, the only time it changed was during the Regency." Noys puts in. "Back then, it was Brieanne and Carl in charge of Arden, really. This was when I was first brought to the Castle by Uncle Gerard." "The story goes, that Brieanne nearly shot one of the returning Princes when they DID come back." "Oh" Hadrian says, eyes wide. "Yes..." Brieanne agreed quietly. "Uncle Caine. He was rather surprised." She rode to her father's house in silence, wrapped up in her own thoughts. Hadrian, Noys and Dora respond to Brieanne's quiet mien with quietness of their own. In silence, the party of four covers the return trip without any difficulty, doubly so because the return route is far more familiar. When Brieanne and company arrive at the Steading, Dad is outside with the Rangers, engaging in what appears to be an archery drill. Trios of Rangers, bunched together, fire arrows at targets, with longbows, short bows and crossbows. The sounds of Polt and the other horses causes him to turn around> He watches the arrival silently, awaiting his daughter's arrival, greeting and report. Brieanne stopped a short distance back and watched for a moment. Life was much easier when the problems stayed a shot arrow's distance away. But it was a fleeting thought and then she was sliding off her horse. She left Polt to decide for himself if he went with the stablehands coming toward them and approached her father. Polt does go with the stablehands. Briarsting and Smoketredder do follow Brieanne loyally. As for Hadrian, Dora and Noys, they hang back, giving Brieanne and Julian at least the semblance of space. "We have a problem. And my method of solving it is rather a last resort and won't be popular." She was frowning, and sincere and waited for her father to lead inside, because she didn't think this was a conversation to have out in the open. It was a bit early still, but on the way through the house she looked around for any signs of Galen. Julian considers this for a moment. "I will be inside conferring with Brieanne." he announces to one of the Captains of the Rangers. He then makes the slightest of head motions to Noys and Hadrian to follow the two of them. Inside of the House, Julian chooses the library-study for his meeting. Brieanne does not note the presence of Galen during their travels to the room. The library-study is the very same library where Briarsting and Smoketredder had tried to chase Bishop, some days ago. Brieanne's father does not sit, but gestures subtly for everyone else to sit down, and for Brieanne to begin. Brieanne took her usual place in this room, perched on the arm of the large leather chair that could comfortably seat two if they were normal sized, or just one if it were Uncle Gerard and he he wanted to sprawl. "The mushrooms are called the Veniss, they've been here before a very very long time ago and they're taking people like an infection from spores in the air and while there might be a way to purge something like that, I don't know what it is and they actually creep me out and I'm inclined to burn the whole place down and chase them back to their caverns but ... well, that's the unpopular part I was talking about." She shrugged and then tucked her hands under her legs, waiting for his response. "Do either of you have anything to add?" Julian looks at Noys and Hadrian. "No, Uncle Julian. Except that there seems to be some sort of mind control that can be resisted." Noys says. "Brieanne tried to shake it unsuccessfully from one of the villagers." Hadrian nods. "We also suspect that this has something to do with the Omphalos, or maybe what happened with Apollo. Taking advantage of the Chaos, emerging and trying to assert themselves again." "A fungal infection." Julian says. "Burning would work, but might be too destructive a solution for my taste. Let us leave that as a fallback plan. I can have Carl and Helias work on that as a contingency plan." "You, Brieanne, I want as spearhead with a primary plan. If these Veniss are truly myconid, fungal in nature, it occurs to me that we should deal with them on that basis. I want you to go into shadow, and obtain some antifungal agents. A sufficient quantity to use as a weapon against the invadersThey might not last long in Amber, but we may not need an excessive amount of time to use them to treat with these Veniss." Julian regards Brieanne for his response. For a long moment Brieanne only stared blankly at her father, as if she couldn't quite wrap her head around being asked to do something... or maybe it was simply that she had no idea how to go about doing what she was asked, but then she gave a very slow shake of her head. "I think you might have it backwards." She paused again, head tilted as she thought. "I think, if it comes down to burning, that it will not look well for us if Helios is there. She enjoys it... the destruction, and people will be dying... even if they are really already dead. I would take that poorly. At least people know I don't really want to burn it down." She shook her head. "Something like that can't be given to someone who isn't of Arden." She paused again, her head still shaking, though in tiny movements. "And I don't think I want you to ask Carl to do it." She took a deep breath, considering things, and let it out heavily before turning a pensive gaze in her father's direction. Julian scratches his chin for a moment. "I see your point about Helias and her...uninhibited nature regarding fire." He looks thoughtful again, waiting a few moments before speaking. "I am not sure why you would want to be a fire warden, and not have your brother do that duty." Julian adds. "If you might explain, daughter?" Julian adds. Brieanne favored her father with another unexpressive stare and shook her head. "No, though that is how I think it should be. Carl may protest, but I will discuss it with him... and maybe after I will have a reason I feel willing to share." She wasn't at all sure how that logic would go over, but she showed no signs of retreating from her position. Julian stares at Brieanne for a long, long moment. The room goes uncharacteristically silent, with even the hounds sensing the tension in the room. Hadrian's (and Dora's) eyes flicker between Brie and her father. Noys finds its prudent to look elsewhere. Brieanne's father finally makes a small sound, indicating he has come to a decision, and speaks. "Fine. Once you talk with your brother, I want an answer" Julian finally says. "I grant you the right to talk to Carl about it first, but I would know your logic...afterwards." Brieanne's only answer was a small nod. "If it comes to that." She agreed, "I hope someone will find a better answer. I suppose we are off to find ...anti fungal agents?" She didn't sound sure of that, as if the words were unfamiliar. "Anti fungal agents" Julian agrees. "Chemicals, magics, and other things that adversely effect mushrooms and their kin. That is what I want the four of you to find, and bring back here to use against these Veniss." "We will, Uncle Julian." Noys says. "Yes, Uncle Julian" Hadrian adds. He looks to Brieanne. "Right?" "Yes, though we'll give Galen some time to wake and we," she looked at Hadrian, "should probably rest too. With everything we've done the last few days, if we end up in a pinch we're likely to find we're more tired than we think, and I hate when that happens." Brieanne wrinkled her nose in annoyance, obviously speaking from experience. "Quite" Julian says dryly. "Leave when you are all ready." "We'll head out when it's not so bright, hopefully we won't be gone longer than the night." She addressed her father, walking over to put a kiss on his cheek before turning to leave the room. A bit of quiet time suddenly seemed like the best thing she could think of. "Rest well" Julian says. "If you would see to quarters for Hadrian and Noys, I would appreciate it." Backlinks |
