SongsOfExperienceSongs of ExperienceFiona looks at Dagny with an innocent smile. "Yes" Dulcinea says brightly. "I would like to get to know you better, Dagny, if you are of a mind." Kieran nods to Dagny and Dulcinea. "Then I will see you both later." "See you later, Kieran," Dagny responds. And so Dagny and Dulcinea leave the room. Dulcinea looks around in the very quiet hallway for a few moments. "The problem with trump transport is orienting yourself afterwards. I'd never been in Princ...Aunt Fiona's private chambers, before." she says "I think we're on one of the upper floors, Dagny." she adds. "Right. This way?" I indicate a direction, and based on Dulcinea's response will either take it or go the other way, falling into step with her. "I'm wondering if on our way out I should send Random a message and let him know I need to see him sometime in the near future. If I see a servant or something I might do just that." "That depends on, really, how formal you want to be with him." Dulcinea says. "I'm still learning about that, and I am his daughter!" she says. With a little guidance from Dulcinea the main staircase comes into view. "If you are just looking to chat with him, the easiest way to find a hole in his schedule is go to talk to Vialle. She always knows what Random is up to." "Or, as you say" Dulcinea says "You can always send him a note." She indicates a page, ahead, walking down the staircase. "Well, I don't really know the man," I reply, shrugging. "And considering his position, it's up to him to decide how formal we are going to be. I think I'll opt for the note." I hail the page and motion for her to come over. The young woman, in gold and green comes over at Dagny's signal. She bobs her head. "Princesse" the young woman says with an accent to her Thari that sounds vaguely French to Dagny. "Princesse" she says to Dulcinea with a second bob of her head before she returns to looking at Dagny. "How many I seerve?" "I'd like you to take a note to Random for me," I say to her as she arrives. "Um, give me a moment." I concentrate and conjure up a notepad and a pen. Silently cursing the handwriting that would shame a doctor, I write, Random-- When you have a few minutes, I'd like to update you on the Omphalos situation. There have been some developments, and I think intervention may be needed. --Dagny Folding the note, I hand it to the page. "If you can't find Random, Queen Vialle is fine also, but it should be given to them personally," I add. "Please let him know that I am going into town with Dulcinea, and I'll be back in the castle later." "Tell my father that it is important, and that I would like to attend. as well" Dulcinea clarifies. The young woman bobs her head again, takes the note, and Dagny's dismissal and departs. "Shall we go?" I ask my cousin. "Do, let's" Dulcinea says. continuing down the staircase. She manages to get down a flight and continues to lead Dagny, before she speaks again. "I hope you don't mind terribly my presumption." Dulcinea says. "In this way, it will be easier for Father to get a hold of you. Given the nature of the subject, he might well decide to trump me in order to get a hold of you. I wasn't sure." Dulcinea says "that he would have your trump." I had thought of this actually, hence me mentioning my intended whereabouts and companion to the page. I'd purposely not mentioned Dulcinea's presence as a convenient way for Random to get in touch with me, firstly because I did not presume that he would want to contact me immediately, and secondly because I refused to give Dulcinea the impression that I was using her for anything. "He doesn't," I replied. "You're right." Dulcinea nods, satisfied.
"We should get official trumps of the newest members of the family done and distributed. Especially in times like these." The blond haired woman pauses. "What do you think?" I agreed with her, and said so, adding, "Of all the things I inherited from Luke, his artistic talent doesn't seem to be one of them. I've found myself wishing more than once that I had Trumps of myself to hand out." Aside from my encounter with Keane, I was thinking of my adoptive family back home on Earth. I'd checked up on them periodically through the years, though hardly any time had passed for them. Shadowfolk though they may be, they did raise me and would necessarily wonder as to my well-being. It would be nice if I didn't always have to initiate contact. "Trump talent seems to be rather unpredictable in this family." Dulcinea says, as if a confession of some sort. By this point, Dagny and Dulcinea are broadly making a progress toward the front doors and the Castle gates. "I suspect that some people who can draw them keep that a deep, dark secret. Secrets seem to be both a spectator and participatory sport in Amber." Hum. Was she implying something here? "I can't imagine why they would," I remark casually, "unless they just don't want the whole rest of the family beating down their door for portraits." I smile at Dulcinea to show that I intend levity. "Were it me, well...I think I'd just be so thrilled to be an artist of that caliber I wouldn't be concerned with anything else. And as far as secrets are concerned...well, that's something I'm still trying to get used to. I don't think I've gotten a straight answer from anybody I'm related to since I first discovered my heritage." "As far as keeping the ability to make trumps a secret, Dagny, there is a very good reason" Dulcinea pauses her conversation to allow the two ladies to exit the Castle, into the courtyard. Once they step into the sunshine, Dulcinea smiles, and then continues. "That reason is" she says "that the art of trumps goes far beyond just drawing and painting. Hadrian has told me of some of the things he can do, Dagny, and those sorts of things can be scary." "And as far straight answers...well, I can give you straight answers, although I don't think I am the authority you were looking for." "Did you want to ride, take a carriage, or the walk down to the city?" she adds.. "I don't mind walking, if its not more than a mile or two," I answer. "Which do you prefer?" "I think its about three quarters of a mile down the road to the edge of the city." Dulcinea says. "Its not a bad walk. Hadrian talked to me about doing it one early morning, with a sketchbook to get different sight lines for sketching. He also talked about walking the Corwin-Bleys staircase, too, although that leads down to Arden, not the city." "All right" she decides. "Let's go." "Sounds good," I agree, and fall into step alongside her. "If I'm here long enough, I should probably make a point to visit historical places in the city," I remark. "After hearing the stories it'd be nice to be able to visualize things as they really happened." "As I understand" Dulcinea says "the city itself is not terribly interesting from the viewpoint of the Royal Family's history". She pauses a moment and then continues "There are a few landmarks, though, that lie within the city itself. There's supposed to be a royal foot, a cast of King Oberon's foot, in some square. Other memorials, too." Dulcinea says. "What part of history and the stories are you most interested in, Dagny?" she asks. "The Pattern Fall War? Something older?" "My knowledge of Amber history is pretty disgraceful," I gave her a smile. "I only know some of what happened up to and including Patternfall--you know Corwin wrote down his first-hand experience and had it published as fiction in my home Shadow?" Dulcinea shakes her head. " Of course it's told from his point of view, so it's hardly a reliable source. I guess I wouldn't come into the picture until well after Patternfall, so I know very little of what happened between then and now. I'm sort of making this all up as I go along." "I have learned some of the history of the Post-War period, although its mainly focused on the region of Shadow I call home." Dulcinea says. "I can certainly fill you in on some of those details, if you like." Dulcinea looks at the switchback road "Something has to fill up our steps down to the city, doesn't it?" "Sure, I'd love to hear it, if you wouldn't mind sharing it," I reply. "Let's begin at the beginning" Dulcinea says. "During the War, Prince Gerard ruled as Regent for about 10 years, or so. It's said that he was offered, and refused the Crown three times in that period, since contact with those who had gone to Chaos were out of touch, and Oberon had finally been confirmed as dead." I walked along, admiring the view and absorbing what Dulcinea was telling me. "I'm surprised Gerard didn't take the opportunity to seize the throne for himself," I remarked. "Were there safeguards in place to make sure he didn't do that?" "King Random and the rest of the royals returned, and once things were established, there was a month long celebration" she continues. He continued the work of Prince Gerard in getting the shadows around Amber into shape. There was even a brief visit to my own shadow that I remember, even if we didn't have a treaty." "A number of small problems flared up over the next fifteen years" Dulcinea says. "Tensions between Begma and Kashfa over Eregnor continued, nearly flaring from cold war to full war. Prince Corwin's son Merlin came to Amber and toured the Golden Circle. He's Emperor of Chaos now." "The major event was the assassination of Prince Caine several years ago, in Shadow Deiga. I have heard it whispered in the castle that its false, a front, since he apparently faked his own death at least once before." "There were some other weird events that have happened. Shadow paths appearing and disappearing. Stirrings of elder members of our family making themselves known again." "And younger members of the family making themselves known as well," I added. "Yes!" Dulcinea has. "And of course this business with Valerian, too." "That's about what I have, though. I'm sure a historian could tell you in much more detail than I just did." Dulcinea finishes. "Well, I think you put it very succinctly. Once I meet with Random I'll be able to add to the narrative myself, at least insofar as it relates to weird events," I said. "One day" Dulcinea says proudly "the story of these events will be written, and our names will be part of that history. It behooves us to do, and do well." she says. "My mother would demand nothing less from me." "Demand? Wow. Formidable, is she?" "She's a Queen and has ruled for decades, and I am her daughter and heir." Dulcinea says. She pauses to turn a corner on the path, the last one, as it turns out, before she and Dulcinea reach the start of the city. "Rulership does that, don't you find, Dagny? How are the people of your home shadow ruled, if not by Kings and Queens?" I briefly considered answering "by corporations" before plunging into a diatribe on American politics, but decided to keep it simple. "All sorts of ways, depending on where you go. Constitutional monarchies, democratic republics, oligarchies, theocracies, you name it. As for me," I chuckled, "I don't have much experience ruling anybody. I didn't even get elected to the student council of my high school. When I wandered in Shadow the highest I ever aspired was to, like, lieutenant of the guard or something--I got to have lots of fun and none of the responsibility. And it's just Shadow, anyway." "So your shadow is not ruled by one body?" Dulcinea replies "And you are from one of these polities, but you yourself have never really aspired to rulership." The blond haired woman considers this. "That's sort of like Hadrian--he's the grandson of the King of his shadow, but he's way down on the list of the succession. Its unlikely he would ever get to be King and like you, I don't think he wants to ever be King." "I don't have a choice in the matter" Dulcinea adds. "I'm an only child, and if my shadow were to devolve to a group of warring polis, it would be bad for everyone." "So I guess you've kind of had your life mapped out for you since birth?" I asked, curiously. "I can't imagine what that would be like. Duty aside, and given the opportunity, do you think you'd still follow this path that's laid out for you?" "I don't know" Dulcinea says. "It's more than just my waking life being mapped out, though, Dagny. I've had dreams since I was a child. Dreams of the man that I would meet, and marry. I know now why I had those dreams and where they came from, but until recently, they have defined my sleeping life." "The dreams" Dulcinea says "were of Jayson. Now that he is gone...that part of my life, at least is free. I know who I would choose, now, if the choice was mine to make. Maybe that little part of my mapped life is free for me to choose, but that might be as much a wish as to wish for, as you say, to follow a greater path of my own." "Even if your dreams were clairvoyant or whatever...why were you not still free? Did you have to make them come true? I mean, if your dreams were of you marrying Jayson...why did that also have to happen in your waking life? Why didn't you still have a choice?" "Because my mother saw the advantages of such a union." Dulcinea says "and as her heir, its my responsibility to marry for the benefit of our kingdom. Even though the very idea was planted in my head by another, that did not invalidate it." "Your father, even though he is a king, hasn't made you his heir and dictated your future marital life, has he?" she asks Dagny. I involuntarily made a sound that was somewhere between a snort and a chortle (chort? snortle?). "Uh, no. I'm sure he'd want to save that honor for a legitimate heir, not the girl he fathered on some Shadowdweller. I'm also sure that as he has little vested interest in my life--and more important things to worry about--he has no interest in whom I marry, or if I do so at all. And if he did, and brought some candidate forward..." I waved my hands vaguely, "I have no reason to listen to him. My duty is to myself, not to him, his kingdom, or his political maneuverings." "Doubly so now that you have the Pattern" Dulcinea observes. "You could walk away, I suppose, and he could not stop you." I wondered at Dulcinea's seeming docility. In this day and age, how could she be so compliant? How could she subvert her own desires--did she even have desires of her own?--to the wishes of her mother? What kind of a parent used her child as a mere pawn in a game of nations, seemingly without caring about her welfare or happiness? I brought myself up short, mid-internal rant. Uh, what family was I talking about again? Of course. Never mind. But that Dulcinea had no problem with any of this, and appeared to have no angle of her own...? THAT, above all else, was mind-boggling. It was if she was a perfect cookie-cutter model of a queen's daughter, a royal vessel filled to compliant perfection. Seriously? "I have to say though, your sense of duty is second to none, I think," I added aloud. "Your mother is very lucky." "I do envy you in some fundamental and important ways, Dagny" Dulcinea says. "You've seen wonders in Shadow that I can only imagine." She stops their progress to allow a carriage to rumble past them on the cobblestone road. "boats that soar in the sky and beneath the waves, and cities whose population number in the millions. I haven't had leave to see any of that. Yet, anyway." "I would have thought your mom would want you to do your Shadow Grand Tour while you are still young and relatively unencumbered with responsibility. Once you take up that mantle of rulership," I shrugged, "all bets are off. There's no time. Might as well get it out of your system now, right?" "Perhaps I should introduce you to my mother and let you advocate that idea on my behalf." Dulcinea says with a smile. "It is said that your father is skilled at the art of negotiation and persuasion, getting people to do things while making it seem their own idea. Have you inherited any of his gifts in that regard, Dagny?" she asks. "If she won't listen to you, whom she presumably likes, there's absolutely no reason she would listen to me," I reply, with a half-smile. "I don't claim to be as devious as Luke, by any stretch of the imagination. From what you're saying, it sounds like I'm more the persuasive equivalent of sandblasting a soup cracker." "Sandblasting?" Dulcinea replies, with a perplexed look. "Oh. Um." I groped for another metaphor and failed. "I'm astonishingly unsubtle." "Father?" Dulcinea says. "Father seems torn. He wants me to explore shadow a bit, and get some of the Pattern under my belt. But he is protective, too After all, he only has known of me for a few days. My stepmother, the Queen, wants me to 'be my own woman'. I am not sure what that quite means." "I'm not sure what Martin thinks." Dulcinea adds. "I admit, Dagny, to being conflicted. I grew up with one parent, and one royal family, and now have two, of each." Well, this was an interesting insight into how Dulcinea's mind operates. I silently reminded myself to never offer her advice. "What does it matter what they think? What matters is what you think," I reply. Dulcinea looks surprised but her attention remains fixed on Dagny. "No need to canvas other people's opinions. Where I come from, part of 'being your own woman' means making your own decisions, and accepting the consequences of those actions. Do you think you're ready to travel in Shadow?" Dulcinea's mien turns from rapt to pensive, and in point of fact, stops her motion altogether. She looks at Dagny, and a steely resolve slowly forms in her eyes. "Yes" she says, finally. "Yes, Dagny, I do." I smiled. Let her chew that over for a little while and come to her own conclusions. But I had no desire to get sucked further into Dulcinea's decision-making process, so I slowly started walking again and changed the subject. "I'm glad I'm finally going to see the city," I said. "I know you haven't been here long, but what do people do for fun here?" "Lots of things." Dulcinea says. "Depending on inclination and interest of course." Her thoughtful expression from the deep conversation is gone, and Dulcinea has returned to an effervescent personality and demeanor. "Watch the ships come in and out of the harbor. Visit a salon to hear a scholar or talk with one of the artists. Visit the theater--I understand there are several theaters and theater companies here, with troupes of players. We might find some performing music in an inn or a street performance of many kinds. Look at the wares in the stores that bring items from a double dozen shadows." "Not as fancy an itinerary as some places in shadow, I know." Dulcinea says, apologetically. "Not at all," I replied. "It sounds charming. If I'm here long enough I should look up one of those theater troops and see what they have to offer." "If you were looking for something right now, though" Dulcinea says. "Finding one of the main squares and the itinerary musicians or performers that will inevitably be there would be the course I recommend. Back home in Maeonis, people would recite from poems in the Agora. Surely something comparable happens in your own home shadow?" Dulcinea says. "They do. But I think I'd rather concentrate on finding suitable attire first, if that's okay." "Clothes it is" Dulcinea says.. She stops speaking when... Nearby, just down the street, a group of what look like Julian's rangers, bruised and bloody are parading around, walking in the opposite direction from Dagny and Dulcinea. Together, they are holding up a decapitated head on a bunch of pikes. It's the head of a manticore. Well, wasn't that just jaw-droppingly awesome. I nudged Dulcinea. "Take a look at that! I didn't know there were monsters like that around here." Dulcinea does in fact need that nudging, since she is quite struck by the image of the Rangers ad their prize. After a moment of prodding, however, she turns toward Dagny. "Out in Arden and beyond" Dulcinea says. Only schooling, it seems, keeps Dulcinea from tearing her attention away from Dagny and back to the Rangers. "There are monsters and dangerous in the forest. I gather that such sights as this are not unknown. However, its not an everyday occurrence, either." Indeed by the way people are staring at the ersatz parade, this is a singular distraction for the city, as well. "I want to get a closer look at that thing. C'mon." I gesture for Dulcinea to follow me, and approach the group of Rangers. I pick out the one who seems to be the leader. "That's really impressive," I say to him or her. "Can I take a look at it?" "Your Highness." the leader says first, looking at Dulcinea. "And you are.." he looks at Dagny uncertainly, as if trying to place her. "Princess" Dulcinea says softly. "Oh!" the brown haired leader says, enlightenment crossing his eyes. "Princess Dagny! My apologies for not recognizing you." He salutes Dagny and Dulcinea with a punch to the chest. "I am Captain Elmwood, of the third Platoon of Rangers under Royal Prince Julian." I nod in acknowledgement. "Captain." "Alton!" he says, waving toward one of his compatriots. Together, the group lower the pikes so that the head of the manticore comes down to eye level for Dagny and Dulcinea. The head of the Manticore is mostly like a lion, to Dagny's eyes. The teeth are wrong, though, more shark like than leoline, and the fur and hair look more like metal than anything organic. "Wow." I reached out and touched the Manticore's fur. "Where did you find it? How did you manage to kill it?" The fur feels as odd as it looks, hard and sharp to the touch, rather than the fur or hair that she may have expected. Dulcinea places a hand on the creature's snout, scratching it thoughtfully. "We found the beast in the deepest, darkest parts of Forest Arden. We killed it with enchanted spears and arrows given to us by our commander Prince Julian!" Captain Elmwood says triumphantly. "These points pierced the savage creature's hide, and slew it. A sword given to me years ago by Prince Carl finally beheaded the beast!" "A trophy!" one of the onlookers shouts. "Give a trophy from the head to the Princesses!" Other onlookers start taking up the call. I look to Dulcinea for guidance. A trophy would be awesome, but I didn't want to in any way detract from their victory over this beast. "Milady Princesses?" Captain Elmwood asks. Dulcinea looks back at Dagny and then smiles to the Captain. "If you would be so kind, Captain." she says, with a sweetness in her voice that causes the Captain to smile. "I could not resist such an entreaty. I(t would be an honor to do so." the Captain says, and the din of the crowd has turned to cheers. "What would suit you, milady Princesses?" I smiled at Captain Elmwood and looked to Dulcinea again. I'd have asked for one of the teeth, but I didn't want to ruin the trophy. "Dulcinea, what do you think?" "A tooth would be the finest piece of the creature to give us." She agrees A cheer comes up from the crowd. "However, ruining the trophy now, or cutting out the teeth here and now, would be bloody and uncouth" Dulcinea continues. "Perhaps if we were sent the teeth, at the Castle, that might be far more suitable?" Captain Elmwood looks at Dagny for her reaction, input and response. "Excellent suggestion," I add with a grin. I should have thought of that myself. "Captain, you are very generous, and I look forward to receiving your gift." "Then it would be an honor to see the both of you so gifted." Captain Elmwood says, raising his voice. "It shall be done!" This draws a cheer from the crowd, and soon, with Captain Elmwood moving on, and the public behind him, the rangers and the Manticore head, Dagny and Dulcinea find themselves no longer the center of the universe. "There are advantages, Dagny, to being, what did he call it." Dulcinea furrows her eyebrow "a celebrity. yes. A celebrity!" "I never thought of it that way before," I remarked as we strolled away. "I wonder if I'm going to regret losing my anonymity. But you, you've always been a princess. Have you experienced anything like this before? How did you handle it?" "I am still learning to deal with it" Dulcinea confesses. "Back in Maeonis, if I were to visit a city in the Empire, it was an event heralded in advance and the entire populace of the town or the city turned out. My mother is a just ruler, and I was seen as a symbol of her authority as well as a star in my own right." The crowd thins more as Dagny and Dulcinea move away from the commotion. "One time, visiting a village near the city of Joppa, I was surprised to be presented with a trophy in my honor you would not believe, cousin." "It was a bust of my head..." Dulcinea pauses and blue eyes smile toward Dagny. "sculpted in butter." I laughed. "I'm sure it was lovely. I don't suppose it was the centerpiece at a pancake breakfast, was it?" I grinned at her. "Still, that's quite an honor. I'm sure it took the artist hours to carve, though one has to wonder why he or she didn't use a more permanent medium, as befitting your rank. What did you end up doing with it?" "Funny you should mention permanancy, Dagny" Dulcinea says. "I was quite taken by the gesture, even if I would have preferred a more lasting medium. Marble, say. So I thanked the villagers and made a trump call to our cousin, Hadrian--although I didn't know at the time he was our cousin, just that he was a friendly member of a royal family allied to us." "Turns our, Dagny, that, surprise, the glaciated shadow of DuMarque has lots of mages who know preservation and cold spells. Hadrian put me in touch with one, and so the head of butter was preserved by such an enchanter It requires relatively cold weather for her spells to last long, so the head of butter remains to this day in the Winter Lodge the Maeonis Royalty have in that shadow." "Wow. It's nice that Hadrian was able to do that. How is it you knew him, but you didn't know you were related?" "Right now and for a long time, Maeonis and DuMarque have been allies and trading partners." Dulcinea responds. "Neither of our kingdoms or shadows are in the Golden Circle, you see, and with some nearby shadows being a mutual threat, our royal families and worlds have developed connections over the last few generations. And really, given the opposite nature of our climates, and exports, its a natural connection." "DuMarque leases an island in the harbor outside the capital, for when the DuMarquean royal family wants to escape the seemingly endless winter of their glaciated shadow. In return, we have a hunting and winter lodge in their mountains for when we tire of the summer heat. Hadrian is the grandson of their King, pretty low down on the list of the succession. I understand that is because his paternal parentage was always a mystery, and his mother died when he was young. So he had the freedom, Dagny, along with his little Wyvern, to visit Maeonis often. And he seemed always to arrange to be at the Lodge when I came to visit. We never were going to marry, given my rank and his, but we became fast friends and confidants." "It was very strange for both of us to discover we were related." Dulcinea finishes. "That must have been nice, having a friend like that," I remarked. "Did you find out you were related at the same time? How did it happen?" "Well" Dulcinea says. "Hadrian has suspected for years, more convinced, really, that his mother's secret lover had been a Prince of Amber. He had no proof, of course. As for me, Mother did not say who my father really was." "We only sort of realized each other was offically part of this family when we encountered each other in the Castle. Jayson had arranged my coming to the Castle, and Hadrian had traveled here with Bishop and Bhangbadea." "I understand that Fiona gave Hadrian the proof that he sought, and then had him talk with Gerard" Dulcinea finishes. "As far as Random...well,he looked at me with the Jewel to prove it." This anecdote nudged some synapse in my brain, but it wasn't quite making the connection. "Wait...you said you had dreams about Jayson and knew you were destined to be betrothed. Then you met him, right?" Dulcinea nods. She finds a wrought iron bench in the square that Dagny and she have wandered to, and sits down. "Did he know you were family then? Or did he bring you to Amber and you found out afterwards?" "That's a perceptive question, Dagny." Dulcinea says. "Actually, Jayson figured out that we must be related. You had one of those dreams from the blond haired distant relation, Valerian, right?" She pauses for Dagny's response. I nod. "Yup." "Well, Valerian pulled off a neat trick, in combining a dream of mine with a dream of Jayson's. He had made a comment to Jayson that he was visiting only the dreams of family members. Thus, Jayson deduced that not only was he a child of Amber, but I must be as well, or else Valerian would not have taken the effort to include me in his." "His mother, Queen Sand, had known all along, you see, she was the one who had been sending me dreams of him and I together." Dulcinea says. "She confirmed who and what I really was, although my mother knew, of course. Father...his Majesty, did not know for certain, until he talked with my mother." "I don't know, Dagny, how Queen Sand found out in the first place." Dulcinea finishes. I join Dulcinea on the bench. What do I see from this vantage point? What Dulcinea appears to be looking at, and thus what Dagny can see, is a statue on the far side of the square. It is of an armored man, sword drawn and pointed upwards. The sun is catching the point just right, making it seem like the tip of the sword is on fire. "I think that is straightforward." Dulcinea says, looking at the point of light with the intensity of someone meditating on a candle flame. "To bind her son to someone who is simultaneously the heir to a Golden Circle Kingdom, and the daughter of the King of Amber? That provides an enormous amount of indirect power Queen Sand might have wielded through her son. "Influence father on the one hand..." She puts out a hand and flips over to show her palm. "And mother on the other..." she repeats the gesture with her other hand. "Ah." I nodded in agreement. "And I guess there were similar advantages for your mother too. But now you're here in Amber, and you have your freedom. So what next?" "You are the third person in so many days to ask me that question." Dulcinea says. "It shows how important and crucial a question it is. There are many things I would like, Dagny. I would like to learn more sorcery. I would like to explore the Golden Circle, and see what I can find out there. "Most of all, Dagny..." her tone is strong and clear. :"I would like to make sure these Omphalos, or Oompa Loompas as Lorius calls them..." I suppressed a smile at this. An asshat Lorius may be, but that was funny. "do not destroy my new adopted home, and everything else, if he is right. I get the feeling we are in a Latrones match , and we are waiting for them to make another move on the board." "I think I agree with that feeling of yours. On an open field, we could wipe the floor with them, which is why they have resorted to these incomprehensible guerrilla tactics. We need to outsmart them at their own game, and I think, from what I've seen of us, we are crafty and clever enough to do so." "We just need to find the levers to use against them." Dulcinea agrees. "They haven't been seen in the vicinity of Amber since their initial and failed incursions, but I just know, Dagny, that they have not given up. So I shall not..." she turns her attention away from the statue and faces Dagny. "Mother...and father, would approve if I aid in the effort." she says with conviction. I nod. "I know for a fact that they have not given up. That's why I want to meet with Random. Speaking of which...he might call at any moment, shall we get the shopping out of the way before he does?" "Clothes" Dulcinea says, rising. "Neh! You wanted outfits suitable for Amber." She rises from the bench. "A mixture of formal and informal? High Court? Practical? What precisely did you want?" "Uh." I looked down at my current outfit--tailored well, but pants and a button-down nonetheless--and then at Dulcinea, who surely was dressed as a princess of Amber should be. Dulcinea is dressed in a skirt and shirt. Her colors are turquoise and white. I'm sure the expression on my face must have spoken volumes. "That's part of where I need the help. Courtly activities" (at least those where I was expected to dress the part, I added to myself), "have hardly been on my itinerary so far. You would know better than I, what I should expect. I guess, at the very least, everyday clothes that won't cause me to stick out like a sore thumb, a few ensembles for formal occasions, then I suppose riding or other practical clothes? And shoes. And whatever." Holy shit. "Well, let's get started" Dulcinea says, rising from her seat and turning to offer Dagny her hands. "One thing that is important here in Amber, I have learned, cousin, is the importance of symbols and colors. Everyone has them. Its sort of a shorthand for who and what people are. Your father, for instance, favors the color green and the phoenix." "Have you ever been drawn to wearing certain color combinations, colors that make you feel complete?" Dulcinea asks. (I figure that in short order we're going to syncopate the shopping, but this IS a crucial detail to nail down first) Mildly annoyed at Luke for claiming such a powerful symbol first, I pondered for a moment. "Midnight blue and silver," I finally decided. "I love peacock blue too, but it just doesn't seem to be me, somehow. Not like the others. Have those been taken yet?" "I have never heard of those as a combination." Dulcinea replies. She is walking briskly now, through the square and down the street. "Silver is an uncommon color to find in the Family set. I think that only Corwin and Deirdre use it, and they both use black, not blue" "Blues of various shades is common." Dulcinea continues "Again, though, with other colors, not with Silver." She moves forward, and pivots on her right foot. Her eyes appraise Dagny for a moment. "I think those would look very good on you." Dulcinea says. "Maybe a neutral color to go along with those two on your ensembles, and I think we can get yourself outfitted in short order." "Sounds good to me," I agree. "Where shall we go?" "Everyday clothes first." Dulcinea says. "If you are going to put me into your hands, if I have my way, we'll get you set with everyday clothes and then use that as a template for the most specialized clothes." (If you would like to detail what Dagny winds up getting, or leave it to me, let me know...but I figure jumping ahead shortly is the way to go, unless you do want to do more character devo with Dulce) "Lead the way," I reply. And so she does. Even if Dulcinea is new to the shops and merchants of the City of Amber, she has several things in favor working for her, that rebound to Dagny's benefit. Gossip and chatter are amongst the fastest and most powerful of all of the subatomic forces. Dulcinea is recognized quickly in the second establishment they visit, and by the fifth shop that Dulcinea takes Dagny to, the merchants are willing, eager, and most interested in serving two scions of the Amber Royal Family. Fredo's enthusiasm in serving Dagny at that dinner, years ago to Dagny, is much of akin to how the merchants are very happy to have Dulcinea and Dagny's custom. Few clothes are ready now, of course, this is not a mass-producing culture. But orders are placed for everything Dagny wants, in duplicate, in her new colors. Payment is somewhat fuzzy, Dulcinea signs things that might be the Amber equivalent of credit card receipts again and again. With purchases complete and now looking for additional goodies to foster upon Dagny, Dulcinea's leading of Dagny down a lane suddenly stops, abruptly. Dulcinea holds up her left hand and her eyes go unfocused for a moment. "It's the King...my father." Dulcinea says. After a few moments, she turns to regard Dagny. "Shall we return to the King for your interview?" she says, offering her hand. "Sure," I agree, and take her hand. The trump connection brings Dagny, and Dulcinea behind her, to a room in the Castle. The high perspective of the far window, the chairs, couch and table, all of high quality, and the presence of the Queen suggests that these are the Royal Apartments. "Hello, dear." Vialle says as Dagny steps into the room. In back of the chair in which she is sitting, not yet hung up, is a large blown up matted photograph of what looks like a nighttime scene in something resembling Las Vegas, judging from the garish lights and numerous taillights and headlights of automobiles. Standing next to where Dagny emerges, of course, is the King. "I just had a feeling that you would be easily reached through my daughter, Dagny." Random says. He gives a head motion to Dulcinea. "We'll talk later about what we were discussing." "Yes, father." Dulcinea curtsies, and heads toward a door. "Hi," I replied to Vialle. Vialle smiles. I felt badly about Dulcinea being immediately dismissed, and wondered if I should say something. But then, I supposed Random wanted the bad news first. "See you later, Dulcinea," I add. "Of course" Dulcinea says brightly, smoothly breaking her stride, turning toward Dagny and giving a tip of the head. "After all, we've only begun." And then, with a smile on her face, she turns and departs the room. "It is a good thing that you are taking time to spend with my daughter." Random says, gesturing for Dagny to sit. There is a pot of tea and a cup, with lemon and sugar, waiting for her there. "She seems very nice," I respond. "Although I fear our conversation's limit of light subjects has now been reached." he adds. "What do you have to tell me?" he says. I poured myself some tea as I considered where to begin. "Lots, and unfortunately little of it is good. Here's the Reader's Digest version of what I've been through: I was visiting a Shadow of Paris when an explosion drew my attention. A bronze Door appeared in the middle of the city and an army was pouring out. The leader called out for the "enemy spellcasters" in the area to quit fighting, but aside from myself there shouldn't have been any others. I don't know to whom she was speaking. I left when a giant metal creature called the Talos came through the Door, and headed to Versailles. "Omphalos." Random says thoughtfully. "In Versailles I found a broken Pattern, which I learned was a Shadow of Corwin's Primal Pattern. I headed there and met Brandeigh, Percy, and James and found it had been damaged by the Shockwave that happened when the Ways of the Logrus separated from the Courts of Chaos." I figured he'd probably know what that was about. " Random nods. They told me the army was the Omphalos, and we contacted Corwin to let him know about his Primal Pattern and what was going on around the Broken copy. Corwin stayed to fix it, Brandeigh and Percy took off, and I headed back to Shadow Versailles. Along the way I ran into a Chaosian named Keane. Apparently Chaos has a vested interest in stopping the Omphalos as well, so he joined me. We found that Shadow Versailles was infested with Omphalos. After a quick and one-sided battle with a zeppelin and a biplane, we were able to infiltrate the Omphalos' defenses and get to the Pattern. A 'wizard' had apparently set up some kind of 'generator' at the Broken Pattern site. So, um, we lobbed a few pounds of plastic explosives at it. It was pretty impressive, if I do say so myself. We took off. After Keane and I parted ways I contacted Brandeigh and Percy, and found that about 40 years had passed for them, and they had a son. I told them what had happened so far, and they suggested I speak to you, and also asked me to escort Kieran to Amber while I was about it, which I did." I took a sip of tea and a deep breath. "So the Omphalos seem to be interested in finding places of power in Shadow, and they have some sort of machine that does something with them. But we know where they are, right now, and I think I bought us some time by sabotaging their generator. I am of the opinion we should send an army to Shadow Versailles and obliterate them where they stand." "And here I thought you had spent all this time in shadow in a manner that was not productive." Randoms says lightly. I narrowed my eyes at this remark, but otherwise chose to let it pass. For now. His tone and mien firm up within moments, like the onset of a summer storm. "I've been waiting for the Omphalos to return again after their failures to establish beachheads in Amber and in Chaos. I had not considered they might go after Corwin's Pattern, but I think I can see why..." "How confident" Random says "are you of leading a group of your siblings to help form such an army. Or, alternatively, Dagny Thorsonne, can you obey orders from another of your cousins if you do not wish to lead." "I think I'm better at giving orders than I am taking them," I replied. "But I would not be against a partnership of sorts with certain of my cousins." "Good!" Random says, grandly. He then regards Dagny speculatively. "Which ones, in particular? Besides Kieran, that is. And perhaps my daughter." he adds. "And any of that group that accompanied me to Tir," I added. "They all seemed like decent people. But for the love of God, do NOT ask me to work with Lorius. Under any circumstances. One of us won't make it out alive, and it won't be pretty." "It would be unkind of me." Random says "for me to cast aspersions on Fiona's son. And it must be said, that my brothers once considered me a homicidal little fink. I even got stranded on a desert island." "The fact is." Random says "I WAS a homicidal little fink. I changed." "You did." Vialle says softly. "Back to the matter of family members, given how people are scattering to the winds, I am going to let you do some legwork. Pick up to three of your cousins, plus my daughter. Try and get them onboard. Consider it your first test of leadership." The King of Amber grins. "You do have a trump deck, don't you?" Random adds. "I do." I paused. "But to them, who am I that they should follow me without proof that I have your blessing?" "Its not fair to tease her, Random." Vialle adds. Random smirks. "Consider that, Dagny, a test of common sense. And you passed. He stands, goes to a drawer, opens it, pulls out a case and brings it over. He opens it in front of Dagny, revealing a ring. The ring is gold, with a seal depicting, in ivory, a rampant unicorn, set in jade. "I think that a royal seal will suffice, don't you, Dagny? Just don't get it lost." "That should suffice. Thank you," I reply as I accept the ring. After a moment of thought I removed the silver unicorn ring I'd purchased all those years ago, moved it to my left hand ring finger, and replaced it with the royal seal. If it doesn't fit, I'll adjust my finger so it does. Preternaturally, although Dagny was certain the ring was going to be too large by a size or two, when she does try it on, it fits snugly but not too tightly. No shapeshifting is necessary on her part. "Anything else I should know before I get going?" "Don't lose your head." Random says. "Figuratively and literally. In the wake of Jayson's little adventures, there are all sorts of stories loose about all sorts of nasty things running around, not just Omphalos. I have no idea what you really are going to find on the way to dealing with this Door." "Good luck" the King adds, with a grin. I didn't think this was exactly a laughing matter, but whatever. "Thanks," I replied. "Your majesties," I say to Vialle and Random as way of a farewell. With a nod, and assuming that nothing else arises, I depart. But where to next? I wondered where Dulcinea had got to, and set off to find her. I had a feeling she'd jump at a chance to join the cause. Free of the entanglement of the King, Queen and their quarters, Dagny's wanderings on the fourth floor toward the staircase quickly uncover the person she was looking for. Dulcinea. Dulcinea sits on the staircase trying to make friends with a gray and white cat. Dulcinea looks up and smiles at Dagny, rising smoothly to a standing position. The cat remains at her feet. "I think she's one of the kitchen cats out exploring." she explains, the feline looking first at Dulcinea, and then at Dagny. "How did your interview with my father proceed, Dagny?" Dulcinea adds. "Hello, Dulcinea," I say to her. "Hello, pretty girl," I add softly to the cat. Squatting down, I present the back of my fingers for feline inspection and will stroke her head if then permitted. The cat is clearly social enough to arch her back in clear invitation to have Dagny's fingers go from the head down her spine. Once Dagny is finished, she shifts her sitting position subtly, allowing her yellow-green eyes to look up at both women. Standing again, I turn back to Dulcinea. "It went okay, I guess. He gave me permission to collect family members and raise an army to fight the Omphalos. Would you be interested in joining us?" Dulcinea's eyes widen and her lips part in a smile. "I would be delighted, Dagny, to join you in opposing the Omphalos." She reaches down to give the cat a bit more attention before rising again. "I'm only mildly surprised that Father did not exclude me from your collecting of family members." "Or did he and you thought of me anyway?" she adds mischievously. "Quite the opposite," I reply. "He named you specifically as someone I should take with me." Dulcinea's expression is a brief look of shock and surprise on her face. " But truthfully I would have asked you anyway. Now...I suppose I'll ask Kieran next, but can you suggest anyone else we can add to our little party?" "Well, Dagny, that depends on how you want to compose your group. I can think of more than a few cousins you might ask, depending on how well you think of them. I can think of a few you would not accept a recommendation for, and perhaps several you have not considered." "But perhaps we should discuss this while walking somewhere, rather than standing in this hall?" she adds with a touch of sweetness. "Oh. Of course," I agree. "Lead on." And so Dulcinea does. Although she does not have an immediate destination in mind, she does start leading Dagny through the halls. As we walk, [Dagny continues] "I don't know any of my cousins well, obviously, so I'm glad to hear any recommendations you might have." "I think my greater experience is only because I have spent most of my short stay here in and around Amber, as opposed to your distinctly different experience." Dulcinea explains. "Unfortunately. it must be said that some of the choices I would make are unavailable because of..." She stops. "Because of Apollo." "Ah." "But" she continues "let's think on who we might have. I should ask you first, Dagny, just what
recommending cousins whose temperaments and abilities don't match what my father has specifically asked." I exhaled. "Um. Well, he didn't specify. He just said, you plus up to three more. He left it up to me to choose. From my point of view...I've never commanded an army on this scale before, so somebody skilled in military strategy would be good. Dulcinea gives a small nodding motion of her head. "More magic is always good too, especially considering what we're dealing with. Basically, I'm open to any suggestions...But--and I told Random this too--Lorius is absolutely, positively not an option. Not for this, not with me." "I wouldn't know enough to suggest Lorius except on the basis of his reputation." Dulcinea replies. "So let's see..." She stops a moment, thinks and then starts walking. "Let's start with Hadrian. We want a trump artist, and he's the best I know." she says. "I would suggest William for military matters, but Dad sent him off on a mission with Shannon." We could always try Pollux or Castor, even if they are better with ships." "Larissa, if we could find her, would be an excellent fighter." Dulcinea adds. "There's always Noys, too." Dulcinea says. "I get along well with her." "Oh! I wonder if we could get Valerian." she adds brightly "He knows magic, certainly." "I gave you more than three choices." Dulcinea says. "But I think you wanted a variety of options, didn't you, Dagny?" I nodded. "Yes, I did. Okay. After Kieran, we'll see if we can find Valerian. We know he's around, and he's dealt with the Omphalos before. I've met Hadrian, and wouldn't mind working with him again. We'll start with those three, and see what happens next. Agreed?" "Agreed" Dulcinea says. "Let's go and find Kieran, and we can move on to Valerian and then I will give Hadrian a call. We work down the list from there. They themselves might have suggestions that we can further act upon." "So where are we going, Dagny?" she prompts. That brought me up short. "Uh, actually, I don't know. Hold on." I pulled out my Trump deck and shuffled out Kieran's card. Next best thing to a cell phone, really. I concentrated and tried to make contact... The contact is difficult, as if Kieran were suddenly very far away, or was having difficulties similar to that experienced by his parents. Dulcinea hovers nearby, watching as Dagny attempts to make contact. [Kieran will ]then move back aways from the Sphinx and out of sight of the Pattern, closer to the spot he picked for his Trump to this place. He turns so that anyone looking at him, will have a view of the sea and sky. “Dagny;” he says taking the call. “Something come up? Although Kieran’s location is not evident to Dagny, Dagny’s presence in the Castle is evident, as well as the young blond woman at her shoulder. When Dagny ends, the call, Dulcinea favors Dagny with a smile. "So what did Kieran say?" Dulcinea pauses. "I was unable to contact Hadrian. I suspect he was sleeping, which suggests he is out in shadow and on a different schedule. We can try later." "He actually didn't give me an answer, one way or the other," I replied. "All I got out of him was a promise to call later. He's somewhere out in Shadow, and it's either far enough away or weird enough that I had some trouble getting through. I didn't recognize the background, either. He did ask that you and I witness his Patternwalk when he returns, though. I said I couldn't speak for you, but that I would be there. But in any event...yeah, I guess we'll try Hadrian again later. Shall we look for Valerian next?" "To witness a first Patternwalk is an opportunity that I should not miss." Dulcinea says. "I accept his invitation. As far as the matter of Valerian, I don't have his trump, but I suspect that if he is in the Castle, we can find him readily enough." "And I know who to ask for a lead." she adds. "The Chamberlain, of course." "Of course." I smiled at her. "Lead on." (Syncopating to get to Fun Now. If you should want more detail, feel free to interject) In the next twenty minutes... Dulcinea leads Dagny to the offices of Lord Henden. Bading her to wait outside, a short period and one servant summoned inside of the office later, Dulcinea has a beaming smile on her face. Confidently, she leads Dagny into corridors on the first floor. "Valerian doesn't yet have official quarters on the second floor." She explains at one point. "He is still stuck in small rooms down here." Even so, Dulcinea manages to get Dagny to a non-descript door in the Ambassadorial wing. She knocks at it, and the door opens moments later, revealing the head, anyway, of Valerian. "Dulcinea. and Dagny." Valerian says, his mouth quirking into a smile. "To what do I owe the pleasure? My rooms are small, but you are welcome to come in, rather than conversing in this drafty hallway." "Thank you," I reply, and step into his room. Valerian's rooms are indeed relatively small. New York apartment managers might envy the small subdivided space that Valerian lives in. There are two rooms visible, three, including a tiny bathroom. The bedroom looks like it is not much larger than the bed, visible through the open door. There are two chairs, but Valerian takes neither, instead leaning against the (now closed) door frame and gesturing for Dagny and Dulcinea to sit. Lord knows that I had plenty to talk to Valerian about that had nothing to do with the Omphalos, but I preferred that conversation be in private. So instead I opened with, "Well, this visit is more about business, but if you would enjoy the opportunity to bust a few Omphalos heads, then pleasure will play a part. "Random gave me permission to assemble an army to fight the Omphalos. He asked only that I ask a few of my cousins to join me. Dulcinea has already agreed. So how about it?" "And he didn't specifically exclude me?" Valerian says. "I know that Random wanted me on hand for intelligence purposes. I've been with clerks most of the day detailing all sorts of information for his Majesty, but that has been about as engaging as you might expect." "I would definitely welcome an opportunity to strike against the Omphalos." Valerian says. "Are you intending to cross over somehow, or has there been another Broach on their part?" "No, Random didn't exclude you," I replied. "And I hadn't thought that far ahead. But if you think you'd be more useful here, handling intelligence, by all means." Valerian shakes his head, vigorously. Dulcinea giggles slightly. "Indeed" Valerian says. "If his Majesty did not see fit to exclude me from the list of potential candidates for your expedition, I would not correct that oversight. I am frankly somewhat bored sitting in this Castle with little prospect of much else. Only in my dreams am I free to roam." Valerian says. "But what I meant before was, Dagny--how are you going to strike at the Omphalos? I was unaware there were any in our universe at present. Or am I wrong on that?" he says,trading jocularity for seriousness. "You are wrong, unfortunately," I replied, gravely. I relayed my adventures to him as I had to Random. "It's bad, dude. I hadn't worked out the particulars yet, I think I had some vague idea of tracking them from Versailles and taking the battle to them. But that might not be best. That's why I need knowledgeable and experienced cohorts." I was on the verge of adding whom I can trust, but that's just a pipe dream in this place. "What's your take on this?" Valerian listens intently throughout Dagny's explanation. Palms pressed together, he taps his fingertips together a few times before he responds. "I suspect his Majesty will be contacting me soon with just that question." Valerian says. "The Omphalos find their target universes based on detecting primal powers and other large scale sources that they have large machines devoted to finding. Pollux tells me it sounds like to him a radio telescope detecting quasars, whatever those are." "And they were drawn to attack at Corwin's Pattern?" Dulcinea puts in. "Yes" Valerian says. "Its what they home in on, and so it makes sense that, repulsed here and in Chaos, they would go for another target, and have found one in Corwin's Pattern." He looks at Dagny "You met Corwin in your story, but I don't know if he understands quite the danger we have. This just clinches it, Dagny. I'm coming with you and Dulcinea. I know how they attack, how they think, how to stop them and push them back through that blasted portal of theirs." "Whom else are you empowered to dragoon?" he adds, stepping away from the wall. "Whomever I can sweet talk into joining me," I replied. "Random said up to three of my cousins, plus Dulcinea here. If I think about it," I added thoughtfully to Dulcinea, "you're like my great-aunt or something like that." "First cousins once removed." Dulcinea says with a smile. "And Valerian's relationship to us is even more distant." But anyway," I continued, addressing Valerian, "she's one, you're two, Kieran's a maybe, and Dulcinea wasn't immediately able to contact Hadrian. I guess if we really wanted, the three of us could head out on a quick reconnaissance of Corwin's Shadow. As a matter of fact, I have a Trump sketch of the broken Pattern they were trying to take over. I wish there were some way we could just open the connection and stick our heads through, so to speak, and see what is going on there now." "A trump sketch, even if we had a trump artist to help." Valerian says "unfortunately is the wrong tool for that approach. I'm sure any of the redheads, Hadrian or anyone else who is an expert would tell us so." "What we could do, or you could do." Dulcinea puts in "is to go through your sketch, carrying my trump. Reconnoiter, and trump me quickly to get back here. Hadrian tells me that sketches last a couple of trips, so we would be able to use it again once we have our Argonauts all lined up." "That does carry a little risk if there is immediate trouble in the vicinity.On the other hand, it would allow us to get some fresh intelligence." Valerian says, and looks at Dagny. I considered all this for a moment. If it were just Valerian, no way could I trust him to not strand me in the Perilous Garden. Dulcinea, though...would she do that to me? I sure hoped not. And I was no coward. "True. All right. Let's just go back upstairs to my room, so i can get my sword and stuff before I step through. I'm not going there unarmed." "That is something that is prudent, Dagny." Valerian agrees. He walks over to a trunk, opens it, and produces a dagger and a short, stabbing sword. He straps these on and nods to Dagny and Dulcinea. "Your rooms" Dulcinea says, decisively. In short order, with Dagny leading the way, she can lead Valerian and Dulcinea up a staircase and thus to her quarters. "Shall we wait outside?" Dulcinea prompts. "Well, I don't know. Can I trust you not to take my stuff?" I teased. "Of course, come in." I open the door and let them in. "Stealing non unique items of a Princess of the Blood is a futile gesture." Dulcinea says, following Dagny in and looking around. "You can always find the items again in shadow. Doesn't seem to work for Trump decks, although I heard a weird story about the Library in that regard." "I definitely need to get Random to get me larger quarters like these." Valerian says, stepping inside and looking around. "The suites for the Elder members of the family are even larger, I imagine." Valerian says. "They are" Dulcinea says. "I do wonder, though, what they have done with suites of Elders no longer extant, such as, say, Dagny's grandfather's." "Lots of bad karma in there though, I would think," I interject, as I rummage through my stuff. I slung my sword over my shoulder and then debated between a handgun and the crossbow. Holding both out, I solicit the opinion of my companions. "Which do you think would be more useful? I won't take both--I subscribe to the notion that one should never carry more weapons than one has hands." That I could easily add another hand if I needed one was irrelevant. "Crossbow, without question." Valerian says without a moment's hesitation. "Why?" Dulcinea says, looking at Valerian. "The crossbow will work in a wider variety of conditions. In some parts of Capital on the Omphalos side of the door, gunpowder does not ignite. The gun would be nothing more than a clumsy club." Valerian says, turning to face Dagny. "The gun may be more powerful but is dangerous to rely on that way." "Well, I'm not planning to follow the Omphalos into their home territory right now, but okay." "Perhaps" Valerian says "The esoteric properties of this shadow are unknown, and worse, if the Omphalos have had enough time, they may have altered them to their will." I loaded the crossbow and grabbed the quiver of bolts, buckling it around my waist. Then I pulled out the Trump sketch of the Perilous Garden and my Trumps of Dulcinea and Valerian, carefully tucking the latter two into my pocket. "Okay, all ready." "Wait." Dulcinea says. "How long do you want me to wait before I take measures to try and retrieve the two of you?" "Good question" Valerian says. "Time flow difference aside, how long do we want Dulcinea to wait here without word from us before she proactively calls us?" "Twenty minutes, maybe? I'm pretty sure we'll be able to tell almost immediately whether or not the Omphalos are still there and causing mayhem. Tracking them might be something else though. Checking in often certainly can't hurt anything in any event." "Twenty minutes" Dulcinea repeats. "Then, I start getting calling and if that doesn't work, I start getting reinforcements." She purses her lip. "While I wait, I will try and get a hold of Hadrian again, and see if he can't get a gate ready in case things really have turned as rotten as spoiled touloumotiri." "I think that would be everything, Dagny." Valerian says "Right?" Backlinks |
