TheWordforRoadisRiverThe Word for Road is RiverPrincess Fiona would have to wait a few more minutes once they returned. "Brother."Castor says to Pollux. "These Rebmans explain much about Random's marriage to one. Vialle." "And Therans." Ostegos murmurs as he walks to the water's edge but does not enter. Meriel, first in the water, dives deep, exploring as much as enjoying. The River is significant here, she feels - and she can learn more of the place from the water than she ever can from the land. The murk of the water slowly resolves itself to Meriel's eyes as she explores the body of water. As her eyes adjust, Meriel can see that the river looks much like Martin had described. It's an estuarine river, with some salt water fish swimming upriver past her one more, and a group of freshwater salmon the next. The latter swim past Priya, too, as she enters the water fully. It is Meriel, though, who first sees it resolve out of the gloom. The river doesn't seem that deep, and yet it stands there on the river bottom, like an echo of Atlantis...or perhaps Rebma itself. A single, perfect, tall crystal tower. Curious, Priya slid through the water, pausing alongside Meriel. She glanced at Meriel, looked around for Martin, and then returned her attention to the tower. She looked for the mundane first; signs of activity, fish, the growth of plant life, marks in the silt at the river bottom, and then scanned for magic. There is no sign of Martin in the vicinity, to Priya's eyes. Meriel swims around the Tower slowly, carefully, and she is looking for reflective planes. She also figures that any defensive system worth its sea salt will have spotted them long before now, so she is wary. Priya's catalogue of activity starts with a variety of sea grasses, the silt on the sea bottom showing signs that bottom feeders have lived here, that this river, a mixture of fresh and sea, is a living ecosystem. However, its clear to Priya that the tower is a singular and separate edifice. Nothing, as far as Priya can tell, enters or exits the crystal-glass Tower. It stands proud and alone. Then comes the magic, which takes longer for Priya to scan. In the meantime, Meriel has taken a complete circuit of the long, solitary tower. Proud and singular, there is a definite Rebmanesque feel to the tower. Its not a smooth surface, there is plenty of fractal complexity that provides an organic feel, and yet there are no blemishes and the radial symmetry is flawless. The tower is complete with, as Meriel might have suspected, plenty of reflective planes in the crystal. Meriel of course has experience in dealing with the refractive index of water. The proof is an acquired glimpse of her own face in one of the sides. And then, just as Priya feels the pulse of a small amount of disturbance in the ambient arcane fields in the river, the reflected image of Meriel changes. The face, now, is that of Moire. For a perfect moment, Meriel is still, as though the water has suddenly frozen her into place. Then she is kicking for the surface with all the speed and determination of one of her own harpoons - shooting up, up, up in her determination not to be trapped by Rebma again. Meriel is unmolested as she rises rapidly toward sunlight and freedom. Her sudden emergence from the water causes gasps and surprise from those on the shore, as well as Martin, who proves to be on the surface of river, a little downstream, but now paddling toward the emerged Meriel. "Meriel, what is it?" he asks urgently. "The Queen," says Meriel succinctly. "I think she's keeping a watching brief on this place - in person. And I really don't want her to find me ... not before I've had chance for ...well, for some fun!" "Lir's Blood!" Martin exclaims. "I was aiming for Rebma, not Amber, and I must have drifted the shadowshifting so that her perceptions could come here. "She saw you, Meriel?" "Yes," says Meriel impatiently. "At least, if she's any good she did. And she is good - I know that. And now it'll start again ... they'll come after me and won't stop until they have me sealed up in one of their dreary little boxes, wasting my entire life watching other people live. And I won't do it, Martin, I won't!" Martin's eyes turn from confusion, to wariness, to growing alarm. The note of panic is strong in her voice. "I'm going," she says with determination. "I thought *you* would understand - but if you're leading us towards Rebma then you don't, not at all." And with a last reproachful look, she dives back into the water and deep, looking for the kind of reeds where she might shake off pursuit. "Meriel!" Martin calls as Meriel dives into the water and away. "It was a direction. Come..." His words become unclear as Meriel, underwater and away, escapes the sound of his voice. The bottom of the river has plenty of plant life. Plant life to hide in and swim within, that seems to stretch all the way to the Ocean, if she wished to swim that far. Priya marked Meriel's exit, but remained in place, drifting slowly and continued to give the tower her steady regard. The Queen semblance brought a thoughtful frown, but no additional action. In the meantime for Priya, the Tower remains proud, and defiant. As Priya drifts along, the face of Moire regards Priya placidly. And then Priya feels the starting of another arcane disturbance coming from the tower. Possibly communicative in nature, but definitely mental in makeup. While her defenses remained in place, Priya made no move to counter the Tower's action. Waiting to allow it, and possibly her Queen, the first move. "Priya." the voice is somewhat distorted, slow, as if it were a human voice heard at far distance across ocean water. Similarly, the next words come slowly. "Where has my missing Scryer gone?" "If we discuss the same person, Meriel has likely returned to the surface." I relax, sinking lower so that the face is more even with me, allowing the lazy current to carry me closer. I will pass it if I make no effort to remain in place, but for now... what is, is, and I change nothing. "I was surprised that she entered into a shadow such as this. Perhaps it was merely inexperience." Moire says. "I do wish for her to return to her place and station here." "And what of you, daughter of Minos? What is your role in this?" Backlinks |
