A Hero Is Born, Part 1

Alan: Winter came early to the province of Karlbotel, damaging crops and straining reserves.

Alan: But now spring has come early, as well, giving hope for a prosperous new growing season.

Alan: It's only the middle of Thirdmonth, but the snows have completely melted and run off, swelling the rivers and lakes of your fertile homeland.

Alan: The local farmers are busy clearing their fields, moving rocks, tending livestock, waiting for the winter to pass for good.

Alan: The local crafters are busy thatching roofs after the winter's winds, making new horseshoes, sharpening plow blades.

** (2) Renate is glad to be able to get outside again. **

Alan: The baronial seat is never far from the needs of its people—Baron Ranier has been making the rounds, visiting the major farms and hamlets, ensuring that everyone has what they need.

Alan: And back at the Adler Mansion, the warmer weather brings a new set of challenges to the oft-beleagured Adler heirs.

Alan: In the winter, it's books and lessons, writing and etiquette—the main danger is boredom, or a rap on the knuckles from a strict teacher.

Alan: But as the weather grows warmer, your teachers move to more energetic arts...

Alan: And although its easy to say that a true noble must be able to acquit herself well in a duel, it's quite another thing when a wooden practice sword is jabbing you in the ribs.

Alan: "Keep your guard up, but not so solidly! Move as the blade wills, lass!"

Alan: It's easy for Aaron to say—he's striking through your guard as though your weapon were made of overcooked macaroni.

** (2) Renate is stiff -- she's been indoors too long. **

** (2) Renate perseveres, however. **

Renate: "Ow!"

Alan: With seemingly slow and lazy motions, Aaron circumvents your weapon entirely, tapping you gently on the side of the head.

** (2) Renate ducks away. **

Alan: He's been doing this the entire day, and you're finally starting to see the trick of it.

Alan: He changes up the pace with a swift and easily-blocked flurry of attacks.

Renate: "Right, Aaron -- try that again."

Alan: You know that Aaron Wrenfall wouldn't do something so simplistic without a reason—you've learned to block these simple jabs long ago.

** (2) Renate watches for a trick. **

Alan: He grins and continues, saying "What, you expect me to use the same trick twice?"

Alan: "Certain death in the battlefield!"

Renate: "We're not on a battlefield," Renate pants, "and I need to see it again."

Alan: Although Aaron feints in one direction, he immediately returns with the attack he used before—but this time, you turn and block the subtle attack.

Renate: "Ha! See?"

Alan: "There you go! You've learned to defend against the Raven Strike."

Alan: "I learned it from Raven Lowe after the Battle of Bluebell River Valley. A story there... but for later."

Alan: "But remember!"

Alan: "In sword fighting, there's no room for error! You'll have to see it the first time, not the seventh!"

Renate: "I'm -- listening."

Alan: "Despite the hundreds of distinct styles in the world, there are principles that apply to all of them."

** (2) Renate would nod, but she has her eyes on Wrenfall's wooden sword. **

Alan: "Learn to avoid this attack, and you can avoid the Zero Inch Strike of the Insane Dragon style, the... ah, the list goes on."

Alan: Aaron notes the direction of your gaze. "Wise girl. You've saved yourself a rap with your attentiveness."

Renate: "I try," she gasps. "That thing hurts."

Alan: "That's enough for today; you've has two successes and twice as many bruises."

Alan: "I'll have one more pass with you, though, Emil."

Renate: "Yeah. Won't be able to wear my new dress."

Alan: "Renate, you'd do well to attend—there's much you can learn from your brother."

** (2) Renate steps aside. **

Renate: Warily, in case Wrenfall has another trick planned.

Alan: Your brother Emil leans against a tree, wooden sword casually tossed across one shoulder. "I'll make this one quick, old-timer!"

Renate: "Go, Emil!" She grins. "Avenge my bruises!"

Alan: He stands up and stretches dramatically, swinging his sword in careless arcs. "What can I say? My blade is hungry for tender ribs!"

Renate: "Hey! Him, not me!"

Renate: "His ribs are about as tender as rocks!"

Alan: "Hope you've used extra liniment today, Aaron," he says as he spins his sword in fancy swoops.

** (2) Renate shakes her head, not seeing the point of all the dancing about. **

Alan: Aaron laughs. "Emil, my boy, all the liniment in the world couldn't soften your tongue." He holds out his sword to intercept one of Emil's flashy swings, and Emil's sword goes flying.

** (2) Renate retrieves it for him. **

** (2) Renate sticks out her tongue at Wrenfall. **

Alan: A second later, Aaron's own wooden sword cleaves the air where Emil was standing—but Emil had already rolled out of the way, grabbing his sword from you as he went.

** (2) Renate does a back flip out of the way. **

Alan: Emil is an excellent student, despite his casual attitude—in fact, he's one of the best fighters you've ever seen.

Alan: Aaron and Emil clash together, sword clacking against sword.

Alan: The training field still has patches of snow on it, under the trees, where the shade prevents the sun from melting it.

** (2) Renate watches studiously, keeping quiet for once. **

Alan: Aaron tries to back Emil into the snow, where his footing will be weaker, but to your delight, Emil leaps against a tree and kicks off it, launching an acrobatic aerial attack.

** (2) Renate claps her hands and cheers Emil on. **

Alan: Aaron wasn't born yesterday (not even the day before that, as he would say), and he steps under Emil's attack and does a spinning backhand with Emil avoids by a hair.

Alan: Emil suddenly finds himself a split-second away from losing—Aaron's every attack is only barely blocked.

Alan: Suddenly, you're able to recognize Aaron's setup...

Renate: "Watch his off hand!"

Alan: ...he's about to perform the Raven Strike.

Alan: As if in slow motion, Aaron weaves in between Emil's counterattacks and sends his sword floating towards Emil's head...

Renate: "Duck!"

Alan: ...but Emil recognizes the attack and moves to block it, effortlessly, as if he'd been expecting it all along.

Alan: You're amazed to see the aging swordmaster so easily outfoxed.

Alan: And you're amazed when Aaron's blade thwaps into Emil's ribcage, two feet lower than where the attack seemed to be going.

Alan: Emil doubles over, gasping.

Renate: "Whoa! Where'd that come from?"

** (2) Renate runs to Emil. "You okay?" **

Alan: "I can't believe... by the hells!" He stomps his foot like an angry child.

Alan: Aaron claps him on the shoulder. "I knew you'd be looking for that attack, Emil. Remember—think like your opponent!"

** (2) Renate turns to Wrenfall. **

Renate: "Try it on me! I want to see that!"

Alan: "All right! You two are dismissed! You've both learned enough for today."

Alan: "If you learn too much, you'll turn the tables on me yet!"

** (2) Renate stomps her foot. **

Alan: "I want to put that day off as long as possible." He cracks his neck wearily.

Alan: "I believe you have an hour before your next history lesson. Putting it to good use." Aaron sits on the boulder that's traditionally been your training bench, and starts to take off his boiled-leather armor.

** (2) Renate gives in ungracefully. **

Renate: "C'mere, Emil, I'll get that off you. Your strap is twisted."

Alan: "The Fireday session is cancelled, you should know. I believe your father is planning some impromptu feast."

Renate: "A party! Great!"

Renate: "Except I can't wear my new dress. Damn!"

** (2) Renate pulls up the armor to survey her bruises. **

Alan: "Back off, Renate, you tickle too much." Emil fumbles his armor into a worse state that it was in to begin with.

Renate: "I'll tickle you somewhere you won't forget! Hold still!"

** (2) Renate pulls at the buckle. **

Alan: Aaron raises an eyebrow. "I'm certain you could make do with something a little more... modest, then, couldn't you?"

Renate: "Well, where's the fun in that?"

Alan: Emil laughs. "She's of an age to want to turn heads."

** (2) Renate winks saucily at Aaron. **

Alan: "Maybe some day she'll be of an age to do it."

Renate: "Ooo!" She jabs Emil in the ribs.

Alan: Emil yelps as you hit one of his bruises. "See what I mean about the tickling? And the, well, pain."

Renate: "Oh. Did I really hurt you? I'm sorry!"

Alan: "A true man feels no pain," he mumbles.

** (2) Renate keeps working at the armor. **

Renate: "Oh, horsefeathers."

Renate: "Ow, that does look bad. Better let Beanie look at it."

Alan: (Since it seems as though we're going with a third-person thing anyway, let's just go over into that. Our other players will adapt easily enough; and it'll make things easier in a party environment anyway.)

Renate: (okay, you're on)

Alan: (Oh, and obviously OOC is parenthetical; that's the only other specific convention I can think of.)

Renate: (figured that one. *grin*)

Alan: Emil's armor comes loose, and he shucks it off with relief. "Might have to get a new set, this is really beginning to chafe."

Renate: "You're growing again," she says, looking up at her much taller brother.

Alan: "Well, I'm for a heavy lunch. All this stick-swinging really takes the wind out of my sails!"

** (2) Renate starts on her own armor. **

Renate: "Oh, man, I'm starving. Wait up!"

Alan: "Heavens no! You're supposed to be eating a shred of lettuce and a sliver of carrot!"

Alan: "How else will you keep your figure?"

** (2) Renate sticks her tongue out at Emil this time. **

Renate: "Oh, yeah, *right*. What'd you say two minutes ago?"

Renate: "You better save me some!"

Alan: "Ah, wait, no actual figure at the moment. So sorry!" Emil does a mock bow and fades back before an expected swat.

** (2) Renate is too busy getting the armor off to answer that gibe. **

Alan: "A fine young man," Aaron says as he helps you with your armor. "But he's not quite ready."

Renate: "For what?"

Alan: "Eighteen is too young." Aaron sighs.

Renate: "For WHAT?"

Alan: "For what? For life!" Aaron smiles. "Never mind an old man."

Renate: "Well, the alternative is dying, and I don't think he's ready for that either!"

Renate: "Better not be, anyway."

Alan: Aaron chuckles. "Everyone is ready to die, just not necessarily prepared. But of course that's not what I mean."

Alan: "Emil is the heir, as you well know. And that is a responsibility that he must grow into at his own pace. That's all I mean."

** (2) Renate puts on a dunce-face. **

Renate: "So explain it to the idiot."

Alan: "Now, you should get some food before Emil eats the kitchen timbers and all."

** (2) Renate shrugs. **

Alan: He claps you on the shoulder and turns back to tend the equipment.

Renate: "I don't see there's so much to it. He'll do fine."

** (2) Renate scampers off lunchwards. **

Alan: If Aaron's words make any sense, they relate to the relationship between Emil and your father.

Alan: You can't imagine what Emil lacks that a proper ruler should have. Emil is full of ideas, it seems—every time your teachers propose a problem of rulership, Emil is quick with a clever solution.

Alan: Baron Ranier is easy on you, but hard on Emil; small things can set them off. You've often had to tiptoe past them during their all-too-frequent shouting matches.

Alan: They love each other; but that love doesn't always show its face.

---

** (2) Renate feels bad about it, but doesn't know what to do. **

Alan: The new day dawns gray and cold; the clouds are low and billowy.

Alan: The town elders predict snow, much to the consternation of farmers, who'd been hoping for an extended thaw.

Alan: And when Renate wakes up, the town is already abuzz—despite the poor weather, the Baron has called for an open festival, a celebration—although he doesn't say what he's celebrating.

Alan: Servants are setting up long tables and a stage in the main square of the county seat; the manor cooks are pulling out what remains of the winter stockpiles to prepare a feast.

** (2) Renate tries for another hour of sleep. **

Alan: Clara and Sabine are already dressed in their finest, as Renate finds when Sabine bursts into the room to roust her out of bed.

Alan: "Come on, Rennie! Put on your noblest frippery, because there's a party brewing!"

Alan: "I've got some makeup for those bruises."

Renate: "Ow! Beanie, quit it! I'm tired!"

Alan: "Sleepy-head! The sun's already three fingers over the horizon!"

Renate: "Yeah, well, I had a long day yesterday."

Alan: In Renate's head, Sabine's voice sounds: "See if you can find Emil. This occasion's all about him, although Father hasn't let it slip yet."

** (2) Renate gets up, grumbling. **

Renate: Renate answers back the same way. "You can find him faster than I can."

Renate: "He's probably cadging breakfast."

Alan: Sabine pats her on the head and glides out of the room. "He's not open to me. And I'm too busy organizing. In the kitchen, so you know."

** (2) Renate shucks off her nightdress and starts washing up. **

Renate: "I'll see you there, then."

** (2) Renate dresses quickly. **

Renate: For all her talk, her dress suits her very well, and isn't "immodest" at all.

Alan: The manor has the types of rooms you might expect; kitchen, study, armory/trophy room, noble's quarters, servants' quarters, and so forth.

** (2) Renate goes to Emil's rooms. **

Alan: That's the best place to look for him; when he's not out on the town, he spends his time writing in his journal, or polishing the heirloom sword Crescent Light.

Alan: Emil isn't in his room, but Crescent Light is resting in its rack atop his dresser, and his clothes are scattered around.

Renate: "Emil? C'mon, everybody's looking for you!"

** (2) Renate holds her nose. **

** (2) Renate checks his party clothes. **

Alan: You don't know his wardrobe intimately enough to be able to tell what's missing, but his favorite clothes are definitely in the room.

** (2) Renate shakes her head, then heads for the armory. **

Alan: The armory seems untouched.

Alan: Weapons and war trophys hang on the wall, in need of a dusting. The servants have been lax.

Renate: She says aloud for Sabine's benefit. "Not in his room, but his sword is."

** (2) Renate looks for recent footprints in the dust that might belong to Emil. **

Alan: Crescent Light is the greatest war trophy of the Adler line; it was taken from the grip of a samurai in 1825.

Alan: Only Aaron and Emil know the secret of polishing its exotic edge.

** (2) Renate admires it, but has never so much as touched it. **

Alan: The armory isn't that dusty; only the tops of things, or little out-of-the-way nooks. Nothing seems to have been disturbed, but the floor itself yields no clues.

Renate: "Not in the armory either. I'm checking the study."

Alan: As you turn around, you come suddenly face to face with Godfrey, who had entered the room as quietly as a cat.

** (2) Renate exclaims. **

Alan: "Forgive me, my lady. I understand the young master has gone missing."

Renate: "Don't *do* that!"

Alan: "Allow me to proffer my services in your search."

Renate: "Sabine sent me to look for him."

Renate: "Please. He's not in his room, and he's not here. That's as far as I've gotten."

Renate: "Did he go out last night?"

** (2) Renate imagines how furious the Baron will be if Emil is drunk. **

Alan: "I have found what might possibly constitute a clue."

** (2) Renate winces. **

Alan: He hands you Emil's journal, taken from its usual place under his pillow.

Alan: "The last entry might be of particular interest."

Renate: "Godfrey! You read it?"

Renate: "It's so none of your business!"

** (2) Renate sounds surprised rather than angry. **

Alan: "Quite right, my lady. In fact, a certain arrangement pertains. Honor prevents further discussion."

Renate: "Oh. Well, it doesn't apply to me."

** (2) Renate hands the journal back. **

Renate: "Just tell me, please."

Alan: "So you say; but you will find that this entry is specifically addressed to you. Perhaps the young master expected somewhat less discretion of you...?"

Renate: "I don't snoop in Emil's stuff!"

Renate: "Any more than he does in mine!"

** (2) Renate grudgingly takes the journal back, opens directly to the last page. **

Alan: Baron Ranier storms into the room, followed by Clara and a gaggle of servants.

Alan: "Renate! Do you know where your brother is? I threw this feast so I could formally proclaim him my heir apparent, and now this!"

Renate: "Good morning, Papa, Mama," Renate says automatically.

Alan: "I've got servants combing the town for him, discreetly of course, and he's nowhere to be found!"

Renate: Renate's jaw drops, but she puts herself together quickly.

Renate: "I'm still looking, Papa."

Renate: "Did anybody check the stables for his horse?"

** (2) Renate looks at Godfrey. **

Alan: "I shall do so directly," he says, and departs.

Alan: "That boy will be the death of me, I swear!" Clara tries to soothe him, but his face is red. "If you've got some idea where he is, then find him!" His face softens slightly. "I know I can count on you. You'll be a great help to James when I'm gone."

Alan: (Erm, "him" being the baron.)

** (2) Renate is distressed. **

Renate: "Papa, don't talk like that! Emil's here somewhere, and you aren't going anywhere anytime soon."

Renate: (who the hell is James?)

Alan: (Doh, got my campaigns confused.)

Alan: (So sorry.)

** (2) Renate talks slowly, hoping to soothe Papa. **

Renate: (ah, James is a former name? got it)

Alan: (This part is just too similar; things will start branching soon.)

Renate: "I'll bring him to you directly. Why don't you go sit down somewhere?"

Renate: "There's nothing at all to worry about."

Alan: "Yes, I'd ... better have a rest."

** (2) Renate devoutly hopes she's right. **

Alan: Baron Ranier has a history of heart trouble, and his lifestyle doesn't help.

Renate: "Go on. I'll come in a little bit."

Alan: A moment after they leave the room, Godfrey comes in through a different door.

** (2) Renate forms words in her head, hoping Sabine is listening. "Sabine? Better see Papa. He's all upset." **

Alan: "I fear that Emil's favorite horse is gone from the manor stable."

Renate: "Oh. Damn."

Renate: "I just told Papa I was sure he'd be here somewhere."

Renate: "Where are the grooms?"

** (2) Renate stubbornly refuses to panic. **

Alan: "They say that they saw nothing; if Emil has departed, he's done so quite early in the morning."

Renate: "He can't have gone far. He left Crescent Light in his room."

Renate: "Hmp. They were asleep, I bet."

Alan: Godfrey lowers an eyebrow slightly; his version of a frown.

Renate: "Well, can't do anything about it now."

Renate: "What?"

Alan: "Crescent Light is a symbol of the barony."

** (2) Renate catches Godfrey's drift. **

Alan: "Perhaps an examination of the journal would prove enlightening."

Renate: "Oh. Damn. Where -- "

** (2) Renate opens the journal to the last page, hands starting to tremble. **

Alan: "My father: I'm sorry that I cannot be who you want me to be. Since I cannot fulfill your wishes, I must leave this life.
My sister: I will see you in Heaven. Follow me—if you think you're worthy."

** (2) Renate thinks that she'd better sit down soon. **

Alan: Godfrey has already pulled a chair up behind her.

** (2) Renate raises an eyebrow. "Heaven?" **

** (2) Renate sits down stiffly. **

Alan: "A destination sought by many, but attained only by the most worthy," Godfrey says.

Renate: "Um, yeah. The Andragarian elite force, right?"

Alan: Sabine enters the room, closing the door behind her. "So now you've seen for yourself," she says.

Renate: "What? Beanie, you knew about this?"

Alan: Godfrey says, "There is a certain literary ambiguity in his parting message that I am loathe to disrupt, but yes, my lady, your interpretation is no doubt correct."

Renate: "And you didn't -- you didn't stop him?"

Renate: "Well, the other way to read it is that he k -- he -- "

** (2) Renate can't say it. **

Alan: Sabine shrugs. "It's best to choose your own life. At least, he convinced me of that. I'm sure I'll agree less and less if things go sour."

Renate: "Beanie!"

Renate: "How could you? This'll just destroy Papa."

Renate: "They were just fighting. They'd have got over it!"

** (2) Renate is starting to tear up. **

Renate: "And he didn't tell me, and you didn't tell me -- what was I supposed to do?"

Alan: "My lady. If you please, I have arranged a solution which may lessen the impact of the young master's escapade."

** (2) Renate sniffles, and nods to Godfrey. **

Alan: Godfrey hands over a letter, written on fine paper in a very close approximation of Emil's hand.

Alan: It is flowery and civil, and suggests that, without any knowledge of the day's ceremony, Emil decided to go on a solo adventure of self-discovery.

** (2) Renate holds it away from her face, so she won't drop tears on it. **

** (2) Renate misses her brother already. **

Alan: His intent being to prepare himself, through personal challenge, for the trials of rulership.

Renate: "Oh, come on. You don't think Papa is going to buy this?"

Alan: "Should his lordship read this letter, he would choose to believe it. He is a man of narrow perspective; this gives him a certain strength."

Renate: "Why'd he have to pick today?" Renate moans, knowing the answer.

Alan: "He would certainly require some remedy; a search party, if you will."

Renate: "Yes. Yes! Emil can't have gone far -- we'll just get him back!"

Alan: "This token action would allow him to slowly come to terms with the reality of his situation. As, I might suggest, Emil will slowly do as well."

Renate: "Oh. You think he'll come back on his own?"

Alan: "Quite possibly Emil will return, and all will work out for the best," Godfrey concludes, "but were he to be confronted by a few of those who know him best, it might be even more likely."

Renate: "We'd better send Aaron, then."

** (2) Renate looks a little more hopeful. **

Alan: Sabine speaks in Renate's mind: "Translation: go looking for him. It'll be an adventure!"

Alan: "I'll back you up."

Alan: "I'm sure Father will agree."

Renate: "I -- I can't!" Renate thinks to Sabine. "Somebody's got to stay with Papa!"

Renate: "And Emil's probably mad at me too!"

Alan: "You're right... okay, how about you and Godfrey go? I can keep things together here."

Renate: "Papa told him he ought to be more like me -- I heard it!"

Renate: "He likes Aaron better than anybody, except you. Aaron better go."

Renate: Sabine hears an echo in Renate's thoughts: "This is all my fault!"

Alan: Godfrey clears his throat softly. "In anticipation of this pass, I have taken the liberty of suggesting to your father a certain errand you might undertake as part of your education."

Renate: "What? Anticipation? Godfrey, you knew too?"

Alan: "I believe that he will of his own volition request that you essay this errand as a cover for the search for Emil."

** (2) Renate is genuinely hurt and frightened. Why did everyone but she know about this? **

Alan: "I would not say that I knew; I would say that I anticipated an event of this type within the next five years."

Alan: "It is better to be ahead than behind, as they say."

Renate: "Oh. Because they were fighting."

Alan: "I consider myself somewhat of a student of human nature, my lady. When a man grows dissatisfied with his life, there are certain signs that may be detected by those of sufficient perspicacity."

Renate: "And, um, I never told Papa to lay off him, or said how much he mattered here."

Renate: "Yeah. And I missed them all."

Alan: "Don't beat yourself up, Rennie," Sabine says.

** (2) Renate sits quietly, not bothering to wipe the tears off her face. **

Alan: "Maybe he's happier now. Look, here..." Sabine grabs a polishing cloth from a sword rack and hands it to you.

Alan: "I mean, not happier, but... oh, this is a mess."

Renate: "But I want him here!" Renate says, starting to cry in earnest.

Alan: "But," she sighs, "it was bound to be."

Alan: Despite his many skills, Godfrey isn't quite equipped to deal with this situation, and so he quietly departs, taking the forged letter with him.

Alan: Sabine pulls up another chair, puts your head on her shoulder, and sits there stroking your hair.

Renate: Feeling like a child all of a sudden, Renate makes herself stop crying.

Alan: Despite being two years younger, she's far more even-tempered. Well suited to playing the mother.

Renate: "This is no good. No use to anybody."

** (2) Renate plies the polishing cloth vigorously. **

Renate: "We have to find Emil and bring him back. This can all be sorted out."

Renate: "Saints and angels. I can't go to Papa looking like this. I need some water."

Alan: "Yes, that's right. Let's get you rinsed off a little," Sabine says, and chivvies you along to the bathroom.

Alan: There's plumbing and hot water—this is the Silver Coast, after all—so it's not long before you're looking human again.

** (2) Renate follows her dumbly. **

Renate: (okay, my connection is going to drop in a few minutes -- university connection times out in four hours -- so I need to log off and log back on.)

Alan: "Now, let's go see Father," Sabine says.

Renate: (it'll take two minutes.)

Alan: (Well, I'll get another sandwich.)

** (2) Renate takes a deep breath. **

Renate: "Now or never."

(6) Renate (enter): 17:26

Renate: (okay, back)

Renate: (oops, should have logged off the first one first.)

Renate: (hope you can fix that.)

(2) Renate (exit): 17:29

** (6) Renate fixes her dress, stands up straight, and heads for the audience room. **

Alan: As you arrive, your father is already brooding over the "letter from Emil."

Renate: "I'm really sorry, Papa."

Alan: "Fine, fine, but why would he pick a day like today? Why couldn't he have gone off exploring when he was fifteen?"

Alan: "The man's full-grown! It's time for him to become lord!"

Renate: Truthful Renate answers, "I think he's scared of you, Papa."

Alan: Baron Ranier grabs an apple from the table's centerpiece and takes a furious bite out of it.

** (6) Renate thinks that right now she's scared of him too -- and she never has been before. **

Alan: "I've tried to raise him as I was raised," he snaps around a mouthful of apple.

Alan: "Strictly!"

Renate: But now he has the power to ruin their whole family.

Alan: "With no tolerance for failure! When the safety of an entire people rests on your shoulders, you learn that!"

Renate: "You weren't strict with me. I think Emil saw that."

Alan: "Your responsibility is not as great," he says after forcing the apple down.

Renate: "It is now," she says quietly.

Alan: "Yes. Yes it is."

Alan: "Right now, the entire future of the barony rests on your shoulders."

Alan: "I'm about to entrust you with a mission."

Alan: "You have to find Emil, and bring him back."

** (6) Renate listens. **

Renate: "That's what I want to do. But listen, Papa --"

Alan: "But if those thieving bastards in Glenworth learn that Emil is wandering the countryside alone, they might try something."

Alan: "So you need a cover, and I have the perfect excuse."

Renate: "They can't hurt Emil," Renate says proudly.

Alan: "Most likely not, and you can think strict training for that."

** (6) Renate doesn't argue, not yet. **

Alan: "But our reputation is also at stake here."

Renate: "I can see that."

Alan: "So. Do you remember that business with the caravan two years ago?"

** (6) Renate thinks back. **

Renate: "The one that got robbed?"

Alan: "Exactly. The Bow of Iskhur, the Alekian Figurine, and the Golden Harp of Astrid were all stolen."

Alan: "The harp was created by your great-grandmother, whose name you bear as one of your own."

** (6) Renate nods. **

Alan: "The figurine has been in our family since the founding of the Silver Coast; it recites stories from that time."

** (6) Renate has heard all this before... **

Alan: "And the Bow of Ishkur helped Avenal Karlbotel defeat the dragon Endrath three hundred years ago."

Renate: "So I'm going to pretend I'm looking for them."

Alan: "No, you're going to look for them!"

Alan: "And you're going to look for Emil at the same time!"

Renate: "But Emil's more important than three moldy old relics!"

** (6) Renate immediately regrets saying that. **

Alan: "Yes. Yes he is. But there's a saying about birds and stones."

Renate: "I know there is."

Renate: "Look, I'll find them -- but for a price, Papa."

Alan: "A price, you say? Not another new dress, I pray."

Renate: "No. Nothing like that."

Renate: "You just admitted that you weren't as strict with me as with Emil."

Renate: "So if I find these things, and Emil too, I'll have shown that strictness isn't everything, won't I?"

Alan: The baron rubs his chin, then reluctantly says "Perhaps."

Renate: "So my price is that you have to stop fighting with him just because he isn't exactly like you."

Renate: "Well?"

Alan: He takes another bite of his apple, this one more contemplative.

Alan: "If he will devote his best energies to rulership, then we're agreed."

Renate: "No. No conditions."

Renate: "I'm tired of sneaking around in the dark wishing you two would stop screaming."

Renate: "I think it'll be better this way, Papa, I really do."

Renate: "For the barony as much as you two."

Renate: "Or I wouldn't ask."

Alan: The baron seems lost in some deep internal struggle.

Alan: "All right, then," he finally says, as if the words are wrenched from him.

** (6) Renate hugs her father. **

Alan: "I must trust my son to rule wisely."

Renate: "Thank you, Papa."

Renate: "He will. He's a good brother, and a good son, and a good man."

** (6) Renate says this with utter conviction. **

Alan: He suddenly looks extremely tired. He's just given up control of his province's future.

** (6) Renate sits on his lap. **

Renate: She is still small and light enough to do that.

** (6) Renate rests her head on his shoulder. **

Alan: "Renate, I can't let you go alone. Godfrey will accompany you."

Renate: "It's all right, Papa. It is. I'll make it be."

Renate: "Godfrey? He hasn't been out of the house in years!"

Alan: "I wish I could send Aaron, but he... can't travel."

Renate: "Oh."

** (6) Renate senses a story, but does not care to pry. **

Renate: "But Godfrey can't *want* to go!"

Alan: (Renate doesn't know very much about Aaron's past, but she knows enough to interpret that as "he... has a variety of powerful enemies who are just begging to find out where he's been all these years.")

Renate: "I'll take one of the guards. Or a groom. Somebody."

Renate: (ah, gotcha)

Alan: Godfrey's lip twitches into what might very generously be termed a faint smile. "On the contrary, my lady, it would be good to see the open road."

Renate: "I'd, um, better not say he trained me, then, I guess."

** (6) Renate startles. **

Renate: "Have you been here all along?"

Alan: "I'm given to understand that Vesper is quite nice at this time of year; although quite naturally one must avoid the many dangers of the Patchwork Kingdoms."

** (6) Renate blushes, embarrassed that he would have seen the exchange between her and her father. **

Alan: Renate suddenly realizes that Godfrey has been standing by the door, still as a statue, all along.

** (6) Renate climbs off his lap, a little regretfully. **

Alan: "I've received the latest publications of the Ilium Mercenaries' Guild in the week's mails. No doubt we can use it to plan a route around the fiercest warzones."

Renate: "Well, I guess if you really don't mind... but I don't want to make you."

** (6) Renate thinks that it would be good to have Godfrey along... better than some random guard. **

Renate: Even if all he knows about a sword is how to polish it.

Alan: "Well," the baron says, "you'll need someone to press your clothes, at the very least." He attempts to smile at his own weak joke.

** (6) Renate finds herself completely incapable of even a smile. **

Alan: "Now," he says, all business. "Glenworth sold the treasures to Hyuri, dragon lord of Vesper. Start there. I'm providing you with ten silver for your own expenses, and a hundred gold in case the treasures can be recovered through purchase or bribery."

** (6) Renate nods silently. **

Alan: "I leave the preparations up to you and Godfrey. Make me proud, and bring back Emil and those treasures!"

** (6) Renate thinks "Dragon lord? Oh, man. This is not going to be easy." **

** (6) Renate hugs him again, tight. **

Renate: "Be good to yourself, Papa, please. I will be home as fast as I can."

Renate: "I love you."

---

Alan: Aaron Wrenfall is in the indoor training hall, sanding the wooden practice swords to keep them splinter-free.

Alan: He looks up as you enter, but continues his work. "Renate. Quite a bit of excitement today!"

Renate: "Don't you start," Renate says dully.

Renate: "It's not funny."

Alan: He sent for you when he heard you were leaving.

Renate: "I bet you knew too."

Alan: (I'm having such a hard time keeping to one tense or another... I guess I'll just stick with what seems most natural, and damn the torpedoes.)

Renate: (do that...)

Renate: (I screw it up too.)

Alan: "Yes... I was up before dawn, and I saw Emil floating out of town on Ebony."

Renate: (PotT is past-tense, and all my other games are present, so...)

Alan: "I figured that he has his reasons... nobody should make a man stay somewhere he doesn't want to be."

** (6) Renate slumps against the wall. **

Renate: "Oh, yeah? Why've you been here so long, then?"

Alan: (Well, I play PBEMs past-tense third-person, but real-time in present-tense first/second person.)

Alan: "I estimated with Emil leaving, you'd need a final lesson in the Wrenfall style."

Renate: "C'mon, Aaron, I don't have time to suit up and play patty-sword."

Alan: "I teach this final technique by word of mouth."

Renate: "Not that I don't want to."

Renate: "Yeah, fine," Renate mutters.

Renate: She is uncharacteristically subdued.

Alan: "Your grandfather took me in as an orphan. I had a primitive talent with the sword... I got my surname for cutting a bird out of the air. I was a vicious child, I admit."

** (6) Renate finds that hard to believe. **

Alan: "But it was the sword that eventually calmed me."

Renate: "I know what you mean."

Alan: "It's a long story, and I won't tell it right now... but I eventually came to realize that swords exist to bring peace, not war."

Alan: "Violence should be used to end a bad situation, not cause one. That said, sometimes a show of force is necessary."

Renate: "Days I can't focus on anything until you've whacked some of the stuffing out of me."

** (6) Renate smiles feebly. **

Alan: Aaron grins and nods. "My plan works, then!"

Alan: "I'm about to tell you the single greatest secret of the Wrenfall style, and the secret of my way of life."

Renate: "Yeah, well, don't let on, or everybody'll do it!"

Alan: "Act in accordance with nature."

** (6) Renate hushes. **

Renate: "Whose nature? The nature of what?"

Alan: "You have instincts. You have them for a reason. But human passions are stronger than human instincts."

Alan: "Revenge isn't an instinct. Showing off isn't an instinct."

Alan: "If you let your thoughts and emotions be silent, the proper course will show itself to you."

** (6) Renate looks down, embarrassed. **

Alan: "This applies to everything, not just swordsmanship."

Alan: "And once you master this principle, even if I never teach you another specific technique, you will have mastered the Wrenfall style."

Renate: "I'll -- I'll try. But I'm not very good at silence."

Alan: "That is what I wanted to tell you."

Alan: Aaron smiles. "I know. Don't worry. It takes a lifetime to get it right."

Alan: "Even silence itself can be damn noisy. A better word would be stillness."

Alan: "A lack of distraction."

Renate: "How do you do it?"

Renate: "There's always something distracting around."

Alan: Aaron leans in, looks around carefully, then whispers a single word in your ear.

Alan: "Earplugs."

Alan: Then he sits back and returns to his sanding, with a self-satisfied smirk.

** (6) Renate bursts out in a sudden splutter of laughter. **

Renate: "You -- you're putting me on!"

Renate: "That's not fair!"

Alan: "Even jokes are truth, Rennie!" This is the first time he's ever called you that.

** (6) Renate feels better, suddenly. Not much, but a little. **

Alan: "Keep it all in mind."

Renate: "Well, fine. What do you make 'em out of?"

Renate: "I will. Yeah, I will. Thanks, Aaron."

** (6) Renate hugs him, too. **

Renate: For once, she's clearly not trying to vamp him.

Alan: "Good luck, Renate. Make me proud. You're, well, probably hearing that a lot."

** (6) Renate chuckles again. **

Renate: "Yeah, kinda. I'll try."

Renate: "You're tops on my list of people I want proud of me, after Papa."

Renate: "And Emil."

Alan: "Bronze is a nice metal, anyway. Far more practical than silver or gold. Now, off with you. I've got work left to do."

Renate: "Godfrey'll be waiting for me. Take care, Aaron."

** (6) Renate goes looking for Godfrey. **

---

Alan: Godfrey is in your room, packing up the last of your travel things. He's managed to fit a great amount of clothing into a very small space, and you don't doubt that it'll all be wrinkle-free when he removes it.

Alan: He's almost a magician when it comes to that sort of thing.

Renate: Amazing man, Godfrey.

Alan: "Your wardrobe has been prepared for travel, my lady."

Renate: "Thank you, Godfrey."

Alan: "I've had the stablemen ready Will-o-the-Wisp."

** (6) Renate nods. **

Alan: Will-o-the-Wisp is the fastest horse in the stables.

Renate: (Horse, right?)

Renate: (jinx!)

Alan: "Your father has made a special request, which I find quite wise."

Renate: "What's that?"

Alan: "You are to carry Crescent Light with you, and present it to your brother as a token of his responsibility."

Renate: "Oh. Great. Now I'll be a target for every bandit on the road. Can we, um, hide it somewhere?"

Alan: The sword already sits next to the the luggage.

Alan: Crescent Light is a little under a meter long, single-edged, and slightly curved. You've always imagined it would be quite suited to the Wrenfall style, although you've never seen Emil practice with it.

Renate: "I can't exactly wear it!"

** (6) Renate is a little afraid of touching it. **

Alan: "We can certainly wrap it in burlap and hold it in a bag."

Renate: As if Emil wouldn't really be gone if she left it alone.

Renate: "We'd better do that, then."

Alan: "If you would be so kind?" Godfrey holds up a heavy bag for you to put the sword in.

** (6) Renate has to close her eyes before she can pick up the sword. **

Renate: But she does, and she lowers it carefully into the bag.

Alan: Downstairs, Sabine and your parents exchange goodbyes of varying levels of tearfulness, as Godfrey loads the last of your bags onto a pack-horse.

Alan: Your riding horses stand ready, stomping to keep warm, their snorts crystallizing in the cold air.

** (6) Renate puts on a resolute face, though it costs a lot to maintain. **

Alan: As you set out on the path that leads north out of Karlbotel, the first flakes of a late-winter flurry begin to fall, speckling your coat with fluffy white.

Renate: "Take care of them, Sabine," are her last words to her sister.

---

Alan: 2000 years ago, dragons burst into the sky, conquering all that lay before them.

Alan: Now, 2000 years later, dragons rule the earth, some with benevolence, some with tyranny.

Alan: And sometimes, in their endless struggles for power and domination, it becomes necessary for a dragon to die by human hands.

Alan: On those times, the call goes out... for a

Alan:

Alan: Prologue: A Hero Is Born

---

Alan: The kingdom of Vesper is small; barely even a province.

Alan: It looks very like Karlbotel: thatched houses, outlying farms, a ruler's mansion.

Alan: Life in any of the farming regions is very much the same, when there's no war...

** Renate rides along without paying much attention to the scenery. **

Alan: On your way to Vesper, you passed through a number of less peaceful kingdoms, but even when you had to ride wide around active battlefields, you saw farmers and townspeople going about their daily business.

Alan: Godfrey's planning kept you free of the most lawless areas; and at mercenary checkpoints, your family name was sufficient to ensure you safe passage.

** Renate has been a remarkably unsatisfying travelling companion. **

Alan: Ilium is fully paid with all the mercenary guilds, shielding its citizens from pillage.

Alan: Even the common folk seem to feel no fear in the Patchworks, though; only, if anything, a tired resolution.

Alan: War has been a fact of life here for so long that even when stray dragon breath sets cornfields alight, the people simply gather together, put out the fire, and keep on living.

Alan: In some kingdoms, however, peace rules for more than a few weeks at a time—Vesper is one of them.

** Renate could probably learn something from that, if it were pointed out to her. **

Alan: Godfrey has suggested that you keep your eyes open and your ears attentive; but seems to believe, as he always does, that personal experience is the best teacher.

Alan: The capital city, as Godfrey has explained, is named Larkspur, and it's really not much more than a town.

Alan: It's larger than the county seat of Karlbotel, however—since it's on the intersection of trade routes, there are more inns, packed with more travellers and merchants.

Alan: In fact, there appears to be a bit of a holiday in progress; as you near the town's edge, and the dirt road turns to cobbles, you see banners and vendors' carts lining the street.

** Renate perks up a little. **

Renate: "Anything in your guide about this, Godfrey?"

Alan: On a street corner, a minstrel plays the guitar for a small audience, singing a song of an ancient battle.

** Renate wants to stop and listen. **

Alan: Godfrey examines his surroundings, slowing his horse to a walk. Will-o-the-Wisp matches his pace, and tosses his neck about to take in the unfamiliar sights and smells.

Alan: "This festive environment would appear to be unusual for this kingdom," he says. "But..."

** Renate raises an eyebrow. **

Renate: "But?"

Alan: "Ah, quite right," he says, seeing something of interest.

Renate: "Oh, good," says Renate, not sure what's right about it.

Alan: "The Deadly Fighting has reached to Vesper. Unsurprising, as Hyuri is a master of human-form swordsmanship."

Alan: You see the poster which drew Godfrey's attention.

Renate: "Really? If you were a dragon, why would you bother?"

Alan: It advertises a "Grande Battel off Tremendous Proportiones!" between "the Titan of Tongfers, Katsuro Yabuki" and "Fearsome Ruler of the Four Seasons, Hyuri of Larkspur!!!"

Alan: Godfrey explains, "It is simply a hobby, much like building a ship in a bottle."

** Renate checks the poster for a date. **

Alan: "One could build a model ship far more easily without the glassy impediment, but the challenge then is not so great."

Alan: The fight is scheduled for tomorrow.

Renate: "Weird hobby."

Alan: "Very many dragons study mortal swordsmanship, usually so that they can instruct their own armies."

** Renate shrugs. **

Renate: "You'd think they could hire the best."

Alan: "Most dragons prefer to govern claws-on, as it were."

Alan: Godfrey often makes jokes like that, but never by word or expression admits that they're meant to be funny.

Renate: "Oh. How about Hyuri?"

** Renate is too glum to pay much attention to jokes at present. **

Alan: "He's sharply xenophobic. He hates to deal with anyone but his closest advisors. Fighting is his only commerce with the outside world."

Renate: "Oh. Um. So how do we find out where our things are?"

Alan: "In fact, we're blessed that a fight is due. I suspect that he would be more difficult to contact without the duel to lure him outside his manor."

Alan: "Let us register at this hotel," he says, stopping his horse outside an in marked "The Water Lily."

Alan: Inn, rather.

Renate: "You know best."

** Renate doesn't really care. **

Alan: "Then, we should each seek information in our own way; were you to muster a more personable front, you might easily find loose tongues amongst the young nobles who are here for the fight."

** Renate sighs. **

Alan: "In my turn, I shall inquire of the servant class, with whom I am well equipped to mingle."

Renate: "Let me wash up, all right? Then I'll go down and be a good little girl."

Alan: A stableboy rushes out to take your horses; Godfrey flips him a copper, which the boy accepts with amazement.

** Renate watches him off. **

Alan: "Be advised, my lady, that your Silver Coast coin travels far here."

Renate: "I see that."

Alan: "What might cost a copper in Karlbotel town should cost no more than five chips here."

Alan: (You already know that what costs a copper in Karlbotel would cost three or four in Ilium.)

Renate: "They tried to explain economics to me last winter."

Renate: "I never got it."

Renate: "Seems to me it ought to be all the same."

Alan: "In a world of absolute justice, no doubt it would," Godfrey says, using a conversational gambit as old as your first "but why?"

Alan: The Water Lily's common room is fairly crowded; there are a lot of people in foreign-looking clothes, seemingly from all nations.

Renate: "None of that around," Renate says sadly.

Alan: The inn's proprietress, a big motherly woman with tall hair and an operatic voice, hollers, "Helloooo, loves, step on in and welcome to the Water Lily!"

Renate: "Thank you, ma'am."

Alan: Even your traveling clothes betray an aristocratic cut, so several people look at you curiously, and talk to each other quietly.

Renate: "Have you a pair of rooms for a few days?"

Alan: The woman steps out from behind the bar and curtsies ponderously. "Why certainly, young mistress! We'll prepare our best room, we will, only five copper a night and a free mint on your pillow!"

** Renate keeps an eye out for trouble. **

Alan: Godfrey nods to your very faintly in assent.

Renate: "We won't trouble you for your best, ma'am. But thank you, and we accept."

Alan: "The crowding suggests that prices will be high," he murmurs.

Alan: "My name's Elistrata," she says, "and if you need anything at all, I'm the one you ask for!"

Renate: "We're lucky we're getting anything," she whispers back.

Alan: "Let me serve you up a bowl of chowder, you must be hungry from the road!"

Alan: "And perhaps a glass of wine or a mug of ale to wash away the dust?"

Renate: "Could we wash up first, ma'am?"

Alan: "But of course, dear! Let me show you your accomodations!"

Alan: She bustles upstairs, snapping for a busboy to carry your luggage.

** Renate is reminded of one of her teachers by Elistrata. **

** Renate follows. **

Alan: Apparently the busboy's heard from the stableboy, because he hastens to pick everything up into a staggering load.

Alan: The rooms are simple but satisfactory. There's a wash-basin, soft beds, clothing racks, some overstuffed furniture.

Alan: You're left wondering where the bathroom is, though.

** Renate looks around vaguely. **

Renate: Doubtless Godfrey will figure it out.

Alan: Godfrey lifts the covers of one bed to reveal a covered basin. "No finer accomodations in the Patchworks, I shouldn't wonder," he says abstractedly.

Renate: "Oh. Oh, well."

Alan: "Not anywhere," Elistrata says, busily fluffing pillows and checking that the pitcher by the wash basin is full.

Alan: "When you're ready for bed, just tell me and I'll have a pot of coals brought up to warm the covers!"

Renate: "Thank you, ma'am, but it's not very cold at all."

Alan: "Ah, you'd be from the north, then? Certainly a mild spring here by comparison!"

Renate: "I've come a long way, ma'am," Renate says, not caring to disclose her origins.

Alan: Over the days of your journey, the last snows have melted, and it is indeed not very cold.

Alan: Godfrey tips the busboy a handful of chips, and he and Elistrata bow their way out.

** Renate pours out some water to wash her face. **

Renate: "Godfrey?"

Alan: "My lady?"

Renate: "If I get into the luggage for some clothes I'll mess everything up. Would you mind finding me something I can wear tonight?"

Alan: "Of course," he says, and begins the magical process of removing your clothes from their arcane folds.

Alan: You've heard that magic can be contained even in the pattern of a woven vine; you've heard tales that the samurai lord deLeon makes spells from knotted silk ribbon.

Alan: You wouldn't be surprised if Godfrey does the same when folding clothes.

** Renate untangles her wispy hair. **

Alan: He produces a modest but practical riding dress, with a brightly-colored vest of the latest Gereval cut.

Renate: "That's fine. Thanks, Godfrey."

Renate: "I won't be but a minute."

Alan: "By your leave, my lady," he says, "I shall be in the common room."

Renate: "Sure, go ahead."

Alan: He leaves the room.

** Renate quickly strips down, gives herself a sponge bath, and dresses. **

** Renate wonders how people can stay clean without real plumbing. **

** Renate puts on a game face, and goes downstairs. **

Alan: Godfrey is sitting at a packed table of servant types, heartily slurping at a bowl of chowder, a frothy tankard at his side. He's engaged in animated discussion with one of them, and seems to have been dealt into their card game.

Alan: The opposite side of the room seems more populated with noblemen and merchants; one table fairly near the bar is empty.

** Renate looks for a suitable table. **

Alan: Elistrata sails up to you. "Ah, are you ready for a meal, then, love?"

Renate: "Yes, please."

Alan: She lays a table setting down on the empty table, and deftly transfers a lamp from the bar to the table's center.

Alan: "The house specialty is potato chowder! We've got beef, pork, and trout."

** Renate sits down with an inaudible sigh. **

Renate: "Beef, please."

Alan: "And to drink?"

Renate: "Just some milk, if it's fresh."

Alan: "We've a Felisse '87 or a... ah, yes, milk as well."

Alan: "I'll have that right out to you, don't move a bit!"

** Renate is sixteen and as tired as she is, looks younger. **

Renate: Not exactly a customer for alcohol.

Alan: In the Silver Coast, yes, but standards seem different in the Patchwork Kingdoms.

Alan: For example: One of the merchants, a thin man with a waxed mustache and clothing of the latest Ilium style, pulls up an empty chair without so much as a by-your-leave.

Alan: "Are you here for the tournament, good lady?"

** Renate is a little affronted, but suppresses it. **

Renate: "I hope to see it, yes."

Alan: "Of course, it's not really a tournament with only two fighters. Usually, at this time of year, Lord Hyuri holds an open tournament of warriors from all around."

Renate: "Oh. Why is this year different?"

Alan: "But this year, he's only doing one fight! He's answering a challenge from one of the Hundred Deadly Fighters, the tonfa master Katsuro Yabuki!"

Alan: "A lot of people who would normally just pass through town are staying to watch the match. It'll be quite the occasion!"

Alan: "Myself included, I might add... although in my case, the interest is business rather than pleasure."

Renate: "Is that right?"

Alan: "What's more, it's the only time each year that Hyuri makes his art collection open the public—I'm a curator myself, so I've been itching to see what he's got."

Alan: The man rubs his palms together eagerly. He looks more like a backalley pawnbroker to you.

Renate: "Oh? When is that?"

** Renate listens; this is important. **

Renate: "Do you know anything about his collection?"

Alan: "The fight was to occur tomorrow—you've seen the posters, right? But it's been pushed back, as Yabuki answers a challenge in Maal."

Alan: "To a week from now."

Renate: "Oh." Great. A week with no plumbing.

Alan: "Hyuri's collection is... well, forcibly complete."

Renate: "Um, forcibly?"

Alan: The man cackles softly to himself. "If I were free to use his methods, I'd have quite the collection as well!"

** Renate nods in understanding. **

Alan: "Let's just say that his gallery's catalogue is not always truthful as to his items' provenance!"

Renate: "Oh. Well, whose is?"

** Renate tries and fails miserably to sound sophisticated. **

Alan: "True enough; there are surely dozens more Arrowny gracing the walls of the rich than the master ever painted!"

Alan: Like a true salesman, this merchant is agreeing with your every gambit.

Renate: "So you're a collector -- do you trade with Lord Hyuri at all?"

Alan: "If only I could aspire to a dragon patron! Nay, I fear my side business must remain my main source of income."

Renate: "I see. Do you know who does?"

Alan: "They like to come by night and leave within hours, as you might imagine. Actually, I'm not local. I go where Deadly Fighting goes... because of these."

** Renate figures that however xenophobic Hyuri is, he has to get his art from someone. **

Alan: He reaches into his robe pocket and pulls out a carved wooden toy.

Alan: It's shaped like a hobgoblin, clad in an outlandish blue costume, with two little metal tonfas in his hand.

** Renate looks at it. **

Alan: The merchant flicks one of the tonfas with a finger, and it spins around rapidly.

Alan: "The kids love them!"

Renate: "That's kind of cute."

Alan: The merchant hands the toy over to you. It's ingenious... not so much the workmanship, which is shoddy, but the idea of making a toy based on a living person.

Alan: "The Hundred Deadly Fighters get an audience wherever they go. Instead of playing with toy soldiers—because children in the big cities haven't seen war the way they see it out here—kids play with these!"

Alan: He seems to be assuming you're from the Patchwork Kingdoms.

** Renate is happy to let him assume that. **

Alan: "My factories also make miniature fighting rings, to make the illusion complete."

Alan: "Children, and even adults, also like to wear clothes that advertise their favorite fighters! It's very lucrative."

Alan: "My real dream is to open an art gallery... but I can't say no to a few silver to rub together."

** Renate hands the doll back. **

Renate: "Well, maybe someday."

Alan: "Ah, how ungentlemanly of me not to introduce myself."

Alan: "I'm Karzath Inverness. You may have heard of my big brother."

Alan: You haven't, sadly for him.

Renate: "Inverness, Inverness -- no, I'm sorry."

** Renate thinks quickly, realizing that her true name might not be appropriate. **

Alan: "He runs a shipping company in Eldorado. An inspiration to me, and a bit of a curse."

Renate: "Big brothers are like that," says Renate with authority.

Alan: "A good brother is hard to live up to," he agrees.

Renate: "I have one myself."

Alan: "Ah, quite so!"

Renate: "My name's Emilia."

Alan: "Emilia. A pleasure to meet you." So far, although he's a bit on the smarmy side, he hasn't given out any obvious creepy vibes; although Renate's sensitivity might just be at issue.

** Renate figures she can handle him, if it comes to that. **

Alan: "Ah, here, let me introduce my travelling companion! Master Nightblade, come sit with us!"

Renate: "Likewise, I'm sure."

** Renate stands up to receive him. **

** Renate holds out her hand. **

Alan: A tall and well-muscled man weaves through the crowd to greet you.

Alan: He's quite handsome, somewhere in his mid-thirties.

Alan: "Coris Nightblade. A distinct pleasure," he says, bowing over your hand.

Renate: /me thinks "Oh, my."

Alan: "Coris, Miss Emilia. She's here for the tournament."

Alan: "Coris has been the sole guarantor of my safety in these parts. A most accomplished swordsman, if I might say so."

Renate: "The pleasure is mine, Mr. Nightblade."

Renate: "Please sit down."

Alan: "You might," Coris says modestly, "but I'd be inclined to argue otherwise."

** Renate likes him already. **

Alan: He sits down, and continues, "Doing the right thing at any given moment is no guarantee that one will forever stay that course."

Renate: "Doing the right thing at any moment is an achievement, sometimes."

Alan: "Miss Emilia, I see from your posture and motion that you are no stranger to the sword yourself."

Alan: He's sharp.

** Renate jumps. **

Alan: "Forgive my use of a pseudonym, by the way; the name 'Nightblade,' although melodramatic, is in some ways convenient."

Renate: "I had a good trainer, Mr. Nightblade, but he always says he's working on inferior material."

Renate: "I -- quite understand."

Alan: "The finest blade I've ever seen, Miss Emilia, was forged of a bronze alloy, not meteorite iron."

Renate: "Really? Tell me about it!"

Renate: "Bronze, huh? Didn't it bend?"

Alan: "Though it needed smithing every week, it could cut through gold in the right hands."

Alan: "Because it is the hands, not the sword, which make true swordsmanship deadly; and those hands are in turn given life and expression by the mind and spirit."

Renate: The company is beginning to enliven Renate's face and gestures.

Alan: "I sense in your eyes that you feel the truth of those words."

** Renate nods. "That's what the best ones say, all right." **

Renate: "I think Mr. Inverness is right about you."

Alan: Inverness laughs. "I've always wanted to record Master Nightblade's lectures on cubes and sell them at tournaments, but he claims he's no teacher!"

Alan: Coris laughs softly. "Yes, I do ramble a bit; I would hardly call them lectures."

Renate: "I'd learn from him," Renate says, just barely within propriety's bounds.

Alan: "Well, perhaps chance will bring that opportunity about; but for now, I fear I am bound to depart at week's end."

Renate: "Oh. That's too bad."

** Renate knows better than to ask where he's going. **

Alan: "I've been told that this duel will be something to watch; in fact, I received an urgent telegram demanding my presence."

Renate: "I see. From Mr. Inverness?"

Alan: "As is so often the case, the telegram was from a high authority... one who is low on details."

Alan: He shrugs helplessly. "So I don't really know why I'm here."

** Renate wants to ask fifty different questions, but suspects she'd better hold her tongue. **

Alan: "I trust that a young lady of your noble stature is not travelling alone," Inverness asks.

Renate: "Well, if you're quiet enough, you'll hear something."

Alan: Coris laughs. "Too true!"

** Renate waves at the other side of the room. "No, I've a manservant with me." **

Alan: "If you're too quiet, the noise itself starts to jangle in your eardrums, though—so have a care."

** Renate smirks. **

Renate: "Earplugs."

Alan: Coris blinks. "A... an apt solution."

** Renate actually chuckles. **

Renate: Which is more than she's done in a week's travelling.

Alan: "Well, if you ever need company, Master Inverness and I will be around and about."

Alan: I forgot to mention anything, but we're assuming that everyone has received food by this point.

Renate: "I'll remember that."

Alan: Conversation dies down as hunger takes over.

Alan: Uproarious laughter booms from the far table, as the servants make a spontaneous toast. Godfrey is right in the center, a roguish expression of bawdy charm on his face.

Alan: You've never seen anything like it.

** Renate blinks, not having suspected that Godfrey was capable of a dirty joke. **

Alan: And the food, although not gourmet, is hearty and flavorful. The meat and potatoes are slow-cooked all day in the cauldrons over the fire, and they just ladle out a bowl whenever an order is placed.

** Renate eats heartily. **

Renate: Easily what either of the other two consumes.

Alan: Godfrey also seems to be making a killing at the card game, as well; he has chips and coppers stacked twice as high as anyone else.

Renate: Hail-fellow-well-met, huh? Renate thinks to herself.

Alan: "So, if I might ask," Inverness says, "do you follow Deadly Fighting?"

Alan: "I can't make it myself, but there's a match coming up in Southtown that I'd cut off a finger to see."

Renate: "Not closely, no."

Alan: Coris nods slowly. "The Denson fight?" he asks.

Alan: "That's the one," Inverness cries. "And by my troth—do people still say that?—Hotman is going to get what's coming to him!"

Renate: "Could you find someone to do your business here for you?"

Alan: Coris shrugs. "Hotman's young. He can still learn."

Alan: Inverness says, "Well, in truth I've never made quite enough profit to hire helpers."

Alan: "And it's not my business here that prevents me, it's my trip to the Eastlands."

Renate: "Oh."

Alan: "I'm doing a little talent-hunting on the side for Causality Recordings."

Renate: "Really? Aren't they Purgatory's label?"

Alan: "It's dangerous work, since you never know when the next tribe you meet will be made entirely of headhunters."

Alan: (This sounds like something Renate would probably know offhand.)

Renate: "Yeah, so I hear."

Alan: (Causality is Just Cause's label. Jazz-rap Silver Coast group.)

Alan: (Purgatory's label is Dark Star Records, I think, but don't quote me.)

Renate: "That's really cool. You ever met any of Just Cause?"

** Renate suddenly drops the grown-up facade. **

Alan: "Yes, I went backstage with my niece Lucrecia after one of their concerts."

Alan: "Very nice young gentlemen, not nearly as dissolute as some of today's musicians."

Renate: Renate's eyes widen. "Awesome!"

Alan: "A little casual, em, well, never you mind that. But well-spoken, very knowledgeable."

Alan: "They have to be, given their music." (Which is primarily political.)

Alan: "Did you know that their bassist builds all his own instruments?"

Alan: "We had quite a nice chat about woodworking."

Renate: "No way!"

Renate: "Doesn't it take him, like, forever?"

Alan: "It's a labor of love!"

Alan: "I feel the same way, sometimes, although my little trinkets aren't works of art like a fine instrument."

** Renate is polite enough to keep her opinion to herself. **

Alan: "Here's a rumor you might like."

Renate: Coris, however, might pick up a clue.

Alan: "I heard that Purgatory is making a new album, a theme album."

Renate: "Yeah?"

Alan: "Black Hole made them big, far bigger than the nightclub scene. So they want to get a message out."

Alan: Coris nods, but grimly.

Alan: Inverness seems oblivious.

Alan: "Their new album is supposed to represent the birth of Andragar and its rise... and end with a three-song saga about the Ilium Assault!"

Renate: "Well, as long as it's good music, who cares?" says Renate flippantly.

Alan: "And here's the crazy part—they want to market it in the Silver Coast, underground."

Alan: Coris snaps, "They want to turn public opinion in Andragar's favor. Turn teens into terrorists."

Alan: "Not so harsh, friend," Inverness says. "As Miss Emilia says, it's just music."

Renate (whispering): do I know about the Ilium Assault?

whispering to Renate, It's recent history. Happened when you were four, so you've heard plenty of stories about it. It rolled right through Karlbotel, in fact.

Renate (whispering): so what happened?

whispering to Renate, Karlbotel fielded a force and fought bravely, like everyone else; and a lot of people were killed. To this day, there aren't many men of that age in Karlbotel.

whispering to Renate, You probably never really made the Purgatory connection, but nobody's been happy to hear their music.

Renate: Renate's heart thumps a little -- she's not sure why.

Renate: It might just be Nightblade.

whispering to Renate, Remember that the non-aggression treaty expires in 2000. Not a plot point, not at all.

Renate (whispering): oh. damn.

whispering to Renate, Heh.

** Renate suddenly feels that the world is a lot bigger than she is. **

Renate: It is not a comforting thought.

Alan: Inverness continues "Anyway, if Purgatory makes too overt a motion, they'll certainly come to grief."

Alan: "Remember that they've already come within inches of assassination!"

** Renate focuses on her stew bowl for a bit. **

Alan: Coris nods. "A few inches too few, if you ask me. Music is as dangerous as a halberd."

Alan: "Sorry our discussion's taken such a grim turn, Miss Emilia."

Renate: "That's all right," she answers, not quite knowing what else to say.

Alan: The food is finished; Elistrata comes to clear your bowls.

** Renate tries to recall some Purgatory lyrics, despite having paid them no attention whatever before. **

Renate: They are kinda creepy, actually.

Renate: She'd never noticed before.

Renate: "Thank you."

Renate: "It was very fine."

Renate: "See you tomorrow, Mr. Nightblade?"

Alan: For the most part, Purgatory's lyrics are the usual self-aggrandizing battle-staves, and most of their political message is about Andragar's quality of life, environmental standards, and so forth.

Alan: They seem to stay away from warmongering; although that seems set to change.

Alan: "By all means," Coris says, rising to see you off.

** Renate thinks about Emil, who was always borrowing her Purgatory 'cubes. **

Alan: Inverness follows suit. "Visit me at my shop," he says. "I'll make you a special deal."

Renate: "Where is that?" Renate asks, to be polite.

Alan: "It's where you find me. Really more of a pushcart." Inverness shrugs.

Renate: "All right. Thanks for the company, you two."

** Renate smiles. **

Alan: There are a few hours until sundown. Any errands you want to pursue?

Renate: Walking around town seems like a good idea, just to get a sense of the place.

Renate: And to do something about riding-stiffened muscles.

Alan: Godfrey comes up to you as the other two men leave the building.

Renate: "Who's da man?"

Alan: Looking after Inverness, he says "Interesting... it seems that Jashain Juste has taken up his father's tailoring style."

** Renate grins saucily. **

Renate: "Er, what?"

Alan: "It must have been several years ago, if Ilium styles are just now reaching the hinterlands."

Alan: Godfrey interlaces his fingers complacently. "I had occasion to live in Ilium for several years, during my youth. I became friendly with some in the artistic community."

Renate: "Wow. I had no idea you were such an authority."

** Renate whispers "My name's Emilia for now. Seemed safer." **

Alan: "I fear I'm far behind the times. I recognize this style because it is, in fact, somewhat old-fashioned."

Alan: "Rather more my pace."

Renate: "Old fogey," Renate says affectionately.

** Renate seems much more herself after a good meal. **

Renate: "C'mon, let's go for a walk, huh?"

Alan: "By all means, my lady," he says, extending his arm.

** Renate takes his arm very properly and leaves the inn with him. **

Alan: "I've replenished our travelling fund. We will have no difficulty settling our bill at the end of our stay."

Renate: "So I saw. Nice work."

Alan: "I've accounted for the small amount I must eventually lose in order to soothe sharpened nerves."

Renate: "Try that at home and Aaron will gut you like a fish."

Alan: "And I've learned that our museum ticket is in peril."

Renate: "Um, yeah, the fight's been put off a week."

Alan: "One of the gentlemen at my table was a messenger from the Kingdom of Maal. He bears tidings that Katsuro Yabuki has been seriously wounded in his challenge."

Alan: "He'll be unable to attend at all."

Renate: "Oh. Damn."

Renate: "So no fight?"

Renate: "But surely Hyuri won't give up that easily?"

Alan: "The messenger will deliver his message to the mansion tomorrow, when Hyuri's household briefly receives tradesmen."

Renate: "There's a hundred Deadly Fighters. Can't we import one?"

Renate: "Tradesmen? Trading in what?"

** Renate wonders if that's the way in. **

Alan: "Trading in what little Hyuri's household requires, of course; or messengers such as this one."

Renate: "Hm. Guess they don't talk to Hyuri himself."

Alan: "I've heard that even such tradesmen must make appointments. The system serves to buffer Hyuri from his subjects quite admirably."

Alan: "It's only his military protection that keeps them loyal, I am given to understand."

Renate: "Don't admire it, Godfrey. It's a bloody headache, is what it is."

Renate: "Great. Doesn't help us at all."

Renate: "Are there any art dealers in this town?"

** Renate is struck with a thought. Nightblade! **

Alan: "I made certain to ask. Hyuri himself is the only art buyer of note."

Renate: Maybe he'd take Hyuri on?

Alan: It's a possibility.

Renate: "Yeah, but who sells to him?"

Alan: "I was unable to ascertain."

Renate: "Oh. Damn."

Alan: Godfrey's tone is placid, but he seems infinitessimally rueful.

Renate: "So we can't even find out if our stuff is still in his museum?"

** Renate makes a mental note to ask Nightblade about it in the morning. **

Alan: "Such would appear to be the case."

Renate: "Great. So we need to arrange another fight."

Alan: "I intend to make a survey of the local warriors. Perhaps one might be cajoled into offering a challenge."

Alan: "Hyuri, however, is quite selective about who he fights. Only a warrior of fame would do."

Renate: "Well, I was talking to one... pseudonym of Coris Nightblade."

Renate: "Did you see him?"

Renate: "What does Hyuri know about pseudonyms?"

Alan: Godfrey stops, then turns nonchalantly to examine the contents of a vendor's stall.

** Renate stops with him. **

Alan: "I shall assume that Master Nightblade was one of the gentlemen whose acquaintance you made at the inn?"

Renate: "Yes."

Alan: "And..."

** Renate wonders if she did something wrong. **

Alan: Godfrey appears lost in thought.

Renate: "And he seemed to know his stuff."

Renate: "Knew I knew which end of a sword was up just from looking at me."

Alan: "I believe," he says, with the slightest tone of triumph in his voice, "that Hyuri, isolated as he is from the outside world, would know very little of pseudonyms."

Renate: "Maybe he'd do?"

Alan: "He might, in fact, 'do'. Should he not, an alternate stratagem presents itself."

Renate: "Right. I'll talk to him as soon as I see him."

Alan: "When you next encounter him, endeavor to gain Master Nightblade's assistance. I shall act, as they say, behind the scenes."

Alan: "Emilia, was it?"

Renate: "Er, alternate?"

Renate: "Yes -- Godfrey! Are you out of your blinking mind?"

** Renate splutters helplessly. **

Alan: "You'll wish to acquire a surname as well," he adds.

Renate: "I couldn't!"

Alan: "Why not? Everyone has a surname."

Renate: "He'd gut me like a fish!"

Renate: "He's so far out of my league he'd need a telegraph to contact my league!"

Alan: "All such duels are fought with representatives of the Church on hand to bring swift restoration to the loser."

Renate: "Oh. Great."

Alan: "Gutting is such an unpleasant word."

Renate: "No. No. I am so not doing this. Coris or nobody."

Renate: "It's insane!"

Alan: "The hobgoblins prefer the term zanshukei. It's considered quite the proper response to powerful opposition."

** Renate thinks something obscene about hobgoblins. **

Alan: Godfrey doesn't appear to be taking your objections at all into account.

Renate: "Nightblade will do it," she says, rather desperately.

Alan: "Surely Master Nightblade would be delighted to go in your stead."

Renate: "So it doesn't even matter that you've gone off the deep end."

Alan: Godfrey nods agreeably.

Renate: "Um, let's go talk to him now."

Alan: "Master Wrenfall would say that only in the 'deep end' can deep knowledge be found."

Alan: Godfrey is, indeed, talking crazy talk.

Renate: "Yeah, well, sometimes Aaron's crazy too."

Alan: "Let us locate Master Nightblade, then. I shall go north along this street; perhaps you should go south."

Renate: "Oh, no. I am not letting you out of my sight."

Alan: "Your concern for my safety is greatly appreciated. We shall go together, then."

** Renate was more concerned for her own safety from Godfrey's crazy schemes than Godfrey's safety, but she lets it go. **

Alan: (Hee hee.)

** Renate thinks it over silently as they look for Nightblade. **

** Renate remembers that she has a responsibility. **

Alan: In fact, it's not too difficult to locate the pair. They're sitting in a beer garden, enjoying mugs of the local brew. Although there's quite a nip in the air, the garden is heated by bonfires.

Renate: "Hey, Godfrey?"

Alan: They haven't noticed you yet, as you stand at the entrance.

Alan: "My lady?"

Renate: "Um, if we turn out not to have a choice?"

Renate: "Eaglebourne. Emilia Eaglebourne."

Renate: Godfrey knows that "Adler" means "Eagle."

Alan: "May the saints forfend; but an excellent choice indeed."

Alan: "Dashing in the utmost degree."

Renate: And "Renate" is Lan'yarian for "reborn."

Renate: "Well, Emil will know I'm looking for him, if he hears."

Alan: "A wise double meaning, my lady."

Renate: "Of course, given what's likely to happen, I hope he never does hear."

Alan: "Shall we address Master Nightblade, then?"

Renate: "Yeah. Let's."

Renate: "Can you help me separate him from Inverness?"

Alan: "I shall endeavor."

** Renate walks up to their table. **

Renate: "Hi again."

Alan: The two men rise quickly. "Miss Emilia," Coris says. "Have you come to join us?"

Alan: "In fact," Godfrey says...

Renate: "As a matter of fact, I have. Mr. Nightblade, Mr. Inverness, my man Godfrey."

Alan: "It was my idea to seek you out," Godfrey says. "I have a business proposition for Master Inverness."

Alan: "Perhaps we could dicuss it privately?"

Alan: Moved by the prospect of money, Inverness quickly assents.

** Renate rolls her eyes. "He's always like this. C'mon, Mr. Nightblade, let's leave them to it." **

Alan: They move to a dark corner.

** Renate sits down at table. **

Alan: "A fine evening," Coris says, quite at ease. "Might I suggest a Rising Star? A house specialty, and nothing to go to one's head."

Renate: "Sounds good."

Renate: "What's in it?"

Alan: Coris places the order, and hands over a few bits.

** Renate resolves to buy the next round. **

Alan: "It's a steamed milk drink with almond flavoring and whipped cream. I confess to a slight addiction myself."

Alan: "But of course in men's company, one must drink a manly draught."

Renate: "Oh, awesome! Great choice."

Alan: He raises his tankard ironically.

Renate: "Well, don't let me stop you."

** Renate grins. **

Renate: Then sobers abruptly.

Renate: "Look. Godfrey's putting Inverness on so I can talk to you."

Alan: "Have you heard the rumor about Yabuki? It's all over town by now."

Alan: "Poor Hyuri will be the last to hear, next morning."

Renate: "Yeah. That's my problem."

Alan: "Ah, so you were here for the fight after all?"

Alan: "A shame, but the Patchwork Kingdoms really have no shortage of fighting."

Renate: "Well, it turns out that way, yes -- but kinda crooked."

Renate: "What I really need is to talk to Hyuri, and there isn't any other way to get to him."

Alan: Coris raises an eyebrow. "Indeed. Have you considered mailing him a letter?"

Renate: "It's -- a little more important than that."

Renate: "But hey, if you think it'll work..."

Alan: "Ah, so you wouldn't be satisfied with an autographed 8 by 12."

Renate: "What? Hells, no."

Renate: "Just trust me on this -- I need to talk to Hyuri."

Renate: "So somebody's got to fight him."

Alan: "I have a sinking feeling that I know where you're going with this."

Renate: "Um, trust your feelings."

Renate: "This time, I mean."

Renate: "Not always."

Alan: "Coris Nightblade doesn't quite have the reputation to challenge Hyuri and be accepted, I'm afraid."

Alan: "And, well, I have personal reasons not to make my fighting style the object of public appraisal."

Renate: "You don't know that until you try!"

Alan: "Reasons related to my telegram."

** Renate sighs. **

Renate: "Well, that's too bad."

Alan: "I sincerely regret that I can't place my head on the chopping block for you."

Renate: "Because the only alternative I can see is to challenge him myself."

** Renate looks very young indeed. **

Alan: "But if there's ever anything else I can do for you, I'll—phbbpth!"

Alan: Coris coughs painfully on his ale.

Renate: "I need to talk to him that badly."

Renate: "Take it easy, there."

Alan: "You'll—gahk. Ahem."

Renate: "Yeah, I will."

Renate: "One of those no-choice-in-the-matter things."

Alan: Coris thumps his chest. "Okay. So... well. You're an impressive young woman. But if I haven't heard of you, how would Hyuri consider you worth fighting?"

Renate: "Ask Godfrey. His idea."

Renate: "I suspect it involves wild rumors."

Alan: Godfrey excuses himself from the table with Inverness and strolls casually over to a table populated with a rougher crowd.

Alan: One of them seems to recognize him from before, and welcomes him into the group.

Renate: Whatever else Renate is, she's obviously not stupid.

Alan: Inverness returns to the table with you and Coris.

** Renate does a quick chopping gesture. **

Alan: "Well, this might possibly help me out no little," he says.

Renate: "Godfrey's pretty sharp."

Alan: "Your Master Cuyler has offered me an introduction to some of the more influential dealers in Ilium."

Alan: "With his help, I might finally break into the art scene!"

Renate: "Yeah? Well, you can trust him to come through on that."

Renate: "He's careful of his reputation, though. I hope you're worth it."

Alan: Coris says, "Miss Emilia, as for our conversation... let's just say that I'll do what I can and report to you tomorrow."

** Renate gives him a good imitation of a sultry stare. **

Renate: "Think it over, Nightblade."

Alan: Inverness raises an eyebrow at Coris as if to say "you sly dog!"

Alan: He seems to believe that the gesture is lost on you.

** Renate stands up and walks over to Godfrey with a hint of a sashay. **

Renate: (he would!)

Renate: "C'mon, Godfrey, let's go. I did my best."

Alan: The table falls silent as you approach; the tenants put on their best faces.

Renate: "Oh. If you please."

Alan: "Of course, Mistress Eaglebourne," Godfrey says, rising.

Alan: "Gentlemen, don't forget my words," he adds, addressing the table.

** Renate suppresses a shudder. **

Renate: He's started already.

Alan: He offers his arm. "Shall we depart?"

Renate: Does he know something about Nightblade she doesn't?

Alan: Only one way to find out.

Renate: "Yes. It's been quite a long day."

** Renate waits until they are in the street again. **

Alan: Godfrey escorts you out of the beer garden.

Renate: "All right, so what's wrong with Nightblade that you're starting on the Eaglebourne stuff?"

Alan: "One gentleman can detect another in any circumstances. Did not Iron Talon Levine detect the nobility of Daniel Sarconne even when the latter was disguised as a beggar?"

Renate: "I think he might actually do it."

Renate: "Yeah, yeah, so build up Nightblade, not me."

Alan: "Master Nightblade has claimed that the author of his telegram holds his highest loyalty."

Alan: "If he is prevented from using his best energies by the commands contained therein, he will be unable to defend you despite his best wishes."

Renate: "Well, he said he'd get back to me tomorrow."

Alan: "I do not doubt that he will do everything he can."

Alan: "Where it does not conflict with his loyalties, I believe you can trust him implicitly."

Renate: "How do you know this guy, Godfrey?"

Renate: "Just talking with Inverness?"

Renate: "And who's he so loyal to?"

Alan: "Before this day, my lady, the name of Coris Nightblade was completely foreign to me."

Alan: "And I cannot imagine with whom his loyalty lies."

Renate: "Well, I put him dead center for a trebuchet strike."

Renate: "Told him I'd have to do it if he didn't."

Renate: "Quite a spit-take."

Alan: "I certainly hope that he finds some way of resolving his dilemma, then."

Renate: "He better. And the resolution better involve fighting Hyuri."

Alan: You've arrived back at the Water Lily.

** Renate goes in, suddenly regretting not having had that drink. **

Alan: "I'm rather weary. I believe that an early sleep might be best for me."

Renate: "Me too."

Renate: "Godfrey?"

Alan: "My lady?"

Renate: "Remind me not to let you out of my sight again."

Renate: "You are at heart an evil man."

Alan: "My lady," he replies.

** Renate mounts the stairs, dragging her feet a little. **

Renate: "Get me in all kinds of trouble," she grumbles.

Alan: Godfrey enters your room ahead of you, carrying a warming pan he got from downstairs.

Alan: He turns down the covers and slides the warming pan under the comforter.

Renate: "It's all right, Godfrey, I don't need that."

Alan: "Sweet dreams, my lady," he says, and leaves the room.

Renate: "Could sleep on rocks, practically."

Renate: "Not bloody likely," she snorts.

Alan: You hear his door, right down the hall, open and close.

** Renate climbs into bed, and tries to sleep. **

Renate: (well, she undresses first, of course.)

Alan: (We can safely ignore the mechanics. :) )

Renate: (Godfrey would be shocked if she slept in her clothes.)

Alan: (The wrinkles are forever! There are nightdresses for that sort of thing.)

---

Alan: The next morning, you find that, shock, Godfrey has risen before you.

Renate: (no shock at all!)

Renate: (it's the only way he can stay out of her sight!)

Renate: (long enough to do his dirty work)

Alan: When you descend to the common room (after pitying the poor soul who has to deal with those non-plumbing-related bowls and basins), you find him at the center of a group of lower-class types, vividly telling some story that has them all entranced.

** Renate really doesn't want to hear this. **

** Renate listens with a sick feeling in her stomach. **

Alan: He wraps it up just before he sees you; or perhaps because he sees you.

Alan: "Ah, my lady. You slept well, I pray?"

** Renate shoots him a dirty look. **

Renate: "Fine, thanks."

Renate: "And yourself?"

Alan: "Like an infant, my lady."

Alan: "The food here quite agrees with my digestion. Breakfast?"

** Renate wishes she could stick a pacifier in his mouth. **

Renate: "Please. Nothing too heavy, all right?"

** Renate sits down somewhere appropriate. **

Alan: "Of course." Godfrey goes up to the bar and returns with a pork chop, three fried eggs, several whole fruits, and a tall glass of milk.

** Renate feels eyes on her back, and doesn't like the sensation. **

Alan: By your usual standards, not too heavy at all.

** Renate starts in. **

** Renate isn't tasting it much. **

** Renate is wondering how badly it hurts to die of a sword wound. **

Renate: For all her practice, she's never considered that.

Alan: "I must express my regret, my lady. The busboy who took our luggage up chanced to notice Crescent Light."

Renate: She bets it hurts a lot.

** Renate stares at him. "Just chanced, huh?" **

Renate: "You had nothing to do with it."

Alan: "When I was asked of its origins, I preferred not to offer an opinion."

Renate: "I bet," she says sourly.

Alan: "Unfortunately, the local gossip mill has created its own truth."

Renate: "And you had nothing to do with that either."

Alan: "What clarifications and corrections I attempted seem only to have worsened the situation, I fear."

Renate: "Does Papa know you lie like a Patchwork carpet?"

Alan: "The premise of your question is invalid, my lady. Certainly you've studied the ten logical fallacies."

Renate: "Oh, it is, is it."

Alan: "To answer in the negative would imply that I am, in fact, untruthful."

Alan: "You've cleaned your plate. Would you like seconds?"

Renate: "No thanks."

Renate: "I have to practice."

Renate: "Would that nice Elistrata know somewhere I could do that?"

Alan: "I've taken the liberty of asking Elistrata to prepare training dummies in the stableyard, my lady."

Renate: "Well, somewhere private would be better, but I guess it'll have to do."

Alan: "I'm afraid I did not have the foresight to pack your training swords. However, I'll have an appropriate weapon brought."

** Renate figures it out right away. **

Renate: "Don't you dare! That's my brother's sword!" she hisses.

Alan: "I fear it is the center of local myth at the moment, my lady."

Renate: Godfrey is reminded that she isn't stupid, only naive.

Renate: "Well, what's that got to do with me?"

Alan: A brief silence in the common room causes words to carry clearly from the servants' table:

Alan: "The Sword That Drank Ten Thousand Lives!"

Renate: "Saints and angels."

Alan: The lull is just that long, and the room is abuzz again.

Renate: "I am so going to die."

Alan: "Perhaps I should have made a greater effort to ... guide public opinion."

Renate: "Where the hell is Nightblade, anyway?"

Alan: "He is at the mansion at this very moment, my lady. I met him going out the door."

Renate: "You have done quite enough, Godfrey," she says, and from the chill in her voice she means it.

Renate: "Going out the door? Where to?"

Alan: "I fear that things have expanded considerably beyond my ability to predict."

Alan: "I visisted Master Inverness early on, to discuss our business opportunity further."

Renate: "And?"

Alan: The doorway is darkened briefly; the silhouette of Coris Nightblade bows to you slightly.

Alan: The swordsman enters the room, somewhat sheepishly.

Renate: "Mr. Nightblade!" Renate exclaims, relieved.

Alan: "Miss Eaglebourne," he replies, bowing again as he reaches your table.

** Renate shoots Godfrey another dirty look, as she curtsies to Coris. **

Renate: "Do sit down."

Alan: "Fortune is with us, in a way. Hyuri will be throwing his feast after all."

Renate: "Oh? Someone else was found?"

Alan: Coris sits down, looking uncomfortable.

Alan: "Someone most certainly was."

** Renate misses it, in the thrill of pure relief. **

Alan: "He has more ears in town than we might have thought."

Renate: "So he heard about you."

Alan: "When Yabuki was wounded, Hyuri immediately set about finding a new opponent."

Alan: "He did hear about me, in fact."

Renate: "I thought you were underestimating yourself."

Alan: "He heard about my fight against Raven Lowe at Bluebell River Valley."

** Renate remembers Wrenfall mentioning a Raven Lowe. **

Alan: "He also heard about that tussle at Ironpass, in the Kingdom of Maal."

Alan: "He even heard about the Fifty-Fifth Battle of Ktarr's Field, and as KF battles go that was no great shakes."

** Renate gives Nightblade an admiring look. **

Alan: "Unfortunately, he's also heard about the time Emilia Eaglebourne defeated the armies of the Invincible Swordsman Red Justice and his great rival Blue Dark in one day."

Renate: "She -- I mean, I -- what?"

Alan: "And he's heard about her stinging victory against the Reavers in the Battle of the Waterfall."

Renate: "Oh no."

Alan: "And he's heard about her duel with Warden Cataigne at Sunset Park."

Renate: It's as well Corin's body shields her face from the gaze of the many-headed.

Alan: "Quite honestly, I had no idea you were so accomplished."

Renate: Because she looks shocked, and -- frankly -- terrified.

Alan: "I'm both amazed and honored by your presence."

Renate: "Oh, come on. You don't believe that stuff, do you?"

Alan: Godfrey looks as close to mortified as you've ever seen him.

Alan: "Definitely should have acted as a more stern guide of public opinion," he mumbles.

Renate: "It's eyewash."

Renate: "Shut up, Godfrey."

Alan: "It's enough for Hyuri to have issued a public challenge to you personally."

** Renate has never said that to him before. **

Alan: "The posters are already going up."

Renate: "P-p-public?"

Alan: Godfrey complies readily.

Renate: "Oh. Damn."

Renate: "I really am going to die."

Alan: Coris sighs. "So... none of it is true after all?"

Renate: "Of course not! Got this one-man PR corps here -- worse than Purgatory, more dangerous than a halberd!"

Alan: "I mean, it couldn't have been, of course."

** Renate digs Godfrey in the ribs, hard. **

Renate: "Yeah, I'd have to be sixty instead of sixteen to do all that."

Alan: Godfrey gives up a twitch, more to satisfy you than for anything else.

Alan: "Well, half-elven blood, perhaps? But no, wrong ears."

Renate: "No. One hundred percent human. One hundred percent dead meat."

Renate: At least she has the sense to keep her voice down.

Alan: "At the risk of sounding heartless... everyone dies at least twice."

Alan: "I died just last week, to be quite honest."

Renate: "I really didn't need to hear that, thank you," she snaps.

Alan: "And if you stay dead for more than five minutes, you don't even have to remember how it felt."

Alan: "You lose the entire day before that."

Renate: "Thanks. Keep 'em off me for five minutes, then."

Renate: "I know I'm not going to want to remember this."

Alan: "Here's the worst of it... the duel is set for tonight at sundown."

Renate: "Oh. Damn."

---

Alan: All right, we left off at... breakfast, right?

Emilia Eaglebourne: yes... if you're ready, I can set the scene

Alan: By all means.

** Emilia Eaglebourne leans back and puts her hands over her face. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: When she takes them away, she might as well not be the same person.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Godfrey."

Alan: "My lady."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Go up and lay out a practice outfit, my armor, and Crescent Light. Tell me when you have done so. Then go out and see if you can procure a potion gauntlet, with the appropriate items to fill it."

** Emilia Eaglebourne is all business. **

Alan: "Allow me to offer you the use of my own gauntlet," Coris says. "It will easily adjust down to your size, although it won't breathe quite as well that way."

Alan: "And it is stocked with finer potions than you could procure in town."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Thank you, Mr. Nightblade," she says formally. "That is an exceptionally kind offer, and I accept."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Go on, then, Godfrey; I cannot practice in this."

Alan: Godfrey bows and departs.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Might I trouble you to act as my sparring partner, Mr. Nightblade?"

Alan: Coris frowns. "You show great resolution, Miss Eaglebourne."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Thank you."

Alan: "I admire your determination in the face of strife."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "If the next word is 'but,' Mr. Nightblade, I suggest you not say it."

Alan: "I will spar with you; but you will forgive me if I am a poor partner. Of my two styles, neither may be revealed in public."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Have you a private place to practice?"

Alan: "I must apologize for my secrecy; be assured that I hide no skulduggery."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I believe you."

Alan: "Perhaps the youthful Lord Arronax might prove more willing?" Coris points out a flash young noble who has bellied up to the bar for some hair of the dog.

Alan: The noble notices Coris' gesture and waves brightly.

** Emilia Eaglebourne surveys him unfavorably. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Is he any good?"

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I can't play today."

Alan: "Not only is he a student of the Dragon Lord style, but he has fought Hyuri before."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Ah. That might well prove useful."

Alan: "He may be able to advise you."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Thank you, Mr. Nightblade. Will you kindly introduce us?"

Alan: "I myself have not had the pleasure to behold the Four Seasons style."

Alan: Coris waves Arronax over to the table. "Baronet Giles Arronax, of Fendham, Northwest."

** Emilia Eaglebourne stands up and curtsies ceremoniously. **

Alan: "Giles, my colleague Emilia Eaglebourne. No doubt her fame has reached your ears already," he adds ironically.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Baronet."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Mr. Nightblade was kind enough to suggest that you might spar with me this morning. Are you free?"

Alan: "I, well, I suppose I could. I can't say I'd be much challenge!"

** Emilia Eaglebourne smiles austerely. **

Alan: He tugs his elegantly-curled forelock nervously.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Everyone has something to teach."

Alan: "The trouble with Dragon Lord is that it's too common. You've seen it once, you've seen it a hundred times."

Alan: "That's why I didn't get far in the tournament last year. That and stumbling across Hyuri in the third bracket."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Yes, I heard that you fought him. I hope I may benefit from your experience, sir."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I am told his style is unique."

Alan: "Ah, well, let me see." He takes a drink of his wine. "Hyuri's style is called The Four Seasons. He developed it himself."

** Emilia Eaglebourne listens with concentrated attention. **

Alan: "There are four variations, one representing each season."

Alan: "He uses them all in order; that's the style's weakness."

Emilia Eaglebourne: Coris, by now, is looking around wondering where flyaway, heedless Renate has run off to.

Emilia Eaglebourne: This grave young lady is nothing like her at all.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "In order. I see."

Alan: "If you watch his motions carefully, you can see when he switches seasons."

Alan: "He'll start with Spring, which has quick attacking moves. They're meant to put the opponent off guard and ruin his composure."

** Emilia Eaglebourne makes a noncommittal sound. **

Alan: "Summer is slow and sure. The moves try to weaken or incapacitate the opponent."

Alan: "He didn't do this to me, but later in the tournament I saw him blind a man without moving an inch."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Slow."

** Emilia Eaglebourne laughs. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Let me tell you a short story, sir."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "My brother and I once blindfolded each other for fun, after a regular practice."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "When our trainer caught us, he made it a part of our regular regimen."

Alan: You don't even realize the baronet is smirking until Coris jabs him painfully in the ribs.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Excuse me, sir?"

Alan: Coris rolls his eyes at you and shrugs slightly.

** Emilia Eaglebourne rolls her eyes. **

Alan: As if to say "good men are hard to find."

Emilia Eaglebourne: Her return look says "Apparently."

Alan: "So," Coris says, "you're skilled in fighting blind."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Correct, Mr. Nightblade. Though now that I know about the attack, I can attempt to avoid it."

Alan: "Please continue, Giles."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Yes, do."

Alan: "Yes, right. Well... after working his mischief in the Summer style, he'll switch to Fall, whose moves are powerful attacks meant to damage the opponent as much as possible."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I see."

Alan: "The Fall style starts slow, but puts all its strength and speed into one or two big moves."

** Emilia Eaglebourne nods. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Defend against those, and one is safe."

Alan: "Finally, he switches to Winter, where he doesn't move much at all, but when you attack him, he'll counter you."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Ah. Interesting."

Alan: "That's how I lost. I saw him switch out of Fall, and I thought I was out of the woods, but when I did my strongest move, he punished me."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Does he attack at all, or only counter?"

Alan: "Later, I saw him use some attacks during the Winter style, but they were weak. I think they were meant to lure his opponent into striking."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Hm. To your knowledge, has anyone tried a feint?"

Alan: "I don't know about feinting, but I saw someone use a quick jab, and he did a sort of... well, I can't quite describe it."

Alan: "He sort of grabbed the sword with his own and sucked the person into attacking range."

Alan: "Like a magnet."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I mean," she says patiently, "appearing to strike one place while actually attacking another."

Alan: "He called the move 'Frozen Lake,' it looks solid until you step on the ice."

Alan: "I know what fenting is, I just haven't seen how he reacts to it."

** Emilia Eaglebourne raises her eyebrows. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Is that right? Perhaps no one has tried it."

Alan: "Fighting a dragon gets inside your head. You try to fight as hard as you can. Strategy goes out the window."

Alan: "The only thing on your side is that he doesn't use his dragon strength. He holds back."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Indeed, Baronet," she says disapprovingly.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Of course he does; or it would hardly be a contest at all."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Well, I thank you very much, sir; you have been very helpful."

Alan: The common room of the inn is starting to fill up; you begin to get the feeling that everyone is there to see you.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I must go change for practice now. Excuse me, gentlemen."

Alan: You hear a familiar voice outside; Karzath Inverness seems to have set up his cart right in front of the inn.

Alan: "Deadly Fighters! Get your Deadly Fighters here! They're small, they're wooden, they're lifelike in every detail!"

Alan: "Almost every! Family business here," he replies in answer to an inaudible question.

** Emilia Eaglebourne raises her eyebrows and leans toward Coris, and for a moment Renate peeks out of her eyes. "*Every* detail?" she whispers. **

Alan: Coris nods solemnly. "I understand the eyebrows are lovingly detailed."

** Emilia Eaglebourne lets out a sharp bark of laughter. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I shall be down momentarily, gentlemen."

** Emilia Eaglebourne goes to change clothes. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: (is Godfrey still there?)

Alan: You meet him as he's exiting the room.

Alan: "My lady, all is in readiness."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Thank you, Godfrey. I need nothing else at present."

Alan: Godfrey goes downstairs to join Coris.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Renate changes into the clothes Godfrey laid out for her.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She arms herself carefully.

Alan: They're not quite training clothes; he's somehow acquired duelist's garb of a noble cut.

Emilia Eaglebourne: The armor is designed to move as she does; it had been expensive to make.

Alan: Golden eagles are sewn onto the shoulders.

Emilia Eaglebourne: The shield is designed to balance perfectly against a sword in the other hand, so that tumbling maneuvers are unaffected by imbalance.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Finally she picks up Crescent Light, and runs her fingers over it.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She has difficulty shaking off the feeling that she is transgressing, that she has stolen something from her brother.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Finally, she holds it up to her face and speaks to it.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I know you are not truly mine, you noble blade; but be my friend now, and I will return you to the proper hands."

Emilia Eaglebourne: She sheathes it, checks herself over, and goes down to practice.

Alan: As you speak, the moving clouds reveal the sun, and it glints off the blade into your eye, dazzling you for a split-second.

** Emilia Eaglebourne hopes it is a good omen. **

Alan: Downstairs, the three men at your table are mobbed by fighting fans pumping them for information about you. Although Coris and Godfrey are saying as little as possible, Baronet Arronax seems to be babbling on about some imaginary exploit of yours.

** Emilia Eaglebourne rolls her eyes again, and gestures for Coris to join her. **

Alan: A minstrel has set up in one corner of the bustling establishment; he's singing a song in which your name figures prominently.

Alan: It's very obviously just a reworking of a much older ballad, but nobody seems to notice.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "They waste no time, do they?" she says as Coris approaches.

Alan: Elistrata takes a moment off from pouring drinks to yell, "Good luck in the fights, Mistress Eaglebourne! To think, I didn't even know who you were!"

Alan: "No," Coris says, "they don't seem to."

** Emilia Eaglebourne nods and smiles at her. **

** Emilia Eaglebourne stops suddenly, and beckons Godfrey. **

Alan: "Come along with us, Giles. I'm curious to see Miss Eaglebourne's swordsmanship."

Alan: Together, the four of you leave the inn and head around to the stableyard, where the practice dummies were set up.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Please go ahead of me, Baronet, Mr. Nightblade. I need a word with my manservant."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Godfrey."

Alan: Godfrey stops with you just outside the door, as the others go on.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Counter-rumor."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Emilia Eaglebourne is an adventuress from nowhere."

Alan: "If at all possible, my lady."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Emilia probably isn't even her real name."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "You're her servant; you know her reputation is overwrought, but you put up with it because you're afraid of her catty temper."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "You can figure out the details. Go. Start spreading it."

Alan: As you continue, Godfrey does that expression where he appears to be looking directly through the upper left side of your skull.

** Emilia Eaglebourne sighs. **

Alan: It's his "I know something you don't" expression—not that he'd ever admit it.

Alan: "Quite right, my lady," he says.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "What, Godfrey?"

Alan: "'What,' indeed. A question the greatest metaphysicists of this or any time would be hard pressed to answer, my lady."

Alan: "I go to do my lady's bidding," he says, bowing.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Damn it, now is not the time to toy with me!"

** Emilia Eaglebourne grabs him and spins him around. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Whatever you've got, spit it out!"

Emilia Eaglebourne: If nothing else, Emilia's temper is reminiscent of Renate's...

Alan: "I simply fear that to appear as a mysterious figure of shady past and uncertain nature would do little to reduce your glamour in the public imagination."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Fine. Think of something better. Something incompetent. Get in there."

Alan: "My lady," he says, and disappears into the crowds.

** Emilia Eaglebourne goes out to the stableyards, and commences stretching. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: All the way through one-handed handsprings -- and that's before she so much as unsheathes her sword.

Alan: Baronet Arronax has taken a wooden sword from the selection provided by a local weapons shop.

Alan: (A placard atop the rack advertises them.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: When Emilia is loose and ready, she starts on the practice dummies.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She invites the Baronet to do the same.

Alan: Among the swords is one with approximately the curve and weight of Crescent Light. A practice cutlass, it seems.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Emilia takes it.

Alan: If you're using Crescent Light, then a single slash is all it takes to cut each straw dummy in half.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She decides, however, that she needs the practice with the real weapon, and puts the wooden one aside.

Alan: By contrast, the baronet requires a complicated and impressive-looking series of cuts to get through each one.

** Emilia Eaglebourne thinks ruefully that the dummies' demise will do her spurious reputation no harm at all. **

Alan: As the straw dummies fall in half, the crowd whispers in amazement at the inner power it must take to coax such sharpness from a normal blade.

** Emilia Eaglebourne knows it's the sword. **

Alan: Are you using the distinctive aspects of the Wrenfall style?

Emilia Eaglebourne: Not at first; she's trying to get the feel of the blade.

Emilia Eaglebourne: But eventually she starts tumbling runs that resemble the Dead Angle Attack.

Alan: The sun isn't so high in the sky that you can't do that.

Alan: If the duel is to take place right before sunset, it'll be the perfect time for that move.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Hm. All right, then, the Guard Crush.

Alan: Sorry, my grammar was confusing—I meant that it's still early enough to do the move.

Alan: Around noon, the sun would be too high to blind anyone with it.

Emilia Eaglebourne: (ah, I see.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (should have read more carefully, mea culpa)

Alan: (Well, double negatives are a no-no.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (so what happens?)

Alan: You wouldn't happen to have an eye on Coris, would you?

Emilia Eaglebourne: No. She is completely absorbed in what she is doing.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Coris might as well not exist.

Alan: Fair enough.

Alan: The crowd is quite delighted; even a few old-timers who were talking about Deadly Fighting the other night are surprised to see your moves.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She ignores them, too.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Aaron would be proud of her.

Alan: Over in his part of the field, Arronax begins one of the practice forms of the Dragon Lord's Peerless Blade style: "Dragon Lord's Breath of Fire."

** Emilia Eaglebourne starts a series of Dust Attacks. **

Alan: You might notice that, since it involves a certain amount of blade-spinning and dashing about. Potential hazard.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She steps aside a moment, to give him room.

Alan: Determined to prove his skills, the baronet intentionally moves his form into your area, showing off.

** Emilia Eaglebourne shrugs. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: If he attacks, she will counter with an Overlap Crunch.

Alan: He starts chanting the names of his moves as he performs them: "Dragon Lord's Threefold Claw!" a single overhead slash leaves three blurs in the air.

Emilia Eaglebourne: pulling the blow so as not to hurt him.

Alan: "Dragon Lord's Iron Vise!" A bodycheck turns into a shield-bash.

Alan: "Dragon Lord's Meteor Strike!" A jumping attack turns into a midair downward dash as he uses his inner power to change direction.

** Emilia Eaglebourne watches, taking mental notes on any attacks she is not familiar with. **

Alan: A reddish glow slowly builds up around him.

Alan: "Dragon Lord's Breath of Fire!"

Alan: He spins around three times, pulling his sword in close to him for a backhand swing;

Alan: Then whips the sword out, at the same time casting a glimmering arc of fire that sets the final training dummy alight.

Alan: Aaron always shrugged at such displays, considering them a waste of effort.

** Emilia Eaglebourne claps politely. **

** Emilia Eaglebourne walks over to Coris, wiping sweat off her forehead. **

Alan: The Baronet pants slightly, just starting to break a sweat.

Alan: "Surely nothing special, though," he says.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Are you sure you will not join in?"

Alan: Coris hands you a potion gauntlet; he got it from his room while you were dressing.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Thank you again." She tries it on, adjusting as necessary.

Alan: "The left vial is curative, all of the fourth rank." (That's Cure Serious to you.)

Alan: "The middle is mending, to restore bones, limbs, eyes, and ears."

Alan: "The right is antidote. I hope that one won't be needed today."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Surely Lord Hyuri is above such tactics."

Alan: "I've checked with the local temple. A Raphaelite will be on hand."

Alan: "You won't need an elixir."

Alan: "But just in case it proves useful later, I've got one for you."

** Emilia Eaglebourne nods, expressionless. **

Alan: He hands you a very small vial, like a perfume sample, filled with a vivid blue liquid.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Really, Mr. Nightblade, this is too generous. I cannot take that from you."

Alan: "Drink it before a fight, and if you're killed you'll rise within minutes."

** Emilia Eaglebourne declines it, holding up her hand. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Thank you, but truly -- I cannot take it."

Alan: "I took it from an opponent who didn't use it judiciously enough."

Alan: "I'd hate to see you suffer his fate."

** Emilia Eaglebourne shrugs fractionally. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: "In for a chip, in for a gold," she says.

Alan: "And a gram of prevention is worth a ton of cure."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Thank you one more time, Mr. Nightblade, but no." She sounds very definite.

Alan: (Bah, impromptu proverbs are off... would have been better as "a kilo of cure.")

Alan: "As you wish," he says.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I cannot take such a valuable gift from someone I only met yesterday."

Alan: "Ah," he says. "Propriety."

Alan: He bows slightly.

Alan: "I believe this young caribou behind you want to clack horns. Perhaps you could teach him a lesson."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Mmm... more like not taking advantage of a good man's pity."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "We shall see."

Alan: "I suggest the Sunday Punch."

** Emilia Eaglebourne takes two steps, then turns back and stares. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I see my trainer's reputation is safe," she says.

Alan: "I wouldn't know. I haven't seen the man in thirteen years."

** Emilia Eaglebourne nods. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: "You will be glad to know he is alive and well."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Though working with inferior material."

Alan: "The latter remains to be seen," Coris says with another slight bow.

** Emilia Eaglebourne nods, and goes out to spar with the baronet. **

** Emilia Eaglebourne takes Coris's advice. **

Alan: Emilia takes up the wooden practice sword that is roughly the shape of Crescent Light, and entrusts the samurai blade itself to Coris.

Emilia Eaglebourne: (yup, she would do that)

Alan: After weighing it gently in her hand to get its balance, she stands before Baronet Arronax and assumes a blank but ready stance.

Alan: The stance confuses the young noble, who says, "So... you're ready?"

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Quite."

Alan: Her sword hangs at her side, almost listless; as the noble takes an experimental jab, she ignores it entirely, seeing that it's not aimed to hit her.

Alan: The crowd gasps in amazement as the wooden sword cuts the air inches before her face.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Try again."

Alan: The noble narrows his eyes in determination, and launches a solid thrust at Emilia's heart.

Alan: Her right foot moves back, her body pivots, and as the sword passes within a few inches of her, she grabs his shoulder and shoves him past her.

Alan: The crowd bursts into cheers.

Alan: Emilia's sword has not yet come into play.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Too obvious. You can do better, sir."

Alan: "Hmm. Yes, I can. Forgive me for underestimating you!"

Alan: The noble spins his sword in a slow circle, and a shimmering heat haze rises before him as he gathers his inner power.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Not at all. The unfamiliar is often underestimated."

Alan: If he'd foregone his showy display earlier, he wouldn't need to charge now.

** Emilia Eaglebourne waits, unmoved. **

Alan: After ten seconds, the baronet cries "Prepare yourself! Dragon Lord's Peerless Blade, First Level! Dragon Lord's Threefold..."

Alan: But of course, halfway through his lengthy announcement, Emilia's sword seeks out his chest, forcing him into a sudden dodge.

Emilia Eaglebourne: (ten *seconds*? she'd kick his ASS in that amount of time!)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (aha, you knew that)

Alan: "In the lays, one gets at least a full stanza for drama," he mutters as he blocks Emilia's steady attack.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I don't believe in drama," she tells him.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Gets in the way."

Alan: He counters one blow and snakes into a corps a corps, attemping to use his greater strength to force her down.

Emilia Eaglebourne: (roll with it! knock him over!)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (what's tumbling for?)

Alan: Coris' advice isn't needed; it's only natural for Emilia to strain against him for a half-second, then give way, luring him directly into her off-hand uppercut.

Alan: The crowd cheers and laughs as the young nobleman goes reeling.

Emilia Eaglebourne: (ow -- that shield would hurt!)

Alan: Emilia presses her advantage, rolling into a Dust Attack which he blocks only with a wild flail.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Are you all right, Baronet?"

Alan: "Quite," he says, toppling to the ground and rolling to his feet a safe distance away.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Good. I might have hit you with my shield by mistake."

Alan: He covers the distance in a second, roaring in a flat-trajectory jump that leaves a wake of dust behind him.

Alan: Only a quick backflip saves Emilia from a nasty whack.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Well done, sir!"

Alan: Wiser this time, he announces his move after its conclusion: "Dragon Lord's Rush to Vengeance!"

Alan: His sword is extended for just a second too long: Overlap Crunch!

Alan: Emilia's sword slides over top of his own, seeking his collarbone.

Alan: But this time, he's ready, and recalls his sword to block the threat.

Alan: Immediately he counters with the Dragon Lord's Threefold Slash—one slash, three brown blurs of wood, three cuts in one motion.

Alan: Raising her sword horizontally, Emilia blocks all three. Fortress Defense!

Alan: "Amazing! Nobody blocks that!"

** Emilia Eaglebourne does not comment. **

Alan: The baronet falls back, but Emilia is with him, matching his steps as though they were chained together.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Shall we dance, baronet?"

Alan: His attacks are repelled by the Fortress Defense, but her own strike true, forcing him ever more off balance, striking with greater precision the longer she stays on top of him.

Alan: Seeking a quick victory, she uses the Fate Duel at the same time, increasing her precision even more.

Alan: At last, she seems the opportunity to smack him on the top of the head...

Alan: ...but he's begun to take on a reddish glow, and spins three times for the Breath of Fire.

Alan: Emilia strikes his blade, knocking it out of line, and leaps high into the air, doing a graceful backflip in midair to land a safe distance away.

Alan: "Well, Baronet... that was a suitable warmup."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I appreciate your efforts, and I thank you for your time."

** Emilia Eaglebourne is more winded than she wants to let on. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: It takes some effort to speak normally.

Alan: "I... hope we can fight again some day," he says, heat-haze still rising off him.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I would rather fight by your side than against you, sir," she says gallantly.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "May I invite you to lunch?"

Alan: "Well," he says, mentally shifting gears, "certainly."

Alan: "Are you aware that a chef of international repute is present in Larkspur this very day?"

** Emilia Eaglebourne has an ulterior motive, of course. **

Alan: He's slowly putting his "noble son about town" face back on, like applying a coat of paint.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She means to have him explain Hyuri's attacks again, in case he missed any useful detail the first time.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Why, no, I did not know."

Alan: He pulls out a handkerchief and moves as if to mop his face, then extends the item to you instead.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I am fine, thank you," she says, employing the tail of her sleeve.

** Emilia Eaglebourne walks back to Coris. **

Alan: "His premises are simple, but his food is incomparable. Please, let me treat you and your entourage," he says, beckoning to Coris and Godfrey, who seems to have returned.

Alan: Coris nods. "Laplace, right?"

Emilia Eaglebourne: "How generous of you, Baronet. I accept."

Alan: "Yes," Arronax says. "That's the very man!"

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Though Mr. Nightblade will have to speak for himself, as he is his own man."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Not part of any entourage of mine."

Alan: "Well, I'll never pass up a lunch at Carragio's place. I don't get there very often, I'm afraid, so it's nice to see him travel."

Emilia Eaglebourne: She holds out her hand to Coris for Crescent Light.

Alan: You've heard of a Carragio Laplace—a competition chef from Ilium, if any of Sabine's prattle sank in.

Alan: Coris hands over the blade reverently.

** Emilia Eaglebourne remembers the name, not much else. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Thank you."

** Emilia Eaglebourne sheathes it with equal respect for its excellence. **

Alan: "A nobler blade than I deserve ever to hold, my lady."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I could say the same, Mr. Nightblade; I could say the same."

Emilia Eaglebourne: For a moment, her eyes looking into his are very regretful, and very conscious of inferiority.

Alan: Baronet Arronax leads you through the center of town. You pause to greet Karzath Inverness; he's doing quite a brisk business.

Alan: He's selling Katsuro Yabuki figures, hastily redesigned with "Exciting Critically-Wounded Actione!!!"

Alan: Which seems to involve ripping an arm off each one and selling it with a packet of ketchup.

Alan: "It's important that each figure reflect a moment in fighting history," he explains. "Makes them more collectible."

Alan: "That's why there are twelve different Emmett Bowing figures, for the different prototypes of his steam suit."

** Emilia Eaglebourne doesn't comment. **

** Emilia Eaglebourne hints mildly that they might move on. **

Alan: Coris wishes him luck, and you move on.

** Emilia Eaglebourne has a hand on the elbow of each of her gallants. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: As is only proper.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She is starting to enjoy this, just a little.

Alan: Carragio Laplace's cart is easy to spot at a distance; he's taking in a great deal of business, for one thing, and for another, his cart is covered with plaques, medals, and trophies.

Alan: "He lives out of his cart," Arronax explains, "so he's got nowhere else to put them."

Alan: "Fortunately, they seem to be good for business."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I would think so."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Though I would not care to go into battle tricked out with such."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I suppose cooking contests are different."

Alan: Carragio Laplace is a genial young fellow with curly blond hair, earnest blue eyes, and a traditional chef's uniform.

Alan: An eyebrow ring is his only condescension to Ilium's trends.

** Emilia Eaglebourne lets the baronet lead. **

Alan: As you step up to the cart, he's telling a story of one of his cooking battles.

Alan: "So then I saw that my opponent was making an octopus ice cream! No, I'm not joking, ice cream! So naturally I knew that I had to trump him in quirks while maintaining my flavor lead..."

Alan: "Ah, what is this? Could it be... yes, those eagles! You're the talented Emilia Eaglebourne, right?"

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I am called that."

** Emilia Eaglebourne smiles. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Minus the 'talented.'"

Alan: "Whatever you'd like, on the house! You know, nobody told me you were half so fetching," he says, juggling three chef's knives.

** Emilia Eaglebourne smiles wider. **

Alan: He's got a rhythm going; toss, tap against the counter, catch.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Why don't you choose for me?"

Alan: As Coris starts to applaud, Carragio begins sending the knives into the air by actually bouncing them off the counter.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "The special of the day."

Alan: "Certainly! For a lady of your intensity, only Eridu Chicken would do! I trust you're not put off by a little heat?"

Emilia Eaglebourne: "No, go right ahead. Since it is all too likely to be my last meal, you see."

Alan: To demonstrate his point, he taps the side of the circular heatstone which makes up his cooking surface, and his face is blurred by the sudden heat.

Emilia Eaglebourne: By the tone, she might be joking.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She might.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Or not.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Coris thinks not.

Alan: "Well then," he says, lowering the heat again. "I shall improvise and improve, as best I can."

Alan: "Remember, come back in a week and I'll be even better... and I've been saying that for five years, so you can imagine how I tasted at the start!"

Emilia Eaglebourne: But, curiously, she seems to have made her peace with it.

** Emilia Eaglebourne laughs aloud. **

Alan: He tosses a variety of vegetables and meats onto the cooking surface, and starts cutting them up with deft strokes.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I admire your work ethic, Mr. Laplace!"

Emilia Eaglebourne: Clearly banter is part of the meal, and Emilia is willing to forget her troubles for a bit.

Alan: "You know, I've always been as fascinated with the preparation of food as much as with the eating of it," he says, while dissecting a tomato.

Alan: You can't tell quite what he's doing to it, but then he holds it up and pushes pieces of it around like a puzzle box, so that it takes on the shape of a boxy knight in armor.

** Emilia Eaglebourne claps loudly. **

Alan: "And the deathblow," he adds, pushing on one more cut-out piece so that tomato pulp oozes out its chest.

Alan: He drops the tomatos onto the heatstone and they starts to sizzle.

** Emilia Eaglebourne leans a little too hard on Coris for a moment, no more. **

Alan: "So I've experimented a great deal." He tosses an onion in the air as he speaks, oblivious to your reaction.

Alan: On each toss, he takes a swipe at it with his largest knife, but seems to miss.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Nothing shows in her face.

Alan: "I've been thinking, in fact, of creating my own fighting style, one based on cooking."

** Emilia Eaglebourne cocks her head quizzically. **

Alan: "A crazy idea, you might say."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Really? Wouldn't that get rather a lot of grit in the food?"

Alan: He catches the onion one last time, and the top half of it falls off and lands on the heatstone.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Or are you planning to eat your opponents?"

Alan: Then he turns the remaining half upside down and drops the inner rings one by one, making a sort of inverted funnel.

Alan: "Well, obviously I wouldn't be preparing food by fighting, although the idea has a certain attraction."

Alan: He dashes some cooking wine into the funnel, and smoke and steam shoot up out of it.

Alan: "But the knife motions, and the flick of the wrist which applies the sauces..." he demonstrates by dashing some oil and pepper onto the cooking vegetables.

Alan: "Perhaps something with knives and poisons, you know? The move names would follow naturally."

Alan: "Spiral Cut, for instance—as good for bandits as for hams!"

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Mmm. Dangerous."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Mislabel one bottle of poison, and..."

Alan: He's slicing up meat and tossing it on the heatstone, while preparing a sauce of some sort at the same time.

Alan: "True enough, but I'd just have to mix a little antidote into each dish I make."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Expensive, no?"

Alan: "I could even script the course of the meal that way. If the soup is meant to clear the palate, well, it would be suicidal not to drink it."

Alan: "Strictly gourmet stuff, my lady."

Emilia Eaglebourne: Coris can see her flinch at the word "suicidal."

Alan: He stirs the cooking mixture, tossing some wheat noodles into the mix.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Quite out of my league, Mr. Laplace."

Alan: "Well, it might be a madman's dream in the first place. The fighting style, not poison in the food; well, also a madman's dream, but that one would be an evil madman. Which isn't me!"

Alan: "Ahem."

Alan: "Before I can do that, I have to fulfill my first aspiration!"

Alan: "To win the Saffold-Marman Silver Coast Invitational!"

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Which is?" she asks, playing along.

Alan: "Only the greatest cooking tournament in the world!"

Alan: "This year, I took fifth. Well, I've sworn to do better each year, even if it's only a little!"

Alan: "So in 1997, I should be the champion!"

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Fifth is very impressive," she says honestly.

Alan: "1996, you mean," Coris says, after a quick moment of counting under his breath.

Alan: "Well, I might take a year off," Carragio says, as he dishes the hot food onto plates.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "To get married?"

Emilia Eaglebourne: "You would make some lucky girl a marvelous husband."

Alan: "I certainly hope I will some day—it would be nice to get out of the kitchen for a change."

Alan: "Only kidding, my lady!"

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Ha! Not me. I'd lock you in!"

Alan: He hands the plates over the counter. "Enjoy! And don't forget to buy some cold drinks from my colleagues here—a rising tide should lift all ships!"

Alan: "And don't praise my food until you've had some—anything else is flattery!"

** Emilia Eaglebourne takes a ceremonious taste. **

Alan: It's not quite as hot as he warned; just a pleasant sting atop a complex and stirring flavor.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "My, this is impressive!"

Alan: It's not quite like anything you've ever tasted before; although the cooks at Karlbotel didn't really vary their repertoire much.

** Emilia Eaglebourne digs in quite happily. **

Alan: Coris nods. "Most excellent, Master Laplace. Good luck with the tournament."

Alan: "Well," Carragio says, "I'm headed back to Ilium after the fights. Perhaps we'll be lucky enough to head the same way."

** Emilia Eaglebourne cocks an eyebrow at Coris, inquiringly. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: Maybe it's that he reminds her a little of Emil, but his presence is a comfort, on a day when she has very few of those.

Alan: "Who can say? I'll have a telegram to return, and then I'll be going where the wires take me."

** Emilia Eaglebourne returns her eyes to her plate. **

Alan: Godfrey returns from a cart with wooden cups of cold lemonade.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Thank you, Godfrey," she says as she accepts hers.

Alan: Arronax chows down on his food with gusto and no little lip-smacking. Despite his title, he doesn't appear to have had a completely gentlemanly upbringing.

Alan: Or at least, he acts the gentleman only in certain aspects.

** Emilia Eaglebourne is too polite to remark upon it. **

Alan: Coris, on the other hand, is surprisingly dainty.

Emilia Eaglebourne: But her manners are those Clara insisted she observe.

Emilia Eaglebourne: And they are quite perfect.

Alan: "There are only three or four hours before the duel," Coris says. "You should rest and get your full strength."

** Emilia Eaglebourne nods. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Godfrey, shall we go?"

Alan: (A few hours' full rest is enough to restore all your ki points; you would have used some in the practice fight. Quite a few, in fact.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Mr. Laplace, a pleasure to have met you."

Alan: Carragio waves, then turns to a new batch of customers.

** Emilia Eaglebourne politely ditches the baronet as soon as humanly possible. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Manners makyth man," she murmurs to Coris.

Alan: Baronet Arronax cheerfully accepts your explanation that you wish to spend the rest of the time before the duel in meditation.

Alan: (Or whatever.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (That'll do.)

Alan: (Meditation is always a safe bet with fighters.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (I figured.)

Alan: (Even ones who don't do it are supposed to be doing it.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (Well, she'll take Aaron's advice and give it a try.)

Alan: So, anything in particular you want to do before the appointed hour?

Emilia Eaglebourne: Sleep. Think. Try not to panic.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Write a short letter home.

Included later by editor:

Dear Papa, Mama, Beanie,

If you're reading this, I won't be coming home. Godfrey can tell you about it. Just remember it's not his fault, all right? There wasn't any other way.

Papa, I'm sorry I let you down. I did try. Please think about keeping our bargain anyway.

Mama, nobody ever had a better mother. I'm really lucky. I want you to know I knew that.

Beanie, you're it. You'll do better than I did.

Somebody tell Aaron I did what he told me.

I LOVE YOU ALL!

My best love, always,
Renate

Emilia Eaglebourne: And give it to Godfrey.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "In case Hyuri ships me, you know?"

Alan: "Of course, my lady," Godfrey says, "but that eventuality is remote in probability."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Accidents happen."

---

Alan: The sun hangs low on the horizon; gray clouds lour in the east, where the darkening sky makes them ominous.

Alan: A carnival atmosphere pervades the town despite the threatened night rain; minstrels roam the streets, children run to and fro, and early revelers stagger from doorframe to doorframe.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Emilia stands very straight in her fighting gear, for all she doesn't come up to Coris's shoulder.

Alan: When you descend to the common room, a hearty cheer greets you. Coris stands in the crowd, not joining in, but favoring you with a calm smile.

Alan: "Do your best," he says, but you can only infer it from his moving lips.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She acknowledges the cheer with a graceful wave of one hand.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She nods at him.

Alan: Godfrey goes ahead of you, clearing your path through the crowd.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She walks calmly, with a measured tread, wasting no motion.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Head held very high.

Alan: "We have a sixth of an hour by the inn's clock. We will arrive promptly."

Emilia Eaglebourne: She has tied a kerchief around her head, taming her unruly hair.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Very well, Godfrey."

Alan: Coris falls in behind you, keeping the crowd from pressing on your heels.

Emilia Eaglebourne: It makes her sharp-carved features stand out all the more.

Alan: He wears his sword slung wide behind his back, to increase his profile.

Alan: The golden sun is just turning orange as it closes in on the trees; the dying light casts sharp shadows across all your faces.

Alan: Despite the hum of the crowd and the cheer of the minstrel harps, the world seems large and quiet.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Someone who knew the von Adlers could have remarked on the resolve -- the Baron's detractors call it "blind stubbornness" -- she shows, so like her distinguished ancestors.

Alan: By means of a meaningful glance and a roll of the head, Godfrey draws your attention to the sky.

** Emilia Eaglebourne glances up. **

Alan: Drawing bloody sparks from the orange sun, a golden dragon rides the thermal breeze to the west.

** Emilia Eaglebourne watches her death sailing on the air, and she smiles at it. **

Alan: Slowly banking, soaring, and falling, the dragon lazily plays with the wind.

Alan: As you walk toward the duelling ring, the crowd falls in behind you, making for a grand procession.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Emilia just walks. No swagger. No bravado. She is what she is.

Emilia Eaglebourne: The world feels unreal, as if she had stepped into a ballad.

Alan: You turn a corner, and the town's main square lies before you; at its center, a fighting ring on a raised stage, four walls made of three ropes each.

Alan: The surface of the ring is Andragar streetweave, like you've seen in parts of Ilium, living grass that weaves itself together into a tough mat.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She wonders momentarily how the ballad ends.

Alan: At each corner of the ring, a priest stands, clad in the white and gold of Raphael.

Alan: Each one carries a belt of potions and a long wooden staff.

Alan: They bow as you approach.

Alan: One of them climbs into the ring, and holds the ropes open for you to climb in.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She acknowledges each with a precise motion of her head.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She shakes her head, and jumps lightly over the railings.

Alan: "This is where your story begins, my lady," Coris says.

Alan: "Make us proud."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I'll try."

** Emilia Eaglebourne wonders how he knew to say that. **

Alan: A burly soldier dressed in an official insignia climbs up onto the stage, carrying with him a slim sword, unsheathed.

Alan: The man nods to you briefly, then holds the sword aloft.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She stands still.

Alan: In his other hand, he has a small chip of stone, with some sort of symbols engraved on it.

Alan: He holds up the chip of stone and does something to it, and it disappears in a flash of light.

Alan: The sword is surrounded by a blue glow, and suddenly shoots high up into the air, so far that it becomes just a glint, then disappears.

Alan: The soldier hops back down off the ring.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She waits. She has all the time in the world.

Alan: The dragon in the west goes into a swoop, a long sustained dive that will carry him straight into the ring.

Alan: Swift and inexorable, he grows nearer and nearer and, at the last moment, snaps into his human form, a tall figure clad in metallic gold robes, who slams feet-first into the ring before you and stops stock-still without so much as a wobble or a roll.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She doesn't flinch.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Lord Hyuri."

Alan: His skin is metallic gold as well, and smoothly scaled, like a snake's.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Her voice is bell-clear.

Alan: His eyes are gem-like, translucent, green, without iris or pupil.

Emilia Eaglebourne: And steady as a rock.

Alan: He raises his arm skyward. "Emilia Eaglebourne."

Alan: The sword plummets from the heavens to land smoothly in his grip.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She waits, to see the import of the gesture.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She does not quite understand it.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Ah. She stands unmoved by his show of bravado.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "You do me too much honor, Your Lordship."

Alan: His eyes glow slightly, and you feel a faint vibration through your entire body.

Alan: "Intriguing," he says. "Perhaps, in fact, I do."

Alan: "But let us see," he says.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "As you wish, Your Lordship."

Alan: "The rules are simple: we shall fight until one person is downed or yields."

** Emilia Eaglebourne nods. **

Alan: "Healing is permitted; afflictions and cures are permitted."

Alan: "I shall use no power not accessible to mortals."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Your Lordship is gracious."

Alan: "All mortal fighting skills are fair."

Alan: "This includes magic, deception, calculation, entrapment, and all other methods of mayhem."

** Emilia Eaglebourne smiles. **

Alan: "If you have no questions, we shall begin."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I am defeated before we begin, Your Lordship; I have no magic, and I suspect I have used all my calculation simply arriving here."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "But let us see."

Alan: Let us, then, roll some initiative.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "At the least I may amuse you. Momentarily."

Alan: [ 1d20 + 2 ] -> [18,2] = (20)

Emilia Eaglebourne: [1d20 +2] -> [12,2] = (14)

Emilia Eaglebourne: Declaring Fortress Defense.

Emilia Eaglebourne: AC therefore 26.

Alan: Spring » The First Blossoms

Alan: Hyuri's robes flow and whip behind him as he skips up into the air, attacking high and low with quick jabs like spring rain and snap frost.

Alan: (He makes an extra few attacks, but suffers an accuracy penalty on them all.)

Alan: [ 1d20.attack(26, 5, 19) ] -> [10,5] = (15) vs AC 26 Miss!

Alan: [ 1d20.attack(26, 5, 19) ] -> [9,5] = (14) vs AC 26 Miss!

Alan: [ 1d20.attack(26, 5, 19) ] -> [6,5] = vs AC 26 Miss!

Alan: [ 1d20.attack(26, 5, 19) ] -> [1,5] = (6) vs AC 26 Miss!

Alan: [ 1d20.attack(26, 5, 19) ] -> [9,5] = (14) vs AC 26 Miss!

Alan: "A most excellent defense," he says halfway through his attack.

Alan: "I've underestimated you after all!"

** Emilia Eaglebourne says nothing. **

Alan: His feet were floating inches off the ground through his flurry, but he lands in a short and agile stance.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She returns him an Overlap Crunch.

Emilia Eaglebourne: (what, if I may inquire, is his AC?)

Alan: (The notation for the nifty attack thing is 1d20.attack(target AC, bonus, critical range) )

Alan: (And his AC is 14 in this season.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: [1d20.attack(14, 8, 19)] -> [15,8] = (23) vs AC 14 Hit!

Alan: (You might have to "/dieroller d20" before it works. Ah, you're good!)

Emilia Eaglebourne: [1d8+2] -> [5,2] = (7)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (7 damage)

Alan: Hyuri spins into a sidestep to avoid your quick counterattack, but you made him move just a bit faster than he was planning to.

Emilia Eaglebourne: (unless Crescent Light has additional bonuses I don't know about)

Alan: Next round; continuing the Fortress Defense?

Emilia Eaglebourne: hell yeah!

Alan: (Ah, sorry, it's actually 2d6 due to its sharpness.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: the idea here is to look good for a few rounds before he wipes me out!

Alan: (Remember to keep debiting your ki account.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: [2d6+2] -> [2,5,2] = (9)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (I am. Currently at 20.)

Alan: (And remember you can use the defense even during a charge if need be.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (Understood.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (Has he moved into Summer?)

Alan: His stance is still set for quick but weak motions.

Emilia Eaglebourne: ('k, hanging in there...)

Alan: Sorry, I said "short and agile stance" and assumed you were a martial artist. :)

Alan: Quick, study some karate!

Emilia Eaglebourne: (well, it was a new round, so I didn't know.)

Alan: Spring » Crocuses in Snow

Alan: Hyuri jumps high into the air, landing with a massive downward axe-like chop.

Alan: [ 1d20.attack(26, 4, 19) ] -> [16,4] = (20) vs AC 26 Miss!

Alan: It's even more obvious than the last attack, so you dodge it entirely.

Emilia Eaglebourne: (w00t! that would have hit!)

Alan: Roll an Int check, DC 15.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Int check: [1d20+2] -> [15,2] = (17)

Alan: He lands in a crouch, and you realize he's in the perfect position to spin up into another slash.

Alan: [ 1d20.attack(16, 8, 19) ] -> [18,8] = (26) vs AC 16 Hit!

Alan: Doh...

Alan: Well, would have hit AC 26 as well.

Emilia Eaglebourne: yup, bring it on... *sigh*

Alan: Even expecting the attack, you're unable to avoid it perfectly, and you end up taking the blow on the hilt of your blade.

Alan: [ (1d8 + 3) * 2 ] -> 12

Alan: You suffer 12 points of damage.

Alan: Next round; Hyuri's recovery from his attack has placed him in a deep and solid stance.

Alan: He sidles forward and to one side, trying to hedge you into a corner.

Emilia Eaglebourne: (okay, here's deal... he's going to try to blind her, so she's going to pretend to be blinded and then come after him with a Dust Attack.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (and I need to log off and back on.)

Alan: Sorry, I didn't mean it is the next round, I meant that in the next round, his stance has changed.

Alan: You get a move first.

Emilia Eaglebourne: (ah, OK)

Emilia Eaglebourne: Dead Angle Attack.

Emilia Eaglebourne: [1d20 +8] -> [14,8] = (22)

Alan: The way he's maneuvering you, your back is almost to the sun, so you've got the perfect angle to do it.

Alan: You put yourself between the sun and him, then as he moves to meet your attack you sidestep, letting the sun hit him full on.

Emilia Eaglebourne: [2d6 + 2] -> [5,2,2] = (9)

Alan: Now make your free attack at -5.

Emilia Eaglebourne: (trying again, per description)

Emilia Eaglebourne: [1d20 -5] -> [16,-5] =

Emilia Eaglebourne: (nope)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (oops,sorry that should have been -3)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (but that still doesn't hit)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (disconnecting briefly)

Alan: (Right.)

Emilia Eaglebourne (enter): 22:29

Emilia Eaglebourne: (right, go on)

Alan: Summer » Sunfall Slash

Emilia Eaglebourne: (she knows this is coming...)

Alan: Hyuri makes no move to attack; he just stands ready, slowly moving towards you, keeping the sun at your back, not his.

Alan: He's twisting his sword slightly, as if nervous.

Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to Emilia Eaglebourne...

Emilia Eaglebourne: She attempts to fake him out. She looks ANYWHERE but at that sword!

Emilia Eaglebourne (exit): 22:31

Alan: (For your insight, I've given you a "point"; you may redeem five of them for a free reroll at any time; ten for a skill points; fifty for a feat; or a hundred for an entire level.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (Fortress Defense still up, btw)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (Noted.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (Thank you!)

Alan: (Everyone will get points from time to time; you can also suggest points for other players.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: ('k)

Alan: (Since I give out actual XP a full level at a time, advancing everyone evenly, points are my reward for roleplaying and whatnot.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (right, so what happens? you're killing me here!)

Alan: So you're pretending to be blinded?

Emilia Eaglebourne: She cries out and staggers into a setup for a Dust Attack.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Hoping that, thinking her blinded, he will be foolish enough to open his guard.

Alan: Sensing success, Hyuri jumps into the attack he would have gotten for free if the blinding had really worked.

Alan: Instead, it's just set him up.

Alan: Your move.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Okay, using a luck point for a +3 bonus.

Alan: To which roll? Could be attack or damage.

Emilia Eaglebourne: [1d20 +5] -> [13,5] = (18)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (attack, sorry)

Emilia Eaglebourne: [2d6 +7] -> [4,3,7] = (14)

Alan: Your character sheet says your attack bonus in Wrenfall style is a full +6; you're adding style bonus, strength (or dex, your choice); and the Luck?

Alan: The attack roll should have more than +5 on it, I think; it hit, of course.

Alan: But don't gyp yourself!

Emilia Eaglebourne: (duh, I am an idiot -- well, it hit anyway)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (won't, next time!)

Alan: Okay, Hyuri realizes his error after he's already airborne.

Alan: The Summer style doesn't give him the same aerial agility as the Spring style; he tries to twist away in midair, but he only barely avoids a slice along his ribs.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Does he land far enough away that she can take a sip out of the left-hand gauntlet section?

Alan: Your slash puts a rip in his robes.

Alan: You may sip from the potion gauntlet as a move-equivalent action at any time without prompting an AoO.

Alan: That's the point of a potion gauntlet.

Emilia Eaglebourne: (OK, sounds like a good time to do that, then!)

Alan: "Very well. This season, it ends!"

Alan: Fall » Dry Leaves

Alan: Fortress Defense?

Emilia Eaglebourne: ummmm....

Emilia Eaglebourne: no, drop it.

Emilia Eaglebourne: (what's the cleric-level bonus on a potion-gauntlet Cure Serious? 3d8 + what?)

Alan: (Ah, sorry, it goes by the potion list.

Alan: Both clerical heals and potion heals use the figures from that list.

Emilia Eaglebourne: (okay -- she's back at full)

Alan: (Damn... I wrote out his attack, then copied it, then overwrote that by copying the web address! Grr!)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (sorry!)

Alan: Hyuri holds his sword so low that it touches the ground, then spins towards you like a tornado, cutting a cursive swathe as he dervishes towards you.

Alan: The sliced streetweave flurries up around him like dry leaves in autumn as he extends into a mighty curling slash that comes almost too fast to block.

Alan: [ 1d20.attack(16, 8, 19) ] -> [18,8] = (26) vs AC 16 Hit!

Emilia Eaglebourne: (woulda hit anyway!)

Alan: You barely block the attack with Crescent Light, but the impact is so hard that sparks fly and your wrists jangle with pain.

Alan: [ 1d8 + 3 ] -> [5,3] = (8)

Alan: Having hit, he instantly gets another attack.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Godfrey and Coris, watching tensely, see her wince.

Alan: [ 1d20.attack(16, 8, 19) ] -> [5,8] = (13) vs AC 16 Miss!

Emilia Eaglebourne: But she makes no sound.

Alan: Seeing him come around for another spin, you're able to predict his path and avoid the sword with a vertical jump.

Alan: Your action comes in midair. :)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (Ah.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: Well, let's use the momentum on a Guard Crush.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Hm, no, can't.

Emilia Eaglebourne: no combos.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Overlap Crunch, then.

Alan: (Same with Dead Angle. I'm going to say that as long as you only get one attack per round, you can use combo enders.)

Alan: (Otherwise, why have the moves?)

Alan: (They're "combo enders" just to keep you from doing them twice in a round.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: [d20.attack(14, 9, 19)

Emilia Eaglebourne: [Bad dice format]

Emilia Eaglebourne: [1d20.attack(14, 9, 19)] -> [18,9] = (27) vs AC 14 Hit!

Emilia Eaglebourne: (finally!)

Emilia Eaglebourne: Luck point on damage.

Alan: (It's a bit much, yes... I've just got it macroed.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: [2d6 +5 ] -> [3,5,5] = (13)

Alan: Dropping literally out of the sky to swing down at Hyuri's face, you force him to leap backwards, robes flapping, to avoid being cut in half.

Alan: He stumbles slightly as he regains his footing.

Alan: "Most impressive..." he intones.

Emilia Eaglebourne: (aha -- that hurt, did it? good.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Your Lordship -- is too kind," Emilia pants.

Alan: Fall » Last Rain, First Snow

Alan: Hyuri takes small steps which lengthen in the course of three meters into sprinting bursts and comes out of nowhere with a triple slash, fore back fore, each one as brutal as an executioner's chop.

Alan: [ 1d20.attack(16, 8, 19) ] -> [16,8] = (24) vs AC 16 Hit!

Alan: [ 1d20.attack(16, 8, 19) ] -> [10,8] = (18) vs AC 16 Hit!

Alan: [ 1d20.attack(16, 8, 19) ] -> [8,8] = (16) vs AC 16 Hit!

Emilia Eaglebourne: ouch!

Alan: What's worse, the damage he took last round is applied to the total.

Alan: [ 1d8 + 3 ] -> [5,3] = (8)

Alan: [ 1d8 + 3 ] -> [5,3] = (8)

Alan: [ 1d8 + 3 ] -> [6,3] = (9)

Emilia Eaglebourne: well, this is where she goes down... bring it on...

Alan: A total of 38.

Emilia Eaglebourne: yep, she's down

Emilia Eaglebourne: (well, all according to plan!)

Alan: You try to roll backwards with the lashing blows, but they're faster than anything you've seen; sparks fly as Crescent Light is simply battered back and forth by the first two blows, and the final one knocks the sword aside and cuts into your collarbone.

Alan: You stand locked together for a long moment, Hyuri looking deep into your unfocusing eyes.

Alan: "I'll expect to see you after class, Miss Eaglebourne."

** Emilia Eaglebourne tries weakly to salute him with Crescent Light. **

Alan: As you slump the ground and your vision goes black, you see him retreat gracefully into the gentle and musical motions of Winter.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Her last thought is "Emil!"

Alan: You're jolted awake what seems like only moments later by a warm bath of healing energy, like getting a massage and drinking hot chocolate at the same time.

Alan: There wasn't even time for you to feel pain; you went from full health to shock to healing.

Alan: A priest of Raphael kneels over you, singing a gentle hymn of supplication.

** Emilia Eaglebourne lies there, wondering if it is really over. **

Alan: (Shall we do your conversation with Hyuri at the banquet—or shall we make that the introduction to the second leg of your grand adventure?)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (let's do it -- in for a chip...)

---

Alan: The sun has fully set—no more games of blinding now—but the night is still young.

Alan: Troubadors are already singing the praises of Hyuri, the only dragon whose mighty blade could best the legendary Emilia Eaglebourne.

** Emilia Eaglebourne rolls her eyes, unseen. **

Emilia Eaglebourne: Still, this went better than she could have hoped, and just as she wished.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She did not embarrass herself -- and she did not win.

Alan: Carragio Laplace personally delivered you a single perfectly-crafted canape as praise for your valiant fighting.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She cannot begin to imagine the turmoil in her life if she had won.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She thanks him effusively.

Alan: Healing takes energy from the caster and the recipient; you've got quite a hunger.

Alan: Hyuri's tables are amply stocked, and the festival on the mansion grounds is bustling.

Emilia Eaglebourne: She is content to let the crowd swirl by.

Emilia Eaglebourne: Are Godfrey and Coris around?

Alan: You've dealt with all the well-wishers; there's just a trickle now.

Alan: Godfrey has stayed by your side, but Coris has been off enjoying himself, only occasionally stopping in to check on you.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Godfrey?"

Alan: "My lady?"

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I owe you an apology. For being angry at you. I'm sorry."

Alan: "Then I trust my lady has abandoned her plans of an Eastlands-style tattoo?"

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Yes, Godfrey."

Alan: Coris wanders by the table. "I saw Hyuri in the gallery. Really quite a wonderful collection he's got there. Karzath is in raptures."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "The collection! Godfrey, come on!"

** Emilia Eaglebourne hurries toward the gallery. **

Alan: "My lady."

Alan: The gallery occupies a full wing of the mansion; it is, indeed, quite a wonderful collection.

** Emilia Eaglebourne has eyes for only three objects... **

Alan: You've had enough art appreciation crammed into your head to understand that.

Emilia Eaglebourne: (Clara, again!)

Alan: Your eyes skim over priceless paintings and sculptures in a dozen styles, looking for the bow, the harp, and the figurine.

Alan: They do not immediately present themselves to your searching gaze. Hyuri, however, does.

** Emilia Eaglebourne braces herself. **

Alan: He's wearing a new robe to replace the one you sliced; this one is a shimmering sea green.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Your Lordship."

** Emilia Eaglebourne kneels. **

Alan: "Leave us," he says to the gallery at large. Nobody is inclined to disobey.

Alan: "Rise, Miss Eaglebourne."

** Emilia Eaglebourne gets lithely to her feet. **

Alan: "You will appreciate that I have held back considerably even from my usual tournament strength."

Alan: "In repayment, I expect at least a few answers."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I understand that."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Whatever you ask, I will answer, so long as none but me is endangered by my responses."

Alan: "My isolation seldom perplexes me, but this once I confess to great confusion. How did you attain such a reputation?"

Alan: "Unless you have in turn withheld your best strength, in which case I must demand a rematch."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Rumor, Your Lordship; lighter than air."

Alan: "Rumor."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "And the good wishes of many."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "But mostly rumor, yes."

Alan: "Do these rumors have some seed of truth? No common charlatan carries a samurai blade."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "The blade is a family heirloom."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I seek to return it to its rightful bearer."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I asked permission of it for its use this day."

Alan: "I see. Please unsheath it, that I might see its grain."

Alan: "I had no opportunity for a leisurely examination before."

** Emilia Eaglebourne does so, slowly, posing no threat. **

Alan: Hyuri peers at the blade, examining the wavy tempering mark and direction of the grain.

Alan: At least, you think he's peering; his depthless eyes make it hard to tell.

** Emilia Eaglebourne holds it perfectly still for his examination. **

Alan: "Interesting in the extreme."

Alan: "That is sufficient."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Thank you, Your Lordship."

** Emilia Eaglebourne returns the blade to its sheath. **

Alan: "I see reason to dispose myself favorably toward you."

Alan: "Why did you put yourself at risk here? What was your plan?"

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I am indeed fortunate."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I had no choice, Your Lordship. I had to speak with you, and I saw no other way."

Alan: "You could not have mailed me a letter?" he asks.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Would Your Lordship have answered it?"

Alan: "Most likely not," the dragon admits.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Surely you would have found it one more tiresome importunity."

Alan: "Then speak now."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Three heirloom pieces were stolen from my family two years ago. We believe you may have bought them in good faith."

Alan: "Describe them."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "They are named the Bow of Iskhur, the Alekian Figurine, and the Golden Harp of Astrid."

Alan: Hyuri nods and folds his arms.

Alan: "Art objects of considerable value, but not central to my collection."

Emilia Eaglebourne: Emilia's heart sinks.

Alan: "I traded them for pieces I desired more."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "May I inquire of Your Lordship to whom they were traded?"

Alan: "I gave the Golden Harp to Dameron Clay of Gereval. By fortune, I read in an art magazine that the Golden Harp ended up as a prize in a music contest there."

Alan: "I very nearly purchased it again when the winner of the prize happened through a kingdom to the near south."

Alan: "But Dorothy Durai was unwilling to part with it at a price I found reasonable."

Alan: "To find the harp, find Dorothy Durai."

** Emilia Eaglebourne nods acceptance. **

Alan: "I gave the Bow of Ishkur to Whirlwind Lionheart, of the Faerie Realm."

Alan: "He makes his residence on Forfeit Isle, where all lost things come to be found."

Alan: "The simplest entrance is at his temple in Eridu, a city founded on wealth."

Emilia Eaglebourne: Even lost brothers? Emilia wonders.

Alan: "And the Alekian Figurine will be either easiest to recover, or hardest, depending on your loyalties and history."

Alan: "It lies on the desk of Lachlan Vinn."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "How so, Your Lordship?"

Emilia Eaglebourne: (who is...)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (I presume Renate would know?)

Alan: (I... don't know. He's the commander of Heaven.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: (Oh. She'd know.)

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Indeed. Well. I shall regain two treasures at once, then, I hope."

Alan: "Miss Durai was last seen little more than a week ago, in the town of Geness, due south."

** Emilia Eaglebourne alertly files this away. **

Alan: "As she lives the life of a vagabond minstrel, her trail is most likely to grow cold."

Alan: "I suggest you seek her first."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I thank you for your good counsel, and shall follow it."

Alan: "I have discharged the good will I felt. Enjoy the rest of our feast and festival; leave my kingdom within the week; and never return under pain of death."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I understand, Your Lordship."

Emilia Eaglebourne: Her blood runs cold.

Alan: Hyuri bows slightly and drifts out of the gallery.

** Emilia Eaglebourne exits also, and looks for Godfrey. **

Alan: Coris meets you at the doorway. "...well?"

Alan: Godfrey is a step behind him.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Well. I've got a long road."

Alan: "Which way are you headed?" Coris asks. "I've just received a new telegram; it releases me to follow my other obligations, which carry me north."

Emilia Eaglebourne: Her voice is Renate's again -- a tired, shaky Renate, but nonetheless.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "South, I'm afraid."

Alan: "If you're bound for hobgoblin country, we could... ah, a shame."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Yeah. That's the way it goes sometimes."

Alan: "I must join General Hideki at Camp Phoenix."

** Emilia Eaglebourne undoes the gauntlet, and hands it back. **

Alan: "But I'm sure our paths will cross again."

Emilia Eaglebourne: "I'll look forward to it."

Alan: He takes your hand and kisses your fingers in the finest drawing-room style.

Alan: "Fare thee well. I must gather up Karzath; we leave tomorrow."

Emilia Eaglebourne: She bends her knees slightly, and bows her head.

Emilia Eaglebourne: "Good fortune go with thee. Coris."

Alan: "He'll be travelling by carriage through the Kingdom of Sune—safer than making a straight shot through the Patchworks to Xanadu."

Alan: "They call Genjiro the Mad General, but he's certainly made things bandit-free up there."

Alan: Coris takes his leave.

** Emilia Eaglebourne can't manage to hear Godfrey's prattle. **

Alan: (Well, that was still Coris.)

Renate: (oh, it was? my bad)

Renate: (she still can't make any sense out of it)

Alan: Godfrey says, "We should prepare as well. An early start will cause no harm."

Renate: "Oh, no. Do a lot of good, I think."

Renate: "Please, Godfrey, can we go back to the inn now?"

Alan: As you walk back to the Water Lily, Carragio calls you over. He's busy closing up his shop.

Renate: "I don't think I've ever been so tired."

** Renate straightens up and walks over. **

Alan: "Are you travelling to Ilium, then? I could use some trustworthy friends to cover my back. No fighting style yet, and bandits seem to keep thinking I have something worth stealing."

Renate: "Kind of you to console a loser, Mr. Laplace."

Renate: "No, I'm afraid not. Not this time."

Alan: "Fortunately, none of them are smart enough to steal the cookware."

Alan: "Ah, a shame. Well, if you're ever in Ilium, see me at Berthold Square every lunch hour."

Renate: "Don't tell anyone, or they'll all try it."

Renate: "That's a promise."

Alan: Carragio whistles a merry tune as he finishes locking up the cart. It's the same one the minstrel was playing in the inn this morning.

Alan: A ballad of some ancient elven prince; and now of Emilia Eaglebourne.

** Renate shakes her head at it, and walks back to Godfrey. **

Alan: "To sleep, then, my lady; and if we dream, then let us dream well."

Renate: "Be it so."

---

Alan: A long curved sword, of impeccable artistry, suspended in starry blackness, reflects the light of the sun down towards the night side of a sleeping planet.

Alan: Two hands grasp it; one male, one female. Like innocents with a ouja board, they hold it loosely; and it wavers first one way, first another.

Alan: The light of the sword travels slowly across the face of the earth, turning oceans to steam, mountains to slag.

** Renate shifts in her sleep. **

Alan: In a beautifully random cursive, it writes letters in a language of pure concept: "Duty." "Honor." "Trust." "Betrayal."

Alan: "Hope."

Alan: As the final curve of the final letter on earth is completed and dotted with the fiery explosion of a quiet lagoon, the entire sword comes afire with words of its own, written in the same pure language:

Alan: "My lady—it's time to get up."

Alan: Godfrey shakes you gently. "The sun has already risen."

Renate: "mmm -- right."

** Renate rubs her eyes tiredly. **

Renate: "Did I say? We're going to Geness."

Alan: "To track down this Dorothy Durai. I chanced to overhear."

Renate: Much of the last night is a blur to Renate just now.

Renate: She honestly isn't sure whether she told him.

Renate: "Did you?"

Alan: "I suspect that the most troublesome part of our adventure is quite concluded. Your things are packed."

Renate: "Did I make too bad a fool of myself, Godfrey?"

Alan: "Our horses await."

Alan: "On the contrary, my lady: you made us all proud."

** Renate climbs stiffly out of bed. **

** Renate smiles. **

Alan: Explicit liber primus; incipit liber secundus. And all that.

---

Interlude

Renate: "So, Godfrey, how'd the fight look from where you were standing?"

Alan: "Rousing, my lady."

Renate: "That doesn't tell me much."

Alan: "As in the tales of the masters, you went blow for blow until the decisive moment."

Renate: "Ha! Don't kid yourself. I made him think once or twice, but if he'd tried he could have flattened me right quick."

Alan: "The lines of Hythar come to mind: 'The weaker branch bends / Only to sting returning.'"

Renate: "Hythar was an ass, and you can tell him so from me."

Renate: "Funny, though. It didn't hurt."

Alan: "The human body is a remarkable thing."

Renate: "Yeah. It is."

Alan: "Where the mind rebels, the body accepts and adapts."

Renate: "I don't like having a hole in my memory, though. How long was I out?"

Alan: "A mere ten seconds, my lady. The priests attained the ring and restored you immediately."

Renate: "Oh."

Alan: "They inform me that your soul did not leave your body."

Renate: "Oh."

Renate: "I don't remember it doing anything like that."

Renate: "'Course, before yesterday I'd probably have told you I didn't have one."

Alan: "Everyone has a soul. And if I may say so, the experience of drifting free of one's body is almost pleasant, provided help is swift on its way."

Renate: She looks at him. "You know this from experience, Godfrey?"

Alan: "Much has been written on the topic, my lady."

Renate: "That didn't answer my question."

Alan: "I came to grief once at sea, during a great storm. Praised be Leviathan, my fall from the yardarm took me to the deck rather than the open sea."

Renate: "Ouch."

Renate: "So you were a sailor?"

Alan: "I forswore the sailor's life shortly thereafter."

Renate: She has never asked him about his history before. It never occurred to her that he had one.

Alan: "As a youth, one tends to wander from one enthusiasm to another. One of those was the ocean, yes."

Renate: "And the other ones?"

Renate: "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'm just curious."

Alan: "Nothing of note, my lady. Some artistic entanglements in Ilium; a brief career as a shop manager."

Alan: "I came to realize that the most ennobling occupation is the service of nobility."

Alan: "Never wealth, my lady; do not make that error of equation."

Renate: She nods.

Renate: "Or you'd be in Andragar, I guess."

Alan: "You will forgive me if I suspect that the von Adler line has a certain great merit yet to be fully revealed."

Alan: "And to be quite frank, Andragar has much of nobility as well; simply not, shall we say, of the right type."

Renate: "Is that what you think Emil is chasing after?"

Alan: "I cannot speak as to the young master's intentions."

Alan: "I am certain that we will gain some insight when we encounter him."

Renate: "That's confidence."

Renate: "What is the 'right type,' Godfrey?"

Alan: "My small survey of the world's history makes it apparent to me that true freedom comes from within, not from one's government."

Alan: "For what is a government but a collection of masters?"

Renate: "What does that have to do with nobility?"

Alan: "Lest I sound like an anarchist, let me assure you that the greatest freedom is the freedom to serve."

Alan: "And the greatest exercise of that freedom is to serve a worthy master, one whose goals coincide with one's own free choice."

Renate: Renate thinks about that for a bit.

Alan: "Thus, those who are truly noble are those who make good masters -- who support, with their 'commands,' their servants' own needs and desires."

Renate: "Oh."

Renate: "I guess I'm not doing real well on that score so far, huh?"

Alan: "You would do well to study the politics and government of Andragar. You will learn much about government, and how to extract the full potential of a people."

Alan: "You will also learn much about true freedom, if only by indirection."

Renate: "Because they don't have it? Is that what you mean?"

Alan: "I believe that they do not. And yet from the heart of that nation comes some of the greatest and most subversive art in the world."

Alan: "This is a paradox I have not fully resolved."

Renate: "Man. Godfrey, I am a big dope sometimes. I didn't realize you thought about things like this."

Alan: "If the art were hidden and repressed, I would think it simply the result of repression; but the government itself encourages art critical of the government."

Alan: "Andragar is a puzzle, one that perhaps you can assist me in solving some day."

Alan: "Well, my lady, I do keep my own counsel for the most part."

Renate: "Well, Aaron encourages me to beat the heck out of him, even though sometimes I hurt him."

Renate: "More often the other way 'round, of course."

Alan: "Such is the root of my confusion. If Dark Eternal is of the same mettle as Aaron Wrenfall, then all the world would do well to become part of Andragar."

Alan: "But I cannot believe that this is the case."

Renate: "I, um, don't know enough to say."

Renate: "I don't know, though. In a way, I'm freer than anyone I know."

Renate: "But here I am in the Patchworks, noplace I want to be, carrying a sword I don't want to carry, looking for three pieces of junk I don't care about -- I don't feel free at all!"

Alan: "Freedom is difficult," Godfrey says, gazing at the horizon, where distant dragons circle lazily.

Alan: A common sight in Northrock.

Renate: "No. Really?"

Renate: "And what's more, I don't see why you're chasing all over the Patchworks with me, either."

Renate: "Obviously you think Papa's noble -- and I agree with you; he is -- but, well, I'm not real stuck on myself right now."

Renate: "So all I can figure is that I'm Papa's daughter."

Alan: "June Ylantic served Seven Spear Kane for seventeen years of dissolution and misrule; and in the eighteenth year, the monarch achieved enlightenment, and brought his people into a golden age."

Renate: "Seventeen years, huh."

Renate: "Long time to wait."

Renate: "And no guarantees."

Alan: "There's no guarantee that a pebble will fall if one drops it; yet, through the will of God, the pebble will always fall."

Renate: "Because that's what pebbles do. Aren't people a little more complicated than that?"

Alan: "Yes; and so the crux of the matter is determining 'what people do.'"

Renate: "I mean, look. I had a problem, and I tried to make Coris solve it for me, and when you tried to show me how to solve it for myself I just balked."

Renate: "That's about as noble as pond scum."

Alan: "Ah. Then you were planning to leave the town and return home?"

Renate: "Well, no."

Renate: "I had to get to Hyuri somehow."

Alan: "Then I need say no more."

Renate: "Right. I just said it. I tried to back out of a fight that was no one's but mine."

Renate: "Because I was scared."

Alan: "Fear is of neutral morality. You persevered; that is the fact at issue."

Renate: "Well, that's kind of a funny thing."

Renate: "I didn't. Not really."

Renate: "Somebody named Emilia Eaglebourne marched in and did it all for me."

Renate: "I swear, Godfrey, that's what it felt like."

Alan: "True freedom is the freedom to be who you will."

Renate: "I liked being Emilia. I mean, aside from Hyuri smashing my collarbone to fragments."

Renate: "People took her seriously."

Renate: "I mean, when they weren't making up stupid songs about her."

Renate: "And she talks like something out of a book, I don't know how."

Alan: "I have found that most people are too complex for a single face to express."

Alan: "Consider my brief sailing career, for example. Is there room for a roustabout sailor in Godfrey Cuyler?"

Alan: "I submit that there is not."

Renate: "I guess you showed a face or two I hadn't seen before in Larkspur, at that."

Renate: "Cardsharp."

Renate: "Purveyor of dirty jokes."

Renate: "And they'd better not have been about me."

Alan: "Rest assured."

Renate: "Not that I didn't walk into it, talking about how I learned to fight blind."

Renate: "I was so focused on the fighting, I didn't even realize what I said until that idiot baronet started laughing."

Alan: "Only the coarsest mind could have coaxed the slightest impropriety from your words, my lady."

Renate: "Hm. I guess you don't consider the Baronet a paragon of nobility, eh, Godfrey?"

Alan: "A paragon of privilege, most certainly."

Renate: "Privilege?"

Renate: "How is that different from wealth?"

Alan: "Privilege is the exercise of power without responsibility."

Alan: "It can arise from noble birth, wealth, or both."

Renate: Renate stores that away.

Renate: "All right, I think I'm starting to get where you're coming from."

Renate: "Been pretty privileged until now, haven't I?"

Alan: "Until now, you have had no responsiblities to meet."

Alan: "And, having responsibilities, you are meeting them."

Renate: "Don't say that too fast. We haven't gotten any of the four treasures back yet."

Alan: "The town of Vundamar, where Miss Durai was last seen, is at the end of the day's trail. With luck, we will encounter her there."

Renate: "Yeah, well, she seems to move pretty fast. But quit changing the subject on me. It's annoying."

Alan: "I beg forgiveness."

Renate: "Let's say, for the sake of argument, that a little of what I did in Larkspur showed some real nobility."

Renate: "Forget it."

Renate: "I don't see how I could have done what I did if I hadn't grown up what you call 'privileged' first."

Renate: "So can there be nobility without privilege?"

Alan: "In the Second Age, the peasant farmer Alain de la Bruyere rose from near-slavery to unify all the dark elf nations."

Renate: "All right, point."

Renate: "But don't the privileged have kind of a head start?"

Alan: "Their advantage is a life of leisure and resources. This can allow education and training..."

Renate: "Well, yeah, that's what I'm saying."

Alan: "...but can also lead much more easily to a sense of entitlement, and a life of debauchery."

Renate: Renate looks troubled.

Renate: "I, um, bet you knew about that night Emil got in right before sunup, huh?"

Renate: "It's my doing Papa didn't find out."

Alan: "I reserve judgment as to the result of Emil's lifestyle. He has learned things in his entertainments."

Renate: "Oh."

Renate: "I didn't know that."

Renate: "Don't tell me; it's none of my business."

Alan: "I simply mean that in conversing with the people of Karlbotel, he may have come to understand their lives better."

Renate: "Oh."

Renate: "I guess he didn't think much of it."

Renate: Renate thinks about what she knows of how her father's people live.

Renate: It isn't much.

Renate: "Is that why he left?"

Alan: "I cannot guess."

Renate: "Well, if you were expecting it, you must have some kind of guess!"

Renate: "I still can't believe everybody knew it was coming but me!"

Renate: "And, um, Papa, I guess."

Alan: "You would do best to speak to Emil yourself, my lady. I can only surmise that he wished to avoid both the privilege and the responsibility of rulership."

Renate: "But -- he -- I don't know."

Renate: "It seems to me that some people don't have the luxury to find their freedom from within, Godfrey."

Renate: "Or I wouldn't be in the middle of the damn Patchworks chasing after a stupid harp."

Alan: "Indeed... another reason to study Andragar."

Renate: "Huh? I don't follow."

Alan: "Their education system determines the most appropriate profession for each citizen."

Alan: "Each person is well suited to his work; but his decision has not come from within."

Renate: "Huh? How do they know?"

Alan: "A battery of tests, I believe, as well as reports from teachers."

Renate: "And what if they do it for a while and don't like it any more?"

Alan: "I believe that they are permitted to try a career of their own choice, on probation; if they succeed at it, they remain."

Renate: "Oh."

Renate: "Weird."

Alan: "I know little more than these basics, however."

Renate: "But, look, it's still not quite the same thing."

Renate: "They do it because they're told to. They don't care about who's doing the telling, or what comes of what they do."

Renate: "But -- uh-oh, it's starting to rain -- but I'm here because I love Papa and I love Emil. It's different."

Alan: "I would advise you to visit Andragar and speak with the people there. Many of them are deeply devoted to Dark Eternal."

Renate: "Well, all right then."

Renate: "Maybe it's not different."

Alan: "I am informed that the dragon rulers walk among their people and discuss the problems of the day."

Alan: "The same occurs in Ilium, of course."

Alan: "Even Noble Amethyst in Xanadu tours a different neighborhood each week."

Renate: "So Hyuri's kind of weird, for a dragon."

Renate: "Not that Hyuri wasn't just plain weird."

Alan: "All dragons are 'weird.' Very little unifies the race."

Renate: "I suppose you've made a study?"

Renate: "When do you have time to read?"

Alan: "I sleep only a few hours each day, so I spend most evenings in study."

Renate: "Really? Is that just the way you are, or did you train yourself?"

Renate: "Come to think of it, I guess you'd have to not sleep much. Or Emilia wouldn't have had much of a reputation."

Alan: "The question of essence versus experience is as old as philosophy, my lady."

Renate: "I'm not asking for a generality, Godfrey. I'm asking about your case specifically."

Renate: "But I guess I don't need to know."

Renate: "Just curious, again."

Renate: "I can't believe you've been like this the whole time and I didn't know!"

Renate: "You're really a neat guy, Godfrey."

Alan: "I had the good fortune to receive an introduction to the order of Tharazos while living in Ilium. Although I did not join the order, I was convinced by them of the intrinsic value of knowledge."

Renate: "Wow. Why didn't you join? If you don't mind telling me."

Alan: "A life dedicated entirely to study did not appeal to me. One must use knowledge as well as obtain it."

Renate: She nods. "I can see that. Like only fighting with practice dummies."

Alan: "Quite so."

Renate: "So what are you doing running around the Patchworks with me?"

Renate: "What do you get out of it, I mean."

Alan: "Get? I spoke of no reward."

Alan: "It is a duty that I meet gladly."

Renate: "No it's not. You didn't have to come."

Renate: "And I don't think you do very much at all out of just duty."

Renate: "So what are you doing riding through a rainstorm?"

Alan: "I am wishing I had thought to purchase a few umbrellas during my last trip to the city."

Alan: He has already produced oilskins, at least.

Renate: "You're changing the subject again."

Renate: "If you're not going to tell me, just tell me you're not going to tell me."

Alan: "I have told you as much as I know, my lady. You must choose how much to believe."

Alan: "I recommend you believe it all."

Renate: "I know you're not lying to me."

Renate: "Not that I'm real good at telling when people are lying."

Renate: "But it still doesn't make any sense. And I like it when things make sense."

Renate: "But I guess things in general just quit making sense as soon as Emil rode away."

Renate: "I tell you what, though."

Renate: "I think you've just got a mad, burning passion for Emilia Eaglebourne."

Alan: "'Where rulers and Powers despair, God plans.'"

Renate: "You can't know that."

Renate: "Maybe nothing makes any sense."

Alan: "It is an expression of hope."

Alan: "Allow me to quote Noble Diamond, when he transcribed poetry of the Time of Wandering."

Alan: "The year's at her spring; And the day's at the morn; Morning's at seven; The hillside's dew-pearled..."

Alan: This is actually quite a familiar verse.

Alan: "The lark's on the wing; The snail's on the thorn; God's in his heaven; All's right with the world."

Alan: "Even amid wars and bloodshed, Noble Diamond dropped thousands of copies of that poem by air on friend and foe alike."

Alan: "Hope springs eternal, as they say."

Renate: "Then why are you so down on Andragar?"

Renate: "And what are you doing riding through the pouring rain when you could be home in Karlbotel thinking everything's just peachy?"

Alan: "Because hope by itself is only a concept. It must inspire action, not prevent it."

Renate: "Says who?"

Alan: "When Yves forged all the evils of the world from the iron thighbone of the Great Lord, Raphael's single tear of sadness became Hope."

Alan: "It is our only weapon; and like all weapons, it must be wielded by one of strength and, dare I say, nobility."

Renate: Renate is silent (thank heaven!) for a long minute.

Renate: "I'm not sure what to hope for, Godfrey," she says finally, rather miserably.

Alan: "You will travel, as we all do, from hope to hope on the wings of necessity."

Renate: "Doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun."

Alan: "It is not."

Renate: "Yeah. I guess. I think Emilia's better at it than I am."

Renate: "Right now if you held up one of those little bottles like Coris had, and told me if I drank it I'd die and be taken back to Karlbotel and forget not just a day, but *everything* for the last month or so -- I'd drink it in a hot minute."

Renate: "Not exactly noble."

Alan: "Unfortunately, you'd recover from your trance wondering where Emil had gone."

Renate: "Well, a year, then. For one of Mama's quilts and one of Beanie's backrubs -- man! Just as well it's raining, or you'd have to watch me crying."

Renate: "Does Emilia cry?"

Alan: "I would not be surprised if she did; although under more operatic circumstances."

Renate: She chuckles. "Yeah, probably."

Alan: "The destruction of a city, perhaps, right before cutting a dragon in half with a newly-invented technique born of desperation."

Renate: "Wow. Yeah, that would do it. I hope I don't ever find out."

Renate: "Not likely. As if I'd ever be able to cut a dragon in half."

Renate: "I couldn't even draw blood on Hyuri."

Alan: "You'd need a larger sword, at any rate."

Renate: "I would think! One too heavy to even lift."

Alan: "Or perhaps you could lure him into a sawmill."

Renate: "Kinda noisy."

Alan: "A spell of silence, perhaps."

Renate: "Somebody other than me. I don't do magic."

Renate: "He'd have to be a really stupid dragon."

Alan: "Dragons can be defeated most easily by cooperation, one would think."

Renate: "Oh, here we go. Emilia Eaglebourne and her man Godfrey Cuyler, out to take down a dragon!"

Renate: "Sorry, don't quite see it."

Alan: "I went hunting once. I believe I remember how to hurl a bola."

Renate: "Once." Renate shakes her head.

Alan: "I doubt my aim would be sufficiently true."

Renate: "I would guess not. Sorry, Godfrey."

Renate: "Your talents lie elsewhere than dragon-slaying."

Renate: "Believe me, I wouldn't trade 'em for anything."

Alan: "Very good, my lady."