The Worlds of Katherine Kurtz

I'm glad that Devyn managed to rescue poor Lucie. 

It's a good thing that Rémy is not as good a Deryni as he no doubt thinks he is. He is obviously aware that his bloodline needs a new imput of powerful Deryni blood - hence his need of Catalina - but I doubt that he would have any patience with the idea that he, Rémy, needed to focus on disciplined training to use his powers to their full effect.

Even in mediaeval times I think the bride's consent was necessary for banns to be published. The consent might be perfunctory or even forced, and often doubtless was, but I'm fairly sure the question needed to be asked!

I posted too quickly and hadn't noticed Camber. I definitely approve of his beard, or maybe I just like the wild look😂

Quote from: Demercia on Today at 06:31:55 AMIt's a definite no to the beard from me!

LOL! On which one? 😄

You'll notice Camber's is a bit wilder than Colin's. That's because Colin is currently encamped at Ramos, with the little luxuries that being headquartered in a town brings. Meanwhile Camber is out in the field trying to chase down those Jouvian forces and rarely having time to do much more than wash his face, let alone tame it.... 😂

(And keep an eye out for a future chapter when Cinhil gets an eyeful of his bristly younger brother.... 😄)

It's a definite no to the beard from me!

Chapter Twenty-five:

Added - Lucie of Woodbury, under Other People of Gwynedd

Updated - Prince Nicholas, Prince Camber (The House of Haldane)

Previous chapter: https://www.rhemuthcastle.com/index.php/topic,3248.0.html


Chapter Twenty-Five

August 16, 1464
The Duke of Carthmoor's quarters
The City of Ramos
Late evening

Prince Nicholas was back in the lodgings his quartermaster had secured for him in Ramos, feeling almost a sense of relief at being back in the war zone. A twinge of guilt followed directly on the heels of that thought, for it was not as if he hadn't enjoyed having a couple of days to spend with his family, and after the initial shock of his arrival on top of everything else that had happened, Catalina had seemed truly delighted and grateful that he had remembered her birthday. Finding Melisande at Rhemuth had been a shock, especially once he had learned how close she and his daughters had come to being captured, but as relieved as he was to see that they were safe, there had also been no little awkwardness about their reunion.

He'd felt as if he'd been given some sort of test, one that hadn't been announced beforehand, and one which he had no idea how he would be scored on. At first he couldn't figure out why he had felt that way, but by the second day of his visit, he remembered what he had told Mellie months earlier, when he'd first returned to her after marrying Catalina.

He had told her that he had promised not to return to her bed until his wife was bearing an heir. Well, that condition had been met now. On the other hand, he had also promised Catalina he would not return to Melisande's bed at least until the war was over, due to the risks of dying on the battlefield unshriven, since the Church would consider him resuming his relations with Mellie to be adultery, a mortal sin. And he had been as faithful as he could be under the circumstances in seeking out a confessor regularly and partaking in the sacraments since their wedding. But at the time he'd made that promise to his wife, he had still somehow thought he would someday be able to go back to how things had been originally, only somehow with his marriage still intact.

He now realized he'd been an idiot. What was more, he suspected Mellie had known all along that things would never be the same between them even if the rest of their world returned to normal. Holding Mellie in his arms had felt like saying goodbye, only the actual words hadn't been spoken yet, neither one of them quite knowing what to say. He still felt a quiet yearning for her, but it seemed more like the wistful remembrance of a loss after the full course of grief had already run. It felt strange, mourning the loss of a woman who was still very much alive and well, and possibly even still available to him, if he wished to risk his future in order to cling to his past. But holding Catalina reminded him that's not what he wanted anymore.

He hurt inside, yet this time it felt manageable, even if he still hadn't quite worked out what to say to Melisande once the war was over, assuming he survived it, that would be the least hurtful way to acknowledge what they both already knew. Nor did he know how he would manage to explain it to their children.

There was a rap on the door. Sebastian went to answer it, returning almost immediately to announce Devyn McLain's arrival. Grateful for the interruption of his melancholy thoughts, he beckoned his old friend into the room.

"Welcome back," Dev said, taking the seat that Nicholas waved him toward. "I see you've finally managed to wrest yourself away from your bonnie bride. I trust she's faring well?"

"Quite well. And also pregnant." Nicholas grinned.

"Is she now?" Devyn grinned back. "Congratulations! Cinhil must be nearly as thrilled by the news. I assume you've told him?"

"She'd already done so, yes. Apparently Camber had tried to reach me earlier to see if he could trade places with me so she could tell me in person, but we were on the move to come here at the time, then by the time we'd settled in and had access to another Portal, he'd already been sent into Travlum." Nicholas studied his childhood friend, wondering what Dev was working up to. He felt certain the man wasn't calling at this late hour just to inquire about the birthday of a woman he barely knew, even if that woman was Colin's wife. "So, what brings you here from Valoret at this hour?"

Devyn frowned, leaning back into his chair and studying some invisible spot on the floor. "Valoret is a fair-sized city, but it's a little too small for two McLains right now, I think. At least if one of them is me and the other is the Duke my father."

The prince sighed. "Cassan's still nursing his grudge?"

Dev shrugged. "He says he's willing to let bygones be bygones. But he still seems to believe that I tried to seduce his pretty young wife."

Colin raised a brow at that. "Despite Truth-Reading you? How does he explain the discrepancies between what she claims and what your answers to his questions told him?"

"Oh, he acknowledges I've answered all his questions truthfully; he just seems equally convinced he's not asked the right questions yet. My brother Kierney thinks Da is just so besotted by Arabella and convinced he's found a second chance at a love match, he can't wrap his mind around the idea that she's not as enamored with him as he is with her. And also that he hasn't bothered with truly questioning her, at least not while Truth-Reading, doubtless because he's worried about what he might learn, though he's masked that under the guise of not wanting to hurt his bride's tender feelings by giving her cause to think he doesn't trust her word. Apparently finding herself in my bed at the opposite end of the Long Gallery from my father's bedchamber was the sort of innocent mistake anyone could have made while trying to find her way around a new home."

"Considering that you walked into your bedchamber to find her in your bed in a room that looks nothing like your father's, wearing nothing but your bedsheet and a welcoming smile, I'd have to say that's a fairly good sign she's not the faithful sort! And given that happened a mere three weeks after her wedding to your father, I would imagine she never intended to be. Surely that's at least grounds for an annulment, if not an execution!"

"Probably. Your brother Camber would know that better than I would. But Da prefers to believe Arabella, because perish the thought that his happy marriage might be built upon a lie, so that means I'm off again to seek my fortunes elsewhere. I ought to be getting on with the other part of the job Cinhil asked me to do anyhow. If you'll permit, I'll be heading for Rhemuth tomorrow morning, then across the Southern Sea once I've reported to Cinhil."

Colin frowned. "Be careful. Rémy's forces have moved much closer to Rhemuth now, though Camber and Philippe have been sent to push them back north and to the other side of the Eirian. Your best route might be the most direct one, riding as the crow flies and not following the river, or you could go south towards the Molling and then cut west. Or better yet, use the Portal."

Devyn grinned. "Getting my horse through the Portal might be a bit tricky. The Molling route might be safest, but less likely to yield the best intel to bring back to Cinhil. Though point taken; I'll be careful."


August 16, 1464
Candor Rhea
The Duke of Carthmoor's hunting lodge
Late evening

He was too late. They were already gone.

Prince Rémy scowled as he walked through the rooms of the empty hunting lodge. When his men had raided the village of Candor Rhea a few days earlier, they had made the very interesting discovery that this particular lodge situated on a hill above the village was the property of Prince Nicholas, the Duke of Carthmoor, and that he kept his favorite bed warmer and his bastard children here. They would have made wonderful prizes, if only he'd found the place in time. He would have quite enjoyed trying the woman out for himself, to find out what the Prince saw in her that would make him want to keep her around for ten long years. Clearly such a paramour must be both very beautiful and highly talented, and he would enjoy claiming Nicholas of Gwynedd's woman, though the missing paramour wasn't the woman Rémy was most interested in claiming from the Prince. No, it was the spirited Catalina of Andelon who he most desired to put in her proper place, and who he intended to claim for himself once Rhemuth fell. She had humiliated him by rejecting his proposal after he'd done her the great honor of courting her and had even had their wedding banns cried out in the market square. Before he had met Haakon, he had dreamed of the day he took his vengeance on her, entertaining thoughts of such pleasurable acts of revenge as having her polish his boots with her tongue after he took a stroll through the muck of the palace stables, but now he realized his previous fantasies had lacked imagination. The idea of a public consummation of their wedding had a lot of merit; not only would that ensure far more than the necessary number of witnesses to verify the legality of their vows, but it would also be the ultimate way to put the arrogant bitch in her place and teach her who was her master. Only he wouldn't bother with the wards or all the unnecessary bloodshed. He needed the Prince's Deryni bitch to breed his future sons on. The future Kings of Joux would be invincible with such a dam.

As for Prince Nicholas's baseborn children, he had no use for those, but his men might have enjoyed a little sport as well. Or they might have made valuable hostages. Some men were weak enough to have tender feelings towards their daughters, after all. Perhaps he could have forced the Duke's surrender just by threatening to ride his little darlings, although personally Rémy preferred to wait until a female had developed womanly curves.

One such womanly female was still outside, waiting to be lifted off his horse. He glanced out the window at his lieutenant, nodding to let him know he could go ahead and send her inside. He watched as the Jouvian officer assisted the pretty blonde in dismounting, seeing her wince as her foot landed on the ground. She had twisted her ankle in an attempt to flee a week earlier, forcing him to place her under a compulsion to remain within a hundred yards of him at all times in order to prevent further escape attempts while still allowing her sufficient range to do the various household chores he required of her aside from being available to him at night. Rémy supposed he could replace her with another woman easily enough, but he had sentimental feelings towards this one, since she had been Haakon's thoughtful gift to him, a lovely souvenir of their visit to the village of Woodbury-on-Cleyde.

He turned away from the window, starting back through the room towards the stairs when an open bag half stuffed with clothing caught his eye. Maybe the Prince's woman had left something of value behind in her haste to flee Candor Rhea. A flash of color at the top of the folded clothing caught his eye, some ornamental bit of trim or ribbon that drew him to look at it more closely.

He tried to lift it, finding it pinned to a thin chemise underneath. The ribbon tingled under his touch. Curious, he closed his eyes, attempting to discern what sort of magic permeated the embroidered token.

Interesting. It seemed to be a charm against death in childbirth, as far as he could tell. Rémy lifted the garment out of the bag, shaking out its folds and holding it up to check the size. Had the Prince's woman been breeding again? It was of little matter if she was; such a child would not be the long-awaited Gwyneddan heir in any case, though that just increased Rémy's frustration at not arriving in time to secure such a valuable prize.

The chemise might serve for Lucie, though. She was carrying his child. Normally it wouldn't matter to him too much whether one of his women survived her attempt to birth his child or not, but since she'd been a gift, he might as well take a little more care with her. He spread it out on the bed for her to find.

His lieutenant the Comte D'Aubergy entered along with Lucie, the latter glaring daggers at him, much to his amusement. He liked them spirited. Rémy pointed towards the bed. "I found a gift for you. Try it on."

It was obvious she didn't wish to, at least not with his lieutenant still in the room, but she was under a compulsion to obey, so she turned her back to them as she undressed with jerky motions. His lieutenant was clearly distracted by some new discovery, though, and barely spared a glance at the woman, which took a little of the fun out, though Rémy perked with interest at this latest report.

"Votre Altesse, I found the Duc de Guion's body in the stable. It looks like he was cut down from behind by someone wielding a sword, perhaps caught unawares while attempting to stop the escapees. And there are signs there might have been a scuffle. Our quarry might be injured."

The loss of the Duc was annoying. Surely Carthmoor's woman hadn't killed the man? No, not with a sword; that would take a man's strength and skill, which meant the woman must have had help. But from whom? Maybe the Prince's leman had been cuckolding him. Rémy tried to imagine a pregnant woman and two young girls attempting to escape stealthily through the dense forest surrounding the lodge, with or without a man or a horse, since they'd left a dead man in the stable. No, the only likely way out would have been down the dirt road they had taken from the village to arrive here at this isolated hunting lodge, and he'd had men watching the other end of that trail since their arrival in Candor Rhea.

Unless perhaps there was a Portal on the premises? Yes, that would make sense. The Prince would certainly have installed one for his convenience, rather than riding back and forth between the lodge and Rhemuth.

"I'll investigate in the morning when we have better light," Rémy said. "Give the Duc a decent burial, or if you can't find a shovel, then just drag him out into the woods somewhere and leave him somewhere downwind where we won't have to smell him from up here. Then you can bunk down in the sitting room below."


August 25, 1464
Candor Rhea
Late Night

Devyn McLain approached the outskirts of Candor Rhea with great caution. If he'd had any sense, he would have turned his horse around several miles back, when he'd begun to see the unmistakable signs that the village had already fallen to the enemy. But thinking back on Colin's words of caution several evenings previously, he recalled his friend warning him that the enemy had ventured close to Rhemuth and that the lands next to the Eirian were best avoided, but nothing in that warning made Devyn absolutely certain that Colin or Cinhil knew how close to Rhemuth they had encroached, and Candor Rhea was alarmingly close to the City. Therefore, Devyn also didn't know if Melisande and her children had managed to escape in time. So he could not in good conscience simply bypass the area without first ensuring they were no longer at the hunting lodge, or if they were, without attempting to help them escape. Colin was not simply his prince, he was his longtime friend, and Devyn had known Mellie almost as long also. He'd even fancied her once upon a time, spellbound by her graceful beauty as she had suddenly blossomed almost overnight from a gawky girl into young womanhood, but that was nearly half a lifetime ago, and she'd never had eyes for anyone but Colin even then.

So here he was, venturing where angels feared to tread, hoping the old maxim was true that God protected fools like him. At least he was not breaking his promise. He was doing his utmost to be careful, because one small slip or moment of inattention now could spell his doom.

Years of working as an intelligencer, as well as simply as a traveling jongleur seeking to avoid bandits or other perils on the road, had taught him the art of blending into his surroundings and appearing unremarkable and unobtrusive as he passed from town to town. Being Deryni was an asset in that regard, lending him additional concealment, although that required a certain amount of focus to sustain and depleted his energy and ability to observe his surroundings more closely, so he tried to avoid using any magical enhancements to his natural skill at stealth unless he had a desperate need to remain unnoticed. But often simple confidence sufficed, continuing on his way with the air of a man who knew where he was going and had business he needed to be about. Often no one thought to question a man who appeared to belong and seemed to know what he was doing.

Devyn spotted the sentries at the bottom of the dirt lane leading up to the hunting lodge, and sensed this was not going to be one of those times.

"Qui va là?" the sentry addressed him, watching him with suspicion. Well, that answered one question, at least. If the sentry was Jouvian, these must be Prince Rémy's men.

"C'est moi," he answered, throwing back his hood to reveal the features he had borrowed from another sentry he had spotted at the outskirts of the village when he'd skirted it.

"Quelle est la phrase secrète?" the sentry continued. Devyn took a chance, brushing the man's mind to check if he was human or Deryni. Fortunately he was merely human, and since he had just requested the pass phrase, the necessary information was right there at the forefront of his mind.

"Le corbeau vole à minuit," Devyn replied.  The sentry nodded, stepping aside to allow him to pass. Devyn turned onto the dirt lane and continued up the hill, his shoulder blades itching under the man's gaze, though he was careful not to speed up his pace or do anything to call additional attention to himself as he rode out of sight around a bend in the road.


There was a beautiful young woman crying at the top of the lane, but she was not Melisande. She was wearing what appeared to be a filmy nightdress and the most inappropriate shoes for outdoors he had ever seen, and could not have looked more conspicuous if she'd tried. At first he had assumed she was placed there as some sort of trap, but as he watched her warily, he realized her distress was genuine.

Of course, that didn't necessarily mean she wasn't a trap, it just meant she wasn't necessarily consenting to be used as one if she was.

Well, he wasn't going to learn anything about this unexpected situation from just sitting here astride his horse staring at her, and staring at her didn't seem the most gentlemanly thing to do under the circumstances.

She looked up, seeming to notice his presence for the first time. Her surprise and fear felt genuine to him, and she made a belated effort to shield herself with her arms, looking around wildly as if trying to find some escape route before wilting, her shoulders sagging, as if the effort had been too much and she was giving up. He inched his horse a little closer, trying to approach quietly, for now she was casting anxious glances up at the upper story windows of the lodge, as if worried someone within might be watching. Yet she didn't do what seemed to be the most obvious thing–run inside and lock the door. That made him wonder if she feared whoever was inside the lodge more than she feared him.

He had finally moved close enough to be heard even at a whisper. The woman had not moved, merely stood there watching him as if transfixed. He briefly considered using Mind-Speech, but he didn't know how she would react to that. There was a chance she might bring the whole lodge down on him with her screams.

"Can you tell me if the Lady Melisande and her children still reside within?" he asked in a voice that was barely audible even to himself. At first she didn't answer, and he wondered if he needed to try again in Jouvian, but then she cast another nervous look behind her and whispered back, "You are Gwyneddan?"

He nodded, and she nearly melted in relief. "No, there is no one else here but the one they call Rémy. And his second-in-command, but I can't pronounce his name. It sounds a bit like Aubergine. And me."

His eyebrows rose as he wondered whether the first man's name was mere coincidence or if Rémy of Joux had commandeered the Prince's lodge. Certainly if he had discovered who the property belonged to, he would have wanted to assert his dominance over it. Probably pissed in the corners as well, the mangy cur!

"Was the lodge already empty when you arrived here, or did the men do something to the original residents?" Devyn asked, hoping the former option was the correct one.

"It was empty, but I heard them saying something about escapees and some Duke found dead in a stable."

That sounded more ominous. Devyn hoped the Duke wasn't one of theirs. He tried to consider who might have been sent to rescue Mellie. The most obvious Duke would have been Carthmoor, but he was safely in Ramos, if any location within the war zone could be considered safe. Cassan, he knew only too well, was in Valoret. Claiborne hadn't been seen or heard from since fairly early on when he'd gone into Kheldour looking for the Eistenmarcker Queen. But Joss of Corwyn was the most likely candidate to have been sent in for a rescue attempt.

Devyn's heart nearly stopped until he realized that if Joss had died on this side of a Portal jump, Melisande and the girls would have remained stranded somewhere nearby. Yet there seemed to be no sign of them. He knew now not to attempt to extend his psychic touch into the lodge, where Rémy might detect it, but there was little need since the girl had said the lodge was empty before they arrived. So Mellie and the girls must be the escapees Rémy sought.

He cast around their surroundings briefly but found no signs of life nearby besides the usual scurrying animals one normally expected to find in a forest. So he'd risked his life and ridden all this way for nothing, then.

Devyn looked back at the trembling woman before him. Well, maybe not quite for nothing. "Did you wish to remain with this Rémy and his purple vegetable friend, or shall we be on our way?" He was fairly certain that any woman crying in the middle of the road late at night wearing only a nightgown and house slippers was likely not on the best of terms with whoever she kept casting fearful glances upwards to avoid.

"I..." Her head twitched convulsively as if she was trying to nod with it stuck in some sort of harness. Tears filling her eyes, she began to walk briskly, her steps curving in the small clearing, taking her on a path that partly circled the perimeter of the lodge garden before she returned, looking helplessly up at him, emanating frustration and despair.

"Let me guess, he's placed some sort of compulsion on you so you can't run away or ask overtly for help, is that it?" Devyn sighed, casting his senses out once more to make sure there weren't any enemies in the immediate vicinity. Not sensing any, he swiftly dismounted. "May I have a look? I promise not to touch anything but your head and your mind, and I'm not looking inside your head for anything besides what he might have put in there to keep you captive."

She didn't reply, but she didn't say "No" or shake her head either. Devyn took that for consent to try. He swiftly found the controls he was looking for. They had been inexpertly set by someone who appeared to have had only minimal training and were almost laughably simple to remove. Just in case this was some Jouvian practical joke, he did a second, very careful probe just to make sure there wasn't some sort of cleverly hidden death trigger or the like, but there hadn't been. He offered the girl a hand up into the saddle, swinging back onto his horse behind her, and wrapping his light cloak around them both.

"All right, little sweeting, let's get out of here before you're missed."

If ever there was a time to risk expending energy in order to use magical enhancements for concealment, Devyn judged that this was the perfect occasion to exercise such skills. He drew on all his training as they invisibly slipped past the posted sentries and continued further down the Via Rûmana towards Rhemuth.


August 25, 1464
A room above The Gold Lion
Nearly midnight

Rosaline had taken the late shift at the Gold Lion, where she worked as a barmaid, for the fifth evening in a row, but her efforts had paid off, for shortly before closing time Lord Salim had entered the inn to order his customary bowl of stew, tonight's special being a savory beef and barley pottage. She had learned his preferences well enough to know that he would eat nearly anything set before him, so long as it did not contain pork or, curiously, alcohol. She had learned a few of his other preferences also over the past few months, such as his enjoyment of a peculiar beverage called qahwa, an awful bitter brew which she had tasted one morning when he had made it for her, and then laughed heartily when she had sputtered at the taste of it.

He had become such a regular, Rosaline had become quite concerned when he had not appeared at the inn for nearly two weeks. There had been other occasions when he had not put in an appearance for several days at a time, and with rumors of war drawing closer to Rhemuth, those occasions had grown more frequent in recent weeks, but he had rarely been away for more than a week, if even that long. She had missed him.

He was more than making up for that absence now. She smiled with anticipation as he slid between her sheets in her small bedchamber upstairs above the inn's common room, drawing her close with those strong arms. She ran a fingertip down one of the faint scars that ran along his biceps, gazing up at him from her pillow. "Where have you been for so long, my lord?"

"I'm afraid I have been an unwilling guest of His Majesty's Infirmarium," he replied. "Though I am feeling much restored now."

"Have you been ill?" Rosaline asked, alarmed, though he looked perfectly healthy and hale to her now.

"No. My leg suffered an unfortunate encounter with a crossbow bolt. Fortunately Rhemuth Castle has a Healer on the premises. But enough of–"

Salim was interrupted by a loud banging on the door. Rosaline stiffened in alarm. Surely it wasn't one of the inn's patrons attempting to get in at this late hour?

She glanced at Salim, who looked equally wary, sliding silently out of bed and slipping his robes around himself again before reaching for his sword. The pounding began again. "Rosaline!" a voice outside whispered loudly, though why her unwanted guest was bothering to whisper over all that ruckus was quite beyond her. "It's me! I need your help."

The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place whose it was. She didn't think it was one she had heard very recently. Baffled, she glanced towards Salim as she tiptoed towards the small shuttered window beside the door, peering through a crack in the shutter. "Devyn FitzCassan?!" What in the blazes was Devyn doing here in Rhemuth? And why was he carrying some blonde woman wrapped up in his cloak?

No, those weren't her most pressing questions. The most pressing one was, did he have those two marks he still owed her!

She unbolted and threw open the door, making him stumble and nearly fall into her chamber in the process, an unplanned consequence which still afforded her no little satisfaction, although she felt a tiny twinge of remorse as he dropped his blonde bundle directly on her bed. No. No, absolutely not!  If Rosaline thought three people in her bedchamber was a crowd, she absolutely drew the line at four. This was not that sort of establishment!

"Wha's this, then, an' where's me feckin' money?" Rosaline snarled, reverting to the Border lass she'd once been before she'd moved to Rhemuth and acquired a bit of Lowland polish. Behind her, she heard a stifled chuckle from Salim, whose presence she had momentarily forgotten (which in and of itself ought to have been evidence enough of how rattled she was, because who could forget that delectable desert prince?!), but Devyn was enough to tempt a saint into sin, though not the pleasurable sort that she had hoped to commit that night before he'd ruined everything by turning up.

Dev reached into his pouch and placed the coins in her hand almost as an afterthought. "Ros, I'm serious, we need your help. It's a matter of Crown business."

She felt more than saw Salim growing quietly attentive behind her as he observed the scene playing out before him in silent curiosity. She realized that for once this was not one of Devyn's jests.

"What do you need?" she asked, reining in her temper.

He didn't answer her directly at first, instead turning to the trembling girl on the bed. "It's all right, Lucie, you're safe now. I'm just going to get you more clothes, then we're going to see a Healer. All right?" He stroked a stray lock of hair out of the girl's face, and she nodded, though she continued to stay silent.

Devyn straightened, drawing Rosaline to one side. "She was a war captive," he whispered. "I found her behind enemy lines, and she needs a Healer's care, but she'll need something more to wear than just a nightgown. She's been through enough; being seen carried into the Castle wrapped up in my cloak like a Twelfth Night parcel would subject her to the sort of gossip I'm sure she would very much prefer to avoid."

"Where did you find her?" asked Salim, speaking up for the first time since Devyn's arrival.

"Candor Rhea, just ten miles up the road from here," Dev replied. Rosaline shot him a startled look. Devyn assessed the man before him. "I've seen you at Court. You're the new weapon master, yes?"

Salim nodded. "Yes."

"I found Lucie at the Duke of Carthmoor's hunting lodge. Do you happen to know where the Duke of Corwyn is posted at the moment? Or has he gone missing lately?"

Salim raised an inquisitive brow. "He's on the eastern front, the last I've heard."

"Good." Dev gave a relieved sigh. "Not one of ours, then." Salim looked puzzled by the seeming non sequitur.

Rosaline rifled through her trunk until she found an old gown she thought might serve the purpose. "Out, both of you! Give the lass her privacy." Both men found themselves shooed outside onto the landing as the barmaid efficiently took over the situation.


"I'm sorry," Lucie told the others gathered around her a few minutes later, after she had changed into a proper dress that was at least warm and dry, if a tiny bit too large at the top and a little snug around the middle. She took a few restorative sips from the tankard Rosaline had handed her. "I think I was just feeling a bit overwhelmed for a moment."

"That's perfectly understandable, Mistress Lucie," said Salim. "It sounds like you've been through quite the ordeal. Are you originally from Candor Rhea?"

"No, my lord," Lucie said shyly as she took another sip of her drink. "I was taken from Woodbury-on-Cleyde at midsummer. They put all of the villages in the upper Cleyde valley to the torch. The Eistenmarckers took most of the prisoners that they didn't simply kill outright, but the boy soldier gave me to the Jouvian prince instead."

"The boy soldier...that would be King Haakon of Eistenmarcke?" Devyn asked.

Lucie shrugged. "I wouldn't know; we weren't exactly properly introduced. But the way he ordered everyone else around, I imagine he must have been." She twisted a fold of her skirts in her hand as she thought back to that evening. "They selected which captives they wanted to keep and took some of the others away–into the woods, to hang them–then set fire to the church with the prisoners inside who they considered useless or expendable."

Devyn's eyes met Rosaline's. "Jesú," he whispered, shaken. His birth mother had died in a mill fire when he was a young boy, before he'd been taken in by his father the Duke and Cassan's first Duchess.  The news was equally sobering to Rosaline. She had grown up near the source of the Cleyde River, up between Trurill and Culdi.

"Lucie, I think the King would like to hear your story for himself, at least the bits that you are willing to share," Devyn said. "Don't be alarmed; I've known him for years and he's very approachable and cares a great deal about the people in this kingdom, not just the nobility but the common folk as well. He will want to know what his people have been suffering, but just as importantly, he needs to know where the enemy has been traveling, how much damage they've been doing along the way, and anything you might remember that the enemy may have said around you about what they are planning next. Do you think you could manage that? I would be happy to stay with you when you speak with him, if that would help. You needn't tell him about anything that is too personal for you to want to tell anyone."

"Will he want to look inside my mind?" Lucie asked, appearing anxious.

"He might, but if he does, he would likely only look to see or hear what you've tried to describe as if seeing or hearing it through your eyes and ears, to help him understand something that wasn't clear. For instance, he might understand a phrase in Jouvian that meant nothing to you, but that would tell him something he wishes to know about the enemy's plans. He is nothing like Prince Rémy, if you are afraid he would take advantage of something he learns from your thoughts to use it against you, or peek at your most private or painful memories."

Lucie pressed her lips together tightly, feeling uncertain. "Rémy used to like to go into my mind and find old memories of things that scare me. I would know what he was looking at because I could see the images flash before my mind, sometimes old childhood nightmares I hadn't thought about in years. But then he would try to find some way to make them come true somehow, just so he could laugh and think it a fine jest that he'd found some new way to terrify me." She looked back up at him. "Things like snakes and rats don't frighten me as much as they used to anymore. At least they don't delight in scaring me." She stopped plucking at her skirt, folding her fingers together in her lap instead. "I will tell the King whatever he wants to know, if that will help, as long as you will go with me."

Devyn nodded. "Aye, I'll go with you. Brave lass."

Her eyes welled up with tears. "I don't feel very brave, Master Devyn," Lucie admitted.

"No worries, lass. No one feels very brave in those moments when they show the most courage."


August 26, 1464
Another room above The Gold Lion
Morning

It had been too late to continue on to the Castle once the problem of Lucie's inadequate wardrobe had been resolved, and the main guest rooms at the Inn had already been filled for the night, Rhemuth's inns and monastic guest houses being more populated than usual by those with the means to travel southwards to escape the incursions of the enemy, some heading for safer lands abroad if they had friends or family there, others simply seeking the safety of a city with strong walls and a well trained garrison to protect them. War had been good for business at the Gold Lion, at least for the time being, though Rosaline wondered where the provisions would be found to continue to feed all their guests if the City should fall under siege and relief was too long in coming.

Despite these problems, she had managed to find one room that was still vacant due to a broken bed frame in need of repair, though the mattress would serve well enough as a pallet for the night. Devyn supplied the tuppence needed for the room, leaving the mattress and sheet for Lucie's use and resigned to curling up in his cloak and sleeping on the gallery outside her door until Lucie, realizing what he meant to do, told him he might as well sleep within the room instead of outside of it, since if he'd meant to harm her, he would have done so already, and she had no more reputation left to hurt.

Devyn disagreed, yet the hour had grown late and they all needed to catch up on their sleep (with the possible exception of Rosaline and Salim, but Devyn did not want to ponder that relationship too closely, and it should have been little surprise to him anyway that Ros had also chosen to move on with her life since his departure from Rhemuth four years earlier with little warning), so he had made no argument.

The following morning the two men escorted Lucie to the Castle, leaving Rosaline contentedly curled up in her bed, sleeping off her unexpectedly busy night.

[18:18] * web12 (473eb015@CCN-1F686F39.hsd1.va.comcast.net) has joined #Deryni_Destinations
[18:18] <CambersGhost> [discord] <derynifank> Problem mods?
[18:18] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> Hello KK
[18:18] <CambersGhost> [discord] <stnezz> Hi KK
[18:18] <CambersGhost> [discord] <derynifank> Hi KK
[18:18] <~bynw> hi KK
[18:18] <web12> Hi, all.
[18:18] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> I would just start over with a no-mods save, but I need some of my custom content hair and such to make certain Sims look right, especially if they are meant to represent family members.
[18:18] <CambersGhost> [discord] <stnezz> Yeah, the mods aren't playing well with the game itself. They keep having problems
[18:19] <~bynw> if you need help changing your nick. i can force it to change for you
[18:19] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> Hi KK
[18:19] * web12 is now known as KK
[18:19] <~bynw> yay you got it!
[18:19] <CambersGhost> [discord] <stnezz> I have a no-mod save. I play it, but it's not the same. LIke you said, they don't work right.
[18:19] <CambersGhost> [discord] <stnezz> I have a no-mod save. I play it, but it's not the same. LIke you said, they don't look right.
[18:20] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> How is the Healing coming along? Well and Fast I do hope
[18:20] <The_Bee> Hi KK!  Happy Upcoming Birthday!
[18:21] <CambersGhost> [discord] <derynifank> H How is the knee progressing? Happy almost birthday.
[18:21] <KK> hoo hoo, it worked. Cming to you tonite from my phone, because I'm tethered to my comfy chair by my ice water machine.
[18:21] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> That works
[18:21] <CambersGhost> [discord] <tm_9039> Ice water for the knee, or for drinks?
[18:21] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> Easier to chat when comfy
[18:22] <CambersGhost> [discord] <derynifank> How is the knee progressing? Happy almost birthday.
[18:22] <CambersGhost> [discord] <tm_9039> (by drinks, I was thinking whisk(e)y)
[18:24] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> Chatting in a comfy chair is good.  typing on the phone however is annoying.
[18:24] <~bynw> phone screens are way too small
[18:24] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> Hi everyone
[18:24] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> hello Shiral
[18:24] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> I'm fine with it if I can use Swype, but yes, typing individual letters on a small keypad is super annoying
[18:24] <CambersGhost> [discord] <derynifank> Hi Shiral
[18:24] <CambersGhost> [discord] <stnezz> hi Shiral
[18:25] <KK> Ice water for knee, which is progressing well, despite a few dicey days last week. I think/hope I'm about over the hump.
[18:25] <The_Bee> bynw, this what I get when
[18:25] <The_Bee> The message has the following error or errors that must be corrected before continuing:
[18:25] <The_Bee>     One or more 'to'-recipients could not be found.
[18:25] <The_Bee>  i try to PM you
[18:25] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> Glad the knee is better, KK
[18:25] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> Many warm thoughts that all the dicey days are done.
[18:25] * CambersGhost [discord] <shiral_> snaps fingers and lays the chatroom table with mulled cider and maple walnut blondies
[18:25] <KK> bynw? Do I need the o do something at this end?
[18:26] <CambersGhost> [discord] <tm_9039> Read that as "maple walnut blondes" and thought "I prefer blonds".
[18:26] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> I have  dish of Walnut brownies just out of the oven to go with your blondies.
[18:26] <~bynw> i think you are doing fine KK
[18:26] <~bynw>
[18:26] <CambersGhost> [discord] <tm_9039> (If I prefer blonds, am I a gentleman?)
[18:27] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> You're a naughty boy, TM
[18:27] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> 😆
[18:27] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> Thank you Shiral
[18:27] <CambersGhost> [discord] <stnezz> I'm inordinately fond of blonds, m'self
[18:27] <KK> ok, I'd gotten a strange message, but it seems ok now.
[18:27] <~bynw> not sure what you got
[18:27] * The_Bee offers mead and mulled cider.
[18:27] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> Blondies and Brownies make a good afternoon Chat Snack
[18:28] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> I'll just sit here savoring the dark hair/light eyes combinations and letting everyone else fight over those blonds
[18:29] <CambersGhost> [discord] <derynifank> I would fight over Joss
[18:29] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> sword fight or Arcane Duel. Either way I am there.
[18:29] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> 😄
[18:30] <CambersGhost> [discord] <tm_9039> How about a bake-off instead?
[18:30] <CambersGhost> [discord] <derynifank> sounds yummy
[18:30] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> Haldanes have some wicked good recipes, I'm sure
[18:30] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> Y'all are welcome to duel with blondie recipes. I'll volunteer as Council arbitrator for that one.
[18:31] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> KK we just had a few questions about Merasha and Wine.  Is Merasha acidic  in composition and that is why it goes with wine better than say Milk.
[18:31] <CambersGhost> [discord] <stnezz> I want my blondies to be caramel-flavored instead of maple. Can I make that request?
[18:31] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> Now I'm all tempted to write in a character who looks like Paul Hollywood....
[18:31] <KK> I expect it's the folk who work in the Haldane kitchens who have the good recipes.
[18:31] <CambersGhost> [discord] <jerusha2> Hi Everyone!
[18:31] * CambersGhost [discord] <shiral_> snaps fingers and  supplies some caramel blondies
[18:32] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> Hi Jerusha
[18:32] <CambersGhost> [discord] <stnezz> Hi Jerusha
[18:32] <CambersGhost> [discord] <derynifank> Hi Jerusha
[18:32] <CambersGhost> [discord] <stnezz> *sings Shiral's praises*
[18:32] * CambersGhost [discord] <jerusha2> holds out for chocolate
[18:32] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> Well yes, and they can roast a mean pheasant, too
[18:32] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> Basically the question was whether merasha's pH was more acidic or basic.
[18:32] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> Hello Jerusha.  better stop inthe Haldane Kitchen before coming here to get some goodies.
[18:32] <CambersGhost> [discord] <stnezz> Jerusha, before you leave today, I've got a wee bit more I added on from E.
[18:32] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> And I had theorized it might be acidic since it normally is put into wine, which helps to mask the flavor but doesn't neutralize it
[18:33] <CambersGhost> [discord] <tm_9039> (In case anyone else was wondering about the word, "Blondies are a type of dessert bar that is similar to brownies but with a different flavor. They are made with brown sugar instead of cocoa and are often baked in a pan, and then cut into squares or rectangles. Other ingredients such as walnuts or chips can be added to the mixture. Blondies are soft and chewy. The name blondies  <clipped message>
[18:33] <CambersGhost> [discord] <tm_9039> comes from their light color, which contrasts with the dark color of traditional brownies.")
[18:33] <CambersGhost> [discord] <jerusha2> I'll check, Nezz
[18:33] * The_Bee sets out roast venison from the Rhemuth Castle kitchen.
[18:33] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> Yumm Bee
[18:33] * KK (473eb015@CCN-1F686F39.hsd1.va.comcast.net) Quit (Quit: Client closed)
[18:33] * CambersGhost [discord] <jerusha2> adds butter tarts
[18:33] * CambersGhost [discord] <shiral_> supplies some brownies with a salted caramel filling, but suspects she's been watching too many baking competitions.
[18:34] * web12 (473eb015@CCN-1F686F39.hsd1.va.comcast.net) has joined #Deryni_Destinations
[18:34] <The_Bee> WB KK
[18:34] <~bynw> wb KK
[18:34] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> Welcome back KK
[18:35] <CambersGhost> [discord] <jerusha2> wb KK
[18:35] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> rehi
[18:35] <web12> Guess it timed out. In my phone tonight.
[18:35] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> silly phone
[18:35] <CambersGhost> [discord] <tm_9039> "I expect it's the folk who work in the Haldane kitchens who have the good recipes." I wonder if they have a recipe-assumption ceremony. Say a ritual, stick a paring knife into your palm, and you can do all the traditional sauces and pairings of the Eleven Kingdoms instinctively.
[18:36] <CambersGhost> [discord] <tm_9039> Saint Camble Ratatouilles you.
[18:36] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> OOCH TM.  LOL
[18:36] <CambersGhost> [discord] <jerusha2> If you don't bleed into the pudding
[18:36] * CambersGhost [discord] <stnezz> takes notes about TM's idea for the Forgotten Shadows story
[18:36] <web12> well, it works. I'm just not always aware of its foibles.
[18:36] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> I'll bet the cooks at Rhemuth Castle have to work hard to get to the top position.
[18:37] <web12> Probably a good lot of competition for the positions.
[18:37] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> I think history has beheaded a few bad chiefs
[18:38] <CambersGhost> [discord] <jerusha2> And chefs, too
[18:38] <CambersGhost> [discord] <derynifank> Chiefs or chefs?
[18:38] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> that too
[18:38] <CambersGhost> [discord] <tm_9039> Given what happened with one bottle of "Fianna" wine, the Haldane food and beverage staff had better be thoroughly vetted.
[18:38] <CambersGhost> [discord] <stnezz> both
[18:38] * HoundMistress (181b2262@CCN-2C8ABF5B.res.spectrum.com) has joined #Deryni_Destinations
[18:38] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> To tend the King's Wine Cellar would be  a  position of trust right there.
[18:38] <~bynw> hi HoundMistress
[18:38] <CambersGhost> [discord] <derynifank> Hi HM
[18:38] <CambersGhost> [discord] <stnezz> hi HoundMistress
[18:39] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> Hi HM
[18:39] <CambersGhost> [discord] <jerusha2> could be interesting,  Kansas City Chefs cooking up the next touchdown
[18:39] <web12> It certainly would have been a unique time.
[18:39] <CambersGhost> [discord] <jerusha2> Hi HM
[18:39] <The_Bee> Hi HM
[18:39] <HoundMistress> Hi, bynw FGLK Shiral, Jerusha, everybody!!
[18:39] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> "Will the Chefs over cook their roast, this year?"
[18:39] <CambersGhost> [discord] <jerusha2> Possibly
[18:39] * web12 is now known as KK
[18:39] <HoundMistress> I was watching The Hobbit, The Desolation of Smaug
[18:40] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> It gives the word "Super Bowl" a rather different meaning, doesn't it?"
[18:40] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> Love Smaug
[18:40] <CambersGhost> [discord] <jerusha2> Tee hee
[18:40] <HoundMistress> Hi KK How's your knee?
[18:41] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> Scrolling up to see what I've missed, since I have DIL2B texting me re: wedding stuff at the moment
[18:41] <KK> had a couple of rough days last week, but I think I'm mostly over the hump now.
[18:41] <HoundMistress> Smaug is a law unto himself
[18:41] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> Dragons tend to be that way
[18:41] <HoundMistress> That's good to hear, KK
[18:42] <CambersGhost> [discord] <jerusha2> Hope everything goes well going forward, KK
[18:42] <HoundMistress> But they always underestimate the improvisation of humans
[18:42] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> And hobbits
[18:42] <HoundMistress> I had my last visit last week for a whole year!
[18:42] <The_Bee> Do you still need your walker, KK?
[18:42] <CambersGhost> [discord] <jerusha2> Woo hoo, HM
[18:43] <HoundMistress> She will get off it soon!
[18:43] <KK> should be ok. On Thursday I get my follow up with the surgeon, and staples out. Then the high power physio will kick in Monday.
[18:43] <HoundMistress> My walker is now a cat platform
[18:43] <CambersGhost> [discord] <stnezz> Yay HM
[18:44] <CambersGhost> [discord] <derynifank> Good repurposing HM
[18:44] <CambersGhost> [discord] <jerusha2> Add lights and it could be a little Christmas tree
[18:44] <HoundMistress> They will work you out!
[18:44] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> Sounds typical, HM, 😉
[18:44] <KK> thursday I have my follow up with surgeon, and staples out.
[18:44] <HoundMistress> Yes, all belongs to The CATS. I am but allowed to use it.
[18:44] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> Generous of them
[18:45] <CambersGhost> [discord] <jerusha2> That is thoughtfull of them, HM
[18:45] <HoundMistress> BRB
[18:45] <KK> at least I know what to expect from this point. This isn't my first rodeo!
[18:46] <CambersGhost> [discord] <stnezz> Yee haw
[18:46] <HoundMistress> It's a little easier the 2nd time.
[18:46] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> The post-knee replacement rodeo  is rather tamer than the usual rodeo, since no bucking bronco riding is allowed. 😉
[18:46] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> no falling down either
[18:46] <HoundMistress> AND NO FALLINg!
[18:47] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> Definitely no falling.
[18:47] <CambersGhost> [discord] <stnezz> nix on the falling
[18:47] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> Sounds like we all agree on that one
[18:47] <HoundMistress> If you are falling, twist around in the air and land on your bum
[18:48] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> even if you have to stop and think about every Next step.  take it slow.
[18:48] <CambersGhost> [discord] <derynifank> Falling is definitly OUT
[18:48] <HoundMistress> Slow and steady
[18:48] <CambersGhost> [discord] <jerusha2> wins the race
[18:48] <HoundMistress> Yes!
[18:49] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> That's why you're only allowed to compete with other people who have had knee replacements.
[18:49] <The_Bee> Leave falling to the falling leaves.
[18:49] <HoundMistress> My A/C is blowing. It's 93 outside
[18:49] <HoundMistress> Yes, let the leaves fall!
[18:50] <~bynw> 55 out but feels like 45 due to the wind today
[18:50] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> HM you are warmer than me,  SO Cal got up to 85 today.
[18:50] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> 93? Yeesh! We're cooler than that here in Alabama!
[18:50] <The_Bee> 49F here
[18:50] <HoundMistress> The record for today is 99 here
[18:51] <CambersGhost> [discord] <stnezz> We've been hitting 78° pretty much ever day this week.
[18:51] <CambersGhost> [discord] <derynifank> Coastal Virginia made it to 76 but due for a temp plunge starting tomorrow
[18:51] <KK> Wow, I got lost in screens for a while there. Finally found my way back.
[18:51] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> We're 84 at the moment, but I think our high was just 85.
[18:51] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> Follow the White Rabbit announcing that it's late.
[18:51] <HoundMistress> Usually we actually have fall by now.
[18:52] <CambersGhost> [discord] <derynifank> We'll hva highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s starting tomorrow. Hello Fall
[18:52] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> We don't normally get a true cold snap here until closer to Halloween
[18:52] <HoundMistress> Tahats more like it
[18:52] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> About a week or so before
[18:52] <CambersGhost> [discord] <derynifank> We'll have highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s starting tomorrow. Hello Fall
[18:53] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> We had a heat wave for the first week of October, but since last Tuesday, it's been mainly in the middle 70's.
[18:53] <HoundMistress> Would love to have middle 70s
[18:53] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> Me too
[18:53] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> That's my preferred range
[18:53] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> It was a BIG relief when the heat wave was over.
[18:54] <HoundMistress> We had a faux fall a few weeks back, but alas it did not last
[18:54] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> Now my cats are no longer flat
[18:54] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> 😄
[18:54] <HoundMistress> Your cats were flat?
[18:54] <KK> this will be a big week for me. Staples out on Thursday, Big Birthday on Friday, and a nice lunch at a nearby winery for the actual celebration. It s only a number, after all.
[18:55] <CambersGhost> [discord] <stnezz> a winery, oooOOOoooooooh
[18:55] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> It's a reaction to heat, HM. Mine used to try to spread themselves out on any cool surface during hot days too.
[18:55] <~bynw> sounds like fun for the lunch
[18:55] <HoundMistress> YAY! Happy Birthday, KK!!!
[18:55] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> "Flat Cat Syndrome" is what I call unreasonably hot weather. The cats stretch out in the coolest places they can find. Hence, flat cats
[18:55] <CambersGhost> [discord] <derynifank> Sounds like a perfect week KK. Enjoy
[18:55] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> Happy Birthday in advance, KK
[18:55] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> Happy Birthday this Week KK. Enjoy
[18:55] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> It is kind of a major birthday for you.  Hope it's a good one
[18:56] <The_Bee> Happy Fourscore years, KK!
[18:56] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> That sounds like a good way to spend your birthday week, KK
[18:56] <CambersGhost> [discord] <jerusha2> Yes, happy celebration, KK!
[18:57] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> Dmitri sends his purrs
[18:57] <KK> Had a nice outing yesterday, down to Salem for a bbq. An hour and a half each way, but friends gave me a ride, and everyone was kind and helpful the whole time. Tiring, though. I slept well last night.
[18:57] <HoundMistress> We were putting  stuff of Lou's out to go in a community garage sale in 2 weeks and I found a box of my books with some KK books in it!
[18:58] <CambersGhost> [discord] <jerusha2> Keep those, HM
[18:58] <CambersGhost> [discord] <derynifank> Cool!!
[18:58] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> Good discovery!
[18:58] <HoundMistress> I am! I told her to put those back!
[18:59] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> Some books I will Never let go of.  Not even the duplicate copies of.
[18:59] <HoundMistress> Exactly!
[19:00] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> I love heroes that touch my soul
[19:00] <CambersGhost> [discord] <jerusha2> Yes
[19:00] <KK> some task just have to be done, but at least occasional treasures turn up.
[19:01] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> It's nice when we find things we feared we'd never see again
[19:01] <HoundMistress> The boxes we emptied had been there 20 years next month, when we moved in in 2004
[19:01] <CambersGhost> [discord] <jerusha2> Wow
[19:01] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> wow
[19:02] <HoundMistress> So many surprises. Lou had lots of series books. Hope we will find interested parties at the GS
[19:02] <KK> okay, I'm done here for the night. Chatting on the phone is better than not chatting, but it's too fiddly to do for very long. Back next week, on proper computer. Meanwhile, everyone be safe an healthy and happy!
[19:02] <CambersGhost> [discord] <evie.delacourt> Have a great week, KK
[19:02] <CambersGhost> [discord] <stnezz> you have a great night
[19:02] <CambersGhost> [discord] <stnezz> and a wonderful week
[19:02] <CambersGhost> [discord] <laurnarose> happy week KK
[19:02] <HoundMistress> Have a GREAT birthday week!!
[19:02] <CambersGhost> [discord] <jerusha2> Have a good week, and happy birthday, KK
[19:03] <KK> nighters, all!
[19:03] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> Happy birthday, KK
[19:03] <CambersGhost> [discord] <derynifank> have a happy week and a happy birthday
[19:03] <CambersGhost> [discord] <shiral_> And have a good week. Hope the knee responds well to physical therapy
[19:03] * KK (473eb015@CCN-1F686F39.hsd1.va.comcast.net) Quit (Quit: Client closed)

Honestly I think we have enough to deal with as it is.

Quote from: DerynifanK on October 12, 2024, 09:24:38 AMThose behind this effort to overthrow the king and seize power are men of influence and they already have an organization. It will be difficult for our group to stop them unaided, especially as they must protect themselves. Perhaps exposure of those involved and their intentions is the best way. Should they warn the bishop or inform the king? Shining a light on them and their treasonous intentions may be the best way to defeat them. Very scary situation.

If the PCs knew about those trying to overthrow the King they could certainly inform the Bishop of Grecotha or the King about it. But the PC's don't yet know about the plot to overthrow Kelson the Usurper. All the PC's know about is Willimite activity.

Those behind this effort to overthrow the king and seize power are men of influence and they already have an organization. It will be difficult for our group to stop them unaided, especially as they must protect themselves. Perhaps exposure of those involved and their intentions is the best way. Should they warn the bishop or inform the king? Shining a light on them and their treasonous intentions may be the best way to defeat them. Very scary situation.