Into The Woods (Mint, the Kier)

"Technically, Eric died in combat, fighting the enemies of Amber rather than Corwin. In fact, when Corwin showed up he ordered his troops to defend Eric's forces."

"He and Bleys had a disagreement over who should take over in the wake of our father's disappearance. Corwin eventually came back and did quite well. So did Bleys. No one has seen Corwin in a few years but that is hardly unusual. He has a son named Triton you hopefully will be meeting soon. Half-Rebman. Do you know about Rebma?"

David wrote:Once alone with Mint, Julian turns and speaks. "What I'm about to tell you must remain confidential. To the point where you must not volunteer this information to anyone so long as you believe I am alive--and that includes Random. If Random himself asks, I know better than to believe you would disobey him. But if I tell you what I know, you must agree to tell the King I asked you not to reveal it--and that I request he honor my wishes. Is this clear? And do you agree?"

OOC:Taking this to Mint's forum.

"Rebma... that's just an anagram for Amber, isn't it?"

"Actually, it is a reflection of Amber--a mirror image, at least physically, of the Eternal City but under the ocean's waves. Queen Moire reigns there."

"Underwater? Is it deep under the waves? As in 'the sun doesn't shine there' deep?"

Looking at Kierenne, "We have to visit there."

"Reasonably deep, yes," agrees Fiona. "And I highly recommend you visit. Lovely city. Interesting people. Well, sometimes. One of my sisters lives there, as do a pair of your cousins."

"How do they keep the streets from flooding?"

"The question doesn't really apply. The whole city, indeed the entire kingdom, is underwater."

Mint returns following Julian.

David wrote:"The question doesn't really apply. The whole city, indeed the entire kingdom, is underwater."

"The question may not, but it's intent would. If the whole city, and kingdom, is underwater, then the streets are kept clear of the water, or else the city is flooded and it's inhabitants would be amphibious creatures, gilled folk, or crossbreeds bred to live in the sea."

Pausing a moment in his speech, but not his step with his sister

"Unless there is a magick upon the place, pushing more air into the water so that it is breathable to others without drowning them, but that would take a massive amount of air put into the water. Or else a spell that lets air breathers use what little oxygen there is in the water to survive while under water."

"Intriguing, the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced we must travel there."

Fiona winks at Mint as she returns, as she says "Oh yes. I think that would be a splendid idea." She looks at Julian. "Is a carriage ready?"

"By now I'm sure it is." Julian gives a little wave to the party of four. "Enjoy your journey."

The carriage that awaits is a simple but elegant design of what looks like ebony wood. The cushions are white. Upon the sides are painted a shield--the white unicorn on green. Two of the horses pulling the carriage are white, two black.

Said quietly, so that Fiona knows the comment is meant for her, but not so quietly that others can't hear her wit, "Uncle Julian isn't coming with us? Perhaps the new king trusts him as much as the old one did."

She leads her brother, still by the arm, over to the carriage and climbs in. Without thinking, she takes one of the forward facing seats, and pulls Kieran into the other. She's already leaning to the open window to look out, not wanting to miss anything of the trip to Amber.

"Will we get to see Kolvir? And the stair where Father's armies first defeated Corwin the Usurper?"

"Julian commands Arden," Fiona says. "Besides, he likes it here." She shrugs.

The way through Arden takes several hours, winding through gentle paths the carriage driver and horses clearly know well. Imagine every beautiful forest in each world. They truly are but shadows of mighty Arden. Flowers of every color dot the pattern of greens and browns. Light shining through the canopy of trees--a dizzying variety--create spectacular effects. By now it is late in the day, so shadows lengthen and grow darker. Even the sounds of the forest begin to subtly alter themselves.

"Have you any questions as we ride cousins?"

Lost in the wonder of all this plantlife, under all this sky, Kierenne forgets who is asking the question. "Every moment is a question. I don't even know what to ask. Just tell me everything."

{'Cause asking "Ooh, what's that?" over and over would get supremely dull in a PbP game, even if it's in character. But, since we're just filling time, we can make stuff up about this tree or that genus of plant, etc.}

Mint responds, utterly unfatigued by Kierenne's questions although her knowledge does not prove exhaustive. When Mint cannot identify a particular flower or vine she segues into more general topics such as the role of that plant in the ecosystem.

Mint also occasionally glances at Kieran to see if he has any questions about anything.

Kieran is content to let his sister handle the questions, half listening while gazing out the window, seeking the cliffside where The Fight took place.

I wonder for what Kieran searches?

Eventually Mint asks gently, "I know the Arden impresses, but have you never seen trees before or flowers?"

He continuies searching the distance "Do the trees here get naked in the Fall, as they do in Shadow?"

"Grandfather's garden had many trees. Some were nearly twenty feet tall. They blocked the light from getting to the smaller plants behind them."

"But they were nothing like these." she waves at the hundred of trees that happen to be visible at that moment, each one dwarfing anything her grandfather had.

"The Arden has more species of evergreen than any shadow I have seen, but yes most trees shed their leaves seasonally. Do make the trip to the Arden in winter. I think that I love the view after a good snowfall even more than this."

Mint's voice softens,"Do you miss your grandfather? I don't speak much of it given what he did, but part of me misses my father still."

"Grandfather provided us with structure. Discipline. Since he was taken from us, we have been adrift. It will be nice to be part of a family again."

"Is King Random very strict? I think I would very much like to serve a strict ruler."

Random strict?!? She truly does know nothing of us.

Mint quickly coughs out a reply in hopes of of outracing Fiona's instinctive snort of derision at the very thought. "I can recommend seeking a place in the military if you desire structure. Lord General Benedict, our oldest surviving uncle, drills his legions to perfection.

My liege, King Random the first, prefers less formal dealings particularly with family. While I admit that I do not fully understand his leadership style, he somehow makes it work quite well. I consider it an honor to serve him.

Was your grandfather also your king?"

"The Kier did not have a King, as such. But Grandfather was well respected by the heads of the other holdfasts. Since we were so dependent on importing food from other realms, all of the most powerful people were those with access to some kind of off-world trade. Grandfather controlled one of the largest tunnel systems, so could support more mouths than any other Lord."