Into The Woods (Mint, the Kier)

Kieran dons his robe and follows Kierenne out, keeping himself between her and Mint.

I know not what has happened to her.

Standing protectively over his sister he murmurs quietly barely making a sound.

Julian does indeed approach and nods to Mint as he does. He looks at the two masked strangers with curiosity but no malice--or kindness. "Some one is coming from Amber. What have you to tell? Oh, and may I examine these Trumps?"

Mint stands at attention. "They both appear young... very young and healthy. They have some kind of symbiotes which they call blood worms. They do not appear easily communicable, but I have not studied medicine since my 10th birthday and I have never seen the like."

Mint coughs.

"I said something to which Kierenne took offense. I suspect a miscommunication, but I can't say for certain."

Mint unpacks a cloth from her saddlebags.

"Presenting surrendered weapons for inspection."

She lays out the bracer, sword, and trump deck on the cloth before Julian.

I'm as curious as he. I have never seen Trumps like that.

Julian examines every single item, concentrating on what he sees. The Trumps get even more attention. He literally looks at each and every card, separating out a handful that Mist as certainly never seen before. A few have the familiar white-unicorn-on-green backing, but of a somewhat different design. Likewise their faces are entirely new to Mint:


Then there is a Trump of a completely different design. Upon the back is a crimson unicorn on black. It's face shows the same young woman as the other, with her oddly colored eyes.

Julian stares at these six cards a very, very long time. "They are real, did you notice?" he asks after a time. "Do you recognize anything here?"

"I fear that I can state only the obvious m'lord. The woman bears the features quite possibly of a descendant of Queen Clarissa, but not one known to me. The Crimson Unicorn shows far less resemblance to traditional depictions of Amber's Unicorn than the stained glass version. The tome in that same Trump resembles any of several volumes my father once owned, but the image lacks sufficient detail to make a determination. I saw gratings similar to that beneath the round window in the more technologically oriented Shadows I have visited. I have seen trees akin to those depicted behind the ruins and the fountain, but never those exact trees."

Mint spares a glance at the Kier.

"Our guests may know more. The male in particular seemed quite possessive of the cards."

Hopefully Kieran will have the wit to volunteer information and delay his sister's interrogation.

Julian lifts an eyebrow. "You mean she is a redhead?" He stares at them for another moment or two. "I actually recognize one of these." He points to the stained glass window of a unicorn above a book. "That is the Unicorn Shrine in Perevell, a community south of Amber. The family has a lodge there that hasn't been visited as far as I know in...well...years. Nice place. You should visit it sometime. And the fountain looks familiar."

He lifts his head and gestures for Kieran and Kierrenne to approach. It is a very neutral gesture, even borderline friendly. He almost smiles.

David wrote:Julian lifts an eyebrow. "You mean she is a redhead?"

Mint laughs. I think he meant that as a joke.

Once Julian finishes she takes a half step back to give the Kier some space.

Silently through his trump to Kierenne: Be wary love, this maybe another incident. Let me lead if it does. I have a plan.

Kieran moves foward with his twin towards Uncle Lord Julian. Pointedly ignoring Mint.

"Those were given to us upon our coming of age. Father had them stored for us. This was before your Black Road annihilated our Kier. They are all we have left outside of each other."

Glaring at Mint for a moment, then looking back at Julian "You can understand our reluctance to part with them."

"The lake is Arden, as you know."

"The Tavern is a crossroads city in a shadow with mild techonological advancement. Clockwork, gears, and such are their speciality. Very tacky. You almost expect it to rain glitter there. Very nervous people. Almost anything that happens has some deeper meaning or reason outside of "It snowed".

"The yard is the Courtyard at Begma. A place of relaxation with soothing music and readings for those with a scholarally bent."

"Those ruins are in Norj, in Uberwald. Quaint island."

"The shrine is in Perevall. Just south of here. They miss the childern that used to come with Amberite nobles, whether they were of Oberon or his brood."

"The last is a chamber. Empty. 'Twas cleaned out entirely. This may have been a retreat for Father."

Julian says in a very neutral voice "What of the two portraits? And the red unicorn? What can you tell me about them?"

In the same voice "We know not the woman. Probably one of Father's mistresses or a whore he found. That nervous place," he points to the Tavern, "seems a natural place to have picked one up. The unicorn is a mystery to us also. We have not tried contact through the trumps."

His voice seems to smirk "It didn't seem, prudent, to try. Welcoming embraces for family seem in short supply."

"If your minion is done with her assessment, may we have our possessions back?"

Through the trump to Kierenne: Appears that no incident is coming. That one isn't going to make us strip and run through all of Arden it seems.

Julian's eyes harden for a split second. "You are quick to judge. Very quick. I'll go a little farther and say too quick." He takes a breath. "I don't see a problem with giving you back your Trumps--but not yet. Fiona needs to see them and she'll be here soon. But let us keep them in your plain sight, along with your weapons. Come--have a seat. I would offer you some refreshment but not quite sure how that works given your societal norms. Still, we'll be glad to get you something if you like and work out the logistics somehow."

A few servants soon appear with five comfortable chairs--black wood with white cushioning. All are identical. Julian takes one next to the table where the Trumps and weapons lie.

Mint remains unfazed by Kieren's attitude. I have suffered snubs far worse than his.

She perks up at the mention of Fiona. I wish aunt Fi and Commander Julian got along better. Still seeing her brightens my day despite the tension.

Mint takes a position near a chair at Julian's right hand, but remains standing for the moment casually watching the Kier. Will sitting first offend them further? Will not sitting? Their father did them no favors letting them grow to such instability.

Kierenne thinks back to her brother, It's good that you didn't tell them everything, dear heart. We have little other currency of real value here. Then out loud to Julian, "Other than differences of attire, I understand that the rules of etiquette you follow in Amber are more or less correct in the Kier."

She takes a seat farthest from the table where their items are lying. Thankful that her mask displays a pleasant smile, no matter how much she is cringing behind it, she avoids Mint's gaze still. "What do we judge too quickly, Uncle? Do you know the woman in Father's cards? There are two of her... and one is certainly quite intimate. What else could she be? Was Father married? Could that be his wife? Grandfather never told us of a wife." And he was obviously not so puritanical as to turn Mother away.

Mint notices Kierenne avoiding eye contact. What would those eyes reveal? If she finds me objectionable what will she think of Fiona and more importantly what will Fiona think of her?

"The King," says Julian, "wants as many of the third generation of our house brought into the fold as possible. His policy, as explained anyway, is that all the grandchildren of Oberon should know the rest of the family, should become acquainted with Amber and made welcome there. I think he wants us all to end up somewhat more resembling a family, not least because we are such a valuable resource for the realm. And, let us be honest, a potential threat." He sounds respectful--whether of the idea, the brother or the throne itself remains unclear. Possibly some combination. The ghost of a smile hovers on his lips. "For what its worth, I quite liked Eric. All in all one of my favorite siblings. But tell me about your home if you would? Gone, you say?"

The sound of a smile can be heard as Kierenne says, "I believe we will get along well with your King. Our King, I hope soon. I would enjoy hearing about our father, Uncle. We know so little of him, even now. Having those trumps, which must have been his, has been like a puzzle for us, to try to find some kind of connection with the man."

"But first we must tell our tale. The Kier, that is the name of our lost world, was a world of darkness. Legend tells that many generations ago, there was a sun in our sky much like the one here. But the sun was stolen. Or lost. Various deities were named as the cause, or demons, or the Courts of Chaos, or Amber. But, we were dark, with only stars in the sky to give us light. Our moon was still in the sky, but without a sun to light it, it was little more than a dark hole moving across the field of stars."

"We are told that once, our people lived on the surface and grew crops in the warm sun. Once it was stolen, the long night grew colder and colder. There were tunnels, near volcanoes, that still held some warmth. That is the home we knew. Even with generations of expansion, there's little enough space for people there. Many of us died at first, from the cold. If you're brave, you can walk on the surface and see the frozen bodies of your great-great-great-great-etc. grandparents, still seated at their tables, or trying to pack their belongings, or rushing to the caves."

"But the caverns are the real Kier. There we raised our young, grew old, and fed the fungus. Food was scarce, but some of the tunnels crossed shadows to other worlds. In fact, many of our poeple simply left entirely, and live in those neighboring realms. But we would trade with them for food, and in return give them the riches of our tunnels. Diamonds and other gems sometimes, but our true wealth was the spores."

"The caverns below the Kier were home to many types of fungus, which never knew the touch of her sun. Some of them were beautiful beyond compare, glowing blue or red, rarely deepest violet. But it was also found that the spores of a certain kind of mold would keep our people free of any disease. Taken to other realms, this property remained, though less strongly. The mold itself was never able to be grown in other realms, and so we had a valuable and rare commodity. But, the price and difficulty of bringing food through all of the tunnels meant that we only ever eeked out survival in our tunnels. Some of our master mycologists were attempting to develop a mushroom or mold that would grow in enough capacity to help feed our people, but it was slow going."

"Of course, along with shadow walkers, we had a few sorcerers as well. Some few of them would open up portals to other shadows, allowing in the light of those worlds. Or portals to flame worlds to help heat some of the farther colonies. It was enough to support small gardens of shadow plants. Rumor has it that some of the more adventurous sorcerers managed to travel the surface to find seeds of our native flora, and were able to restore it to life underground."

"Grandfather's garden was the grandest in the realm, of course. There were trees nearly as tall as the ones here in Arden, and he even kept a few small animals in the place to climb amongst the branches. He had planned to import insects, before the end."

"Before the end, there had been rumors of one of the distant lords, a sorcery of some skill, trying to bring back our sun. We two were in shadow at the time, but... perhaps the arrival of the Black Road to our realm was connected somehow to this? The sun returned. It returned at that place many miles from our home. Instead of to the sky. And so, our world is no more. The tunnels to it through shadow show signs of melting from the instant that the sun's presence flowed through them, before the paths through shadow were themselves destroyed. Those who lived in those nearby shadows tell of an unbearable light, even miles away, that blinded them. Some never recovered their sight."

"And so, with our mother's people gone, we began to search for our father. We started with those trumps. Begma and Ubervald were clearly political destinations for him. The village you spoke of Uncle, had not heard of anyone from Amber visiting in at least a generation. Nexus knew nothing of him at all... that card is a mystery to us. I could almost feel a connection to him in the aquatic retreat, but all personal effects had been taken away. It was just a ghost of a feeling, really. And then we came to the forest card, which brought us to you."

Kierenne is almost feeling normal, nostalgia about her home obscuring her previous shame. "We had decided to visit the places in the trumps before attempting to contact the people. Grandfather's stories of Father's family did not leave us with the impression that we could expect a warm welcome. So we had thought to prepare ourselves somewhat first. But it seems that our father left no clues behind for us. And when your hounds and soldiers arrived to welcome us, it seemed easier to just introduce ourselves than to run and then explain the event later. Where would we go, anyway?"

A servant in white and black livery brings a tray with a large bottle and several glasses. Julian offers it to his guests--pear cider. The alcoholic content is extremely mild. Mint may have some if she likes. Julian has half a glass himself.

"The Patternfall War sent shockwaves through reality," he notes. "Your home sounds fascinating. I suppose you know that near copies of it might well exist in Shadow? Allow me to caution not to seek them out. It nearly always proves disorienting, usually melancholy in the extreme."

When a soldier enters, he whispers something in Julian's ear, who nods. "Fiona has arrived," he announces. "Mint, I go to greet your aunt. Kindly keep our guests company for a few minutes?" He offers a polite nod before leaving the room.

Still standing, Kieran moves behind his twin while she tells the tale of Kier. His head rises as if he were looking at the life they used to live, his hands resting on her shoulders.

"My twin tells it well. That life was perfect."

A snicker in his voice.

"Remember when Sylverster managed to steal a bloodworm? He had this notion to breed them into the Krell. Those were a rare species of reptile that lived in the caverns. Supposedly very tasty. He thought to create a never ending food supply, by the bloodworms restoring what was cut for food."

He snickers and continues

"He went through all that trouble, sneaking into the castle, past the guards, risking his life just to do this."

Laughing he finishes with "Just because he said the fungus tasted like chicken."

Drawing a deep breath "It's sad the lizard was killed by the worm."

Getting his laughter under control "Sylvester was cut up and fed to the lizards for his crimes. From the feet up."

Letting out a contented sigh at the memory "How he screamed. Good times."

Mint laughs genuinely.

"Your tale reminds me of the Yule when one of father's trap spells caught an intruder in our chimney. As a holiday present he let me assist in the vivisection even though my imperfect technique meant that the man died in mere days. I haven't thought of those screams in years."

A smile flickers across her face at the memory.

Kierenne turns to Mint, the last one to speak, and replies with "Did you know, I used Sylvester's ordeal as the basis for a sp..." Oh, I'm talking to her. Don't stop now, she'll think something's wrong. "... a spell. I... uh... traced the pain through his body, and then... er... I tried to replicate it in other people."

"It didn't work so well, though. Different nervous systems didn't take the pain patterns well. I tried it on myself, but it only felt like a strong tingling. It was actually kind of relaxing. Hrmph. I was so disappointed."

She ends by turning to look at the door where Julian had left. "Will we get to meet Aunt Fiona?"

There. She probably didn't notice anything. I'm so sneaky.

Julian returns with a petite redhead. She carries herself like a mix of the queen bee at a very impressive high school and the queen from Snow White. Fiona smiles, quite sweetly. She glances over at Mint and doesn't quite wink. Just the merest flutter of her eyebrows in greeting.

"So here we have our guests?" She looks at the two of them. "Twins. Yes, I suppose that must be fairly amusing. You, I take it are Kierenne and you Kieran?" She points briefly at each of the two, getting it right.

This one likes her own wit. She will either love, or hate, others being witty. "Yes. We're fraternal twins; we look nothing alike. But how nice of you to be able to tell the difference between a boy and a girl."

"Let me guess, it was the breasts that game me away?" Quite overcome by her facade of boldness, Kierenne grips her own breasts through her robe. Mint will see. I can be strong, too!I'm not just some weak crying girl.

"Of course," said Fiona, as if to a kitten who's just done something adorable. "Allow me a moment to see these new Trumps, won't you?" She sweeps over to the table where Julian laid the extra trumps face down. Fiona examines them, then examines their faces.

"I recognize Begma, Perevell and Nexus. None of the rest. A different artist from the regular Trumps. The variation on the white unicorn almost looks familiar. A different artist again with the red unicorn. Extraordinary eyes."

Kierenne smiles behind her mask at the seeming praise, but otherwise stays silent while Fiona repeats the same obvious facts that everybody else had already noticed. Best not push your luck. You might look desperate for attention.