On The Good Ship 'Hippogriff' (Triton, Mint, Aiden)

It looks as if Bleys is in a library of some kind--or at least there are books behind him. Lots of places in Amber fit that description. "Julian is missing. He left his second in command at Arden, came here to the Castle, was spotted in the residential wing near your apartments, then evidently went to the Pattern. No one has any idea where he is now. He didn't explain anything to his lieutenant but just told him to hold the fort. Any ideas?"

"The short answer is yes, but..."

Mint frowns.

"May we discuss this in person."

Mint picks up her bag of gear and slips the strap carefully over her shoulder so as not to disturb the dress before offering Bleys her hand. She expects him to pull her through, but will gladly bring him here instead if he wishes.

Mint vanishes as she enters the Trump.

Captain Ulwyn of the Hippogriff does a take at that.

By this time the small boat has reached the Rogue Heart, which in turn has resumed its own heading, away from the other vessel. It remains still in easy signaling distance, though.

Well, now. I wonder what that was about? And how does that affect my plans? Hmmm...I believe that I shall still attend this party. The opportunity to to pick up valuable information is too great. Not to mention the chance to meet several new additions to the family...

Aiden tips his hat, " Sister Mircalla, cousin Triton. I believe it's time for me to be going. I wish you both a safe and pleasant journey. And I hope we will have the fortune to meet again soon."

Aiden pulls a small deck of Tarot from his pocket and thumbs through it until he reaches a card picturing a lovely vista of green wooded hills not far from the City of Amber. He slides the rest of the deck back into his pocket and begins to focus on the card...........

[OOC- No worries. PM sent ]Previous text ammended

Triton makes it clear that he is happy to contact Mint again via her trump when necessary. He waves good bye to Aiden and then turns back to Sister Mircalla and the Captain.

"Well that was certainly an eventful visit. Are you two having as much fun as I am?" Triton smirks.

"Rather depends on exactly how much fun you were having, Your Highness," says the Captain.

"Has Josette just completed you assignment for you," asks Sister Mircalla. "Regarding the merewives? As I recall, you were tasked with finding out why they changed their patterns, their 'dance' as she put it. If a great many Shadows are, as Josette claimed, shifting in the wake of the Patternfall War--does this give you the answer you seek? I should point out in Uberwald we found much of what she says true. We've heard stories of entire worlds undergoing disasters, while paths through Shadows have indeed changed. My sister has been investigating this, with Fernand's aid, for years."

Triton pats the captain on the shoulder and laughs.

"Dear Captain, I'm always having fun. Life is a never ending adventure and I have nothing to do but enjoy it. Now, Sister Mircalla, do you really believe my quest to be that simple? Would not the merewives have started reacting as soon as the Patternfall war ended? Or shortly thereafter if shadows began to shift? I won't pretend to understand the shifting of shadows, but if they have been doing this for years then why disturb the merewives now? I think more of this mystery has yet to play out. Perhaps when we arrive at Uberwald I can discuss the shifting of shadows with your sister and Fernand?"

"As you wish," says Sister Mircalla, "although I'll simply point out if the Shadows are still shifting, it could easily be a recent shift that altered the dance of the merewives. But the Hippogriff should arrive at Gont when Captain?"

The Captain says, "At current speed, within another two days your Highness. Of course," he eyes Triton, "if we were to prove extremely...fortunate...in terms of winds that time might be cut in half. Even more, maybe."

"See, it's that kind of uncertainty that led to my original plan. Simply find the merewives and ask them what is going on. Get the answer straight from the seahorse's mouth as they say," Triton smiles in a way that Sister Mircalla can't tell if he is joking or not.

He then rolls his eyes at the Captain.

"Fine, let's see what type of favorable wind we might find."

Triton starts drawing on the power of the Pattern to speed up their journey across the sea.

Sure enough, the winds pick up and within an hour or so Hippogriff moves through the waves at a very nice clip. Sister Mircalla excuses herself, going to her cabin. She seems a little distracted. Her soldiers put their weapons away (to pretty much everyone's relief) while Captain Ulwin eventually takes time to chat a little with Triton.

"Farthing for your thoughts?"

Triton gives a respectful bow when Sister Mircalla takes her leave. Then he stands there enjoying the breeze on deck when the captain strikes up a conversation.

"Dear Captain, there's no reason to pay. As much as I enjoy the sound of my own voice I will happily tell you for free," he smirks, "I was just thinking that love seems to be the root of all troubles. It causes my brother and Sister Mircalla much pain. It allowed Josette to form a powerful union with Captain Medraut. And if I was to make a bet, I would wager that whatever is causing the merewives to shift their dance was done so because some idiot was in love. The biggest mistakes we make are always because of love," Triton finishes with a sigh.

[OOC - All good. I'm just chillin and enjoying the voyage. ]

Triton feels (again) the sensation of someone trying to reach him by Trump. Assuming he responds, the image that appears is that of Prince Benedict.

"Triton," he says with a simply but respectful bow of the head, "several of us have just had a conversation with two of your cousins--Mint and Aiden. We'd like very much to hear your version of events as well as your opinions."

Triton excuses himself to a place on deck with a bit more privacy. He bows his head in return to Benedict, a prince to prince sign of respect.

"Hello Uncle Benedict, how are you. I'm not sure that I could add much to the story. As you know my cousins seem to be much more concerned with these pirates. To start, I am on a mission for my mother to find out why the merewives have changed their dance. This has apparently never happened before so I am searching for possible causes. We were a few days into our journey when the pirates appeared behind my ship. I attempted to shift the winds of shadow to help us escape. But someone upon that ship also possesses control over shadow and they countered my efforts. So we allowed them to board and then everybody wanted to talk..."

Triton tells the events just as they happened. Obviously unable to confirm anything that Mint or Aiden spoke about in private.

"Now, as for my opinions on the subject, I don't know how much I can add. As always it's odd to find a shadow shifter with no obvious ties to the family. Josette and Medraut are clearly up to something. Whether it has any baring on anything concerning Rebma and Amber, I cannot say. But Mircalla informs me that there are strange shiftings in shadow which some believe are in relation to the activities of these two families. When I arrive at Umbra I plan to investigate further. Would you like me to update you when I learn more?"

Benedict says "Please do. We would also ask if you'd accept some one to help by the time you reach Uberwald. This whole matter looks like a much larger question than it looks."

"Either joining you or meeting you there," says Benedict. "A final decision hasn't yet been made. We want to examine at least two major areas of interest, one of which begins in Uberwald."

"Not a problem. You know me uncle, I'm easy. I go wherever the wind blows me," Triton smiles, "And I'm always happy to add a little more adventure to my journey. But I do remind you that I promised my mother I would look into the merewives. So unless you believe these things to be connected, I might have to prioritize."

"We'll try to help you with that question, as much as possible."

Triton bows his head.

"I appreciate that. And so does the Queen. Is there something in particular that you need me to investigate, or will my 'yet to be named' traveling companion be responsible for that portion of the mission?"

"I think your yet-to-be-named will be able to answer that question as well. One suggestion, though--if you get a chance please ask Sister Mircalla about the prophecy at her Shrine? I remember hearing about it once when I passed through, and something about purple and gold. We'll contact you later with more information."