Dawn, the day after the family meeting, CastleAmber and ForestArden

PCs	NPCs
LadyCorradina	LordDrake (as a PC)
LordDiomedes	PrinceJulian
LadyMiho	LadyRosalind (as a PC)
LordObi

---

The next day, a little before dawn, all of you make your way down to the courtyard. Your horses have been readied and without further ado, it's time to leave.

One of the grooms has brought around Rosalind's white mare, Snow. For all that Rosalind rides sidesaddle for hunting sometimes, she has a man's saddle today. Her saddlebags are already packed - probably Rosalind had her things sent down last night - and at the last minute a boy runs out from the kitchen with what is clearly a fresh breakfast for the lady.

Diomedes comes out, on time, with gear to be loaded onto the horse he has long since chosen. Starshine is, to those who know horses, a cross between a Quarter and an Appaloosa, with the latter's genes giving it a frost coat, white specks on a black background.

The Son of Brand has brought camping gear, some stored food, canteen, his transparent-blade sword, and a pack that Rosalind, at least, would recognize as being his artistic and arcane supplies.

Diomedes speaks with Starshine for a few moments, before turning and greeting all present, cousins and Elders alike.

Diomedes will receive various nods and good mornings from his uncles and aunt.

Dina comes down in a black riding dress covered in a generous black cloak. The skirts are split but volumous. She very much looks like she's not expecting much in the way of difficulties on this trip. She even has on a jaunty little riding hat with a peacock feather on it. She's got on her good boots and black leather gloves, though, and she's carrying two good-sized saddle bags that don't look light.

Luckily, her Cavallo can handle the weight of Dina and her comfort possessions. An Akhal-Teke, HorseCavallo, a stallion, is likely recognizable as an endurance creature.

She tips the stable hands but checks his saddle herself and loads him up. She takes special care slipping her sword into the scabbard she's had built onto the saddle, checking to make sure it's intact.

Rosalind comes down at the appointed hour. She is dressed in pale colors, down to the wyrmskin boots Bleys brought back for her from who-knows-where, with a heavy cloak against the morning chill and divided skirts for riding. The silvery cloak-pin is recognizable to family as a gift from her fiance.

There is a blade with Rosalind's gear on the horse, but she herself is carrying nothing.

Miho wears split skirts as well, like her cousins, but as soon as they are on their way she will quickly wrap the ankles and tuck them into her boots to make them less skirtish. Her clothes are the colors of sand and dirt, with the paleness of a sky of soft clouds for a shirt beneath the tan jacket. She wears a knife at the waist, and her blade is strapped to her horse along with her bags. The horse is simply one from the stables. Miho has never bothered to claim a single horse as her own.

Julian directs one of the stablemen to assist Miho with a horse of quality, that he took the liberty of selecting for her himself. It's a sturdy animal that is easily managable. Leaving Morgenstern in the care of Clive, a stableman trained in the protocols required to deal with the terrible beast, Julian takes a moment to check that Miho's horse is properly saddled and adjusted for his neice... and former ward. He spares Miho the faintest of approving smiles as she accepts the reigns.

Without being too overt about it, he leaves the others to fend for themselves.

Obi leads Geb, the towering 18 hand Egyptian Arabian out to meet the others. A veteran of numerous journeys under the messenger's hand, he is built for endurance above all. His white coat shined in the morning sun. There are red tassles on bridle, collar and saddle. Obi himself is dressed in red boots and black slacks, a white shirt and a red vest. His walking staff is tied over the saddlebags behind him.

Drake shows up and asks the grooms for a horse. When they ask which one, he says "Oh, a good one." He is dressed in a deep blue, the color of water, and has a pack at his side. He's armed, but not menacingly so. He nods at the others.

A good horse is provided for his use. Likewise he'll receive various and sundry greetings from his uncles and aunt, and of course his father.

As you make your way out into the castle courtyard, you notice that it's a little chilly, the sun is only just come up and has not yet burned its way through the thin layer of mist that settles over the castle close to the summit of Mount Kolvir. If you care to look out at the view, you'll see the mist lying low over Arden, wisps threaded through the trees in the quiet just before dawn.

Diomedes does stop a moment to look at the view. The intensity of his look is something that Miho, Obi and Rosalind will certainly recognize, and probably Drake and Corradina as well. It seems to take an act of will for Diomedes to wrest his gaze away from the beautiful sight, and back to matters at hand.

Bleys will not be there. He said his good-byes privately to Rosalind, and has stopped by to give his best to Diomedes already.

Eric absents himself but will have been seen earlier this morning preparing for his own trip into Shadow.

Julian, Gerard, Deirdre and Caine are there. Julian is busying himself getting Morganstern ready to go out as he volunteered to provide an escort through Arden. Caine is there mostly to observe, but Deirdre and Gerard will busy themselves helping with preparation and saying goodbye.

Rosalind doesn't need any help, but will accept a hand up from one of her uncles or cousins. She does take an apple from the kitchen packet to feed Snow before she mounts up.

Caine is happy to extend Rosalind a helping hand since he is not otherwise occupied.

Miho gives her father one last long hug and a kiss on the cheek before she mounts up to go.

Gerard gives her a fierce hug in return. He whispers for her to have a safe trip.

So, it isn't long before everyone is ready, and you ride from the courtyard of the Castle.

Dina waves back merrily at the small crowd come down to say goodbye. She gives Caine her best smile.

The Admiral of the Fleet beams in return and gives her a jaunty wave.

Diomedes takes his place in the procession, close by his nearly equally younger cousins if possible.

Rosalind is happy to ride in the middle. She waves back at her relatives as they ride out.

Miho does not so much take a place as start riding and see who falls in nearby. She smiles at Dio as he does so.

As Obi looks back one last time, he sees Deirdre on the steps with Caine a couple of steps above her. It's very odd, but for a second, Caine's shadow falls completely over his mother. Then the sun breaks through the mist, Obi blinks, and the shadow is gone.

The messenger cocks his head, wondering what source lit such an odd play of light, but replaces any doubt with a smile for the most important woman in his life.

Deirdre returns Obi's smile with a beautific one of her own.

Drake salutes his father, using all his fingers.

Caine returns it in kind, with nary a finger missing. - Show quoted text -

You ride through Amber, the greatest city in Creation, along it's wide promenades and past decks of flowers, golden and red, and through sweeping terraces, and along towers and palaces with spires of green and gold.

Not wanting to wake anyone in the City, Dina waits until they're with nature to clear her throat and shoot Drake a teasing smile.

Dina starts singing, curious if anyone else knows the tune:
"Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher
But I flew too high


Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think I still was a mad man
I hear the voices when I'm dreaming
I can hear them say


Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more..."

Obi doesn't recognize it, but accepts that it's not half as bad as some songs Dina might offer before the quest sees it's end.

Since no one picks up on her song, Dina keeps right on singing about charades, wisdom, fortune and irony.

It is clear that, while Diomedes does not join his voice with Dina's, his slightly cocked head and attentive look shows that he intently listens to the Eldest's musical voice.

Julian escorts you from Amber, through the fertile and green Vale of Garnath, and into Arden proper. By the time the sun has truly broken free of the clouds, you are passing along the main road through the ancient forest, through towering emerald giants touched with gold. There is a light breeze coming in off the sea, and it's passage through this forest carries the sweetest of fragrances.

To either side of the road and a nominal distance away you can see the Storm Hounds loping along lesuirely, pacing.

During any quiet moment when the conversation between the Amberites drops down, Diomedes' voice can be heard for a while, alone, murmuring words.

"Six were the young who left by Arden Road To seek among the worlds the Silver Rose

Their elders went to find king paternal And return to the city eternal

Their Twin tales here are two together sewed But will diverge under sky diurnal."

Rosalind rides up to speak with Julian. "Uncle," she says politely, "I haven't had a good look at the folder prepared for us yet, but I was hoping that you would share any thoughts you have, or memories from the expedition. If there's any chance of us finding Corwin - " and Julian can guess that she thinks there's almost none " - your insights will be valuable."

Obi intrudes as politely as possible while still intruding. "On that note, who has the dossier? I'm dying to get a look at it," he says to the assembled group.

Julian appears to take Obi's intrusion as a good excuse to remain silent.

"Not I, said the fox," Dina calls, "but my vote is we let Drake lead us in the general direction, and then we just wing it from there."

"Democracy rears it's ugly head," Julian mutters. Rosalind can definitely hear it since she only just asked him a question, but others might as well if they're close by.

Rosalind doesn't quite suppress her smile as she glances sidelong at her uncle, her eyes sparkling. She waits for the din of her cousins' questions to die down instead of adding to them.

With a nod to Diomedes as she leaves riding by his side, Miho maneuvers her horse to ride next to Obi. "I do, but it might be best to wait to look at it until we have stopped for the evening. I would not wish to see any pieces drift away in shadow." She touches her bags and smiles. "Drake is as good a leader through shadow as any of us. Since none of us quite know the best way to find what we seek. I can think of several possibilities, and none may yet work."

Diomedes gives Miho a nod as she breaks away from him. - Hide quoted text -

Drake speaks up. "Tut, tut, coz. All roads lead to Corwin, and none at all. The road I would lead us down goes by way of Uncle Julian's comments on the folder and the colonial empire that he found with Uncle Gerard. As Rosalind has so perceptively mentioned, your insights are the only thing we have other than what we have from Gerard. Getting those is worth starting the road towards this trans-oceanic empire via the forest."

Julian takes a breath and lets it out slowly, and one might imagine that he's coming to terms with the fact that this conversation is all but unavoidable.

"I find it ironic that your quest should hinge on me," he says to Drake after a moment. "Since I have no reluctance in admitting that I'm glad he's gone, and that Amber is better off without him and your energies better put to some other purpose."

Dina snorts at this, with a rueful grin, but doesn't add anything.

"I looked for him," he affirms. "For my father. If he'd go so far as to declare Corwin as his choice post-mortum, then I hoped he'd go a step further once he had closure and deliver us from this future that has been realized even now. No successor and the Kingdom suffering for it."

He looks at Rosalind briefly with that hard expression he wears sometimes, but she can tell it's not strictly intended for her. Julian's tongue can be sharp, but he will respond to civility, and she was most polite. "Very well Rosalind, he begins...

He begins to recall aloud the place. His memories are by no means any more complete than Gerard's, but he does recall different things than his brother. His grasp of language and the natives is a little sharper and more distinct. He outlines that the 'War of Anne', was actually something more like the "Queen Anne's War". He gives names to the various countries, something to the effect of the French, the Spanish, and the Britons. He has no name for the natives on the disputed continent, but remarks that their society seemed more tribal and more loosely organized. He can't recall the name of the Kings of the faction that the Shadow Corwin belonged to, but he knows their names were not Fourteenth and Fifteenth. He even chuckles aloud at that.

In the end, he provides a handful more details to what is in the journal. Better, but it remains questionable if it will make a difference.

Rosalind listens carefully, memorizing everything she can. Lecture and recitation are the basis of education in Langwith, so she's well-equipped to remember it all later.

Diomedes looks attentive and interested. At a couple of points, it looks like he wants to interrupt with a question, getting a inquisitive look, but he eschews any such.

"When I saw what Gerard took to be his shadow, which it may well have been, the fellow had a few seconds to look us right in the face." Julian shakes his head. "There are certain things that I feel he would have done had it been him. He may have played at not knowing us, but he would have confronted us soon enough. Or tried to lose us. That man bobbed along his business with no sense that we were there. He didn't cleverly allude us. We were waylaid by bad luck and bad timing. I said as much to Gerard, and when we learned of trouble back here, that lack of any appropriate reaction helped make the decision to abandon that lead."

He turns to address all his nieces and nephews. "At the time I didn't believe that we'd found Corwin. For my part, I regret this errand has fallen on you, because I still believe that was not my brother."

He blinks then, and guides Morgenstern to the side and to a slow halt. He raises a hand for them to halt, and then Julian gets the most puzzled look on his face. Shaking his head a little he grumbles very softly under his breath, "..not damned playthings.."

Dina uses the halt to slip up more toward the front of the group, closer to Julian.

"Never mind," he directs to Drake and nods for them all to continue as they had been.

Dina puts her horse in motion again, but looks over at Julian. "Julian, why would you say Benedict left Amber?" she asks. She's looking for his eyes, to let him know it's a serious question, and not just her way of changing the subject or being a smartass.

Diomedes finds that he has two ears and one mouth, and in this case, uses the former.

Julian looks back into Dina's eyes. No coward is he. However it is clear that her invocation of the Eldest in this context is.. disquieting. All of the second generation should know (either as a witness or as historical fact) that Benedict's departure was some sort of indictment on those times. Julian looks like he just got handed a loaded question.

Drake replies before his Uncle can. "A moment if you please, Dina. Let us bury the other subject before we go hunting a new one. Uncle, how did you know that you hadn't found your brother? Even knowing that could help us avoid the same mistake."

Dina gives a little nod, ceding the floor.

Miho listens with quiet intent, as she rides next to Obi.

Julian looks from Dina to Miho, noticing her quiet attention, knowing that his neice rarely lets anything slip past her. Julian finally looks to Drake. To say that he looks relieved would be an exaggeration, as their uncle rarely flinches from speaking his mind, yet they can tell he probably is relieved and just not showing it.

"It's hard to put into words. A mountain cat and a house cat are both felines, and they can both curl up and sleep peacefully on the ground; yet I know the difference. The real Corwin could have done anything upon seeing us. You follow me? The man was capable of damn near anything. The one thing he would not do is just ignore us."

He elaborates a little further, describing that a Shadow would lack an Amberite's physical strength and ability as well as their presence; an allusion to a sense of reality that is hard to describe in words. The same differentiation between Shadow and Substance that Dina heard from Eric last night, and possibly others may have heard from their parents before (Bleys and Brand in particular are possibilities).

One thing occurs to Drake as Julian explains. His uncle's reply seems straight forward and reasonable. Considering again at what the Ring indicated was false, Drake realizes that it was not saying that Julian was lying when he thought the man he saw was just a Shadow, that time roughly a century ago. It was indicating that he was lying when he said he still believed that man had to have been just a Shadow.. today. Something has changed in Julian's assessment since that time, and that's what he is lying about.

Julian looks back to Dina. "I'm not sure it's my place to guess my brother's mind on why he chose to leave our company. You knew him Corradina. You are as just qualified as I am in answering that. Perhaps he found some place better than here."

[Diomedes just listens. Play through.]

[Play through from Rosalind as well.]

"There is no better place than here," Dina says, with the conviction of a fanatic. "And while I knew him, I barely knew him. I was in the castle less than a handful of years before he departed - you had much more time than I did and you certainly were around for much more history. Here is your chance to influence the whole of my generation, Julian. Tell us your guess," Dina cajoles.

[play through from quiet Miho]

Drake watches the exchange and listens for his Uncle's answer, considering what he's said about Shadow and Substance. [Play through.]

Obi's produced an orange from his shoulder bag and is ripping it open and offering a section to Miho with a smile. He whispers quietly, "If he had a little more grey, I'd think she was flirting."

Miho returns his smile, almost laughing, but since it is Julian Obi refers to, the laugh falls into her eyes to make them sparkle as she pops the section of orange in her mouth.

He stares at her coolly, and when she mentions that this is an opportunity for him to influence her cousins. Julian considers each of them in kind. Obi, Miho, Diomedes, Rosalind, and Drake.. and then his gaze returns to her.

"Thank you no, Corradina," his voice calm and measured, but unyielding like his armor. "You have my answer, if you don't care for it you're welcome to seek out Benedict and ask him yourself. But lest you dismiss me as playing it safe or being cowardly, let me point out that you didn't appear to think this was the best of all possible places yesterday. I think you could illuminate your cousins far more than you give yourself credit for."

Julian makes no mention of the other place he saw her last night.

Morganstern huffs and begins to carry his master forward at a more businesslike pace; the conversation appearing to come to close if Julian has anything to say about it.

Dina laughs. She is genuinely amused, for those of you who know her. Something about what Julian just said or did cracked her up.

If anyone is actually able to see Julian's face, then they'll observe him rolling his eyes skyward.

Miho is quiet. She glances at Obi, then over at her uncle, then knees her horse to ride up next to Julian. She offers her uncle a small smile, then rides in silence with him.

He looks down at her (because both he and the creature he is riding are quite tall) and nods. He is content to have her ride alongside him; and after a little while she'll spy what might pass for a smile. It is a lovely day, and she is his favorite.


Diomedes remains quiet and contemplative for the remainder of the scene.

---

Previous
LadyCorradina - MakeItDance
LordObi - JustCantWait

Next
All - EnsembleCampfireDiplomacy