"Did You Look Under the Throne?"
Aedan's Journal. Session 3-17-01.
from Good Faeries, Bad Faeries, (c)1998 Brian Froud
© 2001 Todd Worrell
Winds That Will Be — Aedan's Journal
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"Did You Look Under the Throne?" Aedan's Journal. Session 3-17-01. |
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from Good Faeries, Bad Faeries, (c)1998 Brian Froud |
© 2001 Todd Worrell
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A good cry always makes me hungry. I ate a late lunch and went looking for Corwin. He was nowhere I could find him. So I thought I would check with Benedict and see what arrangements were being made for security at Martin's coronation. After what happened at Random's funeral, I was concerned that we weren't surprised like that again.
Benedict was in his office, along with about two hundred soldiers. I announced my presence to the secretary and asked if the General would see me.
He wouldn't. I left him a note offering my assistance and left.
Flora was in charge of the ceremony, so I decided to check in with her. She wasn't in the palace. Her staff informed me that she had gone to the Temple of the Unicorn to meet with the new High Priest.
I had walked perhaps a mile, all of it in circles, trying in vain to talk with my elders. That hadn't accomplished what I had hoped for, but it had gotten me quite frustrated.
Afternoon is the best time to spar with the castle guard. The evening shift is usually milling about prior to taking their posts. I worked a few of them over, two or three at a time, for about an hour. I took it easy on them, as the last time I put a soldier out of action prior to her scheduled work time Finn had to work her shift—something about it being impossible to find someone to take her place at such short notice.
The morning shift ended and a half-dozen of them were willing to be on the receiving end of my unorthodox swordsmanship. Even using wooden blades I had to be careful not to hurt them too much. An hour into practice Finn showed up. I gave him ten minutes to warm up while I caught my breath. Then I beat the stuffing out of him. If he thought that two hours of fighting would wear me out, he was bruisedly mistaken.
I helped him limp to dinner in the mess hall. A couple large mugs of mead and a boisterous song that Finn owed me in front of the guard later, I left. It was a trick Caine had taught me to inspire loyalty. Fight with them, eat with them, drink with them, and be the first to leave, he said. They'll treat you as one of them and appreciate being left alone to talk about you.
I bathed and changed my clothes. Flora was still away, but I was told that Lieutenant Seldon was meeting with the castle staff about arrangements for the coronation. He was one of Benedict's men, permanently stationed in the castle. I sought him out and got some answers.
The grounds would be opened to invited guests at noon. The coronation would take place at approximately four o'clock on the North lawn. Dinner would be served immediately following the coronation, with the family having a private ceremony to swear fealty after. Music and dancing were planned for after dinner.
I went to the North lawn. It was a good choice for a large gathering. The peak of Kolvir towered overhead, somewhat symbolically I supposed. The Eastern Gardens were visible. A team of gardeners was hard at work planting fresh flowers. The lawn sloped gently down toward the seawall. Beyond, the ocean was nearly as flat as a lake this evening. Carpenters were putting the finishing touches on an arched trellis. It would keep off some of the rain if the weather changed, but it was only big enough for Martin and the people standing next to him. If a storm came up, the rest of us would get soaked.
The King's Guards were already stationed at various strategic places around the whole place. My critical eye approved of their placement, but something bothered me. Looking up at Kolvir, I was reassured to see clumps of Benedict's men on the mountain's shoulders, overlooking the lawns.
It seemed like everything was being done to make it a successful coronation. I snapped my fingers, remembering. Then I asked the Steward what crown they would be using. The glum look on his face was all I needed to verify my guess; the royal regalia had not been found.
Shit! Had anyone besides me even looked for it? I kept some strands from the crown pillow in my belt pouch so that if I ever needed to rework the finding spell I had created, I had something for affinity. But I knew what had happened to it. Some fey goblin had stolen the crown, scepter, and whatever else was in the case. Everybody knew that. Now that we were talking with the fey again, surely Gregory or Giselle had asked about it. I took out Giselle's trump card.
"Aedan," she said hurriedly, "I'm waiting for a call I dascent miss."
I pretended she hadn't just said "dascent" and asked her what she knew about the missing regalia. Her short answer was: nothing. Perhaps I was a bit abrupt, but I really wanted the damn crown back.
"The next time you see whomever it is you see, please ask around for our crown," I instructed her.
"Well, if I have the opportunity I will." Giselle kept looking around nervously.
"Giselle," I pleaded, "This is important!"
"I know that," she said.
"The ceremony is tomorrow."
"Did you look under the throne?" She asked huffily.
"Yes, of course!" I told her. "I looked everywhere…."
She was no longer visible. She had cut the contact without saying goodbye. Well, if I was angry with her, it was because I had a right to be. Had she even tried to get the crown back from the fey, or had she been too busy flitting and flirting from realm to realm?
Hmmmm. Had I actually looked under the throne? I couldn't remember. So I went to the Throne Room. The thrones sit on a raised dais. I checked in the case. It was still empty.
"Meep," I heard a faint meeping noise.
"Meep." Almost sorrowful.
I looked under the dais. Two large, dewy eyes looked back at me. They blinked.
"Hello," I said more politely than I felt.
"Meep," it said with a little girl's voice.
I summoned a light wisp. Huddled under the edge of the platform, I saw a small fey creature. Part bat, part cat, part pixie. Covered in short, gray fur, it smiled mischievously back at me.
"Are you lost?" I asked.
"You're looking," it said.
"Yes," I responded. "Do you know what I'm looking for?"
"Maybe. Stone here." It looked around, scared.
"There's a lot of stone here."
"Stone bad."
"I could take you outside," its eyes widened hopefully at that, "but first I need some answers. Do you know where the shiny objects are that belonged to the king?"
"Only one king, the King in Green," it sing-songed.
"There was another king. He had some pretty things and he kept them in this room."
"Stone room."
"Yes, in this stone room. I'll take you outside if you take me to where the king's shiny objects are now."
The bat-thing sat quietly for a moment.
"I can take you," it said, "but only if you can fly. Can you fly?"
"Yes." Well, I could almost fly. I hoped it would be good enough.
It waddled out from underneath the platform then. I held out my hands. It leaped in and snuggled under my arm. I drew my cloak over my shoulder so it wouldn't be seen.
"We're going outside," I told it, and we did. Periodically, it would peek its head out, meep, and burrow back under my cloak.
I strolled out the main gate and stopped at a copse of bushes. I pulled my cloak away and the bat creature looked around. It hopped out of my arms and to the ground.
"What is your name?" I asked it.
"Call me Corwin." It nodded vigorously. "No one ever calls me Corwin."
"Okay," I humored the creature. "You can call me Oberon."
"You're not Oberon!" The little girl voice accused me. "You're Aedan."
So much for that.
"Wheeeeeee." Corwin the Bat-Thing launched into the air. I spoke a word and followed. After a minute or two, I began to fall. The fey creature flew circles around me.
"You can't fly." It pouted.
We had landed near the trees on the outskirts of Arden.
"I can fly, but only for short periods of time."
"Tsk tsk tsk. I can make you fly."
"You can?" I was tentative about letting a fey spell affect me, but I was in a hurry and my options were limited.
"We need to get further away from that thing," Corwin pointed with a wing back toward the castle.
We walked into the edge of the woods. Well, I walked. Corwin the Bat-thing hopped and flapped its wings. At a small clearing, it landed on a fallen log.
"This place is connected with the place of the King in Green," it said brightly. "Listen!"
I heard ordinary forest sounds: wind in the boughs, insects, birds chirping. I didn't hear anything that sounded kingly or greenly. After a few seconds, the fey critter made a sad face.
"The King in Green is missing," Corwin the Bat-Thing said. Maybe it meant Julian. We were in Arden, and Julian was dead. It made sense.
I agreed to let it make me fly. I sat down at the base of a tree, my back against the trunk. Foop. I was outside of my body, looking down at it from a dozen feet up. I looked handsome and asleep. I also looked even more pale than I usually did.
In fact, everything looked slightly different, like the light had changed. The world was much brighter now. I heard strange things, low rumblings from all around me. Somehow I knew that I was hearing the trees. The wind whispered and I knew the words. It was saying "swish swish swish I go through around and through and through swish swish swish…."
I was flying. I was moving my arms, but they weren't arms. They were little wings. I tried to keep them flapping.
I fell.
A short lesson later, Corwin and Aedan the Bat-Things were swooping through Arden. We avoided the main roads, but I could tell we were approaching Julian's Hunting Lodge. The fey creature landed on a branch. I landed next to it.
"Are we close?" I asked, thinking the regalia might be in the lodge.
Corwin the Bat-Thing nodded, a sad look on its face.
"What's wrong?"
"More news," it said. "The King—he's been died."
"That happens to all kings."
"Nope." It shook its gray, furry head back and forth quickly.
"There will be a new King in Green someday."
"Nope."
Before I could make any more futile attempts at consolation, it leapt off the branch and flew away. I followed.
Julian's Hunting Lodge appeared as we soared into a clearing. We dove through a window into the kitchen. Wisps of strange, yellow energy hung in the air. In my new body, I could sense that they were magical residue left over from fey spellcasting.
I didn't have time to study them, for my guide went straight for a door. He flew through the door! I held my breath and followed. A tingle of yellow energy hung around the door and surged through me as I passed right through the door.
We were in what looked to be Julian's private office. It was a small room, perhaps ten feet by fifteen, but crowded with books, chairs, small tables, and miscellaneous stuff. Corwin landed on the large desk that dominated the room.
"Are we there?" I landed on the desk as well. The desktop was neatly organized, with absolutely no loose papers on it.
"Yep."
"Where are the pretty things, the shiny objects?"
"They were going to bring it here." The feyling hopped around, looking chagrined.
"Are you sure?" I was suddenly afraid. Trapped in a strange form, miles from my own body, with no one knowing where I was—it didn't seem like such a brilliant plan now.
"Yep." Corwin the Bat-Thing hopped onto the big chair behind the desk. "Other people been here."
"Searching for it?"
"Yep, but not founded it."
"So," I guessed, "it's hidden?"
"Yep."
It rubbed its eyes, then looked around. I rubbed my eyes, thinking it a fey trick. When I reopened them, everything looked exactly the same. My guide opened its mouth quickly, as if struck by a thought. It hopped onto the chair and down to the ground. I followed.
It was dancing on the floor directly beneath the chair, a look of happiness on its little face.
"Is it there?" I asked.
"I'll just look." It poked its head through the floor for a moment. "Yep. It's blocked to magic, though."
We struggled with for a few minutes, but managed to pull out a loose section of floor. Fey arms worked well for flying, but not for lifting.
In a cavity beneath the floor was a bundle of blue silk tied with a golden cord. Corwin and I raised the bundle to the floor and set it down where we could see it. I loosened the cord and the silk fell away.
I saw a silver crown with seven major points, studded with emeralds, two large rubies, and numerous smaller gems. Beneath it was a scepter, also of silver. Amber's royal regalia was found at last.
"I want that!" Corwin screeched, its wingtip touching a yellow topaz.
"Now, Corwin, we had a deal…."
"Look! It's missing."
The topaz was missing, no doubt due to some fey glamour trick.
"Our agreement was that I would set you free and you would lead me to this. Your getting any of it was not part of the deal."
"Fine," Corwin pouted. "I'll just go."
It leaped into the air and flew around the room. The silk bundle was empty.
"You can't get back into your body." It taunted me. However, it had a point.
"Corwin, give me the crown—"
"You can't get out of this room, even. Blocked to you. Only me go in and out."
Oh shit.
So I gave in. I let the fey creature have the topaz. I really had no choice. It would have flown off with the whole crown. I was very specific with the details of our agreement to get me back to my body with the crown and scepter. Half an hour later, I was standing in my own body holding the blue silk bundle.
Corwin the Bat-Thing was sitting on a branch nearby, but too far away for me to reach it, however. As soon as I looked its way, it jumped into the air.
"Bye Aedan!" It zoomed away, taking a topaz from the Crown of Amber with it.
I wondered if I could get the gem replaced in time for the ceremony tomorrow. Judging from the color of the sky, it was late evening. I was on foot in the outskirts of Arden, and I was in no mood to walk.
* * *
Every so often, maybe once or twice a year, Caine would turn the ships' prows toward Amber. We would sail at full speed, night and day, until the sky was just the right shade of blue. The first couple times it happened I thought we were heading into battle. Or maybe Caine was needed to fight someone and he couldn't use his Trumps for some reason.
By the fourth or fifth time, I knew how the scene would play out.
We would drop anchor about thirty miles from Amber's coastline. Then Caine would lower himself in a rowboat. He would row off toward shore and we would wait for three or four days for his return.
He never talked about what happened other than to say "I took care of business," or "It had to be done."
In my seventh year with him, he had a separated shoulder from a skirmish when he decided we needed to dash back to Amber. We arrived and he paced about above deck for a full day and night, constantly massaging his shoulder and staring off at the distant horizon. We were too far away to see anything other than ocean, but he still strode back and forth and chewed his cigars to shreds.
"Aedan, get in the boat." It was a sort of request, although Caine would never admit it. I could ask why, and get hit. A badly dislocated shoulder wouldn't stop him from hitting me as hard as he could, even if it meant tremendous pain for himself.
Caine was like that. I got in the rowboat.
My uncle clambered in beside me. I lowered us into the water and began rowing.
I strained for hours. Thankfully the sun went down at some point, so I couldn't guess how long I was at it. Perhaps a thousand years later, Caine jumped over the edge of the boat.
He landed in shallow water. We were at the shoreline. Caine pulled the rowboat up onto the sand.
"Get it above the high-water mark," he told me. I stumbled out of the boat and began hauling it further inland. The forest swallowed me up and I collapsed, utterly exhausted.
"Wait here for me," Caine said. I had no choice. At least, I thought to myself, he'll know where to find my body for the burial. Uncomfortably propped against the side of the rowboat, I closed my eyes and was instantly asleep.
I awoke to the sound of remote bird calls, squawking at each other in the canopy. I heard something moving through the trees, high up in the branches. A monkey, I hoped. I opened my eyes and saw the late afternoon sun filtering in through the forest covering.
My mouth was dry. I pulled rations out from under the bow and consumed three days' worth of food and water. My neck hurt so badly I thought about amputating it. My arms and shoulders hurt worse.
I stood and stretched. Fire burned in my joints. My feet itched inside my boots. The trees around me paid me no attention. Caine was nowhere to be seen. These jaunts of his usually lasted three or four days. It was a half-day's hard row for me, so I figured I had at least a day before Captain Ruthless returned.
I searched through my kit. The ache in my shoulders and back screamed out for my special, private stash. A dose of red racer would keep me awake and alive until nightfall. I swallowed two.
Caine had taught me how to track people as well as animals. He himself was wearing heavy boots. It wasn't too difficult to find his trail. I followed it into the woods for nearly two hours before I came upon the path. It ran roughly parallel to the coastline. Caine's marks led north, but I checked south as well out of habit drilled into me. His marks led south too.
I knew I was in Arden. I didn't know where Amber was exactly, but I would have guessed south. If his destination were Amber, would he have gone to all this trouble? I didn't think so. I headed north.
Two hours later the trail was close enough to the shore that I could hear the waves crashing in. The path led down onto the beach, which seemed odd. I took off my boots and tucked them into my belt. Going barefoot would give me better traction in the sand. In the forest, it would allow me to be quieter. Besides, my feet were very callused, and the sand felt good between my toes. After a quarter of a mile, the path climbed steeply into the woods. Caine's marks were more obvious now. I crept up the path slowly for over an hour before I heard it.
The air was filled with a silent hum. That's the only way I can describe it. Gradually, the background noises of the forest faded until I felt a strong presence.
As quietly as I could, I snuck up the path on my belly. It crested and I poked my head over. The path dropped thirty feet into a small clearing fifteen feet across at its widest point. The air here smelled exceptionally woodsy, yet somehow pure.
At the far end of the little clearing, I saw my uncle's back. Caine was sitting on his knees, his head down, arms stretched toward a lump of black rock. I didn't move.
He seemed to be saying something under his breath. I couldn't make out the words, but he was repeating something regularly. It was almost like chanting.
He is praying, I thought. If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it was possible.
I backed down the trail, holding my breath as long as I could. I crept away silently for at least a mile. I ran. All the way back to the boat I was afraid that Caine would catch me.
When he emerged from the forest, a day after I had returned, he stopped and looked at me for a long while. I didn't say anything. Slowly, he walked up to where I was sitting on a stump sharpening my long knife. I sat still.
Caine only stopped when his face was inches from mine. I was calm. I was sweating, but that was everyone's normal reaction to Caine's stare.
"Let's go," he said. His breath smelled like death on toast.
I don't want to talk about rowing back to the ship.
* * *
Pettiness can be a great motivator. I admit that I wanted to let Giselle know that I had found the regalia without her help. I hadn't known that she would be in the castle. That was just good luck.
"Hello, Giselle." I was feeling proud of myself.
"Hello, Aedan. You're looking rather smug."
"Are you in Amber?" It looked like she was in the King's antechamber.
"Yes, would you like to come through?"
I did, so I did.
Giselle was, in fact, in the king's antechamber. The reason why was standing right next to her. He was a tall elf, with too much curly brown hair going gray. He stood in a green kilt and sash and a slightly stooped posture, as if his shoulders weighed more than the rest of him did.
"Aedan, I'd like you to meet my uncle, the Dagda. Uncle, Aedan of Amber."
I shook his hand, trying unsuccessfully to divert attention from the blue silk package in my other hand. The Dagda, also known as Lord Mandor Sawall, peered curiously over my shoulder.
"We've met," he said.
"So we have," I agreed.
"You're looking awfully…'bearing the crown of Amber' this evening." The Dagda smiled broadly, amused at his own witticism.
"Is that what that is?" Giselle reached for it. I let her feel through the silk but kept it knotted.
"Yes."
"Was it under the throne?" Giselle curled her fingers under her chin expectantly. I didn't want to disappoint her.
"Yes."
"I knew it!" She bounced giddily.
"But not exactly 'the Throne,' throne."
"Looking under the wrong throne, were we?" The Dagda grinned. He really liked himself.
"'We'?" I asked him curiously.
"Bad habit." He waved it away with a dismissive gesture.
"Aedan, my uncle and I were just discussing events in the Courts of Chaos. It seems Merlin has been, what was the word you used…?"
"Uncommunicative," The Dagda said. "Really. He was raised better."
"I have heard some rumors about the Lady Dara…." I prompted.
"Yes, she's missing." The fact didn't seem to bother him in the slightest. "There were signs of violence, so many think her dead. However, the lack of a body is not a fact to be overlooked. Why, your own mother was presumed dead for years, but I understand the Princess Deirdre has, in fact, returned."
He was good at changing the subject. I played along.
"She has," I said.
"But can you be certain it's really her?" The Dagda tapped his lips with his finger. "I'd be suspicious."
"Yes," I told him. "You would."
Giselle told her uncle her version of what had happened, mentioning the fact that Deirdre and I had been in control of each other's bodies for several hours. As she finished her tale, Giselle looked at me warily.
"So how did you get out of the Abyss, Aedan?" She had been under Mandor's influence for too long not to have become somewhat distrustful herself, I supposed. Still, it was disappointing to be presumed guilty.
"The Abyss," I quipped, "is not as empty as you might suppose."
They laughed, perhaps a bit too loudly. Thankfully, we were interrupted by a young page in the royal service inquiring as to whom Martin was about to receive.
"Just put 'Lord Mandor,'" The Dagda patted the page on her head. "He'll understand."
"Let's have a peek," Giselle tried to pry the silk apart. "I want to see it."
Her sense of decorum was sadly lacking. The King's antechamber was not the place to reveal the newly-regained Crown of Amber, especially since it was lacking one gem.
"You will," I folded the silk completely closed and put my hand over it.
"There are tailors and such with his royal highness at the moment." The page informed us. "Is this to be a private audience?"
"No," Giselle said.
"Yes," I said, a trifle louder.
"Well, it's private, I suppose." Giselle crossed her arms peevishly. She could be so childish sometimes. The page bowed and scurried off.
After a moment, she returned and the three of us were escorted in to a fitting room. Martin was standing on a cushioned stool, arms extended, while a swarm of tailors and seamstresses buzzed around him.
The Dagda shifted and became Mandor. His kilt was replaced by a black suit. People pretended not to notice, but the low hum of conversation was replaced by an awkward silence.
"Out," Martin said. In a minute, we were alone with him.
"We meet again," Mandor smiled. He had the same ingratiating smile that the Dagda had.
Martin nodded brusquely.
"I had something to present to you, perhaps after the coronation? Things move more rapidly in the Courts. The King's Court has presented me with a rather formal petition. I would like to discuss it with you in an official setting."
Martin looked at him, rather coldly, I thought. He didn't answer.
"Perhaps we could go over the generalities in advance," I suggested.
Mandor raised an eyebrow.
"And your interest is…?" He looked down his nose at me, literally.
"Aedan is learning about the Courts," Martin came and stood beside me. "He may possibly have a formal role in regards to your realm."
"Oh," Mandor smiled. "When will you have some free time?"
"Before the ceremony tomorrow," Martin said tonelessly. "I should have fifteen or twenty minutes available. Everyone assumes I'll be busy."
"I'll await word, then," Mandor bowed slightly. For a courtier, he is rather transparent, I thought. It was obvious that Martin didn't like him, but equally obvious that Mandor wasn't bothered by the fact. Actually, it seemed to amuse him.
"What's in the bundle?" Martin looked at the blue silk wrap I was carrying.
"That's our cue," Giselle said, and escorted Mandor out. I waited until the door had closed.
"Sit down," I said. He sat on the stool. I knelt beside him.
"I found this," I told him, and unwrapped the bundle.
"Uh…" Martin's eyes grew wide and he shook his head. "I'll bite. Where?"
"In Julian's Hunting Lodge."
"I thought Gregory searched there."
"He did. I had fey help. Unfortunately, it cost me."
"What?" That got his attention. I showed him the empty setting.
I told Martin about my having to give the fey creature one of the topazes in return for the Crown. Since we only had half a day to replace it, I asked him if he knew anyone who could do it on such short notice.
"Giselle is good with that sort of thing," he said. "Maybe Flora. I'll get the royal jewelers working on it right away."
People hopped, skipped, and jumped when Martin asked them to. Within twenty minutes a team of jewelers was gathered in the downstairs workshop. Giselle arrived. Someone had told her what she was needed for, and she immediately hustled me into a private corner of the room and began interrogating me.
"Where is the original stone?" She asked.
"The fey creature took it."
"Aedan! How could you let it?"
"If I hadn't," I explained. "We wouldn't have anything."
"Oh, that's no good. No good at all. Do you remember what they did to Benedict? They didn't have anything of his."
Well, technically that was untrue. They had his trump. However, I didn't say anything. Giselle said she would work a few disassociative enchantments into the crown with the replacement topaz. She thought it would work. I took her railing at me very well. I didn't get angry or blame anyone. I just nodded and agreed with everything she said. I wanted to get out of there as quickly as I could, because she had given me an idea.
I went to the Throne Room and crawled under the dais. I gathered some gray fur and some fey droppings in a bag.If it ever became necessary, I could now work a nasty spell or two for Corwin the Bat-Thing. I smiled to myself as I walked back to my rooms. It had better hope it had the good luck of its namesake if our paths ever crossed again.
* * *
The next morning dawned crisp and clear. I threw back the curtains and leaned out of the window. The night fog was beginning to lift, and the sky above was clear all the way out to the watery horizon. I took a deep breath of salt air.
After breakfast I left word with one of the royal staff that I wished to be present at Martin's meeting with Mandor. I hadn't exactly been invited, but I didn't think it was too presumptuous to express my interest. Martin already knew I was curious about the Courts. Also, he might like having someone along to keep him from attacking Mandor when the insults got too thinly veiled. The grounds were being opened to guests at noon, but the ceremony itself didn't start until four o'clock. So I expected to be notified somewhere between the two events.
Magni trumped me. He was someplace in Shadow, on horseback, asking me to come to him. I went to the stables and saddled Trick before I went through.
We were at Ygg. There were no leaves on the giant ash tree's branches. This has happened rather suddenly, I thought. I had been here less than two weeks ago and Ygg wasn't bare then. We dismounted and walked to the trunk.
"Hello," I said.
"Hello Ygg," Magni said. There was a long pause.
"Are you not talking to me?" Magni asked.
There was an even longer pause.
"Welcome," the tree said.
"We're back!" Magni sang. "Has anyone tried to get here since we left?" I supposed he meant Brand again, but Ygg surprised us both.
"Corwin was here. He had the key to his Sign and those of his blood with him."
"Wait," I tried to process what the tree had just said. "More than Corwin walked his Pattern?"
"Yes."
"His son?" I remembered Mandor mentioning that Merlin had been "uncommunicative." Perhaps he had been absent from the Courts.
"It must have been," Ygg said, "but it was not a man I knew."
"And Corwin didn't introduce you?" Magni joked. "That's not very polite."
"Have you found a home for my branch yet?"
I looked at Magni. He had that guilty look people get when one of their secrets is inadvertently revealed. Of course, he must have expected Ygg to ask about it when he brought me here, so it could have been an act.
"I've been looking," Magni replied, "but I haven't found the right spot."
"Oh." Ygg's dry, dull, emotionless voice almost sounded sad.
"I thought I would plant it at the Crossroads," Magni said, "but that's gone now. I would plant it at Amber, but everyone would be carving their initials in it."
Ygg didn't respond.
"I know a cool orchard," I suggested.
"Really? Where?" Magni turned to me.
"In my homeland. It's a spooky place."
"Ehhh," Magni hemmed. "I don't think Shadow is a good place for Ygg. It should be someplace real."
Well, that limited his options. Hey! If Corwin had been here and walked his Pattern, maybe he had found Grayswandir.
"Ygg," I said. "Did Corwin bear his blade with him?"
"Corwin arrived suddenly. He assisted the boy."
"With a tool?"
"He assisted him physically."
"Did the boy have anything unusual?" Magni asked.
"He was of the races of Chaos," Ygg replied.
"Have any others tried to walk Corwin's Pattern?" Magni had that glint in his eye that told me danger was on its way.
"There is a new path near here," Ygg had a definite knack for not answering a yes or no question. "Many more have passed the boundary recently."
"You can sense Shadow?" Magni asked.
"That which I touch."
"Are Shadows diminishing?"
"Yes." It was too bad Gabriel wasn't here to hear Ygg support one of his theories. Instead, he was trekking back and forth through Shadow himself.
"Are Shadows uniting?"
"Some. Some are dispersing."
"More of one than the other?" I asked.
"I cannot say."
"Has the flux in Shadow damaged you?" Magni inquired.
"No. Although I am stronger," Ygg said, "the future is short."
That didn't sound good. Actually, it bothered me. I walked around a bit. Corwin's Pattern was hidden by a thick mist. It was glowing silver through the haze. Wondering how close I could get to it, I stepped into the fog. I could see the outermost lines, so I stopped short of them. I was kneeling beside the outside line when Magni came up behind me.
"Hey, whoa there," he said. "What do you think of this?" He held out a trump card. I took it. It was all lines and angles, gray and greens. It wasn't anyone I knew.
"Who is it?"
"Ygg," Magni said, pointing his thumb back over his shoulder. "I made it. Here, these are yours." He handed me my pipe and my ordinary sword along with a handful of silver pieces.
"Where did you find these?" I asked.
"Long story," he lied. I took one last look at the trump of Ygg. It looked like a child's drawing of broken bottles. I gave Magni back his card. We returned to the base of the giant tree.
"Ygg," I said. "I have been to the Abyss. Do you know of the sentience that lives there?"
"The Abyss is nothing. I cannot see there."
"What of the Unicorn?" Magni glanced at me. I knew what he was thinking. If we could use Ygg to track the Unicorn beast, we wouldn't be constantly defending against her. We could attack.
"Her footsteps are known to me."
"Did she make the new path near here?" I asked.
"Where she stands," Ygg replied, "my roots cannot grow."
Was that a yes or a no? There should be an adage for talking to metaphysical beings: Expect confusion and you won't be disappointed (Aedan's Axiom Number One).
On a hunch, I reached out my left hand and grasped one of Ygg's branches. The scars I had acquired in the Abyss touched Ygg's bark.
"Tree, do you know this energy?"
"I am old."
Yeah, I knew that.
"Do you know this?"
"It is the family of the Unicorn. It is like her. It is like when I struggled with the Serpent in the beginning."
Oh, that old. Ygg was talking old on a cosmic scale.
"The Serpent is in the family?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Is the Seraph, the manifestation of the Fount of Power?"
"No."
I would have to think about this.
"Do you know where the Unicorn is now?" Magni asked eagerly.
"Yes."
"Could you show us where?"
"Yes."
Magni turned to me. His eyebrows were bouncing up and down. I could tell he wanted to fight her, right now.
"Well?" He asked me, miming battle.
"We might miss Martin's coronation…." I let the thought trail off.
"Yeah," Magni agreed. "Being dead, we would miss the coronation."
"But we would probably be at Benedict's funeral," I added helpfully.
"Yeah, being dead, we'd be at the funeral."
So we decided against attacking the Unicorn right now. But we weren't ruling out future acts of violence. Magni trumped Benedict while I collected the horses. He vanished in a rainbow swirl. I debated leaving his precious horse here when I left. It would serve him right for leaving Trick at the Keep of the Four Worlds for so long.
"Goodbye Ygg," I said.
Nothing. I trumped Raj and returned to Amber. It wasn't noon yet. I went to my rooms and dressed in formal attire. I had been to Arden and to Ygg already, and it wasn't even noon yet. I had a feeling that it was going to be a long, long day.
* * *
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