[Notes for the run of October 21, 1999.] Mia goes off to see Henri. There is much simpering and giggling. He mentions that one of the waybread herbs won't grow right in any but its original pot. This is restricting the amount of waybread that can be made. Alexis talks to the Duke. She finds he has a list of people known to be Minor Arcana. All of them are people who've found cards with symbols on them. He instructs her to keep alert for identifying other Minor Arcana and finding out what they can do. He knows that the Minor Arcana will eventually have some sort of choice to make. He notes that Alexis acquired swordfighting skill rather suddenly, and suspects she is a Minor Arcana. He shows her a list of Minor Arcana, very sparsely filled in. It includes Paris as the Knight of Swords, and Brillig as the Ace. There's some discussion of a dream Alexis had and other stuff that I didn't catch. [The dream comes up later again, I think.] Somewhere along the way the Duke remarks that until the Prince succeeds (or fails) in turning Paris into a knight, Paris is expendable, at least in comparison to the noble ladies, which is why he's reluctant to let Alexis have a patent of arms. (There are as yet no women with such rights.) Silverlocke instructs Rhori to spend time working with somebody named Tanner, who he expects will be the next to be inducted into the Order. The other two Rhori has worked with before are currently out checking the pass. He says the elves are giving an advanced course in bowmanship. Silverlocke also jokingly suggests that if Rhori's DEX still needs work, he could have Rex jump on him for a while. :-) He says Rhori of course has access to the Book. Rhori asks about a couple of things specifically, and confirms that the Book includes knowledge of the creatures of the Dark. Rhori also mentions having had trouble convincing someone (the guards at Dungeon, maybe?) that he worked for Silverlocke; Silverlocke says to remind him to give Rhori a letter of identification next time he sends him out. The orc army we saw near Jouet was the one that attacked Westmoor. The demon Umim had apparently been supposed to draw out our cavalry into an ambush. (Note: We find out later how Silverlocke knew this.) Some of Rhori's duties involve training Tanner. Tanner manages not to get too badly confused. Paris finds that some of her training is now aimed at getting her ready for the Tournament among the people in the class. The overall winner is the first to be knighted, and also gets the best unassigned warhorse from the stables. At that evening's nightly court dance, a friend of Paris named Ewen introduces her to a Lady Beatrix, who it turns out Paris had already known something of, and it wasn't good. Paris greets her with some awkwardness. Another couple ladies come over as well, one of whom (a Lady Chivar) makes matters even worse. Paris spends an uncomfortable evening. The rest of get back to the Jouet quarter at dinnertime, and in the common room we find Attila, dressed up in gaudy beads, silver cape, and other such trinkets. We ask how he was able to afford them, and he proudly explains that he sold a couple of cards for a good price (50 silver) and used that money to buy this stuff, plus a new horse. He's really pleased, though Calais says he should've held out for more. Attila is ready to travel, and is thinking of heading north, but of course we need him for his knowledge imparted by the Hermit. Rhori says we should talk it over with Paris when she gets back (which will be late, of course). Anton agrees, but says he's going to go out in the meanwhile, and off he goes. As usual, Calais can't sense anything from Paris while she's inside the castle, but when she starts heading home tonight he can tell she's had a rough day. He has Mia start fixing some hot chocolate for her. A short while later, he feels a sharp pain in his gut, then a sharp pain in his shoulder, and a very bad taste in his mouth. He says he thinks something's wrong with Paris, and he's going to go check. Rhori asks why he thinks so, and Calais reminds him that he sometimes feels something when Paris is hurt, and he just got that sort of feeling. Rhori has Brillig check that Calais isn't himself hurt (not that Brillig could tell anyway), so the pain he felt probably is indeed from Paris. We all set out, except Anton who's not back yet. Mia leaves him a note for Paris telling her where we've gone in case Paris makes it back. (The rest of us think Mia's note is aimed at Anton, but really Mia forgot he wasn't there.) As we jog along, Attila remarks that some people seem to be calling Paris a girl. Rhori says Attila'll have to talk to Paris about that. Hobbes tells Rhori he's found Paris. Rhori tells him to make some noise, so he roars. This startles Paris, and echoes around the area. Hobbes says Paris is bleeding, and she's stabbing at people. Rhori tells him to help keep people from hurting Paris. Anton hears the roar and, figuring he knows both lions that it could be, heads toward it also. He arrives moments before the rest of us, and finds Paris surrounded by dead bodies and a net. He asks if she's okay, and she says she thinks she got them all. He offers her a sealed note he'd been given to deliver to her (from Lady Alexis), but she's not ready to deal with it. She says someone dropped a net on her and tried to kill her. As the rest of us turn up, Anton casts a Light spell to have a better look. He asks if Paris knows any of the dead guys, but as Paris turns to look Mia tells her to hold still so she can heal her. The men had shortswords, throwing daggers, and clubs. Paris explains that she had to maneuver around a cart, and someone threw a net down on her. The net has lots of little hooks in it; Paris's peasant clothes are ruined. (She wasn't wearing her armor, having come from the nightly castle dance.) Calais goes up to look in the room where the net was apparently thrown from. The attackers are all dead, but as Mia examines them she finds a ring. Paris goes over to examine it, and just has time to note that the ring has some sort of bird on it, a raven. Then the guards arrive and ask the age-old question, "What's all this then?" The guards turn to Rhori, who's still in soldier regalia, and ask for an explanation. Rhori explains that these six men attacked Paris. The guards are impressed that Rhori managed to kill all six of them, but Rhori says he didn't, she did. As with most situations involving Rhori's explanations, this leads to some confusion, especially when he adds that we knew she'd been attacked because her brother got hurt, and that Rhori's lion led us here. (Hobbes of course is invisible again by now.) Up above, Calais finds a fine ambush spot for throwing a net from. As he looks around up there, a guard spots him, and he's summoned down to join the questioning. It's too late now for him to get a look at the bodies, or the ring. Eventually, we all head back to our quarters. Rhori's curious how Paris managed to kill them all, but Paris is as usual reticent to talk about anything, and everyone soon gives up trying to get any information from her. Attila asks her if she's really a girl. Learning she is, he asks her how she's feeling after that fight she just had. Paris eventually figures out what he's implying, and blushes. We talk about translating Attila's map knowledge to identify the eight parts of keys, figure out which are of Man and which are of Nature. This will likely involve having Attila talk with Lady Alexis. Anton, straight- faced, recommends Attila wear his new finery when he goes to meet her. There's some discussion about keys. Is Paris the Key of Man, or something else? Can there be more than one; e.g. when someone else gets inducted into her Order will that person also be a Key? Will Rhori find a key someday, or is the book and mirror-card the key? No conclusions are drawn. We suggest that either someone should meet Paris when she leaves the castle at night from now on or, as Rhori suggests, maybe she could find a place to stay at the castle. Paris says to avoid rumors, she cannot spend the night in the castle. We observe that Hobbes is a fine choice of escort, since he'll probably catch the next batch of attackers (if there are any) by surprise. The next day, Rhori asks Calais if we have enough money to buy a cow for Hobbes. Sure, as long as it's not done on a regular basis. Rhori takes Hobbes outside the city to look for an area suitable for chasing down the cow once we get one, not that cows run very much. (That's part of the point, after all.) Hobbes asks some question about the cow, and Rhori tells him he's not supposed to know about the cow yet; it's supposed to be a surprise. Where the beanfields used to be, they find instead two mounds of dirt and a stockade. Rhori goes over to talk to the guards, and finds they've got some orcs and uruk-hai held prisoner there. The orcs were used as labor for burying the dead from the battle. They're done with that, and the Prince hasn't decided yet what to do with the prisoners. Hobbes catches a duck for Rhori in return for the cow. "Oh, but I'm not supposed to know about the cow. That's okay, you're not supposed to know about the duck. It's a surprise, too." Hobbes eventually decides to just eat the duck. Lord Gryphon asks Paris about the attack. He wonders why they attacked her. Does she have any gambling debts? (Emphatically not!) Has she ever had any dealings with the Ravens? (No, she doesn't know anything about them.) Hm, maybe your brother? (Paris has no idea.) Anton takes Attila to meet Lady Alexis. Attila wears all his new finery, and even oils his pecs. Alexis is unimpressed, but manages not to laugh. She cautions him not to get oil on the books. They work on translating Attila's directions. They start by figuring out where Dungeon is relative to Attila's birthplace, and then trace out some rather long directions, and end up somewhere west of Westmoor. Indeed, out of the first four locations, three are west of Westmoor, while one ends up in the water east of Nice Place, which Alexis thinks is likely to be a mapping error. A fifth is either in Westmoor or near it. Another is somewhere west of Dungeon, N by NW of Westmoor. The last is two days east of Lions. And of course the eighth was at the Hermit himself. The Lions one is clearly where we met Strength and Fortitude, and is part of the Key of Nature. The Hermit is also of Nature. The three west of Westmoor could be the High Priestess, the Empress, the Emperor's throne, or the Magician; whichever of those they are, they're probably all of the Key of Man. The one in Westmoor seems like it would be Justice -- but it can't be, he wasn't in the world yet, so the Hermit wouldn't have included him. The Lovers? But that's a god, not a key. The Hierophant? We saw him in Westmoor, but his "place" is Vatica, one of the Isles; indeed, it might be the location east of Nice Place. The one west of Dungeon might be the place called Paris, and judging from what was going on there we suspect that's where the Charioteer is based. Anyway, there's much food for thought here. We should also decide if we have further need for Attila. That night, when Paris gets back (escorted by Hobbes, and probably with Calais and Rhori keeping nearby as well), she asks Calais if he knows anything about the Ravens. Nope. So then she asks the others. Rhori of course is confused, thinking she's talking about birds. She clears that up. But she says she doesn't want any of us to try to find out about them, lest we attract their attention further. Calais would normally obey Paris, but alas, Rhori doesn't; he intends to go out the next night (sixthday) and ask about the Ravens. So Calais sighs and says no, Rhori should let him ask the questions. Calais manages to be pretty subtle about it; he's pretty sure nobody wondered too strongly why he was asking questions. In the Adventurer's sector he learns the Ravens are a fairly new gang of thieves, known for their violent tendencies, and employable at relatively decent rates. He turns down an opportunity to arrange to meet with them (and does not mention it to Rhori). Seventhday, we go to church. Alexis is there, it being her family's regular church. Lorraine is accompanied by another lovely woman, and by a man that we all recognise as a younger version of the noble in the rape trial. Paris, however, seems to be pleased to see him. Lorraine greets Paris. She then turns to Anton and says, "Ah, my musical fruit." The other woman also turns to Anton and says, "Good troubador, good to see you again." Anton doesn't seem to recognise her, though. Paris introduces her as Lady Cordelia. She introduces the man as Lord Ewen; he says he's pleased to meet us, and shakes hands with Calais. Then, amidst the various introductions, Rhori calls him a rapist. This does not go over well. Lorraine and Alexis manage to drag people off to church before it comes to blows. Alexis makes sure there are several people, including her parents, seated between Rhori and Ewen. Lord delaPont, Alexis's father, chats a lot with Calais. He's done quite a bit of traveling, being the Master of the twice-a-year Trade Fair. There are five daughters and a son; the son is the youngest. (Isn't it always that way.) Afterward, there is much chatting. Lorraine flirts with everyone, even Attila. (Wow, someone who wears his muscles on the outside!) Ewen and Paris exchange some meaningful looks and stutters before he head back with Lorraine and Cordelia. Rhori heads off pretty quickly also. Alexis goes to Paris and says, "He needs to know, and I don't think you're the one to tell him." Calais also goes to Paris and chastises her. "Now I know why you recognised the man on the stairs." He points out that by not telling us that he resembled a friend of hers, she nearly got Rhori killed. We decide to head back to Jouet for lunch, and invite Alexis to join us. She goes to tell her family, and her father sends her brother as chaperone. But when we catch up to Rhori, we have Rhori show his insignia as proof he's Silverlocke's man, and Rhori takes responsibility for chaperoning. Alexis's brother happily goes off to spend his day elsewhere. Mia fixes lunch, and we discuss the trials of Justice and what else from them might be significant. The low justice trials reveal nothing interesting. The rape we now know about; Alexis recognises the Baron in that case, Sir Rathburn, was Ewen's great-grandfather. Word has it he was a bit of a rascal, and fathered several bastard children. The mistrial of the farmboy, we suspect, is related to an item Alexis knows, that such-and-such a noble who has presided over some trials, has been sent off to serve on the front against the Fell. We wonder a bit about the demon-and-baby episode, and what it might correspond to in real life, but draw no conclusions. Sangatte, Corvint, and the Vale ring no bells, even for Alexis who knows maps. We then discuss what Sir Juda told us. Justice told us that only the demon could lie, so Juda's narrative was presumably true. Rhori points out that "not lying" can be different from telling the truth. He has trouble explaining what he means by this, but we eventually realise he means that someone can tell what they _think_ is the truth, in which case they're not lying, but what they say might still be false. Nonetheless, there's a lot of food for thought in what Juda described. Calais asks Lady Alexis about the odd feature in the southeast of Anton's map, and learns it's called a "peninsula". He remembers Sir Juda saying that the waters rose over the peninsula until only the tops of the mountains remained. It seems clear Anton's map is from before the world was destroyed, and what's there now is what we call the Isles. Back to Ewen for a bit. Who should tell him about his ancestor? Apparently nobody else in his family is very nice, making it hard to find someone good for him to learn it from. It seems likely Paris will tell him, despite Alexis's advice. We discuss the Arcana with Alexis. She says the Duke thinks she's a Minor Arcana, though she never really thought about it before and doesn't know which she might be. Anton tries to figure it out but doesn't know Alexis well enough to make a guess. We ask if there's been any speculation about the hanged man's prophecy, but the prophecy wasn't really public, and nothing been said about it. We ask if Alexis has ever met the King. She's been in court and seen him, but has never been presented to him. Somewhere along the way we ask about visions, and learn that Alexis hasn't had a vision, but did have a dream the night the Fount exploded. She saw herself in the new city of Westmoor (before it existed). She caught a card, brilliantly colored, with crossed swords. Rhori interrupts to ask if her eyes have always been solid black. Yes, they have. She goes on, she saw herself using the sword. Rhori asks if her hair was white. Yes. She goes on again. (Heralds are obviously trained to not to lose their thread when people interrupt!) A woman told her there'd be a price. Then she heard a baby crying and woke up; it was her sister's baby, but they were now in the room she'd seen in the dream, in New Westmoor. Paris asks, so you're a swordswoman? Yes, but Alexis didn't fight in the battle against the Fell at Westmoor; she was a runner. Paris asks her to tell about the battle, and she says the Duke set a trap for the Fell by stepping out of the gate in his capital-A Armor to give them a target. Then he singlehandedly flipped over their battering ram. All told, we lost 45 horse troops, and 20 from the town levy. One fell at the gates. One of Sir Gryphon's charges didn't switch from bow to sword soon enough and died when an orc scaled his section of wall. Paris is upset; apparently she knew that fellow (not surprising given he was under Sir Gryphon). We're told that Baron Ruby and one of the elves had snuck in earlier and stolen the orcs' plans, so they knew where the Fell mages would be. Four trebuchets and catapults hit that section. And a monk had been training the peasant levy so they formed an effective fighting force. Estimates say there were ten thousand Fell, of which four thousand died on the field. Since then, more have been tracked down and killed, often by adventurers and other civilian sorties. Rhori mentions that the orc survivors were forced to bury their dead, and are now imprisoned outside. The patrols by adventurers and such are sufficient to keep the Fell from getting within a day of Westmoor, so Westmoor is pretty safe for now. The real problem is the siege at Pelier. We realise this is especially a problem given that's where the King is, if we need to bring the Orb and Sceptre there, but Pierre might be able to help with that. This confuses Alexis, so we tell her about our earth-mage friends and the lava-track vehicle. Eventually, Alexis and Paris head off and visit a graveyard next to a particularly spectacular church (well all right, a cathedral). Rhori follows along since he's still on chaperone duty. They visit two graves. One is Renault Tanner, the other is Paris's friend Simon, presumably the one who died on the wall. Alexis decides she's going to start promoting Paris in court, since Alexis won't be able to pursue her own swordwork unless Paris succeeds in becoming a knight.