Hmm, Auspicious sounds a lot like Aubergine, and I did mislead you a little yesterday into thinking I was returning to her tale, so I suppose I ought to make up for that today.
Auspicious "Technically," said the King as Elizabeth and Lord Vileburn bolted for the door, "you're supposed to ask me for permission to leave my presence." The two mages stopped abruptly, confusion warring with etiquette and desperation and worry. "So I suppose I'll have to come with you until you have time to ask nicely." "Your Majesty, that is not wise," said Lord Vileburn instantly. "We have no idea what has just happ-" "And I'd rather find out now than wait for a report that will undoubtedly be hours in the delivery," said the King. "So, to cut short the protestations; neither of you are permitted to leave my presence, and I am instructing you to investigate that noise." "You're insufferable," said Lord Vileburn. "Tell me, did Ernest learn it from you, or you from him?" The King smirked, which Elizabeth found oddly endearing. "That would be telling," he said. "Where are we going?" From the King's perspective the journey was a short one from the private dining room up to the fifth floor where Lord Vileburn's office was. No-one passed them on the way, though servants and functionaries could be seen at the other end of corridors, or entering and leaving rooms. For the mages the journey was an anxious, fraught path of one step at a time, wrapped in the Power and constantly seeking out changes in it that might indicate a trap, a demon lurking, or a cunning spell. By the time they arrived at the door the King was looking cheerful, Lord Vileburn was looking tense and Elizabeth had remembered just how tired she'd been before dinner. Lord Vileburn looked at his door with Power-attuned eyes, and confirmed to his satisfaction that nothing had changed it. He reached out, gently pressing the Power into a carefully inscribed pattern, and the door opened. "I wish my doors opened by themselves," said the King. He stood back and to one side, so that anything launching itself from the room would miss him. "Though more often it would be useful if they'd lock themselves." "A gate," said Elizabeth, probing into the room. "An... attuned gate." "A return coin," said Lord Vileburn, who'd been watching her. "Ernest must have tried to come back." "Well, that's auspicious," said the King. "Then he's still alive!" "Was still alive," said Elizabeth. In the silence that resulted she replayed what she'd just said in her mind and cringed. "I mean, we don't know why the spell failed...." "Though it's not the way I'd have put it," said Lord Vileburn, "Ernest is not here, and we don't know why yet. So we can't rule out that something prevented him from coming through, or even interrupted the spell." "How bad would that be? Hypothetically?" "Your majesty, he could be dropped into another realm completely, left where he was, or shredded utterly. I have no way of knowing." The King regarded Lord Vileburn with gray eyes, his gaze unmoving for several seconds. "I shall continue to view this as auspicious until proven otherwise," he said. "At least I know that Ernest was alive until five minutes ago, which previously I had doubts about." "Indeed," said Lord Vileburn. "A positive approach to take." "So now I think you two need to open a new gate and find out what, exactly, just happened."
2 comments:
Hmm, Auspicious sounds a lot like Aubergine, and I did mislead you a little yesterday into thinking I was returning to her tale, so I suppose I ought to make up for that today.
Auspicious
"Technically," said the King as Elizabeth and Lord Vileburn bolted for the door, "you're supposed to ask me for permission to leave my presence." The two mages stopped abruptly, confusion warring with etiquette and desperation and worry. "So I suppose I'll have to come with you until you have time to ask nicely."
"Your Majesty, that is not wise," said Lord Vileburn instantly. "We have no idea what has just happ-"
"And I'd rather find out now than wait for a report that will undoubtedly be hours in the delivery," said the King. "So, to cut short the protestations; neither of you are permitted to leave my presence, and I am instructing you to investigate that noise."
"You're insufferable," said Lord Vileburn. "Tell me, did Ernest learn it from you, or you from him?"
The King smirked, which Elizabeth found oddly endearing. "That would be telling," he said. "Where are we going?"
From the King's perspective the journey was a short one from the private dining room up to the fifth floor where Lord Vileburn's office was. No-one passed them on the way, though servants and functionaries could be seen at the other end of corridors, or entering and leaving rooms. For the mages the journey was an anxious, fraught path of one step at a time, wrapped in the Power and constantly seeking out changes in it that might indicate a trap, a demon lurking, or a cunning spell. By the time they arrived at the door the King was looking cheerful, Lord Vileburn was looking tense and Elizabeth had remembered just how tired she'd been before dinner.
Lord Vileburn looked at his door with Power-attuned eyes, and confirmed to his satisfaction that nothing had changed it. He reached out, gently pressing the Power into a carefully inscribed pattern, and the door opened.
"I wish my doors opened by themselves," said the King. He stood back and to one side, so that anything launching itself from the room would miss him. "Though more often it would be useful if they'd lock themselves."
"A gate," said Elizabeth, probing into the room. "An... attuned gate."
"A return coin," said Lord Vileburn, who'd been watching her. "Ernest must have tried to come back."
"Well, that's auspicious," said the King. "Then he's still alive!"
"Was still alive," said Elizabeth. In the silence that resulted she replayed what she'd just said in her mind and cringed. "I mean, we don't know why the spell failed...."
"Though it's not the way I'd have put it," said Lord Vileburn, "Ernest is not here, and we don't know why yet. So we can't rule out that something prevented him from coming through, or even interrupted the spell."
"How bad would that be? Hypothetically?"
"Your majesty, he could be dropped into another realm completely, left where he was, or shredded utterly. I have no way of knowing."
The King regarded Lord Vileburn with gray eyes, his gaze unmoving for several seconds. "I shall continue to view this as auspicious until proven otherwise," he said. "At least I know that Ernest was alive until five minutes ago, which previously I had doubts about."
"Indeed," said Lord Vileburn. "A positive approach to take."
"So now I think you two need to open a new gate and find out what, exactly, just happened."
Greg - I like the king more and more every time we get to spend time with him :)
This is fantastically done, by the way. I am hopeful that the new gate will be more... successful.
Post a Comment