I know I'm a bit behind; it's been busy again this week for various (uninteresting) reasons. Plus I need to make a little time to re-read the Dream Kingdom before continuing it. I did note your continuation of the House of Mercy, and you've left it in an interesting place for the second revisit later in the year :) Re your recent comments: I agree with you that the hotel should probably close the swimming to guests if they're renting it to swimming teachers for a period, but also I guess the teachers ought to be demanding that too? And if Szymon can replace Samual in your affections then maybe I just need to make sure every Lord Derby story has a backup character whose name begins with "S" just in case something goes splat unexpectedly.
Incremental The sun was now warming the quarry in Carcosa and the stone was pinging and cracking as the heat hit it and made it expand. Each ping made Szymon jump, and Tomasz tended to react to the cracking by edging slightly away from the rock walls, which meant that the group of people clustered around the unexpected, Yellow-tinged, Safe Passage seemed to be constantly in motion. Grace moaned faintly, but Memnith was knelt near her and concentrating hard and it was clear that she wasn't going to be a problem. Elizabeth was still unconscious, lying on the ground in the recovery position, which Lord Derby had put her in as soon as it was obvious that she wasn't going to quickly wake up. "It's incremental," said Lord Derby. His words were intended for Lord Vileburn, but both Tomasz and Szymon looked over and listened. "Everything we've done here, it's been incremental. It started off with just a puzzle, a way into a locked room, and it's escalated from there. The locked room revealed a puzzling death, which then brought a demon-raising witch, who led us to an ancient Temple and then to a killing ground. It's... it's like I've been led all along to learn something. This feels... planned." "Not by me," said Memnith. His voice was strained and his face was pale and tense. "And I'd warrant not by His Majesty either. He was very fond of Dignity and he wouldn't use her like that just to show you something. He'd just tell you. And you, being you, would understand from that anyway."
Lord Derby said nothing, just regarded Memnith for a few moments. As the silence grew and Memnith turned, he caught Lord Derby's stare. "Don't look at me like that, Ernest," he said. "Dignity and I have a long history. There was a time when I would have said I loved her, and a time when she would have walked out of the building when she learned I was in it. It's complicated, and we both did things we had to do whether they were really what we wanted to do. My final view on things is that I have no problem with her being dead and if the positions were reversed I'm absolutely certain she'd say the same." Lord Derby shook his head. "I find your relationship with your sister unfathomable, Andy," he said. "But I have neither sister nor brother, so perhaps that's why." "Good enough for me," said Lord Vileburn quickly. "And can you please get my name right more often?" Lord Derby winked, which only Memnith saw. "Right," he said. "This is for me then, isn't it? It's why it's a Safe Passage, I suppose, so that I know I can take this road and end up in the right place." "Ernest," said Memnith, his voice stern. "You can't seriously think of walking into this. The last thing in there just went Splat." "Incremental," said Lord Derby. "It's here because I'm here, I'm sure of it. I think it might be time to deliver my report on Carcosa, for all that I've not even thought of starting to write it yet." "Don't be stu-- Ernest!" Lord Vileburn's cry of shock actually woke Elizabeth as Lord Derby stepped into the entrance to the Safe Passage.
3 comments:
I know I'm a bit behind; it's been busy again this week for various (uninteresting) reasons. Plus I need to make a little time to re-read the Dream Kingdom before continuing it. I did note your continuation of the House of Mercy, and you've left it in an interesting place for the second revisit later in the year :)
Re your recent comments: I agree with you that the hotel should probably close the swimming to guests if they're renting it to swimming teachers for a period, but also I guess the teachers ought to be demanding that too? And if Szymon can replace Samual in your affections then maybe I just need to make sure every Lord Derby story has a backup character whose name begins with "S" just in case something goes splat unexpectedly.
Incremental
The sun was now warming the quarry in Carcosa and the stone was pinging and cracking as the heat hit it and made it expand. Each ping made Szymon jump, and Tomasz tended to react to the cracking by edging slightly away from the rock walls, which meant that the group of people clustered around the unexpected, Yellow-tinged, Safe Passage seemed to be constantly in motion. Grace moaned faintly, but Memnith was knelt near her and concentrating hard and it was clear that she wasn't going to be a problem. Elizabeth was still unconscious, lying on the ground in the recovery position, which Lord Derby had put her in as soon as it was obvious that she wasn't going to quickly wake up.
"It's incremental," said Lord Derby. His words were intended for Lord Vileburn, but both Tomasz and Szymon looked over and listened. "Everything we've done here, it's been incremental. It started off with just a puzzle, a way into a locked room, and it's escalated from there. The locked room revealed a puzzling death, which then brought a demon-raising witch, who led us to an ancient Temple and then to a killing ground. It's... it's like I've been led all along to learn something. This feels... planned."
"Not by me," said Memnith. His voice was strained and his face was pale and tense. "And I'd warrant not by His Majesty either. He was very fond of Dignity and he wouldn't use her like that just to show you something. He'd just tell you. And you, being you, would understand from that anyway."
Lord Derby said nothing, just regarded Memnith for a few moments. As the silence grew and Memnith turned, he caught Lord Derby's stare.
"Don't look at me like that, Ernest," he said. "Dignity and I have a long history. There was a time when I would have said I loved her, and a time when she would have walked out of the building when she learned I was in it. It's complicated, and we both did things we had to do whether they were really what we wanted to do. My final view on things is that I have no problem with her being dead and if the positions were reversed I'm absolutely certain she'd say the same."
Lord Derby shook his head. "I find your relationship with your sister unfathomable, Andy," he said. "But I have neither sister nor brother, so perhaps that's why."
"Good enough for me," said Lord Vileburn quickly. "And can you please get my name right more often?"
Lord Derby winked, which only Memnith saw. "Right," he said. "This is for me then, isn't it? It's why it's a Safe Passage, I suppose, so that I know I can take this road and end up in the right place."
"Ernest," said Memnith, his voice stern. "You can't seriously think of walking into this. The last thing in there just went Splat."
"Incremental," said Lord Derby. "It's here because I'm here, I'm sure of it. I think it might be time to deliver my report on Carcosa, for all that I've not even thought of starting to write it yet."
"Don't be stu-- Ernest!"
Lord Vileburn's cry of shock actually woke Elizabeth as Lord Derby stepped into the entrance to the Safe Passage.
Greg - yes, well, hurray I'm only ten days behind on comments now...
Well that escalated... a little more than incrementally. I am both excited and worried about Derby's choice to enter the Safe Passage.
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