I was worried when I saw that the prompt didn't go up even a few hours late, and your post tomorrow clarified what I was worried about. I'm glad Miles is doing ok after his transfusion, and I also hope that he only needs the one!
[Sorry, I think I just sneaked over the word limit]
A diamond in the rough "I think," said Lord Derby, glancing at the King in Yellow, "begging your Other Majesty's most sincere pardon, that it would be unwise to rely on the King in Yellow for anything. I am increasingly certain that Grace has been used, tricked even, into believing that she is obtaining something from the King in Yellow while she is, in fact, being used by him. I think she, and maybe even Dignity, was used to work out the principles of the demon-changing magic, and that that is in turn being used by the King in Yellow to track down his enemies." "We're pawns on a chessboard?" asked Gray. "Maybe," said Lord Derby. "But it is an infinite-dimensional chessboard and we only see three of those dimensions." Everyone in the room felt as though ice was gently pricking their brains for a moment, sharp, tiny explosions of cold, and then a smell of milk infused with vanilla wafted through the room. The icy sensation died away. "I think that that was humour," said the King of England. "Laughter maybe. There's a recorded occasion where the King in Yellow was so amused that all the cats in London died, and I rather hope that hasn't happened again. So, what do I have from Dignity, then, Derby? You are reporting that what I thought was an investigation into Polish activity is quite possibly some convoluted counterplay by contemporaries of the King in Yellow, but what is the overspill? What do I have to worry about when its Other Majesty takes its leave and pursues its interests elsewhere?" "You've practically redeemed its Other Majesty," said Gray, shaking his head. "The written record makes a very strong case for the King in Yellow to be a dismissive, uninterested force that does not care for humans or humanity, and you've found a completely different angle on that that makes me wonder if we should be thinking differently." "It's become a diamond in the rough," said Samual. "If this were the army we'd be considering a carefully supervised fast track to see if that different-thinking could be made useful." "What do you do when the different-thinking can't be reined in?" Gray's eyes met Samual's. "You mean like Labdaris? Nothing," said Samual. He stared at his feet. "Accidents do happen though, especially in an occupation as dangerous as the armed forces." Gray smiled thinly. Lord Derby waited a few seconds longer to be sure that the conversations had all finished. "We will need to clean up," he said. "Memnith has Grace ensorcelled. He will question her, I'm sure, and what he obtains should be enough for us to understand the situation. I would expect that she's passed back knowledge of how to create the demons, but she may not have sent all of it. We could still be ahead of her." "Could is a very poor outcome, Derby."
"We know Labdaris is alive still, and active," said Lord Derby. "Warlock Gray may have ideas of how to find him, but I'm afraid that forensic magic is a long way out of my understanding. We have no idea what he wants or is up to, but revenge is the most likely motive for him. He may, if we are lucky, believe that its Other Majesty's arrival here will enact his revenge for him. In this case, it seems likely he will be disappointed." "Seems is hardly better, Derby." The King's face was stern, his lips pressed together when he wasn't speaking. Now he folded his arms. "Will you disappoint me any further?" "Perhaps, your Majesty," said Derby. He turned slightly towards the King in Yellow, and bowed very slightly. "I think its Other Majesty is still here because, and I have no way of understanding why, it wishes to thank us." He turned to the King of England. "I think you have to tell it what you want."
3 comments:
I was worried when I saw that the prompt didn't go up even a few hours late, and your post tomorrow clarified what I was worried about. I'm glad Miles is doing ok after his transfusion, and I also hope that he only needs the one!
[Sorry, I think I just sneaked over the word limit]
A diamond in the rough
"I think," said Lord Derby, glancing at the King in Yellow, "begging your Other Majesty's most sincere pardon, that it would be unwise to rely on the King in Yellow for anything. I am increasingly certain that Grace has been used, tricked even, into believing that she is obtaining something from the King in Yellow while she is, in fact, being used by him. I think she, and maybe even Dignity, was used to work out the principles of the demon-changing magic, and that that is in turn being used by the King in Yellow to track down his enemies."
"We're pawns on a chessboard?" asked Gray.
"Maybe," said Lord Derby. "But it is an infinite-dimensional chessboard and we only see three of those dimensions."
Everyone in the room felt as though ice was gently pricking their brains for a moment, sharp, tiny explosions of cold, and then a smell of milk infused with vanilla wafted through the room. The icy sensation died away.
"I think that that was humour," said the King of England. "Laughter maybe. There's a recorded occasion where the King in Yellow was so amused that all the cats in London died, and I rather hope that hasn't happened again. So, what do I have from Dignity, then, Derby? You are reporting that what I thought was an investigation into Polish activity is quite possibly some convoluted counterplay by contemporaries of the King in Yellow, but what is the overspill? What do I have to worry about when its Other Majesty takes its leave and pursues its interests elsewhere?"
"You've practically redeemed its Other Majesty," said Gray, shaking his head. "The written record makes a very strong case for the King in Yellow to be a dismissive, uninterested force that does not care for humans or humanity, and you've found a completely different angle on that that makes me wonder if we should be thinking differently."
"It's become a diamond in the rough," said Samual. "If this were the army we'd be considering a carefully supervised fast track to see if that different-thinking could be made useful."
"What do you do when the different-thinking can't be reined in?" Gray's eyes met Samual's.
"You mean like Labdaris? Nothing," said Samual. He stared at his feet. "Accidents do happen though, especially in an occupation as dangerous as the armed forces." Gray smiled thinly.
Lord Derby waited a few seconds longer to be sure that the conversations had all finished. "We will need to clean up," he said. "Memnith has Grace ensorcelled. He will question her, I'm sure, and what he obtains should be enough for us to understand the situation. I would expect that she's passed back knowledge of how to create the demons, but she may not have sent all of it. We could still be ahead of her."
"Could is a very poor outcome, Derby."
"We know Labdaris is alive still, and active," said Lord Derby. "Warlock Gray may have ideas of how to find him, but I'm afraid that forensic magic is a long way out of my understanding. We have no idea what he wants or is up to, but revenge is the most likely motive for him. He may, if we are lucky, believe that its Other Majesty's arrival here will enact his revenge for him. In this case, it seems likely he will be disappointed."
"Seems is hardly better, Derby." The King's face was stern, his lips pressed together when he wasn't speaking. Now he folded his arms. "Will you disappoint me any further?"
"Perhaps, your Majesty," said Derby. He turned slightly towards the King in Yellow, and bowed very slightly. "I think its Other Majesty is still here because, and I have no way of understanding why, it wishes to thank us." He turned to the King of England. "I think you have to tell it what you want."
Greg - thanks. So far it's looking like one will do the job.
Really, really enjoying watching this scene play out. No idea how things will go, but enjoying the ride.
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