I think the best way to describe the ball of two nights ago was fun. Depending upon your perspective, especially if you view the term in light of the old Chinease curse "May you live in interesting times", you could have called it "interesting".
When I collected Yousheng and his wives-to-be from their suite they were nervous to say the least. Stands-Tall-Against-Storm looked radiant in one of oriental dresses from Ashan, whilst Wind-Through-Moonbeams fidgeted in one of the more modest outfits from Tullbranich. I on the other hand had had to resort to an older frock I'd rescued from my wardrobe in Sacremento. It was several years old, but would still cause a stir here and the only one likely to notice the fashion fopar would be Florimel. We arrived as directed by Vialle half an hour late, and were duely announced as "Her highness Cordelia Chan-Barriman, daughter of Corwin, and the Ambassador to Dakota the Lord xxxxxx Yousheng, and his betrothed, the Ladies Stands-Tall-Against-Storm and Wind-Through-Moonbeams". There was immediate silence until prompted by Vialle a polite round of applause, after which the noise returned to its former level. Random, Fiona, and Benedict made a beeline for us. I bowed, as did Yousheng, and the girls curtsied as I'd taught them. Random was about to say something until Vialle kicked him in the ankle. He changed tack, congratulated Yousheng on his appointment, complemented the ladies, and then tried to remove me for a quiet word. Vialle cut him off again. She insisted that politics could wait until the morning and that tonight was for entertaining. She then proceeded to take Yousheng's arm on one side and mine on the other and dragged us away to meet people. Random was therefore left to entertain the two girls.
Vialle let me go after about an hour, by which time the ball was in full swing, I was turning heads as I was supposed to do, and my dance card was nice and full, and not one member of the family on it. By the time I retired at about 1 a.m. things were in the process of winding down. Yousheng and the girls had retired a couple of hours previously, and Vialle had escorted Random back to their quarters just after midnight. I also noted that Fiona and Benedict were also missing about that time; Florimel on the other hand looked like she was just getting started, and there were at least 4 lords sons that were in for an interesting night. Despite several offers I chose to retire alone.
Yesterday morning had dawned wet and cold, and had it not been for Random banging on my door at just after 7 I'd have taken the opportunity to have a lie in. The weather was obviously affecting his mood as it hadn't appeared to change from the day before. Letting him in was my first mistake and I was forced to lock myself in the lavatory until the maid arrived with coffee. This didn't do anything to improve his temper.
He started by wanting to know what right I had to appoint Ambassadors. I said none, then cut off his next outburst by pointing out that it was Llewella who'd suggested it and Vialle had concurred, and I suspected that Fiona was also in agreement, although she hadn't said as much. This at least caused him to shut up for a couple of minutes whilst he planned his next attack, which was why I'd left the Dakota job unfinished and run off into shadow and forced him to send Gerard in to clear up my mess.
I reiterated that at the point I'd left, to save the life of a girl who had a significant future role to play, and one which would have given me significant goodwill, the situation was well under control, and I'd left it so that anything done would be seen to be done by the Dakotans and not by the Royal House of Amber, although Amber would approve of what ever steps they took. It wasn't me who'd jumped to the wrong conclusion, me who having said they trusted me to do the job my way failed to, me who'd trusted me to do a similar job in Tullbranich had failed to allow me to finish it, it wasn't me who'd sent Gerard in with his size twenties, and it wasn't me who'd fucked everything up as a result, and instead of holding a handful of aces had reduced it to a handful of nothing.
This of course just made him worse as he wasn't interested. It was apparently all my fault as he pointed out as I gathered my pack, trump deck, and sword. He tried to grab me as I went to leave forcing me to kick him across the room. As I ran down the stairs of the tower I pulled the top card off the deck and activated it, then had to roll losing my pack, sword, and grip on the trump deck as I fell off the steps into nothing. When I righted myself , my shredded kimono providing little protection from the wind and rain, I found myself on the edge of Kolvir , the castle several hundred feet below to my right. Carefully I picked up the scattered trump cards, retrieved my sword, and then my pack. By this point I was starting to shiver and hurriedly began to unpack the armour. Stripping off the kimono I lifted the hauberk, put my arms into the sleeves, then hoisted it over my head. The effect was dramatic as it slid down my body, cutting out all wind and rain. I snapped the collar on then put on the helmet. Apart from my legs which were still freezing and the wind blowing up through the skirt I started to feel warmer. I pulled on the under-skirt, then the leggings, boots, and gloves almost completely sealing myself away from the elements. I left the shoulder plates, elbow and forearm plates, and knee and shin plates in the pack as I didn't actually need them. I put the belt and baldric on then clipped the sword scabbard into the holder behind my left shoulder. I shouldered the pack and looked around, where to next?
There was a short flight of steps cut into the rock but these ended about 20ft above me in a drop into the valley below. A path, little more than a goat track appeared to lead back in the direction of the castle. I had no desire to return there at present. I really needed to talk to Llewella but I doubted she'd be up yet, and I wasn't exactly dressed suitably to go calling. I'd have to find another route.
It was about an hour later that I found the track, although it was only marginally better defined than the first one. The leg to my left looked like it might lead down, probably in the direction of the castle, the leg to my right looked like it lead up. I took the right leg. The track climbed a few hundred feet before it was joined from the right by another. I continued in the direction I'd been heading. Another mile and another few hundred feet higher and the track forked, the right hand track appearing to lead up, the left hand track possibly leading down. Fed up with climbing I took the left hand fork.
It was well after midday when I stopped to drink at a steam. The track on this side of the mountian was far steeper, narrower, and twisted and switched back on itself. I'd probably only walked about 3 miles but I'd descended several hundreds of feet and was now below the tree line. Occasionally I would glimpse the mountains in the range to the North whilst to the south stood the almost shear face of Kolvir, although from amongst the trees and this close to it's flank the peak wasn't visible.
It was dark by the time I reached the Great East Road. Having walked all day with only a snickers to eat and little to drink I was also hungry. In the distance to my right I could make out pin pricks of light that marked the Eastern Gate to the city, nestled in the gulley that divided Kolvir and the Eastern Sea bluffs, across the top of which ran the Great East Stair. It'd be a short walk into the city and the comfort of Dave's but that would alert the Royal Guard to where I was and then Random would turn up and then there'd be another scene. In the other direction somewhere down the coast lay Ashan. I set out hoping I'd come across an inn shortly. I was still too close to Amber to manipulate shadow so I'd just have to walk like everybody else.
By time the inn appeared the sun had been up for about two hours and I was in definite need of both food, a rest, and some clothes. In a shadow where its environmental system functioned I wouldn't have been as badly off, but with nothing on underneath it, having put it on in the driving rain, it was beginning to chaff in places, and I'd had to step out of the underskirt twice already to pee. Whilst a little perturbed by my appearance the inn keeper wasn't overly concearned and I managed to get a room, a bath, double breakfast, and a maid to clean and dry out the armour, although as it's been airing all day whilst I've slept I'm not sure it's been 100% necessary. Whether I stay here the night and push on in the morning or push on after dinner I haven't yet decided. Once I get to Ashan and get buy some more clothes I'll contact Llewella and see if I can arrange Trump lessons. Things would be so much simpler if I had a trump of my condo.
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