Yes I know its been several days since my last journal entry but there are times, and there have been rather a lot recently now I think about it, where due to circumstances I can't update it on a daily or even regular basis. This has been the case since we left the Frolicking Lion in Ashan and walked into Benedict and Llewella, who'd userped the Loretta Bow with the explicit intention of getting me to take them to Carnelian.
We'd left the Frolicking Lion with the intention that Kohaku would take Damon to Carnelian, and the rest of us would sail with her until the first 13H incursion then trump to Dierdre. Well that was the plan. All that changed when we reached the dockside. I wasn't the only one to notice that something was amiss, but Allanon chose to resort to alerting attention to the fact he knew something was up by stopping and casting a spell rather than trying to prempt what I suspect was a trap. Perhaps it was that that caused Llewella to cast her stasis spell before we'd all gotten on board, but in any case as we all froze Benedict appeared from the stern castle. I knew at that point that any form of resistance was futile.
For reasons known only to himself, he relieved both Sorcha and myself of our swords and told Fane not to misbehave, before Llewella cancelled her spell. Given the timing of event I suspected they were in trump contact. Either they were stupid, didn't know about Brand (although that didn't make sense either if they'd fled from Remba as I suspected), or they knew something I didn't. In any case as far as I was concerned it didn't matter I was going to leave at the first opportunity, i.e. during the next incursion. I knew very well that whilst in a contest of wills Llewella would probably win eventually, and that in any physical conflict Benedict would win hands down, assuming that he didn't make physical contact. Llewella subtly reinforced that assumption when she stopped him from physically trying to restrain me when I did eventually leave my/the captains cabin which they'd taken over.
So it was we were all ushered into the cabin where I did as I was bid and introduced everyone. Llewella, her right arm in a sling, then delivered her ultimatum. We were to take them to Carnelian. I chose to decline but suggested that as Kohaku was going there anyway she was more than capable of taking them there. Technically she was although unless somebody taught her how to hellride, or she'd managed to guess how to do it on the way from Tullbranich to Amber, the journey would take several weeks, and keep Benedict and Llewella out of both my and Fiona's hair - not that I owed her any particular favour and there were downsides to doing just that, just I felt it was the right thing to do.
Going ashore we set off inland, Isocrates turning towards Ashan as we crossed the Great East Road. I told him we'd meet him there in 10 days - I had no idea what sort of trouble we'd encounter and if we were forced to walk it'd take us 4 days to get to Ashan, so I needed some leeway just in case.
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