(in media res)

"Who recruited the troops?" Jerod asks. "I'm wondering if there's a way to isolate them for a time until we can figure out how to send them home. Whoever did the recruitment might be able to take them home perhaps? I suppose if some want to stay that might be an option, but I'd be leary about handing it out too lavishly."

 Random thinks about it for a moment, and says: "Different people brought in different troops. Those fuzzy guys that Corwin had, and Bleys has some cavalry from somewhere, and Julian pulled two or three dozen dragons from his back pocket. And before you ask, I don't know how many either. I didn't know how many to start, and I don't know how many casualties, either. I was kinda busy during the battle, and I'm not sure our perceptions were entirely reliable, either."
            "Plus, ah, as of two weeks ago some of the ones who are from here were at each other's throats. I don't know how well that'll clear up, especially if there are other touchpoints. But we can't figure out what to do with anybody until we get them out of Chaos."

"So we keep them in Arden, that means provisions and supplies as fast as possible to the staging areas, and keeping up what we can in the way of patrols to contain them." Paige looks to Brita and Solange, "The Rangers?"

[OOC: Robin, too if present or if the GM's introducing her...]

[OOC: Well, whaddaya know... :) ]

Robin makes a little 'whatever' gesture with one hand from where she's sitting perched on the edge of her seat. The young Ranger looks just a bit... pole-axed at the thought of her father returning, Arden housing an army of unknown size, unknown types plus dragons etc. etc on top of the morning's other surprises.  But her spunky smile indicates her willingness to deal.

Solange, glancing over at Robin, looks relieved.

"To simplify the situation for His Majesty, we've the Rangers under Crown Badges, and Brita's done a fair job of dealing with them based on what Solange built right after the Sundering." Paige smiles at her cousins, "And of course Robin, but she had an unfair advantage in parentage. If they're going to fill the role, it might be wise to ask Uncle Julian through first, and have him back Robin or Brita's play until things get settled, Your Highness."

An 'awww, shucks' shrug ripples through Robin's shoulders, and she nods to Brita, indicating that if the King has any thanking to do, it should be done to Brita. Robin's green eyes begin to wander in some sort of calculation.

"At this point I don't know if the Rangers still think well of me or if they despise me for the whole Crown Badges thing," Solange says, not without some anxiety. "Robin, Brita, you'd know better than I would. Would I be a help or a hindrance?"

Robin shifts in her chair. "Depends." She clears her throat uncomfortably.  "The Rangers are still a bit... divided on that issue, milady. They'll take your orders, no worry on that front. But maybe -- you know if you stayed to the shallow reaches, with the newer recruits, I don't think you'd have any trouble at all."

Random frowns. "Are they...steady? Will it make a difference that some of the troops we're asking them to watch are, in strictest formality, their superiors? And how good are they in the deep forest? I think we want our forces to be brought back at some distance into the forest, for ease of trump contact if nothing else."

A frown darts across Robin's face and she leans back in her chair. Green eyes dart over to Brita with a 'do want to tell him or should I?' question in them.

"OK, opinions. Do we bring them all in at once or do we come up with some way to dribble them in. If the latter, how do we sell it to the army?"

He looks around. "Lucas?"

Jerod watches curiously, interested in hearing the reply to this one. Given his limited experience with the Rangers, he will not make any recommendations at this time.

Lucas replies, "I say we concoct some malarky about the limits of Trump transport since the great metaphysical changes to the universe, and dribble them in."

Random snorts. "You may be more right than you think. Very well. Can you handle the malarkey end of the program?"

"Certainly."

"Lucas is great at that," Solange comments sweetly.

Vere smiles quietly to himself.

Ossian has been sitting quite for a while, making sketches in his sketchbook (he seems to be portraying Vere) when he looks up, looking bored:
            "Really, is it wise to take the whole army through? If I understand things correctly large parts of the army was collected out in Shadow.  What do we need them for? Why not just leave them somewhere out in Shadow?"

"I assumed that was the case, that Arden was just a staging ground, no?" Paige asks.

"Brita? Robin? What about the Rangers? Vere?" It's obvious to the more sensitive among you that he has names down and is beginning to get faces for the newcomers, but he's still in the early stages of an effort to connect them all. Giving up and retreating to the familiar: "Conner? Jerod?"

"My experience with the Rangers has been very limited, your maje..." Jerod replies before catching himself and adjusting for *not being in Court*.  "...Uncle. As such my comments would be of little value as far as the perceptions of the Rangers. If we can do it, I would very much recommend to have Uncle Julian return in the first group and have *him* tell the Rangers what is up. There have been comments made apparently that the Rangers seem to pine for the good 'ole days when Prince Julian was in charge. If he comes back and says *this is it*, he might be able to squelch any possible resentment, at least in the short term until a better solution can be found."

Vere nods in agreement. "While I have no direct experience with the Rangers," he says, "All the reports that have come to the Regent's Council support Prince Jerod on this point."

"I agree that having Uncle Julian come through in the first batch would be best." Brita finally pipes up. [Sorry, I was off in another world called Boerne, TX] "I think the Rangers, while not overly thrilled, are getting used to the crown badge. They have been shown more respect from the council for their efforts and, well, being the main policing force left here has some prestige." Brita pauses for a second.  "There will be problems, however, due to the fact that the Rangers here have established a new heirarchy, not just with Robin, Solange and I, but amongst themselves. The Rangers that return will expect things the old way and they will no longer be that way. Heck, Uncle Julian will probably expect them to be the same, too."  Brita flashes a look at Robin.

Whose expression has been carefully neutral the whole time.

"Robin will probably need to help explain to Uncle Julian the changes that I made. Hopefully, we can keep most of them - to smooth out the transition on this end. Also, we may need to maintain the new heirarchy of Rangers here and integrate them more as a unique unit back into the old set of Rangers. It will be something to further discuss with Uncle Julian." Brita looks like she would rather chew on live snakes.

Brita gets a sympathetic glance from Robin.  Who then shifts in her chair, and chirps quietly to herself as she looks back to Random.  The young Ranger's green eyes narrow as she decides on her approach.  A deep breath and a stiffening to her shoulders reveals her decision to serve it up straight.
            "It's not going to work if you go deep, Sire.  The marked places and pathways of Arden are shifting.  The moreso the farther in you get.  Even the old guard are having difficulty walking the Deep Green.  The new..."  Robin changes her word in mid-stream, "The more recent additions to the Rangers are going to become lost within the shadows very quickly."
            "Besides which... Arden isn't what she was.  I'm not sure how well she can host a large army -- even for a short amount of time.  Whiiiich means you'll have to ship supplies in.  And risk more people getting... lost."
            "I agree that bringing Prince Julian back as soon as possible is your best bet.  And with him any of the Rangers that survived the war.  You're going to need them to hold the paths steady before you bring any large forces into the Depths."  Robin finishes with flat lips, and a shake of her head.

"We've already had even seasoned Rangers get lost." Brita adds. "My thought is to bring them out near Arden off the Northern foothills. I have a few sketches of the area and can create a trump. There was an oak tree archway that I considered a gateway to Arden that would do...."

"You're forgetting, Trumps are working now, we don't need paths, except to start with. I want the forest to fence them in and prevent every anxious wife and doxy from walking to the camp. Julian has a large cadre of Rangers who survived; they were held in reserve as our first light calvary. It'll also give them incentive not to find their own way home."

Gerard says "And there are plenty of reasons to keep an army out of the northern hills, lass. I hope ye have no' been sniffing around there too much. Tis not a healthy place, and your Rangers are stretched thin enow without borrowing trouble."

Robin's eyes flicker a bit at hearing that a 'large cadre' of Rangers have survived.  A small smile pulls at her lips and she drops her eyes to her lap, keeping her happiness out of other people's faces.  As for the rest of it, the young Ranger shrugs one shoulder -- he asked, she answered.  What the King decides to do is up to him.

Brita bridles a little at the implication that she doesn't know what she is doing. "I _know_ the Trumps are working. That is how we are proposing to get the troops... wherever we get them. What Robin and I are saying is that the forest won't 'fence them in' as easily as you think. With the natural shadow paths shifting around so that they are not where the old Rangers have known them to be, we run the risk of having the troops get lost in Shadow. I can't easily follow them or get them back. I had to have Martin's help to find our lost patrol and Robin. Do we want all those that are Pattern-wise in the council forced to babysit the troops?" Brita pauses for a second.
            "I also don't think having the troops in the forest will prevent wives from trying to find them, so we would have to have patrols running constantly along the forest border to prevent civilians from wandering into the forest and getting mauled by bears or lost in Shadow."
            Brita cocks her head to one side. "Perhaps you are suggesting that we keep it a
secret that the troops are back?"

Random barks out a short laugh, almost a grunt. It nearly covers a drawn-out sigh from the former regent. "Of course not," the King says.  "If we kept it a secret, why would we need Lucas to cover the Malarkey portfolio?"
            "But that's beside the point. Arden is the only place that meets the needs.  It's close and yet it's not easily accessible. Besides, if I brought Robin's father and his troops in anywhere else, they'd split off pretty much immediately, which is not on my list of things I'd like. Between my brothers and sisters and your cousins and a big cadre of Rangers, they'll be plenty of people who are adept at both shadow and Arden."
            He turns his head. "Robin? Any good places to put some people in Arden?"

"Weelll," Robin rubs the side of her nose as she thinks about it.  "Heather Vale was still fairly stable the last time I walked it.  It's Deep Green, like you wanted."   Robin is obviously still concerned about that but hey, these guys marched that army down the Black Road.  How much harder can Arden be?
            The young Ranger leans forward and uses her hands to illustrate her points.  "It's a valley, about ten miles long, maybe one wide, running east-west.  The Neirdine runs through there on the north side.  It's deep, swift and cold at that point.  So the water should stay moderately clear no matter how many are using it."
            "Across the river is one of the spurs of the Rock Ridges.  I don't know if the dragons are going to like that or not, but it should keep your doxies from approaching from the North.  South side is rockier than *I'd* like to camp on, but it's better than boggy.  Annnnd I think you mentioned cavalry a moment ago.  So that's probably a good thing.  The meadows border on dense pine leading up to some pretty rugged foothills.  Don't think the doxies are going to make it through that way."
            "East is bottlenecked by the Falls of Never and West by Pass Crevasse.  Neither of which is exactly an easy jaunt."
            "But... it's a pretty sparse area, Sire.  You're going to need to supply almost immediately."  Robin sits back in her chair, unconsciously tapping her fingers on her chair's arm as she thinks.

It's at about this point that Venesch enters the room without knocking. He goes directly to Random and bows deeply. Those who remember the days of Oberon's court know that this is the bow he gives to a King of Amber. Random knows it too, and it discomfits him.
            Then Venesch hands him a scrolled note. Random unfurls it, reads it, and makes a face.
            "OK," he says, "time for me to get ready to go say hi to the world. Let me see if I have this plan. Vere volunteered to take charge of the Arden end of the transport, at least until Julian shows up, anyway. Robin and Brita are going to find someplace -- Heather Vale's as good as anyplace, I guess -- to stash these people. Lucas is in charge of the propaganda program to keep them up there and us down here, at least until we can get a handle on things. Conner is running field supply. We'll be splitting up people for the Trumps when Martin gets to Ygg, but that covers today.
            "Those of you who don't have a job that requires immediate attention, be back here in half an hour to file into the Throne Room for the Official Announcement. I'm going to put on my monkey suit, then it's on with the show."  He rises from the chair where he has been sitting, too quickly, and departs through the dining room. Venesch follows him, hustling.

Cambina rises again, but not in time. Her expression suggests that she could get very tired of this schtick.

Gerard looks around at all of you to see who has any questions and who is on their way out the door to obey the King's instructions.

Lucas scoots off to do his work, preparing the propaganda.

Jerod is part of his way out of the chair as Random is on his way out the door, then sits back down, watching as Venesch follows afterward before looking at Gerard.
            "Thirty minutes? Well, barely enough time to look presentable. I suppose we'd best be on our way." Jerod says, getting up again. His expression suggests he's suddenly looking forward to a long trade mission stuck in Shadow, though he covers it up after a moment.
            And Jerod departs, offering his arm (and the rest of him for those so morbidly inclined...:) to Cambina if she is on her way out as well.

Cambina will accept the escort.

While Jerod is upping and downing and brushing off his wry comments and escorting the lady -- Robin bolts.  That simple, that fast.  It's probably a wonder that she doesn't plow Venesch down in the doorway.
            Once Robin has cleared the doorway, she will speed through the corridors with a fine disregard for pages and the like toward her room. If she reaches there without any major collisions -- minor ones will be ignored -- the young Ranger practically tears herself out of the... dress :-P she's wearing. With practiced ease, she digs her uniform out of the tumble that is her quarters.
            Boots? Oh, yeah under the bed. Quiver -- clothes pile in the corner. Small clothes are... that's right, under the dirty dishes. Damn... where is the other gauntlet?!? Like a small tornado, it all comes together. Tunic, leggings, knife, sword, crossbow. Robin is careful to find and don everything that she wore that day when she first appeared in Amber a year(?) ago. And *nothing* that she has picked up since.
            Once she's assembled, Robin takes a moment to withdraw Julian's Trump from its interior pocket. Loving lonely fingers trace the image of her father for a brief moment.

Cold, Icy, and hard, the image on the trump is very, very real. But it is still an image. There is no contact, although the familiar coldness implies something is there.

A knock sounds on Robin's door.

Robin's head snaps up at the interruption.  The young Ranger swipes at her eyes with one sleeve and, with one longing look cast back toward the window, heads for the door.  A moment and a couple of deep breaths to regain her composure.  And Robin's cheerful smile is in place...

When she opens the door, she finds Brita there - still in her best red jacket. Brita notes Robin's attire and says "Good. You are ready to leave. I figure if we make it to the stables in less than ten minutes, we won't need to go through any.... ordeals." Brita moves aside slightly to let Robin out of the room.

The young Ranger edges by into the hallway, closing the door behind her. A mock-grimace and a chuckle let Brita know that Robin certainly shares her opinion of... ordeals.

As they make their way down stairs, Brita notes, "It would probably be best if you were present when I relay The Plan to the Rangers." Robin can hear the stress on 'The Plan'. "You could then take some of the patrols with you to Heather Vale to... ready the area while I work with Conner on figuring out the best supply route."

One of Robin's eyebrows raises at Brita's phrasing, but a shrug ruffles through Robin's shoulders.  "Okay."
        Near or at the foot of the stairs, Robin stops.  'Milady,'  she grins teasingly, making fun of her own phrasing from earlier in the meeting.  "If you'll see to the horses, I'll scavenge supplies from the kitchen.  And we'll see the hind end of 'ordeals' all the quicker."

"Done," Brita responds as she heads for the stables.

"Thanks, Brita."  Robin calls after her.  As she watches the departing back of the daughter of Fiona, her face falls from its cheerful expression to one of sad wistfulness.
            Then the young Ranger turns, ruffles like a falcon and puts on her best 'one side, Ranger on business coming through' face.  A small laugh quirks the side of her lips at the thought that there are probably a *lot* of people wearing that particular expression in the palace right now.
            Robin heads for the kitchens with strident paces.... intent on procuring a sprig of fresh rosemary.

Robin heads towards where she thinks the kitchen and the spices would be, but realizes she doesn't really know anything about the kitchens of the castle, not having lived here long enough to really understand the service routine.
            The halls are unusually busy. The servants and pages seem to be coming from several directions to converge on the Great Hall, where Random will make his appearance in a while.

The quirk at Robin's lips grows rueful as she finds herself adrift in the stone maze of Amber castle.  Green eyes twinkling, she flags down a passing page, one that looks particularly young and harried.
            "Hey!  Which way to the kitchens?"  The young Ranger smiles friendlily.

"Which one, ma'am?" the lad asks.

Robin blinks and then laughs.  Realizing that she probably looks as out of place here as Brita's 'Rangers' do in Arden, she turns on the charm.  "The closest would be fine.  Thank you."

"Down this hall, third right, follow your nose from there," says the page.  "Excuse me, ma'am. Regent's business." And he's on his way.

"Thanks." She calls after his retreating back. And proceeds down this hall, counting for the third right and starts sniffing. The young Ranger is moving with speed, her sense of growing urgency driving her on.

Robin follows her nose towards what Leslie would be less likely to call a kitchen than a huge butler's pantry kind of thing. There's no real oven, but there's a warmer for the food. The place does smell of fresh bread, probably newly brought in from the outside kitchens.
            Since there is a working fire in the room, there is someone to attend it.  The young woman, probably an assistant or underling of some sort, looks a little confused, as if trying to figure out what to call Robin. She settles for "My lady?", perhaps figuring that assuming a status too high may be better than assuming one too low.

The young Ranger tries to keep the 'Welllll, what'll they think of next?' look off of her face as she looks around the... room.  But she knows she's not succeeding.  "I... was wanting a sprig of rosemary.  If you have any?"  Robin's green eyes meet the young woman's, amusement at her own predicament twinkling therein.

The girl looks around, finds some spices, and says, "No, my lady, that's not one of the table spices. You'll need to go to one of the outer kitchens for that." And she gives Robin further directions through the maze of buildings.

Nodding her head to show that she's tracking the girl's directions, Robin listens carefully.  When the girl is done, Robin smiles again.  "Thank you."  Quickly, the young Ranger spins on her heels and leaves.  Back in the halls of Castle Amber once more, Robin looks around briefly to get her bearings.

The outer kitchens are, in fact, outside.

An angry chirrup escapes the young woman.  There she was *trying* to be prepared and everything and the universe is just not kind enough to do what she wants.  Robin snorts, as usual.  A rueful chuckle is her own answer to herself.
            With a firm turn on her heel, Robin abandons the kitchens idea in this madhouse of stone and rushing servants, and returns the foot of the stairs to the now-family-formerly-guest wing.  From there, the young Ranger looks around with narrowed eyes.  Calling up in her mind a path she's walked once -- maybe twice -- before.
            Determined, Robin sets out for the old family wing and what lies beneath it.

The basement levels are mostly collapsed, including the former wine cellar where Gerard met his fate. Several years of intermittent excavations have cleared a path through to the necessary location: the old spiral staircase. It's dangerous alone, and Robin wishes she had a hard hat as she approaches the bottom, where the missing sections of the upper staircase lie in a heap of rubble.

Guessing that the boards she'll need won't be available much lower, Robin gathers what planking she can handle easily.

Robin finds a convenient if improbable rope to lower herself down the last part of the way. The guard station she probably did not expect -- or perhaps she did -- is deserted. Robin takes a lantern from the rack; she will not need it for long, but need it she will in the dark hall. The corridor leads to the familiar door ...

which is locked. Robin has no key.

"Gaaah!"  In frustration, the young Ranger kicks the door.  And hops away on one foot.
            "Oookay, come on, girl.  Think, think, think.  You didn't come all this way to be stopped by some stupid lock."
            The young Ranger sets the planking down against the wall by the door, and holding up the lantern examines her obstacle carefully.  Hinges on which side?  Key 'hidden' on top the lintel?  Anything?!?

[How probable does Robin think someone leaving the key on the top of the lintel is?]

[Robin figures there *has* one about... but she doesn't know if it's over the lintel, behind a loose rock in the wall or some other place like that. If she can *nudge* things so that they go quicker at this point, she will. Lintel would be best for her. :) ]

The probabilities turn in her hand like dice rolling on a table to a foreordained conclusion. Robin reaches up to the lintel and finds a key of what she knows is the correct shape.

A happy chirp escapes the Ranger and Robin takes the key down into her hand with a confident snatch.  For a moment, she looks at the prize in grip with a furrowed brow and a shake of her head.  That never should have worked, not if this was the Real...
            Anyway, time to get moving.  Robin puts the key into the hole and turns fiercely.  Best to get the dust of this place off her wings as soon as possible.

Robin is able to get the door open with some effort.
        As she swings open the door, she immediately senses that something is terribly wrong. It is pitch black within; no fiery glow illumines the huge cavern.

A croon of concern emerges from the young Ranger as she peers inside.  And she shakes her head.  Not good, not good at all.
            Then a fierce grin lights her face.  *Nothing!* like a challenge to get the blood moving.
            Robin slides the key back into its probability slot over the lintel -- for the next poor sucker to find -- shoulders the boards, picks up her lantern and stalks into the room.  She puts the boards down once more to pull the door firmly closed behind her.  Its omnious thump echoes throughout the chamber, underscoring her intent to never leave again via *that* portal.
            Robin enters, with her lantern to provide light. When she brings the lantern close enough to see the tracery on the floor of the cave, she sees that it is there. But a familiar, ragged fissure cuts the Pattern in half, as if someone had rent asunder the ground on which it was scribed.
            "Yeeahhh, I remember you."  She murmurs to the fissure, a challenging purr building in the back of her throat.  The Ranger's teeth flash whitely in the reflected light of the lantern as she stalks around the outside of the Pattern, following its traceries with eyes that faintly glow in the darkness.  When she reaches the far corner, Robin carefully notes where the Pattern starts.  There Robin stands for a moment in the darkness.  Letting her eyes drift closed, she begins breathing deeply, calling up the heritage within herself that she's buried so deeply these last few weeks.  Or months.  She doesn't know for how long.
            As the young Amberite's air flows in and out of her body, she feels the cobwebs lifting away from her.  The cloying strands of well-intended aid that served only to bind her wings.  The muffling threads of disillusionment that made the world seem so useless and distant.  The smothering wraps of despair that separated her from all it meant to be alive and free.
            The cobwebs lift away.  To ignite in blue fire.
            In Robin's mind's eye, she sees the Pattern as it was when she walked... no, when she *flew* it the first time.  She calls up the memory of her father -- tall, white and proud -- at her side, ready to launch his child into the winds of the world.  She tastes once more, the storm of blue light that awaited her -- beautiful, challenging, bold, dangerous and, above all, REAL!
            And the wings of her soul lift.
            Robin opens her eyes once more, seeing the Pattern as it is -- inside of her.  A fierce raptor's call erupts from her lips and the Ranger steps forward.