Vere lifts an eyebrow, but doesn't take any time to ponder the question.  "My love," he says.  "Let me have Bleys' card, and I will contact him.  Do you think the dragonriders can have some time to be with their partners before we move on?"
            He holds one arm out as he speaks.  It could be a request for the card, or it could be the offer of an embrace.  He leaves it to Robin to interpret as she will.

Robin blinks rapidly, somehow surprised that things are actually moving at the speed she desired.  But at the sight of Vere's arm stretched out to her, Robin utters a heartfelt keen and stoops into the shelter his arms.  There, she buries her head in his shoulder and just shakes for a moment.  Vere can feel her head nod.
            "Y-yes.  T-tt-time.  D-d-distance.  Needed."

Vere holds her tightly to him, and is silent, waiting for her to recover enough to be able to talk once more.

After a short while of shuddering, some odd gulping noise and miscellaneous hisses, whistles and ticks, Robin finds herself breathing in time to Vere and his slow calm rhythms.
            “Sorry, love,” she murmurs leaning back to look up into his eyes.  A rueful sigh ripples through her.  “Think the King will put me in one of Uncle Caine’s special cells after that display?”

"Keep you in mind for diplomatic missions to realms he is annoyed with, more like," Vere answers with a smile.  He tightens his grip and drops his face to hers for a kiss.

Robin gives herself to the kiss fully and freely, putting all of herself, her breath and her life into loving her miracle of a man.

After a long, long time, he finally relaxes his grip and raises his head from hers, continuing to gaze down into her eyes.  He holds her quietly for a while longer, then gives her one last squeeze and releases her.
            "I am to Huon next, I believe," he says.  He frowns, and glances up towards the hill.  "If you think we have time, I would like first to go and speak with the men of Huon's, if their spirits still linger. They died in confusion and surprise, so I think they will.  They might be able to give me a better sense of where he is now."  His eyes narrow.  "And there is no reason their passage from this life should be easy..."

Reluctantly leaving the shelter of Vere’s arms, Robin nods.  With a quick glance to Kourin, she nods again.  “Yes.  Slower now.”  A little ruffle shifts through her shoulders.     Vere’s last statement is meet by Robin’s first ‘smile’ of the afternoon, an evil one.  But one that quickly fades as Robin starts thinking again.
            “Do you want me there when you talk to them?  Or would I disturb the...” she waves her hand a little aimlessly, “whatever?”

Vere grins at that.  "You shall not disturb the 'whatever' in any way," he answers.  You might find it boring, however.  Most like, you shall hear my side of the conversation, and nothing else.  It is quite like listening to a madman talk to himself."

“Hon, you do that for me all the time.”  Robin says with a rueful shake of her head.  “The least I can do is return the favor.  Besides,” she ruffles again, “I think I want some time with my partner too.”  She smiles to him.

"I would like you to be there," he answers seriously.  "You might think of questions I do not."  He takes her arm and begins to head for the hill.  "We have a general plan now," he says as they walk.  "And many details will have to wait for the moment.  But let us begin to fill in such as we may.  While I go to speak with Huon, what will you be doing?"

“Listenin’,” she says.  “I-I’ve never even considered something on this scale before and I need to figure some things out.  Think it through at least a little before I start.  My biggest worry?”  Robin snuggles up against Vere.  “I’m beginnin’ to hate this place more and more.  The longer I stay here.  If I try to heal it while hating it... Cockatrice reversed.  For sure.”  A worried frown tugs at her lips.
            Looking up at Vere, Robin’s eyes are deeply green and bottomless.  “That’s why I need you there for the real thing, Vere.  I need to hear your... feelings for this world.  Hear your chords.  Maybe find something of your father’s echoes in those... I dunno.  It’s... not a real verbal thing.”  She shrugs.

Vere walks silently for a short while, his arm in hers, his step matching hers.  Finally he says, "I regret that I could not show you the Isles in better days.  You've seen her nobles and priestesses, but not the common folk, the sailors, hunters and farmers, the craftswomen and traders, living their lives as best they can, and wanting only peace and prosperity for their families.  You have not had a chance to run in her woods, unhampered by concerns of war, to ride the swift horses of the great isles, to sail the firths and straits of the lesser isles.  Oh, there is terror in the Isles, make no doubt of that, but there is glory, too.  The Goddess has shown you her dark face, I know not why, but like Oberon she has many moods, and many faces, and some are gentle and loving.  I would have taken you to see the dolphins at play, the doe guarding the newborn fawn, the osprey and the hawk on the wing over the great mountains.  Oh, my love, if we could have come at a better time, then you would have known the Isles as I do, and you would have loved them, as they would have loved you."
            There is moisture in his eyes, and he closes them for a second, his grip tightening on her arm.  Then he masters himself, and opens his eyes, his face once more under control.

Robin’s eyes are glowing and her smile grand.  “See?”  she says in a humming voice, “I knew that you were.... you!”  Her kiss is immediate and powerful.
            After as long as Vere needs, Robin untangles herself from her wonderful amazing man so he can walk.  But she does remain tightly at his side.  “Soooo.... you need me on the Huon thing?  Sneak you in?  Stake out a high spot, rifle in hand?  Something else?”

Vere is smiling as they walk up the side of the hill, and there is joy in his voice as he answers her.  "I was thinking that a grand entrance might be called for.  While we are here," he gestures with a nod up the hill they are climbing, "I want to examine the cannon, to get an estimate on upper range.  We will tack on a safety margin as well, and call that minimum elevation for the dragons from here on in, until we are back in safe territory."  His smile turns predatory.  "Unless they are called upon to attack, of course, and then I recommend a dive straight down to flaming range.  I doubt the cannon can fire straight up, and dragon fire should detonate their powder and burn any wooden support structure."
            He shakes his head.  "Ah, but that is getting ahead of your question.  So, what I think I would like, once we have located Huon's encampment, is to have Hoshith teleport directly to the ground from out of sight range.  I dismount, Hoshith vanishes, and I announce myself as Huon's nephew and demand an audience."
            "You, meanwhile, do whatever you think is best.  Sneak around the encampment and listen to get a feel for the troops, perhaps.  Or observe from above on dragonback, to get a good line of sight on how far their forces extend, and of what type of troops they consist."
            He looks down at her.  "I am making this up as I go along, you know."

“Best way, in my opinion.”  Robin shrugs.  “Too much stuff keeps coming up for me to plan anything.”
            “You’ll have to confirm with Kourin, but I don’t... think the guys can do the poof thing on the ground.  When I was thinking about ambushing Huon’s ass, I was giving myself maybe a twenty-to-thirty foot drop.”  She raises an eyebrow to her beloved.  “I seriously doubt that you’ll have any problem with that.  Might not be as dignified as you would want though.”
            “And frankly, I think I’d tag Manarth for this job, not Hoshith.  Even without the memory/time-sense thing, I think Hoshith might be running a little... uneven for a while.”
            “Where I should be?  Beloved?  Can you actually make a picture like is on the Cards?  Robin’s nose wrinkles in distaste.

"Leaping from the back of a dragon shall be sufficiently impressive, I should think," Vere says with a smile.  "And I should have realized that teleporting in too close to the ground could be dangerous, too much danger of something moving into the space just before one appears."
            "As to the cards," he shakes his head.  "No, I do not understand that at all.  A pity, it would prove useful."
            He looks thoughtful.  "I wonder," he says slowly.  "If, just in case Huon should prove to be less reasonable than I expect, and if he has persuasive methods of interrogation, whether it might not be better if I do not know exactly what you are doing or where you are?  We can arrange a signal and a time, say that within a watch after I enter the camp I shall return to the same spot and run my hand through my hair, so...." he strokes the colored locks on his right temple, smiling at her as he does so.

Robin grins as he touches their shared symbol burnt into his being.

"If I do not do this, then I am under duress, or was forced to flee through Trump.  Contact King Random to see if either my father or Corwin has reported to him that I am with them, if not, then I am held against my will."

The Ranger nods in agreement.  "K."  Though her slight frown says she's still not really happy about risking Vere in an enemy camp, but he gets to do what he wants.
            Digging into her front pocket, Robin pulls out the beaded case.  "I... think I want this one back, beloved," she says handing him the Trump of Bleys.  "And please - don't call him from anywhere near here.  I don't think I could handle it if his curiosity moved him the same way the King's did."

Vere slips the card into his pouch, alongside the cards of his father and Corwin.  "I will call him from somewhere between here and Huon's camp," he says.  "We can make a stop on a mountaintop for the call.  And then, I think, I will return the card to you before I enter Huon's camp.  No point in offering a temptation to our newly found uncle, I should think."

“Wouldn’t look good if it turned up on a strip-search either.”  Robin adds wryly.
            “Great heavens,” the girl sighs, rubbing her eyes.  “Soooo many enemies.  Turning up faster than new cousins crawl out of the brush.  And we keep losing old cousins.... and brothers.”  She finishes in a small voice.
            The Ranger looks up a Vere sadly.  “I’m getting tired, Vere.  Maybe... maybe that’s why I’m insisting on this thing.  For a place I don’t even like.  Even though both Dad and the King say the shadow will hold for a while... It’s, it’s as if I can fix just one thing, make just one thing right, there’s hope.  I dunno...” she trails off.

Vere turns to her and pulls her into his arms once more.  "No second guessing," he says with mock severity.  "That is my failing, and I am jealous of it.  Yours in an impetuous rush to action, remember?"

“You’re right,” she says, fondly thumping him with her forehead.  Squeezing Vere tightly, Robin looks up into his eyes.  “Okay.  Let’s go mess with a cannon and some mess-deserving spirits and see what kind of trouble we can stir up.”  She grins.

He returns the grin.  "Have I mentioned recently that I love you?" he asks.

She tilts her head and just sparkles at him.  This is the type of moment that needs no words.

He leans down and gives her a quick kiss, then straightens once more.  "Onward," he says.  And he turns and leads her up the hill, to where he saw the bodies previously.

"With you, gladly."  Robin replies and holding Vere's arm walks with him up the hill into the next bit of future.

The top of the hill is empty, except for the charred bodies and the wrenched cannon.  Behind the couple, the dragons begin landing.  One stays in the air.  Once the dragons settle, it becomes very peaceful.  Everything has gone to ground.

Vere looks at Robin, and without moving any other part of his body lets his eyes glance towards a distant tree on another hill.  "The two witch queens who slew these men were watching the hill from that tree when I spoke with them," he says.  "They may well be there still, or moved to another vantage point."

“K,” she murmurs back.

He turns then and regards the bodies.  "Do you have any questions before I try to summon their spirits, my love?" he asks.

“Weeellll,” Robin rubs the back of her head as she thinks.  Then draws her hand back around to stare in surprise at the drying blood all over it.  “Just the usual, I guess.”
            She plunks her pack down and starts to rummage in it.  “Where are the others?  How’d they get the cannon up here?  Why’d they shoot Canareth?  Ahhhh...”  Pulling out a water flask and a clean...ish cloth, Robin starts the work of cleaning herself off.
            As she works, she casts her eyes and her ears around for any convenient rifles, shot or powder.  As well as for any inconvenient witch queens.

None of the latter, and the former seem to be twisted and charred, like the bodies.  If she's lucky, she might flip a body over and find a powder flask that was protected from whatever burned these men alive.

Vere nods.  "Well enou," he says.
            He turns back to the bodies, his face growing cold and still.  He stands for a long moment, then claps his hands together sharply.  "Come to attention!" he thunders.
            "I am Prince Vere, nephew of Huon, and go from this place, the scene of your failure, to him."
            He claps his hands together once more.
            "Report!" he demands.

A pause.

Vere frowns.  "You did fire on the beast," he says.  "And it was an ally, not a foe.  Why did you attack it?"

Robin spends her time wiping herself off and watching Vere's back.  Though occasionally her glance does slide downward a little.  After all, he has such a fine ass... eyes on the trees, Robin!

Pause.

Vere's eyes narrow.  "The 'beast' had a name," he says coldly.  "Which you are not worthy to know.  Call it dragon.  I saw the wound which killed it, there was no sign of burning around it, nor did the dragon appear to have been slain by lightning.  And, when I arrived on another dragon, there was another cannon shot fired, at the dragon I rode upon.  This does not match what you tell me, does it?  Explain."

Firmly watching the surrounding area, Robin nods in confirmation.  “I dug cannon-shell fragments out of his shoulder, love.”  Somehow, she does not find it surprising that even the dead would try to weasel out of this one.

Pause.

"You were attacked from behind, and slain by lightning, yes?  Did you see your killers?" Vere asks.

Cleany, cleany, cleany.  Watchy, watchy, watchy.  Robin probably has a few more moments in her before she gets up and starts pokin’ at stuff.

Pause.

Vere turns his attention.  "What is your name? Where are you from?"

Robin finishes up her cleaning and puts away her flask and rag.  Standing, she shrugs her pack back onto her shoulders and looks around the hilltop.  Her eyes narrow a little as her gaze travels back to the spot where Canareth’s body lies.

Robin is pretty sure that this cannon didn't fire the shot at them as they were landing.  The wreckage of it is pointing directly at Canareth.

"Nine Clouds," Vere says.  "Nine Clouds of the Ponca.  Tell me why you followed Huon.  Tell me where he is now.  Tell me what happened when you died.  Tell me of the flying beast, and the women who slew you.  Tell me of these things, Nine Clouds of the Ponca."

Her blonde head nods slightly, she’s heard the name, but Robin’s eyes remain where they are.  For the first time, her view widens.  And she sees the trees, the land, the foliage around her friend’s corpse.  (OOC - Robin’s checking to see if Canareth fell straight down or did he come in at an angle?)

(It's not clear that he was in the air.  He could've been on the ground when he was shot.)

Aware that eyes may be upon her as well, Robin rests her ungloved hand on the twisted remains of the cannon barrel very casually.  (OOC - Is the cannon barrel warm?  Of course, if it’s really hot, Robin’s not going to touch it but abort the gesture.  ;)

(It is hot, but not too hot to touch.)

"Robin," Vere says, his eyes still fixed on an empty spot in space.  "Can you tell if it is possible that the cannon fired when it was struck by the fire from the Witch Queens?  It begins to appear that the death of Canareth might have been an unintended consequence."

"Funny," Robin says with her eyes on Canareth, "*I* was beginning to think we were being set-up."  There's definitely an undertone of growl in her voice.
            Then she cocks her head toward Vere, with a sparkle in her eye.  "But I'm willing to chance the optimistic approach too."  And with that, she starts investigating the wreckage of the cannon.

"There were definitely others," he confirms to her.  "And they may still be close enough to watch us."

Vere misunderstands her so rarely, that Robin’s willing to let the occasional one slide.  A grim twitch pulls briefly at her lips.  One can certainly tell which of her cousins were raised around family, and which ones weren’t. 
            However, she doesn’t want to disturb her love while he’s working so she just nods and continues her investigation.

He turns back to the ghosts.  "Tell me of Huon's intentions," he commands.  "The vengeance he seeks, the places he intends to travel, what you have heard of his goals and his plans.  Tell me this, and then you may seek your own fate, and I will seek out my uncle, and tell him that you died bravely in his cause."

A pause.

"Ah," says Vere.  He turns, so that he is half facing Robin, while still watching the spirits.  "So, as I understand you, Huon came to this realm to seek his sister, for whom he bore great affection.  Learning that she is deceased, he now plans to visit her tomb.  Once he has done that, he will continue on to a realm that lies beneath the waves, where he expects to fight.  He has gathered warriors and wizards as he traveled, to serve under him in his fight, and in the worlds he has conquered he has left behind some forces, to ensure that his passage brought order, and that he did not leave chaos and destruction in his wake.  This same thing is what he plans to do in this realm, yes?"
            He glanced briefly at Robin, to be sure she was following what he said.

Her green eyes flicker back to him and she nods.  Yep, she got it.  Sounds like a race to Mom’s tomb is in order.  How many feet of water was that under these days?  A rueful twitch pulls at the girl’s lips.  At least she isn’t making things easier for anyone else either.
    (OOC - BTW anything new from cannon investigation?)

(OCC -Twisted metal, hot but not damagingly so.  You haven't found anything we haven't mentioned.  Maybe there's nothing more to find.  Sorry it's a bust, but some days a cigar is just a cigar...]

Vere stares into empty space for a  few moments, his eyes tracking movements that Robin cannot see, and then he says, "My love?  I think I have everything I can learn from them.  Unless you can think of something I have overlooked I will let them go, and we can be on our way."

She shrugs one shoulder.  “Nothing’s occurring to me now.”  Her smile says she’ll probably think of something later, but by then it will be later anyway so there’s no sense in dallying now.
            “I want to do a quick scavenge before we go though.”  And she makes good on her word, quickly poking through and overturning bodies.  The Ranger is primarily interested in any shells, bullets or powder that might have survived the toasting, but she keeps her eyes open for anything else interesting that might  pop up.

A yard or so away, behind a rock, Robin finds a cache with powder and few spare cannonballs.  The mechanism is primitive, but functional.  The powder fits into something that looks like a beer mug and the charge is loaded into the back of the cannon barrel.

Vere nods to Robin, then turns back to the shades.  "Be at peace," he tells them.  "You followed your honour, and were loyal to your lord and each other.  I cannot fault you."  He waves his hand and closes his eyes.

Over the hills some distance away, Vere and Robin hear the trumpet of a very angry dragon and see a bright streak of flame in the sky, directed at the ground.

“Dung!”  Robin quickly shoves a few samples of everything into her pack.  Glancing up at Vere, she jerks her head toward Kourin and Hoshith.  “More accidents in the offing, love.”  Her tone of voice indicates that she’s still feeling a bit ambiguous on the whole all-out-accident theory.

Vere shakes his head, already beginning to run towards the scene of the trouble.  "Is it so impossible that they simply stay out of trouble?" he asks rhetorically as he runs.

Robin slings her pack onto her shoulders and runs after Vere.  “Yep,” is her answer.  “Trouble’s echoing too strongly around here to keep from stepping in it.”

Overhead the dragons fly in angry circles.  At the peak of a hill, there are more bodies.  These burned by chemical fire rather than witches' lightning.  It looks like they were carrying a disassembled cannon.  One is dead.  The other will soon be dead.

As they run up the hill Vere's eyes flick over the scene and the surrounding territory, taking in everything, looking for evidence of exactly what happened, looking for any signs of others of Huon's troops, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
            If, and only if, he sees no signs of other hostiles anywhere in the vicinity, he'll run to the still-living man, looking to keep him alive long enough to question.

No other signs, but it looks like more of the dragons are getting ready to breathe flame.  They're leaking little jets from their mouths.

With a tchh of her tongue, Robin fades into the greenery intending to back Vere up from cover.  And also to give the dragons pause.  If they can’t see her, maybe they’ll be less likely to flame anything that’s moving on the ground.

Robin enters the woods, easily seeing where the men came with the cannon.  At least one was a half-decent woodsman, but neither of them were rangers.  There are traces of four men together, at most.  These were probably the last two of this group.  They were travelling westward.

The man is badly burned and in serious pain.  He won't live through the night without magical aid.  He looks older than the two men who died at the first cannon.  He looks like he had at least some cover from the dragon's attack, but in the end, it's not enough.  The smell of the chemical they burn is almost overwhelming, mixed with charred flesh.
            What will Vere do to keep him alive?  He could possibly be questioned now, but not for long.

Vere kneels before the man, his eyes flicking over the burns, taking in his condition.  He takes his waterskin and trickles some water onto the man's lips.  "Can you hear me?" he asks.  He looks for signs of awarness.  "I am Huon's nephew.  Report."

Robin keeps her eyes out for the cannoneers’ fellows.  She also glances briefly up through the leaves to the incipient dragon-fire above.  But somehow, she just can’t bring herself to think of a way to stop what’s coming, the carnage among Huon’s troops or the scars murder will leave on the dragon-riders’ souls.  A ruffle goes through her - probably something else she’ll agonize over later, but for now, despite Vere’s cheering earlier, there’s still a hard core of rage, pain and disgust within the girl.

"Sir,"  the solder says, his voice betraying great pain,  "did we beat them?"

"You did well," Vere replies.  "Huon will honour your service."

[Upon further questioning, the story is much like that of the ghosts.  These four (the two here and the two on the hilltop) were lost.  Their partners shot a dragon and then got killed, they shot at a second dragon, and then ran when the skies filled up with them.  Lord Huon was going to someplace called Mothersport.]

Vere questions him quickly and efficiently, and then gives him another sip from the water flask.  "I can give you mercy," he says quietly. "Do you have any request?"

"May..."  he says, his voice cracked despite the water.  Then he goes limp.

With one ear cocked toward Vere and his conversation, Robin plots the fastest course to Kourin and Hoshith she can.  Her lips press into a thin line.  The ghost of an unknown mother, an uncle she's promised both to kill and to not kill, plus the temple where she did not go under the stones.  Oh, well at least that part's good.  The corner of her mouth tugs in an ironic smile.

Kourin and Hoshith are in the air, above Robin and Vere.

Vere checks to see whether the man has passed out, or whether he has died.  If the latter, he closes the man's eyes, then stands.  If the former, he draws his dagger and sends the man to whatever awaits him in the next life, then cleans the blade, sheathes it, and stands.

Vere's dagger does the job with precision and mercy.

Then he turns to locate Robin.  "Events move on, my love," he says, a note of fatalism in his voice.  "Let us see if we can at least catch up to them, even if we cannot overtake them.  To Ladystown, I believe? If Huon has not yet arrived, we can make plans and await him.  If he has..." Vere shakes his head.  "We will decide then.  The saga draws to a conclusion, but I do not know yet if it is a tale of triumph or tragedy."

“Conclusion, beloved?”  Robin’s lips still hold an ironic smile as she steps back into the clearing and waves to Hoshith and Kourin for a pick-up.  “Naw, we ain’t that lucky.  It’s just another damn chapter.”
                But, her eyes promise, still in the story with you my love.  Still here with you.

Vere looks up at Hoshith and Kourin, then back at Robin.  "Are they recovered enough to carry us, without attacking anyone they see with cannon, do you think?" he asks her.  "I do not wish to tear at her wounds, but neither do I wish to make her feel that we are sending her away, and asking someone else to carry on in her place.  What do you suggest, my love?"

Robin look slightly confused at Vere’s question but answers as best as she can.  “I suggest we ask her.”  After all, Kourin is the leader of a mixed-species combat unit, so she’s probably the best one to access her own status.

((Neither Robin or Vere know which Dragon flamed the soldiers.))

Kourin is in the air, on Hoshith and comes down for a landing near the burned bodies.  She slides off the dragon's leg, and stands, looking defiant, waiting for Vere or Robin to speak.

Vere turns his head to look at Robin, waiting to see if she wishes to speak before he does so.

Robin blinks for a moment as eyes turn on her.  And ruffles.  “Hey, Kourin.  It sounds like Huon’s on his way to Ladystown for a personal visit.  Would you and Hoshith be available for a lift or would you recommend another way of getting there pronto?”
            The Ranger’s tone indicates that she is as fine with whatever Kourin’s answer will be as she is with defiant looks and toasting cannoneers.

Vere adds, "I would like someone to carry a message to my mother, as well, informing her of what has occurred, and what we expect to occur."

Kourin looks at them both for a moment, then nods once, sharply.  "I can take you.  The Dragons should leave.  I can pass a message, or do you wish a written one?"  She doesn't quite deflate, but it's clear she expected something different.

"Verbal is best," Vere answers.  He closes his eyes in thought for a moment, then says, "Huon, elder brother of Gerard and Ysabeau, makes war on their brother Bleys.  He marches an army through the worlds, and passes through our world on his way.  This world itself is in danger of destruction.  Robin will try to repair it, but there is the danger that the end of the world is drawing nigh.  We suggest that my mother and Avis gather together a fleet, prepared to flee should the world end.  Admiral Worth should lead it, as he has experience with sailing between the worlds, and the dragons should be prepared to fly with the fleet."
            "Huon heads now to Ladystown to pay respects to Ysabeau.  We go to treat with him, to attempt to raise the spirit of Ysabeau, and to try to repair the fabric of the world.  Should this fail, we hope to join them, to guide the fleet from the doom of the world."
            He looks to his beloved.  "What have I missed?' he asks her.

Robin looks impressed.  “That’ll do nicely, love.  Though they should probably know about J-jove and the cannons/rifles as well.”
            She turns her eyes back to Kourin and Hoshith.  “Thank you.”

She looks unfocused for a moment.  "That's too complex for the dragons to carry.  M'hall comes."
            M'hall lands on Rakshath.  He looks grimly at his dragon's hatchmate's corpse.  "My Lord, My Lady.  Weyrwoman Kourin will deliver your message and take our riders back to our temporary Weyr and I will take you where you wish to go."  He seems to be entirely businesslike.
            He turns to Kourin.  "Kourin, ground the wings when you return.  L'tarn and V'laren and the queenriders to meet with me when I return.  And Wingsecond T'lon as well.  He's acting wingleader, for now.  We need a conclave."  The woman nods, silently, taking his orders.

Vere listens silently, not reacting when Kourin is called Weyrwoman rather than Queenrider, not giving any sign that he notices the change in relationship between Kourin and M'hall.
            "My thanks," he says to M'hall when the rider has finished speaking.  "You know the place, the sunken city where Hoshith took us once before?  I see no need for secrecy, I believe you should bring us in right over the broken temple."

"I can recall it," he says, "I can take you to it."

He looks to Robin.  "My love?" he asks.  "Do you agree?  I say the time for secrecy, for subtlety, and for discretion are over.   I will see an end to this."

Robin nods to herself M’hall and Rakshath land.  Yeah, level heads. Level heads would probably be a good thing now.  A wry smile ticks her lips as she bobs a little bow to Rakshath.  “Thank you, Rakshath.  M’hall.”
            A quick green glance beneath lowered lashes is sent to Kourin as M’hall speaks.  But when Vere addresses her, Robin focuses back on her fiancée. His words, so incongruous to his own nature, brings pointed teeth into her smile.     “Speed... yes,” she purses her lips and nods, “I could wish for a dry place to draw-and-nock.  But right over the temple works for me too.”

He nods.  "Rakshath, if you would."  The dragon kneels, providing an easy leg for them to mount.  He smells of phosphine gas.

Vere waits for Robin to mount before he does so.  His face is calm, and his eyes watchful.
   
"Robin," he says.  "I see two approaches.  One, we come in high, far above possible attack, see what is happening, and then have Rakshath bring us down.  Two, we come in close over the temple, count on immediately leaping down into whatever is going on there, and Rakshath immediately leaps away before there is any chance for anyone to react.  I favour the second approach.  What do your prefer?"

Robin scampers up into position on Rakshath with a look of eagerness.  “Number two.  Definitely number two.”
            And though she knows he doesn’t need it, Robin makes sure she is available to render Vere any assistance he might want when he climbs aboard.

Vere nods.  "Take us there, M'hall, if you would be so good.  Then you are free to attend to the affairs of your conclave, with my thanks.  We will make our own way back."

M'hall nods and the dragon rises until he is balanced in the air, hovering on a thermal updraft.  "Now", the rider says, breaking the silence of the moment.  An instant later everything is gone.  All sensation, all color, all sound, all smell.  The bite of the cold is fierce, beyond anything that one could face in reality.  Vere wonders fleetingly if there are ghosts in this odd between-places place, but reality reasserts itself quickly.  In reality, it is raining.

The dragon drops a few yards to land with a solid thump on top of one of the priories near the temple of the Lady.  From the back of the dragon, he can see indications that an army has come this way, but he sees no sign that it has left.  Nor is there a camp nearby.  The temple, with its collapsed roof, is just over the roofline from here.  The side facing this priory is the least damaged.

After Vere and Robin dismount, and seeing that there is no immediate threat, M'hall will take his leave and return to his people.  His departing words wish the two luck.  He is clearly holding his emotions tightly in check.

As far as Vere and Robin can tell, no one has observed them entering Ladystown.