DreamLyrics™ Play-by-Post Forums Hall of Fame - Latest Top 10 completed games HWD: The Heartwood HWD: To Waverider's Watch

Mikal - with Kadri (OOC - Assuming Broke doesn't bother replying and Kadri joins Mikal)

As Kadri comes around the bend in the stairs she finds Mikal waiting for her, with a small grin. "Thanks for the support, though I have found when dealing with idiots that a convincing argument is wasted. It's like arguing with the tide. Either he is trying to be purposefully antagonistic or he truly cannot understand that my actions in the inn prevented violence. Still, there was no call at all for the insults. I am glad I left my weapons up above or we'd have had a test of his rule right off."

He continues up to the top with Kadri, to be out of earshot of Broke.

"So, it brings up an issue. He has no standing with the Khorall and it is illegal to create, and to enforce, laws on Imperial lands if you are not an Imperial official. It makes you a bandit, not to mention a bully."

He glances over the parapet to the scenes below.

"And I really detest bullies. I am reminded of Jakal Montague."

He sighs.

"It also bring up the question of whether he was the one responsible for killing the Investigator of Hastur. If he was, or he was involved, he is a criminal and will be a wanted man by the Khoral's Imperial agents. At a minimum they are going to want to question him, if and when they ever send someone else out here. We certainly don't want to be accused of harboring a criminal. Even interacting with him puts us in a dangerous place."

He glances down again, then picks up and belts on his Darksteel sword and Main Gauche.

"We need to talk to Bekkah and Cesare, and if that one", he nods towards where Broke is on the stairs, "will be armed them I will not be unarmed. At the moment he is too unpredictable and possibly a murderer."

"Unfortunately there is no way to go down other than past him, so stay to my sword arm side for safety when we near him, please."

"Ready?" He says to Kadri.

The Heartwood
Waverider’s Watch
The Dirkwood Foret
Marketday, the Fourth Day of Yrick

Kadri, Cesare, Bekkah, Keiko … and an occupation of Forest Folk

First, an Atteran's questions needed attention.

“Have your sisters ever wronged us?

“That is a very hard question to answer. Is the withholding of mercy simply turning away or is it a wrong, Lady Bekkah? If someone was to be executed for simply walking beneath Her light, is there not complicity when one turns their back as the axe is brought down?”

“Is telling a sword of Rames that we should be destroyed not a wrong because it was a man’s blade that did the cutting?”

The elder one’s cowl dropped.

“And yet we still hope that there might be one who is willing to see where other have chosen not to. If the horses are of more interest, well, to tell the truth, we understand.”

Keiko got a different manner of answer.

“Some things that are common to one people … are a matter that must be earned by another.’

By then Kadri has descended far enough to be heard, closer to the Guardian and those below than Mikal had been. Renyard tilted his head up, just the slightest bit, as Kadri spoke.

“Who am I? I am Renyard. I am our elder and most traveled of the Forest Folk.

“Who are we?”

His shoulders rose and fell, rustling the leather of his concealing cloak.

“Well it does start with Broke. Because it was Broke’s idea. Lady and myself, we thought it was a simple and fine thing. The three families here? They did not want to let us trade, until we told them the rule. When they realized it protected them as well as us and that we were willing to enforce the rule … they thought it was a very good and acceptable rule. The three guardsmen atop, they are fine with the peace it brings. Less trouble for them. The merchants may not like us much, but they are willing to send their apprentices here knowing that if they follow the rule, they won't be harmed and it’s a fast way to fill their cash boxes.

“The free Forest Folk? If they don’t agree to aide by it they are not allowed to come to Market.

“A bloke by the name of Tieg Larsen likes it, else he wouldn’t let Broke come to the Village for goods that can’t be gotten by wagon or farm.

“Oh … and one more fellow.

“A young rake. He really liked it. I think you know the lad. A rapscallion by the name of Dominic Dominie Korie.

Bekkah

His word stopped her.

"Yes, I believe it is wrong. At least when not in a battle then definitely so. Healing ones enemy so that they can cut you down makes no sense, but when the fighting is at an end, then I would lend my Lady's blessing on any."

"And I would stay any sentence that had no merit."

"That is what I was taught and my Lady has always blessed me when I have asked for her aid, so I believe I do her bidding as she would wish."

"As far as the horses, well they trust me." she said as she began to turn.

Keiko

In Renyard’s comments to both Dama Korie and Lady Bekkah, Keiko learned yet more specks of information about the Forest’s Children. Her conversations with Mikkie had shown that he approved of the One Rule, for it allowed him more time to sit in Her light and contemplate... well, whatever he contemplated. He was an excellent companion if one wished for enough quiet to hear the World.

But it was the Atteran’s final words that puzzled the young woman.

“Wait,” she said softly as she watched the healer start to turn away again. “I would ask you a question if you don’t mind, Lady Bekkah. A clarification, really.

“You say that the horses trust you, and I cannot find sense in the thought that they trust you and no other in your group. I would conclude, then, that you are saying you do not believe the people of this community trust you.”

The expression on her face — one of confusion and concern — made her look even younger than she was.

“I would not presume to speak for others or ask for your thoughts regarding any but myself.” Keiko shook her head. “But... but why might you think I would not trust you? You serve the Lady Attera. One of your sisters eased my Grandfather’s suffering in his final days. Another of your sisters healed my brother’s hand just last year when we all feared he would lose the use of it.”

Her violet eyes held a wealth of sadness.

“I cannot even speak for other Rhoni, save perhaps my Family’s Caravan. But we have always considered ourselves most fortunate when we encounter one of Lady Attera’s followers. Why would I not trust you?”

Keiko was truly perplexed. She understood that Renyard and his people had reason to distrust Imperials, although she did not know the history of that distrust. But even the Families that avoided the others of the Imperial Court held no such animosity against the Ladies of Attera.

Bekkah

"No, no no. I certainly didn't mean to imply that you do not. Far from it. I sense that if I were to reach out and touch you, you would not pull away. Even the farmers I spoke to seem to implicitly trust me. In fact, almost everywhere I go, I am usually welcomed. And I have traveled to many parts of the land. Farther than most of my sisters. So I admit, the problem is more mine than the forest people's. It is not something I am accustomed to."

"I had not even remotely expected my involvement in market day to bother anyone. For anyone to be afraid of me, strikes me deeply. I can only imagine their past. And I suspect that even my imagination does not measure up to understand their past."

"I need time to reflect on this. And again, I apologize if my words were misleading."

Keiko

She sighed and her smile return.

“Oh! I see now. Yes, that was silly of me to not take the whole of your experiences into account. But...” Keiko looked around the market, noting the smooth transactions that were happening now that things seemed to have settled down. She glanced once more over her shoulder at Renyard before looking the Atteran in the eyes.

“But you are not harming or alarming anyone while you stand here. Why go?”

Keiko laughed lightly. “Perhaps I’m being selfish in my desire to speak to someone new. The miller is not a talkative man. Missus Miller is a busy woman. The tower guards are not a wealthy source of good conversion, and Renyard here asks more question than I do. And Broke? Well, Broke is Broke. Some weeks I bring the Guardian a meat pie, other weeks I watch and observe the little ones until the Guardian has slipped away.

“But you have travel far and wide! Oh, to hear new tales of some of the places my Family’s Caravan has not visited!” Her smiled grew more delighted. “My brother was married at Midsummer. Our Family was to meet his wife’s Family near Bordertown. Have you been there? What is it like? Is it really as enormous as Trundle-on-the-Hill? And have you been to Dawnview Vale? Is it truly as beautiful as Kh’Lhy’Ra?”

Keiko definitely gave the impression of one who would listen attentively to every tale the Atteran told of every place the healer had visited... a young woman with the insatiable curiosity of a child.

Kadri:

She pauses after the answer and nods, briefly.

"Things to consider then, Reynard. If you will excuse me - I have friend to attend to before returning."

She does not, however, address Broke again directly, as he had not answered the question.

She then turns and moves up the cliff to Mikal

"A moment and something to consider, Mikal - no man owns your honor but you. No man can besmirch it but you. It lives here."

She taps his heart.

"And nothing that man can say changes that one bit. You are a good man, one of the best I know - with a bit of a temper, you have to admit. "

She grins widely.

"It might not be the proper time to indulge it. We need to observe. Watch. Learn."

"As to the theory - I am not sure that the status quo shuld be quickly upended; I have the impression that this arrangement has been that way for some time, and that implies that it had at least the tacit approval of Dominie, who - while scattered and sometimes seemingly a bit random is no fool. As for the dead imperial - I will not theorize until I know more. I need to talk at the market, talk to the others, talk to Thomas - once we know what we know and know also what we do NOT know - then, Mikal, we will be in a position to act. You know well that I am not one to shy away from upending tradition ... but I need to know what I am upending, and being uncouth does not in itself make a murderer. That in mind, let us visit the market - I have feelings that there will be much of interest there. Information before action. But if Broke speaks again - perhaps, for now, let me do the speaking yes?"

She gives him a light elbow, a grin and a wink.

Mikal - with Kadri (OOC - Kadri's reply seems to imply the earlier conversation was had and this is a follow-up, as it includes elements of that back-and-forth, so we'll go with that. This is said SOFTLY, only to Kadri.)

"Dominie giving tacit approval might lessen the offense, if he did indeed give such approval. It is common knowledge Dominie manages these lands, the one below putting Dominie's name in his mouth does not mean such approval was given. Don't you find it odd that Dominie would allow you to travel here, allow us to travel here, without mentioning that these Forest Folk not only were allowed to be here but that there was this giant swordsman who enforced his own special law? Surely Dominie would have warned you so you didn't run afoul of him?"

"Besides that, if we assume Broke does have some sort of a deputization from Dominie to be the Imperial "Police" here instead of the soldiery, again that's something you'd think would have been mentioned. The fact it was not leans towards it being something Broke imposed on his own and the locals go along because it happens to benefit them. It implies Dominie doesn't know."

"As to the Hasturian Investigator that was killed, the rule is supposedly 'No fighting'. He was killed either by Broke or at his direction, since Broke is the designated custodian of the 'No fighting' rule. He is responsible for that death. I see no other way to parse it, even if the Hasturian started a confrontation. And I am certain the Hasturians would definitely see it that way."

"It is also, at best, a breaking of Broke's own rule, and at worst murder. Not to mention there's a 'No Fighting' rule that is enforced by killing? Really?"

"As for his unprovoked personal insults and inability to understand what actually happened in the inn", he shrugs, "well I will follow your lead, of course, and not confront him about it. However I will not have anything to do with him. He is a bully and a moron. No better than Jakal Montague."

Kadri:

"For the moment, Mikal - I will not parse it at all until I know more. Believe me, if Broke broke his own one rule - then somehow it will have to be dealt with. But I want more to go on than implications, as so many things in my life recently have been much more complicated than they appear, even when they already appear complex."

A pause and a tilt of her head.

"I don't really like him either, but you need to also understand that my 'power' here is somewhat limited and in reality lies in Dominie - yes I am a Korie by name - I am also a woman, and pushing is likely to lose me what power I have. I must step carefully here. If I start just throwing weight around and upsetting the apple cart I will lose all chance of turning this place into something usable for our longer goals. Do you trust me Mikal? If I find true evil here rather than boorishness do you think that I will let it go on, whatever its form?"

She places a hand on his arm and looks up into his eyes.

"Trust me, Mikal, while I search out the whole truth - I hope I have earned that much. It is very important to me that I have your trust, because frankly I'm scared as hell of being in a position where I am responsible for other people - and there is just about nothing I would like better than to run and hide. I keep getting the crawling feeling inside which I have to tamp down that I am entirely inadequate to the job. But I can't do that. I can't run. Not now. I need a touchstone - a home base. You are it. I trust you with my life - do you trust me with this?"

Mikal - with Kadri and then Kadri & Reynard & others

A nods in agreement with all that Kadri says, and an answer.

"I trust you with my life, else I would not have agreed to lay it down for you." A simple statement, full of confirmation.

"And I trust you will find out the truth, in the way you feel is best. But know this about me. I have nothing. I am nothing. Other than my reputation and what people think of me."

"I also appreciate your comments that I am a good man, and I believe myself to be such. I have worked very hard my entire life since my family was taken and died to build a reputation as a good man. A man who help others who are downtrodden and need it."

He glances at Broke briefly. "Besmirching that reputation with false innuendo is just about the most deadly insult a person can do to me. It is as close to unforgivable as things can get."

"But, yes, you can deal with Broke. However I will not go unarmed in the face of a volatile potential murderer, and I'd advise you to keep your distance whenever yo do deal with him."

"So, now, rather than spend the day atop the tower as I had planned, we can show the Forest Folk what the result of unprovoked antagonizing of people by their appointed 'Guardian' has done, and how he has increased their risk with his stupidity. Though naturally I'd not harm anyone lest they threatened me or my friends."

"Shall we?" He heads back down the stairs with Kadri, moving past Broke, pausing only to ensure Kadri can make it past him safely. He wears his armour, sword and main gauche, as well as the Rhoni dagger, though he isn't touching any of them.

Upon reaching the ground, he moves towards Reynard to answer the man's comments a few minutes earlier.

"I am Mikal, and this is the Lady Kadri", he leaves it to Kadri to offer her full name if she wants to. "Peace is always welcome, regardless of how much your man above tries to create anger. Anger is typically the precursor to fighting, so perhaps you might suggest to him that he change his ways?"

"Peace is already the law, so the 'Rule' is a bit unnecessary, but if it contributes to peace little harm is done. As long as it applies to all." He casts a meaningful glance at the stairs where Broke is.

Keiko

Even in her eagerness to hear of lands beyond those where she had traveled, Keiko did not forget who and what she was. And so she noted the descent of Dama Korie and Mikal as they passed Broke and approached Renyard. How could she not? He was standing right beside her.

She looked toward the Jvrillian when he finished speaking. “You...” She was almost able to ignore the presence of the Rhoni blade, his words were so astounding. “What...?” She shook her head in confusion and looked up at Broke, then to the closer Forest Child’s chest.

“This is a test, yes? Broke does this to everyone? I know I am often unsure about the Small Kin, this is true. And so I wait for the proper way to address each, as asking such a thing might be considered rude. Ah! And here I am, once again using my own mores to interact with you. I have so much still to learn, Renyard!

“But...”

Then she stopped and looked at Mikal. She blinked once and then once more before looking up at Broke.

Then Keiko lifted both hands to cover her mouth to stifle her giggling. In the process, her cloak fell open just enough for others to see a few of the inner leather panels and her two daggers. While not of the traditional Rhoni design, they were well-made weapons meant for fighting. It was unmistakable from the way they were worn that if Keiko did, indeed, know how to use the daggers that she was a two-handed fighter.

After a heartbeat or two, the Rhoni lass lowered her hands and crossed her arms over her waist — as if to stop all the laughter from bubbling out — and she looked at Mikal again.

“I think it might be difficult to tell a man such as Broke to do anything at all, Mikal D’Allyne,” she said with laughter in her voice. “Broke may not be one of the legendary Dayalans of whom the Rhoni still sing, but she is certainly not a man!”

She looked at Renyard again. “But does the One Rule actually bring peace? Ah, so... now it is again my turn to question the questioner. What is peace but a concept to embrace?”

Keiko faced Mikal and Lady Kadri again. She spoke earnestly now, her mirth tucked back to an appropriate place. “How can one say that a concept is a law? Peace is a feeling, it is a way of being... perhaps. It is something that exists between Order and Chaos and even, at times — or so it is said — within each of them. Peace is something that one cannot find until one stops seeking it... like the currents of the world, it simply is. Or like a wave, it is not.

“It is not a thing that man can dictate for or against. Oh, certainly, Imperials and Nobles might say this thing or that thing is their law... but is that peace? No, no... it is merely Order. And Law.”

She shrugged then. “The One Rule allows all here at the market to experience a measure of peace if they wish to experience it. The One Rule allows Order to reign over Chaos while the Forest’s Children exchange their goods with the people of this small village. This is good. It can be seen as peace if you wish.” She tilted her head to one side as she looked up at him. “The feeling of peace is one I have known for much of my life. No law has put it there. It is always with me...” She smiled a bit sadly then. “...though sometimes I must seek it more diligently while not seeking it when the currents bring Chaos to reign over Order.”

Kadri:

"Lack of violence is a good thing, on that I think we can agree. I would also say that my knowledge regarding this place and its inhabitants is woefully underdeveloped at the moment - as unfortunately Dominie was unavailable to fill me in before I came."

Mikal

"Yes, peace has many definitions. You speak of only one. I speak of another. You speak of peace of the spirit. My peace is simply a surcease of violence. Violence, one against another, is already against the law. No man may fight with another without risking being arrested by the watch, and even possibly being questioned by the Imperials."

"Violence of one nation against another, one Duchy against another, Imperial versus non-Imperial", he shrugs, "that is diplomacy and beyond simple law."

He looks between Reynard and Keiko. "If Broke's insults and antagonism is a test, he should reveal that to those he tests. Else his actions and words strain his own One Rule and make it less likely to be followed. Unless, perhaps, he revels so much in violence himself that he yearns for one to break the rule so he can intervene?"

He shrugs again.

"Rightly or wrongly, that is the impression he gives. It is usually best to be a model for the behavior you desire others to follow. The behavior I just experienced was detestable."

Kadri:

"She gives. Although, yes, I have some annoyance with Broke's needling."

Keiko

She listened to his words and tried her best to understand them. Perhaps this was the Chaos suggested by the Cards — this attempt at communication.

“I speak of peace... not specific to the feelings in one’s heart or being, not specific to an application of Law.” Keiko looked at Mikal quizzically. “It is as if I spoke of rivers, yes? There are many! But rivers are moving water within the bounds of their riverbeds. Does the water move slowly or swiftly, is there little depth to it or deep hidden places? Each river is different, and one river can be different from moment to moment — and so in this way each manifestation of peace is different. What is peace today might not be peace tomorrow.”

But then she shrugged. Few saw the world in the way the Rhoni did. Just as she should not make assumptions about the Forest’s Children based on her heritage, she should not interpret his words from that place either. It was difficult, however, to understand the wave he rode.

“I do understand this lack of violence you speak of, although I think I might not call it peace. But our languages are different even when we speak the same one, for language is infused with the learnings we have found. I have not lived your life and you have not lived mine, and so...” She nodded, coming to a slowing of the current. “Yes. It would seem a reasonable thing that we might disagree on the great concepts and the words used for them.”

However, her brow furrowed at his mention of insults by Broke. “I meant Broke’s... ah, how is it said in Colonial? The perception of her essence? Your assumption that she is a man because she carries a sword? This is the test I meant. I have no knowledge of her words to you, but Broke is Broke.” Once more, Keiko shrugged. “I have not seen her enact violence upon anyone in all the time I have been here.”

Glancing at Broke and then Renyard, Keiko looked at all the Small Kin that Lady was beginning to gather back into a group to prepare to return to their home.

“Do you see the lillil’un there with the intricate hem? One day, two Jvrillians came with one of the merchants. They threatened that one. Even I, from my height on the rock at the mill, feared for the small one. Broke and the other guardians simply...” She looked back at Mikal. “...they simply stared down the swordsmen, who fled as if being pursued by Eastern hunters and their fell beasts. They were not touched.

“And yet they fled.

“So was violence done that day?

“No. Violence was prevented that day.

“I have not asked the question of Broke, but perhaps now I will when the opportunity arises... if only to know that I have understood some small part of her nature correctly. I do not think she likes violence at all, Mikal. I think she first spoke the One Rule to prevent violence.”

She gestured at his weapons, then indicated her own. “That we have weapons — you and I — means that we understand there is violence in the world. I would prefer never to use my daggers for anything beyond a threat to any who might think to harm me. I would prefer that they are seen only as a symbol, a sign that I am not a helpless damsel.” Then she sighed. “But there are times when the currents rush in such a way that there seems to be violence with each wave.

“It makes me sad that you have formed such an impression of one I have come to admire. Perhaps time will allow you to know Broke as someone more complex than the pronouncer of her One Rule.”

Keiko nodded toward the Guardian. “She keeps all these in the market safe, just as you keep Dama Korie safe. And, as Renyard was kind enough to inform me, her temper is less smooth when her fast has not yet been broken.”

She held up a hand as she smiled. “Do not think that I am apologizing for Broke, for I am only saying that all of the World is complex... and most especially the people who inhabit it.”

The Heartwood
Waverider’s Watch
The Dirkwood Forest
Marketday, the Fourth Day of Yrick

Mikal, Kadri, Cesare, Bekkah, Keiko... and an occupation of Forest Folk

“Reflection is good, Lady Bekkah... but I would, as it is my nature, ask whether or not you have to do so alone?

“And if there are gaps in your knowledge that might answer the questions you have... how will you seek them out?”

Renyard added his words to the Rhoni’s as Kadri and Mikal continued down the stairs, past the Guardian, to reach those gathered, and engage in reasonable conversation; at least reasonable when defined as not having to call up or down a set of stairs to do so.

The first response given the newcomers came from the Forest Folk’s elder. If there was any reaction from his kin or change of stance, it could not be seen past shadowed hoods or behind the fall of long cloaks.

“The Lady Korie? It is surprising to see you this far from your native home and your adopted home. We have hearrrd about your courtship and marriage, and found it most interrrresting.

“When it comes to anger, I think that the young Korie Lord has spoken well on that subject; it would be certainly unseemly for me to rrrrepeat what you, as his wife, already must know. As for the rest...”

The shadowed cowl nodded to the Rhoni lass.

“...young Keiko has the gist of things. Perhaps her explanation is rich; does it not seem that she has an innate recognition on how the world moves around us? If you wish I can simplify.”

Belled sleeves folded together behind his back. He looked up the stairs.

“Broke, do you want to address the first matter?”

From above just came a snort.

“Fine... fine... fine...”

Gathering himself up, the shadowed cowl turned toward Kadri.

“Lady Korie, I apologize for my language. As Keiko noted, our guardian is not, as assumed by your man, an asshole.

“She is a bitch.”

Renyard did not, however, let matters tarry on such a clarification.

“For her second point, Keiko touches matters again accurately. If all this were a test, would not the better question be not if it were a test at all, but what were the conclusions drawn? I am suspect that is a question with many answers.

Again, the elder did not tarry.

“The last point that the Rhoni lass has correct is the one regarding law.

“Peace has never been the law of the land. In the First Age, it was power; those who had it made the rules. The Second Age followed the customs of nature; if one was being cynical, it was eat or be eaten. Those with a more enlightened point of view taught that folks who had a closer relationship with nature would have a more successful life than folks who did not.

“This is the Imperial Age.

“The law of the land is not peace. It is Order.

“In the maintenance of that Order, not only is violence is a matter of course, it is sanctioned. Never forget that the Imperial court is a strictly defined hierarchy.

“Lady Bekkah is an Imperial Lady. If she wished someone to be killed or beaten, her word is an actionable proclamation. Only another Imperial can lay charges on her. If a Noble wishes to beat a commoner, they may do so without fear of the Law. If a commoner beats a serf or a slave, that is fine too. Then come Pagans, Witches, Easterners and Sorcerers... traditionally in that order.

“Why do we know this so well?

“Because my kith and kin are the caste below Sorcerers.”

The Forest Folk elder shrugged his shoulders, the leather of his cloak rustling.

“But we all understand the rule of Order and Law is a sword that cuts both ways.

“We have a law. While it will not stop anyone from hurting us, it does provide us a modicum of protection if we find need to defend ourselves.

“You have been told our One Rule. We ask that you remember that today is our Marketday. What you do now is, as always, your choice.

“In truth, I hope your stay is an enjoyable one.”

Kadri:

" in truth I do not care which appellation is used, male or female - it is behaviour described - not that which lies betwixt the legs. Moreover, aside from where the reality of it imperial and noble life forces it to be so - which are regretfully many - there are really very few ways i personally care . Your kith and kin are people - and with that inherit all of the good and bad of that condition. I will thus treat with you and yours accordingly - fair enough?'

Mikal (OK, lots of stuff to reply to, will try to get it all in the right sequence)

Listening to Keiko first, he shakes his head. "I did not presume.., she was a man because she carried a sword. I have spent many months in the company, and employ of Dayalans, more than one of whom I call friend. A title I do not give lightly."

"No, I called her a man as she is larger than any woman I have ever met. Larger than most men in fact. And her voice is that of a man (Wolf - if her voice was that of a woman it wasn't mentioned, and would have been a clear give-away)."

"As to the concept of non-violence and Order", he turns to include Reynard in his response. "I submit they are one and the same. Violence is a lack of order. Peace is order."

He glances at Broke. "It is true that those of higher station often feel entitled to visit violence on those they believe to be below them, and if those of higher station are in power they will often create Law to codify their ability to do so without consequence. Yet that too is not the violence of which I speak."

"Your One Rule would not stop a Khoral from whipping a farmer here who gave offense, if he should decide that such punishment was appropriate. Were he here, with an army. Knights of Rames and Hasturian Inquisitors. I doubt even telling him of it would garner more than laughter."

"No. Such violence is enshrined in Law, but it is not Order."

"The violence I speak of is between one man and another. Equals, as you and I are. I use the term 'man' generically here. It includes women. No man should be able to visit violence on another without repercussions. Were I to beat one of the soldiers in the tower unconscious, I should be subject to arrest, whether they were Imperials or not. Were I to beat one of the farmers here it should be the same. Were I to beat one of you, unprovoked, it should be still the same. I say should, as often there are exceptions made. But again, that is not Order, even if it is Law. Law and Order are not the same thing. Order is absolute. Law changes with the wind."

"I know this as I have spent my life upholding Justice and Order, often at the expense of Law. I have supported the farmer against those who felt they had a right to abuse him, and who had the Law on their side."

"I have met, and befriended Easterners and Coverners while at the same time fighting demons and Sorcerors. It is not what a person is called that makes them what they are, it is what a person is", he taps his chest, giving Kadri a quick wink. "Inside. And how they act. How they treat others, especially those with less might than they."

"Might does not make right, and Law does not equal Order. I have learned this lesson many times during my life."

He normally would have been more careful talking about Easterners and Coveners, but he has no concerns that any of those he is speaking with here are a risk. Kadri shared his experience, the Forest Folk are certainly not going to go running to the Hasturians, and Keiko has clearly befriended them.

Keiko

She let Mikal finish what he had to say, although she shivered at some of his words and pulled her cloak tightly around herself again. It was not the chill of the day that caused the sense of icy cold around her, but his words...

Violence is a lack of order. Peace is order.

And she stood silently for a heartbeat... two heartbeats... before speaking.

“Your pardon, Mikal D’Allyne, but I have seen the order of violence. I have traveled many places and have even spent much time in the city of Kh’Lhy’Ra. The Thousand Towers are a beautiful sight to behold.”

Keiko closed her eyes and whispered, “If you simply look on most days, you would see only the beauty and not the Chaos within the Towers. But the violence of some days...” She shook her head. “...there is a very precise order to the violence. You might think that banners simply hung from the towers... unless you knew that another prince had found another mistress lacking in some never-to-be-known way.”

When she opened her eyes again, their violet color was more pronounced than before. A trick of the light, perhaps.

“If you count among your friends the merchant prince of the Family Hythanian...” She simply stared at him for a moment, lips pressed tightly together. “Well. That is one thing.

“If you count among your friends a lost daughter of a great prince...” She took a single ragged breath. “Well. That is another thing.

“I have lived in the East and do not count any as my friends. Our Family has traded with them. My elders felt it wise for me to not read the Cards for any but the most insignificant inhabitants of the city. Of course, now they...” She paused and swallowed. “...they have their own...”

The light had not been playing tricks, for it was now evident that Keiko was holding back tears.

“All Rhoni are kin! I am sure that your Eastern friends can tell you of my kinswoman’s fate!

“Oh, so orderly! So violent! She of the Violet Eyes will not have peace until she dies. Did your Eastern friends tell you what that means?”

Shaking her head, Keiko took a step back... away from the newcomers. Why did she feel safer with the Forest’s Children than an Imperial Lady, a Noble Dama, and their guardsman?

“Which of us is more naive?” she asked softly. “You speak of an idealized world that should be, but is not. I live in the World I see and touch and hear and smell and taste. I live in the World and I travel with the currents. I see that all things come and go. You insist on absolutes... Order, Peace, Violence, Chaos.

“All things change. The currents change. The stream I dipped my hand in yesterday will not be the same stream I dip my hand in tomorrow — even if I kneel on the very same rock in the very same way. For the stream itself has changed.

“Nothing... absolutely nothing that you perceive can be counted on to be a certainty. Not beyond the moment in which you perceive it. All you can know with certainty is who you are.

“Do not try to impose your vision of what you perceive and what you believe on others, for then you are you better than the princes in their brightly colored towers, no better than the Imperials who sit in their fancy castle in Trundle, no better than the Nobles who sit snugly in their keeps... and all around them people like me, people like my friends here, people like the old grandmother I met who still practiced the ways of the Coven... we are hunted. At best, we are shunned.”

Keiko wasn’t quite angry... that was a difficult thing to do. But she was certainly frustrated. She looked up at Broke when she spoke next.

“The One Rule is a good rule. Here, at the edge of the Forest that some call Dirkwood, we see no Khoralls. We see merchants and their guards. We see the Miller and the farmers and their wives and their sons and their daughters. We see the Forest’s Children... the Guardians, the Small Kin, the Questioner, the lovely Lady Peaceful.

“The One Rule lets all be safe and at ease on Marketday. Except the elders, the merchants. They are just plain silly folk.”

She took her gaze from the Guardian on the step above and returned it to Kadri and then Mikal.

“Why can you not simply accept what you see here, that this is a good thing? It is no less good just because it was Broke who first spoke the One Rule. All have agreed to abide by it. So why swim upstream? You might be in a cross current against Broke, but that does not mean that the waves that were created by the One Rule don’t bring stability to this place.”

Keiko sighed heavily and looked at Renyard. After a blink of her eyes, one corner of her mouth quirked up in the beginnings of a smile. “Lady Peaceful. I have only heard her called Lady, but I hope she does not mind that I think of her that way. Like the Lady Healer...” She tilted her head toward Bekkah. “...she brings to mind kindness and makes me want to smile.”

She ducked her head and peeked out through black and red hair the fell across her face when she looked at Bekkah.

“I would still like to hear of your travels, Lady Bekkah. Perhaps you have been to places that cousins have not visited and so could not bring back stories. Every story of a place in the World that had no story before... these are treasures.”

Kadri:

"The friend from the east, Keiko, fled the east. Fled the tall towers and the princes who war when they are bored. Fled being a sacrifice. Is now dedicated to the lady Aterra and I will hear nothing against her even by implication - she has lost and sacrificed and I would do the same for her without pause."

She says without rancor, then raises up a hand.

"Enough of philosophy - I do accept that here and now the One Rule is the One rule and its continuance, for whatever reason is best. If it works then it works and Kadri would add her blessing of it to that of Dominic. Keiko - I may have been born to Terilanquel and later married to Korie, between I lived in a small room under the stairs at the in need nd worked keeping an eye on warehouses. I have questions of course - but they are only that - questions, if I am to spend much time here I have need of some knowledge of things which went before - including things that have happened which could disrupt what you have going here if left unchecked by attracting entirely the wrong sort of attention here."

She places a hand on Mikal's arm in a 'hold, for now' - please -' motion, and again looked at him. His passions ran deep. She understood that. So did hers. So did all of her brothers and sisters back home - but for the moment it was the time and place for placid waters.

Her head cocks to one side.

"Also if you wish I can tell stories in addition to Bekkah of my travels. Of the plains of Amber for example - of the seas of grass and the whispering wind and the horizon only bounded by the sky, and sun, by moon and storm. I have been told by some that I can spin a good yarn when I put my head to it, if the folk here have desire for tales."

Keiko

A single, simple nod was the reply to Kadri’s information about the Eastern friend of theirs.

“So. You know the daughter of the great prince,” she said quietly. “She is safe.”

The Rhoni paused for barely a heartbeat as implications fell into place.

“We did not know. I fear the princes know...” That no Rhoni — save for one — remained in the Eastern lands was a current too treacherous to ignore. “I think you have misunderstood me Dama Kadri. I am well acquainted with that daughter’s role in maintaining the greater balance of the World. The Cards have told of this for a generation or more. That the currents led my distant kinsmen to change the movement of the waves to enable that safety? It says more than anything you could tell me.”

She seemed to relax ever so slightly.

“The Imperial Lady Attera can do little to protect her. That she now follows that path is...” Keiko sighed. “It surely points to why Madoka of the Homura Family would sacrifice herself.” She bit her lip; saying more would be improper. Gaija should not know so much of the Rhoni ways. “I hope you have surrounded her with more protection than her position as a follower of the Lady of Mercy and Compassion. On this side of the Mountains, that may be enough to ensure her safety.

“Those of the East do not care and do not fear the wrath of the Young Gods, the Imperial Court.”

And yet, did her Cards not show her that this place — Waverider’s Watch — was of significance? The Dragon still slept; it had not awakened to find itself reversed. It gave Keiko some hope, a small measure of peace.

She had her own waves to ride, and it would seem those waves were caused by the currents here. Rhomanishkah al’lhahrhonsha al’khylyrishkatsarinish had far different waves to ride. Keiko could only hope that the Fates were kind to the daughter of a terrible prince. She, too, should know some peace in this life.

Finally, she shook her head and chuckled. “Many stories are told of the Plains. Your Fathers do not like visitors and yet certain Families seem to be drawn to the place.” She shrugged and smiled. “I would like to actually see the horses running... but the stories of them are told so well that I can almost imagine it.”

Mikal (OOC - occurs to the first reply, prior to Kadri's response, and prior to Keiko's reply above)

He listens with a frustrated look on his face to Keiko's reply. So much of what she said is the same as what he said. He said the One Rule was fine, only that he felt it was redundant.

So much of what she implied he said, is simply wrong. He said people are what they are inside, not what people call them and he never said he wished to impose anything on anyone. In fact he told her he had fought for the exact opposite.

So much else is philosophical nonsense; Who cares whether the river runs over the same rock it did yesterday, as long as one can drink from it without being arrested by some lord who created an arbitrary law saying it belonged to him?

Or just incorrect. He has spent his life experiencing violence. He knows how inherently Chaotic it is. There is nothing, nothing Orderly about it. Anyone who has been involved in large scale, violent, battles would laugh at the concept that they represent Order.

What she speaks of is the use of violence to support Law. That is completely different than the inherent aspect of Order. Order is calmness, tranquility, things she said herself just a few minutes ago, and has nothing to do with Law, which is an arbitrary, man made thing.

He is about to reply when he feels Kadri place her hand upon his arm, so he lets her speak.

Kadri:

"Just Kadri will do. At least here, you need not call me anything else. And I think. - that perhap there is much talking and little listening going on from all angles, and people not understanding what is being said. Let me try again. People are people, whatever their title - and while the world as is might not feel obliged to treat them that way, I do. Kadri of the Terilanquel, a line on a breeding chart to be matched to another line, Kadri of the Korie or Kadri the girl who lives under the stairs at an Inn and watches warehouses are all most importantly Kadri. Mikal is Mikal, whatever else he may be - and blood or accident of birth make them no less people. I do not care that your people of the forest are viewed as lowly. Surely I don't view myself as belonging above them by nature. Peace is good. Order is good. Law is men imposing their own views of order on the world - law is only connected to order to the degree it supports it. When law supports chaos, law IS chaos. Violence is chaos.

[ooc: I know this should have been well before the others came down. If it messes with the flow too much I'll delete it]

Bekkah

She laughed at the girl's enthusiasm. It was a sweet laugh, not a mocking one.

"Yes to all of it. I've spent a good amount of time in Bordertown and Dawnview Vale and every little village anywhere near there. We can talk more of these places and I can answer all of your questions one at a time." she said still smiling.

To Renyard, she nodded.

"My Goddess is always with me. I always feel her presence, but the solitude helps me focus myself. But I suppose I can do so later." she said watching their friends approach from up the path.