flexibility

[calescent]

They leave Thiyec, cross Soche-Tas, and re-enter Welce.

Kiri sends a letter Jayce's way as soon as they stop in a Welchin town. It's brief - we found the Lalindar prime, we'll drop him off and my next stop is the palace so please forward my correspondence there.

The Lalindar house, on inspection, appears to be completely empty. There's a note from the butler on the dining room table stating - in appropriately formal language - that no one was paying them and so they have left, but he, the cook, the gardeners, and the maids may be contacted at the following addresses respectively if the new prime, when located, wishes to re-employ their services. Unlike the Ardelay house at the time of Elytte's death, this house as of Nerine's death contains no extended family. There's nothing to do but for Loel to move in. Kiri draws him a little map of the route between the estate and the nearest town, where he will probably want to buy groceries, and she and Aleko leave to let him plan his moat.

They're at the palace the following day.

Comments

[pythbox]

Should they look for him, they will find Prince Isten in the palace library.

[calescent]

Kiri looks.

"Hey, Isten," she says. Looking for warmth apart from the prince, she finds none in the library; she won't be overheard if she continues: "I found your brother. He's going by Loel Lalindar, now."

[pythbox]

...He blinks at her, surprised into complete speechlessness.

[calescent]

"So he's not going to come visit you here for the foreseeable future," she says. "And you probably shouldn't tell anybody that you know who Loel Lalindar is. Or describe him in lots of detail if you go visit him. But he thought you could be told."

[pythbox]

"Father will be absolutely volcanic if he finds out," he says. "I won't say a word."

Then he smiles, a little.

"Is he okay? Is he happy?"

[calescent]

"He's okay. He's building a moat. I think if he'd had the choice he'd have let somebody else be prime and gone on living where he was, but he's okay."

[pythbox]

"Good. I'm glad." The smile turns into a grin. "A moat, huh? Is he excited about it?"

[calescent]

"He's so excited about his moat. It's cute."

[pythbox]

Isten giggles. "That's my brother, all right."

[calescent]

"Yes. But for the time being, it's just a matter of, 'oh, Ardelay found a distant Lalindar cousin of some kind somewhere abroad, his name is Loel'. I'm going to write Alser a letter, since I know he hasn't been well enough to be here - is Auney around?"

[pythbox]

"Auney... ah," says Isten. "Auney tried to fly again, while you were gone. It didn't work. You want Sarelle Dochenza. I think she's still in the city but I haven't seen her in a few days."

[calescent]

"...Who Dochenza? I haven't heard of her."

[pythbox]

"Neither had most people. She's, um..." He searches for words, then shakes his head. "You'll see when you meet her."

[calescent]

"...Okay. So, if I'm next in this series of prime-related disasters, I doubt anyone will ask you and I do have it written down, but Aleko can dispose of my personal belongings according to his discretion and you should feel free to write him if you want anything," says Kiri, exasperated. "Is Sarelle the type to try to fly or can we expect to hold on to this Dochenza a little longer?"

[pythbox]

"I don't think you're going to have to worry about her," he says, trying not to smile and mostly succeeding. "She's very, um, practical."

[calescent]

"A practical Dochenza. Well, that's new and exciting," snorts Kiri. "Okay. I'll go look for her and then I've got letters to write."

[pythbox]

"Okay," says Isten. "It was nice to see you again, Kiri."

[calescent]

"You too, Isten."

And then she is off in search of Sarelle Dochenza, rumored to be both practical and potentially on the premises.

[calendarofcrime]

Where oh where could she be?

She certainly couldn't be that very obviously hunti woman dressed in crisp black and white and striding purposefully through the palace's main kierten from the direction of the outer doors.

Who stops short when she sees Kiri, and looks at her like a bird of prey examining a potential meal, and says: "Kiribel Ardelay?"

[calescent]

Kiri stops. "Hello? Is it important? I'm in a touch of a hurry and most non-urgent inquiries can go through my brother."

[calendarofcrime]

"I know where to find the missing Serlast prime," she says. "Or at least I know where to start looking. Is that sufficiently important?"

[calescent]

Kiri opens her mouth, and then closes it again, and then says, "That is quite important, but I'd like to at least start the process of informing everyone that I already found the missing Lalindar, which means finding, apparently, Sarelle Dochenza and then writing a letter to Alser Frothen."

[calendarofcrime]

"You have found Sarelle Dochenza," she says dryly. "Congratulations. Where was the Lalindar?"

[calescent]

"You're Auney's successor?" This woman comes across as very obvious hunti; some people have deceptive "crowns" of this or that, but primes less often.

[calendarofcrime]

"Yes," she says. "I am, as my sister often tells me, the least elay elay ever to elay, but I am apparently elay enough."