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

[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."

[calescent]

"Okay then. He was in Thiyec but now he's in the Lalindar country house. His name is Loel. I found him by seeing what locations had been suffering from excess rain. How do you think you've tracked down the missing Serlast? There wouldn't be anything obvious for wood and bone."

[calendarofcrime]

"Genealogy," she says. "I looked up every record of every relative of every previous hunti prime I could find, and then narrowed it down to only the ones who had left Welce recently enough that they might still be alive to inherit the primacy but who were not still in contact such that they might have heard the news. And I found one woman who left the country twenty-one years ago with her weeks-old baby. She went to Malinqua. I propose to go to Malinqua and find her, or the child, because one of them is very likely to be the missing prime."

[calescent]

"That definitely sounds worth doing, yes. After this long I'd expect even an unknown illegitimate descendant to have come forward, so a branch that moved to Malinqua is promising. When are you going?"

[calendarofcrime]

"I was planning to wait for you, as the most experienced prime who is not currently bedridden. Would you like to go to Malinqua?"

[calescent]

"I... don't speak a word of Malinquan. What do you want me to do?"

[calendarofcrime]

"It seems prudent to have someone along who knows the business of primes. I can translate for you if required."

[calescent]

"Okay. Sure, we can go to Malinqua if you can plan the search route and I can bring my twin brother."

[calendarofcrime]

"Of course," she says. "I, however, will leave my twin sister at home."

[calescent]

"As you like. I just bring Aleko with me most everywhere. Do you have passage booked, a schedule...?"

[calendarofcrime]

"Not yet. When would be convenient for you to leave? I will arrange it."

[calescent]

"I need to write two - no, three letters. One for the king, one for Alser - or his granddaughter Patience who's expected to succeed him, if he's not well enough to read it by the time it arrives - and one for my other brother who's managing my affairs in my absence. After that I can leave at any time, though I'd like at least one night in my nice comfy palace bed before traveling again."