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Sarelle and the Ardelay twins go to their inn. They are greeted there the following day by Ekador apparently-Serlast, who says he'll be another two days settling up his affairs and then they can all go to Welce.
Ekador packs quite lightly for someone who's leaving the country on short notice and otherwise bears negligible personality resemblance to Loel. The carriage isn't particularly crowded as they make their way back to the port to find a boat leading back to Welce.
"There are three stops to make," Kiri tells him as they drive. "Although we'll land close to Chialto, I don't think that should be the first place we go. You'll have a much smoother go of taking over as uncontested prime if you can demonstrate at least minor magical power on demand - I don't think fielding questions of your legitimacy is anyone's idea of a good time and it would be better to have more than Sarelle's word to lean on. It doesn't help that anyone but her will mistake you for sweela. The Serlast estate is a couple of days by carriage from Chialto, there's a forest on the property, it's supposed to be special to the Serlasts, and going and having a walk around it might give you an idea of how to perform some minor visible magic."
"Might not. Loel figured out how to do magic without jumping into the Marisi River," shrugs Aleko.
"It might not. But it's worth a try if you don't have an epiphany before we get there," says Kiri. "Anyway, some of your cousins are living at the Serlast estate - off the top of my head, one of Valdin's children, his younger sister, and one of his grandsons, but I don't know how you're related to the family so I don't know who they are to you. You can kick them out if you want, but I recommend getting to know them and soliciting their help with the family business, and you have plenty of room to continue to board them. The Chialto house of the Serlasts was empty last I heard, but I'd be willing to bet you can re-hire Valdin's old servants if you want them, and you're entitled to maintain your own suite at the palace, too. You can divide your time between these places more or less however you please, although if you neglect the palace then the royal family may start issuing pointed invitations, and you might want to become acquainted with Prince Isten in particular, as he is heir to the throne and it's his succession you're necessary to ratify later."
"Isten's eleven," Aleko adds. "Coru, quiet."
"Questions?" Kiri inquires. "Do you want me to write any of that down, possibly in chart format?"
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calescent
calescent
"Well, compared to you. Eighty percent of the reading I do is of you, you're the natural comparison point. She's only a little more self-conscious about it than, say, Jayce."
pyrophyte
"I see. So, at least, any trouble Loel gives me will be completely his own invention," Ekador concludes.
calescent
"At least, yes. And if I catch any more quietly simmering feuds I will no longer assume that they will quietly simmer without affecting anything materially important forever."
calescent
"Well, I would have done something when I was eight and it was still surprising, but I suspected two adults wouldn't be very receptive to mediation from a little girl, and by the time I no longer matched the description I was accustomed to it. You could call it experience, I suppose."
calescent
"Hard to say. I probably should have prodded Alser about it. Or Jerist, though he'd have been less useful."
calendarofcrime
"We will be arriving at the port very shortly," says Sarelle, quite possibly making herself heard via magic of some kind; her voice shouldn't be that clear from outside the carriage.
calescent
"Thanks," calls Kiri. "And then I guess we find the first available boat to Welce with room for four. Does my proposed itinerary after that sound good to you?" she asks Ekador.
pyrophyte
"Draw blessings to demonstrate the process to me, visit the Serlast estate and its forest, then to Chialto to visit the Serlast house there and the palace in that order? I have no objections."
calescent
"Okay, good. I'm not sure if Sarelle will want to accompany us for any of that, she might have other things to do - she's pretty new to primacy herself. Has technically been a prime for less time than you or Loel; Auney died while I was away looking for the Lalindar."
calescent
"Yes. Unless Alser has died in the last couple of days, but Patience still has more familiarity with a lot of the features of the job than you."
calescent
After they arrive at port, return the carriage and its horses, with surprisingly little ado book passage on a vessel bearing assorted fabric, set out, become seasick (Aleko only), and arrive in Chialto some days later -
the first thing Kiri does is drop off a letter written en route for Jayce updating him on her endeavors and itinerary, but the second thing she does is look for a temple.
the first thing Kiri does is drop off a letter written en route for Jayce updating him on her endeavors and itinerary, but the second thing she does is look for a temple.
calendarofcrime
Sarelle accompanies them at least that far.
She also directs them with minimal fuss to the nearest temple.
She also directs them with minimal fuss to the nearest temple.
calescent
"So, this is a fairly typical Welchin temple," Kiri tells Ekador as they enter. "Color-coded pews so you can meditate on whatever element in a color-coded environment, for some reason, and the bin of blessings up front. We can all four draw for each other."
calendarofcrime
"All right," she says agreeably.
She draws patience for Aleko, persistence for Kiri, and flexibility for Ekador.
She draws patience for Aleko, persistence for Kiri, and flexibility for Ekador.
liakoura
Aleko reaches into the bin. He hands Kiri a creativity, Ekador a surprise, and Sarelle a patience.
calendarofcrime
"I predict I will be spending time with my sister in the near future," says Sarelle. "My patience is considerable, but the blessings don't tend to remind me of that fact unless I am about to need it."