:Oh, anyone who can verify to me that they'd know for sure if your country had struck first or planned to do so will be fine:

:Right. Um, as the King's Own, I'm pretty sure I would know. We're calling in our allies and we're going to be staging troops at the border, after the recent attacks, but we don't intend to attack first. For one, we have very little idea where his army is, aside from 'north of the Ice Wall mountains': 

:Okay, but if you found out where it is?:

:Valdemar has a longstanding policy against invading other territories. Which, honestly, I think we carried too far in the last war, but - it's hard to imagine what would push Randi into marching north without, er, a much stronger indication that his army was actually invading: 

She stops. Goes silent for a moment. 

:...Iftel might. They're our neighbours and allies and we just sent Queen Karis over to ask for their help: 

:Well, that's not great but I'm not going to withhold weather-magic in your own territory because you have allies who might be itching for a fight, I suppose:

Nod. :I appreciate it: 

:Can someone tell me what the weather is supposed to be like around here this time of year and I can start?:

:I think Kilchas has a book on it, he does a lot of our weather magic - I can have him swing by and give you the rundown?: 

:That would help as I cannot read your language:

A few minutes later, Kilchas arrives to explain local weather patterns and weather-magic practices to her. He's an older man, wizened and grey-haired, visibly out of breath from his walk over. 

She takes notes in her own language to consult and then she's just waiting on a talisman to get started taking care of the snow situation.

Dara invites her to join them for lunch again, and has a talisman for her. 

Aza eats up - weather is hungry work - and puts it around her neck. :Thanks:

:You're welcome. We really, really appreciate that you're willing to help with this: 

:I mean I wouldn't have felt great about occupying a room and eating your food and not doing literally anything, and I like weather work:

:Makes sense: Dara shakes her head. :No other news for you, I'm afraid. Jisa will be raising a Gate to White Winds again in three days, to bring their recruits over, so we might hear from them if your people came looking for you. ...But I'm not hopeful: 

:Me either:

The rest of that day is uneventful. Kilchas is a strong Mindspeaker and occasionally touches base with her about weather-working. Later in the afternoon, Dara asks if she would also be willing to cover some badly-neglected routine maintenance - does she know book-preservation or stone-fortifying spells? 

She knows book-preservation and would be happy to learn stone-fortifying if they want to teach her.

They would be! Sandra can teach her. Also King Randale is available to meet her tomorrow morning, if she’s interested in that.

Sure, why not, she's never met a king before.

Then Dara will take her over the next morning after breakfast.

She pauses just outside what’s apparently the royal suite; it’s still not very fancy, even compared to standard classrooms at the Tower. 

:I should warn you. Randi has - some sort of incurable illness. He’s...well, he’s dying. And looks it. I didn’t want that to be a total surprise:

:I understand:

And they go in.

King Randale, indeed, looks like a man on his deathbed. Skeletally thin, skin loose and papery over his bones, hair not so much prematurely grey as colorless, eyes sunk deep into their sockets. 

“Azabel,” he says out loud.

:He’s barely a Mindspeaker: the green-robed woman sitting at his bedside explains. :I can relay, if that’s easiest: