After Adarin and Isabella depart, Edarial gets back to juggling projects. Unsurprisingly, Iobel is a large help in this. Once she gets a handle on all of the things involved with being a monarch, he can not constantly be doing that alone. He still helps, he's still there doing monarch things and fixing the country, but now he's got a bit more free time to devote to other things.
Accordingly, there's a project he picks back up that he was only tinkering with before his marriage. He'd like to reinvent the fountain that heals familiars, have there be others in strategic locations, so that spellbinders don't need to rush to the capitol to avoid being unmade. Progress on the project's always been slow, there's a reason that it hasn't just been reinvented immediately after the spell charts were lost, but he's got some very good reasons to work on it with a near-obsessive zeal.
One day, to his utter surprise, when he goes to find another portion of the spell-chart to complete, he can't find it. He stares at the chart, stunned. Then he starts checking his work. It takes him a few days to finish the corrections.
Then he's done. He's remade a revolutionary spell chart.
He picks up the huge spell chart, does his best to fold it down to a reasonable travel size, and then heads off to show the nearest spell binder - Iobel.
royal_obligation
come_midnight
"And then we wouldn't have a chance to talk to our alts about his likely demands, first. If he knows. Let's go catch a boat right now." She motions to the rescue worker and speaks up a bit. "Excuse me, sir, our familiars are in there and for the next fifteen minutes or so we'll go through walls if we touch them, as which category all of this junk most likely qualifies. They have the fountain and will be all right if there's some incidental reshuffling of the stuff, but if you could help us unbury them we'd be much obliged."
"Of course, your majesty," replies the rescue worker, and he directs his people in, follows Iobel's instructions about where to start to get at the cat and the snake, and has a path made for two reasonably agile and little animals before the wall-walk has worn off.
"Of course, your majesty," replies the rescue worker, and he directs his people in, follows Iobel's instructions about where to start to get at the cat and the snake, and has a path made for two reasonably agile and little animals before the wall-walk has worn off.
royal_obligation
Berathyme slithers out, nodding to the rescue worker approvingly.
"Thank you very much," says Edarial, sincerely to the rescue worker. "Do you want - money or a reward of some kind?"
He sounds so tired, now.
"Thank you very much," says Edarial, sincerely to the rescue worker. "Do you want - money or a reward of some kind?"
He sounds so tired, now.
come_midnight
"I'm in the pay of the city, your majesty, but if you'd be so inclined the firehouse could use a bit of Crown funding," says the one who does the talking while his co-workers get to work on the rest of the rubble to dig out the guards' bodies.
Iobel catches Cricket when he jumps into her arms. She starts murmuring in his ear to explain what's happened.
Iobel catches Cricket when he jumps into her arms. She starts murmuring in his ear to explain what's happened.
royal_obligation
"I'll get them the extra funding," he agrees, nodding. "Thank you."
Berathyme surveys the results, but does not ask to know what happened. Time for that later, when she is not surrounded by people that don't know she speaks all languages ever.
Berathyme surveys the results, but does not ask to know what happened. Time for that later, when she is not surrounded by people that don't know she speaks all languages ever.
come_midnight
Cricket has no such constraint. "Why were the people not digging you out before? Is it because they are terrible?" he wonders.
"No, no," Iobel murmurs back. "These people are not terrible. The people who were shouting at Edarial before and wanted him to change the system of government were getting in their way so that they would be there if Zevros came to get his brother."
There is a pause, and then Cricket launches into a long, eloquent tirade about the terrible protestors and why their ideas are bad and they are awful. This tirade is only about 15% on the subject of Iobel being excellent and her queenhood being superior to any other possible system of governance.
"No, no," Iobel murmurs back. "These people are not terrible. The people who were shouting at Edarial before and wanted him to change the system of government were getting in their way so that they would be there if Zevros came to get his brother."
There is a pause, and then Cricket launches into a long, eloquent tirade about the terrible protestors and why their ideas are bad and they are awful. This tirade is only about 15% on the subject of Iobel being excellent and her queenhood being superior to any other possible system of governance.
royal_obligation
Edarial listens to this tirade, amused and for the most part in agreement.
At one particularly correct point, he laughs softly, smiling.
At one particularly correct point, he laughs softly, smiling.
come_midnight
Cricket eventually runs out of things to say by the time they've gotten on a boat, and then he curls up in Iobel's lap and falls asleep.
She's yawning herself.
She's yawning herself.
royal_obligation
Edarial is looking quite droopy, too, but he keeps stopping himself from falling asleep. Eventually he decides that conversation is the best bet.
"So what sorts of things should go in a constitution?" he muses.
"So what sorts of things should go in a constitution?" he muses.
come_midnight
"Don' wanna think about that till I've slept and have a notebook in front of me," mumbles Iobel, sort of collapsing in his direction and then startling herself awake before ear hits shoulder.
royal_obligation
Edarial gently repositions her so that they're both the most comfortable, then smiles faintly.
royal_obligation
Edarial can't help but feel sleepy, too, and the words are strangely soothing...
He's asleep soon after, leaning on Iobel, as well.
He's asleep soon after, leaning on Iobel, as well.
come_midnight
Eventually the operator of the canal boat wakes them up; they're in Emavan.
"Mmm," mumbles Iobel, yawning and finding herself kind of pinned.
royal_obligation
Not for very long, though - Edarial's woken up soon after.
He blinks blearily at everyone present. Then he looks at Iobel. "S'ry," he mumbles.
He blinks blearily at everyone present. Then he looks at Iobel. "S'ry," he mumbles.
come_midnight
"'S okay," she says, rubbing her eyes and sitting up and stretching. "Okay. Stuff. To do."