"I thought it would be a good idea for someone less traceable to me to. I think I was right."

"Good plan."

"Maybe they'll kill each other," says Finis. Timothy twitches just slightly if you're looking really closely.

"...who, Fredrick and the twins -"

"I think he means Fredrick and whoever sent us here."

"James and Samuel'll be all right, they're clever," Finis says, nodding.

...Karen goes and hugs Timothy. It is completely unsuspicious for her to do that, right.

Yeah. They're dating. Hug.

"...kind of an appalling thing to say, though," Miranda mutters, after they have dispersed to respectively brainstorm further and send somebody Ulmo might still like to sing at the ocean.

"Mmm?"

"- about Nameless Perpetrator taking down Fredrick."

"Oh, yeah.

I understand it but I'm not sure I know how to explain it - it's not about Fredrick at all, and my father doesn't wish him ill in the slightest. It's -

 - Timothy's close to Fredrick, really close, not like brothers but like - he's an extension of himself? This is much easier to pick up on than articulate. Anyway Timothy's always - affecting that Fredrick is merely useful while actually holding him very very dear and lying to all of our faces about it and it's annoying and the thing Father does is - say things that cut at that divide between 'useful' and 'treasured', just because it's there under the surface - the gap between what Timothy's saying and what he means, I mean - it's right there so it's hard not to pick at it. And Timothy just - ignores him - I keep expecting he'll notice he could make there be nothing to pick at, say 'don't, Father, I care about him', drop the - the whatever it is. But he won't."

"...still kinda mean."

"I mean, yeah. But not randomly."

"I did not think he was being randomly mean and finding that the precision level is not 'attack your half-cousins at every opportunity' but rather 'snipe at Timothy for liking one of them' does not improve my assessment much."

"That's not what I said. It's - pick at a gap, because it's there and it's hard not to pick at it once you notice it."

Sigh.

He sends petitioners to go talk with Ulmo.

Backup plans include: challenge him by owl. (Magical owls are a slightly limited resource unless Tyelcormo can convince random wild ones to take up the occupation.) Attempt remote Floo hookup, ???, profit.

Seems worth waiting for Ulmo, probably. Are remote floo hookups even possible?

"I could maybe figure it out but I might need to know exactly where to find the fireplace."

"I don't know if Angband has a fireplace in a conventional sense. Maybe if the word can be interpreted flexibly enough."

"Any fire with a chimney should do. Long shot though. I hope Ulmo doesn't keep us waiting."

"He didn't sink the boats when we crossed, that's something."

"I guess."