The Ballad of Adler Young, Canto 2.5

Oh the embarrassment of it all.
Alice & Mara > don't tell him. let this gaff run its full course
>Adler: Insist the kilt look is "in" this year.
(HSH Prince Adler) Sense a stray breeze. Realize that things are a bit, well, airy down there.
(HSH Prince Adler) change your tunic to standard I&RA issue.

It didn't take me long to realize what the femmes were snickering about. I had transmogrified back into my proper form, but was still dressed as Relda Fauxfox!

"It's nothing to laugh at," I indignantly insisted. "Kilts are in fact a quite manly fashion statement."

"Perhaps among the Grey Horde wolves," Alice tittered. "But you really don't have the physique for it."

The very nerve! I recalled that Meadow Grainmaster seemed to like me in a kilt, back when we returned from our mission in the lowfolk world; however, to stop these two Scuti from mocking me further, I modified my uniform back to its normal state. I carefully stowed the manacle/monocle and the padlock medal in my Elfintory, on the chance that they might be useful later.

Adler > be impatient, start the repair of Discombobulator Array right away
Discombobulator Array, be successfully installed
(Repairs) Not go quite the way Alice or Adler expect.

"Right," I continued. "Enough jollity at my expense. I've got the necessary part. Where's the manual?"

"Didn't you put it in your Elfintory?" Mara asked.

"No, I'm sure I left it here."

"Well, I don't have it. Do you have it, Alice?"

We all searched our Elfintories and looked around the chamber, but couldn't find the manual anywhere.

"That book was loaned from the office of Glencoe Redbough," I groaned. "I don't know how we can replace it."

"There may be no need," Alice reassured me. "If it is Redbough's own copy, it probably has a geas on it which will cause it to pook back into his archive if it sits unused for a certain length of time. A wise precaution, since Vulpitanians have a habit of misplacing documents in their possession."

"I was only gone for a few hours!" I objected. "That's far too short a recall time! Now I'm going to have to wait til morning, because I doubt Redbough's office is open right now. We can't afford these delays! The sleeping spell will wear off the visiting SALVs soon, before I've even had a chance to check in on them. Can I trust Estvan Silverbrush to have sufficiently sabotaged their work?"

"Hmm, probably not," Alice mused. "But don't worry, Your Highness. Between Mara and myself, we probably know enough about this body to effect a repair without the manual. Let's just take a look at the spare Discombobulator, examine its connections, and then .. if you open this hatch .. see where the old one is, and how it's hooked up .. you should just be able to swap in the new one .."



About forty minutes later, we had the new Discombobulator installed, and Alice was on her feet.

"Woah," she said, tottering and waving her arms. "I think it needs some calibration adjustments. Maybe it'll settle in after a while .. if not, I can get Redbough to fine-tune it later. The important thing for now is, I'm ambulatory - so let's get going."

(Shrub Knight) Continue to listen at the door.

We proceeded into the hallway, with Alice clutching Mara's arm for support.

"Our discussion in there is to be kept confidential," I informed the Shrub Knight guarding the door of the Detention Center.

"Who would I tell?" it rustled.

"I dunno .. him maybe, when he comes to?" I theorized, pointing to the still-unconscious guard on the other side of the door. "He's been out for a long time. Mara, what exactly did you do to him?"

"I made sure he'd be out for as long as we needed," the possum explained with a shrug.

"He doesn't speak The Voice of the Forest anyway," the Shrub rustled sadly.

"Good, because I don't want you to tell him what happened here," I clarified. "Now come on, ladies, we must make haste."

Commotion, be heard from outside.
Nearly half the foxes in the city, be battling flames at the embassy.
Nearly half the foxes in the city, be vigorously searching for a fugitive vixen.
Vulpitanians, be extremely suspicious, since Lengra-Cha natives are among the traditional allies of the Kringle.

Outside, the streets were full of foxes rushing pell-mell in all directions. Many were carrying buckets.

"This way!" they shouted to each other. "Teh East wing is still smoldering! Be on teh lookout 4 a traitorous Lengra-Cha vixen! Shes white with a tall hat & a impressive rack! I herd she has a Escapist medal & shape shifting magick! Coud this bee a opening volley of teh Coming of Winter? U know how close Lengra-Cha is 2 U-No-Who. No, who? TEH KRINGLE U dum dum! AAAGH!!!1! NO WAYE!! We gotta find teh traitor & spank her silly 4 this!"

"I am not really Vulpitanian," Alice commented quietly, "but I have lived among them so long, I feel almost a twinge of sympathy for my erstwhile countrymen."

"Just keep moving, calmly and quietly, toward our destination," I suggested.

When we arrived outside the SALVs' quarters, Alice stopped.

"I am in a bit of a quandary," she explained. "Going in there would place me in a precarious situation regarding my request for asylum from the Republic."

"You're already with me on this," I pointed out.

"It's a political hot potato," she insisted. "I mustn't go inside and meddle directly with Nidab & Semos's research. Mara and I will wait out here and keep watch."

There was something about this I didn't like, but I had no time to argue. I went inside and climbed the stairs to the SALVs' rooms on the second floor of the building.



Rotnev and Nexivydah were still unconscious, stretched out on the floor, with their hands in a bowl of lukewarm water. This looked like Estvan's handiwork all right, but where was he?

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Spoiler
Meanwhile, in Marshal Theronmyathus' office:

Avogadro, still be daydreaming of the vixen beauty you saw earlier.
(Marshal) Receive an Ominous Report regarding Adler's activities.

"These are serious allegations," Theronmyathus croaked, looking over the papers and checking them for errors. "Are you prepared to present this testimony before the King and his Ministers, implicating Prince Adler in activities just short of Treason?"

"Huh?" Avogadro replied. "Oh, er, yes sir. The Prince is a nice guy, but the good of the Empire comes first. Shouldn't we, though, um .. garner the support of a Vulpitanian delegation first though? Since after all, they are also concerned in this conspiracy.."