The Ballad of Adler Young, Canto 2.5

>S is clearly the plant guy.
one has to wonder if there's anyone in the marshall office who isn't witless
"S" is the scutti
>Adler in bewilderment: Why is it that everyone you interact with is a complete goof?

"Now then," Ms. Thomson continued. "It would be useful to try and identify who 'S' is in the transcript. Could it stand for 'Shrub' perhaps? You did have a plant in the Vulpitanians' quarters, did you not?"

"First, how did you know that, and second, the SALVs managed to remove the plant long before I ever got there," I replied. "And your supposition makes no sense on another point. The fact that 'S' said I picked him .. or her? .. up as I left the apartment can only mean one thing. It's the Scuti that was in a jar in the lab."

"How then were the Marshal and his aide able to question it, since those creatures have no Elfmind?"

"I don't know for sure," I theorized, "but before I was taken back there to be searched, as you'll recall, there was another prisoner in this cell."

"Of course!" Thomson exclaimed. "The skeevy rat! And the Marshal can justify attaching a Scuti to him by citing the Unseelie Rehabilitation Act."

"Which was a Vulpitanian idea, wasn't it?" I asked.

"Indeed it was."

"Those foxes are at the back of all this," I muttered darkly.

"We want them to believe that they are," Thomson replied.

Doris, make a pass at the jailer. Then demand more booze.
Adler, have a visitor. Be someone you haven't seen in a long time.
request that the guard bring in a small band to play some easy listening music. Some paintings and drapes would help the atmosphere too.

"YOUR HIGHNESS!" the jailer called from down the aisle. "You have a visitor!"

"Ugh," Doris groaned. "Yelling like that constitutes Cruel and Un-Elfly Punishment. Have you got any booze?"

"Even if I did, I wouldn't give any of it to you."

"Aw, come on," Doris pouted, twining her arms around the bars of her cell. "I'll be extra nice to you."

"Stow it," the jailer grunted. "I'm on duty. And stand back from the bars, there. Visitor for His Highness coming through."



"Hello, Adler," Dame Chitterleigh said, peering in at me. She glanced sideways at Ms. Thomson and sniffed. "I thought Meadow would be here with you."

"She was called away at the last minute," I explained. "Actually I thought it was probably some emergency involving you. Has anything happened?"

"No, I'm fine. I haven't seen her. How are you holding up?"

"Okay for now," I sighed. "I get the impression that I'm just waiting for something to happen. I'm not even sure what I'm charged with. Have you heard anything?"

"Nothing specific, but it sounds bad," the squirrel explained. "I know what it's like to be falsely accused of treason, and you came to my aid back then .. so I thought I'd let you know that you have my support."

"Thanks. It's nice to know I have some friends."

"Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked.

"Can't think of anything right now. But thanks for dropping by."

"I'm sure it will all blow over," Eudora optimistically opined. "Just hang in there."

Would it all blow over? I wondered, as Dame Chitterleigh left the Detention Area. I needed more information about my predicament, so that I could prepare and respond appropriately. And I knew just who would have the most detailed and up-to-the-minute intelligence.

"Ixies of the Ominous Orse!" I called via Elfmind.

>All of sudden, something beneficially amazing yet ridiculously irritating barges in

Three Ixies suddenly pooked into the cell.

"We were in the area, Highness, and heard thy call," one of them explained.

"You can summon those creatures at will?" Thomson asked incredulously. "What's your connection with them?"

"Do not tell them of our relationship, Sire," an Ixie whispered in my Elfmind. "That is one thing the Sisterhood does not know about us."

"I, er, got acquainted with them during my great-uncle Roland's tenure as Grand Marshal," I explained.

"It was Rolly's biggest mistake, relying on Ixies. They cannot be entirely trusted."

"I'm aware of their shortcomings," I sniffed. "Now then, what can you three tell me about the state of my case?"

"The Ministry is preparing to conduct thy trial as soon as possible. Queen Edessa and the Marshal's staff are co-ordinating the Prosecution. Nothing can happen until the King arises; he remains yet sequestered in the Royal Bedchamber. With luck he will summarily dismiss the charges against thee after they are presented. If he recommends a trial, then legal proceedings shall proceed. Meanwhile carpenters are refurbishing the gallows in the market plaza, and the Chief Headsman is cleaning & polishing his axe."

see the gallows and bloody chopping block. get a little panicky.
Ms.Thompson > Reassure adler

"Gallows?" I squeaked. "AXE?? I don't like the sound of that! What exactly are the charges against me?"

"That has not been declared," the Ixie replied.

"And it won't be until the case is officially laid before the King," Thomson added. "But you have no reason to fret. The penalty of death is normally only applied in cases of murder or treason. Because you are Royalty, you're very unlikely to be put to death; and even if you were, you wouldn't be hanged or beheaded with an axe. Persons of quality are beheaded with a sword. Your case just happens to coincide with the routine maintenance of our official tools of execution, as mandated in Imperial Edict 46-A section 35 paragraph seven."

this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part!
'escaping' anjd going 'rogue' could be a good way to gain access to the vulpitians if you tricked them as gaining you as a double agent.
what would Irenaeus do? Something brash and ill thought out! As his scion you can't sit idly here while things are happening outside, you need to take action!

"That's all according to the law," I stammered nervously. "But the Irenaeid dynasty has a long tradition of assassinating royal siblings when they pose a threat, real or imagined, to the security of the one on the throne. Which is exactly the situation the Sisterhood's plot has placed me in."

"Dynastic assassination hasn't happened in a long time," Thomson stated reassuringly. "Royal heirs are not as plentiful as they were in Yngvar's day. The Empire cannot afford to waste them."

"Still, I'm uneasy," I reiterated. "I'd much rather be taking action than sitting here, waiting for the legal system to run its course! Maybe I could flee to Vulpitania..."

"That's a horrible idea," Thomson scoffed. "You'd be walking right into a trap."

Doris > Successfully pickpocket the jailer as he leaves, gain entrance into alders cell. Cuddles ensue

"Yoo-hoo, Your Cute Highness," Doris called from the opposite cell. She held up a key-ring and dangled it enticingly. "Look what I liberated from that dumb jailer's pocket while he wasn't paying attention! You can have it if you want it ... but it's gonna cost you!"