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hess_makesWhile the humans' misery seemed to find an even level and stay there, the People were not so fortunate. Shortly after the repairs were done, it got to the point where even Eibon could not get out of bed. Ragnar made certain that they were cared for, but Cole worried what might happen if they didn't reach the other edge of the Fell soon enough.
They told him later that he'd slept through the last day and a half. When they told him that the whole lot of them - though unnamed and identified only by their ship - were wanted for the kidnapping of Nikola Tesla, he was still too weak to feel the emotions that it warranted.
Ragnar's folk didn't seem to think much of it. Deliver Tesla, and it would automatically turn out worse than some of the misunderstandings they'd experienced. Such as, he was told, the self roasting turkey incident, the lethal shoe horn, or the time Olaf had set his cape on fire and done "that whirling dance" all around a wooden pub stocked with wooden furniture.
The problem was, no one could find Tesla.
The message had come in by telegraph at some point before they arrived. Those ignorant buffoons would use only a technology that could get them in such miserable trouble. With the ugly patch job they'd done in order to get moving as fast as they could, there was no doubt that the King of Atlantikon knew very well which ship it was and that the Queen Consort of Atlantikon knew equally well which ship it was.
But if the Queen Consort had any such ability to contact them in private as the King most certainly did in public, after the fuss over Sator Shang, they were still in doubt as to whether she could reach them before he did. And even if she did, what answer would they have to give her, before they'd had a chance to fully understand Giulietta's notes and compare them to...
Compare them to what? Cole asked himself, when he finally had the wits to do it. If they had a lock of the King's hair, even, what could they tell from it? He had no immediate family members left except an heir who was not yet born. If they waited for the child to be born - if they could wait - and zie had been conceived before the King's alleged death, they might then be able to make a comparison. Otherwise, they could track down a second cousin in hopes of valid data.
They couldn't even get the King's toenail clippings unless Eibon infiltrated or Mina could detect some substance on him that no one else in the vicinity had. Perhaps if courtiers didn't wear fine jewels, they would be in a much less difficult position.
"As well to expect him to wear a codpiece made of mermaid's scales or bathe in quantonium nightly," he grumbled. Sebastian had tried to laugh at him once, early on, then realized it wouldn't end well for him.
"Codpieces are so outdated," he mumbled instead. "We can find Elysse, can't we?"
"Well, yes, but what good is that going to do us?"
"I don't know yet. Let's try it."
Cole could only roll his eyes but Mina set the device for search for others of the same species as Cole and Eibon. After a few moments, her expression changed.
"I found two in the Palace."
"What, is Mist there?" Cole asked, looking to Eibon as if he would automatically know.
"If not, we're in trouble," zie said. "Are they in the same room?"
"I think so. Hm, yes, there are the walls."
"Is anyone else there?"
"No."
"We're going," Cole said. Eibon gave him an irritated look but didn't disagree. Presumably they'd be in and out before anyone could stop them, whether he was good as an automated alarm or not.
In a flash, they were in the room. It was a nursery and there was Elysse with an infant who looked to be...oh, half or three quarters of a year old. They'd been gone a full year, somehow.
And there, off to the side, was the Gebean looking woman in the same hooded cloak.
Eibon took hold of Elysse round the waist.
"Wait," the other woman cried. "I want to make a deal with you, all of you."
"No deal!" Cole said without hesitation. "We're going."
Eibon almost managed to say something but Cole hit the panic button on his pack before anyone else could tell what the first word was to be.
"You idiot!" Eibon said.
"That's what I told him, first time he went 'round kidnapping people," Sebastian called from his chair, feet propped up on the charging unit with a half-eaten apple in his hand.
They told him later that he'd slept through the last day and a half. When they told him that the whole lot of them - though unnamed and identified only by their ship - were wanted for the kidnapping of Nikola Tesla, he was still too weak to feel the emotions that it warranted.
Ragnar's folk didn't seem to think much of it. Deliver Tesla, and it would automatically turn out worse than some of the misunderstandings they'd experienced. Such as, he was told, the self roasting turkey incident, the lethal shoe horn, or the time Olaf had set his cape on fire and done "that whirling dance" all around a wooden pub stocked with wooden furniture.
The problem was, no one could find Tesla.
The message had come in by telegraph at some point before they arrived. Those ignorant buffoons would use only a technology that could get them in such miserable trouble. With the ugly patch job they'd done in order to get moving as fast as they could, there was no doubt that the King of Atlantikon knew very well which ship it was and that the Queen Consort of Atlantikon knew equally well which ship it was.
But if the Queen Consort had any such ability to contact them in private as the King most certainly did in public, after the fuss over Sator Shang, they were still in doubt as to whether she could reach them before he did. And even if she did, what answer would they have to give her, before they'd had a chance to fully understand Giulietta's notes and compare them to...
Compare them to what? Cole asked himself, when he finally had the wits to do it. If they had a lock of the King's hair, even, what could they tell from it? He had no immediate family members left except an heir who was not yet born. If they waited for the child to be born - if they could wait - and zie had been conceived before the King's alleged death, they might then be able to make a comparison. Otherwise, they could track down a second cousin in hopes of valid data.
They couldn't even get the King's toenail clippings unless Eibon infiltrated or Mina could detect some substance on him that no one else in the vicinity had. Perhaps if courtiers didn't wear fine jewels, they would be in a much less difficult position.
"As well to expect him to wear a codpiece made of mermaid's scales or bathe in quantonium nightly," he grumbled. Sebastian had tried to laugh at him once, early on, then realized it wouldn't end well for him.
"Codpieces are so outdated," he mumbled instead. "We can find Elysse, can't we?"
"Well, yes, but what good is that going to do us?"
"I don't know yet. Let's try it."
Cole could only roll his eyes but Mina set the device for search for others of the same species as Cole and Eibon. After a few moments, her expression changed.
"I found two in the Palace."
"What, is Mist there?" Cole asked, looking to Eibon as if he would automatically know.
"If not, we're in trouble," zie said. "Are they in the same room?"
"I think so. Hm, yes, there are the walls."
"Is anyone else there?"
"No."
"We're going," Cole said. Eibon gave him an irritated look but didn't disagree. Presumably they'd be in and out before anyone could stop them, whether he was good as an automated alarm or not.
In a flash, they were in the room. It was a nursery and there was Elysse with an infant who looked to be...oh, half or three quarters of a year old. They'd been gone a full year, somehow.
And there, off to the side, was the Gebean looking woman in the same hooded cloak.
Eibon took hold of Elysse round the waist.
"Wait," the other woman cried. "I want to make a deal with you, all of you."
"No deal!" Cole said without hesitation. "We're going."
Eibon almost managed to say something but Cole hit the panic button on his pack before anyone else could tell what the first word was to be.
"You idiot!" Eibon said.
"That's what I told him, first time he went 'round kidnapping people," Sebastian called from his chair, feet propped up on the charging unit with a half-eaten apple in his hand.