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They leave Thiyec, cross Soche-Tas, and re-enter Welce.
Kiri sends a letter Jayce's way as soon as they stop in a Welchin town. It's brief - we found the Lalindar prime, we'll drop him off and my next stop is the palace so please forward my correspondence there.
The Lalindar house, on inspection, appears to be completely empty. There's a note from the butler on the dining room table stating - in appropriately formal language - that no one was paying them and so they have left, but he, the cook, the gardeners, and the maids may be contacted at the following addresses respectively if the new prime, when located, wishes to re-employ their services. Unlike the Ardelay house at the time of Elytte's death, this house as of Nerine's death contains no extended family. There's nothing to do but for Loel to move in. Kiri draws him a little map of the route between the estate and the nearest town, where he will probably want to buy groceries, and she and Aleko leave to let him plan his moat.
They're at the palace the following day.
calescent
calescent
"You too, Isten."
And then she is off in search of Sarelle Dochenza, rumored to be both practical and potentially on the premises.
And then she is off in search of Sarelle Dochenza, rumored to be both practical and potentially on the premises.
calendarofcrime
Where oh where could she be?
She certainly couldn't be that very obviously hunti woman dressed in crisp black and white and striding purposefully through the palace's main kierten from the direction of the outer doors.
Who stops short when she sees Kiri, and looks at her like a bird of prey examining a potential meal, and says: "Kiribel Ardelay?"
She certainly couldn't be that very obviously hunti woman dressed in crisp black and white and striding purposefully through the palace's main kierten from the direction of the outer doors.
Who stops short when she sees Kiri, and looks at her like a bird of prey examining a potential meal, and says: "Kiribel Ardelay?"
calescent
Kiri stops. "Hello? Is it important? I'm in a touch of a hurry and most non-urgent inquiries can go through my brother."
calendarofcrime
"I know where to find the missing Serlast prime," she says. "Or at least I know where to start looking. Is that sufficiently important?"
calescent
Kiri opens her mouth, and then closes it again, and then says, "That is quite important, but I'd like to at least start the process of informing everyone that I already found the missing Lalindar, which means finding, apparently, Sarelle Dochenza and then writing a letter to Alser Frothen."
calendarofcrime
"You have found Sarelle Dochenza," she says dryly. "Congratulations. Where was the Lalindar?"
calescent
"You're Auney's successor?" This woman comes across as very obvious hunti; some people have deceptive "crowns" of this or that, but primes less often.
calendarofcrime
"Yes," she says. "I am, as my sister often tells me, the least elay elay ever to elay, but I am apparently elay enough."
calescent
"Okay then. He was in Thiyec but now he's in the Lalindar country house. His name is Loel. I found him by seeing what locations had been suffering from excess rain. How do you think you've tracked down the missing Serlast? There wouldn't be anything obvious for wood and bone."
calendarofcrime
"Genealogy," she says. "I looked up every record of every relative of every previous hunti prime I could find, and then narrowed it down to only the ones who had left Welce recently enough that they might still be alive to inherit the primacy but who were not still in contact such that they might have heard the news. And I found one woman who left the country twenty-one years ago with her weeks-old baby. She went to Malinqua. I propose to go to Malinqua and find her, or the child, because one of them is very likely to be the missing prime."
calescent
"That definitely sounds worth doing, yes. After this long I'd expect even an unknown illegitimate descendant to have come forward, so a branch that moved to Malinqua is promising. When are you going?"
calendarofcrime
"I was planning to wait for you, as the most experienced prime who is not currently bedridden. Would you like to go to Malinqua?"
calendarofcrime
"It seems prudent to have someone along who knows the business of primes. I can translate for you if required."
calescent
"Okay. Sure, we can go to Malinqua if you can plan the search route and I can bring my twin brother."
calescent
"As you like. I just bring Aleko with me most everywhere. Do you have passage booked, a schedule...?"
calescent
"I need to write two - no, three letters. One for the king, one for Alser - or his granddaughter Patience who's expected to succeed him, if he's not well enough to read it by the time it arrives - and one for my other brother who's managing my affairs in my absence. After that I can leave at any time, though I'd like at least one night in my nice comfy palace bed before traveling again."
calendarofcrime
"Agreed. I'll let you know as soon as I have something booked. It was," she pauses, then smiles very slightly, "interesting to meet you."
calescent
"Likewise," remarks Kiri. "Oh - a question - I've historically found other primes more open to the idea of my mindreading than other people. My range is about five feet, a little more on a cold day; how carefully do you want me to mind your personal space?"
