The Eagle And The Nightingales

hand in his claws. 'And you? What mischief have you been up to, Old Owl?'

'A great deal of mischief,' Harperus replied, but soberly, and switched to Deliambren. 'Actually, I am now, officially, and with absolute truth, the appointed Envoy to the High King from the Fortress-City. I am here with a direct request from the Deliambrens for Theovere; we absolutely need his blanket permission for the mapping expedition.'

So the last attempt at local negotiations broke down. T'fyrr nodded and replied in the same language. 'And you need from me?'

'Advice,' Harperus told him. 'We know more about the Advisors than we did_' he glanced at one of the 'sculptures' to make his point '_but we still need to know the best time and place to approach Theovere on this.'

T'fyrr closed his eyes and thought hard. Technically, this was not a problem that the King needed to call a Council about; he knew that much now, from all of his listening. It was also not something that needed to be brought up at official Court. It was, in fact, in the nature of a personal favor, and well within the High King's purview.

If, of course, Theovere chose to see it that way.

'Everyone except the Seneschal is going into Lyonarie in two days, in the afternoon,' he said slowly, returning to the human tongue. 'There is some sort of processional_religious, I think. It is apparently important for them to be seen attending, and many of them have made some elaborate arrangements for viewing stands and the distribution of alms and largesse.'

'In the King's name, of course,' Harperus said smoothly.

T'fyrr's nares twitched. 'Of course,' he agreed. 'Theovere himself has been advised not to go_it is going to be very hot, and it would require standing in the direct sun for many hours. It has been deemed inadvisable for health reasons. So he, and the Seneschal, will remain at the Palace. I have been asked to perform for him then_but there will be an informal sort of Court at the same time.'

Harperus' eyes narrowed. 'What sort of Court?' he asked sharply.

T'fyrr shrugged with elaborate casualness. 'Very minor. The presentation of some gifts, the requesting of personal favors, that sort of thing. I would not be performing if it were anything important, but it strikes me that you just might have a gift with you that you meant to present to Theovere.'

'I just might.' Harperus smiled and stroked the hair on his cheekbones. 'I know how much he enjoys our little gifts.'

Too much, T'fyrr thought a little sourly, but he didn't say that aloud. 'He does indeed, and that would be a good time to give him such a gift, without disturbing those members of his Court who don't approve of Deliambren craftwork.'

'True enough.' Harperus suddenly stretched, and all of the tension ran out of him like water from a broken jug. He glanced around, looking for a piece of purely human furniture, and threw himself into a chair with casual abandon.

'So, old bird,' he said cheerfully. 'What have you been up to?'

'More than you would guess,' T'fyrr replied with perfect truth. 'For one thing, I have visited that fabulous Freehold place that you recommended....'

Two days later, T'fyrr was unsurprised to hear Harperus' name announced during his performance at the informal Court. Theovere had been playing a game of Sires and Barons with the Lord Seneschal, but he readily abandoned it as Harperus came into the Lesser Throne Room, holding a small package in his hand. T'fyrr brought the song he was singing to a polite close, so that the King would not be distracted by the music.

And if Nightingale were here, we would be singing instead of staying silent.

'Harperus!' Theovere said. 'What brings you back here so soon?' His delight at seeing the Deliambren was obvious_in fact, T'fyrr didn't think he even noticed that Harperus was carrying a package.

'Two things, Theovere,' Harperus said genially. 'This, for one.' He handed the package to one of the bodyguards to open. 'One of my people came up with a rather delightful little star-projector_ah, you simply put it in a dark room, and it will mimic the patterns of the night stars on the ceiling and walls. Very soothing to look at; orient it to the north and it will follow the stars in all the changes of the seasons. Build a room shaped like a dome, and it will mimic the sky perfectly.'

'Really?' Theovere took the lumpy little device from the guard and examined it with interest. 'Why, you wouldn't have to go outside to cast a horoscope, would you?'