Tamalyn: Journey to Herself

[Milady Kim]

She smacked him, "stop it. That smile is not any more real, it is a part of cause and effect. If someone gives me a reason to smile I will give respond appropriately. If they don't, they get what I can give."

[Lord Palatine]

He and Breecher both grinned at that.  "Just don't scare the kiddies," he said as he opened the door for her, well actually for Breecher first.  He paused a moment and indicated it was safe."

[Milady Kim]

Tamalyn shook her head and thought about happy things to try and maintain a less scarry smile. She wished more children were like Marcus and would like her even if she didn't smile, though if she thought about it further she would have remembered that Marcus thought she was sad and lonely.

She followed Breecher outside, "so do I just walk up to them and give them candy?" She asked as Oldwine joined them. "Wouldn't they're parents get upset?" She couldn't help but think they would because her father would have been if a stranger gave her candy.

[Lord Palatine]

"Be responsible and tell them to take it home to show their parents if you like," Oldwine shrugged.  "They probably won't though.  Mostly you toss it to them while you ride."

[Milady Kim]

"Very well, I will toss it to them" she said doubtfully. She looked around as she mounted then thoughtful, finally she returned to the present. She saw a boy watching her, she smiled and tossed him a piece of candy, using her power to perfectly direct it to land in his hand.

[Lord Palatine]

She got a large happy smile and a wave, and more children seemed to come from everywhere.  "See?" Breecher murmured.  "Works good!"  More candy and then they rose to inspect the first gate.

[Milady Kim]

Tamalyn slowed and peered around at the situation at the gate. She had seen some of the men before, but there were many she had never seen. She dismounted looking around at the fortification, nodding and smiling at those on duty.

[Lord Palatine]

There were actually two barricades across each street, wagons  and barrels formed the inner line and beyond them were walls made from snow blocks, there was a double wall of snow with a gap filled with ice between them.

[Milady Kim]

After she had wandered around a bit she  stopped and spoke to a group of the men. "Have things been quiet today?" She asked them.

[Lord Palatine]

"A few trying to take a peek," one replied.  "Two of three didn't report back.  Obliging of them to wear the armbands to identify themselves to their comrades."

[Milady Kim]

A look of confusion crossed her face quickly before she was able to gain control. "Do all of the guards in this district know who all the other guards are? I am not sure that relying on arm bands or code words are the safest ways to maintain security" she commented with some concern.

[Lord Palatine]

"We all know each other," he assured her.  "The armbands are on the rebels.  We have our own uniforms, and watchwords of course, but we're all familiar with the rest of us."

[Milady Kim]

She nodded, "that is what I hoped. Things seem to be running smoothly here" she added appreciatively. "I won't keep you from your task any further" she said moving toward her horse. Tamalyn mounted and looked to Breecher and Oldwine, "shall we?" She asked looking around at the barricades, "I still want to help bulls the snow blocks when it snows" she said to Oldwine.

[Lord Palatine]

"Won't be much longer," he replied.  "The bulk of that is done now, they worked through the attacks; but, we do need to make a few choke points in case things get bad."

[Milady Kim]

She nodded and went in to the next barricade. She stopped and spoke with at least a couple of men at each point during their trip around the district. By the time they returned to the house she was out of candy and was ready to be home again. "We must make sure I do not visit every check point on all visits and we need to make sure that my visits are not routine" she needlessly told her guards. "I don't want to leave myself exposed or become more of a target than I already am. I am going to go take a bath before dinner" she wandered off then. In the bath she debated with herself over what the men had meant about the arm bands and the other things she had seen and learned during her ride.

Tamalyn finally returned downstairs in a dinner gown. She approached Breecher, "did that guard mean they had mutilated the snoops beyond recognition?" She asked quietly.

[Lord Palatine]

"No," Oldwine replied.  "He said that the rebels wore armbands so that they could identify each other, what he meant is that out men are lucky that the rebels were so agreeable about marking themselves as targets."

[Milady Kim]

"They don't just rely on the arm bands though, do they" she asked with new concern in her voice. "They challenge all who approach the area, right?"

[Lord Palatine]

"Of course," he replied.  "The archers just use the armbands to identify targets a long way out."

[Milady Kim]

She gave him a small smile, "very good." She paused, "arm bands do seem like a stupid idea" she shrugged, "I plan to remember that in the future. Come" she slipped her arm into his, "let's go eat" she grinned, "you can be my handsome escort."

[Lord Palatine]

"Handsome?" He scoffed.  "Not even my mother says that.  The arm bands started in this little fracas like they do in most like it.  Soldiers don't want to replace uniforms to something distinct, so they just mark what they have, those without uniforms just copy them."

[Milady Kim]

"I must see something she does not" Tamalyn shrugged, "I understand the point of the arm bands, I was only saying that I disapprove of them on general purposes. Additionally, it makes the rebels vulnerable. Not that I would ever explain that to them" she added with a smile. "We want them vulnerable and weak, and they have been so accommodating in those ways."

[Lord Palatine]

"The rebels started out knowing they can win," Oldwine remarked.  "Now they know they can lose."

[Milady Kim]

Tamalyn knew that anyone could lose and believed that one should always plan to lose but strive to win. If the rebels had not considered losing then they entered into this with a very short sided plan that was destined to fail. She shrugged, "only time will show who will win" she said casually, "things can still turn around, but right now I am sure they are reconsidering their options and reevaluating their plan of attack. We need to be ready for desperate measures. We need to plan accordingly" she squeezed his arm, "after dinner" she added leading then into the dining room to join her friends.

After dinner she went to the office to find Amrick, "anything new to report?"

[Lord Palatine]

After dinner I'm relaxing with a pipe and leaving the night watch to Breecher," he chuckled.

"Billie staged an ambush," he laughed.  "A spice ship was towed to the docks to unload and then they tried to raid it they found Billie was actually bringing in a ship load of marines."

[Milady Kim]

"They fell for that? The last spice ships to come in this year was almost a month ago, we owned that shipment and used those ships to send off cloth just before the winter weather made long distance shipping impossible. Why are these men so gullible? They keep making one mistake after another" she said giving a concentrated frown. "It makes me think everything they are doing is one big set up" she added thoughtfully.