Synopsis: Grand Quest III-Part 1 (a Sir Differel Dreamlands adventure)

With a Monarch's Voice Cry 'Havoc,' and Let Slip the Dogs of War

As the sun begins to set over Ulthar, a cloud barge of unknown design appears in the sky, flying a white flag. Escorted by the chase-boats, then covered by the destroyers, it lands next to the dreadnaught. A number of golden-skinned men disembark; Ubasti recognizes their leader as the man who conferred with Bres and the Moonbeast on the Moon. Kuranes and the Cat Queen greet them, and they announce they have come to parlay. Kuranes has a table set up with lamps and chairs, and orders food and drink brought. The lead golden-man, who claims to be an ambassador with plenipotentiary powers, states that his government, an island nation named Atullia, is allied with the Moonbeasts and the Fomorians, and that they will not tolerate any interference from Ooth-Nargai in their affairs. He is aware of the mission to the Underworld, and further states that his government would consider any attempt to disrupt morbidun production as an act of war. Since this warning is coming too late to stop the mission, for the sake of avoiding unnecessary hostilities, and to promote good relations, he is willing to forgive this one trespass as well as the other previous trespasses committed by Differel and Team Girl, but any future acts against his government's activities in this region, or its Fomorian and Moonbeast allies, will be retaliated against with the full force of their military might. He leaves it up to Kuranes as to whether there will be war or not.

55 days left

The party follows Elatha up the stairs. It is a long climb, but eventually they enter the roof of the cavern, and then ascend into a cellar room. From there they emerge into the street and make their way to the port. Hazuth-Kleg is a grim nightmare-city. This wasn't Eile and Sunny's first visit, but for the first time Eile felt apprehensive. In their previous visits, they had come alone and in disguise; this large a group, parading through the town so openly, is bound to attract unwanted attention. For once she is grateful they are accompanied by two powerful Fomorians. When they reach the port, Elatha takes them to a black galley to be ferried across the bay to his green glass tower. At first Kami refuses to board, but when both Medb and Elatha pledge to give their lives to protect her, and the girls and Cuideog also promise to protect her, she reluctantly agrees. However, she is frightened the entire short voyage.

They reach the tower, standing in the midst of the bay, and the first thing Elatha does is take them to the roof. From there, Crèmedevoyager leaps to the Moon to alert Kuranes of their return. He then gives them a suite consisting of a common room connected to bedrooms, each with its own bath. There are only six, so some doubling-up will have to be done. Eile and Sunny share a room with Cuideog; Differel and Victor another; Medb with Ceara; Tokoyo, Karella, and Uilmheidhrea; Saighlíne and Morgiana; and Kami and Ssas'sashu'ra. Ney and his Ghouls camp out in the common room. Elatha gives them a chance to clean up, then he provides breakfast; Cuideog is given a zebra and the Ghouls a corpse on another level. After that, he leaves them to themselves, until that evening when they he will feast them. The unexpected hospitality has everyone on edge; they expect treachery at any moment. Medb tries to reassure them, but they remember the Ghouls and their council, and they are wary.

Sometime mid-morning, while Kuranes and the Cat Queen negotiate terms of a non-aggression agreement with the Atullian ambassador, Crème drops down into the middle of their table. At Kuranes's insistence, he gives his report to everyone at the table. The Atullian ambassador is visibly shocked and angered that the mission succeeded, but he will keep his word and forgive the trespass. However, he will not allow Kuranes to dispatch a cloud barge unless he accompanies it in his own, and he will not be ready to leave until morning, after they have completed their negotiations. Crème departs to tell Medb, along with a squad of cat legionnaires. When they reach the Moon, however, they are ambushed by Cats From Saturn. The squad sacrifices itself to allow Crème to get away, but a Saturn Cat pursues. Crème shifts position in mid-fall and lands on a balcony instead of the roof. He rushes in as the Saturn Cat bounds after him, and finds himself in the girls' bedroom, where Eile and Sunny were engaged in quiet foreplay. Crème darts under the bed and the Saturn Cat attacks the girls, who defend themselves. The commotion attracts the Ghouls, then Differel, Saighlíne, and Morgiana. Finding itself outnumbered, the Saturn Cat flees, leaping back to the roof then to the Moon. Medb arrives too late to stop it, but Crème delivers his message. The others are now certain there is treachery afoot, and Medb is beginning to wonder herself, but when Elatha comes he gives every impression as being as surprised and angered as the rest at this violation, and promises to get to the bottom of it.

Later, Elatha has a private meeting with Medb, Differel, and the girls to fulfill the remainder of his ransom payment. First he states that it was the Moonbeasts who had called in the Cats From Saturn, as a way to counter the Cat Queen's legions. Then he gets down to business. Some years ago, Lady Miranda Guinevere Pendragon, Differel's Aunt Mandy, came to him with a proposal for gaining control of the human race through there dreams. The Fomorians could then enslave them in the Waking World and assume their rightful place as rulers of the Earth. Her plan involves recruiting volunteers that would come to the Dreamlands and become an army. The morbidun would be used to transform the volunteers into her soldiers, the cunae juice would allow them to turn ordinary Dreamworld weapons into modern weapons, and the moon rubies would make the transformations permanent. She had already obtained the cooperation of a foreign power - Atullia - to transport her troops and supply them, what she needed was the help of the Fomorians to collect and process the materials needed for the transformations. They have been working on this project for a long time, with Hazuth-Kleg as the collection point and administrative center. Differel is surprised he would be so forth coming, since now they know where the plan is being hatched, but he contradicts her, saying that while all the morbidun, cunae juice, and rubies were brought to here from their various production centers, that have been sent on to their real destination. All they have now is a final shipment of cunae juice and rubies, just enough to see the plan to fruition; the morbidun they destroyed was extra the Fomorians were making for their own use. When Medb demands to know where this shipment will be taken, Elatha claims he does not know; it is picked up by a Atullian transport. When she demands to know when the transport will arrive, he again claims not to know; it could arrive any moment.

The girls ask about Atullia. He explains that a million years ago or more, a people from another Dreamworld invaded this one. They fought the Leng Men, who were the dominant people at the time, but were unable to conquer them. However, neither could the Leng Men completely throw them back. They signed a treaty, ceding the island of Atullia to the invaders, in exchange for ending the invasion, and there the people lived and thrived. Since Atullia lies on the other side of the world from the Six Kingdoms, it should be no wonder that no one on this side has ever heard of them. But they are a great maritime power, like Great Britain, with naval and aeronautic forces that would rival Ooth-Nargai and Karchedon combined. They are said to have conquered an empire, but are opposed by Fabulous Cathuria, hence they seek a different direction in which to expand. No doubt Aunt Mandy has promised them territorial concessions when the plan succeeds. And therein lies the problem. Elatha no longer trusts Mandy. Fomorian she may be, but she is still ruled by her human ambitions and greed. He fears her plan may have levels she has not revealed yet; that ultimately, she intends to conquer all the Dreamworld for herself, including the Fomorians, Moonbeasts, and possible even Atullia itself. Medb asks him in that case to destroy the last shipment. That may not ruin her plan, but it will delay implementation long enough for them to come up with a way to stop it. Unfortunately, he cannot; he has given his word, but with this last shipment, his part is ended and he owes her no further loyalty. Differel asks if he would be willing to form an alliance at that time. He states that at best all he could offer would be signal service; he might be wrong about Mandy, in which case he cannot pass up an opportunity like this. However, if they can give him proof she is a threat to everyone, not just the humans, he would ally himself with her. Differel accepts that for now. She and the girls go back to brief the others while Medb remains with Elatha.

During a break in the negotiations, the Cat Queen receives word that the Cats of Saturn have taken the Moon. With Moon cut off to her people, they cannot send messages as quickly as before; a trip that would have taken a few hours will now take a few days or weeks, depending upon the distance. She cannot allow that, but unfortunately she hasn't the catpower to drive the Saturn Cats from the Moon and provide troops to support Kuranes in case of war. Since her people are her first priority, she must free the Moon, but she will delay until the negotiations are finished. However, she urges Kuranes to conclude them as soon as possible, even if he must concede to some of the Atullian's demands.

The party gathers for the feast in the tower's great hall; the Ghouls are also present, since they can eat raw unspoiled meat, but Cuideog declines, still being sated from the yak earlier in the day. Elatha is as good as his word, and the food and drink flow freely; even Differel seems to be overindulging a bit. However, Eile begins to suspect he hopes to sate them so that they will sleep soundly, and she deliberately hold back. Sunny notices, and she does the same. Later, after they retire, they stay up, uncertain as to what to expect. Even so, they doze off, and some time later they are awakened by what sounds like a heavy, low drone coming from outside. They rush to the balcony and just barely make out a gigantic black shape with blinking running lights pass overhead, heading out to sea. They realize it must be the transport, and they run to awaken Differel and Medb. Both of them are so groggy that it takes awhile for them to stumble out of bed, and by the time they reach their balconies the transport is out of sight. Medb recovers the soonest, and in a fit of rage she charges out of their suite to Elatha's level without bothering to dress. Differel and Victor take a moment to throw on robes and they follow the girls. They find Medb confronting Elatha in his study, holding a spear poised to run him through, but when he carefully explains that he never promised to withhold the shipment, Medb actually laughs and lowers the spear. Elatha then informs them that he has received word that Kuranes will arrive tomorrow morning, at which point they will all be free to go. He also informs Differel that, pursuant to their earlier discussion, he should inform her that Kuranes has signed a non-aggression pact with the Atullian ambassador, meaning that he cannot now wage war against them. He wanted her to be aware of it before Kuranes arrived. Back in their suite, Differel asks Medb if Elatha can be trusted in this. Medb reiterates that he does not lie, but whether he genuinely wanted to help her or was trying to set her against Kuranes, she cannot say. She can only advise her by asking who she would trust, Elatha or Kuranes, and if she is uncertain, to ask Victor.

Once back in bed, Differel does just that. Victor states he would trust Kuranes with his life, whereas Elatha is manipulative and deceitful for all his truthfulness. But then, so is Medb. In any event, if Kuranes made a pact with the Atullians, there must have been a very good reason why, and he will probably explain everything in the morning.

54 days left

The party, with Elatha, awaits on the roof terrace of his tower in the morning after breakfast, watching the western sky. In time, nine craft appear: Kuranes's flotilla, with another barge in front, as if leading the way. As they approach the tower, that one breaks off and comes around to the eastern side, docking at a lower level a third of the way down. The destroyers and chase boats take positions around the tower as the dreadnaught hoves in and docks with the roof. A gangplank descends and Kuranes, with the Cat Queen and Ubasti, disembark. Elatha has arranged a short reception, but it nearly goes awry when the Atullian delegation attends, and among their number, as military attaché, is the golden woman Differel fought in the Underworld, now scarred from her burning. The two women would have attacked one another if their companions had not restrained them, and Kuranes decides it would be best to leave. As a parting shot, Elatha declares to Medb that once the flotilla is out of Hazuth-Kleg airspace, the ransom will be fully paid. Medb acknowledges both that basic fact and the implied threat behind it.

On board the dreadnaught, Kuranes debriefs the party. He is disturbed by Elatha's revelation, but if indeed the involvement of Hazuth-Kleg has ended, there is now nothing he can do. When the girls ask why, Kuranes explains that, while Hazuth-Kleg is a part of Ooth-Nargai and therefore subject to his rule, it is a free-city, meaning that it can govern its own affairs. This came about in the early years of his reign, when Hazuth-Kleg actively opposed him. After a bloody war, he managed to conquer all of its territory, but the city proved too hard to take. As such, a treaty was signed in which the territory that Hazuth-Kleg formerly ruled would now be ruled by Kuranes, but the city itself would remain independent. As long as it made no hostile gestures or provided aid and comfort to the enemies of Ooth-Nargai, it could govern its affairs as it saw fit. When the girls try to argue that in fact the Fomorian plot was a hostile gesture and that it constituted aid and comfort, Kuranes contradicts them, saying that the plot, even as described by Elatha, poses no direct threat to Ooth-Nargai, or directly aids any of its enemies. Kuranes is not naïve; he understands that any threat to the rest of the Dreamlands is a threat to Ooth-Nargai, but he is not an absolute ruler, only a charismatic one. He has a privy council to which he has delegated much of his authority; they share rule with him, and sometimes he must defer to their decisions. As it now stands, they could argue that the Atullians could conquer all the Six Kingdoms and the lands beyond, while leaving Ooth-Nargai in peace. As such, they will make no move against them except to counter a direct, unambiguous threat.

Hence the non-aggression pact. The Atullians threatened war over Differel's activities, claiming the Fomorians and Moonbeasts were their allies. While Kuranes wasn't intimidated, with no knowledge of their involvement or their strength in this region, he could not chance an open break. The pact was meant to buy time, to prevent the privy council from acting unilaterally until they could acquire proof of bad acts. The pact does deny the ability of both sides to act indirectly against the other through proxies, or to target their allies. Considering Differel's reaction upon seeing the military attaché, he has no doubt the party had seen her collaborating with the Fomorians. That would technically be a violation of the pact, but they have no proof, and even if they did, there is still no proof that Mandy's plan targets Ooth-Nargai. Without either, he cannot set aside the pact. And while Mandy is certainly targeting the Six Kingdoms, they are not formally allies with Ooth-Nargai, not even the cats. Up until now, that hasn't really been necessary. However, that also means that while technically he can no longer directly aid Differel, only Saighlíne and the girls are citizens and agents of Ooth-Nargai, and the girls are not acting in their capacity as Knights of Celephais. Hence, there is nothing to stop Differel from continuing her investigation with their help. And as a reward for her many years of service to Ooth-Nargai, Kuranes releases Saighlíne from any further service indefinitely, thereby allowing her to help as well.

The Cat Queen then announces how the Cats From Saturn have taken the Moon, and she asks the help of Differel and Medb to take it back. For Differel, the nickel finally drops. It's classic divide and conquer. The pact prevents Kuranes from helping the cats, because that would put him in conflict with the Moonbeasts, one of the allies of Atullia. The cats are the single most powerful force in the whole of the Six Kingdoms; wipe them out, and everything south of the Oukranos River falls to the Atullians. The Cat Queen boasts she can field a Grand Army of a million cats if she must, but Differel is convinced she is being lured into a trap. In any event, once the Atullians have the Six Kingdoms, it would give them a base from which to launch an invasion of Ooth-Nargai, or help Hazuth-Kleg conquer the region. At that point, it would only be a matter of time before all the Dreamlands fell under their control. Kuranes points out that Karchedon is an allie of Ooth-Nargai, and as long as they control the seas, no one could successfully invade or support a conquest. Looking at Victor, Differel states that in that case, Karchedon would be the next target. Victor nods, saying that he must get word to them immediately. Kuranes tells him that a messenger arrived with a dispatch while he was gone. He had planned to give it to him later in private, but here and now seems a better time and place. He hands over a sealed envelope, which Victor opens and reads. It's good news: the Queen and her high council agree with his assessment that the activities he described pose a threat to Karchedon, and they are mobilizing. They give Victor plenipotentiary powers to negotiate with Kuranes whatever needs be done, and they authorize him to make whatever investigations and take whatever steps he deems fit. He goes off to a nearby desk to pen a reply and send it back with the messenger. Differel, Medb, and the girls agree to help the Cat Queen, and Kuranes leaves them to make whatever plans they need to.

The Cat Queen cannot discount Differel's analysis; in fact, she agrees with it, as does Medb. But she cannot delay too long; the longer she waits, the stronger the Saturn Cats' position will become. It will take long enough just to raise and mobilize the Grand Army. When Differel asks how long, the Queen replies a week. Differel asks for that time to prepare a plan. The Queen grants it, as long as she is consulted before any of them take any action on their own. Cuideog offers to help, but he needs to get back to his patron to report. The problem is, how to get there without talking days of travel. Saighlíne offers to provide transportation, but they must go to Celephais. The Cat Queen objects, saying that they must go to Ulthar; she must get a message to her council, and now that the Moon is cut off, the cloud barges are the fastest way. Victor interrupts to state that that is not necessarily so. To prove his point, he blows on a small recorder, and a winged reptilian creature about the size of a baboon appears out of thin air. Victor explains that it is a homunculus. They are created by the wizards of Punica to act as messengers, guards, and spies. They can phase in and out of reality, as well as teleport across great distances, to any place they have been to before or by following the sound of the recorder. He gives the creature a letter he wrote, plays a short tune, and it vanishes as it turns. He sent that one to Karchedon. He blows again and another appears. He plays another tune and the creature replies with a whistle. This one he can send to Ulthar; it has been there before. It cannot carry anything living; no living creature can survive the teleportation process. Instead, the cat Queen dictates a letter that will be delivered to Eberhard, proprietor of the Inn of the Quixotic Muse. He can then read it to the council. Victor gives the letter to the homunculus and sends it on its way. Saighlíne then asks Kuranes to return to Celephais.

Elatha and Bres are meeting with the Atullian ambassador and the military attaché. They express concern with developments so far. Differel and her friends may not have disrupted the plan, but they are getting close to doing so. The ambassador assures them that the plan is close to fruition, and as long as the site of its implementation is secret, they will be unable to stop it. Furthermore, the pact with Kuranes will hamper their efforts; without his help, they are severely handicapped. Elatha warns them not to underestimate Medb or the Twins. Aunt Mandy appears, much to the Fomorians' dismay, and states that while she agrees, the real danger is Differel. However, she knows her every move; her spy has been keeping her well informed. Even so, perhaps it is time to remove her from the stage, and the Twins as well. She has made the necessary arrangements, and by morning they will no longer be of any concern.

The flotilla arrives in Celephais by late afternoon, and the girls put the entire party up in their mansion. After some spa-style pampering and a large meal, they gather together in the girls' study for a council of war. Saighlíne has her own cloud barge; not as large or fancy as Kuranes's, but it is fast, well armed, and maneuverable. Though it would be a bit cramped, it could hold the entire party, Capt. Ney's Ghouls, and two squads of her personal guardsmen. They could get to the Plateau of Leng in a day. However, it will take a day, maybe two, to get it ready; she hasn't used it in several years. For once, Differel is in no hurry; she needs time to come up with a plan. The girls allow her the use of their study, which is filled with books and maps. They agree that until she does, their primary duty is to help the cats regain the Moon, and without Kuranes's help, they will need allies, and the spiders are their best bet for now. With that in place, everyone retires for the night. However, as the girls settle into bed for some sensual fun, Medb appears. She tells them that war is inevitable; she has seen it in a prescient vision. Therefore, she is off to collect an ally only she can secure. The problem is they live far away; it will take some time to reach them and some time to return. She can travel fastest alone. The girls still want to come with her, but she tells them Differel will have greater need of them than her. She also reminds them she has explored the length and breadth of the Dreamlands for years before the girls arrived, and she can take care of herself. With that, she leaves, taking Crèmedevoyager, Teehar, and Conaed with her.

Differel is awakened in the night by a sound from a nightmare from her childhood. Victor asks her about it, and she explains that when she was little, she had the same nightmare for weeks on end, featuring hordes of humanoid insect creatures that devoured everything in their path; she called them Chiggers. They made a sound that she would never forget. It got to the point that she was afraid to go to sleep at night, they terrified her so much. Finally, Aunt Mandy of all people taught her a mental discipline that allowed her to calm her mind and take control of her nightmares. After that, she never had them again. Even now, the memory of them terrorizes her; she deals with it by throwing herself into her work, hoping she'll forget them again. She hasn't had one for over a quarter-century, and she doesn't understand why they should suddenly return. Then Victor informs her that Dreamers do not dream in the Dreamlands. Confused, she knows she heard the sound, then she hears it again while awake. Panic seizes her, and then a figure appears in one of the windows. Screaming, she throws herself out of bed and runs to the opposite side of the room to get as far away as possible. Victor turns and sees a man-shaped insectoid creature perched on the sill. He jumps out of bed and grabs a pistol off the nightstand, firing as the Chigger leaps at him. It falls dead, but another replaces it. He runs for his sword as house guards enter the room. They rush to engage the Chiggers as Eile and Sunny appear through the shared balcony and a horn sounded somewhere on the grounds. Eile and Victor join the guards as Sunny checks on Differel. Though she stares at the tableau, she appears catatonic. Sunny then uses her bow to support the fighters. The guards are able to hold the Chiggers at bay for a short time, but they trade one for one until they are all dead or incapacitated. Three more Chiggers come in; one grabs Victor, one goes for Eile, and a third for Differel. Sunny shoots that one while Eile cuts down her own, but it collapses on top of her. The Chigger holding Victor makes to rip his face off, and something inside Differel snaps. Screaming, but this time in rage, Caliburn appears in her hand as she leaps over the bed. She lops off the head of the Chigger, who drops Victor, and without a pause she throws herself at the others still coming through the window. Victor helps Eile up and they join Differel as the Ghouls appear. Meanwhile, the household guard has mobilized and attacked those still outside the bedroom. It's over before anyone really realizes it. Differel stands in the midst of the bodies piled around her, panting, a look of blazing fury on her face, then she closes her eyes and roars before collapsing to her knees and sobbing. Eile has Victor take her to their bedroom to clean up and sleep as she and Sunny take charge of the mop up.

53 days left

The next morning, the girls take stock of the attack. About two dozen Chiggers had invaded to mansion. Differel seemed to be the target; no one else was attacked, though the other members of the party had helped in the defense. Half their guards were killed or injured, most while defending the bedroom. However, service with the girls was popular, so there would be no shortage of applicants to fill the vacancies. Most of the Chiggers were killed by being hacked, and all but one dissolved when dead, even those shot by Sunny. However, the one shot by victor was still intact. Sunny speculates it is because of the lead ball embedded in its chest, to which Ceara concurs. Saighlíne goes to report to Kuranes and then to her mansion to prepare her barge. Shadow-stalker leaves to inform the Cat Queen of what happened.

After breakfast, Sunny decides to dissect the body, and they move it into the inner courtyard on a table. Differel comes to watch, but it is clear that the sight of the Chigger horrifies her, and she leaves after only a few minutes. As Sunny examines it, she sees a Moon ruby embedded at the base of the throat. Using a knife she pries it loose, and immediately the body transforms into a skinned human. Elatha's description of the morbidun being used to transform people into soldiers comes to mind, and they realize that Aunt Mandy is creating an army of Chiggers.

Differel shuts herself away in the girls' study, isolated from everyone including Victor. The only contact she has is with servants who respond to her rings for tea, the occasional sandwich, or to stock and refresh the fire, and even then she just gives simple orders and refuses to answer questions. Saighlíne reports that the barge should be ready to sail by tomorrow noon at the latest. The Cat Queen stops by and asks that she be taken along; she wishes to negotiate with the spider council herself. However, she wants to stop at Ulthar to collect her guard. Fortunately the cats need no special accommodations, so they will not crowd the barge any more than it will be. The rest of the day the party makes preparations, then they relax. After dinner, the girls give an impromptu concert, and some of the party join in. Before they retire, however, Differel asks Victor to join her, but she makes no report of her progress.

Continued in Part 2