67: Rabbits

Hi mum. Remember we were at the garden party. Well, I think we had arrived a bit early with a lot of the less fashionable people, because after a bit, more people started turning up and you could tell they some of them were a bit more important.

We saw Petra Liebkosen who was a Middeneheimer, but she was with Thijs van Zalijvwijre who was dressed in Marienburger fashions. We realised those were the two we had overheard in the maze talking about Wallenstein and Sparsam.

And we saw Isolde Begegnen, who is the head of the Shallyan cult in the city. And there was Martial von Genscher who Guido had already met when he was hanging out with Dieter. He seemed to be looking for someone in the crowd, but he caught sight of Prunkvoll, and seemed to try to avoid him, and Prunkvoll followed him to try to talk to him. I’m not sure what that was about but I think people just think Prunkvoll is boring. It’s a bit sad, really, mum, but then I’ve never chatted to him, so I don’t know.

Then we saw Pavarotti and Rallane going into the maze together, No doubt they had stuff they wanted to talk about, but I’ve no idea what it might be. Maybe Pavarotti wanted some music to hypnotise people by.

Then the wizards turned up. There was High Wizard Albrecht Helseher, and he was with his deputy, Janna Eberhauer, and her sister Erina, who was also a wizard. They all had their colours of magic on, but I’m not really interested in stuff like that. To be honest, mum, I think it looks a bit silly.

Helseher went to speak to the graf, but he hardly acknowledged him and he was stopped by one of the Knights Panther. And Janna waved at Petra.

When Willow saw Pavarotti and Rallane go into the maze she followed them. She might have got lost but said they were easy to follow because of the smell of Pavarotti’s Eau de Nuln.

She heard them say this. Luigi: ‘So, I have been meaning to get to know you. You have been avoiding Luigi, eh?’ Rallane: ‘Not at all, not at all. My duties have kept me busy.’ Luigi: ‘Busy dreaming up this Dwarf tax? No, basta, basta! A joke, a joke!’ Rallane: ‘Ah. I’m not in the mood. I have never suggested such a tax.’ Luigi: ‘Not sorry to see it introduced though? No! Don’t take me so seriously. We are friends now, you and me, you’ll see.’ Rallane: ‘The Graf’s son has seemed quieter since you came here.’ Luigi: ‘Stefan is a sweet child. I have him rest for his own sake.’ Rallane: ‘You’re not sedating him?’ Luigi: ‘With music you can settle a troubled soul. It is the same with my art.

Dreamy did wonder whether this Eau de Nuln smell might be similar to the perfume we smelled on Etelka Herzen, but decided they were nothing alike.

Then we saw the Kislevan ambassador who was called Sergei Bukharin, looking very Kislevan, and he was with Natasha Sinnlich, a tall imposing blond lady, who we thought might be there to keep an eye on the ambassador on behalf of the court. It was pretty clear that the ambassador was impressed by her.

I decided to stay around the entrance to see if I could get a look at Wallenstein, seeing as a lot of people were talking about him. Blume wandered off to mingle. She wondered where the princess was but realised we had arrived much too early to be fashionably late.

Blume was just getting her pamphlets out and Guido came over to stop her. He asked to look at a pamphlet and realised that all his edits had been omitted and warned her not to hand them out. He said that there was some stuff about the graf in it that would get her in trouble, and she said that was why she was going to wait until he went to bed. And Guido put the pamphlet in his pocket, and so got one without paying.

Blume tried to get Guido to talk to Prunkvoll with her because she wasn’t interested in all the military stuff he talks about but Guido said that if she was really interested in social standing then she wouldn’t be seen dead with him, but Blume said if she were really interested in that she wouldn’t be seen dead with all the halflings.

Guido said that if she really wanted to talk to Prunkvoll she should go into the maze and meet him there. But then Blume got a bit strange, and seemed mortified that she might have to go into the maze alone and accused Guido of abandoning her. She started to protest very loudly, so much so that Guido felt the need to apologise to everyone within ear shot.

Eventually Blume went into the maze and Guido walked past Prunkvoll saying that there was a lady in the maze who needed rescuing, and he immediately sprang into action and marched off towards the maze. Blume saw him coming and waited for him, but he just marched straight past her. She even pretended to fall over and require his help, but he ignored her. And when she finally caught up with him he explained that there was a lady who needed his help, and she wasn’t a lady but a strumpet (I’m just writing what he said, mum).

Blume insisted that she had invited him to the maze so they could talk, and reminded him of the plot against Princess Katarina. He simply said he had taken her fears to the head of, well, the deputy head of, well, one of the Knights Panther, and they told him everything was fine, so that was that. Then he said he would lead her out of the maze, but clunked off in the wrong direction, and I think Blume finally realised it was time to ditch the bloke.

Then Gotthard Wallenstein was announced. He was a very young-looking blond-haired chap, and looked far too young to be such a successful merchant and to have so many important roles in Middenheim. He sort of reminded me of someone, like I’d seen him before, but I couldn’t remember where.

He made a very ingratiating smile at the graf, but the graf mostly ignored him, which I could tell irked him, and so he grabbed a drink and wandered off. I asked some people about him, and they said he wasn’t from round here and a relative newcomer, but he was very charming, and he was chairing so many bodies, he was really up and coming.

Then the white dwarf, who was really called Convenor Yarnad Magradil, and was the manager of the Dwarf office of the Komission for Dwarf, Elf, and Halfling Interests, went up to Wallenstein and they had a bit of an argument, and I heard Wallenstein say that none of the new taxes were his idea and that Magradil should take the issue up with the Law Lords. (To be honest, mum, I think we should take it up with Law Lords, but I can’t remember who they are.)

Meanwhile Willow was talking to Bettie Greenhill who is the sister of Silas Greenhill the landlord of the Blazing Hearth, who is related to the Picklechurch chutney dynasty, and a relative of Allavandrel’s housekeeper, Cordelia. Bettie manages the graf’s kitchens and arranged to have the rabbits in their hutches for the party. Bettie mentioned that Stefan was getting a little better and they didn’t get through as many soup bowls for him as they used to.

Then Willow had the idea of getting the children to play secrets, as that might be a good way of getting some interesting information out of them, but feels a bit exploitative of minors to me, mum.

Then Willow noticed that there were fewer rabbits around than earlier, and remembered Bettie’s role in seeing to the rabbits and running the kitchens, and she remembered an item on the garden party menu was ‘exceedingly fresh’ grilled rabbit, and so she popped one of the rabbits in her pocket to save it from the cream sauce.

Then a cheer went up by the entrance for Allavandrel as he arrived carrying his archery trophy. Dreamy went to join him for a drink, and as he did he noticed that Janna Eberhauer was blushing a bit at the sight of the elf.

Guido asked the merchants he was talking to about going into the maze but they said they preferred to avoid it as it would be a bit embarrassing if they got lost. But Guido went in anyway and managed to overhear Bukharin and Sinnlich.

Natasha: ‘Why do they say the young Tsarevna commands the weather?’ Sergei: ‘One of her talents, one of many.’ Natasha: ‘How did she learn it?’ Sergei: ‘It is in the Gospodar blood, my dear.’ Natasha: ‘Oh? Did you see much of the Carnival earlier?’ Sergei: ‘I saw the archery. I bumped into Herr Schmiedehammer there.’ Natasha: ‘Poor Sergei. Was he very dull?’ Sergei: ‘Ha! Actually… he was tiresome. I asked him what he thought of this tax on Dwarfs and he kept repeating himself. He must have been drunk.’ Natasha: ‘Was he now?’

Guido went up to them and asked Bukharin whether they had mazes in Kislev. He said they did but when you are with a beautiful woman, they take longer. And Guido said that his father trades in Kislevan vodka in Marienburg and asked him what he thought of Middenheim vodka, and Bukharin said it wasn’t very good (although he said it a bit more strongly than that, mum). Bukharin said he was here to discuss trade terms, and to see the carnival. Guido asked to be introduced to his companion and he introduced Natasha Sinnlich of Middenheim. When Guido mentioned the taxes Bukharin agreed that they didn’t make any sense. But Sinnlich came out with a well-rehearsed diplomatic line that didn’t really mean anything, which made Guido think that perhaps she had been assigned by the court to accompany Bukharin, and perhaps keep a close eye on him.

Meanwhile, Blume was looking out for fashionable young ladies to mingle with. Kirsten Jung arrived with her two sisters, but they were a bit out of her league.

Meanwhile, a fight had broken out among the children, and two of the rabbits escaped into the maze. Willow told the children off, and then ran after the bunnies.

Meanwhile, Guido had guided Sinnlich away from Bukharin and was at his most charming. But Sinnlich was famous for her glacial beauty and quite used to schmoozing at court, and so wasn’t impressed by Guido’s efforts. Getting a bit desperate, Guido pulled out Blume’s pamphlet and showed it to her. But she wasn’t amused, or impressed. So in a final effort, he told her he was a guest of Dieter and asked if she wanted to be introduced to him, but accidentally called her Kirsten, so that was that.

Meanwhile, I was asking around about Wallenstein, but nobody really knew much about him or where he was from. And then I noticed Pavarotti hovering over the punch bowl, and I saw him pull a small brown bottle from his clothes, and pour the contents into the punch.

Worried that he was poisoning everyone I ran towards the table. I intended to accidentally fall over and then push the punch bowl onto the ground. But I got it all wrong and accidentally fell over for real, and missed the punch bowl but stubbed my toe. Pavarotti was still close by so I called to him for help. And as he started examining my foot, I was able to fish the bottle out of his robes and put it into my pocket. Pavarotti said that I would be alright soon enough and I could walk on it, and he offered me a glass of punch. So I took the glass, and went off to find Willow, remembering not to drink any of the punch.

Meanwhile, Willow was crawling around the maze looking for the rabbits, and found herself engulfed by a capacious silk skirt. It turned out it was Prunkvoll talking to Baroness Marlena Klochmann (I’ve no idea who she is, either, mum) And she heard them say the following.

Siegfried: ‘I know the secret of the maze, every second left.’ Marlena: ‘I’m so glad you’re here to escort me, I’d get lost on my own.’ Siegfried: ‘Well there’s no need to fear when you’re accompanied by the Knight Eternal. I’ve seen you at the palace before, is that right?’ Marlena: ‘Perhaps, I’ve made representations to the Law Lords about these taxes.’ Siegfried: ‘None of my business. Not fitting for Middenheim’s own Knight Eternal to question the wisdom of his Graf.’ Marlena: ‘Law Lord Erlich, I was hoping he’d come to see sense. Is he here?’ Siegfried: ‘I have not seen him in weeks. Now, time to turn left again.’ Marlena: ‘I think it’s straight on. Not seen him in weeks?’ Siegfried: ‘No, and as Knight Eternal of Middenheim it wouldn’t be my habit to fraternise with clerks.’

Then the lady noticed Willow, and Willow explained that she was looking for escaped rabbits and pulled the rabbit out of her pocket as evidence. Then Willow asked Marlena whether she would help her (I thought she might be bored of Prunkvoll – Willow) but she just held on to Prunkvoll’s arm and said she would let Willow know if they found one.

Meanwhile, Blume was hunting down Bukharin as she thought there might be a job in it for her. When the Kislevan saw her approaching, he smoothed down his moustache and grabbed a glass of punch for her. Blume took a drink but apart from a bit of a bitter taste, didn’t really notice anything about it. She asked Bukharin about the perks of being an Ambassador, and he said it was still better to arrive home.

And then Blume began telling him about the Spice Islands. I’m not sure he knew anything about them (do any of us, mum?) but he carried on the conversation as if he did. She told him her father dealt in Chamomilly, Chardomom, Peber, and Nuthmeg and I think that convinced him that Blume was an idiot and he made his excuses and left. But Blume just took another drink and didn’t feel bad about it at all. In fact she was feeling remarkably relaxed about everything and not even the imaginary fantastical animals encroaching on the periphery of her vision bothered her.

Meanwhile Dreamy was drinking the punch, too, with Allavandrel and Rallane. He had mentioned that the Sigmarite contingent was looking a bit out of sorts and the elves agreed that there was a lot of contention between the cults, especially Ulric and Sigmar. But now the spiked drink was kicking in Dreamy was starting to see things that weren’t there but he felt rather good about everything, too.

Guido left Dieter and Kirsten and went for a mingle. He saw Gotthard Wallenstein drop a pink-looking vial onto the grass and furtively, pick it up again, checking to see if anyone had seen. Guido recognised the distinctive bottle as that of Estalian Moscat.

And then some trumpet blasts heralded the arrival of the Princess Katarina, with her chaperone Zimperlich, and Emmanuelle Schlagen, one of the ladies of court. The graf perked up a bit at seeing his daughter. A wave of Gallants formed around them and Zimperlich tried to get rid of as many as she could, but Katarina didn’t seem very interested in any of them, anyway.

I reached the maze and saw Willow emerging with all the rabbits and I showed her the bottle that Pavarotti had used and the glass of punch.

But that’s all for this letter, mum. Hopefully Willow will know what was in the punch and I can tell you about that, and the rest of the party, in my next letter.