10th of Samune,

  Maxwell’s Journal

  Solid ground feels good. Brianna and Grendel haven’t left my side. The company feels good. It’s hard to admit, even here, that I’m not okay. It’s nice to have the support.

  Excerpt from Lady Brianna’s Journal

  Max isn’t okay. He gets this look in his eyes… He saw a horse trough today and shuddered. This is going to be difficult. He used to love boating, and fishing, and lazying in the bath… I am worried.

  14th of Samune,

  Maxwell’s Journal

  I didn’t react to the horse trough today. Exposure seems to help? I don’t know. I’m going to try and take a walk down to the lake in the morning. We will see what happens.

  15th of Samune,

  Nope. We left in the morning.

  18th of Samune,

  Three days of no water bigger than a little stream that I could see the bottom of has been good for me. Tomorrow there is a river we need to cross. Thank the…universe there is a bridge. I keep having nightmares about drowning, it’s a good thing I have a supply of sedatives.

  22nd of Samune,

  We reached the capital this afternoon. We will meet with the king and his court tomorrow for lunch. I hate the politics of these sorts of things. We saw the in-laws this evening. It was wonderful to catch up with them, as it has been a war and other stuff since the wedding, and letters don’t convey all of the emotion and story one wants them too.

  The “city in the trees” is a gorgeous place. There are so many shades of green here that I almost want to put down roots. Then I remember the end of the last time I was here and that bastard Greymore. Screw that god. I also forgot how racist the elves that live in country are. I don’t feel like spending 50 odd years again proving myself to them. I guess travel does expand your horizons, like Tristan once said.

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  23rd of Samune,

  Lunch was lunch. I wore and old set of clothes. Bri said the color really set off my eyes, and the subdued jewelry really made an impact. The young king was a ball of energy, just like at the wedding, and had a wonderful time trading stories with Grendel. I worry Grendel may be a bad influence on his majesty.

  The archpriest of Greymore shared a concern at the meal. Apparently Grey-boy hasn’t been talking like he used too. I wonder if Bri’s reaction to my mur… my situation caused him some problems.

  26th of Samune,

  I’ve fought two racist prigs in the last three days. Both with the thin longswords elves use. The swords are both lightweight and stronger than high quality steel. I now have three such swords. I didn’t kill either of them, just disarmed them. I’m sure the healers were able to reattach the limbs.

  I want to leave as soon as possible, but etiquette requires more time in the trees. We have to visit Bri’s indirect family for a meal each. Each meal will try to out due the ones in the past. It’s so much pomp and ceremony that I almost want to go back and run my own provinces…

  Oh, and there will be assassination attempts of one sort or another. Mostly from outside the family.

  29th of Samune,

  Assassins. Bah! Stupid people.

  -

  Max and family sat at the long, ancient dining table, surrounded by pretty people, pretty art, and pretty table settings. It had taken some time, and bullying on Bri’s part, to get Grendel seated at the table with the other “Important” people. Of which, Max had seemed ignorant. Until he spoke.

  “Let me tell you something, Lord Silver of the moon, I almost took offence to My Son being left off of the seating arrangement.” Max looked the lord in the eye. “It would have been a shame if things had had to be done.” The one problem for the guests was that Max had not spoken in common, nor elvish, nor high elvish, but in the ancient language of the elves that was only used in high ceremonies by the elder clergy on feast days. At the far end of the high table, the one member of the clergy in attendance gulped, then departed sighting a migraine coming on. The rest of the table recognized the language, smiled to pretend they understood, and went on talking about other items of interest.

  The second course was laid before the them. Max took a deep inhale of the seafood soup, and placed his hands over the bowls of Grendel and Bri. “Lords and Ladies,” He announced. “Do not consume the food placed before you. I can smell the poison it has been flavored with.”

  A lesser cousin down the table scoffed. “Your human nose has no such ability!” He took a sip from his spoon, began to choke, then fell to the floor. A few seconds of violent shaking later, he was dead.

  Max raised an eyebrow, and muttered, “Some people just don’t listen.” As the party erupted into noise and accusations.

  For her part, Bri just rolled her eyes. Grendel on the other hand took a sniff of the soup, and dumped it on the table. At the questioning looks from Max and Bri, he shrugged, “In the gutters it’s how you show that the food isn’t even worth feeding to the dogs.” Bri covered her mouth to hide a smile, and Max laughed.

  -

  Turns out the assassin was one of the servers. She had poisoned several dishes at random as well as the ones served to my family and I. She took a swallow of the same poison that she had used and left this mortal coil. No way to know who hired her, as I’m not vengeful enough to bring her back for answers and then kill her again. Maybe if she had killed one of us…

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