The dinner conversation was interesting, but I fell asleep while the two-footeds were talking. Before we left Gorgurak, we agreed that the person to persuade Duke Valgard was Garshom. I did not know this before, but Garshom and Valgard served as squires together in Tammerhof when they were boys. They both fought in the Elven Border War. Garshom introduced Dora to Valgard many years ago. Theirs was an old and firm friendship.

I had no talking to do in the schmooze-the-nobility part of our plan. I was on the harass-the-Regent part of the plan. Instead of listening to yabbering after dinner, my boy handed me the pouch with the crystal ball, and I retreated to our bedroom.

Scrying showed me the Regent and her blizzard. She passed between her study and bedroom wearing a sable cloak and sable hat, which protected her from the continuous snow. Everything was soaked in her quarters. The snow never stopped, and then it melted. I counted three mattresses on Griselda's balcony set out to dry. Bed linens were on clotheslines everywhere.

Griselda was reaching a breaking point. She screamed at her maids and ladies in waiting constantly. It also appeared that she was losing staff. I listened to the gossip long enough to discover she had the Countess de Teep whipped for suggesting the use of a parasol. The countess was now in the dungeon. Two ladies and five maids left the palace rather than wait on the queen earlier in the day. I found myself purring over the thought that her staff was beginning to desert her.

My manufactured ghosts were doing their job too. The servants were whispering that there was a curse on the palace. Members of the palace staff reported the ghost of Queen Eleanor bemoaning the death of her children. Others heard just footsteps walking through empty hallways at night, or they heard the voice of the murdered Princess Sophie reciting her favorite poetry.

I added a new spell this evening through the scrying ball. The royal chapel had a four-octave carillon. I enchanted it to play Princess Sophie's favorite practice piece at nine of the clock every morning. That's when the princess would practice. I was sure that it would affect Griselda.

I was concerned when I visited the king. He had sleep, befuddlement, and fear cast on him. He must have done something to gain the attention of his captors. The medicine bottle still contained apple juice, so no one had discovered the missing drugs. I snooped around the servants nearby and found that the king encountered the voice of Sophie that morning. He pounded on his bedroom door, begging to be let out because he had heard his daughter in the hallway. The magus came and put the king back to bed.

I undid the spells. Then I woke the king and spoke to him in person instead of in a dream.

* Wake up, King Stephano. We must speak together. *

His eyes opened. Not moving his head, his eyes looked around the room.

* You can not see me, King. I am not here. This is just my voice which I am projecting from far away. *

“Who are you?” he whispered.

* I am the spirit beast sent to watch over your son. We will be in Tammerhof soon, in about 21 days, at the summer solstice. You must stay alive until then. Hide if you must because I fear you are not well enough to fight. Continue to fake being comatose. It is probably the best plan for now. Are you still having withdrawal symptoms? *

“Symptoms?” Stephano asked. “Like what?”

* Shakes and palsy. Headache. Inexplicable sweat and chills. Incredible craving. Nausea. Diarrhea. Itching. *

“I'm still getting some of that, but it's getting better. It's still miserable. What did they do to me?"

* Triple-distilled poppy tincture every day for the last three and a half years, followed by spells to keep you confused and fearful. *

“My wife?”

* Yes, she and her partner, Magus Keleher. They are lovers, but he cheats on her all the time and she does not know it. They are quite a pair. *

“Dammit, she moved before I could. What about the rest of my family? Has she made Willam the crown prince yet?”

* No, she is planning to kill him, and you, and your brother. She will bump off your Uncle Valgard and his family since he is next in line. Then she will marry Aricia to Egbert Oster, and Nordweg will be her bride's gift to her husband. *

“She will kill her own son?” His face said he didn’t believe it.

* She is not sane, King Stephano. She does not know right from wrong. What she wants is right. That which stops her is wrong. Anything in between she doesn’t care about. Those are the only values she has. She is a broken person. *

“Is Osterius in on this or is this something she created herself?”

* Sigurd Oster is the mastermind behind this long-term plan. *

“You’ll need an army to counter Oster. How many men have you raised?”

* I'm not sure. That's not my part of the plan. Five thousand elves and two thousand Zimlakan cavalry riders will make a serious feint into Gan. Father Garshom is persuading your Uncle Valgard to add some of his forces. The goblin queen already has half her army of hobgoblins ready at the border to help us. That's what we're working with. We don't need them, in my opinion, because as the saying goes, ten mages can overturn any army and we have that many. I prefer walking into the palace and just killing the queen and the magus. But that depends on getting you and Aricia out of the palace first. *

“How are you going to do that?”

* I have no idea, which is why you need to keep play-acting the part of the comatose king for now. I have some things to take care of so I need to… *

“Wait, spirit beast.”

* King? *

“When will you be back?”

* I’m not sure. I need to continue to destabilize the queen and her mage so I’ll be back, probably several times. *

“Will you come back? To talk to me? Keep me up to date on how things are going?”

* My name is Fuzzy, and I promise I will be back, King Stephano. *

“Now, I know I've been drugged, and I've been enchanted, and I'm probably not completely right in my head, but is your name really Fuzzy? A spirit beast, a real spirit beast, and your name is Fuzzy?”

* Blame your son. He's the one who named me. I was thinking of something classic for a name, like Berengaria or Eustacia or Clementine… *

“Clementine?”

* Well, maybe not Clementine...but Fuzzy? That name is your son’s fault. *

“Well, Willam's smart, but he's no genius. I never would have thought he'd acquire a spirit beast, and then he named you Fuzzy? What a doofus!"

* Stephano, my boy is not Willam, who is a good kid, and all that. My boy is Andray, your son, your charismatic amazing magical son Andray. *