After Cat’s arm got fixed, we reconvened in the great hall of the ancient keep and finished all the introductions. Then the meeting of Cat and the Viscountess' family fell into what was becoming a familiar pattern: explaining the eye, explaining the leg, explaining the elvish accent, discussing the allies backing Cat, and then unveiling the plan for getting rid of the Regent at the Solstice.

Of course, the matter of Cat’s left eye came up here, but this time, there was a huge difference. For this big reveal of the glass eye, there were two young girls present, aged eight and ten. For reasons which remained a mystery to me, the five children of the Viscounty family gathered on either side of Cat’s armchair to watch and listen. Then, without my knowing, the composed and mature Prince Andray was inexplicably replaced by some unknown teen-aged prankster who looked just like my boy but was an undoubted imposter.

When the Viscountess questioned the eye, Cat followed his usual routine with a few notable exceptions. When Cat’s cue arrived, he popped out his eye like he always does, but this time he had an audience of children watching every move. When he popped the glass eye out, he first held it up so the pupil faced him.

“Wow, that’s so strange,” Cat muttered so everyone could hear.

“What’s strange, brother?” asked reliable sidekick Willam with a face as innocent as Andray’s.

“Seeing myself through my eye as I’m holding it,” he studied it for a few seconds more and then reversed it so the pupil would be facing wherever he pointed it. He turned to the youngest girl, Alison, and held up the glass eye so it was looking at her, “boo!”

Little Lady Alison obliged everyone with a blood-curdling shriek. Then ran she to hide behind her oldest brother. The shriek caught my boy by surprise.

“Oh dear,” Cat looked concerned, “I didn’t mean to scare anyone. Would you mind holding that for me, Lord Johan?” the smiling Cat tried to pass the glass eye to Johan.

“Highness, that’s so gross!” Johan stepped away from Cat’s chair. “Gaaah!” Johan let out his own scream when he noticed there was a flame inside the eye socket. “What’s wrong with your face?”

Cat looked confused and turned to his Uncle Sven. Duke Sven pointed to one of his own eyes and mouthed, “it’s on fire.”

“I guess I should put it back,” Cat made the motions of popping the eye back in. When he looked up, all the stars in the night sky filled his eye socket instead. Father Garshom, Duchess Dora, and Duke Valgard all shook their collective heads and rolled their collective eyes.

Father Garshom gave Cat one of his looks, “alright, you’ve had your fun. We do need to move on to more serious business so fix the eye.”

“There’s something wrong with my eye?” Cat’s look of puzzlement was so perfect that Willam, Sven, and Valgard started laughing. Despite this, Father Garshom glowered at my boy. Cat was amazing and continued his puzzled look.

"Now then, children," Duchess Dora's tone of voice took the room over, "and that includes you, Duke Valgard, playtime is over for now." She gave the old duke the spousal glare that promised someone was sleeping on the couch. “So you can fix your…,” Dora stopped when she looked back at Cat with his glass eye back in its socket. “Hmpf,” she shot daggers of disapproval at him.

“Fix what, Aunt Dora?” Cat’s open expression of sincerity was a marvel. If he wasn’t on track for a career as either a king or a mage, he could make a decent living as a stage magician.

“How did you do that?” asked Edmund, the second oldest of the Viscountess Alianora’s children. He was one of those quiet observant types.

"Do what?" Cat asked. He was having a great deal of fun, and I couldn't bring myself to obstruct him since he rarely had opportunities like this. He received Edmund’s look of incredulity for his efforts.

"So, before we move on to our schedule for the next two weeks, are there any more questions that need to be answered concerning myself?"

“Didn’t you lose your leg in the fire?” Lord Estevan asked.

“This one is mostly wood,” Cat knocked on it with his walking stick.

“Please pardon me if this is rude,” Estevan continued, “but why do you talk like an elf?”

“Because I’ve been living in Elvenhome for nearly four years,” Cat shrugged.

"Why did you decide to come home now?" the Viscountess asked.

“I didn’t, actually,” Cat’s face turned somber. “I was traveling with my friends during the traditional two years of adventuring that most elves do between the ages of 16 and 20. We ran into my brother’s ballistae troops in Gorgurak because his troop and my adventuring party were both hired to hunt wyverns.

“One thing led to another, and we discovered, Willam and I, that our father was alive but captive in the palace in Tammerhof; and that my sister is watched so carefully, the only time she has any privacy is when she visits her stool chamber. Right now, I have the Suhkuhl of Zimlakuliku, the Elf King, and the Queen of the Goblins as allies, plus the use of troops and experienced mages from those three kingdoms. We have initiated a plan to remove the Regent and rescue my father and sister before the month is over, which is why I am here.”

“Where did you get a flying carpet?” Johan couldn’t stop himself from asking.

“Oh, that,” Cat smiled. “My foster father gave it to me. I don’t know what he gave to the Suhkuhl to convince that merchant prince to part with one of his precious carpets, but it had to be steep.”

“Foster father?” the Viscountess nudged.

“Storm Eagle, King of the Green Elves. He took me in when I fled after the second attempt on my life.”

“Well, that explains why you are wearing the chain of leaves. You have been having adventures,” she concluded.

“Trust me, I could have lived a happy life without half of those adventures,” Cat went back to somber.

Edmund and Johan were allowed to stay for the serious part of our talks with the Viscountess and Lord Estevan. The two boys were most upset to hear that their grandmother was in the dungeon of the palace. The Viscountess was also upset but she hid it better.

When we were done with our discussions, the de Teeps were committed. Lord Estevan would mobilize all the troops he could spare, leaving just enough of a force to keep the toll collection at the pass in working order. We spent the night at the Vogelberg Fortress, to the delight of those five rambunctious children who decided that I was the best house guest ever. That was after I had spent the evening giving the three youngest rides around the fortress battlements.

When we went to bed, we thought we would continue our journey in the morning to other nobles we wanted to recruit. No one could have foreseen the calamitous events that the early morning hours would bring.