Summary
It is an unusually humid day at the Keep. After visiting the cellar rats and training Garigan in the Sondeckis room, Charles received a message from Caroline to meet her at her father's workshop. Once there, she leads him to the Metamor River, and out onto the pier, where she asks Charles to look into the water. He does so, and Caroline pushes him in.
Charles sputters and climbs out of the freezing water as Caroline laughs. It is time for Charles to learn how to swim, and this was the easiest (and most enjoyable) way to get him wet. She asks him to disrobe so that it will be easier for him to swim, while she disrobes as well. After both enter the water, Caroline has him swim across the river and back.
Along the way, she gives him tips to improve his technique, such as using his tail for momentum. It will be a week before he is trained. After a few hours, Caroline gives him a break. As she swims and Charles rests, they hear hoofbeats and a carriage being led by Misha, carrying a white rabbit morph. Misha leads the carriage to the pier, where he introduces the rabbit as the Lady Heather, the Clover of Barnhardt. Caroline and Charles introduce themselves, and Heather is delighted to meet them. She has heard about them from Phil, who has invited them all for supper at his parlor, along with Lady Kimberly.
At sunset, the two couples arrive finely dressed for the supper, where Phil announces that he is newly engaged to the Lady Heather. They enjoy a dinner of bread, fruit, cheese, and apple-scented wine, with a bit of meat for Misha and Caroline. Phil leads them all, including his bodyguard Rupert, in a toast to love and to their lovers. The three couples beam lovingly into each others' eyes as Rupert quietly leaves.
Characters
Main characters:
- Charles Matthias: A Long-Scout in-training, a former Sondeckis, and the so-called "Rat of Might" of prophecy. For the next week, he will be learning to swim.
- A few weeks ago, he got his fur trimmed, leaving it short enough to see the skin underneath.
- He wears green with black filigree for Phil's dinner.
- Caroline: A Long Scout, Misha's girlfriend, an otter morph. She teaches Charles how to swim, in her peculiar fashion.
- She wears a liveried blue gown with brown lining for Phil's dinner.
- Over the past month, she has been moving her belongings into either the Long House or into Misha's quarters.
- She has not had any missions recently, though she would like to have one.
- As an otter morph, she enjoys swimming, and can even catch fish in her teeth.
Supporting:
- Misha: Head of the Long Scouts and an amateur clockmaker, a fox morph. During the morning, he is at Lord Barnhardt's estate to escort Lady Clover for Phil.
- He wears liveried blue with brown-lined hose for Phil's dinner.
- Phil: Head of Keep intelligence, a rabbit morph. He has been corresponding with Heather for some time, and is newly engaged to her. His body is more strongly cursed than hers, and he struggles to be as human as he can for her.
- Clover: A minor noble of Barnhardt, "the Lady Heather", a rabbit morph. She and Phil have been corresponding for some time. She arrives today so that Phil may announce that she is his fiancée.
- She has white fur. She has a round head with long upright floppy ears.
- She wears a velvet chemise with lace and underskirts. She carries a handbag in her lap, and sits with a lady-like posture.
Minor characters:
- Kimberly: Charles's beloved, a rat morph. She has recently been promoted to the kitchen staff, running it when Bernadette is absent. She attends Phil's dinner with Charles.
- She wears green with white filigree for Phil's dinner.
Cameo:
- Garigan: Charles's student of the Sondecki, a ferret morph.
- He has learned to hide his anger for an hour, and is currently learning basic Sondecki techniques, stances, and postures.
- Craig: A Long Scout. Here, he acts as a messenger for the Long Scouts.
- Yonson: The diplomat from Marzac, newly changed as an animal morph. He is seen in the garden, too busy studying a flower to notice Matthias.
- He wears a pearl gray doublet and hose, with light purple filigree and cuffs. He bears the crest of a unicorn on the left breast of his coat. He does not wear shoes.
- He has a long white and black striped tail, dark-skinned hand-like feet, a white-furred face with a black mask and a short round muzzle, golden brown fur between his round bronze eyes.
Important mention:
- Lord Barnhardt: A local lord. Misha visits his estate that morning to pick up Clover.
Referenced:
- Will Hardy: Caroline's father, a jeweler, and badger morph. He is having an early dinner.
- Father Hough: The Ecclesian priest of Metamor Keep, a child morph.
- Thalberg: The Keep steward, an alligator morph.
- Bernadette: A serving woman, a mouse morph. She runs the Keep kitchens.
- Dan D'Alimonte: The Keep gardener, a grasshopper morph. Charles plans to get some flowers from him.
- Madog: An old fox automaton, being cared for by Misha.
Locations
- The Ivy Causeway has lost its purple flowers with the warm weather.
- In the anteroom to Will Hardy's workshop, Charles can only see a writing table, a chest, and a bed.
- One of the gardens Matthias passes through has a terrazo walkway around an alabaster fountain with four bucking stallions. There is an odd-looking funnel-shaped flower that Yonson is looking at.
- Metamor River is too narrow for serious commerce; it is usable only for small produce and as a log flume every year. On the shore to the keep, along a landing that the timbermen use, the river is wide enough for pleasure craft. There is a two-pyloned pier here, with small boats used for pleasure tied to the pylons.
- On both sides of the river, there are small huts that the timbermen use.
Story Connections
- The last and only time Charles has spoken with Yonson was in False Winds. This took place barely 6 weeks ago (on the first day of the Summer Solstice festival).
- Over the past month (of July), Caroline has been moving her belongings into either the Long House or into Misha's quarters, further cementing their relationship.
- Hough verified the exorcism at Marzac in Intersecting Correspondence.
Points of Interest
- Typically, summers in Metamor are dry.
- The Long Scouts have completely moved into the Long House by this time, and incorporated its heraldic symbol into all of their activities.
- Many Keepers prefer not to wear clothes in the hot summer.
Behind the Scenes
- "Jormugand" was the name of the real-life mythical serpent that encircled the seas of Midgard.
- The Lady Heather was named after the real-life Phil Geusz's wife Heather. Later stories will use Clover as her name instead.
