Benedict stormed off from the guard's barracks well after Llewella had left. He had waited to make sure he didn't cross paths with his sister again. Wearily, he made his way to the kitchens, chewing on the offer made him…and all the errant thoughts he'd pushed aside before. There were a lot of them, almost too much.
As he entered the kitchens, he glanced around, wishing the staff would "reappear". She hadn't explained where they disappeared to, but she didn't seem overly worried about it. Maybe I should relax for once, trust her on this, he thought to himself. Still not at ease, he padded through the kitchens in search of food. He didn't eat anything at lunch, and had skipped breakfast….he was famished. The Captain gathered a large portion of bread, meat, cheese, and fruit onto a plate, and left, heading next towards his new rooms.
He reached there without incident, though he wondered at that. Normally, he'd have run into a sibling or two by now, but the castle was eerily silent. It grated on his nerves, made him feel unsafe. He closed his door behind him, and set the food down upon the desk. He tended his foot, noting that the actions of the day hadn't really helped it much. Still, he'd be off of it for the rest of the night, and that should give his foot time to heal enough so it wouldn't bother him at all.
He ate his food in silence, chewing absently as he thought of the day's actions. He'd acted foolishly at lunch-there was no getting around that-but he felt then, as he did now, that simply leaving was the best course of action. There was something in that that bothered him…whenever he couldn't vanquish something with a sword, he ran. It was the smart thing to do, but that bad habit wouldn't help him here. No matter how little he liked it, he was going to have to face his problems head on here. Ben just wished there weren't so many of them.
He finished half the plate, saving the rest for later that night, or the morning. He had things yet to do this night, and those things would still require effort, time, and energy. Benedict sat himself in the middle of the floor and contemplated which Path would be easiest to take in this endeavor. Still, it wouldn't do to be interrupted, so he quickly hung and cast a spell that he had learned long ago, a spell to hold energies, so that if he were interrupted, the spell he was casting wouldn't be ruined. That being done, he frowned upon his next choices. There were so many people to find…tasks to achieve…
He drew upon his teachings from the Guardians of the Way. They were an order of monk magicians in an obscure Shadow who magicks were orientated towards perception and defense, rather than offense. He had studied there with them for a number of their years, and he was still impressed with their capabilities as magicians. A Ward around the room, he thought absently, so that I can detect anyone entering or leaving….any energies cast this direction….that first. Just in case. He meditated upon this, drawing the energies into himself that would be needed. After he gathered the required state of mind and the power, he stood, and drew the wards around the room, sealing what was in in, and out, out, except that he wished to cross the Ward. That being done, he reseated himself.
People to find…Corwin, Jacqueline, Father and Grandfather….not that any paltry spell of mine would reach them…Gregory… Benedict shuddered at the last thought. His former friend is…was…dead, and by Eric's hand, in a most grotesque manner. Gregory's body had then disappeared, apparently of it's own volition. Still, no noise has been made of it, and it would be incredibly hard for something of that ilk to hide in Amber for this long. Corwin? No…if he's in Amber, we'll hear of him in the morning. And if we haven't heard anything, he's not in Amber. Benedict considered the collaring of Corwin a low priority, but he still owed Llewella the favor of catching their brother. Bad as Ben's actions might have been at lunch, Corwin by far outshone him in sheer idiocy if nothing else. So, that left just one option-Jacqueline. It was unlikely that a spell of Ben's could reach her from Amber, but it was worth a shot. He'd leave it 'running' all night, and perhaps the next day, and see what turned up.
He sat, concentrating on Jacqueline, and started drawing the arcane runes he needed in the air. This was a different sort of magic, one used by Cabalistic magi from various Shadows, and required the utmost concentration. The runes he drew in the air hung there, glowing with a bright blue light. Then…there was a knock on the door. Benedict swore under his breath, and willed the runes invisible. He cast his holding spell, and got up to answer the door.
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