At the Queen_s command

"They were entrusted to you wisely, William. Your duty has been nobly and well accomplished." The ring was, as noted in the message, unremarkable other than being of Tharyngian manufacture and very far from home. While it might excite some interest in Launston, likely it would be dismissed as indicating little or nothing.

The journal, on the other hand, greatly excited the Prince. He began leafing through and found the missive addressed to Bethany Frost. He set it aside and continued to study the writing. What he noticed first, aside from the dreadful spelling and questionable grammar, was that the entries deteriorated over time. Sentences became shorter. Punctuation disappeared. The hand itself became larger and sloppier, with lines sloping across pages. The phases of the moon remained obvious, but the orb's shape suffered mightily.

Vlad looked up. "I beg your pardon. I am being rude."

Msitazi held a hand up. "Your face is mine when I study a track. Watch him, William, for he is wise and can concentrate. A warrior who strikes fast is valued, but one who is wise enough to know where to strike, he will be the victor."

The Prince smiled. "And, William, you are fortunate enough to have a man who is both fast and wise in your grandfather. Study him."

The boy beamed.

The Prince stood and waved to his wurmwright. "Baker, come here."

The hefty man ran over, clearly afraid that the Shedashee might be somehow threatening the Prince. "Yes, Highness."

Vlad handed him the note to Bethany Frost. "Take my fastest horse and deliver this to the Frosts. Ask Doctor Frost, his wife, his daughter, and his son, Caleb, to be my guests this evening for dinner. They will return home in the morning. You will have Colonel Langford prepare a coach for them and an honor guard of his cavalry company. He'll tell you that you are an idiot. You will tell him I said he was not to lead the cavalry, which is how he will know the order comes from me. The cavalry carry something of value back tomorrow. Their escort duty shall be a ruse should the enemy be watching. Have the guards bring a small strong box with them, including all keys for it."

"Yes, Highness. Should I be going now, Highness, or in a bit since your wurm needs feeding."

"Go now. I think Great Chief Msitazi and his grandson would help me feed the wurm. And on your way, tell the kitchen we shall have seven for dinner. It should be memorable."

"Highness, it's a bit late in the day…"

"Tell them that if I have to cook, they will have to feed the wurm."

"I think they will understand, Highness."

Throughout the discussion Msitazi's face remained an emotionless onyx mask, but as Baker ran off, he smiled. "It is not power that enables one to rule, but the wisdom to know how much to employ and when."

"One always hopes for circumstances that allow for the deliberation that makes both power and wisdom possible." The Prince waved his guests toward the wurmrest. "You will, of course, dine with me this evening as my guests. But first, shall we see to Mugwump's comfort?"

The boy clearly enjoyed feeding the wurm at least after he got past his initial fear. Mugwump appeared to enjoy his presence even more, gently nudging him and bringing his tail around to corral him. The boy shrieked delightedly and jabbered away at his grandfather. Prince Vlad was certain some great tales were going to be heard in Saint Luke upon their return.

The Prince left the two of them to their own devices and retired to his laboratory to study the journal and ring. On closer examination, the only odd details he noted about the ring were some engraving and that a small sliver of brass had been carved from the band. It was possible the latter had happened by accident, but unlikely. The engraving inside the band was comprised, in part, of several symbols of arcane import. Compared with the crest on the outer face, these letters, like the sliver cut from the band, had been made very recently. The Prince accepted that both had been done deliberately and, therefore, had significance.

The journal itself presented the Prince with clues both tantalizing and frustrating. Inside the back cover he found the symbols from the ring repeated. That confirmed their use as some sort of indexing scheme. Still, simple numbers would have sufficed to please an accountant or quartermaster. The symbols themselves had their roots in magick, and Owen's suggestion in the letter that there was a magickal link to the ring suggested something rather sinister.