Rob: "We present Sybil with sleeping quarters that are suitable to a lady."

Sybil: "I promptly don't sleep there. I spend the night in someone's closet."

Sonnet likes to talk to Lucan while he's out cold and wounded so she can work out her thoughts:

Shai: "It's the usual thing. He gets himself into shit, we drug him up, and Sonnet spends the night talking at him."

Sonnet's conversation with Lucan (who was most unconscious) that first night in Arden covers, one-sided, some key bullet points:

1. What is my true purpose here? Me, represent Amber's military might? My ass!
2. Finndo. Smarmy but thoughtful. Courteous. Shit. Certainly marriage material.
3. Osric. He's up to something. What, I can't imagine. He's a warlock, I bet, despite his protests. Was he behind the witchy stuff today?
4. Benedict. I shouldn't care that he's getting married. Shit. No, I won't care. But... yes, this is annoying.
5. The girl's amusing. Let's see how long I can avoid being asked to take her in hand like a proper noblewoman's supposed to do.
6. We're doomed. Or screwed. And I wonder who Pappa's killed now to warrant this?

While the party is staying at the lodge for the evening, they decide to take advantage of the locale:

Cyrus: "I go looking for gossip."
Osric: "I'm not going to go looking for gossip; I'm going to go looking for information."

On party cooperation:

GM to Osric: "You are perfectly capable of showing up where Cyrus is and tap him on the shoulder -"
Cyrus: "Yes, but you might be punched in the groin if that happens."

On party communication: Benedict brings Finndo up to date on some previously unmentioned details of some minor note. This gives us a fine demonstration of Finndo's grasp of noncommittal statements:

Benedict: "There's something you may wish to know about our current situation that may change things."
Finndo: "Oh, dear."
Benedict: "Apparently, I was accosted by an envoy of one of the Far Lords this evening who presented me with an offer of sorts. Apparently, the young lad who is heir to the duchy has gone missing."
Finndo: "Interesting."
Benedict: "And the envoy wished my assistance in locating the lad before it was publicly known tat he was missing. I suspect that it is his mother actually making the offer so as to keep hold on power in the duchy. In exchange for our help in recovering the lad, they will do whatever is in their power to help us in /this/ situation."
Finndo: "Of course."
Benedict: "The rumors are that it is some bit of political infighting in this area, between the Far Lords - "
Finndo: "Interesting."
Benedict: "It is suspected that it is one of the Far Lords responsible for the abduction."
Finndo: "Allright."

On unfortunate misunderstandings: (Benedict kindly decides to check up on Sonnet's manservant, the wounded Lucan)

Benedict: "I go check on Lucan."
GM: "The door is locked."
Benedict: "I knock."
Sonnet: "Yes?"
GM: "That was a woman's voice."
Benedict: "Uh." Pause. "Sorry!"
Sonnet: "It's allright."
She opens the door, wearing the same clothes she wore earlier - a bit disheveled, but the same clothes.
Benedict: "Lady Karm. I was just checking to see how went your manservant."
Sonnet: "I think he passed out a while ago."
Benedict: "Probably for the best. Is he going to recover?"
Sonnet: "He usually does."
Benedict: "Grand. Good evening."
Sonnet: "Good evening."
GM: "You may hear the sound of someone leaning up against the door real fast, breathing hard."
Benedict skedaddles.

On GM contributions to our sanity:

Scott: "Our lives just got more complicated."
Deborah: "Oh. Yes. Look. It's a couple minutes into the session."

Osric discovers an unexpected letter in his room by a lamp he did not light. He picks it up to read it:

Osric: "If it doesn't explode, I will unroll it and read it."

The letter turns out to be a large, folded map of Arden and northern Amber. Complications ensue:

GM: "Roll another time."
Jarrod: "Shit."
GM: "You have something else in your right; you don't remember picking it up."
Jarrod: "And what might that be?"
GM: "It's the knife."
Jarrod: "Shit."

Jarrod logics his way through the situation:

Osric: "Anything inscribed on it? Runes, or - "
GM: "Nope."
Deborah: "One ring to bring them all, one ring to bind them - "
Shai: "Your advertisement goes here."

Osric: "I put the knife down."
GM: "No, instead, for some reason, you slash the map and it begins to bleed."
Rob: "Stop it, evil knife! Stop it!"
Osric: "And you said I was sober, right?"

Shortly after this, there comes the sound of determined banging on Osric's door. To Osric, this sounds like a battering ram. To the rest of the party:

GM: "Yes, there's a distant thumping somewhere down the hall."
Cyrus: "I don't think that's good."
Finndo: "No, I don't think that's good either."
Cyrus: "I am paranoid the white armor has decided to get up again."

And sure enough:

GM: "The door flies open. It is the suit of white armor, advancing on you."
Osric: "Why ME?"

When Benedict charges to the rescue, he finds Osric systematically bashing the bed against the writing desk (which does not hold up well). He deals with the situation as best he can, resulting in:

GM to Osric: "You wake up to see his feet - Benedict's feet. Your bedframe is not that damaged - dented a little - but the writing desk is kindling."
Benedict: "Osric?"
Finndo and Cyrus arrive.
Cyrus: "The writing desk has been very thoroughly defeated, I see."
Finndo: "Has there been an assailant?"
Osric: "I thought so, but it doesn't appear to have been - "
Finndo: "I think a drink might be in order."
Osric: "I certainly don't think so."
Finndo: "You appear to have - I don't think I have a way to describe just what has happened here."

The brothers (all three) try to isolate the nature of the incident by reviewing events step by step. Finndo once more demonstrates his fine command of incidental phrasing:

Benedict: "What were you doing besides throwing your bed into the writing desk?"

Finndo: "Osric, what did you see?"
Osric: "Well, most recently, I was attacked by the suit of armor we just dispatched."
Finndo: "How did it enter?"
Osric: "Through the door."
Finndo: "Allright, you fought it and at what point did that stop?"
Osric: "When he removed his helm, and it turned out to be our father speaking with Benedict's voice."
Finndo: "Excellent."
Osric: "And I will remind you that I have had nothing to drink."
Finndo: "Interesting. Have you had incidents of sleepwalking before?"

Finndo sums up the initial assessment, somewhat optimistically:

Finndo: "Strange place, strange dreams: this is not the most odd thing to have happened before."

Cyrus heads straight for the cynical approach. Sybil has spent the night in the linen closet, happily burrowed in its now extremely disarrayed contents. The thumping has resulted in Sybil staying /in/ the closet, thankyouverymuch:

Cyrus: "Where's the girl?"
Finndo: "Oh, she's in the closet."
Cyrus: "Could she have caused this?"
Finndo: "This seems a bit organized for her."

Finndo: "I go look in the closet."
GM: "You see a cyclone of a nest of pillows and blankets."
Finndo: "I close the door and say the girl did not cause this."

Sonnet has an even more practical approach to the disturbance, which leads to some indicative responses:

Sonnet:"Do we need to kill anything now?"
Finndo: "Not yet."
Cyrus: "We don't know yet."
Sonnet turns around and goes back to bed.

They sum up reassuringly, while Osric continues to convey that /really/, he's very very very normal:

Finndo: "I think you have been more tired from our trip than you thought."
Osric: "Allright. I don't /usually/ do this."
Finndo: "We could look for bogeymen for this, but it seems more likely that he was tired, returned, collapsed and - well."

So much for that:

Cyrus: "So weird things come out of the forest. Is there anything the weird things out of the forest would like us to know?"
Finndo: "I don't know. I turn to the weird thing out of the forest and inquire. Where's the girl?"

On whether Osric was drugged or otherwise under one of the influences he was denying:

GM: "He fell asleep pretty fricking rapidly if he still had his boots on."
Lydia: "This is the NyQuil plan. Big Fucking Q."

They retire the next night. Sybil sleeps in Cyrus' closet. Cyrus snores.

GM to Cyrus: "Did you lock the door?"
Rob: "Like he was sober enough to."
GM: "You didn't lock the door."

GM to Sybil: "There's a lion outside the door."

Eventually Cyrus wakes up and opens his closet door. Sybil, somewhat tense from all that growling of lions, has sent the last little while armed with her bow, waiting for the lion to open the door. When it does, well, she has at - or tries to. Cyrus simply plucks up the arrow. At which point, she throws herself at him. And we should mention the word 'hangover':

GM to Cyrus: "You have a small half clad fairy vibrating at you or at least trying to knock you down to the floor."
Cyrus: "Can I spank it?"
GM: "You don't know but your head sure hurts."

Benedict, on finding a hungover Cyrus at breakfast, greets him heartily (ah, rivalry):

Benedict: "AH LORD HALIBUT GOOD MORNING." And he smacks him on the shoulder.
Cyrus: "I spill tea on him."
GM: "Deliberately?"
Cyrus: "Of course."

Benedict, not to be daunted (to Cyrus): "HERE LET ME GET YOU ANOTHER CUP."

Cyrus: "I eat more flapjacks than Benedict."

Benedict, helpfully: "Lord Halibut, you're looking like /shit/."

The party discusses the political situation and the issue of who marries Dorr's daughter:

Finndo: "I think he gets to marry the girl, by virtue of his not being here." (of Ben)
Sybil: "Well, it might be fun for a day."

Finndo arranges to buy a country manor:

GM: "In fact, they'll give you, with the manor, a pair of horses and the boy to take care of them."
Finndo: "Perfect. Assume he is a spy, treat him well, and start moving in."

Finndo gives Dad a call, discusses the situation, and explains that they appear to have picked up a Fae and been attacked by some armor. Dad has some advice:

Oberon: "Don't go deep into the forest."
Finndo: "Kind of disinclined to do so at the moment."

Cyrus' player tries to do some advanced planning, but apparently isn't specific enough:

Cyrus: "If something were to go really BADLY wrong here - "
GM: "Explain what you mean by that."
Cyrus: "Sort of planning what we would do if all hell breaks lose at dinner or something."
Rob: "We run."

After rolling for 'observation':

GM: "Neither of you notice anything that might be trying to kill you."

Shortly after that, a tree falls on a man, squashing him in a rather sausage-like fashion. Benedict determines to get the tree off him (to search the body) and needs Osric's help:

Osric: "We could just leave him there."
Benedict: "Well. I kind of want to find out what's in his pockets."
Osric: "You've been speed reading your How To Win Friends and Influence People, haven't you?"
Benedict: "I haven't!"
Osric: "Don't you think it might draw some unpleasant attention?"
Benedict: "The body has to be recovered!"
Osric: "And then DEFILED?"
Benedict: "Well, *you're* very discreet!"

Rob: "Oh, you just rolled the tree off him! It's not going to be any worse for looking in his pockets - you just rolled him FLATTER!"

Sonnet, with mimicking Sybil in tow, visits Lucan on his sick-bed:

GM: "He brightens, starts to say something snide, hesitates, and waves the two Sonnets off, "Later."
Sonnet: "Just... smooth back his hair."
He gets his hair smoothed back twice, since Sybil is mimicking Sonnet.
Lucan: "That is so /weird/."

Back to the tree's victim, and the voices of experience:

Benedict: "Any body cavities to search?"
Finndo: "No, because those have been pretty well cleaned out by this point."
Osric: "Not so much cavities as depressions."

Osric: "Why did the tree fall?"
Finndo: "That was a bit of a mystery in and of itself."
Osric: "Decided to let go."
Cyrus: "It just gently fell over."

Cyrus: "So someone caused this, I assume."
Finndo: "Or the tree really hated him."

Sonnet gets rid of Sybil long enough to change, largely by dint of sending Sybil to Lucas and giving her a pair of red velvet gloves. Sybil feels more secure mimicking Sonnet down to dress and manner, and so:

GM: "After a while, you gather, and Sonnet comes down the stairs, and then Sonnet comes down the stairs, wearing red gloves."
Cyrus: "I have a drink."

Cyrus: "I could beat one of them, but I don't think Lord Karm would like that."
Sonnet: "No he wouldn't."
Sybil, as Sonnet: "No he wouldn't."

That evening, at the formal dinner and the party afterwards:

Cyrus: "I have theoretically staggered drunk from the party. Everyone is here, right?"
GM: "Yes. What are you doing?"
Cyrus: "I am going to search the [dead] envoy's rooms. I am going to be discreet and very, very thorough."

Finndo investigates other means of information gathering:

Finndo:"Can you speak to trees?"
Sybil: "If I know them."

On job satisfaction:

Finndo to GM: "We go out and bury the rubies."
GM: "Cyrus is really suited to this work."
Finndo: "This surprises me not at all."
GM: "Cyrus digs a mean hole."
Rob: "Except for the fact that he keeps trying to make it longer than it is wide."

More fatherly advice:

Finndo: "Any good ways to kill witches?"
Oberon: "Big old sword through the heart usually does pretty good."

Sybil emerges from under Finndo's bed while Finndo is dressing. She greets him very courteously, Sonnet style, wishes him a lovely morning, and soars out the door, disheveled, past Osric.

Osric: "Oh, ~brother...~"
Finndo wanders out, muttering about locks.
Osric: "Just wanted to make sure you were up."
Finndo grunts.
Osric: "Gets lonely out here, doesn't it?"
Finndo: "Just wait till she sleeps in your bed."
Osric: "That's allright; she's not very discerning."

Finndo decides to while away some time:

Finndo: "And in the meantime, let's arrange a hunt.'
Sybil: "More hunting?"
Osric: "Not you."
Sybil: "Oh good."

Benedict seeks local information:

Benedict: "Who are the enemies of Savoy?"
Logan: "No one openly; unfortunately, I have too many answers to that question."

Sonnet decides to send the wounded Lucan back home to Lord Karm with an update. Lucan finds this problematic:

Lucan: "You know he does kill the messenger."
Sonnet: He does, but he hasn't killed you yet, has he?"
Lucan snorts.
Sonnet: "Think about it; you're the only man who's seen me naked whom he hasn't killed."
Lucan: "Hokay."
Sonnet: "How are you feeling?"
Lucan: "Better after that."

Finndo, earlier, fed the ground an acorn with a touch of his blood on it, which got him squawked at by Sybil. This comes up later:

Sybil: "Good. You are smart. Occasionally."
Finndo: "Why, thank you."
Osric: "Except when he bleeds into the ground."
Sybil: "Well, yes."

On shadow-walking, which Sybil and Sonnet do not appreciate:

Benedict rides into a tree.
Sybil: "I don't think the land appreciates it, either."

On using Pattern and small Fae:

Osric: "I yell: 'Sybil, FIRE!', and then I am going to decide that these little men are extremely flammable."

In battle:

Leaf-man: "Son of Amber, beware! We are all here!"
Finndo: "Not for long."

On helping out one's brothers (Finndo has a rivalry with Osric):

GM: "So you go help Osric?"
Finndo: "No, he has to learn to take care of himself." Pause. Grin. "A girl can help him."

After the fight with animated leaf men:

Sonnet: "And do I want to get away from these people and collect my thoughts - "
Rob: " - and be jumped by killer salads."

Why We Don't Make Suggestions:

GM, on killer salads: "I hadn't thought of that. That's pretty neat."

Noticing that Sonnet has gone missing, Finndo and Cyrus decide what to do:

Cyrus: "I see. Should I go do something about it?"
Finndo: "No, we should go in pairs." He looks at the other people, "No, let's just go."

Cyrus: "Do we know where she was going?"
Finndo: "I have no idea. I presume the worst part of town."
Cyrus: "Of course."

A Karm daughter's education and desire to help:

Finndo: "Did they offer you offense?"
Sonnet: "Not yet."
Finndo: "Shall I send Cyrus to kill them for you?"
Sonnet: "Not yet. Shall I go back and arrange for them to offer me offense?"
Finndo: "Not yet."

On perspective:

Finndo: "Being attacked by a giant salad will be confusing for most people."
Sonnet: "Not so much confusing as interesting."
Finndo: "That's another word for it."

The brothers continue to assess, some more seriously than others:

Benedict: "Do you think this might be an elaborate test that Father has laid out for us."
Osric: "It's always possible with that one."
Benedict: "Shit."

More of Sybil's odd sleeping arrangements:

Sybil: "I sleep under Benedict's desk. As a second, very brightly colored chair surrounded by blankets."
GM reminds her: "This is Osric's room, too. He's not particularly kind to desks."
Sybil: "Oh! I... the chair moves during the middle of the night to the point furthest from Osric."

The Missing Baron of Savoy's mother, Ismerelda, is told by Finndo about her envoy's death. She makes a strong impression of... mmm, not compassion per se:

Finndo: "Your envoy to Lord Dorr regrettably seems to have fallen victim to a lumbering accident of some manner."
Ismerelda: "Please explain."
Finndo: "Unfortunately, he appears to have fallen victim to a tree of some sort."
Ismerelda: "A tree."
Finndo: "A tree."
Ismerelda: "A tree. How did it fall?"
Finndo: "Quite peculiarly, it did not seem that it had: it was almost as if the earth had given up purchase on its roots."
Ismerelda: "That's interesting. He will be replaced."

On blending:

Shai: "Sonnet has been very quiet, charming and reserved. But if you take a look at her, she's doing the same thing as everyone else: casing the joint."

On GM designed castles:

Deborah: "Who here is surprised that there are secret passageways in the bugged palace? Raise your hands."

Finndo has this interesting tendency to assign playing cards to people. He is the jack of diamonds, for example:

Sybil: "What is the Lady Sonnet?"
Finndo: "I don't know."
Cyrus: "Deadly." Pause. "The Queen of Swords."

Finndo, not present, drew a trump of Sybil, which to her feels like a circle around her. Sybil freaks:

Sybil: "Someone drew a circle!"
Benedict: "Does this have magical significance?"
Sybil, agitated: "Yeeeesss."
Jarrod (translating the tone): "You dumbass."
Benedict: "Does it bind you?"
Sybil: "Yeess!"
Fred or Jarrod (translating some more): "Does a bear shit in the woods?"

Finndo needs to send someone to fetch:

Finndo: "I will catch a servant."
Jarrod: "With a big net."

Finndo chats up Ismerelda The Soft:

Finndo: "The Baron is not here, is he? The envoy said as much before his passing."
Ismerelda: "Did he? Then I shall not mourn his passing too much."
Jarrod: "Like you did."

Finndo: "We have some small resources at our disposal."
Jarrod: "Very short ones. Short woodland ones."

Ismerelda: "What would I owe you?"
Jarrod: "All of your frequent flyer miles."

Finndo gives the Very Knowledgeable Duke Tarraign a call at the Academy:

Finndo: "I just finished having a delightfully evasive conversation with the Lady Ismerelda."
Duke Tarraign, unenthused: "Oh her."
Finndo, politely: "Yes. Charming woman."
Duke Tarraign, flatly correcting: "No."

Finndo: "We were accosted by animated piles of leaves on the way to Savoy."
Duke Tarraign, cheerfully: "Of course you were!"

Finndo: "Lady Ismerelda implied that there was some use of this at the Academy."
Duke Tarraign: "Bitch always uses riddles, doesn't she?"

Cyrus fills in some details about the druids of Tanauril (sp?):

Cyrus: "They like nature. They like blood, particularly from humans."
Osric: "Charming."
Finndo: "Delightful."
Sybil: "No, that makes sense."
GM: "These are not light, fluffy druids."
Jarrod: "Gee, I wonder whose dark, twisted brain these came from?"
Everyone looks at Lydia..

Sonnet plans out her own sleeping arrangements while in the palace at Savoy:

Shai: "She doesn't lock her door. She usually locks her door, but she doesn't tonight, just in case someone has to get in to save her from whatever evil comes in the secret doors."