In the Hall of the Mountain King
Enter Dragons
In which there is a dance of dragons.
There have been several occasions in recent stories where Val Con, or someone else, has raised the question of how the Tree actually regards the creatures that live under its branches. Part of what this story is about, and particularly this chapter, is giving an answer to that question.
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In the Hall of the Mountain King
In which Korval prepares to receive guests.
We have not previously encountered Finifter’s Shave, the ship that brought Toragin and Chelada to Surebleak, but the planet Finifter has been mentioned a couple of times. It’s one of the stops on Tan Sim’s trade route in Trade Secret, and one of the planets discussed in Culture Club in Saltation.
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In the Hall of the Mountain King
Enter Talizea, Miri, Jeeves, Val Con, the Tree, clowders of cats and kindles of kittens
In which the house is unsettled.
“In the Hall of the Mountain King” is the title of a famous piece of music by Edvard Grieg, originally written as incidental music for Henrik Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt. The relevant bit of the play tells how Peer Gynt visited the court of the Mountain King and formed a connection with one of the King’s daughters, not entirely to the satisfaction of anybody involved. The supernatural and inhuman Mountain King’s most famous moment has him proclaiming a philosophy of supreme selfishness that regards everyone and everything else as inconsequential.
…and I’ve said all this before on the blog, because Crystal Dragon used “In the Hall of the Mountain Kings” as a chapter title when it had a sequence set in the domain of the Great Enemy. To have the same metaphor now applied to Jelaza Kazone is, to say the least, disconcerting.
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In Vertu’s taxicab
Enter Yulie, Mary, Anna, Rascal
In which everyone is going to the same place.
Apparently the hill at the end of the Port Road is now named Undertree Hill — or perhaps that’s just what the Bedel call it and Yulie has picked it up from them.
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In the house of the taxi driver
Enter Vertu and Cheever
In which Vertu Dysan greets the new day.
The story is subtitled “A Minor Melant’i Play for Snow Season”, which offers a hint at what it’s likely to be about. Melant’i plays involve dramatic consquences revolving around points of correct behaviour; the examples we’ve had described seem to generally end with dead bodies, and sometimes with buildings burning to the ground.
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In which yo’Lanna achieves a crush and Surebleak achieves a coup.
After Val Con commenting at the first inspection that the decor in the entrance hall was unsubtle but mendable, I was looking forward to seeing what had been done with it, but the narration skips past it and straight to the ballroom. Then again, perhaps Lady yo’Lanna hasn’t had time to do anything interesting with it yet.
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Jelaza Kazone
Tree Court
In which Miri has had a long rest.
I wonder about the yellow, orange and red flowers with the peppery smell. The description reminds me of the nasturtium flowers my mother used to grow and use the edible parts in salads. As I recall, they had a peppery taste, but I don’t remember what their smell was like.
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Mercantile Building
In which the Boss Vote is concluded.
And that, more or less, is that. There’s still the outcome of the TerraTrade survey to be announced, but that’s looking more predictable now than it did a few chapters ago. And Lady yo’Lanna’s housewarming party. And, maybe, a progress report on Memit’s rabbit hunt.
The Way Between
In which Miri and Val Con are not going to die here.
I’m not hanging around to think of something to say. I want to know what happens next.
Surebleak Port
Office of the Road Boss
In which Miri’s day suddenly gets more interesting.
So, Pat Rin did send the alert to both Val Con and Miri, regardless, which makes perfect sense and is what I would have assumed in the first place if the narrative hadn’t implied otherwise.
It annoys me that this is what I’m thinking about when there’s a dramatic climax going on.
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