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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cerebral Paladin" data-source="post: 3643579" data-attributes="member: 3448">“We understand that my grandmother had a plan prepared for great emergencies.  Could you explain it to us?”“I would be most glad; do you have a copy of it?”“No.  We thought that since you keep the Archives…”“Ah.  Her grace forbade the existence of more than one copy of the plan, as a security measure.  There are false copies throughout the archive, but they are incorrect in many ways.”“Why would she have done that?” asked Dame Brionna.“She believed there was a possibility of a traitor in the court.”“I wonder why she would have thought that,” said Kit sarcastically.“I must admit-- though that wasn’t our job--  I don’t know of anyone that was sure they were there, except your grandmother,” added the Chief Archivist, completely missing Kit’s tone. “Let me guess-- the Privy Secretary had the only accurate copy of the finished plan.”“Most likely, Dame Katherine.”“What role did you play with regard to the emergency plan?” asked Alistair.“I was part of the team that developed it, along with the Rt. Rev. Clarence Williams; Lady Deborah Brightspan, the Privy Secretary; Sir Dudley Coddinggourd, the Interior Secretary; the Foreign Secretary; and the Minister of Defense.”Dame Brionna looked at the Chief Archivist intently.  “Was there anything Lady Deborah was particularly responsible for adding?”“She suggested a series of keyed teleport platforms that would allow people to teleport out through the wards to certain preset locations.  We agreed that that would be prudent.”Alistair closed his eyes and reached out his perception through the system of wards.  He was not certain he would be able to sense anything, but he found that he could feel the entire system, along with certain weaknesses, including one six feet to his right.  He moved his hand gently as he exerted his will over the wards to close the weak points.  “I found the teleport passages and closed them.  I can open them again if we need them, but until we have had a chance to make sure that Lady Deborah didn’t build in any nasty surprises, I don’t want them open.”The Chief Archivist nodded nervously.  “She was also responsible for the preparation of the twelve rings-- each would let its wearer move easily through the wards.”Dame Brionna’s eyes widened as she thought about the threat.  “Who were the rings given to?”“I don’t rightly know.  Her grace handled the distribution personally. I suspect that the accurate copy of the plan included that information, but I cannot be certain.”“Was there anything else that Lady Deborah suggested?” asked Kit.“Not that made it into the plan.  She also wanted to create a means to override the golems--to make the golems imperceptible to the wearers of the rings.  She worried that the golems could make a mistake.  We overruled that, of course.  The golems are essential to the palace’s defenses, and there have never been any indications that they would not defend the monarch loyally.”“At least that’s something,” said Alistair.</blockquote>

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