:Personally, I have never seen anything of the sort,: Alberich admitted. :There are snows in my hills, but they are thin and dry.:

:This is winter weather typical for the North of Valdemar, not so much here,: said Kantor. :I wonder—:

There was a long pause, as they wove their way among the houses of the highborn, and laughter and shrieks of pleasure and excitement echoed behind the walls and fences.

:You wonder—?: Alberich prompted his Companion.

:Well, it’s dreadfully soon… and the Court is technically still in mourning… but a snowfall like this doesn’t come very often, and there’s going to be a hard cold spell coming behind it.: Kantor gave the impression to Alberich that he was musing aloud, though Alberich wondered for a moment where he was getting his weather information. :The Terilee is going to freeze solid when that cold spell comes—that hasn’t happened in fifty years. I just wonder if it’s occurred to Selenay to decree an Ice Festival.:

Although Alberich had never heard of an Ice Festival before, the name pretty much told him everything he needed to know. :If the river freezes solid, isn’t something like that bound to happen spontaneously anyway?: The very novelty of the frozen river would bring skaters—the skaters would draw vendors of food and drink, and those would attract musicians, skate sharpeners, skate vendors, and probably more merchants than that. On the whole—well, it wouldn’t be a bad thing for an official Festival to take place, official mourning be damned. The Wars had dragged on for years. Sendar’s death had cast a pall over the entire country, but there was only so much grieving that you could do before you just wearied of it. Selenay’s coronation had been a triumph, but it had been a shadowed triumph.

:Well, you can hear it beginning for yourself,: Kantor agreed, tossing his head in the direction of yet more laughter. :And once the river freezes, people will come flocking down to the banks. If it were me, I’d go ahead and make the decree so that what is going to break out anyway gets some time limits to it. And while we’re at it, something like this would create a number of excellent opportunities for you to nose about and listen.: Kantor paused, perhaps to gather his thoughts. :If anyone is going to try and foment discontent, oddly enough, a Festival is a good place to do so. You can say things then that people will dismiss as the drink talking—but the words will still stick in the memory, and should Selenay or her Council do something that people don’t agree with—those words will be remembered.:

:We really do think too much alike,: Alberich agreed, as they turned in at the gate, with a friendly nod to the Guardsman on duty. :So, to whom should we drop hints, and when?: