{Last updated: 30 Jun 2005}
I begin writing this today in the hopes of making sense of recent events
Okay, I won't lie. Not that I can't I'm actually very good at it, to be honest. It's just that I'm never going to make sense of many of these things, and I never plan to. I'm just going to deal with them and move on.
I'm writing them down so that, when I completely lose my sanity (assuming I haven't already) someone can (hopefully) look back upon these things, these events, and make some sense out of them.
I know that I never will.
I'll warn you, though: I'm not one for poetic prose. Don't expect to enjoy your travels through my thoughts. Don't think that this will be fun. It isn't meant to be fun.
It started long ago quite long ago, actually
The insanity begins
A variety of battles, large and small
Funerals, the coronation, and murder
Diplomatic mission, gone awry
The Kraken and Bliss
The Battle of Bliss
Escape to Tonga
Recovery and Revelations
Learning, with Faeries
Exploring the Primal Pattern
Lost and Found
Nothing will be the same...
It was a peaceful day at the castle and I was looking forward to a ride in the country, when I learned that a lady had been asking about me in the local villages. A beautiful woman, apparently, traveling through the lands with only two large dogs as companions. I arranged to have her be informed that I would be available at the Estate, and left immediately to meet her there.
When she arrived, I discovered that the original description did not do her justice. She introduced herself as Lady Evelyn Flaumel and she asked me to tell her about myself. I told various stories, with a good deal of humility, of course. She told me that she was looking for someone of legendary quality like myself, that I was a person of another place. She told me of my parentage, my relationship to her family. She believed that a man named Eric her brother was my father, although she did not know who my mother was. Then she told me of Amber, and of Shadows.
Naturally, I believed little of it.
Would you?
She took me on a walk through these Shadows to a place totally different from my home. There she gave me a red rose, a beautiful thing. I decided to keep it, to remind me that things were not as I once believed.
She showed me Eric's "trump" and explained what it was and how to use it. Using the trump, she called him and introduced us. His form, eerily superimposed over the reality of the strange place I found myself in. He called her Flora (I later learned that this was her real name.), and seemed suspicious of her motives, asking if someone named Corwin could have been my father. She pointed out the similarities between us and he seemed to agree. (I must say that I could see what she was referring to, but I have also seen many cases in which a child more closely resembles an aunt or uncle than the actual parent could this Corwin be Eric's brother?)
Eric offered me his hand from his phantom image, and pulled me into his world (shadow?). Flora attempted to come, also, but he stopped her. This definitely seemed to annoy her (maybe even make her angry?), but she quickly vanished as that place disappeared I was somewhere else.
The wonder of this was almost too much. I kept a hold of the rose Flora's rose in the hopes of maintaining some semblance of sanity. The thorns bit my flesh, but they helped to ground me as I looked about this new and wondrous place.
Eric explained that we were in a place called the Valley of Garnath. He showed me something he called the "black road", a dark place of corruption that cut through a valley. He says he is fighting it, and needs help.
I thought of home, of the history and pain that I would be leaving behind, and I thought of the friends I had left there.
I told him that I would help him, if I could. He seemed to evaluate me for a moment, and then told me to follow him.
As I had little else to do at this point lost somewhere beyond the reality I've always known I accepted the invitation.
We traveled (me on foot and him on horse) toward Amber Village and Castle Amber, he explained. During the journey, he asked me general questions about myself and my life, and I answered them all honestly.
I asked how I should address him; "Your highness" was appropriate, apparently. He explained that he was regent in his father's absence. I did not ask for too many details, as this did not seem the appropriate time. I had the distinct feeling that this moment was not for my benefit, that I was not the one to ask questions, and I trusted that instinct.
I always trust my instincts.
Toward the end of the trek, he asked for a story of myself, so I related the story of the Orb. Unlike my telling to Flora, I told him the real story, without the humble alterations.
He told me that Flora would tell others that I was his son, whether it was true or not, and he warned that, if his brother Corwin reappeared, I should be cautious, as he may wish to see me dead. I kept note of that fact, stored it away for future reference should it be necessary.
After about an hour, we reached the village and the castle was within site. Amazingly, Castle Amber was virtually identical in form and structure to Castle Rillak. When I mentioned this, Eric explained that this was often the way of shadows. Again, I did not ask for more information I have always been a patient person.
I'll admit that the fact my mind was still churning with the situation at hand may have helped squelch any questions.
We passed through the village, where the people moved out of his way. I sensed that they both respected and feared him. (This did not really concern me, as, in order to be a good and strong leader, your people must both respect and fear you.) He took us into the castle to the King's Solar. There, he introduced me to a man named Gareth, who gave me more background on the family, Amber, Thelbane, and Shadow. He told me of the trumps and how they worked, showing me his deck for reference while discussing the members of the family.
We discussed our backgrounds a little, and I told him about myself. Not everything, but enough to allow him to trust me with information about himself.
I asked for information about the Pattern, intrigued by the possibilities and wanting to understand it better, but he suggested that I speak with Eric about it.
We decided to take a tour of the castle, and Gareth told a servant to let Eric know what we are up to.
While touring, we discussed the family. I ask how long he's been here (10 years), and where he was before that. He told me that he'd spent 273 years in his home Shadow!
He then explained to me the fact that we are essentially immortal.
Immortal
Right. That one is going to take a while to get used to.
Let alone believe.
The entire time, I was carrying Flora's Rose. The familiarity of the castle made it hard to really believe what was happening, but the Rose was a blatant reminder that this was not my world not my shadow. I could see that the sky was not the right color, but I could not touch it, could not prove that it was real. I could feel the Rose, feel its thorns, and I know that it was not my imagination at play.
That I wasn't losing my sanity.
At least, that was my hope.
Later, Gareth, Eric, and I had dinner. During the conversation, we discussed the situation. It was decided that Gareth and I would travel through shadow and see what we can learn.
I raised the concern that I would be unable to return or contact anyone if I lost Gareth in Shadow, so Eric told me to take a spare trump deck from the library.
Gareth asked Eric to consider either including an experienced shadow walker or allowing me to walk the Pattern, as he was concerned about him being the only experienced shadow walker. Eric decided to allow me to walk the Pattern, and we concluded our meal with that.
Gareth explained to me about the Pattern and what it's like to walk it, while taking me down a long, narrow flight of stairs into the bowels of the castle.
Up until that moment, everything in the castle was exactly as Castle Rillak. These stairs did not have a twin at home, and I found that disconcerting.
When we arrived at the Pattern Seeing it was incredible such power, such beautiful glowing blue light Such magic
Rose in hand, I walked the Pattern. That is all I can say. It was something Indescribable. Something powerful, which changed me in ways I did not and do not understand. Gareth had told me that, once I reached the center, I could go anywhere I could imagine. I chose one of the few places I knew of in Amber, the King's Solar.
Afterward, I was given quarters. I slept as I had not slept in many years. I was exhausted, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
The next morning, Gareth and I collected the necessary equipment and began our journey. After Gareth shifted us clear of Amber-proper, I began practicing this "shadow walking", as Gareth called it, taking us closer and closer to Shindlar with this man of nearly three centuries assisting me. Very strange. It would take me some time to get used to it.
We met Harlon on the back porch, and he informed me that it had been a day since I left. This struck me as very odd, since I'd just spent about five days or so (it was very hard to determine actual time) traveling there.
I told him to notify the King that I had accepted the earlier offer of retirement, and I asked him to prepare my usual belongings for a trip. I then went to write a letter to Allan, to be delivered to the King. I gave my old friend and assistant full control of the spy network. He would become the new royal spy-master, taking on my role with my retirement, as the King and I had planned.
Once all of my affairs were in order, I said good-bye to everyone, telling them that I'd be back soon enough. Then I shadow walked us back to Amber, to the Valley Garnath and the Black Road.
Once there, Gareth stepped onto the Road. He said that everything seemed duller, muted. I stepped upon it and found everything to be black and white. No sound was audible while I was there, as though my ears had been punctured and made useless.
We traveled along it, and it took us through many shadows. During the trip, we encountered a flying dingy with two large human-like creatures on the Road itself. They flew off of the road and attacked us with loud, cracking weapons that threw small "bullets" very quickly. Gareth used the shadow walking to mess with them and allowed us to get away.
The oddness of this did not sink in until soon after we had escaped harm's way. Everything about it was surreal for me, as though I were dreaming after smoking my Hallen weed.
Afterward, we contacted Eric to determine how we should handle situations such as this. He told us that our goal was to find out where the Road began, so we decided to avoid any future contacts and moved on.
As we traveled, we reached shadows, which were, according to Gareth, more "technological". This he had to explain to me, as I did not understand the term.
He found a new form of transportation for us, something he called a "car", and we left the horses behind. (Goodbye, Ruler I shall find you again, I promise.) He also found some strange weapons for us, which emitted a ray of light that caused things to be destroyed. I didn't understand this magic (technology, as he called it), but it seemed to be quite effective much more effective than my crossbow. I did quickly discover that this beam of light did not drop with distance, however, forcing me to have to change my aim from my norm.
Later, while following the Road, we saw some transparent people walking on it, as though we were getting a glimpse into another shadow that wasn't really there. We decided to step onto the Road at this point to see if things had changed. I told Gareth that I should take the risk, as the mission would be more likely to succeed if I was lost than if he was.
I stepped on the Road and found myself sucked into a strange place kind of like a room with a white, glowing hole in the floor and many reptilian creatures being sucked into the hole.
I was also sucked in, and suddenly found myself falling into another, larger, stranger room, with oddly dressed people and even odder things. The reptilian creatures I had seen earlier were attacking the people, here. Gareth soon followed me into the room, and we left through a window.
In the process, we attracted the attention of a woman who followed us outside. She was very upset, and mentioned Brand, and that she had walked a yellow-red pattern.
We convinced her to get in the car (that Gareth had "found") and the three of us left. While Gareth drove, I spoke to the lady briefly and learned of her name: Alyddia. We earned her permission to travel through shadow to escape.
After traveling to a nearby shadow, Gareth stopped the vehicle and attempted to close the hole in Alyddia's world that led to the Black Road while I kept watch.
During this time, Alyddia and I spoke. I confirmed something she had said earlier: the color of the Pattern she had walked was a reddish-yellow color, unlike the Pattern in Amber. Gareth had mentioned before that there was more than one Pattern; which was this?
Alyddia also told me of her traveling with this Brandon individual. Gareth unfortunately missed this, as I think he could have answered many of her questions. She would have to repeat the tale for him at a future point
After a few moments, Gareth came out of his concentration with a start. His attempt had failed, and we traveled on.
We traveled quickly and far Gareth seemed sincerely concerned that we might be followed, and that this was a threatening prospect. Eventually, he stopped the vehicle in a place where this technology does not work as well. Lady Alyddia spent a few moments repeating her story for Gareth, but he knew little that explained it. We then contacted Eric (via trump) to apprise him of the situation and ask him what he would like to do with the lady Alyddia. He decided to bring her to Amber, and pulled her through with her permision.
Gareth and I then proceeded on foot. We found the road again (it did seem to cut through all shadows) and followed it further.
Along the way, I asked him many questions about the family and this new reality that I was attempting to accustom myself to. He explained that there were 13 of the children of Oberon who were thought to be alive. Of them, he felt that Gerard was to be trusted, and that Julian and Cain are with Eric, but not necessarily in support of Amber. (We agreed that the support of Amber was of utmost importance to us.)
He also informed me that there were three of the siblings who were older than Eric, two of whom were lost. Benedict was the third, but he had been missing for quite some time.
Then he told me of the Redheads: Brand, Bleys, and Fiona. They are all full-siblings, and tend to be a little off.
He also told me that he has hide-a-ways, places that he can go via his "Pattern Lens" that are safe, and that such travel is instantaneous. We briefly considered using one of these to make sure our passage was protected, but decided against it.
While walking, we reached a point where a large, beautiful waterfall roared ahead of us. Standing in view of it was a beautiful, red-headed lady Gareth identified as Fiona. The two of them spoke regarding the situation, and she mentioned that she was searching for Brand, that she was worried he was up to something troublesome. I kept out of the conversation as much as possible, as I was definitely not knowledgeable enough to be helpful.
She continued on toward Amber in search of Brand and we continued forward to the end of the Black Road.
Later, we found ourselves in a strange shadow with five-foot high grass as far as the eye could see. All of the insects of the land had accumulated upon the black road.
In the distance, we saw a tall tree and a bird flying over it. As we approached, the bird a raven, I believe alighted in the higher branches, and we realized that the tree had a broken noose hanging from a lower branch.
The tree spoke to us. It was named Ygg, and was very sincere and candid in our discussion. I was dealing with much, at this point, but speaking to a tree was almost too much. As Ygg and Gareth spoke, I listened, working to maintain my control. (Magic )
Ygg said many things. I assumed that he had no reason to lie to us. Hopefully, my assumption was correct.
During the conversation, the raven came down, watching and listening to our exchange. Just before the last statement, it said "My name's Munen," and flew away. (More magic )
After Ygg mentioned the beasts, Gareth left to contact Eric with this information, to warn him of the impending attack.
At this point, I had started to have serious concerns with Ygg's statements. The impression Gareth and the others had left me with was that Amber was the center of all, and I had accepted that, devoting myself to defend it in order to defend my home and the rest of shadow. Now Ygg had told us that Amber was not first.
So I asked him more questions. His answers help alleviate my concerns, but they raised as many questions as they answered.
At this point in our conversation, Eric answered Gareth's call. Amber was under attack, and we were needed. Before we left, I told Ygg that we would try to return the insects.
Gareth trumped us to Julian, where the two of us arrived in the middle of his men. Julian pointed me to a force of locals, essentially conscripts. But I understood this decision: I was an unknown, someone he neither knew nor trusted. There were 17 men in the group he directed me toward, and they were now under my charge.
Julian's men were surrounded by the same kind of lizard-creatures that we encountered on Lady Alyddia's world. They were assaulting the Amberites mindlessly, and they were being easily held off. There were also tall, strange-looking women on horseback who were off to the side, watching the assault.
The horde was heading up the hill, toward what looked like a command post. I charged through the line of lizard-creatures toward my unit and took them forward, cutting into the advancing line. From that position, I could see that the Lady Alyddia was with the command, and that Eric seemed to be in control. My team was not very skilled, so I attempted to form them up in the best way I could.
Then the beasts appeared. Far down the Black Road, the gigantic shapes were as something of nightmares. I'd never imagined I'd see such a creature. And there were more of them coming
One of the men below I couldn't tell who from my busy vantage point charged the lead beast. It took his lance in the gut.
My next glance saw it hurling the brave rider across the battlefield.
The beasts were attached to the Black Road by a tendril of power. (More magic ) I thought about breaking that tendril, wondering if that would destroy their power, but knew that I was too far away to be of any benefit in the battle against the beasts. I kept patient and continued playing my role in the fight.
Apparently someone else thought of this idea, though. There was a loud cracking sound, as the lead beast suddenly exploded. It simply seemed to fall to small pieces, many of which appeared to actually keep flying around. I ignored the obvious strangeness and continued concentrating upon the situation immediately at hand.
One of my men was in dire need of assistance. I took a risk and saved his life. The small victory helped the team pull together and hold out.
More of the beasts came down the road. Another crack sound, and another exploding beast. Someone knew how to stop them, and for me that was all that mattered.
But they continued coming, more of them, and faster. And now they were flying, increasing their speed all the more.
As the lizard-creature forces trickled to nothing, I told those of my men who had survived to go home there was nothing they could do to affect this battle. (There were only 9 of them left, and a couple of them appeared seriously hurt.)
There was nothing I could do to affect this battle, but that wasn't going to stop me from trying.
Three of the women on horseback had taken a charge up the hill toward the command post. I had seen them slaughtering those below, and knew that I most likely did not stand a chance against them
I took up a fallen spear (I think it was a spear ) and prepared myself to deal with the left of the three.
As they charged, I saw an armed woman farther down the hill no, a young girl charging up the hill after them. She moved quickly and powerfully, like I've never seen a person move before.
As the horse of my enemy neared, I braced my spear, pointing at the horse's throat. The impact was impressive: the spear shattered and the horse reared as I dropped and rolled to the left. It's rider, however, launched herself into the air, flipping and spinning, landing on her feet facing me.
I've never seen such a thing.
I prepared myself for the fight of my life, as the rider stood with her giant, crystalline blade in hand. She glanced around and turned, running up the hill at an unbelievable speed.
The girl caught up with me at just that moment, stopped, picked up a rock, and hurled it, slamming the woman in the back of the head and knocking her down.
I've made some decent shots before, but this was a young girl barely of marrying age accurately throwing a large rock a distance I could not hope to attain with sufficient force to down a powerful opponent. How is this possible?
Suddenly, we found ourselves in the shadow of more of the flying beasts, as the woman stood, turned, and ran toward us. She jumped at the last moment, spinning and twisting again, landing behind us as a cracking sound was heard above.
One of the beasts exploded overhead, and we were covered with it.
It was made of insects.
Ygg would not be happy.
The woman ran, and we paused to look about. I introduced myself to the young lady, and she reciprocated; her name was Eve. I mentioned that I wanted to see what remained of the command post it was obvious that one or more of the beasts had reached their position, and I was concerned for their safety, but she said that she needed to head back down, to see to someone. I told her that it was a pleasure to meet her, and that I looked forward to our next encounter, then we parted ways.
When I reached the top, I found that Lady Alyddia was fine, and that Gareth and Flora were there also. Another Uncle, Gerard, was there as well. Eric, however, was dead, slain by one of the beasts, and a man they called Corwin presided over the scene. Before he died, Eric had apparently given Corwin something called the Jewel of Judgment.
A number or people congregated in the area, including Bleys and Jullian. Bleys spoke to Corwin briefly on the side, and then headed down the mountain while Gareth attempted to catch up with him.
Corwin assigned Julian to clean up the mess and headed down the mountain, also. Jullian then assigned the task to me and followed him.
Flora introduced me to Gerard as Eric's son, and I corrected her, stating that my parentage was as yet undetermined. I asked her if she knew who I should speak to about getting assistance in the cleanup effort, and Gerard pointed out Abner, the second-in-command of the guard. (The Captain was apparently slain in the battle.)
I directed Abner to form teams to handle the various aspects of the cleanup, giving specific tasks that needed to be accomplished, then I assisted in the implementation where needed.
When it is clear that things were under control, I headed back up to the castle, taking a ride on one of the carts carrying the wounded. When we got to the castle, I assisted in carrying the wounded to the infirmary. While there, I saw some of their medicinal practices, and decided to return to learn more, later.
I headed to the royal quarters area of the castle, stopping to ask a servant for warm water and a pipe to be delivered to my quarters.
While I was bathing, a servant brought me my pipe. I asked her to deliver a message to Gareth, stating that I wished to speak with him.
She returned later, stating that he was resting and would speak with me later. I asked her where I could find a flute, and she informed me that such areas were on the third floor of the castle.
I finished cleaning up, and went to the third floor to find a flute. It didn't take long, and I spent a bit of time playing it, relaxing. After a while of this, I headed down to the lower level to get some food and information.
There I met Lady Eve and Lady Alyddia. Soon after, Gareth showed up. We talked briefly, discussing Eve's experiences, when a young boy by the name of Martin came in and grabbed Eve, signaling to the rest of us that we should come. (Martin was apparently Random's son, as Eve informed us, later.)
Martin let us know that, out in the courtyard, Corwin and Bleys were preparing for a duel. We followed him and watched.
Gareth explained that their weapons were special - powerfully special - and referred to as "pattern swords". They wielded them with precision and ability the likes of which I had never imagined.
I will never spar with either of them.
As the duel progressed, I saw Fiona on the other side and headed to her through the crowd. As I approached, she said hello without seeing me. During our discussion, I asked if she knew of Ygg, and she said that they had spoken before. Then I asked if there was a preferred outcome to the duel, and she smiled.
After nearly half an hour of incredible sword work (what they did was not "play"), Corwin drew first blood and won the duel.
I asked the Lady Fiona if I could speak with her for a moment. She suggested we find a more private location, and we headed to a benched alcove and sat beside each other.
I asked her some questions about Ygg, and she explained that he (or "it", I suppose) is a marker, that he came from the Abyss. When I asked if he would lie, she stated that he would not, but that he might not know or understand everything.
I asked if she knew of Borel, and she simply raised an appraising eyebrow at me and said she didn't know the person.
I seriously doubted that, but I wasn't going to worry about it at that point...
Finally, I shared my desire to help, that I didn't want to see Amber hurt. She stated that it was too late, as the Black Road was a wound to Amber. I asked her to let me know if there was anything I could do to assist, and left her with her thoughts.
Playing the flute, I headed back in the direction of the food. Gareth intercepted me before I got there, however, and explained that Corwin wished to speak with the five of us "new" family members in an hour or so. He trumped Bleys to find Lady Alyddia (apparently they had left together), and learned that she was last on a nearby terrace.
We headed there, and discovered her enjoying a beautiful sun set. While discussing the issues at hand, she explained that Bleys had told her some things:
We agreed that we would tell Corwin everything except about Alyddia possibly being part of the solution or about the fact that what she walked was the primal pattern.
Alyddia left to retrieve Eve and Martin while Gareth and I continued to speak. As she left, I asked her to have food ordered for us in the conference room.
We headed to the conference room to meet with Corwin and the others. Corwin poured us wine (Gareth had water) and servants brought food, per Lady Alyddia's request.
While we ate and drank, Corwin spoke.
He dismissed us.
The group agreed to meet at "8 ukluck" in the morning, and then we each went our separate ways.
I headed straight to the castellan, Tomas, to:
Tomas pointed me to Wiln, Corwin's personal secretary, to handle my appointment with Corwin. He also told me where to find Fiona's maidservant to set up a visit and told me that the funeral for the deceased members of my unit would be tomorrow, with the procession starting at dawn from the center of Ambertown.
As I spoke with Tomas, Flora approached and told me that she needed to meet with me for a fitting for my funeral attire. I asked her to assist me in acquiring appropriate attire for the funeral for my men tomorrow, also. She agreed, and informed me that Julian would also be attending their funeral.
I thanked her for finding me and bringing me into this "adventure", as I called it. During our conversation, she mentioned that I should not admit to my skills, and that I should never let "them" know what my strengths were, saying "You stay one step ahead of the game, that way." Fairly standard court politics. I never really played them very well - never had a need, being a servant.
Then I asked her how I should pay for goods or services in the castle or in Amber Village. She explained the currency here to me:
"It's a gold standard. The basic coin is called a unicorn. It'll buy you a decent meal in one of the food houses. Then there are a number of larger denomination coins, a 25 unicorn coin, a 50 unicorn coin, and so on. There's also a silver coin that's a fifth of a unicorn. That's a pretty simplistic overview, but it'll get you started. You can acquire money through the Royal Treasurer, but you have to ask nicely and fill out a request-for-funds form in triplicate and you're expected to pay it back if the purchase is for personal use. Otherwise, either get a job or beg from one of your uncles or aunts."
Once Flora was finished with me, I found Wiln. He (grudgingly) put me in to see Corwin for "20 menuts", when Corwin was taking his morning walk "an owar" before sunrise. I quickly determined that I was in dire need of assistance in figuring out this method of measuring time it was so precise that I would surely miss any appointments I had if I didn't get help! I decided that I would try to find the young servant who had helped me earlier in the day.
I then went to Fiona's maidservant. She agreed to let me meet with Fiona at tea the next day, at "4 ukluck". Again, I discovered that I was going to be handicapped without assistance.
I then headed to see Eric. I signed in and took a moment to contemplate the meaning of all of this. I had many concerns, and it seemed that no one could address them sufficiently
Next, it was off to the infirmary. There I discovered that, of the 9 members of my group who left the battle, 3 died soon after. One was left in the infirmary, fevered and delirious, with an infected chest wound. He would likely not make it, either.
Jonathon is the individual who was caring for the man. He helped me understand the medicines they were using to treat the patients. He mentioned that he had heard of me, that I was a member of the family found in shadow, and that I was Eric's son. I corrected him on that last point.
He told me that they were going to take apart one of the invading army's creatures, as they were dieing without their "technology". I told him to take some of them closer to the Black Road, to see if that helped keep them alive longer. He said that he'd think about it
Heading back to my quarters, I finally found the servant I was looking for, scrubbing the marble steps in the Great Hall that lead to the second floor throne room. She was humming a simple tune in a major key that reminded me somewhat of a raunchy tune from home involving a goodwife and a traveling trader. I quietly pulled out the flute and began playing faintly, slowly raising the level of the music, reinforcing her humming.
She stopped suddenly and looked up and over her shoulder, meeting my eyes with dark amber ones of her own, a slight smile parting her lips. Then the smile dropped, her breath caught in her throat, and her eyes widened. She hurriedly looked down, "Milord! I am at your service."
I felt like an idiot.
On this world, I was not a servant. For that matter, I was royalty I couldn't go around acting like I was one of the servants.
This would take some getting used to.
I introduced myself and asked her name: Gwen. I explained that I needed someone to help me in dealing with my lack of knowledge of Amber, and she agreed to help. I told her to finish with her tasks, then to come to my quarters.
I went back to my rooms and relaxed, and she showed up later. I asked her some questions about time and such, to which she provided the answers. Apparently, time is divided into two, 12-hour sections. The sun rises at 6 in the morning, and currently it was after 11 in the evening. I asked if she could make sure that someone woke me at 4:45 and 7:45, and she said she would. She said that it was customary to have a page do these things, but that she could take care of it. I thanked her and dismissed her.
Getting to sleep was good it had been a long day.
I was awakened by a page early in the morning. I dressed casually for the walk, wet my hair, and headed down to the grand hall. There I spoke with a guard (Nick), who informed me that he was not allowed to socialize while on duty.
Again, I must remember that I am not a servant, here...
Corwin appeared with a retinue of individuals, including Wiln and some personal guards. We headed out for the walk, leaving all but the guards behind.
I spoke with him on a number of issues. I told him of my concerns with what Flora has been saying, and that I was a servant.
I asked him if it would be acceptable to acquire some of Eric's hair, and he agreed with it. He laughed when I asked if I could have some of his, and said, "One step at a time."
When I asked him about the oath of fealty, if it was to be an oath to him or to the crown, he stated that it would be to the crown.
I also asked him if there was a possibility of a job working for the king (he would think about it), if there was compensation for the families of the conscripts who perished in the battle (the royal treasurer would take care of it), and I put in a good word for Abner.
During our discussion, I determined that he could not be my father, as he was trapped in a shadow he called Urth during that time. He did mention, however, that I could be a child of Oberon, though, which would make me a sibling if true. That would likely never be provable, though
After the walk, I retired again to get some more rest. Again, I was awakened by a page at the appropriate time.
Gareth, Alyddia, Eve, and I all arrived for breakfast at about the same time. After I shocked the Lady Alyddia by the fact that my world does not have something they call "egs", I told them of my conversation with Corwin. (These eg things were actually quite interesting in taste, although I'm not sure about the texture of the things )
Dierdre arrived and joined us in the meal. She explained Corwin's reason for the rush to coronation, that he wants to prevent the possibility of not having someone in charge in case another attack comes from Thelbane. She also explained that Eric and Corwin had dueled a long time ago, that Eric had won, and not wanting to kill Corwin outright had dropped him off on Urth.
Julian came in and sat separately. Dierdre seemed unhappy while she finished her meal, and then left.
Fiona came in soon afterward. Gareth apologized to her (which seemed to surprise her), and then she sat with Julian.
Martin finally arrived soon after that and joined us. He spoke of Rebma, explaining some of the details about it to the Lady Alyddia and me. The Lady Eve and Gareth then explained what little is known of Tir Na G'th.
Martin also explained that everyone here knows about shadow, and that the Golden Circle Kingdoms are actually shadows immediately neighboring Amber (although that concept was a little odd to me). There are permanent paths through shadow to them.
I raised the question of Yg's insects, and Gareth volunteered to go speak with Yg to determine the severity of the situation.
Gareth then trumped Llewella to determine how long it would take for each of our sittings for our trump portraits. He set up a time for himself, and learned that it would take a couple of hours for each sitting.
I spoke with the Lady Eve for a few moments, asking her about her skills in the art of war and how (and why) she came by them.
Flora arrived, and took Eve and Alyddia to get fitted for the coronation.
Gareth and I then spoke in private on some matters. I told him that Corwin had approved of my acquiring some of Eric's hair, and Gareth said that we could travel to his home world to have the test done.
He then asked me to assist in a task he has been working on. He explained that, on his world, it is theorized that there are five patterns. There are the three that are commonly known of (under Castle Amber, Tir Na G'th, and Rebma), the one that Alyddia walked in another place, and one other that no one knows of. This fifth pattern is believed to be here in the realm of Amber. Gareth has searched everywhere except under the castle itself. He wants to map the caverns under the castle, and would like for me to help. I told him I would be honored to.
Unfortunately, I was not able to assist with his search before its completion.
We went our separate ways, and I headed to Flora's chambers to find Eve and Alyddia. While waiting, I played my flute in the hall. This awoke Gerard, who peeked out of his chambers to see what the sound was. I apologized, and he said it wasn't a problem, that he needed to get up anyway. I put the flute away to avoid annoying anyone else.
The ladies finished up, and we talked about the shadows we were from (or in Eve's case the shadow she'd spent most of her life on). Eventually, the conversation turned again to Eve's abilities in the art of war, and we decided to spar to allow me to better understand and learn from her.
I discovered that, while I was far more skilled at swordplay than she, she was phenomenally strong. Her blows had more power than any man I'd ever encountered. I ended it with a kick to her leg, and stepped back to discuss this discovery.
To test this further, Alyddia and I arm wrestled.
She crushed me without really trying.
When the ladies competed, however, it was very close. Eve ended up coming out on top, but it was close.
We then spent some time discussing this discovery on our way to lunch (Eve mentions that Gerard is the strongest of the elders), and met Gareth there when we arrive. He asked if we've seen Flora; he was looking for her to get fitted for the coronation, but couldn't find her. Alyddia asked why he didn't trump her, and he explained that it is considered am imposition due to the fact that the trumpee does not know who the trumper is until the trump is accepted.
While eating, we discussed our discovery of the incredible level of strength the women have, and learned that Gareth also has significant strength, but he considers it to be normal. Gerard walked in while we were discussing the issue, and asked me some questions to determine if there was something "wrong with me". He suggested that I try "working out" with heavy objects to help me in becoming stronger. He also suggested that I speak with Jonathon about it, as he may be able to help me.
This was incredible to me. In my home, I was one of the strongest men I had ever encountered, but here I was considered weak as a baby
He left, and we talked about it a little more before Llewella arrived and took Eve for her sitting. Gareth then left to find Flora and the Lady Alyddia and I stayed for a little while; I playing my flute and she listened.
After a few moments of this, I realized that I had another task to perform and excused myself. I headed to where Eric was laying in state, and explained to the guard that Prince Corwin had asked that I acquire a lock of Prince Eric's hair, and the purpose for this. He eventually accepted, on the condition that I not tell anyone. I admitted to him that I would likely have to tell Prince Corwin, but that I would not mention it to anyone else. He cut off the lock for me, while I watched.
I headed back to my quarters and attempted to use the pattern to "find" a small pouch in my closet. I honestly didn't expect it to work, being that we are actually in Amber (Gareth had mentioned before that this was hard for most to do), but I wanted to try. It didn't work. So, I cut a small strip of cloth off of an older pair of clothes and used it to wrap Eric's hair. I changed into a better outfit (in preparation for my meeting with Fiona), and put the wrapped hair into my pocket.
I then returned to the dining hall, asked a page to alert me when it was fifteen minutes before four o'clock (as the Lady Alyddia has explained to me, it is "o'clock", not "ucluck"), and returned to my playing.
While we were waiting in the banquet hall, Alyddia and I spoke for a while about the similarities and differences between our worlds and Amber, Alyddia's concerns with the situation we were in, and the upcoming events.
Eventually, a page approached me to inform me that it was time for my meeting. I left the Lady Alyddia and went to meet with Princess Fiona.
On entering, she asked if I'd like some tea, which I accepted. She asked if I liked the view, and I admitted that I had forgotten to appreciate it, that my mind was tied up with the "business" at hand. We spent some time looking out over the village and the surrounding terrain, enjoying the beauty of the scene.
Eventually, Fiona asked if there was something I specifically wanted to speak to her about. I explained to her that, during my life, I'd found that I could understand what people were thinking, that I could tell when they were lying and when they were being honest, but that I was finding it difficult to do here. I'd never really thought about it before; it was just a part of what I was. Now, though, I'm learning more about myself and my potential, and I'd like to fully understand what I'm capable of.
When I approached her at Bleys's and Corwin's duel, she knew it was me without looking. That ability, that extra sense, is likely what it is that I've been feeling during my life, and it seemed that she had mastered it quite well.
I asked if she could help me understand myself better.
She asked if I was requesting an apprenticeship. I admitted that I never hoped for such a boon, as I did not want to be a burden upon her, but that I understood that such assistance would come with a cost. She questioned if I really understood that cost, and I admitted that I might not. She asked why I wanted to learn this, what I hoped to gain, and I explained to her that I want to understand myself and my potential, that I wanted to be able to help Amber as well as I could.
She said that she'd think about it, and I thanked her, saying that I could not ask for more than that.
During the conversation, she admitted that this wasn't the question she had been expecting. I later asked what she was expecting. Questions about the family, politics, etc. I admitted that I wanted to ask such things, but that I didn't want to monopolize her time. Also, these things are in such a state of change right now, that I did not feel it was worth taking up her time on them at this point.
We chatted for a while, enjoying the tea and the view. After a while, I asked her if she thought that I should determine my parentage or if I should leave it an unknown. She suggested that I find out the answer, then determine if I want it to be public knowledge or not.
After we were finished, I headed back to my room to change for my portrait. I put Settler and Peacekeeper on, transferred Erik's wrapped hair into my pocket, and then headed to the banquet hall.
I had some dinner, played my flute a little, and talked with those who were coming in and out. Eventually, Lady Alyddia arrived, telling me that Llewella was ready for me. She mentioned that Martin was taken back to Rebma, and that Llewella was apparently involved in raising him. Alyddia seemed unhappy with the former as though she disagreed with Llewella on some point of this so I didn't press for details. I asked directions and headed out.
When I arrived, Llewella seemed exhausted. I offered to sit for her the next day, but she wanted to have enough time to prepare the trumps before the coronation. She asked how I wished to stand, what I wanted to be wearing, and what I wanted to background to be like. I explained that my current attire would suffice (a white silk shirt, dark blue brocaded vest with silver threads, dark blue silk breeches with silver-threaded accents, and high black and silver boots) and that I would be in an "at ease" pose. For the background, I described to her the garden in Mull Estate, with The Stand in the background.
While she painted, we spoke about some of the other members of my generation, the state of the family, and the future. I asked her about whom she felt could be trusted in the family and who could not be trusted. She felt that such things changed constantly, and she avoided becoming embroiled in such affairs by staying away from Amber, making sure that she didn't get on anyone's bad side.
When she was finished, she showed me the portrait in its initial form. It was very interesting and well done. Although some of the details of the plants were not quite accurate, I did not correct them; it probably won't hurt to have them not quite right. It is, after all, just a background.
After leaving Llewella, I went back to my room and relaxed for the evening. I left for about an hour or so, wandered the castle, visited with the servants (always avoiding interrupting them, of course), and explored.
The next morning, I attended the funeral in Amber Town. It was like all funerals not an enjoyable experience. Afterwards, Eve, Alyddia, and I met in the banquet hall for breakfast. We sent a page to find Gareth, but it seemed that he was not available.
Alyddia asked if we'd been approached by Jonathon about having some kind of information collected about us. Neither of us had, so we decided to approach Jonathon about it.
He explained that it was purely to help in case of a medical emergency. All of this conversation was over my head, so I trusted Alyddia's decision that we would only perform the portions of the "physical" that did not involve "blood work".
While we were there, I spoke to Jonathon about the issue of my strength. He said that he and his colleagues would review the results of the physical and see if there was anything that they could find as the cause.
As we left, the three of us discussed Corwin's request for the oath of fealty. We agreed that we would all be taking it, but that we'd like to talk to Gareth, also.
That afternoon we had a page find Gareth for us (after a number of tries). The three of us were in the courtyard, relaxing, when he arrived. I immediately gave him Erik's hair. He asked for some of mine, and I cut off a small lock.
Then we asked him his opinion of the oath of fealty. He told us that he would also be swearing the oath. We also discussed what that really meant to each of us (to Eve, it meant acquiring a deck of trump), and I discovered that my world's definition of fealty appeared to be much more specific than Amber's
Alyddia asked Gareth if he had been approached by Jonathon, and he stated that he had not. To determine the purpose, he trumped Gerard, who stepped through to discuss the issue with us. He explained that, when Erik was killed, they realized that they might have been able to help him if they'd had more information available. In the hopes of not being caught off guard again, they wish to have this information on all of the royals, including us. This alleviated Gareth and Alyddia's concerns, so I suggested that we head to the infirmary to have the blood work done.
I spent the rest of the day relaxing, thinking, considering. Much had happened, and much was to come
In the morning, Flora explained to us the order of the funeral procession: Corwin at the head (with a retinue of guards and others), followed by Erik's body (held by 6 guards), and then Random, Benedict, Dierdre, Llewella, Bleys, Fiona, Gerard, Julian, Caine, Flora, Gareth, myself, Eve, Alyddia, and finally the Golden Circle dignitaries. Flora explained that Moire and Martin would be in this group. I asked, "Martin will be with the Golden Circle and Rebma dignitaries?" She asked if I had a problem with that, to which I answered no, and she explained that he had stronger links to Rebma than Amber, and that he was to be king of Rebma.
The procession ended at a large, beautiful glade. There were a number of old mausoleums there, one of which Corwin headed the line towards. I guessed that it was his old one someone had mentioned to me that it was out here, before as it was old but Erik's name stone was newly chiseled.
Corwin spoke briefly, an appropriate speech for the occasion, strengthening himself and saying good things about Erik, but never saying too much or being too nice. Very well done, in my opinion.
Erik's carriers had lowered him to the ground at this point, and one raised a blade, crying for a hail to Erik. A large number of the guard dropped to one knee about two-thirds of them, actually, including Abner and Corwin seemed to make a note of who had and who hadn't.
Erik was carried in, and we had an opportunity to enter and say our goodbyes. Benedict was the first to do so, followed by Dierdre, Bleys, Fiona, Gareth, and myself. The others declined the opportunity. I wasn't sure if I should take this step, but I needed to it was going to be my last opportunity. I only wish I knew if he was my father or not before this point
They locked him in, and, as they did so, someone cried "The Unicorn!" There was a great deal of commotion, but no one could say that they saw more than a white blur (which is all I saw).
It took Corwin a moment or two to regain control of the crowd (people had followed us up from Amber Town), but he did a good job of it. He turned the event to his advantage, declaring it a good sign of times to come, and dismissed everyone with a reminder that the coronation was that afternoon.
I went straight back to my room to rest and prepare for the events of the day.
The pre-reception started at 3 and the Coronation was to be at 4. (Food at 2:30.)
We received word that Corwin wanted us to meet as a family at 1, but the elders would be meeting separately.
At midday, Gareth came to my room. He explained that the DNA test results showed that Eric was my father, but that there were some abnormalities. Gareth believed that I was in some way designed, that there was a third party involved in my creation, someone other than my parents.
This made little sense to me, but I understood enough to know that I was not normal, that I did not really have parents, and that I was in some way manufactured.
We agreed that we should not share this information until we know more information about this third party.
Gareth and I spoke for a while, about many topics
When the time was right, we left for the meeting. Martin was already there when we arrived.
Corwin entered and introduced Dara of the house Hendrake, a representative from Thelbane. She was young maybe 17 and seemed to be earnest and fairly honest. She brought a note from Oberon that said that the Serpent was rising, and to look for allies in unusual places. She also had his signet ring.
Dara then explained that she was a citizen of Thelbane, and that there were forces moving that threatened Thelbane. The generals and clergy felt threatened, and the attack on Amber was to retrieve the Jewel of Judgment, which was really the right eye of the Serpent, stolen by the Unicorn long ago. Dara represented a faction that disagreed with war. They felt that diplomatic relations should be used. Her faction was not a popular one.
She met Oberon in a Thelbane prison. He gave her these items (the note and the ring) to deliver to Amber. She followed the Black Road and met Corwin in shadow (after he walked the pattern in Rebma).
Corwin reinforced the fact that this information was not to be shared outside of the family.
Gareth asked who threatened Thelbane. Dara said that there were only rumors.
Dara said that there was a legend that Amber "stole" some of the shadows around Thelbane to form the "area" around it.
She explained that the Logrus was the equivalent to Amber's Pattern.
When asked where the Black Road came from, she said that it came from a power or something that the high adepts did, something to do with Ritual Magic.
There are several hundred initiates of the Logrus, and the only limit to who would be an initiate was political, but members of the major houses were predisposed to being able to handle the Logrus. If you couldn't handle the Logrus, you would go insane.
She told of a legend (long, long ago, before Amber) that there used to be a house called Barryman, and that there were rogue members of that house who took the eye and formed Amber. Other than that, she had not met or heard reference to any of the other Amberites (other than Oberon).
Gareth asked her about Borel, and she explained that he used to be her fencing instructor when she was much younger, but that she hadn't been in contact with him for some time.
We asked other questions, with little useful results.
Corwin informed us that Dara had asked for political asylum and it had been granted, and dismisses her.
Afterwards, I asked Corwin why he introduced this to them before the oath of fealty. He responded that he did it because he hoped that it would help people make that decision more appropriately.
The group spoke for a while after Corwin left. Martin talked about how he was abducted by three of his "grandmama's goons". He raised the fact that he didn't feel that he should be forced to be at his grandmother's side all the time. He kept saying that he was a man, and why shouldn't he be treated as one. I responded that if he has to ask, then he was not. This pretty much pissed the boy off, and he stormed out.
Ah, youth. Wish I'd had one...
Alyddia then mentioned that, during the funeral, just before the call that the Unicorn had been sighted, she felt a presence.
As the group was heading out, Alyddia asked me if there was any news on my parentage. I told her that the tests raised more questions than answers, but that she could speak to Gareth about the results, if she wished.
I then went to see Jonathon about my strength issue, but it turned out that he wasn't on duty. So, I went back to my quarters, put on the outfit for the event, included Ace and the flute, and then headed down to the reception.
On the way, I stopped by the music room I'd found earlier and picked up a lute. When I reached the reception, I handed off the flute and lute to a page for future access. I saw Gareth and Alyddia on the far side of the room, and approached. Alyddia said that they were discussing my DNA test and the odd results. She asked why I didn't want her to know the results, and I explained my wish to protect her from the risk of having that knowledge.
Gareth excused himself to meet with the Lords of Amber. While speaking with them, I saw Bleys appear near him. He handed him a letter in an envelope, spoke to him for a moment, and then left literally vanishing. Alyddia and I approached and asked him about it. He said that it was for Corwin. I offered to determine the contents for him without anyone knowing it was done, but he said it was not necessary.
I then asked if he could introduce us to some of the Lords and Ladies. He did so, and, while speaking with them, asked each how they felt about Corwin as King.
Once the doors opened, we headed into the ballroom. There were eleven tables with ten chairs (and place cards) each, and there was a special set of ten chairs off the main area that appear to be for the family.
We discovered that the four of us were all sitting at the same table, with delegates from Tonga and Cathay.
We had some small talk. During this, we learned that Cathay exported silks, perfumes, botanical supplies (medicines, incense, etc.) to Amber. Tonga was a chain of islands, and they exported many things of the ocean to Amber.
A herald trumpeted and announced the elders. All but Benedict, Random, Dierdre, Bleys, and Corwin entered. Then Corwin made a grand entrance. Random entered after Corwin, bringing the Jewel of Judgment and, with a flourish, put the necklace that it hung upon over Corwin's head.
Dierdre enters carrying a scepter, and gave it to Corwin, next.
Benedict entered last with the crown and placed it upon Corwin's head.
The people all seem very enthused in their applause, including Dara.
Once everyone quieted down, Corwin spoke about some things he was planning, including a permanent trade route between Cathay and Tonga, which Gerard would spearhead.
I noticed that the olders were seated in what I though was probably a very specific order, from left:
Following the speech, there was a group fealty swearing; everyone in the room was invited to join in. The four of us all swore the oath. Looking around during it, I noticed that Dara did not.
Then, the meal: numerous small servings that took very little time to eat, with lots of time between servings.
I also learned that the Cathay language was remarkably similar to the Tillians'.
Apparently, Flora had tried to set me up, as both of the daughters asked if I was interested in a wife. I mentioned the loss of Gillian and Josh, that I did not desire to speak about the issue, and that it was too soon for me to think about a wife. They seemed very disappointed by my statement.
Reeka immediately asked Gareth if he was interested in a wife...
After desert, a band and dancing started up. Random approached and I introduced myself, as we had not met before. He took Eve away, and Alyddia made a comment about me returning to my women. Not interested in dealing with the thoughts this comment evoked, I decided to leave and headed out to the terrace.
A few moments later, Random also came out on the terrace and struck up a conversation with me. I asked him how I should reference him; he said "Random" would work. He asked me if he should call me Hargomme or if it was okay to call me Harry. I told him that I had never been referred to in that fashion, but that I saw nothing wrong with it. I tried one of his cigarettes and mentioned that it tasted like a bad weed. When I compared it to my Hallen weed, he was very interested in it.
We discuss many other things, including how to deal with being set up by Flora, playing something called "pool", and my parentage (or apparent lack thereof).
A while into the conversation, I heard a scream from the ballroom. Excusing myself, I headed back in. Alyddia was at the table with a very closed, confused look on her face, but the commotion was at the entrance to the ballroom. A servant there seemed to be having a problem, saying something about someone being murdered. I headed straight across the room toward the commotion Gareth was with Alyddia at the table, so I assumed that they could handle the situation there, whatever it was.
Once I found my way to the door, I found Eve there and asked where they took the servant. She pointed in a direction and I immediately headed that way.
I sprinted until I caught up with them. A door to the servants' area closed in front of me as I was catching up. I entered and found two guards with a group of servants. It turned out that the servant who was at the heart of the commotion was Gwen. I blew off the two guards and took Gwen's hands, attempting to comfort her and get her to calm down. I quickly got information from her that she had found the Tongan King, Dahee, dead in his quarters. I instructed the guards to confirm that the body was there and to inform King Corwin immediately. One of them left and the other stayed.
I continued to comfort her for a moment longer until she was fairly stable. I instructed the remaining guard to watch her and protect her, then headed back to the ballroom.
As I entered, I ran into Corwin and Dierdre. He appeared to be about to ignore me until I said "Have they informed you of the body that was discovered." He stopped and asked what I knew. I informed him that the King's body had been discovered in his quarters.
He asked if I wanted to follow, and I accepted the offer.
We walked in silence for a few minutes, following a guard. Eventually, we arrived at King Daheen's room, where there were already two guards. It was a clean, nice room, with absolutely no sign of any violence. The only exception was the armoire, where the parts of the King's body had been cut up and stuffed in with the original contents. The head was turned out into the room, with a look of surprise upon the face. The inside of the armoire was covered in blood, but none of it seemed to have gotten anywhere else in the room.
"Magic," I mumbled under my breath.
King Corwin asked me to take control of the situation, look for a murder weapon, find clues as to exactly what happened and who committed the murder, clean up the room, and get the remains to the infirmary. I raised the issue that this appeared to be magical in nature, and, as I was deficient in that area, if there were resources available to assist with this. He said that he'd send Llewella to assist, and left, taking Dierdre and the guide with him.
By this point, a number of servants had collected outside the door. I made sure the door was closed and turned back to the two guards.
I asked the guards for their names, and they introduced themselves as Gerald and Harold. I sent Gerald to get a page to contact the infirmary. Harold retrieved a tarp and I started reconstructing the body while he searched room. (He didn't seem to have the stomach for dealing with the gore.) Eventually, Gerald returned and began helping me with the body.
As we were finishing up, Jonathon arrived and helped us with the evaluation. We determined that the only body part that was missing was the right hand. I set Gerald and Harold to tearing the room apart, and turn to talk to Jonathon.
"Why the right hand? What use would that be?" I asked.
The only answer he could think of was that it might be some kind of ritual magic or just a perversion, but he couldn't think of anything more than that.
I told Harold to escort Jonathon and help him carry the King's body, but Llewella arrived and asked that they leave it for the time being. I explained the situation to her, and told her that King Corwin thought that she might be able to assist us with the examination.
She took out a small, crystal ball and walked around the room, looking through the ball at the contents of the room, including the armoire and the body. It glowed while she was using it, and the color changed around the armoire.
During the examination, she suddenly paused and lowered the ball. She had a brief conversation via trump with Gareth, told him that Corwin had the new trumps for us, and then went on with the examination.
After a few minutes of this, she put it away. She said that there was definitely magic involved, but that the residue was of a type of power that she didn't recognize. I asked her for suggestions on what we should do, and she suggested keeping a sample of the body's tissue for future use. I nod to Jonathon and he went to the body. She also suggested that we keep a piece of the armoire, but after discussing it I decided to keep the entire armoire in case it is needed in the future.
I also told her to report anything she found directly to King Corwin, as I might not correctly interpret what she explained.
Suddenly, Alyddia burst into the room, looking for Llewella. She said that she needed a trump for Eve, and Llewella explained that Corwin had them, and that Gareth had just asked the same thing via trump. She rolled her eyes and left.
Apparently, there was something going on with the others. It sounded as though Eve was in trouble, but I couldn't let myself worry about it, at this point.
Llewella then left, I sent Jonathon and Harold to take the body to the infirmary, and I sent a servant to get 4 more guards. I explained to Gerald that I planned to have one of the other guards stay with him guarding the room while the other three accompany the armoire somewhere. I asked him for someplace that would be appropriate, and he suggested one of various rooms that they could secure it in.
The guard that guided King Corwin, Dierdre, and I to the room returned, and reported that the search of the castle had been completed and nothing had been found. I told him to allow the delegations to return to their rooms and to arrange for new quarters for King Daheen's family.
The other guards arrived. I ordered three of the servants outside of the room (their numbers had significantly dwindled asking them to do things had successfully run them off) to come in and carry the armoire. Initially, I tried to help, but quickly determined that I was more of a hindrance than help.
I left, heading to report to Corwin. On the way, I ran into Alyddia, Eve, and Random. (Alyddia came from one direction while Eve and Random came from another.) Apparently, the rest of the group had been abducted, taken to another shadow (possibly Thelbane!) and everyone escaped except for Dara. Alyddia was adamant that they should find a way to help her, but Random and Eve were not interested. (Random suggested trumping Brand to get there, but I do not know how serious of a suggestion that was.)
As I needed to find Corwin and Alyddia thought he might be able and willing to help, we decided to find him. Random suggested the King's Solar, so we headed in that direction.
There we found him, relaxing. I quickly reported the status of my efforts, and allowed Alyddia to explain what had happened to them. Corwin tried to trump Brand and he did not answer. He then left to go to the Yellow Room, the room that Alyddia had left Fiona in, the room that they had been abducted from. As he left, he asked us to find Llewella and bring her there. I trumped her, found her in a state preparing to retire, and explained the situation to her. She suggested I bring her threw, so I did. Unfortunately, she had been in Rebma, so she was soaking wet. As we escorted her to the Yellow Room, I sent a page to meet us there with some towels.
When we arrived, Gareth was outside of the room. It looked like he was finishing up a trump contact. He saw us, then turned and entered the room. We followed and found Corwin there, also.
He first asked Llewella if she could find Brand via his trump, but she
admitted that she could not do such a thing. Gareth and Alyddia then told
Corwin that Brand had given them a riddle to present to him:
A turning point in every day, reversed I do not alter. When half of me says,
"haste away," the other bids me falter.
Alyddia commented that Eve had solved it, and that the answer was "Noon". They discussed what it meant for a few moments, but no one seemed to have any inkling of what it might mean or why Brand would ask that they communicate it to Corwin.
I then asked if anyone had ever tried to use the pattern to get to a person instead of a place, and Llewella said that she'd tried, but it had failed. (She also said that she had only tried it once, though.)
After some additional discussion of options, Gareth proposed that he walk the pattern in his mind and travel to the place that they were brought to. Then we could trump him and come to help. Corwin suggested that he be the one to come fight Brand, if necessary, but we convinced him that the risk of losing the king was too great.
So Gareth began to concentrate on the pattern in his mind, while Corwin brought out his trump deck and trumped Random. He explained the situation to him, and brought him through to the room. Eve accompanied him in joining us.
At that point, Llewella left.
While we waited for Gareth to complete the walk in his mind, I brought out some blades for Random to use, if it should be necessary.
Gareth vanished, and Corwin immediately trumped him. He was apparently on the bridge, and he had found Dara, but he wasn't sure if she was alive or not. Corwin brought them back, and took her from Gareth. He was able to revive her, and she looked very pleased to be away and alive. I brought up the point that she might be Brand, and asked if Corwin might have a question to ask her that would prove it was truly her, as he knew her best. He did so, and she appeared to pass his test.
Corwin decided that Dara needed rest, and prepared to take her away. Before departing, he instructed us to meet him in the King's Solar at 10 in the morning and informed Random that the elders would be meeting at 9.
Random returned my blades, picked up his whiskey bottle, saluted, and followed Corwin and Dara, while the rest of us contemplated what to do. I was preparing to bid the rest good night, when Gareth picked up a small bag that had been sitting on the ground. Alyddia asked him if he knew what was in it yet, and he stated that it was a hand. (Apparently they had taken it from Brand when they had encountered him, earlier.)
I informed them that it was probably the Tongan King's, as his right hand was the only part of his body that was missing.
Gareth decided to take it to his home shadow (he called it "The Brain Civ", I believe - I later learned that this was an abbreviation of "The Brain Civilization") and have it tested and preserved for future reference, if needed.
The four of us agreed to meet at 9 in the morning in the Yellow Room to discuss the hand and our future plans.
I immediately headed to the ballroom to find Flora. All night, one thought had been constantly pushing to the fore of my mind: Flora's needed to never set me up again. The rage that such a situation raised in me was something that I must avoid, and the only way to do that was to avoid those situations.
When I arrived, a servant cleaning there informed me that she had been seen recently in the kitchen, so I left. At the kitchen, I found her speaking to some of the servants. I allowed her to see me and waited until she approached me.
She immediately noticed my attire, and I apologized, explaining about the situation with the Tongan King. I asked if there was anyway to get blood out of clothing here, as it permanently stains cloth in my home. She told me to send the cloths to Daisy (one of the servants who had measured me for the outfit), and she should be able to do something with it.
I then asked her if I could speak with her in private. I honestly don't remember the conversation very well, but I do remember that the rage came upon me again and that I walked out on her.
I needed to find a way to control this rage. Maybe Fiona could help with this, if she accepted my request
When I returned to my room, I immediately sent my formal attire to Daisy, smoked a pipe to relax, and went to sleep, expecting the usual vivid dreams that the weed often evokes.
I was not disappointed.
In the morning, I headed straight to the infirmary to determine when Jonathon would be available. They informed me that he would be on duty in the afternoon.
Later, I met the other three in the Yellow Room. We discussed the Tongan King's hand a little, and Gareth explained that there seemed to be nothing about it that was special.
We decided that we would test my idea of using the Pattern to go to a person instead of a place that evening. Gareth agreed to meet me at the entrance of the dungeons. We asked the ladies if they would help, as I wanted one of them to trump me in case I went somewhere odd or dangerous, and they agree. We decided to meet at 9.
Alyddia then described a dream that she had: Brand cut her into pieces, giving her left leg to Corwin, her right leg to Dara, keeping her right hand, and giving her head to the Unicorn. The Unicorn knocked her head with its horn, and it stopped rolling at Fiona's feet. She picked it up and whispered "Blood". Alyddia said that she woke up with her wound aching and an incredible feeling of dread.
I asked where the dream took place, and she said that it was at the pattern that she walked, but that the sky was red with purple lightning.
We then discussed the possibility of going to the rainbow bridge that the others had encountered Brand at and looking around.
Gareth suddenly announced that it was time for the meeting, so we headed to the King's Solar. The guard told us that the elders were running late, so we waited outside.
A few minutes later, the door opened and the elders began filing out (missing Bleys, Benedict, and Brand). Gerard stopped and took Eve aside, telling her that he'd received a trump contact from Martin. Apparently his trump deck does not include her trump.
At Corwin's bidding, we entered the room and took seats.
He explained that the Tongan delegation and the King's remains would be traveling to Tonga early the next day. Gerard would be taking them back on a boat called the Bonnie Lass, and we were to accompany them.
Additionally, Corwin assigned me the task of coordinating the details of getting everything needed for the trip to the docks, working with Gerard to make sure everything was covered.
Then at Eve's request he gave us our trump decks. I briefly thought about giving him my old deck back, but realized that it might be useful.
Eve asked about what we should wear for the funeral on Tonga, and Corwin stated that our formal attire should suffice.
Corwin also stated that they would get us some information on Tongan customs to read on the trip.
According to Corwin, the journey to Tonga would take us about 5 days, and the funeral ceremonies would be about 10.
Wonderful. Stuck on a ship at sea with a young girl looking to get married. I just knew that Flora was going to try to set me up again...
Alyddia complained about the fact that he was sending us away, and he asked if he was going to have to pull rank. Both Gareth and I answered "No", and he dismissed us. (I was not interested in having that argument. If Alyddia wanted to argue with him, that was fine, but I'd rather find ways to work within the system defined for us.)
I went back to my quarters and wrote messages to Fiona and Daisy, informing them that I'd be leaving. I asked Fiona if I could see her before I left to discuss my request, and I asked Daisy if she could have the clothes cleaned before I leave, as I'd need them on the trip.
Most of the rest of the day I spent coordinating the details for the trip. Very boring stuff.
Later in the afternoon, though, I stopped by to see Jonathon. He was happy to see me, and we talked about my strength issue. He said that the studies they had performed indicated that there was nothing really wrong with me, and gave me some strength-building exercises to do. (I made sure that they were things I could do on an ocean voyage.)
He then asked me to help them out with another situation. Apparently, taking the creatures from the Black Road we had fought closer to the Black Road had helped keep them alive a little longer. They had tried to save some of them, but only one had lived. He took me to see him.
Apparently, the man's name was Todd, and he was asking to see Alyddia.
Crap.
Jonathon explained that they had been able to convince him that he was in a hospital at home. He was going to be okay, but needed time to heal.
I instructed him to maintain the charade, and that I would contact Alyddia.
I went back to my tasks, but sent the first paige I found to Alyddia, asking her to contact me, saying that I would be near the Tongan delegation's quarters.
Later, I felt this strange feeling, as though someone was there, expecting something from me. After a few moments of confusion, I eventually realized that it was probably a trump contact ("Magic"), and It's hard to describe. I suppose I accepted the contact, but it isn't quite like that.
It was Alyddia, of course, and I asked her to pull me through so that we could talk in person. We then used the trump for a moment, seeing what it was like to trump and be trumped.
I then told her about Todd, and suggested that she get him home before he realized the truth. She thanked me, and we went our separate ways.
Later, I returned to my quarters and found my formal attire returned, cleaned and a note from Fiona inviting me to tea.
Remembering my conversation with Random at the reception, I packaged up one of my traveling pipes and some Hallen weed, and sent it to him with a note explaining what it was.
At tea, Fiona and I discussed many things. When I told her of the blood in the Tongan King's quarters, she said that Brand could have magically cleaned the room or even prevented the blood from being spilled. During the discussion, she asked me for details. I did tell her about the hand, but I didn't tell her which it was she seemed to think that it was important, but I still didn't know how much information to give, yet
She mentioned that she didn't trust Dara, and I didn't press her on that point.
I asked her about the family and the politics, and she said that she'd rather not discuss it, as she didn't get involved in the politics if she could avoid it. I told her that I respected that.
She did accept my request for tutorship, though. I thanked her and told her I'd contact her when I returned, assuming that she was still there. She said that, if she wasn't, she'd contact me.
A little after 8, I received a trump call from Eve. She explained that she and Alyddia might be late for our meeting at 9, as they were taking Todd home. I told her that was fine, and to meet us at the Pattern.
A little before 9, as I was heading to the dungeon entrance, Gareth trumped me and told me he would meet me at the Pattern. I told him about the ladies, and he offered to pull me through to make my trip easier. I accepted the offer and found myself in the Pattern room.
While we waited for the ladies, we discussed some issues I'd been meaning to speak with him about.
We agreed that we needed to talk to Ygg about his insects, but we weren't sure how or when we could.
I asked if we needed to determine the location of Alyddia's Pattern, and he said, "Yes. How?" I suggested that she could walk the pattern and return to it, and we could then trump her. We agreed that this would work, and that we would discuss it with her on the trip.
We also discussed how to research the pattern swords, but Gareth had no idea where to start. "They are marked by the pattern, but I don't know how to reproduce the effect. Corwin's sword was forged on the steps to Tir, but I don't know by whom."
The ladies arrived, and Eve told us that her trump of Martin actually went to Llewella. Good information to have I decided I'd have to check on that later. I didn't like having tools that I couldn't trust, especially when I didn't trust magic in the first place.
I asked the ladies to trump me immediately after I vanished, and I start walking.
The task was incredible.
Gareth did this in his mind?
Frequently?
When I reached the center, exhausted, I visualized Gareth, making a point not to visualize a background of any kind.
Nothing happened.
So I thought of a secluded place in The Stand, back home, and I was there.
The ladies immediately trumped me, as requested, and I explained what happened. I thanked them for the assistance and told them I'd see them in the morning.
I then trumped Gareth and told him what had happened.
As I was home, I decided to check in and see how things were going. I asked the date, and determined that my suspicious of the difference in time were correct; about one day had passed here for each five days in Amber.
After visiting with everyone (and dodging questions about my whereabouts and activities), I walked out into the Stand and used my trump of Amber, returning for a night of rest in my quarters.
Upon arriving, I discovered a set of documents describing the customs and traditions of the Tongan people. I promptly packed them in a convenient location for future reference.
The next morning at dawn, I was at the dock, looking up at the Bonnie Lass, thinking how long it had been since I'd been on board a ship, and if I really wanted to get on this one. A sense of dread was upon me, as though I knew that this journey was going to be far more horrific than its apparently simplistic mission implied. I assumed it was the dread of the possibility of Flora's retribution.
After recent events, though, how could it possibly be worse?
Ah, for those days of naivety...
The rest of the invited individuals arrived, and we met Flea, Gerard's first mate. The men were told that they would only be allowed a single duffel with us, as we were to share quarters with the rest of the crew; the rest of our possessions would be stored below. (Gareth and I exchanged blank looks, as we both had all of our possessions within a single bag.) The women would be taking Gerard's quarters for the duration of the journey.
I stored Settler in my duffel and kept Peacekeeper, Nick, and Ace on my person.
Flea then took us to see Gerard. He let us know that the Tongan delegation was in the suite opposite his quarters, with the King's corpse. (They had apparently arrived earlier, per my arrangements.)
He also informed us that it was required for a family member to spend at least two years in the service of the Amber Navy. Comments were exchanged regarding Flora's tour of duty as everyone relaxed and accepted the situation.
Well, almost everyone Alyddia was not happy.
Gerard then explained that we had a choice of duties onboard ship: galley, lookout, swabbing the deck, or working on ropes. I volunteered immediately for galley, as it put me as far from the public eye as possible, keeping me away from the King's daughter.
Gareth took lookout duty, Alyddia took swabbing duty, and Eve volunteered to work the ropes.
Gerard informed us that we were to work 4-hour watches, and were expected to work at least 2 such watches per day. (The crew worked 3.) I informed both Gerard and Flea that I would be interested in being included in a third shift.
Flea directed me to the kitchen where I met the cook, Big Jack Brass. The man was missing a leg, which had been replaced by a slender wooden stump of wood. He also had a pet creature, a large, brightly colored bird that could actually talk! Initially, I thought that this was an incredible magic, but I later determined that it merely mimics things it has heard it did not actually understand what it is saying.
While we were working, the crew would occasionally burst into song at Gerard's initiation. (He had given us the words to the songs when we originally arrived.) I often accompanied them on my flute, as I have always been a better player than singer. (However as with most sea-faring crews the quality of the crew's efforts would not be a challenge to surpass!)
During the first watch, Gareth trumped me. We briefly (and silently) discussed the Tongan king's body and hand, as he was concerned that Brand may come after the other hand. He was specifically concerned that Gerard did not know that there might be a threat. We decided to meet the ladies in their quarters to determine our best course of action.
During the conversation, I asked him if it was possible for him to teach someone how to walk the pattern in his mind as he does. The idea of being able to do what he did sounded like a useful tool, and I wanted to see if it was possible for me to acquire such an ability. He informed me that he could teach me how to do it.
Gareth trumped the ladies and asked them to meet us after our second watch to discuss the issue of the King's body, and they accepted the invitation.
Gerard's quarters were interesting. Some of the items were more advanced than would be expected for Amber, but the enormous cutlass attached to the wall was exactly what I would expect of a sea-faring captain of Gerard's strength.
We briefly reviewed the funerary customs of the Tongans and learned that the funeral would be 3 days in length and the body was usually viewed, but they would likely make an exception given the state of the King's remains. After the viewing period, the body would be set upon a pyre and there would be a great feast that could last for as long as a week.
We discussed how best to handle the situation, and I pointed out some facts that made me less inclined to worry about it: if Brand wanted the other hand, he could either have taken it initially or he could have already retrieved it, and Fiona seemed to think that the actual hand mattered Brand would only want one of them.
We also discussed if we should return the hand to the family. Gareth was concerned with this idea, as he pointed out that Brand seemed very upset by the loss of the hand when they retrieved it from him.
Finally, we agreed that we should at least inform Gerard of what we know, and include him in the conversation. Gareth retrieved him (he seemed surprised to see men in the ladies quarters I made a mental note not to meet there), and he agreed with my thought that there was likely little threat of Brand attempting to attack them for anything of the King's.
Before Gerard left, I asked him if I could test his trump. It worked as expected, and he left. We then tested our individual trumps of each other to ensure that we could rely upon them. I then used Llewella's trump and received no response. The same happened when I attempted Martin's trump, which given Eve's statement that it would likely contact Llewella did not surprise me.
I then spent the rest of the watch studying the customs information we had received from Corwin.
That night, I was introduced to a substance called wax. The crew explained that it was necessary to insert small amounts of the stuff into the ears in order to deaden the sound of Gerard's snoring. I spoke with them a little about other uses for the material and obtained a large amount for future use it seems to be a very versatile substance!
And I don't think I could have slept without it. As it was, the vibrations nearly shook my head from my shoulders...
The next morning, between watches, I trumped Llewella and told her that I was testing the trumps to ensure that I could rely upon them. I then waited a few minutes and tested Martin's, getting Llewella. I asked if she wanted the trump, explaining that I was not willing to have a defective tool, as it might mislead someone in a situation that relied upon getting in touch with Martin for some reason. She took the trump.
At the time, I did not understand trump very well. I did not know that my thoughts were available for her to hear...
Ah, well.
During our off-hours, we spent some time sparring with each other and with Gerard. Of course, the ladies sparring seriously distracted the crew, but that could not be helped.
I also spent time performing Jonathon's exercises. I integrated them into my daily routine. I'm sure that they will take a significant amount of time to make a difference, but I am hopeful that I may eventually be able to reach the point that I have the strength of other Amberites.
On the third day at sea, the crow's nest called that there was a "dark spot" approximately a league distant. Gareth asked Alyddia to accompany him (I'm not sure where they went), Eve headed up into the lines, and I went below decks to get Settler. I suspected that this "dark spot" was probably a manifestation of the Black Road, as Gareth and I had seen it in many forms when we traveled it. Admittedly, none of them were at sea, but we did encounter a flying boat on it, so I was suspicious.
Okay, I won't lie I'm always suspicious. Retrieving Settler simply made me feel better.
When I returned to deck, I noticed that Gerard had left the deck. I wanted to make sure that he knew what Gareth and I had experienced while we were on the Black Road, so I asked Flea where he had gone. He answered that he'd gone to retrieve his cutlass. I smiled, thanked him, and headed for his quarters.
At least I'm not the only one.
As I reached the door, it opened, and Gerard, Gareth, and Alyddia exited, talking about what they had learned. I asked Gareth what it is, and he responded, "The Black Road." I nodded, unsurprised, as Gareth instructed the other three to join a complement of the crew below decks at the oars. He assigned me to the ropes, and, after tying Settler to the main mast below me, I tied myself in so as to be able to easily cut myself loose, if it should be necessary.
He planned to briefly turn back and gather some momentum in order to hit the Road with as much speed as possible, in the hopes of cutting across it as quickly as possible. The crew executed the maneuvers as specified, and we hit the darkness in the water at full sail with a powerful wind at our backs.
As soon as we hit, the wind suddenly lessened and shifted, coming from astern and starboard. The entire world had gone to twilight and all sound was deadened, making for an eerie silence upon the calm waters. All points of reference vanished behind and before us was only darkness, and the sky was clear of all torches.
After an hour, by Gerard's estimates, we should have cleared the Road's width (approximately a league, by his estimates) twice. We accepted the possibility that we were not in the place we were before entering the Road; the other side was still not visible.
The nest called out that a whirlpool was developing to starboard. Looking out, it was an enormous one, easily as big as Amber village in its entirety.
For reasons I did not understand at the time, Gerard turned the Bonnie Lass into the whirlpool. He knew his ship and his goal, so I trusted his judgment. He ordered full oars and had us cut the lines to drop the sails. Everyone obeyed without hesitation we all understood that our lives were at stake.
I was amazed by the very existence of this whirlpool. I'd heard many tales from sailors of such formations, and even seen a few in odd river flows, but never had I imagined something of this size. Then I realized that I'd seen another more recently: the whirlpool that deposited Gareth and I in Alyddia's home.
I shouted to Gerard over the sounds of the ship straining with the current and the deadening effect of the Road that we had encountered such a whirlpool on our travels. He responded that he'd heard about it.
At that moment, I saw something at the center of the formation as the nest called out a sighting. It was enormous, a creature the likes of which I had never imagined in my entire life. A giant squid, tentacles at the tip easily larger than I am tall, and a beak large enough to swallow the entire ship whole. That feeling of dread returned as I realized the situation we found ourselves in.
I called to Gerard, "Nevermind."
Somehow, Gerard had successfully begun pulling the ship out of the whirlpool. The momentum he had built up spun us around the edge and right back out. Apparently this had been his plan, and he would have saved us with his efforts. Yes, I said he would have...
One of the beast's gigantic tentacles crushed down upon the ship, taking many sailors and the front mast with it. It quickly drew us forward as the crew struggled to break it free.
I saw little of the insanity that ensued. For my part, I was, admittedly, desperate. I cut myself loose, falling onto the beast's tentacle with Peacekeeper in hand as an anchor. Remembering that Gareth had previously mentioned that using trump on the Black Road could be dangerous, I landed with Corwin's trump out, slapping it against the creature's skin. I tried to activate the trump, hoping to cause an explosion like that caused by Corwin and Bleys' swords cutting through the tendrils of the bug-beasts.
The trump was dead.
Peacekeeper's sharp edge cut free of the creature's appendage, and I slid to deck. Once there, I replaced Corwin's trump and pulled out Gareth's I hoped that the trump simply could not even activate if the subject was outside of the road. (Magic.) The trump worked, but there was no reaction.
I was left with no tools to combat this horror.
The full weight of the situation eluded me, and I turned to the only option remaining. Pulling Settler from its scabbard, I attacked the beast with everything I had.
The battle lasted but briefly, although it seemed an eternity at the time. Eve (carrying the remains of a broken oar), Alyddia, and Gareth arrived just after another of the creature's tentacles struck Gerard, flinging him as a rag doll across the deck. As Alyddia looked after Gerard, Eve and Gareth joined me in the attempt to fight off the beast, but it was hopeless.
It drew us into its cavernous maw, and the world vanished.
It was then that I realized what had happened, that we were going to die. My mind, in slow motion, played back the events of the day, tried to find a flaw, a mistake. I couldn't see it. I was simply powerless against this force, a force so powerful that even an elder of Gerard's abilities was but a child against it, a plaything. And now, we would be destroyed.
But we weren't.
We found ourselves flying, as though a bird in the sky. Pinpoints of light that seemed to be torches off at a distance burned above us, but I heard no water below. When I looked over the edge of the ship, there was nothing there, nothing holding us up, only more torches glowing at a distance. If these were stars as I know from my home, none of the formations looked familiar I saw none of the gods of any of the people of Shindlar, either above or below.
We were hurtling away from a huge, white, ball of light, with wispy tentacles reaching out of it as though at random. With no landmarks to guide me, I could not determine its size or distance for certain, but it was immense.
The Bonnie Lass was spinning slightly, turning back toward the light. Eventually we slowed and came to settle pointing straight at it. It seemed as though we were drifting in a pattern around it.
Floating with us around the light was much debris: pieces of other vessels, lost possessions of people likely long dead, and strangely what appeared to be thick yet short, colored stockings. But none of the stockings seemed to match
Flea came up from below decks with some minor wounds and immediately took charge of the situation, demanding damage reports from the crew. Seeing that we were not being included in the assignments, I called to Alyddia to attempt to trump Corwin as I tied myself to the mast. Eve grabbed a broken piece of decking and hurled it over the edge of the ship as I walked in that direction. The wood went straight out for a ways, then started moving back towards the ship. It dropped below the edge, out of sight, and a moment later reappeared on the other side, flying back up and over the Bonnie Lass's deck. I stared at the wood flying over as it dropped back down to my side of the boat. Eve mentioned something about it being in a place she called "orbit".
"Magic," I mumbled under my breath.
Shaking my head, trying to ward off the situation, I numbly stepped over the edge of the ship as Eve took the rope to feed it to me. I expected to fall, to drop straight down, but I didn't. My step took me against the side of the ship, and I stood on the side of the ship.
Pausing, shaking, I sheathed Peacekeeper and pulled the Rose from my chest pocket. Again, I knew that it would be there, even though I had packed it in my bag, below decks. The strangeness of this seemed miniscule in comparison to the current situation, and the familiarity and strength of this thing anchored me enough to continue.
I held the Rose my hand as I continued toward the keel of the ship. I was held to the surface of the wood as though walking upon a hill back home, strangely pulled to the surface. The experience was incredibly disorienting and confusing, but I kept the Rose in one hand and Settler in the other and pushed on.
When I reached the keel, I evaluated the damage that the beast had done (minimal, luckily), and turned to return to the deck. There I discovered that a slight breeze had picked up, and we were moving slightly forward.
I reported my discoveries to Flea, who indicated that we'd lost 5 crewmembers and that 3 (including Gerard) were unconscious.
I volunteered to take watch below, on the keel of the ship. Flea accepted my offer, and I climbed back down the side of the ship.
Trying to relax, I pulled out my pipe and watched as the smoke eerily trailed out into infinity. After a while on watch, a strange, cloud-like substance floated below us, followed closely by a school of fish Floating in nothing.
I stared.
Blinked.
Shook my head.
"Magic," I mumbled under my breath.
Suddenly, I realized what was wrong. I've always had the resources necessary to accomplish whatever I set out to do. Be it a blade, an army, diplomacy, tenacity, or simply intelligence, I have always either had what was necessary or been able to easily acquire it.
Twice since the discovery of my heritage, I had found myself in a situation in which I lacked.
I lacked the necessary resources.
Magic.
That, of course, was simply the word that I had used to describe these things, based upon the suspicious beliefs of my homeland. But I was not there, and these things were not just delusions of over-active imaginations. These things were power and strength, and my fear and loathing of such things must end. I needed to know what resources existed and were available, and how I could obtain them.
I needed the ability to fight and to win and the common blade had proven that it was not going to accomplish that in my new incarnation.
I settled into my weed and thoughts of questions to ask Gareth once our watch ended, allowing my gaze to follow the floating fish.
A moment later, I felt a tug on the rope and the sound of someone climbing down the side of the ship. Eve, it appeared, had decided to join me, asking me about "this weed" that I'd mentioned. I simply handed her my pipe and let her try some for herself. She seemed quite taken by it I will have to return home and get more, soon.
The young lady definitely lacks in many of the social areas, but I could tell that she would grow to be a powerful ally.
We spoke for a while about the usual pleasantries. After a few minutes of this, a wind began to pick up, quickly growing in strength. I instructed Eve to climb back up as I followed her to the deck. By the time we reached the top, the wind had reached virtually gale strength we fought to get over the edge as others lashed themselves down.
It died down a few minutes later, returning to the previous calm, and I pealed offthe debris that had imbedded itself on me during the wind.
Alyddia and Gareth shared what they had learned while we were on the keel. Apparently, trump does work, here - Alyddia had used it to contact Corwin. Unfortunately, the image seen through the trump is stretched and warped. In an effort to test the tool, Alyddia had passed a cactus from Gerard's room through to Corwin, and it was changed into something else. Corwin told her he was going to have Fiona look at it.
Gareth had used the lens to look at the source of the light, and discovered that it looks like a source of Logrus power. He was unable to get more than that.
Once they shared this information, Gareth contacted Corwin and informed him of what he'd seen. Gareth didn't share the contents of the conversation and I didn't ask there didn't seem to be much information of interested to discuss.
While Gareth did this, I tested the use of trump in the local area by contacting Eve. It worked, but it also had the stretched and warped imagery.
We discussed what direction to go when (if) the wind next picked up. The decision was that there were too many risks involved in going back into the light too many unknowns. Also, Gareth had determined that the logrus seemed to dissipate farther away from the light, so we were hoping to get away from it enough to at least use the trump, if not actually shadow walk away from this place.
Alyddia went to talk to Flea about the plan while I checked on Gerard. When I entered, Ricki was there (with one of the crew members), cleaning Gerard's wound. She seemed pleased to see me which only made the situation more awkward. We spoke for a moment (she mentioned that Gerard was doing better he was mumbling about a woman and her breasts ), but I quickly excused myself, running into Alyddia on the way out.
I was a little concerned that the Logrus in the area could be in some way affecting the King's body, so I next headed in that direction. However, when I got to the door, I decide that I did't want to deal with the Queen, so I headed back up on deck.
I saw that Eve was working on the ropes, so I joined her and asked her if she thought there would be any problems with the King's body in this Logrus environment. She wasn't sure, but didn't think there was a significant concern. While she wasn't confident that there was an issue, I felt that none of us fully understood what was going on and dropped the concern even if something was happening, I would have no idea how to deal with it, so there would be little reason to investigate until there was an issue.
Alyddia joined us and told us that she had requested that a person attend to Gerard's wound it is apparently very deep and she was concerned that it would not stop bleeding.
The three of us then discussed the fact that this place this shadow, for lack of a better term could be a significant discovery.
During a lull in the conversation, I realized that I hadn't had a chance to bring up my earlier idea with the two of them, and introduced the idea of finding Alyddia's pattern. I suggested, as I'd previously discussed with Gareth, that Gareth and Alyddia walk the pattern in Amber and travel to the pattern that Brand took Alyddia to. They could immediately trump Eve and I so that we could join them and protect them in their weakened state. Alyddia had a number of concerns with this idea, but I suggested that she think about it it could be of significant benefit for us to find this place.
A roar from his quarters told us that Gerard had awoken, so I went to check in with him. I updated him on the events that had transpired and volunteered to let Flea know that he was up and about. Gerard agreed with our plan and thanked me for the information.
After giving Flea the news, I went below decks to "wake up" Gareth and tell him that Gerard was awake.
I then headed to the galley to help out.
A while later, the wind picked up again (from the same direction), rapidly reaching gale strength. Gareth and I returned to deck, and Gerard asked us to tie ourselves down and stay out of the way of the crew. Per our earlier plan, everything was in place for us to take advantage of the wind and move away from the light.
After riding the wind for an hour or two, we determined that there is a spiral of wind heading away from the light, and we were now riding that spiral.
An hour or two after this discovery, the crow's nest called that there appeared to be something off in the distance. It looked like a small, colorful ball that wasn't moving with the wind, completely stationary. Looking at it, it looked to me to be a small ball, as a child would play with.
Gareth again walked the pattern in his mind, looking off in the direction of the ball. Afterwards, he looked rather tired. He then trumped Corwin and checked in, but we didn't discuss the results of that conversation.
As time passed, each time we traveled around the white light, we got closer to the ball. Each time around, it was larger than the last. I began to realize that it was immensely huge, much larger than I had originally thought.
Later, Gerard summoned us to his cabin for a discussion. They had determined that the ball (they referred to it as a "planet") could be in our path, so that we would hit it. I did not understand the majority of the conversation, however, as it involved terms that were foreign to me. I tried not to disrupt the conversation with my questions, though.
During this discussion, I asked Gareth about his trumps with Corwin. He said that the time differential was significant (20 minutes had passed in Amber, in that time). Also, Corwin told him that Fiona was interested in the cactus that Alyddia had passed through. At this, Gerard asked what cactus, and looked about for the one that used to be in his quarters. He was not happy about losing his cactus apparently it had sentimental value.
One of the crew knocked, reporting that the crow's nest sighted lights visible on the ball. We immediately headed out to the deck to see what he was referring to; on the way out, Gareth mentioned that it might be the same lights that they saw from the bridge that Brand attacked them on.
When we arrived on deck, I was stunned by the view. The ball was red-orange in color, and it was huge, blocking most of the sky, overhead.
Unfortunately, the lights the crew mentioned were not as Gareth had hoped they were referring to a large, shiny object moving around the ball. Gareth, Alyddia, and Gerard began discussing this at length, including the fact that it is something they called a "space ship". During the conversation, we discussed what this place was, and Alyddia was kind enough to explain to me that a planet is a place like my Shindlar, with the clouds that we were seeing down on the surface being similar to the clouds that I would see at home only from the other side.
We discussed what we should do next, and debated about trying to use pattern out here. We also discussed the possibility of there being water on the other side of the planet, and maybe shadow-walking us to a shadow where there was.
Gerard explained to us that it is easier to shift from one shadow to another than to affect probability in the current shadow.
The decision was that, for now, we would move into a position around the planet, something they referred to again as orbit. From there, we would try to see more details, and maybe go around to the other side of the planet.
Gerard began moving us into orbit while Alyddia watched the other ship through the spyglass. She mentioned that it had a symbol with a serpent wrapped around a tree and a name written on the side: "Falcon". When they told me what a falcon was, I raised the concern that, in my home, warships are named after birds of prey, but she did not see any weaponry on this vessel.
Gerard and the crew successfully got us into orbit. From there, we made out some details on the surface, including one small body of water. I honestly had no idea how they were going to get us into a body of water without crashing the ship, though.
However, we quickly moved around the planet to the far side of it, where it was dark. In the darkness, we could see that the surface was all white.
We discussed the situation, and determined that the best course would be for us to investigate this spaceship. If we attempted to land upon the planet, we would not be able to get back off, so it would make sense to look into the vessel before doing so.
Gerard had the crew move the Bonnie Lass alongside the spaceship. As we approached, I tied myself to the mast so that others could follow and so that I could get back. Once we were in position, I ran at the edge of the ship and jumped, hoping that I could make it to the spaceship before being pulled around as Eve's piece of debris was, earlier.
However, as I got about halfway, I suddenly found myself pulled toward the spaceship instead of being pulled by the Bonnie Lass it was a very disorienting and odd sensation.
As I hit the ship, I tumbled and came up on my feet. As I looked about the immediate area, Gareth climbed down the rope to join me. It was strange the entire vessel was built of some kind of silver-colored metal. It was huge and incredible.
While Gareth brought up his pattern lens, I tied myself off to a protruding bar of metal and walked around the surface of the ship, looking for portholes to see into. Unfortunately, all of them were dark, and I couldn't reach the large opening at the fore of the vessel.
Once he finished with the lens, we acquired a lamp from the Bonny Lass and opened what he referred to as a hatch. As we started into the ship, I asked him what his lens found. He told me that there wasn't much within the ship that was visible, but were some lights on the deck. I don't know what that means, but he seemed to think that it was good.
As we headed to the front of the ship, someone trumped Gareth. I assumed that it was Gerard, and kept my senses directed in front of me, watching for any signs of occupants.
When we arrived at the front of the ship (Gareth referred to it as a "bridge"), Gareth told me that Gerard was sending Alyddia down to assist, as she apparently has some experience in things like this. I returned to the hatch to escort her to the bridge while Gareth remained.
When Alyddia and I returned, I mention that I was of no use here, and volunteered to search the rest of the ship for information on what happened to its crew. As I turned to explore the ship, I suddenly discovered a man in front of me. I quickly evaluated his posture and determined that he did not appear to be hostile in intention. We introduced ourselves, and he told us that his name was Aden. He referred to the planet as "Bliss", and said that he and his companions had been here for about 75 years. He would not inform us of his origins, but he did say that he, too, arrived here via the giant squid. He said that he moved himself to the ship from Bliss using Logrus, and that he has been asked to bring us down to the surface to meet with his elders.
During the conversation, I got the idea that he was scared, afraid of something, but doing a good job of controlling his fear.
We asked to be allowed to discuss his offer, and he said that he would meet us on the Bonnie Lass in an hour.
When we returned to the ship, Gerard told us that Aden looked familiar, but he didn't know why. This concerned me, but if Aden was an enemy of Gerard's, I somehow doubt that he would still be alive
We discussed how we would deal with the situation, and I raised the issue of making sure that we not use trump while being Logrused to the planet below, as it might react violently. While we discussed this, Gerard told us that they had trump in Thelbane.
Gareth then trumped Corwin and told him what had occurred, asking for suggestions as to our course of action. Afterward, Gareth shared his conversation, saying that Corwin countered his suggestion of contacting Bleys to find Dara, saying that he did not want Bleys and Fiona to have access to her Corwin apparently felt that there was an antagonistic relationship between Fiona and Dara, and did not want to put her at any more risk than necessary. Gareth also showed Corwin a mental image of Aden, but Corwin did not recognize him.
We decided that the best course was for a few of us (definitely not Gerard) to go to the planet with Aden to learn what we can. I volunteered to visit with Aden's Elders, as did Eve, Alyddia, and Gareth.
Gerard asked Gareth to trump him once they are on the surface, which he agreed to.
I decided not to take Settler and Ace down with me, but I kept Peacekeeper, just in case.
Aden arrived, and agreed to allow us to trump back to the ship once we reached the planet, below.
Aden began moving his arms in odd ways, jerking them around in seemingly random fashion. Suddenly, I experienced a strange sickening feeling, a jolt, and I found myself in a small room with a window the shows a small village. The others were also there, including Aden. The room was occupied by a table, with two men sitting at the opposite end of it.
Aden introduced us to the two Bliss elders: Hallis (younger in appearance than Aden) and Onen (older in appearance than Aden). He then sat between them. (We later learned that Onen was the father of the other two.)
The conversation was tense, but short. They were very interested in helping us leave, but it seemed that they just wanted to be rid of us.
Hallis tried to level with us, but Onen refused to allow him to. The younger man wanted news of Thelbane news of home, for them.
Against Alyddia's judgement, I shared the fact that a war was being waged between Amber and Thelbane. However, they had never heard of Amber. In fact, they left Thelbane before Amber was founded.
They admitted that they were once a vassal to House Barryman. Many years ago before they left their home in Thelbane they were approached by the head of the House, a man named Dworkin. He told them that House Barryman was rebelling against House Swayville & Sawall, and that they were defecting from Thelbane. Dworkin told them to either leave or turn themselves in. Since they weren't in good standing with the current powers, they fled.
Gareth asked for their house, and they answered Bruinen.
Gareth asked what Dworkin looked like, and Hallis gives him a trump of Dworkin. In it, he is a smallish man with a humped back.
Gareth told them that it was the same Dworkin that is known in Amber, today. Onen announced that he wasn't interested in being involved with House Barryman anymore.
Apparently, while announcing the defection, Dworkin had told them that there was a new power (or creature) coming up out of the Abyss, and that House Barryman was allying itself with this new power.
Hallis handed over another trump to me, one they identify as Oberon, son of Dworkin. I handed it to Gareth without looking at it.
I asked about the Abyss, and if they knew of it. Aden told us that Thelbane floats on top of the Abyss. He explained in detail the layout of Thelbane and location of the Logrus, including the fact that the Throne is just above the opening to the Abyss.
Aden asked who was King in Thelbane, and Gareth answered Swayville. This caused them some frustration.
Out of curiosity, I asked if they recognized the name of Borel, but they did not.
Gareth announced that the Bonnie Lass was being fired upon by another ship using energy weapons, as a person entered and announced that there were "visitors".
As there was little else for us to do, we offered to help. Aden instructed us to go with Hallis to join the vanguard, and then he used Logrus to go up to the Bonnie Lass.
Hallis led us to a building that had a weapons store, giving us what he called "energy weapons". They were rifles that were powered by Logrus, but did not require Logrus to use. I took an extra weapon, just in case.
He then explained the plan to us. Effectively, we would be the forward force, drawing the enemy into an ambush by flanking forces. Very simple concept, although I did not have much faith in its success we would see
As we exited the building, Gerard approached us. "They destroyed the Bonnie Lass!", he bellowed, obviously heartbroken and enraged. Apparently, Aden has succeeded in saving the majority of the crew, including Flea, the Queen of Tonga, and her daughter.
I handed Gerard my extra weapon, and he nodded his thanks.
Then it hit me: I had left Settler on the Bonnie Lass. It was lost.
Crap.
That really made me mad.
We lined up on a ridge in preparation for the enemy approaching. We saw the enemy ship (labeled "Gorgon", with the insignia of a one-eyed serpent on the side), and troops began to pour out. They had a wagon-like vehicle that they were using to move squads together, as a unit. There were four such vehicles, each of which held six or seven of the enemy, and additional enemy soldiers were following on foot.
Gareth took a shot at them from this distance. A burst of energy erupted from his weapon and flew down toward one of the vehicles. It missed, but it did seem to be effective.
The enemy began firing back, and the battle was on.
I waited to start shooting until they reach the halfway point. I aimed and squeezed. Analyzing it, the shot was significantly high. Watching the others, I noticed that they were not aiming high, and then I remembered Gareth's lesson what seemed like a life-time ago energy weapons do not drop!
I started aiming directly at the target, instead of aiming high.
As the enemy forces came closer, Hallis called to us to retreat. It was too late, though we would be lucky to make it to the next position before being overrun by the vehicles. I stayed, in the hopes of taking out one of them, slowing the assault.
As the first vehicle approached near my position, I jumped out firing. I leapt with all my strength, I landing on top of one of the enemies within the vehicle. I threw my rifle at the vehicle's driver hitting him in the head and drew Peacekeeper.
The world was chaos. I fended the enemies off with Peacekeeper as I felt the vehicle jerking back and forth, and I fell to one side of the vehicle, landing on one of them and breaking his harness. We struggled, both holding his weapon, as the vehicle careened out of control and rolled.
The two of us were thrown free. A short distance away, the vehicle came to a stop on it's top.
The enemy I had been wrestling with had landing beside to me. We were both winded by the impact, but I suddenly realized that his rifle was within reach. I grabbed the handle and pulled the trigger the shot hit him in the side of the neck, killing him.
He was wearing a second rifle, strapped on his back, in addition to the body armor that they all shared. I also noticed that there was someone trying to get out from under the vehicle, as a hand came into view, groping around for something to hold onto.
I grabbed the second rifle it was different from the other rifle and shot it at the man in the vehicle, testing it to see what it did. Instead of firing a blast of energy, it fired a blob that turned into a net when it hit. The net was glowing, as though it was made of energy, and covered the vehicle. When the man's hand touched the net, it seemed to cause him to jerk back.
A part of me was seriously disappointed. I was hoping for something more. To be honest, I was hoping it would kill him.
Knowing that there were more enemy soldiers coming, I had to think fast.
I dropped to the ground, grabbed the body next to me, and pulled it on top of me.
Oddly, at just that moment, I felt as though I was getting a trump contact. It stopped quickly, as though something had interrupted the attempt. I didn't have time to deal with it, however, as I could hear footsteps from over the rise.
After a few moments, a couple of the enemy foot soldiers approached the immediate area. One of them walked up to the body on top of me and kicked it, rolling it off of me. I immediately shot him with the net-gun, and started targeting the others, nearby. Unfortunately, they were faster than I expected. In fact, they were faster than anyone I'd faced before the battle in the Valley of Garnath.
One of them hit me with a similar weapon before I could take him down, encasing me in a net. There was a strange, static-like sensation as I was enveloped in the glowing material. As the ball hit me, though, I also fired at him. Unfortunately, my shot immediately erupts as it hit the net around me, encasing me in another layer of netting.
Crap.
I pulled out Peacekeeper and start trying to cut my way free as he walked away. He completely ignored me, as though there was nothing for him to worry about.
That just pissed me off even more.
Oddly, touching the net seemed to weaken it more than using the blade. I didn't like touching it the shock was very odd but I could deal with it. It causes a sensation similar to ants crawling all over me. I sheathed Peacekeeper and start tearing at the net with all my strength.
At this point, Alyddia trumped me. She wanted to make sure I was okay. I explained what had happened, but that I would be free, soon. I let her know about the net weapons, in the hopes that they could avoid them. I also asked her to warn the others that I was going to be coming up from behind the foot soldiers, firing their weapons. She then broke off contact and I resumed my efforts to break free.
After a few moments of prying at it, I was able to break free of the net and pulled myself out.
One of the others soldiers I had netted was struggling against his. I used one of the energy weapons to shoot him, but the net absorbed the blast. He made some odd hand sign that I didn't understand (his center finger was pointed up while the rest were curled down), but the look on his face told me that it was derogatory.
I pulled out Peacekeeper and pointed out the fact that, while it couldn't cut the net, I was sure it would go through the gaps.
It did.
A part of me knew that killing him was not necessary, but the aggression and rage that I had been holding in since the insanity of Amber had been introduced to my reality welled to the front of my mind. Sanity and morality were lost to me at that moment, as they had at previous moments of my life.
But I was already lost. There is no deeper to go.
I paused to take in the situation, ignoring the survivors under the vehicle, trapped by the net. My initial thought was to head back to the ship and attempt to take it, but I don't want to leave the others in this situation.
I dropped the two guns that I had, strapped a new net rifle over my back, and picked up a new energy rifle. Looking out toward the ongoing battle, I found a location between myself and the enemy foot soldiers that would give me a good vantage point, and sprinted toward it. The enemy was rushing a group of buildings, with some of their sniper positions covering it.
As always, I had a plan. The hope was that I could get into position and remove the snipers, allowing those in the building to break the hold.
When I reached position, I saw that the two snipers had arisen and were rushing forward. I took one down with the rifle but the other reached the building before I could hit him. In order to avoid hitting anyone in the building, I stopped firing and sprinted towards the buildings to help.
By the time I arrived, the action had moved on past the building. I got the distinct impression that the enemy soldiers were rushing one specific building, and decided to check there before moving on.
I reached the door and saw Gerard stuck in a net, Alyddia and Eve wrestling with a guy on the floor (hmm ), and Gareth to my right, with what appeared to be a light head wound. I mentioned to Gerard that he could tear his way out, then immediately run around the building to see what's going on with the rest of the battle.
The locals had pinned the two remaining vehicles in between their positions. I had a clear shot at the enemy soldiers, so I took up my net rifle and started firing.
At one point, only six of the enemy were still alive, although some of them were under nets. I called to them to surrender, but they were not willing to do so.
I continued to use the nets until they were all covered. Without any options left to them, they laid down their weapons and the locals moved in.
The others came out as I helped them recover from the attack. Eve was complaining of a leg wound, so I offered her the use of my pipe to ease the pain. She gladly accepted, although Gerard did not seem too pleased.
Gareth asked about going to the ship, mentioning that it was going to be a significant risk if it was not dealt with immediately. I agreed, mentioning that I had thought of that, also. Alyddia offered to join us.
I took a moment to try to remove some of the armor from of one of the enemy soldiers. It turned out that it was going to take too much time to figure it all out, so I gave up and returned to the conversation about attacking the ship.
Alyddia pointed out that we should speak to Hallis about the fact that we were going to the ship. Gerard warned us that the ship was heavily armed, and we would be better off not approaching it. Gareth suggested we meet with Hallis and determine if there was a way to use Logrus to get into the ship directly.
Following up on Gareth and Alyddia's suggestion, we headed to the center of the ambush location and check in.
Aden and the rest had taken the enemy survivors into custody. The soldiers admitted that they were members of the royal Thelbane military, but that they were just following orders. They said that they were sent to find the Amberites they were sent to find us, and they said that there would be more coming.
I brought up Gareth's idea that they check out the ship to see if there was anyone there. They decided that Hallis would make the attempt, and he prepared himself to do so.
He began waving his arms, much as Adin had earlier. Apparently this was the way to activate the Logrus power.
At one point in the actions, his motions tightened and became stiffer. Alyddia asked Aden why he did that, and he answered that Hallis had probably encountered some resistance in his efforts.
While waiting for Hallis to finish, I grabbed the highest charged net gun and "laser" gun that I could find, getting ready for what I expected to be a very brutal assault.
After a few minutes of moving his arms about in apparently random fashion, Hallis suddenly dropped his arms to his sides. He explained that the ship had 8 "life-forms" on board I quickly learned that this meant that there were 8 people inside. He also discovered that there was a Logrus shield of some sort around the ship.
We discussed how best to shut down the shield, thinking about using pattern to take it down. I realized that Hallis had said he had gotten through the shield via Logrus, and asked if he could do so again, and take out any weapons that they might have. He answered that he thought he could.
Alyddia asked that he try to keep the weapons intact, so that we could use the vehicle to get home. Eve pointed out that they might be able to use Logrus to get us back, instead, and we proceeded to have a lengthy discussion on the topic.
We agreed that we needed to speak with Aden and the others about our ideas, and Gareth pointed out that we should probably have details to present to them. Eventually, we agreed to use as many methods as possible to take down the shield: Eve and I using Trump, Gareth using Pattern, and the locals using Logrus.
At this point, I felt that we had taken too much time on discussing the issues. Eve and Alyddia seemed interested in speaking with one of the prisoners, so I informed everyone that I would go speak with Aden. As I left, Gerard and Gareth joined me.
One of the (many) things that was irritating me at this point was the loss of Settler. Remembering how Gareth explained our control over shadow, while I was walking, I tried to shift probability to find Settler. It didn't work, leaving me just as frustrated as I was before, if not more.
As we walked up to the group, Hallis was finishing up his report to Aden and Onen.
I started by immediately proposing that we assault the ship. Aden attempted to subtly ask if we would be willing to destroy the ship, if necessary, and I strongly presented my opinion that the ship was expendable if we didn't stop it, the people here would most likely die. There were other ways for us to get home. He seemed to appreciate this fact; Hallis had mentioned Alyddia's comment about using the ship to get home, and apparently they were worried that we placed that as a higher priority.
As we were discussing our options to get around the shield, I was struck by a sudden epiphany: Trump had been around since before Pattern, meaning that it is not Pattern based. I mention this observation to them, and Adin explained what he remembered from what they were taught.
The Serpent established the Logrus. Later, the Kraken came out of the abyss, and the Serpent somehow defeated it, absorbing its powers. Trump was the power of Kraken, meaning that it was independent of Logrus or Power, although it is still around.
Knowing this, we now were limited to just two ways in which we could assault the shield: Logrus and Pattern. Gerard mentioned that he was concerned that using pattern might produce a backlash that would harm Gareth, so we decided to attempt the Logrus first, keeping Gareth in reserve in case it failed.
When I asked how many could help us by taking out the weapons and shield via Logrus, they told us that there were only a three members of the House that were initiated into Logrus: Aden, Hallis, and Onen.
I asked how many would be interested in helping with this assault, and they all agreed to help. (Onen was especially interested in helping, as it would be a way to get rid of us.)
Knowing that we were running out of time, I mentioned that we needed to move quickly. Gareth responded by suggesting that I take charge of the operation. Given that Gerard did not seem willing to do so, I was about ready to, when Alyddia arrived. She stated that they were having a problem with the interrogation, and asked if I could help them out. Frustrated, I turned to Gerard and asked him to coordinate the group into action while I took care of the interrogation. I suggested that we only use the remainder of his crew so as to avoid additional losses on the part of the locals. He agreed and immediately took charge, bellowing orders for all to hear.
As I turned to leave, Gareth caught me. "If you do this, you are only harming yourself," he said.
I understood his point; a part of me was in complete agreement. He was saying that, by torturing another, I was torturing myself, that I was the one in need, and that there was more at stake than just taking the ship.
If only it mattered. Gareth didn't understand. I've already been lost what happened to me is of no consequence. All that matters is that lives are preserved and that my friends and traveling companions are returned home, safe.
But I didn't have the time to elaborate. "We can discuss the philosophical issues later," I responded, and turned to follow Alyddia to the prisoner.
I've already lost everything that he is afraid I will lose. People will die if I do not take action.
I remembered what had happened at the Valley of Garnath, when Eric was in need of support. Alyddia had told me that Flora had assisted Eric during the battle just by touching him. I asked Alyddia to be ready to help me similarly, if something went wrong while I was interrogating the prisoner. She didn't understand, but I asked her to just be ready. I knew that I was going to try to force him to submit to us, but I didn't know what would happen. I'd never tried this with someone outside of Shindlar. My expectation was that this would not be as easy as it had been in my previous experiences, but it could also result in failure something I had never experienced with interrogation, before.
This was odd. I've interrogated people before, broken them, with little more than my strength of will. At this point, though, I'd started to doubt everything I'd known. Was it really just force of will? I'd seen so much, now; was there more that I could do, things I didn't even understand?
The first time I'd interrogated a man I'd been in a hurry. Peoples lives were at stake, and he had the information I needed. I pushed him, hard, and he gave me some of what I needed.
Just before his mind became compost material.
I had always assumed that it was something he'd done, a poison he'd taken to avoid being used by the enemy.
Was it? Or did I cause it?
When we arrived at the location (it was the building that they were held up in during the early battle), we found that Eve had hung him from the ceiling, hands tied above his head. She had cut off his shirt and begun to cut a shape into his chest. She was holding up a trump, using the back as the subject. I could make out the alicorn and the start of the shape of the head of the unicorn. It was not a bad likeness.
She stopped when we entered, and I moved straight to him. Taking his chin in my hand, I forced his face to mine.
Then, I spoke to him. I asked him his name and rank. I asked him other simple questions. The entire time I was pushing, forcing myself on him. As I'd done it before and I was sure I would do again using sheer force of personality to overcome a person's mental barriers.
He offered more resistance than those in the past, making me think more about what I was doing, think harder about what I did when I was interrogating a person in this way. What was really happening? How could I actually sense resistance, if it was just me pushing verbally? What was I sensing? More questions for another time
Eventually, he was willing to give us the information that we needed:
During the interrogation, Gareth arrived. As I was getting the last of the information, I sensed him on the periphery. He said something, something I didn't understand, but I knew what he was asking without having heard the words.
I let go of the man's chin. For a brief moment, that small part of me that still believed, that still hoped, cried.
I turned to Gareth and kept the emotion from my face. I don't remember what I said, but I know what I meant to tell him. "He has information that could save the lives of these people." That was all that mattered, to me, and that made it worthwhile.
I told the guard to address the prisoner's wounds and left to join the team for the assault on the ship. Eve, Alyddia, and Gareth followed.
As we headed back, I asked Eve to return my pipe. I knew that I would need it, soon. She did, although I could tell that it was with some hesitation.
Once we rejoined the rest of the group, we discussed the plan and moved toward a position behind the hill opposite the ship.
As we were traveling there, we reached the vehicle that I had attacked earlier. Surprisingly, the occupants were still trapped in the net. This was of particular interest to me, as both Gerard and I were able to break free from the bonds of the nets with just some effort.
While Adin, Hallis, and Onin began their work, arms working in unison in their chaotic dance, I climbed up the hill to get a look at the situation. The ship was still there as before, but now I could see a strange, soap bubble-like yellow-green shield around it. I actually saw connecting strings appear and disappear between the ship and the shield it was a very odd and eerie site.
Briefly worried that something might happen while I was on high, I trumped Eve to ensure that I had contact with the group below.
Eventually, the Logrus gentlemen succeeded in killing the Logrus master on the ship, and I saw the shield fall. I rejoined the group, announcing that it was down, and we prepared to set out.
I asked if anyone had an idea of how we could communicate with the rest of the crew, possibly via Logrus. Gerard was curious as to what I was thinking, and I explained that it would be more efficient to get them to surrender to us. They were truly without hope, at this point. He suggested that we approach with a flag of parlay, which he and Aden agreed would be a green flag.
One of Gerard's crew volunteered a green shirt and I used one of my rifles as a pole for the flag. Eve, Alyddia, and some of Gerard's men joined me in advancing on the ship, in the open.
Before we left, I asked Aden if they would be willing to prepare to support us, in case something went wrong, and they agreed. As an additional precaution, Gerard brought a trump contact up with Eve.
The ship's keel (if it was called that on vessels that travel in whatever it travels in) was against the ground. Alyddia explained that she did not see any entries other than the one through which the soldiers had originally exited, an odd door that opened down, against the ground, becoming a kind of ramp. She referred to it as a "hatch".
As we approached the ship, the hatch opened and members of the crew came out with a green flag. Briefly, we discussed the terms of parlay, and they agreed to surrender the ship if we were willing to take them with us and eventually release them. They asked what token we could give them that we would keep our word, and I answered that they were still alive, that they could have been killed just as the ship's Logrus master had been. They accepted this and sent word into the ship for all of the occupants to leave.
While waiting for Gerard to arrive with the rest of his men, I was thinking about what we needed to do before leaving. I had thought of giving Aden my trump, but I remembered that he had actually said that he was not willing to "risk" giving us his trump. I asked Eve why that would be considered a risk, hoping that she could help me to better understand how this worked. She was very vague in her response, but from what I understood there are three factors: it could fall into the hands of someone you do not want constantly contacting you, it could fall into the hands of someone who would grab you and physically assault you through the trump, and it could fall into the hands of someone who could attack you with their mind. The last I truly do not understand, and I will need to speak with Gareth or one of the elders on that, later.
Once the crew was off-board and Gerard's men had ensured that the ship was safe, we entered. Alyddia immediately went to work learning how to operate it. She seemed to take a true joy in the task it was good to see her feel needed.
While everyone was clearing out the ship, I asked Aden what his plans were for the prisoners they had back in the village. He explained that they would attempt to integrate them into their society, if possible. He said that it would take less than an hour with each survivor to determine if they were going to be able to integrate into their society.
I suggested that we might be able to take some of them with us. The ship's brig would only hold 10 and we already had the current crew of 7 held there, so that didn't leave us much room. We agreed to discuss it later.
Gareth and I then wandered the ship, learning the layout. At one point, I found a room that I decided to use as my quarters. Once we reached the room that Alyddia was in with some others (there were chairs and elaborately decorated tables and many other things to confuse and frustrate), I excused myself. I was crashing, in dire need of release and rest. I headed back to the room I had inherited, looking forward to a pipe and some rest.
Unfortunately, on the way to the room, I realized that I needed to speak with Aden some more about if he could help me learn Logrus, or how I could go about doing so.
I turned back to find him.
It didn't take long. I asked if he had a moment to assist me with a question, and he admitted, although reluctantly, that he did.
I first apologized if this was too blunt, and asked how a person could learn Logrus. He was a little surprised at this, but then explained that only members of noble houses were allowed to learn. Apparently, you needed to be able to shift your shape to traverse the Logrus, and you were taught, from youth, how to deal with the insanity that results. However, you have to literally walk the Logrus in Thelbane in order to gain the power of Logrus.
When I asked if he knew of someone who would be willing and/or capable of teaching me shape shifting in order to progress further, he said that he would be willing to do so, if I was willing to stay. However, he suggested that I find Dworkin, as he would be very well suited to teaching me.
I then returned to the room and took comfort in my pipe and rest
After a few hours, I returned to see what was going on. The group was discussing what to do at this point. We agreed to leave as soon as possible.
Before we left, Gareth trumped Corwin to check in and inform him of what we had learned. Afterward, he told us that Corwin wanted us to mollify the loss of the Tongan king, and that we were to trump him once we escaped the Kraken.
I asked the group what they thought of my idea of leaving a trump with Aden. I suggested that one of us probably should, but that I would not feel comfortable risking any of the others if such an action could put them in jeopardy. We decided that we should ask him if Logrus would allow them to contact us, first. In case it does not, we agreed to offer my trump to them.
It did not take long to find Aden, and when we asked about the communications abilities of Logrus he informed us that the Logrus tendrils would not reach outside of the Kraken. Given that, I gave him my personal trump so that he could communicate with us in the future.
Gareth brought out the trumps of Oberon and Dworkin that they had given us earlier, and asked if we could keep them. Aden admitted that they had not have a need for them for many years, and was willing to allow us to keep them.
Of Gerard's crew, 17 survived the day. Two of them were seriously injured during the combat.
I volunteered to oversee the control of the seven remaining crew of the ship, and Eve offered her services.
As we were getting set to take off, I sent Lin, one of Gerard's men, down with Eve to watch the prisoners while I went to the "bridge" to watch the "take-off".
The sensations were very odd, as though I was being pulled backward. We quickly left the world of Bliss and headed towards the mass of light that we entered this place through.
As we were approaching the destination, Gerard asked Alyddia what she planned to do once we reached the Kraken, to which I replied, "fly fast". When he asked for more sincere responses, I mentioned that I should probably check on the brig, and left the bridge.
This was out of my area of knowledge, and I felt that my lack of experience was going to be an obstacle to their conversation.
I relieved Lin at the brig. Eve and I spoke about the interrogation a little, and she offered to allow me to try it out on her, later, to better understand what I was doing. She - obviously - was hoping to gain some knowledge out of the experience, herself.
After a while, Alyddia's voice suddenly and shockingly booms through the room, announcing various things that Eve translated for me to, "Hold on to something."
There was a brief moment of light, and everything vanished around me.
When I awoke, I quickly determined that we hadn't been moved. Eve and I checked the prisoners. They were all there, and had been affected the same as we had. I then sent her to the bridge to determine what was going on.
After a few moments, Alyddia's voice again came forth, saying that there were some ships coming after us. I found a couple of Gerard's crew to take watch on the brig and headed up to the bridge.
When I arrived, Gareth was shadow-shifting the entire ship to another place, and the ships became birds.
We discussed our plans, and decided to trump the prisoners back to Amber and get a new ship in this shadow. We contacted Corwin via trump to make preparatiosn, and he agreed to trump us when he was ready for the prisoners.
We then landed on the surface. Immediately after that, Corwin trumped Eve to perform the prisoner transfer. I performed the hand-off, in order to avoid any of the prisoners having contact with Corwin. One of the prisoners tried to make a break for it, but he was quickly subdued.
We also sent the wounded and dead members of Gerard's crew back to Amber.
When we returned to the bridge, we discovered that the Tongans were there. We discussed how best to deal with the expectations of their culture. They decided to ask Gareth to have the Brain Civ create a new body to represent the King.
Gareth left (via pattern lens) for the Brain Civ and Gerard left (via foot) to find a ship.
While they were gone, I wandered around outside the ship, looking for a sword, while Eve and Alyddia slept. I did not find Settler, but I did get a sword made of crystal. It seems to be fairly strong and well balanced. Always one to appreciate the power of identification, I named it Shard.
I waited a few hours, and then went to check on Eve. She was already awake, though, and mentioned that she had just had a very vivid dream.
I returned to my quarters to sleep.
Unfortunately, I also dreamed. The dream started at home, in my room. Gillian was there, and we were making love. It was incredibly intense and sweet and now that I think about it, it was torture. I heard a noise behind me, and Corwin entered from the window, dressed for battle. He asked where I was, as though I'd missed something, and that it was time for us to leave. I turned to say goodbye, but Gillian was gone. I looked for her, walking through the house although it soon becomes Castle Amber in that way that dreams have. While wandering the castle, I passed Flora, who asked what I was looking for. Unfortunately, I no longer remembered. She became Fiona, suggested that I look in the Pattern room, and vanished. I didn't know where the pattern room was, though, so I started checking doors in the hall. In one room, I found a box, ornate, with a representation of the pattern on top. As I started opening it, a hand appears and stopped me. It was Eric, and he told me to keep looking. I left the room and continued to search for the pattern room. Behind another door was a group of men getting ready for battle. I suddenly found myself on a plateau, overlooking thousands of men, with Amber standards, with an army of Thelbane standards on the far side. I noticed that all of the Thelbane soldiers were Brand. The sky overhead was striped. Corwin was there, and he said that it is time to go to battle. There were many more Thelbane forces than those of Amber, and I pointed out to Corwin that we'd lose. He said, "But so will they," as his face became Brand's.
And I awoke.
I ran to Eve's room and borrowed her writing instruments to write it down. This was not like my other dreams this was different.
Eve and I decided to find Alyddia to discuss the dreams, and to see if she had one, also. We found her on the bridge, and she admitted that she had. She suggests that we contact Gareth to determine if he had one, also.
When I reached him, he was talking to Bleys. He agreed to join us, and I pulled him through.
Gareth recited his: he was in the library, and Julian noticed strings on his wrists. Then he was in a meadow with flowers, with a tree and building, and he had strings on his feet. Eve and Alyddia were in attendance, and were watching and clapping while he danced. He was being pulled towards the edge of a cliff. At the base of it was an abyss. Above him, he could see that his mother was pulling his strings, but that she had strings, also. Blais appeared, looking down at the Abyss, and stated, "it is coming". He then mentioned that the strings must itch. Gareth then found himself in a room with a box like mine and when he attempted to open it, he awoke.
We discussed this, and then I described mine and talked about it, also. (I did not, however, tell them of Gillian's involvement.) Gareth and I agreed that my dream probably meant that Brand is in league with a new sibling coming out of the Abyss, and that he is attempting to manipulate Amber and Thelbane into destroying each other.
Eve said her dream started in the same field that Gareth was dancing in. Martin was there, as was the Unicorn they were having a picnic. Martin turned into Random, there was a bell, and she was in her school in a cafeteria. Dara appeared and attacked her. They fought, and she heard her instructor telling her what to do but it wasn't working. Dara became more Dara's, until Eve was almost overcome. Then she was on the playground, and many of the elders were there, taunting her, and she left them. She found Martin, who had the box. He said that he found it in the meadow. Martin told her to open it, but to be careful of the spiders. Then she awoke.
Alyddia's started in a hall, with her being chased although she did not know what was chasing her. (The hall was full of spider webs.) She found a door, and it led her to a moment in childhood, when she was making a card for her father and cut herself. Her mother said that it was only a little blood. She heard Brand {Get this from Michele! ???}
She opened the door and found herself in the meadow, and the Unicorn was there. It gave her the word "blood".
She then found herself in the restaurant with Todd.
Gareth suggested checking with Gerard to see if he had a similar dream, but Alyddia asked him not to mention her dream she didn't trust the elders. Gareth trumped Gerard, who said that he hadn't slept since we last saw him.
During the conversation, Gareth mentioned that he had told Bleys about House Bruinen. Gareth later informed us that Gerard asked us not to mention House Bruinen to anyone without Corwin's support.
Eve trumped Random, who said that he also had a dream, and that he was also picnicking in the same field.
After this, I realized that the dreams were too important to leave anything out, so I informed them of all of the details of my dream, including Gillian's involvement.
During the time waiting for Gerard, Gareth showed me some ways in which to better understand the pattern and how to learn to see it in my head. He taught me some visualization and meditation techniques, and I spent a good deal of time working on these.
I also spent time working out, as usual.
The second day waiting, I approached Eve about her offer to "try out" the interrogation. The resulting experience was very intriguing. I find Eve to be someone of great potential, but I fear for her. She seems to be heading down the same road I've already traveled, and it is not a pleasant trip. I do find that I trust her, however, and confided in her the story of Gillian and Josh's fate although I did not share with her the fate of their murderer.
Before the exercise, we agreed that I would try to get her to talk about her dream, about any details she might have left out. She did not reveal anything, though. It wasn't that I couldn't get her to, but that she said things in ways that I couldn't understand what she was referring to. She eventually returned to her true strength strength. I stopped the assault when she grabbed my shirt, as I did not relish the thought of being thrown through the hull of the Gorgon. Besides, I truly felt as though I was attacking her, and I did not like the sensation.
I did get the impression that she would not have been able to withstand my efforts, if I had continued to apply them. I decided that it might be good for us to continue these exercises, possibly in a slightly different form such as her attacking me.
In my room, afterwards, I thought for a while, smoking and considering. I did not feel fatigued, there was no headache or other pains, and other than the emotional toll I felt as though nothing unusual had occurred. But I did feel that I had a better comprehension of how this worked, of what was happening.
I talked to her about it the next morning, and she was very interested. I'd almost say she was too interested, but this is Eve; the fact that she was interested only showed that she thought it would be a challenge, something to put herself up against.
This turned out to be much more of a challenge for me, though, but then defense always is. We learned a lot about how this kind of combat worked, and had some interesting discussions in general.
Eve impressed me; I told her so, that day. It was something I think she wasn't too happy about. She was even more paranoid than me, which shouldn't really be a surprise, I suppose. I've always dealt with the court schemes and intrigues of home, things I could handle with just a slight effort and touch of finesse. These seem child's play compared to the politics of the Amberites and she had grown up dealing with them her entire life.
Interesting woman, Eve
Later that day, Eve told us that Gerard had contacted her, and he was ready for us to come through. We collected our possessions (including the items we'd "found" over the past couple of days) and Eve trumped him.
Eve's half-brother, Cole, a large, blond man, accompanied Gerard on the ship. Gerard had encountered him in shadow. Apparently he had been lost, trying to find his way back to Amber.
Cole reported that he had a dream, recently, in which Eve was having a picnic. There was a lady who turned out to be dead, but then there turned out to be a lot more of her. (Eve referred to it as a cloned undead army.) He saw the box, opened it, and saw a knife. Fiona appeared, and told him that it wasn't for him.
He gave us a little background on himself. His mother was queen of Perondor, one of the Golden Circle places. He was 21 years old, and walked the Pattern about 3 years ago. His younger half-brother was to be crowned king of Perondor. Due to Cole's illegitimate status, he was free to do as he wished.
We spent some time discussing stuff. He told us what he'd been doing and we caught him up on some of what we'd been through.
Cole had been out at sea, watching for any potential forces, as Eric was worried about Corwin coming by sea. He found a woman survivor of a wreck who, by touching him, sent him out into shadow. (This was, it turned out, the lady in his dream.) Apparently he awoke quite recently, so there may be a gap in his memory.
We discussed our parentages, where we had last seen the elders, etc., in an effort to help Cole get up to date on events in Amber.
The trip to Tonga took a few days. During that time, we spoke to the Tongan Ambassador about how best to handle the situation, and he asked to be there when we brought the body. Gareth acquired the body from the Brain Civ, and the Ambassador indicated that it looked like the king, but a decade younger. We used pattern to find some clothing that would be appropriate for him.
Alu took a look, and said that the cloths were about ten years out of style, but that she greatly appreciated our efforts. She said that she would consult with the High Priest upon our arrival to determine if this would work or not.
During the trip, we discussed Alyddia's Pattern, and the group agreed that we would attempt to shadow walk to the location.
We discussed if we could trust Cole, and we decided that we wanted to use the coming days to determine how much we could trust him, but we would likely tell him about our dreams.
I spent some time talking to Cole. I mentioned some of the information about my dream, and he described a boy that was eating with Eve who matched Martin's description. He also mentioned that he saw the unicorn in his dream.
Later in the trip, Cole offered to spar with everyone. Eve took up the offer first. Eve was as always very formal and well-trained in her approach, while Cole seemed to be more brute strength. As he realized that she was an equal match for him in skill, he shifted to using his strength, and Eve was put on the defensive.
I then asked if he'd be willing to help me test my new, crystal sword. The sword worked beautifully, even notching Cole's cutlass. I did not have a problem maintaining control of the fight, though, as long as I was able to keep him away from me and avoid his blows. Cole was very strong.
I continued in my training with both Gareth and Alyddia, and continued working out.
We reached the city of Wahu, which was based in a cove, at the foot of a smoking volcano. The people took us in and the ceremonies started almost immediately.
We learned that Riki's younger brother, Kayu, was heir, and that he would be made king at the end of the festivities.
The night we arrived, Cole, Alyddia, and I were on the balcony of our quarters, and Cole asked her about her dream. She told him the highlights, and he pointed out that, since she was able to pick up the knife, that it must be for her to use, as Fiona told him that it was "not for him".
We discussed the dreams a little more, comparing details. I realized that this was something that would benefit the entire group and called to Gareth and Eve to have them join us.
Cole described more details about his dream, including the fact that he walked through a hall similar to the one found in my dream and Alyddia's, and that there was a door that led to the room with the box.
Cole mentioned that the woman in his dream was singing, and Alyddia asked what she was singing. He answered a very strange riddle: "One, four, seven, ten. Ripples of power, spreading thin. Look at the beginning to find the end. One, four, seven, ten." We immediately guessed that the four was the four patterns that we knew of, but we didn't know what the rest were. My thought was that the one was the Logrus, but the others thought it was the primal pattern, although this left us with four missing a pattern, in that case. (At the time, I had forgotten about Gareth's belief in a fifth pattern.)
Timor showed up and described the events for the next 4 days. As the Amber delegation, we had very simple tasks, mostly involving the eating of food. On the fourth day, the old king would be given to the gods, and the coronation of new king would immediately follow.
He offered to have someone give us a tour of the area, although he told us to avoid the volcano. As we had learned earlier from our research, it was considered a sacred place, the place that their gods dwelled.
Later Timor stopped by and let us know what the High Priest, Tanaga, said. He was concerned that the body had not been dedicated, as happens during the coronation. This process is apparently something akin to walking the pattern. If the gods sense that this body was not dedicated, they may reject it.
She let us know that she will have Tanaga visit with us to answer some of our questions. After she left, Gareth told us that he had seen this thing that they use in their coronations, and that it seemed to be a wedge out of the real Pattern. We discussed this a little more, and we realized that there were seven Golden Circle Kingdoms most likely the "seven" from the song of Cole's dream.
We began discussing items that were of the denomination of ten, but failed to come up with anything that made sense.
Tanaga visited later with a servant. Gareth asked him about the affect of the coronation ceremony, and Tanaga explained that the walking of this wedge results in physical and mental improvements. It is said that Amberites founded the Tongan society, and that their holy books say that Amberites came and inscribed this wedge for them ages ago. He offered to have a priest come in the morning to teach us about their beliefs and customs. Gareth and I asked if we could see their holy books, and he said that they would consider the request.
After he left, we discussed options. During the conversation, Cole revealed that there is also a wedge to Perondor, reinforcing our theory of the seven wedges matching the seven from the song.
We also talked about seeing if Oberon's or Dworkin's trumps worked. Gareth said that, if a trump is not cool to the touch, it is no longer active, and Oberon's and Dworkin's are not.
In a later conversation with Tanaga, he said that, if Kayu failed the attempt, Riki would be next to try, and then he (Tanaga) apparently he was related to the family, but not closely.
On the first morning there, while I was working out, I received a trump contact. It was Eve, and she wanted to try out my trump combat idea. Unfortunately, we were both sufficiently inexperienced with trump to make it futile. We quickly (and embarrassingly) determined that we were... well, leaking thoughts.
The discovery that Eve finds me attractive was intriguing. Not exactly surprising she is a young, intelligent woman who has had some experience with men Well, as she put it, he wasn't quite a man, but I'll trust that the poor soul couldn't live up to her expectations and leave it at that.
We decided to spend time working on learning trump, first, squelching the leaking thoughts. Once we determined how that worked, we would worry about trump combat.
While working on this, though, we discovered that a person could hold onto a contact that the other was trying to close. I had some other ideas as to how trump might work, and we discussed these over breakfast. I began working with her on spying on trump contacts and identifying a trump contact's source before answering it. I knew this would take a lot of time, so I wanted to start as soon as possible.
Later that day, we met the heir, Kayu, and learned that he was probably about ten or so. This seemed to upset Alyddia for some reason, but I'd become used to her idiosyncrasies by this point. She probably felt that he was too young, etc.
We were also visited by some of the Tongan priests who shared their religious information with Gareth and I. It was interesting, but nothing revolutionary.
The next few days were a mixture of performing Jonathan's exercises, working with Eve and by myself with the trumps, working on visualizing the Pattern with Gareth, participating in the festivities, and feasting.
I'd like to say that the latter was my favorite part, but I can pleasantly admit that it was not Don't get me wrong the food was wonderful.
There were simply more enjoyable activities than the feasting.
On the fourth day, the final ceremonies started at dawn. A small procession of the royal family, Tanaga, two guards, and our group of Amberites marched up the slope to a cave at the base of the mountain. There we found a spiral staircase that led down into the ground. In the room at the bottom was a triangle-like wedge of pattern, with a white color to it.
Tanaga proceeded with the ceremony, giving some ritual speeches and then anointing Kayu with a purple liquid. Kayu then walked the wedge. It was not as one would walk the Pattern; there was little of the visible power sparking from it and the boy did not seem to have the kind of resistance that we experienced on the Pattern.
When he finished (and after everyone cheered and bowed, appropriately), Tanaga took a knife to Kayu's palm, draining some blood. He then used this to anoint the king's body and the guards dumped it over the ledge, into the waiting lava.
There was a moment's pause, and a splash of lava came up from below. Tanaga smiled, saying that the gods were pleased.
The next few seconds were very confusing, as combat always is. There was the sound of clapping from the doorway, as I heard a voice say, "Good Kayu succeeded. Now I can take his right hand." Glancing over, my look at the individual standing at the entrance confirmed my suspicion that it was Brand.
I was farthest from his position, and I knew that there was little I could do: we were going to be killed.
My hand pulled out Corwin's trump immediately from my belt. Concentrating on it, I could sense that everyone was moving around me, but I did not worry about it I needed to get someone here who could deal with the situation more appropriately, and there was little I could do to save them, anyway.
Corwin answered the trump, and I immediately informed him that Brand was there and that we were under attack. He paused for a second, grabbed a nearby weapon, and took my hand. I pulled him through, dropped the trump to the ground, and drew Shard.
We turned and charged towards Brand, seeing Eve rolling away. (Apparently she had tackled him and taken a shot to the face.) Alyddia was dragging Cole out of the way; I caught the glimpse of a crossbow bolt embedded in his chest. Tanaga lay on the ground, his face crushed and a broken and bloodied crossbow lying beside him. Kayu was dragging Riki and Alu back, away from the violence. One of the guards was down, a bolt in his throat, and the other was charging toward the fray. I heard motion behind us as we charged, and began angling my attack to the side, in the hopes of flanking Brand when he turned to deal with Corwin.
Brand stood, saw us, and closed his eyes. Expecting the worst, I threw Shard like a javelin. It struck Brand in the right shoulder, just as he vanished. The blade went with him.
Crap.
My only consolation was the belief that I had done the bastard harm.
I looked to Eve, concerned about her, but she brushed it off in a clearly broken-nose voice.
I could live with that a broken nose would heal.
Gareth had apparently trumped in Gerard and Fiona during these activities. Gerard started taking care of Eve and Cole's wounds. As I retrieved my trump of Corwin, I asked if there was a way to track Brand, and Fiona and Corwin started working on it. Eve volunteered her dagger, as it had Brand's blood on it. As I retrieved it, though, Fiona replied that it wouldn't help. I wrapped it up anyway, knowing that Eve would want it later blood and all.
I wondered for a moment if that should trouble me. Then I wondered which part: that Eve would want the blood or that I understood her well enough to want her to have it. I decided that neither troubled me; this was simply the way of things.
While the others were preoccupied, I went to the Tongan Royals to smooth things over. They were obviously distressed rightfully so but I was able to maintain a level of calm.
Fiona vanished magically and Corwin discussed the situation with us. Apparently Fiona thought she might be able to find Brand, but she had to leave to do it. He told Gerard to take Eve and Cole back to Amber and told me to stay to ensure that the ceremony was completed and that "loose ends were wrapped up". (Not sure what that meant, but I get the impression it meant "clean things up".)
Alyddia pointed out that the threat to Kayu had not ended, and that there was the possibility that Brand would be back. Corwin offered to grant them asylum, if that was their wish.
Corwin, Gerard, Eve, and Cole then left via Trump.
After they were gone, Alyddia, Gareth, and I spoke to Alu and Kayu. The other two brought up the severity of Tanaga's wounds, and offered to take care of him. As it was apparent that the Tongan medicines were likely not up to the task, they took them up on it.
Personally, I thought the man was as good as dead, but I knew better than to question Alyddia and Gareth when it comes to matters such as these. While I might disagree with some of Alyddia's world's culture and practices, they were far more advanced in areas of medicine, as I had already seen.
Gareth took Tanaga to the Brain Civ (via the pattern lens) to take care of him.
Alyddia and I then helped Alu, Kayu, and Riki... well, wrap up loose ends.
The two of us returned to our rooms. The villagers were concerned about having offended us, but we did everything we could to ensure that they understood that we were more concerned with them and the families of the slain guards.
Gareth trumped later and let us know that the Brain Civ wasn't sure how long it would be before Tanaga recovered, but that he eventually would.
King Kayu later summoned us to speak with him. He had decided to accept King Corwin's offer of asylum. Well, more appropriately, his mother had, but I would never insult the King by saying that to him. I asked Alyddia to take him there via Trump, while I remained behind to collect our possessions.
After they left, I received another trump contact. This time it was King Corwin, checking on the situation. I informed him that Alyddia was on her way with King Kayu. He then asked me to protect Alyddia he was concerned with Brand's interest in her, and felt that she was going to be imperative in the future. I accepted the charge, and he cut the contact.
(If we only knew )
I returned to our quarters and collected everyone's possessions, then trumped Eve. She brought me and all of our gear through to Amber. She was on her way to see Cole in the infirmary, so I had a page take care our possessions and followed her up.
That conversation was more about the events that occurred after Cole's loss of consciousness.
During the conversation, Cole mentioned that he was concerned about his mother, if Brand was interested in Golden Kingdom rulers. I realized that I needed to speak with Corwin about his task regarding Alyddia, anyway, so I excused myself and left to find the King.
Realizing that I had no idea where Alyddia was, I decided to remedy that situation. I trumped her, telling her I was curious how things were going. She told me she was heading to the infirmary to see Cole, so I gave her a quick summary of what had happened and told her I'd see her later.
I didn't tell her I'd been tasked with watching over her, but I really felt I should. Thus I needed to see the King, I needed to understand his expectations.
It didn't take long to find Wiln and have him schedule time for me to see King Corwin. He scheduled me for the next morning, 6:45, for 15 minutes in the King's Solar. As always, I was as humble as necessary. Groveling has never really been a problem for me, so long as there is significant benefit in it.
Once out of Wiln's office, I trumped Eve to ask if Alyddia showed up. She hadn't. That worried me. A lot. She brought me through and we contacted Gareth, but he was busy and couldn't join us.
Our first guess was Alyddia's quarters, so we headed there. On the way, Eve received a trump from Alyddia, who said she was retiring for the evening and would see us in the morning. I contacted Gareth to let him know that we found her and that she was fine.
Panic attack ended.
Not that I really panicked, but the idea of just having been assigned a mission by the King and immediately failing in said mission Well
Think of it this way: I've never failed in a mission. How would you feel in such a situation, hmm?
Crisis ended, I asked Eve if she'd like to join me for dinner, and we retired for an evening of pipe and music. I talked to her about the fact that I was going to see Corwin the next morning, and asked what she thought about me telling him about my dream. We agreed that I should talk to him about it specifically as it pertained to both him and the situation with Brand but that I should not refer to the knife or the fact that the others had similar dreams.
It was very late when we parted company.
The page who awoke me the next morning had wonderful timing I will never put those dreams to text, but suffice it to say that the weed once again lived up to its legacy. Wonderful dreams, those, but not the type to share
Corwin was already in the King's Solar when I arrived. He invited me to join him in taking some coffee. I'd seen it here before, and smelled it's intriguing aroma, but I had not actually be introduced to it. He suggested that I take it with "cream and sugar", though. Intriguing sensation, that. Delightful flavor, with a very satisfactory bite. Not unlike the Tillian bean tea back home, but I could tell that the cream and sugar created a very interesting contrast to the natural flavor of the coffee. Next time I would try it without to see what it was like
Our discussion was brief and to the point, of course.
After leaving the King, I tried to trump Alyddia, knowing that she would probably be out on her morning run. She didn't answer the trump, though, which concerned me. I wandered back to my room where I tried again. When she answered, I found the image I was viewing rather odd.
She was in a cave with another, smaller fragment of pattern behind her. There was a man there with her. At least I thought it was a man; I could not see much of him in the dim light. I asked her to pull me through to help her with the situation.
Once there, we tried to contact Eve but she did not respond. (Knowing her, she was probably still asleep, so this did not surprise me.) I contacted Gareth, and he was very intrigued, immediately extending his hand.
Alyddia told us that the man's name was Qu'an, and he was the guardian of the pattern fragment.
Looking around, the room was definitely a cave. The floor was worn, dirt, and there were stairs leading up behind us. There was a stone pillar opposite of the stairs with a small fragment of the Pattern on its surface, glowing green.
The man was sitting on the floor in front of the pillar. He was bald, his eyes sewn shut.
Alyddia explained that the pillar was said to be a piece of the place that the first offspring of the Unicorn were born. Apparently, Qu'an referred to us as Bright Ones. Bar'imenen was the name of the first Bright One.
Qu'an said that he was the keeper of the Golganath, the story of the creation of the Bright Ones.
He was very interested in telling us the Golganath, the story of the creation of the Bright Ones. The Unicorn is the mother of the bright ones, and was preparing to give birth to them. The Serpent waited and, when it sensed the Unicorn weakening, attacked. In response, she speared him, and he retreated. Later she gave birth to Bar'imenen, and the blood from the birth stained the ground reddish-gold. This fragment of pattern is a portion of that place, removed to preserve it.
When asked where we currently were, Qu'an said the place the cave was located was called Imalak.
When I asked if people could touch the fragment, he said that those not of the Order of the Unicorn who touch the fragment were put to death. I asked about the order, and he said that the Unicorn split her power and spread it through shadow, where the members of the Order of the Unicorn guarded them. He showed a tattoo on the inside of his arm of a circle with three stars on the top edge. He points to the stars, and says that they represent Unity, Honor, and Service, and the circle represents loyalty to the Blessed Unicorn.
Gareth asks how many members of the Order there are he said ten. We asked if we could touch it, and he said that we could, as we were Bright Ones, and we were beyond all laws.
Alyddia asked if Brand had touched it
Yeah, I was as confused as you are by that one, as were the others.
Apparently "the surly one" as Qu'an calls Brand had come to visit here some time ago. To answer her question, though, Qu'an said that he had not touched it.
I stepped up and reached forward, extending my finger out to the end of a line, then tracing the course of the fragment. It was a very odd sensation, not completely unlike walking the pattern, but
There were significant impressions of power, of potential, but I was not sure what it was or how to tap into it.
I asked Qu'an what he saw while I was tracing the fragment, and he said that he saw the power within me flare, but that it had not reached its full potential.
I asked Gareth if he would be able to get information on this by using the Pattern Lens.
While he did, I asked what Qu'an saw under normal circumstances. He said that he could sense life force in things, including that in rock. To him, we Amberites glowed very brightly. He said that Gareth was the brightest of us, which wasn't actually a surprise, given his skills with Pattern. Apparently, though, Brand was even brighter, and there was something odd about his life force.
When asked if there was a way to contact the others, he said that his life was spent trying to keep the 10 from coming together. Gareth asked what would happen if they came together. He answered that Brand asked, also, but he would not tell him because there was something "chaotic" about him. Our auras were "clean", though, so he said he would tell us so that we would understand why it must never happen.
He told us that if the fragments were to come together, the resulting pattern could be destroyed. If any one of the pieces was destroyed, it will reduce the unicorn's power by a 10th, but if all of the pieces were brought together, someone could destroy the entire pattern at once, destroying the Unicorn in the process.
Gareth asked Alyddia how she had arrived here, and she explained that the Unicorn had led her. Qu'an was very impressed by this, too, as he had never actually seen the Unicorn before. I asked how Brand arrived, and he answered that he walked in, coming down the stairs from the village above.
Gareth asked when Brand had visited, and Qu'an's' response was that it had been three "seasons" ago.
Gareth looked about with the lens, and said that he could not look directly at the fragment, that it was simply too bright. It was on its own brighter than any other pattern he'd ever seen.
This truly worried me
I trumped Eve, pushing it until she answered, then told her never to answer a pushed trump. She wasn't happy about it, but I suggested that we simply be persistent in our trump attempts.
I told her to get ready to come with us giving her a brief explanation of the situation and she agreed to trump back.
Gareth suggested that we leave the "child" out of this, and I asked if he was referring to Cole. Yes, I knew whom he was referring to. Our differences on a person's age of maturity had previously been discussed, but at this point I trusted Eve enough to know better, anyway. He mentioned Eve's impulse issues, and I politely pointed out that those impulses wounded Brand in our last encounter
He acknowledged my point.
Eve trumped me back a little while later. As far as Cole was concerned, she wasn't sure if we could trust that Cole wouldn't remember he wasn't supposed to tell people things
Gareth pointed out that we needed to learn if we could trust Cole, so we decided to invite him.
Eve brought Cole with her through the trump.
We discussed options of what to do. Gareth wanted to check on the fragments at the Golden Circle Kingdoms. We discussed that Brand was probably attempting to collect body parts of people initiated on various patterns.
By asking Qu'an various questions, trying to learn how long he had been here, and was able to determine that it had been about 150 years. There had been one before him, so he had not been here for the entire time the fragment had been.
We discussed a lot of issues and concerns, but nothing really important.
At one point, Eve brought up that Brand might trump Martin, if Martin didn't know he couldn't be trumped by us. In order to ensure that he was safe, I trumped Llewella with this concern, and she informed me that Martin knew there were no active trumps of him.
Gareth proposed not telling Corwin about the 10 fragments. He saw no immediate risk, especially since we don't know how to find the other 9 pieces. There might also be a risk of what would happen if someone else someone besides Brand learned of these fragments and decided to destroy them.
We decided not to tell King Corwin about the fragments for those reasons.
Gareth then attempted to follow the trail of the Unicorn. We waited for him, continuing our discussion.
During this time, I talked to Alyddia about Corwin's request. She was not happy, but agreed to let me know when she was traveling and to keep my trump readily available in case it was needed.
We decided to split up for a short time, allowing Cole and Alyddia to take care of some issues in Amber. I gave Cole my extra Amber trump for his use until he had a deck. Alyddia and Cole then headed to Amber.
I had decided that it would be easier to "find" my own equipment. I went up to the surface and found a body with everything I needed, including blades, armor, a net, and a pack.
When I returned, I found that Gareth had returned from his lens-wandering. He reported that the trail broke into five parts, each of which dead-ended.
We discussed our plans, and decided that Gareth would follow the trade routes to the Golden Circle Kingdoms. The rest of us would shadow-walk to the meadow from the dreams in search of the dagger and any other information we could find.
I trumped Alyddia, who let me know that they were about done. She brought Gareth through to Amber, and Cole and Alyddia then joined Eve and I.
When they returned, they told us that Cole was missing an appointment with Llewella to have his trump painted. After some discussion, I was able to convince Cole to return; having his trump would be of significant benefit, and it would be easy for him to catch up with us once he was finished. Alyddia gave him my trump to use when he was done, and he trumped to Amber with the extra trump I'd given him earlier.
The three of us then headed out. Just outside of town, I "found" us some horses. Not Ruler, but good mounts nonetheless. I made sure one had a bow for Eve. There were five, total, to ensure that Cole and Gareth had mounts when they joined us.
While preparing for the ride, I realized that I found it very easy to calm the animals something I'd always known I could do, but I hadn't understood why. Now I do.
Getting to know my new mount, I decided to call him Burn. He seemed to have a great strength about him, and I was looking forward to putting him through the paces.
The ladies then began moving us to the meadow through shadow, their first time using the ability. I gave them what little information that I had, the bits Gareth had given me when we first started our trip down the black road. Eve started first, shifting things subtly, altering pieces of reality as we traveled.
After a couple of hours, she asked Alyddia if she'd be interested in taking control. Tentatively, the older lady began the process and brought us even closer.
A little while later, Cole trumped me. He'd acquired different weapons including a bow and he was mounted on a large horse.
Soon after I brought him across, the three of them agreed that we were close. We had the meadow, the flowers, the tree, and even the building. After a number of attempts, though, it became apparent that they couldn't actually get us to the right shadow it just didn't seem to feel right to them.
Not knowing what the field looked like, I was really just along for the ride.
As the three of them had seen this in their dreams, they discussed how to approach the situation. We decided to wait for Gareth to trump us and get his thoughts.
Not willing to settle in without investigating, we checked out the building: empty with a dirt floor. We settled inside, leaving the horses out to graze.
Gareth contacted me and I brought him through. He also tried to get us there by shadow walking, and failed. He said that it might be blocked, something I didn't know one could do.
I suggested that he try using the lens to see if there was anything he could do to find the shadow that we were looking for. Gareth spent some time bringing up the lens and using it, when he suddenly stated "I'll be back" and vanished.
Crap.
I immediately brought out his trump.
He answered my contact, and appeared to be in a building identical to this one, but with furnishings. Also, there was music of an odd sound. The sound of it was strangely pleasing and very interesting, with an odd twang to it.
Gareth brought everyone through, and we looked around at the surroundings.
There was a man, there, whom Gareth introduced as Gideon Stubs. He was a rather old, very dark-skinned man with an odd little musical instrument in his hand, sitting in chair. Eve explained that the instrument was called a harmonica, but I did not understand how this thing made music.
The room had a plenth holding the box from my our dream. It was open, though, and empty. The room also held two rows of pews, with five in each row.
During the discussion, Gideon mentioned that he'd spoken to the Unicorn. I asked "Recently?" "A few weeks ago," he responded. "She came through after the knife was stolen out of the box." Apparently, there was another man guarding it at the time named Old Temple Drake. They found him with his throat slit and blood everywhere, and the dagger missing.
We talked to Gideon a bit about things. He explained that the box was part of the knife and the knife was part of the box. The Unicorn separated and hid the sources of its power to protect them. According to Gideon, the knife needed to be used to fix the damage to the primal pattern. Unfortunately, he didn't know how the repair could be done. He also said that they "won't work" if they weren't together whatever that means.
He said that the Unicorn sent us the dreams to get us here so that we could go find the knife.
Alyddia asked if the box could be used to find the knife, and he said it might he didn't know.
We discussed our options, and Gareth brought up the pattern lens to look for any kind of connection between the knife and the box.
While he did that, I spoke with Gideon for a while about his harmonica and his life. Very interesting if completely improbable. (Apparently, he was from a pretty little town called Picket in a place called Bullet County.)
He also said that only a select few people on this shadow could find this place, and we noticed that he had the same tattoo on his arm that Qu'an had, meaning that he, too, was a member of the Order of the Unicorn.
Gareth returned to us from his lens viewing and said that he had found a tendril of power that seemed to go into a constructed shadow, a place we couldn't shadow-walk to. This provoked some conversation regarding what our next step would be.
Alyddia asked Gideon what we should do once we get the knife, and Gideon said we should bring it back, that the Unicorn said that it had to be here.
We discussed our options for a bit, and decided to follow the path Gareth found. Gareth used the lens to go there himself, then trumped me to bring us all through.
The place was busy, with many people there. It was very confusing, with people in extremely odd states of dress (and undress!), strange constructs (including one shaped as a giant squid!) throwing people around. There were unusual booths with people throwing or shooting things, and many identical, colorful looking animals killed and hung on walls. It was truly too much for me to take in at once. While Gareth brought up the lens, again, too looked for signs of pattern, Alyddia and Cole left to get food. Eve and I stayed with Gareth.
What else was I going to do? This place was beyond odd
While I was watching these strange people for anything, well stranger, Gareth suddenly announces that we needed to leave, immediately. I pull my trumps of Amber and Alyddia, got the three of us to Amber, and brought Alyddia and Cole back. Alyddia didn't seem happy about this, but she acquiesced to my demand.
And somehow Cole had acquired a new and rather odd helmet. I didn't ask about it, but it seemed that the device was made to drink from, while it was mounted on one's head.
Didn't seem like it would offer much protection, though.
Once we moved off to a more private area, Gareth explained that someone had been using a pattern lens in that shadow and was sending it towards us. He felt that it was imperative that we leave to avoid any potential issues, so we did.
We talked about how best to approach this, and I suggested sending me there to see if we could contact the individual who had sent the lens. After some discussion, the rest agreed to this plan.
Gareth sent himself back there via the lens, trumped Alyddia, brought me through, and went back through the contact. As I came through, I brought out my Amber trump and my short blade, ready for anything, but Eve trumped me immediately after I came through so I put my Amber trump away. Eve clasped my hand, ready to pull me through should it be necessary.
For some reason, Alyddia decided to join in on the trump contact. She quickly became bored with the situation, though, and decided that she wanted to at least enjoy this odd place. She and Cole came through in order to "ride the Tilted World", whatever that meant.
Eventually I realized that she was referring to some of the odd constructs that were throwing people about, causing them to scream and stagger away. She seemed to feel that this activity would be fun.
I decided to trust her on that one.
We spent some time waiting for Cole and Alyddia to finish enjoying themselves. Eventually, Gareth pulled us back to the Grand Hall in Amber Castle. Apparently, something was going on. He introduced us to Dick, a one of Julian's rangers, who was to escort us to Arden. We were to investigate what appeared to be a ritual sacrifice of some faeries.
Faeries.
Right.
Because it was about time that something as silly and fantastic as faeries came onto the stage.
The idea of seeing faeries worried me, as that was something on my world that was indicative of a lack of sanity. Was I just slipping further? Or was this just more of the same?
I decided that the answer to my questions was "Yes" and went with it
Thinking about this, I suddenly remembered a book in my room about the faeries that live in Amber one of many books that Flora had provided when I first moved in. Unfortunately, I had not had a chance to read it, yet; I'd originally assumed that it was a book on myths, not a catalog of creatures. I told the rest to head out and I would trump them from my room once I had the book. Sprinting through the castle (I suppose royalty does has its perks), I arrived at my room very quickly. Luckily, the book was not one of those I had traded with Eve earlier in an attempt to annoy Flora; it was still on the shelf.
Gareth answered my trump and I was brought through. Luckily, they had not gone far.
Dick led us on horses down a road into the wood. We passed through the Valley of Garnath on the way the Black Road still corrupting the beautiful terrain.
On the way, Eve explained to me that there were faeries that live in Western Arden, away from man. They varied in size, shape, and form, some with wings and some without. I resisted the urge to read the details in the book until it was absolutely necessary, as I didn't want to risk dropping the book.
Gareth asked Dick what type of faerie was found. Apparently, they were Sidhe (pronounced "shee"). I decided that this was a sufficient reason to risk bringing out the book, I looked up the name using Cole's lantern for light. Apparently, the Sidhe were human-sized and fair of complexion, with distinctive tattoos based upon clan. They generally used bows and javelins in war. The sexes were treated equally (is this attitude the norm everywhere other than my home?) within their society, and they usually traveled in large groups that they referred to as hosts.
In the distance, we could see lights drifting through the woods. Initially, I assumed that these were torches, but Gareth said that they were normal; he called them pixies, un-intelligent little faerie creatures.
Ah, right.
As we approached the location, we could see a group of rangers speaking with what I guessed to be a male and female Sidhe. Well, "speaking" is probably a little simplistic. The Sidhe were, well They were pretty pissed. Seems that they weren't getting something that they wanted. I made out enough to get the impression that they were blaming the rangers for not protecting their people sufficiently.
On the Black Road, there was a shape drawn out of a white substance. It looked like a five-sided star, but the inner points were connected to form a five-sided shape inside of the star. Three young Sidhe girls were laid out, their heads in the center, naked, with the bodies aligned to three of the points. Two of the bodies were lying on points that bordered each other, while the third was on the opposing point. Their chests have been cut open and it looked like their hearts were removed.
Normally, I'd be there with the rangers, trying to help out with the discussion, using my experience and my ability to sway others to defuse the situation.
And normally the grass was blue and faeries were ingredients of morality tales told to children
I decided that this was the murder of three young girls ignoring their race and I started my investigation in the appropriate way: evaluate the scene of the murder.
I dropped off my horse and headed to the Black Road. Alyddia followed me, also on foot, while Eve dismounted and walked toward the rangers. The rest stayed on their horses, watching.
Looking more closely, I noticed that the white substance was granular, like salt or sugar. Not wanting to actually get on the road unless absolutely necessary, I kept my distance, but got a good look at what was left. Behind me, I could make out a good deal of the conversation. Seemed that Julian had charged down the Black Road in search of the murderers about an hour or so ago, taking about 50 rangers with him.
The girls did not seem to have been harmed in any way other than the removal of the hearts. Who ever did this successfully convinced them to join him, as there was no evidence of a struggle. Looking around more closely, I noticed that there was a significant lack of blood. My mind flashed back to the Tongan King's room when we had found him slaughtered. Annoyed, I mumbled "Brand" and continued to examine the situation.
Suddenly, I felt that tickling of a trump contact. Bringing some of the exercises Eve and I had been doing to mind, I tried to identify the individual. It didn't work, but one of these days it would. It would just take practice. I focused on the sensation and the image of Corwin appears over the scene. He told me that couldn't find Julian via trump and wanted me to recon after him. The request seemed odd, so I asked to confirm it, asking if he was saying he wanted me to follow after Prince Julian and his contingent of 50 rangers to see what happened to them. He confirmed the request.
Heh well, I always knew I was expendable, but
As we broke contact, I caught a glimpse of Fiona in the background. Oddly, it comforted me to know that she was with Corwin. I wasn't sure why at the time, but it did.
The sight of her also reminded me of my request for tutelage; I would have to speak with her when time permitted, and hopefully before one of us left Amber, again.
I informed the group of Corwin's request to me, and asked if any wished to join in on the trip. Cole and Eve were willing, while Gareth and Alyddia volunteered to stay behind and investigate some more. We asked Dick to join us, and he accepted. We briefly discussed how best to travel, and the rangers informed us that Julian and his company had charged down the Black Road for speed, as the areas around it were fairly rough and overgrown. One side had been cleared for travel, but the clearing was recent so there were many stumps and rough ground that would slow the horses. Since Eve and Cole had bows, Dick and I carried the lanterns as we charged down the Black Road.
After a little less than an hour, we slowed the pace in order to listen more closely to what was ahead of us. Soon, we came upon the familiar sounds of combat. Pulling off the road to get a better sense of the sounds, we are able to determine that it was fairly close. Shuttering my lantern to avoid detection, I heard Dick blow his out. We continued toward the sounds, staying beside the road.
It didn't take long to reach the battle. The rangers were engaged in a significant conflict. The opposition appeared to be a group of mystical, animal-like creatures. We flanked to the right in an attempt to get around the back. Knowing that Corwin would expect it, I brought out my trump of him and focused on his image as we rode around. He answered almost immediately, and I informed him of what we knew. We decided that he would prepare a group of guards to come through and help, and I would trump him once we were in an appropriate position. I dropped the contact to focus on the battle.
As we came around the side, we had a better view of what was going on. I noticed that the creatures the rangers were fighting were coming out of a glowing opening in the ground, crawling and flying right out of the Black Road. Three tall, beautiful women were in the middle of the enemy forces. Unfortunately, I recognized them, as it had only been a couple of weeks since one jumped over me in her attempt to assault Eric's position during the war in the Valley of Garnath. The Elders had called them Hell Maidens, if I remembered correctly. The name was appropriate.
We reached the other side very quickly. There we saw that the Sidhe were helping, taking on the rear of the enemy forces. But the portal seemed to be bringing in infinite replacement forces, making it impossible to beat them, and their chaotic assault resulted in no true front, making it hard to press the enemy forces without losing the group's strength in numbers.
I brought out Corwin's trump and activated it again. He answered, and immediately began passing through guards. During this, he asked if I thought 25 guards would be enough. Due to existence of the portal, I told him that I didn't think so, as the creatures were going to keep coming out of the portal. I point out that we needed magical assistance with this, someone to take out the portal. He suggested Gareth, and immediately began to hand him through. I pointed out that his powers had been unable to work against such things in the past, but brought my cousin through anyway. Corwin nodded and let me know he would go to get Fiona. While Gareth brought up his pattern lens, I waited.
I turn to see what was going on in time to see Eve bring Alyddia and Dierdre through a trump contact.
Crap.
At this rate, Alyddia was going to get us all killed. I decided I needed to speak with her about her habit of putting herself in dangerous situations
Dropping his bow and quiver, Cole joined Dierdre in charging into the combat, following the guards to the flank. Eve moved forward some, and covered the area with her bow. Hoping to be useful while waiting for Corwin's trump, I picked up Cole's bow and quiver. My initial attempt to pull the string was disconcerting the thing didn't even move. I knew that Jonathan's exercises had helped my strength, as I'd seen the results, but I doubted that I would ever reach a level of strength of my cousins.
I received the tingle of a trump contact again, and tried to determine who it was. Again, I couldn't sense the person, but I wasn't surprised. These things are going to take time. I turned so that the individual on the other side could not see Alyddia, and answered the trump. Corwin's image appeared over the battle in front of me, and he held Fiona's hand. Skipping the formalities, he handed her off to me. Trying my best to control and clear my thoughts, using the techniques I'd been practicing, I the princess's hand. She smiled at me as she came through, and immediately went to Gareth. Her touch was odd, light, but powerful. This woman truly confused me, something no one had done before. The power she possessed scared me to my core, but I was intrigued by what she offered, the potential of what I could learn. Was it worth the risk? I thought it was then, and I will hold to that now, even given what has happened
Evaluating the situation, I saw Dierdre take out one of the Hell Maidens with Cole's help. The body of the thing burst into flames. It looked like Alyddia was safe back with Gareth and Fiona, so I sprinted across the Road ignoring the sensations it evoked and headed to the Maiden Dierdre and Cole were moving towards. My initial thought was to take on the third, but I knew from experience that it was better to take out one opponent at a time rather than spread your resources across many opponents.
I reach the Maiden just before the others, and she turns to stop my assault. Wielding her two, huge blades, she was fending off our attacks fairly well, but the three of us were simply too much. I dropped and kicked at her legs, hoping to distract her enough to give the others a shot. She jumped, but just a second too late, and my kick spun her in mid-air, dropping her on her back where Dierdre struck the killing blow. As with the other Maiden, it's body erupted in flames. The three of us turned in unison to attack the third Maiden when the portal suddenly flared up and died.
Having been in situations like this before, I immediately dropped to present a smaller silhouette, closed my eyes to recover my night-sight, and fended off the nearby attackers. My sight was quick to recover something I am used to so I wasn't down for long. When I got back to my feet, I could see the third Maiden had collected the rest of her forces around her, using them as a shield as she pushed her way through the Sidhe in what appeared to be an attempt to escape down the Black Road.
Evaluating the situation did not take much time. Cole and Dierdre were fairly predictable; they would charge her from their current positions. I could see that there were not enough obstacles to prevent her from getting through, though. Also, I would guess that Eve would be charging to stop her, and I didn't relish the idea of a Hell Maiden charging through the young woman.
I sprinted around the Sidhe, aiming at the point the Maiden would break through their ranks. Eve appeared beside me as Cole, Deirdre, and Julian reached her back. I was suddenly annoyed at myself, as I had completely forgotten Julian was even involved in the battle. The five of us were easily able to stop her, and Cole delivered the final stroke.
While Deirdre praised my cousin for his prowess, Julian immediately chastised him for not leaving any prisoners. I ignored the lot and walked off, toward where I'd left Alyddia, Fiona, and Gareth. Eve fell in beside me as I trumped Corwin. He answered quickly, and I let him know what had happened. He asked if we'd found the hearts. Not knowing if they had been found, I told him we would perform a search. He asked me to have Julian provide a complete report and broke the contact.
Now that sounded like an interesting request. Ah, politics
Eve and I found Alyddia, Gareth, and Fiona recovering from the battle. Apparently Gareth and Fiona had both been dropped by their attempt to close the portal, completely losing consciousness. While they were out, Alyddia had killed one of the creatures that had broken the lines. Seeing that everyone was okay, Eve and I headed to Julian and let him know that Corwin wanted the report. He was not happy about it, but I could tell that his aggression was not directed at me.
We searched the area, looking for anything that would give us a clue as to what had happened here. Eventually we found the hearts in the burned remains of the Hell Maidens.
It was during this time that we learned Dick had been killed. This war was claiming too many lives
The rangers invited everyone to celebrate the victory with them at the fort, but I declined, explaining that I had business to attend to at the castle. Eve, Cole, and Deirdre gladly joined them, though, so I didn't feel bad about leaving.
I used my Amber trump to return to the castle. As I did so, I considered how useful it would be to be able to create my own trumps, as Llewella did. The ability to draw a place that had been seen and go straight there I kept this thought in the back of my mind for future consideration and stepped through the card.
For a change, luck was with me. I had planned to hunt down Corwin and Fiona, and I discovered both of them in the main hall. When I entered, Corwin gestured for me to join them. When I did, he told me he wanted to talk to me, so I asked the princess if we could meet later. She suggested breakfast in the Amber garden and left.
Corwin suggested that we retire to the library to talk. Once there, he told me to relax, as he wanted to have a "family talk". He then told me about an incident earlier in which Alyddia had been disrespectful and insubordinate to him in public. It didn't surprise me, to be honest. He asked me to speak with her, to get her to understand the situation. He felt that she might consider her relationship to him to be more of a parent/child relationship, instead of a liege/subject relationship.
I accepted his charge, but suggested that the issue may not be due to her perception of the relationship but due to her lack of respect for the position.
He mentioned that Fiona suggested he lock her up, for everyone's safety, even recommending a tower she had possession of, which she felt even Corwin could not escape from.
Once I was clear on his expectations, I proceeded to explain my understanding of my DNA test results. I told him that it appeared I was manufactured, and that, while Eric was technically my father, it appeared I didn't have "real" parents. We briefly discussed the situation with the Eric supporters in Amber Town, and I promised to let him know if anyone approached me about going against him.
He then asked if I minded if he spoke with Gareth about the results. Naturally, I told him that it would be a good idea, as I truly do not understand the nuances of this situation.
Once I'd answered his questions, I promised to do my best with Alydia and he excused me.
Knowing that I'd need to be in the best mental state possible to meet with Fiona, I let a page know when I needed to be awoken and retired for the evening. I spent some time working with my trump cards, as I had since Tonga, trying to feel them without activating them. I also worked on some of the exercises that Gareth and I discussed, and then I slept.
A page awoke me at the appropriate time. I did Jonathan's workout, as usual, and then cleaned up for breakfast with the Princess.
I walked to the Amber gardens, on the southeast side of Kolvir. She was already there, in the gazebo. We chatted a bit about nothing in particular: the definition of beauty, the history of everything, topics of that sort. Once we'd sat to eat, she did something that honestly surprised me. She attacked me. Not physically or anything, and more as a lesson, showing me what is possible. She simply looked into my eyes and took hold. I think that it was similar to what Eve and I had practiced, but it seemed like we had to make physical contact for it to work, in addition to making eye contact. I way it was similar, but I never even had a chance to fend her off. As she explained afterwards (as I remember, through the painful fog of the headache I was nursing), once I made eye contact with her, it was too late.
She was very merciful, however, in that she somehow removed the headache so that we could continue the conversation at a more intelligent level.
It might have been magic, but I wanted to learn it. More tools is always a good idea
Over breakfast, we discussed a number of things. She asked what I'd been doing in the way of practice up to now, and I told her about the work Eve and I had done in practicing the mental combat. She was honestly surprised that I'd been working with Eve, saying that she expected Gareth and I would be working together. I responded that he had been teaching me about the Pattern, and how to walk it in my mind.
I did not mention the work Eve and I had done with Trump. I didn't think that it was necessary, at this point. I'm sure she'd learn of it, eventually, but right now it wasn't important to the topic at hand.
We also discussed what would happen should the damaged Pattern be successfully destroyed, and she explained that, while Amber would almost certainly be destroyed as a consequence, the Unicorn would simply be weakened, although probably enough to allow the serpent to defeat it.
I asked what it would take to heal the Pattern, and she said that it required Alyddia's blood and the dagger that was originally used to harm her. I didn't ask her more, at this point, as there were more pressing topics on my mind. Yes, I probably should have, but this discussion had a goal, and I wanted to ensure that we reached that goal.
We discussed what my tutelage would entail and what I could expect, and there was little useful information. She did feel that there was a point at which she was not willing to teach most people, that few were capable of handling such powers. I suggested that we assume I was not and continue from there. She said that we would start after breakfast the next day, so I thanked her and excused myself, allowing her to finish her meal in peace.
As I was heading back to the castle, I ran into Gareth going in the same direction. We spoke for a moment, discussing some of our concerns and theories, when he mentioned that he wanted to speak to Fiona about the portal. I told him that I'd just left her in the gardens and offered to go with him. When we arrived, she was finishing her meal.
In normal Gareth fashion blunt and to the point he began asking her questions. First, he asked her about the portal from the night before. She told him it was created by a high-level Logrus initiate. The nature of the gateway was that it opened a portal between two places with no trail in between in other words, she didn't know where the other end was. From what she saw the creatures that came forth she would guess that it was on the other side of Ygg. She said that she didn't know how to create such things, though, as she wasn't a Logrus initiate. I found this admission to be interesting, but not surprising, as Ygg had mentioned that she "smelled" only slightly of Thelbane.
When he asked how we could stop this kind of summoning from happening again, and she said that we needed to fix the Primal Pattern. Gareth asked where that was, and she mentioned that Bleys should have shown it to him. In fact, she said that her brother had been remiss in his role by not doing so. He asked if she would be willing to in his stead, and she said that she would once she finished her tea.
Her exercise of control was interestingly obvious, but I wasn't going to complain. This was a wonderful opportunity to do something we'd wanted to do for a long time, and to have Fiona with us to answer questions while we were there made it even better even if I doubted that her answers would be complete or honest.
I could wait for this
While she relaxed and enjoyed her tea, I took my seat and finished a piece of bread I'd left earlier. Gareth stood for a moment, then sat upon the ground, Tillian-style. Once she finished her tea, she excused herself ("this will take just a moment") and took a moment to bring up a Pattern lens (which I noticed took significantly less time and less glazed look than it normally took Gareth). When she offered her hands, we took them and she brought us through with her to another place.
We found ourselves on the edge of a tall cliff, about a hundred yards tall. A set of switchbacks wound down the cliff to ground below. The sky was a sea-blue and there was no sun that we could see although the land was well lit as though there was a sun like that in Amber. The cliff was shaped as a horseshoe, and we were standing at the edge of the top of the shoe. The open side of the pit led down to the sea. Oddly, there were no sounds, no birds, no insects, and no clouds. I had a strange feeling that this was as all should be, if it were created by someone to be "perfect".
At the ground level just below us was an oval area about 200m on its major axis: a Pattern. Well, not a Pattern, but The Pattern. As Alyddia had described it, it had a golden-pink color to it. But it was obviously damaged; there was a smear of blackness about eight feet wide that ran from the center to the edge at one of the shorter radiuses. I also noticed that the Primal Pattern was reversed from the Pattern in Amber.
Suddenly, I understood Gareth's quest to find all the Patterns. I had that same urge, myself, at that moment
I studied the area while Gareth continued to ask his questions. First he asked how we would go about fixing it, and she answered that it would take a ritual similar to that originally performed by Brand. She said that she had done some research on it. As she had told me earlier, in private, it would require the blood of the original victim and the weapon used in the original ritual.
I felt that now was the right time for me to ask more questions, so I did. When I asked if Alyddia would have to be slain in this ritual, she answered that she would not. However, she would have to do this willingly due to the fact that she was not willing in the first ritual and she would have to be stabbed in the abdomen, as before. Some part of this worried me, as there seemed to be contradictions, but I was willing to go along with things for the time being. I had no reason to trust Fiona and many reasons not to
Gareth asked how we would research such a thing, but she said that she wasn't willing to share her resources. In response to his question about if the ritual was Pattern, Logrus, or something else, she said it was Pattern-based. We briefly discussed the power of the blood of an Amberite, and she admitted that it was a very potent thing, and that there were many uses for it.
This was something I would keep in mind for future reference. The tactical side of me turned on, running through possible uses of my blood and that of other Amberites naturally, Brand was first to come to mind. I did not, however, want to miss this moment and shifted my focus back to the present.
We discussed what this place truly was for a while, and she explained that this was where the Pattern was first inscribed. She also confirmed our guess that Amber was the first shadow of this place. Gareth asked how many reflections there were, and she answered that there were 4.
I believe that this statement officially completed his quest to find all the Patterns. He celebrated in true Gareth style emotionlessly.
Suddenly, Fiona was doing the questioning, asking who we thought had scribed this pattern. Gareth answered the Unicorn and I answered Dworkin. She seemed impressed by my guess, indicating that it was correct. In response to her asking how I knew this, I shrugged and told her that it was a guess, based upon what information we'd run across to date. She asked if I'd learned of it while on Bliss in our encounter with House Bruinen, to which I simply nodded.
My deduction was based upon the fact that Dworkin had led House Barryman out of Thelbane to follow the Unicorn. It seemed a reasonable guess, but it was still just a guess.
I was a little shocked to find that I was correct, but I wasn't about to show it.
I asked again if the destruction of this pattern would destroy Amber and the Unicorn, for Gareth's sake. She again said that it would certainly weaken the Unicorn probably enough to allow the Serpent to defeat her but it wouldn't destroy her. It would, however, destroy Amber.
She felt that there was little more for us to discuss, and we trumped back to Castle Amber. While I could probably have continued asking questions forever, I did not want to offend the lady!
Gareth and I then headed to my quarters to discuss what we'd learned and what we wanted to do next. During the discussion, we agreed that we wanted to return to the Primal Pattern to do more investigation, and agreed that we should bring Alyddia with us to confirm that it was the same place, just in case.
We also talked about finding someone who could breach the barrier to get to the dagger, and we agreed that Fiona and Bleys were probably the only ones who could.
Unfortunately, that troubled me. I didn't trust either of them, and this wasn't something I wanted to risk.
I asked him if we should trust Fiona, or if she could just be using us to get Alyddia back on the Pattern to finish what Brand started. He admitted that he hadn't thought of that (leave the paranoia to me, my friend), and he felt we could not trust her. I asked if he trusted Bleys a question I'd asked him before. His answer was the same: no.
One of my concerns was how to move forward with this. There just didn't seem to be anyone with the necessary knowledge that we could trust. Gareth suggested that we share information with Gerard, as a start. This would give us the leverage of having an elder we trusted in the know in case things went wrong or something should happen to us.
At this point, I felt that odd tingling of a trump contact. I tried to determine who it was, but not surprisingly I couldn't. I answered and found that it was Alyddia.
Which was odd.
There was a brief moment of consideration as I wondered why she would be trumping me, but she quickly responded that everything was fine, shaking her head with a slight level of disgust.
More of an indication to me that she truly does not understand the amount of risk involved in her actions.
I told her that we were thinking of heading to the Primal Pattern and asked if she'd like to join us. She agreed, but said that there were some things that she wanted to talk to us about.
I brought her through to my quarters, where she explained what she had been up to. She had been back to her home world, where she ran into Dara. (Odd coincidence, that. Especially since I don't believe in coincidences.)
Dara said Ygg was no longer center of everything Logrus had pushed past it due to the weakening of the Pattern. She also said that she thought Brand was trying to act as the representative for a new sibling, which backed my theory. Dara asked Alyddia if she had been talked to about healing the Black Road, and proceeded to explain that there were rituals involved that were being researched. Dara warned her that, if it was a Logrus ritual, it would most likely cause her death, if not near to it. I let her know that we had spoken with Fiona on the topic, and that the ritual is Pattern-based, which should not result in her death.
She also told Alyddia that Fiona wished to imprison Alyddia in a dungeon, in order to protect her until they were ready for the ritual, but that Corwin would not allow her to do so. I confirmed this for her, mentioning that Corwin had told me the same thing. This gave Corwin some credit in Alyddia's eyes, but she admitted that she still didn't trust him.
Not that I blamed her.
We spent some time discussing the ritual that Fiona described to Gareth and I. We also discussed how we might get the dagger. Alyddia had an interesting concern: the Unicorn had given us the charge of retrieving the dagger, not the elders, implying that even the Unicorn didn't trust them to accomplish her goals. Unfortunately, we did not have the ability to get to it, so we were truly stumped. We discussed if there was anything we were missing, and realized that Dworkin or Oberon could do this. Neither would betray the Unicorn, as they were the ones who allied with her, initially. When it came to saving Amber, we could trust them. (Of course, that was simply our assumption )
At this point, Gareth told us that he had previously attempted to trump Dworkin, and that there had been a response, albeit confused. The contact was quickly shut down, though, as though by a third party. This intrigued me, and my mind began considering possibilities. He had also attempted to contact Oberon, but on this he received a strong sensation of Logrus and dropped it before getting too entwined in it.
I had some thoughts, thoughts that I would discuss with them later. I needed to dig through the details before sharing my idea.
After some additional discussion, we decide to go to the Primal Pattern. I trumped Eve to see if she'd like to join us, but she said that she was busy with an archery contest, and she would get in touch with us when it was completed. I dropped the contact and let the others know that it was just the three of us for this trip.
Gareth spent some time to bring up his Pattern lens. I realized that I'd taken up practicing some of the mental exercises Gareth had taught me while others were doing things it had almost become an unconscious habit. Hopefully, one day, I would succeed at this, but I was certain that it would be a while.
I took Alyddia's hand and she shared her other hand with Gareth. He nodded, and suddenly we were back on the cliff. Nothing had changed, which seemed right to me, this place seemed to be one in which nothing ever changed.
The only argument against that was the painfully obvious black stain upon the Pattern below me.
Alyddia was quick to confirm that this was where Brand stabbed her, but that the black smudge was new. Gareth paused as we looked about, that blank look coming over him that indicated he was bringing up the lens, again. Waiting, I went into my practice while Alyddia looked around.
Gareth did not share what he saw, but it didn't seem of interest. We decided to go down to the Pattern, and started down the switchbacks with me in the lead and Alyddia in the middle. As we headed down, we saw a split in the cliff to the right that could hold a cave of some size. I asked Gareth if he would bring up the lens and see what was within it, and he agreed. We waited while he did so, me with my exercises and Alyddia with her glancing around impatiently.
Once his lens was up, Gareth began using it to look around. He told us that he had found rooms within the crevice, and then he vanished.
This was why I needed to have the ability.
It was fairly obvious to me that he had simply transported himself into the area within the crevice, so I started down the path after him for a moment. After two steps, I stopped; I was still getting used to the tools available to me. I quickly brought out Gareth's trump, and at the same time I contacted him, I felt what I assumed was him contacting me. He accepted my contact and an image of darkness overlap my view of the Pattern and the ocean beyond. I could not see him or his environment, at all there was no light there. He offered to bring me through, but I pointed out that there was no light source and I'd be blind. He admitted that he hadn't thought of that, so I offered to trump to Amber and get a torch, then trump him back, stating all of this out loud for Alyddia's benefit. They both agreed with this, so I followed through with it. By the time Gareth pulled me back to where he was, he'd opened a door to let a little light in and Alyddia had joined him. I lit all of the available lamps and candles and we looked around to see what we'd discovered.
But How could he see in there? A question for later
The air wasn't stale or decayed. The walls were rough-hewn with a wooden floor partially covered with a strange rug. There were two rooms, both square, about a dozen feet on a side. The doorway to the second room was opposite the entry. In the entry room, there were some wide tables along the walls, holding a number of odd instruments and objects, including an open book, a strange little house constructed out of cards of some kind, and a clear jar with what appeared to be a very small baby floating in a liquid. There was also what appeared to be a painter's studio to one side of the room with odd food, dishes, and eating implements.
There were line paintings on the wall, painted directly on the wall: an odd building with signage above it that I couldn't read; another seemed to be inside of a small building or room with chairs, an altar, and a unicorn in glass (Gareth informed me that this was the Shrine of the Unicorn); the field that the others had seen in their dreams, including the tree and the little chapel; a fruit tree with a bench around it; and a library of some sort.
While taking all of this in, I sensed the tingling of a trump request. It was Eve. She had apparently won the contest (not that I had any doubt of that), and had been given something she called a hell puppy. I had no idea what that was, but Alyddia, who had touched her hand to my arm to join the conversation, told her to bring the puppy. Gareth, hearing this, grasps my shoulder and says not to. The contact with Gareth was intriguing, as I got images of a large puppy breathing fire. There was also an image of Cole as a puppy destroying things that brought a smile to my face mainly because I never thought of Gareth as having an imagination.
Given Gareth's concerns, I agreed with him that this wasn't a good place for the puppy. I brought Cole through the trump and left Eve in Amber.
After he looked around for a moment, Alyddia offered to take him outside to show him where we were. Gareth started towards the second room about this time, and I stopped him, asking him how he could see in the dark. His response was not what I expected: he explained that the lens allows him to shed light through into the area, so he could see. I figured it would be magical eyes or something equally ridiculous.
Through the doorway into the second room we could see a bed with a window above it, but the window seems to look out into many points of light, as though it pointed up into a clear, night sky. There was additional furniture, including a stool and a armoire, but nothing of significant interest.
Gareth's eyes glazed over while I was looking around, so I decided to go back and take a look at the book. The page to which it was opened was very short.
2 Serpent Many things to do
today:
·
Stars
·
Abyss
·
Garlic chicken
·
Finish trump
·
Expecting visit from my excellent pupil in trump,
little Llewella. Hasn't shown yet. Perhaps
Some kind of journal, apparently, but I didn't know the calendar.
Just out of curiosity, I trumped Eve to find out if time worked differently in this place than in Amber. The time that had past was about the same, though. I read the entry to her, and she confirmed that Llewella had learned trump from Dworkin. She offered to look up "2 Serpent" reference in the Amber Castle library and trump me when she had something to report. I thanked her and dropped the contact.
As I turned to check on Gareth, Alydia and Cole returned and joined me in listening to the great emoter's discoveries.
· The window wasn't a normal window apparently it was a barrier to something he calls vackume. According to him and Alydia, this was very dangerous. Opening it would draw all of the air from the area and leave us to suffocate. (Ah, more magic crap.) We agreed that it would not be opened.
· The paintings on the walls are actually trumps. This was an intriguing revelation. I'd always assumed that trumps had to be on cards. This opened may possibilities
While the others looked through the area, I continued to look through journal. The entries included a grocery list, sketches (dissection of a creature he refers to as a "griffon", blueprint of a man-powered flying machine, a leaf drawn in excruciating detail), and a love poem to someone named Silvy. Nothing of any real use or interest, just personal things.
Gareth brought out the old trumps we had of Oberon and Dworkin. Oberon's was not active, but Dworkin's was.
Meanwhile, Cole had started eating something from the food in the painter's studio.
I let the others know about my conversation with Eve, and Alyddia trumped her to find out what was going on. (Ah, patience ) They talked, and Alyddia brought her through without the puppy. She had apparently found some pages to take him off of her hands for the time being.
She had researched the date, and it appeared to be a month reference, so it really wasn't useful to determine how long ago it was written.
Realizing that we had an opportunity here, I decided it was time to talk about some of my idea. I told them about how Eve and I had found one could stop a trump contact and punch through if the receiver was trying to stop it. However, I had a suspicion that it was possible for multiple individuals to join together and punch through a stopped contact. After a bit of discussion, they agree to put my theory to the test. I recommended that they join in one at a time to see how it accumulates, and that Eve join last our earlier practice may be of significant benefit to her in this.
I sat on the bed while Gareth drew out my trump. He focused on it, and I felt the tingling. In my mind, I built a wall to hold it off, keeping him out. The effort wasn't significant, to be honest. I watch as Cole touched Gareth's arm, and felt a very slight increase in the pressure. My wall held, so Alydia joined. The pressure increase was significant, but I kept it up, holding the wall in my mind. Eve reached out for Alydia's arm I swear I saw a smile on the cute little face as she pushed.
The contact opened, my wall shattered and we were all in contact.
It worked.
To further test the possibilities, Gareth suggested that Alyddia and Eve give it a try. I settled back into hiding behind my imaginary wall, but as soon as they pushed, it shattered I couldn't hold it up against the two of them.
We discussed how this could be used to get through to Dworkin, but Alyddia raised a significant concern: What happens if Dworkin is hostile to Amber, for some reason, and decides to attack us through the trump. We wouldn't stand a chance.
Given the threat, we decided to share our ideas and concerns with the elders, giving them the trump to make the attempt.
While the rest of us discussed this, Cole got bored and activated the trump of the library.
Yes, Cole also lacks patience.
I pulled my trump of him from my deck and focused on the image. It shifted, and I could see him in a room completely constructed out of books. Through the contact, I sensed that he was coming immediately back, so I let him know that I wasn't concerned with his being there for now. He turned the view of the trump to show me that there was a return trump, a drawing of the room we were currently in, made on the backs of the books that made up the wall.
He spent some time getting books, then came back. He explained that this library would bring up information on any topic, and handed Eve a book on hell puppies and me a book on the Order of the Unicorn, which I then gave to Gareth.
This place sounded incredibly intriguing. I wanted to come back, but I had a feeling that this option would not be available
Gareth abruptly stated that he had received a trump from Corwin, who wanted us to come through. Dara had returned with news. Eve said she was going to get her puppy, first, and that she'd trump me when she had him. I smiled and nodded to her approvingly, then took Gareth's hand.
I found myself in the ballroom of Castle Amber, where tables had been set up in one corner. All of the elders with the natural exception of Bleys and Brand were there. Even Martin had been brought in, seated next to Llewella with his usual look of distain over his hard lot in life. Dara was there, also.
Food had been laid out for us, and it appeared that many had already partaken of it. I moved in that direction as I looked around, taking in the situation.
Dara was standing with Corwin. I didn't know why she held power over him, but there was something about the situation that worried me. Dierdre was sitting with Benedict and Gerard, which made sense. Caine was with Julian, Llewella, and Flora ah, my favorite quartet. Random and Fiona were sitting together, which I found odd, for some reason.
I sensed the familiar sensation of a trump attempt, and as I'd taken to doing tried to determine who it was. I couldn't tell, but I was assuming it was Eve so I set down my plate and accepted the contact. I silently let her know that Martin was in the room as she handed me the puppy. The thing was huge, and immediately tried to wrestle out of my grasp. I dropped on top of it to keep it from getting anywhere, and wrestled with it for a moment before being able to reach out with my hand and pull Eve through.
Corwin walked towards us and asked disdainfully if Eve could do something with the dog. Alyddia had joined us, and suggested that Eve give it to some pages, and Eve agreed, so Corwin called a servant to find someone able to take the puppy out of the way.
I straightened myself up and retrieved my plate. Cole was still collecting food and Gareth had taken a seat at an empty table. As I considered my options, Gerard stood and approached us. We talked for a bit, discussing the battle at the portal, and he suggested that I return to their table with him. I very diplomatically explaining that, given the currently situation, I wished to avoid the perception of bias. Alyddia accepted the offer, though, and they walked off.
As I moved to join Gareth at his table, Eve and Martin stopped me. We spoke for a moment about nothing in particular, and Cole finally pulled himself away from the buffet. He had a great deal of something he called Keesh, explaining that it was made out of egg. He gave me one to try, and I found it odd. These egg things would certain take some getting used to.
At that point, a couple of pages showed up and Corwin directs them to take care of the puppy, a task that they seemed extremely interested in. As Eve watched them leave with her pet, I asked his name. "Ogre," she answered with a bright smile.
Of course, I chuckled to myself.
Corwin asked everyone to take a seat, so I finished my trip to Gareth's table. Cole, Eve, and Martin all followed. I watched Martin as we walked. The division in the boy's face was painfully obvious.
Corwin began by explaining that he had sent Dara and Random along the Black Road, and he told Dara to explain her discoveries. He then sat at Gerard's table with the others.
Dara, with her short hair framing her young, freckled face, started by saying she wanted to see if the Road stretched all the way to Thelbane. It does: right to the Courts of Chaos. During the trip, she saw an increase in metaphysical activity, which Random agreed with. Apparently they'd seen a number of instances of priests chanting, with significant increases in energy. Dara said that she could sense an increase in the power of Logrus, and she thinks that they are trying to strengthen the road to make it permanent.
Random turns to her and asks, "What then? Move more troops?"
She shook her head, explaining that she thinks it's so that they can pave the way for the Serpent to battle the Unicorn directly.
The room went silent.
I'm very glad Ogre was taken away, or that might have been awkward.
Fiona broke the silence, making eye contact with Corwin and telling him that he knows what he has to do. Unfortunately, I knew what she was referring to and it bothered me that she was pushing so hard. Corwin looked at Alyddia, then turned and looked across at me, an emotionless mask covering his face.
Caine asked what Fiona was talking about. Naturally, she explained. She told them about what she wants to do, having Alyddia voluntarily go through a similar process to what Brand did to her earlier. Gerard asked her to elaborate, specifically on where she got her information. She explained that she'd translated some ancient texts written in an archaic Tharri. When Random asked for her source, she admitted that she got them from contact in Thelbane, while she and her brothers were allied with them. She explained that she and Bleys broke off the alliance with Brand and Thelbane a while ago.
Caine turned to Alyddia and said that Brand's attack on her was common knowledge among the family, then he asked if she would be willing to do it.
At this point, I was pretty annoyed.
Fiona had already shown she was willing to work against Amber, but the others were willing to believe her on this. It didn't set well with me.
I didn't, however, want to just say this, as I knew that she wouldn't take well to me if I did. Instead, I interrupted politely, of course and mentioned that we needed to ensure that the person doing the ritual, whatever ritual we ended up doing, intended to help Amber and the Unicorn.
Then I brought up the fact that much had happened since last we'd had a discussion. I told them that the Unicorn had specifically asked us, the youngers, to find the knife. I asked if anyone had considered contacting Dworkin to find out what our options were, to which Corwin replied that there were no functional trumps of Dworkin.
Gareth, as I had expected immediately stated that he had one.
Sometimes I really appreciate the man. In the right situations, he's fairly predictable.
Corwin was fairly surprised by all this, as were the rest. Corwin asked Gareth if he could see the trump, to which Gareth replied, "Only if I can get it back." Corwin agreed, so the trump traded hands. As he handed it over, Gareth described what had happened when he tried to use it last. Then he mentioned that we hadn't tried them recently.
Corwin picked up on the "them" and asked what he meant, so Gareth showed him the Oberon trump and described what he'd sensed when he'd attempted to use it.
Dara suddenly piped up, saying that she'd discovered that Oberon was alive, and that he was going to be standing trial for treason in about six months. That sounded pretty good to me, until she added the fact that six months there was only a few days (maybe a week) in Amber.
Fiona suggests we let him stand trial, allowing him to take the fall for Amber and letting us sue for peace. Gerard was adamantly against it, and seemed to personally take offense at such a statement.
Gareth caught something from Dara's statement, and asked why Oberon was charged with treason. Her answer was that, long ago, Dworkin and Oberon sided with the unicorn, stole the Serpent's eye, and used it to inscribe the pattern, which gave the Unicorn the power base it needed to hold off her older sibling.
Once again, I interjected, pushing for contacting Dworkin. I brought up my idea that multiple individuals can punch through a blocked trump. At Corwin's order, Fiona and Llewella joined Corwin, and they made the attempt. There was a brief moment of a confusing outburst from Corwin, and three of them vanished.
Chaos broke out at all the tables. Out of reflex, I flipped out my trump of Corwin, but it was blocked. Eve immediately joined in to help, touching my arm, as I looked to Benedict, Gerard, and Deirdre.
Benedict took control of the situation, telling Random and Gerard to join him in conference. He ordered Julian, Caine, and Flora to try trump Corwin's every hour, Dierdre, Gareth, and Alyddia to try Llewella's, and me, Eve, Cole, and Martin to try Fiona's.
I smiled he'd definitely shown his priorities in those assignments.
Alydia suggested Dara use Logrus to find Brand, and to see if he were involved. Dara agreed and Benedict volunteered to back her up in case she should need it.
Personally, I don't think he wanted to back her up. He felt as did I that she could not be trusted.
I put my trump of Corwin away and dug for Fiona's. Everyone joined in to help, but there was nothing; there was no response to our attempts at all.
The trump contact amongst the group was interesting, especially given Cole and Martin's lack of filters; Eve and I both had to make a specific effort not to laugh out loud.
I mentioned to the two of them that we'd learned that thoughts leak through trump if not properly controlled, and recommended that they consider training in avoiding this. Martin was fairly upset by this discovery, but Cole didn't seem to care much. Very humorous
Out of the orange, Cole asked who handled hiring the maids. Not sure where he was going with the request, I suggested that he check with Tomas, the castellan. He thanked me and left.
I recommend to Martin and Eve that we go to the Shrine of the Unicorn. I was hoping to find the trump access to the cavern by the Primal Pattern. Eve agreed, and Martin just seemed ecstatic to be free of an adult's control. I decided not to be to hard on him and let him enjoy his moment.
On the way to the Shrine, we passed Dierdre, Alyddia, Gareth, and Bleys talking in the hall. I honestly had to do a double take, as I didn't expect to see Gareth's father here. Then I realized that I probably shouldn't be surprised. It's likely that this situation triggered something that let him know
More magic crap.
Once we got to the Shrine, I was in for a disappointment: this wasn't the same place that the trump on the wall of the cavern led to. Things weren't quite the same as in the drawing. The three of us discussed our options, and we decided to talk to Cole about walking the Pattern, transporting himself to the Primal Pattern, and our trumping him.
I used his trump to see if he was okay with the idea, and he agreed, stepping through to join us in a real conversation. Apparently he'd checked on Ogre, and the puppy was okay as were the pages. We briefly discussed the puppy and Eve's plans for him, and then left for the Pattern room.
At the Amber Pattern, we tried Fiona's trump again. I was not surprised by the fact that it didn't work.
Cole stepped onto the Pattern and began the long walk around. Watching someone walk the Pattern was not as interesting as walking it one's self, so I spent the time practicing some of my trump exercises.
Eventually, Cole reached the center of the Pattern, waved at us, and vanished. I activated his trump and he brought the three of us through to the Primal Pattern.
As we walked to the fissure hiding the door to the cavern, I asked Cole what he had eaten from the food the last time we were here. He said it was called a fortune cookie, and it had paper in it that told your fortune. He pulled a tiny slip of paper out of his pocket and read, "You have an unusual equipment of success. Use it properly. Lucky numbers: 2 3 7 9 13".
I was very confused by this, but he and Eve seemed to think that it wasn't a real fortune, that it was more of a simple joke or something.
Once inside, I found that there was a second cookie, and decided to give it a try. The paper inside got stuck between my teeth, and it tore as I pulled it out of my mouth. It said, "The greatest danger could be your stupidity. Lucky numbers 3 11 21 22 24 25 31".
Heh not so sure that's inaccurate
Eve explained to me that the equipment on the table was used to mix things my guess would be paint, but it probably doesn't matter so I didn't bring it up.
Cole looked through the armoire and reported that there were clothes there that would fit a small man. Noting the high stool, the journal
Yes, this was Dworkin's place.
I decided I wanted to check out the third trump the trump of the tree on the wall. I brought out Eve's trump to use on the other side, if needed to escape quickly, then touched the tree image on wall. It was cold, like a trump card. I concentrated, focusing on the image, and suddenly it became real. I could see a walled (12' high, with a gate) garden, with the apple tree in the middle, a wooden bench around it. The sky was oddly striped. In one corner was a pool with fountain within. A pretty, middle-aged woman was reading a book by the pool, sitting on the ledge around it. She was dressed in a single, white piece of cloth, wrapped simply around her, with her long, black hair pulled up with ribbons tied about it. She was apparently unaware of the activation of the trump. I could hear birdsong and the peaceful, gurgling sounds of the fountain.
Releasing the trump, I called to the others who had wandered through the rooms, searching. They joined me, and I told them what I saw. I specifically mentioned that it had a sky similar to that of the battlefield in my dream, a sky that Corwin said was that of Thelbane. We spent some time discussing what to do next, and decided to speak with the woman in the garden.
We each touch the trump on the wall and step through, Eve and I with Amber trumps in hand, just in case.
When we appeared, she seemed a little startled. I kindly introduced myself, as did the others. She old us she was Silvia of house Helgram. At the mention of Dworkin's name, she blushed, saying she'd been friends for many years, but hadn't seen him for several months. She did say that wasn't very unusual, though. When we asked about the place we were in, she explained that these were her personal ways of house Helgram, in Helgram Ways. Thelbane was nearby, though.
Curious about the fact that it had been months since she saw Dworkin, I ask about how time worked here. Her answer was that it was chaotic, and couldn't be accurately compared to any other place.
Crap.
Sylvia asked our lineage, and I explained to her that Oberon was our grandfather and Dworkin was our great-grandfather. (Cole and Martin were a bit taken aback by this revelation.) She admitted to knowing Oberon as a youth. We asked if she had heard any news of him lately, and she confirmed Dara's story that he was being held in Thelbane She said she'd heard there was to be a trial, and that he was accused of treason.
Eve asked if any other members of our family had visited, but Sylvia didn't know anyone else. When I asked her of Dara, however, she recognized the name. Apparently Dara's Grandmother was the Hellmaiden who had taken Benedict's arm at the battle in the Valley of Garnath.
We spoke with Sylvia a little longer about the situation between Thelbane and Amber. She saw the current events as a struggle of power. "Things are moving quickly. There are rumblings in the Abyss. A new power is due to be born, soon." She said that the rumors from the priesthood agreed with this: it will be emerging soon. I asked her for some elaboration, and she explained that the Serpent needed to regain its eye to shift power in its favor. When I pressed her on the details around the eye, she said it was the Jewel of Judgment.
She then asked us to tell Dworkin, if we should see him, that the Serpent's priests were camped out at the Abyss to help the Serpent defeat the new sibling. Their hope was that devouring it may give the Serpent sufficient power to defeat the Unicorn.
Cole interrupted our conversation by announcing that he was getting a trump contact, which provoked Eve and I to grasp our blades. Luckily, it was Benedict, so we relaxed. I kindly thanked Sylvia for her time, then turned back to Cole. I put my hand on his shoulder and joined the contact. Once I knew Benedict could see me, I told him of our discovery of Dara's lineage. His response was fairly usual for him: slight. He asked that we join him to talk about the situation and to move ahead with other tasks, and we accepted.
As we settled in for the discussion, Alyddia trumped me to see what was going on. I decided to try something different, and ran through the memories of the time since we lost Corwin and the others in my mind, sharing it with her. It seemed to work, as she understood it. I told her I'd trump her after we talked to Benedict, and she nodded, cutting off the contact.
It didn't take long for us to tell him everything that we'd learned. While we were discussing the information, Dara arrived.
Once we'd finished discussing the events of the past few hours, Benedict told Cole and me to go with Dara. She would take us to the site where Thelbane was trying to make the Black Road permanent. Our mission was to stop the ritual. We could take a number of rangers and castle guard, as we needed. He told Eve to attend to Alyddia and Martin to return to Rebma (oh he did not take that well), then dismissed us.
I trumped Alyddia and told her what we were doing, then sent Eve through to her. Having Eve with Alyddia made me feel better, but at the same time I knew that there was a distinct chance I would not come back from this trip. Cole and I were no match for trained Logrus masters
Cole, Dara, and I discussed our options, and decided to recon the site before bringing the soldiers in. Before we left, Dara asked if we have something called a telascope, which Cole calls a spyglass. He brought one from a pocket and showed it to us. I asked about it, what it was and what it does, and he showed me how to use it very interesting magical item. It makes things look closer than they really are. Very useful for situations such as this!
I asked Dara if she would be available to us in the battle. She explained that her role is simply to bring us there, not to get involved in the fight. We'd have to see if trump worked to get us back.
Dara did her Logrus-dance and displaced us. It was not a comfortable sensation, and I would prefer not to go through that again.
We found ourselves on a gently rolling plane, green grass, pink sky, red sun, scrubby bushes, and large outcroppings of rock. There were sounds of sheep (or a similar animal) in distance. Dara pointed and said that we would be able to see the installation over the hill. We tested the trumps and determined that they did work, so Dara left us.
We cross to the hill Dara directed us towards. The Black Road was about a quarter of a mile away, and sixteen or so feet wide. It ran over the top of a hill, where an encampment had been created out of a wall of translucent crystals standing about 6 feet high on our side. There appeared to be traffic traveling along the black road, so either the wall did not cover the road or there were gates there at those points. The wall enclosed a small area about 75'x50', with the longer distance running along the road. Outside the walls were about 40 men armed with a variety of weapons, including distance weapons such as bows. There was a flag flying with the serpent missing an eye, and some of the soldiers have the insignia on their uniform.
We discussed strategy for quite a while and decided, given the extreme level of unknown information, on a simple approach. We would attack from opposite sides, with each of us leading a group. Cole would start the rush, getting the attention of the enemy, allowing me to come at the rear with less resistance.
We trumped Benedict and discussed the plan. He tells us that the castle is under some kind of attack, with portals opening up at apparently random locations and creatures swarming out of them, slaughtering anyone the encountered. He can only provide us with about 150 rangers (all mounted) and 75 castle guard (half mounted). We decline on the un-mounted soldiers, as they wouldn't do us any good the approach would have to be fast and hard.
We agree that Cole would take 100 of the rangers and I would take the rest. We move to our areas and start trumping them into the area. As we're finishing getting into position, we see the Unicorn crest a rise a little ways off. The men see this as an awesome sign, but I understand that there's more here than a sign; I approach her, kneel, and ask if she is joining the assault. Her answer was both encouraging and terrifying: "The forces here are too strong for you. I have come to help you as I may." She would provide us a shield from the Logrus of the masters within the area, but we needed to move Cole's forces behind her to give them the protection. I trump him and explained the situation. He agreed that this was our best option, and I started bringing his forces through as he coordinated the regrouping.
As a unit, we charged, the Unicorn at the lead, with Cole and me immediately behind her.
As we were surging toward the enemy position, I heard the Unicorn's voice in my mind, "I claim thee as great-grandson, no matter what they say." She also allowed me to hear her tell Cole that he's a fine young man, and not to listen to Cain.
The Unicorn began to glow just before we cleared the hill line. The glow extended away from her, the light and color becoming a flame-like shield, covering us.
It didn't take long for us to come into view of the enemy. We could see their forces scrambling to respond to the charge. Volleys of arrows were exchanged and both sides suffered immediate casualties. We could see four Logrus masters step out of the encampment and begin their work. The energy of their assault struck the Unicorn's shield, flashing brightly in an incredible display, and it dissipating. They saw that their efforts were useless and gave up, breaking to the side.
It was awe-inspiring to behold such a power
By this point, we were on the Black Road, riding straight toward the opening in the wall. The Unicorn made an obvious point not to actually come onto the Road until the last moment. When she did, though, her path was transformed, cleansed, and left as a clear path of fertile green grass.
She led the way into the encampment as we tore through their ranks. Many of the line broke around the sides of the walls, clearing out the guards and protecting our rear.
Inside the protective wall was centered a pentagram, where a bloodletting was going on. There were five other obvious Logrus users standing around it. As we charged into the area, they turned to see what was going on. Their body language was quite clear and easily translatable as "Oh, shit". They scattered, attempting to get out of the way as we plowed into the center. I threw a dagger at one, hitting him in the shoulder and knocking him down as I approached. The others all vanish almost simultaneously, and I finish off the one I'd struck as I broke past him.
Our forces do not have a significant problem removing the enemy. 2 of the Logrus masters were slain in the process, but the rest escaped. Once the dust settled, the Unicorn was gone; no one remembered when she left or how, just that she was gone.
The pentagram was obliterated, though, as the Unicorn had run through it.
We captured seven prisoners. Cole tooks 20 men, the prisoners, and the wounded through his Amber trump. I trumped Benedict and told him that the mission had been a success, offering to send the men through. He accepted, and I started the process. While doing so, I told him what Cole was doing and that the Unicorn had led charge. This brought a bit more of a response than I was used to from the man, but that didn't surprise me I had my doubts that she had ever allowed herself to get that directly involved in something of this kind, before.
He brought me through once the rest of the men were clear, and he immediately sent me to lead the charge to the infirmary where a significant force of the enemy was collecting apparently a portal had opened inside.
Just before I left with the men, I saw Cole approaching Benedict. Good having his arm in on this fight would make it much easier.
As we approached the infirmary, I directed the men to take the doorway, then I went in through the window. My assumption was that I could flank the enemy, cutting us into the building much more quickly. I also wanted to get cut.
Yeah, I know. Sounds odd, but there's usually a reason I do insane things.
Fiona had mentioned that there was power in our blood, power based upon pattern. Benedict had said that there was a portal in the infirmary. My hope was that my blood, splattered upon the Logrus-created portal would break it down, closing it.
It was worth a try, anyway. I certainly had no other weapons to use against it!
Inside the room I found an orderly, dead, lying crumpled against the wall. Just outside the room was a horde of small creatures, about 5 feet in height, with red skin, horns, barbed tails, and large, toothy maws. I took up one of their blades to use in my off-hand and worked with the soldiers to get back to the inner area.
I quickly determined that there was no strategy to their efforts they just seemed to be wandering, attacking anything that wasn't one of their own kind.
As we worked our way closer, we could see the sickly yellow-green glow of the portal.
At some point, Cole joined me, but I honestly don't remember when. I was pushing hard to get into the room, while doing my best to keep the chaotic enemy forces from overwhelming my men.
Once I made it into the room, I could see the portal in the center, swirling and releasing more of the creatures. There was enough of my blood available from the jump through the window to give a good fling, splattering it across the portal's surface. Ripples of glowing blue spread out from the points of impact for a moment, then it crashed in on itself. The creatures who had been passing through when it closed were left on both sides a very gruesome end for any creature.
We secured the area, and I trumped Benedict to let him know how to close the portals.
Seems every time I trump him, I get a little more of a reaction. It's a rather fun little game, to be honest.
Cole volunteered to head to the gardens and close the portal there, so I remained to coordinate securing the infirmary it was going to be needed.
Later in the day, Gareth trumped me, explaining that Benedict wanted to talk to all of us. He brought me through to a place like I'd never been before, a place he identified later as a part of the Brain Civilization, his original home.
Random had been injured by what appeared to be an arrow, Bleys had been seriously hurt and was unconscious, and there was a body wrapped up and set against the wall. Gerard, Benedict, and a young man I'd never met before were also here.
Seeing Random's state, I asked if he'd like a pipe of weed. His answer was interesting: "Hell, yes!" Naturally, I shared it with him.
While Gareth trumped Alyddia, I trumped Cole. Gareth brought Alyddia and Eve through with Ogre, but this thing came out of the walls and started attacking Ogre. I was very confused, but it looked like Eve was fending it off so I wasn't worried about it. I brought Cole through while Alyddia was asking Gareth who the newcomer was, taking Benedict's trump out of his hands as he was about to contact him. Gareth answered that they had found him when they killed Brand.
All eyes on Gareth.
I went to the body, allowing the others to continue their conversations. Opening the wrap, it was obvious that he was dead. His skull had been cleaved in two, but I recognized him.
Brand was dead.
Ah, a good day, indeed.
The conversation continued around me as I enjoyed the moment. The young man's name was Corbin Ocham, and he was a member of the family. My guess? He was Alyddia's replacement.
Gareth received a trump contact, and he brought forth a woman I'd never seen before. Cole pulled out his sword in a very violent flash, alerting me that something was amiss my blade was immediately unsheathed and I was at his side, with Eve on the opposite.
Gareth quickly explained that this was his mother. Cole seemed a little confused. Apparently, this was the woman who had abducted him back when he'd vanished. Her name was Mystique.
She explained that Bleys had promised to make her an Amberite, but he had to research what that required. He isolated it to something she called a pro-teen that makes an image of the Pattern within us, whatever that meant. As a part of this process, he did an experiment on an orphan from shadow, and she looked at me Bleys created me to see if it would work. He dropped clues to ensure that Flora would find me and get me to Amber to attempt the Pattern.
Because I didn't have the strength of most Amberites, he didn't feel that I was a success, so he wanted to do more work and had her abduct Cole. They couldn't use Alydia because she was Brand's daughter, Gareth was too close to Mystique, and Eve and Martin were just harder to get due to their proximity to the elders.
Bleys and Mystique also knew that Brand was looking for someone to use in Alyddia's place.
I asked her to clarify what she had said that I was not actually related to the family. She confirmed that I was not originally of the family, but I'd been manipulated enough to be somehow related, although distantly.
While we were talking to Mystique, Gareth had trumped Benedict and brought him though. Once the new folks were introduced, Benedict asks Corbin a little about his family.
We search Brand's body and find a knife that Alyddia confirms was the same knife he used to stab her on the pattern.
At that moment, Mystique rushes to Bleys's side and vanishes with his unconscious body.
Benedict informed us that Bleys had told him Fiona wanted to destroy the original pattern, and thus was promoting the process that sounded similar to Brand's original work. I mentioned that we may find some useful information in Dworkin's lab, and Benedict said he wanted to be taken there. Cole trumped to Amber to walk the Pattern to get us there.
While Alydia and Benedict talked, I kept Corbin busy, asking him about his family, his life, his home, etc. Anything to keep him preoccupied. He said that his mother had died giving birth to him, which sounded suspect given the situation.
Eve trumped Flora to find out how to get Corbin home. Once she finished the contact silently, she reported that we would have to shadow walk to get him there. She also stated that that Corbin is not Corwin's son, as we'd suspected.
Benedict trumped to Amber to await Cole's trump. Eve, Alyddia, and I leave with Corbin. Eve lead the way, knowing the shadow to which we were going. We acquired some horses, first, to make the trip easier and faster.
If Corbin isn't Corwin's son His father was still alive. Probably Flora's child, I suppose. I'm not going to assume, but that fits and was probably the reason that Eve only stated that he was not Corwin's son.
After a few hours of traveling, Corbin began to recognize the area, saying his home was about 150 keellomeetrs away (whatever that meant). I mentioned leaving him here, but Eve said she gave her word that she would guarantee his safe return home, and she doesn't give it lightly.
No she doesn't Hmm
The three of us discussed giving him a trump of Flora. We showed it to him, and he recognized her as someone who visited every year or so, a regular customer of their vineyard.
Yes, definitely Flora's son.
We found a something Eve called a traler for the horses, something that would allow Corbin to take them home with him. Corbin contacted his father using this world's version of a trump, something the three of them referred to as a telefone. It doesn't take long for the boy's father to arrive. Eve gave Corbin her trump of Flora before seeing him off. Once they were away, and I gave her my extra trump of Flora, in case she should need it.
I trumped Cole to see what the status was there. He'd been to the Primal Pattern to show Benedict, took the trump to the restaurant and had a good meal. Gareth had joined him there. They then trumped back to Amber and were currently heading to Llewella's chambers in Rebma to look for more information.
We offered to join them in the search, having little else to do at this point, and he pulled us through
On the way to the steps, Gareth told us the story of the face off between Brand and him, Random, and Bleys. They had breached the barrier to follow the trail of the dagger. On the other side, they were in a cavern. After a few moments, a swarm of spiders came out of the area that they had entered. They were chased out of the cave by a giant spider. Outside was the meadow from the dreams, with the chapel. Arrows began to come from the structure, and Gareth used the Pattern lens to see that it was Brand attacking them. They killed the giant spider to take cover from Brand's assault, then used the lens to get directly to the building. Random had cleaved Brand as he hit Bleys with some kind of energy. During the conversation, it was revealed that Bleys, Fiona, and Brand were once working together.
I asked about Bleys's sword, and he said that he had it in a safe place.
Good to know.
Apparently, Brand had planned to use Corbin to finish what he'd started with Alyddia, as I'd guessed. The place that they found Brand was a shadow that Brand had created, a place similar to Gideon's shadow but not the same place.
We reached the shore and could see the stairs leading down into the water. Very odd, that. I went into the nearby bushes and hid my pipe and weed I was not going to get it wet!
They explained that we'd be able to breath underwater. I just nodded and accepted it as fact. What else was I supposed to do?!?
Gareth went in first, followed by Eve and Ogre (who was putting up a bit of a fight on this point). I went next with Alyddia and Cole behind me.
I cannot even begin to describe the sensation of breathing underwater. It was odd and uncomfortable. I will readily admit that I did not like it and will likely avoid it, but it was something I could deal with if need be.
As we descended, walking down the steps, we saw people standing below us. Closer examination revealed that they were guards, barring the way. We explained that Benedict had sent us to gather information, so they sent one of their number with us.
As we moved further into Rebma, I realized that everyone there even the women were topless. Very odd. Not to mention distracting. It made sense, I suppose, given the watery conditions. In respect for that custom, I removed my shirt. Gareth joined me, but the others did not seem interested in doing so. I certainly didn't push it I didn't want to raise the topic with Alyddia and I had the impression that Eve was too self-conscious to even consider it.
There seemed to be mirrors everywhere in the place. Eve mentioned that Moir, the Queen of Rebma, used these mirrors to spy on people.
Wonderful more magic crap.
The guard led us to a waiting area, and then left us to inform Moir of our presence. Once he was gone, there wasn't even much discussion: we left. Eve led the way to Llewella's quarters, as she'd been there previously. None of us really wanted to deal with Moir or anyone else, so this was just for the best.
Once we get to the quarters, Eve found something she called a broeshur for a place named "Happy Returns Nursing Home". She explained that older people usually retire to such places to live their final years in peace.
Sounded boring.
Still does.
The image on the broeshur showed a castle-like structure, but there appeared to be some of the technology-things I'd seen in some shadows.
In an effort to speed the search, Gareth began bringing up a Pattern lens. While I started searching for a journal or something similar, I suggested that Cole close the door and keep it closed. He had a great idea, moving the mirror in front of the door and then moving some of the furnishings in front of that.
I headed into the second room, and Alyddia joined me. There we found an open archway leading onto a balcony and two doors: one to the hall and the other to a bathroom.
I started on the chest of drawers while Alyddia looked elsewhere. Just as I was finishing up on the second to last drawer, Gareth walked into the room and grabbed the last drawer, opening a secret compartment holding four trumps: a Rebman Eve identified as Moire, two other Rebmans no one knew, and a place the image of Happy Returns Nursing Home.
I suggested we send someone through to investigate, as this definitely sounded like the kind of place Dworkin may have retired to. Gareth suggested that we send Eve, to which I replied by volunteering myself. Not that she couldn't take care of herself, of course, just that I didn't like the idea of sending her into an unknown situation like that I'd rather put myself at risk, first.
The group agrees, and Gareth activates it, sending me through.
Wet and shirtless. Great.
I arrived outside of a small castle, standing in an area with extremely hard, packed ground of black color. There was a solid stone path leading to the structure. I tried to trump Gareth and it worked he answered. I asked him to try it the other direction, just to be safe, and we dropped the contact. It only took a moment and I received the trump contact. We decided we had what we needed, and he handed the others through before coming through himself.
Everyone "found" dry cloths in the immediate area, with the exception of Eve. (She seemed attached to her outfit: a shirt that proclaimed "NIN", a tough pair of black pants, and a nice pair of boots.)
I couldn't even begin to count the number of times in the past I could have used this shadow manipulation ability. As I was changing, think about this, I realized that Gerard was not just being sarcastic when he'd said I was among the gods the power of the Amberites was nearly divine.
I found this thought unsettling
When I "found" my clothes, I also found a boot to keep Ogre preoccupied while we moved on, and gave it to Eve when we regrouped.
We followed the path up to the castle and opened the door. The lighting inside looked like candles, but the flames were of something odd with a strange, flickering glow coming from inside. We met a woman named Miss Apple who asked why we were there. While I examined the strange lights, Gareth asked her if we could see Dworkin.
She offered to look for him and left. She was only gone for a moment, and returned to announce that she hadn't found anyone that fit the name in the list. We asked her to look him up under Barriman. This time when she left, though, Gareth and I followed. She went into a small room and sat in front of an odd little box with tiny, glowing lights that seemed to spell out words. She said that she couldn't find him under that name, either, and Gareth asked if he could manually look through the list of occupants. This was against the rules, as she shared with us.
My understanding of my own abilities coupled with my experience in manipulating minds in the past brought me to another realization. I "convinced" her to let Gareth see the list. It didn't take much, really, just a smile, eye contact (as Fiona had shown me), and a light, comforting hand on her shoulder.
Gareth had only been sitting in front of the box for a few minutes when we were distracted by Ogre's barking. Luckily, he was about done, though, so we returned to the entry followed by Miss Apple.
Cole was gone, apparently having wandered down the hall looking for Dworkin.
Miss Apple began fretting about a dog being here apparently this was another thing that wasn't allowed. I again used my influence and convinced her to go back to her room and relax, that everything would be okay. She did as I instructed.
It was truly incredible how much sway I could have over a mind.
Ogre took off down the hall, and we followed him. We passed Cole, going door-to-door in his search.
The puppy eventually stopped at a very odd door, flat with no visible handles or hinges. Eve called it an elevator, explaining that it would take us up and down. Seemed odd, but she understood these things far better than I.
Gareth walked off and Alyddia followed him. Eve pressed a button next to the door labeled with an arrow pointing down, and it began to glow. After a moment, the door made a strange "ding" sound, a light flashed above it, and it opened, leading into a very small room. The lights in the room were very odd, and the music It was very strange, seemingly coming from above, but there were no performers to be seen. The tune was very pleasant, though.
Ogre casually walked into the room and dropped onto his haunches.
Okay.
Eve and I followed. At that point, what else was I going to do. The dog seemed to have a better idea than anyone where he was going.
Or he knew where the kitchen was.
Either way, we would get something out of the trip.
Eve explained that she was taking us from bottom to top, hitting all the floors, as she pressed on a button in a panel of buttons. I had a feeling of motion, much like falling very slowly, and it stopped. The doors opened, exposing a kitchen area and its staff where the hall was just moments before. We had gone down, just as Eve had said.
In a very surreal moment, Ogre did not get out he stayed seated on his haunches as though waiting for something. We just smiled at the servants and waved, waiting for the doors to close.
We went through this a few times, but it wasn't until the third floor that Ogre stood and walked purposefully out of the room. We followed him, of course. He stopped at the last door at the end of the hall. We knocked, but there was no answer. I opened the door to find a man in bed with a great deal of stuff around him, including a tube actually attached to his arm and straps keeping him attached to the bed.
He was snoring quite loudly, and looked similar to the trump of Dworkin.
We started to look around, and I was interrupted by a trump contact. I focused on it, trying to get a sense of who it was. I had the impression that it was Alyddia. Very pleased with this, I answered, hoping that I was correct.
I was.
She explained that they were on their way to meet us in the room. It seemed for a moment that she was going to ask to come through, then I got the impression from her thoughts that Cole was bringing someone with them, and she didn't want to let the woman know about the trumps.
I dropped the contact and went back to the sleeping man.
I touched his face, focusing on his mind in an attempt to simply determine if he was even there. I got a sense of dreams and the fact that he probably is Dworkin. I physically tried to wake him, but it didn't work. Eve says he could be drugged to stay asleep.
I pointed to the tube stuck into his arm and asked if that could be causing the problem. She explained that it was an "eye-vee", and that it could be what's keeping him asleep or it could be keeping him alive.
Given that he was an Amberite, I personally doubted that it would be keeping him alive, but I knew that I didn't fully understand the situation, so I accepted this and left the eye-vee.
I heard someone coming in the hall, and mentioned to Eve that the others were on their way. She didn't really have any time to ask me about it although I don't know if she was going to, anyway as they opened the door a moment later.
They brought in a woman who seemed very distressed that Dworkin was there, mentioning that the room was supposed to be empty.
After a bit of a discussion, the woman brought in Miss Apple, who was apparently knowledgeable in medicine. She looked over Dworkin and reported that he seemed fine, but she thought that the medication in the eye-vee was keeping him asleep. She carefully removed it from his arm.
We then asked the two ladies to leave, as we needed to determine what to do with Dworkin now that we'd found him. Before we came to a consensus, he awoke.
He spoke with us for a little while. He vaguely remembered the trump contact from Corwin, Fiona, and Llewella, and said he put them in a pocket shadow, hiding them away. He assumed that Corwin and Fiona were involved in Llewella's scheme to hide him here.
We took him back to his lab. Cole went to get Chinese while the rest of us took Dworkin out to see the Pattern. We spend some time talking about what's happened and how to fix it. He mentioned that fixing it would require the Jewel of Judgment, but that it wouldn't have to be Alyddia who does it. He does say that she would be more likely to succeed, as she caused the damage, but that someone else might be able to do it.
I pointed out that Corwin had the Jewel, and asked Dworkin to bring Corwin back. He agreed, spent a moment concentrating, and then reached out and pulled. Corwin came through the ether, with Llewella holding his hand and Fiona following her.
We quickly caught the three of them up on what had been going on. Llewella explained that she'd only done what she'd been told, that Oberon had instructed her to hide Dworkin away if something should happen to Oberon.
As we were discussing the situation, a surge of power washed over us. I could feel the change, significant, powerful. I didn't understand it until Dworkin announced that the fourth power had arisen from the Abyss. He recommended that Corwin send an envoy to meet it.
Looking around, I realized that Fiona had vanished. She probably recognized that her ruse of trying to use Alyddia again had failed...
After some discussion, Alyddia agreed to try to fix the Pattern. Then, with a wave of his hand, Dworkin sent the rest of us away as I prepared to ask Alyddia if she wanted protection.
We found ourselves somewhere else. Looking around, I my guess was we were at the Abyss. It matched the description that Aden had provided me back on Bliss, including the striped sky of Thelbane.
Dara was there, sitting on her heels inside of a pentagram near the edge. Between her and the Abyss was a giant raven about 9' tall with a sack held in its beak. It started walking towards us. Dara seemed annoyed, saying that we couldn't have it.
Before we could respond, the Unicorn and the Serpent showed up on opposite sides of the Abyss.
By Gosh the thing was huge and hideous. The Serpent's form seemed to shift and change as I watched, but every form was missing it's eye.
Eve announced that the Unicorn was talking to her, and that the Raven must choose: it can be swallowed by the Unicorn, swallowed by the Serpent, or exist independently of the two. I asked the Raven if it understood the choices. It said yes, and choose to exist.
In a not-so-surprising move, the Serpent declared its intent to swallow the Raven.
Again, the Unicorn used Eve to tell us to form a circle around the Serpent, and we did. In response, Dara charged into the circle, joining the Serpent.
I threw a knife at Dara, hoping to take her out of the situation. I hit her in the leg, as I intended, but she simply pulled it out. The wound healed almost immediately.
Okay, I do need to learn how to shape-shift. That was seems like a very useful ability...
Bright and colorful energy began to stretch forth from the Unicorn, engulfing us as it formed into a sphere. The Unicorn (via Eve) told us not to break the circle.
The Raven approached Gareth and asked him to draw his power for him. Gareth stepped out of the circle. Reacting as quickly as possible, Cole and I sprinted to close the gap as the Serpent dove for the opening. We made it, beating it to the weak point, but the surge of power was immense. I could tell that Cole was pretty staggered by it, more so than I. The assault was definitely more mental than physical, so that made sense.
While we were holding off the Serpent, the Raven told Gareth to get something of the Unicorn's to use in the process. He went to the Unicorn and asked for something appropriate. She gave him the tip of her horn. The Raven then gave him a staff and asked him to touch the tip to it. He did and it seemed to stay there. The Raven then took him away to inscribe its power.
I didn't pay a lot of attention to him at this point, as I was more worried about what we were dealing with. I did see him put the end of the staff toward the ground, and he started walking, leaving an image of purple energy.
While this was going on, the Serpent was attacking Eve & Cole's area. I found that we were all partially linked through the Unicorn's energy, not unlike a trump contact, so I directed my personal energies to support them. They took the hit, but it definitely seemed to drain them.
Eve threw a blade at the Serpent and hit it hard in the neck. As it turned to attack her head on, I threw my sword at the back of its head, interrupting the attack. It turned toward me for a moment, glared with its one eye, and moved back towards Eve's direction. It hit her area of the shield pretty hard as she stabbed at it, hitting it in the lower jaw.
I threw my last dagger at the Serpent, trying to keep it off of Eve, but it ignored the blade penetrating the back of its head. I saw Cole throw something, also, but I wasn't sure what.
As Gareth vanished, I sensed a trump contact. With the battle still going on and all of us linked in the Unicorn's energy, I didn't want to risk making the trump contact. I noticed that the Raven remained with us, so I mentally asked the Unicorn if there was something wrong.
She stomped a hoof and the sphere dissolved.
The Serpent thrashes about for a moment, obviously furious. After a moment of this, it dissolved.
The trump contact continued, but I ignored it and rushed Dara. At this point, she'd proven that she couldn't be trusted, and I didn't want her to escape. I honestly didn't think I could stop her, but I had to try.
Luckily Eve joined me.
Dara fended us off and was able to break free long enough to bring up the Logrus. I saw what she'd brought up, felt the revulsion to it. I couldn't let her escape without knowing why she turned, so I dove into it. The experience was sickening, just like the time when she took me earlier.
I found myself on a hill with Dara standing nearby, visibly annoyed.
So I kicked her.
I didn't expect it to work, but I had to try, keep her from getting away without talking to me. Luckily, I met my expectations. Before I could recover, she landed a solid punch on my face, splitting my lip. We bantered a bit, and she admitted that she had joined the Serpent because she wanted to be on the winning side.
As she brought up Logrus again, I pulled out Eve's trump. I wiped some blood from my lip and flung it at her construct, crashing her attempt with the impact.
Now that? That was spite, little more than a petty slap in the face.
She didn't take it well, though; it really pissed her off. She came at me before I could trump Eve. I held her off for a couple minutes, trying to use the trump while doing so, but that just wasn't working. I dropped the trump into my shirt and started actively fighting her off.
As I did, I sensed a trump contact.
I pointed out that Dara could join us back at Amber if she wanted to be on the winning side, and she just growled at me. Her form was changing, becoming larger and demonic. This was something I doubted I could handle.
I answered the trump and grabbed out for a hand, not even looking for the source.
It was Eve.
I felt one of Dara's vicious claws tear into my shoulder as Eve brought me through to safety. I thanked the young lady, kissing her on the forehead for saving my life.
I heard Cole, standing nearby, say to no one in particular "You're under attack? Want some help?" Then he vanished. I figured he was probably in a trump contact, and left it at that.
I mentioned to Eve that I knew where the Logrus was that Aden had explained it to me and she pointed out that I was conveniently bleeding. I smiled; we really did think alike.
I suddenly realized, however, that the political situation was not good. If we were to damage the Logrus at this point, we would make things even worse, politically, especially for Oberon's trial. I explained this to Eve, and she was willing to turn down the opportunity albeit with some hesitation.
We did agree that it would be good to at least see the Logrus, so we start heading in that direction. We decided to "find" new weapons, as ours were lost to the Serpent. I tried to find Settler and Peacekeeper, and succeeded!
As started the trip, I realized that Cole had mentioned an attack, and pointed this out to her. We decide to trump someone to see if Amber was under attack. She suggested Gerard and I agreed, so she trumped him. He confirmed the attack, and recommended that we come through somewhere else, due to his situation: neck deep in the enemy. She dropped the contact and we prepared ourselves, then used the Amber trump to return.
Jumping into the fray, I found a group of guards who needed assistance and bolstered them. Even Ogre helped out, taking any available enemy ankles. I was impressed.
During fight, Alydia trumped me. She said she was in a new shadow that Gareth had created when he scribed the Raven's power, called Elysia. She said to trump her when the battle for Amber was over.
We eventually got things under control, and Benedict approached us. He said Corwin had ordered all family members to the great hall.
I trumped Alyddia and asked her to bring me through. She did, and I saw Elysia for the first time. A beautiful place. Gareth was there, also, with the Raven shrunk down to a more normal form, sitting upon his shoulder.
I bowed to the Raven, then let them know what had been going on. She told me that he could see our souls, and that mine was brown, Eve's and Cole's were green, and Alyddia's was pink.
Ah, new magic crap.
Wonderful.
I told them of Benedict's order, and we agreed to head back. I used my trump of Amber to bring us back. In looking out over the Valley of Garnath, I noticed that the Black Road had vanished we had succeeded. I congratulated Alyddia.
When we arrived at the Great Hall, we met with the remaining elders (Fiona was of course not present). Corwin was cleaned up (unlike the rest of us) and in front of his audience of Amberites held a conversation with some of the generals captured during the battle. Using trump to communicate with unseen individuals in Thelbane, he proposed a peace treaty between Amber and Thelbane. The generals agreed to open discussions, and it seemed the people in the trump contact also agreed.
Eve leaned over to me and mentioned that it was probably a good thing we hadn't thrown my blood over the Logrus. I simply nodded, smiling a little.
For once things actually happened as I expected. That was a nice change!
Corwin dismissed us, but Gareth interrupted our dispersal by asking Corwin to allow him to represent the Raven. This caught Corwin's attention, and he asked to speak with Gareth. Knowing that there was more information to convey, I mentioned to Corwin that Dara had sided with the Serpent during the confrontation in Thelbane.
He paused for a moment, then told Wilm to cancel all of his appointments for the next 45 minutes and ordered us to join him.
We explained what he missed, all the events since we'd left him with Dworkin and Alyddia at the Primal Pattern. He asked a number of questions to get more detail, then dismissed us.
Knowing that the help would be needed, I spent the rest of the day cleaning up the aftermath.
The following week was interesting. Eve and I continued our studies, I continued my practice in walking the Pattern in my mind. I even approached Dworkin about learning how to shape-shift. He seemed fairly receptive, but it didn't really matter, as fate took it's turn once again.
About a week after the war ended, Corwin everyone to a formal celebration. There, he presented a number of awards and positions.
· Eve, Cole, and I were among those granted knighthood in the Order of the Unicorn for our direct participation in the war.
· He presented emerald rings engraved with "Amber Immortal" inside the band to Eve, Cole, Alyddia, Gareth, and me.
· Alyddia is awarded with the dagger and a special necklace. (I later pointed out to her that she was not protector of a part of the Unicorn's power something she didn't seem too concerned with.)
· Eve was awarded her Ranger uniform and told to report to duty the day after next.
· I was given the post of ambassador to Thelbane, with the official rod for the position. Flora would remain the liaison to Thelbane, as a part of my staff. (I whispered if this meant I was excused from my obligatory year of service in the Navy, and he said I was.)
· Gareth was given a role as representative for the Raven to Amber he thanks Corwin for the rod. It was obvious that he felt the role was assumed, being the only person who could do the job.
· Cole was given a ship (named "The Smiling Duchess") to do with as he wanted the freedom he had always been looking for.
We actually survived the war, which pleasantly amazed me. This, of course, wasn't the end of our stories, but I'll save those tales for another time...
"Did he? I don't know; I missed that. I was falling off a bridge." Eve, responding to Gareth's comment that Brand seemed very upset by the loss of the Tongan King's hand
"I am with the gods?" Hargomme, after the revelation that he was
flying above the clouds.
"Yes, lad, you're with the gods." Gerard's response.
"I'll get you another cactus as soon as we get out of this squid!" Alyddia to Gerard
"Maybe you could tell them how many times you've had sex." Eve to Gareth, regarding interrogation techniques (Gareth had previously with no emotion informed Eve how many times he has had sex)
"I've already stabbed people in this house. It'll be, ya know, comfortable." Eve, in interrogating a prisoner in the building the group had just left
After Hargomme compared Gerard's comment about being amongst the gods and
the Tongan belief in their gods:
"We are not among Tongan gods." Alyddia
"Yeah, but I bet we can take them." Eve
Referring to the idea of controlling the weather during the Tongan ceremony:
"Manipulation's always better than
" Alyddia
"Death." Eve
"But we get to see Polynesians who aren't related to us hopefully." Alyddia, to Eve, referring to the fact that the three handsome men with them, Gareth, Cole, and Hargomme, are all related to them.
"Gareth's a little freaky some times." Eve, during an
introduction
"Yes. That is true." Gareth
"Cole, I'm getting a trump contact." Alyddia, while she and Cole
were returning from collecting food at a fair
"You're going to have to take it my hands are full." Cole
"The mounts are ready, lords and ladies. Is everything
alright."
Dick (Arden Ranger) in response to walking in on Gareth pulling up his pants
in the middle of the Great Hall of Amber Castle.
"Yes." Eve, Cole, and Hargomme
"Everything's great!" Alyddia, with enthusiasm
"It's a great party except that I'm related to all the women!" Cole, during a party with the rangers, Eve, and Dierdre
"May I ask you a question?" Gareth
"You just did." Fiona
"Half-brother on the shitty side." Eve, referring to her
relationship to Cole
"Ah! Father's side!" Martin
"Is that a spyglass in your pocket, or are you just happy to see
me?" Eve
"Both!" Cole
"She's my mother." Gareth
"You have a mother?" Cole
"Great my brother's easy." Eve, talking about the fact that Mystique chose Cole
"Does she have a name?" Cole, referring to Mystique
"Yes." Gareth
"Good." Cole
Long silence
Lots of laughter
"But
didn't you say your people were extraterrestrials?"
Corbin, wondering why Flora would live on Earth
"Haven't you heard the stories that they live among you?" Alydia
"I can expunge the records out of my brain once we're finished." Gareth, when he upset someone by mentioning that he'd had access to their database
"Who brought the queen of hearts?" Eve, under her breath, referring to a lady we met with very elaborate attire and a huge headdress
"Don't touch him" Alydia, referring to Hargomme pulling out
Dworkin's IV
"Uh, too late for that." Hargomme, as he'd already touched Dworkin
a number of times
"More." Alydia
"Inside voice." Eve, whispered to Hargomme after he mentions Dworkin being a shape-shifter in front of "civilians"
"Speaking from experience, when your dad's an asshole, you don't have to do what he says." Eve, after Llewella says she was just following Oberon's instructions
(KA is Karen Alfrey and KK is Karen Klutzke)
"I find it interesting that Alyddia has Endurance, but not patience." KA
"He could have a cactus it's a manly plant." Michele, searching Gerard's quarters for some kind of a plant to send through a dubious trump contact
"Ooo he is one of the bright ones." Carl, in response
to a comment Hargomme made to Qu'an
"No, he's one of the shady ones." KA (Hargomme's comment was a
rather underhanded - yet successful - attempt to get information from the
member of the Order of the Unicorn)
"Instead of holding the sword here, you'll have to hold the sword here." KK, referring to Cole posing in front of Llewella for his trump, naked, with a sword, and the fact that he couldn't hold it too close to him due to something being in the way J)
"Stupid Brain-boy." KA
"Isn't that an oxymoron?" Carl
"Not in this case." KA and Russ, simultaneously
"Are you guys saying this in character?" Michele, entering the
room to hear an odd conversation involving Gareth disrobing in the middle of
the castle.
"Yes." KA, Andy, and Russ
"Good." Michele, now looking forward to the event
As he realizes that his character, Cole, is carrying a lantern, Carl says, "I've got the Cole-man lantern."
"I'll ask the ranger if the unnatural silence here is, uh
" KA
"Natural?" Carl
While planning a covert operation in Amber, where technology does not
usually work:
"Are there any night-vision devices that are not based on
electricity?" Michele
"Carrots?" Andy
"Which one of you is playing the 16-year-old? I keep forgetting " Andy to Michele (and KA), regarding a comment Alyddia was making about Corwin.
When Alyddia actually gets into her first fight (against a zombie-like creature): "Does it count as your first kill if it's already dead?" KA
After a battle, Deirdre tells Cole that she likes to get drunk after a
battle. After that:
"I'm going to holler for Dick while I'm heading back to Alyddia."
Russ
"Cuz that's what you like after the battle." KA
"You use it to keep track of your hit points." Carl, referring
to what Andy would use a character sheet for
"You mean how many people I've hit?" KA (the Amber system is
diceless, and there are no points used to track damage)
"
drinking themselves silly." KK, referring to Cole and Dierdre
at a party
"-er" Carl
"Michele is weird." KA
"This from Karen?" Michele
"Cole learned that drinking is not unlike having a sucking chest wound." Carl, referring to an attempt to drink Dierdre under the table. (What did he expect?!?)
"Sorry I don't speak Pig Tharri." Carl, joking about Cole's response to Eve attempting to talk to him in Pig Latin.
"She bats her long lashes at you." Andy, referring to Meg
hitting on Cole
"Cole ducks." Russ
"Who're we gonna trump?" Michele
"Ghostbusters" KA and KK
"I check the bottle It's kind of an instinctive reaction, after my last experience drinking with (Dierdre)." Carl
"I answer..." Carl, upon receiving a trump contact
"It's Brand!" Carl, Russ, and Andy
"One of these times
" KK (With the exception of the last line
(The "It's Brand!" line was commonly used, but this particular
instance was the best, with three of us piping up and Karen's response. In
fact, after Brand was killed, we still said it, with a slight alteration:
"It's Brand back from the dead!")
"It's not really communication if no one's listening." Carl, as we joked about using our strengths
"
you hear a noise behind you
" KK
"Is it something out of place?" Michele
"Like a loud scream, something inhuman." Russ
"Like that?" - Michele
"Logs: another thing I had never thought of as having a temporal quantity." KA, referring to Carl's question about using a 2-hour or a 4-hour log (she had heard of beer being measured in volume, distance, and time)
"Not a euphemism." KA, Carl, and Russ, at various instances.
"A jogging suit appears. It is made of corduroy." Andy, in
response to Michele's character requesting new attire while visiting the Brain
Civilization
"Not a good idea, unless you want me to catch on fire." Michele
"What's that noise." Carl, looking around
"You must be a manager; you asked me a question, I provided an answer, and you're still confused." Carl to Andy, soon after he was promoted to management
"Andy's a girl." KA
"Hey, can I see the cover of that ShadowRun book again?" Andy,
referring to an earlier instance in which he was
appreciating a woman in the cover
art
"She said you were a girl; she didn't say you weren't a lesbian."
Russ
"We getta play 'good Amberite, bad Amberite'!" Carl to Michele
"We don't let Cole play with the family jewels." KA, to Andy when he says he thought Cole had the Jewel of Judgment
"How would you like to be addressed?" Andy as Gareth, talking to
the Raven
"Nevermore." Carl, aside
"A circle. A purple circle." Andy
"Preeeety." Michele, Russ, and Carl
"Okay, that was disturbing." Carl
"Gareth can see souls now, but he still can't relate to them." Carl
"It might be useful to have someone else attuned to the Jewel."
Carl, as Cole is trying to convince Alyddia to let him be attuned to the Jewel
of Judgment.
"It might be useful to have someone else attuned to the
Jewel." Russ
"You're just trouble waiting to happen." KK, regarding Cole's
preparations for war.
"Oh, I'm not waiting." Carl
"You try to do these things, but your codpiece gets in the way." KK, joking about Cole's enormous codpiece.
"They've been very active and involved." KK, as Corwin
presenting an award to the youngers
"And occasionally useful." Carl
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This area still has some work being done on it |
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Gained 2 points (This also indicates the end of a playing session next time, Ill keep track of the play dates!) |
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Spent 3 points on Flora's Rose |
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*** |
Spent 1 point on Warfare |
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Spent 1 point on Strength |
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Spent 5 points on Pattern |
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Spent 1 point on Psyche |
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Spent 5 point on Trump Spying |
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Spent 5 point on Trump Identification |