SESSION EIGHT

I awoke before noon and was Trumped by Alix during breakfast with David and Derek. She was rounding us up for the Rebma trip; I told her I would be there in an hour or so. I contacted Dar Brennin and hung two Teleports and the newly-crafted Dual-User Probe With Surge Protectors.

We Trumped to the Castle. While walking to the conservatory I glanced out a window into the courtyard and stopped dead. Dworkin was sitting on a bench smoking ha huge pipe and blowing smoke statues. I pointed to him, said I was Teleporting down and Derek and David were glad to join me. We had a confusing conversation with Great Grandfather. In the course of it we found that he could not perceive David at all and did not believe our assurances of his existance. Nor could David affect Dworkin--an Immovable Object. Dworkin left when Derek brought up the Logrus to make some point.

So now either my perceptions are superior to Dworkin's in this case--dubious at best--or David is a hallucination. Joy. In the conservatory at last, with Rene, Tyndel and Alix. Rene introduced us to Bob the Raven, who could talk. Rene seemed to expect us to be impressed by a talking bird. Rene is young.

Alix asked about the Corridor of Mirrors and told us about her strange dreams--or experiences, none of which made any sense to me.

We told of meeting Dworkin and David told all there about his Pattern-proof nature. Rene examined Dave via Pattern and then Trumped him, then gave copies of David-Trumps to David and Tyndell. Rene explained that there were Pattern Trumps, Logrus Trumps and neutral Trumps--like his.

Tyndell reported seeing B&W Brand in the Castle. Rene said he talked to BWB and took no harm. BWB acted concerned for Rene's welfare, wanted him gone before Amber was destroyed. BWB seemed to Shift around Amber, fade through walls, avoided Tyndall and Caine.

Rene suggested BWB was a Trumped projection, said he had experimented along those lines. He wanted to visit the Abyss. I demured, noting that Dworkin had hinted that the Trumpkiller's power was Abyss-based; why tempt him on his home ground?

We did go to Rene's Purple People to get the Grove blood sample run up. Tyndell recognized the undistinguished female as one of the Castle cooks. Upon checking with the kitchen staff back in Amber, we learned that she had been called away to attend a funeral.She had been recommended by Fiona. We checked her dorm room and then her apartment in town...

SESSION NINE

Interesting: the missing cook Della seems to have been a member of a demon worshipping cult. None of the Princes had seen fit to mention the cult to the rest of us. Della, found dead on the floor of her flat, had three Trumps. Two standard Dworkin-deckers, of Caine and I, and one of a gray statue in a wasteland, with the infamous divided diamond symbol on the back. Della had been disembowled by something with claws. I Trumped Benedict, the senior justiciar, once we (Alix, Rene, Tyndall, David, Derek and I) had thoroughly searched the place. Benedict came and let drop the cult info.

We split up to pursue our various tasks. Alix and I decided to try the statue Trump. Rene argued against it as too dangerous; Rene hates to be left out of anything.

Alix and I walked to my mansion, talking. She mentioned that she had seen Random accost Flora and say "You'll never betray me again, you treacherous bitch!" I couldn't tell if she was pleased or not. Then a crossbow bolt from a second story window on the right hit me in the right shoulder. I was lucky: it went through the muscle and missed bone, arteries and nerve trunks, so I was able to employ the Fireclaw spell to foul the archer's next shot by throwing him, burning, into the street. Two swordsmen and a quarterstaff fighter appeared and went after me, two swordsmen and a sorcerer attacked Alix and the crossbow-woman crawled around trying to shoot us with a damned thing was an autoloader. We killed a couple, two ran away, the staff man was killed by the archer, whom we captured. Alix uses throwing darts and poisons.I Trumped Benedict, who sent his man Joff. Ben wanted the Trumps. Back at the Castle, Ben agreed to observe while Alix and I used the odd Trump, that evening. Dr. Detain worked on my shoulder.

Robin invited me to the Cat's Paw for a performance that evening, which I promised to attempt to attend. Rene Trumped me during lunch, said he and David were off to Kelan (the shadow of the academic purple technodwarfs) and gave me a Trump of himself.

Then another Trump interruption, no vision, just a 'masked' psychic presence and a voice gloating over my coming painful death. Same to you, chickenshit bastard. I thought that Dead Man was trying to give a vague impression of being Brand, but it might have been my imagination.

The Trump experiment was not very productive. Benedict and Caine watched as the Statue asked us "Who Are You? What Do You Want?" Conversation, said I. "It Is Forbidden To Those Who Are Not Chosen." I did get a psychic fix on the place, but I wasn't even sure it had an atmosphere or usable magic.

I wanted to ask Fiona about my idea for individual shields against Trump Assassination but she was not accepting calls.I made arrangements with Llewella for a visit.

Dave and I had an hour free so we did the Probe sequence on him, with discouraging results. He does not have a power that resists or deflects Pattern, he simply is transparent to it all the time. Not entirely useless, to him, but a complete zero for me.

SESSION TEN

Tyndall and Derek didn't show up so we left without them. Llewella Trumped Rene, Alix, David and me through to her in Rebma. I was the only one really dressed for it: Rebman trunks, harness (with combat knives, Dworkin flashlight, blasting wand, Trumps) and ornaments. David had some trouble with breathing underwater, or at least with believing that it would work, but Rene did not. Nobody takes it calmly; new to Amber or not, Rene had been there before. Llewella summoned Durallyn, the Captain of the Guard to aid us. Rene displayed the image of the unknown Rebman on his computer (which I take to be some sort of Trump-powered, shape-changing omni-gadget). Llew thought he looked familiar, Durallyn did not. We told them about the demon worshippers and the attack on me and Alix. They said that the Rebman demon cultists ("shonteen") were wiped out 700 years previously. Llewella was not surprised they were active again, though Benedict had devastated their Golden Circle stronghold of Ghenesh--NUKED it. Damn. Oberon must have done some major workings to get nuclear weapons to work close to Amber. Unless it was possible to do it--fast fission or fusion--with magic.

An embarassment: a lover of Queen Moire was revealed to be a cultist and executed some time ago. Their powers derived from four Shadow sources, possibly corresponding to Ghenesh, Kashfa, X and Y. Their quartered diamond symbol represented either, or both quartets. We discussed the possibility that Brand really was behind the Trump attacks.

A palace servant--Mara--informed Llewella of a summons by the Queen. Llew left, Alix followed. Mara arranged for more munchies and drinks. Conversation faltered, time dragged. I did knife-fighting exercises. Behind me, Rene made gurgling noises. I spun and saw that a two meter electric eel was biting cousin Rene on the back of the neck, causing bleeding and convulsions. I swam over, surrounding myself with a protective spell, grabbed it a foot back from the neck and cut about half way through its body. Rene 's computer made a confused series of noises and settled on a loud claxon. Dave grabbed the wiggling eel and was shocked. I grabbed it again and froze it mentally. Guards rushed in; I left the beast to them and saw to Rene , who was bleeding heavily (though not in arterial spurts). I had never considered the problems of underwater first aid but had a healing spell ready hung (since being wounded the previous day) and used it on Rene. Such spells are sufficient to seal wounds and super-charge the family regenerative abilites for an hour or two.

Rene recovered his cool quickly while I quizzed the guards about the eel. They identified it as a 'sur-snake', a creature of the wilds and not venomous. Rene , VERY angry, mind probed the beast and secured two images (as he told us later): our window and the back of Llewella's neck. He sent a guard to check on the Queen's safety.

Llewella returned, was told what had happened and immediately went to R n , touched him and apparently blocked the pain. Rene had Llewella probe the sur-snake before it died. She was dismayed that Rene had been injured in an attack aimed at her. She asked after the King, avoiding the use of Random's name. This led to a discussion of Fiona's enchantments on the Jewel of Judgement. I suggested something might be done with the shadow Jewel in Rebma.

A guard entered and relayed a summons from Moire. We met her in a chamber near the throne room. I gave her my best bow (I've always rather fancied Moire) but she shook a scroll at us and let her anger show. "What the hell is Random doing?"

We claimed ignorance.

The scroll had informed Moire that she was to be Random's consort. She said that half her anger was for Vialle and gave us a message for Random. "He is welcome to the throne of Rebma if he brings the arms to back his desires."

Alix examined the scroll and tried to defend Random. I said that I had thought him quite content with Vialle. We were dismissed but given her welcome to return.

Rene Trumped us to a salle vert in Castle Amber. We sent a servant with an urgent request for an audience with the King. We walked to the royal apartments hoping for immediate access; I used a little sorcery to dry us off. Success. We were admitted, Random and Vialle were dining. Random asked if Moire had received his message. This one?--Alix held out the scroll. Yes. (Vialle seemed to me to be quietly disturbed.) I quoted Moire's reply.

"Well," said my King, "We'll have to see."

Then he asked after Llewella's health and mental lightning struck me with a huge booming OH SHIT. Random sent the sur-snake. Why? I examined him carefully without, I hope, showing a thing. He was perhaps a bit more animated or manic than usual, inviting us to dine with him (we all accepted; I automatically) with THE JEWEL OF JUDGEMENT FLOATING OVER HIS LEFT SHOULDER IN FIONA'S MAGICAL CONSTRUCT. My head hurt. I barely registered the dinner conversation, replying on autopilot. Shit shit shit shit shit. OK. Worst Case Scenario: Dad and Fiona were still after the Throne. One of them worked out the Trumpbuster technique. Carol was killed to, 1) make Random look bad, 2) throw suspicion off Dad, 3) give him an excuse to go into hiding, and 4) let Fi get her hands on the Jewel. Dad and Carol weren't getting along anyway. Random took the bait, the Jewel was layered with spells, some of them Compulsions for the King. Flora suspected Dad and Fi. Dad set me to watch Flo and her kids. Random was turned against Flo. Random alienates our oldest ally and ties up Benedict in Rebma, humiliating the very popular Vialle in the process.

Not Quite So Bad Variant One: someone else is the Trump Assassin. Dad and Fiona 'merely' took advantage of the situation, fixing the Jewel and Random. It was possible that Fiona had missed maintenance on the Jewel construct (she had been gone for a couple of days, I thought) and Random was deranged as a result. Or, I supposed, that this was the real Random, back after a temporary period of uncharacteristic marital bliss.

On reflection, I was putting my money on Variant One. The Worst Case required Dad to be a heartless scumbag, something I thought I would have noticed in the last century. Now what? Trick Random into walking the Pattern? Would that be effective against Jewel based enchantments? The compellings would surely include an aversion to the Pattern if it was effective. How heavily armored is Auntie's Jewel construct? I could just blast it. Backed by DB I could put out a lot of power...which the Jewel would interpret as an attack on Random. Ouch. Besides...how tough was the Jewel itself? It was OLD, but immeasurably valuable. Chances were nobody had ever dared to bang it on a rock or hit it with a thunderbolt. Shit shit shit.

When I started listening again, David was telling of being attacked on Earth by a sword-wielding woman calling herself the "daughter of the King". He escaped by luck. Hm. A child of Eric? Where was Eric's stronghold? His Weir servants, were they from Weirmonken, which had attacked Amber in the dim and misty past?

Alix and I Trumped Benedict and joined him in the armoury. We showed him the scroll, told of Moire's reply and the King's demeanor, tiptoeing around the possibility of dementia or Compulsion.

I spent some hours at my mansion Probing the Jewel Shield with Dar Brennin's help. It was not a fake. It worked by reinforcing local reality, an effect we managed to duplicate both as a tool for DB and a spell. Not as effective as the Jewel shield, of course, but sufficient to allow me some mobility.

I picked up David and Rene for our trip to the Cat's Paw for Robin's performance. Robin is truly a great musician and singer. Always wonderful, he was unusually good that night. He was talking with us after his set when the city guards appeared in force and closed the place. King's orders. Robin was steaming.

I went to my mansion and hung spells, including two of the new Personal Reality Shields, then collapsed into bed.

SESSION ELEVEN

Derek woke me up via Trump, wanting to know what had happened after we investigated Della's apartment. He had a gap in his memory that he blamed on captain Chuft. Chuft had teleported him twice and abducted him. How embarrassing. I think he was worried that Chuft might have sorcerously compelled him to do things and them forget them. He was staying at Dara's tower.

I arose at dawn and Trumped uncle Benedict to invite him to breakfast. He had eaten earlier but agreed to come by in half an hour to talk. I cleaned up while the staff, who were galvanized into frantic efforts --Benedict! -- arranged the breakfast room and consulted the files on my relatives' tastes. Benedict arrived and we sat down to tea on the front lawn, catching the excellent view of morning over the City below us. I began with telling of my apparently successful spell versus Trump assassination. I didn't know, I said, how many others had personal power sources at their disposal but we should be able to find more if necessary. He seemed interested. I tried to tiptoe around my suspicions concerning Bleys and Fiona and Random but he didn't cooperate. I had to say directly that the situation was Awfully Convenient for Dad. That I felt Random was being influenced by the orb surrounding the Jewel. He thought the marriage ultimatum could be a legitimate State decision; I disagreed. I refused, I said, to believe that Dad had murdered Carroll. I thought he had taken advantage of events from there on. Benedict suggested that Carroll might not have been Bleys' son, according to a rumor then circulating. Not to my knowledge. Dad had certainly been convincingly grief-stricken at Carroll's death. Benedict then received a Trump call and had to go: some non-Family, non-Trump murder. He asked me to attend to his horse, and left via the contact.

I ate a huge breakfast, thinking. Even if Carroll was not my brother, I had emotionally adopted him. I did not want to believe that Bleys could be such a scumbag. After, I rode Benedict's horse (NOT Glendemming, just the best of the Castle corrida) to the Castle and went to the library. The Weir and Weirmonken: they had joined the Chaos side during the war and departed with them. Deirdre destroyed or merged (?) their shadow. The only other known place of Eric's was a seaside city he used for R and R.

I looked for David and found instead Rene, Tyndall and a sleeping Alix in the east breakfast room. Rene lent me a Trump of David, who accepted the contact and came through to me. I explained, privately, my notion that his female attacker on the Shadow Earth might be a daughter of Eric's. He decided to have a picture, or better a Trump, made of her and asked Rene if he could make one using his -David's- memorized image. Rene thought it should work with some extra effort. Derek found us, followed by a servant with his breakfast on a cart.

Bob the raven squawked and jumped. We all looked at him, Rene asked "What?""Don't you feel that?" Bob shouted. Then we did feel something, and rushed to the window that looked towards the mountains. A rift, Trump Destruction style, was approaching us from Eagle's Peak; Random was on a parapet, glowing bright red, and thunderheads were gathering FAST. I cast a Probe spell and Derek unleashed Logrus tentacles towards Eagle's Peak. B&W Brand was there, slowly rending a Trump. I was instantly enraged. I glanced at the clouds: probably enough time. I activated a general protective armoring spell, then looked round at my cousins. "Let's get him!" I said, pointing at the peak, "I'll teleport us there if you cooperate!"

Part of this was lost to Random BOOMING out, "NOT THIS TIME YOU SON OF A BITCH! I'VE GOT IT FIGURED OUT!" They could probably hear him in Rebma.

"I'm trying to teleport right behind him," I yelled, "Grab on if you're going!" I drew my sword and used the spell and they latched onto me just as Derek's Logrus tentacle was shredded, knocking him back several yards. Then we were THERE but he knew it and threw all of us off the mountain with a wave of force. I had a glimpse of Dad's face behind BW Brand's as I fell -what was HE doing here? Then the side of the mountain was coming up and I drove my enchanted blade into it with both hands, like a giant piton. It pierced the rock about two feet and held, and so did my grip; I stopped, wrenching my left shoulder and banging hard into the rock. A HUGE lightning strike hit BW Brand's position, so focused that nothing found my little lightning rod sticking out of the mountain. The peak shook and I felt some of the current through the rock.

Random's voice BOOMED again, "YOU BASTARD BLEYS YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH TREASON THIS TIME!" Oh shit. What had Dad done?

Derek looked over the edge of the cliff at me. Ah, rescue."Give me a lift?"

He scowled at me. "Alright." He snagged me by the ankles with a Logrus tentacle and hauled me up. What was this about? Not a good time to argue, though. I was nearly safe when Rene popped in via Pattern translocation and the interference almost made Derek drop me. How did Rene walk the Pattern in a couple of minutes?

Dworkin? Peering down, I saw my sword was twenty feet down the cliff.

Rene, searching the area, said "Well look at that," and climbed down to pick up a sword -- Dad's sword.

I was about to dispute possession of the blade when Random BOOMED, "DOLON, IS THAT YOU? GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE NOW!"

Wonderful.

SESSION TWELVE

--EAGLE'S PEAK, AMBER

Derek pulled David, Alix and Tyndall up to the ledge; Alix had looked at the lightning flash and was temporarily blinded. Tyndall and Derek agreed to accompany me to the King. Random was suspicious of our presence on Eagle's Peak. I explained we were trying to kill the Trump Assassin, or at least distract him. Not helping Bleys aid Brand? He said that Dad had deliberately taken the lightning for Brand. Really.

Questions followed which led me to tell him my suspicions considering the orb around the Jewel, his behaviour, Bleys and Fiona. (Derek and Tyndall moved away from me; wise.) I tried to put the most harmless face on things: the orb was a prototype and

Fiona not infallible. Random was angry but controlled. The orb could NOT interfere with him. He was fully his own master. B&W Brand WAS the real Brand. I should have told him first, not Benedict. He appreciated my candor --mild sarcasm. There was to be a family meeting that night and he trusted that we would all BE THERE. Dismissal.

Tyndall and I joined Derek in Trumping to Dara. Courtesy and flirting with my most attractive cousin and Chaos Ambassador. Odd STRONG drinks in black twisty bottles. Discussion: Dara had not witnessed the confrontation, being busy taking precautions. Derek gave her the basic story. He had tried to hit BWB with a Logrus attack and been stunned. (Ah, so that was how he got left behind.) Dara prescribed another drink for him. I opined that BWB was NOT Brand, that everyone agreed that it was impossible to escape the Abyss. Let alone managing it pierced with arrows and accompanied by an angry Deirdre. Dara said Swayvill, King of Chaos, would know most of the Abyss; or the Serpent. Derek asked Dara about arranging an audience with Swayvill. Why? If Amber were destroyed Chaos would be damaged as well. She replied that some would prefer that, if only BWB stopped there. No chance of that, said I, if we are gone then Chaos is the only game in town and there he would be with such a wonderful assassination technique. A hit; Dara looked concerned for the first time.

A huge red hawk arrived at Dara's window and commanded all of the Blood to a family meeting. Tyndall Trumped out. Alix ((OOC -where did she come from?)) was staring at a bookcase; Dara asked what she was doing. Getting rid of a spy --an intelligent raven-- unless it's yours. No; I have no need of spies here. I will look into it --I owe you a favor. Until tonight, then.

Derek and I went to Bloody Somebody's --workmen were changing the sign-- for more booze and maybe a fight. We were both in a mood

to bloody our knuckles. A big charred hole was being repaired inside. Lightning bolt? Spontaneous Combustion? A well-trained salamandros? I ordered two bottles of their best from Alphonse, the new owner. Not bad. Derek eyed four tradesmen who seemed to be sniggering about us. He jumped up and yelled "I heard that!" I scooted my chair around and fingered a dagger. I was more cautious since the assassination attempt.

One of the four panicked and pointed a small, loaded crossbow at Derek. I put the dagger in his left eye and stood. The dying guy flailed into the SECOND crossbowman and knocked him down. The one with the good quality rapier looked disgusted, pushed the fourth man in front of me and dodged around us towards the door. I kicked number four HARD and felt his pelvis break. Derek was doing Logrus things at the smart guy. I hopped around the enemy table and kicked the last man lightly in the head.

Derek was dangling Smart Guy from invisible tentacles and preventing him from using a Trump. An Amber Trump of an inn somewhere. Derek questioned him. Smart Guy admitted that they were paid to make trouble for Derek. Derek started to probe for more information. I suggested I work up a spell to keep the man's mind intact. Derek probed harder and the man screamed.

"Begging your pardon sirs. I appreciate your custom and all but could you torture your prisoner elsewhere?" asked Alphonse very respectfully. Waitresses were cowering in the corners.

Derek and I looked at each other and nodded.

"Sure. Go ahead and summon the Guard. Remember that they pulled weapons first."

"Yessir, whatever you say sir."

Derek Logrused us (practice enabled me to react hardly at all to the wave of nausea) to a glade I showed him not too far off in Shadow. We discussed what to do with the prisoner, who really wanted to help but was mind-blocked. I hooked into Dar Brennin and modified a Psychic Defense spell into a Mental Integrity effect. Edward (Smart Guy) figured he was dead and asked us to tell his girlfriend, a waitress at the inn in the Trump, good- bye.The spell worked fine. Derek added power for the Mental Integrity part while I did the questions. As it turned out, Edward was a semi-regular agent of Benedict. Oh shit. So we left Edward intact and Derek accompanied him to the inn.

I Trujmped back to the Castle and was soon Trumped by Llewella, who asked me to convey her regrets to the King. She was otherwise engaged, religious matters of some sort. I mentioned that I was far from Royal favor and she offered me sanctuary in Rebma. I said that if I ran, I'd run a lot further than that. She assured me that I'd be safe there. I thanked her for the offer. I wondered just what Moire and Llewella had in reaerve to make them so confident.

I told Benedict that I had spoken to Random of our conversation. I couldn't find Rene the sword snatcher anywhere. Trumping Psyche-boy to apply pressure seemed like a poor idea. Then he Trumped me --I resisted until I found Gerard to monitor me-- and refused to give up the sword. He felt better giving it to the King for safekeeping.

THE FAMILY MEETING

Absent were Brand, Bleys, Fiona, Llewella, Corwin, Dworkin (as himself; I wouldn't bet he was not there), Tashara, Merlin, Martin, Ikoma and Alix(!). Random, resplendant in uncharacteristic finery, gave a speech. Blah, blah, blah. He damanded we swear to a new oath: Swear our lives and our honor to protect Amber and its Unicorn-chosen King against any and all enemies, within and without.

Dara rose and affirmed her loyalty to the Courts.

All others present swore, including hypocritical me, save one. After all, thought I, Random-now was not quite the same Random chosen by the Unicorn. And I was not about to be the only one who didn't geek. Benedict, Caine and Julian looked grim. Flora was visibly frightened. Derek was the only holdout; he wanted to swear a different oath and was refused. Rendell's hound got banned from the Castle.

Rene presented Dad's sword to Random as a gift, claiming he could not determine who its owner might be. Who did he ask, a scullery maid? What a ridiculous lie.

The doors opened and a shimmering BLACK AND WHITE DEIRDRE walk up to the dais, knelt and said "AMBER MUST BE SAVED" and vanished. I was too surprised to use a Probe spell.

Random spoke some more, blah blah blah. Dismissed. He went off with Vialle, Benedict, Caine and Julian. Julian soon returned, PALE, to Rendell. "We must ot Arden; bring Rosha with you." They left.

Alix wandered in. She hadn't been informed of the gathering and had been asleep. Un oh.

I confronted Rene and accused him of stealing the sword to give to the king. He maintained his idiotic lies. He couldn't determine its owner. (The thing is famous. The laws of inheritance are clear. Any of his aunts or uncles, most of his cousins and half the staff could have told him.) He didn't know the protocol for entrusting it to the king. (He didn't ask anyone.) I, or Bleys, could take it up with the king. I said that Bleys would see it as theft. Rene said some cloaked man he thought had been Bleys had not thought so. I replied that if Bleys had wanted it from Rene he would have it. Rene thought not. (Was he on drugs?) I looked at Rene with amazement, then contempt. "Good luck."

After I cooled down I thought of another possibility. The sword had more compulsions on it, or was made to interact with the orb. Rene was following Fiona's orders. Shit. Tell Random? Ha. The others were useless as well. What did duty require of me? Perhaps I could steal it and dump it in the deep ocean cloaked with illusions.

I had another inspiration. Brand was a Blood Curse given form. What else could Brand do as he fell into the Abyss? He would hardly hold back his curse from us. The curse could have combined with some emanation of the Abyss. And Deirdre might be a manifestation of a blessing, such as Oberon bestowed before dying. How did one fight a living curse? I would have to be at least partially a Pattern effect. Perhaps David could kill/disperse it.

Spy ravens? Bob was Fiona's raven. Ravens die.

--DOLON HOUSE, AMBER CITY

I finished crafting and hanging the Steal Dad's Sword And Hide It Under The Ocean spell (triply stealthed and trace-erased, an eight part monster) and returned to the Castle. Tyndall had no Family-weight wrist rockets, which had been my preferred solution to the Spy Crow problem. Or my delusion of a problem. She suggested a blowgun but I decided it would be more effecient to adjust one of my blasting wands to lower power crow-killing range.

I offered to give Tyndall a hand with anything she had going on. She took me up on it and had me teleport us to Dara's tower. We were ushered in and met Derek in the waiting room. Tyndall gave him a note from Benedict. Derek read it and it flashed into dust. He said that Dara had agreed to arrange a meeting for him with some of the great minds of the Courts. Presumably, I thought, to ask about the Abyss and B&W Brand-like entities.

Back in the Castle, I adjusted my wand in my rooms, then went looking for Caine. A servant said he was in the and I was nearly there when I came across a hall that hadn't been there before and was architecturally impossible: the infamous Hall of Mirrors, of course. I entered.

The first interesting mirror view was of me wearing the Crown of Amber --minus the diamonds that Random had recently added. Truly frightening. I did not look happy.

... me in an Argannelan forest.

... Bleys mirroring my movements and expressions.

... Argannel again: Mom sitting in an oak, a feeling of dread

...Mom ripped in half like Carol. Pause a moment to regain my composure.

... a young man with reddish hair wearing light gray, holding the hand of a small red- haired girl. "See, Branwen, it's your uncle Dolon. Wave hello." She smiled and waved at me, saying "See you soon! Say 'hi' to Mommy." They walked out of view. WHO THE HELL WERE THEY?

... weird perspective of Derek running through a jungle with a large cat chasing him by leaping from branch to branch. He went out of sight as the cat pounced. Yelling, screaming. Why hadn't Derek shapeshifted to run and fight?

... a dim theatre, looking out from the stage. An audience of one: Dworkin. No one else on stage. OK, best to keep the old guy amused. I started tap dancing --an old Fred Astaire bit from Daddy Long Legs. Dworkin applauded and shouted "Bravo!"

... black, total darkness. Threats from Old Trumpy again. I tauntedthe gutless weasel with insults, whipped out Dworkin's flashlight and caught a glimpse of red hair and a thin body before they slipped a hood over his or her face. Another insult as I slipped out of direct view and waited with drawn blades. I regretted adjusting the wand. I might have been able to blast a hole in Weasel Red. Damn. Nothing happened, of course, the twink bastard.

... a garden room, shaded seats, DAD heavily bandaged. Evidently the lightning bolt did some damage. He said that he was imprisoned and constrained in what he sould tell me directly. TWO were out to kill me. Things were not what they seemed. Watch my back. My newest cousin (David?) could cause a disaster by acting too soon. Then he seemed to fear detection and faded out. Damn.

Either he was lying or I was wrong about Everything. Some things I wanted to be wrong about, but...

... a few more steps and I was somehow in the library.

I chatted with Caine for a few moments, discussing my ideas about Random, the orb, etc. He seemed to be pleased with events and was perusing a lawbook concerning regencies and the like.

I contacted Dar Brennin and Mom from an empty sitting room. Both were fine. She was interested in the Trump Kill effect and the defensive spell.

Alarms. I jogged around looking for the cause. Caine grabbed me and asked after Derek. Derek had killed two guards outside his room, he said, torn to pieces, and left traces of Logrus use. I said it wasn't his style; he usually just made a psychic attack via Logrus tendril. Caine wanted Derek to contact him. I went to look at the bodies.Benedict Trumped me along the way: where is Derek. At Dara's, last I knew, said I.

Derek Trumped me from Tyndall's room: come through. I stepped through into someone's blood, Tyndall was carrying a very bloody Chuft, Rene was carrying David's unconscious lady nemesis.

"Caine and Benedict want to talk to you."

"I know."

"I take it you didn't kill the two guards. I haven't killed anyone today."

Tyndall spoke up, "I think she did it." indicating Chuft.

"Let's GO!" from Rene with a Trump nimbus forming. Right, Rene the Thief.

"I'd rather not. Call me later." I activated my elfboots' Trackless function and Trumped to the Great Hall. Benedict was there; I nodded at him and proceeded to Derek's rooms.I examined the bodies then cast a Probe and scanned a widening spiral area for anything unusual. An old Pattern-based enchantment went off in the gardens. I teleported there and caught sight of Caine teleporting out. Untraceably. He waved to me as he left.

Still hoping to recover Hyslyndar, I scanned the King's suite carefully. His defenses--those I could detect--were far better than I liked.

Benedict deigned to answer a couple of questions. He said he knew nothing of Deirdre-ghost's treachery. Dworkin was involved somehow in our current problems, and was acting on some old prejudices. He told me he wanted to talk to Derek, Tyndall and Caine.

I went looking for David. No one answered at his room or Tyndall's room and Rene was alone in his--almost. I used a Probe and found a raven spying. It fled. We exchanged ignorance for a while, then I received a Trump call. I accepted it cautiously, ready to activate a mindblock ring with a flick of a finger. It was Dara, seeking information; I excused myself to Rene and she pulled me through to her tower. She was mainly interested in Derek's whereabouts. I told her most of what I knew of the farce the night before, which was unsatisfying for both of us.

I dropped by my place for a virgin Tarot deck (Trump-sized as usual in Amber) and some card stock. I made Tarots of David, Vialle, Dara, Chuft and Moire, line sketches in ink mixed with my blood. I marked all the other Tarots and my Trumps with blood as well. I didn't know that the blood would help, but it might, and it couldn't hurt.

Rene Trumped me while I was about to start the spread with my mixed deck. He wanted to know where everyone was. I told him about Caine teleporting away, smirking, with Chuft over his shoulder. I went through to his room, which was now a mess: blood splatters all over, broken furniture, torn curtains. Rene said it happened while he was out. He tried to Trump Caine, no luck, then went out looking for him.

I did the Tarot spread on Rene's desk, asking about Caine, who at least acted like he knew what was really happening. The usual three spreads told me that:

- the outcome was disaster,

- he was persued by Random (reversed)

- his inspiration was David

- he was manipulated by Fiona, Brand and/or Eric (reversed)--three different answers

- the pivot of his fate was Martin (reversed)

Interesting.

Disaster: well, no wonder. Caine was so smug he just begged for trouble.

Random (reversed) persuant: Random was 'reversed' and--on to Caine?

David: he had told us that Caine had some secret use for him.

Manipulators: Fiona--where was she? Dad said to trust her, if that really was Dad...

Brand: no surprise there, he was forcing all of us to react.

Eric (reversed)--VERY odd. Eric: he was reliably dead, dead clutching the Jewel of Judgement... oh shit. OH SHIT.Was Eric the glitch in the Jewel? Eric had, as Regent, attempted to marry Queen Moire. On the other hand, Julian and Caine had been his supporters, and Bad Random was on the outs with both of them. But would existing as a ghost in the Jewel be condusive to sanity? Hm, Random had a hard time dealing with David--a 'Jewel ghost' might have trouble dealing with a Pattern void, just as Dworkin did. Inconclusive.

Martin (reversed): alright, if he was important, we'd better find him. I didn't like the 'reversed' bit, though.

Rene returned: still no Caine. He summoned Hendrix and had him open David's room--torn up--then Tyndall's--still bloodied from the night before. Even Rene couldn't get through to them by Trump, and at least one of them should have contacted us by then.

On to other methods: I had Rene Trump us out into Shadow and fixed my mind on Tyndall--yes, then Derek--yes, and in the same 'direction'. I could ride to them. I Trumped to the Castle and rode down to my place for my horses, then Trumped back to Rene . He returned to Amber and I rode off on a line to Tyndall and Derek; he would contact me from time to time. I cloaked myself in a Reality Anchor spell, tapped Dar Brennin for speed and energy and tore through the worlds like Dad on his way to a hot date.