SIX
AZRIEL & CORINTHIAN: THE WALL
Azriel and Corinthian went through to Amberside and the Dreamtwister.
They arrived during Alva's shift. Azriel did a little business,
including warning Alva of the aging effect of passing the Wall. They
returned to Elsenoreside and saw that the armies at the Wall had mostly
decamped, leaving a skeleton force. They continued on and found that all
the entry barriers to Elsenore were up and reinforced. Neither Avril nor
Droom answered Trump calls. They had a guard pass word in and eventually
Azriel's father came to meet her. He informed them that Queen Beryl and
her Hendrake allies were attacking Castle Howard. Prue was in the
castle. There was no way through the defenses and the attackers.
Azriel Trumped her kinsman Drusus to ask for help against Beryl. He told
her that a larger conflict was in progress, with a rash of
assassinations in the Courts. Hendrakes, Helgrams and their allies were
dying daily. He was trying to get King Svahil to issue a decree against
it. Azriel volunteered to convince the King herself. Drusus pulled them
through to his Ways. Soleri Barumen was with Drusus. They briefed them
on just who had been killed, most notably Arvi Hendrake and Lys Helgram.
They picked up Uther and Mordred and went to the Senate chambers. The
Senators were noisy and agitated. Azriel, wearing shoes, jewelry and a
smile, tried to blame things on the Amberites. Drusus and Soleri did not
approve of that. Cyril Hendrake bantered with Azriel.
AMETHYST OREEN: ELSENORE
Amethyst, along with Querine Oreen and Queen Beryl's man Siegfried (and
hordes of soldiers and demons)were assaulting Castle Howard under Borel
Hendrake's overall command. Frontal assaults (the Hendrake favorite)
were not working fast enough. Amethyst found a way in through the bell
tower, yelled her battle cry Free Beer! to encourage troops to follow
her, and ran around killing people in the halls. She notices that there
was none of the nasty Pattern-stench around. It smelled homey. She filed
the info for later and killed some more. Later came when she killed Lord
Droom far to easily, and felt no Logrus about him. She didn't kill the
next foe right away, she mindraped him first. All of the important
people in the castle were doubles. The real ones had fled to the Ways of
Udrek in Chaos. She released the vegged foe and Trumped Borel to report.
Borel was enraged. He ordered a withdrawal. Amethyst rounded up some
troops, stripped the wine cellar and left.
VAERREK: AT THE WALL, AMBERSIDE
Prince Tristan informed Vaerrek that they would be making a ring of
powerless shadows just inside the Wall to discourage visitors. Vaerrek
tried to not let his contempt for such a chickenshit policy show. He
wondered if shadows with no Powers running through them would collapse
into nothing. Was Tristan bullshitting him? He left. Through the Wall
and back at Larcanways he was greeted with happy surprise. Everyone but
his grandmother Thjarand had thought he was dead when his Trumps went
warm, what with all the assassinations. He caught up on current events.
Next he conferred with Thjarand about the Dreamtwister, his attuning to
it and the spikard he was using. Thjarand examined it and told him that
she had once had one herself and had tossed it into the Abyss when she
came into more power and no longer felt the need for such a crutch. She
did know how to manipulate spikards to hold new powers. She prepped
Vaerrek's for Dreamtwister power. Meanwhile, a black rose arrived for
Vaerrek. This was challenge to a duel -- first blood -- from Querine
Oreen. It seemed she felt insulted by Vaerrek finking to Beryl about her
true gender. Vaerrek consulted with Agfurd, the Larcan Master at Arms.
Agfurd thought Vaerrek would lose.
AZRIEL: THE HEART OF CHAOS
Azriel was careful to be very polite to Cyril Hendrake. After a time she
was approached by Sindra, Svahil's heir. They walked through more
private ways and talked about minor things as Sindra evaluated her.
Azriel passed and got an appointment for just after the debates. She
also arranged to hang out with Sindra. Azriel rejoined Drusus and
Soleri. They were impressed. Drusus passed word to her that Avril was
with Monserrat and Manon in Avignon.
Azriel Trumped Avril and went through with Corinthian and Soleri-- who
promptly turned into Livilla. Prue was sloppily reunited with
Corinthian. Avril told Azriel and Livilla what she'd learned from
Keegan, who was firmly in the anti-Beryl camp once cured of Beryl's
Compellings. Azriel told them about Daljit's current condition, merged
with the Castravalva microshadow. Avril laughed. Corinthian hid his
annoyance. Livilla was concerned. Azriel pointed out that Daljit was
about to be Prue's mother-in-law, an ally, and what better way to be
one-up on her than to personally rescue her? Azriel enthused at Prue
about her wedding. Prue was clearly happy that she'd soon be a Queen and
Azriel would not.
The wedding went off without a hitch.
Livilla and Monserrat gave Azriel the background on the conspiracy.
Livea and Kali had wanted to punch a hole in the Wall in order to regain
influence in Elsenore. They set up the Dream twister -- An Brionneach --
to do so. Sejanus was against the whole thing. They used Corinthian for
a base in targeting through the Wall. Kali used the Sisterhood to run
the thing. Livilla was a little shocked to find out how well Azriel's
independent and unknowing efforts were in synch with her own. She urged
Azriel to convince the King to weaken Hendrake.
AMETHYST: HENDRAKEWAYS
Borel 'suggested' that Amethyst find out if the Mavens and their allies
really were in the Ways of Udrek. Amethyst let none of her reluctance
show and 'volunteered.' She consulted with the Oreen spymaster Mirolla.
She learned the location of an Udrek hangout ('bar' isn't quite right in
Chaos) and went there. She started a fight got thrown out and took off
with some minor Udrek retainers to buy them drinks to make up for her
behavior.
VAERREK: LARCANWAYS
Vaerrek went to see Feddrin Helgram and briefed him. He suggested that
Feddrin might be able to work out something that both Helgrams and
Larcans could draw upon for defense against the Dreamtwisters. Feddrin
had done so well with the nifty chair and now he had Vaerrek to examine
and the spikard with Dreamtwister power to use. Vaerrek gave the spikard
to Feddrin and Thjarand for that purpose. Feddrin informed Vae that he'd
traced their ancestry and found that Miron Udrek must be the one from
whom they had the Amberite taint. Vaerrek went to visit Lord Miron.
Miron denied having any Amberite blood but, upon examination, had to
accept the evidence. He wasn't happy about it. While there, Vaerrek
caught sight of Nicola Orlean, one of Avril's associates.
Vaerrek visited Tyr Helgram, their Master at Arms, and inquired about
Querine Oreen. Tyr agreed that she was a better fighter than Vaerrek.
She was also a superior mentalist. Vaerrek was probably a good deal
stronger, though. Also, Querine's normal form (reminiscent of an
"Aliens" alien) had no wings. Vaerrek, the challenged party, had choice
of weapons. He decided to fight with no weapons, naked, flying. He had
considerable pride in the resiliance of his natural armor and he was
normally winged, which might count for something.
AZRIEL: THE ROYAL WAYS
Livilla-Soleri escorted Azriel to her meeting with the King. They
discussed the more advanced uses of An Brionneach. Livilla said she'd
have Portia help Azriel. Sindra took Azriel to the inner sanctum. Azriel
made a light, overt mental contact, ostensibly for privacy's sake, and
learned that Sindra wanted both Hendrake and Helgram taken down a notch,
but that it was fine if Hendrake went first. The King looked like Brad
Pitt, having learned that she liked that form. Azriel commenced acting
upon her information regarding the King's favored things. Happy, happy
King. He seemed agreeable to her suggestions regarding the Hendrakes.
The King was gone in the morning. Azriel had breakfast with Sindra. The
two had a Girl's Day Out.
AMETHYST: CHAOS
Amethyst got the two Udrek demons really drunk, then 'helped them home'.
A guard helped her carry the drunks in. She killed him and skulked
about. She found no traces of Amberites or preparations to host anyone
shapeshifting-impaired. She talked her way out in Cute Girl Demon form,
shook the demon trailing her and returned to Oreenways.
VAERREK: CHAOS
The went to the Field of Honor, a cleared area adjoining the Abyss,
accompanied only by Golfdorn, Larcan's chief assassin. Nobody expected
him to win or even put up a good fight. Querine met them with her
second, who Golfdorn identified as Mirolla, the Oreen chief assassin.
Querine was rude. Vaerrek enraged her by asking why the obsession with
denying her gender. Querine started to select her weapon. Vaerrek nixed
the weapons and the armor.
"What do you expect us to do? Kiss each other to death?"
Vaerrek examined his three-inch claws. "If you want to call it that." He
leaped into the air and spiraled up. Querine grew wings and followed.
They maneuvered for position. She was better than Vaerrek in the air,
but perhaps not by quite so much as on the ground. Vaerrek deliberately
took a hit -- Querine's claws slid off his scales without biting -- and
grappled. Vaerrek left of flying for crushing. They hit the ground and
bounced into the Abyss. Between the pain of bones breaking and the fear
of falling into the Abyss, Querine's attempts at psychic attack went
nowhere. Vaerrek stabbed into joints in Querine's chitin and then broke
off, pushing her down as he flew up. He landed, nodded politely and
showed the seconds the blood burning on his claws. Querine landed
moments later. He bowed to her, deadpan. "Good bout." Golfdorn Trumped
them to Larcanways.
AZRIEL: AVIGNON
Azriel returned from her outing with a Trump of Sindra. She endured the
deep psychic examination patiently. No compulsions from the King, or
anyone else recently. Livilla asked Az who had attuned to An B. Azriel
told her, and suggested that Vaerrek had been a poor choice of targets.
He took it too personally. Livilla told her about the pyramid-scheme
effect built into An B. Newly attuned people lost a bit of power to
those who had helped them attune, and Livilla was at the apex of it all.
Azriel, Avril, and Livilla went to Castravalva. They had no problems
getting around there -- it was Livilla's shadow. Daljit was not
particularly happy to learn of Corinthian's marriage alliance. She was
less happy to learn that Kali was dead, accidentally finished off by
Corinthian's mistake. She wanted her armor and sword back too.
AMETHYST: OREENWAYS
Amethyst reported to Borel via Trump. He was a bit disgruntled and gave
her her next assignment. Querine had been publicly embarrassed by
Vaerrek Larcan in a duel. Vaerrek had told Beryl about Querine's gender,
Beryl was now more wary of them and Querine had challenged. Vaerrek knew
things that Beryl wanted to know. Amethyst was to become Vaerrek's
friend and bring him to Beryl. Yes, sir.
Amethyst conferred with Mirolla again. First, how did Vaerrek win? Next,
where was he? At the celebration in Larcanways. Mirolla sent her to his
colleague Sorla, the Hendrake master assassin. Sorla provided a fake
invitation. Amethyst worked up a fake persona as a minor Helgram, a shy,
out of the way, library-living sort. One of the cuter demonic forms.
(Unlike, say, Querine's.) The false invitation worked. Amethyst
circulated among the wimpy Larcan and Helgram penwipers. She located
Vaerrek, next to Golfdorn and approached. Vaerrek's eyes went glassy and
he clutched Golfdorn's arm. Trump contact?
VAERREK: LARCANWAYS
Grandmother had cleaned up, betting on him. The party was nice but he
was still on guard. He said nothing but bland, respectful things about
Querine. Someone Trumped him. He asked Golfdorn to monitor and knock him
out if necessary, and cautiously answered. Beryl. Being nice, or as nice
as she knew how to be. She wanted Vaerrek to take her to this new power
source. He'd already taken Avril's daughter. Vaerrek pretended regret.
Ordinarily he would, but with her Hendrake houseguests and all, it
wouldn't look right. The family would never approve. And the Hendrakes
were likely irritated with him at the moment. Not to be trusted, as she
was beginning to learn. She tried to persuade him, doubtless aware of
Golfdorn ready to intervene. She did learn how Trumps functioned within
the Wall. Hadn't Balthazar mentioned it? How odd. Anyway, it was
terribly difficult to operate Amberside. He'd like to remain neutral
between her and Avril but couldn't oblige her now. Maybe later. She
suggested he would when he could think for himself, and broke off before
he laughed. Beryl advocating freedom of choice for others.20
Amethyst introduced herself as Letitia and threw compliments his way.
Vaerrek, paranoid and jonesing for the spikard, wasn't in the mood.
AZRIEL: CASTRAVALVA
Daljit informed the three witches that some other family member would
have to take her place as Guardian of Castravalva. Azriel Trumped Kamron
and joined her at the Spikard Node. Kamron had been talking to D'Olby's
boss Azadore. She had also been given a spikard of her own. Azriel tried
to con her poor, witless cousin into taking Daljit's place and into
giving the spikard to her. Kamron eventually agreed but the spikard
attacked Azriel when she touched it.
AMETHYST: CHAOS
Having struck out at the party, Amethyst returned by roundabout ways to
Oreen and plotted. Unfortunately, Vaerrek had no discernable regular
habits outside of Larcanways. Worse, he was keeping a low profile while
the assassins were working overtime. Any normal entertainment or
exercise could be done in Larcanways. Eventually she resorted to
occasional Logrus-searches.
VAERREK: LARCANWAYS
Vaerrek needed diversion and to get physically away from the damned
spikard. He left via Logrus for the realms of Order, well away from any
of the Patterners' haunts known to him. He found a nice Venetianesque
shadow, closed to An B, Trump and Magic, where he could indulge in his
glass-sculpture hobby, drink, dance and screw. After a few days, while
working on a nude Azriel figurine, he felt a Logrus event nearby. He
shut down his shop and wrapped the best of the things he'd made. He
danced part of the night, trying to spot his pursuer, without luck. Then
he left.
AZRIEL: SPIKARD NODE
Kamron couldn't give the spikard to Azriel, and it was shielding her
mind. She convinced Kamron to trade spikards for Azriel's, then lightly
probed Kam's mind. There was another presence there, lurking. Alien. Not
D
Olby's. This was Dirys, a servant of Azadore. They spoke. Azadore was
missing, probably trapped somewhere. Also, due to the rash of broken
powerlines, they'd worked up some protections against such interference.
Kamron's spikard was protected because she'd agreed to help them.
Azriel said she wanted the same deal. Dirys agreed to let Kamron take
Daljit's place. Kamron left the spikard at the Node, accompanied Azriel
to the Wall and made the switch. And Dirys instantly knew all the
information that Castravalva had been constructed to gather.
Daljit was still very weak. She got her armor and weapon from Corinthian
in Avignon, then joined Livilla, Avril and Azriel to An B. Opal and Alva
met them and took them to the Church of the Unicorn. Daljit told them of
Balthazar's unexpected attack on her. Only her armor had saved her.
Livilla went out to check on things in Amber. They waited.
AMETHYST: VAERREK'S SHADOW LOCATION
Despite her best efforts, Vaerrek wasn't sleeping with anyone that
night. Vaerrek Logrused away after midnight. Cursing, Amy traced him
back to Larcanways. She checked in and learned that the Hendrakes had
withdrawn from Elsenore entirely. Beryl was staying at Borelways.
SEVEN
TIBERIUS: AMBER
Tiberius cleaned himself up for the coronation, then went looking for
Ving. He found him with Titus. He bandied words with Titus -- Titus
mentioned Tib's predilection for constantly discovering new, convenient
rituals -- claimed he'd forgotten why he came and left with Ving. Ving
had followed Fusia as instructed. She'd talked with Mammy Slagg, about
Fusia's thing for Steerspike, and about the Jewel of Judgement. Tibby
passed off the job of overseeing the gladiatorial games to Ving,
claiming that the rituals required it. They made plans for a mud
wrestling event and ordered a mud pit prepared. Tiberius finally
researched the actual coronation rituals. While studying, his monkey
servants finally drilled down to the Pattern chamber from the basement
of the Tower of Flint. Tib installed a fish-eye lens.
BALTHAZAR: AMBER
Balthazar arranged to be one of Titus' guards during the coronation.
Gordon approached him and asked about how one got through the Wall.
Balthazar claimed that it was extremely difficult, requiring Pattern
Mastery to get in and tremendous martial ability to survive the
interior. Gordon hadn't realized that Balthazar was so powerful. Gordon
asked after Piper. Balthazar admitted he'd failed in his efforts to
locate her in the dungeons of Elsenore. Gordon left in a daze. Balthazar
ran into Tiberius and Ving, claimed to be an expert mud wrestler and
recommended a fiftyish maid for the wrestling. Next he met with Titus,
finked out Gordy and let out that Ving was now running the gladiatorial
games, which would include mud wrestling.
BRANNON: SHADOW SKYE
Brannon returned to Elsenore after shaking the spikard-DTs. He learned
from a guard lieutenant that Beryl had driven Avril out of Elsenore in
retaliation for an assassination attempt. She'd got help from the
Courts, and the colors of House Oreen were flying beside her own. Beryl,
Helena and Siegfried were at home. Castle Howard was rubble. He went
there and dug in the picked-over rubble, piling up leavings and carting
them off to Skye. The only really interesting items were some paintings,
of Avignon, a nightmare landscape and various others.20
He Trumped Piper. She was happy to hear from him as his warm Trump had
worried her. She applauded his decision to detox from (rather than
embrace) a spikard. She invited him to go through to her for a private
conversation. He met Livilla and briefed her on what he'd learned of New
Amber. She hadn't known that Liam, Valentine and Keegan had attuned to
it, nor that it replaced rather than augmented Old Pattern abilities.
Brannon suggested they encourage the Amberites to kill each other off,
not that much encouragement seemed to be necessary. Livilla disagreed.
VAERREK: LARCANWAYS
House Larcan was pleased that House Helgram, the head of their alliance,
was stronger after recent events. King Svahill and House Sawall had
improved their positions as well. Vaerrek considered his options
regarding Beryl and acquired two imp slaves. He sent one to Elsenore
with an inquiry -- what information would she accept to make things
right between them and about the Dream Source. Vaerrek gave her the
information through the imps. Then he sought out Corinthian. He wanted
Corin to get him through the Wall so that he could contact Tristan and
warn him of Beryl's likely approach. Corin agreed. They went to the
Wall.
AZRIEL: AMBER
Azriel tired of waiting for Livilla to return and Trumped Gordon. Gordon
was amazed she'd got through the Wall. Gordon came through to her and
they exchanged stories after happy hugs. Azriel disabused Gordon vis a
vis the Wall and Balthazar's truthfulness. They left for the Wall and
Gordon's reunion with his mother Piper. They reached a zone where all
their powers were rapidly waning, retreated. Azriel Trumped Kamron and
went through to her. Kamron was disappointed that Gordon was not her
relief from her stint as the Guardian of Castravalva. They Trumped to
Piper and Azriel basked in their happy reunion. While mother and son
caught up on fifty years of life Azriel Trumped Livilla. Livilla told
her that her tryst with King Svahill had paid off very well indeed.
Perhaps she should make it a regular thing. Azriel agreed that it would
be useful. Next Azriel organized a family trip to Amberside, gathering
Corinthian, Prue, Piper, Gordon, Monserrat, Keegan, Avril and Valentine.
Brannon argued against it. Azriel reasoned that with Castle Howard gone
and Corinthian set to be king in Amber their interests had shifted.
Corinthian's parentage was news to Brannon.
VAERREK & CORINTHIAN: IN THE WALL
Their journey was blocked by a big, surly catman named McCavity.
McCavity claimed that the other catmen had taken the girl Miette; Corin
was angered. McCavity backed off and let them pass when they made it
clear they'd gang up on him. Corinthian made a hole to Amberside but
they were stuck. Tristan and Valery really had been able to make a
Powerless zone along the Wall. Vaerrek borrowed Corin's Trump of Tristan
and, after Corinthian hid himself at a safe distance, used it. Vaerrek
made his pitch, including the detail that Beryl was now allied with
House Hendrake, the most extreme anti-Amber faction in the Courts.
Hendrakes might even accompany her. Tristan wanted to come through.
Vaerrek agreed to do so after a short wait. Corin Trumped away and
Vaerrek Trumped Tristan and Valery through.
AMETHYST: CHAOS
Amethyst reported to Borel and complain a lot about Vaerrek's cowardice.
Borel reassigned her to befriending either Azriel or Brannon in order to
get more info on Amber. He suspected that Beryl was holding out on him.
Amy picked Brannon. She found him via Logrus search in Shadow Avignon
and began a program of perfumed cards, love poetry and the like. She
stalked him to the club where he played billiards most nights and began
a fairly obvious seduction. Brannon cooperated, enjoying the game.
TIBERIUS: AMBER
Part of the ritual involved him summoning the Unicorn. Would it work? He
scouted the procession route and marked where he would position
assassins, then placed his blue monkeys, armed with little crossbows, to
cover those places from hiding. Next he located Fusia (talking with Mama
Slagg) and invited her to go for a walk. He told her she had his full
support with Steerspike. Fusia said that Steerspike was interested in
the Jewel of Judgement. Tiberius gave her a song and dance about the
Jewel being cursed, having been the death of Livea and so on. Fusia
congratulated him on his new-found sense of responsibility. Next he
wrote a coherent, unsigned note to Winella, Agrippa's favorite maid, and
delivered it via polite blue monkey. While waiting for a reply he was
approached by Petra. She told him about The Sisterhood, Mother Eilett's
secret cabal. They discussed what to do if the Unicorn didn't come when
called. Tiberius was worried that Bad People might hinder It. Petra got
a Trump call and chased Tib off to take it. He lurked nearby as Livilla,
Azriel, Daljit and Avril came through. He listened, and when one
mentioned that Corinthian was the rightful heir he burst out laughing.
Loud.
BRANNON & AMETHYST: SHADOW AVIGNON
The seduction game came to fruition the following night at Avignon's
premier hotel. Neither wanted to be the first to fall asleep so they
pushed the limits of their sexual stamina. And pushed.
VAERREK: IN THE WALL
Tristan and Valery eventually separated off to do their own business.
Vaerrek encountered the catman Monkastrap and went off with him to see
their elder Old Deuteronomy. It seemed that Miette had been taken away
by Portia. Vaerrek had rather hoped that Portia would age to dust should
she enter the Wall. Portia and her sister Door had been honored guests
of the catmen back in the dim and misty.
AZRIEL & CORINTHIAN & TIBERIUS: AMBER
Daljit opened the door to investigate the laughter and found an acolyte
(Tib) tickling himself. Azriel and Petra identified him. Azriel and
Petra stripped him despite his protests. Tiberius gradually talked them
into supporting Titus -- easier, better to be a power behind the throne,
Corinthian less likely to die... He could cut them a deal. After all,
what choice did Titus really have with Daljit? Corin could claim to have
been compelled to kill Livea by Evil Beryl. They bought it. Azriel and
Tiberius went to meet with Titus.
AMETHYST & BRENNAN: SHADOW AVIGNON
Amethyst maintained that she was just after a good time. They eventually
fell asleep together.
TIBERIUS & AZRIEL: AMBER
Titus treated Azriel with great respect. They made their pitch. Titus
twitched at mention of Corinthian -- he probably knew of C's parentage
despite his claim of ignorance. Titus and Tiberius talked privately.
SECRET STUFF. They returned.
BRANNON & AMETHYST: AVIGNON
Brannon woke first and ordered room service. Amethyst had reverted to
her normal form in her sleep. Brannon told her the purple hair and eyes
were quite fetching.
VAERREK: IN THE WALL
Vaerrek and Monkastrap came to some odd ruins. Actually the buildings
were not broken, just missing parts. Monkastrap treated them as whole.
Vaerrek learned that the catmen did not see the ever-present mist that
he did. The Wall didn't exist for them either. Holes in the Wall, from
Vaerrek's perspective, were portals in the air from their's, with
shifting mist on the other side. More, space seemed to be non-Euclidean.
Vaerrek's head began to throb. Portia and Door, they told him, were
native to their region. Portia's visit had been the first in a very long
time. McCavity was an outlaw, known as the most evil of their race. As
an experiment, Vaerrek cautiously and slowly summoned the Logrus and it
rushed in with uncontrollable force, scaring the catmen half to death.
Vaerrek cut it off as fast as he could and promised to not do it again
in their presence. It finally dawned on Vaerrek that Inside the Wall
felt just like the Abyss, minus the turbulence.
AZRIEL: AMBER
Azriel privately (in a Cone of Silence spell) spilled the beans to Titus
about the Avril-Beryl war, Kamron the Guardian, Castravalva, spikards
and their side effects, the accidental death of Kali... She brokered a
deal for Corinthian (without his consent): he'd swear fealty and
publicly apologize for accidentally killing Livea. For herself she
wanted only 'things to be the way they used to'.
AMETHYST & BRANNON: AVIGNON
They had another date: a play, dancing, etc. They retired to Amy's rooms
in Avignon as Brannon's were bugged.
TIBERIUS: AMBER
Tiberius contacted Tristan and Valery and learned of their ambush for
Beryl. He passed along instructions, then reported to Titus.
Re-contacted the two in the Wall and passed over a psychic barrier ring.
Dug out the good one, the one he got off Livea, for himself. He
attempted to recruit the Owls for guard duty. They were amused.
AZRIEL: AMBER, GOLDEN CIRCLE
Azriel checked with her group then went to break the bad news to
Corinthian. She befuddled him with the hint of sex and got him to go
along with it. They Trumped to Amber in stages and the ceremony began.
Everyone but Tristan and Valery were there. Procession to the Grove of
the Unicorn. It came when called, nodded to Tiberius and knelt before
Corinthian. Titus handed him the crown. The family stood stunned except
for the wildly excited Prue. Valery spitted Daljit on his sword from
behind. Azriel ran to Daljit. Corin screamed for someone to stop Valery,
who backed away. The Unicorn stood by Corin. Titus tried to pull Azriel
away from Daljit. Tristan appeared to back Valery and Agrippa joined
them. Tiberius examined Daljit: her armor was healing itself but she had
turned to dead goo. He conjured a bucket to hold the goo. Corinthian was
ranting and raving but just barely controlled enough to not take on half
the family at once. Nobody listened to Corin's orders and the family
drifted away. Azriel went with Titus. Tiberius Trumped Titus then cut it
as soon as he felt Azriel's presence. Azriel told Titus she had no
loyalties in the matter but wanted to know what was going on. Titus said
that they had decided that having Corinthian as king for a time would do
no real harm but that Daljit had to go. Beryl, he continued, would not
be executed but rather imprisoned. He showed her a Trump of an all-white
place -- no one sent there had ever returned. As agreed secretly, Azriel
took Titus to the Dream Source supervised his attunement to it.20
BRANNON & AMETHYST: AVIGNON
Day Four of carnal indulgence. Amy Logrused out for food while Brannon
'found' a basket in the sitting room. Half an hour later their hotel was
besieged by an angry, frightened mob shouting Demon! Logrus! The
shadowwalked out. Brannon led them to a shadow featuring a fad for
purple hair, hang gliding and other entertainments. While Amethyst flew
and Brannon glided he tried Trumps until he found one that was cold --
Manon. Used it. No word yet from the expedition to Amber.
VAERREK: LARCANWAYS
Vaerrek returned home agitated. He quizzed Thjarand about catmen, a
woman named Door, etc. Then Feddrin. Then Miron, thought to be the
oldest person in Chaos aside from the Serpent Itself. Nobody knew
anything useful. Vaerrek expressed concern: the Wall seemed to be
weakening. What would happen to all Shadow should a ring of the Abyss
open up near Amber? Universal holocaust by shadowstorm?
AZRIEL: DREAM SOURCE
Azriel got Titus to let her out and visited Dirys-Kamron. Made her way
through the Wall with Mr.. Mephistopheles rubbing against her and exited
by a new portal. She briefed Manon in Avignon then went to the Node. She
met the fellow who had shadowed her there on her first visit -- Droom's
agent. He passed on Droom's pride in her ability to find favor with the
King. Later, D'Olby found her and granted her wish to be taken to the
Gateway in order to try to find Azador. The way there was extremely
uncomfortable. D'Olby had to summon beings to help her shapeshift
sufficiently to survive. D'Olby told Azriel that Azador had been
imprisoned since the Wall's creation. They reached a place where a
conduit of Node energy ran to Azador's prison; they could use it for
communication. Azriel found Azador's explanation incomprehensible.
Azador asked her if she'd seen any cats recently. Yes. They knew
something of how to free him. Would she be willing to guide two of his
associates there? Yes. The two were a short, foxlike man named Mr. Croup
and the huge, monstrous, wolfish Mr. Vandemar.
AMETHYST: SHADOW
Still flying, Amethyst received a Trump call and pulled the caller
through. A big, demonformed man shifted quickly to something rather
angelic. He introduced himself to Brannon -- as non-threateningly as
possible -- as Lord Borel of the House of Hendrake. He wanted some
information. Brannon, hang gliding, felt rather exposed. Borel wanted to
ascertain if Queen Beryl was telling them the truth about Amberside.
Brannon suggested they have an expert check them for Compellings. They
had. Brannon relayed what he knew of the political situation in Amber
and the Wall. Borel felt that Amber had an advantage because their
soldiers lasted a short time on the opposite side while those entering
Amber froze in the Wall. Brannon thought the Amberites would kill each
other off given time. Borel still wanted influence there. Was Brannon a
friend of Vaerrek? Yes. Brannon suggested Vaerrek could be bribed. He
might want someone killed, he did want a certain small power source
destroyed. Brannon couldn't say where Vaerrek might be found aside from
an aversion to people in red suits. Borel flew over to Amethyst, who'd
been trying to be inconspicuous. Yes, Amy had got a good psychic
impression of Vaerrek, the coward. She suggested Vaerrek had an aversion
to beautiful women.
EIGHT
TIBERIUS: AMBER
Tiberius set Ving to work on the entertainments, advising him to tone
down the mud wrestling. He asked him if Fuscia and Steerspike were
'doing the dirty', then had to explain, with pictures, what the dirty
was. Ving was upset. Next he studied his new Secret Object (possibly
something taken off Daljit's corpse) with an eye to duplicating it. He
wanted to arm his monkeys with more of the same. He visited the Temple
and helped Petra, the new chief of the Unicornian Church, improve on its
defenses. She was worried about King Corinthian and his backers. Petra
felt that Azriel was unstable and likely carrying on the old
Livea-Livilla-Kali plots. Corinthian's backers seemed to consist solely
of female former Exiles. Tibby tried to visit Corinthian but was turned
away when the guards could not confirm his identity via Trump. He
claimed he had to wear the ring to protect bystanders from his mighty
psychic emanations.
AMETHYST & BRANNON: IN SHADOW
Amethyst woke up first and briefed Mirolla via Trump. Weaknesses of
Avignon, lots of details about Brannon, this great champagne, etc.
Brannon woke up to breakfast and the stench of Chaos: Amy had Logrused
out for food. A messenger arrived for Brannon after breakfast, letting
him know that most of his relatives had left for Amber, leaving Avignon
nearly free of Family.
VAERREK: THE COURTS
Feddrin made inquiries to the Royals to get Vaerrek access to their
great library. He came up with an invitation to visit and speak with
Cyngra, the Royal Heir. Vaerrek spiffied himself up (polishing his
scales and fangs, getting his talons trimmed) and showed up at
Svahilways at the appointed time. Cyngra conducted a casual (for a
princess) meeting. She was looking for Azriel and thought Vaerrek might
know her whereabouts. Azriel had missed a date to go carousing. Vaerrek
suggested Azriel might be Amberside. He told her about the portals into
the wall and how Trumps worked Inside. He added a brief, unflattering
description of Amber and environs. He ended up telling her about the
spikard and that he had got rid of it. He figured the royal spies had
reported most of this information anyway. Cyngra allowed him to use the
library. He found five books on the earliest times that looked
worthwhile.
BRANNON & AMETHYST: IN SHADOW
Bran and Amy shanghaied a dozen soldiers off to the Wall. Amy made
herself approach the horrible thing which stank of a Pattern different
and worse than Brannon's. Brannon noticed that the thing had encroached
on a whole ring of shadows and that the 'permanent' portals were gone.
No weak spots were in evidence and attempts to make one failed. They
skirted the edges of the Wall, looking for an entrance, and found Beryl
-- three of her -- and Siegfried at a hole in the Wall. Brannon greeted
them amiably. Beryl showed signs of frustration. She was having trouble
getting around the stasis effect. Regarding the extra Beryls, she said
that after what Vaerrek told her she wasn't going in herself. Amy told
her to distrust anything 'that coward' said. Beryl commented that
Vaerrek wasn't afraid of her. Brannon moved them along. They ran into
Azriel next, with two friends. Introductions. Azriel said that her
companions worked for the controller of the spikards, D'Olby's boss.
She'd promised to get them into the Wall. She opened a hole and they
discovered that the Wall now had virtually no thickness at all. Past the
wall was the ring of shadows it had encroached upon, then the ring of
Powerless shadows. They went in. Amy froze. The big demonic and
Elsenorean armies inside were frozen and moving at half speed,
respectively. Azriel's companions, Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar, were
quite perturbed that things were not as they had been led to expect.
They wanted the cats. They were suspicious of Azriel's and Brannon's
surprise.
TIBERIUS: AMBER
Tiberius worked on traps, then went in search of the source of some kind
of emanations, accompanied by all his monkeys. Each time he passed
through a shadow Veil he felt the power everywhere around him. Days
passed. He whittled a stick into a spiral horn shape and strapped it to
his forehead. He arrived at a huge castle in a jungle and was admitted
to Castravalva by Fletcher. Tibby told Fletcher and then Varney about
the faith of the Unicorn. Sort of. They took him to the
[HEY, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE END OF THIS LOG?
BEATS ME.]
NINE
BRANNON: AMBER, CASTRAVALVA
Brannon and Avril went to Castravalva to investigate the 'Web' there.
Kamron happily led them to a hidden hallway that turned from medieval to
ultra-tech. Kamron's body was high on a wall in a chamber where hundreds
of energy lines -- not Pattern and not Logrus -- snaked out of her and
through the walls. Avril showed him the controls (rather like a Tesla
coil) she had used to get Daljit out. All indications were that if they
took Kamron out without replacing her they would be sealed into the
chamber permanently. Brannon traced the energy lines through twisted
space. They seemed to be simultaneously inside the 'coil' and outside
the room. The device was powered from outside, from a 'place' that
scanned as nothingness. Not the Wall. Brannon had Kamron try to generate
a laser to blast a rock. A beam enveloped the stone and dissolved it.
Kamron reported that it had appeared inside the Web. A squirrel joined
the rock; having it inside the Web amused Kamron. They found traces of
former hosts inside the Web. Residue of a faux Daljit and of Brannon's
long-vanished aunt Carn. Both 'ghosts' were angry; Carn's was angry at
Sepulchrave and Sejanus. Getting anything out of the Web seemed to be a
null concept. At Brannon's urging, Kamron tried to trace people going
through the Wall. She could. She could feel the catmen too, but not
locate them; they were everywhere. Brannon gathered a happy little zoo
for Kamron to translate into the Web. Further investigation of the
controls showed them to all relate to the Web or maintaining Castravalva
itself. The Web master controller was a psionic computer (Webmaster
5000) designed run the escape-proof prison. They decided that someone
(Sepulchrave?) had used a number of preexisting components in the
creation of Castravalva, changing them just enough to perform their new
functions.
TIBERIUS: CASTRAVALVA
Tiberius woke up in the library and worked on his -- unique -- history
of the universe for a while. Meanwhile his apes poked around and
followed the locals, looking for one of these holes in the Wall. They
reported that there was one area that the locals avoided completely. It
smelled of horse and Logrus. They marked the area with shit-sigils.
Tiberius drew a pentagram on the library floor.
Kamron told Brannon that someone was drawing a pentagram, and that this
person's monkeys were smearing shit on the walls. Brannon suggested that
she disappear them into the Web.
Tiberius cursed when one of his monkeys vanished in a flash of light. He
gathered the rest into the pentagram, disrobed and chanted for a time.
He addressed the wall before him and asked where his monkey went. Kamron
told him she'd punished it for wiping poop on the walls. Tiberius
claimed that it was modern art. They debated the subject for a while. He
found out where she was and how she got there. Tiberius suggested that
Balthazar or some others might be good replacements for her. She seemed
to be on the verge of suspecting that Azriel had lied to her about her
short stint in the Web, but said she was confident that Brannon would
rescue her. Tiberius, despite the warnings that the person in the Web
had to be Real, went out and shaped a drunk into a twin of Balthazar and
dragged him in to Kamron saying that Balthazar had volunteered.20
Brannon watched Tiberius, still nude, drag Balthazar -- he scanned OK as
Balthazar -- in. They traded the drunk for Kamron. It seemed to be
working. Tiberius split. Kamron covered Brannon with kisses and they
departed hastily. All three went to Amber.
Tiberius did some SECRET STUFF.
VAERREK: THE CATMAN LIBRARY
The library was a fragmentary as everything else. He could smell the
books but damned few were actually there. Vaerrek focused on the
flirtatious catgirl Bombalurina and talked her into trying out psychic
contacts. He worked up to sharing senses and found that, to her, the
library was solid and part of a large city. Night time, but well-lit,
mostly by electricity. Looking out the windows he spotted Portia several
blocks away, passing under a streetlight. Breaking contact, he tried
walking through the walls he knew were there but invisible to him. No
problem. He could take items that were visible to him through the unseen
walls. He also seemed to traverse unseen shadow, not merely moving about
one world. Bombalurina told him that Portia was known to be searching
for her sister. She was known as trustworthy and headstrong. Vaerrek
shifted to humanform, which gave the catgirl a thrill. She wanted to
visit the other side. He showed her a Trump and explained about them.
She had trouble with the concept of fitting through that little picture.
BRANNON: AMBER
Brannon left Kamron to the joys of eating and went again in search of
the White Shadow where the Jewel of Judgement was. He eventually
mastered the technique of moving towards the WS while between shadow
veils. He found the White Shadow or something very like it. Pattern
tendrils froze immediately and, if pushed, turned white beginning at the
ends and racing towards Brannon. He cut them off rather than let the
white reach him. Trumps alternated warm and cold, showing nothing but
static. He tried sending tendrils away from the center of the White,
searching for a body. He found a corpse, a catwoman. Large, middle-aged
and very, very dead. Vivisected. Further search found two fairly warm
bodies nearby.
'Mr. Vandemar, it looks like we have an intruder,' said Mr. Croup
unpleasantly.
'Do you come here often?'
'No. We haven't been here for a long time. It's a rather tricky
situation.'
'What situation is that?'
'Our boss has sent us to look for someone. You may have seen her. Her
name is Door.'
'She wouldn't be a catwoman, would she?'
'No, a human like you. Female of course.'
Brannon sent a tendril out for a human female and got a sense of
direction before it turned white. 'I believe she's in that direction.'
Mr. Croup beamed at Brannon, 'Ah thank you very much my friend. Most
helpful.'
Brannon led them through the whiteness. He pointed towards the center,
'Do you know how to get through that way?'
'If we knew that our employer would be free.'
'Your employer is Door?'
'Our employer sent us to find Door.'
Brannon reached a point where his tendrils froze immediately. He cast
about blindly trying to find a way around the obstruction. His
companions laughed at him. Mr. Croup explained that they could see that
they were in a museum. A party was going on all around him. Brannon was
trying to tendril through a large portrait of an angel about five feet
ahead of himself. Croup described the angel. Brannon tried to grab the
angel's jewelry. Nothing. He shoved his dagger through where the
painting should be and it stuck solidly, only the hilt visible. Vandemar
had snatched a pigeon out of the white, eating it in two bites. Croup
seemed to be defacing some invisible artwork. Croup suggested Brannon
try to become more real to the area. Brannon laid a tendril on Croup,
who jerked violently and looked murderous.
'I'm not trying to hurt you, just trying to do what you said.' Brannon
got a sense of something -- not shadow -- and amplified it. He turned
White... and could see the party. A big stone room, angel-themed
artworks all around, dozens of people dressed oddly in elaborately
tailored, mostly black clothes. Wealthy. These people gasped and shouted
at Brannon's sudden appearance among them. Blue-clad men, armed with
short clubs, entered the room and surrounded Brannon.
'Sir, come along with us please.' Croup and Vandemar were slipping out
to some stairs, somehow avoiding attention.
Brannon tried to fade back into the White. No. The place felt as Real as
Amber, shadow shifting was impossible. He bolted for the stairs. Halt!
Stop!
TIBERIUS: AMBER
Secret experiments yielded crude results. He checked on Kamron and
learned that she'd been stuck with all kinds of shitwork. Next he looked
up Steerspike. Steerspike was dissatisfied. Corinthian's people didn't
give him his usual respect and Fusia has lost her position. Corinthian
himself was guarding Daljit's body and trying to work out just what had
happened.
Tiberius avoided the family dinner -- nearly everyone did -- and had a
merry party with his monkeys, dressing them up for the occasion. After,
he spent some time attempting to walk through solid walls but his
mastery of probability was not up to the task. He made sure that spying
servants got a good look at both activities.
Ving caught him before he left for his Conjury shadow. Ving had found a
wounded girl and taken her to their clubhouse. Tiberius examined her.
Petite, dark haired and not a family member. He made gentle psychic
contact. Her name was Door. She had broken through to Amber from
somewhere else. A monster had been chasing her. Deeper probing told him
that she was hiding from someone named Islington. She had been trapped
with Islington but things had become unsolid. A feeling that some fair
amount of time had passed. Door was Portia's sister and friendly with
her. She'd never heard of the Unicorn. Door had a power Tiberius was not
familiar with. It allowed her to open gates between shadows (even
Amber!) but not much else. It had the feel of something he'd been
trailing earlier. Door's other family -- House Wolben -- were her
brother Tor, mother Geata and father Fennas. Their power was natural to
them, bound to their genes. Door's psyche would normally be stronger
than Tiberius'. She was also strong with great stamina. Tiberius patched
her up and set Ving to guarding her.
Tiberius visited the Most Reverend Mother Petra and got a Trump of
Portia. It didn't work. Petra said that Portia was most likely beyond
the Wall. They got into a short discussion of the physics of the Wall
that led to the idea of questioning Sejanus via a seance. Tiberius told
her that he couldn't go look for Portia himself due to complex
provisions of the monkey union rules.
Next he checked out books on seances in the library. All the interesting
ones were the work of Beryl, Nicola or Piper. He consulted Piper on
seances, offering to get her off the ritual list for a couple of days.
She gave him a Trump (featuring a pastoral scene) and said she'd meet
with him at that place after lunch.
Deeply suspicious, Tiberius barged in on Avril (busy instructing
Corinthian) and asked if Piper was a Trump Artist. She thought not.
Fusia didn't recognize the place either.
VAERREK: CATLAND IN THE WALL
Vaerrek brought Bombalurina out and repeated the flipside of the
experiments they'd done inside. She could walk through solid matter and
zip through Shadow to find things or people. Vaerrek and Thjarand agreed
without speech that such a capability could be very valuable. Escape,
rescue, assassination... The difference in perceptions felt like
something that he could learn to emulate by shapeshifting in ways he'd
never got around to practicing. He resolved to work on the techniques.
Thjarand made two Trump sketches of the cat library, one as Vaerrek saw
it and one as Bombalurina did. Bombalurina saw the Trumps differently,
too. She went back inside. Vaerrek Trumped Portia. He told her that he
was ready to accept a truce with her and her associates, having decided
that they hadn't really been trying to insult him. They discussed
Azriel, the annoyance (for Vaerrek) of using An Briongloideach deep in
the stinking realm of Amber, Vaerrek's Amber-tainted ancestry and the
possibility of his walking the Pattern. Vaerrek said he'd let some other
Logrus Master with a bit of Amberite blood try it out first, thank you.
He asked about the catpeople and their place in the scheme of things.
Portia declined to discuss it over a Trump contact and convinced Vaerrek
to go through to her. He and Thjarand arranged for a Larcan demon to
keep watch at their access point. He went through.
He was in the swimming pool room of a Victorianesque mansion. The pool
was half full and had a headless body floating in it. Her brother, as it
turned out. She said that she'd been contemplating it for some time.
They moved through the house -- each doorway worked something like a Way
in Chaos -- cautiously. Portia was clearly a bit dazed. Vaerrek, now in
dragonform, watched for danger and clues to who or what had killed her
brother. And her mother, in a greenhouse. And her father, Fennas, tied
to a chair and tortured in his study.
Brannon evaded the guards and made it of the museum into a huge,
night-time, petrochemicals-and-electricity kind of city. He couldn't use
the Pattern. He had to steal clothes from a store. Inconspicuously
garbed, he set out down an alley.
Mr Croup spoke from the shadows, complimented him on his clothes. 'And
where might you be going?'
'Out of town.'
'Perhaps we can persuade you to help us with something.'
'What?'
'There is someone we need to persuade to do something and we feel that
you could be most persuasive.'
'Who?'
'Call him Mr X.'
'What's in it for me?'
'We can get you out.' He smiled unpleasantly.
'Say no more. Let's go see the prisoner.'
Croup was in a jolly mood, explaining that they knew that Brannon's kind
did not function well here and never left. They were in London Above and
needed to go to London Below. This involved taking a subway train to a
massive, unpeopled Victorian mansion. The doorways were teleportals or
Ways but C & V went directly to a study where a battered, bloody middle
aged man was tied to a chair.
'What do you want to know?'
'Persuade him to tell us where the Lady Door is'.
Brannon began his mindrape. The man's name was Fennas of House Wolben.
His conceptions of 'place' and 'direction' --- Brannon wanted to know
where he was and how to leave --- were quite different from Brannon's.
Fennas simply drew doorways and stepped through them to any place he
wanted to go. The power seemed to be natural to him; he had no notion of
'attuning' to power sources. Door was missing, for fifty years by
Brannon's clock or one day by Fennas'. She had been exploring a new
development outside the city, an expansion of time and space. The White
Place. The probing was bringing Fennas back to consciousness, and his
mind was stronger than Brannon's. Brannon reported Door's last known
position to Croup and Vandemar.
'Very interesting.'
'And how do you let me out?'
'When we find the Lady Door I'm sure she can be persuaded.'
'So you're stuck too.'
'No. We don't perceive the difference. It's your types that are stuck.'
They left the mansion and walked through the city to a huge old stone
bridge. It seemed to disappear into the fog and darkness halfway across.
Croup and Vandemar chuckled at something not apparent to Brannon and
started across. As Brannon went to follow, a black man in a
swashbuckling outfit jumped out and snatched Brannon away, one hand over
his mouth. He was very strong. Croup and Vandemar cursed. Vandemar said
they'd have to go find another victim.
Once his captor saw that Brannon had heard that he let him go and
favored him with a fantastical bow. 'Lord Carabas. There's somebody
looking for you.'
'Brannon. Who would that be?'
'Someone you might have met long ago. The Lady Carn.' Carabas pointed
and gestured for Brannon to go with him.
Carn had disappeared decades before, thrown in prison by Sejanus. Still,
she was a lot better than nothing. Brannon went with Carabas. Along the
way Carabas explained that the bridge was Knightsbridge, and it took a
toll from those that crossed it. Brannon would have been Croup and
Vandemar's payment.
Carabas took them to 'Shepherd's Bush', an overgrown garden. A woman was
there waiting.
'Lady Carn. To what do I owe the pleasure?'
'Any new member of the family that comes here I meet and find out what
they did to so offend Sepulchrave that he sent them here.'
'Nothing. I just ended up here.'
Carn's casual attention sharpened to total concentration. 'Really. Do
you mind if I...?' She held out her hand.
Brannon took it. She was gentle.
'I thought you were imprisoned somewhere else.'
'No, Sepulchrave put me inside the Jewel of Judgement.'
'This is the Jewel of Judgement?'
'You didn't know that?'
Carn read his memories of the Web installation carefully. She thought
that it worked by harnessing a bit of the Jewel's power.
'Are there any other Patterners here.'
'Mab, Geneve, Taj, Sarin and Ravi.'
'Should we try to deal with Fennas or one of his family? They seem to
have a different perspective on this.'
'They would. Yes, we should, and at once.'
TIBERIUS: IN SHADOW
Tiberius induced Madge, a waitress, to stare at the Trump. She vanished.
He shadowwalked towards her through places of war and plague, worse and
worse. He returned to Amber. It was coming up on the time for the
meeting. He sent Monkey Three through Piper's pastoral Trump with orders
to contact her. It arrived not in the pastoral scene but in a bunker
full of electronics. Madge was huddled in a corner, crying. Tiberius had
it punch buttons at random. He asked Fusia to tell his father about the
meeting if he didn't return, then went through with Chief Monkey
Claudius, a seven foot tall, six hundred pound model. Perturbed techs
running around pushing buttons, staring at Tibby and his pal. Piper
entered, saying she'd got reports of a destructive blue monkey. That
would be him? Tiberius claimed that one of his monkeys had gone wild....
yadda yadda yadda bullshit bullshit bullshit.
Seance information. Piper told Tiberius that in the old days the Pattern
made copies of anyone who walked it. People would grab the (inferior)
copies and interrogate them about the original's doings. Livilla had
tried it with the New Pattern and failed but had the idea of creating An
Briongloideach, the Dreampower source. There had also been experiments
animating corpses with magick in highly magickal shadows or other
sources, such as the Jewel of Judgement.
'I don't need to talk to him that bad.'
Piper blinked, 'You know where it is?'
'I don't think I can get there.'
'Why not?'
'It's in the White Place.' He handed her the Trump of it.
'It's a blank card --- no, it's cold.'
'Livea knew about it but she said it was a bad place.'
'How did you learn about it?'
'Voices in my head told me.'
They discussed the voices in his head.
'So what is this place with the blinking lights?'
'A little shadow of my own. Haven't been able to get to it for a while.'
She took Tib on a short tour: control room, labs, weapons of mass
destruction...
'Oh! Can I see?'
'No.'
Tiberius explained his theory of walking through walls by controlling
probability enough to line up all the molecules just right. Piper said
that she was sure Tristan could do it. They fell into a discussion of
science. Tibby asked about stimulating corpse brains to access memories.
Should work. He mentioned seeing her son Brannon in Castravalva and of
freeing Kamron. Piper produced Brannon's Trump -- warm. Must be on the
other side. How? Through Castravalva of course. Tibby said he didn't
think Brannon would want to go through there. Piper didn't know Portia
but suggested he ask Livilla.
'But I don't want to sleep with Livilla.'
Tiberius went to Lurc, his High Conjury shadow, and experimented with
reactivation of dead brain tissue, starting with Swelter the cook. Weird
science and Probability control made it work. Swelter had been sent to
kill an earl who'd killed one of Catarina's cats. Swelter had attacked
Sejanus when he got in the way. He tried the earl next. Steerspike had
lied to the earl, telling him that Catarina was going to kill Sejanus.
The earl had killed one of her cats -- a very strong beast -- and she
found out. Pattern was a barrier to the process, so Tiberius couldn't
start in on Sejanus' head.
VAERREK: LONDON BELOW
Portia dug out her father's diary. Vaerrek smelled Azriel's thuggish
companions on the father, and Brannon as well. He told Portia about the
two men (but not Brannon) and sketched them for her. She didn't
recognize them. Vaerrek found that he couldn't reach the Logrus power in
this place. Shapeshifting was fine
Vaerrek brought up the question of What Was In This For Him? He
sympathized, but this was dangerous and not really his affair. Portia
offered to take him back out. Vaerrek offered to help her for some
Favors To Be Named Later. He was pretty sure that Portia could do
everything the catpeople could and a whole lot more.
Portia led them up stairs to a rooftop and an old drunk. Portia greeted
him gladly, then asked him what the 'angelus' was. Bailey thought it was
a museum, or maybe a church. Vaerrek asked about weapons. His claws were
harder than the local steel and the description of the firearms made him
think he could bounce most bullets in dragonform. They made it sound
like acquiring firearms would be difficult. Vaerrek thought they didn't
need to attract any attention.
BRANNON: LONDON BELOW
Fennas was now a corpse. A dragon -- probably Vaerrek -- had walked
through the blood. They searched the study and found notes on Door's
investigations. The doorways she'd made were still there. They followed
one into a sewer leading Out, as Door had. The water eventually
freshened. The environment grew more Pattern-like. Uncomfortably
Pattern-like. The walls faded out of reality in sections. They hit a
point that felt like fighting through a Veil when walking the Pattern.
They sensed that the time rate was s - l - o - w - i - n - g. A day
went by and they saw ghostly shapes in the distance. Carn dropped out.
Brannon thought one of the shapes was Dworkin, walking an immense
Pattern. Frozen in place. Brannon sent a tendril towards Dworkin. It
froze instantly. He tried to send one around. It went very slowly.
TIBERIUS: SHADOW LURC
Tiberius took his work on an organic computer as far as he could. He
needed more experience with Weird Science, so he enrolled a Miskatonic U
in another shadow.
Tibby dropped in on Amber -- Day Four of Corinthian's reign -- and
inquired after Catalina. She'd disappeared into the bowels of the palace
with her thirty cats. Amethyst had also gone that route, sans felines.
He sent a monkey to Castravalva to check on movements through the
border. The new Web Warder reported that Beryl had looked in on
Castravalva but not gone through to Amber.
Tiberius Trumped Petra to inquire about spikards. They were addictive,
they allowed you to use powers you didn't have normally, they were
programmed with powers by actual initiates. They pre-dated the Logrus.
Their powerlines could be cut, severing their connection to the Deep
Abyss. Portia or Mercedes might know more. He found Kamron (who was
looking for her sweetie Brannon) to find out what she knew. She told him
about D'Olby and Azadore, that they got a little power from each spikard
user. He wanted Kamron to get him one of the dead crystals. She didn't
think she'd be going back. He preached about the Unicorn for a while.
VAERREK: LONDON BELOW
The Lord Carabas joined Portia and Vaerrek. Portia seemed to trust the
man. Carabas, who smelled of Croup, Vandemar and Brannon, reported that
Brannon and Carn had left for the border. He asked Vaerrek if he was the
Lizard King. Vaerrek said 'Yes'. He noted that Carabas moved better than
he did himself. Vaerrek asked Carabas if he'd seen Croup and Vandemar in
action and what he thought of his own chances against them. Carabas
smiled -- he smiled most of the time -- and said that he'd be killed.
But with the Lizard King on their side, they had a chance. Vaerrek
mulled that over, asked, 'Just what do you mean by "Lizard King?"'.
TEN
AMETHYST: THE DEEPS OF AMBER PALACE
Amethyst made her way through the Blue Place after tying a strip of red
dress to the doorknob. Something large moved through the blueness,
causing ripples she could follow with Logrus sight. She found another
door and exited to a large hallway that STANK of Pattern and had some of
the stasis-feel she'd learned to overcome. She continued on to a huge
room decorated with humanoid statues. Really good ones. One looked like
Brannon. When touched with a Logrus tendril Brannon-the-statue very,
very slowly reacted, looking ill, then confused. Brannon went rock still
when she removed the tendril. Amy Trumped the Ways of Oreen, picked
Brannon up and took him through. She got a few odd looks on the way to
her apartments.
TIBERIUS: SHADOW MISKATONIC
Tiberius finished up a stint studying Weird Science and returned to
Amber palace. He had servants fill out psychological tests aimed at
assessing their intelligence and problem-solving abilities. Who would
make the best components for his organic computer? He sent his
stealthiest monkey out to try to steal a tiny amount of gunpowder from
one of the guards with firearms.
Tibby sent word to Corinthian that, as king, he'd be feeding the Owls
from now on. In another Owl-related event, he told Fusia that he was
collecting Owl dung.
Tiberius tried to listen in on an argument between Agrippa and Avril.
His father sent him to distract anyone who might walk by. Tibby did this
in the buff.
CORINTHIAN: AMBER PALACE
Corinthian's morning was darkened by Master of Rituals Steerspike and
the rituals for the day. Rituals which would now include feeding the
Owls. The same Owls that had killed Corin's father. Using a long,
winding route that provided a host of sniper opportunities. Steerspike
thought that only Tiberius and Ving -- and perhaps Azriel, a frequent
visitor in Ving's head -- knew much about the Owls. Corinthian ordered
them brought to him. He tried to Trump Azriel himself; nothing. She was
last known to be searching for the spikard node.
Two guards approached the naked Tiberius. He dropped to all fours,
hopped and sang I'm a little froggy over and over. The guards knew that
it could have been much, much worse and took him anyway.
Corinthian asked Tiberius (still naked) about the Owl feeding. Tiberius
said he'd been feeding them rabbits and suggested Corinthian just order
a guard to do it.
AZRIEL: SPIKARD NODE
D'Olby was pleased that Azriel had got Croup and Vandemar into catland.
She questioned him for a while and determined that his master
Azadore/Sligspholl was imprisoned behind a door that he alone could not
pass. It would not impede her. Azriel went to see him. He wore the form
of a pleasant, middle-aged man in white robes. His prison resembled a
chapel. She wanted her spikard fixed. He said she was very close to
accomplishing that. Questioned, he said that he'd been betrayed by
certain individuals -- Barimen, Hendrake, Hellgram, Chanicut... who
found an alternate power source. Azriel told Sligspholl that she was
excited by this business of stealing bits of other peoples' powers and
wanted to be a part of it. He took her on as a secret agent. On her way
out she looked over his books. Volumes on the Serpent, the Unicorn, the
Wall, the Jewel of Judgement and its alter ego, some other ancient
artifact.
Azriel met with Cyngra and caught up on the gossip. Cyngra told her
about the Querine-Vaerrek challenge and its outcome. Vaerrek had drawn
the attention of Hendrake and Oreen. Azriel asked what Cyngra knew of
Sligspholl. Cyngra was shocked and took them to a very secure shadow to
even talk of him.
VAERREK: LONDON BELOW
Vaerrek arranged tactics with Portia and Lord Carabas vis a vis Mr Croup
and Mr Vandemar. Plan A: Vaerrek would fly them away. Plan B: V and Lord
C would keep them busy while Portia nuked them. They picked up some
weapons in the Market. Portia said they had an appointment and led them
to the subway. They took a curiously antique train to their destination,
a ruined cathedral in a foggy swamp. Black cloaked figures accosted them
and led them to a superior black-cloak. Is this the Champion? Is this
the one who thinks he can get the key? Portia indicated Vaerrek. He
hesitated, then mentally upped the scale of the favors Portia owed him
and agreed. The chief Black-cloak led him down a long hall decorated
with hundreds of sketches and photos of people. Champion failures,
probably. They took his picture and sent him through a huge iron door
into darkness. After a short wait a Santa Clause appeared, then another.
A whole parade. They began a litany of despair. You're useless. Give up.
Vaerrek, amused, ripped some legs off. A host of santas chanted
discouragement at him for a long time. Then one morphed into Borel. Uh
oh.
AMETHYST: OREENWAYS
Amethyst summoned one of the House sorcerers and demonstrated the
effects of the Logrus on the Static Brannon. The sorcerer took him off
for experiments with orders to avoid permanent damage. Amethyst went off
to see Mirolla. She briefed him on her experiences in Amber and ragged
on the Amberites. She thought they might be able to make a Trump of the
place where she'd found Brannon, a convenient back door into Amber
Palace itself. Mirolla called in Inidia the Trumpmistress and Amy passed
on the images.
Sleep. Up and about again, Inidia met with her and gave her a completed
Trump. The thing had been a lot of trouble to make. It looked odd, the
images didn't move like a normal Chaos Trump. It was flatter than flat,
and hot. Amethyst drafted Tirron, one of her favored fighting demons,
and took him through the new Trump. It felt kiln-hot passing through it
and Tirron froze completely on the other side. She'd expected that, but
you never knew without trying. There was a new statue nearby -- King
Corinthian! Amy took Corinthian and Tirron back to the Ways of Oreen.
TIBERIUS: AMBER
Tiberius dumped a load of dead rabbits outside of Corinthian's suite --
Corin couldn't be disturbed -- and left. Back at the Owl Club his monkey
thief had returned with a couple of dozen grains of gunpowder. He
studied it carefully at his shadow lab and determined that the key
component was, indeed the one he'd expected. He mixed some up and took
it to an isolated spot in Amber. A crucible full made a satisfying blast
but cost him his eyebrows. Tiberius set up factory production.
Tiberius returned to the Palace and visited the Temple. Titus' last act
before abdicating had been to give the Temple a seat in Parliament.
Tiberius met with Petra and volunteered for the position of the Temple's
representative. Petra nixed that but allowed that he could accompany
Sister Morgan as an observer. Tiberius told her that he would earn the
position.
Tibby cleaned up, changed his clothes and drew on eyebrows. [So he met
with Petra scorched and smelling of gunpowder?] He took up position to
watch Corinthian feed the Owls. Time passed. Corinthian did not appear.
Tiberius went to feed the Owls before it was too late. He entered their
rookery carrying a huge bag of rabbits. They looked at him intensely.
Rabbits tossed in their direction did not interest them. They wanted
him. He ordered his monkeys to rush forward and be eaten and dodged
away. One Owl, bigger than Tiberius, landed in front of him and ripped a
chunk out of his thigh. Tib took his anti-psyche ring off and made
contact with the swallowing Owl. It wasn't a fake, wasn't Compelled. It
seemed to need something it couldn't get from rabbits but could from a
bite of Tiberius. Tiberius quickly calculated the number of Owls and the
body mass he'd lose at one bite each. He'd survive. Probably. The next
Owl took its chunk. Tiberius found it strangely arousing. He stayed. He
staggered out a few minutes later into the arms of horrified guards.
CORINTHIAN: THE WHITE PLACE
Having used Livea's Trump without the Log-keeper listening, Corinthian
found himself in stasis for an unknowable time. PAIN! Someone was
assaulting him with a Logrus tendril. He could see where he was now,
just for a second, a large white plain with some kind of spiral on it.
Nothing. Pain, and a second of awareness, the spiral was a Pattern.
Pain. The place was pure Pattern itself. Pain. Brannon was off to the
side. Pain. He tried to run Pattern energy up the Logrus tendril...
Amethyst heard an explosion, screams, curses, smelled Pattern. She ran
to the sorcery lab and saw one House sorcerer clawing at his eyes. There
was a sorcerer-shaped carbon shadow on one scorched wall.
No more flashes of pain and awareness. After no-time his senses shifted
and Corinthian felt the presence of other beings. He encouraged the
change, expanding to be everywhere and nowhere at once. Aunt Carn was
there and others. Ravi, Sarin, Tai. They, too were everywhere and
nowhere. They communicated -- Corinthian found that he couldn't keep
anything from them -- and he learned that Carn had tried to escape but
had only sucked Brannon into their prison. They spent much of their
'time' avoiding Dworkin. Dworkin was dangerously surly, mad at his
banishment at Sejanus' hands. Corinthian tried to generate some hope and
enthusiasm. 'Who wants to find a way out of here and take over Amber?'
They laughed.
AZRIEL: CYNGRA'S SECURE SHADOW
Cyngra told Azriel that the ancient conflict between Sligspholl and the
rest of Chaos arose over using the Logrus rather than spikards.
Sligspholl liked being at the top of the power pyramid scheme and was
obnoxious enough to impel the others to go out and capture the Serpent
and make the Logrus. Hendrake, Swayvill, Barimen, Chanicut, Sceal Gra,
Rodrig and Ungekehrt joined together and bound Sligspholl. One of them
knew where the Master Spikard was hidden. Bound outside of time,
Sligspholl was now the oldest being in the universe. Cyngra was
concerned about security because several spikard users were known to be
looking to cut deals with the controlling powers to safeguard against
having their powerlines cut. Swayvill thought that Dworkin Barimen had
the Master Spikard and the Jewel of Judgement hidden somewhere. Azriel
told Cyngra that Livea had hidden the Jewel in a White Place, via Trump,
and couldn't retrieve it. Cyngra said that the Master Spikard had been
found, not made.
VAERREK: LONDON BELOW
Vaerrek and Faux Borel made discouraging comments at each other while
Borel slowly cut Vaerrek up. Vaerrek tried to alter his perceptions to
mimic those of the catpeople in the hopes of being able to get away. It
did make everything rather dreamlike, though his wounds were still
there. He faded Borel out and waited for more annoyances. Nothing. He
opened the door and scared the crap out of the Black-cloak waiting
there. 'Do I get a prize?' Actually, Portia got the prize, an amber key,
from the dismayed monks.
Portia led them to a museum featuring a big exhibit of angel art. They
passed hundreds of angel paintings and sculptures, Portia going directly
to one large painting. She opened it and passed Vaerrek in. Lord Carabas
stayed outside. Inside was an alabaster chapel lit by hundreds of
candles. A man, apparently a middle-aged human in bright white robes
walked to them and introduced himself as SLIGSPHOLL. Vaerrek tried
desperately to show no reaction. He sniffed around, nobody else had been
there but Azriel. Azriel? Portia negotiated with Sligspholl for
information concerning her missing sister Door. Sligspholl agreed to
provide it in return for the amber key.
AMETHYST: OREENWAYS
Amethyst contacted Cyril Hendrake and arranged to move Corinthian to a
Hendrake blast range for experiments. She went back to Stasis Central
and moved all the rest of the statues there as well. Borel still hadn't
returned from Amber. She Trumped him from Stasis Central and exchanged
information. One of Beryl's duplicates had been lost to a nasty trap.
Beryl recognized the statues as Mab, Geneve, Tai, Sarin, Carn. She was
very interested in her mother Mab and sent her last duplicate through to
Mirolla to negotiate for her. The three made their way back towards the
Palace proper, despite someone's (Catarina's?) efforts to get them lost.
Borel went ahead alone to scout after they crossed the monkey poop
trail.
TIBERIUS: AMBER
The King was missing and Steerspike was having a fit about it. Tiberius
consulted the Book of Rituals about the Owls. The ritual feeding was
some sort of binding. He informed Titus. The search widened and widened.
Corinthian's Trump was cool but the first person who tried to use it
went rigid until snapped out with a Word of Power.
Tibby made an exoskeleton for himself while enjoying the exquisite pain.
He wrote a chapter about it and sent it via messenger to Castravalva, to
have it added to his chronicles there. The messenger returned after a
while a bit too happy and inquisitive. Tiberius had him arrested. Avril
mindraped the man and found that he was indeed Compelled, and so
strongly that she couldn't break it. Beryl. Tiberius recommended that no
one visit Castravalva for a time. Avril found that distressing, likewise
Corinthian's disappearance and her inability to reach Azriel via Trump.
Also missing were Brannon and his Chaosian guest Amethyst. Someone had
tried Trumping Brannon and frozen, so perhaps Brannon and Corinthian
were together.
CORINTIHAN: THE PLACE OF THE PRIMAL PATTERN
Corinthian talked with Ravi, then Mab. Mab told him that she'd raised
Beryl and Avril to be competitive so that they'd excel and surpass the
boys. She'd happily ally with whomever could get her out.
Corinthian approached Dworkin cautiously. Dworkin was willing to talk.
Corinthian mentioned that Livea had Trumped the Jewel of Judgement to
their location. Dworkin went ballistic, cursing in obscure ancient
proto-Thari about recursive time loops, impossibility. Corinthian
suggested they find the Jewel and use it to get out. Dworkin explained
that they were inside the Jewel. Oh. How did one attune to the Jewel?
Walk the Pattern while holding it. Corinthian did some mental gymnastics
and tried to mentally walk the Pattern/himself. Something was
happening... he kept trying.
VAERREK: SLIGSPHOLL'S PRISON
A burst of Logrus came out of the amber key. Vaerrek grabbed it at the
same time Sligspholl did, yelling to Portia, 'He's the Ultimate Evil!'
There was Pattern wound into the Logrus. It hurt. A lot. Something else,
too. Vaerrek tried slashing and clawing at Sligspholl, who evaded him
absent-mindedly. Vaerrek encountered tremendous psychic resistance from
the amber key but felt, instinctively, that if he let go or stopped he'd
die. Sligspholl was beside or around him, doing the same.
Corinthian was sucked into a vortex of maddening changes, with a strong
feeling that he'd better not stop. At the same time he sensed Vaerrek,
and Sligspholl. He asked Dworkin to help. Dworkin refused. He didn't
want Sligspholl to know he was there.
They survived and were Elsewhere. Inside a spherical stone chamber. The
three of them. Vaerrek jumped Sligspholl, thinking that he'd be insane.
Sligspholl held him off without difficulty. All were holding gems.
Corinthian tried using the Jewel of Judgement to expel Sligspholl ---
instead he expanded fuzzily through the walls. It felt OK. Powerful.
Vaerrek gave up attacking Sligspholl and tried the altered perceptions
trick. He got a sort of overlay in his perceptions but that was all.
Vaerrek, Corinthian and Sligspholl were all in constant psychic contact
and couldn't make it stop.
During a lull in the frantic metaphorical scratching at the walls of
their prison (while Sligspholl watched calmly, thinking) Vaerrek asked
Sligspholl his intentions. Sliggy allowed that he no longer would seek
to destroy the Logrus or the Pattern. He had those powers now himself.
He intended to be a power broker. THE power broker. Vaerrek and
Corinthian said that so long as their own immediate families were left
alone, they could live with that.
AZRIEL: SLIGSPHOLL'S PRISON
Azriel went to see Sligspholl and found Portia there, dazed. Another
woman, Ving and Miette were trying to revive her. Portia came back to
herself and, after a quick reunion with her sister Door, explained about
negotiating, handing over the key and Vaerrek and Sligspholl grabbing it
and disappearing. She'd had a sense of Corinthian's presence as it
happened. Portia had thought that Sligspholl had Door trapped. Door had
actually been in a place of infinite whiteness. Azriel identified the
key as the Jewel of Judgement. She thought they should let 'those three'
fight it out and then take the Jewel and the Master Spikard from the
wounded winner.
Portia and Door took the group to the Castle of Doom -- their natural
area between the shadows -- and thence to a museum full of angel art.
They discovered the corpse of a black man there, the Lord Carabas, a
friend of the family. Door consulted with a rat that scampered off on
some mission. Next to the White Place (leaving Miette behind) to see a
giddy old gentleman. Dworkin.
'Who are you?'
'The Seductress of the Universe,' Azriel replied.
'No, that's Corinthian. He gave me a great idea, walking myself.
Interesting. I think he did a stupid thing. Allying himself to the Great
Evil of the Universe. Take Brannon with you. They're going to start
torturing him. They wanted to do it to Corinthian but he did something
stupid.'
'Where is the Jewel of Judgement?'
'Everywhere. So it the Eye of the Serpent and the Master Spikard. It was
inside itself for a while. Eye in the Jewel. Node in the Jewel. Jewel in
the Eye. They did something stupid.'
'Can you show us?'
'It should be coming up now. It's everywhere and everywhen. Think of
something stupid.'
Portia was horrified. Corinthian was insufficiently paranoid to deal
with Sligspholl.
'Does he know what he's talking about?' asked Azriel, looking at
Dworkin.
They took Brannon with them.
AMETHYST: UNDER AMBER
The palace shook to its roots. Bursts of energy -- Pattern -- Logrus --
something else. Solid objects went gelid for a moment. Beryl had no idea
what was going on. They both felt sick. Borel returned looking haggard.
The Pattern Stink was gone. Borel led them to the Pattern room so that
Beryl could walk it. The Pattern was gone. Beryl was freaked. They all
were. They went home. There they learned that the Logrus Masters working
on Corinthian had eventually become tired of hitting him with tendrils
all the time and had thrown him onto the Logrus. After all, they had
more statues. The Logrus had disappeared. The Church of the Serpent
was.... concerned.
TIBERIUS: AMBER
Tiberius felt a burst of Pattern, then Logrus, then ... something. The
Owls took a day to calm down. Tibby giggled all day after hearing that
the Pattern had disappeared. He walked where it had been and tried to
teleport. Nothing. He went to the Grove of the Unicorn and summoned Her.
She arrived after a time, looking shaken and unhealthy. The Unicorn told
him that the Pattern was now Everywhere and Nowhere. She suggested he
consult Dworkin, so Tibby talked to that Voice in his head. No joy.
Dworkin's Trump didn't work and felt strange. Brannon's, Corinthian's
and those banished felt the same. He did a Tarot spread, asking who
fucked up? Corinthian. Tiberius sent monkeys searching for Corinthian.
The best Sniffer felt a bit of the scent of the White Place in
Corinthian's suite -- and now that he thought about it the odd Trumps
had the feel of the White Place to them. He took his ring off and tried
to contact Dworkin. Avril Trump Disrupted him -- she was just there,
right in front of him. She explained that he'd been frozen for hours. He
told her that it was all Corinthian's fault, and why he thought so. She
asked if anyone had warned him about the White Place. Probably not.
Tiberius told her that someone else would have to feed the Owls from now
on. Tiberius brought up the subject of spikards and Evil Vaerrek,
spikard thief. Avril claimed that Vaerrek was a nice boy. She took hers
out. It was glowing. No powerline -- she kept hers disconnected,
normally -- but glowing. Not good.
VAERREK AND AZRIEL AND CORINTHIAN AND AMETHYST
Vaerrek tried to leave the sphere and found that he was everywhere and
nowhere at once. Mostly nowhere. He couldn't manifest a body outside of
the sphere. He couldn't move to London Below. He tried to contact Portia
and found her with Azriel, Door (!), Ving and Miette(!). They felt his
presence and moved to An Briongloideach in hopes of making better
contact. He could manifest visually and aurally there. He told them what
he knew. They used the place's power to review Corinthian's and
Brannon's actions (he wouldn't lower his block to allow review of his)
trying to get a better handle on things. Corinthian, casting about,
found Vaerrek and joined the audience. Brannon could communicate with
whomever was touching him. They saw that both C&B had been split, their
essences staying at the Primal Pattern while their bodies were moved to
Chaos. Dworkin had somehow unhooked Brannon's essence and solidified it
for them to transport. They heard Corin and Dworkin talk about Livea's
blunder and saw Corinthian thrown on the Logrus while, it had to be,
Vaerrek and Sligspholl struggled for the Eye of the Serpent. They saw
Amethyst hauling statues through Trump to Chaos. Ving identified
Amethyst as Brannon's girlfriend. They saw Brannon's trip to Inner
Castravalva. Azriel Trumped her mother and added Avril to the mix,
making sure to tell her of the hole in Amber's defenses.
They decided to try to reunite Brannon's parts. Vaerrek, feeling
reckless ('What the hell, I'm a god'), oozed through Oreenways' defenses
and tried to talk to Amethyst as alarms blared. He ended up using a
Logrus tendril as script. Amethyst denied that this could be Vaerrek,
the coward. Vaerrek was confused and irritated. Portia (in her Church of
the Unicorn robe) opened a door in Amethyst's wall and came through with
Azriel and Brannon's essence. Amethyst became more upset. Brannon said
that Vaerrek thought he was a god. Azriel said they were not. Corinthian
oozed in and cheerfully explained that, no need to worry, the missing
Logrus was inside Vaerrek, just as the Pattern was inside him. Vaerrek,
having no way to kill Corinthian on the spot, said that that was
Corinthian's theory.
They got Brannon's halves together anyway. Brannon was fine. Stuck
inside Oreenways, but fine.
Corinthian got Vaerrek to meld with him to go visit Dworkin. If he did
it on his own, he froze. He talked Dworkin out of solving his problem --
he thought that he was in the Logrus in Vaerrek, with the Pattern in
himself -- by killing Vaerrek.
Corinthian approached Portia about helping him get Mab, and maybe a
couple of other relatives, reunited. She was willing.