The True Life Adventures of Fineas of House Barimen
Prince of Amber

Day 189 PDS 8:00 PM:

It appears peace may soon be at hand. Our attack on the Gheneshian emperor went extremely well and I am happy to report we lost no family members. I am very happy with everyone’s contribution. Everyone took part and did their jobs flawlessly. The emperor was taken on and slain by several family members shortly after their entire power channeling system collapsed. I had trumped to the mirrorverse where I slew uncounted enemy trying to flee into shadow. It did get rather intense for a while and some number of Gheneshans did slip into shadow. Overall we will be mopping up for some weeks.

There appears to be no organized counterattack from shadow forthcoming. It appears that what Gheneshans have established themselves out in shadow have no interest in further conflict with Amber. They seem to be relishing their freedom too much to rock the boat any time soon. We may have future difficulty with individuals from time to time, but our days of dreading the Moonriders appear to be over for good.

Chaos is still in chaos and no matter who emerges from their civil war as the victor, they will be too weak to pose a direct threat to us for some centuries. We seem to be getting stronger. Most surprising, our friend with the duplication machine has succeeded in creating a new body for Benedict’s spirit. He is still learning his new body and is working out everyday to try and recover his prowess. Dara and I both took the opportunity to work out with him, smacking him around while we can. Unicorn knows he will soon be too fast to defeat again. Damn it is good to have him back, even if he does look slightly different now.

I sent a note off to chaos, thanking House Helgram for making the final defeat of our enemy possible. That ought to stick in their craw. Time now for another bottle of Benedict’s best vintage.

Day 200 PDS 9:00 PM:

Mop up is over. A victory celebration took place a couple of days ago in Amber. Everyone who is anybody was there, even Queen Moire. We still do not have a monarch and it appears Gerard will hold the regency for the time being. That works for me. Bleys is enjoying himself recounting his assault on the Ghenshian emperor. Osric and Finndo have been getting their kudos as well and I think they are adjusting well. Thirteen appears to have come to terms with his mother and Sabine. Dara is enjoying her limelight and Benedict’s gratitude. She and Tori seemed to be inordinately pleased about something. A little bird told me they finished off what was left of Diego who appeared to be beyond saving. Clark has taken up the family mantle and so far I have no complaints with him. Tori still kills Gheneshans when no one is looking…she was really pissed that they almost killed her mother (who is recovering nicely). Flora is still grieving for Chumley but she will be alright in time. Galena got smacked around a bit in the mirrorverse, but we got her out OK and she is much better now. She and I spend a lot of time playing music together when circumstances allow. Jacob dropped in long enough to sample the booze but is off again wandering shadow as he prefers to do. My brother is here for a while, but he too will be returning to his binder duties before long. I gave him directions and access to father’s shadow so that between us we can keep it safe for the family.

In all the revelry, I succumbed to the charms of a notable Rebman personage who shall remain nameless here. Our affair will remain extremely discreet but for me life is good right now. I have the respect of my family and the people of Amber, a number of important friends in shadow, Rebma and Tir, and most importantly I have helped to make the realm secure. I feel that I have expunged the stain of Father’s madness and for once I don’t cringe when I hear his name in public.

What lies in my future? There is much that still needs to be done. I have gathered most of Diego’s progeny under my protection. I have the Chanicutt children to raise. I have all of my retainers, employees and allies to nurture. At some point I will likely need to think about marriage and my own offspring, but I think I can hold that off for a few decades at least. In the meantime there is much exploring I want to do, many paths to travel. A little adventure without the fate of the realm riding on my shoulders sounds like just the thing. I wonder if I can catch up to Jacob? Calvin needs a good outing and Werewindle is restless again.

Happy Trails!

The True Life Adventures of Fineas of House Barimen
Prince of Amber

48.

Day 185 PDS 5:00 PM:

The assault on the tower started well enough. It took a little ward manipulation from Rinaldo, but we got inside through the upper window and proceeded to work our way downwards through the interior of the tower. I was worried about wards inside the central elevator shaft and it turned out my fear was justified. We finally set off an alarm whilst cutting our way to a lower level. All hell broke loose with defensive elementals hitting us from the walls themselves until Rinaldo was able to tie them down. The rest of us killed most of what we encountered, taking only a few prisoners before we were done. Almost to the bottom, we felt a psychic disturbance that heralded the arrival of two unusual shapeshifters. They briefly questioned us about Pandalume and explained they were relations of his and were looking for him. I had thought him dead already or trapped with Tualua, but we soon found his murdered body at the bottom. The swine who had taken over the place had fled but took just enough time to cut Pandalume’s throat. The crow-sisters were extremely pissed and I had the feeling they were in Dworkin’s league. They left to chase the culprit while the rest of us cleaned up.

I kept my word to Lirazel and allowed her to attune to this power in payment of her services. Most of the tower had collapsed above us in all the excitement, but she began to reform things and establish control. We found a handful of other interesting people frozen in cells at the bottom. Mostly ex-masters of the tower. Some may prove useful in the future, but until we know more about them they are going to stay frozen.

Day 186 PDS 10:00 AM:

With my return to Amber, we had a family meeting to plan the attack on the Moonriders. It is a simple plan…blow the shit out of their power channeling monoliths, kill the emperor and then kill as many in the mirrorverse as we can lay our hands on.

I will be called upon to open a trump gate and allow a Moonrider monolith to be toppled into it. The goal is to set up a cascading failure with the tremendous power surge through a few channels at once. Two or three other monoliths will be dropped by others (Tori and Flora). Once that is done, the shadow will be flooded with ravening hordes we bring in from various shadows. I will then be trumping to the mirrorverse to help Martin and Galena seal it. It should work.

The True Life Adventures of Fineas of House Barimen
Prince of Amber

Day 184 PDS 11:00 AM:

I tracked down Dara and had her summon Benedict’s ghost. I wanted to pick his brain about the enemy and what we should do. From what we have gathered, they are spreading out in shadow and targeting minor power sources. The first step seems to be to cut them off in the mirrorverse. I also decided to warn Bel about the likelihood of being targeted. I have an idea about a useful spell that may assist on some of the lower tier Gheneshans.

Day 184 PDS 6:30 PM:

I met with Bel and he has taught me a new ultraviolet light spell that should come in handy. I will be disseminating it throughout the family for the next few days. Time is likely short and I will need to get on the job against the Gheneshans as soon as I can.

Toriana has called a family meeting to discuss the situation. This should be enlightening.

Day 184 PDS 10:00 PM:

The meeting was fairly productive. Clark is providing an army to help, as are Osric and Finndo. I will be teaching the spell and preparing a force to go around and take care of minor power sources that may be targeted or under Gheneshan influence. First off will be Jelorek’s old hang outs. I will need to talk to Lirazel and see if her new adoptee can help in that regard. Zhartra would also like to meet with him….I’m not sure if to size him up for later elimination or recruit him. I trumped Mother to give her the latest information. Zhartra has agreed to help defend the Well, so I am not going to worry about that. I also trumped Ky-Tung to make sure she is not caught unawares.

Day 185 PDS 7:30 AM:

I contacted Lirazel and laid things out for her. Her continuing subtle efforts to seduce me are amusing, but we got down to business. I will have Basilisk assistance for the Ice Tower that Jelorek once used as his stronghold. The price is allowing Basilisk to move into it (with equal access by Amber when needed). We agreed and will be heading off to the place later today.

Day 185 PDS 10:30 AM:

I have discovered that Renaldo is already casing the tower. I trumped him with the intention of filling him in, but he is already on the job. I brought my new squire Calvin Channicutt along to give him a first lesson in how civilized people tackle a problem. It will be good for him to get a little exercise and excitement as well. Renaldo tells me one of Jelorek’s old lackeys, a fellow named Rennick is in charge of the tower at the moment. He seems unwilling to negotiate as has a plethora of nasty creatures guarding the base, so we will assault the place with a mix of Basilisk, Amber rangers and Weirs. Entry seems to be most favorable through a window high up in the tower. Vrykos should prove very able for this job and he or Lirazel will be trumping us up very soon.

The True Life Adventures of Fineas of House Barimen
Prince of Amber

Day 179 PDS 5:00 PM:

We got “Lucy” the garou cleaned up, dressed properly and established with Valeri. A disturbing sidenote…our shapeshifter sniffers seem unable to sense anything from her even though she has shifted in my presence. Most troubling. I have an appointment with Sir John in a while to discuss the matter and a couple other things on my mind.

Day 179 PDS 6:30 PM:

I met with Sir John in the sauna to discuss things. He was a bit beat up from being caught in a riot in Kashfa. The fact that Sir John thought it necessary to check up on Kashfa in person while so many other things are going on is a bit troubling to me. He would not be there unless he had information of some import about the goings on there. I will need to keep half an eye on mother it appears. Sir John is subtle…this is his way of telling me I need to watch things there more closely. I will do so when time permits.

I gave him all I knew about Lucy and what I had done about the situation. He recommends having Tanitheel check into it. Lirazel and her status in Amber came up. We more or less agreed to grant her freedom in hopes of maintaining some semblance of good relations with Basilisk.

Our final topic was Clark and the mess that is Vulnavia. Clark seems to have made a sufficiently positive impression that he will be allowed into the family. He seems anxious and willing to take up the job Diego made such a bungle of, i.e. “scientist of Amber”. I hope he has more success.

Day 180 PDS 8:00 AM:

I have begun the process of moving a training legion of Remans to my father’s shadow to rebuild. They have started in on general construction and I am bringing in more advanced specialists to construct steam catapults to guard my shoreline. Times are busy here. The Emperor’s people are sending out a peace feeler whom I intend to receive on the morrow. Tents have been erected to receive them, though I shall not put in a personal appearance. Let the fuckers sweat a little bit.

Soon I will need to check up on the Chanicutt brats as well. Hopefully Moire has them well in hand by now.

Day 181 PDS 7:30 AM:

The envoy from the emperor arrived yesterday and explained away the “misunderstanding”. The emperor hopes to avoid future conflict. As the price for my agreement, I have demanded five hundred peasants to farm my lands. It was agreed. They have already begun arriving, seized from the nearest villages no doubt. I’ll weed out the spies and put them to work building up some semblance of a society around here.

Day 181 PDS 6:30 PM:

I only found three spies. I executed one, turned the other two and have set up a program of disinformation as required. I have made the traditional offers of land to retiring Remans so they should be motivated for a while.

I trumped Mom to ask about the riots in Kashfa. Apparently it is in vogue amongst some of the younger rabble rousers to stir up trouble now and then. I have the feeling they are being used as tools by an outside agency. It will require some subtle investigation. Perhaps I shall have Mr. X go back to school as it were and try and infiltrate the royalist network to see who is really behind it.

In the meantime I offered to take a few of the more troublesome people underwing for political re-education. She is thinking about it. Speaking of re-education, I’m off to Rebma to follow up on the brats.

Day 182 PDS 9:00 AM:

Moire’s people are at their wit’s end. The little shits are completely out of control. The oldest one, Calvin, seems to be presenting a bad role model for the younger ones. I have had them all drugged and have imposed upon Bleys for temporary cells in Avernus to hold them until I can make alternate arrangements. It was apparent to me that the Rebmans were approaching the matter from a standpoint just too alien for the little bastards to adjust. I have decided to take a more gradual approach, one that has more resonance with their prior upbringing. I have decided to separate the three from each other, utilize a couple tricks to break their resistance to new ideas and just plain establish my superiority to the oldest one. When he wakes up, I am hauling his ass out into shadow and setting the stage.

Day 182 PDS 12:30 PM:

I took Calvin out into the countryside, just he and I alone. I tossed him a sword and bade him kill me and escape. He made a game effort. When he was exhausted, I explained to him that I felt obligated to undertake his training as a young noble of House Chanicutt. First order of business was that he would swear upon the honor of his house to serve faithfully as my squire. I needed to make sure it was witnessed, so I contacted Lirazel and brought her through to record the proceeding. She gleefully did so, and gave me a bit of disturbing news (in return for a trump of course). Enemies hitherto unknown have discovered the mirrorverse and were spreading out through it. They are shapeshifters but do not appear to be any known chaosian house.

Galena will need to be informed. Just when things seemed to be quieting down, more problems come up. Damn. I hope to hell it’s not the Moonriders.

Anyway, I thanked Lirazel for the info and made official her release from parole. Once I had done that, she prodded me for my position on the fate of the vampire Vyrkos. He was the one that shot Gerard under the control of Jelorak, but then broke free of control and slew his master. I don’t feel the need to mess with him, and I relayed that opinion to Lirazel. She was relieved, as Vyrkos was being offered adoption into House Basilisk. I am not sure how I feel about that, but I gave no concerns away.

Day 183 PDS 9:00AM:

I got hold of a very tired Galena. She was in the process of learning some Pattern technique that Lewella uses to travel through shadow extremely quickly. I gave her the rundown of what I had learned and she is returning to Amber. We discussed her interactions with the Unicorn and Dworkin. She seems to be tapped as the favored disciple in some way. Good. She is the only person I would trust not to be corrupted with the knowledge. Her recollections have been confused, so I advised her to jot down her thoughts and memories in a journal while they are still fresh. I hope to meet with her on the morrow and formulate a plan to deal with the mirrorverse interlopers.

The True Life Adventures of Fineas of House Barimen
Prince of Amber

Day 177 PDS 2:00 PM:

More worries have cropped up. Today I was checking in with Flora to find out how the new uncles were behaving when something happened in Amber. Flora pulled me through and we investigated a massive magical disturbance. It originated from a ship out in the bay which we could see was in the process of dissolving. Further investigation revealed our Helgram prisoners are all dead, slain by unknown means. Flora is contacting everyone to spread the good news. I am going to sail out and check the ship debris for clues.

Day 177 PDS 4:00 PM:

From what we can tell, a mass of coins were burned off and focused with a minor power to penetrate the castle wards. It seemed to act as a carrier wave, transmitting some sort of signal that killed the prisoners. Thirteen is looking into it in more detail….I need to go to my banquet or risk pissing off Admiral Chang-Ho.

Day 177 PDS 10:00 PM:

Just when things seemed to be going well outside Amber, some asshole mucks things up. In hindsight I should have been less effective in sacking the city. I seem to have alarmed my erstwhile allies to the point where they did something foolish.

I attended the banquet with a tiger and mage in tow. Things started well enough but as the evening progressed I sensed some anticipation on the part of my hosts. The banquet room seemed suspiciously well guarded as well but I put it down to thoroughness in security. Then I detected the poison in my wine cup. Observing my hosts, it was apparent that several of the top people were attempting to get rid of me. I covertly pulled out my trump, warned my attendants and got the hell out of there. Both my spellslinger and tiger were wounded by crossbows before we all got out. I have attended to both and they should recover. It’s time to teach these cretins what it means to cross me.

Day 178 PDS 11:00AM:

I watched from the mirrorverse as the city stirred in search of me. Chang-Ho and company retreated to his flagship under heavy guard. I notice everyone is giving the palace wide berth. Fine. This calls for more personal attention than a military action anyway. I have good mental imprints of the key players and its time I educated them in the use of trumps. I think Tori might come in handy here.

Day 178 PDS 5:00 PM:

I am going to need to take a very hot bath tonight. I had no difficulty recruiting Tori who seems to be tight with Dara these days. They both were more than happy to come help kill a few traitors. Dara even brought a nice strikeforce of hellmaids to help. We made a few trumps in her artistic shadow, then I trumped the General, taking over his body for a while. I used him to kill much of the general staff, one by one, stacking the bodies in his cabin like so much cordwood. The others finally caught on, so I released him just as they shot him down like a dog. I had Tori do the same to the Admiral, and we proceeded to trump in the hellmaids for a little shipboard action. We trashed the place. As other ships approached to counterattack, I had a little magical theatrics cast to make me appear like a manifestation of one of their demons from folklore. Hopefully the demon won’t mind…I think I did him proud. I killed the Admiral in view of his fleet in particularly gruesome fashion and then we left. I feel tainted somewhat, but I’ll get over it. Hopefully the next bozo the Emperor sends will show a little more fidelity to our agreement.

Day 179 PDS 11:30 AM:

I got a panic trump from my old friend Valeri. He was convinced he was being stalked and wanted my help. I returned to Amber, invited him to my manor and watched. Sure enough, a scruffy looking woman followed and was watching from just outside my security perimeter. I had the brownies keep an eye, and I trumped Thirteen who surprisingly was in the sewers dealing with some menace. He allowed me to use Kirsten and Genevieve to ambush the lurker. The woman proved tougher than expected but when I showed up was willing to talk. She is a garou, sent by the beast to learn more about Valeri. Apparently he impressed the Beast when Jacob used him as an intermediary. The Beast wanted to find out the nature of mortal courage and the garou was to observe Valeri to report. Since she was made, I suggested that she might as well accompany Valeri since his normal behavior was already compromised. Seeing the sense in not angering the Beast, she agreed. She was filthy, so we had her washed and clothed a little more appropriately. I think Valeri will be busy with her for some time to come.

The True Life Adventures of Fineas of House Barimen
Prince of Amber

Day 170 PDS 2:00 PM:

We have reached the seas just off of the pirate port where Osric and Finndo look to be massing their force. With the remaining hours of sunlight I hope to parley with one or the other. Our ship has run up my colors, though they will mean nothing to my uncles. It occurs to me that backup may be wise so I will pull in Dara.

Day 170 PDS 4:00 PM:

Osric agreed to meet with me on a neutral boat. We rowed out and with a bit of time, I was able to demonstrate that I was indeed of the blood. I believe I have successfully explained the state of affairs in Amber and Osric is willing to come to Amber to observe it from a distance with suitable precautions and a hostage. We shall see just how reasonable they can be.

Day 171 PDS 9:00 AM:

Things went far better than I had planned. Dara summoned the spirit of Benedict and with his help Osric and Finndo were slowly convinced of things. Today we are taking them around to make the introductions to the remainder of the family. The two will have some culture changes to get used to but they seem to be suitably impressed by Gerard and Bleys. With luck, they will not press their claims for some time to come. Part of establishing the pecking order seemed to be sparring in the practice room. Both uncles would likely defeat me in a long man to man fight from what I can determine, though neither would come away unscathed. I shall have to redouble my training to maintain parity with them if I can. It would help if several of us earned their respect to keep them in line and martial prowess seems to be the key to their respect.

I shall have to return to Father’s shadow soon to check on the progress of my overtures to the Emperor’s forces. I have sent ahead an emissary bearing gifts and a proposal. We shall see what happens.

Day 173 PDS 11:00AM:

My initial contacts seem to have gone well. I am meeting with the Admiral of the Emperor’s Divine Fleet later this evening. Indications are he is interested in what I have to offer but trusts me not a whit. Further abasement will likely be needed and I hope my pride does not get in the way of what needs to be done.

Day 174 PDS 9:00 AM:

Negotiations appear to be successful. I have undertaken the task of removing the local warlord from control of a nearby city as a show of my desire to serve the Emperor. It will prove a nice diversion for the Remans who have been getting a tad bored of late. A jaunt through the mirrorverse ought to be just what the doctor ordered. I plan to strike tonight.

Day 174 PDS 11:30 PM:

The collapse and sacking of the city is well underway. My mid day tomorrow it should be open for the arrival of the Admiral’s forces. I am allowing the Remans to sack the palace and a moderate part of the city. The raping and killing has been kept within reason so far. I hope I can keep things under some degree of control.

Day 175 PDS 11:00 AM:

The Admiral Chang-Ho was flabbergasted at the speed of my conquest. I have kept him in the dark as to how I accomplished it. The Imperial troops are moving in to take over from my Remans. I will need to arrange for the Remans to slip out as quickly and quietly as possible. I want there to be a certain degree of fear in the minds of my erstwhile allies so that there are no future “misunderstandings”. He does seem pleased with the result and I expect to make the fountain available to him soon to purchase his loyalty. In the meantime, I want to reward a few of my current allies with some rejuvenation. Bono, Eugen, Dad’s wizards and the tigers all take precedence.

Day 176 PDS 2:30 PM:

After making the rounds, I have managed to rejuvenate Bono & family, Eugen, my palace staff and all the tigers. The tigers were especially pleased and in the worst need of it. I will also be importing some more supplies to rebuild the support base around the palace. I suppose some of those taken in the city sacking may be useful as serfs, though I doubt their loyalty would suffice. I will likely need to import my subjects from elsewhere.

The True Life Adventures of Fineas of House Barimen
Prince of Amber

Day 166 PDS 3:00 PM:

I am taking steps to avoid future difficulties with the local warlord. It appears that if I make a deal involving access to a source of longevity, I can reconstitute the arrangements Dad had with the locals. I chose a gift amongst the various items lying about and sent Mr.X and an escort of tigers to approach the Empire. Hopefully something amicable can be arranged with the Emperor himself to re-annex the local region.

I also arranged for a large number of cattle to be trumped in to feed the tigers and staff for a while until I can rebuild a self sufficient economy hereabouts. Morale needs to be improved and the whole situation reversed to one of growth rather than decay.

Day 167 PDS 11:00 AM:

I did some more research into how shadow has changed. I think I have located some of the old shadow paths and can rebuild them. I need to establish a new one to the fountain of youth to keep my people happy and also to check on Osric and Finndo. I have an idea of the region they may be trapped in.

Day 168 PDS 1:00 PM:

The meeting with the Admiral of the Empire seems to have gone well. Of much more concern is the fact that I found the shadow where Osric and Finndo had been imprisoned. It was a mess and obviously had spilled it?s contents some weeks ago. Time to alert the family that we have two possibly disruptive relatives on the loose. I trumped Thirteen for help in tracking them and we are well on the way to finding them. I also need to report to Flora and Bleys. Probably Toriana too.

Day 168 PDS 4:00 PM:

Everyone who needs to know now does. Toriana and Dara had quite the surprise for me. It seems that Benedict?s ghost is flittering about keeping an eye on us. He has no Pattern abilities anymore, but can manipulate the transformation energy now. I suspect other peculiarities as well, but for now at least we have access to his advice if not his blade. When he arrived, I asked if he wished to remain as he is or if he would like us to reconstitute a body for him. With the duplication lab going, perhaps we can construct a new body of sorts. Worth investigating.

Benedict gave us the lowdown on what to expect from Osric and Finndo. They are much closer in temperment to Corwin or Bleys it seems than the rest of us. I expect strong ego?s and impulsive behavior. We are going to have to make sure they respect our strength if we are going to get anywhere with them. I spoke at length with Flora about this. Hopefully she can make a positive impression without having to knock them around too much. They appear to be working towards the overthrow of Oberon and may be gathering a fleet as I write this. Time is short.

Day 169 PDS 1:00 PM:

While I was conferring with other family about the whole situation, Thirteen , Sabine and Kirsten had tracked the uncles to a pirates hold and had tried to bluff their way through. They seem to have made a bad impression on the locals. As I trumped in, a rather violent altercation was in progress on a ship. We commandeered one and sailed off with a zombie crew far enough to rendevouz with Ky-Tung whom I trumped in via gate. Her ship is much better than the local stuff and we are now sailing towards the marshalling area of the uncles. This will be interesting.

The True Life Adventures of Fineas of House Barimen
Prince of Amber

42.

Day 149 PDS (Amber Time) 3:00 PM:

The barbarian raids continue to be successful and I have gathered a substantial number of tribes anxious to get in on the glory. I have coordinated with Sullus and have chosen a target for the grand finale. I have arranged for a substantial amount of alcohol to be present in the town when the barbarians attack. By the following morning they should be ripe for slaughter.

Day 152 PDS (Amber Time) 11:00 AM:

The smoking remnants of the town are literally carpeted in the mangled bodies of the raiders. Outside, Sullus and his legions are gathering spoils and preparing to occupy and conquer the nearest tribal lands. A few days ago I had to kill a challenger to my position with the tribes. Once I did that, all resistance to my manipulations ceased and I was hailed as a descendant of some local diety. I led the attacking force to sack the town, then trumped away to join Sullus when the legions arrived. The battle was very one sided and Sullus should be cemented into his position for a while. We are arranging a tribute for him upon his return to Remia. In return, I will be taking the first legion to Amber for training within a month. Sullus is happy, I have a steady source of excellent troops and all seems well. I have kept occasional touch with Amber and have calibrated local time to be about twice as fast as Amber while I am here

Day 160 PDS (Amber Time) 8:00 PM:

I took over the leadership of XII Legio and have begun the process of shadowwalking to Amber with them in tow. It will take a bit of time acclimatizing them to the true nature of reality but the process is begun. I have arranged for a combination of Royal Guardsmen, Jacob’s Remians and rangers to set up a training regimen. Once they are satisfactorily trained I will make sure to find a minor skirmish to test them, arrange for some lucrative looting and return them to Remia to collect the next batch.

Day 163 PDS (Amber Time) 9:30AM:

Upon my return to Amber and getting the Remians settled into training quarters, I learned that Toriana and Dara have returned from the mirror realm where they claim to have found the remains of Diego. Their story is that he was slain by Geisels. I am skeptical but will hold my tongue. I can’t help but remember Tori’s recent proposal that we hunt him down and tap him for Amberite blood to make artifacts. I will need to contact Sorack and make sure she is looked after. I may need to round up all the other concubines and make sure any of Diego’s offspring they are carrying are under my protection. It would not do to have them whisked away by chaosians or slain by others with a grudge. Better I see to their welfare I think.

Day 164 PDS 2:30PM:

I met with Sorack. She seemed unsure how to react to the news. I let her know I would make sure she was protected regardless of events.

Toriana and Dara have been tasked by Flora to arrange the memorial. They are using some of Diego’s own décor to construct the monument, though they have contracted the job to the lowest bidder. I anticipate an eyesore and I am sure that is their intent.

Galina is somewhat recovering from her week long sojourn with the Unicorn. When she has had sufficient time to collect her thoughts, I will sit her down for the story.

I have not seen Jacob or Thirteen for a while. Dara and Toriana seem to have gotten thick with each other and are often in each other’s company these days. I have not heard much on Gerard’s progress, but I presume no news is good news.

Day 165 PDS 7:30PM:

I sought out my father’s shadow to get away from the memorial preparations for a while. I brought Mr.X and a handful of my samurai. I found a somewhat desolate area surrounding a palace, patrolled by the dreaded tigers and manned by a few of my father’s servants. I took possession after proving my pedigree by drawing Werewindle. What I found inside is very interesting and will require careful study over the coming months. First, I need to secure the place as some of the local warlords are getting pushy and may need to be driven off before long.

The True Life Adventures of Fineas of House Barimen
Prince of Amber

Day 99 PDS 3:00 PM:

I woke up this morning (alone thank goodness) having been put to bed by the Rebman servants. I made a cursory check of my gear. Werewindle let me know Moire was examining him visually for quite a while, but did nothing out of order. My head hurts a little, but activity should clear that up. I hate relying on drugs or magic to clear my head. I figure if there is no pain involved, you did not really drink enough. I have an appointment in Belkin today, so I had better get moving.

Day 100 PDS 11:00 AM:

My business in Belkin is done. I now need to attend to my official duties and see to Avalon and Arden. I hope Benedict’s men are receptive to Amber oversight. I really don’t want any unnecessary complications right now. I have too much to do to get the Amber army back into some semblance of order. I will need to visit each noble house to get an accounting of what men at arms they are willing to admit to in the event of an emergency. I need to make sure we cover glaring deficiencies (flying creatures comes to mind). I need to keep Bleys’ grubby mitts out of my command structure if possible and I need to make sure Flora gives me enough room to operate effectively. Micromanaging is the last thing I need. She does not seem to be the type, but time will tell.

Day 100 PDS 8:00 PM:

I met with the generals in Avalon. I think we can work together effectively as they exhibit the same no nonsense efficiency I have come to identify with Benedict. I inquired if they had established control over the major sources of the gunpowder. I am assured they are quietly exerting control over a handful of other newly discovered deposits. I will need to monitor that. I want to make sure we cover every base possible to avoid enemies getting their hands on the stuff. I may need to eventually take up residence there myself, but for now Benedict’s men will have to do. I have undertaken to make them a number of trump sketches to assist in their communications.

Arden is slowly recovering. I checked into the hellhound population and learned they are mostly dispersed since no one effectively controls them. They may become another long term project. I would like to reconstitute the pack if we can somehow control them. The tigers are still a slight problem, but most of the really stupid ones are dead now or relocated to Ruin.

Day 101 PDS 11:30 AM:

Toriana contacted me via trump to ask for backup on something she was investigating. It turns out Jelorak had an alleged descendant also in the Brotherhood. His name is Turjan and he seems to have a reputation as a creator of magical creatures. Something similar to what Diego was doing, though based more on magic than shapeshifting. Tori pulled me through the contact into a castle. We sought out a servant to show us to Turjan. He was afflicted with frogginess and was forcibly restrained in his bed. His beautiful companion consented in allowing us to cure him without hindrance after we informed her of our pedigree. A fine loyal woman. In the event, the cure was not overly difficult with both Tori and I participating. He was suitably grateful. Tori and I looked at each other and made an unspoken decision to recruit him ourselves. I did most of the talking. He agreed readily, though for a moment he was concerned when Tori insisted he move to a different locale.

I guess my next task is to find a good place to install our new mage. His talents may come in useful when we need specialty creatures or troops.

Day 104 PDS 12:00PM:

The search for a suitable shadow took some time. We wanted a place off the beaten path, high magic with a faster time flow than Amber. We found Yari. I have identified a stronghold that we will seize. The current occupant is something of a scumbag and is reviled by most folks in the area. I will assault the place using the mirrorverse to gain entry and try to keep it as bloodless as possible. My experience in Perzia should prove useful for this. I figure a couple dozen samurai should do the trick.

Day 108 PDS 8:45PM:

It took a while to locate the proper mirrors and a while longer to acclimatize my samurai to the mirrorverse. We managed to take the place quickly and are now in control. The former occupant’s body was passed down to the village where I understand they have hung it from a pole by meathooks. The fall of a despot is never pretty. Tori is bringing Turjan and his gear through via a trump gate. His companion and a handful of serving creatures are coming as well. I have decided to assign Sinon here as well to assist and will keep at least ten samurai posted here to assist with more mundane problems that might arise. A number of interesting magical devices meant to influence the local mages council were confiscated. I allowed one to be kept by Turjan for study. The rest I have moved to my warehouse in Amber until I can find a better place for them. I intend to study them myself and keep them on tap for use if the local chapter of mages gets unruly. Speaking of…I shall need to pay them a visit tomorrow and make sure they understand the new reality.

Day 110 PDS 5:00PM:

The mages had to dick with me a little, so I exhibited just enough power to earn their respect if not their fear. If they continue to get cute, I will make an example of one or two and make it look like Turjan did it. I have decided that any time more than three wizards get together, the collective scum factor goes up exponentially as they try to gain an edge over each other. It kind of reminds me of our family in older days. I will have to stick around a couple more days to solidify control of the area, but it is about time to see to my plans in Remia.

Day 112 PDS 7:30PM:

Tomorrow I head out to Remia again. Today I took a brief respite and accepted an invitation from Flora to spar with Galina and herself. It was fun. Normally I would disdain wrestling around with a woman, but if you are going to do it you can’t complain about doing it with Flora (or Galina). I worked them with swords (neither proved to be a match for me, though together they got me pretty good) and then they worked me with chairs, lamps, etc. I call it chair-fu, Flora calls it advanced social skills. How to kick someone’s ass with a dinner setting, no weapons allowed. As I said, fun though of dubious value to myself.

Afterwards I invited Galina to the music room. She joined me there after getting a rubdown and we spent the afternoon playing music. Very relaxing. She asked me about the whole blood artifact business. I let her know that I am not particularly interested in shedding my bodily fluids, especially given my lack of magical knowledge. Werewindle is enough for me. I expect to be gone a while, so I have given instructions to the brownies, Nellie in Rebma and Mr. X to keep them profitably busy during my absence.

Day 114 PDS 10:00AM:

Sullus was pleased that I was willing to have him slow down his efforts a bit. He truly fears me and was perhaps pushing things along a little faster than needed. I explained that a thorough and careful job would please me more, so he is adjusting his plans accordingly. In the meantime, I have gathered the swanmays and will be heading up country to begin the process of stirring up trouble. I have adjusted my appearance, started growing a beard and should easily pass for a barbarian in a couple weeks. My entries in this journal will likely be sparse for a while. It would not do to be seen writing where I am going.

Day 128 PDS Noonish:

I made contact with what appears to be a suitable tribe. I bribed my way into their councils and have started filling their ears with tales of loot just waiting to be plucked from the northern provinces. Some of the graybeards have had their asses kicked by the Remans before and are skeptical. The youngbloods are more than willing to believe me. A little gold spread here and there should swing the council to my whim.

I had to say the swanmays were my wives. It has caused a couple awkward moments in the communal house, but so far we have been able to fake amorous relations. Not that I would mind giving them the business for real, it is just that it is a bad idea to fraternize with one’s subordinates to that degree. It leads to discipline problems I want to avoid. I let them know it would be OK with me if they released their tensions discretely with the locals as long as they don’t get overly attached. I certainly intend to lie with a number of local women. To do otherwise would raise suspicion. The things I do for Amber!

Day 134 PDS Morning:

The fires from last night are still lighting the sky as the sun rises. With a force of about three hundred tribesmen, we sacked a small Reman town belonging to Sullus’ chief rival Mortus. I feel regret at the loss of life, all for the sake of political gain but I am resolved to finish the plan. The tribemen are ecstatic at our success and are now bickering a bit amongst themselves over the spoils. It will be extremely difficult to exert any sort of martial control over these people. I will have to satisfy myself with this crude club of an army where I would prefer a fine rapier. Oh well, it will make Sullus’ eventual victory even easier if I encourage this loss of discipline.

Day 145 PDS Evening:

More and more tribes are joining the horde. We will soon be ready for larger targets and more serious damage. Another month and I will be ready to set the stage for Sullus’ ascendance to the consulship and the climactic battle. God will I be glad to get out of these smelly furs and into something resembling civilized clothing.

The True Life Adventures of Fineas of House Barimen
Prince of Amber

Day 95 PDS 8:00 AM:

I really feel like crap this morning. I can tell I am going to have to go detox somewhere safe for a while. Lynxia is out, too many damned frogs still unaccounted for. There is some concern about Baden-Baden, so I think I will avoid that place as well. Perhaps Inakhos will do. I need to check up on the household anyway, it might as well be now.

Flora has trumped me asking me to meet with her at the Grove. I have a pretty good idea what she wants to discuss. Bleys. My head hurts already just thinking about it.

Day 95 PDS 10:00AM:

Flora is looking pretty rough today too, but she cheered up considerably when I promised to back her for the regency. For now at least she is the best choice. We talked about Bleys and are going to offer him the Admiralty. I will likely be given charge of the army since I have experience now and am apparently in high regard with the troops. We discussed getting Mirelle back into the official family and I said I would try and get Thirteen to ask her to return. That may be a trick in and of itself, but I am counting on Thirteen's logical turn of mind to recognize the necessity. I am sure he will not be enthusiastic about it, but he does what he thinks is the best for Amber as far as I can see. I informed her of my offer to Moire to help oversee the Chanicutt captives and she had no issue with that. Lastly I asked her about the possibility of getting Great Grandmother Amalthea into a active role. She was uncertain about how to proceed, but the thought bears investigation.

Day 97 PDS 2:30PM:

I gathered a few brownies to watch over me and collapsed into my bed in Inakhos a couple days ago. I have been expunging heavy metals and other toxins from my system since then. It has been no fun at all. Boris has become enamored with my brownies after his initial shock and has devised a scheme to use them in some minor thefts in the area. Not really something I want to be part of, but if it keeps my brownies and him happy, so be it.

I returned to Amber to report for duty this morning. Bleys accepted Flora's proposal and she is now regent. She asked me to take the troops out in Arden under my charge and find out what needs to be done. It is busy work, no doubt to keep me from mischief while she gets things under control, but I am happy for the job. The rangers are reporting some problems with local intelligent tigers, so I have decided to cull a few out. I am moving some of the excess troops to Ruin until I can arrange a garrison shadow in a more amenable location. Dara's hellmaids seem to be restless, so I am using a few of them to solve the tiger issue.

The hellmaids seem determined to make a sexual snack of me, so I ran them hard to reduce their desire. It would not do to fraternize with the troops in the way they wish. Certainly I would not be able to command any respect from them if they continue to think of me as a sex toy. The end result was a very tired group of hellmaids with one careless example in the infirmary. I suspect they will not attempt to seduce me any time soon now. Good thing too, as the constant attention was beginning to get distracting. I resolved to release my tension with a trip to visit Ky-Tung as soon as possible.

Day 97 PDS 6:30PM:

A visit to the giant shadow to see Ky and Azvan was interesting. Ky was enthusiastic about turning the place into a resort of some sort. I offered to make a solid shadowpath and give a license to her family to exploit it. She accepted of course. I would personally be more interested in the place as a source of new toxins and foodstuffs than recreation. Some of the nastier insects could prove useful. In any case, I succeeded in reducing my tension and filled them in on recent events. Before it gets too dark here, I need to get back to Amber and see to arrangements for my other duties in Rebma with the Chanicutt brats.

Day 98 PDS 8:00PM:

My mind is really not on the days events, but I want to jot a few down before I get too drunk to hold my pen.

I set up Nellie in my Rebman manor to act as my agent here when I am away. She was amenable to the duty and should do a good job. She wants the inside story on the brats of course. The brats themselves are going to be a challenge. I met with the Queen and we discussed the matter in some detail. We laid out objectives and a simple plan before we got the terrible news from Llewella.

Benedict is dead.

The effort undertaken to reconstitute him failed to preserve his life. Moire brought forth the finest vintage from Benedict's vineyards and we gathered what family were in Rebma to drink to his memory. I am unsure of the details of what went wrong and why. I can't help but feel I should have stepped forward to make sure the effort was made properly. It was Dara's right, but her impatience is well known and a delicate operation of that sort needs some patience.

As I drink with the Royal Family of Rebma and my relations, I have resolved to compose a lament dedicated to my uncle. Amber will never be so blessed again and our loss is crushing.

Day 98 or 99 PDS, No Fucking Clue about the time.

Lament for Benedict

Child of Barimen, who once was
Defender of hope and our just cause.
Where are you now, our bastion of right?
Felled by the evil of the Abyssal night.
What fell fate layed it's hand upon thee?
To result in our sorrow for what now will be.

Our protector for ages, none could stand before you.
Not warlords or mages, even our fears you could subdue.
Now we are laid bare, our great armor is gone.
Our great flame has gone out from what Tualua has done.
Where roams your great spirit, we may never know.
Nevermore shall we sit and bask in your glow.

Too drunk to continue for now. I should ask Corwyn for the tonalities. I wonder if he knows yet? Where the fuck are my trumps?

To His Highness, Prince Fineas of Amber,

I was distressed to learn of the vile attack on your mother. Please convey my sympathy to Queen Jasra. She is welcome to use the royal hospital in Rebma as my guest should Lynxia be compromised.

After much reflection I have decided to use the Chanicut brats as you recommend. Princess Llewella and Count Taran urged me to do much the same. Honor and practicality outweigh the strict enforcement of certain declarations made just after discovering what had been done to my sister.

I accept with pleasure your offer of help in educating the spawn of Chaos. This should consist primarily of making clear to them the might of Amber and the strength of our alliance. You might endeavor to help them grasp the difference between “subject” and “livestock”. Thus far they’ve only managed to learn that damaging my subjects – my property, in their view – will earn them pain.

Grieving for your uncle,
Moire

Greetings Uncle,

I have thought upon your words spoken over the quivering mass of Tualua and have decided to offer you my counsel, as impertinent as that may seem. I only ask that you hear me out and think upon what I say.

I could sense your desire to step up and prove your worthiness to rule Amber. Of those who are left I have little doubt you are the most fit to rule the realm. I must ask you to wait as now is not the time for you to take up that duty. Memories are too fresh amongst the noble houses and commoners of the losses they incurred during your past assault upon Eric. You have not yet been forgiven and any move to take up the regency on your part will result in immediate dissension within the realm. You would be seen as a usurper, even though you are the logical choice for the regency. House Helgram, who is known to have an active agent here, would immediately seize upon that emotion and we would see no end to the troubles.

My advice is to make an arrangement with Flora. Allow her to take up the regency again with your backing. In return, ask that she designate you Lord Marshall and we can begin the work to rehabilitate your support within Amber. Visible service to the greater good of Amber will go further than anything else to win hearts and minds. This will not be a quick fix. It will take some time and careful manipulation of some key personalities who currently hold a grudge against you. But it is absolutely necessary if you are ever to sit on the throne in anything resembling a unified realm.

Likely Flora will turn over the regency to Gerard upon his recovery. Your unselfish support to Flora would impress Gerard the most I think and he is looking for any excuse to turn over the reigns of power to someone else. Prove yourself to him now, and I have no doubt he will tap you as the regent as soon as public opinion will allow it. A smooth transition of power is critical to our long term survival. We have too few family left to lose in more infighting.

Should you take my advice to heart and wish to discuss particulars or request assistance in any arrangements to be made, I am at your service.

Warm Regards,

Fineas

The True Life Adventures of Fineas of House Barimen
Prince of Amber

Day 93 7:00 AM:

The plan is to make our attack on Pandalume’s shadow sometime tomorrow. A number of preparations are under way. Several of the family are constructing Amber blood-iron artifacts to use on Tualua. My job will to be to see what assistance can be gleaned from Bel or the Bright Lady. Flora and Sabine will be accompanying me.

As far as our plan goes, we have decided to Pattern teleport in with several hit teams while yours truly raises a stink with Toriana to draw away attention. Werewindle makes me an obvious target, so my role will primarily be that of a goat staked out to sacrifice.

I suggested we plant a mirror in the shadow as well and allow Galena to activate it and create a path to Amber. It won’t be done in time for an attack, but it will serve as an escape route if necessary. Anything we can do to avoid exposure to the deep subspace region is helpful.

I have contacted Mother and asked her to be prepared to channel a lot of energy my way. Werewindle is still drained and needs a recharge as well, but first thing is first.

Day 93 11:00 AM:

Bel proved quite anxious to be of assistance. He has imbued Flora and myself with the magical ability to teleport at will for a limited time. That should help keep me alive. He also arranged a meeting with a thief diety who is also looking for some payback. Benedict and Rinaldo have been imbued with super stealth power, also for a limited time. Werewindle was recharged courtesy of Bel and I am more or less ready to hurl myself into the fray.

Toriana approached me with a disturbing proposition and a welcome bit of news. She asked if I would be willing to help track down Diego and drain some of his blood for use in artifacts. She did not mean ask for a willing contribution either. I declined of course. I do not have any desire to make an implacable enemy of Diego, he does not really deserve to be treated in such a manner, and from a practical standpoint there just isn’t time. The news was she had successfully sabotaged Jelorek’s staff and he would not have it for our impending encounter. I was very pleased with Tori at that point.

Rhonda and Marcus have agreed to allow the use of the Tir jewel to bind Tualua should we succeed, as has Queen Moire with the Rebman jewel. With our jewel added, we hope to make a stronger binding than would otherwise be the case.

Day 93 6:30 PM:

The order of battle has been determined. Toriana and I will make one team and Flora with Bleys will make a second decoy team. The main hit team will be Benedict and Rinaldo who will go in first. Thirteen and Jacob will follow with the same goal. Dara, Martin and Galena make up another. That will leave Gerard, Mirelle and Llewella to guard the home fires if necessary.

I went to check on Petra, Phaedra and Sinon in the event I could use a little illusion ability. Petra and Phaedra have turned froggy and are at large. I took a very worried Sinon under my patronage and have sent him to report to Chango to learn the ropes. I am leaving Mr. X and Nellie to watch over my estate in my absence. I plan to get a good nights rest tonight. I think tomorrow is going to be very trying.

Day 94 8:45PM:

In retrospect, I don’t think we could really have done anything much differently. Benedict and Rinaldo successfully slipped into enemy territory undetected. Half an hour later Thirteen and Jacob slipped in under cover of the noisier trump entry Tori and I made. It did not take long for the enemy to react. Tualua himself started spewing his noxious stream of transformation power at Tori and I. While Tori created the appearance of opening a trump gate, I tried to keep the crap off us. Unbeknownst to us, Jelorak and company decided to make their attack on Amber while we were tied up with TuaLua.

A false Semirama and Jelorak were quickly killed, but Tualua proved a handful. Partway into the battle, Tori got an alarm trump from Kelamon letting us know an assault was underway against Amber castle by the real Jelorak and Semirama. Tori quickly trumped back to help. I needed to stay to use Werewindle on the big ugly thing.

The cost to us was very high. Benedict was caught in a last gasp desperation blast of transformative power from Tualua. He turned into a crystalline substance and was shattered into many pieces. We subdued Tualua shortly thereafter. I was positively covered in gore from stabbing Werewindle in up to the hilt. As advertised, the damned thing just would not die. It finally grew weak enough that the binders could get to work. We pulled in Moire and Rhonda and got to work as soon as Jacob and Moire finished arguing. We gathered up Benedict’s pieces in case some sort of recovery is possible, then bound the creature as planned.

I returned to Amber posthaste once I was no longer needed with Tualua. The news there was grim as well, but we proved victorious in the end. Tori was able to engage in mental combat with Jelorak at an in opportune time for him. His control of his vampiric assassin slipped and the fellow promptly hunted down Jelorek and snapped his neck. Semirama was eventually gunned down before she could escape. Our losses were high. Gerard is in unknown condition after having been shot by the sniper. Morwyn lost a Triton or two before she learned they were not suited for ranged combat. A majority of the castle guard has been wiped out from the transformation blasts from Semirama. The Jewel of Amber was safe.

I spent much of the day securing the castle, putting the bodies of Jelorak and Semirama in quarantine and mopping up enemy leftovers. The main vampire slipped away after killing Jelorak and I was not inclined to try and chase him down. I am exhausted, both physically and emotionally. I cautioned the others not to say a word about the fate of Benedict. We need his reputation to defend us for a time yet. Moire thought he may still be alive in a fashion, but I just can’t see how to bring him back. On top of that, Bleys is making noises like he wishes to claim the regency while Gerard and Benedict are not capable of ruling. While I am not sure Bleys would not do a good job, I do not think the populace will give him the benefit of a doubt and I foresee civil troubles should he sit in the regent’s chair. The one thing we can’t afford right now is civil unrest. It looks to me like Flora will need to do it. I can’t see Mirelle handling the responsibility either unless I am greatly mistaken about her personality. God, it really makes you appreciate Gerard more when it becomes clear how badly he is needed.

A thought has occurred to me. I wonder if Amalthea might be approached to rule. I am not sure just how alien her thought processes are, but it bears investigation. If only I could figure out a way to discuss the situation with her.

Well, my head and body are throbbing. Time to sleep.

The True Life Adventures of Fineas of House Barimen
Prince of Amber

Day 91 PDS 12:00 PM:

Things have been hopping this morning. Following Thirteen's debriefing, it has become apparent that I may be uniquely equipped to penetrate the subspace shadow and survive to make a trump impression of the shadow beyond. Dara will be accompanying me to help in opening subspace holes. I have to admit some degree of trepidation about this arrangement, but I have taken as many precautions as I can. Werewindle will be protecting me from the psychic assaults of the elementals, I will be wearing an environmental suit and air supply, and Dara is there to provide a distraction should I need to escape quickly. I leave in an hour.

Day 91 PDS 2:30 PM:

My departure was delayed by another emergency. It seems Dworkin has repossessed the Jewel of Judgement and took off with it, presumably to take on the enemy holding Sand and Delwin. He put the whole castle to sleep, apparently blew through all of the protections in place to keep it safe, and headed off into shadow. Alerts have gone out and Werewindle is acting agitated.

Day 91 PDS 4:30 PM:

It did not take long to resolve. We found Dworkin at the Binding source with the limbless Sand and Delwin, both still alive but badly injured. Dworkin had summoned Werewindle to him shortly after my last entry, used it to get into the prison where they were held, slipped them out and brought them here. It looks like we have some more payback to dispense.

Day 91 PDS 6:30 PM:

Sand and Delwin are in Lynxia for treatment. Dworkin and Zhartra chased us out of the Binding power so we brought them here. Both have had their binding abilities removed by Dworkin and they are suffering brain damage from their treatment. There is really going to be hell to pay for this one.

Day 91 PDS 8:00 PM:

I have returned safely, though greatly fatigued. I now must decide if I should create the trump myself, or pass it on to Toriana. I am too tired at the moment to reliably pass on the impression I was able to get while in enemy territory. The trip was dangerous. Big and nasty things are lurking in deep subspace and I felt the urge to avoid them by moving as quickly as possible. It was tiring for Werewindle as well, so I plan on retiring early tonight and dealing with it in the morning.

Day 92 PDS 2:00 AM:

So much for getting some rest. I found myself being stalked in my room in the early hours by an unseen assailant. I quickly grabbed Werewindle and trumped out in my skivvies. A quick alert later and the complex in Lynxia was in an uproar. We are still learning details, but it appears some of the staff have been mutated by the transformation power and are now hostile. Lynxia is no longer safe. I have made immediate arrangements to move Sand and Delwin to safer facilities as the problem appears to be widespread in Lynxia.

Day 92 PDS 9:30 AM:

Bleys has agreed to allow his personal healing shadow Baden-Baden to be used. It is a three to one time ratio to Amber and is much more scientifically oriented than was the case elsewhere. Sand and Delwin have been brought in, along with Tanitheel and are now being treated.

Word has it that Enrys Feldane was assassinated in Lynxia by more mutated Brotherhood mages under the control of the enemy. All signs are now pointing at Jelorek being involved, either as a puppet or as the instigator. His beautiful sidekick is rumored to be Samara, an ancient priestess of Talualua. She is the one wielding the power, most likely as a tool. They stole the archives of the Brotherhood, gained access to the talismans they all wear and are happily mutating the mages into froglike minions. The devastation is not confined to Lynxia, so I must contact Ky-Tung to make sure Azvan is not turning against her.

Day 92 PDS 1:30 PM:

I made sure Ky was safe and confirmed Azvan was under psychic attack. I used Werewindle to free him from the link to his talisman and will probably be busy doing that for other important wizards for some time.

I remembered to get the trump impression back to Tori rather late, so I trumped her and was shown a strange trumpy shadow where she apparently works. She did not seem surprised that I was able to provide a trump image. She accepted it and got to work right away on producing more. I'm off to go help clean up more of the mess left by the Brotherhood. I curse the time this is giving the Helgrams, who are trying to blame the chaos assassinations on us. I gave Lirazel the lowdown and expect her to get word to the other houses that the Helgrams are the true culprits. We shall see what Basilisk can accomplish.

To Her Royal Highness, Queen Moire of Rebma,

I wished to offer congratulations on the successful strike against House Channicutt and beg an indulgence from your Royal Highness. Let me begin by complimenting your military commanders. Once again the forces of your kingdom have proven themselves the masters of their foes and force for all to reckon with. I recently received word of the victory from Princess Torianna and further descriptions from Princess Galena. I wish I had been there to watch the strike but a recent attack on my family had me otherwise engaged.

With regards to the boon I ask, it has come to my attention that three minors of House Channicutt were taken into custody. As someone who can understand the issues of growing up under the cloud of one's parentage, I humbly ask that they be taken underwing, educated properly and freed from the cycle of hatred. It should certainly be justice enough to hold them for the same period of time as Princess Llewella was incarcerated. Given access to fast time shadows, the time could be stretched to a much greater subjective length allowing for the civilizing process to take root and the hostilities to be overcome. By showing generosity and mercy, it may be possible to eventually tame some of the passions directed against us once they are returned to their homelands.

I wish to offer the use of my manor in Rebma in any way it may be of service towards this end. My staff is at your disposal should you wish to make use of them. When not otherwise engaged in missions for Amber, I also offer whatever assistance I may provide in tutoring the young captives (under Rebman supervision of course). I feel that we have an obligation to at least try and salvage the youngsters. I hope that you will agree.

Warmest Regards,

Prince Fineas of Amber

The True Life Adventures of Fineas of House Barimen
Prince of Amber

Day 90 PDS 10:00 PM:

I have neglected to write in this journal for a couple of days Amber time. Actually it has been well over a week in subjective time as I have spent an extended period in Lynxia. It's time to catch up.

I went through a mild episode of panic when Mother contacted me to inform me her trumps had been stolen during the Chun episode. When I pressed her for an accounting, I learned of a couple of Father's shadows I had not known about. Trumps were also missing of the Keep and palace. I immediately ordered the trump in locations to be altered sufficiently to render the trumps useless. Of more concern was how the trumps of Rinaldo and myself might be abused. I must make some security adjustments now.

With regards to the unknown foe, my musings in the last entries appear to have some validity. But before I get to that, let me tell about the wonderful new prisoners brought back from the assault on House Chanicutt by the brave forces of Rebma.

Dara and Toriana returned from the assault with a pair of Helgram spies they captured near Chanicutt ways. When I was contacted with an offer to be allowed to sit in on the interrogation, I heartily agreed. While I am not as talented at beating or mentally forcing information from enemies as my more "delicate" cousines, I seem to have a talent for knowing what questions to ask. Tori in particular seemed quite pleased with herself, though she sported unaccustomed bruises and scrapes from her adventure. Rumor has it she subdued one of the Helgrams in melee. Very surprising from a woman who has a reputation for disdaining physical conflict. Dara's influence no doubt. Here is some of what we learned after extensive probing:

1. There is at least one Helgram who has mastered the Mirrorverse to the same degree as Galena. The others apparently have not.

2. The Helgrams went on a killing spree in the MV to subjugate or eradicate as many shroudlings as they could. They will have no friends there.

3. The Helgrams intend to frame Amber and other houses for the assassinations, then advance their position by "helping" the devastated houses.

4. We learned a few particulars about how Helgram command and control functions. The same strengths (cell structure, severe compartmentalization of information) they exhibit can also be weaknesses. I intend to exploit that.

About this time we had a surprise visit from a severely injured Thirteen. He had to be rushed into a healing tank, having been subjected to what appears to be a flash freezing of his extremities. He could not talk, so I made a trump contact with him to learn what had happened. Thirteen had picked up the trail at Dom Daniel and attempted to contact Pandelume, the subspace specialist. His entry into the shadow of said wizard revealed the presence of our missing abyssal badass. For once Thirteen had made the trip alone and had to flee in short order. His injuries resulted from forcing his way out of the shadow through some sort of inimical environment. He expected pursuit but was able to trump away in time to avoid capture.

This brings a couple of possibilities. One is that Pandelume has turned on us and is behind the troubles. More likely in my view is he took on a student who betrayed him and seized the subspace power source. In any case, the abyssal critter is either working for the current boss of that shadow, or has in turn become the boss and is now calling the shots.

Jacob was alerted and I in turn was advised that Sand and Delwin's supposed remains were in fact clever fakes. I was not even remotely surprised. I am now convinced that either Sand and Delwin have been suborned, or they are being kept prisoner by our unknown foe and are still alive. In either case, they must be drugged, too far away or sufficiently altered from their trump images to be unavailable to trump contact. Since I have been unable to figure out how they could ignore their oaths, I suspect they are held prisoner in the subspace power region. Time is of the essence, but knowledge of our foe is critical to any hope of success we may have. I impressed upon Jacob the need to talk to Dworkin about how to combat this particular creature. He has not yet returned.

As the details of the duplication of the heads came to light, I decided to make use of the technique on our two captive Helgrams. They would not have been missed yet and I wanted to make it appear they had been killed in the MV assault rather than captured. I made contact with Holrune and a pair of the more trustworthy Lynxians to arrange for a lab to create duplicates of our captives. I called in the tame Logrus master from Tir Tarngir to lend assistance in providing the appropriate power residue and we damaged the bodies as realistically as possible, even allowing them to mortify just long enough to accurately depict a time of death coinciding with the Chanicutt assault. Dara agreed to plant them in the MV for me and allow them to be found by Chanicutt scouts. Helgram's agents within Chanicutt will do the rest.

I must think on the best use of our captives at this point. They will eventually develop a tolerance to the drugs keeping them docile, so I may need to make alternate arrangements soon. I would prefer to keep physical abuse out of the equation. Although these are enemies at the moment, a clever person finds ways to turn enemies into allies. Dara is the best example of what can be accomplished if you think fast on your feet. I will need to think on how best to accomplish the same feat with these Helgrams. I love a challenge.

The True Life Adventures of Fineas of House Barimen
Prince of Amber

Day 86 PDS 10:00 PM:

Sullus was skeptical at first that the heads I presented to him were in fact the emperor and assorted family members. I think he began to wonder after checking a few coins. No matter. I explained my overall plan to plop him into the consulship as soon as possible, then cement him into the position by arranging a series of victories under his leadership against the northern barbarians. I had him make up a list of his enemies' properties that would be vulnerable to barbarian unrest. I plan on giving them special attention when the time is right.

I was about to embark on a gold gathering mission to finance the initial steps when I got an alarming plea from help from Mother. She was obviously under some kind of attack and could not maintain the contact. I immediately trumped Rinaldo to inform him, asked him to check on the Keep while I went to Kashfa to see if the problem was there.

The palace in Kashfa was in a panic. A number of maimed bodies lay about, mostly blinded with their eyes plucked out. A commotion was coming from my mother's offices so I ran as hard as I could to get there in time to intervene.

Mother was lying on the floor in pain, obviously alive but she too had been maimed. The culprit was still present. He seemed vaguely familiar, adorned in a disgusting cape festooned with preserved eyeballs. He made a dash to the window and I followed. We fell to the ground outside and the fight began. He was obviously a shapeshifter of some sort, but was unequal to the task of holding me off. I was stronger, faster and completely determined to kill him. He realized this and tried to divert me by casting aside mother's eyes. I continued my assault unabated and with Werewindle's help dispatched him. It was Chun, the deranged wizard from Dom Daniel who had a serious eye fetish. He had somehow learned the ability to shapeshift but I had a good idea how he came by it.

I returned to the palace after killing him and searching him quickly, seizing a few items that might provide clues as to his motivation. I gathered Mother's eyes carefully, trumped her through to Lynxia for immediate treatment and contacted Rinaldo to bring him through. As soon as she was stabilized, I returned to Kashfa to put things in order.

Rinaldo had the items I collected examined. I collected the body for analysis and we soon verified that he had picked up shapeshifting from the Beast's blood. Another item he carried had been tampered with to increase his mania for eyes. It was a set up job, no doubt about it. I will need to investigate more closely. Whoever did this is going to pay dearly.

Day 87 PDS 10:30 AM:

I returned to Kashfa to trace back Chun's activities. It was not hard. At his apparent entry to Kashfa, there was an unusual energy trace, somewhat like the subspace trick my ring uses. It was apparently used to send Chun here from elsewhere. It was not disguised, a fact that was not lost on me. Someone is toying with us, or at least does not consider us a threat. I decided to seek out the source of the power by shadow walking through areas where the energy was part of the background. I eventually found myself in a tropical shadow at the edge of a pit. Jacob was there conversing with some vile creature that was bound in the pit. I explained what I was doing and we discussed the situation in some detail. Here are some observations I made:

1. The attack on mother was obviously meant to occupy Rinaldo, or at least direct his inquiries towards a certain direction.

2. The whole Sand & Delwin situation makes no sense. More on that later.

3. The particular abyssal creature that is apparently running around loose would be militarily useful to someone if it could be controlled or manipulated.

4. The creature Jacob had been conversing with claimed the person who brought him to this location had some sort of power similar to Pattern or possibly Broken Pattern. Assuming it is not lying (a huge assumption I know), it means we have a traitor or an inimical shadow wizard with a hard on for Amber.

5. There is an awful lot of evidence tying things back to Dom Daniel. This may be on purpose, but it requires further investigation.

Whoever is responsible seems to be centered on the Amber end of things. The ties to abyssal creatures implies some knowledge of the abyss as well. Could it be Father? Dierdre? Fiona? I can't believe it could be Father. He would almost certainly have made contact with Rinaldo, Mother and myself prior to now. Fiona does not strike me as the sort of person who would assault Amber from the outside. If she wished power, she would simply arrange it from within the family. Dierdre never had the reputation as a power monger and unless she had gone completely off her rocker would not attack the family. That leaves unknown family with a grievance, an outside agency wanting to overthrow the established order or possibly Sand and/or Delwin working to put themselves in power.

Why would anyone go to the not inconsiderable effort to kill Sand and Delwin, then advertise that they had done so? Could it merely have been bait to draw Zhartra in so she could be killed for some unknown grievance? Could it have been faked so that we would not seek the real Sand and Delwin, allowing them to be used or to pursue some unknown plot of their own? Could the geas of Swayville have weakened the oaths they took to the point where they could be altered to allow more freedom of interpretation? What were their oaths?

If I am an outside agency seeking to use the abyssal critter as my ace in the hole, the last thing I would want to do is draw attention to what I am doing. I would have to put the local binders out of commission, but I most definitely would do it secretly so they are not simply replaced. Planting their heads where they will be quickly found would be stupid. Unless of course you are a corrupted Sand or Delwin and want to avoid being sought. But then how do you get around your oath and actually arrange an attack on Zhartra? Could they have freed the creature and then lost control? Could the abyssal fiend be calling the shots now or acting independently?

In my opinion, the best way to eliminate some of these possibilities is to find the bodies of Sand and Delwin and verify their authenticity. If they can be eliminated as suspects, then I would concentrate on those wizards with a known penchant for power mongering. Jelorek comes to mind. He had access to the Jesby front (allowing the planting of heads), he has access to Dom Daniel/Belkin, he has affiliation with vampires, he is at least a Broken Pattern initiate and he is the sort of fellow who craves power. And most importantly I don't like him. He bugs me. I trust my instincts and they tell me he will need to be dealt with at some point. Food for thought.

The True Life Adventures of Fineas of House Barimen
Prince of Amber

Day 79 PDS 10:00 PM:

The expected attempt on Lirazel's life took place. She was safely away when a number of the odd cultists I had noticed following us the other day decided to strike at her manor house. They were quickly captured. A number of street scum were involved as well, no doubt stirred to their crimes with a combination of fiery rhetoric and plain greed. I paid a visit to them in the city jail after the capture and welcomed them to Amber's service. In other words, the street scum were impressed into my "Expendables" and shipped off to Ruin where they may be put to some sort of use. The cultists themselves I welcomed into my personal service. I explained to them they had inadvertently disrupted my plans to use Lirazel for disinformation to chaos, but that I deeply empathized with their antipathy towards the chaosians. I more or less impressed them into service as my own core of fanatics and set them up as a sort of "ideological commissars" to oversee the spiritual and ideological purity of the settlers in Ruin. I have no doubts they will cause any number of headaches for the simpler houses of chaos who may want to come that way again. I dare not use them against Helgram as they are far too easily manipulated by anyone with half a brain. I considered trying to backtrack with them to find out who directed them to attack, but decided that the Helgram agent was likely competent and would have covered his tracks. I did not want to waste the time.

Day 80 PDS, 8:00AM:

The cultists and thugs are safely in Ruin now, settling in to their cozy new surroundings. I will need to check on them frequently but they should be busy enough for the next few days that I will not need to hover overhead. Flora has invited much of the family to her shadow to partake in some family bonding over fast vehicles, guns and other adrenaline inducing toys. I shall have to attend of course, though it makes me very nervous to be gathered in one place at a delicate time. I shall have to remain alert and do not plan on following the program to the letter. Better to be a little unpredictable.

Day 80 PDS, 11:00PM:

I showed up at Flora's redneck jamboree and did spend some enjoyable time learning evasive driving techniques. The whole motorcycle/off road vehicle thing did not catch my interest as it did the others. The large caliber and high explosive weapon course was interesting, though I did not spend a great deal of time on it either. The other family members there were thoroughly enjoying themselves, but I could not let my guard down knowing there were a number of men surrounding the complex armed with long range weapons that were not under my command or control. I have no idea how easy it would be for an enemy to infiltrate the guards, Ghurkas or not. As soon as I could gracefully slip away, I left the compound and made my own way into the shadow to learn a bit more about flying. With sufficient outlay of cash, I took a few remedial lessons and will be returning for more when occasion permits. Unannounced deviation from plans or schedule seems wise these days.

Day 81 PDS, 10:30AM:

I have work to do in Remia and I learned things there can't sit for too long without oversight. My client has enemies and my absence makes him vulnerable. A number of rivals have begun picking away at our assets and arrangements, so I have decided to make a couple of examples. Tonight there is a dinner where at least one of them, a particularly heavy and unhealthy individual, will be attending. I hope he has made arrangements for his family.

Day 81 PDS, 9:00PM:

Quintillus Portus seems to have choked on a chicken bone at dinner tonight. Perhaps he was distracted when his partner in making things difficult for my client keeled over with an apparent angina attack. The third man vying for my wrath is even now trying to pass a kidneystone the size of my thumb. I feel good.

Day 82 11:00AM:

Word came to me that the angina attack turned into something more serious last night and the reveler is even now fumbling for change to pay the ferryman to cross the Styxx. I have carefully begun the rumor that my foes seem to suffer bad fortune while my friends prosper. It is so fun to manipulate such a superstitious society that I find I have to restrain myself from overdoing it. Too much of a good thing will lead to mobs trying to beat down my door and burn me as a witch. Instead, I am passing it off as the "will of Jupiter". Isn't religion wonderful?.

Day 83 12:00PM:

Some people have taken to wearing amulets when around me to ward off evil luck. I was tempted to increase the probability that they fall ill, but have decided to have mercy on them. The next bastard that tries to undercut me is going to have the worst case of acute appendicitis that I can arrange, amulet or not.

I have begun formulating my long term plans to catapult Sullus into the Consulship. Once there, I have to turn him into an apparent military genius to make sure he stays there. The first step is to nullify the real threat to Remia (an eastern despot with a vast but easily corruptible empire) and manufacture a new threat under my secret control. Nullifying the eastern empire should not prove too difficult. I have asked Sullus to provide all the intelligence he can about the royal family. If I knock off the competent members and set the nobles to competing between themselves to control the new weaker emperor, they should be unable to mount any sort of offensive action against Remia for some time to come. The Mirror power may actually prove useful in this situation.

Manufacturing the new threat under my control will be the more difficult task by far. To the north are a number of barbarian tribes, fractured and disorganized. I plan to go amongst them, unify them under a charismatic puppet if I can and start raiding Remian possessions (especially those belonging to Sullus' rivals). Once a cry has risen in Remia to address the threat, I try to arrange a great battle to settle the issue. I make sure the Remans win handily and Sullus becomes politically cemented into the Consulship. That's the plan anyway.

Day 86 PDS 4:30 PM:

The last couple of days I have been lurking in the mirrorverse around the royal palace of the eastern empire. The first night I slew the current emperor. The following day I dropped two of the other dangerous contenders. Fear and paranoia are running rampant throughout the palace. It looks like I have sparked a nice little civil war that should keep them busy for a bit. I am now returning to Remia with three royal heads, the better to keep Sullus under my thumb. His doubts about my ability to kill anyone, anywhere at any time needed to be put to rest. Hopefully any thoughts he may have been entertaining about betraying me at some point will be quashed. I don't have time for nonsense.

The True Life Adventures of Fineas of House Barimen
Prince of Amber

Day 76 11:00 PM:

I managed to finally get my social event taken care of in Rebma. It seemed to go well and I spent a fair amount of time getting to know who is who in Rebman social circles. The excuse for the party was a thank you to the people of Rebma for their support during the war. Things seemed to go well and I was able to spend a number of enjoyable hours visiting with Morwyn without the bodyguards hovering over us. I look at her and become even more convinced that I would not want to sit on a throne. She has my deepest sympathy.

Day 77 PDS 5:30PM :

Interrogation of the Helgram prisoner has revealed she was coming to Amber to make contact with a Helgram agent already here. She seems to be under Tori’s mental domination, so we decided to allow her to make contact as she was supposed to in the hopes of identifying another agent. She was to meet the agent in a tavern, so we set up as circumspect surveillance as possible. I utilized my brownies and set up a very covert net to watch the comings and goings from the tavern.

Day 78 PDS 1:30AM:

The meet went off without any apparent hitches. We determined the agent was an individual I tracked to the seedy part of town where he disappeared into a building. Perhaps we were a little too circumspect. I rather wish now I had pulled the trigger when I had him in my scope. Our charmed Helgram reported the conversation of the meeting and we learned the agent was apparently planning a hit on some annoyance in the very near future. My immediate guess is that he plans on knocking off Lirazel. That would ordinarily not bother me so much, but I did promise to protect her if possible while she is in Amber. I will need to arrange her safety, at least until such time as we no longer need connections with House Basilisk.

Day 78 PDS 9:30AM:

I met with Lirazel this morning and invited her out for a walk. I revealed to her my suspicions that she is targeted and suggested she take a vacation for a while. Her response was to offer to appear to be more involved with me than is the case. I declined of course; my political position would suffer and I certainly don’t want to encourage anything with a chaosian. She decided to ask Flora for protective custody and I expect she will be taken care of. In the meantime, we will set a trap in her room to make any assassin’s life miserable.

Day 78 PDS 3:30PM:

There has been a lot of activity around the castle today. Poking around, I found out Tori was due to be initiated into the Mirror power and there was some scrambling for personnel to make sure she was protected. I have been dreading this, but I have come to realize I will need to initiate myself as well sooner or later. I might as well do it with Tori…she can cover me on the magic end of things and I can protect her physically far better than anyone else available at the moment. We are heading in shortly in the company of two shroudlings. This ought to be good for giggles.

Day 79 PDS 9:00AM:

We both survived the initiation, though we became separated in the process. I was forced to evade one of the indigenous creatures as I ended up deep in chaos and only had my shroudling companion as an ally here. I trumped Llewella and joined her briefly before returning to Rebma via trump to Morwyn. Gads am I tired today. Way too much going on and the stress is beginning to wear on me. I think it may be time for some R&R soon. One last thing…during the initiation it became apparent that my martial sidekick Werewindle had become initiated to a greater degree than myself and Toriana. In the back of my mind this worries me somewhat. Part of me fears Werewindle, but part of me wants to embrace it and become one with it in purpose and desire. I may be heading for a sort of crossroads and I need to think on what it is I want to be. I need advice, but there is no one I feel confident in at the moment to provide answers.

Day 79 PDS 2:00PM:

When my doubts begin to plague me, the answer for relief is a little violence. I was contacted about some unfortunate events at the site where the strange elderkin had been impaled. My services were required for some pest control and I found Werewindle to be anxious for the chance to be put to use. I came, I saw, I killed bloodbeasts. The elderkin has escaped and is off causing mayhem. Mild amusement for Werewindle, deathly terror for me. I was successful in destroying some of the creatures, but it is hardly going to be the solution to the problem. I do not envy Jacob his job right now. Still, I had better lend a hand where I may and there is an elderkin that needs rebinding. Or at least a serious attitude adjustment.

The True Life Adventures of Fineas of House Barimen
Prince of Amber

Day 73 PDS 9:30AM :

Flora has me on a short leash today. With Bleys recovering more quickly than one might expect and everyone else who has a clue about maintaining order out on a lark somewhere or laid up, she wants me close at hand. I am making my presence known amongst the population to settle jangled nerves. Rumors of a dire threat involving mirrors have spread throughout the city. I can see the anxious looks amongst the people in the street. My walking amongst them seems to have a calming effect so I have undertaken a walking tour of the city for my morning’s exercise. Occasionally someone will gather the nerve to ask me about it. I smile, lie cheerfully and tell them there is nothing to worry about.

On a couple occasions I noted people handing out handbills or pamphlets on streetcorners. When they saw me approaching, they made themselves scarce. I did find a crumpled handbill denigrating Diego as a vile sort of chap. This was not my doing. I am beginning to think my fabricated propaganda about chaosian agents fomenting trouble may in fact be happening. I suppose it could be local supporters of Flora or Toriana. They certainly have reason. Still, I am expecting another publication entirely and will probably have to resort to agents or a disguise to obtain it.

Day 73 PDS 6:30PM:

My afternoon has turned out to be a bit more amusing. I decided to get in a little sparring after lunch and made my way to the practice rooms. There I encountered our two guests from the shroudling realm. Saia and her companion were busy sparring with the guards. I joined in and gave them all a good workout. Soon the conversation turned to amusements and “action” in Amber. I have experts on tap for that sort of thing so I trumped in Breggor to act as their guide to the finer points of bar hopping in the city. He was more than willing to undertake the task. After a quick bath, I paid a visit to Bleys and Toriana. He is doing much better and seemed to be getting a little restless. I thought getting him involved in my intrigue my be just the ticket to speed his recovery even further. I asked Tori to check on the shroudlings a bit later and obtained agreement from Bleys to help investigate the handbills I saw in the city. I promised Flora that I would look after Bleys and she agreed to let him out for a bit. We donned magical disguise and headed back to the city. Before long we were approached by one of the solicitors. He was handing out the Valeri diatribe I had been expecting. Bleys interrogated the fellow thoroughly and we found out the extent of the operation. We returned to the castle and reported our findings to Flora. She has sent a courier to request Valeri to present himself for questioning.

Day 74 PDS 8:30AM:

After a pleasant night’s sleep last night I journeyed to Kashfa to make an appearance there and to discuss Amber politics with Mom. She has arranged a social gathering for this evening. It should be diverting. I intend to discuss the improvement of relations with Begma with her once she has been placated.

Day 74 PDS 11:00AM:

An unexpected event has occurred. Although, thinking upon it now it should not have been unexpected. Zhartra was ambushed in shadow and lies critically wounded in Lynxia. Whoever did for Sand and Delwin apparently is still on the job. She was shot with a large caliber weapon and sustained massive damage. Diego is nowhere to be found. I had a brief conversation with him a couple days back and he had asked me to check in on his concubine’s people now and again to make sure Marcus keeps his end of a bargain. At the time I thought nothing of it, but perhaps it foretells a lengthy absence from Amber for my cousin. In any case, Tanitheel is doing the healing this time and several of the family have donated blood or energy to keep Zhartra alive. I have been asked to contact her agents at the Keep to let them know what has happened. I am leaving now.

Day 74 PDS 3:30 PM:

Kurgan, her lackey watching over the well, accompanied me back to Lynxia. He was visibly shocked and angered that Zhartra was injured so badly. He was correspondingly grateful for the help we were providing. He is a big burly fellow with a mean look to him and I am much relieved that he views us as allies at the moment. I donated some blood (I seem to be doing that a lot the last few days) and returned to Kasfa to keep my social appointments there. I will need to rest before the event.

Day 74 PDS 12:00AM:

The party came off to Mom’s satisfaction. We discussed a great many things and have reached an agreement to improve relations with Begma, to begin placing allies in Amber’s social institutions and to keep an eye out for trouble from whoever is trying to knock off the binders. Rinaldo is on that hit list and I really would not like to be put in the position of avenging my brother. Tomorrow is Kasynovich’s hearing and I would not miss it for the world.

Day 75 PDS 11:00AM:

Valeri presented himself and his proof. It is currently being analyzed. I await the results with great relish. He really is a decent fellow deep down, he is just blinded by bigotry and intemperance. I shall try to rehabilitate him after his inevitable ruin. No one writes what he did without consequence.

Day 75 PDS 2:30PM:

The documents provided by Kasynovich have been shown to be forgeries. He immediately fell to his knees and begged the mercy of the court. It really was a bit sad to see. I felt a moment’s regret, but only a moment’s. He has been exiled from Amber until such time as the regent deigns to pardon him for his slander.

Day 75 PDS 4:30PM:

I have approached the Kandives with an offer to buy half of Die Tageszeitung as a gesture of support for their family. The old hag Mara readily agreed, probably assuming they would maintain total control and it was just a whim on my part. In any case, I will be paying a visit to the paper tomorrow to set that house in order. I also penned a letter to Valeri offering my assistance in obtaining the earliest possible pardon for him so that he may return to Amber. I explained that I believed he was the victim of a chaosian plot and was in fact loyal to Amber. He replied most gratefully, so I shall have to see if I can salvage his citizenship as soon as I can get an audience with Gerard. If I can find out who is slandering Diego, perhaps I can pin the whole thing on them as well.

Day 76 PDS 10:00AM:

My first meeting as a media tychoon went fairly well. I gave them a stirring speech about maintaining journalistic integrity and freedom. I encouraged them to continue publishing the news from the common man’s perspective, to take up Diego’s banner and only admonished them not to print stories that can’t be documented thoroughly. A minor member of the Kandive house will be taking over the editorial duties, but I intend to oversee a certain amount of the business. I think it safe to say the days of targeting myself and my brother as objects of undeserved scorn are over at Die Tageszeitung. I will wait and see what effect this has on The Herald Unicorn before embarking on any further journalistic vendettas.

Day 76 PDS 2:30PM:

The expedition into the Mirrorverse has already returned with a chaosian prisoner. She is a Helgram as I feared. Worse, they have a number of Mirror Masters within House Helgram and obviously have a head start on exploiting that realm. What to do?

Salutations Aunt Flora,

I hope the annoyances of the regency do not weigh upon you too heavily yet. I have been thinking about the discussion at the last family meeting regarding the knighthoods. As you know, I have relied heavily upon a couple of individuals to support my activities. The first is Liam of House Miramon. Although he prefers to stay out of the limelight, I would like to make some gesture of gratitude for his assistance in supporting me in the field. I am not sure a knighthood is the appropriate venue for that gratitude and would like to ask your opinion on the matter. The second is my paramour Ky-Tung.

She has already done good service to Amber and has indicated a willingness to continue doing so. I would not offer her a knighthood immediately but I would certainly want to make sure her ongoing efforts are noted. In time, a knighthood for her may become appropriate but at the present time it would be construed by the public and possibly Ky-Tung herself as a mere perk for warming my bed. She will want to feel that she has earned the honor and be seen to have earned it. Accordingly I intend to make a great deal of use of her skills in the service of Amber in the months to come. I only ask that her performance be noted so that when the appropriate time comes there will be no question as to her worthiness. It is my hope that she eventually earn the higher order of knighthood for service to Amber.

I thought about recommending a couple of other shadow dwelling allies be recognized as well. I would suggest that some lesser honor than knighthood be created for such allies as Emperor Bono, Prince Eugen, Badger and possibly even Derkon (though any honor granted to him may have consequences).

Love,

Your Nephew Fineas

The True Life Adventures of Fineas of House Barimen
Prince of Amber

Day 71 PDS 2:30PM :

How quickly a day can turn to shit.

I had begun the preparations for a brief celebration in Rebma, meant to thank the Rebman people for their support of Amber in what appears to be a concluded war. I was called to Amber when I was informed of events deep in chaosian shadow. Cousin Diego had successfully rescued Uncle Bleys and had brought him with Llewella’s help back to the safety of Amber. This in and of itself did not concern me as much as you might think. In fact, I salute Diego’s guts and ingenuity in accomplishing the feat while maintaining his hide intact. No, what well and truly fucked up my mood was the information that during his rescue he encountered an apparent agent of chaos within the mirror realm.

Why is this so bad you ask? Consider that we now have a relatively unexplored route straight to Amber and its environs for an army of chaos to take if they so wish. A route which we do not have adequately covered and that may not be guardable in any meaningful fashion. Even by destroying mirrors in Amber, they will be able to approach much closer to Amber without interference than had been the case through normal shadow. My only consolation is that they probably have not had sufficient time to exploit this path with the civil war in chaos dragging on. As soon as there is a winner there, our goose could be cooked unless we can somehow plug the route.

Even if a chaosian army is not yet enroute, they could do immense damage to our realm by creating an exit for the Moonriders of Ghenesh to ravage our lands once again. We can only hope they have not found the way to that dire land.

Day 71 PDS 4:30PM:

This day just keeps getting better and better. Benedict has decided to engage in some ill timed genocide of the Garou in response to the maiming of Dara by one of their lords recently. Normally I would consider Benedict one of the cooler heads in the realm, but his indulgence seems foolish given the news we have received. My estimation of his wisdom has dropped a notch or two. To compound the folly, he has taken Gerard, Martin and Mirelle with him, leaving the throne under the oversight of Flora.

Bleys was in need of untainted blood, so I donated some of mine to help him through the detoxification process. He is a mess. Diego was working with him for a while but had to rest after the toxins began to effect him as well. Toriana was called in to help in keeping Bleys under some form of control. I have been splitting the watch duty with her, but Flora has called a family meeting and I will need to attend shortly.

Day 71 PDS 8:30PM:

The meeting was relatively short. All those not off killing Garou were present. The information about the Mirror threat was repeated for those not yet in the know and some discussion took place about the binder’s business. I advised we prepare a military force for immediate action in the mirrorverse. To emphasize the degree of the threat, I was less than diplomatic about what I saw as the necessity. After the meeting, I set my brownies to work building a trap for anyone trying to enter my manor from the mirrorverse. I then spoke with Flora about what should be done. I am being sent to Tir Tarngir to bring Rhanda’s father to Amber to assist Kelamon in attuning to the mirror power as well as negotiate an alliance against the new threat.

Day 72 PDS 11:00AM:

I spoke at length with Marcus & company about the threat. They are reluctant to commit any of the shroudlings to scout out the chaos area without backup. The problem is an Amberite must not be seen there or the enemy will respond before we are ready. On top of that, there is concern that Kelamon’s attunement might result in her ending up in chaos. One idea involved having a trump escape route available if that occurs. I know Llewella is scouting chaos, so I trumped her and explained the possible need in the near future for her to be ready to pull out Kelamon and Rastafas. She was agreeable, especially after I offered her my help in the blood feud with Channicutt if she needs it. When we finished our discussion I brought the shroudling chief to Amber as instructed.

Day 72 PDS 3:30 PM:

It was my turn to watch over Bleys again, so I read to him aloud the wondrous verse of Oberon that I found in Tir Tarngir. I think he failed to appreciate its finer points, but he was lucid enough to ask me who I was. I told him I was a nephew but no more, then expounded on my theories of hidden meanings within Oberon’s verse. He responded “just shoot me”. I might have been tempted but for the fact I think we are going to need him well and ready for action in the all too near future. Diego is nowhere to be seen. With Flora in nominal charge and Toriana usurping the treatment of Bleys, I am not surprised. I will need to find him to talk about further scouting of the chaos mirror area.

The True Life Adventures of Fineas of House Barimen
Prince of Amber

31.

Day 67 PDS 11:00 AM:

After our afternoon's entertainment yesterday, Thirteen found an invitation to contact that Helgram bitch Incarnadine on the network. He did so and she negotiated a meeting with him at a time and place of his choosing. Since I refused to pledge my nonaggression, I disinvited myself from the proceedings. Probably a mistake, but it was all I could do to keep my mouth shut during the conference call. Instead, I chose to arrange to fly to Yabmob to check out the computer and programming facilities there. It seemed to me to be the most likely headquarters for the Helgrams in this shadow. A long history of cultural mysticism, a burgeoning software industry and a large population steeped in poverty seemed the natural breeding ground for what the Helgrams are looking for.

Day 68 PDS 1:00 PM:

Well, at least I got to do a brief tour of Yabmob before I was called off. Thirteen contacted me to let me know that he had cut a deal with Incarnadine for the Helgrams to leave the shadow in a couple days after they have gotten what they wanted. Personally I find the whole arrangement distasteful. I have zero faith in the Helgrams not to continue their exploitation of our shadow in the shadows. At best, we can claim a victory for public consumption. At worst, we have given Helgram the time they need to win the throne of Chaos while maintaining tendrils of corruption in Purgatory. I would feel much better about the arrangement if we had dealt them a stinging defeat somewhere along the way. I still don't feel like they respect us and I can't help but feel we will pay for that sometime soon. Time to return to Amber and get a few things done. I want to check on the progress of my plan and possibly begin the next phase.

Day 68 3:00PM:

Things in Amber are still quiet so I have begun the project of reclaiming the shadow I dubbed "Ruin". I have gathered the expendables and will collect Bono's former enemies to repopulate the shadow. With some help from Fangorn, a few dozen trollops from shadow and the natural biological urges of my men, the necromantic taint of the place should be replaced with something more tolerable. Supplies are available from the Chandora campaign so that should not prove to be a limiting factor. It feels a little more satisfying to begin the construction of a world than the usual destruction that occurs in war. At some point in the near future, I will need to seed the place with colonists of a less criminally oriented aspect but for now this should get things started.

Ky-Tung left me a message and we spoke about her offering service to the regent. Except , with the usual female logic, she did not want to offer formalized service. I explained that making the offer would in fact place her at the beck and call of the regent as any other agent. If she wanted to help, it should be done much in the way she has been helping. That is, helping me when I need it. She seemed bored, so I asked her to take a force of three ships along with Azvan and explore/claim the area around the giant shadow she had found. Azvan was up for it, so I arranged things and sent them on their way. That should occupy her interest and Azvan can help her to learn her Broken Pattern abilities on the way.

Day 70 5:00PM:

I decided it was time to make an appearance at Remia, so I dropped in and began the arrangements to throw a party for the powers that be. I made the acquaintance of one of the poorer patrician families and have made arrangements to back one of their upcoming stars for a run at the consulship. His name is Sullus. I felt it prudent to enlighten him somewhat on the nature of the universe and what I wanted in return for backing his family with gold. He took it well. We formalized the agreement over the usual feasting and civil entertainment (though I am so tempted to import musicians with skill beyond the lyre or harp).

I will finance his rise to office and he will make available two or three legions on a rotating basis for my use in shadow. I am sure he intends to exploit my help as much as possible. That's OK because I really want about five legions and am prepared to work him hard to make that possible. With our own war apparently drawing to a close, I intend to spend much more time here to cement my position. In time I will need to find a good source for technologically advanced troops but for now a few legions will do. I will have to see what the barbarians of this shadow have to offer as well.

Day 71 10:00 AM:

I felt it prudent to check on the progress of my new abode in Rebma, so I dressed down and made my way to the soggy city. I was not there long when I got a trump asking for assistance in slaying a few pesky peasants. Intrigued, I accepted and joined Thirteen and Jacob somewhere out in deep shadow. Apparently some infestation from the abyss had taken over a number of locals and they needed to be exterminated. It was a straightforward job and only took twenty or so minutes to chase down all the ones that needed killing. A large number of unhosted parasites were then located and I watched as Jacob and Thirteen dithered over what to do. I suggested they simply bind the creatures into the ground using a binding circle and Jacob's new power. In the end this is what they did. I was glad, since I did not relish digging down to them to kill them and I did not feel like chasing them all over the shadow if they emerged and scattered.

Dear Diego,

I agree that as peace approaches we must be careful not to fall upon ourselves in internecine strife. In the case of the local press trying to exagerate or factionalize the differences between family members, my own detractors do so from a misguided belief that the war between Begma and Kashfa in decades past has relevance to my service to Amber. The Op/Ed editor of Die Tageszeitung insists on dragging the politics of that shadow conflict into current Amber politics. As far as I am concerned, there is no reason to continue that conflict in Amber. Hence, I have ignored his attacks against Rinaldo, Jasra and myself. Hopefully he will learn that I am not my mother and have no ill wishes towards his native Begma. My patience is not infinite however. If he continues his character assassinations of my family, there may be economic or political consequences to Die Tageszeitung and it's ownership if I have anything to say about it. I can take legitimate criticism but I will not tolerate unfounded insults or outright lies. In the case of The Herald Unicorn, I have learned that the attacks against me are simply an extortion attempt aimed at getting me to buy them off. They will be sorely disappointed.

With regards to the idea of a central bank, it is an interesting concept but I am not sure how well it plays in a medieval society. Since we have no modern free market mechanisms such as a stock market or regulated lending entities, we would need to start from scratch to re-invent the economy in its entirety. If the practical difficulties of avoiding the mass importation of goods and services outside a royal system of controls can be worked out, something along those lines might be attempted. The social dislocation of Amberites (or Kashfans for that matter) if we implement such a system would need to be studied so that we step on as few toes as possible. I will certainly forward your ideas to my mother for her study. In the case of Amber, obviously any such plan would need to be approved by the regent and get the buyoff from all the family. If you would like my assistance in putting together a proposal for Benedict, I am at your service.

Regards,

Fineas