Where Is Everyone?
Megan ran through Castle Amber to her mother Fiona's rooms, listening to the sound of Corwin's cannon as they began pounding Caine's fleet. Damn Fiona's last minute errand, she was going to miss out on the action! The wardrobe took Megan to a huge labyrinthine mansion Somewhere Else. She traced the designated, winding route exactly to where the Item was... NOT. Not where Fiona said it would be.
Megan searched. And searched. For hours. Torches, candles and lamps burned themselves out and were mystically renewed. And she Still Couldn't Find It. She gave up and found her way back to the closet. Eventually.
Back through Fiona's wardrobe. The Castle was different. No booming cannon --hardly any noises at all. Nobody else on the second floor. The time was wrong, near twilight, and the weather was weird, changing minute to minute. Snow. Hot wind. Rain. Thunder. Through it all with the Castle was by a steady, looming black cloud. Eric's doing?
Megan checked her own room. No notes, but lots of dust. Lysander's room was padlocked, with a note: STAY AWAY FROM MY STUFF WHILE I'M GONE. Downstairs was nearly deserted as well, with a few guards whispering to one another and distant yelling from the kitchens. An amazed and tongue-tied guard directed her to Fiona, Gerard and Benedict in the infirmary. When had Benedict come in?
A crowd of guards and servants blocked the door to the infirmary. Fiona and Gerard shouted and cursed from inside. Scudamore the Steward noticed Megan, looked startled for one second, and caused the crowd to vanish. Benedict was on one of the beds, with Gerard, Caine and two guards attempting to subdue him. Caine was being strangled one-handed, Gerard had another arm and one guard lost his grip on an ankle as he was flipped into a wall. Fiona lurked off to the left, waiting to pounce, armed with a huge syringe and hindered by having one arm in a sling. Caine got loose, Gerard grabbed both of Benedict's hands, but Ben started to slither away and Megan jumped astride the heaving man: familiar territory for her in a different context. She missed a beat as she saw that Gerard's legs ended at his knees, Gerard missed a beat in surprise at her sudden appearance, and Ben's hands got loose. Megan felt three distinct but sumultaneous strikes to each side of her head.
"Megan. Megan! MEGAN!" Fiona was talking to her. It hurt to blink. She looked around. Ben was sedated, Gerard was wheeling her way and the other beds were all filled with guardsmen.
"What took you so long?"
Megan considered this. It took a while. "It wasn't there."
"Oh? Oh. You left the path and set off the time snare. You've been gone over three months. Eric is dead, Corwin is dead, Brand is probably dead, Random, Llewella and Deirdre are missing, along with Rebma and Tir-na Nog'th, Sander is married..."
SANDER MARRIED? She had to be hallucinating.
Edward, chief lieutenant and problem-solver to the wizard Lanton, escorted Lanton's neighbor Delwin's party, himself and five rakshasas (three males and two females) through his boss' territory to the administrative area of Utumno. This was more a courtesy than anything else. Lanton and Delwin had a curiously cordial relationship --Delwin wasn't even charged a fee for passage-- so he was unlikely to make trouble. Unlike Edward and Lanton, Delwin didn't even want to leave the prison. He was there voluntarily, due to an unending sea of deadly enemies on the outside.
To Edward, his three years Inside felt like Lanton's two centuries plus. Edward didn't know who had arranged for his own incarceration, let along why. Lanton, on the other hand, had been removed from a struggle over an inheritance in some far realm of many feuding families. Lanton had risen to the top of the prisoner food chain without trying. He was that good. Edwin had out-fought or out-thought everyone in his way to the best position he could attain. He was the only human among Lanton's staff or demons and horrors.
Ander was strapped, once again, into the torturer version of an amusement park gyro-ride, drugged and disoriented. Again. Not only had this been happening for the month or more he had been here, wherever 'here' was, he realized that this had been done to him long ago to induce amnesia. Funny that, for now, it was bringing some memories back. Not in any particular order, though. Right now he alternated between those long-ago tortures and the trip to Boston. There had been a FLASH as his and Vic's families pulled up to a motel. Then nothing until he was here. He alternated six days in the gyro-thing and two twitching in his cell, over and over.
Man-shaped guards in loose, totally-concealing jumpsuits took Ander out of his machine, dragged him down the hall and tossed him into a cell. "I want to speak to the manager!" Ander protested. "You guys are going to hear from my lawyer!"
Quinn, suffering from third degree 'sunburns' over his entire bidy, did a burn-healing and pain-killing spell Very Slowly, as it hurt to do ANYTHING. Once it kicked in, he slept.
The ITCHING woke Quinn up. He was all over scabs, scabs about ready to come off. He thought hard and came up with something he could modify into a painless scab-shedding spell. It worked. The scabs turned into dust and fell away. He ate some more, glad he could feed himself again. What next? Find relatives, hang combat spells or arm Kethos? Still high on magickally stimulated endorphins, Quinn decided to show off and turned a plastic and metal chair into a rapier: a blade of braided diamond fiber bonded to a steel hilt. (It had taken months to learn how to duplicate the commonest Aretian structural material with spells.) Kethos named it "Chair." Kethos missed his own sword (not quite Greyswandir) and would have been just as happy with a wrecking bar for a substitute. Maybe happier: glass swords were sort of sissy-looking.
Breann and Deirdre (still wearing the rakshasa illusions provided by Delwin) were lost. They thought they were in Isolation, not Torture: no screaming. This was a high-tech section with electronic codepads on the heavy magnetic doors. Breann eventually worked out a Power Word to sort out electronics and Deirdre muscled the doors open. The first they tried held a squishy octopus person, the next a semihumanoid with a huge, elongated skull. The third held a filthy, mumbling, stinking Ander.
Ander hallucinated two big cats standing over him and saying things he couldn't quite make out.
Edward oversaw Delwin's return through Lanton's territory. He noted that while five rakshasas went in but only three, all males, came back out. Delwin stopped and invited Edward to visit him as a guest at his earliest convenience. Edward was surprised but accepted.
The hallucinatory catpeople dragged Ander into a small room and left him there. He put forth a superhuman effort and climbed a wall to stand nearly erect. He reveled in his success while puking. Then Ander stagger-leaned slowly down the hall until he saw the cougar-woman walking towards him. He fled (well, it felt fast to HIM), ducked (fell) into a room and got ready to fight
Breann and Deirdre split up and looked for something suitable to clean Ander in, secure in the knowledge that it would be hours before the drugs wore off. Breann found a shower and returned to find Ander up (more or less) and moving. Ander saw her and turned back around, then fell into an open doorway. He tried to punch her when she followed him so she slapped him into a clumsy spin. Deirdre appeared and they argued while dragging Ander to the shower.
Now Ander's nightmare catwomen were hissing at each other in his mother's and sister's voices while dragging him away. Would he wake up when they started devouring him?
Quinn hung a spell for Psychic contact, then began a fairly elaborate little spell to find descendants of Oberon (using similarities between his and Kethos' DNA), map their location... and kept on adding bells and whistles to it. Quinn, euphoria and spell-crafting: a bad combination
Edward donned his best clothes and joined Delwin for supper, always a pleasant occasion. Delwin enjoyed playing the gracious host and set the best table in the prison. Over drinks (created by magick) after the meal, Delwin told Edward that he had certain knowledge of some of Edward's heritage. In a matter relating to that, he had helped two people get into the administration area. People who, he estimated, had an even chance of escaping. Delwin said he had done this for a number of reasons: old obligations, curiosity, a good test of Utumno's (and therefore his) security... When they made their move, [SECRET SECRET SECRET].
Quinn released his spell. He got three immediate hits two levels up, two more one level up, two more a klick away sideways and down (one immediately snuffed) and, after a pause, four more on his own level; the members of each group were within arms reach of one another.
Little animated white unicorns on green discs appeared before each of them and said, "This is Quinn. Who are you?"
Damn, thought Quinn, I forgot the sequencer. And I don't remember animating the damned icons. He gave Breann his diagram of everyone's position, let Victor know that help was coming, danced Davin's icon around to keep him busy and erased Deirdre's, Lora's, Vic and Co.'s, and Ander's icons to concentrate on the stranger.
"This is Edward."
"That's a new one," Quinn muttered, trying to ignore the sock- puppet icon Lora was animating in front of his face. Now what? Uh, "Who are your parents?"
"My mother is dead, my father unknown to me."
"Ah." Pause. "We seem to have a mutual ancestor. The... person next to you may know more of that."
"Really."
Quinn cranked up his psychic sensitivity as high as he could. "Do you want out?"
"Yes! Very much."
THAT was sincere, along with a ravening curiousity. "Are you a sorcerer?"
"I'm afraid not."
"Do you know any good ones who want out?"
"I may have a line on such a person."
"Excellent. Please contact them and I'll get back to you."
"Where are you?" Quinn hesitated, then sent the diagram and faded out.
Edward said, "Wait!" but the icon was gone.
Breann and Deirdre reached Lora, Davin and Catherine's cell and opened it. Davin and Lora screamed Breann's name and plastered themselves to her. (Ander now knew for sure he was hallucinating: Breann using MAGICK?) (Quinn concentrated furiously on the technique Breann had used. He'd never hear the end of it if Breann magicked him out of his cell.)
Edward sprinted to Lanton's office and briefied him on recent events. Lanton was intrigued; he had a lot of respecrt for Delwin's opinions and if he thought these people might make it.... Although this Quinn person had not divulged a time frame, they decided to join him immediately. Edward, Lanton, and Lanton's second-best bodyguard Rogg left for the admin area.
Breann and Deirdre released Victor and his family. Vic armed himself from the corpses of two guards unlucky enough to have encountered the Mother and Daughter Wrecking Crew. They proceded on to Quinn and Kethos' cell and met Edward, Lanton and Rogg just outside of it. Quinn got his door open as Breann told the newcomers to Leave Or Die. Quinn explained that Edward was a relative --the same spell had found him-- and his friends were allies.
Quinn single-mindedly gathered Lanton and Lora to consult on his old Plan B --Reprogram the Wards. Edward tried vainly to get Quinn's attention but eventually got Lanton's. Edward knew something of how to get out, but they needed a guard, alive and relatively intact. Lanton insisted Edward's advice was always worthwhile. Breann argued insultingly with Lanton while Quinn made 'Sorry, she's an idiot' gestures behind her back. Edward convinced her to capture a guard, and Kethos went along. They found two. Kethos mangled his but Breann used the fancy nerve strikes she'd been learning to bring hers in alive. Edward flipped the guard facedown on the floor and revealed a complex tattoo, just reeking of magick, at the base of the spine. Voila, the Key.
They decided they had sufficient force to kill their way to the Key-Master (Lanton looked doubtful until Quinn introduced the others properly: Princess Regent Deirdre of Amber, her daughter Breann, her son Ander, Prince Kethos, the son of Finndo, etc.) and convince him to cooperate. Reprogramming the wards would take hours and alarms had to be sounding already. First, Kethos led them to his sword (he could sense its location) and everybody else's belongings. During the touching reunions (I love my sword, I love my axe, I love my ring...) Quinn noticed that Ander still looked dazed, so he cleared out Ander's psychic cobwebs.
The motley Juggernaut blew through the guards with a vengeance. Deirdre took point, with Kethos, Ander and Breann behind her, then the rest with Victor and Catherine patrolling the sides, Edward keeping rearguard and the sorcerers launching judicious ranged attacks. Edward was impressed, and so was Quinn, who had never really seen the family's fighters let loose in a group. Lanton kept up a bland fa ade but Rogg was spooked. The children were too short to see much of the action.
The chief sorcerer resisted for only so long as it took to realize that they really would dismember him. Slowly. By hand. He tattooed everyone (an excruciating process: Edward yelled a lot and Quinn anesthetized the kids) and was spared, as agreed, for his efforts. The Keymaster didn't know who had arranged for the imprisonments. After a short arguement with Breann, who wanted to go back down and talk to Delwin, they left.
The minute they were outside the wards Quinn brought up the Pattern Lens as Lanton the did the Logrus Sign. Quinn was fascinated, even though looking at the Sign hurt his head. Lanton gave Edward his Trump (the first Edward had ever seen) and departed. The horizon was growing dark with the forces of Utumno's owners when Quinn teleported the group to Ygg. While there, Kethos Trumped Finndo to have his scouts executed and his lieutenant imprisoned for failing to detect Anax. Breann tried to Trump Theseus and failed. Quinn then teleported them to Amber.
Megan listened bemusedly to Gerard's summation of recent history and current events. Fiona re-sedated Benedict twice during the long story. Megan's only question after all that was to learn the name of the Bloody X' eatery. It was now Bloody Amber's, Amber having had an unfortunate collision with a sharp spar during the tsunami.
Megan volunteered to join Caine on the La Rue when he sailed back out.
Megan met the Utumno veterans on their return to Castle Amber, causing several of them to wonder how the hell they had forgotten about her existance (and absence) for months. Oh, well, one of Fiona's little tricks.
Deirdre found out the Bad News and didn't beat or kill Quinn. (Megan made money off of Caine in the betting pool.) She stalked off to her room in a moving circle of dead silence.
Scudamore saw Edward to guest rooms while the latter enthused about the joys of being among family.
Fiona asked Quinn who she had fried. Quinn explained while Breann eavesdropped and giggled. He asked whether he should sack out in another universe for safety's sake, which reminded her of a message for him from Artanis: contact her immediately. Quinn Trumped his mother and learned that he was now a wanted man in Tir-na Nog'th. His interrogation had read as mostly lies so he was now the primary murder suspect. Quinn was too worn out to get excited, but said that now they knew why the old Master of Ceremonies had been murdered. Breann poked at Quinn until he looked at her; she asked about Theseus. Artanis said he was holed up in his palace, not under arrest. Meanwhile pictures of the murderer Quinn were being distributed everywhere. Breann got the giggles again.
Where is everyone?
Where Is Everyone?
ANDER, BREANN, EDWARD, MEGAN and QUINN milled about with Fiona, Gerard, Caine, Kethos, Lora, Davin, Catherine, Victor & the Victorians, Steward Scudamore and the staff. Meanwhile, Deirdre fumed in her rooms, Benedict slept sedated in the infirmary, Bleys drank in his rooms and Miriel read in the library.
Breann went off to shower. Edward watched everything and everyone with keen interest. Megan introduced herself to the exhausted Ander; they made a date to go skating. Quinn talked to Fiona, trying tiredly to remember all items of importance.
Megan left with Caine after looking in vain for Breann. On their way out, Fiona told her she'd be contacting her soon with a mission. Minutes later, Breann and Kethos walked by the crowd on their way to join Julian in Arden. They stopped dead as they overheard Quinn say the word "tattoos" to Fiona.
"Yes, I was wondering what those were," Fiona commented.
She'd noticed? This made Breann, Kethos and the other Utumno veterans even more eager to get their magical beacons removed. Quinn passed on his observations of how the tattoos had been applied, then left for the baths and his bed.
Breann volunteered to go first, sans anesthetic, since she didn't want to ride into battle with a numb butt. Fiona dissolved the spell as she removed the ink with a kind of needle-pipette vacuum apparatus. Very painful. Breann bit on a leather covered stick. Kethos, next, toughed it out with a few grunts. Everyone else but Ander gladly accepted the local. Edward yelled loudly anyway.
Edward was attended to by Scudamore, who directed him to the showers, new clothing and a room on the third floor. He was warned against disturbing Bleys. After a wonderful meal (actually pretty good, but after three years in prison...) he explored the Castle and met many large, alert and polite guards who asked him if they could be of any help. Edward worked out where low and high security areas were by the number and frequency of offers to help him.
Edward met Miriel in the library, introduced himself and tried to pump her for information while acting a little too naive. Miriel remained vague about everything but the loose rules of the family library. Edward lusted after the Trump packs in the triple-locked case. Miriel admitted to being a dabbler in the visual arts and a distant relative of Quinn. Edward said he and Quinn had met, having broken out of prison together. He implied he'd had to save Quinn's bacon a couple of times.
Megan sailed with Caine on his sloop Vinta, accompanied by the La Rue. As they passed Cabra lighthouse Megan was Trumped by Fiona and assigned a mission. Find the missing ring-chakram-Artifact. Fiona was perturbed that someone had slipped into her most secure sanctum, though the ring was itself more important. Megan's heart sank. The last errand had cost her months of time and all kinds of action. Now she had to chase the same damned thing again. Caine sailed Megan to the Fleet docks so she could select a ship, since Fiona had told her that every time she tried to scry the ring out she saw water. Megan tried to think of someone she could talk into joining her quest.
Ander helped calm Sandy, Victor's wife, down and sent her off to shop in the city with Lora. (Sandy had good reason to be upset. Thrown into a prison by fantasy monsters, rescued in a big bloodbath, "magical tattoos" applied to her and her children while a friendly telepath/wizard blocked the pain by touch, teleported twice and taken to a castle... ) Victor was coping well and Davin was rushing his older kids around on a child's eye tour of the castle. Ander gave them a quick adult version and settled them into their rooms.
Ander and Catherine were joined by Deirdre. Ander sent Catherine firmly away despite Deirdre's protests. Deirdre inquired about Ander's immediate plans, trying not to push him, while Ander reacted defensively. Ander said he would be in Amber for a time. Deirdre gave him a Trump of Quinn, a 'pure' (non-Patterned) one she'd had Fiona make, saying Quinn had as much access to powers as she herself did, currently. (And evidently thinking that neither of her kids was likely to call HER for help.) She answered his questions about Finndo and the Forge, and told him no one had yet heard from Random or Llewella, or visited the former Rebma. She mentioned that Quinn's 'cousin', a diplomatic envoy was around. Deirdre cut short his one attempt at formality and told him she would be doing something about the Regency in a month or so, retiring or ascending. She asked after his well- being and Ander reacted with cautious puzzlement. He didn't quite know how to deal with fond maternal concern.
Breann and Kethos found Julian's camp in Arden guarded by unusually alert sentries. Julian was tending Morganstern, who had an injured leg and a long gash in the side. Breann boggled at the idea of Morganstern getting hurt. She gave him a few facts and more hints of the Utumno adventure, letting him know that everyone was out but Delwin (Julian wanted to know more, later) and that they had a new relative named Edward.
Julian had to tell Breann that someone other than Brigid had wounded Morganstern, and knocked him out of the saddle. (Oh, shit.) They guy had been able to 'hop' away from Julian's lance. Julian had developed and distributed some 'flares' which slowed the enemy down but not enough. Quinn's well lit strong points had been bypassed and the enemy was getting far too close to Amber. He was glad to hear that they had more firepower available now that the prisoners were back. He finished with Morganstern and sacked out.
Megan Trumped Breann and, after a small delay, was greeted with "Hi Megan."
"Hi Breed..." Hey, only Mom knows it's me before she sees me. "Mom wants me to go on a treasure hunt. Want to come?"
"Can't. I'm helping Julian in Arden."
"He needs help?"
Breann moved farther away from Julian and, on second thought, from Morganstern too. "He's getting his armored ass kicked. Morganstern has GAPES in him. He's dinging up his new armor."
"That sounds like more fun than what I'm doing."
"So, you wanna join us?" Megan made a face. "Well, MY Mom... always knows where I am."
Breann winced. "I couldn't find you."
"I just missed you."
"You missed the tattoo-fest. Know where you're going?"
"No."
"If you get in trouble give me a call."
"Sure."
"Have you learned the ID thing?"
"We have this uncle..." Breann explained about Brand's evil Trump tricks, then about her Hall of Mirrors experience. "Don't look Llewella in the eyes. And if Random doesn't recognize you, I don't think it's something your mother did."
"Really."
"Generally, if it looks like you're going to Rebma call someone. Someone Big. Or maybe Quinn. So be careful in Rebma."
"Is there anyone I should take? Spellboy looked pretty toasted."
"Not really." Breann tried to explain the New Cosmography to Megan without diagrams. "Here, I'll lend you this," she handed her turbo-Trump of herself through, "It works better than the other ones. If you think of anything else, let me know."
Quinn was awakened from his exhausted sleep by Fiona.
"Local?" she asked, tapping a filled syringe.
"Damned right." This could have waited 'till morning.
Fiona started on the tattoo a little too soon for Quinn's taste. It hurt and he really couldn't muster the concentration to block the pain. She asked him what was the trouble in Tir-na Nog'th and he told her: wanted for High Treason. Just to be annoying, he told her (again) that she and Artanis should be buddies since they were each other's only real peers, knowing that they saw each other as their only real professional RIVALS.
"Yeah, sure."
Quinn thought out loud about destroying Osric's hypothetical military base and the wisdom of seeking forgiveness rather than permission. Fiona pointed out that he was not well positioned for forgiveness at present and that destroying a world just might give Benedict a headache. Which would be bad. Something moved on top of the dresser, attracting their attention. A rugby ball? No, his ball-Trump, an inexplicable gift from Dworkin, grown much larger.
"What is it?"
"It WAS a softball with a Trump of me on it. One of Dworkin's little notions. What is it now?" Quinn felt Fiona summon her Lens as she studied it.
She started laughing. "Look yourself."
Quinn groaned and complied. In the Lens he could see that it was now an egg, with a chick of some kind inside. The Trump image was still there, too. He looked closer: it was a baby Wixer. "Oh, joy."
"It shouldn't be too bad. They mostly take care of themselves." Quinn groaned. "They're scarce, even on the world they come from."
"I've seen Dworkin's work recently. And when he gave that to me he was acting totally nuts." He thought. "I suppose it should have good senses. It could keep lookout."
"Deirdre gave Ander a Trump of you. She wants me to make more. You're the Expert now."
"Now I'm the stopgap between them and you."
Fiona grinned as she gathered up her apparatus. "That's why I'm cooperating."
Edward found the Regent on the grand stairway descending from the third floor. He bowed gracefully. "Your Highness."
"Ah, Edward. Are your quarters adequate?"
"Very much to my liking." They continued down the stairs. "I hope you can explain things. You see, since my mother died I haven't had much in the way of family."
"This should be a change then."
"Do you have any idea who...?"
"We're working on it. We should have more information soon. It's harder since we don't know where you came from. Talk to me in a couple of hours."
"In the meantime, is there anything I can do?"
"I don't know. Is there anything you can do? I assume you did something to attain the post you had in the prison. Military experience?"
"Small engagements, fact finding missions..."
"Any experience with ships of the wind powered variety?"
"I've taken a cruise or two."
"I'll see what I can arrange. If you want to be useful, I'm going to be sending you into harm's way. No more than anyone else. Come with me." Deirdre led Edward to Guard Commander Morgan's office. Morgan, a weathered veteran built like a muscular fireplug, braced to attention. Deirdre nodded to him. "Morgan. Check him out and report to me. We'll be sending him out." She walked away.
Edward chose to use the rapier he'd picked up in Utumno admin and his old reliable poignard; Morgan went with a one-edged broadsword and a shield. Morgan began with slashing attacks, deceptively fast and horribly strong (about as strong as Edward himself and short; Edward was used to tall bruisers) while maintaining a continuous droning monologue. As soon as Edward got used to the slashing, Morgan switched to thrusts. It became painfully evident that Morgan's sword and shield were of a quality far superior to Edward's equipment. Edward's hands took a beating deflecting Morgan's attacks with inferior tools, but he eventually scored first blood, a shallow cut on the inside of Morgan's right arm. They stopped while Morgan pulled a bandage from a belt pouch and tied it around his arm with the ease of long practice. As he did, Deirdre entered the salle and looked a question.
"He'll be alright," Morgan mumbled around the bandage in his teeth. "He'll be fine." He saluted and headed back towards his office.
"You scored a hit," Deirdre looked surprised. "Pretty good. Since you're going to do this, you'll need these." She handed him three Trumps (the Great Hall, Julian, and Bleys) and gave him a brief description of Julian, Arden and the battles.
"Do what he tells you and stay away from his horse and you'll do well. If you want to talk to your father before you leave, he's upstairs. Here's his Trump." Deirdre gave him a serious look. "Bleys has a history here. He attempted a coup against the previous Regent. He is under house arrest. Remember that I want to keep him in his rooms. It is not forbidden to talk to him but people rarely want to. That makes Fiona, whom you've met, your full aunt and Megan your closest cousin."
Quinn was awakened by a Trump contact: Fiona. She told him that Edward was Bleys' son and that, as a Pattern expert, he should be careful in choosing his actions. A moment later he got it. He was never going to live the Anax incident down.
Quinn woke again early in the morning when someone entered his room and set a bowl on the table. He turned to look. Deirdre heard him move and paused on her way out. A bowl of fruit and a jar of ointment were on the table.
"Get better. I want to smack the crap out of you," she said in an obviously kidding tone.
Quinn digested this and said, grumpily "Get in line. Kethos called it first,"
Ander Trumped Quinn in the morning and arranged to fence at noon. Quinn couldn't think of what the point of it would be. Quinn, covered with ointment and wearing running shorts, stretched- danced-did katas for an hour before the scheduled meeting. They fenced. Ander won easily every time that Quinn couldn't catch his eyes and lock up his muscles. Quinn bled from many small cuts. Ander's head hurt. Quinn filled him in on some of what was going on, including the fact that Victor and his kids were relatives. Quinn offered either technological or magical rejuvenation for Sandy whenever desired --merely a courtesy, as Ander could find either himself if he tried.
Where is everyone?
Where Is Everyone?
Edward met his father Bleys by cautiously inching into the Prince's rooms through the appalling stench, debris and broken bottles. Bleys threw only two bottles at him --both missed. Bleys reluctantly agreed that if Fiona said Edward was his son, he must be. Then Edward was firmly dismissed. Edward, sucking up as hard as he could, located and absconded with two bottles of Bayle's Best from the wine cellar and left one in Bleys' room. He regretted that, a bit, when he drank the other bottle. THIS wine was fit for the gods, or even for Edward himself.
Breann awoke very early and wandered out to the edge of the guard picketts. She ran into Kethos, who had either followed her or just happened to be there. She climbed a sequioa and waited for sunrise.
Ander Trumped her there. Aside from some sibling chatting, Ander told her he planned to be around the Castle for a couple of days and that Katherine was staying on sufferance, gone if she caused any trouble. Breann immediately started scheming how to get Katherine thrown out.
Ander, after fencing with Quinn (OK: giving Quinn a fencing lesson) rushed off to talk to Victor about their unsuspected familial ties, then thought better of it. He joined Deirdre and Gerard for lunch and planning. They told him about the beating the Baron was giving Amber's shipping, using some thirty big ships crewed with his favored zombis. Ander (Navy-Boy from way back) was outraged he hadn't been informed IMMEDIATELY. So what if he had been exhausted and suffering the effects of a month of torture and deprivation. Ander said he'd be back with a few ships, and left the table. He paused to write several notes, walked down to the Pattern Room and bulldozed his way along it.
Quinn watched Ander run off, then went to the baths for the full treatment, including a long massage. (During which he felt someone walking the Pattern, and guessed from the massive wake and high speed that it had to be Ander.)
Julian Trumped Quinn and informed him of events in Arden. He asked Quinn to convince Deirdre to send him about a third of the remaining rifles and ammo. Quinn described his combat support spells and his intention to load up on them and await Julian's call for where and when to use them.
Quinn searched for and found his daughter Miriel in her rooms, preparing for a shopping expedition with Lora and Sandy. He asked forgiveness for neglecting her and pleaded terminal overwork. Then he posed the deadly serious question: how much deeper in the affairs of Amber did she wish to go? Quinn himself was in too deep to get out. With Osric and (maybe) Brigid hot for his blood, he had no choice but to stay with powerful allies. Besides, there was Julian, and Fiona, and he was starting to like some of the others. Miriel said she was In. Quinn thanked her for her help thus far and told her they might need her talents as a sorcerer; she warned him that she rarely used it. (She was a Trump Artist. If there was trouble she could leave. If it was important she could return with experts to deal with it. Very Quinn-like.) Miriel said she liked Amber a lot more than that of Annarth.
Megan left her Trump with her First Mate (in more than one sense, since she believed firmly that Rank Hath It's Privileges) and Trumped to Amber. She talked with Fiona, picked up some things from her room and returned to the ship when Trumped on schedule.
Megan continued making her way through Shadow and testing the mettle of her crew.
(Note: Megan had a very good crew. When word got out that Lady Megan was selecting crew for a voyage the competition for berths became spirited.)
Ander teleported to shadow Virnau, a frequent haunt of his youth but unvisited for over a century. He began making arrangements for building a fleet with which to inflict the Wrath of God (or Amber) on the enemy.
Edward went to Morgan for equipment and (aside from the lack of firearms) was very happy with the selection. He had noted that some people had guns, but none were offered to him. He selected a black horse he named Muerte and attempted to Trump Julian. After a few minutes, it worked.
Julian pulled Edward through to Arden and immediately assigned him to a patrol. Warren, the patrol leader, brought Edward up to speed on ranger whistle codes, enemy weapons and tactics and the Twilight power. Edward immediately suggested using cable-trailing harpoons and bolts, something they hadn't thought of. Warren was impressed.
Well out on patrol, they lost contact with one man, then three. Warren gathered the patrol at the edge of a clearing, then disappeared himself. Edward tried a Psychic Detection Word of Power and found almost twice as many contacts as remaining patrol members, mixed in with them. The Mori threw Warren's corpse to the ground and attacked from the trees. Three men were pulled up off their feet and the patrol panicked.
Edward did what he could to rally the patrol. He made his shots effective by aiming at Mori already occupied and incapable of dodging. Starting with a slight numerical advantage, Edward's patrol whittled the enemy down. Not fatally, though; wounded Mori fled. Edward threw all but two knives, then rolled out of the saddle and worked close-in. The last Mori retreated. Edward's patrol was reduced to five fit, eleven walking wounded and several who had to be carried. The Mori lost only four dead, and Edward had accounted for three of those.
Edward took charge and Trumped the survivors (at a sergeant's suggestion) to Julian, carrying Warren's body himself in fine dramatic style. Julian put him in command of another patrol
Megan and the second mate were interrupted by a big flash and splash. Megan ran up to the deck and saw they were being attacked by a big ship with some kind of huge firebolt ballista.
Megan directed a retreat through to the next shadow path, then turned to ambush their foes. She directed her crew to shoot their own, much smaller, ballista at the brazier, then avoid contact. Megan ripped her scanty clothes off (cheers) and dove overboard, shifting to an armored aquatic attack form once underwater. She swam under the enemy vessel and tore out a plank, then a few more, then disabled the rudder. Firey debris rained into the water above --evidently her crew were good gunners. The ship listed over and sank, zombis going down like rocks. She examined a pool of the incendiary liquid from underneath, the returned to her own ship in a graceful porpoising leap, human before she hit the deck.
Megan Trumped Caine to report the attack and was told that this ship was operation far from the Baron's normal range.
Quinn told Deirdre and Fiona about his newly acquired magickal effects --barriers to Twilight and Logrus-- and his ideas of how to best support Julian's army. He relayed Julian's request for guns and ammo. Deirdre said she couldn't use up that much of the very limited supply unless Julian could dedicate it to a decisive battle rather than little guerrila engagements.
Breann and Kethos were bantering when Kethos' eyes went wide and he suddenly tackled her. A shape flew over them. Breann shot at it and missed due to it phasing out. It--he leapt into the trees. She exchanged insults with her attacker, parried a bolt from the side, more insults, several more bolts and she shot two archers out of the trees. Kethos pointed out that they and the rangers near them were surrounded and outnumbered and in a poor tactical position. They Trumped themselves and the rangers out.
Miriel Trumped Quinn and asked for help. The shopping expedition had been surrounded by a rowdy crowd shouting questions about the battles in Arden and at sea, a crowd that might work up to a mob. Victor's wife Sandy, of all people, was doing her best to answer the questions with Lora's coaching. Quinn went through and tried to calm the crowd with something near the truth and more logic than was wise. He didn't have much experience with crowds. After a while Gerard joined him and dispersed the people with force of personality and lies.
Deirdre told Quinn of the latest Mori attacks. Irritated, Quinn shot off his racked attack spells through the Lens --he'd have to get rid of them anyway to make room for the combat-support spells- - at what Mori he could find, burning, freezing, electrocuting or shredding them. Shooting fish in a barrel was their own favorite tactic; they could hardly complain of unfairness.
Where is everyone?
Where is everyone?
Happening over a couple of weeks:
Breann contacted Vaughn by Trump and convinced him to join the fun in Arden. Later, while grooming her wonder horse Cucullan, someone behind Breann handed her the brush she'd been looking for. Expecting Kethos, she turned and said, "Thank y---eeek!"
Benedict smiled and vanished greenly.
Megan talked with Caine before leaving normal Trump contact range. How had the Baron's ship found her, so far out of their normal haunts? Betrayal? An invisible follower? Caine suggested she was being scried out by magick.
Quinn dropped by Julian's camp to see Edward to apologize for his rudeness in Utumno and let him know more about what was going on. It had occurred to him that nobody else in the family was in the habit of spreading information proactively. Edward was surprised by the apology, then a genealogy chart and the diagram of the cosmos. Quinn also explained how Bleys had been imprisoned for months with what he'd thought was the rotting corpse of his dear sister Fiona, an endless supply of booze and absolutely nothing to do. Quinn added that Edward's welcome was more guarded than it might have been due to the last unknown kinsman who had shown up, who had joined the enemy.
Breann assembled a team of killers: herself, Kethos, Vaughn Commander Morgan and six deadly rangers. She invited Edward along as an afterthought, still suspicious. Edward accepted gladly as it looked much better than leading scouts into undetectable ambushes.
Breann, Kethos or Vaughn would shift shadow to selected targets, closely defined by number, disorganization and lack of Brigid or the Mori who had beat Julian. Edward would lead the commandos in to kill quietly, then the rest would rush in once the shouting began. They became experts at traceless corpse disposal. Kethos' sword proved capable of igniting things. Some of the commandos had to be replaced due to wounds or fatigue. One Mori leader was very good: Edward and Vaughn were wounded (Vaughn with a bullet) and Breann and Kethos only ran the man down after an hour-long chase. Kethos cut him in half.
Megan worked her way through increasingly difficult-to-slip shadows. After two days out of sight of land she was unpleasantly surprised when a huge frigate ghosted into view 200 yards from her and gave her a five shot warning barrage. The flag was unknown to her, some tentacled kraken-thing. No zombies.
A clear female voice shouted out, "Drop sails and heave to!"
Megan stayed out of sight but ordered her crew to comply. The frigate had enough guns to blow the whole bottom out of her ship with one broadside. She tried Caine's Trump --nothing, not even cool to the touch. Breann's Theseus-special cooled sllooowwwly.
Julian Trumped Breann and the wolf-pack to call them in for the big show. He assigned Breann and Kethos to lead a cavalry regiment, Vaughn and Morgan to the foot, Elrohir (Quinn's Noldor nephew) to the light cavalry plus Edward (armed at last with a pistol) and Morgan with himself and the wagon train. Julian kept Miriel's Trump handy for updates to the Castle crew.
Back at Castle Amber, the City Guard and the Royal Guard were on alert. Gerard was on the battlements in a heavy swivel chair bolted to the flagstones with all the heavy (.50 cal. HMG round) carbines, several other rifles, gun-bunnies, runners and a spread of Trump Sketches. Just in case. Deirdre and five of the very best Royal Guardsmen were lounging as best they could in full armor, waiting. Quinn, Fiona and Miriel sat in comfortable chairs on the battlements. Quinn searched the region near Julian's force with the Lens. He noticed some of the flickering Twilight effect and relayed the information through Miriel.
Julian said, "NOW."
Breann felt a Trump contact --no, two of them. She took them both.
Morgan said, "They're here. Charge."
Breann yelled, "Charge!" At normal volume she said, "Hi Megan. What's going on? Good? Bad?"
"Don't know. I'm a long way away. Damn, you're busy. Later." Megan cut the link.
Breann crouched lower on Cucullan as bullets whizzed by her.
Quinn and Fiona finished the spell. Centered on the wagon train, a ten-mile radius lit up, every surface glowing palely.
Deprived of shadows, the Mori couldn't do their blink teleport or phasing-out tricks and hesitated, confused. Julian's soldiers, were waiting for just that and opened fire.
Quinn, as planned, teleported Deirdre and her men to the battlefield.
Mori wizards started countermeasures. Quinn had anticipated them. An automatic sub-spell in the Illuminator lit them up several times brighter than anyone else. Most of the rifle fire targeted them mercilessly, but the survivors managed to break the spell after a minute and a half.
Quinn and Fiona were waiting and set the second spell. Happy Mori tried their tricks and ran into invisible barriers to Twilight power, honeycombing the battlefield in three-yard 'cells'. There weren't enough Mori wizards left to break the second spell.
Edward lurked in the wagons and cheerfully killed any Mori who got too close. Some got through behind him, though, and the train started to burn. Edward was not too happy with the idea of ammo that exploded some places and not others. He left the shelter of the wagons.
A male voice, above and behind him, said, "Ah, there you are."
Edward whirled. Nobody. He was hit from behind in the base of the skull. He couldn't feel his feet. He fell. A tall Mori with a baton looked down at him, waiting casually with clasped hands.
Edward thrashed feebly, stalling for time.
"I was wondering, Edward, if you could tell me where I could find Breann. You aren't going to be keeping me busy for much longer."
Edward pointed his pistol at the Mori, very fast, only to have it swatted away in a casual blur.
"I'll find her myself."
Edward didn't even see the strike coming.
Quinn Lensed the field, looking for some place to help out. He found Julian on Morgenstern, hard-pressed by two Mori of Breann-level skill. Morgenstern danced around more like a kung-fu tiger than a horse. Quinn knew he'd never hit one of the Mori with an attack spell, but the Lens... Mori One froze for half a second at its touch and Quinn's psychic shout. Morgenstern took the Mori's head almost off with a rear hoof.
Mori Two looked worried. Julian smiled. Quinn moved the Lens on.
Quinn found Deirdre outmatched by a single opponent, barely deflecting his blurring attacks with her axe, her armor scarred by several hits. Convinced that one of these Mori would be strong enough to fry him, Quinn tried the cautious touch-and-go psychic punch again. The Mori staggered slightly and Deirdre's axe butt punched him back thirty feet. (Deirdre is strong.) The Mori jumped to his feet, saying, "That wasn't you, that --" Quinn froze the Mori's muscles and held on. The Mori fought him off and dodged Deirdre's rush and slash. Almost. She took his leg off at the shin.
Breann felt a touch on her left ear, whirled. Nothing. Right ear.
Nothing near. Kethos was very busy with an exceptional Mori twenty yards away. Breann's pistol was knocked out of her hand. She swung at where the foe should have been and missed. She saw him now, though, a tall Mori bouncing happily on the balls of his feet. She recognized him as one of Brigid's lieutenants. He attacked with a baton. Breann backed up, fully defensive. She tried to break his baton with her enchanted blade and a Word. Nothing. He was at least as strong as she was, too. She retreated, fully defensive.
Megan showed herself on deck and introduced herself as one Kryla of Gellemar searching for her husband Bjorn. Very sorry to have trespassed. The frigate's commander, Gennit, told Megan she was in the demesne of Queen Moire, the realm of Caer Beatha, and that no outsiders were allowed there. Megan talked Gennit into letting her sail a bit further in order to shift away. Gennit warned her that they would be sunk without warning should Gennit see her again after one full day.. Gennit sailed away. Megan sailed towards the ring and (she was sure) Caer Beatha. She shape-shifted into something suitable and towed the boat for extra speed.
Towing vigorously, Megan met a girl in the water. Seventeen or so, with a Wednesday Adams look and a puzzled expression. "That really isn't how Gennit described you to us. A muumuu would be more slimming."
"You know, Gennit did say you shouldn't be here. She gets cranky about these things."
Megan, goggling a bit, said, "Just passing through."
"You're going the wrong way. And it's obvious. And if anybody notices, you'll be going the wrong way in about forty different pieces."
Megan bullshitted her for a while.
The girl interrupted, "Go your own way. Remember me to your god."
Edward came to with hot ash falling on him. He rose slowly to his feet and surveyed the situation. Baton-man was gone. The wagons were burning merrily --with, thankfully, no explosions. Morgenstern swept towards him out of the battlefield with Julian low on his back, pursued by many Mori riders. Edward rolled out of Morgenstern's way and shot three Mori out of their saddles.
Breann tried some of the dirtier tricks she's learned from Caine on Baton-man. She bled for it.
"A little help here!" she called out to Kethos.
Kethos was defending himself from his own foe. "Yeah! A little help here!"
Baton-man darted over towards Kethos. Breann threw her dagger at his back, grazing him. He slashed at Kethos and Kethos went down. Breann charged Baton-man and ended up corps-a-corps for a second, then he slipped away. Baton-man swiped at Breannps side. Kethos' erstwhile foe advanced on her --and Kethos cut him off at the knees.
Baton-man retreated. "I complement whoever arranged this. I'll rejoin my brother now." He disengaged and ran off.
Quinn watched the Mori forces react. They rallied on a hill. He smiled grimly: most of their sorcerers were dead. He laid a Razor Vortex on top of the hill and shredded them. The survivors ran, taking the usual shot-in-the-back penalty.
The battle ended. Deirdre took command since Julian did not return. Edward and many of Julian's soldiers happily finished off the wounded Mori, saving only a few for questioning. Quinn considered trying to interfere (the Mori were relatives of a sort) but didn't. The Mori had set the rules of this conflict, so now they could deal with the short end of the stick. Breann Trumped to Amber. A small hand appeared again and again out of small holes in the air, picked up a fallen firearm and disappeared. Fiona was policing the field.
Megan Trumped Breann. "I'm in the place you said I shouldn't be."
"Ah. Rebma." Breann went off and found Fiona, handing a rifle off to a guardsman. "This Trump's for you." Fiona raised an eyebrow and joined the contact. Breann felt very small in Fiona's mind.
Megan said, "I'm here in the... third lobe realm."
"Rebma?" asked Fiona.
"Yes."
"Our battle here has wrapped up," Breann volunteered.
"It's not comforting to me that they have this thing."
"I'd like to get my crew out."
"You'll have to leave the ship."
"You can have Caine build me another." Megan had the crew line up on deck.
"Did you have any trouble getting through to Breann using that Trump?" Fiona asked.
"It took a long time." She started shunting the sailors through to Amber.
"Contact us if you have trouble. If they work out how to use It you'll be out of your depth."
"For a quick out call me and say, 'EEP'!" offered Breann. Fiona gave her a look. "Have you run into any trouble?"
"A two hundred foot frigate, a woman called Gennit and one other weirdo."
"Call if you feel the remotest possibility of trouble. If you know you're in trouble it will be too late. Listen to your mother. Call."
Ander designed ships. Named ships. Assembled supply lines for ship-building materials. Convinced the Verinese shipyards to take the work and do it according to his twenty-four hour a day, seven days a week schedule.
Where is everyone?