Where is everyone?
Quinn handed one of the mortal coma victims over to his hospital staff and started working on the other himself with Pattern and psyche.
Megan caught up with Ander in his rooms. Ander asked her to accompany him on an outing to Amber City on the following day. She agreed, mildly intrigued.
Lysander and Daelyn returned to Aramyst before Deirdre could do horrible things to them.
Quinn, modifying his approach to pulling the man out of a weird, died-in-an-alternate-timeline, coma. He suddenly realized that they (he, Megan and Deirdre) had discussed moving the helpless Fiona, Vaughn, Bleys and Random to Aretia with Flora in listening distance. Flora was spying for Sand and probably one of the Bad Guys. Quinn teleported to Amber and Trumped Theseus to ask him to monitor Flora's Trump. Deirdre let him take the four comatose royals with him to Aretia. He settled them in and spent two hours changing Aretia so that Trumps could only work in a few, high security areas.
Edward returned from his quick trip out into Shadow. Deirdre
immediately drafted him to help with the investigation of the ritual murder. She also told
him where Bleys was and gave him a Quinn Trump.
Edward surveyed the murder scene. "Is there any reason why this is being treated as a
murder rather than as a rather inventive suicide?"
Victor and Theseus explained about the scene having been wiped clean of all magick traces
and the carvings done after death, with a sharp letter opener. The room had been locked
from the inside. The victim wasn't staying at the inn, and never had before according to
the proprietor. The man had been waiting to meet with a criminal middleman. Ander had
interviewed the man and sent him off on some errand.
Edward accepted a Trump contact. Sander wanted to come through and talk to him, Edward
obliged.
"Don't touch anything!" Theseus said immediately.
"Hello," Edward greeted Sander, "We've... not been through a lot
together."
"Who's the stiff?" asked Sander, looking around.
"Some two bit hood," answered Theseus, glancing at Edward, "Who apparently
poked his eyes out and then got his chest carved."
"Cool! Let's see."
Quinn returned to the comatose man. He settled upon 'aiming'
with Pattern and pulling the victim's psyche back to his body with pure psychic force. He
gradually increased the power to nearly three-fourths his full mental strength and the
missing psyche slammed into place. A light mental probe showed that the man seemed to be
none the worse for wear, resting comfortably, lightly asleep. his name was Bob. Quinn woke
him up, thinking of tests to run. Bob's eyes glowed. Pattern energy, not some sort of
residue, left over from Quinn's efforts. Bob was producing it from his own psyche. Quinn
was torn. This was fascinating but there were thousands of victims and several other
things demanding his immediate attention. Lots of tests.
^^^
A servant caught up to Megan and told her that Fiona had been moved to Aretia for reasons
of security. The Regent wanted to make sure Megan knew.
"So, how's your Dad?" Edward asked Sander.
"Fucked. Actually, I haven't talked to him for a while. What I came for was all the
information you have on Ys."
"To any particular end?"
A somewhat strained conversation ensued, though no blows were exchanged. Edward had
started to remember the battle with Alter Edward being hit again and again by Sander.
Nobody's that clumsy and I'm not that unlucky. Edward stonewalled, this could, after all,
be a test of Deirdre's to see if Edward would just hand out important info to anyone.
Yeah, that was the ticket.
Sander wanted the knowledge of Ys so that he could fly his force in on dirigibles and
parachute down on the fucking Baron of Ys and tear the bastard's fucking head off. He
barely restrained himself from punching Edward out on the spot.
Edward took his leave.
Where is everyone?
Where is everyone?
A raven came to Megan's window and delivered a vial with a slip of paper attached. The paper said Drink Me. Megan did that. The fluid was blood, human blood, with a chemical message in it. She saved the residue and worked on how to duplicate the message-in-the-blood trick.
The interesting Pattern-glow about Bob's eyes dissipated over a few minutes, leaving Quinn both disappointed and relieved. Bob was very eager to leave the alien environs of Aretia but waited quietly while Quinn revived the second guinea pig. Quinn took them back to Amber after the second man's eyes stopped glowing. He briefed Deirdre and presented the two. Both volunteered to go help with the other coma victims. Deirdre suggested that the lost spirits were in the Dreamlands and assigned Quinn to 1) go look, and 2) recruit Breann to help.
Sander woke up out of a dream where Theseus, riding Morgenstern, was pulling Sander through snow on a shield at high speed. Daelyn distracted him from Trumping Theseus for a quick dream analysis. Somewhat later, the earth moved. Really moved -- an earthquake! He started to ask Daelyn if earthquakes were normal in Aramyst when she started yelling questions at him. What IS this?!! Sander started to walk about, exerting his will on the shadow. Buildings fell. The quake intensified for a moment, then stilled as he took control.
Theseus staggered while walking up to the Castle, assaulted by doubled visions -- True Images -- of Amber and a white plain under a black sky. The images came together and Theseus collapsed form psychic pain. None of the mortals around him seemed to notice anything odd, except for the Royal on his knees.
Edward asked Deirdre why there was so much interest in one little murder. Deirdre explained that these were the first ritual murders the City had ever seen. EVER. Juxtaposed with the Baron's ritual attacks she found them alarming. She was not assigning Edward to the investigation but thought his insights might be useful. Edward was unconvinced but unwilling to argue the point. He moved on, to Lysander's questions concerning Ys and his own virtuous refusal to give out possibly classified information. Deirdre authorized Edward to brief Sander on Ys. Edward took this as having passed a test of his discretion.
Quinn Trumped Breann and told her that she had the wonderful opportunity to be an Angel of Mercy to the people of Amber. When she went evasive he pointed out that she also had the duty to be an Angel of Mercy. That worked. Duty, to anyone but her mother, was strong in Breann.
Theseus came to near the base of a huge memorial fountain. There was blood all over the place -- none of it his -- and two city guards holding a frightened horse. Victor came up as Theseus got himself together. They examined the scene together. The guardsmen told them that one of their comrades had suddenly gone mad, and his horse too. The madman was dragged all over the plaza and ended up in the fountain. Something caught Vic's eye. He led Theseus to the highest point of a nearby arch bridge. From there they could see that the blood of the dragged man formed the same symbol that had been carved in the earlier victim's chest.
Megan flew to the Grove of the Unicorn. While there, Quinn Trumped her and convinced her to join him and Breann for a jaunt into Shadow. They could with Megan's help find a world with willing and reliable and available folk capable of sensing shape shifters, freeing her up to do other things. Megan agreed but said she had an appointment with Ander the following day. Quinn lent her a Trump of himself.
Theseus Trumped to Aretia and consulted with Miriel. At the same time he had collapsed with doubled visions, she had had a sudden, inexplicable migraine. He attempted to reach Fiona via Trump without success. He Trumped Caine next, who told him he had not experienced anything odd at the crucial time.
Sander Trumped Theseus about the freakish earthquakes. They had
coincided with the Double Image effect.
"No," said Theseus, "Not an earthquake. Dynamic shifting of the
universe. Can't explain it."
"Is it going to happen again soon?"
"No. Not really."
"When?"
"About six hours from now."
"Dude that's soon!!"
"Uber-cosmic alignment."
"Did somebody fart on the Pattern?"
"Pattern-shmattern! I've got an Amber Built on Ancient Burial Ground thing
going on."
"Glad I'm not there. Any chance of getting some warning before this happens
again?"
"Not really. Expect another one. Worse."
Megan did secret stuff.
Edward came upon the scene at the memorial fountain. He attempted to
Trump Breann but was rebuffed. Victor was directing the clean-up and explained
what they knew to Edward and showed him the view from the bridge. Edward
proceeded to the Castle and found Breann in a sitting room with Lora. Lora was
teaching Breann a spell of silence.
"So the first thing you have to do is -- Edward" Lora broke off her
lesson.
Nodding, "Lora. Breann." Back to Lora, "How are you doing?"
"Better. I understand you were instrumental in getting me out. If there's
any way I can repay you, just let me know."
"Ah, OK." Edward was either taken aback by courtesy or visions of just
what she could do to repay him. He caught Breann's eye. "Might I have a
word with you?"
Breann got up and led the way to the hall.
"Have you been involved with the investigation of the ritual killings down
in the city?'
"No. I'm part of the solution. "Angel of Mercy" Quinn said."
"Very droll. Are you aware there's been more than one?"
"No."
"I'm investigating an aspect of the murder and --"
"-- If it involves me and a white gown, the answer is 'No'."
"No, but it does involve you personally."
"You'll have to ask my mother to see if it's more important than what Quinn
wants me to do. I don't schedule my own time any more."
"How... wonderful."
"Not my word for it."
"I'll go see if you can come out and play."
Edward went and explained matters to Deirdre, including the latest murder. She
decided that helping the stricken in the City was the more immediate priority.
Should that attempt fail, Breann would be available.
Megan finished her other business, returned to the Castle, armed, got a horse and Trumped Quinn.
Quinn felt two incoming Trump calls... Megan and Deirdre.
Where is everyone?
Where is everyone?
Edward investigated, looking for some sort of pattern to the murders and came up empty. While walking up the stairs in the Castle he was either whisked elsewhere or experienced an elaborate illusion. He was hanging in darkness, vague shapes in the distance. A voice spoke to him from nowhere, mocking, claiming to be the author of the mysterious murders. Edward insulted the voice in turn. It offered to do anything in its power for him -- except tell him what was going on. Edward asked about the next crime. The voice said that it would be immediately evident. Edward could contact it, it said, merely by concentrating. Asked for a name, it said to call it Uncle Stromboli. And to say Hello to Delwin for it. Edward Trumped Regent Deirdre.
Ander wrote music in his rooms until interrupted by a Trump call. It was Hans at the shipyard, reporting that (nearly) all was well with the fleet repairs. Ander finished another stanza before receiving another call. Not Hans. Faint and fuzzy. He concentrated and could make out speech, female. Ander.... tried to find you.... can't see.... The contact faded without Ander making out an image. Then he recognized the voice: Vanessa, the singer in his dreams. How? What? He tried to write more music and ended up transcribing four stanzas of his dream-self's music for Vanessa. Damn. The afternoon was ruined. He moped.
Megan, Breann and Quinn met at the stables. Megan rode a horse colored seafoam green which complimented her own currently aqua skin. Quinn teleported them one at a time out well past Arden. Megan experimented with using Beathan Pattern to shadowshift and found that she could. Slowly. Haltingly. That experiment concluded, Quinn and Megan established a light psychic contact to share her design for folk capable of detecting shapeshifters and serving in Amber. Quinn shifted the party to that place at maximum Patternmaster In A Hurry speed and did the details for fast recruitment. They sent twenty likely shifter-sensitives to Deirdre.
Lysander helped his wife Empress Daelyn calm and inform her people about the recent and unprecedented earthquakes.
Quinn teleported Megan, Breann and himself to Ygg. He Trumped his mother, Artanis Queen of the Tir, to tell her that they would be operating in her realm, trying to return the lost souls of Amber. She approved and warned that the region of nightmares had expanded recently. He teleported them to the area of Ander's recurrent dreams. It looked nastier, darker. Breann wanted to go to Artanis' palace and look for books on operating in the Dreamlands. Quinn thought it unnecessary. He and Breann were initiates of the Tir Pattern and the lost souls were not. It shouldn't be a problem. They decided to go after the biggest fish -- Fiona -- first. Breann shifted them towards her, arriving at a place resembling a ruined Amber City. No people. Nasty dueling-monster noises in the distance. They went to retreat and couldn't -- Pattern wasn't working, or, more accurately, they couldn't concentrate to make it work. Each tried to make their powers work. Quinn, concentrating furiously on basic shadowwalking, felt he could do it just as the landscape cracked apart due to something Megan had tried. Quinn grabbed the two of them -- they let him -- transmitting go with the flow and pulled them into the crack while shifting away to Someplace Useful. They fell, then drifted as Quinn shifted them to a microgravity environment. So much for waving away Fiona's nightmares. Quinn called his Mom. She agreed to try to break through to Fiona, her ancient rival in mental power. An insane Fiona, lost in nightmare, would eventually dominate half the Dreamlands. Quinn, Breann and Megan would go after Vaughn, maybe Bleys, and the Amber subjects while Artanis made arrangements with her vassal-rival, the Magistrate of Nightmares, to operate in his fiefdom.
Sander stopped the next earthquake handily. He was getting the hang of this shadow-control stuff.
Theseus scanned the underpinnings of reality and decided that the earthquakes were due to changes in a sort of metaphysical tectonic plate that underlay Amber. Deirdre Trumped him to tell him there had been four more murders. These included one in the hospices where the coma victims were cared for and one in the Castle itself.
Edward told Deirdre of his odd and alarming contact. Word of the latest murders came as they talked. Both retired with sudden terrible headaches.
Theseus was Trumped by Caine. "All right. I felt that one."
Where is everyone?
Things in Heaven and Earth -- 66
Things in Heaven and Earth -- 67
Where is everyone?
Quinn scanned the maddened crowd through his Pattern Lens. There were two distinct power signatures on the crazed people. One, the more Patternish, was associated with those engraving the foul Symbol on their victims. The other signature, equally strong, did not seem to incline its victims to do anything beyond maiming and killing. He ran the Lens through one victim and cleansed him, then one of the others and cleansed her. Each took about half a minute. Too slow. He touched madmen through the Lens and forced them to sleep, each taking only seconds.
He saw Deirdre watching him closely through her Lens. "Can you
see the difference between the two types?"
Deirdre's eyes narrowed, "Now that you mention it, yes."
"At least they can't hide from us." Quinn took out frenzied victims in
a spiral centered on himself, especially those looking in his direction.
Edward snaked through the crowds like a living third rail. He made some effort to not kill, but not to the point of inconveniencing himself.
Sander jumped back up from where his opponent, a mad sorcerer or some such, had blasted him. The madman took the opportunity to kill -- and mark with the Symbol -- a nearby mortal. Sander slammed into the killer with his hammer-formed Gadget and bounced off a protective force field, staggering.
Megan, eighteen feet tall and fairly invulnerable, concentrated on internal shapeshifting.
Breann, like Sander, faced off against a super-madman. She shot him with her pocket-rocket from 100 feet and he charged. His shields deflected most of a lightning bolt. A Word (Neural Disrupt, made up on the spot -- it's good to be an initiate of the Tir Pattern) shook him enough for her to dodge his bludgeon and cut his feet off en passant.
Sander's opponent said, "My turn!" He hit Sander with a blasting spell that felt like catching a medicine ball in the chest. Thrown by Gerard. Sander rolled to his feet and drew his wedding present sword. He charged, dodging. A second bolt missed him and took down part of a brick wall. The sorcerer had time to look surprised, then more so as his right arm came off. The skewering of his chest happened too fast for him to react. Sander finished him off.
Megan poured out nitrous oxide into concentrations of madmen as she waded through the crowds, leaving quiet behind her. She started to shrink, but a pound of solid matter makes a lot of gas.
Edward reluctantly followed Deirdre towards the sound of explosions and a falling wall.
Breann knocked out her footless foe and tourniqueted the stumps. She whipped out Quinn's Trump and concentrated.
Edward felt his consciousness fading. He snapped out of it much closer to Deirdre, knife in hand and positioned to take her in the back. He threw the knife away and said "Deirdre!" in more of a croak than his intended shout, fading. Fade in to a much changed perspective, lying on his back. His jaw hurt really bad, bruised so badly it felt like a cut. Deirdre looked down on him, blocking the sun.
"Hrunnh. Ah dinn' hurr' you dih' Ah?"
Deirdre almost smiled. "We'll need to talk." She helped Edward to his
feet. "That was rather disconcerting."
Edward worked his jaw carefully and made a slow reply. "Yes. Yes it was.
The effect was not unlike that when I chatted with 'Uncle Stromboli'. Fading in
and out."
Deirdre gave him a piercing look. "How long did you talk to him that
time?"
"Hard to say. Enough for a short conversation."
"Alright. Enough said for now."
Quinn stepped through to Breann and examined Footless. Footless was Bob, or used to be Bob until something else took over. It was gone now. He scanned for more overpowered madmen, without success. He turned to winkling out all the ones in hiding.
The riot died out, largely due to Megan's efforts. Quinn had all the madmen laid out in a double row and slowly ran his Lens down them, cleansing them of the taint of whatever had possessed them. He made it to the end, then fell down exhausted.
Somewhat later, Edward attempted to Trump Delwin from a secluded spot. He achieved a dim contact, looking up at the stone lip of some structure. Big, mossy trees. The viewpoint shifted around until he was looking down on (former queen) Lora's sepulchre, and then at Delwin himself. Delwin was lying on his back with a round puncture wound in his gut, bleeding.
Breann Trumped Vaughn. It worked. Vaughn had indeed awakened in Aretia. He was fine, if a bit confused, but did not want to go to Amber. More specifically, he wanted to avoid his mother Flora. Breann agreed to keep mum. Vaughn included Miriel, with whom he had been dining, in the contact so that Breann could inquire about getting her slashed hauberk fixed in Aretia. Miriel foresaw no difficulties.
Delwin's left arm moved a bit. Edward felt a surge of protective panic. Uncle Delwin need his help! He tried with all his mental might but couldn't force the contact enough to pass through it. He gave that up and rushed into the mostly-intact Castle. He grabbed a medical pack from the infirmary and ran all the way down to the Pattern room. Nearly frenzied, he walked the Pattern as fast as he could, then wished himself to Delwin's locale as soon as he could manage it. Delwin was gone, dragged away. Edward followed the drag marks through the brush and caught up with Uncle Delwin and his captor -- the Unicorn of Amber. The Unicorn was pulling Delwin by a glowing rope or tendril that reached from its horn to the man's right foot. Delwin's wound matched the diameter of the Unicorn's horn, though Edward's thoughts kept skittering off that observation. It turned and looked at him. Edward shivered. He had to help and he could not move closer. The Unicorn's rope parted, disappeared, and It moved away from Delwin. Edward knelt by Delwin and examined him. Still alive.
He looked at the Unicorn, trying to ignore it's disapproving body
language. "You wouldn't happen to know --"
The Unicorn struck the ground with a front hoof and dragged it through the earth
irritably.
Edward tried again, "There was a gentleman in the area last time --"
Another hoof drag.
"Very well. After I stabilize him --"
The hoof thumped down hard.
Edward checked his Trumps, tried Quinn's. No response. Still unconscious, most
likely. Sand's card caught his eye. Oh, no. I can't call... mental static... Oh,
yeah. That IS a good idea.
It worked.
Sander returned to Shadow Aramyst and his very affectionate wife.
Megan took a Trump call and found herself staring into the burning, coal-black eyes of the Unicorn. Oh my god. I'm going to kill me. Blackness.
Theseus went to sleep in Castle quarters. He dreamed that he sat in a wooden chair surrounded by thirteen mother-of-pearl artist's posing dummies in a circle.
Breann hung spells in her room for hours.
Where is everyone?
Where is everyone?
Ander spent four hours riding atop Bleys' (rather, Dreaming-Bleys')
private train. The countryside was bleak and war-ravaged. Ander's thoughts were
mostly directed inward, preventing himself from slipping into his own dream
persona. They didn't stop at stations (which prevented observers from reporting
his presence on the roof) and other trains got out of their way whenever
possible. The train headed into mountains and slowed at last when it neared a
small alpine castle.
Ander dismounted into an evergreen and approached on foot. He stealthed his way
onto the grounds and entered the chateau through the window of a disused
second-story guest room. He cat-footed around to peek out at the great hall, a
hexagonal affair hosting a sort of formal 1900ish Austrian aristocratic party.
Several guards. Bleys sitting in a massive chair chatting up a gorgeous
woman.Ander found a suitable, non-military outfit in one of the unused rooms and
slipped into the party.
Quinn woke up ravenous. He ordered a huge lunch delivered to the
Roman-style baths and ate it there while soaking. Refreshed and dressed, he
Trumped Theseus and woke him up. Theseus grumpily claimed to know nothing of the
White & Black Land. He was willing to join a recon mission into Ys and try
to develop Trumps that would work there. Quinn Trumped Sander next. He agreed to
the mission as well. Then Megan, interrupting her yoga. She thought it sounded
like fun, particularly learning the valkaur form.
Megan, yoga forgotten, wanted food. It was late, Ambers restaurants were closed
and even the kitchen would take a while. Maybe it was dinner time in Aramyst.
She Trumped Sander and he pulled her through. They decided that neither of them
was in charge of the mission. Sander invited her to a raid on the Royal Snack
Shop.
Sand examined Edward, Delwin and the area through the Trump contact,
then extended her hand and pulled him through without a word. He gently laid
Delwin on the floor and bowed to her.
"I am Edward."
"I know. It's rather unexpected."
"Any port in a storm."
"I imagine. The situation must have been unusual." She glanced at the
wound through Delwin's chest. "Interesting work. Yours?"
"No. I suspect -- I did not witness it -- I believe it to be the work of a
Unicorn."
" 'A' Unicorn? Rather indefinite."
"Yes. Not having had the pleasure of meeting The Unicorn, well it was
dragging him off with a rope."
Sand considered this. "Would you care to oversee the ministrations? Or
would you care to eat?"
"A meal would be very nice. Perhaps something to drink."
Sand had a plate of finger food, wine and brandy served in a study. Edward
smiled and produced a bottle from his coat. "But where are my manners? I
brought a hostess gift."
Sand took the bottle of Bayle's Best reverently. "It has been a long, long
time since I had the pleasure. Would you care to pour?" She handed the
bottle back to Edward and went across the room to start a phonograph.
Breann ignored the Trump call that intruded on her breakfast. Quinn, feh. She checked on Lora and found her working on spells. They chatted and made snide remarks about Quinn as he tried to Trump Breann again. Next she found Theseus, hoping to wrangle a replacement Trump of Ander. He was meditating in his room in full lotus position. He told her that finding a lost Trump was practically impossible but handed her one when she asked for it. She searched through her deck looking for other gaps, seeing as he was in such a giving mood.
Sander's eating contest with Megan was an epic event. Even cooks hardened by feeding a troop of Australian Rules Football Mercs were amazed. A crowd grew up in the rooms near the kitchen and the betting was spirited. Megan used her unfair shapeshifter advantage sparingly.
Sander felt a Trump call pushing at him and checked his deck: Gerard.
Sander answered with "I didn't do it." Gerard hesitantly thanked him
for helping out with the insane rioters. Then he told Sander that, if he wanted,
Gerard could leave when Sander visited Amber. It slowly dawned on Sander that
Gerard thought that Sander had been avoiding him.
"Dad, the reason I go away is this," he said, showing him his wife
Daelyn's very fetching Trump portrait.
Gerard wasn't quite convinced. "Well, that's what Deirdre said..."
"Dad, there's a lot of other people I'd rather avoid. It's copacetic,
man." As the contact faded he saw that Megan had gained two plates on him.
Shit! He dug in. When he caught up Megan shifted her mouth bigger. "That's
gross!" he said enviously. Megan ended the contest a solid winner and a
little taller than she'd started.
Sander selected two of his men, Russell and Mel, to go on the expedition and
called them in to brief them.
Theseus was glad when Breann finally left. He went to the castle
library and looked over the information on Ys. Most of it seemed to be
applicable. Evidently Ys had not changed in a long time. Many centuries. He took
the three best books with him and Trumped Artanis, Quinn's mother, Queen of the
Dreamlands and his old ally.
"Theseus! How on earth did you know?"
"Know what?"
"Your timing is felicitous. Would you like to come through?"
"Yes." She pulled him into a silk gazebo infirmary for one -- Fiona,
sleeping. Each side of the silk pavilion looked out on a beautiful but
completely different place. So the Dreamlands really had melded with the Tir.
"It is odd. I'd just returned from retrieving your aunt. Is this in regard
to the task set me with her?"
"Something related to your son but different. I'm here to take you up on
your offer to use the library."
A hint of a raised eyebrow. She pointed. "Hmm. If you go that way you will
meet Jenkins. He will show you to the library."
The library was stocked with all the books that authors had intended to write
but hadn't. Theseus found an excellent book on Ys by Lovecraft (though it didn't
mention the Baron), and other useful ones by Kuttner and a partial manuscript by
Dick. He read them. He calculated that he could make working Trump Gates if he
had physical anchors at either end. Jenkins had suitable stones and tools
fetched. Theseus carved them with switchable images.
Ander presented himself as the entertainment and quietly told fortunes
using his Trumps. He started with an impressionable young woman and worked his
way around. The talk was of the invasion and how Lord Griffin's plan had worked
perfectly due to the Count's (Bleys') intervention. The guards on the second
story gallery or the walls would not be a problem. The big, Russian-looking guy
behind Bleys would. Ander cut out a tall, very busty blond from the herd and
maneuvered her with him to Bleys. Dream-Bleys frowned at him as he drew near,
not recognizing him.
Ander bowed deeply, "Ah my Count, my Most Humble Greetings."
Bleys, covering his lack of recognition, "Ah, yess."
"I'm glad my services have amused your guests. Allow me to introduce Mlle.
Gwendolyn."
Gwendolyn curtsied deeply, exposing a lot of opulent flesh. The bodyguard
quivered at attention. Gwendolyn was aimed at Bruno the bodyguard but hesitated,
looking at Bleys. Bleys stepped aside smiling and nodded permission to Bruno.
The two walked off towards the bar.
Bleys looked Ander over. "I'm sorry, I don't recall engaging any
entertainers. It may have slipped my mind in press of business."
Ander introduced himself as Sporcalgon Manson. Bleys invited him to share a
glass of wine. They sipped, Bleys studying him without seeming to.
"Perhaps my lord would care to sample my services?"
"Ah, yes."
All eyes upon them, Ander asked Bleys to pull a card. Bleys pulled the Amber
Trump. Ander showed it to the room. Ander produced his Trump of Breann and
concentrated on it hard while grabbing Bleys' wrist. Breann said, Who is --
Ander -- OK. Bleys tried to jerk free of Ander's grip, his eyes going wide when
he failed. Ander jumped through the contact hauling Bleys. He fell on top of
Breann. Bleys was gone, as expected, just as Dream-Ander had disappeared back to
his body when she pulled him through a Trump to Amber.
"Where's Mom?" Ander asked, standing and pulling Breann up.
"Castle."
"Where's Vanessa?"
"Who's she?"
"Where's Bleys?"
"Aretia -- Quinn's shadow."
"Oh. Where's Edward."
"God, if I only -- I don't wanna know."
"Where's Quinn?"
"He'll be around. He's been trying to Trump me. Lora's fine."
"Alright. I didn't know --"
"Vanessa. Who is Vanessa and why are you doting on about her?"
"I'm not doting."
"Who is she?" Breann was full into Older Sister Looking After Little
Brother Mode. Ander was maybe twenty times her age but she didn't care.
"Someone I met."
"Who?"
"Someone I want Mom to meet." He fanned his deck for Quinn's Trump and
Quinn walked around the corner.
"Ander!"
"Quinn, where's Bleys?"
"Wha --" Ander grabbed Quinn's hand and fed him the information
psychically, knowing Quinn could deal with it and avoiding Breann's constant
questions. Quinn Trumped his daughter Miriel in Aretia and took the group
through. Vaughn was there as well. He verified that Bleys had suddenly moved
from comatose to sleeping. He had her take Bleys off life support and reset his
room for a conscious patient.
Ander borrowed Breann's Trump of Deirdre and used it.
"Hello Ander. Where have you been?"
"Has anyone other than me Trumped you?"
"Ever?"
"Recently."
"No."
"Can I call you back?"
Quinn asked Ander if he'd be willing to visit King Finndo. Finndo or Kethos
might have been affected by the Baron of Ys' persona-mixing trick and would have
no idea what the hell had happened. They might be willing to help kill the
bastard. Also, Finndo was old. He might know something about the White &
Black Land that 'underlay' Amber -- Quinn had to impart the images of that
experience psychically. Quinn asked Breann to go along as well, to watch Ander's
back on the way and because she had more personal experience of the Baron's
trick, having witnessed part of the ceremony that accomplished it. Both agreed.
Breann recruited Vaughn for the expedition. (Travel with Breann and keep her
from being alone with Kethos, hell yes.)
Ander brought up Vanessa to Quinn and was astounded that he knew who she was.
Quinn had taken in one of their performances in the Dreamlands. They were
amazingly good, he said, and he wanted recordings for himself. He'd market them
if they wanted; bound to make lots of money.
Deirdre Trumped Ander. "So who's Vanessa?"
"Someone I know."
"Someone I know now too. She's none the worse for her trip. I normally
wouldn't have taken the Trump if you hadn't warned me."
"Good."
"What do you want me to do? Make her comfortable?"
"Tell her we may have an errand to do. Um, let her talk to me." To
Breann and Quinn, "Hey, guys, I'll be right back."
Breann made a face, "I've heard that before."
Vanessa peered through the Trump. "I'm at Castlerama here with -- I guess
your Mom. She says she's gonna give me a room."
Ander did his best to soothe her then broke the news that he had something to do
before he could see her.
"There's a kid here. Do you want to talk to him?"
"Yes."
"Here's your Dad."
Davin came on, happy to talk to him and curious about the girl, the pretty girl.
Ander invited him on the 'field trip'.
"Do I have to ask Mom?"
"No."
Davin looked away, probably at Deirdre, "I'm going with Dad." He
stepped through and looked around. "Hi Aunt Breann. I'm going with
Dad."
"Did you say goodbye to Grandma?"
"Pretty much."
"Ander."
While Breann and Ander argued about Vanessa -- she got her long lost Trump of
Ander back -- Vaughn took Davin off for ice cream and Quinn went to check on
Aretian ops. (Gunpowder production, security, infirmary cases, Eater research.)
Edward danced with Sand, a Tango. Sand whispered into his ear. It was fairly obvious that she was doing something arcane to him but he stayed courteous and found himself swept away in a torrent of Sand. Erotic bliss.
While Megan and Sander waited on Theseus one of the Mighty Magpies
(Captain Guy) fell in lust with Megan. They found a room. Sander waited half an
hour and Trumped Theseus, hoping to get the show on the road in time to
interrupt his cousin's and henchman's tryst. Contact was staticky.
Theseus had finished his Trump 'seeds' and was ready to depart when he got a
faint, hazy Trump call. He firmed it up.
"Where the hell are you, Dude?"
"Here."
"You're supposed to be here."
Suddenly, Theseus was. "Where are Quinn and Megan?"
"Megan's that way, but don't go there."
Theseus banged on the door. Guy, looking winded, answered. "Boss. Hey. I'll
get goin'." Guy gestured at the room, whispered, "You wouldn't
believe... Oh. My. God."
Meg came out wearing her leotard armor.
Theseus said, "You might want to slip something over that." To Megan
and Sander, "Who's in charge?"
Both together, "Not me!"
"Oh. OK."
Daelyn saw them off. "Recon, right? Be careful."
Theseus Trumped Deirdre. "Hi, Hot Stuff. You know I don't like you and
trust you less. But we're all right now. Take this." He handed her a Trump.
Deirdre didn't even blink. "I suppose this will come clear. And thank you.
The same."
Theseus Trumped Quinn next. Indicating they shouldn't speak, he gave him six
Trumps and written instructions for using the Trump Gates.
Where is everyone?
Where is everyone?
Quinn went to Amber castle to invade Benedict's rooms and steal a few
hairs from a hair brush. He suspected that, if Queen Brigid really was pregnant,
Benedict might be the father. A clever passive finding spell should verify or
eliminate that possibility after a few minutes in Brigid's presence. And
hopefully Benedict would understand about the unauthorized entrance.
He Trumped through to his mother Artanis in the Tir. Artanis had succeeded in
pulling Fiona's dreamself out of her nightmare and had her resting in the Palace
of Dreams. She recommended that Fiona stay there a time to heal psychically.
Were Fiona pulled out of the Dreamlands prematurely she might emerge a pawn of
whatever power was used to transfer her. A light went on in Quinn's head -- so
that was what happened to Robert and Frederick, leaving them tools of the
underlying Powers. Artanis knew nothing of the Black & White Land but
pointed out that Amber's 'cosmological' history (twisted and bound by Dworkin,
with the Tir and Beatha subsumed and the old Fire Pattern destroyed in the
process) could lead to almost anything. On the other hand, the whole thing might
be another trick of the Ysians. Quinn decided to not even mention the B&W
Land to Brigid.
Concerning Quinn's possible bribe material, Artanis had no idea if Brigid had
access to quick regeneration techniques. Brigid had not been active for a while.
Quinn told Artanis that in the Baron's group hallucination Brigid had been
pregnant. Artanis didn't like that idea at all.
Artanis heard Quinn's notions for saving the mortal comatose dreamers of Amber
and dismissed them. She'd do it. It was part of her job as Queen of the Tir.
Edward woke up in a comfortable bed. Alone. Languid. He remembered a swirl of
erotic events and tensed as his brain kicked in. The knife under his pillow was
probably his, but he wasn't sure. His thoughts didn't seem to be constrained.
A knock at his door. A servant entered with a breakfast cart. Edward was
informed that the Lady Sand had been called away on business and would be
unavailable for some time. Delwin had been removed to a safer haven. She sent
her warmest regards to Edward and hoped that he would visit again soon. Edward
ate, bathed, dressed and began exploring. He found little of interest. A
portrait of Sand and Delwin posed stiffly together. Some books on body piercing
in the library -- the scratches on his back throbbed. Someone kept an eye on him
but he couldn't catch them at it. They were good. He memorized one of the
luxurious bathrooms with an eye to wishing himself there later.
Somehow Sander, Theseus, Megan and the two Mighty Magpies ended up jettisoning the usual methods employed on recon missions. Sander shadowwalked them straight from Shadow Aramyst to Ys. They arrived at the nearest border fortress in daylight and undisguised. Not just undisguised -- Mel and Russell were in uniform. Theseus planted a couple of Trump 'seeds'. They veered off from the fortress and were pursued. They sent their horses off as a diversion and ran up a ridge. Fifty faster-than-human zombies followed them while others chased the horses. They killed twenty on the way up and slaughtered the rest at the top of the ridge. Megan checked out one of the tentacled jellythings from a zombie's chest. Huge shadows passed over them. They looked up to see two valkauri flying down to them.
Breann, Ander, Davin and Vaughn trekked towards Finndo's realm. Ander and
Vaughn handled most of the shadow shifting to leave Breann, the combat maven,
fresh. Ander was quiet and introspective while he made several attempts to
arrange romantic interludes for Breann and Vaughn. Like the rest of the family
Ander had concluded that it Breann's disposition could only be improved if she
got laid. Breann seemed to be impervious to romance or lust. She spent her free
moments hanging spells, sharpening her weapons, caring for her gear. At one
point Davin asked her to teach him magick. Breann smiled to see Ander get so
pale. Davin told her about his pony for hours and hours.
They reached the borders of the Forge-lands. Ander consulted the ephemeris
Finndo had given him and led them on a complicated path through shadow-trails
delimited by rituals, time of day, positions of stars and so on. They met a
patrol and were passed through. That evening Ander calculated that they might be
close enough for Trumps to work. Kethos' didn't but Finndo's did. Finndo pulled
them through -- heat flashed for a second in the transit -- and made them
welcome. Kethos was not there and hadn't been in some time. Finndo had thought
he was with his kin in Amber. Breann agreed to search for Kethos and volunteered
Vaughn to accompany her. They left immediately. Ander briefed Finndo on the
Baron's trick and asked Quinn's questions about the ritual murders and the Black
& White Land.
Quinn Lens-searched for Brigid and eventually settled on a region between
Chaos and Beatha. She was in there but his lens slid off the area without
penetrating. He teleported to the area outside the shielded region and
shadowshifted to / created a hawk in his colors that would fly to Brigid and
tell her that Quinn wished to speak to her on a matter of mutual benefit. He
waited on a mountain top spread with layers of wards, shrouded in layered
defensive spells, unsleeping. A deliberate rustle in the nearest cover way the
hell too close announced the presence of a Mori captain. A quick Lens scan
revealed eleven companions. (Quinn resolved to work on his wards, if he
survived.) This person invited Quinn to visit Queen Brigid as her Safe and
Honored Guest. Quinn suggested meeting someplace more neutral. Normally, the
captain said, she'd agree, but not now. They required a blindfold. Quinn agreed
but maintained the Lens. He was hustled through a lightning-fast series of
Twilight jumps designed to confuse and disorient him. Fairly successfully, too.
They arrived at Brigid's palace. The blindfold was removed and Quinn ushered to
an audience room. Brigid was concealed behind a gauzy partition with only the
silhouette of her head visible.
"Lord Quinn. Nice to see you. I've been wanting to talk to you for some
time."
Quinn knew that had to be either Very Good of Very Bad.
Where is everyone?
Where is everyone?
Brigid greeted Quinn with, "Happy to see you again, 'cousin'.
That seems to be the easiest term for our rather tenuous relationship."
Quinn relaxed a little. Brigid got out of her bath, dried off, put on a robe and
came out from behind the screen to sit across from Quinn. She was indeed
pregnant. His spell wasn't picking up anything at all.
Quinn put forward the idea that some sort of truce or, better, lasting peace
would benefit both sides. Conflict could so easily slide into vendetta. Any
decisive victory on either side would likely be so costly as to leave the winner
highly vulnerable to the next enemy. Brigid let the notion that she might lose
slide by. She said that she had set her price for acting against Amber extremely
high to discourage the Baron. Unfortunately he seemed to be well on his way to
meeting it. Quinn asked just what would tempt her -- did they have facilities
for fast regeneration, for instance? They did, the price of an earlier campaign.
She said she had a suggestion of her own: that the House of Amber foster her
child for half of each year. The child was of mixed heritage -- it seemed
appropriate.
"Any one I know --?"
"That won't work here, Quinn," said Benedict's voice from arm's length
behind him. Quinn jumped. Brigid blurred and there was a dagger next to her
hand, surprise and alarm blanked from her face in an instant. Benedict stepped
around Quinn to stand closer to Brigid. Quinn noticed that Benedict had lifted
the Baby ID spell off him in passing. "I was... involved in the... creation
of this child."
Quinn mentally patted himself on the back, "You are, in some ways, a
logical couple. Similar--"
"-- We are not a couple." Benedict's voice had a little edge to it.
"Ah." Pause. "I don't foresee any problems." OH SHIT! What
did she DO and when did she do it?
"I would prefer that my part in this does not become common knowledge. If
necessary, you may inform the Regent."
Quinn thought hard. "I believe I've built up enough trust to convince the
family. And the payoff is substantial."
Brigid spoke up while gesturing to her attendant Naomi. "I will send my
servant with you to arrange for the child's quarters and treatment according to
his station. I don't foresee sending any armed guards." A little smirk with
the last.
"I'm sure that anyone you select is qualified."
Naomi was carefully not looking at Quinn.
The two valkauri hovered eighty feet away and twenty feet up while blowing fire down on the group. One Magpie's clothes went up in flame, the other struggled out of his burning kevlar. Theseus and Sander dodged quick enough to escape with minor burns. Megan bathed in the fire, having shifted herself appropriately (armor, spines, spiky tail) as soon as she saw the demons. Megan flew up at one valkaur. Sander hewed a big chunk of rock off a boulder. Megan meant to test the foes' speed and maneuverability. One grabbed her by an ankle and swung her into the second one's forehand. Megan hit Theseus and they bounced down the reverse slope of the ridge. Megan was winded, Theseus hurt. The valkauri stooped at Sander where he stood atop the boulder. Sander threw the forty pound rock at one valkaur, who head butted it without damage. Theseus charged up the slope, the boulder and Sander to leap on the second valkaur. He cut through the wing leather near the shoulder and ran his arm through the hole for a better grip. Sander dodged/was knocked off the boulder by the other one but cut it across the chest as it fell. That valkaur was slashed through a wing and jumped on by Megan before it could pull up. Both valkauri fluttered to the ground, narrowly missing Sander as he bounced down. Megan clung like a leach and shifted to a practiced cold-form with liquid nitrogen for blood.
Edward returned to the drawing room and considered his Trumps. The watched feeling went away there. After a bit he noticed a door that he'd somehow missed before. He cautiously entered this room, a study with a window looking out on desolate moors. He examined the shelves, then the desk. Found the secret compartment and opened it. A diary. He disabled the lethal trap on it. Sand's diary. A new one, with only a few entries. Edward Trumped in with Delwin over his shoulder. That was unique and unexpected, as was my reaction to his presence. Harold took Delwin to where he'll be relatively safe. Don't know how he got mixed up with That Thing again. Of course if it comes after him, he's dead. Need to talk to S about my misgivings. Left a note for Ed. Hopefully no one will follow. See how things go afterward. Edward cleaned up all signs of his intrusion and left the room. He called for paper and pen and wrote a note for his hostess. Thanks so much for a delightful evening and hospitality. Ring me up sometime. He left it with the servants and left the chateau. He began shadow-walking to Sand.
Breann and Vaughn followed Finndo's man Marcus out to the stables. Marcus
picked out a lizardy hexapodal mount and led them through the complicated paths
out. He bitched and moaned all the way. Breann considered teleporting them to
speed things up and Marcus was willing until he saw how the idea panicked
Vaughn. They left the Forge-lands and headed out into Shadow after Kethos.
Breann found the shifting easy, the shadows unusually fluid. She discussed
families with Marcus. She denied being the heir or anything close to it. Marcus
said he was 1936th in line for the throne of Chaos -- his aunt Vela kept track
of it. Marcus always said MyLordFinndo when referring to his boss, as if it were
one word. He'd heard a lot about Breann. Evidently Kethos talked about her.
Marcus quizzed Vaughn about Breann's personal life when he thought she couldn't
overhear.
It became obvious that they were going to Utumno. Breann hoped they were going
behind it -- no luck. Marcus asked if they were going back to Finndo. He didn't
seem to be happy with the idea of reporting failure. Breann tried her Trumps.
Deirdre and Amber were out of range. She thought that she could probably get
Kethos out. Utumno's anti-intrusion security was based on the fact that you
needed a special tattoo to leave without exploding. She had Marcus fence Vaughn
to judge his ability. Better than Vaughn. Marcus said he could find them some
troops and led them off to get them. He lent her an extra spell rack.
Breann tried all her Trumps and the last one worked. Edward. Edward tried to
convince her that going into Utumno was a very, very bad idea. Without success.
He did end up offering to supply her with weapons but not to join in on the jail
break.
Naomi did not seem to remember their encounter in the Baron's little group hallucination. Quinn did not talk about it. He teleported them to Ygg and then to Aretia to make sure that Bleys had not gone mad. Miriel reported that Bleys had disappeared, possibly via Trump, out of his bed. Quinn explained his worries about Bleys' sanity. He left orders with his home system to stun Bleys should he return. Miriel thought that he was overreacting. Quinn felt that an angry Bleys was better than a dead daughter. The system simply wasn't fast enough to protect her (or him) if Bleys was very close.
The valkauri broke out of the tumble and flew slowly away missing some small
pieces. Megan had some nice frozen chunks. Unfortunately there were over a dozen
more valkauri winging in their direction.
Theseus jumped up and pulled out a Trump, "I have an idea!" He Trumped
them to one of the Trump seeds he'd left a few miles out. They hid, waiting for
a chance to beat feet back over the border.
Edward shifted shadow to find a nice house, empty, formerly owned by someone rather like himself. He found the secret storage areas and made selections from the large arsenal hidden there. Caltrops, springbolts, throwing knives, garrotes...
Where is everyone?
Where is everyone?
Edward Trumped Breann. She pulled him, his horse Muerte and his cart
loaded with weapons through to her. Edward and Marcus introduced themselves to
each other.
"Edward, tell my mother --" Breann began, then saw Edward's
expression. "Are you going with us?"
"Are you kidding? Do you know what She would do to me if I didn't and you
got trapped there?"
Breann tried to argue him out of it, enjoying his discomfort. Edward showed the
group how to hide an impressive number of weapons and gadgets about their
persons without them making noise or getting in the way. Breann wanted to
neutralize whatever power maintained the detonation barrier. No one could think
of a good way to do that. Edward couldn't argue Breann out of the rescue
mission.
Quinn quickly designed and programmed for manufacture ten oversized (200lb, 12' long) steel pump airguns (with a variety of projectiles) for his stronger relatives to use against valkauri.
Sander, Megan and Theseus made their way deeper into Ys by throwing Trump
stones far ahead and Trumping through to them. They eventually came into view of
a big citadel built around a tall tower. Five roads led into it but there was no
activity around or in it. None. Megan gave up on assuming valkaur-shape. Every
time she tried it she started to pick up its evil soul as well. She settled on
valkaur appearance as a cover. They searched the fortress and found it empty.
They followed the northeast road out (it looked to have been used the most)
through low mountains. The smell of the sea mixed with something foul assaulted
them as they came into view of the coast. A vast army, numbering in the hundreds
of thousands, covered the land, slowly embarking on thousands of ships. Swarms
of valkauri fouled the sky. They goggled for a while, then Theseus Trumped them
to their exit-stone. This Trump worked differently than normal. They seemed to
fly like spirits over the intervening space, during which they overflew the
Ysian land army. It was several times as large as the marine force.
Theseus and Megan Trumped to Amber. Sander and his men Trumped to Aramyst.
Quinn teleported to Amber with Brigid's aide Naomi. Deirdre was not pleased
to see a Mori in Amber, to find out that Quinn had made a solo diplomatic
approach to Queen Brigid, with the idea of fostering Benedict's and Brigid's
child... Generally pissed off. Quinn reflected that Benedict had told him it
wouldn't be an easy sell. Deirdre said she'd need time -- days -- to think it
over. Naomi was assigned a room and guards. She needled Quinn about his easy
assurances, though she'd heard Benedict too.
Quinn Trumped Julian to inquire about any trouble spots. Julian reported none.
Quinn Lensed the Aramyst border anyway and noted a bunch of Trump activity. Pure
Trump, probably Theseus. A last burst sent some to Aramyst and some to that
closet in Amber Castle.
Edward and Breann quarreled over everything. Marcus managed to not laugh
outright. Vaughn took something for a headache.
"What's the worst thing that could happen?" Breann asked. "We
die."
"No. We live a long, long time." Edward replied. With her, he thought.
Theseus rushed out of the closet yelling for Quinn. He and Megan told Quinn,
then they started a Trump chain to inform Deirdre, Caine, Julian and Ander.
Caine and Ander repositioned the fleet. Julian Trumped Sander about sending
rangers to help in Aramyst. Sander exercised his control over Aramyst to arrange
large-scale lethal surprises for the army of Ys and the valkauri.
Megan started to pick up thoughts from everyone around her. Theseus: I need to
say goodbye to Fi before I get killed. Deirdre: If everyone dies they'll blame
me. Megan grabbed Quinn with bruising strength and pulled him off to the
hallway, broadcasting to him Mom's gonna KILL me! Quinn focused on the new
problem. Together they determined that it was not a valkaur- or zombie-form
effect, that the range was a few tens of feet, that Quinn (and by extension,
probably any trained psyche-maven) could opaque his mind to her, and that she
could focus enough to avoid disorientation. I couldn't be used through Trumps or
Quinn's Pattern Lens. Damn. They left off to help deal with the invasions.
Edward Trumped the Chaos Lord Lanten to query him about the power source of
Utumno's lethal barrier. Lanten, surprised but friendly, told Edward that the
consensus had been that it fed on the personal energies of torture victims.
There were the special prisoners who were tortured as part of their contracts
and the trouble-makers who tended to disappear. Lanten thought it was a
continuous flow; he would have felt out any pool or battery of power. He was
able to give some more information about the layout of the upper levels, the
ones for management and 'special' prisoners. Lanten was not interested in going
back in. Marcus overheard part of the conversation and had Edward tell Lanten
'Hi' for Marcus Dilzy. Edward did that and asked about Marcus. Lanten described
Marcus as a pleasant enough fellow, thought to be working freelance for some
independent lord in Shadow. Lanten wished them luck.
They went in without difficulty and started killing their way up. Breann Trumped
Kethos and was assaulted with so much raw pain that she fell unconscious. She
came to in a moment with her right arm still cramping badly. The pain had been
mere secondhand pain from Kethos. The hid in a side room while Marcus did a
locating spell.
Sander, at the pass leading to Ys, felt Julian enter Aramyst. Two minutes later Morgenstern screeched to a halt next to him. Julian told Sander that his troops would be along in around an hour. He'd go hold the pass. The last of the Mighty Magpies arrived. Sander began to feel confident.
Where is everyone?
Where is everyone?
[Somewhat earlier in the timeline than everyone else.]
Finndo told Ander some things about the Baron of Ys. Finndo and Osric had
fought against him in their youth, with little success. The Baron had always
wanted to control the Golden Circle shadows. Beyond that his motives were a
mystery. Finndo suggested that Osric's journals from those days should still be
in the Castle Amber library somewhere and might be useful. Dworkin, he said, had
acted like he'd known the Baron for a long time.
Finndo and Ander's son Davin got reacquainted. Finndo came up with some clever
mechanical toys. In nearly the same spirit, he offered Ander some weapons for
use against the Ysian forces. Ander left with some huge cannon transported in
enormous wagons along a route that would accomodate such, plus some troops. He
sent the cannon to Sander in Aramyst since the things were way too big for even
his own ships.
Ander made it back to Amber and spent a couple of quiet days teaching Davin to
sail a little boat and planning a father-and-son project of making one for Davin.
Quinn alerted his daughter Miriel, in Aretia, to be alert for an attack.
Miriel offered to help. Quinn made vague suggestions she help with the
logistics. He began systematically Lensing for the Baron's forces, hoping to
find some far enough out in Shadow for his more horrendous Pattern tricks to
work. Deirdre Trumped him to say she was joining Julian's and Sander's forces in
Shadow Aramyst. He located most of the Baron's fleet and army and saw that he
had some time to spare. He teleported to the place of Dworkin's former
Over-Pattern in the hopes of being able to successfully contact Benedict from
there. Even an hour of Benedict's time would devastate the enemy.
Before, the place had been all starlit and peaceful. Now a storm boiled overhead
in a place that should not have weather at all. Benedict did not answer his
Trump. Quinn made ready to leave -- he didn't have time to check this out --
when he heard screams and shouts from the clouds. He scanned through the storm
with the Lens and caught glimpses of Dworkin and Benedict (mounted on some
flying creature) and the Unicorn fighting Things, Horrible Black Things and
Awful Bright Things. Dworkin and Benedict fought the Horribles while the Unicorn
handled the Awfuls. All the combatants used energies that made Quinn's mightiest
efforts trivial by comparison. Quinn sensed openings to two of the foreign
universes, such as he'd seen for a moment once in the Jewel of Judgement, behind
the storm, and recognized the powers of the Awfuls and the Horribles as those
behind the possessions and madness in Amber City. Then he got a good look,
through the Lens, of the Unicorn in her Battle Avatar and lost consciousness.
Kirkelion woke him up moments later, chirping at him. Quinn left.
Edward, Breann, Vaughn and Marcus killed their way towards Kethos, following Marcus' finding spell. They dead-ended at huge double blast doors. Edward carefully examined the palm-lock in various spectra and shape shifted his hand to match the three-digited alien handprints. This ability came as a surprise to Breann and Vaughn. Inside was a large chamber containing several thousand people (using the word loosely) hanging limply, or twitching, from multiple tubes / tentacles that led to the organic-appearing ceiling. Several tubes took something out of each, one put something in. This would be the power source for the barrier that exploded anyone who left Utumno without carrying the enchanted tattoo. The victims nearest the doors looked terrible, near death. Further in they looked progressively better. Kethos was in the middle, in much better shape than anyone around him but still in poor condition. They experimented on nearby victims and found that tying off and then cutting the output tubes first, slowly and gently, then the 'feeding' tube, prevented the convulsions and death. They got Kethos (still comatose) loose. Shortly after, their successful experimentees started convulsing. Too late to reconsider, they hoped that Kethos was tough enough to survive. They stopped at the doorway. Breann and Marcus fired spell after spell -- lightning, fire, ice -- at the tubes, the ceiling, the victims. They ran. The chamber of horrors blew up.
Sander's catapults and giant Finndo-made cannon rained a variety of deaths upon the zombie army. Julian and Deirdre watched approvingly. The enemy died and died and died but kept on coming. Eventually Sander ran out of ammunition.
Theseus and Julian led the cavalry charge into the army of Ys. Sander and Deirdre led the infantry behind them. The Ysians were driven back to the plains.
Ander and Caine led their fleets against the gigantic Ysian fleets.
Megan checked on her mother in Shadow Aretia. Still comatose, and no thoughts to pick up with her new telepathic ability. She brainstormed with Miriel and made weapons out of parts in stock. Her favorites were super-adhesive coated monofilament wire flack bombs and several sets of bolas made with monofilament line and thirty-pound steel balls. Miriel, monitoring the whole family through an array of Trumps, sent Megan through to the battle. The valkauri weren't killed by the wire flack but they were hurt and did drop out of the air in satisfying numbers. Miriel kept her supplied with bombs. As Megan flew over some huge war-wagons dropping alkaloid bombs on zombies she got swatted out of the sky by a lighting bolt.
Back in Castle Amber, Quinn resumed his scrying. Naomi offered to help and
agreed to act as his bodyguard if necessary. He didn't think anyone else would
appreciate having a Mori nearby in combat. Not wanting her to think he was
loafing, he shared his scrying visions with her. Quinn caught the most distant
half of the Baron's fleets in one shadow distant enough for him to simply sever
all the shadowpaths in or out. Following shadowpaths was easy. Moving a few
people cross-shadow with magickal teleports was hard. Quinn couldn't imagine
moving even one ship that way.
Next he located the Baron himself, atop a giant war-wagon at the rear of the
Ysian army. The shadow there was being held impervious to his ability to
manipulate probabilities. The Baron was channeling huge amounts of power through
his ice-sword from Somewhere. It was intimidating. Quinn teleported (with Naomi)
to Aretia and picked up a 300 lb. black powder (Aramyst mix) fragmentation bomb.
He dropped it on the Baron with a stealthed teleport from three miles up and
then distracted him with a quick, all-out mental attack.
Megan got up mad and flew at the war-wagons. She picked the most important
looking fellow and streaked at him, carrying an acid bomb.
Quinn bounced off the Baron's shields, stinging with psychic shock. The Baron
turned to look at the Lens.
The bomb hit. Megan was blasted away like a rag doll, bits of nasty shrapnel
sticking in her armor. Several sorcerers near the Baron died of acid burns when
the blast took down their shields. The Baron himself was fine. Amused.
Quinn snatched Megan out with a spell and sent her to Castle Amber. He was at a
loss for a way to effectively attack the Baron.
The Amber and Aramyst forces crushed everything in their path, but there seemed to be no end to their foes. Sander killed a valkaur hand to hand, splitting its skull by levering the big horns apart. Once in a while Miriel would warn him, Theseus, Julian or Deirdre of some threat behind them. Sander always jumped.
Edward questioned a guard concerning Delwin. Delwin had, indeed escaped. The
Utumno authorities preferred to think of it as something akin to not renewing
his contract, since Delwin had been paying for his incarceration himself. Less
embarrassing that way. Next they acquired a trustee and tossed him out past the
detonation point, just in case. The man failed to explode. They left. They
interrupted their flight when it became clear that Kethos was dying.
Unfortunately, they weren't within Trump range of anybody. Except... Edward
reluctantly Trumped Lanton, his former boss in Utumno who'd accompanied them on
their first escape from the inescapable prison.
Lanton answered. "Edward! Still planning that assault on Utumno?"
"Planned, executed and out."
"Really! Remarkable."
"I'd be glad to tell you all about it."
"Am I your escape route, then?"
"Not really, but we do have a person with us who could use some immediate
medical care."
Lanton considered. "Give me a moment." He suppressed the contact.
Breann commented, "I have a bad feeling about this."
Minutes later, Lanton resumed the contact. He was walking through a succession
of wildly different places. "Edward, I'm sorry it took so long. I had
guests and felt it better to continue the conversation in private. My medical
facilities, such as they are, are at your disposal. I'm there." Lanton was
standing in a courtyard. He held out a hand and Edward passed the group through.
"Welcome to Lantonways." He dismissed a platoon of demonic troops,
evidently there just in case this had been a ploy to let invaders in. He led
them through a series of halls and rooms with varied gravity, atmosphere and
style, explaining that he had to go roundabout to stick to air breathable by his
guests.
Edward thanked Lanton for the courtesy.
They ended up in a high-tech infirmary. Kethos was plugged into esoteric gizmos.
He was still dying. Lanton said he'd try to save him. Breann decided to go get
Quinn to move Kethos to Aretia. Lanton informed her that Amber had a war on at
present. Would she be safe? Edward thought so. Breann and Marcus rode out
towards Ygg. Edward and Vaughn stayed with Kethos.
Quinn, scrying the fleets again, helped Caine rendezvous with Ander and the other half of the Ysian navy. Fast. Ander's and Caine's fleets were still outnumbered nearly ten to one. Quinn examined his possibilities, then attacked a high Ysian mage psychically. He won, but it was tiring and time consuming and there were a lot of Ysian sorcerers. He switched tactics and glitched the Ysian fleet's cordage. Anything that could go wrong, would. Next he worked on the weather at the rear of the Ysian fleet. In half an hour he had a nice big waterspout going, plowing through the enemy.
Megan came to in Castle Amber feeling mildly abused. She Trumped Miriel for
insertion back in the battle and got sent to Theseus. She learned that Deirdre
had taken off to fight the Baron personally moments before. Meg flew after,
resuming her bombing attacks along the way. The army's mental chatter was
beginning to annoy and distract her. She found the Baron and Deirdre in time to
see Deirdre lose. Deirdre's axe-blows bounced off the Baron's magickal shields
time after time until she missed a parry and the Baron's ice-sword ran her
through the chest. Then again through the guts. Deirdre fell. Megan, half a mile
away, spun six times in the air and threw her big bolas, with the thirty foot
wires, at the Baron. He looked up just as it hit, snatching him off the ground
to land fifty feet away.
Sander jumped, again, at Miriel talking to him via Trump. The Baron just
beat Deirdre. You might want to go there. The message included a vision of
where to go. Sander went.
Megan reached the Baron just as he teleported out of the bolas wire. The
monofilament had penetrated his shields and cut through his armor but done only
shallow cuts to his flesh.
"That was very nice. Quinn?"
Megan blasted poison gas at the Baron.
"Here's a tip. I don't breathe."
Fast-shifting all-out, Megan switched to napalm. The Baron deflected it with a
blast of cold from the sword. Some of the napalm froze.
Megan tried to close with him but he was too good with the sword for that. A
swarm of bugs smashed themselves to death on her armored skin. She began to go
numb. She electrified her skin, incinerating the damned things.
Breann, hellriding towards Ygg with Marcus following behind her, got a Trump
call from Miriel as she came into range. Deirdre is fighting the Baron and
not doing well. "Can you send me through?" I can send you to
Lysander, who's closest. Except for Megan, but she'd die.
Sander, beating his way through to the Baron, got a call from Miriel. Can I
send Breann through to you? "Hello!?" He held out a hand and
Breann shimmered through. Her horse stumbled, recovered and jumped into the air.
Megan tried to close in the form if fiery plasma, without success. Sander rode
up and dismounted, advancing towards the Baron.
"Well this is just jolly," said the Baron, glaring at Sander.
Megan and Sander fought silently. The Baron levitated a few feet and maintained
some distance from them. Breann advanced from behind the Baron, on foot. He
deflected them with spell after spell, quick as lightning. His shields repelled
kinetic energy. Megan attempted a thrust that slowed just before it hit the
shield and nearly hit him.
This went on for a while. Then Breann and Sander signaled each other and got it
wrong. Both attacked all-out. In the storm of blows, Sander parried Breann once,
she parried him four times, and Megan turned an arm into a spring-loaded
strangling machine. Breann, holding most of the Baron's attention, took a finger
off his off hand, then froze her own left hand solid when she made the mistake
of grabbing hold of the hilt of the Baron's sword. As Megan caught the Baron
around the neck. And Sander hit the Baron in the small of the back with all his
strength. And the Baron's sword flashed blinding light and horrible cold.
Everything went black for Breann, Sander and Megan.
Quinn was done waterspouting -- the remaining enemy fleet was too tangled up with Ander's and Caine's fleets, and losing badly -- when Miriel Trumped him. She had news:
Quinn scryed the scene with the Pattern Lens. Once again, the sheer
power of that sword was frightening. He picked up his BFG sniper rifle and
teleported there, alone. He shot the Baron five times, twice after the line of
energy flowing from the sword quit. He still couldn't get close to the thing
without freezing. Maybe Dworkin or Benedict could use it. He Trumped Benedict,
holding the card so that the sword was visible to the side.
Seconds later, Dworkin was there. "How did this happen?! Who killed
him?!"
Uh oh. "Can you use this?"
Dworkin picked up the sword and seemed to twist it. "Put it somewhere safe.
You have fifteen minutes before it freezes your hand off."
Quinn blinked. "Uh, is the center of the Pattern a bad idea?"
Dworkin glared at him, causing Quinn's heart to skip two beats. "How could
you ask that, knowing what that thing does?"
"I don't know what it does."
"Oh. Right."
"Heart of a star?"
"Not unless you don't care about the star." Dworkin vanished.
Quinn considered, cursed. Teleported to Aretia, put his heavy space suit on and
teleported to orbit around Aretia's Pluto. More of a giant comet than a planet.
He teleported a sword-sized chunk out of the center of the iceball and
teleported the sword into the space with two minutes to spare. Teleporting the
thing was easy. He returned to Aretia and collapsed exhausted into bed.
Breann woke up in a blue goo tube in Aretia, missing a hand. She told Miriel about Edward, Kethos and Vaughn being stuck in Chaos with a Chaosian she did not trust at all. She learned that Deirdre was on the edge of death, and not improving. The nanobots were keeping Deirdre static, but any attempts to heal damage had extreme negative reactions. Ander was at his mother's bedside.
Megan came to in Castle Amber, listening to the thoughts of everyone in it. It was unpleasant.
Where is everyone?