"Margie takes a trip and Megan stays home"

"Nothing like a good tussle to make a girl feel welcomed."

I float down into Caer Beatha and assume a more appropriate form. I once again look like the common blue skinned merchant. I find a good spot near where we saw Random and wait for him to show up.

Randle Chance (Random) walks by. He is following a shady character. I join the parade. Everyone goes around the corner. Random and therefore I drop back as the guy looks around. We see him make a jester and the wall melts open. He walks inside. Random curses and tries to follow but the wall has already closed.

"Family and Friends - NOT"

I drop back onto the roof and from there into the alley shifting my exterior as I go. Once again I am Megan.

A guard squad approaches and I duck out of the way. They follow. This goes on for a while until I end up in a dead end ally. The squad is surrounding Llewella. They stop at the end of my ally. "Meg it’s ok." Llewella’s pleasant voice calls out. "You can come out. I cleared up the misunderstanding with Matthan. He made a mistake. He had specific instructions on how to handle someone else that we were expecting." I shift some more clothes on and step out of the ally. The guards part and Llewella comes towards me all friendly. "Would you care to come back with me to the castle?"

I accept the invitation with much wariness and confusion. Is this evil Aunt Llewella or was that all propaganda and if so why? (Deep thoughts for Megan. Let’s just say that Megan began questioning reality as she walked towards the castle.)

Llewella apologizes again about the mix-up. Nathan was guarding against other not me or Amber. She talks about establishing lines of communication with Amber and what a great pleasure and opportunity my arrival was to both regions. Feeling that I need to make nice, I apologize about the throne. Llewella is again gracious. "No, it was really our fault. We had no idea that it would have that affect. The device didn’t do anything to us. We hoped that once the proper owner showed up it would go away with them. We were so glad when Benedict took care of that for us." The niceness scares me. She keeps up a polite banter as we walk. We reach the castle quickly. It is much closer than I remember - more mind games.

"Let me host you as befits a relative. I have quarters prepared for you and we are having a party tonight." Llewella graciously offers. I agree. Maybe I’ll be able to figure out what game board we are playing on. In the mean time I can at least be polite.

The room is nice. It is also huge. This must be the Oberon suite. I’m please to note that the bed matches the room. Just my size. I try to trump Gerard at the castle. After much effort I achieve a weak connection. I explain the situation including the part about someone else trying to get Random. Finally I ask "Should I negotiate or just steal him." Gerard would prefer negotiation. He doesn’t want to make enemies for Amber. The connection gets worse and Gerard closes with a reminder to call if I need to come through.

Llewella has thoughtfully provided me with clothes for the evening. I chose a shear skirt and matching shawl. The women here are bare breasted so I’ll go with the flow. I twirl before the mirror watching how the strange watery air causes the skirt to flow seductively around me - nice.

I’m escorted to dinner. Llewella, Queen Moire and many other psychotics are there. Moire introduces me as a family visitor of Llewella, to be afforded all courtesy. Cianna the space cadet is friendly. The others are polite. Gennit, Matthan and "Wednesday" (Miram) are not in attendance. The women are mostly topless. There is some overt casual shape-shifting. Cianna in particular, could not keep still. She was always changing, never the same form twice. The menu is mostly seafood. The conversation is polite and neutral. They don’t ask why I’m visiting.

After dinner I walk with Llewella. We end up near the center of the castle. "Have you walked The Pattern?" She asks me. I explain that it is not really on my list of things to do.

"Given that Fiona is your mother that surprises me."

"Our interest are different. I’m more …"

"Outdoorsy?"

"Physical!"

"Since the recent development has anything happened with the Amber Pattern? Ours has shifted. Maybe you could make a comparison."

We walk down the stairs. "Is Fiona in charge?" "Deirdre is the regent." "You could check with her and maybe let me know if this has happened with the Amber Pattern." We reach the bottom and she unlocks a door.

The chamber is large. A huge plasma ball, bubbly outside with shifting power vectors partially visible inside, floats in the center of the room. Llewella explains that it took about two weeks to change into this form. Where Llewella was the only one who could walk the pervious pattern, many could and have walked this one. About twenty people of Moire’s court were initiates. Llewella says that it is no more difficult than the Amber Pattern to "walk".

I pull myself from the pattern’s fascination and turn towards Llewella. "Why haven’t you been to Amber to look for yourself?" "I’ve been busy. Besides I was never really comfortable there. Now I have a home I like. I suppose I would write if I could. Trumps do not work well and other methods are more difficult." She turns from the pattern and escorts me upstairs. "I have an early morning." She leaves me with a female servant to show me to my room.

"Welcome to the party"

Back in my room at Caer Beatha I am restless. I ponder my evening with Llewella and the Unicorn images. I’m particularly concerned about the Kraken image and the Kali-Megan. My brain hurts. I wish someone brainy was here to think about it so I could go to sleep.

I must have managed to sleep, because I’m dreaming. I’m flying or swimming through the dark and I find myself in front of the Sphere wearing my nightgown. I know I am dreaming because I have sleeping clothes on.

I am drawn to the Pattern Sphere. I am somehow inside the Sphere. My conscious expands geometrically. I become completely aware of everything within the sphere. This is not like anything mom described to me about walking the Pattern. It is overwhelming but contained. I am forced to take it all in. I begin shifting to make room for everything. My mind expands and my awareness expands with it. My sphere now reaches beyond the city limits. It is like ten billion people telling me their life story all at the same time. I feel all the creatures in the seas around Caer Beatha. I know them like I know my own body. Every grain of sand, every sea-rat is known to me. All of that knowledge is being pressed in. My few surviving brain cells scream out in pain. For a moment there is silence. Even the Sphere is compressed. Then I fall from the Sphere a drop a couple feet to the ground.

I wake up in bed. I’m wearing a nightgown. Arrrgg.

I awoke again later with a start. It was some time before I notice Llewella sitting at a nearby table. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?" I answer with something groggy and inarticulate.

"There was something that I forgot to ask you yesterday. Why did you come back?"

"I came to see Random. To see about bringing him back."

"Random is Fine right where he is. He is in a good place. You have to admit that."

I feel compelled to agree. It’s not a spell but, some other form of control. Llewella stands to leave. "I’ll let you get dressed or whatever and meet you at breakfast." She leaves. In a fog, I put some clothes on and head out. As I pass through the door I get a flash of something. It doesn’t feel like the Pattern Sphere, perhaps it is a side affect of the Unicorn. What ever it is I see more clearly for a brief moment then it fades.

I go to breakfast. I am very hunger. A couple of people clap as I enter. Queen Moire hsst them and Llewella pulls out a chair for me. Conversation continues in a bright manner. The people are more friendly. There are offers to show me around and compliments on my attire. One of the men, Braen, is still sulky.

One of the friendly women, maybe Cianna, asks me "Would you like that?" and smiles a big bright smile at me. There is a white blast in my head. When I come back everyone is looking at me. Llewella has a frown of surprise and disapproval on her face. I look down. I had flipped my fork and drove it through a napkin and a couple of inches of table. I take it out with difficulty and switch to a spoon. Breakfast continues without further events.

"I’m trying to think but nothing happens"

After breakfast Llewella puts me in a coach with Cianna - Bimbo Lass and Aurelea the serious. Pretty but hollow takes me shopping. We go all around the city. Cianna keeps up a mindless chatter the entire time. I tune her out some and try to feel and poke around the edges of the new powers. It is difficult.

I have some occasional flashes of clarity or dis-clarity. My new friends look at me strangely when I come back. At one pint I’m idly watching a street vendor. And Flash it’s Random.

We pass some areas of where there is a lot of construction going on. I look closely and notice that it is reconstruction. All that my pair of friends can tell me is that the building were damaged during the insurrection. They don’t remember anything else.

We stop for lunch at a nice bistro. The staff are friendly and honored at our presence. In a flash I see that then are really scared and fearful.

I can not make the flashes more frequent. It appears to depend on where I am or who is around me. I flash on Random again. This time he is a food vendor. I flash on some new construction. The buildings are growing.

I try to move my little tour outside the prescribed paths. I ask "What’s down there?" Sometime they will take me, sometime they won’t. We are avoiding the poor areas of town.

At one point we are walking around and get a flash. I see someone concentrate on a wall and create an arch. I was suppose to come upon it and it would have just been there. It is like what the man Random was following did. (I don’t think that I have seen that man again.)

It is hard to think. Every time I try to logic things out, my thoughts get shunted away. The mirror that is myself is just wavy glass. I keep trying.

"Cross my palm with silver and I will tell you your future"

Eventually we are back at the castle. I am resting in my room. After a series of flashes and white-outs. I find myself in a slum. I check to see how covered I am. This is Rebma, I can get away with a lot.

It is twilight and I am in front of sign with a picture of a man. There are Tarot cards around his head. I enter to the smell of incense. Strange, it seems clearer inside despite the smoke and the poor light. A short gypsy with red-brown hair greets me. She has freckles and startling pale blue eyes with pinpoint pupils "Hello, would you like a reading?" "Yes I would like a reading, miss?" "Vialle"

I sit at a table bereft of crystal balls or other props. Vialle pulls out a carved oak box with velvet top and places it in front of me. It settles perfectly into a space on the velvet tabletop. "Place your hand inside the box and remove six pieces." I comply.

1. A female in a shift that looks somewhat like Vialle.
2. A young woman with a sword.
3. A wrapped gift.
4. A young male dressed for travel.
5. Two chimeraic creatures battling. Typical dragon/ lion/goat with bat wings battling a hydra like creature with fur.
6. An old coot.

She handles the figures and begins. "You are currently traveling in darkness, bereft of insight into your trials and tribulations. You know not which direction help will come from, nor who are your allies or enemies. You have been sent to do battle but your vision is clouded, preventing that. Because of the clouds, you can not see your allies. There are things about you that you do not know. Your own person contains secrets, danger and promises that you are currently unaware of, secrets which can be turned into great benefits, given time. You are on a long journey away from home and the object of your quest has tasks set them. Much of what applies to you applies to them. While you are not the most important piece, you are a piece on a board, played by greater powers. Your piece has gained prominence of late. Wisdom has been denied you. Most of your current allies have been moved in opposition to that which moves you now." She pauses. "May I ask your name?"

"I am Megan of Amber."

"You probably should not be here. I see you are in favor with the court and I am not."

As she puts the pieces away, look about my person for something to give her. I find I have a pouch and leave something from it for her.

"If you see the object of your quest see that he gets away from here. If you watch this shop he will probably show up. He tends to find his way here."

"I intend to complete this quest."

"I expect nothing less, given the reading."

"And what of you miss?"

"I am of no consequence." She looks up. "Hello, may I help you?" Llewella has entered the shop. "I just came to retrieve my niece. I did not want her to miss the evening meal." I stand at the voice. The veil of codeine descends. A carriage awaits up.

"There are certain thing that are in place in the city, certain debts that are being paid." Llewella instructs me as we return to the palace. "For a very long time after Dworkin constructed his binding, prominent members where trapped in other’s persona. Forced to mirror other lives. They lived knowing that this was not there own life but, were hopeless to act. This ended recently with the destruction of the primal pattern. This heinous crime must be paid by a similar treatment of those responsible. Today you trod dangerously near the borders of punishment that are not negotiable." She looks at me closely. "There that is said, let’s get back to dinner." The remainder of the journey is filled with talk about the city.

People pointedly don’t notice our late entrance. I am introduced to Miram ("Wednesday"). "Meg will be here a while. Learning the city, bridging the ties between our recently freed kingdom and that of Amber. I would like you to help her." Miram doesn’t immediately answer Llewella. Before I get too fuzzy I hear her say "I’m not going to play this. I’m not going along with this and you can’t make me - Dear Sweet Little Aunt" Miram turns and leaves.

"Sometime it is a good thing to hang with people who hate you"

I enjoy dinner. All those pesky thoughts pushed away. Miram is not participating in the small talk. She is sitting near Grumpy, Braen. At one point I work my way down towards them. I hope that they will stimulate my reality. I hear Braen refer to Miram as "dear sister" in a sarcastic manner. Thing are a bit more real here. The distance from Llewella helps. (These people are the ones who were forced to portray the Amberites. They are thus, or were before, the most powerful Rebmians.) A calm male with a watery distorted image arrives and I take a detour to avoid him. He fills me with fear.

I eventually reach Miram and Braen. "Hello Megan." Braen greets me in an unpleasant tone. "How was your day? I understand that you had a tour with my "sisters" today." I try to make nice but the fog is too thick. "We have heard the official story, why are you really here?" Miram waits while I try to access the memory and then snorts when I can’t. It is hard to remember what she says I ask her why she stays because she obviously doesn’t like it here. She says something about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. She asks why I stay. This I can answer "Limited free will." We chat some more and I end up asking her to take me on a tour of the city. To my surprise she agrees. If I can get away from Llewella.

Miram and Braen leave and I rejoin the friendly end of the table. Dinner concludes and the group retires to the library. Eventually I find myself in my room - alone.

I have another white-out and come to in the Sphere chamber. I remember the process of taking the pattern. I think of all the entities I touched. In a flash I realize that I can now use all of those patterns in shape-shifting. I practice a common form and then one of the newly acquired form. It is a little easier. I finally try something unknown. A combination of several forms. It works. The walls reflect my image only when shifting. The ball only reflects my normal self.

Just a quick bite

"No time like the present."

I meet Miram and we go about town. No Aunts rampaging after us. I test the limits of my leash. We walk without talking for about ten minutes. Finally Miram breaks the silence. "What are you here for? Are you some great white hope, come to save your family?"

I don’t understand the reference but the tone is clear. "I’m here to try and do what I can."

"In your current cloudy state, what would that be?"

"I’m hoping that being around people like you, who aren’t part of the farce, will help my clarity."

"If you are going after your family, I may be able to help."

"Besides thumbing your nose at Llewella is there a reason that you are doing this that I should know."

"No."

"If you could round up your family, I could probably help you leave."

"I don’t know when I would be able to get away."

"How about now?"

I don’t even pause to think. "OK!"

She leads me to a certain spot with a dark ally. If I can get back there with my objective, she will take me the rest of the way. She explains that they only mess with him once a week. They like to let him just start to remember then they reset him.