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Neville continues to waffle. Decides to go to the meeting with the person believed to be Dara as himself. Dinner will be Rudy, Dara, the kid, and Neville.
Neville finally checks for Pattern in the shadow. Many traces are present -- lots of people and places are Pattern-influenced. He notices that some people are wearing Caine's colors.
Some guy in Caine's colors approaches Neville, threatens him, demands tribute, and then pulls out a belaying pin. Neville pulls out the littlest Morganti.
"Awwh - you going to cut me with the itty bitty knife?"
"I might give you a paper cut."
The guy swings the belaying pin. Neville tries to poke him in the nose. The dagger twists and lands in the attacker's eyesocket. He screams and drops. Neville tries to extract the knife. It refuses to come out. "I'll feed you more." The dagger jumps into his hand.
Neville grabs the belaying pin lying next to the corpse. "Next?"
Two more in Caine's colors approach him. Neville holds one at bay with the belaying pin and reaches towards the other with the dagger. He misses, but the dagger jumps at the guy. Neville pulls another knife and pokes the first guy.
"Anyone else?"
Eight or nine of them circle Neville. There are daggers clustered at his belt waiting to be fed. Neville tosses the knives into the air, and they start chasing off the men.
Time passes as Neville waits for the daggers to return. One of the daggers pushes a corpse in, drops it at his feet, and climbs into his pocket.
Neville heads out to dinner. He is met at the door by the seven year old. He tries to interrogate the child, but is outclassed.
Dinner happens.
While Rudy puts the kid to bed, Neville tries to interrogate Dara, and gives her lots of information without receiving any in return. Dara reveals that she's been in Rudy's mind; Neville doesn't notice.
When Neville leaves the apartment, the rest of the daggers cluster around him and climb up his pant legs.
When Neville leaves the building, he finds Caine with one foot on a body and one foot on a dagger. Neville explains that he was just defending himself, and the flunkies denied knowledge of Caine. Caine says that this one trumped him before he died.
They go out for a drink. Caine stashes his Logrus blade outside the Pattern-imbued bar. Caine tells Neville that every six months, the entire shadow goes berzerk and everyone arms themselves and fights. It breeds and trains good warriors. There seem to be five to seven teams, and they fight until one team is entirely eliminated.
Caine says that he's going back to the party at Cara - it's more interesting there.
Cassandra is getting a trump call. She's currently off with Lord Talos. She takes it. It's Corwin. He says that Benedict acquired a sword made out of stone when he became head of the Warriors Guild, and he had a dagger of stone. Corwin says that the sword just coalesced in his hand. He was fisting a young lady at the time. She's done.
Cassandra has one of her bodyguards fetch Princess Chandra. Princess Chandra steps out of Jenoir's lab, through her wards, and into Cassandra's bedchambers. Lord Talos rises, bows over and kisses her hand, and apologizes for his apprentice's failure.
Cassandra relays Corwin's info. Princess Chandra speculates that it might be due to Benedict leaving this reality. She says that Corwin should immediately notify the etiquette guild and name a second. Cassandra does not have permission to be that second.
Princess Chandra tells Cassandra that there will be questions if her tiara appears on her head. Princess Chandra...
Cassandra trumps Corwin. The eyes on the trump are glowing red. "It's a busy party. Could be true, could be a temporary exit." They talk circumspectly.
Yuri sees Caine show up at the party, disappear, and then reappear with a wolfish grin. Corwin shows up, gives Caine the stone dagger, and they both disappear.
Jenoir looks somewhat upset as Princess Chandra phases back in. "I need to have a word with you about that."
"I see that you have found my grandson's bottle."
Cailin interjects. "Can I take it now?"
"I found it in someone's research laboratory."
Cailin checks out the bottle, and notices a tag on it. He complains, and Jenoir removes it.
Princess Chandra announces to the room that Chaos thinks Benedict is gone -- the guild second has just been promoted.
Cailin conjures a flying mechanical bug; Jenoir helps a bit and then twists it to make it Real. It goes through Jean express into the rift. The magical reporting part vanishes in milliseconds. They send two at once. The last two report in that they see each other and the first one, then vanish. The bugs don't see Jean or the hampster-ball, and Jean doesn't see the bugs.
1. Find out what, if anything, balances the new power and what the relative strengths and spheres of influence are.
2. Find out who, if anyone, is an initiate of either power.
3. Find out if someone known and trusted should do so, subject to number two.
4. Locate and investigate the causal relationship between the rifts
5. Find all of the rifts, known or unknown.
6. Pull and poll the Guild heads and have them do the work.
7. The restoration of a stable and competant king to Amber.
8. --- and a couple more items will possibly show up later.
Note: Shiryu is most upset about the rifts because he can't find them.
Shiryu offers up a map of shadow. It almost makes sense to the Savior of Chaos, but not Marial, Ferethyn, or Suhuy. Melk doesn't say much for most of the meeting. The spot outside the Assassins' Guild is not mentioned at all.