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["...and I had problems finding Jean." -- Jean's player.]
The missing Benedict situation is discussed in the replacement meeting.
Jean fishes an Ilk out of Jenoir's wards to search for Norton to grab Benedict's soul. Ilk doesn't find Norton, but finds a tree that Norton has modified. It seems to have his Logrus. He yanks the Logrus, then chats with the tree. The tree lies. Ilk pulls in Jean to bud into the tree.
Jean mind-wipes and buds into the tree, and finds himself in a war for possession. Apparently, every cluster of cells over six has a mind. Jean plays.
Ilk notices that the Logrus is re-growing, and he starts yanking it again. Jean feels something killing him slowly, and unracks spells at it. Ilk notices Jean unracking spells at him, and grounds them. Jean notices that the target doesn't seem to notice. Ilk stops pulling, and they discuss the situation a bit.
Cailin is whaled in. He checks it out magically. The signature is a local one, and it can call upon the shadow for power. It used to be separate from the tree, and was probably one of the strongest in the shadow. The tree isn't of magic; it is magic.
Ilk mentions the tree's Logrus problem.
Cailin notices other mages in the shadow, and gates the group there. A council of mages sees a tree, a flying saucer, and a humanoid gate into their council through their wards. They say that Norton was last seen with the big mage. True names are discussed, and the big mage is revealed to be Sauron, and in the tree. Ilk creates a glowing anubis sock puppet dripping ectoplasm so the mages have something to talk with. Cailin acquires the true name of the truth stone in the center of the mages' table and duplicates it.
Ilk checks out the edge of a shadow, and finds one outgoing trace with no signature, that is gradually reaching outwards. Cailin and a Jean go with Ilk. Eventually, Ilk notices that the area is being less-Logusy. Cailin recognizes it as the Fractal Realm. Cailin makes contact with Coral, and is told that Norton is not present.
The group loops around the promentary, and encounters many more flows. It is concluded that the Spiral is sucking power out of shadow.
Ilk tells Jean that because Norton was insane when he made the tree, it looks like the tree was an artifact of Ilk's, so that Jean shouldn't eat anyone important. Cailin gives Jean a couple copies of the truth stone, so he can determine who should not be ate.
The Ilks check their shadows and determine that a couple of House Cara's Black Zone kingdoms have those threads of drain. Ilk asks Cailin to ask about the drains. He asks Coral; they don't know. Ilk tells Cailin about the possibility of people noticing the drain and getting pissy; Cailin sends a note, and a response is brought back by Erica, who is in charge of the defense of Cobalt.
Jean tells Corwin about the Benedict problem. Corwin and Caine are whaled to the meeting of the replacements and are introduced around. Caine seems to be making himself right at home, hobnobbing with the elite, and pissing everyone off. Jean fills the newcomers in on the Flora and Norton situation and the Realms Lord meeting.
Jean notices someone naked and hang-gliding across Chaos. It's not Random - it's Raven. Raven looks unhappy, and he's part of the hang glider, even while he's naked and dangling from the glider. Raven plummets into the Abyss, screaming. Jean tries to tractor him out, but Raven doesn't believe in tractors, so Jean doesn't have any. Jean flees the area and contacts Ilk.
Ilk suggests that Jean get Osric, and goes off in search of Raven.
Jenoir has made a few deductions in the interim. The machine place is not in this piece of fruit. Dalkontyr has been sighted.
Cailin pulls Princess Chandra aside, goes to the Assassins' Guild, and goes through the rift. Princess Chandra repeatedly asks him if he can get back, and then lets him go through. Cailin goes through with eleven bodyguards that he can see. He pokes around, but can't find any rifts, much to his great disappointment. Cailin calls forth Sauron by his true name. Jean has an odd moment when the tree is in two places at the same time, and then there are two trees, and one is pissed off because one of them is cold. Now there are only ten visible bodyguards. Jean gives some of them his abandoned bodyguard cards.
Cailin creates a snow to hobbit generator for Jean, and Jean brings the whale in and fishes them out.