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Insane Norton was pulling for the most subtle Mikail taint and found the Golden Circle kingdom where Mikail was staging a revolution against the Neville-installed regime. The diversionary force is the force that had attacked Amber accidentally after hitting a shadow path, so the main attack was squished.
Cailin is back in the grove of the Unicorn experimenting with Bleys's troops. They are afraid of water - when they get wet, they burn, magnesium-style.
Hampster Oberon's forces are throwing things out of the castle. There is a growing pile of tapestries wrapped around traps accumulating in front of the gates.
Hampster Oberon, Hampster Gerard, Hampster Eric, and Ingold have a confab, return, and tell the others that the bulk of the traps might have been removed for it to be safe for people to enter the castle.
Jean whales in a cleaning crew.
One of them comes back and says, "you have statuary!"
Jean tries to go in and check it out. Two lightning bolts cause him to veer off course, several crossbow bolts ping off his carapace, and he decides to return. Cailin can tell that the lightning bolts were Oberon's.
Cailin and Natasha head out to the Golden Circle. Many Jeans come along. They go to the shadow where they accidentally killed the king. Natasha tries to open a magical gate to the X-files shadow at Cailin's request. The gate fails, but something starts trying to come back through. Cailin draws the Singing Sword, and the two swords start attacking the spiney blobby thing. Cailin yells, tries to stop the swords, and fails miserably. Natasha is rolling on the floor laughing.
Cailin opens a gate to the X-files shadow. The Pattern blade tries a few times to take advantage of the gate, but fails. He closes the gate behind them.
Jean tells Jenoir about Cailin second-guessing. Jenoir asks Andron to listen in. Jean tells them that Cailin has speculated that the rate of increase of the marbles is proportional to shadow getting colder.
Jenoir suggests to Jean that he consult with the Savior of Chaos. Jean says that the Savior of Chaos has been hampster-napped to help retake Castle Amber. Jenoir is horrified when Jean mentions that Cailin has Arantantic. Some watery tart handed it to him at the Grove of the Unicorn.
Andron comes by to chat with Cailin directly. He decides that the experiment is a worthwhile one, but that Cailin should not be the one to do it.
Jean tells Ilk about the temperature drop. Ilk checks -- every single shadow is 15-20 degrees colder than it was before. Jean has Jenoir send out a mage, who can also tell that it is getting colder.
Ilk checks around a bit more. The energy seems to be leaving shadow, either entering the Sea of Chance or the bits of reality around.
Jean is near Neville when a very uncomfortable member of the Dancers' Guild comes up to Neville, says, "Excuse me, sir, there is activity" and expires.
The tendri'd out Ilk is surprised when he realizes that the Dancer expired of order poisoning.
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