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Neville swims into consciousness. This appears to be the same room in the Healer's Guild, and his danger sense is going off. There is a loud, disharmonious conversation going on on the other side of a wall. Neville casually looks around while pretending to still be unconscious. He doesn't detect any changes in the room since the last time he was unconscious.
Neville is suffused with adrenaline. He's certain that he's still injured, but he's not paying very much attention to his wounds at the moment. He stands up, walks over to his clothing, and dresses.
Neville approaches the wall and listens. One voice is speaking Thari with an Amberite accent. The voice is familiar, but he can't quite recognize it. The other voice seems to be a healer. The Amberite wants in; the healer doesn't want his client disturbed. Neville listens for a while, and recognizes the Amberite voice as Benedict's.
Neville knocks a few times, and the wall fades out beneath his hand. Benedict is there. He's dressed all in black and is wearing a small Warriors' Guild badge on his left shoulder. Benedict tells Neville that he needs to update him.
Benedict has several armies poised to descend upon his opposite. He doesn't think that the armies will do more than slow him down. Marial has promised locational information as soon as she has it. Benedict has reinforcements poised to enter the garden in Amber, and those troops are passably equipped to handle the current environment of the garden. All of the troops have been shown an icon of Neville and know that they are to follow him.
Benedict requests a personal leave from his duties. He has slain one of his brothers, Julian, and must mourn for his passing. Benedict looks at Neville. "It was for the good of Amber." Neville can see the tears in the back of Benedict's eyes. Neville remembers the "good of Amber" phrase from Osric and Finndo's death.
Benedict says that the forces preparing to enter the garden are wraith-like, can handle order, and may be descendants of actual inhabitants of Faerie. The troops ready to fight evil Benedict are prepared with a wide variety of weapons and only trained to work together - any uniformity would be exploited by Benedict's counterpart.
Benedict says that he will be available by trump but does not wish to be contacted, gives Neville a standard deck trump of himself, and leaves.
The healer warns Neville that if he goes into an ordered place, the healing will slow or possibly even unweave.
Neville trumps Hamster Gerard and tells him about the new troops and Neville's confinement to this end of reality. Hamster Gerard mentions that someone by the description of Florimel took a wall hanging showing a family tree, saying that the regent for the regent needed it, and that she wove it, so she could take it.
Neville trumps to just outside the room in House Helgram where the Warriors' Guild members were stashed, knocks, is identified, and enters.
Neville has a few servants that are loyal to the House and above politics -- mostly geased, demons, or both -- set up an office for him in the corner of the room and send some others out to search for the House members that Jean had stated were involved in conspiracies.
An Etiquette Guild member enters and tells Neville that he has been endorsed in his role as House head by the King and gives him a formal scroll stating such. The King requests Neville's presence at some point, but given his current status, that is not necessary at the moment.
[Wargames Guild - A minor Guild under the Warriors' Guild that produces wargames.]
Someone bursts into the room. He's not in House colors, and Neville doesn't recognize him. "You're Warrior Guild members! Protect me!" He dives under the table. The Warriors shift their chairs such that they cannot see the newcomer.
A few moments later, the door opens more casually, and someone on Neville's list walks in, looks around, and walks back out. Neville sends a warrior to fetch him. The man returns and is given a chair. The guy lies. Neville tries to grill him. Neville looks in his file obtained from Jean. This guy is fairly high up in the whole subversive thing, and has dropped almost completely out of sight since Neville became House head. The story about the chasing comes out. It's an honor thing. The cowering guy gives his version. He's from Timbal, and claims that he is just continuing an honor battle, not starting one. The Helgramite claims that they don't care about Neville any more, since he is actually doing reasonably well. Neville tries to give the Timbalite his life, but the Helgramite insists on a duel, but concedes that Neville, as House head, has the right to claim the duel as his own. Neville decides to allow the duel to happen. The head of the Warriors present suggests that they acquire referees from the Warriors Guild and Mages Guild to ensure fairness.
For a second, Neville sees a flash in the back of the eyes of guy from Timbal that is very plotting, and then it is gone. They arrange the duel. The Helgramite offers suggestions to make things more fair; the Timbalite tries to tweak the arrangements in his favor but is caught by the chief warrior, Neville, and the Helgramite simultaneously. A demon servant escorts the Timbalite out, and then back reports that he has left directly.
The guard on the front door enters and apologizes for the unknown intruder's entry into the House. Neville asks the Helgramite how the Timbalite entered the house. He says that he was chasing the guy, and he ran into a ways that ended up in a lesser-used storeroom. He closed the ways behind them, because he didn't want randoms wandering into their house.
Cailin talks with his father about recent events, heredity, and survival in House Moonlight. Tate is considering returning to his reality. It is speculated that their arrival at the reality of their primary genitor was not accidental.
Dragon-Jean spots Benedict heading towards House Moonlight. He sends down a saucer to investigate. The saucer doesn't die. Jean concludes that it must be the local Benedict.
Benedict knocks. Undead Cailin opens the door. Benedict wants to talk to Laetatio and Darkstar. Undead Cailin says that Darkstar is on that shelf over there -- they're working on a book. Darkstar will draw the pictures, and he will write the words. Cailin objects.
Benedict looks at the frog, turns, looks at it again, and turns back to Cailin and exclaims that it has a foreign Pattern in it. Benedict, Cailin, and Tate discuss the chalice... it was "given" to Tate by the Brand from his native reality.
Benedict tells Cailin that Julian is no longer among the living, and that once his mourning is over and Amber is safe again, there will be a ceremony held to mourn his passing. Tate starts to badmouth Julian, but is cut off by Cailin. Benedict says, "I will hear no ill words about the dead," turns, and walks out.
Cailin, Darkstar, and Undead Cailin talk about the publishing venture. They aren't going to do bibliomancy -- just pictures and words. That's it. Honest. Cailin says that Bibliomancy shouldn't establish a beach-head in this reality. Undead Cailin mentions that he should remove the transport circle from Amber.
Benedict waves dragon-Jean down and tells him the by-now familiar news about Julian. They discuss informing Dworkin, who was briefly sane.
Undead Cailin is supposed to avoid the following list of people if possible, according to the King:
Cailin asks Kieron if undead Cailin is really dead. Kieron sticks his hand inside the hole and undead Cailin cries out in pain and surprise. Kieron mentions scales, and Cailin tries to silence him. Kieron says that undead Cailin's body is just a corpse. Scales don't even have corpses.
Tate builds a trump gate into shadow and people trek through. It's not where Cailin wanted to go - it's Dimover.
Jean sees Benedict knock on Hendrake's front door. Renfield, the majordomo, invites him in. Benedict enters and tells Faythe the news. He then tells Brendhyn, Brandt, and Felice. He then returns to Faythe and requests permission to inform Llewella. Faythe gives him her permission, he gives Llewella the news, and Llewella actually appreciates the impact of the news.
The next time Jean sees Benedict, he's in front of Caine. Caine has been playing tag with Jean, who has been trying to keep track of him with erratic success. Caine waves at Jean and then both Caine and Benedict drop off Jean's radar. After a little while, Caine reappears, waves at Jean, and then disappears again.
Jean sees Benedict enter Random's place and tell Random and Martin. Random looks at Benedict with horror in his face. Tears are leaking out of his eyes. Martin just stays quiet.
Corwin is leading troops across shadow when he orders his troops to bivouac, draws Greyswandir, steps out of line of sight, accepts a trump contact, sheathes Greyswandir, and Benedict comes through. They talk. Benedict is crying. Corwin says that he will do his duty, and Benedict leaves.
Jean sees Benedict walk up to Ingold's Pattern, look at Ingold obviously busy in the center of his Pattern, and walk off. Jean asks Benedict if he should tell Ingold to contact Benedict when he is done, and Benedict replies that he does not believe that Ingold would ever contact him of his own volition.
There is a knock on the most perceivable door of Suhuy's ways. Suhuy checks - it is the girl who is acknowledged to be Marial's apprentice. Suhuy causes a door to open and a path to their meeting room become apparent.
She enters the room, bows to the room as a whole, and says, "My master has sent me here for safe-keeping for she does not think that she can keep me safe with her during this current hunt."
After a couple of moments, she says, "Oh", and pulls out a note and hands it to Shiryu, apparently identifying him as the one in charge. The gist of the note is that Marial does not wish her apprentice to become a hostage and is requesting that she be protected.
Shiryu reads the note, looks depressed, and passes it around. Melk reads the note, looks at Shiryu for permission, then seats the girl comfortably, pats her on the head a few times, and she stops moving.
Ilk mentions the simulacrum of Jance in Ferethyn's waiting room.
Suhuy contemplates telling those assembled that he is new, and formerly an Ilk.
Suhuy consults the Logrus. The Logrus doesn't care what the others think -- "You're my Suhuy now." The Logrus also says that the only duty of all Realms Lords is to serve it. Ilk decides that the Logrus might be slightly biased.
Suhuy manifests as the Serpent's apprentice and finds himself in the Serpent's antechamber. He tendri's back out. Princess Chandra, still in the antechamber, sees this trick, and is amused. The Serpent manifests. Ilks grovel. The Serpent realizes which Ilk had manifested as his apprentice, and seems amused as well.
Suhuy mentions the current Realms Lord meeting and asks the Serpent if he should tell the others that he is new to his office. The Serpent asks if any of them would object to him making the decision, and Ilk replies that he couldn't imagine anyone objecting to one of the Serpent's decisions. The Serpent replies that Ilk should then feel free to tell that group, but that he shouldn't mention his origin - they might be disturbed at him being two of their number. The Serpent definitely seems amused at that concept.
The Serpent seems amused that Ilk found that method -- possibly the only method -- of getting his attention, and requests politely that Ilk not use it frivolously. Even Princess Chandra cannot reliably acquire his attention.
Suhuy and the Serpent's Apprentice tendril swap.
The Serpent mentions to Princess Chandra that she will soon be needed in the house that she founded, and departs. Suhuy bows to Princess Chandra from Realms Lord to oh-my-god-you're-powerful and is bowed to in response as a lesser member of a family. Suhuy corrects his bow.
Suhuy returns to his ways and tendri-swaps with the rest of the Ilks.
Suhuy mentions to the Realms Lord meeting that he is relatively recently promoted to his post.
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