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Neville returns to Chaos and requests a meeting of the Council of Houses. The etiquette guild member turns, takes two steps, and bursts into flame from an attack that just lit Neville's armor on fire.
Neville contemplates sending a flunky to activate another contract in the Assassins' Guild, and passes a message via Jean.
On Jean's way towards the Guild, he notices a chain of about eight people stuck to the Savior of Chaos tape. Apparently, one of them tried to tamper with it, and others tried to help. It's not anybody that Jean recognizes, so he keeps going.
Jean enters the Assassins' Guild, and is given an offer to join the betting pool on the folks outside. He asks if any of those outside are Poisoners; the Assassins haven't gotten close enough to check. Jean activates a random contract, and discovers that there is no verification process. Neville is told by Jean that he needs better security.
Neville brings up a Pattern lens and tracks the Logrus attack. It's coming from the center of his house. He walks inward, following it, and finds a crying kid, who can't be more than a hundred or so.
"What's the matter, kid?"
"You smacked me! It hurt!"
"I wasn't near you until just now."
The kid claims that he was playing tag with his friends -- they all just walked it. He claims his name is Alphonse. Neville tells him not to play tag in the house. They can't play outside because there are people shooting at them there, and they can't play in the Black Zone because people don't like them there. A bunch of them were sent to Logrus class by Neville's predecessor's predecessor.
Neville says that he'll try to arrange for someone to teach them what to do with the Logrus. He arranges for a meeting in a meeting room in their House, and asks Jean to contact Ilk. Jean contacts Ilk, who heads to the largest Pattern source in Chaos.
Ilk and Neville discuss the situation. Ilk looks around and spots a clump of foreign Logrus heading away from them. A kid, lots of power, all one signature, completely untrained, very high battery levels.
All of the animals in Arden are missing.
Cailin, in roc form, reaches House Cara. It's under siege. He banks away and is attacked by harpies. Cailin heads towards the Assassins' Guild, and is shredded twice en-route. He's definitely poisoned. The doorman looks Cailin up and down and says, "Shouldn't you be in the Healers' Guild?"
Cailin tells them that no non-Guild mages should be casting magic -- it's very dangerous.
The Guild gives him an escort to the Healers' Guild. They grab him, step sideways into the Void, and step back out next to the Healers' Guild. They tell the Healers that this one falls under the protection of the King against the Poisoners, and the Healers take him inside and start working on him. Cailin remains conscious. They lie him on a slab next to Natasha's.
Cailin is unconscious for a brief time, and then wakes up again. The healer standing over him apologizes for not healing him immediately, but the King wants him immediately.
Cailin tells Jean not to use magic anywhere in reality.
Cailin wonders what kind of attack might waiting for the Guild mages.
Ilk sends a message to Marial, warning her of the chaos in Chaos. She writes back, "Sigh. I'm on my way."
Neville concentrates on the trump of the place where Gwen's machine was. It gets colder.
An Etiquette Guild member approaches Neville, bows to Ilk's remaining tendrils, bows to Neville, and says that the King has need of him. The member warns Neville that he should take whatever precautions seem necessary - there are rumors of unsanctioned assassination attempts against him.
Ilk notices that a member of the Etiquette Guild is knocking on the outside of Suhuy's ways. "Yes?" "I heard that the head of House Cara was last seen inside. The King has requested him." Ilk looks in - Vlad is projectile vomiting, and the detrius is getting up and walking away.
Meanwhile, over at the Beastmasters' Guild, an invasion is taking place.
The Beastmasters' Guild, using the powers of Beastmastery, attacks the two visible people approaching Snarsht's tower. They include a poorly-known Princess Chandra, and Shiryu's apprentice, whom nobody knows.
[It was Princess Chandra's fault that the Amber-oid form is so prevalent - she made it Oberon's form, and Oberon molded the Pattern and, hence, shadow.]
The attack causes Shiryu's apprentice to step aside and disappear, and Princess Chandra has a momentary look of discomfort on her face, then pulls a dagger and starts flipping it as she continues to advance.
Rainbow says, "Ooh - that's got to be a bad thing."
Ilk saw a brilliant flash of Serpent Power when the discomfort went away.
Princess Chandra advances, alone, and pounds on the door with the hilt of her dagger. The door fails to open. She looks it up and down, there is another brief blast of Serpent Power, and then there is no door. She enters the Beastmasters' Guild, at which point people lose track of her.
Other people are now moving into range. Jean now sees the King - she's with his mother. Flora tells Jean that some of the House Heads who are under attack will be showing up momentarily - if they're not done by the time their guests arrive, stall them. They'll be redecorating. Jean offers his mother a few hamsters; Flora declines.
The head of the Warriors' Guild, sword drawn, the King of Chaos, wielding the Scepter of Chaos, and Florimel, with Brand's Pattern blade drawn, advance. Martin, standing next to them, curses when he realizes that his blade is missing. Flora hands Martin Werewindle and Corwin hands Greyswandir to Flora.
A variable number of Logrus blades are floating nearby with no visible wielder, and a large chunk of starcore is being tossed back and forth between two patches of thin air. Snarsht is in a serpentine form with only one eye and is riding on one of Corwin's shoulders. Out of nowhere Rainbow appears, shaped as a horse made out of very pale flame.
The group follows Princess Chandra inside.
Among the people who are inside are Poisoners who have been in hiding. They are no longer among the living. Princess Chandra did not leave any doubt about the fact that they're no longer living -- lying at the center-most point of each of them, regardless of their shape, is a full scale.
The Snarsht-impostor has left its perch. The fiery horse is chasing it.
Corwin, Flora, and Martin are putting on a display of swordwork that has seldom been seen because Greyswandir seems to have taken on a life of its own and is helping Flora out. Martin is not very good with Werewindle, but is very good with his whole body. Corwin is carving a swath with the stone blade.
The enemy is almost entirely using beastmastery. Corwin is muttering Pattern-magic under his breath. It only seems to be annoying them.
Ilk Logrus-shoves foes into the starcore, and when they poke their heads back out, he jabs them with the Logrus blades. Ilk decides to acquire a Pattern source. He pokes a few tendrils over to Neville, chats briefly, and pulls him in.
Neville, in flames, appears, draws his sword, and attacks. When he touches someone with the flames, they die of the Pattern-Logrus conflict.
Cailin, Vlad, and several other House heads arrive on the scene.
Neville spreads a Pattern lens over a group of people, and Ilk throws a Sign of the Logrus over it. Biblical pillar of fire-level power.
Finally, the fiery horse comes galloping back with a cat in its center. The lizard hops off of Corwin's shoulder, causes some chaos en route, and leaps into the horse as well. The horse blinks out and reappears on the far side of the room. The lizard and the cat are now engaged. It's obvious that they're both using beastmastery on and near each other.
Pharaban has spread out across the Beastmasters' Guild and is rescuing the loyal members by informing them of what is going on, so the only ones that are fighting are those that haven't gotten the news yet, or who are actually supporting the false Beastmaster.
The fake Beastmaster is subdued after about eighteen or nineteen passes.
[While the logs are not a silly place, the tape is]
Watching a two foot-long lizard drag off a battleship-sized cat is a fascinating sight. Snarsht is dragging the fake off into the depths of his Guild.
After a while, Pharaban coalesces, shows himself to the enemy, and says, "You are all alone here; there is no backup." He then turns to the rest of the group, says, "My work here is done", and leaves.
Princess Chandra is also nowhere in sight - it is postulated that she is tracking down Poisoners.
Ilk and Suhuy ditch the Logrus blades and generate a sharp and pointy Logrus-tumbleweed and roll it into groups of the enemy, who tend to also burst into flames.
Cailin doesn't see any of the rogue beastmasters outside.
Great destruction happens. Most of the tower's structure, except for the bottom floor, is saved.
After a while, the King comes out carrying her scepter and apologizes to the House Heads present for the delay.
The imposter's face has been mauled in exactly the same fashion as the symbol in front of House Hendrake.
Corwin finishes subduing the last survivor and hauls it out to Jean to be assimilated. Flora has returned Greyswandir to Corwin, and is being upset in a corner while taking a nail file to a cracked nail. Martin is kinda badly chewed over, but he doesn't appear to be changed, at least externally, and he's laughing, which is always a good sign.
Cailin notices bits of undead Cailin accumulating nearby.
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