DRAFT Run log for 961022

In a Wrong Amber

Cathryn is standing in an alternate Tir, facing Flora, Lana, and Benedict, just having walked through the crystal. Looking back into the room that she just came out of, she sees Benedict and Ilk leave the room. She tries to stick her head out of the crystal, but hits it. Cathryn interrogates the others -- where is the person that she is supposed to replace? Everyone is clueless for a bit, then they decide that since Stormy said that Circe was an inaccurate prophetess, they'll go to their own prophet, someone who retired from the family. Who is he? He was named Vail by his father, who is Caine.

Flora trumps Vail. "What do you mean, now is a bad time?" "He says that we should leave Tir now, clouds are coming". Lana jumps out a window and uses her sword to fly to the ground. Flora trumps her there, and Benedict, Cathryn, and Flora go through. Upon reaching the ground below Tir and watching the moon become occluded by clouds, Flora trumps Vail back, and their conversation this time is on a mental level. "Lana, he doesn't want to see you - he says that you're a bad influence".

Benedict, Cathryn, and Flora trump through onto the bridge of a science-fictiony type ship. Cathryn can't read the braid on the guy who trumped them through's coat, but he seems to be in charge. "Welcome, my guests. Please, come with me." One of his crew members interjects, "But..." "I will be back soon". "Yes, Entil-zah!" They go to a conference room, where he asks, "Yes, Auntie?" Flora starts explaining, starting with the back history of their group's efforts to keep Toram from taking over King Merlin's place, and working through their efforts to retrieve Lois by returning Cathryn to the proper Amber.

Vail: "I want a favor." Flora: "What?" Vail: "I want somebody acknowledged and to walk the the Pattern". Flora: "Something you didn't tell the family?" Vail: "...no meddling, no remaking into your image of an Amberite".

Vail walks to the door, opens it, says, "Dear, I have another mission for you", and a twelve year old girl walks in. He introduces them to her, but not her to them, and says that they will take her to her ordeal. Flora is introduced as "the one who will lead you through your ordeal", Cathryn is introduced as "an unfortunate victim of circumstance", and Benedict is introduced after some hesitation as "the watchdog". Cathryn thinks that the girl would carry herself well on a battlefield, and that she wouldn't want to just try to take her out.

Flora trumps them to the courtyard in Amber. The girl hasn't travelled via Trumps before, and, upon arrival, starts taking notes on how to invade Amber, just in case it becomes necessary. Flora asks Cathryn if she knows where the Pattern room is, and hands her trump to her, asking her to take the girl to the Pattern and then trump her. Cathryn is reluctant to be left alone in the Pattern room, and Flora is momentarily clueless, until Cathryn reminds her that the Pattern tends to dislike initiates of the Logrus. Benedict takes the trump and heads towards the Pattern. Flora, Cathryn, and the girl head towards the Great Hall, the girl taking up an advantageous position from which to defend her. Cathryn notices it and is amused.

Flora calls for a dress, one she wore 243,000+ years ago. A maid brings the dress to her, and she ducks into an alcove to change. One of her servants looks at Cathryn and the girl and says, "That won't do", looks at the girl, says, "padding", looks at Cathryn, and sends two maid off in search of suitable dresses for them.

Cathryn asks the girl, "Have you had any training for walking the Pattern, dear?"

"Pattern?"

"So you've never left that shadow?"

"Tell me what you know about shadows."

"You've never left that ship?"

"I've been on planet before. Tell me about shadows."

"There are an infinite number of shadows..."

"What is their source?"

"Interactions between Pattern and Logrus."

"?"

"Pattern is the source of order, Logrus is the source of chaos."

"Are you threatened often by shadows?"

"Not really..."

Flora emerges from her dressing niche, says, "You clash", and corrals them into separate alcoves. After a few minutes, their dresses arrive, and they change. They continue chatting while walking to the Great Hall.

"So, have you been to threatening shadows, then?"

"One does not normally go to shadows - you run away, and come back in
force."

"Why go back?"

"Wars cannot be avoided, only deferred to your disadvantage."

"Why get involved with the affairs of a random shadow?"

"Don't run - fight. Usually don't kill shadows, just their ships."

"Shadows are in your ships?"

They arrive at the Great Hall. The herald says to the girl, "I don't know your name". "I am called Theraat". The herald scurries back inside, and calls, "All rise, King Random". Random enters the room, says, "Yah, yah, get on with it." The herald calls Theraat into court. Theraat walks in, acting like a respectful foreign visitor, not a subject, and uses the Centauri court protocol for being presented to their emperor. Cathryn follows Theraat into the Hall. Random mentions folks, Cathryn bows, and Theraat throws a dagger over her shoulder. "You're not going to throw any more daggers at me, are you?" "I haven't thrown any daggers at you yet."

Flora announces in a bored voice, "It is my honor and duty to announce Theraat, daughter of Vail, son of Caine - your brother, remember?" Random asks Theraat, "Are you a true daughter of your father?" "I will defer to Flora's judgement in that regard." "Well, you weasel like him. Good enough." Random recognized Theraat, and invites her to any future courts that he may hold in the future.

Theraat looks expectantly at Flora - now what? Flora says that now they wait for Benedict - it should be about two minutes. Two minutes later, Benedict trumps Flora, she hands Theraat and Cathryn through, then follows herself into the Pattern room. Cathryn has a headache. Theraat sees a pattern inscribed in glowing blue onto the floor. Cathryn asks Flora if she has any last minute advice - she hadn't heard about the Pattern before I mentioned it to her.

Advice, the short form.

Flora gives Theraat a trump and tells her to concentrate on it when she gets to the center. Theraat begins walking the Pattern.

Cathryn leaves the Pattern room and chats with the guards to the dungeon, and asks about the folks in the cells. They mention one strange cell that they cannot even open any more - the handle came flying out from the door. Cathryn chats with the door - it used to be Dworkin's psychiatrist. When Cathryn tells the door that its hinges aren't sentient, the door pops off the hinges and falls into the hallway. Beyond that door is another door that opens normally, and a corridor beyond, leading to a well-appointed library. Cathryn looks for books on realities or alternate Ambers, and finds nothing. She takes a cookbook titled, "Baking Reality", which seems to be about merangue.

After tossing the room, she sees a strange shape on a shelf that she can't pick up. Occasionally, she sees a hand polishing it. She returns to the hallway, and Flora pokes her head out of the Pattern room and calls, "Come, come. She's almost at the center."

Theraat reaches the center of the Pattern, and realizes for the first time in her life what being tired is like. She remembers that she should do something, and pulls out the card. It's cold, unlike any playing cards that she's ever seen before, so she places it on her forehead, then the back of her neck. When she's refreshed, she stares at it. When she starts examining the brush strokes, the card moves. Flora walks Theraat through the steps of bringing Benedict, then Cathryn, then herself through the contact.

Upon reaching the center of the Pattern, Cathryn's headache goes away, and she feels euphoric.

All Alone in the Wrong Night

Ilkandacian wakes up from his nap, hangs three teleport spells, one with an unspecified destination, one to a place near Ygg, and one to a place where neither the Pattern nor the Logrus can reach. He goes to sleep again, and when he wakes up, he notices that someone left some steaming oatmeal and a watery tea, without popping his wards. Ilk eats, teleports to the place where neither of the Powers can reach, and then starts hanging spells again.

After Ilk has hung a spell or two, a badger pokes its head out of a hole, and invites him down into its hole, saying that the birds don't like magic. After conversing with the badger for a short period of time, Ilk shifts into badger form and follows his host into the den. He is fed a nice dinner, after which the badger shows him around the hole, including a well-outfitted magical lab. The badger says that they weren't always badgers, they used to be elfish, until the Great One changed them.

Ilk iterates between hanging spells and napping until he has hung as many as he considers appropriate, and then proceeds to take several two week long naps in the badger's hibernation chamber, and then sacks out until he has fully recovered.

--EORun--