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Various conversations happen as the two parties head towards Thelbane. Arrival happens. The Etiquette Guild types keep Raven outside, as a disinterested party, but don't appear to notice the Jean mattress on Ilk's shoulder.
Rank-wise, from Neville's viewpoint:
Neville bows accordingly.
Random bows to Neville as an interested supplicant to head of the most powerful House in Chaos. Zack waves to Neville, giving him the respect from a lower guild member to a higher member of the same guild. Ilk returns the converse of Neville's bow. The Etiquette Guild members exchange a few glances and some rapid finger movements.
Neville can tell through a lens created by one of his mages that the two people they have been tracking are the ambassador and the member of a house.
Neville explains that some time ago, a temple in a black zone that was the responsibility of his house was tampered with by people with signatures matching those of Ambassador Random and... ?
Neville asks for an introduction to the unidentified house member. Zack speaks up. "Marshall's left hand, Captain of the sea ways, second in Arden, first speaker for the palace guard, prince of Faerie, prince in Amber, honorary duke of Begma, adviser-general to the golden circle, guardian of the campways, ... and can't remember any others."
A mage brings up a fairly accurate floating illusion of the temple as it currently stands, with one human-sized guard on the roof. Neville explains that it is in the care of his house, and they were responsible for maintaining it. They wish to receive an explanation of why and how it was tampered with, and reparations consisting in part of re-activation of the temple.
Zack tries to pin down Neville on Helgram's responsibility for the activities of the temple, and asks the etiquette guild for clarifications. [et g says ?]
Zack explains the concept of insurance. Caine is just grinning.
The mage explains their confirmation of the magical signatures involved.
Zack and Random go off to the side and conference briefly.
Zack explains that they traced an attack on a member of the royal family to that zigguraut.
Caine reaches into his pocket, pulls out a bug, and tosses it on the table. He does so again. He pulls another bug out of his hair and tosses it onto the temple.
Zack explains that the locusts were flying through shadow towards Amber, destroying everything in their path.
One of the mages performs a few standard tests on the bugs and confirms that they do indeed have pieces within them that were generated by the zigguraut.
Caine is just apparently sitting there when a small snow globe starts coalescing in front of the group, from a button on Caine's shirt. It displays an endless stream of locusts flowing...
Neville asks his mage if there is any way to confirm this image. The mage is turning white about the gills.
Ilk's hackles stand on end.
There is a polite knock at the doors, and Melchizedik walks in, looks around, looks at Caine, and says "stop that". The image goes away. Melk asks Ilk if he is responsible for this little shindig, then warns him that if that one does that again, they will no longer have the pleasure of his company. After a minor exchange of pleasantries, Melk leaves.
Zack reiterates his claim that they were investigating and terminating an attack on their sovereign territory, and were attacked before they could negotiate upon arriving at the zigguraut.
One of the mages looks at another and says that there were indications that there were once three guardians on the item in question but now there is only one.
The mage says that the guardians were not his House's responsibility, and were added over their protest.
Caine looks at Neville and says that if they desire to reactivate the device, he would be glad to visit his elders' chambers to prove to them that he was indeed being attacked.
Random asks Neville about his knowledge and standing in his House, and mentions that they might be willing to reactivate the device in return for the other Eye of the Serpent.
Random asks for Ilk's permission to mention the point they had discussed earlier. Ilk agrees.
Random mentions the current altercation that is going on, currently between pretty much only Neville's house and the rest of Chaos.
Random - "Do you know who the owner
[of that temple] is?"
Neville - "No."
Random says that the owner is no longer among the living. There is a discussion over who gets to tell Neville who the owner of those lands was, then it is mentioned that it was the former head of the Mages Guild.
Neville - "Do you mean Lord Toram?"
At that moment, the Ilk by the Pattern feels much relieved. Dworkin just said, "Shit! It got away from me!" and resumed his normal shape.
The mages mention that they do now have a new master in the Mages Guild - Jenoir.
Neville - "So what happened to the old
one?"
Mages - "He was removed with prejudice - we were not invited to the
ceremony."
A discussion over responsibility for reparations happens.
Caine asks for a set of rooms in Neville's house so if that [the locusts] happens again, they will know where to find him. Zack and Random agree to make a half-hearted attempt to reactivate the zigguraut.
The meeting closes.
Ilk thinks for a moment, and then asks Random to continue discussing the altercation.
Random proposes that Neville rescue his House from total destruction by ceasing the conflict, and points out that his mages are wearing Guild colors, and that their Guild is now solidly on "our" side.
Random gives Neville a trump of him, in case they need to contact him.
Neville and company depart. Neville's House's council refuses to see him. Neville asks his mages about the veracity of his newly acquired information, and they tell him that this place is not safe. The mages promise to not influence or constrain him in any way, other than through the transfer of information.
Neville asks an Etiquette Guild member about the custom regarding trumps. The Etiquette Guild member says that they are considered to be in very bad form, due to the whim of Lord Rainbow. Neville asks about the state of the war, in several ways, and is told that the Etiquette Guild is staying neutral and is withholding information from both sides. Neville asks for a pointer to an unbiased opinion, and is told that the Creationists guild and the Assassins' guild have officially stayed out of the conflict.
Ilk warns Random, Caine, and Zack that Helgram is believed to have stolen a magic-eating Morganti dagger from Amber. Zack trumps Random, and ends up eating a pizza. Or a trump.
Zack asks Ilk for a pineapple pizza, and is given one. Random specifies a pizza with the substance of a plant that is difficult to cook without generating toxic fumes. Ilk juggles a few celestial bodies out in shadow and bakes a pizza.
Ilk offers Caine, Random, and Zack a lift somewhere before he returns to House Cara. Caine and Raven prepare to head to Helgram to check up on their rooms. Zack asks Caine about the regent situation. Caine pulls out a trump.
Celeste has just finished the blood-magic ritual to revivify Faythe when she is receiving a trump call. She takes the trump call. It's Caine. He passes off the regency of Amber to Celeste, and points out that the person in line after her is Faythe, then the vegetable, and then Brand.
"Caine, you foisted this off on me... but I promise you, I will pay you off in kind." Celeste slams her shields shut on the contact. In the moment before she slams her shields shut, there is a piece of paper fluttering inside her shields inside her head, reading "Hi, Norton."
Celeste asks the Norton in her head to contact the Nortons in Chaos. He tries, but it's someone else's head. She trumps Norton. She reaches the one across the room from her. "Hi, Mom." "I need to contact one of you in Chaos."
Celeste tries again. "Jean! I need a Jean in Chaos to talk to me." "I don't think their voices can reach." Jean points out that she might try the library in Amber, and grills his mother for details.
Celeste trumps Flora and asks her about a treaty with Chaos that the Chaosians are pissed off about. They discuss the matter briefly. Norton in Celeste tries to put a tendril out to Ilk. Celeste feels like something is pouring out of her head. Flora agrees to arrange for a formal court to acknowledge Celeste's status as regent for the regent.
Celeste trumps Ilk, but not the one in the ballista. She gets the one in Chaos. They chat, after going through the Zack answering service. Norton joins the contact after a bit. Ilk reassures Celeste that Chaos as a whole is not annoyed about the treaty, and that Caine might be attributing some of the blame from the bugs on her. Celeste asks Ilk to tell Caine that she would have done the bugs if she had thought of it in time, but didn't. Celeste asks for sympathy regarding her new post and has her Savior of Chaos comments thrown back in her face. Celeste signs off by asking Ilk to toss Caine off a cliff.
Celeste mentions that at least one of the Nortons will be attending as her daughter's formal escort. Flora suggests that her son could handle that matter, and mentions it to Jean.
Flora - "... you can't let this one
wander off."
Celeste - "Wander off?"
[Note from the GM: Celeste now has Pattern affinity, and so does Faythe]
Jean asks Norton if he is responsible for Faythe.
Norton - "Of course I'm responsible for Faythe - she's my wife to be!"
Cassandra offers Norton and Faythe congratulations.
Norton offers to check out Cailin's yeti thing. Cassandra performs an introduction. "Norton - Princess Chandra's grandson."
Norton looks at the form anyway. Everything looks scary as a yeti. "Why would you want to turn into that? Turn into one of these!" and turns into a nasty monster. Cailin turns into a yeti and flees.
Celeste - "Oh, well. It looks like
they're serious."
Flora - "Who, dear?"
Celeste - "Norton and Faythe."
Celeste reluctantly admits that Norton and Faythe are betrothed.
The discussion of yeti, Old Lords, apprentices, and alternate realities ensues downstairs. A discussion of bows follows.
Celeste trumps Faythe, and proposes two weddings - one here, and one in Darkover.
Norton threatens to disassemble Ilk's chair if he doesn't tell him what happened to him. Ilk tells Norton internally that there are rumors that the Beastmaster's missing apprentice betrayed his master. Norton faints. Faythe scoops him up and starts giving him mouth to mouth. Or kissing him. Celeste, still in trump contact with her daughter, turns green. Jean, in a corner, says, "eeew!"
Faythe asks her mother if Norton is Comyn. She thinks about the matter some. The Norton in her head is confused. "There are Hasturs in my family." "Oh, you mean the ones that look like this?" The Norton in her head changes into a Hastur.
Celeste asks Jean to tell Norton that he's Comyn. Jean tells Norton downstairs that he's common. Norton is confused. Faythe explains, somewhat.
Celeste becomes very accepting of Nortons' and Faythe's potential.
Norton in Celeste's head asks her to trump Norton to find out why he fainted. She does so. Norton tells Norton. Norton in Celeste's head faints. Several of the ganglia in Celeste's head shape themselves into Faythe and start giving mouth to mouth to Norton. Celeste starts ignoring the Norton in her head and grills the Norton over the trump contact.
There is a seed in Norton to turn into that yeti-shape.
Norton erases the memory from his head. The Norton in Celeste tells him again. He turns into a dead yeti and faints. The trump contact goes down.
"Explain it so we can help!" Norton breaks down into hysterical laughter. Norton in Celeste asks for sanctuary in her head, and receives it. He tells her. She is horrified.
Celeste considers going to her room to lie down, and remembers that they are a vacuum. Norton in Celeste's head puts air in Celeste's rooms. It goes away. "I think you need a mage." "I am a mage." She asks Flora for spare rooms, and is told that she has had them for some time.
She goes to the alternate rooms. They're done up nicely in Brand's colors. She writes Flora a nice thank-you note, and passes it off to the Jean who arrives with some tea. She drinks the tea and goes to sleep. Norton pokes some parts of her brain to give her nice dreams.
[Spines and barbs and corkscrews, oh my!]
Cassandra asks Norton if they want to be alone, and Norton replies that it might not be safe for them to be alone.
Cassandra says that she is trying to find her father in Pearl. Norton tries to vibrate Corwin, and fails. Cassandra tries to trump her father, and fails. She tries Darkstar, and fails. Darkstar's trump seems even less powerful that she would expect, instead of more powerful. She tries Malachai again, and fails. She connects to Osric.
Norton, Faythe, and five Jeans gate off to Norton's place, courtesy of Faythe. The Jeans aren't sure if there is already a Jean locally. Some servitors bring over some dead bodies for Norton to suck on. Faythe wants to heal them. Norton decides to sleep.
The Ilk in Primal Amber turns towards the ballista and asks, "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" "We'll have to ask him when he finishes walking it. Unless he walks it again."
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