Going to the CourtsÖ  Not something I'm enthusiastic about.  I wish that the decree came from a more reliable source.  We have only Brand's word that this will work.  He may be telling the truth, but he's told us that he's got a bargain with someone in the Courts.  I wonder about all the details of that.
     Anyway, the evening after Mythos appeared wearing the ring, eight of us went out for dinner, Mythos, Jared, Fayne, Delilah, Jeb, Saul (who was now wearing the ring, so I suppose I should call him Brand), Tevis and me.  I think the idea was that we'd attract less attention talking about things there than in the castle.  I'm not so sure about the logic of that, but this sort of strategy is not something I know a lot about.
     I asked Jared to help Tevis outfit himself properly.  I think I embarrassed both men by my phrasing, though, and I know that neither were happy with me for bringing it up in front of the group.  Still, I thought Jared was an infinitely better choice than Fayne since Jared and Tevis seem to share a clothing and combat paradigm.  I think that the outfitting went pretty well.  Both Tevis and I ended up with the stuff we needed, I think.  Of course, I felt that the very fact that all of us were taking off into shadow would draw attention.  Mythos seemed to think that our departure would be ignored since we aren't particularly important.
     I spoke to Merlin that evening to ask about the Keep.  I ended up telling him what was going on which wasn't something I'd intended to begin with.  Once I'd finished, he suddenly remembered something he needed to get done, so we left his rooms together.  I could only wish him good luck and hope that he wasn't heading out to do something stupid.  Knowing him, thoughÖ
     Our departure time was determined by when my boots would be ready.  Fayne pushed me to get him in to talk to Uncle Luke before we left.  I refused until morning in hopes that Uncle Luke would have managed some sleep since the last time I talked to him.  We managed to avoid telling him about his father the ring.  I do think he wondered just what we were up to, but he didn't ask specifically.  He still looked like hell.  As Fayne and I were preparing to leave, however, I thought of Merlin and added to whatever burden Uncle Luke is carrying by telling him that I had the impression that Merlin might be about to do something stupid and that, since Uncle Luke was still in Kashfa, I assumed that my father hadn't talked to him about it.  I hope that Father and Uncle Luke do make a good combination for whatever may be coming and that they do get together before everything crashes.
     The trip was long and fairly dull.  The last bit was difficult because the actual trail had some sort of trap on it.  We had to climb around it.  As a result, we had to leave the horses and discard quite a bit of our luggage.  A good portion of the explosives Fayne had brought were simply too heavy to haul along with us.  We'd regret that later, but as usual we hoped for more time than we had.
     Once we were in the valley with the Keep, Mythos and Fayne left the rest of us behind.  We hoped that they could explore the Keep to find out how feasible our plans were.  At any rate, the rest of us camped near the edge of the valley to wait for news.
     Jared and I stepped aside for a private talk.  At this point, I can't remember what we were discussing.  The events that followed more or less wiped that out.  All I remember is noting that Tevis was willing to trust Jared alone with me in enemy territory.  First dinner out and now letting someone else guard me or perhaps even trusting me to guard myself.  Strange.
     One of the knives Fayne selected for me received its first taste of real combat then.  Jared apparently noticed something watching us from above and quietly asked me to step closer so that he could draw one of my knives without seeming obvious.  I envy him the ability to throw like that; he brought down the creature with one knife, one blow.  As it fell, we heard the sound of combat from where we'd left the others.  Jared hurried back.  I paused long enough to retrieve my knife from the monster's neck.  Somehow, I suspected that I'd need it.
     I followed Jared back to the others and found myself facing my first real combat.  The things facing our group outnumbered us.  Jared had waded in and was wreaking havoc; everyone else seemed to be doing what they could to hold off or kill the creatures facing them.  Tevis was facing several opponents, and I was glad that I'd insisted on making sure he had his martial equipment.
     I had the advantage that I was the last one to arrive and could take my pick of targets.  None of our opponents seemed to realize that I was there.  I took a moment to survey the situation and to size up my selected opponent carefully.  I figured I'd get one chance at killing the thing, and I was fairly sure that this being would be at least as well designed for combat as the form that I'd so recently found for myself.
     Fortunately, my guess at the weak spot proved correct.  I leaped onto the thing's back and stabbed hard at the neck join and twisted.  It threw me off, but it died.  I managed to retrieve that knife also.
     More monsters were coming out of the night, and Jared called a retreat to a more defensible position.  I was in my form as Bee, so I could see better than any of the others present.  I'm still not entirely comfortable with letting others see me in a non-human form, but Tevis has convinced me of the need to use every edge I can get.  At any rate, I was able to spot a cave that we could get to and to lead the way up to it.
     Jared brought up the rear.  I think his skill (and his sword which had surprisingly nasty effects) earned at least some respect from our foes.  It seemed like an eternity, but we finally reached the relative safety of the cave.  We attempted to reach Mythos and Fayne by Trump but got no answer.  Since that was really our only way forward, we kept trying and finally joined them.
     The Keep certainly showed signs of my companions' passage.  I could smell dust, chemicals and blood in the air.  The rest of the group, of course, soon added to the destruction.  "Brand" directed us forward and supplied magic to get us past some of the guards (who were all nasty looking "demons" like those that had attacked us back at camp).  Unfortunately, Saul's body wasn't up to doing a lot of that.  My contribution to our forward progress turned out to be in providing physical support for Saul/Brand.
     Finally, we reached the chamber holding the Fount.  I didn't find the place all that impressive; I think I'd built a picture of something more visually threatening.  The most notable feature was the man suspended by some invisible force over the Fount.  I found him disconcerting, but his presence really upset Jared and Fayne.  Basically, our goal suddenly shifted from destroying the Fount to getting this Gabriel free.
     We went through a bit of testing and brain storming about the whole thing.  The power holding the man was not something that we could affect but was something that could affect us pretty horribly.  Gabriel appeared to be unaware of his situation or of us.  I hope that that's true since that would be a mercy.  Of course, given the nasty vindictiveness that seems common in our family, I wouldn't count on Fiona to have been so kind.
     Brand announced that what we really needed was to combine a strong Pattern user with a strong Logrus user.  He insisted that neither Merlin nor Evander has the power.  Brand stated that we had to travel to the Courts to find assistance.  I find myself dubious about his logic, but I have to admit that we're on ground that I'm unfamiliar with.  I just have this sense that we're all being led along somehow.  I'm not sure how many different people, plans or paths are involved, butÖ  We'll see.
 

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