Game Log 37

	Laughter asks Sky if she's ready to patrol Arden.  They discover
that the recently planted trees are dying.  Laughter Trumps Archi, wanting
to know where the bodies from Ardenfall went.  Archi doesn't know. 
Laughter says that Arden's dirt is poisoned.  There are hawks flying
overhead.  The Hawks attack Laughter and Sky.  Laughter finds that she
can't shift her wounds away.  20 minutes later, they're in deep doggie do. 
Laughter passes out, but Sky manages to hold on long enough to finish the
birds off before she passes out, too.

	Archi hunts Brenner, then starts gathering an army.  He offers tax
exempt status for volunteers.  A secretary informs Archi of Brenner's
arrival.  He challenges Archi to a duel.  Archi gets a Trump contact. 
While fighting it off, Brenner slaps him with a glove, formalizing his
funeral.  The Trump contact goes away, and Archi tosses his bud in the
dungeon.  Ulysses points out that that's probably not proper duel
etiquette.  Archi Trumps Laugher, and finds that the two ladies are passed
out.  Archi gets Gerard to tend to them.  Gerard indicates that they've
been poisoned.  Archi makes an anti-venom to one of the poisons.

	Ulysses finds Benedict in the Atherton universe, and tries to get
past his guards.  Benedict, King of this Shadow, doesn't remember Ulysses. 
Ulysses Trumps past the guards to Benedict's chambers, and takes a dagger
in the shoulder.  It heals on its own, but hurts a little.  He talks to
Benedict, but makes no progress.

	Sandr is asleep in Shadow.  He misses his head shrinking
appointment.  He paints (Trump and ordinary art) and readies for the party
he is going to.

	Melanie is listening to Trump, and hears every Trump contact
mentioned in the log so far.  She also is working on her project.  Then,
she hears our wonderful friends, Mr.  Male and Mrs. Female, but this time
we learn that the male is in the castle.

	F: "Damn, I can't do this alone."
	M: "Just make sure no-one helps Brand.  That means Sandr and Melanie."

	The contact ends.  Melanie works until lunch, then eats.

	Sky feels better.  Archi Trumps Fiona, and brings her through
(Melanie notices).  She looks at Laughter and Sky, then goes to Laughter. 
Archi explains things.  Fiona Trumps Mandor, who also gets a summary.  The
poison that's left only affects shapeshifters, specifically Halybards. 
Mandor makes some of the poison to study.  They'll just have to wait it
out for now.  Archi posts a guard on Laughter.

	At lunch, Melanie perceives a Trump contact from the Golden Circle
into the dungeon, then Brenner leaves.  She notices a change in her little
project.  The source has faded away about an hour ago.

	Ulysses wakes in a Shadow, in a toxic mist, after Benedict
throttled him.  Ulysses shifts to Ygg.  He realizes that he can get
through the badlands if he gets a gas mask from Shadow.  He does this, and
then finds Sylvie in the Atherton castle.  He rescues Tianen, whom he sets
to the task of finding out what happened to him while he was out, and he
sets off to get Sylvie.  Sylvie walked the Atherton Pattern.

	Sandr goes to a party, hosted by Aliss (who is the sister of the
guy whom he had dinner with the other day).  Aliss is the Chessmaster of
this Shadow of Eggheads.  The party is boring.  Sandr tries to be
entertaining.  There is physics discussed.  Sandr wants to imbibe, but
can't, due to the drugs he's on.  There is a discussion of Amber, and the
fact that Sandr's Shadow buds know he's an Amberite.  People have been
asking about red- haired Amberites recently.  His math pal didn't rat him
out, though.  The inquisitors were blond with brown eyes.  Amber vs.
Shadow discussion.  Math puns are bad.  Sandr begins to drink, and throws
up.  Aliss won't speak directly to men.

(This last paragraph of basic sentence structure brought to you by the
wonderful Wendi Strang-Frost, and the letter Kayla.)

	Castle Dwellers: Melanie watches her project, then goes to see her
love muffin.  Archi and Sky stay in the infirmary, and play cards.  Mandor
investigates the poison.  Archi finds a synthetic antidote.  They then do
a fetus check.  Laughter comes around babbling about a "Cave with snakes
in it."

	Melanie and Balin explore the castle, and she gets a brief vision
that everything is on fire.  It passes, and she stumbles a bit, providing
Balin with a perfect opportunity to be the man.  Then Melanie is hit with
an irrational fear of walking the Patterns, but only for a brief moment. 
Balin asks if she's okay, and she insists she is.  They discuss his
walking the Pattern.  They go to look at it.  The guards inform Archi of
their presence.  (Melanie and Balin's presence, not the guards.  Archi can
see the guards are present.  Duh.) Melanie and Balin look at the Pattern,
and discuss it.  Then they leave.  Melanie felt like she was getting warm
while at the Pattern, but it fades with time.

	Ulysses and Sylvie get back to Tianen.  She relates the
unconscious Ulysses periods to him.  He suggests that Tianen gift wrap
Benedict in Logrus, which she does.  They take him to Archi in the
infirmary, with Fiona, Mandor, Gerard, Laughter and Sky.  They discuss how
to free Benedict from the Trump manacle.  Benedict wakes up, and tries to
kill Ulysses.  Archi talks him down.  Archi talks Ulysses into getting
Dworkin to help out.  Dworkin releases Benedict, who then goes to walk the
Pattern.

	Balin asks Melanie out to dinner.  They enjoy.  Later, they show
in the infirmary, Melanie talks to Ulysses, Balin asks about Laughter. 
Balin tells of his recent activities.  A guard comes in, informing of
Brenner's escape.  Melanie notices that her spells on the Eye have been
defeated, and bolts.  The Eye is gone.  She should have used the club. 
Melanie goes to Ygg.  She can't find her Eye anywhere.  What will she tell
Maron?  Balin Trumps her, she brings him through to Ygg, and introduces
him to the tree.  Balin is tired.  He wants her to go back with him.  She
begrudgingly goes.  He takes her to her room.  He hesitates, she waits, he
steps closer, she steps closer.  That's all the encouragement Balin
needed.  They hop into her bed.  Melanie relays the throw to the
shortstop, and Balin is forced to hold at third.  Balin is blue at being
rebuffed.  It's hard, he thinks, but he'll get over it.  They spend the
night together.

	In the infirmary, Laughter wakes up with a headache.  They update
her, and she wants out.  She asks to talk to Fiona.

	Sandr has a dream.  Aliss enters the room on a horse, which is
gray.  Sandr is confused.  She came to take him away to elf land (with six
new rides this season!).  She holds her hand out, and he takes it.  They
leave on horseback.  They come to a river of blood, then turn upriver. 
They approach the sea.  Sandr protests, and Aliss mentions that Father
knows.  They move faster.  The red sea parts for them.  Sandr asks for a
fast forward, but is awakened by purring from his cat.  He gets some
aspirin and O.J., and plays with the cat.  He gets his hair dyed brown.

	Tianen wants nookie, but Ulysses wants to wait until Benedict is
done walking the Pattern, in case he's still pissed.  Archi Trumps
Benedict after the Pattern walk, and they agree to talk in the morning.

	Sky wakes up.

	Melanie wakes up after a nightmare, and Balin asks if he can get
her something.  Melanie notices a Trump Contact, again from our secret
buddies.

	F: "Something else is draining him."
	M: "How?"
	F: "I don't know.  Some other Trump Link."
	M: "Come through, someone may be listening."

	Just before Balin comes back, Melanie has a huge hot flash, from
energy coming from the Eye.  It overloads her, and she is unable to shift
all the blisters away before Balin arrives.