Session 34: "I'm not inbred either.  Just everyone I'm related to is."

	Cameron spends more time in Chaos practicing his newly acquired
shapeshifting skills.

	Sandr draws a Trump of himself for Archi, then draws one for
himself, because he's narcissistic.

	Melanie hangs out with Shandril and works on Trump, while waiting
for Maron to wake up.  A week passes.

	Ulysses asks Archi if he knows what Shandril looks like.  He has
no clue, but directs Ulysses to Sky.  Sky gives him a description of her
former servant, but Shandril doesn't answer Ulysses' call.

	Archi does warfare stuff.  He moves his troops to Amber and sends
some schmuck down to ask the two remaining armies to surrender.  A meeting
is arranged.  Mok, Sandr, Sky and Laughter attend along with Archi. 
Ulysses stays out of it.  Bridget and some of the Halybard demons show for
the opposing armies.  Laughter (who's been missing for a day), shows up
with Dworkin.  They both shift to demon from and begin speaking in a
strange tongue to the demons.  Vain takes Bridget aside and talks to her. 
Dworkin addresses the demons rather theatrically, and their great respect
for him is reflected in their snickers.  Dworkin shapeshifts Laughter to
an enormous form, which the demons apparently recognize, since they fall
to the ground and prostrate themselves.  Convenient that.  Vain finishes
telling Bridget his horror stories about Archi.  She looks quite afraid of
Archi, an impression he encourages by scowling.  Laughter tells Archi that
20 of the demons insist on being her personal guard, but the rest will go. 
Ulysses, no doubt ecstatic that someone else can watch Laughter for a
change, is called to arrange for the removal of Bridget's army via Trump
gate.  As soon as he gets around to drawing it.

	Mok decides to talk to Corwin about his lost manhood.  Corwin's,
not Mok's.  Apparently the blast that took half of Corwin's face off
removed a few other things near and dear to him.  Corwin offers his
condolences on the death of Mok's father.  Which would have been much more
appreciated had someone bothered to tell Mok that Eric was dead.  He asks
Corwin to come home with him.  No, not in that sense.  Corwin takes a rain
check, so Mok wanders back over to Archi and mopes.  Archi has little
sympathy for him, since his dad is dead, too.

	Sylvie Trumps Cameron and tells him that Tianen tried to kill
Ulysses while she was Logrus mad, but he didn't notice.  Just call him Mr.
Oblivious.  Sylvie also says that Logrus madness makes you opposite, so
love is hate and hate is love.  The thought that Tianen might actually
love Ulysses is enough to turn everyone's stomach.  Sylvie asks when
Cameron is coming home, but won't say what's wrong, so he is noncommittal. 
Never mind, she'll just call Dad.  He loves her.  Unlike some other
people.

	Melanie Trumps Sylvie, who says Mom's doing much better, although
she's still kind of nuts.  Melanie comes through to relieve Sylvie for a
while.  Tianen's reading a book upside-down.  Yep, just a little bit nuts. 
Sylvie mentions that she's had a spat with Cameron and Trumps Ulysses.

	Ulysses brings Sylvie through and offers to let her draw the Trump
gate he's working on, but she's smarter than that.  She does happily eat
the Orange Milano cookies that he gets her.  He finishes the Trump gate
and gives it to Archi.

	Mok is Trumped by strange woman.  It's Shandril.  She tells him
that she's his sister and asks him to set up a meeting with Archi.  Right
before the coronation.  Doesn't sound suspicious at all.  Nope.

	Mok relays Shandril's request to Archi.  He also reveals that he
can tell when people are lying.  Most of the time.  Archi files this
little tidbit away.  They discuss keeping the tech level in Amber high
enough for the mecha in Mok's army to operate.  Mok worries that his
Pattern ghost will know how to get into Gaia and starts moving most of his
army back there.

	The spell Melanie left in Brand's study activates, and shows her
Brand entering the room.  He writes something in a journal and then
leaves.  Melanie waits long enough to be reasonably certain that he's not
coming back, then tells Tianen that she's leaving.  Tianen tells her to
stay out of it.  Further questioning reveals that when Tianen was
wandering around killing her lovers, she accidentally woke Brand up and
set him free.  Doh!  She offers to come with Melanie, but Melanie doesn't
think Tianen will be welcome in Amber.  Even when she's sane, which she
isn't now.  Tianen threatens to blow Melanie's cover, but changes her
mind, just because.  Melanie checks out Brand's study and finds a fable in
the journal, telling of a man who wronged the universe and was wronged in
return.  Or something like that.  She puts the journal back, along with
the journal on how to become a living Trump, and Trumps to Shandril's
labyrinth.

	Fiona finds Sandr drawing Trumps in Amber.  She doesn't think much
of his artwork and asks him to act as Bleys' liaison, since Bleys is not
speaking to anyone.  He agrees, since no one says no to Fiona, at least
not more than once.  Flora is more than happy to get rid of Bleys, who has
been placed in charge of replanting Arden.  Sandr sets about
requisitioning the necessary supplies.  He also Trumps Archi and fills him
in, so Archi won't be alarmed when an army of gardeners appears in Arden. 
Then he sets off for a Shadow of Sandr-worshipping gardeners.

	Mok pulls Cameron through to Amber and tells him about how Corwin
got his naughty bits blown off.  You can imagine the rest.

	Archi wants Benedict found.  Wouldn't we all?  He gets Trumped by
Shandril, while no one else is around.  Coincidence?  Not.  She offers her
allegiance to him.  He's a little bit leery, since hers was one of the
armies that invaded Amber.  She says that was because Finndo was the only
king who would acknowledge her.  Archi looks confused, so she explains
that Eric was her father, but he raised her as just a servant.  She offers
the secret of how her army got into Amber in exchange for clemency.  Archi
figures that if he could pardon Sandr, he can pardon her.  But if she ever
crosses him...  She comes through and tells him that her army entered
through the sea caves at the base of Kolvir.  He asks if she knows where
Maron is.  She admits that she knew where he was, but isn't certain now,
and won't say who moved him.  She does reveal that he's alive, is the
drawer of the Halybard Pattern, and, oh yes, Brand is out and about. 
Archi isn't thrilled about this news, nor about her relationship with
Maron, since Maron is obsessed with his wife.  He wants to know what
powers Maron has.  Well, he's created a pool in his universe, within which
one can become a living Trump, but other than that...  He asks her about
her involvement in the Ulysses/Ygg incident, but she claims she wasn't
responsible.  He suggests she might want to pass that along to Ulysses.

	Corwin tells Archi that the children of the dead Amberites should
be elevated to their parents' position.  So it's Prince Mok and Princess
Shandril now.  Flora and Ulysses are placed in charge of the funerary
services.  Corwin suggests Archi talk to Laughter about what her position
will be once Archi is crowned.

	Since Corwin turned him down, Mok takes Cameron home with him
instead.  Don't ask.  You really don't want to know.

	Shandril Trumps Ulysses in Foil.  He proceeds to blame her for
hanging him from Ygg.  She denies this, and shows him two Trumps that fit
the description of those Ygg said were responsible.  One is a form of
Tianen's.  The other is Perseus, Head of House Atherton, and Ulysses'
father, which makes Ulysses the heir apparent.  Ulysses is not pleased. 
Apparently Tianen convinced Perseus that Ulysses needed to be hung from a
tree after being bathed in the fountain.  Perseus is ill, and not thought
to be long for this world.  He's had 20 daughters, one of whom was
Tianen's great-grandmother.  So they're related, albeit more distantly
than some in Amber.  Ulysses doesn't handle the news well and becomes
irritable.  Shandril gets sick of being pushily questioned and tries to
leave.  Ulysses blocks her from Trumping out, so she Logruses back to her
Shadow.  He Trumps Perseus, but can't get through.

	Maron finally wakes up.  Melanie gathers Eve and they head for
Maron's universe.  She tells him along the way who's dead and who killed
them.  An attempt is made at getting him to forget about Laughter, but he
doesn't want to discuss it.  Melanie asks after his living Trump pool.  He
won't let her bathe in it, but loans her the second eye of the Serpent
instead.  Melanie's eyes light up like there's no tomorrow.

	Sandr arrives in Arden, gardeners in tow.  He turns them over to
Bleys and returns to Amber.  Archi conjures Sandr's medication, and locks
it in his desk, so Sandr can't sneak more than he needs.  He waits for
Sandr to take the stuff before telling him that Brand is back.  Good idea.

	Mok works with Cameron on creating Shadow-shifting mecha.

	Melanie Trumps Tianen and asks to be taken to the Atherton
Pattern.  Introductions are made to Perseus, who bears a noticeable
resemblance to Ulysses.  He gives her permission to walk the Atherton
Pattern, and even to take the eye with her, after she points out that she
would have sent someone else if she intended to use it to destroy his
Pattern.  Perseus figures he won't be around long enough to witness the
havoc that she'll wreak, anyway.  She manages to walk the Atherton Pattern
with great difficulty, but can't attune herself to the eye.  Something to
do with the lack of anything inside to assist her.  She can still use it
to draw a Pattern, though.  Or erase one.

	Archi asks Laughter why she chose to tell Maron that Ulysses was
the father of her children.  She tells him that Ulysses seemed the most
likely one, which does not make Arthur, I mean Archi, feel any better. 
They discuss her future role and how good a king Random was.  Archi is
unsuccessful at getting her to agree to wear a dress, even in private,
except for the coronation and her children's christening.  She offers to
wear one more often, if he makes her supremely in charge of Arden.  He
distracts her from this line of thought in his own special way.

	Melanie stashes the eye at Ygg and Trumps Sandr.  She breaks the
news about Brand to him, only to discover that he already knows.  Which
takes all the fun out of it.  They argue about power, oaths, and whether
Melanie is going to the coronation.  She hasn't been invited, you see, and
there's that oath of loyalty...

	Ulysses Trumps Archi from Ygg, interrupting his sleep.  He informs
Archi that Benedict can be retrieved with the Jewel.  And a lot of pain,
but Ulysses doesn't mention that.  Archi asks him to make sure that
Melanie is invited to the coronation.  Ulysses Trumps Flora and asks who
she hasn't reached yet.  The list includes Sylvie, Melanie, and Cameron. 
Basically, everyone's favorite Chaosites.  Oh yeah, and Caine too. 
Ulysses invites him first.  Then he Trumps Melanie, but is blocked.  He
looks for her with a Pattern lens, and damned if she isn't right on the
other side of Ygg.  He invites her to the coronation, before she can get
away.

	Melanie Trumps Archi, interrupting him once again.  She gives him
time to get dressed before coming through.  She asks what the oath will
entail, and agrees to swear not to harm Amber, or him and his, provided
they don't harm her and hers.  Vague enough for you?  Good.  Melanie
doesn't count Brand as one of hers for the purposes of the oath.  They
discuss Brand's return, and how he might be stopped or contained.  And, oh
yeah, she has access to one of the things they need to destroy the
Patterns, and it's all theirs, if they agree to certain conditions.  Now
all they need is a living Trump.  I wonder where they could find one?


Quotables:

"Our plan is just to scare them, right?" -- Mok to Archi, referring to the
two armies still occupying Amber

"If (the demons) eat any of the populace, they're dead." -- Archi to
Laughter, about her new guards

"My dad's dead." -- Mok
"So is mine." -- Archi

"I will procure cookies, in one of the multitudinous ways that exist to
procure cookies in this game." -- Ulysses to GM

"Which parent are you my sibling of?" -- Mok to Shandril

"One of those armies was mine." -- Shandril
"The one that left, or the one that was just here?" -- Mok

"Well, I guess anyone I don't have, I'll do." -- Sandr to GM, referring to
Trumps

"I'm off to find a Shadow of gardeners that worship me as a god." -- Sandr
to GM

(Maron's) not on my happy list." -- Archi to Shandril

"Thank you for not frying my brain.  I do appreciate it." -- Archi
"That would not be a gesture of good will." -- Shandril

"I feel warm and fuzzy to be nothing." -- Sandr

"I'm not inbred either.  Just everyone I'm related to is." -- Melanie