Session Eighteen
	   You aren't paranoid if they really are out to get you

	Stuff happens that the game log didn't record, mostly because the
normal game log was gone, and no one else wanted to do it.

	Lilith seeks Colin, wondering what excuse the GM will come up with
to explain his absence.  He's not in his room, but lots of blood, a
crossbow bolt, and a rigged crossbow are.  Most of the PCs decide that
they should not miss any games if they can help it.  Alastair conveniently
stops by while Lilith is Trumping Gabriel on the matter.  Gabriel and
Alastair investigate.  Alastair determines that the blood is Colin's.

	Alastair senses Farad casting a spell on the statue Gabriel
brought back from the Abyss.  He informs the others, then goes to check it
out, along with Duncan, who was briefly in Colin's room.  To be honest,
probably the only PCs who weren't in Colin's room were Farad (casting the
spell), John's new character (in the statue that Farad is casting the
spell on), and Rasa (because Mer wasn't there).  Alastair summons lots of
guards, but lets Farad continue.

	Lilith quizzes Gabriel on what he's found.  Gabriel decides the
attack on Colin really isn't a threat to Amber, so he dumps the job on
Alastair.  Lilith asks him to tell Benedict that she wishes to have a
means of contacting him, in case Gabriel is incommunicado again.  Right,
he'll pass it on.  She goes back to her quarters, raises Pattern, and
focuses on Colin.  She winds up in Colin's quarters, gives up, and joins
the statue crowd.

	Farad releases a man who looks much like Finndo.  He won't give
his name (mostly because John hadn't come up with one for him yet), and
refuses to believe that he's in Amber.  He asks to see Oberon.  Well... 
During this, Gabriel Trumps Lilith, and tells her that he thinks Colin has
designs on the throne, and he doesn't trust him.  Swell.  Mr. No-name is
taken to get some food, accompanied by Lilith and Duncan.

	Farad seeks out Gabriel.  He wants to know why Gabriel retrieved
the statue from the Abyss.  Well, it had the seal of the Unicorn on it. 
Gabriel asks if Lilith removed the arrest warrant on Farad.  Farad claims
she has, and we all know that Farad never lies.

	Lilith is Trumped by Rasa, who says she's going into Shadow to
practice shapeshifting.  She seems sad.  Lilith tells her of Colin's
disappearance, and asks her to look for him, since she's been so
successful at finding people lost in Shadow so far.  Lilith goes back to
eating, but gets no peace, as Alastair Trumps her and asks for an update
on stuff.  He's still looking into the Colin thing.

	Mr. No-name finds his name in a baby book of names, and reveals
that it's Sean.  Surprise, surprise, he's Finndo's son (I'm sensing a
trend here with John's characters).  Finndo vanished about a week ago, as
far as he remembers.  Guess he's been out of it for a while.  He won't say
who imprisoned him, but it wasn't a family member.

	Farad looks for Colin, and finds the blood.  Alastair asks what
he's doing there.  Looking for Colin.  He won't say why.  Alastair
questions him further, but gets nowhere.

	Gabriel meditates in the Grove of the Unicorn.  The unicorn
appears and nods to him.  Helpful as ever, isn't she?  Gabriel goes to his
wife's grave, but there's no message from Rachel.  Yes, he killed Rachel
in the Abyss, but I guess he's hoping it was an impostor.

	Gabriel Trumps Lilith, who gives up on ever finishing her meal. 
He says he's going to be in Shadow for a while, and suggests she speak to
Zack, his second in command, in his absence.  Then he stabs her through
the shoulder and comes through.  Sean is confused and leaves.  Lilith
defends herself and yells for the guards.  They are confused when Gabriel
tells them to leave.  Lilith realizes that this person does not fight as
well as Gabriel, which is good, because she'd be dead otherwise.  Duncan,
Farad and Alastair arrive, and Duncan engages "Gabriel."  Gabriel shifts
to a strange form, and lets fly with poison spikes, aiming at Lilith, but
hitting Duncan and Farad instead.  Ow.  They fall unconscious.  Many
guards pour into the room, along with Sean, and the shapeshifter
disappears into the crowd.  The room is sealed, and attempts are made to
Trump people, etc., but Trump is blocked.  Alastair examines the room, but
everything seems distorted.  Sean somehow pulls Gabriel through, despite
the Trump barrier.  Alastair and Lilith notice something odd about a
table, so Sean makes it vanish, somehow.  Things clear up for Alastair,
who finds that no one in the room is a shapeshifter.

	Lilith has an audience with the princess of some Golden Circle
kingdom, who bitches about the loss of trade due to the destruction of the
two Shadows that Farad destroyed.  She's also not happy about the fact
that she has to marry before she can become Queen.  Lilith suggests she
find a husband quickly, in that case.  She'll look into the other stuff.

	Much paranoia ensues, as Alastair Trumps Lilith, who is with
Gabriel and Duncan.  Lilith refuses the contact, so Alastair forces the
issue, and tells her that he has Gabriel with him.  Lilith breaks the
contact, and tells the Gabriel with her of this.  Alastair Trumps Lilith,
again, and she resists, again.  This time Sean opens the contact, although
he does so without forcing it.  Gabriel tries to go near Lilith, and
Duncan blocks him.  Alastair urges Lilith to come through, and she
refuses.  Farad uses Mind Touch to knock Lilith out and break the contact. 
Gabriel picks her up, and proceeds with her and his guards to her
quarters.  She wakes up and demands to be put down.  Gabriel does this
thing.  Farad shows up, and Gabriel is informed that the arrest warrant on
him still stands.  He tells Farad to place himself in the dungeons.  Farad
fails to do this.  Alastair and Sean arrive.  Gabriel suggests that they
all walk the Pattern, since a shapeshifter will shift when walking it. 
Alastair writes Lilith a note, asking if she has the Jewel, since it will
be useful.  Nope.  She'll explain what happened to it after they've done
the Pattern test.

	Farad walks the Pattern, and sits down in the center.  Alastair
follows, and is attacked by Farad via Mind Touch, when he reaches the
Third Veil.  Farad mindrapes Alastair, then lets him go.  Alastair rejoins
the others, and then Duncan begins.  After he returns, Gabriel goes, after
Lilith agrees to stay within his sight.  When he reaches the center, she
asks him to bring Farad back with him.  Farad won't go, so they bicker. 
Sean tells Alastair to Trump Farad, if they want to get him off the
Pattern.  Alastair does so, Farad resists, then Sean does that open
contact trick.  Farad begins pouring Pattern energy into Alastair, who
smolders.  Sean brings Farad through, somehow.  Lilith then walks the
Pattern, and shimmers briefly into another form at each Veil.  She rejoins
the others, who figure she's not even as good a shapeshifter as Rasa, so
she can't the shapeshifter they're looking for.

	Farad Trumps to the Great Hall, Trumps Eric, and fails.  He heads
for Shadow Earth.

	The others discuss what they know.  Lilith explains what happened
to the Jewel.  Gabriel claims that he did Trump Lilith and tell her that
he was leaving, but he ended the contact after that.  Lilith noticed no
difference in the contact between when Gabriel claims to have ended it,
and when "Gabriel" attacked her.  Alastair's mysterious source says that
the shapeshifter is of Benedict's generation.  They also know that he's
exceptional in Trump and shapeshifting, and possibly knows magic.  In
other words, they're doomed.  Sean tries to Trump Dworkin, to determine
who might have instructed this person, but the Trump is blocked.  Lilith
has Duncan give Sean Oberon's Trump, which he finds non- functional, due
to the death or change of shape of the person depicted.  Alastair Trumps
Paris, who is in Chaos.  Paris says he was trained in Trump by Sandor,
someone of Suhuy's generation.  Alastair notices that the contact is being
monitored, but it turns out to be Sean.

	Alastair senses someone walking the Pattern in Rebma.  He Trumps
Llewella, who pulls them through, but she's in the city there, which is
still 15 minutes from the Pattern.  Alastair is able to observe the
walker, who keeps shifting shape to keep Alastair from determining who it
is.  Alastair spies many familiar forms, including his own.  Lilith
attempts to Pattern teleport the group to the Rebman Pattern, but they
wind up back in the Amber Pattern room instead.  Alastair begins walking
the Pattern.  Just as he reaches the center, Eric appears there, and stabs
him in the shoulder with Werewindle.  Sean attempts to Trump him, but Eric
drains the energy from the contact and leaves.  Werewindle remains in
Alastair's shoulder.  Duncan begins walking the Pattern towards Alastair. 
Sean Trumps Alastair, who takes the contact and is pulled through, leaving
Duncan walking the Pattern for nothing.  Alastair is brought up to the
infirmary.  Duncan reaches the center of the Pattern, and teleports to his
bedroom, to sleep it off.  Sean determines that the man who stabbed
Alastair was not Eric, but there is not enough residue in Werewindle to
get a good enough impression of him to draw a Trump.

	At the end of the session:

	Farad is in Shadow Earth, looking for Flora.
	Duncan is sleeping in his quarters.
	Alastair is healing in the infirmary.
	Lilith is researching possible siblings of Benedict's era.
	Gabriel is guarding Lilith.
	Sean is in the castle, doing nothing in particular.
	Rasa is in Shadow.
	Colin is missing, and a quart low on blood.
	Bonaparte is still dead.