Session Twenty-four
		"How do we get involved in this stuff?"
		    "Because we dare the infinite!"


	In Dmitri's camp, the negotiators -- Dmitri, Bill Roth, Colin,
Lilith, Farad, Gabriel and Sean -- are growing bored.

	Duncan is nursemaiding the insane Paris, as best he can while
being unconscious.  Paris is raring to go see Random to get the Jewel, but
ultimately fails in his attempt as Random is blocked off by large amounts
of Pattern energy.  So, Paris Trumps Farad instead.

	Alastair is in Castle Amber, and goes to do "a thing in Shadow." 
He is reluctant to tell us her name.  However, along the way, he is
distracted by a disturbance in the Force -- as it is both strong AND
subtle, Farad is not a suspect.  So, Alastair Trumps Sean instead.

	Farad takes the Trump from Paris, who tells him "I think Random is
in trouble!"  Farad is suitably unimpressed.  Paris comes through the
contact, which pleases Dmitri not at all.  Farad takes Paris outside to
talk to him.

	Rasa wakes up, shifts to something with really sharp claws, and
saws herself loose.  She does not admire the decor of the bathroom she is
in, and heads for Amber, the old-fashioned way, when it becomes clear that
she STILL doesn't have any Trumps.

	Duncan wakes up and cleans himself; we applaud the attempt at
hygiene.  He looks around for Alastair, and when Al isn't found, Duncan
Trumps him.

	Alastair and Sean arrive in a Shadow "where people are messing
with weird energy," an energy which Sean doesn't think he can affect.  The
two determine that there is a vortex of anti-Pattern energy, and that it
probably should be worried about.

	Paris tries to convince Farad to accompany him, which he
apparently agrees to as the next thing they do is Hellride off together.

	Rasa finds Duncan in the castle upon her arrival in Amber.  Duncan
is about to Trump Alastair.  They discuss what Paris is up to (finding
Random).  Duncan lends Rasa a Trump of a non-answering Bleys, and when he
reacquires his Trump from her, tries Alastair, and apparently gets
through.

	Farad and Paris come up to the edge of an abyss, and step out onto
a floating platform.  It takes them to a cave, and they go in.

	Alastair and Sean get closer to the vortex thing; Sean Trumps
Random, who is blocked.  Alastair tries to gain some control over the
Shadow.

	Lilith concludes the day's negotiations; Colin teleports them out. 
Dmitri plays with Rasa's Trumps and finds Duncan's.  Since he doesn't know
who he is, he decides to Trump the guy.  (Not the best move.  He coulda
got Fiona.) At Duncan's request, Sean redirects the contact to Alastair. 
Dmitri and Alastair then talk.

	Farad and Paris reach a castle.  The drawbridge falls open
invitingly.  There are two Shadow paths for them to follow.  Farad chooses
the one that goes down.  They find a big mess of Pattern and anti-Pattern,
with a person suspended between them.  That person is Random.  Random
tells them when Paris asks that he doesn't really want to give the Jewel
to someone of Paris' "ilk."  Random continues conjuring something.

	Alastair psychically attacks Dmitri thorough the Trump contact,
until Dmitri breaks the contact.  Alastair asks Sean to get the contact
back.  Dmitri asks his sorcerers to shut all Trump down around him, which
involves lots of spell-work and an unconscious Dmitri.  Alastair turns his
attentions to the Shadow he is in, which is merging with another Shadow.

	Duncan hides as Chaos troops run by... more than 50,000 of them. 
He probably regrets whatever led him to be separated from Alastair and
Sean, who are high-tailing it out of wherever they are in relation to him.

	Something "bugs" Colin, Pattern-wise, so he traces it with a
Pattern-lens.

	Rasa gets hit by an arrow (oh...  surprised?) when she tries to
fly away from the troops that are approaching her.  She was trying to
sneak up on Dmitri's army again.  She wanted her Trumps back.

	Alastair flees lava.  For the second session in a row.

	Lilith, bored at home, Trumps Rasa, and, since she's got an arrow
stuck in her wing, Rasa's more than happy to come through.

	Farad tries to ditch Paris and return to the castle.

	Colin, searching with the Pattern lens, sees Sean and Alastair
fleeing both the fire, brimstone, and demons of hell.  He finds a Shadow
where he can watch it all better.

	Alastair awakens Sean and puts him down, as arrows and sorceries
rain down upon their heads.

	Paris is trying to talk Farad into something, but Farad just goes
home for dinner.  Paris tries to look up Duncan, who always seems game for
stupid expeditions, but Farad keeps messing with his powers.

	Gabriel comes back to the castle from seeking Rasa.  (Actually,
Tony showed up to the session late.) Benedict's assistant Trumps him to
tell him that there is a Shadow with "weird Pattern manifestations out
there."  Again?

	Sean confronts a dragon and climbs onto it, dominates it, and uses
it to rescue Alastair.  Colin loses $20 to himself.

	Gabriel tries to Trump Farad and fails.  He goes to ask Lilith if
there are any sorcerers in Amber.  She tells him Colin is one, but he
seems to have disappeared.  Fortunately, Farad comes in, and Gabriel
convinces him they have to go look at the thing Benedict's assistant
reported.  They get horses and ride off to Shadow Beirstor.  Alastair and
Sean see them and fly over to them.  Farad and Gabriel get on the dragon,
after some worry about the horses.  Colin still watches from afar.  Farad
tries to teleport them away, and only manages to leave by himself.  Trumps
are warm and useless here.

	Farad ends up in Chaos near the Abyss, and sees flying soldiers
nearby.

	Alastair finally notices someone is watching them with Pattern. 
Colin makes Alastair fall off the dragon.  Alastair's thing turns into a
parachute, and Sean flies down to catch him, and they all flee, aboard the
dragon.

	Colin returns to his room in Shadow, and sees that Lilith has left
him a note.  He seeks out Lilith and Rasa.

	Alastair, Gabriel and Sean touch Gabriel's sword, and shift a
Shadow away.  The dragon doesn't come with.  Oops.  As they plummet to
their deaths, Alastair's parachute opens again, and Sean Trumps them to
Amber.

	Lilith Trumps Gabriel.  Gabriel goes through and they all discuss
that big Chaos army.

	Rasa begs Sean for new Trump, which he is happy to oblige, not
being dead and all.  Alastair, Rasa, Sean, Lilith, Colin and Gabriel
discuss the invaders and "anti-Pattern,"  which Rasa and Colin, having
spent enough time with Suhuy, identify as Logrus.

	Duncan has been captured by the invaders.  Again.

	Sean attempts to Trump someone and gets knocked back.  Again.

	Alastair suggests separating the group: half to rescue Farad and
Duncan, half to see to Random.  Sean, Lilith, Colin and the ubiquitous
guards go see Random.  Gabriel, Rasa and Alastair go to rescue Farad and
Duncan.  Paris walks in and suggests that the Farad/Duncan rescuers invite
Dmitri, and before you can spell Mississippi, Paris has Trumped Dmitri to
them.

	Sean, Lilith and Random discover that House Hadyn is responsible
for all of this.  Boy, Random sure runs off at the mouth sometimes.

	Alastair, Gabriel, Rasa, Dmitri and Paris Trump off; Farad shows
up as they are passing through.  Farad wants them to guard him while he
closes the vortex, and they agree to do this thing.  Of course, as Farad
makes the attempt, they are attacked by dragons and bats, and Farad is
countered by a Logrus master, but, with Alastair's help, Farad begins to
defeat the Logrus-master.  Then the worms start to attack.  Shadows of
Dune sprout up across the cosmos.  Rasa manages to sprout wings and fly
people out of the mouth of the worm several times, until Gabriel and
Dmitri defeat most of them by helping them crash into each other.  Farad
and Alastair continue their efforts.

	Duncan is still unconscious in Chaos.

	Colin walks the Pattern and is Trumped by Lilith at the center. 
They merge minds, and attempt to aid Farad.

	Paris turns into a duck and takes Alastair to Chaos.  Alastair has
Paris Trump a Chaos lord, and takes over his mind.

	Rasa, Dmitri and Gabriel flee with Farad when Farad and Colith are
successful.  Lilith and Colin fall into each other's arms in the center of
the Pattern.

	Gabriel tries to go to Ygg, and asks Rasa to help him.

	Alastair, heading through Chaos to find Duncan, writes in blood on
a wall "Prince Farad wuz here."

	Rasa, Dmitri and Gabriel Trump to Ygg, in order to Trump Alastair,
who has found Duncan.  Everyone returns, joyous, victorious and
under-sexed, to Amber.  In the evening, all gather to discuss House Hadyn,
and how Alastair fried the Head of House's mind while he was in Chaos, and
how Gabriel intends to do clean-up on the invaders.

	Thus, everyone is together at the end of the session in the war
room, or the council chamber, or, knowing this group, in the infirmary.