________________________________________________________________ Message: 23880001, 166 lines Posted: 1:05am EDT, Tue Jun 22/93, imported: 2:37am EDT, Tue Jun 22/93 Subject: Ahab's Fourth Diary To: Kris Fazzari, thari@umich.edu From: jlarke@css.itd.umich.edu Sender: jlarke@css.itd.umich.edu Monday night..... Well, evidently it was actually Thursday in Amber. Sometimes Shadow-lag gets to be a real pain in the rectum. Of course, in retrospect, that was the least of my problems... Ariana vanished shortly after we got in, in a perfect prismatic burst. She looked very surprised. I hate it when inexplicable shit like that happens. Brand, no doubt- he certainly has reason to hate her. Damn. If he can do that at will, bad shit is in store for all of us. Hopefully it was someone else. Eric wanted to see me first, to get my side of the story. Unfortunate phrasing that- I wondered at first whether he was about to accuse me of something. Didn't matter much in the end, though, since all hell broke loose almost as soon as we started talking. A little silver sphere came bursting through the window, straight at me. I don't think Eric even saw it; I just jumped out of my seat. It followed me, though, and before I could get behind cover, the damned thing exploded and the concussion knocked me down. Just to make sure I wasn't having to much fun, it also knocked a bookcase down on top of me. Eric told me that my arm was broken, and for some odd reason I was inclined to believe him without question, just this once. He gave me about a quart of that brandy he swills, and then set the bone. Most everything else that happened that night is a blur now. I dimly recall that Driscoll did a Bad Thing and got lobbed into the dungeon, and some other odd nonsense, but mostly I recall waking up at about 8 the next morning feeling like Gerard was dribbling a boulder off my forehead. Friday morning Gerard always seemed to like me fine, so I figured it was probably a Prince of Amber-sized hangover from Eric's brandy. I decided to consult Felix about the best remedy. He urged food upon me, but a little reflection indicated that perhaps my cousin's advice was not the best thing for me at this time. I decided to go back to bed. When I woke up, late in the afternoon, I realized that I had left poor Zero tied up outside Heather's manor, so I decided to retrieve the poor beast. I went to make sure that the my presence was not required for the "Defense of the Realm" first, though. Eric was worried, but he didn't forbid me to go. I didn't really expect him to, for that matter, but it's wise to tread softly about him when he's in this mood. Mom would kill him if he fucked with me, but with my left arm in a sling, I couldn't hold him off long enough to scream. Eric also asked me to watch Corwin for him, a duty I was not thrilled with. I accepted because he was sure to find someone to do it, and I could cut him more slack this way than I could be refusing. In any case, I wanted to get my horseback first. He told me then that Driscoll, Alex, and the bitch had all escaped last night. Which figures; people tend to be overconfident about the dungeons about here. Anyway, the servants at Finch Manor were absent this time. Not that I missed them much; I just used Morglyph to open the gate instead. I took Zero out of the stables and ground-tied him next to the stallion I had borrowed from Castle Amber, and went to the door to ask Heather what on Earth she thought she was going. The servant tried to stall me, but I was very persistent. The pain in my shoulder was not improving my tolerance for these petty arrogance games. I eventually convinced the wench to let me in, only to get shot in the shoulder for my pains. That was just going too damn far. Something just snapped back in the part of my brain responsible for violence, and I pulled my best imitation of Mom having discourse with Eric. Morgylph made short work of the door, and when I was through, I could see the bitch and her maidservant scrambling away. My left shoulder was already starting to hurt, and the impact had done no good for the healing bones in my arm, but fury and adrenaline kept me up long enough to close the distance and take out about 10 inches of the bitch's innards. Another one of those silver spheres suddenly appeared between me and her. I looked at it in shock for a moment, and that one pause was enough to sotp the adrenaline. I decided that the best thing to do next was to drop to my knees and hope that this one didn't also explode. I didn't. Driscoll and Alex appeared then, and Driscoll started working on Heather. I inquired about the ball, but Alex seemed unwilling to tell me what he knew- even though I threatened to summon in Benedict! The issue was settled when the man himself appeared. He calls himself Mandor, and it seems that the bit with the silver ball last night was aimed at Eric, to serve as a lesson to the rest of us. Since I was bleeding a bit at the time, I was inclined to table the issue. Felix walked in shortly after, to my enourmous relief. With him there to back me up, I convinced Driscoll and Alex to return to Amber under my protection. It is my hope that they have information we can use to save Amber. Alex especially, with his Chaos background, may know much of which we are ignorant. My research in the library has convinced me that the knowledge that remains in Amber is only sufficient to stimulate curiousity, never to solve the problems. I Trumped Eric, and convinced him that it was worth a try. I have sworn that Driscoll and Alex will behave, which is a matter that I must speak to Alex about- knowing that he is from Chaos does little to assure me that I can trust him. But as the old saying goes, needs must when the Devil drives. I went to bed shorty after. Or I think I did; Gerard gave me some morphine when he was treating me, and that was all I needed to quit consciousness for the day. It wasn't doing me any favors anyway. Saturday I went down to breakfast at about 10. I was wearing a robe instead of my normal gear; there was simply no way I wanted to wear my coat over my shoulder today. I hate giving Flora any chance to snipe, so I just explained straight away what the sitiation was. Poor Flora never has been much good when coping with honesty. She and Alex were having a wonderful little chat. When they were done, I decided to grill Alex about Chaos' version of metaphysics. He again waxed evasive, and just as I was going to pin him down, Felix changed the subject of the conversation. Seems Corwin and Eric had a violent argument last night after I was unconscious. Corwin is nowhere to be found; even Mom has not seen him. This is a bad thing. I don't like failing in my trusts, even ones I undertook provisionally. But also- my Uncles are spiteful people. If Corwin's anger at Eric turns him against Amber, it may yet go ill for us. At a time when we are all threatened, the last thing we need is to tie up our strength attacking each other. I must go and find Corwin, and attempt to remedy whatever ill has befallen him- and us.