Session
12
Amber, year one, day 131 continued
Evening
We have learned the name of the man responsible for burning several of
the Unicorn shrines around here. He is called Dalt, apparently another
one of Oberon's children. It seems he raped some woman named Deela, and
Dalt was the result. Not surprisingly, he does not hold much love for
Amber.
We obtained this information from one of Dalt's men. They had set
another shrine on fire, and engaged Julian's forces, so naturally Ahab
wanted to investigate. Not having much else to do, Felix, Ariadne and I
went along as well. We were ambushed. I told Ahab that we should spread
out, but he would not listen. So I had my horse shot out from under me,
and received a crossbow bolt in my leg. Not my favorite way to spend an
evening. We killed all of them, except for one that I shot in the arm.
He tried to slit his throat before we could question him, but I stopped
him before he could complete the stroke. We ripped every shred of
information about Dalt from his mind. Neither Ahab or I felt particularly
inclined to make the process painless. We also learned Dalt's men were to
rendezvous in Kashfa. We decided the man might be useful, so Felix
stitched him up (mental note: I must start carrying suturing materials
myself). I made sure our assailant was awake for most of the experience.
Ambush me, will he?
Thankfully I did not have to ride back to Amber. Felix passed me (and
the prisoner) through to Driscoll via his Trump. Driscoll was actually
quite gallant, and carried me to a bath where I could clean myself.
Between the blood from our prisoner and the blood from my horse (Ahab had
to slice it in pieces to get it off of me), I must have been quite a
sight! Kira certainly seemed to think so. Driscoll stitched my leg up
when I was done, and I reported our findings to Random. He already knew
about Dalt, but not about the rendezvous in Kashfa. Score one for the
younger generation. He had me tell Benedict about the rendezvous, and
Benedict actually paid me a compliment! He said I had done good work,
which is high praise coming from him.
Ahab and the others showed up shortly afterward, along with Alex and
Mebd. Ahab wanted to know if I had talked to Random, but I would not say
in front of Alex, so I told him psychically. I am afraid that Alex was
offended by this, but he does represent Chaos now, and is no doubt
obligated to report what he hears back to their King. Even if he does not
wish to help Chaos, why place him in an awkward position? Oh well, we
will be heading to Bloody Jake's shortly. I am looking forward to the
opportunity to get drunk and relax for a while.
Amber, year one, day 132 (Monday, November 8, 2987)
Early morning
Oh, what a headache I have! I should have known that it is impossible
to relax for long in Amber. Things started well enough. Ahab spared me
the trouble of limping into town by carrying me to the bar. The man
continues to surprising me! One minute he is obnoxious enough to try even
Eral's patience, the next he is amazingly considerate. He did not drink
very much, but given how little he likes alcohol, I am surprised he drank
at all. Coral refrained as well, for diplomatic reasons. She said that
she had her country's reputation to uphold. I think she was really afraid
that she might be taken advantage of by one of the men. It seems that she
was right to be worried, but for the wrong reasons.
My recollection of what happened is rather hazy. I remember Mebd
passing out, and I showed Heather one of our drinking games. There was a
fight. I think it started when someone bumped into Felix, but I am not
sure. At some point after it ended, Ahab said that Coral was missing and
left. Ariadne left too. I am not sure if she left with him or later.
They returned to Amber together, I remember that. Heather tried to draw a
Trump of Coral, but she was too inebriated to do so. She was having
trouble even drawing the correct number of arms on the picture.
Somehow we wound up in the main hall of the Castle - I believe we
Trumped back. Ahab and Ariadne ran by, but would not stop. I tried to
follow them, but I could not keep up. I had not begun to sober up yet,
and I am embarrassed to admit that I began calling out their names, like a
lost child. Fortunately, I began to regain my senses soon afterwards, and
made the sensible decision to head up to my room and lie down. So, of
course, that is when I finally found Ahab. Or he found me. He told me
that Random placed him in charge of finding Coral. He wanted to talk to
Alex, so we tried his quarters. What Ahab suggested to Alex there made me
wonder if perhaps he had consumed more alcohol than I had suspected. It
seems Ariadne believes Coral was kidnapped by Chaosites, and Ahab wanted
to ask Swayvill about it! I cannot imagine what he hoped to accomplish.
If Swayvill was responsible, he would hardly admit it to Ahab. If not, I
doubt he would react kindly to being accused of such an act, even if it
was put politely to him. And Ahab tends to be rather blunt about most
things. Alex and I were not able to convince him that this was a really
bad idea, so Alex brought Mandor in on the conversation. He thought it
was a bad idea as well, but he was very interested in the details of the
kidnapping. And, unless I imagined it, he asked Ahab the oddest question.
He wanted to know if Coral had walked the Pattern yet. Which implies she
is an Amberite. I would guess that it is on her pater's side, since it is
obvious that she is not Orkuz's child. Another lost child of Oberon's
perhaps? We do seem to have been scattered all over Shadow. I am not
sure if Ahab caught the inference. He does tend to be rather focused at
times. I think he wants to talk to Dworkin next. I have my doubts as to
how useful he will be. Maybe if we tell him that Coral is an
Amberite...but he probably knows that already.
I am not sure what to do at this point. I have no idea why Coral was
kidnapped in the first place. Someone seems to be trying to provoke a war
between Amber and the Golden Circle. First Dormel is murdered, and an
Amberite is implicated, then Coral is kidnapped, while with a group of
Amberites. Certainly a Chaosite shapeshifter could have taken on the form
of an Amberite and murdered Dormel. They may be backing Dalt as well. Or
maybe Dalt and Kashfa are behind all this. They also would gain from a
war between Amber and Eregnor or Begman. This is not helping my headache
at all.
I have learned one lesson from all of this. I can no longer afford to
let my guard down while in Amber. Maybe if I was home I might feel
differently, but tonight has illustrated quite clearly that I must remain
alert while in Amber. Maybe this is why Ahab does not drink very often.
I miss the parties we would have at home, where we would drink and love,
and not have to worry about being kidnapped or killed. I can see now that
I will never have such freedom in Amber. I fear I never will again, no
matter where I travel.
"Outrageous Fortune"
Ariana's Page |
Ariana's Diaries
Other PC Diaries and
Contributions
All text on this page is © 1993-1994 by Kris Fazzari.
Last modified on August 5, 1994 by Kris Fazzari.