Session 134
Discworld, year 27, day 211 continued
Evening
Meander had no trouble reapplying the geas. I don't suppose there's
any reason he would, but I'm afraid I was feeling rather paranoid. Maybe
I've been living in Amber too long. Of course, the fact that there are
vampires roaming around the city might have something to do with my
paranoia.
Amber
I must admit, I knew trying to assume a faerie form would be
difficult, but I thought having spent so much time in one already would
help. And maybe it has, but I'm still finding the whole process rather
challenging. I know how I want to wind up, but it's the process of
getting there that's difficult. I don't just want to look like a faerie,
I need to *be* a faerie. And it appears that's going to take me more than
one night. But I have to figure it out. With the recent vampire
activity, being able to assume a form that they can't see could be a life
saver. And I don't think that when I'm running for my life would be the
best of times to try figuring it out. Maybe I'd be having better luck if
I was trying to assume Loryn's form, rather than a faerie version of my
own. But I'd rather avoid using her form, if I could. I think Lucien
worries that I spend too much time thinking of myself as Loryn anyway, and
this probably wouldn't help. I'd rather be myself while a faerie anyway,
instead of walking around in the body of a dead woman. It just wouldn't
feel right.
Amber, year 27, day 212 (Thursday, November 24, 4)
Morning
Reeshau was at breakfast. How unusual. Especially since it wasn't
just Reeshau in Alex's body, but he even *looked* like Reeshau. That's
never happened before. Not that Alex isn't capable of doing it, but he's
certainly never wanted to do it before. He hates having Reeshau in his
head, and anything that reminds him of it. Why this change, I wonder?
Could it be related to bringing back the Disc? I could ask him, I
suppose, but somehow I doubt Alex will want to talk about it.
I knew it! I knew that must have been Lucien. Ishmael admitted that
his sword hasn't been affected by the loss of conjuration. Which means
that couldn't have been him the other night in the Pattern room. Hah!
Got him! I can't believe Ishmael was willing to get himself all cut up
for a fight he wasn't even in. Then again, he's always been a
masochist.
OK, so maybe I shouldn't have told Ishmael that I was on to him. I
haven't been this sore since the workouts I used to have with him when we
were guarding Ygg. When did he get so fast? Or am I just getting slower?
Maybe I have been getting lax in my workouts recently. Or I'm just
getting older. No, that can't be it, Ishmael's older than I am. I
wonder, do Amberites slow down at all as they age? Probably not. I don't
know how old Uncle Benedict is, but I'm sure he's over 1,000, and he
certainly hasn't slowed down. And Lucien can move pretty fast when he
wants to, 3,000 years old or no. No, whatever the reason, it certainly
isn't my age. Maybe Ishmael's just had more time to practice recently
than I have. Between the children, the hospital, and my classes, there
hasn't been a lot of time left for other things. Not that Ishmael doesn't
have classes and children as well, but he has less of them, and I suspect
Maddy does most of the dirty work where the kids are concerned.
Afternoon
And to think that Jessica was such a cute baby. Now she's setting my
dress on fire and saying what a great sacrifice I'd make. I guess blood
will tell. Her father's continued association with demons probably hasn't
helped, either. I'd almost consider his vampire problems to be a form of
karmic retribution, if it didn't pose such danger for the rest of us as
well. I feared there would soon be more of them. Gavin's lucky he wasn't
killed last night. Of course, given his luck, why he thought walking into
one of their traps was a smart idea is beyond me. It's a good thing he
was able to reach Shard. I almost offered to contact him for Gavin, to
find out what happened to the vampire he was fighting last night, but then
I remembered Nicholas' edict. I've got to do something about that. It's
been almost five years, and given the current circumstances I suspect I'm
going to need to speak openly with Shard on occasion.
I wish I'd known that Caine would be reading Nicholas' messages. I
mean, I knew he was depressed, but I didn't think he was incapable of
reading his own mail! At least Caine rescinded the edict, but I resent
his commentary on the matter. Nicholas didn't issue the edict because of
anything I did, he issued it because of what Shard did to Ishmael. It's
not my fault that Shard is attracted to me. I would give anything to
change that, for him to find someone who could return his affection. But
then, since when has love ever given a choice to its victims?
Evening
Meander has found me a witchcraft tutor. That was certainly fast.
I'm a little nervous about what this woman is actually like, however.
Meander mentioned that he had a hard time finding someone who was willing
to teach outlanders, and there was something in his tone as he wished me
luck... It almost sounded like a warning. What sort of witch has he
found?
Now I understand why he wished me luck. Granny Witherall
is...well...hard to describe. She actually wears a pointy witch hat. And
she smells of whiskey. Poor Whimsy. Apparently her table manners are
also rather lacking. I think learning from her would be a trial, but I
guess it's not something I'll be finding out for myself. She refuses to
teach me. Says I smell like an elf. Which is apparently her way of
saying that I know how to use faerie magic. And she won't teach me until
I've rid myself of it. As if I would, even if I could. I'd rather lose
my arm. It never occurred to me that such a thing would matter. Then
again, they limit what kind of magic you can learn based on your sex, so
why should one more pointless limitation surprise me? For all I know,
even if I did rid myself of faerie magic, Granny might detect my faerie
soul and still refuse to teach me. I decided not to make a fuss about it.
If I'm lucky, Whimsy might be able to teach me later on. Why jeopardize
her chances by creating a problem now? Whimsy needs this more than I do
anyway, since she'll never be able to use faerie magic again. Not as long
as the Faerie Ward remains a part of her. Still, it is rather
disappointing. To go through all of the effort to bring the Disc back,
and not be able to use its magic... Well, that isn't the only reason I
brought it back, or even the main one. Even if I can't learn witchcraft,
it will have been worth it, just for the opportunity to see Looks Twice
and the others again.
Lasker is behind the recent spate of vampire activity. I knew it!
But I find no joy in being proved correct. In some ways, it almost would
have been easier had it been an unknown vampire. Well, easier for me.
Perhaps not for Amber. At least this way we know how he got here. The
question, what do we do now? According to Gavin's man, they grow in
number every night. People must be warned, or else they will keep growing
until they have an army. And then there will be too many of them to
fight. But how do we warn people without causing a panic? I wish I had
an answer to that one. Hopefully Caine or Random does. I wonder if
Nicholas even knows this is happening?
I've made some more progress on achieving my faerie form tonight.
It's still going slower than I'd like, though. I tried asking Lucien what
I'm doing wrong, but he says it's something I have to work out myself.
Apparently shapeshifting is only similar amongst people up to a certain
level of study, and I've moved beyond that point. After this, he can give
me suggestions, but how I do it isn't necessarily how he'd do it. I
suppose that makes sense. Healing abilities like mine are normally
developed by shapeshifters at about this point in their study, and I
worked those out on my own. I just did it a little earlier than I should
have been able to.
Amber, year 27, day 213 (Friday, November 25, 4)
Morning
Granny Witherall and Reeshau appear to be brother and sister, and they
definitely have it in for each other. That's all this family needs,
another pair of squabbling siblings. And it sounds like Whimsy may have
been caught up in it. When Alex asked Granny about some flowers she left
him, she said he'd have to ask Whimsy what they did. Whimsy just doesn't
seem to have any luck at all where flowers are concerned. The last time,
she nearly set me on fire. Gods, I hope she's not in a similar state now.
Who knows what she might do?
At least it was only an inebriation spell. Whimsy still looks quite
displeased about the matter, however. I don't suppose I'd feel any
differently, in her shoes. She says the flowers are still in the hallway
outside of Alex's room, and she wants me to dispose of them. I don't
particularly like the idea of trying to move them, lest I get caught in
the spell as well, but we can't just leave them lying out where they can
affect anyone who comes along. I just hope I can hold my breath long
enough to get rid of them.
No wonder Whimsy was so pissy. It's not an inebriation spell, it's a
lust spell. What did she do to poor Edwin, I wonder? And why didn't she
warn me about it? If I hadn't encountered that page, I might never have
known that she lied to me, at least not until it was too late. That poor
page... Not that I minded being looked at like I was the most beautiful
woman alive, but I suspect Lucien wouldn't understand if I let the boy get
the spell out of his system. Fortunately, I was able to move away before
he did something he would regret later on. There's still the problem of
getting rid of those flowers, though. A spell to create a giant gust of
wind would be perfect, but sadly, that's not a spell I know. I suppose I
could try a dispel. I'll have to be careful, though, since I'm not quite
sure how faerie magic and witchcraft interact. The dispel might work, or
nothing might happen, or the two magics might combine explosively. I
think I'll try the dispel on a small part first, just in case.
"Outrageous Fortune"
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