Session
24
Amber, year one, day 136 continued
Morning
I did not get much sleep last night. I collapsed on a cot after
we finished working on Ahab, in hopes of at least being able to rest until
morning. Hoped in vain, as it turns out. Ahab awoke in the middle of the
night and decided to determine whether his hearing had returned. It had
not, but he made enough noise in the process to wake me up. I made
psychic contact with him and told him he was being rather loud. We talked
for a while, until he grew tired again and fell asleep.
He told me why Rygat chose to make such an example out of him. He
wrote her a letter, insulting her in great detail. After hearing what he
said, I am not surprised Rygat reacted the way she did. I probably would
have done the same in her position. Ahab seems to harbor the mistaken
belief that he actually accomplished something by all of this. He thinks
that, if nothing else, he delayed Rygat by causing her to waste time on
his punishment. However, Ariadne says she simply used a pre-existing
spell on him, which means I doubt she spent much time on him at all.
I wish I knew why Ahab does these things to himself. Maybe he
feels insignificant in the present conflict, and this is his way of
changing that. After all, he did manage to get Rygat to respond to him
specifically, even if it only was for a few moments. If so, I hope he
learns to overcome this problem, before it gets him killed. Challenging
Rygat in the manner he has been accomplishes nothing, despite what he may
think. If there was a plan to take advantage of her distraction, then it
would be worthwhile, but as it is, all he accomplished was to injure
himself badly, at a time when we need every fighter we can get. And then
he has the nerve to complain that he is bored! Under other circumstances
I might feel more sorry for him, but he knew the probable outcome when he
wrote that letter, and now he must live with it. I do not envy the person
who must explain this all to Deirdre.
With Ahab safely sleeping, I thought to get some rest of my own
once more. Unfortunately, my sleep was neither long nor restful. I had
nightmares of Patternfall, where events turned out far worse than they did
in reality. In one, when I reached to take the Jewel from Brand, he
pulled me into the Abyss with him, and we seemed to fall forever. In
another, I watched as the Chaos army slaughtered everyone around me.
Ahab, Shard, even Felix, who was back in Amber during the real
Patternfall. And all the while, there was this horrible laughing, coming
from all around me. To be honest, I felt almost grateful when Mebd's
screaming woke me up. It is unusual for me to dream so vividly. I hope
that they were simply dreams, and not omens of what lies ahead.
Mebd's screaming proved to be caused by nothing more than Alex
using the Logrus in front of her. He decided it would be easier to use it
to lift a heavy object than to use his hands. Mebd apparently thought he
was some sort of sorcerer and raised quite a fuss. Really, I am surprised
that Heather has not explained these things to her daughter. Or rather
her adopted daughter, if Alex is to be believed. It is fortunate that
Mebd reacted the way she did, for I learned several things of interest
from Alex. For one thing, it seems that the Logrus can be used like an
extra pair of arms, only with much more strength. As far as I know, the
Pattern has no similar ability. Also, it seems that Mary is Heather's
lover. I find it rather ironic that the woman who was berating me for my
sexual practices has such unusual partners of her own. Mebd apparently
has not figured out Mary's relationship with Heather. When she does, I
hope to be there to watch the confrontation.
Shard and Merlin were also in Mebd's room. Merlin quickly left,
but Shard stayed and tried to calm Mebd down. Afterwards, he approached
Alex and I, claiming that Heather was planning on doing something stupid
involving the Logrus. He wanted us to help him stop her. Now, I may have
decided to refrain from open hostility towards Heather, but if she wants
to kill herself, I will not stand in her way. Alex was equally
unenthusiastic. I pressed Shard for more details, but, of course, he had
none to offer. He believed Merlin knew more, but we were unable to find
him. He certainly did not want to be found, for he left pools of Logrus
all over the Castle, to prevent Alex from locating him. The stench was
overwhelming. I am going to have to have a talk with that boy. Realizing
that we were unlikely to find Merlin, Alex and I both decided to go back
to sleep. Eral only knows what Shard did. I was much too tired to
care.
The rest of my sleep was short but free of nightmares. I awoke
shortly after sunrise, when Ahab decided to test his hearing again. I
told him to shut up, which is when he started complaining of boredom.
Ariadne arrived soon afterwards, and Ahab told her about his letter to
Rygat. She seemed to feel the same about the situation as I did. She
also gave me my first news of Felix's return. I have yet to discover how
he and Gérard were able to escape, or if Flora came with them. I
tried to Trump Felix to ask him, but he blocked me with that device of
his. I wonder if there is any way to circumvent it? At the time, I did
not feel like trying. After all, given what Rygat did to Random, his
response is understandable.
Julian has regained consciousness and there does not seem to be
any noticeable brain damage. Not that I had much opportunity to test
this, since he was his usual surly self. He asked to speak to the Captain
of his guards. I am afraid that the battle in the courtyard prevented me
from relaying his request.
Ariadne, Alex and I first became aware of the attack when we heard
gunfire. Ariadne went directly out the window. Since I lack her
shapeshifting abilities, I was forced to take a more mundane route to the
conflict. Oddly enough, Alex followed me up the stairs to the
battlements, as opposed to going with Ariadne, even though he is a
shapeshifter as well. Then again, given what happened to Ariadne, perhaps
it is not so odd. From what I observed from the battlements, Rygat sent
six of her fighters to attack us. I do not know how they got so close to
the Castle, or why so many of my relatives were in the courtyard with
them. When we arrived, Gérard lay unconscious on the ground, Eric
and Driscoll were each fighting a Chaosite, two Chaosites were spraying
the area with bullets, and two more were on the ground. One of the ones
lying on the ground cast a spell that caused Ariadne to be engulfed in
lava. It is fortunate that she was the target, for I do not think many
others could survive such an attack. As it is, it is not certain that
Ariadne will recover. Felix quickly incapacitated the spellcaster, while
Alex used the Logrus to assist Ariadne. Armed only with a crossbow, there
was little I could do, as my bolts could not penetrate the Chaosite armor.
I attempted to shoot the gun away from one of the Chaosites, but only
managed to destroy his aim. Felix tried shooting the same Chaosite with a
gun, but his bullets fared no better than my crossbow bolts. Realizing
this, he picked up a wagon axle and used it to help Driscoll defeat his
opponent. Felix's intervention was most timely, for I do not think
Driscoll could have held off the Chaosite for much longer. Eric was able
to dispose of his opponent alone.
I believe the sorceress may have survived the attack, but she is
the only one. Driscoll will have to decide what to do with her. Eric
says Gérard will live, which is good news for all of us. We cannot
afford to lose anyone right now. As I take this opportunity to gather my
thoughts, I find myself in agreement with Eric about one thing. I wish
Corwin had not brought gunpowder to Amber.
"Outrageous Fortune"
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All text on this page is © 1993-1994 by Kris Fazzari.
Last modified on April 5, 1994 by Kris Fazzari.