Session Two
Eventually we all seated ourselves, and supper was, quite naturally, interesting. Ronin arrived late, drunk beyond belief. Ronin, by the way, is Eric's son. He hails from some shadow where the men lack the common decency to cover their hairy legs and tend to play instruments that sound not unlike a tone-deaf old woman being beaten to death with a large housecat. After our rescue, he had joined his merry band at some pub to celebrate their success and mourn the loss of two of their comrades, quite forgetting that he had to attend supper with the family. His betrothed, a charming woman by the name of Meyrem Karm, was also in attendance. Wishing to silence him, I used my magic to turn his water into potent Tarrakhan wine. Almost immediately mother gave me a scathing glance and so I explained to her that the meal would be much more peaceful if he were to pass out from drunkenness quickly. He drank a bit, and seemed to enjoy my special brew, but then accidentally spilled it all over his skirt (which he calls a kilt for some reason), and had to be excused from the table. I suspect that his oafish hands are more used to handling beer steins than wine glasses, and so am not surprised at his clumsiness.
After Ronin's less-than-graceful departure (he had to be helped to his room by a servant), supper was more civilized. I made a toast to thank our rescuers, and Nicholas followed with a small speech, explaining the details of how the chasm was created. Apprently, none of them had the slightest clue about the third party that attacked our forces and Zane's at Ygg. I put forth a few questions about the identity of the mysterious villain who attacked at Ygg, and though I did my best to encourage Nicholas to admit his suspicions that Brand was behind the whole affair, he refused to do so. I understand the need for our new king to be diplomatic, but I cannot understand why Nicholas lets that bastard go free. He is responsible for the death of Nimue and our being trapped in Chaos. I want him dead, and soon. It would seem that Ariana shares my interest in this regard; perhaps I should work harder at knowing her.
After supper I retired to my rooms to meet with the seamstress from Amber City. She took my measurements and we discussed clothing styles and colors. It took some time to explain to her that I truly had no interest in being bedecked as a peacock, and would prefer to keep to my usual colors, grey and black. She seemed to want to scold me over this, but one withering glare shut her up fairly quickly. After the seamstress left, I wandered down to the practice room to join Ishmael, per our earlier conversation. We practiced in our usual fashion, he with sword and me with spells. Quite naturally he banged me about a bit, but I think that the burns I gave him more than made up for it. He has taken to rudely claiming that I'm growing 'soft'. I must remember to do something terribly hurtful to him for that. But I am so busy. So many people, so little time.
After practice, I went to bed, and enjoyed a good night's sleep. In the morning, I found that the seamstress had delivered to me some garments to wear until my dresses were done, and so I dressed and headed to breakfast. Ishmael was there and so I sat next to him, though he was in a more obnoxious mood that usual. I noticed also that Ariana and her daughter Jalana seem to be fighting. Ishmael made some crass comment about Ariana having birthing hips, which she overheard. Her reaction to it was plain; for some reason, I saw for a moment and echo of my own pain in her eyes. Ariana left the table, and though she had been ordered by her mother not to, Jalana left shortly thereafter, and so I hurried and caught up with her. She seemed surprised by my presence, and so I asked her to escort me to her mother's rooms. Along the way we talked, and I learned that she was worried about her mother, was worried that her mother and father were fighting. I explained that this was just part of life...that people fought and made up all the time, that it was perfectly natural. She also worried that her mother wasn't eating. I said I would ask about it.
She dropped me off at her mother's room, and then immediately took off. I knocked at the door and Ariana answered. She had been crying, but was quite good about hiding it. I explained that Jalana had lead me here at my request, and then ran off. She offered me tea, and so we sat down and talked. I apologized for Ishmael's comment, and asked why it so distressed her. And then we shared our tales. I told her of the loss of my son, she told me that she had been raped by Brand, who had then sold the baby to Chaos. We talked of many things, and I realize now that we have so much in common. Most interesting was her comment to me, though, about how she was trapped by her children. I am free, you see, and can avoid those things which remind me of my pain. She must live with her children, though they daily remind her of her lost child. It is a sad thing, indeed. Eventually I took my leave of her, after I suggested that she might consider telling Jalana the source of her pain. She disagreed with me on this, and I did not attempt to press the issue. How strong and sad this daughter of Amber; I do not envy her.
Afterwards I went to my room to prepare to go shopping in Amber City with Ishmael. Most important of all I wanted to by a small stand so I could display Lord Hendrake's petrified head, but as I was looking through my belongings I noticed that a piece or two was missing, roughly the size of an arm. I checked he spells and noticed that they were degrading fast, and so I reinforced the spells on the other pieces and began to frantically look about the room. I asked the maid if she had moved anything; she claimed she had not. I asked her if she had seen a rat or strange animal, which mortified her. Then I noticed the open window. Of course it would be open in this August heat. He was in primal form when I petrified him, and now part of him was loose in Amber. In that state it could acquire more mass and become a significant threat. I explained to the maid that I feared I had brought something nasty back with me from chaos, and told her to go get some guards. She ran out immediately. I then trumped mother and explained the situation to her. She suggested I contact Caine; he in turn recommended a woman by the name of Lissa. I did not have Lissa's trump, so I asked a passing guard to fetch her immediately.
Ishael arrived in time to go shopping, and so I filled him in on the situation. Lissa arrived and so I told her about it. She moved to a side parlor and began what she called a 'scan' of the castle, which she said would take hours. Rather than waiting, I conjured some dogs to track down the thing, and began charging through Castle Amber, Ishmael at my side. I passed Flora in the hallways; she screamed for me to stop, but I ignored her. At that point I was less interested in explaining the problem and more concerned with stopping this thing before it killed anyone. The dogs lead us to a bedroom; quite instinctively I knocked. Ishmael laughed inquired as to whether I thought that Lord Hendrake's hand would appreciate my gentility. Realizing that he was right, we both kicked in the door. In the room was Prince Alex. Previous to this I had noted that his left hand was withered and dead...remnant of some unfortunate accident...or perhaps sign of of some other odious habit I have heard is common among men, but now his hand was healthy and restored. I pointed it out to Ishmael and told him to cut his arm off. Alex looked startled and fled into an adjacent room. I immediately lashed out with an asphyxiation spell, but to my surprise it affected him not at all. Apparently this Alex is a shapeshifter of some skill. Before we could take further action, he trumped out of the room and left us alone. Soon enough the castle guards stormed in, their leader demanding explanation. I cut off his questioning and informed him that the Prince Alex was being influenced by a chaosian parasite which had grafted itself onto his left wrist. I dismissed the guards and set them searching for him.
At this point I contacted mother via trump and informed her of the situation. She replied that if the hand of Hendrake had attached itself to Alex, then there was nothing to worry about, as Alex was more than capable of assimiliating it to no harm. I was somewhat dubious about this, but mother is so seldom wrong. And so I explained to Ishmael that the crisis had passed. I dispelled the dogs, and then trumped Alex, explaining the situation and telling him that mother had said he could keep the hand. He was less than pleased, but in all honesty I was really not interested in pleasing him...I'll glad leave that task to whatever scullery maid he has no doubt taken up with. These men of Amber are so trite in their dalliances: demons or drudgery, it's all the same to them. He asked that I repaired his doors; I conjured some in replacement. No doubt they'll fall apart again within a fortnight, but I really could care less.
I penned a quick note explaining that the problem had been solved, and sent it with a guard to Flora. I also asked him to call of the search; the crisis had passed. Thus Ishmael and I continued on to our task, and headed to Amber City. I did my shopping, procured some suitable garments for the next few days, as well as a charming oak stand with which to display my new trophy. I must admit that the hand would have looked nice displayed next to it, but should I wish my prize back, I guess I know where to find it.
When we returned I tracked down Flora and explained the situation in detail. She was very unhappy with me for ignoring her; I did not apologize for my behavior. An Amberite relative unhappy with me...it is a common tale...somehow I think I'll survive the unbearable weight of her disappointment.
When I returned to my quarters, Lissa was still in the adjacent room, appearing lost in concentration. She soon awoke and explained that she found no sign of it in the castle. I told her the story of what had transpired; she agreed that Alex was well-capable of dealing with the remnants of Hendrake's psyche. As we talked that annoying Jesby man from the previous evening came in, bearing an infant. He handed the child to Lissa who began to comfort the child. Ah well...he must be her husband. Hence I restrained my impulse to say something snide to him. Given the hours of intense concentration she had just gone through at my request, it would seem highly ingracious to insult her lover.
Supper was typical. I was feeling a touch mischievous, and being cooped up in the castle all day isn't helping matters. And so Caine and I began sparring after he had made some tacky little comment about Adriana bringing out my more whimsical side. So I animated his dinner (a rather nicely spiced Pheasant with a vegetable medley), which promptly fled his plate and snarled at him. He pinned it to the floor with a dagger. I suppose it was an inappropriate thing to do at the table. Two of the family left; Flora looked aghast; mother was livid. I was relatively quiet for the rest of the meal. I find it terribly annoying how suddenly I am expected to sit up straight, use the right fork, and in general talk less and smile more. If mother thinks I am going to suddenly transform into a quiet little princess of Amber, she is sorely mistaken. On a different tangent, Ariana's faerie children seemed to be watching me all the time during dinner. Strange.
After supper I went to my rooms and spent a good four hours re-casting the spells I had expended in my battle with the Hendrakes. And after that I went to the practice room to see if Ishmael needed a sparring partner. He was downstairs battling Ariana. She had her sword and he was attacking bare-handed. It seemed a fairly even match. Gavin and Vixen were also there, as was her son Renard. She was teaching him how to throw daggers. Precocious child; he cannot speak but she is teaching him to kill. Vixen does not seem to like me much, and now that I think of it, she was one of the two who left the dinner table after my little debacle. How novel, an assassin obsesses with dinnertime propriety. The hypocrisy of Amber is indeed thick tonight. I spoke with Gavin briefly about my inquiries concerning Nimue, and offered to keep him informed should I find anything useful. He is a putz, but perhaps his 'profound mental abilities' will be of use.
Breakfast the next morning was sparsely attended, and afterwards I spent much of the morning studying. Most of the family has gone to the funeral for Ronin's shadow soldiers, I had remained behind. Nothing in the library seemed to give me any answers on the issue of Nimue and how to guard oneself against the Pattern or the Unicorn. And so I sought out mother, who advised me to talk to Nicholas, as he had spoken to Nimue the previous day when he walked the Pattern, or to Bartholomew, who is the priest of the Unicorn, and that wretched little Jesby who is lover to Lissa. Sigh. Why do the answers I need never lie with the people I respect and value? Instead I must consult idiots and dreamers. Such is life in Amber. I have never known mother's advice to be so profoundly useless.
After lunch I had a chance to talk with Teresa about her brother Alex. Apparently he is indeed a capable shapeshifter, and a logrus-wielder, and once wielded her spikard. She warned me that if her ring were to ever disappear, I would know where to look. No doubt on Hendrake's ring finger. She also confessed that our dear Alex has a slight problem with voices in his head, a leftover from his logrus madness. Curiouser and curiouser. I suspect I could tailor a spell to deal with him. Lastly, she told me of Alex's impending marriage. He has been betrothed to one of Lord Feldane's daughters. On a whim, I conjured a card and sent it to him. It read:
Dierdre's funeral was very solemn, at least at first. It was a closed-casket affair, as we had been unable to recover her body from the Logrusways, and the crowd was immense. Ishmael and I kept apart from the crowd during the ceremony, scanning for possible threats. With this many noblemen in one room, it would seem a perfect opportunity for attack. The only anomalies I detected were in Driscoll's pin (which is of faerie origin) and a small cat in one corner of the room. As soon as it noted my scan it called up a defensive shield which blocked me. I later learned that the cat was named Angel and belonged to Gavin. After the funeral I headed to the reception and did my best to mingle with as many golden circle diplomats as I could possibly stand. I am new here and wish to make a good impression, after all, and perhaps this will help mollify mother. I met Leto Barimen, who is Eric's wife and the Countess of Dur, and Lucretia who is of House Borgia, and mother to Teresa and Alex. Both were charming conversationalists and stunningly beautiful as well. Pity that Leto is married to that boor. I wonder what Vixen thinks of this. I also spoke with Meyrem Karm, who was kind enough to update me on all the latest gossip. Now this is a woman I can appreciate. She is given the shabbiest of suitors in terms of the combined Princedom of Amber, and yet she shines forth above it all. She is truly impressive. I must do my part to help her where I can. After a while I grew tired of making polite conversation with everyone and began to head back to my room when I overheard Teresa call out something about "...Ronin's trying to start a revolution in Amber City?!" Immediately the entire reception went silent. Quite naturally I hurried over to Meyrem, who stood not too far from Teresa and Alex. As I watched Ronin approached Teresa and made some comment about needing a noose to hang himself with. I conjured one, which fell over his arm, and then stood and listened. It appears that Ronin has a great belief in a type of governmental rule called democracy, and intends to bring it to Amber. I remarked to Meyrem that this kind of treason could get one hung. Her reply: "Or married." That certainly makes one thing quite clear. I listened to his justifications for a bit, and then wandered over to chat with Ariana, just as Gavin took leave of her.
This marks the end of the second session, feel free to continue.