Chapter Seventy-two: "Just because I'm not going to marry you, doesn't
mean I don't love you."

	Laughter mentions to Fiona that the whole Caitt/Beauty mess seems
to be a trap.  Fiona agrees, but there's only so much she can do right
now, seeing as how Amber is besieged.  Ariana mentions that she can't
reach Mirelle, and asks Fiona if she can look into it.  Laughter untrees
the two Faeries, and brings the dead girl and the three survivors back to
Foil.  Then she sets about dispelling glamours, of which there are many,
with Foster's help.  Ariana passes the time working on her own magic. 
Laughter notices that the magic that was used in the glamours doesn't seem
like real Faerie magic.  Foster checks, and says it seems more like the
standard magic used in Amber or the Courts.  Laughter asks if Foster can
shapeshift other people to be Faeries, or shapeshift himself to be one. 
Nope.  Faeries are real, so it requires a lot of shapeshifting to do that. 
Laughter asks if he has any enemies that would use her to get to him. 
None that he could name.  Riftvan?  Well, he's got more than enough. 
Laughter checks for other gates, but finds none.  Ariana suggests that
maybe the kidnappers treed some of her staff.  Laughter checks, and sure
enough, there are five of them.  She frees them and questions them about
the attack.  They don't remember much, but they saw the magician who treed
them.  It seems to be the same Shadow of Calamus that Laughter encountered
before.  Ariana tries unsuccessfully to get Laughter to leave Song behind,
but all she accomplishes is getting Laughter to take Song back from
Foster.  Laughter spends a couple of hours teaching Foster more about
Faerie magic, and is dismayed to find that he seems to be better than she
is.  Ariana continues working on her new spell.

	Bart and company proceed towards prisoner number two.  They
haven't moved more than ten feet down the hall from Merlin's cell when
Bart spots Logrus through his bifocals.  The Hendrake is most perturbed
when his sword hits Bart's Xeno spell and stops.  He repeats this a few
times, until Bart sends his sword away to that lava pool we know and love. 
The Hendrake then draws his short sword.  Driscoll quickly dispatches him,
but Gabriel is attacked from the rear.  Adam and one of the Helgram guards
remain behind to assist Gabriel, while Bart proceeds down the stairs to
the main level with the others.  They encounter another Hendrake at the
foot of the stairs.  This one deals with Bart's Xeno spell by pulling the
rug out from under him.  He falls, but Driscoll dispatches the guy.  Bart
tries to take the mechanical crossbow that's aimed at the entrance to
Daraways, but it's too big and awkward.

	The rescue party finds a door to a set of stairs leading down, and
it doesn't seem to be ensorcelled.  The bad news is that there are two
very powerful spells where the person they are trying to rescue is, and
neither of them are ones that Mandor warned Bart about.  Merlin doesn't
know what they would be, but might if he was closer.  Bart opens the door
to the stairs, sees two pairs of eyes and hears a growl, and closes the
door.  He looks at everyone else, opens the door, and steps aside.  The
two-headed dog attacks Driscoll.  Bart, Adam and Florian continue down the
stairs.  They hear another growl.  While the dog is occupied with trying
to reach Bart through his Xeno spell, Florian and Adam take it out.  They
find a light, so that the non-shapeshifters can see, and are soon joined
by Driscoll, Shard, Mordecai and Gabriel.  Some of them notice that
descending the stairs seems to have placed them in a different Shadow from
Daraways.  Their target is 100 feet away, so they proceed with haste. 
Suddenly, all hell breaks loose.  Bart sees lots of Logrus flashes, then
more dogs and Hendrake guards appear.  The battle is engaged.  Mordecai is
not doing well, so Bart gives him a Xeno.  Adam, Driscoll and Shard seem
to be holding their own, Gabriel is making a mess, and Florian is
surviving, healing his wounds as he gets them.  Merlin casts his remaining
spells on the guards.

	Ahab, Theresa, and Kimdyl go over their plan one last time. 
Theresa says she'll be able to detect the Jewel, which saves them from
finding someone else for that part.  Ahab wants to wait until Riftvan and
Martin get back.  They decide to get something to eat while they're
waiting.

	Usires wakes up in the infirmary to the most beautiful woman that
he's ever seen.  Flora is wiping his face off, and tells him that he's
been visited by Fiona.  He asks where his relatives are.  She tells him
that his aunts and uncles are around the castle, and his cousins are
around.  He borrows her Trump of Bart, but can't get through, so he Trumps
Caine and joins him at sea.

	Alex goes to the dining room and finds Theresa, Ahab and Kimdyl
there.  Alex makes a smart remark about Mebd being his, so Theresa can't
have her.  Theresa gives him a look, and he decides to back off.  They
each inquire as to what the other is doing in Amber, but thankfully they
don't have much more to say to each other.

	Ethan, via spyglass, notices that the Chaos navy is raising its
sails.  Felix has Ethan ready the cannon and Trumps Gerard, to make sure
he knows.  Felix sees the water shift, like something large displaced it
from below, heading towards Caine's flagship.  He Trumps Caine and warns
him.  The thing is so long that it's still passing by Felix's ship as he
does so.  Just one of its scales seems to be about a foot across.  The
wind picks up and begins blowing inland.  Caine fires all of his cannons
into the water, then his ship sinks down two feet with a crunching sound. 
The creature rears up out of the water and wraps its coils around Caine's
ship.  It looks much like a Chinese dragon.  Caine gives the order to
abandon ship, but remains behind and hacks at the creature with his sword. 
Usires initially stays with Caine, but Trumps to the main hall when Caine
orders him to leave.  Caine and the creature vanish beneath the waves with
Caine's ship.  Eventually, some blood rises to the surface, but nothing
else.  The other ships in the fleet open fire on the advancing Chaos
ships, until they're alongside, at which point grapples, swords and
crossbows come into play.  Felix grabs his sword and kills him some
Chaosites.  He eventually winds up engaging the captain of the ship
grappled to his.  After a fight requiring a bit more effort than most,
Felix beheads the captain and tosses his head back on his ship.  This
serves to enrage his crew quite nicely.

	Laughter drags Foster off alone, and apologizes for not trusting
him, to some degree.  He says she was doing great, up until that last
part.  She says that she never felt unsafe with him.  He says she never
has to.  She figures she's said her piece, and wants to go kill the
kidnapper.  He wants to know if this means she'll still marry him.  Cough. 
Um.  Maybe they should discuss this later.  Or maybe not.  She says she's
not going to marry him for some time.  He wants to know if she's stopped
loving him.  No.  Then why?  She asks why they should get married.  He
thinks they should because they love each other.  She figures he won't
love her any less if they don't, and she doesn't think they know each
other very well.  Foster looks like he's been hit with an anvil.  She asks
how much he really knows about her.  He asks if her conversation with
Ariana has anything to do with this.  No, Ariana didn't tell her anything. 
He looks sad and asks what of the child.  She assures him that she still
wants him to be a part of its life.  He looks like he's getting angry. 
She says that a lot happened between when he walked the Pattern and now,
but she still wants him around.  Lots of people in Amber don't get
married.  This argument doesn't seem to help.  She asks him to say
something.  He doesn't understand why she's doing this.  She says she
hasn't felt like herself lately, like the one who fell in love with a 15
year old boy, and defeated Calamus.  He looks unhappy when she says this,
but doesn't say anything.  They decide it's time to leave.

	Laughter asks Ariana if she's still coming.  Ariana asks why she
wouldn't.  Well, Laughter figures that Riftvan would kill her if Ariana
died.  Ariana disagrees, figuring he'd kill those responsible for her
death.  Foster adds "If he's still alive."  This comment pleases Ariana
not at all.  Laughter, Foster, Ariana, Laughter's men and the Faeries go
back to Dexter, with the Faeries carrying the body of their princess. 
It's evening.  Ariana can't sense the Logrus trail anymore, but Fiona's
device still detects it.  It's fading fast, though.  Laughter is torn
between following the trail, and going to see the King of Dexter.  Ariana
offers to follow the trail with Foster.  Foster no longer seems as unhappy
to be around Ariana.  Of course, he's too shell-shocked to notice much of
anything.

	While everyone else is fighting the Hendrakes, Bart investigates
those two unknown spells on the door.  They are linked, and the ward spell
has to be removed before the other.  Bart does this thing, then finds a
part of the ward spell that he missed.  Doh!  There is a surge of energy,
Adam and Merlin frantically mumble spells, and everyone, other than the
sorcerers, vanishes.  Bart says "Oops!" and asks for Merlin's assistance. 
The second spell is eventually disabled.  Apparently, it would have
disintegrated most of the Shadow if it went off.  Merlin slips Frakir into
the lock, and there's a click.  He steps back and lets Bart open the door. 
They find Rinaldo inside, gagged, blindfolded and tied to a chair.  Bart
grabs everyone and teleports back to Rebma.  Rinaldo freaks a bit, until
Merlin unties him.  Bart asks where the others went.  Merlin has no idea. 
Bart realizes that he's just lost the Crown Prince of Amber.  He notices
that Merlin and Adam are both staring at him, and realizes that he's
female.  He asks them not to tell anyone about this.

	Theresa tells Ahab that the Jewel is in Amber, just off the
harbor.  He Trumps Felix, who moves to a clear spot in the fighting before
answering.  Ahab relays the news and tells Felix to get his archers ready. 
Theresa checks and doesn't find any serious Logrus users near the Jewel. 
She transports Kimdyl, Ahab and Alex to the Jewel via Logrus.  Alex tries
to bring Mebd, but she bounces off a hard Logrus shield.  Guess Theresa
didn't want her along.  Kimdyl takes "Ahab" down and begins fighting off
the nearby Chaosites.  Ahab removes the personality chip, grabs his body
and the Jewel, and Trumps Fiona.  The Jewel disappears right before Fiona
answers.  Ahab goes through and tells her that someone grabbed the Jewel. 
Theresa clears the ship deck with a Logrus tendril.  Ahab Trumps Kimdyl
and pulls her through, then proceeds down to the infirmary with his body. 
Fiona places Ahab's personality chip back in his own body, and he catches
himself up on recent events.  Fiona warns the rest of the family not to
beat up on Ahab anymore, while Ahab goes looking for the bum.

	The naval battle continues.  The opposing fleets are evenly
matched, due to the destruction of Caine's flagship, and the Chaos
fighters tend to be better than the Amber ones.  Felix blows up the ship
next to him, and it suddenly lists.  He notices that this is happening to
several other ships as well.  Eventually, he spots Rebman dolphin riders
in the water, with long, jagged blades.  Felix waves one over and asks if
they've seen the Chaos creature or Caine.  The creature lies dead at the
bottom of the sea, but there is no sign of Caine.  Amber begins driving
the Chaosites off, and in the end they are victorious, although they have
heavy losses.  Felix Trumps Gerard and asks if he's heard from Caine. 
Nope.  Felix relays what he learned from the Rebmans.

	Laughter and her men are met by an armed escort, who demand that
she identify herself and explain why she's carrying their princess.  She
calls herself Lavender of Amber, and says they were both trapped.  They
demand she and her men disarm.  She has her men do this, and puts Sequence
and Song in a saddlebag.  She is told to follow the escort, which she
does.  When they reach the castle, she is separated from her men and
brought before the King, who is wailing before his daughter's bier.  He
asks to hear her story.  She explains about the war in Amber, and how his
daughter was shot.  He asks for the name of the one who killed her, and is
given it.  He offers her information on her daughter's kidnappers, in
exchange for Ariana.  Laughter says she cannot betray her good friend. 
She points out that she never found the ones who killed her niece and
sister during the war.  He tells her that they are long dead.  He will
escort her and her men to the border, but won't have her wandering his
lands.  She owes him that much.  She replies that she owes him nothing. 
He trees her, she frees herself, he trees her again.  By the time she
frees herself for the second time, he has regained his temper.  He tells
her that Ariana's life is forfeit if he finds her, and he has some degree
of power.  Laughter says that Ariana does as well.  He asks if she'd do
the same if she were him.  She repeats that it was a pitched battle.  He
tells her that her daughter was still alive when he saw her, but won't say
any more.

	Laughter and her men are escorted to Foil.  Once there, she Trumps
Ariana and tells her that she's in danger.  Ariana brings her through and
gets the details on Laughter's conversation with the King.  Laughter is
trying to convince Ariana to go back to Foil when Ariana's ring tightens. 
Laughter sees a bunch of glamours surrounding them and tells Ariana to get
out of there.  Ariana Trumps to Amber.  Laughter and Foster continue
following the trail, and are not attacked.  Ariana Trumps Laughter, to
make sure she's all right.  She offers to turn herself over to the King,
so he'll share what he knows of the kidnappers.  Laughter is unwilling to
do this, since she thinks they can find the kidnappers without his help.

	Bart is Trumped by Florian, who comes through with the other
Chaosites.  They don't know what happened to Driscoll and Shard.  Florian
brings them back to the site where the Chaosites were transported, and the
Logrus users start looking for the Amberites.

	Alex contacts Delwin and tells him he pinched the Jewel.  Theresa
joins them and they all leave to bitch-slap Sand.

	Ahab comes across Ariana in the main hall.  She draws her sword,
thinking he's still being controlled.  He assures her that it's him.  She
tells him to turn around, so she can verify that he doesn't have a
personality chip.  He does this, then tells her to drop her sword.  This
inadvertently comes out as a command, and she is forced to drop Alastor. 
She responds by lobbing two steel balls at his head.  They hit him on the
forehead and hurt a lot.  He tells her to ignore the command he just gave. 
She retrieves her sword and eyes him suspiciously.  He fills her in on
what happened, and mentions that he's looking for the bum, so they can
question the guy who took him over.  She offers to assist in this, and
heals the injury to his forehead.  She finds this to be remarkably easy,
implying that high endurance helps her healing magic.

	Felix Trumps into the main hall, and Ahab must turn around and
display his empty jack again.  Felix tells them about the recent naval
battle.  He wants to find Usires, to tell him that his father's lost. 
Neither Ariana nor Ahab have seen Usires recently.  Ahab asks if Ariana
can remove the jack in his head.  She tells him that's beyond her skills,
and shows him that she still has hers.  He asks if Gerard can remove them
surgically.  Ariana says that if he tries to do so in Amber, it's bound to
cause brain damage, since the jacks tap into the brain.  Riftvan could do
it, but he's not back yet.

	Foster and Laughter realize that the Logrus trail is fading faster
than they can follow it while walking, so Foster turns into a large cat
which Laughter rides.  They reach the edge of the Shadow, and Laughter
shifts them further into Faerie, but the trail does not continue there. 
They Trump back to Foil.  Laughter goes to the altar stone in her garden
and motions for Foster to sit down.  When he does, she takes his hand and
tells him she's willing to handfast with him.  He doesn't understand what
this means, so she explains that essentially they would promise themselves
to each other for a year and a day.  It's as binding a commitment as
marriage, but only for that year, and doesn't count as marriage in Amber
or the Courts.  He tells her that he's still leaving House Vetch.  She
understands, but she still doesn't want to marry him.  He asks to think
about it and wanders off.

	Laughter Trumps back to Amber, and joins the group in main hall. 
Ahab displays his empty jack yet again, and decides it's just easier to
tie his hair back.  Laughter has Ahab remove the commands that "Ahab"
placed on her, and fills them in on the dead end she hit with the Logrus
trail.  She also mentions that she told Foster she wouldn't marry him. 
Ariana figures Foster shouldn't have been surprised.  Ahab remarks that
the Vetch's don't understand the same things as decent folk.  Ariana looks
irritated, and goes up to the command center.  There's still no word from
Martin or Riftvan.

	Felix finds Usires and talks to him about his Caine's
disappearance.

	Ahab finds the bum and ties him down securely.  He contacts Ariana
and Laughter, and the personality chip of their enemy is inserted into the
bum.  He wakes up and asks if this is point where they torture him. 
Laughter is more than eager to do so.  He figures he'll deny them the
pleasure and fries the chip.  Ahab and Ariana go digging and find there is
still some information left in the bum's mind.  It turns out that their
enemy's name is Arthur, and he's the son of Corwin and Moire.  He looks
much like Ahab, but with black- green hair.  He walked the Pattern when he
was eight, and it drove him somewhat mad.  He's convinced that Corwin
should be king.  Apparently, he's been in Martin's body for weeks,
monitoring their conversations over Trump, etc.  He was the Shadow of Ahab
that Ariana found in Kalevala.  They also learn that he didn't have Dara
or Lyss under his control, he still thinks Random, etc. is under his
control, he hasn't seen Mirelle, Riftvan or Martin, and he doesn't know
Chaos' plans.  There's nothing on why Ariadne was helping him.

	Merlin finds Driscoll and pulls him to them with the Logrus. 
Driscoll returns to Amber with Rinaldo, to let Fiona know that he's safe. 
Merlin finds Shard, but can't get a hold of him, so he brings them to
Shard's location.  They appear on the battlements of a dark and foreboding
castle.  As they descend, they encounter a pale woman with bright eyes. 
Bart explains that he's looking for a missing companion, and describes
Shard.  The woman laughs an eerie laugh and displays her elongated
canines.  She says that Shard is theirs, now, but if they can get him to
leave, then by all means.  Florian warns them to trend carefully, since
the vampires are as real as they are.  They are taken to a room where they
find an elegant woman, who looks much like Beauty grown up, with Shard
stretched out at her feet.  They explain why they're there.  She asks if
Shard wants to leave.  He says she knows he can't.  Bart thinks this
sounds like he's being forced.  She says it is his perceived confinement. 
She doesn't hold him, not anymore.  Bart speaks privately with Shard, who
says that she made him what he is, and he can't leave until he's not so
new to this.  Bart decides that Shard is coming whether he wants to or
not, and has one of the others Logrus them to Helgramways.  Shard figures
they can bring him back to Amber, so long as they have a coffin for him.

	Delwin and children have trouble cornering Sand, until they decide
to gang Trump her, with the help of the Jewel.  Sand comments that this is
where paybacks are hell, right before they knock her out.  Delwin spends
four hours casting the spell to bind the master Spikard to Sand, then
slips it on her finger and locks her in his old cell.  It even has the
mirror she left him to watch himself waste away, so she can do the same. 
He gives the key to the cell to Alex, who is interested in having a
Spikard.  Delwin warns him they have a life of their own, pulls a ring
with a gray stone out of his pocket, and holds it out.  Alex takes it,
figuring he doesn't need to put in on until he's ready.  He also asks for
the Jewel back.  Oh, that.  Delwin returns it and says he's planning a low
profile for a while.  Theresa plans to be causing trouble here and there
in the Chaos wars.

	Alex returns to Amber.  Ahab and Ariana sense the Jewel's return,
and find Alex making his way to the command center.  Alex is evasive as to
how he got the Jewel, and returns it to Random.  Then he goes to the
infirmary to check on Mebd, who still has a splitting headache from
hitting that Logrus wall.

	Ariana and Ahab tell Random who Arthur is.  Random looks quite
nervous when they tell him that Arthur is a Rebman, until Ariana adds that
he is Corwin's child.  Random thinks Corwin should talk to him.  Ahab
mentions that Arthur is his to kill, and it comes out as a command.  No
one in the room is particularly happy about this.

	Laughter Trumps Mandor and asks for a Logrus master.  He brings
her through and she explains why.  Jordan wants to go.  Mandor gives him a
look, and he shuts up.  Laughter gives a more detailed explanation of
what's been happening, including her near- rape by the likely kidnapper. 
Mandor agrees to let Jordan go, as long as he doesn't tell his mother. 
Laughter Trumps to Foil with Jordan, and he picks up the trail.  He
suggests they get some help.  Laughter figures Ariana, Foster, and maybe
Ahab, will help, now that Ahab's got his body back.  Jordan finds this
last bit amusing.

	Laughter Trumps Ariana, and asks for her assistance.  Ariana is
game, as is Ahab.  Ariana asks Ahab to remove the command he gave.  He
tells her to feel free to kill Arthur, if she likes, then tells the others
the same.  Fiona asks Ariana to tell Laughter to Trump her, if she needs
help.

	Foster spends some time pouring his heart out to Felix about his
problems with Laughter.  Felix is sympathetic, and offers to get a drink
with him.  They go to a bar, and he tells Foster of the day's battle. 
Laughter Trumps Foster and asks for his help.  He says he'll fill Felix in
and Trump her back, then tells Felix where he's going.  He says they might
be gone for a while, from their point of view, but it shouldn't be long in
Amber.  Felix opts to stay with the fleet.  Foster confesses that his
mother wasn't really Murine.  Her name is Tamarin, and she's Riftvan's
eldest daughter.  She spoke well of Felix, and is a very kind and gentile
lady.  Foster just wanted Felix to know the truth, in case something
happens to him.

	Ariana Trumps Laughter and goes through with Ahab.  They discuss
Laughter's situation with Foster for a while, and Ariana relays Fiona's
message.  Laughter is miffed that Mandor has been more help so far than
Fiona.  Laughter explains that Jordan will pull them to their destination
with the Logrus, and gives Ariana some Alka-Seltzer.

	Adam builds Shard a coffin in Helgramways, while Merlin makes
arrangements for Shard in Amber.  Shard wants to be the one to tell Julian
what's happened to him.  Bart Trumps Llewella, who's in battle armor.  He
pulls her through and explains that Shard is a vampire.  She doesn't know
much about them, so she can't offer much help.  She also says that he's
free to return to Rebma, but he must use another identity.  She decides to
back to killing Chaosites, since it's sort of fun.  She assures the
Helgrams in the room that it's only the traitors, of course.  Adam and
Merlin finish their arrangements.  Bart apologizes for getting Shard into
this.  Shard says it was more or less his choice, since he didn't want to
die.  He doesn't elaborate on this, saying he'll explain it some other
time.

	Laughter Trumps Foster and brings him through.  Jordan is
introduced to the lot of them.  Foster bows very deeply when he is
introduced to Jordan.  Jordan encases them in a ball of Logrus and begins
pulling them along.  Ariana strives mightily not to throw up.


Quotables:

"Why are we going back to Foil?" -- Ariana
"Because we don't want to go traipsing through downtown Dexter
unprepared." -- Laughter

"If Calamus' Shadow got a hold of Song, it might think he was Calamus and
follow him."  -- Ariana
"Well, yes, but I'm planning not to be captured." -- Laughter

"So, when I find the Jewel, I'm supposed to grab you and throw you at it?"
-- Theresa
"No, no, you throw *Kimdyl* at it." -- Ahab

"Ahab really doesn't know what to do with himself without his body." --
Jason to GM

"I have no compunction about mindraping you, so just back off!" -- Matt to
the group

"Hello, sister.  You can't have her." -- Alex to Theresa, referring to
Mebd

"Should I have the cannons readied?" -- Ethan to Felix
"No, we'd like them to board us." -- Merrie

"Let's wait for them to come to us, and then blow them up." -- Felix to GM

"I keep an eye on the thing that's about to eat Caine's ship." -- Felix to GM

"I think Caine has a promising career ahead of him as a bottom-feeder." --
Jason to the group

"Does Llewella accept the call?" -- Felix
"No." -- GM
"Bitch.  I say that after I've put away the card." -- Felix

"How are you attacking him?" -- GM to Felix
"Such that I win and he dies." -- Kris

"Just because I'm not going to marry you, doesn't mean I don't love you."
-- Laughter to Foster

"Do you want to come?" -- Alex
"I get to go on a boat?" -- Mebd

"Is that your dragon dung spell?" -- Kris to Merrie
"Must be Power Word 'Ex-lax.'" -- Matt

"Your body feels really primed right now." -- GM to Ahab
"Uh-oh, hide the women." -- Sean

"Are any of the Chaos ships left?" -- Ariana
"Well, they all sank, but they're all Chaosites, they might enjoy Rebma."
-- Felix

"Gerard could probably remove the jack, but it would lobotomize us." --
Ariana
"In my case, I'm not sure that matters much." -- Ahab

"I know my character, I do not know my character's mind." -- Merrie to GM

"(Arthur) is mad, not malicious." -- Ariana
"I don't care if he's secretly a hamster, he's dead." -- Ahab

"(The vampire) looks like Beauty would if she were grown up." -- GM to Bart
"Gack!" (frantic gasping for air by Merrie)

"Chaos children are well-behaved." -- GM to Kris
"Either well-behaved or dead." -- Matt

"I suppose it is my duty to offer unconditional love and get you drunk
every now and then." -- Felix to Foster

"Jordan has the airs and ways of Mandor." -- GM
"Which means he's cool and you're shit." -- Laughter to Ahab