Chapter Seventy-four:  "So, when are you going to break the siege?"

	Foster agrees to handfast with Laughter.  She decides she wants to
have the baby as soon as possible, so Foster offers to take her to a
fast-time Shadow.  She decides to tell Mandor what she's planning.  Big
mistake.  He informs her that he's arranged for her to marry Driscoll, as
part of a treaty with Amber.  Apparently he's been marrying all of his
sisters off to various houses of Chaos to prevent another civil war from
occurring, and Heather's ties to Amber are much too tenuous to count.  The
illegitimacy issue isn't all that important when you're the Crown Prince. 
Laughter wants no part of this, but foolishly looks Mandor in the eyes. 
He strongly "suggests" that she will see the wisdom of his words if she
thinks it over.

	Laughter Trumps Foster and goes through to Felix's quarters, where
she blurts out that Foster had better find someone who can undo Mandor's
suggestion, fast, before she winds up marrying Driscoll.  Foster casts a
spell to call Tamaryn, while Felix looks confused.  Tamaryn comes in and
gets the story.  She says she can't undo the work of a Sawall, but places
a geas on Laughter that prevents her from remembering Driscoll, as a
temporary stopgap.  Laughter remembers talking to Mandor, but has no idea
what was discussed.  With this resolved, if only temporarily, she and
Foster travel to Foil, where Senlin handfasts them to each other, until a
year and a day passes in Foil.

	Foster brings Laughter to a Shadow much like the Colorado Rockies,
and they do the Grizzly Adams routine.  Laughter reforges Sequence during
the first month of their stay, so it's back to its old self.  Laughter
also forges herself a cold iron chastity belt.  Foster thinks she's nuts
(as do the players).  Laughter continues to try to dissuade Beauty of her
interest in Shard, and tries to educate her about vampires.  None of this
seems to have much of an effect.  Foster is slightly more successful at
teaching Beauty self-defense.  Laughter gets pretty big after her fourth
month, although Foster tells her she's not as big as Ariana was when she
was carrying twins.  It's a very active baby.  Once Laughter can no longer
work out with it, Sequence passes the time by hunting with Foster and
griping.  Foster puts on about ten pounds of muscle over the duration of
their stay.  Caitt gets more and more tense as Laughter's due date
approaches.  When Laughter asks what's bothering her, she admits that
she's been thinking of Elizabeth of late.  Laughter assures her that she
isn't going to die.

	Felix has what must have been a fascinating conversation with
Tamaryn, but it took place over e-mail, so details are scant.  The gist
seems to be that he confronted her over how she used him, and she
explained that she did it for Foster, since she really wanted a child, and
her father kept her locked up.  She wasn't acting when she was with him,
though.  He's still not happy.  She tells him to either get over it or
make love to her.  He goes back to his room and gets drunk.

	Alex checks on Mebd, who has stopped drooling but doesn't
recognize him.  The hairs on the back of his neck stand up.  He brings
Logrus to mind and goes up to the battlements, where he promises
Clytemnestra that she's in for a treat.

	Ahab gets reacquainted with his wife, now that he has his own body
back.  Bart (or rather Bacchante, as Bart prefers to be called when
female) works on a spell.  Usires goes drinking.  Ariana continues
sleeping in the library.

	Laughter is a week overdue and getting cranky.  Foster Trumps
Felix, wakes him up and fills him in.  It's about six in the morning in
Amber.  Laughter says she wants Ariana there as well.  Felix comes through
and Trumps Ariana, waking her up.  He fills her in on the situation and
brings her through.  Ariana examines Laughter and determines that it's
only one child, it's rather large, and it should be born soon.  She
psychically blocks some of the pain that Laughter is feeling.

	Laughter sees that Ariana is still wearing Song, and says she had
the perfect person to give it too, but she can't remember who.  Ariana
tries to help her remember, until Foster meets her eyes and explains
psychically about the geas, and why it's there.  Ariana shares some
unchoice comments about Mandor with Foster.

	Ariana asks for something to eat, since she's starving.
Fortunately, there's much food to be found, since Caitt's been doing a lot
of baking of late to soothe her nerves.  For some reason, the food agrees
remarkably well with Ariana, and she doesn't suffer her usual morning
sickness.

	That afternoon, Laughter feels somewhat nauseous, and the baby
moves down a lot, meaning she can breath much easier.  Ariana warns her
that it shouldn't be long now, and sure enough, labor begins a few hours
later.  Foster brings Tamaryn through to help, and introduces her to
Ariana as his mother.  Ariana simply introduces herself by her given name,
and Tamaryn doesn't connect her with Riftvan's wife.  Laughter's labor
continues.  Ariana tries to block the pain from the contractions, but this
sets off a sympathetic reaction in her own body, and she stops for fear
that she'll miscarry.  Felix notices what she was trying to do and tells
Foster to do it.  Foster isn't keen on sharing "woman pain," which pleases
Laughter not at all.  Ariana advises him to do whatever Laughter tells him
while she's in labor.  Foster blames the whole situation on Ariana. 
Laughter disagrees.  Ariana points out that this is as foolish as her
blaming her own pregnancy on the Unicorn, since it's the one that
shattered the Jewel.  Time passes.  As the pain gets worse, Laughter draws
Sequence and grips the blade.  No one much likes this idea, and Sequence
is taken away from her, although it resists and cuts Foster's face in the
process.  The labor continues through the night and into the following
afternoon.  Laughter is exhausted.  Ariana shares some of her own energy,
which helps, but eventually exhausts her as well.

	Finally, by mid-afternoon, Ariana tells Laughter to begin pushing. 
She does, but the baby is so big that it gets stuck, and Laughter
experiences the worst pain that she's ever felt in her entire life. 
Tamaryn suggests they wait, hoping that the baby will work its way
through.  After two hours pass with no progress, Tamaryn has Foster and
Felix place pressure on Laughter's stomach, and the baby pops out pretty
quickly after that.  It's a boy, with black, curly hair, and pale blue
eyes.  Ariana examines him and finds him healthy and quite well-developed,
due to his extended stay in the womb.  Foster holds him until Laugher is
done with the afterbirth, then she nurses the boy, who they name Haris. 
Laughter and Ariana are both well past exhausted and quickly drop off to
sleep.

	Ahab chats with Nicholas for a while before breakfast.  Nicholas
says his project didn't work right, so he's starting over.  They discuss
how Ahab lost his body.  Nicholas wants to know when he's going after the
rest of the Jewel.  He also wants to know why the other kids got smart all
of a sudden.  Ahab plays innocent.  Nicholas wants to go to military
school to learn about fighting.  He claims he's been thinking about this
for a while.  Ahab wants to know who hit him.  He won't say.  Ahab insists
on knowing, because either Nicholas deserved it, and Ahab wants to know
what he did, or he didn't deserve it, in which case the guilty must be
punished, and their parents informed.  He suggests that Nicholas learn to
take it like a man, which means no silent treatment or running off to his
room.  He continues to press for the identity of the culprit, but Nicholas
refuses to tell him.  Ahab says he'll find out from someone else, and
Nicholas will get as much cooperation as he gives.  They go down to
breakfast.

	Nothing happens to Alex on the battlements, and he apologizes for
promising otherwise to Clytemnestra.  Her eyes narrow into slits, and she
exhales a long, slow breath of hot air.  Alex beats a hasty retreat and
heads down to breakfast.

	Ahab notices that Nicholas is uncomfortable around Vivienne at
breakfast, and comes to the appropriate conclusion as to why.

	Usires makes his hung-over way back up to the castle.  He goes to
the command center, where he is given a room and told to sober up.

	Ariana asks Foster for his help in finding Riftvan and Martin. 
They figure it would be best if Laughter didn't come, since she has the
baby to care for.  Laughter glares at them, since she can't hear what
they're saying.  Ariana asks if Foster knows a Logrus user.  Well, there's
his mother, but she doesn't like Vetch, since he's been keeping her on a
short leash.  He suggests she try talking to her, though.  He thinks she's
with Felix, so Ariana Trumps him, but can't get through.  She Trumps back
to Amber.

	Laughter asks Foster what was being discussed.  He hastily leaves
to chop wood, but is fetched by Sequence.  He eventually tells her what he
and Ariana were talking about.  Laughter agrees that the child shouldn't
be left alone, but she's miffed that they tried to hide it from her. 
Foster insists they were concerned about her.

	Ariana asks after Tamaryn, but none of the pages have seen her. 
She Trumps Gerard, and asks if he knows where Tamaryn is.  He tells her
that Tamaryn is on the ship, so she comes through.  Tamaryn is sitting on
the deck, writing in a book.  After some small talk, Ariana mentions that
Foster said Tamaryn was skilled in Logrus, and explains that she's looking
for a couple of people.  Tamaryn notices Ariana's wedding ring, puts two
and two together, and calls Ariana 'Mother.' Ariana looks confused, until
Tamaryn explains that she's Riftvan's oldest daughter.  Ariana admits that
Riftvan never mentioned her.  Tamaryn says that's because she's the
skeleton in his closet.  She never does anything he tells her to, you see,
except for one thing, because that got her Foster.  Although she wouldn't
have done that if she'd known she'd lose him at eight.  She is half
Faerie.  Ariana is Riftvan's sixth wife.  Each one has tended to live a
shorter period of time, with the shortest any of them have lived being 500
years.  Ariana thinks that length of time is amazing.  Tamaryn says it all
depends on your perspective.  She is over 2,000, so 500 years doesn't seem
that long.  Ariana thinks it's silly for Tamaryn to call her mother, given
the difference in their ages.  Tamaryn says she'll only do it around
Riftvan, since it will annoy him.  Ariana asks what was Riftvan was
planning to do with the half-breeds, and hears the same explanation that
Tamaryn gave Felix earlier.

	Foster, Laugher and family spend another month in Shadow, and then
return to Amber, where it's still only mid-morning.  Ahab seeks out
Laughter and asks to borrow Beauty.  He wants to show her to Nicholas, as
the final crushing blow.  The plan is to talk in the living room of Ahab's
quarters, where no doubt Nicholas will hear them.  They do this thing. 
Nicholas pears out, sees Beauty, gets a look of horror on his face, and
withdraws.  He is devastated, and is actually crying quietly in his room,
but stops when Ahab enters.  He claims it's a stomach ache, and he's quite
tense.  Ahab gives him a hug, which he resists a little bit, but he
doesn't pull away.  Eventually Nicholas starts pounding on Ahab and saying
"Why?" over and over again.  Ahab asks what he means.  He asks why
everyone hates him.  Ahab assures the boy that he and Kimdyl like him. 
Nicholas asks why no one else does.  Ahab asks when he has he given them
reason to.  Good point.  Nicholas figures that's why Vivienne hit him. 
Ahab explains the basics of communication to him.  He asks Ahab to spend
more time with him.  Ahab says he'll help Laughter teach him how to fight
with a sword, which gets a genuine smile out of him.  Ahab starts showing
him some basics of karate.

	Felix has a conversation with Caine in Rebma, no doubt to explain
why he had his uncle felt up with a Logrus tendril.  This took place over
e-mail, so we lose.  I'll bet it was a wonderful conversation, though.

	Ariana asks Tamaryn why she was sent to conceive a child with
Felix.  Tamaryn says it was developing for a long time.  It had its
origins in the death of her mother, Loryn, which hurt Riftvan quite badly. 
She died violently, about 2300 years ago, when Tamaryn was quite young. 
She says the pain has lessened over time, at least for her.  Ariana admits
that she still misses her own parents.  Tamaryn says they never learned
who was responsible for Loryn's death.  Ariana figures this is why Riftvan
has walled himself off so well.  Tamaryn thinks he needs rehabilitation. 
Ariana thinks he's changed somewhat since she's known him.  Tamaryn asks
how.

	Felix returns from Rebma and interrupts before Ariana can answer,
asking to speak privately with Tamaryn.  He takes her aside, and says he's
lost his journal.  All he remembers is being drunk and going to see her. 
He counted eight empties in his room this morning.  Tamaryn looks for the
journal, and finds that it's still in her room.  She refreshes his memory
on what they discussed, including the bit where she told him to either get
over it or make love to her.  He thinks she's implying that he was too
drunk to make love.  She tells him that the offer still stands.  He
hastily leaves and retrieves his journal, which doesn't seem to have been
disturbed.  He takes it back to his cabin and puts some dry clothes on.

	Tamaryn rejoins Ariana and asks what kind of person she is. 
Ariana doesn't think she's very clever, explaining that she didn't grow up
in Amber.  She also thinks she's too honest to fit into the House very
well.  She admits that she and Riftvan have had some arguments over
honesty.  Tamaryn asks who won.  Ariana counts as a victory the fact that
she managed to get him to tell her what his House did.  And he told her
his name.  Tamaryn looks surprised, and says that her mother was the only
other one of Riftvan's wives to know that.  She thinks Riftvan may be
trying to return to Loryn with her.  Ariana asks what Loryn looked like,
so Tamaryn gives a psychic impression of her.  She bore a definite
resemblance to Ariana, especially her eyes, which were the same shade of
green as Ariana's.  Tamaryn resembles her mother quite strongly, except
for her eyes, which are brown.  She warns Ariana not to let Riftvan use
the children, and she offers to help if he tries.  Ariana says she misses
them, although she knows they should be safe in Faerie.  Tamaryn says
they're in good hands.  Auberon is her uncle, you see.  Ariana asks if
she'll help find Riftvan.  She will, because it means so much to Ariana. 
She may have to be rough on him, though, since she won't allow herself to
be locked up again.  Ariana says she won't allow that, either.  Tamaryn
doesn't think Riftvan will kill her, since she reminds him of her mother. 
Ariana doesn't think he could kill his children.  Of course, he's fooled
her before.  Tamaryn says he's good at that.  Ariana mentions that she's
expecting their fifth child.  Tamaryn asks what the Hendrake situation is. 
Ariana says she knows Riftvan is working on it, but not the details. 
Tamaryn figures Ariana's children may have a chance of surviving, then. 

	Bacchante brings Darby to Amber, and gets the Jewel from Merlin,
so she can talk to Lyss.  They chat for half an hour or so, then Merlin
takes Lyss' form and Lyss talks through him to Darby for several hours.
Once this is concluded, Bacchante Trumps Llewella and passes the boy
through to Rebma.

	Ariana asks Tamaryn how her parents met.  Apparently it was when
he was wandering Shadow, when they both were around 100.  Riftvan was very
different then, less cynical and cruel.  He and Loryn were married for
over 500 years before Tamaryn was born.  Apparently Loryn wasn't very
fertile, and they used magical means to conceive Tamaryn.  Riftvan became
Head of House shortly before Loryn's death.  Ariana asks about Riftvan's
family, but Tamaryn doesn't know much.  His father frightened her, but
died when she was very young, and his mother died long before she was
born.  He also had an older sister, who stood to inherit the house, but
she died before that could happen.  Riftvan changed the succession rules
when he became Head of House, so that women could no longer hold that
position.  Rygat's real name is Cymnea, and she is Riftvan's twin.
Tamaryn doesn't know much of her at all, since she was already engrossed
in Amber when Tamaryn was growing up.  Ariana makes her serpent ring
visible, and asks if Tamaryn knows what it can do, other than warn her of
danger.  Tamaryn tells her that it is the mark of the assassin.  All of
the "working" members of the house have one.  They can be used to
communicate with anyone else who is wearing one, which allows them to stay
in touch and to receive assignments.  They can also be used to locate
other people who are wearing them.

	Alex spends the morning and afternoon hanging spells.  There's a
knock at his door.  It's Bleys, who wants to know what he's hanging over
the Pattern.  Alex explains that it's a spell to dangle whatever's coming
after him over the Pattern.  Bleys figures this is OK, so long as it's not
a bleeding Amberite.  After Bleys leaves, Alex notices that the key candle
in his defensive spells is knocked over.  He goes someplace public, and
notes a shadow flicker in the corner of his eye, but, of course, there's
no one there.

	Tamaryn reveals that she was locked in one of the Shadow Earths a
decade or so after her mother died.  She stood against Riftvan at the
beginning of his plans, and he lashed out at her in return.  His plans
were to reunite Amber and Chaos, but Tamaryn objected to his methods.  She
thinks he kept remarrying over the years because of politics, boredom, and
the desire for more offspring.  She herself was once married, long ago.
It was an arranged marriage, made by Riftvan at Loryn's request.  Her
husband's name was Bryan, and he was much like Felix.  They had only been
married for about 50 years when he died.  She was reclaimed by Riftvan
upon his death, which isn't customary, but he had the power to do it.  He
wanted her capabilities back in his House.  Ariana asks if Tamaryn wishes
to ask anything of her, and Tamaryn inquires as to how Ariana came to love
Riftvan.  Ariana explains the whole, sad story.  Tamaryn seems to think
the fact that he loves Ariana means he can be saved.  Ariana tells Tamaryn
of the girl she killed in Dexter.  Tamaryn suggests setting up an audience
with the Dexterian King, rather than throwing herself on his mercy, since
it will give her a chance to explain her side of the story.  Ariana plans
to do so, once Riftvan is found.

	Usires is feeling sober by afternoon, and drifts down to the
command center again.  He is asked if he really wants to be useful.  Yes. 
Benedict quizzes him to determine his skill level, and gives him a small
force to command.  They will be testing the siege lines this evening.

	Ariana asks Tamaryn how Riftvan got the name Oishin, and learns
that Loryn gave it to him.  Oishin was an Irish hero who lived by his
wits, and Riftvan reminded Loryn of him.  He began using the name Riftvan
around when Cymnea took the name Rygat.  Which was around the time the
Pattern was created, about 2,500 years ago.  Ariana asks what effect the
Pattern's creation had, and learns that it created more Shadows.  Ariana
asks how it was created in the first place.  Tamaryn says that Dworkin
stole the Serpent's eye and traced the Pattern in his own blood.  She also
claims that Oberon really was born of Dworkin and the Unicorn.  Ariana is
surprised, having thought this was just a legend.  Tamaryn asks where
Riftvan was last seen.  Ariana gives Tamaryn a psychic impression of
Kalevala, as a starting point for her search.  Tamaryn says to come see
her if she hasn't heard from her by morning.  Ariana thanks her and Trumps
back to Amber.

	Bacchante goes looking for Shard.  Eventually she is passed off to
one of the pages who is somewhat aware of what's happened to Shard.  The
page explains that Merlin told him that it was useless to disturb Shard
while the sun is out, and they aren't allowed to let anyone pass.
Bacchante is irritated and goes looking for Random.

	Ariana goes to the command center, where she is also placed in
charge of some troops and told about the evening attack.

	Gerard tells Felix that Tamaryn is doing something with the Logrus
in the hold, and would Felix mind checking it out?  Felix tells Gerard
that he's a great-grandfather.  Gerard reminds Felix that this makes him a
grandfather.  Doh!  They discuss the difficulty of Haris' birth.  Gerard
says that they had to break Felix's shoulder blade when he was born, and
Isabeux didn't walk for months.  This explains why Felix's birth is never
spoken of.  Felix goes down to the hold, and runs into Tamaryn as she's
leaving.  She tells him that she's found Riftvan and Martin.  They're
alive, but they're in a Shadow where time has been stopped, and nothing
can be done until it's sped up again.  Felix figures Ariana will be
relieved to learn that her husband is alive.  He asks Tamaryn if she had
to break anything when she gave birth to Foster.  She says she would have
had to, if she hadn't been a shapeshifter.  She wants to let Ariana know
the results of her search, but Felix doesn't have a Trump of her. 
Laughter does, however, so they return to Amber to find her.  Gerard goes
with them, to take a look at his great-grandson.

	Isabeux and Vivienne visit Haris.  Isabeux observes that they
didn't have to break anything this time.  Laughter finds this thought not
at all comforting.  Ariana comes up to see the baby, followed shortly by
Gerard, Felix and Tamaryn.  Isabeux is cross with Gerard for telling Felix
about the circumstances of his birth, and takes him into a corner to
berate him.  Tamaryn tells Ariana that Riftvan is trapped in Kalevala,
which is frozen, and only the owner can unfreeze it.  Ariana asks why this
is, and gets a quick explaination about personal Shadows.  Ariana thanks
her for her help.

	Bacchante finds Ariana in the hall, and asks to talk to her in the
conveniently nearby sitting room.  It's about the retrieval of her
husband.  Ariana says she's listening.  Bacchante asks if she knows where
Vetch is.  She does.  They agree that Ahab killing Arthur now would be
poor.  Ariana suggests having Arthur speak with Corwin.  Bacchante thinks
he's too insane for that to work.  She wants to give him tips on how to
win Laughter, to win her way into his confidence.  Now that's much better
solution.  Not.  Bacchante just wanted Ariana to know, so people don't
shoot her when they see her with Arthur.  Ariana's not sure that Arthur
will trust Bacchante, but Bacchante is determined to try.  Ariana wishes
her luck.

	Benedict Trumps Ariana and Usires and tells them that it's time to
begin getting their forces ready.  Ahab is recruited as well.

	Bacchante meets with Random.  Random doesn't recognize Bart's
female form.  Bacchante wants to go over ways to neutralize Arthur.  She
thinks it would be dangerous to take him out militarily, since he most
likely has Ariadne, Martin and Riftvan.  If he is attacked, one of them
would be certain to die, and the other two would be lost.  She thinks she
can play on Arthur's weaknesses to get close enough to persuade him to
give up.  She plans to make him an offer he can't refuse.  Namely, how to
win the Lady Laughter.  Random thinks Laughter should be made aware of
this, but Bacchante doesn't think it will go that far.  Sure it won't.
Bacchante also thinks she can handle it alone.  Random warns her not to
sacrifice the success of her mission by refusing help.  She insists it
will work better if she's alone.  If she can't handle it, she'll try and
get enough of an impression of Arthur for the Trump artists to use.
Random assumes she'll tell whoever she belongs to what she's planning, in
case she doesn't come back.  He obviously still isn't making the
connection to Bart.

	Ariana, Ahab and Usires lead their forces out under the cover of
darkness.  Ahab and Usires' troops hold the line, while Ariana and
Benedict's troops move forward.  Benedict seems to be observing more than
directly involving himself.  Ariana and a few of her people probe for a
weak point, find one, and exploit it.  Ahab and Usires are instructed by
Benedict to widen and hold the hole her forces made.  The reason for this
becomes clear when Driscoll, riding Clytemnestra, leads an aerial attack,
and shortly afterwards they are joined by an army from Chaos.  Much bloody
fighting ensues.  Ariana finds that Song is as bloodthirsty as she feels
right now, and they work well together.  She begins targeting Hendrakes,
especially their leaders.

	Bacchante Trumps Llewella and tells her she's off to her death.  I
couldn't hear Llewella's reaction, but I'm sure she wasn't happy.

	Laughter wants to see the battle, so Foster brings her and the
baby up to the battlements.  She sees Driscoll and faints, so she is
brought to the infirmary.  When she wakes up, she insists on knowing why
she fainted.  Foster explains that she was pretty sure that Mandor placed
a suggestion in her mind, so they placed a geas on her to stop her from
thinking about it.  She wants it removed, so Foster brings Tamaryn
through.  Tamaryn says "Horatio," and the geas is lifted.  Laughter is not
pleased with Mandor.


Quotables:

"Do you think you know something about handfasting that I don't think I
know?" -- Merrie to GM

"How's Mebd this morning?" -- Alex
"She's stopped drooling." -- GM
"Is that because she's dehydrated?" -- Alex

"So, when are you going to break the siege?" -- Nicholas to Ahab

"Until you get older, I'm your dad, which means your opinion doesn't
matter much." -- Ahab to Nicholas

"I can't kill Kimdyl here, it's too public." -- Matt to GM
"That would be unwise." -- Jason
"Yeah, you might piss off Nicholas." -- Kris

"Men of Amber, see my breasts." -- Jason, speaking for Laughter

"My father gave me a vibrator, but he never gave me batteries." -- Jason,
speaking for Tamaryn

"You are not Laughter." -- Merrie
"Thank God." -- Kris