Chapter Seventy-eight:  "I don't kill people for no reason.  I kill people
for very small reasons."

	Ariana directs Fiona to Bart, since he's been studying the local
magic.  Bart is very nervous, and claims he hasn't found much.  Fiona
looks at Ariel, and asks if Bart's figured out how to harness the local
energy yet.  Er...  Bart attempts to get her to turn her attention to
Alex, but fails.  Fiona asks to speak to Bart and Ariel privately, takes
them to a room, and begins casting lots of spells on them.  She seems very
excited, and says he's far more creative than she expected.  Er.  He
crosses his legs.  She notices this, licks her lips, and says she expects
to be given a taste of that power while she's here.  He is *very*
nonplussed.  She realizes that he has no idea what he's done with Ariel,
and tells him that she hopes he likes this plane, since he's its
proprietor.  He's rather shocked.  Fiona takes Ariel and leaves.

	Alex puts on Reeshau's hat, to the snickers of many.  He leaves to
work on spells.

	Laughter, Foster and Haris rejoin the group in the dining room. 
Everyone discusses whether or not they'll be staying in Amber, now that
Oberon's back.  Laughter doesn't want to.  Ariana doesn't think she can. 
Felix is most disheartened by this likely departure of his friends.  He
doesn't understand why everyone's so nervous about Oberon.  Ariana points
out that Oberon beat up Felix's father.  For some reason, this doesn't
bother Felix.  Ariana tells the others of Tamaryn's "guest" status. 
Foster looks concerned.  Laughter discusses future plans with Foster.  She
wants to study law, to avoid getting in trouble in the future.  Never mind
that law varies a great deal between Shadows.

	Fiona re-enters the room, with a big smile on her face.  Laughter
asks Fiona to teach her magic.  She agrees, and joins them at the table,
with some food and a bottle of wine.  Ariana asks if she has a plan yet. 
The beginnings of one.  Ask her after a few more bottles.  Laughter asks
if there's a way to ID family, other than making them walk the Pattern. 
Yep.  Laughter introduces Meander to her, Fiona takes his hand, and her
eyes sparkle.  She is introduced to the others, except for Keimo.  Then
she orders dessert and more wine.  Laughter is concerned about how much
Fiona is drinking.

	Ariel knocks on Bart's door, and tells him that Fiona's done with
her.  She sits down and explains that he's now the proud owner of a Primal
Plane.  Bart asks just what he can do with this.  Anything magical that he
can think of.  And what if he can't think of anything?  Then he's wasted
his time and energy on nothing.  Of course, Fiona can do anything she
wants, as long as Ariel lets her.  Bart is still clueless, until Ariel
points out that he can dampen Cedric's magic.  Oh.  They start working on
this.  Downstairs, Fiona looks up with a knowing smile.

	Ariana asks Fiona how long it will be until they make their next
move.  Fiona figures it will be as soon as Ariana finishes her nap, since
she's too tired to do anything now.  Ariana asks how much time she has. 
Fiona says she will need to get over her hangover, so several hours, at
least.  Bart contacts Fiona, and wonders if he couldn't cut Oberon off
from magic, too.  Fiona teleports to him and explains why this would be a
stupid thing to do.

	Ariana gets another room from Bacchus, since Driscoll has hers,
and crashes hard.

	Molly arrives and greets Usires with a growl.  She wants to know
if he's up for another.  Not remembering a first time, he's not sure if
that's a good idea.  She proceeds to ply him with alcohol, which does
wonders towards convincing him.  No wonder he didn't remember the first
time.

	Meander plays and sings for a while.  Hickory approaches Felix and
asks if there are still hard feelings.  Well, yes.  Hickory apologizes,
saying he's not used to being put in that position.  He's never run into
anyone stronger than him before.  Felix tells him that his whole line is
like that.

	Keimo knocks at Alex's door, asking to talk to Reeshau.  Alex
tells Keimo to go away.  Keimo creates an illusion of a wizard's hat
getting scrunched.  Alex closes his eyes and tells Keimo to go away,
before he kills him.  Keimo does this thing.

	Fiona finishes her talk with Bart, and returns to the dining area. 
Laughter goes to sleep.  Ahab does the same.  Felix stays up until nine or
so, then goes to bed.  Usires and Molly have a good time together.

	Alex finishes his spell at 3 a.m., then goes to sleep.  Bart
finishes his spell and rests as well.

	Usires wakes up naked by the river again, with no memory of what
happened.  Sucks to be him.

	Ahab, Ariana, Laughter, Foster and Fiona are at breakfast early. 
Fiona is drinking ale now.  Laughter is bothered by this, and tells Foster
that it's OK for his family to drink too much, but not hers.  Felix gets
offended, and leaves the table.  Ariana tells Ahab that she will be
leaving soon.  Foster and Laughter discuss who will go after the fragment,
and who will stay with Haris.  Laughter offers to stay with Haris, since
he needs her to feed him.  Unless Foster wants to start lactating.  Uh,
no.  Ariana feels sick again, and her nausea isn't helped when Fiona puts
tobasco on her eggs.  Fiona suggests that she not throw up, and conjures
her some saltines.  Laughter continues to be disturbed at how much Fiona
is drinking, and the fact that she's wearing pants.  Ahab passes Fiona
some pepper for her eggs, at which point Ariana decides to go outside,
before she heaves all over the breakfast table.  She watches Looks Twice
and Jaquee spar with each other.

	Alex enters the dining area, and draws a lot of attention, since
he is dressed like a thief, but wearing a wizard's hat.

	Ahab asks Fiona about her plan.  Basically, Cedric will be cut off
from his magic, and then the fighter types can bring him down.  Fiona
conjures some knives and begins polishing them, then tucking them away on
her person.  Laughter begins to think that this isn't really her mother. 
Fiona gives her an M & M for saying something stupid.  Laughter splits it
with Hickory, who gets a sugar buzz and begins flying dizzily around and
crashing into support beams.

	Bart wakes up around ten, and begins working on his next spell. 
After a while, Fiona sighs and goes upstairs.  She tells him that the
spell he's working on won't retrieve the Jewel.  He can use it to fetch
Mirelle, though.  She'll work on fetching the Jewel.

	Ahab and Laughter go outside, and catch the end of the
Jaquee-Looks Twice workout.  They begin sparring with each other. 
Laughter asks what the implications are of killing a king without having
someone to replace him.  Ahab doesn't care.  By fighting defensively, he
is able to hold Laughter off, even though she is a better fighter than
him.  She is rather annoyed that he doesn't break a sweat.  Fiona comes
out to watch them.

	Foster tells Felix that Laughter didn't mean anything by what she
said.  Felix is upset, since he thinks he's working to correct his
drinking problem.  Foster doesn't think he has a problem.  Felix is
unconvinced.

	Ariana finishes her spell for Meander, but opts to hold off until
the Cedric thing is over.  She asks Fiona what the plan is, and gets the
same story that Ahab got.  Fiona says they won't be bringing the
Discworlders along, since this is a family matter.

	The posse, consisting of all of the Amberites save for Laughter
and Haris, begins riding towards Cedric's keep.  Fiona does something to
the horses, which makes them go faster, much to Ariana's dismay.  After
lunch, Fiona speeds the horses up even more, and Ariana throws up. 
Driscoll and Foster look sympathetic, and Driscoll conjures her some
Alka-Seltzer.

	By evening, they arrive near Cedric's castle, and spot troops
approaching.  Fiona tells Bart to fetch Mirelle, and then put up the spell
to block Cedric from magic.  He does the former, but forgets to do the
latter.  Oops.  Fiona vanishes, leaving nothing but a smoking saddle
behind.  Mirelle knocks Bart off of his horse, but he uses a Xeno to keep
from landing too hard.  Then Mirelle decks his horse.  Usires decides that
the troops are safer and charges them, while Ahab begins shooting at them
with his crossbow.  Mirelle throws a rattlesnake at Ahab's horse.  It
likes this not at all.  Ariana conjures a bucket of water over Mirelle's
head, which gains her Mirelle's attention.  Ahab and Felix take advantage
of this and join Usires in attacking the troops.  Mirelle shoots at
Ariana, but she dodges out of the way.  Mirelle aims at the horse the
second time, and hits.  The horse is toast.  Ariana decides to put an end
to this, and throws one of her metal balls at Mirelle's wrist, causing
Mirelle to drop the crossbow.  She tells Mirelle that they are mother and
daughter.  Mirelle doesn't buy it.  She tries to conjure a weight over
Ariana, but Ariana anticipates this and avoids being squashed.  Ariana
tries to convince Mirelle that she has amnesia.  Mirelle stalks off,
singing loudly so she won't have to hear this.  Bart finally notices that
Fiona is gone, and remembers that he forgot to cast that spell.  Doh!  He
casts the spell, then contacts Fiona magically.  She curses him and breaks
the contact.  Bart begins moving towards the castle, which is glowing
octarine.  Usires, Bart and Ahab finish off the troops, and Ahab begins
searching the bodies for his crossbow bolts.  Everyone regroups.  Ariana
maneuvers Mirelle back towards the others, then asks Bart to send Mirelle
back to Amber.  Bart teleports her to the main hall, and everyone enjoys
the silence.  Fiona returns with the Jewel fragment and severely messed-up
hair.  She suggests that they return to Amber, and has Bart retrieve
Laughter and Haris.  She also tells Ahab that Deirdre had returned to
Amber.  This reminds Felix to tell Usires that Caine is still alive.

	Fiona brings them to the main hall, where the pages are fighting
with Mirelle.  Then Oberon says "enough," and Mirelle stops and begins
quivering.  Ariana conjures her a chair, sits her in it, and thinks
calming thoughts.  This seems to calm her a bit.  Alex decides to remove
his hat, seeing as how it looks rather silly.  Oberon takes the fragment
from Fiona, makes a side comment about her hair, then tells everyone to
brace themselves.  He joins the two pieces of the Jewel together.  Oberon,
Fiona, Mirelle, Driscoll, Ahab, Ariana, Usires and Foster vanish, while
Lyss appears next to Bart.  He is very glad to see her.  Ahab appears in
the fencing yard, and Trumps back to the main hall.  Laughter Trumps
Foster, who is in his old room, but comes through.  Driscoll is Trumped
next, and comes through from Lazarus.  Then Laughter Trumps Ariana.

	Ariana appears in the hallway next to Riftvan, who is extremely
startled by her sudden appearance, and nearly jumps out of his skin.  She
smiles and takes Laughter's call.  Laughter tells her that Mirelle
vanished.  Ariana can't reach her via Trump, so she thinks Mirelle may
have gone back to Discworld.  She asks Laughter to ask Bart to retrieve
her.  Laughter relays this to Bart, who is still hugging Lyss.

	Oberon Trumps back to the main hall, and grants everyone a rest
for their assistance in retrieving the fragment.  Except for Ahab, who he
wants to speak to at three.  Doh!

	Alex contacts Delwin, who tells him that Sand is to be executed
tomorrow at noon.  Cool!  Unfortunately, this means that they will have to
power the Spikards themselves.  Doh!  It's up to Oberon what will happen
to the master Spikard.  BTW, Dalt and Arthur are being executed also. 
Alex tries to contact Mebd with the Spikard, but the attempt is cut off
and begins being traced.  Alex stops this.

	Lyss offers to keep Bart company.  He's all over that, and
introduces her to Ariel.  He takes them back to Tallefellow's, where they
find Usires.  Then he locates Mirelle, who is indeed back at Cedric's
keep.  He transports her back to Amber, then he does the same for Usires,
who meets the fury that is Mirelle upon his arrival.  Bart brings Ariel
and Lyss back to Rebma, and reunites Lyss with Darby, while he goes to see
his mother.  He observes that she is packing, and asks why.  Eventually,
Llewella tells him that she's going to the Courts.  Apparently Oberon is
sending her there.  Her betrothed is there, you see.  It's Barnabas.  She
is not pleased.

	Usires sends pages to find Ariana, who isn't anywhere in the
castle.  Fortunately, the commotion Mirelle is making attracts Oberon's
attention.  He takes her hand, and she shuts up.  He walks off with her.

	Laughter gets a Trump call from Beauty, who's in tears.  She wants
Laughter to come through to her in Foil.  Laughter does this thing, and
hears Shard screaming, in a serious amount of agony.  Laughter Trumps
Fiona, and asks her to come through.  Then she Trumps Ariana, who comes
through with Riftvan.  Fiona has her hands on Shard's temples, but seems
to be at a loss.  Ariana notices that Shard looks very pale, and that his
skin is stretched very tightly over his hands.  She asks Fiona to let go
of Shard, and begins transfusing him.  He seems to keep losing the blood,
so she continues.  15 minutes later, he finally seems to stabilize.  He
and Ariana are rather drained, from both the multiple transfusions, and
the associated orgasms they brought on, and they just lie there.  Ariana
feels like she's lost a piece of herself.  Laughter has Shard brought to
his bed, while Riftvan picks up Ariana.  He comments psychically that it's
probably going to be a while before he can satisfy her now, which gets a
weak smile in response.  Beauty remains sitting by Shard, who falls asleep
almost immediately.  Ariana is nodding off as well, but manages to ask
what Shard was doing in Foil.  Beauty explains that they came there when
Oberon arrived, in case he reacted the same way as Julian.  Riftvan says
he'll take Ariana home to get some rest, but to contact them if necessary. 
Laughter suggests that Beauty get some sleep, and mentions that she plans
to talk to Shard when he wakes up.  She asks how close Beauty and Shard
have grown.  They are becoming friends.  Uh-huh.  Laughter Trumps Foster
and asks him to spend the night with her in Foil.

	Ahab greets Kimdyl and Nicholas, who are happy to see him.  Kimdyl
says Oberon has mostly ignored them, since he's been focusing on his
children.  Nicholas says things have been strange since Oberon returned. 
Oberon is frightening without trying to be.  Kimdyl tells him that Deirdre
wishes to speak to him.  He locates her with his Pattern lens, and finds
her in a sitting room, wearing a dress and reading philosophy.  Ahab goes
down to see her.  She tells him that she is marrying Luther Hendrake, the
new Head of House Hendrake.  Benedict will be marrying Luther's sister. 
Bleys is marrying Viktoria of Chanicut.  Apparently, Oberon is marrying
all of the unmarried elders off.  Except for Corwin, of course, who will
be named Oberon's heir.  Ahab asks if he should be worried about his
meeting with Oberon.  Deirdre tells him that Oberon's impossible to read,
nowadays.  He seems to hold Ahab and his cousins in good stead, though. 
He's taking out most of his ire on his children.  She thinks he intends to
acknowledge Ahab as Corwin's son.  He and Gramble are also working on
equalizing the time flow between Amber and Chaos.  Ahab likes this idea. 
She tells him that Flora is to marry Gramble.  Ahab wants to talk to
Corwin, but he's spending a lot of time with Oberon, so Ahab opts to delay
that for now.  He wonders if his power will work on Oberon.  Deirdre
figures that Oberon probably has a defense against it.  She doesn't look
happy, and reveals that Oberon has ordered all of his daughters to obey
their husbands.  No wonder Fiona was upset.

	Laughter Trumps Ahab, and asks him to have Nicholas Trump her in
the morning for his lesson.

	Felix changes and visits his mom, who's glad to see him, as is
Vivienne.  Gerard is at sea, but is due back in the evening.  He's
overseeing the standing down of the navy.  Isabeux tells him about the
newly arranged marriages.  Felix is relieved to learn that there are no
marriage plans for his generation.  Isabeux explains that that's
technically Gerard's responsibility, anyway.  It turns out that the two
days Felix and the others spent in Discworld were four days in Amber. 
Isabeux and Vivienne leave to get lunch.  Felix Trumps Gerard, who's glad
to see him, but doesn't want to keep him from lunch.  Felix Trumps to the
main hall, then runs to the dining hall, beating Vivienne, who is
perturbed.  She accuses him of cheating, and spends much of the meal
arguing with him.

	Ariana wakes up in bed with Jalana sitting next to her.  She hugs
Jalana, and asks her to show her around the Ways.  She notices a lot of
servants cleaning things up, and it doesn't look like anyone has lived
there for quite some time.  They find the boys running around, so Ariana
surprises them, and gets gang-hugged.  Then Jalana shows her to the
kitchen, and tells her that Riftvan is meeting with the King of Chaos, but
should be back by mid-afternoon.

	Alex checks into who's marrying who, and when.  He learns that the
executions are tomorrow at noon, and then there will be one marriage per
day thereafter.  The marriage arrangements are:

	Benedict is marrying Lady Magdalyn Hendrake
	Bleys is marrying Lady Viktoria Chanicut
	Caine is betrothed to Lady Jalana Vetch
	Deirdre is marrying Lord Luther Hendrake
	Delwin is marrying Lady Lucretia Borge
	Driscoll is betrothed to Princess Emer Sawall
	Eric is marrying Lady Leto Dhurba
	Fiona is marrying Lord Suhuy Helgram
	Flora is marrying King Gramble Sawall
	Julian is marrying Lady Flavia Bances
	Llewella is marrying Lord Barnabas Jesby
	Mirelle is marrying Lord Fenar Borge

All of the men are Heads of House, except for Suhuy, and all of the women
are sisters or daughters of a Head of House.  Conspicuous by their absence
are Corwin and Brand.  Alex Trumps Lucretia to gloat.  She admits that she
won't be sleeping with Eric anymore, something he finds wonderful news. 
She glares and breaks the contact.

	Bart talks with Llewella, who tells him that Fiona is marrying
Suhuy.  Bart figures that's why she was so cross.  Llewella's not happy,
either, since Oberon wants them all to be fruitful and multiply.  She also
tells him that Arthur is scheduled to be executed tomorrow.  Bart says he
won't go.  Llewella tells him not to cross Oberon.  If Oberon orders him
to go, he must go.

	Usires Trumps Caine, and observes that he's all right.  Yep. 
Usires asks where he went.  To the bottom of the ocean.  Usires is annoyed
by Caine's evasiveness.  He asks if Caine knows how you can check on a
soul.  Caine jokingly asks if he's been sleeping with succubi, lately. 
Well, as a matter of fact...  Caine figures that it's not like Usires
needed his soul, anyway.

	Beauty Trumps Laughter towards morning in Foil.  Shard is awake,
so Laughter comes through and sends Beauty to fetch drinks.  Shard thanks
Laughter for her help, but she tells him to thank Ariana.  She asks what
his intentions are towards Beauty.  He admits that he's growing rather
fond of her.  He thinks he needs her.  Laughter explains that she had been
hoping Beauty would marry someone who could take over the throne of Foil,
someday.  Unfortunately, Beauty has had a crush on Shard for a very long
time, and no one else will ever take her heart the way he has, so she'll
help in any way she can.  He says that the Pattern's restoration has
removed his urge to return to Belle, and Beauty's company helps.  Now that
he has the means to return, he'd just as soon remain with Beauty, since
Ariana and Lord Vetch think he was created to help the vampires leave
their Shadow.  Laughter figures Beauty will be returning shortly.  Shard
adds that she might even be listening outside the door.  Laughter opens
the door, and finds Beauty standing there.  Beauty is mortified at being
discovered.  Laughter leaves the two of them alone, and feeds Haris.

	Laughter Trumps Fiona, and says she has a list of problems *this*
long.  Fiona is rather unsympathetic.  She comes through and explains
about the marriages.  Specifically, her marriage to Suhuy, the day after
tomorrow.  Suhuy being the Chaos equivalent of Dworkin, and the one man
who can control her.  Laughter thinks that's pretty mean, and offers her
condolences.  Fiona will be moving to Chaos, of course.  Laughter is not
pleased.  Fiona asks after Laughter's list.  Well, there's that whole
Beauty and Shard thing.  She also asks why everyone is so fascinated by
Haris.  Fiona thinks that he will grow up to be very adept with the
Pattern, since Laughter was carrying him when the Jewel was fractured. 
Ariana's child will be even more adept, being conceived because of the
fracturing, and still in utero during the reforming.  Laughter finds none
of this comforting.

	Ariana Trumps Laughter, to find out how Shard is doing.  Laughter
explains, and tells her about Fiona's marriage and the executions.  Ariana
is not happy.  Ariana breaks the contact, and works on figuring out what's
missing from her.  Eventually, she determines that it is a piece of her
magic.

	Ahab meets with Oberon, who says that he's not gunning for Ahab,
provided he uses his head.  He asks if Ahab wants to volunteer to assist
in the executions.  Ahab's all for killing Arthur, but he doesn't really
care about Sand or Dalt.  Actually, Oberon's offering him those two.  If
Ahab kills Arthur, it would run afoul of a plan he has.  Ahab wonders
about possibility of the condemned using a death curse.  Oberon points out
that it can't be said if they're gagged.  He suggests it would be
beneficial to the realm if Ahab killed the other two, so Ahab agrees. 
Oberon tells Ahab to meet him at 11:30 the next morning.

	Felix spends the day with his family.  He Trumps Caine, and
welcomes him back to the world of the living.  He also points out that he
kept his promise.  Caine noted that.  Felix asks about the marriages. 
Caine figures his won't be for close to 35 years.  He's marrying someone
from House Vetch, Jalana by name.  Felix is aghast, and asks if Caine
knows what house Foster is from, and who the current Lady of that house
is.  Yep.  He figures it's been a while since someone tried to kill him. 
Felix suggests he get tips on the House from Tamaryn.  Caine meant to talk
to her anyway, and thanks Felix for reminding him.  He'll save a piece of
her for Felix, though.  Felix then finds Eris and says hello.  Gerard
returns by dinner time.

	Riftvan returns with an unhappy expression, which he fails to hide
before Ariana catches it.  She asks what's going on.  He asks her to sit
down, then explains about Jalana's betrothal to Caine.  Ariana refuses to
allow it.  He says he had no choice, since Gramble ordered it.  They are
marrying an Amberite into every House, and they felt Caine matched Vetch
best.  If Tamaryn asked to be readmitted to the House, Caine would
marrying her, but that's the only way out.  His hands are tied, otherwise. 
Ariana points out that hers aren't.  He tells her that if she moves
against Gramble, he will have to move against her.  And moving against
Caine will count as moving against Gramble.  She tells him that she will
not allow Jalana to be married to someone that she doesn't love, and if
she must kill Caine, she will.

	Ahab finds Corwin on the battlements, and asks if Oberon is still
the same.  No, not quite.  He isn't taking Corwin's refusal anymore, and
Corwin doesn't think he's going to get out of being named heir this time. 
He had no problem with Random being King, and feels that what Oberon
thinks is right isn't necessarily so.  Plus, Oberon wants Ahab named as
Corwin's heir.  Ahab tells Corwin that he's the executioner for tomorrow,
and gets the feeling that he's being maneuvered into a rather specific
socket.  Corwin tells him to get used to it.  At least everything will be
out in the open.  Besides, Ahab is a practical choice as King.  Ahab
points out that this is a long way off, unless Oberon abdicates, and
Corwin is assassinated.  Corwin wouldn't be surprised if that happened. 
Ahab has doubts about being Oberon's executioner.  Corwin figures Oberon
will take whatever Ahab has to say under consideration.  Ahab doesn't
think Oberon works that way.  Corwin tells him that Oberon is rather
pleased with Ahab's generation right now.  Ahab asks how safe the Rose is
from him, but Corwin isn't sure.  Ahab figures he has to do what Oberon
wants, since he needs the Jewel to undo that curse.  Corwin looks
confused, so Ahab explains about his gender-switching problem.  Corwin
frowns, and decides not to comment.  He agrees that Ahab might want to be
nice to Oberon.  Ahab figures that he's not all that fond of Sand, and he
likes Oberon's justice better than Random's.  He asks if Corwin's talked
to Deirdre, and points out that being named Corwin's heir may be
problematic.  Corwin says that they've talked and formed their story. 
They will claim that Ahab was Corwin's, and Deirdre simply raised him for
her brother.

	Ariana finds a sparring room and works out her aggression for a
while, then has a good cry.  Eventually, Riftvan finds her, and asks if
she feels like talking about it.  She admits that she won't really kill
Caine, since the betrothal isn't his fault.  Riftvan points out that he
had no choice, since Gramble commanded it.  Ariana doesn't feel bound by
Gramble's orders.  Riftvan says that her actions reflect upon him, and
that Gramble is their King.  She explains that she understands this, and
will obey Gramble because of it, but not if his orders harm Riftvan or the
children.  Riftvan seems disappointed by this, but changes the subject. 
He tells her that Vincent heard her crying, and the children are now
worried about her.  She changes and hides the affects of her crying, then
has Riftvan show her to the nursery.  On the way there, she asks if they
can name the baby Bryan, if it's a boy.  It was the name of Tamaryn's late
husband, you see.  Riftvan looks a bit startled, and notes that some day
she'll have to tell him exactly what she learned from Tamaryn.  He has no
objections to the name, though.  She asks if he's thought about what she
asked of him before she left.  He says he had been, until Oberon returned. 
He asks for more time to consider how that will affect things.  She allows
this.  They reach the nursery, and she asks the children how they like the
Ways.  The boys begin babbling, and seem reassured that she's OK.  Jalana,
on the other hand, remains unconvinced, at least until Ariana tells them
about the baby.  Jalana forgets her concern in her excitement, and really
wants a sister.  The boys, on the other hand, don't seem to care all that
much.

	Riftvan gives Ariana a tour of the Ways after dinner.  Apparently
he built just over half of it.  His father, being a rather morbid soul,
built all of the styles that deal with death.  Ariana notices that all of
the servants are from House Gadlan.  She calls it a night early, and is
still rather upset about Jalana's betrothal, so Riftvan holds her until
she wakes up in the morning.

	Bart tries to speak to Arthur in the morning, but Arthur is no
longer allowed visitors.  Bart finds Moire, and offers to accompany her to
the execution.

	Usires and Alex hang out, but not with each other.

	Ariana eats breakfast with her family, then Trumps to Amber.  She
finds Tamaryn in the gardens, and asks how she is.  Tamaryn reveals that
Oberon questioned her a great deal, to determine where her loyalties lay,
but now she's free to leave.  Tamaryn asks if that's the only reason
Ariana came to Amber.  Ariana admits that she plans to speak to Oberon
about Arthur.  She tries to see Arthur, but is also denied.

	Laughter asks Foster to help her get dressed for her audience with
Oberon.  Foster thinks she's nuts.  Well, yes, but she has to plead
Fiona's case.  She's even wearing a dress.  She Trumps to Amber, and asks
for an audience with Oberon, which is granted immediately.  Laughter tries
to argue that Fiona's marriage is a bad idea, since it would remove her
power from Amber.  Oberon looks amused, and says that she has a lot of
spunk, but it's not like he's sending Fiona off to her death.  He has
given careful thought to this, you see.  Laughter says that she's not
going to fight this, and she's not questioning his judgment.  Right. 
Oberon says that meeting her gives him great hope for Fiona, but he won't
elaborate.  Laughter returns to Foil to get ready for the executions.

	Ahab meets with Oberon, and explains about his curse.  Oberon
finds this amusing, and is willing to arrange for him to use the Jewel. 
He asks if Ahab wishes to be anonymous as executioner.  No, he's not that
deceitful.  Oberon also tells him that the choice of weapon is his.

	Felix also meets with Oberon, who greets him with a smile.  Felix
wants to make sure that his adoption of Foster still stands.  Oberon is
willing to allow this.

	Ariana is the next of the younger generation to meet with Oberon. 
He greets her as Lady Vetch.  She asks him to spare Arthur, but Oberon is
unwilling to change his mind about executing him.  He also insists that
Caine must marry one of Vetch's daughters.  She begs him to reconsider. 
He says he will allow Caine to marry Tamaryn, if she rejoins the house,
but that's it.

	Everyone gathers at the execution.  Sand is brought out first, and
her conviction is read.  Her hair is white, and she is quite aged.  Ahab
tells her "Stay away from my son, bitch," and then executes her with an
ax.  Ariana and Bart do not watch.  Dalt is next, and is killed with
Ahab's sword.  Then Ahab readies the ax for Arthur.  Just as he is about
to drop it, Moire interrupts, and offers her life in exchange for
Arthur's.  Oberon asks if he can do with her life what he wishes.  She
assents, so he says he will take her as his wife, with Arthur ruling in
her place in Rebma.

	Ariana finds Mirelle, who remembers her now.  She's excited to be
getting married, and doesn't think Caine marrying Jalana is all that bad,
either.  That's the way things are done, you see.


Quotables:

"Are you in need of air, Ambassador?" -- Fiona
"Oh, no thank you, I have some." -- Alex

"Nothing that Fiona ever says is harmless." -- Ahab
"Yeah, and you have her signature to prove it." -- GM

"I sleep better when there's screaming going on." -- Ahab
"Preferably yours." -- Bart

"I'm looking for Fiona.  I'll ask her where she went." -- Laughter to GM

"Kimdyl told Ahab that." -- Jason
"Kimdyl's a Vetch." -- GM

"And what does one do with a Plane?" -- Bart to Ariel
"Fly it!" -- Mer and George, in unison

"Ariel's not a guardian of the Plane." -- Bart
"No, she's the stewardess." -- Liam

"Well, the Unicorn has always smiled on me." -- Bart
"No, that's just gas." -- Matt

"It's not work, though, except when it's work." -- Laughter to Fiona

"You have a problem?" -- Foster to Felix
"I... wear... skirts." -- Sean, speaking for Felix

"(Laughter's) parentage aside, she's just not malicious." -- Foster to
Felix

"Perhaps we should camp." -- Alex, upon learning that Cedric's castle is
turning rather octarine

"You might want to brace yourself." -- Oberon to everyone, as he reforms
the Jewel
"I bring up the Logrus." -- Felix to GM

"I was thinking of something that is least like the Pattern." -- Ahab to
GM
"Oral sex?" -- Liam

"Because Oberon has not made noises towards killing six million people,
and when he does, I'll see which six million they are, and sign on, or
not." -- Ahab to Nicholas, explaining why Oberon is OK

"Oh dear, that's inconvenient.  I was planning to exterminate the
Hendrakes, and now I'm going to be related to them." -- Ahab to Deirdre

"I'm more dangerous to women than women are to me." -- Ahab to the group

"Be sure to attend the execution tomorrow." -- Deirdre
"Ooh, are they looking for volunteers?" -- Ahab

"How will you explain (Ahab's) power then?" -- Kris
"The same way he always has.  Don't ask, and I won't use it on you." --
Jason

"Wendi?  Who are you?" -- Sean to Wendi

"Rumors of my death are often untimely." -- Caine to Usires

"How does one correct death?" -- Shard
"I don't know.  Ask Oberon?" -- Laughter

"Ahab is finally dressed, freshly showed, and a stiletto up (his) sleeve."
-- Jason to GM

"I don't kill people for no reason.  I kill people for very small
reasons." -- Ahab to Corwin

"Well, considering that Oberon's mother had four legs, (our story about
you) isn't going to be that hard to accept." -- Corwin to Ahab

"Lavender." -- Oberon
"You know my name." -- Laughter

"I notice that you've been attuned to the Jewel" -- Oberon
"Well, that happened while I was away, actually." -- Ahab

"Hmm, Oberon is willing to go to some trouble, for doing whatever I want. 
This troubles me." -- Ahab to GM