From Kris.Fazzari@um.cc.umich.edu Mon Nov 29 17:20:32 1993
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 93 15:54:10 EST
From: Kris.Fazzari@um.cc.umich.edu
To: thari@umich.edu
Subject: Kris' Campaign Log

Chapter Twenty-two
 
        Shortly after Brand brings Ariana back, Felix goes to Isabeux's 
room to apologize for leaving without telling her.  As he is walking 
by the infirmary, he hears Jasra in labor.  She's rather upset and 
screaming at Brand.  He quickly hurries on.  Isabeux is relieved to 
see him, but angry and hurt as well.  She guilt-trips him for causing 
her to worry for a week.  He points out she wouldn't have let him go 
if she knew he was going somewhere with Ahab.  Eventually she 
forgives him, saying she couldn't bear to lose both him and Gerard. 
He promises not to do it again.  She tells him what happened in the 
week they were gone from Amber.  Half of the fleet was lost in the 
sea battle.  Julian and his men fared far worse, and parts of Arden 
are now held by Chaos.  Mandor returned to Chaos after delivering 
his message to Random.  Later on, Felix stops by the infirmary and 
catches Ariana up on events in Amber.
 
        Later, after returning and talking with Random, Ahab has 
another long talk with Deirdre.  He admits that he might owe her an 
apology for not informing her of his plan.  Finally, he goes to bed, 
after promising to stop by again in the morning.
 
        Heather stops by to see Rinaldo.  Brand hands him to her and 
reminds her of their agreement.  Heather hesitates.  Brand asks if 
this means she wishes to give Jasra a chance.  Heather points out that 
Jasra is Rinaldo's mother.  Brand responds that's only biologically. 
Heather opts to wait, although what she really wants to do is take the 
baby and run.
 
        Heather checks on Fiona and sees she is propped up on her 
side, with one crossbow bolt still buried in her back.  While she is 
standing there, Mandor Trumps her and asks to meet her at the front 
gate.  She Trumps there and sees three figures approaching,  riding 
hard.  She instructs the guard to open the gate and Mandor and his 
two companions ride through.  Both of them resemble Mandor 
slightly.  Mandor tells the guard to find a page.  He introduces his 
friends as Lord Gramble and his own brother, Despil.  They all hurry 
inside.  The page arrives and Mandor sends him ahead to request an 
immediate audience with Random.  Heather tags along and learns 
that Swayvil is dead and Rygat holds the throne.  Swayvil's forces are 
still willing to ally themselves with Random.  Mandor was unable to 
reach Gerard and Flora before Swayvil fell, and they are now held by 
Rygat.  Random takes Heather up on her offer to try to contact them. 
Quarters are found for the new arrivals.
 
        Alex and Shard arrive in the Great Hall at about 5 a.m.  It is 
deserted except for the guards, who look rather startled by their 
arrival.  Alex asks what's been happening in Amber and is told what 
the guards know.  Heather walks by and is greeted by Alex.  She tells 
him about Swayvil's defeat as they all walk towards the infirmary. 
Alex asks if he can have a word in private with Heather.  Shard goes 
ahead to the infirmary.  Brand is holding the baby and talking softly 
to it.  He looks up as Shard walks in but says nothing.  Shard looks in 
on Julian, who is still unconscious.  He checks on Battlestar as well, 
congratulates Brand about his new son, and then goes to sleep.
 
        At breakfast are Bleys, Brand, Driscoll, Eric, Llewella, Martin, 
Random, Vialle, Isabeux, Medb, Mary, Ahab, Felix, Shard, Alex and 
Ariana.  Ahab asks how much time they have before the next attack. 
Random thinks it will be soon.  Eric mentions that they may be able 
to get the other quarrel out of Fiona this afternoon.  Ariana asks if 
anyone knows the cause of Rygat's enmity towards Amber, but no 
one does.  Alex makes a remark about not knowing one's parentage, 
which earns him a glare from Ariana and Ahab.  Ariana asks to 
speak to Driscoll after breakfast.  Ahab leaves early and is followed 
by Heather.
 
        Heather suggests that Ahab has another method of fighting 
Chaos.  Among other things, there's that army Shard found that was 
being led by Ahab's shadow.  Ahab learns about Swayvil's death. 
Mandor joins them and says that Rygat may be able to send at least 
half as many forces as she sent before against Amber.  Heather says 
she has some Trump calls to make and leaves.  Mandor asks if 
Random was at breakfast.  Ahab asks if the Chaos troops are using 
the Logrus to pull themselves to Amber.  Mandor says they are, and 
that if the Pattern is restored, it would make this very difficult to do.
 
        Mandor enters the dining hall and tells Random something 
privately.  Felix asks if there's news of Gerard.  Random says he will 
be making an announcement about that shortly.  Mandor sits down 
by Felix and Isabeux and breaks the news about Gerard to them.  He 
says that as soon as he hears news of them, he will let them know. 
Felix says he would hope so.  Mandor bows and moves to the head of 
the table.  He tells Alex he hopes he did not hold land in Chaos. 
Ariana asks if things are that bad.  Random decides that now is as 
good a time as any, and announces that Swayvil has fallen.  Ariana 
asks if Swayvil is imprisoned or dead.  Alex says Swayvil would 
probably be in Amber if he was still alive.  Shard remarks that he'd 
be missing an excellent breakfast.  Felix doesn't appreciate the levity 
and throws a piece of fruit at Shard, narrowly missing his head.  He 
tells Shard to watch his mouth and storms out.  Isabeux leaves 
shortly afterward, escorted by Alex.
 
        Heather, Ahab and Alex all head for the infirmary.  Ahab asks 
to talk to Ariadne about the battle in Arden.  He mentions that he 
knows of an army in shadow that might be useful, but he's not sure. 
Ariadne tells him to go get them.  Fiona moans.  Ariadne asks what 
happened to Fiona so Ahab explains how she was injured.  Ariadne 
sums it all up by saying "Bad call."  Ahab also mentions that he shot 
Rygat but it didn't seem to bother her.  Ariadne advises that since 
Rygat is a shapeshifter, she probably has several hearts and doesn't 
keep her vital organs in the normal places.
 
        Heather approaches Fiona and attempts to make psychic 
contact with her.  She slams up against a psychic brick wall, causing 
Fiona to moan again as she wakes up.  Ahab peeks in to see what's 
going on.  Fiona asks Heather why she's not feeling any better. 
Heather assures her that she's much better than she was before. 
Fiona asks if they at least got who did it.  Ahab says that he shot her, 
claiming that Rygat is a better shapeshifter than he is at thinking 
under pressure.  Fiona says she'd hate to be in his position and asks 
how it happened.  He explains the whole story.  Fiona says it's not his 
fault, since he couldn't be expected to tell the difference.  She asks if 
the Left Eye is safe and is relieved to hear that Bleys has it.  She asks 
if Bleys' figured it out yet.  Ahab says he thinks Bleys is afraid of it, 
which amuses Fiona.  She says she'd be happy to help if someone 
would get the other quarrel out of her back.  Ahab apologizes again. 
Fiona starts to look more groggy, so Ahab and Heather say they'll let 
her get some rest.  Before they leave, Fiona says to tell Eric that if he 
leaves a scar she'll get even.  Ahab gets the hell out of there.  Brand 
pops his head in and says that judging by the way Ahab ran out of 
there, Fiona must be feeling better.
 
        Gramble enters the dining hall and he, Random, Mandor and 
Bleys engage in a lengthy private conversation.
 
        Felix goes looking for Heather.  He is told she is in the 
infirmary.  On the way there, he is passed by Ahab heading the other 
way after his encounter with Fiona.  Felix notices Ahab is looking 
rather pale.  He enters the infirmary and heads straight for Heather. 
He asks her what she knows of Rygat.  Brand asks why he wants to 
know, so Felix explains about Gerard and Flora.  Heather says that 
with Felix's help they might be able get through, since the bond 
between parent and child helps strengthen Trump contact between 
them.  Fiona mumbles something about Trump traps and passes out, 
much to Brand's annoyance.  Brand insists that Felix practice 
Trumping him but only letting the contact be tentatively established. 
Heather leaves them to check on Rinaldo.
 
        Ahab sends a page to ask Shard to meet him the armory.  The 
page finds Shard and relays the message.  Shard asks the page to tell 
the physician in the infirmary to notify him when Julian wakes up 
and proceeds to the armory.  Ahab asks him for something from the 
shadow where Shard found his army.  Shard gives him a piece of 
uniform cloth.  Ahab makes preparations for a Hellride.
 
        Ariana tells Driscoll that she needs to ask her question of him 
in private.  Much to Martin's disappointment, they leave the dining 
hall.  Ariana asks if Driscoll's talked with Mirelle recently.  He says 
he hasn't.  She feels Mirelle should be told of recent events and asks 
to borrow his Trump or her.  Driscoll thinks Mirelle will have ways of 
blocking the contact but Ariana tries anyway.  She gets through to 
Mirelle, who is in the middle of a sword fight.  She asks for help, so 
Ariana pulls her through.  Even though she is struck several times in 
the process, she is not injured.  She seems to have a little trouble 
remembering Ariana.  Ariana tells her what's happened since 
Patternfall.  Mirelle asks them not to tell anyone else of her presence 
in Amber and goes to take a shower.  Ariana asks Driscoll to help her 
back to the infirmary.
 
        Ahab tells Deirdre what he's planning.  Deirdre tells him she 
has a few armies stashed away in shadow.  He asks her if there's any 
trick to finding armies in shadow.  She says it usually involves 
stepping into the role of a god.  She gives him her sigil and tells him 
to show it to her armies and say that he's her son.  Ahab gets 
Trumped by Ariadne who tells him the Hellmaids are returning to 
Arden.  Ahab gets Zero and starts Hellriding.
 
        Brand finishes instructing Felix on how to retreat from a Trump 
call.  Brand asks if Felix is ready and tells him that when he gives the 
signal to get out, Felix should obey immediately.  They begin to focus 
on the Trump card.  They begin to get a sense of Gerard when Brand 
says to get out.  Felix breaks the contact as Ariana and Driscoll enter. 
They see an arc of light going from the Trump to Brand.  After a 
while if fades.  Brand greets Ariana and says that Gerard is alive and 
seems to be well, but there is definitely a Trump trap present.  Brand 
tells Felix to instruct Heather to continue keeping an eye on Rinaldo 
and shimmers out.  Heather returns from checking Rinaldo.  Shard 
enters to check on Julian.  Felix leaves to tell Isabeux that Brand 
thinks Gerard is OK.
 
        Ahab gets Deirdre's armies first and then finds his shadow.  He 
offers to buy the assistance of his shadow's army.  His shadow 
eventually agrees, for the sum of one caret for everyone man in the 
army.  Ahab Hellrides for a jewel of that size and brings it back.  He 
brings his armies to Arden, where he hears the sound of gunfire.
 
        Shard starts riding towards Arden.  He is overtaken by Ariadne 
who tells him that the Hellmaids are returning.  They race for Arden. 
As they approach, a bullet whizzes past Shard's ear.  They take cover. 
Ahab and his army do the same.  Ahab tries Trumping Julian, with 
no luck.  He tries Bleys and gets through.  He tells Bleys about his 
army and asks if there's a stash of gunpowder anywhere.  Bleys says 
to hold tight, Corwin is on the way.  Shortly afterwards, bullets start 
flying from behind him.  He Trumps Corwin and asks for some spare 
ammo.  Corwin says he can arm some of Ahab's men and directs him 
to the ammunition.
 
        Those in the infirmary hear a commotion.  Ariana sends a 
guard for her sword and armor, in case the Castle is invaded.  Driscoll 
leaves to investigate.
 
        In the library, Alex hears gunfire.  He starts looking for a 
sword.
 
        Heather gets a Trump contact from Mandor.  He tells her that 
Bleys and Gramble are about to correct the gem, and he thought 
she'd like to see it.  Heather goes through.  Mandor tells her to save 
what she can if this attempt fails.
 
        Ahab loses 100,000 men in the first hour.
 
        Felix tries to decide if he should leave Isabeux and help in the 
fight.  He tells her that he's going to check with Random.  The pages 
direct him to the battlements.  Random is facing Arden and 
concentrating intensely.  Quite a storm is brewing over Arden and 
lightning starts shooting from the clouds.
 
        Ahab is Trumped by Ariadne.  She tells him that she's taken 
out the Hellmaid's captain but is deep in enemy territory and would 
appreciate a hand back.  He pulls her through.  She collapses on him, 
bleeding profusely and saying it was an awful lot of fun.  Ahab tells 
her she's worse than he is.  He Trumps Felix and asks if it's safe for 
the wounded in Amber.  Felix says it is, so Ahab passes Ariadne 
through.  She complains that she's fine and weakly hits Felix.  She 
passes out soon afterwards.  Felix brings her down to the infirmary, 
where Ariana has positioned herself by the door with her sword. 
Felix says he has a present from Ahab.  Ariana starts working on 
Ariadne's wounds.
 
        Shard manages to crawl out of the crossfire on the right side. 
Ahab keeps yelling insults at the Hellmaids and ducking behind 
cover.  Shard approaches Corwin and asks what they're up against. 
Corwin asks who he is.  When Shard identifies himself, Corwin tells 
him to get a gun and start shooting.
 
        A red image of Dworkin appears above the Left Eye.  As the 
spell climaxes, there is a bright flash of light and Dworkin is standing 
over the Left Eye.  He says "Now, I am mad!" and disappears. 
Heather Trumps to the Primal Pattern and finds that it has returned. 
The Chaos forces in Arden begin to retreat.
 
        Ariana feels the return of the Pattern.  She continues working 
on Ariadne, who should be dead given the amount of blood she has 
lost.  Felix is asked to assist her.  Eric is working on Fiona and they 
hear her shriek as he removes the remaining quarrel.
 
        Ahab yells "wimp" at the retreating Hellmaids, who respond by 
shooting off the top of his ear.  Dworkin appears next to Ahab and 
glares at him.  He starts marching off in the direction of the 
Hellmaids.  After he has gone some distance, he picks something up 
off the ground and inspects it.  There is a burst of gunfire and he 
falls to the ground.  Shard rushes over to him, picks him up, and 
Trumps back to Amber.
 
        Ariana has just finished patching Ariadne up when Shard 
comes in with Dworkin.  She examines Dworkin and discovers he was 
shot in the head.  His pupils are fixed and dilated and he's not 
breathing.  Shard asks if there's anything she can do.  She doubts it, 
unless Dworkin can function without his brain.
 
        Ahab is Trumped by Eric, who tells him that the second quarrel 
is out and with any luck Fiona will live to see the morning.