From Kris.Fazzari@um.cc.umich.edu Mon Jan 24 09:33:22 1994 Date: Mon, 24 Jan 94 01:01:10 EST From: Kris.Fazzari@um.cc.umich.edu To: thari@umich.edu Subject: Kris' Campaign Log Chapter Twenty-nine The pages wake Felix, Ahab, Shard and Heather at 5 a.m. Ariana wakes up early to prevent the page from knocking on her door and waking up Martin. She leaves a note to be given to Driscoll in the event that she does not survive, asking him to return Kira and her guards to her homeland. The pages have a some difficulty waking up Shard, who has trouble recalling what he's being woken up for in the first place. Yawning and bleary eyed, the group goes to the dining hall and proceed to dig into the breakfast laid out for them by the head chef, Michael. Bleys strolls in half an hour late and pours himself some brandy. Shortly afterwards, Martin makes an appearance, since it seems he's included on the mission after all. After everyone is done eating, they grab their armor, weapons, etc., and go down to the stable. Felix hands a note to a stable boy and asks to have it delivered to Gerard. Alex hears a rapping at his door. In response to his inquiry, Kimdyl asks to come in. She tells him that something unusual is happening. When he asks what it is, she explains that the younger generation has gathered for breakfast at an unusually early hour. Alex is inclined to believe it's some sort of suicide run, especially when he learns that both Heather and Ahab are involved. Kimdyl wants to go along with them. Alex would rather not. Kimdyl accuses him of becoming old and says she won't stay around and be bored. Alex agrees to go, mostly to keep an eye on her. The group picks out horses, mounts up and rides off. Shortly after they leave, there is a bellow heard throughout the Castle. It is Gerard, shouting Mirelle's name. Not wanting to stick around and find out what has Gerard so riled up, Alex and Kimdyl hasten to the stables. As the party passes through Arden, Ahab pauses to salute the Grove of the Unicorn. Ariana asks if this is an Amber tradition, but Ahab says it owes more to the cheap romances he reads. Martin makes a remark about Ahab being too much of an idealist. Ahab says he'd rather be an idealist than an eternal cynic like Martin. Kimdyl mounts her horse and takes off, leaving Alex hard pressed to catch up. Alex is nervous about riding to face Chaosites in his natural form. He mentions his concerns to Kimdyl, who responds by shifting to look like Coral. Alex asks when she had a chance to learn Coral's form, but Kimdyl won't say. Alex shifts to look like the Amberite he's spent the most time imitating: Ahab. Unfortunately for him, Julian is understandably suspicious when he spots Ahab riding through Arden for the second time that morning. After they have ridden some distance into Arden, Alex and Kimdyl hear Julian's hunting horn. Alex decides changing back to his natural form would be a good idea and Kimdyl follows suit. They round a bend and come face to face with a pack of Stormhounds. Kimdyl asks how hard they are to kill. Alex advises her to wait. Julian quickly arrives on the scene and asks what they are doing in Arden. Alex explains that he is there to back up Heather's plan, since there is a traitor in the group. Julian asks how he came by that knowledge. Alex replies that Kimdyl brought the information to Amber. He asks Julian if the traitor was supposed to be accompanying Heather's group. Julian says that as far as he knows, that was the plan. Alex asks if he can continue on his way, but Julian refuses to let them pass. Kimdyl asks by what right he denies them passage. Alex explains that it's Julian's forest. She asks if Julian holds the deed. Alex points out that Julian holds the Stormhounds. Kimdyl concedes his point and they ride off. After they have gone some distance away, Kimdyl says she knows another way. They start riding through the forest in a different direction. Once they are far enough from Amber, Bleys begins to Hellride and the others follow in his wake. After Hellriding for half an hour, Bleys reigns in sharply and the others do the same. They see a river of fire blocking their path, and begin to ride alongside it. Felix asks why they don't subtract it. Bleys responds that if he could have, he would have done it already. Shard spots something following behind them. He tries to tell Bleys, but is waved off. He tells the others instead, but they can't see anything. Ariana searches for the presence of the Logrus, but only detects it in the river. As they ride, the river begins to slowly narrow. When it is about twenty feet or so across, they stop. Shard is still the only one able to see what is following them, and even he can't see it when he stares at it directly. Bleys jumps the river, narrowly clearing it. Ariana does so as well, after an initial failed attempt. The others decide to take the easier (and safer) way and Trump through. They continue on. After traveling a while longer, the temperature begins to drop and they quickly find themselves engulfed in a blizzard. Most of the party begins to wish they'd warn warmer clothing, although Bleys doesn't seem to be affected. Shard decides that now is the perfect time to Trump Battlestar. Battlestar hears that Shard is in a blizzard and asks to come through. Shard argues, telling him it's cold, but eventually brings him through. Shard's horse is not at all happy to find Shard suddenly holding a Stormhound over its flank. It makes its displeasure known by bucking them both off into a snow bank. After some snickering from the others, they continue on their way. After two hours or so, Ahab asks if maybe Bleys could use some assistance from Heather. Bleys agrees, and shortly afterwards the weather begins to improve. Alex and Kimdyl hear the baying of hounds. Not wanting to face Julian or his Stormhounds again, they spur their horses on. The terrain the party is riding through quickly turns from arctic to desert. They continue riding, and soon spot a line of trees ahead. Shard continues to see something following them. Ariana questions Shard about what he is seeing, but he can't tell much about it, other than it is bipedal. When the group reaches the trees, they halt to rest a short distance into the forest. Felix feeds some apples to his horse, and the others quickly follow suit. Some cursory exploration reveals they seem to be at the beginning of a large, dense, rain forest. Bleys asks to be woken up only in an emergency and goes to sleep. Felix and Ariana hide the horses a little deeper in the forest. Felix remains with them while Ariana rejoins the others. Kimdyl scatters the pack that is pursuing her and Alex with a lightning bolt. Alex uses a mental disrupt power word to send one of the Stormhounds spinning. They see the edge of the forest approaching and make a frantic run for it. Felix notices that the forest around him has become ominously silent. Shortly afterwards, the horses begin to get nervous. Felix Trumps Ahab, who tells Ariana to watch him before he takes it. Felix tells Ahab that something's frightening the horses. Behind Felix there is a cat-like growl and one of the horses screams. Ahab asks to come through and Ariana follows. Ahab shoots the creature, but it tears the throat out of Ariana's horse in the process. Shard sees the figure who was following them standing on a dune. He is clothed all in black and pointing at Shard. Battlestar lets out a loud bark and tears off towards the man in black. Shard runs after him. Bleys wakes up with a start at the noise just as Ariana, Ahab and Felix bring the remaining horses back. Bleys, Ahab and Ariana mount horses and go after Shard, with Ariana riding Shard's horse. They hear quite a commotion coming from the other side of the dune. Shard crests the dune in time to see the man in black disappear, leaving Battlestar with a piece of the cloak in his teeth. Battlestar calls Shard an idiot, explaining that the man in black was casting a spell at him. Ahab tells Shard that bringing the Pattern to mind can block that sort of thing. The party mounts up and proceeds through the forest, with Ariana doubling up on Felix's horse. After a while, the forest begins to thin out but fog starts to creep in. Soon they can't see more than a foot or so in front of them and they hear the flapping of learthery wings. Ahead, they hear Battlestar yelp and then a thump. Ariana senses the presence of the Logrus all around them. Alex and Kimdyl manage to clear the forest and find the Stormhounds reluctant to follow. Kimdyl brings up the Logrus to find the others. Finally locating them, she tells Alex they're far away. She uses the Logrus to grab something near the party and pull her and Alex to them. Shard whistles for Battlestar and hears some whining ahead. Felix's device warns him of danger. Bleys begins concentrating on something. Martin cries out and disappears. Ariana investigates and finds that the ground ahead ends at a latticework which is suspended over an enormous drop. Ariana tries to Trump Martin but the card doesn't even grow cold. They party continues onto the latticework, leaving the horses behind. They have only walked a short distance when Bleys is hit by a lightning bolt. While Bleys is caught in a sorcerous duel, shadowy figures appear in front of the others. They fire at them and are fired upon in return. Ahab finds that some of his ammunition works, but one of the shadowy figures has some that works as well. The party notices that the figures seem to be shadows of themselves, causing Ahab to remark "This gives us an edge. We know at least one of the bad guys is incredibly stupid." Shard's double still has its version of Battlestar, which it sends to attack Shard. Shard manages to catch it with his whip and toss it over the side of the latticework, but the effort knocks him off balance and he falls as well. He manages to catch a lattice with his whip, but badly wrenches his arm in the process, leaving him hanging there, unable to climb back up. Ahab's double shoots at him and grazes him in the shoulder. Ariana grazes the head of Ahab's opponent with a crossbow bolt, but is hit in the shoulder with one by her double. Ahab and his double close to engage in swordplay, as do Ariana and her double. Heather and Shard's doubles advance on them, causing Heather to give up on her attempt to pull Shard back to safety. Heather's double changes to look like someone she calls Padraic, and holds its arms out to her. She argues it's not fair. It replies that getting him killed wasn't either. It tries to persuade Heather that it's really Padraic. Ahab leaps kitty-corner and lands behind Ariana's double. Ariana presses her attack, distracting her double long enough for Ahab to skewer it, causing it to dissolve away. Ariana turns and faces Ahab's double, who has a sword equal in strength to Morglyph. She manages to duck the first blow, but parrying the second breaks her sword off near the hilt. She tries to stick what's left of it up into the double's crotch, but it crushes her hand with its foot. Ahab shoots Padraic in the throat. Padraic stands there for a moment, looking pleadingly at Heather. Heather uses her whip to knock it over the edge. Ariana asks Ahab to give her Morglyph. When Ahab's double sees Ariana advancing on it with Morglyph, and Ahab standing behind her aiming his gun at its head, it salutes the pair and steps off of the edge. Bleys screams, tosses a Trump at Heather, and vanishes. Heather tries to catch it, but a flying demon carries it off. Ariana shoots Felix's double, staggering it long enough for Felix to throw his sword through it, easily destroying it. Ariana takes out Shard's double just as it is about to slit Shard's throat. Shard is pulled back up to the latticework. Rygat makes her appearance and begins to laugh. She holds up the Trump Bleys tossed, saying that she can talk to the dead with it, making it very useful. She asks how they all would like to die. Ariana says she'd like to go choking the life out of Rygat. Ahab comments that crucifixion is right out. Felix suggests she use the Trump to contact her children. Rygat grows very angry at this and Felix begins to choke. Ariana brings Pattern to mind and tries to help Felix, but his barrier prevents her from making psychic contact with him. Ahab tells Felix to lower the barrier. Once Felix does, Ahab uses the Pattern disrupt Rygat's attack. Felix collapses to the ground, gasping for air. Rygat uses a power word to bring down the Pattern in Ahab's mind. He brings it up again. She uses a different word to bring it down again. He brings it back up. She uses another power word to put him to sleep. Shard and Ariana start dragging Felix and Ahab towards land. Unfortunately, the latticework starts disintegrating, from the land out. Ariana wakes up Ahab, who is able to transport himself with the Pattern to solid ground. The others quickly Trump through to him, except for Heather, who remains behind. Rygat turns Ahab into a coat rack, aware of what goes on around him, but unable to use the Pattern or be reached psychically. Heather asks Rygat if the man she faced was really Padraic. Rygat insists it was, saying it wouldn't have been the same otherwise. Heather attempts to ally herself with Rygat, acknowledging that Rygat has beaten them. Rygat points out that Heather has nothing to offer her. Rygat grabs Morglyph, Ahab and finally Heather with the Logrus and pulls them to her throne. She grabs Shard and suspends him over the chasm. Felix and Ariana attempt to stop her, but they are unable to break her hold on Ahab or Shard, and are forced to let go, or be carried over the chasm themselves. Alex and Kimdyl arrive on the scene. Alex shapeshifts to look like one of the flying demons while Kimdyl sneaks off behind Rygat's throne, waiting for a good moment to stab her. After gloating some more in front of her captive audience, Rygat tries to use the captured Trump. Heather uses her whip to knock the Trump out of Rygat's hand, but the card is caught by one of Rygat's flying demons and returned to her. Rygat uses the Logrus to crush Heather in a vice-like grip. Rygat tries to activate the Trump again, screams "No!", and disappears. Unfortunately for Shard, the Logrus holding him aloft disappears with her, and he begins to fall. Alex swoops down and catches him, straining to carry him back to Rygat's throne. Heather Trumps Ariana and passes Ahab through. Alex arrives with Shard and is passed through as well. Finally, Heather picks up the rigged Trump and goes through herself. Kimdyl is disappointed that it ended before she could attack Rygat. She manages to undo the spell on Ahab, returning him to normal. Heather explains to everyone that the mission was meant to fail, to trick Rygat into using the Trump they were carrying. Rygat is now trapped in the Trump, and will not be able to leave until she gets over her anger at the deaths of her sons. Ahab is disappointed that he didn't get to kill Rygat. Kimdyl agrees to Trump back to the city with the horses. Ariana tries Bleys' Trump, but it is does not grow cold. She tries Martin's Trump, which works this time. Much to her surprise, he has trouble remembering her and doesn't seem to know what mission she's referring to. Alex and Heather choose this moment to mention that the Martin she's known since Patternfall was a spy. Ariana asks who the spy was. Alex identifies him as a Lord Vetch. Ariana asks if anyone will care much if he dies. Alex doesn't think so, adding that some people will probably be happy about it. Ahab offers to help her kill him. The party Trumps back to the Main Hall.