Lord Armond of Amber's Personal
Notes
Wars End?
Character Diary III
Ambercon 97
Vendetta: Today I broke one of my cardinal rules; I asked one of my Aunts and Uncles for help. If that fact alone is not bad enough, the one I asked was Bleys. Bleys has apparently secured the position of Vice Roy of Amber City, and I had hoped might be able to help with identifying my mysterious attacker, but he, regretfully, could not as he is very busy with his new position. So either he doesn't actually know anything, unlikely, or he figures that I cannot offer him enough to be worth helping, very likely. The, apparent, price for even asking him was an invitation to a party he was throwing, However, I have come away with at least one fact, my enemy is at least dangerous enough so that Bleys felt helping me wasn't worth it. That thought put me in a dark mood, so I decided to go home to the White Manor.
I was searching the manor grounds for a clue to my attacker's identity, when I noticed a sheared off tree limb with just a trace of magic about it. Further investigation lead to a teleport point in the tree where my unwelcome visitor most likely arrived. After analyzing the residual magic left by the spell, I concluded the other end of the teleport must be located within the realm of Amber, so I quickly enchanted a nearby bird to search for that point. Encouraged by that bit of good fortune, I returned to Castle Amber to prepare for Bley's party. At least now there was the chance I might actually enjoy the party.
From what little I know, the reason behind Bleys' little gathering was to show off Eros, but the reasoning behind that motivation is beyond me. While there, I struck up a conversation with Ian, who seemed to be in a bad mood about a missing sword, then I chatted with Fitzgan but nothing of importance was said. Oddly, Morgan was absent, but I never learned why. Before I left, I invited Ian to a bout of fencing tomorrow at noon, but I will admit my primary motive for asking was to see what he knew about what was going on in Amber. As soon as I could, I politely left, and then I returned to the White Manor and began work on creating a few enchanted doves and fish to continue my search for a trace of the teleport spell.
When I arrived at the castle for our noon appointment, I saw Ian had brought along Morgan, and we began crossing our blades. Unfortunately, neither of them was very talkative, but I could tell they knew something. I was not in the mood for stonewalling, so I really beat them at fencing. For years, I never really fought them at my full potential, because I often felt a little like a kid around them and trouncing them just felt wrong, but I am tired of feeling that way. I had hoped to show them that I was worthy of being included into their confidences, but it didn't work that way. As usual Morgan did not react, but Ian lunged at me during the battle and quickly wrestled me to the ground with an excellent move. Since this fight was supposed to be a fencing match, the move caught me off guard, and my off hand reacted instinctively. I doubt Ian ever realized how close he came to having a dagger plunged into his abdomen, but I had caught myself and palmed the dagger out of his sight. A few hours after the fight, Ian gave me a horse named Shadow to replace the one I had lost tracking my attacker, but I am sure that the gift is as close to an apology as I am ever likely to get from Ian.
Afternoon brought an unexpected development; one of my enchanted searchers located a trace of my mysterious opponent's magic at Amber's city docks. Quickly, I hurried to the location but saw nothing but an empty berthing slot. Undaunted, I began to question the dock workers as to the identity of the missing ship, and they directed me to a ship captain in the service of Gerard, Fitzgan, whom I had briefly met a few days ago but had misidentified as just another court functionary. When I met him, he had a teenage girl, Joss, in tow. I gave him the very brief and higly edited version of my current problems, and he agreed to help find the missing ship, as did the girl. While she displayed a tough street attitude and insisted she could handle a little information gathering, I was not happy with the idea of a kid getting mixed up with my problems. I pulled Fitzgan aside, but he assured me that he would look out for her, hinted that she was also under Caine's protection, and handed me a trump of himself. Sensing that there was very little I could do to persuade Joss not to help me, I decided to leave the matter in Fitzgan's hands and headed back towards Amber Castle to check in on Marcus, who was still recovering from his injuries.
While at the castle, I saw Ian, who informed me that he now personally carried the key to Amber's Pattern room, but his reasons for acquiring the key sounded rather petty. Before I could question him further, Ian told me that Fionna had told him information she felt I would find interesting. She told Ian that the treaty with Chaos permits the declaration of secret vendetta's by members of the Courts of Chaos against members of the Amber Royal family. Since I was under the impression we had won the war, this quaint little provision in the treaty caught me completely off guard, and Ian used my stunned reaction to tump in Morgan, who Ian explained might be able to identify the Chaosian house based on the silver blue insignia that one on my attackers wore. However, before I could ask why Morgan would know something about Chaosian houses, he trumped in Benedict. Benedict and Morgan exchanged a few quick words, then Benedict trumped back out. Ian suggested that he and Morgan look further into the matter, bid me farewell, and headed down the hall. A few moments later, I spoke to the now empty hall, "Would anyone please explain to me what just happened?" I waited for a reply but none came, so I retired to my quarters in the castle to mull things over.
Staring out the window at Amber City did not seem to be making things any clearer, so in an act of desperation, I pulled out my trump deck and preformed a full reading which I have recorded here:
|
Card Placement |
Trump Card |
Interpretation |
|
The Querant's Present Situation |
Armond |
The current situation certainly does involve me. |
|
The Likely Outcome of the Current Affair |
Chariot |
I have no idea what this card means, which may mean the outcome is vague or not set. |
|
The Querant's Pursuer |
Wheel of Fortune |
I read this as destiny or fate. |
|
That Which Inspires the Querant |
Death Reversed |
Yes, I would like to avoid death |
|
That Which Seeks to Manipulate |
Ace of Coin [Pattern] |
I certainly hope to manipulate using Pattern. |
|
The Pivot |
Chaos |
Easy, the solution involves Chaos. |
|
Top Right Column |
Benedict |
Maybe I should involve Benedict more? |
|
Upper Middle Right Column |
Flora Reversed |
Leave mom out of my problems. |
|
Lower Middle Right Column |
Findo Reversed |
Perhaps a child of Findo is involved? |
|
Bottom Right Column |
Strength |
Power is part of the answer or the problem? |
The interpretation of these readings is more an act of faith than anything else, but my first try was intriguing. The next reading was a straight forward who is behind my problems, and the cards conclude Brand. On that disturbing note, I used my trump deck for more conventional purposes and contacted Fitzgan. I warned him about the possible Chaos vendetta against myself, and he informed me that he is pursuing several leads, plus Aros has somehow become involved in pursuing the missing ship. I had more questions for Fitzgan, but he was forced to break contact to deal with someone, Joss I believe. At that point, I decided to return to the White Manor, before events prevented me from preparing a few surprises.
Once I had arrived at the my home, I began a familiar routine. I selected a large black cloak made of the finest cloth Amber has to offer, plus I retrieved one of my mini-crossbows and seven bolts. The enchanment on the bolts would be a straight forward damage enhancement backed up by a trace of pattern and tweaked to work well against the magics my enemy has used. The cloak would be a more complicated matter, but I started with a simple yet powerful armoring effect combined with a size doubling or halving ablility. Next, I granted the cloak a strength much higher than my own and programed some manuevers into it. I am a highly trained fencer and am quite familiar with the rapiar and cloak method of fighting. By properly manipulating the cloak, the following enchanted manuevers can be used: Grab, Strike, Envelope Target, Glide, and Shield. Both enchantments were cast to last a year and a day, will not function in the hands of someone who does not bear the mark of Amber's Pattern, and can, at least in my hands, survive the rigors of Shadow Walking but not Hellriding. As a further precaution, the cloaks magic manuevers can only work when the cloak's clasp is closed and either around the user's neck or in his hand. If needed, I would complete the enchantments while on the move.
Wars End?
Character Diary IV
Ambercon 98/Gencon 98
A Small Victory: I had hoped to talk to Ian to try and find out more of what Fionna had said about the Chaos vendettas, but I failed to located him. On the plus side, my search resulted in a charming dinner with his wife, Alis. Next, I trumped Fitzgin who told me that he could find no record of my attacker's ship, but Aros had detecting a residual energy trail. Since this lead was all I had to act on, I asked Fitzgin to pull me through, and I soon found myself on Amber's docks with Fitzgin, Joss, and Aros. After exchanging a few pleasantries with the others, Joss informed me that my attacker's ship has a very streamlined red mahogany hull with white sails and flying a dark blue flag bearing my attacker's strange silver symbol. Perhaps, there was still a chance I could catch my attacker in shadow if I moved quickly.
After a brief negotiation with Fitzgin, I had a ship ready to sail in pursuit by tomorrow, but that plan quickly unraveled after Joss announced she had picked up the trail. Apparently, the kid knows a little magic as she had cast a wizard's eye type spell to detect the faint magical trail my enemy had left in his wake. This bit of news interested Aros, who had been just standing there watching us with a persistent stare, and then he somehow twisted shadow to produce a view screen of what Joss's spell was aimed towards. There was no sign of ship traffic, but we caught brief glimpses of some large underwater creature lurking in the area. Aros then twisted shadow further to produce a ship at location we were watching and moved himself to the ship via the twist. Once there, Aros asked if I wanted him to bring me over to his ship using his special technique. Since I find his method of manipulating shadow even more disturbing than I find Aros, I respectfully declined, but he was not taking no for an answer. Eventually, I agreed to lend him my trump, and he brought me to his ship. I politely retrieved my trump, and we chatted for a few minutes before he left. Aros seems to be the nicest and most helpful of my aunts and uncles, but I still cannot shake that creepy feeling I get whenever I am around him. As I began to shift shadow in pursuit of my quarry, I begin to wonder from where or what Aros got this ship from.
Sadly, I have concluded that I cannot catch the ship before Ygg, and I do not want to cross that boundary until I am surer of our current relationship with the Courts of Chaos. A trump call from Fitzgin telling me that the ship I requested was ready solves my problem, and I had him pull me through to Amber. Once again Joss was with Fitzgin but there was no sign of Aros. I asked Fitzgin to retain the ship in my name for a few months, and I informed them that my pursuit was not successful. I thanked both of them for their aid, and I headed back towards Amber Castle with the intention of moving my home back to the White Manor. On the way, I decided to concentrate on the fact my enemy decided to flee Amber, and I declare a small victory for myself.
At the castle, I made arrangements for my servants to return to the White Manor with four castle guards, to be stationed in the guestrooms until the attacks end. While talking with Lt. Andrew, who is temporarily in charge while Ian is gone, about transferring the guards to my manor, I learned that Andrew is Bleys' son. Furthermore, he invited me to breakfast tomorrow, which I readily accepted, as I would really like to get to know a relative who is not several hundred years older than I am. While heading out of the castle, I encountered Auric, who expressed sympathy at my plight. I politely respond, but the thought the he has Julian as his father makes me think I am the one who should be expressing my sympathy to him. If I were given the choice between having Julian as my father or a mysterious assassin trying to kill me, I would pick the assassin. Anytime you are feeling bad about the hand fate dealt you, just find someone worse off than yourself and you will feel much better. With that rather twisted thought running through my mind, I returned home to the White Manor.
My breakfast with Andrew went quite well but left me feeling very depressed. During our conversation, I learned that Andrew was quite surprised to learn that he is Bleys' son and that someone named Zane recently brought an injured Fionna to the castle from Arden, plus I filled Andrew in on some of the details concerning my blue armored stalker. Andrew reminds me of myself when I first arrived in Amber. No, I am lying to myself. He reminds me of how I wanted to be when I first arrived in Amber. There is no great conflict threatening to destroy Amber and her children; no king commanding people to walk the Pattern before they are ready; no annual family dinner to watch an imprisoned crippled uncle being paraded about as a warning against disobedience; no Julian viciously training the next generation to fight; no hordes of Chaosians clawing their way to the very heart of Amber, no... A concerned look from Andrew indicates that I have let my feelings show past my mask, so I quickly adjust the mask to once again project the image of the dashing young fop. As the meal ended, I wondered what mask Andrew will choose to wear, and whether he will choose to wear it as protection against others or against himself.
After about an hour of wandering the halls of Castle Amber, I was once again ready to face the forces of reality. Actually, the particular force I was planning to face was Fionna. Hopefully, she can provide some details about our current relationship with the Courts of Chaos, and I will admit to feeling concerned about my favorite aunt being injured. Before seeing Fionna, I decide to drop off my enchanted cloak and crossbow at my castle quarters as I don't want her to see them, but not for the reasons most people would suspect. If I brought them, Fionna would assume I did that because I wanted her honest opinion of them, and I just don't feel up to her honest opinion today. I greeted my aunt with a smile, a friendly hug, and genuine relief that her wounds appeared to be minor. Fionna informed me that the treaty with Chaos was in flux, and that the provision that Ian had mentioned had not been agreed to by Amber, but she thought is was possible that a Chaosian might have acted prematurely. Unfortunately, she did not have any useful information on the identity of my attacker but suggested I concentrate Amber's enemies and hinted that my mother my know more. After bidding my aunt farewell, I went off to fetch my horse, Shadow, from the stables.
While riding to my mother's estate, I began considering how to ask mom about certain details about our past. "Certain details about our past", I whisper angrily to myself. How am I going to get mother to tell me about father, if I cant even face the questions myself? By the time I arrived, I have decided on a method of breaching the topic with my mother. Initially, my plan goes well as I steered the conversation towards my mysterious attacker. Then I asked, "Does our family have any enemies that I should know about?" I had then planned to ask specifically about my father's enemies, but my mother's reaction caught me off guard. She laughed, and said, "Oh Armand, sometimes I forget about how young you are. Of course, our family has enemies." She actually believes I am that naïve??? I replied, "Actually, I meant an enemy that might warrant my specific attention." Still highly amused, she said there was no one she thought would be after me in particular. Still managing to conceal my stunned reaction, I shift the conversation to one of her favorite topics, current gossip in Amber. I told her about Zane and Fionna, but the news about Andrew being Bleys' son seemed to interest her most. In another move that caught me by surprise, she asked if I wanted to return with her to the castle. I nodded my head in agreement and went to fetch the horses. Momentarily out of her presence, I recompose myself. Did she intentionally respond that way because she guessed I was going to ask about dad? Why did she, suddenly, want to be in Castle Amber? Does she really believe I am nothing more than the naïve fop I pretend to be? Am I that naïve? Too many questions and not enough answers. I need answers. The ride back to Amber should be interesting.
A Short Ride: As I bring the horse toward the manor, mother appears weaing a Victorian fox hunting outfit and carrying a falcon that is at least half her size. For some reason I find the sight of this very ammusing, but I suppress that thought and hand mother her horse. As we approach the edge of her estates, I prepare to begin my questioning, but suddenly mother launches the giant falcon and rides off in pursuit. Immediately, I spur my horse on while my off hand readies my mini-crossbow, and I instinctivally began scanning the area for trouble. After a minute of riding, the falcon dives down on a target in a small grove of trees, and we rapidly ride toward it. As we approach, my cloaks shape alters subtly into a more battle ready condition, I move my weapon hand to my hilt while directing the horse with my legs, and aim the crossbow under my cloak towards the target area. As we clear the brush, I can see the deer the falcon has pounced on for its meal. After uttering a silent curse, I discretly return the crossbow to its perch, grab the horses reigns once again, and slowly reconfigue my cloak back to riding, as I wonder if she actually does stuff like this to me on purpose.
Dispite the distraction, I steel myself once again to ask her the questions I need answered. In a quiet voice I ask her who father was, where did he come from, why did he die, and was he important to the Courts of Amber. She responds that he was an architech, native to a shadow like Earth, mortal and died of old age, and, probabely, not important. I had my answers, but they didn't help. However, mother paused when I asked her why father left his native shadow and did not truly answer the question, but I do not feel like pursuing that at the moment. As we continue, she asks me what I know about Joss and Aros. I tell her everything I know about Aros, but I say little about Joss. Amberites only have a little time too themselves before they get drawn into the various games, and I was not going to shorten Joss' time. By this time we here aproaching the Castle and, of course, we immediately encounter Joss. She makes it quite obvious she does not want to be seen so I ignore her, but I doubt she really escaped mother's watchful eye. Once we reach Castle Amber, I say goodbye to mother, who proceeds directly into the castle, while I drop the horses off at the stables.
I spend some time helping to stable the horses for no other reason than I wanted some time to think. Once there is nothing left to do at the stables, I begin to head towards the White Manor as I review the events of the past few weeks in my mind. Perhaps, the magic crystal I lost to the zombies could be used to discover the location of my enemy? Before I can consider this plan more carefully, I stumbe into Joss once again. This time she acknowedges me, and we exchange pleasantries, but I know she is hiding something. I make it clear she can come to me if she is in trouble, but this offer causes her to scurry off. As I make my way up the winding path from the stables, I hear the unmistakeable sounds of Julian's armor clopping against stone and headed in my direction. This day is just not going well.
Lord Armond of Amber's Notes are copyrited (c) by Scott Pippo 1998, 1999.
Edited for Game Purposes by George Gitari.
To Armond's Personal Information