The Journals of Morgan,
Prince of Rebma
and Amber
For the Campaign: In the Dark -- Entry 4:
Courts of Chaos Bound
I resolved to return to the Courts of Chaos and try to track down Random. It was my fear that Random's absence from the throne was somehow being reflected in Rebma as Mother's illness. This 'reflecting' effect causing Rebma's monarch to be 'absent' from the throne as well. It was my hope that in finding and returning Random to Amber that Moiré's illness would heal and she, too, would 'return' to her throne.
Thus began my second trip to the Courts of Chaos. It was faster for me to travel alone than to bring along a retinue or band of men. It always is for those of the Blood. There are faster ways to get there; but I did not have a Trump for the Courts, wasn't sure if I could reach Fiona from here, and did not think walking the Pattern and having it send me there would be... appropriate.
Barring a Trump or Patternwalk, one normally has to walk or ride through Shadow to reach one's destination. I, however, have yet another method. I swim through Shadow. Underwater for the most part too. It's something most Rebman's can do, oh not through Shadow, but survive underwater beyond the magical area or field surrounding Rebma. Swimming through Shadow, for me, is generally as fast as moving on land, but it has one added benefit that land movement does not. It is a great deal more difficult for one of my Amber relatives to track my movements when I swim than it is when I go by land. Llewella might be able to track through the water, but I seriously doubt anyone else can. They simply can't stay submerged as long as can, nor can they swim as deeply as I do.
And I wanted privacy right now to try and think some things through. During my swim I thought about a great deal of things, even resolved a few of them. I knew I didn't want the throne (Rebma's I mean), not now in this manner, and I would do all that I could to keep my mother alive, well, and occupying the throne for many centuries to come.
So I Hellswam towards Chaos. Hellswimming is similar to Hellriding in that it (usually) gets you where you want to go quickly - at a cost. It is tiring, more mentally than physically perhaps but it can take it's toll there as well. That's on land with a horse or some other means of conveyance. With Hellswimming you have to provide both means of locomotion; though Shadow and physical movement. Unless you can hitch a ride with a whale or with a school of dolphins or seahorses, of course. As I dislike leaving my underwater steeds in strange waters, I'm never sure if I'll make it back to them for the return trip, I tend to swim under my own power. This limits both how far and long I can Hellswim. Long trips are usually made in stages for this reason.
I encountered nothing more dangerous than a few sharks and once, a giant squid-like thing during my swim to the Courts. The sharks I managed to avoid, but not the squid thing. It and I ran into one another towards the end of the third of my four stage trip to the Courts. It was hungry. Hungry enough to make a try at having me for dinner. I'd stopped Hellswimming in order to take a short break and get something to eat. Having managed to spear a couple of fish on the point of my blade, I was swimming for the nearby shore when a pair of tentacles wrapped themselves around my ankles and yanked me under the surface.
I jack-knifed my body and started slicing away at the tentacles as I was pulled down towards the thing's mouth. Aermacil's keen edge made short work of freeing me and I dove down towards the thing. I soon saw the thing's body and it was huge. Ugly looking too and not quite like anything I'd seen before now. Dodging and slashing tentacles, I continued swimming down at the monster, aiming to stab at an eye. I'd have settled for a good, solid head shot though if that's all I was going to get.
I got it's left eye. A good, clean thrust deep into and through the eye and on into it's head. Bilious green fluid gushed out from the socket mixing with the water in a weird phosphorescent pattern. Then I shut my eyes and held tight to Aermacil. I was taking a calculated risk here; hoping it would react to that sort of wound like it's more familiar cousins would. I was right. Suddenly, the ambient light beyond my shut eyelids dropped to nothing and I felt a strong tugging on my blade.
Chuckling to myself, I kicked upwards a few meters. Opening my eyes, I could see the dark cloud of ink the thing had ejected out of it's body to cover it's escape. I then swam down a few more fish and then rested and ate for a bit on that distant shore before continuing on.
The fourth and final swim brought me to the Courts, well actually, to the battlefield near the Courts. From that point on I had to walk. It was actually almost pleasant walking there once I got used to that weird, banded sky again. I made my way to the Courts and the city gates. There, I announced myself and my business - to see the King of Amber, to a pair of very brusque city guards. They told me that King Random was not here but that Princess Fiona was at the Ways of Barimen. I didn't know that we, that is the Family, had any estates here but saw no reason to tell the guards that. Instead, I replied that I would require a guide there and would they be so kind as to arrange such?
They were and did, and so off I went through Courts of Chaos. Again. One day, I might actually get used to the way things and people seemed to move around and shift here.
I was conducted to the Ways of Barimen in due course, whereupon I thanked my guide and tipped him a few Rebman gold crowns. Something of souvenir to show off to his friends perhaps. I knocked upon the gates and a good looking woman - a blonde, opened the gates. I realized I knew her from Amber but couldn't think of her name to save my life. She greeted me with a shy smile and welcomed me to the Courts and House Barimen. She did know my name. I thanked her and asked if the King, Princes Benedict and Corwin or Princess Fiona were about.
She didn't know where Random, Corwin or his son, Merlin were. No one knew she said. Benedict had left, presumably for Amber or one of his retreats. Fiona was here but busy at the moment. She excused herself, and went to inform Fiona that I was here.
I wracked my brain for the girl's name as she left, to no avail. I knew she was a servant, a page of some sort, but I simply couldn't recall her name!
She came back a few minutes later with a cart bearing trays of sandwiches and drinks. She said Princess Fiona would be a few minutes and that she had asked her to bring some refreshments and keep me company until she could see me.
So we began talking about Amber and recent events both there and here in the Courts. More like verbal fencing really, as I was still trying to remember her name. I'd analyze her questions; who and what she was asking about, in order to place her in Amber. Finally, I had it. Her name was Ellen.
Ellen smiled when I used her name at last. Perhaps she knew I forgotten it and her questions merely a way to help me recall it. All in all, a nice girl.
Shortly thereafter, Fiona entered the room and Ellen and I rose to greet her. After asking if was I sufficiently refreshed, I was, she led me through the House to her study. There, I saw Ian's blade had been tucked into one corner. I decided not to comment on it. After all, if Ian wants his sword at the opposite end of the universe from him and not close to hand, well that's his affair. Fiona must have caught my glance at it though or simply knew me well enough because she said Ian had to ask for it's return himself.
I nodded and said; "Okay..." and then went on with the business of my visit. Trying to find Random.
Fiona said pretty much the same thing Ellen did; Random, Benedict and Corwin were not here. Supposedly Corwin, Merlin and Random viewed Oberon's body after it was confined to the Abyss. I found that rather hard to believe and said so. Fiona agreed with me and said she's asked repeatedly about the validity of that report. So far, the Chaosians involved have stuck to their story. She went on to say that she hadn't seen any of her brothers (presumably her sisters as well) since she's been here working on the treaty.
And she recommended not visiting Dara. I had to stop and think about that one for a minute. Then it clicked; I remembered she and Corwin supposed had had something of a falling out during the Patternfall war. Fiona said she was probably none too fond of Amberites right now. I agreed with her, not that I had any desire to visit Dara anyway.
I asked Fiona how the treaty negotiations were going.
"Reasonably well;" came her reply. She went on to say that the Chaosians will have the right to declare a vendetta against any Amberite they've proven deliberately attacked their House during the war. To declare a vendetta, the claimants must notify the courts of Amber and Chaos and the individual they wish to strike at as well. Assassinations will not be allowed; it must be in combat that the offender is injured or killed. Any Amberite who retaliates by attacking that House is on their own so to speak, though we, that is Amber, can declare a war on the Courts as a whole if an individual House gets out of hand.
I wondered what sort of 'proof' would be necessary for a House to declare one of these vendettas and to whom they'd have to present it. Presumably to both Courts but I wasn't sure. Also, I thought that was an interesting clause in the treaty. All we needed is for some poor devil to get it into his head that one of the Family had deliberately attacked his brother and he'd get the right to come after the supposed attacker. And when he fell, someone else from that House could pick up the cause and come after that person again. And we can't take it to them without stepping outside the treaty or declaring war on the entire Courts of Chaos once more. Something, I've a feeling, would take a great of convincing to get the Family to do. Then I searched my memory to see if I could recall attacking any one person or House above all others, but couldn't come up with any possibilities. Not that I was particularly worried about it, I can take care of myself.
Fiona said I was welcome to stay as long as I liked, but that she had some things to attend to. I thanked her for her time and took her up on her offer of a place to rest.
I rested for a bit and then dug out my Trumps. Shuffling out Random's, I studied the image for a time. I was hoping that wherever Random was, I was closer to him here than I was back in Amber. Random - for all that he was King, most likely merely an uncle and not my father, and married to one of my childhood friends, I didn't know him all that well. But I tried to reach him, I tried hard for about twenty minutes or so. All I got for my efforts though, was a headache.
I took a break then, splashed some water on my face and rested for perhaps ten minutes or so, then tried again. Not Random this time though. I figured I wasn't reaching him or he wasn't taking calls, so it was time for someone else. Benedict. I tried pushing this one hard as well, and fortunately for me, got through after fifteen minutes. It was a weak connection, which could mean we far apart or something else. I'm not an expert on these things. Maybe I'll ask Dworkin about them someday.
Entry 5:
Benedict and the Search for Random
Anyway, Benedict asked if I'd like to come through to talk to him. It'd save time and energy by going to him, so I did. We began talking about a few things; how each other was doing, that sort of thing and then we got down to the reason for my visit. Benedict hadn't seen Random or Corwin since he'd left the Courts. I said that Random hadn't returned to Amber or called for that matter and that something must be amiss. And that Moiré's illness might be related to the King's disappearance; him never actually formally assuming the throne of Amber and all.
Benedict asked me to team up with him in the search for our missing relatives, apparently he thought something was up as well. Benedict said he'd try locating Random if I'd try locating Corwin. Benedict said he didn't think Random had been kidnapped or taken but was jumping around Shadow in a 'non-linear fashion' whatever that meant. It was very odd to hear.
So I tried trumping Corwin from Benedict's place. I figured I might be closer to wherever he was or he might decide to take a call. He's been known to do that occasionally. It couldn't hurt to try. I shuffled out his card and tried pushing for all I was worth. At first the card tingled, sort of like the feeling you get when your hand falls asleep, then the entire face of the card went black. This was the first reaction, if not normal, I'd gotten from his card so I pushed even harder. And then things got weirder. Wind blasted out of the card; first hot then cold. It swirled, gusted and lulled as the temperature changed. Startled, I dropped the card and broke the contact. After watching the card warily for a minute or so, I picked it up and went looking for Benedict. He'd gone off to check on something or other. Apparently he hadn't had any success contacting Random.
During dinner, I told Benedict what had happened when I tried Corwin's card. After that Benedict kept the dinner conversation limited to small talk. I didn't think anything could phase Benedict, was he just be polite and considerate of our respective digestive tracts, or was it something else? Dinner was a nice meal by the way - soup, salad, steak, potatoes and steamed vegetables.
I got the chance to spar with Benedict later that evening after dinner, an opportunity I jumped at. It's not every day you get a chance to practice with and learn from the best warrior in the universe. We sparred for some time, I think he was testing not only my skill with a blade but also my stamina. I knew Benedict was holding back on me - oh it wasn't obvious on his part; he's got too much class for that, but that was all right - I was learning and hopefully improving just the same. When we stopped, he complimented me on my proficiency; a nice gesture on his part, and then made some tactful suggestions on how I might further improve my techniques. We then retired for the night, for we planned to attempt Corwin's Trump in the morning once again.
In the morning after breakfast, Benedict and I tried contacting Corwin again. This time with Benedict's assistance the card came alive. Sort of. The picture dissolved into a wild, chaotic scene reminiscent of my earlier semi-contact. Benedict looked at me, I looked at him, shrugged my shoulders and nodded. He nodded back and we stepped through the contact.
But not to Corwin. Immediately we noticed things weren't quite kosher wherever we'd wound up. Remember those swirling gusts of wind I mentioned from my first attempt? Well they were still gusting, only stronger now, about gale force strength. The winds were strong enough to batter and spin us around, eventually lifting us off the ground and tossing us about and flipping us end over end likes we were nothing more than leaves. Fortunately for both of us, we each grabbed for the other at the onset of the winds. I'd managed to get a grip on his right arm with my right hand.
Tossed and turned about and around wouldn't have been so bad except for a couple of things. One was I became completely disoriented in the storm, I had to call it a storm I couldn't think of anything to call it, and two; we were being pummeled by rocks and other flying debris. Struggling, I managed to draw Aermacil left-handed; I was intent on trying to parry or deflect some of those rocks with my sword.
Parrying rocks with a rapier, you ask? Normally, I'd agree with you but in this case I figured something in Aermacil's powers and crafting against the chaotic nature of the storm. Besides, it was the only thing I had that might work. And it did work, to a point. So I shouted at Benedict that I would keep doing this if he'd get us the hell out of here. He nodded, I think, so I concentrated on blocking rocks from hitting him with my blade and body when it came down to it while Benedict set about doing whatever he was going to do. One rock got past my guard, smashing against my side. I felt several ribs crack.
Then Benedict grabbed me with his left arm and I saw a bright flash of blue-white light; Pattern energy I realize now, and then everything went dark.
Next thing I know, I'm getting a Trump call. Groaning out loud, I held off the contact while I dragged myself to my feet and grabbed my sword. A quick glance around showed me Benedict was nearby and relatively intact. I warned him I had an incoming call and he stood, drew his blade and moved to stand behind me. There's something very reassuring about having the best warrior known to mankind when the unexpected happens to you. I nodded to him in thanks and took the call.
From the surprised look on Ian's face, I don't think he expected to see a battered and bloody me with an equally battered Benedict standing at my back. Still, he took it well enough all things considered. Ian wanted to talk about Armond's problem; he'd been attacked again by his mysterious opponent. I hadn't heard anything new about it yet but suggested that it might be someone from the Courts of Chaos Armond's mysterious foe could be someone from the war holding a grudge against him for some reason. Someone who decided he couldn't wait for the treaty to ratified by both Courts and declare a legal vendetta against Armond.
Ian brought both of through to Amber where all three of us discussed the treaty with Chaos and the Vendetta clause for some time. Benedict then took his leave of us, saying he'd get back to me later about finding Random and Corwin. Ian and I continued discussing Armond's problem while we headed for the infirmary to have my cuts, scrapes and ribs looked at.
I suggested that we try to convince Armond to walk the Pattern and have it send him to his enemy or make a trip to Tir-na Nog'th and learn what the dream city might have to reveal about the matter. Ian said Armond had tried a Trump reading and gotten one of doom and despair.
'Typically cryptic;' I thought; 'and not very useful.'
Ian said there was a ship in a shady area of the harbor about the same time as the explosion at Armond's mansion. A ship which set sail several hours ago today, he added. Maybe he was hinting that I try and track this ship down, maybe he thought the ship odd or of a type not normally seen in Amber. It didn't matter to me, I was tired; too tired to do anything about right then. And if the ship was involved with the attacks and explosions at Armond's mansion, then perhaps Armond should be looking into it, I felt. I'd help him when and as I could, sure, but I've got bigger fish holding my attention right now.
After explaining what Benedict and I were attempting, Ian agreed to help me find Corwin. I don't remember asking him exactly, but what the hell, why not? I thanked him, and said I was going home to Rebma to rest and recover; we'd pick this up again in the morning.
I trumped back to Rebma and before falling asleep in my bed, decided I'd attempt to walk the Pattern in the morning and use it's power to try punching a hole through whatever it was blocking Corwin's Trump. Ian thought it might be worth a try.
Entry 6: Con '98
Once More into the Breach...
(The tape recording experiment... didn't work as well as I had hoped it would. Parts of Morgan's and Ian's sessions not on the tape, but I had some notes.)
I woke up early the next morning in my quarters in Rebma. I felt refreshed for the most part though my ribs were still a little sore. I got dressed, had some breakfast, and by six o'clock was heading down to the Pattern chamber. Once there, I opened the door and entered the chamber. Next, I spent a few minutes psyching myself up and then walked the Pattern. Just as I finished the Final Veil, I got a Trump call. I held it off long enough to complete the walk and after a quick look around, take a seat in the center of the Pattern. Then I let the call come through. It was Ian, a bit early perhaps, but nothing to complain overly much about.
After spending a few minutes gathering my strength, I pulled Ian to me there at the Pattern's center. Our original intent was to try contacting Corwin, but Ian suggested 'skipping' the middleman so to speak and make a direct attempt for Random. We did.
Trumps normally take me a few minutes to open, this one came easily. Perhaps my idea to use the Pattern to 'boost' my powers worked. Anyway, the contact opened and I got the impression of a... tunnel leading off... west I believed and crossing a vast distance. Ian, sharing the attempt with me, said something about trying to sense the animal or mammal in Random. What that meant, I hadn't the foggiest. I knew Ian was in my mind, but I trusted him with my life. We'd saved each others lives many times before now and I knew he wouldn't abuse my trust, and mind. The contact firmed, though I didn't get a sense or view of Random. It was more a sense of a place than anything else, so I tried channeling more of the Pattern's power into the contact.
And then we were there, wherever there was. I wasn't sure I wanted to be there without knowing what was there and where it was. Then the first rock hit me and I knew I didn't want to be here. Again. I shouted for Ian to try to Trump his wife, Alis while I drew Aermacil and starting to deflect as many of the flying objects from both myself and Ian as I could.
My efforts didn't work as well as they did with Benedict, this I attribute in part to the fact that Ian wrapped himself around me, trying to protect me. About the time I was trying to fight blacking out more than deflecting rocks, Ian mumbled something about movement and Pattern and I could only think of Random, parrying rocks, and my mothers as I passed out.
Sometime later I awoke to the gentle, if painful prodding's of Ian. He looked about as good as I felt, which was bad. He was bleeding profusely from a nasty looking gash that went from his neck down onto his back, and he was favoring his right leg and ribs. Turns out he had a fractured femur and a few cracked ribs in addition to numerous cuts and bruises. I, myself, soon learned I managed to break my left collar bone and recrack a few ribs. I found a burn on one arm and an apparent electrical burn on one leg. I also collected more cuts and scrapes, and to top it all, a concussion. We went about sewing each other up and bandaging our wounds as best we could. We used the scabbards and baldrics for our swords to splint Ian's leg. Our swords themselves were out into use as canes.
We were on a metallic sandy beach near a bluish, oily smelling body of water. The sky had mossy green colored clouds and was green itself. The few trees in sight, were also metallic with rusty splotches. It looked like the place was inhabited though. The metallic grass was manicured and a storm, presumably the one we'd just violently and fortunately vacated was a mile or so offshore to the west. Taken all together, the place reminded us of a state park. It had that feel to it.
Ian mentioned something about sensing for signs of life while I tried to marshal my strength; we were planning on moving along the beach in the direction of the storm when Ian fainted. Alarmed, I moved to his side as quickly as I could. I didn't see anything obviously wrong with him, so I slapped his face a few times and brought him around.
A bit later, we hobbled down the beach and crested a small hill were we rested for a one hundred count. There was a big, horseshoe shaped building nearby, constructed of stone and opaque panels. Definitely not anything like I'd seen before. I'd already guessed we were far out in Shadow, that building and it's surroundings confirmed it. Ian and I both tried calling out "Hello?" in all the various languages we knew, but got no response. We decided to investigate the building, as it might have some supplies we could use. So we slid down the hill on our backsides towards the building, this slope was steeper and in our present states caused us a little pain, but not as much pain as falling down the slope might have caused us.
One of the opaque, translucent panels turned out to be a door. A door with hinges and a lock but no visible handle. Knocking on it received no response, even with the hilt of Ian's sword. Ian then produced a stiletto and broke the octagonal lock while trying to pick it. Entering the building, it became clear we'd found a concession stand of some kind. Exploring the place turned up tap water (it had the same oily or animal fat feel and smell that the sea water had), bottled water (this with a vegetable and animal fat feel or smell to it), soda (oily smell), some food, cleaning supplies and a first aid kit. Using the first aid kit, we cleaned and redressed our wounds. We ate some of the food, but avoided the water. We weren't sure about the quality of it. Everything we'd found looked as if it had been packed away with care. Indeed, the whole place - building and beach/park area had the feel of being closed down. Maybe we'd arrived in the off season of this Shadow.
We rested inside the stand for about thirty minutes. Then, Ian tried Trumping Gerard with me linking into his mind but it didn't work. Even pushing the contact for all we were worth didn't help. All we got was something like static. Definitely something I'd not encountered before now. It was as if we were far out in Shadow and didn't have the necessary range for it to work. The card felt cold, like normal, but I got that tingling feeling again like when I'd tried Corwin's card earlier. Then we tried the one for the main gate of Amber castle, and got a slight shock which stopped the contact. What was reason for the different reactions in the two cards? I didn't know, neither did Ian.
Exiting the building, we looked at the storm. It appeared the storm was five miles off now and the cloud cover overhead was breaking up. While I tried looking at the storm through the Pattern, Ian tried shifting us 'sideways' through Shadow so that a) we could see if the storm was a cross Shadow one and b) get us some horses. I learned that water in the lake was most likely not good for us to drink, something we'd decided against anyway. The storm did not cross Shadows, something we discovered with relief. We found some horses, but their owners were also present, so we shifted a little more to get rid of the owners and these horses we hitched to a buggy cart or wagon we'd also found. The buggy was a good idea, I don't think either of us were up to sitting a saddle for any length of time.
Before setting out in the buggy, I dropped my Pattern image and shuffled out Llewella's Trump to try contacting her. The attempt didn't work though Ian, who was still concentrating on his Pattern 'vision' said he saw the contact attempt 'flash' around in all directions before settling down in the West as if it was seeking the subject but couldn't locate her.
Ian and I decided that we were going to attempt to Hellride back to Amber. Between the two of us riding in the buggy we felt somewhat confident we could successfully manage it. Ian volunteered to direct the 'ride at first. As soon as we started into the 'ride, the rain began. And it quickly built into a storm. Great. So we stopped for a few minutes and then tried Hellriding for the Pattern, not Amber. This change in planned destinations seemed to help, for a bit, because it felt like we were moving through Shadow this time.
In the middle of this 'ride, Ian tells me to try Trumping Random. I snapped back; "In the middle of a Hellride?" I thought Ian was loosing it there for a few minutes; I'd never heard of someone trying a Trump call while in the midst of a Hellride. I didn't think it was possible, but I had a feeling that whether possible or not, the attempt would be painful.
Anyway, Ian said; "Yes." Maybe he'd done this in the past; I don't know. Sighing, I brought out Llewella's card again and tried reaching her. I didn't have any luck, in fact the card only seemed to vibrate in my hand. On the up side, the attempt didn't cause any pain. I informed Ian of this and he said to stop. So I did that while he stopped the Hellride.
Which was not a good idea. We emerged in a rocky Shadow and what's more, rocks were falling from the sky. It felt like we were back in that damned storm again; and maybe we were. Ian immediately shifted into a Hellride for the Pattern. The storm elements fell away quickly and we started seeing more and more elements we'd normally associate with Amber.
Eventually our Hellride devolved into movement across a Shadow rather through Shadow. We ended up on a main thoroughfare. Ian tried to start another Hellride but was unable to do so.
'Ian must be getting tired,' I thought, so I tried to effect some small changes to get my mental grips in the 'ride. Once they started working, I began working more of them and at a faster rate, intent on building up to a Hellride toward the Pattern. We soon learned the Hellride tactic wasn't working; as soon as we'd get up to speed, where we'd let go conscious shifting and concentrate on the ultimate goal, we'd end up moving across a Shadow again. So we tried the 'Royal Road' tactic. You know, the one where you take easy shifts, always trying to stay in bright, danger free Shadows. This worked for a time until we realized we were traveling through a 'real' place. It was real enough so that we couldn't shift Shadow anymore. We'd achieved Amber's sky, always a good sign. From the look and feel of it, we thought we might be on the fringes of Arden. Figuring we were close enough to Amber, we hoped, we stopped 'shifting and then the horses.
Ian then pulled out Gerard's Trump and tried it, but got no response. Then he tried Corwin's and was surprised when it worked. And he was surprised again when contact came quickly. Ian started talking to Corwin and asked him to bring us to him, Corwin agreed, so Ian cut the horses free from the buggy's traces and we stepped through to Corwin.
Entry 7:
Cassis--Corwin's Realm
Ian and I stepped through to Corwin, who was in what can only be called a warroom. As we stepped in, men in black and silver uniforms; officers, mostly generals it turns out, moved forward to assist us. Corwin waved them back after a few words with us, telling Ian and I that we must sit down and have our wounds tended to. Ian accepted their help and I let them help him while I sat down under my own power. The officers began escorting us to a side room or a lounge, when Ian stopped to tell Corwin we had to talk with him. Corwin told us eat, rest and heal up, and that he'd come to us when he could.
The officers were replaced by servants who did indeed take us to room just beyond the warroom. Most of the servants then left the room, only those necessary to bring us food and drink remained. Oh and a pair of guards took up positions by the doors. Ian pulled out his Trump deck and tried to contact his wife. The guards didn't try to stop him as he did this. Evidently he couldn't reach her, for he gave up after a few minutes. A few minutes later, a man and woman dressed in typical medical garb entered the room from the door opposite the one we came in. The pair were our doctors, come to see to our wounds, and they were also married. Ian kept insisting on no anesthetics, fortunately they started working on Ian first. All I asked for was a bottle of whiskey and a pair of shot glasses and I started in on the bottle while they worked on Ian. I didn't want to get drugged by some of Corwin's people, but then again I really didn't want to feel the pain I knew was going to come either. Ian asked if they had portable imaging equipment here, I think he wanted to have some CAT scans done on us. They said they did have such equipment, but not here. They said they if we didn't want to talk to the king, they could take us to their lab for such tests.
"King?" said Ian followed shortly by me asking the same thing.
"Yes;" said the husband. "Lord Corwin."
"Ah;" replied Ian. "Yes, we do need to speak to him as soon as possible."
"Well, in that case, we're done now;" the doctor replied. The husband made sure his wife went out the door on the far side of the room; it let out in to a hallway, while he went back into the room where Corwin had sent us from. Ian asked if I knew where we were as the doctor left.
I said; "Corwin's Pattern." He nodded, and said; "That's what I think too."
Corwin came back in a few minutes later with a pair of guards in tow, who spread out to take up positions around the room with the previous pair. Corwin stepped closer to us and looked our wounds over for a moment. Then, he bluntly asked; "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you;" Ian replied.
"Why? For what purpose?" Corwin countered.
"To find Random;" Ian answered. "King Random;" he added with slight emphasis on the 'king'.
"Why were you looking for him? Did you try his Trump?" asked Corwin. He seemed suspicious of us for some reason, more so than normal.
"We tried that, it didn't work;" said Ian.
"You were the last person known to have seen him;" I put in calmly. That seemed to draw him up short for a moment, because he was silent for a few moments before continuing.
"Who told you that?" he asked.
"Fiona did;" I said.
Corwin left then without another word. The guards stayed though. I wondered what was going on here. About a minute later Ian asked if I was getting a Trump call. I said no, why? Then before he could say anything, I did get a call. It was Corwin. He closed it and came back in the room.
"Satisfied?" Ian called out to him as Corwin reentered the room. From that I gathered Corwin had Trumped him shortly before Trumping me.
"For now;" he replied with a hint of sarcasm. "What happened to you?" he asked.
"The storm;" Ian said.
"The storm?" repeated Corwin. "Meaningful;" he added.
"What are you doing here, King Corwin?" Ian asked trying to change the subject. "Where are we? What is this place?"
"I am defending my realm;" Corwin said with a trace of anger perhaps.
"Which is?" Ian asked. "Not Amber?"
"Duh!" Corwin snapped back. "You are now standing in Cassis;" he added. "Cassis is the center of this reality. I am currently waging a war against... God only knows." Corwin threw up his arms at this. More and more it seemed like Corwin was tired, worn out. Like this purported war of his was wearing him down. He stopped and turned back to look at us; "And you were hurt by a storm and you come to me?" Clearly, he was finding this hard to believe. "Thanks;" he added with true sarcasm.
"In all honesty, it was a rather impressive storm;" I replied, "and besides we were looking for you then."
"How far out were you when you came out of this storm?" he asked.
Ian told him where we had washed up from the storm, adding that he thought Random was in that storm.
"Frankly, he couldn't possibly be in that storm;" Corwin said. "That storm has nothing to do with Random. That storm has to do with my enemies and me;" he said forcefully. "Now..."
Ian interrupted him. "Why, King Corwin..."
"...Maybe he screwed up;" Corwin continued, ignoring Ian. "And delivered me some aid. Ahhh, yes!"
"I am not your subject;" Ian immediately replied.
"You wanna get back home?" Corwin countered craftily. "You're the blood of my brother Gerard. You wouldn't help your dear old uncle?" Now he was trying to win us, err... Ian over. I wondered what sort of tactic he'd try on me. That 'you're the blood of my brother' bit wouldn't work for me. Unless of course he mentioned which brother that was, and then it might. Or might not.
"I think I'd rather get back to Amber;" Ian said.
"Why?" Corwin asked.
Ian pulled the key to the Pattern chamber out from under his shirt.
That stopped Corwin cold. He ran his fingers through his hair, obviously at a loss as to why Ian would have that key with him. It's rare sight to see one of the 'Elders' speechless and Ian seemed to enjoy it. I did as well.
"Did Gerard give that to you?" Corwin asked.
"I took it;" Ian said.
"You took it?" he repeated, incredulous. "And you want to go back?" he fairly shouted. I think Corwin was thinking Ian didn't quite have all his oars in the water at this point. Ian probably felt the same way about Corwin. I know I did.
"So, how long you have you been gone with it?" he asked Ian.
"I don't know;" Ian replied plainly.
Corwin repeated his earlier question about wanting to go back. He spent a few moments shaking his head at us. "Ah, man! It's been so long! Clearly neither of you are in any shape to go anywhere tonight, you need your rest. I've got way too much on my mind to deal with this right now."
"Can you tell us about this?" Ian asked, meaning Cassis and Corwin's enemy.
"Yes;" Corwin said. "But really, I am busy."
"Can we sit in on your meeting?" Ian pressed.
Corwin gave Ian another dirty look.
"Well if you don't like us..." Ian started when I interrupted him.
"Can you tell us why you know Random's not in the storm?"
Corwin gave me a dirty look now. I ignored it.
"What part of me saying 'I don't have time for this right now' is unclear to you?" he asked. He was definitely getting perturbed now.
"Your realm is in crisis;" Ian said cutting him off. "Well, so too is Amber."
"And Rebma." I added quickly.
"HOW?" Corwin fairly screamed this.
"Moiré is dying." Ian said bluntly. Maybe mentioning someone he once cared about would bring him up short and get him to answer some of our questions.
"It's true;" I added softly, sadly.
"How?" he repeated. I assumed he was asking about Moiré now.
"I think it is because Random's not there. In Amber." I replied, thinking back to my conversations with Llewella.
Corwin just looked at us for another moment before saying; "I don't have time for this right now, I will talk to you later. And, no;" he said looking directly at Ian; "You can't sit in on my meeting because as you just pointed out, you're not one of my subjects." He turned on his heels then and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
About five minutes after that a guard poked his head in the room, told the second pair of guards to take off and told us that a couple of wheelchairs were being brought for us to take to rooms that had been assigned to us. Ian and I both said we'd rather walk. The guard just looked at us, shrugged his shoulders and walked off.
Entry 8:
Corwin's Prisoners or Allies?
Once we'd been brought to our assigned quarters/cells, Ian and I got cleaned up and then linked back up in order to discuss our current situation egress. And what we planned to do from here. Our rooms were lavishly appointed and adjoined one another. The windows, while not barred, were too narrow to allow us. Ian opened one and somehow summoned a flock of birds. Why, I don't know. Later, he let all but one, a hawk, go back out into the night.
Ian suggested that if we really wanted to get back, the easiest thing to do would be to find Corwin's Pattern, eliminate any opposition along the way, and walk it. Once in it's center, we should be able to use it to send us back to Amber. While I thought that might work, and at a last resort agreed to try it, I thought we needed to learn what the hell was going on here, in Corwin's realm. Ian had to agree with that. So we decided to stay at least long enough to talk to Corwin once again. Corwin left us to ourselves for the reset of the night.
The next morning, I awoke feeling much better, ate a very large breakfast and got cleaned up again before Corwin sent for us. The staff here were kind enough to attempt to repair our tattered clothing, although I suspect they merely fashioned new apparel for us. Eventually, several guards and a few members of the castle staff came by to collect us. They even brought the wheelchairs again, we declined to use them, again. Ian brought his new pet hawk along.
Cassis by daylight reminded me of France from Shadow Earth, but a France with lots of soldiers. Our guards, or escorts, were fairly well armed; they wore silvery chainmail with shortswords on their belts and spears in their hands. They led us down the back ways to Corwin this time. Once we'd arrived before a door, where Corwin presumably was, one of the guards knocked on the door and went inside the room, closing the door behind him. He came back out a few moments later and indicated we were to go inside. We did, the guards remained outside. Corwin was there, waiting for us. Alone.
We were in a study of some sort. Corwin was standing by and looking out of two proper sized windows. The windows gave out onto a spectacular view of a city. Corwin' castle was not on a mountain, like Amber's, rather it was located in the middle of a city. The castle, however, was apparently surrounded by a river or moat, separating it from the reset of the city.
There was a desk in front of the window, facing away from it, and a pair of chairs before the desk. Ian's hawk flew over to one of them and landed the back. Ian sat down in that chair. I took a seat in the other. After we had taken our seats, Corwin offered us drinks and smokes if we wanted them. Ian and I both got something to drink and cigars. I like them better than cigarettes; doesn't irritate my lungs as much. Corwin lit a cigarette for himself.
"All right." He said after a moment. "You've got questions."
Ian nodded, I said; "You betcha."
"All right;" Corwin replied; "I'll let you go first."
Ian and looked at each other, neither of us sure where to start. Then Ian asked; "Who is your enemy?"
"My enemy is Wrinoc;" Corwin answered.
"And what is a 'Wrinoc';" Ian asked.
"Some bastard from Shadow or Chaos or crap attacking me;" Corwin said. It sounded as if he wasn't too sure of his enemy's origins.
"Is he the storm or near the storm?" Ian asked.
"I'm certain that it was just one of his little attempts to grab people." Corwin said. "The fact that you got caught up in it was probably just a miscalculation in his spell." So, this Wrinoc fellow was a sorcerer of some sort it appeared.
Ian looked over at me; "I don't think so."
"Okay..." Corwin replied.
"We... used the Pattern in Rebma to power a Trump call to the King of Amber and I reached for a part of his mind. And as soon as I reached for it, we were in that storm." Ian told Corwin. "How could I..."
"You reached for part of his mind?" Corwin asked.
"Yes." Ian said simply.
"Wow..." replied Corwin. "Okay..." Obviously, he found that a bit hard to believe.
"How could we have ended up in that storm at the other end of a Trump call to Random if Random wasn't either in the storm or the storm?" Ian asked. "And since the Jewel of Judgement was...
"Was the storm between you and him?" interrupted Corwin.
Ian and I looked at each other again and shrugged our shoulders. "Who knows. Understand, he wasn't in Chaos..."
"Fiona said he wasn't in Chaos." I added.
"How would she know?" Corwin asked me.
"Because she is the ambassador to Chaos;" Ian replied.
"She hasn't left the Courts since the War;" I added.
"Hmph;" Corwin said after a moment. "They're calling it an ambassadorialship now?"
"Well they are working on a treaty..." I said.
"Sure, sure." Corwin nodded. He looked off to one side, his expression growing thoughtful; "So, you don't know that the storm just wasn't in your way..."
"That shouldn't have been..." I began. "Because it was in the way of Benedict and I..."
"Well Wrinoc shouldn't be busting my chops either;" Corwin interrupted me. "But life just really isn't exactly how we want it to be."
"We need to get back to Amber." Ian stated.
"I suggest you heal first;" said Corwin; "But then, you're more than welcome to go."
"How?" asked Ian.
"There's a slight problem with that;" I added.
"Every time we try to go to Amber, we end up in the storm." Ian finished my train of thought.
"Or here." I added.
"Well, clearly;" began Corwin; "you're gonna have help me trounce Wrinoc."
Ian didn't like the sound of that. Avoiding agreeing or disagreeing for the moment, he asked; "Could we perchance, attempt to walk your Pattern and have it send us back to Amber?"
Corwin appeared to give that suggestion some thought. But was thinking about whether it would work or was he thinking of ways to keep us from trying it?
"Well..." he said after a few quiet moments had passed. "I'd rather have allies... but if you want to try to walk my Pattern I won't stop you. But I don't think you'll succeed."
We were quiet now, thinking about this.
Corwin looked at Ian; "I'm confident you won't succeed." Looking at me, he added; "You... I'm pretty sure about." Did that mean he knew he wasn't my father and, also, that he did know who was?
"But hey, you know you're welcome to try. It's your blood, your bones."
"What about Merlin then?" I asked, suddenly remembering Corwin's son.
"What about Merlin?" Corwin asked, a bit guardedly I thought.
"He hasn't been seen in the Courts since... well since you were last seen there;" I said.
"Well, at least that's some reassurance." Corwin replied cryptically.
"I haven't seen Merlin for awhile;" he added.
Ian's expression grew frustrated. "The King of Amber is missing; the Queen of Rebma is dying..."
"And I've got problems of my own;" Corwin said succinctly. "Look. Quite frankly guys, I've got a situation here. If you can help me, that's great, I need it. I'm perfectly happy to accept it." He looked away from us; "Or you can leave. Anyway you like to, that's fine with me too."
"If you die..." he shrugged his shoulders; "That's really unfortunate. For you."
"But if you just wanna hang out here, I don't have time to socialize." He went on to add; "I want you stay... to heal atleast. Please, enjoy the wine and women, whatever. Get better, but please make a decision for me. You're either gonna help or you're not, and that's what I need to know." He looked at us, waiting for an answer. "Right now."
Well, think about it if you have to..." he added quickly. Clearly he was hoping we'd agree to help him out though.
Ian turned to look at me, a pitiful expression on his face. "Adventuring?" he asked in a sad, soft voice. We'd been through Hell already and he was still thinking about joining Corwin.
"Didn't we already do that?" I asked sarcastically. I was still sore; but more I was worried about my mother.
"I don't think we're done yet;" Ian replied.
Ian and I stared at each other, trying to decide what to do. Corwin just sat there and watched us.
"If we help you;" Ian asked Corwin; "You'll help us get back?"
"No;" he said.
'Well, he's being honest.' I thought.
"If you'll help me, I'll be grateful and then you can go your own way;" he said. "I fully believe that if we defeat Wrinoc then all these problems he's causing and getting in people's way, will go away as well."
"You said yesterday before you left that you thought it was possible that Random was in that storm;" Ian said. "Are you ignoring that again?"
"Yeah, okay..." Corwin was trying to blow that subject off.
"Tell us about the storm;" I said once again. "And Wrinoc."
"I wasn't there!" Corwin said loudly. "You guys tell me about the storm. I tell you I've been here fighting a fucking war!"
"How long?" I asked bluntly. I was getting tired of this.
"It's been building for years now." Corwin said a bit more calmly. "It's starting to actually get to skirmishes."
"Why don't you just wade through whatever fodder he has trying them and eliminate him?" Ian asked with a wave of his hand. He knew Corwin's reputation where war was concerned just as well as I did. Plainly, this lack response or success on Corwin's part bugged us both.
"Thank you!" Corwin said sarcastically. "I never thought of that!"
'But that didn't mean he'd actually done anything about his so called enemy either;' I thought.
Corwin took a long drag on a cigarette he'd been smoking. "Okay, here's the deal..."
"Me... the guy who helps fight his way up Kolvir. You know the one who brought guns to the place where they can't work. I tried that!" Corwin cried.
"He's recruiting in Shadow;" Corwin went on to say. "In such a manner that it makes it really, really hard for me to do what you just said."
"If we were your allies;" Ian said slowly. "What would we be doing?"
"Well, you would be appointed as generals to my army because you can still shift through Shadow, you've said." He looked at us for confirmation of this.
We nodded that we could indeed, still do that. 'But if we couldn't do that, would we be of any use to him?' I wondered.
"Then you'll be leading my troops against his." Corwin said.
"Adventure... oh, yeah..." I said a bit disgustedly to Ian. That didn't mean I wouldn't do it; I still thought getting Corwin to help us leave was out best chance at successfully getting back to Amber. I took a long pull on my drink.
Ian chuckled sadly. "Oh, I miss my wife, and my farm;" he said morosely. He took a long drag on his cigar.
Ian looked at me and said; "The only way out..." He meant he thought the only way we were getting out of here was to help Corwin. Unfortunately, I had to agree with him. I turned my thoughts towards the problem of Wrinoc.
"Is there a version of Rebma here?" I asked Corwin. If there was, I get recruit some of their people and take the battle to Wrinoc in ways he hadn't anticipated yet.
Corwin shook his head; "No."
"So there's just your Pattern then?" I asked.
Corwin nodded this time; "Yeah."
Ian and I looked at each other, then slowly nodded. "All right, we'll do it;" we both said more or less simultaneously.
"All right;" Corwin said after a moment. Corwin opened up a desk draw and reached inside it, pulling out a couple of dossier files and tossing them to us.
When we glanced quickly through them, we saw they contained information on his current military forces and what intelligence he had on Wrinoc's.
"All right;" Corwin said again. "Wrinoc is some Shadow peon, I thought he was just some lame ass sorcerer guy. You know, meant nothing for the longest time, started gaining forces in one Shadow, then moved to another. It's not that uncommon out in the middle... the farther Shadows, that a sorcerer can penetrate Shadow barriers with a spell. So, nothing was thought of him then, and this is all stuff we got after the fact. Uhm, he started building up his forces and moving on Cassis."
My expression grew thoughtful at these pieces of information. Corwin still hadn't said why the guy was after him and Cassis, if he knew; I didn't think he did know. And that bothered me. A lot.
"Hmm..." I mumbled.
"Why?" asked Ian, obviously following my thoughts. "What kind of forces does he have? How big is his stuff? How far has he gotten?"
"Why? Well, it's recently been determined to get here;" Corwin replied; "And take it. There's been some indication that he's aware of atleast that much."
"His forces are continually increasing. Mainly consisting of troops you'd seen from the farther Shadows. Strange ones."
"There not close to Cassis yet, but it's become significant enough that snipping him in the butt was considered the best idea. And when that was tried, he was able to divide his forces up through multiple Shadows and come back and attack my forces from the flank, so to speak. Something they shouldn't have been able to."
"A great deal of his recruiting is passive recruiting;" Corwin said. "I mean it's him showing up,, making some speeches and getting some troops then moving on."
Corwin went on to add that most of his troops, thus far, have come from Cassis. Also some from the outlying Shadows near Cassis; especially from ones he's been to convince to ally with him. This conflict has been going on basically for something like fifty years or so, Corwin said, if you allow time for when he was unaware of Wrinoc. He's only been aware of Wrinoc for the last ten years. Obviously, time flows faster in Cassis than it does in Amber. So, even if we were stuck here for a few years, not much time will have passed in Amber. Something that relieved some of my worries, a bit, anyway.
Ian brought this up with me later, in private. He's known of Corwin's Pattern for something ten years now, Amber time, whereas for me, it's only been about a year since Patternfall. We both agreed that time flows faster here than in Amber or the Courts of Chaos.
Ian asked Corwin if there were any other family members here. Corwin hemmed and hawed a bit before admitting he had a son born here; Uther by name. Uther was out leading some of Corwin's troops. Ian congratulated Corwin and handed him on of his own cigars as a joke. Corwin thanked him, took the cigar and put it back. I said nothing, not sure how I wanted to take the news of this son of Corwin. We learned that Uther was twenty-five years old. It seems Uther is an active whelp; already walked the Pattern and knowledgeable enough about war and combat to lead troops. Was Uther my half-brother or just another cousin? It still seemed as though Corwin wasn't entirely sure of that matter himself. Maybe I should try walking his Pattern sometime, just to try and prove whether I was or not...
When Ian asked Corwin about Merlin again, Corwin replied; "Merlin has chosen a different path."
'That was informative...' I thought, though not sure how just yet.
Ian then asked if Corwin had sought out alliances with Chaos to counter Wrinoc. Corwin glared at him; wanting to know why we thought Corwin would seek allies from the place he thought Wrinoc obviously had to have come from.
I asked Corwin something that had been bothering me about this whole Wrinoc affair. Did Corwin have no information, no theories, no guesses as to just what Wrinoc's reason for marching on Cassis was? What was Wrinoc's problem with Corwin and Cassis?
Corwin reply was to ask us what Chaos wanted when it attacked Amber. Ian said to defeat it, meaning Amber. Corwin nodded his agreement. Ian then pointed out that Chaos had inside help in it's war against Amber and moreover, they wanted to destroy the Pattern. Corwin nodded again and said it wouldn't be easy for them, but that he thought that was their ultimate goal.
Ian then asked if Corwin had any other children around. Corwin's expression grew guarded at that. Then he said he had another son, but that he was far too young to help, and that he was in a safe place. Corwin admitted that he had Trumps of Uther when Ian asked about it.
Ian and I still thought that finding out all that we could about Wrinoc and his plans was the key to solving the problem. Corwin said we could go out and do our own intelligence gathering if we wanted to. He'd be happy to learn whatever we did. He said he's been too busy coordinating his and Uther's actions thus far to concentrate on learning why Wrinoc had it in for him. Corwin added that it looked like it was only going to get worse the closer Wrinoc got to Cassis until we dropped in.
Ian asked Corwin which he'd prefer we concentrate on; intel gathering or taking the fight to Wrinoc. Ian didn't think there were enough members of the blood to outmaneuver Wrinoc and his army. Corwin smiled and said that we just had to out flank Wrinoc, get to him to end it all. That was more along the lines I was thinking. We could try fielding armies against his and if that didn't work; I thought we might try to sneak in and take Wrinoc down through stealth.
So we agreed to help him, after we healed of course. Corwin thanked us and said he had to go let his people know of this and work us into his plans. Corwin said we had free run of the castle and that we outranked his generals. Ian and I went back to our rooms to rest and plan our own strategies.
Morgan ap Moire's Journals are copyrited © by Keith Cripe 1998, 1999.
To Morgan's Personal Information
To Morgan's Journals: Prelude & entries 1-3
To Morgan's Journals: Entries 9-12