Campaign Chronicles, Session 1
09.27.03

Characters in Attendance:
Bartholomew (son of Brand) -- Andi Blija
Calla (unknown parentage) -- Jennifer Crice
Marah (daughter of Gerard) -- Kath Nyborg
Moon-Shining-On-The-Evening-Tide [hereafter known as "Moon"] (son of Caine) -- Jeremy Zimmerman
Simon (unknown parentage) -- Cort Odekirk
Tanin (son of a scandal) -- Dan Swope

Prequels

While the ostensible beginning of our chronicle is very near the annual Harvest Festival, in truth, the roots of the story started growing earlier, and deeper. As far back as a half a year ago unease began to blossom in the hearts and minds of the Cousins … a half year they had to quietly contemplate private dooms as well as reality-wide cataclysm.

In the afternoon of one sunny day in Amber City, Simon was called to the wharfs to investigate a crime scene. As he walked, the skies began to cloud over, and great gouts of rain … no, blood fell in a monsoon-like torrent, soon flooding the streets with the downpour. The winds whipped the viscous deluge, knocking down pedestrians and merchant's carts, pulling everything it carried down towards the bay. Simon protected himself with a shield spell, and tried to help others to safety, but a wave of blood washed him far out to a now-red sea where he floated within his protective bubble, the only living thing within sight.

A while later, when he "returned to himself", as they say, he was hunched over, on his knees in the middle of a sidewalk in Amber City, coughing up blood. The passers-by were concerned for him, but otherwise, everything seemed … normal.

On another sunny day (was it the same one? Perhaps, but who can tell within the times of Shadow?) Calla rode to her home Shadow of Peridwen on the outskirts of Amber. Off in the distance, a dark cloud appeared and moved quickly towards the nearby village. Calla watched the horizon, slapped a bug off her arm, then proceeded towards the village. People waved to her from the fields as she passed. She flicked another bug from her horse's neck, then another and another. Glancing again up at the sky, Calla saw the dark cloud had resolved into a swarm of beetles, the leading edge of which was descending on the village. A young man in the fields screamed and ran towards the buildings, trying to slap the bugs away from himself. Calla rode towards him, shouting to the others to get indoors, to close and block all windows and doorways! The beetles began to cover everything, their bites stripping away flesh. Calla slew one of the oxen in the fields, hoping the smell of its blood would draw the bugs to it, and away from the boy. By the time she reached the him, his skin was eaten away and the monstrous bugs were devouring the rest of him. She rode furiously towards the safety of the nearest building. A blanket of beetles swarmed her mount, beginning to blanket them both. Calla felt the tearing of their pincers as they ripped the flesh from her body, then knew no more.

After some while had passed, Calla became aware that she was sitting on her horse, who had taken to wandering aimlessly, cropping the bushes as he went. Still clammy with sweat and fear, she realizes that she was whole, as was her mount. Ahead, the village and it's people basked in the sunlight, waving to her as she rode towards them.

In her greenhouse, Marah was enjoying a summer's afternoon of tending to her plants. They were looking very healthy and happy, if she did say so herself. All except for one … it was looking brown, as if it hadn't received any water for a month. Seeing if she could coax some life back out of it, Marah watered it carefully, but even the soil seemed dead. Admitting defeat, she tossed the dead plant into the compost bin. When she looked around, other plants were beginning to shrivel, turning brown and dieing. Like a wave, the phenomenon spread outward, past the confines of the greenhouse to the fields and orchards beyond. Yelling for the Steward, she ran outside, only to find him face down on the gravel drive. When she turned him over, he was as the plants were … a desiccated husk. From inside the house, she heard her husband, James, yelling, "Marah, what's the matter?!" She screamed for him to stay inside, to not come out, but he ran out the door anyway, grabbing at her arm. Immediately, he began to shrivel into a mummy as well, screaming in agony as it happened. As he fell lifeless, Marah saw a movement out of the corner of her eye, and her mother's worm-eaten corpse rose from the family burial plot. Watching this grisly parody move towards her, she heard the figure say, "The end is near." As her mother grabbed her hand, Marah felt the death come over her, leaching all life from her bones, and she screamed and screamed …

Until she heard the sound of water falling, and felt sunlight on her face. She was still in the greenhouse, over-watering one of the plants. Everything looked green, lush, and healthy. From inside the house, she could hear James singing some silly song. She went to get a drink of water.

Moon was approached by his father, Caine, to undertake a quiet little mission to deliver some goods to an island within Shadow. He agreed, and boarded a boat laden with supplies. The weather was fine, and they made good time towards their destination. As they sailed closer, the weather inexplicably became hotter. The sailors mumbled and loosened their shirts while Moon simply adapted his body to deal with the heat. After a short time, he noticed he had to make further adjustments, and that the temperature was beyond anything remotely normal. The sun seemed larger and brighter, and wisps of steam began to drift off the water. Finally, in the distance, Moon saw a rock in the middle of nowhere, with a single-level dwelling on it; their destination. As the ship made way, with all possible speed towards the dubious safety of the rock, the heat increased to scorching, and the sailors began to jump overboard to shield themselves from the burning of the sun which was now huge in the sky and beyond brilliant. Even Moon's ability to shift was no match for this, and he too jumped into the ocean. The water was hotter than he imagined, steam now pouring off the surface, fish and plant life beginning to bubble to the surface. Soon, the sun filled the sky, and the waters boiled to evaporation. Moon felt blisters forming on his skin, as the temperatures hit intolerable. Boiling to death, he saw the sun fill his sight, and things went mercifully dark.

With a sense of profound relief, Moon felt a cool breeze across his skin. He regained himself on the deck of the ship, speeding towards the rock in the middle of nowhere. The sun was exactly where it was supposed to be, and the ambient temperature was normal. They were perfect sailing conditions. When they made landfall, Caine was already on the island, though he seemed less active than usual. As his father turned away, Moon noticed a patch of blood on Caine's shirt, but said nothing … and neither did his father.

Tanin was surveying a new Shadow for the Diplomatic Corps. It was night in the Shadow's port city, and all was peaceful. A high whistle turned Tanin's attention skyward, where he saw a meteor arc across the darkness, followed shortly by another and yet another in a shower that lit up the sky. Without warning, one of the meteors sped much lower than the others, crashing into the nearby city. Thick clouds of debris plumed upwards as several of extra-terrestrial missiles impacted, felling the city in a relentless barrage of rock. With a low, whistling boom, one crashed ahead of Tanin, sending up a wave of dirt, trees and debris enveloping him, smothering him in earth.

When he woke, he found himself lying on the ground in a fetal position, his nose clogged with blackish dust. The port was bustling, as per normal, and the night sky was clear and bright.

On Shadow Mia, Bartholomew enjoyed the advent of an evening picnic in the park. The blanket was laid out, sandwiches ready, a bottle of something uncorked. As he gazed into the night's sky, he saw a red star surrounded by black. Then, the other stars around it began to go conspicuously absent. Bringing up Pattern, he examined that area of the sky, concluding that part of Mia was actually missing/gone. Darkness spread through the sky as the heartbeats passed, and a rumble began to build under him. An earthquake shook the foundations of the Shadow, swaying the city buildings. An announcement blared over the speakers, "Get to your collection stations. Repeat, get to your collection stations!" Bartholomew had never heard such a city-wide announcement before and, realizing it's importance, began to run toward his designated location. The ground buckled and heaved, opening a wide fissure in front of him. Changing directions, he tried to outrun the growing crevasse. A rush of backwards wind, knocked him from his feet pulling him towards the opening. Bart lay low, clinging to the grass, but a buffet of wind and debris pulled him away from his anchor, hurtling him into the airless abyss. The world above was swallowed by the blackness.

Something slobbery brought Bartholomew back to his senses. Edgar, the dog, was giving him a wake-up slurp with the accompanying the tilt-head gaze and twitching eyebrows which normally indicated, "So, are you okay?" Well might the dog inquire, as Bart was still clinging to the grass. Friends began to arrive, ready for the picnic. Assuring himself that all was moderately well, Bart brushed himself off, and welcomed his friends as if nothing untoward had happened.

Chapter One

A fortnight before the annual Harvest Festival, Prince Eric, the acting Regent of Amber, sent out invitations (aka "summons") requesting the company of his fellow family members, as well as the major players in the Court, to a private celebration of the season. It will be a masque event, with a sylvan theme. The Court, of course, was in a veritable pother of preparation. The family members didn't go so far as pothering, as they had other things to occupy their time.

Moon, feeling rather put out by his sun-crashing vision, decided to try to explain the inexplicable. He backtracked to the captain and crew of the vessel, as well as the vessel itself. No one else seemed to be affected, and the boat was sound. No leads. He came to the conclusion that the events were a form of treachery.

Tanin had been doing some investigating as well. A few weeks before, Prince Gerard, the Admiral of the Royal Navy, asked him to investigate the disappearance of three ships lost on the newly established route between Amber and Sierra. One of the ships was from a noble house. Gerard succinctly told Tanin, "Find them."

It was a desolate stretch of water, and there was nothing to be seen by way of birds or landfall. Several days out, Tanin spotted a sail on the horizon, and hollered for his ship to change to an intercept course. Casting Sight, Tanin identified it as one of the missing merchant vessels. They ran their vessel along side the other, and cast out the grappling hooks to make it fast. The merchantman looked deserted. Securing its wheel, the crew explored the empty ship. There was no sign of struggle and no sign that the ship had been hurriedly abandoned, save for a pot of old stew overturned to the floor. From the looks of things, the ship had been drifting for a month. The crew explored below deck, and found the holds still full of cargo, none of it disturbed. Tanin had the Captain man the abandoned ship with a skeleton crew, which then proceeded to Sierra while the rest of the crew carried on with their mission.

Reading the Captain's and First Mate's logs from the merchantman, Tanin discovered that the ship had been blown off course by a storm. The crew tried to find their way back to Sierra or Amber, but found nothing to set a course by. They had seen a sail far away, and moved towards it, but the ship always disappeared before they could meet. There was no reason given for why they abandoned ship.

Later, as the sun sunk low on the horizon, another sail was seen in the distance. Again, Tanin had the vessel make pursuit, helping the boat along. When the morning came, the other ship was gone. They continued toward Sierra and, again, in the evening a sail appeared. Again, they followed, and again there was nothing to see come morning. For four days they tried this. On the fourth, they spied land, and made their way towards it.

Landfall was a series of jagged rocks and shoals which broke the water before them. Maneuvering finely, they came astern and saw refuse and remains of another vessel which had been tangled and crushed against the rocks. Bodies, torn and submerged, were still visible beneath the waves and amongst the debris. The injuries to the bodies were consistent with those made by large projectiles … such as cannonballs. The wreck was identified to be from one of House Duncan's fleet.

Calla headed to the start of the Festival, schmoozing with the courtiers and merchants whose tents had been set up within one of the double-ring area. As she left one such visit, a young boy, who had obviously been looking for her, delivered a message from Caidan, the High Priest of Peridwen. The High Priest begs her to return home immediately. From the tenor of the message, it was obvious that something seriously bad has occurred.

Arriving in Peridwen, she met up with Caidan and was told the story of a young girl of the village. This twelve year old had been acting irrationally for few days, and behaving in a violent manner. There had been no history of such behavior before, so the priest suspected a fever or other type of illness, while the family thought perhaps it was possession or dementia. The family locked her in a room so that she would be out of harm's way until the problem passed. This very morning, when the mother brought her daughter's breakfast, she found the room turned into an abattoir, and the girl dead.

Calla focused her mind to deal with whatever she found, then went to investigate. It was horrific. Blood and entrails were strewn and smeared across the room, and it appeared that the girl had tried to write on the walls with her own blood and offal. Looking at the body, it seemed that the young girl had clawed open her own flesh with her fingernails, destroying herself. Calla examined the scene carefully, then conferred with Caiden, saying she would like to call her Cousin Simon to see what could be seen from his perspective.

Meanwhile, Simon was reviewing some rather dramatic scenes as well. The Lady Master, Lorianne, called him down to the poor section of Amber City, to view the scene of a family. It appeared that they had been murdered by the husband, who then killed himself as well. Simon investigated the crime scene, noting the odd way the bodies were laid out in an almost half-circular fashion. Two children had been bludgeoned to death, it appeared with a laundry iron, then their bodies arranged. The wife apparently fell where she stood, without any resistance given. The man then stabbed himself to death.

Simon cast his Replay spell, and scanned the events unfolding before him, wispy images coalescing to tell the story of what happened.

The woman, had been casting divination bones. Over and over she cast them upon the table, and over and over they came up the same. She called her husband over to watch, and cast them again with the same result. As she looks at the bones, the woman's face registered fear and finality. She and her husband call their children to them, held them firmly and killed them with blows from the laundry iron. The second child struggled after he saw what happening to his other sib, though the parents him fast and killed him as well. They arrange their bodies just so, then the wife moved to her place and allowed the husband to strike her. With tears streaming down his face, he took a knife and stabbed himself until he too falls to the floor.

Simon then took a psychometry reading and registers waves of fear, hopelessness and impending doom. Finishing the examination of the area, he spoke to Lorianna, and promised a report on the scene first thing in the morning. With that, he returned to his library to research the symbol indicated by the bodies, as well as the bones used in the divination process.

Having no luck finding out who had set up his "vision", Moon returned to his residence, only to find a message waiting on his arrival. Caine requested Moon to visit him at the Castle upon his return. Upon doing so, Moon detoured by way of the family library to kill some time, but Eric's guards were swarming the area and he is turned away. Eric, himself, exited the library soon after, cradling his wrist. He looked less than overjoyed, and Moon noticed drops of blood falling from the Regent's wrist. Closing the library door firmly behind Eric, the guards politely suggested that Moon move along.

After have officially moved-along, Moon ran into his father in the corridor. He told Caine what had just transpired. Caine's eyes registered a glimmer of interest, then told Moon he'd talk to him tomorrow in the garden about sinking a few loose lips. Unable to sequester himself in the library, as he usually would, Moon went back to his Floramel-decorated room in the Castle and continued to kill time.

During the afternoon, Marah, who was walking the grounds of the family holding, received a rather shaky Trump from her cousin, Bartholomew. After firming up the connection, they chatted a bit, then he came through. He explained that he was on the far side of Shadow, and the connection took a long time to make it over to the Amber side of things. As Marah tended to Bartholomew's lands in his absence, or rather her office manager and steward tend to Bart's lands, they had some business to catch up on before they turned to social matters and theories on Shadow and the nature of faith/deity/immortality. This they did, pleasantly so, with a walk through the orchards. In the afternoon, they returned to the manor for tea, and during that time Bart received a Trump. Excusing himself, he retired to the next room to answer it. It was his father, Brand. The connection was not fully formed, and Brand's voice conveyed less confidence than usual. He didn't say much beyond warning his son to "be careful."

Meanwhile, Calla, who was still in Peridwen, Trumped Simon and asked him to please view the scene of the girls death. The current theory was that she had had some sort of feverish episode which caused the violent behavior. Through his usual methods, Simon discovered the phrases "Fanged mouth eating a disc. Swallowed up, swallowed up." Psychometry revealed a palpable feeling of death, especially on the walls where the girl "painted" with her own innards. There was still energy emanating from her forehead as well. One symbol was apparent in the mess: a circle with three smaller black circles inside.

Once they finished viewing the scene, Calla and Simon cleaned the room, so the child's traumatized parents wouldn't have to do it, then wrap the body for funerary rites. Simon then returned to his house in Amber to research and re-rack, while Calla spoke with the High Priest about the situation.

Simon managed to finish racking his Recall spell twice, when he was interrupted by Tanin who wondered if he could look at the scene of the shipwreck. It was a busy day for Simon.

Once again casting Recall, Simon views the events surrounding the rocky shores of this landmass. He and Tanin saw the bloody remains washed against the rocks, and came to realize the ship had already broken up before the detritus washed this far. Casting his spell once again, this time on the body of one of the officers, Simon moved the focus of the spell backward, and they both watched as the Officer was woken from sleep by something. He ran topside, yelled orders to the crew, then moved to the ship's rail. Cannon balls shattered wood all around him, and a few moments later, the officer was torn in two as a projectile found its mark.

Tanin thanked Simon for his time and services, then proceeded to contact Gerard. With the information relayed, Tanin was given leave to return to Amber, while Gerard took the investigation from there. Simon, meanwhile, returned home to finish racking spells and complete his research for the Lady Master.

Moon found himself bored and decided to see what trouble he could get into at the library. Not that he actually labeled it as "trouble", more a desire to put his nose into business that he had already been told wasn't his. On his way back toward the library, he saw two of Eric's guards escorting an elderly man, who looked suspiciously like the librarian, down to the dungeons. Without a second thought, or even much of a first thought, he followed … though not so close that they'd notice him tagging along. The guards at the top of the circular stairs let Moon through reluctantly, as he was a scion of the Blood and all, though the guards at the station at the bottom were less willing to accommodate his pokings around, though no less courteous. "What's through here?" Moon rather disingenuously asked the guard, "Beside the Squiggle that is?" The guard admitted that the dungeons were through the hallway as well.

With an injunction against "playing with the prisoners," Moon was given a tour of the dungeons proper. There he saw the two guards from above leave the door of a particular cell and surmised that was where the old man was detained. After some chat and chicanery, Moon was able to approach the cell, and talk (very) briefly with the old man. The fellow just kept saying, "I didn't do anything!" and "He's back!" Moon wasn't able to find out just who "he" was, as the guards decided that Moon had had enough play time in the dungeons. With a bit of blithe bullying of the guards through presence, and a flinging of bullshit, Moon was escorted back upstairs and given the respectful recommendation to stay out of the lower grounds, if he knew what was good for him.

Soon after, Moon Trumped Bartholomew, who had just finished speaking to his father. After a little discussion, Bart pulled Moon through, and the two returned to Marah in her sitting room. Moon explained the happenings up at the Castle, and they theorized on what could have happened to Eric that would have put the Regent's knickers in a knot. Being wounded would do it, they acknowledged, though how did he get wounded, and who was "he"?

As it had been a fairly long time since the cousins had seen each other, Bartholomew asked if the group would like to go into Amber City for a bit of the night life. Both Marah and her husband, James, agreed to go, as did Moon. Marah Trumped her cousin, Calla to see if she'd like to join them as well. Calla looked as though she was more than ready for a nice evening's carouse.

It was a lovely evening, and the first place they stopped had great food. Not much of a selection, as everything had been sent over to the Harvest Festival, but what they had was terrific. The group loosened up a bit, and Calla told the rest about her day, as well as bits of what Simon had mention concerning the deaths in the poor quarter. All agreed that small threads of unease seemed to be weaving their way through life, but for the most part everything else seemed fairly rosy. Calla also related her waking nightmare about the bugs, and Marah admitted to having a vision as well. Moon relates his story, though maintains that it was something more insidious than a daymare. Bartholomew consoled his cousins, but said nothing about his own dream. James tried to keep the conversation light by teasing his wife, and making sure the drinks kept flowing.

As they ordered another round, Bartholomew noticed a man at another table was watching him surreptitiously. He brought Moon's attention to the man, then walked over to him. The guy stood up, and tossed some coins on the table as if he had already thought of leaving, when Bart intercepted him, introducing himself. The man introduced himself as "Jake", and maintained that no, he didn't think he knew Bartholomew. "My mistake," Bart replied easily, and returned back to his table. Jake left the pub, whereupon Moon followed him, doing what he does best.

Jake casually walked up the street to another man who was smoking a pipe. They spoke briefly and quietly before Jake continued up to a stable. Moon followed as far as the stable, but Jake was already horsed and ready to go. Moon watched the direction he took, towards the poor quarter, before Trumping Bartholomew with an update.

Meanwhile Bart and Calla fell into a discussion about the murder of the young girl, spiritual entities, anger, destruction, and so on. In the middle of this, he received the Trump from Moon, and walked outside to take it. Moon told Bart about the man with the pipe, and said that he'd be following after Jake for a while. Bart walked towards the man across the street who, upon seeing him, walked off toward another drinking establishment. When Bartholomew arrived, he found it to be full of partying Legionnaires. Of the man with a pipe, there was no sign.

Marah and Calla noticed that their cousins had abandoned them, having seen Bartholomew walk past the pub windows and up the street. James, finally returning from the facilities, also noted that their party had diminished. They settled their bill, and wandered in the direction Bart had taken. After a few minutes they too came upon the party of Legionnaires, who at this point were literally spilling into the street. "Calla!" the Legionnaires yelled happily. Calla had served part of her service with the Legionnaires, and group was more than enthused to meet up with her once again. Bartholomew was one of the crowd, and the cousins continued with the larger group for the rest of the night.

In the morning, after tidying up at their various abodes in town, the all-night revelers headed to the castle for breakfast. Already at table were Simon and Tanin, who were tucking into the repast laid before them. Conspicuously absent were the Elders.

With breakfast to themselves, the talk turned to the events going on in their lives. Tanin related the ongoing investigations with the missing vessels, mentioning that one ship they found had been fired up on, and it was from the Duncan line. Marah and James took the news well, all things considered. They wondered if Lord Duncan, James' father, had heard the news yet. Simon and Calla conversed about the 'dreams' that had been experienced, and the words "residuals", "doom", and "echoes" were heard. Moon's news about Eric's being wounded, and the incarceration of the librarian the day before sent some of the group into a spin. Marah couldn't believe that he'd be discussing such sensitive information aloud at the breakfast table, while Calla simply was aghast to hear that her foster-father, Eric, had been wounded. Whatever the others thought is not for this chronicle to relate … at least not now.

By the end of breakfast, the results were thus:

-- Moon went up to his room to sleep on the top shelf of his closet (don't ask … it scares the maids).
-- Calla ran up to find Eric.
-- Simon left for parts unknown (at least to the rest of the cousins … one assumes he knows where he's going).
-- Tanin retired to his room for a bit of cleaning up.
-- Marah and James were making their way to Gerard's office, though with very little hope of actually finding her father there. Tanin mentioned that when last he saw the Prince, Gerard was still sailing.
-- Bartholomew still sat at the breakfast table, contentedly working his way through another plate of perfectly crisped bacon.

Back to top

Campaign Chronicles, Session 2
10.12.03

Dramatis Personae, and where we left them:

Marah - Kath Nyborg - and her husband were headed for Gerard’s office.
Moon - Jeremy Zimmerman - was taking a nap in his armoire.
Tanin - Dan Swope - went to clean up after a long sea voyage.
Simon - Cort Odekirk - went into the hall, and then disappeared. Literally.
Calla - Jennifer Crice - was sprinting up the stairs to the Regent’s personal rooms.
Bart - Andis Blija - was eating all the bacon his cousins left behind.


Upon arriving at Gerard’s office, James and Marah receive no answer to their knocking but a subtle noise within. Ever her father’s daughter, the delicate Lady Duncan kicks the door down. Having gained the office, the couple finds it empty, but a book is on the floor and scattered papers are still floating to the floor. Marah immediately raises the Pattern to search for Trump residue, but finds none. Closing the door behind them, Marah shuffles her Trumps to find her father’s while James looks through the scattered papers. He finds a naval report detailing active ships, their crew and cargo, destinations and timetables. Putting the call to her father aside for the moment, Marah begins to check the bookcases for unusual carpentry that might indicate a secret passage. She finds none, and so looks at the book on the floor. It is a volume of naval history, one of many in this office. Searching the space from whence the book came, Marah finds a lever that opens a passageway in the wall.

The passage is very dark, perhaps four feet high and the width of an average pair of shoulders - obviously not commonly traveled by Gerard. Marah looks at the passage speculatively:

“One, we can go in….two, we can get some guards…”
“Oh, go in! You know you’re going in!”

James, knowing his wife perfectly well, goes out to the hallway and pulls some ornamental swords off the wall, providing Marah with a weapon. They enter the passage. It goes in for about six feet, then meets with a vertical passage. There is no light in either direction, but faint sounds can be heard below. There are holes in the stone, evenly spaced for using short, removable bars to climb. Finding this, Marah and James back out of the passage, and Marah straps the sword onto her back. She instructs James to wait an hour, and if she is not back, to call the guards. James makes no promises, saying only that Marah will do what she has to do, and he will do what he has to do. Marah puts Gerard’s Trump on the top of her deck, then returns to the passage. Reaching the vertical tunnel, she braces herself against the narrow walls and climbs down thirty or forty feet before she finds wooden climbing bars, and another horizontal opening. The new tunnel is more suited to standing, and Marah draws her blade, inching along the wall. Something whooshes past her face, scratching her cheek before it is stopped. The booby trap is a simple but effective spike on a swinging pole. The wall before her yields to her strength, and moves aside to let Marah onto a dark staircase. There is a light below, and she follows it carefully, staying to the inside of the staircase. The light disappears and Marah hears a faint noise below, and she soon comes to a landing with a locked door. Besting the lock, she finds the door still will not budge, so she starts the kicking again.

* * *

Back in the castle proper, the invisible Simon makes his way to the library. Eric’s men are posted outside it. Despite his invisibility, Simon still needs to open the door to get in, so he casts an “ignore” function on himself to make the opening door unimportant to the sentinels. He finds the door locked, and so uses more magic to pick the lock. The lock is resistant to his magic, but time and determination win out. Inside the library, Simon finds a busted chair in one corner, and a mess of books and papers on a table. Desiring a warning if anyone should come into the library, Simon re-locks the door, then casts “replay” on the library. He sees Eric’s men pick up the books and papers from the floor, then leave. A servant cleans up a bloodstain on the floor. An old man is restrained by guards. A wounded Eric is surrounded by his men. Eric and Corwin swordfight, then Corwin disengages and Trumps out. Corwin comes in through a secret passage in the library.

“So that’s where that is!” Simon enters the passage, taking a lantern with him. He casts “featherfall” upon himself to float down the six stories of vertical passage, passing three landings on the way down that seem to be vantage spots for spying. At the bottom of the passage is a flagstone floor littered with chicken bones and an empty bottle. The tunnel opens left and right, and shows no tracks. Raising his defensive shield, Simon tries both left and right passages, finding them dead ends.

* * *

Calla runs upstairs to Eric’s private rooms, and meets a guard at the end of the corridor. Inquiring if the Regent is well and receiving an affirmative, Calla opines that it is strange to have a guard at the far end of the hall. She asks to see Eric, and is told that the Regent has requested privacy. She then asks that a note be delivered, which the guard agrees to. A quick visit to a nearby office later, she hands the unsealed note to the guard: “Eric, I heard you had an unfortunate incident in the library. I’m worried about you! Please let me in.” The guard walks halfway down the hallway before turning around and asking Calla if she would like to wait in the antechamber. Figuring he read her note, she agrees readily, and accompanies him. The Regent’s chambers are guarded without as well as within, an obvious bump up in security. The note is delivered, and Calla is invited into the Regent’s office. The guards leave them alone, and as the door closes, Calla is not put off by the stern look Eric is giving her. She hurries around the desk to his side and kneels.

“Are you all right?”

Calla and Eric spar verbally, Eric trying to get information out of her, and Calla trying to convey her concern for the Regent’s person as well as his method of dealing with the crisis.

“You leaving the library bleeding, surrounded by your men, is noteworthy.”
“Who noted it?”
Pause. “Your question worries me because I understand that a servant who had the misfortune to witness what happened has been jailed.”
“This needs to be kept quiet. Who knows about it?”
“I would say that my entire generation knows.”

Calla beseeches Eric to tell her what is going on, but he refuses. She tries to invoke family solidarity, the strength of a united group, but Eric is steadfast. She can tell that he wishes to say something, but will not allow himself to do so. Figuring she has done all she can, Calla stands and hugs her uncle, kissing the top of his head. He suddenly takes her hand.

“A storm is coming. I’ll need you soon. Amber will need your sword arm.”
“I’ll be here in the castle or at the festival over the next few weeks. Call me if you need me. Would you like me to pray with you now?”

The Regent does not, and so Calla leaves, heading for Fiona’s rooms.

* * *

Tanin cleans up and goes to the festival grounds. He circulates, checking out the myriad foods from the Golden Circle, and recognizes people and clothing styles from all the Shadows around Amber. He bides his time, awaiting Queen Moire, Princess Llewella, and Vialle, who should arrive today.

* * *

Moon hears the door of his room open, the noise not of the cleaning woman’s tasks that he heard earlier, but two booted individuals. The men enter the room.

“He’s not here - his bed doesn’t look slept in.”
“Check the armoire - I heard that he scared maids.”
“Creepy. Hey, you hear that?”

Inside the armoire, Moon shifts shape to slide off the shelf into the armoire proper, holding his spear defensively. The door opens from without, and Moon greets his visitors.

“Good day.”
The men startle, then collect themselves. “We bear a message from Caine. He is unable to make his meeting with you today. You will receive instructions at the festival, at the tents of the Sun King tomorrow night.”

His father’s men take their leave, and Moon sees them exchanging money on the way out. His presence unnecessary in the castle now, Moon Trumps to his manor. His servants are, once again, professional yet pained to see him. Moon inquires about his outfit for the festival masque; the seneschal tells him that the tailor is expected. Moon retires to his lake with the understanding that he will be called when the tailor arrives. At lakeside, the fishmonger has a fresh bucket of live fish. Moon has a snack, then enters the lake for meditation. He thinks on his waking nightmare, finding the whalesong soothing. Within the song, he hears something new, like a new note creating new harmony. The new element seems like an announcement or proclamation, and Moon tries to remember it to share.

* * *

Calla reaches Fiona’s room and finds the princess readying to leave. Calla tells her briefly of the recent deaths, touching on the possible psychic connection, and asks if Fiona could look into it. Fiona replies that she must leave, but wishes to hear more, and asks that Calla speak to her at the Sun King’s tent at the festival.

* * *

Bart finishes breakfast, gets supplies from the kitchen, and returns to his city flat for meditation. He finds Fiona there, and offers to escort her to the festival. She accepts happily, and they chat pleasantly until the subject of Brand comes up. Fiona asks Bart when Brand contacted him. Bart replies that Brand Trumped him yesterday, but he didn’t know where his father was. Fiona thinks Brand needs help, but will neither know it nor ask for it. Bart says that he would not pry into his father’s business, but Fiona, as Brand’s sister, would. Fiona expresses her extreme worry for Brand, then the aunt and nephew head for the festival.

* * *

Simon finds that he has to drop his shield in order to touch the walls in order to seek a latch or panel. He finds a moving stone in the floor, and the wall in front of him clicks. A good deal of physical exertion later, the wall moves to reveal a corridor with stairs going down. Simon goes down 25 stairs until it ends in a door with a rusty latch. He casts “reverse entropy” to remove the rust, but the latch is stuck. With force, the door opens into sunlight. Simon appears to be on a walkway between two lower towers of the castle. He Trumps back to his room, then takes Corwin’s psychic signature from his Trump. With this, he creates a spell to track Corwin’s movements, but does not find him in the Shadow.

* * *

Marah continues pounding on the door, and finally hears something break inside it. The door moves, and she sees several guards and servants standing beyond.

“Why didn’t you open the door?!”
“It’s a wall, ma’am.”

Marah finds that the door/wall is in an area of the castle reserved for kitchens and servants’ quarters. When questioned, the guards do not have any information about who has been in the hallway; they were simply called by servants alarmed by the pounding. Marah sends a servant to Gerard’s office to tell James that she’ll meet him there, but then hears her name called in the passage behind her.

“James! How can I traipse about and do what I have to do if I have to worry about you?”
“I said that you’d do what you have to do, and I’d do what I had to do.”

The Duncans agree to go home after sending a note to the captain of the guard about the passage. They take their carriage home and nap on the way. At home, Marah Trumps her father. Gerard is aboard ship in some bad weather. She reports the problem in his office and the secret passage. Gerard says that he will see her at the masque, and closes the contact. Marah orders coffee and tends to her correspondence, considering writing Lord and Lady Duncan about the problem of their ships. Deciding against this, she writes to her brother, then takes a nap.

* * *

Tanin sees the Rebman royal tents being finished, and then finds Moire’s personal servants. He goes to chat and share a drink. “To the sea!”

Llewella exits from one of the five carriages that pull up. Tanin greets his aunt and finds out that Moire will not be attending the festival due to matters of state and a general dislike of the dry lands. Tanin reports to her the troubles on the high sea and his waking nightmare.

* * *

Marah gets dressed while James finishes a letter that he tucks away before she can see it. James says he is going to go speak with his father and that Marah does not need to accompany him; he will meet her at the festival.

* * *

Simon dons dress pants, shirt, and shoes, then covers this with his armored trench coat and tucks his firearm within. At the festival, he does some shopping and finds some interesting metal from another Shadow. He buys a few bars, then heads off, intending to hit a magic shop and then the tavern near the outdoor plays.

* * *

Moon’s tailor arrives, takes his measurements, and promises the clothing will be ready the next day. Moon returns to the lake only to be Trumped by Calla, who offers to accompany him to the festival. She comes through the contact, leading her horse. Moon dresses and takes leave of his servants, and chooses to take his carriage rather than ride behind Calla on her horse. Calla speaks of Eric’s actions and her concerns about them. Moon speaks of the prisoner that he visited in the dungeons, who said, “He’s back.” Calla ponders the return of either Oberon or Corwin, and Moon tells her that he feels something is coming.

* * *

Mara sees Tanin at the royal tents, and they chat and have a drink. Fiona arrives with Bart, kisses his cheek, and goes into the tent.

Elsewhere, a street prophet heckles Simon: “You know, you’ve seen the end!” Simon leaves the area and goes to his favorite bartender for a drink.

Marah and Bart talk about their day.

Moon and Calla go into the main tent to greet the collected royals and nobles, then exit. A group of young noblemen is obviously watching them, so Calla approaches them. The men make some mention of Calla’s exploits in service as well as her beauty, and she laughs, and leaves with Moon. They try several types of food along the way until they find something that Moon likes.

A courtesan who says she has information for sale approaches Marah. The woman wants $30,000 for this, saying it is about Marah’s mother. The woman will find Marah at Donner’s Field in 24 hours.

A drunken Simon enchants his shot glasses to dance.

Calla and Moon bankrupt the skill games, giving their prizes to passersby.

Tanin talks to Llewella.

Calla finally confronts the group of young noblemen who have been following her and Moon. They claim to admire her, and wish to defend her against any trouble at the festival. They introduce themselves, and Calla promises to remember them if she has any need of help. Moon offers to test the men’s mettle. She agrees, whispering a caution not to hurt the young men, as their families value them. Moon borrows a sword from one of the men, and stands ready. The young men are puzzled.

“What would you have us do?”
“Pretend this ruffian is attacking me,” replies Calla, standing behind the group.
“Piss off!” tries one young man.

When verbal abuse is exhausted, Moon moves forward to engage the group. There are four armed men against Moon, and three are down before one scores a scratch on Moon’s chest. Calla calls “first blood” and an end to the test. She tells the group that she is impressed with them, and introduces Moon to them. The group is very pleased with themselves, and honored to meet Moon.

Eventually, all the cousins converge on Simon at the outdoor tavern/play field. James arrives as well, and Tanin spreads the cognac around. Marah shares the story of the courtesan and her offer. Calla opines, and Simon seconds her, that the “offer” is extortion, and the woman should be arrested. James and Marah discuss the matter privately, and James agrees to take money from their private holdings if Marah will go into Shadow to make up the money within the week.

The play ends, and musicians start up. The cousins dance with one another, friends, acquaintances, and anyone else around. When Call and Marah dance together, Calla points out that it is ridiculous for the Duncans to put themselves in financial trouble when six cousins can offer $5,000 each. The idea is spread about as the night wears on with revelry.

Simon sobers himself up and goes looking for the magic shop.