Sitting a the base of the stairs to Tirnanog I had long hours to think about my current situation in Amber. I had just had an aborted attempt to speak with Sand, and a difficult conversation with Jessica. While those events were fresh in my memory it was Merlin and Frakir the loomed largely in my mind. To complicate matters questions about my mother fluttered around my head.

First things first. Gerard has impressed me more lately than he had early on. My first impression of him was of a man of action who cared little for thinking things through. After all he was of very impressive bulk and had no patience for philosophical discussion. However, recent events have proven him to be much deeper. For starters he appears to be Amber's expert physician. He has a great understanding for the workings of the body and it may turn out that his has saved Merlin's life. He was also the one who noticed the Merlin's bracelet, Frakir, was missing. Evidently, Frakir is a magical being of sorts, bound into a symbiotic relationship with Merlin. That fact that it is missing speaks volumes. Did it escape willingly? Has it been captured by Merlin's murderer? Finding Frakir would be the major step towards finding the murderer since it would almost certainly have been a witness at the scene of the killing. That leads me to another interesting point - Frakir's creator - Mandor. We interviewed Mandor shortly after learning of Frakir's existence. While he did appear to be searching for Frakir I doubted that he was making every effort. This may turn out be a good thing, however, since I intended to ask Bleys to draw a Trump of Frakir - allowing me to locate the bracelet first and keep it out of the hands of those who might try to impair our investigation into Merlin's death.