Session
53
Tir-na Nog'th, year four, day 108 continued
Riftvan used a glamour to disguise my current clothing until I have a
chance to change. Pity he can't do that all the time, but he says the
glamour itself would be obvious, even if what it was hiding wasn't. He
wanted me to leave the twins behind, but I still can't bring myself to do
that. I don't think I will be able to for a long time.
I can't get over the name of this place. Tir-na Nog'th. Land of
Night in the faerie tongue. It can't be a coincidence. How are the two
connected? Are the images controlled from here somehow? Is that why the
visions lied to me the one time I went there? Why is it that the answers
to the simplest questions always spawn so many more? I wonder if anything
odd happens here during the full moon? Assuming they even have a moon.
Riftvan still won't answer any of my questions about Sand. Not that I
was expecting him to. If she wasn't here, I doubt I'd be giving her much
thought. But she is, and Delwin probably is as well, and that bothers me.
I know I heard them say something about the children. I don't like the
idea of something happening to the twins that I'm not aware of. I trust
that Riftvan won't hurt them, but Sand's record is far from spotless. Why
can't he understand that? I'm sure he has some clever plan for dealing
with her. I know him well enough to know that he won't forget she
double-crossed him. But her presence makes me nervous.
Evening
I was actually starting to feel better about being here. That was
before I got a Trump call. It wasn't a full contact, just the barest
feeling of one, but I blocked it anyway. I wonder, if I'd tried to accept
it, would it have gone through? I thought Riftvan said Trump wouldn't
work here? He didn't look pleased when I told him of the contact. This
does not bode well. Who could it have been? Not that many people have
Trumps of me. It couldn't have been Ahab. He doesn't have the strength.
One of the redheads? Possibly. But why would one of them be trying to
contact me? Why would anyone? Do they think I was kidnapped? Or are
they trying to find Riftvan for some reason and figure we're probably
together? Shit. They probably want to question him about his involvement
with Sand. Between what Foster said, and Riftvan's double-crossing bitch
remark, it was obvious that they'd been working together in the past. And
since Sand was trying to kill Random... But if Riftvan was helping her
with that, he never would have told us who Nanna was. Unfortunately,
Sand's presence here doesn't help matters any. I suppose it's too much to
hope that she's left. I'd like to believe that whoever it was can't enter
this Shadow, but if Sand can... Why did this have to happen now?
At least the women here wear their hair in the same manner that I do.
My hair is the only thing that didn't change. I still can't get used to
this. I had to cover all the mirrors in my quarters. Every time I see my
reflection, it startles me. I don't know the person staring back at me.
Nothing in my life has really prepared me for this. How does Riftvan deal
with it? What frightens me is that I might get too used to this form.
What if I actually start thinking of it as me, instead of the shape I was
born with? Would that make it my true form? What exactly is a true form
anyway? Can it change? So many questions I'd never really thought about
before, but I can't stop myself now. I feel so lost.
Riftvan returned my Trumps. He also showed me a good place to hide
them. He seemed as surprised as I that a Trump was able to reach me here.
Apparently this place has a natural resistance to them and no one's ever
tried to Trump him while he's here. Unfortunately, this means that
whoever was trying to reach me must be pretty strong. Not a comforting
thought.
Riftvan did the oddest thing before he left. He kissed me and wished
me luck, then left before I could respond. Good luck? With what? What
did he mean by that? Is he going to leave me here alone, before I even
know the language? Whatever he was referring to, I doubt I'm going to
like it.
This castle sucks, from a strategic standpoint. It's as bad as when I
was trying to protect Murine in Gérard's summer house. There's too
many windows, and the doors aren't very sturdy. If someone wants to get
in here, I have no real way to stop them. If I'm lucky I can slow them
down, but... I liked my life better when my greatest concern about my
sleeping quarters was not how to keep someone out.
I knew Sand was going to be trouble. Gods above, I pray she didn't
find the twins. She wasn't carrying them, and I didn't see anyone else
with her. Then again, I have no idea how long I was unconscious, but it
didn't seem like very long. I don't understand why Psychic Disrupt didn't
work. From everything Riftvan taught me, it should have broken the
contact. As it is, I didn't even make it out of the room. I hope someone
heard the scream. It would appear that Sand outstrips me as much in
fighting skill as she does in psychic ability. At least my nose will
heal. She found all of my hidden daggers, and naturally Alastor is gone.
There's nothing in this cell that could be used as a weapon. But she
missed my Trumps. I don't know how she could have. Maybe she didn't
bother because they won't work here? Or she wants me to use them? What
if she has a trap set up for whoever I Trump? I may have to chance it.
There's no way to get through the door. I don't have the tools or the
experience to pick the lock. I tried Weaken Structure on it, but nothing
happened. It feels like magic's being blocked. I don't think faerie
magic is, which would be much more useful if I knew how to use it. Maybe
I can get out the next time she opens the door. She'll probably be
expecting it, but I have to at least try. Why is she holding me in the
first place?
It was a nice idea. Unfortunately, Sand had company with her this
time. Company big enough to fill up the entire door. And carrying a huge
ax. I didn't even bother. Sand left him here. Which will definitely
make escape more difficult. I was able to briefly make mental contact
with him, but since I couldn't get close enough to touch him, it had to be
through eye contact. He broke free before I could immobilize him, but I
learned enough from his mind to know why I had such difficulty. His name
is Usires, and he's an Amberite. Sand had him walk the Pattern in Tir-na
Nog'th, although he thinks it was a dream. How does Sand keep finding us?
All of us that were raised in Shadow have been found by her or those
working with her. Do the Spikards help her with this?
Sand is Usires' benefactress, and she's left him orders to guard me.
I believe her exact words were "Do what you want with her but I need her
alive." Lovely. At least he doesn't seem inclined to follow some of the
more unsavory aspects of his culture. My faerie form may be helping in
this matter. Apparently his culture considers faeries to be evil, but
he's never seen one before. I think coming face to face with one is
making him nervous. Eral only knows what he'd try if I were human. I'd
rather not think about it. I told him a little about Amber and Shadow. I
even offered to take him there to prove I'm telling the truth. Sand
didn't say he had to keep me here, after all. But it's slow going. Even
Felix on his worst day isn't this thick. Most of the time, all he does is
grunt. But I have to keep trying. The odds of my subduing him unarmed
while he has that ax are pretty slim.
I managed to check my Trumps without Usires catching on. There are
three new ones: Delwin, Alex and Mary. This last one puzzles me. Why
would Riftvan give me a Trump of Heather's lover? Come to think of it,
why give me those three at all? I tried my Trump of Amber, but it's too
far. We must be pretty close to Chaos. Bleys' Trump had similar
problems. I didn't want to try Riftvan's, in case it was a trap. Alex's
worked, but I got only blackness when the contact went through. I could
hear him, but the contact was broken before I could say anything.
Foster has joined me in my imprisonment. Riftvan brought him here. I
guess I know why Sand is holding me now. I've been worried about someone
attacking the twins, but I never thought that someone would go after me
alone. There was never any reason before. Foster said he's never seen
Riftvan in that sort of mood before. Why such conflicting emotions?
Riftvan apparently said something about getting the other children
quickly. Damn. If I wasn't here, this wouldn't be happening. We've got
to get out of here.
Riftvan is working quickly, I'll say that. Sand deposited Eris and
Emer in here shortly after Foster. At least she moved Usires out of the
room, which frees us to work on escaping. Foster was able to shape his
fingers into the form of the door key and now Eris is creating another
one. I didn't know Driscoll had taught her that. I'm hoping Sand doesn't
know either. Once the key is finished, maybe I can distract Usires long
enough for the others to get away. In the meantime, I'm going to try my
Trumps again. Maybe one of the other new ones will work. I don't know
what Sand is planning, but kidnapping the daughters of the Crown Princes
of Chaos and Amber seems unwise in the extreme.
I finally got through to Alex but he couldn't hear me. I was about to
ask one of the children for help when Alex finally responded. I think
that's when Mary joined the connection. It's curious that they were
together. Why did Mary break my contact with her if she was willing to
join the one with Alex? I didn't have time to do much more than tell them
who Sand was holding before she returned with Nicholas. Ahab must be
furious. This is going to make escaping more difficult. At least the
children managed to conceal the key in time.
What is Sand expecting to gain from this? Taking so many children is
insane. None of their parents will stand for it, and some of them are in
Sand's league, or pretty damn close to it. What could be worth that kind
of risk? She already controls the Spikards.
I'm free, but I find no joy in this. It's all my fault. All of the
children are hers because of me. I didn't want to leave them in her
hands, especially the baby. I came close to attacking her as she stood
there. If Riftvan hadn't caught my eye, I might have. It would have been
easier than walking away. We have to rescue them. By ourselves, if need
be. I won't be able to rest until they're safe. He should have let her
kill me. I'm not worth all of their lives. Thank the gods she left the
twins alone.
Riftvan says Sand wants the Jewel in exchange for the children. Even
Felix found that hard to believe. This whole thing seems awfully sloppy.
As if it was thrown together at the last minute, instead of being
carefully planned like her use of Foster was. Her demand would explain
why she wanted Foster to kill Random. The Jewel would be much easier to
steal under those circumstances. But why is she rushing things at this
point? What prompted her urgency?
Ahab recognized me despite my current state. He's the only one who
has. Not surprising. Not only am I a faerie but I look a sight right
now. I think Ahab will forgo killing Riftvan, at least for now, but I had
to explain the reason for Riftvan's actions. It's not something I want to
publicize widely. For one thing, I don't enjoy being a target. I can't
understand why Riftvan cooperated with Sand. There must have been some
other way.
Mandor is able to access Tir-na Nog'th. Apparently he collects
people's souls in those silver balls of his, and there was a sorcerer from
Tir that disappeared some time ago... The thought of being trapped in
those balls for all eternity gives me the shivers.
Amber
Ahab has a spear which, judging by my reaction to it, I can only
assume is made of cold iron. At least Riftvan's not in his faerie form
right now. No one seems to know anything about Usires' origins, at least
not that they will admit. I wish I knew why Benedict wanted to see my
hand before he left.
I forgot to mention that becoming faerie means losing Pattern.
Naturally Riftvan failed to mention it either. Ahab looked most
displeased. I can understand why, but there is no other way for him to
come with us. Unless he wants to wait for Mandor, which means he's likely
to arrive too late. At least he wasn't changed as drastically as I was.
He should be thankful. Still, it troubles me that I forgot the Pattern's
loss so soon. It's been less than a day. Does it mean so little to
me?
Riftvan says Sand is unlikely to have much in the way of guards, other
than Usires and those wolves of hers. All of the faeries follow Riftvan.
Why does she have so little in the way of defenses? She must have known
we'd come after her. Did she think Riftvan wouldn't help? Or did she
figure she'd be gone by the time we managed to get there? I hope we're
not too late.
Tir-na Nog'th
We've found four of the children. Eris was badly frightened and
wouldn't let go of my legs until we sent her back to Amber. Foster is
gone. Apparently he was the only one that Usires managed to recapture.
Sand left with him not long ago. Felix knocked Usires out when he found
out. It's much less than Usires deserves. To hurt children like that...
I don't care how much Sand duped him, it's wrong no matter what you're
told. I hope Riftvan can take us to Sand before she finds another hiding
place.
Benedict looks like a faerie, even though he was human when he left.
I guess I know why he wanted to see my hand. So besides being an
incredible fighter and a sorcerer, he may also be a shapeshifter. Is
there anything he can't he do?
Amber
We got Foster away from Sand, but it cost him two of his fingers.
Riftvan took us to her, but I haven't seen him since. I haven't seen
Benedict either. We could have used his help. We arrived twenty feet in
front of Sand. Why didn't Riftvan bring us in behind her? I don't
understand how those gates of his work, but it should have been possible.
We're lucky she didn't kill Foster. Ghostwheel can't locate her, so she
must have reached some place Pattern won't work. I pray she hasn't
returned to Tir-na Nog'th. I wish I could get back there. I'm worried
about the twins. Where is Riftvan? I can't reach him over Trump. We've
got to find Sand. As long as she lives, I think she'll keep coming after
the Jewel. And she's proved she's willing to do just about anything to
get it. We can't let her go.
Ahab and I both find this whole thing disquieting. It doesn't add up.
What set Sand off? Hell, what set her after me? I couldn't even get
Riftvan to admit that he cared about me until earlier today. All of my
relatives are convinced that he's using me. Why would Sand assume
differently? And I can't believe no one's ever tried something like this
on Riftvan before. Surely the Hendrakes have. He can't have lived as
long as he has if he's always given in to kidnappers. Why did he wish me
luck before he left? And put a glamour on my Trumps? There's one
possibility that might explain it, and I don't like it at all. I pray
that I'm wrong.
"Outrageous Fortune"
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Last modified on August 18, 1998 by Kris Fazzari.