Session
8
Chaos, year one, day 128 continued
Shard is back, apparently unharmed, but now Ahab is missing. And
Random is King. Everyone looked pretty surprised about it, especially
Random. But the Unicorn picked him, and apparently the Unicorn's word is
law. Corwin was pretty relieved about the whole thing.
Shard Trumped me shortly after he disappeared. I almost did not
answer, for I know that bitch, Heather, can draw a Trump of me. As it
turns out, he was using a sketch she had done of me. I asked him for it,
but he wanted to hang onto it, and I did not wish to press the issue. It
seems that Heather and Mandor are responsible for Brand's sudden
disappearance. Shard is lucky that they were too busy to deal with him.
Given Shard's account of the whole matter, I suspect that Brand may yet
live.
Ahab left as soon as the battle was ended, saying that he wished to
peruse the library here in Chaos. I am not sure that this was the wisest
thing for him to have done. To go wandering alone through the home of
your newly defeated enemy, where there are likely many who harbor a
grudge... But Ahab is stubborn and usually wont to ignore the advice of
others. I hope he is well. I will admit, I would like to see the library
here myself. Perhaps when the negotiations are over, I will have the
opportunity to go looking for him. With some guards, of course.
New cousins seem to keep popping up on a regular basis. When Felix
and Driscoll arrived for the treaty negotiations, they brought with them
Martin, another one of Random's children. The man certainly keeps busy.
Outside of Oberon, he has the most known children. Of course, I have
trouble believing that with all the centuries that my aunts and uncles
have been alive, they have not had more than one or two children. No, I
would wager that I have many more cousins out in Shadow than are currently
acknowledged. It turns out that Corwin has a son in Chaos. His name is
Merlin, and he appears to be in his teenage years. He was not with us
long when his mater came and dragged him away. I think that we may see
him again, though. He said that he was interested in seeing Amber.
The negotiations are not going well. Dworkin appeared and seems to
take great pleasure in annoying all of the Chaos representatives. They
were not at all happy when he arrived. There must be some bad blood
between them. None of the elders seem willing to say anything in
opposition to Dworkin. He must be pretty powerful if even Benedict is
holding his tongue. I wish I could leave to go looking for Ahab. I tried
to slip out, but Dworkin spotted me and told me to sit down. Random is
beginning to voice an opinion, and it looks like Dworkin is actually
agreeing with him. He does not look happy, but he is backing off
somewhat. It seems that even Dworkin respects the Unicorn.
We have finally finished. Chaos is to be on its best behavior for the
next decade or so. Mandor, of all people, has been appointed the
ambassador from Chaos. Not that I have ever met the man personally, but I
do not think much of some of the people he spends his time with. Dworkin
discovered Alex disguising himself as an Amber guard, and he has been
named an ambassador as well. Dworkin is ordering most of us to leave.
Where is Ahab? I told Dworkin that he is missing, but Dworkin will not
let me search for him. He says that he will take care of it. I am not
certain that he will remember. He is a bit odd.
Felix had the gall to tell me that Martin is much like Ahab, so if
Ahab could not be found I would have a suitable replacement. What a
callus attitude these Amberites have towards one another! No wonder no
one except for Mirelle searched for me when I was missing. I am afraid I
was rather rude to Felix, but he made me so angry! Brand said that he had
sold Ahab's Trump to those who wished ill of him. Perhaps they are
holding him even now. If only I could look... But Dworkin is quite
adamant that I leave. What choice have I? Driscoll mentioned going to a
place called Bloody Jake's in Amber. I have never been there before, but
it seems to be a bar of some sort, and I could really use a drink or
three. I believe I will join them there.
Amber, year one, day 129 (Friday, October 29, 2987)
Bloody Jake's is indeed a bar. I tasted a new drink last night. It
is nothing like the wine that I am used to. I believe it is called ale.
I had rather a lot of it to drink. I remember dancing with Felix and
Martin. I even think I was sitting on Felix's shoulders at one point!
Felix was very drunk. Martin and I managed to push quite a few drinks on
him. And Shard as well. Driscoll did not have much to drink at all. I
think he found us rather amusing. All was going well until Felix took
issue with the attention I was paying to Martin. He said that Ahab would
not like it. I asked to explain this, and he said that Ahab never likes
sharing his toys. As if I was merely Ahab's plaything! A first I was
furious with Ahab, but when I pressed Felix I learned that this was simply
one of his own observations. This did nothing to calm me down. It is
none of Felix's business whom I choose to sleep with! And he was the one
who was offering me Martin as a replacement for Ahab in the first place.
I left before I did something which I might regret later.
Martin and I went down to the beach. The sand and the salt air made
me rather homesick. I really should journey home and see how things have
fared in my absence. We went swimming together. Well, that is what we
started out doing. It seems that Martin can remain underwater for a long
time, and he became rather creative while he was down there. My previous
question about Amberites has been answered. They all have a great deal of
energy. Things were going wonderfully when I received a Trump call! It
was rather inconveniently timed, to say the least, so I ignored it. The
call persisted, so I eventually gave in and told the caller to go away. I
was somewhat surprised to see that it was Shard who was calling. Felix
abandoned him at the bar and he wanted directions home. I do not know
what he expected me to do. He and I had to ask a page for directions on
how to get to Bloody Jake's in the first place! I told him there was
nothing I could do for him and closed the contact. I was quite relieved
that he did not call back.
We awoke at sunrise on the beach. It is truly pleasant to wake up to
the sun's warm rays creeping over your body. Martin used one of his
Trumps to bring us to the main hall of the castle, and we joined the
family for breakfast. Shard was there, looking rather ill. It seems that
Battlestar led him home. Sometimes I think the hound is smarter than he
is. Felix joined us late, remembering little of the previous evening. I
hate it when the person you are angry at has no idea why. Martin and I
told Felix that he had become engaged the previous evening, and we had him
rather worried for a while (and Gérard as well). Eventually
Driscoll told him that we were playing with his mind. Oh well, it was fun
while it lasted.
Breakfast was interrupted by Dworkin's appearance. He has decided
that we are to be a happy family again. It would seem that this includes
eating meals in Amber, for he caused Corwin, Julian, Brand and Heather to
appear, quite against their will. While we were journeying to Chaos, Ahab
told me that Dworkin created the first set of Trumps. After watching him
today, I can well believe it. I would like to learn how to draw them from
him, if I can get him to agree. I asked after Ahab, since Dworkin had not
brought him to breakfast (Mirelle and Sand were also ignored, but I did
not wish to mention them around the others). Dworkin claimed to have seen
him, but was not even certain if he was alive or dead, much less where he
saw him. Talking with Dworkin can be very frustrating. He sat down
between Felix and Alex and began to shovel food down like a small child.
Even Eris was neater. The elders were rather quiet. They definitely do
not like having Dworkin around. Felix looked upset as well, but I think
that was due more to Brand's presence than to Dworkin's. When Dworkin
finished, he announced that he would be moving back into the Castle. I
believe he means to take some rooms on the third floor. He left with
Corwin, and several others left immediately afterwards (thankfully,
Heather was one of them).
Brand asked for and received Random's protection. He then left as
well, which made Felix very happy. I have got to find out what Brand did
to him. I followed Brand into the hall, and asked for an explanation of
his actions. It seems that even without the Spikard, he can have rather
nasty mood swings. I offered to help, for when he is not behaving like a
maniac, I rather like him.
I have decided to go looking for Ahab. It is obvious that no one else
is going to bother. Martin was the only one who even volunteered to
accompany me. I had originally intended to ride through Shadow searching
for Ahab. However, there are these tattoos that I have been longing to
get rid of, and once you reach the center, the Pattern can transport you
anywhere... I think I shall walk the Pattern, which will hopefully remove
the tattoos. Then I will Trump Martin to the center with me and ask the
Pattern to take us to Ahab. I wonder if walking the Pattern will be any
easier than the first time?
Someone beat us to the Pattern room, and locked the door behind them.
Fortunately, there is another one in Rebma, and Martin has a Trump of the
main hall there. I am pretty sure that his mater was from Rebma.
Everything in Rebma seems to be a reflections of Amber. Even the name. I
wonder if the Pattern will be as well?
Well, it is over. Not only was the Pattern reversed on the floor, but
the level of difficulty was as well. The first few steps were like
slamming face first into a wall. All in all, I am glad my first
experience was with the Pattern in Amber. On the other hand, the Pattern
here is far easier to reach (just jump over the edge and float down), and
the water helps keep you cool. Just a few minutes to catch my breath and
then we find Ahab. I hope he is still alive when we find him.
"Outrageous Fortune"
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All text on this page is © 1993-1994 by Kris Fazzari.
Last modified on August 5, 1994 by Kris Fazzari.