Ariana's log, Chapter 132

"Can't we just give (Ronan) back to Eric as a dog?"

Sunday, November 20, 4

Morning. Ariana is playing with Bryan and her grandchildren. Suddenly, there's a small earthquake, and Ariana's Serpent ring vanishes. She reassures the four-year-olds, who were frightened by the earthquake, until their mothers come running. Ariana tells them that she's going to look into what happened and leaves the children in their care. She checks on Ana and Briana, who were with their tutors. They are fine, if a bit nervous about the earthquake. Next, she tracks down Lucien and asks if his Serpent ring is gone. He checks, and looks rather surprised to find that it is. Ariana tells him that her ring is missing as well. She checks her enchanted clothing and determines that it has lost its protective properties. Alastor has also lost its conjured properties, and now does the same amount of damage as an ordinary sword. Morglyph is no longer imbued with Pattern, but still possesses its greater than normal destructive qualities. Ariana remarks that everything she has that was created via conjuration is gone, and asks what could have done that. Lucien's eyes get really wide. He has a strong idea. What? Perhaps the destruction of the Orb. It could be destroyed by the faeries. Ariana asks why that would affect conjuration. If legends are to be believed, conjuration didn't exist until the Unicorn and Serpent showed up. As far as Ariana can tell, Pattern seems unaffected. Lucien doesn't notice anything different about the Logrus, either. Of course, neither of them are exactly experts in those fields. Ariana asks what Lucien thinks they should do. He doesn't see that there's much that they can do, so how about breakfast? Ariana sees the logic in this. Good thing she learned how to cook, since she won't be able to conjure food anymore.

Ariana sends a note to Nicholas, explaining that she has a lead on the cause of the earthquake, if he needs it. Then she Trumps her older children to make sure they're OK. Jalana, Morgan and Shannon are fine. Vincent doesn't answer her Trump call. She keeps trying, to no avail. Eventually, she Trumps Whimsy and asks if she's heard from Vincent. She contacted him earlier. He's fine, but seemed to be busy. Whimsy asks if Ariana will be at lunch. Why? They'll be gossip. Ariana asks how Whimsy's handling what's happened. Whimsy says she'll have to regrow several of her plants, something she isn't looking forward to. She's left a note for Nicholas explaining the source of the problem. Ariana says she did as well. Whimsy says that something's going to come out soon, and if Vincent comes to Ariana, he needs to talk to Whimsy. Whimsy won't say what precisely he needs to talk to her about, of course. Ariana decides to go to lunch, since she's worried about Whimsy.

Lunch. Ariana is there with all of her family, save Vincent. Nicholas and most of the elders are absent, except for Flora. Ariana overhears Whimsy asking Flora to hold the announcement until tomorrow, since she has a few people she needs to notify first. Whimsy is unnaturally cheery. Tamaryn says that the higher functions of the Logrus are no longer working. Whimsy says that the higher functions of Pattern aren't working either. Flora gets up and leaves. The rest of lunch is fairly quiet.

Ariana continues trying to reach Vincent all afternoon, but he still does not respond. Ariana frets.

Ariana receives a Trump call from Ishmael, inviting her and the children to a bonfire. What's the occasion? Nothing really, they just raked up all of the leaves and need to get rid of them. Ariana says she'll be there. She's rather relieved that he's finally emerged from his manor, but doesn't comment on it. She and the children have a pretty good time at the bonfire, and Ariana manages to briefly forget the events of the day.

Monday, November 21, 4

Late morning. Gavin Trumps Ariana. He wants to tap her expertise. Ariana tells Lucien where she's going and comes through. She finds herself in a garden with Gavin and a dead body. Gavin shows her the bite marks on the body's neck and asks if she can tell if he's been turned into a vampire. It's hard to say. If he wants to be sure, put a stake through the heart, behead the body, or burn it. Preferably all three. Ariana asks if the man was involved in anything shady. No. She doesn't think Shard was responsible, then. That's what Random told Gavin, too. He asks her what defenses there are against vampires. Stakes, burning, sunlight, don't invite them in, beware their charms, etc. Older vampires are more powerful than young ones, and don't have to sleep during the day. They don't like Pattern, but there aren't any Pattern weapons around now. Gavin looks confused. Ariana explains how conjuration no longer works, nor do Pattern imbued weapons. Gavin hadn't noticed. She suggests that he contact Shard and tell him about the body, since he could keep an eye out for another vampire in Amber. She can't do it herself, since Shard is forbidden to speak to her. Gavin Trumps Shard and relays the information.

Ariana returns home and tells Lucien about the body. He says that if it isn't Shard, then another vampire has the power to travel through Shadow. Ariana points out that it could be Lasker, since Brand gave him a deck of Trumps. Lucien suggests seeing whether the next body is one of Gavin's people again. And in the meantime? Don't go out at night.

Ariana contacts her older children and warns them to stay inside at night. She also warns Mirelle, Kira and the moms. The moms are rather annoyed, until Ariana explains the reason why. They decide to stay in and play bridge.

Lucien gets a Trump call. "Ah. Yes, I agree. Oh dear. Yes. Yes, I will. Give me a few moments to prepare." He tells Ariana that he'll be stepping out for a bit. She doesn't suppose he can tell her anything more than that? It would be best. She kisses him goodbye and wishes him luck.

Ariana Trumps Random and asks if he has a free moment. Yes. She comes through and explains that she's spoken to Gavin. She isn't sure if he's aware of this, but during the failed attempt to rescue Miranda, she encountered a vampire named Lasker, whom Brand had given a Trump deck. Random thinks they may have a means of handling that. After all, the Avatars of Trump are Amberites. True. He'll contact Brand, and she can take care of Vincent. She says she hasn't been able to reach Vincent so far, but she'll continue to try.

Ariana returns home and Trumps Vincent again. He answers this time and asks if she's been worrying again. Yes. He protests that he's a grown man. She says that he's only 17. He sighs and points out that he's much older mentally. She says that mothers always have trouble letting go. He says she has lots of other children. True, but that doesn't seem to matter. She adds that she didn't contact him just out of worry. Oh? She tells him about the vampire attack. Not Shard? No, they don't believe so. She tells him about Lasker. He says that he knows most of the Trump points in the city, and if he comes across one being used, he'll make it not work. She tells him to be careful. He asks if she's noticed how difficult it is to destroy a Trump. Oh, good point. That hadn't occurred to her before. She tells him that Whimsy would like to talk to him, then ends the contact.

Ariana gets a Trump call from Ishmael a short time later. He says they have to stop Vincent from killing Edwin. Ariana asks what happened. Ishmael says he was trying to explain what Edwin did to Whimsy, when Vincent took off half-cocked. In other words, he was explaining how Edwin raped Whimsy? Ariana looks unconcerned, and suggests that maybe Vincent is just going to lop off a few parts near and dear to Edwin. Ishmael looks annoyed and breaks the contact.

Ariana Trumps Whimsy and asks if she cares if Vincent hurts Edwin. Yes, she told him to leave Edwin alone. Ariana looks surprised and asks why. She'll explain later, after she contacts Vincent.

Whimsy Trumps Ariana a short time later and comes through. She explains that Edwin isn't the one who hurt her, it was his twin brother, Wesley. So she did kill the one who harmed her? Yes. Whimsy says that she has to marry Edwin. Why? To make up for what she did to Wesley. But killing him was justified. True, but she didn't know that when she made the deal with Claire, and besides, there's still the matter of what she did with Wesley after she killed him. True. What exactly did she agree to do? Marry Edwin and bear him an heir. And then she can divorce him? No, that would dishonor Edwin. And this bothers her? She'd rather get Edwin to initiate the divorce. Whimsy asks if she can ask a favor of Ariana. What? She explains that she deliberately made Maddy upset when Ishmael was a prisoner in Faerie. Ariana says that was cruel. Whimsy claims she did it to teach Ishmael not to stick his nose into other people's business. Like what he did to Ariana's children when Ariana was planning on going to Chaos with Nicholas. Sure, she forgave him and went on, but eventually he'll run into someone who won't. True. What does she need Ariana for? To be with her when she apologizes to Maddy, to assure everyone that Whimsy won't pull anything. Ariana agrees. They talk about the loss of conjuration. Ariana mentions that there are faerie spells that can duplicate some of the abilities of conjuration. She used to know them, long ago, but she didn't need them with conjuration. Whimsy mentions that Nimue is truly dead now. Why? Suhuy is back, which means the Logrus no longer has an Avatar. It seems logical to conclude that the Pattern no longer has one either, and since Nimue didn't have a body... Ariana winces. Poor Nicholas. Ariana warns Whimsy that there appears to be another vampire in town, so she might want to stay in after dark. Whimsy asks Ariana to pass along her offer to apologize to Ishmael. Ariana agrees, adding that she understands what Whimsy will be dealing with in facing Edwin, and that she's there if Whimsy ever needs to talk.

Ariana Trumps Ishmael, who is extremely pissy with her. She tells him that the Edwin situation has been resolved. He knows. She passes along Whimsy's offer to apologize to Maddy. Ishmael tells her to tell Whimsy to fuck herself, and to stay away from his wife. Ariana decides not to continue the conversation.

Lucien returns looking satisfied. She takes it he was successful? Oh yes. And Eric owes him a favor. What did he do? They found Ronan. Leto had turned him into a dog. Oh dear. Lucien may have to go back on his own time and see what else Leto did. Like what? Well, she never had Ronan neutered... Ariana asks what would happen if she bred him. Well, if she mated him with a dog, their children would be Weir with Pattern potential. Ariana feels sorry for them.

Ariana Trumps Ishmael around sunset. He seems to be in a better mood. She passes along her warning about the vampire. He says he's going to see Meander. Well, at least he should keep his family indoors. He apologizes for being so pissy earlier. She understands how someone hurting your loved ones can make you angry. She was quite mad at him for a while, after all. She suggests he might Trump Meander, to avoid going outside. He doesn't have a Trump of Meander, and doesn't know him well enough to draw one. Ariana offers to lend him hers. He's afraid Meander might blow his mind out of his ears, since he doesn't know him. Ariana offers to contact Meander for him. Ishmael explains that Vincent suggested that Meander might be able to help erect some protection against faeries, since he can still use sorcery. Or better yet, maybe they could find a way to access that magic themselves. Ariana thinks that Faerie may leave them alone, now that they have what they want. Ishmael responds that maybe they will. For now. But what happens later, when they start looking at Amber's weakness? They both agree that it can't hurt to set up some defenses.

As Ariana ends the Trump call, she hears a rap at the window. There's someone there. As she hesitates, she hears her name called. It's Shard. She holds up a finger, warns Lucien that Shard's at the window, then goes to talk to him. He says he just wants to make sure that she knows that there's a vampire in town. Yes, she's aware of it. She believes it might be Lasker. That thought had occurred to him as well. She tells him to be careful. He figures that he's older than Lasker, unless Lasker has also been taking advantage of fast Shadows. Ariana gets a Trump call at this point. She mentions this to Shard and asks if he needs to speak to her further. No. He leaves.

Ariana checks to see who the caller is. Alexandra. Ariana takes the call. Alexandra apologizes for the late hour, and asks if Ariana's husband is available. That depends on what for. She needs to consult with him. Ariana brings her through and leads her to the study. Alexandra explains to Lucien that she's lost her usual means of defense and wants to improve her shapeshifting to make up for it. They begin discussing her current level of skill, and it's obvious that she's quite advanced. Lucien comments that it's been a while since he's taught anyone besides his children.

Ariana Trumps Tamaryn and warns her about the vampire. She Trumps Grayson next, but he resists, then blocks her. Ariana persists and eventually gets through. She gives her vampire warning, to which he just smiles and nods. She finds this odd, and asks him various question, to which he continues to smile and nod. She asks if she can come over to investigate. He smiles and nods. She travels to his house via Earth Passage, but he's not there. She Trumps him again, and gets smile-and-nod boy. She casts a dispel, and the real Grayson is revealed, looking annoyed. He was obviously otherwise occupied. Ariana passes on her warning again. He still looks annoyed. Ariana smiles and comments that Laughter used to do that to her all the time, then ends the contact.

Ariana Trumps Meander and asks him to come through. Once he does so, she explains Ishmael's idea. Meander says that while he could cast such spells, the Disc is inaccessible to most. He also says that warding a place that way would have the effect of making the place look like a wrapped present to a faerie. Good point. He asks if Ishmael is a shy man, since Ishmael didn't contact him directly. Ariana explains that Ishmael figured that since Meander didn't know him, he might make his head explode. Ah, a paranoid man. Well, he did grow up in Chaos.

Ariana Trumps Ishmael and brings him through to talk to Meander, introducing them to each other. Meander explains that most people can't access the Disc since it's in the Abyss. As is the Orb. Ishmael looks confused and asks what the Disc is. The Plane of Magic. Why is it called the Disc? Ariana explains that it is one. Meander adds that it's on the back of the Great World Turtle. Ishmael looks at them like they're nuts. They ponder how to get the Disc out of the Abyss. Ishmael asks why they can't just lure the turtle out. Meander and Ariana looks stunned. It's so crazy, it just might work. But what could they use as a lure? Meander asks if anyone has a Trump of Alex, since he'd like to consult Reeshau. Ariana lends him hers. Meander talks briefly, then Alex comes through. Ishmael is amused by the strange voice that Alex is using. Ariana explains how Reeshau came to be in Alex's mind. Reeshau says he thinks there is a spell that will work. Where? Somewhere. Meander asks Alex if he's interfering. Oh no. Reeshau says he'll show Meander the spell, but not Ishmael or Ariana. They can come along as muscle, though. Ariana warns them about the vampire, suggesting that they travel by magical means. Ariana tells Lucien that she's off to try to reattach the Disc, which earns her a rather startled look from him.

Alex uses his Spikard to bring everyone to the University. Ishmael and Ariana are asked to wait outside of the library. A short time later, Ariana is called in. Meander asks her to expose her breasts to Reeshau to bring back Alex. She does so, with the desired results. Meander says that the spell will work. Ariana asks Ishmael if he's spoken to Nicholas yet. No. Everyone agrees that he should be informed before they go any further.

The group returns to Amber via Alex's Spikard again. While everyone else waits in the main hall, Ishmael goes to talk to Nicholas. He returns some time later with word that Nicholas said to go ahead. Meander gives the group a list of components that he'll need for the spell. The spell will also likely be somewhat destructive, so it would be best to cast it outside. Since the vampire is still roaming around, and it will take a while to gather all of the components, especially those for the gunpowder, the group decides to meet in the morning to do the actual casting.

Quotables:

"Now all the world is Faerie? We won't be able to eat the food anywhere!" -- Liam to the group

"I hope you've learned your lesson. The next time you're strapped down to a bed in Fiona's room, and a succubus comes on to you, just say no." -- Sean to George

"I have so much potting to do." -- Whimsy
"So much...?" -- GM
"Potting. Not plotting, potting." -- Whimsy

"Whimsy's marrying a Jesby." -- Jack
"Didn't she eat the last one she married?" -- Alexandra

"Wait until I get my advanced shapeshifting." -- Ariana
"Advanced." *theatrical sniff* "You small thinker." -- Alexandra

"Alexandra says I must play nice." -- Jack
"Oh my God, what did you do to her?" -- Whimsy

"Fiona thinks (Alexandra's) an idiot." -- Kris to Sean
"Fiona thinks everyone's an idiot." -- GM
"(Ishmael) *is* an idiot." -- Lisamarie

"Can't we just give (Ronan) back to Eric as a dog? I didn't say that." -- Felix to Tamaryn

"(Edwin) honestly does love you." -- Fiona
"Then he's insane." -- Whimsy

"At least you killed the right Jesby." -- Fiona to Whimsy
"Is there a wrong Jesby to kill?" -- Matt S.

"So now the Pattern draws its power from the Amberites." -- GM
"We need more children." -- George
"Hey, I've done my part!" -- Kris, speaking for Ariana
"You've done your part, and my part, and everyone else's part." -- Matthew R.

"Morgan's so social, he'll get a social disease." -- Matt S. to the group

"Call me if there's a problem. Without conjuration, I can't do anything, but I can say, 'Oh dear.'" -- Whimsy to Alexandra

"You know Alex, I never thought you'd be the likable one." -- Ishmael to Alex

"Outrageous Fortune"
Game Logs for Sessions 1-115 | Character Logs for Sessions 116+

Last modified on May 27, 1999 by Kris Fazzari.