Recorded for Posterity by Iain Walker.
Notes typed up by Jane Winter.
"Guards! Chain that headless body to the wall..." - Damien, Lord Mortlake
In Tamarind's shadow Haven the children are now sleeping peacefully.
Damien dozes for a couple of hours, hangs a spell and checks his other racked spells.
Ibrahim tells Margot to get some sleep. She dozes for a couple of hours, then tells him it's his turn to rest.
The next morning, the children sleep on. Eleanor's silver and purple koala has crawled off, but Tristan finds it and puts it back in bed with her.
Tristan checks in with Random via the Trump. Random tells him that there have been no further developments, but it's only been a couple of hours in Amber. Apparently Caine is checking out the tunnels.
Random asks after the children.
Tristan tells him that they seem to be all right now.
Damien tells the rest of us that he is going back to Amber to unleash Sebek. When she asks, he explains to Beltaine who and what Sebek is, how he can track Tristan's escapees, and how he therefore might be able to backtrack on Abraxas' trail.
Beltaine wants to meet Sebek.
Damien notes that Sebek has heard of her - she showed him the way out of Tir-Na Nog'th in one of his stories.
Margot thanks Beltaine for helping rescue the children and generally re-introduces herself to Beltaine, in the process probably exchanging more words with her than in their entire lives up to that point.
Everyone eats breakfast.
Ibrahim says we must decide what to do with the children. There are other rooms in the Castle, if they don't want to return to the nursery.
Beltaine asks Tristan how Duncan is doing.
Tristan says he's still adjusting to not having to do PE all the time.
Beltaine asks Tristan whether he would find a Trump-proof Shadow for her to live in, too.
Damien wonders whether Corvallin might not be the safest place for the children in the short term.
Margot asks if the surviving ninja has been questioned.
Tristan wonders if 'surviving' is still the operative word, if Caine's been doing the questioning.
Beltaine and Damien decide to Trump back to Amber with Tamarind, Ibrahim and Tristan. Margot and Esmée decide to stay in Haven with the children for now.
Damien kisses Esmée on the cheek and refrains from saying, "I knew you'd come round eventually."
And we Trump off, arriving back in the Arrival Courtyard. It is twilight in Amber.
Beltaine asks whether Bleys is still in the middle of the Pattern.
Tamarind checks the Trumps - Bleys', Brand's, Random's and Caine's are all active.
Tamarind mentions that he has a Trump of Sebek, but Damien recommends our going out to the Priory to fetch him instead. Sebek is not used to mental intrusions and would think it a magical attack.
"Should I bring him a present?" wonders Beltaine.
Damien suggests singing to him instead, to avoid a tour of his museum.
Ibrahim sends a note to the King, and puts the cavalry on alert.
Tamarind continues to monitor the Trumps. Bleys' and Random's Trumps cease to be active; Brand's stops soon afterwards.
We get a coach and four from the stables and drive out of the Castle, through Castle Park, down the Royal Way to the edge of the plateau upon which most of Amber City lies, along the zig-zag road down the cliff, through the dock area, then out of the city and off to the Vale of Garnath. The Priory looms before us, silhouetted against the evening sky. We pull outside, enter, and go through the Priory to the Velocidrome. In the Velocidrome, Agrippina can be seen stalking a presence in the bushes. Beltaine can sense Sebek there, and Damien can see him. Sebek leaps out at Agrippina; she dodges him and smacks him on the side of the head as he goes past.
"Ark!" complains Sebek.
"Hello Sebek; I've brought some visitors," calls Damien.
Sebek bounces over and is introduced to Beltaine, who gives him a muffin left over from breakfast in Haven.
Damien tells Agrippina we're taking Sebek out. He asks Sebek if he would like to come and hunt bad people for him and Tristan? Sebek jumps up and down enthusiastically.
Tamarind shows Sebek his Trump and tries to explain how it works, then demonstrates.
"Ark!"
"What? Hello?" Tamarind can hear him thinking. Sebek is confused.
Tamarind shows him how to come through a Trump link, and he does. "Ark!"
"There, isn't that clever?" says Damien. He explains that if we catch any criminals, Sebek can't kill them.
Beltaine promises him a music box in return for helping, if he's good.
Damien promises he'll teach him how to talk.
Beltaine adds that once he can talk, he'll be able to sing.
Sebek seems to be sold on this idea.
Damien makes him put on his tabard and utility belt and collar.
Sebek is warned he'll have to wear his leash in the city, but first we're going to the seaside.
Tamarind sketches the cave by the sea, and everyone goes through.
"Ark!" Sebek runs down to the sea and splashes about.
There are guards present. When asked they say that Prince Caine told them to seal off the crime scene. Also when asked one of the guards says he has children who read the Sebek books, but declines the offer of an autograph.
Tamarind looks around for Trump energies.
Beltaine and Damien follow Sebek into the cave.
He sniffs around and finds Abraxas' scent.
Damien tells him to follow it back to where it came from.
Sebek lopes off along the beach. Damien, Tristan, Ibrahim and Beltaine run along after him.
Tamarind, still in the cave, senses that someone Trumped in and/or out inside the cave recently. He enquires of the guards, and is told it was Caine, bringing the guards here. Tamarind Trumps Tristan, to catch up.
Tristan takes the call without stopping and brings Tamarind through. He lands running. Sebek is heading for Amber harbour along the beach.
Dusk is falling, and the moon rising out of the sea.
After a bit we reach the southern breakwater of Amber harbour.
Damien calls Sebek back and puts him on the leash. He objects, but is pacified with the promise of dormice and beer later.
We head on up the steps to the top of the harbour wall. A couple of guards who are guarding the steps step back hurriedly and almost fall into the water at the sight of Sebek. Tamarind grabs them in time.
Sebek sniff off along the harbour wall towards the land-ward end, and into the low part of the city there, along streets between warehouses, taverns, whorehouses and so on. It is crowded, but people gives us (and Sebek!) plenty of room. Damien repeats his bribes every time Sebek gets distracted, which is often. The velociraptor is now moving more slowly. He sniffs up to the door of a tavern called the Drowned Rat.
"Are you sure?" asks Damien suspiciously.
"Ark!" he nods. We can tell that he isn't very sure, but there's beer inside.
Damien, Tamarind and Beltaine go in. Tristan stays outside the front and Ibrahim goes round the back, sending Tora, his desert eagle, up to perch on the roof and keep watch from there.
The noise of the people inside The Drowned Rat stops abruptly as soon as Sebek pokes his head round the door. He sniffs his way across the inn and to a table in the corner. Three people hurriedly get up from the table. Sebek hisses. They freeze.
Damien advises them against sudden movement.
"Don't get up on our account," adds Beltaine.
Tamarind notes you get further with a velociraptor and a kind word than you do with just a kind word. Very true.
Outside, Tristan decides it's probable that some of the Watch will turn up. They do. Tristan has them watch the front of the inn too.
Around the back, Ibrahim meets some dodgy-looking characters sneaking out of the back door. "Good evening," he smiles. They edge back in again, muttering, "Crap."
Inside, Sebek sniffs the three men, then the table.
Tristan wanders in.
"Can we help you?" asks one of the three, a weasely little man.
Tamarind Trumps Sebek, who Sebek seem to think that Abraxas was here one or two days ago.
Tamarind gives Sebek's Trump to Damien, then sketches Abraxas (just a normal sketch, not a Trump sketch). "We're looking for this man," he says, showing the sketch to the three at the table. "Have you seen him?"
"In here, last night?" suggests Damien.
"Yes," says the weasel. Abraxas was with someone, he says, but he's not sure who it was. He seems puzzled that he can't remember. "Wearing a cloak or something," he hazards.
Tristan wanders about checking for shapeshifters or shapeshifted people. There are none of 'his' here, but one big hairy chap in the corner is a Weir.
Damien takes Sebek over to the bar and orders him a bowl of sherbet. When asked, the barkeeper recalls that Abraxas was there with someone else ... but he can't remember anything about them. Not even when it was they came in. He finds this strange.
Tristan questions the Weir, but he says that he wasn't in last night.
Beltaine can sense traces of some 'magicky-Patterny thing' here.
Tristan says this reduces the list of suspects from four to three.
Beltaine thinks it's mind magick, not strong; Tristan thinks the Pattern element is probability manipulation.
Sebek slurps his sherbet.
Damien suggests the beggars outside might have seen the comings and goings, and been outside the spell's radius. He goes outside to ask them, jogging their memories with coin of the realm. And it turns out that Abraxas has been seen here, a couple of other times over the past few months, but did nothing out of the ordinary.
We leave The Drowned Rat.
"So that was a den of iniquity," says Beltaine.
"That wasn't a den of iniquity," corrects Damien. "That was just a dive."
Out the back, Ibrahim collars a stable boy and questions him. He says he hasn't seen Abraxas. But Brian, the other stable boy might have.
Damien pops back in and tosses the barkeeper a Crown, telling him that if anyone else comes in he can't remember anything about, we want to know about it. The barkeeper nods and makes the coin vanish.
Out the back, Ibrahim climbs up into the stable loft to talk to Brian, a teenaged lad who is asleep in a pile of straw.
He wakes with a start, but when quizzed says that he 'might' recognise the description of Abraxas. A few coins jog his memory. Yes, he's seen him, he says. Last night, and a couple of months ago. He had a horse the first time; he's not sure about the second time.
Ibrahim asks for a description of the horse and is told that it was black with white dapples and tail. When quizzed further, the boy says he didn't see anyone else of note coming in by the back door last night. When Abraxas came, he had a large purse, he adds, mainly of Crowns (the currency of Amber).
Ibrahim hands over a few more coins. Brian says Abraxas was "one of those blokes you don't mess with". Other people mentioned him, but not with regard to anything significant, he adds. He thinks he kept himself to himself. Ibrahim leaves.
Outside on the street, Damien takes Sebek on a circuit of the inn to pick up the trail again.
Tristan goes to talk to some more beggars about the person who was with Abraxas.
Tamarind and Beltaine wait outside the front of the tavern.
Damien collects Ibrahim en route round the inn. Sebek doesn't think Abraxas left by the back door, so they return to the front.
Tristan finds a beggar who was here last night. When his memory is jogged with gold he says that he didn't see anyone going into The Drowned Rat in a big dark cloak. Tristan gives him more money, then tries another beggar -but still has no luck.
Beltaine wonders what the point of damaging Amber's Pattern would be?
Tristan's main suspect is Llewella.
Damien agrees. "Or it's someone trying to make us think it was she," he adds.
Beltaine remarks that damaging the Amber Pattern wouldn't allow one to rewrite the universe, as it isn't the Primal Pattern.
Tristan suggests that such damage might make Rebma's Pattern more powerful.
"Or the Tir-Na Nog'th one," adds Tamarind.
Damien reiterates Tristan's point of view and notes that Llewella is the only one with anything definite to gain. If anyone else is trying to set her up, his or her plan must be just to use this as a distraction - we were probably meant to stop this attempt, since its success would benefit no one else.
Beltaine and Tristan agree that one can damage one Pattern without affecting the others - we know this from Patternfall, where the damage to the Primal Pattern did not noticeably affect any of the others.
Ibrahim wonders why there's no 'Fire' reflection of the Primal pattern.
Tristan notes that the notion of four elements is a Shadow-specific view, and so probably a herring of the red variety.
Damien leads Sebek about, trail hunting.
Tamarind is not convinced it's Llewella - she's vulnerable Pattern-wise too.
"Perhaps she's mad," suggests Beltaine. "Never rule that out." She gives Sebek a dormouse made out of moonlight. Sebek nuzzles her.
Ibrahim is impressed and asks how she managed to conjure the item so close to Amber?
"I didn't conjure it. I just...borrowed...it," explains Beltaine, glancing up at Tir-Na Nog'th.
Tristan wants to find Fiona now, though he sounds less than enthusiastic about the prospect.
Tamarind and Beltaine suggest also telling Random.
By now Sebek has definitely lost the trail. Damien takes him off on one last sweep, just in case. Perhaps there are other escapees about. Sebek waves 'bye bye' to the rest of the party as the rest of us Trump back to the Castle.
Sebek sniffs around; Damien follows.
Upon arrival, the rest of us go to report to Random. However, it's dinnertime, and their Majesties are dining with guests. We leave him a note instead and go and find a sitting room.
Tristan wants to Trump Fiona.
Beltaine suggests Trumping Damien first.
Tristan does so, and Damien and Sebek come through to the Castle.
"Ark." Sebek peers around interestedly.
Damien tells him they are in the Castle.
Tamarind places Fiona's Trump in the Frame and concentrates. Nothing happens at first. The rest of us join in.
"Sebek?" asks Tristan facetiously. Sebek sticks his claw on the Trump as well.
Tristan rolls his eyes, and suggests Sebek not join in. He removes his claw.
Beltaine wonders if everyone is being too harsh in their suspicions of Fiona - maybe she's just retired to take up gardening or something.
Everyone else is sceptical, Tamarind mentioning that she either killed or is experimenting on the Evander construct.
"Did she?" says Beltaine softly.
"Yes," says Damien.
All of a sudden the link opens up. Fiona is in overalls in a gothic-style setting, with a tile floor and vaulted ceiling. At our request, she comes through.
"I know the gist of what has happened," she tells us.
Tamarind explains in detail and asks who could have created such a device.
"Brand," says Fiona. "Though perhaps he could not build such a thing now," she qualifies.
Llewella or Dworkin could also have done so, she adds.
"So the respective motives would be mad, stupid, mad," suggests Beltaine.
Fiona also allows that she has the power to do such things, and that Bleys is 'not unskilled' in such matters. Oberon could also have done it.
When asked she says that had Abraxas exploded on Amber's Pattern, she thinks it would have damaged people's links to that Pattern.
She seems surprised to learn that Llewella has a Primal Pattern imprint.
Tristan recalls that she seemed to have a Rebman imprint, until she began using the Power of Pattern to fix the sun.
Tamarind says Random may allow Fiona to look at the blood device.
Beltaine comments that the Pattern in the basement is a reflection, not inscribed in its own right, so she wonders how one might repair it if damaged. Would it heal itself, or just stay damaged?
Fiona says this is an unknown area. There would probably be effects reflected out through Shadow.
Damien introduces Sebek to Fiona. He waves.
She just looks at him, and he hides behind Damien. There didn't seem to be any usage of powers or Psyche, just scary Fiona-ness.
Tamarind quickly asks if Fiona knows of any cult using the symbol of the inverted Unicorn?
She says she wouldn't be surprised if such a cult exists, "but Caine pays much more attention to such things." She remarks that Sebek is one of Tristan's.
"Not any more," he says.
Damien leaves to take Sebek back to the Priory. He finds a coach, and takes along a spare driver to bring back the other coach.
Beltaine is obliquely contemptuous of Fiona for picking on Sebek. Fiona just looks at her in an 'I'd like to take you apart to see how you work' fashion.
At this point Random Trumps Beltaine. He tells her that he's ready for Fiona to look at the device and comes through the link with the device, and a drink in his other hand.
Tristan feels Fiona radiate highly structured Pattern energy at the device for a while.
"Hmm," she says. "It was created specifically so as not to have much of a signature to it," she continues. If she had to guess, she'd say it was made by Brand. It was designed to do precisely what it was being used for: to pump in magick to strengthen someone, so that they could hold Amberite blood - for a while.
She's not sure how old it is - she thinks quite new. However, Shadow time-flows make it hard to tell what that translates to in Amber time. She suggests she take it away and study it further.
Tamarind flinches visibly.
"That won't be necessary," says Random, smoothly.
Fiona is thanked for her help and leaves in a purple Trump rainbow glow, without visibly using a card.
Damien gets Sebek back home to the Priory and settles him with beer and dormice.
He sends the coaches back to the Castle, and Trumps Beltaine.
In the castle, Tristan tells Random about the Mystery of the Drowned Rat.
This does seems to rule out Brand, who couldn't have used Pattern.
Random says Caine has visited the cave. The upside-down unicorn is the symbol of a (highly secretive) anti-Amber, anti-Unicorn cult that exists in the city and the Golden Circle. Caine apparently says that the cave goes back and back to a side passage near the Pattern room. Two doors bar the way, which the keys Abraxas had should have opened. The first would have locked behind Abraxas once he went through it, and the other has had its lock changed recently, so Abraxas could not have opened it - Abraxas would have been trapped before he ever got near the Pattern room.
Tamarind is now more persuaded by Beltaine's suggestion that the whole thing was staged by someone in the 'anti-children' camp as an extreme attempt to point out that they are dangerous.
Random says Caine reports that the lock was changed within the past few years.
Beltaine wonders who gave Abraxas the keys. She also suggests that, as a last resort, they could take the device up to Tir-Na Nog'th to see what the ghosts have to say about it. Or they could go looking for the Drowned Rat in the Sky City and try to observe the encounter. There's no guarantee of accuracy in anything we would see, though.
At this point she is Trumped by Damien, who comes through to her.
Ibrahim gets a Trump call from Margot. When he takes it she says that the children are awake and want to see everyone. Tristan says they can do this and still be back in time for a possible trip to Tir-Na Nog'th.
Beltaine emphasises that it was a plan of last resort.
Damien notes that the examination has left the device intact.
Beltaine tells him Fiona offered to take it away for study.
"Really?" says an un-surprised Damien.
Everyone Trumps through to Margot, leaving Random behind in Amber. Children run up to be hugged.
"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy..."
"We're all right!"
"My arm hurts!"
"Where's Rachsiel?"
"Where's Tagaria?"
"Where's our beach party...?"
"You're the Lady in the Bubble. Why are you here?" Angelique demands of Beltaine, who is looking rather bemused. "Why can I see through you?"
'Aunty' Beltaine is introduced to the children, who clamour for ice cream.
Eleanor and Carl still want to know what's happened to Tagaria and Rachsiel. It is admitted that they are dead. Tears ensue.
The children are assured that the Bad Man will never hurt them again. Ever.
Angelique offers to share her guardian creature, Udriel, the hawk, with Eleanor. Octavius also offers to share Belisaria, the griffin, with Carl. Sweet.
Damien reminds them about their proposed visit to the Museum next week.
"Yay!" go the children. They want to go to Altair's beach for the beach party. They seem to be bouncing back well.
The children are taken back to Amber.
Margot has a parcel she's hiding from the children, particularly Eleanor.
Ibrahim convinces them to hold hands and go through the Trump link together. It's dark in Amber.
"Hmm, bedtime," says Ibrahim.
"Awww!" protest the children.
Tamarind suggests they might choose toys and clothes to bring to the beach party.
The children are found a temporary apartment.
"These aren't our rooms!" they say.
They're told they're going to have new rooms since they're older now. They can decide what they would like the new rooms to look like.
"Would you like Sebek to come to the beach party?" asks Damien.
They would indeed, and settle happily when left. Before she goes Margot sneaks the contents of her parcel into Eleanor's bed - it seems to be a replacement for her favourite toy, a little wooden donkey on wheels.
Some of the children's surviving nurses turn up and ask how they are.
Tristan says they're bearing up, but Eleanor's arm hurts and she misses Rachsiel. The nurses go in to keep an eye on their charges.
Tristan, reminded by Beltaine, says he should go and visit Duncan again tonight.
At this point Random Trumps Tristan and suggests looting Brand's laboratory.
Beltaine imagines that Fiona will already have done this, but we go to check anyway, and will do so if no-one else has already. When we arrive and Damien asks him, Giles says no one has been here recently. Giles also tells Beltaine that Brand would be very happy to see her. She is unimpressed.
Apparently, so Giles says, Brand has requested books be sent to him - ones important to the research, Tristan realises.
Tristan detects that the warding on the door to the lab, which he knew about already and which he knows is disarmed by turning the key, is currently active. He collects the key from Giles and opens the door.
Beltaine sings the tracking spells to 'sleep' and realises they are no more than an elaborate bluff with nothing behind them. She confirms Tristan's assessment of the doors.
Inside, Brand has utterly trashed his lab. The life-force spyglass is not among the obvious broken bits, though. Tamarind notices a Trump-powered item in the lab. It looks like a Frame similar to his own. He wonders how long Brand has had it.
Damien wonders if he got the idea from Tamarind.
Tamarind and Beltaine consider breaking it.
"That's not what we're here for," says Damien.
The communication device from the Land of the Dead, which Damien thought was in the Museum, is also found, and reclaimed by him.
By now, Damien and Tristan have acquired the spyglass and the relevant lab notes. Tristan peers through the glass at the rest of us. He can see their life-forces trickling very slowly away.
Beltaine senses a couple of things not unlike the blood-pump device. After looking at them Tristan tells her that they were early failures en route to the spyglass.
Beltaine wonders if Brand did create the blood-pump device, hoping to give himself Pattern blood, then abandoned it when he realised it wouldn't work.
Tristan says he has no recollection of Brand doing such a thing in his body.
Damien is letting Tristan decide what is and isn't relevant.
Tristan opts for taking just about everything.
Tamarind takes the Frame.
Damien asks pointedly whether the group now has everything relevant to the project?
"Yes," says Tristan.
"Then let's take that and leave the rest," says Damien.
Tamarind doesn't relinquish the Frame, though.
A visit to the infirmary to check on him shows Brand to be sedated, so the books he had ordered brought to him are also confiscated.
Tamarind goes through Brand's Trumps too. There is a Trump of the Shadow where Duncan was found, which Tristan takes to destroy.
Also found, and confiscated, are Trumps of Brand's lab (inside the Castle, and so illegal), the children (confiscated), and lots of others. Since Brand is under arrest, his Trumps are taken, with the aforementioned ones separated out to be destroyed.
Damien makes out two receipts - one for project-related stuff (signed by him) and one for the Trump Frame (which Tamarind refuses to sign, but which Tristan does sign). He leaves them by Brand's bedside. We leave.
Beltaine asks to keep one of Brand's Trump which depicts the courtyard of her first 'home' in Tir-Na Nog'th. She also requests that the several Trumps of herself (at different ages) from Brand's deck be destroyed.
Tamarind asks if anyone else wants his or her Trumps destroyed.
"Since he can make another at any time, I really don't see the point, " says Damien irritably.
"I didn't ask for an opinion, just an answer to the question," Tamarind snaps back.
"Which I think I've just given you," Damien retorts.
Beltaine asks if we are going up to Tir-Na Nog'th or not?
Damien thinks it's a good idea, if it's for the purpose he thinks it is.
Beltaine says it is.
Tristan Trumps Random (who, it turns out, is in bed with Vialle) and gives him the loot.
Yes, he's got Tristan's note, and says the other Trumps should be destroyed. "Now let me get some sleep. Goodnight."
Tamarind burns the impermissible Trumps in the fireplace of a handy drawing room.
Tristan realises he didn't get the blood-pumping device from Random - who is not taking calls now. Damn.
We Trump up to the top of Kolvir anyway.
"We can recall how the device looked and felt, at least," says Beltaine. And perhaps we could go looking for the tavern.
Tamarind hands the guards on duty a thermos.
They comment that he wasn't there last night.
"I succeeded," he says, indicating Beltaine.
"Congratulations," they say to him, and "Welcome back," to Beltaine.
Up the steps we skip, hand in hand, with Ibrahim at one end of the line and Damien at the other.
We enter the city in the sky in a wide silvery plaza. Beltaine leads us to the harbour area, and we reach the Drowned Rat almost at once. She thinks of Abraxas and the corner table ... and in we go.
We find ourselves in the taproom, whose proportions and angles differ slightly from those of the real one. We watch the corner table, as ghosts bustle around and through us.
Beltaine carefully avoids contact with the ghosts.
The table seems larger, and in deeper darkness, than in reality. Like a significant element in a dream.
The door of the inn opens behind us, bringing a rush of cold air (not unusual in Tir-Na Nog'th). A large, looming, 'significant' figure enters. It is hard to look at directly and wears a hooded cloak.
Damien concentrates on the way it moves.
Beltaine suggests Ibrahim might be able to use his Pattern blade to touch it (she recalls dim stories that Corwin could use Grayswandir in similar fashion). She thinks that might make shades answer truthfully.
Tristan senses that the figure has a dreamy kind of Pattern-feel to it.
Damien notices that the figure moves oddly. Like a female, then a male, then a creature with no knees, but perhaps tentacular legs instead ... it changes from step to step. It seems to resemble a woman or creature most of the time.
We follow it to the table.
A waitress brings it a container (a tankard/goblet/flagon) of something.
Beltaine tries to infuse the scene with the quality she remembers of 'true' dreams. The figure now seems to move more like a woman, though with some creature-like elements remaining. It picks up the tankard with a feminine hand, and moves it towards its hood - the goblet now gripped by tentacles.
Tristan feels the dreamy Pattern sense again, and everyone in the 'room' looks away from the figure (as if they were all distracted at once). In fact someone over where the ghosts are looking seems to have dropped a tray of drinks. Damien, Tristan and Ibrahim involuntarily look away also. They try to force themselves to look back.
Tamarind and Beltaine see Abraxas arrive by Trump. That is, the cloaked figure did not seem to use a Trump card, but Tamarind senses Trump energy (or its dream variant) from the figure. So the figure initiated the contact.
Tamarind checks his Trumps - none are active.
The rest of us now find that we can look back at the table.
Beltaine takes us closer.
"To hear anything, we will need to 'enter' the vision," she reminds us. "So we might as well question it too."
We go up to the table, and Beltaine slips us all into the dream. She demands the figure's name. As she tries to control the vision, she reaches for its hood. It ducks back.
"My name is Anurerishkigal. You may not know my face."
"Why not?"
"I live in darkness, where the light may not shine."
"What is your purpose here?"
"To know."
"To know what?" demands Tamarind.
"You," it responds.
Ibrahim touches the thing's shoulder with his Pattern blade; it goes through. So much for that theory.
There is a billowing of tentacles from beneath the cloak.
Various people begin concentrating on the Pattern.
"Where do you come from?" asks Tamarind.
"I come out of nothing."
"Why come here?"
"All will kneel trembling before me, as they did in the ancient of days."
The blackness of the thing's mass now fills everything. The human figure seems to be merely a small extension of it.
"Do you have any servants?" persists Tamarind.
"Yes."
"Are any counted among our Family?" asks Beltaine.
"Perhaps."
"Who was your first servant?"
"Su-Chan of the Mera."
"By what other names and titles are you known?" asks Damien.
"Master, God, King and Lord."
"Why have you not spoken to us, if you wish to know us?" asks Tamarind.
"I preferred this way."
"Who are your enemies?" asks Tristan.
"The demons. The Unicorn."
"And the Lion?" asks Tristan.
"There is no lion."
"Are not the demons dead?" enquires Tamarind.
"Perhaps."
Bringing the Pattern to mind proves not to alter the vision. Tristan tries to see under the hood using Pattern. His Pattern glows within him and without. It begins to illuminate under the hood...
Ibrahim tries his blade again, this time with the Pattern to mind. Still no contact.
Tristan lets go of Beltaine's hand, and the Pattern glow fades. She grabs his hand again, before he can slip off into some entirely different visions, and the light comes back. Now we can see beneath the cowl.
The light of Tristan's Pattern-glow reveals a human woman - a melted, black Fiona.
Tamarind breaks out of the vision to sketch that face.
A deep, rumbling, "No!" is heard from above, and a large black pseudopod comes sweeping down at us.
Beltaine tugs everyone out of the vision just in time. The pseudopod sweeps through everyone, and then we seem to be in the tavern again. A cowled human figure is talking to Abraxas.
"That was... that was..." murmurs Beltaine distractedly, and faints into Damien's arms.
Tristan feels a distinct brand of 'deadness' about the figure, 'Land of the Dead-ness' that is.
Tamarind keeps the sketch of the thing in the Frame, and uses the Trump of the steps on the mountaintop.
Beltaine starts to come round. The vision of the tavern melts away, and we seem to be looking down on Amber from a great height. The land and sea have been swallowed up by writhing oily blackness, which grows, swallowing the lights of the city, swallowing up Kolvir, tentacles reaching up towards the moon and Tir-Na Nog'th...
Everyone goes hastily through Tamarind's Trump link to the top of Kolvir.
No large black pseudopods await us. Fortunately.
"Sorry about that," says a still-shaky Beltaine.
"Thank you," says Damien. "It was very instructive."
Tamarind looks at his sketch - it looks like drawing of a black wax model of Fiona after being left out in the sun for a while.
Tristan mentions the 'Land of the Dead' quality he noticed.
A list is made of the people who have been brought back from there.
The guards offer brandy.
Damien, the group expert on large tentacled beings, mentions a possible Nyarlathotep connection.
Tristan asks Beltaine if what they saw was the truth?
She says there would have been some kind of truth in it, unless someone was faking the vision for us. She wonders if it indicates something bad will happen to Fiona.
Tamarind notes it was annoyed that we saw its face, and also that the figure could use Trumps. Perhaps the black stuff is its true form, but it's possessing Fiona?
Damien asks if anyone would like to talk to the person who's been looking after Fiona all these years...
We head back to Amber.
"I do hope it isn't Oberon," mutters Beltaine.
"I hope it isn't Oberon," agrees Tristan fervently.
Upon arrival, Beltaine suggests taking Random coffee and biscuits if we're going to be waking him up.
We go to the pantry in the Royal Apartments and send the butler in to wake the King.
Tamarind runs a quick Trump check - active are Caine, Flora, Julian and Margot. The Trump in the Frame is not active.
The butler wakes Random, and his voice is heard through the door. "Put them in the sitting room. Bring coffee, muffins, whisky ... and a revolver."
The butler ushers us into the sitting room before bustling off, and we wait.
The butler brings in a tray loaded with coffee, muffins, whisky and a revolver and puts it on a side table.
Beltaine fetches hot chocolate.
Random shuffles in, in dressing gown and slippers, hair somewhat dishevelled.
"Sorry," says Tristan, "but we have some disturbing news."
"We're disturbed..." murmurs Beltaine.
"I knew that," mutters the King, but pronounces himself ready to hear the story.
"An unspeakable evil has arisen from the Land of the Dead..." begins Tamarind.
"Someone else tell it," sighs Beltaine.
Damien describes the vision as they saw it.
"What has she done?" groans Random.
"It may not be her fault," says Beltaine.
Random says he'll have to call in Caine to keep an eye on her.
Tristan says Bleys might also be worth talking to.
Caine is Trumped and comes through to join us. He has some news, too. Apparently the drug used on the children and their guardian creatures was from Shadow Kathet, a place way out on the end of a not terribly safe or reliable Shadow Path. The place has been out of contact for some time. He's sending agents there. The drug is a very rare and expensive substance, though.
Damien repeats the story for his benefit and Tamarind shows him the sketch.
Tristan wants someone to look through the library for the thing's name. A servant is sent off to rouse the librarians and have this done.
Beltaine says the vision could have been prophetic.
Tamarind suggests that the life-force spyglass might be useful in detecting it.
"So, she does a deal with it, or it takes her, or someone puts it into her?" wonders Beltaine.
"Or it's lying dormant inside her," says Tamarind.
Damien notes that this is Nyarlathotep's modus operandi. He then has to explain who and what Nyarlathotep is in more detail. He does say, though, that Nyarlathotep was limited to a certain range of Shadows. Maybe this thing is moving into the vacuum left by Nyarlathotep's destruction?
"It said it was old, though," says Beltaine.
Damien comments that Fiona was brought back from the Land of the Dead before Nyarlathotep was destroyed. He agrees with Tamarind that Nyarlathotep may well be a Shadow of Anurerishkigal.
Tamarind is concerned that the Beloved Zombies, who also returned from the Land of the Dead, may be most vulnerable to possession by this thing.
Beltaine wonders if the ravens in the dream she shared with Tamarind were the same as this creature, though they both think they didn't feel similar.
It's decided to speak with Bleys before contacting Fiona.
Random prudently hides the gun.
Tamarind checks the Trumps again. The only one active is Caine's, in spite of the fact he's sitting there with us not apparently doing anything Trump-related.
Tamarind then Trumps Bleys, who comes through, resplendent in a red silk dressing gown.
"Sorry to interrupt the rebuilding of your armies," drawls Damien. "But you have a lot of questions to answer."
"We wanted to ask your advice," tries Tristan.
"Much as I enjoy a good thumbscrewing," says Bleys, "I'd prefer the quiet conversation approach."
"Not what I've heard," mutters Damien.
Tamarind explains the vision to Bleys, and asks if he noticed anything odd or different about Fiona while she was in her coma, or when she came out of it.
"Nothing happened to her in her coma," says Bleys. "And I'm sure she's all right now. She seemed no different when she came back. She's the best of us all." he adds, with an uncharacteristic lack of irony.
Tamarind explains it would be useful to look at her through the spyglass - that they should Trump her, if only to warn her of the danger she might be in.
Random fetches the spyglass, and gives it to Tristan, who peers through it at people. Random and Bleys are full of vitality; Caine is a little drained of life-force; so are all of us who have been to the land of the dead (i.e. all of us other than Beltaine).
Tamarind and Bleys then Trump Fiona.
Beltaine notes that Fiona said the blood pump was made by Brand, but he's the one who's always blamed when 'their' schemes go wrong - just like in Patternfall. Fair point.
After a little while, Fiona takes the call. She is on a terrace in a dress and straw sun-hat.
Tamarind greets her.
She greets Bleys before returning Tamarind's greeting.
Tamarind says we need her assistance again.
"You really need to learn to deal with your own problems," she says, but does come through to us.
Tristan looks at her through the spyglass. She's just like everyone else, although missing quite a lot of life force. And except for a tiny amorphous black blob in the centre of her head. Ah.
"We have disturbing news," Tamarind tells her.
Beltaine offers Fiona coffee and a bun.
"What gives?" Bleys asks Tristan.
"Something odd," says Tristan. "It confirms our suspicions."
"Those being?" enquires Fiona, fixing him with her stare.
Tristan suggests Bleys look for himself.
Bleys takes the glass and looks at several others through it, then Fiona. "Hmmm," he says.
Tristan wanders over to Caine, glances at his Trump deck and then at Fiona, meaning, 'is she using Trump, and can Caine stop her?'
Caine nods, then shakes his head.
Tamarind realises that Fiona has initiated a Trump link, though again with no Trump in sight. He pushes a bun into her hand, making physical contact.
Damien gets up, starts heading for Bleys, then quickly turns and punches Fiona under the jaw.
Beltaine tries to hit her over the head with a handy bust of some jazz player.
Tristan looks at Caine's jewelled daggers, but then decides to throw his teacup at her.
Ibrahim moves to place himself between Fiona and Random.
Tamarind grabs Fiona's arm as he tosses the bun in her face. "Trump link!" he says.
Damien's fist connects with her jaw; her head snaps back.
Beltaine swings the bust at her.
Caine has a dagger out.
Damien reaches for her with his other hand, and makes contact...
"Stop!" says Bleys.
Fiona disappears in a purple Trump rainbow, taking Tamarind and Damien with her.
"Stop her. Get those two back," orders Random.
Bleys gets out Fiona's Trump - Tristan rips it out of his hand, in the process tearing it in half.
Caine joins Beltaine in trying to Trump Tamarind.
Bleys hits Tristan, hard. He goes flying across the room and into the far wall, his jaw broken.
"Bleys," warns Random, "don't do that again, unless you want to be exiled again. Don't try to contact Fiona again, either."
Tamarind, Damien and Fiona appear in a cylindrical space, perhaps three hundred metres across, filled with greenish mist.
Tamarind tries not to breathe it.
Damien pummels Fiona, landing three punches before she moves to grab him. "Nothing personal," he says through clenched teeth, "but this is for Evander...and this is for upsetting my velociraptor..."
He's knocking her back a bit, but not stunning her. He sweeps her legs from under her; she drags him down with her as she falls. She's stronger than he is, but he is definitely faster.
He headbutts her.
Tamarind has his sword drawn and slashes at Fiona.
Damien headbutts her again.
She speaks a word and there is a blinding flash of light, blinding both Tamarind and Damien.
Tamarind's sword skitters off the floor.
Damien senses that he is still on top of Fiona, and headbutts her again. The back of her head smashes into the floor.
Tamarind's eyes start to clear, and he goes for her with his sword again.
She tries to use Damien as a shield, but Damien keeps going back, pulling her up with him.
Tamarind slashes into her ribcage, then backswings. Both he and Damien are beginning to feel woozy.
Damien tries to wrench her to one side so that her back will be to Tamarind, timing the move for the moment when she has least leverage of her own.
This seems to work. Tamarind stabs up into the base of her skull, and then twists his sword around. Fiona convulses - Damien's right forearm goes 'crack' as a bone breaks - then goes limp. The point of the sword emerges from her right eye socket. At this point Tamarind feels a Trump contact coming on, and accepts it.
In Amber, Caine and Beltaine have got through to Tamarind. But they don't interfere.
"Oh, bloody hell," mutters Caine.
Tamarind cuts Fiona's head off. Then he grabs Damien and Fiona's body.
Caine moves to come through to them.
"It's poisonous" yells Tamarind.
Caine doesn't seem to mind and goes through anyway.
"Anyone else want to go through to the poisonous place?" enquires Beltaine of the others. No one does.
Caine appears in the cylinder. "You two: out," he says.
Tamarind and Damien come back through to Beltaine carrying Fiona's mortal remains. "We need to get her in a Trump-proof cell now," says Damien.
Bleys goes white as a sheet.
"For fuck's sake," says the King.
"Wha..." says Tristan.
Beltaine tries to Trump Caine.
From Bleys' expression, if looks could kill, Damien and Tamarind would clearly be smoking corpses by now.
"Bleys," says Random. "Don't."
Damien asks Tristan if whatever he noticed about Fiona is still in there.
Tristan asks Bleys for the spyglass back. Bleys punches him to the ground again, and throws the glass to the floor.
Tristan dazedly picks up the glass and looks muzzily at Fiona's body. There's no life-force, and no black thing.
Tamarind and Damien leave with the body parts.
Beltaine gets through to Caine. He has broken through the wall of the cylinder; greenish mist is leaking out.
When Beltaine asks, no one wants to join him.
She breaks the Trump contact, turns, and lays into Bleys for twice stopping them help Fiona - first by letting her get away, then by nearly breaking the spyglass, without which they could never afford to let her come back.
Bleys turns and storms off without a word.
Outside, Tamarind tells Damien that they must make a choice - either let 'it' come back in this body, or... "We may have made a terrible mistake," he says.
Damien looks at him in a 'what do you mean 'we'?' fashion.
"Not what we just did," explains Tamarind. "In breaching the barrier with the Land of the Dead. Every time something comes back from there, this thing probably gets stronger."
"Maybe," says Damien.
Tamarind blames himself for the barrier being broken.
Damien points out that there were no dissenters when we let Brand send us back. "However," he goes on, "we're going to put this body in a Trump-barred room and see what comes back."
Tamarind looks resigned, and does a Trump sketch of the corridor near the cells and passes through Damien, carrying Fiona's body. Then he cuts the link, leaving himself alone holding Fiona's head. He gets out his super-Trump of the Abyss, and uses it.
Meanwhile, Random bandages Tristan's broken jaw.
Vialle comes out of the bedroom, also in a dressing gown, and asks what's going on. Random explains things to her as best he can.
Once he is done with Tristan, Random asks Beltaine if she can find out what Bleys is up to. She leaves to do so.
Tamarind appears by the Abyss and throws Fiona's head in. He watches, and bows his head for a moment. The he Trumps to shadow Haven.
Outside a Trump-proof cell in the dungeons, Damien waits for Tamarind to appear. And waits...
"Shit!" he says. He rushes into the Trump-proof cell and puts the body down.
"Guards, chain up that headless body, don't ask any questions, just do it!" he snaps.
They do it.
Damien rushes out of the cell again. He instructs the guards to listen at the door, but not to look inside. They are to tell him if they hear anything. Then he tries to Trump Tamarind.
Elsewhere in the Castle, Beltaine follows a trail of worried-looking servants. Bleys seems to be heading for his quarters, and gets there just ahead of her.
She knocks on the door.
A worried-looking servant answers, and Beltaine says she has a message from the King. She is reluctantly admitted.
The apartment is filled with an ominous silence. Bleys is in the living room, a glass in his hand. Beltaine tells him that Random says he is to keep him informed of his movements, "and not to do anything silly."
Bleys is, unsurprisingly, unsociable.
Beltaine returns to the others in the Royal apartments.
In said apartments, "That could have gone better, couldn't it?" comments Tristan, his voice muffled by his bandaged broken jaw.
Random concurs.
Vialle fusses over Tristan.
Beltaine returns and reports that Bleys is in his room, drinking.
"Don't blame him," mutters Tristan.
Beltaine reworks her 'why Bleys is an idiot' theme. Vialle gets her a drink.
Tristan thinks the rest of the Family should be told.
"Oh, who'll tell Julian?" wonders Beltaine.
Ibrahim volunteers, but admits he doesn't know precisely what happened.
"I'm sure Tamarind and Damien knew what they were doing," asserts Beltaine.
"Fine," says Ibrahim, "so I should tell Julian that Fiona died because of a Tir-Na Nog'th vision and a blotch on a piece of glass that only Tristan can see...?"
The others think that perhaps this isn't quite the right time to tell Julian.
Tamarind arrives in shadow Haven. He immediately feels a Trump call coming on, identifies the caller as Damien, and accepts it.
"Where is it?" demands Damien.
"Where it should be. And I think the rest of it should be in there too," responds Tamarind.
"There are times when being safe and being sorry are not mutually exclusive," says Damien.
Tamarind runs through his reasoning. If she's allowed back, he says, she can come back in a different body.
Damien points out the difficulty of co-ordinating the rituals.
Tamarind allows this point.
"I'll get back to you," says Damien and breaks the link. Both of them then proceed to Trump Random, with Tamarind getting through first.
He goes through to Random in Amber, and tells him and the others what he's just done.
"Cool," says Beltaine, unguardedly.
Damien then gets through to Random. "We need to talk," he tells him.
He orders more guards on the door (thirty of them), with instructions that only he or the King are to be allowed near the cell. Then he goes through the link.
Tristan is berating Tamarind.
Random demands explanations.
In broad terms, Tamarind's argument is that it will want to come back. So far it's not in anyone else; either it chose Fiona or she chose it. It has now been sent back to where it is most powerful. We don't want it to come back, and so must destroy the rest of the body without delay. He apologises for what he did, and offers to make reparations if the King requires them. He gives Random his sword and his Trumps.
Beltaine asks if the body is now of any use to anyone except the Creature from the Land of the Dead? If not, they might as well just finish what has been started. Like it or not, what's done is done and they should deal with the situation as it stands.
Tristan says we 'know' far less than Tamarind suggests, and he wouldn't be surprised if the body could re-grow its head. He's also not sure how much to rely on Brand's spyglass.
"You can't have it both ways," insists Beltaine. "Either you trust it, or you don't."
Ibrahim asks Damien and Tamarind if anything that happened with Fiona after they disappeared confirms all this.
Tamarind says there was no time, they couldn't risk it, and now it's done.
"Tamarind, welcome to the Family," says Damien, pouring himself a drink.
Ibrahim asks Beltaine how much they can rely on the vision.
She says it was an unusual vision, but usually she regards them as partly true and partly 'just possibilities or alternatives'.
Tamarind comments that he's never felt power in a vision before.
Beltaine says she has. You need to interpret visions, she tells us. But she thinks on the whole that it was a 'true' vision.
Tristan thinks they should have tried to take her alive. And that Tamarind acted reprehensibly in doing this without consulting the King.
Tamarind accepts that he acted emotionally, he has apologised and offered to take any consequences upon himself, but he stands by what he has done and thinks the job should now be finished.
Beltaine agrees with him. She also says he did not disobey the King's orders, or act without authority - the King ordered "Stop her," and did not stipulate what degree of force was or was not to be used. Tamarind followed that order.
Random asks whether Fiona's head might grow back.
"We have reason not to be surprised if it does," says Damien.
Tamarind recommends heading down to continue this conversation at the Trump-proof cells. He has given his Trumps (and sword) to Random, so Random uses his sketch to take everyone down there. The cell is opened, the guards sent further away.
Tristan sits by the body and radiates Pattern energy.
Ibrahim points out that if we destroy Fiona's body, Bleys may then try to acquire a Real body for her, one with a Pattern imprint.
"If you really think the body could re-grow it's head, why not just keep a small body part, like a hand, to slow the regeneration process down a bit?" Beltaine wonders.
Ibrahim supposes that a civil war is still better than the destruction of everything.
Beltaine mutters to Tamarind that if the body had been Brand's, "they'd have thrown him in the Abyss by now and be holding the party..."
Random asks Damien's opinion.
"I didn't like Fiona," he says. "But I would prefer to keep the body and give her a chance. Though I am not unmindful of the points raised by Tamarind..."
Beltaine says she thinks that Fiona already had her chance - she could have chosen to stay and work with them, instead of disappearing like that. So either she chose not to co-operate, or the thing had such great control over her it could make her not co-operate ... in which case she wasn't really Fiona any more.
Random asks Tristan how sure he is that the spyglass showed the truth.
"Ninety-nine percent sure," says Tristan.
Random makes his decision. The body goes into the Abyss.
Damien unchains the body and picks it up.
Random uses Tamarind's super-Trump to open a link to the side of the Abyss and Tamarind, Damien, Beltaine and Ibrahim go through. Beltaine is holding Tamarind's Trumps, which Random has given her to look after. Tristan stays in Amber.
Damien throws the body over the edge and into the Abyss.
"Farewell," says Tamarind.
Damien throws in a handful of pebbles. "Do you want to walk the Pattern first, or after me?" Damien asks Tamarind.
"Blood Curse," he reminds him. "A guilty conscience is better than a Blood Curse."
Tamarind thanks him for the reminder, and offers his apology. "You may take it or leave it."
Damien takes it, but adds, "Remind me not to get into a position where I fall under similar suspicion."
"Hopefully," says Beltaine tartly, "in a similar position you would behave in a less completely suspicious manner..."
Tamarind and Beltaine agree that should they die, they would prefer their bodies to be cast into the Abyss rather then be brought back.
Damien notes a likely fashion for living wills springing up in Amber. They Trump off to shadow Haven, where Tamarind offers everyone a drink before suggesting we should go back to Amber.
Meanwhile, Tristan is off through shadow on griffin-back, taking a message to Benedict. Just in case there's about to be a civil war.
As he zips along, Beltaine Trumps him from Haven. "Get in touch with the King," he tells her.
She breaks the link and does so.
She, Tamarind, Damien and Ibrahim go through to Random and Vialle in the Royal apartments.
So - how is the rest of the Family going to be told?
"Individually, or together?" asks Damien.
Random says he'll tell Flora and Caine first, then the others. He has to bring people together now, before the rumours start to spread. He starts sending out messages.
Damien heads off to the infirmary, to get his broken and now swollen arm set.
"Thanks," says Tamarind as he's leaving, "I don't think I could have survived that on my own."
Damien says he's not sure he could. He suggests they practise sometime, so that "next time each will know what the other is likely to do." Damien leaves.
Beltaine starts helping Tamarind get cleaned up ready for the meeting. He is still covered in Fiona's blood.
Tristan arrives in Benedict's shadow Avalon. He lands the griffin by Benedict's mansion, outside the garden wall. He walks up to the front door, and knocks. A butler answers the door, admits him to the house, and leads him to Benedict, who is standing by a fireplace in the library.
Tristan tells him that Random wants Benedict in Amber, partly because something's happened, partly to prevent a civil war.
Benedict fetches a sword, then two of them Trump to Amber's arrival courtyard.
Tristan peers at Benedict through the spyglass. He has less life-force than most, as he's very old, but there's no sign of a black blob.
"What are you doing?" demands Benedict.
"The King will explain," hedges Tristan.
Beltaine has by now cleaned up Tamarind.
Random and Vialle get dressed.
With Ibrahim, they head for the Infirmary, meeting Benedict and Tristan on the way.
Random tells Tamarind he's not going to mention any names.
In the infirmary is Damien, getting cleaned up and having his broken arm seen to.
Over the next few minutes, all of the Amber-based Family arrive at the Infirmary. Bleys is now dressed, and carrying his Pattern blade.
Brand is wheeled in. Gerard sits up in bed.
Random says he has unfortunate news to relate. "Evidence came into our hands that Princess Fiona was possessed by a being from the Land of the Dead called Anurerishkigal. Unfortunately, rather than accept our offer of help, she fled and her body was unfortunately killed in the escape. It was my decision that to prevent her (and the being's) return and subsequent escape, her body be cast into the Abyss. And this was done."
Bleys is speechless with fury. Julian looks unhappy. Brand seems surprised, but not disappointed. Caine smiles knowingly. Benedict is impassive. Deirdre looks surprised, but also not disappointed. Gerard looks shocked and appalled. Esmée, Margot and Caleb also look shocked. Flora, who already knew, gasps and looks shocked anyway.
"So," Random goes on, "I thought to call you all together to tell you. It is my hope" - his voice takes on a tone of grim irony - "that none of you will start any civil wars, or declare any vendettas, and that this unfortunate event will not cause us to descend into feuding as we have done in the past."
Beltaine, who has had way too much coffee, promises not to do any of those things, and proposes a group hug. This suggestion is met with stony silence.
There's a chorus from the younger Amberites, followed by the Elders, essentially reaffirming their oaths of loyalty.
Apart from Bleys, who just storms out. No one tries to stop him.
"What a rude man!" says Beltaine. She turns to Damien. "You didn't learn your manners from him, did you?"
"I like to think I learned nothing from him," says Damien grimly.
Random says everyone can go (back) to bed now.
"When will the memorial service be?" asks Damien.
"The day after tomorrow. Flora - arrange it." She nods. Everyone disperses.
As we leave, Beltaine worries that Owen is currently extremely vulnerable to possession, should the thing try to come back.
Tamarind has got his Trumps back from Random, and Trumps off to Haven to collect Owen and Lucien.
Having done this thing, he Trumps back to Amber with them.
Tristan checks everyone still present with the glass again, finding no changes from before. He sticks his head round the door of Brand's room and checks him too. Brand says nothing, and shows no signs of black-blobbiness.
Tristan Trumps Caine, who comes through. We all go into a nearby sitting room and ask him about Fiona's Shadow. Tristan checks him with the spyglass - no possession.
Tamarind asks Tristan if he sees any sign of a Blood Curse on Damien or himself. Tristan says he can't detect such things after the fact, "But walking the Pattern couldn't hurt".
Caine says you need time to frame such a Curse in your mind, even if you don't say it out loud. He continues to say that Fiona's Shadow is full of interesting things, including notes on how to make blood-pumping devices. He didn't have time to make a full inventory before he destroyed it all. Of course. He does allow that he has kept a few of the more esoteric sets of notes. The blood-pump-making notes did not survive. So, no evidence then.
Beltaine declares she finds Caine's usual devious behaviour oddly comforting, like a dose of normality after the day's madness. She does, however, still feel guilty about taking the others to Tir-Na Nog'th to see the vision that set all this off.
Tristan says it may have saved countless lives.
"It's best to nip these things in the bud," agrees Caine, "rather than let them grow big and have to be chopped down in a far more sweaty manner."
Tristan wants to go back to Corvallin to see Duncan. He says Caine is welcome only if he promises to draw no Trumps of the place.
Caine promises not to do so 'unless the safety of the Realm depends on it'.
Given Caine's somewhat elastic definition of the Realm's safety requirements in the past, Tristan rescinds the invitation.
Tamarind asks Caine what he thinks Bleys' likely reaction is going to be.
"Something stupid," says Caine, "so best I stay here after all."
Tamarind Trumps us to his dull grey slow-time shadow and Tristan shifts Shadow from there.
Damien and Ibrahim's spells start to unravel along the way, so they concentrate on keeping them intact.
Tamarind watches the Trumps. Bleys' is briefly active; Fiona's and the 'black vision Fiona' one are not.
After a while we arrive in a green and leafy land, which Tristan tells us is totally dead to Trumps.
Tamarind experiments and finds that his cards are currently just that - bits of painted card. Not even his Frame works here. He assures Tristan that the Trump barrier works fine.
Shortly afterwards Castle Corvallin flies down from the sky and we go on board.
Miranda, the commander of the Corvallin Castle Guard, greets everyone upon arrival. "Everything has been peaceful here," she reports.
Everyone goes to see Duncan, who is with the castle children - sitting off to one side by himself.
When Tristan greets him, he says he's enjoying himself.
Tristan says he should come to the beach party.
The childminders say Duncan is much better at certain games than the other children, and it's obvious he's never played with other children before.
Tristan asks the childminder to accompany Duncan and himself to Amber.
Damien notes that Corvallin is now a stable magickal environment, unlike before.
People explain to Beltaine about the impossigon Brand had attuned to, and how it tries to make you mad but stands no chance against a Pattern Imprint. And how it lets you move through Shadow.
Beltaine is neither happy nor impressed.
Tristan assures her it's just a matter of strong will to resist it. At her request he adjusts this Shadow so that it will be a suitable hideaway for Beltaine - no Trumps, no magick, no impossigons, and so on work here.
Tamarind, Beltaine and Damien rest for an hour.
Tamarind dreams of being pursued by an army of Bleyses in dressing gowns. Some of them are wax statues or giant candles.
Afterwards, we leave, with Duncan and the nurse.
Before we go, Damien casts magick to heal Tristan's broken jaw, but then doesn't have a second healing spell left for his own broken arm. Oh well.
We Trump to Altair.
Altair has set up the beach party on her tropical paradise shadow, and is almost ready to go. The Morningstar lies offshore.
"A pirate ship?" says Tristan disapprovingly.
"Oh, get the stick out of your arse, Tristan," says Altair.
Damien Trumps off to Amber to fetch Sebek.
Beltaine asks if Tristan would like to borrow Lucien as a 'walking encyclopaedia' for educating Duncan - he coped with her when she was brought back from Tir-Na Nog'th as a child and didn't know what a lot of normal things were.
Tristan agrees that this is a good idea, so Tamarind sketches and contacts Lucien, and brings him through.
Party preparations continue. There is a lot of food.
Upon arrival Damien finds Amber still intact, and a quick update from the Captain of the Guard reveals no new emergencies or changes.
He gets a horse from the stables and rides off to the Priory to get Sebek.
When he gets to the Priory and finds Sebek he lays down some rules (be careful with the children!), lets Sebek bring his (reinforced) beachball, and gets him to autograph some pictures of himself.
He then Trumps Altair and he and Sebek come through to the beach. Sebek runs up and down.
Shortly afterwards Gerard (in a wheelchair) comes through to Altair, bringing the rest of the children with him.
Tristan tries to introduce them to Duncan, but they have seen Sebek and shout his name: Sebek runs up. Damien introduces Sebek to them, and Duncan to Sebek, then looks at Tristan, who now introduces Duncan.
The party begins. Each child gets a signed picture of Sebek.
There's a game of football in the course of which it becomes clear that Duncan is stronger and faster than all of the other children except Angelique. He knocks over Eleanor and Octavius. Angelique knocks him over in response. Octavius catches Duncan's eye, mindlocks him and pushes him over in the sea.
Sebek wants to be on the children's team.
Volleyball is played with Sebek's beachball; the children are allowed to win.
Gerard and the guardian creatures sit on the sidelines and referee.
Eventually, the children tire and take a nap. Phew.
The grown-ups relax and have some beer (Sebek has his own watered down stuff).
After the nap, Altair takes the children out in dinghies to show them how to sail. Eleanor falls into the water and has to be rescued.
Tamarind relaxes on the beach, drawing Trumps.
Damien uses Sebek's Trump to talk to him.
Beltaine tries concentrating to make herself more solid.
When the children come ashore, it's time for ice cream. Beltaine points out that Tamarind already has an ice cream and suggests they steal it. They all chase off after him - he lets Eleanor catch him and grab his ice cream from him.
The sun begins to set.
Altair and Gerard lead a round of sea shanties. Sebek joins in ("Ark!").
The stars come out.
Sebek proves to enjoy hot chocolate and marshmallows, along with the rest of us. Damien helps him make a nest and he curls up in his blanket.
The children and some grown-ups sleep.
Beltaine and Ibrahim have a quiet chat.
Beltaine is thinking of offering to let Deirdre use her body on a timeshare basis, if she will promise in return to look after both Tamarind and Damien.
Ibrahim thinks she should check with Random, and tell someone if she decides to go ahead with this. "You should also consider the current theory that Deirdre might have been Brand's accomplice."
Beltaine says she's considered this ever since she saw a vision of Brand and Deirdre ruling Amber together, with Beltaine and Tamarind by their side. Oh, and Fiona was a puppet in the vision.
"And - you didn't tell anyone else about this?" enquires Ibrahim.
"I was eight. I think I told Tristan. And I took Tamarind to see it," she replies
"Well, as long as you tell the King..." prompts Ibrahim.
"Um," says Beltaine unhappily. She drinks more beer.
Ibrahim does not. They agree not to go back to Tir-Na Nog'th for a long, long time.
Margot asks Tamarind to tell her about the rescue of Gerard. She's also keen to discuss ways of improving security for the children.
The next morning, everyone wakes up. Sebek briefly disappears into the bushes.
The children clamour for more beach parties - and Duncan joins in!
Breakfast is had.
Tamarind has a swim with some dolphins, which splash around him.
Tristan asks if Duncan enjoyed himself.
"Yes, sir. Tristan." Duncan thinks he might like to come and live in Amber.
Tristan shows him a picture of Brand and makes him promise to avoid him.
Tamarind and Sebek play Frisbee - to Damien's surprise, Sebek manages not to bite the Frisbee in half.
And then it's time to go home.
"Time to tidy up!" says Ibrahim.
We tidy up the beach, then dressed, then Ibrahim Trumps people through to the arrival courtyard. Damien and Sebek go through first, then the rest of us. Damien tells the children Sebek has to go home now, but he'll visit again soon. Sebek waves goodbye as Damien leads him off.
The children start explaining to Duncan where they are, and all about the Castle, pointing things out in great (some might say unnecessary) detail.
Damien takes Sebek back to the Priory by chariot, speeding down out of the Castle and off through the city.
Tristan and Ibrahim take the children to their rooms. Altair wheels Gerard back to the infirmary.
Tristan decides to brick up any secret passages leading to the children's new rooms. The children want to help. Tristan lets them, with them getting in the way and happily covered in cement.
As Tristan does this, Ibrahim charts the local passages, and checks the floors and ceilings.
Tamarind and Beltaine go and see Deirdre.
"I hope you're going to be more careful in future," Deirdre admonishes Tamarind when they meet. She seems to be aware of who killed Fiona. However, she seems more worried about Bleys' reaction than what Tamarind actually did.
Tamarind says he can't live in a cage and so will carry on as normal.
Deirdre admires his spirit, but still hopes he will call her if he needs her.
"So - who shall we upset today?" wonders Beltaine.
Deirdre also seems impressed by Tamarind's rescue of Beltaine, and says she's glad to see Beltaine back. Also, she notes that Trump Frames are becoming popular among the Family Trump Artists.
They tell her about the beach party.
In Garnath, Damien reaches the Priory.
Agrippina demands to know if he has been letting Sebek have things that are bad for him? Damien assures her that he has not.
Sebek is fed dormice, as Damien explains to Agrippina that he now has a Trump of Sebek, so he may disappear from the Priory without notice. Damien promises to get Sebek to leave a message if this happens.
He then says his goodbyes and leaves.
Tamarind sends a message to Random saying he intends to walk the Pattern. No message comes back forbidding this, so he and Beltaine walk off Pattern-wards.
Down and down they go, into the tunnels under Kolvir. Outside the Pattern room door, Tamarind Trumps Deirdre, who comes through.
Beltaine Trumps Damien, who has just arrived back at the Castle and is parking the chariot. He comes through too, and all four go into the Pattern room. Damien insists Tamarind go first.
Tamarind does not object. He hugs Deirdre and Beltaine, shakes hands with Damien, and sets off.
He slowly makes his way to the centre, pushing his way through the three veils without incident, collapsing in the centre, and appears back beside the others.
"Well done," says Deirdre, offering brandy. Tamarind drinks.
"Was there anything unusual about the Pattern walk?" asks Damien.
"No," says Tamarind.
Beltaine hugs Damien, and he sets off. He too makes it round without incident, and collapses to his knees in the centre. Whew.
He reappears with the rest of the group and he too downs some brandy. They leave the Pattern room, and Deirdre Trumps them all up to the arrival courtyard.
Damien staggers off towards his rooms.
Tamarind follows him. "Could we have stopped her without killing her?" he asks Damien, with a haunted air.
"I was trying to stop her; trying to knock her out," says Damien. "It wasn't working. I was hoping you could run her through and incapacitate her. I don't know. I don't know what I was thinking back there."
Tamarind thinks they had no choice.
Damien says nothing and Tamarind starts to wander off.
"Tamarind, watch your back," warns Damien. "Really watch your back."
Tamarind recalls a warning from Damien from some years back regarding Bleys' ability to pluck people from Amber.
Damien points out that Tamarind could walk round a corner and have only a split-second's warning before he found himself in a Shadow of Amber, face-to-face with Bleys and his drawn sword.
Tamarind repeats that he is not about to start living in a cage.
"No," agrees Damien, wearily. They part.
Beltaine goes off to see Random, and proposes her 'timeshare her body with Deirdre in extremis' idea to him.
He says he won't forbid it, but doesn't look too happy with the idea, and thinks that having both Deirdre and Beltaine acting in their own, separate bodies might be more effective.
Having done that, Beltaine leaves Random and goes and finds Deirdre. After a while she tracks her down in a practise room, where she is sparring with two guards, all three of them armed with quarterstaffs. Deirdre is clearly not fighting to her full ability, instead appearing to be teaching the guards. When she sees that Beltaine is there she quickly disarms the guards and knocks them to the floor, tapping each one on the forehead with the butt of her quarterstaff. Then she hauls them to their feet and sends them off. They go.
Beltaine makes her offer - if it should be necessary for the protection of Tamarind or Damien for Deirdre to use a body with a Pattern imprint, then she may use Beltaine's. Since it was Beltaine who got them both into trouble via the Tir-Na Nog'th vision.
Deirdre seems genuinely surprised and touched by this offer. She accepts, but says she hopes it never comes to that.
Beltaine adds that Damien is going to teach her to fight, so Deirdre might not find the body completely useless physically.
Deirdre kisses her lightly on the cheek and thanks her.
Beltaine then heads off to find Flora and when she finds her (in some storerooms, organising things) asks if she can help with preparations for the memorial service?
Flora tells her that it is to be held in the Cathedral of the Unicorn in Amber city, but gladly accepts her help.
They discuss things, and Beltaine goes off and revises the requiem she wrote for Brand when she was twelve. Since he no longer needs it...
Invitations to the memorial service are distributed. The service will be held at 10 o'clock the next morning.
In his rooms, Damien gets up, goes downstairs and finds he's dining alone.
Having eaten, he then goes off to the armoury to choose a sword for Beltaine. Out of the very many swords there are he selects three - a rapier, a light sabre and a gladius - for her to choose from, to give her a variety of possible options.
The children's quarters are now secure.
"I wondered if I was going to have to say goodbye," says Tristan.
"Perhaps," says Bleys.
Tristan tries to talk Bleys out of a precipitous reaction. He points out that Bleys has had his one chance with Random, that if he acts against Amber and the rest of us he can't 'win', and that he doesn't feel Random will give him another chance...
"They killed my sister, dammit!" growls Bleys. He makes it clear that he favours going for all-out revenge. "You are one of us, brother - you should understand."
"I don't think it's worth it," says Tristan, sadly.
Bleys cuts the link and refuses a second attempt to make contact.
Tristan sends a bird of desire to him with a simple message. "Goodbye."
Everyone sleeps.
The next morning, Damien dresses himself in black, and wears Dashwood apparently (but not actually) peace-bound. He conceals one or two daggers here and there about his person too. Then he goes to find Beltaine.
Everyone else also prepares. Unusually, Tristan wears a sword.
On reaching Beltaine's rooms, Damien shows her the swords. On his recommendation, she takes the gladius.
She asks him what he thinks Bleys will do. "Would he really try to hurt you?" she asks.
Damien says Bleys knows he wants him dead - he's just never had a reason to want Damien dead before. But he thinks he'll go after Tamarind first.
Beltaine wonders if he might not instead attack Tamarind indirectly, killing or damaging other people he cares about to make him suffer.
Damien says he's been thinking about it. One thing he's sure of - any showdown between himself and Bleys will involve Bleys talking. "He likes to talk."
They head off to the Cathedral.
At the Cathedral, all the noble families of Amber are represented at the service, with the scholarly House Karm attending in particular force.
The children have been brought along with their nurses, and are dressed smartly. They are squirming in their seats.
All other Family members are there save Bleys. Even Llewella arrives with the Rebman ambassador.
Tristan studies her through the spyglass; she's clean.
She raises an eyebrow at him, and takes a seat at the front, on the far side of the nobility from the rest of the Family.
"She's got green hair!" squeal the children.
Bleys arrives at the last minute, and takes a seat next to ... Julian.
At ten o'clock exactly, Random rises and speaks a eulogy to Fiona, painting quite a good picture of her. He tries for an 'unfortunately, events conspired to turn her against Amber against her will, and this led to her tragic death' approach. He notes her efforts and sacrifices on behalf of Amber. Bleys looks most unhappy. Benedict looks a bit sad. The others tend to be expressionless, though Flora looks unhappy, and Gerard very unhappy. Random and Vialle also look distressed, and Margot and Caleb aren't happy either.
Random finishes and the organ plays a requiem. Damien recognises the style as Beltaine's.
After this, Random asks if anyone would like to speak.
Beltaine holds out a restraining hand in Tamarind's direction, but he thinks better of it anyway.
Bleys doesn't rise.
Damien does, to Beltaine's visible alarm. He makes 'it'll be alright' gestures at her. He goes to the front. "This Cannot. Be Allowed. To Happen. Again." Then he sits down again.
People look relieved.
Random thanks everyone for coming and people file out. Ibrahim shepherds the children away.
"Well said," says Tristan as he comes up to Damien.
Bleys goes outside and Trumps away. So does Llewella.
Random thanks Beltaine for her help and the music. He tells us he wants to see us after lunch. We agree to meet with him later
We set out back to the castle.
Gerard calls Beltaine back briefly to say how glad he is to see her out of the bubble. "Can't be a proper sea dog without a wooden leg," he says cheerfully, dismissing her concern over his injuries.
Back at the castle, a rather subdued buffet lunch ensues.
Tristan introduces Duncan to people, such as Julian (who is positively friendly), Flora and Deirdre, Benedict, Caleb ("Tristan, you dog!" he says, clapping him on the shoulder) and Caine.
"How do you like your dad so far?" smiles Caine.
"He's very nice," says Duncan carefully.
Everyone is relieved when Brand leaves early.
Once the other Elders leave, we congregate round Random and Flora. Margot leads the children away.
Random takes everyone to his office. A boy of about ten years old is sitting and staring into the fireplace. He's pale-skinned, and no-one recognises him.
Tristan notices a certain 'Land of the Dead' feel to him and peers at the boy through the spyglass. He can see that the boy has a shadow-person-type level of life-force, but something is overlaid on it, like a fine black mesh.
"This is something Flora has brought to my attention," Random explains. He looks over at Flora.
She says that the boy is one of several born in her Shadow over the past five Amber years (the past ten local years). One in every million children is now being been born like this. The time period in which this started corresponds to when we came back from the Land of the Dead after rescuing Martin. Apparently the children who are like this are referred to as 'cold babies'.
Tamarind asks the boy his name.
"Richard Johnson," he says, in a quiet, uninflected voice.
"How do you feel?"
"Cold." And indeed, the boy's skin is cold to the touch.
Tamarind asks Richard if he has strange dreams?
"Yes," he says. He says he dreamed he was a lady who lived in a tower in a place with lots of towers. Her name was Lysandra.
Beltaine tells everyone else that the boy's 'harmonics' don't resonate properly - they seem muted.
Oops. It appears that holes have been left in the barrier between the Land of the Dead and the Land of the Living.
Random says he wants us - as the best qualified people other than Brand - to look into it, and hopefully fix this problem.
Tristan fills the rest in on what he has observed of various people's life-force - Benedict has lost a lot, Deirdre has lost a lot (more than Benedict), Brand has only a spark left, and Caine has lost a lot. All of us who went to the Land of the Dead have lost some, Tamarind more, Altair more again. Fiona had a reasonable amount left, beneath the black blob (she looked about fifty in the lend of the dead).
Tamarind suggests we go to Shadow Earth and see what we can see. And the other places where various people have arrived back from the Land of the Dead.
Damien notes that there are places we can't check - such as where Fiona came back, or where Evan may have ended up.
Tristan recommends sending a message or warning to Bleys about the place Fiona's body was.
Random allows that this might be a good idea.
Flora says that the main symptoms are cold, a muted personality and memories of other lives. Doctors in her Shadow are studying them, but are largely lost for a cause or a cure.
The Psyche-heavy members of the group can tell that the boy has a faint sense of duality about him - the mind of the child interlaced with a faint presence that is not quite a mind in itself.
Tamarind wonders if he could do separate Trumps of each, and after a bit of consideration thinks he probably could. He asks Richard if there are others like him.
"Yes."
"Do they have the same dreams?"
"No."
Tristan asks if Caine has had a look?
Flora says that Caine reported that the two 'minds' were too closely interwoven to separate.
We decide to go to shadow Earth and investigate.
People go off to change into suitable Shadow Earth-style clothes and then rejoin Flora.
Random wishes us luck. He hugs Beltaine.
Flora gives Tristan the keys to her mansion. She says she'll be staying here to consult with Random. She provides Tamarind with a Trump of her mansion.
We use it, and once contact is made, we all go through, into a grove of trees in the garden of the house. Birds are singing in a spring sky.
We unlock the front door and go into the house. Ibrahim senses some form of low-level self-cleaning empowerment on the place.
We find a map of the area and discover that the hospital where we returned from the land of the dead is about five minute's drive away.
People borrow firearms from the armoury in the basement.
Damien observes that the magick here only allows low-key and subtle magickal effects that do not look like magic at all.
He and Ibrahim briefly Trump to shadow Haven to hang spells. While there Damien heals his broken arm. Ibrahim racks a 'mirage' spell.
Beltaine goes along to keep an eye on them
Meanwhile, Tamarind and Tristan take Flora's Rolls and drive towards the hospital. Tamarind doesn't think they're being followed. They head for the nearby town of Lawndale, which boasts the large, high-tech medical establishment that we remember. It is a University of New York teaching hospital, and has an Evelyn Flaumel Memorial Wing.
As they pull up outside the hospital, Tamarind is Trumped by Damien. Damien passes the other two through into the back of the Rolls with the word "Duck!" Then he follows.
Beltaine concentrates on being opaque.
Tamarind switches on the car's television and uses the Pattern to find relevant information. It seems that the news is on. World Health Organisation scientists have released an update on the 'Cold Baby' outbreak. Statistics indicate it originated in upstate New York, but no vector has been established.
We get out of the Rolls and enter the hospital, with our IDs showing us to be the rest of the Flaumel clan. The receptionist gasps on seeing Tamarind.
Tristan introduces himself as Evelyn Flaumel's brother. He says they have a great-uncle who is ill, and would like a tour of the facilities to see if this is the place for him. Also, he's interested in putting some money into the place.
The Director of the hospital is summoned. He is white, middle-aged, and rather worried-looking. He introduces himself as Dr Morgendorfer. He gives us a tour.
There are labs for virology, pharmaceuticals, genetics, life-extension and resuscitation...
"Very good," says Tristan. He peers at things through the spyglass.
The rest of us make 'humour him; he's rich, eccentric, and rich' gestures at Dr Morgendorfer.
We enter the ward in which the group arrived back from the Land of the Dead. It is in the part of building devoted to the life-extension programme.
Tristan peers about. Through the spyglass, he sees occasional flashes of blackness appearing in mid-air and zipping off, from what seem to be points above the beds we arrived back in.
Tamarind asks if the ward has been used recently?
"No," the director tells us. "Most recently it was used for tests on reversing the ageing process."
Tristan counts five sources of these black 'sparks', each one above a hospital bed. He looks more closely and sees that three of the five sources are stronger than the others - the beds that held Damien, Nitocris and Caine. Tendrils of black mist occasionally well out with the black 'sparks' as they fly off.
Tristan plays the New Age Rich Loony (alarmingly well) and announces he senses bad karma here, with blackness flowing through these points here and here. Crystals might help, he suggests. If we could stay here a little longer...
Dr Morgendorfer leaves us alone.
Tristan then gives us a more precise description of what he can see, and shows the others where the holes are.
People concentrate on the indicated spaces. Beltaine feels a very faint wrong-ness, focussed at the points Tristan noted. No one else picks up anything.
Tristan sees a spark emerge. "Duck!" he tells us. "Three o'clock!"
"What...?" says Beltaine.
Tamarind pulls her down.
Tamarind then asks whether Tristan can slow the flow of blackness using the Pattern?
He says he will try. He checks to see if there is anything odd about the fabric of Shadow here, and picks up a faint sense of 'not rightness'.
Tristan pages Dr Morgendorfer. He tells him the bad karma is due to too much electrical energy. Could the electricity be turned off in adjacent rooms (to cover its stopping working when Tristan starts radiating Pattern energy about himself)? Tristan makes it probable that the group's prospective ten million dollar donation encourages the doctor to humour this mad request.
Objects are heard being moved around in nearby rooms, and after a little while Dr Morgendorfer rings back to say that it has been done.
Tristan now concentrates on the Pattern, while Beltaine senses for flashes of wrong-ness.
The latter seem to decrease in frequency. However, once Tristan stops, the frequency goes up again.
Tristan wonders if prodding the holes with a Pattern sword would help. Ibrahim hands over his blade.
Tristan peers through the spyglass and pokes the sword into the holes of wrong, black, Land of the Dead stuff above the beds. The tip of the sword seems to 'catch' in the hole - to those watching it seems snagged in mid-air. No more sparks seem to emerge from that hole.
Tamarind suggests concentrating on the Pattern again.
Tristan does so.
Beltaine senses the wrong-ness decreasing again, but no more so than last time.
Could Tristan slash at the emerging spark, wonders Tamarind?
He tries this too. Everyone else stands well back.
A spark emerges, and Tristan cleaves it in half with Ibrahim's Pattern sword. The two halves fizz away, like a disembodied spirit. Tamarind and Beltaine sense faint, fleeting, monochrome memory-like impressions as the sparking dies away - being a child on a swing, kissing a girl, fighting, a war, dying. They mention this to everyone else.
"So, we know it's not just life-force coming back," says Damien.
Tamarind says it reminds him of the people they met in the Land of the Dead - just lifeless memory with no spark of animation to it.
Beltaine wonders why it's going into children?
"It probably follows the re-cycled life-force," thinks Damien.
Tamarind is more worried about what would happen if one of these sparks hit someone.
Tristan checks everyone for overlaid skeins of black memories - we're all clean.
Tamarind and Tristan agree that the Jewel may offer the best hope of a solution, so Tamarind Trumps Random.
Once he gets through, he explains the situation to Random, who comes through to us.
Tristan explains the problem, and the attempted counter measures.
Tamarind explains that the bisected spark leaked memories as it died.
Damien is distracted by a fleeting image of someone sending husks back across the barrier, nine at a time, using the nonogram. He shares this with the rest, but admits it is 'pure speculation'.
Tristan thinks such a thing would involve resurrections.
Damien agrees that this is more likely to be a general, 'natural' phenomenon resulting from our (and Brand's) escapades.
Random agrees the Jewel may help.
Tristan and Damien discuss the possibility of together creating a spell to track the black 'memory sparks'.
Beltaine offers to teach Damien a spell for seeing 'into the astral' if that would be any help.
A brief discussion on how Damien's magick relates to the world of spirits ensues.
Tristan suddenly remembers there is another hole by Eric's tomb in Amber. And in Isabel's sepulchre in Corvallin. Oops. We think about events and come up with a total of eighteen possible holes in reality, not all of whose locations we know.
Random Trumps off back to Amber, fetches the Jewel, and Trumps back to Tamarind.
He holds up the Jewel, and concentrates upon it...