Recorded for Posterity by Iain Walker.
Notes typed up by Jane Winter.
On the Girasol side of Corwin's Pattern, Osric's branch of the Family is walking Corwin's Pattern. We watch and lend moral support.
"We should be getting back to tell the King the good news," declares Tristan.
"I am declaring a holiday to celebrate the victory over the Ordnung," says Osric. "You are all invited. The holiday will last at least a month."
We all agree to attend.
The Pattern-walking done, Sandrine directs the younger Girasolians to go and rest. Lucille and Cornelius in particular are looking horribly tired; Thomas looks the least tired of them all. Nicholas has not walked the Pattern, since his enchanted armour would give up the ghost - a Bad Thing.
Tristan congratulates them all, and Sandrine Trumps them away, leaving Osric and Benedict with us.
Beltaine asks whether anyone is going to draw another Pattern so that we have more than one bridge between the two universes. She also invites any Girasolian relatives who wish to do so to come and visit Tir-Na Nog'th, since theirs is broken.
"Are the Shadows affected by the Ordnung reverting to normal?" Tamarind enquires of Tristan.
Tristan is not sure, and says he will need to check. Meanwhile, he's keen to get back to Amber.
"We should get the Jewel back there," agree Damien and Corwin.
Ibrahim looks expectantly at Tamarind, who usually handles transportation.
Tristan warns Corwin that on the other side, the Shadows round his Pattern have been turned into death-traps by Brand.
"Humph!" says Corwin, sounding highly unimpressed.
Brand sighs, and explains to him how they are triggered, so that Corwin can avoid setting them off by accident, or can set them off himself if he wishes.
"Could you do something similar to a Shadow so that dead souls couldn't escape - a trap for Anuerishkigal?" Damien asks Brand.
"I'd have to investigate the possibility," Brand replies.
Ibrahim is still looking at Tamarind, who gets out his Trump of a spot above the centre of Corwin's Pattern. However, he finds that it no longer works - it depicts the Ordnung, which no longer exists and which contributed significantly to the psychic essence of the Trump. He quickly sketches another, Ordnung-free version.
Tristan asks Corwin if he would like anything in the centre of his Pattern to aid people in descending from mid-air to the floor - a fireman's pole, or something?
"Leave it for now," says Corwin.
There is a brief and silly argument about who 'owns' the Pattern on this side - Corwin, Osric, or who. Resolving this argument is postponed for later.
Corwin, who is staying here, hands the Jewel to Tristan. Benedict is also staying here, but Brand is coming back with us.
And we Trump through to the point above the centre of Corwin's Pattern and drop to the ground, then transfer between universes.
Back on the Amber side, we see Deirdre off to one side of the Pattern, apparently standing guard. We Trump her, tell her the situation, and invite her to join us in the middle of the Pattern. However, she declines, and stays where she is for now.
All of us other than Brand then use the Pattern to transfer to Amber, appearing in the Arrival Courtyard. Brand remained in the middle of Corwin's Pattern, intending to use it to go off to the Abyss.
Guards tell us that Random wants to see us at our earliest convenience, so Tamarind Trumps Random, and quickly gets through. "We're back," he reports. "We destroyed it, the others would like to make their report too."
Random brings us all through the link and into his office. "Drink?" he asks.
"As Your Majesty commands," says Damien.
Tristan returns the Jewel and reports that we destroyed the Ordnung. Also, that the branch of the Family on the far side of Corwin's Pattern have all walked said Pattern save Nicholas.
Random tells us Alicia has successfully walked the Pattern here.
"Well done," says Random to us all. He then asks after Corwin's Pattern.
We tell him that Corwin has remained on the far side of it for the meantime, and that the status of the Pattern on the other side is under discussion.
We note that we are currently dependent on Corwin keeping the route between universes open and safe. Damien notes that he at least has an interest in keeping it safe.
"Has anyone told Julian there used to be a Pattern in Arden?" Tamarind wants to know.
Random doesn't think so.
We wonder where it used to be.
Ibrahim tries to recall the arrangement of the 'Pattern-rainbows' in the Land of the Dead, but quickly concludes that this doesn't help much since we couldn't see where they began.
"Osric knows," notes Tristan. "And Benedict," he adds sourly.
Tamarind tries to Trump Julian but can't get through - probably thanks to distance, he thinks.
Random says he has appointed Flora the new Chief of Security, and Merlin has been sent to take a look at the Chaos texts.
We decide to go and see Merlin, and see how he's getting on. Tamarind readies his Trump.
"We are going to need to reconsider the policy regarding the Land of the Dead - soon," says Damien to Random.
"Oh, Unicorn," groans Random. "Yes, noted, thank you."
Tamarind Trumps Merlin, and we quickly get through. He's in the Library, with a copy of the Chaos Texts. At our request, he brings us through.
"How are you?" asks Tristan.
"OK - I think. Good news about the Ordnung - how did you kill it?" he replies.
"Spiked it, drained it, resonated it and confused it a lot," grins Damien.
"Yeah, we confused it to death..." says Beltaine dreamily.
Merlin tells us he has made out some of the texts.
Tristan asks him to read some out loud. "To see if it sounds like the demon language I learned."
"What demon language?" asks Merlin.
Tristan says something in demon.
Merlin doesn't recognise it.
"How much do you know about Chaos?" he asks us all.
"Tens of thousands of years of civilisation and they never invented paper," says Ibrahim, promptly.
"Which from the archaeological viewpoint is good," adds Damien.
"Millions of years of civilisation," corrects Merlin.
He explains that Chaos has thousands of languages - one for each race of demons. The texts are written in a version of the language of the Royal House, though, which he does understand, at least partially. He says the current text seems to be about ancient history.
"We knew that," says Damien as gently as he can.
Merlin says he can sound out many of the words, but doesn't actually understand many. He was brought up in relative isolation, so doesn't know all that much about Chaos himself.
"Are there any Chaos-like civilisations that might help..." Tamarind stops himself, realising that Merlin, who is now looking at him curiously, doesn't know about the fate of Chaos.
"There have been a few significant changes in Chaos..." He bites the bullet. "The entire population of Chaos committed ritual suicide."
Merlin goes pale. "Even mother?"
"She fell in battle earlier," says Damien. "Well, I suppose she'd have wanted it that way," he mutters despondently.
"Ask Benedict if you want the details," suggests Damien.
"No - don't!" chorus Tamarind and Tristan.
"Don't listen to Damien - he's mad," adds Tristan.
Damien shrugs.
"Why did they do it?" asks Merlin.
"They decided they'd been superseded, basically," says Tristan.
"Look on the bright side, Merlin," suggests Beltaine. "I guess it's now your duty to repopulate the Courts of Chaos..."
Tamarind Trumps Owen, who, when he takes the call, appears to be somewhere in the Castle. Tamarind tells him that the Ordnung is destroyed, Corwin's Pattern free on both sides, Osric has declared a holiday and Corwin has remained on the other side.
Owen thanks him.
Damien Trumps Sebek, who's in the velocidrome.
Sebek is bored. He's been playing his organ; he's been rearranging his museum, which Damien now has to see; he's bored and he wants marshmallows. And beer. Agrippina won't give him any. "And where were you?" he demands sulkily.
"Fighting a crystal monster," says Damien.
"Why couldn't I come? I could have helped!" protests Sebek.
"It was on the other side of a Pattern," Damien tells him. "And NO! You are not allowed to walk Patterns!"
"Bet I could..." mutters Sebek.
Damien reminds him what happened to the rat thrown onto the Pattern.
Sebek sulks.
"Have you written a list of the things you want for your birthday?" tries Damien.
He has. It's the size of a telephone directory.
"Some of the things are big," Sebek tells him. "And some go squeak!"
Damien defers reading it until later and tells Sebek there may soon be parties to go to.
Tamarind and Beltaine briefly Trump Chalice, who is now in school again. They tell her all is well, and that there's a new branch of the Family to meet, if she ever feels like a holiday. Chalice seems interested in this.
In the Library, Merlin asks again how his mother died.
"Benedict killed her," says Beltaine bluntly.
"I suppose she'd have wanted it that way," says Merlin again.
Ibrahim informs him that Benedict then proceeded to become a guilt-ridden alcoholic.
"I wonder," says Beltaine, going off at a tangent, as is her wont. "Why Anuerishkigal hasn't fed on Oberon? I mean, everyone else there seemed to be using him as a Life Force Battery."
We can only speculate that either Brand hid him very well or Anuerishkigal, for some reason, decided to leave him alone.
Then get back to the 'contact Julian' plan.
Beltaine invites Merlin to come too, but he says he wants time to himself. However, he does agree to go and find Caleb for company later.
Beltaine hugs him.
Tamarind puts Julian's Trump into the Frame and tries it once more. Beltaine and Damien - well, mainly Beltaine - help.
Slowly, we get through to Julian, who seems to be in his camp near Corwin's Pattern. At our request, he brings us through.
As we leave, Merlin can be seen heading for the drinks cabinet.
"Why did we come here again?" asks Beltaine.
We tell Julian about the ex-Pattern in Arden.
He tells us that he knew - there is apparently a burned area, with a couple of tombs beside it.
"Oh - and the Ordnung was defeated," Tristan tells him.
"Good," he comments.
"Who else knew about the Arden Pattern?" Damien wants to know.
"Myself, Oberon and Caine - on this side of the universe - I think," he replies. "Since it was dead long ago, I never saw any point in mentioning it..."
He offers to show us the place, then goes to order his troops home.
"The members of this Family just have no sense of History," laments Damien.
Ibrahim Trumps Margot to join us, and when he makes contact, brings her through. She is told of our discoveries, and seems surprised to hear about the ex-Pattern in Arden.
"What we are saying," snipes Beltaine. "Is that some people knew perfectly well that Patterns could be destroyed before Patternfall..."
Julian returns at this point.
"Perhaps you might want to tell Esmée about the Arden Pattern - before anyone else mentions to her that you've been keeping it secret from her all her life..." suggests Beltaine.
Julian nods, then says that Oberon told him about the dead Pattern and told him to guard it, but nothing more. He produces a SuperTrump of somewhere in Arden, concentrates on it, and when the link opens up takes us through. Arden rangers with crossbows are concealed round about the arrival site. Julian leads us off through the woods up a path that almost looks like a staircase.
After passing through many odd tree-covered rock formations that resemble fossilised buildings (but aren't), we come out of the trees into a shallow bowl-shaped oval clearing at the top of a hill. There are apes in the trees, and they hoot at us excitedly. The clearing itself is large enough to contain a Pattern, and is surrounded by a low wall and tall trees that overhang the whole area. It feels Real here - like being in the Pattern room.
The area from about ten feet inside the wall is blackened and burned, in an oval the size of a Pattern, overhung with the huge trees of Arden.
"Is it dangerous?" asks Tristan.
"Yes - it kills things the way our Pattern does," Julian tells him. He adds that Oberon told him nothing about this Pattern, and though he tried to find out more, he was unsuccessful. The wall is a basic safety precaution, to stop people just wandering into the danger zone.
Tristan climbs over the wall for a closer look. The rest of us follow. The whole thing does feel 'Pattern-ish' - but wrong, destroyed.
As we wander round the edge of the ex-Pattern, the sun comes out from behind a cloud. Sunlight seems to fall through the leaves of the overhanging trees to make the form of a Pattern delineated in sunlight on the blackened area. Where the sunlight falls, the Pattern-like feeling is stronger.
Our examination done, Julian shows us the tombs. In the trees at one end of the Ht'gon An-Rit Pattern, outside the wall, are two small rock-cut pyramids, twenty feet tall, carved from the local rock. From the outside they are featureless and bear no identifying marks other than a door-less opening into the interior with the unicorn of Amber carved into the stone above it. The opening faces out onto the Pattern.
We look inside. Inside each one is a single unadorned chamber, in the centre of which is a large stone sarcophagus with the Unicorn of Amber carved on the lid. Tamarind senses no Trump energy on either sarcophagus.
"What's in them?" Damien asks Julian.
He opens one to reveal a seven foot tall ape-like skeleton with clawed fingers - much bigger than the apes we saw in the trees. It has shreds of clothing on it.
In the second tomb is an un-decayed human figure - young, elfin and female, with a distinct resemblance to Oberon. There is bruising around her neck, which appears to be broken. The bruising matches the size and shape of the giant ape's hands.
"Father never said who she was," Julian tells us.
Tamarind sketches her face.
"Hey - keeping dead women on ice didn't start with the two of you, after all," Beltaine tells Damien and Tristan. "It's practically a Family tradition."
"This might be considered more of a burial..." says Ibrahim.
The woman is wearing a long Court dress and some jewellery in the same style as the Amber Crown jewels. Her long hair is dark-ish red.
"Saying 'she' all the time seems rude - can we call her 'Titania' until we find out her name?" suggests Beltaine.
"Did Eric decay in his tomb?" Tamarind asks Ibrahim.
"I don't know - I never opened the tomb while he was dead," he replies.
So we don't actually know if Amberites do usually decay.
Tamarind Trumps off to the Abyss to talk to Brand.
Julian Trumps Random, who comes through.
"You should be aware of this..." says Julian to him, gesturing.
Random is less than impressed at discovering yet one more thing people didn't tell him about.
"Did you tell Eric?" Ibrahim asks Julian.
"No, I didn't," he replies.
Random draws Julian aside for 'a private chat'.
"I think we should bring all the Children here on a field trip," says Beltaine. "You know, so they can see what a dead Pattern looks like, and learn those attendant life lessons about secrets and lies and how things you think are destroyed can still be dangerous..."
"I think we should wait until they are eighteen..." begins Tristan.
But Beltaine has Trumped Chalice anyway, and when she gets through, brings her through.
Beltaine shows her daughter the dead Pattern, and what happens when you throw stones onto it.
Chalice's resemblance to her grandfather/brother, Brand, is more marked than usual as she studies the blasted area intently. Then Beltaine brings out her Trump of Amber, and concentrates on it.
"Oh, before you go," Damien reminds her. "If Sebek asks you for a hand-grenade for his birthday, just say no."
Chalice raises an eyebrow. "How about rocket launchers and flame-throwers?" she asks seriously.
"They are out too," says Damien.
Beltaine makes contact, and passes Chalice through the Trump link back to Amber.
Tamarind arrives by the Abyss, then Trumps Brand. He quickly gets through, and finds Brand sitting in a deck chair staring into the Abyss, which is perhaps roiling a little more than usual.
"There's something else - more important than this - that you should see," Tamarind tells him. "We could use your youthful insight..."
Brand agrees to come and they Trump back to Beltaine, who explains things and points out the dead Pattern to Brand and does some more stone throwing.
"The woman is more interesting..." she says.
"But let's not throw stones at her," suggests Damien quickly.
Brand studies the bodies, while we explain what little we know.
Beltaine points out the 'pretty' effect of sunlight on the black area.
"It was probably destroyed by blood," Brand thinks.
"Why is there still power there?" Beltaine wants to know.
"Perhaps the damage destroys the structure but not the power itself," suggests Damien.
Brand agrees with this. It can't be used as a Pattern any more, but the power remains, in the same way as the damaged bits of the Primal Pattern still had the power to destroy.
On the basis that 'Titania' could be its guardian or something, Beltaine wonders whether there is a person linked to each of the Patterns. Perhaps Bleys' Pattern-blade (linked, we believe, to this Pattern) was hers originally? She also speculates that Llewella might know something, since this Pattern seems to be linked to the sun and she was able to reverse the Council For Victory's sun trick.
Damien recalls that the heating-up-the-sun trick involved soulstone technology.
"And non-specific Pattern energy," Tristan adds.
We decide we'll go and see Osric, and join in the celebrations.
Damien suggests organising parties on both sides, so that everyone in Girasol and Amber can celebrate.
He then asks Julian if he may, at some point, send an archaeological expedition to study this place.
Julian agrees to this. "As long as they don't take anything."
Beltaine asks if Chalice can accompany them for a school project.
Damien agrees that she can.
By this stage, Margot has Trumped Esmée and brought her here.
We point out the destroyed Pattern to her, and suggest she talk to her father. At this point Random, over beside Julian, Trumps away. Esmée heads over.
"Come and meet Osric," Beltaine suggests to Margot.
"I'm still moving dad's troops," she declines with a tone of regret.
Tamarind Trump-sketches Alicia, then uses said sketch to Trump her.
Beltaine takes Ibrahim aside, and gives about hassle about not proposing to Margot yet. He is stoic.
When he gets through to her, Tamarind asks Alicia if she wants to return to Girasol with us.
She shakes her head and says that she wants to stay and explore Amber further.
Beltaine, her work with Ibrahim done, joins the link and offers to show her Tir-Na Nog'th.
Alicia nods and says she would like that.
"Oh - and the Ordnung is destroyed," adds Tamarind, rather embarrassed at not having said this first.
Alicia is pleased at this news. We break the Trump link.
We briefly discuss whether to bring the Children to Girasol.
Tristan is against this.
There's some confusion about whether we are going there for the whole month-long party, or just to try to get more information on the Arden Pattern from Osric. The latter, probably, though some may stay...
Beltaine, bored with the argument, summons herself a ghostly drink - difficult this close to even a dead Pattern, but do-able.
We, Brand and Esmée Trump to Haven as a staging point to travel on to Corwin's Pattern and elsewhere. Brand wants to get back to his Abyss project, and so Trumps on from there.
Beltaine sips purple energy drink to recover from her gratuitous use of Chimeromancy at the Ht'gon An-Rit Pattern.
Then we Trump on to Castle Rosa. It's still fairly empty save for an advance guard - who are not guarding the arrival courtyard, due to lack of numbers. We have to knock on a locked door, which they eventually answer.
"Who's there?" they demand.
"Princes and Princesses of the Realm," says Tamarind impatiently.
"Err... We're a bit busy... Sorry no one was there..." they say apologetically.
"Have someone watch the damn courtyard," Beltaine instructs. "Also, tell your colleagues that Caine has been removed from office by the King, so if he shows up, you're not to obey any orders he gives you."
"Yes, your Highness," they say.
We find Deirdre still at the Pattern too, and tell her about the whole Arden thing. She seems interested, but not as if this is a major thing.
Tamarind decides to draw a proper Trump of this side of Corwin's Pattern.
Meanwhile, Tristan heads into a side room and Trumps Caine, who answers.
"Would you like to come through?" asks Tristan.
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to threaten you over a Trump link."
Caine smiles and comes through.
Tristan tells him to double-check that list of agents he handed over, because if he's left any undeclared Tristan will Shadow-trap them if they are using Impossigon power.
He doesn't really make any threat to back up this demand, but Caine allows that he might have overlooked an agent or two.
"How did you know about Patterns having two sides?" Tristan then wants to know.
"Dad mentioned it."
"Feeling chatty, was he?" says Tristan sarcastically.
The conversation goes nowhere after this, and eventually Caine Trumps out. Tristan rejoins the rest of us and describes the conversation.
Beltaine recalls that Caine still has those two soulstones filled with bits of Anuerishkigal, which she would rather he didn't keep for much longer. However, we agree that until we're in a position to dispose of them safely, or hide them safely, we can afford to leave them with him a little longer.
Tamarind finishes his Trump.
Another debate is getting under way about just why Caine knows so much. Does he have even stranger powers than we have seen, or was he just a really nosy kid?
But - the Trump is ready, so off we go to the Girasol universe. On the far side of Corwin's Pattern, soldiers in unfamiliar uniforms are on guard. They wear cloaks emblazoned with silver roses.
"Where's Corwin?" calls Tamarind to them.
One consults a bit of paper.
"You might know him better as Lord God Almighty," mutters Damien to himself.
"Prince Tamarind, isn't it?" shouts back the guard. "Lord Corwin went to Girasol with King Osric. He said to tell you."
We plink over to by the guards.
Tristan, assisted by Tamarind and the Frame, tries to Trump Osric.
Damien reviews the soldiers' defensive plans. They've set up a defence in depth, have cavalry in reserve and their engineers are working on fortifications. They seem to be defending both against things coming to the Pattern from outside, and things coming out from the Pattern itself.
Tristan and Tamarind get through to Osric, who is wearing a party hat and has his arm round a wench (not his wife).
At our request he brings all of us through to join him. We are introduced loudly to the room at large - a ballroom filled with partying Girasolians.
"We should have dressed for this," mutters Beltaine.
Damien promptly changes his outfit into something more appropriate by magic.
"Show-off," she hisses at him.
Osric, who's a trifle drunk, leads the party-goers in three loud cheers for us.
Sandrine and Nicholas are not here, but Cornelius, Evan, Lucille, Gideon, Una, Thomas and Daniella are.
Beltaine waves to Thomas, who waves back.
Corwin is present, with a wench, and Benedict is dancing with a girl. We gape at him.
"We've gone and left Merlin drinking alone," laments Beltaine.
"Did anyone ask anyone else to keep an eye on him in Amber?" asks Damien. Everyone shakes their head.
Damien borrows the requisite Trumps from Tamarind, and heads off to fetch Merlin.
The rest of us get into the party mood.
Beltaine goes off to change clothes before returning to the party.
Much dancing and merriment ensues.
Damien Trumps to Corwin's Pattern, goes through, the Pattern-Teleports to Amber. He doesn't find Merlin in the library, just two empty bottles. When asked, one of the librarians says he left an hour ago.
Damien Trumps Random, who proves to be dining with Vialle. He brings Damien through anyway, looking rather resigned.
Damien bows to the Queen, then asks if he cam borrow a Trump of Merlin. "We've told him about Dara and the Courts, and I'm not sure how he's taken it," he explains.
Random has such a card and helps him to Trump Merlin. When they get through, Merlin turns out to be pissed in the 'Fish and Tulip' inn on Dock Street, and not interested in company.
So Damien leaves him alone and returns the Trump to Random.
"Anything else?" asks Random, a little edgily.
"Have I mentioned about Sebek and hand-grenades..."
"Yes," chorus Vialle and Random.
Damien beats a hasty retreat.
Meanwhile, in Girasol, Beltaine asks Benedict to dance. He leads her gracefully around the dance floor, and he and Beltaine talk. Backed into a verbal corner, he admits that it was 'nice' to see Osric again.
Tamarind dances with a lady called Lillian.
Tristan seems to be hoping for a word with Osric, but the young woman on his arm is monopolising him.
A succession of young ladies quizzes Ibrahim about Amber.
Bonfires and dancing can be seen in the streets below and Tristan goes out to explore.
Beltaine muses to Tamarind that she is considering (a) renouncing her allegiance to Random, and (b) attempting to kill or incapacitate Caine.
Ibrahim continues to party.
In Amber, Damien Trumps Flora and, when she takes the call, goes through and joins her. She is in the midst of a large caravanserai somewhere in shadow and which she's organising.
Damien tells her about Merlin and suggests having an eye kept on her. He can make preliminary arrangements, if she likes.
She agrees to this, and says reports should be sent to Lady Anise, her secretary.
Damien thanks her, and Trumps back to Amber. Upon arrival he goes to see Felicity, and asks that her Baker Street Irregulars keep an eye on Merlin. And also that she have a couple of hard cases standing by to defend him just in case. He authorises her to pay double normal rates.
He then asks Childers to send marshmallows to the Priory, with instructions to Agrippina to let Sebek have some.
That done, he goes down to the Pattern Room, walks the Pattern, transports himself to the centre of Corwin's Pattern, through to the other side and thence to the ballroom in Girasol.
In Girasol, we party.
Tristan explores the city below incognito. As far as he can tell people seem to be celebrating both the fall of the Ordnung and the fact that they've got a holiday.
Damien teleports into the ballroom, and falls over. People start back at his sudden arrival.
Ibrahim helps him up and hands him a drink.
Damien tells him that Merlin is reacting in normal human rather than barking Chaos fashion, and that people are keeping an eye on him.
Esmée swirls up and asks Damien to dance. This he does.
Tamarind gets drunk. Beltaine does not. They head down into the city.
Tristan wanders back to the palace and looks for Sandrine. He doesn't find her, so finds a spare room and goes to sleep instead, party animal that he is.
In the ballroom, Esmée bets Damien he can't drink the tray of drinks she's found. The loser has to dance with a cute but dull guy. The tray is big - holding the equivalent of about four bottles of Brandy, but divided between various types of spirits.
"Done," says Damien, and drinks them.
Esmée looks impressed and dutifully goes off to dance with Mr Dull.
Damien staggers off and just makes it to the toilets before throwing up and passing out.
Benedict leaves (alone) in the early hours.
In the city, Tamarind has meanwhile been convincing drunken people of the joys of the colour purple.
Dawn eventually breaks over a still-partying palace and city.
Damien awakes in the toilet and applies the Emergency Velociraptor Sobering-Up Kit (EVSK). He then has a wash and brush up (not that he really needs it) and steps out into the morning.
Beltaine has meanwhile confiscated her drunken husband's sketching materials. When he tries to draw a Trump on a wall, she makes him de-solid. He complains plaintively.
Tristan awakes and has breakfast. The party is still going on (the month is, after all, still young!).
Esmée dances with Ibrahim and quizzes him on the gossip about him and her sister.
In return, he asks how she feels about Julian's Secret Pattern. She supposes he never mentioned it out of long habit.
Tristan returns to the ballroom where, after an early morning slow-down, things are revving up again.
Damien has breakfast and super-strength coffee. He then also strolls back into the ballroom, fresh as a daisy.
Osric rejoins the party. "Morning all!" he beams.
"Where's Sandrine?" asks Tristan.
"Manning the ramparts."
Tristan offers to do this so that Sandrine can join in the festivities.
"Relax," Osric tells him. "Plenty of time to rotate the watch scheme."
Tamarind and Beltaine are making their way back up to Castle Girasol when they catch a glimpse of silvery whiteness moving in an alley. They go and investigate...
It's the Unicorn. It looks at them regretfully, with a hint of reproach in its eyes. Then it trots off around a handy corner.
They follow but it's gone - the effect feels quasi-Trump-like but unlike any Trump Tamarind has ever seen.
"Weird," mutters Tamarind. Then, louder, "That was weird!"
They return to the ballroom, still going, "That was weird!" to each other.
Upon arrival, they tell the rest of us that they saw the Unicorn in an alley and it looked disappointed in them.
Osric is surprised, bordering on shocked - he's never seen the Unicorn.
"That does it," decides Beltaine. "I'm definitely renouncing my allegiance to Random. All we've gone through, the bloody Unicorn looks at us like that? That's the last straw..."
Tristan and Damien do not really welcome this announcement. However, Damien says that he doesn't plan to pay much attention to the Unicorn, not being impressed that it encouraged us to go and inadvertently trigger genocide in the Courts.
"Can I come and live in Girasol?" Beltaine asks Osric.
He has no problem with this, but does mention that people here - including Family members - do have to do National Service for the good of the Realm, and are subject to call-up in time of need.
Once she checks that this doesn't automatically involve wearing fatigues and doing press-ups, Beltaine has no real objections to that idea.
Osric tells her that, for the Family, it apparently involves duties suited to one's particular talents.
We get ourselves together and address the question we actually came here to ask Osric - who was the woman in the tomb.
Osric tells us that he does know of the woman - she lived by the Ht'gon An-Rit Pattern and her name was Morgana. He supposes that she was a relative of Oberon. He reluctantly speculates that the ape-creature might be Finndo, who was a shapeshifter and Trump Artist.
"Did he have power over spirit?" asks Tristan suspiciously. He has a theory that Caine is really Finndo - since Caine seems to know all this ancient information for no really good reason.
Corwin wanders over and joins the conversation.
Beltaine tells him he might like to have a word with Merlin, who's now been told everything.
Damien tells him where Merlin was last seen.
We decide we need a proper history lesson from Benedict.
Corwin elects to return to Amber to see his son.
Tamarind lends him a sketch of his Pattern and Corwin leaves.
Osric tells us that when he and Sandrine were sent through to destroy the Patterns on this side, Ht'gon An-Rit was their escape route. It was the most picturesque Pattern, formed from sunlight filtering through the leaves of the trees about it.
"It's all black now," sighs Beltaine. Then she tells Osric about the sun problem, the Council for Victory and Llewella.
He says this sounds like and advanced form of Empowerment that neither he nor Sandrine knows.
Tristan asks whether Osric has ever been to the Primal Pattern.
"Once," he says. "I think you should be able to get to it," he says to Tristan.
We explain that it seems to be missing or sealed off.
"Not something I can help with," says Osric.
"What can you tell us about Finndo?" persists Tristan.
Osric describes Finndo, who was apparently a studious, loyal servant of Oberon. He again recalls that in those days, Oberon was a loyal, diligent King...
"What about doing a Trump reading on Finndo?" suggests Tamarind. "Like 'is he alive?'..."
Damien recalls that Tamarind's scanning of the Trumps in the Land of the Dead suggested Finndo wasn't there. Ergo, he should be alive...
Osric goes off to party. We wait for Benedict to show up again...
"Why not do a reading to see why the Unicorn was pissed at us?" Beltaine says, while we wait. Sounds like a plan.
Tamarind sets up two readings:
Tristan does a reading of his own, asking:
The cards are laid out, and the results are as follows:
Beltaine is deeply unimpressed with the answer to the 'Unicorn reading' (Tamarind's first one). So, to a greater or lesser extent, is everyone else. What else, exactly, did it expect us to do with the Ordnung," we wonder aggrievedly.
Tamarind then tries another reading, asking:
The result of this reading is an unambiguous 'Yes'.
In the late morning, Benedict finally shows up.
"Morning, Benedict," Tristan greets him. "Mind if we ask you some questions about ancient history?"
"Perhaps," he replies.
Tamarind shows him the sketch of Morgana.
"Her name was Morgana. She died," Benedict says flatly.
So far, so unhelpful...
"Did Finndo kill her?" asks Beltaine bluntly.
"Yes."
"Is Finndo dead?"
"Yes and no," says Benedict. "So - what conclusions have you drawn so far?"
"That we want the truth," growls Tristan.
In a manner not unlike getting blood from a stone, we determine that Finndo did destroy the Ht'gon An-Rit Pattern, and that he was a shapeshifter with the ability to sub-divide.
"Look - is he Caine?" demands Beltaine.
"Why do you ask?" retorts Benedict.
"Because," says Damien with icy politeness. " A Family member, whose aims and motivations we don't know, masquerading as another Family member, strikes me as a prima facie threat to Amber's security. If you know otherwise, please convince us."
"Besides," adds Beltaine. "We want to know if you'll answer the damned question."
This elicits a small smile from Benedict. Then he pauses.
"Yes," he says. "The Caine who died in Patternfall was the real Caine - Finndo took over the vacant role. He had been working on the sidelines, and avoiding Oberon. The real Caine was killed by the creatures Corwin thought had killed him. He had been pursued through Shadow to exhaustion, his Trumps blocked by other parties - Bleys and Fiona. The part of Finndo represented by the ape-skeleton was killed by Morgana as he killed her. She objected to him destroying her Pattern as Oberon had ordered him to do."
"So," says Damien through gritted teeth. "The Caine we brought back from the Land of the Dead which turned into a 'shoggoth' and which we then killed, was the real Caine." He looks more than a little upset by this, and no one else is much happier.
"And why," Tamarind asks Benedict." Did you and Finndo want to destroy Corwin's Pattern on the other side?"
"For two reasons," says Benedict. "Not because Osric might have recognised Finndo." (We look sceptical) "But, (a) to prevent the Ordnung spreading, and (b) because Sandrine and Delwin, and to a lesser extent Osric, did betray Oberon by disobeying his orders..."
The second reason is received with even more derision than the first.
"For god's sake tell us the truth - I refuse to believe you're both that stupid," growls Damien. "If Delwin, Sandrine and the rest were a genuine threat it might make sense, but if they just went 'non serviam'..."
"Oh, I quite like liked Reason Two," says Beltaine coldly. "Holding grudges is beginning to appeal to me."
"And what do you intend to do now?" Tamarind asks Benedict.
He'd like to stay here and 'assess' Osric, a phrase he tries belatedly to correct to 'get to know my brother again'.
"I just want you to know," Beltaine tells him conversationally. "That your life means just as little to me now as mine did to you. And if you ever threaten or hurt anyone I care about again, I'm going to reach into your chest and stop your heart."
"You are welcome to try, little girl," says Benedict flatly.
"Why do you feel this way?" asks Ibrahim.
"Age," shrugs Benedict. "Age and experience. The things I've seen and done..."
"Senility," mutters Beltaine.
"Who were the other elder children of Oberon?" Ibrahim would like to know.
"Rhiana, Meredith, Gareth and Josiah," says Benedict. "They were all executed by Oberon personally. "They allied with Chaos and betrayed us. And, later, with the Wiermonken and the Moonriders."
"Can I kill him?" Beltaine wants to know.
"No" sighs Tristan. "It's probably impossible, and morally wrong."
"I agree with the first part," adds Tamarind.
"Why didn't Oberon destroy the Ordnung?" he goes on.
Benedict says he tried but failed.
"And we succeeded," says Beltaine. "Thanks to my father. Maybe we should have let him rewrite the universe after all. Maybe his version would have made more sense."
"What do you all intend to do with this information?" Benedict asks.
"Tell everybody," Beltaine says, promptly.
The rest of us concur.
"And I'm out of this Family," she adds. "Because the King's useless. He didn't even begin to keep these two bastards in check, and he won't do anything now."
Tamarind Trumps Osric and brings him through. We tell him that Finndo is alive, and posing as Caine. And that Benedict is 'assessing' Osric.
"So if you allow your brother to stay here, watch your back," says Tristan.
He wonders whether Finndo also destroyed the Patterns to keep Osric and the others trapped here.
Benedict finally says that this was done on Oberon's orders. He and Finndo disagreed with it, but followed the orders anyway, which was one of the reasons Finndo why went underground...
Beltaine looks incredulous.
Ibrahim points out to her that loyalty can involve doing things you'd rather not.
Damien agrees.
"That's an abrogation of conscience," she says firmly.
Damien finds himself in agreement with that too.
Osric tells Benedict he should return to Amber's universe.
"We'd like the chance to leave first," we say.
"Thank you for answering our questions," says Ibrahim to Benedict. "Are you prepared to help against Anuerishkigal, and set any ancient feuds aside for that at least?"
"Look - I allow that Anuerishkigal is the bigger threat," puts in Beltaine. "But I don't fancy trying to take any action with those two untrustworthy clowns behind us."
Tamarind agrees - we cannot trust Finndo/Caine, especially given how wedded he is to unilateral and unpredictable action.
With remarkable restraint, no one whispers, 'Fiona! The Abyss!' to Tamarind at this point...
Benedict has nothing to say.
Osric points out that being old does not justify turning into an amoral bastard.
"The saddest thing about the Courts of Chaos," notes Damien. "Was that they'd been around for so long, they couldn't conceive of doing things differently. Benedict, on the other hand, hasn't been around a fraction of their time, does understand other viewpoints and chooses to ignore them all."
"If things go on this way, I don't think I'll need a thousand years to turn amoral," say Beltaine. "I can't believe I was actually beginning to care about this guy. I'd like to go home now."
"Will you be safe?" Tamarind asks Osric.
"Oh, yes," smiles Osric as Sandrine, Thomas and Gideon Trump in behind him.
We thank him for the party and apologise for spoiling it.
Beltaine borrows pen and paper from Tamarind and scribbles her 'resignation' note to Random.
And we go through the usual procedures to get back into our own side of the universe...
Once back in the Amber universe, Ibrahim Trumps Margot from the centre of Corwin's Pattern. When he gets through (she still seems to be in the military camp near Corwin's Pattern, so this works) tells her that she and Julian need to know what we're about to tell Random. He suggests to the rest of us that someone go directly to the king.
"Right," says Damien, and disappears from the centre of the Patter, aiming for Random's study.
Tamarind transports himself to the Abyss to fetch Brand.
Deirdre is still visible by the edge of the Pattern.
Tamarind locates Brand sitting outside a small tent on the edge of the Abyss. He is now looking somewhat older than he did before.
Tamarind asks for some privacy, and once Brand has done something to prevent them being overheard, Tamarind tells him that Caine is Finndo and we need everyone in Amber.
Brand agrees to come, and they Trump to the Amber arrival courtyard.
The rest of us Trump the rest of the family (excluding Llewella and Caine) from the centre of the Pattern and ask those to whom they get through to return to Amber.
Damien arrives in Random's study.
"This is ... irregular," says the King, slowly.
Damien explains briefly. "According to Benedict, Caine is Finndo, and for various reasons ('Caine's' lack of life-force, the things he knows, and so on) we believe it. The rest of us are recalling the Family for a conference," he concludes.
Random Trumps Corwin and asks Damien to Trump Merlin. Both of them get through, their respective targets both seeming to be in a pub. They both reluctantly come through.
Everyone else, Tamarind and Brand included, arrives in the Arrival Courtyard.
Beltaine Trumps Caleb and brings him through. "There's something we all need to discuss," she says gently. "I'm afraid it's about your dad."
"Uh-oh - that sounds bad, babe," says Caleb.
Beltaine puts her arm round him.
Tamarind checks the Trumps and finds that Caine's is active, but not Finndo's.
Everyone goes to Random's office.
With the entire Amber Family assembled in Random's office, Tristan breaks the news. "The person we have been calling Caine for the last one hundred and twenty-five years is really Finndo."
There are gasps.
"Caine died in Patternfall as he appeared to have done," adds Damien.
"Bloody hell," says Corwin, master of poetry that he is.
"Sorry," says Tristan to Julian and Caleb.
We explain that Benedict was in Girasol to 'assess' Osric, and run through the reasons he gave for he and his brother trying to destroy Corwin's Pattern earlier.
Essentially, we repeat everything Benedict told us. This does not take long.
Beltaine leaves the room while we do so, to check on Chalice.
"So," says Damien. "We need to ... reconsider ... our relationships with these two individuals."
"Can we at least stop calling Finndo 'Caine', and get him to stop answering Caine's Trump?" asks Tamarind, who seems personally aggrieved by all the Trump masquerading that has been going on.
"Should we tell Llewella?" asks Ibrahim. "If so, it shouldn't be by Trump. Or should we have Finndo in? We haven't heard his version..."
Tamarind thinks this is a good idea.
"We don't know all his powers," cautions Ibrahim.
"Can't dodge war-hammers," notes Damien in a satisfied tone.
Beltaine finds Chalice and tells her a version of this development suitable to a twelve-year-old.
When her daughter gives her a look, she tells her a version suitable to a twelve-year-old who's considerably more calm and collected than her mother...
The rest of us move into a larger room than Random's office, the nearby Green Sitting Room.
Then Tamarind Trumps 'Caine'. He quickly gets through. 'Caine' is on a tropical beach somewhere in shadow.
"Would you care to join us?" invites Tamarind.
"I wondered if everyone was having a party without me," he comments. He holds out his hand and is brought through.
"Hello Finndo," Tristan greets him, just as Beltaine arrives back.
"So, you think I'm Finndo..." Caine accepts a drink from Ibrahim, nodding his thanks.
We get him to play the 'his hypothetically being Finndo' game, though he doesn't make any real attempts at denial.
"So what happened with Morgana?" asks Tamarind.
"She didn't want me to destroy her Pattern."
"Goodness, how unreasonable of her," murmurs Beltaine sweetly.
"Why was it necessary to destroy this side of it, when it wasn't necessary with the others?" demands Ibrahim.
"It was a more advanced incursion of the Ordnung."
"What the hell did you do with my brother?" growls Julian.
"I did nothing with your brother - he was killed by creatures out of Shadow," says Caine/Finndo. "Bleys and Fiona blocked his Trumps. As far as I know, Caine discovered the tower where Brand was, ran, but couldn't use his Trumps to escape and the guard creatures finally caught up with him when he was weak and exhausted."
"And you let him die..." Beltaine is, at best, sceptical.
"I did not," he says. "I pieced the story together later from the evidence. I merely took ... advantage ... of his death."
When asked to what or whom he feels loyal, he says 'Amber'.
"That covers rather a lot of ground," remarks Damien. "Are we talking about the city? The castle? The abstract concept? The people?"
"The abstract concept," he replies
"Hardly encouraging," comments Damien.
When pressed, Finndo says he feels no loyalty to any particular King. Random raises his eyes to the ceiling.
When asked by Tamarind, Finndo says he thinks Oberon was aware of him 'being around' during Patternfall.
"So," Tamarind moves on. "How do you see yourself now in relation to the rest of your Family? Are you prepared to swear allegiance to a higher authority in person?"
"No."
Beltaine says she can kind of relate to that, but...
"This leaves the question of responsibility unresolved," Damien says. "Finndo just tried to sacrifice a large number of us..."
Tristan accidentally addresses Finndo as 'Caine' and asks him icily to revert to his own appearance.
"And stop answering Caine's bloody Trump!" adds Tamarind.
Finndo turns into himself, turning out to be bald and rather scary-looking.
Beltaine makes a show of hiding behind Tamarind. "If I looked like that, I'd sure want to be a shapeshifter," she murmurs.
"I liked you when I thought you were Caine," Tamarind tells him. "But as Finndo you seem either a huge asset or a huge liability. How would you treat such an individual...?"
"Kill or recruit," admits Finndo.
"How might we recruit such a person?"
"It would be hard."
"Hey," interrupts Beltaine. "If it was OK just to kill Bleys, can someone tell me why we are even talking to this person...?"
Julian, who has been getting visibly more and more angry, draws a sword and throws it at Finndo. Finndo, caught unawares, is impaled and pinned to the wall.
"No..." protests Corwin from his chair.
Tamarind starts trying to block Finndo's Trump.
Julian, who has a second sword, leaps for Finndo. "Fucking impostor!" he roars.
Brand starts doing something.
Beltaine tries to cast a 'Dreamweb' at Finndo, then grabs at Tamarind to make psychic contact.
Damien begins to interpose himself between Finndo and Random.
Other people begin drawing weapons...
Then all our physical senses go off. The effect seems to be similar to the effect of Caine's 'neural buds', as used on Aximia and Fiona.
Beltaine grabs Caleb, and makes him, herself and Tamarind desolid. Tamarind continues jamming Finndo's Trump as hard as he can.
Our senses clear again, all at once.
Finndo is gone. Julian seems to have his head on backwards.
We check on him. He's alive and conscious, but horribly shapeshifted.
"Fuck! Medic!" yells Random.
"I'm out of here," announces Beltaine. "I know that I, Caleb and Tamarind aren't Finndo - and that's all I know for sure. He could have switched with any of you. Goodbye. Don't try to Trump me - I won't be accepting any calls for the rest of my life. And this is for you..." She looks at Random and sets down a letter on a small table by the door.
The three of them leave. As they go, alarm bells start to ring throughout the castle.
They go and collect Chalice from school, bursting into the classroom. Chalice, seeing serious expressions all around, does not protest at this disruption to her education.
As they leave the classroom, Tamarind gets a Trump call. He very cautiously checks his Trumps. It's Alicia, so he takes the call. She wants to know why alarm bells are ringing in the castle. Which is a little strange as, through the Trump, she seems to be in the city, too far off for them to be heard...
He tells her that Finndo is on the loose disguised as Caine, or possibly another Family member, or possibly her...
At Beltaine's prompting, he also tells her about Benedict, who is being detained by Osric.
Tamarind recommends she go to the castle if she wants to help. "There's a shapeshifting problem with Julian," he tells her.
Alicia doesn't seem particularly excited by any of this.
He breaks the link and he and Beltaine go to find the other children.
Back in the Green Sitting Room, when their senses clear Damien and other warfare junkies can tell from the arrangement of people that someone moved through the room towards the door, pausing to rearrange Julian's head en route.
Tristan is trying to work out who is who.
"Assuming Finndo is not attuned to the Jewel," he begins. "Corwin and Random can presumably vouch for each other..."
He stops, realising that he can use the life-force lens to check. He does this, and everyone seems to be at the level they should be. No-one is at Finndo/Caine's sixty percent of starting life-force.
He passes the lens to Brand, who confirms this.
Random takes Brand and Tristan to get the other lens, so that other people can check too.
Tamarind Trumps Ibrahim, who announces that he is getting a call and opens up.
Tamarind has contacted the Children, and passes them through.
Esmée and Margot, by Julian, hide him from their view.
"What happened?" asks Julian, trying to pat himself down. He begins to realise that his head is on the wrong way.
Outside, Tristan suggests getting the Jewel, even if Random has moved it since firing 'Caine'.
Random tells him it's with the lens.
Tristan sighs, and suggests not keeping the Jewel and Fiona's lens together...
They collect the Jewel and other lens from the safe in Random's office.
Random studies Tristan and Brand through the lens, satisfies himself that they aren't Finndo, and they go back.
The Children ask Daddy Ibrahim what's going on.
He tells them that Uncle Caine was really Uncle Finndo. Caine died in Patternfall and Finndo replaced him
"Why?" they want to know.
"Finndo says he was doing it for the good of Amber," say Ibrahim. "But all we know is that he is powerful and not loyal to the King."
"That's bad, isn't it?" say Octavius.
Ibrahim tells them that their guess as to what to do is as good as his.
"Would it help for us to walk the Pattern?" they ask eagerly.
As Tristan, Brand and Random reach the Green Sitting Room, a huge hound runs up very, very fast. It screeches to a stop and turns into Alicia.
"Tamarind said there was something funny going on here," she says hopefully.
Tristan checks her through the lens. She's not low on life-force, and so not Finndo. He suddenly realises, though, that if Finndo got hold of the receiver spikes he could potentially top up his life-force...
Random has these and at Tristan's suggestion, he fetches them and gives them to Brand to destroy. Brand can, after all, make more if needed.
"Destroying them will take a few minutes," he says when given the spikes, looking rather resigned. He sits down and begins to radiate structured Pattern energy at the spikes.
After a while, he tells everyone that they are denatured, and has Ibrahim chop the now powerless spikes up with Chrysanthir. And so they are gone.
Beltaine, Tamarind, Chalice and Caleb Trump to shadow Haven, thence to Castle Rosa, then through to the other universe.
"I think I'd like to go and sit in a quiet room and have a drink," sighs Caleb.
Random, Tristan, Brand and Alicia re-enter the Green Sitting Room.
Alicia goes over to Julian and examines him. "I think I can help him," she says after a bit.. She slowly and carefully, concentrating the while, rocks his head back and forth in a seemingly-impossible fashion, then tugs, and removes it, his neck thinning and thinning as she pulls until the head is free. Skin covers both exposed surfaces of Julian's neck. Julian seems to remain conscious while all this is taking place, and does not look entirely happy. Then, still concentrating but also not wasting any time she turns his head around and lowers it back onto his neck in the correct orientation. The flesh on both sides seems to flow and knit, and his head re-attaches with no sign of a join...
"Wow," says the kids, despite attempts to shield this sight from them.
"Do you know you have neural buds in your head?" Alicia asks Julian.
Beltaine and the others arrive on the Girasol side of Corwin's Pattern. The guards there salute them.
The defences on that side are more advanced now than they were earlier.
They Trump Osric, who is sitting in a chair with his Pattern-blade drawn. They ask him to bring them through, so he gets up and moves to another room before doing that thing. They tell him about Finndo, and how the four of them are the only people they will swear to not being him. They are also probably infected with neural buds...
Osric says he can probably check for those.
"Please check Chalice first," begs a distressed Beltaine. "That bastard had a hand in the birth of all my children. Fuck knows what he did to them in the womb."
They also mention that they are now worried about Benedict being released. If he comes back into the Amber universe, he'd just join up with Finndo again.
"He can be held a while longer in Girasol," Osric decides. "Alicia might be able to help with the neural buds, and with what was done to Julian," he continues.
Back in Amber, Alicia thinks the same.
Tristan volunteers to be a guinea-pig for her to study.
She places a finger on his forehead and concentrates.
Altair Trumps off to check Gerard and bring him up to date. Damien accompanies her with Fiona's life-lens to check his life-force levels.
After quite a long while, Alicia announces that she has worked out how Finndo has set up the buds, and that she thinks she can undo them, and even prevent him doing it again.
"OK," says Tristan.
She does something. There is a 'pop' in Tristan's head, and she takes her finger away with a blob of flesh on the end - which she pops into her mouth and appears to eat. Yuk.
Altair and Damien arrive at Gerard's bedside in the hospital shadow.
A check with the life-force lens suggests that he isn't Finndo.
That done, Damien Trumps back to Ibrahim, after telling Altair to move Gerard and place a fortress between him and the location of her arrival Trumps. She agrees to do this.
Damien arrives back in Amber in time for Alicia to suck the neural buds out of his brain too.
Everyone else apart from Brand has also allowed her to do the same to them.
In Girasol, Beltaine and Tamarind ask Osric if they can be of any help.
"You could help me subdue Benedict, " he says.
Regretfully, they demur, given that their heads may be full of neural buds that he also might know how to trigger. Fair point.
Osric summons Thomas, Gideon and Sandrine to help instead, and the thing is done. He and Sandrine force a Trump contact to mind-lock Benedict and bring him through, at which point Thomas and Gideon render him unconscious. Benedict is then secured ready for when he comes round.
That done, Osric Trumps them all off to a highly magical Shadow, which seems to contain a large magical laboratory. He leads them into a room where powerful magicks are somehow artificially concentrated, with multi-coloured metal and crystal walls and a vaulted ceiling the centre of which sweeps down to a cluster of points, like a collection of long, thin stalactites. He asks them, one at a time, to stand at the focal point (under the hanging spikes). This they do, one after the other, including Miss Kitty, who is held in Chalice's arms.
As each person stands at the focus, Osric goes off to a magical console at one side of the room and works some very mad-scientist-looking controls. Magicks begin to flare and flow through the room, concentrated on the person at the focal point. After an hour or so of this, Osric says that he can indeed detect things buried in their brains. He does something else, and has each of them stand at the focal point again. Everyone feels a brief burst of heat, like matches flaring in their heads. Miss Kitty yowls as this happens.
Osric checks again, and now says that he thinks the buds have all been dealt with.
It seems that even Caleb had buds, Finndo happily contaminating his own son. Caleb is understandably rather down about this.
Osric notes that Finndo has developed an 'interesting' power, and suggests returning to Girasol.
"Worrying is more the word you want," says Beltaine. "How do we figure out how to stop it happening again?"
Osric says he'll think about it, and goes back to the controls.
"Personally, I'd stop it by going to the source..." says Tamarind grimly.
"Well, I'm still trying to resist the idea that you should kill people just because they're too powerful," says Beltaine. "Though I'm not sure why, really."
"Oh. I just meant putting him away somewhere. Forever," Tamarind clarifies.
He checks the Trumps and finds that Sandrine's is active, but not Caine's for once. Nor are any Amberite Trumps.
That done, he chats to Chalice.
"This room is a general purpose magick thing - I can't tell much more about it than that," she tells him. She seems quite interested in it, though.
Tamarind explains to her that the Trumps can no longer be considered trustworthy, since Finndo has managed to masquerade as Caine over the Trumps since Patternfall.
"Finndo may not be an evil man," her parents tell her. "But he is a very powerful one, and believes in very different things to the rest of us."
By the time this chat is over, Osric has made four metal spheres full of mind magick, which also seem to have innate psychic presences. He says they contain harmless psychic facsimiles of neural buds which should allow them to practise detecting and developing defences against any future neural bud incursions.
"Not to sound ungrateful," says Tamarind politely. "But we can't really take them back across the Pattern..."
"If Chalice and I study them on this side, I think we could work out a way to replicate the effect," Beltaine says.
Tamarind says he will also try to find a way of stopping buds being inserted over a Trump contact, which seems to be how it was done this time.
Beltaine suggests to Tamarind that if a Trump somehow captures a psychic image of its subject's essence, he might be able to work on that to identify a 'disguised' incoming caller. They speculate hopefully that perhaps Finndo is just so good at imitating Caine's mind because of long practice. "Or having killed him and absorbed his memories," Beltaine adds. So it thus might be easier to detect him if he is masquerading as someone else who he is less practised at impersonating.
Beltaine and Chalice decide to stay in Girasol, by Corwin's Pattern while Tamarind and Caleb decide to go back to Amber.
Osric gives each of them a set of Trumps of the Girasol family.
Beltaine gives him her Amber deck in return, keeping only the Trumps of Haven, Tamarind, Chalice, and a few other locations, since she's not planning on using them anytime soon. This includes all the Family, and the Amber arrival courtyard.
Meanwhile, back in Amber...
"What now?" asks Damien.
Tristan thinks that apart from Finndo and Benedict's enthusiasm for 'assessing' people to see if they're worthy to live, very little has changed. We've lost an untrustworthy Caine and gained an untrustworthy Finndo.
"We should destroy him now," growls Julian.
"We were having a conversation with him," Tristan points out. "Until you ended it."
"Killing him just means he'll return very or even totally drained of life-force," says Damien. "Ah - he doesn't know that the nonagram has been sabotaged, does he? Maybe you'd all be kind enough not to mention that over the Trumps."
"Osric shows that age doesn't inevitably lead to barking sociopathy," states Ibrahim. "I'd like to think that Benedict and Finndo could be reached, and convinced to ally their cause to ours."
Ibrahim and Damien agree that Finndo was at least listening when we were arguing about the emptiness of loyalty to a mere abstract concept. We might even have been getting through to him.
Damien mentions to Alicia that Gerard and Altair haven't been 'de-budded'.
Other people ask her whether the buds can be transmitted by secondary infection. She considers this, then tells us that she doesn't think so.
There is a general agreement that we should try to talk to Finndo. Julian grudgingly agrees not to take any unilateral action.
Damien states our options seem to be either:
It is decided that Damien, Tristan and Ibrahim should go and try to talk to him, with Random's blessing, and attempt to set up another meeting. Corwin - who has been less exposed to Finndo-as-Caine than most - decides to come along too.
In Girasol, Beltaine, Chalice, Tamarind and Caleb arrive at Corwin's Pattern.
Beltaine and Chalice plan to set up their study project here. A closer look at Osric's spheres reveals they are also designed to both detect and filter out neural buds. Beltaine thinks a little more study would allow her to replicate this effect mentally. "If all else fails, I'll just summon his ghost and ask how he did it," she says.
Tamarind and Caleb go through to the other side of the Pattern, and transport themselves to Amber.
Upon arrival, they head up to the sitting room.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim is trying to Trump Tamarind.
Tamarind senses the contact, and that it seems to be Ibrahim. He resists anyway, just in case.
Ibrahim pulls out Beltaine's Trump, then recalls that she said she wouldn't be taking calls for the rest of her life.
Tamarind and Caleb arrive in the Green Sitting Room.
Tristan performs the life-force lens check, which reveals them to be who they appear to be. He then tells them that Alicia can remove the neural buds.
"No need," says Tamarind. "Osric has removed them with magick."
He shows Tristan the metal spheres. His died during the Pattern crossing, but Caleb's seems to have survived.
Ibrahim studies the sphere.
Tamarind and Caleb allow Alicia to double-check them for buds. She does not find any.
"Are we immune now?" asks Tamarind.
"I thinks so," she says.
Ibrahim works out that the sphere is essentially a training tool to show the user how to recognise and then resist the buds.
"We're off to talk to Finndo again," Tristan tells Tamarind.
"Better use a bird of desire rather than the Trumps to contact him, then," advises Tamarind.
"And what are we trying to achieve?"
Damien suggests three main arguments:
Tamarind chats to Brand, asking if there's a way to see through Finndo's faking of Trump identities. If you know who else the apparent caller can be, can you look for traces of them, and so filter out impersonations?
Brand looks rather impressed, and tell Tamarind that he thinks this could be developed. However, it would take some work.
Tamarind also wonders if Trump defence could be turned inward and used as a defence against buds implanted via Trump.
Again, Brand thinks so, with some amendments.
The Finndo delegation head off to the Griffin Tower, mount up and jump off. Before we hit the ground, Tristan shifts us all to a Shadow where Griffins can actually fly rather than just plummet.
We land somewhere out in Shadow and Tristan summons a dove of his desire.
We compose a message to Finndo requesting a meeting in Shadow Avaria, the Shadow where Tristan and the real Caine once stranded Random as a joke, because Finndo had indicated previously that he knew of the place. The message is attached to the dove, which flies off.
Then Tristan shifts us off to Shadow Avaria.
"Good marooning Shadow," comments Corwin, who also seems to know the place, when we arrive.
It's a windswept rock in the middle of an infinite sea, with a cave halfway up. Other than a rotted leather boot with a spike in the heel, the cave seems empty. However, Corwin says he left a hidden stash of alcohol and firewood at the back, which we recover.
Tristan uses probability manipulation to find a pirate hoard even further back in the cave, including a few mouldy carpets.
We make ourselves as comfortable as possible and wait.
Tamarind works on modifying his Trump defences.
Eventually the dove flaps back down to Tristan. Tied to its leg is a message which reads, "Very well".
After a while, we hear the creaking of sails and rigging outside and go up to the top of the rock. A small sailing is ship mooring by the rock. When it is moored Finndo, in his own form but Caine's clothes, steps ashore. We greet one another coolly.
"Julian is not happy," Damien tells him. "But he has agreed not to take unilateral action."
"We would like to continue the conversation," adds Tristan.
Finndo is happy to talk, but out here rather than in the cave.
Damien makes his 'persuade Finndo to join the Family again' speech. He points out that defending his abstract idea of Amber is going to be hard if the rest of us are working against him. Conversely, if he co-operates with us, it will be easier for both sides. And isn't an abstract concept, without real people and places rather empty? Surely it's the people, the place and the Pattern, the actual physical things, that are worth defending?
"Also," he adds. "I think perhaps the fact that you insinuated yourself back into the Family as Caine suggests that you wanted to be part of it again, not just a loner on the outside..."
Finndo gives him a little bow.
"And cutting yourself off from Amber will mean cutting yourself off from your own son..." throws in Tamarind.
"Reuniting you and the Family will be fraught, and compromise will be needed on both sides - do we actually have any grounds for an agreement?" asks Damien.
"In principle, yes," says Finndo.
Tamarind notes that until the Ordnung fiasco, Finndo's idea of defending the realm seemed to largely coincide with ours - it has only all fallen apart now.
"Perhaps the Ordnung re-opened old wounds and affected your judgement," suggests Ibrahim generously.
Finndo allows that this might be the case. And also that Tamarind has a valid point.
Tristan and Ibrahim point out that Benedict has grown further apart from the Family, whereas Finndo (albeit as Caine) integrated himself closer.
"Admittedly true," agrees Finndo.
"Perhaps you and Benedict should talk," suggests Ibrahim.
"Have the two of you always worked together?" Tamarind wants to know.
"Much of the time - but we are not each other's keepers."
"Yes - you helped against the Council for Victory, but Benedict didn't," notes Ibrahim.
We move onto discussion of guarantees and assurances.
"I have no concrete guarantees to offer other than the life of my son," says Finndo. No one is happy with this.
Finndo essentially wants to return to something like his previous position and in return will try to avoid unilateral actions.
We want a specific guarantee that he won't endanger other Family members without their consent.
"We are not all expendable," says Tristan.
Finndo accepts that such an assurance would be required.
"Also, no more neural buds in family members," insists Tristan
"Unless the King orders it," qualifies Ibrahim.
Not everyone is entirely comfortable with this, but Finndo allows that in principle he cannot make a general practise of leaving time bombs in our heads...
"Did you manage to infect Fiona?"
"No," he says. "I tried when she was confronted in Random's study, but couldn't manage it then."
This implies that he was doing something different when he made Fiona/Anuerishkigal go blind while we were fighting her in the Battle of Dead Babies...
We decide we've come to a reasonable preliminary agreement, and should report back.
"I'm glad you aren't too different from the Caine I knew," Tamarind says. "Can you tell me how you disguised your mind as his over the Trumps?"
Finndo says that it was largely a matter of shapeshifting the mind rather than the body, which it would be hard to describe to a non-Advanced Shapeshifter.
We accept this for now.
Finndo says we can contact him again by Trump, or by bird of desire.
We tell him that we would like to stick to the latter for now.
"And it's non-negotiable that you answer only your own Trump from now on," adds Tamarind.
Tristan notes that Julian may not accept the accommodation, and Beltaine may not either.
Tamarind clarifies his wife's position. She will not be bound by any agreement others make with Finndo, but will not act against him unless he threatens those she cares for.
"I can live with that," says Finndo. "It's encouraging that some of the younger generation take after their elders."
Tamarind looks offended, but says nothing.
"Only because it seems to make the world predictable for you again," says Damien. [A statement remarkable as the first and probably only time that Beltaine has been referred to as 'predictable'...]
We drink a toast. "To co-operation."
Finndo is warned that this arrangement does not include Girasol - a separate arrangement will be required between him and Osric.
"Did you do anything to Chalice while Beltaine was carrying her?" Tamarind demands.
"A few buds, nothing else," says Finndo airily.
"That had better be true. What you did to her has done more than anything else to make you enemies of Beltaine and I," replies Tamarind.
We mount griffins and Tristan shifts us back towards Amber.
En route, Tristan checks people with the life-force lens. No one seems to be Finndo.
"It's encouraging that he didn't kill Julian when he could," opines Tamarind. "And it's reassuring that jamming his Trumps worked and forced him to leave physically."
We return to the Green Sitting Room in Amber to find that only Brand is still there.
When asked, he says he's not really in favour of killing members of the Family just because they have horrendous powers. Not entirely surprising, given that he would be very near the top of any such list! In any case, Finndo could be useful. He was, after all, useful even as Caine.
We leave Brand and go down the hall to Random's study where we find Random and Flora.
We summarise our conversation with Finndo.
"Do you have any other conditions?" Damien asks Random. "For example, swearing allegiance as himself was not discussed."
Random wants a reiterated oath, and for Finndo to teach other people about the neural buds. It seems likely that Esmée would understand the shapeshifting aspects.
"Tamarind would best understand the Trump bits," Damien thinks.
Tristan writes a new note to Finndo, reading, "Random says 'yes', with these two extra conditions..."
Random looks it over, signs it and Tristan sends it off via a newly-summoned bird of desire.
"Have you read Beltaine's letter yet?" Tamarind prompts Random.
"Not yet," he replies.
He fishes it out of a pocket now and reads it. His face falls and he puts it away again.
We wait for Finndo's reply.
Tamarind goes back to join Brand, and they discuss neural buds.
Tristan, Ibrahim and Damien go to check on the Children. Corwin stays with Random and Flora.
The children prove to be playing.
Damien explains about Finndo being disguised as Caine, and how he's being allowed back as himself under certain conditions. He warns them to be very wary of him, if he returns, but to make up their own minds.
"He's nasty," they decide.
Damien tries to explain how this 'nastiness' derives from his adherence to Amber as an abstract rather than to the actual Amber, which let him think he could do unacceptable things for the sake of the realm. He says (optimistically) that Finndo seems to have changed his mind about this.
Eventually a pigeon taps on the nursery window with the return message for Random.
Tristan and Damien take it to him, while Ibrahim stays with the kids.
The children want to know what's been happening with Corwin's Pattern 'and everything'.
He explains about the Ordnung, and mentions that Uncle Gerard was badly hurt.
Damien knocks on the Green Sitting Room door as they go past.
Meanwhile, Brand and Tamarind are swapping notes on using Trump-based defences against neural buds. They've reached similar conclusions, based on Tamarind's original idea with a few additional twists added by Brand.
"Yes?" says Tamarind when Damien knocks.
"We have a reply?" replies Damien.
"What does it say?"
"Don't know yet. We wanted to prolong the suspense. Care to join us?"
He does this thing, and we take the letter to Random. Flora and Corwin are still with him.
Random reads the note.
"Good. I think," he says. "Finndo has accepted the extra conditions."
"Do you need us for the details of Finndo's return?" asks Damien.
"No - thanks for what you have done," says the King.
"Well done," nods Corwin.
We decide to go back to Girasol.
However, Tamarind is reluctant to use the Trumps, and Damien has had bad experiences with walking a Pattern and doing a teleport triple jump.
Tamarind checks the Trumps. Brand's is intermittently active as he experiments, and there's a brief flash from Merlin's as he (presumably) uses a place Trump. Neither Finndo's not Caine's is currently active.
Tamarind Trumps Ibrahim while it seems to be safe and brings him through.
"We're going to Girasol," we tell him.
"What do you wish us to tell Osric?" Ibrahim asks Random.
We're to ask Osric to release Benedict into our custody. We would like to talk to him, too. Random asks that Osric treat Finndo as a member of the Amber Royal Family, once final arrangements are settled. Until then, we're to ask him to be cautious but please not initiate hostilities.
Tamarind asks Random for extra Family Trump decks to give to the Girasol branch, and is given three such decks.
We Trump to Haven, to Corwin's Pattern, and thence through to the other side...