"Now These Her Princes Are Come Home Again"

SESSION 4.4 : Keeping All Our Eggs In One Basket


Session 4.3   Index   Session 4.5


Notes Taken by Samantha and Alastair Beadle.


Godofos, Whippoorwill and Caitlin are still on the HMS Dragon, having watched the remains of the Chaos fleet disappear off in a rather strange way. Jihx is in shadow Hospital.


On the HMS Dragon, we decide that there is little more for us to do here.

Godofos decides to Trump off to shadow Vitesse to read Corwin's Book, and also to practise the new insight into drawing Trumps which he has had by drawing a superTrump of the twisted tree Caitlin found, Ygg. This last is to be as a bit of relaxation between reading.

He Trumps into the courtyard of the auberge in Vitesse, and is greeted by the innkeeper. Godofos is given best room in the house, and arranges for a meal to be served there. He also requests that the serving wench remain in the room when she is done serving the meal...


From the HMS Dragon, Whippoorwill and Caitlin Trump Gerard, who, when he takes the call, proves to still be on the HMS Unicorn's Flight with the main fleet, back at the site of the battle. They tell him about the escape of the Chaos ships through the stretching of shadow.

Gerard finds this "very odd" and "rather alarming". He tells them that he has never encountered or heard of any such ability before.

Whippoorwill also mentions that they (well, only Caitlin really, but Whippoorwill does not mention this) sensed the presence of someone or something in the shadow itself during the escape event.

This also concerns Gerard, but slightly less so when we tell him that it did not feel like Etienne's God.

Caitlin also mentions Arun as being a potential menace. At least, that that is what Osric told us.

Gerard asks her to explain.

She describes the evidence against Arun, such as it is, and that whatever it is, it seems to be a long-term thing for them to investigate, with the worms being the priority at the moment.

Gerard mentions that Vialle told him about their encounters in Tir-Na Nog'th, and that he would like to have a chat later about their meeting several important Elders in there. We agree to do this.

We bid Gerard farewell, close the Trump link, and then prepare to Trump away, leaving this part of the fleet alone to return to Amber along the shadow path.


Caitlin Trumps to Vitesse, to "Prepare our rooms."

Upon arrival she, like Godofos, is greeted by the innkeeper and makes arrangements for herself and Whippoorwill. Like Godofos, she accepts the innkeeper's offer of refreshments, deciding to eat in the parlour while she waits.

Meanwhile, Godofos is upstairs 'refreshing' himself with the aid of good food and the serving wench.


Whippoorwill, on the other hand, Trumps to the Amber Arrival Courtyard. He passes through the normal Arrival Courtyard procedures out into the main Castle courtyard, and heads for the New Library.

Upon arrival there he retrieves two of the remaining three copies of Corwin's Book. He tells the librarians to make some 'text only copies' of the third copy of the book (that is, copies which do not have any decorative additions which the original may possess), then pulls out his Trump of Vitesse and uses it.

In Vitesse, Whippoorwill too greets the innkeeper, who he calls Reneé. He goes into the inn's parlour and joins Caitlin for food. He asks for Godofos to be informed that they await him.

Reneé sends a serving maid up to Godofos' room, where she knocks on the door and, without entering, passes this message on the Godofos. He tells her that he will be down shortly.

He arrives a few minutes later, looking slightly rumpled, followed by a serving wench carrying his food, who also looks slightly rumpled (the wench, not the food!). It is noticed that Godofos is wearing the serving wench's shirt by mistake, and that he does seem to look quite good in women's clothing...


Elsewhere, Jihx wakes up in a comfortable bed in Whippoorwill's hospital shadow, feeling fine and fully recovered from his injuries.

He gets up, thanks the doctors and nurses for their help, and Trumps Caitlin.


In Vitesse, Caitlin feels a Trump call coming on, and accepts it. It is Jihx. The current situation is explained to him.

When he finds out that she is with the others, he comes through the Trump link to us in Vitesse.

With Jihx's arrival, there is a discussion of the current problems that Amber faces:

  1. The Chaos forces that attempted to invade Amber.
  2. The worms that may appear at any moment.
  3. Arun, who is up to something.
  4. The Elder Amberites, who may to be on their way home.

Regarding point four, Whippoorwill suggests that we discuss with Gerard how to avoid a coup if and when they return. His suggestion is that we create a legal structure that shares Gerard's power more evenly amongst the Amberites.

It is pointed out that Gerard already remains in Amber for most of the time, leaving the other Amberites present (that is, us) to look after the shadows. So perhaps it is not a large change.

When discussing the power sharing scheme in his home shadow, Whippoorwill nominates Caitlin to share power with Gerard as Military Consul, his theory being that she will be more respected by the Elders. Caitlin does not appear to entirely enthusiastic about this idea.

It is agreed that this is a problem that we need to tackle, but that it is not our first priority at the moment.

Regarding point one, Caitlin points out that it took around ten Elder Amberites to tackle the forces of Chaos, and they never returned. Yet here we are, barely as many, with less experience, and yet facing the same threat. This may be a problem. She also suggests that perhaps this was a probing attack, looking to see if Amber is being defended. Fair point.

How the Chaos fleet arrived in Amber without warning is also discussed. It is suggested that it may have been through a similar shadow power to the 'shadow stretching' that they used to escape.

On point two, we conclude that this is possibly really the same as point one, that is, that they and the Chaosites are linked in some fashion. The woman seen in Tir-Na Nog'th on the throne of Amber under a Chaos banner is discussed. Godofos quickly sketches a picture of the woman for reference purposes (this not a Trump, as he has no psychic impression of her, but just a picture).

We decide to show this to Gerard, and so Godofos Trumps him

When Gerard takes the call, the picture is shown to him. Unfortunately, he does not seem to recognise her. We pass the picture through to him, and he summons a servant to go and look up the likeness in the Library. We close the Trump link.

At this point, a thought occurs to Caitlin, and she points out that her twelve throwing broaches that link together to form a chain are actually broaches in the shape of a coiled snake. Very much like the symbol of the Courts of Chaos, although they are not entirely identical. Hmmm...

Jihx also has a snake ring, but this is nothing like the Chaos symbol.

Caitlin's broaches were something she has always had, presumably a present from Deirdre. Jihx's ring was something he found for himself. Perhaps that explains the differences...

It is decided that Corwin's Book may hold the key. We ask Renee to find us a scribe, and he sends someone down to 'the village' to hire one for us. A few minutes later a middle-aged man with a box of writing materials over his shoulder enters the auberge and comes over to us. He is told to write what we tell him. He is given no explanation of all the odd things he is about to hear...

Godofos continues to read it in full. Jihx flicks through, looking for anything that catches his eye, in particular references to the four of us. Whippoorwill reads the interesting looking parts.

Initially, under Caitlin's direction, the scribe writes: "Ten years from now, the worms turn up in Amber and wipe out the Amberites."

Caitlin then gets bored and goes off to wander shadow. "Call me if you need me," she tells the others, then leaves the auberge. In fact she is off to look for 'Lorraine'. She heads off through shadow to this end.


Godofos, Jihx and Whippoorwill quickly find that Corwin's Book is heavy going. It as all hand-written and is very dry and technical. The terms that it uses do not make much sense to them, seeming to relate to areas of knowledge in which they have no expertise, although Jihx makes slightly more sense of them than the others.

Near the front section of Corwin's Book, in what appears to be a description pieced together after the fact, Jihx finds a reference to the repulsion of the hordes of Chaos by a great army led by Caitlin, Whippoorwill, Godofos and Jihx. This apparently happened about a week from now. This was apparently followed a short time later by an upheaval in shadow.

Whoever composed this account seems to have presumed that the four of us had found out something about the Chaosites, but whatever it was did not tell it to Gerard. We left to investigate whatever it was we had found, with our army, but were never heard of again. Investigation into where we all went only discovered 'a miniature Abyss' which from the description was a black, starry place like that which we saw in Tir-Na Nog'th when we delved into the depths of the Tir-Na Nog'th version of Mount Kolvir, following worm tunnels. From the wording of the book, whoever was writing this assumed that the reader would know what 'the Abyss' was. We, however, do not...

The book hypothesises that the worms were released onto shadow by whatever it was that we did, and spent the next ten years laying eggs around shadow, feeding off the 'Order' generated by the Pattern and having a population explosion. And it was only that their numbers had become so great that they erupted into Amber that the Family became aware of them.

This lead to the state where, in the end, only Corwin and his Pattern (which we have never heard of) are left.

We decide not to go leading armies off anywhere in the near future, and to tell Gerard more about what we are doing...


Elsewhere, Caitlin searches for the shadow named Lorraine that was mentioned by Gerard. After some hours of shadow-shifting at speed, she feels that she is getting there. Time slows towards Amber standard and she finds herself in an Earth-like shadow. There is a generic European-type castle on a hill in the distance, with a track leading past where Caitlin is and up to its gate. There are medieval-type farms scattered around, and woodland dotted here and there. Time here flows at roughly the same rate as in Amber, and magic works here. Caitlin feels that this is the place she has been looking for.

After looking around for a while Caitlin spots an old grave mound with a rose bush growing out of it. She examines it closely and concludes that it is decades old, thirty years at least. She decides to Trump Godofos with this news.


In Vitesse, Godofos feels a Trump call coming on, and checks his Trumps to see who the call is from. Seeing that it is from Caitlin, he answers.

Caitlin states that she thinks that she has "found Lorraine". Both the shadow and the person. She indicates the grave.

Godofos suggests digging up the grave.

They consider this, and postpone making a decision for now. Caitlin wants to know more about Lorraine before she does anything, and uses the power of the Pattern to attempt to bring someone with the information she wants to her.

And as she and Godofos speak over the Trump link, a cart carrying wood drawn by two large shire-type horses comes over the brow of the hill towards Caitlin. One of the two occupants is an old man of at least eight with a battle-scarred face; the other is a young man.

Caitlin steps out into the road, blocking the route of the cart.

"Get out of the way!" shouts the younger man as they come closer.

Caitlin does not. The younger man shouts at her some more, but eventually has to stop or run her over.

Caitlin asks the older man to tell her what happened regarding the grave.

He denies all knowledge of it.

She pulls out three gold coins and asks again.

"Oh no, this is un-hallowed ground, I don't know about any graves around here," he says.

Caitlin explains that this is a Family matter and mentions the name Lorraine.

The two are startled by this, and seem rather scared. "Oh no, your one of them aren't you?" exclaims the old man. "Related to the Demon King, Corwin!" The two of them make 'warding off of evil' signs at Caitlin. As if that would help.

With this motivation they relate the story of Corwin taking a shine to a camp follower named Lorraine, during the dark times roughly sixty years ago, when the old man was a soldier in the army of Ganelon and Lancelot, fighting against the Dark Riders. Apparently they were something of an item, but Corwin was there in disguise, and Lorraine became scared of him when she discovered his true identity, running off with an officer named Melkin. Corwin apparently went off to find her, but did not return with her, and neither Lorraine nor Melkin were seen again on this shadow. The old man does not know anything more.

Caitlin gives them the three coins and allows them to move on. The cart creaks off down the track.

She then Trumps Godofos with this news and brings him through to her location. They decide to excavate the grave.

Caitlin very quickly finds a some tools in a ditch nearby with which to do this, and they begin to dig.

Quite quickly they begin to uncover a skeleton, bedecked with gold jewellery - hair combs, bracelets, necklaces and rings. They examine it and Caitlin finds that it is a female, with the bones on her neck appearing to show that her throat had been cut.

We wonder whether this is Lorraine, and if so, who killed her. Was it Corwin? Or Melkin? Or who?

We dig some more and uncover what appears to be an egg in the abdomen of the skeleton - roughly where the womb might be. This does not look like a Vadgaon egg; it is flesh-coloured, smooth, leathery and appears to have roots!

Both Caitlin and Godofos can sense a rudimentary mind inside it, like that of an animal, or a foetus. Caitlin can sense that it has the blood of Amber. They worry about how, and whether, to move it.

In the end Caitlin decides to place it in a pot of earth (well it does have roots!) for transport. She finds a large flowerpot nearby, and carefully transplants the egg, roots and all, out of the grave and into it.

She and Godofos then search the rest of the grave, but nothing else is found.

A little nervous about how he will take it, Caitlin decides to tell Gerard what they have found. She Trumps him.

"I found the shadow of Lorraine, found the a grave with a rose bush on and dug it up. We found this egg, with the blood of Amber and put it in this pot and..." she tells him.

"Urmmmmmm," says Gerard, clearly at something of a loss as to how to respond to this news. "I think it should probably stay with you, out in shadow, for the time being," he continues.

Caitlin asks him about other examples of Amberite eggs.

"I can't say that I have ever been aware of an egg of Amber," he replies. Oh.

With that dealt with, Caitlin also tells Gerard about what they have found in the book so far. He takes this on board.

Gerard also passes on what they found from the interrogation of their fish-people prisoners.

Caitlin takes this on board too, thanks Gerard and closes the Trump link.

She and Godofos remake the grave is remade and replant the rose bush. They then Trump back to Vitesse.


Meanwhile, in the auberge on Vitesse, Jihx has found a section in Corwin's Book on the use of the Pattern to defend against the worms. This apparently makes the shadows so protected 'unpalatable' to them in some fashion. However, because of the technical terminology used in the book, he and Whippoorwill cannot make sense of the actual method.

Although he searches for it, Jihx does not find any mention of Arun in the book.

At this point Caitlin and Godofos arrive with the pot.

"Meet our new cousin," says Caitlin.

Godofos wonders whether the egg is the seed of the type of tree Caitlin found in the area of shattered shadow - Ygg. Well, it did have some kind of strange power in it, but it did not have the blood of Amber...

Caitlin has Renée send for a good gardener from the nearby village. She names the egg 'Jim' for now.

Whippoorwill examines the egg and discovers that it has a pulse. He calls for some calves blood, intent on putting it in the soil to feed it.

Caitlin spouts some random theories, including that it is the egg of a new Pattern.

The blood arrives, delivered by a serving wench, and is poured into the soil in the pot.

The gardener arrives and is introduced to his new charge. He looks very dubious, and tells us that he is not sure he will be of any use. Caitlin tells him she will kill him if he does not help, so he feels strangely obligated to stay for now...

Whippoorwill notices that the egg is getting pinker and the soil has dried out.

He summons some more blood and suggests that we feed it other things too.

The advice of the gardener is sought. However, this appears to be some way outside his area of expertise.

The egg, Jim, is slowly getting bigger.

More blood, pureed liver, cabbage, water and so on is feed to the egg. It has now grown by about fifty percent larger in all direction than it was before, but remains egg shaped and its mind has not developed any further.

Jihx wonders whether, under the threat of an egg laying worm infestation, hatching a mysterious egg may not be the best plan. It is agreed not to feed the egg any more until the book has been completely read.

Caitlin watches the egg whilst the others read their copies of the book.

"It might be advantageous for us have been kind to Corwin's offspring when he returns," comments Whippoorwill.

The book does not seem to mention this egg, or new Amberites arriving suddenly.

Caitlin is asked to apply her great knowledge of the Pattern to the chapter relating to using the Pattern to fend off the Vadgaon. She reluctantly begins reading.

After a while, Caitlin has learnt that the protection method involves making some kind of Real magical devices, in principle a bit like the Moonrider obelisks, that modify the emanations of the Pattern they are placed around so as to keep the worms away. However, even she cannot make sense of the details, as there a lot of technical doubletalk relating to what seems to be magic. Later in the same chapter the method of making these devices is described, but again it assumes a lot of prior knowledge and is difficult to follow.

Whippoorwill wonders whether Osric can perform this magic.

Caitlin mentions that Etienne gave her a chest, containing something magical and very useful, but did not tell her what it was. Perhaps that could be of use here...

At this point Godofos feels a Trump call coming on. He scans his Trumps and finds that it is Vialle, so he accepts to call.

Vialle tells him that an Envoy from the Courts of Chaos has arrived. It is decided that Jihx and Caitlin will remain in Vitesse whilst Godofos and Whippoorwill go through to meet with the envoy. Caitlin and Jihx will remain in Trump contact with them in case a quick getaway is needed. Vialle also asks that she come through to Vitesse, for safety, once Gerard has returned to Amber to talk to the Envoy. However, he is still with the fleet at present, so she will remain in Amber for now.


Whippoorwill suddenly realises that his hospital shadow would be a good place for the egg, in particular to find out more about it. He and Godofos then pass through the Trump link to Vialle in Amber.


Caitlin agrees with this idea, and Trumps herself, the egg and the gardener through to the Hospital. The gardener is clearly more than a little disturbed by this, and looks like he would be making lots of 'warding off of evil' signs if he was not struggling with Jim's pot. Caitlin requests that an ultrasound and any other non-invasive scans that are available be performed on the egg. The hospital staff are quite pleased to do this, and the egg (still in its pot) is carried away on a floating gurney. Caitlin follows it, dragging the unwilling gardener along with her.


In Vitesse, Jihx carries on reading, looking for information on the initial worm outbreak. The book seems to speculate that the worms were breeding under Castle Amber for years, drawn by and feeding off the Order generated by the Pattern, and riddling the mountain with tunnels. Apparently no-one really noticed this; there were few guards down there, and no-one walked the Pattern. The Elders, when they returned, were still in possession of their Pattern imprints, and with most of the younger Amberites being children of Jihx and Moire they walked Rebma's Pattern.

He Trumps Godofos to pass this on.


In Amber, Godofos and Whippoorwill are told that the envoy ship, which is flying the flag of the Courts of Chaos and a white flag of truce, is in the port.

After a few minutes, Gerard comes steaming into the throne room to meet Vialle, Godofos and Whippoorwill. He is updated on what is happening, and, when things are explained, agrees that Vialle should go to Vitesse for safety.

He mentions that he has asked Lillian to track down the source of the Chaos fleet and crew.

Whippoorwill ponders on why the Courts of Chaos have taken this unusual step of sending an envoy. He wonders whether the Elders have been successful and that these are in fact refugees, perhaps even the last survivors of Chaos.

Gerard mentions that last time the Courts of Chaos attacked Amber they did so from the Black Road, with many of the creatures and soldiers of Chaos appearing to be dependant on it for their power, and indeed their very lives. But this clearly is not the case for these 'fish folk'. Hmmm...

Word is sent down to the harbour to bring the envoy up to the Amber Throne Room, under heavy guard.

At this point, Godofos feels a Trump call coming on, and identifies the caller as Jihx. He accepts the call. Jihx tells him what he has found from Corwin's Book.

On hearing this news a guard is immediately sent to investigate the Pattern room. On Whippoorwill's order the room will be checked daily from now on.

Jihx holds the Trump link open as a rescue path if things go wrong.


In the Hospital, Caitlin Trumps Whippoorwill to keep him updated about her investigations of the egg, which is now being placed in a scanning suite.

In Amber, Whippoorwill feels a call coming on, and accepts it. That link is also kept open in case of need.

In the Hospital, sensors on mechanical arms swing down from panels in the ceiling and begin to circle the egg. Holographic pictures appear and technicians begin to examine the incoming results.


In Amber, many Castle guards arrive to boost the protection in and around the Throne Room. They line up on each side of the red carpet leading form the doors, and others are assembled in adjacent rooms in case they are needed.

A plan is hatched to give the Chaos leader a present which Godofos has a Trump of and which we can later exploit. A fine chess board and chess set is sent for to fulfil this need.


In the Hospital the analysis of the egg is complete. The various sensors retract up into the ceiling, and the results are displayed on a rotating holographic display.

"It is the same genetic structure as an Amberite," says the technician in charge. "But structurally it is not human at all."

The graphics peel away to show a heart, but no lungs (though it does seem to have a network of fine tracheae, like an insect), and a dispersed brain. The doctor also points out that during the scans the egg tried to adapt, shifting itself around internally, to reduce the effectiveness of the scans. The 'shell' of the egg is an integral part of the life-form itself. Nutrients are absorbed through the 'roots'. There are no obvious sensors, but it appears to be able to hear, and according to the scans can touch, smell and taste through its skin.

Over the Trump link Whippoorwill wonders whether it can move and suggests encouraging it with food.

The gardener is very worried about all of this weirdness and would clearly rather be home.

Caitlin has had enough of him by now, so she passes him through the Trump link to Whippoorwill who then passes him on to Godofos who passes him through to Jihx, in Vitesse who pays him off and sends him home.


The Hospital technicians go on to advise maintaining the egg at room temperature and to keep feeding it whatever it seems to use up.

Whippoorwill asks for the egg to be sent to the Xenology Department, but asks Caitlin to remind them that it is not to be harmed in any way. Caitlin passes this on, and goes with it to Xenology, on the way explaining to it what is happening.


In Amber, there is a fanfare from outside the Throne Room. Vialle uses this as her cue to pass through the Trump link to Jihx in Vitesse, where she joins the other end of the Trump link.

Gerard moves up the dais to sit on the throne. Godofos notices that Gerard is also in a Trump and, using his powers to scan the Trumps, deduces that it is probably with Lillian.

The doors at the far end of the throne room swing open to another fanfare.

Through the doors come a group of a dozen short, very stocky minotaurs, each one about five feet tall, but very broad and muscular with it. They are covered in reddish-brown fur, have bull-like faces and horns. They are wearing nothing but loincloths. Two groups of four are each carrying a large create-like object between them. Two others are in the lead, with another two trailing behind.

They approach the dais, and are stopped at the foot of it by the guards.

"Welcome brave servants of our adversaries," says Whippoorwill. "Tell us what brings you here."

"We come under truce," says the lead minotaur. "We bring gifts. We request your permission to deploy these instruments that you may talk to our gods directly."

"You may proceed," says Gerard.

The crates look more like sarcophagi close up. The minotaurs stand them upright facing the thrones, and open them. Inside each sarcophagus is a faceless grey humanoid figure that appears to be made out of clay.

Godofos feels a Trump link initiate to each of the clay-like figures and as the link firms up each one shifts into human shapes, complete with clothes and other accoutrements. One is a tall female in a long grey robe and appears to be Timandra, the figure from Tir-Na Nog'th that Godofos drew a sketch of. The other is also female, with white skin, black eye-makeup-like markings about her eyes and long, pointed fingers. She wears 'Victorian gothic dress', a long black coat over black trousers, knee-high black boots and a white shirt with lots of frothy lace at collar and cuffs. The now fully human figures step out of the sarcophagi and move forward.

Timandra

Castalia

Godofos starts to study them both with the intention of making Trumps link of them both.

"Greetings Amberites," says Timandra. "I am Timandra of Chaos. This is my associate Castalia."

Whippoorwill returns the greetings and introduces Gerard, Godofos and himself. "To what do we owe this very unusual pleasure?" he asks.

"We have been sent as envoys from the Courts of Chaos," replies Timandra. "We have been sent to claim our rule over Amber and all its people and resources after our victory against your Family at the edge of the Abyss.

"We call on you to accept the sovereignty of the Courts of Chaos, swear loyalty to Chaos, disband your armies and accept the government and armies of Chaos as you are incorporating into our Empire. We swear to you that you and all of those associated with you rule will not be mistreated, but will be given places of honour within the new regime."

We consider this.

"It is impossible to make a snap decision on such a momentous subject," says Whippoorwill. "We propose that you withdraw and allow us time to decide."

Timandra agrees to this. "You may have one of your Amber days to decide," she says.

"What evidence do we have that you speak the truth?" demands Gerard.

"Here is your proof," says Timandra.

She signals to Castalia, who returns to her sarcophagus and pulls out a large box, perhaps six feet tall, a foot deep and two feet wide, with a pair of doors on the front.

Castalia swings open the doors. Inside the box there are a dozen glass fronted compartments, each of a cubic foot or so in size, and each one containing the head of an Elder Amberite. We recognise the heads of Benedict, Bleys, Caine, Corwin, Deirdre, Fiona, Flora, Julian, Llewella and Random. Damn.

A gasp goes up from around the throne room as the doors of the case swing open. In Vitesse, Vialle also gasps in horror and puts a hand to her mouth.

Whippoorwill looks at the heads sceptically.

"We shall leave you to consider your decision," says Timandra. "Let us hope that it is the correct one."

She and Castalia step back into their respective sarcophagi, and the door swing closed. Godofos feels the Trump links to the clay-creatures fade away. And the minotaurs pick up the two sarcophagi, turn, and march out of the rather quiet Throne Room...


Session 4.3   Index   Session 4.5

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