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Back to the diary entry for 'Tis A Far, Far Better Thing...' (Part 1).
Well, let's see now. We're all idiots. Benedict is an idiot. The King is not an idiot.
It turns out that Winton killed Ander's wife, his lover, and his own infant son, Nicholas' brother, when he performed the blood curse. Did it to get at us. Me. Khortez.
In a brilliant stroke of diplomacy Amber is, as of yesterday, the 14th House of the Great Council of Chaos (as opposed to Rebels, like Dworkin and the late Oberon). Random has assayed the Logrus, and King Swayvil, Swayvil Barimen, will walk the Pattern very soon.
At any other time I would have been quite happy to learn that we were no longer persona non grata in Chaos. But alas events conspire to foil that happiness. Random told us not to openly attack the heads of the Houses of Chaos. Afraid we might have to disappoint you there, your majesty.
I'm preparing my - Malachite's - minions on Gotham to assist in the evacuation of K'del at gunpoint, whenever Duke Calen requests it. I have been told we have about three Amber weeks to act, after which it will be too late. Calen says there are half a million people to evacuate there. He hopes reason will work in persuading them to go, but fears it won't. From what I've seen there, I fear that also. I'm glad that Khortez added those shadow paths; they at least should make the evacuation easier.
And a new threat - 'The Shadow' - has appeared in Gotham in my absence. Hopefully he won't rock the boat too much. I'm really not in the mood to take any problems in Gotham right now. And I would very much dislike returning to Gotham to find him (well, it's assumed to be a him) seated in my chair. Hopefully my tame mad scientists are up to coming up with something to deal with him, should the need arise.
I was happy when Inigo Trumped me and came through. Comforted. I needed a cuddle with him, even if he is acting so strangely these days. I am glad he was not in favour of the suicide curse cure, too.
It was even ... good to see Morgalin again, though who knows how long he will be around this time. His hugged greeting had all the enthusiasm I remember in him. However ... inappropriate his timing.
I cannot help wondering who that watcher was by the grave of Winton's mother, Sal's wife. Whoever it was, Khortez said they had the imprint of Broken Pattern 17 too, and they used Broken Pattern Sorcery to leave the scene. I hope it was not Nicholas. I wonder if there is any way we could check?
But it seems Sal has got over Winton's mother - Margaret de batz-Castelmore. He didn't seem to care whether we re-buried her corpse or not, and was dismissive of our waiting for him in the graveyard. Oh well, his being a heartless bastard should not come as any surprise to us by this point in time...
At least my note to the King seemed to do some good. The cats in the library have spoken to the king (or the 'Young King' as they call him, which makes one wonder how long their activities have been going on) regarding their business there. Allegedly they are doing the king's business (now), but it is classified and I cannot be told because I am not a cat. Very frustrating. I asked them about becoming an honorary cat. They say there are three things I would have to do for this to occur:
Well, assuming the cats are not simply having a joke at my expense, 1) and 2) might be feasible, but 3) would be ... harder. Damn. And even if I did these things the cats would still have to decide whether I qualified or not, Inigo not being sufficiently senior in whatever they use as a society. Apparently (he says) he is biding his time...
At least I had a chance to look in the hole the cats have excavated. It looks more like an archaeological dig than anything else, and has exposed some kind of tiled mosaic. I hope it is worth all the effort.
I had to give Khortez a Look when he showed disappointment in my moral fibre at my refusal to join him in K'del. Well, what did he expect? Fat lot of use I would have been, green with nausea while fighting to stop lunch making a reappearance!
Then he said he would need a visit to Dworkin soon. When I pointed out that that was partly why I hadn't gone through, his disappointment went away, to be replaced by a sense of 'of course, that's my job', along with some shame. What, is it his job to be stupid? Or to demonstrate the tragic side effects an excess of testosterone has on brain cells?
So I got to do some checking around instead. Gresham. Ariane Anders. The Nicholas situation. With Inigo volunteering to help, which was pleasing.
So, to see Duke Calen first. Who, of course, was in K'del. Ugh. How I love it here.
Apparently, so he said, Ariane was a very fine woman, who fell. He wishes she had chosen someone else to marry, someone other than Anders. Don't we all, Duke. Don't we all.
Apparently Tony (being the only one of us not persona non grata at that point) has been at a reception in Chaos where he saw Nicholas, but avoided any diplomatic incidents (though he was threatened by Cymnea, but if anything that simply shows she has some good judgement). Nicholas is twenty or so now. Bugger. Damn Chaos time-flows. At least he wanted nothing to do with Tony, which shows he has some good judgement too. Tony mentioned that Random was there too, with King Swayvil. 'Certain negotiations' apparently. Doubtless involving Amber's new status in Chaos.
If Nicholas is now 20 or so, he has been in Cymnea's 'care' for more than ten years now. It seems he is now her son, hates Amber, and is probably in line for absorbing a Broken Pattern (having one forced into him by Cymnea, that is). Soon. Just like his father. And we are told that it only took Cymnea six years to warp Winton into her creature.
Arran was 'inconvenienced and delayed'. But apparently I don't need to know why. Yes, of course Arran. Clearly it is of no significance at all.
Also, it appears that Tony has insulted Fiona, and wants Dworkin to sort his life out for him. Good luck, Tony. You are both stupid and, now, desperate.
At least they got the bodies from Anders' castle in K'del.
And Morgalin punched out Tony when Tony attempted to hug him. A bright spot in an otherwise dark day. Spoilt only by Tony not having the common decency to fall over. Oh well, perhaps next time.
Tony's diplomatic skills in relating the situation regarding Winton's killing of Ander's wife and his own infant son - Nicholas' brother - when he performed the blood curse got him punched out by Sal, too. And I had the pleasure of insulting him to his face while explaining the situation to Morgalin. Also a bright spot.
Winton was a victim of Cymnea, twisted by her to hate and work against Amber. So Dworkin found out, pulling the memories directly from Winton's dead brain. Even his ingesting broken Pattern 17 was Cymnea's work, but blamed on Sal by her, all of it blamed on Sal, and Amber. To him we were the enemy. Not that that did not make him a monster, and mass murderer. But Cymnea's monster, not his own. She used the Logrus to make the shadow storms that somehow put Broken Pattern 17 into Winton, and put the blame onto Sal.
Now I regret the killing of Winton even more. He was like a mad dog, made so by its owner. The dog is dead, but its mistress has a new puppy. Another of Cymnea's monsters. Another of her victims. And although the others have hopes that Nicholas can be saved, I can't help thinking he may go the way of his father. How bitter this is in my craw. I thought it couldn't be any worse. But it is. And I suppose we killed Winton's little son - Sal's little grandson - too. Crap.
I've never felt angry and sad together like this before. Sal looks ready to kill. Many, many things. And I cannot say I blame him. Unfortunately, it seems we would need much more evidence than we have to present to Swayvil if we want him to deal with Cymnea. She is the head of a major House of Chaos, after all.
Then Tony was smug about his married love life. So Sal hit him again, hard, with a chair. I can't say I blame him, but unfortunately Tony again did not fall over. Then Adiera Trumped through and he and she did a large amount of gratuitous kissing, with Sal looking on giving the distinct impression that he would soon explode, messily. No good (for Tony) will come of this, one hopes.
At least no-one else wanted to carry out Tony's hare-brained 'let's resurrect Winton by using power words' plan. Winton may have been the monkey rather than the organ grinder, but still, were he revived he would, I fear, not be our friend.
Then Jay had a brilliant idea! How very unexpected! But nonetheless, a good idea is a good idea, regardless of its source.
So I called Fiona, to consult. The first thing she asked, not entirely unexpectedly, was whether Tony was there. I admitted that this was so, but mentioned that I would like a word once she was done turning him into a bloody pulp. So she came through, threatened Tony, and hurt him. Oh, happy day once again. There is a definite pleasure to be gained from seeing Tony get hurt. I admit it, however bad it is of me.
At least once she was done Fiona said she would look into things.
And remind me never to lend Tony anything, ever again. He tried to steal my Trump of Dworkin! Thank you so much for your consideration, Tony. I only need that to live. Now die, painfully. Or perhaps, next time, if there is a next time, you should simply suffer the punishment inflicted on thieves in some of those Arabian shadows Khortez frequents so much, and lose a hand.
I find the thought intruding that it might be worthwhile if I died to stop Cymnea and undo Winton's curse. Wait! What am I thinking?! I'm thinking like a superheroine! Remember Elaine, you are a villainess on Gotham. Not a heroine. But ... this isn't Gotham. That is really just a game. Here the stakes are more important. Higher. Realer.
Random arrived. But his behaviour was, initially, quite strange. Very hearty. A breakfast of kedgeree and fruit loops topped with beans. But at least he explained things. He has walked the Logrus. And soon Swayvil will come here and assay the Pattern. Today. And he will be subject to the law of Amber while he is here.
Those who rebelled - Dworkin and Oberon - will be considered to be still rebelling, but those of us further from Chaos are a separate entity now, in legal terms. Separate from Dworkin, with Mirelle as the head of House Amber in Chaos (as Random is king and so cannot be subservient to Swayvil, which sounds very sensible to me). And the law of Chaos does not now apply to Amber, only in Chaos. In Amber we keep our own law. Also sensible.
What else could I do? I congratulated the king on this brilliant diplomatic stroke. Then Random pointed out the problems our doing in of Cymnea now might cause. He cited 'plausible deniability', then left.
Arran contacted Mandor and he was informed of the situation. Perhaps we could use him as an independent witness of Cymnea's actions? The question is, how?
During the course of these discussions it turned out that Deakin Kalastar, who we met previously, is the uncle of Arran and Mandor! An Amberite, the son of Oberon and Clarissa Kalastar, mother of the redheads. This was news to most of us! But unfortunately Deakin's heart is Chaosian (not Chaosite; they don't like the term Chaosite), not Amberite. And his behaviour with Morgalin was only partly honour, and mostly self-preservation - he did not want to be blood cursed. I cannot say I blame him.
Then Khortez questioned Mandor regarding the possible price of killing Cymnea, mentioning taking his own exile and outlawing as that price. But according to Mandor that would only work if he had no ties to Amber, as Amber obtained its code for vendettas from Chaos. Damn. I suppose. I am not at all sure I would really want Khortez to do that.
At least Arran then explained why he didn't explain himself earlier, and upon his doing so, I unfortunately had to admit that he was right.
But it seems reasonable that Cymnea will act now, in the six hours before Swayvil walks the Pattern and the Amber-Chaos agreement comes into force.
So we probably have that long to stop her.
But, also, if we attack Cymnea, head of House Caradoc, there is every chance that we will destroy Amber's new accord with Chaos. Perhaps even start the war again. There is much talk of our being 'plausibly deniable', but, really, how likely is that to be believed? And of course, Caine tells us that Benedict still loves his mother, and Cymnea, being very, very old and very, very powerful, has a correspondingly very, very powerful death curse. How comforting.
Hello Benedict! She's an enemy of Amber!
Where are your loyalties?! Her or Us?!
So, what to do? Put it all before him? "Benedict, your mother is working against Amber and has already, indirectly, caused the death of Sal's son and one grandson by turning him against Amber. We're going to try and stop her doing the same to Sal's other grandson. Who do you love more, Benedict? Amber? Or your mother, Amber's enemy?"
It might be unwise.
We were all surprised, I think, at Sal's grovelling apologies to Corwin when he Trumped him. But needs must, I suppose...
Fiona did not answer when I trumped her, but Sal mentioned that Dworkin was creating a map of the Broken Patterns. And sure enough, before long he was Trumped and a talking parrot came though (I really am getting very blasé about these unusual things, to so casually write about them without further comment). It reeled off a list of all the 27 Broken Patterns and their co-ordinates by veil, axis, and x-y-z position. It hurt my head a little, but my education in a scientifically advanced shadow proved an asset in understanding them once Khortez gave me some pointers on the system used. Apparently there are sixteen 'safe' (walkable) Broken Patterns (numbers 1 to 16); three 'maybe' ones (17 to 19, including the missing one) and eight unsafe Broken Patterns (20 to 27, of course). Personally I think the fact that, out of all the Broken Pattern's, Cymnea put number 17, the first of the 'maybe's into Winton, implied to me that 18 would be her next choice, or perhaps, at a pinch, 19 or 20. We should stake them all out.
Unfortunately, we did not receive any information on whether all the remaining 26 Broken Patterns were still there. We shall just have to assume that Dworkin would have seen fit to include any such information in his 'map'.
To be honest, I think we're going to act regardless of Benedict. Our current plan is to stake out the various broken Patterns near broken Pattern 17, wait for Cymnea and Nicholas to turn up, then attack.
Arran did not help by pointing out that Cymnea may be watching us, however valid an observation that might be. Though I would hope that at least some of us - Khortez particularly - would be sufficiently sensitive to such things to notice any such spying attempt. Khortez's studies do seem to be standing him in good stead. He certainly seems to know much more about Sorcery and the Pattern than he did. Should I, perhaps, do likewise, learn more? These powers certainly seem to be as or more useful as swordplay...
But despite all our planning, there are still some uncertainties. Who was that lurker with a broken Pattern 17 imprint at the cemetery where Sal's wife is buried? Nicholas? If not, who? Apparently Tony met Nicholas at a reception in Chaos. A pity he apparently has no more ability to sense power than an oyster, otherwise we might have learnt something useful.
How much I have changed. I was the one suggesting the use of lethal force against Cymnea from the word go, rather than a more restrained course of action. But. We apparently need to kill her fast, before she can form the blood curse in her mind.
Morgalin did suggest we kill her while she is distracted controlling the shadow storm she needs to put the Broken Pattern into its human host. But it was pointed out that there were many dangers inherent in this plan...
On to the diary entry for 'Tis a Far, Far Better Thing...' Part 3