Malachai's Journal vol. 3

Rivka and I parted company. I tried Bleys' Trump. Explaining that he was
expecting another call he asked if he might call me later, in the
evening. I agreed and ended the connection.  I found Erik, who was chatting
amiably with a serving-woman. "Ahem," I said.  He pulled himself away, not
without reluctance. "Yes?"

"Are you game for a little expedition?"

"Always."

We headed out into shadow. As we traveled, I explained a few things about
shadow travel, Pattern, and the like. Despite his previous adventures with
Corwin and Caine, Erik was almost entirely ignorant of how things work. I
tried to remedy this problem.  In a short time, we were at the statue of
Gwen I had previously cut a couple of chunks out of. It was no longer
surrounded by a patch of briers. The mystical graffiti were still there,
however. I rode up to the statue, dismounted, and stepped up to the
statue. I drew Bleys' Pattern blade. Then I attempted to strike off the
head. There was a red flash as the eyes began to open.  Sometime later, I
woke up with a terrible headache. Erik sat next to me, looking concerned.
"Had a nice nap?" he asked.  "Not very restful," I said. "What happened?"

"You tried to cut the statue, it opened its eyes, and you fell down. I got
you out and brought you here." We were in some kind of cottage. "Then I
went to get the sword. It was blown a few hundred yards away."

I looked at my right hand. "I'm lucky it didn't break my hand."

"Yes. Anyway, you've been asleep for two days."

"That long? We have to get back; we're late."

We packed up and headed back. I brought us slowly through Shadow, since I
was tired and had an awful headache. We got back to Tremere a few hours
later and headed toward the ship captain's meeting. It was evening. I tried
Rhiannon's Trump as we approached. It was blocked. Soon we arrived at the
guild hall, a big square building with a single floor. There were two
guards standing before the main entrance. Near the door was a pile of
corpses; apparently they had attempted to crash the party.  A small woman
was standing before them. Her hair was on fire.  "Rivka?" I asked.  "Yes?"
she said.  "I'm glad you're here."

"Hello, Malachai."

"I apologize for missing our meeting. What have you been doing?"

"I was good," she said. "I just started a brawl -- I didn't kill anyone,
and I didn't burn down any buildings."

"I'm glad to hear that."

I spoke with the guards. I knew them; these fellows had traveled often to
Amber and frequented the same bars as the Lancers. They told me that the
meeting was almost over. Rhiannon was there. I could go speak with her in
few minutes when the meeting was done and some of the crowd cleared
out. Shortly thereafter, a couple of hundred merchant officers came out,
actively discussing politics and trade. Apparently, they had found the
meeting satisfactory. I went into the building, where a few other captains
were in heated debate. I asked about Rhiannon and was told that she had
left. Damn. I tried her Trump again. No response. Double damn.  I spoke
with some of the captains. Apparently, Rhiannon had not made any specific
promises, but had pledged to make their position known and attempt to
resolve the blockade. Most of them found that acceptable. They invited me
to go drinking with them at a nearby tavern.

I made excuses and went to speak with Rivka. "Are you ready to go?"

"Lead on, Your Highness Prince nephew in law."

"Actually, as far as I know my only actual rank is Captain." Rivka smirked.
We stepped back outside. Erik was feeding the last of the corpses to his
donkey.  "How exactly do you get these creatures, anyway?" Rivka asked.
Erik related a long story of how he, Gerard, and Corwin had sailed near the
castle of an evil sorceress. All the crew had been put to sleep by magic
except them. They had engaged in a battle with the sorceress. Corwin had
gone off to rescue a bevy of imprisoned maidens. Just as Gerard crushed the
sorceress, she had cursed Erik to be forever pursued by horrid
beasts. Later, Erik had gotten another mage to modify the curse so that a
riding animal, appropriate to the current setting, would appear whenever he
whistled.  "Yeah, right," said Rivka. "Can we get going now?"

We proceeded through shadow to the desert shadow of Tulaine, near the
walled city called Kosan. At the edge of foothills leading to the Black
Mountains, we came to Tazik's smithy.

There was an argument in progress. As we approached, we saw that Tazik was
arguing with an older man. She was yelling, telling him that she does not
take commissions on weapons without seeing the weapon bearer. She accused
him of treating her like a common smith. Several times she struck him. He
allowed her to do so, but turned skillfully so that she struck parts that
were not vital. I know how hard Tazik can hit, but he showed no sign of
injury. He backed away and Tazik lost interest.  As he walked past, he
grinned at me. "Good luck in there," he said.  "Do I know you?" I asked.
"Not yet." He turned to Rivka. "Hello," he said to her. "I see you've
picked better company."

"Yes," she said. "Thanks for the help."

He bowed. Turning, he appeared to step into a hole in the fabric of space
that opened just for him. Interesting.  "Who was that?" I asked Rivka.  "A
friend of Corwin's."

Tazik was muttering under her breath. "Sending a lackey to me. May the gods
rip out their gizzards."

"Who?" I asked her.  "I don't know. He tried to order two swords, but they
weren't for him. How can I make a sword for someone I've never even met?"

"It was foolish to expect that you might," I said.

"What do you want?"

"I have some bad news."

"What?"

I put a hand on Galantine's hilt. "Remember how you said this blade would
be nearly invulnerable?"

Her eyes narrowed. "What happened?"

I showed her. She sighed and told me to come back in two days. I agreed and
handed her the sword. After a quick conference with the others, we decided
to go to Amber. I selected my card of the castle, and we all Trumped
through.  "Hey, Malachai," said Rivka, pointing to my card, "could you get
me one of those?"

"I'll try to get you a deck, but I can't promise anything."

"OK."

Rivka said she would get Erik settled in at the castle and we agreed to
meet for lunch. I mounted Bucephalus and we headed into town, toward
Serena's house. Since Bucephalus knew the way, while I rode I took out
Bleys' Trump and gave him a call. When he answered he was seated at a
formal table. Behind him were Fiona and Corwin, both with bandaged right
hands. Servants were cutting their food for them.  I explained why I hadn't
called earlier, and said that he wouldn't make that mistake himself. "I
would like Aundantrik back," he said.  "That is your sword's name?" I
said. "Here it is." I passed the weapon through.  He seemed pleased to
again be holding it. "Do you mind if I bring your father into the
conversation?"

"My...?" I started to say, as Corwin joined the connection by placing a
hand on Bleys's shoulder.  "Malachai," he said. "I have recognized you
formally as my son," he said.  "I see," I said. "I'm honored."

He smiled. "I have heard that you have been experimenting with Gwen
statues. Do not try to use one as a Trump."

"You mean touching a statue and concentrating?"

"Yes. It burned my hand rather severely; Fiona's also. The healing talisman
Mikail gave Cassandra made it worse."

"Interesting. I shall avoid that. To change the subject -- I've lost a
Sha'um and was wondering if you know how to find one."

"Ask Cassandra."

"A different Sha'um."

"Oh, that's right. Serena imprinted on one."

"Dapple."

"That was her name. I'd suggest you ask Serena."

"All right."

"Fiona would like join in," Bleys said. "She has a question for you."

Fiona did so as Corwin removed himself. "Since you are Corwin's eldest
son," she said, "and Benedict and Corwin have turned it down, you are next
in line. I believe it is time for a regent to take over in Oberon's
absence. Will you take it?"

I was shocked.

"I'm shocked," I said. Me? Take the throne of Amber? I could not imagine
it. "I do not feel qualified to act in His Majesty's stead," I said after a
pause.  "In that case," she said, "I am next in line and am quite willing
to accept the responsibility. You have no objections?"

Even if I did I would not be so foolish as to stand between Fiona and her
ambition. "No," I said, "I do not."

"Good." She smiled briefly and pulled out of the connection.  "Has she
asked Merlin?" I asked Bleys. "He would come after me."

"I don't believe so, but it is well known that he left Chaos to avoid the
throne."

"Do you mind if I speak with him about this?"

"No; I'm not in line."

We said good-bye and I ended the connection. The throne of Amber? Unicorn!
I would not be so foolish as to place myself in position for all of my
aunts and uncles to control me. I quite fond of my free will, thank you.
Shortly, I arrived at Serena's. She was engaged with some courtiers. I
waited for her in another room, doing what I could to correct my
appearance. She arrived with a guard I didn't recognize. She thanked him
formally and asked him to wait at the door and keep others out. When the
door closed she threw herself into my arms.

"I only have an hour," she told me. "The guard isn't one of mine -- he's
part of an honor guard."

"We'll have to be quiet, then," I said.  Some time later, she carefully
rearranged her formal clothing. "Can you join me for dinner?"

"Of course."

"It will be formal and probably quite boring."

"Will you be there?"

"Yes."

"Then it won't be boring."

She smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek. As she started out, my
conscience got the better of me. "Uh, Serena?"

"Yes?"

"I sort of lost Dapple."

"You mean you didn't send her back to me?"

"Not exactly. She's back?"

"Yes."

"Good."

She hurried out. Relieved, I went back to the castle and took a bath. I
caught up on this journal, finishing the second volume and beginning the
third. Things are getting busy; I go longer between times that I can
write and there is more to say. Truly, these are interesting times.

Later that morning, I took a stroll around the castle. There were not many
guards around, and those were not the best. Benedict apparently had most of
them off somewhere, training.  At lunch, the only family members present
were Llwella, seated at high table, and Rivka (if she counts)
serving. There were some ambassadors and courtiers, and no one else. I said
hello to Llwella, who gave me the usual blank stare. I sat by myself.

Rivka came over and I ordered one of Merlin's special omelets. Erik came in
and ordered one for himself. We discussed our course of action with regard
to recovering Rivka's mother. Zack, apparently, was someone who knew
something about Faerie. Unfortunately, he hadn't been available by Trump
recently.  "Tell me about Faerie," I asked Rivka. "Have you been there?"

 "I was with her when Clarissa went there. I was permitted to escape. She's
still there, as far as I know."

"What's it like?"

"Strange. I don't know all the rules, but I do know that you shouldn't eat,
drink, or accept gifts."

"It occurs to me," I said, "that Ivy DeJulian -- one of those who Mikail
found in the Sea of Chance -- looked rather elfin. Do you know where she
ended up?"

"Yes," Rivka said. "With Zack."

"How frustrating." Then I had an idea: Merlin, with his powers, might be
good at finding people in Shadow. "I may know someone who could find either
Zack or Ivy. Let me see what I can do."

We agreed to meet later. After lunch, I found a private section of castle
and fished out my Trumps. They've been seeing a lot of use lately. First, I
took out Benedict's card. It was blocked. I wondered if Corwin might have a
Trump of Merlin. I tried contacting him. When he answered, he was still at
the table he had been at when last I spoke with him. Apparently, time
flowed slowly there relative to Amber.  "Hello," I said. "Do you have any
way to contact Merlin?"

"Yes."

"Could you get him in touch with me?"

"Why don't you pull me through?"

I did so. "I didn't want Fiona to know that I have a Trump of Merlin," he
said.  "May I borrow it?" I asked.  He pull a thick deck of Trumps from his
belt pouch and thumbed through them. I noticed that one of the cards bore
the likeness of Dara. I felt a wave of disgust run down my spine. He came
to Merlin's Trump, removed it from the deck, and handed it to me.
"Thanks," I said.  "Is there anyone else in the castle?"

"Only Llwella."

"I said anyone, not anything," he said with uncharacteristic vehemence.  "I
didn't know you held her in such low regard," I said.  He shrugged. "I need
to spend a little while here, to keep Fiona from guessing."

"I have some time," I said.  We took a walk in the castle garden. We
chatted about various matters. He didn't want to discuss much in the way of
specifics, deflecting direct inquiries deftly.  I tried a different
tack. "Cassandra and I sparred for a while the other day. I was impressed
by her abilities. I could use some improvement in fencing skill. I can cope
with shadowites, but since joining the family the opposition has become
tougher."

"Her teacher is busy right now, but maybe I could introduce you to him
sometime."

"I would appreciate that."

"I also think that you should try walking my Pattern."

"I am concerned about what would happen if you turn out not to be my
father."

"I could be there to help, and you're not stupid enough to try to walk it
backward. I don't think you would be in any real danger."

I thought for a moment. "All right."

"Good. As an experiment, I'd like to have you try shifting shadow near
Pearl sometime, before you walk my Pattern."

"I suppose I could give it a try."

"I should be getting back," he said. "Why don't you step away so you're not
in view when I Trump out?"

"All right. Good-bye." I walked around behind a shrub. I took out Merlin's
card. The back of it was a strange smiling face that somehow appeared to
have depth. I looked at the face of the card and concentrated. It was a
reach, and it took me several minutes to get through.  "Yes?"

"It's me," I said. Merlin was standing before a yellow pavilion, near a
great tree, which I took to be Ygg. "How are you?" I asked.  "I am doing
interestingly," he said.  "That's good, I think. Have you spoken to Corwin
recently?"

"No."

"With Oberon missing and various threats presenting themselves, Fiona has
decided that there needs to be a regent . Those first in line -- Benedict
and Corwin -- aren't interested. Corwin has recently recognized me as his
son."

"Hi, big brother."

I smiled. "Since I am rather fond of having the illusion of free will, I
turned it down."

"Good idea."

"After me comes you."

"I do not want it."

"If you turn it down, Fiona gets it."

"Hmm. Perhaps I should try to get something from her in exchange for
stepping down."

"That's your choice," I said, "but she is formidable, and might take
offense. I don't recommend it."

"That's probably good advice. She can have it for free."

"I had another reason for calling. Have you seen Zack recently?"

"No. Why?"

"I told Rivka I would help her try to find Clarissa. We thought he might be
able to help."

"She was last seen with Julian -- or hunting Julian; I'd prefer the
latter. As for Zack, I haven't seen him in some time."

"Could you find him if you had to?"

"I suppose. It would be time-consuming."

"I might have to ask you for that favor, if that's all right."

"I suppose."

"I'll speak with you later. Take care."

"And you."

I ended the contact. Feeling as if I were somehow overusing the cards, I
pulled out Benedict's Trump. It was still blocked.  I spent the rest of the
afternoon bumming around the castle, reading in the library, and catching
up on this journal.  ***

Late in the afternoon I dressed in my best uniform -- the one with all the
medals. I added the Order of the Albatross from Tremere to my awards and
headed back down Kolvir to Serena's residence. It was a large posh dinner,
full of bores. I was seated on the other side of the room from Serena, with
a couple of merchants and an ambassador. They asked me tiresome questions
about the state of the realm and I tried to be polite.  During the second
course I got a trump call from Rivka. I told her that I hadn't yet been
able to track down Zack or Ivy, but that I was working on it.  "How long?"
she asked.  "A couple of hours."

"I guess I'll just have to entertain myself."

"Don't burn anything down."

"We'll see." She faded out.  Just a couple of minutes later, I got another
call from Rivka. She was no longer in the castle. I could see Ygg behind
her.

"I was wondering how much time has passed?" she asked, "since I am in a
place where time moves strangely."

"How did you get to Ygg?"

"It was on the way."

"I thought you had no way to travel shadow."

"No way to go contiguously."

"How so?"

"I can only go places I've been."

"That is a way to travel shadow."

She shrugged.  "It has only been a couple of minutes," I said.  "Oh,
well. I'll call back later."

Again she dropped out. Dinner went by. Serena broke away from her hangers
on and invited me to a private walk in the garden. I accepted, offering her
my arm. With us came the same honor guard who had stood outside the door
that morning.  "You don't like this, do you?" I said.  "No."

"Then it seems to me that you are a lady in need of rescue."

"I most certainly am," she sighed, resting her head upon my shoulder. The
guard sniffed disdainfully.  I whistled. In a moment, Bucephalus
appeared. He hopped over a tall hedge and whinnied to us. I took Serena
about the waist, placed her on the saddle, and mounted behind her. The
guard shouted. Serena giggled as we raced out of the garden, over the wall,
and through the streets. We heard pursuit behind us, but quickly
outdistanced them. Soon I noticed Dapple running along behind us. As we
rode toward Arden, I felt another Trump contact forming. It was Rivka
again.  "All right," I said. "Take us through." With some difficulty, due
to our speed, I sent Dapple through, then the three of us.  We all
discussed the current situation with Merlin. Finally, we decided that
Merlin would search for Ivy while Serena, Rivka, Dapple, Bucephalus and I
would go to see Tazik. I figured that Galantine should be ready by
now. Merlin would call us when he was ready.  We bade farewell and I
shifted toward Tulaine. As we traveled, I tried something I knew to be
possible but had never tried before: I shifted Serena's formal gown into
travel clothing. It was difficult, but I managed it.  Tazik again had a
guest. This time, it was a red-haired fellow with his hand stuck inside a
green metal cage. Inside the cage was a piece of stone which he was
unwilling to let go of. He could not escape the cage without releasing the
stone. We spoke to this person, who said his name was Auricle. He called
the stone his gargoyle, and claimed that he needed it's memory storage
capabilities. Apparently, he had been in the cage, but had shape-shifted
his way out of it. He and Rivka discussed shape shifting theory for some
time.  Tazik came out of her workroom. She handed me Galantine, which was
now whole. I thanked her and gave her a large sack of money.  "What does
this person want?" she asked.  "He needs a locksmith to open the cage," I
said.  Looking bored, Tazik tried a few tools, and was not
successful. Becoming interested, she tried a number of different tools. No
good.  Suddenly, I became aware that Auricle's conversation with Rivka had
switched over to how she had come to be stuck in the cage. She said that
Gwen had trapped her there. Getting her attention was difficult, but I
managed to do so. She confirmed that she had encountered several statues of
a winged woman named Gwen and had experimented on them. We compared notes
on what we had tried. She had never heard of Amber, Pattern, or Shadow
(although she seemed to have traveled among several different universes).
Tazik suggested I try hitting the cage with Galantine. "Will you fix the
sword again if it breaks?" I asked.  "If it breaks, then I didn't make it
right."

I whacked at the cage a few times, to no effect. Tazik was fascinated. She
dug around in her workroom, emerging with a huge hammer inscribed with
mystic runes. It, too, did nothing to the cage.  Soon thereafter, Cassandra
appeared with the fellow Tazik had thrown out on the occasion of my last
visit to this place. She said hello and introduced her companion as
Ingold. I explained the situation to them, and they entered the
conversation.  I slipped off and trumped Bleys. He was sitting on a throne,
apparently holding court. "Hello," I said. "How would you be at undoing a
cage made by Gwen?"

"Not very good," he said. "I would suggest my sister. Brand would been
better, but she might be able to help."

"Do you know if she's available?"

"One minute." Then something very strange happened. Bleys split himself
into two different Trump contacts. One contact sat down at a desk and began
to write a letter. The other contact went to the lab I had seen earlier. In
the lab was Fiona, who was wrapping Corwin's hand. It was looking mostly
healed, while her hand was swathed completely in a bandage.  "I have job
for you, my dear," he said to her. She nodded and turned back to her
bandaging.  When she was done, I explained the problem to her. Corwin
joined in. "I don't really feel in top form right now," said Fiona. "I
suggest you try Valeria. She's not bad at that sort of thing."

"Very well," I said. "I will."

"Do you mind if I come through?" asked Corwin. "This seems interesting."

"Certainly." I held out my hand and he came through the Trump. Then I ended
the contact.  I tried Merlin's Trump. It didn't work. Then
Valeria. "Hello?" she said.  "How good are you at opening magical cages?"

"It's not my area of expertise," she said, "but I'm up for a challenge."

"Good. Come through."

She did. By then, Corwin was straining at the cage, trying to pull two of
the bars apart. He had no success, even when Rivka and Cassandra added
their own considerable strength. I tried Gerard's Trump. No
success. Valeria noticed the card I was using and tried her own Trump of
Gerard. For his daughter, he responded. A few moments later, he arrived.
We explained the problem to him. He pulled off his shirt and gave it a
try. His first pull did nothing. With a grunt of surprise, he put his full
strength into it. Slowly, slowly, two of the bars separated. Auricle pulled
her stone block through the opening. When Gerard let go, the bars sprang
back to their former shape.

A general discussion ensued, with occasional clangs as Tazik or Gerard took
a whack at the cage with some tool or other. I soon tired of the
conversation and found a shady corner. Then I took a nap.  Serena woke me
sometime later. All of the visitors were gone except her, Dapple, and
Bucephalus. "I'm hungry," she said.  Outside, Tazik was still working on
the cage. We went into town and had dinner. When we returned, Tazik was
finishing a pair of swords. They were two fine sabers, one several inches
longer than the other. As I was admiring Tazik's work, Merlin and Cassandra
appeared. Cassandra was dressed in an elaborate gown of red and gold
brocade. I had seen a similar one on Flora last year. At her side she bore
Grayswandir.  "Hello," I said. "How are you?"

"Not regent," she said.  "No. Me either."

"I offered, but they said I was too young."

"I declined."

"So did I," Merlin said.  "I don't understand," she said. "I think it would
be fun to be in charge."

"Clearly you don't understand all of the problems involved in holding the
throne," Merlin said, "or you would be less interested."

The two swords were, apparently, for Cassandra and Corwin. Merlin conjured
enough coin to provide a generous payment and Cassandra took
possession. Clearly, the swords were designed for dealing with threats from
Gwen, since Pattern weapons were ineffective against her constructs.
Cassandra took out her father's Trump and activated it. "I'm heading back
to Pearl," she said. "Would anyone like to come along?" she asked. We all
said no, as we had other commitments. "All right," she said. "Be seeing
you." Then she was gone.  "Well," said Merlin. "Do you want to contact
those we need or shall I?"

"You are far better at getting in touch with people than I," I said.
Merlin opened his pouch and selected a card; it depicted Rivka. On its
reverse was a stylized picture of Ygg. He reached her quickly and brought
her through. After some discussion, we decided that Merlin would return to
Ygg and locate Ivy. The rest of us would return briefly to Amber, pick up
Erik, drop off Serena, and get an omelette for Merlin.  After he
disappeared by sorcery, I brought the rest of us through to Amber by means
of my castle Trump. I said farewell to Serena, located Erik, and told him
of our plan. He was agreeable. Meanwhile, Rivka acquired a basket
containing several fresh omelettes. We met outside. I took out Merlin's
card and, after some effort, achieved a connection. Instantly, there was a
thunderclap and the feeling of electrical discharge. There was a flash of
light and we were falling through to another place.  We landed with a fall
of only a few feet onto dusty sand. Looking around, we discovered that we
were in a desert, surrounded by fog. Nearby were the ruins of a
city. Someone was playing gentle, soothing melody upon a harp. Merlin sat
in the sand nearby, apparently having struck his head on a rock when he
arrived.

The fog said, "hello." Merlin struck up a conversation with the mist, which
called itself Kermit -- Kermit the Fog. It seemed friendly. As the fog
swirled, it revealed a slender woman with dark, dark hair sitting, watching
us and playing. I had seen her briefly on Dalkontyr and been told that her
name was Ivy.  Lying at her feet were three people, apparently
unconscious. We greeted her.  "What are you doing here?" she asked.  Rivka
looked to me. I gestured for her to speak.  "We would like to ask your
assistance in rescuing my mother," she said.  "Who are you people?"

We introduced ourselves.

"I am Ivy," she said, "and my cousins here are Roland, Jackie, and Talos."
The one she identified as Talos did not appear to be a member of the House
of Amber, but I did not correct her.  Rivka explained something of why she
wanted to retrieve Clarissa from this place.  "Will you help us?" asked
Merlin.  "That is a subject you will have to take up with the Queen."

A woman appeared. To describe her is hard, for her hair swirled with all
colors and her clothing danced with jewels and enchantment. I remember
being struck by the power of her eyes, but I know not their hue.  "You
called, my subjects?"

"I'll be going now," said Kermit. He swirled away.  Rivka curtsied; Merlin
and I bowed. Erik drew his sword and drew it up into a salute. Then he
realized that it was made of cold iron, which is said to be deadly to those
of Faerie. In an effort to avoid insult, he threw it away.  The Queen
laughed and I heard the distant echo of silver bells. She turned to our
supplicant. "So, Rivka," she said. "Have you come to reclaim your prize?
I'm sure the dwarves would be happy to give it over."

Rivka reached into the flesh of her hand and withdrew a silver rose.  "Is
that a yes?" asked the Queen.  "I had hoped to rescue my mother."

"Ah, you want your mother. First, I shall have to go off and fix her." She
looked to all of us. "If you gentlefolk will guard these people while I am
away?"

We agreed. The Queen raised an eyebrow toward Ivy, who nodded. They stepped
away together and disappeared.
 A heated discussion ensued as we all tried to figure out what was going
on. Rivka told us that the Queen's name was Titania. Regarding our odd
arrival, Merlin explained that he had been working on a "Trump gate" when I
attempted to contact him. Somehow, we had all fallen through the gate and
come to where it led, which was Ivy's location. He wasn't sure how that had
happened.  "Let me get a professional opinion," he said. He got out his
Trumps, and Valeria joined us a few moments later. Then he accessed another
card and pulled through Darkstar -- he of the chitonous skin and
multifaceted eyes. The more the merrier, I suppose.  Then Erik decided to
go get his sword. He took a step toward it and disappeared. Apparently, it
was very easy to get lost here.  I couldn't think of anything to do about
that, and neither could anyone else. We figured that Erik would probably be
able to look out for himself. Valeria and Rivka talked of their last visit
to this place. Apparently, it had involved dancing, an orgy, and a kiss
from a "handsome prick," -- whatever that might be. Apparently, two of the
cardinal rules here were to never accept gifts, never eat, and never fall
asleep.  Meanwhile, Merlin and Darkstar became involved in a heated and
technical discussion of Trump and magic.  Suddenly, Kermit the fog swirled
back around us. "Get that thing away from me!" he shouted.  "Tally ho!"
yelled Erik, swinging his sword about as he appeared among us.  "What
happened?" I asked.  "I was lost in the desert, and this smog appeared."

Kermit uttered an ungentlemanly epithet.  "It refused to bring me back
here, so I began threatening it with my sword. It ran away, I followed, and
then I was back here."

"Tell him to put that thing away!"

Erik did so and apologized. Soon they were the best of friends. Kermit
launched into a long and involved tale of his origins. It involved a love
affair between a sandstorm and a cloud.  We settled in to wait. Merlin and
Darkstar began an elaborate experiment involving a large design laid out in
the sand. Soon, Ivy and Titania returned. The Queen approached Rivka and
looked at her expectantly.  "I suppose I should return this," Rivka
said. She handed the silver rose to Titania, who accepted it. She dropped
it into the air and it disappeared.  "I would like to obtain the release of
my mother," Rivka said. "I'm not sure how to do that.  "Well," said
Titania, "you could trade your position for hers."

"Perhaps I could trade this pendant." Rivka held out a small sparkling
jewel on a chain.  "No. That's just a gate to Faerie. I can make more of
those."

"Is she yours to trade away, then?"

"Not quite," said Titania.  "Here," said Erik, "add this to the bargain."
He offered his sword. Titania seemed unimpressed.  Rivka was annoyed at the
interruption. "Why don't you try whistling up a horse?" she said, "and add
that in."

"OK." He whistled, and the sky darkened. A vast bird was about to land upon
us.  Of course, I should have learned from Erik's mistake. But
no. Foolishly, I leaped upon Bucephalus and tried to get us out from under
it. Bucephalus ran just a few steps and we were suddenly in open desert
with a huge sandstorm descending upon us. Behind us was a large walled
city. Horns blew and the gates were being pulled closed. We went in just
before they shut.  I brought out my Trump deck. All of the cards looked
like Zack or Ivy, and none of them worked. On her Trump, Ivy was standing
nude in a forest. A strand of ivy wound it's way about her, providing
strategic concealment.  The locals looked elven. They spoke a strange
dialect of Thari, but with a bit of practice I managed to make myself
understood. As I did so I noticed that the city looked like a stage
prop. They were rearranging breakdown facades and constructing empty
buildings.  Discussion with the people there was complicated by the
necessity to never give anything away. If I accepted a gift, even of
information, they would "own" me. Conversation was, apparently, allowed,
however. In the midst of considerable circumlocution, I discovered several
facts. Apparently, these people were magical constructs whose only purpose
was to further the local storyline, which existed for the purpose of
encouraging tourism. There were other storylines currently running. One of
them included an unnamed drunken Amberite in a bar. The plan was to keep
him there forever, to prevent him from causing any trouble. The locals
would love to get their hands on more Amberites; I found it unnecessary to
identify myself as one. If I started to seriously disrupt this story, the
Authenticity Police would arrive from the Unseelie Court to deal with me.

Eventually, the person I spoke with suggested that I get back to my own
story. The sandstorm, he said, was only a foot thick and I could pass
through it easily. I bid farewell, mounted Bucephalus, and exited the way I
had come. As promised, the sandstorm was only a prop. Upon penetrating it,
Bucephalus and I found ourselves in open desert.  On the distant horizon, I
saw a giant statue of a cat head with a gold ring through one ear. As that
was the only landmark I headed in that direction. When I was perhaps a half
mile away, a huge voice boomed, "WHO GOES THERE?"

"I would be afraid to tell you," I replied, "since you appear so
formidable."

The cat statue lowered its voice. "Well, that's just my line. Would it be
all right if I said the rest?"

"Oh, yes. Please do."

"Thanks so much. Here goes: TAKE NOTHING BUT THE LAMP."

"That's it?"

"Yes."

A voice in the distance shouted my name. Rivka, Erik, and Darkstar were
walking this way. They carried Jackie, and Talos. Roland had apparently
woken up and was walking with them.  The cat statue gave its lines once
again in its giant voice. I was introduced to Roland -- a tall, willowy
fellow with auburn hair. They told me that Clarissa had been rescued and
had left Faerie already. We discussed how we might follow suit. Ivy said
that, since she is familiar with this place, she would enter the cat statue
and retrieve the magic lamp. With that, we would be able to wish our way
out of Faerie. We agreed, and she went in through the mouth.  While we
waited, I asked Erik where Merlin was. He pointed to Darkstar. Darkstar
opened his chest. Nestled among Darkstar's organs was a small statue.

"He had a little accident when we were building a Trump gate," Darkstar
said.  "You mean that's Merlin?" I asked.  "Yes," he said. "I need to
consult a few experts before I'll know whether he can be changed back."

I sighed. Ivy returned with a dusty golden lamp. "It has a magical
attachment," she said. "I'm not sure if we want to use it."

"Yes," said Darkstar. "Those who wield it are cursed to slay each other in
greed."

"Then we'll try a different plan," said Ivy. "We'll use the direct
route. I'll find a gate to Arden. Would that be all right?"

We agreed. I wondered why she hadn't done that in the first place; perhaps
the storyline required it. We walked, and the scene quickly changed to
scrub land, then open woods, then dense a dense forest where animals
greeted us, then forest Arden.  As we got our bearings, a group of several
rangers arrived to check us out. When I identified myself, they told me
that I had been placed in charge of Arden by General Benedict. How
nice. They didn't know who was in charge of Amber. I asked if they had
anything else to report, and they told me that there had been an
unconfirmed sighting of someone matching Clarissa's description recently,
but they had discounted it. I tried Benedict's Trump, but it was blocked.
Around that time, Talos woke up. Ivy introduced him to us. He was a large,
muscular fellow who looked like he had spent a lot of time out of doors. He
identified himself as Jackie's fiance. Jackie was in poor shape, as
whatever she had been laying on had eaten away at her back. We did what we
could for her, but clearly she needed medical attention soon.  The Rangers
told me that a command post was nearby. We went there and I met with the
local commander. He had a copy of an order placing me in full command of
Arden and the rangers. It was signed by Fiona, regent in Amber.  Darkstar
said that he wanted to research methods of restoring Merlin to his proper
form. Then he disappeared. I shuffled out Fiona's Trump and made contact
with her. As she started to say hello, the contact broke off. Within a few
seconds, I got a trump contact -- it was her. She explained that Darkstar
had broken through into Bleys' shadow and that had disrupted our contact.
"That would make sense, I suppose, since he came from here."

"Indeed," she said.  "I was calling because I just got to Arden and was
told that I am in command."

"Yes. Benedict recommended you for the role."

"Very well. Do you have any orders?"

"Get Arden's defenses in order. Arrange a competent command structure,
including a good second in command, in case you are needed elsewhere."

"I will endeavor to do so," I said.  "Was there anything else?"

"No," I said.  "I will be in Amber this evening for dinner. Please attend
if you can. Also, if you see Rivka, tell her that I'd like her to get in
touch with me."

"I shall her let her know that the next time that I see her. Good-bye."

She nodded and ended the contact. I turned to Rivka. "Fiona would like you
to get in touch with her."

"Oh," she said. "OK."

Just then I got another Trump contact. It was Rhiannon. She knew that I was
in charge of Arden and was calling to recommend Roland as a competent
assistant. Now that was impressive intelligence! I told her that I was with
Roland and would keep an eye on him. Then I told her about the Gwen
statues; regarding these, she was completely ignorant. She thanked me for
the information and ended the contact.  "Malachai," Rivka said, "could you
send us to Amber?"

Using Trump, I sent her and Talos through, with Talos carrying Jackie. I
hoped she would be all right, as the damage to her back was considerable.
After that I pulled Roland aside. "I just spoke with Rhiannon," I
said. "She tells me that you are quite well-versed in military matters."

"You could say that."

"I have heard that you come from an alternate place in which Amber is
considerably different."

"Yes. Most of the elders there are dead. We have just retaken Amber."

"From whom?"

"From Finndo. I was one sword stroke away from killing him and avenging my
father."

"Your father?"

Roland thought for a moment, then nodded to himself. "Benedict -- my father
-- is dead. As he hellrode to Amber, a thousand shadows were destroyed
around him."

"I'm sorry," I said. I waited a few moments before continuing. "What do you
plan to do here? You know that Benedict is alive in this place."

"Yes, I know. I am reluctant to let him know that in another place I am his
son. I would be interested in a place in the military from which to prove
myself."

"I could use a hand here in Arden."

"You mean second in command?"

I thought for a moment, and nodded.  "I would prefer a lower starting
place, so that I can demonstrate that I have no need of patronage. In my
Amber, Benedict did not know that I was his son. I joined the military and
rose through the ranks."

"I found that I am an Amberite only a short time ago myself," I said.  "Who
is your father?"

"Corwin recently recognized me as his son; and indeed it is quite possible
that he is my biological father. There are two places I could help you
start. I could enlist you in the Arden Rangers, or in the Lancers."

"I think the Lancers would be better."

"Very well," I said. "Tonight I will introduce you to Colonel Prospero,
commander of the 2nd Lancers. I can sponsor you into a lieutenancy."

"That would be very good. Thanks."

"Benedict will most likely be there. If you would like an introduction, I
would be happy to provide one. If not, I will not reveal your secret."

He thought about that for a long time. "How do you think he would react to
me?"

"I'm not sure. I don't claim to know him extraordinarily well. I don't
expect that he would be too awful about it, though. He might not believe
you. On the other hand, he is very good at finding things out, and it would
probably be better if you told him yourself."

"All right," he said. "I would appreciate an introduction. My name is
actually Orlando. Orlando Benedictine."

"Fine. In the meantime, how would you like to take a tour of Arden? I need
to try to get the Rangers in shape."

"That would be very good."

Ivy was also interested. She had grown up in her version of Arden and was
eager to see what this place was like. Erik came also. After a few minutes
of discussion it became clear that Orlando didn't hear anything that Erik
said. When I asked about that Orlando explained that he could neither see
nor hear Erik.  "You see," said Erik, "I have a spell cast on me that keeps
Benedict from perceiving me. It seems to also work for his children."

"Where did this spell come from?"

"I was in a bar with my friend Corwin when Benedict broke in, intent on
killing Corwin -- for what reason I know not. I couldn't let that happen,
so I busted Ben over the head with a beer mug. Later, Corwin arranged to
have the spell placed on me for my protection."

"I'm impressed. Benedict isn't someone who is easy to take out."

Erik shrugged.  We spent the afternoon traveling through the forest,
observing various strategic locations and speaking with Julian's
commanders. They seemed basically competent, although unwilling to speak
their mind or take risks. I got the sense that Julian had only wanted to
hear his own ideas echoed back to him, and punished anyone who didn't give
him exactly what he wanted. A style of this nature makes for a singularly
uninspired command staff.

As we spoke with local commanders and discussed tactics, it became clear
that Orlando was a strategist of considerable depth. His background clearly
favored high-technology weapons, and his eyes gleamed when he heard that
there was a type of gun that worked in the vicinity of Amber. Erik, too,
demonstrated considerable competence in this area.  Ivy, on the other hand,
showed that she knew Arden and the surrounding shadows extremely well. She
discussed the fine points of acquiring, training, and maintaining a
squadron of griffins to use for scouting and harassment of enemy
forces. Unfortunately, she was no strategist.  I spoke with Orlando about
this, since he knew Ivy. He suggested that I offer her a staff, rather than
a command position. I agreed that this would be the best plan.

That evening, Orlando, Erik, Ivy, and I returned to the castle by means of
Trump. I made sure that Orlando and Ivy had acceptable rooms, then went to
dinner. Benedict and Llwella were there. Fiona sat at a new, chair, built
rather like a throne, next to those of Oberon and Clarissa. Rivka sat at
the high table at Fiona's right.  Serena was at high table with a few
ambassadors. I went over to say hello, and she was icily polite to me. As
there was a chair at her side, I joined her.  "What's the matter?" I
whispered.  "Who's the bimbo in your bed?" she asked.  "I have no idea."

We ate in an atmosphere of uncomfortable politeness. As soon as we were
done, we went off to Serena's quarters, where we could talk privately. She
was very upset. Apparently, Jackie had been lodged in my bed for her
convalescence, and the rumors had it that she was my lover.  "It's not
true. Surely you trust me enough not to believe such a rumor."

"Yes, I do." She hugged me. "But I was afraid."

"She's family. Even were I willing to betray you, I would not do so with
family. I don't even know her."

"What's she doing in your bed, then?"

"I don't know. When they came in Rivka was going to arrange for medical
treatment. Maybe she figured that if she were in my quarters she'd get good
treatment."

We spent the rest of the evening making up.  ***

The next morning I slept very late. Serena was already off to attend to
business. I caught up to date on this journal, dressed, and found a
guardsman. I asked if he knew whether Colonel Prospero was in the
castle. He told me that the entire regiment was off with Benedict on
maneuvers. Drat. I had missed introducing him to Prospero the previous
night, and now I couldn't do so today.  I sought out Orlando and apologized
to him.  "That's all right," he said. "I'm sure it will happen soon. By the
way, Talos said he had a run-in with Oberon's chief medical officer. He
said that she's only about five feet tall, but she pushed Talos out of the
room with one hand. What is she?"

"Many of Oberon's personal retainers have extraordinary abilities," I
said. "I'm not sure where they come from."

We met up with Ivy and Erik, then returned to Arden. We spent some time
meeting with the senior command staff, reviewing troop organization,
operational procedures, deployment, training, tactics, and contingency
planning. I was impressed again with the rigidity of Julian's policies. He
seemed to assume that any battle would proceed predictably under a plan
that he would determine in advance. There was no provision for flexible
reaction to changing conditions -- and this in an organization that
specialized in scouting and skirmishing!

The morning was spent planning a series of training exercises designed to
build flexibility and unpredictably into the Rangers' repertoire. We wanted
to provide individual field commanders some ability to make on the spot
decisions about changing circumstances in battle.  Sometime around noon I
received a Trump call. It was Corwin.  "I need your help," he said. "I need
to make an assault..."

"Let me get some people together and we'll be right there."

"Not that kind of help. Do you have a Trump of Oberon?"

"Yes," I said guardedly.  "I need you to distract him for about ten minutes
so that he doesn't notice what I'm doing."

"How would you suggest that I do that?"

"Talk to him. I'm sure you can think of something."

"I'll give it a try, but I can't promise anything."

"Great. Now would be a good time. Thanks." The connection ended.  I was
mortified. Distract His Majesty? My king? The King of Everything? What if
he suspected what I was trying to do? He might strike me down on the spot!

I took a deep breath. Stepping away from the others, I shuffled out
Oberon's card. I concentrated, and the noble features that I so feared
stirred into life.  "Yes? Hello, Malachai."

"Hello, Your Majesty. There are some recent events of which I thought you
should be told."

"Oh, really? I thought things were fairly calm in Amber."

"I'm afraid you've been misinformed."

I proceeded to detail for him the Gwen statues, the blockade of Amber,
Clarissa's disappearance and rescue, Julian's disappearance, and Fiona's
ascendance to the regency. He knew none of it. He seemed particularly
annoyed at Fiona.  "Oh, by the way," he said. "Congratulations on being the
eldest son of my favorite son."

"Thank you."

"That makes you second in line for the throne."

"Second?"

"Yes. Corwin, then you."

"What about Benedict?"

"He is not an heir. My relationship with his mother was dissolved ab
ibnito."

"I see."

"Was there anything else?"

"No," I said. I had given Corwin the time he had asked for.  "Well,
then. Thank you for your loyalty. I would appreciate it if you would let me
know if anything else crops up of major import. Apparently, my other
information sources are less than completely reliable."

"Yes, Your Majesty." I ended the connection. Wiping sweat from my brow, I
returned to the others. Second in line for the throne? Drat. And Corwin
probably wouldn't want it. That makes me, in effect, heir to the throne of
Amber. Lucky me.  We spent the rest of the afternoon reviewing troops. I
tried calling Benedict periodically, but the connection was
blocked. Finally, in the late afternoon, I got through. Benedict confirmed
that I had been his choice for acting Warden of Arden, and that the
reorganization I had in mind was exactly what he was looking for.  "How do
you feel about Fiona's assumption of the Regency?"

"Oberon wrote a letter authorizing it."

Having just spoken to Oberon, I knew that either His Majesty had pretended
surprise when I told him about Fiona, or that she had forged the letter. If
Fiona had Oberon's support, he would have had no reason to lie to me. I
wish now that I had told Benedict about this, but instead I kept silent. At
the time I remember thinking that it prove useful to have something on
Fiona. I am becoming less immune to the family games, and in this case it
later turned out to be a grave mistake.  "Will you be at dinner?" I asked.
"Yes. Why?"

"I have someone I think you would like to meet."

"Very well. I'll be returning shortly with the 1st, 2nd, and 5th
regiments."

"Then I'll see you at dinner," I said, ending the contact.  Soon thereafter
I opened a Trump contact to the castle and brought through Orlando and
Erik. Ivy had constructed a magical gate to another shadow in order to
recover a pair of horses she and Orlando had left behind. She said she'd be
along presently. I stepped through to the castle and we made plans to meet
for dinner.  I went to my room and knocked on the door.  "Hello?" said a
woman's voice. "Who is it?"

"Malachai."

"Ur...come in."

Sharing my bed were Jackie and Talos. She was awake and looking much better
than the unconscious woman I had seen a couple of days before. She thanked
me for the use of the room and I said that it had not been an imposition,
since I had been away most of the last couple of days. I did, however, need
a change of clothes. I waited outside while they got dressed, then they
waited while I changed into a clean uniform. Then I showed them where the
dining hall was. I got them seated with Orlando and Erik, then went to say
hello to Serena. She was busy with ambassadorial business.  Fiona, who was
again seated at the right hand of Oberon's empty throne, crooked a finger
at me.  "Malachai," she said. "I am holding court after dinner. I wanted to
confirm you as acting Warden of Arden."

"My only concern," I said, "is Julian's response should he return."

"I will put in a good word with him. I'm sure that will be sufficient."
Having heard rumor's of Julian's attraction to her, I was sure that it
would be.  "I see," she continued, "that you have been taking care of our
guests from another Amber."

"Yes."

"Good. I would like to have them presented in court tonight."

"I'll let them know."

"Thank you. Enjoy your dinner."

Dismissed, I began to walk back to my table, but Benedict caught my eye. I
went over to him.  "If there is someone you want me to meet," he said,
"bring him to me now."

"Not later?"

"No. I will be leaving right after dinner."

"All right. Give me a moment." I went back to the table, where the others
were comparing their court to ours.  "Fiona wants to see you all after
dinner," I said. "In court."

"Why?" Jackie asked.  "I'm not sure," I told her. "Probably she wants to
determine your relationship to the kingdom."

"Is what I'm wearing all right?" She wore simple traveling clothes.  "They
are not the best way to appear in court," I said, "but the family is known
for its individuality."

"Cool. Can you let me know what the rules are here?"

"I'll be happy to tell you what I know, although I am no expert on
protocol. But that will have to wait a moment. Orlando, I told Benedict
that there is someone I think he should meet. He wants to see you now."

"Right now?"

"Yes. He's leaving after dinner. How much explaining do you want me to do
in the course of introduction?"

"Perhaps I should do the explaining."

"As you wish."

I led him over to the General's post. "Benedict, this is Orlando. I think
you should talk."

"By the way, Malachai," Benedict said. "Please tell Erik to stop it. It's
unseemly."

"What has he been doing?" Orlando asked.  Benedict wiggled his fingers
stiffly in front of his nose to demonstrate.  "I'll tell him," I said.
Benedict and Orlando looked at each other appraisingly for a long moment,
then Orlando began to explain where he was from. I walked away, back to the
others. Erik was disappointed to hear that Benedict was on to his prank. I
spent the rest of the meal explaining what I knew of protocol to Jackie.

Preparations for court followed closely after dinner. Ivy arrived and was
briefed on the situation. As we entered the great hall, Jackie encountered
Flora and Rainbow. Flora was quite aware of Jackie's origin and hinted that
she was the same person who had raised her in Jackie's alternate Amber. She
would not explain how this could be so.  I went and sat next to Prospero. I
told him that I had a candidate for him and explained about Orlando. He
introduced me to Dimitrius, his new staff officer, and we made plans to
discuss the matter later.  Orlando, Jackie, Talos, and Ivy were summoned
before the court. Fiona explained to them that she took their presence to
be a threat. She could therefore give them four choices: to swear fealty to
the Crown of Amber, as represented by her; to demonstrate family membership
by walking the Pattern; to become part of the royal family in some other
manner; or to be executed.  Orlando and Ivy swore fealty without
hesitation. Jackie refused, explaining that she wished to avoid such
entanglements.  "Then you must establish your relationship to this throne
in some other manner," said Fiona, "or We cannot suffer you to live."

Talos stepped forward. "Since my fiance will not swear fealty, I cannot. I
have never claimed to have the Blood of Amber; therefore it would be
suicide to attempt to walk the Pattern."

Fiona smiled. Clearly she hoped to force Jackie to swear fealty by this
threat to Talos. If Jackie became a member of the family, she could protect
Talos by marrying him.  "Therefore," said Talos, "I must join the family in
some other manner. Random, I ask you to come into court."

Random stood and came before the throne.  "I ask that you adopt me as your
son," Talos said.  Random smirked. Fiona glared. "I hereby adopt...er,
what's your name?"

"Talos."

"I hereby adopt Talos as my son, with all privileges and duties of a member
of the royal family of Amber. He shall be heir to my titles and property
after his elder brother, Martin."

Under Fiona's burning gaze, Random put an arm around his new son, Talos.
"That leaves you, Jackie," Fiona said. "What is your choice?"

"I will walk the Pattern."

"Very well. Immediately after this court, we will go to the Pattern room
and we shall test your heritage. You are all, for now, dismissed from this
court."

They left. Court business continued, in its usual boring manner. I was
called into court briefly and confirmed as acting Warden of Arden. When
court concluded, Fiona uttered a series of Words and everyone in the great
hall was transported down to the Pattern room. Nice trick, that. There was
a hush as those unused to magic took in the change. A few courtiers
fainted, while others laughed nervously. Someone approached the Pattern
itself and was warned away.  I went over to Fiona. "Do you think she will
succeed?" I asked.  "I really have no idea."

"Do you know any way to help her?"

"Perhaps Oberon could, but I can't."

I thanked her and backed away into the crowd. In retrospect, Fiona did not
seem herself, but at the time I attributed it to the sudden acquisition of
power. I tried Oberon's Trump, but he was not available. Then I tried
Corwin.  "Malachai. I'm glad you called."

"What is it?"

"Oberon is trying to walk my Pattern, and I don't think he'll succeed."

"I have a similar problem.  Someone is about to walk the Amber Pattern. Is
there any way to assist her?"

"You need to be attuned to the Jewel of Judgment, like me, Oberon, or
Fiona."

"Fiona is here, and she says she doesn't know how to help."

"She's lying. Can you give me a hand here?"

I didn't know what to do. "I...I don't think I can at the moment, but I'll
give you a call when I can."

"Fine. I'll be seeing you."

I ended the contact. I knew that Fiona was lying. I also knew that she had
forged Oberon's signature on a letter authorizing her assumption to the
Regency.  Intending to use the threat of exposing her duplicity to force
her to help Jackie, I headed toward Fiona. Just as I approached her, she
held up a hand, signaling that she was receiving a Trump call. Then, in a
sparkle of rainbow colors, she disappeared.  I cursed silently. Random
trumped out with Paolo (whom I hadn't noticed before), then Talos. I spoke
with Jackie. She intended to walk the Pattern now, regardless of whether
Fiona was here. When I suggested a later date, Rhiannon insisted that
Jackie could not leave without walking the Pattern first.  Drat. I wished
Jackie good luck, then took out Corwin's card. As I made contact, I saw
that he was at his Pattern. Behind him, I saw Cassandra tying up an
unconscious Fiona. Nearby, Oberon had one foot firmly planted on the
Pattern. Why does it all have to happen at once?

"Are you still looking for help?" I asked.  "Sure. Come through." I took
Corwin's hand and came to him. "Help Cassandra. I'm a little busy right
now." He appeared to be concentrating on something.  "What's going on?" I
asked Cassandra.  "I just got here. Apparently Corwin sensed Oberon's
attempt to walk the Pattern. He called Fiona here, then knocked her out
when she wouldn't help."

"What I am going to do," Corwin said, "is draw power from Fiona, and drain
Pattern energy into you, Malachai."

"All right," I said.  He concentrated, and soon I began to feel warm.
"You're glowing," Cassandra said. She tried touching me, trying to drain
off a bit of energy, but it didn't work. Then she took out my Trump. She
made contact, and I felt a surge of power flash from me to her. As that
happened, I got a flash of mental contact. She was worried that I might not
be her brother and therefore might not be able to handle this kind of
power. She figured that she could because she knew she was Corwin's
daughter. Then a pulse of fear as it overwhelmed her.  The contact ended as
Cassandra fell to the ground, unconscious. I saw that she was breathing all
right, and realized that I no longer felt hot. Then it started to build up
again. It felt almost like my first step on the Pattern.

I rifled quickly through my Trump deck and selected Rhiannon's card. I
concentrated on her image and began to get through. I felt the same surge
as when Cassandra had trumped me, and the contact went down. Then it again
began to build. I looked at Corwin, consumed in concentration. I thought
about pulling Grayswandir from its scabbard at his side and removing
Oberon's foot. Would the image of the Pattern inscribed on the blade allow
that to get him away?

Just as I began to reach for the sword, I got a Trump contact. Rhiannon's
image appeared for a second, and another burst of energy transferred from
me to her. Then the contact went down again. The energy stream began to
lessen, or perhaps equalize. Oberon's foot slowly lifted up, then off the
Pattern. Then he collapsed. Corwin, exhausted, dragged himself over to his
father.  I heard clanging. I turned and found Ingold, whom I had not
noticed here before, fighting a set of swords that seemed to be wielded by
invisible opponents. Considering the circumstances, he was doing rather
well. Behind the wall of swords, Fiona stood with a dark look in her
eyes. She appeared to be casting some sort of spell in Oberon's
direction. He began to ignite.  I drew Galantine and rushed toward Fiona,
whose back was toward me. With all my strength, I tried to bash her across
the back of the head with the hilt of my sword. My blow bounced off of some
sort of magical shield, but some force was transmitted to her. She stumbled
back.  Forgetting Oberon for the moment, she turned to me. "Ungrateful
bastard," she hissed.  Behind her, Corwin hefted Oberon over his
shoulder. "Get Cassandra," he shouted. Fiona turned toward him. I took
Cassandra, still unconscious, about the waist. Corwin ran, shouting for me
to follow. I did so, feeling the heat of Fiona's spell upon my back. In a
moment -- far quicker than I could have managed -- Corwin shifted us into
another shadow.  We were on grass, next to a waterfall. Corwin dropped his
father and went to dunk his head. I let Cassandra down, a bit more
gently. They were both breathing. Wearily, I went to the waterfall and
gulped cold water.  "I don't know if Ingold made it," Corwin said.  "Should
we go back there?" I asked. I felt guilty enough about attacking the woman
who had saved my life so many years before; deserting a comrade in battle
would be too much.  Corwin considered for a moment. "Not without backup."
He gave me a Trump and the silver rose from his cloak. "Go to Pearl," he
said. "Show them the rose. Get Deth, Rudy, Seth, and Madir. Then call me
and bring them here."

The Trump depicted the castle at Pearl. I went through. The guards who
challenged me let me through when they saw the silver rose. I ran to the
castle and was directed to a room where I found Rudy, Seth, and Madir, but
not Deth, who was apparently away. I explained quickly, called Corwin, and
brought us all through to him. Corwin, Rudy, Seth, and Madir quickly
developed a plan and went off, shifting shadow. I was left behind with
Cassandra and Oberon. I checked them over. Cassandra woke up when I touched
her wrist, and I explained to her what had happened. Oberon, however, was
ashen and straining at each breath.  "Maybe Corwin's Pattern is doing him
harm," suggested Cassandra.  "I think you are right," I said. "But how do
we get him away? I can't travel these shadows, and neither can you."

"Darhyse can."

"You're right."

Darhyse shifted into her normal form and we loaded Oberon onto her
back. Then she traveled through Shadow until we reached the barrier. She
then informed us that she could go no further. I tried Corwin's Trump -- no
answer. The same for Merlin. Cassandra had a Trump of Darkstar, and we
tried that. He answered and said he was willing to help. He came to us, and
brought use through the barrier. There on the other side was the field we
had seen before. It contained the same tent, bearing the Unicorn banner. We
thanked Darkstar; he gave us his strange insect grin and disappeared.  We
brought Oberon to the tent where Caine lay sleeping. There was another cot,
into which we placed the king, and first aid supplies. We assisted him as
best we could and hooked him up to an intravenous saline drip. Then I
called Gerard.  He was astonished at the news and insisted on pulling both
Oberon and Caine through to Amber, in the library. Gerard checked the work
we had done on Oberon and grunted with reluctant satisfaction. Soon a group
of others had arrived -- Benedict had called a family meeting. Flora,
Llwella, Rhiannon, Merlin, Random, Martin, Darkstar, Erik, and Bleys
arrived. Bleys' right arm was hanging in sling (I later found out that he
had tried striking a Gwen statue with Aundantrik -- a foolish maneuver,
given that I had told him what happened when I tried the same thing). A
young woman came through with Random, wearing formal clothing. I later
found out that she was the Duchess Cathryne of House Jesby, in Chaos. She
carried an odd-looking sword.  Cassandra and I told our stories. There was
debate regarding what was happening and what should be done about it (and,
of course, who was at fault). Not surprisingly, Benedict decided for us
all.  "Everyone," he said. "Please take out your Trump of Fiona." We did
so. "On three, everyone will concentrate. One, two, three."

We saw through Fiona's eyes. She was fighting, using a mass of swords she
manipulated remotely against Corwin, Rudy, Seth, Ingold, and a couple of
others I didn't recognize. She had grown wings, just like Gwen, and her
body was made of white stone. We could tell that she was not in control of
her body.  There was a flash of light on our side, and we felt a powerful
presence in the library. It felt distinctly like Clarissa. Oberon sat up,
looking suddenly well. He pulled the I.V. from his arm and consulted with
Benedict, who briefly summarized the situation for him. "Some should go
through to assist," I overheard him say to Benedict.  "It could be a trap,"
Benedict said. "I should stay here." Had anyone else said that, it would
have sounded fearful. Coming from Benedict, we knew that it was his
dispassionate assessment of the situation.  "I'll go," said Gerard. From
somewhere he produced a huge metal club. Belowing like an ox, he jumped
through the Trump connection and struck Fiona over the head. The club
shattered and Gerard was forced back by a flurry of sword strikes, some
wounding him.  Oberon got a sword from somewhere and followed him, joining
the fray on the other side of the Trump connection. I went to
Benedict. "May I borrow your gun?" I asked, pointing to the large revolver
he carried on one hip. Without a word he drew it and handed it to me. With
it he handed over three boxes of ammunition, marked "A," "?," and "E." Just
for the hell of it, I aimed the gun into my Trump card (making sure that no
one in the library was on the other side) and fired. I put a hole through
the card -- the bullet did not go through the connection. Oh, well. I
reloaded.  Benedict cupped his hands together and gestured that he would
boost me through. With Galantine in my left hand and the pistol in my
right, I placed one foot in his hands and was launched. I flew through the
Trump connection and went sailing past Fiona's head. Silently asking for
forgiveness from the woman who had, for her own reasons, saved my life, I
fired, emptying all chambers. As I approached the ground, Corwin darted
forward, forestalling one magical blade from piercing my chest at the cost
of a cut on the left arm for me and a slash on the side for him. I hit the
ground and rolled. My shots had had little effect, except for one in the
left eye, which had seemed to bother her.  I reloaded from the "A"
box. Someone began trying to trump me -- I ignored it and fired again,
aiming for the eyes. The first hit her forehead, knocking her back
slightly. After that she seemed to compensate, and the rest of my shots
were deflected by her magical shield. I opened the "?" box. The tip of each
round was inscribed with what appeared to be a tiny section of the
Pattern. I opened the "E" box and loaded the pistol with normal-looking
bullets. I aimed and pulled the trigger, but the gun would not fire. I
tried several times more, but it was no good. All right. I loaded the "?"
rounds. This time, when I fired, the shot diverted from Fiona and headed
straight for Oberon. Amazingly, he deflected the bullet with his sword. I
suppose those rounds were designed to head for the greatest source of
Pattern locally availably.  I put the pistol in my belt, stood, transferred
Galantine into my right hand, and answered the Trump call. It was
Cassandra. She passed through Rivka in her chained fire goddess form and
Auricle. Then Cassandra came through. Auricle grew a large number of arms
from her chest and jumped forward, trying to grab as many of Fiona's swords
as she could. All of her hands were cut off, flying everywhere. I joined
the fray against a staggering array of blades. Many of the others were
wounded, and I was hard pressed to hold the swords away.  Behind Fiona
there appeared a big orange lizard, standing on its hind legs. It carried a
strange sword that seemed to writhe in her hands. The lizard struck Fiona a
hard blow across the midsection, cutting her stone body in half like a
stonemason's chisel. Just as she did that, Rivka threw a blast of flame
forward, sweeping several of the swords to the side. I tried to jump
forward past the flames just as the remaining swords exploded
outward. Something knocked me down and I was stunned for a moment. When I
opened my eyes and cleared them of blood, I saw a naked redheaded child
lying on the ground where Fiona had stood. She was crying, but unhurt.
Most of the others were down. Corwin and Oberon lay on the ground bleeding
with fragments of swords protruding from their bodies. "Damn it," I
thought. "They are not allowed to be dead!" I got up on hands and knees and
began to crawl toward them. I noticed that most of my vision had turned
black, but I could still see directly forward. There was a booming sound
and suddenly Ingold, Benedict, Erik, and Flora were there. Gerard scooped
me up in one beefy arm and Oberon in the other. "Ready," he said. I felt
darkness enfold me, and knew no more.  I woke up on the floor of the
library, bleeding. People were standing around, but I couldn't tell who
they were because my vision was blurry. I couldn't seem to move much,
although I was not in pain. I knew from previous experiences like this that
that was not necessarily a good sign.  I recognized Duchess Cathryne as she
walked by me. "Excuse me," I said weakly. "Maybe someone could get me to
the infirmary. I seem to be bleeding."

"Oh," she said. "You're awake now. Maybe I should work on you." She knelt
beside me and spread her hands over me. I felt an odd tingling sensation,
first in my shoulder, then my side. I felt much better, although still
weak.  The castle medical staff finally arrived about then and began
patching people up. Gerard was standing with a sword stuck in his chest,
blithely drinking a beer. A medic came to me and began to apply
bandages. Cathryne wandered off.  Ingold knelt beside me. "You live?" he
asked.  "Yes. Is everyone else all right?"

"I guess so."

"Where is Cassandra?" I asked.  "She came through with me. I guess she must
have wandered off."

We spoke with Cathryne while she performed her magical healing on
Corwin. He had three sword blades imbedded in his body, although there
didn't seem to be any bleeding. I watched as one slowly dissolved.

Apparently it had been Cathryne, in lizard form, who had struck down
Fiona. Her sword was a Logrus weapon she had borrowed from Suhuy, Keeper of
the Logrus.  "I find it interesting," I said, "that Gwen manifestations are
immune to Pattern, but not Logrus."

She shrugged and continued to work on Corwin. I managed to get up and limp
over to where Merlin was speaking with Gerard. There was a sword blade
protruding from Gerard's chest. Like Corwin's, this was not bleeding. On
closer inspection, I saw that it was made of white stone rather than
metal. It didn't seem to bother him; in fact he was using it as a drink
holder. Perhaps they would soon become fashionable.  "We might have a
problem," Merlin said.  "Cassandra is missing."

"Yes. How did you know?"

"Ingold said she came through with him, but she would not wander off with
Corwin so wounded."

"Good point," he said. "Should I tell Ingold or do you want to?"

"Why don't we both talk to him?"

Merlin went and got Ingold.

"Cassandra is missing," I told him.  "Couldn't she have wandered off?"

"Not with Corwin so sorely wounded," Merlin said.  "You're right. I'd
better go look for her."

"Do you need help?" I asked.  "How much do you know about transdimensional
matrixes?"

"Nothing."

"Then you can't help."

I turned to Merlin. "Then should you help?" I asked him.  "I don't know
anything about that stuff."

"You know magic."

"There are many paths of magic."

Ingold wanted only privacy and lots of food. I led him to a small gallery
and left orders that he not be disturbed, other than to provide a large
supply of victuals. A servant arrived and told me that a Ambassador Serena
wished to see me on a matter of some urgency.  I made my good-byes and went
to see Serena. She was speaking with the Begman ambassador outside of her
room. She made her excuses, claiming that she had an important matter to
discuss with me. Smirking slightly, he bowed and left. I went inside, and
the exhaustion began to sink in. Serena got me a drink, and while I sipped
it I gave her a summary of what I knew of recent events. Then, fussing over
my wounds, she put me to bed.  I woke late and spent most of the morning
with Serena. Later, after she had left and I was working on this journal, I
got a Trump call. It was Corwin, looking far better than the last time I
had seen him.  "I am here with lady Cathryne," he said. "We were wondering
if you might like to come through and take part in an interesting
conversation we were having."

I gathered up, Galantine, left a note for Serena, and stepped through. We
were standing on a glass floor in a place up in the sky. I could see blue
sky and clouds in all directions. It was very disorienting at first. Corwin
explained that this place was blocked to outside scrutiny.  "Has Cassandra
been found?" I asked.  "Yes. She was caught between worlds, but Ingold
found her."

"Good."

"I sent her off for some tutoring. She won't be back for some time."

"I see."

Cathryne explained a complicated theory she had. Apparently, she believed
that Flora was behind everything. I tried to cast doubt on bits and pieces
of the theory, but she had it rather well worked out. Cathryne seemed
rather paranoid, but on the other hand someone was out to get us. Her
theory about Flora seemed possible, but rather unlikely. I agreed to gather
whatever information I could. Then Corwin trumped me back to the castle.  I
caught up on this journal and took the rest of the afternoon off to
recuperate.  * * *

Things have been busy here since last I wrote. It has been several months.
I settled in as Warden of Arden, working with Orlando and Ivy to train the
Rangers and develop a more flexible doctrine. The most work has been
required among the officers, who had be taught that under no circumstances
should they exercise initiative or deviate in any way from their rigid
procedures. That left the Rangers desperately vulnerable to any attack that
did not proceed in exactly the manner that Julian foresaw. We conducted a
long series of exercises in which we made it clear to the command staff
that not only were they allowed to exercise initiative and take an active
part in planning, they were now required to do so. A few could not adapt to
this approach and were replaced.  Additionally, we worked with Benedict to
provide the Rangers with training in the use of guns. We developed a
flexible tactical doctrine that emphasized scouting and ambush, to make use
of our home ground advantage to best effect. Attackers are led by feigned
flight into pre-planned killing zones. We set up a system of traps,
watchtowers, and localized fortifications, establishing a defense in depth
from any angle of attack. Any Ranger units that were cut off or bypassed by
an invader were trained to hide and look for opportunities to disrupt the
supply and command structure of the enemy. I asked Bleys to look over our
plans and point out any weaknesses, but he declined on the grounds that it
wouldn't be "sporting." I wonder...  Ivy began on some pet projects,
including the importation of griffins. She has set up an aerie and trained
a batch of riders. They are effective scouts and, we hope, an effective
counter to any airborne attack.  After some intense conversations with
Orlando and Ivy, we decided to incorporate portable field guns, mortars,
and minefields into the defense of certain critical approaches. Ivy was
concerned about the potential damage to the forest. I pointed out that such
weapons would be used only in the event of dire threat. Julian himself had
found it necessary to burn much of Arden to defend against Corwin's
invasion during the Succession War. I proposed to use less destructive
means to protect against a possible overwhelming attack. Finally, they
agreed. By now we have most of the weapons we had originally planned for.
It has been quite a lot of work, but I believe that Arden is now in
acceptable shape militarily. We even performed well in a recent set of
exercises with the Lancers.  Politically, events have been stable and
quiet. Oberon has been away most of the time, but he made it very clear
that no one had his permission to take over in his stead. The blockade
continues. I have helped out the Lancers by leading caravans on two
occasions -- much to our profit -- but have not had time for more. I am now
far richer than I had ever really imagined I could be.  Fiona has
apparently been changed into a 10-year old girl with no memory of her
former self. Although I witnessed her transformation, I do not understand
how it happened. Bleys and Rivka took her away for "education" and I have
not seen her.  Orlando and I have spent quite a bit of time together. We
have sparred often. I believe I have a slight edge on him when it comes to
simple fencing, but he has a broader understanding of combat under varying
conditions than I. He took me off into Shadow to introduce me to combat in
various higher-technology aircraft, with which he is a master. He has not
yet fought any duels with Benedict's sons. Erik has spent most of his time
back in Tremere, and Ingold is in Pearl. Corwin has not been available,
although I have tried to contact him several times. Benedict has consented
to spar with me on a few occasions. He is, of course, stunningly
capable. There have been a few times when I began to see what he was doing
and at least make him choose other ways to defeat me. I think I need to
find someone who is not so far advanced than I to teach me. Most of what
Benedict says and does goes right past me without my understanding. I have
been practicing hard, however, and I hope to catch up someday.  I have
spent some time with Serena, but not enough. Tomorrow, she and I will head
off into shadow for a vacation. I intend to bring us somewhere where time
flows quickly relative to Amber, then settle down someplace comfortable and
relax.  * * *

Once again things seem to be heating up. A messenger told me today that
Oberon was calling a meeting this afternoon of family members and various
associated people, including Serena. I dressed in my Lancer's uniform with
the Badge of Arden. Serena dressed in one of her formal ambassador's
outfits.  The meeting was in the library. It included all the usual people,
as well as Corwin (whom I had not seen in several months). I spoke with
Corwin briefly before the meeting started. He told me that Cassandra had
been off filling in some gaps in her education, but she would be here soon.
"I also have surprise for her," he said. "While she was away, Darhyse had a
litter of kittens." He seemed nervous. "I was wondering -- would you be
willing to tell her about them?"

"Why me?"

"I don't know her very well."

"You've known her much longer than I have."

"She's so young. I don't remember that age. I barely remember what it was
like to be your age."

"All right," I said.  He went to the back of the room and returned with a
bundle. It was a bag full of squirming black Sha'um kittens. They were
adorable. Serena immediately grabbed a couple and began playing with
them. We bundled them up and Serena took them into the next room to look
after them.  Others began to arrive -- Zack, Random, Orlando, Rhiannon,
Merlin, Benedict. Gerard came in with his very pregnant wife. Cassandra and
Ingold arrived, both wearing black uniforms with silver piping. Cassandra
looked several years older, and very tired. Auricle came in, looking
confused. Bleys carried the young Fiona in, piggyback. He looked
tousled. Oberon came in wearing full regalia with his scepter and went over
to speak with Benedict in low tones. Llwella came in, still wet, wearing
seashells and a g-string. She looked angry.  I chatted with Cassandra. She
said that she had just passed some sort of test. I congratulated her. She
showed me a short metal baton that she called a dark sabre, explaining that
it was some sort of energy sword weapon. She wasn't sure if it would work
here, and wasn't willing to test it right then. For her, it had been six
years since I had seen her last.  "Corwin asked me to tell you about a
surprise he has for you," I said.  "A surprise? Why didn't he tell me
himself?"

"He thought it would be better coming from me."

Her eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Darhyse has had kittens."

"What? Where is she? Where are they?"

"I don't know where Darhyse is. The kittens are in the next room. Serena's
with them."

I showed her to the room with the kittens. They were everywhere, despite
Serena's best efforts to keep them under control. Cassandra came in and
immediately began scooping them up. There were eleven of them, I think. She
formed her cloak into a large bag and put them all in. We went back into
the classroom.  Oberon finally banged his scepter a couple of times to gain
everyone's attention. "You may be wondering why I've called you here
today. I am here to report that we seem to have come across a time when the
universe as we know it is destabilizing. This has been happening since
Brand's insanity, and has recently begun to accelerate. I would appreciate
your help. I know this family has trouble getting along sometimes," -- he
looked sharply at Zack and Valeria -- "and I ask that you assist as best
you can."

Everyone began to speak at once. Shortly, Oberon banged his scepter to
quiet things.  "What should be done about this?" asked Auricle.  "I don't
know what to do about it," Oberon said. " I'm willing to entertain
suggestions."

"What are the indications of reality being torn apart?" Rhiannon asked.
"Brand going insane, Hendrake attacking amber for no reason, Clarissa is
having troubles with her opposite (looks at Zack). Some of the others are
having troubles as well. Time is being rewritten."

"I have been noticing interesting effects in shadow when the family
travels," Rhiannon said.  Someone -- I think it was Zack -- asked whether
what had happened to Fiona was related to this.  "Actually," said Oberon,
"that's not Fiona."

The little girl in Fiona's guise stopped playing with Bleys, who stepped
carefully away from her.  "Is it Gwen?" Cassandra asked.  "No," he
said. "It's your cousin Dara, if she would stop clowning around." He looked
at her. "The truth is out."

Fiona, or Dara, or whoever she was stood looking at him, but saying
nothing.  "If that's Dara," Rivka said, "then where's Fiona?"

"As far as I can tell," Oberon said, "Fiona does not currently exist in
this continuum."

"Is that a clever euphemism for dead?" asked Zack. "Or do you mean
something else?"

"I can't even find her corpse," Oberon said. "On the other hand, these
people" -- he pointed to Ivy and Orlando -- "shouldn't exist at all."

"Does this mean you want her removed?" asked Cassandra.  "No," he
said. "She's family." He turned to face her. "You were invited here. Why
the subterfuge? Are you an agent of darkness?"

The little girl merely stood and stared at him.  "Fine then," said
Bleys. He waved his hands, and the little girl was transformed into a piece
of wood.  "So now what are we supposed to do," Oberon asked. "Hang hats on
her?

"That would be impolite," I said.  Around that time, Flora came in. "Am I
late?"

"You know the party never starts until you arrive," I told her.  "Oh,
good," she said with one of her stunning smiles. She took off her bonnet
and hung it on Dara.

"Well, that's a convenient way to keep her out of trouble," said Oberon,
"but it's hard to interrogate a hatrack. I suggest we meet en family with
experts from across shadow to determine how to deal with this." To Flora:
"Is everything ready for dinner?"

Flora curtsied. "Of course."

"Good. Then I suggest we -- " He stopped and stared into space. Then,
"Excuse me." The rainbow effect of Trump enveloped him and he was
gone. Most of the assembled family and friends looked uncomfortably at each
other.  Corwin and Merlin seemed dumbstruck. They simply stood there,
watching the hat rack that was, apparently, Dara. They didn't blink, and
there was even a bit of drool forming at the edge of Merlin's mouth.  (I
have noticed that the children of Faella tend to fall into a sort of
catatonic state when they are presented with a severe emotional stress. I
had previously observed it in Cassandra at the Abyss, and now Corwin and
Merlin. It may be a hereditary disease. I have, fortunately, never
succumbed to it, and hope I never do.)

People started talking again, ignoring the unresponsiveness of Merlin and
Corwin. Perhaps they all know about this ailment, and do not mention it in
polite company.

I spoke with Bleys and Zack. Bleys had not been able to detect any signs of
Gwen over the last six months. We had all noted that the Gwen statues had
all crumbled away. Paolo and Mikail, who might know something about Gwen,
had been unreachable for months.  Cassandra spoke to her father, who did
not respond. She waved a hand in front of his eyes. Nothing. She went over
to Dara and picked her up. No response. Angry, she threw Dara at
Corwin. Seemingly as a reflex, he drew Grayswandir and cut the piece of
wood in half. Then he sheathed Grayswandir and resumed his catatonic state.
"Does that make her dead?" I asked Bleys.  "I don't know," he said. "Do you
want to experiment?"

"No."

Zack picked up the pieces and tried to put them back together, without
noticeable success.  "I suggest we all go to dinner," I said. For the most
part, everyone ignored me. With a shrug, I headed out the door and toward
the dining hall. Some of the others followed.  The dining hall was
empty. Benedict was not available by Trump. I tried Oberon.  "One moment,"
he said, "I'm in the midst of negotiations."

I waited. He got to me in a few minutes, and I explained that the castle
seemed strangely empty.  "Nothing is wrong," he said. "Go to the formal
dining room." The contact faded away.  I went there and found Cassandra at
the entrance to the dining room.  "How is Corwin?" I asked her.  "Crazed,"
she said.  "I didn't know he still carried such a torch for Dara."

"I'm not sure what it is. I want to talk to him. If the universe is falling
apart, then what's happening to Pearl?"

"It is possible," I said, "that things are more stable near a Pattern, but
who knows?"

We went in. The formal dining room is not quite as large as the regular
dining hall, but it is quite large. There were almost a hundred people
there, including most of the Amber family. Looking around, I noticed the
absence of Benedict, Flora, and Oberon. There were many strange-looking
people there, including quite a few non-humans. Cassandra quickly got into
an argument with an idiot who called himself a "Jedi." He objected to her
presence, and Ingold's, in the uniforms they were wearing. She stared him
down for a few minutes, then something from his home dimension apparently
decided that he had been bad and needed to be spanked. A vortex appeared
around him and he was whisked away.  Various people tried the door and
found it impossible to open, even by magical means. Cassandra, Darhyse, and
I tried removing some of the stones that made up the wall. We found dark
nothingness beyond. Apparently, Oberon wanted us to stay here.  I wandered
around, listening to various discussions that led nowhere. Then Ingold came
and found me. "You busy?"

"No." He motioned for me to follow him, and I did.  Corwin had arrived
without my noticing. He was talking with Darkstar. Ingold cast a spell
around the group of us that, he said, would prevent eavesdropping. Nice
trick, that.  "Have you noticed," Corwin said, "that Oberon's story makes
no sense?"

"How do you mean?" I asked.  "If you were concerned that the universe were
falling apart, would you lock most of the wise and mighty in a room and
then go away?"

"No, I don't suppose I would. I'd try to gather information before calling
this kind of meeting. There aren't enough data. What are you suggesting?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe Oberon has gone mad. Maybe he's trying some kind of
power grab."

"Or maybe he just knows more than we do," I said, uncomfortable with the
direction this conversation was taking.  "I concede that possibility,
although he himself admitted to being out of his depth. I do think the
question should be raised."

"What do you think we should do?"

"I think we should look into the matter; check out his assertions."

"That would not be unreasonable. It even fits what he asked us to do."

"Yes it does."

"I should make clear," I said, "that I will not act against His Majesty
without clear proof that he is mad or working to harm the kingdom."

"I agree absolutely," he said. "I have no desire to make myself Oberon's
enemy."

"Then the thing to do," Darkstar said, "would be to examine places of power
such as Pattern and Logrus."

"And Ygg," Corwin suggested.  "It makes sense," I said. "As much as
anything in this business does."

"Then it seems we must leave this place," Darkstar said.  "I think that can
be arranged," Corwin said. "I also think that someone should try to get
some sense of Oberon's mind."

"Who knows his mind well enough to tell if he is mad?" I asked.  Darkstar
and Corwin looked at each other. "Clarissa," they said in unison.  "Who
should talk to Clarissa, then?" asked Ingold.  "I know she offered to tutor
Cassandra," I said. "She seems to like her. Maybe she would be the best one
to try."

"Good idea," Corwin said.  Ingold ended his privacy spell. I quickly
spotted Cassandra -- she said she was looking for Corwin. I brought her
over to him.  "Father," she said, "I think I know how to figure out what is
disturbing the universe."

"I don't have time to listen to your silly theory, Cassandra. I'm working
on something important."

Cassandra's face fell into a stony mask. "Very well," she said. "I won't
trouble you further." She walked off.  "Did I say something wrong?" he
asked.  "Corwin," I said, "you were an ass." I followed Cassandra. By the
time I caught up with her she had regained her composure.  "I just don't
understand him," she said. "He teaches me to be a soldier. He gives me
command of his army. Then he treats me like a five year old."

"From his perspective, the difference between five and fifteen is very
small."

"I just wish he'd make up his mind about me."

"He needs more time," I said. "I don't mean to excuse his behavior, but
you're growing up too fast for him to understand what's happening."

"I suppose."

"Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about a task."

"What sort of task?"

I drew her off into a corner. "We're not sure exactly what all this
means. This meeting, the changes he claims have occurred in Shadow. Oberon
may not have been entirely honest, or he may not be entirely himself."

"It does seem a little funny."

"We were hoping that you might speak with Clarissa about this matter. She's
the only one we can think of who could make a sound judgment about Oberon,
and she seems to like you."

She thought about it. "All right. I'll ask her about it."

"Good. Now we just need to figure out how to get out of here."

Corwin had thought of that. He spoke with Zack, who admitted that he could
open a faerie gate back into Shadow. With a little prodding, he agreed to
do so. He needed to conclude some business first, however. While I waited I
took a walk around the room. Dworkin was there, as well as Suhuy, the
Master of the Logrus. I was approached by two creatures wearing robes. They
were humanoid, but with strange facial features, including a single eye in
the shape of an hourglass.  "You do not belong here," one of them said to
me.  "What?"

"Yes," said the other. "You are not scheduled to exist in this timestream
until later."

They walked off. "Wait," I said. "What do you mean?"

I followed them, but they would say no more to me.  Soon thereafter, Zack
was ready. We found an unoccupied corner and he transported us to
Faerie. Queen Titania came with us, along with Rivka. Once in Faerie, they,
along with Zack, went their own way. We took a gate into Shadow that Zack
had pointed out. Once there, we decided to split up. Corwin and Ingold
would go to Amber's Primal Pattern. Darkstar would examine the
Logrus. Cassandra and I would go to Ygg. Later I realized that Corwin
deliberately avoided sending Cassandra anywhere near a Pattern, for fear
that she might be tempted to walk it.  Cassandra and I spent a pleasant
time traveling. Ygg was not too far, perhaps a day of hard
riding. Bucephalus was sadly back in Amber, but I found a palomino mare who
tolerated shadow travel fairly well. Cassandra rode Darhyse. She carried
with her the bag of kittens, who proved somewhat difficult to manage.  When
we arrived at Ygg, all seemed as it had the last time we had seen
it. Cassandra said that a painting left leaning against Ygg's trunk had
moved slightly. That would suggest a slight progression of the tree toward
the direction of Chaos. We couldn't figure out what that might mean, and a
brief discussion with Ygg provided no insights.  From here, we could not
quite reach the castle via Trump. We traveled through Shadow for several
hours toward Amber, then used the card to transport ourselves the rest of
the way. It was late at night. Cassandra said that she had some business to
conduct, and would get in touch with me when she could. Weary, I went up to
my room and went to bed.  * * *

I wanted to sleep in the next morning, but there were some things I needed
to check on instead. I got up and had breakfast. None of the family were
there. I saw Serena and planned to meet on the castle wall a bit later for
a tour of the vineyards. After breakfast I took out my cards and tried
Corwin. He was asleep. I tried Zack, but he seemed too far away. I put the
cards away and wandered for a bit. I saw Lord Rein and asked about current
events. He told me that many of the castle staff were in the locked
room. Nothing else was really happening, so far as he knew.  Hmm. I took
out Benedict's Trump. His image appeared to me with but a moment of
conversation. He was on a ship.  "Benedict," I said. "No one is in the
castle and I am unsure of what is going on."

"Nothing of great import," he said. "The Guard is in place, you have Arden,
Gerard has the fleet."

"I confess to being puzzled by the events of the locked room."

"That is Oberon's arrangement; I am not at liberty to discuss it. Perhaps
you should speak to him." There was a hint of disapproval in his voice, as
if he did not agree with His Majesty's approach to this matter.  "I may do
that," I said. "Thank you."

"Be well."

I passed my hand before the card and shuffled it back into my deck. I went
back to my room and worked on this journal, trying Corwin every fifteen
minutes or so. No good. It is now time for me to go pick some flowers
from one of the castle gardens and meet Serena.  * * *

Serena and I had a lovely picnic in Garnath. As we lay digesting our lunch,
I tried Corwin again. He was getting up, with a lovely young lady in bed
behind him. He suggested we wait for the others to complete their
journeys. He said he would call me when they had checked in.  We spent a
pleasant afternoon touring vineyards, planning caravans, singing in
together in terrible harmony, swimming in a creek, and riding through
Garnath. That night, we slept out under the stars.  The next morning I got
a call from Corwin. He wanted me to come through to Pearl. I said farewell
to Serena, who pouted a bit but did need to get back to work
herself. Corwin pulled me through to the green glade at the border at the
edge of Pearl. I greeted him, and he said that he had a few others to
gather. Soon, he had contacted and brought in Cathryne, Zack, and
Ingold. We chatted for a few minutes. Shortly, Clarissa appeared with Rivka
and two redheaded women who were, apparently, Rivka's sisters. I didn't get
their names.  "Have I got a surprise for you," said Clarissa.  "Then we
must go to Pearl," Corwin replied.  A few minutes later, we were all in
Pearl. "No we don't have to worry about eavesdropping," he said. "I am the
supreme being here." We went up to the castle, apparently to have a
court. About an hour later, Corwin was seated on a throne with various
heralds, assistants, bodyguards, and miscellaneous courtiers arrayed
about. I found myself seated at Corwin's left, with Cassandra at his
right. I found that the fuzzy-headed feeling I was familiar with in this
place was weaker when I was near Corwin.  Clarissa came into court and
stood before Corwin. She apologized for the invasion (invasion? what
invasion?) and began talking about reparations that would be paid. I got
the impression that I was watching some sort of arcane dance; but I didn't
know the steps and couldn't hear the music. She began conjuring paintings,
sculptures, and other objects d'art, which she handed over in
payment. Corwin calmly thanked her for her courtesy and accepted the gifts
and the apologies. Then she asked if Merlin could be called into
court. Corwin nodded, and a herald called him forth. Clarissa then thanked
him elaborately for some unnamed act of assistance and bestowed upon him a
present wrapped with a big bow. He thanked her and tucked it away to open
later.  Relatives.  Later, there was a discussion over brandy about recent
events within the multiverse. Apparently, the various people who were
checking into the Patterns and the Logrus hadn't found anything
unusual. The only strange thing, if indeed it was strange, was the possible
movement we had noticed at Ygg. Clarissa hadn't yet managed to speak with
Oberon much, since he was busy arguing with the Manito. Later, most of the
guests decided to leave. I stayed, along with Merlin and
Darkstar. Cassandra wanted to arrange for a permanent set of rooms for me
within the castle. She asked for my requirements; I told her that anything
would do. She took me on a quick tour and I selected a relatively spare
couple of rooms. I was assigned a servant named Thorfin, who spoke some
Thari.  I took a bath and caught up on this journal.  * * *

Later, I asked Thorfin where I might find Cassandra. He led me to her
rooms. In the anteroom was a group of troopers playing cards. I nodded to
them. Cassandra appeared.  She pointed back toward her bedroom. "Malachai?
Come tell me what this is."

I peered past the doorway. "There's a basket with a baby in it."

"What's a baby?"

I looked at her. "What do you mean, what's a baby?"

She looked at me with all seriousness. "It looks like a person, only small
and chubby."

I decided to play along. "When a child is born, it starts out looking like
that."

She didn't seem to be kidding. "Born? What's that?"

"Hasn't anyone ever told you where children come from?"

She gave me a blank look. "Huh?"

I sighed. Apparently, Cassandra's childhood had been extremely
sheltered. Did I say extremely? I mean insanely sheltered. There had been
no other children around -- Corwin had wanted her to feel special, so he
had made sure that she had no peers. He hadn't gotten around to explaining
anything to her, and neither had anyone else. She knew absolutely nothing
about babies, conception, or childbirth. She knew what sex was but had no
idea that it was related to creating children.

Wonderful. I haltingly explained the basics of the subject to her. I was
rescued from this absurd task when Alyse came in. Cassandra began asking
her questions, and I quietly slipped away.  No knowledge of children? None?
Ye Gods!

Later, Cassandra arranged for the two of us to have a fencing lesson with
Janus, her teacher. He was very good, beating both of us readily without
effort. I learned a few things about fencing, and that Janus was Ingold's
son.  After that, Cassandra and I spoke. She told me that she was worried
that her father would never let her walk the pattern. He wouldn't tell her
how long it would be. He wouldn't tell her by what criteria he would judge
her competence. He wouldn't teach her anything about how to walk a
Pattern. And he wouldn't let her near a Pattern, for fear that she would
try it without preparation. She had asked Merlin to help her, and he had
put her off.  I agreed to speak with first Merlin, then Corwin about her
walking the Pattern. She thanked me at great length, although I made sure
that she understood that I made no guarantees.  We talked some more, and
she told me about another problem. She had a gentleman friend, named
Benjamin, whom I had met. Benjamin had recently asked her to marry him, and
she had accepted. Then she had gone away for a time. Benjamin had somehow
decided that she had been kidnapped and an altercation had gotten out of
hand. He'd killed three people in the town near Castle Pearl. Benjamin was
now in prison, awaiting trial. Since he was an officer in the army, it
logically fell upon her to judge the case. Understandably, Cassandra was
deeply troubled. We talked at length about the matter. I offered to take
him away to Amber or another shadow. If he disappeared from Pearl, never to
return, then the matter would be settled. Cassandra didn't feel comfortable
with that. I told her that it was ridiculous to expect her to judge the
case, anyway. Cassandra was concerned that if she didn't do her duty in
this matter, Corwin would find her lacking. We went back and forth along
those lines for some time, reaching no conclusion.  I sought out Merlin,
who was in one of the libraries doing some research. He admitted that he
had been reluctant to assist Cassandra for fear of Corwin's reaction. He
was also afraid that she would be killed on the Pattern -- he didn't want
to be responsible for that. Finally, we agreed to meet with Corwin the
following day at breakfast.  Then I took advantage of the hot running water
available in the castle bathrooms. I had a pleasant bath and caught up on
this journal. Good night.  * * *

I arrived at the dining room the next morning for breakfast. A servant
stopped me at the door. Merlin, he said, had requested that no weapons be
brought to the meeting lest Corwin be tempted to use them. I began to
wonder just how sane my branch of the family really is. Reluctantly, I
handed over Galantine, with a firm threat that the person who lost my sword
would be the subject of severe wrath.  The room was empty, except for a
single table in the corner. I sat down. Corwin came in shortly thereafter,
apparently in a good mood.  "What's up with this?" he asked.  "Merlin and I
had something we wanted to speak with you about," I said. "I'd prefer to
wait until he shows up."

He shrugged. We passed a few minutes in pleasant conversation.  Then Merlin
arrived, with three of his special omelettes. He made a place for himself
and set one omelette before each of us. Mine, of course, was
delicious. Corwin took a bite, looked up in surprise, and dug in. There
wasn't much conversation, other than grunts and the clink of silverware,
for some time.  Corwin finished first. I'm not sure if he had chewed any of
it. "So," he said. "What's all this about?" He looked at me. "Do you want
to walk my Pattern?"

"Actually," I said. "You suggested that some time ago."

"Of course. I thought you might be asking formally."

"No. It's about Cassandra."

He brightened. "Yes. Lovely young girl, don't you think? Very well brought
up."

"Actually," I said, "there are some rather astonishing gaps in her
education."

"Oh?"

I felt the stirrings of a Trump call. I told Corwin of this and he agreed
to wait.  "Yes?"

It was Benedict. "Malachai. Although Julian has been rescued, he is in no
shape to take over Arden. Those you left in your stead have be removed by
order of the Queen. Your presence is needed."

"I see. May I have fifteen minutes to finish up some business?"

"I believe so. She is removing troops from Arden as quickly as she can."

"Really? If you believe that a short delay will not unduly affect the
security of the realm, then, as I have another obligation that I feel the
need to resolve, I will do so."

"Very well."

"Can you call me back in 15 minutes?"

"I believe so. It depends on the person who is facilitating this
conversation."

"Who is that?"

"His name is Darkstar."

At that, I felt another presence in the contact. "Hello Darkstar," I
said. I felt, rather than saw, a grin.  Benedict nodded to me and ended the
contact. Wonderful.  I looked at Corwin and took a deep breath. "As I was
saying, there are some significant gaps in Cassandra's education. Today, I
had to explain to her where babies come from."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she had no idea. She had never seen a baby before and didn't know
anything about pregnancy, procreation, or anything to do with the matter,
except that sex is an enjoyable activity."

"Nothing at all?"

"No, Corwin."

"I...I could have sworn...she must have learned...no, I suppose not." He
looked at me sadly. "Have I done a bad job as..."

"In some ways excellent," I said. "In other ways not so good."

He began to get up. "I have to go talk with her."

"Corwin," I said. He looked at me. "That wasn't what I wanted to tell you
about."

"No?" he said, clearly afraid of what else he might have forgotten.
"Cassandra needs to know when she'll be able to walk the Pattern."

"I don't know what to tell her. I don't know how to talk to her."

"You must find some way to treat her like an adult."

"I suppose I have to try," he said. "I had wanted her to work with one last
teacher before considering the Pattern."

"I believe that unless she has some idea of when she can at least begin
preparation, she'll walk it by herself."

"She can't get there."

"She's been to Amber," I said. "She gets around."

He looked at me. "There are few whom I would trust."

"I agree," I said. "Although I do not claim to be an expert on Pattern, may
I tell her that after she completes a course of training that you have
planned for her, I will begin teaching her what I know of it?"

"May I tell her?" He asked.  "Of course. There is one other matter..."

Corwin gave me an almost piteous look.

"It's about Cassandra's fiance, Benjamin."

"Her fiance?" he asked.  Oh, dear, I thought. She hasn't told him. Feeling
the fool, I continued, "He is imprisoned, and she is to be his judge."

"Ridiculous," he said. "I will simply have him released."

"She is his commanding officer and believes it her duty to judge him
according to military law."

"Whatever for? She's my daughter."

"Exactly," I said. "She is afraid that if she holds herself or Benjamin
above the law, you will not consider her fit for command."

"I'll talk to her."

"Good."

Corwin stood up to leave. I gave Merlin a nasty look -- a lot of help he'd
been. He shrugged.  As he approached the door, Corwin got a Trump
call. After a moment, he motioned me over and I joined the connection. It
was Darkstar. He provided a tidbit of gossip about an upcoming duel between
Julian and a Chaosian noblewoman. Apparently he had offended her within
minutes of arriving in Chaos. We were amused.  I got Merlin to retrieve
Galantine from her custodian, said good-bye to him and Corwin, then stepped
through the contact to Benedict. We were on a boat, sailing
underwater. Fortunately, I had no trouble breathing, just as in
Rebma. Benedict told me that he was on the way to the Manito stronghold
where Oberon was engaged in negotiations.  We discussed recent
events. Benedict was amused at the upcoming duel that Julian had gotten
himself into. "What," I asked, "if Julian decides to reclaim Arden?"

"It is not his to reclaim. He is no longer Warden."

"If I were to step down?"

"Whether you are in charge of Arden or not, Julian has been relieved of his
command. It will not be restored to him. Unless you wish to resign your
commission, I suggest that you go to Arden and see to its defenses."

"Very well, Sir. I will do so. Good day."

I took out my castle Trump and went to Amber. From there I went to the
stables and said hello to Bucephalus and Dapple. Then I Trumped Zack. He
was in Arden.

"May I come through?" I asked. "There are some things we should discuss."

"Sure." I came through to him, along with my two four-legged friends. I
told him the news about his father.  "I was wondering where you stand on
the issue of Arden," I said. "I assure you that it was never my intention
to usurp your father's position, but Benedict is firm -- he will not
restore Julian to his post."

"I understand his position. My father has screwed things up and I don't
have a problem with him having to live with the consequences. I just want
to get him through this with as little violence as possible."

"And if it comes down to Julian trying to forcibly retake Arden?"

"Then I will support your claim."

"Thank you."

At that point, he got a Trump call. "Oh. Hi Dad." The rest of the
conversation was silent. I was careful to stay off to the side, away from
Julian's line of sight. They spoke for a few minutes, then the contact
ended.  "Julian has annoyed Cathryne of House Jesby," he said. "I will be
acting as his second. He's out in Chaos now, and will call back shortly
when he's someplace more comfortable."

"Do you think I should stay?"

"You might want to take a walk."

I went for a walk through the forest with Bucephalus and Dapple. We played
tag for about half an hour, then I saw, up in the sky, a huge white bird
with Julian on it. I Trumped Zack and told him the news. He suggested I
send orders to Ivy's griffin squadron that they not engage. I did so, but
not in time to prevent Julian from killing one griffin.  Later, Zack
Trumped me. "He's gone," he said. Julian, apparently, was taking a
'vacation.' Zack hoped to convince him to give up Arden voluntarily without
letting him know that he has been fired as Warden. He had managed to imply
to Julian that there were others taking care of the forest, without
actually using my name.  I thanked him profusely. Then he got a Trump call
from Benedict. After the call, Zack told me that Benedict has been named as
Cathryne's second. They were discussing the possibility of having the duel
in a place called the maze world. He invited me to go with him to check the
place out, and we made arrangements for him to Trump me later. I thanked
him again and went off to check on affairs in Arden.  Matters in Arden were
in order. Orlando and Ivy had left on an unnamed mission to Shadow. Orlando
had left a request that if he didn't return in a few more days, a certain
book be delivered to Benedict. That night I met Serena at a local hunting
lodge. Just as she arrived, I got a Trump call. It was Corwin. Throughout
the call, Serena nibbled distractingly at my ear.  Corwin said that he was
checking in and I told him what had been happening. He asked me if I would
be willing to speak with Florimel about providing training to Cassandra.
"How did Cassandra respond to that idea?" I asked.  "I haven't talked to
her yet."

"I'll think about it. Why don't you ask her yourself?"

"If I ask her, she'll wonder about my motives. If you ask, since you don't
play the game, she will be more likely to agree."

"Don't play the game?"

"You have not joined in any overt sense, although you have allowed yourself
to be used on several occasions."

"I have been aware of at least some of that," I said.  "Yes. Fiona's
scheming can be fairly apparent."

"Speaking of which, we had had planned to discuss certain information that
has been gathered."

"I would suggest you be careful over an open line," he said.  "Of course --
perhaps we could meet later."

"Yes. You know I have a private place."

"Let me know when you want to meet."

"Tomorrow, Amber time?" he suggested.  "Leaving so soon?" Serena said.
"You are, of course, invited," Corwin said.  "All right," Serena purred.
At that point, we said good-bye. Serena and I had a lovely time that
evening.

Later that night, sometime after midnight, I awoke to the distant sound of
fighting. I woke Serena and used my castle Trump to send her to
safety. Then I went out through the forest with Bucephalus to
investigate. I found a group of rangers arrayed around a bonfire. They were
fighting dark, almost invisible things that darted from out of the
trees. About half of the rangers were dead. I jumped in to lend a
hand. Galantine was ineffective against any part of them but the tail,
which I could cut off. The Words of Power I knew were ineffective.
Realizing that I was overmatched, I tried Benedict's Trump. I could not
reach him. Then Corwin. I started to explain, and he passed through
Grayswandir. I waved it toward the dark things, and they shied away. Corwin
came through and took Galantine.  "Only the tails are vulnerable," I told
him.  "I'm familiar with these things. Keep them off me while I make some
arrangements."

I kept them away while Corwin made a Trump call. He pulled through a couple
of torches and gave one to me. They didn't like these torches either,
although they had shown little fear of the fire behind our backs. Corwin
produced a large number of torches and handed them to the surviving
rangers. Then he pulled through Ingold, who had some sort of flame-throwing
device. He caused several of them to catch fire, and the rest withdrew.
"What the hell are those things?" I asked.  "Nightmares," said Corwin.
"Where do they come from?"

"I was about to ask you that."

I asked the men. They told us that the creatures had just appeared out of
the night.  "They won't return tonight," Corwin said. That was
comforting. He and Ingold Trumped away.  I went back to the hunting
lodge. I had just begun to nod off again when I got another Trump call. I
sat up and opened my mind to the contact. It was Benedict. He said that he
needed me to deal with a diplomatic incident at the castle. Resigning
myself to getting no more sleep that night, I agreed. I got dressed, then
went through to the castle.  I found Lady Cathryne of Jesby standing
nearby, with nervous guards looking warily at her. Cathryne explained that
she had been given a Trump of the castle and was using it as a transfer
point. She had been stopped by the guards when she had come through to
here. I assured her that we had no desire to offend an important noble of
Chaos, but found it necessary to guard this spot carefully.  "Where are you
heading to?" I asked.  "I am going to Tremere to find Lord Talos."

"You mean Random's adoptive son?"

"No. A different Lord Talos."

I smiled. "I've noticed that Tremere seems to collect people with the same
name as other significant people. Perhaps I could provide an escort there
for you?"

"That isn't really necessary."

"Well, given that Tremere is part of the Golden Circle, we must take an
interest if an important lady of Chaos becomes involved."

"Very well. May we leave now?"

"If it is your wish. Would you like a horse?"

"Should I have a horse?" she asked.  "That would be the usual thing, here."

"Very well."

We went down to the stables to acquire a mount for her, then to Arden to
pick up Bucephalus. I then led her through Shadow toward Tremere.  I
carefully broached the subject of the coming duel. Cathryne explained that
Julian had somehow ended up in her house in a drunken stupor. Upon
awakening, he had begun insulting her. As a fellow member of the Royal
House of Amber, I extended my apologies.

"Julian does not speak for Amber," I told her.  "Yes, I understand that."

We rode silently for awhile.  "So how is Corwin?" she asked.  "When last I
saw him, he was fine. Actually, I was just thinking about giving him a
Trump call. You may join in if you wish."

"Yes, thank you."

I pulled out my card and called Corwin. He was riding through an open place
with a purple sky. When I asked he said that he has not yet met with Flora
-- he was, in fact, on his way to see her.

"I have one question," I said. "If Flora says no, who would be your next
choice?"

"It would have to be Clarissa."

"I see. Thanks. Lady Cathryne of Jesby is with me and would like to speak
with you."

"All right, if it is something she can discuss over an open channel."

She joined in. Cathryne wanted to meet with Corwin sometime soon. They made
plans for her to call him in a few hours, then ended the contact.  We went
to Tremere and proceeded to the hotel that Cassandra and I had stayed in
some time ago. When I went to the stable to drop off Bucephalus, I noticed
that Erik's mule was creating havoc there. I left Bucephalus with a
horror-stricken stable boy and followed Cathryne to the bar on the ground
floor. Erik was sitting at the bar with a dark-haired, dour fellow. We said
hello, and Erik's companion was introduced as Lord Talos. Apparently he was
some sort of political exile from Chaos. Cathryne attempted to convince him
to return there with her. He did so only with her guarantee of
sanctuary. Then she went off to make a Trump call.  "So," I asked Erik. "Do
you think you'll ever walk the Pattern?"

"What for? It tends to turn people into cinders."

"It can be useful when you want to travel about. Besides, I expect you'd be
able to manage it, considering."

"Considering what?" he asked with a menacing look.  "Ur...considering your
extraordinary constitution."

"Yes, of course."

Cathryne returned with a Trump of Corwin. They all went through to him. I
had a drink at the bar and returned to the castle via Trump. I met up with
Serena and we began strolling through the castle, engaged in pleasant
conversation. Then I received a Trump call. It was Benedict. He said that
he wanted to speak with me privately, so we made arrangements to meet in
the library in a few minutes. I made my apologies to Serena and went there.
He was in the library with Rivka. I nodded hello to her and Benedict. She
seemed distracted and wandered off to examine a book. I asked Benedict how
his business had concluded. Satisfactorily, I was told. He asked about the
recent incursion into Arden, and I told him about the creatures of darkness
I had encountered.  "Tell me," he said. "In your travels to Pearl, have you
met a man named Ingold?"

"Yes. He seems quite competent."

"Good."

I don't think he knew that I knew Ingold was his son. I wasn't about to
breach the subject.  "Do you think that Corwin would be an acceptable
successor for me as Marshal of Amber?"

"You plan on stepping down?"

"Yes. Perhaps soon. I am told that I am considered head of the Warrior's
Guild in Chaos, and I would like to take over my post there."

"How did that happen?"

"I killed the previous head of the guild during the war."

"I see. I believe that Corwin would do very well, but I'm not sure if he
would be available. He is rather involved in running Pearl and raising
Cassandra."

"I suppose I could put it off for awhile, but I would like to line up a
successor in the near future."

"You may want to call him now, since I believe he is currently on this side
of the barrier between Amber and Pearl."

"I have a Trump made by Darkstar that can reach him anywhere, but it has a
limited lifespan. I will talk with him soon. I also try to get Caine as
head of the castle guard."

"How is Caine?"

"Better than he pretends."

I smiled. "Yes. Of course."

"I plan to speak with Oberon soon and resigning. I want to have everything
arranged before I tell Oberon what I think he is doing wrong. He is
maintaining the blockade because he has worked himself into a corner and
can't admit to having made a mistake."

I was quite surprised that Benedict would speak his mind thus to me. "You
might also want to suggest that he attend a party he organized a couple of
days ago."

"Yes. I should go and call Corwin."

"Thank you for your candor. Good luck."

"Thank you."

I left. After meeting up with Serena, I spent a pleasant afternoon with
her. That evening, I met with Flora after dinner.  "I spoke with Corwin
today," she said. "We shall have to start quite soon."

"What exactly did Corwin ask you about?" I asked.  "You first."

"Very well. He had planned to ask you to accept Cassandra as a student."

"Oh, really? How fascinating. He spoke to me about arranging your wedding
to Serena. I would like you to delay the formal announcement for two years,
as I need to research the guest list. Of course, there will have to be
another couple of years before the actual wedding..."

"No such engagement has been arranged."

"Really? Corwin was quite sure. What sort of assistance did he want with
Cassandra?"

Suddenly I realized that it was time to back off. If he had not told Flora
about this, perhaps I should tell her as little as possible. "He probably
just meant a few matters of etiquette."

"I usually go over such things when children turn 250."

"Then he may have been wanting to arrange that in advance."

"Oh, I see. That reminds me. You haven't had your course either. We could
probably do a couple of years before the wedding and then a couple
after. Or a six month crash course just for the wedding. After all, there
have been some unpleasant rumors lately about you, originating with
Rivka. I stopped them, since you are presumed heir and there is a need to
maintain appearances."

"Rivka? I wonder why she spread such false rumors about me?"

"False? I'd thought you were merely clumsy. The course will naturally
include practice in how to engage in dalliances without getting
caught. I'll get someone to teach Serena also."

"Thanks so much. Tell me, what is the political effect of having so many
people in seclusion?"

"In seclusion?"

"The locked room."

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

I told her about the party in the locked room. She was shocked by Oberon's
lack of decorum, particularly in arranging a party and then not showing up.
"I will have to speak with him about this. Thank you Malachai." Looking
quite angry, she strode off.  * * *

Later that day I met Serena, and we decided to spend some time in
Shadow. We rode off, shifting randomly. We went to a restaurant in a cave
grotto and danced late into the night. We met an interesting couple named
Gomez and Morticia -- quite fascinating people. He reminds me rather of
Caine. We made our good-byes late that night and spend the evening on a
mountaintop.  * * *

The next day, we made our way leisurely to Amber. Serena had other
business, so I spent some time loafing around the castle. I talked with
Prospero about plans for another caravan. That evening, I met Darkstar and
asked him to make for me a Trump of Serena. He said that he would be happy
to -- when could he start? I found Serena, who agreed to pose. She sat for
him in the library, wearing a lovely emerald dress that set off her hair,
skin, and eyes perfectly. We spent a pleasant couple of hours, chatting
while he painted, she sat still, and I served hors d'oeuvres and drinks.

The following morning, Darkstar left for parts distant. I continued to
waste time in Amber. Several times each day, I tried to reach
Benedict. On the second day, I got through. He looked rather more relaxed
than usual.  I discussed the upcoming duel with him, but he didn't tell
me anything I didn't already know. I presented him with the book that
Orlando had left for him. He thanked me and I ended the connection.  * * *

The day after, the caravan was ready to go. Serena had again put
significant cash into the venture and was along to look after her
investment. We headed off into Shadow, following approximately the same
route as last time.  After about eight hours of travel I got a Trump call
from Cassandra. I brought her through, along with Triela, the great mother
Sha'um who made most dragons I had met look small. She told me that she
needed to get Benjamin away from Pearl; he was still in prison and if he
stayed there, she might be compelled to have him executed. Meanwhile, the
General had died of natural causes. I offered my condolences.  Corwin, I
learned, was talking about having me take over as Master at Arms of Amber
so that he could stay in Pearl. I told her that I could not accept such a
responsibility. She nodded. In further discussion, I learned that the war
was over. She couldn't -- or wouldn't -- tell me who the enemy had been,
but the war had been a reflection of the animosity between that person and
Corwin.  We also discussed Benjamin's mortality. I told her that she could
expect to live a very long time, and that Benjamin would not. He couldn't
wait for her to complete her education as Corwin desired. She cried, a
little. I suggested that Benjamin take up residence in a shadow where time
passed relatively slowly. That way, he would age very little while she was
away. She found that idea comforting.  I also found out that Cassandra had
a new teacher, yet another person whose identity she could not divulge. I
mentioned the incident with Flora. She apologized, saying that she had gone
off and chosen a different teacher while Corwin was off talking with Flora.
We chatted about other things, including the upcoming duel between Julian
and Cathryne. Like most everyone else, myself included, she wanted to
watch.  Cassandra stayed the night. The next night, she decided to return
to Pearl, as she had pressing duties. I asked her to tell Corwin that I
wanted to try his Pattern soon. She told me she would and gave Serena and
me hugs before heading off, a small form on Triela's vast, sinuous back.  *
* *

We continued on, passing profitably through several trading towns. In the
third place we stopped, I received a Trump call.  "Hello, Benedict," I
said. He was standing in Arden.  "You're not here." He did not seem
pleased.  "No," I said. "You and I had discussed whether you thought I
needed to remain continuously in Arden and you told me you didn't think
that was necessary."

"My understanding was that we were speaking more in the long term than the
short term."

"I apologize if I was insufficiently specific."

"Very well," he said. "The Manito have pulled out and there is no current
sea defense of Amber. Julian has returned and is moving into Arden. I would
prefer that you have someone here who can reach you with such matters. I
don't want to have to move him out of Arden for you."

"I understand. If you would bide for just a few minutes I will contact you
and return to Arden."

"Very well." Contact ends.

I began to make arrangements for the caravan to pack up. As I did so I got
a Trump call from Cassandra.  "I've heard that Julian is back in Arden,"
she said. "Do you need help?"

"I don't know," I said. "I just found out myself and I haven't gotten back
to Arden yet."

"I'll get a message to my father and give you a call."

"All right. Thanks very much for your assistance." The connection ended.  I
found Serena. I told her that I needed to go back now. I hugged her, gave
her my Trump, and called Benedict.  He was no longer in Arden. Rather, he
was standing on a rock surrounded by lava. "I cannot assist you at this
time," he said. "I suggest you use your castle Trump."

"I do not mean to presume, but are you not Julian's commanding officer?"

"Yes."

"Is it not your duty to relieve him of command?"

"I have informed him that he is no longer Warden of Arden. He will not
accept that from me; only from the King. Oberon is not reachable right
now."

"I see. Are you still Marshal of Amber?"

"That is a matter in some doubt. I removed myself from his service. He told
me that he would inform me if he had any need for me. There was no formal
adjudication of my status regarding the Marshallate. However, your status
has been officially recognized by Oberon."

"Very well. Thank you for your assistance."

"You are welcome." I ended the connection, then Trumped through to Castle
Amber.

I checked in with the local commander, then headed down toward Arden. On
the way, I tried Oberon's Trump. It was blocked. Damn. Then I tried
Zack. It was blocked. Damn. I got to a command post and got a
report. Julian had demolished much of the southern defenses and was moving
toward the western flank. There were hellhounds wandering around, attacking
things at random. Julian had sent some Rangers off to look for
Morgenstern. At this time he was under attack by the griffin squadron.  I
caught the local commander's eye. "Do you recognize me as your lawful
commanding officer?" I asked him.  "That's why I'm not looking for that
damned horse," he said.  "Good," I said. "I need to get a couple of loyal
companies together. They must be willing to directly confront Julian if
necessary. Gather them at the outpost nearest Julian's last reported
position. Everyone else is to leave him alone."

He acknowledged the order and went off to begin following it. I headed
toward the central command post. On the way I tried Zack's Trump again. He
answered this time. He was flying via some spell; over Arden, he said. We
discussed the situation and I agreed that he would try to convince Julian
to leave.  "If necessary I will have to prevent Julian from doing further
damage to the defenses here."

"I understand," he said. I ended the contact.  Whoosh! Triela thundered
by. I got a call from Cassandra. She said that she wasn't controlling
Triela, who was headed right for Julian. I gave her a quick update on the
situation. The contact ended. I told Bucephalus to follow Triela at his
fastest speed. Then I Trumped Zack.  "Have you noticed the giant cat?" I
asked.  He looked around. "Now I have."

"That's Triela. Cassandra is riding, but is not controlling her."

"How tough is the cat?"

"I'm not sure, but she is Corwin's creation."

"I see."

As we approached, I saw Julian fall from a griffin's claws. The griffin
tumbled away, bleeding. It looked like Julian had gotten the best of the
encounter. A shimmering hole opened beneath Julian, into which he
fell. Triela jumped into it with Cassandra on her back. Then Zack dived
in. With a curse, I had Bucephalus follow.  We landed, by ourselves, near
the ruined city that I had encountered earlier in Faerie. I dismounted and
found myself in a bed of flowers. They were trying to bite through my
boots. I stepped away from them and sat down on the ground. Bucephalus
nuzzled my neck, and I gave him some candy. I pulled out my canteen and had
a drink. Not surprisingly, all of my Trumps were portraits of Zack or Ivy,
and they didn't work.  In a few minutes, Zack arrived. He explained that he
had opened a Faerie gate which all of us had fallen or jumped through. He
had checked on Cassandra and Triela; they were fine. Julian was back in the
same bar that had imprisoned him before. We agreed that Zack would go talk
to him now, though I reserved the right to speak with him after that. Zack
sent me back through another gate back to Arden, where I found Cassandra
and Triela. They had apparently wound up near the giant stone cat head with
the golden ring through one ear. I told her I knew the place.  Cassandra
wanted to kill Julian. I pointed out that even if she were to pull it off,
various family members might decide to avenge his death, including Oberon,
Caine, and Gerard. Also, I didn't know if we could do it. She thought about
that.  Shortly, she got a call from Darkstar. Since Julian was no longer in
Arden, he wanted her to go to Pearl immediately. Cassandra was concerned
for my safety, but I convinced her that it would be all right if she
left. She and Triela Trumped out.  I went to the central command post and
went over the state of Arden's remaining defenses. Virtually all of the
Rangers had remained loyal to me, though some had found it expedient to
humor Julian when pressed. We started to put the pieces back
together. About a half hour later, I got a call from Corwin. At his
request, I brought him through. He wanted to rouse his army and bring it
into Arden. I explained the situation and we agreed that the army wasn't
needed now. He suggested we go hunt hellhounds, some of whom were still
wandering around causing trouble. I scared up a horse for him, and we did
that.  "So, how tough is Julian, anyway?" I asked.  "I think I might be
able to take him armwrestling, but he always cheats."

"How about with a sword?"

"He cheats at that, too."

"All things being equal."

"I think I could probably take him. But then, we've never actually had it
out."

"So if I found myself having to fight him, he'd run right over me?"

"Well...I would hope you'd Trump me. Or Benedict, or Oberon."

I thought about that. "I'm not entirely comfortable with being put in
charge of Arden, then running to daddy as soon as a real threat arrives."

"As a good general, I'd expect that you would know when to call in
reinforcements."

"I suppose."

"Cassandra said that you two were thinking of killing Julian."

"We were considering what to do if we had no other choice."

"I see. That'd be a bad idea. But if you need me or the army, we'll be
here. I'll even take some of your orders."

"Gee, thanks."

He grinned. "No problem. I'm sure you'd give reasonable orders."

I changed the subject a bit. "So I hear you have decided not to take the
Marshallate of Amber."

"Cassandra and I are still discussing the matter."

"I believe Benedict is no longer holding the position."

"Really? How so?"

"I hear that he and Oberon had it out."

"Really? Is Benedict in one piece? Is Oberon? Boy, I'd have really liked to
see that!"

"Me, too. I spoke with Benedict recently, and as far as I could tell he was
in one piece."

"Did he still have the Sword of State?"

"No."

"Then he's not in one piece."

I shrugged. "Regardless. Apparently Oberon told him that his services were
no longer needed."

"I see," he said. "So that would suggest that there is no current Marshal
of Amber."

"Yes. Also, the Manito are apparently no longer protecting the sea routes."

"Has Caine been informed of this?"

"I thought he was indisposed."

"He may claim to be indisposed. But this is Caine, after all."

"I have tried Gerard, but he is not answering Trump calls. Neither is
Oberon."

"I think they're together. Perhaps they are being blocked by the same
thing. Would you like to call Caine or should I do that?"

"I don't know Caine very well," I said.  "I'll flip you for it."

"Fine."

He produced a coin and flipped it against the back of his hand. "Call it."

"Heads."

He looked at the coin without showing it to me. "I win." He retrieved
Caine's card and concentrated on it. He got through and spoke briefly with
his brother. He looked at me. "I need to go through. Call me if you need
me."

"I'll do that," I said. "Thanks."

I continued to hunt hellhounds. They were not particularly challenging --
probably something he'd cooked up on the spur of the moment. Later, I
called Serena. She was bored. Good; that probably meant she wasn't in
trouble. I told her I'd call her later.  About fifteen minutes after that,
I got a Trump call from Serena. One of the caravan guards had been found
murdered. There was no obvious culprit. We decided that things were getting
too complicated and that we would bring the caravan back to Amber. Serena
agreed to get the caravan back together, then call me.  Meanwhile, I found
an open spot near Corwin's tomb to which we could conveniently bring the
caravan. While waiting, I saw Julian and Zack appear a couple of miles away
at the edge of the forest. Nervous, I tried Zack's Trump. He told me that
Julian had agreed to leave Arden with him. Right now, he was gathering his
remaining hellhounds.  "Have you told him that I've been made Warden of
Arden?" I asked.  "No, I didn't quite get to that. He knows that someone
has replaced him, but not who that is."

"I suppose that's fine for now," I said. "Thanks for your help."

"No problem. I just hope we can get through all this without anyone getting
killed."

"I hope so, too."

I wrote orders telling the Rangers to leave Julian alone and gave them to a
courier. Then I got a Trump call. It wasn't from Serena, but rather a tall,
thin, elvish-looking person I had never seen before.  "Hello," he said. "I
just popped in and noticed that there aren't any Amberites in the
castle. You're the only one around."

"Just who are you?"

"My name is Stormy. I've been to quite a few Ambers, but I've never found
one quite so empty before. What's going on?"

Suspicious of his intentions, I asked him to come through to me. He did
so. I asked him about himself, and he explained that he was a dimensional
traveler who knew some magic and something of Trump. He was apparently a
member of a large family with many husbands, wives, and children. When I
asked what he was doing here, he said that he was interesting in visiting
and perhaps establishing a business relationship between his family and
Amber.  About that time I got a call from Serena. She was ready, and I
talked with Stormy while pulling through the caravan. I got the caravan
settled and Serena and I brought Stormy back up to the castle. He seemed to
enjoy dinner and told numerous tales of strange and distant lands,
including other Ambers. He claimed that these were not simply shadows of
this Amber, but completely different places with their own sets of
shadows. I have no way to judge the veracity of his claims, but I don't
quite trust the fellow.  * * *

This is just a quick note, as I am quite busy with administrative
details. The much-discussed duel is finally done. Julian set his
hellhounds against a pack of vicious creatures that Cathryne had found in
shadow. At first, the hellhounds seemed to have the edge, but their
tactics proved predictable, and Cathryne's beasts eventually penetrated
Julian's defenses and drew first blood. Julian has withdrawn in a sulk
and things are quiet back here in the castle. I fear that we will suffer
Julian's wrath.  * * *

I was in Arden the following day, directing cleanup and restoration, when a
messenger arrived. He said that Amber had been invaded by sea. Bloody
wonderful. I got some troops together and went to reinforce the city
garrison, which was fighting both a fire and a large contingent of
marines. Corwin and Zack were there, assisting in the defense. Eventually
we discovered that the opposing troops belonged to Caine, who thought it
would be amusing to invade.

Children! They are all children who think they are just playing with toys!
Hundreds of people died tonight and Caine thinks it was a pleasant lark, an
evening's entertainment. They were from his own homeland, but doesn't seem
to matter. He and Corwin had a talk and Caine ordered his troops back on
board their ships.  I spoke with Cassandra there also, who agreed that all
this was quite ridiculous.  "Have you seen Merlin?" she asked. "He's
disappeared."

"Was he messing with magic?"

"He might have been."

"I hope he didn't blow himself up again. Has anyone tried Trumping him?"

"Corwin says he'll get in touch with Darkstar when he gets a chance."

I tried Darkstar's Trump. It was an odd conversation, as he was in the form
of a wind. I told him that Merlin was missing, and he agreed to go look for
him.  Then I called Zack. He was nursing a black eye and several other
bruises. Apparently he had had a run-in with Caine's cabin boy, who was
more capable than he appeared. I couldn't help chuckling. We discussed some
new defenses for the Amber harbor that might make such an invasion a bit
more difficult. These would include forts at the entrance to the harbor and
a series of heavy chains that could be pulled up, blocking access. Later,
we met with a group of ambassadors from the Golden Circle, who promised
their support of our construction plans with money, materials, and
workers. We agreed, spending several days getting the project going.  * * *

One morning a few days after Caine's attack, I awoke in the guest quarters
of Serena's ambassadorial residence. At breakfast I was told by her staff
that Oberon was rumored to have returned, and that a formal court had been
scheduled for this afternoon. I was also given a note from Sir Erik, saying
that he was in the castle and would like to speak with me. After breakfast
I Trumped to the castle. In the distance I noticed that Zack was riding
toward Arden with an unconscious woman across his saddle. Further scrutiny
indicated that the lady was Titania, Queen of Faerie. Curious, I Trumped
him.

He told me that he had gone to the locked room party, only to find Oberon
there. The King was quite angry about the Faerie gates that he and Titania
had created for convenient egress and had broken them. Titania had ended up
unconscious, although I didn't quite get Zack's explanation of how that had
happened. He was on his way to deliver her back to Faerie. No, he did not
need help. I bid him farewell and ended the contact.

I went into the castle. There were lots of strange people traipsing about,
some of whom I recognized from the locked room party. One man, who wore
robes and must have been eight or nine feet tall, said hello to me by
name. He had dark skin, white fingernails, and black eyes with no iris.

"Huh?" I said cleverly. "Do I know you?"

He turned to look down at me, a strange smile upon his lips. "Of course,
Malachai. I knew you in Kashir. Don't you remember? We shared a fire
through a long dark night and swapped tall tales."

I had never seen him before. I am sure that I would remember. "Perhaps
another Malachai," I suggested.

"No, it was you. How is your wife?"

"I'm not married."

"Yes, of course."

"Perhaps you could remind me of your name?"

"I am Ibn ben Asher ben." He gave me a book. I opened it, and it was
written in a lovely script that I did not recognize. "Go and learn the
words of the prophet." With that, he took his leave.

One of the castle staff found me then and told me that His Majesty was
about to hold court. I headed toward the throne room. From behind a door
leading to an antechamber to the throne room, I heard familiar voices. I
opened the door and found Erik and Ingold in formal garb. I greeted them
warmly, and they told me that they were to be given posts in Amber -- Erik
as captain of the guard and Ingold as Marshal. I congratulated them and
said that I was looking forward to working with them. We made plans to meet
again later to talk, then I went into the throne room itself. It was mostly
empty; there were just a few heralds, as well as Corwin, Cassandra,
Benjamin, Random, Martin, Rhiannon, Cathryne, and Gerard (with his baby in
arms).

I went in, nodding to various relatives, and said hello to Corwin and
Cassandra. Caine walked in with a woman I didn't recognize. Then Bleys,
then Stormy. A courtier handed me a note from Prospero, asking if he should
come in. I told the man to tell him, "Yes," and soon he stood by my side.

A herald announced Oberon, who walked in wearing the Sword of State and the
Crown Jewels. He sat on the throne and motioned us all to be seated. Then a
herald summoned Ingold, son of Benedict. He came in, weaponless and wearing
a pendant with Benedict's seal. Oberon recognized him officially as
Benedict's son, and asked if he would accept the post of Marshal of
Amber. He said yes. Oberon knighted him, gave him titles and lands, and
gave him the Sword of State. As he took the sword a nimbus of blue-gray
power formed faintly around him. He took his post at Oberon's right hand.

Then the herald summoned Johann, son of Benedict. I looked at Corwin, one
eyebrow raised. He smiled inscrutably. In walked Erik. He experienced a
similar ceremony appointing him Commander of the Castle Guard. Without
dismissing Erik, Oberon motioned to the herald, who summoned Prospero,
acting Commander of the Castle Guard. Erik thanked him for his service and
asked him to continue as a member of his staff until he felt comfortable in
his post. Prospero, of course, agreed.

Then they were dismissed and I was summoned before His Majesty. I noted
that things had changed -- I felt only a twinge of fear, whereas a year
before I would have been terrified of this man who was my grandfather.

"I have not yet had the opportunity to officially recognize the Warden of
Arden." (He had signed papers to that effect, but had not recognized my
post in court.) I was given lands and titles, including that of Prince of
the Realm. I was then dismissed.

Caine was called in and recognized as Admiral of the Fleet. Caine called in
Gerard, who officially relinquished his post as Admiral of the Southern
fleet. He was thanked for his service, and both he and Caine were
dismissed.

Random was called in, who gave a brief speech about how much he has enjoyed
being ambassador to the Courts of Chaos. He then called forth Cathryne,
heir to House Jesby. He recognized her formally as her
daughter. Interesting indeed. Oberon granted Cathryne a Duchy. How nice.

They were dismissed and Oberon stood. He looked even more stern than
usual. " It has come to my attention that certain of my children have not
acted according to the few and simple laws that I have laid down. Therefore
there will be an inquest and perhaps one or more members of our family will
no longer be members of our family." He looked around pointedly at
everyone. "Bleys, I appoint you investigator in this matter."

Bleys bowed.

"Additionally, I hereby declare that my daughter Llwella is banished from
my court." No one seemed surprised.

That was the last bit of official business, and we were all soon
dismissed. Cassandra gave her congratulations to me, Ingold, and Erik. I
thanked her, then excused myself and walked over to where Bleys was
chatting with Stormy.

"So Bleys," I asked perfunctorily, "what crimes are you investigating?"

"I'm not at liberty to say." No surprise.

Around that time a winded messenger came to me. "Sir, I am to tell you that
Arden is under attack."

"By whom?" I asked.

"An army of unknown origin."

I thanked him and asked him to wait for further orders. I caught Corwin's
eye. He and Cassandra came over. Erik, who had been told by another
messenger, took out a Trump of Zack and began concentrating on it.

"It's Julian," said Stormy, who was concentrating with a finger on his
temple. "I can see him at the head of the army. He's not riding
Morgenstern." He began telling me about the attacking forces: light and
heavy infantry, hellhounds, siege engines. When he began describing unit
insignia, Caine identified the attackers as one of Benedict's pet shock
battalions. They were, he said, extremely resistant to both physical and
magical attacks.

Lovely. Just the thing to add a spark of interest to an otherwise dull
day. I gave orders for the Rangers to move into position according to plans
already made. I sent another messenger off to Ingold, telling him that I
was on my way to take command of Arden and inviting orders and any
assistance he might be able to provide.

Caine offered a couple of hundred sailors. I had seen their quality in the
recent attack.

"Are there any strings attached?" I asked.

"Don't get them killed."

"It's a battle, so I can't promise that. But I certainly won't waste
them. Thank you."

"Take my cabin boy." He indicated the woman who accompanied him.

"Cabin boy?" I asked.

He grinned. "Yes. Her name is Briana." Briana smiled at me and batted her
eyelashes.

Caine Trumped out. Erik pulled Zack in via Trump. We quickly explained the
situation to him. Stormy offered to transport us all to Arden, and we
agreed. With no sense of transition, we were there. At my request, he
summoned Bucephalus also. We went to a command post near the fighting. I
put Erik in charge of the left flank and Cassandra in charge of the right
flank. They went off. I got a Trump call from Caine, who started sending
sailors through to me. Briana took charge of them.

Zack conferred with Corwin, Gerard, and Bleys about going to talk to
Julian. I asked Zack to bide just a minute. He seemed reluctant, but
agreed. Then he got a Trump call from Ingold and began gating in castle
troops.

There was an explosion outside, and my connection with Caine was cut. I
went and told Stormy where to put troops to avoid land mines. He complained
that he had never seen a minefield in any of the Ardens he had been. I told
him he would just have to get used to it. I gave some further orders, then
went forward with Zack and Corwin. We agreed that Zack would go and talk to
Julian. I got a Trump call from Cassandra. I conferred with her and told
her to do what was necessary. Then I got a call from Erik and had a similar
conversation.

"Should we kill Julian?" he asked.

"We don't technically have permission to kill him."

"Prisoner of war, then."

"Yes, if possible." We conferred for a bit longer and then ended the
contact.

The enemy troops were nearly impossible to kill. They were almost
invulnerable and quite fierce. Although the Rangers fought competently, we
were beaten inexorably back.

A messenger arrived to say that some troops had arrived who were here to
take orders from Zack. We went to them. They were a small group of
Chaosites and another few who were warriors from Faerie. They wanted to
know where the rest should go and against whom they should fight. I
suggested the enemy rear. Zack went off with them for a few minutes to
arrange that.

Then we went to the front line. We found a hillock overlooking a set of
meadows in the center of the battlefield. A battalion of Rangers and a
hundred or so of Caine's sailors tried to hold back Julian's implacable
troops. I saw several of them tossed into the air by a land mine, only to
shake their heads, get up, and move forward again. This wasn't goig to be
easy. Julian stood in the center of a clump of enemy troops about six
hundred yards away. I could see him gesturing and giving orders. Although I
knew him to be a poor general, I feared that the invulnerability of his
troops might win him the day despite that handicap.

Zack cast a spell and flew off toward Julian. I took a carbine from my
saddle and began firing at anyone who tried to attack him. Then I saw
Darhyse charging across the battlefield toward Julian.

Corwin chuckled. "This should be interesting."

I took careful aim and fired at Julian. I ducked as the bullet came back at
me. Julian had some kind of missile-reversal spell.

I spotted someone flying over Julian. Suddenly he exploded, with a series
of secondary flashes spread through the sky. All sorts of magical effects
followed in the vicinity of where he had blown up. I guessed that he was
some sorcerer whose magic had gone wrong. I wondered if it were Merlin --
that seemed like just the sort of thing that would happen to him. The sun
was suddenly blotted out and everything became night. The darkness was lit
by muzzle flashes from the Ranger's weapons.

I got a Trump call from Ingold. "You want me to do something about this
darkness?" he asked.

"If you could. Unless you have some reason to think that we can see better
in the dark than they can."

"No. I wondered if it might be your doing."

"Me? No. It was some sorcerer. His spells blew up on him somehow."

"I'll see what I can do." The Trump contact ended.

A few minutes later, the ground began to glow, filling the battlefield with
strange shadows. I looked toward Julian. Surrounding him were a group of
glowing heads -- thirteen of them. Perhaps it was a strange effect of one
of the spells that had gone awry. I couldn't imagine Julian having
sufficient sense of humor to do that himself. Corwin was gone from where he
had been standing next to me, and I couldn't see Darhyse. In the distance,
lighting came down from the sky, striking into the rear of Julian's column
where Stormy had said the siege engines were.

I tried Corwin's Trump, but it was blocked. I took from my pouch the box of
bullets I had gotten from Benedict some time ago -- the ones labeled 'A' --
and loaded them into my gun. I hoped they would get through Julian's
protective spell. If they didn't, I hoped they wouldn't return to find
me. The Rangers ahead of me started to fall back. Even Caine's troops were
giving ground, unable to do more than slow the advance of Julian's men. I
called Caine and began pulling through more of his marines. A messenger
arrived with a note from Cassandra. Her troops had been pushed back, but
then Ingold had sent them a pile of swords made by Tazik, and with those
they were beginning to turn the tide. That was certainly good news. I sent
a messenger off to find Erik, asking for a report. I dropped the contact
with Caine, asking him to get them through by some other means.

I looked toward Julian and noticed Gerard suddenly appear next to him. They
fought for just a moment, then Gerard was knocked aside by Darhyse. Corwin
was riding her, but then he fell off and I lost sight of him. There were
other Sha'um approaching from different directions; they began to howl
fiercely.

I received a Trump call from Cassandra. I gave her a quick summary of what
I had seen, and wished her the best of luck. She ended the contact to lead
a charge.

By this time the battle line had been pushed back almost to my
position. Caine's men were trying to rally at the top of the hillock I was
on. A number of the Rangers had broken, and the rest were in retreat. The
hell with it, I thought; the rest of the battle would not be determined by
my generalship. I put my carbine away, drew Galantine, and got Bucephalus
into a forward gallop. I screamed "charge!" just as I hit the enemy line,
breaking a hole and killing whomever I could reach. Not that reaching them
was hard, considering that they were nearly tall enough to look me straight
in the eye while I was astride Bucephalus and they on foot. Behind me,
Caine's troops did a fine job of following up on the advantage I provided,
jumping forward and driving the enemy back. We pushed them a bit further,
Bucephalus and I working our way up and down the line to stop any thought
of counterattack. From my left came a very large spiderlike creature,
picking its way through an enemy unit and delicately killing enemy troops
with each step. I didn't know what it was, but I appreciated its help. From
the other side came a huge grey creature with four thick legs and no
head. It too, was smashing Julian's troops. No one had informed me that it
was official ridiculous giant monster day.

Bucephalus and I fought our way forward. Once we were through the main
line, we followed the wake of disruption left by the big grey creature,
which I later discovered to be Stormy. (No wonder he makes me nervous --
he's a shapeshifter.) Stormy got near the center and suddenly stopped
before a wall of giant cats. As Bucephalus tried to stop short behind
Stormy, he stumbled and fell. I jumped clear, landing amid a press of
Julian's troops. I felt like a midget among them, but I quickly cleared a
space by hacking at their legs and vitals. Once they gave me a respectful
distance I worked my way over toward Bucephalus while Stormy killed
soldiers around me with his huge blunt feet. Bucephalus stood and reared,
kicking one man's head in. They backed away from him, probing at him with
pole weapons. As I got closer I saw that he had a sword protruding from one
flank, blood running down his leg. A short, heavily-muscled man then jumped
up onto Bucephalus. He had a set of long steel claws attached to each
wrist, which he used on the enemy with deadly efficiency. Bucephalus reared
and bucked, trying to get him off, but without success.

I fought my way over there. "Do you want a hand up?" asked the small clawed
man.

I spun and stabbed a soldier who was trying to spear me from behind. "Yes."
One set of claws retracted somehow, and I was pulled up onto my horse. I
soothed him.

The enemy began muttering to each other and backing away from us. On
Bucephalus I had enough vantage to see around. They were beginning an
orderly retreat. There was still a cluster of huge howling cats where
Julian had been. I introduced myself to Mr. Claws, who said his name was
Logan and that he was a friend of Zack's. Zack has a lot of friends.

I got another call from Cassandra. Darhyse had been wounded and carried
off, she said. She wasn't sure where. Could I help? I told her I'd try.

First, I attempted to Trump Corwin. No dice. I said good-bye to Logan and
found a medic to take care of Bucephalus. I told him I'd be back soon, sent
off a set of orders to my commanders, and found myself another
horse. Missing Bucephalus, I went off to follow Darhyse's trail through
Shadow. Unfortunately, the trail ended in a grassy clearing after just a
couple of shifts. Darhyse had been teleported or Trumped away. I went back
to the battlefield (which I had felt guilty about leaving anyway). I found
Cassandra and told her what I had found. She was deeply worried. I was
trying to comfort her when I got a call from Zack. He was, he said, in
Shadow with Julian (who was sorely wounded), Darhyse (also wounded),
Stormy, and a group of Sha'um.

"One moment," I said, putting up a hand. Zack nodded.

"Cassandra," I said. "I'm talking with Zack. He's with Darhyse."

"He is? I need to go through!"

"Zack," I said. "Cassandra would like to come through to you."

"I'm not sure I can allow that," he said. "I don't want her to kill my
father."

"Would you accept her word that she will not attempt to harm Julian?"

He thought about that for a second. "Yes, I would."

I put the proposal to Cassandra, and she reluctantly agreed that she would
not harm Julian unless he attacked her or Darhyse first. I sent her through
to Zack.

I spent the next couple of hours trying to clean up the battlefield and get
the Rangers back into some semblance of order. Bucephalus had been
magically healed by a woman named Ariel who was associated with
Logan. Doing this had knocked her unconscious, which Logan thought was
hilarious. I found Erik with the wounded, doing a fair job of patching
people back together. I asked him whether he had a Trump of Ingold. No, he
did not.  I thanked him for his help, left him in charge, and headed up to
the castle.

In the throne room, I found Ingold standing between two Oberons. They were
shouting almost incoherently, beating on Ingold and trying to get at each
other. He didn't seem happy with the situation.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked Ingold.

"No," he said, fending off a kick to the groin. "I don't think you're up to
this."

"Do you know where Dworkin is?" I shouted over the bellowing of their
Majesties.

"He may still be in the dining room," he said.

"I'll go see."

"Please hurry," he said. As I left he took a really hard one to the gut.

Wincing in sympathy, I ran at top speed to the dining room where the locked
party had been held. Dworkin and Suhuy were indeed there. They were
discussing mathematics with a group of miscellaneous alien beings. Before
them were a set of shapes, which appeared to be animated equations. My head
hurt when I looked at them

"Dworkin," I said. "Your son is having a fight with himselves!"

"What?" he said. "Not again. What's that little monster getting into this
time?"

"There are two copies of Oberon having a fight in the throne room."

He sighed. "I suppose I shall have to go fix them up," he said.

"Please," I said. "This way."

Dworkin took one of the shapes from the air, folded it up, and put it in
his pocket. Then he followed me back to the throne room. By this time
Ingold was in very poor shape indeed. He had a black eye, a swollen ear,
and his left forearm looked like it might be broken.

Dworkin stepped angrily up to his sons. He seemed to grow as he did so, so
by the time he got to them he was larger than either of them. "Neither of
you belong here. Where's the local brat?"

The two Oberons stopped yelling and looked at their father. Then they began
claiming loudly that each was in the right place and the other was a
usurper. Dworkin waved his hands and suddenly a third Oberon was there. Not
another one! The third Oberon quickly added to the shouting match. Dworkin
batted one of them over the head, and he disappeared. He did the same to
the other.

Then he turned to the Oberon he himself had summoned. "I'm tired of
cleaning up after your foolish tantrums. It's time for a spanking!" He took
His Royal Majesty by the ear and marched him out of the room.

Ingold and I looked at each other. He sat gingerly down, pulled out a
flask, and took a drink. I asked for a sip and he passed it over. It was
water. We sat for a while, enjoying the quiet. Ingold told me that he had
gotten the special swords from Tazik, in exchange for a promise that he
would provide her with a vacation in Shadow some time soon.

Then a castle guardsman came in, announcing that a giant spider was
attacking the castle. Ingold looked at me. Groaning, I stood up and went
out to deal with it. From a battlement, I saw that, indeed, there was a
very large spider climbing up Kolvir toward the castle. Bloody wonderful. I
pulled out my Trump deck. Stormy's card was on top, so I tried him. He
answered, and I asked if he knew how to deal with giant spiders. He said
that he was busy, but sent through Auricle and Zack. Auricle changed
herself into another giant spider, then went to talk with it. They went off
together toward Arden. Zack and I followed on horseback. I told him about
the incident with multiple Oberons. He told me that his father was alive,
sort of. I didn't ask him what he meant by that, although I probably should
have.

We saw that the spiders were headed out into Shadow. Zack Trumped away, and
I rode back to the castle. I took a long bath, then went to bed.

When I woke up that evening, Serena was sleeping next to me. After we spent
some time greeting each other enthusiastically, she told me that
Cassandra's fiance, Benjamin, had shown up the day before. He began
demanding quite stridently that someone bring him to Cassandra. So she had
slipped him a sleeping potion in a drink and he had gone to bed. I
complemented her on her excellent judgment.

The next day, I wrote this log entry. I have come to the end of the third
volume of this journal. I dearly hope that the events of the next journal
are less exciting.