Malachai's Journal vol. 2 Serena and I spent a couple of hours in our
stateroom. As we were relaxing afterward, she nibbled on my ear. "I have a
surprise for you," she said.

"Oh?"

"You'll figure it out. It was Dapple's idea."

"Can I have a hint?"

"Let's just say you'll be able to keep up now."

"What does that mean?" I asked. She only smiled.  Women.

About that time, Dalkontyr announced that we were about to land. We got up
and went to the control room. Through the viewscreen, we saw a beach. The
sea was of some multicolored material and the "water" was the chaos stuff
we had been traveling through. Beyond the beach was a high
cliff. Apparently, we had arrived at an island in the Sea of Chance.

Mikail got Dalkontyr to analyze the environment. The air was breathable and
the gravity slightly above normal. Mikail told Dalkontyr to fly over the
cliff. When he tried, we appeared to be going nowhere. Dalkontyr said that
the cliff was receding away at the same rate that he advanced. He knew of
no way to get over the cliff.

Left with no better choice, we traveled along the beach. Soon we saw a
small village, laid out in a strange pattern with no straight edges. The
inhabitants were lizard creatures. Mikail was very surprised that there was
anything so coherent as a single race of beings here. Mikail said we should
stop here, since Dworkin may have come this way.

"What makes you think so?" I asked him.

"Dworkin was in the Sea of Chance when he created the original Pattern. If
he wanted to make another, he might come here. This island has such a high
level of order for this place that I suspect Dworkin's influence."

"That is a very logical and straightforward idea," Corwin said, "and
therefore I suspect that would not be how Dworkin would behave."

"Perhaps he came here to avoid being distracted by the forces of Chaos, who
would not want him to create another Pattern.

"I wasn't distracted when I created my Pattern."

"The forces of Chaos were themselves distracted at the time."

"True."

"Let's check it out anyway," Mikail said.

"Fine."

We landed on the beach near the village. The lizards all appeared to be
engaged in various construction tasks. Mikail asked Dalkontyr to put us
outside on the beach. Huge tentacles appeared from the walls, grabbed us
about the waist, lifted us up through hatches, and placed us gently on the
beach. This gave me the willies. Why did it have to be tentacles?

"Dalkontyr," said Mikail patiently, "I had meant for you to use the spatial
translator."

"Then be more specific," he said. "I was just trying to provide a little
variety."

By this time a few of the lizards had come over to look us over. They were
not entirely alike; they varied somewhat in coloring, features, and number
of limbs. They ignored our attempts to communicate in various
languages. Soon, they lost interest in us and went back to their tasks.

Cassandra asked Dalkontyr to bring Darhyse out. From Dalkontyr's depths
came Darhyse, wrapped in a tentacle and trying to claw at it.

"Use the spatial translator," Mikail said. Darhyse appeared in mid-air
nearby, upside down and looking very unhappy.

"Pillow," Mikail said, and one appeared below her just as she landed on her
feet. She sat down and began casually licking a paw as if nothing odd had
happened. Cassandra went over and petted her.

"The pillow is made out of rock," she said. "How very odd."

Mikail and Paolo conferred for a moment about the problem of communication,
then Paolo shapeshifted into a lizard. He went off to work on a
building. After a few minutes of carrying bricks he came back and shifted
back into his usual form.

"They're a hive mind," he told us tiredly. I imagine that it was difficult
for him to get away once he had shifted his brain to fit into group
consciousness. "They are building this because someone real told them
to. That someone had a red jewel."

"Bingo," Corwin said. "I suggest we move on, since this may be just the
first in a series."

We agreed. I asked Mikail if I could return to Dalkontyr without using a
tentacle. He arranged for us to be teleported back to the control room, and
I thanked him.

"Dalkontyr, are they changing the nature of local reality with their
construction?"  Mikail asked.

"Not in any way that I can detect," Dalkontyr said.

We continued to follow the beach. Soon we came to a very large well, which
Dalkontyr said contained water. There was a line of lizards between the
well and the town; they seemed to be passing buckets of water. As we
approached, we saw a single set of tracks heading away from the
village. They ended against the cliff face.  We landed. The footprints
appeared human. We discussed various options, then decided to have
Dalkontyr throw something at the cliff in that spot. We chose the stone
pillow Darhyse had landed on. Dalkontyr teleported it into the air nearby,
then threw it toward the cliff just in front of the tracks. It flew into
the cliff as if the cliff were not there, then came back out a few seconds
later. Dalkontyr caught it on a sail.

"Analyze the pillow," Mikail said.

"It is made of the same stone as before, but there is a colony of tiny
organisms inside.  They are consuming the stone and converting it to
feathers."

"You mean they eat stone and excrete feathers?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Interesting. Throw it in again."

The mast flexed back and snapped forward, propelling the pillow again
toward the cliff.  This time, it hit slightly to the left of the trail. It
shattered against the cliff.

"Great," said Mikail. "We're having a pillow fight with a cliff."  "The
organisms have started consuming the sand," Dalkontyr said.

"How fast?" I asked.

"This area will consumed and converted to feathers in about fourteen
hours," Dalkontyr said.

We discussed our next course of action. Mikail said that he should go and
investigate.

"No," said Corwin. "I have the most experience with this sort of thing."

"Very well," Mikail said. "Dalkontyr, transport Corwin to the tracks in
front of the cliff."

Corwin appeared in front of the cliff. He poked Grayswandir into the
cliff. It went right in. He poked it back and forth, discovering the edge
of a doorway. He could not find an upper limit.

"Dalkontyr," I said, "please put me next to Corwin."

Instantly, I was next to Corwin. Instantly, Grayswandir was at my throat. I
jumped back.

"I thought you could use some assistance," I said.

"All right," Corwin said. Let me give you a boost and you can see how high
this opening extends." He made a foothold with his crossed fingers.

I stepped into his hand and he raised me up. I waved Galantine over my
head, quickly determining that I could not reach the top. I stepped down.

"OK," he said. "Next step." He pointed Grayswandir toward me. "Would you
please hold on to the tip?"

I did so, gingerly, and he stepped in slowly, holding the hilt. It looked
like he was walking through a solid rock wall. Then he came back.

"It's completely dark," he said.

"Dalkontyr," I said, "two things. First, unless I specifically ask you to,
never transport me to within ten feet of Corwin. Second, could we have a
lamp please?"

A large metal lamp appeared, about four feet tall.  "Light it, please," I
said. A beam of light shot out from the ship, burning a hole through the
glass, lighting the lamp, and continuing on into the pile of feathers that
had started to grow near the entrance.  I picked up the lamp, pushed it
into the opening, and pushed my head in. The light had no apparent effect
-- I could see nothing but utter dark. I stepped back, looked at Corwin,
and shook my head. Through some speaker system provided by Dalkontyr,
Valeria asked what was going on. I explained.

"Here," Mikail said, "try this." A tube-shaped device with a crystal
sticking from the front appeared before me. "I'm not sure if this will
work, but it's worth a try."

I pushed the tube into the entrance, and the crystal shattered
instantly. However, the darkness seemed to retreat slightly as it did so. I
told Mikail what had happened. He discussed the matter with Dalkontyr, who
said that something in there was feeding on darkness.  After further
discussion, Merlin appeared beside us. "I'm going to try something." He
cast a spell, and there was an explosion of light. "Damn," he said. "Not
quite inside the cave."

Valeria appeared. "I'll try." She cast a spell, apparently similar to
Merlin's but with better aim. The entrance became darker than the
surrounding cliff face. It was about twenty feet wide and two hundred feet
high. Corwin looked inside.

"No apparent effect," he said.

Mikail had Dalkontyr throw light beams at the cave, in various colors. It
got darker still until the illusion of cliff face was gone and the entrance
was simply black.

Paolo appeared. He grew his finger out to a length of ten feet, presumably
as a probe, and asked Dalkontyr for some rope, which appeared in a pile
beside us. Corwin took the end and he stepped in. We heard Paolo whistling
as he continued inward.  Eventually, after about four hundred feet, he
stopped and the rope went slack. Corwin started to pull in the rope, but it
stayed slack. We looked at each other, and Paolo came running out of the
cave at full speed. He stopped and fell to his knees. He seemed exhausted
and was rather mushy, as if his shapeshifting had gotten away from him. He
had grown an extra pair of legs, presumably for speed. Paolo dug a hole in
the sand and stuck his head in.

We looked at each other. After a minute, Paolo took his head back out of
the sand. He looked like he was ready to vomit.

"Well?" asked Mikail.

"It goes back quite a ways," he said.

"And?"

"It drains one, really badly. If I didn't know better I'd think it was
created by a master of my guild to eat away at other shapeshifters."

"Well," said Valeria, "I'm not a shapeshifter. I'll go in."

"I would recommend Corwin," Mikail said. "Grayswandir may provide a needed
level of protection."

"Very well," Corwin said.

"Take this," Mikail said. He handed something round and metallic to
Corwin. "It's a dark-sucking grenade. I just made it. If you have a
problem, try throwing it."

Corwin took the end of the rope and went into the cave. After a few
minutes, we heard a curse and scuffling. I took hold of the rope, pulled
out Galantine, and went into the cave.  The dark was almost thick enough to
feel. I followed the rope toward sounds of struggle. As I approached, I
became fearful that Corwin might strike out at me as I approached.

"Hello," I shouted. "Corwin, it's me!"

"Good," he said. "Pitch in." I could hear movement all around me.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Hold still." I felt him move up against me so that we were back to
back. Tendrils came at us out of the darkness. "Now fight," he said.

We did. For long minutes we battled in the darkness. Tendrils came at us,
trying to grab us, squeeze us, pull us apart. They came from all
directions. We hacked at them. They were tough, but Galantine cut through
the thick hide. A few times our swords hit each other, striking dim sparks
in the darkness.

We heard Mikail's voice from the darkness. "Corwin, it's me!"

"I can tell," Corwin said. "You clatter."

"I can see in here," he said. "I'm going to try something."

"Is there anything we can do?" Corwin asked.

"Give me a minute." We battled some more. The tendrils fought with lessened
ferocity.  "Gotcha!" Suddenly the tendrils withdrew.

"Corwin," Mikail called, "can you come over here?"

"On our way," he said. We worked our way toward the sound of his voice.

"I'm currently protected from the thing and trying to uproot it," Mikail
said. "Go to the wall and try to pull it loose from the other
end. Malachai, protect Corwin's back."

I followed Corwin over to the left as the tendrils again began to attack
us. I covered Corwin while he grunted and strained to dislodge the thing.

"Gerard would love this," he said.

For a few minutes, the monster's strongest arms assailed me, trying to get
to Corwin. As I cut one, then another, a third grabbed me about the ankle
and tried to pull me down. I hopped awkwardly on the other foot and hacked
at the tendril that held me. As it came off, another tried to encircle my
left shoulder. I ducked under that one, swept another two aside, and cut up
another that had started to twist around Corwin's neck.

Then I heard a loud "crack," and the tendrils collapsed about us, writing
feebly but without directed motion. We stood there for a moment, breathing
heavily in the sultry darkness.

"I think it's dead," Corwin said.

"I think you're right," Mikail replied. "Let's get it out into the light so
we can have a look at it."

With some grumbling, we hefted the body of the thing onto sore shoulders
and dragged it back out of the cave. As we emerged, we heard Valeria
playing a flute.

She stopped when she saw us and our burden. "What's this, dinner?" she
asked.

"I'm no vegetarian," Corwin said.  Wearily, we dropped in the sand. It
looked like a huge overripe broccoli with a hundred long tendrils coming
out of it.

"Where's Cassandra?" Corwin asked.

"I found her panicked in the cave when I first went in to help you," Mikail
said. "She ran into a wall trying to get out. I brought her out and sent
her to her cabin in Dalkontyr."

"I think she's all right," Dalkontyr said. "Just a little shaken up."

As Mikail dissected the thing with his swords, we noticed that the cave was
gradually becoming lighter. Soon, the light from outside penetrated its
depths without hindrance.

"I believe this is just a small piece of a much larger creature," Mikail
said. "But with this piece, I can make a bane weapon."

"My back hurts enough after ripping that thing out by its roots," Corwin
said. "I don't think I want to deal with a bigger one."

"How was it you were able to see in there?" I asked Mikail.

"I brought part of a hive mind in," he said, cryptically. "I'm going to go
check out the rest of that cave." With that, he marched in again.  After a
few minutes, he came back out. "It goes back quite a ways," he said. "I
suggest we get everyone together and go in." Then he began discussing with
Dalkontyr whether the ship would be able to shrink down small enough to fit
into the cave.

"It'll take me some time," Dalkontyr said, "but I think I can do it. You go
ahead and I'll catch up."

After some preparation and discussion, we headed back into the cave, this
time with the entire group of us. After perhaps a mile, the passage opened
out into a large cavern.  Lying against the wall, we found a short, bearded
fellow. He was asleep.

Mikail prodded him gently. "Grandfather, wake up."

Dworkin sat up and looked around at us with a dazed expression. I had never
met my great-grandfather before, but I recognized him from several
self-portraits scattered about Castle Amber.  "Who are you?" he asked,
peering at us in the dim light. "Ah, you're my grandson," he said to
Mikail, "but not the one who tried to destroy my Pattern."

"He's dead, Grandfather," Mikail said.

"Not that one," Dworkin said, "Bleys." We looked at each other, unsure how
to respond.

"Well," Dworkin asked, "is it time to build a new Pattern yet?"

"No," Corwin said. "Oberon repaired the first one."

"He's dead, isn't he?"

"No, he repaired the Pattern and survived," Corwin said.

"Well, he looked dead. Then I suppose I don't need to make a new one."

"What were you going to use to make a new Pattern?" Mikail said.

"Why, this...it's gone!" Dworkin held up a chain around his neck which was
conspicuous in that it included a setting but no jewel.  "Here," said
Mikail, "put this in the setting." He handed Dworkin a red jewel that he
had plucked out of the air. "That way, a casual observer won't notice that
it's missing."

Dworkin looked confused. He pulled another red jewel out of his
jacket. "This looks much more like the jewel," he said.

"Well," said Mikail, "I've never actually seen it..."

Dworkin handed him his mock jewel. Then he pulled another out and handed it
to Cassandra, who seemed delighted. Another went to Rivka, and I took one
for Serena.  Yet another went onto Bucephalus' collar. He seemed
pleased. When no one wanted the last two, he ate them.

About that time, Rivka noticed that the cave walls were honeycombed with
many small passageways. There were plant tendrils moving about in each of
them.

"What is this thing?" I asked Dworkin.

"A kraken," he said. "It probably fills this whole mountain."

"How can it be killed?"

"Well, fire is the traditional method."

At this, the mages in our group got little gleams in their eyes. Without
stopping to consult the rest of us, they began lighting the thing on fire
with various spells. Soon it began to writhe about, and we spotted the
jewel grasped by a tendril in the depths of the kraken.  As we discussed
methods of retrieval, Rivka changed her form. She grew larger, wings
sprouted from her shoulders, and she took on the seeming of a goddess. I
always suspected she was more than just a kitchen wench, but this was a bit
much. Rivka launched herself into the air and, quicker than a hummingbird,
darted through the monster's grasping appendages and stole the jewel. It
roared in frustration and we felt the cave walls shake. Deciding that
survival was the better part of valor, we wasted no time in fleeing back
down the tunnel to the beach, where Dalkontyr was just beginning to fold
himself into a more compact size.

"Never mind that," Mikail told him. "We should probably get out of here."

Instantly, we were transported back into Dalkontyr, who quickly headed us
back out into the Sea of Chance. Behind us, the island was ripped apart by
the kraken's death throes (or frustration; I'm not sure if we actually
killed it).

Serena and I hung around for the first part of the victory party. Soon,
however, we retired to our cabin for our own celebration. Later, I got up
and caught this journal up to current time while watching Serena
sleep. Good night, journal.

* * *

We were awakened by Mikail's general announcement that it was time for
everyone to disembark. Serena and I quickly got dressed and went out onto
the deck. We appeared to have acquired a couple of new passengers, whose
names I never got. One appeared to be a daughter of Flora; another a
daughter of Julian.  Mikail made a speech. "I thank you all for the time
you've spent with me, but it's time for you to make your own way. I'm sorry
for the suddenness of this change in plans, but I have urgent business
elsewhere. I have instructed Dalkontyr to send you all back to Chaos."

Suddenly, I was no longer standing on deck. I was in a dark, damp room. A
very familiar room. The room I had spent more than a century in, slowly
being consumed by a blight that changed my own body into the enemy.

I fear that it was too much for me, and I went mad for a time. I ran to the
door and, finding it locked, screamed and fell to the ground, weeping. I
stayed that way for some time, then sat up. I cursed Mikail, his mother,
and the demon ship that sent me here.

Gradually, I became aware of several differences between my present
circumstances and those of my earlier time in this place. First, my body
was fully functional. Second, I had Galantine. Third, Bucephalus was
standing in the corner of the cell, looking worried.  I came to myself and
went over to reassure Bucephalus. Good friend that he is, he ignored my
lapse of reason. Drawing Galantine, I tried pushing her, point first,
through the metal door next to the lock. It went through easily! I pulled
the sword out and kissed her. Then I punched a series of holes in a circle
around the lock. I braced myself and kicked it out. Creaking, the door
swung open with a gentle push.

Outside was an empty corridor. Like my cell, it was lit by some sort of
lichen which glowed dimly on the walls. The corridor felt dusty and
unused. I led Bucephalus out into the corridor and picked a direction. We
wandered for awhile, finding more rooms that were empty or filled with
detritus, but no sign of habitation.

 I took out my deck of Trumps. They all felt lukewarm; an indication that
they were not functioning. I tried several of them anyway, with no
success. With a sigh and another curse for Mikail, I again set forth with
Bucephalus. We wandered for a couple of hours.  I tried going up, I tried
going left at every turn, I tried going right. The corridors were a twisty
maze, with no clear plan. With a sigh, I munched some rations from my
saddlebags, made Bucephalus comfortable, and took a nap. Upon waking, I
again examined my Trump cards. They were cold.  "Now we might be getting
somewhere," I told Bucephalus. He didn't reply.

I tried Gerard's Trump. No matter how much I pushed, I could not reach; the
distance was too great. Fiona and Oberon were the same. Then I tried Corwin
-- and got through!

"Hello?" he said.

"It's me, Malachai," I said.

"We're gathering at the defense knoll," he told me. "You can come here when
you're ready."

"I'm ready now. Would you pull me through?"

"Sure."

I passed Bucephalus through, then took his hand and came through the card
myself. I looked around. We were standing on a hill overlooking a vast pit,
which I took to be the Abyss. At the edge of the pit stood Darhyse, holding
her head out over its bottomless depths. Cassandra had her arms clasped
tightly around Darhyse's neck so that she hung with her feet dangling. I
turned to speak to Corwin, and found that he had sat down at a nearby
table. By it were tethered several horses. The table was large and round,
set with food and drink. At the table sat Serena.

She looked at me with a stiff and formal expression, but with a dark
pleading in her eyes. I went over to her. She was sitting rigidly erect and
did not respond when I tried to embrace her.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Later," she said. "When we're alone."

I turned again to Corwin. "What happened?"

"It's a long story..." he began. I felt the strange tingling associated
with a Trump call.

"Excuse me," I said. Corwin stopped.

"Hello?" I said to my caller.

Valeria appeared before me. She was in a large aquatic cave. Behind her was
moored a ship with black sails. "Malachai," she said, "I'm lost."

"I'm with Corwin, Cassandra, and Serena. Would you like to come through?"
"Yes."  "Take my hand." She came forward, said hello to everyone, and sat
down. She looked very tired.

I pointed to Cassandra and Darhyse. "Are they all right?" I asked Corwin.

"It's out of my hands," he said, quietly.

"All right, why don't you tell me what happened?" I said. Serena moved her
chair closer to mine.

"I think it started as a joyous reunion," he said grumpily. "We all got
transported here and there, but through various interlocations, most of us
have gotten back together. The first wave has already gone back to Amber
and we were waiting for you."

"What's up with Cassandra?" I asked.

"I think I might have made a mistake," he whispered.

He didn't really want to talk about it, but I asked anyway. "Oh? What
sort?"

"Raising children is significantly more difficult than anything else I've
ever done before."

"How did they get there?" I asked, pressing further. "What's happening?"

"That's between them. I cannot help them; I think I've meddled enough for
one day."

Valeria, sensing the edge in his voice, tried to change the subject. "So
was this transportation Mikail's idea of further education," she asked, "or
did he screw up?"

"He seems to have screwed up," said Serena in a finely controlled
voice. She squeezed my hand, tightly, but would not look at me.

"Where have we fetched people from, then?" Valeria asked.

"We saved this lady," Corwin said, indicating Serena, "from facing off the
head of the Beastmaster's Guild. Others ended up in harder or easier
places. It seems that Dalkontyr sent us to places in Chaos that we were
most closely connected to. I ended up here, where Deirdre died in my
arms. Merlin ended hanging over the abyss because that's where he started
to gain his freedom. I'm not sure where the others are."

"Where did Cassandra end up?" I asked.

"I have no idea," he said. "She insisted that her friends were in trouble."

"Friends?" I asked.

"You didn't meet them? We picked up some hitchhikers in the Sea of
Chance. I believe they are family, though perhaps not exactly our family."

I recalled the others I saw on Dalkontyr before being transported to
prison.

"Did they go into the Abyss?" I asked. "Is that why Cassandra is hanging
off the edge?"

"I believe it had to do with bad judgment on my part," he said.

"May I ask you to explain?"

"You may ask," he said, "but forgive me if I don't comply." Something in
his eyes warned me against proceeding further.

I tried a different tack. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"I am open to suggestions," he said.

"I had hoped that, although you won't explain, you might give guidance
regarding possible solutions."

"I think she has to do this one for herself," he said, sadly.

I sighed, defeated. "Would you like companionship while you wait?"

"Sure." He pointed toward the table. "Try the blue stuff. It's excellent."

I poured myself a glass of blue liquid from a decanter. It slid down my
throat with no apparent taste, but the sensation was extraordinary. I moved
my chair adjacent to Serena's, and she seemed glad of my proximity. The
food was good, too.

Darhyse stepped back from the edge and set Cassandra down. Cassandra looked
around.

"Hello, Cassandra!" I yelled down the hill.  While she wiped tears off her
face and made herself presentable, Corwin set a place for her next to his
own. Cassandra walked up the hill toward us. When she arrived, she smiled
at me tentatively.  "It's good to see you," I told her.

She looked uncertain. It appeared that she wanted to sit by me, but with
Serena and Dapple there she had no place. Instead, snubbing the seat next
to her father, she sat by Valeria. She took a glass, filled it with an
orange drink, and took a sip. Corwin stared into his glass, looking
chagrined and embarrassed.

"Where's Merlin?" Cassandra asked.

"He went on with first wave," Corwin said.

"You sent him away?"

"His choice," he said "He's not mine to send or compel."

"Since when?" she spat.

He didn't reply.  "Should we head back?" she asked.

"K'rin, Rivka, and Dworkin have not yet arrived," he said.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"That is the Abyss," I told her. "And there are the Courts of Chaos."

"I see," she said. "What are your plans?"

"At present," I said, "I have none."

"We could go to Amber. Or Rebma."

"We should probably be heading back," Serena said.

"If you want, I can stay and wait for the others," Corwin said. "Valeria,
you can have a horse if you like." He gestured to the horses tethered
nearby.

Cassandra noticed a wooden sword lying on the ground nearby. With a look of
sudden rage on her face, she picked it up and tried to break it over her
knee. It flexed but would not break. Her look turned suddenly cold.

She turned to Corwin. "Very fair," she said "Very fair."

"I couldn't arrange to be perfect," he said. "I'm not, you know."

"You just expect others to be."

He looked into the Abyss. "Usually."

"I hope it was worth it," she said, scornfully.

"Yeah, it was worth a good fifty years of investment." He was not looking
at her.

She tried to slap him, but he grabbed her wrist. She tried again with the
other hand, but he blocked.

"Why'd you do it?" she asked.

"It seemed right at time." He poured some wine into a goblet.

"And now?"

"I'm not so sure it was right. Some of us think we're right all the time."
He took a sip of wine, then stared into the goblet.

"Were you?"

"I'll know in about 15 years." he said.

"Starting over?"

"Should I?" he asked. "That's what you've been threatening me with."

"Why'd you take her away from me?"

"She wasn't there to protect you. If not, then she does you no good."

"What about you?"

"I don't claim to be there all the time," he said. "That's why I gave you
the skills you have."

She broke down then, crying. The rest of us sat there, uncomfortably.

"Why won't you look at me?" she sobbed.

"I want to remember you happy, if this is the last I see of you."

She stopped crying. In the language of Pearl, she said. "Daddy I love
you. Don't leave me!"

"You're the one leaving," he replied in the same tongue. "Not me." She
broke down again.

"Malachai," Valeria said, "are you ready to go?"

"I'm waiting for Cassandra to prepare herself," I said. She shrugged and
waited. So did the rest of us.

While we did so, Serena showed me two printed slips of paper. They appeared
to be tickets for a concert by Random and Martin.

"Where did you get these?" I asked her quietly.

"Random and Martin were here. They left these. The concert is in a week."

"Where?"

"They didn't say."

"I guess we could Trump them," I said. "If we could figure out how long a
week is here as compared to there."

Serena shrugged.

Meanwhile, we continued to listen uncomfortably to the conversation between
Cassandra and Corwin. "What do you want?" she asked him.

"I want you to be happy," he said. "And well-educated." He continued to
stare fixedly into his glass.

"You're going to have to look up from that glass eventually," she said.

He shrugged.

"When can I walk the Pattern?" she asked.

"When you're ready," he said.

"How long will that be?"

"I don't know. Not for awhile."

"Will you take Darhyse away?" she asked. I was starting to figure out what
this was all about.

"No. Keep her," he said. He looked up from the glass. "Do you forgive me?"

Cassandra buried herself in Corwin's arms. All's well that ends well, I
suppose.

They talked some more, but I didn't hear what they were saying. Eventually,
Cassandra gave him her wooden sword in exchange for a glass one. That
didn't seem very useful to me. Perhaps it was symbolic, or enchanted
somehow.

After that, we got ready to leave. Corwin said he would stay at the Abyss
and wait for the others. Serena insisted on combing Dapple thoroughly
before consenting to leave.  Valeria took a horse -- a beautiful black mare
-- and saddled her. I turned to lead us out into Shadow, and realized that
the Abyss stood between us and our destination.

"Um...Corwin?" I said. "How do we get across that."

"Merlin summoned something he called a filmy. Do you know how?"

"I haven't the slightest idea." We looked at each other, finding that no
native guides had materialized in our midst.

"Let me try," Valeria said. She walked over to the Abyss and
concentrated. Soon a flat, wispy cloud appeared and settled itself before
her, forming a bridge across the chasm.

"I'm impressed," I told her.

She smiled, took the reins of her horse, and walked onto it without
hesitation. She continued across.

I looked down. There was no hint of a bottom. I mounted Bucephalus and
nudged him forward. With just a bit of hesitation, he stepped onto the
"filmy." It settled downward ever so slightly with our weight, but bore us
without apparent difficulty. When we were about halfway across, Darhyse and
Dapple bounded past us, bearing Cassandra and Serena.

Once we were across, I concentrated on the first of many changes that would
move us toward Amber. I led us through a strange and shifting
landscape. Hoping not to be bothered by natives, I aimed for areas of low
population and low technology. As we were all somewhat tired, I kept the
pace leisurely, although Dapple and Darhyse often spurted ahead.

Cassandra looked puzzled. "Malachai, if we want to go to Amber, why don't
we just use Trump?"

"A few hours ago, I tried to Trump several people in Amber and couldn't get
through," I said. "I had planned to get closer to Amber and try again, but
if you'd like to try now that would be fine."

"I just wanted to make sure there wasn't a reason not to," she said. She
took out her deck and attempted contact through several
cards. Unfortunately, Trumps worked no better for her than for me.

"Are they warm or cold?" I asked, remembering how they had worked for me
initially.

"Cold. They just aren't working."

"May I try?" asked Serena.

Cassandra gave her one. "What do I do?"

We both explained how to work a Trump, and she tried. Nothing. "I don't get
it," she said, handing back the card.

"You can try when we get closer to Amber," I told her. "There's no reason
why they shouldn't work for you."

About that time I noticed that Valeria was missing. Just wonderful. I took
out my Trump deck and selected hers. When I concentrated on it, I got a
strange sensation, as if I were looking over the shoulder of someone who
was falling slowly. Beyond, I caught a glimpse of a white rabbit wearing a
waistcoat. Then the contact broke.

When I tried again, the contact picked up and then dropped instantly. I
wondered if she was concentrating on slowing her fall and had no attention
to spare for me.

I told Cassandra what had happened. We discussed the situation and decided
to try again in five minutes. We did so. This time, when I tried her card,
I got a fleeting touch with Valeria, then a momentary contact with another
person (female), and a firm contact with yet a third person -- Zack.

"Hello?" he said.

"Hello, Zack," I said. "Something strange is happening. I'm contacting you
on Valeria's Trump."

He looked puzzled, and I explained what had just happened. "Neat," he said,
"I'll try her and then call you back."  The contact broke, briefly, then
began again. "I'm not getting anything," he said. "I am very wierded out by
all of this."

"Me too," I said. "Where are you?"

"In Shadow," he said. "About to have a private party."

"Are you anywhere near Amber?" I asked, hoping for a jump closer to our
destination.

"No," he said. Oh, well.

He noticed Cassandra standing behind me. "Here," he said. "Give this to
Cassandra."  He handed me a rose.

"Might I have another one? There is another lady here."

"Sure." A second rose appeared. I gave one to Serena and one to
Cassandra. They seemed pleased.  "All right," I said to Zack. "I will
probably be experimenting with Trump, and I may get you again soon."

"No problem," he said.

I broke off and explained what had happened to Cassandra. We decided to try
Zack's Trump next. It connected me to him in the usual manner. I said hello
again and broke contact. Then I tried Valeria's Trump again. It connected
me to Zack yet again, this time with no intervening flashes of other
connections.

"Cassandra," I said, "you try Valeria." She did so, got Zack, said hello
(and thanks for the rose), and broke the connection.

We discussed our next course of action. "She seemed all right when I
connected with her," I said. "Maybe she's arranged this somehow to keep
from being bothered. Why don't we continue on and try again in a half hour
or so?" The others agreed.

"How can you tell the passage of time?" asked Serena. "My watch is running
backwards!"

"Dead reckoning," I said. "There isn't any way to be sure."

Mounting back up, we continued onward. In different shadows along the way,
we passed several identical statues. They depicted a winged woman with a
pair of sunglasses in one hand. Her wings were white and her skin slightly
yellow in complexion. She reminded me of something, but of what I wasn't
sure.

While we rode, I asked Cassandra about recent events that had puzzled
me. "Who were those people who appeared on Dalkontyr?" I asked. "The ones
who seemed like family?"

"They were Ivy de Julian, Roland Benedictine, and Jackie Flaumel," she
said. "They are from Amber, but not our Amber."

"A shadow of Amber?" I asked.

"I think so. Where they are from, somebody else is on the throne. Some
girl. Jackie said they held an election. Jackie is pretty good at
swordplay. She's Flora's daughter. I watched her spar with my father."

"Where did they go?" I asked.

"With Zack and Merlin."

"I see." I moved on to the next topic needing clarification. "How did you
end up hanging on Darhyse over the Abyss?"

"We were talking," she said.

"And why did you pick that spot for a conversation?"

"When Dalkontyr sent us to Chaos, we were separated. When we finally got
back together, she was glad to see me and so she ran up and sort of pushed
me back. I hung on and we talked because Corwin was trying to take her away
from me."

"I don't understand."

"Because we got separated, she wasn't there to protect me. Corwin got mad
at her for that, even thought it wasn't her fault, because Dalkontyr
separated us without any warning. Anyway, he got mad and told Jackie that
Darhyse was his, not mine."

"Men can be boneheaded at times," Serena commented.

"So I got mad at Corwin and walked away and Darhyse came back and pushed me
to the edge of the Abyss 'cause she was happy to see me. I guess I'm
different from when I was in Pearl. When he fought Ivy and Merlin, he
wanted to fight me too and I didn't want to be humiliated. Of course he was
better than me -- he didn't have to rub my nose in it. That was part of
it."

"It seems like something like this was bound to happen," I said. "Does
Darhyse still answer to Corwin?"

" I don't know," she said. She and Darhyse spoke silently with each other
for awhile.  "She kind of has to do what he says on some things," she said.

"That must be hard to accept," I said.

She nodded.

By that time we had arrived at a pleasant cranny between two rocky
crags. It was well- protected, had good visibility in all directions, and
seemed comfortable. Also, there were no statues. We stopped and I led
Bucephalus over to a stream. After we had both slaked our thirst, I tried
Valeria's Trump. Nothing strange happened; it was simply blocked. In
comparison to the random switching that I had encountered earlier, that was
something of a relief.

>From my saddlebags, I removed the canvas pup tent. While the others washed
in the stream, I set it up. I announced that I wanted to take a nap, and
disappeared into the tent. A few minutes later, Serena joined me. We whiled
away an hour with activities of mutual interest. Afterward, while she gave
me a back rub, we talked.

"I feel useless," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't do anything. I feel like all I do is hang around and get in your
way."

"I like having you around, and so does Cassandra."

"But I feel useless. I don't have any powers and I can't fight. I need you
to protect me."

"Do you want to learn how to fight? I could teach you."

"Maybe Cassandra should teach me. A woman would teach me the dirty tricks."

"I'd be happy to teach you dirty tricks, but if you want Cassandra to teach
you that would be all right."

"Maybe both of you. But I still feel useless."

"We're heading back to Amber. You don't have to come next time."

"I don't like Amber, either," she said. "When I'm there I have to be
official and pretend to have authority. I like being with you and sharing
what you have, but I don't have enough. I've had a taste of real power, and
I want to keep eating."

At this, Dapple, who had been sitting outside gnawing on something she had
hunted down, nudged a half-eaten haunch under the tent flap. She had
apparently taken the word "eating" literally when she heard it in Serena's
mind.

After we had chuckled and pushed the tidbit back out, I said, "I can't give
you Pattern.  Once we get closer to Amber we can start practicing with
Trumps if you like. There's no reason why they wouldn't work for you."

"Could I try yours now?" she asked.

"Sure." I took out my deck and handed her my card.

"So you just concentrate on the picture?"

"That's right. Focus a little beyond the card and try to project yourself
into it."

"Oh, my."

"That's it," I told her as I felt the connection establish itself.

"And this will work across any distance?" she asked.

"Yes, although it can be hard to go from Amber to Chaos."

"And to break the connection I just stop concentrating?"

"Yes. It helps to pass your hand across the face of the card." She did so
and the connection ended.

"Can I have this?" she asked, holding up the card.

"All right."

"That way, I can reach you whenever I need to," she said.

"Good. Now if you don't want to be in Amber and you don't want to travel in
Shadow, where do you want to be?"

"I'm not sure. I like being with you, here, but I don't like being just an
extra when all of the others are around."

"Would you like me to find a shadow for you to be in?"

She thought for a moment. "I don't think so."

"How about this. We can go back to Amber, and I'll try to teach you what I
can. Then we can talk about what might suit you."

"That would be good," she said.

"Tell me, what happened when you were transported to Chaos?"

"It was not pleasant. I think it was worse for Dapple than for me."

"What was it?"

"It looked like a huge black winged cat. I mean really big, like the size
of a big building."

"Did Corwin get you out?"

"No. I met up with him later."

"Did it harm you in any way?" I asked.

"Not physically, but it scared the hell out of me."

"Why was it worse for Dapple?" I asked, "because she couldn't help you?"

"No, the Beastmaster didn't pay attention to me, but he talked to Dapple,
like she was a bug about to be killed."

"Then how did you get away?"

"I'm not quite sure. I had passed out by that time."

Shortly after that, as she continued to rub my back, I fell asleep.

I woke up very comfortably wrapped around her. She smelled good. Gently, I
disentangled myself from her and pulled on my pants. Something smelled
good, and when I came out of the tent I saw that Cassandra had cooked up a
savory feast.

I said hello to her and went off to relieve myself. When I came back she
told me about the two roast meats and one stew she had prepared from game
caught by Darhyse and Dapple. I helped myself to some of each and
complimented her on her work.  She smiled and said that she wanted to take
a nap herself. At a word from her, Darhyse transformed into a sort of
living tent. It looked very odd, though comfortable.  Cassandra stretched
and crawled in. Darhyse began to sing her a lullaby. Truly, I have a
strange family.

I tried Valeria's Trump again. Unsurprisingly, it was blocked. I took out
this journal and caught up on it while the others slept.

* * *

Serena woke up and had a wrestling match with Dapple. I'm not sure who
won. She got dressed and came out of the tent.

"Come have breakfast," I said after kissing her good morning. "Cassandra
has provided us with a lovely repast."

She dug in, giving me occasional choice bites. She offered one to Dapple,
who was appalled at the idea of eating cooked meat.

After awhile, Cassandra got up. Darhyse went off to hunt, still in tent
form. Cassandra had breakfast and offered us all candies that she had
gotten from Zack. I tried a blue one. It did not have a flavor so much as
an experience.

We packed up the tent and the food. I groomed Bucephalus and we got ready
to go.  Dapple and Serena ran off. Darhyse and Cassandra followed. I gave
chase, noticing that Bucephalus seemed much faster than he had
previously. Perhaps it had something to do with the surprise Serena had
told me about.

We saw another statue. Darhyse stopped to examine it, so we all did. It
looked like a statue to a goddess. There were offerings of jewelry and
food.

We kept going. More statues appeared here and there.  Finally, I smacked
myself. "Aha!" I said, "I know where I've heard of these statues!  Paolo's
story. Gwen looked like that."

We didn't know what to do with that information, so we elected to
continue. A few hours later, I got a Trump call and answered it. It was
Captain Prospero, looking quite confused.

"Hello," he said. "Is this thing on?"

"Hello, Prospero," I said. "What's going on?"

"I told Fiona that I needed to get in touch with you, and she gave me this
card. How does it work?"

"Surely you know what a Trump is."

"I suppose. I am not well-versed in such things. You remember certain
investments we have made?"

"You mean various merchant expeditions?"

"Yes. Well, they're losing money, because the port of Amber is closed."

"How so?" I asked.

"Do you recall the shadow force brought in by Llwella to provide Amber with
naval security?"

"Yes. It seemed like a foolish idea."

"Well, they aren't allowing anything into or out of Amber without Oberon's
leave, and he's gone. There are lots of merchants who are very concerned."

"How about overland travel?"

"There are few routes through Shadow that are wholly confined to land."

"What did you want me to do about it?"

"I had hoped that you, with your family connections, might be able to place
a word in the right ear."

"I have a better idea," I said. "Rather than trying to fix this problem,
let's take advantage of it. We could get a caravan together and go overland
through Shadow. I can lead us."

"All right. How soon can you get here?"

"Call me back in fifteen minutes."

"I'm not sure how to work this thing. I was just fiddling with it and I
somehow got you."

"Stare at the image on the card and concentrate on making it real."

"All right. Fifteen minutes then." He continued to look at me.

"To end the connection, pass your hand across the card."

"Got it, pass my..." The contact ended.

I explained the situation to Cassandra and Serena. Cassandra liked the idea
of Trumping through to Amber. Serena saw the investment opportunities,
given the current market situation in Amber.

After about three minutes, I got another Trump call.

"Hello?" I said. It was Prospero.

"I waited exactly fifteen minutes," he said, "because I thought there might
be some kind of expiration effect." Apparently we were in a slow time
shadow.

"Do you mean you've been an officer in the Lancers for three hundred years
and you don't know how Trump work?"

"I haven't had much cause," he said huffily.

"We will be coming through to you." He looked at me like I had told him we
would be holding a dinner party in his left nasal cavity.

"Surely you know that Trumps can be used for transport?"

"I thought only the Royals could do that."

"That's what they want you to think," I said. "In a moment you will be
taking Serena's hand."

"Who?"

"You've met her. A lovely redhead."

"Ah, the ambassador." He winked, impressed that I was keeping company with
a lady of such beauty and station.

"Yes. Just pull her toward you and she will appear before you." I looked
behind him -- he appeared to be in a small tent. "Perhaps you should step
outside first."

He did so. I saw that he was on the pier in Amber.  "Excuse me, but why
have you pitched a tent on the pier?" I asked.

"Ah, you wish to know why I was in a tent on the pier?"

"Yes, you have it exactly," I said.

"Fiona suggested that I might want to use the card in a private place," he
said.

"Pardon me, but I do not quite understand. You say that Fiona recommended
privacy?"

"Yes, that was what she said."

"Why?"

"She didn't explain. However, I reasoned that a tent is private."

"And why on the pier?" I asked.

"That was where I was when I decided to call you."

"I see."  I turned to Serena. "My dear," I said, "If you would take the
colonel's hand."

Serena, familiar with this use of Trump, went through without
difficulty. However, the Trump connection ended. Apparently, Prospero had
lost concentration when Serena appeared.  A moment later, I felt another
contact. It was Serena. "We thought it best if I handled the Trump," she
explained.

I could only agree that this seemed the wisest course. Within the minute,
we were all standing on a pier at Amber. I noticed that the Trump she held
bore a portrait of me, but not the usual one from the standard deck.
Prospero introduced a very large fellow named Tal, whom he identified as a
caravan master. I congratulated Prospero on his forethought in providing us
with one. We discussed various mercantile plans. As we did so, Cassandra
decided to head up the hill toward the castle, explaining that she had
business there. I gave her a hug and wished her well.

After she had left we continued our planning. We decided to wander through
various taverns where merchants with cargoes they could not move might be
willing to sell valuable goods at bargain prices.

About an hour later, several deals had been made. I was heading into a
rather seedy- looking tavern when I received a Trump call. It was
Cassandra.

"Hello, Malachai," she said. "I've had a run-in with a thug." I heard
moaning at her feet.  "Is there a Guard in this city? I can't find anyone."

"Yes, there is, but of course they're never around when you need them."

"What does one do with a damaged thug in this city? I don't know the
protocol."

"Just roll him into a gutter," I told her. "He'll either wander off or
someone will find him sooner or later."

"That seems rather messy."

"It's a messy city. Don't worry about it."

"All right," she said. "If you have any problems on your trip, give me a
call."

"Alas, Cassandra, I have no Trump of you."

"Oh, yes," she said bitterly, "I'm too young for a Trump portrait. I'll
give you a call if I don't hear from you in three or four days."

"Please do," I said.

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye," I said. She ended the connection.

After three days of haggling, we were ready to leave. The caravan consisted
of 120 pack animals -- mostly mules -- and their drivers, with 80 lancers
as guards. Also along were Colonel Prospero, Serena, Tal, and myself. We
went through Garnath, to avoid Julian and to pick up a few cases of spiced
wine on the way out. That night, as I slept, we were attacked by
trolls. Those on guard, wanting to keep the fun for themselves, dealt with
them without waking anyone up (lancers are elite, after all). There were
two dead trolls next to the camp when I awoke (turned to stone at the crack
of dawn); two others had apparently escaped.

That morning I began shifting us toward our first destination -- a Golden
Circle kingdom called Ethernon that I had visited once before. It was a
beautiful desert city at the edge of a golden sea. Fortunately for us, a
good part of our trade goods (particularly spices and opals) were in high
demand there, and we made considerable profit.

The second place we visited, a border town call Kazdir, was having a
religious celebration. At the center of town was the same statue of a
winged woman with sunglasses we had seen in our travels near Chaos. It was
apparently the object of worship. I made some discrete inquiries,
discovering that the statue had recently appeared overnight. The next day,
a lame girl was healed as she passed by the statue.  Since then, a cult had
grown up to pay homage to the new goddess (no one knew her name). We did
our business and continued onward.

Soon after we left, I received a Trump contact.

"Hello?" I was expecting Cassandra, since she had told me she would be
getting in touch.

"Hello, Malachai." It was Valeria. Behind her was Castle Amber. "I was
wondering if you know about some Amberites who have disappeared recently."

"I find your question interesting, since the last time I saw you, you
disappeared shortly thereafter."

"Yes, well, things got complicated. Eventually, I was rescued by Zack, and
then he suggested I go to Faerie, but he didn't tell me what the rules are
there. So I didn't know not to eat there or accept gifts. Anyway, I just
escaped." She didn't seem pleased with Zack.

"Did you know that your Trump has been behaving very oddly?"

"No."

"Yes, when I tried you just after you disappeared, I got a woman falling,
whom I believe was you -- "

"It probably was," she said.

"And then it jumped to Zack. After that, it went to Zack whenever I tried
to Trump you."

"Yes, well, that was probably his doing."

"He said he didn't understand it," I said.

"I'm sure he did. Anyway, I just came from the remains of Julian's hunting
party. He seems to have disappeared and he's not responding to Trump."

"Interesting. I haven't tried him, myself. Have you encountered any odd
statues in Shadow lately?"

"No."

"There seems to be a statue of a winged woman with sunglasses appearing
throughout Shadow. It didn't worry me at first, when I saw them near the
Courts of Chaos, but I just encountered one here in the Golden Circle."

"They sound like the woman in Paolo's story -- what was her name?"

"Gwen. Do you have any reason to think these statues are a threat?"

"Well, she didn't seem to like Paolo, Mikail, or Clarissa."

"True. If you happen to encounter them, please get in touch with me and
tell me about it."

"Certainly."

"So what was it you were calling about?" I asked.

"Julian is missing, and so are Clarissa and Oberon. Do you know anything
about them?"

"I'm afraid not. I'll let you know if I run across them."

"Thanks."

"Anything else?"

"No. See you later."

"Goodbye."

At the third destination -- a city called Jikashalvo -- another caravan had
just passed through. Consequently, many of our goods could be sold at only
normal market prices.  We did a little business and kept going.

Some of the lancers began complaining of boredom. I told them we would soon
be back in Amber, but they suggested that we drop them somewhere
interesting. I let 20 troopers off at Ak-Nesh, a port city where
mercenaries were always in demand and where ships from Amber would dock
eventually. Near Ak-Nesh, in the wilderness, I spotted another winged
statue. We kept going.

A day later, I got a Trump call from Bleys.

"Hello, Malachai," he said. "I was wondering if you've run into any..."

"Statues of winged women with sunglasses?" I asked.

"Why, yes." he said. "I suppose you have. How about armed marauders with
guns where guns shouldn't be?"

"No, nothing like that. Why?"

"There have been attacks on family members."

"I see. Has anyone been hurt?"

"Not seriously. I believe we redheads are the primary targets."

"And these attacks have occurred in the vicinity of the statues?"

"Yes."

I told him about the fragment of Paolo's journal I had read which mentioned
a winged woman with glasses. He was quite interested.

"So I suggest you get in touch with Clarissa or Mikail if you need more
information."

"Clarissa is not currently available. I have not attempted to speak with
Mikail since he killed my son."

"Alastair? I hadn't heard that."

"Yes," he said quietly. "Anyway, I would be grateful if you could get a
chunk of a statue for analysis. I'd like to know if they are all made of
the same stuff."

"If I come upon a statue I shall endeavor to obtain a sample of it. I was
recently near Chaos and found them there, also."

"Where are you now?"

"Near the Golden Circle."

"I thought you were still near Chaos. That they have appeared near Amber is
very disturbing."

"I agree," I said.

"All right, then. Do call if you get a sample. You have my Trump?"

"Yes," I said.

"Excellent. Good luck."

"And you." The contact ended.  I rode over to Prospero. I told him of my
conversation with Bleys and warned him that things might get more
interesting.

"I certainly hope so," he said. "Are you going to seek out this statue by
yourself or do you want us to back you up?"

"I think we should proceed as if nothing has happened. We have only one
more stop scheduled before heading toward Amber. If we see a statue, I
intend to get a piece of it and then get us away."

"Very well."

Then I rode over to Serena and told her of recent developments.

"Are you sure you want to stay with the caravan?" I asked. "I could Trump
you back to Amber."

"No, I want to stay with you."

"All right, but keep that protective medallion on all the time."

"I will," she promised. I didn't tell her that if Mikail were the enemy, it
probably wouldn't help.

Perhaps because we were looking for them, we didn't see any more
statues. Our last stop was a pastoral shadow called Asitica. We made a
fortune on green vormite crystals there, then headed back toward Amber with
a cargo of high-value luxury goods. When we got there, we were not
disappointed. The blockade was still up, so nothing had gotten into the
port in some time. The ships in dry-dock were not even being worked
on. Therefore, our goods were in high demand indeed. When I left Prospero
we had not finished selling, but the profit looked to be on the order of
10,000 percent. Serena, who had put up about 80% of the original
investment, was quite pleased, having gone from being comfortably well-off
to filthy rich. I had also made a tidy profit.

I approached Prospero as he was busy dickering with a jewelry wholesaler, a
mercantile grin upon his craggy face. It took a few minutes, but I
eventually broke in.

"I'm going to the castle," I told him.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "I have the next caravan already planned. We
can leave tomorrow. With these profits the next one will make a real
killing."

"I will not be available immediately," I said. "I have some business to
take care of."

"But Malachai, the profits..."

"I'm sorry, but there are other matters at hand. I will be with you when I
can."

Prospero was clearly disturbed by this turn of events. "Very well," he
said, "but let me know as soon as possible when you'll be able to guide the
next caravan. I do not need to remind you that timing is critical."

"I understand," I said, patting his shoulder, "I'll be in touch."

I said farewell to Serena, who was also involved in buying and selling. I
mounted Bucephalus and made my way through the city toward the castle. On
the way, at the corner of Pitch Chandler's Row and Charlatan's Street, I
ran into an old comrade.

"Malachai!" he said. "It's good to see you again." He looked at my uniform,
"You've done very well for yourself, Sir."

It had been many years, and I could not for the life of me remember the
fellow's name.  He was tall and thick, and he had developed the sort of
solid belly one gets from years of drinking beer. His square, ruddy face
had a heavy scar running vertically down his left cheek. He was dressed in
good but very worn clothing, suggesting that he had finished the savings he
had garnered while in His Majesty's service and was not doing so well on
his pension.

"It's good to see you, too," I said, shaking his hand. "How have you been?"

"Actually," he said, "I have a problem."

I imagined gambling or drinking concerns, but he surprised me. "It's my
daughter," he said. "She's run away to join a cult."

"Don't tell me, let me guess," I said. "A statue of a winged woman with
sunglasses."

"You know them?"

"Only peripherally," I said.

"Well, she went with them to Tremere. It's a Shadow near..."

"I know it," I said. Tremere was a Golden circle shadow about half a day's
shadow shift away. "Please go on."

"Well, they have this cult. It is said to heal people. The cult worships
the statue and denies the existence of other gods, even the unicorn."

"Did they kidnap her or did she go willingly?"

"I'm no sure. Anyway, I'm working to recruit some men to go and get her. Do
you think you could help out?"

"Possibly. When do you leave?"

"Well, now...I'm not sure. I never was a leader type. I was sort of hoping
you might take over the planning."

"I have some things to take care of today. Where might I be able to find
you tomorrow?"

"I'm staying at the Skunk and Paddle."

"I know where it is. I'll meet you there tomorrow morning around ten."

"Thanks, Mal...uh, Captain. I'll see you then."

With that, we parted and I rode the rest of the way through the city and up
to the castle.  By that time it was about ten in the morning. The guards at
the gate told me the date, from which I determined that we had been gone
for ten local days. Subjectively, I had been gone for about thirty five
days. I asked if Cassandra was in the castle. One guard snickered quietly
while another told me she was at breakfast. From the snicker I assumed that
she had gotten herself a lover, probably one of the guardsmen.

I bade them good day and made my way to the feast hall. I spotted her at
the head table, along with Serena, who was engaged in an animated
discussion with two other ambassadors. Benedict sat behind them at his
guard post. Fiona sat at another table with Darkstar, while Flora was in a
quiet corner with a white-haired fellow I didn't recognize. As I walked
through the hall toward Serena, I noticed Merlin sitting by himself with a
very large omelet. He beckoned for me to join him, but I held up a finger
to indicate that I would be with him shortly.

Serena was dressed in casual clothes: purple breeches, riding boots, and a
soft leather tunic in brown and red. This was a radical departure from her
normal habits, as she always dressed formally when in the castle or when
she might be in the presence of royal family members (myself and a few
others excepted).

She smiled as I approached. "How did you get here so quickly, I asked?" I
noticed a Trump card face down on the table.  "I have my ways," she said,
hiding the card. I made a mental note to check my deck to see if any of my
cards were missing.

"You look lovely," I told her, "but you don't usually dress this way in the
cast

"I'm rich now. I can dress the way I want." She seemed very relaxed.

"I need to talk to Cassandra for a bit. I'll be with you shortly."

"Later."

I went over to Cassandra's side of the table. She held herself stiffly, as
if she was rather sore. "Hello, Cassandra," I said.

"Hello, Malachai."

"I was a bit worried. You said you would call me after four days. It's been
ten."

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

"Don't be. I was just worried about your safety."

"I was, uh, kind of distracted. By the way, where does one practice around
here?"

"Practice what?" I asked.

"Sparring, swordplay, that sort of thing."

"There's a floor below the kitchens that has some private practice rooms
for family members."

"Good, I'll go down there later today."

"That reminds me," I said. "I've been meaning to ask a favor of you."

"What sort?"

"Serena has expressed interest in improving her fighting skills, but she's
a bit uncomfortable with learning from me. It wouldn't be very good
practice for you, but do you think you could show her a few things?"

"I'd be happy to."

"I don't like being talked about in the third person," Serena said from the
other end of the table.

"I was just arranging for you to get some fencing lessons," I said.

"Oh, all right, then," she said.

"How about later this morning?" Cassandra said to her.

"Eleven?" asked Serena.

"That's fine," Cassandra said.

"If you're looking for some practice, I would be happy to spar with you," I
said. I was curious about the skills Corwin had taught her.

"Gladly," she said.

"How about noontime?"

"That would be fine."

Then I changed the topic. "Listen, have you heard anything about those
statues we saw out in Shadow?"

"No."

"Excuse me," said a very primly dressed fellow seated across from
Cassandra. "I couldn't help overhearing. Do you refer to a statue of a
woman with wings?"

"Yes," I said.

"One has appeared in my homeland. I am the ambassador from Tremere."

"I am pleased to meet you, Sir. I am Malachai. I hear that a cult has
developed."

"I know nothing of it. I serve my king's government. The people's
activities are not my concern."

"Your government is not interested in the people?" asked Cassandra.

"I serve my king," he said, huffily. "Not his subjects."

Cassandra looked like she would go over the table at him, but I sat down
beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "These statues are appearing
everywhere," I said quietly, "and there are cults developing around
them. According to Bleys, there have been attacks on family members by
marauders with guns."

"What do you plan to do about it?"

"I'm not sure. Do you think Benedict knows about all of this?"

"Probably some of it. Maybe not all of it."

"I suppose I should talk to him, then. But not in public."

"No," she said.

"I'm going to go talk to Merlin about a few things. I'll see you later."

"Bye."

I went over to the corner where Merlin was seated and sat down next to
him. He was just finishing up a huge omelet that smelled wonderful.

"That looks delicious," I said. "What's in it?"

"Oh, things from here and there. I've finally got the right ingredients and
showed the cooks how to make one."

I signaled a waiter. "I'll have one of those," I said.

"You want one of those, Sir?" he asked, seeming shocked.

I turned to Merlin. "You don't have to know how to shapeshift in order to
be able to eat one safely, do you?"

"No, of course not," he said.

"Then yes," I said to the waiter. "I want one of those."

"Very well, Sir."

Merlin and I made small talk for awhile. I soon noticed him tapping his
fingers to some sort of inner beat. I looked closer and recognized the
Lancer's battle code. He was signaling, "the one I am ignoring needs to be
watched."

I continued to chat with him. Behind Merlin were Flora and her white-haired
friend, whom I assumed to be the one he was ignoring. I nodded to indicate
that I understood his signal. By then my omelet had arrived. I took a bite,
and found the taste to be every bit as wonderful as its smell, although I
could recognize none of the ingredients.

After a few minutes of silently attacking my breakfast, I asked, "Do you
know anything about the statues that have been appearing in Shadow?"

"No. What statues?"

I told him about them.  "I don't know what they are," he said, "but
considering that Oberon and Clarissa are currently missing, I think they
are a major threat."

While we spoke, I signaled to him in finger-speak, "Why watch him?"

By that time, he had finished his omelet. "I need a walk to aid my
digestion. Perhaps I'll talk to you later."

"Yes, I'd like that."

I dug into my omelet with renewed vigor. About a minute later I felt a
Trump contact.  "Hello," I said silently.

It was Merlin. "The white haired fellow is a member of the Dancer's Guild
in Chaos."

"So?"

"He is very dangerous. Let me put it this way; at one time it was thought
that the Assassin's Guild was obsolete because of the competition they
received from the Dancers."

"What happened?"

"No one is sure. I think the Dancers infiltrated the Assassins and use them
as a front.  That one is named Rainbow. I am very worried about him being
in Amber."

"Has he approached you?"

"No. That's one of the things that worries me. I have been watching him
very closely and very obviously. He has taken no notice. For all I know
that's not actually Rainbow.  Hell, maybe the person we think is Flora is
actually Rainbow and the one in Rainbow's shape is just a flunky. I do know
this is bad, very bad."

"Have you told anyone besides me?"

"I tried Oberon and Corwin, but they are not available. I tried Caine, but
he is still very weak -- I think I drained him a bit just by Trumping him."

"What about Benedict?"

"He knows, but doesn't seem to be concerned."

"Would you mind if I talk to him about all of this?"

"No, not at all."

"All right," I said. "I'll go try him."

"Fine. I'll continue to keep an eye on Rainbow. Watch your back." The
connection ended.

I finished up the last of my breakfast, then headed for my quarters. I
changed clothes and took out my Trump deck. I fanned through the cards and
discovered that my Trump of Castle Amber was missing. That was how Serena
had gotten here so quickly. I made a mental note to discuss the matter with
her and pulled out Benedict's card.

When I got through to him he was standing at ease on the parade
ground. "Yes?" he said.

"Hello, Benedict. There are some matters related to the security of the
realm that I'd like to discuss with you privately."

"Then we should not use Trump, as this is not a secure method of
communication."

"Is there a place we could talk without being overheard?" I asked.

"Why don't you come through?"

"All right." I took his hand and stepped through the Trump. Nearby were
perhaps a hundred troops marching in almost perfect silence. It was quite
impressive.

"What did you want to tell me?" he asked.

I figured that if it were not safe to tell Benedict everything, then we
were already lost.  So I told him of the statues, of Paolo's journal, and
of my conversation with Bleys.

"You trust him?" he asked.

"Only a bit. But as far as I can tell Bleys does not want to see Amber
harmed. And I don't see any harm in helping him in this matter. It might
provide information."

"I would recommend that you share any information you gain with others --
perhaps your cousin Riannon. She would be a good independent counsel and
she has excellent resources."

"All right, I'll speak with her. What is your plan?"

"I have people looking into several of the statues. Other than that, I will
continue to gather information and protect Amber."

"Do you know where Oberon or Clarissa are?"

"No. I am concerned that Oberon may be planning to walk your father's
Pattern."

"By 'father' I assume you mean Corwin?"

"Yes."

"What makes you believe that he is my father?"

"I know that it is not Eric. During the time that you would have to have
been conceived, he was under close surveillance and sired no
children. Therefore, I deduce that Corwin is your father."

"No other?"

"Oberon is another possibility, but not likely."

"I hadn't thought of that."

"What will you do now?"

"I'm not sure. Do you have any suggestions?"

"The warrior's course is direct. Perhaps the diplomat's course would be
more useful at this point."

I wasn't sure what that meant. "You have no objection to my helping Bleys
for now?"

"No. You may wish use me as a clearing house for information, as others are
doing."

"I will. Anything else?"

Benedict was already turning to his troops. "No," he said over his
shoulder.

I walked back to my quarters. Once there I sat in my favorite chair and
looked through my Trumps again. I selected Oberon's. I tried it and got
nothing. I tried Zack's Trump; he was asleep. I tried Valeria's Trump; I
got Zack. I tried Corwin's Trump; there was a hint of distant presence, but
I couldn't get through.

Then I tried Bleys. "Hello?" he said. I saw that he was riding through some
chaotic landscape.

"Is this a bad time?" I asked.

"Give me five minutes. I'll call you back."

I waited, not sure what his five minutes meant in Amber time. About five
minutes later, I got a Trump call. It was Bleys. This time he was
dismounted, in a pastoral landscape.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I haven't managed to get a sample for you, but one of the statues has
appeared in Tremere. I'll be going there tomorrow to get a piece."

"Be careful. I recommend that you not talk to it."

"Why not?"

"I've gotten several samples from different statues. I held a conversation
with the last one. The distraction nearly got me killed."

"A conversation? About what?"

"Higher-order shadow manipulation. Quite a fascinating mind."

"Have you found out anything else?"

"Not really. I am concerned that they have penetrated so close to Amber as
Tremere. I would very much appreciate a sample of that one."

"If everything goes well, I will have one for you tomorrow."

"Excellent. Call me then, or if you need assistance."

"I'll do that. Good luck."

"And you." With that, he ended the connection. I got in touch with a castle
servant and ordered hot water for a bath. I started catching up on this
journal when I got a Trump contact. It was Corwin.

"I felt you trying to reach me a little while ago. I Trumped closer to
Amber and called you."

"I'm glad you called. Some weird things have been happening that I thought
you should know about." I told him about the statues, which he had not
heard of before.

"You have not seen them in Shadow?" I asked.

"I've been waiting near Chaos for the others. Then I Trumped here, so I
have had no opportunity to encounter them.  I'll be sure to look for them
now."

"There's more. Benedict believes that Oberon is considering a walk on your
Pattern."

"That idiot. I'll go speak with him."

"Good. Tell him his new fleet isn't working out very well."

"How so?"

"They won't let any ships into or out of the city."

"In that case, could you do me a favor?"

"What's that?"

"Make sure the lighthouse keeper at Cabra has supplies. He depends on
passing ships."

"I'll do that."

"Or I could call Merlin. He can just conjure something up."

"I'll speak with him."

"I would appreciate that," he said. "See you later."

"Good luck." With that, he ended the contact.

By that time, my bath water had arrived. I had a long, relaxing soak. Then
I finished this journal entry. Soon I will go meet Cassandra for our
practice session.  We'll see how it goes.

***

Shortly after finishing the previous entry, I got a Trump call from
Cassandra.  "Hello, Malachai," she said. "Could I ask you a favor?"

"What's that?"

"We were going to have a sparring session in a few minutes, and I don't
have a weapon.  Could you get my sword for me in my room?"

"Certainly," I said. "Where can I find it exactly?"

"On the windowsill next to the bed."

"All right. I'll get it on my way. See you soon."

"Bye."

I went over to her room. The door was open, and there were several
servants. I noticed Fiona's seamstress pinning the sleeves on a dress that
was laid out upon a dummy.  There was also a scrawny-looking cat bouncing
around the room. I checked on the windowsill, but the sword wasn't
there. Instead, it hung from a peg in one corner of the room. Without a
word to the servants, who did not challenge me, I took the sword from the
peg and left the room. Then, since the rooms downstairs are usually bare, I
got two fencing epees from the guardroom.

I thought about Trumping Cassandra, but decided that I could use some
exercise.  Instead, I went to the stairway and jogged down. After many,
many steps I arrived at the level of the practice room. The guard at the
entrance waved me over.

"Cassandra and your lady are in there," he said. "They went and got a
mat. You might want to wait until they're done." He gave me a wink to
indicate that we both knew what was going on in there, and it was steamy.

I though about clobbering him, but decided to mess with his mind
instead. "Actually," I said, "I'm here to join in."

He gave me a flabbergasted look as I stepped past him and knocked on the
door.  "Come," said Cassandra.

I opened the door and stepped in. Contrary to the expectations of the
guard, Cassandra was there alone. The room was of a good size, illuminated
through some magical means with a diffuse light. The walls and ceiling were
bare stone, but part of the floor was covered with a woven mat. Leaning in
one corner was the glass sword Corwin had given her.

Cassandra looked slightly tired. We exchanged pleasantries for a few
minutes. When I asked, she told me that the sword was just made of glass,
and that Corwin used it effectively without breaking it. I didn't quite
understand how or why he would do this, but I didn't question her any
further.

Then we had a discussion about how to proceed. She was confused about the
epees I had brought down; apparently she'd never used this sort of practice
blade before, although I knew they were in common use when her father was
in Amber.

"All right," I said, "what would you like to do?"

"Whatever you're comfortable with."

"Well, why don't I show you some practice moves, and you can let me know
when things get complicated."

"All right."

I took and epee and went through a few basic exercises. She took the other
and copied what I was doing effortlessly. I made things more complex. She
followed along. Soon I was performing some of the more complex exercises
that Otto had been showing me a few months ago. She didn't have much
problem.

"Hmm," I said.

"Are these basic moves for you?" she asked.

"They're kind of advanced," I said, feeling a bit chagrined. "Why don't we
try sparring?"

"OK."

Again we started simply, with basic attacks, parries, and ripostes; just
feeling each other out. Gradually, we increased the complexity of the
maneuvers we tried. She was doing, fine, but seemed to be working hard. Her
style didn't seem to consider the bind as a possibility. I tried closing
and tweaked her on the nose with my free hand. She seemed startled.

I decided to see whether she could compensate. Starting with a series of
outside feints and parries, I tried to close with her again, this time
thinking to trip her. On the way in, she did a strange little point
maneuver and touched me on the neck. I was 'dead.'  "Good," I
said. "Again?"

"All right."

We sparred for a bit longer and I decided to try the same sort of maneuver
again, this time in the context of a downward beat in sixte and a spinning
leg hook with my right foot. As I came in, striking her point down, she
flowed with the beat and flicked her edge along the thigh that I was so
neatly presenting to her, 'hamstringing' me just as I pulled her off
balance. She fell to the floor and tried to roll out, but my point was at
her throat.

"I win," I said, "but you took a piece of me. Show me how you did that."

She demonstrated. Somehow her pattern tended to give her a strike whenever
anyone came in on her. We ran through it a few more times, slowly, but I
didn't quite see how it worked. She showed me, step by step, and I began to
get it. Her positioning, at each step, tended to put the sword where the
opening would be if the opponent closed.  There was no single move that she
repeated, so there was no single secret. This would require thought and
practice.  We practiced some more. I tried a couple of other closing
maneuvers, but if I concentrated on parrying the counterthrust, the close
itself was clumsy and obvious. I couldn't find any other weaknesses in her
style. I had a considerable advantage in reach, but if I stayed back, she
could pretty much parry what I sent at her. Clearly, she was used to
opponents whose arms were longer than hers.  It became clear that with
single swords, she was better than me. I could beat her two out of five
times, or more if I were willing to cripple myself on the way in. I thought
I could taker her with sword and dagger (I could parry that counterthrust),
with polearm, or with a good-sized axe.  Unfortunately, we had no such
weapons to practice with.

Finally, after I knew not how long, Cassandra said she was tired and
hungry. I must admit that I was a bit fatigued myself. I thought to Trump
upstairs, but Serena had stolen my card. When I asked, Serena said that she
did have one. After she had returned the mat to the room from which she had
gotten it, we Trumped up to the courtyard. It was dark out. In fact, from
the position of the moon, it appeared to be near midnight.

We discussed ways to improve the practice room and made some plans.

"I'm very hungry," Cassandra said.

"I propose that we go get cleaned up and meet in the kitchen in twenty
minutes," I said.  "Agreed," she said, and we parted company.

I went up to my room and stripped off my sodden clothes. Stretching some of
the kinks from my overused muscles, I washed off. Then I got dressed and
headed down to the kitchen. Cassandra had just arrived.

I found the head shift of the night shift, who was quite willing to assist
us. "I'd like one of Merlin's omelets please," I said.

He looked at me in astonishment. "You want one of those?" he said. "I'll go
wake someone."

Before I could tell him that it wasn't that important, he darted off. Oh,
well. Sometimes, it's nice to be royalty. In a few minutes, the morning
chef arrived. Muttering to himself, he gathered a bewildering variety of
nameless ingredients and began to combine them according to a complex
formula.

"That looks good," Cassandra said, munching a pastry.

"You want one?" asked the cook.  Cassandra nodded, her mouth full.

After taking in our famished appearance and accounting for the appetites of
the royal family, he said, "I'll make enough for four."

"Good plan," I said.

A few minutes later, we had our omelets. For several minutes, the only
sounds we made were eating sounds. The omelets were, of course, good beyond
description, particularly given our state of hunger.

"These are Merlin's recipe," I said when the greater part of my hunger was
slaked. "I'll have to ask him what they are called."

Cassandra could only nod, her mouth full.

Finally, we were both done. As we sat in the afterglow of a meal well
eaten, I told her about my planned expedition to Tremere.

"Do you want company?" she asked.

"I would be happy for your company."

"When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Then I guess we'd better get some sleep."

"I'll see you at breakfast, then."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight." I went up to my room and found Dapple sleeping in one
corner. I checked the bed -- Serena wasn't there. Figuring that if she was
in any trouble, Dapple wouldn't be asleep, I decided not to worry. I
undressed, crawled under the covers, and was instantly asleep.

I awoke with a cold cat nose pressing into the small of my back. I reached
around and scratched Dapple behind the ears. Gently, she butted my side.

"All right, all right," I said. "I'll get up."

As I washed, I looked out the window. It appeared to be a couple of hours
after dawn; I was right on time. Dapple gave me a bump on the hip to move
me along, so I dressed.  Because I didn't want to be recognized in Tremere
as an Amberite, I wore nondescript clothes: high black boots, brown suede
breeches, and a purple shirt. Despite Dapple's interference, I managed to
pack my saddlebags with rations, travel gear, and a couple of spare
uniforms. Then I headed down to breakfast with Dapple at my heels.

When I got to the doorway of the feast hall, Dapple stayed in the
doorway. Serena was seated at the high table, speaking with a couple of
other ambassador. She was dressed elegantly in a green dress that went well
with her hair. Near her sat Cassandra, eating heartily. For such a small
person, her food capacity is truly impressive.  I walked up to the high
table and approached Serena, who seemed to be very involved in an official
discussion. She greeted me formally, using my titles, and introduced me to
the other ambassadors, who also claimed a variety of titles. I politely
excused myself and went over to Cassandra.

I sat beside her; as I did so, the table stretched out to give me room. We
exchanged pleasantries. I felt a large tongue licking at my foot, so I
reached down and scratched Darhyse' head.  Merlin came in, looking very
unhappy about being up so early. He sat down at another table, studiously
not looking at Rainbow, who was entertaining Flora on the other side of the
hall. He ordered some sort of large sweet roll. Cassandra immediately
ordered the same thing. Since his taste in breakfast had proven marvelous,
I followed suit.

The sweet roll was not as good as the omelet, but it was quite delicious
nonetheless.

"So," said Cassandra, "is Serena coming along?"

I looked across at her. She appeared to be engaged in intense negotiations.

"I think she's busy," I said.

Once we had finished our breakfast, we planned to meet at the stables in a
few minutes.

I went over to Merlin and sat down next to him. We talked briefly about my
plans for the next couple of days.  "Would you like to come along?" I
asked.

"I don't think so. You'll have Cassandra to look after you and I still have
business here."

About that time, Serena, having finished her business for the time being,
came over. I again explained my immediate plans.

"Will you be coming along?"

"No, I can't make it. But be ready for the next expedition."

"When I can. There are other priorities."

"Please try; I'm bored."

"We still need to talk about your future career plans," I said.

"Later."

"By the way," I said. "I'd like my castle Trump back."

"All right," she said. "It's in my room. Do you think I could get a set?"
she asked.

"Ask Oberon."

"You don't think he'd give me a set, do you?"

"Actually, I think he would. Shall we go get the card?"

"Certainly."

We said good day to Merlin, then went to her room. We passed a few minutes
in affectionate embrace, then I made my way toward the stables. When I got
there, I found that Cassandra had already saddled Bucephalus.

"Does he like apples?" she asked.

"Yes, very much."

"He is very well trained, then. He wouldn't accept one from my hand."

"Try now."

She did, and Bucephalus happily munched the apple.

We went to the Skunk and Paddle Tavern. It was located in one of the less
savory parts of town, and it was itself no great prize. Cassandra gave me a
quizzical look as we entered, as if to ask if I really knew what I was
doing.

We found my Lancer friend amid a crowd of drunken veterans. There were
perhaps fifteen of them. Even sober, they would have been far from an
effective combat team.  My friend appeared to be drunker than most.

With a disgusted sigh, I picked him up by the collar and dragged him to an
empty corner of the tavern.

"All right," I said. "The plan has changed. You're going to stay here, and
I'm going to go get your daughter."

"But...but you don't know what she looks like!"

"You're going to tell me."

"I don't know what she looks like; at least not until I sober up."

I went over to Cassandra, still dragging my drunk companion, and told her
I'd be back soon. I pulled him out into the street and looked around. Down
the road was a fountain.  Just the thing. I picked him up and carried him
to it, then threw him in. He sputtered and fell over, looking like he would
drown in a foot of water without assistance.

I took him by the hair and pulled his head out. When he stopped coughing, I
shoved him back in. Once I had repeated this procedure a few times, he was
sober enough to protest in actual words.

"Now tell me," I said, "what is your daughter's name?"

"Am...Amarylis."

"Now we're getting somewhere. What does she look like?"

"I, uh, think she has dark hair."

He wasn't sure of much else. I marched him back to the tavern, sat him
down, and announced to the drunken soldiers that they would not be going to
Tremere. They agreed that staying here would be better, as they would be
able to drink more.

Disgusted, I went over to Cassandra, who was talking to a tall dark
man. Next to them was a corpse with a dagger in its back.

"Ready?" I asked.  "Yes."

As she said her good-byes, I stepped out and went over to Bucephalus. She
came out a moment later and joined me.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"A friend of my father."

We mounted our respective mounts, with Cassandra riding Dapple and Darhyse
in rabbit form. We came upon a statue in the wilderness after about six
hours of travel through Shadow. It was located on a hillock, surrounded by
a thick tangle of wicked- looking thorns. We approached it slowly, alert
for ambushes. There were none. I took out Galantine and began hacking at
the thorn bushes while Cassandra watched my back. After I had gone a few
yards, she pointed out that the bushes were growing back behind me, at a
rate that was slow but quite noticeable. After a brief discussion, we
decided that I would cut a path with Galantine while she kept it open with
Darhyse.  About ten minutes later, I reached the statue. Someone had marked
it up; there were mystical-looking runes and symbols crudely written all
over it. I took out my journal and copied a couple down. Then I again drew
Galantine and, with a quick moulinette, cut off a tip of the left wing. The
statue rang with a clear, bell-like tone which quickly became unpleasant,
then faded away. With a shrug, I cut another piece off. This time, the
sound changed from a sour tone to a high screech before tapering off.  I
put both pieces in my pouch and was about to leave when I noticed that the
scar from the first cut had started to "bleed" a thick whitish fluid. I
emptied a water bottle and took a sample.  Then I left via the path that
Cassandra had kept open for me. Cassandra and I mounted Dapple and
Bucephalus, and I led us quickly into shadow. We hellrode for awhile,
taking an unpredictable and harrowing route to confuse any pursuit. At one
point I heard gunfire and cannon shot in a place where such weapons should
not work. I got out of there very quickly and continued quickly for another
twenty minutes before slowing down to a normal pace.

"Can we stop?" Cassandra asked. "My stomach hurts."

"No. There was gunfire where gunfire shouldn't be."

"What's gunfire?"

I explained what guns are. She had never heard of them.

"Your education seems a bit inadequate. Guns are a threat that you should
know about."

She sighed. "Yeah. A lot of people have told me that recently."

We reached the capitol city of Tremere a few hours later without
incident. It was a good-sized port overlooked by a castle; clearly a shadow
of Amber. Looking around the central bazaar, I noticed several groups of
people wearing dark glasses. Another group, clearly not friendly with the
first, wore badges with a cluster of red ribbons. We got lunch from a
pastry seller, then made our way through the bazaar.

"Malachai! Do you remember me?" I didn't. Before me stood a well-dressed
merchant who had been haggling with a customer as we rode by.

"Yes, ur -- "

"I'm Johaness. We did business a couple of weeks ago."

"Yes. How are you?"

"Very good. Say, do you have any more of that angar spice?"

"No, I'm not here on business this time."

"Will your caravan be back any time soon?"

"Possibly. If so, I will make sure we bring some spice."

"Good. Come to me first. I can give you an excellent price."

"I will. Say, could you tell me about the fellows in the sunglasses?"

"They're a new political party. They cover their eyes to shade their eyes
from the bright future ahead should they come into power. The people with
the red badges are their enemies -- royalists. Here, let me call one over."

He called out to a group of the men in glasses, asking for a copy of their
manifesto. One of them complied, chattering on about the coming
revolution. I looked over the manifesto. It claimed that the king was a
tyrant who oppressed the people. That seemed unlikely if they had the
freedom to print such a thing. They wanted to put their general, a man
named Norega, into power. The glowing biography claimed that he was an
experienced warrior who had fought with Caine and Gerard. He had apparently
captured a pirate ship single-handedly. I had never heard of him.

"Have you heard of a new religion? They worship a winged statue."

"Ah, yes. My niece is a worshipper."

"Are they related to the fellows in glasses?"

"No."

"What do you know of them?"

"Not much. I have exchanged letters with my niece, but I haven't seen
her. I heard they have some sort of church on a noble's estate -- the La
Munt family lands, I believe."

"Thanks. I'll be sure to get that spice you wanted if we come through
again."

"Excellent! Have a good day."

I conferred with Cassandra, then we went to a nearby restaurant for a
second lunch. We chose a low-class place selling primarily fish. It was
full of seamen.  We sat and ordered. One group nearby was talking about
some meeting coming up, three days hence at high noon. It sounded like all
of the merchant sailors in the city had been invited; many were coming in
just to be there. They seemed concerned whether they would be dealt with
fairly.

Excusing myself from Cassandra, I went over to the group of sailors I had
been listening to. I introduced myself and offered to buy them all a
drink. I became instantly popular.

"Are you a voyager here for the meeting?" they asked me.

"I have traveled many places, but I have just overheard you speaking about
this meeting."

"Didn't you get the albatross?"

"Albatross?"

"You weren't visited by an albatross on your ship?"

"I'm currently between ships," I said.

"Well, one of the Amberites -- Rhiannon -- sent messages to all of the
merchant marine.  They were carried by albatrosses bearing the crest of
Oberon."

"I see. I shall have to attend this meeting, then. Thanks and enjoy your
drinks."

They wished me well as I went back to Cassandra, who was just finishing her
meal.

We decided to find a higher-class place in order to discover the
whereabouts of the La Munt family lands. I paid for our drinks with a large
tip and received, in turn, information about the family. I thanked the
bartender and we left.

We discussed our plans, deciding that presenting ourselves as important
Amberites would be the best approach. Cassandra decided that she needed to
shop for higher-class clothing. We traveled from store to store, finally
completing her wardrobe around dark.  By then it was too late to try to
find the La Munt family.

We discovered the location of the best hotel in town and went there. As we
were waiting for someone to take our mounts, a well-dressed fellow rushed
out. He told us that there were no available rooms as the entire hotel had
been rented by an Amberite -- our cousin Rhiannon -- so he was unable to
provide space.

I drew myself up to my full height, which was several inches taller than
he. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Captain Sir Malachai Tamberlin of
His Majesty's Own 2nd Imperial Lancers. This is Princess Cassandra,
daughter of Prince Corwin of Amber."

Horrified that he risked giving offense to someone important no matter what
he did, the poor fellow stood there stammering for a moment.

"Perhaps my own rooms would do?" he asked tentatively.

"That might be acceptable," I said haughtily. "May we see them?"

"Please allow me a few minutes to clear them out." He hurried off.

A groom, who introduced himself as Aaron, arrived to take our mounts. We
warned him to be careful with Dapple, and tipped him well.

Then I tried Rhiannon's Trump. It was blocked. Drat.

We were shown the manager's private suite of rooms, which were really quite
nice. I said they would do. After the bellman had left and Cassandra had
begun to unpack, I went into my own room, took out the container of white
fluid from the statue, separated the white liquid into two parts. Then I
Trumped Bleys.

"Wait a moment," he said. Behind him I could see some kind of arcane
laboratory, with bubbling tubes, thick tomes, and a chalkboard covered in
arcane symbols. Something on his worktable was on fire. He put it out.

"Hello, Malachai."

"Good day, Bleys. As you requested, I have a sample of a statue."

"Excellent. May I?"

I passed over one of the two chunks. "I also noticed that the place I cut
this from leaked a whitish fluid."

"Really? I haven't seen that before. You wouldn't have a sample?"

"I do." I gave him the bottle containing some of the fluid I had collected.

"Did you notice whether it healed afterward?"

"No. I didn't stick around."

He examined the chunk of statue. "Nice cut. What cut it?"

"A nice piece of steel."

"How nice?"

"Not a Pattern blade."

He smiled.

"Do you have any new information?" I asked.

"No, I'm afraid not."

"All right. I'll let you know if anything else comes up."

"See you." I ended the contact.

I went into the main room of the suite. Through the open door into
Cassandra's room, I noticed that she had put most of herself into some sort
of cabinet, presumably in the interest of exploration (her room was that of
a child). Only her legs and buttocks protruded from the cabinet. I quietly
took out Galantine, smacked her gently on the ass with the flat of the
sword, and left the suite. By the door was a bell with which to summon a
servant. I rang it.

A couple of minutes later, a servant arrived. I ordered a plate of cold
cuts and fruit with a bottle of wine. I opened the door to re-enter the
suite, only to see Cassandra picking up a bat. I closed the door and
waited, chuckling. She opened the door a minute later.

"I ordered a light dinner for us," I said.

"Thanks for the bump on the head."

"You bumped your head? I'm sorry."

"No, you're not."

"Truly, Cassandra, I apologize."

She looked at me in surprise.

I sighed. "I didn't grow up with the royal family and do not share their
aversion for apologies."

A moment later, dinner arrived. We ate, and Cassandra said that she was
tired and would like to go to sleep. I said goodnight and went back into my
room. I sat at the very nice wooden desk and caught up on this
journal. Good night.

* * *

I had no idea Cassandra could be so annoying. Her talent for getting into
trouble is astonishing. I'm glad she was pretending -- or at least I hope
she was pretending.

I awoke to the sound of a servant bringing a breakfast cart into the main
room. It smelled quite good. I stretched, got up, and went over to the
servant.

"Has Rhiannon returned?"

"Who?" he asked.

"The lady who has reserved most of this hotel?"

"I'm sorry, but I was hired last night. This place is understaffed."

"Might you go and find out?"

"Of course, sir. With pleasure." He left.

By that time Cassandra had gotten up, holding Darhyse, in rabbit form, by
the ears.  While we ate, we discussed our plan.

"Excuse me," she said, "but I don't understand why you're trying to find a
girl you don't know."

"Her name is Amarylis. I told an old friend that I would attempt to find
her, and I intend to do so if I can. At the same time, I wish to find out
more about these statues that are appearing in Shadow closer and closer to
Amber."

"All right," she said. "I'm not sure it's a good idea to announce our
intentions."

"I'm not very good at this political stuff. What do you suggest?"

"Perhaps if I posed as a little girl, I could infiltrate the cult."

"A splendid idea. Would you suggest that we approach this together or
separately?"

"Together."

"Then how are we to present ourselves?"

"Maybe I could be the bratty kid you're keeping an eye on as a favor to my
dad?"

"Then you could wander off -- "

"And get into stuff, maybe find something out. Maybe even pretend to join
the cult."

"How old should you pretend to be?"

"Nine or ten."

"But if you are going to join the cult, you should be older than that. What
about sixteen or so?"

"No. Then I'd have to act too much like a grown up and people wouldn't let
me get away with stuff."

"I would still suggest a little older than ten."

"All right. I'd also suggest that we investigate things other than just the
cult. You could pose as an official from Amber, called to look into rumors
of serious unrest."

"All right."

As we finished eating, the servant who had delivered our breakfast
returned. He told us that Rhiannon was still not in the hotel. No
surprise. He cleaned up the breakfast dishes and I tipped him.

I took out Rhiannon's Trump and concentrated on it. This time, it wasn't
blocked, but I received a nauseous feeling, as if Rhiannon had a hangover
so bad that she could do nothing but cope with it. I ended the contact
quickly, preferring not to worsen her suffering. I figured she couldn't
converse with me in that state anyway, and I could call her later.

 We got dressed. Cassandra put her hair in pigtails and wore a very
childlike dress which she had apparently been keeping in her saddlebags for
just such an occasion. In the lobby, I asked at the desk for our mounts to
be brought out front. I also asked whether it would be possible to hire a
guide who knew the city well. The manager told me that a guide would be
available in just a few minutes. Cassandra and I went into the lounge,
where she began to act like a bratty princess, getting into everyone's
business. A few minutes later, a well-dressed fellow with wild, unkempt
hair came walking up.

"Excuse me," he said, "are you Sir Malachai?"

"Yes."

"I am Sir Erik. I will be your guide."

"Excellent. Tell me, Sir Erik, how did you attain knighthood?"

"Oh, a minor matter of saving a village from destruction."

"I see. And you know Tremere very well?"

"Quite well."

Cassandra came up to us, pursued by two of the staff, who drew themselves
up to attention upon seeing me.

"Who's that?" she asked in her best bratty tone.

"Cassandra," I said, "this is our guide, Sir Erik. Erik, this is Princess
Cassandra."

"I don't like him," she yelled. "He's ugly. Get a new guide."

"No, Cassandra," I said. "Erik is our guide."

"Get a new guide!" she repeated.

"No, Cassandra."

"I hate you! I want my daddy!" She pouted prettily. I sighed, glad she was
only acting.  Erik motioned to one of the staff, who quickly brought him a
drink.

"I want a drink for me!" shouted Cassandra.

"My dear," he said, "this is for you." He tossed it back.

"I am interested in various newer sources of power in Tremere," I said to
Erik.

"You mean democrats or royalists?"

"Both."

Cassandra, bored, went back to tormenting the hotel staff.

"I am familiar with them," Erik said. "Do you wish to visit with their
leadership?"

"Yes. The royalists first, I suppose."

A servant told us that our animals were ready for us out front. I collected
Cassandra and we made our way to the entryway. A groom led out Bucephalus
and Dapple, both looking immaculate. The groom, however, was not in the
best shape, displaying a various claw marks and ripped clothing. I tried to
tip him well, but he refused.

"Do you have a mount?" I asked Erik.

He whistled, and within moments a mule came trotting around a corner,
stopping before Erik. "That's funny," he said. "the last time I did that I
got a grey charger."

We all mounted our animals.

"Now we can go!" said Cassandra.

"Thank you, Princess," I replied. She preened.

"Lead on, Sir," I said to Erik.

We proceeded to the headquarters of the loyalists, where we had a pleasant
visit with their leader -- a large man named Hubert Infrees, who won
Cassandra's approval by giving her a lollipop. Later, went to the
headquarters of the opposition, where we met with an unpleasant man named
Jeffrey Hardice. He refused to have anything to do with us, since we were
from Amber and therefore "royalists."  We left quickly and traveled to the
La Munt estate, arriving in the late afternoon. Just before we got there I
again tried Rhiannon's Trump. I found that almost no time had passed for
her in the several hours since I'd last attempted to get in touch with
her. I broke off quickly.

At the entrance to the estate, Erik bribed a guard, persuading him to send
a message to the main house. Soon, we got a message that someone was on his
way to lead us in.  While we waited, I chatted with Erik.

"What did you do before you were a guide?" I asked.

"I was a soldier, but I have since retired. I wasn't able to find any good
fights."

"Have you traveled in Shadow?"

"No. I've spent my life in Tremere."

"Perhaps that's why you couldn't find any good fights."

"Perhaps," he said.

Shortly thereafter, following an altercation in which Cassandra tormented
the guard, a well-dressed gentleman rode up to meet with us.

"I am the Duke's third son, Karl," he said. "What is your business here?"

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir," I said. "I am Captain Sir Malachai
Tamberlin of His Majesty Oberon's Own 2nd Imperial Lancers. This is
Princess Cassandra, daughter of Prince Corwin of Amber. We are here in the
hope that we might speak with your father and with the worshipers of the
winged statue -- whom we are told have been given sanctuary here."

"I will speak with the leaders of the statue worshipers on your
behalf. They may be available later this evening. In the meantime, would
you like to come up the castle and have dinner?"

"Yes, thank you."

We followed him to the castle. Erik excused himself and left to conduct
some business or other. While we were shown to a big open room lit by smoky
candles. Dogs barked and ran about eating scraps off the floor. There were
many guests, many of whom were loud and boisterous. Karl went off to make
arrangements, bidding us to have a seat.

"I don't like it here," said Cassandra. "It smells. I want to go."

"We must stay until our business is done."

"I don't like you," she said, and wandered off.

Figuring that the people here were at much greater risk from her than she
was from them, I shrugged and made my way over to one of the tables. I sat
down and intro- duced myself to the others in the area, who seemed quite
impressed by my rank. We chatted about events in Amber and the effects of
the blockade. After a few minutes, I received a Trump call.

"Yes?" I said silently. It was Cassandra.

"I've been to the kitchen," she said. "It is very dirty. I suggest that you
not eat the food."

"Thanks for the warning," I said. "I'll be careful."

She signed off. A half hour later, as I was speaking with two nobleman's
nieces about my travels, I heard a commotion, as if many people were
running. I looked up to see Cassandra sliding into the hall, covered in
what looked like pastry filling. I excused myself with a sigh and headed in
her direction. Cassandra got up and ran toward me with several servants in
hot pursuit. She stopped as she reached me and hid behind my leg. The
servants stopped before me, unsure of what to do.

"I apologize for any inconvenience," I said. "Has she caused any harm?"

"I didn't do anything," Cassandra shouted. "They tried to hurt me!"

"This young...er -- lady -- has disrupted dinner. She has also caused the
death of a servant."

"It wasn't my fault," she said. "He tried to grab me and I kicked him. I
guess I kicked him really hard."

I sighed and counted silently to ten. "In that case," I said, "we must
speak with the head of the house and make reparations."

We were brought to the head table, where we were introduced to a toothless
old fellow who was, apparently, the Duke. One of the servants began to
explain the situation.

"Killed by a little girl?" said the Duke incredulously. Cassandra was
peeking out from behind my leg, doing her best imitation of a harmless
cherub. "What an idiot! Why, in my day we didn't have such pathetic
servants. You're fired! You're all fired. Come here little girl."

Cassandra went over and sat on the Duke's lap. He patted her on the head
and gave her some candy.

"I like him," Cassandra said. "He's nice." She stuck her tongue out at the
servants. They backed away, looking stricken.

"Sir," I said, "if we should make some payment to the family of the man who
was killed..."

"Nonsense," he said. "Any servant stupid enough to be killed by a little
girl deserves what he gets. I've never heard of such a thing. Why, at the
battle of Barkun Hill, we..."  He launched into an incoherent story of some
forgotten day of glory.

Places were made for us at the Duke's table, and we sat down. Most of the
other guests ignored the Duke, so we did also. They were talking about
problems with shipping caused by the blockade. They were all losing money
on cargoes sitting in warehouses.  We were fed a variety of fatty meat
dishes and boiled vegetables. Cassandra was right -- it wasn't very
appetizing. I ate sparingly of the bits that didn't look like they would
make me sick. She fed most of it to her bunny.

Soon, Cassandra wandered off, looking, no doubt, for more trouble. She
found it rather quickly. A few minutes later Karl came to me.

"Your young lady has fallen through the hole in the castle."

"The hole?"

"Yes, a collapsing rock left a hole in the side of the castle. We posted
guards but she hamstrung one of them and ran though the hole. She appears
to have fallen into the sea."

I sighed. "I suppose we should go get her."

"She may not have survived."

"We can only hope."

He raised an eyebrow. "Whom did you say you were looking after her for?"

"Prince Corwin."

"I see. I'll go get some ropes."

I followed him as he went to a guardroom, got long coil of stout rope, and
went down a hallway. Down the hall, we heard Cassandra.

"I want my bunny," she said in her most imperious tone. "Go get it." Then
we heard a man scream. "Oh, boy," she said, "He must be playing with the
black thing."

We hurried down the hallway, finding Cassandra standing at a ledge by
herself.

"Malachai," she said, "my bunny is down there."

"Cassandra, where is the guard?"

"I sent him down to get my bunny."

I looked over the edge. It led straight down to the water, perhaps a
hundred feet below.  I spotted several large, nasty-looking creatures
swimming in a circle.

"Cassandra," I said, "I think he's dead."

"He's playing with the black thing."

"The black thing ate him, Cassandra."

"Oops. I didn't like him anyway. He touched me."

"That's not a reason to kill someone."

"I want my bunny. Go get it."

"I think your bunny will get back by itself," I said.

She looked doubtful.

"If your bunny isn't back by tomorrow, I'll make sure that it gets
recovered."

"I suppose."

By that time Karl was edging back down the hallway.

"He's looking at me funny," Cassandra said. "Make him stop."

"I think he might be afraid of you Cassandra."

"Why?"

"Because you keep killing people."

"Well, I didn't mean to. It's not my fault."

"Please be careful with the people here. They're rather delicate."

"Guards aren't supposed to be delicate. That's stupid. What a bunch of
pansies!"

At that point Erik arrived. He clapped Karl on the back. "Ah, my good
friend. I'm glad to see you." He looked at me. "I followed your trail past
the hamstrung guard and here you are."

"Cassandra has been busy," I said.

"Yes, of course she has."

"I lost my bunny," said Cassandra, pointing out over the cliff. "Go get
it."

"I'll see to it at once," he said.

"Thank you," she said, sticking her tongue out at me.

"I've arranged the interview you wanted," Erik said. "Shall we go?"

"I don't want to stay here," Cassandra said. "I want to go home now."

"We can't leave now," I said.

"Why not?"

"We have business to attend to."

"But I don't want to go to some stupid meeting. You're boring."

"We can't go until afterward, Cassandra."

"I'm gonna tell my father."

"It's a deal," I said.

She stuck out her tongue at me again. "All right, I guess I'd better go
with you." She looked at Erik. "Go get my bunny."

"I will see to it as soon as I get you to the meeting," he said.

"Good."

We followed Erik through several corridors to a nicely made wooden door. He
opened it and gestured inward. Inside was a man in a grey robe sitting at a
desk. We went in.  The door closed behind us. Hmm.  "May I help you?" said
the man in grey.

"We wish to see a representative of the worshippers of the winged statue,"
I said.

"Any particular person?" he asked.

"Preferably someone higher up in the hierarchy."

Cassandra started to make what was probably some annoying comment, but made
no sound. With a surprised look on her face, she touched my arm and pointed
to her throat.

I patted her on the head. "I'll deal with your problem in a moment."

"Who specifically do you wish to see?" asked the man in grey.

"Perhaps you could describe the hierarchy of your faith so that I might
select the appropriate person?" I said to the man in grey.

"I'd prefer not to."

Cassandra, clearly very angry at being magically silenced, tried to jump up
on the desk.  When she got the top, she fell through its surface as if it
wasn't there. We heard thumps from inside the desk.

"Is she all right?" I asked.

"Oh, yes."

"Good. Nice trick, that."

"Whom do you wish to reach?"

"I've been asked to speak with an initiate of your religion by her
father. Her name is Amaryllis."

"I will attempt to reach her, if you would like to wait." He gestured to a
few chairs at one side of the room.  I sat down. The man in grey sat there
doing nothing. I shrugged and removed my Trump deck. Once again, I
attempted to contact Rhiannon. There was a block which felt local, as if
the room itself were stopping the Trump contact. I decided to wait for
awhile.  After a few minutes, I noticed that the man did not seem to be
moving at all. As I got up to check on him, I heard a knock at the door. I
opened it, finding -- to my surprise -- Rivka, holding Darhyse in bunny
form.

"Malachai," she said. "What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same question. But first I need to speak with
this gentleman over here."

I went over to the desk. On closer examination, the man in grey, who was
still unmoving, appeared to have no lower torso. He was imbedded in the
desk which contained Cassandra.

"Hello," I said. No response. I snapped my fingers in front of his face. No
response. I touched his shoulder. He felt like solid stone.

"What's going on?" asked Rivka.

"Cassandra is in this desk," I said. "This person was animated a few
minutes ago, but appears to have turned to stone."

"In the desk? How?"

"Magic."

I moved around behind the desk. There were a normal-looking set of drawers
in it. I pulled them out; they were empty. I drew Galantine and used her to
shear off the tip of one corner of the desk. I was afraid to do more
because I didn't want to hit Cassandra.  Meanwhile Rivka grabbed one end of
the desk and heaved upward. She was clearly straining, but the desk moved
up only a fraction of an inch. I tried helping her, but my strength
appeared to make no difference whatsoever. Rivka was clearly much stronger
than me.

"Look under the desk," she said. "I'll hold it up."

I got down and looked. "No good," I said. "It just extends down into the
floor." She let it down.

Using Galantine, I tried cutting into the floor next to the desk. It cut
fairly easily, but the desk continued downward for at least a foot;
possibly much further. Rivka examined the man in grey. Frustrated, she
struck his head clean off. He appeared to be made of stone.

"Darhyse," I said. "Why don't you turn into a cat." Quickly, the huge
Sha'um filled one corner of the room. "I think we should take the top off
of the desk. You'd be better at that than me."

With a smile, Darhyse extended her claws and made short work of the
desk-top. Inside, Cassandra crouched in her now-filthy dress. She jumped
out of the desk and hugged Darhyse.

"Can you speak?" I asked.

She tried, but no sound emerged from her lips. She shook her head.

"Cassandra, I believe I owe you an apology. I fell too much into my role of
an adult dealing with an annoying brat."

She gave me a hug.

"I think we should find Erik," I said.

Cassandra nodded.

"Who's Erik?" asked Rivka.

"I don't have time to explain right now," I said. "He's the one who led us
to this room.  He may have set this up as a trap. Darhyse, can you follow
Erik's trail?"

She nodded.

"Then lead on, please."

Darhyse led us into the corridor and through the castle, finally bringing
us to the ledge Cassandra had fallen from earlier. There were a set of
ropes well secured to pitons. They led downward. Looking over the edge, we
saw Erik and six other men dressed in the uniform of the castle guard
making their way down. I suspected they were making their escape to some
small craft hidden in a cave or cleft.

"Erik!" I shouted.

He looked up. "Malachai! Hello!"

"What are you doing down there?"

"Getting Cassandra's stuffed rabbit."

I hesitated. Could I have misjudged him? "We have the bunny," I shouted. "I
told you it would make its way back on its own."

I saw a look of surprise appear on his face far below.

"All right," he said. "We'll be up in a half hour or so."

They began to ascend, slowly. We settled in for a wait.  "Cassandra," I
said, "is this course of action acceptable to you?"

She nodded, looking like she had more to say. I reached into my pocket,
removing my journal and a pen. I ripped out a blank page and handed her the
pen.

"You think Erik set us up?" she wrote.

"I suspect it."

She nodded.

I turned to Rivka. "You don't have any way to break the spell on
Cassandra?" I asked her.

"No," she said. "I'm just a simple servant."

I smiled. "Not likely."

She smiled back. "How do you intend to explain my presence here?"

"Perhaps you are a nanny I brought in to look after Cassandra."

"That works. What do you think, Cassandra?"

She nodded.

"Speaking of your presence here," I said, "How did you come to be in
Tremere?"

"Is that where this is? Darhyse brought me."

"From where?" Cassandra wrote, clearly interested.

"Someplace where your father's people almost decided to kill me."

"You were in Pearl?" I asked.

"Yes; I think that's what they called it."

"How?"

"Titania sent me there because she thought they'd kill me so she wouldn't
have to give something back to me."

"Who is Titania?" I asked.

"The Queen of Faerie. How adult should I look in order to be Cassandra's
nanny?"

I remembered that Rivka could shapeshift. Right now she looked the way she
usually does: about fifteen. "A few years older would be best," I said.

As we watched, she quickly changed her features until she appeared to be
about eighteen, although still small and finely-boned.

Then I remembered something that might break the spell on Cassandra. A long
time ago, Fiona taught me a few simple spells. I do not use them often, in
part because I don't think of myself as a sorcerer and in part to keep my
abilities hidden. One of the spells was designed to disrupt magical
effects. I uttered it in Cassandra's direction.

"I can talk!" she said, a look of surprise on her face. She hugged me.

"Greetings," said Erik. I looked over the cliff -- he was only a few feet
below. The other castle guardsmen were just below him.

I took him by a wrist and helped him up. He seemed oddly light for a man of
his size. I started to speak to him, but he had turned to help the other
men. I assisted, ready to draw my sword at the first sign of treachery.

When they were all up, I took Erik by the shoulder. "I'd like to speak with
you privately," I said. We walked a little way down the corridor. "That
room you took us to was some sort of trap."

"What?" he said. "How?"

I told him of what had happened in the room, changing the manner of Rivka's
arrival.

"This is outrageous!" he said.

"To be frank, Erik, I must tell you that I suspect you of some complicity
in this matter." I stood ready to fight him if he chose to attack.

"I understand completely. Were I you, I would suspect me. I can only assure
you that I am innocent of any malicious action or intent."

"Then why did you lead us to the meeting and then disappear?"

"That was the agreement. The cultists would speak only to you and
Cassandra. I was not of sufficient rank, or so they said."

I was suspicious, but decided to give him a chance to redeem
himself. "Let's go talk to Karl."

"An excellent idea. One moment -- " He turned to a guardsman standing at
the entrance to the hallway. "Give me your sword, please." The guardsman
complied.

Another guardsman looked suspicious. "I thought you were forbidden from
carrying a sword anymore," he said.

Erik looked back at him, a dangerous gleam in his eye. "And?"

The guard backed away. "Just inquiring."

"Good." Erik motioned for me to proceed.

"No," I said. "After you."

"Very well." He made his way down the corridor.  I made sure that Cassandra
and Rivka were behind me, then followed. Erik seemed to know his way
through the castle, although not perfectly. After a few minutes and one
wrong turn, we found ourselves in front of a stone door.

"This is Karl's chamber," Eric said. There was no handle, although there
was a small hammer hung by the door, presumably for knocking.

"Shall we be polite," I asked, "or just burst in?"

Cassandra tried pushing it open, but it was barred. I took the hammer down
from the wall and banged on it. There was no answer.

"Give me the hammer," Cassandra said. I complied. She swung it, hard, at
the lower part of the door. We heard a dull clang from the other side of
the door, as if a hinge had broken, but it stayed shut. I took the hammer
from Cassandra and rapped sharply on the top part of the door, where the
upper hinge would be. The door swung open.

Before us lay Karl, clutching his abdomen. There was a piece of metal
protruding from his belly, and his shirt was stained with blood. The metal
fragment appeared to be part of the hinge. I looked at the door and
ascertained that it was from the lower hinge, which Cassandra had knocked
loose.

I looked at her with one eyebrow raised. She shrugged. I went over to Karl
and, taking him by both arms from behind, picked him up and put him in a
chair. His wound did not appear serious.

"Put a bandage on him, won't you Erik?" I said.

"You want to be nice to him?"

"I don't want him dying quite yet."

"Good point." He took a shirt from the wardrobe and ripped it to shreds. He
pulled the metal shard roughly out of Karl's belly and then wrapped the
bits of shirt around his torso.

"All right, Karl," I said. "Why don't you tell us about it?"

"They'll kill me."

"We'll kill you," Cassandra said.

He looked at her and gave her an hysterical giggle.  Clearly, he was more
afraid of them.

We discussed various methods of torture. Erik looked worried, but not
enough to crack.

"Let me put it this way," said Erik, brandishing his weapon. "I have a
sword." Karl fainted.

"Just who the hell are you, anyway?" I said.

"I am Sir Erik."

"Oh, really?" said Cassandra.

"Really. I am Sir Erik."

"Perhaps we could have some of the highlights of your nefarious career," I
said.

He began a story of high adventure about how he had tricked Caine out of
some treasure. It quickly became obvious that he was spinning blarney.

"The real story," I said.

He looked me in the eye. "All right. I'm really good. They banned me from
carrying a sword so that others will have a fair shot."

I nodded.  We woke up Erik. By then he was ready to talk. In fact, he
seemed incapable of silence.  In whining, sniveling tones, he told us of
how he had conspired with the statue worshippers to use the different
political factions, which they controlled, to overthrow the government. The
opposition party would assassinate the king. Shortly thereafter, they would
be destroyed by the royalists. The statue worshippers would step in to
restore order. Karl would assume the throne after killing his father and
brothers.  Apparently, this plot was well advanced, ready to go in a day or
two. The cult's headquarters was on the La Munt lands, both in this castle
and in another building nearby.

While he continued to blather, I once again tried Rhiannon's Trump, hoping
to enlist her aide in protecting the king. Apparently the whole castle was
under some sort of Trump block.

"How much do you like the king, Erik?" I asked.

"He's all right," he said, "but hardly an inspired monarch. Why?"

"I was wondering whether we should rush to protect him or attack the
cultists now."

"If we eliminate the cult leaders, he should be safe enough."

"Very well. I think we should attack."

The others agreed. We discussed various means of assault, eventually
deciding that Rivka, Erik, and I would attack the other building while
Cassandra, Dapple, and Darhyse attacked the cultists in this castle. Rivka
would take the form of a Sha'um for the fight.

About that time, Dapple and Bucephalus arrived. Bucephalus had blood on his
bridle and hooves. They stood ready. We tied up Karl. Cassandra, we
decided, would wait ten minutes for us to get into position, then attack.
"Remember," I told her. "You have my Trump. It should work locally."

We tried the Trump. It did indeed work. We shook hands all around and I
hugged Cassandra. Then Rivka, Erik, Bucephalus and I made our way out into
the corridor.  Soon we found ourselves outside the castle. About a hundred
yards away was the outbuilding that was the other cult headquarters. It was
a long single-story building.

Erik whistled. Within moments, his donkey arrived. It was chewing
contentedly on what looked like a human arm.

"I have the sudden urge to shout something," said Erik.

"How about, 'tally ho?'" I said.

"Very well. Tally ho!" He charged toward the building at top donkey
speed.