I knew I was in trouble when Garth summoned me back to 
Amber.  I just couldn't think of an excuse not to go.  I should have 
tried harder.  I didn't like Garth's plan from the moment I heard it, 
but I had little choice but to go along.  It was that or be sedated.  No 
thank you.  Dad wasn't even invited, but in this case that probably 
was a good thing.  It's odd that Garth would trust me more than Dad 
though.  Maybe he figured Dad would find a way to get out of it.  I've 
got to remember to stick closer to Flora next time.  She was 
supposedly part of the assault force, but somehow she managed to 
get left behind.  A useful ability, to say the least.

	The attack went as badly as I expected, although for different 
reasons.  It seems we weren't the only ones interested in the Jewel, 
and Verdan's gang had a better plan.  Not all that surprising, 
considering the one we were using.  I suppose it's just as well.  I 
really didn't want to fight Uncle Brand, especially since I'm not 
convinced his having the Jewel is a bad thing.  We tried Trumping 
out with the various unconscious relatives, but there was some sort 
of Trump block in affect.  We eventually got out, but we had to leave 
Zane and Kurt behind.  Pity Cuel wasn't there, I wouldn't have 
minded leaving him.  I certainly had no trouble deciding to drop 
Zane.  This is all his fault anyway.  Isabel wanted to leave Garth 
behind, which was a tempting notion, but also a stupid one.  
Considering Julian probably wouldn't be real pleased that we'd left 
his son behind.  Even if he is a doofus.  And there's that damn oath of 
loyalty.  Why couldn't Random leave someone reasonable in charge?  
Hell, where is he anyway?  What kind of ruler is absent more than 
he's here?  Not a very good one.

	Dad was in rare form when we got back.  At least he got Alfred 
to get me some new clothes.  Between the blood and the salt water, 
mine were ruined.  I wish Garth would at least give some hint as to 
the proper dress for these things before we arrived.  You know, wear 
something waterproof, but durable.  He has absolutely no 
consideration for others.

	If Isabel is truly one of Caine's operatives, his standards are 
slipping.  Badly.  She told Li Chan and Byron all about our abortive 
attack.  So much for her oath of secrecy.  Yes, the plan was a disaster, 
but you don't go bragging about shit like that outside of the family.  
What was she thinking?  We know absolutely nothing about Byron, 
other than that he's a Logrus master and probably a sorcerer.  And 
for all we know, Li Chan was responsible for the attack on Bleys and 
Grandma.  I don't know where her loyalties are, but they don't seem 
to be with Amber.

	Garth asked someone to draw Trumps of the three people who 
took Brand, and I volunteered.  Hell, I want Trumps of them anyway, 
may as well rack up some brownie points in the process.  Garth also 
titled us happy survivors Knights of the Grove.  Another meaningless 
title to add to the list.  They were making noises about rescuing Zane 
and Kurt, so I figured that was my clue to leave.  Nothing against 
Kurt, but Zane deserves whatever he gets.  I had an interesting 
conversation with Cuel before I left, in which he displayed his usual 
charm and wit.  That is to say, none at all.  I dearly wish he'd come 
with us.  It would warm my heart to picture him floating down in 
Rebma.  He didn't like me calling him brother at all.  It was kind of 
amusing to watch how long it took him to process the remark.  You 
could practically hear the synapses firing, ever so slowly.  It almost 
made up for the shitty day so far.

	I got a visit from Isabel, Li Chan and Finn, apparently another 
one of Caine's operatives.  He doesn't talk much, which is an 
improvement over Isabel, who talks too much.  Isabel and co. were 
heading to Chaos to investigate this Sagan character and wanted me 
to tag along.  Seeing as how I still needed to see Vale, it sounded 
reasonable for us to travel together.  Like I always say, the more 
bodies, the more cover.

	Dad returned and announced that Brand was being held by a 
third power.  No shit.  He also claimed that grabbing Brand weakened 
them.  Maybe Uncle Brand is putting up a bit of a fight.  One can 
always hope.  Surprisingly, Garth didn't have another inane plan to 
deal with this.  I hitched a ride back to Marda with Dad, just so I 
wouldn't be around when he did.

	It was amazingly easy to convince Isabel to contact me after 
passing the shadow storm.  Maybe she was confident enough in Li 
Chan's Trump abilities to trust his judgment, but I wasn't.  And 
Randall took no effort at all to persuade to come along.  Surprisingly, 
it was contacting Kilroy that was the difficult part.  Even Randall and 
I together couldn't force our way through to him.  Interesting.  Either 
he was someplace blocked to Trump, or his mind is far stronger than 
I'd suspected.  At any rate, he Trumped me shortly thereafter and 
joined the rest of us at some fortress of Barimen's.  The shadow 
storm seems to have almost entirely died out.  So who was causing 
it?  Brand?  Or Verdan?  And to what end?

	Li Chan brought us to his family's home, which has definitely 
seen better days.  Completely trashed, dead bodies everywhere.  
Welcome to Chaos.  The beautiful part is he actually tried to get us to 
help track down the culprits, who he claimed belonged to Sagan's 
house, a House Genon.  Which is odd, because I've certainly never 
heard of that house, and I thought Sagan was from Barimen.  
Irregardless, the last thing I wanted to do was get involved in some 
Chaos vendetta.  I couldn't get through to Vale, so we tagged along 
until we got to Arain, and then set off for the Amber embassy, 
following Li Chan's directions.

	We never made it.  I'm not sure what happened, but we started 
passing through some nasty areas that definitely weren't part of Li 
Chan's description.  I tried shifting shadow, and got a pretty strong 
headache.  It felt a lot like the one I got in that shadow storm when I 
had Pattern to mind.  Maybe the same force was involved?  
Backtracking didn't help either, and we wound up in some creepy 
abandoned city.  I figured I'd had enough of this shit and Trumped 
Isabel.  I thought maybe Li Chan had deliberately gotten us lost, but 
he seemed as puzzled as we were.  He definitely didn't recognize the 
city we were in.  Then I spotted him watching me from one of the 
buildings.  The guy from Texorami.  The one who dared to question 
my loyalties.  What the Hell is going on here?  Seeing him confirmed 
my gut feeling that I did not want to stay in this place any longer 
than necessary, so I had Isabel pull us through.  I figured even Li 
Chan's company was better than here.

	There was some mild entertainment provided by a woman 
named Nesta, but not much else.  Li Chan had Isabel and Finn join 
him in Trumping Sagan.  Not to find out what he knows about the 
attack on Bleys and Grandma, but to challenge him to some ridiculous 
duel!  I swear I will never understand Chaosites.

	Once all the male posturing was done, Li Chan condescended to 
take us to the Amber embassy.  Only he wound up in the same city 
we did before.  Didn't have a clue as to what was going on, either.  I 
don't like this at all.  The sooner we talk to Vale and get out of here, 
the better.  At least Li Chan had a Trump of the headquarters for 
Barimen security, which was right by the embassy.  Why he didn't 
use that in the first place is beyond me.

	Vale is off in shadow somewhere.  Wonderful.  What a waste of 
time.  I've made an appointment to see Darien tomorrow, on the off 
chance that he can put me in touch with her.  Or at least knows 
where she is.  Unfortunately, that means I've got to spend the night 
in this lovely place.  Viscount Sider amazes me.  He actually had the 
audacity to suggest that Isabel and I share bunk beds.  Or, worse yet, 
use my grandmother's quarters.  Or Bleys'.  I couldn't believe it!  I 
wonder if there's any way to get him removed?

	Darien doesn't know where Vale is, but promised to let me 
know when he finds out.  I'm not holding my breath.  I spent the 
afternoon watching two grown men literally rip each other to pieces.  
It was one of the most disgusting spectacles I have ever had the 
misfortune to witness.  And the end result?  A draw.  Absolutely 
nothing was accomplished.  What was the point?  Why did I let 
Isabel talk me into watching this?