Chapter Four Byron explains to Waldhiem about the unfortunate demise of Kim and Mim. Waldhiem says they'll regenerate and asks Byron to turn them over to him. Byron realizes he should have left them under the dragon. Waldhiem informs Byron that Garth is plotting something rash. Like this is a surprise. Waldhiem would like Byron to try and stop it, but he doesn't know exactly what it is. With this sort of detailed information, Byron is certain to succeed. Cat looks for Sebastian, and is told that he's in Amber. The place she just left. She finds this annoying. Zane is announced and claims that Cat is required to return with him to Amber by order of Garth. He also claims Trumps are off limits. Cat figures it's a trap so she won't follow him back, but says she'll be there shortly. Kilroy ever so subtly questions Cat about Brand. Cat decides that maybe they should head for Amber after all. Li Chan and Isabel discuss stuff. Li Chan reveals that Sagan has been removed from the investigation, thanks to their stunning detective work. Isabel also receives a summons from Garth. For some reason, Li Chan opts to tag along. After being led blindfolded down several corridors, Li Chan, Isabel, Cat and Kilroy are led into a room where Julian, Gerard, Flora, Garth, Martin, Oliver, Kurt, Zane and Cuel are gathered. Garth orders Li Chan and Kilroy sedated and removed, because they aren't family members. Pity the invites didn't specify this was a family gathering. Neither Li Chan nor Kilroy like this idea, but are dragged off when no one will vouch for their loyalty. I can't imagine why. Garth reveals that they are going to storm Rebma and attack Brand with a small commando strike force. Gerard gives everyone some pointers on underwater fighting. Garth mentions that the Rebmans may remove the spell that normally allows you to breathe in Rebma, but he is prepared for that. And if that fails, at least it will be a quick death. Cat and Isabel are lukewarm about the whole plan, to say the least. Cat figures they're doomed. She asks where her father is, and is told he wasn't included on this elite task force. Cat would, no doubt, have been most interested to know that Sebastian was lying unconscious in the same room as Li Chan and Kilroy. Garth also mentions that the room is currently Trump blocked, so naturally Cat has to check this out. Garth reacts poorly to this. Cat reacts poorly to Garth. And the team is off to a rollicking start. Julian and Cuel are left behind to guard Amber. Flora manages to stay behind as well, through some vague, last minute excuse. Cat and Isabel wish they'd stuck with her. The remaining group enters some underwater passages under Kolvir. Surprisingly, both Garth and Oliver demonstrate some sorcerous abilities, although no one can figure out exactly what they're doing. Eventually Garth asks three people to stay behind and hold off the Rebman forces, while the rest of the group goes after Brand. Cat, Isabel and Randall quickly volunteer, meaning there are no PCs in the advance group, so we don't get to find out what happens when they run into Brand. Things are going great for the rear guard until the Rebman forces arrive, at which point the trio actually has to engage in combat. At least Garth left them ten guards to serve as fodder. Cat still manages to get speared in the leg despite all the extra bodies. Oh well, the clothes were a total loss anyway. The trio plus guards fight a room by room strategic retreat and eventually come across the throne room. The good news is Brand is nowhere in sight. The bad news is that the rest of the attack force is floating in the water. Cat, Randall and Isabel decide this is a sign that it's time to bug out. They each grab two Amberites and try to Trump back to the main hall, but they're blocked. They're also starting to feel woozy. Combining forces and bringing Pattern to mind helps, but not enough. Cat suggests dropping Zane first, since in a way he's responsible for this whole mess. When that doesn't prove enough, she wants to drop Kurt or Martin. Isabel wants to drop Garth, which is mighty tempting, but Cat points out that they really don't want to face Julian if they leave his son behind. They opt to drop Kurt and are finally able to make it through . They barely have time to order the rather startled guards to get Julian before they collapse. Sebastian wakes up in the sedatees room and looks rather annoyed. He Trumps in his staff to get him properly dressed. Byron and Dominic decide to do lunch. Li Chan and Kilroy opt to follow Isabel's birds, which were also sedated, in hopes they'll find something interesting to do. After lunch (Or maybe it was before lunch. Or instead of lunch. I'm not paid enough to keep track of this stuff.) Byron asks Waldhiem what's going on. Waldhiem thinks a third power may have the Jewel. Naturally, if Byron can get the Jewel for Sawall, the rewards would be incalculable. For one thing, he'd get better guards than Kim and Mim. Cat and the others wake up in one of the castle's ill-defined rooms. Cat explains what happened with her group, including the fact that Zane and Kurt had to be left behind. Oliver isn't real happy to learn Kurt was abandoned. No one cares about Zane. Garth explains that they found Brand confronting a strange red-head, then everyone was paralyzed. Including Brand. Dalt, Verdan and someone else came in, grabbed Brand, Moire, the Jewel and Moire's seal, and left. Looks like someone's plan worked like clockwork. Too bad it wasn't Garth's. Cat mentions they saw a door closing when they came in. Garth thanks everyone for their assistance and says they'll be appropriately titled (something useless like Knight of the Grove). Cat asks if they're still under Trump restriction. Garth tells her to go ahead. Sebastian walks in at this point, rendering the question moot, since that's who Cat wanted to Trump. Sebastian takes one look at Cat's soggy, bloody clothes and brings in Alfred to get her properly attired. For some odd reason, Sebastian and Garth don't speak to each other. The fact that Garth beat Sebastian senseless before sedating him probably has nothing to do with it. Vesper and Phosphor fly into the room. Li Chan and Kilroy are stopped at the door. The guards offer to show them to another room. Li Chan takes them up on the offer and asks that Isabel be told where he is. Kilroy wanders off. Byron tries to gain entrance to the room with all the Amberites, and is also denied access. He leaves a message for Cat and is shown to the same room as Li Chan. The messages for Isabel and Cat are passed along. Isabel leaves and tells Li Chan the whole sordid story. Byron is impressed. Whether it's by Garth's plan, the fact that they're still alive, or the fact that Isabel is revealing all of this to two Chaosites she barely knows is tough to say. Hard to believe she's one of Caine's operatives, ain't it folks? Oh yeah, speaking of Caine's operatives, it turns out Finn is one as well. You remember Finn, right? The breakfast guy from last session. He somehow winds up in the room during Isabel's tale. Garth wants Trumps drawn of the people they encountered. Cat volunteers, because hey, you can never have too many Trumps. She gets images of the three from Martin. They are of a red-headed woman, a dark haired, dark skinned woman, and Verdan. Sebastian says he has things to attend to and leaves. He appears behind Kilroy, says "You're with me.", grabs him, and disappears. He repeats the same process with Duncan and takes them to a high-tech shadow. Sebastian goes into a dark room and leaves orders not to be disturbed. Kilroy arms himself with some local weapons, including something very much like a lightsaber. He is informed that he's on the worldship of Marat, which means absolutely nothing to him. Cat banters with Cuel and calls him brother. He doesn't like that last part. She leaves to wash the salt out of her hair, then Trumps Kilroy, who won't answer the call. Having nothing better to do, she checks in on Byron. He asks her about the attack. She doesn't say much, other than to indicate that her participation was not by choice. Byron proves uninteresting, so Cat goes to her quarters to see if that burned smell has been aired out yet. Vesper tells Isabel that it found Verdan in Rebma. A bit late, eh? Isabel and Li Chan decide to coordinate their plans with others. For some reason Cat is the first person to come to mind. Isabel must still be woozy from attack. They find Cat in her quarters and discuss what to do next. Cat believes they need to talk to Vale, to see if she knows how to free Bleys and Fiona. After all, Verdan seems to have wanted them out of the way, so getting them back can only be a good thing. At least the group manages to agree that a trip to Chaos is in order. Cat is informed that Sebastian has returned to Amber, so she heads down to the audience chamber. Isabel, Finn and Li Chan follow, but the latter two are not allowed into the room. Li Chan should be getting used to this by now. Byron and Dominic head for Far Chaos, for reasons unknown. Maybe they were bored. They are followed for a while by Julian's hawks. After traveling on horseback for a while, they decide that this is ridiculously slow and Trump without difficulty to the entrance to the tunnels that lead to Far Chaos. Apparently the shadow storm/Trump barrier is breaking up. Sebastian announces that Brand has been captured by a third party, but this has somehow weakened them. He also mentions that Oliver detected weakening Pattern disturbances moving out into shadow. Everyone goes their own separate ways after that. Cat returns to Marda with Sebastian to work on her Trumps. Before she makes much progress, Isabel Trumps her and asks if she's coming to Chaos. Cat asks if they're going through the shadow storm. Isabel says Li Chan has a Trump of a Barimen fortress which is located near Ygg. Cat points out that Byron was less than successful when he tried this before. Isabel tells Li Chan about this. Li Chan opens a contact and says it feels weird, but OK. And he's such an expert on Trumps. Isabel Trumps Cat again and updates her. Cat claims she has to finish her sketches and round up the other interested parties, so she asks Isabel to call her from the fortress. Li Chan, Isabel and Finn reach the fortress with no problems. Li Chan and Isabel spar to pass the time until Isabel can contact Cat again. Cat finishes her Trumps and sets about rounding up more bodies. She Trumps Randall, who's happy to come along. She can't find Kilroy in Marda, so she tries Trumping him again, but he's still not answering. She gets Randall's help, but even though it's a much closer contest now, she still can't get through. Isabel Trumps Cat, who comes through with Randall. She tells them of her difficulties in Trumping Kilroy. They debate whether to gang Trump him. Kilroy Trumps Sebastian, but he doesn't answer. And this is unusual how? Kilroy Trumps to Marda, where he's told Sebastian is meditating and doesn't want to be disturbed. He's also told that Cat was looking for him. He Trumps her and goes through when she explains they're going to find Vale. Li Chan Trumps the group to his family compound (I mean small, humble farm) in Chaos. There are many dead bodies, burned houses, etc. scattered about. The bodies of the attackers have tattoos indicating they belong to House Genon. Li Chan is rather upset about all of this and wants to track the attackers down. He thinks it's important, since Genon is Sagan's house. Cat and Kilroy, having no desire to get caught up in some Chaos vendetta, want to find Vale first. They decide to split up. Cat tries to Trump Vale, but can't get through. Since Li Chan is their only guide, they accompany him into the capital, which is called Arain. At least for now. It remains to be seen if this lasts any longer than Li Chan's first two names. Byron starts seeing brown, leathery things with half of their face missing. Dominic senses danger. No kidding! Byron stops to cast a vision spell, then thinks better of it. Dominic says that was wise, since it's unwise to stop here for long. Now why didn't he mention that before Byron stopped? At some point they leave Byron's horse behind, for reasons which were not recorded. It did make a nice screaming noise shortly after they abandoned it though. The Near Chaos posse reaches Arain. Li Chan gives Cat vague and confusing directions to the Amber embassy and she sets off with Kilroy and Randall. Li Chan decides to try and make up with Nesta. When he enters her apartment, Nesta puts a gun to his head and kicks the door shut. Li Chan somehow manages to convince her that she's the only one for him. Really. That gun she's holding has nothing to do with it. With this taken care of, they all go round up a bunch of Li Chan's cop friends. Kilroy, Cat and Randall get lost and their surroundings start looking nasty. Cat tries shifting shadow, and gets a headache. They try to retrace their steps, but find themselves in what appears to be an abandoned city. Hmm, nothing suspicious about this at all. Cat tries Trumping Vale, but still can't get through. She spots someone who looks remarkably like the man who approached her in Texorami watching her from a distance. She Trumps Isabel with some difficulty and asks if Li Chan can tell where they are. After some confusion, resulting from Isabel saying she needs Li Chan, which causes Nesta to kick the chair out from under him, Li Chan joins the contact and says he has no idea where they are. Cat asks to come through, figuring wherever Isabel is has got to be better than here. Nesta is ever so happy to see another female Amberite. Byron and Dominic travel in the maze of twisty passages for three days. They sleep while riding. Actually Byron sleeps while riding. Dominic doesn't sleep for three days, but finally decides to grab some shut-eye before he falls over. Naturally, Byron hears the cry of a P'Noth Gieru shortly after Dominic nods off. Don't look at me, I didn't name the damn thing. I'm not going to describe it either, other than it has lots of little legs, spits acid and is armored. Oh yeah, it also regenerates. This becomes important later on. Byron wakes Dominic up, figuring this is an experience best shared. The thing spits poison at them. Dominic knocks Byron out of the way, and is therefore blinded by the poison. It sucks to be a bodyguard. The P'Noth Gieru picks up Dominic, who punches it in the throat and then reaches inside its and rips some stuff out. The thing tosses Dominic to one side and advances on the horse, because it seems to be a much safer target. Byron casts a coat rack spell on the thing, but that only slows it down. Byron draws his sword and holds it off long enough for Dominic's vision to clear. In the process it spits a gob of acid at the horse, which screams. Dominic grapples with the thing again. Byron casts a cork pull spell on one of its eyes, which results in a satisfying scream from it. Dominic removes some of the things legs, but it regenerates them. Dominic sticks his spear, Gae bold (or however you spell it), up underneath the thing's chin and twists. It spasms. Dominic drops, rolls underneath it, and jumps on its back. It dislodges the spear and reaches for him. He pulls its neck back until it breaks, then jumps off and waits for it to die. Byron tells him to separate the head from the body or it will just regenerate. Ooops. Guess he should have mentioned that earlier. By the time he gives Dominic his sword, the creature has gotten back up. Dominic stabs at it with the sword, while Byron brings up the Logrus. Byron flails at the thing with the Logrus, but can't hit it very hard, since he's still getting the hang of this Logrus stuff. Dominic starts sawing at the creature's neck. Byron is grabbed by four brown-leathery things. You remember, the things he spotted earlier? He yells for help. Dominic kills the P'Noth Gieru, making sure the head is severed this time, then attacks the mummy things with his spear. Byron creates a dagger and joins in. They manage to take out the mummy things without any further injury, although the horse is in bad shape from the acid. Does Dominic put it out of its misery? No, he puts it on his shoulder and carries it. The man is weird. Li Chan, Isabel and Finn Trump Sagan. Li Chan orders him reveal what he did with his family. Sagan claims they're safe, for now. He also says that if Li Chan psyche dominates him, his family will know and will kill Li Chan's family. He accuses Li Chan of slandering his name. Li Chan begs to differ. Sagan insists it's only honorable for them to talk alone. Li Chan asks the others to allow him to talk in private. Finn leaves the contact. Isabel pretends to, but doesn't. Li Chan says he's not interested in discussing secrets. Sagan tries to break the contact, but Li Chan and Isabel prevent this. Sagan professes that he had nothing to do with the attack on Bleys and Fiona and repeats his claim that Li Chan is slandering him. He says that if Li Chan wants to see his family again, they can either duel honorably, or he can retract his statement. The latter is not bloody likely. They arrange to meet at the Order of the Cross training grounds at noon the next day. The weapon of choice is unarmed combat. They exchange more threats over what the winner gets. Eventually they agree that if Li Chan wins he gets his family released and 5% of the damages. If Sagan wins he gets an official apology made to anyone Li Chan's told his lies to, a personal apology, and Li Chan must do lunch pail duty for a week. The other Amberites are rather incredulous about the whole thing. Cat manages to convince Li Chan to take them to the Amber embassy. He gets lost along the way, and they wind up in that abandoned city again. Coincidence? Nah. Li Chan Trumps them all to Order of the Cross headquarters, which is close to the embassy. He is greeted by some fellow officers who say they're sorry he got kicked off of the force. Li Chan says he doesn't know what they're talking about.. Byron and Dominic finally reach the end of the passage and arrive in Far Chaos. The guards all bow and scrape before Viscount Byron. Apparently they title any schmuck who successfully takes the Logrus. Dominic puts the horse down and leaves. Hopefully there's a vet in the house. After presenting the head of the P'Noth Gieru to Despil, Dominic goes see a healer. Byron really doesn't need one, since Dominic did most of the dangerous stuff. Cat inquires at the embassy as to Vale's whereabouts. It turns out Vale left for shadow a few months ago. They're not sure when she'll return, but Marius or Darien of Barimen might know. Viscount Sider, the Amber ambassador to Chaos greets them. Li Chan asks for some gruel, which he gets. He finds the gruel dishonorable and washes his hands in the water bowl. He bickers with the servants. He basically makes a nuisance out of himself before leaving. Byron walks into dinner at House Sawall and finds Dominic talking with Jurt. As in speaking out loud. So much for only using the "true language." Byron observes that Dominic has found his voice. Dominic, speaking through a servant, claims that's not necessarily the case. *sigh* It's one of Tony's characters, what else do you expect? Cat makes an appointment to see Darien the following morning. Then she and Isabel arrange for quarters in the embassy. They refuse to share double bunks, so quarters are found for them by kicking some of the servants out of their rooms. Sider claims that they're short on space because none of the elders will allow anyone else to use their rooms. He tries to get them to use Bleys or Fiona's room, but for some reason they don't like this idea. Lord only knows where Kilroy and Randall stayed. Cat has her meeting with Darien. She explains that she's trying to find Vale. He asks which one. She says either one would be fine. He says he has better contact with his sister-in-law (no kidding) and he'll contact her when he knows more. Sure he will. Li Chan spends the morning preparing for the duel. Finn jumps in and offers to spar. Li Chan says he might not be able to hold back, so Finn jumps out again. Cat and Isabel decide to watch the duel. Sagan and his family arrive at two minutes to noon. Sagan greets Cat and Isabel and makes a few remarks that flatter them and insult Li Chan. He and Li Chan bicker for a while before the fight begins. After trading a few blows, Sagan disappears. Apparently it's OK to use magic. Pity Li Chan isn't a sorcerer. Li Chan shifts to a form with sonar and dodges a lightning bolt. He manages to pin Sagan, but Sagan grows spikes and stabs him. Li Chan feels like he's been poisoned. They fight back and forth. Li Chan breaks Sagan's leg. Sagan returns the favor. He asks if Li Chan surrenders. Li Chan asks if he's kidding. Sagan says "So be it." Li Chan is mentally attacked, but resists. He sinks his claws into Sagan's neck. Sagan does the same. Li Chan slams Sagan into the ground. Sagan does the same. Talk about your deja vu. Li Chan slams Sagan into the ground again. They stick their claws into each other's throats and rip them out. Li Chan tries to break Sagan's neck. Sagan slashes most of Li Chan's face off. Just as Sagan penetrates Li Chan's intestines, Li Chan breaks Sagan's neck. Li Chan declares himself the victor. Sagan struggles to his feet behind him. Li Chan strikes at his neck. Sagan catches his hand. They both fall unconscious at the same time, so the match is called a draw. Does mean they have to do this all over again? Quotables: "Let me get this straight. You're going to attack an initiate of the Jewel of Judgment and a living Trump with a commando strike force?" -- Cat "Yes." -- Garth "That's the sort of independent thinking that's caused us so much trouble in the past." -- Garth "I attempt to use my martial arts skills to recreate what happened." -- Li Chan "So, he's jumping around and waving his arms?" -- Cat "I said recreate, not reenact." -- Li Chan "Do you have proof of this?" -- Kilroy "You'll hear it from his own lips as I beat it out of him." -- Li Chan "I wanted us to work together, but be split up." -- Isabel "I run my horse into the ground." -- Li Chan "That will make it easy to get off." -- Kilroy "I draw my weapon and go for the eyes, trying not to mess up my clothing or get maimed in any way." -- Byron "Since he ripped your throat out, you can't breathe, so you're not getting any blood to your brain." -- GM "Brain, shmain, it was only getting in the way." -- Li Chan