________________________________________________________________ Message: 37197620, 122 lines Imported: 5:28pm EDT, Fri Jul 22/94 Subject: Mer's Log 3 To: Kris Fazzari, ambergroup@umich.edu From: merrie@umich.edu Mer's Gamelog, Session Three, In Which We Get Involved in Some Poorly Thought Out Plans, or, "I wanna be sedated...." Byron is ever so pleased to hear that Kim and Mim will be just fine and full of phlegm again after getting smushed by Isabel's dragon. He is so happy, in fact, that he doesn't really seem to care that Waldheim is warning him that Garth is about to go off his noggin. Byron does nothing to help forestall this occurence, and goes to talk to Mandor, but gets intercepted by Dominick, and decides to talk to him instead. Isabel goes to look for Li Chan after her chat with Julian, since she is certain that Sebastian is out of town. Dominick and Byron go to Bloody Enrique's for lunch. The separate Catherine-Kilroy-Zane and Li Chan-Isabel-birds parties are blindfolded and led into a black slate room, where Garth insists that all non-family members, no matter how loyal, must be sedated and that all family-members, no matter how little is known about them, must sit in on this council of war, and prepare for an assualt on Rebma. Ie, Kilroy, Li Chan and the birds are sedated, and Isabel is forced to participate in a family conference. Apparently, Garth knows enough about Sebastian to want him sedated too, though. Garth swears the family to secrecy (Isabel takes this to mean "secrecy until after the assault is over"); Gerard gives a good ten minutes of "underwater combat technique" instruction, leaving us all feeling enriched and prepared to do battle with Atlantis; and Garth reveals his plan to have the family storm Rebma, sieze Brand and the Jewel, and incapacitate as many Rebmites as necessary along the way. The family is suitably impressed by the cunning plan. Catherine wonders if the room is trump-blocked, and Uncle Garth kicks her in the head for her pains. The cunning plan is put into action. The royal family of Amber begins an assault on Rebma with tridents and spear guns. Isabel, Catherine and Randal decide to cover the rear. They kill a lot of innocent attack barracuda. Catherine gets harpooned in her thigh. Isabel is not impressed by any of this, and suggests retreat. The group retreats right to the throne room, where they find that the entire force is floating motionless in the water, rather like dead goldfish. Catherine grabs Oliver and Garth, Isabel grabs the two people she knows the least about, Martin and Curt (on the basis that they might be more innocent and less stupid than the other people there), and Randal grabs Zane and Gerard. Zane is left behind because of the difficulties Catherine is having with the trump (we swear, it doesn't have a thing to do with resentment). In the main hall of Amber, a pile of wet royals trumps in and collapses. (And the Windsors thought they had a dysfunctional family.) Isabel and Catherine wake up to a family meeting. They learn that when the attack force arrived in the throne room that there was something of a confrontation going on between Brand and some unidentified redhead, someone they call Dalt and the man Isabel knows as Verdin. Garth was not impressed by any of this, so of course he came in and made his demands. The entire company was frozen by some spell; Brand's confronters grabbed Brand, the Jewel, the Royal Seal and Moire and left through the back door. Finn sneaks into the castle. In the sedation room, the birds wake up and decide to fly to Isabel. Li Chan and Kilroy decide to follow, after watching Sebastian's impressive awakening ceremony. Li Chan tries to get into see Isabel, but ends up sending a message instead. Byron also comes in, in order to see Sebastian or Catherine. Sebastian storms from the meeting room and takes Kilroy on a mysterioius mission that involves high tech shadows and dark rooms. Catherine and Cuel have a productive chat. Isabel, intending to tell only Li Chan and Finn about her day, ends up letting the whole waiting room in on the story. Catherine is not impressed. Isabel decides that she wants Catherine's help in this whole business with Sagan, and approaches her cousin. Sebastian announces that Brand has been seized by a third power, which has fortunately been weakened by this action. Dominick and Byron ride out of Amber, and note that the shadow storm is more like a shadow drizzle at best. They are heading towards Far Chaos. In a big rigamarole (more poor planning, I'll admit), Catherine and Isabel and Li Chan and Finn and Randal and Kilroy eventually end up at Li Chan's family compound, which has been destroyed. Li Chan's family has been taken hostage-- by Sagan. More of Li Chan's dark secrets are hinted at. Catherine, Randal and Kilroy make an abortive attempt to go see Vale. (Either one.) Isabel, Li Chan and Finn decide to see to Sagan. Li Chan gathers together his band of Kaos Kops, using his unique blend of macho begging to assure Nesta that he is hers and hers alone... Kendric is added as well to this group. Dominick has a bad feeling as they enter the caves of the Abyss. (as well he should) First there are brown leathery half faced things, then there is the fearsome Jabberwock-- er, P'Noth Gieru. (Same concept, really.) Of course, after not sleeping or eating for three days, we might suppose that Dominick is merely flipping out, but such is not the case, as evidenced by the pain this centipede/centaur/minotaur /hydra/bee/ant creature manages to inflict upon our intrepid Chaosites. Oh, yeah, and the thing spits poison and oozes acid, did I mention that? Various spells and sword techniques eventually kill it, and Byron takes care of the aftermath. After Catherine's party gets lost in Chaos looking for the Amber embassy, she trumps Isabel and asks to come through. Nesta is most displeased by the arrival of another Amberite woman. Catherine, while lost, saw the guy who questioned her loyalties that one night in Tex-o-rama. Finn, Li Chan and Isabel trump Sagan so that Sagan and Li Chan can challenge one another to a duel, the stakes being the release of Li Chan's family, and Li Chan announcing that he wrongfully accused Sagan of treachery. Afterwards, Li Chan guides the Amberites to the Amber embassy-- or tries, but they end up at Barriman HQ and head to the embassy from there. (Sometimes Chaos transit works, sometimes it don't.) Dominick and Byron come through to Chaos and are recieved. They have dinner, get healed and talk with Jurt and Despil. Once the Amberites reach the embassy, Kilroy kisses the floor in relief. Catherine finds Vale not to be at home, and Darien tells her the next day that he'll get in touch with her when he gets in touch with Vale next. Then the whole crew turns out to watch the fight of the century at the Order of the Cross training ground. I'd go through it all, but really, let's just say that both of the combatants managed to beat each other unconscious before the match was declared a draw. Maybe unarmed combat wasn't such a good idea. ----- Mer Haskell merrie@umich.edu Southern/Northern crossover, King Arthur fanatic, river rat, pooh Taoist, lover of trees, history major, and then some