Game Log: 5.22.05
GM: Cort Odekirk
In Attendance:
Dalen - Daughter of Dworkin. [Kath]
Elio - Son of Dalen. [Alfredo]
Erin - Child of Florimel. [Andis]
Ivan - Son of Gerard [Alex]
Maladin - Son of Sand [Jeremy]
Ronin - Son of Benedict [Dan]
SCENE I: THE MORNING AFTER
It was breakfast time all across Amber and the Golden Circle Kingdoms, and Erin, who had already broken her fast at home, trumped back to Amber to see if she could locate Marcus. The guards at the Castle were less than helpful about Marcus' whereabouts, as he isn't well known to them. They suspected, however, that Marcus was no longer on the Castle grounds. Without an easy way to find him, Erin turned her attention to the garden, and back to the crime scene it held.
Having had the same idea, although he actually never stopped having it, Maladin was still in the garden looking for clues the group might have missed in the dark. Unfortunately nothing plus nothing was still … yes, nothing. And that's exactly what he was finding. Though the fact that there was nothing to find was actually something, as the crime scene was very, very clean. The perpetrator knew to wear gloves, left no marks, no stray hairs, no boot prints. A savvy murderer. It was also clear that the murder was committed in another place and then the components staged in the Castle Garden. Maladin remembered that Erin had sensed a slightly elevated Pattern trace, but that could have been from the group of them wandering around and washing the area with their own inherent Pattern residue. Having been at it for the last eight hours, give or take, Maladin rubbed the grit from his eyes and longed for a pot of coffee.
As the sounds of morning's commerce began to filter through the doorway of his room at the White Rose Inn, Ivan decided that breakfast was the better part of valor. With impeccable timing, after he had had his fill, he was trumped by Calissera who had news of possible bait for Bleys. She was happy to report that House Cho, that much beleaguered family, had a daughter -- a bastard daughter, at that -- named Constance. House Cho was trying to keep the 'virtue' of Daughter Constance under lock and key, as her value to the House came solely from her marriageability. Calissera felt that the young woman's qualifications combined with her situation should make a tasty morsel to tempt Bleys away from Misha. The ramifications of this maneuver to House Cho daunted Ivan not a jot. As he wasn't the one setting up the situation, his hands were clean.
After the conversation with Calissera, Ivan journeyed to Ronin's Surf Shop, on the Bay of Kolvir. After knocking a few times it was clear that either Ronan wasn't awake, or wasn't answering the door. Ivan settled into wait, and after the morning wasted away, Ronin emerged. The two of them then made their plans to sail to Shadow Earth aboard Ivan's boat.
In Helmwind, Dalen was enjoying the luxury of eating husband-made pancakes; ones, moreover she didn't have to help with or pull from the Vitae. Galen, having escaped attending the Ball, decided pancakes were a suitable way of blunting Dalen's sure-to-be bad mood, not to mention her hunger. He was correct on at least the first score. She vented about the events of the previous night to him, which mostly centered around Misha and Bleys, while the rest of the family (save for Elio, who was asleep upstairs) ate their breakfast and tried not to make eye contact with their mom. Halfway through their stack of cakes everyone heard a high-pitched whistling sound that seemed to be coming closer rapidly. Dalen said aloud, "Incoming?" and froze with the thought. Galen, having much more presence of mind, threw up a shield spell around the dining room. ***BOOM***!! Half the upstairs was decimated. With a Wave coming through, Galen threw all the kids into it the Vitae. The soft shriek of another high-pitched whistle was traveling fast toward them, as well as another Wave. Galen told her to go, and for once, she didn't argue. Waiting, waiting, waiting, and Galen jumped into the wave, another explosion reverberating behind him.
Upstairs, Elio had no benefit of a handy shield spell. He was just waking up when he also heard the whistling shrilling toward the house. ***BOOM*** the first explosion blew apart the top of the house, and he was thrown across what was left of his room. Shaking off his daze and automatically shifting to a harder exterior, he heard the approach of the second whistle. Without stopping to consider, he threw himself out of his upstairs window, as the rest of his bedroom was decimated and the house flattened. Shards of building debris hand nailed him in the back as the building blew out behind him, but that was the extent of his injuries. As he shook off the impact and began to search the wreckage for bodies, it occurred to him that there might not even be pieces left, if anyone was in the house, just fine spatters on the walls. Somewhat reassuringly, there weren't even spatters to find … or walls for that matter.
A few minutes later, his mother and father stepped out of a wave to survey what was left of their house. Many reassurances were given that the rest of the family was alive, and much relief that Elio had made it. Dalen helped her son remove the debris from his back while he self-healed. After asking Galen to contact Random about the attack, the Dalen and Elio followed the trajectory of the missiles to a hillside in the distance, just outside of town.
Erin, meanwhile had wandered her way back to the Castle garden, where she found Maladin. There wasn't much that was new to report about the crime scene. The stone horn had been driven into the horse's head by sheer strength (Amberite Family strength, at that). There had been many dagger wounds on the knight's body. All of those wounds were clean punctures, nothing ragged, which suggested that the wounds were inflicted while the man was either restrained or drugged. The pattern of the wounds seemed ritualistic, and there were no signs of magic use on the body. Erin nagged, a very little bit, that Maladin needed to find out where the knight had been posted, and where he had been last seen. He merely replied, in a fairly dead voice, that he needed coffee. They decided that breakfast was in order.
Over coffee and things more substantial, they discussed the murder, the situation with the Oleai and Amber, the Oleai as a people, Maladin's hope that Erin would confide in him if ever she should need someone to talk to (she's currently not seeing the need, and is "fine."), and the situation around Random and Vialle. Maladin confessed to having great guilt over the whole mess with Vialle, and is working up the nerve to tell Random everything.
Up on the rise above Virtue, Elio and Dalena found the location from where the missiles were fired. Clues are scarce, though some information is gleaned: The assailant knew enough about their abilities to rub garlic all over his clothing to mask his own scent. Approximately 6 feet tall, and most likely (if not also a shapeshifter) a stocky male. He wore leather clothing and rubber-soled boots. The weapon fired was actually a rocket launcher (which means Amber Family skill level), and the rockets had to have been created with the same jeweler's rouge compound that also works in Amber.
When they discovered all that they could, Elio returned to Amber in the hopes of speaking with his sister, Misha, while Dalena returned to the demolished house to meet up with Galen. Galen reported that Random had been informed of the attack, then the two of them went to the Fortress to get some administrative work done, paperwork being no respecter of disasters.
Sailing into New York Harbor, Ivan and Ronin arrived in Shadow Earth. Pulling up to the first dock they find, they were promptly told that the moorage was private, and to go elsewhere. When asked "Where?" the man pointed down a few docks, and explained that the owner there often had some slips open for day rental. They tacked down to the new slip and, indeed, the owner had space for them … but had they money to pay? Um, no. They had neither the requisite cash nor credit. Would these shiny gold Tharis do? The dock owner suggested they sell a few of their gold pieces, and bring back some greenbacks from a bank or pawnshop. He graciously allowd them to tie up while Ronan attempted to exchange his Amber coinage for something more suitable to the Shadow.
So off to the Bank went Ronin. Once he found it, he waited in line to see a teller. Once there, she informed him, helpfully, that while she could normally do exchanges, his coins aren't on any list she had … and she couldn't very well give him an exchange if she didn't know what the rate was! She suggested he take the coins to a pawnshop, and gave him a few addresses. And so off to a pawnshop went Ronin. While he wasn't shot at (like others who had gone before him), he was robbed blind by the proprietor who sensed an easy mark. Being the laid-back guy, Ronin wasn't fazed by the less than equitable trade of $30 per ounce of (pure) gold coin. He made the trade for ten coins, and had enough to pay the moorage fee -- That was all that mattered. Content that he had gained what was needed, Ronin headed back to where the boat was tied.
Once that was taken care of, Ivan and Ronin found an empty alley and trumped to Flora's house where the Help assisted them in making travel arrangements to Berlin, as well as finding them suitable clothing.
After downing as much coffee as Maladin can handle, he and Erin returned to his Order in Helmwind where they discovered that the slain knight had been on a circuit through Baylesport when he disappeared. A range of reactions greeted the news of one of the Brotherhood being slain. Maladin gave orders and a dozen of his knights saddled their mounts. The company began traveling through the Vitae.
They moved along in the Wave, when **WHAM** they slamed into something which blocked their progress, and threw them out of the Vitae. Horses were injured, and some of the knights were killed. Before the rest of them could collect themselves, and get their mounts back up, the earth began to shake, tumbling both riders and mounts to the ground again. Across the field, riding at a very fast pace, came a contingent of thirty cavalry bearing down on the group. Maladin cast a spell, and what appeared to be an orbital laser cut a swath of destruction through the attackers. Before he could cause more damage, he was surrounded by a pillar of earth. Erin, with her Pattern, could tell that he was completely enclosed, but still breathing normally, and so didn't worry too much.
The leader of the cavalry stopped near the pillar containing Maladin, and introduced himself to Erin, in a most courtly manner, as Lord Byron of Karl from Chaos. He'd just fought with Maladin on an honorable field of battle, and won. He was willing to accept ransom for the vanquished, and would only keep Maladin until the ransom was paid. The knights and Erin were free to go whenever they like. Erin, much intrigued, talked to Lord Byron as Maladin's "second" … which seemed like a very good idea, considering that Maladin was in no shape to be talking to Lord Byron himself. As the Lord from Chaos viewed the engagement as a continuation of "the game of war" which he and Maladin had obviously started in times past, Erin sued for a duel between Lord Byron and her friend to the first blood. The Lord wasn't sure why he should bother, as he won the contest fairly, and by all rights Maladin's ransom should be his … but, oh, all right.
Maladin was released from the spell, not too much worse for wear, though he was quite ticked by the whole affair. He agreed to the duel, and he and Lord Byron began. It became clear, early on, that the two combatants were very nearly matched. After twenty minutes of fencing, feinting, dodging and slashing, it also became clear that, in the end, Lord Bryon would win from sheer physical endurance. "You could just surrender," the Lord suggested helpfully to Maladin. "I DON'T HAVE TIME!" was the snappish reply. Byron shrugged and kept on with the duel, fighting defensively while Maladin wore himself out. Stretched to the limit, Maladin performed a double feint, and while Byron didn't fall for it, they both scored "first blood" simultaneously and the bout was over. Lord Byron quite contentedly gathered his cavalry, said his Adieus to Lady Erin (giving her a Trump of himself, to boot!), and disappeared with his troops en masse. Maladin, still steaming, turned to see to his wounded and his dead.
Meanwhile, back at Fortress in Helmwind, Elio brought Misha back for a visit. Their conversation in Amber went well … or at least well enough. Misha insisted that Bleys was kind, noble, caring, and really, really "fond of mother," and it was all just so upsetting that mother disliked him so. Elio distracted her from this constant topic by telling her of the attack on the house. Suddenly all focus on Bleys was gone (at least for the moment) while she gained assurances that her family was safe. Elio convinced her to come and see for herself, and she agreed. Once in Virtue, they found their parents at work in the Fortress. Once she sees for herself that her father and mother survived, the topic was back to Bleys, Bleys, Bleys. It was clear to all the adults that Bleys was trying to take the high road in regard to Misha's family. Dalena decided to smile kindly, and give Bleys plenty of rope to hang himself with. She even encouraged Misha to stay with the Prince until the danger was over and the person who blew up the house is caught. Dalena also asked Misha to consider helping her father with some tasks around Virtue when things settle down … as he could truly use her help. She was all agreement with that plan, and promises to do so. When it was time to go back to Amber, it was Bleys' Trump she pulled from her pocket and with a shimmer she was gone.
Elio said a farewell to Galen and Dalena, and found a place to rest from his wounds. A knock on the door, not too much later revealed a messenger offering an envelope. Elio accepted it, thanking messenger who then hurried to his next delivery. Holding the envelope to the light, Elio saw it contained one card. A Trump. Upon inspection, the Trump depicted a green field with wildflowers, nothing more. Elio located his parents again, showing them the Trump. Neither of them have much they can say regarding it, though Dalena suggested contacting Elio's grandfather, Dworkin. They ruled out that Dworkin, himself, drew the Trump, nor did Lore, Bleys or Fiona … whose works Dalen has samples of in her own deck. Elio trumps Dworkin, who came through. He gave a cursory look to the new Trump by poking his head through the card itself, and said nothing more than "she's a serious woman," and refused to elaborate. Dworkin didn't seem overly worried about the anonymous trump … but then, what would Dworkin worry about? Dalena shrugged and suggested that Elio use the Trump, but take a lot of back up if he does so.
Dworkin, meanwhile was distracted by the smell of burrito in Helmwind, and did his daughter know there had been Chaosians in the area? Without waiting for an answer, he popped away from the group and over to where Maladin and Erin were standing, still aiding the injured knights, and trying to get back on their way. He asked about the burrito smell, and Erin showed him the Trump of Lord Byron. Dworkin again pushed his head into the Trump, rendering an audibly disgruntled, "Oh I say, who are you?!" from the Trump's subject. After being satisfied that the situation was acceptable (whatever that meant for Dworkin), the Trump was handed back to Erin who then decided that calling Dalena might be a good idea. "Your father's here, did you know?" Erin also explained to Dalena about Lord Byron and Maladin's duel, and the fact that Maladin was injured. Excusing herself to Galen and Elio, Dalena traveled through to help with the injured. Dworkin, not soon after, popped out to parts unknown, muttering about having something to do. Erin then received a Call from Ivan.
It seemed that Ivan and Ronin needed drivers licenses which would apply to Shadow Earth, so they could drive in Berlin. "Why?" asked Erin. "I can't tell you," said Ivan. As Shadow Earth was Erin's home, and they were obviously in her house, she thought that answer was sadly lacking. Eventually they were persuaded to see it her way. Maladin said that things were under control, and she should go. Erin went through the Trump and landed in the den of her house in Manhattan.
After a more lengthy explanation about their mission, Erin decided to help them get set. She took them out to dinner and for a bit of driving around NYC, to acclimatize the boys to the culture of in Shadow Earth. During dinner, Erin manipulated Pattern so subtly, gaining them proper IDs, that Ivan could barely feel it in use. It was as if it were almost an organic effect of the Pattern of the Shadow, like an undercurrent softly rising and falling.
SCENE 3: HORRIBLE ADVENTURES IN HAPPYLAND
As they begin the drive back to Florimel's house, a shadowy cloud begins to form and follow they. It grows rapidly, expanding into an almost-presence of darkness, menacing evil and malignancy within a storm cloud. Driving on, they realized that the cloud seemed to be following them. To test this, Erin shifted one shadow over. It followed, it force and power growing. Erin had an idea, and she shifted once more, this time to HappyLand … on the theory that evil and bad would be counteracted by excessive happy. Almost right. The evil cloud dissipated, but their doing 60 in a 30 mph county soon netted them a cop on their tail. Erin made a tactical error and pulled over. While explaining the situation to the police, she obviously wasn't happy enough, and he shot her full of tranquilizers. Down went Erin. Off went Erin to the Adjustment Center in the back of a police car.
Ronin took the wheel, and tried to follow the police car. Alas, his driving skills weren't fully formed (that is to say, nonexistent), and it took him several minutes of start and stop driving to make it any significant distance. His erratic style earned them another cop on their tail, though this time Ronin tried to ignore it, then to out speed it. No dice either way. Finally he pulled over, and when the officer inevitably tried to shoot Ronin full of Happy, he flipped the gun out of the cop's hand using his telekenesis. Very puzzled, the cop looked at his empty hand, then walked to where the gun was lying in the road. As he reached it, Ronin flipped it good and far into a nearby field. Now, rather worried, and definitely not as happy as he should be, the cop walked back to his car and radioed for backup. At that point, Ronin and Ivan decided discretion was the better part of valor, and hightailed it out of there, shifting to the next Shadow. After pondering what they should do next, they decided to trump Dalena.
Back in Helmwind, she's been tending to the wounds of Maladin and his knights, and listening to Maladin's surliness about all the delays. Ivan explained that Erin had been taken to an adjustment center in HappyLand, and they could use some back up. "What?" was the reply. Having been shot full of the Happy before, and disturbed her young great- nephews left Erin behind, she agreed to come and asked Maladin to join as well. Dalen also contacted Elio, and asked for his help, as he could Shift form better than anyone, and had little fear of Erin. Not wanting to be caught by surprise a second time, Dalena arms the entire group with tranq guns of their own and her own equivalent of Kevlar armor. They all shifted back to HappyLand and began the task of rescuing Erin before she was "adjusted" into complete madness.
Their first stop is a branch of the local library. Ivan and Dalen used the one of the library's reference computers to determine their current location, the location of the Adjustment Centers in the area, and the road down which Ivan and Ronan traveled earlier. Doing that, they were able to find where Erin was most likely being held.
Meanwhile at the Adjustment Center, it's all mostly Happy with Erin. The doctors at the Center, concerned with her tolerance of the drug, increase her dosage exponentially. In her very fogged state, she tried to find her Trumps, but was too stupid with meds to focus on such a specific task. She drifted in and out. During one session with a doctor, her imagination (and uber Pattern) spontaneously caused the room's ceiling to become blue sky and white, fluffy clouds -- not just a painted ceiling, but the real thing. This causes no amount of concern to the doctor, who pumped her dosage even higher. Erin, who was less than rational at the moment, felt the doctor's reaction to her creation as rejection, used Pattern to manipulate his brain so that he was happy and could enjoy the clouds … which incidentally turned his brain into mush and the blood ran. Now that he could see the clouds right, Erin released him, and dozed for a while. She came to some while later, just in time to see an orderly check in. The orderly's eyes widened as she saw the dead doctor, increased Erin's dosage yet again, and scurried back out of the room.
Rescue! Once at the Adjustment Center, Ivan located the floor Erin was being kept on by sensing her Pattern signature. It was like a beacon while she was semi-conscious, faded as she did as well. Ronin and Maladin moved around the corner to the back of the building, and Ronin used his telekinesis to lift himself and Maladin up to the fifth floor. They moved from room to room, looking in the windows for Erin, until they heard the sound of a gun being fired below, and the soft *thuup* as a tranquilizer dart struck the wall beside Ronin's head. Looking down, they saw the authorities surrounding the side of the building, firing on them. So far, the authorities were lousy marksmen, and Maladin cast his Shield spell to keep it that way.
Meanwhile, Dalena decided that they need to see the patient register at the front desk, and so created a diversion to draw people away from the entryway. Picking an unoccupied ambulance, she opened the gas cap, and lit the gasoline on fire. It took a few moments to really start up, but once it exploded, the reaction was all she could wish for, as the lobby emptied, and the ambulance was the main focal point. Elio stayed to guard the front doors, while Dalen and Ivan asked the front desk attendant if a friend of theirs had been brought in. After hearing a description of Erin and checking her register, the reply was "Oh yes, she's on floor 5, receiving adjustment right now!" The attendant won't give out any further information as it was considered classified. Out came Dalena's tranq gun, and down went the attendant. Ivan read the room number from the console, and they took the nearest elevator to the fifth floor.
At this very moment, Maladin located Erin through one of the windows. He shot out the window, and he and Ronin stepped through. The dead doctor was still on the floor, and Erin was almost comatose. He scooped Erin up, and headed back out the window as more doctors and orderlies begin streaming into the room through the door. Ronin floated them down, while Maladin's shields kept the barrage of darts being fired at them from finding a mark. As a Wave zipped by, Maladin immediately hopped it, leaving Ronin to make his way back to the front of the building, and to meet up with Elio. They waited for Ivan and Dalena to return.
The elevator *DINGED * at the fifth floor, and Ivan and Dalena began down the corridor, looking for Erin's room number. They were stopped by a nurse who politely and cheerfully informed them that this was a restricted floor. Much feigning of confusion ensued, and Dalena asked the nurse to show them back to the elevator. The nurse happily complied and, once there, she was tranquilized and dragged surreptitiously into the elevator. Again, Ivan and Dalena moved toward Erin's room, and once more they were blocked by hospital officials. This time, however, the doctors and guards were discussing the horrors in Room 5xx; one doctor was dead, and the patient had just been kidnapped! Turning around quickly, Ivan and Dalena made their way back toward the elevator and returned to the first floor, rejoining Elio and Ronin. As they passed through to the parking lot, guards began to close around them brandishing their tranquilizer guns. As the weapons were leveled, Dalena caught a wave and dragged all four of them out of the Shadow.
A short hop away, and she landed them in a peaceful Shadow where they could take a headcount, and see what happened to Maladin and Erin. All was well on that end. Maladin was taking Erin back to Thermalfyre, and would set her up in a healing spell to get her past the worst of the drugs. Ivan and Ronin returned to Amber, the former to speak with Random about the developments (or lack thereof) in the case, and Ronin to the Surf Shop. Dalena returned to Virtue to set up a house for the night.
Once he saw Erin tucked safely within the healing energies of his Bacta Tank spell, Maladin set the wards on it, and returned to his Order in Helmwind. After filling the contingent again, he and his knights finally were on their way to Baylesport to investigate the death of their Brother.
Ivan's discussion with Random went about as well as expected. Ivan explained about the mishaps with Erin, and bringing Dalena and Maladin in on the rescue. Random, who was a little miffed that a "secret mission" suddenly had three more people knowing about it, decided to make omelettes out of broken eggs and suggested to Ivan that perhaps he and Ronin should ask Dalena along, as she now had a common interest in the mission. Ivan agreed, and left the King to his leisure. Trumping Ronin, Ivan relayed Random's suggestion, and asked if Ronin could tell Dalena about the King's suggestion, as he had a Trump of her. Ronin agreed, and they signed off with a promises to begin again in the morning.
Dalena was busy pulling home essentials out of Vitae when she received the Call from Ronin. He passed on the information that she had been "recruited" to help he and Ivan with their mission. When asked who had done this "recruiting," he replied, "King Random." Dalena, though not much pleased, said her thanks for the information, and signed off with a "I guess I'll see you in the morning." She then visited Random, and asked about this "recruitment," which had occurred. They talked a little while about the tie in between the ops on Shadow Earth and the decimation of her own house that morning and, in the end, she agreed to join the group investigating the munitions situation in Berlin. They chatted a little while longer about personal matters, then she took her leave to return to Virtue.
And so the evening passed … or did it?
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