(Yep, I'm okay with it.

"If you don't like that, change the plan! It's our plan. Make a new plan!"

(Robin Williams, CADILLAC MAN, 1990)

quote:

This thread is nearing the 1,000 post limit.  If possible, you should start a new thread.

Well well well. So here we are over here now.)


Three white stone steps at the top of a cliff. ...Most of the time, anyway.

When the full moon shines on them, though, more steps appear... leading up to Tir-na nOg'th, the silvery city in the sky...

...But ONLY when the full moon shines down. If a cloud comes along, a lethal fall waits beyond the third step...

"Lance," says Flora. "Are you planning to enter Tir-na nOg'th this evening...? Or just city-gaze from the base of the steps...?"

  “I was thinking to enter there, although I’m not sure that Brenna and Sarah are willing to take the risk.  If they wish to, I certainly wouldn’t want to deny them the opportunity, but would absolutely tether them to me if they do.    I mean, the Tir might give them some useful insight to something important that they wish to know, right?  Besides, you have the card of me that Jade made, so you could watch over us and pull us through to safety if something goes wrong.”

  Lance favors his mother with that twelve megawatt smile of his.  Who could say no to that?

"Yes... I know this is a mother speaking, but... if it starts to cloud up...? So yes, if you're going in-- if you might go in-- I definitely agree that I should come too, and wait at the foot of the stairs... And I don't think your young ladies should go up there with you..."

  Lance gives Flora a hug.  “Oh mother, you worry about me too much, but of course you always know best too.  I’d love to have you along, of course.  Your company is always welcome and I’m grateful for you having found me.  So, if I go into the Tir with you using my card, would the girls be able to watch along if they each touched your shoulder?  That way they can experience it in safety?”

"We can test it, but no, I don't think that works for those not of the blood of Oberon, no. But let's do the rest of it.

Any other questions?"

  “No particular questions, I don’t think.  I did read uncle Corwin’s memoirs though, so I know he just sort of let the psychic pull guide him and how his blade allowed him to communicate and interact with the visions there.  Not sure if it will work with my blade, or my armor… but since they have the Unicorn’s blessing and have been through the Pattern, maybe they’ll work up there too.  I’m going to try it and see.”  Lance says.

  They had a few minutes alone, so he asked, “Mom, what do you think of Brenna?”

  He doesn’t voice the thought about how if it all went wrong and they recovered his body that he’d like to be buried in his armor, with his sword clasped like in a very knightly pose, with only a simple stone shaped like his sword withe the point into the ground with his name engraved upon the quillions.  He had already written that in a letter, sealed and left on his desk, the words “To be opened upon the demise of Lancelot” in near script.

"Oh, she seems nice... a bit overwhelmed by... everything, yet. At least little Sarah was raised in a world where she expects magic and wonders." Pause. "Not that I'm saying Sarah is... more worthy of... consideration. Because I'm not. At all."

  Lance smiles.  “Sarah is really nice, and pretty as well, but I’m not sure if the nun thing rules it out…and Dworkin did say that her destiny does not lay in Amber.  He was pretty specific about that, and Amber is my home now.”

  He laughs, “We’ll just have to see.  Maybe neither one is the one, but then again, maybe one of them is.  It seemed like maybe a spark today on the beach with Brenna, but as you well know, I’ve been known to misread things like that.  It would be nice though to find the girl for me.  Probably gonnA have to be something really obvious for me to figure it out though.  Anyway, shall we get on with it while we have clear skies?”

"Mm. Maybe you need to wait for more than just a spark. But perhaps I'm not the ideal person to give advice. Hm, maybe Random. Random and Vialle are... weird, though. Nobody has a relationship like them. Practically nobody."




"Yes, all right..."

---

So. Here we are. The steps.

Brenna touches the fourth step. "Seems solid... and real... I think. For now. And yet... you folks sure do like almost-perilous stairways, don't you? Is there a magical staircase that lets you visit the core of a volcano somewhere? Or the heart of a star-- y'know what, on second thought, don't answer those, I don't think I want to know..."

  Lance chuckles. "Funny you should say that.  One of my heroes as a child was this comic book character, Thor, God of Thunder.  He had a weapon forged in the heat of a star that he used to kill a super-villain, but to make it he had to hold open a gate and withstand the heat of the star directly until the ore that was used could melt into the mold...nearly killed him.  I fashioned my armor as an interpretation of his armor as imagined by another of my heroes, a guy called Iron Man.  They made it into a movie.  Really cool stuff."

  He looks at the steps.

  "I'm definitely going.  If the moonlight is blocked it all fades from the sky and I fall to my death unless Mom can pull me back with the card.  She'll watch me through it, and you two might be able to see it to if you're touching her shoulders, or maybe touching the edge of the card.  That part is kind of an experiment.  Of course, if you insist on risking life and limb, which my mom thinks is a very bad idea, we can try tying ourselves together."

"...Is this about rotos? I loved rotos when I was young. My favorite was Goodwill-- his powers were based on his popularity. He nearly lost all his powers when someone framed him for stealing, but it was all an elaborate I'll stop fanning out now nevermind."



The ladies definitely do not want to join this mountainclimbing-where-the-mountain-might-vanish expedition.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 17:41, Sun 28 May 2023.

  None of them pulled a Leia and gave him a kiss “for luck”, so Lance began his climb.  Once onto the ethereal stairway he moved quickly, kind of like jogging up an escalator.  Upon reaching the top he waved back at the trio and began walking into the city.  He open his senses to any psychic tug, such as Corwin had described in his memoirs.  Hopefully the ghost city would clarify some things for him, give him some insight or guidance to any number of things…Sarah’s quest, the Grey Men, his love life…

This whole landscape is just like Amber itself, only, well, moon-lit. More washed-out, and more... grayscaled.

...Well, no. There's one more difference-- everything seems... more compact. Everything seems to be a shorter distance from everything else than it is in real life. It's very dreamlike.

So. At this point, Lance has a choice-- he can go left, to the moondream castle, or right, to the moondream city by the moondream harbor...

  The castle is more likely to hold answers to the things that vex him, so to the left he goes.

(Okay name (for me, right now, OOC,) two things Lance would like to get hints about: 1 Priority, and 1 Lesser-Priority.)

  Towards the castle the brave Paladin goes.  Solving the issue of the Grey Men is first and foremost in his thoughts.  As much as he wants to be focused on quests, Lance is more a creature of the heart than the mind, and his wonders what the future holds for his romantic interests eclipses Sarah's Quest.  Part of him realizes that the answers to the quest would be easier to figure out on his own than matters of love.

  Carrying his sword point down, he hopes that it's enchantment through the Unicorn and the Pattern will enable him to be seen by the visions in this place, just as Corwin had with Greyswandir.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:33, Sat 03 June 2023.

(Uhh, you mean Sarah's? Right? I'm guessing?)

In reply to The GM (msg # 17):


  Onward he goes, following the psychic tugs that he might feel...

He comes to Odile... who looks older. Odile is apparently lecturing a guard about something. She looks up... and squints at you. "...Do you see that?"

The young man looks up. "No, wha-- wait. Yes, there... is it a ghost?"

"I don't know," says Odile. "Hello? Who are you? Are you a ghost? G--Ghostwheel, is that you...?"

  Lance holds forth his blade, the point touching the ground.  He pushes the pommel out towards them, indicating with one hand that they should touch it while he grips the hilt.

  "I am Lancelot.  Tell me what has transpired since I came to Amber."

They don't touch it, but they kind of jump, startled, when the point touches the ground-- clearly they can see him clearer. "Oh, there you are-- wait, what? What do you mean? Is this magic? Are you speaking to us from that Shadow of yours? What is it you're asking about? Your meaning isn't clear," says Odile. "Are you as-- are you asking about the, um, the, you know... the deal Lord Dworkin made...?"

 Dworkin?  A deal?  What could this mean?

 Lance nods.

  “The deal.  Yes.  Tell me everything.  It is critical.”

  He didn’t know how much time he had, so he had to be direct.

"Well, ah, the Chaosites have their own, er, corresponding version of Dworkin, a very old Chaosite who's good with magic named--"

"--Odile!"

Odile blinks, and turns. A man Lance has never seen before has come around the corner behind Odile.

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A fiery-bearded, flame-crowned man, dressed all in red and orange, and he bears a sword at his right side, and a cautious sort of deviltry dances behind his blue eyes... His chin is perhaps slight, but the beard covers it. His sword hilt is inlaid with an elaborate filigree of a golden color... He wears two huge rings on his right hand and one on his left: an emerald, a ruby, and a sapphire, respectively.

Odile turns. "Oh, Prince Bleys."

"What the hell is this?" Bleys asks. He mumbles some words and gestures at Lance. "...Oh," he says. "I thought you might be some new sort of Pattern ghost, but... you're created by Tir-na-nOgth, aren't you? How strange. ...Do you... want something...? Or-- have you come to tell us something? To warn us of something...?"

  “The Grey Men, they threaten all.  Where are they from?  How do they fit into Dworkin’s deal?”

  Damn!  This was the man that Flora had been spooked by!  Lance needed answers, but Bleys might just be a block to them.  He knew that Bleys was an amazing swordsman from Corwin’s memoir, so Lance dared not cross even this ghost of him.

"Or are you-- in some other Shadow right now...? This is amazing... I thought that Lancelot spent all his time in that Shadow he rules, near Shadows' Edge..." Bleys frowns. "I'm... not sure what I should say to this... apparition. What it's safe to say... I wish the king were here... Look, if you're really harmless, and not some sort of trick, I suppose I won't be giving anything away by saying that the Gray Men had permission from-- hold on." Bleys gets a funny look on his face, and Lance realizes that it's because someone is calling Bleys right now with a card. "...Who is this? Oh, Delwin, it's you, good-- listen, is this an emergency? Because I have some sort of Tir-na-nOgth spirit here demanding answers to questions, and I'm not sure what to-- Lancelot. Yes, Flora's son." Bleys listens. "Well I can't--" More listening. "I wondered about that, too." More listening. "Ah, about Dworkin's old deal with Chaos, and I was just about to mention that the whole Gray Men thing was because of having perm-- Don't? Really? Well, if you say so..."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:36, Mon 05 June 2023.

  Lance listens intently.  The ramifications of what the spirits of the Tir were revealing in part, they were the kinds of things that shook the very pillars of existence.  If Chaos had an equivalent to Dworkin, did the whole of Chaos have counterparts in Amber, or did Amber have likenesses in the Courts?  Furthermore, Dworkin having possibly given permission for the grey men to have encroached?  Could Dworkin have sold out the family?  Amber?  A shadow that Lance rules?  By Shadow’ Edge?  He’d need to look into all that.  And he was speaking to Delwin?  But Delian was dead, wasn’t he?  No, Delwin was missing, Sand too.  It was Osric and Finndo and Mirelle that were dead.  No time for speculation though, not now.

  “Bleys, listen to me!  The Grey Men threaten all of existence, even Amber itself!  You must tell me their source, who commands them!  You must tell me of Dworkin’s deal!  What about permanent…shadows?” Lance hazarded a guess at the last bit.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:37, Tue 06 June 2023.

"I don't think so, wraith. Begone."

He gestures, and Lance falls through the floor...

(Lance can almost hear his mother screaming, somewhere far below and behind him...)

...Or at least it FELT like Lance was falling through the floor. And yet it also seemed faster and less-real than that. And when he comes to a stop, it's not like falling to a stop-- it feels like he fell from a height of maybe a foot and a half, if that (even for that, it was gentle). In only a second, Lance is... in the Pattern Room, under Castle Amber.

...And yet... somehow, it's dimmer, more washed out-- oh, this is Tir-na-nOgth's version of the Pattern Room.

And Lance is not alone.

There's a man Lance doesn't know exactly, standing next to... a floating circle of light about three feet wide. "I don't know, Dad," says a voice from the circle. "Is this really the only way-- hold on. Look behind you."

The man turns. He's got dark hair, a somewhat slim build. He wears... purple and gray? It's hard to tell with the weird lighting in here. "...What's that? A Pattern ghost?"

"No," says the circle of light. "Or if it is, it's not like any we've seen before. It's connected to Tir-na-nOgth, actually."

"Eh? Why is it here-- Hell, I'll ask it. Hey, spirit. Why are you here?"

  “A fair question.  I’m here seeking solutions to a problem that threatens all of existence.  By the way, my name is Lancelot, Lance for short.   Florimel’s son.  It looks like you’re about to walk the Pattern, so I’m assuming you’re family then?  To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?”

  Lance decides that politeness might count here.  The man looks familiar, but not quite, and his colors are wrong, and the circle of light was odd.  There had been a voice, but he couldn’t see the speaker.  Some kind of gate, perhaps?

"My name is Merlin. This is Ghostwheel. I am indeed family. And so is Ghostwheel. What problem do you seek a solution to?"

  “Merlin, Corwin’s son?  The King of Chaos?  Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty, cousin.  The threat that I’m working as unwinding is the Gray Men, armies of them.  They are killing and enslaving entire shadows.  Do you know anything about them?”

  Lance sketches a bow to Merlin.

  “Hello, Ghostwheel.  Did I hear you call Merlin your dad?”

"Yes... former. My brother's in charge, now... unfortunately. But... if you're in Tir-na-nOgth right now... how is that even possible?"

"It's his armor, dad. And his weapon. They're a little like Grayswandir."

"Ah. Well, anyway, as I was saying... Your reality... is probably a little different from mine. In yours, I might still officially be king..."



"Um. I do know some things, yes. But... well, um. I feel like there's a limit on what I can say that will be useful to you. I'll say this-- in my reality, some of your cousins worked out that there was no point in trying to stop the Gray Men directly-- the key was to stop who controlled them. And, ah... In mine, that person was a couple of people from the Courts. Of Chaos, I mean. Um... How long since you first walked the Pattern, Lance? You have, right?"



"Yes, that's right," says Ghostwheel. Whatever Ghostwheel is, it seems a little shy suddenly.

  Lance nods. “I first walked the pattern around two weeks ago, Amber time, and just again yesterday.  I figure our realities might be a bit different, but not drastically so.  Word is that you might be MIA.  I can see what I can do about that, if you like.  You  didn’t abdicate, did you?  Was it a coup?”

Merlin sighs. "...It has been pointed out to me-- more than once-- that I have been-- the descriptors range from 'lax' to 'incredibly irresponsible' --in my expectations of what would happen if I left the Courts of Chaos on the back burner for as long as I did. I don't have nearly as much to say in my defense as I would like. So, I mean, I didn't officially abdicate, but is it really a coup if you leave the place you're ruling and don't come back or even communicate for decades? When the people you're supposed to be in charge of think you're way too much of a bleeding-heart peacenik in the first place, I guess I shouldn't have needed a crystal ball. I don't know. I've been through everything I could say already, and don't feel like doing it now. But yeah, in my reality, the Gray Men threat was pretty minor compared to the way things are now. If you feel like it, Lancelot, maybe you should come find me in your reality. It wasn't you who came and got me in mine, but it could be if you feel like it. Maybe things would turn out better. Although maybe they'd turn out the same. Start by finding the big tree that marks Shadows' Edge, and you can go from there--"

A mental voice sounds in Lance's head. "Lance?" It's Flora. "Cloud bank coming in from the east. You've got time, but you no longer have all night."

  "As soon as I have a chance, I'll come looking for you.  Easier now that I have a face and a starting point.  Got a few other things up first though.  I have a friend, Sarah, that I'm helping quest to find the gods of her world.  They all seem to have vanished.  That's up first, followed by helping Fiona with something in a desert cave.  Don't know what that's all about, though, but I expect it's gray man oriented.  I don't expect you know anything about those two bits, eh?  By the way, I have clouds coming in, so if I vanish suddenly that's why, it's not me being rude."

  With time growing short, Lance didn't think he was likely to find out anything about his romantic life, but maybe...if he hurried.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:38, Sat 10 June 2023.

"I don't know anything about your friend Sarah, but I can tell you that godlike beings in Shadows can almost never actually leave them... That takes a Chaosite, or a royal Amberite, or help from one of those two groups. Sounds more to me like your friends' gods are probably hiding, dead, or imprisoned somewhere in their own Shadow, if you ask me... Although if destiny has led you and this Sarah's paths to cross, it sounds to me like either she needs you to learn the truth, or else she needs you to take her traveling so she can get the wisdom she needs to find out the truth for herself...

As for Fiona and the Gray Men... meh, if your reality is anything like mine turned out to be, I suspect that as long as you don't let them actually kill you, I think you'll find that the Gray Men aren't really the problem you think they are. They're just pawns in a larger game..."

  “Thanks, Merlin.  Hey, before I go, I don’t suppose you have any trumps you could spare, like of you, or the Courts, or Amber, or anything like that?  There seems a genuine lack of them about these days.” Lance asks hopefully.

  He didn’t know if he had time to look for the answers to the question or his love life, but he wanted to try once he was concluded with his cousin and whatever Ghostwheel was.

Merlin raises an eyebrow. "Sorry, friend, I've learned not to loan those out unless someone's falling off a cliff or something..."

"It seems to me that you have at least six relatives that can draw the family cards," Ghostwheel tells Lance. "Maybe you should trade favors with one of them in exchange for drawing you some?"

  “Six?  Wow, I thought that only Fiona and Jade knew how to do that.  Well, that’s family for you, right.  Secrets wrapped in mystery, wrapped in mistrust.  Anyway, thanks again, Merlin.  I’ll work on sorting this all out and find you as soon as I can.  Take care.”

  Lance waves and tries to head upstairs.  Hopefully he could make it to his own room and maybe get an idea of who’s been sleeping in his bed, or might be in the future.

"Then you most likely haven't met the others yet," says Ghostwheel.



Lance leaves the Pattern room... and encounters the guard at the desk near the stairs...

It's Brenna. "...Lance!" she says, astonished. She looks older... like, 35ish? Still good, but different...

  Lance stops, surprised to find Brenna here, guarding the stair.  It is among the most solitary of posts that the guards in Amber have, and Lance becomes concerned as to why she appears here.

  "Brenna?  How...how are you?  What brings you to this post?"

"I grew up on an asteroid in deep space. Being down here doesn't bother me like it does the others. Is that what you meant? Why are you... blurry? Except for your armor...?"

  Lance smiles. “Kind of a long story and being here right now I’m really short on time.  In a nutshell, I’m me, from another point in time, so the things I should remember I don’t know yet…so, I need to ask you… have we, you know, dated or anything?”
This message was last edited by the player at 17:35, Mon 19 June 2023.

"Um... yes. For a while. Then we didn't. ...Maybe I shouldn't have told you that. Or maybe I... This is weird."

  Lance shakes his head.  "It's okay to tell me.  I'm trying to figure out if I should ask you out, you know, in what would be the past for you, the future for me.  I mean, there's a lot to consider.  I just don't want to mess up your life or make things bad for you, but I really like you, and you're really smart, and nice, and beautiful...and we've been through a lot together.  It's weird, you know?  I'm not afraid of facing down an army of grey me, or zenomorphs, or T-rexes...but because I don't want to mess up your life or make things awkward between us, I'm kinda terrified of asking you out...so any advice you'd like to give me would be welcomed."

"Oh, Lance..." Brenna sighs. "This is so like you." She sighs again. "I mean, I don't want to make a chronal paradox or something, but I guess we've maybe already started, so... Um... I dunno. There were some nice times, but I think maybe you're... meant... for someone else, romantically? You... well, a few years ago, you went looking for a Shadow of your own, and... you don't come back very much-- really, you don't even leave it much... anymore. I'm pretty sure you might have found someone there. That's the thing about... the royal family... Sooner or later, you all realize that you have the power to just go looking for-- or making? --the kind of world I mean Shadow I guess that's perfect for you, personally... And then you find it... some of you get tired of it after a few decades, or centuries, and some of you don't seem to, so much. I don't know if I can blame you. Any of you. Maybe I'd be the same way. But... I mean... someday I'll be dead... and you'll still look twenty-something, then, I think..."

  Lance listens intently.  When Brenna finishes he says, “Three questions, Brenna.  First, did I wind up breaking your heart?  Because you know, I don’t want to do that. Second, if you could go back in time, would you do it all over again, or would you see it changed?  Third, if you could change anything about us, what would you change?”

"...First... I don't... I wouldn't say that, no. I was left... sad, for a time, but wiser. Second... wow... I... um... I don't know. I just don't know. Third... I... I just don't know. I don't know if there should have been an 'us' or not. There's not right now, after all... I'm afraid that's all I can see right now."

  Lance bows his head.  “I think I shall try to tread lightly in such matters, maybe find out more beforehand, try to do better.   I’ll find out what this place near Shadow’s Edge is, since you’re the second person that has mentioned it to me tonight.  Perhaps it’s some kind of destiny.  I’ll try to not start things that I cannot see through.   But your past self, we’ll talk about this, make better informed decisions, hopefully.  All the power in the world means nothing if you wind up hurting those you care about…and I do care about you.  Very much.  I just want you to know that, no matter what else did happen, or will happen.”

  He lifts his eyes, meeting hers.  He smiles.

  “Thank you, Brenna, for everything.  For whatever was, wasn’t, is, isn’t, and may or may not yet be between us.  For all the possibilities, the absolutes, the impossibles and everything in between…thank you.”

  Lance looks around as the silvery glow begins to fade.  The clouds!  He didn’t have long.

  “I have to go…”

He feels his mother focusing on him, sees her image growing clearer, reaching out.  He reaches for Flora’s hand…

"Good, you're back. If you'd tried to stay another 10 seconds, I'd've been mad at you." Flora sighs. "Well, I was monitoring you with your card-- with your permission, I remind you-- the whole time, so you don't have to fill me in. I'll... leave you to fill these ladies in as you will," she says meaningfully, gesturing to Brenna and Sarah. "...I'll talk to you a little later about what you think about what you saw and heard... and how you feel about it..."

Flora walks off, back toward the castle.

  Lance rubs his temples.

  "So, we've got things to talk about, and I have to preface it by saying that none of my family fully understands the Tir, how it really works, whether the visions it shows are omens, potents, glimpses of the actual past or future, or if it's all just things out of our own subconsciousness projected by us.  It has proven, in the past, to be very helpful to some."

  He takes a deep breath..

  "Up there, I spoke to one of my uncles, one long missing.  He intervened just as I was getting some information from one of the castle servants.  They were surprised by my being there, saying that there was a place far from Amber near something called Shadow's Edge, a place where I supposedly rule and seldom leave.  I've never heard of it before..  I was then banished by my uncle and fell through the floor of the castle's basement where the Pattern lays.  That's when my mom kinda screamed.  So, once there I met my cousin Merlin.  We talked about the Grey Men threat, Sarah's quest, and he too mentioned the bit about Shadow's Edge, so I think that may be something very important to learn about and perhaps visit.  Merlin confirmed that he left the throne of Chaos unattended for decades, and other powers have filled the vaccuum and taken over there.  Powers less friendly to peace between Order and Chaos.  Merlin made it seem like he needed someone to find him, and I told him I'd try when I could."

  Lance waits for Sarah and Brenna to process, giving them time for questions.

"But not written in stone. Got it," says Brenna. Sarah nods.




"Ooh ooh what'd he say about my thing?" Sarah asks eagerly.



"Makes sense, I guess... Your cousin Merlin from this Maybe-It'll-Go-Down-Like-This world has some answers, so you want to go find your cousin Merlin in this... universe. Multiverse. Sure, that's logical, I guess," says Brenna. "Because maybe the... real Merlin... will have answers to questions too. That apply to this... univ... multiverse. This is hard," says Brenna.

“Correct, Brenna, nothing set in stone, possibly somewhat distorted somehow.  Well, regarding your Gods, Sarah, Merlin said that he didn’t believe that they could leave their plane of existence without the outside influence of someone like a member of my family or a lord of Chaos.  He thinks it’s more likely that they have been either imprisoned or possibly killed somewhere within their own realm.  We didn’t have a chance to discuss it further, but from the previous conversation with the castle maid she had made mention of some sort of deal that Dworkin had made with someone in exchange for something permanent that ties in with the grey men issue, I have a bad feeling that it’s all tied together somehow.  I don’t know what the deal was, or with whom, but I’ll bet dinner that it was with whoever took over the throne of Chaos for some kind of new permanent boundary line being drawn.”

  With a shrug he continues.

  “Merlin made it sound like he had been rescued, but that it hadn’t been by me, but said that maybe this time it might be.  Again, things might not be a hundred percent accurate, but he is family, and if he’s in trouble I really should do what I can to help him, so it’s on the list.”

  Lance hesitates, gnaws at his lower lip.

  “There was one other encounter, and it regards you, Brenna.  Kind of personal.”
 

"Oh, no!!!" She thinks. "But... imprisoned? Well, I guess if that's the case, at least I wouldn't have to run around a bunch of different magical worlds to find them. Which might be good, because it sounds like there's a lot of those. So... I guess I should travel with you and try to find... a way of finding lost gods. Or detecting whether they're alive or dead. Maybe some sort of magic item? Or maybe we could try to find other worlds that have similar problems, and see how they've handled it?" More thinking. "...Or maybe if we brought your cousin Merlic to my world he could help maybe? He sounds... knowledgeable." (Yes, she mis-speaks his name as "Merlic.")



"Oh, all right, great, let's go find him! I'll help...!"




"Um... that sounds bad. Was it a prediction of my death?"

  Lance nods at Sarah’s enthusiasm.  “I think that finding your Gods will still be difficult, and our best bet is to find their home and work our way outward from there.  There must be clues, or evidence, or a trail of some sort.  Possibly even witnesses.  I think that finding them might prepare us better for doing the same with my cousin.  After all, if Merlin is in trouble, the players are likely to be powerful beyond belief.  We might be running up against an entire House or cabal of Chaos Lords.  Merlin did drop one breadcrumb though, and it was to find the tree near Shadow’s Edge and start there.”

    He shakes his head at Brenna’s question.  “Nothing so dire, or maybe worse, depending on how one sees it.  I saw what might or might not  be a future version of you.  She seemed healthy, well adjusted, probably in her mid-thirties, but people tend to age more slowly in Amber, so tough to pin down the age exactly.  Still very beautiful though.  Well, I asked her if we had ever dated, and she said we had for a while…but she felt that she was not the person I was ultimately meant to be with.  Eventually I left for some place where I ruled and seldom left near Shadow’s Edge.  She said I didn’t break her heart and that there were good times, but she ultimately considered herself maybe a little sadder and wiser about dating an immortal.”

   

"Well... all right, do you know where that is?"


 

"...Oh."

"...Um hey do you two wanna be alone right now...? 'Cause I could go um talk to Flora. Yeah. Keep her company on the way back to the palace."

Sarah hurries off in the direction Flora went.

Brenna remains. "How do you... feel about that... probability-untethered information?" she asks.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:31, Fri 23 June 2023.

  Lance indicates that he doesn’t know where Shadow’s Edge was but says, “Pretty far from here, I guess, but I’m sure we can find it.”

  After the other revelations and Sarah hurries off after Flora, he takes Brenna’s hands in his.

  “How do I feel about it?  Honestly, more confused and unsure than I did when I went in there.  On one hand, it’s great knowing that I did finally ask you out and that we dated and had some good times together.  It makes me feel terrible that things didn’t last, and I really hate the thought that I’d just leave like that.  It makes me doubt if I should have told you, but if I’m not entirely honest with you I’d be in the wrong too.”

  He sighs, “I certainly don’t want to see you hurt, and for all we know the vision there might not be accurate.  I mean, I really do like you, and have been trying to figure out if you feel the same about me.  I really don’t know what to do, other than to ask you how you feel about it? “

Brenna takes her hands back, and sighs. "You know what? It's been a long day. Ask me about this tomorrow."

  Lance nods, leads the way back to the castle. With every step he ran back through the conversations in his head, both the ones from the Tir and those he had had with all the women he currently knew and had ever known.  He hadn’t ever seemed to make it work out, and he was concerned now that he had ruined any chances with Brenna or Sarah by divulging what he had seen in the Tir.

  He wonders if there was some fate before him, if there was someone he was destined to be with.  He was full of self doubt.  Maybe Flora would shed some light when they spoke later.

  They walked back quietly, save for the sound of their footsteps, Lance’s armor, and the sounds of the crashing surf below.

Everything is quiet and awkward until Lance and Brenna arrive back at the castle. Uneventful, though.

(What next? Go talk to Flora now? Get some (more) much-needed sleep first? Talk to someone else? Something else?)

  Lance bids Brenna good night, then retires to his own room.  He strips off his armor, placing it carefully on its stand.  He looks out his window at the moon, mostly obscured by clouds.

  “You couldn’t have given me another hour to dig deeper, eh?”  He asks it. With a rueful chuckle and shake of his head.  “Just enough time to get just enough information to allow myself to really screw things up yet again.”

  He turns back, lays down on his bed.  He’s tired from the day’s exertions, but sleep still comes grudgingly.  He rolls over, sees his armor.  It seems to be watching him, judging him, so he rolls back the other way.  The tiredness finally takes him.  Tomorrow was a new day.  He would have to see what it brings, and what Brenna had to say after having time to process it all.

(Welp, roll for the REST move, I reckon.

Heal the special Pattern Exhaustion damage (double your value of healing) first... if there's any HP gain left over, then fix however much normal damage is left)

  And so comes the dawn, the chirping birds, and a mostly refreshed Lance.

18:41, Today: Lance rolled 4 using 1d4+1 with rolls of 3.  Lance, recovery .  X 2=8
18:40, Today: Lance rolled 8 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 4,3.  Lance,resting .

Lance awakens, washes, dresses, and goes down to the garden to have breakfast.

When he gets out there with his plate, a folding wooden table has already been set up-- Flora is there waiting. "Good morning," she says. She signals a servant, who nods and heads into the castle, apparently to bring Flora breakfast as well.

  “Good morning, mom.” Flora’s presence illicits a smile, despite Lance’s worries about having messed things up.  He kisses her on the cheek before sitting down.

  “Well, I surmise that Sarah told you that I told Them about the encounters up there.  All of them.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on it all…and your council.”

"Oh? I'm not here to tell you what to do, Lance. Honestly, I'm here if you need to vent emotionally. Your next move or two or three seemed clear to me by the time you were done talking to, ah, Other-Merlin."

  Lance nods.  "Yep.  Find Shadow's edge, find the tree there, find and rescue Merlin, Stop whoever is behind the grey men thing, find and rescue Sarah's Gods, find out what this place is that I supposedly come to rule.  Gotta push my emotional attachments back down for now, because it's gonna screw me up in trying to get stuff done.  Right now, love and romance are emotional quicksand for me."

"Isn't that often the way? One ambition sometimes undermines another, even when they're both held by the same person? Eric was a bit like that... Hell, Father, too, now and then."

"...In any event... Did I detect an order of priority in the way you listed those tasks just now? Or am I wrong, and they're not in a fixed order just yet?"

  “There was definitely an order of priority.  Merlin had said that I should begin looking for him at the tree at Shadow’s Edge, so I have to find those things before I can find him.  Now, I read Corwin’s memoirs, but nothing was mentioned regarding Shadow’s Edge, but he did mention Yggdrasil at the midway point between Amber and Chaos, and he also mentioned cutting off a limb and replanting it at the place where he started drawing his own Pattern.  Do you think either of these would be considered Shadow’s Edge, or is that something else entirely?”  Lance asks, hoping that his mother has some insight.

"I think you're right. You can ask Random if you want-- Merlin had much more contact with Random than with myself. But I still think you're right. It makes sense-- the edge of the border beyond which Chaos reigns more than the order that Amber's influence brings. Although I think Corwin's new Pattern changed the... the map... considerably in the middle... Fiona could doubtless explain it better..."

  Lance smacks his palm into his forehead.  "Fiona!  Unicorn save me, I still have to reach her and see if she needs assistance!  I'm days late already, but no telling how long it is there.  I never did figure out the timeflow differential.  Oh man, I really hope I haven't screwed up her stuff, but I have no doubt that she's more than competent to handle whatever it is without me.  Still, that has to go to the top of the list, after talking to Random.  At least a stop along the way to wherever Shadow's Edge is."

"Well, you should finish eating, but otherwise, it sounds like it's time for you to get going soon. But since we're still eating, is there anything else you want to discuss with me while you're still here?"

  Lance smiles and shakes his head. “You know pretty much everything that’s been going on with me.  But I’ve been a boot.  What’s going on in your life aside from your son being a hot mess?”

  Lance listens as they eat.  He didn’t know how long it would be before they had this leisure again.

(Is... is this a thing people say? (Googles) I guess it's a military thing... or did spellcheck change something on you...?)




"Not a lot. I'm... trying to make more of an effort to get involved in the things I own on Earth. Companies, investments. Before now, I've mostly just let accountants I trust do whatever, as long as it makes me money. Lately, I've been making more of an effort to do, well, stockholder things. Turns out I had controlling interest in what turned out to be a sweatshop in Asia. My first impulse was to close the whole thing down, but then I thought 'well, then all those people would be unemployed.' So I'm working on turning it into something entirely different-- and paying the workers a living wage..." She seems a little embarrassed to talk about it.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:54, Sat 22 July 2023.

  "That's really cool.  I like that you're changing lives for the better.  That's what we should be doing, right?  I mean, there's the group with the startup we just funded, so a similar vein.  Granted, it wasn't the most pre-planned thing, but it'll work out.  I'm proud of you, mom, using your influence to bring about positive change."

  They finish their meal together, and Lance hugs her and gives her a kiss on the cheek goodbye.

  "I'm going to go have a talk with Random about Merlin, then talk to Brennah, then armor up and get this expedition moving."

"Travel safely, Lance. Don't die, please. You have my card, right?"

  Lance nods.  “I have your card, and as far as I know you have the only card in existence of me.  Remember though, one of your cards is in the wind somewhere, so please keep your defenses up when answering.  I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.  Don’t worry about me, I’ll be alright.  Snazzy new Pattern and Unicorn blessed armor and sword, plucky attitude, and a plan.  I got this.” He says with a smile.

  And then he’s off to find Random.

Lance finds Random just finishing up eating breakfast in his quarters. "Yes, Lance...?"

  Lance enters, closes the door behind him.  “Good morning, uncle.  I’m hoping you have a few minutes to spare.  I need to talk to you about the whole grey man situation, cousin Merlin, and some things I saw while vist the Tir last night.  I’d say it falls under the blanket of national security.”

  If Random gives him leave to do so, Lance will describe in detail his experiences in the Ghost City, leaving nothing out.

  “…so that’s why I think that finding Merlin and rescuing him if need be is of paramount importance.   It seems like it’s all tied together somehow.   Dworkin’s deal, whatever that was, someone having taken over the Throne of Chaos, Gods going missing, the grey men attacks, whatever Shadow’s Edge is.  He said to start with the tree at Shadow’s Edge.  From reading Corwin’s memoirs it sound like that might be either Yggdrasil or the tree that he planted when he scribed a new Pattern.”

"My theory has long been that Merlin is in the Shadow created by his father's attempt to draw a new pattern. Further, I've theorized that time in that Shadow moves slowly compared to ours-- that when you're in it, a week there might mean a year here, or worse. But that's just a theory. Attempts to walk our Pattern and willing oneself to be sent to that Shadow have failed-- nothing happens when it's tried. But it sounds like... uh... Potential-Future Merlin... thinks that the first step is you going there. And he's right-- it's not terribly far from Shadows' Edge, the barrier that marks the division between the Shadows mostly making sense and getting seriously Chaotic and weird. So... yes. I agree you should go try it soon. Did you need something else from me, or did you just want my permission?"

  "Nothing else, really, I just wanted to get your input on it.  You knew Merlin probably better than most, what with you all being the kings that brokered the treaties and stuff after the war.  Oh, speaking of treaties, do you know anything about some kind of deal that Dworkin might have made regarding shadows?"  Lance asks.

  He listens to what Random has to say, before getting ready to go.  "Oh, and a favor, if you would?  My friend Brenna, I'm pretty sure she's going to stay in Amber as an immigrant.  Can you kind of look out for her, you know, make sure she gets a position she really likes, get's settled in comfortably?  It would mean a lot to me."

"What? No, where'd you hear that? A deal with whom?"



"This is someone who's currently a guest of the castle? ...Does she already have any special skills?"

  “She is a guest, and she’s kind of on her own.   She got stuck with me while I was basically in a bad Hellrun.  Her world was pretty much doomed.  She’s a medic, from a higher tech world.  When I saw her in the Tir she was working guard duty in the basement.  Whatever she does, I’m sure she’ll excel at it.  I just want her to be happy here.”

"Osric? Hell, that is different. Huh. Well, a hypothetical deal with... well, maybe that's something different about the reality you visited too... Still... That's all you heard about it?"



"Ooh, fancy medical skills, eh? Of course, if it was too high-tech, what she knows may or may not apply here, though... I'll talk to her later today..."

  Lance nods.  "That was it, and thanks for looking out for Brenna." 

  With a shrug, Lance says, "Well, I gotta get this show rolling, get armored up and head out.  I'll start with trying to find this Shadow's Edge, where Corwin planted his tree and go from there.  Once we see to it that Merlin is okay, or rescue him should he need it we'll find Sarah's missing gods, find whoever is in charge of the Grey Men and deal with that mess, then find this shadow that I supposedly rule over and hang out in.  Maybe even in that Order.  If you need to get in touch with me for anything, my mom has my card and I have hers.  Well, wish me luck."

  Unless Random has anything to add, Lance departs to have his promised conversation with Brenna before collecting Sarah.

"All I can say is if you're heading toward the edge of the Chaos-y Shadows, you might check in with Fiona on your way. When's the last you've spoken with her?"

  “Of course, I was planning on that along the way.  In fact, trying to reach her was what got me into my hellrun.  I think it was about two weeks ago Amber time, but I may be off due to shadow time variances.  Anything you need me to convey to her?” Lance asks as he mentally retraces his attempted shifts to reach Fiona, trying to pick where he went wrong.

"Ahhhh... yes, actually. It's not the most urgent thing ever, but you might tell her that 'that stuff from Tyale works, so we could really use more of it.' She'll know what that means."

  Lance nods. “Will do.  Thanks, uncle Random.”

  With that, Lance takes his leave of the King.  He had one more conversation to have before he would be ready to armor up and head out with Sarah on the quests.

  He finds the room that Brenna had been assigned to and knocks.  After a night of wrestling with it, Lance still wasn’t sure where they stood, whether or not Brenna was planning on accompanying them on the quests, or whether or not she wanted to explore the possibility of them dating.  Tir Na Nogth wasn’t a decisively accurate source of information, but there were generally at least some prophetic qualities of the place.

Brenna opens the door. Ah, Lance. Time for this talk, her face says.

  “Umm, hi.” He begins in that endearing, awkward, Lance type of way.  “We said that we’d talk in the morning and, we’ll, it’s morning.  Did you sleep well?”

Brenna sighs. "...I bet you've seen the gardens in the back of the castle. They're really pretty, right? Wanna go for a little walk?"

She pauses. "...With me, I mean."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:02, Mon 07 Aug 2023.

  Lance nods, offers his hand, unsure if Brenna would take it or not.  They walk together, Lance’s head slightly bowed.  He suspected that the backdrop of the beautiful garden might be Brenna’s way of softening the blow of rejection.  He had rather come to expect such outcomes.  Brenna’s sigh had been telling.

  Together they walk in silence until they come to the garden, it’s flowers bright and fragrant.  Locating a nice marble bench, Lance gestures for them to sit.  He crooks one knee up , tucking his ankle under his other leg when he sits so he can turn to face Brenna, then waits.

She doesn't take his hand at first, then she does.



"I... have... a lot of feelings. I think... I shouldn't make decisions based on those feelings. I mean... I just found out the whole universe is actually just pages in a fairy-tale story, kinda. Like... a lot kinda. Like a... very strange holovid franchise. You're not going to die of old age any time soon... so... maybe... you should... just... go do what you need to do for right now... and give me some time to adjust... and think. About my feelings. And stuff."

  "Time does not have a great hold on my family, that is true.  I've been told that those who dwell in Amber also enjoy some enhanced longevity as well, so you too will have more years if you make Amber your home.  That, of course, is your choice.  It's a nice place, and both my mother and my uncle, King Random, will help see to it that you are given good opportunities to have whatever kind of life you wish, and should you decide that Amber is not to your liking either they or I can help you to relocate."

  His eyes hold a bit of sadness in them as he speaks.

  "I know it's all a lot to take in, all of it, and I'm sure last night didn't help, and for that I'm sorry.  I'm sorry I couldn't come up with a way to save your world, but things were coming apart pretty quickly.  I'm not sorry that I saved you though, whatever may or may not come to pass between us.  You're right though, I must do the right thing and give you time to figure out your feelings, and all that, and for that you'll need some space.  I've got these quests that require my attention, so I'll head out on those, maybe figure out my own stuff a bit more while I'm at it.  Unicorn knows I'm a hot mess underneath it all.  But this will be good...for both of us, I hope, and we can revisit things when I get back, right?  See where we're each at?"

  It was all the angst of a breakup without the joy of the relationship that preceded it.

"Yes. I don't expect that I'll go anywhere... Like, I mean, I don't expect to leave this dimension..."

  “Fair enough.  I’m not sure when I’ll get back, but we’ll catch up then.  Hopefully everything works out for the best.  I guess I gotta get ready and get going.  I’ll see you, Brenna.”

Lance stands, and with a last wistful smile he turns and goes.  He heads for his room, armors up, straps on his sword and other weapons and goes to find Sarah.

He finds Sarah in the library, reading a book about Amber's history... Laurence, the librarian, is bringing a couple of other books over to her...
This message was last updated by the GM at 18:04, Mon 14 Aug 2023.