ROUGH DRAFT Run Log for 970204 NOTE: This log was taken on paper by a sick logger and typed in many months after the run; don't expect too much... ---------------- Present: Barb - Cathryn Kevin - Zack Dave R - Malachai Chris - Auricle Tia - Damia Dave K - Ilk, logging ---------------- Major Events: * Malachai Proposes to Serena * Cathryn Introduces Clarissa to "Paulette". ---------------- A Cunning Plan Ilkandacian, Cathryn, Benedict, Random, and the AD&D run waffle while walking towards the Council building to deal with the demons rioting outside it. They decide that Cathryn will attempt a diplomatic solution. Damia hands the Pattern-chain control rock to Benedict, who heads back to the Warriors' Guild, and Ilk teleports the rest of the group to the antechamber in the Council building. The plan: Cyndia in her bird form and the rooks will push the crowd away from the door, and then Cathryn will step outside to address the mob. Ilkandacian starts setting up a magical get-away-fast spell for Cathryn in case something goes wrong. ---------------- Passing Time in Amber Malachai goes to deal with the functionaries that Prospero set up for him, and prepares to recall a few of Amber's ambassadors to play judge in place of the ones that Flora took with her when she left. Malachai tries to trump Random to recall him, but he's out of range. The afternoon passes. Malachai works on resetting Arden's defense and planning the new harbor defenses. He prepares for his dinner with Serena, dressing in his full dress uniform. He goes outside, and sees Serena, Dapple, Gillian, and Tazik in the fields by the stable enjoying themselves. Gillian and Tazik are playing kitten-games, batting each other about. They're both being careful not to hurt the other. Serena is burying Dapple in a pile of sand. Malachai asks Tazik to be armorer of Amber, and she agrees to do so for a short time. Malachai asks Serena to dinner. He heads to the stables, where Sir Erik's donkey is facing off a gryphon that is missing a leg. Malachai asks Tazik to come up with a way to restrain the donkey, and she agrees to take the challenge. ---------------- Speech! Speech! Blaze starts assisting Ilk in his getaway spell. Theresa is missing. Natasha is preparing a counterattack. Carlton has grown fangs and bony plates. Maria is hanging out nonchalantly. Cyndia is preparing with the birds. Damia is second line, with mandrakes at the ready, and is making tea. Ilk sets up a secondary escape spell, in case Blaze's "help" isn't. The door opens, the birds fly out, and the door closes behind them. The birds see massive disorganization, and push a small bubble into the demons. The demons' counterattacks assume that they are attacking a solid wall, and fails on the birds. Ilk watches through the door and relays what he sees to the others. The signal happens. The door opens, Cathryn goes through, and the door closes behind her. "DEMONS!" The demons turn their attention to Cathryn. "We have discovered the source of your problem... Unfortunately, we don't know how to fix it yet." The demons are not currently attacking, but are demanding revenge, death, and justice. "We must find a Pattern-mage to undo the spell." (Must kill, destroy Pattern, evil Amber) (How do we know they're really deliberating? How do we know you're Jesby?) Cathryn shows off the ring. Cathryn tries to calm the demons, and tells them that storming the Council chambers won't accomplish anything. Inside, Blaze taps Ilk on the shoulder, and asks, "Should we worry about that mass attack?" Ilk looks, and spots twenty or thirty demons preparing an attack, totaling about six master-class mages worth of power. "Yes. Shall we unweave their attack, or drain it?" "Drain... where should I put it?" Blaze drains the mages and hands the power to Ilk, who pipes it via the Logrus to one of his less-used power depots. Cathryn returns to the room, followed by the birds. Blaze is excited and wants to do it again; she says that she normally needs the Spiral to handle that much power. Theresa appears in front of them, juggling a greater artifact from the Council chamber, which she should not have been able to enter, and from which she definitely should not have been able to remove an artifact. She is asked to return the artifact, and does so with some reluctance. Ilk checks the room and Theresa quickly. Nothing is obviously missing and there are no visible Logrus artifacts in her possession. Ilkandacian gates the mob back to Random's embassy. Ilk fills Cathryn in on Carlton's disease, seeking her advise as a more skilled shapeshifter. She blames Bleys. Ilk and Cathryn ward (soft detection/hey-keep out ward) and discuss a strategy for their search for their missing House-heads. Random leads the AD&D run off to the Shapeshifters' Guild - neither Theresa or Maria is noticeably with them. When Ilk drops the ward, he notices a note in his pocket that arrived there either before or just after the ward dropped, telling him that they've gone to the Shapeshifters' Guild. Ilk and Cathryn multi-hop teleport to House Sawall. It's been overkilled, including Mandor's Ways. There is a black screen blocking EM, magic, and Logrus over the entrance with Mandor's signature all over it. They go to House Cara to leave a note to be delivered to Mandor, and find an eyeball and a bit of extra matter Pattern-nailed to the door. It's a bit of Vlad. There is a sign written by one of the children in House Cara beneath it, reading, "Do not use the knocker". Ilk leaves it up, deciding not to kill the kid. The reception desk is not manned, and nobody is in sight. Ilk Logrus-grabs an appropriate staff member and demands a status report. The staff member says that there was a threatening note placed on the door by the Warriors' Guild recently, and that there are many small, non-shifting demons running about being a nuisance and eating the occasional person. Ilk asks Cathryn to trump Benedict to tell him about the note; he's blocked. Ilk starts considering that maybe they should find Clarissa after all... --------------- Malachai Proposes to Serena Malachai and Serena dine. Afterwards, Malachai tells Serena not to accept his proposal for the standard reasons. He proposes on his knees, and she refuses, insisting that they live as equals. He re-proposes on his feet, and she accepts, throwing herself into his arms. Malachai apologizes for the lack of a ring and the constant delays. Serena suggests walking into shadow to find a ring for a temporary measure. They do so, and end up at a giant jewelry store where they pick out a temporary ring. They travel through shadow some more, and Malachai finds a bird that will find Random in the near future, and writes a note explaining what has been going on recently and attaches it to the bird, which flies off. -------------- Chatting with Clarissa Cathryn and Ilk go to Ilk's Home shadow. Cathryn contacts Clarissa, and is brought to Clarissa's tower. Clarissa is lying distractedly on a stone couch. She yawns, stretches, and stands up. Cathryn asks about Ilk, so Clarissa fetches him. They're in a circular room, with no visible exits. There is a stone couch with six grey spheres at its foot. Clarissa is lying on the couch, Cathryn is sitting in the only chair in the room, and Ilk is standing near the wall. Cathryn tells Clarissa about Paulette. Clarissa plans on using Paulette as a vapid. Cathryn fills Clarissa in on the basic recent chaos in Chaos. Clarissa says that Suhuy was an interesting [lay? duel? snugglebunny? This word wasn't in my notes] Ilk asks Clarissa about Vlad's problems. She says that the cure for the disease is in the Shapeshifters' Guild, and that he was recovering nicely in an energy sphere of hers the last time she looked. Ilk describes the signature used by the person who transported Vlad out, and Clarissa says that the signature is familiar, but belongs to someone believed long dead, and probably not subtle enough to fake his own death. Clarissa claims to have walked the Pattern on a moment of idle curiosity. Clarissa agrees to head to the Courts for a brief jaunt, but says that she has something to do first. There is a moment of no-time. ------------------------ Cathryn Introduces Clarissa to "Paulette" The AD&D run reaches the Shifters' Guild, and discovers that entering the guild requires shapeshifting. A man exits the guild, bows to them, and bows to Random. Random spews for a while, flattering the guild, then folds up the paper he was reading from and puts it back in his pocket. The man invites Carlton to enter the guild. Carlton doesn't want to leave the others, so the guild member claps, and a pavilion and several perches spring up from the ground. The man flows onto Carlton like a second skin. There is a knock at the encampment's door. Standing outside are Clarissa, Ilk, and Cathryn. One more chair grows up out of the floor. Cathryn introduces the mob to Clarissa. Clarissa chats with "Paulette". She lists the exact amount of time that Damiana has experienced since leaving Oberon, and rubs some salt into the wound by mentioning Mirelle to Random. The shifter asks the mob about Carlton's disease, and is surprised to learn that it took the form of a poison. The rock is mentioned, also Benedict. Cathryn heads out in search of Benedict. Ilk Logruses a note to Cathryn asking if she wants company, and she replies in the negative. Damia hands part of the poison to the shifter, who conjures a bowl to hold it in. Ilk recognizes him as an advanced member of the Shapeshifters' Guild, an esotericist who focuses on the interactions between shapeshifting and other powers. Blaze draws Ilk into a conversation with Natasha regarding polycyclic wards. Cathryn is taking the safest route to the Warriors' Guild. Massed outside she sees a number of members, some of them wounded. She heads in, getting twenty yards away before she is noticed, far closer than she would have expected. She continues to approach. "What? Jesby's back?" Some confusion follows regarding the Ways vs the person. They tell Cathryn that someone is systematically taking out their Guild - "We've even made a cease fire with Benedict." They think that House Jesby was taken out because a number of Warriors' Guild members were in the House when it disappeared. Benedict is in conference with about thirty others, giving orders. There are no weapons drawn, and he sends some of them off to "find my second!" Benedict and Cathryn chat. Benedict says that Ingold's quest to find Corwin is doing poorly, so he dispatched some assistance. Benedict tosses the stone to Cathryn. She doesn't like it. A lot. She runs back, taking the most direct route to the Shapeshifters' Guild. About thirty seconds after Cathryn leaves, she re-enters the tent and hands the rock to Clarissa. --EORun--