Charity's Diary

Changing into a demon-guard we strode towards the pattern room with Alfred over my shoulder, the plan being that I would feign having found him wandering the corridor and captured him. It almost worked, but the guard became suspicious, and his co-worker leapt out behind him to offer some fierce resistance. So sneaky swordplay and taking advantage of my shape-shifting ability I defeated them.
The first kill was assisted by Alfred causing a distraction, which allowed me to get him from the rear (at the expense of a painful blow to the left arm). The other, I slowly fooled into a false sense of superiority until I got a good shot in and killed him.

My first fight! Can't say I enjoyed it, but that mission was accomplished without alerting the other guards. So yay me! But that was not the time to celebrate, we'd come here to check up on how the pattern was faring, and yes, it had been marked with an Amberite's blood. Hmm.

Nothing much else could do, so we went back to the main corridor to find a way out. But there, we discovered another fracas, this time with Cordelia, of all people, fighting half a dozen guards. Suppressing shock for a moment I leapt in (telling Alfred to wait, in "raptor form&qtuo; until I had closed the distance) pretending to be one of the guards. In short my plan worked again (chasing down a fleeing guard was a bonus), and Cordelia asked us to accompany her to rescue Allaghan who was in the dungeons (this, presumably was where the stretcher was going?) where we indeed released a battered and bruised Allaghan and used Dworkin's old trump to escape to the Lighthouse at Cabra.

We walked (and bickered) around the bay, through the city, climbed up a cliff face (where Allaghan, Cordelia's dog "Mikato" and I dispatched another guard) and made our way back to our horses, tethered by the bluff. Having dried ourselves off in one of the Inns on the Eastern road we settled down for the night. Cordelia dropped several bombshells by saying that not only had Random been killed in the centre of the Real Pattern (by Dworkin's cave), she had also buried Bleys and that she had been attacked by (possibly a pattern ghost of) Corwin while she was walking Corwin's/Carnelian's pattern.

Her most curious tale was left until last; which was that she had been freed from her coma, during a dream in which she had been conversing with a Phoenix. All this was very interesting, considering the Phoenix was part of our quest, but fundamentally useless. What was more useful was that she had investigated Dworkin's tower and his cave. The evidence pointed to that Brand had ransacked the tower, finding nothing, and that Dworkin had retrieved a book and disappeared even further into shadow.

Perhaps a new objective should be to find Dworkin?
Problem: None of us had met him, so we may end up by finding a pattern-ghost, or a shadow version!
After all these revelations, Allaghan insisted in learning how to engage in psychic combat with Cordelia.

I made it overly clear that I had no interest in such things, which perhaps was a bit overly stressed, but it had been a trying day and I had no reason to reveal any of my inner psyche to anyone.

Cordelia also seemed newly cautious of me, and yet again asked me how I managed to reach Dierdre's tower (as we were discussing what we were going to do, and agreeing that questions needed answering). Had she been sneaking a peek at my aura during the 13th hour?
So, I spun a tale about escaping the demons that had been attacking Vialle, Cordelia and me, and after disappearing among the streets of Amber's city, I stumbled through shadow until I found myself drawn to the tower, and that it was then that I was gripped by her Logrus tendril and flung among the rest of the party.

I doubt she was convinced, but she said nothing. I have no doubt that there will be more questions as time goes by.

My mood began to darken further.

In the morning, after some more deliberation made our way to one of Amber's ports about a hundred miles away. By sea we could cross more distance than we otherwise would have done by road. That journey passed surprisingly smoothly. We also learned that Cordelia had been helped by Dierdre in the form of a spider-creature called something like "Haak-a-lakak". This was the driving force behind her desire to meet Dierdre.

So, after procuring wet weather gear, we boarded the chosen ship, where it all went familiarly pear- shaped again. Allaghan sensed something was amiss with the behaviour of the ship's captain. I raised the pattern-sign, but before I could scrutinise the Captain, we were magically attacked and frozen.

Frozen just enough to allow Benedict, of all people, to come striding out of the Captains apartment, and "asking" us to accompany him below deck. Indeed! How could we refuse?

Inside was another shock. Llewella, fresh from her defeat in Rebma and witnessing the murder of Moire.
So, having filled us in on these details, our plan was casually scuppered by Benedict, who decided that we would be better off at Carnelian, to speak to Fiona. Why, I don't know, but it may suit me better in the short term, as I have a renewed wish to walk the pattern. Maybe it will refresh my DNA, so the 13th hour will not affect me. I feel too vulnerable, while leaving all the swordplay (and destruction of civic property) to the others in my little band of royal adventurers.

I feel somewhat less than elated with the interference of the "elder" Amberites. I wish I could stay in the darkness of my own room, eyes closed, in the blessed darkness of my own thoughts. I begin to think of the Abyss. It's potential. It's beauty. It's peace. I will return there someday soon. I think of Brand and his scheme. You have to admire his vision, his scale, his power. But has he overreached himself, and shown his weakness? If you offer the power-hungry, more power will they not think twice before accepting? I must try to think more like him. Must I become my enemy (for that I am sure he is) in order to kill him?

I shall try.

If the others don't kill me first.