The Diaries of Cordelia Chan

Castle Amber : 34 ^th Marvich PPF 5

After two days of cooling our heals, with Fiona no where to be found, Random decided to pack us off to Rebma under the tutorage of his sister Llewella. Like all journeys in Amber our starting point was the stables. Random was actually there to meet us, primarily to give me a number of documents which I was to deliver in person to Queen Moire or Princess Llewella as indicated on each. He bade us farewell with a smug grin on his face, and our guide, one of the junior foreign relations staff, led us out the castle and down towards the harbour.
At first I thought we were going to board a ship but as we reached the harbour road we turned West towards Garneth, and upon leaving the city south along the shoreline.
We rode for about three hours, before he stopped where a rock outcropping jutted out into the sea. " We'll leave the horses here. A well trained mount can be ridden down the steps but most don't react kindly to the descent. "
I looked about. After a minute of so I could determine what looked like steps, submerged beneath the waves, and descending into the depths. When I enquired about where we were going he said just follow me and walked into the sea.
It took a few seconds for me to realize that whilst he was waist deep in water he didn't appear to be getting wet. Tentatively, I followed holding my breath as I submerged. Archibald was doing the same, but Isla appeared to have sprouted gills and was breathing normally.
It has always astounded my friends at my capability to hold my breath, however after descending for nearly two minutes, with no end to the stairs in sight, my lungs were ready to burst. I made an effort and grabbed our guide by the shoulder. He turned in surprise and looked at me. " Just breath normally. As long as you stay on the path you're perfectly ok. Step off it, if you're not a shape shifter .... " He drew his hand across his throat. Obviously a universal gesture.

Mustering my self control I breathed out and then forced myself to breath in. There was no in rush of water and no choking sensation, just the normal sensation of breathing. I forced myself to relax and breath normally, concentrating on analyzing the stair case we were on. It was about 15 feet wide, with a three foot balustrade, and every 20 feet a crystal lantern sat atop a post, shedding an ever decreasing pool of illumination as we descended.
After about 40 minutes the staircase flattened out onto a bridge with an ornate arch at the end. In the square beyond the arch a group of Royal Guard awaited us. Our guide spoke briefly to the Captain and then gestured for us to fall in behind them. As we passed through the arch we were no longer in water but free air.
" They're very big on formality down here. Using the stairs alerts them to your presence, and as members of the Royal family you warrant an escort. Also as this is your first visit you're expected to pay your respects to the Queen. Once you've been here for a while you'll be able to conduct whatever business you need to as long as you drop into the court at some point during your visit.
One other thing. Only about a third of the city is covered by the air dome. If you're not a shape shifter don't venture through an arch if it appears to shimmer."

As we entered the Royal Palace we were joined by Amber's Ambassador, who briefed us on what was about to happen. He had intended to introduce me first but once Isla pointed out her title it quickly became apparent that she should go first, followed by Archie, and then me. That suited me just fine as I'd be able to watch them and pick up a few pointers so I didn't embarrass myself and Amber by implication.

With the formalities over, which I got through without any major cockup, we were ushered into a side chamber where refreshments were waiting, and were joined by Queen Moire and Llewella about half an hour later. Whilst not as relaxed as Random, she never the less put us at our ease, and accepted the scrolls I was carrying, as did Llewella. Of the three of us, Isla was most at ease and conversed with Moire at length, whilst Archie and I made comments when directly addressed. After about an hour Moire retired to attend to other business and we were shown to guest quarters. Llewella made the specific point to me that the balconies were all overlooked, and there were no stables here. We were expected to attend a State Dinner that evening and should be appropriately attired. Seamstresses and Tailors were on hand to ensure that we were.

It took me a considerable amount of coercing to get a dress cut close to what I was prepared to wear, rather than the choices I was initially given. Even then I think it was the least revealing dress I'd ever worn. If there was ever " A Next Time " I swore I'd bring a dress with me. Even so the dress and I attracted a lot of attention that evening.

Rebma :35 ^th Marvich PPF 5

It was not until the following morning that I realized the servants here had the same uncanny knack of arriving just as required. Again, I had trouble getting the sort of clothes I was used to wearing, and had to settle for a long skirt, shirt and jacket, although I got disapproving looks when I tied the shirt rather than buttoning it.
When I arrived at Llewella's studio, I was actually the first of the three of us there, she commented, " I see you're trying to emulate my sister. She's been trying to get what you'd call modern fashion introduced here for centuries without very much success. You'll also find, as she did that non-conformance to what the Rebman's define as an acceptable dress code will get you confined to the Royal Palace. Its interesting that neither of you are shape shifters."

Isla's and Archie's arrival at that point precluded any further discussion and we got down to the topic of the day, learning about Trump.

The sensations in using Trump are hard to describe. Whilst the most common form are like large playing cards, they can also be sculptures and other items. I was surprised to learn that NightReaver is actually a Trump power source and contains a spell rack. Llewella's opinion is, given the trump signature and the spell rack, that it is likely the sword once belonged to a Chaos Lord. Anyway, to use a trump the user must clear their mind, of everything except the person or place pictured on the card, and then imagine that you are either talking to them or actually there. The card should go cold at this point. If it is a person you are attempting to contact, they have generally have the choice of accepting the call, placing you in mind to mind contact, or of refusing it, although if your Will power is sufficiently greater you can force them to accept the call whether they wish to or not, which Llewella demonstrated easily in the case of Archie and Isla, but with a certain amount of effort in my case. I think this actually surprised her.

Having ascertained that we were no threat to her she got us to practice calling her. I found it surprisingly easy, and was given a whole set of place cards to play with. It took a little longer to get the hang of activating these, but after a couple of hours I could do it with ease. I suppose I should have been paying slightly more attention to what was going on, but I'll put it down to experience. Looking back on it now the cards had been activating quicker and quicker, and the last card, which was of an "idyllic" waterfall scene activated as soon as I concentrated on it.
I suddenly found myself in a non-descript gray room, furnished with bed, table, chair, wash stand and jug, and bucket. There was no door and no windows and the low level of illumination seemed to just exist, having no discernable source. I called out but there was no response. I wished I'd kept hold of the other trumps.

I'm not sure how much time passed before I felt Llewella's mental yank, and I found myself back in her studio. The other trumps I had been playing with, except the waterfall which was in Llewella's hand, were laid out in front of Isla and Archie. "I trust you learnt something from that little episode. Trumps can be used offensively to catch the unwary as well as for communications and transport. Detecting such trumps comes with expertise, and on which note ends today's lesson."

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