Things are starting to drop into place for a return to the Keep of the Four winds, although it now looks like we won't retrieve Alfred till the morning.
Fred's shaman did their stuff this morning and created an Abyss gate to near the Courts, so our garrison compliment has increased by 500. Apparently Mandor also paid a visit just to see what was what,but didn't chose to come and say hello. Not that it matters.
Apparently Charity spent an uncomfortable night on the floor of the hall last night, what she was doing I don't know but apparently Fred found her collapsed and it took several hours before he could rouse her.
I've also managed to acquire a midwife to look after Sorcha although it turned out to be a little more difficult than I expected. After I returned last night, everyone was asleep, and not being tired I decided to use the time to best advantage. Not being able to get to the Carnelian Pattern limited my choices according to the contents of my trump deck - my home shadow, a very different reflection of it, or the Courts of Chaos. Given the state of my own world finding a midwife there in a short space of time was liable to be difficult. The Courts were a possibility but there would be complications down stream so that left me with the Shadow Earth. I pulled the trump of Shiftsville and activated it.
I'd picked this spot when I drew the trump as it was in a quiet corner of the city. My arrival in the middle of a firefight caused something of a stir, and thankfully my armour was still intact enough to absorb the three hits I took before I managed to dispatch the two closest assailants who'd turned their weapons on me the moment I'd stepped through the gate. A quick appraisal of the situation revealed I had dropped into a group Coalition troops and the two I'd killed were dog boys. The group seemed to be engaging the town militia and were dug into a prepared position. The militia were being careful trying to inflict as little damage as possible whilst the coalition troops were doing the exact opposite. I didn't have time for this. I took two more hits getting dispatching the three dog boys left in my immediate vicinity - my armour was now virtually gone, and then spotted the real problem. The coalition troops had both power armour and air support, two Samas plus two Skycycles. The second problem was that they also knew they had a new problem, me, and one of the Skycycles was moving to do something about it. I now needed some time but wasn't immediately going to get it. Those troopers in the nearest building were also starting to react, but their reactions were no match for my own, and I cleared the ground floor of its three occupants without a scratch - gaining a heavy laser rifle and missiler in the process. When the missile alarm went off in my helmet, I flung myself against the front wall and hoped. The rear of the building vanished in a ball of plasma and the ceiling and upper storey collapsed on top of me. I now had my time.
I walked the Pattern into a Scrying lens and looked out from my rubble prison. The activation had alerted the remaining dogboys but that didn't matter. I could see three of the targets I wanted. Three tendrils flashed out impaling themselves into the heads of the two Skycycle pilots and the visible Samas. I stopped the hearts of the Skycycle pilots and then took a firmer hold of the Samas. The three nearest dog boys and their two human sergeants died in a hail of railgun fire. The second Samas appeared and opened fire. I didn't mind, another tendril lashed out, and both pilots died.
I turned the lens round, militia troops were now streaming towards the devastation I had created, moping up the remaining Coalition troops. I switched frequencies to the militia command band and announced my presence, officially. Whilst relieved that I was friendly, there were the usual set of questions about my disappearance, especially as I'd just displayed far greater abilities than when I left previously - virtually every psychic in the city had felt the pattern.
By the time I'd dealt with all the red tape nearly an hour and a half had elapsed. Whilst technically entitled to a substantial reward based upon the salvage value of four principly intact Skycycles and Samas, it would take some time to arrange. I hadn't the time to wait and managed to haggle a deal for two new suits of armour against the payout, which left me free to go find a midwife - thankfully I already knew where to look. Even so it took me the best part of an hour to find a suitable candidate and for her to gather what she needed for an extended dimensional trip.
By the time I arrived back in Elysium it was nearly midday - I just hoped I hadn't been missed. Next time I'll create a trump of my room then I won't have to sneak about the bailey or Great Hall.
I found Jexz a room decent room in the servants quaters and furnished it telling her I'd be back for her later. My exertions of the last few hours were beginning to catch up with me.
I had probably only been asleep for 50 minutes or so why an incessant pounding on my door woke me. It was Charity. She wanted to discuss the fourth coming raid on the Keep. I said I'd be ready when it was time to go. I think she was a little annoyed that I'd taken so long to answer the door - somehow I don't think she quiet believed that I'd been meditating.
Having been woken up I didn't feel like going back to sleep. I settled for a long soak in a warm bath, and then went to find Jexz. She wasn't in her room. I was just about to start searching when she turned up with Sorcha - it seems they'd met whilst she was searching for a bathroom. Sorcha wasn't happy, actually she was quite angry, that I hadn't consulted her first, but at least she realized the sense of having a midwife on hand - she would have like one from Phehemony but didn't know how of any way to fetch one - I managed to refrain from asking if she'd asked her mother to grab one.
I said I couldn't help as I hadn't been there, and therefore couldn't create a trump for her. In addition there was the problem of her being able to get back here, but I could always lend her my trump. She then admitted she didn't know how to use them.
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| Supporting Cast - Cordelia | The Keep of the Thirteenth Hour |