Introduction

Well this is the last week of the current session. Next week the games rotate so it'll be a while till we all get back to this.
Tristan was back this week so it was a full house for the final session. Having missed the last couple of weeks he fell into victimizing Alan's character (Charity) as if making up for lost time.
Despite everything that has happened there is still the air of "Let's run to a fast time shadow and learn to use our powers " rather than trying to learn to use them in game and also a reluctance to ask for help - although in a couple of cases it wouldn't do any good. Cordellia is there for a purpose, not to lead the characters by the nose. I would recommend they all read "Lateral Thinking" by Edward De Bono before we start the next session. Solutions to their current predicament may then present themselves.

Amber - Hunting For Dierdre

The arguments about what to do about Charity continued for another hour or so with no real decision only a realisation that they were arguing in circles. Sorcha and Daida, who had been on watch, retired and Taala persuaded Sir Ion to take their watch on his own. As the sun rose over the peak Sir Ion woke the rest of the party and they set about arguing once more, this time about what their next course of action should be.

Continuing the hunt for Dworkin, was a possibility but Cordelia's best guess was that he was hiding in Shadow somewhere, and if Brand couldn't find him it was unlikely that she could. The only other idea that seemed to have any merit, again proposed by Cordellia, was to seek the entity calling itself Diedre. As they started the descent, Sir Ion wanted to start Shadow Walking but Cordellia told him he didn't have the power to do it, and she wasn't going to because it was too difficult and tiring here. They descend 7,500 feet over the course of the day and make cold camp on the path.

By noon of the following day they are several miles into Arden, having passed through the fire borders and into scorched and charred forest proper. All the horses are jittery and nervous, and Charity being on foot now slows their progress.
With Sir Ion champing at the bit to be away from here, Cordellia gave him his head, although the effort of manipulating Shadow this close to Amber left him severely fatigued after only half and hour. Taala took over, improving the forest in the hour and a half before she too became tired, and by the time Daida had become tired, they were definately travelling in revived forest, and a further 2 miles and 45 minutes had passed. Cordellia now took over, making a detour to pick up a horse and riding gear for Charity, and replensih their food supplies. After several hours they emerged from forest into low hills, and Taala had recovered enough to take over again an manipulate them to a good camping spot on a well stocked mountain stream.

Nine long days, where 14 hours of riding were followed by 10 hours of rest followed, hills gave way to mountians, mountains to plains, plains to desert, desert to mountains, mountains to marsh, marsh to hills, hills to forest,etc until they found themselves on what appeared to be an expansive slate plain. Off in the distance, a speck on the horizon, stood a tower or was it a light house?

Sir Ion, who'd been practising probability alteraion, and had noticed it had been getting easier, the further from Amber they got, decided that it was time to acquire a war drake, as he was fed up with riding horses. As they rode on a speck appeared on the horizon behind them, gained slowly on them and came into land a short distance from them spooking all the horses. The experience riders quickly brought their horses under control, and even Cordellia managed to stop hers from bolting, although she did back off about 70 feet. Sir Ion was not so lucky, and clung to his horse's back for the three miles it took to exhaust itself.

As they waited for him to walk back, Taala by use of magic, was able to convince the Drake that she was friendly, although none of the others approached.
On his return Sir Ion mounted the Drake with glee, and flew off in the direction of the tower, finding that it appeared not to get any closer no matter how far he flew. The others rode on slowly awaiting his return, before Cordellia recommenced Shadow shifting.

By the time they camped, the tower was appreciably closer, although Sir Ion did have to fly off into Shadow to find fuel for a fire and fresh supplies.

The nightly watches had by now become routine, and they hadn't been bother during the 13th hour since they left Amber. They were surprised therefore, to find themselves less than 100 yards from a group of 8 demons. As Sorcha and Daida, roused everybody, the demons charged.
Taala is able to act first, using co-ordination disrupt to fell one of the demons at range, leaving three on the right flank to barrel Sir Ion. Daida engages one in the centre, and Cordelia gets barreled by two, and the demon on the left flank blocked by the frozen form of the drake.
Of the three that barreled Sir Ion one is dead, but that leaves Sir Ion's sword stuck. As they right themselves one charges Sorcha and the other Sir Ion. Sorcha attempts to use Logrus Tendrils to stop the demon with limited success, and when she switches her attention to extracting Ion's sword, she gets heavily racked and flattened by the demons claws. Ion fares much better throwing his attacker into the path of the now recovered demon on the right flank.
Cordelia blinks out of the path of a second charge from one of the pair that faced her, causing it to slam into the drake, and Daiada drives his adversary back. The free demon on the left, leaps from the drakes back at Taala, who avoids being hit by slipping over on a stone.

Saved by one piece of luck, she tempts fate and Psychicly disrupts the demon as it turns to attack her, escaping with deep lacerations as it throws an epileptic fit. Ion kills Daida's adversary, freeing him to blink behind the stumble brothers, and inflict a heavy wound on one of them. Cordelia fights a retreat, inflict death by a hundred cuts on her adversary.
Having recovered from the collision with the drake, the demon finds Taala struggling away from the threshing machine, and charges.

As one of the stumble brothers charges Ion, Daida drive his opponent back, and Taala finds a turn of speed to escape the demons charge. A quick slash from Ion renders the stumble brother toast, an he turns to see Taala turn another demon into a threshing machine. He chooses to finish off the one that is now getting unsteadily to its feet. Meanwhile, Cordelia and Daida dispose of their opponents, leaving only the threshing demon alive. As the threshing dies away Taala dives in with a mind meld and keels over. Ion decapitaes the demon.

Charity is woken from her sleep by the scream of the drake as the 13th hour ends and the pain from the wounds inflicted by various of the demons hits home. Sorcha has by this time healed her wounds, repaired her clothing, and managed to put Taala's clothing back into something that resembles a dress, although Taala herself remains in a coma. Daida is now in a position to heal her wounds before doing something about the drakes wounds.
After catching up on recent events, she wasn't privy to, Charity decides to mind meld with Taala, to determine what's happened to her. As this is the first time she's attempted anything like this, it takes quite some time for her to make contact, and then more time to find Taala's consciousness, which seems to be thrashing about wildly as if involved in some strange dance ritual. An attempt to grapple and hold the consciousness, is only partially successfull as the Taala entity breaks free, although its actions now seem far more deliberate. Resorting to freindly signals the Charity entity gets the Taala entity to follow her. As she retreats from the mind meld Taala regains consciousness. Cordelia stands from where she is kneeling by the pair of them and sheathes her sword.

Amber - The Tower

The rest of the night passes without further indicident and by morning most have recovered from the night's exertions. Mounting their various mounts they set off in the direction of the tower, arriving at its base late in the day. As they view the tower, the plain to their left appears to traverese into the darkest night, whilst to their right it traverses into a bright moon lit night. Beyond the tower a strange phenomenon, a black but not black void runs to its base and stops. To either side of the void, between it and the night, the air shimmers as if nothing is there, or possibly a hint of reflection.

As they dismount Cordelia and Charity recognise what lies beyond the tower but say nothing. Making their way to the left around the base of the tower, a very feint brightening in the wall marks what may be an opening or doorway. Taala produces light for a second or two which reveals an arched entrace, 6 feet wide and 10 feet tall, with a staricase that circles the inside of the tower beyond. In the entrance way is what appears to be a blood stain. As the light dies, Ion races forwards and up the staircase.

As Ion climbs the stairs, the rest follow him. After climbing 50 feet or so a faint blue illumination begins to light the stairs, brightening in the next 100 feet until it matches the intensity of the brightest moonlight. After a 400 foot climb the party emerge onto the roof of the pentacular tower. Leaving barely a 20 foot walkway around the edge, a large blue pentacular crystal, some 150 feet in diameter and about 100 feet high occupies the center of the roof. Using various "powered" sighting lens, Charity, Sorcha, and Ion examine the structure before them. They all read raw energy conduit. Ion attempts to "tap" some of the energy, and is "blown" unconscious along the roof for his efforts (read - sticking 3mm copper conductor into 400MVA power source).

The rest consider their next action.