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Castle Amber - And More Relatives

The great doors opened up on a short, spry redhead who could only be Fiona, accompanied by two young women and two young men - one of whom seemed not exactly part of the group.

Those entering could see Gerard standing with a young woman, an expression of vague amusement on his face.

One of the women was young and beautiful woman with flowing, long blonde hair and expressive blue eyes. Stephanie was athletic and shapely at the same time, with well-rounded breasts and curvy hips countered by lithe muscles.

Only with closer inspection would someone discover the sparkle of intelligence and humor in her eyes, along with just the hint of a wry grin tugging at her full lips.

Septima's first impression of Stephanie was that of serious deadliness. She seemed completely calm, and completely dangerous, comfortable with her appearance and willing to use it like everything else in her arsenal; as a weapon to destroy.

Another of the persons entering the room was a young lady with wavy brown hair worn loose so it cascaded down to halfway down her back. Her eyes were light brown with twinkles of gold and haunting. Her gaze was piercing, a bit curious, and it seemed to look straight through Septima. Was she studying her, judging her? Her body was lithe and slender, not too buxom nor overly athletic. Her clothing, an elegant riding dress, was purple and blue with touches of white and gold. She was wearing little but tasteful jewellery and a purple orchid was adorning her hair. Her only visible weapon was an expensive looking dagger.

As Malcolm followed his cousins into the castle, his dirt brown duster seemed to fold into a standard dirt brown cloak. He seemed slightly disheveled as he raked his hand through his sandy brown hair, trying to make it behave.

If it wasn't for the company he was in, he would have been disregarded as a commoner. He looked too average to be a Lord of Amber until he looked up and regarded the woman next to Gerard. His blue eyes seemed to sparkle with a mischevious light. It was as if he knew the secrets of the universe and found them to be humorous.

With a practiced ease he grabbed the hilt of his sword. Just a hint of a smile touched his lips. Gerard wouldn't be standing with just any fuctionary. This had to be another relative.

"We are going to have to start issuing name tags," he whispered mostly to himself with a staged sigh.

Catryzna, overhearing the remark, couldn't help smiling. "I think I have to insist on a group portrait at the nearest convenience. Here I was thinking I had a portrait of all my relatives."

Septima (the woman beside Gerard) could not hear the exchange of witticisms but her smile widened nonetheless, although there remained a brittle reserve to her demeanor. She offered the newcomers a brief but impeccable curtsy, and then said calmly, "Septima Claudia Aurelianus, daughter of Michaela of Amber and Drusus Aurelianus, at your service."

Niall, standing next to Malcolm, smiled, bowed and announced himself, "Niall Tyrsblood, also called Niall Wayfarer, of the Realm of Anwwn. May the Trod be ever smooth beneath your feet." (The last had the feel of a ritualized greeting.). He laughed and continued speaking, "Lady Catryzna, if you wish for a group portrait, be sure to make a mural, a very big mural if you wish to include all my sibs. Of course, since I'm the first since Father to survive the Patternwalk, it may not matter, as it seems unlikely that they will ever reach Amber, no matter how close Anwwn lies to Amber. Or so I thought, until my business brought me here." Niall then looked at Gerard, as if trying to place a name to Gerard's face. Niall then nodded, as if he discovered the name he sought, and spoke, "Prince Gerard, is it not?

Niall, tall (though not as tall as Stephanie) with dark hair and goatee, was dressed in a tan and gold tunic and slacks, a sheathed rapier at his side, with a cloak over it all. On his back, under the cloak, but with its hilt showing over his shoulder, was another sword. He appeared soaked, as if he had struggled through a major storm. However, regardless of his soaked state, his expression was one of interest, taking every thing in. His body language was one of complete confidence, saying 'yes I belong here, heaven help those who disagree.' In other words, Niall was a true scion of Amber.

"Show-off," muttered Malcolm under his breath to Cat upon Niall's introduction. He was about to continue his commentary but his mother's training kicked in and he decided it would be prudent to allow Uncle Gerard say something.

As it happened, Gerard did not say anything - Fiona did. Or was about to, after Septima's introduction - just as Niall spoke. Then Fiona's face went white, where it had been purple. Gerard merely had his usual, resigned look.

Fiona regained her voice. "Michaela? Tyr? Neither is a member of this family to my knowledge. However, I can't deny that you both carry Pattern inside you - though you, Septima, have a sense I can't quite figure out right now. So, I think it's definitely time to go see Random. There are entirely too many secrets here for my taste."

Stephanie watched the rapid and rather amazing color changes in Aunt Fiona's face with some suprise and interest, before gesturing to herself "I am Stephanie," she said, then gestured at the others. "This is Catryzna, and that is Malcolm. It is always nice to see unknown members of the family." She gave a little nod of her head towards the newest people, before looking to Aunt Fiona to lead them to the King.

Catryzna was shocked by the seeming lack of self control by Fiona. She couldn't recall more then a handfull of occasions where Fiona was showing anger or other strong emotions. Normally she was the epitome of serenity. Something must have rattled her badly.

She just made a quick curtsy to her new family member and to her uncle but left introductions until later. This was not the proper time for chitchat.

Septima, who had lost her gentle expression at Fiona's disavowal of the knowledge of her parentage, managed a quick amused smile, nodding to Stephanie. Her expression suggested intelligence but also a little concern. Despite Stephanie's kind words, this was hardly the reception she had anticipated.

Nonetheless, she too waited to be led before King Random.

Niall just nodded, a bemused expression on his face. "I'm sorry Princess Fiona, if mention of my father, Tyr, causes you discomfort. But perhaps by speaking with King Random, then where Lady Septima and I place in the Family may be solved, along with other issues of import. So if you and Prince Gerard would be so gracious as to lead us to His Majesty," said Niall making a slight bow.

Gerard, still saying nothing, opened the door into the Great Hall, leading the group in.

Once in the Great Hall, in a scene familiar to Stephanie, Malcolm and Catryzna, Random sat on the throne, with Benedict behind him. No one aside from Benedict, Random, Gerard and Fiona stood in the room.

Fiona stepped up and spoke briefly - if somewhat vehemently - with Random, who simply nodded. Then he looked over at Niall and Septima. "You two - approach, please."

Niall looked at Septima, raised one eyebrow, then looked back to Random and approached the throne. Standing at a appropriate distance, Niall bowed, then stood there silent, waiting.

Although a little stunned by, what would be called, for Fiona, an outburst, Malcolm still had the presence of mind to secure the doors behind them. As he stood in the position by the door usually reserved for the Master of Arms, or the Guard Captain, he tried to make sense of todays events, without much luck.

He also said a silent thank you to his mother for pointing out this location to him. Even though he was physically distant from everyone else, the accoustics of the room allowed him to hear everything quite well. He guessed it was a security measure so the King could call for the guards without screaming for them.

'Wouldn't want to disrupt a state event by tryin' to fend for your life, tis uncivilized,' he thought to himself. He was also very careful to keep quiet. If he could hear Random, Random could hear him. Especially if the room was this empty. So, with hand on hilt, he leaned back and watched the scene unfold.

Septima kept her expression studiously neutral, although there was a trace of fear in her glorious purple-blue eyes. She moved toward the throne in a rustle of skirts, stopped at the same distance from the king as Niall had and bent into a graceful and extremely low curtsy, from which she did not rise, leaving her eyes gazing at a point exactly at the foot of the throne.

Random looked over the two, then nodded to Benedict, who stepped forward. His face, as always, was impassive, but he did not seem to be threatening. He stopped in front of Niall, looked him up and down, then moved on to Septima. Before he reached her, however, Gerard cleared his throat. "Your Majesty, Fiona's beliefs aside, Michaela is a scion of Amber, daughter of Oberon, verified to me by Dworkin. Septima is her daughter, of this I have no doubt."

Random lifted his eyebrows, then shrugged. "And what of Niall? Benedict?"

Benedict shook his head. "While Father often engaged in secrecy, I am aware of no child named Tyr. Nor have I heard Dworkin speak of him. However, there is no stench of Chaos upon him, and he moves like an Amberite. Since he has Pattern within him, then he is of Amber."

Random nodded once again. "Welcome, kinsman - and kinswoman - to Amber. The others grew up with this choice, but you get it straight. You are ranked - by virtue of birth - with the Earls and Dukes of the Realm. You can gain the rank of Prince or Princess only if you swear fealty to Me. You don't have to, not everyone in the group with you has done so."

"Thank you King Random for that most generous, if frankly surprising, offer. And after you have heard me out and rendered your decision, then if your offer still holds, I will consider it, for Amber has always intrigued me greatly. But I did not come to seek out Amber for myself; indeed by coming here today, I have broken the Ban of Anwwn, the most sacred law of the land. But instead I am here to seek justice and aid for my home, and to offer a warning of Amber's peril," spoke Niall solemnly.

Random looked out at the two newcomers, his face impassive, then he nodded. "As there are none but family here, speak freely - all of you. We will hear this request for justice, and of this peril."

Niall nodded, then spoke, "I was born in Fairie, the only known Shadow of Tir-na Nog'th, which we call the Dreaming City. If you know how, you take the Eastern stairs down from the Dreaming City, and enter Fairie. The stairs end in the Realm of Anwwn, which until recently was ruled by Tyr, my father, a child of Amber. Anwwn thus guards the way between Fairie and Amber by controlling the only known access. Anwwn holds the balance of power between the other two great Courts of Fairie, the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. The Fae do not, or at least did not, know that anything existed outside of Fairie. What they know of Amber is what little Tyr has mentioned. In any case, Tyr has been overthrown by my sister Rhea, the High Sorceress of Anwwn, who is demonstrating magics unknown to the Fae, in alliance with a powerful sorcerer unknown in any Realm in Fairie. This sorcerer has been described as 'tallish, fashionable, bright red hair and beard.' My contacts tell he demonstrates a great as power over Anwwn as Father or I do, which means he has walked the Pattern; that in turn means Amber.

"My lord King, Rhea is married to Devon, the Warlord of the Unseelie Court. Open war will soon erupt between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts over Anwwn, because the Seelie cannot afford for the Unseelie to control Anwwn and its resources; and regardless of who wins, the likelihood is great that Rhea and her sorcerer ally will lead Fae troops through the Dreaming City and into Amber and its Shadows. For you see, certain of Tyr's blood know how to walk the City in daylight. We can manifest the stairs down from the Dreaming City to a Shadow Kolvir whenever we wish. And Fairie has nigh infinite number of warriors to provide. All it takes is for someone of sufficient power to know what to do and have the will and desire to do it. Imagine it, Lords and Ladies of Ambers, masses of Fae warriors, coming down the steps of Tir-na Nog'th into nearby Shadows, or even worse, coming down into Castle Amber itself. That is why I've broken the Ban of Anwwn to seek justice from Amber and its king.

Malcolm almost choked when he heard; 'tallish, fashionable, bright red hair and beard.' and an image of one of his uncles floated to mind. He quickly banished it. Things were getting too complicated... again.

He waited and watched the reactions of others.

Catryzna showed no emotion at this. being the perfect picture of serenity herself. But her mind was working furiously. She too had recognized this description, who wouldnt? Could this be related to the other happenings lately? It seemed not unlikely to her, it smelled like one of these plots her relatives relished.

Septima, unfamiliar with her Amberite relatives, did not react to the description, but she did straighten and regard Niall as he told his tale. Her expression was one of fascination at the initial description of the connection between Tir Na Nog'th, Fairie and Annwfn, and then one of slight dismay as he ended by asking them to imaging a limitless force assailing Amber. 'Perhaps I came at a bad time,' was the ironic thought that kept dancing its way around her mind.

Random listened calmly, showing no more emotion or reaction than any of the others. When Niall finished, he turned to Fiona and Gerard. "Find him. Bring him here. Don't take 'no' for an answer."

Fiona and Gerard nodded, and headed out the door, leaving the four with Random and Benedict alone.

Septima took a deep breath, steeled herself and dropped back to her knees before the throne. There was obviously no time for the formalities of learning an Amber fealty ceremony at the moment, but to declare herself for Amber now would eliminate any doubts as to her familial loyalty. She spread her hands as if she were holding out an invisible sword, and said clearly, "Your Majesty, I, Septima Claudia Aurelianus, daughter of Michaela of Amber and Drusus Aurelianus Duke of Mythgaerd, do swear my undying service to you, Random the First, King of Amber, to do whatever duties you see fit until such time as you deem my service no longer necessary, or until my death."

"The woman has no idea what she is getting into," muttered Malcolm under his breath, "Good luck."

Random seemed to have heard, regardless, and shot Malcolm an amused look. "We accept your fealty, Septima, and in return, promise protection, aid, and support so long as you fulfill your oath."

Niall turned toward Septima, and raised one eyebrow. "Interesting," was all he said quietly. After a moments pause he looked again at Random and spoke, "Your Majesty, is the 'he' you sent Princess Fiona and Prince Gerard after Prince Bleys? It sounded like him from my source's information, but since my information about Royal Family is at least a couple centuries out of date, I wasn't sure if he'd be the logical suspect. I also wondered about Prince Brand, or a child of the Senior Line, or simply no one I who was present in Amber during my years in Anwwn."

Niall paused for a moment then continued, "The only thing I'm sure of is that he is a Master of the Pattern and Sorcery; and that he has aligned himself with a psychopath of unmatched cruelty in the person of my sister Rhea." Niall uttered the last with great bitterness.

Random shrugged. "It sounds like Bleys, but I'll give him a chance to indicate that it's wrong. If it's not Bleys, then it's someone who's bypassed all our efforts at controlling access to the family toy. Much like yourself and Septima have."

Malcolm's body relaxed as Random became less formal.

Catryzna also continued to listen, but she studied her new cousins carefully as well.

Anticipating Random's request for some trumps of her new relatives, she flipped out her sketchbook and swiftly started to sketch their portraits.

Septima turned a surprised eye on the king, then shrugged almost imperceptibly, not with her shoulders but with a slight raise of her eyebrows and continued to listen.

Random shrugged. "Even those two will take some time to find him and retrieve him. While we wait, I will hear news and suggestions from those who are - or were - investigating something else for me."

Malcolm stepped forward and sketched a quick bow to Random. "To be brief. After a lengthy discussion about what to do in the Yellow Room, we decided to try to locate an expert on Trumps. The best person we could think of was Great Grand Father," Malcolm purposefully left out the name, possibly due to respect.

He continued while standing at a 'parade rest' with his hand firmly on the hilt of his sword. "Sources indicated that He occasionally spent time in Tir-na Nog'th. So Catryzna and I attempted to go and make contact with Him. We were joined later by Stephanie and some VERY foul weather. We also experianced some fairly odd Trump contacts. Afterwards the weather cleared and we met Niall and escorted him to the palace."

A small smile creeped onto his face. "I will allow the Ladies to elaborate on anything they believe I missed."

Still in the process of sketching in a fast and sure hand without taking her eyes off of her new family members, Catryzna reacted to that.

"Hmm yes, that trump contact was very strange. But it was too weak to make a full contact. I tried everything I could, but lacked the power to force it open, even with Malcolm's help."

She then looked up into the Kings eyes, her work halted for the moment: "I recognized the contact though, and that was most unsettling, for the person that tried to contact me is reported to be dead. Your majesty knows that I can always tell who is contacting me by trump as long as I have been able to study their trump in detail. So far I have never made a mistake in this."

There was a slight pause as she gathered enough nerve to tell this to the King: "With this in mind I must tell you that the presence I recognized was none other then Princess Deirdre. She must have survived her fall into the abyss."

Malcolm raised his eyebrow questioningly and released a slow whistle of surprise.

We have many things on our plate, it seems," Stephanie said, gazing steadily at the King. "Now the question is, what would you have us do?"

Thoughts swirled in Stephanie's mind as she analyzed the possibilities. It was nearly impossible for her to tell which way things would go. The old Amber would not lift a finger to aid her mother. If this really was a new Amber and they didn't care about the potential problem with succession... well, the new Amber may not care, anyway. The dead body and the threat from Uncle Bleys, if it was really him, might be more important to them. Stephanie had not sworn fealty, though, and she was quite ready to head off on her own, if she had to, to find her mother.

Random frowned. "Since Dworkin isn't here to verify what you're saying, I'll take it as read for now. Deirdre alive. That is - news. Now, I'm guessing that one of you, at least, will want to rescue her. And frankly, I'm in favour of that, too - if only to keep my hide in one piece when Corwin finds out about this."

He chuckled, though Benedict didn't look amused. Random shrugged, and looked over at the rest. "I won't make it a command, though. The Abyss is a long way away, and very dangerous."

Septima paused and waited for the others to respond. Her expression was unreadable, but there was no excitement in her posture, more like resignation.

"There is one thing we could try before going physically to the place. I read about the trick that was used to rescue an Amberite from a prison once. Perhaps we could try a similar feat on the rescue of Deirdre?", suggested Catryzna. "We would need to assemble as many relatives as possible for this of course."

Niall spoke up, "Is it possible that Princess Deirdre was also the cause of the storm we were in? I could tell that the person causing it was a woman, and that she was impossibly far away. It was only when I broke the woman's bond with Amber that I was able to get the storm to stop. I don't understand how she could attempt utilizing a Trump and still cause a storm of that magnitude. In fact now that I've said aloud, I don't believe it. Still, I find it interesting that the storm occurred at the same time you were in Trump contact with Princess Deirdre. I've been thinking all along that the storm was aimed at me, but mayhap, just mayhap, it was aimed at preventing contact with Princess Deirdre, and my being there, coming down the stairs from he Dreaming City was coincidental. Or mayhap simply the old story of killing two birds with one very convenient storm...I mean stone----getting rid of me and preventing communication with Princess Deirdre. And if that is the case then my first suspect would be Rhea. I thought that she Trumped back to Anwwn after our battle in the Dreaming City, but the woman causing the storm seemed much farther away than Fairie."

Niall paused then spoke thoughtfully, "And not to change the subject too radically, but have any of you seen a Royal named Ashyr? I met him in the Dreaming City after my battle with Rhea. He walked the Pattern there and then disappeared. I'd like to meet up with him again; he borrowed something of mine and I'd like it back."

Malcolm rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Haven't seen him... I suggest that we explore the option of contacting Deirdre before we go any further. We'll either succeed or we won't. Either way, it will be completed and then we can deal with the longer, more complicated, tasks of Uncle Brand, Bleys, evil sorcerers, and, if necessary, a trip to the Abyss."

He frowned slightly. "This is becoming more and more not simple..."

Septima nodded at that. "Yes, let us attempt to contact the Princess before we go haring off for Chaos, or anywhere else."

The information had come quickly and with little preamble, so she had taken her notebook from her pocket and written a few things down.

Random shook his head slowly. "It's not that easy. I cannot gather everyone quite so quickly, and even if I could, I wouldn't. We know from experience that an attempt such as that tires even the strongest of us, and we cannot ever risk all of us being exhausted. You may attempt it yourselves, and even seek for volunteers among the rest of us, but you'll not get all of us for it."

Catryzna frowned a little, as she considered her options: "If we attempt such a feat without the support of everyone available I fear we might not be strong enough but we can give it a try.

"For this we need to travel away from Amber though and be not available if a serious crisis is happening.

"There also is the matter of Sir Niall here and the investigations about the body of Prince Brand. They might be related to each other or one could be a diversion for another grander scheme. But it looks as if we can only concentrate on one of these events at this moment, so which do you wish us to follow up?"

"Or perhaps your Majesty would prefer if we split our efforts and followed up on all leads?" Septima suggested lightly.

"I still think we should give Trump a shot first with whomever we can get before we split to the four corners of the universe," Malcolm added, "But it doesn't really matter to me."

Random shrugged. "How you divide your resources is up to you. None of the elements mentioned is of an extreme priority, or I'd have others helping you. Find out what you can."

Malcolm eyes Stephanie for a moment. "As much as I hate to say this... Why don't we go and discuss it some more. Unless anyone has a strong opinion to act on now."

Niall spoke up, "I'm willing to help, but I don't understand what is going on. You spoke of a Patternfall War earlier; what happened then and how does this involve Prince Brand and Princess Deirdre? I'm sorry but my information is, as I've said, a century or two out of date."

Catryzna put her sketchbook away, right now she had everything she needed for a more elaborate drawing anyway.

"I suggest we try to contact Princess Deirdre first then, using the technique described in the chronicles of the Patternfall War. I think I may have a way of improving upon that, but that requires a little time to set up. Anyway, to have the best chance of success, we need to be in Shadow. During our travel there, it might be a good time to inform our new family members of the history of Amber."

Septima raised an eyebrow at the use of plural, but nodded. "I agree that the attempt at contact ought to be our first move."

"Well then, as long as King Random and Lady Stephanie do not object, why don't we vacate and resume our experiment in a place where it might actually work."

Malcolm flashed a grin to the newly introduced members of the family. "I'll let someone wiser than my own self fill you in on the past century or so. I find rehashing history boring and I usually get it wrong anyhow because I lie through the parts I forget."

He looked around suddenly in mock apprehension. Then whispered; "Don't tell mother..."

"Of course..." Stephanie murmured with a small smile. She was surprised at that but only mildly so. Malcolm was always rather charming and effusive... his mother's son, she supposed.

"Where should we vacate to, then?" she asked.

Septima laughed quietly at Malcolm's witticism. Then she turned, curtseyed again to Random and Benedict, and turned back to the company, waiting for another to suggest a place.

Malcolm rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Weeel," he drawled, "One place is as good as another as far as I can see but Cat's the expert, and it WAS her idea, so what do you think?"

The last part was aimed at Cat.

"I know just the place for an expedition like this. it is a place of magick, that I can use to augment our efforts," answered Catryzna. "It seems we are agreed then. I can bring us there by trump, but first we need to leave the city."

She turned and gave a curtsy to the King. "By your leave dear uncle, we shall see if we can find out a thing or two."

Septima nodded at Catryzna's suggestion, her eyes lighting up somewhat at the word "magick."

Malcolm rolled his eyes and mumbled, "As long as we don't get hit by another storm."

He then bowed to his uncle and followed Cat out.

Niall sighed quietly, then grinned ruefully. "Well, in the interest of good family relations, I'll provide what aid that I can, but my first concern is still Anwwn. Please, your Majesty, keep me informed of what you may learn concerning the Amberite who invaded Anwwn. Now, if you will excuse me..." With a brief not to Random, Niall turned to follow the others.

Leading the others out of the throne room, Catryzna turned to the others: "As we are about to leave Amber and we have no certainty that we shall return soon, I am sure that some of you have to collect things. I am not expecting a long trip however. We need only to pass the gates to be able to trump away from here."

"I've only just arrived and had no time to accumulate anything not on my person," Septima said. "I shall wait here for those of you who do to return."

As they leave the throne room, Malcolm's brown cloak did its custumary shift into his brown duster.

"Since I just got back, I still have my satchel on me. So I am ready to go," he appeared thoughtful for a moment as he transferred what looked like a strange weapon to an odd sheath on his right hip, "I probably should tell mother... I'll just send someone to tell here I'll be gone and that I'll contact her when I learn something."

He quickly scribbled a note and handed it to the nearest servant with instructions to take it directly to Princess Florimel.

Niall stops once they leave the throne room and said, "My pack is on Grey, so either I go get it and leave him here, or are we going someplace where I may ride him? Also is there someplace I can freshen up briefly? It has been a really long day, if you catch my drift."

"Yes, it has been quite the day," Stephanie agreed. "But, I am ready to go." Her needs could be easily met anywhere she went, and as a long-time campaigner, she was used to travelling lightly. Moreover, she was eager to be about it, and she bounced lightly on her toes as she waited.

Random chuckled as the troupe headed out, and the reason was quickly clear. Those who had Trumps felt something resembling a quick, but aborted Trump Contact, and a card fell into their hands. A card of Niall. Niall himself felt a kind of mental pressure, then an entire deck of cards appeared in front of him.

Random sent the group on their way. "I'll let you know as soon as we learn anything."

"Oh, tee hee hee..." Stephanie grumbled to herself, as she put the card away. "It's no wonder they were always trying to kill each other 'back in the day'."

She still felt like the 10-year-old being sent out to the backyard to play, which was exactly Random's plan, she was quite certain.

Catryzna, did her mother proud and held her composure. Clearly, the rules of Amber did not hold for the King of Amber. He still had some tricks left in his sleeve. Tricks she was dying to know. How he had managed to produce the trumps was a mystery, of course. A mystery she had the fullest intention to solve. Seeing Random's face, she knew that he knew exactly the kind of challenge he had just given her. She raised one eyebrow to him in response as she accepted it.

Turning to the others Catryzna said: "The trip to the place will be short indeed and there is room and time for some refreshments before I am ready to start the experiment. If you want, take your mount with you, perhaps we will decide to take a ride from there."

Malcolm snorted as he shuffled the card into his deck, "Nothing like famly to make you feel completely inadequete... Not a bad likeness though."

"Well, let's go then. The sooner we get things started, the faster we can begin." he intoned sarcastically.

Niall glanced at the deck, then shook his head slightly (though it would difficult to tell if he meant disbelief or exasperation), then said, "Fine, I'll come along right now, but when we get there, I'll definitely need to use the 'little princes' room." With that he asked a servant to bring his horse.Once Grey arrived, Niall lead Grey by the reins, following the rest of his newfound cousins.

Shortly Catryzna led the troupe out of the palace and she took from her deck a card. Glancing at it a shimmering appeared in the sky where another landscape appeared. It looked like a sunny valley, a lush grassland with tiny blue flowers and a majestic tree offering shade. A large boulder stood upright behind and to the left of the tree, its stony surfaced covered in intricate sigils.

Without hesitation she stepped through the portal, gesturing the others to follow her.

Malcolm followed her through without a pause of hesitation.

Niall, leading Grey, followed through as well.

Once everybody had passed through, the portal shimmered and dissapeared into a wisp of smoky tendrils.

Looking around, they found themselves in a stone circle with a mighty oak at its centre. The place radiated an almost perceptible aura of power. Outside of the circle, a hilly countryside displayed itself, with a stream of water running close by.

"Welcome to Andragore," said Catryzna. "This place is a powerful focus of magical energies. Energies I intend to tap into in our endeavor to contact our aunt. Over that hill there, just a couple of hundred yards away is a pavilion where people come who wishes to gawk on this site. It has a bathroom and a gift shop as well."

"Maybe I should pick up something nice for mother..."

Malcolm smiled and made himself comfortable on the ground. He dug out his card of Deirdre and studied it.

"Never met her," he mumbled, then louder to Cat, "Let me know when we're ready."

Septima's gaze moved slowly across the vista, and she smiled slightly. "Certainly a lovely place," she said.

Niall lifted one eyebrow, and looked at Catryzna, as if trying to see if she was serious about the gift shop and gawkers. He then smiled slightly to the group and went in search of the pavilion and its amenities.

Catryzna nodded. "It will take me an hour or so to weave the spell I intend to use for this. Please make sure nobody disturbs me as it could ruin everything. And at places like this where magic is so powerful, that could make a mess."

As Catryzna moved away, the truth of her statement could be seen in little almost-ripples moving away from each Amberite with each thought. None solidified, but it was plain that they could, with more will behind the thoughts.

"I'll try to keep things quiet, then," Stephanie said. She settled in for an hour wait and spent that time focusing on her center and cultivating no-mind.

Malcolm held up his thumb. "Right-O! If anyone comes near, we'll shoot them."

He laid back in the grass and placed his dark colored glasses over his eyes and appeared to doze. However, his breathing was just a little TOO regular, and his body a little TOO relaxed, and his hand way TOO close to his sword for him to be completely asleep.

Septima found a dry spot and sat down gracefully, enjoying the power and majesty of the place, and making a few notes in her small leather-bound notebook.

Malcolm began to snore lightly and his body relaxed even more...

As Catryzna set up for her spell, fluxes of magic wrapped around the rest of the group, creating minor changes in clothing and immediate surroundings. Even the pavilion up on the ridge seemed to change with random whims, from a medieval pavilion filled with weapons to a desert type pavilion, showing houris, wines and desert animals, and even a more modern bazaar, selling things of every description.

Malcolm sat up suddenly. "Hey! Easy on the threads."

He looked around with interest... "Nice," he said appreciatively, then laid back down.

Catryzna seemed oblivious to the changing world around her as she sat down in a lotus. From her backpack she took one card and she reached inside it. Suddenly two tomes floated in the air before her and in her hand she held a scroll.

With a word and a gesture she tossed the scroll up. The scroll unrolled itself and an intricate pattern was visible on it. Flows of magic were entering the scroll and it started to pulse gently as visions of worlds and places rippled on its surface.

Her magical anchor firmly in place, bound by the powers of trump the magical fluxes playing around seemed to subside a bit as the scroll was absorbing the energy. In a place like this, a smart sorceress did not use her own body as a magical conduit but rather devices like her scroll. Much safer, especially when she needed her concentration for other things.

Slowly at first she started to weave her magic, plucking flows of magic from the air and attaching them to a growing lattice of magical threads that sprang forth from the scroll. She seemed in a trance as syllables flowed from her lips and her hands worked faster and faster, occasionally blurring with increasing speed. The lattice work of magic became a dome, expanding from the stone circle around them. Faintly, images were pulsating through it, emanating from the scroll held firmly in the center. Magic crackled violently through it all with sparks of lightning and fire.

Then Catryzna opened her eyes and with a small gesture her tomes disappeared into a rainbow hue. She turned to the others and said, "It is time."

Malcolm kipped up to his feet and pulled his deck from his inside coat pocket. He flipped up Deirdre's card but faced it away from him as not to accidentally begin ahead of time.

"What's the move," he asked while looking over the tops of his sunglasses.

"Indeed," said Niall, "what would you have us do?"

Stephanie looked up calmly, her emotions firmly in check after the time she had spent centering herself. She waited for direction.

Seeing that everybody was ready Catryzna nodded and pulled from her deck the trump of Deirdre. She held it with an outstreched hand dead center under the magical weave that was crackling around everybody.

"Everybody touch the card and concentrate with everything you've got on Deirdre. The magic will enhance our call by a great deal."

Septima reached out with a faint smile and placed her index fingertip on the card. She concentrated on the woman depicted there - the curve of her brows, the delicate shine on her lips, the way her hair fell a little over one shoulder...

Malcolm flipped his own deck away and reached forward with his left hand. He shot a wink at Catryzna as he put his thumb on a corner of the card.

"Pick a card, any card..." he intoned humorously as if quoting somebody.

Niall reached out with his right hand and placed his index finger on a corner of the card. He stared closely at the card, memorizing it, then closed his eyes and focused his will on the image of the woman in his mind.

Stephanie smiled faintly as she reached out and touched the card. She would have found the whole thing quite interesting and amusing, if only her chest didn't feel like an orange caught in a vise.

So much for centering.

She looked at Catryzna and held out her hope one more time. Stephanie took a deep breath, and concentrated on contacting her mother, pulling out memories to solidify the contact. She remembered the smell of her mother's hair in the sun... the way it shined... the feel of her comforting arms around a scared little girl's shoulders...

Slowly at first, like drops of rain before the storm, Stephanie pulled out each and every memory of her mother and prayed.

Then just moments after everybody touched the card Catryzna spoke the last lynchpin finishing the spell. Magic pulsed into the trump card as the magical energy of this shadow was added to their efforts.

Then she focused all her will on the card.

Then, with the suddenness of a struck match, the Trump cooled. In fact, it turned cold. Very cold. The fingers touching the Trump started turning numb.

Then the image moved, and a whisper came to the minds of those involved. Only a whisper, but strangely compelling.

Septima didn't recognise the voice in her mind, but that was little surprise to her. What was surprising was that it apparently knew her. "Septima," the whisper came to her mind, "go to Rebma. You have apartments there, and will find something left for you."

"Whu..." Malcolm startled. He then bent his will towards the voice. Chasing it as one would the remainder of a dream upon waking.

"It's her," Stephanie said excitedly. "At least, I think it is... She said this wasn't the way...?" She risked a glance at Cat for confirmation.

If there was one thing Catryzna had learned during her time at court was never to show your weakness to another, or let a challenge go unpassed. This was a challenge.

With clenched teeth Catryzna whispered: "Dont let go of the cards, focus your energy."

There was something in Catryzna's voice that Septima did not like.

The spell energy roaring around Catryzna, she whispered lynchpins, redirecting the energy into a new form. It was a dangerous game the stranger was playing, a very dangerous game, and he was going to learn the price.

The funnel of magical and trump energies inverted upon themselves, lashing out ripping through shadow to bring whoever was leeching into it with his tap to this place. No finesse here, just pure force and raw power. The transition would be lethal for any lesser being but somehow she doubted this was a mere mortal. If so, she didn't mind seeing him hurt a little.

"Stand ready," she warned as the magic went wild and dust particles came roaring towards them.

Septima's eyes flashed wide at that and she took a step backward. "What did you do?" she demanded.

"Why do I get the suspecion that this is gonna hurt somethin' fierce?" Malcolm muttered as he braced himself both mentally and physically.

Nothing more could be heard from the mysterious whisper, despite all the best efforts of those who strove to listen more closely. Catryzna sent her magic through the Trump, and it seemed to all that the magic of the Shadow joined hers, whipping through the Trump and anything - or anyone - in its way. Niall and Malcolm had enough willpower to pull away before it drained them, Stephanie had the reflexes to whip her fingers away before the magic tore at her. Catryzna, for all her skill, was held within the vortex, and Septima found herself unable to pull away.

With a vicious string of profanities Malcolm ripped himself from the card and rolled onto the ground. "I HATE it when I am right!"

As he crouched on his hands and knees he gasped for breath as the scene unfolded. "Damn..."

"That's about right," Stephanie said. She had already pulled her fingers away and had only had only moments to consider what to do about things. She helped Malcolm to his feet.

Septima's face transfixed with terror when she saw that she could not pull away. Her gaze moved, searched for one of the others, came back to Catryzna. "Perhaps in the future we might have a discussion about involving people in dangerous activities against their will," she said.

Niall jerked his hand away, and raised all his mental shields to ward against the onrush of magical power surging through Catryzna's spell. The effort to pull away hit Niall hard, with a massive wave of vertigo and nausea rushing over him. As he gasped for breath, and willed the nausea to subside, Niall spoke aloud (though it seemed he was speaking to himself, and not to the others), "I heard Tyr; he said the Pattern wouldn't stop her, that I must seek the Flame!!" He looked at the others as though seeing them for the first time. "What is the Flame?"

Those who had been able to either shield themselves, or break contact, saw a bright light form around the others, then nothing. Each of them was still there, but the two who had held onto the card were missing.

Those who held onto the card found themselves elsewhere.

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