10 June, 2001

You have established contact with Brand.

The image of Brand is sculpting in clay what appears to be an ornate tower. The model is no more than a foot high but finely detailed, dense with the suggestion of windows and balconies, and etched with symbols.

To the image of Brand, Lisle stands a outside somewhere. Her hair is bound at the nape of her neck but there's the suggestion of wind from the trees billowing in the background, and Lise seems out of breath, but happy. "Uncle Brand. Are you too busy for me? Shall I contact you later?"

The image of Brand says "If I were, Lisle, I would not answer. Have you called to share with me the cause of the lifting of your spirits?"

To the image of Brand, Lisle says, "I have." Her eyes are bright as sapphires, smile generous. "Your shadow has helped quite a bit. I think I'm going to be able to have a surprise waiting for my cousin if he comes upon me in Amber, at least."

The image of Brand rinses his hands, and towels them off carefully. "You must show me."

To the image of Brand, Lisle says, "I would love to show you." In fact, she rises on her toes, before settling back down. "But I'm here in shadow. I'd rather meet you in Amber, and explain my plans there."

The image of Brand says "Then you may join me. I am at my residence in Amber."

The image of Brand offers to pull you through.

You grasp Brand's hand and he pulls you through.

Basement Studio and Workrooms - Brand's Estate

Several short corridors meet at the base of the stair. The closets are tidily packed with supplies and tools for the making of art. At the end of each passage is a workroom: one holds paints, blank and painted canvases, and a pair of easels; another a potter's wheel and a small kiln; the third, jars of sand of many colors with a low worktable; the fourth, a pentagram bound within a circle; and the last is not yet in use.

Contents:

Brand

Obvious exits:

Stairway Up

Lisle steps through, her knees a little scraped up, as from rocks. She's breathless, but with excitement. There are also signs of fatigue about her eyes and mouth, subtle things that only someone who knew her well would notice.

Brand is seated at a worktable in the potter's studio. He gestures invitingly to another chair.

Lisle moves to sit in the chair. There's a trickle of dried blood down one side of her knee which she doesn't appear to have even noticed. She looks right at Brand and says, "While I was manipulating the forces in the shadow you suggested, it came to me that my only hope was in a spell that would work indirectly, and use what physics Amber herself had to offer to incapacitate my cousin." She takes a breath, hands moving actively as she continues, "I don't want to hurt him, but I think I'll only have one chance. So I imagine some kind of trap such as the brick facing on the townhouse that would, at a word, shower down upon him. Of course, as you mentioned last time, there would be collateral damage. Perhaps even to myself."

Brand says "That is the hazard of broader effects, though it can be circumvented with appropriate preparation. You intend to, more or less, drop a ceiling on him?"

Lisle says, "Exactly so. And I don't really mind picking up the pieces later. I just think if he comes upon me I need to be prepared to do all I can. I'm not sure what to do in Begma, but it seems not so hard, here in Amber, to rig up something heavy and have the spell be the trigger. And let nature work her charms. I was considering," she speaks just as avidly as ever, "A place that's safe for myself to stand, so I don't get crushed, but that seems, well, as if one couldn't count on being able to be in that precise spot.

Brand says "The idea as a whole is not without merit, but you must consider that there is not always a ceiling to be had, much less one that has been readied by you. If your aim is, instead, to set a trap, that is another matter, but you cannot expect him to walk into it."

Lisle says, "My aim is, only, to protect myself from him if he shows up on my own turf. I can fix the ceilings in my room and the salon. I can rig up something on the townhouse's exterior to fall outward. I'm sure there's little I can do in other places. But so far, he finds me.

Lisle says, "I cannot hope to stand against his strength. Only if he comes to me again would this work. But I have no intention of leading him into a trap. He's not that stupid, and I'm not that good."

Brand's mouth quirks at a corner. "You would reap other benefits if anyone else untoward should call on you. Have you discussed this plan with your housemates?"

Lisle says, "Not yet. I thought I should discuss it with you, first. I have some idea how I could set it up, and how I might trigger it with sorcery. But you have more experience with such things. It seemed wise to consult you first. As for Anselm and Alix, I think they will object, but not so much I cannot overcome it. We're all tired of Joshua's bad intentions."

Brand says "There are two elements here which are of concern, the first specific, the second general. To begin with is the engineering of your setpieces: considering that you and others must live with them, you would do well to ensure that they would not be set off unintentionally. Accordingly, in design, stable elements that are easily destabilized with a spell but by few other means are required. The second is your ability to cast a spell while under pressure. These preliminaries will do you little good if you find yourself hesitant in the heat of the moment. Both of these require practice to overcome."

Lisle considers Brand's words. She nods to both points, saying, "Yes, I would set up a similar mechanism somewhere else and practice working it out until it comes so naturally that even if I'm afraid, or already poisoned, I could do it. And I have an idea about how only sorcery could trigger the disaster. I don't think either Anselm or Alix know anything about sorcery. It's the public I'm worried about. There are generally diners there, in the courtyard, at night. Then she considers a moment longer before adding, "Or I could suspend something poison from above. The kind of poison that makes you unconscious." Ideas flit behind her eyes, probably considering details.

Brand says "Poison has its uses, but it is unreliable, sluggish, and has the worst tendency to strike the most ironic victim rather than the intended one. Against a relative, I do not recommend it."

Lisle says, "All right. It's brute force then."

Lisle seems strangely energetic about all this. A gentle-wristed hand waves in the air, blithely, "I'll have to consider my estate in Begma. It's much more open. The townhouse in Amber is fairly contained."

Brand says "Begma labors under similar restrictions to Amber, where magic is concerned, but you have a freer hand to arrange matters to your liking. Do not underestimate the utility of a dozen men carrying crossbows."

Lisle says, "Oh, I won't. And I have a militia of twenty-five men in my employ. The problem is that they are working the land, now, along with their families. They get all anxious if I ask them to man the walls. But perhaps something can be worked out there, too." She smiles at that, saying, "Is it possible Joshua can make crossbows not function but /his/ guns work?"

Brand says "It would take a great deal of subtlety and time to accomplish such a thing. I would be astonished if he displayed the former or invested the latter in harassing you."

Lisle says, her voice hollow with memory, "One night in Begma, after an evening of chess, we stood outside under the stars. He bade me shoot us gun, something I've never done before, and of course it didn't work. Then, moments later, he did the same, and a bullet sailed into the trees. But my guess is he chooses me for tormenting for two reasons. I'm my father's youngest daughter, and I am an easy target. I'm hoping when he sees the latter isn't true, he'll stay away all together."

Brand says "He is a bravo and a bully. When you demonstrate that you are not to be toyed with, he will keep his distance."

Lisle says, "That is what I am hoping, Uncle Brand. The main problem," and now she looks genuinely sorry, "Is that it's so difficult for me to do anything subtle. If he died, I would feel just terrible."

Brand inquires, "Why would you feel that way? He has certainly done you considerable injury."

Lisle says, "Because I've also seen some good things in him. And I think he's just young, but without the benefit of people who care for him." She considers, "If he's insane, if he walked the pattern, would that fix him?"

Brand says "What is insanity? The Pattern can restore memory, but it does not repair damage of the psychological or physiological kind."

Lisle says, "I see." She considers, "If someone had the ability to look inside him and see if something was wrong? And could be fixed? Do you think -that- might help?"

Brand inquires, "What do you believe to be wrong with him?"

Lisle says, "I think he's very angry, mostly. He has this idea about family, and it isn't blood, its people he can trust. I think. I'm not entirely sure about that point. After the last time he poisoned me he left a note saying something like: Abandon them all, they'll only cause you pain. You don't know what family is.'" She adds, "I think Random abandoned him and Dwight, you see. I think they both have memories, that, if they did not have anymore, would make them both less angry. We he was speaking to me, all he could talk about was how he and Dwight only have each other."

Brand says "And so you would alter him, in hopes of rendering him himself, absent those qualities that cause you distress." He shakes his head. "Even Dworkin cannot change the past. What you propose is the assassination of the personality rather than the body. It is difficult and unnatural -- note that I do not say impossible, as all things can be accomplished with effort, but is Joshua worth so very much of your energy?"

Lisle considers Brand's words, but it may be clear she does not like what he said, or perhaps what her thoughts are about it. Finally she says, "He isn't worth so much of my time, no. Not only that, it isn't my business, really, if he's angry or not. I suppose I should content myself with merely defending myself against him. It is only that I feel it is a waste," her chin dips down, expression sad. "And not just because I don't understand him, but because he's lost to all of us. But maybe I'm too sentimental. I'm sure I'll get over it."

Brand says "There is always waste. The vast majority of your cousins endure wasted, petty, worthless lives: they are asleep at best and they may as well be dead already, however garishly gaudy their passing may be. The flare of promise, the spark of inquisition is a rarity."

Lisle's expressive blue eyes are riveted on Brand, her mouth drawn in a straight and serious line. Behind the gentle heart that others see, however, is a fragment of something else: purpose and ambition. She says, "What you say is true enough, I have seen it for myself. Feel it for myself. I think its time I stop feeling sorry for Joshua."

Brand says "It is well past that time. He has his to watch over him, and you yours. However you may have known him in the past, now you reside in different worlds, and when they collide, you must see to the sanctity of your own."

Lisle says, "Indeed you're right. As soon as I'm finished preparing myself a little better for the company of our family I can get back to other studies. And speaking of that, is the pattern multidimensional? I couldn't stop thinking about it the other night. It seems it should be, and that the two dimensional space upon which we walk is some special part. Is this true?"

Brand says "Be more precise in what you mean by multidimensional. If you posit that there is more to it than its visible surface, this is so. If you ask if it extends in directions invisible to the unaided eye, why, that too is true."

Lisle smiles at this answer as if Brand had just confirmed some hunch. "I meant that the pattern extends in directions we neither see, nor participate in. For if the pattern is the stuff of life, than it makes up more than just a plane. Perhaps it even changes with time, too? And more, since it is sentient." She looks from Brand to his sculpture. "Do you remember that poem whose first verses I recited for you, when we first met at Aunt Flora's? When I heard the learn'd Astronomer."

Brand says "The changes the Pattern have undergone are uniformly the result of external agency. It remains unswayed in purpose and structure. I do recall this verse of yours. Does a parallel suggest itself to you?"

Lisle inclines her head graciously. Hands come out, palms up, "Yes." And she clears her throat once, voice velvet, "When I heard the learn'd Astronomer. When the the proofs, the figures, were ranger in patterns about me. When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them; When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room, How soon unaccountable, I became tired and sick."

She continues, "Till rising and gliding out, i wander'd off by myself; In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars." Once finished she says, "That always left me very dissatisfied. I had completed something better than the original author, I thought, but recently something new has come to mind, parallel to what we were just discussing."

Brand's mouth curves faintly. "Say on."

Lisle's demeanor is filled with such a light. It suggests pleasure. She takes a breath and recites, but the way her dark-rooted blonde lashes are lowered suggests she is bringing new words as she goes, or remembering. "When I heard the learn'd Astronomer. When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in patterns before me; When I was shown the charts and the diagrams," her expression becomes even more earnest, as if she recites these words from her heart, "to add, divide, and measure them. When I, sitting, heard the Astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room," and its here the eyes brighten, "How soon I became aware of the rhetoric of single shadow's shadows. Till rising and gliding out, I stepped away behind the contour of shadow, into the mystical future of what's real. And there I rose up in perfect silence, ascending to the stars." At the last her arms are raised overhead, as if she was a goddess.

Brand appears amused, as much by Lisle's delight in what she has proposed, as by the poem itself. "The stars, indeed, will look upon you and judge you as you walk among them. Perhaps they will accept you in their august fellowship, or perhaps they will cast you out, but you will not lack for company or for direction, whatever the case may be."

Lisle's hands lower, one finger rimming the sweatshirt. She seems even more delighted with Brand's response, "Yes, uncle, and your light is among the brightest. I had originally concluded that poem with certainties that nothing as the Astronomer imagined could be true, but when I thought about what /was/ true, I knew I had scratched only the surface of one shadow. All that exists lies before me. I knew you have walked where I wish to go. That's the exiting thing, too."

Brand and Lise go onto do some sorcery.