Benedict pulled out Random's Trump and concentrated. Shortly, he was rewarded with an image of Random...and luckily for Benedict Random wasn't in the mood to fight today. At least, when Ben asked him to come back to Amber, Random agreed.
As a side benefit, Deirdre and the fake Caine were there as well. Ben wasn't going to question his good fortune, and he asked Random to pull them through as well, after explaining that the Caine there was a fake. Random grabbed ahold of Dee just when the contact started to disintigrate. Ben tried to get his brother to grab the fake Caine as well, so the real Caine could put him to rights, but it was too late.
Benedict just sighed. Should have known. Can't have things go too easily for too long. Not in the cards. He winced inwardly at his own pun as he shuffled Random's Trump back in his deck. It was good to see Dee again, however.
"A fake?" Deirdre turned back to look in the direction of where 'Caine' was, only to see the back of the room. She had already partially unsheathed her sabre. She resheathed it and turns to Benedict. "A fake?"
"So what's up, Benedict? Why did you want us back, and why is Caine making copies of himself?" Random asked.
Deirdre cocked an eyebrow at Random. "Copies?" She turned her head to Benedict. "What's going on here?! First Dad and Gran'pa get kidnapped, and now Caine makes use of a People-Xerox! What's going on?"
Benedict looked around before answering them. The dining hall was empty; they were the only ones present. "It's a long, long story."
He frowned for a moment, thinking about Caine's nonchalant way of announcing what he had done, "About Caine. I don't know exactly why, except that he thought if he took people from Shadow and turned them into copies of himself he'd be safer. Seems he wanted to sow confusion."
"Now how--" Dee got out before Ben interrupted her.
"Amber's being marched upon, by an unknown but not terribly large amount of troops. All well-trained, all well-armed. Led by our uncle, whose name is Odin. He's Oberon's twin." He paused momentarily, judging their reactions.
"We found this out via Julian, who did some looking around out in Shadow a bit, and another uncle, Slade..." He paused there again, jaw clenching. A momentary look of distaste ran across his face, then he continued, "...who unfortunately seems to have taken Eric under his wing. However, he did save Eric from...something...I don't know what yet, and Llewella--who is Ruler--"
Dee's eyes widened in surprise.
"--has said that both have the run of the castle...so to speak, anyhow." He sighed, "Slade's a nasty character. The Gamellonians have legends of this same person helping out their enemies, the Unbeatable. It's ... we need Slade at this point, for information if nothing else." Not that we have to like it, he added silently.
Ben pushed on, "Lastly, we've yet one more uncle, who's supposedly more powerful than the other three combined...and who's insane due to their actions in the past."
Deirdre looked off to the side in thought.
"Primus is his name, and he wishes to destroy Amber, Shadow...everything. 'Tis against him that we need to throw our forces against, I think. On top of that, there's still no solid idea of who took Dad and Dworkin. Some great theories, but no concrete proof of the who's and why's, least of all how's of it."
He gestured towards the door, "Everyone else is upstairs in the main meeting hall." He stopped, and frowned, "Except for Gerard and Corwin. Corwin left in a huff. Gerard's...missing."
"A huff? Like, what do you mean? Why was he huffy? Huffiness isn't usually his style," Dee all but demanded.
Benedict ignored her. He had had quite enough of attitudes for one day, and didn't care to get drawn into any confrontations. Besides...Dee was just worried about Corwin. They were full siblings, after all, and closer than Ben and Deirdre were. "If you'd follow me?" He took a step towards the door, waiting for Random and Dee to follow, "We can talk on the walk up."
As it turned out, it was a quite journey upstairs. None of them spoke anymore; each was left to their own thoughts. Before long, they heard voices reverberating down the hall. "...it under consideration. Meanwhile, I believe we will find that the staff has been restored." Benedict only vaguely recognized the voice. One of the Lords...which one? Not Breetai...
"Slade, incidentally, is in much better shape than he appeared, and is off on business of his own. He will be rejoining us later. So, it seems we can consider the incident closed."
Llewella's voice spoke up next, answering his question, "Lord Karm, please inform the Council of Prince Odin's impending arrival, and Slade's presence in and about Amber. Your presence has been most appreciated.
"The rest of you, join me inside for a moment."
At this point, the trio walked inside the room. Almost everyone was assembled here, and then a loud clanging was heard as a pedestal that once held a rather nice piece of sculpting fell over. Eric was revealed then, hiding behind the pedestal. Benedict held his tongue, and ignored his brother.
Llewella's face lit up in genuine delight when she sees the three arrive. Then she spun, startled, toward Eric at the clanging sound. Seeing him, she relaxeed, and beckoned sharply in his direction with an exasperated grimace. "Oh, for the love of...that means you too, Eric. Do quit skulking, won't you?
"Deirdre, Random, welcome. It is good to have you home. Everyone come in, please." She acknowledged Benedict with a cautious smile, and Benedict gave her a half-bow. He was still smarting a bit from what happened at lunch earlier, and vowed to control himself this time. At least Slade wasn't present. He nodded vaguely to the rest of the family and took up a place by the door.
Random nodded at Llewella and headed inside. He found a chair without companions and sat down, arms folded across his chest.
When Deirdre got in the room, she picked a chair, turned it around, and sat in it backwards, resting her head on her arms, which are, in turn, on top of the back of the chair. "Llewella," Deirdre moaned, "what's going on? I leave for five minutes and all this stuff happens! ... OK, so it wasn't five minutes, but from the looks of what happened this time, I won't ever be able to leave again."
And, almost as an afterthought, she said, "Hi, Eric."
Bleys smiled slightly at seeing Eric, and with a wave of his arms, bid him to enter the room before Bleys entered. Bleys entered the room behind him, then silently took a seat next to Fi
Julian quietly entered as well. He remained standing, giving his back to the farthest wall.
Looking at Benedict Julian asked, "Gerard?" Benedict inwardly winced, That's a kettle of fish I didn't want to open so soon after that disaster... However, he started recounting the events in his mind, to give the quickest and, hopefully, most pain-free way of telling the story.
Random remained quiet.
Caine nodded to the newcomers.
Flora also silently nodded to the newcomers with a small smile and finds an empty seat. She sat quietly with her hands folded in her lap, waiting for everyone to settle, her eyes looking expectantly at Llewella.
"Since almost everyone is here.." Ben started, looking askance to Llewella for a moment, "I'll explain what happened to Gerard."
He remained standing by the door. "A little while ago I Trumped Gerard. He...wasn't answering, but I pushed through the contact anyhow. He was in the midst of a fight in Shadow somewhere, and seemed not to notice the Trump at all. I couldn't tell what was going on from the contact, so I stepped through.
"Gerard was already half-mad by then, and didn't recognize me. He was fighting the people who lived there, killing any who crossed his path. After a bit of a hassle, I'd convinced them to get the hell out of there, and let me handle this. They abandoned trying to capture Gerard, and Gerard went on his way...going to a landmark well apparant in the city. With my choices--those being either to maim our brother or get some help--I Trumped Bleys, in hopes that he could find some way of distracting Gerard while I knocked Gerard cold, or vice versa.
"In the time it took to pull Bleys through to the Shadow, we'd lost sight of him. We picked up his trail going underground. We followed, and eventually came out in a place that had elements of 'realness', much like Amber. Gerard was trying to cross a bridge, fighting what Bleys termed a 'balrog', and being swallowed by some goo. When we attempted to intercept, two beings came out of the chasm the bridge was over. We had to engage them. Bleys and his opponent were teleported out--" He stopped in the middle of his sentence and looked at Bleys.
Bleys spoke at this point, looking around the table. " The creature, who rather reminded me of Slade, surrendered immediately after he teleported me away from the fight. In return for his life, he answered three questions for me. First, he seemed to be of the same sort of folk as Slade, for reasons I am not quite clear about, call it a feeling. He also told me his home shadow, he called it, " Ss'karth ", or something similar. Also, he told me he did not know what was going on, and that he was only hired help. After wresting this information, I attempted to Trump Ben, the battle was apparently over, so I returned to Amber. That is my tale, Ben, continue." Benedict frowned momentarily. Hired help? By whom?
However, he picked up where he left off, leaving that thought for future pondering, "--and I was left with mine. Eventually, though I scored few wounds on it, it left of it's own accord, because Gerard was completely covered with that slime. The slime..." he frowned here, trying to pick out words to describe this adquately, "...glowed fiercely, then exploded. Gerard was alright, but this glow was transferred to him. He completed his crossing, and moved to an altar on the other side. I followed, and called out to him. As he was picking up a chalice of some sort, he seemed to recognize me only for a moment, then he turned back to what he was doing.
"He picked up the chalice, and streams of light came from it. I attempted to knock it out of his hands with my sword, and I was thrown backwards. By that time, it was too late. He disappeared.
"My sword was drained of it's power. As I went through the Shadow, to get to the surface again, the inhabitants were in comas, barely breathing, unconscious. I took one of them back with me, to consult with the 100 about it. The mage said that his soul had been removed. He conjectured that since the effect seemed to be Shadow-wide, that everyone in that Shadow was affected."
Benedict sighed, shrugging his shoulders. All my fault! he railed inwardly, trying very hard not to let that show so much. If I had just been faster...better, maybe. He let the thought stop there, as he'd had quite enough high-running emotions today, and didn't care to crucify himself at the moment. "There wasn't anything I could do. So, in effect, Gerard is quite mad--most likely from walking the Pattern in it's current condition--and now has an immense source of power with him. I know not where he currently is."
Flora's hands were on the table as she leans forward, a look of astonishment gracing her gentle features, "So does this mean we have to fear Gerard as well?"
Benedict nodded towards Dee, then Random, "I barely briefed them on what's been happening here. Someone else might be able to do a better job."
Deirdre was silent for a short moment, then returned herself to staring at the Nothing In Particular in front of her. Benedict heard her mutter, "Five minutes..." as she shook her head.
Llew smiled tiredly, "Well. I can tell you the highlights, as far as I know them. It makes for quite a story. Someone speak up if I miss anything crucial. It's been a long couple of days...
"I don't know when exactly either of you left Amber, so I should probably mention that the Council interviewed several of us and appointed me Ruler according to Dad's instructions on Tuesday, the day after his disappearance and Mirelle's ceremony. That same day, while I was off being instructed, Khyron quit; I appointed Benedict in his place when I got back.
"Hell..." she stopped and rubbed at her temples, frowning. "I can't remember the exact sequence of events now, and it's not that important. The Pattern is damaged and inaccessible; Gerard--well, Benedict already went over his situation. So yes, Flora, I think any of us who encounter Gerard henceforth should consider him extremely dangerous, unless and until he demonstrates that his circumstances have changed.
"In addition to Dad and Dworkin and Queen Paulette, Admiral Rilga, Empress Clarissa, and Queen Moins have also been abducted. The Ambassadors have vanished, also. On the upside, somewhere around Amber, I hope, there should be a miniature Unicorn who was sent to us by the original. I haven't seen her since...Thursday morning, I believe. She had business of her own, and I don't know what it was or where it might have taken her." Benedict blinked at that. Sent by the Unicorn? A moment later he shook his head, Well, idiot, where else do you think it came from? There was just too much happening--it was getting difficult to keep things straight anymore.
Llewella sighed. "More immediately, Corwin seems to have gone beyond logical suspicion into unreasoning paranoia, and has departed for points unknown, for reasons which should become clear in a moment. Eric went and got himself into a bind at the hands of the Unbeatable, apparently, from which he was extracted by Slade, at the intercession of Bleys. Slade, if you haven't met him, is a very peculiar individual who has also turned out to be our father's brother, and he seems to be working with us currently. I say "seems to" because I'm still clueless as to his real motives. As Corwin most emphatically reminded us before leaving, we don't know much about him apart from what he himself has said. But he was very helpful in what has transpired within the past hour or so..."
She smiled humorlessly. "Now comes the really fun part. Amber is currently surrounded by a barrier, created by the Pattern, which only those of Dworkin's bloodline can breach, and some small distance outside that barrier and approaching is an army led by Odin, our father's identical twin. Identical, that is, except for a patch covering an eye which he lost to Oberon in a grudge match long ago. He will arrive some time tomorrow, and the barrier will fall before him, as the Pattern recognizes Oberon's twin as the King--so Slade tells us, and on this point I cannot imagine he has any reason to lie. I have spoken with Odin, just now. His intent is to return Oberon to the Throne, a purpose in which he will not tolerate any interference and expects our complete cooperation." If he was startled at the comment made about the small unicorn, he was flat out shocked at that. He clenched his jaw shut, feeling some leftover anger and resentment burn. She should have told me! How am I supposed to keep her safe if I'm balked at every move, every action? It's not her right to risk her life any longer, he reasoned to himself, She has a higher responsibility to Amber, and can't be taking foolish risks like that. While he thought his thoughts, she went on.
"Finally," she sat back, "Dad's eldest and greatest brother, Primus, went bad and was imprisoned long ago at a great cost, and now he has escaped or been released, somehow. The chances of his coming to Amber bent on the destruction of the Empire and the extermination of Dworkin's bloodline are appallingly high, and from everything that has been said of him, he's quite capable of accomplishing those goals."
Llewella finished, her voice and expression as calm and neutral now as when she began. "Does that cover it?" she asked the room at large.
Benedict nodded, striving to keep his voice as neutral as she kept hers, "That about covers it."
He glanced over towards Random, then Dee, and asked, "You two find anything?"
Without shifting her gaze from the Nothing In Particular, Deirdre said, "Well, apparently Gerard was in the Shadow I was in with Xerox-Caine, because everybody there suddenly had the life pulled out of them--or so it looked like." She paused. "Oh, yeah, and Copy-Caine has a Trump of Lord Feldane."
"I only found them, but in a rather odd way. I was transported from where I was to where they were. Can't think of a logical explanation for it," Random answered.
The room bellowed with an awkward silence, when Bleys finally broke in.
"Ok, Now that everybody has a vague idea what's going on, and perhaps we have an idea what's going on..", Bleys turned to the Ruler, "What do you need from us now? How can we help? "
Llew straightened up with a sigh. Thoughtfully, she began, "Well, let's see. I need someone to make another attempt to find out what's happening with Gerard, and try to do something about it before he goes rampaging into something too vital or inescapable. I need to know if any of you who know him better than I do think Corwin's behavior at lunch was strange, and if so, to find out what's wrong with him. I need some suggestions for where to put a thousand plus Asgardians when they arrive tomorrow. And possibly a volunteer to be our liason to them, if Caine's exchange idea works out." Benedict felt another rush of heat, and starting reciting quotes from books in his head...anything to distract him from losing his temper.
"I need anyone who's still holding back potentially important information about their own or the general situation to spill it, not necessarily in front of everyone here, but soon. I need everyone to inform me if they're leaving Amber, and to try to remain reachable--if not via the Trumps, then by some other ready means--until things have settled down a bit."
She took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, speaking quietly. "Above all--and I realize this is stating the blatantly obvious, but I want to emphasize how important it is--I need everybody to keep a cool head. We can't afford to have personal conflicts muddying the waters right now, within the family or between family and anyone else, no matter how justified they might be. We also can't afford to have everyone running around helter-skelter, playing at games of intrigue. Unicorn only knows what we're going to be up against next. The name Primus was enough to throw Lord Gamellon off his stride, something even the name of the Unbeatable couldn't do, and I don't mind telling you all, that scares me to my very bones."
She rubbed at her neck again, shutting her eyes. "I'm sure those of you who were at lunch thought I made a very naive little speech about standing together, but believe me, I wasn't being idealistic. I have it on good authority that that is exactly what we are going to have to do if we want to have any hope of surviving all of this. So there you have it: we get our act together," she looked up with a fatalistic shrug, "or we're eaten by something bigger. Questions?"
Bleys spoke a few moments after Llew finishes, "Well then, if we're going to stand together, naive or not, we should probably swear some oaths now shouldn't we?", Bleys drew his sword, " To Amber, and to her eternal throne, for the duration of the current crisis, I swear myself. I shall defend this place, as I may, with my sword, my wits, and my undying loyalty. This, do I swear."
After a moment or two Bleys coughed, smiled, and sheathed his sword, "Now, I'll be the hostage, if one is required and no one else is interested. It'd be fun, I'm told I have a head for subtly and politicing, though I might have been drunk when I heard that," Bleys chuckled.
Deirdre looked up at Bleys as he spoke his oath. When he's done, she seemed to think about it for a moment. "That's pretty vague, Bleys." She then nodded her head. "I can agree to that, too."
Bleys grinned slightly at that, then spoke in a upbeat tone, "Well, that's the idea. I express me loyalty to Amber and Llew, but don't really say anything. I mean, I love all you guys and all but.. ", Bleys faded off, then laughed. It seemed probably he's kidding around. Benedict remained in his stony silence.
Turning her attention to Llewella, Dee said, "But I'm not a diplomat; don't ask me to do that."
Julian cleared his throat before saying, "Uhm... My sister. I have heard you mention, this Unbeatable. Twice, already. Perhaps someone would care... To explain. What it is."
Eric rolled his eyes. "It is the Gamellonians' term for the Old Ones, the monstrosities out in Shadow that kidnapped my wife and child... possibly Oberon and Dworkin, possibly not. Myself, I am beginning to suspect the Gamellonians are simply indulging in paranoia. One enemy manages to send them on their way and they take to cowering under their bed and making up old wives' tales." He shook his head. "As I pointed out, much to Captain Khyron's displeasure... I've managed to defeat a few of their ilk in battle." The arrogant grin was back, and Ben longed to wipe it off Eric's face. Why Eric's comments about the Gamellonians bothered him so much he didn't know, but it did.
"Indeed? I'll expect great things from you when we face them here, then, Eric--if it comes to that," Llew noted. To Julian, "Pardon the confusion, there. I find the term in the Gamellonians' own language to be quite unpronounceable."
Eric blinked once, then nodded. "But... of course," he said slowly. He suddenly became terribly interested in a spot on the back of one of his gloves.
Julian nodded.
And after his usual holiday in Julianland, he spoke again, "In a few days. After the Asgardians have arrived. And we have had a chance to meet them. And of course. Only if you do not have a... Specific. Task in mind, for me. I would leave Amber... Llewella.
"It. Pains me, and shames me. To interrupt my studies. Here. Yet... I might be more... Useful, in Shadow. Looking for Gerard.
"I will try to remain reachable. And." On Julian's lips, a smile that did not reach his eyes. "To keep a cool head."
A half-smile crossed Llewella's face at that. "You have no idea how much that comforts me, Julian," she responded drily, "you being the loose cannon of the family and all." Then, more seriously, "Thank you. If you are willing to go, then Unicorn's speed and a safe return. But if there are any you trust who would join you, then please don't go alone."
Julian nodded. "You would be all... Equally, welcome. To come with me."
Deirdre looked over at Llewella. "What about Corwin?"
Llew frowned. "He was behaving very oddly. Screaming at Slade, I mean literally screaming right into his face, repeating over and over how he didn't trust him, it all stank of treachery, what were his motives...he kept it up for some time, without offering any real suggestions what he wanted done about it. He absolutely refused to settle down, and finally teleported out when I refused to listen to his...well, ravings any longer. I don't know Corwin well, of course, but I can't remember ever seeing or hearing of him acting that way before, and I'm rather concerned."
"Hmm." Deirdre sat, pondering.
Benedict stirred at this point, "Is he still under arrest?" He couldn't keep a small smirk from his face as he thought, Corey would just love that.
"Use your discretion, Benedict. When he's found, he should be given the option of returning willingly. If he won't..." she sighed. "Well, try not to hurt him. But I will not have him wandering around unsupervised in such a state of mind. I'd hate to think what would happen if he ran into the Asgardians with the same attitude."
"Um, if you do bring him back, y'know, and he's conscious, and stuff, I wanna see him. Talk to him, ok? We're all under stress now, but the way you guys are describing it makes it sound like something more," Deirdre put in.
Llew nodded her assent. "I hope you can get through to him. Perhaps I was simply taking the wrong approach. But I have a very uneasy feeling about it, and I want to know what's going on."
After a moment, she looked around. "Well, that was all I had to say. Anyone else have an issue that needs to be addressed right now?"
When no one answered, she said, "Very well, then. I suppose we can consider this meeting adjourned."
As everyone got ready to leave the room, some sort of purple swirling mist showed up behind Deirdre. Benedict heard her comment, "Finally. At least now I can control what's happening..." She stood up and walked into it.
Eric raised his eyebrows as he watched Dee depart through it, muttering something under his breath about little sister growing up.
"Um..." Random said. "Did she have permission to do that?" He looked to Llewella, and then to Benedict.
"Certainly," said Llew, watching Deirdre's departure with interest. "Though I do have to ask her a few questions about that effect. By the way, Random, I'd like to talk with you, some time this evening. Will you be around?"
"Yeah, I'm not goining anywhere," he answered.
"Wonderful. I'll find you or Trump you later, then."
As the room was clearing, Llew said, "Oh, Bleys--stay a moment, will you? And Benedict, I'll be calling you shortly."
Benedict kept his silence. He nodded, bowed to her, and turned smartly on his heel to leave.
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