One day when you are all in town you each receive a note from Cambina:
"Please make an effort to attend tonight's dinner. We're very close to reaching the bottom of the stairs."
When you all arrive for dinner, you notice that even counting Gerard, there are two extra places set at the table.
Who arrives first?
[Order of arrival. Solange may arrive any time she wishes. Ossian may just show up when his player gets back. Oh, and before you ask -- it's spring during the second year, so about 18 months after the Sundering.]
While not neccessarily first, Paige is sure to be early this evening as she's been keeping house here in the Castle, and is intrigued by Cambina's note.
"All eleven of us on the council?" she says to herself, echoing Cambina's words from the first family dinner meeting after the Sundering.
Jerod would arrive a short bit of time before the dinner, having been working in the castle most of the day on matters too boring to mention...:)
Lucas arrives somewhere in the middle, so that there are people present to admire his attire.
Martin arrives about the same time Lucas does.
Vere will be arriving with Gerard, having spent time discussing things with him before dinner.
Gerard is in his wheelchair, so the chair at the head of the table has been removed. As usual, he has a blanket over his ruined legs.
Folly, being Folly, gets distracted writing lyrics and arrives about two minutes after the scheduled start of dinner, rumpled and apologetic. In her haste to make it to dinner on time, she has neglected to wear shoes.
Cambina has waited for Folly, having anticipated that the latter would be late. A few moments after Folly seats herself, Cambina enters with two guests.
An older gentleman passes through the door and stops for a second to take in the sight of the room. He is well dressed primarily in rust and russet shades, but his style is slightly old fashioned. He carries about him a variety of nick-nacks bulging from pouches and pockets on his person. He looks to see if seating has been assigned, and if not, tries to find an open seat near the back of the room which might face the door before settling in and continuing to glance about him.
[Seating is assigned. The guests have places of honor. Sorry.]
[Jerod]
Speaking of seating...what is the places of honor?...I'm assuming it
would be the right and left of the head of the table, but that's just an
assumption.
Yes.
Also, what is the seat assignment?
Whatever the current seating arrangements of choice are, with Reid and Brita popped in next to Gerard. Gerard doesn't take dinner with you all every day; the host duty may rotate in his absence.
The seating arrangements of choice change over time, though as people have things to discuss, grow closer or more distant, etc. For purposes of arranging who sits where tonight, you can pick where you want to sit (unless you are Reid and Brita).
Kay...then Jerod's probably about halfway down the right side.
Vere is sitting at one of the far ends of the table, where he can observe the maximum number of people at one time.
A tall (6'2") young woman with long, damp blond hair follows the man into the room. She is dressed in travelling clothes which appear to have been brushed clean in an attempt to make them presentable. Her red jacket has some kind of white fur at the collar and cuffs. Her somewhat angular features are composed, but her green eyes are alight with curiosity. She stands with her feet planted solidly, her shoulders back and head up, but one hand toys nervously (and unconsciously) with the hilt of the sword at her waist.
[Everyone, say hi to Chuck (Reid) and Monica (Brita), who have made it to the Amberside.]
Lucas regards their attire dubiously, and makes a motion with his hand that could be interpreted as greeting before trying to strike up conversation with Martin.
Martin responds to Lucas, but he's clearly also keeping an eye on the two newcomers. When Reid and Brita each look at him for the first time, he meets their gaze, smiles, and nods by way of greeting.
Martin is a handsome blond fellow of middling height, dressed in a loose shirt, jeans, and low boots. He's not exactly sloppy but you might describe him as a touch rumpled. What he's doing talking to Beau Brummel is probably beyond Reid and Brita.
One of those already in the room watches for a moment as Cambina enters with the two guests, having already collected a drink for himself. After a sip of it, he moves over to greet her, a familiarity to his behaviour towards her that shows he is probably fairly close to her.
"Our two absent council members?" he asks Cambina, with a slight smile on his face, pausing just a moment in case she wishes to reply before turning to the guests and offers his hand. "My name is Jerod."
Cambina gives Jerod a blank look, her eyebrows coming together. She must not remember whatever it is Jerod is referring to.
Jerod smiles. (his semi-omniscient sister forgot something). "Your pronouncement...a year and a half ago...eleven council members..."
Cambina looks at you as if you are some weird-freaky sibling who frequently says spooky things. "What are you talking about?"
Jerod smiles once more. "I'll remind you later...after our guests have had a chance to settle in."
Jerod is a thirtyish-something man with a dark brown beard, dressed in a black and silver uniform and wearing the crest of Amber's Royal Court. He is lightly tanned from work outside but not so much as to be considered "roughened" - he could almost be called handsome but its pretty certain that's not a word he'd be comfortable with. He has long (shoulder-length) brown hair that is held loosely in back by a dark black ring. He is unarmed but the hand he offers is calloused from a long history of weapons use.
"Jerod..." the man does some mental gymnastics. "Eric's son. Yes, I can see some of your father's features. I'm Reid." He accepts Jerod's handshake. In contrast, his palms are uncalloused but his fingertips are thick -- his handshake firm. "This is my student, Brita," he gestures across to the woman he entered with.
He then turns to his host and bows, "M'lord Gerard. I am told that you are regent in Oberon's absence. My I offer my services, such as they are, to the court in this time of hardship."
"Thank you, Reid. The offer of your services is greatly appreciated; Amber is at war and much ill has befallen her. But such talk will spoil our dinner, so we'll speak of business afterwards. For now, welcome home."
Jerod waits a moment while Gerard responds so as to not interrupt, before looking over at Brita and offering his hand again. "Hello Brita...welcome to Amber"
Brita returns the handshake firmly. "Thank you, Jerod. It is nice to finally see the place that Master Reid has spoken of for so long." She then also turns to Gerard and mimicing Reid's bow says "My strength and sword are also at your disposal, Lord Gerard."
Gerard smiles, and reflexively starts to stand up from his chair, but abruptly halts the motion quickly enough that only the more observant among you notice it for what it is.
"Thank you, Brita. Welcome to Amber."
Vere, standing beside Gerard, nods to Reid and Brita as they enter the room, but does not say anything. He observes the meeting of his cousins with obvious interest.
Paige makes her way from the sideboard that is serving as the bar with a glass of wine in her hand. She allows a moment for Uncle Gerard's responses to their pledge of service before greeting them herself.
"Welcome, welcome, might I say, cousins?" Paige says offering her hand to first Brita, then Reid. "If not a fully accurate term, I think it encompasses most of us and grants the right amount of familiar comroderie, no?"
Paige helps them to their seats of honor, seating herself beside Brita, if no one objects. "You've not been hiding within the City, so where have you come from?" she asks both the travelers. "Beneath the collapse?" she ventures looking to Cambina.
Brita notes to Paige as she sits down "I suppose I'm a cousin; it depends on _your_ lineage. My ma is the Amber princess Fiona. My da is Lord Vidar of Asgard." She pauses to watch Paige's reaction. "As to where I came from, originally - Asgard. I've been travelling with Master Reid for quite some time, though. We somehow survived Ragnarok and eventually came to Amber through Shadow."
"I'd love to hear the story, and as to my heritage, you're the 'cousin' closest to me, my father being Uncle Bleys. Have you heard from your Mother?" Paige asks with the unspoken _or my Father?_
"I haven't heard from my ma since I was very little. She used to come and visit us in the long dark periods, but her visits stopped when I was about six or seven. I have a trump of her and have tried to contact her off an on, but she never responds," Brita looks a little sad, "and now the trumps don't work."
"Ragnarok?" Jerod asks. "It would appear our calamity is very much reflecting in Shadow then. Was the way to Amber difficult?"
Brita leans in slightly to speak to Jerod, "Having never been to Amber before, I could not say if the way was difficult or easy. You would have to ask Master Reid; although, since we finally appear to have made it, I would say I have had easier walks up to Grandma Grid's house in the mountains of Jotunheim." She winks at Reid.
Jerod chuckles. "Not having any reference to this place you call Jotunheim, I will take your word for it."
A small, dark-haired girl comes to stand behind Paige's chair, eyes alight with friendly curiosity. "Well met, Brita... Reid..." she says, smiling at each of them in turn. "I'm Folly. Can I get you a drink?" Her hair is pinned loosely on top of her head, and she brushes escaped strands -- some of which are purple -- out of her face with an ink-smudged hand. She is wearing a long, gauzy, slightly rumpled dress of plum-colored cotton, and she is barefoot. She eyes the fur trim of Brita's jacket with a look suggesting she's trying to resist the urge to pet it.
Brita smiles back and says "Thank you, Folly. Some tea would be nice." She notes Folly's glance at her jacket and offers her cuff for inspection. "It is from a bear that attacked my da when he was travelling across the ice flows to the north of my home. He didn't want to kill it, but it was very agressive." She smiles a little wistfully in thinking of her da. "You can touch it if you want."
Folly reaches out and runs her least-inky finger lightly, almost reverently, along Brita's cuff. "Beautiful," she say quietly. "It must've been just amazing in real life. I'm glad it wasn't killed just for the hell of it." She smiles her thanks and then goes to fetch a cup of tea (and whatever Reid might want).
When dinner begins, Folly takes the seat to the other side of Paige.
The guests having been greeted and seated, dinner is served.
After dinner, you all retire to a salon on the same floor as the dining room. When everyone is seated and comfortable, and has been plied with a drink, Gerard speaks to Reid and Brita.
"Reid, my son tells me that you're Osric's son, and that you've been out of Amber for a long time. Things must have changed a lot since you left Amber, and I'm sure Cambina and Vere and Nestor the librarian will have many questions for you about your youth here in Amber. I know I do." He smiles.
Reid smiles back and prepares to answer.
"But now let's speak of current events. Has Cambina told you the numbering of your aunts and uncles and cousins yet?"
"Well..."
"Good. Nobody expects you to remember it on first hearing, but it'll make the explaining that much easier."
Gerard pauses for a moment to collect his thoughts.
Reid looks about the room trying to keep the names and faces sorted out, and vice versa. He begins again "Actually..."
"Cambina will have said we're at war. What she may not have said is that we're fighting one of our own: my brother Brand. He's made common cause with our enemies at the Courts of Chaos to destroy Amber."
"Brand..."
Gerard continues: "It seems that he's already made at least one strike at the Pattern -- damaged it somehow, making it possible for our foemen -- foethings -- to wend their way to Amber up a black road. Eric died holding them off; if Corwin, damn his eyes, hadn't showed up when he did, Amber might well have fallen. "
"Faux things?"
Gerard counts off on his fingers: "Now we're playing out the endgame. Benedict and most of the rest of the family are in Chaos, fighting a holding action against the hordes." To Brita he adds: "Your mother Fiona is with them."
Brita nods. Her face remains serious although something flashes across her eyes.
Another finger: "My father and Dworkin attempted to repair the damage to the other Pattern."
Brita shifts as if trying to remain quiet when she has something to say.
Another finger. "And I'm in Amber to guard the home port."
Reid matches, but seems to have miscounted, or not have enough fingers, he's not entirely sure which. "Other pat...?"
Gerard continues: "Now, I'm no wizard, so I don't claim to understand what happened. Some of it I have from young Martin here," and he gestures to the rumpled blond fellow, "who was working closely with my father while we all thought he was dead. Some of it I have from my father himself, and some from Corwin and ... other sources. As best I can tell, when they tried to repair the Pattern, there was an earthquake. The Trumps stopped working at about the same time and haven't been cold since. But the black road went away and hasn't come back in the year and a half since."
A year and a..."
Gerard gestures down at his shattered legs. "Part of the castle fell in the earthquake, and we've not been able to get to the Pattern chamber since. I'll never go down there again, I expect, but some of you will, and I'll want to know what you see. But now I'm interested in your tale, Reid, and yours as well, Brita. How did you come to be in the basement of Castle Amber, and what do you seek now that you're here?"
"Um... Thank you for an excellent meal.
"Where to begin?" he continues. "I guess the beginning? I departed Amber some," looking to Cambina for confirmation, "two thousand years ago. I went in search of my father's grave via a trump from Dworkin's hand. I found that grave, and by doing so, one of my youthful ambitions was satisfied. Unfortunately, I was unable to return. To this day, I cannot say what exactly prevented me from reaching Amber, but I could only get close... In the end, I gave up and tried to track down what had become of Finndo and his line. I ended up in the land of Brita's people, where I stayed."
Regathering his fingers about him, he continues. "How we came to be in the basement? After the black storm I again attempted to reach Amber this time getting very close indeed, but to a place that had no castle, nor pattern. In the natural cavern where the pattern should have lay, we dimmed our lamps and I continued to shift shadow until we ended up in the hall below the castle."
"What do I seek?" he concludes, [the Holy Grail!] "Initially, home. That's what I've been seeking for a long time, and I hope I have found it, though perhaps in need of repair. I'm willing to aid in those repairs, be they structural, social, political or personal, to the best of my abilities."
Brita waits for Reid to finish and then says, "I've been travelling with Master Reid for quite a while now. My da thought it was best and I have been learning a lot under Master Reid's tutelage. My trek to Amber followed as Master Reid has explained. I think it is interesting, however, that this shadow we came to that was so close to Amber had no pattern. From what Master Reid has taught me about shadow, the closer you are to Amber, the more like Amber the shadow becomes. Never having been to Amber, I really didn't know what to expect. However, this shadow, as Master Reid mentioned, had no castle and no pattern. The shadow felt like it was waiting for something. Everything was pretty static until we started moving through it. There was no sign of life except for one hoof print," Brita digs out her sketch pad and shows the sketch of the print to Gerard. "We think it might be a unicorn print."
Brita adds, "I am really curious to find out the state of the pattern below this true Amber."
"You're not the only one." Jerod says, having been listening attentively while nursing a drink of something amber colored. "I take it you didn't actually appear in the Pattern room then."
Brita turns to Jerod. "No. Master Reid felt it better suited to shadow walking to work through the corridors outside the room. More probabilities, I guess."
Reid continues, "And more room for change. As you may or may not know, it is very difficult to manipulate shadow either standing still, or in an environment where obvious change might be jarring. Yes, we arrived in the corridor, to find the door to the Pattern Room padlocked. I have been told Cambina has the key to that lock, and when we met, I suggested we investigate the state of the Pattern while we were down there, but she insisted the matter be brought before family council before such a decision could be made."
Cambina replies. "This is true. I just didn't think I could stand the look on your face if you weren't invited."
Gerard says, "I'd like to think you actually intended to consult me before going in, but that's too much to hope for, I suppose." The fond indulgence of Gerard's tone softens the rebuke.
[Cambina]
"I do have enough hard hats for
everyone who wants to tromp down to see. Anyone interested in a little
post-prandial spelunking?
"Oh. Jerod, do you know if Meter had any relatives? He died at his post. We'll need to bring him up."
[Gerard]
"Ask Venesch," Gerard says. "He'll know."
"I know who they are." Jerod replies. "I'll take care of it."
Gerard turns back to Reid and Brita. "You have a barrel of questions, if I read your faces aright. You can ask them now, or the lot of you can go to the basement and look at the Pattern chamber, as I'm sure you're all champing at the bit to do. But come back up at once if you do, for we'll have much to discuss if things are as I suspect -- and Reid's story jibes with my suspicions."
Paige looks to Folly, who's probably bustling with energy, and thenn to Cambina. "I'd be interested in making the walk down the stairs, cousin." _Me, me, me! I wanna go!_
Folly is in fact having a hard time sitting still. When Paige looks at her, she grins and mouths an excited "yeOW!"
[Reid]
"I don't know what will be gained by all of us venturing down there."
"We won't all die of curiosity," Folly mutters under her breath.
"I for one intend to walk it again, and if my brethren here feel similarly, then we'll be queued up for hours." [Reid imagines a sign stating "You must be THIS tall to walk the Pattern] "But nonetheless, walking the Pattern really should be my first order of business. I'd like to stand at the center and contemplate the Trumps. I wonder if they can be turned on again by doing such? Or at least reattuning myself to the 'New and Improved' Pattern, if in fact, that's what it is.
"I will return with further questions. I'm curious what you suspect... Perhaps that I really did find the home of this 'other' Pattern, and it was not there anymore. But we can discuss that shortly..."
Martin says, "Your description doesn't match what I know of the other Pattern, cousin. But perhaps it has changed."
Reid joins the expedition going downstairs again.
Martin will as well.
Jerod gets up to refresh his drink, and decides to try something...stepping around behind a long credenza to find the napkin he's sure a servant dropped there recently...
(he's trying to alter probability - let's see if it works).
[It does. You have been able to use the Pattern in Amber since the Sundering, as you may remember.]
"Well, Lord Gerard, you have truly activated my curosity now. I'm all for going to see the pattern chamber - and hopefully the pattern, too - before asking my questions." Brita turns to Cambina. "Please lead the way, Cambina."
"By your leave, uncle?" Cambina asks, and Gerard nods. "Go on," he says.
You all will have a change to do a quick change if needed, then you may climb down to inspect the Pattern chamber.
Brita doesn't need to change [she's perfect the way she is :)] as she's still in her travelling clothes.
Other than Brita and Cambina, who plans to go? (Presumably pretty much everyone ...)
Jerod's going.
Vere has remained quietly in the background during the discussion among the family, and he says nothing when everyone is deciding who is going down to the Pattern chamber. He simply follows along without comment.
Having changed as needed and donned your hard hats, the group of you gear up and head down to the basement.
You are able to walk partway down the stairs and the rest is a rope climb down. It's a rough climb, and the stone has been cleared away in places only enough to make the climb safe and ensure the rope doesn't fray against the stone.
At the bottom of the stair, or rather where the bottom should be, you are able to follow Cambina's path. Cambina has a shroud for Meter's remains, which she places over them for the time being.
You all troop down to the sixth door with its iron lock and Cambina unlocks it, with assistance from Jerod. As she swings open the door, those of you who have walked the Pattern before immediately sense that something is terribly wrong. It is pitch black within; no fiery glow illumines the huge cavern.
You enter, with your lanterns to provide light. When you bring the lantern close enough to see the tracery on the floor of the cave, you see that it is there. But a ragged fissure cuts the Pattern in half, as if someone had rent asunder the ground on which it was scribed.
What do you all do?
[Lucas]
Blink and look mildly astounded.
Reid scratches his head. "Didn't it used to be the seventh door?"
Seventh side passage, some of which had doors or grilles and some of which did not. While we could pretend we were not absent minded, we will just state that it was the correct passage.
That's OK, still reeling from Gerard's fount of information, Reid still isn't sure he has the right number of fingers, so he may have miscounted somewhere along the line...
Cambina shines her lantern up and across, into the vast darkness that should be lit by a firey tracery, a small point of light that becomes lost all to soon in the great cavern. She closes her eyes and rolls her head back.
Having moved into the room with a lantern, Jerod will stop for a moment, surveying the room but not saying anything. As the moment begins to set in, he moves over to the Pattern (not the starting point, but just the closest point available) and crouches down to examine it. As he examines it, he only says one word - it is quiet and the tone is neutral, but his expression and his body language express an aura of both disappointment and concern.
"mmm...crap..."
At the precises moment Jerod speaks and with the same inflection, Cambina says "ohh...crap..."
Anyone who knew Eric would now also know that his children swear like he did.
Solange has a look of utter and total disbelief on her face. Or maybe it's the look of someone whose darkest fears have been confirmed.
With tone and inflection that will instantly recall Bill Murray to any of her cousins who ever saw "Ghostbusters," she says:
"This... is BAD."
She looks around, hoping that somebody else will have a more constructive comment.
Vere nods silently to himself, as though this was a confirmation of something. He glances at Cambina to see how she's reacting, and then observes the reactions of the rest of his cousins.
Folly does what she often does upon walking into a new room for the first time: she snaps her fingers once, sharply, to test the acoustics. A puzzled look crosses her face, as if she expected it to sound different.
Brita, not really knowing what to expect anyways, is looking intently at the faint tracery on the floor. "Martin? What does the 'other Pattern' realm look like? Can you get there? Master Reid can surely lead the way back to the place we saw, but if it doesn't have a pattern in the same spot, would it be somewhere else?" She reaches out her hand towards the floor...
"Don't!" Jerod says, if Brita appears to be intent on touching the Pattern. "You really don't want to do that right now."
Brita jerks her hand back at Jerod's shout.
He stands up and looks around, peering into the darkness momentarily. Then he takes a few steps around the fissure, reaching down into a section of darkness and grabbing something very suddenly...pulling a squirming black rat from the depths and holding it tightly, careful not to let it bite him.
He comes back to the Pattern and looks at it for a moment, before tossing the rat onto the tracery (making sure that the rat actually lands on the tracing as opposed to one of the gaps between the lines).
Folly gives a small yelp and crosses her fingers. It isn't entirely clear whether she's rooting for the Pattern or the rat.
The rat sits there for a moment, raises up on its hind legs and chitters at Jerod (as if he were Shaggy in a Scooby Doo cartoon[1]), and then skitters off into the darkness.
[1] [Am I the only one who thinks John Malkovich looks like a grown-up version of Shaggy? (gjs)]
Martin, who looks shocked but unsurprised by the state of the Pattern, says, "But we know there's a Pattern. If there weren't a Pattern, we couldn't shift Shadow. Grandfather said he could repair the Pattern, and if the repair failed, there wouldn't be a Pattern. So he must have finished the repair." _Right?_ he doesn't say.
Jerod looks at the rat as it survives the test. He does not appear to be surprised at the outcome, but rather was confirming something.
"Maybe he did. But would it follow that the Pattern we're expecting would appear here?" Jerod asks. "If there is another like what we're figuring, then its probably somewhere else. I'm wondering if maybe Grandfather made a modification to the Pattern while he was repairing it...something to keep it hidden to prevent Brand from doing anything to it again, in case the others in Chaos fail to defeat him."
"Right," says Reid, as if answering [Martin's] unspoken question. "Not the first time I've reached a place I THOUGHT was Amber only to find a lack of Pattern. But you're correct on a few counts... We shouldn't be able to shift Shadow unless there is a Pattern SOMEWHERE. We can't normally shift Shadow close to the Pattern. We can shift Shadow easily here. There is no Pattern here. There must be a Pattern somewhere else, and getting to it may not be easy. Conclusion -- Amber is not what (or where) it used to be..."
Vere steps forward slightly, "I see," he pauses briefly, "five possibilities. In decreasing order of probability they are: "
"1: When Grandfather redrew the Pattern it either did not cast a Shadow of itself, or else casts its Shadows somewhere other than here. There might or might not be an 'Amber' somewhere, there might or might not be patterns with copies of the Pattern within them. We should expect that this same thing has happened in the two Shadows nearest to us." He glances quickly at Jerod, then continues, "In this case we obviously need to begin searching for both the True Pattern and any Shadows containing copies, so that they can be protected, and those of us who have not yet walked the Pattern may do so. However, this is a major undertaking, and may well be better left until the army returns."
"2: Cousin Jerod's theory about Grandfather hiding the Pattern is a possibility. If this is the case then our response is the same as in case 1, with the addition that finding it is likely to be even more difficult unless he left some clues. If he did so, then he probably told them to someone in the family. If not Martin, then possibly one of our elders. Again, we most likely need to wait until the Army's return, although discussion and preparation should begin immediately."
"3: A slightly more disturbing possibility, though thankfully far less likely to my mind, is that the new Pattern created an entirely new universe of Shadows, and that Amber is not a part of that realm of Realities. Whether the Shadows that we have been travelling through are is an unknown, it may be that one will need to walk the new Pattern to be able to access any of the Shadows it has cast. I confess myself out of my depth in knowledge of the Pattern as far as theorizations of this nature go, and will leave the ramifications of this possibility to others more knowledgeable than myself."
"4: The most unlikely of the possibilities I consider to be worthy of serious thought is that this is not Amber, that we have somehow all been transported to a Shadow of Amber, possibly during the Sundering. I think this highly unlikely, but it should be mentioned if only to be dismissed."
"5: And finally" Vere pauses, and a look of distress crosses his face before being replaced by his usual calm, "the remote and unlikely possibility that Grandfather failed, and the Pattern was not repaired but instead destroyed, does exist. The evidence is against it, but explanations could be found for such factors as the continued ability of Pattern Initiates to travel through Shadow and manipulate it. For instance, it might be that once having been granted that power by the Pattern, even its destruction cannot remove said abilities. Other explanation could no doubt be manufactured. As in case 4, it is a remote possibility, and better spoken of than harboured silently in our hearts."
Jerod listens patiently while Vere goes through his options, nodding at various intervals but not interrupting.
When Vere is finally finished, he looks over at him. "You know...you've been hanging around me too much." Jerod says. "My long-windedness is wearing off on you." and he smiles.
"In any event, I think its safe to say we're not going to figure this out right now. And I dare say that Uncle Gerard probably had a fair idea this was going to be the case. I'd suggest that unless someone has a way to instantly figure out where our Pattern is, we return to let him know what we found."
You all climb back up and return to Uncle Gerard. What do you tell him?
Jerod goes to get a drink first before he says anything. He's debating to let someone else play the role of Rosencrantz and Gildenstern (sp)...
However, once he's got his drink, he collects his favored seat again.
Vere remains silent on the climb back. He catches his father's eye as everyone enters the room, shakes his head once with a sombre expression, and crosses the room to stand silently beside Gerard.
"That bad, eh?" Gerard says. "Well, let's hear the details, then."
"Split down the middle by a nice big fissure." Jerod says, taking a drink. "Its dark - no emanations. And a rat I tossed onto it is still fully intact and un-incinerated."
Vere nods, without looking at his father. "It is most distressing. I have theories about what this might mean; however I suspect that my cousins have no wish to hear me repeat them, and you have no doubt already thought of them all. I do not presume to lecture you upon the Pattern."
"No, no," says Gerard, "given the situation, I think it's best to hear your thoughts, and anyone else's who may have any. A new officer on a ship may see something that the Captain who's been there forever may have missed, and I'd be a fool to be riled by someone else's better sight."
[Vere repeats his theories]
Folly sits on the floor, her knees tucked under her chin. "D'you think we ought to go looking for the active one, assuming it exists?" she asks Gerard.
"Since we can still manipulate probability, it seems like we're not in Amber..." Jerod says, after Vere has finished. "I'm wondering if when Grandfather repaired the Pattern that might not have caused it, either by design or accident, to manifest in another place. If that's the case, I'm game to go looking for it."
"But," says Martin, "Grandfather didn't say he was going to try to repair the Pattern in the basement of the Castle. He said he was going to try to repair the one that was damaged. That one was never here, nor in Rebma nor Tir, and it wasn't in the place that Reid and Brita came through, either. That Pattern's not in a cave; it's on a Kolvir that's flat, shaved off at the level of the Pattern. I remember the sky there. I don't think I'll ever forget that sky. I don't know if there was a city there at all, but I kind of doubt it."
He pauses. "I think we can toss your theory about there being no Pattern at all out, Vere. I've been somewhere where the Pattern didn't hold sway, and things were very different. If Grandfather had failed completely, and there was no Pattern at all, things would have fallen apart by now. They haven't, so there must be a Pattern -- an unbroken Pattern -- somewhere. Even if it's not here."
"That's my point." Jerod replies. "It's not here. So where is the manifestation that we're expecting to be here? That's what I'm proposing to go look for."
Gerard looks at Folly. "Before I decide whether to send one of you haring off after the Pattern, Folly, I'd like to have some idea of how likely we are to find it. From what Martin says, I'm not sure any of us know how to reach that Pattern. Dworkin and my father hid it before, with good reason. I'm not sure how much effort it will take to unhide it, nor, frankly, whether we can spare enough of you to make the attempt worthwhile."
"This is my concern as well," says Vere. "I do not think this is a minor undertaking, and whoever goes on this quest will be unable to assist us here. Again, I think it advisable to wait until the return of Benedict's forces. From what I have heard of her, I think Aunt Fiona would have useful insights about the current situation." He looks at Jerod. "It does no good to search at random when you have no idea of the true nature of your prey. More information is required, and since we have to do nothing but wait for such information to become available, I suggest waiting, while recognizing that such patience is difficult in the extreme."
"Well, Martin says he remembers the sky," says Folly, "and if I understand how these things work -- which of course I don't -- that gives him a better chance than anyone of actually being able to find it, right?"
Jerod smiles. "Actually, I've got a vague idea as to where to go look...or more precisely...how to go look. But I'm going to run it past a few people first before I consider trying it."
"Maybe I'm being kind of dense, but I'm not sure why you think there would be another manifestation," says Martin. "We have a manifestation of the Pattern in the basement. It's just busted. Why would there be another one?"
[Jerod]
"Because I'm assuming that Grandfather would have made an
improvement to the original." Jerod says. "I don't see him being
stupid enough to just fix the original. I'm wondering if he made a
modification."
Martin looks upset at that. "You don't get it, Jerod. Grandfather wasn't renovating the Pattern because the aesthetics displeased him, he was busy trying to save the universe. So far as I know, nobody ever rewrote the Pattern before. How was he supposed to know what was going to happen? And don't you think that if he'd had the leisure to do a bunch of planning, he'd have planned it so he wouldn't die?"
Paige's heart openly breaks, knowing how much it cost Martin to say that.
"Clearly you have some information the rest of us are lacking?" Reid asks. "The way it was just told to me, Oberon went to fix the pattern and has not been seen in Amber since. We've been out of trump contact since that time as well, so how, sir, do you know that the king is dead?"
"I worked closely with Grandfather in the last few years before -- before the Sundering, I guess is the best way to say it. I was one of his conspirators against Brand. The last time I saw him was not long before he intended to attempt the repair of the Pattern. He gave me a final errand to accomplish for him," Martin says, glancing at Folly.
"Grandfather had said all along that he expected the Pattern repair to kill him, and when I left him that day, he and I exchanged what we both expected to be our final farewells. I haven't heard from him since, I have no reason to believe that he survived, and I don't have a firm enough grasp of the metaphysics of repairing a damaged Pattern to come up with any reasoning that contradicts him."
[Jerod]
"Whether he made a modification or a repair, we're still stuck in a
predicament. We still need to figure out if there's only the original or
if there's a new manifestation somewhere else. Otherwise we have
no one being initiated on the Pattern for quite awhile."
"We've been in that boat for eighteen months," says Martin, "and we all knew we didn't have a Pattern down there for them to walk, because we could use the Pattern in Amber. All we've done is confirm our suspicions."
Paige, who's been speechless since they opened the doors downstairs balks at Martin voicing her thoughts, but doesn't say anything.
"Whether our suspicions are confirmed or not, we still don't have a Pattern. And that means that those who are not initiated cannot aid those who are." Jerod says. "And we need more people trained in it if we're going to get out of this hand-to-mouth trade situation we're in.
"As for Grandfather, I don't have a clue what he might have been thinking. I never got to know him. For all I know, maybe making a change has the same risk as making a simple repair. If the danger level, and the success rate, were the same - I'd be inclined to make an improvement, especially if the likelihood is that I'm going to die in the attempt.
"Unfortunately, we don't have him here to ask him. So we can speculate as much as we want, but it won't help. We're still missing our resident Pattern...and I think finding it is also going to give us our access to Tir and Rebma."
[Cambina]
"For all we know, he may not have been able to correct the other pattern
without breaking this one. Maybe he moved the damage out here, where it
only affects us."
"Guess I should've listened to Aunt Fiona's lectures more often," Paige mutters. "Maybe the reflections weren't even there initially. Maybe there was a time when only one Pattern was enough, but as Grandfather had children, he found it neccessary to 'childproof' it, so instead of letting the kids break the original, he created copies of the master for them to learn to be satisfied with, not even trusting them with where the original was. In that instance, it wouldn't manifest in Shadow again until someone tells it to."
Vere tilts his head to one side. "An interesting conjecture. Has anyone here actually seen this 'Primal Pattern', and could they tell if the apparent damage to our Pattern is the same?"
Martin looks grim and has gone increasingly pale as the discussion has continued. "I've been there once, very briefly. I sort of saw the damage, and the place didn't look like an earthquake had hit it, no." He stops. "By order of Oberon, King of Amber, I am not permitted to say more, unless ..." and his eyes flick briefly to Paige before stopping to rest on Gerard. "... the Regent commands it."
Reid mutters, "Wasn't this the guy who just tried to tell me Oberon is dead?"
Martin, catching the comment, says, "I don't consider the mere fact of Grandfather's death to terminate my obligations to him."
Paige's face is impassive, but her eyes offer support to her kinsman.
"Go on," says Gerard. "The secret's far enough out now that telling your cousins won't hurt. They know enough to keep silent." And all of you think that it would be a Bad Idea to not hold whatever Martin says next in confidence.
Martin hesitates, then nods once abruptly. "Probably better that no one should be caught out the way I was, anyhow." He inhales deeply, clearly not wanting to continue, but forces himself. "I've been to the Primal Pattern -- sort of -- once. Brand walked the Pattern and contacted me with a Trump he'd made of me from the center. I'd never spoken to him, and I didn't think there were any Trumps of me, so I was curious. He managed to, to hold me with his mind, halfway through the Trump, and he, he cut me open, so I bled all over the Pattern there ..." and his voice trails off, as if he can't quite get himself to say any more.
Paige moves as if to go comfort him, but never leaves her seat, perhaps almost as shaken by the thread of conversation as he is.
It takes Martin a moment to get his composure back. "I managed to break free and block him, so I got away. But that was how he damaged the Pattern, with my blood, so the damage was a blot, not a crack. And I remember the sky there, but not much else, because I was busy fighting for my life. I don't think I could make it there unguided.
"Is there anything else you want to know?"
Brita has listened with a puzzled frown to most of the varying conversations. She cocks her head at Martin's question and says "How many of us are not Pattern initiates? I am now exceedingly curious to find the true Pattern. As someone mentioned earlier, not being an initiate of the Pattern makes me less able to help in whatever rebuilding there is here... unless it is just physical labor, which I would be happy to do," she glances at Gerard with a look that implies this would be more of a duty than a pleasure, "if it is needed. But I do wonder at whether leaving the Pattern unattended is good or bad. The Pattern seems key to Amber," at this her glance turns to Reid, "and not having one makes this not quite Amber."
Gerard shrugs. "This is the Amber I've lived in all my life, lass. The Pattern not being here doesn't make it less real to me. And I think we'll have to find this other Pattern and take measures to protect it, even if only from others like Brand." He sighs at that last word.
"But right now, we have other problems. Most of those in this room are initiates -- a few are not -- but they are needed for many duties. Amber was, before the Sundering, a nexus of trade. But all the permanently-laid Shadowpaths were destroyed, I'd guess by whatever put a crack in the Pattern. So the first duty of the princes is to bring in trade, and food, so the people of the city can eat. When your mother and the rest of my brothers and sisters return -- may it be soon -- we'll be in better shape to find out about the Pattern."
Gerard smiles at Brita to break the mood. "You've missed the time for digging ditches, lass, so you needn't worry we'll put you to that. But we'll put you to some kind of work that's suited to your nature and our needs. It's what the others all do, and I would expect no more, and no less, from your mother's daughter."
Brita, who has had to dig many ditches under Mastern Nygen (to find her "center") seems relieved to hear she will not have to dig more. She bows to Gerard and says "I will help where you direct."
Jerod listens silently, watching his friend suffer, and knowing there is nothing he can do to change it.
"Do you remember anything else?" Jerod asks finally. "Anything at all? A sound...a smell. A feeling of the place?"
"Not that I could describe. It seemed a deserted place, but I wasn't really looking around and taking notes at the time." Martin manages a wan grin.
Gerard, perhaps feeling a little sorry for Martin, turns to Jerod. "You say you've got a plan, Jerod; let's hear what it is and decide whether it's worth trying -- and putting off that shadowpath you've been speaking of forging."
"First off...I'd probably only try this after I'd laid down the shadowpath." Jerod says, finishing his drink. "I'm banking that doing that will give me a clearer sense of how Shadow reacts and feels, and more importantly, how I might be able to sense reality more precisely."
"I'm assuming...and I'm stressing that word...that as we get closer to the Pattern, order gets stronger and more tangible. So it would enforce itself on the outside reality. Martin mentions things like the sky, and the place being deserted. I suspect there's probably not too much change going on here...no people or animals, perhaps not even much vegetation. That can give me a general sense of what place to look for. But what I need to find is a state or reality as well. If I'm right, we should be able to find the Pattern by focussing on reality sources.
"That's the part where the plan has some risk." he says. "If I'm wrong, I might not go anywhere. You can't find something in Shadow that doesn't exist. In which case, I'm just spinning my wheels for a bit. That's why I want to do it after the shadow path is laid down. And after I've had a chance to talk to a few people. My sister for one. She's used to dealing with Tir...it might be a place but its pretty ethereal so I'm hoping that dealing with its version of reality has give her some ideas so that I can get a handle on searching for the Pattern.
"Finally, its not a one man job. I know I'm good at searching shadow. But this is going to require more than just that. I'll probably need a few people along who have got a good sense of powers and energy...who can pick out discrepancies in the local shadow that I might miss and point them out to me."
"I don't think I can spare very many of you, and not for very long. But let's try forging this shadowpath first, and then we'll see where we are. You can figure out who you need, and I can figure out who we can spare, and we can argue about the rest of it," says Gerard.
Jerod nods his agreement with that but says nothing more, concentrating instead on collecting another drink for himself, and then for anyone else who shows an interest.
[Cambina]
"I'd like to find the pattern and go to Tir, but I'm not convinced it's
safe. I don't want to travel anywhere that I'd need a trump rescue from
while trumps don't work.
"If they ever do work again."
Paige shoots her an ugly look, _Don't say things like that._
[Vere]
"This is a very good point. It might well be, Cousin Jerod, that you would
make your way to the Pattern, only to find yourself unable to shadowwalk
away from it, and with no means of contacting us. You would then have to
wait there until rescued. More efficient, don't you think, to continue
with the rebuilding of Amber until we have more information and a better
idea of the exact situation?"
"Well, he could always walk it and teleport home. It's been done before," Paige suggests.
Vere inclines his head slightly to Paige, conceding the point.
Vere shrugs, slightly. "Having said all this, I will freely admit that one of my failings is a tendency to want to spend as much time as possible gathering information before acting. That should be taken into account when considering my opinion."
"Even taking that into account, this time I think you're right," Solange says.
"Gathering information is never bad." Jerod says. "I'll be the first to admit I'd rather know what I'm facing if I'm doing something that might be dangerous. But there's a point where sometimes the risk is just there...and we've got to face it."
"Now...that doesn't mean I'm overly interested in leaping onto a horse and trying to go looking for some place that I might not return from...as much as that might please some people to see happen." and Jerod smiles a little when he says this.
Reid mumbles to himself, "Been there. Done that."
[Jerod]
"But I'm willing...once
the situation with the shadow routes is more secure...to see about
trying some exploration. And I don't see this as a one man job. If
we play it safe...then we gain nothing, and we risk losing everything.
Especially if Brand should somehow make it back here...and find a
Pattern without anyone sitting on top of it to protect it."
"Lord Gerard?" Brita sits down on the floor near him [as if preparing for story time]. "If it becomes difficult to manipulate shadow where the pattern is located, how does anyone ever get there?"
Gerard replies: "Most of us reached the Pattern in Amber by walking down the stairs you came up, before they were collapsed. You can -- could -- shift shadow to reach Amber, but once in Amber, you had to walk. There are mirrors of the Pattern in Tir and in Rebma, and you have to go to those places to walk those Patterns also. This other Pattern that Martin speaks of -- I'd never heard of it until the current crisis. But I've never made great study of the Pattern, so it's no surprise I know none of the inner secrets. If we had one of Dworkin's students here ... but they were all needed against Brand."
Last modified: 1 Jan 2002