HedgingBetsHedging BetsDagny frowns as James stalks off. "Who took a shit in his cereal?" she asks the other two. "Well, in any event, if there's a snack to be had, I'm all for that." Dagny turns the key in the ignition, and the low purr that was the engine fades away. She steps out, brushes off her black cargo pants, reaches back into the car, pulls out a large silver broadsword in a scabbard, and slings it over her back. "So this gezellig, is that an adjective or a noun?" Brandeigh shrugs her shoulders. "It's his way, I'm afraid;" she says regarding James. She looks at Percy; "Why don't you show her around while I find out what's up with James? I'll catch up to you both shortly." She looks over at Dagny; "If you'll excuse me for a minute or two?" Then she turns and follows James. "Certainly," Dagny responds, and looks to Percy. "We'll be inside, cariad." Percy says to Brandeigh, giving a smile, and gesturing to Dagny to stop and exit the car. The tall dark haired man waits patiently for Dagny to ready herself and then gestures for her to follow him to the doorstep. In the meantime, Brandeigh can follow James... Brandeigh follows James to the edge of the hedge maze. If he knows that he is being followed, he does not seem to notice, or care at first. Instead, he passes through the narrow opening, just large enough for a single person to walk abreast, and enters the leafy structure. A few paces in, though, with the tall hedge providing a aural, visual and physical barrier, James turns on his heel to meet Brandeigh's gaze. "I mislike her presence here, especially when it came on the heels of our own." James says in a defiant tone of voice. "*I* am seeing to the status and health of the Pattern." he says. "Especially if she is a scout, or worse a distraction, for an attack on Corwin's Pattern itself." "It's possible that she followed us here." he adds. James' words is punctuated by a soft rumble of distant thunder from that leaden sky. "Percy and I also... find her appearance shortly after our own arrival, to be suspicious;" she says to him. "I don't see how she could have followed us through the trump, unless she'd appeared exactly where we did." She frowns then in thought; "Unless of course she knows a great deal more about Trumps than I do. Now she could have been scrying either of you two perhaps and used that to get as close as she could." She shrugs her shoulders. She glances up at the skies; "Perhaps you should go check in with Corwin's Pattern. I don't like that sky for some reason. May I accompany you?" "I mislike the sky as well." James says. "It is ominous at best, and a sign at worst. As far as accompanying me, unless I wished to contest your strength, there is little I can do to prevent you. And you have already rendered me a service." He shrugs. and gives a head nod for Brandeigh to follow him.
"Thank you;" she says simply and follows him in. The hedge maze is not that complicated. Its clear, though, that James has a knowledge of it, since he never backtracks, and never makes a mistake in its navigation. Brandeigh makes mental note of the turns necessary to navigate the maze as they walk through it. James remains quiet as he walks alongside Brandeigh through its twists and turns. Finally, after one last turn, the maze turns into a short, straight passage to its hedge bounded center. James picks up his pace slightly, stopping once he reaches the threshold. And he gasps in surprise. There, in the center of a football field sized area is indeed a pattern, with a young oak tree near its beginning. However, even though she has never seen it before, Brandeigh can see immediately why James has reacted as he has. While the Pattern is complete in form and line, it is nowhere near as bright as the Primal Pattern, or any of its three children. There is only one good word that might come to Brandeigh's mind, given her past experience with such things in a different context. Corwin's Pattern...is faded. "That would explain a lot of the oddities around here;" Brandeigh says after a few moments of quiet contemplation of the area. She will of course scan the area with powers at her command. "But not the 'why' it is as it is now..." her voice trails off as thoughts, theories and guesses flow through her mind. She glances over at James and her complexion pales slightly. *Ooh, he's not going to like this;* she thinks. James totters forward, dumbly, as if coming into a room and seeing a family member, thought healthy, in a decrepit and aged state of health. His halting shuffling steps carry him toward the beginning of Corwin's design and it seems an act of will on James' part to keep from stepping on it. "Its as if it were drained away." he says, kneeling at its beginning. "Who would do such a thing, how and why?" he says. Whether he speaks to Brandeigh, the Pattern, the dark sky, or no one is not immediately clear or apparent. Brandeigh's powers come to the fore and she can indeed scan the area. While the Pattern should be blinding to Brandeigh, in its diminished state, it is far less so. It still is a disruptive force on her scans. However, she is able to find some results. The area's esoteric balance, now that she has an opportunity to scan at the center point, shows signs of forced entropic decay. At least, that's the way Mom might put it, or her braud. In short, Arcadia and all within it has been prematurely aged. Whether this is due to the energies being drained away, or if that is another symptom of it is not immediately clear. This does seem stable, though, in the diminished state. Brandeigh is sure she would spot any "leaks" or continued draining of the Pattern and change to the realm. Some massive event has affected the shadow. and all within it, but it seems to be over, and an new, lesser equilibrium reached. And just as Brandeigh finishes her scan, the first spatters of rain start to fall from the sky. Brandeigh nods to herself in thought upon scanning this Pattern. She's thinking this has something to do with the whole Jayson/Apollo walking the Logrus/Shockwave thing. She hasn't detected or seen any real magical wards or defenses has she? With this Pattern being so much closer to Shockwave's point of origin and apparently lacking decent magical defenses like Amber (which had to be reinforced/boosted by sorcerers in order to withstand the Shockwave), can she reasonably theorize the above? \ There do not appear to be any magical defenses whatsoever. And certainly nothing like the ones on Castle Amber. It's open and vulnerable to attack or meddling, especially something as widespread and massive as the Shockwave. Its a very reasonable theory, fitting the facts as Brandeigh knows them. More rain spatters onto Brandeigh, and James as the rainfall begins in earnest. The Ghost stands there for a moment, and looks at Brandeigh. "I have to try it, Brandeigh. Even as it is. Maybe...maybe I can help it." The last words have a intonation of a prayer. Slowly, as if still resisting the logic of his own decision, James walks toward the start of the faded Pattern of Corwin. As far as its usability as a Pattern and how foolish what James intends to do-that's an open question. People have walked Broken Patterns, although that is not a good idea. "How?" Brandeigh asks James in a carrying voice, cocking her head to one side in a questioning manner. "There is not enough energy within you or the pin I enchanted to be more than a drop in the bucket needed to return this Pattern to whatever its previous energy level was." She moves to block James from taking the first steps on this Pattern. James is just blocked by Brandeigh's movement. It is a close run thing. However, he steps back a pace and listens as she continues to speak, with a glower on his face. "Although I've only briefly examined this place, I can guess there are only a few ways to bring this Pattern back to it's full power. And you have neither the blood nor the Jewel to attempt a fix." "I do not have the blood, or a Jewel." James agrees, with a reluctant sigh. "All I have is that I am of the stuff of this Pattern, even if it were so weak as to need your help to reach it." "And yet it pains me, Brandeigh, to see this Pattern so. I know this is only a casual stop for you, on the way to your own future. This..." he gestures past Brandeigh to the faded Pattern. "This IS my future." The rain continues to slowly intensify. Brandeigh casts an exasperated glance at the sky and then over her shoulder at Corwin's Pattern. She nods her head then at James' words, an earnest, serious expression on her face. "It is a stop for me, but this place is important to Percy, and to you, so it is more than just a casual stop for me. And you have more than you think, James. You have your mind still, all the things Jayson knew up to the point he walked this Pattern are also yours. Is this not so?" She doesn't wait for him to respond before continuing on. "Then use what talents and skills you have to analyze and consider the situation before any actions." James' body language moderates slightly as he listens. A pause then; "If you step on to it, it will likely reabsorb you, or rather your energies, which will not be enough for what it needs. It will likely be unable to spare the energy to cause you to remanifest, and then it will be without its *last* defender." She stops to let him consider all of this. James stares at Brandeigh for a few moments. She can practically see the wheels turning from behind his eyes. He gives a glance past her to the faded Pattern that she stands athwart. Finally, he gives a nod. "Perhaps there is wisdom in your words." James says. "Perhaps, Brandeigh, it would be foolishness to walk the design in its current state." Brandeigh nods her head; "I could probably do it with little or no problem, but I've no desire or need to at the moment." "However, perhaps we should see to Percy, given this Pattern's importance to him...and the mysterious Dagny's arrival." James adds. Her expression grows thoughtful for a moment or two. "Ah yes, Dagny;" she says while mentally bringing up the trump of Leigh, copying it and adjusting it to reflect the newest subject. While doing this, she asks James; "Can you do anything about this rain?" She glances back at Corwin's Pattern; "Can you?;" she asks of it. "I can try to alleviate it." James says wryly. He does furrow his eyebrows at Brandeigh as she starts the not so easy process of changing a mental trump to a similar but different subject. It will take Brandeigh at least a few minutes to do it...especially since this is a new process to her. In the meantime though, James starts to walk around Corwin's Pattern. Whether or not its his agency, or a result of Brandeigh's plea to the faded Pattern itself, or just plain luck, the rain does start to alleviate. The sky has ceased to darken, and instead is starting to lighten as the falling rain gradually reduces in intensity. As he rounds the Pattern and slowly returns toward where Brandeigh stands, she can spare enough attention from her work to see that he gestures skyward at the lightening, clearing sky. And another thing she can spare her attention to notice. Corwin's Pattern, too, looks a tiny bit brighter, too. Her right eyebrow shoots up in surprise at this. "James;" she says calmly, cooly. "I'm not sure what you just did, but do it again, if you can." She nods at the Pattern. If she's done with the trump work, she will watch carefully as James attempts to repeat his previous work. "All right, I will do exactly what I did before." James says. Brandeigh can spare her attention to James' actions, now finally done with the Trump change. James continues his circuit of the Pattern. The rain continues to abate, until its not much more than a drizzle, and that is quickly ending, too. As far as the brightening, it does not brighten much more, although something tugs at Brandeigh's mind as she studies the Pattern's lines. Brandeigh watches him carefully as he circuits this Pattern. What is he doing? Using Pattern? Attempting a simple magical ward? From what Brandeigh senses, James is very carefully using his own Pattern imprint, fueled by the energy from the sorcerous object that Brandeigh provided him. In a sense he's trying to tap into the Pattern, or perhaps just the reality of the place, and work his will upon both. And is it the use of this Pattern's imprint, that's having the effect on this Pattern? Meaning that if Brandeigh tried the same thing as James; while it should work in clearing the weather; would not positively affect this Pattern? That is what Brandeigh thinks, given the evidence. James' Corwin Pattern Imprint use is setting up a reverberation with the faded Pattern, stimulating it. While regarding this Pattern while talking with Percy, James and Dagny, does Brandeigh feel that a living being could successfully walk this Pattern? Yes. Brandeigh is confident a living being could walk this Pattern. Backlinks |
