RebmansbytheRiverRebmans by the River"Let's go meet them, Meriel." Martin says, as he begins walking toward the three arrivals. In the meantime, Castor regards the arrivals with surprise. "Martin. And another Rebman." Castor comments to Priya as Martin and Meriel approach. "Do you know the female Rebman?" Ostegos asks Castor. "No." Castor says. "I think you do, don't you, Priya?" Castor says. After a moment's thought, Castor raises his hand in greeting to the approaching pair. Since she considered this Castor's business, Priya waited half a step back and allowed the others to make their greeting first. Her gaze shifted from them, to the surrounding area and the planes above and below for any sign that they had been noticed. But her attention is possibly undermined by the fact that a small but enthusiastic Rebman hurtles at her with what is clearly a very hazy idea of the resistance of air as opposed to water. "Priya..." The man who is not Castor says in a slightly wary tone at Meriel's enthusiastic approach. Priya's gaze slid to Meriel, she nodded, and continued her watch warily. "Lady Priya!" says Meriel. "How delightful! And Prince Castor too! I know you from your mirror, of course, although I usually saw you when I was Watching your father. I must say it did rather brighten one's day whenever you or your twin appeared. Have you come to rescue him too? We should be able to kill masses more of them with all of us!" "My...mirror?" Castor blinks uncertainly, warily. He looks to Martin. Martin takes it all in stride and comes over to clap a hand on Castor's shoulder, and gives Priya a smile in the bargain. "Relax, Cas. A Rebman Thing. She's a friend. Castor, this is Meriel. Meriel, you recognize my cousin Castor, Gerard's son, and you already know Priya. Small World." Martin says with a grin to Priya. "All of them." Priya replied, a very faint smile softening her expression. "It is. They are." Castor agrees. He gestures to the other man with Priya. "This is Ostegos, a companion to Priya from a distant realm. Priya, you seem to already know Meriel, and my cousin Martin." Having already said as much, Priya only nodded. Meriel directs the friendliest of smiles at Ostegos, accepting that anyone who canme with such credentials must be a Good Thing. Ostegos gives a polite nod and a smile to Meriel in return. "How did you know that Pol, Pollux was in trouble here?" Castor asks. "And where is here, anyway?" Castor looks up at the sky. The sun mostly lights the sky, although there is evidence of a large, dim galaxy on the far side of the sky that provides a little extra illumination. "How did *you* get here?" Martin counters Castor's question with a question of his own. In response, Castor gestures to Priya to answer. Martin laughs at this, and gestures to Meriel in turn to answer Castor's queries. "Seems we ladies are the keys." Priya gave the group more of her attention, but answered something Meriel had said earlier. "Have they been as hostile to you, as to us?" "Most dreadfully rude," Meriel asssures her. "I wanted to do whatever you do to them with that weapon thing of Mertin's but he thought it better not. But we saw another group just now and they were even *worse*. So we killed them. I think we really out to rescue Castor now, because they'll have realised we're here, even if that awful woman in the funny mirror didn't tell them." 'Awful woman in the funny mirror....' Priya mouthed the words, a concerned frown creasing her brow, something that had appeared as Meriel's story unfolded. "So, you were detected?" Priya waited for clarification. "And I think I would very much like an answer to where we are, and who these people are. Their sensitivity to magic and aggressive behavior are going to make this challenging." "All right." Martin says. "Two of my cousins and I came here, quite by accident and in a rather spectacular manner." He grins. "Who?" Castor interrupts. "My brother? And where are they?" Martin sighs. "No, Krysta and Noys. I'll get to Pollux in a minute." "He's lovely," Meriel adds helpfully. Castor blinks a little uncertainly, thrown off his stride by Meriel's comment. Martin continues to speak. "Anyway, long after we crash landed in the river, some distance thataway." he swivels to point down the river, away from the city, "We ran into, of all people, Meriel here, who had managed to get her by means of her own." Martin turns back to the Rebman Mirror sorceress. Meriel smirks but says nothing. "In investigating this little shadow, we made a brief contact, via a technological mirror, with the awful woman...someone who seems familiar with the Amber Royal Family. So familiar that she has collected two of them." "Prince Pollux, and Dulcinea." Meriel's smirk fades and she nods gravely. Castor gives a nod, although Meriel and especially Priya can see his hands clench. "We all decided that this was an intolerable state of affairs and journeyed to this city to free them." Martin finishes. "Krysta and Noys went on ahead into it to scout and discovered where they are holding Dulce. I was just getting a fix on where Pollux was located." "We have a hawk," says Meriel, as though this explains much. "And I have a mirror blade." Priya nodded once, slowly, as if she understood, but her expression remained vaguely perplexed. "Our opponent is smart enough to keep them in separate buildings. I propose we pull out Pollux and then roll up and help Krysta and Noys as necessary to get Dulcinea, and then teach their captor a lesson." "So..." Martin looks at Priya. "Are you're in?" Meriel regards Priya hopefully. "I am," the answer came with careful consideration, "but if time comes for accounting it need be clear that I do not do this in an official capacity, but at my leisure. I do not represent the Queen in this endeavor. Most especially," she added wryly, "if it goes poorly. And I don't expect it to go well if they know we are coming and they have him well within the city." "Don't worry about that." Castor rumbles. "We're getting my brother out, and Dulcinea as well. Let this woman await us, it will gain her only false confidence." "I've got to admit." Martin grins. "that she was expecting just the few of us. With more people to pile on, she won't know what hit..." He holds up a hand. Ostegos furrows his eyebrows and Castor looks at Martin patiently. Finally, he looks up. "Okay, The hawk is circling near what looks like a servant's entrance to the tall medieval skyscraper they've got Pollux in. I wish I had finer control to get us right into his cell, but it can't be helped, and besides," he gives a nod to Meriel. "Meriel sensed that the cell itself was warded." "We trump through, gain entrance, and find him by any number of means. We've got my hawk. Meriel can use mirrors, and you came here with a bead on him, didn't you, Priya? Once we're inside, we'll find the route to him, I am sure." "I should be last through." Martin says, holding out a hand. "Who's on First?" "I will be." Priya stepped forward and reached to take Martin's hand. "Can we see who might be near? I would like to secure our foot hold as quietly as possible." It would be difficult," said Meriel. "Unless I can find a mirror in a corridor or something. And that seems unlikely unless they're really, really different to Rebman prisons." "Well, we can always raid a room if all else fails." Martin says. "With this weird mix of technology they have going here, they have to have regular mirrors someplace." Nevertheless, she lifts her knife - and then frowns, seeing it still stained with the blood of her fallen foes. She makes a grab for the blood-stained bodice and starts polishing the knife vigorously on the soft silk. Priya took this in and added another thought. "We may be able to see through the Trump, at least enough for my purposes. "Right. We need a huddle, then." Martin says. At this, Castor raises an eyebrow. "Hey, I couldn't resist." Martin says, as he offers hands to Priya and after giving her a moment to clean her blade, Meriel. Castor puts an arm on Martin's shoulder and quietly instructs Ostegos to do the same. All of the participants, then, can, through, Martin see through the eyes of his hawk. What the hawk sees is a terraced pyramidal shaped building made of something that looks like sandstone. Cyclopean, massive, and clearly much more than a tomb given that there are a few windows, the pyramid, as the hawk circles around, dominates its quadrant of the city. The hawk is mostly circling one of its sides. There is a door set into the side of the pyramid here, somewhat small given the size of the overall building. The pyramid itself is set in a square of some kind, with some people wandering about here and there. A few with the airs of a visitor stare up at the building, but none, at least on this side of the structure, are bothering the small entrance. "The big entrance is on the other side and gets much more traffic." Martin explains helpfully. "I've seen people entering in and out very infrequently ever since the hawk found Pollux." "Where is he in there?" Castor asks, a mental voice that booms like a cannon. "Near the top. Meriel confirmed that with her mirror working." Martin replies. Meriel nods her confirmation, sliding her knife away. She pulls her pack open and begins to search through it for something to wear on her upper half to replace the blood-boltered garment that she is discarding. Taking in what details can be had, Priya examines their dress, faces, and demeanor. "Any last second Questions?" Martin says. "I presume this opens on the ground? I didn't bring feathers." I comment, not having any other questions and certain that the sooner we began, the better. Meriel pulls a face. "If we were in Rebma we could just swim up," she says. "You know, this whole air thing really blows like a blue whale." "Don't worry." Martin says confidently to his companions. "We won't have to fly. Climbing staircases or ramps." he looks at Meriel. "are an unfortunate consequence. I am sure that next time Pollux or another Amberite Prince you favor gets captured, we'll make sure that he is captured in an underwater milieu." As the group watches through Martin, the hawk dives down toward the group. This gives Priya one last chance to look at the individuals around. The interesting thing from her perspective, although not news to Meriel, is that most of the individuals walking around are not human. They are certainly humanoid, and of various types. The unusual skin coloration of the Rebmans is almost certainly no barrier, given the leoline, canine and even walrus-like individuals going about their business. As she requested, Priya is first through the call, Martin giving her hand a squeeze and sending her through when the Hawk reaches the low point in its arcing flight. With a gentle drop of a few inches, Priya lands on the ground, right in front of the small entrance to the terraced pyramid before her. Priya steps away, turning in a small circle to survey the surroundings with my own eyes, looking up to count windows and account for the variety of places we may be seen from. I move further toward the door as Meriel arrives, keeping a comfortable space between us. Martin continues to hand people through the connection, starting with Meriel, who lands right next to Priya, then Castor, then Ostegos, and then, finally, himself. The hawk gives a cry and flies back upward once more, leaving everyone at the entrance to the pyramid in the midst of this large square. No one has taken notice of the unexpected arrival of the group--yet. "Door's open." Martin murmurs. With everyone present, Priya climbs the steps to the door debating an illusion to hide the most human of us or simple Aversion. I decide on the later, but refrain from casting until she sees individuals who may care. Meriel follows cheerfully enough, if not particularly elegantly. She is heard muttering, "How do they manage?" several times. But at the same time, amy sudden, unexpected sound draws her attention at once, with the deceptive deadliness of a rather attractive hydrozoa. With Priya and Meriel in the lead, luck holds until Priya is just about at the entrance, whereupon the group is spotted by a trio of individuals who have just rounded the edge of the pyramid and come into view. Dressed in uniforms that suggest constabulary, they are 7' tall and have a gorilla like cast to their appearance, and they carry billy clubs which they rhythmically smack against their palms as they saunter casually toward the staircase and the door. "Trouble." Castor rumbles. "Get into the pyramid and get to finding my brother." he says. "Oh don't be silly," says Meriel, hefting the knife which has appeared with startling suddenness in her hand. "We'll kill them now and take their uniforms. Who wants to play slit the shark with me?" "Bide." Priya replied to both of them, waving her fingers through the air, brushing off attention. "Aver." She whispered,centering the spell on Ostegos, not sure what affect Castor's Pattern imprint might have on it. Ostegos blinks his eyes in surprise. Martin murmurs. Meriel looks interested. "If this little ploy works, you're going to have to let Meriel do some bloodletting sometime else, Priya." he says quietly. "Its a Rule." "Hmm..." Priya nodded once. "I expect there will be more than enough of that." She kept her voice low, replying to Martin, but raised it slightly to address the group. Meriel looks a little more cheered. "They should not see us if we do not press for their attention. And even if we can wear them convincingly, the uniforms will be of less use if they are bloody and torn." "Stay near to Ostegos." Priya watches the creatures carefully, waiting for any reaction. If nothing else, it would be a test of how well her magic worked here. "I still think we should get ready to fight, just in case the spellcraft fizzles." Castor says. He gives a nod to Meriel, and while he steps back a pace, closer to Ostegos, he still stares hard at the gorilla-like constabulary. They saunter closer, and closer, and begin climbing the stares. Fizzles. Priya looked slightly cross at the prospect, or at least the fact that he mentioned it. As they climb, they stop swinging their clubs, alternating their movement with the occasional lurch into a four footed stance. Castor watches, and Meriel can see his fists tighten in anticipation. He takes a half step away from Ostegos and toward the officers. And then, the gorillaoids change their course, and move laterally along the staircase, eschewing going for the door, and then saunter down the staircase as they pass by the group, and soon have their backs to Priya, Meriel and company. Martin lets out a breath. Ostegos smiles and gives a nod to Priya. Castor looks slightly disappointed. There is no one else in the vicinity that would mark their entrance by means of the door. Priya gestured toward the door, looking at it suspiciously before ushering the group in. In the hall, unseen, she took a deep breath. "I think, that the further we get without altercation, the better. I would like to reach Prince Pollux before they realize we are here and put a knife to his throat to hold us at bay." She explained herself quietly, pausing to listen for the sounds of others. Someone with working knowledge of the structure would be useful. "That's a point," concedes Meriel. "I'd probably best not go first then." "None of us know how this place might be laid out." Martin says, looking to the group to see if his statement is correct. "Unfortunately, my degree was not in archeology. What we need is to find is a servant of some sort we can abduct and get a sense of the layout." "That's what Priya means." Ostegos says in a tone that suggests that Martin pipe down. Once Martin does quiet, Priya, and Meriel, too, with her equally enhanced hearing, can hear, even through the thick stone walls of the edifice, the sounds of voices nearby, not far from this main hallway. What's more, however, equally if not more noticeable, in the very same direction is the smell of cooking food. Lots of cooking food. The scent of cooked vegetables, meat, and most notably, freshwater fish. Kitchens. "I will go first." Priya offers and does so, listening for the tread of feet in front of her and wary of corners. When they were closer she whispered to Meriel. "Can you use the knife to see through a pot?" She was assuming the kitchens were tidy, with nice shiny pots and pans hanging from a racks until they were needed. "I would like to see who will be most accessible. Though, I will take whomever first turns the corner." "Yes," said Meriel confidently. "I've not tried it before, and it'll be better if it's not curved - but yes." She raises the mirror knife up and begins to stare at it fixedly. The men flank Priya and Meriel like border guards, Martin in front, Castor and Ostegos in the rear. Priya does hear the bustle of the kitchens from her place in the front of the group, the sounds of food being prepared, the chatter of staff in a language unfamiliar to her, the doings of servants in the bowels of a large edifice. Its all a bit indistinct and hard to make out if anyone is going to approach, on sound alone. And so then there is Meriel's work. While she has not had the opportunity to truly purify her knife, the short physical distance between the knife and her intended target is a help. Even if that intended target is unusual. What Meriel sees, as the image forms is an image backlit in bronze. "That's odd," says Meriel. No, after a moment, Meriel realizes the cast of the imagery is in coppery tones. This overlays everything that she sees, but its not so overwhelming as to wash out the details completely. "Ahh!" she adds. "Now I see." The kitchens are a large square room, with a number of worktables running vertically across the room, with sinks and stoves around the edge that Meriel can see. There are a large number of people here in the various stages of food preparation. Tall, thin, stork like humanoids are doing much of the cooking, while shorter, somewhat feline cast men and women are doing the chopping, dicing, and slicing of meats, fish, and vegetables. "Hmmm," says Meriel thoughtfully. "I'm not sure if it's the angle on these pots, or if it's just me - but have you noticed all the people around here look rather like land animals are meant to do?" She looks up half-apologetically at the more land-based of her companions. "Sorry. Perhaps that's how you all look ... but you two certainly seem ... well. Almost Rebman." A movement catches her eyes and her attention returns to the blade. A walrus-like man, much like the ones Meriel, Martin, and Krysta faced off against, seems to be a servitor of some sort, since with a slightly waddling gait to his portly frame, he is carrying a covered tray toward the nearest exit to the room. "Oh good," she says. "Someone's coming. He looks like a walrus - I'm sorry, but he *does*. And he's carryong a covered tray which *might* mean he's taking food to someone important. Or, if we're really *terribly* lucky, a prisoner." "Sounds like the type we ran into outside that city of the dead." Martin comments. "Pugnacious, they were, but they knuckled under when shown force and reason." "We have two options," Priya addressed the others quietly. "We can attempt to... speak... with him and gain the information we need, or we can simply follow him. My suggestion is follow until it becomes clear that he isn't going upstairs." Priya watched for movement around the corner, but trusted the spellcraft to hold. "The ones we met earlier weren't much disposed to conversation," Meriel says. "And they seemed keener to talk to men, for some reason. I vote for following him too" "For what I contemplate," Priya opined softly, "his cooperation isn't necessary." But she still preferred the more cautious route and waited. "So we follow him." Castor agrees, with a trace of reluctance in his voice. "Then we Follow him" Ostegos agrees. "He knows the currents here, we don't." As seen in Meriel's blade, the servitor waddles toward the edge of her ability to see him and finally approaches the limit of her vision. A moment or two later, though, Priya sees him coming down the corridor toward the fateful corner. He comes closer and closer to the junction and will be there within a half minute At the same time, though, something new in the kitchen catches Meriel's eye. A tall figure, a purple and green scaled female, dressed in a robe of white, enters the kitchen from the opposite direction. All of the workers, of every type, suddenly stop what they are doing and start bowing and genuflecting. One worker, in his nervousness, drops a pot on the ground, the dull ring echoing through the corridors even as far as the junction. The servitor hesitates, turns around briefly to look, and then Priya sees him turning back and heading for the junction in a much more hurried fashion. Priya's gaze never left the servant. The barracuda hovering in the shadows and the current. Waiting. The hunt was on and she did not allow herself to be distracted. One hand lifted to Meriel's arm, ready to move -and to take the other woman with her- intent on keeping the group as a single unit until it was time to be otherwise. "There's someone in the kitchen," said Meriel softly. "Someone important. A woman." "Tamora?" Martin asks Meriel, tense at the revelation. There's a certain note of relief in Meriel's voice at discovering these people have got their priorities right, and a woman is clearly in charge. Priya made a small hum, agreement and acknowledgement. "She will likely factor into things before we are safely away." "She's behaving as though she's in charge," Meriel said. "And ... she certainly seems piscine. Scales. No hair. Perhaps she'll help us. If not, I'm sure I can work out how to stuff her gills in a way she won't like." Martin relaxes at this news. "It's not our antagonist, though, or else I would vote altering our plans to deal with her directly, and let the minnow of this servant pass by." "We could use the servant as bait to lure her here." Castor suggests. "And if she is in charge, she will have a much better chance of knowing where my brother is." In the mirrored blade, Meriel can still see the piscine woman speaking, or judging from the gestures, interrogating the staff. As far as the servant, he is now entering the junction, still carrying his covered plate. Martin and Castor turn to look at Priya as she speaks. Ostegos looks resolutely forward to the junction. "She likely knows a great deal we could use, and unless dealings with her go surprisingly well, the encounter could easily churn the waters enough to gain us notice. Since they have been uniformly hostile, attacked with tremendous force for little provocation, and we have no idea if she is inclined to aid us, I would rather proceed with the original plan. We can come back to her." Meriel nods her agreement. "She seems to be handling them well - but it might take us some time to bring her round to our way of thinking. Let's follow the servant and see if we can find Pollux." "We are agreed." Martin murmurs. Castor nods, too. The servant steps lively, and makes a sharp right turn, far more interested in handling his cargo than in anyone lurking in the shadows. With his waddling gait, his progress down the corridor is slow and thus the party's progress into the pyramid is similarly slow. He stops once or twice as he proceeds across a junction and up a ramp-like affair that runs in a slow curving path, eschewing the branching side corridors at regular intervals in favor of the main path.. However, those stops appear to be to re-balance the covered tray, rather than checking whether or not he is being followed. The stone walls of the great sloping corridor are relatively spartan, a few tapestries of abstract symbols that suggest heraldry, perhaps, or some sort of insignia. As the group crosses various junctions, snatches of softly heard conversations, too low to make out words even by the Rebmans, carries in the air. A few sounds resemble prayers. And the walrus like servant continues to ascend higher and higher in the pyramid, dutifully carrying his tray. "We're getting close to the level Pollux was at." Martin says in a very low voice to Meriel and Priya. "Or the top of this place in any event." Meriel nods, not wanting to draw attention by speaking. Her knife is ready in her hand for any action that might be needed. "And near to whom assaulted me earlier..." Her comment was low, an aside to herself and required no answer. She paused very briefly, examining something, or listening, and then continued on, stalking the servant patiently. Following the servant, the ascent upward only goes up another quarter turn before he reaches a side corridor which he waddles down, his pace increasing. He stops at a door not far down the hallway and knocks on it, carefully balancing the tray with one hand as he does so. "Milady Angel?" he says in a soft voice to the closed door he stands in front of. The voice that responds to him is unexpectedly loud for the door and walls that should otherwise muffle it. "Come in, and leave the door open for my friends. I'm sure they have travelled a long way to see me." Meriel recognizes the loud voice, as does Martin who hisses her name aloud. "Tamora." *Search for the Prince.* I give Varuna a silent order, hoping Ykanga and I can cloak him enough to succeed while we deal with the woman within. I am tempted to simply walk away, but I suspect that will not be successful.
I look to Meriel and Martin, who had already had dealings with our 'host' and wait to follow them in. "Oh good," says Meriel. "I must say I've been wanting a word." And, sliding her knife inside her sleeve, she moves imperiously forwards and into the room. "Meriel's on point." Martin says. "And this Tamora will be on a different point if she doesn't cooperate." Martin follows Meriel in. Castor and Ostegos wait for Priya and follow her behind. The room is a large, rectangular room lit by window slits, high on the sandstone wall to the left. The room itself is furnished with a large platform table, square four-legged stools with woven rush seats, and a pair of cerulean and gold colored vases on tall, spindly looking stands. Framed by the stands, behind the table, is Tamora. 6' tall, with pulled back blond hair, wearing an outfit in white, a short sleeved tunic and a white skirt. A bronze torc is around her neck. The belt around her, where the tunic and skirt meet, has a quartet of knife handles jutting out from above the level of the desk. Behind her is a large mirror, framed in the same polished and gleaming bronze as her jewelry, reflecting the entry of the group into the room. It also shows that there is an additional knife in the small of her back on the belt. Tamora places her palms on the table as the quintet enters. She looks to Meriel, Priya, Martin, Ostegos, and Castor. She focuses on Meriel. "And so you have arrived, as I have foreseen. Although the composition of your group has changed." Tamora begins. Her hand lifts from the table and her right index finger points at Meriel, then Martin and then Priya. "Now, I only wish to speak with the children of Mael...or whatever name the old Sea God goes by in this era. I have no desire to treat with the others. Bid them depart." Castor lets off a soft growl. Ostegos gives a glance to Priya. "All right," says Meriel easily. "Only 'the departing' gets to include all the Amberites. Otherwise we're going to get cross. And really, you wouldn't like us when we're cross. Would she?" Priya look agreed with Meriel's assessment as Priya stepped forward, drawing even with Meriel, and placing herself between their 'host' and the men. "If you wish the Children of Mael, you treat with his Daughters." The same thing, said two ways, should make the point. "A Matriarchy. I never would have guessed he would have set up that." Tamora says, in an amused tone. "Very well, the pair of you alone, then." She waves to the servant who has brought her the plate. "Go and fetch some more of my stock from the cellar." Tamora then looks at Martin, Ostegos and Castor. "You heard your women. You may go." Martin leans in to whisper to Meriel. "We'll keep looking, but we'll be close by." Meriel gives a brief, decisive nod in response. Ostegos gives a bow to Priya. Castor for his part looks uncertain and remains still, until Martin says something quietly in his ear. The three men then depart ahead of the servant, who closes the door behind him. Priya returned Ostegos' bow with a nod of her head and tried to steer Castor out the door with her eyes. Now, while the spell still clung and the servants would not bother them, was the perfect time to keep searching. Divide and conquer. And so the men finally vacate out of the room. "I must admit." Tamora says once the men have departed. "When I met the both of you, in your own ways, I had no idea just with whom I was dealing. Go ahead, sit down." she urges, indicating chairs. She strolls toward an unobtrusive sideboard upon which there is a decanter of some sort of orange-red colored spirit, and square crystal glasses. As she does so, Priya and Meriel see the reflection of Tamora shimmer and distort briefly. "Something to drink?" she says casually. "Not I." Priya shook her head slightly, examined the seat and then chose one to sit. Her nerves drew tightly, scanning the area for magic -especially the resting, waiting kind. And there is magic in this room, oh yes. "I've always thought this drinking thing is much over-rated," remarks Meriel, cheerfully. "I mean, granted it's a neat trick and all that ... but really, why bother? But I suppose it might be different above the waves." Tamora pours two glasses and offers one of them to Meriel. Meriel holds out her hand for a glass, but then makes no effort to drink, choosing inside to sniff at it with interest, and to test its viscoousity by rolling it around the glass. The results seemed to engage her interest. "I understand. You are reluctant to drink with an enemy." Tamora says. She walks back to her desk with her own glass. She stops, takes a sip as if to fortify her, and then seats herself. Meriel raises her eyes from the glass. "Are you an enemy to Rebma?" she asks. "Or to Amber?" "Now." Tamora says. Her eyes flicker between the two Rebmans. A crackle of energy is behind her eyes. "Shall we three remove our masks, now that the less knowledgeable menfolk are gone?" "Or are you merely and banally interested in the scion of Oberon's House?" Tamora takes another sip of her glass. "I," says Meriel firmly, "am never banal." She attempts to take a sip at her drink - as she tries to drink Rebma fashion, the results are a little bizarre. Tamora furrows her eyebrows at Meriel's attempts and then looks toward Priya as she speaks."If I were wearing a mask, I would happily remove it," Priya eyed their host closely, "and I am always interested in knowing with whom I deal. As for the scion of Amber, his whereabouts and freedom are a concern, but you've gotten my curiosity, and that is likely to keep me on the hunt a great deal longer." "Well, then. Given that the others have departed." Tamora closes her eyes. The change is not a shapechanging in the way that Meriel or Priya would be familiar with. Instead, the phrase "scales fell from their eyes" might be more appropriate. Over the next few seconds, the form of Tamora as seen by the pair changes. While Tamora's hair remains blond, it turns wilder, less neatly arranged. Her skin changes to a grey-green skin tone, and two of her teeth are now tusks, capped in bronze. And her height is taller, too. She gains at least two feet in height, now a little over eight feet tall. There is something vaguely familiar about her form. Nothing remembered directly, or seen, but something old, nearly forgotten, back from the edge of time. Like a man who has never seen a snake, and yet, thanks to instinct and genetic memory is afraid of the hiss and rattle the first time he hears it, there is something about this form, this visage that Tamora presents that provides the same reaction in Meriel, and Priya alike. A chill runs across the room. "Has Mael taught his descendant, and his own child so poorly as to not know what I am on sight?" She focuses on Priya. "You are his direct daughter, deny it not. My spell revealed the truth of the both of you, your bloodline shone like the reflection of sun on beloved ice." "Are you not an Ascendant too? Or merely a sorceress awaiting your father's favor or your own power to do so?" Tamora gestures toward Meriel "As for you, and all of your strange humors, you dare to command, and powerfully command, a Warren rarely touched in these days. Your descent from Mael is much thinner. And yet..." her baleful eyes gleam. "I sense the other bloodline within you." Meriel tilts her head in acknowledgement, a polite smile on her lips that misses a connection with her eyes by about ten nautical miles. "Shall we deal the Deck of Dragons and see?" Tamora asks. The lovely thing about sitting down, is that one cannot take a step back. Instead, Priya remained perfectly still, her expression equally quiet as she watched Tamora reveal herself. "Ascendant?" Priya drew a slow breath, the question mild, her tone almost curious, patient. She gave a slight shake of her head. "Not by my reckoning, but judgement on what I am should probably wait. As for you. I know elements when I feel them, but I will not pretend to more." There as almost a shrug. "Deal your deck." It was an acceptance of the offer instead of a command. Her tone and posture remained casual, but in the far back of her mind Priya was urging the men to finish their mission so they could be away quickly. In the meantime, she would buy what time she could. "Please," says Meriel, in agreement. "I must confess to being fascinated." If she is afraid, she's making an admirable show of covering it, although she seems to be a little tense in her arm movements, as though making a concerted effort not to reach for a weapon. If Tamora recognizes Meriel's tenseness, she doesn't show it. Nor does she react to either of their responses save by a slow nod of the head. Her hands reach into the desk before her, and she removes a set of large cards. Larger than playing cards, larger than trumps, they radiate a sense of minor power. She takes the oversized cards in both hands, looks at the two women and begins to lay out a spiral layout, face up. The first card is of a stone, thin and tall, standing somewhat buried in a grassy knoll. "Obelisk." she says. "Past present future, the here, the now, the then, and the when. Obelisk cracking under relentless pressure." The second card depicts a bone throne, with wolves flanking each side. "The Lords of War." Tamora says. "You come here because of conflict." Meriel manages not to roll her eyes. If the word "duh" were in her vocabulary, her expression suggests she would employ it now. Priya nods once, slowly, though it is not entirely true for her. She deals a third card, a knot of iron chains in the centre of the field, with links stretching in all directions. "Chain. Something that was bound is no longer. Perhaps that is my card." She smiles, and her tusks gleam. Meriel tilts her head, fascinated, perhaps comparing these tusks with those of walruses. A fourth card comes out, a young woman, holding a cup. "Maiden of High House Light." She looks at Meriel. "You. You have the potency, and the innocence of the Maiden. And yet, Light... I must have another..." Meriel endeavours to look innocent. She deals another card, her fifth. A young man and woman – twins. The man wears loose silk clothing, white and gold; his thin face is pale, expressionless. His twin is wrapped in a shimmering purple cape, her blonde hair casting reddish glints. She looks at Meriel. "You are the daughter of a Twin. And a powerful one at that." "Really?" says Meriel, fascinated. "Well they never told me *that*!" It is unclear whhether it is the twinship or the power that surprises her. "Now you." she looks at Priya and puts down the sixth card. It is of a shadowy figure, of indeterminate gender, hooded and cloaked, and carrying a staff. A staff that Priya recognizes as very much alike her very own. "Magi of House Shadow." he says, looking at Priya. "A sorceress." Priya regards the card, still silent. Shadow. And not the Veils that divide the worlds, but of night and darkness and those to dwell best there. She nods again, comfortable with that."And your line..." He puts down the seventh and last card. It is of a crown, floating above a city.Flames of blue and green light the card. "And here we have it." Tamora puts the deck down and places her palm. "The Crown. You are the daughter..." And then Tamora stops in mid sentence and looks up and furrows her eyebrows. "Something is...wrong." Her gaze narrows. And a chill runs through the entire room, deeper and colder this time. "Us, probably," puts in Meriel helpfully. "I think you should lose no time in sending us on our way. Although it would be jolly useful if you could finish the part about Priya first." The tusked woman regards Meriel coolly at her interjection. "Wouldn't it though?" Priya answers, a faint wry smile. "Though I think I know where to find my answer if I feel in need of it." She stretched her arms, sitting forward, and then letting her hands rest on the arms of the chair. "Do remember that we came here because of conflict. Personally, I would rather take the missing brother and return home without it, especially as I am mystified as to his use to you?" She held herself still, ready to spring, wards and spells at the tip of her tongue. The energy already imagined at the tip of her fingers. The woman had been willing to chat... maybe she'd be willing to part with that detail as well. While she waited, she stretched out her own senses, miserly with the power she used, but seeking Ostegos and the spell that should still hang from him. Priya's senses extend from her. The spell that hangs from him is easy to find, at least at the moment. Its moving however, and at a relatively rapid rate of speed, away from this area. "Both of those I hold are useful as bargaining chips, especially to meet those who are far more conversant on matters than they seemed to be." Tamora says. She turns to look at the mirror. "Show me." she commands, and the reflection of the mirror changes, with another wave of icy chill. The image in the mirror is not as clear, crisp or well presented as Meriel might do, but the mirror now looks out upon a cell, with a high window at the top. The cell is empty. "I spoke with you in good faith, and you have repaid me with subterfuge!" Tamora turns from the image, which briefly distorts into formlessness before showing the cell again. Fury, and anger is in her eyes. The temperature in the room begins to drop again. Too, the walls of the room, and all that it contains besides the three of you become slightly translucent and unreal. Interlaced with the room and the walls beyond is another translucent image, of a rocky, lifeless plain, The latter image is slowly becoming stronger as it imposes itself over the room. "With, or without us, the mission continues." Priya apologized. "I would much rather continue our conversation. Words forgotten have swum to the surface and connections I would not have imagined need explored. A pity we did not meet under different circumstances." Priya rose to her feet with a deep breath in of air and power, two spells hovering, waiting for use. A convex shield to send what came at her back toward the caster, and a simple arcane ball of energy. She only waited for their hostess to make the first move. Meriel is still, silent, watchful. And probably resisting with some difficulty the temptation to take out her knife and see if she can find where their companions have got to. Tamora flickers her gaze between Meriel and Priya. The room continues to grow colder, like the deepest depths of the ocean, or the surface of the waters in the coldest of winter. There is a light breeze, now, in the room, rippling across and adding a mild wind chill to exposed skin.Priya shrugged off the cold, ignoring except as a symptom of gathering power... and then reached out, opening to that power. Tasting it. If she could tap into the same source... The image of the cold plain continues to grow stronger. The desk upon which the Deck of Dragons cards lay turns translucent and unreal, but spiral pattern of the cards remains hung in air. As Priya reaches for the power...there seems to be an initiation, an attunement that she needs to take it. However, its clear to her that such an attunement could now be studied, undertaken, given time, now that she has seen this portal into arcane spell power. "A combat between myself and the two of you would be costly." she says, her voice taking on the undertones of a growl. "Costly for both winner and loser." Priya nodded agreement."Your men have stolen what is mine." Tamora continues. "I suspect you have forces moving to steal the other at this very moment. It is what *I* would do. And not all who I saw in the mirror are here within the pyramid." "There must be a price to pay for taking them back." Tamora says. "Offer me one. Or we *shall* fight." "The brother has taken back what you stole from him," Priya amended, "and I came with no others than I walked in here with. As for a price, I suspect the House of Amber will believe it is you who should pay for transgressing upon the Family, but they will be content to have their children home." Meriel nodded her agreement, a faint smile on her lips. "Besides," she adds, "would you want the only price we could offer?" Tamora regards the two Rebmans levelly for long moments. The transformation of the environment seen around them halts. However, the image does not yet return to the original view of the room. It remains in that transparent half-room half-plain that, with the raw, cold breeze, infuses their reality. And then she lowers her head. "No." she says to Meriel. "I would not want the only price you have to offer. It is ill that we have met under such auspices. However..." she looks at the two women, focusing more now on Priya. "You may keep the scion of Amber your men have freed..." Tamora pauses and then adds. "And the woman, although the denizens of the city may resist efforts to violate the Temple." she says. "Of this, I will do nothing, I will not undercut my position here in order to do so." Priya nodded, accepting it all and wondering what to do about it. She rises. "Words from the Older Cycle are being spoken. Things thought dead...are merely preserved perfectly and now are being thawed to life. You would do well for you and yours to be wary. I know not why or how such has occurred. If I am active now, so will soon others of my kind, or other kinds as well." Another quiet nod as Priya listened. Wary, yes, but also with an eye toward understanding why. "Not all are as amenable to negotiation as I am. You will." she looks mainly at Meriel again. "have a chance to use your Blade ere long. And your other Power, Twins Daughter." "Oh good," says Meriel, with some relief. "Because, you know, it would be the most tremendous bore to have run away from Rebma and all that only to find that it was really no more exciting than watching the back of Gerard's head as he bobbed up and down. "But perhaps, if you're as amenable to negotiation as you say, you could tell us something about your kind, and about the other kinds too." "I think now might be better served by retrieving our men folk before they trouble the waters more greatly." She addressed Meriel, stepping toward her compatriot although her gaze remained on their host. Waiting for correction. "I suspect anything we do with the woman you mention will cause some degree of upset, but I will attempt to retrieve them quietly as well. With everyone out and accounted for, Amber will be less restless, and the city should be more peaceful." "One might hope." Tamora says ruefully. "To answer your question briefly, Twins Daughter, I am Tamora, of the Jaghut. An old, solitary race. My kind ruled many worlds before Amber rose in the Deck of Dragons...and even before Chaos came fully into its power. We know of those upstarts too." "However, it would take many hours to tell you of the Elder Races. And I know not how many, or which, have survived, as I have. For all I know, I am the only survivor. If I were to wager, I would not wager that outcome." Her hands slam down on the desk with a thud. The fading effect ends abruptly. The chill departs as quickly as it came. The room has returned to its normal mien. The magical energies Priya has felt end. "Now, however, we will part our meeting, without bloodshed." Tamora says. "A better day, perhaps we will have that drink, and another cast of the cards to see what story they tell." Priya smiled faintly, tracking Ostegos and ready to leave. Ostegos, according to Priya's senses, is midway down that sloping ramp like pathway through the pyramid, and still headed down. "Begone." Tamora says. "Until you tread in my Warrens again." she says solemnly and formally. "Or, perhaps." she looks at Meriel. "we converse in other fashion. Such a conversation may not be unwelcome. Now, though, Go." Meriel bowed her head. "I will Look for you," she said simply. Priya offered a polite bow of her head, and did so. And so the pair can leave the presence of the Jaghut Tamora without incident, returning quickly to the curving hallway that carried them up to her aerie. As importantly, of course, it carried Ostegos, Martin and Castor to, and presumably from, Pollux's cell. She didn't speak until they were well down the hall. "The men are headed down to the lower level. I will assume from Tamora's comments that they have Prince Pollux and are on their way to rescue the woman?" She glanced at Meriel, waiting for some explanation of what she knew. "Yes," said Meriel. "In the Temple. And they're probably running into opposition. Come on!" She took a bound forward that would have carried her a good deal further underwater, and sighed. "How do you manage?" she said, irritated, adopting a more land-suited pace. "Practice." Was Priya's very simple answer. Going down a ramp provides a fair amount of momentum, even if its not the buoyant movement that Rebma provides. Meriel's enthusiasm for motion allows the two ladies to finally catch sight of the men not far above the ground level. Castor and Martin, recognizable from the rear, have a figure that they are helping to support between them. The figure, presumably Pollux judging from the same hair color that she shares with Castor, can only walk with their help. Ostegos is in the rear of these three, occasionally giving backward glances. "It's them! Slow down a bit!" he exclaims when one of those glances allows him to see Priya and Meriel. Seeing the rescued Prince walking only with aid, Priya began to fill in the pins for a short teleportation spell to the river bank they initially departed from. She held at the last pin, waiting until they were within comfortable speaking distance. Meriel waves. "We need to head for the Temple!" she calls as soon as she is within earshot. She is pulling out her knife as she speaks. Useful for protection it may be, but at the moment she is more interested in seeing if she can find a linked reflection in the Temple to give them some clues in advance. The group comes to a complete halt, allowing Meriel and Priya to reach them easily. Priya shook her head. "We will divide as needed instead of taking Prince Pollux across the city and into another situation." She glanced at Martin. "It might be best if you set your bird to finding the women you came with. We will take Pollux to the river and begin again from there." "I'd need to get out of this pyramid before calling my bird." Martin says. "There are a few wards in here, and even if Tamora let you go" He pauses and looks puzzled"...she did let you go, right?" he says to Meriel and Priya. "I'd rather not do it from inside here." Priya nodded. "I care not if she is in pursuit, let us depart this place." Castor says gruffly. "My brother has been mistreated." "Who do you want with you at the River?" Ostegos asks Priya. "I think we should all go." Priya continued moving toward the entrance. "We can cross the city faster by Trump or sorcery than on foot, and a running fight will not go in our favor." "We're outnumbered, that's obvious." Ostegos says matter-of-factly. "If mobility is our advantage, with your talents." he looks at Meriel and Priya both. "then we should use them." In the meantime, Meriel's work with the dagger provides only one viewpoint that seems useful and significant. A mirror, inside of what looks like an votive alcove or the like, catches a glimpse of a simian-looking biped, with a baton. He is moving with purpose, swinging that baton as he ambles quickly toward someone or something unseen. "Hmm," says Meriel thoughtfully (or at least, as thoughtfully as she can while hurrying along, intent on gazing at the blade of a very sharp dagger), "I don't think we have a lot of time. I think I should try to go through. Anyone coming with me?" She glances up briefly from the mirror to see if there are any takers. "Can that mirror stuff even be used by anyone other than you?" Martin says. "I thought only the best of you Mirror Spies can even try to move between them, and others wind up in a bad way. At least, that's what I am given to understand. Not my field. I just don't want to wind up stuck in Fiona's vanity for the rest of time." "Actually," says Meriel with dignity, "I came top of the translocation class at the academy. Even the principal said she'd rarely seen such neat knife work." She hesitates before adding, rather quickly, "Of course, that was mostly theory, but I'm utterly sure that the practical would be really straightforward." Martin opens and then closes his mouth. If he were in Rebma, he probably would be emitting a stream of bubbles out of his pursed lips. "Noys and Krysta would be grateful for your help, if they are getting outmanned. Out-womaned. Something." Castor says. "If Dulcinea is in as bad shape as my brother, they will be bogged down." He looks at Meriel. "If you can reach them immediately, Go." he urges her. Ostegos nods in agreement to Castor. "I have to see to Priya. We'll catch you by other means." He looks to Priya for confirmation. "Castor and Martin will go with Pollux. At the worst, we can hold them until the hawk finds us, and you should have Trump of your cousins, yes?" She glanced at Castor, but didn't wait for more than a nod or shake of the head. "Ostegos and I will go with Meriel. This Shadow seems to give women authority, which might play to our advantage. In the meantime, you can arrange another exit for us." Unless the men had an immediate protest, she took silence for consent and removed the Amberites from the field of play with a wave of her hand. The last pin falling into place and returning them to the river side where they have first viewed the city. And softly and silently, thanks to the agency of Priya's spell, Castor, Martin and Pollux between them disappear. "Now we go," she said to Meriel, reaching for Ostegos. Meriel makes a sound that comes very close to being a gulp. Then she focueses entirely on the mirror blade, applying all her remembered facility to create a portal for them all to use. Meriel concentrates on the dagger, willing a link of transport between the blade and the mirror that she spies through it. While a portal is not possible, she feels that she can now step into the space between the mirrors, and with another step, this time, step through the mirror on the other side. And, if they but held her hand as she did, they would be able to go too. From the point of view of those watching her, Ostegos watches Meriel carefully, as Meriel concentrates on the blade. After a moment, though, Priya and Ostegos both can see that while a portal does not form in the sense of a Trump Gate or a Gate spell, its clear that she has made a contact, through her enchanted blade, to somewhere, something else. And what Priya and Ostegos see, is that, for the moment, Meriel's eyes have changed. They are now, themselves, miniature mirrors. Priya watched intently, studying the process and carefully gauging the power at play. When Meriel seemed ready, Priya reached out her hand, silently waiting for Meriel to lead. Meriel blinks - and little Priyas dance in her eyes. "We can go now," she says, seemingly unaware of the change. "It ... won't be quite straightforward, I think. Try not to think about it." She grasps Priya's hand firmly and then takes a step forward into mirror-space. Holding Ostegos' hand in hers, tucking his arm up against her, Priya matched Meriel's stride. Meriel leads the group into the reflection. To Meriel, the connection and step is seamless and easy. With one moment, she is standing in the Pyramid, holding the knife, and in the next, she is emerging out of a tall mirror, lit by candles, somewhere else. To Priya, and perhaps Ostegos, the transport is not as smooth. A tingling feeling comes across Priya as she steps through the mirror. There is a moment of being Elsewhere, in a place Priya has never been. A place that Meriel's transport has used as a shortcut between the mirrors. Priya sees Nothing, however. There is a complete lack of visual stimuli for that half step. However, then Priya and Ostegos are through, too and the sensation is gone as quickly as it came. And they, and Meriel, are elsewhere, in the middle of trouble... Please see the subsequent combined combat turn. Backlinks |
