MeanwhileBackAtTheLab[continued from We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat] Not too long later, Malachi, Gillian, Raina and Joao had arrived at the University, and returned to the Lab. Joao had already apologized to Raina and Gillian for not having a carriage on hand, and the group having to walk a fifth of the way back before Joao was able to hire one and allow the group to ride the remainder of the way. "Well, welcome back to the Lab, Malachi." Joao said as the door opened. "In actuality, the Lab IS meant for Gillian, Raina and I to continue our studies. It just looks like we use this for operations during the Dark Hour. But we do actual classwork here, too." Gillian gestured widely. "Feel free to look around, Malachi. I think you're going to be seeing a lot of this room in the near future. Joao, would you activate the wards?" "Da" Joao said. He went quiet and set about getting the defenses of the lab up and running. While it ran through his head like a tuna speeding through the open ocean, he decided not to talk to Delwin about Malachi's assertions and concentrated on the task at hand. Malachi looked about with the air of someone afraid to touch anything fragile. He was much more interested in the people than the lab itself. "And this is somehow safer than the back room at the Red Stag?" he asked. "Yes. Once we set the wards, the room will be much safer," Raina explained. "At that point, I'll feel better about doing the spell." Cynwyd arrived not too much later, Cole in tow. "Whom else are we waiting for?" "Temnal," Gillian replied. She plopped down onto a bench. "He should arrive later, with Ginger. Did you hear what happened to him?" Raina turned to Gillian, startled. "Something happened to Temnal?" she asked worriedly. "What happened to Temnal?" Joao asked. "Well, actually it's what happened to Temnal and Rusalka. He tried to find her using a trump sketch and hurt his hand in a trump trap set by King Rinaldo. Yes--that King Rinaldo. Of Kashfa. Rusalka is another student who's one of us," Gillian added for Malachi's benefit. "Anyway...apparently Rusalka is also Chaos's current Wicker Queen--Temnal found that out from his sister. King Rinaldo kidnapped Rusalka from Chaos, has her drugged up, and is apparently holding her hostage." "Thank goodness she's safe," Cole observed, wryly. "But at least if she's in Kashfa she should be out of range of the Dark Hour. And during the Dark Hour, I'd think Temnal would have enough power to heal his own hand, after what he did for my arm. Oh, and Malachi, once the wards are up, don't open the door. I learned the hard way." "From Gillian's tone and Temnal's fingers, one might think that goodness was not something to be thanked in this instance," Cynwyd observed. "And one would be right," he finished, grimly. "She's at more risk there than she'd be from the Dark Hour. For at least this is something we can fight. She's slated to be a sacrificial lamb." "Did he get any indication of where she's being held?" Gillian shook her head. "I don't know. You can ask Temnal when he shows up." "She is one of us," Joao agreed. "She should not be held against her will, either by Chaos or by King Rinaldo, especially if he has taken to violent methods to keep her in his possession." "So they don't have sarcasm in Rebma or Chaos. Good to know," Cole said. "And while I'm not content to leave our friend drugged and imprisoned, it at least sounds like Rinaldo is keeping her from being sacrificed. I judge her to be in slightly less danger than people who are being murdered here and now. You all remember the murder, right?" He did not look even slightly amused. "Da," Joao said grimly, his expression falling. "I know you have had a day of it," Cynwyd replied mildly. "Believe me, I know. But that still doesn't give you any excuse to be an ass." "Rinaldo isn't keeping her from being sacrificed, if Temnal's experience shows anything. He's keeping her *to* be sacrificed- a big distinction. And while I do want to solve Silk's murder, for you and other reasons, the fact that she *is* still alive and that we *don't* know when the sacrifice is to be held makes it not less dangerous, just on a different scale." "You have to keep your head, and to see the relationships. And while you're at it, you might not want to alienate those that are trying to help you," he said shaking his head. Cole sighed. "I'm sorry. But I don't think we heard Gillian say the same thing. If Rusalka is Chaos's wicker queen, surely they're the ones that want to sacrifice her, not Rinaldo. Gillian, do we know why Rinaldo wants Rusalka?" "Temnal and I think it's because he's in love with Rusalka's Other: Coral. I agree with Temnal that we shouldn't leave Rusalka with King Rinaldo, nor to be a wicker queen in Chaos. Besides the 'she's our friend and we should help her' issue, there's also the very basic fact that's she's one of us and her talents are needed by us, right now, to help figure out this whole Dark Hour thing. Our need for her supersedes everyone else's--King Rinaldo and Chaos--but I'm also concerned that if we do kidnap her back, we'll cause some sort of international incident. We would need to find someplace to hide her where no one can find her--not King Rinaldo, nor Chaos, nor King Random." Cynwyd nodded his head- to Gillian's answer and to Cole. "That makes it somewhat clearer, but still leaves us with a couple of problems," he said. "First, there's the issue with the killings. As tragic as it is, I don't think that Silk was the target. I had talked to the Queen about the disappearing subjects - and more to the point, the woman that Cole saved, and Coteaz took. She told me of a secret lab, and Cole and I found it. Heinous things were being done there in the name of Amber by the Black Cloaks, and the citizens that had been taken were little more than test subjects. They had quite extreme security measures that we barely overcame, including measures steeped in the magicks of Chaos." "What...what sort of heinous things? I mean, what was the purpose of the testing?" Gillian asked. "I don't know, truth be told," Cynwyd said. "They'd been disfigured and cut on several times, and some were missing body parts. We turned over the woman that Cole knew from before to Princess Fiona, who was going to see the extent of the damage before..." his eyes flicked towards Cole then back to Gillian "... seeing what she could to to help the poor soul." "Before experimenting on her herself, you mean," Cole said with a sigh. "Given what we've heard of Fiona, it seems uncomfortably likely." He sat heavily on one of the benches. "Finndo warned me not to break open her coffin. I wish I'd listened. I wish I'd merely killed her. It would have been kinder." He shrugged, wearily. "I'll ask after her tomorrow. For all the good it will do." "With that evidence in hand, the Queen was able to divulge more of the problems of the Crown to us, and how significant our find was. The Black Cloaks have been divided into those loyal to the Crown, and those loyal to the Realm. Coteaz is one of the major influences of that faction, and they have support amongst influential nobles outside of the Royal family. It is because of that reason that the King had been unable to move against them. However, with proof of their involvement with Chaos and the laboratory in particular, this was supposed to give them room to maneuver, and perhaps neutralize Coteaz." Gillian pushed up her glasses. "Were you able to give King Random the proof he needed?" "The Queen seemed to think it would be enough. I'm not so sure. It was pretty circumstantial; all we were able to bring back was the head of one of the golems, the head of one of the human guards, and the woman." He shrugged. "I can think of quite a few ways just off the top of my head to re-direct the blame for that evidence elsewhere- I suppose it would depend on how fast Coteaz or one of his cronies find out about our incursion, how fast they can sanitize the place, and how much it means to them." "But I don't think he's going down without a fight. If he can discredit us, then the evidence will come into question," he said, now looking to Cole as this was the first time he'd been able to articulate his concerns to him. "We've been able to difuse some of the evidence against Cole to this point, but this ploy isn't finished yet. Because of this, we need to get to the bottom of this plot before it can blow up in our faces." "Do you know what evidence Coteaz has against Cole?" Gillian asked. "Other than the physical evidence left in his room?" Cynwyd said. "I couldn't imagine they could have much, given that I know where Cole was at the time of the crime, and we can prove it. But I'm starting to get the feeling that evidentiary hearings aren't the aim here, and that if given enough circumstantial evidence to get Cole into custody, he wouldn't survive it." Cole laughed, his hands covering his face. "I can't believe we're sitting here discussing legal matters when there are gibbering things out there that literally want to devour our souls. Next topic, please." "The second bit is the kidnapping of Rusalka. Besides her being our friend, and any other considerations, for Rinaldo to take such chances, and insult Chaos so lends credence to the fact that more is going on here than mere obsession, or King Rinaldo is truly insane. That, and the fact that he is keeping her drugged leads me to believe that she is defenseless in the middle of a storm." "He never struck me as insane," Cole said. "Hot headed, undiplomatic, and imperialistic, perhaps, but never insane. Rusalka's other is Coral, right? Coral was Rinaldo's wife, and I seem to recall he was quite fond of her. He may not protect our friend, but he will protect his wife. And he certainly won't let her become a human sacrifice. The biggest risk to my mind is that he'll look for some way to remove Rusalka from Coral." "And last, but certainly not least, there's this whole being dead thing," he said. Cole snorted derisively at this. "But truthfully, all of this seems more related to Amber than our true issue of the Dark Hour, and what it means. All of this is on the 'light side' of things. Could the disturbances in the normal Amber be caused by the machinations if the shadows active in the Dark Hour? And by involving ourselves in these brush fires, are we fighting a losing battle?" "I don't know about all that," Cole said with forced calm, "but there's a message written in blood on my headboard that indicates that Silk was not a random target. It's personal now. Her death wasn't tragic, it was strategic. And as much as I loathe Coteaz and what we saw his people doing last night, he hasn't started murdering my friends. The things he's fighting against are a bigger threat than he is." "You're missing my point," Cynwyd said. "What if it is Anthony- but he's just a convenient Catspaw? Coteaz's weapon?" He sighed. "I know this is gnawing at you Cole, but you have to realize that we weren't exactly surreptitious last night. And the one golem got away. So don't you think the timing of Silk's death is a little bit too convenient? Coteaz is not stupid, nor does he play on a level playing field." "Where would Anthony have obtained access to Chaos Magic?" he asked, his voice calm. "He's had no access before now... and if someone makes you look at it from a personal angle, first, they take your preservation instincts out of the way. And second, they set you on a collision course to kill the only person that might be able to bring their deeds to light." "Everyone doesn't play fair, Cole. Silk should never have been brought into this, and I'm sorry. But killing Anthony now just buys right into their plans. It makes you out as the dangerous serial killer. And from what Gillian said, it takes her down with you." As the discussion continued, Raina worked on setting the wards into place and preparing herself to work the spell they had come here to do. Malachi goggled at the welter of names and plots of which he was ignorant. He frowned at the name of Coteaz, but it was the tale of Rusalka that rung most in his ears. "Brush fire or no," said the big man, "If a friend of mine was held in captivity, ready for sacrifice, not fire or the Abyss would stop me. We should go and get her. Now." "Well, perhaps not now," Gillian suggested to Malachi gently. "I think we should wait for Temnal to join us, and I think we should wait for the Dark Hour when our Others are the strongest. In the meantime we can discuss where we're going to hide Rusalka once we rescue her--assuming we even can rescue her--, Raina can do her spell to confirm or deny the 'we're all dead' thing, and we can continue to share information. "I'm especially interested in the 'share information' part. So much has happened to all of us individually and we haven't had time to relay it. Once it's all shared, perhaps we will see patterns or motivations or somesuch that weren't apparent before." Just then came a knock on the door of the lab. “Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn, mother%$#^ers!” Ginger yelled through the door, followed by a string of evil laughter, subsequently followed by the gag-inducing summons of a hairball. Joao headed to, and proceeded to open the door, carefully making sure the wards that he and Raina had set up were not set off, or worse, spoiled, in the process. He also had the good sense to step adroitly back to avoid the possibility of a clawed feline missile being launched at him. Having finished with the wards, Raina moved off to one side near Malachi and began focusing herself for the spell. "I should be ready shortly. I just need a moment to prepare," she announced to the room in general. Temnal edged through the door just before Raina closed the wards. He looked marginally better than when Gillian had talked to him earlier in the day, but his right hand was still heavily bandaged, and it was evident that he'd lost some fingertips somewhere along the line. He glanced around the room to confirm that, with the exception of Rusalka, all the Conduits he knew of were here. Ginger hopped down from Temnal’s arms and sauntered across the room; pausing only once to give Joao a whistle and wink. Then she caught sight of Malachi and bound over to him. She began weaving in and out between his legs, tail brushing his thighs. “Well, well, we have a new addition, I see. Very. Rustic looking. Yummy.” She gazed up at him expectantly. "Ginger, meet Gospodin Malachi. Malachi, this is Gillian's familiar Ginger," Joao explained. "To introduce her properly," Cole said, "she's Queen Ginger, Favored of Basthet, Daughter of Strega, and Mentor to Hecate." Ginger purred like a steam engine, flicking her tail proudly. “Finally, someone that knows my proper titles. Mine is a humble sort, but sometimes I enjoy hearing it said.” Joao assiduously and studiously kept his expression neutral. Gillian rolled her eyes. "Malachi, meet my sometimes too-familiar familiar Ginger. Ginger, this is Malachi." “Helllllo Lover,” Ginger said, hopping onto the table and shimmying her behind in an unseemly manner. "And if you feed her, she'll be your devoted friend for life," Raina added with a smile. "I think I'm ready to do the spell now," Raina said after the proper introductions had been made. Ginger sighed. “Spell? Goddess wept. What Shadow realm are we destroying this time?” "Spell?" Temnal echoed. As far as he could determine, the wards were already set. What other spell was Raina about to perform? "Malachi believes that as Conduits, we're all actually dead," Gillian replied simply. "Raina is going to try a spell to find out." Temnal nodded, oddly unsurprised. "I remember you saying something about that when we first met," he said to Malachi. "In my own case ... it wouldn't astonish me." He already knew there was a gap in his memory from before he had come to Chaos, where he very well might have died and been restored ... by the Lady, he'd always assumed. And then there was the abbreviated lifeline on his palm... He wondered, idly, what the others' palms would show. Joao nodded and looked at Raina. "Is there anything else you need from any of us to cast it?" he asked. "Will it show all of us, or do you have to test us one at a time?" "That's why I stopped to prepare," Raina replied. "I believe I can do more than one if I concentrate hard enough and you all stand close together. And Joao, yes. I think if you help me and include an Essence Form, we might be able to detect magical influences as well. I haven't tried that before, but it should work in theory." "All right," Joao nodded agreeably. Gillian retrieved Ginger and went to stand by Temnal. "This is stupid," Cole said. But he got to his feet and stood behind Gillian, one hand on her shoulder. He yawned hugely. "This is data," Gillian corrected, then gave him a wan smile over her shoulder. "Your data is stupid," he said. "No offense." Ginger snerked from Gillian’s other shoulder, “Embracing the Infamous ‘La-La-La-La-Not-Listening’ philosophy, I see.” She stuck her wet nose in Gillian’s ear. “Set me down, Meatsack. I need to lend a paw to this experiment.” The cat padded over to Raina, giving the woman’s spell components a critical look. “Egeria’s Gaze. Good choice.” Her tail flicked thoughtfully, “Fish Boy. When you’re preparing your Essence components, please add a summoning circle to the Elhaim in Raina’s Western Watchtower. Then a summoning circle to the Arias Vayu in the Eastern Watchtower.” Joao mentally confirmed Ginger's ideas with Delwin. He gave a slow nod. "Spaesba, Ginger. We'll do that." Raina paled visibly but nodded mutely and continued as instructed. [Ginger] glanced up at Raina, “When the spell starts, pull both spirits into you and let them share their Vision. You’re a Moon Goddess, kid, so they’ll happily lend you some death magic. And they won’t eat your soul like the Black Suns would. I'll stand guard over your Silver Cord, in case they get frisky.” "Essence components, two summoning circles," Joao repeated. "I should get extra credit for this in class," he added wryly, as he retrieved some chalk, thanking the ghost for the handy placement of some, and bent down to set to drawing. "Summoning circles in Rebma use arrangements of items, since drawing is so difficult," Joao chatted amicably while talking, to try and keep himself from being overwhelmed by the enormity of the task. "Although I've heard of the use of wax as well as circles etched in stone and metal." Ginger oversaw the alterations to the spell circle, helpfully correcting and improving certain formulas. “In the Before, we used blood mostly. And certain natural pigments. Then again, we didn’t have a magic store we could just pop off to… a little slighter on the angle there, Joao-ey. Perfect.” Cynwyd leaned against the wall, his expression one of practiced indifference. But he watched the process closely, taking note of what they did. Temnal also watched carefully, with more open interest. He didn't feel up to doing any magic himself right now (although when the Hour actually came and his Other awoke, it might be a different story), but he could probably learn a good deal by observation. When they were ready, Ginger carefully entered the circle and sat near Raina’s feet. “Well, here goes nothing,” she said, giving Raina a nod. The young dancer and feline began to recite the revised incantation together, “Cal ativu-Egeria. Ativu neri. Lucair saver-pera tiu. Penvenes anfa sech. Visio mi fita. Konikau mi fita. Apni valta Riv Styx.” The summoning circles began to glow with a silvery light, their radiance surrounding Raina’s body. When she opened her eyes, rivulets of quicksilver tears began to trickle down her cheeks. Ginger’s body appeared to fade in this light, gaining a shimmering translucence. As the light pulsed, the others could feel their skin warm, as if they were standing in the summer sun. Beyond that, nothing; they remained otherwise unaffected. For a moment, anyhow. As the spell’s ghostly light began to ebb, they all noticed that their skin retained a golden luminosity. This gleam was not, however, uniform. Instead, it appeared to run ~beneath~ their skin in complex bands and patches. These, in turn, were connected by almost invisible threads of silver, which wove in and out like anchors. Or stitches. Indeed, the patches gave the impress of something that had been sewn together. "Weird," Cole said. "Shouldn't we have someone here who isn't affected by our condition, so we compare how they look? This doesn't mean anything to me." "My thoughts exactly, especially since we know that we have the spirit of someone deceased within us," Cynwyd replied. "Da," Joao said. "I am not sure if the spell can distinguish the difference." "Would Ginger count for that?" Raina asked, trying not to break her concentration too badly. Temnal gave a chuckle, almost but not entirely mirthless. "Ginger is a law unto herself," he pointed out. "I don't think we can use her as a touchstone for 'normal' ... anything. No offense, Ginger. Maybe we should have waited for Seabhac. Whatever else he may be, I'm reasonably certain he's alive." “And screw you too, Terminal,” Ginger muttered. “Lose a few fingers and you get all uppity, sheesh.” "I don't think that's necessary," Gillian muttered, turning her hand over and back as she stared at it. "This is necromancy. Very advanced necromancy. Like the level I would expect from...Bob." She sat back down on the bench heavily. "We're dead." "I bow to your greater understanding on this issue," Cynwyd said quite reasonably as if she'd just pronounced something a lot less foreboding, "but from my understanding of such matters, wouldn't it show up even if the spirits of those gone before were just bound to us? Their being dead and all would obviate the use for necromancy, wouldn't it? And something very advanced to bind them to us?" Ginger coughed politely, “I know you meatsacks can’t see it, but I’ve been in and out of the Wake enough times to recognize its influence on things. And I can tell you, there’s a difference between all of you and Mr. Tall-Rugged-and-Yummy. Whatever death magic bound Princess Deirdre in him is very recent. Makes him glow a little brighter. And oh-so cuter.” "That part's true," Malachi deadpans. It surprises him. The old Malachi would just have stared at his feet. [Ginger] gave Malachi a lusty purr before continuing. “The aura around everyone else appears slightly faded, just like we spirits get when we’ve have been out here too long. I’d say you’ve all been this way. . .” She flicked her tail, concentrating. “About a decade. Yeah. There may be some time-distortion for the two Serpents, but otherwise pretty damn close. A decade, give or take." "No distortion as far as I know," Temnal said quietly. "In fact, a decade sounds just about right ... for me, anyway." "A decade!" Raina exclaimed plaintively, dropping the spell. "But... but how would we not know we've been dead for a decade? How would our families not know? I don't understand." She sat down next to Gillian and wiped away quicksilver tears that had begun to blend with real ones. Joao resisted the despondent urge. Mother would not approve, he thought grimly. Mother had NOT approved when his emotions had overwhelmed him before. He thought back to a letter Mother had sent him. "I shall allow this distraction for the time being, as it is so rare that you disperse with your sullen ways..." "...we both know that your soul is too fragile for such disappointments." Seeing Gillian, and especially Raina, in the abyss of despondency fortified him. [Joao] couldn't afford to be despondent or sullen. For them. For himself. Cole shrugged. "You'd think we'd remember a little something like getting killed. Even if it's true, that we were dead, and some magic is keeping us alive now, what's the practical difference? How is that different than, say, suffering a near-fatal wound and then recovering to full health? Because, for a corpse, I feel great." Malachi nods, stepping forward. "That is exactly what I've been saying. I was hoping someone here might have the answer. Or to be more honest, hoping they wouldn't be able to answer it. For what it's worth, I have given it some thought. I think that, for us, there may be no real differences. At least not in the short term. We can only guess about the longer term. But I'm thinking that certain creatures," he smiles at Ginger, "may react differently to us. Different spells, too. Here's another one to puzzle out: 'Bob is very powerful, and related to the Royal Family. What does he need dead folks for? From what I've seen, he could whistle up armies from shadow or make the furniture do his bidding. I think I might have an answer to that, and it goes beyond merely being conduits. We're expendable. "I would have said that only the dead can see the Dark Hour, but then I met Seabhac. If Bob wanted powerful allies in the Dark Hour, he could have arranged for the Royal Family or some heroes out of shadow to be broken out of their Dark Hour coffins. No, we're his tools because no one mourns the loss of those already dead." "No." Cole said the word flatly. "We are not expendable. Maybe you were raised to think so, but that's a convenient lie the nobility often falls back upon." He sighed. "Which is not to say that whoever made us what we are doesn't think as you do. But we will not think that way. You people are important to me. And I made a promise to come out of this alive... or at least in the same state of very active death in which I am now. We are not expendable." "Da," Joao said." He had walked over to where Gillian and Raina were sitting. He gently put a hand on each shoulder, supportingly. Propriety had gone out the window. Gillian reached up and squeezed his hand thankfully. "You're all still accepting this based on no outside evidence," Cynwyd said stubbornly. "As I said before, the presence of the spirit makes necromancy a foregone conclusion." "Ginger," [Cynwyd] said, self consciously addressing the feline, "I noted that you said 'Whatever death magic bound Princess Deirdre in him is very recent.'... so the necromancy is in the binding. Is the spell the same? Exactly?" Ginger’s tail flicked and she became uncharacteristically quiet, weighing her thoughts, her words. With a sigh, she lifted her head and spoke in a serious tone. “This remains in this room, for all your sakes." She gave everyone a cautioning look. Gillian immediately perked up, her eyes on her familiar. "Only a few years after the PatternFall War, the Black Sun discovered the Et Versiculum Mortem, the Book of the Dead, in the ruins of Moth. They recognized the power the book offered and began experimenting with necromantic spells. I’ve witnessed them binding spirits from the Wake into dead flesh. In every case, the new spirit always subsumed the former. And the results were usually. . . messy. Even with a fresh corpse, the invading spirit used the body up.” Her tiny body shuddered at something left unspoken. She sighed again, continuing. “Whatever death magic has been used on you possesses the same signatures, but is far more complex. Somehow, the spirit-binding is animating you ~and~ allowing you to retain your own spirit. It’s mutualism, rather than an amensalism. Resurrection rather than reanimation." "That," commented Malachi, "is one smart cat." “Finally, someone that appreciates my superior intellect,” Ginger purred. “You. Me. Oils. Leather. Later.” "And it has to be mutual," Temnal put in thoughtfully. "That's what we told our Others, anyway, and so far as we can tell, it would seem to be the truth." "If this is true, it does not answer how or why," Joao said. "If we all died a decade ago and were resurrected with this magic, why do our families not notice we all faced death, then? And why were we resurrected at all? Dworkin and Mirelle could not have known a decade ago this Dark Hour was going to happen, could they?" "Couldn't they?" Temnal responded. "I'm not at all convinced that Dworkin experiences the flow of time the same way we do. I'm prepared to believe him as the observer at infinity and able to see something like this coming ... if you can really put it that way. Which might also explain... When did Queen Coral die?" "He operates on a whole different level, that's for sure," added Malachi, gnawing on a lip and remembering. "I...I think Her Highness...uh, Princess Mirelle... may have been an earlier attempt to do whatever he did with us." "Da," Joao conceded. He remained in place behind Gillian and Raina, fighting away the tendency to brood. With the spell now complete, Ginger left the circle and padded over to the warm hearth. She offhandedly began to recite a quote. “... if this intellect were also vast enough to submit these data to analysis, it would embrace in a single formula the movements of the greatest bodies of the universe and those of the tiniest atom; for such an intellect nothing would be uncertain and the future just like the past would be present before its eyes.” A tired, feline yawn and shrug. “You know. Laplace’s demon." Gillian gave her familiar a strange, almost poignant look. “And talk to Gillian. She’s the history buff. I have shared enough of my brilliance with you for one day. Don't want to crush your feeble, little egos.” Spell broken. Gillian sighed and passed a hand over her face. "To answer Temnal, Queen Coral died...fifteen years ago. You remember? Stabbed by an anarchist from Western Eregnor when she was visiting family in Eastern Eregnor. It wasn't hard for the Prime Minister of Eastern Eregnor to convince King Rinaldo to lend him military and financial aid to retaliate. I imagine there would have been full-scale war if Western Eregnor hadn't had Begma on their side to stand up to him." Temnal nodded acknowledgement, though he noted, "Fifteen years ago I wasn't in a position to hear news from the Golden Circle." [Gillian continued,]"I also agree with Malachi that Bob has known about this for some time and that we're not the first to be...resurrected. When we met him, remember he said, 'Let's see what this batch has to offer.' "I...guess I'm glad that it's mutualism, though I wonder what will happen to us once this is all over. Assuming we survive." She looked down at her hands and started absently rubbing at a spot on her palm. Cynwyd had stood, and walked over to the window, away from the others, looking out as the night descended. "Maybe we could ask our Others. Surely one of them knows something?" "Maybe," Cole said, "but I had a memory, while we were back at the bar. I dismissed it at the time, because it didn't seem familiar. There was... a piece of wood, sticking out of my belly. And it was covered with blood. I don't understand how that could have happened to me and be such a difficult thing to remember. I don't remember when or where or how such a thing would have happened. And I also noticed my hands were smaller. Younger." He smirked. "I'd pull up my shirt and look for a scar, but at this point I'm sure one of our more recent adventures would have replaced it. I'd swear I didn't have a scar there, though. Nobody ever commented on it." Gillian stared at him. "So, Dworkin can rearrange memory and reality and bind us back in our bodies," Joao said. "And yet, for all of his power and ability, he still needs us. Needs aid. So we render it, and we get him to restore us, permanently, after this is all over." Temnal looked at him curiously. "With or without our Others?" he asked Joao. The Rebman's eyes flashed. "I will not be discarded like an unwanted tool, afterwards. And I will strive not to let any of you be, either." Joao added. "If we were all resurrected in this way, though, that means that Rusalka was, too. She deserves the chance to buy her mortality back too, da?" Raina looked up at Joao gratefully, some hope coming back into her eyes. Gillian tore her eyes from Cole to glance about the room. "So we try to rescue her tonight, during the Hour?" "It might be easier to do it then than when I tried it earlier today," Temnal noted wryly. <And where should we hide her?> she asked Cybelle. <It needs to be someplace where King Rinaldo can't find her.> Cybelle thought for a moment, <Utilize the True Trumps. I would suggest Justice or the Hermit. Probably the latter. Their realms are protected from Scrying and Trump Contact. Even the Pattern has a tough time with them. But you will need to enter into a Pact with the Summoned. Are you truly willing to do that for this girl?> <I think I've met him already. He called me 'Opener,'> Gillian replied, her eyes widening. <Oh, wait...Shiva asked me if I wanted to enter a Pact, too. So by Summoner you mean whomever is on the trump? And I'm pretty sure I don't really want to know, but what's involved in a Pact?> <That depends on the Summoned depicted on the Trump. Could be as pleasant as getting your freak on with Shiva or as nasty as murdering someone for the Tower. Avoid the latter. Trust me.> A nervous shiver. <Fulfill the Pact and you gain their power for a short time, as well as complete access to their realm. So, if you want to get all sweaty, I’d suggest calling Shiva again. I’m sure Seabhac will love you all round and rosy-cheeked.> Cybelle gave a bawdy chuckle. <Oh, yes. Hilarious.> Gillian's tone was droll. <And I would love to see what sort of world Rusalka and Coral would create, wouldn't you?> "I wonder though whether it will be possible to expel our Others so easily after the task, whatever it is," Raina mused. "It almost seems like... betrayal... to me. I mean, we made a deal so that they would not subsume us. How can we then turn around and subsume them?" Despite her fear and distrust of Cybelle, Gillian definitely felt ambivalence at the idea. The power she had now--high sorcery!--it would be gone. All gone. She looked down at her hands again. "I do not mean to discard Delwin and the others like an inedible sponge." Joao said, looking from Raina, below, to Temnal, who first asked him the question. "And yet, can you imagine they would be happy perpetually bound to us? They were Princes and Princesses of Amber, with lifespans and lives beyond our mortal ones. I cannot imagine they will be happy to be trapped in our aging bodies as slide toward death. Eventually, we need a solution for them, too." <Is this not so, Delwin?> Joao asked him, internally. <Death isn’t as bad as you’d think> Delwin replied. <But I do miss the Flesh, I give you that much, kid.> "If our bodies are animated by magic," Cole said, thoughtfully, "and we are somehow bound to these immortal others, perhaps we will be immortal too. That would be nice. Solves a problem I hadn't considered." And then he frowned. "I wonder what impact being dead has on our, um, fertility?" "Cole!" Raina gasped, a pained expression on her face. Cynwyd looked towards Cole, shaking his head in apparent amusement. But there was the ghost of something else in his expression as he looked away, sighing. Ginger raised her head, and then gave an exaggerated yawn. "Okay, okay. I'll help with that little experience. Malachi. Take off your clothes." The big man's face flushed a sudden shade of crimson, making him look like a well-armed and nervous beet. "Uh..." he started, uncertainly. "Ginger!" Gillian said sharply, her cheeks flushing. "That's enough. Leave Malachi alone." Ginger slumped over in agonized dejection. “I don’t get any fun.” "Da, a good question." Joao said thoughtfully. The thought of being a long-lived heir was one thing, but his Mother expected him to produce granddaughters, no matter whom she eventually settled on to mate him to. That, he thought, was something that might be discussed in his trip to Rebma with Gillian and Raina. Whether he wanted to, or not. "Um... Prince, uh, Rook said that everything still worked," said Malachi, trying to appear as though he was not avoiding Ginger's gaze. "You know. Down there." Still blushing over Cole's comment (or perhaps from considering it herself), Raina changed the subject. "So does anyone have a plan for rescuing Cor... er, Rusalka? I don't know her that well myself, so I can't say what the best strategy would be. I might be able to draw a trump if Sand could help, but I'm not sure I could capture her essence well enough for it to work." "Considering Temnal's experience with Trumps, I'd think that a direct assault through them might not be the best course of action," Cynwyd said wryly with a nod towards the other man. "I'm not sure we can avoid a more conventional assault, which will require more in the way of intelligence to pull off," he said, leaning against the wall as he observed the others. Temnal nodded ruefully. "King Rinaldo is apparently an adept when it comes to Trump," he admitted. "It might be better to choose another way to get at Rusalka, if we can." <Could we weave the Logrus with magick for some sort of scrying or seeking for more information?> he queried. <And while I'm asking, do you know anything about this being dead issue?> <The Logrus by itself may be utilized as a sensory lens.> Osric replied. <However, our skill is rudimentary and it would take some time to accomplish the task. This may be offset by the Pattern aura Coral is undoubtedly emitting. You must be careful of Power-based attacks, as well, such as the Trumps. Your defenses will be useless against them. I can teach you how to shield yourself from High Magick, on the other hand. As for the dead issue...> He paused, weighing the answer. <Your - our - body does appear to have minute unexplainable alterations to it that go far beyond even advanced shape-shifting. It will take me some study to confirm, but yes. . . I would not be surprised if these alterations are necromantic in origin. They are certainly Pattern-based, that much I know.> <Thank you,> Cynwyd said. <For this... and everything. And I'd not want to get rid of you; at least I have someone other than my own damaged psyche to bouncy crazy ideas around with.> "It seems that there are 'minute unexplainable alterations' to my body. Beyond even advanced shape-shifting," Cynwyd said addressing the others. "And another bit of information - they are Pattern-based." "And that leads to a bit about Rusalka/Coral," he continued. "She'd likely be emitting this same energy, so I could scry on her using the Logrus. It could take a while, though, and is not without risk." "But I am willing," he said. "No matter what life is left to us, she doesn't deserve to spend it in someone else's thrall." Gillian nodded agreement. "Cybelle, um, suggested a place where Rusalka might hide. I'll need to do a little more research into it, but it's a possibility. Anybody else have any ideas in this regard?" she asked hopefully, not particularly wanting to mess again with either Pacts or demigods. "My family's lands in Rebma, perhaps." Joao murmured. "If my father can possibly have hidden on them for so long, undetected, hiding Rusalka there might be easy." He looked at the group. "Gillian and Raina know this..." he cleared his throat. "It is possible my father is still alive, and in hiding in Rebma, somewhere in my mother's Duchy. Soon, the four of us, including Ginger, are going to go there and try and find him." "I'll help with that, if you want it," said Malachi. "Can someone tell me about this Rusalka girl we need to go rescue? Who is she?" Gillian straightened her glasses and slipped into lecture mode. "Rusalka is another student at the university—or, at least, she was—and the daughter of Earl Demetri Cardovan, head of House Cardovan of Amber. Their family produces fine porcelain and notable whiskeys and brandies. "We recently also heard that Rusalka is Chaos's current Wicker Queen. The Wicker Queen is based on the ancient tradition of the scapegoat, and after living lavishly for a period of time—usually a year, or a cycle—the scapegoat is ritually sacrificed for the sins of the people. Why she, the daughter of a prominent Amber noble, is the Wicker Queen in Chaos is a mystery to me." "She does have Chaosian blood," Temnal put in. "I remember her mentioning that when we first met." "Anyway..." Gillian continued, "Her Other is Queen Coral of Kashfa. King Rinaldo abducted Rusalka from Chaos presumably, as we previously discussed, due to his love for his deceased wife, Coral." Cole stretched out on a bench, pillowed his head on one arm, and closed his eyes. "And she's our friend, who is apparently drugged and held prisoner, though we have no way of knowing exactly what's going on. I don't suppose anyone thinks it's a good idea to try something nonviolent, like contacting Rinaldo and at least trying to come up with a solution that won't get anyone killed? It's not like we still have the element of surprise or anything. And I don't think we have any evidence he's done anything to Rusalka that I wouldn't have done myself, if I'd found my wife's spirit reincarnated in another vessel and being prepared for a human sacrifice. The drugging's a little disturbing, but it would have sounded to him like Rusalka was crazy, and he's likely sedated her to keep her from running away or hurting herself while he tries to figure out what's going on. But if you open some sort of portal and want me to walk in and kill loyal and blameless guards to rescue her, just wake me when you're ready." Raina turned to gaze at Cole with new interest. "That's certainly plausible," she agreed, turning back to gauge everyone else' response to this. "I wouldn't mind trying to negotiate," said Temnal, then added musingly, "I wonder if he'd listen to his mother. Gillian, do you know anything about the current status and whereabouts of Queen Jasra?" Gillian pondered the question briefly, then shook her head. "She disappeared after the Patternfall War--apparently some people hadn't forgotten she was Prince Brand's wife. Um...she was a Hendrake, though. Perhaps she has Ways there." Ginger rolled her eyes, “He just wants to get his Brandy freak on.” "We can negotiate, da." Joao agreed. "But it should be Rusalka's choice if she stays with Rinaldo. Or, Rusalka and Coral's, if you prefer." Joao said. "Pronouns with our others are somewhat tricky." "Is she in her right mind currently to make such a decision?" Cynwyd asked from the window where he still stood looking out into the night. He turned back to them. "Is King Rinaldo in the state himself to negotiate such terms? If he was willing to kidnap her, and willing to drug her, what makes you think that he will be willing to give her up?" "His actions thus far have seemed rather... extreme. And extremists are historically difficult to bargain with." Cole shrugged. "Good points. It could be a waste of time. It could cause more trouble. It's a risk. But I'd rather start there than risk a frontal assault that could get people killed. If we thought we could just extract Rusalka without involving anyone else, and somehow hide her from Rinaldo until she was in a better state to defend herself, maybe that would be a better place to start. But even with magic, it seems that things are seldom that simple. Rinaldo obviously has magical defenses of his own." With a sigh, Cole added, "And frankly, I'm afraid of being recognized if I participate in a frontal assault. It could easily mean war between Kashfa and Perondor. If we could go there during the Dark Hour it wouldn't be a problem, because no one would be awake to see me, but we know the Dark Hour doesn't manifest even as far away as Rebma. So that's no help. Hrm. Maybe some sort of disguise is in order." He waved a hand. "I'm sorry, I'm complicating things. You people were going to do magic stuff. That's probably still worth looking into. Carry on." "Frontal assault?" Cynwyd asked, looking hurt. "You *do* know who you're talking to, don't you? A frontal assault is only mildly more stupid than a fair fight. I plan to sneak in, get her, and be out before Rinaldo knows she's gone. And treating with him before hand is a good way to remove that option." "Poor choice of words, sorry," Cole replied. "Obviously stealth is more appropriate. I only meant anything likely to result in armed conflict. Given that Rinaldo will likely already be on guard against whoever left their fingers with his wife--and he must have been on a pretty high level of alert already or said fingers would still be with their owner--I think armed conflict is the likely outcome of attempting the stealth option. It's already been compromised." "And he'll be expecting some sort of attempt from the Courts," Temnal pointed out. "That means he'll likely have defenses against Logrus as well as Trump." "Good point," Cole nodded. "But I think we can presume he doesn't know about the Dark Hour, and we should not mention that if we talk to him. So even if civilized discussion fails--and I'll admit, I'm not very hopeful--we still have the option to use you people's powers then and try from here to extract her. As for some sort of raid, where we physically go to Kashfa to get her, without the boost of power our others get during the Dark Hour, I consider that a last resort." "I do wonder what would happen if we tried to trump Rusalka during the Dark Hour," Gillian mused. "Would we bring her into it, even though she's not under its influence in Kashfa? She does have a strong tie to it, and to us." Ginger gave stretching yawn, “Yeah. I wondered about that after Gilly nearly killed me.” She cast a look in her tormentor’s direction. Gillian stuck her tongue out. “Can you be guaranteed you won’t turn Pinkie’s brain into an eggplant, if you Trump her from the Dark Hour?" Ginger continued. "After all, you’ll be all mojo’ed and she'll just be... her. And if you go there, exactly how will all you non-Shadow travelers intend to get back?” "I wasn't really thinking about actually stepping through. More like bringing her here instead," Gillian replied. "And exactly *why* will your results be any different than Temnal's?" Cynwyd asked, incredulous that he had even heard that suggested. "I don't really relish the idea of losing any body parts, personally." Gillian quailed a bit at Cynwyd's tone. "Because we would be trumping her during the Dark Hour. We'd have the resources of our Others at full capacity and there's a strong possibility that the trump traps wouldn't even engage. And I wouldn't put my hand through first, anyway. Maybe stick a stick through instead. That's why they're called 'sticks', right?" She laughed nervously. "If we could think about the stick, you don't think that someone of that facility with Trumps would think about it? I could think of
Cynwyd replied, softening his tone at her expression. "And there's the whole matter of the Dark Hour not extending to Kafsha... I'm not saying we don't do this- we just have to do it intelligently." "And right now, we just don't have the intelligence to plan anything with any measure of certainty that it will even *possibly* work." "You should toss a frog through first," Cole suggested, "instead of a stick. A trap might only activate in response to a living creature." "What about Yggdrasil?" Joao suggested. "If we could find a route through that to Kashfa and back again, Raina, Gillian and I, with Seabhac, have traveled through shadows with it." "Or, perhaps." he looked down at Raina. "You might use Sand's trump ability to get us *back*." "Perhaps, but it's a very draining process. I'm not certain I trust my own ability if we can't complete it in time and I lose Sand," Raina replied doubtfully. "Yggdrasil?" Cole asked. Joao waited. He fully expected Raina or Gillian to explain, perhaps better than he could. Puzzled, Gillian waited right back, expecting Joao to answer the question since he was the one that brought Yggdrasil up. Malachi was secretly pleased that at least -someone- didn't know everything. He sat back against a lab table, listened to the flurry of unfamiliar names and waited for a consensus to emerge. Ginger chimed in, “Big tree in the middle of Creation. Kinda of a Beyond-This-Point-There-Be-Dragons signpost, marking the beginning of Chaos. But I think Joao-zers may be talking about Amethyst, Ygg’s reflection. He, Rainy, and Gilly went there a while back. It’s an actual city. A Weirmoken protectorate, right?” She glanced over at Gillian. "Amethyst?" Joao looked confused. "I evidently was not paying attention on that journey as much as I should have." He, too, looked down toward Gillian. "A city is the reflection of a tree?" asked Malachi, lost. "Um, yeah, Seabhac told us that Amethyst became a Weirmonken protectorate after the War of Bitter Ashes," Gillian replied to Ginger. Raina nodded in agreement. [Gillian] adjusted her glasses and faced Joao and Malachi. "Amethyst is the closest shadow to Yggdrasil and reflects the actual tree, though it's on a grander scale. Again, this is what Seabhac told us. He then went on to call the actual Yggdrasil and the shadow around it a 'mud hole.'" She shrugged. "Anyway, I don't profess to completely understand this, but apparently King Eric created a network of universities called the White School. Faiella University, a part of the White School, is also a hub, and you can get to a number of different worlds if you know the right broom closet or whatever to open and go through. Seabhac took us through the library to a door that opened up onto Amethyst." "Spaesba" Joao said quietly as Gillian continued. "The problem is that I don't know if there's a way to Kashfa through the White School network. I don't know of the existence of any maps. And it wasn't one of the places Seabhac listed as knowing the way to, either." Gillian shrugged again. "We really weren't there long enough to truly explore it. We were more concerned with getting home at the time," Raina added apologetically. "That doesn't sound too promising," Cole said. "And it would still involve someone going there and exposing themself to danger before we've had a chance to look around. What we need is some way to look around without being seen, or ideally, without being actually present." "Well... I wonder..." Raina began, then hesitated uncertainly. "The night wolves in that place. Amethyst. They might know if there's a passage to Kashfa. And they were well disposed to Sand. She was their Queen. They reacted favorably to me as well, thinking I was her. I suppose we... I ... could ask them." "Da, we need to think about this rationally," Joao said. "We need a route to Kashfa, a way to locate Miss Cardovan, and then an exit. If we cannot establish all of those, we cannot rescue her with any success." "I proposed Amethyst as a route there to solve the first problem," he said. "I would hate to think that between all of us, we cannot find a solution to all three steps. And freeing her, of course," he added. "Four steps." "There is another problem to that last step," Cynwyd observed. "What if she doesn't *want* to be freed? Have we considered that possibility?" "Da," Joao said immediately. "But it should be her choice if she wishes to remain where she is." "There's another more immediate problem too, I think," Raina said. "We're generally not idle during the Dark Hour. How do we manage all this and deal with the beasts that search us out during that time all at once?" "If you folks set up the defenses before you start your magickin', there's those of us here that can man the fort," Cole said, patting his sword and nodding at Malachi. "And we'll all already be inside before the Hour starts, so we shouldn't have the problem we keep having with someone--myself included--leading horrible things here." Gillian nodded agreement. As if sensing Cole’s words, the air grew dank and heavy. Darkness pressed in on the windows like a voyeur. The Dark Hour approached, soon to flood the world with its sickness. Ginger bristled, standing up. “Well, whatever you guys are gonna do, I suggest you hop to. Death and destruction is a’knockin’.” "This is truth." Joao said. He looked around. "Are we all ready?" Concerned that Seabhac hadn't already joined them, Gillian took out his trump and attempted to contact him. With a little effort, Gillian began to feel the familiar chill radiate from the card. After a brief silence, she sensed Seabhac open the connection. Or so it would seem until she heard a soft, calm female voice. “You have reached Mr. Barimen’s Trump answering service. Mr. Barimen is unavailable at the moment due to… ‘possible death and/or dismemberment…’ Please leave your name and temporal address after the beep, and once… ‘possible death and/or dismemberment…’ has been resolved, he will contact you at a more convenient time. Thank you. Beep.” Gillian broke the connection, a bit bewildered. Did this mean he wasn't experiencing the Dark Hour and was safe inside a black coffin? Or did this mean actual "death and dismemberment"? Nothing to do for it now except wait. She'd try again after the Hour was over. Raina stood and ran a hand over her face, looking like a weary warrior despite her petite size. The approach of the Dark Hour never failed to send a wave of nausea cresting over her. Fighting it back, she drew out the Trump pendant. "I'll look for Amethyst, " she said as she began shuffling through the images, "in case we go that route". "I would, if you'll have me, go with you." Joao said. "If not, there is an idea Delwin and I want to explore to make the lab He spoke to the air. "Nothing to disturb you, Miss Ibis. You may even like the improvements." Raina could feel the pendant’s cool touch tickle her mind, as a myriad of worlds and people fluttered by in a kaleidoscope of sights, smells, and sensations. In a timely fashion, she discovered a Trump representing a violet tree of cyclopean proportions. Although it did not appear to be a city, she instinctively knew this Trump represented Amethyst. Perhaps as if ‘had’ been long before the PatternFall War. She sensed Sand’s confusion and slight trepidation in the back of her head; the disenchantment of losing an old, precious childhood sanctuary. Cole stretched widely from his bench, his tall frame and long arms taking up an alarming proportion of the lab's horizontal space. Finally he stood, walked over to the door, and leaned against the adjacent wall. His bracers and drawn sword gleamed in the candlelight as if they were already covered with blood. "Ready," he said. With some discomfort and Ginger’s help , Temnal completed and then activated the wardings. The encroaching darkness retreated; the lab regaining its sheltered warmth. Outside the bay window, the world sloughed off its flesh to reveal the corruption beneath. The Dark Hour had arrived. [Gillian continued in A Sisterhood of Shadows] |
