Coming To Amber, Tasha-Amba, Despil's WaysIndeed, it seemed no time at all before the demon butler announced that the carriage was ready to convey Tasha to Lord Despil's Ways. Tasha looked at herself in a mirror and shook her head. She looked about 11. She had wanted to do her hair, put on a bit of makeup. But if this is what her mother thought she should look like.... She walked slowly to the carriage and looked around for a driver. A blood-red-eyed black horse turned to look at her, and Tasha realized her mistake, a hellhorse. The footman opened the door and Tasha peered into the gloom to see if anyone else was along for the ride to Lord Despil's Way. But the carriage was quite empty - and would remain so all the way through the most fashionable quarters of Chaos. A carriage ride through Chaos...the carriage moved so smoothly, that it didn't feel like they were on a road at all, which could be true in a way, as the road through Chaos was not truly a road like any in Darkmoore. It slipped through Chaos and the shadows of Chaos as easily as a needle through a quilt, and like a quilt each scene was like a patch cut from different cloths. Tasha was alone and free to peer out the windows, which she did with relish. The road seemed to be straight, yet the view out the window shifted fluidly... as nothing she had experienced in her past life. One moment they were traveling past fashionable town-homes, and the next they were surrounded by a dark forest made of dark orange-leafed trees under a blue sun. She felt a touch of anxiety as the next view included moon-light, but thankfully, it wasn't a full moon, as she would have hated to have ruined her dress and shamed her parents by having to return home without attending the dinner. She smiled as she saw what looked like small bunnies, hopping and chasing each other in a field. Then they were surrounded by tall buildings once again. Soon the carriage was slowing down. Nervous about arriving, Tasha sank back in her seat, no longer wanting to see any more. (From Amba's Thread) There were various doors of different hues. The one (Amba) had chosen was a cherry red and, as she approached it, she realised that what had looked like solid wood was, in fact, a spatial problem that would need to be solved before the door could be opened. Behind her, she head the snorting a a hell horse bringing a carriage to a halt Amba regarded the problem, concentrating on the puzzle until the carriage came to a complete stop and she heard the door open. Then she turned around to see whom it was that was arriving. (Continuing) The carriage drew to a halt. No one opened the door, and eventually Tasha couldn't wait any longer. She pushed the door of the carriage open and peered out. She looked up at the oddly shaped building feeling a bit disoriented by the cubist irregularities; dizzy in fact. But as she began to wander along around the columns and under the building, she actually began to appreciate its style. As she rounded a corner she came face to back to a woman in a black dress with black tresses, who was attempting a red door. "Hello?" Tasha said softly, not wanting to scare her. Amba had actually already seen the woman approaching, but waited until she said anything to acknowledge her. "Hi," she said, still facing the door, then finally looking around to see the woman more closely this time. "I take it you are here to see Lord Despil, also?" Tasha smiled and nodded, "Yes. He invited me to dinner. You must be one of the other Ladies of Chaos my mother said was going to be here." Then blushing as she caught herself nervously rambling, she added quickly in introduction, "I'm Tasha." As Tasha began talking, Amba looked back towards the door, still assessing the problem in front of them with more than a bit of single-minded interest. Not that she was necessarily in a hurry to get in any more... no- it was more that she was extremely interested in the problem. As Tasha introduced herself, Amba looked back. "Oh, yes." She blinked, taking a second to fathom the question. "Do you know anything about spatial problems?" She said with no preamble. "It seems that the angles are not the only thing that are off about this building, but there's probably more than a little bit of a reality distortion/bending effect to the whole thing, that seems to affect the entrances." That was all said in one long breath as she seemingly voided the thought that was occupying her mind, before finally at the end saying, "I'm sorry. I'm Amba. Nice to meet you." "Likewise," Tasha softly came forward to peer around Amba at the door. "Spatial problems? Is it a puzzle? I'm rather good at puzzles...." "It's less a puzzle than a practical application of theory. Unfortunately, though I'm well versed in the theory, I haven't figured out anything I can do to take advantage of it." She finally looked back to Tasha. "See, in most shadows that we deal in, a set of physical rules apply to the interaction of objects in that reality. Some properties might be skewed or bent, but rarely are all of them changed. I mean, gravity might be altered, directions twisted about, lifeforms or environments changed. But none of them are really abstract." She pointed back towards the door. "But that door, is." As she turned more fully to face the problem again, she stared within its depths, even while continuing to talk. "It's probably a function of the way this structure interacts with the reality in which we stand- I'd guess that the structure itself most likely was constructed of several incongruent shadows, creating the totally non-euclidean space that is contained within that door- which is, indeed, a complete and total shadow of its own. I'd suppose that you can travel through it if you can adapt quickly enough to the rules of the shadow, but it would take like forever. Point A doesn't lead to Point B within its confines, so even a step into it unprepared could take you a long way from where we stand." "Or, you could twist the rules of the door, allowing for a brief moment a pathway to exist that doesn't violate euclidean geometry. It's not actually that far through the door, if you're going in a straight line. It wouldn't take that much- especially since you aren't going for a permanent change." "Of course," she added, "I could be totally wrong... this is pretty complicated stuff, and it never was my forte." She shrugged apologetically. "Did you want to take a look?" Tasha cocked her head as she listened to Amba, reminding one, of all things, of a curious puppy. But her eyes became brighter as Amba spoke, taking in the challenge. It was a puzzle after all, and if Tasha loved anything, it was puzzles. She stepped up and looked at the door, her eyes changing from her normal, human blue to something more feral as she regarded the twists in the shadows within the portal, for it was in fact a portal and not a true door. As she looked she could even see to the space on the other side. "I think I can get us through this," Tasha smiled. Was that the lighting or did her eyeteeth look a bit long? "Will you trust me?" She offered her hand to Amba. "Sure," Amba said without hesitation. "It's not like I can really do much to get through it," she added, taking Tasha's hand. Tasha took her hand, and without a thought to "applied theory," Tasha stepped forward, sensing a change within as well as without. She felt, rather than saw, smelled perhaps, the way through the portal. She desired a path, and it was there before her. The twists pulled at her, tempting her to turn off the path, but she knew they'd be lost if she followed them. The way was ahead and she doggedly followed it, and in a moment they were stepping forward and through into the foyer beyond. Amba looked around the foyer, noting that the craziness of the construction outside was mirrored inside. "Wow, I've never seen anything like it," she said. Then once she was over the initial shock of the trip and the building in which they now stood, she turned to Tasha, bowing as deeply as she could considering the dress she now wore. "Thank you for your assistance," she said. Tasha blushed, and waved away the bow, "Oh, it was nothing." Then she took a good look around blinking as her eyes tried to take in all the colors and patterns. Her nose, rather sensitive to smell, was overwhelmed by the odors. The foyer seemed to have marquetry throughout - wooden squares and diamonds and triangeles arranged in patterns that dazzled the eyes. And the nostrils too, for many of the woods were headily aromatic ... And they covered not only the floor but the walls and ceiling too, so that the eye was drawn upwards and then again down until one lost all sense of perspective. Tasha turned to Amba, "I would have expected someone to greet us." She tried to keep her focus on the woman before her, as she felt suddenly dizzy. "Maybe we could go and see if we can find someone who can tell us where to find Lord Despil..." She stumbled toward the hallway. "... and dinner?" She wrinkled her nose, "I'm afraid I won't be much help in our quest. I can't smell a thing!" "I would hate to go uninvited through Lord Despil's domain," Amba said, steadying the other woman. "We'll see about contacting him, but first, lets attempt to steady you." "The effect of the room is based upon human perception- can you shift your eyes to something non-human?" As Amba turned to Tasha, she could see that Amba had done just that. And so doing did seem to help considerably. "Well, we can't stay here all evening, so I don't really see a choice in not wandering," Tasha rambled on nervously, "and we aren't uninvited... I have the invitation right here." She patted her purse. Yet she continue to look around for someone to assist them. As Amba looked upon the room with draconic eyes, she noticed for the first time, the spiraling staircase upward, previously hidden by the pattern in the room. Turning the azure eyes upon Tasha, she said, "Perhaps upward would be the best choice seeing as that path was before hidden? Are you well enough to take the stairs?" With her eyes readjusted to her favorite wolven form, and her equilibrium returned, Tasha could indeed see the stairs. She could also see the two open hallways before her, heading off in two different directions. "We seem to have three paths before us. Do you think we should split up and see if we find Lord Despil, or... someone, and then send word back to the other?" "Well, as the hallways were not hidden, and the stairs were..." Amba began. "I'm always in favour of the road less travelled, personally. And I personally would prefer not splitting up- if this *is* a test, which it indeed *does* seem to be, sending back help will probably not be an option." Tasha had to agree, not having had any experience with which to contradict her, and not to mention it wouldn't be polite. "Then the stairs it is," Tasha smiled. They began winding their way up the stairs, which shifted in color and texture as they went up. It seemed impossibly long, considering how the building hadn't looked that tall from the outside. Tasha began to have doubts if it really had been the right choice, when suddenly she became aware of movement above her. She clutched at Amba and whispered, "Someone is coming down!" End of thread.
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