Breakfast in Amber: Waiting in the ShadowsIndex | Time Under Chaos | Game Logs | Waiting in the Shadows: X Everyone's attention was on the docks ... Including one solitary figure, waiting in the shadows. One small step after another had brought him, inexorably, to his present position. He was inexorably bound by what he had read, what he had written, and what he believed. At stake, generations too far removed from the Amber of old to adequately discern between the Chaosite representation of history and the Eternal Realm of old. Once the Revolution came, and it would come in time-- if Mandor could conquer a city unprepared in a week, Caine and Julian could do far more in a century-- then war with Chaos would soon follow. Men of indistinct loyalty would be an undeniable liability to any such venture. His choice was clear: To participate in the purge of the majority of the men and women who'd be born in the next forty years, as well as the plurality who'd follow the zeitgeist amongst the older generations, or to take radical action to accelerate the timeline. Not much of a choice for someone whose credibility rested on being an idealist. His chosen hiding place was cramped, and the modifications he had made to the structure had not included provisions for his own comfort. He was laying supine on some very roughly finished boards with quite a bit more tar and splinters in it than he recalled when he'd fashioned it in near-total darkness with a handsaw and phosphorescent alchemical solution inside a glass tube. Viewing the outside world upside down in near total darkness was disorienting, but it helped to prevent the gentle rolling of the waves from putting him to sleep. He had ground the bits of glass himself, manufactured the baffles which prevented glare from giving them away by hand as well. They afforded him a tolerably accurate view of the events on deck, as well as those of the passengers as they disembarked. So much to do in so little time, to meet his own self-imposed accelerated timeline-- but it was all going according to plan. All he had to do now was to continue his rhythmic isometrics to maintain his flexibility and circulation, wait for his target, and contemplate his destiny. He watched the events play out with more than a little personal interest. As could be expected, things had started to deviate from the plan. One of the Queen's staff, Goran, was accompanying Mandor and Ingrey. They, in turn, looked as if they might meet up with Morgan and Merlin. With all of them in one place, matters would be more complicated. He considered deviating from his timetable... but it still seemed like there was a good chance events would play out acceptably. The downside was... more time on this uncomfortable hunk of wood.
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