Amber, year one, day 136 continued

Morning

I did not get much sleep last night. I collapsed on a cot after we finished working on Ahab, in hopes of at least being able to rest until morning. Hoped in vain, as it turns out. Ahab awoke in the middle of the night and decided to determine whether his hearing had returned. It had not, but he made enough noise in the process to wake me up. I made psychic contact with him and told him he was being rather loud. We talked for a while, until he grew tired again and fell asleep.

He told me why Rygat chose to make such an example out of him. He wrote her a letter, insulting her in great detail. After hearing what he said, I am not surprised Rygat reacted the way she did. I probably would have done the same in her position. Ahab seems to harbor the mistaken belief that he actually accomplished something by all of this. He thinks that, if nothing else, he delayed Rygat by causing her to waste time on his punishment. However, Ariadne says she simply used a pre-existing spell on him, which means I doubt she spent much time on him at all.

I wish I knew why Ahab does these things to himself. Maybe he feels insignificant in the present conflict, and this is his way of changing that. After all, he did manage to get Rygat to respond to him specifically, even if it only was for a few moments. If so, I hope he learns to overcome this problem, before it gets him killed. Challenging Rygat in the manner he has been accomplishes nothing, despite what he may think. If there was a plan to take advantage of her distraction, then it would be worthwhile, but as it is, all he accomplished was to injure himself badly, at a time when we need every fighter we can get. And then he has the nerve to complain that he is bored! Under other circumstances I might feel more sorry for him, but he knew the probable outcome when he wrote that letter, and now he must live with it. I do not envy the person who must explain this all to Deirdre.

With Ahab safely sleeping, I thought to get some rest of my own once more. Unfortunately, my sleep was neither long nor restful. I had nightmares of Patternfall, where events turned out far worse than they did in reality. In one, when I reached to take the Jewel from Brand, he pulled me into the Abyss with him, and we seemed to fall forever. In another, I watched as the Chaos army slaughtered everyone around me. Ahab, Shard, even Felix, who was back in Amber during the real Patternfall. And all the while, there was this horrible laughing, coming from all around me. To be honest, I felt almost grateful when Mebd's screaming woke me up. It is unusual for me to dream so vividly. I hope that they were simply dreams, and not omens of what lies ahead.

Mebd's screaming proved to be caused by nothing more than Alex using the Logrus in front of her. He decided it would be easier to use it to lift a heavy object than to use his hands. Mebd apparently thought he was some sort of sorcerer and raised quite a fuss. Really, I am surprised that Heather has not explained these things to her daughter. Or rather her adopted daughter, if Alex is to be believed. It is fortunate that Mebd reacted the way she did, for I learned several things of interest from Alex. For one thing, it seems that the Logrus can be used like an extra pair of arms, only with much more strength. As far as I know, the Pattern has no similar ability. Also, it seems that Mary is Heather's lover. I find it rather ironic that the woman who was berating me for my sexual practices has such unusual partners of her own. Mebd apparently has not figured out Mary's relationship with Heather. When she does, I hope to be there to watch the confrontation.

Shard and Merlin were also in Mebd's room. Merlin quickly left, but Shard stayed and tried to calm Mebd down. Afterwards, he approached Alex and I, claiming that Heather was planning on doing something stupid involving the Logrus. He wanted us to help him stop her. Now, I may have decided to refrain from open hostility towards Heather, but if she wants to kill herself, I will not stand in her way. Alex was equally unenthusiastic. I pressed Shard for more details, but, of course, he had none to offer. He believed Merlin knew more, but we were unable to find him. He certainly did not want to be found, for he left pools of Logrus all over the Castle, to prevent Alex from locating him. The stench was overwhelming. I am going to have to have a talk with that boy. Realizing that we were unlikely to find Merlin, Alex and I both decided to go back to sleep. Eral only knows what Shard did. I was much too tired to care.

The rest of my sleep was short but free of nightmares. I awoke shortly after sunrise, when Ahab decided to test his hearing again. I told him to shut up, which is when he started complaining of boredom. Ariadne arrived soon afterwards, and Ahab told her about his letter to Rygat. She seemed to feel the same about the situation as I did. She also gave me my first news of Felix's return. I have yet to discover how he and Gérard were able to escape, or if Flora came with them. I tried to Trump Felix to ask him, but he blocked me with that device of his. I wonder if there is any way to circumvent it? At the time, I did not feel like trying. After all, given what Rygat did to Random, his response is understandable.

Julian has regained consciousness and there does not seem to be any noticeable brain damage. Not that I had much opportunity to test this, since he was his usual surly self. He asked to speak to the Captain of his guards. I am afraid that the battle in the courtyard prevented me from relaying his request.

Ariadne, Alex and I first became aware of the attack when we heard gunfire. Ariadne went directly out the window. Since I lack her shapeshifting abilities, I was forced to take a more mundane route to the conflict. Oddly enough, Alex followed me up the stairs to the battlements, as opposed to going with Ariadne, even though he is a shapeshifter as well. Then again, given what happened to Ariadne, perhaps it is not so odd. From what I observed from the battlements, Rygat sent six of her fighters to attack us. I do not know how they got so close to the Castle, or why so many of my relatives were in the courtyard with them. When we arrived, Gérard lay unconscious on the ground, Eric and Driscoll were each fighting a Chaosite, two Chaosites were spraying the area with bullets, and two more were on the ground. One of the ones lying on the ground cast a spell that caused Ariadne to be engulfed in lava. It is fortunate that she was the target, for I do not think many others could survive such an attack. As it is, it is not certain that Ariadne will recover. Felix quickly incapacitated the spellcaster, while Alex used the Logrus to assist Ariadne. Armed only with a crossbow, there was little I could do, as my bolts could not penetrate the Chaosite armor. I attempted to shoot the gun away from one of the Chaosites, but only managed to destroy his aim. Felix tried shooting the same Chaosite with a gun, but his bullets fared no better than my crossbow bolts. Realizing this, he picked up a wagon axle and used it to help Driscoll defeat his opponent. Felix's intervention was most timely, for I do not think Driscoll could have held off the Chaosite for much longer. Eric was able to dispose of his opponent alone.

I believe the sorceress may have survived the attack, but she is the only one. Driscoll will have to decide what to do with her. Eric says Gérard will live, which is good news for all of us. We cannot afford to lose anyone right now. As I take this opportunity to gather my thoughts, I find myself in agreement with Eric about one thing. I wish Corwin had not brought gunpowder to Amber.

"Outrageous Fortune"
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All text on this page is © 1993-1994 by Kris Fazzari.

Last modified on April 5, 1994 by Kris Fazzari.