Hiko the Firechilde OOCLY says, "Remind me, what were we going to do again?" Queen Yuriko says, "OOC Mad passionate group sex. No wait, wrong room." Juri says, "OOC: Well, first of all, we were all going to get nekkid..." Queen Yuriko says, "OOC Go find Shizumaru using your Mad Pattern Skillz." Corrine OOCly says, "So, when last we left our Froody band... Hiko, Misaki, and Corrine were heading up from the basements to go and get their horses, trump out beyond Arden, and then Hellride to find Shizumaru. Since if he's still at the Keep, then they'd go to the Keep; and if not, then they'd be following him. (and if he's dead, well... let's not think about that.)" ======================== ======================== Corrine looks at Hiko as they get to the upper main floors of the castle. "Anything you want to get before we get going, Hiko? Change of clothes, extra items, etc? No idea what the weather will be like when things start shifting..." Queen Yuriko says, "OOC Don't forget grabbing Juri :)" Juri says, "OOC Yeah. Grab me. You know where." Corrine OOCly says, "Well, I mentioned meeting her by the stables, but what the hey... *thwaps John and Alan.*" Hiko the Firechilde leads Corrine to her room, where she gets her riding clothes (uniform top, cloak, boots, satchel with Heart, cow, and Ship) and her sword and dagger. She nods to Corrine. "Let's go." Corrine nods. "Righto." She leads the way back down, though detouring by the guest suites. She knocks on Juri of Avalon's guest room door. "Juri, we're ready!" Hiko the Firechilde asks, "Mother's not back, is she?" Corrine shakes her head. "Nope, she's still gathering together a fleet to replace the one Kozue took." The door opens up, revealing Roderick. He blinks at Corrine. Hiko the Firechilde blinks. "Hey... you're one of those Squid guys, aren't you?" You page, "Oh, what was the latest report from TAMD-Juri on how the fleet-collection was going?" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "She's still working on it." to you. Roderick says, "Hi, Corrine." Juri's in the background, at a table; looks like they were having tea together. Shizumaru pages, "I suppose I'm in limbo for a bit until you reach Shizumaru? n.n;" to you. You page, "Yup, gomen. *wl*" to Shizumaru. In a page-pose to you, Shizumaru nods. :) Corrine blinks. "Oh, hey, Roderick." She smiles, and waves to Juri. "You ready to go, Juri?" Juri stands up, looking ready for travel. "Yes." Roderick looks Hiko up and down, then says, "I am Prince Roderick of another Amber, the son of Bleys and Tess. Nice to meet you again." He bows. Corrine smiles, and hrms. "Oh, here, Roderick... in case you need to reach me..." She hands Roderick a trump of herself. Well, after he finishes the bowing. Juri nods to Misaki, then smiles warmly at Hiko. "Hello again, Hiko. How are you feeling?" He takes it. Hiko the Firechilde nods. "Hiko, child of Juri of this Amber. Pleased to meet you, too." Hiko the Firechilde nods at JuriAv. "Better." She points to her eye. "Healed." Juri hooks a thumb at Roderick. "Rod's going to be coming along too, while Gideon stays behind and looks for a way to get us back to our respective universes." Hiko the Firechilde blinks. "Oh, okay..." Corrine smiles more warmly. "Ah, good. We can use all the backup we can should something go awry. Strange times, and all that." Corrine says, "Anyway, c'mon..." she nods towards the hallway. Hiko the Firechilde clearly look uncomfortable around Juri of Avalon... she follows Corrine gratefully. Juri says, "I've given Gid the power sources of the squid for keeping while I'm gone, and promised to get Gerard to use him as a hackeysack again if he pulls anything funny with them." Juri follos Corrine, also looking a little uncomfortable around Hiko. Roderick LAUGHS loudly at the thought of Gerard using Gideon as a hackeysack, then quickly regains his composure. o O (Hmm...I wonder if he could do that to Otho for me some time...) Juri of Avalon leans in conspirationally to Corrine as they head down the hallway. "I kept the spoon, though," she whispers, eyes glinting slightly oddly for a moment. Corrine glances over at Juri-Av, and smiles slightly, nodding at her whisper. *q* "Good call." Juri of Avalon . o O (Spoonspoonspoonspoonspoonspoon) Hiko the Firechilde asks, "So who'll be controlling the hellride?" Roderick says, "It will have to be you or Lady Corrine, as neither Juri nor I can use the Pattern here." Corrine leads the way down to the stables, where horses have already been prepared for Hiko, Misaki, and Corrine. "I was thinking trading off between you and me, since we've both met Shizumaru and know him well. I'll start off, and then when we stop to rest, we'll swap." Hiko the Firechilde says, "Got it... as I've seen him recently and have been near his thoughts." Juri of Avalon brings her own horse into being from a small hilt hung at her belt, then glances to Roderick. "He'll need a steed too." Corrine looks a bit sheepish. "I'd've prepared a horse for you too, Roderick, but I didn't know you'd be coming. Juri's got her own horse, and you wouldn't want to use Juri's horse... well, I mean, -my- Juri's horse. She'd spank me royally if I had somebody else ride Shiori." She chuckles a bit, entering the stables. Juri of Avalon says, "...Shiori?" Hiko the Firechilde looks to find the mount that carried her to the city of Brass. Roderick laughs and claps his hands. A horse steps out of an empty stable. Corrine gets her horse, Fresca. Hiko's riding gear is on Shadowfax, which is what she used before. Corrine nods to Juri, and points to the Horse named Shiori. Hiko the Firechilde pats Shadowfax's nose. "Hello, old friend." The horse whinneys at Hiko. Juri of Avalon stares at Shiori the horse for a moment, then bursts out laughing. Corrine skritches Fresca behind the ears, and feeds her a sugar cube. "Been too damn long, y'know?" She looks over to Juri, eyebrows raised. "Eh?" Roderick looks puzzled. You page, "Oh, Misaki's horse is named Azusa. :)" to Akemi. Juri of Avalon is laughing too hard to speak. Hiko the Firechilde smiles, and nuzzles Shadowfax. "I'm glad to see you again. We're going to be doing more hellriding... I'll try not to get you shot again." Hiko the Firechilde chuckles to herself,. "Shiori..." Juri mutters between giggles as she calms down. "Oh, that's just... a ha. Oh, god." Corrine OOCly you don't -want- to know how long Corrine/I have been waiting to point out that little fact. :) Juri of Avalon says, "OOC: The alternate sword which I nearly bought for Juri at the beginning of WR instead of her Patternblade was going to be named 'Shiori'. :)" Hiko the Firechilde asks, "Is 'Shiori' the name of someone you know?" Hiko the Firechilde says, "There seems to be a lot of these coincidences around..." Juri of Avalon nods to Hiko, wiping at her tearing eyes. "Yes. Yes, the name means quite a lot to me. Perhaps to your mother, as well. I would love to sit down with her sometime for a few days and compare lives, I think." Corrine nods to Hiko. "You're telling me, Hiko. I'm still surprised to find a smart, competant 'Vash' analouge in the universes." She quirks a smile, and mounts up. Hiko the Firechilde says, "I'm sure she'd like that." She goes a bit quiet, thinking about her mother, then shrugs and mounts up, acknowleging Corrine's words with a chuckle. Roderick says, "Reminds me of a Kaleidoscope." Juri of Avalon swings up onto her own horse, still looking extremely, almost hysterically amused. Corrine OOCly says, "Okay. From reports Corrine would have scavenged from others, which 'side' of Arden facing a Golden Circle kingdom is the least politically/militarily 'hot' at the moment?" Hiko the Firechilde OOCly waits for the command to RIDE... Queen Yuriko says, "OOC The safest side of Arden would be the southern side." Queen Yuriko says, "OOC As Shinobu has driven the Therins far away from that border." Corrine OOCly says, "Okay, that's where we'll be going, then." Hiko the Firechilde OOCLY says, "Cool... let's head 'em up, and move 'em out! RAWHIDEEEEE!" Corrine takes a deep breath, and nods. "Righto. Follow me." She concentrates, and forces open a Trump Gate to the souther border of Arden, around the vicinity of Sethfort, facing what would have been the Therin lines. Corrine leads her horse through, taking point. Juri of Avalon takes the rearguard position. Hiko the Firechilde flanks Corrine on the right. Roderick rides to the left. Corrine makes sure everybody's there, including Misaki, and then nods. She takes a deep breath, looking off into the middle distance... and then spurs her horse foreward, summoning the power of the Pattern within her to start the Hellride, her mind ever on the sole focus of the Goal of reaching Shizumaru. The countryside is quite peaceful. Farmland spreads out around you. Hiko the Firechilde rides alongside, following Corrine's lead. Juri of Avalon continues riding rearguard. The countryside blurs around you. You find yourself in an identical looking place...except for everything being scaled ten times larger. Your horses all start slightly, though it's easy to keep control of them. Nearby peasants are now in the vicinity of fifty to sixty feet tall. Hiko the Firechilde exclaims, "Concentrate, Corrine!" Corrine blinks at this, continuing her search for Shizumaru, though somewhat put off by the sudden 'shrinkage' of the group... opting to wait things out a bit and avoid the Giant Peasents, -concentrating- on her goal of Shizumaru. "Beleive me, I -am-!" Juri of Avalon watches the giant peasants warily. Several of the peasants notice you all and say something reminiscent of the noises made by adults in the Peanuts cartoons. And then a fifty five foot tall woman and a sixy foot man head your direction. Corrine tries shifting things so that they're now in shadows where the pesants are more, well, NORMAL-sized.... Juri of Avalon quietly and unobtrusively loads her crossbow. You page, "Of course it wouldn't be easy. It's NEVER easy.... *wl*" to Foxtrot and Kima. Foxtrot stops prodding inn--- guilty authors and says, "I hate it when this happens." (to you and Kima) Corrine concentrates. Sweat beads her brow. Nothing happens. Hiko the Firechilde reaches out. Roderick mutters to himself. "Aim for the eyes, if it comes to that," Juri says shortly. Corrine frowns, and flips to pattern sight, trying to see if they're being blocked in some way from shifting shadow Normally... that's why she -got- the damn power.... Hiko the Firechilde keeps control of her horse. Akemi pages, "You see...a test pattern? Odd." to you. Hiko the Firechilde also watches the giants warily. Corrine continues keeping the group together... and then curses. "---the -Fuck-?" She shakes her head, blinking. "A test pattern?" She growls, and unslings her crossbow. "I think somebody's blocking us..." Juri of Avalon says, "Can you find where there are?" You page, "Does it feel as if Trump should still work here?" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "This is a Trump-Null shadow." to you. The two giants look down at you all, looking amused. The woman says something with a big smile on her face, sounding a little inquisitive. Juri of Avalon, after a moment, waves to her. "Hello," she says loudly. Corrine activates Pattern sight again, and sweeps around, looking for anybody with Chaos or Amber blood in the vicinity, knowing it to be pretty much the immediate area, as her skills don't go -that- well. Hiko the Firechilde says, "I don't think they can hear us." Corrine frowns. "Dammit. Dammit dammit, the place is Trump-Null, wherever this is..." Akemi pages, "You can't see anything through that damnable 'TV Test Pattern'" to you. Hiko the Firechilde says, "And I can't understand a WORD they're saying." Corrine looks for anyplace on or near the 'street' that they can duck into with the size of themselves and their horses to regroup and think. Juri of Avalon asks, "A trap. I've heard of them. Hiko, you're a sorceress; can you establish some kind of mind-to-mind communication with them?" The giant woman looks at Juri and says something incomprehensible. Then she points over to the village. Hiko the Firechilde says, "Only if I'm touching them. This place is Magic-null as well." Corrine rubs her eyes, muttering things about late night TV screens. Roderick looks thoughtful and wiggles his ears. Hiko the Firechilde stands up in her stirrups, attempting eye-to-eye contact. "They seem friendly enough," Juri says cautiously. "Corrine, any luck?" She looks towards the village speculatively. You hear the sound of wolves howling in the distance, and the peasants all look rather worried. Corrine frowns. "Pattern sight isn't getting anything, and Trump is Null here..." She hrms, and concentrates, trying to tune into her Demi Jewel attunement via her manifestations, or barring that, direct mental contact. Hiko the Firechilde puts a hand to her head, bunching her fist in her hair. The man starts making gestures at the four of you towards the village, and many of the peasants start running. Corrine OOCly says, "Hey, I thought Misaki was a part of this little group... *wl*" Queen Yuriko says, "OOC Oh, right, I forgot :)" Akemi pages, "You get that Test Pattern when you try to reach the demi-Jewel." to you. Juri of Avalon spurs her horse towards the village. "I'd rather deal with them than with the wolves." Corrine spurs as well, cursing a blue streak that would do Darako proud. "... I agree. SOMETHING'S blocking me across the board, dammit, even to the Jewel. Not -lack- of connection, but a Test Pattern of some sort." Roderick says, "Sounds like one of your relatives has decided to get rid of you, Corrine." Blood starts to trickle from Hiko's nose. Corrine blinks, and looks at Hiko with concern. "Hiko??" Hiko the Firechilde waves off Corrine with an 'it's okay' gesture. Hiko the Firechilde squeezes her eyes shut. You page, "Actually, on second thought, I should even be less surprised... after all, Shiz is what, 4-6 days ahead of us? Hellriding directly would get them there before they arrived at Frostspire. *wg*" to Foxtrot and Kima. Juri of Avalon moves to pull her horse alongside Hiko's, then stops when she sees the gesture. Corrine relaxes, mostly... distracting herself with keeping the group of 5 together and riding for the village with the rest of the giant villagers before the wolves get there. Hiko the Firechilde wipes the blood away. "The village is safe. Let's go there." Hiko the Firechilde turns her horse towards the village. You all hustle towards the village, riding into it as the villagers close the gates. You can see wolves coming, big enough to swallow one of you whole. Juri of Avalon asks, "What happened to you?" Hiko the Firechilde says, "He was loud... it hurt my brain." Corrine nods, and makes sure folks get doubletimed inside the gate as it closes. "We all here?" She headcounts. "WE're all here. Good." Juri of Avalon winces. The giants try talking at you again, but it still doesn't mean anything. Hiko the Firechilde slides off of her horse, looking speculatively at the wolves. Juri of Avalon hops down from her horse and starts sketching large letters in Thari in the dirt with the tip of her blade, to see if they can understand that. Juri of Avalon says, "H-E-L-L-O." Corrine dismounts as well, and hrms. She pulls her sword, and carves into the ground "Hello" in Thari, English, and a few other languages. Corrine OOCly says, "Wow. Mental synchronicity." Corrine considers, and glances at Eternity's Rose with her pattern sight, to see if she can at least see -that- with wonky senses.... Juri of Avalon laughs as she and Corrine start doing the same thing, then backs off her sketching to let Corrine handle it. Corrine chuckles a bit, and continues writing out... she also sketches herself and the others, drawing-style, with their names spelled out in Thari on the ground beneath their feet. Okay, so it's not the BEST sketchwork she's done, but hey.... Hiko the Firechilde sits down heavily, trying to get over the ringing in her brain. The wolves howl outside the barricade. Juri of Avalon kneels down next to Hiko and offers her a canteen. "Have something to drink. It may help." Hiko the Firechilde sips cautiously, but gratefully. The Giants look at what you're drawing, then one of them gets a stick and starts to draw in the dirt. Corrine looks as the giants start drawing as well, getting on her horse to gain a better vantage point to see. Hiko the Firechilde gets up, shaking her head and pats Shadowfax. Hiko the Firechilde asks, "Shadowfax, can you understand those wolves out there?" The image looks like people in the dirt, with little people next to them. They circle the little people, then draw lines in the dirt over to what you've written. Then they draw what looks like a castle and draw a line from the castle over to you. Corrine considers this. "So. Shall we go to this castle they seem to be mentioning? I don't think we've got many -other- alternatives at the moment..." Several normal sized people come out of the houses. Then you realize they're actually very young children the same size as you. Juri of Avalon asks, "Perhaps the castle they're drawing is the castle from which they came? If they wanted us to go to it, wouldn't they draw a line from us to the castle?" Juri of Avalon says, "OOC: From which _we_ came (i.e. Amber)" Several more giants come over and start talking to each other, apparently having some sort of discussion. Hiko the Firechilde murmurs to her horse. Juri of Avalon says, "OOC: Very disproportionate children, then, since by human standards they would have to be premature infant babies to be the same size as us in ratio to their 50-60 foot parents. :)" Juri of Avalon says, "OOC: If these are even just young toddlers, old enough to be walking, they should still tower over us. :)" Hiko the Firechilde OOCLY says, "This is very true." The younger ones shyly approach you, hiding behind the adults. Roderick continues wiggling his ears, looking frustrated. Misaki smiles at one of the children and tries to talk to him. Juri of Avalon glances at Roderick. "I don't think your shapeshifting is going to work. All sorts of powers seem to be blocked here." Queen Yuriko says, "OOC There's reason for all that :)" Roderick says, "I was hoping I could shift my ears to understand their language." In a page-pose to you, Shizumaru twitches impatiently. o.o You page, "Having troubles with scale, please stand by. ^_-; But then again, you ARE 4-6 days ahead of us...." to Shizumaru. In a page-pose to you, Shizumaru whines. Juri of Avalon looks to Hiko. "How well were you able to communicate with him, if at all?" Corrine considers, and hrms. "you've got a point." She nods, dismounts, and draws, in progression... small figures next to a castle and mountain. Then drawing a large forest next to the mountain. She draws a line from the small figures to the outside of the forest. She redraws the small figures with their horses. She then draws a group of LARGE PEOPLE and not quite as large people next to it, and large wolves, and then draws a long line from the people+horses to the BIG PEOPLE, where it stops. Hiko the Firechilde breaks off murmuring to the horse. "He was LOUD... very loud. Could barely make out what he was trying to say. But obviously, we did." Corrine then looks up at the kids, and smiles, waving at them, and waiting for the adults to return their attention to our heroes. Hiko the Firechilde blinks and says to Shadowfax, "Who told them that?" Corrine glances at Hiko. "Hm?" The adults look down at Corrine's drawing and one of them draws a crown next to the castle Corrine drew, then really big people next to it with an odd symbol by that. Corrine looks at the odd symbol, and the Really Big People, to see if they match the other really big people drawn by them before. Yes, they do. Corrine OOCly says, "Does the odd symbol twig any memories or image-recognition for Corrine?" Queen Yuriko says, "OOC You have the feeling the odd symbol is probably something on the lines of maybe punctuation of some kind or a personal sigil." Hiko the Firechilde sighs. "Well the wolves are here to 'eat the naughty children who are disprespectful to their elders'... Must be a local custom or tale." Juri of Avalon looks up at the very high walls speculatively. "If I could get up there, I could shoot my crossbow into their eyes. It should be about as painful as someone jabbing a sewing needle at high speed into a human eye." Hiko the Firechilde says, "I can try talking to one of the kids... maybe they'll be less loud." Roderick winces at the thought of a needle to the eye. Corrine hrms. "Even so, it's a decent warning... you don't want to mess with wolves when you're that size in that time.." She scratches her chin, and then scratches another image of herself, with her maple leaf emblem and the Pyricorn next to it. She then moves over to the mountain/castle image, and draws many little people in and around it... one of the people she draws a little crown on its head, and Tylor's original Sigil, and the Unicorn. She then looks up at the adults again, considering. Hiko the Firechilde looks at the 'kids', trying to find a not shy one who looks old enough to talk coherently. The wolves keep howling as you struggle to communicate. The sun seems to be setting now, moving rather quickly. They look confused, then one of them draws a picture of himself and one of the children you see here, then a picture of Corrine and a very big person who looks vaguely like corrine, and then that symbol again. Corrine blinks. Corrine says, "Oh boy." Corrine says, "Don't tell me." Corrine says, "We're in the Shadow of Giant Amber." There's a slightly older child, around eight years old. Hiko the Firechilde asks, "But which one?" Hiko the Firechilde OOCLY says, "I meant, which Amber..." You page, "... lemme guess, now. Somebody used Advanced/Exaulted Pattern to pop Corrine and Co into a Flawed Amber? *wl*" to Akemi. Hiko the Firechilde shakes her head, blinking, and walks up to the eight year old, a friendly smile on her face, trying to make eye contact. The child smiles at Hiko while bouncing a ball. Corrine considers. She draws them (the small people), and the Big people, and draws a circle line of the group of them going to the Large Corrine person. She then looks up at the adults, questioningly. Juri of Avalon paces around, frowning and looking frustrated at not having an obvious target to shoot with her crossbow. Then she takes out the Spoon and starts contemplating it; a slow, happy smile spreads across her face. Roderick puts a hand on Juri's shoulder. Hiko the Firechilde smiles at the kid, gesturing to everyone in the group (including Misaki). Corrine waves up at the kid, smiling a bit. Corrine glances at Juri, a curious eyebrow raised. Juri of Avalon blinks, then looks back at Roderick. "You know, this spoon really is pretty keen," she says. Then she waves it at the kid. Hiko the Firechilde points at Juri of Avalon. "Spoon," she pronounces, very loudly and very precisely. Hiko the Firechilde says, "Oh, and we're in Linden Village." Roderick says, "Just relax, Juri. And yes, the spoon is very nice." Hiko the Firechilde says, "And this child is under the assumption that as we're children, we've lost our mommies." You page, "Rings any bells? (Linden Village, that is.)" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "You think there's some dinky village by that name somewhere in Amber." to you. The sun sets. The adults begin gesturing towards one of the buildings. Corrine quirks a slight, sad smile at that. "One way of putting that, I suppose." She then pauses. "... I know that name... it's a small, dinky village somewhere in our Amber." Hiko the Firechilde bends over and places a hand about up to her waist. You page, "Where's Linden Village, geographically?" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "It's maybe a mile or two south of where you trumped to in order to begin your journey." to you. Hiko the Firechilde laughs. Juri of Avalon heads for one of the buildings with a sigh. "Even though they seem friendly, I don't like this." The adult giants begin trying to herd all of you inside one of the buildings in the manner in which one herds children. Corrine nods. "Yeah... I'm beginning to suspect more and more this is some Flawed Amber of my own... Linden Village is about a mile or two south of where we trumped to begin our Hellride outside of Arden." Corrine goes with, albeit riding her horse. Hiko the Firechilde is still 'talking' to the kid as she gets herded (with horse) inside. Inside looks like some sort of huge inn. Some of the adults start getting really honking huge booster chairs for all of you. Foxtrot stops prodding inn--- guilty authors and says, "Next time, I'm driving Auntie.." (to you and Kima) You page, "[Corrine] Nooooooo kidding, Hiko. This is just utterly -bizzare-." to Foxtrot and Kima. Foxtrot stops prodding inn--- guilty authors and says, "How the fekt do we get out?" (to you and Kima) Kima pages, "In a trap like this? We find whoever made the trap, and kill them. Or there may be an exit out of the shadow somewhere." to you and Foxtrot. You page, "If this is an analouge of our own home, then it -may- be possible to convince one of their royals to walk their Broken Pattern and then pull us to the center... save it's TRump-Null too. :P Grrrrrr." to Foxtrot and Kima. You page, "There's always throtting the GM, but that's passee." to Foxtrot and Kima. Then, unless you fight back, they lift you into the booster chairs and bring everyone some soup. Hiko the Firechilde OOCly throttles the GM. Queen Yuriko says, "OOC EEP" Juri of Avalon warily allows herself to be lifted, and eats the soup. Hiko the Firechilde laughs, gets lifted, and eats as she 'talks'. Corrine gets lifted up too, cautiously, and tries some of the soup. Okay, so it's a soup big enough to go and take a sauna bath in.... She glances at Hiko. "How's it going?" The soup is quite good, though clearly peasant level food. You can smell something sugary being made in the kitchen. The adults also bring you bread and butter to go with it. Hiko the Firechilde says, "Well, we're in Gamber... and where there's a Gamber, there's a Pattern..." Hiko the Firechilde says, "And we're all supposed to be four or five years old." Roderick mutters, "Otho would fit right in." Corrine says, "Ah... hah." Misaki nods. "Hmm, this could use some salt." Juri of Avalon asks, "More importantly, who has the abilities to manipulate a Shadow so close to the True City of this universe to the point where it can block all powers like this?" Corrine considers, and frowns. Hiko the Firechilde says, "That's a good point." Roderick says, "Fiona." Roderick says, "Mandor." Roderick says, "Maybe Father on a good day." Corrine says, "Grandfather... Drake... or Derith. Off the top of my head. Sis I know was studying the advanced arts of the Pattern, but I -know- Derith's got the mind the size of a planet in our family. At least in my own universe, which I still suspect this is." Juri of Avalon asks, "Could this be Drake, taking some kind of perverse and petty vengeance for the fact that we, umm... well, left a giant dying squid destroying his personal shadow, purely by accident?" Corrine hunts down some salt cubes for Misaki, and tosses them into her soup. Hiko the Firechilde nudges the kid, speaking aloud. "So, how long until the wolves go away?" Corrine hrms, thinking this over. You page, "-is- Drake the kind of person who would do such a thing? Doing petty vengeance pranks is more Makoto's schtick..." to Akemi. Akemi pages, "It's more Makoto's shtick. Drake would just shove the 'Shadow of Massive Explosions' in your path." to you. Juri of Avalon says, "He didn't strike me as the type during my brief meeting with him, but I'm rather bad at getting the right first impression of someone." Corrine considers, and shakes her head. "Not particulary. Trickery and pranks is more Makoto's schtick. If Drake was pissed off at us, he'd just shove the 'Shadow of Massive Explosions' in our path." Corrine says, "Admittedly, he did walk the pattern yesterday afternoon after giving his keys to Nabiki, and vanished... but my personal estimation of that is that he's likely going off to raise an army." Corrine munches some bread as well, thinking all this over. Hiko the Firechilde smirks. "I don't think I've been very naughty... but the wolves won't go away until they eat a naughty child?" Corrine considers. "Hrm." Roderick says, "A pity we don't have Otho handy, then." Juri of Avalon says, "Perhaps the wolves were sent by whomever trapped us here, since we do apparently resemble children." Corrine looks at Juri and the rest. "Hypothesis. -If- one of my family members had that much power to shove us to an Amber-Shadow, then presumably they'd have enough power to adjust exit conditions, given everything else is blocked. Would 'eating a naughty child' be such?" Juri of Avalon glances to Corrine and smiles faintly. "Are you volunteering to test out this thesis?" Corrine chuckles a bit, half-heartedly. "Well, I didn't say it was a -good- hypothesis..." Roderick says, "Hmm...can you think of anything you might have done to anger your...no, wait, he's dead. Never mind." Hiko the Firechilde says, "That was my thinking, too... the wolves weren't particular about who sent them. They just kept repeating the order incessantly." Corrine considers. "The wolves were saying that? Hrmmmmm." Corrine says, "And no, I tried to keep on Father's good side, such as it was. And the exile and everything was centuries ago." Hiko the Firechilde says, "I didn't talk to them myself, Shadowfax said that's what they were told." Corrine says, "'s where I learned to paint, for what it's worth.." She smiles a bit, and then sips more soup, thinking. You soon finish your very filling meal, and the giants bring each of you a tub of ice cream. Corrine says, "Oh, okay." Juri of Avalon picks at the ice cream, frowning and pondering. Corrine looks at the ice cream. "... you know... there was a time I wish I could import that to Ember. But now that I see it in such amount... yeesh." Hiko the Firechilde looks down at her ice cream, and meeps. "I can't finish this all by myself..." Misaki gorges herself on the ice cream. Roderick eats more politely. Corrine idly hands Misaki a spare napkin she had with her travel kit. Hiko the Firechilde starts in, a resigned look on her face. "Who knows what they consider 'naughty' here...." One of the adults begins telling a story with puppets. The children all clap and watch intently. Corrine nods. "That seems to be the crux of the matter at the moment. Violent? A particular form of Pattern Imprint? A certain scent?" Hiko the Firechilde watches, too, nudging the kid again. "What's going on?" Corrine watches the story being told, seeing if she can get the gist.... Juri of Avalon pulls out the Spoon and stares intently at it. A little girl handpuppet is playing somewhere, and then an adult puppet comes up to her and says something. The little girl kicks the adult in the knees, then runs off laughing. When the adult doing her voice laughs, your chairs vibrate. Hiko the Firechilde says, "It's the story of Hiki (*blink*) the Bad Girl Who was Eaten by Wolves for Being Naughty..." Corrine says, "....." Corrine says, "Oh.... Cute." You see the little girl handpuppet do mean things to various other children and adults. Corrine peeeeers at that little girl handpuppet. Does it, oh, have a passing resemblence to Hiko, or Juri? It's a dark haired puppet. Then one of the adults goes and gets a wolf head off the wall and runs over and has it gobble up the little girl hand puppet. Then the adults waggle fingers at the children. A lesson has been taught. Hiko the Firechilde nods, looking suitably impressed. Hiko the Firechilde asks, "So... do the wolves stay there until morning? Or until they eat a naughty child?" Juri of Avalon says, "OOC Warning : I'm beginning to fall asleep at my keyboard, and am probably only good for another 1/2 hour or so." Queen Yuriko says, "OOC Righto." Corrine facepalms, muttering under her breath. "... yep, trap all over it, Juri. I'm getting the suspicion the trigger condition may have been Hiko leaving Amber via land...." Corrine OOCly says, "neg probs." Roderick says, "I know the great masters have the power to place a Shadow into someone's path." Hiko the Firechilde looks at Corrine. "You're kidding me, right?" Juri of Avalon nods. "But who has both the motivation and the power?" Corrine says, "Well, it's a stretch." She smiles a bit, but it's halfhearted. "Or it could easily be set to trap me. Or the rest of us." She rubs her brow, looking frustrated. "And that was my feeling too, Roderick. Grandfather I don't -think- has the motivation, but if Derith's thrown in with Annadil..." She frowns. "But again, this is extrapolating with what I know or people. And I don't see -why- he'd do such a thing." Misaki says, "Well, I don't think it's intended to kill us, as surely anyone who wanted us dead would have made the Shadow more dangerous." You page, "Hm... whom does Corrine know has Advanced/Exaulted levels of Pattern in the family?" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Drake, Juri, Derith, Fuyutsuki, maybe Tylor now." to you. You page, "*nod*" to Akemi. Corrine nods. "Good point. The people could have easily been made more hostile. This is more thumbing their noses at us." "To impart a lesson, then?" Juri suggests wryly. Hiko the Firechilde says, "Perhaps... in any case, I still don't know how long we're stuck here..." Roderick says, "Have any of us given offense to our parents lately?" Hiko the Firechilde nudges the kid. "So the wolves won't leave, 'til they eat a naughty child?" The child babbles something incomprehensible at you. Corrine says, "Sis is still out in Shadow getting her navy. Drake's vanished,b ut at least he was seen leaving. Derith's been unreachable. Grandfather's... well, grandfather, working on Tylor. Tylor may have the power nowadays, he's certainly old enough... when it comes to the levels of Pattern ability." Corrine smiles sadly at Roderick. "Both of mine are dead... little too late to give offense there..." "One deceased, one in another universe and lacking the power," Juri says crisply. Hiko the Firechilde says, "One deceased (I think), one off with the Navy..." Hiko the Firechilde blinks. Hiko the Firechilde says, "Oh shite..." Corrine raises her eyebrows at Juri, but otherwise doesn't comment. She then pauses, looking at Hiko. "Eh?" Hiko the Firechilde turns to Corrine. Corrine says, "What?" Roderick says, "Mom would do this for fun, but she doesn't have enough power, I think. And Father would likely have just tried to seduce you all instead." Hiko the Firechilde asks, "Remember my hypothesis? About how it's possible for me and Shaft to have the same Chaos blood that Gabrielle found?" Hiko the Firechilde asks, "The prophecy?" Corrine then blinks, starting to sink in... "... Oh SHIT. -Annadil-?? But how the hell would he use Logrus so close to Amber?" Corrine asks, "Especially something to this degree?" Hiko the Firechilde says, "He did say he'd 'get me' some day for defying his wishes." Juri of Avalon says, "Logrus can be used in Amber. It's just usually very easy to spot." Hiko the Firechilde shrugs. "It's the best idea I can come up with." Corrine blinks. "Great, now I'm wishing Rose was here, so that I could trawl her brain for more information. And there is that, given the way the MacFinndos escaped, etcetera." Roderick frowns. "Not good." Corrine says, "But that does fit, when you think about it. 'oh, let's teach the child of fire a lesson for defying me and being naughty by stranding her.' That still begs the question of how to get out." Corrine tries her pattern sight again on various objects, including the group. Hiko the Firechilde smiles wryly. "Easy. I get eaten." Test signal, test signal, test signal. Juri of Avalon says, "If this is a flawed version of Amber, however, it ought to have its own Broken Pattern. Meaning it would be incredibly difficult to reshape the shadow so specifically." Corrine rubs her eyes again, muttering under her breath about test patterns. "Which would mean somebody would need to -find- it for him on this end." Roderick says, "Unless one had the Jewel of Judgement." Hiko the Firechilde curses. Juri of Avalon says, "Could this be the act of a primal power, as with our being drawn from our own universes by the Questing Beast? The Patterns are sentient, after all." Hiko the Firechilde says, "Which is entirely possible..." Corrine says, "I really... really...." *pause* "...-SHIT-." She facepalms. "Nobody knows where our real Jewel of Judgement is now...." Corrine says, "Which means it's plausable somebody else strong enough in mind got a hold of it and perhaps attuned to it, if it's not already being used by somebody in our family." You page, "Can Corrine remember the events of the Succesion Crisis, and the False Touga who was of chaos who attuned to the Jewel? I remember her IC asking Tylor in the game about that..." to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Yes, you can remember that." to you. Corrine says, "... or somebody who managed to seduce one of our family members and have a child by him or her." Hiko the Firechilde is slightly amused by all of this conjecture, but is also slightly baffled. Corrine groans. "Good Unicorn and Pyricorn, it's like the whole damn False Touga Succession Crisis all -over- again." *pause* "Though without the Zeppelin." Juri of Avalon sighs and eats more ice cream. "I hate mystical stuff," she comments. Roderick says, "Zeppelin?" Hiko the Firechilde eats more ice cream as well, talking to the kid again. "Who was the last child to be eaten?" Corrine nods. "A pretender to the throne, a Chaosian who had taken the form of Touga and apparently had Amber blood in him, I think from somebody having seduced him earlier, for all I know, went and managed to attune himself to the Jewel. He then went and used a Chaos-Hydrogen bouyed Zeppelin to assault father's funeral procession." ======================== ======================== Juri of Avalon says, "OOC: Okay, I need to sleep before I die and go insane." Hiko the Firechilde OOCLY says, "Alrighty.... game on, or pause?" Corrine OOCly says, "I'd say pause." Queen Yuriko says, "OOC We pause, as Alan must sleep." Hiko the Firechilde OOCLY says, "When are you on next?" Juri of Avalon says, "OOC: Since Juri's pretty supplementary and isn't really contributing much to convo ATM, I don't mind if you go on without me for a while." Queen Yuriko asks, "OOC Can y'all hack tomorrow night?" Corrine OOCly says, "I'm good tomorrow eve, of course. ^_^" Queen Yuriko says, "OOC Okay, if Alan doesn't mind, we can go on a while longer." Tybalt has arrived. Corrine OOCly nods. Hiko the Firechilde OOCLY says, "I can hack tomorrow." Hiko the Firechilde OOCLY says, "I'll be home early-ish, I hope." Queen Yuriko says, "I'll be at Travis' until about 11 my time." Hiko the Firechilde OOCLY says, "If not, usual time? Around six/eight my time?" Hiko the Firechilde OOCLY says, "After eight my time then?" Corrine OOCly says, "Sounds about right...." Queen Yuriko says, "OOC Yeah. " Tybalt has left. Tybalt has arrived. Tybalt has left. Queen Yuriko says, "See Merc Run :)" *** Foxtrot goes OOC. *** Hiko the Firechilde says, "Fingers are damn cold..." Corrine OOCly gives Trisha some warm isotoner gloves. Hiko the Firechilde says, "Thanks... it's really cold here." Queen Yuriko asks, "OOC Okay, do we want to continue without Alan for a while, or cut until tommorow?" Hiko the Firechilde OOCLY says, "Cut, because I'm at a loss for words, and my brain's wandeirng." Queen Yuriko says, "OOC okay." Corrine OOCly says, "I'm good either way, though hm... prolly should compensate for wonky sleep debt... perhaps a rest and musing tomorrow will give a solution to the problem." Corrine says, "And I'll see what I can do about sketching the Green Knight. ;)" You page, "Okay, the going theories in Corrine's mind right now -- Annadil somehow managed to get his hands on the JoJ and through sheer force of mind attune to it, and is using it to 'punish'/trap Hiko in this shadow of Amber (the "Bad Girl Hiki" was rather close to things, in her opinion). The other going theory is that Derith, with the JoJ, did this for Anandil or on his own recognizance. That still leaves the question of how to get OUT, but...." to Akemi. In a page-pose to you, Akemi nods Corrine says, "But anyway... I think at the moment, I shall head out to bed. G'night, all. *wl*" Queen Yuriko says, "G'nite, Corrine." Hiko the Firechilde says, "Night, Phil."