Corrine of Amber OOCly appears and be ready.

Corrine of Amber OOCly ligs as soon as he appears.  gr.

Juri of Avalon rolls over in her sleep and gropes Corrine.

You page, "... is that an OOC pose, or real? o_O;" to Kima.

Kima pages, "It's a 'Make Mike pay attention and set things in motion'
pose." to you.

You page, "Aaaaaah." to Kima.

Mike teleports into the room.

Mike has arrived.

Corrine of Amber OOCly says, "Warning.  I MUST bail at 12 midnight EST,
period.  -Cannot- afford to be drowsy tomorrow in Interview Land."

=========================
=========================

The Tennessee Shad says, "Right. You wake up in the morning, exhaused from
you wild night of... sleeping on opposite sides of the bed. Aw."

Juri of Avalon stretches and yawns.  "Good morning, Corrine."

Corrine of Amber wakes up precisely at the point where she'd be waking up
in Ember... sleeping without darkness might remove the light cues, but it
does wonders for your own body clock learning to compensate.  "...Mmm?
Oh, morning, Juri."

Corrine of Amber sits up and stretches too, trying to supress a yawn with
little success.  She shifts over and stands, getting out of bed.  "Sleep
well?"

Juri of Avalon goes to the door and opens it up, hoping to find laundered
clothing waiting in the hallway.

Juri of Avalon says, "Quite well."

Laundered clothing does indeed await.

Corrine of Amber asks, "Great.  After a week on the trail, a real bed is a
gift from the Unicorn... our clothes out there?"

Juri of Avalon brings in the laundry.  "Yes."

Juri of Avalon says, "Well, we get to go running off into Shadow with Rose
and Ishmael now, so say goodbye to the bed."

Corrine of Amber yays, smiling.  "Yay!" Then pouts.  "Awww." She then
winks.

Juri of Avalon wanders into the bathroom to attend to morning toilet and
changing.

Corrine of Amber hrms, and checks out in the hallway to see if the
Armorers left her crossbow Ammo out there.

There's also a packet of bolts, yes.

Juri of Avalon calls out from the bathroom, "Corrine, have a look in the
basket.  I think there may be more in there than our clothing."

Corrine of Amber calls back, "Right, Juri!", and carries the nice and
happy Crossbow Ammo back into the room, ready to reload Whalekiller mode
and crossbow forms of her manifestations.  She then grabs her clothes out
of the laundry basket, poking through it.

As you touch the basket, a furry head explodes out of the heaped clothing
and glares wickedyly at you. "Veepveepveep!"

Corrine of Amber -blinks- at the thing in the basket.  "Meep!  What the??"

Then a paw holding a raygun pokes out and blasts you.

Corrine of Amber exclaims, "GAH!"

Corrine goes flying back across the room.

Juri of Avalon rushes out of the bathroom at Corrine's yell, half-dressed
and with her sword out.

The furry creature opens fire on Juri.

Juri of Avalon hits it with a Neural Disrupt and dodges like crazy.

Corrine of Amber goes flying, and presumably hits the wall or other items,
still in her nightie.  She trumps her crossbow into her hands, shifting it
down to normal mode from whalekiller, already lining up a shot.  "Careful,
it's armed!"

It falls over twitching as Juri dodges the blasts. Corrine tries to trump
her crossbow, but is too dazed to do so coherently, and instead trumps it
into the bathtub.

"I noticed!" the topless Juri calls, ducking raygun shots.

Juri of Avalon moves in for the kill.

Corrine of Amber mutters, and tries to find cover, grumbling about it
looking to be one of those days.

Juri expertly disarms the thing, then whacks it on the head with her sword
hilt, knocking it out.

Juri of Avalon asks, "Corrine, are you all right?"

Mike pages, "You feel a little woozy, but otherwise okay." to you.

Corrine of Amber mrgs, shaking her head, trying to clear it... "... oh, I
just got zapped by a raygun-weilding insane muppet and got thrown back
into a wall.  Juuuuuust peachey."  She stands up, a little wobbly.  "Give
me a bit, and I should be better."

Juri of Avalon looks down at her currently topless self and colours
faintly.

Corrine of Amber looks down at her hands.  "And I mistrumped my crossbow.
Yaay." She looks up, and quirks an eyebrow at Juri, but otherwise doesn't
comment.

Juri of Avalon grabs some rope from her pack and hogties the furry beast,
then examines it and its raygun.

Corrine of Amber says, "... I think I'm going to get changed before we get
more of these things..."

Corrine of Amber goes and starts gathering up her clothes from the area of
furry critter.

It looks like a humanoid vole of some sort, and the gun looks like a stun
weapon of some sort.

Juri of Avalon says, "OOC:  Kinda like... a mole?  -.-"
The Tennessee Shad says, "Why, yes."
Corrine of Amber OOCly says, "......"

Juri of Avalon says, "Lovely."

Corrine of Amber asks, "Mm?"

Juri of Avalon says, "It's a mole-man."

Corrine of Amber says, "......"

Corrine of Amber groans.

Corrine of Amber says, "Right.  Change now.  Pow-wow right after."

Juri of Avalon heads back into the bathroom and comes out a moment later
fully dressed.

Juri of Avalon pulls the bell-cord to summon a servant.

Corrine of Amber ducks into the bathroom after Juri, and gets changed as
well.  There's a momentary exclimation of releif, and corrine comes back
out from the bathroom, hefting her crossbow.  "Good thing the bathroom tub
was drained."

A few seconds later, a horde of raygun-wielding mole-men burst in the
door.

Corrine of Amber exclaims, ".....!"

Corrine of Amber slings her crossbow on her back, and tries upending the
bed to make a barrier.

"Veepveepveep!" They open fire, blasting the bed instead of Corrine.

Juri of Avalon goes "The HELL?", blasts the lead ones with the raygun she
grabbed from the first mole-man, then begins dicing them.

Corrine of Amber uses the bed for a barrier, grabbing the rest of her
stuff and armed-up.  This definitely goes on the top-ten odd mornings
list.

Mole-men squeal and die as Juri lands among them and starts going to town.
Several, panicked, dive through the window with a crash.

Mike pages, "You're getting a trump call." to you.

Corrine of Amber shoots any mole-men who aren't being chopped into
molekibble with her crossbow.

You page, "....??! Corrine runs through her Trump True Memory to see if
it's anybody she's met here in this reality yet." to Mike.

Mike pages, "It's Ishmael." to you.

Juri of Avalon fights coldly and efficiently.  "Corrine, can you reach the
others somehow?"

Corrine of Amber says, "... I'm getting a Trump Call.. it's Ishmael!"

Corrine of Amber opens the damn connection, thankyeee.

Juri of Avalon fights to keep the mole-men away from Corrine while she
takes the call.

Mole-men dash screaming about the room, blasting wildly. More dash in
through the door, riding Wargophers, and are met by juri.

Corrine of Amber makes sure she's in cover again when accepting it.

Mike pages, ""Hi. Sleep well?"" to you.

You page, "The sleep was fine, the wakeup's hell!  We've got Mole-Men with
Rayguns up here!" to Mike.

You page, "And I am NOT making this up!" to Mike.

Juri of Avalon boggles a lot and goes through the mole-men like Solude at
a lesbian convention.

Mike pages, ""... Right. Pull me through."" to you.

Corrine of Amber is rather intent and incensed at her conversation with
Ishamel.  She grabs Ishmael's hand, and pulls him through.

Ishmael surveys the situation, sighs, and swears. "Damn Mole-men. Hullo,
Juri. Sleep well?"

Ishmael absently ignites a light-sword and parries an odd blast.

Corrine of Amber starts trying to shoot Mole-Men and Warghophers with her
crossbow.

"Hello, Ishmael.  Very well, thank you."  Juri absently kicks a mole-man
out the window.  "What's going on, exactly?"

Corrine of Amber mutters something about at least her request for crossbow
ammo came through just in time...

Ishmael says, "It would appear that the Mole-men have come for you." He
deftly sidesteps through the melee, tosses something out the door, and
slams it. A BOOM shakes the hall.

Juri of Avalon says, "Oh.  Me in particular?  I feel so special."

Corrine of Amber says, "Yaaay.  Just what I've always wanted.  To be
pursued and groped by Mole-men."

By this point, most of the mole-men are dead or injured.

Ishmael raises an eyebrow. "They groped you?"

Corrine of Amber exclaims, "Well, I have no doubt if I'd stayed still,
they'd try!"

Ishmael says, "..."

Corrine of Amber sighs, and shakes her head.  "Sorry.  A little tense."

Juri of Avalon says, "I expect they want to carry us off to their
underground lair to use in bizarre erotic ceremonies for their evil gods,
or something like that."

Juri of Avalon shrugs.  "Could be worse, Corrine; they could have
tentacles."

Corrine of Amber says, "......"

Ishmael says, "..."

Corrine of Amber supresses a shudder, or at least tries.  "Ugh. -Pass-."

Corrine of Amber sighs, and looks around at the devastation that's been
wrought.

Ishmael says, "Er, right ho. We have news, and goodies."

Corrine of Amber says, "News good.  Goodies good."

Corrine of Amber starts reloading her crossbow, and gathering up the
remainder of her new ammo.

Juri of Avalon just looks around the dead and wounded mole-men and shakes
her head.  "How did they get in?"

Ishmael doffs his fedora, and taps it. A red-enameled crossbow tumbles out
int his waiting hand. He tosses it to Juri.

Ishmael says, "I suspect their master let them in."

"Thank you, Ishmael."  Juri tests the pull, and nods approvingly.
"Master?"

Corrine of Amber finishes reloading, and packing up her ammo, including
the larger Whalekiller bolts.  She glances at Ishmael.

Ishmael looks cryptic. "Ah." He repeats the process, and tosses a second
crossbow to Corrine.

Corrine of Amber smiles at Ishmael.  "Thank you, Ishmael!"  She accepts
the crossbow, grabbing it, testing the pull, and then slinging it on her
back.

Corrine of Amber considers her first crossbow, causes it to shrink down to
a dagger form, and slips it into a sheath above her Trump Case on her left
hip that's there for that purpose.

Ishmael then moves over to Juri, drops to one knee, and produces a ring
case with a flourish.

Corrine of Amber says, "............"

Juri of Avalon quirks an eyebrow.

Ishmael says, "Your shadowwalking device."

Juri of Avalon accepts the ring case.  "Thank you."

Corrine of Amber blinks, and snrks.  ".... heh.  Had me going there for a
moment."

Ishmael casually tosses a second case to Corrine. "Some of my finest work,
if I do say so myself."

Corrine of Amber grabs it out of the air, pops open the case, and peers at
the ring.

It looks like a cheap plastic decoder ring.

Juri of Avalon slips hers onto her finger.  "Can we send secret messages
to each other with them?"

Ishmael exclaims, "Yes! It's functional AND decorative!"

Corrine of Amber quirks an eyebrow, and slips on her own ring, next to the
silver ring with an embossed Maple Leaf on it.  "Coolness."

Ishmael says, "Anyhow, big news. Katsura rode in this morning. He's found
the MacFinndos."

Corrine of Amber asks, "Oh?  All of them?"

Corrine of Amber says, "Which reminds me, we're going to need a debreif of
their names, numbers, and capabilities if we're to combat them
effectively."

Ishmael says, "Most of them, at the least. They're holed up in some castle
out in Shadow."

Juri of Avalon asks, "How about your squid?"

Ishmael says, "Katsura says he thinks Fido is somewhere in or under the
castle."

Corrine of Amber says, "That's a big castle."

Juri of Avalon nods.  "And... how do the mole-men tie into this, and who
is this 'master' you mentioned?"

Ishmael says, "Ah."

Corrine of Amber . o O (If that Castle ends up being "Castle Brandenburg",
I am going to punch a wall or two.)

Ishmael says, "You wish to know of the MacFinndos? I shall tell you."

Corrine of Amber says, "If we're to defeat them, then it would generally
be a good idea."  She looks wry.

Ishmael says, "At the moment they're being headed up by Feanor, who is a
sort of low-budget version of myself. Only not nearly as cool."

Juri of Avalon smiles faintly.  "Well, who could be?"

Corrine of Amber says, "Of course not.  Nobody could." She quirks a smile.

Ishmael says, "The poser has some small conjuring ability, I admit, and an
inferior Pattern Imprint, but his swordwork is pathetic and he couldn't
execute a trump if his life depended on it."

Ishmael frowns slightly. "He has stamina, though, and his mind is fairly
powerful."

Corrine of Amber frowns at that.  "mmmm."

"So was Brand's," Juri says gravely.  "It helped little against swords
through his heart and kidney."

Ishmael says, "Then there's Arwen. She's a Pattern person and sorceress.
Sort of like Fiona if Fiona were a loser who Otho could beat
singlehanded."

Ishmael ehehehehehs at Juri. "What a sweet thing it is," he sotto voices
to Corrine.

Corrine of Amber says, "Make note.  Be sure to operate at range, or have
Pattern Defense working well.  Glah."  She quirks an eyebrow at Ishmael,
but doesn't comment.

Juri of Avalon makes a vaguely rude gesture at Ishmael.  "Go on."

Ishmael says, "Next is Findu... Findi... Findy. She's actaully fairly
impressive, having trump powers that boggle the mind. But a child with a
soup spoon could defeat her in open combat."

Corrine of Amber quirks an eyebrow at that.

Juri of Avalon glances at Corrine.  "You still have that spoon Dworkin
gave you?"

Ishmael says, "Now we start entering the realm of the truly pathetic."

Corrine of Amber nods, pulling it out of her trump-case pouch, and then
replacing it.

You page, "A note... Corrine is VERY much going to try and hang onto that
spoon. Thank you. :)" to Akemi.

Ishmael says, "Fingon is a Julian wannabe, and why anyone would want to be
Julian is a alley of thought no sane man wishes to venture down. My dog
could beat him, but I am too fair-minded a man to set my dog to such
boring labor."

Corrine of Amber asks, "Do you have a dog?"

Ishmael grins maniacally for a second, then coughs.

Corrine of Amber doesn't facepalm.  Really.

Juri of Avalon asks, "Does the Chihuaha of Chaos count?"

Ishmael says, "Maehdros, or Micky as we like to call him, is a
Gerard-wannabe. Rose grabbed him, pulled him into a ocean full of sharks,
and stabbed him repeatedly. The most you can say in his favor is that he's
not quite as pathetic as Fingon."

Ishmael says, "And those are the MacFinndos."

Corrine of Amber nods, slowly.  "So five of them.  And their squid."

Ishmael says, "OUR squid."

Corrine of Amber says, "Well, your squid, they've just got a temporary
loan."

Corrine of Amber me nods at Ishmael in acknolwedgement.  "My apologies.
It's been that sort of morning."

Ishmael beams. "Now that we've run them to ground, we should be able to
swoop in and wipe the floor with them."

"The mole-men and their master," Juri prompts.

Ishmael says, "Ah," Ishmael says cryptically.

The Tennessee Shad says, "Bloody muck format. -.-"

Corrine of Amber taps her fingers against her forearm, eyebrow quirked at
Ishmael.

Ishmael says, "For the answer to that question, we must first consult
Rhianna."

He pulls out a trump, concentrates for a second, and then pulls through
Rhianna.

Corrine of Amber nods, and watches as Rhianna gets pulled through.
"Hello, Rhianna.  Want a mole-man?"

Corrine of Amber says, "Or the remains of one, anyway...."

Rhianna says, "Hello, there."

Juri of Avalon nods to Rhianna.

Rhianna looks around at dead mole men.  "Ishmael, you need to stop leaving
corpses lying around.  You're getting to be as bad as Uncle Caine."

Ishmael says, "This wasn't my fault, honestly."

Corrine of Amber says, "I just pity the cleaning staff."

Juri of Avalon narrows her eyes.  "Who, exactly is the 'master' of these
little abominations?"

Ishmael produces a sheaf of paper and flourishes it. "I have the answer
here. But first, Rhianna, why don't you confirm things?"

Corrine of Amber asks, "And for that matter, how the hell did they get
into the castle?"

Ishmael says, "Ah."

Ishmael looks cryptic.

Corrine of Amber . o O (I wish I was back home.  Then I could trump my
Nerf Collection into my hands, and give Ish a good drubbing.)

Rhianna picks up a dead mole man.  "Sure you know, Ishmael.  Well, let's
see..."

Rhianna produces a microscope.  She scrapes up some blood onto a slide,
then takes a look at it through a blue lens.

Corrine of Amber moves over, and murmurs something in Juri's ear.

You page, "[Corrine] You get the feeling Ishmael gets through life faking
inscrutability?" to Kima.

Kima pages, "[Juri] I get the feeling the inscrutability is used to cover
his not actually knowing the answer." to you.

Juri of Avalon murmurs something back.

You page, "[Corrine] That's what I figured.  *hehs* Oh, to be back in
Amber... I could nerf him then." to Kima.

Corrine of Amber then goes and leans against the nearest wall, casually.

Ishmael looks cryptic.

Rhianna says, "Hmm.  I believe Otho has been having fun again."

Rhianna says, "Or alternatively, the mole men carried him off for breeding
purposes."

Rhianna says, "I'd like to hope the mole men didn't get that desperate."

Juri of Avalon asks, "Who is this Otho you keep mentioning?"

Corrine of Amber says, "....."

Rhianna says, "Caine's son."

Ishmael nods sagely, and reveals the paper with a flourish. It is a wanted
poster for Otho, Master of the Mole-men.

Rhianna says, "From what I understand, he's rather like his father was
when his father was young."

Ishmael says, "As we speak, these are going up all across Amber."

Corrine of Amber gets that o_O expression again.

Juri of Avalon sighs quietly.  "And why did they come for us, and are they
connected to the MacFinndos?"

Ishmael says, "Probably not."

Ishmael says, "Otho is a twit, but not a traitor."

Juri of Avalon asks, "Then this is just a stupid, annoying coincidence?"

Corrine of Amber says, "Oh, so it's okay just to give him a decent
drubbing if we encounter him."

Rhianna says, "Otho probably was bored and decided to do something stupid
to relieve his boredom."

Ishmael says, "Please do, Corrine."

Rhianna says, "Like the time we found Fiona and Julian making out in the
courtyard, but it wasn't actually either of them."

Corrine of Amber says, "Ah-hah."

Juri of Avalon asks, "Shall we get on with the recovery of your squid,
then?"

Ishmael says, "Or the time the viking carried off all of Albert's spam."

Ishmael asks, "Capital idea. Shall we be off to the stables?"

Juri of Avalon nods.

Corrine of Amber nods as well.

Ishmael pulls a trump. "Join hands."

Corrine of Amber takes Ish's hand, and offers hers to Juri.

Juri of Avalon takes Corrine's hand.

You appear in the Amber stables. Waiting for you here next to some saddled
horses are Rose, a Asian-looking ronin type with a sheathed katana, and a
young man dressed in purple and red with blackish-red hair.

Juri of Avalon blinks.  "Horatio?"

Corrine of Amber lets go after the transition is complete, and smiles and
bows to Rose and the two others.  "Hello Rose, sir, sir."

You page, "No recog on the other two, I imagine?" to Akemi.
Akemi pages, "No recognition." to you.

"Huh?" everyone says intelligently.

The guy in purple and red steps forward and offers his hand. "Hello,
Juri."

Juri of Avalon takes his hand, looking confused.  "What are you doing
here?"

Corrine of Amber looks between the members of the group, confused.

He smiles. "Well, Amber is the ancestral home."

Juri of Avalon says, "Yes, but not _this_ Amber."

Ishmael, Rose, Rhianna, and the other guy are looking baffled.

"There are other ones?"

Corrine of Amber looks at Rose.  "And your friends would be, Rose....?"

"Yes.  Numerous."  Juri looks absolutely baffled.

He smiles again. "After the current crisis has passed, perhaps we can
discuss this over dinner."

Juri of Avalon looks at him.  "Who are you, really?"

Ishmael is looking baffled and grumpy, which on him are the same thing.
"Roderick, what the bloody hellfire are you blathering about?"

"I'm just getting acquainted with the lady, Ish," 'Roderick' replies,
looking injured.

"Have you two met?" Rose chirps brightly.

Juri of Avalon just groans and mutters something unintelligible.

The ronin just looks resigned. "This is fate."

Corrine of Amber moves over to Juri's side, and rests a comforting hand on
her shoulder.

Juri of Avalon says, "You would be Bley's son, I would guess."

Roderick looks pleased. "You've heard of me!"

Juri of Avalon says, "No."

Corrine of Amber hrms, and looks at the Ronin.  "And you would be...
Katsura, I presume?"

Katsura bows at the waist. "Hai."

Corrine of Amber bows back, in the same manner.  "A pleasure to meet you.
Corrine, Princess of Amber." She stands up again, a quirked smile on her
lips.  "Just not this one.  Looooong story."

Juri of Avalon says, "Before we set out, I should mention something that
occured to me last night."

Corrine of Amber asks, "Hm?"

Roderick says, "Please tell us."

Juri of Avalon says, "Vialle's sculptures made mention of 'The Finndo With
No Name'.  I was uncertain at first what that meant, but I think I've
figured it out."

Rose says, "Wow, you have?"

Juri of Avalon says, "You're all more or less familiar with
Patternghosts."

Roderick and Katsura say, "Huh?"

Juri of Avalon asks, "The ancestor of my family, Corwin's Patternghost,
was called 'The King With No Name'.  You said you killed 'your' Finndo,
yes?"

Ishmael says, "Thouroughly."

Ishmael says, "Though were were calling Fiona 'Old One-Arm' for a while
afterwards."

Juri of Avalon says, "The possibility may exist, then, that the director
of this is a Patternghost.  Perhaps of your Finndo, perhaps of
mine--perhaps of another.  They seem rather pervasive."

Juri of Avalon shrugs.  "It is only a theory brought on by a coincidence
of names, but I felt I should put it forth."

Ishmael frowns. "Hmmmmm."

Corrine of Amber hrms.  "Though it does beg the question -why- it'd be
doing this... I thought about that a bit last night, Juri, if they're
created by the Pattern and sent to do -its'- will.  Unless they can
somehow free themselves of the control."

Corrine of Amber then shrugs.  "But then again, what do I know?" She
smiles, wryly.

Juri of Avalon says, "There are multiple Patterns."

Juri of Avalon says, "I happen to know that my uncle Finndo's stronghold,
Jigoku, had its own Pattern.  The Patterns, depending on their makers, may
not all be friendly towards one another."

Corrine of Amber says, ".... Oh great.  Getting bitchy over each other for
turf?  Wuuuunnderful."

Ishmael says, "Yes, but we hosed down Finndo's old one with blood. The
very Shadow it was in was wiped out."

Juri of Avalon frowns.  "The possibility exists, then, that it could be my
Finndo.  Many of his followers escaped."

Ishmael says, "Unless he had a spare, which is unlikely considering what I
know of them, he's out of luck there."

Juri of Avalon says, "Among them were my brother, Cupio, whom I went
searching for.  But I could not find him through walking in Shadow.  As
though, perhaps, he were in another universe."

Juri of Avalon frowns heavily.

Corrine of Amber says, "Did Finndo, er, your Finndo, not Juri's, ever walk
the one here?" She points towards the castle and by implication Kolvir's.
"Or Rebma or Tir'na-nog?"

Corrine of Amber asks, "... for that matter, have there been reports of a
Three-Armed Finndo?"

"The wardens _did_ say something about that..." Juri recalls.

Corrine of Amber nods.  "That's why I mentioned it.  They didn't seem
surprised."

Ishmael says, "Well, yes, he did."

Corrine of Amber says, "Hell, if -I'd- heard of a Three Armed Finndo
running around my Arden, I'd be surprised.  And rather ticked, and ponder
feeding him to Sparky, but..." she shrugs.

Ishmael says, "But unless our Patterns are a lot stupider than I think,
they wouldn't make a Patternghost that wanted them destroyed."

Corrine of Amber OOCly imagines Roderick and Katsura by now are feeling
WAY confused.... :)

Juri of Avalon hrms.  "If my Uncle Finndo drew his own Pattern,
however..."

Ishmael says, "I haven't heard of any three-armed Finndos myself."

Ishmael peers at Rhianna suspiciously.

Juri of Avalon shrugs.  "Well, these are only theories.  It would be best
to ride out and try to gather some evidence for them."

Juri of Avalon peers at the ring Ishmael made her.  "This ring... would it
allow me to seek someone known to me through the Shadows cast by your
Amber?"

Katsura says, "Hai. I have tracked them down to a castle in Shadow."

Ishmael says, "Yes, it will."

Juri of Avalon nods.  "When we enter Shadow, I shall try to get a feel for
my brother Cupio.  If I can sense him, it would confirm some suspicions."

Ishmael nods. "Shall we be off, then?"

Corrine of Amber glances at her own ring, and smiles.  "Provided he ended
up here... what was he like?"  She then nods to Ishmael.  "Sounds good,
then."

Juri of Avalon changes her crossbow into a horse and mounts up.

Juri of Avalon says, "He made Darako look like a pleasant person.  The one
time we met, he nearly killed me, and I nearly kicked his windpipe in."

Corrine of Amber heads for the horse she was riding when they came in, and
mounts up.  "Ah.... hah.  Right.  I will keep this in mind."

Corrine of Amber slings her extra ammo on the back of her saddle.

Juri of Avalon says, "He is, however, family, and that counts for certain
things.  I made a promise to my father to try and bring him back within
the fold, although I personally doubt my chances of success."

Ishmael mounts his Riding Beagle. Rose shapeshifts into a jaguarlike cat
with tentacles for a face, and Rhianna saddles a 12-legged frankenhorse.
Roderick and Katsura mount up on normal if fine horses.

Corrine of Amber says, "I'll keep that in mind as well, then." She quirks
a slight smile.

Corrine of Amber OOCly looks at Rose.

Katsura leads the way out of the stables, down through the city, and out
into Arden.

Corrine of Amber OOCly GReat, now I'm getting book-version Muhgi
flashbacks.
Corrine of Amber OOCly (Displacer beast!)

Juri of Avalon says, "I hope we do not encounter him.  I hope has no
involvement in this.  I fear he may."

Corrine of Amber follows, keeping her horse near to Juri.  "What did he
look like, so I can recognize him if I see him?"

Juri of Avalon says, "If he is involved in this, be wary of his weapon; it
changes forms from sword to whip in an instant, and is deadly almost
beyond measure."

Corrine of Amber purses her lips, and nods.

Juri of Avalon says, "He is tall and lean, and wears leather armour.  His
hair is a mohawk, black dyed yellow.  His sword is saw-toothed; its
alternate form is a snake-headed whip."

Corrine of Amber nods, committing that image to memory.

Corrine of Amber asks, "And now that I think of it... what do the
MacFinndos look like?  And your Finndo, Juri?"

Juri of Avalon says, "When we fought, he was my equal with a blade, though
weaker in strength.  I have improved since then, but he undoubtedly has as
well."

You ride out through Arden, and into the Golden Circle.

Juri of Avalon says, "My Finndo would be hard to miss.  He had three arms.
His colours were black and orange.  His appearance was somewhat demonic,
and he wielded three magical maces."

Ishmael says, "They all look vaguely like Finndo; big, lean, red-black
hair, muscular. A lot of them have a fair bit of elf in them. And they
have fairly corny Irish slurs."

Corrine of Amber OOCly says, "does this trip through Arden take several
days, or is it still the same day? 'cause Corrine WOULD be curious about
that."
The Tennessee Shad says, "Same day."

Juri of Avalon smiles faintly.  "Reminescent of my Uncle Finn, then, the
Ideal of Irish Bartenders."


Corrine of Amber nods at the descriptions, and then whistles sofltly as
they get through Arden faster than expected.  "Shortcut route through
Arden, then, Katsura?  Back home it takes days if you don't Trump to the
edge...."

The Tennessee Shad says, "Either this Arden is fairly small, your mounts
are very fast, or Julian's Realm just wants you the hell out before you
can cause any damage."

Corrine of Amber OOCly says, "Oookie."
Corrine of Amber OOCly takes.... Choice Number Three!

Katsura says, "It is swifter to leave Arden than to enter."

Corrine of Amber ahs, and nods.

Corrine of Amber OOCly warns 30 minutes.

The Shadows start getting less and less Amberish as you exit the Golden
Circle. After about a day, you pull into a cove where a ship waits. The
horses and riding beasts are led up into it.

Ishmael says, "The good ship Lollipop."

Corrine of Amber hums a bit of "Come Sail Away" to herself, thinking
thoughts of Tylor and Touga. 

The ship sets sail, heading into strange seas with Katsura at the helm.
Ishmael and Rose settle down to amuse themselves by engaging in the
porpoise equivalent of cockfighting.

Juri of Avalon spends a lot of time doing sword practice on the deck.

Corrine of Amber just watches All That Wet Stuff!  Well, okay, she also
does some sword-practice as well, and makes Trump Sketches of Our Happy
Compatriots to keep in practice.

Katsura, after a day or so, offers to spar.

You page, "Oh, Corrine, when private, will be trying her 'trump ammo to
hand' trick, to verify it still works." to Akemi.
You page, "(ie, initate contact, reach for ammo, grab, reload.)" to Akemi.
Akemi pages, "You can manage it." to you.
You page, "Coolness.  That allows Corrine's worry level to go down a bit.
*wg*" to Akemi.

Juri of Avalon accepts.

Corrine of Amber sits back on a barrel, ready to watch the two spar.
-This- oughta be good...

Katsura and Juri engage in a friendly duel. It's a pretty spectacular
show, which Juri wins handily. She also wins the second and the third
matches.

Corrine of Amber applauds, and cheers Juri on.

Mike pages, "Juri is amazingly skilled. You suspect she might be better
than your version." to you.

Juri of Avalon acts the good winner and compliments Katsura's skill.

Corrine of Amber raises her eybrows, and then whistles low.

Corrine of Amber looks thoughtful.

Katsura takes his lose in good grace, though he does seem somewhat
impressed.

After a few days, a forbidding coastline comes into sight.

Corrine of Amber purses her lips at the Forbidding Coastline (tm).

The ship docks in a nearby cove, and the party sets out on mounts again.

Juri of Avalon mutters something about not trusting the damn urchins this
time.

Corrine of Amber quirks a curious eyebrow at Juri.

Corrine of Amber asks, "mm?"

Juri of Avalon says, "Long story."

Corrine of Amber says, "Right." She nods.

After negotiating a treacherous mountain range, you find yourselves
confronted by an eerie sight. A broad valley stretches below you,
completely covered by refineries of some sort. In the middle rises a lone
mountain, atop which is a skull-shaped castle of massive proportions. It
looks somewhat familiar.

Corrine of Amber says, "..."

Corrine of Amber says, "..."

Juri of Avalon says, "Lovely.  It's Castle Brandenburg."

Corrine of Amber mutters.  ".... 'Castle Brandenburg'"  At the same time
Juri speaks.

The sky is brown from the smoke of the refineries. A smell of bad coffee
hangs everywhere.

Corrine of Amber says, "And control via Coffee-addiction."

Juri of Avalon asks, "Ishmael, did you ever Trump your uncle and find out
just what happened to the Palantir?"

Ishmael says, "Yes. He says it's still in his study."

Juri of Avalon frowns darkly.

Corrine of Amber OOCly warns 20 or less.  And if we're moving into another
combat phase, it would likely be wise to fork -before- it. ^_-;

Juri of Avalon considers the possibilities for infiltrating the castle.

Corrine of Amber asks, "How... powerful was this Palantir?"


Ishmael says, "I once mentally slapped down Fiona with it."

Corrine of Amber says, "... Ah."

Ishmael says, "I near pissed myself, and immediately took it to Suhuy. I
want no part of a strange artifact with that sort of power."

Corrine of Amber says, "So you gave it to the keeper of the Logrus, and
hooked it up to the Logrus."

Ishmael says, "Exactly. Suhuy's equipped to deal with such things."

Corrine of Amber nods.

Juri of Avalon says, "OOC:  That was actually Alan hinting for the GMs to
compensate for his inability to have the tactical skill of Juri.  :)"
Corrine of Amber OOCly snrks.

Juri of Avalon says, "We could get in through disguise, invisibility,
teleportation, or possibly just plain stealth."

Juri of Avalon says, "It would probably be a good idea to do some scouting
of the area, looking for back doors, routes of escape, and otherwise,
before actually attempting to get inside and locate the MacFinndos and
your squid."

Corrine of Amber nods at all this.  "Sounds good.  Given all these
refineries about..." She gestures at the landscape.

Ishmael says, "Right. I can send a spy creature, or we can use the Pattern
or Logrus to remotely scry."

Juri of Avalon says, "Whichever would have the least chance of being
detected."

Juri of Avalon hrms.  "Coffee refineries, perhaps?  If the MacFinndos have
been enslaved using... coffee, then there must be a means by which its
transported to the castle.  Wagons, perhaps, or something more
sophisticated.  It might be a good way to get in."

Ishmael thinks. "Probably the animal." He mumbles a few words, then sends
a swarm of bumblebees buzzing out of Roderick's ears. Roderick yelps, and
the bees fly off towards the city.

Corrine of Amber says, "..."

Ishmael unrolls a portable projection screen, sets up a projector, and 20
seperate 'BeeCam' views are shown.

Corrine of Amber quirks an eyebrow at this.

Juri of Avalon examines it.  "Interesting."

>From what the bees show, it seems that most of the city is coffee
refineries. Every time they get too close to the castle, the picture goes
bad and the bees start losing power. You do spot several guardsmen, and
workers. All have a hung-over, zoned look of misery.

Juri of Avalon asks, "OOC:  Like that of drug addicts?"

Corrine of Amber frowns.  "They've got something blocking the closer they
get in.  Hell."

Corrine of Amber OOCly calls 5.

Juri of Avalon says, "How diabolical.  The terrible fate of the
caffeine-dependent."

The Tennessee Shad says, "Like alcoholics who are also caffiene addicts at
6 in the morning after a binge, with a full day of work with overtime
staring them in the face."

Juri of Avalon shudders.  "This is an evil place."

"No shit," Rhianna agrees.

Corrine of Amber says, "Bleh...."

"The inability of the bees to get close would seem to indicate some kind
of anti-magic field.  So teleportation or invisiblity may not be
feasible."  Juri glances towards the mystically-inclined people for
confirmation of this.

Ishmael says, "Yes. But don't worry."

Ishmael says, "I have a cunning plan."

Rose, Rhianna, Katsura, and Roderick shudder in unison.

Corrine of Amber says, "....."

Juri of Avalon asks, "Oh.  Is it very cunning?"

Corrine of Amber asks, "Why does that phrase fill me with dread?"

Corrine of Amber says, "No offense, Ishmael."

=============================
=============================

The Tennessee Shad says, "And we end her, as it's 12 and a good stopping
point. :)"

The Tennessee Shad says, "her = here"

Corrine of Amber OOCly says, "Thank you!"

Juri of Avalon says, "Night, Phil."

Mike pulls out a pasteboard card and studies it intently. After a while,
the card glows a light blue and it and it's bearer vanish.

Mike has left.

Corrine of Amber OOCly waves, and bails.