Log Twenty-five
At the beginning of the session, the characters were mainly out in Shadow, looking for the two kings. William was trying to explain to Fiona why an oak tree had suddenly sprung up in his room.
Quotes from the Session.
"I'm going shopping." Bronwyn's war cry.
"Yes, I am in a real sense the Logrus, so if you threaten me, the Logrus might be forced to act. This is a hint." Suhuy, trying to get a subtle hint across to Jessica.
"Did you enjoy screwing my husband, Jessica?" Hazard
"I curl up and die. I say nothing. Then I whisper, 'yes'" Jessica
"I'll fight your best soldier." The Assassin
"I am a soldier," whispers Marlon. With one hand he draws a black longsword from where it rests on his back. There is no sound as he does so, except a little silk-like whisper as he cuts through the sheath." GM
"Oh shit." The Assassin.
Bronwyn and Aneirin went out to Begma and Kashfa to try and find Rinaldo, and found that the Eregnor situation was in crisis once more. Also, the army they had left in Begma was still there. Bronwyn dodged Aneirin by climbing out of the changing room window in a lingerie shop and running away. Hazard pitched up from time to time and tried to get them both moving but Bronwyn wanted maternity clothes.
Jessica was not doing too well, being threatened alternately by Suhuy, Mandor, Dara and the Logrus. Suhuy, however, revealed that there was a place outside of Shadow and then gave Jessica every opportunity to blackmail him into forcing the Logrus to take her there. When she failed to do so he hinted she could. When she still failed to do so he nearly screamed. Eventually, she threatened him rather half-heartedly and the Logrus took her between.
Between means between the Shadows, where Jessica managed to get squished, swallowed, sicked up, nearly killed, nearly digested, saw a Ghost of Hazard with Dirithas, her lost sword, and finally emerged with Merlin, a Pattern Ghost of Benedict, and the Jewel of Judgement into an awfully familiar room. The Pattern room, and the version of the Pattern inscribed on the ground was slightly distorted and Broken. Unbeknownst to Jessica, she had also travelled back somewhat in time.
Rinaldo and a Ghost of Hazard were unconsious in the middle of it and only by walking it and mending it on the way could they get him back. In the end the Ghost of Benedict did so, causing Shadow quakes everywhere and slightly changing the course of history. Even after that the Pattern would not give up Rinaldo, until Jessica looked into the Jewel of judgement and saw what looked like Hazard and Benedict, making love. The Ghosts refused even to consider it, so Jessica went out into Shadow to find out what was going on. She found herself at the siege of Valliard's Haven, and she and Merlin where the ones who arranged for them to be together afterwards. Jessica, whose curiosity would kill a pride of lions, watched, and found out that they had loved each other for a long time. It transpired that she brought about the situation that William had known about for a long time. She said afterwards that she would never forget the brutality Benedict employed, or the sound Hazard made. Shuddering, she Trumped Merlin, left, and spent time in Shadow trying to forget it and failing.
Time passed, and she returned about when she had left, bringing the kings back with her. At this point, all the adventures in the last few logs had happened while Jessica was hiding out.
William suddenly received a Trump call out of nowhere from Benedict, who asked him to be a witness at his wedding to Hazard. He agreed. The other witness was Donne, who took William home when they realised that the newlyweds would not be returning that night - they spent the night in the church. Donne took William to bed. They all spent a while being happy in a fast Shadow. Donne had a little boy after a while, and Hazard conceived a girl, whom they called Chance because the odds against it were so great after her rape and torture by Crowley.
William suddenly woke up one morning and 'twigged' onto what the tree was - a new version of Ygg, called Drasil. He took the acorn that Brion had from the original tree and planted it where Ygg should have been. Lo and behold it sprang up on cue and order was restored. This did not please the person or persons unknown, i.e. Crowley, who had deleted it, and somehow William's nemesis was given the power to use Shadow and the Abyss together. It pursued him to the ends of the worlds and back again, to much amusement from the GM and much screaming of "Benedict, HELP!!" from William. In the end he wound up in Benedict's house in Teraximion, where he seduced Chance, now sixteen. Despite having had a child, Hazard could not give Benedict the son he wanted, and Chance was everything to him. William was in a dangerous situation.
Back in Begma, Hazard had sent Bronwyn and Aneirin home, and started thinking about the Kashfa situation again. Something needed to be done about the rebels on the Eregnor border. She was stuck for how to start a war.
All were reunited in Amber, including Jessica, who had developed an embarrassing crush on Benedict. Also, she had had to confess everything to Hazard, on the grounds she felt so guilty, and Hazard wasn't talking to her. To add to the confusion, a new Character wandered into view. Ezekiel, the Guardsman and serial drunkard. Hazard had been missing a couple of weeks, telling Jessica that she was going to be in her tower and then disappearing. When Jessica and Benedict went up there, Benedict got stuck in some terrible yellow goop in which Hazard could dimly be seen, buried, and Jess had to wake Fiona and ask for help.
They found out to their amusement that only alcohol would disolve the stuff, and so they had to confiscate Gerard's entire secret supply of brandy. Ezekiel was sent to the kitchens to get more, which he drank. Comatose, he was discovered the next morning by Jessica, who had freed Benedict and a rather embarrassed Hazard, and poor Zeke was told to report to Benedict for a dressing down. All Benedict did was put him into the Betty Ford clinic, or equivalent thereof.
After that, Hazard decided she wanted a holiday, and took Benedict out into Shadow. Hazard Trumped Jessica and brought her through, and they spent a fun few days hunting dragon-cats. Then Hazard met up with an old friend, Baneus, and disappeared in a suspicious set of circumstances. Benedict, out of his mind with jealousy, got drunk, and ended up taking jessica to bed. In the morning, Hazard was able to explain where she had been, and Benedict felt he had to confess what had happened.
Jessica ended up pregnant, although it was hidden from Hazard, who returned to Amber the next day. Jessica went back with a suitable "husband" in tow, and a little boy whom she had called Dare, short for Dirithas. His real name was Lorenzo, which was the name Benedict has wanted. She brought him up for a while and then left him in the care of the elders to bring up while she went out into Shadow. Somehow, Benedict managed to get the boy.
Then disaster struck in Amber. William's nemesis told a newly returned Benedict about William and Chance, and Benedict chased the poor boy through Shadow, eventually killing him just outside William's Private Shadow. Lightning, William's sword, was justifiably miffed, and managed to take of Benedict's left hand just below the wrist. This rather upset Benedict as the other hand had only just completed growing back. He Trumped Chance to ask for help, and his daughter having called him a bastard, went in search of Jessica instead. That word was a bad move, as it triggered his least favourite curse... See what here, please.
Aneirin had not been doing anything for a while, so the king ordered him and Bronwyn to clear up the problems with the Trumps. Aneirin did so by putting the bad influences on the Trumps into Dare.
When Benedict was sufficiently recovered to break out of hospital, hotwire a car and drive it back to Jessica's, he somehow contrived to end up in bed with her. This was not his fault, but the result of the curse. After all, Jessica was Chance's closest friend, and she needed to be punished. It is about now the campaign started to get dark and horrific. Read on...
In Amber, having mucked up bigtime, Benedict decided it would be a good thing to lay low for a while and took Dare and Chance with him to the Portfolio. She somehow managed to blunder into his gaol where she was used as a blackmail lever to persuade Benedict to release his political prisoners. These included Myrra and a possible son of Dalt, Kharn. They took refuge in Kharn's world where they planned their revenge against Benedict. They were joined by a talented General, Slaine, who helped them plan Julian's kidnap. Julian was to be used to ask for Benedict as the ransom.
At about this time there was a movement in Shadow, sufficiently large for Fiona to realise that another member of the family had come into some kind of power. As she was unable to find what it was, there was no solution.... This was in fact Myrra entering the Abyss. Crowley managed to get about fifty acolytes under Myrra, and Kharn decided that the hooded man, Al, who had offered this power was not nice. He declined the offer. Kharn and Myrra were unofficially siblings and officially lovers, which nearly made Hazard crack up when she heard.
Then Benedict made a pretty fatal mistake of trying to bribe Hazard into looking after Chance so there would be no more trouble, and Hazard took off into Shadow, wanting the Protectorate on her own merits or not at all. With her husband Aydrien, she went out to a fast Shadow, where she went to work on a pig farm, claiming it was cleaner than the family affairs she was avoiding. (It is also possible that she and Benedict argued over how attached she actually was to Aydrien, and his infidelities. They argued in the armouries, and there was blood on Benedict's hands after Hazard left.)
Aneirin, worried about what he had done to Dare, called Benedict to ask his advice. Benedict alerted Jessica, who went out with Hazard to catch him. In the ensuing chase Aneirin escaped and Dare was too badly damaged to survive. Jessica swore veangeance and hunting season was declared open on Aneirin. For his death, he picked up a curse, although from whom, he was not sure. All those left alive returned to Amber, except Aneirin, who ran.
Remember Ezikiel at the Betty Ford Shadow Clinic? Well, he dried out, went to a super speed Shadow, and came back again as an assassin. He walked into the palace, cocksure and knowing he would not be recognised, having changed over fifteen years, only to be severely talked to by Benedict for going AWOL for three weeks. The Assassin asked not to be named and swore fealty to Benedict instantly. Benedict delegated the matter to Marlon, who asked, politely, what the Assassin was good at. The mug challenged Marlon to get his best fighter, and Marlon proceded to beat him up violently to teach him a lesson, and would have killed the hapless Samurai if Benedict had not stopped the fight.
Benedict was just returning to Amber when he found out about Julian's kidnap, via a spy in the enemy camp. As soon as the king gave him official notice of what had happened he set off to buy back his brother's life, and Jessica twigged too late that Crowley was one of the enemy. Terrible, all this bad stuff...
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