Aylwin’s Diary part 12: Rinaldo – Excommunications – Hall of Mirrors – Rebellion

In The Doom that Came to Amber

27^th Bull 3658 afternoon

I contact Asmark who pulls us back to Amethyst, a muddy graveyard, and not really an improvement. The crowd has fled but for those crushed whilst fleeing from the place. Rinaldo is here too; at least he is not grinning anymore. The purple tent of mourning is a soggy mess. Of Alaric and Anya there is no sign. After a brief review of events we agree that a drink is in order and there is a pub not far away. I shed the purple robe; my own choice of clothes is at least practical. Only when we start to head for the inn in question do I realise that my ankle will not take my weight, taking the boot off is going to be nasty. Asmark offers to help and so we hobble towards a drink. *

The ankle has broken; I had a feeling that a bone graft was a mistake when you can regenerate. Rinaldo gives me a hand; he is strong enough for this to be no problem. I think I have cracked a rib and I am certainly bruised to heck.

The path is littered with debris; I pick up a staff to lean on. As we get to the edges of town there is a mage covered in blood cowering and whimpering in a doorway. Khitan tries to help the man and we realise that he has taken out his own eyes. Khitan falls back reaching for his own eyes and I tell him to leave the man. I reach out; the mage’s mind has gone, nothing left but the madness.

Khitan reaches out to try and find out what is going on. He says that there is a huge magic being prepared at the palace, presumably to repair the fabric of the shadow. I doubt it will help the demi-planes beyond.

The representative from Ebony wanders by, not apparently infected with the madness but obviously in deep shock. Two of Rinaldo’s guards arrive; they are ruffled and have obviously been fighting. They say that they have had to kill some people who were spreading madness. Rinaldo say that he will trump us all to the relative safety of Kashfa.

All this time a thought has been nagging at me, the sheer depth of Fiona’s despair, this must be combated if she is to have the will to live. My spells are at their most potent when they are used on emotion. Whilst her defences are low I can bring her joy, perhaps enough to help her hang on.

I use my trumps to try and contact Bleys tapping ‘I can save Fiona’ over and over in Morse. No pressure, the last thing I want to do is disturb the operation, persistence will have to be the key. Someone tries to make contact, it can wait, Alaric forces contact, I cannot spare the energy to resist, he wants to know how Fiona is, I swear at him and he goes off in a sulk – I can do without this. Keep tapping at Bleys’ shield until his Trump and all the others go dead. It seems to be personal to me.

I ask Asmark for help but Rinaldo wants to talk. He admits to killing Caine as it was Caine that killed his father but he wants it to end there; he wants to come in from the cold. Jasra, his mother wants to take Amber (she can join the queue) and she is not subtle, she normally would not have a chance but has got her hands on one of Brand’s ‘toys’ which she is going to use on a guinea-pig; one of her coven was using it whilst she was away.

The Deal: Kashfa gets admitted to the Golden Circle and in return gives up its claim to Eregnor. Eregnor would be independent, not controlled by Begma. He thinks he can deliver, though is a little cautious as to who would rule Eregnor. Asmark's view is that Eregnor would at least be a free trade route – eventually Golden Circle in its own right.

Asmark and I test the Trumps, even at short range I am hard to reach & I cannot use the Trumps at all, though at least mine still work for Asmark.

* Assessment: I am standing in a muddy field, soaked to the skin, robes a soggy mess. My ankle aches and so does my head. Two fearsome and nearly omniscient women are trying to force me to attack Amber, one of these is my Grandmother who has managed to hammer my mother’s self confidence to a pulp. My brother has, apparently in a fit of pique, summoned an Outer God and I have attracted its personal attention by grinding the Pattern into its eyeball. Trying to escape this creature I fall off a cliff and drop my unconscious mother, fracturing her skull and breaking various other bones.

Conclusion: I need a drink. Amber needs a strong King and NOW!