Bathsheba’s Diary part 10:
A School Visit, a Patternwalk
and Groombridge
In The Doom that Came to
Amber
25th Bull 3658
Early
hours – woke servants & guards.
Alaric
flounced off, accusing us of wanting him to help pack up (perish the thought
that he may actually do something useful!).
Not
very long after,
Trumped
Aylwin & Alaric to attend the meeting – Alaric
seemed put out at being asked.
Debriefed by Benedict & Julian, mainly Aylwin & I.
Full
report, including poems – told mine (embarrassing), Aylwin
& Alaric frankly refused to tell theirs in public – having heard a bit of Aylwin’s I’m not surprised.
Peter
seems to be some form of family – Benedict seemed very interested in the
Pattern arrow Peter was given. Apparently someone called Rhiannon used them – a
very long
Long
discussion about the final poem and meanings thereof – only result was it could
have meant almost anything.
I
am taking over from Benedict as Captain of the Guard temporarily – Benedict
wanted to see me in the gym soon after the meeting. Grabbed some breakfast and
got changed.
When
I got to the gym, Benedict was carrying a mask – very unusual for him. We both
masked up then he proceeded to put me through the hardest fight of my entire
life, ending up with a slash through my mask at eye-level – at that stage he
could have carved an epic poem on my face without resistance, I was so
exhausted.
He
then told me in essence that, although strong and capable, my stamina (or lack
of) let me down every
So
exhausted I forgot to ask him about changes he had mentioned re the Guard. By
the
Went
through the changes –
-
surveillance
and introduction of designated trumping-in points
-
shifts &
patrol patterns
-
recruitment
-
guarding of entrances to secret passages.
Will have to simplify the patrol patterns,
if only to make them comprehensible.
Sleep
again – seem to be doing that a lot recently.
Woke
up mid-afternoon and did an hour of weapons practice solo – starting to get a
bit rusty, not good. Rest of afternoon fairly nondescript.
Went down for an early dinner only to find
Khitan has the theory that the things from Lyon Abbey were kept out
of our dimension by ‘nodes’ on which the Unicorn temples were built (sort of
like padlocks on a fence) – but the decrease in worship means the temples
aren’t strong enough to keep them out (especially when people deliberately
invite them in). Didn’t quite catch all of it as K’s
voice quite soft and room fairly noisy, also I wasn’t in the mood to hang
around. If it is true, it’s rather worrying – the problem with Mira doesn’t
really help, it can only be weakening us.
Flora
there – mentioned that she’d heard I bought some more dresses. Had a brief chat, mainly about Faerie.
Waited
for moonrise, then rode down to the steps of Tir na Nog
on my own. Almost certainly a stupid thing to do, on reflection but I didn’t
want to attract any more attention to the toy than necessary. I’m not really
sure why I’m going, apart from a desire to master this thing [Bathsheba had
recently been given the Moonstone by a noble of her late father’s faction] –
and a hope I’ll see my mother (not that I know what she looks like, really).
Walked up the stairs when the moon rose,
and found myself in that weird shadowy monochrome world again. Eric was standing there, arguing with a
woman – I spoke my mother’s name and she noticed me, but didn’t know who I was
or that she had a daughter. The argument was about
Ironically,
she turned to me and asked if it was for the best. I lied and said yes, it had
turned out fine. What else could I say?
She
gave me her ring ‘to remember her by’, and then said she had to return to Wolfmorland. Eric said something to the effect that he
would be very proud of me when we met. He seems to have forgotten that when we
did meet – but we hadn’t had this conversation then…
It’s
like talking to a holo, I suppose – he is trapped in
the past, I in the future. I hate mind-games like this.
Again,
I met Paulette – she is really worrying me now. I suspect she wants the gem and
she knows I’ve got it – she asked if I wanted to go to the Dreamlands. I said
yes, just to find out what would happen. She took me down to the dungeons (saw
Roger – who seemed more than a shadow; even without the jewel he seemed to have
flashes of colour) to a strangely carved door. She declined to come with me telling
me to ‘beware of the zoogs’ with no further
explanation, and that she was in my dream. A threat?
I
didn’t go in. Even the new reckless me wasn’t that stupid.
I
wandered again – it seems to go in a pattern, Past, Present and Future. Turning
down a corridor, I came upon a room, which should have been elsewhere.
It
was the solar, but the window had broken glass and the room seemed to have been
looted. Then, sitting in a corner, in a ragged dress, was Fiona. She was crying
– when she replied to me, she spoke like one who has given up on life, nothing
mattered any more.
It
seems that her beloved sons – primarily Alaric – had killed the Unicorn. (To get in with Mira? It seems he would dispose of more than
his granny for an artistic experience).
Out
of the window I could see the city in blackened ruins, as she explained to me
that Amber was dead and broken and the city smashed, this amongst her
self-recriminations for spoiling Alaric (bit late now) which had led to all
this. The longer I stayed, the older and more haggard she became, ageing before
my eyes.
No
sign of the paramour with red hair – so much for everlasting devotion, not even
in my dreams!
As
I stood on the cliff, saddling Briar (who was cold and bad-tempered), it struck
me that, given the clouds in the sky, Tir-Na-Nogh
should have faded a lot more than it did. Perhaps the gem makes it more real?
Not
that very many people would have missed me if I had plunged into the sea. Given
what I saw, maybe it would have been easier for me if I had?
Scrap
that, if I’m going down, I’m going down fighting. At least some of us are loyal
to Amber.
Must do
something about getting a link to the lads in Wolfmorland
– for my peace of mind, if nothing else.