Starfall

The synopsis of an Amber adventure from The Doom that Came to Amber

It is Yule, eight months after Dark’s Circus and all the family (Benedict, Deirdre, Caine, Fiona, Bleys, Llewella, Flora, Julian, Gerard, Random, Vialle, Paulette, Anya, Martin, Merlin, Rupert and Sarah, plus PCs: Alaric, Aylwin, Bathsheba, Michael and Nathan) are gathered by Royal command. No one remarks on the absence of Corwin or Quentin but the atmosphere is easy and congenial, unlike that during Random’s visit to Cyprani.

The day begins with a church service in the Temple of the Unicorn where the Archpriest of the Unicorn conducts the ceremony and Caine leads the congregation in the responses. There follows a parade on foot through Amber, back to the Castle. After a brief interval there is a ceremony before the Throne. It lasts all afternoon. In the evening, there is a reception, banquet and ball which continues into the early hours of the morning.

The ball is a social occasion giving all PCs a chance to converse with all Elders and gave plenty of good role-playing all by itself. However, late in the evening, several PCs with attendant Elders are on a balcony, taking a breather from the now rather stuffy ballroom, when they see a meteorite streak overhead and fall in Arden, landing to the WNW. Julian tells Random that his rangers will retrieve it and put it in the castle museum.

Next day it’s discovered that several acres of forest are on fire but its midwinter and the rangers and local peasant bring the fire under control within a few hours. The meteorite has left a crater 200 yards across and 5 yards deep. Some back-of-an-envelope calculations reveal the meteorite itself must be buried beneath the centre of the crater floor, possibly 8-10 yards down. It may be up to a yard across, less if it a significant metal content. It is too hot to excavate so Julian leaves Aylwin in charge of a cordon.

The next day diggers find the meteorite only 3-4 yards down, much shallower than expected but much bigger than anyone dreamed – 4 yards across! Aylwin is bemused; at that size it should have left a crater half a mile across and buried itself much more deeply. In discussion with Julian and later other members of the family, someone suggests it may be hollow!

The thing is still much too hot to touch or excavate further so, deeply suspicious, Julian directs Aylwin to allow no one of non-Royal blood near the thing and cordon off the entire crater.

Alaric suggests that it might be a good idea to investigate the meteorite by drawing its Trump. Random says OK but tells him to be careful. The resulting trump reveals something resides in the meteorite – something dark, sinister and demonic! Unbeleivably, with the paint still wet, Alaric tries to use his new Trump only to find a vastly more powerful psyche than his own.

Unbeknownst to Aylwin and his rangers, it is a possessed Alaric who packs up his easel and returns to the castle. Finding Alaric’s martial qualities insufficient to its needs, the demon body-hops through the castle in a trail of vicious attacks. Lord Feldane is found dead, Lord Chantris is wounded but sees off his attacker. When Caine is also attacked it becomes clear that the thing is after all those present when Brand fell in to the Abyss. Rightly reckoning that it will ultimately come for him, Random lays a trap with himself as bait. Benedict has no troops capable of facing the thing so members of the family form the bodyguard to hold the thing off and Fiona banishes it with a spell.