This is somthing in the way of a campaign journal... Enjoy. Read Clare's as well for an idea of our different views!
It is amazing, the things that we get talked into, is it not? It all seemed so innocent to begin with; I recieved a contact from my old friend Martin. Of course, he would want a favour; that was to be expected. And at the time, the favour seemed innocuous enough. His father, Random, was sending some of the younger Amberites to find out what they could about Corwin's dissappearance. Since he had last been known to be headed to the Courts, having a 'friendly' Chaosian to play host could be useful, and such a one might even have other insights.
I will admit to some curiosity, but all in all it seemed a fairly insane thing to do. After all, it was Martin who had told me about his relatives in the first place! On the other hand, he was my friend, and about the only one I was sure of, and he was clearly concerned. I hedged and wriggled, and then agreed as a favour to him - though I imposed a couple of conditions!
Business out of the way, we had a very pleasant dinner, and a long evening of foolish discussion. Just like the old days, in fact. By the time we slept, I was feeling less uncertain about the whole affair, and more convinced that agreeing was a sensible thing to do.
The next morning, Martin took us to Amber, looking the better for his little escape-apade. We were there when the others arrived, though not there before enough for Random to address me - one of my conditions. What we were told was interesting, and made the problem more appealing to my curiosity.
Tried reaching Corwin by Trump. Went to Clare's home shadow to discuss strategy. Clare drew trumps of all who she didn't have already. Rest of the party shadow-walked to shadow Earth to try to speak with Merlin (last known to see Corwin). Clare rejoined via trump as were reaching the University in which Merlin was working. Even with his assistance, we were unable to reach Corwin. Merlin claimed to not have been in contact with Corwin for years, and said that the last person to see Corwin was Dara, in the Courts. We then decided on a four-pronged approach to trying to find Corwin: - Tamash would go to the Courts to enquire of Dara what she knew of his whereabouts. - Clare would walk the Pattern and teleport to Corwin's Pattern. - Michael and Dannor go to Avalon (Corwin was known to have spent a long time there). - Paulus and Cohenna shadow-walk to Corwin's Pattern - actually go to Fiona and get Trump of the location. - Tamash takes Martin and sees Dara, and speaks to some others. Has discussion with Corwin, he left, and was going to his Pattern. - Paulus and Cohenna get to the Pattern (via Fiona's Trump), but it isn't 'there' where they get to. - Clare ends up not quite where they are - they can just about see each other, having tried to go to centre of Corwin's Pattern - this fails, and via the Amber Pattern's centre! In meantime calls Tamash in the Courts and gives him a headache. - Michael and Dannor found they couldn't get to Avalon. Michael attacked by black tentacloid monster! This passed on via the Trump network. - Clare draws Trump of the place she is at. - Dannor continues investiagating Avalon. - T and M arrange to meet at Shadow Earth via Trump. - Co and P Hellride to M, D has gone to walk a Pattern to teleport to Corwin's Avalon. Does so. - Co and P and M decide to go drink saki, ignoring arranged meeting with T and not telling Cl about it. - T calls Martin concerned that others have abandoned him. Martin contacts Michael, passes to T as Paulus gets attacked by the dark presence - T comes through, to see Co touching P who falls unconscious! T takes Chaos form. - People come to kill the demon - we leave. - Dannor contacts Cohenna, comes through into mess. P awakes. Resolved. - All go to not where Clare is. - Dannor adds limb to adumbradometer. Sees a place where is 0 and 1 at same time. - T and D go to look at that. - P, M and Co play with Pattern - throw sticks, get limb from YggII, etc - Cl toys with idea walking Cn's Patrn - T and D travel through Chaos. (D in spacesuit). Play with the Pole. - P M Co contact Fiona to discuss discoveries. Get the mirror off Fiona. - T and D Trump Cl and go through (note: polarity in waves) - T (and D following) get to Corwin's Paris by T shifting to a shadow-walking shape. Arc de Triomphe replaced by a Pattern. - Cl continues toying with idea of walking Cn's Pattern. - P M Co play with mirror - try walking through it, walking when looking at it, etc. Second goes to place with green sky and same geography as Cn's Pattern. - D gets attacked by BTM. I knock him out, and Trump Cl. - P M Co play. - Cl and T tie up D - argue with him about it after. Travel through Shadow using Logrus, towards farthest place where Logrus tentacles dont get munched. C gets couple calls, denies, D gets contacted on the trip by the BTM, we knock him out again. Stop at last safe place, D gets called again, Cl tries to help, they losing, T knocks D out again! Cl 'fixes' D's memories. - Ll calls Cl, updates her, asks her call the others. D Cl T shadowalk a couple of shadows closer very carefully, get called by the others meanwhile, and savagely tell them to GO AWAY! - Get to very last safe place, untie Dannor, call others, all come through. - D gets guddled at by Co and then P. - Tell him to walk Pattern, put aside argument for now. D studies udomtr, sees much closer to Cn - Trump to Cn, D M T P, Co Cl hold the contact, T returns when contact wavers to help. - Grab Cn and run. - Call Random and Trump to Throne Room. - BIG ARGUMENT. P and Co try force D to walk Pattern - P hasn't said that he had compelled D not to walk Pattern. - End up guarding his door that night. - M and Cl on duty first. - D 'changes' Cl has to leave, M 'allows' him to escape by turning his back. - D Trumps to Great Hall, paraglides to Tir-Na-Nogth to walk Pattern. - T and Cl get Trump from M. - T send M to get others - they argue lots - Cl and T Trump to Rebma, contact D (he in basement of TNN), he recieves with Pattern Defense up - T thinks is attack, Cl therefore attacks. - T calls others and says WHAT YOU DOING?! - bring them through - Co and P give full support to Cl - D sets foot on Pattern - then they take his mind. Co and P leave his mind, Cl looks at stuff in it, then leaves him on a straight part of the Pattern - meanwhile T calls Martin first, then Random, bring him through. - Random sends all othrs back to Amber, Cl under arrest in Rebma (T sends coffee). - M and T go to bed. - Co & P go to TNN again (with a wolf)! D finishes Pattern, goes to Amer under Rndms protection. - Next day all talk about it in Throne Room. Random doesn't say much. - Cl goes to her shadow - T & D got to my shadow - Others stay in Amber and various Trump contacts happen. Clare visits in Person. - Cl joins us there and takes gliding lessons, and draws Trumps. SUNDAY AM - Plan to get to place where Cn was imprisoned (T and Cl) - T goes to Void. - Cl walks Rebma again - M and P head to Avalon-s - D tries to get mirrr from Co, gets Trumped by T from void as Co tries to take over his mind again after helping with BTM, T brings them both through - catches Co with levitation spell and gets mirror. - Cl gets to Cn's Pattern again, Trumps us through. - Go to 'safe' place from before, and contact M and P, bring them through. - T can't use Logrus, cos tentacles chopped off. Cl therfore walks Pattern in mind - while she is, a large doom flock of er...crows appear and move towards us. T talks to Nathaniel - we all move off at a normal horses fast gallop. T throws up wall to stop them, they avoid. - Cl finishes walking Pattern in mind, and finds can shadowshift. Sends doomer flock of birds to kill other birds and starts Hellriding - travel through multiple battles. - P starts being ill, so stop Hellriding. Cl shifts shadow normally to shadow with lots of things that look like T to spend night. - T gets all the thigns drunk, others join in as wake. D tries absinthe on steroids. Bed again. - Second day Cl also wakes. D is hallucinating :-) When he better we head off using adumbradometer. - During journey, Co gets arrow shot at, stops, we go back. - Get to coast. I levitate N, D uses paraglider, we cross - T shifts and goes through vacuum, Trump D and Cl through, contact others. - Meanwhile, others harassed by arrowman. They think using Trump. Succeed in getting its bow. Then brought through. - Now all on Isle of Corwin. - Cl tries look at tower with Pattern lens - fails more or less. M tries punching through door. T tries going through and picking lock - gets poisoned - unpoisons self. T then freezes door of castle. M and P punch in. D looks in, works out lock and unlocks. - T then goes in and explores - find Trump, pick up. Go out again. - T tries calling Trump, Cl stops, ripping it. T explores tower using Logrus while Cl Trumpsketches the place. - Cl D and T go to place in 'real' world; Co M and P go back to Amber to try to speak to Dworkin. - Cl sketches this place also. Others speak to Dworkin. - M heads to shadow Earth to try and trace pattern on back of Trump. - All rest go to T's shadow, Cl gets Trump from Co and goes to her shadow to copy it and polish sketches. - T speaks to Merlin, brings through, takes to Cl shadow, leaving own shadow at slower speed. - Merlin thinks while Cl recovers - speaks to Corwin - We decide to go speak to Suhoy, and Merlin takes us there (Cl gets blinded in process) - Huge doom revelations about everythign and Dworkin, and Arianne (author of Trump). - Merlin speaks to Cn. He says will meet on Shadow Earth with his brothers there. - T tries contacting A, fails, so Cl and T head off through Chaos towads her, T asking Merlin to warn Cn that it was A that did it. - During this, others pick up Michael. - Others talk, then decide to head to place where the background of the card is (using clever method) - Cl & T notice someone following. Find it to be others. Brief confrontation, we say we can't stop! They follow at more discreet distance. - Cl and T arrive at A's summerhouse. See A, who then vanishes, trump goes warm. - Teleport to Cl's shadow, cos T has mad plan to walk Pattern, Cl spends week teaching him - looks in Ts head for shapeshifting in the meanwhile. - D teleports to Amber (after adumbradometer consultation) gets on horse to Rebma, others carry on to summerhouse, grab picture they find there, then teleport to Amber - Cl and T are in Rebma heading at speed for Pattern chamber. (Cl ignores Trump attempts - blocking attempt to force with Pattern Defence). - M talks to Random - Co and P contact D and follow. - Cl and T in Pattern chamber. T teleports to start of Pattern, Cl starts working way round side. T gets foot on Pattern, and doesn't die. - Random and Moire appear. Cl talks to them, using precedent. - Others appear variously while T walks Pattern. - After Second Veil Random throws T Jewel of Judgement, T makes it to centre, shifting into a Male unicorn in the process, various other Amberites turn up during this. - T gives jewel back to Random, reverts to human. Cl Trumps, we talk. Dworkin turns up. T asks if someone will come with - not Clare (hehe - sacrifice) - Paulus volunteers. Random ives T jewel again, Cl Trumps to centre of Pattern and holds contact to T, T and P go to where A is. Have discussion, get Random into discussion. (Cl draws out R's trump before contacting). Something happens between A and R that we aren't aware of, and we all come home. - Cl and T leave to go to Cl's shadow. THE END