Chapter 013: The Duel

"All the world's indeed a stage

And we are merely players

Performers and portrayers

Each another's audience

Outside the gilded cage"

"Limelight" - Rush

     As I had more or less become accustomed to Diana's ways I had decided to go to her chambers half an hour before the duel was supposed to begin. This time I had to wait for only ten minutes while she dressed up. The result wasn't anything less because of that, though: she looked absolutely ravishing in her light orange dress. I had also changed into something less casual and I suppose we made quite a nice couple as she took my arm and I led her to the main hall.

     Here all the relatives who wanted to attend were waiting for Algo to provide the transport to Telgan. As I had guessed this was to be quite a social event: almost the entire Family was already present, including the other leading actor, Adrian. He was dressed in a white light armour affair, with a few silver trimmings and black boots. He looked confident, with only a slight trace of nervous anticipation. Probably he was wondering what sort of contest Algo had set up for them.

     Corwin was more or less his son's negative in his traditional black and silver. From the conversations around us I gathered that he was Adrian's second. A good choice. I too would like to have someone like Uncle Corwin stand beside me in such a situation. But then it also made me wonder what Algo had in mind when he had chosen Droppa as his second...

     My attention turned to Random and Gerard entering with an unknown girl. I guessed her to be of about the same age as Diana. She was nearly as tall as Random, which is to say about average for a girl. Her hair was fair and of medium length, and she wore a spruce green and orange dress with matching hat. She was observing everything around her with a pair of green eyes full of curiosity. Who was this? Uncle Gerard's new girlfriend perhaps? Whoever she was, it seemed that she was coming to see the show too, for Gerard and Random didn't send her away when Algo started bringing us all through.

     He did this quite spectacularly: instead of contacting us one by one, he somehow used his Trump power to fashion a kind of gate for us to step through. At the other end we found ourselves in a hall in Telgan. As a matter of fact I recognised the hall from my earlier visits there: it was the main hall in the building for the performing arts. However, it clearly had been decorated a bit to accomodate us Amberites. There were several tables with a wide variety of drinks and titbits. Several people were standing nearby, all ready to serve us. I recognised a few faces and I realised that most of them, if not all, were free men and women, Algo's fellow performers.

     Algo was in the middle of the hall, greeting us all with a smile and clearly enjoying his role as host. He was wearing his usual black bodysuit with the iridescent harp motif, and no visual armour. Whatever it was that he had planned, he clearly didn't count on getting hurt too much.

     When he finished bringing us all through he immediately walked up to greet Adrian, radiating confidence with every step. Either he was very certain he wasn't going to lose or he figured that he probably would, in which case he just didn't care. It seemed that the chance to entertain the whole Family was at least as important to him as the actual duel itself.

     We mingled a bit, savouring some of the delicacies set out for us and exchanging a few words with some relatives. As I moved around I noticed some people were missing. I didn't see Julian and Benedict anywhere, but in the light of what Uncle Jaro had suggested I guessed they were probably taking care of Amber's defenses. Rinaldo wasn't there either, and neither was Coral, but the biggest surprise was Alexander's absence. I would think that he wouldn't want to miss this duel, if only on the off-chance to see his brother get beaten. Perhaps he was too certain that Adrian would win, and this was his way of denying him the victory. I wished, though, that I had known he wouldn't come, for then I might have brought Wylde along as well. Now she would merely have to be content with a secondhand account.

     After a few minutes of relaxation Algo led us to a amphitheatre where the duel was to be held. It had been perfectly constructed, so its acoustics allowed the spectators to pick up every word that was said on the stage, no matter where they were seated, and be it shout or whisper. There were two tables on the stage with two large cloths covering them. These were probably the selection of weapons from which the duellists would be able to choose. Droppa was standing near one of the tables, wearing his specially festive jester's costume, complete with dozens of little tinkling bells. He was grinning as Algo led Adrian and Corwin to the stage. Corwin looked a bit perplexed when he saw who his colleague second was, but it was only for a moment after which he quickly recovered, even managing a genuine smile.

     Algo waited for us all to find a seat, then he started speaking: "Friends and relatives, welcome in my humble abode. I hope you're all comfortable. My friends will be ready to serve you, should you need anything.

     "Now on to this afternoon's little piece of entertainment. I'm certain that you're all going to enjoy this, for I promise you this will be no ordinary duel. How could it be with two such remarkable participants? No, this will be something you'll talk about for years to come." He beckoned Droppa to remove the cloths from the table. 

     General surprise and amusement were the reactions all around, for on the table lay no deadly swords or daggers, nor any obscure foreign weapons, but instead there lay several brushes, palettes and lots of cans of paint.

     "As you can see," Algo continued, "this will not be a duel to the death. Indeed, there will be no need to spill any blood at all. Instead, he who is the first to completely decorate his opponent with paint, leaving absolutely no part of him free of paint, that person shall be the winner. The task of the seconds will be to supply the duellists with enough paint."

     He looked at Adrian and Corwin. "Is everything clear?" They both smiled and nodded. Adrian looked a bit more confident than he had before.         

     "Alright," Algo said with an exaggerated official expression, "then may the best man win!"

     As both duellists started selecting their brushes and paint I turned my attention to the people around me. I had the feeling that most of them appreciated what Algo had done and that they planned to enjoy it thoroughly. Some were even making bets as to who would win. They didn't use money for stakes, though. Bleys and Fiona staked a painting that both were very fond of, while Gerard and Llewella just agreed on something without ever saying out loud what their stake was. It was a private thing, I guess. Gerard and Fiona thought that Algo would win, while Bleys and Llewella were on Adrian's side.

     "How about you, dear?" Bleys asked Diana. "Who do you think will win?"

     Diana blushed a bit and said: "Ehm, well, I believe Algo is a lot more skilled with a brush..."

     "Ah," Bleys exclaimed, "but that boy has no stamina! No, I'm afraid you're wrong. Adrian will easily win this thing."

     Their conversation was interrupted by the start of the real duel. Algo and Adrian started circling around each other, looking for a first opening. I noticed that Adrian had selected only white, black and silver paint for his palette: his personal colours. Algo had a whole array of colours. It was unfortunate for Adrian to be dressed in white, since even the tiniest paint-spot would contrast with it.

     Algo's friends and companions started cheering him on, and a few who had brought instruments started playing some popular tunes, a bit like at the football-matches on Shadow Earth. By comparison the Family remained rather calm; an Amberite is not a common hooligan.

     Meanwhile Algo tried a few quick lunges with his brush, but each time Adrian managed to parry with his palette. Suddenly Adrian slashed his brush forward, apparently going for an opening he had seen, and it worked: there was now a small white spot on Algo's costume. However, Algo had counted on that and in the same instant that Adrian attacked he did so as well, not with his brush but with his palette! This came as quite a surprise to Adrian, who had thus far been using his palette only defensively. The damage he had done to Algo was little compared to what Algo had done to him.

     Adrian's tactics became a lot more aggressive after that. He managed to hit Algo more and more often, but some of Algo's strokes also landed. He didn't fall for that trick with the palette again, though. After some time Algo called out to Droppa for some new paint, and Adrian, the honourable gentleman that he is, waited until Algo was ready. Algo started circling again, until he suddenly dived towards Adrian's legs. Adrian had seen him coming, though; he quickly stepped aside, tripped Algo up, and with a wide gesture smeared his palette all over Algo's face. Algo's expression was black, white and silver.

     I smiled and turned to Diana. "I think that you might have been wrong in your assessment," I said. "Algo may be skilled with a brush, but this still is a combat and Adrian is clearly the better man."

     "Do you want to bet on it?" she asked me eagerly. "I'll stake a completely arranged picknick. What will your stake be?"

     I thought awhile and then said: "If you're right I'll arrange a dinner for two."

     "Oh yes," Boadice interrupted, "by candlelight. How romantic!"

     Diana blushed and I quickly turned my attention back to the duel. This was a subject that I didn't want to be reminded of right now.

     Algo had managed to crawl out from under Adrian's weight just in time, for Adrian was about to start finger-painting his opponent. When they were on their feet again they both shouted to their seconds for a can of paint. Algo quickly opened the one Droppa had thrown him and threw its contents in Adrian's direction. Adrian managed to dodge the stream of red paint and immediately reacted by throwing his white paint back at Algo, who was a bit slower than him: he got two white feet for all his trouble.

     All this had caused two great puddles of paint on the stage, which they had to be careful to avoid. However, they both apparently preferred this to the earlier brush-work, for they each got several cans from their seconds, which they started opening. Algo opened all his cans, then took one and slowly began closing in on Adrian. Adrian was waiting for him with an open can in each hand. He first threw one as a feint, then caught Algo square with the contents of the other one. At the same time Algo threw his paint and also scored a full hit. He started hurrying back to where he had left his other opened cans, but Adrian had anticipated this. He took one of the empty cans and aimed it at Algo's paint supply with as much force as possible. The effect was an explosion of blue paint, showering not only Algo and, in a lesser extend, Adrian himself, but all the spectators too! I've never seen so many people having the blues at the same time...

      The time for niceties was over now, and the time for raw strength had come. Adrian and Algo were both struggling to get a good hold on the other to throw him in one of the puddles of paint. They were about evenly matched in strength, but slowly but surely Adrian got the upper hand. He had Algo almost where he wanted him, when suddenly Droppa jumped up behind him and poured a full can of paint out over his head. Corwin immediately reacted by going after Droppa with his supply of paint and to our surprise a second paint-fight began before our eyes.

     Adrian was so shocked by this blatant breach of the rules that he forgot about Algo for just a moment. Long enough, however, for Algo to trip Adrian up and send him crashing into the red paint on the floor. Adrian fell, but he wasn't about to let go of Algo that easily and soon both were rolling through the red paint.

     A few moments later Adrian jumped up and helped Algo to his feet. The duel was at an end: Algo was totally covered in paint, while there were still a few white spots visible on Adrian's costume. The duellists quickly put an end to the fight between their seconds, a fight Corwin was clearly winning, although Droppa was very fast and had managed to get a few smears onto Corwin's knightly outfit. There was some cheering and applause from the galleries as Algo gestured and Lush, in a glittery dress, descended the stairs to the stage to crown the winner of the duel.

     "Oh Adrian," she sighed as she hung the wreath around his neck, "you were wonderful."

     Adrian proceeded to surprise me by asking Algo if Lush could perhaps stay here in Telgan. Algo agreed; she would make a great model. Perhaps my comments on the silliness of this whole thing had had some effect after all.

     "So when is the picknick?" I asked Diana. She smiled and she said she wouldn't forget about it.

     Algo turned to us all and thanked us for our attention. He said that he had arranged an after-duel-party, which would start right away. Everybody who wanted to stay was invited to do so. He would first clean himself up, as would Adrian and the two seconds, but they would join us shortly.

     I glanced at Diana and she indicated that she wanted to stay for a while. Good, for I rather felt like having a good party. Only a few people headed back home: Fiona, Random and Vialle. The rest of the Family stayed, some out of curiosity, some just because they wanted to party. I had to hand it to Algo, it was an excellent idea, certainly after that heavy business of the Trial.

     What can I say about the party? It was great! Lots of drinks, lots of food, lots of people, lots of music and dancing. One of the highlights was to see Murlas dancing. Nothing modern, of course, but dancing all the same. Not that the ladies were very willing to stay in his company for very long. I guess they must have heard what he had done to one of their friends.

     The exception was that new girl; she danced with Murlas too, perfectly matching him in style and dancing longer than any of the others. Later on Diana and I got a chance to talk to her and we learned that she had just arrived in Amber. Her name was Rhiane and apparently she was the daughter of our deceased Uncle Eric. I wanted to say something about cousins popping out of the woodwork all the time, but Rhiane's refined manners made me think that such a remark might not fall on fertile ground with her. She seemed a bit too respectable to me. When Diana mentioned her not knowing who her parents were Rhiane's expression did show some disapproval, as if she meant to say that such a thing was not done. She would probably be good company for someone like Adrian, who also valued proper behaviour so highly.

     When Uncle Gerard got a bit too tipsy and started lifting benches with as much ladies as possible (much to the disapproval of Aunt Llewella, by the way), Diana and I felt it was time to go home. We first went to congratulate Adrian once more. He said that he wanted to talk to me before going off again and I said that he could stop by my rooms at any time.

     I also congratulated Algo on the great show and on the wonderful party he had thrown. He smiled drunkenly and said something about having wanted to add some blue and yellow to the end result to get a living "Who's afraid of red, yellow and blue?" painting. I had seen that painting once in a magazine on Shadow Earth and was surprised he knew of it too. He said he didn't only know the painting, he knew the painter too. When he started musing about bringing that man to Telgan, so I left him to his thoughts.

     Back in Amber I walked Diana back to her chambers. Before saying goodnight I asked her if she would have dinner with me at my Father's house next evening. She started protesting that I had won the bet fair and square and that she would arrange for us to have a picknick real soon, but I said that this had nothing to do with that bet, I just wanted her to meet my Father and have a nice meal together. That being the case she agreed and I said I would pick her up at half past five tomorrow afternoon.

     As I entered my own chambers I found Wylde asleep in a chair. I didn't wake her. Later I would tell her all that had happened. There was also a small note from Murlas requesting a word with me. I wondered what it was that he wanted to talk to me about, but I decided to let it wait till the next morning. It was already quite late and when we left Murlas had still been at the party.

     I slept soundly and awoke early. After getting dressed I took my time for breakfast and after that I went round Murlas' rooms. He was already up and welcomed me with a fresh cup of tea. As he poured both our cups I mused a bit about his Trial. He had said that he wanted to better his life and we had all agreed to give him a second chance. That was why I had agreed to see him, although he still made me feel very uneasy. I couldn't pretend to like him, but I knew that we might have to cooperate in the future. Past experience had shown that we could, so I tried my best to overcome my dislike for him.

     "So, tell me," I said after my first sip, "what's on your mind?"

     "I would like to pick up the subject of the question you asked me at the Trial. I was not in a position to answer you then, for it would have greatly interfered with the defense strategy they had set up for me. I hope you can understand this." He hesitated for a moment, then continued: "As much as I would like to give you the answer now, I find that I still cannot do so, for very personal reasons."

     "Don't bother," I said, "the whole thing is not an issue to me anymore." From Murlas' expression I gathered that my bitterness had shown through in my voice, which was not as I had intended. One cannot always keep such emotions hidden, though.

     "One of my problems," Murlas quickly continued, "is my ignorance in regard to the rules and regulations here in Amber. Especially the unwritten rules which everybody instinctively obeys."

     "Ha, well I don't know too much about them either, as you have seen at the Trial."

     He looked a bit surprised. "But I thought that you at least knew your way around here."

     "No," I said shaking my head, "while it's true that I grew up in Amber, I only got introduced to the Family a few years ago and I never spent much time in the castle itself."

     He was silent for a moment or so, sipping his tea and digesting this new information. He suddenly looked at me again and asked: "If you are not able to educate me in these matters, then who is?"

     "If you want to learn about protocol and al that stuff I suggest that you talk to Aunt Flora. She's supposed to be the expert."

     "Alright, I shall do so."

     I finished my tea and since he had no further questions for me I made ready to leave. As I was standing up something came to mind, and I decided to ask him.

     "Do you know where Alexander is? I didn't see him at the duel yesterday, which I though was surprising since it was his brother and all that."

     "I believe that Alexander has gone off to other parts," he said with a shrug.

     "So suddenly? Is he busy with personal things?"

     "Well, he did have a clear purpose."

     "Didn't he have to have his Trump drawn or something?"

     "I do not know. We shall see."

      The first thing I did when I had left Murlas was find a servant to take a message to my Father, announcing that Diana and I would be joining him for dinner. Then I went to the library. There was something that I had to look into while I was still in castle Amber. I spent the remainder of the day burrowing through "The Chronicles of Amber", even after I had found what I was looking for. It's not a bad idea to study our history a little closer; you never know when information like that might come in handy. Wylde joined me somewhere in the afternoon and she again fell asleep on my lap. I felt really relaxed, browsing through these ancient texts while stroking Wylde's soft fur. Quiet moments like these should be treasured.

     Anyway, I found out that Sand was indeed my Aunt; the name of her and Delwin's mother was Harla. The fact that I had never heard their names before was explained in the course of that bit of history. It seemed that Harla came from some distant Shadow, a Shadow which had meant a lot to her children. After Harla's death Sand and Delwin had got into a conflict with Oberon, because they had felt he didn't do enough for their home. When Delwin had finally taken control over their Shadow, Oberon had gotten so angry that he had banished them both from Amber. He had ordered their names to be forgotten and all their Trumps to be destroyed.

     When I read this last part I got somewhat excited. So I was one of the few to have a Trump for Sand!

     I probably wasn't the only one, though. From what I had heard about Grandfather Oberon some of my Aunts and Uncles would have loved to disobey one of his orders. And besides, I had already concluded that Sand probably had to have some friends in Amber to be able to anticipate us in the way that she had, and contact from Amber to somewhere in Shadow is still easiest established by means of a Trump.

      Still, my Trump of Sand seemed to be a trumpcard in the broader sense of the word. Perhaps I should try it sometime soon...

      Our dinner with my Father was great. As I had suspected he and Diana immediately took a liking to each other. While we enjoyed our meal he told her several anecdotes illustrating life in Amber, along with a little general history and some other bits of information.

     In the course of the evening Diana visibly loosened up. I hadn't truly realised how much the Trial had affected her. But then I also felt myself really relax from an amount of tension that had been greater than I had thought. Maybe it was the sense of being really at home that made me feel like that. Maybe it was just my Father's company. I didn't know and I didn't really care; all I knew was that I now felt up to our coming task.

     We didn't stay too long, for Diana was to essay the Pattern the next morning, for which she needed to be fully rested. As I walked her back to her room we encountered Adrian who reminded me of the little talk he wanted with me. I said goodnight to Diana and wished her good luck on her Pattern walk the next day. I was certain she would make it.

     Adrian and I retired to my rooms and I had a servant bring up a bottle of Bayle's red. It was only after we had finished our first glasses that we really started talking. I began by asking Adrian if he could discretely try to gather some information on the Tarsh while he was in the Courts. I explained that that was the name Wylde had given to Alexander's panther Thena. He said he would try, although he couldn't promise anything.

     "So, what kind of trouble are you caught up in?" he asked me a moment later.

     I hesitated for a second, but then decided to tell him all about Suzanne's disappearance, without saying a word about Caine, though.

     "That is indeed a lot of trouble," he said when I was finished.

     "Yes, it is. My only comfort is that Suze is probably still alive. At least I hope she is."

     "I'm certain she is," he agreed. "Now, on to an entirely different subject, though: what do you think of Random's decision to give Murlas a second chance? He stopped by the other day to talk and he really seems to want to change his ways. I still don't know, though."

     "I know how you feel. I'm also in doubt about Murlas. I agree that we should give him that second chance, but no more than that. If he messes up again we're though with him."

     "Ah, it's all so hard," he sighed, "I just can't take it sometimes. Around here everybody is involved in some kind of sneaky business!"

     "That is so true. That is just what I keep saying to Diana, but she doesn't learn easily."

     "Nobody does. I'm only recently finding out for myself."

     I filled our glasses once again, before asking about Alexander's absence.

     "Yes, that's quite a tale! Yesterday morning while I was preparing for the duel a servant from Random came inquiring where my brother was. Apparently he hadn't turned up for his Trump drawing session, without even sending some kind of message to excuse himself.

      "I went to see Random and he was really pissed off. I made some excuses on Alexander's behalf, but I also explained that I don't have that much contact with him because of our mutual bad relationship. I also told him about the trouble you've been having with your Wylde and Alexander's Thena, and about the suspicions you have that Thena is a Chaos creature. I hope you don't mind, but it did seem relevant."

     Hmm, I did mind a bit, but what's done is done, and I said so. "I don't know about Alexander's sudden disappearance, though. Murlas said he had gone off on his own quest, but why would he anger Random like that? To be honest I don't know you brother all that well, but this seems rather stupid. Doesn't he want us to be able to reach him?"

     "I'm afraid you're right. Maybe I've been looking up to him too much for too long. He was always so smart, so good, but lately he's been acting so strangely. Sometimes even stupidly. I also tend to do that sometimes, but I hope that I'm learning." He knocked his wine down and he sighed: "Amber is so beautiful. Everything is rather beautiful. Only people are often not so beautiful."

     "I know precisely what you mean. Let's drink to Amber!"

     "To Amber!"

     A couple of toasts later Adrian suddenly announced that he was set to take upon himself the role of Protector of Random and Vialle's unborn child. He had been so outraged by what Random had told us that he had wanted to personally make sure that such a thing wouldn't happen again. I said that I hoped that he knew what he was getting himself into, but he seemed very self-confident, so I refrained from making any other remarks. I had the feeling that dear cousin Adrian wouldn't stand a chance against the ones who murdered those unborn babies.

     But I didn't want to think about that. We changed the subject to some unimportant topics, with which we passed the time while emptying our bottle, and then another one. After that Adrian headed back to his chambers to get some sleep. Thanks to the wine I had no trouble falling asleep myself.

     The first thing I found as I awoke the next morning was a Trump deck complimenting the deck I already had. There were but a few omissions: Alexander, Delwin and Dalt, although I didn't know what those last two looked like. There also wasn't a Trump for Dworkin, but I figured that if there were one he wouldn't react to a Trump call anyway.

     I mused a bit on Alexander's absence. It seemed that none of us had got real close to him during the time we had spent together, a distance he seemed to have cultivated himself. The way in which he had left so suddenly, completely disregarding his appointment with Random, made me think that he didn't want anyone to have his Trump. That seemed silly, though: now we wouldn't be able to contact him should we need to. I guess that it was his own choice, but I sure would like to know his reasons.

     I shuffled all my Trumps together in the case that had been supplied with them, making sure that my Trump for Sand was somewhere at the bottom of the deck (although not the last card). There were several cards in the deck of people I couldn't place; had to ask someone about them when I had the chance.

     After a quick breakfast I headed down to the Pattern room. Diana was already there with Bleys as her guide (I should have known). She seemed nervous and I smiled at her to express my confidence. Curiously, Bleys was all business; apparently he thought such an occasion as someone's first Pattern walk to be a proper cause for seriousness. He passed Diana a last few points of advice and then she was ready to start.

     As she set foot on the Pattern and the first blue sparks sprung up around her feet I had a sudden idea and I immediately set out to try it. Slowly I started concentrating on the Pattern (a task I thought would be easy with the real thing in front of me) in order to follow Diana's progress on another level and study the forces that were at work.

     Big mistake! I felt the forces of the Pattern rushing towards me. Too much! I could just barely snap out of it before they entirely overwhelmed me. It left me dazed and with a killer headache. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Bleys regarding me with a stern expression.

     "That was bloody stupid!" he said.

     I smiled ruefully: "So I've found out."

     "Don't ever think of doing that again. Fortunately you didn't create a disturbance in Diana's Pattern initiation. Next time you might not be so lucky..."

     I didn't know what to say, so I just smiled again. Damn! How could I be so stupid? I might have endangered Diana with my rash behaviour! No, this certainly wouldn't happen again!

     I rubbed my temples while squinting at Diana's form moving along the Pattern, enshrouded in blue sparks. Slowly my headache receded, along with my worries. It was clear that Diana was going to make it; I didn't think she had noticed anything that had happened outside the Pattern. Just a few more curves and she would be home-free.

     The last few minutes seemed to last an eternity. When she finally reached the centre she teleported up to her rooms. Bleys and I used her Trump to join her upstairs, saving us the trouble of travelling up all those stairs. Bleys immediately left, saying that he still had to arrange some things before going to the Courts. Diana did look a bit drained, so I said that we would take another two hours before departing, giving her some time to recuperate.

     While I was packing my stuff a servant came round with a message. Apparently Random had made an anouncement at last night's dinner, which we had missed being at my Father's house. The message was a surprise: I was now officially the Duke of Ayland, which as I knew was a region to the north of Amber. I questioned the servant and  learned that all the new relatives had been given a title like that, since there had been some questions regarding our social status. Later, when I met Diana at the stables I learned that she had been given the title Duchess of Halrin (a small vilage to the east of Amber).

     At the stables we picked up two fresh horses for our journey. Diana was a bit depressed about the fact that we had left our previous horses behind in Shadow. I understood all too well, but there wasn't much to be done about it. That's just one of the risks of travelling through Shadow, I guess.

     We rode out towards Arden from where we would really start our journey. I had decided that it would be best to first travel back to Wittebrugh in the hope that I would be able to pick up a trail from there. When we started shifting I let Diana concentrate on Pattern as well, so she could practice a little. She had to be prepared as much as possible.

     Suddenly our horses halted. Our way was barred by a small girl with long blond hair held together by a black ribbon. She wore a blue dress with a white apron, and she somehow reminded me of someone, although I couldn't quite place her.

     She curtsied and said very politely: "Good morning, Milord, Milady. I'm looking for my sister. Have you by any chance seen her?"

     I frowned. "Your sister, you say?"

     "Yes," she replied innocently, "she has violet hair and smokes small cigars."

     "Oh no!" I said, realising both whom she was looking for and at the same time who this girl reminded me of: Alice in Wonderland!

     "Oh, so you have met her!" the girl exclaimed.

     "Err, no, actually I haven't, but my cousin has."

     "Pray tell, where can I find your cousin?"

     "He lives in Telgan." She looked puzzled so I added: "It's close to Amber."

     "Oh," she said smiling, "I know where to find Amber. Thank you very much." She curtsied once again and then vanished without a trace.

     Uh oh, I'd better warn Algo that he should look forward to yet more company...

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