Chapter 022: A Trip To The Overshadow

"It's the nexus of the crisis,

And the origin of storms..."

Astronomy - Blue Oyster Cult

     It was beginning to become a habit: me, Adrian, a private room and one or more bottles of wine. Only one this time, since we both had an appointment later that evening. At least, I had been told by Murlas that we would be leaving sometime after dinner; I did not know when Adrian would be off. We had, once again, been drafted for the Good of Amber, together with any of our relatives who had been available. The threat: 10,000 pink golems. The solution: as yet unknown. As if I didn't have enough problems as it was...

     It was alright, though, to share a few moments in my cousin's company before whisking off to places unclear to face dangers unknown. There was a sort of steadfastness in Adrian which I could really appreciate at times like these.

     "I hope you got my note," he began while pouring our first glasses of wine. I nodded. "Good, then I guess you're curious to know more about that personal business of mine." I nodded once again, figuring that he would tell me anyway. He sat down and took a sip before really starting his tale.

     "After the raid on the castle I found that I wasn't really needed here, and since I had too much time on my hands anyway I decided to try and find that Shadow where I had been when they had tried to get my body back to its human form. It took me some time, but I managed to find that same Shadow. The people there recognized me and they were still very grateful for what I had done. I had a talk with their leader, trying to find out more about the forces who had held me captive there, but I didn't learn anything new. He did have a related piece of disturbing news for me, though: one of the people who had been my wardens was still hiding out in the woods around the castle. I must admit that when he told me that I immediately feared that it might be the person whom I had shared the night with." He laughed a bit sheepishly.

     "And...?" I asked.

     "Well, of course it was her. She was in a bit awkward situation: she was stranded there in that Shadow, without means of returning to the place she had come from, that being the Courts of Chaos. So I offered to take her there in return for some information, to which she agreed. She told me that she had been only a servant to that person Emerald, who apparently had been a member of one of the Minor Houses of the Courts. My whole captivity, however, had been arranged at the order of someone from a Major House, but she only wanted to divulge that person's identity when she was back in the Courts. When she finally told me I wasn't too pleased: it was none other than Jaill Helgram, Dara's father and Merlin's grandfather!"

     "Uh oh," I said. Talk about a first class, heavy weight opponent! And I thought that I had problems...

     "Uh oh indeed," Adrian continued. "After a moment of consideration I decided that it was best just to Trump Merlin and see what he would make of it all. After all, he is supposed to be the King over there. Well, he came over and we talked. He asked her some more questions, but he remained sceptical. He warned me not to rely on her words too much, for we had no way of really verifying them. He would try to look into it, but it was his grandfather we were talking about here and he didn't really like to hear such things about him.

     "I also asked him about the raid on Amber, which he already knew about. Azrain wasn't known to him, though, and he was a bit surprised to hear that the attackers had also been after Martin, since Dara and Martin had always been rather good friends. Personally, I think that Martin just knows a lot more about this whole mess and they wanted to keep him from talking. Anyway, I figured that staying in the vicinity of the Courts was just about the stupidest thing I could do, so I quickly headed back home again."

     "And you brough the girl with you," I said.

     "Yes, I did. Her name is Narshila and we have agreed that she is to be my maid." I smiled knowingly, but he didn't react. He may be getting better at hiding his feelings. Good for him.

     "You know," he said, "I had a little chat with my father after I had come back, and he told me that you had visited Tir-na Nog'th. He wouldn't tell me anything about it, though; he said that I'd better ask you myself."

     "And so now you're asking." I sighed. "Well, there's not much to tell really: I went up there the night after the attack, I had some very vague and unclear visions and I returned not much wiser. There's just no way of telling which of the visions are true and which are not."

     "Then why did you go in the first place?"

     "I guess I was looking for some answers. Not that I found many of them of course. No, it seems that most of the visions only cast more doubt on certain issues. One thing proved to be useful, though: I met Azrain's ghost up there."

     "Hmm, I'm not sure if I like the sound of that. After all, you had just killed him and all."

     "Well, I guess that's just Tir-na Nog'th for you. Anyway, he didn't really appear to be vindictive or anything, he just sat there drinking tea. When I confronted him he didn't seem to be interested in me; all he did was give me a message for his brother, saying that he was now the heir."

     "Brother?" Adrian interjected. "I didn't know he had a brother."

     "Neither did I. So I asked him and he said that I already knew him. He said that it was the one who had been trying to kill him."

     "Murlas?" Adrian didn't look particularly pleased at the prospect.

     "You got it."

     "Oh, that's great! That's just great! And just what is he supposed to be the heir of?"

     "Well, considering for a moment that Murlas's mother was supposed to be a lady of the Courts and that Azrain seemed to have some connections there as well, I'd say that if we want to start looking, we might as well start over there."

     "But they said that they didn't know Azrain over there."

     "That doesn't mean anything," I replied calmly.

     "I see what you mean. It might help to explain why Dara is involved in all of this. If Azrain really was Murlas's brother... Oh, that reminds me, have I already told you that I found out who that blond woman is on the Trump that Sand showed us? Her name is Tirga of Ysarn."

     "Fiona also mentioned that name last time we spoke," I said.

     "When I heard who she was I asked around for some more information and I learned that the House Ysarn is one of the most conservative Houses of the Courts. The Ysarn are always against anything that has to do with Amber. They're mostly in the same corner with the Houses Hendrake and Helgram, although they appear to prefer to stay out of the limelight. Tirga herself, who is widely known as a hero of the Patternfall War, seems to have close ties with both those Houses."

     "Sounds like yet another dangerous lady." I took another sip and let him refill our glasses. "By the way, what do you think of this whole pink golem business?" I asked.

     "It's a dark and muddy picture," he said. "It may be that that first attack was just a prelude to the really heavy stuff that's still to come. It easily halved our available troops here in Amber and if they had been successful they would have triumphantly taken Azrain back to the Courts. Which in itself makes the trip you're going to make a little more significant, since you will be travelling in the company of new heir, Murlas. If all of this is somehow connected, I wouldn't be too surprised if you'd run into Dara over there, wherever it is you're going. All the more reason of course to distrust Murlas. I for one still don't feel comfortable with him or his plans towards Amber."

     "Agreed, but then nobody around here seems to trust him. His presence is being tolerated, nothing more."

     "I'm afraid of what he will do if somebody from the other side offers him a deal. I'm not looking forward to fighting a real war here, I can tell you." He sighed. "Ah well, at least Dad will be going with you, that's a good thing. Promise to keep me informed, though."

     "That's okay. I have to warn you, though: I really don't know where we are going to, so communication may be a little difficult."

     "I guess I also don't really know what I'm getting myself into," he said. "After all your stories I don't think I can trust Caine, but I still want to find out what he's really like. However, I do plan on being very careful indeed."

     "I guess that I don't have to warn you not to trust him."

     "No, but still, he does seem to have feelings. I mean, you yourself said that he cared deeply for your mother's wellfare..." He shrugged and fell silent for a moment. "You know," he said after a while, "I don't understand how the Abyss works. Your mother falls into the damned thing and later you manage to bring her back. During my bungee jump I experienced it as being filled with pure Chaos, which caused me to shift to my Chaos form. Now, you say that your mother was in some other reality when you brought her back. How did she get there? What really happens when you fall into the Abyss? I think it might be worthwile to make a study of it. If only we had the time to do so."

     I nodded my agreement, but at the same time my thoughts were straying because of some connection I had not made before. If the Abyss had caused Adrian to shift his shape, why then was my Mother still in her usual form when we brought her back? Did she have some special protections against the forces of the Abyss, or was she in fact a shape shifter herself? I can't say I was paticularly pleased by that thought...

      With our thoughts shared and the bottle empty I said goodbye to Adrian and went to my room to prepare for the journey. I had hoped to find Wylde there; I hadn't seen her for a couple of days, but I knew that she must be somewhere in the castle. Well, perhaps this was a good chance to test my new abilities. I concentrated and a few minutes later I was scanning through the castle for my feline companion.

     It took me quite some time to find her, however. She was off in some remote dusty corridor in one of the wings that hadn't been visited by humans for years. There were a lot of mice there, although Wylde's prolonged presence was making certain that their numbers were slowly but surely dwindling. Without much ado I reached through my link and brought her over to me.

     "How did you do that?" she asked me with an understandably surprised expression.

     "Oh, it's just a new trick I learned. Listen, I need to talk to you." I explained her about the pink golem threat and about the different task forces. "This place I'm going to, the Overshadow, sounds pretty risky, and for once I'm not sure whether I should take you along or not. The problem is that while I might have a way to get back to Amber, should need be, you won't have such a thing, and I just cannot spend all my time there looking after you. I know this may sound a bit harsh, but I want you to know that I'm still very grateful for everything you have done for me so far. I think it is a debt I will never be able to repay. It's just that this mission is too important to introduce any extra elements to worry about."

     Wylde didn't look too happy, but I could see that she understood my reasons. I hoped that she would accept what I was going to present to her now just as easily.

     "I have been thinking," I began, "and since you will not be travelling with me I wanted to ask you if you would accompany Diana. Just to keep an eye on her like you always have on me."

     "Hrumph!" Well, I had never heard a cat snort indignantly before. It was clear that she wasn't very enthusiastic about it. "Well, okay," she said, "if she really wants to have me along I'll go. But she'd better not treat me like I was any ordinary pet pussycat!" I smiled and started stroking her, trying to placate her a little bit. Wylde always seems to be a little bit jealous of my girlfriends and she never really gets along will them. It can't be helped, I guess. My hope was that when she and Diana got to know each other a little bit better they might get to like each other a little bit too.

     "I just hope we won't go sailing," Wylde grumbled stubbornly.

     About an half an hour later, just before dinner, I had a somewhat similar conversation with Diana. If I had thought that she would welcome Wylde's presence I was sadly mistaken.

     "Do I have to take her with me?" she asked me in exasperation. "I had got the feeling that she really doesn't like me."

     "It's not as bad as that," I said appeasingly. "I fear she's only a little bit jealous. Nothing serious, though."

     "But we're going to the front! Do you think that that's the right place for a cat?"

     "She'll do alright, don't you worry. She might even be of some help to you. And I simply cannot take her with me." Diana remained silent for a moment, then she heaved a sigh.

     "Well, okay then," she said, "if she insists on coming..." I smiled, thinking of my earlier conversation. "I hope that you're not expecting me to keep on looking after her all the time, though," Diana added.

     "No, no, that's alright, Wylde'll take care of herself. Perhaps it'll be a good opportunity for the two of you to get to know each other a little better." She didn't answer me, but her expression told me that she didn't have as high expectations as I had. Ah well, we'd see what would come of it.

      Dinner was a casual affair. Everybody was already assembled in the separate groups, going over the plans and making last minute additions or changes. I sat down with Murlas and Corwin and proceeded to stuff myself while Murlas outlined our plan.

     "Since the route we have to take to get to the Overshadow leads through Tir-na Nog'th," he began, "we shall have to leave tonight." I nearly choked on a piece of meat. Not again! If only the other three options were not so uappealing, I would switch groups right away. But then I had already agreed to go with them, and I had survived my first visit. Barely... Hmm, so that was why Murlas had been visiting the ghost city. Interesting...

     I walked up to a window and glanced outside. Although the moon was sure to come out in an hour or so, the sky did look a little bit overcast. Not really good Tir-na Nog'th weather. Corwin had also looked outside and he smiled at my worried expression.

     "I'll see whether I can do anything about it," he said and he went to talk to Random. Random, however, could only answer his question with a helpless shrug. Corwin returned looking a bit more worried.

     "It seems that the solution I had in mind is just not possible right now," he said. "I guess we'll just have to chance it."

     "We shall have to keep our Trumps handy," Murlas remarked.

     "Speaking about Trumps," I said, "what about Random's suggestion of you giving me that Black Trump for this mission." For a moment he looked a bit calculatingly at me. Then he took out his Trump deck and searched through it until he found the Black one.

     "Here," he said. "However, I expect you to return it to me after the mission." I nodded. Of course he could have the damn thing back when all this was finished, but for now I wanted every little scrap that might help me out on the coming journey. As I took the card from him I already felt the power that it held, without even concentrating on the thing. I quickly tucked it away with my other Trumps.

     "So once again we'll ride to the top of the Kolvir," Corwin said to me. "If we had known this sooner, we could have delayed your little trip up there." I shook my head. No, this was going to be something different altogether. I wondered what the effect of the presence of three Amberites on Tir-na Nog'th would be. It might stir up some very interesting ghosts.

     As I headed back to the dining table for a refill, Boadice's voice rang out through the entire hall.

     "Uncle Caine," she called, "Alexander just Trumped me and I'll be gone for about an hour or so." Without waiting for Caine's reaction she Trumped out. I frowned and looked at Caine. His expression was as neutral as ever. Perhaps even more so. A moment later Random walked up to him and they started talking in quiet voices. Caine made an abrupt gesture signalling his disagreement with whatever it was that Random was saying, but Random insisted. As they parted both wore very neutral expressions. I noticed that I wasn't the only one who had been paying attention to the proceedings. In fact it looked like all of us had just been watching a two-man-and-one-woman performance. I didn't think that Caine liked his role very much, though, and I wondered about the quantity and quality of the hell Boadice would get when she would contact him again.

     I didn't get close to Caine to ask about it, though (not that I really wanted to, but hey...). He and Murlas seemed to have discovered an exciting new game: avoiding one another. I had caught a rumour earlier on that Murlas had gone up to Caine's room to talk and that after a couple of minutes Caine had forcefully removed him from the premises. As much as I would like to know what had caused such rigourous action, I wasn't going to ask either of them for the reason, knowing that they wouldn't tell me anyway. Isn't it nice to know that one can depend on one's Family?

     We had to wait for yet another three hours until we could go up to Tir- na Nog'th. While we were riding to the top of the mountain my thought naturally drifted back to my last visit here, only a few days ago. In a certain way it was a good idea to keep close to Murlas. Maybe that heir business would be cleared up real soon, if there was any truth in it that is. For the rest I didn't feel too good at having to climb the silver steps again. But duty called, I guess.

     When we reached the foot of the stairway the servant who had travelled with us took our horses and immediately headed back to the castle. He took great care not to let his eyes drift towards the sky and his expression showed some awe and fear at what we were about to do. It made me wonder what we looked like to these normal Amber folks: angels or demons? Or were those just really one and the same?

     I took out my Trump deck and shuffled the Trump of Amber to the top. A bit hesitant I decided to keep the Black Trump in my left hand, despite the eerie feeling of power that eminated from the thing. If I needed it, though, and if I had to search for it in my Trump deck, it might be too late. Better safe than dead... Or lost... Or stuck up there without help...

     In single file we climbed the stairs: Murlas, me and Corwin. However, when we reached the top we didn't enter the city, but instead Murlas started walking towards the ghostly image of Arden which shone off in the distance. It gave me a creepy feeling, for while Tir-na Nog'th is visible from the ground, the reflection of Arden is not. In fact I hadn't even noticed that it was there during my previous visit. I didn't get much time to reflect on it, though, for I had to concentrate rather hard on sticking close to Murlas and Corwin. This was made even harder by the fleeting visions that passed us on our way. They were not really full-fledged visions like I had seen on my earlier visit, they were more like fragmented images and impressions. I saw some of the ghostly buildings we passed starting to crumble, I saw hazy figures passing us by, figure that looked like big, silver golems, and I saw lots of little argent lines flicker through the air. Besides all these visions I got a certain feeling of unrest. It seemed that Random's information had been correct: something powerful was causing a disturbance up here.

     "We are headed right for the heart of it," Murlas remarked. His speech had a silver ring to it, but for once I would rather have had the gold. It didn't surprise me at all, though, that we were powerbound. After all, wasn't that our mission?

     As we left Tir-na Nog'th behind us and entered the outskirts of Arden our surroundings acquired a greenish hue. It didn't feel anything like the real Arden, however. For one, although there are certain forces in Arden, I had never felt them try to push me out, like this forest was doing. It was just like walking into gusts of wind of force eight or higher, and it got worse the further we got. I tried using the Pattern as a sort of counter-force, which worked for a while, but the pressure just kept on building steadily. I cursed under my breath. Murlas and Corwin didn't seem to experience any of the difficulties I was struggling with. Come on, Dorian, if they can do it, then so can you. Think!

     Finally, when the forces pressuring me really got too much for me, I decided to try and see if I couldn't use the Black Trump to lighten my burden. The problem was that to concentrate on it I would have to drop my Pattern, which at that moment was my only defense against the forces of this place. However, if I didn't try the Black Trump, I was certain I would have to stop and turn back very soon (if that was still possible at all). It had better work, though, or it would be squashed Dorian on the menu tonight.

     Quickly I turned my full concentration from the Pattern to the Trump in my hand. Ouch! It felt somewhat like suddenly being placed ten metres under the ocean surface. The Trump helped to keep it away, though, but it was me an unfamiliar instrument for me, and as such hard to control. As I struggled to gain more control over the thing, I noticed like through a hazy dream that I had stopped walking. Somewhere I heard some faint noises. Murlas's face drifted on the edge of my vision and from the fact that his lips were moving I guessed that he was talking to me. I couldn't hear him, though. Too busy. Murlas moved in closer.

     "Trouble?" he inquired calmly. I grunted something and continued in my efforts of trying to make the Trump do what I wanted. And slowly, very slowly I seemed to be getting results. It was like holding a large flashlight which instead of light projected a beam of power. No, let me rephrase that: the part about the flashlight is right, but it was more as if I was holding it in an intricate web of strings. To point it into a certain direction I had to pull some of those strings and the trick was in finding out which strings to pull. I heard Murlas call my name again as the beam of power swept to and fro. As clumsy as I handled the thing, however, it did give me some protection against the forces of this plane. After some practicing I even thought that I would be able to get moving again, albeit very slowly. I looked up at Murlas's face, which showed only the faintest trace of impatience.

     "Have you quite finished playing?" he asked. I grunted again. The arogant bastard was enjoying every moment, I could tell. I would show him that I wasn't completely helpless, though.

     "Are you experiencing any problems?" he asked Corwin, who had also come to see what was taking me so long.

     "No," he said, "but then I have been initiated in the Jewel. I wouldn't be able to move around on my own, though."

     "Do you think you would be able to carry Dorian with you?" Murlas asked.

     "Oh, I could do that," Corwin said, "but why don't you just extend the protective field so that it is big enough to keep the three of us from harm?"

     "I knew that there was something that had eluded me," Murlas answered. He looked as smug as ever he would. Enjoy it, cousin, while you can. My time will come. I'm sure it will.

     Suddenly the pressure around me abated, dwindling away entirely.

     "Shall we continue?" Murlas asked with a faint smile. I nodded, but I realized that I first had to shut off the Trump. That proved to be easier said than done. It was like trying to push a djinni back into the bottle in which it had spent at least several centuries. Only when I concentrated and used the full force of the Pattern I managed to make the whole thing retreat. The power of the Trump and the Pattern weren't altogether the direct opposite of each other, but they weren't the closest of friends either. With the djinni back in the Trump, I passed my hand over it, sealing it until I or somebody else would set it free again. I just wished this djinni were a bit easier with its three wishes.

     "I must admit," Murlas said as I tucked the Trump away, "that I was a bit curious to see how far you would be able to travel on your own. I nearly forgot to take you with us." I nodded. This was as near to an apology as I would get. As we moved on I noticed that he didn't have any trouble at all with moving around here, while Corwin and I had to keep near to him to avoid being squashed like a fly.

     "Did you manage to get that Trump working?" Corwin asked.

     "A little," I said, "but it's hard to control. It is somewhat like the Nexus, I think, although I wouldn't be able to work with that power either. I just tried to use it to lessen the pressure around me and it worked, after a fashion. It's a very sensitive instrument, though, which requires a lot more study to use properly."

     We moved on in silence through the greenish silvery forest, ever onward through this timeless world. After a while I began to feel faint stirrings of power up ahead, without even concentrating on it.

     "We are headed towards the source here," Murlas said. Of course he had noticed it as well.

     "Well, that's where we should be headed, isn't it?" Corwin remarked.

     "What do the two of you know of the situation here?" Murlas asked a little later. "Do you know anything about the different groups?"

     "Please, do explain," Corwin said, and I just looked questioningly.

     "Well, there seem to be four different groups that are operating on this plane: the Circle, the Watchers, the Sisters and the Monoliths. We had better stay clear of the latter, for they all seem to be individuals with powers comparable to those of someone like Dworkin. You already know of one of the Sisters, namely Violet. They appear to be mostly an annoyance. I think that either the Circle or the Watchers are involved in the case we are investigating. These two groups seem to be each other's opponents and there could be people from Amber involved with either group. Or from the Courts, for that matter. Or from this plane. I fear we will discover this soon enough."

     We continued walking towards the centre of power. A few minutes later we began to see blue flashes in the distance ahead of us. A familiar colour of blue at that: Macaroni blue. Finally we reached the edge of a clearing and stood face to face with the cause of all this power. A heap of five or six Blue Macaronis lay there in the middle of the clearing, extending in several directions. They weren't all Macaroni-shaped, but kept shifting and changing. A man was standing in the middle of the fray. Although he was still a little while off, I recognized him immediately, for I had seen him in Tir-na Nog'th just a few nights before: Galoran. He didn't notice us, since he was far too busy concentrating on his work with the Macaronis.

     The three figures that stood at a safe distance from him and his playthings did notice us, though. They were an odd threesome: a great, big wolf, a very pale lady with white hair and a white dress, and another lady with dark hair who sat there on a treetrunk playing with a dagger. They kept their eyes on us, but they made no move against us as yet.

     The amount of power that Galoran was controlling, or trying to keep under his control, was really quite large, and I got the feeling that he really might be influencing things on another plane in this way, just as Random had suggested. It made me wonder how Random had known that this was happening in the first place.

     "Well," Corwin said, "it seems that he is somehow aiding the army of golems with those blue things. I'd say our task is clear." Yeah, sure, like I was really looking forward at messing with someone who could handle six Macaronis at the same time, not to mention those three other figures. As if they had read my thoughts they moved to a spot between us and Galoran. It was clear that they weren't going to let us pass that easily.

     "Welcome," the wolf growled. "I see that tourism is increasing around here."

     "But then there are a lot of interesting things to see," Murlas replied.

     "Yes," the wolf agreed, "it's quite spectacular, isn't it?"

     "It is," Murlas said. "I am, however, curious to learn its purpose."

     "Let's just say that there are certain interests at stake here," the pale lady answered.

     "There always are," Murlas said.

     "May one inquire after the purpose of your coming here?" she asked him.

     "We are here to observe," Murlas said carefully.

     "Observing is allowed," the dark lady with the dagger said, "participating is not." If their speech was any kind of indication of their true identity, all three of them might be Amberites, as far as I could tell.

     "We are just a bit curious," Murlas continued. "Who is that man who is handling that power?"

     "What's in a name?" the dark lady replied enigmatically. "Galoran has never been known to raise a fuss over such trifles."

     "Ah," Murlas said, "so he is using the same name here as well."

     "I think we'd better introduce ourselves," the pale lady said. "This is Dagger, Lord Wolf you have already met, and my name is Mist."  Really fitting names.

     "There was one thing I did not tell you," Murlas said to Corwin and me, "everyone is in the habit of using pseudonyms around here." Big surprise.

     "Yes," Mist added, "and I have to say that it is a bit rude to walk around in one's normal guise, Lord Corwin, Lord Dorian, and Lord Murlas."

She nodded to each of us. "I guess that it's excusable for amateurs, but we had expected more from you, Murlas."

     So everyone used different names and wore different guises. Great! With all this cloak and dagger stuff we could be talking with three of our relatives without even knowing it. Just add another layer of confusion to the whole picture.

     I looked beside me at Corwin. He was frowning, but he seemed content to let Murlas do the talking for now. I guess he was thinking the same thing as I was.

     "Lets get to business," Dagger said. "We have the feeling that it is in your best interest to end this spectacle. We may let you do so, for the right price of course."

     "I gather that the price has already been set?" Murlas remarked. Dagger looked at him with a smug expression.

     "Yes," she said, "I see that you have been so kind as to take the price with you."

     "Explain yourself," Murlas urged. He was getting impatient, and so was I. Get to the point, woman!

     "How shall I put it?" Dagger said.

     "Plainly," Murlas answered.

     "Plainly? But that spoils half the fun. Ah well, if you prefer it that way. Lord Murlas, we are ready to take you on a little journey to a pleasant destination, with everything taken care of and nothing to worry about. You'll follow us quietly and we'll forget about this other business. After all, your legacy is waiting for you..."

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