Chapter 070: Reinforcements

"I'm a man seeing if I can be a bigger man

And be the big world holder

And wear it on my shoulder

Confiscate all the hearts and minds of all human kind

And give a daring operation to deflect all life's afflictions"

Loosefish Scapegrace - Cardiacs

    Turning and turning in a widening gyre, my mind flew out to scout the land around me, till finally I found the first signs of Cardane life in the form of a small village, which actually consisted of barely more than ten dwellings. I studied the assorted feline and humanoid inhabitants for a while until I was certain that there weren't any Tarsh in the vicinity, and then I teleported myself to a spot just outside the village. Best to limit the surprise of my arrival as much as possible.

    Fortunately, the Cardane living there proved to be quite friendly, and while they didn't exactly live close to the capital, the villagers were still able to supply me with news of the war. And it was good news too: Wylde's revolutionaries had won the day by quickly taking advantage of the sudden decrease in Tarsh troops and supplies as a result of the damage done to the Logrus. There had been significant losses on both sides, though, but all the Tarsh had been driven out of the Shadow and it looked as if they wouldn't be returning for a while. Luckily, Wylde herself had survived the final battle, and she was reportedly in the capital setting up a new government. I thanked the villagers for their offers of hospitality, but decided that I'd better travel on as quickly as possible. As much as I disliked it, though, this involved another Pattern hop, my third one in far too little time. It was rather exhausting, yes, but I simply saw no other way: a prolonged trip through the jungles of Cardane would scarcely be better, and this at least saved a lot of time. Hopefully I would have a few moments to rest once I was there.

    Cardanysch, the capital, could hardly be described as a sprawling metropolis. The Cardane were not a very technologically advanced people, and neither were they very interested in urbanization. Even though it accomodated the main centre of government for the entire Shadow, Cardanysch was still barely more than a collection of small villages within reasonable distance of one another, interspersed by plenty of woods and other greenery. Since some of the Cardane actually preferred their dwellings high up in the trees, there were few hints that would allow anyone to notice their villages and towns from the air. The government buildings themselves  turned out not to be any different from their usual structures of wood and clay, and they had the distinctive feel of having been used as living quarters until quite recently.

    It didn't take the people long to spot and recognize me after I had arrived in their midst, and soon afterwards I was escorted into the presence of Princess Wylde. Two things drew my attention on my way through the city, the first being the apparent lack of population. There were still a substantial number of Cardane curiously milling around to catch a glimpse of their unusal visitor, but to my eye there seemed to be less than would be expected from the number of houses. The overall losses due to the civil war must have been quite extensive indeed. The second thing that caught my eye, and it hardly could have failed to do so, was the Cardanes' complete and utter nakedness, both in their feline and in their human form. I had almost forgot about this, since Anna and the kids were always properly dressed back in Amber and since the villagers I had first encountered had all been in their cat shapes, apparently wary as they had been of anyone who was not Cardane. I don't think I would have been particularly distracted by all this nudity, had it not been for the Curse. It had been some time since I had last given into it. If I was going to function all right, I would have to see to this, rather sooner than later.

    Wylde was surprised but happy to see me, although I sensed some slight discomfort in her as she hugged me and we started talking. It merely echoed my own mixed feelings: we had been friends and companions for quite a while, and I guess she had been one of the few individuals that I had come to trust completely. After she had left for her homeland and  had borne me six children things had changed, and we had never really got round to establishing some new kind of relationship, hampered as we had been by all the political issues. Perhaps after this threat had been deflected we would be able to make some time for this. Perhaps...

    First thing Wylde wanted to know from me, of course, was how the children were doing, so I told her all about them being in Amber, what their current average physical age was, and the distinctive traits that each of them tended to display that set them apart from the others. For now I decided to refrain from mentioning the recent episode with Dennis and Laura, not wanting to worry Wylde unduly while I still had far more worrisome news to convey to her.

    As I had already gathered the Cardane had been blissfully unaware of the threat posed by the approaching army, and my news came as quite a shock. Wylde agreed that there appeared to be little point in trying to oppose the invaders, especially since the recent war had all but depleted their population, leaving an average number of Cardane that ranged in the hundred thousands instead of millions. Simply letting the army pass by unhindered was not an option either, though, for I had discovered a quite disturbing fact about them: the assaillants did not appear to maintain any supply lines through Shadow, and for foraging they were entirely depended on whatever they came across on their route towards Galoria. A few hundred thousand Cardane would be nothing more than a light snack. I explained to Wylde that I had already been in contact with Adrian and that I wasn't going to give up that easily. My current tactic was one of discouragement, making Cardane seem too much bother for the army to try and conquer, but I had to agree with Wylde that they might not be so easily intimidated. I made it clear to her, however, that I had some other tricks up my sleeve and that I wouldn't give up without a fight.

    Wylde proceeded to offer me all the facilities and assistance that were officially at her disposal, which immediately materialized in the shape of one of the few human-sized beds in the possession of the Cardane, together with a nice little house that would give me the privacy for my task ahead. While Wylde turned her attention to organizing her people in order to deal with the imminent threat as best as they could, I retired to this dwelling and started concentrating on developing a power link with the entire Shadow that would enable me to ward it from any powers trying to invade it.

    I had only been at it for half an hour or so when I got a Trump call. It was Adrian - surprise, surprise - and he was trying his utmost to remain calm, so much that he appeared unnaturally stressed. It was only logical for me to have some reservations when he asked me whether he could come through to me for a moment, but deep down I still felt that I couldn't refuse him outright without any good reason, so a bit hesitantly I held out my hand to him and helped him through.

    "You've got to get out of here," Adrian said as soon as the shimmers of Trump power had faded. He started pacing around, avoiding my eyes, his words coming as rapidly as the bullets from an automatic gun. "If you don't, Vincent is going to Trump me in a few moments, I'll have to help him through, and together we shall have to knock you out and forcibly remove you from this place. If we don't and you persist in you efforts here, they will send some all-powerful assassin after you! And he'll kill you, me, everyone! I'm quite sure that they have someone like that in their army too. You can only get out of this by taking each and everyone away from here." Oh joy! No wonder he was in such a state. Adrian's panic was infectious, but I strove to remain calm.

    "So you didn't succeed in convincing them, did you?" I said. He turned to face me, eyes flaring.

    "They are determined," he said. "Their course is set. There is simply no other route. You present an obstacle for them, so their conclusion is to take you out. Either you agree to withdraw or you are eradicated." He turned away again. "I don't know," he sighed. "I just hate this situation!"

    "I take it they see me as an obstacle, but not as a problem."

    "They're going to come through Cardane, no matter what you do. Only if Amber was to get involved they might start considering other routes, but till then there is nothing I can do. You have to face it: either sooner or later Cardane is going down." There was just a hint of a plea in his voice that told me that he was truly sorry about this whole mess, but of course that didn't help me in any way. I heaved an inward sigh. Adrian's inability to act had just turned him into one of my enemies; it was unfortunate but true.

    "And how much time do I have left until they're here?" I asked.

    "At the moment they are already in Limas," he replied, "so there is only Svarta left between them and Cardane." Damn! They were moving a lot faster than I had expected. Svarta wouldn't be an easy passage, inhabitated as it was by blood-sucking vampiric monsters straight out of a B-rate Earth-style horror film. There seemed to be little chance of me stopping the army by myself, so perhaps this would be a good time for calling in a few favours. First I had to get rid of my two-faced cousin, though, and there was only one way I could think of right then to accomplish just that.

    "If that's the way things are, there seems to be no other choice for me but to evacuate Cardane," I sighed. "You can go and report that back to them," I added, with just a hint of reproach.

    "Okay," he said grimly. I tried to fathom his reactions, and I sensed that he truly believed me. Good, that would take care of that poblem for now. A few moments later Adrian received a Trump call, he exchanged a few words and then vanished without as much as a goodbye. Alright, time for me to get organized.

    Before I could do anything, though, I got another Trump call, and since it was unlikely to be Adrian, I accepted. It turned out to be Murlas, of all people.

    "Cousin," he greeted me cheerfully, as far as he was capable of cheer. A little more than kin, and less than kind, but of course he didn't know that yet.

    "Yes?" I said curtly, indicating that this had better be important.

    "I was simply curious," he said, "whether there have been any developments in our investigation that I should know about. Perhaps it would be opportune to convene to discuss this."

    "Yes, it would, but now is not the time." There was a slight frown flitting across his face.

    "Can I assume that you will contact me as soon as the time is right?" I nodded. If I was still alive by then. "All right," he said and made as if to break the contact.

    "Hold on a minute," I said, suddenly deciding to get back at him for his inconvenient and annoying interruption. "Now that I have you face to face, what's this I've heard about you having another brother?"

    "Do you have a name for me?" he immediately countered. Trust Murlas to keep his cool.

    "Not yet."

    "I am truly interested," he said with a calculating eye. "Why do you ask?"

    "I happened to come across some information that would seem to indicate that you have another brother besides the late Azrain."

    "Not in the form of a prophecy, I hope?"

    "How did you guess?"

    "It might be a good idea to compare these predictions," he suggested, but I was quick to put him off.

    "I agree," I said, "but the next time I contact you would be more convenient."

    "I understand," he said. "You are quite busy, of course, although you have not told me with what."

    "Just a matter of a little war," I smirked.

    "What a coincidence, I am an official observer at a really big one. Quite educational, I must say." I'm sure it was, just like I was sure that we were talking about the same war here, but I wasn't about to involve him in my personal affairs, not when he probably was already officially allied to one of the major parties.

    "If you don't mind...," I said, feeling already pressed for time as it was.

    "Of course, I shall leave you to it. However, should there be any assistance I could lend to you in that little war of yours, you know how to contact me, do you not?" With that his image vanished. Hmm, not much chance of me taking him up on his offer, though. I still had other recources I could call upon.

     First off was Deirdre. I reached her as she was sitting at a table in some restaurant, presumably somewhere in Shadow, just having finished dinner or lunch or whatever.

    "Hello son," she greeted me in a quite friendly manner. I returned her smile a bit awkwardly, aware of the issues that had not yet been resolved between us. However, I managed to convey a sense of urgency which, while not denying our unresolved business, postponed it at least till a later date. As I explained my situation in Cardane to her she became quite serious, and after a few moments which she used to excuse herself to her handsome male companion, who of course kissed her hand as a goodbye, she stepped through to my side and asked me for a complete update.

    "Do you think Adrian was bluffing about the threat of assassins?" she asked when I had finished my tale of woe.

    "No," I said, "he was quite serious. He really seems to be caught between the devil and the deep blue sea," I added in a slightly musing tone. I still didn't know whether to be angry at him or to pity him.

    "He did believe you, though, about the evacuation?"

    "Yes." I was certain of that at least.

    "I presume it's no use to try and convince you to give up on Cardane?" Deirdre said with a sideways glance. When she saw my determination, she added: "I only ask you because I have found out how hard it is to achieve certain goals and how much they can sometimes cost you."

    "I know," I said, thinking back to my adventures in Taureth's Trump prison.

    "You have the ability to create a new Cardane if you want to," she carried on. "It has come to my attention that your control over the Pattern is quite remarkable." She met my level gaze and studied me a while. "But then it's also a matter of principle, isn't it?"

    "Despite everything I want to preserve Cardane," I said gravely. She nodded.

    "Then I will do my utmost to help you," she said. "After all, they are my grandchildren too." I flashed her a grateful smile and she briefly squeezed my hand. Her readily given aid had strengthened my resolve, and I felt more confident that we would at least make the Sherwynian army rue the day they had decided to invade Cardane.

    "Do you think we should try and get more people involved?" I asked her. I already had a specific someone in mind, but I didn't know how things stood between the two of them at this moment.

    "It all depends on who it is they are going to put on your trail. If Adrian was telling the truth, we should prepare for an as yet unknown opponent with a fair amount of power and skill. It could become quite troublesome, but we should be careful not to invite too many relatives over to our side, for it might upset my dear brother the King. Did you have a chance to talk to him about this matter?"

    "He knows I'm here," I said, "and any actions I would undertake will officially be seen as the actions of an individual, not in any way to be connected with the larger Amber policies."

    "Well, now there are two individuals in Cardane," she remarked laconically. I smiled.

    "Do you think there's still room for a few more of them?"

    "You have to realise that there is always the problem that certain people do not go very well with others. What about Corwin's role in all of this?"

    "I must admit that I haven't the faintest," I sighed.

    "Maybe I should try and find out where he stands," she mused. "It might even prove crucial. Other suggestions?"

    "Well..., I was thinking of Caine." She levelled a piercing gaze at me and held my stare for at least a minute or two. Oh, of course she was trying to gauge my current feelings towards him, but I didn't flinch. The only thing I let slip through to her was that my opinion of him had improved somewhat, but the how and why of it she would have to figure out for herself. Was that a momentary frown I saw or was it merely that I secretly wanted for her to be a bit disturbed? Never mind, the moment was too fleeting anyway.

    "Hmm," she mused, still trying to fathom what I was really thinking. Then, much cooler than before: "I cannot deny that Caine could have something to contribute to these proceedings."

    "Very well, then I shall try to contact him, shan't I?"

    "However, if you do get Caine to come and help, we might as well forget about Corwin," Deirdre said. "Unless we could convince Caine to keep a bit in the background. After all, neither of them really needs to know that the other one is also around, do they?" She smiled innocently, yet I gave her a doubtful look in return. However, she had undoubtedly been involved in these kinds of juggling acts many times before, so why not? If push came to shove, I could always pass the buck to her and let her sort things out.

    I was about to nod my assent, when I suddenly got another Trump call. This time it was Benedict, which initially had me surprised until I remembered that it had been his troops that were keeping an eye on this region.

    "I just thought I'd check up on how everything's going," he said in his usual calm voice. "It has been suggested that there may be certain issues at stake which might not strictly be in the best interest of Amber, but which may be in the interest of the Family." Of course I couldn't help but wonder whether this was merely a figure of speech, or whether someone had actually prompted him to contact me. Still, I wasn't going to count any horse's teeth in this situation.

    "Well," I said, "I have talked to Adrian, and his new friends appear quite determined to pass through here. I don't think they are going to shirk away from using certain measures to achieve their goal either."

    "It makes sense. Do you have any names of these people?"

    "No..., although I do recall Adrian mentioning that Vincent was also on their side." And what was he doing there anyway? And where had he been all this time? Sigh. Questions, questions, ever more questions.

    "Adrian has more information on all of this?" Benedict insisted. I nodded. I suppose he did. If he didn't, no one did. "Of course I can't get too much involved," Benedict said, "but neither can I stand by and allow any assassination attempts on members of my Family to go by unpunished." His concern was heart-warming, and I'm only mildly sarcastic here.

    "I think that in view of the situation I would welcome any kind of help," I said. "Only thing is that we can't allow this to become too much of an Amber affair."

    "It would seem wise for me to keep in the background and begin with my own investigations. I will be in touch. Oh, if there are other people who are going to do some intelligence work, you'd better inform them of my involvement, so we won't get in each other's way." In other words, everyone else had better make damn sure to follow Benedict's lead in this area or risk invoking his wrath. Before we broke contact, I conveyed some sense of relief and gratitude. It was a bit reassuring to know that he at least was on my side.

    "Who was that?" Deirdre inquired as soon as I turned back to her.

    "Benedict," I said with a slight smile. "He seemed to be rather concerned about me. He won't be too obvious about it, but he'll be around. Apparently he doesn't much like the idea of people taking potshots at his relatives." My remark had been quite light and cheerful, but Deirdre wasn't amused.

    "Do you think we can trust him?"

    "Well, let me put it this way," I said with a shrug, "if he is against us, we might as well give up and go home right now."

    "That wasn't what I meant," she replied, still serious. "You don't know him like I do. Benedict never merely strives for one goal at the time, he always has several lined up. I just wonder what the other ones are this time."

    "I don't know," I sighed, "and frankly I don't really care. What matters is that he's offered his help and I'm not about to refuse it."

    "Well," she said, "Benedict does always have a certain interest in Family affairs." The hint of bitternes in her voice caught me by surprise. Yet another episode of ancient Family history that I didn't know about? There seemed to be so many of them. Sigh.

    "I'll Trump Caine," I said abruptly.

    "Alright... Do you still want me to contact Corwin as well or not? It's up to you really."

    "At least try to find out where he stands in all of this, that's what we really need to know."

    "Leave it to me to sound him out," she said with a smile and a pat on my shoulder. I watched her leave the room to give us both some privacy and for a fleeting moment I wondered whether asking for her help had been the right thing to do. I didn't let my doubts get the upper hand, though; in a way this had become a bit of a test too, one that I hoped would prove the possibilities and usefulness of cooperation among our own small branch of the Family. Fiona and Beys always presented an image of being somehow closer to one another than to the rest of the Family and, therefore, more capable of operating in concert. I guess Brand must have been part of that team as well, at least until the final stages of the war against Chaos. Maybe I was too much of a dreamer, but couldn't we come to such a level of understanding too? I knew I would want to.

    As I got through to Caine, however, I realised that others might not be ready for such ideals. He was his usual suspicious self, not giving anything away that he didn't want to. His background surroundings were also studiedly neutral, giving no indication whatsoever of his actual whereabouts. It didn't look anything like Ornach Ways, though. I told him about my problems and he immediately asked me whether I really intended to oppose this army.

    "I only want to make them realise that they should take the long way around," I said.

    "I take it they are not swayed by your arguments, are they?"

    "No, hardly. Adrian, who sort of acts as a go-between for them, delivered an ultimatum: either I would leave and not interfere anymore, or he and Vincent would kidnap me on the spot, or his `friends' would send some kind of ultimate assassin after me. I have managed to convince him that I would quit, for as long as it lasts, in order to deflect all imminent threats, but I don't want to give up so easily."

    "I see," he said and thought for a moment. "I am already somewhat involved in this matter," he admitted. "There is still a certain debt that I owe to Galoria, which has not entirely been settled yet. I would like to take the opportunity to clear this up, and this situation would present the perfect way of combining our objectives." Hmm, I would guess the debt he was referring to had something to do with Galoran saving him from Rinaldo's attempt on his life, as Melusine had relayed to us. I started explaining about my plans for Cardane's defense, and Caine seemed to see some wisdom in them.

    "It would make them vulnerable," he commented, "but you do realise, don't you, that this will turn you into one hell of a target?"

    "Of course," I sighed. "It's not as if it was really my choice to be here in the first place." He nodded, showing at least some sympathy. "I'm not alone, though. Deirdre is already here too, and I have had a Trump call from Benedict, who apparently does not approve of his relatives being murdered and who has expressed his intentions of wanting to prevent this from happening."

    "No, that is true, he does not approve of such things, unless he himself is the one doing the killing." This was said so calmly and matter-of-fact- like that it nearly went by me. The shock, however, when it did sink in was doubly as great. "Oh," Caine added, when he noticed my bewilderment, "Benedict does have a sense of Family, I grant you that, but he usually manages to see things from his own particular perspective. Never underestimate him." That last line had just a bit of concern to it to make it seem more sincere.

    "That wasn't my intention anyway," I said meekly, but at the same time I sent him the unspoken message that he'd better have some concrete evidence to back things up next time he was going to make such vague allegations.

    "Perhaps it would be useful for me to come over to you," he said as if nothing had happened. His offer made me feel glad, and I let him sense this, although not in an overly obsequious way. As far as I was concerned there were still some debts between the two of us as well, and I wasn't going to do all the paying.

    Like Deirdre Caine quickly went his own way, and I guess it was better like that. I wouldn't feel comfortable anyway, giving them orders or making them do what I wanted them to. Besides, they knew much more about what they actually might be able to do to help than I did, and as long as none of their actions went against my own plans everything would be fine.

    Just when I was thinking of taking a rest and perhaps having something to eat, there was yet another Trump contact. Would they never stop calling me? Wearily I accepted it and was faced with the slightly concerned countenance of cousin Alexander, who greeted me rather gravely.

    "I would appreciate it if you could spare some time to discuss some mutual business," he said. Oh, why not? I guess I had been rather curt to him the last time he had called, and since Adrian was now firmly in the opposite camp it wouldn't hurt to get a bit more friendly with his brother.

    "I guess I can spare a few minutes before the party arrives," I said light-heartedly, and offered my hand to help him through. He appeared quite relaxed, but I still noticed him surveying the room in his usual tactical, analytical sort of way as if he expected a trap to snap shut at every moment.

    "I've gathered from the reports that you're not about to leave here voluntarily," he began as he found himself a seat. "On the other hand I've also gathered that you're not too keen on really taking sides in this conflict."

    "That's correct," I replied neutrally. His sources appeared to be quite well informed.

    "If that's the way things are, I won't bother with Monias's offer of direct military support, but perhaps I can help you out on a more personal level. I can, first of all, supply you with everything you need to know about the opposing army," he said, and he produced a great wad of papers which he handed to me. A quick glance told me that they contained much  the same information as Random had given me, although these reports were a bit more detailed than his verbal briefing. "Furthermore," Aexander said, "I am planning on travelling to the Courts as soon as possible, and perhaps I might be able to raise some support for you over there."

    "Why, thank you," I said, feeling a bit overwhelmed. "Even though Random had also given me some necessary info, every bit of help is welcome right now."

    "I'm going to the Courts on some Galoria related business," he elaborated, "which will probably have me visit a number of the Major Houses. Among others I may be going round House Marough, who are known for their mercantile attitudes." And their stables full of wild Chaos beasties, of course. "They might have something on offer that might be to your advantage. Aside from that, I could act as a courier for any letters you might want me to deliver, should you feel that you don't want to raise support through me directly. If memory serves me well, there is this Lady Alexa who seems to be kindly disposed towards you, isn't that right?" Yes, there appeared nothing wrong with his memory. Yet Alexa Grendyn was one of the last people I would want to involve in this mess. I'd better slow him down a bit and start again from the beginning.

    "Look," I said, "perhaps it would help if I drew a quick sketch of the situation for you in the way that I see it. First of all, my presence here is purely a personal matter."

    "Oh, I can understand all about that," he immediately interjected. "If what you feel is anything like what I experienced when I found that I wouldn't be able to return to Avalon anymore, I know exactly what you're going through." I didn't catch the reference to Avalon, but I wasn't about to get sidetracked too much here.

    "I'm not saying I have any particularly strong ties to Cardane," I explained, "but it is still my children's homeland. I've already told you I spoke to Random, and while he could see my point of view, he wasn't going to sanction any official Amber actions just on my account. So, I'm strictly here as an individual." Alexander nodded.

    "It's what I already thought, and this is why I am offering my personal assistance instead of Galoria's, and I think I could really be of help, considering my greater military experience and all. No offence intended, of course, but I must say that if I were in command of the other army and I had all the same information that I have know, I would make certain that this one pesty Amberite would be taken out before any more of them could crop up. And if I were in you shoes, I would really be worrying about my own life right now." Well, that was really encouraging, I must say, and that remark about his `greater military experience' would have smacked of arrogance, had it not been for the fact that he really didn't seem to be gloating or anything. He was merely stating the facts as he saw them, his own inflated self-image included.

    "Well, they're already too late," I said with a bit more confidence than I actually felt. "As you know I have been in contact with Adrian, and I have been trying to convince his partners that I can make life very difficult for them here in Cardane."

    "I'd say that would only strenthen their resolve to do away with you."

    "Unfortunately, that was indeed their reaction."

    "And they sent Adrian back with orders to kill you as a token of his loyalty, did they?"

    "No, they didn't go that far as yet, but he did get to deliver an ultimatum: either I would leave of my own accord, or he and Vincent would make me leave one way or the other."

    "From the fact that you're still here I must conclude that you've convinced him that you're going to retreat," he said. "They're going to be sending assassins as their next step, you know."

    "Yes, yes, chances are they will, but in the meantime I have been rallying some support of my own." Alex nodded severely.

    "I've got one piece of advice for you: don't accept any more personal Trump calls. If people really want to get in touch with you, have the contacts run through your allies. I have this private suspicion that Murlas is secretly also on Adrian's side, so that makes for too many people who might take you by surprise. He's working for Jaill Helgram too, so you'd better watch out." His advice was sound, I guess, but I wondered about his doubts where Murlas was concerned.

    "What evidence do you have that links Murlas to Adrian?" I asked.

    "It's all very vague," he admitted, "and I hope to find clearer indications in the Courts. Still, they've been known to colaborate for a prolonged time now. Then there is Murlas's assertion that he managed to defeat an entity connected with the enemy that is said to be specialised in mental combat, which to me sounds just a little bit too good to be true. And I've already told you about how the Jewel in the Black Unicorn reality never resurfaced, although Murlas has claimed that he returned it to them. That reality has been totally overrun by attacks that I believe to be engineered by the same people that are now marching on Galoria. The Jewel would have proved crucial for their defences, yet it had conveniently gone missing."

    "I see." When you looked at it in that way, Murlas did become rather suspect.

    "At the moment Murlas is in Galoria as an official observer from the Courts." So that was how he was involved in this. Hmm. "He recently filed a report with the Major Council," Alex continued, "and all indications are that he advised against any immediate possible military support. All in all I tend to consider Murlas a risk factor. It may all be coincidence, but still." Being not much of a believer in coincidence myself, I could really see his point of view.

    "Look," I said to him, "while I could basically do with any and all help I can get, I don't want to get too much into debt over this, if you know what I mean. I have contacted both Deirdre and Caine, and the latter made no secret of his intentions to settle whatever he still owed to Galoria too, so this was really the perfect opportunity for him. My strategy is very simple: I shall try to keep the army from entering into Cardane entirely by using the Pattern to strengthen the Shadow barriers themselves against any outside influences." Alexander looked thoughtful and shook his head.

    "I don't think that is going to work," he said. "The Power they are using is a corrupted version of the Nexus, so it is not limited to any specific reality level. They can simply adapt part of your barrier so that your Pattern will be useless and force an entry at that point." I looked a bit doubtful, so he quickly added: "If I were to alter the reality here around us right now, you and your Pattern would be completely powerless." Maybe it was quite inadvertent, but he managed to sound awfully conceited a lot of the time. Had it not been for the fact that I didn't want to antagonize him needlessly, I would have taken him up on his word there and then, just to see how much truth there was underneath all that bluster.

    "I have had some experience with other Powers myself," I said firmly, "and I'm strongly convinced that my plan should work at least for a good while."

    "It could be you're right," Alex said placatingly, "I was just voicing my initial reaction, that's all. Perhaps you should consult Caine on this."

    "The way I see it I shall have one major advantage, and that is the element of surprise. When I was telling Adrian about the ways I could hinder their army, I didn't breathe a word about this to him; the things I mentioned were more to do with affecting the Shadow internally. Secondly, I've presented my plan to both Caine and Deirdre, and neither of them came up with any major objections, which I am sure they would have done if they had spotted any obvious fatal flaws," I said.

    "Hmm", Alexander offered, "I can't say whether this will really come as a surprise to them. They will surely expect you to have other capabilities beyond the ones you mentioned to Adrian, and they have had experiences with the uses of Pattern in at least one other reality. And if Murlas is really on their side, wouldn't he be able to come up with the same ideas as you have?" I slowly shook my head; I didn't think Murlas was as much into the different applications of Pattern as I was, but of course I could be wrong. "Another point is that along the route they've taken so far, they have never seemed to bother about something like the toughness of the Shadow barriers," Alex continued. "But you're right insofar as I can't see any obvious weaknesses either, and at least doing something is better than doing nothing at all."

    "Well, we'll see. With Caine and Deirdre in my camp and aware of my course of action, the enemy force will hopefully be considerably delayed and may even come to a complete standstill in Svarta."

    "Once they're in Svarta, though, they may not have another choice than going through Cardane. The other two clusters of Shadows they could choose between are very hard for them to cross, and if they should divert from their course at that point they will almost certainly have to make a detour of at least five or six other Shadows. Waiting for you to wear out our resources may simply be a less time-consuming option."

    "Perhaps," I granted.

    "Should they be stopped from entering Svarta, however, their detour will only amount to two Shadows at most." I could see what he was leading up to, but unfortunately for him I had some practical objections.

    "The main problem is," I said, "that their speed is far greater than I had expected, and such a change in plans as you're proposing comes at pretty short notice. What you could do, however, is notify Monias and the other people in Galoria of my intentions. I may not be able to strike a direct alliance with them, but that should not stop them from profitting by my actions." I hesitated a moment, then added in a dark tone: "And if it really comes down to them invading Cardane after all, they won't be getting out from here anymore." The silence that ensued was ominous, and Alexander looked just a bit more concerned than he already had.

    "I hope you're planning on surviving all of this," he said with a frown. I smiled, but it was a weak smile at best.

    "That was my intention, yes," I said. "There's nothing wrong with making a stand for what you believe in, but I do want to watch my children as they grow up." I sighed.

    "Anyway," Alex said, "the offer still stands. I'm still willing to convey any messages you may have, and you're free to ask for assistance."

    "I don't think Alexa Grendyn is powerful enough to lend me any significant support," I replied wearily, "and the only other House in the Courts that I've got some ties with is the House Ornach. I don't want to get into too much of an obligation towards them for now, while we still don't know nearly enough about them. I did have one other offer of help, however, namely from Benedict, who indicated that he wouldn't want to see any of his relatives get murdered or something like that." There was a momentary look of surprise from Alexander, yet I sensed that it wasn't because of Benedict's involvement. It was as if he had already known about that, but hadn't expected Benedict to contact me personally. This feeling was especially striking when I compared it to his earlier surprise at my mentioning Caine. Of course, for all he knew Caine and I should have enough reasons to hate each other's guts, and while that may be true, there were also some very good reasons not to that Alex didn't know about. "It should be beyond any doubt that Benedict is also merely acting as an individual," I said.

    "Who isn't?" he said with a grin. "But seriously, aren't there any artifacts or other devices that I could try to arrange for you? It can simply be set up as a trade, so you wouldn't have to feel any further obligations."

    "I'm afraid I cannot think of anything that might both be useful and within the limits of reason," I sighed. Yes, an army of Chaos demons would come in quite handy, but how was I ever going to pay for it?

    "How much do you actually know about these Shadow barriers?"

    "Fairly much, I'd say."

    "Well, I've still got some ties with part of what used to be the House Hendrake, and perhaps I might be able to arrange a Shadowmaster from among their ranks to come and talk things over with you. He might have some theoretical insights that could really be of use."

    "There's an idea," I said. Apparently Alexander was really determined to help me one way or the other. Still, the perspective of a different kind of Power user could be helpful. It wasn't as if I had actually done this sort of thing before.

    "I can think of two things that might serve as compensation for them," he said. "First of all, I could make it a private request on my part, which I'm sure they will not refuse, and you can try and help me divulge what was really in Murlas's report to the Major Council, maybe through your contacts in House Ornach." I frowned; that was just the sort of political scheming I had been trying to keep myself out of. "The other thing is that Lady Vanessa has only recently been lured into a trap in Shadow set by a familiar organisation. The attackers were all dressed in orange robes, which if I'm not mitaken would indicate that they are the same people who got away with Rhiane at the ball in Galoria. I don't know if you know anything else about them, but any information would be of the highest importance to House Hendrake."

    "The orange clowns are back? Well, if is the same group we're talking about here, I can give you two names that may be connected to them: Sand and Delwin."

    "I don't like it," Alex muttered. "Do you remember what I told about Dalt having new plans for attacking Amber and mysterious allies to help him achieve them?" I nodded. "Do you think he may have ties with Sand and Delwin? I mean, they're all outsiders with an apparent grudge towards Amber." That seemed a bit of a longshot to me; after all, he himself, his brother Adrian, Murlas, and Boadice were all Amberites who were building up a life for themselves outside of Amber, and you could hardly accuse the four of them of being in cahoots, could you?

    "I don't know," I said. "I have to warn you, though, that I know of at least one earlier instance when someone else took control over those orange bozos, so you cannot even really be sure that Sand or Delwin are behind his attack on Hendrake. Rhiane's kidnapping had in fact been organized by Julian in close coordination with Caine, for they suspected that those clowns had something to do with an unspecified mystery concerning Murlas."

    "Murlas again!"

    "Yes. I have never been able to figure out all the details, but I was present when Julian and Caine tried to explain the matter to a rather enraged Gerard, and that was when Julian claimed that those orange guys were really Delwin's men."

    "Very interesting," Alex said.

    "I myself have had one confrontation with a small group of these guys," I said, "and they are rather tricky and mean. They favour the use of throwing stars in combat, among other things." No, I wasn't going to say anything further about Sand or Aradia; that would only lead to too many questions.

    "Do you have any idea where their base of operations might be, or for that matter where they might have held Rhiane captive?"

    "No, but you could try Julian for that info. On the other hand... Well, it's not impossible that he himself was behind that attack, is it?"

    "It's not impossible, but it seems rather unlikely. What reason would Julian have to be interested in one Minor House in the Courts?"

    "Again, I don't know, but fact is that he's been always fairly close to Murlas." Who was now Head of a Major Chaos House. It didn't take much to draw in the picture, and it wasn't a pretty one either. It looked like my dear brother had his finger in an increasing number of pies. Hardly surprising, though; he was always the ambitious one.

    "That's another thing that points towards Murlas," Alexander said. "Belissa was assassinated at that party, and a little while later Tirga Ysarn also went down due to some blue fireball. Of course I'm not sure, but it could have been corrupted Nexus energy, which would provide us with another tentative link with Adrian. And who's the next Head of House Ysarn? Coincidence?" Probably not, but it did seem to me that he was striving a bit too hard to make the connections. That fireball having been powered by Nexus, for instance, was quite a deductive leap and probably wouldn't hold up under closer scrutiny.

    Since our conversation was taking a bit longer than I had expected, I had some food brought to us so we could continue over dinner. Nothing very important was discussed, though, for it seemed we had already exhausted all the immediate topics of interest. At the end of our meal Alexander gave me an encouraging smile and prepared for his departure.

    "All those connections with Murlas bear watching more closely," he said. "I'll try to arrange something in the Courts for you with a Shadowmaster."

    "Any help is welcome," I said, "but be sure to inform Galoria too."

    "I will. The official Galorian view is to acknowledge Cardane's sovereignty, so they won't be sending any military aid without a direct invitation."

    "A major battle in Cardane itself would be no use, but if they can find some other way of taking advantage of my presence here, then let them. I also think that I will take your advice on accepting personal Trump calls and simply block all of them from now on. It won't be too long now before Adrian and his friends discover that I never left, and then all hell breaks loose. So, if I'm not accepting your calls and it's urgent, you'd better try Deirdre or Caine."

    "Alright. You'd better Trump me, though, when you think enough time has passed for me to find out about the Shadowmaster. I'm Trumping straight to the Courts from here, where I'll be looking in on the Hendrakes and the Maroughs, and perhaps even Taureth, before going back to Galoria via Quendor."

    We said goodbye and wished each other luck, and he Trumped out. Alexander had given me a few things to think about, but I didn't think I would have much time to consider them. A quick glance into Shadow taught me that the army was still pouring into Limas; soon, though, they would start their invasion of Svarta. The storm clouds were drawing nearer. Darkness fell.

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