Exeunt, Stage Left


The symposium is packed, and is apparently part of a series. The Abbot is the host of the event and spends some time rehashing the importance of the series and the history of the brother who will give the main presentation.

The room is arranged to have a slightly sunken stage, surrounded by a few rows of benches with writing tables attached to them. There are folk standing at the back, but Dalfeen and Sigurd are shown to reasonably good seats. "Ah, I'm glad to you made it," says Brother Alois. "Frere Jacques is assisting, so we get slightly better seats. Can you see the operating table?"

There is indeed a table being wheeled in to the room, followed by Brother Jacques and Brother Smee, the speaker. Smee speaks once the applause dies down. "Thank you. You may remember my planned experiments from last year's Symposia on Electro-Pathology regarding the chemical nature of photovoltaic reactions. I have two demonstrations for you this afternoon. In the first, I will demonstrate the generation of galvanic energy from chemical substances exposed to light. In the second I will demonstrate that the eye of a corby generates electrical impulses when exposed to light. Thus I will prove the galvanic nature of vision in animals and humans, with implications for galvanic diagnosis tools and electro-thereputical inventions."

The applause starts again and Smee gracefully acknowledges it. "Afterwards, we will entertain questions."

Smee and Jacques go on, using in the first place a galvanometer and several covered and uncovered chemical soups and then a eyeball recently extracted from a crow or raven to show the properties he means.

This is basic research at a level appropriate for the shadow. It's far ahead of anything Abford knows, but in other shadows, would be nearly two centuries out of date. He ends by showing that the bird's eye sees more than the human eye by filtering out visible light and still triggering the photovoltaic reaction from the eye.

When the applause dies down, Brother Jacques asks if there are any questions about the research. This seems to be what everyone was waiting for. A dozen hands shoot in the air, waving slightly to get Jacques' attention.

Ossian raises his hand. Mostly to see if he is singled out to ask among the first.

The question is, "So light becomes galvanic impulses. And no doubt what we see can touch our soul. Is our soul also galvanic?"

Silhouette remains silent during this, busy studying the more mechanical aspects of the demonstration. In some ways, it reminds her of her own research, if rudimentary in design.

"No doubt, young scholar? Interesting. But we will take your assertion as an axiom for the purpose of discussing the issue you raise. We will not even go into different meanings of 'touch' between the physical and the non-physical.

"Let us start with the basic premise. Light is translated from something (and let us say we do not know what) into galvanic impulses in the eye. Yes, that was demonstrated. The galvanic impulses are transmitted somewhere in the brain, we know that because we can trace the optic nerves. We can see and measure that galvanic reactions happen in brains, and seem to move to different parts of them. You are following, yes?

"Good," he says, not waiting to see if they are, "So we saw light transformed into energy, and your question is 'does this mean that because there is energy involved that the soul is also based on that energy?'"

"The answer is 'We don't know.' I'm sorry if you were hoping for a more direct answer, Assuming there is a soul at all, a question that the probative arts has not been able to detect a clear answer to, then it is possible that it is based on galvanic energy and it is possible that the energy that we so crudely detected here is transformed again.

"I personally think that the answer to your question must be 'no', because we are able to capture, measure, and create galvanic energy and I do not think the soul is a thing we can measure, create, or dissipate."

He looks at Alois and then back at Ossian. "What is your opinion?"

"What happens in the brain is of course a mystery. But I know it is full of nerves, which I guess means galvanism." Ossian says. "I assume that when we perceive beauty with our eyes, something is transferred from the eyes to the soul. Which I assume exists, of course. How it works? No idea."

Silhouette smiles faintly, "Might I ask then how you take account the effects of observation on such a quantum system? The instant we observe a quantum particle, it behaves in a rational manner. However, unobserved the particle acts outside concepts such as causality and determinism, as revealed by the Most Beautiful Experiment. Could we therefore state that by observing the soul, we actually alter, if not dissipate, its existence?"

Brother Smee matches her faint smile. "This is one of the reasons the Quantum Hypothesis is controversial. Still, the Mach–Zehnder proposal cannot be tested until someone can collimate a beam of light."

He looks at the rest of the audience. "You seem to be well-informed on the edges of theoretical physics. I would be pleased to discuss it after the conclusion of the lecture."

Brother Alois leans over. "I hope you'll stay after. He doesn't honor many guests with such an invitation."

Brother Jaques nods up at Silhouette. "Are there other questions?"

The remaining questions are more typical of medical students, ranging most in the practical range of voltages and power and equations, and less in the relationship between energy and the soul.

Ossian sighs.

Silhouette touches his leg reassuringly.

She smiles softly at Brother Smee, "Oh, many, but I am certain they can be discussed in full at the lecture's conclusion. Thank you." Turning the smile to the other brothers, she whispers, "And thank you both, as well."

[OOC: Do you stay/leave early/flip the tables and riot? You have a zillion options...]

Ossian is inclined to stay. This is a nice opportunity.

After the lecture, the citizens and most of the monks leave, with a few staying behind. Jacques begins breaking down the demonstration and putting things away.

Alois brings them to meet and talk to Brother Smee. "Ah, yes the young lady with the quantum theory. It's very advanced for this shadow. Have you met Doctors Mach or Zehnder?" There seem to be quite a few monks watching Silhouette's reaction.

Silhouette shakes her head, "I do not believe so. Most of my studies into the interference effect stem from Dr. Young." She smiles softly, "I've always possessed an advanced understanding of quantum theory. Perhaps that stems from my education in various philosophies."

Ossian looks surprised. "I do not understand. What Shadow?"

Smee smiles at Ossian. Ossian gets the feeling that he thinks the pair of them have slipped up. "We'll get back to that, but first, I wish to hear this young lady tell of the philosophies she has studied and the experimental work of Dr. Young."

Silhouette inwardly smiles. She's caught their attention, for good or ill. Now to play the Game, in earnest. "We were initially discussing how observation itself could affect the underlying mechanics of a quantum system, such as the movement of light particles. Young showed that light passing through two-slits behaved different when observed and when unobserved. When allowed to behave unobserved, the light beams produced logical bands on the opposite side. When observed, the bands changed, to the point that defied logical analysis.

"If observation, our key method for understanding Creation, alters its fundamental principles, how then can we believe the Truths it provides?"

Ossian nods, but seems a bit lost in thought.

The monk nods. "I have never been comfortable with the leap from 'this is unexplained' to 'this is unexplainable'. The Merciful One, in his ineffable mercy, has made a world that we can puzzle out, but has not made it easy to do so. We are no smarter than the scholars of the oldest days, but we know more and can get further, precisely because of the tools they and those who came after them created for them.

"Is it not a simpler solution to the problem that you and Doctor Young are working on that you have simply not observed some other force acting upon the light?" It's unclear if he believes this theory or if he's just probing to see how Silhouette responds to being challenged.

"Personally, I believe it may be a relativity issue," Silhouette says softly. "The act of Observation alters quantum reality, placing it within our own frame of reference. The particles acquire aspects of this Realm, thus altering their basic properties. The 'interference' observed is simply a reflection of that alteration." A pause, "Perhaps the Divine allows us only to see so much of Creation, for to gaze beyond that veil would tread upon his Dominion.

"We may seek Perfection, but never obtain it... but the journey itself is what defines us, not the destination."

Smee taps her hand, once, as if she isn't paying attention. "No, child, first we must be assured that observation is best explained by your explanation before we delve into the murky metaphysics of the relationship between The Merciful One and his creation.

"I have posited that your phenomenon may have an explanation that does not require the quantum theory. There's nothing wrong with the theory, but before you build upon it, you must set your foundation clearly. Why do you think your and Doctor Young’s experimental outcome proves your theory?"

Silhouette blushes as if mollified. "Prove? I do not believe it does. Proof remains elusive for the time being. It is a working hypothesis until a more logical solution can be found." She cocks her head, "Do you have a theory of why such an interference would occur?"

Ossian smiles. "Observation. How is that defined?"

Smee turns to Ossian. "An excellent question, is it not Dalfeen? How was it defined in the experiments you studied and any you yourself did?" Now he's trying to see just how much detail he can get on your experimental knowledge of this theory.

Silhouette nods lightly to both, "Observation is the noting and recording the qualia of natural phenomenon through the senses, as well as with instrumentation. That observation is utilized to create and test a hypothesis. This is how Young conducted his experiment."

Ossian nods. "It's hard to experiment on unobserved phenomena."

"Indeed. But that is the heart of Dr. Jong's experiment, is it not?"

Smee turns back to Silhouette. "Do you think you could reproduce this experimen t. Here, for a small audience of my fellow scholars? Perhaps we could be of some use in describing the experiment to audiences more used to our terminology."

"With a little effort, a steady light source, and a few simple tools, I could replicate the two-point interference aspect of the experiment easily enough," Silhouette admits. "However, without more refined equipment, I would be unable to test the complementarity principles we've been discussing." She blushes brightly, apparently not accustomed to attention.

Smee smiles. "Excellent, it's settled then! Tell us what you need and Alois will arrange it. Would you care to stay the night here, or do you already have accommodations in town?"

"It should be a relatively simple list," Silhouette says. "I don't believe we've had the opportunity to find lodging. But we'd hate to impose."

She glances over at Ossian for confirmation.

Ossian nods. "That would suit us. The nature of light and its counterpart is intriguing."

Brother Smee looks pleased. "The Order considers hospitality a duty, and so we are always ready to house guests, especially visiting scholars. I will try to shield you from the more zealous brothers, who would talk through your demonstration all night, if they were allowed to do so.

"Frere Alois, can you take care of Dolphin's needs and schedule a suitable time for her presentation?"

Silhouette raises a brow at that name usage. Having been with her for some time, Ossian might notice this subtle change.

Alois nods. "Of course, Frere Smee." He turns to Silhouette. "Delfeen," he says, emphasizing her pronunciation, "please tell me what equipment you need. If you wish to provide diagrams or equations or lecture notes, I can arrange for a sciptivist to make a clean copy and replicate it for our scholars."

"The most difficult item will be a consistent light source, as I will need to create a pinhole beam of light," Silhouette explains. "Beyond that, a thin piece of card - paper or otherwise - with some form of suspension. Measuring tools and a screen onto which the light beam can be projected. A carbon-coated glass slide with two closely spaced etched slits is the preferred tool, but may not be available."

They discuss the pieces, outline the apparatus, and agree to the carbon-coated slide, but it will take until the next day to arrive. Brother Alois is excited and interested in seeing the experiment. He also delicately asks if you two need separate sleeping quarters and if your have any dietary restrictions. He is the ideal host.

"Separate rooms shall be acceptable," Silhouette says. "Thank you for your accommodating nature. I'd not expected such a warm welcome."

She smiles at Ossian, "I'm sure we could do with some food though."

"That would be most generous" Ossian says. "The double slit is of great importance. I wonder if there are animal eyes using its properties."

Alois looks at Ossian. "I am not a zoologist, but I can ask one to speak to you of this matter. What does the slit arrangement do in an animal eye? Will we need one for the demonstration?"

The monks are very interested and word of Dolfeen's demonstration has spread. At dinner, brothers ask her about it. They seem keen to understand the mathematics behind the theory (if they can be explained) and they seem reasonably well-versed in the concepts of optics and are interested, as Smee is, in why she thinks this is such an important experiment.

Silhouette engages them as much as possible, eager to discuss the various properties of light waves and interference patterns - as well as what they might mean for the underlying principles of scientific observation. She also provides them with the equation she'll be using for measuring the waves during the experiment.

You can find the experiment here along with the equation she cites.

Some of them seem to 'get it', and some seem to want to see the experiment before they invest in Silhouette's oddball theories...

[OOC: You can do the experiment tomorrow or the next day, as you wish. Anything you want to get done before it happens?]

OOC: Sounds good to me, unless Ossian wants to do some old fashion sneaking around.

[OOC: Do you? It's a long night and they have labs and offices and papers and such. Who knows? You might even find a crypt...]

[OOC: Oh, shiny. Ossian don't think they'll find much here, but there is one thing he wants to check: How suspicious they are about him and Sil.]

Ossian will indeed leave his room for a walk round the place. Will Sil join him? The first (and maybe only) goal is to see if the monks are following him.

Silhouette is waiting for Ossian to arrive, as if anticipating his arrival. "If you know this building, I suggest you lead us. I may be able to keep us obfuscated, if magick works here. Otherwise, I suggest extreme caution, followed by pleading ignorance if that doesn't work."

The building is dark, mostly, with dim electric lights on in the stairwells and main hallways. The kitchen seems to be a 24 hour shop, although it is quieter at this hour. There seem to be two areas that are more secure than the others. The first is what looks like offices for the Abbot and other figures, and the second is a locked door in the basement. The door in the basement seems very sturdy and well-made.

Ossian looks at the door. To Silhouette he whispers. "Can you see through it in some way?"

Silhouette draws two pieces of wire from her sleeve, and kneels before the door. "When you're a slave, you pick up a few skills or you do not eat." She begins to work on the lock, instinctively feeling for the tumblers and mechanisms.

The wires are like old friends in her hands, and the tumblers are easy to find, even without looking inside it. This lock seems to be about average for a shadow like this, so picking it is not a difficult task. Soon Silhouette has it open. The hallways beyond it seems newer, and perhaps nicer. The lights are more steady and the floor seems slick.

It reminds Ossian of the labs of the Klybesians, or what the offices at those labs should have looked like.

Silhouette listens careful, making sure they've not disturbed any late night researchers or a security guard. Glancing over at Ossian, she gives a slight nod - ready to follow.

"This smells like the Klybesians" Ossian whispers as he steps inside, "I wonder what they are looking for here. Traces of Edan?" He'll survey the place for short whole before looking more closely on anything.

This area seems to have offices. The air is noticeably cooler, as if there's some sort of heat exchanger or air conditioner. That would only be a little ahead of where this shadow is now, but it's at least culturally out of place. At the end of the hall is a door with no markings. The signs on the nearby doors are not in Thari.

"Then we're on the right track," Silhouette says. "We should be quick about this. We're already under observation. For all we know, we're being allowed to proceed."

She begins scanning the desks for paperwork or notes of interest, making her away toward the end of the hall.

Ossian whips out his sketch book and copies some of the writings from the doors. Is there any way to detect if they are moving through Shadow as they walk down the hall?

The character-glyphs are the same as Thari, but it's as if they're somehow intentionally encoded. Or else they're just stringing nonsense together.

Ossian doesn't feel as if he's changing from one shadow to another. There aren't changes in atmosphere or gravity or light. If he is changing shadow, someone went to some effort to make it seem seamless.

The door at the end of the hall is different, and seems more like an exterior door. Or a bulkhead.

There are several books open on the tables to what are clearly discussions of optics and lenses, as if someone had been researching the material for the upcoming lecture.

Ossian looks in the books. Do they look like standard University text books, or research reports? What language are the books written in.

The books are in many languages. Most here are in the languages of this shadow, but some are in stranger tongues.

None are specifically in Thari or in any other immediately obvious language of Amber or Chaos.

Some of them might be in a language that looks like some of the Runes Brita reads.

"Why have they coded the doors?" he whispers "Seems unpractical."

Silhouette finds the research material both upsetting and complimentary. At least they are attempting to be on the same level as her... or trip her up. Either way, the challenge is acceptable.

"Possibly they've marked the doors to indicate ranking or specify various projects," Silhouette says. "Communal research generally notates the phases and goals of projects, compartmentalizing them for efficiency."

She heads over to the exterior door, examining it carefully... first for alarms, then for locks.

Both. The lock is mechanical, and tricky but not dangerously so. The alarm? It's a closed sensor, electromagnetic in nature. It's hard to tell just how sophisticated it is.

Silhouette sighs faintly. With the alarm on, this would be troublesome, but not insurmountable. She checks the mounting for the alarm, and then uses her tools to open it up. As with most closed circuit alarms, there are two wires creating the sensor circuit. She inspects them for single and Double End-Of-Line resistors, which would prevent a bypass.

Silhouette can tell there's some sort of tamper-resistant electronics in there. She's also pretty confident in her abilities. It may take a few moments to bypass it, though.

Ossian watches. "They seem fond of this kind of security. I bet on a Shadow path on the other side of this door. Poor Edan."

Ossian hears footsteps in the prior corridor, but no one actually comes to look.

"You may want to make sure we're not disturbed," Silhouette says. She begins her bypass, creating a closed circuit before the alarm sensor. She then snips the wires to the sensor, cutting it off from the monitor, hopefully tricking the alarm to think it is still operation - even when the door is open.

Ossian moves back towards the other end of the corridor. If someone comes he will have to silence the person.

Silhouette leans over the lock and works on her bypass. She's convinced she's done it, and she sees no signs that the alarm has been triggered. However, the final proof will be in opening the door...

Silhouette nods with satisfaction, and then turns her head to call to Ossian. She remains silent, seeing that he is dealing with an entirely different - and more human - issue.

Ossian peers around the corner, and sees a priest, with an electric torch, walking down the corridor just past his location. His back is to Ossian, but if he were to turn around, he'd surely see him, or at least the partially opened door.

Ossian decides that it is probable that a tiny earthquake will go off right now, just forceful enough to let a vase that someone left precariously close to the edge of a desk in a room further down the corridor fall to the floor with a crashing noise. He will use the moment of noise to close the door, and hopes that the priest will go investigating the crash noise, instead of turning around.

He looks back at Silhouette, listens for a moment at the door, and if he cannot hear the priest coming he will join Sil on quiet feet.

The small quake did some damage to files as well as the vase down the hall. Also, it apparently pushed open the door Silhouette had tinkered with, at least a crack. There's light at the hinges. It's a crisp, steady artificial glow.

Silhouette waits for the alarm to go off, remaining perfectly still. When it doesn't sound, she gently pushes the door open, peering inside.

Ossian follows, keeping an eye and ear on the door behind them.

The technology here doesn't match the rest of the Land of Peace, nor does it match the research facility that Ossian visited before.

The room has a number of stone workbenches and on each one there is some sort of large white parchment. Most of those have some sort of closed figure on it, like a circle or a pentagram. Inside the circles are items; a brooch, a bottle, a lamp. Next to each one is a small note-taking computer of some sort, but one that is off.

It's like they’re trying to do modern research on magic.

Silhouette wets her lips, predatory and hungry. "A intriguing mixture of Hermeticism and technology. My mechamancy should provide some paralleled understanding."

She picks the station nearest the end of the room - likely the supervisor's. Carefully, she examines it for wards or similar defenses before sitting down to get to work.

"I imagine my father would be of help here. Or uncle Ambrose." Ossian says. He approaches one if the parchment and touches it as if it was a Trump. (He wants to find out if it has some Trump-like properties)

Nothing that sophisticated guards it. But it is prompting for a password.

Silhouette scans the surrounding work area. She hopes that the person will have left a note to themselves somewhere, but she also studies the books, pictures, and items which might provide her an insight into the password.

There is a desk calendar with a few marks, but it's some kind of code: a day may have a red box around it, an exclamation point, a question mark, etc. It's unclear what each symbol means.

The parchment is merely room temperature. What they describe could be shadow magic, but this scroll at least is on the wrong path. Great-Grandmother (or even grandmother) could set them straight, if they had the vocabulary for them.

Ossian decides it is probable that the password is written on the underside of the monitor. "Look there." He says.

Silhouette quirks a brow, but does as he asks.

There is a piece of paper under the monitor. It says "newyear".

Silhouette gives this a try. "That's an intriguing talent you have, cousin."

Ossian smiles. "You have it too. The ability to affect probabilities. I will teach you, but not here and now."

The password unlocks the system. This is generations beyond the technology of the current shadow. The system is visual and the metaphors are well within their ability to easily grasp, but the organization of the system is apparently degraded by the personal disorganization of the user whose password was so easy to find.

It would take a long time to systematically look through the files, but it's hard to come up with a better method.

"You may want to look around for more physical materials, as this will take awhile," Silhouette says. Her fingers dance over the keys, the screen's flickering light outlining her stern expression.

She begins searching for any items related to Amber, Rebma, or the Family.

By chance, Silhouette comes up with a copy of a poem, called 'The Madness of Orolando'. It is hundreds of lines long, but there is an electronic note at the top. "Orolando = Roland, Charlemagne = Carol, Who is Ganelon? Was Paris Amber or not?"

There are additional search options, but they seem to require an "external connection". It occurs to Silhouette that that might not be untraceable, if it even allows the connection.

Ossian searches the room. Are there discarded papers somewhere?

Very few, and the ones that there are are on basic electromechanical science. It seems the more selective research is done on the terminals.

Ossian shakes his head. "I find nothing here."

Silhouette nods lightly, focused on the poem. "Ganelon? Is that one of our uncles? There's a poem here with notes that refer to family members. However, I don't recognize the names."

She calls up her magical intuition, focusing it on the terminal's connection ports. Her fingers begin their dance over the controls while mentally she reaches out, trying to establish the connection required.

It turns out that there is a document locally stored that talks about how to set up an "inter-nodal access route". It assumes the reader already knows quite a bit about networking, but there is still useful intelligence to be gathered from it.

Apparently they go off-line all the time, because the nodal foci change and the paths terminus points. Often the path will continue to exist, but each node will connect to a new location, sometimes a completely different place. If that place also has access, it can be restored with an encrypted point-to-point link to the nearest nodal junction, but if the nodes are isolated, it becomes a latent node-pair and should be mapped, reported, and abandoned.

Silhouette scans the document, memorizing its details. She feels a faint elation as she gains Enlightenment. She describes the information to Ossian briefly.

"This may be a hit or miss process, if I start trying to open other nodes. That will require time. Should we endure the risk?"

"I think Ganelon might be Oberon, but Corwin would know more I think.

"The risk can be worth it. The Klybesians in this Shadow do not seem to be so sophisticated. If we can learn more through this network it's well worth the risk, I think."

"If we are executed for espionage, the blame rests solely on your shoulders," Silhouette says flatly. She begins exploring the network more intently, trying to open up more nodes that could allow her access to further information. Mentally, she maps the network as she proceeds, testing each connection. It's an intriguing challenge, but one she warms to quickly.

There are central nodes which require some kind of access she can't get to, but what is interesting is that there are remote nodes that seem to be less well protected. There are two nodes that seem interesting: "St_Pastoral" and "Greenwood". St_Pastoral seems... damaged, as if it's supposed to be connected to things, but they're missing.

At that moment, an overhead light snaps on and the back door opens. Brother Smee is standing there, wearing a long robe, or night-gown. "That information, friends, is not free." He is not smiling.

There are people behind him. They may be armed.

Ossian is not smiling either. "Well, considering you or your associates owe me quite much, deduct that from the tab, then." Then he decides that the earthquake in fact did weaken the structure of the building. Enough so that the ceiling in the room behind Smee falls down, hopefully creating enough confusion for Ossian and Silhouette to escape.

While Ossian faces off with the men, Silhouette takes the time to infuse a gremlin into the computer system, drawing upon her inner power to fuel it. Once it is ready, she sends it into the node, letting to create as much havok as possible - hopefully disrupting the network and erasing the data contained within.

The ceiling collapses on Smee and the monks go down under the shaking. The electric lights go out as well. There may be more damage than Ossian was thinking of. It would be wise to leave quickly, since further collapse is possible.

There's a lot of dust and it's pretty dark. There are emergency lights near the exit.

Silhouette coughs, choking on dust. "Well...I do believe... our lecture will no longer be required."

She tugs on his arm, heading toward the exit. "We should find some way out of this building in expedient order."

Ossian grins. "Yeah, let's run. Shall we try shifting away from here?"

The exit door hangs at an odd angle, but gives to strong shoving by the two Amberites. The way they came is blocked by rubble, but there seems to be a clear path in the other direction. Lighting is haphazard here, and the dim emergency lighting from the study area doesn't go very far.

There's a slightly acrid smell in the air, of electricity and smoke.

Silhouette pauses, placing a protective hand over Ossian's chest. "Tread wary here," she says. "We do not wish to end our flight in an accident."

She scans the floor for any possible live wires, taking each step forward with the utmost caution. "We will need to be free of the building before we can Shift, yes?"

"No. It works fine indoors, but then we will not find out where this corridor goes."

There's at least one burst pipe ahead, leaking water onto the floor. If there are live wires, it's going to get bad, quick. There's nothing in the first few steps she takes, but the floor is damp.

Silhouette considers this for a moment, "Then we should begin shifting. Starting with reducing the risk of electrocution."

She steps forward, concentrating on her surroundings - attempting to alter its aspects as they move forward. She begins with floor, trying to reduce the amount of water.

Silhouette starts shifting as she walks forward. She instinctively knows what she needs to do: be in motion and find the things she anticipates will be there, the things that will take her to her goal. She subtracts a power cord for a piece of equipment on a shelf, she adds a tripped circuit breaker. The water level lowers.

It works, and it's easy! Well, it's not easy. It's some of the hardest, most detailed work she's ever had to do, including all of her engineering studies and masterworks, but it's doable.

Ossian notices the shifting. It's a bit erratic, and it reminds Ossian of his first efforts. If she's not careful and doesn't set up a rhythm with her shifts, she'll either start to hellride, or else everything will go *sparkly* and not in a good way.

Perhaps shifting fast is advisable. There are noises behind the two Amberites, as if someone may be digging through some of the collapsed passages.

Silhouette's heart hammers with uncharacteristic emotion, feeling a rush of pride and elation at this display of power. Unwilling to invite complications, she squashes this euphoria, focusing fully upon the task of rewriting Creation.

Distantly, she hears the sounds behind them. "I dare not break my concentration to see what that might be, cousin. Are we being followed?"

Ossian says softly. "I believe so. Stay focused. I would shift towards shadows with more blue and red and less green in the visual. Or towards less technology. I would prefer their guns not to work."

As much as it offends her, Silhouette follows Ossian's advice - shifting the world farther and farther away from the higher levels of technology.

Colors are her next alteration, traveling through the spectrum from red to violet.

Can Ossian figure out how long before the diggers get through?

No, but he can definitely slow them. It probably wouldn't mess with Silhouette's shifting.

The floor seems rougher ahead.

Then Ossian will do what he can to slow the diggers down. Somewhere in the rubble there is a partly broken powder fire extinguisher. When the diggers lift a rock it goes off and fills the corridor (on the monks' side of the rubble) with icky, sticky, blinding white powder...

Silhouette flinches at the noise, but maintains her concentration, steadily walking forward down the corridor. It now arches like the interior of a snail shell.

After a few minutes walking down the rounded, smooth passageways and a few details added or removed, the two turn a corner and come face to face with the denizen of these curvy passage. It's some sort of mucus covered beast. Or perhaps the mucus is the monster, and caught something else inside it.

It looks harmless. Or to would if it wasn't twice either Ossian's or Silhouette's size.

"Sorry to intrude." Ossian says in Thari.

Silhouette pauses, studying this entity with dispassionate eyes. Has she created this thing? Or has it always existed? The philosophical questions begin playing in her head, distracting her.

But, more importantly while outwardly 'harmless,' she does not wish to lower her guard. She begins searching the area for possible weapons to use.

The passageway is smooth, perhaps even slick with some sort of mucus-y deposits. Unless she were to move (forward toward the beast or back around the arch), she can't use the pattern to summon a weapon.

The walls of the tunnel are made of some sort of rock or similar hard material, but at least in places it is thin enough for Silhouette and Ossian to see that there is light on the far side.

The good news is that they no long seem to have any followers.

Silhouette carefully steps closer, testing the beast's reactions... and hopefully shifting enough to provide herself with a blade or something else. Perhaps something abandoned by a previous visitor.

Of course, that might mean the previous visitor met an unfortunate end.

As Silhouette steps forwards, the creature withdraws slightly, although not as much as Sil's forward movement. Her supposition about someone coming to a bad end here seems accurate. She sees what looks like a hilt and a few inches of blade protruding from the creature's... Well, from whatever part of the creature's anatomy is below its mouth.

She could grab it, but she'd be somewhat vulnerable when she did so.

Ossian frowns. "Wait." He says. "Let me try one thing." From his pocket he draws a flute.

He starts playing a simple, sad, melody, maybe a lullaby.

Ossian has not played music for a long time now. Suddenly he feels the need to let the music express things forever lost. Amber in its glory. All the dead cousins, especially Reid at this time. Broken Trump sketches. Brand.

He pours all this into the music, still soft and clear.

Silhouette pauses, waiting to see how the creature reacts to Ossian's music. If she senses its compliance, she carefully steps forward and wraps her fingers around the hilt of the blade. "Fair beast, allow me to be your Androcles... let me be your physician."

It's a very simple beast, but the music seems to soothe it. Its eyestalks move along, following the end of the flute.

It doesn't seem happy about Silhouette's approach, but it doesn't attack. She has the hilt and the can see the curved, wickedly jagged blade through the slightly translucent skin of the creature.

It looks as if the pommel and guard of the weapon are made of wood and the blade is made of some irregular black stone. It feels heavy.

Ossian continues to play, almost lost in the music.

Silhouette coos softly to the creature, recalling an ancient poem. Using it as the framework of an incantation, she channels her energies into the creature, soothing and healing it as she draws forth the weapon causing it so much pain. "'Afterwards we used to see Androclus with the lion attached to a slender leash, making the rounds of the tabernae throughout the city; Androclus was given money, the lion was sprinkled with flowers, and everyone who met them anywhere exclaimed, 'This is the lion, a man's friend; this is the man, a lion's doctor.'"

Silhouette pulls the blade, sharp and ugly, from the beast. It's hard to say how much healing she has been able to transfer to the creature.

She seems to think the creature doesn't understand her, but she could be wrong. The music seems to be keeping it calm.

Now the two Amberites are somewhat armed, the creature still fills most of the passage, although calmly. There's no telling where the path that led in here leads out to at this point, but at least it's not back to the Klybesians.

Ossian takes a careful step towards the creature, still playing. He looks at Silhouette.

Silhouette nods to him, "Let us continue, shall we?" She tests and turns the blade in her hand, learning its weight, its feel. Impressive, although not up to her usual standards.

Carefully, she inches around the creature's undulating bulk. "I doubt you understand, Gentle Beast. But there are people coming. Those that would harm you. You may come with us, if you wish."

Doubting it will answer, she inches toward the new path, trying to refocus her mind on Shifting.

It is a tight squeeze, but the creature retreats somewhat and a side-path that it had previously blocked becomes available. It's not exactly well-lit, but it seems to be leading generally upwards.

Ossian follows. He plays for a little while yet. Then he says. "We could shift out of this place of course, but it intrigues me."

Silhouette nods lightly, "Indeed. I find its wonders most peculiar and intriguing. If I had the time, I'd venture to explore and document this realm further. Alas..."

She begins concentrating again, shifting toward somewhere with more light if possible. Falling down a mineshaft in the dark appeals little to her.

he passageway widens, narrows, and then widens again. Before very long, it opens into an immense cavern. The ceiling of it is partially collapsed, and the cave has an opening to the sky, through which moonlight streams.

The light shows off the grand cavern, and it's an amazing place. With hundreds of feet of clearance, the giant cavern has become home to surface plants and even trees. In the middle of the cavern, there is a small village of stone houses.

There is no sign that they're occupied, but there's no sign they're not.

Ossian grins. "Nice shifting. Let's hope for less mucus here. Shall we introduce ourselves?"

Silhouette nods lightly, straightening her weapon. "Yes. We should announce ourselves before we cause alarm." She glances over at him, smiling. "And thank you. You've been an excellent instructor."

She descends the mild slope toward the village, "Hello?"

A short, bearded man with a bow steps out from behind one of the houses. While he has an arrow in his hand, he's not drawing and the bow is facing away from the two travellers uphill. He's wearing some sort of armor, but not very heavy armor.

"Who are you? Why haven't you been evacuated?" He comes up the path towards them at a quick walk.

Silhouette steps forward, bowing her head, "Forgive me, sir. I believe we were left behind when the others... departed. We've been detained, as it were. Might you explain the situation?"

"No time! The dam may not hold for much longer." He seems to have a sudden idea. "You're don't look like looters, but maybe you're counting on that..." He brings the bow around to where he could get a shot off fast, if he needed to.

"Looters offend the Whole," Silhouette says reflexively. "We would not truck with their kind."

She keeps her weapon lowered, nonthreatening. "The Dam? Is it an engineering or structural issue?"

Ossian is a bit tense, ready to move if the man decides to shoot. He looks around for the mentioned dam, and for signs of an earthquake.

When Ossian observes the fallen cave roof far above, it looks like it might once have been a river bed, and then the ground below was as well. The river shifted course, which is why there's land in the uncovered cave system to live in. That has to have been hundreds of years in the past. Unless it was artificially sped up by these settlers.

The man with the bow shakes his head. "Floods all over the province, Ma'am. Dam's just old and nobody expected this much damn water. If you’re not gonna jump me, then we need to move! Have you seen anyone else?"

Part of Silhouette balks at this, feeling the instinctive indifference to destruction caused by the failure of inadequate constructions. But an unusual tinge of humanity creeps in, nagging at her mind. Before she can rein it in, "If you wish, I can look at the dam. I'm an engineer and knowledgeable in such things. Perhaps there is a solution others have not considered."

She glances back the way they came, "And no. We've seen no one else."

The soldier waves his bow generally in the direction of the cave opening. "If we get out and if you can talk the Protectress into it, you can go see the dam, but if we don't start moving, you might see what used to be behind the dam. Move along!"

Silhouette follows his instructions, heading in the direction he's indicated. "Where are we headed? A refugee camp or shelter?"

Ossian also follows. "This will be interesting."

It's a couple of miles walk, which is easy enough for Amber's scions. The vegetation is not typical of Amber, but trends more towards thin, reed-like trees. Humidity is low and the ceiling of the collapsed section is high enough that there are even clouds inside the cave.

Signs of human are few, but distinctive. Trees are blazed as if the forest were patrolled by rangers, but not lived in by people -- normally. What are clearly animal paths seem to have been widened in places, almost as if someone expected to lead a number of people without forest skills through the area.

Eventually, the soldier or guard starts to relax. He points ahead to a wall of sandbags. "There," he gestures.

As Silhouette and Ossian approach a woman pops her head over the wall. "Is that it?" The solder with them replies affirmatively. "Bring 'em in and get 'em some water.

"All right, would you lot like to tell me why you're in the Protectorate's of Oceania's Strategic Reserve Cavern system?"

"Ill-timed spelunking?" Silhouette says. She takes some of the water, downing it greedily.

Refreshed, she offers a faint smile, "I'm an engineer. The cavern system seemed an interesting venture for the purpose of Illumination. If we overstepped our bounds, I apologize."

Ossian smiles. "And I am a painter. If there wasn't the risk of the Dam bursting, I would have liked to paint that village were we met this gentleman. I have never seen anything like it."

The woman gestures towards a bench, and takes a chair herself. Unlike the scout with the bow, she's got a sidearm at her hip. She wears it casually, as if it's always been there.

She frowns. "Well, you're not Oceanians, that's clear. The problem is they left behind so many booby traps as they retreated, anybody a little bit off-track becomes accidental. Are you associated with the University? We do keep finding their lost expeditions. Oh, and can I get your names for my logbook?" The woman pulls a stylus out of a pocket and holds it over a notebook, ready to write.

Silhouette raises a brow, "Booby traps? Indeed? If you require assistance in clearing them, I do have some knowledge. The least I can do for causing your guard such trouble."

She sits down, folding her hands in her lap. "I am Sylvia de Morangias. And you might be?"

“We can talk about that in Neuvo Léon, where I’ll be taking you as soon as I can get transport. As for me, it turns out I am Sergeant Alakana Suon, of The Pacifican Joint Reconnaissance Group. You sound Atlantean. Did the zombies cut you people off from the motherland?"

Without hesitation, Silhouette nods. "In a manner of speaking. Although I could not identify it, we encountered some form of crypo-zoological in the cave system. This forced us down the tunnel we exited. Perhaps that was fortuitous, as we ran into your compatriot."

Ossian nods, but feels that he should not interfere right now.

"That it was," says the Sergeant. "Were you on an archaeological mission? You don't seem like Atlantean military. You from one of the colleges?"

Silhouette nods lightly, "Indeed. Correct on both counts. My compatriot and I are intrigued by historical matters. It is always beneficial to look back, as much as it is to look forward. Enlightenment comes in many forms." She laughs, "My sense of direction, however, remains decidedly lacking."

The Sergeant looks up, seeing a wagon approaching, pulled by some sort of motor car.

"Your ride’s here."

Silhouette offers a winning smile, "How delightful. Thank you for your courtesy."

Ossian feels a mental touch. Someone is trying to make trump contact with him.

Ossian looks strangely lost, an keeps quiet. He answers the Trump call, being aware that it could be Klybesians using his sketch. Who's there?

A face surrounded by stunning red hair appears before him. I'd hoped you'd be able to tell. It's Paige. The King has summoned us all to Xanadu for a meeting and announcement. There's a thing tonight for Edan, but there's an all-family meeting tomorrow after breakfast that's the important thing. You and any family you're with are invited, and I'm not supposed to take no for an answer.

And I can tell by your face that you haven't heard the reason for the meeting.

Queen Vialle is pregnant.

Ossian's eyes widen. A thing for Edan? Wedding or funeral?

Paige laughs. It's just slightly too worldly to be girlish, but only just. A Dance, Silly! Much better than either of your suggestions. For his new order of Knights.

Ossian grabs Silhouette's hand in a seemingly intimate gesture. "Our precense is required elsewhere it seems" he says with a low voice.

Silhouette raises a brow, confused. A silken warmth flows into her, opening her to the Trump contact. "Oh," she states.

Paige smiles. "Silhouette, good, you're on the list." Paige's red hair is up, and the light strategically filtering through the loose strands looks like it may be early morning, wherever she is.

Paige extends her hand to Ossian.

[Silhouette] dips her head to the sergeant, "Thank you again for your generosity. I do apologize for the confusion and shock we're about to impart."

"Hey, what are..." say the Sergeant, as she grabs Silhouette's free wrist.

"You'll regret..." Silhouette begins.

Paige pulls Ossian, Silhouette, and Sergeant Suon through to her camp above Xanadu.

"...That..." Silhouette finishes with a tired sigh.

Seeing her unexpected third, Paige picks up a nearby rapier and points it at the Sergeant. "Unhand her, now!"

The Sergeant raises her hands in the air. Paige looks over to Ossian and Sil, not even starting on her list of questions.

Silhouette fixes the ruffled sleeve of her dress, "Well Sergeant Suon. In another day and age, I'd simply have disposed of you for an inconvenience of this nature. However, I've been instilled with a most vexing sense of humanity, of late. More's the pity. So, we must find a solution for this sticky wicket, I suppose."

She turns to Paige, "A Shadow-dweller who was...assisting us. If possible I'd rather she not be harmed in any fashion. Beyond the mental trauma we're undoubtedly inflicting at this moment."

Paige's eyes narrow. "Suon? Seriously? Suon?" She looks at the woman's unform. "Of Pacifica, of course. Are you from Lauderville?" The confused sergeant nods her head.

Paige laughs and takes the woman's gun. "Oh, Lir, I wish I could be there... If you two don't mind, you should take her to Soren. And tell him her full name. That should do it. He, or Gerard, can answer all your questions about the Royal Summons as well."

Ossian steps closer to Paige, if she does not mind he will give her a friendly hug. "You have many calls to make? We'll get her to Soren."

Silhouette appears relieved, "Excellent."

She offers the confused woman a gentle smile, "Let us get you somewhere familiar, shall we? Or, at least, with people who can answer your many questions."

Paige shuffles another card to the top, and artfully moves a strand of loose red hair out of her face. It’s clear it will be back.

After the first corner, Ossian recognizes where they are: in the lower castle near Random and Soren's studio and poker room. The door to the room is open and Soren and Kyril have a map of the castle open on it. It looks like they're trying to figure out where to have people sleep.

Sergeant Suon looks around the strange decor and stops. "Alright, folks, now that the crazy redhead isn't pointing a sword at me, where the hell are we?" She doesn't drop her smile.

Kyril looks sharply at her uniform. "It's not Pacifica , but it's not hell, Sergeant. What's your name?"

She looks back "Sergeant Alakana Suon, of The Pacifican Joint Reconnaissance Group. And who are you?"

He nods. "It figures. You probably don't remember me, since you were five when I left. I'm your Uncle Kyril, and you've come to Xanadu, home of the Space Aliens."

Alakana looks at Soren, for support. He says "Not me, I'm just another alien abductee."

"Uncle K? You can't..." Kyril rushes to her side and calls for a chair. "Just bend over and take deep breaths, it'll help." He looks up at Ossian and Silhouette. "Air's thinner here than Pacifica, and I'm sure I'm a shock. Now, what are you doing here with my five-year-old-neice?"

Silhouette regards the reunion with interest, "We encountered her while escaping from the Adversary. I believe our cousin contacted us during our discussion." She nods to Ossian for conformation.

Ossian nods.

"As we were being pulled through, the Sergeant grabbed my wrist unexpectedly. Before I could stop her, she had been pulled through."

She glances over at the woman, still struggling to breathe. "Intriguing that of all the people we'd meet, she would be family. I do not believe in coincidence."

"Note that Kyril is well, we are quite nice most of the time." Ossian says.

"Kana, just keep breathing. I'm here. I'm not that much older. I found Solly. ...She's not here, but she's supposed to come back. You still breathing?"

She nods.

"OK, so, um, we need to have a long talk, and I don't know where..."

"Drum booth," offers Soren. Kyril gets her to her feet and leads her away.

"All those stories?"

Kyril nods. "Every one of them."

"Holy F--" she says, as Kyril shuts the soundproof door.

Soren smiles at Silhouette and Edan. "I hope that's the most excitement we have for Random's gathering. I'm trying to get Random's vague ideas into a semblance of order, which is in no way new. Gerard and Garrett are somewhere around here, you've come from Paige, and everyone is expected over the next 24 hours. What can I do for you?"

"Maybe you could help us with the latest news. First. Is everyone still alive?" Ossian says with a tone of doom in his voice. "And oh. Random has no computers here, has he?"

Soren looks confused, but perhaps he's used to non-sequiturs from Family members by this point.

"No, no one I've been told of is dead. We're adding one, not burying one. Why would you ask that? And no, Random doesn't like computers. Ditto on that question."

Silhouette sighs, "Pity. We have information requiring the use of one. I may need to shift to process it. But that can wait for the moment."

"That's good news then." Ossian says. "Could you tell us more about Edan's party?"

"Indeed. It must be some soiree for us to be called from active duty," Silhouette adds.

Soren nods. "Edan went into shadow to recruit a bunch of people for the Knights of the Ruby, and now he's back and there's an introduction thing. Normal military bulldust: gallant officers in uniforms dancing with society matrons so they can hit on their daughters. There's hardly been time to compose anything for it, so it'll mostly be repurposed music.

"Then they'll march out to fight our enemies, and the ones who come back will be heroes. Random will use tonight for politicking, ahead of tomorrow afternoon's court."

"Ah." Ossian says "There are lots of enemies to be found. Are we supposed to do anything besides showing up?"

Silhouette nods, "Ah yes. The perpetual need to meet death for glory's grace. An ever useful tool in the Grand Design. Are we to put on airs this evening and encourage this desire?"

Soren nods. "You could. Or you could stay here and read. Or you could go there and undercut the King's desire by being unpleasant. It depends on what you'd like to do. The only mandatory appearance is tomorrow's post-prandial discussion and anything that falls out of that."

He looks to Ossian. "I think Edan is particularly hoping to use his forces as a counter to the Moonriders, so I suspect that's his assignment. From what I hear, they are formidable foes." Soren blinks and looks back at his pile of work. "Syd-I mean the King--is away and I'm trying to sort this mess without him. Otherwise, I'd be happy to continue discussing the role of an armed minor noble caste in a post-feudal magical kingdom with your Lordships. Perhaps we can return to that topic at a more opportune time.

"Is there anything else I can assist you with?"

Silhouette glances over at Ossian and then back, "If you might direct us toward a shower and change of clothing, it would be appreciated. I believe I still have protoplasmic discharge in my hair." A pause before she expounds, "It was a moderately eventful Shifting."

Soren nods. "Gilt has underbutlers taking care of such things by the main entrance. I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t also have someone on the back stairs for side-door entrants such as yourselves. They can make sure you have everything you need, including a day-maid and access to the baths. In this place, access to running water is not a difficult thing."

Ossian grins. "One last thing. Is the portal from Amber still working?"

Soren gives a smile at this. "Excellently well, Lord Ossian. It's not used as much as it was during the crunch, because Prince Caine, Lord Protector of Amber, wants it as an emergency escape route, but it's still receiving people and goods daily. You should discuss the matter with Prince Caine, if you think it might need touching up.

"And if you all are done with me, I think you may want to go upstairs to make sure Winter's people haven't given away your quarters to visiting nobility and to rest. It's likely to be a busy few days."

Silhouette dips her head, "Thank you for all you've done. Until next we meet, blessing to you and yours."

Ossian also nods. "Thank you, Soren."

At the top of the stairs, there's a whirl of activity. Across the grand entrance hall, Ossian and Silhouette see Solace, with her children. They are headed for the family quarters. In the middle of everything is Gilt Winter, talking to a number of workmen and surrounded by pages.

A page quickly spirals out of Gilt's orbit and comes straight over to Ossian and Silhouette. She bows, in what is almost certainly the officially correct fashion. "Lady Silhouette, Lord Winter requests the pleasure of conversing with you, if you will follow me. Lord Ossian, your father asks that you join him in the Giraffe Room."

Silhouette smiles politely, "Of course. I am at his disposal."

She touches Ossian's arm, "Thank you, cousin. I enjoyed our little adventure. I look forward to the next."

Ossian smiles "It was great fun. I'm not looking forward to telling Edan about it, though."


Back to the logs

Last modified: 4 December 2016