Roland, Heldrik, Katarzyna (ex Raevyn)

[LynMars]

Rae can't help a frown at Corwin and Aurora's 'discussion'. 'Although perhaps he's so firm, because he doesn't wish for her to become like the other two Powers...Or...Later. Joshuwan? Again, later, Raevyn, time to work now...'

Rae nods in compliance to Corwin's orders, though she blinks a little at the glamour cast on her, examining the changes. "I understand..." 'Asmundson' replies, taking the Trump.

First composing her mind, she comes up with what she hopes are proper feelings and thoughts; compliance, worship, adoration...and some fear and panic thrown in, as if something is dreadfully wrong. She focuses on the Trump, keeping that whirl of emotion in mind, as she tries to draw out the Nightmare.

[Wired*Nun]

Raevyn senses Corwin and Coral to one side and the other as she reaches. Feeling her way through the unfamiliar Trump, she tries not to be distracted by a technical appraisal of its style and construction. It functions the same, although using some unfamiliar principles...

Roland sees Corwin, blocked somewhat from Coral's view by Raevyn's slight form, reach his left hand inside his jacket, presumably to grasp the Jewel sheltered there.

The continuum around him comes into sudden sharp focus, and he can see dust motes and seed fluff drifting in the air as he breathes. Speed rachets downward, as if someone slowed the hands of time's clock, giving him ample time, all the time in the world.

A shadows falls, and Roland looks up to see a large figure, perhaps eight feet in height, with clawed hands and twin tentacles proceeding from its shoulder blades. The jaunty figure of Lester on its shoulder clues Roland in to the fact that somehow, this is Josh. His skin has become the consistency of cooled lava, black and sharp, all broken edges and abrasives. Seeing his gaze, Josh nods, then turns back at look at Raevyn/Asmundson.

Raevyn feels the Trump painting growing cold, then hot, deepening into reality. Contact brings her vision to vision with the thing from the painting, a feeling of power, love and hatred, awe and salvation. It stands on an outcropping of multihued rock, against a background of blue and orange, gas and flame. Perspective is skewed, and other outcroppings seem to be moving slowly in three dimensions.

Raevyn feels its gaze turn toward her, its attention growing, desiring, calling.

[Shutter]

Ah, the Jewel...This...This is amazing. Roland twists and pivots slowly, getting a feel for how the altered time effects his muscles, his judgement, and his interaction with the ground. Good good...I can certainly fight like this. Reckon I can fight damned well.

Roland had just begun to ponder on Corwin's relationship with his Pattern when Josh looms into view. What in the... Catching sight of Lester he smiles and nods to both, a nice slow nod, hoping it looks normal to them. Facsinating... And that's all the distraction he allows himself, seeing Raevyn now turning to the painting, he settles down and waits.

[LynMars]

Easy enough to allow impressions of awe and wonder through the connection, as well as respect. Raevyn also tries to project worry, concern, maybe fear through as well. Recalling Asmundson's mannerisms and speech, she begins.

"Forgive the intrusion, and my impertinence at creating a portrait for you, but I believe it to be necessary. There are those who wish to disrupt your great work, and despite all you've so graciously given me, I fear it's not enough, and there's danger to the Maze..."

[Wired*Nun]

Raevyn feels herself drawn forward irresistably, through the Trump painting she is looking at. A grunt from beside her, and she gets the impression of a duel of powers, which surprisingly, her side loses. A shout, cut off, and she is struck from behind by something, which pitches her forward for a moment, to regain her footing on the swirling blue-orange rock of the Nightmare's abode.

From Roland's viewpoint, she begins to waver and blur. A faint red tracery emanates from Corwin and the Jewel, but too slow, and the Trump door slams shut as Raevyn is sucked into nowhere. Before it closes, though, Lester leaps from Josh's shoulder to impact in the small of Raevyn's back.

Raevyn feels Lester crawl into her satchel, lickety-split. She sees the Nightmare, who drifts forward to touch down on the rock where she stands, perhaps twenty feet away. Its snakelike head weaves lazily back and forth, considering her from one side, then the other, but she feels the Trump connection to it has been severed, thankfully. She is freed of the need to keep up a mental disguise, and she sees that the Asmundson glamor still holds.

Abruptly, the Nightmare wheels around, galloping away from her and fading from view in the mist, as if another mission calls it. Looking around more intently, she sees cavern walls beind her and feels a latent heat, but the walls are composed not only of the red and blue veined rock, but also of a deep blackness which crawls and swirls slowly across - or inside - its surface. In front of her there is only mist, so she cannot see how far the cavern extends.

Back at the meadow, Corwin curses, and Josh moves forward to the spot where Raevyn vanished, to cast about. A deep rumbling snarl comes from his altered form.

Roland feels the Jewel's time-dilation effect vanish with Corwin's curse. "Do either you have a Trump of her?" he asks them urgently.

Lester pops out of Raevyn's satchel and emerges in bizarre fashion from the surface of the Asmundson glamor, holding the vial of golden paint in his paw, a brush from her stores in the other. He hands her the items, then scrambles to tug at her Trump case, his nimble fingers working at the closure, but unable to open it without her permission. Thwarted, he pops it off the strap and hands it to her too, gesturing frantically for her to open it.

"Hurrrryyyyyy," he eeks out.

[LynMars]

"Yeah, that worked well. I knew I should have argued, but no...This is just brilliant. Where am I?" Raevyn grumbles, trying to regain a sense of balance--not terribly easy in the swirling, pitching space she finds herself in.

Lester's frantic actions catch her attention again pretty quickly, and she takes the case, flipping it open to draw her cards. "What? What am I doing with this now...?"

'Am I painting something new, or using the paint on something old, and where am I and what if she comes back mad, and the others can't be taking this well as I doubt this was in the plan, and...'

Rae fights panic, considering her Trumps, the rat, and her limited options.

[Wired*Nun]

Lester climbs up to see, then whips out her Trump of Josh, pointing at the two gold rings on Josh's hands in the picture. He points at the brush, then the rings, making painting motions, back and forth at the rings and the brush. "Gooollllddd" he squeals.

[Shutter]

Wait...what the?...No!

As Raevynn begins to waver Roland lunges forward to grab hold of her and hold her in place. His fist closes on air.

"Shit!" He quickly reaches to his belt getting out Raevynn's Trump. Gah, if someone's going to pull her back I'm the least likely to succeed....Arrgh..Damnit! He flicks his glance between Corwin, Coral and Josh. Lester?...must have made it through...

"All I can think to do is Trump her, alternatives?" Come on you wizardy types, be usefull. When he has the Trump out he holds it up, pausing a beat to look to the others for input, if they produce nothing of value in a matter of seconds he focuses on it with all his might.

[LynMars]

'I have no idea. Which means, try everything, I suppose.'

The first thing Rae tries is just focusing on Josh's Trump, trying to gain a contact. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best, and she found it easy enough to call the Nightmare here...

If that doesn't work--and especially if Lester's frantic act continues--she'll drop to a cross-legged position on the ground and open the paint. "Yes, I see, gold. But that doesn't help much...is the paint made from the rings...or are the rings made from the paint?"

Rae will try sitting there, Josh's Trump on her lap, a blank one on the other leg, holding the vial in one hand, while she dips a brush into it, drawing it back out again, eyeing it, and seeing what reaction she gets this time.

[Wired*Nun]

Seeing both Roland and Josh get out Trumps of Raevyn, he grabs Roland's sleeve, dragging him over next to Josh, doing the same to Coral. "Everyone try," he orders, still holding the Jewel and reaching over to touch Roland's card.

Roland feels the power of the Jewel like a rush of electricity, pouring into the Trump. It begins to vibrate, and a tone like a bell sounds in his mind.

Raevyn for her part feels immediately that Josh's Trump isn't even cold, a sure sign that this Trump is cut off from the undershadow resonance that relates to Trump functioning. At least, that's what Caine had said.

Abandoning this approach, and sitting down with her Trumps, Lester crawls into her lap. Seeing her confusion, he grabs the paint bottle, opening it and dipping one needle claw. He then carefully deposits a tiny bit of paint onto the Trump of Josh, onto the depiction of one of his gold rings. "Paaainnttt" says Lester frantically.

Roland feels the Jewel-powered Trump, and the minds of the three people with him in the link - Corwin's driving determination, Coral's fragile desire, Josh's desperate affection...infatuation? He feels the Trump reaching, winging across the Shadows far, toward a place on the left hand of Chaos.

Without warning, the reaching is halted, thwarted, short of its goal.

[LynMars]

Raevyn tries copying Lester's action, placing a tiny amount of paint on the card, on the other ring. "This what you mean?"

She concentrates on the cards for now. If whatever this is doesn't work, she figures she's also got a bracelet she may be able to try. Possibly.

[Shutter]

Should have tied a rope to her, held her safe...Should've been closer, faster, better...damnit damnit damnit...

Lips drawn tight he turns to look at the others. "Anything?" He sheathes his sword, disgusted with its impotence. Useless steel.

[Wired*Nun]

As she places the paint on the second ring in Trump technique, she feels a sudden shift, an enhancement of sorts. The Trump grows cold, and she can feel it burrowing through the ether, searching outward for its identity goal, sorting and discarding probabilities. She has never felt quite this insight in any particular Trump cast, though it seems familiar in a deja vu sort of way. What is this stuff...

"Get your blade back out, man," says Corwin through gritted teeth. "I don't know what we're going to find on the other end if we get through."

Through the Link Roland can feel Josh reaching down into...something, not exactly the ground, but...some kind of Trump manipulation. "Help me, Roland, you have some Talent," come Josh's ghostly mental words. "The Jewel is just trying to bull its way forward. If we can't get through, we need to go Around. I'm trying to reach her tragolith bracelet. Visualize!"

[LynMars]

Rae latches onto the Trump sensation, shoving the rest away for now, and focusing again on the painting. Questions will have to wait until later, as will analysis. Like when she's not in the Nightmare's home turf, if that's what this place is.

'Josh...'

[Wired*Nun]

The Trump contact slices through the possibilities, finding, sorting, arrowing through the endless web of ways, until it links up on the other end with



Josh.

The concern and affection almost overwhelm her, then she recoils as the image forms in her mind...a large, stone-skinned demonform confronts her, with heavy claws and tenatcles growing from its shoulders. Still, she is unmistakeably in contact with Josh.

Reaching out with a tentacle, lightning-quick, Josh touches her hand, howling, "Bring us through!"

"Dammit!" curses Corwin from beside him, as Josh takes the step forward into the link.

[Shutter]

“

Originally Posted by Wired*Nun "Get your blade back out, man," says Corwin through gritted teeth. "I don't know what we're going to find on the other end if we get through." Through the Link Roland can feel Josh reaching down into...something, not exactly the ground, but...some kind of Trump manipulation. "Help me, Roland, you have some Talent," come Josh's ghostly mental words. "The Jewel is just trying to bull its way forward. If we can't get through, we need to go Around. I'm trying to reach her tragolith bracelet. Visualize!"

”

Roland draws his blade again immediately. Gods, they're still getting through! Just me who was cut off so thoroughly.

At Josh's words his focus swings back to the Trump, to Raevyn, and that tragolith bracelet of hers. He tries to understand what Josh is doing, to follow him around the blockage...What is this?

When Josh latches a tentacle on to Raevyn, Roland latches a hand on to Josh, striving to pull them back out. If it works they'll all tumble out by Corwin's Pattern. If it fails, Josh and Raevyn should have company in the Nightmare's realm. "Back to me! Both of you!" Shit, Josh wouldn't hesitate to dive in to the abyss after her...

[Wired*Nun]

"He's right," shouts Corwin to Roland. "If we bring her back we lose our chance! We have to take this thing on its home ground." Corwin releases the Jewel to grab on to Josh, then Roland, pulling him along. Combined with Corwin, the weight of Josh's form creates an inexorable pull. Short of using a wrist break to get Corwin to release him, Roland is coming with.

[Shutter]

This is what I get for trying to interpret what people mean by Damnit.

Roland nods and goes with his instinct, to dive in after Raevyn and Josh.

[Wired*Nun]

The whole lot of them step through, to stand on the colored rock in the mist. A moment later, the mist is blasted backward by a stiff breeze out of nowhere, to reveal the rest of the cavern and a gigantic door at the end. With the mist gone, the chamber looks suprisingly similar to the Pattern cavern, except the swirls on the floor seem to be random, and run into the walls, as if natural.

"Well, here we are," says Coral. "Wherever 'here' is."

Corwin just grunts, and look around. "Let's find out."

Setting off for the door, he leads the rest to a stop in front of it. The Jewel pulses once, and an audible click preceeds Corwin's hand shooting forward to pull it open.

Behind the door lies an unexpected scene.

The group debouches onto the dais of a vast cathedral, from the back. They are standing behind the altar or nave, looking out over the pews from whence the congregation would view...something right about where they are.

Looking around, they see depictions of Nightmare...and others. One dominative motif glorifies a Madonna-like Mother and Child...only the mother has a familiar face...

Dierdre.

The child is stranger still, depicted in some pictures as fully human, in some as a baby Nightmare, and in others as some kind of cross.

"What the HELL!" expels Corwin. "I never saw such twisted shit in all my life."

[LynMars]

Rae's instinct at the visual of the demonic form is to recoil, but the mental connection reassures her and she grips the offered limb, drawing the others to her at Corwin's insistance. Not being alone anymore in this strange place (well, aside from Lester) is comforting, anyway.

"Hope we can get home from here...Um, can I get this disguise off now, maybe? I don't think it's going to matter so much at this point..."

Looking at the cathedral, Rae's proclivity is to study the depictions first, not only their subject matter, but their style and technique. Then she starts looking around for other details.

"This is...certainly odd. What exactly is Deirdre's involvement in this?"

'I wonder if he's upset by the odd nature of it, or because it's his favorite sister these show?'

[Wired*Nun]

Josh drops the glamor on Raevyn when she asks, shrugging apologetically. "Might still be useful, but it's your call. At least we won't get into one of those bad-story 'it's me! No, it's me!' situations," he rumbles in a gravel voice.

The style and technique of a lot of it are definitely recognizable, one of the elders. She racks her brain, thinking back to her training, and a walk through the castle gallery with Caine.

************************************

"What do you think of this one," he had asked. The painting, a night scene, depicted a man in a hooded cloak, slumped on a horse, glowering in hatred out from under the folds of the head covering at four gaily-clad revellers.

"I'm not sure..." she had answered. "Good...even great, but dark, angry, twisted...brilliant."

"Yeah, he is all of that. Your Uncle Brand."

*************************************

"Some sick form of worship," Corwin snarls, "Like those Chaos temples to me and Benedict and others, times ten." He draws out Greyswandir, and smashes a small statue of Dierdre on a stand. Shards of marble scatter the floor. "She wasn't involved. Couldn't have been. I knew her for centuries."

Coral and Josh exchange a glance, then look askance at Corwin.

But he was gone for centuries, then he lost her at Patternfall...he can't really have known her or what she may have done in that time...

Revelations are interrupted, then, as the double doors on the far side are opened. Soldiers in green and gold charge through, splitting off to line the walls to the left and right of the door. Through the entrance walk two men. One is an unknown, humanoid, with deep purple skin and dark green clothing. The other one is huge, at least 6 foot 8, but perfectly proportioned, and wears a breastplate painted with the heraldry of a lion rending a unicorn. An equally large sword is in his hand.

[LynMars]

"I think I recognize the artist of these--"

Anything else she may have had to impart to her relatives is interupted by the sudden intrusion of armed men. Raevyn does what she tends to do in these sort of situations--stay behind the fighters.

[Shutter]

Roland eyes the artworks, the alter and the entire church carefully. So Nightmare's cult got formal...Didn't expect that...Wait, is that?...Dierdre? What? Corwin's reaction confirms it. He quickly sets to memorizing as much about the paintings as he can, any details that might provide some historical context. Things like, how in the hell did it come to pass that Dierdre birthed the Nightmare?

“

"Some sick form of worship," Corwin snarls, "Like those Chaos temples to me and Benedict and others, times ten." He draws out Greyswandir, and smashes a small statue of Dierdre on a stand. Shards of marble scatter the floor. "She wasn't involved. Couldn't have been. I knew her for centuries."

”

Roland frowns at the outburst...the surety and the sudden pointless violence. He's acting more like a liability than an asset. Such refusal of thought...His own personal heroine worship in a way. I wonder if Dworkin forsaw this and sent Corwin here to get himself killed, along with me and whomever else.

And then bad goes to worse as the troops file in. Who is that? Dalt? Was he that tall?... Roland instinctively takes up a defensive position near Raevynn. He resists the urge to push her to the back just yet. Don't want to make her look weak, like an easy target. Also, there's still the infinitesimal chance that we won't all end up murdering each other in a few moments right? With the tip of his sword by his right boot he waits for something some sign. Are we still on an assasination mission or on a survival mission now I wonder?

[Wired*Nun]

Another person enters the cathedral, a tall buxom woman with a disconcertingly cruel face, black hair and milky skin, in an emerald-green dress. She confers briefly with Dalt, showing her inordinate height thereby. Her head tops his shoulder.

The deep purple person walks forward, mincingly, making the observers immediately question his sexual orientation...then question his gender at all.

Maybe it's a woman?

The androgynous nature of the figure is not resolved at closer range, but the glow it gives off becomes more apparent, like a rainbow with the bright turned down. It walks up to stand midway between the opposing sides, then turns up the glow.

Growing, shining, rising in strength, the Amberites feel the intensity of its presence. Irrationally, the urge to fall down and give it homage grows strong. In fact, the soldiery against the wall all take a knee, presenting their swords in a worshipful gesture.

A chuckle comes from Corwin.

"Nice game you have here, friend. Try this on for size."

The Jewel flares, and a wave of redness proceeds forth, washing over the assemblage in front of them, pinning them all in place...all except the glowing figure in front of them.

It smiles, and cocks its head sideways. "The one remaining eye of my ancestor is always upon me. Of what effect is the gaze of the other?"

Its voice is like music, and thunder.

Its own glow washes backwards, freeing the men behind it.

It steps deliberately forward again, ignoring the power of the Jewel, counteracting it even.

Cursing, Corwin draws Greyswandir, pointing it at his nemesis. The man-woman-thing stops, well out of range, carefully surveying the situation.

"Raevyn," hisses Coral, "call someone. With the Nightmare busy, perhaps you can get through to bring reinforcements."

Lester scampers off to the right, to perch incongruously atop a statue of the horse-formed godling.

Dalt motions his men forward, cautiously, and they spread out, working their way around the flanks toward their opponents. He strides up the center walkway behind the object of his allegiance, moving to his right, placing himself opposite Roland and Raevyn. The tall woman moves to her left, and Josh steps ponderously forward, claws out, tentacles high and ready.

[LynMars]

Raevyn fights that disconcerting feeling of worship, unwilling to give in. She nods slightly, tightly, to Coral, drawing forth her Trumps, mentally tallying who she can call.

Heldrik wouldn't accept a call, and she contemptuously dismissed him as an option within a quarter second. Kat had been unreachable for awhile apparently. Arrotel would be in over his head in this sort of thing. Landon...Possibly; his change seemed far more than a cosmetic one, from that brief encounter.

Except, it had been specified who to tell of this endeavor, so they were likely ready for something of the sort, and others could be a liability.

'Is it going to matter at this point? Assume it does, as we can know who's theoretically on "our side"...Otherwise...Reserve options.'

Rae will try Gerard's card first, trying to reach him. If she has to use the gold paint again, it will be as a last attempt to make the card work, if she can. If no reply, and there's no interruption, Julian, then Landon will be next.