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Post by Lorelei on Oct 10, 2022 3:34:12 GMT
"Cousin," she addresses Dorian, "you are in no position to be making demands. When last I saw you, you were chained and enthralled. The chain and collar may be gone, but I have no way to verify that you are not still the puppet of forces hostile to Amber, and thus Rebma. The fact that you are still restrained AND in a location with someone I trust which has been damaged by hostiles acquired at the same time you were is not working in to your advantage. Nor is acting like a child with the 'these are my toys and no one else is allowed to touch them' attitude proving helpful... Being the Trump Artist that you are, by reputation, I doubt your current restraints are adequate to prevent your departure at any time you so wish..."
She pauses a moment to see if Hammett is paying attention before repeating herself.
"I have already told you that I will present the Deck to you, and only you, when you are free of external influences and acting rationally. You are only heir to your father's Deck until I hand it over, and when that happens depends on you. Based on your current attitude and circumstances... I would pity your father right now if he still lived. He was the best among all of Oberon's descendants."
Lorelei knows how low of a blow that was and almost regrets using it... .
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Post by Hammett on Oct 10, 2022 5:52:27 GMT
Hammett is busy bandaging himself up, but winces, not from the pain of his injuries (the whisky helped with that), but from Lorelei's words. Tact was obviously something she was never taught, or refused to learn, while growing up. That or her goal was to actively make everyone dislike her. Either way, the end result was sure to be the same.
He spoke up quickly, hoping to prevent Dorian from losing his temper again. "Dio waited around a few hours, but when you didn't contact her she decided to head out on her own. I advised against it, but I'm not her jailer either. I had rather hoped that you had reconnected with her before she got very far, but I guess that isn't the case. I hope she is staying out of trouble."
He finishes with his first aid and stands up and walks over to the bar, close to the mirror, to pour himself another drink.
"As for Gerard's trump deck, if you are not coming through to join us, I am willing to volunteer to hold on to them until I am satisfied Dorian is no longer under Leonil's sway. I already have my own set so there is no need for fear or suspicion amongst our elders that I would keep, or use, them for personal gain. They are superfluous to me."
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Post by Admin on Oct 10, 2022 6:11:27 GMT
Hammett's quick response almost but not entirely masks the sound of Dorian gnashing his teeth.
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Post by Lorelei on Oct 10, 2022 20:14:14 GMT
"Thank you for the report. I knew there was likely to be a difference in time-flow and am moving as fast as circumstance and duty allows."
"As for the anything I say I will do, while I reserve the right to change my mind, I will not bend and flow like seaweed to accommodate the whims and arrogant entitlement of others." Pausing for a breath, Lorelei adds, "Sweet Hammett, if I were to relinquish the Trumps to another for safekeeping you are the one I would choose... alas I cannot. The others have loyalties that would conflict..." .
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Post by Hammett on Oct 11, 2022 16:04:21 GMT
Hammett shrugged, he had no idea what she was going on about or who these "others" were. He glances about the mirror wondering how to turn it off, but it wasn't a tv set unfortunately, so there wasn't much he could do. He didn't want to break it, as it was one of the few things to survive the battle, but if Lorelei wasn't going to come through or be of any assistance, then he had best get back to the urgent business at hand but couldn't while she was there watching.
"Okay then." He just sips his drink and waits for her.
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Post by Lorelei on Oct 11, 2022 17:25:33 GMT
"The offer of a quality mirror delivered to Kasaba still stands," Lorelei reminds reminds Hammett, given him a moment to respond before closing the connection. .
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Post by Hammett on Oct 11, 2022 22:48:01 GMT
Hammett smiles, "Ah, no thank you. I heard a story that mirrors are now being used to launch attacks out of. And if the stories are true, and I believe the one who told me, then even Rebma is not safe and they are the ones who are supposedly masters of the mirrors. So, no. No need for a fancy mirror for the bar if that is going to make me being attacked or spied on any easier. In fact it might be time to get rid of all the mirrors in this place."
He doesn't remind her, or mention, that there is still the large nice mirror in the back hallway of Wormwood's, the one she used to depart here a little while ago. If Lorelei didn't want to, or couldn't join them at this time, Hammett didn't want Dorian to know that she easily could. That would just make the man even more upset and harder to deal with.
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Post by Admin on Oct 12, 2022 3:40:22 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/KNcD60p/Dorian~jpg "She's always been a stupid spoiled bitch," Dorian said when the conversation stopped. "Imagine how stupid she is to lecture us on how the cards work. And knowing that the mirrors are unsafe, why would she broadcast the fact that she has a deck?"
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Post by Hammett on Oct 12, 2022 6:12:13 GMT
[[OOC: Assuming Lorelei has cut the connection]]
Hammett focuses his intent and speeds up the time difference here in Carcosa, so a few hours here, are only a few seconds in Eshanta. That should give him and Dorian time to talk without further disrupting whatever plan Dorian had.
"The arrogance of being a princess and raised in the royal court, I guess. She is used to everyone around her doing what she says without question."
Hammett turns around and motions to his staff to fetch their weapons and when they've returned and are spaced around the room keeping an eye on things he talks says to Dorian, "I'm going to release you now." He picks up the bottle of whisky and another glass and brings them over to a table and sits down, making sure another chair is ready and waiting for the Prince. "Please remain civil and I'll tell you everything I know about what has happened, and hopefully you can fill me in on what you know. Don't worry about time, I've sped things up here, so no time will have passed back where Leonil is."
He makes a motion with his hand and the binds holding him fade away. "Please, have a seat and a drink."
Assuming he does, Hammett gives him the story.
"I ran the original Wormwood's out in a shadow called Kasaba, near the edge of the Golden Circle. It was a good gig, I traded in information as well as booze. But anything of real importance to the Crown I passed on to King Random, keeping him abreast of the doings out in shadow. One night your father sails into the Kasaba harbor with a good chunk of the Amber fleet. He calls on me and a few other locals, including Captain Brennon, I'm not sure if you've met him, and tells us hat King Random had two spies passing through the Shadow, delivering important information, but that they had been killed and the information stolen. Your father asked us to find the killer or killers and the missing intel. Brennon and I managed to capture the killer, and brought him to Gerard on his flagship. We tried to question him but he was messed up, and had had some strange modifications done to him. Now, during that time there had been a war building in the shadow, a local thing we all thought, but it turns out that the enemy forces were actually being manipulated and supplied by forces from the Courts of Chaos. Your father told us that he was going to seal off the shadow and that we should return home, get what we could and get out of Kasaba ASAP before he finished doing that. Captain Brennon took the prisoner back to his ship and made to sail off into shadow. I returned to Wormwood's to get my staff together and a few other friends, and trump out of there."
He takes a swig of his drink, "You father started to work whatever magic it was that would close off the shadow. A big glow started in the harbor. At that time the enemy forces attacked the city in full force. They had bombers and attack planes and tanks and such. The bombers focused their attack on your father's flagship and unfortunately their technology out matched Ambers, and your father's ship, and most of the rest of the Amber ships were sunk and destroyed."
He gives Dorian a moment then continues, "I trumped to Amber to tell King Random what had happened and to try and get a rescue counter invasion going. I met with Random in his chambers, and at the same time Leonil showed up, looking all tired and worn out and holding a magical scroll. I told the King what had happened and he informed me that the enemy was named Lady Vada. She was from the courts and was searching for something in Kasaba. He asked me to help them deal with her and stop whatever she had in mind. At that point Leonil's magical scroll really started smoking and crackling. Leonil said he had walked the Pattern and done some sort of magical spell at the same time to make this spell scroll that would stop all the bad weather Amber had been having. King Random told him that it was too dangerous and that he needed to get that scroll out of the castle before something went wrong. But unfortunately before that could happen the scroll exploded. Killing King Random and Queen Vaile. I was saved by outside forces, who I am not at liberty to name, and I thought Leonil was dead. Later on, in our search to stop Lady Vada, and find you, we, and that is King Brian, Princess Lorelei, your wife and myself came across Leonil and you. I'm not sure if you remember, but there was a big fight, Brain killed Lady Vada, you stabbed him through the chest from behind and you and Leonil trumped out of there. You wife was injured and almost frozen to death, so I trumped the survivors back to safety. After you wife recovered she returned to the Castle. I told her I would keep trying to find you, but she didn't seem to have much faith in that, and I believe she was going to put together a new group from Amber to go out into shadow and find you. Shortly after that I walked a broken pattern and from it's center I used it's power to teleport me to you. And now here you are."
He finishes his drink, waiting for Dorian to say something and hopefully add in his part of the narrative.
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Post by Admin on Oct 12, 2022 8:17:14 GMT
Dorian grabs the bottle and glass and shoots one down. Then takes a second to follow the first down and keep it out of trouble, then a third to check on the first two and then report back.
"At first, Leonil hated you for destroying his opportunity to be an essential part of the family. He still hates you more than anyone. As time passed, he changed slightly from blaming you to saying that Random deserved to die, and your interference caused him to get so damaged in the blast. This hate makes me mostly think that you weren't involved in the killing of Random, and I'm still unsure if it was an accident or an assassination. No rational person could conceivably think that walking the Pattern with a sheet of paper could resolve the weather problem. Someone else must have been feeding him disinformation about the Pattern. Know anyone who tends to spout off on subjects they know nothing about?
"After the blast, Dworkin met me in the hallways of the castle and suggested I should go to the Pattern room. I found some dead guards on the way and saw someone on the Pattern mid-walk. I followed, but they were gone before I could reach them. At the centre, I thought to be sent to where Leonil was since the rumour was you and him did the killing. Leonil was the more important target. I found him already bound in Julian's Lodge's jail cells. Most of him was burnt, one arm was nothing but bone and gristle, and both legs ended in stumps. I took him from there to where I could question further and discover those who were using him.
Somehow in the days after, he began to work his magic upon my mind. I can't tell how he did it, as my defences should have been sufficient. So there it was. He had me mostly under his control, and I never saw who pulled his strings other than those flashing strobe lights we all saw in the battle against the demons. I had seen it a few times before and since. But he was injured in the fight, and his power over me slipped enough to let me fight back and regain my freedom. Then it was a matter of waiting until I could get enough info to kill him and escape alive.
To answer your earlier point, I could have killed him anytime, but without my cards, I wouldn't be able to get out before those demons killed me, and I still haven't learned who he works for and, maybe most important, of all, what kind of damage would Amber suffer from his Death Curse? Our only hope would be if he used on you, buddy. But, of course, you wouldn't be able to understand how the blood curses work."
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Post by Hammett on Oct 12, 2022 20:12:56 GMT
Hammett grins, "I would imagine the name "blood curse" pretty much says it all. So I'll assume it is not good. It sounds like you'll have to kill him by surprise. Make it count before he can work this curse upon me, or you, or Amber. If you go back, do you think you'll be able to do that? Can you regain his trust? I can lend you a trump or two so you can get the hell out of there when it's done. As for who he is working for, there was a being of great psychic power working with Lady Vada. I originally thought he was working for her, but maybe it was the other way around. His power manifests like Purple smoke, he possessed one of my friends once, and when I made contact he tried to possess me. Almost did, but I was able to hold him off long enough to break the contact. He might be the one controlling Leonil. I don't have a name though."
Hammett pondered Dorian's tale. How did Leonil survive the blast and end up Julian's secret prisoner? If both he and Leonil survived, could it be that Random had survived as well? Random was older, and stronger, then Hammett and Leonil combined. So if Leonil could survive being point blank of the blast, he was holding the damn scroll at the time, then odds were that Random, who was further away then even Hammett, would have as well. Plus no body was ever found. Queen Vaile was a trump expert. Could she have saved them both? Or Llewella? It had always seemed odd that she would rescue Hammett and not Random. Maybe Rebma had saved both of them, but kept Random as a secret prisoner? There was no lost love towards Random in Rebma. Hell, maybe he was the one who had been kept captive in that magical prison cell Llewella had asked him to investigate? Could Martin have busted Random out and now they were both in hiding? Maybe with Corwin? Random and Corwin were good friends from what Hammett had gathered, or at least as good as friends as this family was able to be.
Well, if that was the case there wasn't much Hammett could do about it, even if he had the time, which he didn't.
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Post by Admin on Oct 13, 2022 3:42:40 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/KNcD60p/Dorian~jpg "That might be tough. You didn't exactly use any subtlety in extracting me. I doubt they would trust my return; at the very least they would reapply the lock on my mind and this time it would be permanent. We will need to come up with a better plan.
"It could be that mystery man of yours. Does he have any connection to Eshanta? We were travelling with that army for a reason."
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Post by Hammett on Oct 13, 2022 5:38:20 GMT
"Not that I am aware of. They attacked Kasaba because there was some hidden item of power there that they uncovered. Say, do you know what was in the chest that you and Leonil stole? Did you ever see it when he opened it? Maybe they are looking for something similar in Eshanta? That could be the connection. Something of power that was split into a few parts and hidden out in shadow? Now they are going to war to recover all the pieces?"
He thinks a moment, "Or they are using whatever you and Leonil recovered here to fight and win the war in Eshanta? Maybe Eshanta was the goal all along and the attack on Kasaba was just to recover something to help them achieve that goal."
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Post by Admin on Oct 14, 2022 5:28:57 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/KNcD60p/Dorian~jpg "I don't know anything about anything from Kasaba. If Leonil did recover the item you're referring to, he didn't show it to me."
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Post by Hammett on Oct 14, 2022 6:48:18 GMT
"He did. It was in a chest, so we never got a look at what it was. The fact that you never saw it means he probably handed it off to whoever he is working for. Do you have any idea why they are attacking Eshanta? What their end goal for taking the shadow was?"
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