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Post by Brian on Jul 7, 2021 21:01:48 GMT
"He never told me how many he made of himself and then handed out to others. He isn't that vain," Shelly says. Brian frowns as he hears this and moves away to give Hamm more room to talk to her alone. He is lost in thought.
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Post by Hammett on Jul 7, 2021 21:13:23 GMT
"Oh, I wasn't implying that. Just maybe if you knew of other people who might have contacted him over the years. Other family members or friends."
He doesn't say it, but Hammett figured this was a dead-end, if Dorian hadn't even given his wife a trump card, then there probably weren't many others who had one.
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Post by Brian on Jul 7, 2021 22:25:03 GMT
Brian looks out into the Sky and listens to the peppering influences of War and Carnage.
None of this makes sense to him. His wife isn't of the same stock as Shelly but on the flip side until this journey none of his enemies would be on peer with those Lord Dorian of Amber had. No knowledge of allies? And this is her husband?
He doesn't know Dorian, and Shelly is far from a good and honest narrator....but the sort of man who came from the Stock of Gerard being so cavalier with his wife? That doesn't make sense. But also the way she is saying it.
She is using an Insult to push the questions away....to put people on their heels.
He drifts back to the words of Benedict
~"Dorian told me this from the centre of the Pattern. He seemed to think that Dworkin wanted him to walk it. He told of following a woman through the path and how a man threatened him from the shadows of the cavern. I requested that he return to me in the castle, but he must have had other plans. I believe Shelly is correct in her supposition that he is in or headed to Kasaba."~
~"Varda was still here. So that mans there is a third person at play. Coy it would seem was the man there. So Dorian Chased that woman and ended up here then went into the desert."~
~"The Chantis Family was where her loyalty was when we first met. She didn't think of the love of a lost husband. She didn't know about his enemies....But she has some knowledge of courtly manipulation. Which also doesnt fit."~
He cracks his neck ~"She is competent in combat but fails at moments when her normal competence would be of service. She knew I was angry at her and yet she didn't come to offer me an appeal to a certain path to Dorian. But was derogatory of the path I took."~
He is silent for a while
OOC:
Brian mulls over some things in his own head. While he can't SUPERNATURALLY tell if she is a shapeshifter or a spy he wants to try to develop a testable hypothesis. He thinks she is one of those two things. Third option is she is a bird that escaped her gilded cage but that seems less likely to him. He has experience with shapeshifters and has dealt with spies before.
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Post by Lorelei on Jul 7, 2021 22:49:32 GMT
"I have strength enough to manage one more spell before I must rest," Lorelei volunteers. "Knowing that he is injured is the main reason why we tried to reach Dalt before he Trumped away. It is quite easy to adjust the lynch-pins of the spell in order to share it with others, as Shelly has experienced. That I can only manage one more right now means the others will need to use breathing tubes of some sort..."
"Afterwards, I can scout the harbor, retrieving Gerard's body and any nearby Trumps."
When any who wish to try are gathered and equiped, she cast the spell enveloping them in healing water...
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Post by Admin on Jul 8, 2021 1:13:52 GMT
[Ooc: she didn't say he had no allies but did say he doesn't just go around handing out trumps of himself.]
Lorelei's spell is cast and people heal up somewhat. But to use the b.p. again what consequences will that have....
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Post by Brian on Jul 8, 2021 1:33:46 GMT
[Ooc: she didn't say he had no allies but did say he doesn't just go around handing out trumps of himself.] Lorelei's spell is cast and people heal up somewhat. But to use the b.p. again what consequences will that have.... OOC: Yes but if you don't tell people who you could call for a emergency...that is Sus.
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Post by Admin on Jul 8, 2021 2:04:18 GMT
[OOC: Trumps are dangerous. Caine developed all those tricks of listening in on the minds of people he had cards for and an ability to track other's use of the cards. It is a common belief that a picture captures a part of someone's soul - may be a foolish belief here on in the real world, but Strygsomethingsomething cautioned Corwin not to use his name in conjuring, so imagine how much more potent the use of a trump card would be. And once handed out, a person has no idea where that card could end up and who might have a use for it.
Think of someone with High Compelling using a person's trump card. The amount of potential for mischief available to the conjurer is enormous! Every use of a card is a toss of the dice. Just think how foolish it would be to find a card of some unknown person and then just casually give them a call! Who knows what traps and spells a person would lay themselves open to!]
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Post by Brian on Jul 8, 2021 2:07:17 GMT
[OOC: Trumps are dangerous. Caine developed all those tricks of listening in on the minds of people he had cards for and an ability to track other's use of the cards. It is a common belief that a picture captures a part of someone's soul - may be a foolish belief here on in the real world, but Strygsomethingsomething cautioned Corwin not to use his name in conjuring, so imagine how much more potent the use of a trump card would be. And once handed out, a person has no idea where that card could end up and who might have a use for it. Think of someone with High Compelling using a person's trump card. The amount of potential for mischief available to the conjurer is enormous! Every use of a card is a toss of the dice. Just think how foolish it would be to find a card of some unknown person and then just casually give them a call! Who knows what traps and spells a person would lay themselves open to!] OOC: But she couldn't come up with a list of friends who might have had one? Also didn't have any allies to speak of when she saw Brian. That is suspicious expressions of Dorian.
Also :-p she could react to his IC utterance other.
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Post by Brian on Jul 8, 2021 3:35:14 GMT
Brian looks between Lor and Shelly. He looks at Lor
"Do you know a Tracking spell? Its a common druid practice. Between that and the wife while I have no talent for such things. You have some elements you could use. You have Shelly's love for Dorian, you have the blood of 3-4 Kinsmen. 4 of Dalt bled on you. You have one who has the power of the pattern. If shelly has a memento from Dorian she might be willing to sacrifice it would work even better."
He turns to Hammett "I will also Say Dorian spoke to Benedict. He spoke to him from the Pattern room. I am yet to be fully convinced his path here is revenge. But Pattern said he was here when we first arrived in this shadow. Conrad confirmed that. A spell could track him down. If we recovered Gerard or something of his it might have a better chance of working."
I turn to Lor "But as I said.... I'm not a magician by trade. But I have paymastered more then a few Witches and Druids. And I'm married to a Witch. It should be possible right?"
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Post by Lorelei on Jul 8, 2021 4:20:14 GMT
"I could craft one after I have rested. The more injured and exhausted one is, the easier it becomes to slip up and fall into the Dark Veil while using a Lesser Pattern... I am injured and exhausted, both physically and mentally. After my rest I'm going to try recovering Gerard's remains and anything else useful down there... like maybe his Trumps... "
Lorelei stretches out to rest, allowing to healing magic to run its course invigorating as well as mending her. It must be an eerie sight watching her lay there encased like a thick second skin in the glowing water, actually breathing it.
It's foolish to go outside while the bombs are still falling. When it's time to move she will take the tunnels as far as she can, then slip past the Germans on the fringe of their encampments. She is smart enough to ask for a guide for that part. Once past the guards and into the water, she is in her home element. Even though she is rested, she avoids unnecessary use of her BP to lessen the odds of drawing aquatic predators or worse. In a pinch she still has a few potentially useful spells hung on her BP. The pattern of the wreckage is fairly obvious and the actual search shouldn't take long - find his body, his Trumps, and any useful or important looking equipment present. Lorelei wants the search over with, both for its gruesome aspects and for having time to rehang her other spells... .
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Post by Admin on Jul 8, 2021 4:49:33 GMT
[OOC: Let's not jump too far ahead of ourselves here. What about the odds of Lor not getting her needed 30 winks?]
Not long later, the bombing stops just a suddenly as it started. They can hear the sounds of fire crews racing about the city, trying to contain the fires. Then the artillery fire picks up in intensity, and the sounds of small weapon fire are heard. Hammett knows enough German to understand that the fire crews are yelling about the Yanks' forces coming into land, fighting their way onto the shore.
"Itchin' to get out here and join in the fighting, eh Brian?" Shelly asks. "I guess that refill of Ritalin I ordered for you hasn't arrived yet."
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Post by Hammett on Jul 8, 2021 6:20:53 GMT
Before the land invasion starts:
Hammett speaks with the others, "I have the ability to get a baring on Dorian, get us pointed in the right direction to where he is at the time we start, but it is only a direction. No idea of how near or far away he might be. He could be 200 meters away behind a building, or 10,000 miles. So while it is an option, I would consider it a last one. A trump or other way of making mental contact would be much quicker it such an option is available to us."
After that he plays cards with Renault to pass the time until the land invasion starts. That puts him on alert. He double checks his gear, then maintains a position near the door, ready to react if any danger presents itself or sounds like it is drawing very close (within a block of the building).
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Post by Brian on Jul 8, 2021 7:16:44 GMT
[OOC: Let's not jump too far ahead of ourselves here. What about the odds of Lor not getting her needed 30 winks?] Not long later, the bombing stops just a suddenly as it started. They can hear the sounds of fire crews racing about the city, trying to contain the fires. Then the artillery fire picks up in intensity, and the sounds of small weapon fire are heard. Hammett knows enough German to understand that the fire crews are yelling about the Yanks' forces coming into land, fighting their way onto the shore. "Itchin' to get out here and join in the fighting, eh Brian?" Shelly asks. "I guess that refill of Ritalin I ordered for you hasn't arrived yet."Brian rolls his eyes a bit at Shelly. " My dear I've been focused on being able to make you Dorian's problem as soon as possible. You are the only one consistently messing that up." He sighs....the worst part of the battle is always the waiting. He chuckled a bit. " you could always check if Flora has a Trump of Dorian Shelly. Since she gave you a way to speak to her." Brian mentions the woman in the Blue mask he spoke to via Trump to Hammett (( ooc Julia)). " Is she familiar with you? Like most people of note I've been encountering in the Golden Circle she was extraordinarily rude."
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Post by Hammett on Jul 8, 2021 16:13:16 GMT
Hammett chuckles, "Sorry, no, she doesn't sound familiar. But you are right, you generally have to be some kind of sod to have a trump card made of you."
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Post by Admin on Jul 8, 2021 16:20:33 GMT
"So, you did take a timeout to make new friends," Shelly says.
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