Raiders of the Temple of the Last Crusade (Aiden, Fergus, Karlsen)

Karlsen comments, "We have an ancient curse. May you live in interesting times. Our people valued a more static life than most."

At the mention of the holo whip Karlsen winces. "I too have felt the whips of the oppressor. And the knives and brands of sadists." He shudders and a hand rises unconsiously and touches his face. "No that is not something I wish to relive." He starts to look more positive, "But I am more than I was before and there are three of us. Together we will prevail." He states with certainty.

A note of steel comes into his voice. "I do not like the sounds of this Mr. Forrester but I must ask the question, do you think he genuinely believes in the prophesy? Or do you think that it is just a pretext for keeping you locked up? People often rationalise otherwise irrational actions when they feel that they are defending something greater. That would make him deluded and perhaps taking a bit more pleasure in his work than he should. A measure of mercy might be considered in that case. If he made up the prophesy to keep you passive and fearful then he is just a manipulative worm who will feel our full wrath when the time is right."

"I don't know cousin, though I do know that he reported to some mysterious superiors. If I ever get a hold of him I mean to go through his mind with a fine tooth comb to find out the truth of the matter, though it may be that he is just as much as puppet as the poor woman with the monocle that Horatio used his serums on."

"The monocles seem to be some sort of check on the underlings so I doubt he was someone really in the know though. I just wish there was some way we could get through those trumps in the monocle to the receiving station and find out what was really going on."

More bright colors appear in the forest canopy, accompanied by the melodic sounds of songbirds.....and a salty tang mixes with the pleasant floral scents....

.....The land falls away to the left revealing a calm sea the color of Peridot and Emerald and the path widens and curves around to follow the coast .....

...a short while later a rocky promontory rises off to the right running away at an angle to the Northwest...a large dirigible materializes above the cliffs floating lazily in the morning sun....An instant later it winks back out...



"I noticed you didn't bring a weapon," says Aiden to Fergus, "unless I'm missing something. Would you like one?"

"I didn't bring one as I don't own one. So if you have one spare then I could certainly use it."

An airship, just like its from the Nexus. Ah drat, it's gone now!

"I was taught to fence with a rapier but I guess I could probably use a heavier sword if needed. Winnow taught me there are far more to tactics than the small field I have been educated with, so I guess I will need to find my feet quickly if we get into trouble."

"By the way you'd probably better not call me Fergus once we get to the Nexus. I guess its not that common a name so it'd be better if I didn't draw attention to myself. How about Benjamin? That's a good stock Nexus name that no one will turn a blind eye to."

"Aye, you're right about that. I'm glad you reminded me. "

"All right then, Benjamin, let's see about finding you a sword."

The path winds on along. Beaches of pearlescent sand begin to dot the coast to the South....
....The path dips and enters a small copse of trees....and in a few moments emerges into a large meadow of bright red and gold flowers. A narrow, stony path leads from the main road to a small tumble of masonry not far away.

"This way," says Aiden turning off the road.

The narrow path runs on between two large standing stones, then crosses a small arched footbridge of fieldstone, before ending at what seems be the ruins of an ancient outpost now fallen to time.

"What we need should be in here."

Aiden dismounts and walks his horse, leading it between the small piles of rubble and through a low archway into the main structure.

Removing the log hatch covering a shallow stone pit in the floor, Aiden retrieves a heavy oaken trunk. Inside is a cache of weapons - swords of various types mostly - wrapped in oil cloth. A small coffer contains dry cleaning rags.

"Rapier, broadsword, zwei-hander; take your pick," Aiden grins.

Fergus follows Aiden and mentally commands Thunderbolt to stop. He obeys the comand exactly and instead of slowing to a stop digs his legs in and throws Fergus over his head. Thunderbolt tosses his head and neighs as if to say "You think you have the better of me."

Fergus rubs his arm and grabs Thunderbolt's reigns and ties him up to a rail on the outside of the ruins.

I'll deal with that smart alec horse later.

Fergus heads inside and sees the cache of weapons that Aiden has found.

"A rapier I think. Is there a case thing for it as well for me to hang at my side?"

"Mais oui"

Aiden reaches back into the pit drawing forth a large bag of weathered canvas. Inside are various scabbards, belts and baldrics of wood, leather and metal. Most are rather plain and fuctional. A few, much more ornate, are embossed with gold and silver, inlayed with ivory and rare woods, or ornamented with precious stones.

"Take what you want."

Fergus takes a plain and functional scabbard and straps it to himself before testing drawing the sword with his left hand. Satisfied that the rapier slips inside and out of the scabbard well enough he decides also to take an oiling cloth to keep the blade in good condition.

"I don't want to attract attention with anything ornate or have the blade snag on any of those gems. My thanks Aiden for finding these, just what I needed. Now shall we continue on with our journey?"

Fergus heads back outside to Thunderbolt and strokes the horse's head as it eats the tufts of grass around the tethering point. He makes mental contact with the horse as he does so.

I think we got off on the wrong hoof. I'm an inexperienced horse traveller and I did not know how to guide you properly where we are going. If I couch my wishes more as requests would that suit you better?

Thunderbolt seemingly ignores him, but does flick its ears as it continues eating. Fergus takes the reins and moves around to mount, this time taking more time and care to ensure that he swings over into the saddle more as Aiden did.

I would request that you follow the other two horses as before gradually increasing speed to match theirs. Better?

"Aiden what ability is it that allows you to find things when moving?"

" It's one of the effects of having walked the Pattern. Pretty much whatever one imagines, one can find in Shadow - find or create. There's always been philosophical speculation about whether one is simply traversing lines of probability or actually imagining new people, places, and things into being."

Aiden climbs back into the saddle. "For my money, there's no difference. There just appears to be when you apply 3-dimensional thinking to a question about Infinity."

"Oh, and for whatever reason, it's usually necessary to be moving in order to create a new probability. Doesn't matter what kind of movement, really. Pacing or moving in a circle works just as well as anything."

Making a slow scan of the sky, Aiden adds, "I believe we should be nearing Haven within the hour. Let's get movin'."

Fergus is eager to get moving again and nods to Aiden. Philosphically speaking Fergus would prefer it to be created since otherwise these things really belonged to someone else and they were effectively stealing. He decides that he will take it that way until this theory is disproved.

Thunderbolt stirs restlessly beneath Fergus, either eager to obey Fergus' request or eager to cause more mischief.

"Cousin Karlsen, as I understand it you have been in Amber for perhaps longer than any of my other cousins. What is your take on this mysterious other family?"

Aiden turns and leads back along the narrow trail and onto the main trail. In a few moments he is once again refocused on the destination and the scenery begins to slowly change as they ride along...

The land around becomes rolling hills of dark blue-green interspersed with small woods and meadows as well as the occasional patchwork of cultivated land. The soil here is a dark loam - almost black - but here and there it takes on a lustrous sheen where it has mixed with the pearly sand beneath....

....The path now runs around a small hill with a sleek metal transmission tower atop it. On the other side it meets with a paved road which it crosses and then parallels...The land continues to slope up to the right(North side).

...Far out to sea can be seen large ships fitted with wide sails but with white puffs of smoke coming from tall stacks at the waist heading to and from the city of Haven.....

...The path/country lane now runs beside a low wooden fence underneath two aisles of planted shadetrees. isolated farm houses can be seen off to the right....

By now they are into the early evening of the Shadow called Nexus. Fergus recognizes the constellations as well as the species of trees. Even the air spells a little familiar.

And by now one can see a sign indicating: HAVEN 45 WHEELS

Fergus knows a wheel is roughly half a mile. In rural areas like this, horseback might not be so very odd. A little farther along the way and he sees a kind of inn or tavern along the road of a particular type and even sees some carriages with horses. He recalls a religious group called the Essentialists who avoid modern technology. Friendly enough, not eager to judge others, but unwilling to give up a certain lifestyle they regard as keeping themselves in tune with Almighty.

The air is cool, not cold. A smell of seafood stew wafts from the inn.

Fergus can smell the distinctive aroma of Blue Weed Grass near the inn. He'd often smelt it from within the house when they were cutting it back outside and it was a strong indicator that they were now on the Nexus.

"We're not far from Haven now. From the speed of the horses and the distance that the sign says we are away from our goal I would estimate about a day's ride remains. Let's stop at the inn for the night and see what news we can pick up. In towns horses have been entirely replaced by Clock Carriages, but here in the middle of nowhere who can say."

"I have read about the Essentialists, they are a group who shun progress for some obscure religeous reason. I can't say I agree with them, but its their life and they can do with it as they wish. The Nexus seems to attract strange religeous groups like the plague. I think I counted around thirty different groups from the Holo-books before I gave up looking. There's even one group here, The Adepts of Chance, who consider that gambling is a virtue, which combines the most popular pastime here with the second. Personally I suspect that the whole thing was dreamt up by the casino owners to get more business."

"Cousin Aiden, I'm afraid I have no money so if we are to stay at this establishment then I will need you to conveniently find some local money. The local currency here is called the Token which is divided up into 100 Chips. It came from the rise of the gambling establishments wanting to have a universal betting chips but the rest of the populous have kind of adopted it as well. Its one of the many reasons that the casino owners here have a great amount of power."

Karlsen stays on his horse while the others head inside. He maintains a carful watch trying to revive instincts for traveling in dangerous places that have been dormant for several years.

Kalsen weighs in on the create vs find, “We find the things that we need. I create things with my hands by taking raw materials and changing them into a finished product. But the Pattern has already created every possibility that would or could ever exist, and maybe even some that cannot. When we focus on the power/image of the Pattern and form desire we collapse the wave forms of probability into the Pattern which produces what we desire. We basically force reality into the desired shape.”

“Have you heard of Schrödinger's cat? Schrodinger theorized a situation where a cat could be either alive or dead with equal probability and no one would know the result until they looked. While the box was closed the cat was neither alive nor dead but both at the same time. When he looked in the box he forced reality into one of the two possibilities, the cat was alive or dead. The wave form of probability of reality collapses and you have your answer of whether you have a cat or a carcass.”

“With the Pattern you can always have what you want. You force reality to give you what you desire. You want a cat? You get a cat 99% of the time. You want a carcass? You get a carcass 99% of the time. Why 99% of the time? Well for some reason all my experiments show a slight but noticeable difference between your ‘desired’ outcome and what happens. Some explain this as a subconscious desire that manifests over the conscious desire. But my leading theory is that the Pattern is not absolute. At the very least there is the Logrus and it may influence things also. I keep an open mind about it and try out experiments from time to time.”

To Fergus’s question, “Benjamin,” trying to fix his cover name in his mind, “I have never heard of any relations besides the ones here in Amber and a few in the Courts of Chaos. Once their existence was revealed investigation can begin and I hesitate to postulate a theory with so little information, it might lead to false interpretation of facts later. I would say the key things would be to determine if they could walk the Pattern. Only Amberites carry enough of the image of the Pattern in their essence to survive the ordeal. Also determining if any of them had relationships with elders would make things more clear.”

“With the appearance of so many cousins at this time I would hazard a guess that there are probably more out in shadow. This family would seem to represent a group of such people. The next greatest potential exists that they are from the Courts of Chaos who are known to have powers similar to what this family have been rumored to have. The Monocle and Box could easily have been made by members of the Court, even without using the Logrus. The third possibility is that this family represents something outside of current experience. That is the possibility that worries me most. If we try to make the facts fit one of the first two will we miss the third until it is too late?”

"Sure. that's probably a good idea...And I could stand some dinner while we're at it. That chowder smell is making me even hungrier"

Aiden dismounts and begins walking his horse toward a small outbuilding that appears to be the stable.

"Oh, check your saddlebags, Benjamin. There should be some Tokens in there. Besides, if this Shadow is full of casinos we need not worry about money."

(OOC Aiden does the same, shifting Shadow to create a decent supply of the local Zorkmids...especially since they may desire to rent transportation in the morning.)

Karlsen also dismounts. "I agree it has been a long time since breakfast." He follows Aiden to the stables. When he reaches there he begins the process of removing the saddle and giving the horse a quick rubdown. He does this himself to check the horse over. If Fergus seems lost he will show him what to do. He takes the bag with the box and his pouch with him and picks up Blue Dragon (still peace bound) and follows Aiden and Fergus to the Inn.

The interior of the inn proves quite comfortable. Men and women sit apart, wearing various shades of brown. Women wear a distinctive cap. All but the youngest men have braided beards.

Anyone they speak to will make an odd gesture and say "Welcome and well met," with at least the ghost of a smile. A host comes up and directs them to a table on the men's side of the room. Coffee, tea, lemonade and a mild apple cider are all available. Apart from the stew, which is served in big round pieces of dark bread, slabs of meat are available (at a higher price) as well as something called potluck pie. The host explains it is a pie made with whatever is handy--onions, carrots, rabbit, scallops, etc.--but soaked in a strong herbal sauce for a few hours first before going into the crust and baking. You can also order stuffed duck--stuffed with small fruits and nuts.

Over by the fire are a series of icons, showing winged human beings doing obscure things in a very stylized artform. These are carved wood and each has a colored candle lit in front of it. It reminds Aiden of Eastern Orthodox Churches although otherwise the place has a vaguely Amish vibe.

Aiden follows the host over and places an order for a large bowl of stew and iced tea.

Rarely too tired to examine new art or craftworks, he ambles over to the fire, pulling a smoke from his jacket pocket and lighting it on the way. Visually appraising the carvings, he asks an older man sitting near hearth of their significance.

Fergus takes some Tokens from the saddlebags of Thunderbolt and is grateful for Karlsen's offer of advice on rubbing Thunderbolt down.

See, now it's my turn to do something nice for you Thunderbolt.

When he has finished he heads to the inn and joins Aiden and Karlsen at the table, ordering tean and the Potluck Pie. As a cook himself he is keen to see what new and interesting flavours the locals have managed to blend together.

No doubt the statues are meant to represent the virtuous labours of the worshippers. Fergus approves of doing things for yourself and in a way he secretly admires these people. It is just the anti progress thing that kind of goes against his way of thinking.

Fergus heads over pays the innkeep for all the meals, there having been plenty of Tokens in the saddlebags and inquires about rooms for the night also.

"I don't suppose you have any news from Haven do you? We've been on the road for some time and are a bit out of touch."

Aiden feels a Trump contact.

The Host speaking with Fergus gladly arranges for a large room the three men can bunk down. As far as Haven goes, he notes the city recently had an election and was getting ready for one of the traditional Festival of Masques. The Federalist Party had lost the government for the first time in fifteen years, while the Progressives had chosen the new Chancellor, who was a Havenite so of course the city felt proud. His manner describing this is as of talking about some nice-enough-but-strange foreigners.

Fergus heads back to Karlsen and Aiden and notices that Aiden appears distracted. He turns instead to Karlsen as he sips his tea.

"It appears that we have arrived at an interesting time in Haven. Not only has there just been a change in government there, but it is also approaching the festival of Masques there. I think Cousins Kierenne and Kieran would have fitted right in with that, but I guess it perhaps wouldn't have been special for them if everyone else had masks on as well."

Feeling the beginnings of a Trump contact, Aiden slowly walks to an empty table in a quiet corner of the room in order to avoid any unneccesary attention......

Karlsen also orders the Pot Pie and a lemonade. Wondering if the lemonade will come sweet or sour.

Karlsen looks to the construction of the building and contents. Quickly determining the level of expertise that this shadow possesses. If Aiden looked at the votive woodcuts he will wait for his impression, trusting the craftworks appraiser to assess the work. If he didn't Karlsen will stroll over and look at the cuts while Fergus is talking to the host with more interest in the technique and quality before returning with his thoughts to the table.

When Fergus tells about the local news he asks, "Will wearing masks be required? I find wearing one ... unpleasant."

After Fergus answers that question he asks, "Is a change in government common here? Do they usually have a smooth transition of power or is it a difficult time?"

"No, there is no law about the compulsory wearing masks so you may safely avoid that should you wish. I believe there is a prize for the best mask however, so you will find that many of the residents of the city will be participating. From what I could tell in my prison it was a highly popular event with the locals."

Fergus tucks into his Pot Luck pie, savouring the flavours that the cook has enshrined in his creation. The condiments on the table have been left randomly scattered about the table and Fergus takes time to straighten them in a descending order of height in a line in the centre of the table.

"As to changes of government I can tell you little I'm afraid. The last one happened 15 years ago when I was six and I don't really remember it. From what I have read there was no trouble at the time, or at least nothing was written of any disturbances."

Fergus takes time to watch Aiden closely during the trump contact to try and see if he can detect any of the telltales signs that it is happening.

"The Progressives I understand have just won power from the Federalists and the Chancellor will be a man from Haven. What the parties current policies are I am afraid to say I did not really involve myself in since I could never vote for either and officially I did not exist here as a resident."

"What did you make of the woodcuts by the way?"

(Occ - David? What does Karlsen notice about the woodcut votives?)

Karlsen says to Fergus in a very low voice, but not a whisper, "Well it does give us an excellent way to get you into the city. With you wearing a mask it is much less likely that you will be recognized, as long as you keep your most distinctive things straight."

"Perhaps a partial mask would suffice to help us fit in. Then we will just be three more revilers among many.” He idly takes out a sketch book and starts sketching out a design on one of the pages.