Welcome to Phantasy Island (Aiden)

Without knowing exactly why but feeling pulled by the intensity of the developing scene below, Aiden makes his way back down along the winding trail and onto the wharves. Avoiding the gathering onlookers he threads his way between the low buildings and around the knots of workers until he comes to stand along side the pier which the rescue boats should be returning to.

( Perhaps Aiden can pick up some relevant snatches of conversation from the sailors and longshoremen before the rescue boats come in )

By the time Aiden reaches the harbor, medical persons are on hand while constables insist a gathering crown not interfere or get too close. They don't have to make too much effort. Most visitors to Gont have no abiding interest in misfortune--either having had their fill elsewhere or enjoying a pampered life where such things remain thankfully far away. Disaster remains fascinating, but not quite so compelling. The majority more or less keep their distance.

So few try to get any closer, the officials don't object when those few succeed.

Including Aiden. Survivors of the Seawing are carried in stretches, placed on the sand while some doctors examine them on the spot. All receive flasks of water to sip. The youngest one, with the eyepatch, talks to a robed official. "All the young men--they just jumped over the side, they did! We all heard the music coming out of the water, we all heard it. But they must've heard more. But when we tried to stop them jumping, that's when the storms closed in!"

On the first stretcher, the blue-skinned man with the long gray beard said one word, intoning it as he would a seal of doom: "Mere-wives!"

Aiden waits quietly trying to keep a low profile until the doctors have finished administering aid to the blue skinned man and moved on to the next. If possible he will then move closer in order to speak to the shaken sailor.

In truth the three aren't so much sick as exhausted, not wounded but thirsty and hungry. Aiden can quite easily approach the middle one--well into middle age but younger than the Rebman. He seems less upset, more stoic. Certainly he looks at Aiden with clear eyes.

Aiden walks up to the middle one pulling a small whiskey flask from his back pocket and offering it to the sailor. "Looks like you all had a hard time of it out there. I've been in a few bad storms myself, but you look like you've seen a ghost. What happened out there?

The man takes sip of the whiskey, and visibly stops himself from taking more. With weary eyes he looks into Aiden's own.

"Nord over there calls 'em mere-wives. Says he grew'up hearing stories about the things. Daughters of some sea god or sea demon or something. We didn't see 'em. None of us did. None of us. Maybe the others didn't neither." He loses focus for a moment, then recovers, speaking stronger. "Almost ten days back, Seawing goes through a storm. No big thing. Just a squall. But in the center of it, all was still. Save for the edges. In a perfect circle they were, spouts of water goin' dozens and dozens of feet in the air! All in time with this music, music from under the water. Pretty it seemed, at first. Then all the able-bodied men start heading over the rails, into the water! Nord yells something about the mere-wives taking the young men, and then screams to stop when we try to keep them from going overboard. Was right. Unicorn, he was right! That simple squall turned into a hurricane! And that nice quite circle? Closed in around us. Barely made it out. Poor Seawing got battered up bad! But Nord, he says these mere-wive things never leave their own paths. Never break the dance he says. Says they were somewhere new, and that shouldn't ought to have happened."

Curiouser and curiourser
Aiden pats the sailor on the shoulder. "Don't worry, brother. You're allright now." Aiden gestures to the small flask, "You can keep that if you want. Might do you more good than me."

A strange and frightening tale, to be sure. The shadows seem to be getting more and more squirrelly these days. But now back to my own strange business." Aiden disengages from the sailor and begins to wander along the docks...

Along the docks people seem mostly busy, with only a few tourists wandering around. Gont being the size it is, things are rarely far from each other. A variety of novelty shops ring one waterside street. Seashell art. Driftwood art. One story that caters to unique designs of mirrors, some clearly enchanted in one way or another. Another place has meticulously worked out models of wooden sailing ships. Aiden knows ships well enough to see the high prices make sense. Even the rigging is accurate.

One ship catches his eye--it resembles the Golden Hind back on Earth. A little larger, probably a little faster. Two feet in length with sails that look perfect, as does the planking on the decks, the tiny portholes and even the glass on those portholes. A beautiful woman is the figurehead, long brown hair waving in the wind. But it is the flag that gets his attention most of all. It wouldn't have one hour previously but now...

Surprise Now if that don't beat all. Aiden walks into the shop containing the beautiful ship flying the strange ensign. Looking around he spots a man who appears to be the merchant who runs the store. Going up to him, Aiden says, "Pardon me. I was noticing a very interesting model pirate ship you have for sale, the one flying the skull and unicorn. The detailing and craftsmanship is exquisite. I was wondering if you could tell me how you came by such a marvelous piece. Perhaps you know the artist? I should be interested in acquiring further works of art from such a talent. "

"Ah, Captain Medraut's ship? Yes, well, young Guillaume is quite a fan of pirate ships." The shop owner sings the praises of this work, certainly doing his best to get Aiden to buy the model (the Rogue Heart) but eventually giving him an address.

Guillaume it turns out lives on the other side of the harbor, one of several children of port official.

"Ah, splended", says Aiden. He reaches into his wallet and pulls out some local currency - what would amount to a $50 bill. Handing it to the shop owner, " I'd consider it a favor if you'd hold the Rogue Heart for me for a bit. I'll pick it up and pay the balance when I return. Might be a few days. And now, is there a place close by where I might hire or rent a conveyance to take me to this address?

The local equivalent of taxis are easy enough to find. En route, Aiden feels a sensation he identifies easily enough, even without having experienced it quite that much. Some one is trying to contact him via Trump.

Well it HAS been awhile since I've seen any of my kinsmen. Wonder what's up?
Aiden opens himself to the contact......

Aiden can sense his Cousin Mint through the contact. Her regard for him shines like a beacon. Although Mint remains entirely unaggressive Aiden can sense that she has a powerful will. (Amber Psyche or better)

"Greetings Cousin. I hope that I'm not interrupting anything important or at least that if I am interrupting then I'm interrupting something interesting."

Aiden can easily tell that Mint is in her room in Castle Amber or a reasonable facsimile thereof. She has her hair braided in a complex updo, but wears a simple gown for lounging about the Castle rather than her party frock.

Seeing that Aiden is in a carriage alone and might welcome a diversion she barrels ahead. "You haven't made it back to Amber in the last few days have you? We have three new cousins... twins and a spare... the most eccentric ones yet."

Mints eyes twinkle with enthusiasm.

"Their welcome party tonight should prove fascinating. If Aunt Fi insults anyone she may do it out of habit rather than boredom."

The thought brings a tiny smile to Mint's face.

"I know that you're not much of a one for parties, but I thought it a shame not to give you a chance to attend this one. Shall I bring you through?"

Aiden grins in response. " Hello, love. Such a pleasant face is never an interruption. I've been meaning to get in touch but I've been a little busy as of late. Three more cousins, you say, and a party? Sounds like it will be quite the festive event. Wish I could make it but I'm sort of in the middle of something right now. To make a long story short, I was hired to find a small object for a new client and it turned out to contain something quite mysterious that might be of significant import. I'm following up a minor lead at the moment. I was supposed to meet the client here on the Isle of Gont later today for the exchange, but I think I may have to cancel the contract...something I've never had to do before, as you know. Speaking of which, do you happen to know if anyone in the family has ever come across any unusual trumps in their travels, specifically any with a red unicorn on a black field on the back? I just so happen to have one. The portrait on the front is of a blond woman that I have never seen before."

Mint pouts momentarily when told that Aiden will not make the party in a not entirely serious, but still disappointed way.

"Oh, the Crimson Unicorn Trumps."

Mint reaches forward out of sight and in a moment her hand returns holding one up so Aiden can see the design on the back.

"As near as I can tell they seem like full Trumps created by someone of the Blood. Uncle Bleys found one in an area otherwise devastated by Shadow Storms. The Trump itself remained untouched of course. The twins have the only Crimson Unicorn Trump of a person I have seen. It features a scarlet haired woman."

Mint concentrates for a moment and visualizes the image of the woman from the twins Trump in order to share it with Aiden.

"Fiona tried that Trump without success. No one has recognized her so far."

Mints curiosity becomes an almost palpable force through the contact.

"Have you tried the Trump that you found? Might I see the image of this blonde?"

"Seems like everyone's heard of these things but me, and here I thought I was special." Aiden wrinkles his brow as he catches the image Mint is holding. "A blond and a redhead. My amazing psychic powers predict one of us will find a card bearing a brunette in the near future", Aiden laughs. "Yep, I tried to use the trump earlier this morning. Almost knocked me on my ass when I did....quite an intense experience. It felt like I was inside of a dream...or a kaleidoscope of old memories. There were flashes of Oberon, so it must have been imagery from some time ago. Also I saw something like the Pattern but in a strange courtyard. The one set of images that kept returning were those of a beautiful city of towering domes...gave the feeling of someplace huge and important, almost Amber-like in that sense. Here, half a sec...."
Aiden reaches into his shirt pocket and pulls out the trump holding it where Mint can see it. He continues, " You say the new twins have a set? Don't suppose they vouchsafed the provenance of the new deck, did they? "

"No such luck. And they only have one Crimson Unicorn card. The rest feature a variant on our Unicorn. Although one of those also features the redhead."

Mint frowns for a moment.

"Do you have a Trump of me?"

" Unfortunately, no I don't. Nor of Bleys either or I would contact him to find out what his take on all this is. My personal trump deck is far from complete and I don't yet have the necessary skills to create a working trump yet. I suppose I should take care of that the next time I'm back in Amber. "
Noticing that he appears to be getting close to his destination, Aiden continues. " About the Crimson Unicorn. Just before you called me I was in shop along the waterside here checking out a very nicely crafted model of a pirate ship called the Rogue Heart, said to belong to a Captain Medraut. It was flying a Jolly Roger ensign along with a red unicorn - same as the one on the backs of the cards. Pass that along would ya...see if it means anything to anybody back home. I'm headed to the home of the builder to see what I can turn up. Should be there in just a few minutes."

"Well I won't keep you then, but we should stay in touch."

Mint reaches for something out of sight behind the Trump and her hand comes back holding another Trump.

"I will loan you a copy of my Trump so you can reach me just in case."

Mint offers a Trump of herself through the contact. It has the traditional Unicorn backing, but the artist seems different from that of the decks most family members carry.

"Best wishes and good travels to you cousin."

The taxi doesn't take long to reach Guillaume's address. Aiden sees the area is very close to a ship-wright's area. Several vessels look to be under construction or repair at the moment. Guillaume's address turns out to be one of several cottages that that share a large yard with a bigger house.

"Thanks, love," Aiden says, " Hope to see you soon. I'll be interested to hear what transpired at the party." Curious style thinks Aiden, looking over the trump he's just received. There seem to be a number of Trump artists around these days
He pulls some currency from his pocket and hands it to the driver. "Thanks, mate." Stepping from the coach, Aiden surveys the area. Lives near the shipyard. I bet the detailing of the model is so precise because he's actually seen the ship up close. Was the pirate ship built here or does Captain Medraut make this one of his ports of call for hull cleaning and refitting? But what would a pirate ship be doing HERE on this island and who does Medraut see if and when he is in port?
Aiden walks up the flagstone path leading to the yard (or to the main house if that is the only entrance to the cottages beyond ).

The cottage where Guillaume is said to live is a simple one, easily approachable from the street (Gont has an extremely low crime rate).

Actually, the front of the cottage is open, not unlike an open porch. A tall, thin, dark-haired young man in his twenties sits over a work table. Around him are various carpentry tools, but clearly designed for things fairly small scale. Before him are the ribs of a ship model held in a clamp while he applies a strip of wood, making part of the outer hull of a large ship.

Other ships models in various degrees of completion rest on shelves behind him.

Tacked to the wall is a pastel sketch of a beautiful brown-haired young woman with (of all things) gold eyes. It takes him a moment to realize here is the model for the figurehead on the Rogue Heart.

Aiden walks up to the front of the cottage and knocks on the threshold. "Master Guillaume I presume. I hope I'm not disturbing you....."

The young man (it is indeed Guillaume) looks up from his work. "Oh not at all." He finishes applying the strip of wood carefully but smoothly. No beginner he!

Then he stands and reaches out his hand to the visitor. "How can I help you?"