The Dying Unicorn

Ow....that hurt. Last thing you remembered was being in Castle Amber, when a shockwave of trump energy, like that of a nuclear explosion, ripped through the entire palace with the point of detonation where the Pattern would be. It disintegrated your atoms one by one, and your last sight was that of a rainbow...

And now you've awakened, for some reason on the brink of a ledge, about a quarter of the way down of a chasm. It is night time. You think you hear the sound of some walking above you. It might take 20 minutes to climb up, 30 minutes to climb down, or less than a few seconds to fall down. The ledge is crumbling, under your weight.

Laurel quickly examines her surroundings, searching for solid hand- and foot-holds, or failing that, cracks or fissures which might provide a knife-hold. If needed, she draws a dagger from her belt, then makes her way up the side of the chasm, as quietly as she can.

Easy enough; you reach the top in 20 minutes.

Once at the top, you notice a few things immediately: the sun is rising, a boy stands between you and a swamp, on the swamp is a boat with a red-haired woman dressed in fine clothing, and a footman, and another woman. The boy looks like he's from an industrial society. There are also hounds behind the boat, running across the swamp waters. There is also jungle surrounding the

swamp lands. Actually, there is a glacier to the south, and a desert to the north, and across the canyon is a volcanic mountain (not active), with a fortress on the rim, and an industrial city on the slopes.

I think you missed a post. You climbed up successfully, and what you saw was the following situation: on the other side of the chasm, there is an extinct volcano with a fortress on the rim, and an industrial city on its southern slope. On this side of the chasm, there is a jungle mixed in incongruously with swampland. On the swamp land there is a boat. On the boat there are two women, and a footman. Between the boat and you, there is a boy who was carrying a sack. Behind the boat there are hounds running across the water towards the boat. You're between the boy and the boat.

Laurel (rodr@mail.enterprise.net), meet Andelia (sdo@visi.com). Please exchange current appearances, and speak, if you wish.

Andelia's one of the two women in the boat (Tony has probably described the other, red-headed, woman already).

She's wearing what looks like riding gear, a open-necked shirt of dark blue, with (if you can see them) pants of dark grey tucked into calf-length boots. She's been looking over her shoulder to watch the water-hounds, so you'd have seen her long plait of black hair, tied with a couple of yellow ribbons. No sign of any weapons about her.

The dogs running behind the boat are now catching up to it. As previously described, they are foaming at the mouth, black, have silver streaks, big teeth, and are about the size of wolves. They stay at bay, growling, but do not attack.

The boy throws himself at Laurel's feet. "Oh, Lady, pertect me from them! They're trying to capture me and bring me back to Gar! He'll beat me again!" He starts crying and grovelling. "Don't let them touch me!"

The red-haired woman says, "We do not know anyone named Gar. We just want to talk to you, boy. We won't hurt you. Honest. My name's Clarissa, and this is Andelia and Rosenkrantz." She looks up at Laurel, then back at the boy. "What's your name, and your friend's name? And are these your dogs?"

The boy hisses, "Liars! You're Gar's women, specially you! Don't think I don't recognize that red hair anywhere! Oh, miss," he begs Laurel, "please, help me escape from them!"

The black haired woman in the boat keeps an eye on the dogs.

The black-haired woman snorts a little at this, "If they're not your dogs, then what was that whistle you blew for. You blew the whistle, and we started hearing them. Before you blew the whistle, there were no dogs..."

"As to Gar, I'm no one's woman but my own."

"Calm yourself, child" Laurel says to the boy. "Who is this Gar you seem to fear so much? And why do you think he will beat you? If you need protection, I will give it if I can, and if it be lawful for me to do so. "

To the women in the boat, she adds "I am named Laurel MacLir. The boy is unknown to me, and must speak for himself. The dogs are none of mine, either. I had thought them perhaps to be yours. Why do you pursue the boy? What know you of him?"

Laurel is a fairly tall, slender woman, with waist length platinum blond hair, tied back in a pony tail. She's wearing a white blouse, dark blue corduroy trousers, white calf-length boots and various items of jewellery - a couple of rings, a bracelet, a velvet choker bearing a gem-stone and a brooch can be seen, while a silver chain disappears into her blouse.

"He...he's the commandant of the Elektra forces" the boy tells Laurel. You are on the brink of Elektra. He's also my brother, and he has punished me before."

The boy looks like he was caught in a fib concerning the dogs. "Those aren't my dogs, but I stole the whistle from Gar. I knew the dogs won't hurt me...I thought they might distract THEM. But you gotta believe me! Gar won't go kind on me if he gets his hands on me."

Andelia stops watching the dogs so closely, as they seem to be holding their distance, though she does keep flicking an eye over them to be sure of where they are.

"Laurel, to answer your question as to why we've been following the boy, it's because he seems to be able to move in an interesting, and rather unusual, fashion. When I first encountered him, he was breaking through the ice of a river in a place that had white snow, dancing snowmen, and people chasing him, but then when I got out onto the ice above him in an effort to save him from drowning, the snowmen and the people pursuing him were gone, as was my horse, and the snow had turned a pinkish color. We, the lady Clarissa and I, just wanted to talk to him, but he continued to flee. So we followed him, making no effort to hurt him as we did so."

Clarissa isn't listening. She appears to be in some sort of mental communication.

Andelia's focused on Laurel and the boy, and to a lesser extent the dogs.

Pondering for a moment, Laurel decides against revealing her ignorance by asking further questions.

Addressing the boy, Laurel asks "And how did you know the dogs would not hurt you. boy? There is more to this than you have told, I think. And what is your name, child?"

"They don't attack humans unless you know the commands. I grew up 'round them. They call me the boy, mostly. Or Zenn," he replies.

"Well, Zenn, I'm pleased to meet you" says Laurel

Andelia loses a bit of her frostiness as she says, "Hello, Zenn."

"Well, child, it seems that these ladies are merely curious about the colour of the snow. Will you speak with them?".

He sniffles. "Okay. But I get to ask you questions too. And we can't stay here too long. The Warden won't like it. She's gonna hafta arrest you if you're here without a pass, cuz Ava's pretty strick 'bout that."

Andelia raises an eyebrow at this, then nods. "By all means, in that case we might not want to linger here. Unless, that is, this was your destination?" She looks at Laurel.

"No, this isn't my destination. I'm just ..... passing through. as it were. So, Zenn, perhaps you could take us somewhere where we can talk without having to worry about this Warden you referred to?"

"Oh, if you think the Warden's bad you're wrong. I like her very, very much; she's my sister. Just that Denni has to listen to Ava." He takes a good look at both Laurel and Andelia. "You two look like each other. 'Cept the hair, I mean, and the eyes."

Andelia looks at Laurel, then nods, "Looks like it, have to admit."

Looking back at Andelia, Laurel replies "You think so? Well, maybe".

He scratches his head. "Oh! I know where I can take you! There's a place in the jungle closeby that nobody knowsbout but me!" He begins to run through the forest. "Come on!" The hounds run after him.

Andelia looks skywards.

Laurel shrugs, and follows Zenn.

Rosenkrantz looks at his mistress, who is under intense concentration at the moment. He shrugs. "We'll catch up, misses. I'll make sure the Lady Clarissa follows shortly." Clarissa doesn't look to be under any stress, but she's blind to the world at the moment.

Andelia looks concerned, then nods. "All right, I'll go, but catch up when she's ready."

Within 10 mins, the jungle gives way to some trees that don't quite belong in a jungle, but are more appropriate for a forest. It's a beautiful glade with idyllic charm, and it gives both of you a sense of calm. The grove seems quite out of place in the middle of a jungle.

Laurel recognizes this place immediately. You recognize this place as the Grove of the Unicorn. If so, then the geography roughly matches up with Amber...the volcano's where Kolvir ought to be, the city's in the right place, the desert to the north has replaced the mountains and sea, the sea to the south has been replaced by the glacier, and the tower to the south must be Cabra. It's not a perfect fit, though.

Using the available landmarks, Laurel tries to locate Amber Castle.

The closest thing would be the fortress around the top of the volcano.

Zenn smiles and says, "I love this place! So few people even know 'bout it."

Andelia looks around, not so much ill at ease as non-plussed by the change in the terrain.

Kal looks abashed and embarrassed by Caine's cruel remarks, and his eyes betray the fact that the blacksmith feels the guilt of the murderer's escape all too keenly. He runs a hand through hair as black as Caine's own, though his fingers are still stained with the soot and ash from the forge.

"Milord, I'm sorry" Kal begins to stammer an apology, searching for the words that will let him recover a measure of honor in this man's eyes. "I could not know of what -"

It's only then that the shimmering rainbow comes through the wall with a silent certainty, prismatic colors dancing amid the spray from the sewers trenches. The ground rumbles like the angry thundering of an ancient god, and Kal can only stare at the approaching iridescent wall. For just an instant before he's engulfed, he thinks to himself 'It's beautiful'

Darkness

The boy follows a rainbow dragonfly over to the small pond at the edge of the Grove, trying to catch it. As you watch, the dragonfly lands on the surface of the water. A fish in the pond leaps up and swallows it. As it does so, a rainbow energy envelops the fish, as well as other similar fish in the pond, and they suddenly merge and transform into a naked man, sitting in the pool of water!

"Criminy," says the boy.

The black-haired woman jumps a little at the rainbow energy, her eyes wide and the fingers of her left hand spread. When she sees the naked man sitting in the pool, though, she seems to relax a little, her fingers closing again.

Waking is a near-painful experience as a riot of colors and sounds assault his senses, as if he had been dragged forcibly into the heart of a summer's day. Blue eyes open suddenly, and Kal sits up, unsure of where he is, or how he might have arrived there. A boy is watching him, as are two women; Kal is all-too acutely aware instantly of his noticeable lack of clothing. He colors deeply, though his confusion fights a war for the paramount emotion.

The Grove but -not- The Grove

He scowls angrily at the boy watching him, the one who looks like a street urchin from any of the alleys in the city.

"Don't sit there and gape find me some pants!"

Laurel laughs, a merry, tinkling laugh, and says "That may be a problem. The nearest gent's outfitters is some distance away, I fear".

Kal crouches like an animal in the pool, attempting a pathetic demonstration of modesty. He looks up towards both women, obviously highborn, not daring to meet their eyes.

"Forgive me, miladies I cannot explain my sudden.. uh, situation "

Kal is a commoner, through and through. He stands an easy 6'4" tall, and weighs 210lbs. From what the two women can see, there is almost no fat on the man, and it looks as though he might have been chiselled from marble as a demonstration of human musculature. His hair is the black of a raven's wing, cut extremely short. His eyes are azure blue, which probably contrast sharply to the deep red of embarrassment. His hands are larger than you might expect, with thick wrists indicating a life of labor. He is scarred in more than a few places, and what look like burns in various spots can be seen. All in all, he looks quite like the peasant you might expect.

The black-haired woman smiles at that. Her voice is quite musical, as she says, "What, sir, appearing in a pool in a shimmer of rainbow light is not your normal method of travel?" The tone suggests both amusement and a question, but no real mockery.

Kal's embarrassment only deepens, and he lowers his eyes even further. "No, milady, 'tis not. I cannot truly explain my arrival here..."

The boy stares even more. "I smell something fishy," he says, trying to hold back his laughter. "He wants some trout-sers! Sorry, there are no pants around here. I could get you some leaves though."

This earns the boy another glare, though Kal quickly looks away.

Turning to Zenn, Laurel asks "As you're the one who knows his way around this area, have you any suggestions to help this unfortunate man?"

Laurel is a fairly tall, slender woman, with waist length platinum blond hair, tied back in a pony tail. She's wearing a white blouse, dark blue corduroy trousers, white calf-length boots and various items of jewellery - a couple of rings, a bracelet, a velvet choker bearing a gem-stone and a brooch can be seen, while a silver chain disappears into her blouse.

Zenn scratches his head. "We can try the city if we're desperate. Or I can take you to Kolvir if you want something that fits you."

The black-haired woman thinks for a moment, then smiles at the man in the pool. "Actually, I'll be right back. I don't have a man's clothes, per se, but a dark-grey cloak will go a long way to covering your nakedness, which might help your situation."

Kal looks up at her, his face a reflection of pure gratitude, like a dog that has been recently thrown a bone. "I would be most grateful, milady..."

Noticing Kal's embarrassment, Laurel, smiling, turns her gaze to the fortress at the top of the volcano.

There seems to be a commotion on the slopes, and there are men appearing at the top of the fortress walls. But the view is too far away to make out further details.

Andelia isn't back yet.

A unicorn limps forlornly into the Grove. Not THE unicorn... but a unicorn never the less. Its front right leg is bleeding profusely. It lies down on the ground, tears flowing.

At the appearance of the wounded unicorn, Kal stands up and begins to move as if to help the injured creature, before catching himself and recalling his own nudity. His eyes are filled with concern, but at the moment, his ability to help seems limited. His jaw sets then, and modesty is thrown to the wind. He uncurls from the fountain, and walks quickly over to there the unicorn lies, inspecting the leg to see if any aid might be prudent.

Laurel slowly approaches the creature.

She gently examines its leg, trying to determine the seriousness of the wound, and to carry out any first aid she may be able to.

The unicorn lies there. It broadcasts psychically, but weakly.

<<Laurel-daughter-of-Deirdre? Dying-In-Shadow-Of-Passing-Summer misses Deirdre-thousand-years-unseen, and my foal. Where is my foal?>> The wound looks infected, and the unicorn is in bad condition. Laurel remembers that her mother used to talk about a unicorn she was very fond of in the past.

In the blink of an eye, three mounted figures appear in the Grove of the Unicorn magically. Here's what's in the Grove at the moment:

Zenn, a young boy about 12 years old, who is sitting with his feet in the little pond in the Grove. He's dressed in urchin's rags. (NPC)

Kal, a near-naked man with little clothing on at the moment. (PC)

Laurel. (PC)

A dying unicorn (not THE Unicorn), whose leg has a wound that appears infected. Laurel is tending to it.

Rosenkrantz, seated on a horse (NPC). Red goatee, red hair, rose coloured clothing.

Urda, a young boy about 12 yrs old (PC). Also on a horse.

Andelia. (PC) also on a horse.

Andelia turns her head to Urda,

"Urda, that's Laurel MacLir over there by the unicorn; the boy is Zenn, he's supposedly the Warden's brother; and I don't think I was introduced to the man before I went back to the boat to get my cloak for him."

Andelia swings off her horse, carrying a bundle of clothing. She walks over to Kal, tossing him the dark grey cloak she's holding. "Got a little delayed, but here it is, as promised. What's happened since I left?"

Kal takes the cloak gratefully, not daring to meet Andelia's eyes, despite the difference in their height. "My humble thanks, milady..." He looks back at the fallen creature. "She stumbled from the wood there, and collapsed..."

Laurel looks wide eyed at the unicorn. After a moment, she replies <<Yes, I am Laurel, daughter of Deirdre. I've not seen your foal. I'm sorry>>. To herself, she thinks **Deirdre, thousand years unseen? Sweet unicorn, where am I? When am I? Oh dear, what have I gotten into?**

Gathering her wits, she checks her Gem, for hung spells, hoping that something useful might have survived the Pattern explosion. A healing spell would be useful.

All spells in the gem appear to have survived with just some modifications required on some of the spells.

If there is nothing useful there, she will look around the grove for healing herbs. If that comes up blank, she will begin constructing a healing spell, from scratch, hoping that the unicorn can survive long enough for her to cast it.

Casting the spell on the wound doesn't help much... the bleeding stops, but there appears to be still some sort of poison in her system. There are some herbs, but you're going to figure out what kind of poison it is. It does not have any similarities to anything you've encountered hitherto.

Laurel tries to remember what her mother had told her about the unicorn, especially if she had mentioned a name for it.

Summer is what she called the unicorn.

<< Summer >> broadcasts Laurel, << do you know any way I can help you? I've stopped the bleeding, but I don't know how I can clear the poisons out of the wound >>.

The unicorn is weak, and can't form coherent thoughts now.

If Summer cannot tell her anything, Laurel will next turn to the local boy, Zenn, saying "Zenn, this unicorn has a poisoned wound. Do you know of anything that we might be able to use to help her?".

If Zenn also is unable to help, she will ask the same question of the others in the grove.

Zenn has a tear in his eye. "Poor unicorn... maybe Nin will be able to help. She lives in the tower to the south," he says, pointing to a spire on the glacier that has a vague resemblance to a unicorn's horn. "If we can get her there... she's good with animals. Sort of."

"I don't think she's going to be able to travel, Zenn. The poison has too strong a grip by now. Might we be able to persuade Nin to come to her here, do you think?".

Laurel tries to estimate the distance to the tower. She then takes another look round the grove, this time hoping to find a pool of water.

[There's the pool/pond that Kal appeared in in a shower of rainbow light....]

Kal stands behind her, awkwardly. "Can anything be done?"

"I've managed to stop the bleeding, but the wound is still poisoned. If you know anything of such things, I'd be grateful for your help. Otherwise, I'm not sure what we can do for her. Zenn has mentioned a wise woman living in the spire over on the glacier who may be able to help. ".

Kal, who has remained quiet during the exchange until this part, speaks up from the back, though his tone remains slightly unsure. "Milady Laurel, there was a woman who passed through my father's forge one winter who claimed that the blood of nobles such as yourself possessed the most fantastic properties. Since you seem to share a rapport with this unicorn, perhaps there is truth in the tales of old women, and an anti-toxin might be found within your own veins. A minor bit of sorcery will almost certainly allow your blood to hunt down the poison and cleanse it from the unicorn's system "

"An interesting notion, Kal. I'm not aware of any such power of my blood, though I must say I can't rule out the possibility. If no other ideas occur to us, it may well be worth trying."

Kal simply nods and falls silent once more.

The albino turns his horse towards Kal. "Look we're going to need to talk. You Trumped to here. Trump is extremely dangerous right now! Were you sent through or did you come on your own? Have you contacted any people lately? If not, don't! Gerard is covered in a black skin-like thing 'cause of Trump. You look a little like him."

Kal looks up sharply, the warm brown eyes suddenly going dark with surprise or anger. He lowers his head almost immediately, as if remembering his place among nobles. "Milord, I thank you for the kind words - I have been told in the past that I bear some slight resemblance to that Prince, yes. You say he is himself in need?" He coughs then, slightly. "As for my arrival" Kal looks down, where he stands clad only in a grey cloak, and still dripping wet from his immersion in the fountain. "Had I been able to choose the method of doing so, it would have been with a good deal more clothing and certainly a bit drier."

Urda looks surprised, ducks his head and covers his mouth with his hand. He looks up at Kal, smiles at him. "Please don't call me that. I'm not one of the princes."

Laurel looks up at this. "There's a problem with trump?" she inquires. "Thanks for the warning; that was going to be on my must-do list. Do you know anything more about the nature of the danger?".

"I felt myself be tainted through a connection and saw a Trump go black and crumble in Gerard's hand. He was covered in a black skin like thing that had veins and stuff. Don't Call anyone, don't take calls! I can get in touch with you another way if you'll tell me who your parent(s) are. The Amberite one(s). Maybe Chaosian too."

"Has Gerard been able to remove this black skin?" Laurel asks. Or if not, is he all right? This is Gerard, Prince of Amber, son of Oberon we're talking about?" asks Laurel.

"Not last I heard. He must've been Shadow-tumbled too. Yes, *that* Gerard."

"As to my parents, Deirdre is my mother, Kireyas my father. Does that help? And may I enquire as to your parents?"

"Dworkin."

"Oh. Okay. Most people have two parents, but with Dworkin, I guess anything's possible"

Laurel stands, and walks to the pool recently vacated by Kal. Gazing into its reflective surface, she tries to determine whether it is calm enough to risk opening it, as a possible route to the spire. Always assuming that she can find a suitably large mirror within the spire, of course. If so, would she have to enter the mirrorworld to look for the spire, or can it be done through the surface, from this side?

Kal looks sharply over at Andelia and says, "Could you send me to where Gerard might be?"

Andelia, without so much as a warning, decided to help out the unicorn situation by sending Zenn, the unicorn, Kal, and Laurel to the spire on the glacier. *POOF*

Well, that was a surprise teleportation. Andelia must have aimed well... you appear INSIDE the tower, in what appears to be the ground floor. It looks awfully advanced inside, although the decor is gothic steampunk in a way. There is a door that leads outside, and a complex elevator device with all sorts of switches. There are no stairs.

With a startled look at her new surroundings, Laurel murmurs "Well! Now where are we? It certainly seems to be my day for unexpected translocations".

Zenn chatters excitedly. "We're here! Can we do that again!"

"Again?" murmurs Laurel, weakly. "I should certainly hope not. Not for a while, at least. I'd like to be able to get my bearings for a while. And we have this poor creature to look after".


Contributor: Rid Ridgeway (rodr@mail.enterprise.net)
Editor/Webmaster: Scott Olson (sdo@nospam.visi.com)
Gamemaster: Tony Pi (cpi@po-box.mcgill.ca)