1.       Departure and Arrival.

Late spring always was the most delightful time in Amber. Although at times high light clouds could obscure the morning sun, just like today, it almost never rained this time of year. The air was cool and crisp and carried the aroma of blooming flowers. High on Mount Kolvir in the Royal Castle most of the living quarters’ windows were wide open and from the Castle gardens, one could clearly see two slender girls in a large room on the third floor. They were conversing with much agitation but their voices were low, almost whispers, so not much could be overheard.

A shorter one, sitting cross-legged in a large armchair, was dressed in a riding suit of green suede – tight trousers and knee-high boots also green, ascertaining her long shapely legs – and a white cotton shirt underneath. Her red hair fell free to her mid-back, and she wore no jewelry, except for a large medallion on a thin gold chain around her neck. A rare black opal was framed in gold and embedded with diamonds forming a falling star surrounded by a starry background. She bore a striking resemblance to Lady Fiona – same height, same smoldering hair, same mother of pearl complexion. Although a closer look revealed that the girl’s always half-veiled by long lashes eyes were not green like Fiona’s, but gray and icy-cold and stabbing as if two dagger blades, such likeness would have doubtless caused much confusion were she to reside in Amber. But she did not. Since their yet to be explained escape from the Abyss, neither Brand nor Deirdre had ever returned to Amber. While Deirdre’s whereabouts remained a mystery to all, it was known to some that Brand had taken residence in one of the rather remote shadows to the west. It was there, in a large manor amidst the whispering woods of his vast estates, that he had raised his daughter, her mother having had disappeared shortly after her birth. Though a Princess of Amber, in her 21 years Elektra had been to the realm only twice. The first time – to walk the Grand Pattern of Amber upon her 16th birthday. This was her second time. Just a short while ago her cousin Scarlett had pulled her in through a Trump.

Scarlett was doing most of the talking. A buxom, athletic girl, standing 5-feet 7-inches tall, quick-witted and extremely agile, she was just a few months younger than Elektra. Her shoulder length hair was also bright red – a trademark of Oberon and Clarissa offspring – but her large eyes were blue and her resemblance to her mother, Fiona was much less than that of her cousin – an uncommon perhaps but not unknown occurrence. Today she was dressed for adventure – in black, tight-fitting leather leggings tucked into reddish-brown, calf-high boots and a loose, crimson tunic covered by a silver chain mail. One would be foolish indeed to mistake a saber with a jeweled hilt on her left hip for just an accessory – after several years of studying military arts, she was by now one of the best swords in Amber. That was according to her teacher, Uncle Bleys, whom she totally adored and whose judgment could be safely relied upon in these matters. As a child, Scarlett had done much travel with her mother, but a few years ago she had been brought back to Amber to be given a more formal education and taught the ways of the court. Seemed another day in this place and she would go mad. Study, study, study, study. That was all she had been doing since Uncle Bleys had gone into Shadow to do ‘something’. She had been dead set on traveling out for an adventure for quite some time, but today was the day to finally make it happen.

While of the same age, give or take a few months, and first cousins, the girls’ temperaments could not possibly differ more. A subtle elegance of sometimes ironic, on occasion sarcastic, and always calculating, Brand’s daughter was a sharp contrast to the feline grace and proud dignity of the plainspoken warrior-girl. Their experiences were also very much apart. Endowed with a photographic memory, a razor-sharp analytical mind, and an insatiable curiosity and left free to roam a huge library amassed by her father, Elektra had become a depository of an amazingly vast theoretical knowledge from aerodynamics to the Zen religion of Shadow Earth. However, her familiarity with practical implementations of those theories in technologies higher than that of a medieval estate of her father – though Brand had introduced some improvements, such as running water – was almost non-existent, even though she had visited shadow Earth once or twice. Scarlet, on the other hand, had been through a kaleidoscopic variety of cultures and technologies, while never giving much thought to the underlining rationales. Just sit there patiently tugging on loose ends, waiting for the whole knot to come apart as Ele would do – why bother? Much faster and simpler to just cut it with the sword.

Although Brand had expressly forbidden his daughter to visit Amber – neither girl could ever figure out the reason for this odd ban – he had not mentioned anything about receiving trump calls or visitors. So in spite of their differences, or perhaps because of them – by virtue of opposites’ attraction – the cousins had grown very close, in fact, close enough for usually reserved Elektra to confide in Scarlett her plans to travel to, out of all places, the Courts of Chaos. She just would not tell why. Scarlett had not insisted on explanations. Brand seemed to be in a rather poor health lately, so she had assumed some rare medicines could be found at the Courts. And if not, what did it matter? Here was the adventure she had been so eagerly looking for! To have Ele as a traveling companion would be most wonderful. Although those delicate long-fingered hands looked totally alien to any kind of weapon – a quite incorrect assumption, as Elektra’s fencing mentor was Brand himself, not to mention her considerable skills in throwing pointed stars – Elektra possessed a much more potent weapon. A Pattern adept herself, as was any member of the Royal Family, and a daughter of the utmost authority on the Pattern, Scarlett had been dazzled by the total control displayed by her cousin so easily on many occasions. All the legendary powers Brand had obtained by immerging in the energies of the Black Fount in the Keep of the Four Worlds, his daughter seemed to simply inherit. Scarlett often wondered if this immense power was the reason for Ele being kept away from Amber. Seemed strange though, as everyone knew that the Pattern magic did not work in Amber. But there was no one to ask – any mention of Brand’s daughter at social functions was usually met with uncomfortable looks and a quick change of subject. Even Scarlett’s mother, Fiona, would not discuss Elektra, though she did not try to interfere with the friendship.

Convincing Ele to travel together had been relatively easy, but to actually start on it – that had been a different matter altogether. Time and again, a definite date had been set, only to be postponed at the last moment, as, due to something that had just occurred to Ele, more preparations must have been made. A thing of it was that she had not been actually making any preparations, except for having had her hair cut a bit shorter. But that had been accomplished months ago, so the hair grew back by now. Scarlett had gotten tired of talking plans and waiting. This morning, during the Trump call, she had simply caught Ele’s hand and pulled her in. Now like it or not, Ele was set up. To disobey her father’s orders to not enter the Castle was a serious offence, so they might begin their journey as well, lest Fiona would happen to barge in and put a stop to the whole affair and then call Brand.

In spite of initial gasps and grunts, Elektra did not seem very upset, and listened patiently to Scarlett, who was prattling on about rudimentary rules of shadow travel while packing her gear into a large bag on the sofa. She felt a twinge of jealousy when Scarlett showed her at least a half a dozen Trumps from her deck. Most probably Dad was stingy with Trumps as a way to keep her at home. Perhaps, a fortunate thing for her little cousin Scarlett to pull her out of Shadow when she did. Not to mention her resources may be useful in the travels...

“So what do you think? Trump to shadow Earth and then walk to elsewhere, or a nice ride away from Amber to seek our fortunes?” Scarlett asked, an infectious smile on her face while she was waiting for an answer.

A twitch of Elektra’s lips was no more than a hint of reciprocation. She had been making her travel plans for quite some time. Plans upon plans upon plans, every detail having had been considered over and then reconsidered and re-adjusted, which, of course, had required reconsideration of all other details and so on. Something had always seemed missing, but it would have definitely fallen into place tomorrow. Perhaps there were better excuses for not actually doing anything, but she had grown rather comfortable with hers. And now, in the Castle where she was not even supposed to be, with adventurous Scarlett all fired up to go... Somehow a traveling companion had never been a real part of her plans. She was to try and succeed or to try and fail alone as she had always been. Ill-suited as she was for any kind of a real adventure, with her only resource being the Pattern that glowed bright in her mind even now as she was trying to collect her thoughts. Delicate intricacies, random details which were not really random, hidden meanings she was yet to decipher... Was it her relentless training or what some called her inborn gift, but she could summon the Pattern effortlessly. Actual applications of it – that was another matter. Perhaps Scarlett with her deck of trumps and her skillful sword, was a natural solution. This must be considered more carefully... maybe tomorrow... But she knew there was no more time for that. The shadow of a smile grew just a little as she finally broke the silence hoping her voice would not betray her heart, heavy with fear and bad omens.

“I suppose we should wait till nightfall to slip out of the Castle unnoticed, then when the Pattern’s workable we shall proceed through Shadow, wherever it might lead.”

Scarlett seemed distracted though with a slightly far away look about her as if in a Trump contact. “Ele, I’ll be right back. Actually, you should come with me.”

“Yes, sure... where to?

“To the trump artists’ chambers. Someone’s just called me with a favorable message.”

 Elektra silently and somewhat in awe followed Scarlett, as they descended the staircase and then walked toward trump artists’ quarters, which were located on the first floor, next to the lower lever of the Castle library. Her eyes were wide with excitement while they navigated the halls her cousin had seen thousands of times, but to her so new and thrilling. This was where her father had grown up. Portraits, some of them new, lined the halls. Most depicted unknown people, except for those of Aunt Fiona, Uncle Bleys, and of course Dad, who looked a little mischievous and brooding, like he had had other things to attend to while the portrait had been made. Some day, her own portrait would be in here too, right next to his. It was too short of a walk, and soon they entered the workshop of one of the Trump Artists, named Allysa.

Allysa got up quickly from her stool to curtsey to Scarlett. “Good tiding, Princess.” She glanced at Elektra curiously. “Good morning.”

She was even younger than her visitors were – about 19 or so. A strawberry blonde of the same height as Scarlett, with cheerful emerald green eyes, a perpetual easy smile, and an easygoing nature, her parentage was a mystery. Turned over at a very young age, she had been raised at the court of Rebma by Queen Moire, with much help from Llewella and the ladies in waiting. While on a diplomatic mission to Amber, her natural aptitude for trump artistry had greatly impressed King Random, who had invited her to join the court artists. Of course she could not have been expected to walk the Pattern, so instead she had been taken to a broken one and was using that to traverse Shadow. Although very un-Amber-like in her ways, since she considered herself a Rebmanian and not much but an import in the Amber courts, her attitude had won her more than a few friends in odd places. Her travels and natural curiosity had netted her some odd artifacts that were quite helpful to one so young.

Elektra, who had never seen Allysa before, nodded silently, while Scarlett smiled to her friend. “Hello, Allysa, you called?”

Allysa pointed to a painting off to the side. “Yes, the portrait is done...” She was a little distracted looking at Elektra. The portrait was a mother-daughter painting of Fiona and Scarlett, rather a tasteful piece.

Elektra caught Allysa’s curious stare, though she did not return it. “I’m Elektra, daughter of Brand.”

Allysa blinked. “Are you?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize he had one...”

“Yes,” Scarlett smiled broader. “This is my favorite cousin, Ele. Say nothing of her presence to my mother, please.”

Allysa’s eyes were flicking between the two. “I see the resemblance.” She pursed her lips thoughtfully. “I’ll say nothing unless asked directly. It’s best not to anger your mother, Scarlett... Did I give you one of my Trumps?”

“Not yet... but please do Allysa!”

Allysa slipped a generous deck of cards to hand and offered each girl a trump of herself, hesitating for just a brief moment to part with her Trump to Elektra.

“What a beautiful picture! I shall always keep it with me.” When Elektra did smile, it was truly charming, though she always managed to avoid an eye contact, being too well aware of an odd effect that her cold gray eyes induced in most people. “Did you paint all those portraits in the halls, Allysa?”

“Heavens, no.” Allysa giggled. “Merlin did a few... Dworkin did most of the older stuff.”

“Dworkin… The transcriber of the Pattern…” Elektra casually moved between Allysa and the large worktable with many Trumps spread on it, remarking nonchalantly. “One day I shall make my own pattern.”

Allysa blinked, not sure what to make of what she had just heard, glancing at Scarlett for a reaction, but Scarlett did not seem very surprised as she had heard it from her cousin before. “She wishes to travel in Shadow to help her father, Allysa. I go with her as my first adventure... and to test my sword.”

“Where are you going?”

“Hhm... to the Courts of Chaos most probably.” Elektra absentmindedly ran her hand along the edge of the table.

“The Courts? Why would you want to go there?” Allysa gave Elektra a puzzled look.

“Hmm.... to find some people.”

“Ehh... the Courts... are rather... vast... and dangerous…”

“Yeah, I suppose… You’ve such a nice room Allysa.” Elektra smiled as she changed the subject instantly, pointing to the far corner of the room. “What’s that standing over there?”

“Oh...” Allysa walked over to cover up a canvas in the corner. “Just a pet project. I’m a little shy about my stuff until it’s done.”

“Come on now, tell us, please.” Elektra picked up two Trumps from the table and pushed them up her sleeve in one snakelike move.

Allysa made sure the canvas was well covered before turning back to approach the girls. “King Random has me working on a group portrait of all the young Amberites...” She gave Elektra a quizzed look. “Though you weren’t on the list...”

“Not on the list?” Elektra muttered something about Random, cutting herself in a mid-sentence, sensing Allysa’s apparent discomfort. “But perhaps we’ve bothered you long enough. Such a pleasure to meet you. I’m sure my father appreciates your work very much, Alyssa.”

“No bother… Likewise…certainly.” Allysa seemed ill at ease.

“Err... thanks for the call and your trump, Allysa. Is there more you have for us or need from us?” Scarlett also felt nervous, perhaps due to her seeing Ele palming the trumps.

Allysa shook her head. “No, that’s all... I’ll be busy for a few days working on some stuff... after that I’ll be at your disposal.”

“Thank you so much, my dear Allysa.” Elektra did not even bother to pretend that her hug was sincere, the poor girl looking at Scarlett awkwardly, evidently uncomfortable being so close to Elektra.

“Thank you again, Allysa.” Scarlett shooed Elektra out of the room, looking at her quizzically as they walked down the hall.

“What were you up to... I thought for sure she would see!”

“What are you talking about?” Elektra’s long, usually drawn down lashes suddenly shot up, the gray daggers stabbing directly in the face of a servant who had dared to give her a curious look while passing by.

 “Err... I saw the... err... palmings, cousin.”

“I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about Scarlett... Ooh... you mean the cards? I thought she said we could take as many as we wanted…”

Scarlett giggled. “Did you find anything... useful?”

“Well, this looks like an interesting place.” Elektra tossed Scarlett a card depicting a desert landscape outside of what looked like a bar.

“Ele, what is it?”

“Hmm... dunno... New Jersey?”

“Well, whatever it is, I do want to go on an adventure... and I’m eager to be on my way.”

Scarlett concentrated on the stolen Trump as soon as they were back in her room and she had a chance to grab her bag. As she did so, the Trump card seemed to grow cooler to the touch and the picture obtained dimensions, becoming more and more real until she suddenly stepped into it, grabbing Elektra’s hand and pulling her in. Elektra gasped softly as they stood, still holding hands, in front of a bar. It was very hot and very bright and very dry. There were passers-by going about their business; quite a few looked non-human. They were met by the sounds of odd music being played from some sort of wind instrument by something not quite human when they stepped inside. The crowd seemed to be broken up into little private groups of twos and threes. Under a cool clay roof the relentless heat gave.

Elektra squeezed her cousin’s hand. “This is definitely not New Jersey, Scarlett. Look, some of them seem to have... hmm… tails. Not even sure those are tails... might be their heads as well...”

Scarlett put her hand on her sword... “Cousin, I just realized you’re without a weapon.”

“Hmm... I wouldn’t know what to do with one anyway.”

Scarlett produced some gold pieces as they walk toward the counter. “Fruit pulp for me and… what would you like, cousin?”

“Just a glass of cold water would do for now.”

Apparently bartender – a human, at least in appearance – did not understand a word in Thari, but went by the girls sweaty faces as he walked over with a couple of warm waters eyeing the gold doubtfully and winking to a rather ugly critter sniffing at Elektra. At the site of it, Elektra shrieked pulling her feet up on her chair, which caused a burst of nasty laughter from the patrons. Scarlett’s hand found the hilt of her sword. “Err cousin, I think maybe we should move on down the street?”

“Yeah... this place doesn’t seem very friendly.”

In the doorway, Elektra paused for a very brief moment to glance over her shoulder at a chandelier that hung on a rather heavy chain from the ceiling. A thunderclap was truly deafening when it crashed down, showering the creatures around with splattering glass. In a moment the whole roof followed, collapsing onto the room, which swirled in a chaotic fit.

After they attained a safe distance from the sight of destruction, Scarlett giggled. “Obviously you don’t need a sword, cousin.”

“Serves them well. There was a slight probability that it’d fall anyway... hmm… one of these days.” Elektra burst into somewhat hysterical laughter, her hands, legs, her whole body shaking unstoppably as she was trying to catch her breath. This was a trifle of course, yet it was one thing to practice at home… What a feeling of power! She started calming down somewhat. Elektra, a destroyer of bars...

But there was much to consider. What a horrible place! She should not have taken those cards. Not a nice thing to do. But how was she to resist when they all walking around with decks of them? And that Allysa... You’re not on the list. Just you wait, insolent wench, till Dad is the King, then we shall see who is and who is not on the list! And those awful paintings! The way Scarlett had turned out on the portrait, if it were she, she would have cut it in thousand pieces right there... You don’t want people taking your stuff you don’t leave it all around so invitingly... unless... Her thoughts started clearing up as she turned to Scarlett who was doing her best to ignore the critter, which had followed them and still lingered around their feet.

“You know what I think? I think your Allysa’s really something. I think the Trumps were on that table on purpose, all laid out so conveniently, just inviting to take some... So Allysa has finished the portrait of you and Aunt Fiona. Wouldn’t it be proper to seek your mother’s approval first? But no, she calls you... and just so happens I’m around… Not on her own I would guess – someone put her up to it, or ordered her... Someone knew I was in the Castle and set up a trap using Allysa. The question is who... and why.”

Scarlett gave Elektra a startled look, perturbed by some obvious subterfuge that seemingly had taken place right under her nose without her recognizing it. Ele was right! Allysa should have waited for mom before unveiling the portrait, and it was strange that she had been sent for just as her favorite cousin had arrived. And all those trumps…just lying there... tempting targets for a thief. She had seen Elektra taking the Trumps, why had not Allysa? Perhaps someone indeed had known of Ele’s arrival and that had all been a part of an elaborate trap. But what now? Somewhere on this world there was likely the adventure she sought. She licked her lips already thirsty again. “Do we move on to another Shadow, cousin, or explore some more about here. If we move on, will the other stolen trump help, or do we use the Pattern? What are your thoughts?”

Elektra smiled faintly at the admiration in Scarlett’s wide eyes. Apparently Scarlett did not realize how much she had freaked out in that awful place. She fought an impulse to tell her cousin. Perhaps it was better this way. She wondered if Scarlett had walked the Pattern – must have had by now, though it did not seem it had done much good... Most probably Allysa had never imagined her beloved Scarlett being dragged right into this mess… She quickly wiped out her smile, which had become rather sarcastic, before Scarlett had a chance to notice.

“If I’m right about Allysa, this place should be crawling with dangers, Scarlett. But there doesn’t appear to be any immediate threat, while the second Trump may lead into something even worse. Perhaps we should make inquiries as to what this place is and where we can find water… and food and shelter around here. Maybe we shall attempt to have a chat with our little friend down here…”

Elektra kneeled down closer to the critter. After her endless hours of mirror practice, she could summon her charming smiles exactly to the desired degree of effect, but she had to really force this one… damn thing was so ugly… smelled bad too…

“Can you understand me, small furry animal, and if so, can you speak?”

The little creature did appear somewhat sentient as it croaked back something that sounded more structured than simple animal noises would have been. Elektra looked up at Scarlett. “Turkish?”

Scarlett nodded slowly. “A mixture. Azeri dialect with some Aramean.”

Most members of the Royal Family were not only polyglots but also quite accomplished linguists by virtue of a sheer volume of travel. Elektra of course had not had many opportunities to practice except for scholastic sessions with tutors, so it was a struggle indeed to compile the first sentence.

 “Ugh…I’m called Ele and this is…hmm… Leta, we are…ugh… from beyond the mountains. We are looking ugh… for a place to rest and water to drink. Can you help us?”

While the critter possessed a gift of speech, a gift of lucidity was another matter and it took the girls some time to learn a few bits and pieces. Apparently this place was called Tattoo and was a desert world under two suns, which perhaps was the reason for intense hit and lack of humidity. One would think even one sun was one too many for this place, as it was very sparsely populated. The king here was someone called Bubba the Gut, which must have been due to his bad eating habits. The rest quickly became incomprehensible and Elektra shrugged helplessly, “This is total nonsense…”

Scarlett smiled with some satisfaction, for it was not often that she could hope to best her cousin. “On the contrary, this is pretty clear. There’s a place to rest over by the spaceport – this place isn’t as backwards as it seems – and some curbside food stands in that area. They use credits for money here, sounds kinda worthless…”

Elektra just rolled her eyes. Hopefully Scarlett was very good with the sword – there got to be some compensation for her not thinking straight. A port? In a desert? Just where the hell would they sail? Unless… Between the Shadows! But how? She was aware of course of the broken Patterns, but this place did not seem to be one of the known locations. Perhaps they had discovered a new one… Either that… or that Bubba was a chaos lord. What else could be there? It was known that some of them were rather ugly. Perhaps they were closer to the Courts of Chaos than they thought. She definitely must meet that Bubba. The Logrus could be sensed immediately… She attempted a mind probe but this did not sit well with the creature as it squealed this time in a clearly animal manner and resolutely trotted away. She hoped that port of theirs was not very far, but most of all she hoped that her cousin had a pencil and some drawing paper in her gear. Her lips were getting very dry and the water in that little spring running by the old pine grove at home was so refreshing…

“Fine… uhh … Leta. Let’s go to that port and find an inn. I think I have a pretty good idea how to get enough of these…hmm…credits. Clear spring water must be quite valuable around here. All I need is some time… in a room… preferably with a table. We shall have more water for them than they ever dreamed of. No need to look for Bubba. He’ll find us himself when the word spreads around, and I think I should have a talk with him.”

Leta turned to Ele and nodded. “Okay, on to the spaceport and an inn for a room, hopefully one with a table.”

They began a moderately long journey through the rundown streets of Tattoo, passing many strange structures and even stranger people, some of them in chains or on leashes and their skin marked in crude and probably painful ways. For a planet with access to the advanced technology, the place appeared rather primitive. Soon, however, they came to a district with buildings that were more like towers and strange craft peppering a fenced off area. Several food stands were along the street. They spotted a somewhat newer building with a sign that read ‘Vacancy’, unmistakably an inn. Leta desperately hoped Ele knew what she was doing as they entered and walked to the front desk and she boldly asked, “A room please... equipped with two beds and a table.”

“Sorry,” the desk clerk said, “All our rooms come with only one bed… big enough for two of course.” He grinned broadly, undressing the girls with his eyes. “But we have one with a nice enough table.” He put a keycard on the counter “That’ll be 1,250 credits please. What names should I enter in the register?”

“Leta and… and Ele Amber,” Scarlett quickly responded, “We’re sisters. Err…all of our credits are...stored... could we pay in the morning?” When the clerk gave her an incredulous look, she continued “or perhaps I can allow you to hold one of my family heirloom jewels, to be forfeit if we can’t pay?”

He grinned again. “Alright, I reckon you can pay in the morning. But it’s not the jewels that’ll be forfeit if you don’t produce the credits then, ladies! You should know that this inn’s owned by Bubba himself, and he’d put out a half a million credit contract on someone who cheated him out of a single credit!” The clerk winked handing over the keycard.

“You’d better start working on your idea while I get cleaned up, sis,” Scarlett said when they reached relative though perhaps very temporary safety of their room and continued more stridently, “Oh great, the shower is sonic only!” She couldn’t help wondering silently what Ele’s plan was. Bubba did not seem like someone to cross... and those people in chains in the streets... slaves it seemed. She shivered.

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