Undertow — Duncan's game log
Duncan - Undertow Summary
© 2004 David Blackwell
At the gathering that celebrated the 20th year of King Random's reign I introduced myself to Byron, Meridian, and Brent. I was also able to speak at some length with Blade, Andrew, Laertes and Dartmouth, and while there was no opportunity for conversation I saw both Rio and Philip were there as well.Bleys invited me to join the expeditionary forces, and I told him I would consider it so that I could keep my options open. Benedict took me to visit Brand who had been recovered from the Abyss by the House of Hendrake. My father seemed forgiving, and Brand seemed greatly changed by his ordeal, but Benedict also made it clear that Brand would be watched carefully in the future. Before we left, I warned Brand that I would also be watching.
Benedict also approached me at Gerard's request about taking command of the city guard and enforcing rules limiting the soldiers in the expeditionary forces. I agreed to this, then spoke with Bleys again. I also agreed to involve myself in the expeditionary forces and that I would be interested in an officers position, but that I would prefer to remain in and around Amber. He said if I wanted to do that I would have to find a way to infiltrate the Castle Guard and I agreed to give it a try.
I also spoke to Julian and learned he was considering a shift in command structure for the rangers. I explained that I would be involved with the Guard in Amber, but that I could probably spare some time to work with the rangers as well, and that I was interested in learning to work with the rangers as I believed they represented Amber's first line of defense against attackers. I was able to convince him to bring the topic up with King Random.
My father approached me again on a matter of interest to Gerard, and at his request I worked with Laertes to teach him the sword. He showed promise once I chose a blade more suited to his size and strengths, but he stopped showing any interest in our lessons over the next couple of years, and eventually I stopped going to see him.
I spoke with Bleys again and told him I had successfully infiltrated the Castle Guard, and he complimented me on my efficiency. Honestly I believe that working with four of the elders and learning about the forces under Ambers command would serve me well. Unfortunately it was not to be.
Random denied the request to alter the command structure of the Rangers, and Gerard was forced to retract his offer of a position in the Guard for similar reasons. Random never explained to me why he felt this wasn't a good time to make changes, so I simply made the best of it and continued to work with my father's forces, and occasionally with the expeditionary forces under Bleys' command. In fact I spent enough time with my father's forces that in many ways they became my forces. Certainly by the time ten years had passed in Amber my Father was so disinterested that he had no idea what the current disposition of those forces was when we met in Blade's shadow.
In preparation for the 30th anniversary I wrapped up the ongoing campaigns and set the men on leave or to training for expected future campaigns. I visited Blade and Brent on Blade's favored shadow. We were just getting me fitted with clothes for the anniversary when a feeling of terror and a vision of something powerful and evil rising from a great depth. I was able to shake the feeling off, and used one of my power words (Process Snuff) to help Brent break the hold it seemed to have on him. The same word was unable to quell the Blade's affliction.
At this point I saw a crack begin to form in one of the mirrors at the haberdashers shop, and my father, Lord Benedict, came stumbling out. Behind him the mirror, which had opened to blackness, cracked completely and shattered as did those around it.
Benedict was very disoriented and surprised that I wasn't with the troops. I led him through Shadow to gather what troops we could as Blade and Brent went to gather some men of the expeditionary forces and responded to another call.
We gathered together a number of men, some two hundred of the best trained and prepared before I too was called to Amber. Father stayed with the men to continue gathering our forces. Throughout this he maintained that he was certain we would face a threat to Amber itself, and that the very trees of the forest had risen up to attack.
In Amber, it was explained that Random and Fiona were dead, and Corwin had attempted suicide though he was loath to admit it. All the elders seemed hard hit by these events, perhaps even more so than the younger generation. In the course of the discussion Benedict contacted me and I filled him in on events in Amber.
He brought some men through, perhaps 50 or 60, and began clearing the Castle, which did indeed have trees bursting up through the stonework. In the meantime, I agreed to ride the new borders in Arden along with Philip, the son of Julian. We took along a score of warriors and mounts from the stables.
Philip, despite seeming the dandy, proved to be quite resourceful and capable on the road. We began to map the new terrain, sending the maps we drew back to Amber each evening. The men in Arden were scattered and the terrain itself had changed dramatically in places. Most of them were my father's rather than Julian's rangers. Regardless of their origin we pulled them together and formed the beginning of a new border guard. I ordered a small area clear cut and a stockade built. Then gave orders to pull the men in the worst shape out and send them back to the stockade, this was the beginning of a rotation of troops designed to create a higher level of readiness. We also drew the guard in closer to Amber, falling back enough that the men who remained would be capable of standing their ground and holding these new defensive lines.
On our return trip we stopped at each group we'd met before, acknowledged their progress and gave any additional orders needed to direct them. But before we reached Amber we found ourselves confronted by nine swan mays, the representatives of the Court of Thorns. Philip and I ordered our guards on to the next camp, and instructed them to wait for 48 hours before attempting to follow us. We accompanied our new escorts into the depths of the forest across a bridge made of human bone to their court.
Byron was there before us though he tried to conceal himself in the guise of a member of their court. I allowed him this deception and eventually he chose to reveal himself to us. The Liege of Thorns spoke to us, wishing to reach some sort of agreement or perhaps simply feeling that a further war of attrition would be unwise, and that any victory, theirs or ours, would be Pyrrhic. I agreed with the sentiment and suggested that we settle on borders between our current lines until such a time as the situation became stable enough for further talks. I also asked that I be contacted in the event of an incident.
I tried to learn more of the Court and it's nature, but as my father is apparently their sworn enemy I was not the most welcome of men. Philip then asked that I accept a trump call and told me that Andrew had contacted him and that he had promised he would ask me to accept the contact. I did so, and departed through the trump contact.
Andrew, Dartmouth, Rio and Brand were in the Pattern room with the Unicorn. Or at least with something that purported to be the Unicorn. They told me the Unicorn needed my aid to restore the pattern, and told me to reach my hand out to it. The Unicorn then slashed my palm with its horn, and tried to indicate that it wanted me to lick the blood from my palm. I immediately turned on Andrew and Dartmouth demanding to know the purpose and nature of this ritual and what it was intended to accomplish. At this time I noticed a pale white glow that seemed to suffuse Andrew and Dartmouth. They put on their best salesman smiles and tried to fast-talk me into completing the ritual. Meanwhile Brand caught my eye and kept shaking his head no when they weren't looking at him. While it might be against my nature to trust Brand in most circumstances in this case I found myself agreeing.
This discussion was interrupted by the arrival of Byron, and the others finally convinced the Unicorn to show us more of what it had in mind. I was appalled, the vision it showed certainly meant the end of Amber, yet both Dartmouth and Andrew were smiling and nodding. About this time I realized that Rio instead of being her usual expressive and exuberant self was submissively mopping the remains of King Random and Lady Fiona from what remained of the pattern like some charnel house scullery maid. I informed the Unicorn I could not acquiesce to its wishes, bound my hand and took a couple of steps back. Then fled with Byron in the midst of another interruption.
In the castle above I learned that Gerard and Blade had returned with a force of Fremen, and that they had discovered yet another power this one represented by a Griffin. I took a few minutes to fill Blade in and warn him of Andrew and Dartmouth's treachery. In the meantime Corwin and several others had involved themselves in a discussion of how to proceed in securing the future of Amber. The outcome of this discussion was a consensus to support naming Gerard as Regent followed by the selection of an heir to the throne from among the younger generation. Corwin then brought this decision to me and asked me to have it announced.
In truth, my mind was so filled with different possibilities that I found myself in the Heralds office about to relay the message when I realized my father's actions might place him in opposition to these plans. I excused myself and left to confront my father, in part to learn about his plans, but also to question his intentions and purpose as he seemed on the surface to be proceeding in a self-defeating course of action.
In the back of my mind is the intent to contact Philip and assure that the men in Arden do not attempt to seek us out and cause problems with the Court of Thorns, but I've left that until after I confront Benedict.
There is a measure of evil in all things.
--Duncan, Undertow 2004
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other writings: Background, Quiz, "Duncan and Rio", Undertow log, Ebb Tide diary