The Enemy of My Enemy is Annoying

Gregory and Giselle day-tripped to the scenic Fae Court. Giselle showed off her fabulous new crown. Then they spoke with the new King of the Seelie, Lugh "Too Cool for the Room" Legit. He wasn't particularly chummy toward Amber, although he considers Amber and the Seelie court natural allies in opposition to the Unseelie hosts.

Yes, that's right. There are two (2) large camps of Unseelie lurking out there in Shadow somewhere. The first group, numbering somewhere around five thousand, has been commandeered by Osric through Searlas as witnessed by Raj. The bushy-headed orange guy who lost the wrestling match is Inuirre, not the satyr-like dude named Nuirre.

The second host is headed up by Ailill, a notably studly tall, dark, and gloomy fellow who used to date Giselle (see the chaps comment in the quotes for details on their relationship). Ailill's encampment was visited by our fey cousin previously, and supposedly numbers between fifteen hundred and two thousand grumpy fae punks itchin’ to fight.

Magni and Gabriel continued their endeavors at the Keep of the Four Worlds. So far, Brand hasn't killed either of them, although Gabriel was in a coma for a day or so, reason unknown. The Keep has recently been cleaned, renovated, and restored to its worldly awesomeness with cannons and all. Brand said the Unicorn told him to do it, so he turned back time and became MightyBrand™. He is currently resting.

New King of the Monkey Demons

When Aedan arrived in Chaos, Mandor kindly directed a Monkey-Demon to show Aedan to his rooms. Aedan exercised great restraint in not slicing and dicing said demon into monkey fajitas, so maybe he learned something from his conversation with Osric. Aedan got lost in Mandor's house, so he found the front door, went outside, and knocked. Nobody answered. After a short length of time (approximately twenty hours in Amber) Dara trumped Aedan and gave him a place to freshen up for the Coronation.

Aedan was escorted to the Abyssoleum by Dara and given a seat next to an effeminate fellow named Despil. They saw Merlin duel an unknown Chanicut guy to the death. If the Chanicut guy had won, we would undoubtedly know his name, so now you know what happened. Merlin was stripped naked by two Priests of the Serpent and flung into the Abyss. A Big-Ass Serpent Head reared out of the void, warped reality, and gulped Merlin down like a jujube. It spit him out and he wasn't quite naked any more1.

Gregory Unfettered

Gregory and Giselle skipped to Arden. Schoolmarm Giselle fulfilled her promise to Martin and taught those pesky rangers a thing or two about faerie behavior. She attempted to help them overcome their "issues" from various torments inflicted upon them, including "that dragon thing."2

Gregory met with Colonel Robert, a representative for Julian's retired officers, in his continuing effort to persuade them to abandon their forced retirement and return to work so they can get killed with the rest of us. Julian's son also researched the terms of Julian's will in an unsuccessful effort to become owner of Julian's hunting lodge. He found time to fill Martin in on Lugh's attitude, the latest trends in swimwear, and Brand's statue collection and the blue crystal caves. Martin said that Benedict had told him about the caves, although I don't know if that was a recent conversation. In any event, it would be just like Benedict to not rescue Flora and Giselle. And you wondered why Giselle doesn't like Benedict.

Gregory visited Magni at the Keep of the Four Worlds after first getting assurances that he wouldn't be trapped there. Magni revealed Brand's actions concerning the New and Improved Keep, the difference in the new Fount of Power, and a recipe for sweet cream cheesecake that is just to die for. Gregory disclosed the fact that Osric can't touch his own sword, which is why Searlas wields it in his name.

Giselle discovered that Flora has been heretofore unsuccessful in converting stone to fey, although she has tried a bunch of different things. At Martin's request, Giselle trump called anyone who would answer and reminded them that there are state funerals in Amber tomorrow and not to wear bright pink.