"What? Great Jupi-- Ah. Well. Now that I think about it, it did get better after, oh, the first year or so... but the Black Road didn't just go away, and neither did the wolves... their attacks just got less frequent. So maybe that's what you heard about."




"Got a rifle and a shotgun, but they don't always do very well against the wolves... Honestly, pickaxes and swords do better... if yer lucky, anyway..." He eyes your scabbards. "...I notice you lads are armed, yourselves... That's part of why we were a bit surprised you didn't seem to know you were in dangerous territory... As for how smart they are... I don't like to think about it. Traps do almost no good, I can tell you that... They're usually too smart for 'em..."
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:50, Tue 29 Jan 2019.

"What are your swords made from and what are your bullets made from?" Jack asks and draws his sword a half-inch to show off the Amberite version of steel, which is to say, one damned fine looking sword. His father's gift to him, some years back. "I'd heard once that stuff from the road sometimes dies better to silver or cold iron, that sort of stuff," he mentions.

Alec groaned when he heard the Black Road mentioned. It was the reason his mother had for getting him to walk the Pattern. He had crossed a section of it one time, with the Pattern in mind, and it was still a horrible experience.

Hearing more about the wolves is at least something easier to remember.  Alec looks at the steel Jack is carrying. Alec's blade was given to him by his mother and might have been crafted by the same smith.

"If you have extra rifles, we have military experience and are probably all pretty good shots."

David had to resist giving the look that said "seriously?" As if silver was so readily available to utilize. These people wouldn't survive like this.
Though he gave a nod in agreement over gun prowess.

David knew he would ask his siblings about the Black Road. When there weren't other people about, no need causing an existential crisis, or accusations of insanity.

"Th' bullets and shot are lead. Our other weaoons are steel, though. Mebbe you've got something there... I've seldom heard that rumor about silver, though. I'm starting to wonder if you lads aren't more expert on survival than I gave you credit for at first..."




"Nope, that's all we've got here... you can wield one, though, if you like... David, was it...?"

David was a little unsure how to carry on, pretending as though they were somewhat aware of this world's affairs, or ignorant. It seemed like his relatives were aware of the Black Road, was that a Pattern issue?

"We've been careful, and so far lucky." He said. Which was true of their shadow walk journey up to this point. Maybe he should have Shadow-walked slower? Only experience could teach him more.

"I can always have a look at one of these rifles. Though I wouldn't want to unfairly deprive you of a vital resource." David answered the stout man's question. David knew how important it felt to even have something to protect yourself with, even just a pistol like his own.

Glancing around, David wanted to be sure his newly gotten horse would be safe. It would be in danger while the gate was open.
People didn't tend to think much of predators, not until they are a victim, at which point, it's often too late.
"Look, I better get my horse inside and help secure your gate, time moves without our heed after all."

"Mm, we're almost done..." Harald turns to one of his fellow workers. "Leif? Y' think it's secure?"

The one named Leif turns and pushes on the gate, locks it from the inside, pounds on it a little... "Aye, boss, I'd say so... Good as it ever was..." The others nod, satisfied.

Harald, content, turns back. "So... are you t' be stayin' the night here, then? It'll be sunset soon..."

"Something for you to experiment with in the future. See if you can't figure out if some aspect of the steel is a bane to these unnatural wolves. Yes, we'll stay the night here goodman Harald," Jack replies and settles his hands on his hips as he surveys the area, already starting to think about how he might improve their lot, defensively. "I'm going to check your security, if you don't mind."

Jack is accustomed to building defenses in his homeland--an apocalyptic wasteland. This is practically a utopia for defensive needs. He goes over to check the sturdiness of the gate and then makes a round of the defenses as they are.

Sizing up the walls, their composition, the clearance to nearby trees. Spotlights? A good sniper blind perhaps, given that their opponents don't have ranged weapons?

"Thank you for having us tonight." David said to Harald. He would be glad to have the night to rest and figure out what went wrong to take him here.

When Jack started looking to the  security of the place, David looked to Alec, saying "A word if you could." There was something that seemed iffy to David.

Alec turned from his slow circle as he looked over what were apparently defenses for a small gas station.

"Hmm? Black Road. Haven't seen one in...what's on your mind?"

David made a glance around themselves without making it obvious, he spoke in a whisper to Alec, not wanting the multiverse to be laid at anyone's feet.

"From your reactions, it seems that the Black Road must exist across multiple Shadows. But, is it a "natural disaster" or not? From 1 to 10, how bad is it for the whole Pattern?"
By asking this, David couldn't help but feel like a wondering nomad asking into the weather surrounding himself. So unfamiliar with the land that surrounds him.

Having finished his examination of the perimeter, Jack returns to the others and then looks over towards the squats, wondering what they're expecting of them. For the most part, however, he is simply quiet and attentive.

Alec looks thoughtful for some time, and then shrugs. "I'm not that much of an expert on the Pattern. All I know is that it was everywhere, and it let things move through the Shadows that normally wouldn't be able to do so."

He turns away then turns back. "Oh yeah. It seemed to corrupt things that were in it or near it as well. I never really figured that part out. Random hopefully knows more than I do."

Another way to go over the wall from one to another. David had felt doubly uncomfortable with the prospect of a seemingly mutated invasive species. The harm that could do to shadows across the pattern.

He had looked back at Alec, away from the sky. "Thanks for that. Let's rest up shall we?" David asked his travel companions. Trying to ignore the worrying prospect that these people would be forever haunted. Haunted by the scabs and scars caused by the wound of the Black Road.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:20, Sat 09 Feb 2019.

"Wait, I might as well learn something." David said to his cousins as he turned back to one of the stout men.

"OK, so these wolves, is there any more events I could hear about them? Any behaviour different beyond aggression?" So David asked those who had anything to tell him about the corrupted wolves.

David asks Harald about the wolves' habits.

"Ah, well, you ought to talk to Sigmund over here about that. He knows a lot about the stories people tell about the wolves..."

Sigmund proves to be, indeed, a font of Black Road wolf folklore.

David surmises that the answers to the questions in his head might be:

--Are they social?

Yes.

--Do they still hunt in packs?

Yes, but not always-- they'll hunt alone sometimes, too.

--Do they have Alphas (male and female)?

It seems so. Usually male... there's just not enough information to know about female alphas.

"Then there are stranger tales," says Sigurd quietly, "told less often, about them using human speech... or changing their form... but most people don't believe those stories... even around here..."

David knew from his family home of Amber that stranger things can occur then an animal having speech. It did say something about their intelligence if it were true.

David came to the conclusion that these wolves still maintained their normal instincts. The heightened aggression forced their hand and meant they were more likely to be hostile, it might even make an individual go on their own to "let off steam".

"In those stories of speech and human form, what do the wolves say? If you don't mind my curiosity. It's the first tale I've heard of talking animals is all."

"I don't mind," said Sigurd. "But no one who has survived has ever reported exactly what might've been said, as far as I know..."

"Thank you for your time, I can better prepare for our travels. Stay safe." David said to Siguard.

When David was back with the other Amber royalty, he made sure no one else was close enough to overhear what he had to say next.
"OK, so did I take a wrong turn at Albuquerque or something? How are we this off course?" He asked in a low whisper.

"We aren't off course," Jack replies and crouching down over a patch of sandy earth, he uses a finger to draw. "Amber is here, all things radiate from it," he explains. "So, if in Amber we have an occasional single creature emerge from the black road, that uncle Julian hunts down within hours, then the nearest shadows," he moves his finger along further away from Amber, "Then here, a few steps from Amber, where we are now, there may be frequent several creatures that emerge, and further still, a world over-run by them, that we should avoid. But because it is contained in Amber, it should be a limited problem. A small stain on the tapestry of infinite worlds between the poles of reality."

A pause.

"The closer we get to chaos, the more that chaos takes hold, and things can simply be odd for the sake of being odd. But this close to Amber, it tells us things about Amber," Jack mentions.

He lets David digest that while he searches around in his pack and produces a bottle of wine, which he sets near at hand and pops the cork out of it with his thumb.

"Why stop here, you are wondering, perhaps? The answer is three fold. To take a measure of shadow and of Amber, done. To give you your first friends along the way, a place you can stop with your good friends you've done a good turn for, who can watch your back in a tight spot. And finally, in case we are being followed, this place is rather ideal to keep watch for a few hours. The land outside our little fort here is patrolled by savage creatures that would at least slow a follower a touch, and there are others to keep watch," he explains.

David contemplated on what Jack had told him, to think there were Shadows people could consider lost causes... That thought left him more then a little empty.

But at least David could see the wisdom of a place he could retreat to, should things go awry. In his mind, David dubbed the shadow "Fort Pitstop" for ease of recollection. He was sure he could think of other places in the Pattern to hide away, but this was a good start.

"Smart idea. As long as whatever follows me is at risk from Black Road creatures like I would be. But what if they aren't? Um, should I be worried of wolves talking and taking human shape? Is that typical of the road?"
The question David didn't ask was "What if they use the road intentionally to follow me? Which was answerable with simply avoid the road in whatever shadow you find

Alec stood silently, staring at a point somewhere between and beyond David and Jack. His eyes would occasionally flicker to one or the other while they had their discussion. A few times he nodded slightly and clearly had no objection to anything Jack said.

He frowned only at the mention of wolves taking human shape. His mother had been captured once by creatures called weir. Alec had never seen one, although he had seen talking wolves. Wargs, really, but close enough, for what that was worth.

Alec glanced at the guardsmen once, but said nothing about them, either.

"Never mind. If I want their assistance in future, it might be best to give them a good impression. I'll help them now and a little tomorrow morning before we travel again. I think we can all agree on that? Good."

Before anyone could say anything more, he moved on. Getting Acacia a good resting spot, seeing to any small task he might help with before deciding to find a place he could tuck away and accept some semblance of sleep.

There are two gates, of the same type-- the one you came in by, and another on the other side. A paved road passes through...

...Where are you each sleeping in relation to the gates?

Possible answers might be:
--right in the center of the area
--in the gas station itself
--on the roof of the gas station
--between the back of the gas station and the high fence

On the roof of the gas station, Jack does a quick cleaning of his sword and then settles in for a night of sleep, though he doesn't imagine he'll get a full night's rest.