High upon the hillside above the city, night falls.  In the storm though, night or day makes little difference.  The sky is black, split by jagged streaks of lightning, and the wind still roars, unabated.  Water flows down the slope, sweaping away debris... a torrent of mud and water so broad that it seems as if the whole hillside is moving.

Beldrin rests quietly in the simple hut.  It's not comfortable, exactly, but certainly more comfortable than his recent accomodations.

Dorian's own accomodation is definitely more comfortable, but visitors may not be quite as welcome as the rain-soaked doormat would imply.

Cyan continues to sit silently, staring at the card.  Occasionally, her lips move, and she nods once, fractionally.  A small smile steals onto her features, followed by a look of mild irritation.

Berd curls up on Trista's shoulder and watches Devlin's glove warily.

Devlin notices the drake eying Nightbrand. The thing was something he'd always kept a secret, mostly because no one had asked. But now he'd let the creature speak aloud, that might have come as a surprise to some.

The connection, bridging as Berd called, was always there and Devlin could feel it at the corner of his mind, he could hear the others, but had chosen not to listen.

Trista and Cyan are busy and Devlin needed to do something besides sit and wait.

"I have an idea... " Beldrin says, suddenly, and then starts coughing as he tries to sit up.

Eventually the coughing subsides, and he manages to speak again, directing his attention to Devlin, "You need to find out this name, yes?"

"I want to get back to Amber, and you want to get there too.  Good, that's good.  My problem is that I'm not really in any condition to travel far.  If you will act as an escort, accompany me on the road, then I'll personally use every resource I have there to help you find out what you want."

He leans back again, "Do we have a deal?"

"A cube!"  Cyan suddenly sits up straighter, and focuses more attention on the card.  Her lips move, but her voice drops down to nothing again.  Still, ruby eyes sparkle with animation, and her brows knot together as she furiously considers their options.

Berd swings his head toward Beldrin as the man speaks, then Devlin.

"At the very least, for example, I should be able introduce you to several people with some influence at Court, with a number of different members of the Family.  That should improve your chances of getting the information you seek, as you would be able to approach the matter from a variety of different angles."  Beldrin states, and then slumps down, seemingly exhausted by his efforts.

Outside lightning bazes, sending a glaring light into the hut, and thunder crashes across the heavens.

"Is the storm getting worse?"

Trista sits cross-legged by Cyan's side with her hand softly resting on the other woman's shoulder. Her features change little as she takes in information. She absently lifts a finger to stroke Berd's velvety throat. She quietly speaks only once.

The flash of light earns a quick glance toward the door and a longer gaze on Beldrin, “Sounds like it, but it's hard to tell from in here.” Then she's back to staring at nothing with the coppery Bard.

Devlin contemplates the offer made by Beldrin. He'd told Cyan that he would stick around, now could he simply go off with this man he does not know.

He looks to Cyan and Trista, they are still having their silent conversation with James, or is it Aaron? It didn't matter.

"I will have to see what the plans of the others are. If I am not mistaken, Amber is their current destination. If that is the case you will have several escorts. If it turns out that they are not headed for Amber then I will take you there myself."

*OOC - Assuming James has nothing more to request - he was getting ready to sign off.*

Cyan finally turns the card over, a thoughtful expression upon her sharp features.  She glances to Trista, offers a smile.  "If you like, I can forge a palanquet of yourself."  She shrugs.  "Some do not wish for one - granted, it does have its perils should the card fall into the wrong hands.  I will not be offended should you say no...and should you agree, it might take some time."

She looks out of the hut, and her thin eyebrows knit together for an instant.  "Perhaps the storm does increase...Berd?"  On Trista's shoulder the little dragon raises his head from the woman's finger with some irritation at the interruption.  He sighs, rainbow steam rising from the edges of his mouth, and turns his glittering gaze out into darkness of the rain.

"The others have discovered another cube, Devlin," Cyan states quietly.  "Another of the Archon's travelling devices, given to their agents and possibly used to mark Worlds.  Beldrin knows of such things, do you not, Beldrin?"  She considers the dark man's reply to Caine's agent.  He considers leaving them already?  "I had hoped you would remain to lend assistance, Devlin.  You know you would be welcome, and I would give you whatever assistance I could in answering your questions."

They needed him.  They needed everyone they could find.

The clear vision of James suddenly vanishes, pushing Trista's head back slightly in the abruptness of it all. “Amazing ability, and to think it looks like an ordinary tarot.”

She sits back, letting her arm fall away from Cyan's shoulder. She pushes herself back against a wall with her feet out before her. Her attention returns to Cyan as she speaks of creating one of these of her. Stormy eyes lighten just a touch in surprise at the offer. Would it be a part of Cyan's deck? Of course, there'd be no reason for Trista to have one of herself. Does she warrant such attention? Not really.

Trista takes just a moment before she thoughtfully speaks, “If it would prove useful, I have no objections. I certainly don't want it to be a burden for you and I may not be one you would wish to contact, but really, I would be curious to see one.”

Her finger drops to her lap as Berd's attentions are drawn outdoors and she listens as Cyan relates their conversation to Devlin and Beldrin. She, too, hopes Devlin will remain. For several reasons... Though it is not her place to cajole, she has already expressed her hopes to the man.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:08, Wed 25 July 2007.

"Another cube, in the city?" Beldrin's gaze shifts to Cyan, "I'm starting to suspect that the damned things are alive.  There must be a world out there where they breed faster than rabbits."

He thinks for a moment, frowning, "I wonder if there is a purpose to their being brought here, specifically.  My own sources have not heard of any in the nearby lands, and yet they keep turning up in Cadiniagart itself.  Surely if the only reason were to get one into Amber, it would make more sense to transport them by different routes, and reduce the chances of them being spotted by somebody who knows what they are."

"Do you, by chance, know what would happen if the two, currently in the city, were brought together?"

The door to the hut crashes open, carried by the wind harder than the opener intended. A flash of lightning outlines a scarecrow silhouette, cloak twisting and flapping in the wind.

"Storms getting worse," Dorian barks over the wind. "I can't detect a source, but I swear this cannot be natural. Everyone stay inside. I don't know how much worse this might get, so I'm going to reinforce the structure for safety. Then we can plan from there."

He drops something flat and rectangular on the muddy ground outside this hut. A distant flash outlines the word, Welcome. Then he pulls the door shut, struggling against the buffeting winds and disappears into the night again.

Cyan ducks her head in embarassment at Trista's assessment of the palanquet.  "Truly, very small in comparison the power of the Grand Pattern, but I find it useful."  A helpless shrug.  "And that power is out of my reach, in any case."  She blinks at Trista's self-deprecatory words, and offers a hesitant smile.  "You are with us, Trista.  And Berd enjoys your company.  These are two very good reasons for me to forge a palanquet."

But her visage grows more serious at Beldrin's words.  "The cubes are forged by the Archons, of course.  How, I am uncertain.  As to why they continue to turn up in Cadignart, I have no clue...at present.  Perhaps there is more to this land than we suspect - we have seen some strange and wonderous things in our travels across the Myriad Worlds."  Ruby eyes thoughtful, Cyan rubs her chin in consideration.  "If the cubes communicate as well...if we brought them together, they might absorb one another's facets.  They might also merge.  Or open a gate.  I do not think it is something with which we should experiment here."

The door crashes open.

Gurthang is half-free of its scabbard, ethereal flames of molecular decomposition flickering along its fiery edge, when Cyan recognizes Dorian in the doorway.  She hastily slams the blade back down into its sanctuary, and opens her mouth...but Dorian merely barks out an explanation before vanishing back into the night, the darkness welcoming him like a son.  "Berd!" the bard snaps without hesitation, and moves to the door of the hut, waiting, listening for movement over the crash of the storm.

Berd's eyes begin to burn.

She had been told of the Cube, in only the barest of terms. A six-sided cube which actually contains many sides? It boggles the mind and so Trista had chosen not to dwell on it until she is able to actually see one. And now Beldrin and Cyan speak of metaphysical properties, things Trista does not understand. She keeps her silence, sitting against the wall.

In a flash, she is on her feet at the first crashing sound. The door explodes inward with Dorian stepping through like some anti-hero from movies of gone-by days. Rain and lightning crashes around him, wind whips his hair, and his voice brooks no conversation as he dictates commands. Though the woman had flew to her feet in preparation for trouble, no blade half drew from it's scabbard as Cyan's did.

With the orders give, the man drops a Welcome mat outside the door and disappears into the storm. A single eyebrow arches, “A welcome mat, interesting.”

Cyan takes up residence at the door and Berd begins... something. Trista feels Berd's shared strength all around her and is grateful. For her part, Trista keeps her position against the wall across from the door, on her feet, but in a relaxed stance.

The time for talk seems to be gone for the moment.

"I agree, experimentation can wa- " Beldrin's words are cut off by a peal of thunder, so loud that it seems to be inside the shelter with them.

When the ringing in his ears subsides, he shakes is head.  "This is the one thing I always hated about Cadiniagart... Storm Season.  Every year they get a handful of hurricanes, and every year there's at least one of them like this one.  It's why they build so solidly in the city."

Devlin is thoughtful for a bit, thinking on choices and other things.

He does not jump, at least not physically, when Dorian slams into the hut, and then he is gone again.

When the noise subsides with the closing of the door he says, "Beldrin said he had a cube, I gather it was taken from him. Perhaps this is the same cube that the others have found out about. There's no reason to think that there are now two of the things here."

Then he looks at Beldrin, It seems that I should remain with my friends for a while longer. Each time I try to approach Amber something manages to draw me further away again." He would need to believe in random chance for this to happen every time, and he does not.

"But I doubt we'll be doing anything much until this storm has passed, if it ever passes...

Trista is quick off the mark, no doubt about that.  It isn't hard to see.  She also seems to have better control over her reflexes, or perhaps Cyan has picked up certain bad habits over her last year or two 'away'.  She gives the other woman a weak smile, slightly embarassed at her almost-draw.  "Dorian has a peculiar sense of humor," she says by way of explanation.  "That might be a magical mat.  It might be a trap for enemies.  It might be a gateway to use for escapes."

"It might be a welcome mat.  I have no idea."  Cyan gingerly prods the mat with a finger.


Cyan glances at Trista again and nods fractionally.  "The storm...Berd says it is not controlled, or summoned here by magics," she states aloud for the benefit of the others in the hut.  "It might be the norm, it might not.  With the upheavals in the Myriad Worlds, there may be storms rushing through time and space."  Her lips twist into a bitter frown for an instant.  "'Shadow' storms, or so they are called."

She nods to Devlin's supposition.  It's possible the cube the others have discovered is one and the same.  But it is worth investigating.  "Beldrin, who took the cube from you?" she inquires.

Relief swamps her as Devlin announces his plans to remain with them, at least for the moment.  Good.  Too many people have left this quest already.  They need everyone they can find.  She needs everyone she can find.  Her own reaction surprises her, and Cyan considers her heart.

She is worn.  Pressure erodes the strongest will after a time.

She moves to crouch next to Trista, puts her head back against the wall, and rolls her eyes up to the other woman.  But her voice is pitched to include Devlin, as well.  "Quests to save the universe are not exactly what the songs make them out to be, are they not?"

He had work to do. A storm like this wasn't unusual back on Samhain. In fact, it made him a little nostalgic, stomping in a wide circle around the hut while the wind battered him. Just a few moments, he thought. That's all I need, and then we'll have shelter enough to weather the worst of hurricanes. Unless the entire hill washed away, of course. He couldn't do much about that, save keep his teleport spell fresh. He pondered preparing a new one tailored to carry multiple beings and preset for the city. Just a little longer...
This message was last edited by the player at 16:58, Sat 28 July 2007.