Lorne's Diary:

In the Lion's Den

Well, at least the last couple days haven't been all bad. Dalt's cage for us seems to be pretty nicely gilded, although I'd really like to find another change of clothes or two.

We managed to find the kitchen without too much trouble, and made ourselves a meal. The pantries seem to learn our tastes and cater to them. That should have worried me, since learning your taste in food is often a good first step for someone to take before slipping you something unsavory. However, Gabrielle made a most excellent couscous, and I couldn't help myself. We also introduced Elayne to the joys of peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches - it was funny watching her discover all these foods that they never had on Toril, and it made me remember my own first experiences with otherworldly cuisine.

We also had the time to make more thorough introductions. Gabrielle claims to be Fiona's daughter, and doesn't appear to get along with her very well. It could be an act, but I've got no reason to think so at the moment. She does ask a lot of probing questions though, making me go through the motions of dodging them...and of course, she dodged back. It's good practice though, if I'm going to re-hone my skills before getting mixed up in Amberite affairs. Sinclair was noticably reticient on saying how he fit into the family, which raises some possibilities in itself.

Amberite affairs...those words just do not sound right attached to me. Not only that, but if it's true, it would mean that all these people are related to me somehow, and that's just strange. I suppose Gabrielle might be a little bit like the sister I'd imagined I might have, but it's way too early to tell, and the thought of Elayne or Darian as family just feels wierd.

After eating, I decided to have my first hot bath in 35 years, and Darian and Sinclair came along as well. And what a bath it was...it's pretty much a full-sized swimming pool with nicely hot water. Upon exiting, we ran into the ladies, who (very conveniently) happened to be passing by at the time. I'll confess...I flexed a bit for them, but hey, it's been a while since I've really been oogled, and it got a nice look from Gabrielle and a particularly cute blush out of Elayne.

After the ladies had their own bath, we all went back to the kitchen for some snacks and more conversation. Gabrielle gave a summary of the Amberites that I'm sure will be extremely handy even if it's only half true. For one thing, she verified the feud between Fiona and Caine that Liana told me about. She also suggested I look to either Durant or Llewella as possible Amberite allies. I'll judge that for myself after I've met them and learned a bit more about what they've done in the past. One thing I know for sure...as soon as we take anyone as an ally, we'll be sharing that person's enemies, too...and Amberites tend to have a lot of enemies. On the plus side, I now know where the Amberites' power stems from: There's apparently some kind of mystic Pattern in the basement of their castle, that only members of the royal family can walk across without exploding. It supposedly gives them the power to walk through shadow without using shadow paths, and even to find shadows tailor made to their desires without much effort. No wonder they're so bloody powerful; they've effectively got infinite resources to draw upon. I've got to get back to headquarters and formulate a counter-strategy if I'm going to be pushed into interacting with them.

Anyway, we then put some time into exploring and trying to find a way out. This place seems to go on literally forever, repeating the same sequence of rooms like an Escher painting. There's one discontinuity though...a blocked off door that we found near the bathing area. Elayne thinks she might be able to break through, so perhaps there's some hope for us getting out yet. Also, Gabrielle is apparently able to draw Trumps, so we're getting her set up in the library to see if she can make one to get us free.

After reading Dalt's notes in the books in the library, I think I've got a basic understanding of his views...views which Sinclair appears somewhat sympathetic with. After talking with him for a while, I'm becoming increasingly convinced that he might be Dalt's son, and that he is either somehow out-of-favor with his father, or is here spying on us. I think I'm leaning toward the former, mainly because the latter would be a bit too obvious, and Gabrielle at least seems have a bit of trust for him.

It was about this time that a chime sounded, and Dalt came in. He was arrogant, but polite, and it seemed like he was mainly here to spell out our options. Apparently he'd broadcast his capture of us to as many Amberite family members as he could, in hopes of getting bids on us. There goes any hope I had of maintaining a low profile, damnit! Furthermore, he somehow seemed to dig up some info on me. I'm not sure how, but he might have interrogated Liana. If he's harmed her, I'll just have to fillet him. End of Story.

Random, the King of Amber, made what sounded like a token offer on Darian, Elayne, and I; I suppose it's bad form to be in charge of the family and look like you don't give a rip about them. So for Darian and I that looks like our only option, unless we can offer Dalt something better. I might be able to do that, but there's no way I'm going to start a negotiation from such a bad position; not only do I not really know what Dalt might want, but I can't even walk away from the table if things don't go well, not to mention the fact that cutting any kind of deal with Dalt would probably not set me up very well with the rest of the Amberites. Elayne's in an even worse spot - it seems that Caine offered an extravagant amount to have her alive, while Fiona offered a similar amount to simply have her killed on the spot. This is bad...it means that she won't be safe even if I were to finally get her back to Toril. It's starting to look like the only way to get out of this is to play their game. F&*# Amberites and the webs they weave! I think Elayne is buying into Dalt's manipulations to make himself look like the best choice, and I don't think that he's giving us the whole story.

Dalt stayed for a while, telling us the things he wanted us to know about the other family members before he headed out to give us time to consider our options. He'll come back tomorrow to find out our decisions. I think I'm going to do my best to choose "None of the above", and get us out of here on our own. At least then we can cut a separate deal to get access to this Pattern of theirs, without being in the position of captives begging for our lives. Additionally, we may be able to secure help from Gabrielle and Sinclair that way, since they don't currently have any choice about staying or going. Before we get too deep into this though, there's a couple things that I'd better show Elayne, like the dangers of psychic contact through eye or skin contact...she seems pretty trusting, and that's really dangerous in the circles we're getting into. The idea of making psychic contact still makes my blood shiver, but I think I can manage to work myself up to it...after all, she had the chance to do pretty much anything she wanted to me and didn't, and I really don't want to see her end up like I did because of a careless moment.