07.14J Presents and Parcels: Pick Up and Delivery

The goings on of courts
Draylen
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07.14J Presents and Parcels: Pick Up and Delivery

Post by Draylen »

After the conversation with Alys, the bear slipped subtly out of his new office, and sought that of Rolf. He spoke of what he had in mind, and the two argued for a time. "This is madness," the man grumbled finally, shaking his head. "Are you sure this will be worth it?"

"Yes, I am. I seek only to safeguard Amber from all sources, including that of Chaos. Too many are now here from it, after all; if any measure can be taken to prevent a drawn-out war, such a thing would certainly be wise." The bear gives a small smile, but shakes his head. "This will be fine, there will be no repercussions on you for such a thing."

"Well... alright, fine, but on your head be it." The drill sergeant gives a little sigh, before standing him, winding the bear through the labyrinths under the castle in the dead of night. Soon enough, they stood at the doorway to the Pattern of Amber, which makes the bear blink. "Huh. I don't think this was where I came in last time..."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing important. The, uh. Nothing important. Thank you, Rolf, for your assistance. All will be well. I hope you have a pleasant evening," the bear says, inclining his head to the sergeant, before opening the doors and stepping in.

Rolf opens his mouth to speak, but shakes his head and retreats, taking the lantern with him. Aibne does not seem to notice or care, however, studying simply the greater reality of the room itself before glancing at the Pattern of Castle Amber. His eyes roved over it, surprised at the similarities between this and the one at Ht’gon, but shook his head. “Calm… calm,” he breathed out, closing his eyes and squaring his shoulders, before stepping first onto the pattern.

The first steps are… easier, he thinks to himself, before the memory of what the jester told him floats to his mind. Or I am much stronger in truth… “Bah. No time for such things. Focus,” he says, growling a little and forcing his way forward, stepping into the first veil.

The niggling self-doubts whisper in his mind, and the bear snorts. “Yeah, yeah, I did this already,” he says, tearing through it and stepping forward again. He’s confident, set against the Pattern making the best of him, strolling along the arc. One step in front of the other, taking it slow and steady step, as he starts to approach the second veil.

As he passes this, though, a specter appears before him. Rogbar stands some dozen feet away, walking the pattern himself, step by slow, steady step. Aibne winces a little and continues, slowly pressing forward. “Mas-“ he starts, slowing for a minute before growling, catching himself from reaching out toward Rogbar’s disappearing back. “No. No. I have to stay focused,” he says, and rips his eyes down to the Pattern on the ground, forcing himself to continue the slow and steady walk.

He closes his eyes and whimpers a little, when he sees the cait sith’s paws in front of him. “I…I… you’re…” he says, scrunching his eyes and reaching forward to shove Rogbar to the side. “I’m sorry,” he says, the words strangling themselves in his throat, as he presses forward slowly. This place in the Pattern is wider than he'd thought, though; for even as he continues to walk slowly and steadily, he can feel the slow impact of Rogbar's next to him.

Tears spill from the bear’s eyes as he continues forcing himself forward. He steps steadily, wiping them away as he forces himself to redouble his focus on the third veil, not looking back at Rogbar. The third veil Aibne hears Rogbar calling from behind him. "Please, aibne. I- I can't make it…" The bear shudders a little and frowns, scrunching his eyes shut. “Master… Master, I-I can’t… I’m sorry, I-I…” he says, shaking his head, continuing to step forward. Soon, though, only silence remains, the voice of his Master only a distant memory as he pushes through to the center.

Tears fall from his eyes unabashed and unhindered as he steps to the center of the Pattern, and a fleeting thought directs it toward Rogbar, safe and sound, enjoying a good meal with the rest of his his band. More tears flow, as Aibne realizes he'll never again truly belong there with them, but he takes a deep breath and focuses. "Pattern! Hear my demand! Taunt me no longer, and take me to a device that Alys will wear that will protect her from psychic attacks!"

The image of Rogbar dining with his friends, his family, shifts, then. It hazes, and clears, several points in turn, as the bear steels his will and works at shifting them, forcing it to come to what he desires. He dries his eyes and wipes away his tears, giving his full focus to this task, as the scene lights upon that of a darkened museum, focused on a single piece.

He nods and steps forward, coming into a dark museum. It’s late and lightless, but the bear stands in a room that displays many artefacts of the British Isles. In the center, held in a glass case, is a spiraling golden serpent, lovingly molded and shaped by the hand of a master goldsmith. Nine feet long from snout to tip, nine holes adorn the snout, and a shard of ruby sits in a single eye socket. “The Lambton Wurm” decorates the information placard underneath the statue, and the bear frowns, looking it over.
Something in him keeps him from touching the glass case as he does, but after about a minute, he’ll use a claw to gently scratch a circle into the top, just to see how strong he is now.

The glass scratches open easily, coming apart almost like butter to the tip of his claw. He reaches in to pull it out, and as he does, he sees from the corner of his eye a bright red blinking light. He draws out the statue almost idly, confused and bemused by such a thing. "Whatever could that be?" he asks, before shaking his head and wrapping the statue carefully in his cloak. "Ah, well. Easily enough acquired... one down, one to go."

Boots on the ground stomping forward heavily give him pause as he sees two guards enter from a doorway. "Halt, in the name of her Imperial Majesty!" They each brandish a small metal wand, held in a strange way, almost like dowsing wands but separated. The bear looks at them for a moment, before their words register with him.

“Her… imperial… What? I don’t know what you’re saying.” He turns to face them - a huge, hulking, talking bear, dressed in ancient celtic style clothing, starting to approach them. “You have strange metal sticks. Certainly, they are no sword,” and he’ll draw his own as a demonstration. “What are they?"

One of the guards gasps as he takes in Aibne's full visage. "D-demon bear!" Their trigger fingers move, and there's a loud explosion in the night.

The bear winces at the loud and sudden bang, and then draws a sharp intake of breath as the bullets penetrate his thick hide. He starts bleeding slightly, blood trickling down from the entry wounds, and he snarls, stepping forward. “That will not be happening again!” he growls, moving fast as lightning and squeezing the barrel of one of the metal, scrunching it shut.

They turn, in response, and flee, running away as rapidly as they can. He nods a little and grumbles, looking at the golden statue, before sighing. He shakes his head and gently wraps the statue once more in his cloak, making a careful package out of it so as to not damage the delicate red-gold scales of it, before starting to focus. “Okay. Alys’s gift is found, now. Pattern, take me to a wooden eye carved from the wood of a World Tree,” he says, concentrating on the image in his head, and beginning to stroll forward.

Shadow shifts repeatedly, as he focuses on taking away the technology, taking away all that is 'modern', for the industrial revolution. Step by slow, subtle step, the bear alters the terrain, until he is soon no longer standing on the British Isles. The world itself quickly changes, slowly at first but speeding up with inexorable force, until he stands upon the soils of Midgard, whereby the Aesir live.

“Ah! Excellent. Alright. Where oh where would a wooden eye be…” he says, scanning the skies even as he does for a pair of crows. He continues to step, making tiny changes, drawing them closer, and in short order, two great black birds appear in the sky, soon landing in front of the bear.

"You… are not from here?" one asks, a voice gritty and deep.

“Ah, hello! You would be Hunin and Munin, yes?” The bear nods a little and smiles. “No, I come walking from a different place. I would be happy to share stories of my travels, if you can perchance lead me to what I seek.” The bear will sit down with the crows, and regale them with stories of his life in the service of the Shadowstriders. The tales are sometimes happy, often tinged with sorrow, but always exciting and adventurous, as each caravan and each trade seeks a different world and plane, some utterly alien to the crows.

The crows take the stories and tales with great regard, before inclining their heads. One flies off briefly, before returning shortly, a wooden eye clutched in one talon."Two were made, but only one was needed. Will you take this to other worlds that Odin might find new experiences?"

“Indeed I do,” he says to the crows, inclining his head. “You have my thanks, and I shall come here again with more stories for you and the one you serve." He takes the eye, and stands up, turning to leave.

"We are but two, and there are many, Seek and find us again, and not our brethren," they say, before flying off before the bear can comment.

The bear sighs a little and closes his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?" he muses, smiling softly, before shaking his head. He concentrates on Amber, starting the long, slow, tedious treck back to it.
-------
Written with Joshua over chat, more or less, but rewritten to be consistent. More or less. Bear has a little bit of bad stuff. This will take him out of action until 07.15, unless someone trumps him and ports him in, because he wouldn't think about doing that himself. He knows Pattern can do that - he did that from Ht'gon to Amber - but he wouldn't actually think about Trump. I don't think he's actually used it ever, not himself.
Wyvern
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Re: 07.14J Presents and Parcels: Pick Up and Delivery

Post by Wyvern »

Towards evening of the 4th,* Aibne will get the distinct sensation of an incoming trump call. Should he choose to accept, he'll find Alys on the other end. "Hello, Aibne. How is your trip going?"

_____
* Although how much time has passed for Aibne is a bit of an open question. It could be hours; it could be days.
* Also note that this is set after various events involved in Jaeger's arrival.
Draylen
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Re: 07.14J Presents and Parcels: Pick Up and Delivery

Post by Draylen »

"gah!" he says, jumping in surprise at the odd sensation in his head, before answering it tentatively. "Uh... hello? It's, uh, it's fine. Sorry, you... is this really what this feels like?" he says, blinking rapidly. "IT's very odd. Uh. I think I'm about halfway back home. I should arrive tomorrow," the bear reports, after focusing for a bit.
Wyvern
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Re: 07.14J Presents and Parcels: Pick Up and Delivery

Post by Wyvern »

"Trump, yes," Alys gestures with Aibne's card, a motion that would be lost on a phone call, but comes through the trump connection just fine.

"Any particular reason for taking the slow route back? Did you need the time to think or anything?"
Draylen
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Re: 07.14J Presents and Parcels: Pick Up and Delivery

Post by Draylen »

"Oh. Um. Iiiii don't have any other way? I mean, the way I got here... I know it doesn't only exist there, but I don't know how to go looking for a Pattern imprint?" He sounds really confused, and gives a little shrug, rubbing at the back of his head.
Wyvern
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Re: 07.14J Presents and Parcels: Pick Up and Delivery

Post by Wyvern »

"You have your deck with you, yes?"
Draylen
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Re: 07.14J Presents and Parcels: Pick Up and Delivery

Post by Draylen »

"Uh..." he shuffles through his cloak pockets, blinking a little, before pulling out the small silk bag. "Apparently. Why?"
Wyvern
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Re: 07.14J Presents and Parcels: Pick Up and Delivery

Post by Wyvern »

"The relevant card here would be the Chariot. Bring that one out and focus on it; I will meet you there."

Alys waits a moment longer to make sure that Aibne does, indeed, have not just his trump deck but the relevant card at hand before cutting off the connection.
Draylen
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Re: 07.14J Presents and Parcels: Pick Up and Delivery

Post by Draylen »

"Oh. Right. Um." He says, fishing for the card before pulling it out. He concentrates for a moment, and then carefully touches it with his hand-

There's a soft fwumpf* as he lands on the docks in a swirl of multicolored sparks, at least to the bear's ears. He shakes his head and frowns, slipping the card back into the deck and putting that back into his pocket. He looks chagrined for a brief moment, but carefully lets that disappear quickly, as he glances for Alys.

---
*Absolutely not Bamf. In no possible way could this be Bamf.
Wyvern
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Re: 07.14J Presents and Parcels: Pick Up and Delivery

Post by Wyvern »

The dock is, as usual, guarded*, and there is no immediate sign of Alys' presence.

It is, however, only a few minutes before a clattering noise heralds the arrival of a carriage**; it pulls to a stop at the edge of the docks, and Alys waves for the bear to join her inside.

_____
* Overseen by a mix of Amber's castle guard and a few Rebma rangers.
** In black and red and gold, and possibly drawn by some sort of spike-faced ceratopsian? I'm not actually sure to what extent Amber goes in for exotic beasts of burden.
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