Amber Castle - Another Great Bill Dowling TrumpAvatars and Nincompoops...

...Corwin, Merlin and the Prisoner in the Tower

During the run-up to the Second War with Ghenesh, the PCs decided it was time to bring Corwin back from the universe of his Pattern for the sake of his knowledge of both Ghenesh and the Jewel of Judgment. But first they had to find him...

"Tell me something, Brigit: How do you follow an acorn?"

- Ramon

With Random ailing and the invasion paths from a decidedly hostile Ghenesh due to reopen shortly, the Younger Amberites decided it was time to find Corwin and secure his help in Amber's defense. Thanks to Ramon's rapport with the World Tree, Ygg, the PCs thought they could finally gain entrance to the region around Corwin's Pattern. A bit of literal tree-hugging put them on an island in the middle of a Renault-infested traffic circle. The drivers were reckless, aggressive and rude. And there was the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Sacre Bleu!

"I don't know the language. That won't be a problem, will it?"

- Valentine

The bad news was that neither Pattern nor Trump seemed to work here. The good news was that finding Corwin seemed like a cinch: according to the paper his spitting image was, under a pseudonym, the Mayor of Paris. The bad news was that when the PCs tried to meet him, calling themselves "friends of Bill Roth," the Mayor told his secretary he'd never heard of any such person. That's when the PCs finally appreciated that a man who turned his back on the Throne of Amber wasn't likely to saddle himself with the job of Mayor of Paris either.

"Why do you keep calling me 'Inspector LePont?' "

- Brigit

The papers also talked about "The Man in the Mask," a prisoner in the Tower of the Bastille. (Hey, it's Corwin's Paris, not yours.) And the Gargoyle that visited the Tower every night. Soon enough the PCs confirmed their suspicions: the Gargoyle was loyal if largely ineffectual Merlin; the Man in the Mask was the real Corwin of Amber; and the Mayor was an avatar of Corwin's Pattern, as the Emperor had been an avatar of the Pattern in Brandspace. Owing to the pressure of time (Ghenesh loomed) subtlety went by the boards.

"Heck, I haven't stormed the Bastille in ages."

- Ramon

Mr Warfare himself, Xenofal, drew up the plans for the breakout, which involved plastic explosives, grenades, sniper rifles and hang gliders. Each PC will be happy to explain how he or she was really the key to the success of the assault on their own character pages. Suffice it to say that the escape turned into a running battle between the Amberites and the French police through the nighttime city and that, in the end, everyone got out alive, if not unscathed. The Avatar of Corwin went unmolested and presumably rules still. The PCs couldn't help but note that the Emperor was the projection of an incomplete Pattern and was tough enough -- the Mayor owed his existence to a full Pattern. The PCs have very occasionally been back to visit. Because the entrance is still somewhat secret, Corwin's Paris makes a handy, if inherently dangerous, bolthole. Soon after the rescue, for instance, they brought the Ghenesh Prince Marcus there for questioning. One thing everyone can be sure of: Corwin's Paris isn't going anywhere. Loose ends loose ends loose ends.



Back to Brandspace homepage