Shards of Amber

I am more determined than ever to find out how magic works around her and to get mine back after what I felt in the hospital basement. I now know definitively that it's possible even if I don't know how just yet, and the moment was purely accidental. i now know that its possible to have it back fully, not in the haphazrd way it's been happening for mortimer and I where you wonder if it's accidental. It's all the more important now given the possibility of charlatans with ill-intent among us. No I'm not taking about Motimer. I know perfectly well what his deal is. Sometimes a good bluff pays off. Though if he gets caught in his lie, it could be bad for all of us,which puts an even greater sense of urgency on learning magic for real. No my concern is the brother of the unicorn who can apparently control the position of the sun. The fact that someone else can possibly manipulate magic better than we can is no small amount of unsettling. Is he really a local? What blood runs through his veins. Does he really know what he's doing or his manipulating things by sheer force of will much as we've been able to push back the fact fog. it was more than luck. That's for certain. I could feel the magic, though what it was doing I couldn't tell. I'm more than half convinced he was holding the sun down so he could then make it rise. Not surprising that people would try to fill the vacuum.
Fixing this place is my priority not necessarily ruling it. Not that I'm incapable of it. I've ruled shadows before. I never did understand why none of the elders focused on creating a well run city and soaking in the adulation. To squander the power one has is both ridiculous and irresponsible. I like fixing problems and that's essentially my problem. Once a given shadow is running smoothly, I get the urge to fix something else and leave things to a trusted regent while I head off to tackle another challenge (Not that I don't pop back to make sure thing's are going smoothly. but this place may be more challenge than i bargained for. Watching the new arrival Dorian try to get his footing brings to mind that after what has to be months here I'm only slightly lost than he is.

Merde! I think that damned Fog bit me back tonight. I was probing it in the Upper part of this City. I'm still not sure it's Amber. I just...Well, I'm not. Won't face that until I have too. To continue, I tripped? Hell, the damned Mist might have grabbed me. I ended up in the midst of this obscure Fog. Thought I heard someone talking about chasing down goats for carnal pleasure...Then realized it was Amy and her friend. His name is Gavin. Dude is huge! Built like a Panzer tank! Seems nice enough though. They talked me through getting out of there. It was a team effort, really. It's nice to be of some use for a change. Walking through that stuff is like hitting a Veil in the Pattern, only more constant. We made it though. Hell's Bells, I even had the melody of Le Boudin going through my mind at the end of the trip. I can't believe we did it to get goats though. It makes sense. Just seems so pedestrian. Why couldn't we have come back with Turkish tobacco, an ounce of Red Sensimilla, and some real damn soap? I can live off mussels, and fish. But that damned lye soap those fisher folk use burns the naughty bits too much. Oh well, if things work out, someone can breed the ones we brought back. Still can't use the Pattern, It's just not there. And I really need to start working on getting my old tricks back. I think I'm beginning to understand how I lost my link to the Magic. I'll have to ponder it. I got to see the Scholar briefly. Those damned freckles are just so cute. Well, time for some cheap rum, and the oblivion of rest.

Well. We went back to the basement. And found Fog. At least it - didn't just reset to what it used to be, that's comforting. Like it's maybe real and we're really here. Interestingly around the edges of the room, there are doors - and it seems like maybe there's a maze beneath the hospital, and maybe below the whole city? I think we definitely have more exploring to do - though hopefully we can get Gavin and Kyrie with us. And maybe Kynan - his fireballs are excellent deterrents.

I've had a bit to drink, and it feels good to be a tad numb. I haven't written much about that fellow Dirk. I can't figure him out. He's all dour, and sour one minute, and then he's like a joyous bepopping, and let's go to the sockhop the next. By the Truth of the Golden Dawn, that man is moodier than I am. That takes some doing. Well, whether I like it or not, I have to figure out exactly what is going on. I think I'll start near the water, and investigate this damnable fog as best I can. Amy said to be careful though. Can that stuff really be sentient? Guess I'll get some rest, and approach this when I'm sober. Can't say I'm looking forward to it. And I really find myself wondering if I really want any answers. Dorian old chap you know how it is. Every situation, Great, or small you face, comes down to making one decision. And that decision has three choices, Fight, Fornicate, or Flee. So, what the Hell are you going to do? Time for bed.

Okay, I have to get a hold of myself. Ran into Dani, Amy, and a fellow named Mortimer. He actually seems like he would fit right in at the Sun King's Court, or with Kipling's crowd. We went traipsing down into some hospital basement looking for I not sure what. Damn, it's apparent this crew never read Clausewitz, Freedman, or Gray. I mean that damned green lieutenant in Vietnam, what was his name, Needermyer or some such had more tactical sense than any of them. Okay Dorian, calm down. Steady ole boy. Actually that's neither here, nor there. I learned all that to get Mom off my back. One of the few times she said I was doing well. Martial training, and military strategy, that's my Mom. Only thing I could ever tell we had in common was the ability to make a dramatic entrance. Not that any of that matters now either. I almost lost it down there. For just a moment I could feel that old battle lust coming up. I can't go back to being that person. "Love Lust, Faith, Dreams..." You know the drill Dorian. Keep to the somewhat normal path of a somewhat normal person. Anyway, it appears we may be going on a little underground adventure. Actually it feels more like heading into Russia on campaign with that overconfident little Corsican bastard. Face it Dorian your frazzled, and for the first time in a long time, afraid. And be damned if I'm going to become their strategist. I guess I do need to start figuring out their strengths though. On a lighter note, it appears that Mortimer can work some type of magic. Maybe I'll figure out a way to get mine back. Think I'm about to go get piss drunk.

All right, I have to get this out of my system. All I wanted was to come home. I just wanted to go to few parties, and admire the Pretty Boys, and the Pretty Girls. Drink some good wine. Have an aspiring artist paint some nudes of me, and then seduce her. Find a couple of good dice games, bet on some horse races, and raise a little good nature ruckus. But No! Somehow I've ended up in some kind of Hell. The place looks like the bad part of Capetown, or the better part of Bangladesh. Met a few folks, but I'm sure they know really know dick all more than I do. That redhead Danielle is cute, smart, seems intellectually driven. Met a supposed old friend of Dad. He's a strange one, a bit dour, and reckless. Calls himself Dirk. And then there's this chick named Amethyst, likes to be called Amy. Built like a brick outhouse, and seems to have her stuff together. Way more than I do, anyway. The consensus around here is that this place is Amber. But I don't know. If it is Amber, than the Powers that be have cut loose, and the Old Powers have come back. Fog that seems almost alive, place that has some of Amber's geography but looks like a damned shanty town. I can't wield the Pattern in anyway. Damn, I can't even really sense it. The sorcery tricks I used to know won't work. I may be able to figure that out though. Scuttlebutt says some folks use magic here. I just don't know. I'm going to find a bottle or three, and get stupid pass out drunk. Hell's Bells, I think I would prefer one of Dear Old Father's lectures to this right now. I know I would actually.+

One of these days, we have to go back to the basement of the hospital and see what is there. I am not sure whether I want that spider woman monstrosity to be there ... or not.

Ever get the feeling that someone isn't happy? Dirk brought this fellow Roger by, and he is definitely not happy. I healed his arm, where it had been written on with a knife, but I'm not sure it helped much with his mood. I guess I might understand how he's feeling; none of us are really happy to be here. Though it maybe beats the alternative?

At least, I think so.

We found a beach! Real sand and water, and there are fish in the water. Of course, there's still fog out there, but at least we now have a real fishing area. There are docks with fishermen - they all seem so depressed and are just living day to day. Kind of like the market place.

I hope that they will be able to help feed themselves and the folks back in the marketplace, as well as us! That is, if we can figure out how to get back to the marketplace from here.

We've been here in the Switchback for quite some time. I am starting to think there's nothing out there other than the fog. The horrible nasty fog that keeps trying to - I don't know what. It almost feels like it is sentient at times, malevolent. But it stays at bay for now, somehow. For now.

We did manage to push it back to find a way down this mountain. But what we found down there - those poor people. They seem to have given up, to be lost and have no idea what they can do. What they might do. What they should do. We're trying to help them, to clean things up, repair things, and make sure they have medical assistance and education. And food. Definitely food.

I am not at all sure what else we can do.

Day 1 : This is odd. I want my Perci back. I feel weirdly out of place. Everything is making me cringe.