As Amy and Alonzo sit on the bench chatting idly, there is not a lot of movement down here by the gate. The large heavy thing is closed tight, hiding the fog that lurks behind it. A pause in the conversation has Amy glance around, noting that there's next to nobody here. "It's quiet here by the gate," she notes. "I don't think I've ever seen it open." A gesture to the gate over there, where it stands. "I wonder what it looks like on the other side."

Alonzo nods, "Probably fog. Interesting effect with the stars and auroras toward the walls of fog. Strange. No one you've talked to has been outside the gate?"

Amy considers the question. "We were in a jungle clearing," she observes. "But I'm not sure where it is exactly. I mean, I think it's outside of this city, obviously. but we didn't get there by going out the gate. And the people here - those who are here, it's like they're slowly waking up."

Amy and Alonzo are seated on a bench not far from the gate, chatting.

Alonzo goes quiet a moment, then speaks. "This reminds me of a thing in Amber that Was. People with Amnesia keep getting found, and they weren't quite the same as people remembered. Nor were their memories matching the way things were. I never found out what was happening with them, but I can't help but notice the similarity. That started happening when the Pattern in Rebma was destroyed. I wonder if something similar happened here."

"It kind of seems like - something happened. If this is Amber, it doesn't match what any of us think it should be," Amy says. "And I know I was only here once, but it surely doesn't look like my vague recollection is."

To the south, a great iron gate can be seen, closed and locked, its arch rising above the road, imposing its bulk and shadow on the area. Whisps of fog slide under the door, and above the arch, the black mass of it coming within an inch of the gate itself.

Lucafrase might be crossing to the Lower City, where she often visits Maggie, for They Are Best Friends, but as Amy says: There's basically no proof they're not living in a bottle on a shelf, so equally possible is Luca returning from a long solo walk on the beach...

All of a sudden, there's a loud solid thump of a knock on the gate. From the other side.

Alonzo sits up, then stands. Facing the gate he cocks his head to the side and places both hands up, towards the gate. He begins to say strange words, eldritch words in the language of creation perhaps.

Amy blinks, and turns to stare at the door.
The gate guard stifles a yawn and then he too turns to stare at the door, as if daring it to make that sound again.

Lucafrase marches over, having cut herself off halfway through a: "Hey, Ameth--" and a cheery wave. "... the hell's going on?"

Amy has to laugh at the glare from the guard. She also blinks at whatever it is Alonzo is doing. "Hey, Luca. This is Alonzo. Alonzo, Lucafrase. And I don't know what's going on, but there was just a loud bang on the gate. LIke someone on the other side just knocked. Loudly."

\

The sound of the banging has drawn Gavin. The knight stretches and striffles a yawn as he comes to stand next to Amethyst. He looks down at the blonde woman, "What's the comotion, darling?"

Alonzo stops chanting and a soccer sized ball of white-hot fire manifests within his right palm. This is an impressive feat, or at least it might be, if the ball didn't fizzle a moment later and slightly burn Alonzo's hand in the process. "What the heck? Magic is apparently not working the way it should. I've done that thousands of times, never had it fail before."

Amy looks over at Alonzo, still looking quite impressed. "You should talk to Maggie," is her comment on that. "Gavin, welcome to the gateside mystery. Someone knocked on the door." She turns to look at the gate guard, one of those who completely ignores our intrepid heroes, just like the guards in the palace. "Well?" she asks. "Are you going to open the gate?"

The guard continues to ignore her, which brings a sigh

And then there's a loud voice calling, "make way! make way for the king." Only that voice is coming from the north.

Lucafrase's eyebrows shoot up. "Another spectral monarch. OK. Everyone remembers how to curtsey?" she hisses, eyes on the gate...

Alonzo raises an eyebrow, and mouthes silently to Amethyst, "Silent monarch?"

Alonzo rolls with advantage -1 at difficulty 15, using no talents or gifts.
The result is a failure.

Gavin nods "Perhaps we shall learn more of this mystery we find ourselves living." Gavin says and looks to Lucas, "I believe I understand the process." He's talking of the coursey.

Amy offers a very confused shrug to Alonzo, her hands raising as she shakes her head, and mouths back, "I don't know." She does move off the road, and out of the way. "Let's not get trampled or anything," she offers.

There's the sound of horses from further IN the city, heading towards the gate. The guard appears to panic, and he moves to unchain the chains, unlock the locks, with all due haste.

At the same time, there's another knock on the door from the outside.

Alonzo nods, "A wise course. Though...can a spectral carriage trample. Perhaps not best to find out.", he says as he follows Amethyst off the road. Once safe he will peer into the distance.

Lucafrase explains, hurriedly, to Alonzo: "Yeah, magic's-- the rules aren't-- it's different now. And yeah, 'ghosts.' We've got 'em." She lines up with the others, at attention and awaiting... well, nobody quite knows what...

Gavin lines up with the others and stands at attention just watching the scene pass him by. His eyes quietly watching things.

Gavin rolls with advantage 0 at difficulty 15, using notice.
The result is a success.

Alonzo decides to look in direction of the fog, trying to peer through it.

Danielle comes from the direction of the lower city seeming startled by the commotion as she moves near the others

Alonzo rolls with advantage 1 at difficulty 15, using notice, magic sense.
The result is a success.

There is nothing visible but deep black fog. If you try hard, it seems maybe there's something visible through the fog.

"Make way, make way," comes the trumpeting voice as the sound of the horses gets louder. There are 8 horses, pulling an opulent carriage. It is closed in with curtains on the windows, such as they are, so it's not possible to see who is in the carriage. There is a crest on the carriage though, for those who notice it.

The guard finally gets the gate unlocked, but pauses in opening it. Of course if he doesn't, he's liable to get run over by royalty, and that makes up his mind for him. He swings open the door, and on the other side? There is nothing visible but deep dark black fog, about a foot away from the gate.

Amy's eyes widen. "This is not good," she murmurs. She moves to where she can see, wincing as she waits for a big kaboom.

Alonzo pauses, and looks down, exclaiming. "Uh, am I seeing things or is there a two foot tall gentleman standing there about to knock on the gate. Sir? You may wish to move aside, and who are you?"

Lucafrase slips her most vicious, her deadliest solution from beneath her tunic. Chips down, back to the wall, her face a tableaux of grim resolve-- it's-- a Parmesan knife. Watch out.

\ "It's the kings crest." Gavin frowns as he looks at the fog and then the carriage. "Perhaps this is what happened. The King rode into the fog for some reason?" With the carriage ghostly, Gavin isn't worried but he's not voluteering about standing in front of the carriage.

Danielle simply watches, lips pursed, muscles taught as she waits for carriage to collide with fog though she does make note as to whether the carriage and horses are solid and reactive or spectral

The carriage is spectral, but as it nears the fog, it seems to flash between ghostly and real, real and ghostly. The guard has hastily dove out of the way, leaving a two foot tall fellow in a tuxedo standing there with a scowl on his face and a hand raised as if about to knock again. "Oh bother," he says, just as Alonzo speaks. It is alas too late, and the king's carriage careens screamingly into the fog - or tries to. It hits the edge of the fog and there's a sizzle sound, like fajitas on a cast iron skillet, but no smoke. Then the carriage starts to fall apart, and the two foot tall fellow just vanishes. One lone carriage wheel rolls backwards into the city, back towards the group watching.

The fog roils and glitters ominously.

"Wait, stop!" Amy calls as she catches sight of the little being - a child? or no, not a child, but still - She closes her eyes and reaches for Gavin's arm if she can find it, eyes closed. "Oh no, please no."

Lucafrase, pained. Confused. "What the hell-- what's going on? Amethyst-- can you make sense of this?"

Amethyst rolls with advantage -1 at difficulty 15, using no talents or gifts.
The result is a success.

Alonzo turns to the others, "I thought I saw a road within the fog. Does anyone know how to enter the fog and come back? Obviously that dwarf could? I think. I've never seen his like. Any of you?", he asks. He looks between Amethyst, Gavin, Danielle, and Luca.

\

"Entering and emerging where you want is tricky." Gavin says and moves to take Amethyst in his arms, "It's alright, the little one disappared into the fog before the could be hit."

Danielle hms "I am not familiar with a race of beings that size, no, . Of course it doesn't necessarily have to be a racial treat. With the fog "active it may be particularly dangerous but we have to at this. I don't believe we've been introduced. I'm Danielle. and you are?"

Alonzo gives a courtly bow, with a flourish. "Alonzo, of Amber by way of Path. I mean Pathi. My memory is..not what it should be. I remember something called the Academy of Brass, but I cannot picture it in my memory. I have been told the fog tries to snatch people."

Lucafrase nods, agreeing. "We're working on 'getting specifically the results we want.' With-- ehm, with basically anything and everything. Everyone's still learning what the rules are."

Amy snuggles in against Gavin, and finally opens her eyes when he says it's safe. "Oh, thank the unicorn," she says with a deep sigh of relief. "It's - we've gone to a clearing in the jungle, and left things there. But when we try to go back, those things are not there. So while it /is/ possible to go to the fog, it's not possible to necessarily get back to the same spot."

Alonzo peers at the fog. "I think we should try. Who's with me?"

Danielle hms "I'll come. Might find grandfather on the other also subsequently might regret that"

"We've gone in there before," Amy says. "Sure, let's go again. Gavin, are you with us?"

The group all gathers together, and makes a concerted effort to go through the large gate out of the city into the fog. It's clammy, cold, and dark.

Alonzo will kneel, and feel for the ground he is standing on. He'll also, sound out "Don't go far, everyone sound off..you there?"

The fog is sullenly ominous, dark and gloomy. Occasionally it seems to whisper over and around people.

Amy takes a deep shuddering breath, squares her shoulders. "Where is it you want to go, Alonzo?" she asks, curiously.

\

Gavin continues to hold Amethyst's hand as they go through the fog. "I hate this everytime we do this." He looks around. "I can't see anything."

Lucafrase nods, which likewise cannot alert anyone to-- anything. "Luca, present. Accounted for. Save your energy, be patient and deliberate with your directions. You'll lose steam faster than you think..." she advises.

Alonzo looks towards Amy, "I'd like to feel for the road, and then try to follow it a ways. We can't see, but we can feel and we are standing on something. What do you think?"

Danielle hms "I've not got a better idea" shes "but i'm here and fine for the moment"

"We can try it," Amy says. "Danielle, Luca, Gavine?" But Danielle answers at the same time.

Lucafrase shrugs, admits: "Let's try."

The interesting thing about the fog. now that folks are in it, directions become difficult - which way is north? impossible to tell. Which way is up? Down? Surely there should be road under their feet? There is earth beneath their feet, or something that passes for it. But - it's not cobblestone.

Alonzo scrabbles in the ground a bit, feeling only earth. He attempts to use his dagger to scrape some up. If he can he'd like to put a sample into his pocket. "So, that's weird. It's not cobblestone beneath our feet but dirt. I think we may have been teleported somewhere."

\ Gavin chuckles, "I willing to try to get out of here. I prefer not to stay behind.

"It's the fog," Amy says, as though that explains everything. "It's been a while since we came here. We have to all concentrate and walk together. Preferably we should tie rope or something to everyone."

Danielle hms "One of the things we're trying to figure out is the exact nature of our situation, the other is how much we can control it. I know both luca and maggie are doing different experiments to try to determine what's going on. maggie and i had posited that we're dealing with multiple shadow versions of reality sitting nearly ontop one another but out phase. luca has been trying to see how well protection magic stands up to the fog

Alonzo says "I have a sample of the ground. There doesn't seem to be any life in or on the ground. No plants or worms. I want to try one more thing..."

Alonzo rolls with advantage 1 at difficulty 15, using occult,fire mage, wide-area magic, and spending will.
The result is a failure.

Alonzo attempts to fan fire in an arc, but instead of fire he gets a fire shaped ice sculpture, which crashes to the ground and shatters. Alonzo sighs, muttering curses under his breath. "Well, that sucks."

Amethyst leaves, following Alonzo.