07.09p: Privileges and Responsibilities

[Spellbinder]

Kevin laughs. "Worry? You think that worries me? People possessed by an alien hive mind is the kind of thing I'm used to dealing with. That's all part of the job. Face it, I was better at that than fighting the giant robots anyway. I'll just have to make sure I have a few good spells lined up before I head back out. At least that's an honest fight."

Kevin pauses to consider for a moment, then he turns to Oberon. "I have a question. You call the other dimensions out there 'shadows'. Am I correct in assuming that is because they are shadows, echoes, poor copies, or whatever of Amber? Are there people out there how are reflections of people here...at least the major players?"

[Joshua]

"Yes, in that there is every variation of everything out there somewhere. The idea that an individual is a direct shadow of another is an academic one."

Oberon adds, "Something like these hivers might be such an abstraction or amalgam to be unrecognizable. Also, I don't think the normal rule of 'change the item, change its shadow' applies. To be honest, I haven't tested that personally."

[Spellbinder]

"Well if every variation existed, then changing the original wouldn't change the shadows. Every variation would still be valid. I don't think it could even bring new ones into existence. Any change that could be wrought would be just another of the variations any way. As for these Hivers, they could just be a shadow of something from the Chaos end of the spectrum. Or a variation on something we just haven't seen yet. In a city this size it is possible to hide...especially when you throw in the forest, the caves, the sea. Or the whole damn theory could be wrong."

"Sorry, I just asked because you were reminding me of someone I've run into before. I was wondering how likely that was to keep happening. I'll just write it off as an over-active imagination."

[Joshua]

"Oh, that's quite likely. We travel through those possibilities. When left to our own imagination, we follow paths we have seen before. If we create the possibilities or not is academic. Except perhaps for the immigrants into Amber. I mean, they must come from somewhere, but perhaps just from places we've walked past on our way here."

Oberon will shrug. "Anyhow, enough boring talk. What do you two wish to do about such a threat?"

[Spellbinder]

"If we assume it can't reach us here, then we could just stay here and be safe. I doubt most of you would care for that though. That will mean a fight sooner or later. There's so much we don't know yet, so it's hard to come up with a good plan. Is it hunting Aibne or was just he the one who drew the short straw and got found first? And how did it know where to find him? We need to know that if we're going to pick the battlefield."

"Next, are you looking to kill it or contain it? That changes things a lot."

"And of course there's the question of who is in this little hunting party. You have to know what you have to work with before you can come up with a real plan."

[The Raven]

"Indeed, I feel like we don't have enough information right now to do anything now but go on a scouting mission for more information. I was going to go off and do some research to see if anything similiar was going to happen before, but I doubt it will be fruitful."

[Joshua]

Oberon says, "I'm a fan of deciding if it can be reasoned with. So, we can't figure that out until we know more about it. Due to its nature, we're thinking people with decent psyches. So, Rasanam, Asai, Harrune, basically anyone in Tir'Na Nog'th*. I think Ossian could use something to do. He got passed over for a promotion, so, making him feel useful might be good. Assuming he's not going to use that to try a coup." He will think. "Could simply drag Harrune through it as a trial before he's allowed to walk our pattern. For scouting anyhow."

"I think we're mostly equals here. Raven, if you wanted to look on your own, that's fine. Spellbinder, I'm guessing you'd have ot go with raven or someone else who can walk to different places. I would love more information. Second-hand info isn't great."
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*: Just a reminder, Tir na nog is a real myth; characters may have heard of it.

[Spellbinder]

"Reasoning with it would definitely be better than killing it or imprisoning it forever."

"I haven't walked the Pattern and I don't have a deck of cards, so by your standards I'm 'mobility impaired'. Maybe it would be better if I stayed here for now. I could start looking into issues here and getting to know my way around better. You could take people who are better are running if the need arises. After all, this is meant to be a scouting mission, not a stand up fight, so retreating with the information is the main goal. Not saying I won't go, just saying I may not be the best choice for this trip."

[Joshua]

"I'm sorry, I thought you were insisting on going. I was just letting you know who you might need. If not, I'm sure there will be another scouting party setup by another court." He will shake his head. "I'm much better about helping people find what they want... Darnell does that. Uh, he'd be another to take on your trip, but... he can be a little grating."

[Spellbinder]

"Oh, I definitely want to be in on the end of this, but right now we're talking about a scouting run. That's a different ball game. Again, not saying I won't go if you need me. Having the other Courts sound their parties sounds kinda stupid really. Wouldn't it make more sense to just do one unified group? That way you're not tripping over each other and every Court knows they are getting accurate intel."