[Notes for the run of May 3, 2000.]

Anton gives some details of what he saw.  (Omitting, as it turns out, some
fairly important ones Anton didn't pay attention to but that get drawn out
of him later.)  Princess Carline and the Lady Cordelia are apparently being
held under reduced circumstances (i.e., in a prison).  It appears that they
are in the possession of a Duke Sicil.  (Alessandro recognises the name as
being one of the more powerful dukes in the southern end of the isles.
Canny and successful, with all that that implies.  His sister was one of
those considered for marriage to Prince Louis.  He's very well connected.
And, as was mentioned in the previous summary, he's the one that Louis has
announced is to marry Carline.)

Anton saw someone Carline referred to as "sister", with olive skin and dark
hair, wearing a huge tiara.  She wore a green dress emblazoned with a silver
crown.  Paris recognises that as being Louis's wife, Katherine.  He says
Katherine didn't appear to be treating Carline very nicely.  Cordelia is
being forced to manual labor, knitting blankets for the troops, etc.

Alessandro and Paris realise that Louis doesn't really want to make Carline
marry Sicil until Louis has been made king, since Sicil would then be a
contender for the crown.

Anton remarks that he thinks he'll try to talk to the Earl of Eastgate on
our way south.  Paris is surprised Anton knows where to find him.  Anton
says he's with the Second Heavy Cavalry, stationed out in the valley to
fight orcs, west of the river, along the south coast.  Paris points out
that's a lot of territory, but Anton notes that we'll pass over most of it
on our way to the isles, so we might spot them.  Anton heard Katherine say
something to Cordelia that implies that Eastgate is staying neutral,
"Guarding the west as my husband (Louis) has instructed."  Having the Earl
know that we're going to attempt a rescue might help prevent Louis from
manipulating the situation (e.g., if we succeed, Louis could send word that
she's dead, etc.).

Various folks point out that talking to Earl Eastgate might be bad, partly
because he might feel he has to object for whatever reason, partly because
there might be spies, and so on.  Anton concedes that point, but does insist
on telling Duke Evan.  Paris says this should be done in private.

Pyotr asks what we're going to do about the possibility that the Princess
and Cordelia get moved while we're travelling south.  Calais says we can
just check on them using the Chalice, but Anton reminds Calais that
Temperance will eventually show up and take it back.  (Obviously, Calais
still isn't accustomed to the idea of giving things back. :-)

Rhori thinks that Paris taking Carline away from Sicil might violate Paris's
orders to remain neutral.  Others point out that if we show up and offer to
escort Carline somewhere, and she tells us to take her away, she would
outrank Katherine, so following her orders would not violate neutrality
between the Princes.  Some, including Pyotr, are still not convinced of this
reasoning, but it's not as though anyone but Paris has been ordered to stay
neutral.  (Rhori does, however, appear uncomfortable at the thought of
implicating the Order of Nature in such a politically charged operation.)

Paris is also uncertain about whether we can afford to delay the Tarot quest
in order to rescue the two women.  "The Princess is safe, so from an overall
view of what is happening, it is still of more importance to complete the
quest of the Tarot in time to save our nation from this civil war, than it
is to save any one particular person."  Anton says he might make a different
choice, but also wonders why she thinks the quest will prevent the civil
war.  Paris replies, "We have much Understanding yet to achieve, but since
we expect to have Choice in shaping the world, we should be able to affect
the balance of power that is causing the war."

Rhori tries to get Paris to explain what she thinks she should do about the
situation with Carline, giving the various orders and whatnot she's been
given.  She says that she has thought about it, but declines to share any
of her conclusions.

We ask Llyurylly'yl how he knew to look for Cora near Brest, and he says it
just seemed like the right direction to travel.  He continues on with the
usual new-age elf talk about how everything in the world is connected
together.  Paris asks him, "What do you think is the difference between the
Major Arcana who are gods and those who are not?"  The elf replies, "That is
something humans get to choose."  Rhori adds that he's not convinced that
any of the Tarot are really "God".  Llyurylly'yl says that The Tarot
contains everything, so if there are gods they must be in the Tarot.  (Paris
wonders what about Dierdre, but she doesn't wonder it aloud, so we don't get
to find out Llyurylly'yl's view.)

Paris muses, if the Tarot is the World, and the place that the magic-user
from the far east came from is something that Llyurylly'yl does not know as
being connected with the World, then places like that are other -- what did
Cora call them? -- tessera.  We remind Paris that we actually asked
Temperance about some of those, and yes, they are other tessera.  We muse
about what would happen if an orc were taken on a sailing ship to another
tessera; would it change, like they do when they fall from Tarot to Torat?

We discuss other places to find shards of the Mirror.  There's probably one
near Carcassone where the Fool reported seeing monsters.  There's probably
one in the volcano near Pelier.  There's almost certainly one at Dungeon.
There might be one near the Magician's hangouts; Paris suggests perhaps it
is in the cave where we found the Font of Chaos.

Rhori asks that we all try not to volunteer ourselves for additional tasks
without conferring with the rest of the party.

By now we've begun sailing back to Westmore.  Some of the above discussion
takes place on the boat.

After the first day of travel back, we set down for the night.  As midnight
approaches, we discuss who Anton should look for using the Chalice.  (Doing
it before midnight means his power pool will recharge soon after.)  We'd
previously discussed looking for the Hierophant, but another possibility is
to look for Prince William, to see if he really is dead.  Paris grimaces,
but does not object.

Anton activates the Chalice, and ends up with a splitting headache.  Besides
draining all his power, he's not sure he wants to use the Chalice again
tomorrow, and he's sure he'll have the headache all day.  He groans and asks
Pyotr if he can do anything for a hangover.  He apologises to Paris, and
says that Prince William is in more than one place.  "What the boat has to
do with it, though, I don't know.  One of the things I saw was a boat,
traveling very fast, running before a storm, with other boats nearby."  We
ask if the other boats were chasing the first or running with it?  He
doesn't know.  Rhori asks if the boat showed a banner; no, none of the boats
did.

Paris belatedly realises that getting what appears to be a definite answer
about William might not've been a good idea, since now it will be harder to
use William's orders as an excuse to override orders from other Royals.

We arrive back at Westmore, and are intercepted outside by Sir Marion's
patrol.  He assigns an escort to accompany us to the castle.  We cut through
the usual red tape and are granted an audience quite quickly, as the Duke is
interested in learning about the flying boat.  The boat is left outside,
guarded by the escort, since bringing it into the castle would undoubtedly
cancel the spell.  Jarvon is also left with the boat, since bringing him
into the castle would likewise break the spell.

In the audience chamber, Paris defers to Anton this time for telling our
tale, introducing Anton as the one responsible for the boat.  The Duke
explains that he is particularly interested in the military application for
a flying boat, since the Fell forces near Carcassone include creatures
riding on some sort of large reptiles, with 25-foot wingspans.  Anton
explains that only he can control this particular boat (he does not mention
Jarvon), but that the spell is in the library here, though learning it takes
many cards.

We also tell about the books we found, but decline to say where the place is
until we can describe it in private.  We do mention that the books are in
delicate condition, being very old and damaged, so he'll need to send people
capable of preserving them properly.

We describe the battle with the monsters.  Calais asks if the earth mage
Pierre is in town, since he seems to know something about them; he had a
statue of one.  The Duke recognises this reference.  "Ah, those are Umber's
Hulk."  We remark that there were two of them, and he says he'll have the
heralds come up with a plural for them.  He says they're very dangerous;
we've been trying to keep people from encountering them.  He asks how to
defeat them.  Rhori recommends using a big axe.

Anton tells about finding the Chalice, and the Duke asks to see it.  He asks
what it does, and Anton says it lets you see things anywhere on earth.  The
Duke of course asks if it could show the Princess Carline.  Anton hesitates,
belatedly, and suggests that that be done in private.  (Belatedly, since the
point of not talking about Carline and Cordelia in the public audience was
to keep any spies in court from knowing that we know where Carline is.  But
now it's obvious to everyone that the Duke will know very soon.)

We also tell about the little elves, and various other details.

The Duke remembers to check his box, and finds two cards for each of us.
(Afterward, Calais explains to Alessandro how the party has been pooling
cards.  Alessandro agrees to let Calais hold his share.)

He motions to us (or at least to Anton and Paris) and heads out of the room.
Alexis follows, and we all follow her.  They lead us off to the main throne
room, which is as usual deserted.

The Duke immediately brings out a map and asks where the books are.  We
point out Tarn's location, and explain that we've added some traps to the
path to the books.  He instructs Calais to fill in Irolo so Irolo can tell
the book rescue party how to deal with the traps.

The Duke then asks about Carline, and Paris explains that that was the first
thing Anton looked at with the Chalice.  The Duke is somewhat startled by
this, and thanks Anton, who keeps a straight face.  Anton describes what he
told us previously about his vision.  When he tells of the ladies being
treated poorly, he mentions that Katherine would not even let them have a
fire.  The Duke wonders why Carline wanted a fire at Sicil's place, which
should be amply warm even at this time of year.  Anton describes the area he
saw as the vision pulled back, including a great land mass to the north with
ice between two peaks.  Alessandro realises that must be at the northern end
of the isles, not Sicil.  The Duke looks at Alexis and asks who they know
that knows that area.  He sends her to fetch her father.

Anton fills in more details of his vision.  The ladies are being kept in a
room at the top of a dark round tower in a small castle perched on a rocky
island.  There's a hatch leading from the room to the crenellated roof.
The Duke prompts for additional details, and Anton recalls a large harbor
with three large ships in it.

The Duke asks if there's anything else we wanted to say to him.  Anton
brings up the possibility of rescuing Carline.  Rhori whacks him, but it's
too late.  The topic is discussed.  Anton admits that he probably said too
much in the public audience, and if there are those in the court who are
passing messages to Louis, they now know we are able to locate Carline.  The
Duke agrees, and says that means time is of the essence.  He says "we" have
a lock on the magical communication methods, so the boat can probably get us
there faster than the news.

Anton also tells of the vision of William, which showed three things at
once.  A withered hand, buried in the earth.  A skull, cleansed of flesh as
if by beetles, sitting as a paperweight on a desk.  (Paris looks white and
turns away.)  And a ship, running before the wind of a storm, with other
ships around.  No banners, nor any way to tell where they were.  (The
headache prevented Anton from noticing any details as the view pulled back.)

Alexis's father shows up, and there's some discussion about where the
northern island might be.  There's a fortified island that's part of the ice
trade.  It's set up to defend against sea attack, and lots of soldiers stay
there.

The Duke looks at Alexis and asks, "Are you still willing to try?"  "My
liege, I promised, I will try to go rescue her."  Her father blanches, and
the Duke realises he should've sent him away first.  Alexis and her father
move off to have some words.  Paris, who had stayed turned away ever since
the description of the vision of William, now pipes up and tells the Duke
she will deal with it.  Rhori flinches.  The Duke thanks her, and asks her
to find out what she'll need.  One item we might want is a bigger boat,
preferably one with some fortification.

Paris asks if Alexis is still ill.  She is.  Paris asks the Duke if he will
rescind his request of Alexis.  He does not answer, but repeats his request
that Paris let him know when she decides what else she needs.  The audience
ends.

Rhori goes to find Lucas Tanner, with Pyotr following him instead of Paris
for a change.  Tanner explains that the Duke of Nice Place has the best boat
crews.  Rhori explains about the flying boat, and Tanner concedes that that
puts a different complexion on it.  The three discuss tactics a bit, such as
whether Anton would be able to get the boat to hover just over the roof of
the tower.

Eventually we end up at Jouet Square.  During dinner, there's a knock on the
door.  In comes Temperance.  Beneath her flowing robe we can see her
sneakers and blue jeans.

We give her the Cup of Earth.  Anton asks if we could use it one more time,
to see where the Hierophant is.  By way of reply, she instead takes out her
glowing box again and fiddles with it a bit.

"I know I'm supposed to give you guys cryptic clues, but I'm no good at
that.  The Hierophant is that way (she points mostly due east), 863
gnarlocks."  Oh joy.  We ask about the Devil.  "The Devil is that direction
(sort of north by northeast), 1763 gnarlocks.  The Hierophant is in a town
with a bunch of people around.  The Devil is in a big hole in the ground,
about 13 floors down."  After a bit of flailing we realise the Devil must be
deep in the dungeon at Dungeon.  [Note: Using that as a way to get a handle
on how far 1763 gnarlocks is, where does that place the Hierophant?]

In answer to some question I missed, or maybe it was something to do with
how we're supposed to reach the Devil, she asks, "Why am I called
Temperance?"  Getting blank looks, she explains, "You travel places, you
meet other folks.  You learn to tolerate them.  You learn to think like
them.  And that's how you get in."  We hesitate rather a lot about the
thought of having to act like trolls and such.  Temperance seems adamant
about it, pointing out that trolls don't attack other trolls, though she
adds we might have to snarl a lot.

We ask where the cup of heaven was.  It was in a town, on an island, with a
bunch of big white buildings.  She says she was helped out by some friendly
pirates; they helped her get in, and took some of the other things that were
there, of course.  So she blessed their journey.  Their leader was John
Silver.

She turns to Llyurylly'yl and says he needs to come with her now.  He nods.

Rhori asks if she's told us everything she needed to.  She thinks a bit.
"The one you're seeking wasn't always like he is now.  I'm not sure how it
happened, but some things have changed just by... There's a Choice you make
in the Tower, and you can change anything then.  But things have been
changed after that.  If enough people believe in something, it changes the
other way as well, from outside the Tower into the Tower."

She goes on, "If someone wanted to put chains on Nature...  And that's what
you need to Understand, to talk to him.  And I think there are other changes
in details, but unless an old deck has survived, there's no way for me to
know."

[There ensued much talk of who made the change, when, whether it could have
happened without conscious intent, etc.  I got totally lost, so if there was
any useful content I hope someone will (for a change) offer comments.
Frankly, this entire run was talk, and I have trouble keeping up with that
(especially if I want to be able to contribute my share), so please add
anything you can think of.]  One conclusion is that Sir Juda's spirit,
trapped in the room of the Mirror, could NOT have been the one who
engineered the "changes from outside".

Rhori wonders whether something has been folded into the White God, just as
the keeping of the flame (Lucifrus) has been folded into the Black God
(formerly Nature) to form the Devil.  Paris agrees; the White Church does
not worship Death, even though we have learned that Death is the White God.
There's life after death, but there's more to the religion than that.  So
there might be something else folded in, though it's not clear what.

[A note for next run: Before we leave town, we should not only talk to
Pierre, but we should ask him what use might be made of Hulk body bits.
If he's not here or doesn't know, we can try the Rug Emporium.]