![[UNICORN]](../Graphics/Icons/unicorn.gif){kind=icon}
Last time: So there we are - Katarina, Nikrowd, Martin, and Mikele - about to embark on the Plan to Fix Everything (maybe, if we're lucky). Preparations have been made, the distraction is started (Eric with a rocket launcher, but that's not important), Nikrowd opens a trump gate to the Pattern room, passes Katarina through and she walks the Pattern. She reaches the center, picks up the ruler and is unable to make trump contact with us nor are we able to make contact with her. Just then some of Finndo's minions burst into the Pattern room shouting ``Don't move that!'' Katarina asks ``Why not?'' and when they are unable to give her a good reason, suggests that if they have ``Uncle Finndo'' come down and explain to her, perhaps she won't.
The guards stay and look at each other and her. Nikrowd summons Nicola Noli (but we don't count her as part of the party, since nobody really trusts her), who has no good ideas about what to do now. For want of a better idea, Katarina has the Pattern bring Nikrowd to her. Nikrowd appears at the center of the Pattern and successfully establishes trump contact with Mikele, thereby establishing an Escape Route.
The guards confer and one of them leaves. Total time elapsed since episode start, ~10 minutes. Katarina, now on the astral plane where the ``toothpicks'' are, in fact, toothpicks and the thread really is purple, starts to follow the middle one. Nikrowd sits in the center of the Pattern and draws a picture of the plastic ruler.
Aaron (one of Finndo's sons, we think) comes in, sees Nikrowd, and demands to know who he is and what he's doing there. Nikrowd suggests he try that again in a more civil manner. He does. (A strong data point against him being too closely related to Finndo.) They have a friendly little chat, while Mikele and Martin listen over trump. While very civil and pleasant, the friendly chat accomplishes nothing. Exit Aaron. The two guards continue to watch.
Katarina vanishes from the center of the Pattern. No one knows where she went or what she did. (Did we win? Is she in trouble? We haven't a clue.) Nikrowd is still sitting in the center of the Pattern. Total time elapsed this episode: ~1 1\2 half hours.
For want of something better to do, Nikrowd moves the Escape Route to Martin and pulls Mikele through to the center of the Pattern, after some assurances that this is unlikely to result in anyone bursting into flame. (Honestly!) The guards confer and one leaves.
Mikele steps onto the ``astral plane'' and calls up the Logrus, which manifests as a pitcher of syrup. Nikrowd steps back to determine if she has the Logrus up back at the center of the Pattern, and is relieved to see that this is not the case. He waves to the guard while he's there.
Mikele pours syrup down the rightmost thread. After about and hour and a half, she hits something. It does not seem to be any of a compass, a protractor, an hourglass or a sundial (we were expecting one of those), so she begins to pour syrup down the second thread. Total time elasped this episode, just over three hours.
A guard returns and begins assembling a tripod mounted crossbow. Nikrowd informs Mikele and returns to watching it. Meanwhile, after about another 45 minutes of pouring, she hits more syrup and begins conversing with Azarel Jasby to whom the other syrup belongs. He apparently has the other two toothipicks in his care, having received them from Felicia, Keverian, and Dalamar. He asks if Lady Katarina returned safely. Since she has not, we can only conclude that all did not go well and Katarina is now lost. (Splitting us 3-1.)
Back in the Pattern room, the guard finishes assembling the ballista, cocks it, loads it and is about to, well we never found out, because at this point Nikrowd teleports it to the center of the Pattern and turns it to point at the guards. He then suggests that they leave the room and shut the door behind them. After repeating his suggestion, the guards do leave (in different directions), but do not close the door. Nikrowd (and Mikele) continue to sit in the center of the Pattern. Total time elapsed: over four hours.
Back on the mountain top (i.e. ``astral plane''), Mikele is pouring thread down the third thread while atemmpting to negotiate What to Do Now with the Lord of Chaos. (Trying desperately to remember her Chaos politics, all the while.) The two agree to put things back the way they were in shadow, and let someone else worry about who's actually on the throne. The discussion and negotiation then turns to How Best to Accomplish This. Meanwhile the syrup on the third thread makes contact with something that starts sucking syrup out of Mikele's pitcher. Yikes! No, no, never mind, we don't care what's down that one. (And fortunately, the sucking stops when the pouring does.)
Discussion coninues. Nicola and Martin have no suggestions. Nikrowd is in favor of bringing the other 2 toothpicks to Amber but not keen on going to Chaos; Azarel is not keen on going to Amber (quite understandable, all things considered) and in favor of either bringing the third to Chaos or using the slow conservative method; Mikele is in favor of doing something before Finndo decides we might actually be doing Something He Should Be Worried About down here, and contemplates the wisdom of taking all four of us for a little trip to Chaos. Azarel Jasby is replaced on the other end by Mandor. (``Hello. This must be a fascinating story, Mikele.'' Sigh.)
Nikrowd returns to say that he has lost trump contact with Martin. We are now standing on the center of the Pattern, in hostile territory, with no Escape Route. (Mikele & Nikrowd are now separated from Martin, making the split 2-1-1.) Total time elapsed, close to five hours.
Mikele and Mandor debate what to do now as Nikrowd yells for Dworkin. Dworkin appears on the mountain top. (Why does that always seem to work for him?) When queried, he suggests that moving this toothpick to the other two will either put Amber back where it belongs or cut it off from everything completely, saying aloud ``I wonder which I'd prefer.'' Nikrowd checks to see if Dworkin is also standing in the center of the Pattern. He's not, but Aaron has returned with a dozen guys with short bows and is suggesting we become their ``guests'' or else be shot full of arrows. Nikrowd begins to cite reasons why shooting us would be bad, and claims that we could, if we wanted to, pass this toothpick off to the Lord of Chaos we have on the line now. Aaron says he thinks we're blowing smoke and we should decide if we're coming off or getting shot. (But he does put on a pair of sunglasses in response to the warning that shooting us full of arrows might result in a dramatic Logrus-Pattern collision... What a guy.)
Nikrowd tells Mikele the situation and she declines the offer of guest status, yet again. (These guys never learn.) Nikrowd returns to stall, Aaron remains unimpressed by anything Nikrowd has to say. Nikrowd returns to the mountain and Mikele says that she is taking the toothipick to Chaos now, because she's not interested in either of those options and besides that's what they don't want her to do. Nikrowd agrees and returns just long enough to leave a note for Aaron as the arrows start flying. Total time elasped: 5+ hours.
Three-quarters of the way to Chaos, Nikrowd vansishes as his body falls unconscious in the center of the Pattern. (``I'll block the arrows with my body,'' says Nikrowd, ``I'm invulnerable.'' ``Er, okay, if you insist,'' says Mikele.) Nikrowd's trigger upon unconsciousness spell goes off, leaving him somewhere in Amber. Mikele makes it to the other end and is pulled all the way through to House Jasby by Mandor. She arrives unconscious and full of arrows with the plastic ruler. (This completes our 1-1-1-1 split.) Total time to accomplish this feat: Under six hours.
Oh yeah, so did that save the universe or destroy it? We'll get back to you when you regain consciousness. Maybe.
![[TARA]](../Graphics/Icons/tara.gif){kind=icon}