Diaval visits Prince Random in the Palace
Diaval visits Prince Random in the Palace
Location: Amber City and Random's Rooms in the Royal Palace
Date: June 10th, 2017
Summary: Random sends Diaval a note via a bird of desire and, tracking it down though the eyes and ears of the Murderous Parliment, he finds his way to Random's private rooms in the palace. The two talk over beers.
Characters: Diaval and Random
NPCs: a one-eyed crow, various seagulls, and the throngs of Amber

As the sun rose over Amber this day, Diaval awoke in the nest on a rooftop in the Lower City that he has been sharing with the raven assigned to him by his cousin Carmichael (who is, himself, unaware of their familial relationship). A quick flight to an alley where he shifts back to human form is followed by a short walk to the docks where, from a few street vendors, he picks up breakfast in the form of a savory meat pie from one of the vendors, a citrusy and watery grog from another and a baguette that he doesn't eat from a third.

He then walks the docks evading contact with the throngs traversing it along side him until he reaches the spot where he has arranged to meet the gulls his cousin loaned him and, making a show of feeding them, speaks softly to them as he gets reports of the comings and goings of ships… none of which match the one he is specifically looking for.

Then, as noon begins to approach, Diaval has taken back to the alley and is burnishing his kukri with its companion chakmak when a one eyed crow lands near him with a piece of paper in its claws. When the bird approaches him with the paper he thanks it and takes the note, reading what it says and frowns.

The note simply says: "Kid. Sup?"

Diaval asks the crow where the note came from and the bird describes the palace to him before departing.

After pocketing the note he shifts to raven form and takes to the air. When he reaches the palace he asks birds perched around it about the distinctive corvid and gets directions to a specific window which he then flies to and enters…


There is a man in the room, sat at a drum kit and making noise. As it happens it's very good noise, for he's a consummate drummer and playing to ignore just about everything right now. Which includes birds flying in his window. Random has been at it a while, from the looks. His eyes are closed and there's a light sheen of sweat on his brow. To his left is a table, complete with cooled bottles of beer.


The raven that is Diaval flies from the windowsill to the table. A brief sniff at the beer is then followed by him hoping off the table and, as he hits the floor, he concentrates and his form shifts and grows changing from a two-foot long raven to a more than six-foot tall man complete with his kukri clearly seen on his hip though his open great coat.

"Hello, Prince Random" he says in greeting despite the drumming and because he is unsure of the appropriateness of calling this man 'grandfather' without permission.


Random squints as he watches the shifting, though he never misses a beat until he brings the whole thing to a very loud crescendo then cuts it off sharply. "Wanna tell me why I shouldn't stab you in the guts for breaking the sanctity of my room?" Well that was blunt, particularly for a man who is holding nothing more than drum sticks.


Diaval's arms are by his side but he lifts his hands up by the wrist so his fingers are spread outward from his body and his palms are pointing to the floor. "Because people shouldn't spill the blood of their blood without certainty of desire," he answers. His Thari is strangely accented but clear enough to understand.


"Kid? Around these parts there's a lot of 'blood of my blood' most of whom I have stuck a knife into at some stage or other," Random points out evenly, keeping far too keen a gaze on the man in his rooms. He sets his drumsticks down and picks up a bottle of beer instead, swigging from it before he speaks again. "So who're you and why are you crashing my gig?"


"I am called Diaval," he says as he inclines his head without moving the rest of his body. "I assume that the note I received was from you since I was told by sources that it came from this room… and that leads me to infer that you read my father's letters that I had delivered to you."


Random takes another swig of his beer and shrugs. "I got some letters. I sent a crow, yeah. You're his kid huh?" There's no sudden warming of mood from the looks of him. Just one of those stated facts. "What brings you to Amber?"


Diaval relaxes his hands and points at a bottle of beer questioningly as he speaks. "Curiosity mainly," he says and then adds, "I had reasons to get away from Inisfail… heck, all of Adhamah seemed risky. So I found my way here."


"Oh you want my beer now too?" Random snorts softly but doesn't move to prevent or impede some of it going AWOL. "Can we just pretend I know where you're talking about? Good. Amber sucks, by the by. But there you go."


With a laugh, Diaval says, "If one beer bankrupts you and Amber then it sucks worse than I think you mean," and he picks up a bottle and opens it. After taking a sip he says, "Doesn't seem so bad so far, at least I'm not on the run for now. And sure, if you want me to ever give you more details I can." He takes another sip of the beer and, with a nod to the drum set, he says, "Nice performance. Sorry for interrupting your practice."


Random snorts. "One beer wont' bankrupt anything, but Amber is kinda screwed on a whole heap of other fronts." There's a shrug of his shoulders and he looks down at his kit then back up. "I think when I drum." What about? Well he's not about to say. "So whaddya want?"


Diaval shrugs himself. "To meet you I guess," he says, "I… well, I have met my mother and heard stories of my father… also read the letters…" he glances around as he speaks, likely looking for the book. "So, for now… I want a beer and to talk to you," he adds, holding up the first and smirking wryly in general.


Random eases back in his seat but doesn't move from his drumkit, draining the beer and popping open another one idly. "You are talking to me. Question is what do you want to say?" He shrugs and grabs a small towel and wipes himself down briefly. "All the stories you've heard about me are true. Your Dad? No clue. I don't have form for keeping up with my kids doings." There's no sign of the book about the place.


Diaval shakes his head, "Actually, I don't know much more about you then what's in the letters." (Random, a prince of Amber… and that was about it) "If he told me anything about you when I was a child, I have no recollection of it," he adds. Amnesia of some sort being an obvious conclusion.


Random cocks his head to one side. "You forgot or something?" He's used to that. There's a low chuckle. "Lesse: I'm a no good, drug taking, drum playing waste of space. Which about sums me up pretty damned well."


"Actually, my memories were suppressed by a sorcerer to give him a clean slate from which he enslaved me for years," Diaval clarifies about the 'forgetting'. He also chuckles, albeit a controlled and guarded one. "Drum playing I see… and good at that… the rest, I'll treat those as rumors you are choosing to repeat," he says before saying, "I'll leave you be for now," and asking, "But I'd like to be able to keep in touch if I may? And have my father's letters back of course."


"Mind zaps are bad. On that score I'd avoid Fiona," Random advises but looks mightily amused about something as he does it. There's a low chuckle. "Beating a hasty retreat already? I've barely gotten warmed up. And the letters and stuff are at my townhouse. I can have 'em forwarded to you if you tell me where's good."


Diaval chuckles again, a bit less guarded as he opens up a bit. "You didn't seem to want company," he says on the first and, on the topic of places, he admits, "I've been conserving my funds and staying outdoors. Feathers make good insulation and even when it rains cover can be found."


"Hint," Random supplies. "I drum when I'm thinking. Which means I have things on my mind. So flying in through my window is not the best of moves. And yeah, I get ratty. Go figure." He shrugs that off easily. "Staying outdoors? Well at least it's coming up to summer I guess and you're obviously a shifter."


Diaval nods as he says, "Yes, although spring and fall are better," and then he says, "I am sorry for interrupting your thinking. Again, I can depart if that is your preference."


Random shakes his head. "Nah, lost the train of thought anyway." or he's loathe to put his mind back on whatever it was that's vexing him. "So what do you intend to do in Amber?"


"I hadn't given it much thought before arriving. So far I've been meeting people and have discovered some things that have tickled my interest," Diaval explains. "I don't want to pick up my old job… both because I desire not to and because I suspect that I'd be breaking the blood of my blood rule too much doing so… so I'd started trying to build a network of eyes and ears to try to find a place to fit in. Found someone else already have an avian network so I'm insinuating myself into it… with his knowledge and approval I might add."


"Doesn't take a genius to work out who that is," Random comments with a shake of his head and another swig of beer. "Blood of my blood? What is that all about? because quite frankly hurting members of your family around here is like a sport."


"Its a tenant of my grandmother's church of which my mother is the high priestess," Diaval replies and then explains, "I paraphrased it earlier to you as well, basically means that killing your family should be avoided and never done unknowingly or by accident. And I didn't kill for sport."


"Eh," is the only comment the Prince makes to that. "Kinda leaves out maiming and injuring." Trust a prince of Amber to come out with that one. "So you're just gonna hang around and try and find a place in this world then?"


Diaval shrugs and says, "For the time being that is what I was doing. Haven't found anything that made me decide to do anything more focused," before taking another swig of his slowly warming beer. He then adds, "I've also asked some gulls to watch for the ship that brought me here as he's the best way for me to be able to travel back to Inisfail if I so desire."


Random squints at that. "If you've walked the Pattern then you can walk back there. Kinda. Travel at the very least. Have you walked the Pattern?"


Diaval shakes his head. "No, but I remember that my father mentioned it in the letters a few times as being somewhere here in Amber and that it allowed him to do just what you describe," he says.


Random nods. "Yeah, it's a big decision to make because whilst it opens up so many things it can also possibly kill you. So you need to think about that."


Diaval doesn't seem afraid but at the same time he isn't excited about that news. "Huh," he says most eloquently as he sits down on the nearest surface to where he stands, which happens to be his grandfather's bed. After a moment of pondering he asks, "Anything I can do to reduce the risk though preparation?"


Diaval doesn't seem afraid but at the same time he isn't excited about that news. "Huh," he says most eloquently as he sits down on the nearest surface to where he stands, the couch near the table where the beers had been located. After a moment of pondering he asks, "Anything I can do to reduce the risk though preparation?"


Random eases his shoulders in a shrug to that. "Make sure you're mentally prepared. The Pattern is both a physical and mental challenge. It tries to lure you to step off. Other than that? Not really, I guess. Being weak willed is a killer. But I made it. Then again I'm a stubborn little bastard."
This elicits true, but fairly grim, laughter from Diaval. He then says, "So… prepare yourself mentally for something you've never seen or heard of before." He takes another swig of beer and asks, "No hints or training available then I guess, right?"


Random cocks his head to one side. "Kinda hard to prep for the Pattern, because it is the biggest physical and mental challenge you will ever face. And it's pretty much individual about how it will try and get at you. But physically it's like trying to press forward in a force nine gale, when your limbs are coated in lead." Makes it sound fun, doesn't he!


"Doesn't sound like waiting will do much good," Diaval says before asking, "When can we do this?"


Random looks amused. "We?" He shakes his head and chuckles. "When? That depends more on you than anything. Make your last will and all that."


Diaval nods. "So I should talk to some people before I do this," he says, "Good point. And yes, you'd take me there, right? So 'we', right?"


Random nods. "I could take you there. Kinda nice to be asked rather than assumed though."


Diaval nods again and says, "True," with a tone of voice acknowledging that he had wronged Random. "Also on the topic of asking, how should I address you in private and in public, sir?" he asks.


Random gains a grin. "ou know it's always tempting to conjure up some daft title when things like that are asked. My name's Random. It's an odd one, but I kinda like it and it'll do."


Diaval smiles, not wryly for a chance. "Very good. Please just call me Diaval. Only my mother calls me by my birth name and only she and her mother's priesthood call me Mario," he explains.


Random shrugs. "Hey, whatever works for you. Anyway, go off, have a think. I'd advise talking to others who've walked it. Drop me a note here when you're good."


As he stands, Diaval asks, "Should I call on you at your townhouse to retrieve the book from you also then?"


Random shakes his head. "I'll have the book and letters brought here, ready for you to pick up whenever. Vi and I spend more time there than here at the moment, but it's our private place."


Diaval nods slowly but chooses not to ask who Vi is. "Very good," he says and, right before beginning the transition back to raven form, adds, "It was good meeting you, Random."


Random nods. "And you. Just be careful in Amber, huh? A lot of people aren't what they seem."


The raven that is Random's grandson hops up into the air and settles briefly on the table before taking a brief flight back to the windowsill. There he turns back to the prince and nods, a very human like movement from the bird-form, and then, using the raven's ability to mimic human speech, croaks out, "Okay," before flying out the window and departing the palace.

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