Eric trumps Jericho to tell him that he has a half brother. Ulfr was born to a woman in shadow named Reina. The two continue the conversation as they ride towards the Veil of Garnath, which is mostly recovered from the war, only looking slightly scary now. They come upon a tribe of shapeshifters(?), Ulfr's people. Eric introduces his sons to each other, and they have a hearty handshake to greet each other. Ulfr demonstrates his strength with an intense squeeze.
Elodie and Merlin talk about… They go to Amber.
Caine is concerned about stealth forces that have been brought in. He and Silas discuss his concerns and the situation at hand. It seems the Hunt is after Silas for fleeing the scene of the Summer Court Massacre, which was actually Jericho's handiwork.
Silas sets out to patrol for the unseen threat. Just as he tracks a suspicious footprint, he looks up to find figures closing in on him. He dispatches one and then dives into undershadow, but one grabs his foot and yanks him back up. Silas looks back and sees a wolf-like face behind a hairy fist that pummels his face and knocks him out.
The "wolfmen" present Silas, much to Jericho's surprise. "He's a friend of mine! Cut him loose," Jericho commands. They protest, but eventually abide. The tribesmen take Ulfr aside and profess their distrust of "the master's son". Jericho introduces Ulfr to Silas. Silas goes back to Caine, who knows his son found something. Silas insists there is no substantial threat and everything is ok.
Elodie and Merlin set out to get a look at Eric to discern if any magic is at play before the duel tomorrow. She spots a mark on Eric that looks very similar to something she saw before. The two go and inform Fiona of this latest development. She will take it to the triumverate to deliberate further.
The day of the duel finally arrives.
Eric is not there at breakfast. That's unusual. Jericho goes up to Eric's room and found his father deep asleep. He complained that he had a horrible night of being unable to sleep. Jericho summons Isabelle to examine Eric, and she only finds about what she expected, considering he did make a deal with the Serpent. Just dreams of mass destruction and a gigantic, vicious snake.
The fight begins. It quickly finds its way to the back of the gardens, up the tower and so on.
Fiona asks Elodie if she would like some tea.
At some point when they were out of view, Random managed a strong blow to Eric's midsection. Then Random missteps and Eric takes advantage of it and smashes his knee into Random's face. Although he is taking a licking, Random will not concede. Through a clever feigned stumble, Random is able to lance Eric through the kidney. Still, Eric keeps the upper hand. As his blade comes down and makes contact on Random's heart, both combatants disappear into thin air.
The seconds try to trump their firsts. No response. Isabelle helps and they are both able to make contact, but they only see blaring bright whiteness. Both go through, finding themselves in a beautiful, idyllic garden with rainbows and unicorns. Celeste is there. She has explained to them that *she* chose Random to be king and anyone wishing to contest that should do so through her.
Suddenly they all disappear, reappearing near Corwin's pattern. It seems he summoned them here after watching for some time and debating whether or not he should interfere. "I think you are all safe here. You haven't been followed. Stay here as long as you like. I'm going to talk to Grandfather," Corwin says, then disappears.
Silas finally reaches Jericho by trump, but finds little solace in it. There is no king, only questions.
Natasha seeks out Benedict and tells him everything.
"That really sucks," Eric groans. He yells after the Unicorn, finds a horse and hellrides away. Jericho follows. They come upon a messenger sent by the Serpent. He welcomes them to the Courts of Chaos to recuperate and plan their next moves.
Isabelle is commissioned to make a trump of Ulfr. She meets him in the castle's Portrait Studio and gets to work. As she works on the trump, she senses that he is something like a shapeshifter, although the vibe is more… primal? Strange.
Elodie goes into deep research. Random returns and tells her what has transpired. She seeks out Llewella to learn more about curses. There isn't a lot of information on the subject. Many of the resources seem to be more about mythology or are more prosaic rather than practical.
Jericho finds the messenger and pursues the invitation. "Do you think you can get your father to come along," he asks Jericho. "Right now he's pretty pissed," he responds. They board a conveyance of a serpentine form and head for Chaos. Jericho invites Lowen to join him on the grand adventure. They head through the Black Kingdoms on their way to Thelbane. The Imperial Guard ushers the duo inside. Duke Amaron Helgrim will meet with them later today. Meanwhile BAR FIGHT!
Silas follows a path that heads towards a large storm. As he closes in, he realizes it is a shadow storm.
Ulfr gets a tour of the land from Isabelle and they take a shortcut to the kitchen…. through the Hall of Mirrors. Dworkin seems to be playing hide and seek in one of them. They approach to look more closely. Ulfr gets a psychic impression that he is stepping out from behind them. "I was looking for you," Dworkin says to Ulfr. "What year is it?" Isabelle answers, and he seems disappointed.
Dworkin decides to go back in the mirror for a nap. Ulfr watches how he does this. The mirror people look at Isabelle and Ulfr strangely, but Dworkin quickly advises the two to disregard them. They arrive at a lost and broken tower, where the old man readies for a nap. It seems Strumvalle has the only tower still intact and working. Ulfr inquires, "Wouldn't it be better if these weren't lost and broken?" "If you really want to understand, you'd probably best go to see Strumvalle," replies Dworkin.
I:4, J:3, S:2, L:3, U:R, E:R