Characters Present -
    Fatima
    Kevin
    Sergei

Fatima receives a note from Kei indicating that Kei has gone off into Shadow searching for the Vampire who crashed Fatima's Regency party and letting Fatima know that Kei had noticed ravens gathering around a housing unit in the slums but didn't have time to investigate it herself.

Fatima, tiring of her paperwork, decides to check it out and takes a squad of the Night Watch with her into Southside.

Meanwhile Kevin is following up on his bug experiments at his private club when he notices that his clothing is fading even more quickly.  And that he is having trouble holding on to things.

Fatima arrives in the Southside to see an enormous murder of ravens circling around and roosting on a certain warehouse.  She confirms with her squad that none of them perceive the ravens.  After spreading the squad out in a standard 'nest-invasion' pattern, Fatima and two constables approach the door and knock.

The door is answered by Sergei, a Vampire of noticeable power and equally noticeable unfamiliarity with Argent.  Fatima explains that she represents the law enforcement of Argent and that they have some questions for the dwellers within the home.  Upon understanding that Fatima is coming in either the easy way or the hard way, Sergei reluctantly lets the constables in.

Both Sergei and Fatima notice a raven that flies in at the same time, while the constables with Fatima still do not seem to notice it.  The raven croaks out a word, 'Absinthe.'  Fatima and Sergei decide to not speak about the talking raven that only the two of them can see and hear.

Fatima informs Sergei of Argent's regulations concerning vampires and their nests.  Sergei respectfully asks Fatima to refer to his followers as his 'sect' but indicates that he needs to talk to his sect before asking them to register according to Argent law but that he himself is willing to register.

Kevin returns to Argent Castle, looking for Fatima and is informed that she has led a squad into Southside on a nest-busting mission.  Kevin tracks down the squad, house and murder of ravens and knocks on the door just as Fatima and Sergei are preparing to leave.

Sergei opens the door with Fatima at his side.  Kevin gives Sergei the hairy eyeball before beginning to chastise the Regent for indulging in personal and dangerous hobbies.  Fatima blushes as Sergei stares at her, but defends herself by saying that she does indeed represent the law enforcement of Argent, just perhaps at a slightly higher level than is immediately apparent.

Kevin then becomes very polite to Sergei, who finds some respite from Fatima's more drill-sergeant approach.  The two begin to chat quite amiably and Kevin insists on accompanying Sergei and Fatima to the Registry Office to get Sergei's paperwork in order.

On the way, Kevin drops back for a moment to whisper to Fatima that Sergei is Real.  Fatima is skeptical, having never considered the possibility of Real Undead before.

Eventually the three reach the Registry and Sergei is taken away for his physical/metaphysical examination and identification.  In the lobby of the Registry, another raven appears.  This one only seen by Fatima and Kevin.  They discuss the idea that Rune's insanity may be contagious.

As Sergei emerges from his registration process, a card from Fatima's Trump deck appears in her hand of it's own volition.  It is the card of the File Room with the word 'Absinthe' written across it.  Fatima looks at the card, carefully not showing it to Kevin and returns it to her Trump deck with a look of concern.  Which, of course, highly exacerbates Kevin's sense of curiosity.  But Fatima refuses to show him the card or say what it is a Trump of.

As Sergei approaches the pair, the raven croaks out 'Absinthe.'  By now, Fatima is getting irritated with the whole thing.  Kevin asks if she knows what the word means, and Fatima explains that of course she does.  Sergei indicates that he does to -- it's the name of his mother.

Fatima sighs.  Ravens, personal cards, that particular card.  She nods and Kevin explains to Sergei that he is possibly their brother and a child of Corwin of Argent.  Sergei responds that he doesn't know who is father is.  Kevin and Fatima invite Sergei to the palace and he indicates that he doesn't want to be too separated from his sect in this strange town.

Fatima indicates that for those of Sergei's ne... sect who wish to register room will be found somewhere around the palace.  Sergei says he needs to talk to his sect and Kevin indicates that it will be Fatima's job to explain this all to Kei.  Fatima replies that, of course, it would be.

Sergei leaves to talk with his sect.  Fatima indicates that there is something in the palace she needs to check into.  Kevin says he has some more experimenting to do - as his clothes are fading noticeably.  The three go their separate ways.

Sergei returns to the house and speaks to his sect, indicating that he might be a Prince of this city and that there may be a place for them, but it will very circumscribed.  About half of his sect decided to join him and register.  The other half decide to pack up and leave.

Fatima returns to the palace from which she Trumps to the File Room.  The place is full of ravens.  In the File marked 'Possibles', Fatima finds a file named Absinthe.  It describes a Vampiress of the Silver Circle with whom Corwin had a fling but Absinthe disappeared before it could be determined whether or not she was with child.  One of the raven croaks 'Absinthe' again, and Fatima opens herself up trying to contact The Raven.

Instead she gets a strange sorcerous contact to her cousin Suad in New Mecca.  Suad says that ever since she returned from Argent after journeying there to tell Fatima about the death of her mother, she's been experimenting with drugs and magic in an attempt to recapture the grandeur of Argent.  Suad is quite taken with Argent and wants to return.  Fatima says no.  Suad says that the government has herself and all of Fatima's family under close surveillance and that the entire family should come to Argent.  Fatima says no again and ends the contact.

Kevin returns to his magically warded lab in the Club to desperately trying to discover the cause of his 'fading.'

Fatima goes the Primal Pattern to attempt to further understand the Jewel of Quintessence, gets the Jewel and Trumps Kevin. 

Kevin accepts the Call to appear naked next to Fatima, he can no longer maintain any form of clothing or physical contact with the world.  Fatima lends him her jacket and asks what is going on?!?  Kevin indicates that none of his wards seem to be working against this new attack.  Fatima gets a frightening thought and asks Kevin just *how* many wards and *how* powerful they are.  As Kevin fades he indicates that there were a LOT of very powerful ones.  Fatima tells Kevin just as he disappears that he may have warded himself out of Reality.

As Fatima searches around frantically for her disappeared brother, Kevin finds himself in a strange rolling landscape full of floating lights and eerily drifting rivers.  He Trumps Fatima and they maintain contact while Kevin's adventure continues.

Kevin discovers that the floating lights are souls or memories and that the rivers are more freeform animalistic stuff of the same nature.  Kevin follows the river down to a large sea, again seemingly made up life stuff.  While there, Kevin feels the presence of some overseeing intelligence and attempts contact.  The physic contact is very strange and communication is barely possible.  (Fatima is not a part of that contact but Kevin explains what is going on.)

Faltering attempts to get information gain Kevin an image of Realities strung together like pearls with an above sense and a below sense.  The being that he is communicating with considers itself to be above the string of Realities.  An idea occurs to Kevin and he has Fatima look into the Jewel of Quintessence and, sure enough, she can find a tiny, tiny version of her brother inside.

Kevin decides to drop *all* of his wards so that he can re-enter Reality and Trumps back to the Pattern.  Immediately he re-establishes some of the basic ones under Fatima's skeptical and worried glance.  Meanwhile he is all a-buzz about what he saw.  Fatima, as usual, is not so impressed with cosmology.

When Kevin asks what is bothering Fatima, she reluctantly tells him about Suad's message.  Kevin responds that they must immediately go off and rescue Fatima's family.  Fatima however doesn't feel it is necessary at all, but is unable to convince Kevin of that.

The two return to Castle Argent and Kevin scoops up Sergei to join in the fun as a 'lesson' in Shadow walking and manipulation that is available to the fully initiated children of Corwin.  With nothing better to do, Sergie joins them.

Fatima shadow-drives to New Mecca, where they are immediately under investigation and flags from the local AI networks.  As the three steal a car to help hide their trail, Kevin casts spells through the local traffic interface and begins a hacker-war with the networks.

They meet up with Suad who is pleased to discover that the wierd meta-conversation with Fatima that she dreamt of was real.  She desperately wants to get out of New Mecca and indicates that the rest of Fatima's family will probably feel the same given the level of government scrutiny they have all come under.  Kevin and Suad hit it right off, while Fatima sulks and Sergei tries to figure out what is going on.  (Though Sergei decides that the fashions of New Mecca suit him quite nicely.)

Fatima drives to her family's home, setting off all sorts of alarms and triggering government-heavy responses.  Even under the increasing time-crunch, Fatima refuses to enter or even speak to the dwellers in the home, so Kevin casts a miniaturize & capture spell that puts the whole house and household in a tiny snowglobe of force that the three can transport easily.

Pursued by the military and tracking programs the four next drive to an Uncle of Fatima's farm house.  As they approach, they notice that the tanks and military forces are merely holding a perimeter.  Passing the perimeter, the four are attacked by an enormous Godzilla-sized insect that Kevin identifies as a Fire-Angel. 

Fatima drives as Sergei launches out of the car in a man-bat shape to attack the Fire Angel.  Meanwhile, Kevin sorcerously divines that the Fire Angel is under control by a Logrus Master not in this Shadow but somewhere off Chaos-ward, perhaps in Chaos itself.

Sergei swoops about and attacks the Fire Angel while Kevin hacks into the Fire Angel's control spells and takes it over.  Kevin sends the Fire Angel back to attack it's former master.  As the military forces are deciding what to do, Fatima reluctantly gets out of the car and talks to her Uncle's family.  While they are reasonably worried - as Fatima is not doing a very enthusiastic sell at *all* - they indicate that they do want out of New Mecca and agree to come to Argent.  Fatima is not happy about this solution, but indicates to Kevin to snow-globe the farm.

The four jet out of there just ahead of the closing trap of the finally moving military forces and scream back to New Mecca.  One more cousin is on the list, a lady who lives alone in an corporate arcology.  As the car approaches, Kevin discovers that the net administrator AI he thought he had on the ropes was actually just sharking him, and he loses much access to the nets.

Nearly blind, the four have to rely on low tech answers to discover that a SWAT team has the apartment under close survelliance.  Sergei goes mist form into the arcology while Fatima shoots to snipers and asks Kevin to snow-globe and abandon the mobile unit.

Sergei zips through the ventilation system and coalesces in the cousin's appartment.  She begs him to get her out of there, so she and he head to a room with exterior windows.  Fatima shoots out the window and Sergei leap/flies the cousin into the aircar.

With everyone on board, Fatima shadow-flies them out of there, just ahead of the closing pursuit.

For the rest of the trip back to Argent, Kevin and Sergei flirt with the girls as Fatima growls at the various steering wheels.

Once back in Argent, Fatima literally dumps her family in Watermere with instructions to the Chatelaine to keep them fed and happy but they are not to in any way contact her.  She does not want to talk to them AT ALL!  Is that clear?

Sergei and Kevin, in particular, seem confused by Fatima's attitude and stay behind in Watermere to help with the family's setup.

Fatima Trumps back to Argent Castle in a truly foul mood.