From yu121874@yorku.ca 
Tue Jun  4 03:14:08 1996
Subject: [AM] A quick retreat
 
Scene: Grove of the Unicorn
 
        Zachary dismounted, staring in awe at the Unicorn as it lay near 
the stream, dark eyes peering back at him.  It had to be, it couldn't be 
anything but The Unicorn.  Symbol of Amber, embodiment of the Pattern.  
His senses returned to him when he felt Laura's hand touch his arm.  
"She's beautful."
 
        Julianna came up to the two, showing Zachary the arrows.  
"Poisoned.  Whoever was hunting the Unicorn wanted to kill her.  
According to our wayward cousin, it seems the attacker blew a hunter's 
horn, and used a wolf-like creature for the hunt."
 
        "Is the Unicorn all right?"  Zachary asked, shivering slightly 
at the thought of such potency of poison to eat away at wood and steel.
 
        "Our cousin removed the arrows in time.  I would venture to say 
that she saved the Unicorn's life."  Julianna admitted.
 
        Zachary nodded and made his way over towards Karina and the 
Unicorn.  Laura continued to look at the arrows.  "They're not from 
Amber."  She said.
 
        "What was that, cousin?"  Julianna asked, looking back to Laura.
 
        "I had gone shopping earlier, and from what I can tell these 
weren't made in Amber.  The design is all wrong."  Laura explained, 
looking closer at the shaft of the least damaged of the three arrows.  
Laura then felt a tingling upon her chest, her pin again.
 
        "No!"  Julianna said suddenly, turning her head to look unseeing 
into the distant.  "Quickly, follow me."
 
        "What's wrong?"  Laura asked, glancing in the direction Julianna 
had.  She clutched at her medallion through her blouse.
 
        "I cannot explain, but we must leave, now."  With that, Julianna 
quickly pulled herself upon Shadowdancer.  
 
        The Unicorn had risen to her feet, her dark eyes peering at her 
saviours.  "Mount up quickly, Laura."  Zachary said, trusting Julianna 
enough to know something was indeed terribly wrong, and then it hit 
him.  "Good God."  He whispered.  He grabbed Karina's hand and raced 
over to Rainpuddle, who stood nervously waiting her rider.  Laura needed 
no prompting, and was already in the process of mounting her own horse.
 
        "What's going on?"  Karina asked as Zachary threw her up on the 
horse.  Already Julianna was galloping away, soon followed by Laura.  
Zachary pulled himself up uncomfortably behind Karina.  Right now, 
though, comfort was the last thing on his mind.  Digging his heels into 
Rainpuddle's sides, the filly went bolting off after the other two.   
 
        Around them, the sky darkened noticeably, going from the whispy 
cloudy blue to a dark, cold gray.  The sound of thunder reached their 
ears, but there was no rain or lightning to be seen.  Suddenly, Karina 
gave out a shout.  To one side, half the trees of the forest 
disappeared.  They didn't thin out, or recede into the distance, they 
disappeared, leaving an empty blackness in it's wake.  "Keep riding!"  
Julianna's voice made it's way to their ears.  Crackling thunder filled 
their ears, pieces of the sky falling and disappearing, leaving the same 
black void in it's place.  
 
        Then all felt it, a cold ripple leaving a chill through their 
bodies.  A feeling than not only of someone walking over their graves, 
but tap-dancing on it as well.  They then found themselves in a 
different forest.  Exactly like the one they had been in, and yet all 
knew that it wasn't the same.  That in some untangible way, this forest 
was seperate and distinct from the grove they had fled from.
 
        Ahead, Shadowdancer slowed down from the blazing pace Julianna 
had encouraged him to.  Soon, all three horses came to a stop, gently 
patted by their riders to calm them from the recent Hellride, despite 
it's great shortness.
 
        "So, what exactly happened back there?"  Karina asked.
 
        "The Shadow is gone."  Julianna said matter-of-factly, and yet a 
hint in her voice suggested she did not believe it to be so.
 
        "Gone?  How do you mean?"  Laura asked, confused.
 
        Zachary took a deep breath, shivering involuntarily.  "Just as 
she means, gone.  Someone, or something, caused it to collapse.  The 
Shadow we were just in no longer exists, we will never travel to it 
again."
 
        The two newest Amberites fell into silence, a silence that grew 
even greater at the realization that the Unicorn was nowhere to be seen.
 
NRPG:  Whoo-ee!  Now we're talking fun :)  Well, the Unicorn looked like 
it was all right the last we saw of it.  But what about this Shadow 
collapsing business?  What are our intrepid heroes up to now?
 
                           ///          /// 
                           \ //        /  /           
      Christopher           \ ////   _/  /     Zachary, Librarian of
      Ackney                 \_  ////    /     Castle Amber, son to
                              \___/    /       King Random
      yu121874@yorku.ca       /         \_      
                             /,)-_(  \_   \     
      1Asada20.2100          (/   \\ /\\\\         <\
                                   //               >\
      -===========================((===============>:::(0)//////]O 
                                    '               >/
        "It was a very foul blow, about four