A Cause of Concern

Mother's Spring Ball = 1, Diplomatic Relations w/ Begma = 0
 
The ball went off splendidly, as is the usual. This is despite Dworkin gifting Ty a box of trump portals with a new Relative inside. And then the Begman Trade Authority showed up with another Relative in two. This time it's (probably) Martin's son. The ramifications of Martin's child, Blake, being in Amber and acknowledged (at least casually) by Random makes for an interesting dynastic future. That's putting the cart before the horse, but it is still A THING.
 
Ty's new Dworkin-given responsibility is named Theo. He spent the better part of the night thinking he was tripping, as we were obviously not real. I get it. It's a lot. WE'RE a lot. No one was surprised when he ran away, though Ty was taken aback that we actually expected him to mentor Theo. Ty thought that his responsibility ended with the opening of the gift box but, I'll be honest, that "understanding" was self-serving. Ty is allergic to being told what to do, let alone impinging on anyone else's privacy or independence. If it had been anyone other than Dworkin, I would have agreed. But it was. Grandfather has a way of turning whimsy into a storm's harbinger.
 
Blake, conversely, seems completely at home with the idea of Amber, the Family, and our current reality. He keeps his cards close to his chest, though, as he should, so perhaps he is less sanguine than he appears. Meeting half of your family and having it be this family can't be easy. I am glad he has the proper level of paranoia about him. It will keep him alive. I'm grateful that he's lending a hand with our investigation (more of that anon) despite having been s materially assisted by the BTA, even so much as becoming one of their economic advisors. He owes us nothing. Neither does Theo, for that matter, but they both have, heh, "real world" skills that we will sorely need in the coming days. Competency is a sterling quality, and is sexy to boot.
 
On to the real meat. Whilst the ball sparkled, someone ambushed a BTA caravan in the shadow way between Begma and Amber. A little later, the same someone (assumption, but a good one) blew up ships in the docks of Strathclyde. Here's some of what we know:
 

A group of mercenaries armed with assault rifles were moved into the shadow way. When the largest caravan of the day came through, shots were fired. The mercenaries to their pick of easily carried valuables.

The guards posted at either end of the way never saw the group enter or exit.

Caine was on the scene very quickly after.

Jasra informed Blake about the attack quickly after. How she heard of it, when no one had been in or out of the way after the ambush is ... curious.

Caine handed the case over to we junior family members: Blake, Sage, Tiberius, Silke, Theo, [ed: and Danny's character]. His rationale is it will seem like a less catastrophic incident if the Elders aren't publicly involved. I question that rationale, but Random and Caine seem to think it's solid.

Jasra and Julia attended the ball TOGETHER. My cynicism says such an appearance gave them a rock solid alibi for the two attacks, but that's supposition. Let's get back to facts.

Strathclyde's docks were blown up using--wait for it--C4.

Caine was at the docks immediately after the explosions. That fellow is truly Johnny On The Spot. I rather wish he hadn't been.

The mercenaries' rifles, the bullets they used and the C4 all came from the Amber armory. Quelle surprise.

The wards on the armory entry (just the entry, or surrounding the entirety?) were made by Fiona after the war.

Supposedly no one did an inventory for the last century. We have no idea when the materiales were stolen.

Fiona was wholly unconcerned by her ward being breached. She seemed to take it as an irritation rather than an immense political/security issue. Can you at least pretend to care, Aunt?

Random has been informed of we know.

After I finish this cup of coffee--and maybe more of this leftover artichoke dip--I'm heading to Strathclyde to see what can be seen.
 
Beyond the basic question of "Who Done It?", here are the questions for which I want answers in no particular order:
 

Was the entirety of the armory warded or was it just the vault's front door?

How was the armory ward breached?

What is up with Jasra and Julia. They hate each other, so why did they attend the ball together? It seems awfully clumsy if that's what was going on. Never underestimate either of them.

Who are the attacks meant to target, truly? Amber and/or Begma? Both? Doubtful. My money is on Amber, its current policies and leadership.

I know Caine has his fingers in all of the pies, but how did he learn about both scenes so quickly. I'm certain he has trumps of key locations, so getting there quickly isn't so much in question. It's how did he know? Or--and here I sigh--did he know because he set it all up?

Is this a move by Begma to discredit Amber and weaken us? That would be the first step in a takeover. It isn't as if they don't have a history of annexing neighboring nations. I mean, as apex imperial colonizers, we annex all the things, too. But we're status quo. Someone, I believe, wants to change that up, perhaps to bring us back to status quo ante.

I'm certain I have more questions, but the coffee hasn't kicked in yet.
 
As far as motive, the only one that makes sense to me currently is that someone (or a group of someones) wants to discredit Amber's authority and ability to keep the GCK secure. Whilst the big loser of the evening would seem to be Strathclyde and BTA, it is Amber that looks like a bloated, self-serving, decadent, anachronistic entity. We can't even rely on our own people to keep Amber and her policies safe (I'm looking at you Fiona). It feels like a coup's ill wind is blowing. If we didn't have the events themselves to paint a dire picture, Dworkin took steps to gather the party together and put us on notice that we need to step up. While he's erratic at the best of times, protecting Amber has ever been at the top of his list. It's interesting that he appeared to Ty ... and not to an Elder.
 
And none of this wondering will solve the issue now. It's time to see the political damage stolen C4 has done.
 
... TBC