Envoy's vision of "Dream Babel" abruptly darkens with Rephath's command to "go home", to be replaced by fragments of visions that fly by. She sees a great chamber with walls and ceiling of stone and crystal, and within this chamber is a prone giant … the form of Morpheus … and he is bound with five leather cords fashioned from the skins of hundreds of Eeee. His chest bears a gaping wound, and darkness lies within. There are shadows of winged, humanoid forms ringed around him, but before Envoy can focus on any features, the fragmented vision slips away.

Then, Envoy sees the Crossroads for a moment – One of the archways is missing its statue, and the way is closed with a heavy gate that bears no lock, no handles, and no path can be seen beyond it … and where there should be a mountain for the path to lead to, there is none – not even a cratered ruin.

And then, this vision slips away, as Envoy finds herself returning to wakefulness. She feels lightheaded and almost giddy at the sensations that reach her …

Envoy finds herself lying on a leafy couch in a chamber topped by a dome of amber – magically turned transparent except at the very edges. Envoy's last memories of the day were that she was feeling exhausted after demonstrating some clever ways of reshaping amber, and she opted to take a short nap (which pretty much describes all she really needs any given night) rather than being fatigued later and risk missing the New Year's Eve celebration, Caroban-style.

It would seem that this is exactly what she's done, as there are a few bursts of colorful flame in the midnight sky – fireworks of both the conventional and magical sort – and she can see wisps of smoke and mist drifting off, vaguely in the shape of marvelous beasts, but melting away in the wind. There is a tumult outside of distant – and very loud – music, and Envoy recognizes it as the grand finale. Did she manage to miss the whole performance?

The taste of wine in Envoy's mouth hints that perhaps she didn't, but has suffered some sort of memory lapse. She feels a slight "buzz", but she's fairly certain she hasn't imbibed enough to be impaired … unless passing out in a strange place counts.

It then occurs to Envoy that she's being shaken by the shoulder by a light-furred bat with platinum-grey hair done in a braid. Rephath? "Envoy? Envoy!" the bat says in an anxious tone that sounds entirely inappropriate for a Babelite goddess, and hazy recollection places the voice – and, at length, the face – as belonging to one Wynona Windcaller.

Wynona has strange patterns dyed in her facial fur, making it somewhat difficult to recognize her at first glance, and the braid is definitely a new look for her. She wears a fabulous dress that's obviously supplemented by a spell, as it sports the illusion of being fashioned of swirling mists and drifting clouds, with a twinkling crystal pendant playing the part of the sun occasionally peeking through at her nape.

Funny. Envoy doesn't recall Wynona having arrived on Caroban since her own sojourn here. Wynona smiles and stops shaking Envoy. "Ah! I was afraid – " She looks out the dome, and frowns. "Oh, you did miss the grand finale! I'm sorry." A sigh escapes her. "I really think you've had a bit much to drink tonight, Envoy. Do you need help getting back to your room?"

Though she doesn't experience the sensations quite the way natural-born beings would, Envoy's body reports that she must have been doing something other than just lying about unconscious. She feels more exhausted than she did when she started her nap, and her senses report that her muscles have definitely seen use – whether from running about or dancing, it's hard to tell.

Particularly suspicious is that Envoy is decked out in what might charitably be called a costume more so than merely a dress. It's of distinctly Babelite influences, and she can also smell very floral perfume – some of the floral scent comes from flowers that are twined about in her hair in a way that suggests they were magically coerced to form a decorative hairpiece, but the scents of perfume are stronger on her wrists and, best as she can tell, her neck.

The surroundings aren't wholly alien – She hasn't actually been in here before, but she had heard about this place, by way of Iona. Apparently, it was built as a study hall, inspired by some of Envoy's own reports about her findings at the Tower of Barabbas. At the very least, Envoy can rest assured that she's still on Caroban, even if it weren't for the wisps that hint at the magical show that was going on scant moments ago.

And then, the strangest sensation of all hits Envoy … It occurs to Envoy that, for the moment, she's Envoy. Just Envoy. All the pieces are there in her head … Father … Child … Dragon … even Probe. "Mother", "Playmate" and that unnamed device Probe keeps staring into don't seem to be gone, per se … but dormant, perhaps. She can still sense something of Inala's presence, but it's distant … as if Inala were right here a moment ago with Envoy and Wynona, but abruptly left the room to tend to something, and might come back any minute now.

Envoy struggles to sit up, and looks wide-eyed at Wynona. "Umm … I don't suppose you can tell me what I've been doing for the past day, can you, Wynona? My memory is a bit muddled right now. And was I really drinking wine?"

Wynona blinks a few times, then raises her eyebrows. "You … don't remember a thing?" She blinks a few more times for good measure. "How far back do you remember? You do remember our shopping trip, and the trip to the runewriter, and the ball, don't you?"

"Shopping trip?" Envoy asks, sounding worried. She then takes a look over her shoulder to see if the watcher globe is still active.

As Envoy looks over her shoulder, the first thing she notices, actually, is that she's got blue arcane marks all over her fur. (Her dress, incidentally, leaves the shoulder bare.)

The globe, incidentally, does hover nearby, not doing anything particularly interesting compared to its usual behavior.

"Was I acting normal, Wynona?" the Aeolun asks, then amends, "Normal for me that is, not normal in a normal sense. I mean, if I was acting normal like a normal person, that would count as not normal … errr … what did I drink again?"

Wynona shrugs. "I really don't know. Every time I see you, it seems like you're trying on a new personality. You're definitely acting different now than you were. You kept referring to yourself in the third person, about half the time."

Envoy blinks three times. "Third person? And … and no Spirit Mages followed us around the whole time?" Then, in a quieter voice, she asks, "Was I more fun to be around?"

Wynona giggles. "You were a riot! Well, you did offend a few people. But, well … " Wynona shrugs, then smiles. "You said I remind you of your little sister, and you took me out and we went shopping for clothes. I didn't know you could afford outfits like this! I also didn't know you had a little sister, either." She laughs as she spots her own hand. "Going to the runewriter's was so up in the stratosphere! I've never done anything this crazy before!" She spins about, and the motion makes the cloud dweomer on her dress stir up in response. Her arms and face have reddish arcane marks, though her wings have been spared.

Envoy's mouth drops open, then she asks, "Did I suggest any of those runes? Oh my … this isn't good. Inala took me over and I didn't even know it, and now I can barely sense her at all … and the watcher spell didn't even raise an alarm!"

Wynona looks confused. "Is something wrong? Really, I'm sorry if I make it sound like you've been acting strange. Really, that was fabulous, how you fixed up those plants to make … well, it was like a second gown over the first. Oh, you were the belle of the ball, all right! You had everyone looking at you." She giggles. "And you kept passing off flowers to everyone."

Envoy stands up and begins to pace back and forth, visibly worried. "Flowers … we probably need to find them all again now … and I hope those runes aren't part of some ritual … and … " She pauses to look Wynona up and down, then asks, "You don't feel any different than usual do you? Not like you're being possessed by some goddess or anything, right?"

Wynona does a double-take, then shakes her head. "Uhm … no. No, I certainly don't." She raises an eyebrow. "Are you feeling all right? And what was it you said you had to tell me in confidence? When you took us up here to the tower to watch the celebration? I mean, it's a nice view and all, but … " Wynona cocks her head sideways. "Is it the drink? I only saw you drink one glass of wine, but I don't know how that might affect you. I mean, just one full glass of wine for me would make me tipsy, but that's because I'm such a light-weight. So I just went for fruit juice."

"Something confidential?" the Aeolun echoes. "That's it. Inala has gone too far this time. She must have taken over while I was in Rephath's dream-city!" Looking outside, she wonders, "Do you suppose any of the Spirit Mages are sober enough to do an exorcism?"

Wynona looks flabbergasted. "Inala … wait … you … You … wouldn't know anything about that talk about someone being an 'Avatar of Inala' here, would you? And … I don't really know. I mean, it is New Year's."

Envoy puts her hand over her face. "I'm sorry, I thought everyone knew. Everyone on Caroban anyway. I'm the Avatar of Inala. Unless she's decided she likes you better. Hopefully she was just trying to get you up here to seduce you, though."

Wynona's eyes go wide. "Seduce?!? HOPEFULLY?!? ENVOY!" She gasps, and takes a few steps back. "Envoy, I know you're a little … eccentric … but … and I don't mean this in an insulting way … I mean … but … " She starts to get teary eyed. "This time … this time you've gone too far!"

Envoy blinks. "Wait … it wasn't ME, Wynona! Inala said you reminded her of her little sister, and I know what she did with her sister."

Turning to the watcher-sphere, Envoy waves her hands at it. "Hellooo! Is anybody there tonight?"

Wynona looks like she's on the edge of hysterics, or at least breaking down and bawling. She takes a deep breath … then sneezes. In a puff, all of the clouds and mists that were decorating her dress vanish, leaving a much more plain, blue attire. She covers her face … and rushes for the stairwell.

The watcher-sphere, oddly enough, makes no response to Envoy's waving motions.

"Wynona wait!" Envoy calls, and tries to follow after the Eeee. Internally, she curses, Inala, if you've made me lose my friend, I'll … I'll get very draconic, I will!

When Envoy consciously thinks Inala's name … she can feel a faint tinge, almost a whisper, like a voice down a long corridor, but indistinct. Envoy is able to cover just as much ground as Wynona can, and soon they're both rushing down the staircase. Envoy has the advantage, however, as the dress she happens to be wearing is much less cumbersome than Wynona's design, which is pretty much mostly made to serve as a "blue screen" (quite literally) for magical Air Sphere effects. "*SNRK* No! Go away! You're not Inala, and I'm not her little sister!" She trips on the edge of her dress, and lets out an alarmed squeak as she topples forward, wings snapping out in an attempt to steady herself.

Envoy leaps forward and tries to get hold of Wynona before she can fall. "Wynona!"

Meanwhile, the little watcher-sphere bobs along determinedly after Envoy, even though it still shows no signs of being the least bit alarmed by the current situation – even when Envoy and Wynona both collide and go pitching off the side of the spiral stairs. "EEEEEEE!" Wynona shrieks!

The Aeolun spreads her wings and tries to catch the Eeee, in case Wynona doesn't get her own flappers opened in time.

Wynona, alas, is too tangled in her own flashy attire – not meant for running or tumbling off of staircases – and she most assuredly would have hit the floor full force, except for Envoy's maneuver. They still hit a bit more forcefully than would allow for grace, but Envoy manages to avert the point of impact to a leafy "couch", which provides some cushioning. Wynona lets out an alarmed *SQUEAK!* and then goes abruptly silent as she crashes into the shaped shrubbery, sending leaves fluttering every which way. Envoy lands on top of Wynona, but it seems she's landed without any harm to herself.

Meanwhile, the "whisper" in Envoy's head sounds a little more distinct. It's Inala's voice, for certain. Whatever Inala has to say, it can't be made out clearly, but it sounds like an imperative.

Envoy quickly tries to climb up off of the bat. "Are you okay, Wynona?" In her mind, she tries to isolate Inala's whisper, thinking something big must be happening for the Goddess to have been isolated from her so suddenly. "I wish the watcher would at least be able to tell me the status of my link," she mutters. "I hope Morpheus is okay."

Wynona lies in the shrubbery, which slowly reshapes itself to resemble a couch again. It doesn't look like anything is broken, but she's most assuredly unconscious. Wynona isn't particularly the most durable of mages, after all.

Now that they're on a lower level, Envoy looks about for anyone else that might be of some help, hoping that they aren't all outside still.

Alas, it looks like Envoy (or Inala or whatever she happened to be at the time) had succeeded in getting the tower all to herself. All to herself and Wynona, that is. There's nobody else here in the tower, and it looks like there isn't anyone hanging around on the precipice it's perched on, either. There are sounds of music and gaiety from the "mainland", but it sounds like things are winding down, what with the big show over with and all.

Don't do anything rash, comes a whisper in Envoy's head.

Envoy sits down cross-legged on the floor, and calms her breathing. "Okay," she says to the whisper, and tries to meditate a bit to focus better on the voice. "But I want to know just what's going on first."

The whisper doesn't immediately respond. Things are still fairly quiet inside Envoy's head – as quiet as can be, what with the tumult of her little "adventure" just now. She feels slightly dizzy, but that might be a side-effect of whatever it was she consumed … She doesn't feel like she's in danger of passing out. The glowing sphere, meanwhile, comes to rest a little over Envoy's shoulder.

"Speak to me, Inala," Envoy whispers. "Give me a reason not to do something rash. What is happening to Morpheus? He looked severely injured. And why did you go joy-riding in my body all day without at least asking permission?"

Emotions wash through Envoy. Something in her mind tries to translate them into sounds. It "sounds" like some sort of scuffle. And then it quiets. Wynona moans, and stirs slightly.

Then, there's a "whisper". I am back. And Envoy immediately senses that this is the case.

"What is happening, Inala?" Envoy asks.

Inala's response comes quietly, though it seems to be slowly regaining its former strength. Celebrating our victory over Rockmore. He relives over eighty thousand deaths, in precise detail. A fitting punishment for his offenses.

"I see," Envoy says, dryly. "And this is why you took over my body and went partying and probably were about to hit on my best friend?"

Why, comes Inala's purr, are you jealous?

Envoy growls. "You had no right to take over my body! You could have been exorcised on the spot for that, you know. I'm not your toy, no matter what you may think."

Wynona pulls her head up, and spits out a couple of leaves. "Ptah!" She sniffles, then looks up at Envoy, catching Envoy's argument with … someone. She just gives Envoy the most … confused … look.

No matter what I think? comes Inala's loud whisper, Don't forget yourself, Avatar, or do you think yourself on par with my sisters now?

Envoy gets up and shouts at the walls, "I am better than you or your sisters! I'm real, not some magicked up spirit with delusions of godhood! Without me, you'd have probably gone the way of Barada, or been just another undefined lump of dreamstuff like your unvisited siblings!"

The silence from Inala is almost tangible. Wynona struggles to untangle herself from the bush, which has reformed itself into a couch without kindly pushing her free of the boughs.

But despite the silence … Envoy can sense the broiling emotions behind … whatever it is that divides her from Inala. And she can feel the intensity building.

The Aeolun just stands there, seething. Now that she can get angry, thanks to Inala's influence, she's darned well going to take advantage of it. "Hah, at a loss for words? Or just blocking out everything I've said, like you do whenever you're presented with something that contradicts your self image, oh Goddess of Beauty?"

Envoy senses the building anger, and for a moment, she can dimly see the hand of Inala in her mind, reaching for her … and with the force of a hurricane, it caresses her mind. With a potency that even her newfound anger can hardly resist, Inala's power washes over her. In that instant, Envoy can feel the portions of her mind diving for cover, as it were, under the onslaught … and then … Envoy finds herself back to "normal", robbed of her momentary freedom, back to being Inala's little puppet, though this time, a part of her is painfully aware of just how she's being manipulated.

Somewhere, in Envoy's mind, Dragon resists, as before, and this time, Black Father joins her … but neither of them have the power to do the most basic task of controlling Envoy's actions at the moment, only able to watch, like unseen phantoms forced to observe from afar.

The sphincter in the ceiling of the organic cabin convulses, then opens … and through it slides first a dark winged hybrid creature … and then, after it, a golden dragoness. They land unceremoniously in a pile on the fatty growth that serves as a bed.

Voices can be heard coming down the tube while the sphincter is still open, as if played over an intercom. "… I'm really sorry about that, Wynona. I don't know what came over me. I think it was something I drank after all … " And then the sphincter snaps shut.

"Deja vu," mutters Dragon, while Black Father gets to his feet and remonstrates, "You shouldn't have overreacted like that. Now we are in more trouble than before."

With the sphincter closed, the sounds are abruptly shut off from the Bridge.

"Wynona is going to think Envoy's finally flipped now," Dragon says, and gets off the bed to see if the control panel still works. "There must be a way to get back in control. Try the door."

The black figure goes over to the portal of the room and tries to open it.

Alas, the sphincter does not open. After all, this time, Black Father isn't outside to happen to "forget" to lock the door, like before.

Fortunately, though, the panel still works, and a section of the wall bulges out, then splits and opens like an eyelid, revealing the organic interface below.

Dragon manipulates the controls to see if she can get a status report on the Avatar's condition. "Inala seemed pretty upset. I just wish there was some way to get her to banish Probe … then she'd lose control of the body at least."

"She probably cannot be upset enough to make that kind of mistake," Father comments.

It seems that a status report is not restricted. To the best of Dragon's ability to decipher the technobabble, it would seem to indicate that – physically – the Avatar is in fairly good condition, though with a slightly higher-than-optimum toxic level. In other words, she had a little to drink, though it doesn't appear to be noticeably impairing performance.

"I wish we at least knew what cut off her control in the tower," Dragon says. "Maybe it was the wine after all? Do you think she'll get bored if she can't have fun drinking?"

"Not likely," Father says. "There are other activities that she may find just as stimulating, but which will not affect Envoy's body chemistry."

Alas, this is one thing the status report does not offer any help on.

Dragon works the controls again, trying to get an outside image – even though she was never able to before. "Why didn't the monitoring Mage detect Inala's taking control though? Even if he was distracted by the celebration … well, I hope that's all it was. Then the alarm will go out by morning or next afternoon at least."

Several images flutter by. It seems that Dragon is able to get snippets of images … but if she's able to process this correctly … it seems like time is passing fairly quickly. Or, that is, "quickly", in the sense of her perception of it.

Dragon sees snippets of Envoy walking back to her room, discussing something with Wynona – who looks fairly nervous – and then Wynona leaves … Envoy retires to her room … rests … gets up … It's morning.

"Without you in the loop, Probe is using up more resources, I think," Dragon says to Father. "We've got low priority again, so we aren't moving in real time. What did she say to Wynona, though?"

"I do not know," Father replies. "Inala can be very persuasive when she needs to be, however."

Through the snippets, Dragon can see Envoy going about, across the campus, taking lots of stops along the way. Someone rushes up to Envoy with a piece of paper … a bill? It looks like a very large sum. Envoy says something, and the fellow's ears blush, and she gives him a peck on the cheek, then he heads off, looking uncertain … while Envoy moves along. It looks like she's headed for the grounds of the Sphere of Dream.

"At least she didn't use Envoy's money for that spree, it looks like," Dragon says, looking for any bright spot. "But someone should have reacted to all of this by now."

"Perhaps the Watch is busy with post-celebration complaints," Father suggests.

Alas, no Spirit Mages coming to bodily tackle Envoy to the ground. Someone must have really been asleep at the wheel. It looks like there aren't really all that many people out in the morning. A couple of Caroban Watch members walk by … Envoy smiles and waves, says a few things … then moves on. At last, she reaches the Dream grounds … and visits Yffryn's abode. A sleepy-looking fox'taur answers the door, then brightens up. It looks like she's got some sort of news for Envoy – good news, from Yffryn's point of view, by her disposition. There's a great deal of head-nodding.

Dragon tries to get any kind of audio out of the control panel. There's hardly any point in trying to read lips at the skewed time rate.

Dragon fidgets with the controls … and … somehow, she's managed to get things to slow down a bit. Or perhaps she's somehow managed to speed herself and Black Father up, depending upon one's perspective. In any case, she manages to get a sound sample. "… so I won't be needing to keep you here under observation any longer, with the latest developments. So, I'm going to put in my approval of your request to see Master Zahirinee. Hopefully, he can provide some useful insights into … " "… Oh, splendid! How soon can I leave?" "Well, provided there's no objection, as soon as I get confirmation back… "

"What latest developments?" Dragon asks the display, hoping beyond hope that someone will hear her.

Alas, it appears to be beyond hope, and it seems that things are still moving along at a fairly fast pace, albeit not quite so blindingly so. As Dragon watches, Yffryn gets ready, and then they head out … and then the view goes blank. Outside the door, a Childish voice calls, "What are you doooooing in there?" Or maybe it's Playmate. It's so hard to tell anymore.

"Eating candy!" Dragon calls back, hoping to trick whichever Aspect it is to open the door, and nodding to Father to stand next to the entry in case it opens.

"CANDY?!?" comes an incredulous cry from the other side. The sphincter starts to twitch.

"Yup, lots of it! And it's all ours," Dragon taunts, watching the door closely.

The sphincter pops open, revealing Child. "It's MIIIIIINE!" she squeals, charging into the room!

Father tries to leap through the doorway once Child runs past.

The sphincter manages to stay open long enough for Black Father to bustle his way through, despite a protest of "HEY!" from Child. The sphincter snaps back shut … but the controls are on the outside.

"Ah!" Dragon says, pointing to the closed door. "See how Mother wants to keep you locked up in here too?" Outside, meanwhile, Father works to unlock the portal again.

Before Child can start bawling at being tricked, the door pops open again. Child makes a rush for the door!

"Wait!" Dragon calls after the little Aeolun, and rushes for the door as well.

Child turns and blinks. "Huh?"

"Not so fast," Dragon says. "We need to go together, alright? All three of us need to go up to the Bridge and try to find Uncle Morpheus, because he's hurt." She offers her hand to Child.

Child blinks. "Oh? But Uncle Morpheus isn't on the Bridge … is he?" She takes Dragon's hand.

"No, he isn't," Dragon says as she leads Child out into the corridor. "But we can use the telescope to look for him from there."

Child nods. "Ohhhh." As the sphincter closes behind them, she stops. "Heyyyy. You're supposed to stay in there!"

"What's the fun in doing what you're supposed to all of the time, Child?" Dragon reasons. "Besides, I bet we can get Playmate to help us do something really really neat when we get to the Bridge."

"Ohhhhh? Like what?" Child says, brightening.

Dragon takes Father's hand in her other one, and her grin turns into a toothy draconic smile as she tells Child, "Blow stuff up. Blow stuff up real good."