The walk up the mountain was hazy, but it's almost over as the gravel path grows more level and Anisa approaches the crystal gates of a city that puts the village below to shame the way a diamond would compare to a speck of dust.

The gates are closed and a lone figure leans against a crystal column playing with a deck of cards. It looks to be an Eeee – female, probably … and thankfully she appears to be fully intact.

"Barada is the youngest of the seven sisters and the most playful. Her temples are rich and decadent but usually hold more than they show," the chibix on Anisa's shoulder chitters. It's been babbling for most of the trip, sometimes repeating itself and sometimes spewing utterly irrelevant information. Still, it's been a companion of sorts.

Anisa slows to catch her breath, the upward climb combined with her quick pace having tired her quite a bit. "Who is that person with the deck? Barada's bodyguard or something?"

"That is the gatekeeper," the chibix squeaks. "She will allow you to enter the city."

"She won't ask me for an arm, or make me do a riddle or anything, will she?" asks Anisa as she heads towards the lone figure.

The female Eeee's cloak flutters and her form seems to glitter in the light. She's decked out in dazzling jewels sewn into her clothing and adorned on bits of jewelry. Her eyes lock upon Anisa's, acknowledging her approach before focusing on the deck of cards again.

The chibix preens a wing. "Barada is difficult to predict, as are her minions. It is hard to say."

The rabbit comes to a halt just a few feet away from the guard, and waits momentarily before speaking. "Hello there, um, ma'am?" She grimaces, hating feeling awkward. "Is there any way I might be able to see your master? I have business with her … I think." The Lapine girl tries to sneak a peek through the gates.

Pulling her cowl away, the Eeee looks down at Anisa and smiles, her voice is soft and almost musical. "I would be happy to let you into the city, little sister." She holds out a fan of playing cards. "I'll even give you a secret. The first one is free, you know?"

The city looks immaculate through the glimpses provided through the gates. It is clean and well kept … but there are no other people to be seen within it.

Anisa blinks as the cards are held out to her. Somewhat reluctantly and suspiciously, she selects a card, taking it from the fan, her eyes kept on the bat. "What secret would that be?"

The card shows an image of a skull. The rest of the cards,giving glimpses of various images, quickly vanish under the folds of the Eeee's cloak. "You have chosen the secret for yourself, little sister." The bat smiles conspiratorially. "You have chosen the secret of Death in Dreams – and the secret it holds is that there is no such thing. Should you die here, you will simply awaken in yourown realm and can return to here alive and whole later."

The Lapi arches a brow, indicating that she finds this news interesting indeed. "Really? So I could be trampled by a pack of Drokar, have a boomer dropped on me, then have Beatrice talk me into unconsciousness, and I'd be fine?"

The Eee flips out another card, this one has an image that looks startlingly like Anisa herself printed upon it, except she's clad in warrior's armor and holds an enormous sword in her hand. "Yes. Would you like to know another secret?"

Anisa begins to put forth another query, but cuts herself short, remembering what the old woman back in the village, as well as the two youngsters. "Um, only if it doesn't cost me anything." She hugs her arms protectively close to herself. "I'd like to stay in one piece."

The Eee tsks. "Oh, what's one tooth? Or perhaps your tail? Isn't a small piece worth knowing about what you can do in your dreams?"

A hand quickly darts around to Anisa's back, covering up her cotton tail. "Um, I happen to like my cotton tail… besides, if I can't die, then there's most likely anything I can do!"

Chuckling lightly, the bat folds her cards back into her cloak. "Such bravado! But of course, they all show it when they first come here. I will, of course, be very near by should you ever decide to ask me for help. I'll even let you pick the part you wish to give me. the process is quite neat and painless, I assure you."

Anisa frowns, once again gathering her arms around her. "That's … comforting I guess." She looks back through the gates again, focusing her oversized ears forward to scan for sound. "Is it okay for me to see her now? Queen Barada, I mean."

The lady Eeee walks over to the gates and gently pulls them open. "Little sister, do you think that the Mistress of Secrets allows people to waltz up and greet her? If you wish to see her, you shall have to earn her audience within the city."

The air is dead silent except for the soft tinkling of the Eeee's jewelry and the slight incomprehensible whisper that the winds carry.

"Earn her audience? What do you-" Once again, the Lapi cuts herself short, sighing and waving a hand of dismissal. "Never mind, I don't want to lose my ears or anything. I'll figure it out. Thanks anyways." She then focuses her eyes on the city, and, somewhat uncertainly, makes her way through the gates.

"Just call for the gatekeeper if you need a hint or a secret, little sister." The Eee says cheerily as shecloses the gate behind the Lapi. "You wouldn't miss one little tooth, and knowing your true power is worth the cost of a tail or a toe. I hold secrets that dead men whisper in their dying breaths, that lovers steal from the words of their bedfellows when they speak in their sleep … anything and everything for such a small, little cost."

Anisa shudders at the final words of the guard – not exactly comforting prose. Once she has arrived a considerable distance inside the city, she stops to take a look around, and try to get a bearing on things. She also takes stock of herself, with her arms crossed, and ears lowered to the sides in uncertainty. Realizing the timid and vulnerable image she must be projecting – a Lapi stereotype she loathes – the rabbit puts on a stern face, and puts her arms to her side in confidence. Completing the look of defiance by raising her ears, she takes a few more steps forward, still trying to sort the place out.

The city looks like something almost out of a painting of ancient Olympia. Decorative stone buildings line the streets, of varying degrees of size. Some look to be large shrines or warehouses, while others are unoccupied homes with fresh food on neatly prepared tables. The city itself looks to be circular, and a second gate forms a "hub" within the circle that leads up to the central temple. The outer city itself is probably as large as the Rephidim Bazaar.

The chibix on the Lapi's shoulder shifts position. "The city is kept clean and immaculate and is tended by the villagers below and those chosen by Barada. Only Barada herself resides here though."

Inwardly admiring some of the buildings, while trying not to betray it on the outside, Anisa decides to explore the hub, and begins to walk down towards it. "What's that part in the middle? Is that some kind of marketplace or something?" She peers at it in confusion. "Why does Barada need this if there's no people?"

"A city to one's self means that you don't have to share it with anybody." The little bat-creature nods up towards the central spire. "That is Sunala's temple, but the gate is locked. It is a sharply rising structure that one must practically crawl up the steps of, to be able to climb without falling dangerously. The steps were built so sharply so that the bodies of sacrificial victims would roll all the way to the bottom once their hearts were carved out."

Anisa sticks her tongue out, squinting in exaggerated disgust. "She sure is a cheerful lady, isn't she?" The rabbit continues to head towards the gate, periodically watching the passing buildings for anything of interest.

Some of the larger buildings sport murals painted within them, while others have furniture and odd supplies hidden away. One house has a few blades on the wall and some hunting trophies, and another room looks to be a bakery of sorts. The gate ahead looks to be made of smooth obsidian and is about twenty feet high, stark blackness against the white of the outer city. Beyond it, a triangular temple juts into the air like a needle. The upper portion is open to the outside and flattened, but at this distance it's hard to make out what exactly lies there.

"Sunala is usually the most feared of the Seven, being the goddess of death and assassins. Her priestesses are trained in ritualistic maiming and sacrifice. They usually die in the name of their goddess by their own hands," the chibix chitters. "Usually those who are sacrificed to Barada are those who hold the most secrets, or those who have let their secrets flow too freely from their lips."

While still listening to the chibix's words, the Lapi stops to regard the house containing the blades and trophies. Seemingly in thought for a few seconds, she then changes course and walks to the blades, examining them closely.

The cabin looks to be about as big as Anisa's bedroom at home – when she's not being forced to share it with anybody, that is. There are animal heads on the walls and they seem to be species that have a sapient counterpart. A vermite head is mounted on one odd placard, a deer on another, a rakhtor on another, and a creature known to Nordika as a "rabbit" has a head on another placard. The blades on the walls do not look to be swords, but ritualistic knives and daggers, each of them with brightly jeweled hilts and polished blades.

The door creaks closed behind the Lapi as if gently blown shut by a soft breeze.

Anisa shivers as she regards the rabbit head, because of both the strangeness of its hollow, animal look, yet the similarity it holds to her own kind. The fact that it seemingly had its head lopped off and stuck up on a wall doesn't help matters either. The sudden creaking of the door sends Anisa's fur and instincts on end in alarm, and she whirls around, fists up and ears laid back, ready for a fight.

Nobody is behind the rabbit, although the back of the door appears to have writing upon it. Choose your blade, it reads.

The Lapi's fists slowly lower, and her ears rise back up as her defensive expression is replaced with one of disturbed curiosity, her rapidly twitching nose helping to add to the look. She back away from the door cautiously, then turns back to the daggers. After examining them for a time, her eye is caught by one more decorative than most, yet not so overly so as to keep it from being usable. The hilt is bejeweled with rubies set in gold, and the blade is thin yet seemingly strong. "What is this place used for?" she asks the chibix.

"Storage for sacrificial weapons, or a display – or perhaps both," the chibix squeaks. "The trophies are mere decoration."

"I usually prefer flowers or stuffed animals," mutters Anisa to herself. Taking the dagger, she places it to her hip, using the sash around her trousers as a makeshift sword belt. Giving the (to her) grizzly heads one last glance, the Lapine turns to exit the dwelling, the place's atmosphere giving her the chills.

The door opens with little difficulty, allowing the rabbit and her companion to exit. The scent of water and perfume catches Anisa's nose in the breeze along with a waft of steam leaking out from the window of another building nearby.

Once outside the dwelling, the Lapi comes to a halt, her ever-moving nose taking in the sudden scent. Longingly she looks at the gates, but sighs as her curiosity gets the better of her. Placing a paw on the dagger just in case, she walks to the steaming building, trying to get a glance inside the window.

An empty bathing pool sits inside of the home. The water is foamy and smells like some decadent bath that only a noble would be allowed to take. Odd bottles and jars line the rim of the pool, and flower petals float lazily on the surface of the water.

Anisa furrows her brow as she takes the scene in. "Why would this be here with no one around?" She steps back from the window, and looks for a way into the building for a closer examination.

"Purification," the chibix squeaks. "Once a pilgrim climbs the winding road they must purify themselves before they are allowed to enter the temple. Cleansing is part of the ritual."

A drape covers a door around the corner of the alabaster building. It's a good thing that nobody is in the city, otherwise there might not be much privacy for anyone inside.

The Lapi blinks. "So I guess that means me too… " She grimaces, but shrugs. She needs to get into the temple, and a little bath won't hurt, especially after walking around in the village and the road. Walking over to the door, she enters the building, shutting the drape behind her. "So … is there anything special you have to do inside the bath?"

The bat flutters from Anisa's shoulder and perches on the windowsill. "The process includes meditation, cleansing, taking a weapon, and dressing properly for stepping within the temple. You must choose what you wish you cleanse yourself with, and what you wish to cleanse yourself of."

Around the steaming tub are various bottles with symbols on them. One of them holds a black oil like tar, another looks to hold blood, another is burning hot to the touch and holds something akin to magma. There are also scouring stones, some of which have traces of fur and blood on them.

Anisa looks to her sash and the dagger it holds. "Well, I've got the weapon part covered. Now on to the others. What do you mean cleanse yourself of though?" The Lapi eyes the stones warily, "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you don't mean dirt."

The bat just blinks back at Anisa.

The Lapi frowns, "I thought so." She eyes the bath, then sighs, starting to remove her shirt. She stops, and looks to the chibix. "Um, if you don't mind… could you turn around?"

The chibix tilts his head, seemingly confused for a moment… but apparently privacy must be somewhere in its training as it slowly walks around to look out the window.

"The bottles hold sacred potions and magical essences," it squeaks, sounding a bit muffles now that it's facing away from Anisa. "Purification by fire, by cold, by poison, by air, by pain, by pleasure, by blood and flesh. The option is left to the seeker."

Once she is relatively unseen, Anisa removes her clothing, folding the shirt, sash and trousers up neatly and placing them by the door, dagger on top. Standing by the bath, she dips a toe in to test its temperature. "I guess purification by bubble bath isn't one of the options."

The water is lukewarm, not too hot and not too cold. It's at a particular temperature that makes it almost unnoticeable, like something waiting for a catalyst.

"You could have a bubble bath if you waaaaant to, but it might not be the right way, but then again it might. The answer is a secret," a cheerful sounding voice calls from outside the window. It sounds like the gatekeeper.

Anisa jumps, startled, quickly trying to cover herself with her arms to preserve her modesty. "Why am I not surprised that you're here," she calls out, starting to move herself into the bath cautiously.

The Eeee stands respectfully against the outside wall,although her milky white head and cloak flutters into view every so often. She holds up something for Anisa to see in the window … a playing card with an image of the tub on it. "I'm here because you want me to be here, little sister. Because I have the answer that can help you. A simple little explanation for a simple little puzzle." She idly uses the card to scratch the Chibix's head, who leans into the attention and chirps softly.

Grimacing, the Lapi sits down in the small pool, leaning forward to try to conceal as much as possible. "Since it's you, you might as well come in. It'd be easier than talking through the window." She takes a glance at the bottles again, and has to fight to keep from letting her mind wander due to the pleasant smell and relaxing feeling of the water.

Just about everything the Lapi can imagine rings the tub, including bottles labeled "Death", "Blindness", "Fear", "Love" and a few other things that probably shouldn't be in a bottle at all. Thankfully, the water is bubbly enough to allow the Lapi her modesty.

Chuckling, the lady Eeee sweeps though the doorway and squats down across the pool to look eye-to-eye with Anisa. "Isn't the city beautiful?"

Anisa relaxes somewhat, trying to keep from being overly tense. "For a place without anyone using it, yeah, it's very pretty," replies the rabbit. "But it seems like a waste to me." She shifts a bit, looking at the card in the bat's hand. "So you can tell me what I need to know about this place, huh?"

"I can tell you anything you want," the gatekeeper croons. "Did you know that dreamers – true dreamers like yourself, not the dregs that live in the village below – have… " She smiles and places her hand over her lips. "But I mustn't let a secret slip out, now." She giggles, obviously reveling in the fact that she's teasing.

The Lapi glares at the gatekeeper, her ears set back in agitation at the teasing. "First things first. I'll … I'll give you something if you tell me how this pool works. I don't want to end up melting myself or something."

The gatekeeper flips the card around in her fingers. "If only you knew, but very well. What shall you give me? A clump if your pretty fur? A tooth? Surely an answer so inconsequential isn't worth an eye or an ear. I only ask for those on the big secrets."

Anisa blinks, momentarily quiet as she thinks the matter over. Looking down a herself, she tries to think of something that losing won't come back to haunt her, craning her neck around to see a familiar cotton puff. "What do you mean by 'clump' of fur?"

The Eeee titters. "I mean I grab a handful of fur in whatever spot you allow me to take it from and rip it out. It will not grow back."

The Lapi maid looks at her snow white fur and frowns. It's always been something she was proud of, but she realizes it's not vital. Raising an arm out of the bath, she presents the sopping wet fur upon it to the Eeee. "Okay," she says, bracing herself, "take it from there."

In one lightning fast arm-sweep the Eeee does just that. She grabs a handful of fur from Anisa's upper arm and rips, sending needles of pain up her arm for an instant, and then it's over and the pain is gone as quickly as it came. In a patch about the size of a fist, there is a patch of skin, pale and smooth like a baby human's.

The gatekeeper uncurls her hand. Resting in her palm where there should be a clump of fur is a single opal. She holds it up and appraises it in the light, looking quite pleased.

Anisa winces in pain, snatching her arm back quickly and rubbing the now bare spot, her heart sinking. She looks up, and her eyes go wide at the sight of the opal. "Wh-where'd it … go?"

The Eee tucks the opal away in a pocket of her gem covered cloak. "Tut tut, this is a dream, remember? Valuables look different in the hands of different people. Now, about your answer?"

Still rubbing her arm, and still confused, the rabbit nods. "What am I supposed to do here? I can't think of what to cleanse … or what it means exactly."

The bat folds her legs underneath her. "Well, the cleansing process works in a special way. A person with secrets or weaknesses must be careful in a temple devoted to secrets. The bath is symbolic in a way, although in a dream symbols hold much power. So what the bath is focused on doing is either hiding a strength, a weakness, or a secret." She holds up a bottle full of blood. "Let's say that you are a warrior who has run from battle because he does not have the heart to fight. You might bathe in the blood of an enemy to hide this. Or bathe in strength if you are weak, or ice of you are angry, or fire if you are docile. What is it about you that you do not wish Barada to know, little sister?"

"As children are carried up the steps to the Temple of Sunala they often cry, and the priestesses see this as a joyful sign as the children call out to the goddess whom they are going to be sacrificed to. It is said that Sunala especially enjoys devouring children because they are pure and innocent, but many of the other Seven also enjoy having children sacrificed in their name for a similar reason," the chibix squeaks for no particular reason. During the walk up, it would babble other bits of gruesome information as well.

Anisa blinks at this, her arms disappearing once again beneath the water as the bare spot is, for the moment, forgotten. She thinks hard, trying to bury beneath her exterior into her mind. "I-I'm fairly strong … for someone my size. I guess I wouldn't want her to know that. I don't like gore and things like that," she flattens her ears as the chibix seems to almost be taunting her, since he speaks at roughly the same time she says this. "And it takes a lot to scare me … b-but sometimes things do, and it overwhelms me, so I can't do anything but bolt away." She frowns, not liking to have to show her vulnerable side, and glares at the bat for making her bring it out.

"I see. Well then, to hide your fear and strength, you should bathe in these." The gatekeeper draws out two bottles, one is full of blood, and the other seems to just hold liquid within it, although its label reads "baby tears". She sets the bottles down and rises up, dusting herself off. "Is there anything else you'd like me to tell you?" She smiles, that same porcelain mask false smile that she always seems to wear.

The rabbit frowns, looking down at the bald spot, then back to the Eeee. "No thanks, this is enough for now." She adds a look of daggers at the bat.

The Eeee shrugs and chuckles, skipping out of the bath parlor and humming snatches of a children's tune to herself as she goes. The gems on her cloak twinkle and her jewelry chimes softly in time to her song.

Anisa shudders as the bat leaves, wondering how one can be so grisly, yet so childlike. She takes a deep breath, exhales, and takes the two bottles to examine closer.

The bottle of blood feels warm to the touch, and oddly the bottle of tears feels soft and light.

"Barada is often also associated with greed, although her followers will most assuredly get offended if you make the accusation," the Chibix chirrups as it munches on a bug.

The rabbit swallows nervously at the bottle of blood, then sets both bottles aside. Holding her breath, she dips herself entirely under the water to get completely soaked, then resurfaces. She looks between the two bottles, and shrugs. "I guess I'll get the harder part over with first." Taking the bottle of blood, she opens the top, and tenses as she starts to pour some of the contents into her paw.

The coppery smell hits the rabbit's nose almost instantly. It's a smell that most herbivores hate, the smell of death and of a predator. The blood oozes and puddles into Anisa's hand, painting it crimson as it quickly mixes with the water in her fur.

Anisa's nose wrinkles up in disgust, and she has to fight a momentary urge to fling the bottle and the blood in her palm across the room, and away from her. Reluctantly, she begins the work the blood into her pelt, the alien smell and feeling making her shake almost violently.

The smell continues to cling to the Lapi, but as she rubs it in the reddish color fades. Oddly, the color of the water doesn't change in the slightest, but it feels like it grows warmer as Anisa grimly washes the blood into her coat.

The Lapine works the fluid onto her legs, then squeezes her eyes shut as she moves to her head, then onto her ears. Once she feels she has completed the job – none too soon for her tastes – she slowly opens her eyes, and looks down at herself.

Her fur is as white as it always was, and the smell starts to fade away. She feels slightly warm though and her skin tingles just a little bit.

Anisa begins to relax, her breathing slowing and the shaking stopping as the smell lessens, the relaxation helped by the warm feeling. Nevertheless, the hastily closes the bottle of blood and sets it to the side, glad to have that doneand over with. Taking a breath of relief, she then takes the bottle labeled "Baby Tears", and opens it up, smelling the contents with her busy nose.

The bottle of baby tears reminds Anisa of a time when a customer asked her to hold her baby for a moment. The contents smell fresh and clean just like a baby, but the bottle itself feels cold, as though there's a tinge of sadness hidden away inside.

Taking a moment to recollect her nerve, the Lapi then pours some of the baby tears into a paw. Like before, she begins to rub the liquid into her fur, albeit without the reluctance of before.

Unlike the blood, the tears are cold and siphon out the warmth that had sunken into Anisa's fur. The liquid seems to soften the Lapi's fur, making it feel fresh and new.

Anisa shivers lightly from the chill, but strangely, the feeling of her softening fur is enjoyable. Many women back in Rephidim would pay out the nose for a shampoo that could do what this does. She shakes her head, bringing her mind back to the task at paw. She works the final bit of the liquid into her ears and tail, and sets the bottle aside, waiting to see if anything happens.

Nothing appears to be happening, although Anisa feels different. It feels as though some part of her inside has been muffled or wrapped up in something. It's not a detached feeling so much as a protective feeling, as though she's just put some fur paint over a blemish that she doesn't want anyone to see.

Blinking at the strange feeling, but not being able to put her finger on it, Anisa guesses her work here is done. She stands up from the pool, letting the excess water run off of her fur, and squeezes the dampness out of her ears. The Lapi then steps out of the bath, and looks around for a towel or such, hugging her arms close to fight the chill brought on by her damp fur.

Thankfully, there are a few towels folded up along the edges of the pool. The bats don't seem to be very pleasant, but they probably don't like to be dripping wet either. On the windowsill, the chibix snores softly.

Picking up one of the towels, the rabbit dries herself off, which causes her now super soft fur to frazzle. She then slips back into her shirt and trousers, ties her sash around her waist, and slips the dagger back in place. Picking the towel back up, she wraps it around her ears like one would do to dry long hair, then prods the chibix. "You can turn around now, sleepyhead. Much as I enjoyed the bath, we've got to get moving."

The chibix twitches sleepily and moves from the windowsill to Anisa's poking finger. "Cleansing, meditation, dressing, and a dagger," it mumbles.

"Two down, two to go," says Anisa as she exits the bathhouse. "And hopefully, I'll do them with most of my body left intact… "