After dinner the night before, Agatha went out and rented an extra wagon to carry Lucy and Squeaky, and to provide some extra spillover room. The Capitol Carriage was capable of carrying six passengers inside, assuming they weren't too big. With Clancy driving the wagon, this still meant two people would need to ride outside on the backboard of the carriage. Since Agatha, Ravenia and Arkold didn't seem to get much sleep last night, and because Alptraum wanted a bit of privacy, the Gypsy Eeee and the Yodhinala agreed to ride outside.

The road isn't the smoothest, so there are plenty of bumps, rattles and other road noises to allow two Eeee to talk in private without being overheard. Clancy and the single Dromodon-pulled wagon don't have quite the speed that the carriage does, and tend to drop behind as well, leaving Alptraum and Mave fairly isolated. The Yodhinala has her pipe out, but hasn't lit it yet. She seems a bit distracted, often looking back at the road as if hypnotized.

Alptraum runs his chin in thought. Finally, he speaks up. "Did you sleep well last night, Yodhinala Mave?" the Eeee asks, "I must say I've never met someone who sleeps with their eyes open."

"I slept well enough," the white-furred woman says, and examines the bowl of her pipe again. "Did I disturb your slumber?"

"I must admit was unnerving a bit, but I eventually fell asleep," Alptraum comments. Glancing to the surroundings, he adds, "The lands here are quite different from what you are used to. I haven't exactly helped matters much, either, and for that I should apologize. I've also been thinking long and hard on what I should do about you."

"It is good that one of us has been thinking about it then," Mave replies, and looks out at the road again. "I wonder if I should not have remained with the Forsaken Ones, and… accepted my new lot."

"Well, from what I have learned, the only lot in life we have to accept is the one we make for ourselves. I don't know if it matters, but I'm glad you came with us," Alptraum adds and looks to the horizon. "I know I'm strange compared to what you must be used to. I grew up out here. We had nothing but each other and worked as an extended family. I've tried to offer you that with us until you found yourself a place, but I've not been very good at it. I tend to joke probably when I shouldn't. But, I don't want to make this a talk about should haves, or things past, I want to talk about where we may go from here."

"From here," Mave repeats, and glances sidelong at Alptraum. "The Yodhinala do not have 'families' as you know them, but I was born into the order, and it is all I have ever known. I still want… vengeance… for what was done in Babel, but I know it would be futile. If Inala is to survive, She must be bound and serve… as Rinala once more. It is hard for me to accept, for there is no place for me in this new reality."

"Well, to be honest, there is something you may be able to do," Alptraum says slowly as he tries to think of how to phrase it properly. "I've avoided the other … side of myself, the side bound to Sunala. I have abilities that I've not explored. I have skills that could help this world and make a difference. I am an agent of change, Yodhinala Mave. Death isn't an end, but a path to change. And to be honest … I don't know how to tap my talents and grow stronger in them. I need a mentor who does know how to use her abilities and would be willing to at least help me start my path. I'm, well, asking if you would potentially wish to act as my mentor."

Mave openly stares at Alptraum in silence for several moments after the request. "You and your friend carry gods around as tools, and you wish the advice of an old woman who can not let go of past glory?" she finally asks.

"Power is nothing without the wisdom on how to use it. Being older is not the same as being useless," Alptraum replies and looks at the older Eeee. Reaching over, he places a fingertip on her forehead, adding, "What you have in here is just as valuable. I'm all emotion most of the time, I take risks I should not. I chase things perhaps I should leave behind. The tools we carry around, quite honestly, boss us around. You've only seen the parts that make it look like we're in easy control of it … well, I know I'm not. I have a lot of weight on my shoulders and I honestly don't know how to proceed most effectively."

The woman frowns a bit, and then puts a hand on Alptraum's shoulder. "I do not know how to help you with your divine abilities. For me, it is a matter of praying to Inala to act through me, but for you that would mean praying to yourself, in essence. Your difficulty lies in that you wish to be responsible and wise, but these are mortal virtues, not divine ones. Gods have no need of them, and so their power is not easily made to work constructively."

"I have two sides to who I am. I need to find a unity between them. You speak of prayer … and I've never actually prayed. I don't know how to find that peace, and feel the Goddess, or the God," Alptraum says, "I need help in feeling the power, and directing it. The light of Nala contains a power we both can tap and direct; a power of the divine that can be used to boost and improve the unity of myself. Except, I have no idea how to invoke it, how to feel it. That's what I need from you. I need to learn how to call to the divine." Alptraum tilts his head and lifts Mave's hand off his shoulder, but remains holding it. "When you were young and just an acolyte, was invoking their power as easy for you then as it is now?"

"Of course not," Mave admits, looking away again. "I was afraid, as all young Yodh are. To use the power, one must surrender to it. Have faith that your Goddess will not harm you. It is hard to build that faith – harder still for a man. Men want to control the power, not be passive conduits. As I gained experience, I learned how to better make my requests of Inala. It is not the same as control, however."

Alptraum quirks a wry smile. "I'm afraid of myself," he admits quite honestly. "Afraid of what accepting and merging with what I am would actually do to me. I have seen my other side, Yodhinala Mave. It is … well, frightening in appearance. This is where I need help. Surely you had exercises you performed that helped you lose your fear?"

"Yes, that is something I may be able to help you with," Mave notes, then asks, "Back with the Forsaken Ones, when you destroyed Hekatt and Smashengrab, were you afraid to use such power?"

"Honestly, yes. But I had little choice then for my survival. I also didn't know at the time what could have happened if I made a mistake … the results would have been bad. I could have potentially unleashed a monster that has destroyed entire worlds. A monster that we imprisoned, but only because he was still weak and regenerating," Alptraum explains.

"And afterwards, when the worst did not happen, how did you feel?" Mave asks next.

"Rather … good, really," Alptraum admits and rubs the back of his neck. "I had done something, I had acted, instead of just letting things happen."

"Did you feel in control?" the Yodh asks, looking at Alptraum's face now.

"Only partially," the Eee admits. "It was more that I made a suggestion, then just directed the flow and let it happen."

"Very good," Mave says, nodding. "That is how it will always be. In time, and with practice, you will learn what your god responds to best. The Barsunala has no personality that I know of, which should make things easier, since it will not try to dominate you."

Alptraum nods at that. "Well, until I become better, will you help me direct the flow by practicing with the light of Nala?" he asks as he looks at the older Eee. "I don't know what I can offer you as payment, though."

"Your faith in me is payment enough," Mave replies. "For now. Will I have to associate with your… dragon?"

"Only if you want to. She can be a challenge, but she is not so bad most of the time," Alptraum says, "But unless I make efforts, her contact is generally limited to me alone."

"I don't care for the way it looks at me," Mave notes.

"I will take that as a request to keep you two separate, then," Alptraum says with a nod. "I will also try to address you more respectfully. I never meant to be disrespectful in truth, and for that I am sorry."

"You are a demigod, and I am the priestess of a fallen goddess," Mave notes, as if that pretty much described how respect should flow.

"You are also a woman and I am a male," Alptraum counters, "So, I will consider us equals for now." He then taps the ivory and gold earring in his right ear that Mave picked out and noting with a wry smile, "And you certainly have better fashion sense than I."

"I have better fashion sense than everyone," Mave retorts. "That is a given."

"Point taken," Alptraum agrees. "Were you being serious about the nose ring?"

"Are you suggesting that I would abuse your trust in me?" Mave asks, quirking her grin into a full half-smirk.

"Of course not. I was merely going to say that if you ever find a better nose ring, I would allow you insert it," Alptraum counters with a smirk and taps his nose. Hard to tell if he's being serious or not, admittedly.

"I'll will keep my eyes open for one," Mave says.

"Given how the Barsunala looks, it would be fitting," Alptraum comments. He then tilts his head, saying, "Yodhinala Mave?"

"Yes?" Mave asks, lifting her pipe as if actually about to use it finally.

"Speaking from a purely mortal perspective, it's good to see you smile," Alptraum notes, "Thank you for coming with us. And thank you for agreeing to mentor me. If you should ever wish to stop mentoring, just say so. There will be no hard feelings over it."

"We must both learn to use the Light in any case, if we are to defeat your nemesis," Mave notes, sounding serious again. She curves her wings to block the wind, and then lights a sulfur match against the bowl of her pipe to light it.

"Indeed. I doubt either of us wish to see Dagh reborn," Alptraum notes, then tilts his head. "What do you smoke in that?" he has to ask.

"An herbal mix," Mave says, puffing a bit to stoke the fire more. "It keeps my skin firm and my odors pleasant."

"Mind if I try it?" Alptraum asks.

Mave hands over the pipe. "A suppose some female plant hormones will not hurt you. Arkold did not seem affected."

"Well, he is not Eeee, but likely not, no," Alptraum says as he accepts the pipe. Curiously, he places the stem into his mouth and then inhales slowly through the pipe.

There's a somewhat fruity flavor to the smoke, with none of the harshness of tobacco or xocholatl.

Alptraum takes several long drags off the pipe as he reclines back. "That is much better than I expected. Certainly better than those cigars that Arkold likes," he notes as he offers the pipe back to Mave.

The Yodhinala resumes smoking. "What do you expect the Countess will be like?" she asks.

"From what I have heard, imposing," Alptraum says, thinking on it a bit. "I've heard she's pure black, for one. And like how I have almost perfectly white eyes, she has perfectly black eyes. I also understand her lands grant her some formidable power. Arkold and I destroyed some undead Gallee that were cursed into being undead by her. Agewise, I believe she is in her forties. I know that because I met someone she went to school with."

"She sounds like you, perhaps," Mave suggests. "That is, linked to a powerful god."

"To some extent, quite possibly. She, however, is much better skilled at channeling its power," Alptraum agrees. "Her county, Draco County, is the last powerhouse of Sylvania. It's the major resistance to the Gallee invasion."

"Meaning that she has the most desirable land to conquer," Mave comments. "It does seem pleasant compared to other areas here that I have seen."

"Yes, but don't let it fool you. I have heard that she can change the land to be much less hospitable, if it is deemed necessary," Alptraum warns. "She would make a powerful ally."

"Would she see us as being ally-worthy, though," Mave posits. "If she is at the height of her power, she may not. Just as I would not have aided the Yodhblakat if was not desperate. And powerful people seldom like competition, be they allies or not."

"That will depend. I doubt she can tolerate the necromancer near her lands. And, her power doesn't extend outside her lands. Ours does. I have been considering offering to act as her agent outside her lands," Alptraum notes. "But, I only intend to divulge as much as is necessary."

"Be wary," Mave notes. "You do not want her to consider you expendable. You allied with the dark dragon last, and did he not use you in such a manner?"

"I have considered that. We shall see what her intentions are when we arrive. We have little choice at this point, afterall. Hopefully, our rescuing of her relative will work in our favor," Alptraum says.

"Mmmm," Mave hums, as she smokes her pipe. "It would be best, in my opinion, not to mention your dragon is she does not ask about it. You have seen how they treat spirits here."

"Agreed," Alptraum says with a nod. "I just hope Lilith will not tell her everything."

"That seems unlikely, she is an acolyte of Barada," Mave points out. "The worst case may be your dragon and Countess entering into an agreement without you."

"Hmm. I had not considered that. Though, it is unlikely. My dragon has need of my abilities. I do not believe the Countess has the same abilities as I. We shall see. Thank you for bringing that up, though," Alptraum muses and rubs his chin in thought.

"I only considered it because of the ghost collector," Mave admits, and reaches over to tap the gourd on Alptraum's belt.

"Mmm, point noted," Alptraum says with a nod. "My dragon is my responsibility."

Alptraum leans back and listens. "Hmm. I think the others are still asleep," he comments. Wondering something, he asks, "May I ask you something unrelated?"

"You may ask," Mave replies, looking sidelong at Alptraum again, pipe between her lips.

"I know Arkold has assisted you with your prayers now and then. I was just wondering, well, is he very helpful with them?" Alptraum asks, quirking a small grin.

"He was, but that could be due to my own skill as an Altar," Mave says. "I suppose such will not be needed again, now that we have the Light to draw on."

Alptraum chuckles. "Ah. Then I can't compete against him. Not that Yodhgorphat Phlagaea would allow me to compete in any event," he notes, amused.

"She could always join in," Mave says. "I'm sure she could use the education."

"Yes, but would she? You and her do not exactly … get along," Alptraum points out. "I honestly always figured at some point I would be expected to assist you."

"That will depend on how your basic training progresses," Mave notes, without a hint of irony. "We will see."

Alptraum chuckles again and leans back. "Well, if I should be doing something as basic training, do please tell me," he notes. Thinking to himself, "So mush is still shrouded ahead. I am glad that Mave pointed out what she did, I had not considered that the Countess may do as she suggested. I will have to be careful and extremely polite. I hope all goes well."