Engraved in the capstone of each archway is a different sigil, and some writing. It appears that the writing is on both sides of the capstone, and though the stonework looks broken, the engraving is clear and plain to see, showing no signs of erosion or other weathering.

A breeze stirs up the gray mists clinging to the ground, giving the briefest of glimpses of the tiled pavement and the gray, silty ground. The faint sounds of a wind chime … or perhaps clinking crystals … can be heard for a moment, borne on the breeze, though it's impossible to discern just from what direction the sounds might have come – or the breeze, for that matter.

A white dragon sits at the crossroads, frowning at the obvious illogic of the roads. This particular Aspect of Envoy prefers a more ordered reality, generally. "Seven roads, seven goddesses," she comments, and raises the torch she still carries so that she can read the different inscriptions on the arches, which each bear the name (in Eeee) of one of the Seven Sisters. This much, at least, heartens the Dragon. She sets down the torch and places the appropriate statuette (which also followed her, along with the torch and other elements, from her previous dream) under each arch.

The little idols are quite dwarfed by the arches, which are significantly larger than the little nooks that held them back in the temple on the "island". So far, this seems to accomplish nothing other than to lighten the Dragon's burden, having far more trophies from her previous adventure than she has free hands or pockets.

"Just in case," Envoy comments to the air. "Not everyone who comes here may be able to read Eeee, after all." Pondering the usefulness of the other items she has available, the Dragon decides to remove the scrolls from their cases, and places them into the pockets of the Dream Mage's robe. She also adds the vial of fluid to the bundle, which she folds up so that she can carry it between her wings. The four magic mirrors she holds within her own robe, and the ice-wand she keeps clutched in one hand. A bit much to carry, and she won't be able to fly without dropping some, but it should do…

Envoy listens again for the chime sounds. "Any advice, Morpheus, before I pick a road?" she whispers to the air.

There's a sound of chimes … and for a moment, it sounds like there may be the sounds of a lute carried upon the wind.

"Reynard?" the Dragon calls on hearing the lute.

With the sound of a musical chord, a foppish fox bounds up behind the dragon, and makes a bow. "At your service!" he says, then sings a quick ditty…

"Victor Reynard, master bard, player to kings and queens!"s

"Player of flutes, player of lutes, player of many things!"

And with that, he strums his lute once more, and executes a second bow, ever the one for excess.

"I'd applaud, but that might freeze my fingers," Envoy says after turning towards the fox. "Do you have a message from our mutual friend?"

The sourceless breeze picks up for a moment, and the idol of Inala rattles, briefly unsteady where it's been placed. The noise the wind carries is indistinct and disconsonant, like music when only the loudest portions of it are audible. With it comes the occasional punctuation of distinct words: "see", "wonders", and "delight" stand out.

The foppish fox smiles. "I think I'll play you a song, then!" He clears his throat, "Ahem!" then starts playing on his lute…

One road to the mountain? I count them as seven,

One thing I assure you, none lead you to Heaven.

One to Sunala, proud mistress of death,

One careless step and you'll draw your last breath.

One to Inala, lusty mistress of pleasure,

One circus of games, with carnival treasure.

One to Blakat, envious mistress of blood,

One way paved with combat the warriors have trod.

The fox pauses a moment in his song, and bows to a poodle in black armor and a cadet's uniform that has seemingly appeared from nowhere. "Oh! Hello there, Cadet Bellefeuille!" He then resumes his song…

One to Rephath, wrathful mistress of vengeance,

One fight after another, 'til you do your penance.

One to Barada, greedily keeping her mystery.

One chance to solve riddles, or become part of history.

One to Gurphat, slothful mistress corrupt,

One way easy to go if you're morally bankrupt.

One to Zakaro, glutton of arcane power,

One series of trials before you reach her dark tower.

One arch for now, one mountain, one road,

One of the seven, to a goddess' abode.

One set of challenges, battle, game or riddle,

One and then seven, for there's an eighth in the middle.

Once the foppish fox has finished his song, he hops up and bows. "Thank you! Thank you one and all! You've been a simply fabulous audience!" And with that, without so much as bothering to give anyone the opportunity to ask him any questions, with a sweep of his feathered cap and his frilled cape, and a swish of his fluffy tail … the fox is gone!

Suddenly the armored poodle, who had been standing there for a little while, jerks. Her helmet-covered head tilts to the side and she lifts a hand to pat around as if checking if she is really here. "Oh. Hello," she responds with a tinge of confusion.

Envoy turns and nods her head to Elise. "Greetings, Cadet. I take it you have heard all of the choices?"

"I … well, I … Yes?" responds the armored cadet. She turns around to face Envoy at first and appears to be staring at her through her smooth, vaguely canid helmet before she turns her head around to look at what surrounds her. "It is nice to see you. Are we … there again?"

Mist swirls around the small statue of Barada as the breeze stirs again. On the road behind the small figure, the mist seems flattened lower to the ground as the air shifts. A sudden bright gleam of light sparkles, glittering with promises, on the mountain the path leads to. Then the gray mist drifts into a new position, hiding the source of the brilliance once more.

"In another dream realm, yes," the Dragon answers. "Do you wish to pursue battle, intrigue, or perhaps take an easier path for this first quest?"

After she has finished scanning to get her bearings, the Gallee reaches up and removes her helmet, which she tucks under her left arm for now. "As this seems more your department, and since I am still trying to grasp all this, perhaps you decide for now," she answers.

Envoy hmms, and rubs her chin with her free hand. "Given my druthers, I'd choose Barada's challenge, as it falls more within this Aspect's capabilities. However, this particular environment is disturbing to me on a fundamental level, and my senses are deteriorating. The Child would fare well against Inala's challenges, however. For battle, I would need to become the Black Father though, which is largely an unknown variable. In any case, I must change Aspect now before I become more disoriented." That said, the Dragon brings out her hand-mirrors, and begins searching for the Child.

As Envoy looks in one of the hand-mirrors, she suddenly changes. She turns into her normal, ki'rin self … but more gaunt, hungry-looking. Her eyes are wide, and her ears are larger than usual, and she looks like she's starving.

Envoy continues to stare at the mirror for a moment, then loses interest and stares at Elise instead. "Must choose soon, delay makes worse," the gaunt figure says quickly.

Abruptly, a high-pitched, almost alien, scream cuts through the air of the crossroads, the sound seeming to come from a long way off and yet still right next to the sentients standing amidst the archways. It speaks of intense agony, and lasts several seconds before terminating as quickly as if a switch had been flipped. Around Sunala's archway, the stones seem to take on greater solidity, the weight of malevolence

The Probe's attention is immediately grabbed by the shriek, and she takes a few steps towards Sunala's arch.

"Eeek!" Elise takes a few steps away from Envoy with a start, clasping her free hand to her chest. "You look simply horrible! But you want me to choose? Well let me see." She takes a few more steps away from Envoy, gives her a look, then puts her helmet back on and inspects each of the roads for a moment.

The roads themselves look identical, each leading to a different mountain. The only way to tell any difference is that each archway has, sitting on the ground, a statue of a different goddess. Alas, Elise hasn't been trained to recognize them by sight.

Elise stops on one path and glances at its reflective statue. She looks back to the road, then the statue, then the road. She shakes her head and turns back to Envoy. "I have not the foggiest idea which way to go. They all look the same to me, and the statues do not help any."

Envoy pauses to recover the torch before continuing on towards Sunala's arch. "Death, Sunala," the Probe says, pointing the way with her torch.

A voice behind Envoy and Elise asks, "Choose what soon?"

As Envoy steps towards Sunala's archway, there's a subtle change about the small idol posed before it – it gives the impression of smiling without being physically altered. It invites closer inspection.

"Oh. Well, that does not sound pleasant. Perhaps the path to Inala?" asks Elise as she watches Envoy move.

The Probe immediately kneels down to examine the statue closer. "Hello," she says to it in a hollow voice.

It seems that at some point, a winged Hekoye has materialized behind Envoy and Elise. He wears the green garb and boiled leather light armor of a Temple Ranger.

After she has spoken, the poodle pauses to tilt her head, as if considering. She then reaches her hand for the grip of the sword at her belt and turns towards the direction of the new voice. Upon seeing who it is, she gives a sigh of relief followed by a Star and Anchor salute. "Salutations, Templar!"

Envoy is once again distracted, and looks at the newcomer. "Vartan-Hekoye hybrid, male, Rephidim Temple Ranger," she says, and watches for another few seconds before turning back towards the statue.

Once given closer inspection, the idol loses all sense of animation, like a mirage dissolving when reached. From another direction, a howl of rage echoes, distant, hollow. It is accompanied by the sounds of wood on flesh.

The Probe closes her eyes and tries to locate the direction the sound is coming from.

Lochinvar fumbles off a return salute, still not quite familiar with it yet. "Hello yes, cadet," he says, taking a moment to glance at Envoy, then looks back to Elise. "This may seem like a really stupid question, but… where am I?"

The Hekoye looks back at the Probe again, and asks, "And what is that?"

Elise lifts a paw and gestures to the landscape around her. "Mage Envoy describes this as a 'Dream World', and I do not know exactly how we got here. However I know that we – or at least Envoy and I – are part of a quest to face the Seven Sisters," answers the cadet. She glances off to Envoy for the second question. "And that … is one of four Mage Envoys. One of her aspects, though I do not like this one very much."

"You will get used to the confusion," adds Elise.

"'Dream World'?" the coyote asks. "Am I here or asleep then?"

Lochinvar glances at Envoy again, looking both unimpressed at her appearance, and less so at the notion that she is a mage also. "I see what you mean."

"Murder!" Envoy announces. "Torture! Sounds of pain. Blakat." Opening her eyes, she tries to focus on the archway of the Goddess of Murder.

The armored figure, which seems obviously female due to her voice, folds her arms. "I believe we are asleep, given I was unconscious from a fall last time I was … invited. We are now to choose a path and walk it. Would you do me a favor and perhaps wrest a mirror from Mage Envoy and make her look at it please?"

Gauzy strips of mist flit and swirl after the battle-sounds have died away. The breeze that stirs it seems to whisper, "Nooooo," the sound elongated, its meaning imbued perhaps by the listener rather than the source.

The coyote tilts his head a little while looking at Envoy, and asks of Elise. "Is it, uh, she likely to object?"

Envoy stares at the Ranger and Cadet upon hearing her name, then points at each of them with the torch, "Come. Must rescue Dream Mage. Take the Mercenary Path."

The statue of Inala, apparently settled on a rocky piece of ground, rattles again when Envoy starts towards Blakat's path. Snatches of song echo through the crossroads, seductively sweet.

The cadet drops her arms and begins walking towards Envoy. "Oh possibly, but I cannot stand to see her like that any longer," she responds. She glances towards the directed path before she kneels near Envoy and attempts to get the mirrors.

The probe is far too weak to put up any resistance to Elise, and she now has one of the mirrors.

The Hekoye walks over to assist the cadet, but notices that it's not necessary.

Now possessing a mirror, Elise holds it up towards Envoy. "Look at this please, Mage Envoy."

The Probe can hardly resist looking at something offered to her, and stares at the mirror.

A child-like version of Envoy is looking back. And at that very moment … it's a child-like version of Envoy that is looking into the mirror as well. Her belongings, far too bulky to be carried by a child, go clattering to the ground, with the exception of the wand still held in her hand.

Lochinvar raises an eyebrow at the change of Envoy's appearance, before reminding himself where he is.

Envoy blinks and smiles at Elise, then offers the Gallee the torch. "Could you carry this please? Are we going to go play Inala's games? I dropped the robe, oops… "

"Cadet?" Lochinvar asks Elise, "could I see that mirror for a moment?"

The Gallee stands up again and tucks the Child mirror away into a pouch before she leans down to offer Envoy her hand. "Now, despite your little joke last time, I prefer you like this," notes the cadet as she takes up the torch in her off hand and leaves the other hand out. "Oh? And why do you need that, Ranger? They do not work on us, only her. Also, I would prefer we get moving lest someone suffer for our hesitation."

The winged coyote nods, looking slightly put-out, but he does his best not to show it. "Very well, then."

The breeze abruptly topples Inala's idol: it falls face-first onto the ground, and lays there, quiescent and akimbo, as the snatches of song die. A mocking echo of laughter resonates from one of the other archways.

Envoy holds onto Elise's hand, and asks, "Is the Ranger going to carry the robe? I get to keep the magic wand, right? Do you have a name, Mister Ranger? Do you get to wrestle cave bears and wild boars?"

There is a gray robe lying on the ground, which Envoy was carrying a moment ago. It appears to have a few things bundled up in it, and is much too large for the Child.Somehow, though, her amber mage robes seem to fit none the worse despite her change in size, or else she'd be tripping over her own feet.

"I'll carry it," Lochinvar says, bending down to pick up the robe. "As for your other questions, my name is Lochinvar, and I've not wrestled any bears or boars yet."

The cadet speaks, nodding to the fallen statue, since it has her attention. "Envoy? Should we go this way? You know best, and I worry about standing here too long."

The robe feels like it has some parchments rolled up in it, and some sort of stoppered vial with some liquid sloshing around inside it.

"Sure!" Envoy says, excitedly. "There'll be games and no icky warriors and traps and stuff. Just temptation, I bet!" She waves her wand around fearlessly.

Lochinvar puts the robe over his shoulder carefully, so as to carry it without disturbing the contents. After all, it does belong to a mage, and who knows what this stuff in it is.

The mocking laughter bounces between the broken pillars, while the little idol lies upon the ground. The sound dies once more as Inala's statue tips again at the breeze, its tiny arm bumping against the path, pathetically.

A muffled giggle emanates from inside the full armor. "Very well then," the armored poodle begins walking towards the path, "onward to destiny. Come along, Ranger Lochinvar."

"Excitement, adventure, and valuable shinies await!" the Child says, smiling towards Lochinvar.

"One can hope," Lochinvar replies to Envoy with a slight grin, heading towards the path also.

Envoy skips and starts to sing, "Ohhhh, we're off to see Inala, the wonderful Goddess of Love! Because, because, because, beeeee-cause… because of all the wonderful things she does!"

The mists part for a moment, then close in on the travelers as they make their way down the road. The broken stone gazebo is gone … and then, the sound of music and laughter grows louder, until the adventurers find themselves in a new place…