It was a long night, what with Roho staying up to tend Scarlet's wounds … and the Eeee has been bound up just in case she tries anything crazy again.

Envoy has had it much better, her wounds having fully recovered to the point where one couldn't even tell she'd been wounded at all … except for the tear in her clothes. Alas, her regenerative abilities don't extend quite that far.

It's now morning again, and Roho and Envoy are pretty much back where they started … around a campfire in front of the cabin where Scarlet recuperates. (Not that she can do much else right now.)

The Exile finishes off her Jupani-sized breakfast, being careful not to spill anything on her borrowed Apprentice robe (her own clothing being too bloody to wear in polite company at the moment).

Some faint moaning comes from within Scarlet's cabin. At least there haven't been any fuff'nar noises all night.

Roho rubs his eyes blearily. He listens to the noises from the cabin, and his ears flatten a little. He's evidently not proud of having been the cause of those groans.

"We should probably bring Scarlet something to eat, if she'll accept it," Envoy says. "These robes are a lot more comfortable than I thought they'd be, too. I could get used to them."

Snowstorm walks up with an armload of firewood. "Heh heh! Have some ambitions, eh, Miss Lothrhyn?" He drops the pile next to the low-burning fire. "Having defeated that ice golem might let you win a few points with the mages around here, after all."

Envoy smiles at the thought of her actions actually working in her favor. "You think so? I really do want to try for the College."

Roho nods. "I'm not sure if she's ready to eat anything yet, but we could give it a try." He turns to Snowstorm, "Good morning… "

Snowstorm starts to bow to Roho, then remembers himself, smiling. "Good morning, Doctor Roho. I'm sorry to hear about the fracas last night. I should not have left so soon."

The Exile prepares a mug of xocholatl for the wounded Eeee, figuring it would help her mood at least.

Roho smiles. "It's all right. No one could have known. I'm just glad our Miss Envoy is such a fast healer." He grins at the mage. "Am I a little too old to win the favor of the College?"

Snowstorm grins. "Oh, don't worry, Doctor Roho. You're already quite renowned as a hero. For you to aid in the defeat of an ice golem … well … could any less be expected of a hero?"

Roho chuckles and just shakes his head. "I don't know. I just keep thinking I'm too old for stuff like that. We were just thinking of checking on Scarlet, to see if she has an appetite."

Snowstorm nods. "This time, perhaps I can accompany you and Miss Lothrhyn, then. And maybe she can catch someone to talk about the College before all of the mages head back to Rephidim. The airship will be headed back later today."

Envoy asks, "Is there room on the airship for one more? I sort of got stranded when they bundled Wynona off in such a hurry… "

Snowstorm laughs. "If they don't, I'll be the first to volunteer to wait behind for the next ride out, Miss Lothrhyn. If you and Doctor Roho hadn't been so clever with – of all things – that popsicle I made for Skiree … well, I'm sure things would have gone far worse."

The Jupani mage walks up to the door to the cabin, and puts an ear up to it, listening intently. "Mmm. Sounds asleep," he whispers. "Not sure, though."

Looking at the cabin, Envoy says, "I think that mind-transfer ritual didn't work fully. It seems like bits of other personalities are still there conflicting with Scarlet's own."

The Jupani raises his eyebrows. "Really, eh? Here and the Mind Mages were claiming that Scarlet had a singular and whole personality. Intact, whole, and ready for action. This won't look too good for them, eh?"

Envoy says, "It's probably the first time they did this with an Aelfin.""

Roho follows along behind the other two, listening. "We'll probably need to wait to get her back to Rephidim to know what happened for certain, unfortunately."

The Jupani nods. "Good point. Though I believe that there's an Aelfin Life Mage that has been working for the Temple… I don't know him personally, though. I believe he's assigned to the Intimidator. In any case, Rephidim is bound to be Scarlet's next stop."

"Good," Envoy says. "Maybe the higher altitude will clear her head, if it's a magical side-effect of the transfer that's causing these irregularities."

"That's an interesting thought," offers the Jupani mage. "Sounds like you already know a fair deal about magic as it is. Have you taken any training?"

Envoy shakes her head. "I just pick things up, mostly. I learn fast."

The mage nods. "Hmm. That sounds promising. Any road … " He makes a thumbing gesture toward the door to the cabin. "Are we going to check on her, or just let her rest longer?"

"I've got some xocholatl for her," Envoy says, holding up the still-steaming mug.

Snowstorm nods, and carefully and quietly (at least by most standards) opens the door. Still, it's of little use against the ears of a bat, and some movement on the bed indicates that Scarlet has been awakened by this, if not earlier.

Envoy lets the mage go in first, in case Scarlet has something to throw. She can't dodge projectiles without spilling the xocholatl.

Nothing hits Snowstorm, thank goodness. The wolf catches on that the Eeee is awake, and pulls covers away from the windows, letting a bit more light in.

Scarlet winces at the light, shifting her wings to shield her eyes. "Blast it. What now?"

Roho follows them in. "Breakfast, Scarlet."

"We brought you xocholatl too," Envoy says, smiling and following the Zerda healer.

Scarlet moans. "Thank you, thank you … Might as well eat while my neck's still intact."

Envoy hands over the mug, and asks, "Who do you think is going to hurt you, Scarlet?"

Roho lays a small plate of food next to the cot, and makes room for Envoy with her hot drink.

Scarlet laughs humorlessly. "Aw, yeah … I'm going to die anyway." She looks to Roho, suddenly thoughtful. "Do you think you could arrange some way I could go … in my sleep? Quietly and painlessly?"

Roho shakes his head. "Sorry, Scarlet. I didn't work to keep you alive for you to go and do that."

Scarlet slumps back on the bed. "Well, you could at least do me the courtesy. It has to be better than … what they're going to do. They've got a life bond on me. To that little fuff'nar. Blast it. All they have to do is twist the little beast's neck and … " She clicks her tongue. "Bye bye Scarlet. Died mysteriously. How sad."

Roho sits down at the bedside. "What little fuff'nar, Scarlet? You were making noises like one yesterday."

Envoy blinks several times. "They've got a living voodoo doll, you mean?"

Scarlet squirms on her bed. "The fuff'nar. Part of the ritual, they said. Supposed to vacate my essence from this body so that puffball could take it instead. Blasted Aelfin." A tear runs down her cheek. "Oh, yes, cute little Aelfin. So sweet and innocent. I saw … I saw what the horrib did to Tazinan. I … I had to stand there and smile and nod like it was all fine. And … and when she looked at me … I begged her … I knew I was going to die … but she didn't care."

Roho listens to Scarlet. "I'm glad I missed the horrib. I couldn't believe they did that." He tilts his head. "So, you were supposed to go into the fuff'nar, and she was supposed to take over your body? Then what happened?"

The Eeee looks up to Roho. "I … I woke up … Scars on my head … they told me it was a success. But I'm still me. I played along. Make them happy. Maybe they won't know … but … then they tell me the truth. They know. Better play along. We have a job for you. And if you don't … He pricked the fuff'nar, and I felt it. All they have to do is kill the fuff'nar, and I'm dead. And they ran me through all these rituals… And … now they set me up. Can't slip away … everyone knows I did it … Sisters know how … so now they've got to blame me … and then bye-bye Scarlet."

Roho's color drains from his ears. He sits silently for a long moment. Then quietly asks, "Did Prince Boghaz know? Or just the mages?"

Envoy asks, "Sisters? Do you mean Wynona?"

Roho shakes his head at Envoy. "It's just an expression, Lady." He turns his attention back to Scarlet.

The Eeee looks to Roho. "Did he know? Are you kidding? You think something this big would happen without his involvement?" She starts laughing again.

Roho nods. "I was afraid of that. What was the goal?"

The Aeolun looks to Roho, and asks, "What do we do? If we ask the Prince to give us the fuff'nar, he'd do it wouldn't he, even if he was involved?"

Roho shakes his head at Envoy. "If he even suspects we know the truth, before anyone gets a chance to try and cover this up, we will probably just disappear."

Envoy says, "Then we need to pull the link from the fuff'nar through Scarlet… err… I suppose we shouldn't call you that. Is the real Scarlet in the fuff'nar then, Cryona?"

The Eeee sputters, "The goal? To make Rephidim look bad … to disrupt that prophesying pool … I don't know! I just do as I'm told … I was supposed to get a new life … I be a good little bat, and there's some trouble, but I get taken away, and start a new life." She laughs. "Yeah. I'm no Scarlet. Scarlet is dead. I'm Cryona Windcaller. Idiot extraordinaire."

Envoy narrows her eyes a bit, and asks, "Then how do you know what she did, and are able to perform water magic now?"

Cryona sputters, "They messed with my head! I got her memories … and they spent a good while prying them back out of me for whatever good it'd do them. And the water magic … all I had was what they forced upon me. They … stored it in me somehow. I can't go around casting magic at will. Not even cantrips! I don't know how!"

Roho sighs. He looks at Sc – Cryona, then turns to look at Envoy. "This is much worse than I thought. Do either of you know enough of this Sphere to know if severing the link is possible without them detecting it and killing her?"

Envoy rubs her chin. "This has to be the work of both the Sphere of Mind and of Spirit, I think. Mind alone shouldn't allow the transfer of magical power."

Snowstorm looks dumbfounded. "I … I'm not even sure what Sphere this falls under. Life Magic, I'd think … but then … Spirit Magic? Mind Magic? First Ones – You'd probably need a whole army of mages to deal with something like this! And no doubt they'd ask for the … fuff'nar? … to break the link."

"At least we have one thing on our side," Envoy says. "The mages that perpetrated this are surely corrupt. And corrupt people can probably be bribed or influenced by other corrupt people."

Roho rubs the side of his face. "I can't see an immediate way to solve this without them getting what they want. No matter how it turns out, it's likely to bring Rephidim and Babel back to war, or at least the very brink of it."

Cryona falls back on her bed again. "Well, as soon as they catch wind of this, I'm dead. I've already told you more than they were planning on anyone knowing. Maybe they'll try to kill you, too."

Roho nods at Cryona. "They probably will, don't worry about that. Envoy and I are fairly good at the fine art of survival." He turns to Snowstorm. "You can leave now, if you like. If you'd rather not risk your life becoming this deeply involved… "

Envoy grins. "After the incident with Isstan and the one with the Institute of Sorcery, I don't think any Mind or Spirit Mages are going to want anything to do with me. Regular assassins are another matter though."

Snowstorm shakes his head. "I get the feeling I've probably heard enough to get me in trouble already. I'll leave now … but if there's some way I can help, don't hesitate to ask me. I think I may be changing my plans to head back to Rephidim, though. Maybe a nice little vacation to … " He pauses, looking at the bat. "Well, I'll decide later."

"Maybe we can get a Life Mage to put Cryona into a coma," the Exile suggests. "That should make the conspirators think she's dead, wouldn't it?"

Snowstorm hmms. "Yes. But that would require that we draw another mage into this. I wonder… "

Roho tilts his head at Snowstorm. "Do you know of any who could do that? We could then bring her back to Rephidim with you, under the pretense of taking her to my clinic for more intense treatment. At least on Rephidim we stand a good chance of solving this. Back in Babel, we're among the conspirators."

Envoy says, "The link may be weaker on Rephidim too, so that they couldn't act on her through the animal bond. The coma could be a safety precaution so that 'Scarlet' doesn't hurt herself during the voyage."

"This would be a bit of a gamble," muses Snowstorm, "but I could perhaps accomplish a similar thing by using my own magic to put Cryona in a state of suspended animation. I'm afraid that I'll have to stay with her until you can safely resuscitate her … as the body has a tendency to spoil if not cared for properly while in that state." He grimaces.

"I think that's an acceptible risk," Envoy says. "What do you think, Cryona?"

Roho nods, "Cryona. Would we have your cooperation? It's your best chance at coming out of this alive. You could fake another episode, and I could deal with Snowstorm to freeze you until I can get you back to Rephidim, where I have better equipment."

Cryona shudders. "Fine … What do I have to lose?"

Envoy asks, "Before you're cryonic, Cryona, did they make you write that note last night and attack me, or did you do the attacking on your own?"

Cryona looks to Envoy. "I … I don't know anymore. My brain has been messed with so much … I find myself wondering what I know that's something I learned … or … or her. Or … who knows what else they crammed into my skull."

Envoy nods. "All right, I forgive you for stabbing me then."

Roho bites his lip. "I think Scarlet may still be alive. In the fuff'nar. If you two are so tightly connected, I doubt it's a bond with a non-sentient animal." He shrugs, "Though I'm not sure. If she is, it will complicate things."

Envoy blinks. "Are they simpler otherwise?"

Roho shakes his head, grinning at Envoy, "No, not really. We're still all in a pile of trouble."

"That's okay," Envoy says, "I've been at the bottom of a Pig Pile before. Just ask Skiree!"