A chill wind blusters through, one much like any other. The first rays of sunlight reach over the edge of the bowl that has been cut into Babel's heart, and shine into the chamber in which Envoy has sought shelter from the patrols warding off any who might invade this "sacred ground".

As the rays trace across her eyes, Envoy slowly returns to the waking world, her sleep devoid of any spectacular dreams, it seems.

After emerging from the coccoon provided by her wings, Envoy carefully does some stretching exercises to see if any movements still cause pain.

Envoy feels a noticeable twinge, but it seems that the rest – free from fear of smoke inhalation, if not from all danger entirely – has done her good. She feels much better now.

Looking out through the gap in the walls, she checks out activity in the Wound and tries not to think too much about breakfast. She has no idea how long it's been since she's last eaten.

It looks like there are a few fires burning in some of the upper towers, and there are several airships going back and forth, and signs of combat. Not unusual for Babel, per se, but since the major noble houses were obliterated, it's been a much rarer site over the past few years … and even more so that something of this scale would be going on. It would seem that someone is having a fight, and this isn't just the Yodhgorphat going on a "Purging" spree.

Fortunately for Envoy, however, this is a conflict that is very distant, beyond nearly the other end of the bowl, and nothing that should directly involve her for the moment.

"Power vaccuum," Envoy says to the air, and wonders how this will affect her chances of getting someplace she actually wants to be. With all the infighting, maybe nobody would notice her. But there's still the matter of knowing which direction to go. Turning away from the view, she heads back to the central shaft and the walkway up to the roof. Maybe she can see something recognizable from the roof.

As Envoy reaches the roof, she can see the tops of the mountain range of the Seven Sisters, so that much is visible, at least. There doesn't seem to be much activity at the Tower of Babel itself. It's hard to determine what is geographically important about the area in which the conflict is going on, though Envoy vaguely recalls that Saraizadze's new palace might be somewhere in that general vicinity.

Whereas Envoy is closest to the south (and slightly west) side of the pit, and the Tower is roughly east, the old mage grounds were on the west side of the pit, and the new Guild Hall is even further west.

Envoy recalls what other buildings she was able to see around the newer Guild Hall, and looks westward to check for anything that matches.

Alas, Envoy is too low in the "bowl" to be able to see far beyond the towers that rim it on the westward side. In order to look for landmarks, she would at the very least have to get back up to the level of the uppermost portion of the city … and quite preferably above that, in order to see over intervening towers here and there that go above the average skyline.

Envoy flexes her flight muscles, and looks for the nearest building tall than the one she's on that might be safe to land on.

The buildings closer to the rim get progressively taller (and the angles of their cleft tops grow more steep as well). It looks as if it has a few balconies on lower levels that she could attempt to land on if she cannot maintain sufficient altitude.

Envoy mentally plots a course across several of the buildings, where she can climb up internally (hopefully) to the tops before moving to the next-tallest one. With the sun up, she hopes to find at least a few thermals that might let her gain altitude during the hops as well.

To the best of Envoy's ability, she's got a course plotted out … provided there are no "surprises" in mid-flight.

Envoy spreads her wings and takes a running jump towards her first target balcony on a nearby building.

Yes, Envoy's wings are feeling much better. She feels some tightness in her wing muscles that will need to be worked out, and a few minor twinges in her chest, but otherwise, she seems to be holding herself steady enough. She manages to bank around until she finds a suitable updraft … and so forth … until soon she is gliding above the target with plenty of elevation she can shed for slack.

Landing on her target balcony, she does a few more flaps of her wings to work out some of the kinks before entering the building.

She'll need to do some more exercises, but it seems that finally whatever part of her brain had been fried that might have hampered her ability to fly, and whatever physical setbacks have finally been overcome. Not that she can expect to do loop-the-loops and tight spins right now without a sharp pain in the chest, though. Getting stabbed in the chest can set one back a bit on the road to recovery.

Envoy looks around the new room, checking for more holes and the means to go upwards.

As for the interior of the building, it looks like a fairly simple hovel, with a clutter of ramshackle furnishings and boxes here and there, and a stove in the corner with a pipe run through a hole that has been knocked through a wall and then plastered back around the pipe, and cracked several times over from the heat. The ceiling is cleft very sharply, as are the walls. At the right hand side of the room, there is a chair up against the wall. Seated in the chair is the lower half of an Eeee body, whereas the upper half is gone with the wall section behind it. The body, rest assured, has been here a very long time, and is in an advanced state of decay.

As for going upward, it seems a simple matter of clambering over some of the furniture and boxes to get up to the next floor, or else going through a doorway to a corridor beyond and – presumably – a stairway access.

Envoy decides to check for a stairway, since that would certainly be easier to negotiate. The less actual climbing she has to do the better, since she needs to conserve every calorie.

After a bit of wandering about, Envoy finds a staircase leading up. Even though the Eeee may have wings, they have legs, too, and sometimes flying just isn't practical. (For instance, when you've broken a wing, or you're getting arthritis in the joints, or you're carrying something heavy.) It looks like this staircase works its way all the way up to the top of this building … though it's still many stories shy of the upper city level.

As she make her way to the rooftop, Envoy wonders if anyone at the Guild is even looking for her. Someone there must have seen the dream-show, afterall. But she doesn't remember there being any scryers staying at the Guild Hall.

As Envoy makes her way to the rooftop … she immediately notices a large shadow that she hadn't expected. Namely, it happens to be ptera-shaped. And it is cast by – of course – a ptera perched on the roof. On its back is an Eeee rider in leather and chitin armor.

Envoy freezes, and watches to see if the rider or mount has noticed her yet, while also looking for any insignia on the Eeee's armor.

The ptera is facing away from the staircase, and the Eeee rider on its back has light fur and platinum-grey hair. She lifts up a chitin spy-scope, scanning the distant battle.

Suspecting a possible Yodhrephath, Envoy continues to climb towards the roof as quietly as possible to get a better view of the rider.

Though it seemed that Envoy was being quiet, that doesn't necessarily suffice when around Eeee. The bat jerks her head around, and she likewise spins about with the aim of a double-crossbow held in one hand (and probably not very well aimed, since it's obviously made for two). It's … Wynona.

Envoy throws her hands up in the universal "Please don't shoot me" gesture. "It's me, Envoy! Don't shoot!"

Envoy's voice comes out a bit raspily. Wynona's eyes widen, and then narrow in skepticism … and scrutiny. "Envoy? Is … " Her eyes narrow more. "Tell me something only Envoy would know."

Envoy pulls her hood off. "Umm … you spent more than you wanted to on that New Year's Eve dress on Caroban when I … err, that is, Inala … took you shopping."

Wynona's ears blush at this … and she lowers the crossbow. "I … Envoy? What … what happened to you? You look … dreadful!"

Envoy thinks. "Well … I found out the Princess was the center of the ritual in the Dream Realm, and someone tried to assassinate me the next morning, so I had to flee to the Undercity since I couldn't do more than glide. I got banged up a bit, fought with vampires, traded my robes for these, got stabbed in the chest by a former patrol captain … although I only knew that's who he was because I suspect Rephath sent me the dream with the boomer memories in it. When I woke up yesterday, everything was on fire and a boy showed me the way to the Wound … and that's pretty much how I got this way. Do you have anything to eat with you?"

Wynona sighs. "Goodness. Yes … let's get you cleaned up. And as for the High Princess … she's dead, slain by her husband, Grand Vizier Thath. He says that she was responsible for helping Rephidim drop the Boomer on Babel. That it was part of an elaborate and twisty scheme to bolster her own power." She pulls the reins of her ptera, so it turns broadside to Envoy, then holsters her scope and crossbow, and reaches down to offer Envoy a hand up.

Envoy accepts Wynona's hand gratefully and clambers up behind her. "I had mentioned to Rephath that I suspected her, and I guess She did turn up evidence in the memories of those caught in the boomer. There were even some mages that were trying to control where the land would be swapped ahead of time, I think. But they certainly knew it was going to fall at midnight."

Wynona nods. "The Captain had reason to suspect something was amiss … but he was reluctant to do anything with the information. Not without some backing." She shakes her head. "Forgive me. I shouldn't be talking about things like that … even if the High Princess is supposedly dead." She snaps the reins, and the ptera rises from its perch, spreading its wings, and pushes out from the edge, catching the air, then rising with strong beats of its massive wings.

"He made it out of the fire then?" Envoy asks.

Wynona blinks, half-turning in her saddle to regard Envoy. "You're being cryptic again."

Envoy blushes. "Sorry, I meant Captain Karada. He's the one who stabbed me, but before that he had some secret information he wanted delivered to the Yodhbarada. I might still have it in the writing supplies I recovered."

Wynona gasps. "Captain Karada STABBED YOU?!" she squeaks. "That's IMPOSSIBLE! What are you talking about?"

The ptera jerks, noticing its rider's distress, and lets out a high-pitched keen. Another ptera rider lifts off from a rooftop, and flies on an intercept course with Wynona's creature.

Envoy blinks at the other flyer. "Do you know that person flying towards us? Yes, I saw his memories of the boomer, but he wasn't caught in it. He was down in the Undercity posing as a priest of Rinala, along with the maid and child from the vision."

Wynona says, "You've really lost it, Envoy. That's Captain Karada right there." She points to the other ptera. "And I find it hard to imagine he'd try to stab anyone without due cause."

"I assumed he was in hiding because his wife's family was one of Saraizadze's enemies, and because he saw that the patrol was sabotaged to let Rockmore's ship through," Envoy reports, then asks, "Did anyone have any unusual dreams the other night, about the Princess being made into a new goddess?"

Envoy tries to get a better look at the rider of the approaching ptera.

"Yes," Wynona says. "And there are several Babelites who would like to do very horrible things to you right now, Envoy. It's a good thing even I can barely recognize you right now." Meanwhile, the other ptera flies up closer, and matches speed with Wynona's. The rider looks familiar – He is the captain of the guard who was standing beside the High Priestess in Rephath's temple. He's considerably younger than the priest of Rinala, but definitely old enough to be the Captain Karada of the dream vision. "Sister Wynona! Who is that you have there?"

Envoy whispers into Wynona's ear, "Does he have a son, and a servant named Matra?"

Wynona blinks. "I don't know about his servants. But he had five children – all of them lost. Please, Envoy … this is a very personal matter for him. Please don't be your usual blunt self around him. This isn't something he's casually shared with me. You see … " She breaks that off, then calls out, "A friend! She must have gotten lost! I'm taking her back up to the Vigilant Eye!"

"I … won't mention anything," Envoy says. No need to get herself deeper into trouble. "Are the Yodhrephath after me too?"

The other rider waves an arm in a sign of acknowledgement, and then his ptera breaks off, rolling to the right and leaving the way clear for Wynona to approach the airship. "Whyever for?" Wynona squeaks. "If you've helped to defeat the one who brought the Boomer down upon Babel, I'd dare say you must have Rephath's favor."

"Well, but that's just it I think," Envoy says. "I thought they might be upset that an outsider did that, instead of one of them."

Wynona shrugs. "Yes, well, that's what complicates things, and why you ought to keep a low profile. Some people saw it as Rephidim and Caroban flying in to oppress Babel." The ptera rises up to the level of the airship … and Envoy can see quite clearly now that this was not the airship that Saraizadze was on in that dream. She must have gotten her memories blurred. No, it's the airship that appeared in one of the "boomer" memories, the one that got buffeted about when the boomer hit.

It's not a terribly large craft, and hasn't enough deck space to comfortably hold more than a single ptera. (Not that there is a lack of other perches to be found in the city.)

"I was suprised to see you with a crossbow, Wynona," Envoy says as they approach the ship.

"It's a dangerous city," Wynona says, and the ptera alights upon the deck of the airship. She swings down from the saddle, and helps Envoy down. Most of the crew is male and Eeee, but there is one obvious Yodhrephath, and Wynona bows to her.

Envoy bows as well, just to be safe – and to keep her face hidden within her hood.

The Yodhrephath nods in response, and gives Wynona a querying look, without actually asking anything.

Wynona looks to Envoy, then to the Yodhrephath. "I rescued her from the Pit. I request permission to deviate from my watch to return her to her home."

The Yodhrephath regards Envoy with an unreadable expression on her tightly drawn, tan-furred face, as she scrutinizes the Exile with dark eyes. "May it please Rephath, so be it. Do not be gone long. You'll worry the Captain." This last might seem an odd addition, as a Yodhrephath would most certainly not be subordinate to a male captain.

To this, Wynona's ears redden, and she nods. "May Rephath deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I neglect my duties. I will not be gone long."

Envoy wonders if the Yodhrephath sees through her disguise, but is distracted by Wynona's reaction. Why would she blush?

The Yodhrephath waves her hand in a dismissing gesture, making a "Csh! Csh!" noise like a Babelite mother waving off a child. Wynona bows again, and returns to the ptera, helping Envoy mount it once again.

Envoy keeps her silence as she mounts up, but gets the feeling that her friend is planning to stay in Babel for quite some time.

The ptera alights into the air, and the Yodhrephath aboard the ship watches it for so long as Envoy can see the deck. Then, Wynona's mount wings westward. "I am supposing the Guild Hall is where you would like to be taken?"

"I guess that's the safest place for me," Envoy says. "Well, relatively speaking anyway. I didn't know the Yodhrephath went on patrols? Is it because of all that fighting going on?"

"Babel does not have a policing force in quite the same way that Rephidim does," Wynona explains. "Normally, the house guards of the nobles would keep the peace in their domains … when they were not disturbing it by fighting the guards of the other houses. But there are no noble houses to guard the Pit, so Rephath has claimed it as Her responsibility."

"Where does the Captain fit in?" Envoy asks, and also watches to see if Wynona blushes again.

Alas, Wynona is facing forward at the time being, intent upon guiding her mount toward the Guild Hall, so if she blushes, Envoy misses it. "Captain Karada once participated in the Babelite Air Guard – His was a small noble family, barely more than his immediate family at the time, so he himself took part in his part of the patrol, taking turns with the other houses in the vicinity. When the Boomer was dropped, his house – his estate as well as his entire household – was destroyed."

"So he doesn't have anybody now?" Envoy asks, and then guesses, "… except you?"

She continues, "He had nothing left, save for his desire for vengeance, and his skill as a warrior and as a comm – " And then she cuts off, belatedly catching the remark. "I am still that transparent, am I?"

"Maybe I'm getting more perceptive?" Envoy says. "But really … it was the only reason I could think of why you'd want to stay here."

Wynona slowly shakes her head. "We're not … you know. He talks to me, and I listen." She sighs. "What I went through in the Temple of Inala … I … I was so helpless. I called out to anybody, anything, any deity or spirit or force of goodness that might be listening, and if that wasn't good enough, anything else … for help. I called out, and the Yodhrephath saved me. He saved me."

"He's a good, noble man," Wynona asserts. "And terrible things have happened to him. But he hasn't let it destroy him. He's strong. And I want to be strong, too."

Envoy swallows, then says, "I told Rephath where you were, in the Dream Realm. I asked her to rescue you. This place is so chaotic, and you were always so sensitive. I guess I'm just worried about all the things that can happen to you out here."

"And these things can't happen to me elsewhere?" Wynona bites out. "Do you realize how many times I've been put in compromising situations against my will? All my career as a mage, I was 'Wrong Way Wynona'. And then the Lalee-Papu blew up. And then, freak of freaks, I somehow ended up in Aelfhem without a scrap of cloth on me – Explain that! – and then I'm dealing with Eeee who want to forcibly marry me off to one of their own and then … It's just one thing after another!"

Wynona squeaks, "The fates seem determined to put me in some 'delicate' situation, then titter and giggle as I squirm and fidget. Well, no more!"

Envoy isn't as surprised as she might have been at the outburst. "Well, this is certainly the place to make you stronger, then. And the Yodhrephath are the ones to teach you. I know that it's shown me how helpless I can be. And how … ruthless."

Wynona loses some of her steam. "I'm … I'm sorry, Envoy. I'm not mad at you. I just … don't want you telling me I'm making some mistake here, just because it's what you wouldn't do. And I don't think Babel is perfect. I don't believe that at all." She reaches a hand up to her eyes and rubs, though Envoy can't see her face. "And I'm sorry for whatever you went through. I hope you'll be all right. I'm sure they'll have you fixed up at the Guild Hall in no time." Incidentally, the Guild Hall looms in view. It's a whole lot easier going across Babel when you're flying.

"There are some things that even magic can't fix," Envoy says. "I have to come to terms with what I've done, and try to forgive myself still."

Wynona meets this with silence for a time, and then begins her descent toward the Guild Hall, flying a wide circle to make herself visible to those there, and to make it clear that she's coming in for a landing … peacefully.

Envoy cautiously scans the surrounding buildings, in case any snipers are laying out in plain sight waiting to shoot her.

There are a few suspicious-looking figures here and there. It's impossible to tell if any of them might be snipers, though Envoy doesn't clearly see any weapons trained on her at the moment.

"I need a vacation," she admits to Wynona. "Maybe I'll finally visit the Nordikan countries. Nobody is likely to recognize me there."

Wynona brings the ptera in on its last pass, as she sees a guard walk out to one of the platforms, and wave a signal flag, indicating that the platform there may be used for landing. During Envoy's stay here, the Guild Hall hadn't gone through such procedures – Essentially, if there was space on the pad, you could land. The recent turmoil, of course, would be ample reason to reinstate all the by-the-book security procedures. During times of political turmoil, embassies of nations or large organizations (such as Caroban) might well become targets.

"Maybe that's a good idea," Wynona agrees, and she brings the ptera down to a landing, and helps Envoy off the quasi-reptilian creature.

Envoy looks back up to her friend, and says, "Promise me you won't get killed, okay? I really don't want to have to visit you in Sunala's realm."

A guard with a tabard bearing the symbol of the Twelve-Sphered Circle waits at the side of the platform, bearing a polearm. He's a human, and Envoy doesn't recognize him from her stay. Caroban must have sent in some reinforcements to the embassy recently. Perhaps an attempted assassination of one of its mages might warrant such measures.

Wynona turns to regard Envoy. "I'm not planning on getting killed. I may be angry, but that doesn't make me suicidal." She sighs, and walks up to the guard, bowing, then steps aside to allow Envoy room.

Envoy pulls her hood back enough to let the guard get a good look at her, and says, "Mage Envoy of the Sphere of Earth, requesting … a warm bath, a decent meal, and a safe place to sleep."