Elise's memories are jumbled. How long has she slipped in and out of consciousness? Only fragments of perceptions remain. "… Now you've done it, Elise. Now you've really done it! … " "… You have won. The sword is yours. … " "… Treat her wounds at my expense. And keep this quiet. … " "… Can you hear me? … " "… She should be all right. We should be able to save her arm, though it was fractured in multiple … " "… Aw! You look like you got hurt real bad. Do you remember me? I guess not. Well, here's a get-well gift. I'll put it right here beside your bed. Get well soon!" "… servant of the sword… " "… First Ones … " "… Lady de Bellefeuille … ?"

When those images resolve themselves, she finds herself in a strange place, standing on the shore of an island in the midst of a mist-shrouded ocean. Despite that snippet about fractures, her arm seems to be quite whole, and she doesn't sport any bruises. Her uniform and armor is just as it was when she went out to accept that duel with Jiraud. When was that? It seems like so long ago … or a vaguely-remembered dream … as if it might never have happened at all.

The poodle woman stands silently for a long moment, simply staring out across the island with absent eyes. Eventually she blinks and her eyes focus on what is before her, and she lifts her hand to her head as if making sure she is all here. "Where am I?" she asks nothing in particular.

"Where are you?" echoes a vulpine voice. "Why, that is a very good question!"

The hand drops from the poodle's head and she takes a step forward. "Who is there? Can you tell me where I am?" she calls out to the vulpine voice.

"As a matter of fact," says the foppish fox, perched on a rocky outcropping next to the western pala fruit bush, "I can't! But I can sing you a song! Would you like to hear it?"

Elise whirls around to stare at the fox for a moment, examining him carefully. After a moment, her ears wilt and she tilts her head to the side. "I am terribly confused. I … I remember Jiraud and that … duel … but, it is so … oh I just do not remember!" She frowns a little and lifts her left hand to wave the fox on. "Oh, I suppose you can. I… " She peers at her left arm for a second confusedly before looking to the fox again. " … it may help me think."

The fox smiles. "Certainly! Now … let's see… How does it go? And which song am I supposed to sing to you? I keep getting it mixed up. Oh well. Here goes!"

The foppish fox strums his lute, then begins singing…

"Mirror, mirror, in my hand,"

"Who's the fairest in the land?"

"But quite frankly, I don't care,"

"Just pick one up and take a stare!"

"Maybe, maybe, you might be,"

"One of four, or one of three,"

"Little one, hungry one, smart one, strong,"

"Which one will you take along?"

"Just to be safe, I'd say them all,"

"Ready at hand to answer your call!"

"Child and Probe and Dragon, then Father,"

"If one can't help, then maybe the other!"

As soon as his song is finished, the fox hops up, bowing with a flourish of his hat. "You've been a lovely audience! Simply lovely!" And with a swish of his fluffy tail … he's gone!

The woman listens to the song, staring off into the distance as she tries to make sense of it all. Once the bard has finished, he gets a glance, and just as Elise opens her mouth to say something, he vanishes. "What does that mean? I do not understand it!" She shakes her head a little and peers around to see if she can find him.

Alas, there is no sign of the fox. He's gone. And it doesn't really look like there's much of any place he could have gotten off to. The bushes couldn't possibly hide him … and while there is the set of stairs leading down, surely Elise would have seen him go down there. No, something very strange is certainly going on here.

The Gallee groans a little in frustration. "Jiraud, this is not particularly funny," she grumbles as she inspects the island. Her eyes come to rest on the stairs, and with a shrug, she begins walking towards them with the intention of heading down. "Maybe I am simply dreaming, or hallucinating. Or, maybe I am … No, no. I do not want to think about it."

As Elise descends the staircase, the way gets darker, though there is still some ambient light to show the way … from outside, and barely from ahead…

Carefully the poodle walks over to the collapsed passage and attempts to peer through to the light beyond. (Perhaps I can spy on whomever may be here, without giving myself away first.)

It requires a bit of clambering over broken stones to get into any position to see through the rocks. It's pretty clear that there's no way the poodle could possibly squeeze through the gaps … but there's definitely a room on the other side. It looks from here to be a temple chamber of some sort, the ceiling supported by pillars (except here, where the pillars seem to have collapsed, of course). There are many nooks in the walls, each holding statues of Eeee in ornamental garb. There is an altar at the far side. It's not immediately evident just where the light is coming from, and there appears to be no movement within the room, though Elise cannot see all of the chamber from this vantage point.

(Perhaps there is another way around.) The woman lifts herself up and departs from that passage to stop in the T intersection. She looks around for a moment, stopping to give a strange look to the door leading to a darkened outside, and then opts for the way leading to another chamber.

As Elise moves away from the rock pile, she hears a squeal from the "temple" chamber that sounds like the voice of a child, and then the patter of running feet.

However, as she moves to the eastern corridor … she sees what looks like a chamber at the end … but, alas, it is completely dark in there, and no details can be made out without any light source.

The ears on the poodle perk up and she glances back towards the sound of the child, pausing once she enters the darkened room. "Is someone there? Are you lost too?" the woman calls out to the child, leaving the darkened room alone for now.

"Ooo, dolls!" Elise can hear from the next room.

In the darkened room that Elise has just entered, she can hear a different sound, though … the clanking of chitin chains.

Quickly Elise dashes out of the room back towards the crumbling passage only to skid to a stop at the sound from behind her. She spins around and reaches to put a hand on her sword. "Who is there? Show yourself!"

Elise can hear a bit of a voice from the other room, but it's muffled by her own voice and the sounds echoing in the chamber.

Deciding allowing herself to be caught in a corridor in the dark would be a bad idea, the poodle steps backwards until she is in the better lit T intersection. "I … I request you identify yourself! It is, only proper to identify oneself!"

There's the patter of running feet in the temple room.

"It's just me," says a little child's voice from the temple room.

"Who are you? Do you know where we are?" responds Elise, who doesn't remove her hand from her sword. "I would appreciate some help, and … I would like to know why there would be such sounds of chitin chains moving if there is only you."

The child's voice replies, "Okay, I'm Envoy. An Exxxx… plorer! Yeah! Who are you, Mister Monster?"

There's the sound of clinking chains again, to the east.

Elise's tense grip relaxes noticeably, and she lets out a sigh of relief. "I am Lady Elise de Bellefeuille, cadet of the Rephidim Officers' Academy. I … seem to have had some sort of accident and came here somehow. Also, I do know you Mage Envoy, but you sound different today. Regardless, can you help me?" As she talks, she moves back down the hall to try and get a better look at what may be down there. Her free left hand searches for some sort of match she may be carrying.

Alas, it seems that Elise forgot to pack matches for this particular journey. All she does find is darkness. And the sounds of clinking chains … and was that a moan?

While waiting for a reply from Envoy, Elise addresses the darkness. "Hello? Is someone else there? You do not sound well."

From the temple room, Elise can hear, "You must be the hero Reynard was singin' about!" A pause. "Did the ceiling fall on you?"

"Hero? No, I am not a hero. I am just lost," responds the poodle before she glances around again. "That fox … Reynard was his name? I have seen him before. And no, no ceiling fell upon me. Although Envoy, or at least someone who identifies herself as Envoy, seems trapped in another room with Babelite statues."

Behind her, Elise hears scuffling, then footsteps.

Suddenly, Elise spots a bit of movement … and then something smacks her across the face! Something sharp claws at her cheek, leaving rake marks across her fur. It stings painfully.

"Gah!" cries the poodle as she staggers backward in shock, reaching for her cheek with her left hand as her right moves to unsheathe her sword. "You! Whatever you are, how dare you strike me from the dark! Show yourself!"

Before Elise stands the gaunt form of a skeletal Eeee, leathery strips of its flailed hide clinging loosely to its bones. Its eyes glint red in the faint light, and its fangs look unnaturally long and sharp.

A scream echoes issues forth from the Gallee as she continues moving back, this time out of sheer terror rather than recoiling from the blow. Her left hand quickly makes the sign of the Star and Anchor across her chest while her sword hand readies her blade. "What in the name of the First Ones are you?!" she cries out soon after.

The undead Eeee stumbles forward, reaching out with bony claws. Behind it, more chains clank … and the dimly seen outlines of three more stumbling horrors can be seen – skeletal Eeee, all of them!

Envoy jams her fists against her muzzle to keep from crying out, and ducks back around the corner in fear as she tries to think of what to do.

As Elise backs slowly away, back into the dim light, the forms of the monsters are more easily seen. The monsters don't yet seem to notice Envoy's retreating form, as they lumber forward.

A raspy moan comes from the withered throat of the lead skeleton, echoed by its unliving brethren.

"In … in the name of the First Ones, stay back!" yells Elise. She whips her blade forward in an attempt to strike the skeleton as her feet carry her in a careful retreat towards the T intersection.

Envoy runs across the intersection towards the stairs, pausing in the middle to stick her tongue out and make "neener-neener" noises at the zombies.

Elise's blade thrusts forward, striking against one of the outstretched arms of the first skeleton. With a breaking of brittle bones and a small cloud of dust, the skeleton's right arm breaks off, and shatters on the floor. Still, the monster shambles forward.

The stairs appear to lead up and outside, where a starry night sky can be seen.

"C'mon Elise!" the little Aeolun calls from the stairway. "Up and out!"

The lead skeleton makes a clumsy swipe at Elise with its remaining arm, but misses by a wide margin.

The noble takes one more swing at the undead abomination before she spins around and dashes for the stairs without a second thought. "Will they not simply follow us?" asks Elise as she heads for the stairs.

"Sure!" Envoy calls out as she starts to climb. "Then you just push the top one down and he'll knock the others back."

Behind Elise, the midsection of the skeleton falls apart, cleft by her sword. The pieces send up a small cloud of dust as they shatter against the floor. Three more skeletons, however, continue to shuffle forward, though easily outpaced by the little winged child and the poodle girl.

The stairs are not very long, and in a moment, they reach the top.

Once out in the open, Envoy starts collecting handfuls of pala berries to use as weapons, should the zombies make it out of the dungeon.

Elise makes her way up and off the stairs before turning to look at Envoy with wide, frightened eyes. "Where are we? I remember an accident, and then I am here. And you … you are so … short!"

The pala fruit easily comes free in Envoy's hands, and some of them crush, leaving a sweet-smelling, sticky juice on her fingers.

The skeletons, meanwhile, slowly work their way up the stairs. They're only a third of the way up at present.

Due to the narrow nature of the stairs, they walk all in single file, one behind the other.

The shambling skeletons get further up the stairs, now about two-thirds the way up.

Envoy bounces. "See, Elise? Bop 'em with your sword! Whack whack whack!"

"Oh, bother! I will ask later. Right now … " She faces the stairs again and readies her weapon, holding it with both hands. " … I will take your advice and do something about these!" Now ready, she stands prepared to strike at the lead skeleton when it nears.

At last, the lead skeleton reaches the top of the stairs. It reaches out with a bony claw toward the poodle, moaning raspily.

Envoy throws berries at the monster… from a safe distance.

"Begone, horror!" yells the poodle. She hefts her blade forward over her head for a downward slash that should avoid striking the walls of stone.

The berries have no discernable effect. However, the sword crunches through the brittle skull, shattering it. The headless skeleton flails about blindly … then stumbles backward. A domino effect follows, as the skeletons fall backwards down the stairs, bouncing and breaking all the way, finally landing in a heap of broken bones and powder at the bottom.

Envoy stuffs the unused portion of her ammunition into her mouth and munches on it. "Keeen! I bet you wanted to go down that passage, didn't you? Does your face hurt?"

Elise stops her blade before it can rebound off the stone steps, and then peers down the steps. "Well, mmm, yes. And stay dead this time." She smiles a little and turns back to Envoy, nodding. "Yes I do. I need to know where I am. And, yes it stings. But I will be fine."

The pala fruit tastes like pala fruit. Pretty good stuff.

The stars seem to ripple and twinkle, and then several of them seem to fall from the sky into the ocean to the east. Oh! A meteor shower!

Envoy watches the shooting stars with interest as she licks juice from her fingers. "Well, there's an altar down there with icons of the Seven Sisters from Babelite mythology. We're on a quest to survive their challenges. I think."

"Oh," says the poodle. "I hope you do not mind me asking, but why are we on this quest? Wait, no, nevermind. I think if I try to figure this out any further I will go quite insane." She lifts her head to watch the night sky sighs a little before asking a question. "So, what is it we do?"

A wind picks up, blowing at the mists covering the silent waters. Where gaps appear in the mist, the waters seem to reflect the stars perfectly … so perfectly that it seems like there is no water there at all, but rather just a continuation of the endless expanse of stars.

Envoy wipes her hands off on her shirt, and looks up to the poodle with a big smile. "We fight monsters! And rescue people! And… hey!" She looks out over the waters some more. "This is Quicksilver, not Morpheus… "

"Weird," the little girl says. "Anyway, we should go see what's down that corridor the zombies were guarding. Oh, and watch out for mirrors."

As Envoy looks up at her, Elise tries to force pleasant smile. However she cannot seem to manage it, and it comes across as quite fake and very worried. "Well, perhaps what that fox told me may help. He said that four or three mirrors will help you. The child, probe, dragon and father, I believe. Does this mean anything to you? Oh, yes, he also mentioned he gets the stories confused and he was supposed to tell me one."

Envoy bounces, and points to herself. "I'm the Child!"

"And you met Victor at Eve's Harvest Tide party," the little Aeolun points out.

"Well then, that answers part of that. I doubt however I am any of the three others. I am neither a father nor a dragon. And I dare not consider what a probe may be." The poodle offers her hand to the child and beckons her forward. "Come along, let's see what there is in that temple."

Envoy takes the Gallee's hand and giggles. "I'm the other three, too."

The Gallee groans again, and nods. "Oh, of course you are. Why ever did I not suspect!" She smirks a little and heads down the stairs. "Sarcasm aside, it is nice not to be alone here."

The skeletons show no sign of reassembling themselves, being reduced to powder and bony bits. A little light still filters in from the temple room, and a bit more from the starlight from outside, but the chamber to the east is still pitch black.

Envoy nods. "I like dream questing. Did you know I helped Sir Tristan find the Holy Grail? But then I guess you wouldn't know him, or the grail either. And telling you about Kujaku would just make you look at me funny… "

"I do believe you could tell me you are, in fact, acreen, and I would not be surprised at this point," replies the poodle. She stops in the center of the Tintersection room and studies the rubble. "I wonder how exactly I can get inside there."

There are gaps big enough for the little child to crawl through, but it looks like the poodle – especially in her armor – wouldn't have a chance of squeezing past.

Envoy chirps like a Creen, then asks, "What did you want from in there? There's an altar with shackles and some icky stain on it, and some pretty dolls of really nasty deities, and a mirror."

"Hmm, we may as well gather what we can from there and bring it out here. That way if we need anything we will not need to split up again," answers the poodle as she tries to peer beyond the cracks. "But if you get in any trouble, try and run back to me, you understand?"

"Okay!" Envoy says, and crawls back through the rubble to the altar chamber.

Envoy makes it through a gap in the stones, and she's now back in the altar chamber. An idol of Inala can be seen lying on the stones that she crawls past, and four hand mirrors with handles and frames of amber lie on the floor. They weren't there when Elise first looked through the gap, and there's an empty alcove where the idol of Inala was perched previously.

On the other side of the fallen corridor the noble reaches over to trace the slash on her face with a hand. Absently, she gazes around the area in thought.

Envoy puts one hand over her eyes, and reaches to turn the mirrors over one by one, just in case.

The corridor immediately around Elise is made of roughly hewn sections of stone and poorly fit blocks. Small wonder the ceiling collapsed.

The hand mirrors are now lying on the floor, face down. Their amber backsides show instead of their reflective faces.

Envoy peeks between her fingers at the hand-mirrors.

Nothing happens. They just lie there, and Envoy can't see her reflection, since the mirrors are face-down.

"Are you doing well? What do you see?" asks Elise from beyond the rubble.

Envoy gathers up the mirrors and tucks them inside her shirt, then calls through the gap, "Statues and magic mirrors. Do you want me to bring out the statues?"

The poodle winces a little at the cuts on her face. She frowns, but Envoy's question gets her attention away from the pain. "Bring the small items. The magic mirrors, the dolls, and whatever else that will fit. Oh, and do not look at the face of the mirrors. I suspect they have some sort of power to them, from what the fox said."

Rolling her eyes, Envoy says, "I already know that. They make me change between my different aspects." She starts with the small Inala statue, holding it out ahead of her as crawls through the rubble.

Seeing the statue pop out from one of the holes, Elise wanders over to help it into the room. "You could have mentioned that, you know," she tells Envoy as she helps pull the statue through. "I am after all not very used to Exiles, and their foreign abilities."

Envoy also passes the mirrors to Elise, so that she doesn't risk breaking them as she crawls around.

The little statue in Elise's hand is finely crafted. Its surface is composed of a mosaic of small carefully cut stones and pieces of enameled wood, carefully and precisely fitted together … quite unlike the stonework of the corridors and chambers of this underground area.

Elise now has four mirrors in amber fittings and a small idol of Inala.

Without the mirrors, Envoy tries carrying back two more of the statues through the rubble.

Two more statues end up on Elise's side … Zakaro and Barada, it looks like.

After being inspected for a moment, the statue is set down carefully where it will not accidentally tipped over. Next Elise picks up the mirrors, and to be safe, avoids looking at them as well. Instead she carefully puts them off to the side. "Tell me, though, why the Babelite goddesses? Is it because of the war?" asks Elise as she continues pulling items through and putting them carefully down.

Envoy pushes through two more, and says, "Oh, this realm is being made by Babelite Dream Mages, you see, and they're trying to incarnate their goddesses here for some reason."

Light from the temple room reflects off of the mirrors briefly, casting "spotlights" in odd directions down the darkened corridor, until they're set down.

As she places the last two statues in the gap, Envoy eyes the torches. That other corridor is pretty dark, after all. She decides to try and bring one after pushing through the remaining figures.

"Oh! So we are in a dream realm? Well I suppose that is much better than a few other places I had imagined I could be now." The two new statues are pulled through and inspected carefully.

"Where did you think you were?" the Aeolun asks as she wiggles through the debris.

As Envoy wiggles through with a torch, the T-intersection is considerably brighter. The deep cracks between the blocks on the west side of the corridor are darkly shadowed, while the walls on the eastern side seem to be cut right out of the rock, and roughly so.

The eastern corridor terminates in a stone chamber that, from here, appears to be mostly squared off, with a few chitin chains and shackles hanging from the walls, and more powdered bones on the floor.

Envoy says to Elise, "I bet they kept the sacrificial victims chained up there before eviscerating them. Maybe there's a secret passage!"

After moving out of the way and sitting near the gathered items, Elise takes a moment examine the gathered items, as well as answer Envoy's question. "I had, I believe, an accident. I cannot recall all that happened, but I believe during a duel I was knocked unconscious due to a fall. I thought I might b- … Secret passage? Well, we should look then." She reaches to gather the mirrors and put them away.

Envoy shines the torch around the masonry side of the chamber, looking for flickers in the flame from a breeze or for sconces that the statues might fit in.

Bingo. Envoy finds a tell-tale flicker in the torch when she holds it against a certain part of the masonry. Further examination reveals a seam that runs up … and across … and down again. A door, perhaps?

After tucking the mirrors away in pouch, the poodle stands up and takes the statue of Inala with her. "I cannot say I believe in the Seven Sisters. However, the idea they might be incarnated somehow does indeed frighten me. Their deeds are quite horrible."

"I found something," Envoy calls to the cadet. "A door, I think. You'd better come open it, in case there are more monsters or traps or something."

Obligingly Elise comes over to the door after putting the statue back down. With her shoulder she attempts to push the door inwards.

The door swivels open, on a hinge in its center axis. It turns perpendicular to the hallway, with one gap on each side, each large enough for someone to squeeze through (or in Envoy's case, just to waltz on through, no squeezing required).

Beyond is what looks like it may be a natural tunnel in the rock, or at least a lot less worked on with tools. It runs off toward the northwest.

Envoy sticks the torch through one of the openings. "You have to poke through with a stick you know, in case there's a basher or a slicer or a zapper… "

Nothing bashes, slices or zaps. The tunnel continues for a distance to the northwest, where it appears to widen into a larger chamber.

Smirking, the poodle lowers her sword and makes a quick jab into the space between the doors on both sides. "Say, have you any skills with treating wounds? I fear my cuts need cleaning, and I am uncertain how to go about it."

The poodle's sword doesn't encounter any monsters or other interesting things.

Envoy looks up at Elise. "Are you sure? Scars add character, I've been told. Try holding the flat of your blade against the wound and chant, 'Oh-wah, tago, siam' three times fast."

Envoy's comment results in a LOOK from Elise. "I would most certainly not wish a scar. I have a difficult enough time simply being seen to carry a sword, First Ones forbid the rest of the nobility see me with such marks." She shakes her head again and lifts her blade to her face, and then repeats the phrase three times fast – but not without rolling her eyes while doing it.

Alas, despite Elise's claim of being a goose, her cheek does not heal.

Envoy giggles into the palm of her hand! "Well, maybe there'll be a fountain in the next room. They had to bring the victims water, I'm sure, and used it for cleaning up the guts and junk." She heads down the tunnel with the torch.

"That was some sort of joke on my part, was it not? I am so not amused," complains the poodle as she follows after Envoy. While doing so she reaches into her pouch and pulls out a random mirror.

Envoy points to the pool. "See, water! Sort of." She smiles to Elise.

The poodle lifts up the mirror so Envoy can look into it. "And I have something for you, trickster." She grins a little and waits for a reaction, although her eyes seem pulled towards where the water lays frozen.

Envoy can't help but to look right into the mirror and see … a reflection of herself as the Child.

Envoy ooos, "I have dimples! Do you want to melt some ice with the torch, or just press chunks to your face?"

The still-junior Aeolun holds the torch over the frozen pond, to see if there's anything frozen in it…

Yes, as a matter of fact, it looks like there is a short wand suspended in the ice. It has a tip in the shape of a snowflake.

Elise's ears droop as nothing happens. "Well, that was remarkably dull. No matter, I was never much for comedy." The mirror is tucked back away and Elise walks over to the pool. She keeps her sword ready and checks the room.

"Look, a magic wand of freezing!" Envoy guesses, pointing to the object in the ice. She holds the torch closer to the surface to try and melt the ice.

A few rivulets of water appear after a few moments, but the torch doesn't seem to be providing quite the blaze required to melt through this ice anytime soon.

Elise leans over to peer into the ice. "Well, a wand. I would assume magic is your department. Although I am not exactly sure which aspect handles what. Perhaps you could explain them while we try and get that wand?"

Elise suddenly perks her ears and turns her head to examine Envoy. "Can your dragon aspect breathe fire?"

Envoy shows childlike impatience at the melt rate. "I don't know, but maybe. Not that she'd care about being able to do something that cool." She looks to Elise. "This time, you'd better look at the mirrors first. You probably wouldn't like Probe."

The Gallee nods and reaches to pull all the mirrors out of the pouch. She kneels and places them all face don on the floor. "Well let us hope that they do not affect me. I would not know what to do with another one of myself." She takes a deep breath, exhales, and picks up a mirror to look at it.

The Gallee sees a poodle looking back at her, reflected in the mirror. What a surprise.

Envoy swishes her lion-tail. "Well, what do you see?"

Elise smiles into the mirror and takes a moment to quickly brush her hair over her ears and inspect the scar before putting it back down. "I see only my own reflection. It seems they only work for you, and thus, we may simply be left to a gamble."

Envoy thinks a moment. "I'd better turn them over then. They probably only work when I use them myself." She holds out her hand for the mirror Elise is holding.

The mirror just put down is scooped up again, and handed to Envoy. Another mirror is also picked up so that Elise can check her hair more.

Envoy looks into the mirror…

Envoy sees a Dragon staring back at her.

A smallish dragon, a bit taller than the "adult" version of Envoy, replaces the Child. She reaches up with a delicate claw and plucks a hair out of her mane, which she ties around the handle of the mirror to show that it's been used.

"Please stand back a ways from the pool, Elise," the Dragon says. "There's likely to be some steam, and you don't want to get scalded."

"Eek!" exclaims Elise in surprise as she suddenly finds herself sitting down next to a dragon. She lifts a hand to her chest and takes a few deep breaths. "My life used to be so simple … ," she says quietly.

Elise does indeed stand up on command however, and quickly backs up. "Oh, yes, much more polite. I rather like this form of yours," she comments once away.

"Simplicity leads to stagnation," the Dragon proclaims. "Would you also be so kind as to lend me your sword? If the ice melts, there is always the chance that the wand will instantly refreeze if it isn't removed quickly."

The sword is offered to the dragon. Elise says, "Yes, feel free to use it. We would not want to cause more trouble for ourselves than necessary."

The sword has a metal blade and is of exquisite manufacture. Definitely the weapon of a noble.

Envoy sets the sword down next to her, after moving to the end of the pool farthest from the wand. Crouching down on all fours, she plays her flame across the surface, trying to melt the ice around the artifact from the edges inward.

Meanwhile Elise takes some time to inspect the dragon, rather than the ice. "I have never seen a dragon before. Well, except for in books the nanny used to read me. But those stories never were inclined to favor dragons."

Envoy pauses between breaths to arch an eye-ridge at the cadet. "Despite any resemblance of our current situation to the fantasy stories of your youth, do not depend on them when dealing with myself or other dragons." Then she goes back to melting ice, trying to free a chunk containing the wand.

"Oh, I never intended on mixing fantasy with reality. But I appreciate the advice none the less. The Officers' Academy simply does not speak much of dragons." The poodle woman walks around to behind the Dragon, giving the fire a wide berth. "I suppose following fairy tale adventures are what brought me to this situation."

The ice turns to water, the water turns to steam (which rises toward the high ceiling) … and the wand floats on the puddle of water created.

"Getting hit on the head brought you to this situation," the Dragon comments. "You obviously need to improve your guard." Finally, she reaches out to grab the wand by the handle.

The dragon now has a wand.

Envoy tries tapping the snowflake-shaped tip to the puddle.

The poodle gives an indignant snort. "You should perhaps hear the circumstances first. I had not time to defeat him and do much to save myself. Not that ceasing my attack would have helped. He did kick me down the stairs." She reaches down and picks up her sword, wielding it again.

The puddle freezes into ice once more.

"It appears simple enough to operate," Envoy the Dragon comments, examining the wand for marks. "I did not mean to offend you. There is no dishonor in falling before a superior opponent. Hopefully he is merciful, since he now has your unconscious body at his disposal. One can assume that some object or room around here will allow you to awaken."

"I do not believe I lost. I succeeded in defeating him before the fall. I could not very well fail Sabel. I promised her I would defeat him, for her sake," says the poodle. She shakes her head again and turns to regard the wand. "Nevermind my problems though. I believe we are here to defeat the Seven Sisters? Let's see to that."

Envoy says, "The smaller side rooms are logically next to be explored, before the larger corridor to the east."

"Excellent idea." The poodle woman checks herself first, then walks over and gathers up the mirrors before proceeding to the western side room entrance.

Envoy follows behind the poodle.

After entering the room, Elise breaks off to inspect the walls and their markings. "You are a mage, last I saw. I assume you will have a better time understanding such symbols."

"Obviously a ritual was performed here," the Dragon says, and points to some of the symbols. "Dream Magic, most likely. Beyond that, I cannot say what the purpose of the spell was."

"Do you understand the Eeee language?" asks the cadet as she walks around the room, inspecting the symbols in turn.

Envoy nods. "I understand it, but this is not writing."

After making her rounds of the room Elise stops in front of the exit and gestures out the room. "There is nothing I can understand here, either. Perhaps we should move on. And, oh yes, I was simply asking for future reference."

The Dragon leads the way out, then turns towards the northwest chamber.

Kneeling before the book and table is a Lapi in tattered and patched robes of stained gray. He looks gaunt and hungry, much like Probe, and seems to be eagerly flipping through the pages of the book, silently mouthing words to himself. He pays no heed whatsoever to the fact that he is no longer alone.

Envoy blinks in surprise, the most reaction she's shown so far as Dragon. "Mystico the Magnificent, I presume?" she says to the oblivious Lapi.

Aside to Elise, Envoy whispers, "Try not to look at the pages of the book; it is most likely a magical trap."

The Lapi makes no reaction whatsoever to the greeting. He flips another page.

Beside the Dragon, Elise stands with her sword resting on her shoulder and a hand on her hip. "I take it you know our studious friend?" she asks her before nodding at the whisper.

"A Dream Mage," the Dragon replies. "I have purchased his service in the past. Note how he seems to always be in the middle of the book, no matter how many pages he turns? I believe he is under some sort of compulsive glamour. There is risk, but we should make some attempt to destroy the book and break the spell, I feel."

"Yes, I agree. I see no reason to let him suffer here. Perhaps if we walk up to it with our eyes averted we can close the book, and break the spell?" says Elise as she taps her fingers along her hip.

"I agree about attempting to close the book," Envoy says. "Perhaps you can use your sword to try and flip it closed from a distance?"

A glance at her sword, followed by a confirming nod and the poodle is off to try. She keeps her gaze down at the floor just in front of her feet and makes her way towards the book.

With a careful poking of her sword … and fighting the weight of the book … Elise tries to close it. However … it seems to be too heavy for her to close, with the bad leverage offered by trying to do it at sword tip.

"The book weighs more than I had expected. Perhaps you could burn it with your fire or help me close it?" requests the Gallee, head still lowered.

The Lapi continues to mouth silent words to himself, and flips another page, staring wide-eyed at the arcane writing.

Envoy hmms, and holds out the snowflake-wand. "Perhaps magic will be more efficacious in this matter. Allow me to try and freeze it, as burning might have unwanted side effects on Mystico."

To provide more room, the poodle backs up and turns away from the book. "Perhaps it would. I will stand guard while you try."

Shielding her view of the book with a wingvane, the dragon moves within range, and reaches out to touch the edge of the book with the wand.

A frosty cover soon spreads across the pages. The Lapi reaches to flip a page, but finds it frozen in place. He stubbornly continues trying to turn the page, his eyes still glazed over.

"And if freezing it fails, perhaps shattering it will work," suggests Elise as she watches the door out.

Envoy extends her wing to block Mystico's view. "Can you strike the book without hitting the victim?"

"I can only try. Do be sure to hold his hand still. I am rather certain I can hit a large unmoving book. I am not quite so positive I can avoid his arm if he moves it during a swing," replies Elise. She turns around with her eyes closed grips her sword with both hands. "Point me in the right direction?"

Mystico bats at the wing, trying to push it aside.

Envoy retracts her wing, and tries to hold onto the Lapi's arm.

Despite the Lapi's apparent poor health, the fervor with which he is determined to flip the page makes it next to impossible for Envoy to restrain him effectively.

"Oh, I think I can find it with a bit of arm waving. Being as cold as it is, I should be able to find it." With careful steps Elise moves towards the book and holds her left hand out to feel for the chill of frosted air.

The Dragon steps back, and says, "A bit to your left." Despite the Lapi's resistance, she tries to shield his face at least with her wing.

It looks like Elise is about lined up to take a whack at the book now. It doesn't present any resistance.

Adjusting herself left the poodle locates the book and grips her sword with both hands again. She hefts her sword up and brings it down in a arc.

"Okay, wait for his arm to pull back," Envoy says. "Strike now!"

HACK! Elise's sword smacks into the book, sending pieces of frost flying, and tearing into the pages. Then, sparks fly, and pages tear free of their own accord, bursting into flames!

Envoy hisses, and tries to pull the Lapi away from the conflagration.

Upon connecting, and the resultant fireworks display, Elise quickly backs away from the book. She keeps her sword up and guarding her for some small protection least anything fly at her.

Envoy succeeds in dragging the Lapi away … but in Elise's haste, the poodle manages to trip and stumble, landing flat on her face! This hurts greatly.

The Lapi moans and wails loudly. "NoooOOooooo! I was almost finished reading it! I could UNDERSTAND! NooooOOooo!"

Sparks fly and flaming pieces of paper scatter about … but they soon reduce themselves to smoldering ashes. In a matter of seconds, the excitement has died down to a whimper … the whimper of a pathetic-looking Lapi dream mage.

A painful sounding smack can be heard once Elise hits the floor, followed by the clang of her sword falling from her hand. She doesn't make any effort to move save for pushing her face out of the floor. A loud, prolonged whine can be heard in her direction.

"Get a hold of yourself, Mystico," the Dragon says. "It was a trap, set by Babelite Dream Mages."

"A trap? A … uh … what … where am I?" sputters the Lapi. "And who are y – A dragon?!"

"Despite my current appearance, I am in fact an aspect of the Exile you know as Envoy, who came to you once for help," the Dragon says calmly. "My companion is a cadet of the Rephidim Temple. Albeit she's usually upright and more formidable."

Off where she fell, the poodle continues to whine loudly as she tries to move into a more comfortable position. With a push of her hand she rolls over on her back and promptly grabs her face. "OWW!

"Oh," is all the Lapi has to say.

"I am having a unpleasant week," whimpers the poodle.

The rabbit pinches himself. "Ow."

"I'm afraid this is not your typical magically enhanced dream either," Envoy tells the Lapi Mage, "for it draws some of its substance from the power of Morpheus himself. Do you know of a way to send yourself and Elise back to the waking world?"

The Lapi rubs his head. "I'll … I'll have to work on that, I think. I'm not feeling very clear-headed right now."

"I am rather hungry, though. Do you have anything to eat?" asks the rabbit."

Slowly the poodle staggers back to her feet. A hand remains held to her face, partially hiding the pained look on her face. She walks over and picks up her sword before making her way to the others. "I am not leaving," she says, without whimpering.

Envoy turns to Elise, and suggests, "Let us retire to the pool, so that Mystico can gather himself. Perhaps he can decipher the remains of the ritual we found. In the meantime, there is still the northeast chamber to explore."

"I cannot say I am looking forward to giving reality, whatever reality we may be in, another chance to impact my face … but I will not give up now," replies Elise. She tries to stand up straight again and grips her blade a bit tighter. "Let us be off then."

Envoy sighs and helps Mystico to the pool, taking a moment to melt the water that she refroze earlier.

The cadet follows, hand still clasped to her face. "I do believe when I get back to … well, to the real world, I am going to invest in a sturdy helmet."

The Lapi's ears shoot straight up and stay that way for a while at the sight of the fiery conflagration created by the Dragon in order to accomplish that feat. One of his feet nervously drums the floor. "N-nice … tr-trick," he stammers.

"It is not a trick," the Dragon replies, and joins Elise at the entrance of the third chamber.

"She can pick another form if you would feel more comfortable," notes Elise once she reaches the entrance to the third chamber. She finally drops her hand, and in doing so reveals a pinkened face caused by very sore skin. "Pardon my whining. I am not quite used to being beaten on so."

Envoy gestures to the trunk, and says to the Gallee, "A certain amount of maiming is to be expected when choosing a warrior profession. Your sword does, at least, provide a convenient way of opening old chests however."

"I am afraid it chose me, actually," mentions the poodle as she wanders over towards the chest. She pauses in front of it and tilts her head, considering. "Perhaps it is booby trapped?"

"That is always a possibility," Envoy agrees, "but your sword, fine as it is, is still the most expendable member of our group."

The sword is lifted, and almost thrust into the space between the lid and the body of the box, but is quickly stopped. Elise takes a step back and lifts the sword towards the light and just stares at it, eyes wide. "I … I won … "

From the next room, there is a sound like the strumming of a lute.

Envoy sticks her head back out into the main chamber. "Mystico, is that you?"

"No!" says the foppish fox, who suddenly leaps out in front of the poodle and the Dragon. "It is I!" He strums his lute again, then starts singing…

"Victory, oh victory!"

"Nicer than a piece of hickory!"

"She's the winner poodle,"

The blade is lowered and inspected carefully before it isquickly wiped off. The cleaning is cut short however, when the fox arrives. Elise turns to face him and listens.

"So give her some apple strudel,"

"She's the fastest draw,"

"So go ahead and give it all!"

"Victory, oh victory!"

"Even though that doggie kicked her-ee!"

"Let's hear it for Elise,"

"And once more then if you please,"

"For she's the greatest sword-swinging poodle of alllllllll!"

The fox then bows. "Thank you! Thank you one and all! You are a lovely audience! You are too kind!"

Envoy stares at the fox. "Would you please come over here and open a nice treasure chest for us?"

The Lapi, sitting by the pool, just stares, dumbfounded at the fox. "Where did he come from?"

The fox looks to Envoy. "Oh! Certainly. That's easy." He skips and leaps into the chamber and over to the box.

Envoy glances towards Mystico, and says, "There are some things better left unknown."

The fox peers at the trunk from every direction, sniffs at it several times, and ponders, going "Hmmmm… " several times.

Then, he cracks his knuckles and takes a deep breath.

The fox then carefully reaches for the trunk…

The poodle can be seen to blush faintly. Indeed, considering her face was already pinkened from the fall this might be impossible, except her ears redden too. "Well, you see, he seems to pop in and out of existence here. And, well, this is the Sword of the First Ones. I cannot very well put it in danger. I am shocked I did not realize I was carrying it before."

The fox then pops the lid open. It was unlocked. "There you go! That will be one peck on the cheek from each of you."

The fox looks toward the Lapi. "Dream mages excluded."

The Lapi sighs, looking relieved.

Envoy arches an eye-ridge at the fox. "You never seemed fond of the attentions of dragons, or ki'rin either, from what I remember."

This request doesn't help to relive the poodle's blushing any. Quickly she makes her way over to the chest in an effort to look too busy for such things.

The fox frowns, looking hurt. "This is a dream! Oh bother! Fine, fine, be that way."

Meanwhile, Elise finds that the chest contains a couple of bone scroll cases, a vial of milky liquid, and some folded up robes. Amazing that they're not rotted. Well, maybe not that amazing, all things considered…

"I suppose so … " says the poodle from near the fox, her ears still red. "It is a dream. But if it is not such that important I would like to note I found some things inside of this box."

Envoy looks into the box as well. "The accoutrements of a Dream Mage, perhaps? Mystico might recognize them."

"Oh, fine. Just see if I help you open another possibly booby-trapped chest again, hmm?" says the fox, crossing his arms. "Oh, by the way … I got it confirmed. I did mix up your hint songs. I'll try to be more careful next time. Ta ta!" With that, he bounds away, disappearing with a swish of his vulpine tail.

"Perhaps so. I would not know. But, let us call him in." The poodle turns away from the box and towards the exit. "Would you come here? We have some items we would like you to inspect." She then turns towards where the fox vanished and folds her arms. "Well, I did not object to it. Oh, bother. Nevermind!"

Envoy plucks out the vial of liquid and examines it more closely.

The Lapi walks in, wiping his mouth. "Bah. I drink water and I'm still thirsty. I must be dehydrated back in the real world. Hmm. Looks like dream mage robes. And a couple of scroll cases. And a vial of some sort of potion."

"It could be a healing potion," the Dragon says, looking towards Elise. "Do you want to try it on your cut?"

After staring off into the direction the fox vanished, the poodle turns around and examines the potion. "Is that wise? It may very well cause me to burst into flames as well."

"I doubt that greatly," Envoy says. "It is your choice however." She then dips into the chest to open one of the scroll cases.

The parchment slides out of the case, still intact, even though logic would dictate that it should have crumbled to dust, if it were of comparable age to the rest of the surroundings.

Elise reaches over and picks up the potion, holding it to the light. She studies it carefully. "Perhaps it causes one to wake from this place? I certainly do not know, and I believe I will leave any testing to emergencies." The bottle is then carefully put in the pouch with the mirrors before the Gallee looks down to study what else may be pulled out.

Unrolled, the scroll appears to be an invocation of some sort, a call for a fiery conflagration. The nature of the writing, however, does not seem to conform to any known manner of invoking a spell of, say, the Sphere of Fire. "Magic scrolls," as such, just aren't to be found in Sinai, so far as Envoy's training tells her.

Envoy hands the scroll to Mystico, having memorized it. "I think it is some sort of End of the World myth or prayer."

Envoy takes out the next scroll case, and opens it as well.

"Lovely taste in reading, these mages had," says Elise before she peers into the box for what else may be in there. "I wonder if where we are reflects an actual location in the real world."

"The conditions aboveground appear to indicate the as yet officially unnamed outer world of the Primus system," Envoy says.

The next scroll that Envoy opens up reveals a similar invocation, this one calling upon the power of earth to reshape itself at the bidding of the caster. And, once again, it doesn't appear to have the components of a true ritual involved at all.

Elise's further examination yields nothing further than therobes, the vial, and the bone scroll-cases.

The dragon ponders. "Perhaps these invocations do work as magic in this realm."

Envoy unfolds the robe next, holding it up to see if it will fit Mystico.

The cadet simply shakes her head before reaching in and pulling out the last items to lay on the floor. "Perhaps. But I would think uttering their magic might put us in danger. We would not want to end the world we stand on now."

The robe looks as if it's cut to fit an Eeee … someone a bit taller and less plump than Mystico.

"I wonder how long we have before the mage responsible for this area returns," Envoy says. "Mystico, would you be so kind as to render your opinion on the remains of an apparent dream ritual in one of the chambers?"

"A dream ritual?" The Lapi looks around. "Oh! In here, you mean… " He wanders into the chamber and starts inspecting the inscriptions, his nose wiggling as he thinks.

Having retrieved the items and set them out, the poodle gets to her feet and peers down the chamber towards the large room off from it. "I do believe I am going to see what we have off in that direction. Care to accompany me?"

Envoy nods to the poodle, and asks the Lapi if he'll be alright by himself to study the runes and inscriptions.

The Lapi looks back at Envoy. "This … this is all utter nonsense. It's like someone knew just a smattering of what magic script looks like … and then scribbled a bunch of it for effect."

The poodle pauses at the entrance to the next room and tilts her head as she listens to what the Lapi has to say. "Were this world created by Eeee of powerful magic, would they not be able to create a true script without need to simply make something up?"

"As if a non-dream mage created this place, perhaps?" Envoy asks. "Let us follow Elise down the eastern corridor."

The Lapi nods and follows along.

Once the poodle sees the others following, and the light cast by the torch, she makes her way forward to the east.

The corridor to the east is a bit more regular and straight than the diagonal tunnel that was taken to get here. But it ends suddenly at a brick wall.

Once again, the Exile-Dragon uses the torch to check for any hidden air flows.

And once again, she finds them. It would seem that this irregular brick wall is none other than yet another secret door. A loose block to one side appears to have something to do with the locking mechanism, perhaps.

Envoy examines the ceiling as well, in case there's a deadfall trap hidden there. "Can you hear anything beyond the wall, Mystico?"

"Hmmm … sounds like torches burning on the other side," says the rabbit, his ears perking.

The ceiling doesn't appear to be hiding any sort of nasty surprises.

The poodle woman allows the Dragon plenty of space to search for any hidden passages. While doing so, she polishes that sword of hers again. "Envoy, did that fox sing you a song when you arrived?"

Envoy nods, "Yes, he did. About a brave sword-wielding hero who was in need of help after attempting a noble deed. I'm going to try this loose brick, so you both might want to step back, just in case."

The Lapi takes several steps back, needing no further prompting.

"They certainly are flattering in these dream worlds," mentions Elise as she takes a few steps back. "I had no idea anyone regarded me of all people as a hero."

Envoy tries pushing on the key brick. "Dreams are supposed to be somewhat egocentric in nature."

There's a grinding of stone, and then the brick-wall door pops slightly ajar. It appears to swivel down the middle, just as did the secret door next to the stairway exit. With a little push, it should rotate open far enough to allow passage on either side.

Envoy pushes in on one side of the door.

The door rotates, revealing …

A big of a smile crosses the poodle's face and she inclines her head some. "Not that I am free of ego. I like being thought of that way, but Sabel deserves much more credit than I. Being so loyal despite putting up with that man." She steps forward and into the temple, sword ready.

Nothing seems ready to spring on the poodle. It's just a half-buried temple room, minus the idols that used to be in the alcoves, and with some flickering torches set on the walls … nevermind the fact that torches would eventually burn down without someone to replace them and re-light them.

Envoy hmms, "I'm afraid this is where I came in. Perhaps there are more secret doors we haven't found, otherwise the only access would seem to be the stairway."

"Did we miss any other rooms back there?" asks the poodle of those behind her.

"I didn't notice anything," says the Lapi.

Elise walks into the room further and turns around to face the others. "Well, this is an Eeee temple to the Seven Sisters. Perhaps somehow, we get their attention right here, yes?"

"Either that, or is there a way out of this place?" asks the Lapi, as he steps timidly in and walks around.

"We could just as well take Mystico back around through the other tunnel, and up to the surface," Envoy suggests. "It would not be wise to 'get their attention' until we are truly ready to face them."

"Oh, I was not suggesting getting their attention right now, but if we indeed had to, this is where I would suspect we do it. Perhaps the statues we gathered have something to do with it." A few steps towards the altar and the Gallee pauses again. "I arrived on the island above. I did not see any exit but a vast expanse of sea seemingly without end. I do not know if there is an exit there."

"Getting Mystico out of here may be the key," the dragon suggests.

Elise nods and gestures towards the way the party came. "Then let us do just that."

The Lapi just looks back and forth between the poodle and the dragon.

Envoy leads the way back with the torch, then down the tunnel towards the first secret door they found.

The poodle walks along beside the Dragon, sword ready, if held back a bit protectively.

At last, the group makes it back to the stairway leading out of the tunnels. It's still night outside.

"If this really is Quicksilver," Envoy speculates, "Then it may never see daylight, being so far from Primus."

At the top of the stairs, a fox tail hangs down over the doorway, swishing back and forth.

The poodle glances towards Envoy as she walks. "Quicksilver? I heard only mention of that planet in geography class. It is such a new planet it was never reviewed before recently." She turns back to look forward and notes the fox just ahead of her. "We meet again, fox. Do you have something to tell us?"

The fox peeks down from his rocky perch. "Ohhhh! You have rescued the trapped dream mage! Congratulations!" He pulls a kazoo from out of his frilly shirt and blows on it. "FWEEEEET!"

The fox says, "This calls for a song!"

The fox strums his lute, smiling widely…

"Envoy and Elise, they rescued the rabbit,"

"By finding and breaking his bookworm habit!"

"By bringing the rabbit back out of the trap,"

"They've saved the day … so let's all clap!"

The fox stops playing his lute, and applauds Envoy and Elise. "Way to go! The boss will be quite happy when he hears this."

The Lapi just wrinkles his nose. "Does he get paid to come up with lyrics like that?"

Everything seems to be getting a little more fuzzy and indistinct.

Envoy says, "The world is not that irrational, thankfully. Do give my regards to Morpheus, Victor."

"Boss?" asks the poodle of the fox. She glances off towards the Lapi and shakes her head. "I could certainly hope not."

"Ta ta! See you again sometime! Seems there are a few more snoozing dream mages that need rescuing! Bon voyage!" The fox fades away. The Lapi does, too. The surroundings are being swallowed up by the mist.

As the world fades, Elise makes the sign of the Star and Anchor across her chest. "I am happy to help you. If you need me again, well … I suppose I will not give up now."

Envoy whispers, "Out of the frying pan… " as her form returns to normal, even as it fades out.