A cool breeze ruffles the hair of a poodle noblewoman clad in Templar armor, warm sunlight making the chitin gleam. Nearby a humanoid dragon sits on a park bench, while all around them Eeee stroll and flit, making the two seem out of place in the bright park.

"Armor again?" Envoy, in her dragon aspect, asks the poodle. "It makes you look conspicuous."

"We will need to find suitable games," comments Elise. She turns toward the dragon before lifting the hood of her cloak up and over her head. "I exist here as I do in life. I suppose I am conspicuous, but rather that than falling to the danger of becoming something one is not."

Envoy arches an eyeridge, but doesn't comment for a moment. "Well, you've been this way before. Have you discovered which contests will gain us access to the higher levels of this realm?"

The armored poodle turns to regard the assorted buildings and games set before them. "No. I have not had time to review them, given recent problems and distractions. We should do so now least something else draw us away from our duties."

As conspicuous as the poodle and dragon seem to be, none ofthe passersby pay them any attention. Only a bat wearing a white flat-brimmed hat with a red band watches them, as he sits at a counter just inside the open doors of one of the ornamented buildings.

"You're sounding odder than usual," the dragon says as she gets up. "I approve. Is there anybody we can get information from around here?"

"Hm." The snow-white poodle gestures toward the man at the building, then toward another man in a booth she had stopped at in a previous dream. "Those would be the obvious choices. But one I find irritating, and the other seems much too interested. My opinion of this place is that the most obvious and alluring choices seem to always lead to distraction."

The Eeee watching them smiles privately, tilting the brim of his down to shade his eyes. Their surroundings feature a number of distractions, demonstrated as a car comes rattling past on the nearby suspended track, Eeee passengers squealing in high pitched glee. The buildings have marquees advertising various shows and performances – dramas, comedies, operas, ballets, and other feats.

Envoy shrugs. "It only matters that it gets us where we want to go." She approaches the white-hatted Eeee, and asks, "What are you offering, and will it get us closer to meeting Inala?"

Elise inclines her head, slightly acknowledging Envoy's point. She then turns and follows the dragon over to the hat-wearing Eeee standing not far away.

At her approach, the Eeee leans back on his stool, his hands wrapped around the handle of a cane in front of him, for balance. "What am I offering?" he asks, with a look of wide-eyed innocence on his face. "I am merely here to keep people from getting lost," he confides. "This way leads back to the carnival, and we wouldn't people straying back there by mistake, now, would we?"

"No, we certainly would not. This would then be the Hall of Mirrors?" asks Elise.

"Well, we need to see the Goddess," Envoy explains. "Which… attraction will get us closer to this goal?"

The barker's eyes flick to the poodle, and his smile flickers for a moment, darkening, then he returns his attention to the dragon. "Ah! Well. There are many paths that lead to the Goddess, although that doesn't mean you'll get there by following them. Tell me, lady, what's your pleasure?" He leans forward, smiling again.

Meanwhile, the Templar folds her hands across her chest. She doesn't say anything for the time being, instead letting the dragon speak while she regards the man and his answers carefully.

The dragon blinks. "Pleasure? I just want to reach Inala. I don't have to enjoy the process."

The bat blinks once, then rocks back on his stool, laughing. He tries to stop, but fails, instead shaking his head as he lifts a hand from his cane to cover his mouth, still laughing.

Envoy frowns, and looks to Elise. "Why do people do that when I answer their questions?"

"This is the realm of Inala, Goddess of Pleasure. Perhaps he means that to reach the goddess, you must first take an interest in her portfolio. Many paths lead to pleasure … many paths lead to the Goddess, am I correct?" inquires the poodle of the laughing man.

Elise smiles faintly toward the dragon. "I would imagine they find your lack of understanding amusing. Though," she eyes the man, "they do seem to take 'pleasure' in watching another feel uncomfortable."

Swallowing a few chuckles as he tries to control himself, the barker nods to the canine, tears leaking from his eyes as he wipes at them, shifting his wings while he attempts to still his mirth.

Envoy hmms, and turns again to Elise. "You're a noble. You know all about decadence and debauchery then, so what do you advise?"

The armored poodle taps a finger along her chitin covered arm and frowns at the dragon's comment. Still, she answers anyway. "Perhaps you may wish to find a form that knows pleasure? As you are, you are too serious. Inala is the goddess of pleasure. I can only imagine that to reach her you must follow her path, and that is enjoyment."

As his laughter at last dies down, the barker straightens his jacket and hat, settling his hands once more over the top of his cane while he watches the pair with some semblance of decorum.

Envoy nods, and goes through her collection of mirrors in search of the Child.

The first mirror the dragon looks into reflects the shifting form of the Father, and before she can look away, Envoy has assumed that semblance, a gigantic, almost monstrous form with a unicorn's head, a flaming mane, great batwings, and bird-like taloned hands.

"Am I having fun yet?" the figure asks Elise.

Lady de Bellefeuille takes a few steps backwards to distance herself from the gigantic figure. As she looks up, her hood falls back from her face. "I think not," she answers.

Rather nervously, the barker slips off his stool and circles around behind it to put some space between himself and Envoy's present incarnation.

Envoy tries the next mirror.

The poodle levels her gaze and gestures at the barker. "I do believe at this rate he will be having little fun, either. Though," she taps her armor thoughtfully, "now that I consider it, I am finding that amusing. Perhaps this may bring us a step closer to Inala." She smiles slightly.

As she looks into the glass, the Black Father's form contorts and shrinks down on itself, becoming grotesquely thin, black wings sprouting gold feathers while her head turns white, the skin pulling taut against the skull, eyes bulging out, nostrils flared, ears oversized and swiveling.

The Probe-aspect's gaze flits about, until she finds the barker and stares at him for a bit to see if he will do anything interesting.

"Oh my. No, that is most hideous," says Elise with a tone of disapproval. She shakes her head for a moment before stepping back to where she had been earlier.

The barker's own ears pivot backwards under the Probe's unblinking gaze, and his nose twitches involuntarily. He darts a glance to the poodle, then clears his throat and resumes his seat on the stool with feigned nonchalance.

"Hideous where?" Envoy asks in a monotone, and starts looking around again for the hideous thing Elise must have seen.

The Eeee busies himself, straightening his bow tie and adjusting the brim of his hat, not looking at his two visitors.

The poodle lifts a hand and half-heartedly points it at Envoy. "Have you any games of note, perhaps?" she asks the barker. "Also my dear assistant is rather the curious sort. She would be most interested in hearing that you can answer any of her questions."

"Brains," mutters the probe.

Elise waves the hand she had been using to point earlier. "You see? She is interested in … oh, hm … brains. I suppose that is a start. Have you a game that is of interest to the mind?" she asks the man.

"Games, my lady?" The barker inquires innocuously. "All sorts, really. There's card games and games of chance at the Wishes, just down the block, and there's the racetrack if you like that sort of game. There'll be a Miles Mortant a ways down the mountainside this evening, and a dance contest in the afternoon… " He pauses in his list at the new query.

"Mind games, my lady?" the Eeee repeats, after a moment.

The poodle nods. "Yes, mind games. Surely you have mind games." The poodle's expression darkens. "Of the sort where puzzles and riddles might be found, of course."

Envoy stares at the Eeee again, as if mentally measuring his skull. "What are games of chance? How can tracks race? What are cards? How do you attract ducks?"

Caught off-guard by Envoy's rapid fire queries, the barker begins answering those rather than addressing Elise's. "Games relying on luck more than skill, the tracks don't race but animals race on them, cards are a tool used in many games, and … ah … I don't know how to attract ducks." He scratches his head, looking puzzled.

Elise repeats herself, "Have you games of the mind? Puzzles, riddles, and the like? A place where my assistant might direct her insatiable curiosity and keen intellect?"

The Probe loses interest in the Eeee suddenly and examines Elise's shoes.

The barker lifts his hat and smoothes his headfur with his other hand once, then replaces it. He looks to Elise. "Ah … mind games." He seems to be having a hard time formulating a response to this, but finally he says, "I think there's a riddler on the far side of The Park."

"Can he attract ducks?" Envoy asks, looking back at the Eeee again.

"Very well then, we bid you adieu." The white poodle nods to the man formally before reaching up and pulling her hood over her head again. She holds out a hand to Envoy and beckons her to take it. "Come, we will discover if he can attract ducks."

"Er. Maybe?" the Eeee volunteers.

Envoy stares at Elise's hand for a moment before realizing she is supposed to hold it. She takes the poodle's hand, but shifts her grip every few seconds when she gets bored of the old one.

Lade de Bellefeuille begins leading Envoy off toward the far side of the park. Her muzzle quirks every so often when the Exile changes grip, but any further display of annoyance is hidden by the shadows that cover her face.

For her part, Envoy manages not to trip or lag behind despite looking everywhere but where she is walking.

The trip provides plenty in the way of visual distractions, leading past the racetrack where Eeee riders soothe nervous Drokars, and a flock of gaily dressed bats mill around one square where a sign proclaims the dance contest to begin. The scents of a multitude of savory foods, both familiar and otherwise, range all around them as they walk.

Envoy seems happy, having lots to keep her stimulated. She even smiles, in a gruesome rictus sort of way.

At last they arrive at a square where an Eeee with charcoal-grey fur, dressed in motley, juggles six colorful balls, making circles of three using each hand. No crowd watches him perform, however, though he seems to entertain himself.

Elise tries to keep a firm grip on Envoy's hand lest she be too distracted and wander off. "Would you be so kind as to show me that bag you are carrying, that holds the mirrors? You will find something most unusual if you look into them as well. So do feel inclined to take a peak," she says.

The Probe looks down and notices the mirrors again, and looks at one with curiosity.

The mirror shows the Probe's reflection, haggard face and gaunt, staring eyes.

Envoy practices smiling some more.

The Templar glances at Envoy for a moment. "That one shows you what you know. The rest show you what you are not now. Something new," she tells her. She then looks off toward the juggler and regards him for the moment.

Nodding, the Probe tries a different mirror, still smiling.

As the Aeolun attempts to smile, a couple of passing Eeee shiver and hurry elsewhere. The juggler switches to a back-and-forth pattern with the balls, adding a couple of more to the mix.

The next mirror shrinks the Probe further, leaving her child-sized but considerably healthier-looking.

Envoy blinks and puts away the mirrors, then oooos at the juggler!

At the oooing from the child, the juggler looks away from his balls to smile at her. He seamlessly switches the pattern again, now throwing eight balls, each a different color, in a large circle before and above him.

The woman who covers her face under a hood kneels down next to the child and points at the juggler with her free hand. "How do you like riddles, little one?" she inquires.

The little Aeolun bobs her head. "I like riddles!"

"Me too," the juggler interjects. He seems to have ten balls now, and is juggling five in separate circles in each hand.

"How long did you have to practice before you could juggle like that, mister?" Envoy asks, sitting in the grass. "Can you juggle flaming swords or poisoned daggers?"

"A long time, yes, and yes," the bat answers. The separate juggling circles twine together, making a dancing figure eight in the air before the entertainer.

"Well then, this man has a riddle for you. I will assist you as I can … but, I was rather hoping the riddler was someone else. An … old dance partner of mine. I fear I am a much better dancer in his presence than I am a riddler." The armored poodle stays kneeling, not wishing to lower herself further to the ground.

Envoy looks over Elise's armor. "You can dance in that?"

"Oh," the woman smiles, "I suppose I could. But I cannot dance alone, after all. And you really should ask this man about his riddles. If you can win in a game with him, we can get closer to meeting the Goddess."

The juggler grins as he follows Envoy's gaze to the suit of armor. "That must take a lot of practice, too," he confides.

"Oh!" Envoy squeals, "Elise is a noble, she prolly has to go to all sorts of parties and dances and stuff when she isn't killing people. I'd like to hear a riddle!"

The white poodle quirks casting a expression that is a cross between bewildered and amused. She laughs softly before turning her attention again to the riddler. "She is very good with riddles," she tells him.

"All right," the juggler answers gamely. The number of balls he keeps airborne dwindles to six. "Let's see – how about this one: "When it's hot, I soar, when it's cool, I run, and when it's cold I stand still. What am I?"

"Water!" Envoy says, smiling. "When it's hot it evaporates and forms clouds, when it's cool runs as a liquid, and when it's cold it turns to ice!"

The bat smiles. "Very good! Now, do you have a riddle for me?"

"May I?" asks Elise of Envoy.

Envoy blinks and nods to Elise. "Sure!"

The juggler slides another ball into the air as he turns to watch the poodle instead, his expression attentive as the balls form a double rainbow arch, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple.

Elise releases Envoy's hand so that she may clasp her hands together. "Thank you, Envoy. Now, this might be a touch grim, but it is a riddle none the less. I am present at the funeral, yet I did not know those who passed. I remember the dead, yet I never knew them. I speak to those who had lost their loved ones and comfort them with my words when they mourn. Who am I?"

"A priest," the juggler replies, slipping the indigo ball into a pocket without breaking the flow of the rest. "He gives the service even for strangers, tells the stories that have been given to him, and offers comfort from the gods to those who remain."

Envoy blinks a bit. "I thought it would be a tombstone."

Elise reaches over and taps Envoy's head gently. "I believe our young Exile knew the answer," she says.

Envoy smiles proudly!

"An answer's the one that fits, isn't it?" the juggler asks, as if asking another riddle. "Is there only one right answer to everything?"

"No, and there is truth to your answer as well. I will concede it would also fit the riddle," answers Elise. She glances at the Exile child and nods to her. "Do you have a riddle for him?"

Envoy scratches her cheek in thought…

"What may go up a chimney down but cannot go down a chimney up?" the little Aeolun finally asks.

"Smoke goes up the chimney down, but it cannot go back down," the juggler answers. The indigo ball has returned to flock before him.

Envoy blinks. "I was thinking of a noblewoman's parasol. It will fit up the chimney if it's closed down, but can't go down the chimney if it's opened up."

The juggler chuckles and gives a bow, catching his balls as they fall, one by one. When he lifts from the bow, he has caught them all. "I concede the game, little one, as my answer scarcely addressed the final 'up.'" He grins.

Elise glances at Envoy. "I do believe you have won. A fine performance." She smiles at her again.

Envoy goes back to watching the colorful balls. "Oh? What do I win?"

"Well… let me see… " The balls flicker in his hands, the yellow one folding in on itself, transforming into a dagger whose tip gleams. "A poisoned dagger?" he offers, a bit bemusedly. In his other hand, the red one unfolds and sprouts a sword, flames licking along one edge. "A flaming sword?"

Envoy ooos, and looks to Elise as if asking for permission to take one…

At about the same time Elise turns to Envoy and shakes her head. "You are most certainly not allowed to have a flaming sword or a poisoned dagger. Such objects are not for children," she tells her with a much more gentle tone of disapproval.

"If I was an Eeee I bet I could have one," Envoy pouts.

"Well … maybe not," the juggler concedes. He begins flipping the flaming sword and dagger into the air, using his left hand to keep them aloft. With his right, he flickers the blue and green balls. "A pair of tickets to ride the Winged Drokar?" he offers.

Envoy looks to Elise again and smiles hopefully.

The snow-white poodle shifts her head to peer at the juggler. "And just where does the Winged Drokar fly?" she asks him.

The tickets gleam like gold in the juggler's hand, as he scissors them together while the weapons continue to be caught and flown with his free hand. "That depends on where you want to fly him, m'lady," he answers. "But you can take him further up the mountain, or further down."

"That will most certainly do." With a bit of pushing, Elise rises to her feet and offers one hand out to Envoy while she holds the other out to accept the tickets. "Rather like a childhood fantasy, flying Drokars. Yes this will be interesting."

"Up, up, and away!" Envoy chimes, and flaps her wings. She doesn't go anywhere though, since Elise is holding onto her.

The bat smiles as Elise deems the tickets acceptable, but as she moves to take them, he performs and acrobatic spin away, then turns flip to land before the young Aeolun. "Your prize, child," he tells her, while the dagger and sword thunk, point first, into the ground where he had been standing.

Envoy holds out her free hand for tickets, grinning ear to ear. "Thank you! You could be a good assassin I bet! Or maybe even a bartender!"

Lady de Bellefeuille's hand closes empty handed in the air. She lets it fall to her side as the man hands over the tickets to the child, though her mildly amused expression doesn't change at all despite the juggler's antics.

The bat grins and winks to the child, then delivers a short bow to both, before resuming his juggling, now with just four balls.

"A flying Drokar," Envoy marvels. "It'll be like riding on a dragon again! Only smaller and with a more exotic odor I guess."

"It will be like riding a Drokar, that flies. Though I would hope this one does not leave me stranded on a cloud as the other left me stranded in a forest." She reaches up and adjusts her hood again and nods. "Now, where do we find these Flying Drokar rides?" she asks.

A cool breeze blows through the square, empty now save for the child and the noble poodle. The sun hangs low on the horizon, and the juggler is nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe the dancing people know where it is?" Envoy suggests.

"Perhaps they do indeed. Come, let us query them should they be free to answer." The poodle turns toward where she recalls they were gathering and begins off that way, holding the Exile's hand.

Skipping along, Envoy asks, "Why do you need a partner to dance? Is it some mushy romantic thing?"

Four couples of aerial dancers perform sophisticatedroutines well above the square, while a crowd, many of whom were evidently former participants judging by their breathless, tired state, watches from the benches and rooftops around the area.

"Well … " The woman lowers her head slightly, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. She blushes a tinge too. "Ah, I cannot help but think my mother would find this situation amusing. Well, yes. I would say it is a 'mushy romantic thing', also that proper dance, not what you might see amongst some others, requires a partner. It is tradition and it is necessary for the dance to appear correct."

"Does your partner wear armor too then?" Envoy asks, innocently. "Or does he just have really thick skin?"

As earlier, although incongruous to the setting, the winged child and armored poodle attract no additional attention from the crowd, whose eyes are riveted on the performers. One of the couples falters as they go through a move, drawing a collective sigh from the audience.

"We do not dress in armor during a dance. We attend, usually, in formal clothing such as a ball gown. The men attend in suits of various sorts," answers the Gallee. She looks up toward the dancers and smiles a little. "I too danced here, once. And I most certainly was dressed for the occasion."

Envoy looks up at the dancers, and asks, "And you didn't worry about people looking up your ball dress?"

The little Aeolun notes that none of the dancers here wear dresses.

Elise's tail flicks. "Well, I do not fly, obviously. And the Eeee tend to wear different clothing than those of us without wings," she replies.

"Oh," Envoy says, not understanding how Elise could dance on the ground while her partner was airborne, but deciding not to press further. "Remember, we want to find the Flying Drokar ride."

Elise squeezes Envoy's hand a bit. "Mm, yes, I remember. But your questions are very distracting. I can only imagine if I was the same way when I was little." She smiles again before turning to one of the spectators. "Would you happen to know where we might find the Flying Drokar rides?"

The Eeee turns to look at the questioner, and wrinkles her nose in distaste before she shakes her head and returns her attention to the dancers. One pair does a fast triple loop, and the crowd oooos appreciatively.

The Aeolun swishes her tail, and waits for the dancers torun out of strength, or crash into each other at least.

"Mm, this may not be the sort we should ask about such things," mentions Elise to the Exile. After nodding to the woman she just asked, she searches the crowd for someone who looks a bit more helpful.

The dancers show no signs of crashing into each other, much to Envoy's disappointment, although the couple that staggered does give up and land near an Eeee holding a cane, and wearing a flat-brimmed hat. They exchange a few words and he makes a note on a pad before them, then turns his gaze to the Exile and the poodle.

Elise lifts her head to regard the man more fully. After glancing to the child next to her she begins walking toward the man. "Well there he is. Come, I am certain he will know where we can find this ride."

Envoy skips alongside the poodle. "Maybe I should learn how to dance like an Eeee someday."

"That … is a wonderful idea, dear," comments Elise to Envoy as she walks.

The barker watches the pair approach, a slight smile on his face, and as they stand before him, he executes a short bow. "How may I help you? It's a bit late for this round of the competition, I fear."

When the pair arrives, Elise nods to the man and then gestures to the child. "We have acquired a pair of tickets to ride the Flying Drokar ride. Might you know where we can find it?"

The barker starts to speak, then pauses, frowning at the poodle. After a moment of silence, he answers, "The Flying Drokar is at the end of the tram ride," he answers. "You just take it." He points to the lattice-work steel rail which a car rattles down along a few dozen yards away. As they watch, the car goes through an upside-down loop in the track, then continues. "Boarding station's over there," he finishes, pointing.

"Are we allowed to throw things out of the cars?" Envoy asks, smiling.

"Yes," the Eeee replies, smiling. He notes something down in his pad, then produces a piece of wax-wrapped candy and offers it to the girl.

Envoy ooos and starts chewing on the wax.

Elise follows the car for a distance before reaching up and rubbing her head as if suddenly pained. "I … mm, yes. The tram … " She rubs her head a bit more. "You were to say something? Your reaction was unusual."

The barker notes something else down on his pad, watching the three remaining couples, then glances back to Elise. "Me? No, I'm done." He bestows another approving smile on the wax-eating child before returning his attention to the dancers.

"Very well then, come Envoy. We have another test to overcome." The poodle turns and begins walking, though she pauses to make sure Envoy is tagging along.

"Test?" Envoy asks, one cheek bulging where she's sucking on her candy.

The armored Gallee nods. "Well, fun for you. A test for me. That contraption looks quite disturbing."

"It's like one of those trains that the Titanians make, isn't it?" Envoy asks.

As the snow-white poodles follows the tram toward the boarding station she nods slightly. "Let us hope this one is more sturdy, though. I am certain you will enjoy yourself no matter what though – which I must admit will help us reach the Goddess," she answers.

Envoy nods and smiles, then suddenly frowns. "Too bad we don't have any water balloons to take along though."