:: Moira exchanges a long glance at Angelina hoping for some indication of her thoughts on the matter. Taking a deep breath, Moira shifts her attention back to the androgenous beauty. ::

"How long would you accompany me and would you simply be there to observe?"

Questers
He laughs at Moira's question. "It would appear that the journey has left you seasoned. I intend no harm to your place of existence. I simply..............desire to see how things have changed. What new madness your kind have afflicted upon yourselves. My sister tells me the insanity of your breed has spread far across your lands. I would just need to travel with you back from this quest so as to the time, it would all depend on how long it takes for you to return from here."

:: Moira smiles to herself as the words she had long forgotten return to her in this strange time of need. ::

"Then, with harm to none, so mote it be."

"I must warn you mistress, the shell which carries you may be hunted. My kind destroys that which it believes is too powerful or dangerous."

Shiver cautions his mistress.

"If perhaps you chose one of us who truly loves you, one who was strong enough to defend against such attacks."

Questers
The figure turns towards the aged troll, her face alight with curiousity. "Tell me more of these people, the ones that would hunt me and mine."

"Their purpose is to protect humanity from themselves and the supernatural threats of the Sixth World. A small organization, they are all highly trained in combat and magic. Weaps keeps them very well equipped to handle anything that comes their way."

Questers
She turns back to Moira a small smile on her lips. "Our bargain does not cover what people do to you because of me so take care. I think our bargain has been struck then before I tell you what hunts your companion through our realms, I would know your decision concerning your friend." She nods her head in the direction of Paladin.

"Perhaps we should ask him,

"Paladin would you care for a kiss from our mistress? The cost may be a burden carried with you well past these beautiful lands, as the rest of us who led the way from the gallery now know. Surely it is a small price to pay for the gentle touch of our mistress' lips upon your flesh."

Murrey
Onna watches with cautious interest as the drones scurry around the bumper of the van making the minor repairs needed after the brief battle. She seems to return to her business of sitting and sipping tea with the small white fox.

Bakatare seems to come to an abrupt decision, rising and leaning the retrieving his staff, leaning it against his shoulder.

"Regardless of his choice, I won't be leaving," he says deliberately, looking at both Moira and Angelina as if daring them to contradict his choice.

:: Moira had actually anticipated this, and decided to use her bargain as a way to convince him otherwise. Stepping close to her friend, she spoke softly. ::

"Your Mistress will be coming with us, so there is no reason for you to remain behind here alone. I am certain she would want you to accompany us all from this realm and to the next."

Bakatare turns, glancing at the shifting and amorphous features of the figure standing next to him, obviously seeing something other then the truth.

"Is this true? Would you prefer me to move with you back into the realm of Man?"

Questers
Paladin rises with a look of complete peace cast over his features. He seems relaxed for the first time, all the tension in his frame seems to have melted away, leaving behind the man underneath. "I will gladly receive any gift you would give me. You have given me back my life, if that's all your require in return then I gladly pay the price."

The entity seems truly moved by the words of the hardened orc. Her smile softens and her voice is husky with feeling. "You have both graced me with so much, I have no way to repay you. Know that I love you and will keep you always in my heart." She turns to face Bakatare. "I must ask a boon of you as well, someone must travel with this vessel and ensure her safe arrival in the places beyond. I think the both of you...." She inclines her head to include Shiver."...are more than capable of performing that task. So please safe guard her till she returns to your world."

"It shall be done, my lady."

Bakatare bows, low and formal, in the old style.

"Your will is mine, Lady." He glances at Moira, and the mana flows twist as he reshapes his will.

:: Moira takes a deep breath to compose herself, still unsure if what she is doing is right. ::

"Then, with a kiss, we shall depart."

Questers
The slim figure moves towards Paladin, the shift to a female form becomes more and more pronounced as she nears the orc. Stopping a few inches from his face, she leans forward. Her face softens and her desire seems to sharpen. The air around you gorws heavy and hot, urgency laps at your throat and crawls across your skin. Your world shrinks down to the single image of her soft lips drawing closer to Paladin's. You find yourself holding your breath in anticipation. A single word escapes her lips before pressing them into his.

"...mine.."

The contact reveberates through your body. The waves of pleasure sweep and rise till they nearly become pain. Then the line blurs and you can no longer tell the difference and you really don't care. You drown in your skin as the world slips away from you. Time stretches around you and loses meaning until you become aware of the floor underneath you. The white light is all around you and the small feet of the Dweller can be seen from your prone position on the floor.

Shaking his head groggily, the aching hole left by the loss of the overwhelming sensations paired with the despair at the destruction of his illusions, Bakatare resists the urge to just lay back down and close his eyes again.

He rises, resigned, at least, and glances to make sure that everyone made it back to the Gallery.

Rising because that is what must be done, Shiver comes to his feet. If he only focussed on duty that would block out the pain of loss...he hoped.

"Dweller thank you for your warnings. Does the hunter still seek us in other lands?"

Questers
Once again, clothed in the flesh of a little girl, the Dweller stands a distance off near the windows as before. "The creature still moves through these realms though it has lost your trail once again." A small smile peeks out from her face at the mention of it's failure.

Bakatare gives the Dweller a bow of moderate respect. "If that is your doing, you have our gratitude."

Questers
"It is the nature of this place that coneals you. It only exists for those here at the moment so it was not my direct doing but rather my nature." As she speaks she walks past the windows hung in the endless white. Looking back over her shoulder to Bakatare as she moves. "But your thanks is appreciated none the less. Your time grows shorter here as we speak. To which realm will you travel next?"

Bakatare gives the Dweller a slight nod at her mention of appreciation, and he turns to Moira and Angelina.

"I believe the choice resides with the two of you, and as the Dweller said, our time grows short."

:: Moira's posture changes ever so slightly. Her body language has always closed her off from others. Crossed arms, head tilted downward, hair in her eyes even the space she usually maintains from others has always pulled her away from those around her. Now however, she holds herself with more confidence, moves with more sway in her hips and takes a step towards Angelina, laying a hand on her arm. ::

"Well dear, are you ready, or would you rather I take the plunge?"

:: Even the tone of her voice seems to take on that sultry alto she usually reserves only for performing. ::

Angelina had kept her peace during the meeting with the mistress of desirer. She had nothing to say that was not being said by Moria. There was a twinge of guilt, though. It seemed like she was being petty, letting what the mistress of dispair said get to her like this.

There was that, too. That hidden part of herself that Shiver's superiors feared. Just what had she done unknowing to inspire such fear? There was too much missing time that she had not questioned before now. And now that question could be the key to unraveling just what was following them...

"It is likely best that I go next. Perhaps in the process, I might uncover something that might tell of what is seeking me."

:: Moving close to Angelina, Moira smiles softly and rests her hand on her shoulder. ::

"Things will undoubtably be uncovered, I am sure. But the Mistress of the last realm has made good on her bargain. What hunts you and us is the Former Tir Prince. My bet would be lizard boy himself."

"The great ones have moved before and fallen at the hands of mortals. Let us hope that we are not put to such a test today."

Shiver looks to Bakatare who was to help in the defense of his newfound mistress' shell. To face a great dragon enraged would surely kill them both, but if their deaths allowed Her a chance to escape, that is what he would do. Fate had led him to this path and the choice he was given. Now his purpose was to move forward and accept what Necessity dictated.

"I stand ready to journey with you unto the next land. Shall you lead us Angelina?"

Shiver still stood ready to follow her. That comforted her in a way, for all their relationship had changed with the revelation of a single secret. The fact that he was still somewhat smitten by the avatar of desire bugged her as well. But she pushed it aside as she took the helm off of it's shelf and placed it over her head.

Questers
You watch as Angelina places the strange helm on her head. The Dweller stands off to the side with a wistful look of her face as she does so. As soon as the helmet rests on her shoulders, the eyes seem to flash with a warm ruby light.

There is no movement, no change in sensation as you find yourself in a large open field. The helm has disappeared and the Dweller stands amongst your number. A soft breeze blows across the fields and the tall grass, coming to your knees, sways in the wind. The scent of wild blooms rides the air gently. The sky above is a pale blue and lazy clouds work their way across the open sky. The light is warm and direct, like a summer afternoon.

"Welcome to the Realms of Sleep. I no offer you little advice on how to navigate this particular realm, it changes with each dreamer that enters and leaves. Some features remain the same but their locations shift from night to night. I cannot venture further than this point but I can offer you the services of a guide. The choice is yours..."

The Dweller speaks with an absent minded air and she moves through the field. She runs her hands across the tops of the grass, break some off and crushing it and bring it to her nose, inhaling the scent deeply. She walks with her eyes close, face to the sun, seeming to rejoice at her surroundings.

Angelina reguarded the little girl. The Dweller was being oddly helpful. She also seemed to enjoy it here. It did seem a far more pleasant place than the Dweller's gallery. She regretted that there wasn't a way to release the Dweller from her servitude, and from what had been said, once they completed their journey here, they would not be able to return. So Locket would have to continue on in her lonely existance.

Breaking out of her musing, Angelina said "A guide would be most valuable. We've already found how easy it is to get lost in these realms, and the hunter will be back on our tracks before long. I thank you."

Bakatare dragged his eyes away from Moira and to the Dweller, willing himself to focus on something that had been nagging for the last few moments...

"Please forgive me if I offend, but I must admit, my curiousity gets the best of me. When we first arrived, you were somewhat less then helpful. Now, miraculously, you offer assistance when none is required, and even seem happy our enemies are failing, though from our understanding, if affects you not at all if we are caught or not. What has prompted this change?"

Questers
The Dweller turns to face Angelina as she makes the request for a guide. She turns and seems to whisper something into the wind around her. "One will be here shortly, do not stray from the green or you shall wander lost for some time."

As Bakatare asks his question, the hooded expression creeps back into her eyes and the air around her grows shadowed. "Every creature that reaches the gallery forces me into existence, to say the things I always do. To guide them from one realm to the next." The acid drips from her voice and a weight that presses on your bones. "I do nothing else and am nothing else in the time between. I am a tool and nothing more. The ones that tasked me have no regard for me than I do for most things that come to my care. I have done this service for time beyond measure and will do so until existence grinds to a halt." The wind grows colder and the sky begins to darken, a wet chill enters the air. "I was something larger than this at one time. I drank in the life of thousands and shaped lands to my whims. Nothing barred my pleasures and my needs. I strode across realities, leaving worlds dry and barren. Every last thing consumed in my passing. I was eternal and majestic." The grass begins to wither as ice forms across the tips of the plants. Your breath comes out frosted and your skin prickles from the cold. "Then I met the Lords and Ladies of this place, I sought to master them as well. I thought myself clever and invulnerable. I struck a bargain, confident that I would emerge with the lion's share..." She looks to Moira with disdain and revulsion. "...and now I am this." The plants droop under the ice coating them. "I take what joy this existence offers. Seeing something humbled as I was gives me a hollow joy, an ashy taste of things from before."

With that said she wraps her arms around herself. Her face seems gray and washed out as the warmth and the sun return to the land. She continues to speak but at a whisper. "This one realm is different each time I arrive, it gives me the illusion of freedom and something to yearn for. To look forward to. The lord of this place shows me some kindness I think by allowing me to step across briefly but who can say. I wish you gone so I may return to void and escape the knowledge of this life. So fail or succeed, but go and be gone. Each realm you survive brings me closer to the oblivion I crave."

Bakatare nods quietly in response to the Dweller's words, hushed for the moment by the import of what she'd said. If her words were true, the Lords and Ladies of the Gallery had bound a god, or a spirit so powerful it was effectively so.

Questers
The Dweller begins to walk deeper into the green grass. Her voice is carried back by the wind. "Fare thee well......." as she is swallowed up by the foliage.

The moments pass as the grass sways back and forth in the breeze. The clouds work their way from east to west as you wait. Distant sounds can be heard. Snatches of song, laughter, and other voices dance at the edge of your hearing. The area seems to suggest reflection and peace till a voice calls out from the ground, beneath the carpet of green.

"You call for a wayfinder?" The being at the ground flies her way up above the grass, looking back and forth between the members of your party. Her voice is thick with an east coast accent. She stands just under a foot tall.

As the Dweller showed her true powers, Angelina wondered if she was right to pity this being. What if she had made it to their plane? Would it have resulted in it's destruction as well? Perhaps it was better that she was bound here.

As the Dweller faded away, a sprite appeared. She was cheered by the delicate little thing, even if the voice coming with it wasn't quite what she would have expected from a fantastic creature. "Yes, we would seek out the ruler of this realm."

Questers
"The Prince of Stories, huh? You don't start small do ya? I'll do my best, you can call me Fig, by the way." She flies around the party. looking each over like horse flesh at the fair. "Will you all be seeking the King of the Riddle Realms?"

"Yes, we have all joined this quest, and must all face each Lord and Lady."

Shiver looks at the small creature speculatively, unsure how all the organs in a body could be crammed into something so small. Their guide was smaller even than most infants he had seen yet she appeared to be fully mature.

"What can you tell us of this realm and it's Prince?"

Questers
"The Dreaming has been and will be as long you all sleep every night. Nothing really stays the same here except for a few features. The castle of the Lord of Sleep and the three who guard the way. The House of Mystery and the House of Secrets, the Gate of Horn and Ivory...." The small sprite moves around the group as she speaks. "..and of course, Eve's Cave. The are other places that last for a time but do eventually change with the Ages. Oh and of course there's Fiddler's Green, where you stand now, it's always the first place the waking visitors arrive. Speaking of which, no offense hun, but you all don't look old enough to be traveling this way, if you get my drift."

"So we'll have to pass through the houses of Mystery and Secrets and the Gate of Ivory and Horn?" Angelina asked as she watched the little sprite. Thinking of horn and ivory...it made her think of the elephant mask that had been her key to this realm. "Are there any challenges that must be completed before we might meet the Lord of the realm?"

Questers
The sprite flits over to hover in front of Angelina. "The way everyone gets to the castle changes with the journey. Without a wayfinder, you could wander for an age before reaching the castle. The Guardians are the only ones that all petitioners must face." She pauses to look closer at her face. "Have we met before?" The tone is sincere and holds a trace of worry.

"Then it is a good thing we have you to guide us. I would not know if you would know me. I remember little from before the comet came and brought it's change." Angelina answered. Was there some connection for her here? Perhaps this journey would be the key to remebering who she really was. Of course...given the price the others had paid in their realms...did she really want to know?

Questers
Shaking her head, as if seeming to throw off the rememberance, Fig moves away into the green field. "Never mind, my job is clear. The way for you is through Fiddler's Green to the Sunless Lands to the east." She waits to ensure all in the party follow her through the field. "A few rules to follow while moving through the Dreaming. One, do not leave the path I set. If you do then you're just fragging yourself. Two, ask me before you touch or talk to anything here. Nothing wears the same skin from day to day. Three, if I say to do something just do it. If you stop to question everything I say or do, you're just going to end up lost. Any questions?" She speaks to the group as she flies backwards, to address you face to face.

Angelina sighed as the sprite passed on without depositing any nuggets of information. She guessed that she would just have to wait until they made it to the Lord. As the sprite checked each person for understanding of the rules, she nodded, and was ready to move on when the sprite laid the path before them.

Walking along the path set before him by the neo-gothic fairy, Shiver moves at a sedate pace. Information had it's price and it seemed that today would be a day for Angelina to learn much more than she expected. His own secrets revealed and now perhaps her own.

Bakatare moved along with the group, paying little more then the required attention to the fairy's rules, a brooding air settling around him.

Questers
The guide seems to pause for a handful of seconds before turning around and moving through the fields. The grass brushes softly against your skin as you move through the greenery. The soft air moves around you as you cut a path through the brush. You catch the sounds of small children playing, a mother singing and the distant cries of sea birds. You begin to make out a change a distance off. The green seems to end in a jagged line, a wall of gloom stretches from ground reaching skyward. No light seems to pass the barrier or sound. Fig stops several hundred meters from the boundary, rising a few feet above the party allowing the people in the back to hear her clearly.

"Ok listen up everyone! We're about to pass into the Sunless Lands. Do not leave the safety of my light! You will hear and see things while we walk through the area, that is completely normal. DO NOT answer them or interact with them. They are phantasms and ghosts, if you pay attention to them they will become real and we don't want that. This is the land where night terrors are born and nothing good ever leaves this place. Do you get what I'm saying here?"

"We understand."

Once more into the breach they would travel, but whether this green glimmering land posed any less threat to them than the shadowy realms beyond was simply a question of appearances.

:: Moira nods her understanding, but her eyes grow slightly nervous as she gazes into the dark lands before them. Stepping closer to Bakkatare, she grasps his arm like a girl watching a horror movie with her date. Though they had been working collegues often throughout their careers, this sort of physical contact was unusual and slightly out of character. ::

Bakatare's expression seems obviously confused as Moira grasps his arm, and he glances down at the point of contact curiously. A sense of satisfaction spreads over his features, riding fast on the tail end of his rememberance about who Moira is a vessel for at the moment, and he lays a protective hand over hers where it sits on his arm, and moves to step forward after the fae creature, taking care to stay in the light.

Shiver looks to Bakatare and nods. The aged troll would be a first line of defense against the shadow but the Mage would be the personal bodyguard and final measure.

Continuing onward into the darkness, he stays a step behind the fae creature.