Jess: It will be tough [to see Verhain go... ed.] but, alas, at somepoint she dries him off and sends him on his way longing for more.

gm: Ah, the pleasant aches... But she is alone at last. What next?

Jess: She dresses quickly (and only after Verhain leaves), pulling her wet hair up into a bun.

If there are places on the grounds where Niall is typically rumored to be found, she will stalk him there.

gm: If he's coming around on his own, he might sit in on a class, or out in the courtyard under a tree, or just about anywhere.

Jess: she'll start in the courtyard. She likes trees.

gm: He is not there.

Jess: She'll wander the grounds, not in a directed manner, letting her seek him and find him. She allows herself to be distracted by the scenery, the grounds, the texture of the walls. Pushing power

gm: She comes to the western edge of the wall, a few hundred yards from the kitchens. There is a door in the wall, outlined by the design of a rook in the decorations.

Muirne has never noticed it before.

Jess: She will walk toward it, noting the designs, glyphs, etc.

gm: Nothing arcane. Just the clear edge of a door in a rectangle around the rook. It is very much like the stylized design on the Banner of the Keep.

Jess: She marvels at the detail; tracing certain cuts into the design with her fingertips before pushing through.

Jess: (how hard is it to keep a secret with this group? I mean, if students start getting all empathic/linked up, are they going to know her intent and/or be able to find her? inherently, or are they going to have to seek her out?)

gm: (They would have to seek her out, or be working on the empathy thing all together.)

She pushes through the door. It moves easily; there is no friction, no resistance from the grass or of hinges or jambs. On the other side is the interior of a large cottage, somewhat similar to her own but better appointed and clearly of much older initial construction. It is lined all around with books. In front of one window is a richly polished, burlwood table. Spread out across it are thirteen large cards, glowing with Power. Sitting in front of the table with one ankle across the other knee is Niall. He is looking directly, intently, at Muirne, making eye contact with her almost before she is aware that he is there.

Jess: Muirne looks around the room then startles to notice Niall there, seemingly expecting her. "Good day," she smiles, "I've come to see you, May I?" she gestured to a chair.

gm: He regards the chair as though he were not quite sure what you intended to do with it, but he nods. "Of course. You would not be here if you could not." He watches her curiously as she sits down, and then continues to sit, regarding her.

Jess: Muirne runs her fingers along the back of the chair she selected to sit in. Sitting, she regards him... staring in his eyes.

Cocking a head, she sighs heavily. "I'm troubled, Grandfather..."

gm: A beat late, he tilts his head, as though he were listening to someone else while she was speaking. "About what?"

Jess: "I have a tale to tell... a vision from my seeing."

gm: "So you do."

Jess: She hesitates, a little confused, then looks at her hands.

gm: When she looks down at them, no. When she looks with the intention of seeing if they are still scarred, they are, crusted and yellow from the bad burns.

Jess: She closes her hands again. "There is great unrest in the Tower. I've seen it." she states simply.

gm: Niall smiles. "And who would let you see into the Tower, I wonder?" His voice does not make it sound like he wonders at all.

Jess: She frowns, "Cliodhna, the Keeper. I freed her, I think. But, I don't know why she was trapped..."

gm: "She knows why."

Jess: "I was inside the Tower. I think she was in pain or scared or..." she shook her head. "But, everything was colorless. Even the sconces burned in silver.... until I opened myself up to power."

gm: "Power is the link between Seeing and choosing. Always."

Jess: She cast her eyes down, hands open, "I was given choices. I saw many paths."

gm: He seems content to let her say what she came to say at her own pace.

Jess: "The others were with me... the students, they heard her cries... but, no teacher's came none heard but us."
"A silver thread appeared and took us inside."

"It was cold and dark."

She watches Niall for a long moment, then glances at the cards on the table. She sighs.

gm: "We will know this soon. Do not worry. When Cliodhna dies we will all know."

Jess: Her eyes widen, "She's dying? But, she said she would talk to the Keepers to keep the King alive. He was a gruesome sight." she blurts out before catching herself.

"And, none of the others wanted to open themselves up, but I did, and she told me that she'd talk to you and find out how she can save the King before he dies. And, it burned to free her, but I did... and all the students are tormented with the same nightmares of walking the halls of the Tower, trapped, filled with fear..."

She holds up her hands to show him the scars she doesn't think he can see, but all is flowing out quicker than she can stop.

"And no one remembers that we were there, but me."

gm: He holds up his hand to still her, and says her name, "Muirne."

Jess: "And, she told me not to speak of it."

gm: The name is full of power, and is soothing. Cooling. Slowing.

Jess: She winds up for another sentence, stopping at the sound of his voice.

gm: "I can only hear half of what you say. Cliodhna's command was not an idle one. Even here she has power enough. What power she had there I cannot guess, except that it would be very great.

"Cliodhna now lives, but she has passed through a door from which all exits are endings."

Jess: "But, I was helping... I freed her..." she whimpers. "I was brave when others cowered."

gm: "If that is true, what you have done allows her to return with the knowledge she has."

Jess: She frowns, "And none will hear my tale... unless I speak only generally and as if it were a dream...
"He is not well... Something has done him a great harm."

"I've seen it," she shudders slightly at memory of the Dias. "I don't think the others remember what they saw... but, I do."

gm: Niall smiles while you are speaking and shakes his head. "I do not hear you.

"I cannot tell in you if what you have done is enough, or if you will have to accomplish what you have practiced. But other powers have touched you, dream or no. This I see."

Jess: She furrows her brow, "Can you see my mind? If I recalled last night in it's vividness, could you then know?" She cocks her head, "What powers?" as almost an afterthought.

gm: "I cannot see your mind. But like others I can hear its pain and its pleasure.

"Powers outside our realm. You are unclear to me, dark and muddied by them."

Jess: "Darkness fills the Tower. Chaos... "

gm: "Everyone has an appointment to keep. Even a King." The statement rings with a profound melancholy.

Jess: "I fear he's met it suffering." She holds her hands up, "If you look with intent, do you see my burns?"

gm: "You cannot begin to know. Whatever you have Seen, you do not know." He rises and moves nearer to the small woodstove, putting his hand upon it with an absent air. "I was with him, when Alfar was not even a thought. He needed someone with him. He could not face it alone."

He turns to look at her hands.

"You have a touch of the Crown of Iron there, girl. One should be more careful." He peels his own hand off the stove, leaving burned skin behind.

Jess: "It was the price I paid for Cliodhna's freedom." she says with a slight shrug.

gm: "But you know neither what you bought, nor what you paid.

"Do not worry, however wise you become, this will sometimes be the way."

Jess: She nods, in acknowledgement and confirmation. "It was the only choice," she states simply. "I will not worry," she smiles.

gm: "You lie outright." He smiles, though.

Jess: "It was the only choice that felt right," she corrects.

gm: His smile broadens. "Learn or die. That is what all organisms do. And I do not see you choosing the door to death so soon."

Jess: Her eyes shine with this. "I'm glad you see as such. Though, I'm sure I'll continue to let my curosity, rather than caution, rule my choices."

gm: "I find myself wondering why you came here today." The blood and lymph from his ruined palm have begun dripping down from his hand to his elbow, braceletting his forearm in pink.

Jess: She watched his hand drip for a long moment, "Because you came to me... It seemed fair that I seek you out."

gm: "For what purpose?"

Jess: "Because I wanted to see you." she states simply. "Because, I was troubled, and hoped you could understand."

She cocks her head, "Do you like dripping blood?"

gm: "I will need it when it is time to toll Cliodhna's death."

Jess: "But, you said that she could come back... you may not need it."

gm: He smiles sadly. "Because of what you did or will do, she will come back, but it will not change her path."

Jess: "Will she continue to torment the student's nights now that she's been released?"

gm: "If it is now. It may be later."

Jess: She glanced at the cards, "Why did you let me find you?"

gm: "It occurred to me that you might know what you were looking for. That would have been interesting. The others do not remember because they have not been touched by power."

"The mouse is wise to stay quiet when the cat sleeps."

Jess: "So, I carry this because I wasn't afraid."

gm: He laughs. "But you were afraid. So that cannot be the reason."

Jess: "I was afraid for those who were with me. I wasn't afraid of what would come of me," she explains. "Many paths led to them being broken. That did not settle well...

"I wanted to know why we were summoned more than I cared about being frightened."

gm: "Ah, there. That is true."

"But, Muirne, you should hold more fear for yourself. It is the soul for which you are chiefly responsible. Do you not understand that you are powerful? What comes of you matters a great deal. I, too, would care less if it were just about endings and beginnings. But there is something beyond the door, and you must take care what you have made of yourself by the time you pass through it."

Jess: Clearly, by her expression, she doesn't consider 'power' and 'powerful' in a linear, measureable sense. Her brow furrows slightly as she tries to puzzle out what he said. Muirne wets her lips, pressing them together tightly. Her eyes continued to wander the cards of Power, noting each one's uniqueness.

gm: "Never mind, Granddaughter I grow tiresome. And you must return to hear the toll. I see it clearly: you will be angry as though I have opened the door and caught you pinned by Verhain. I am sorry. The toll will shrink him; your act will not finish that time. More's the shame as that night his seed will be most powerful. Still his star will cross the sky again and he may have a chance at another."

Suddenly it is Niall who looks embarrassed. "That hasn't already happened, has it? The toll, the interrupted love?"

Jess: She shakes her head. "I will try to find fear for myself," she states, albeit hollowly.

gm: "If you do not, others will."

Jess: "You see Verhain in my bed?" she asked, realizing what he had said. "Moreso, you see the potence of his seed?"

gm: "There was a door, but the path to it has closed. Is he lover to you now?"

Jess: She smiles slightly, "Yes. He has been, but only a few nights.

"He was in my bed last night, sated, when we were awakened by Cliodhna's summons."

gm: "In that place that is closed he offered you his child. He loved you more, then, than he shall have time to now.

"It was a distant place."

Jess: "why do you tell me this?"

gm: "Why did you come here? For me to pat you on the head and tell you how brave you were, risking you knew not what for what return you also did not know? For me to comfort you?" His blue eyes reflect Muirne and the wall behind her and a great, dark slit opening, spilling its light across the world. He breathes in and she braces for power. "You came to tell what you cannot, and be told what to do. When the Tower falls there will be no masters, no teachers, no crown or Veil. What Cian bought them they will lose."

Jess: She rises from the chair, "I came because I thought that you could benefit from the knowledge I had. I wanted to be of help to you, to Cliodhna. I did not come for praise for what I did." There is an edge to her tone, "Because I thought that you could hear my tale. You can't... so, I will seek ways to make a difference that are less direct."

gm: His boyish face is hard, looking off past her to the darkness to come.

Jess: "Thank you for your audience." She rose and strode angrily toward the door.

gm: "Before it falls, the tower will open," he says quietly to her back. "An impulsive person, a... curious person, might find their way with the right guides. A curious person who knew this might seek those guides."

"Now get out before I kill you."

Jess: She flings the door open... coming to a hault, measuring his words. She holds her breath for a moment, then walks through the entrance without looking back.

gm: The forest is before her. The kitchens are noisy, preparing for the day's lunch. The sun is high overhead.

Jess: She will seek out Verhain.