gm: Currently it is winter in the city, nearly the time of the annual King's Tournament. There is a lot of activity in the House of the Serpent, in preparation for great displays of magic, art, and fashion. Many of these will be presented on the Field of Flowers between events.

Rob: Wonderful. How exciting! I will check in with whomever is in charge of etiquette, and ask about "my place" in these activities. I will find out how to dress, and what my house is expecting of me.

I will ask if I can be a part of any feasts, dinners, appetizers, etc.... I will want to be around the artists and poets… and the eccentrics.

Yes, I will be quite a fan of the eccentrics.

gm: Thousands of people will entering the city, taking up residence in the Inn of the Maid and in the abandoned parts of the city.

Rob: I will likely take a stroll during the early evening with Maiev. I want to get a "feel" for the types of people who are inhabiting the city. I'd like to know about their hopes and expectations, and any other darker seeds that may be available for my psyche to sense. Yes... Who are these new denizens. I will summon a servant to dress she and I appropriately for this occassion.

gm: The House of the Lily will be having many parties, feasts, orgies.

Rob: I'd like to dress a bit ostentatiously, as this may cause me to attract some attention. This may cause people to be more likely to set their gaze (and minds) upon me, for me to better read. I am, in some senses, the bait.

gm: The banner of the Serpent flies at almost the westernmost edge of the city, along the bluffs, farthest from the river. You can move along to the center of the city, watching as you descend to the main levels.

Rob: Very good, then. I will do as such.

gm: Very few of the strangers come this way, though many members of your House who have been travelling are returning.
The few of the returning members of your House you have interacted with so far all have some story of how easy it was to get back to the city; how some who even had no intention of returning found their feet on the path.

Rob: Ah. Well, I'm particularly interested in the strangers coming into the city. So I will likely take less frequented paths if it will serve my aforementioned purposes. I'll leave an open invitation for anyone from my House to join myself and Maiev on my walk.
gm: Given the preparations, none come with you just for the walk, but a few mention they will be at the Lily come the evening.
Rob: Perfect. I love that House, and make my excitement known. I will arrange for my walk to end at The House of Lily. I assume I am allowed to show up there. If not, then I will seek formal advice on how to go about that. Always concerned about etiquette.

And if it is appropriate, I will take whatever gift (bottle of wine) is appropriate. My best bottle. Second best bottle, rather.

gm: That would be appropriate.

Rob: Cool. Gotta save the best bottle for that very special occassion.

gm: But you have better gifts than that, should you wish to create something. Perhaps you will be inspired when you arrive...

Rob: Ah, yes, I was thinking the same thing just as you said that. If I can get a read of surface thoughts of the people planning on attending, I'd like to craft something that I think they would find BEAUTIFUL.

gm: You can usually do such, unless the person is uncooperative and strong. Most people want to be read, to be amazed by others' artistry.

Rob: Ah, then I will read them deeply. And WORK very hard to please.

As I walk, I will smoke a big FAT cigar, and carry a cane. All part of the costume. I'll even lean on the cane, and appear to have trouble lumbering along at times. He fears appearing boring, and works hard to not be as such.

gm: Descending into the city, the Tower is south of you, on your right, casting its shadow up the bluff. The estate of the House of the Lily is north. You can see its gold-hammered spires glittering in the sun. Farther north the plain beyond the great North Gate is full of people and horses. All coming in.

Rob: Beautiful. I speak aloud to Maiev, letting her hear my thoughts, and observations. I let her know the motivations of my walk. She is much better at steering me toward my goals.

gm: Straight ahead of you, about to go out of your view as you drop below the roofs of the city, is the Field of Flowers.

Rob: Lovely. I let her direct me. My mind is open, extending... sensing... reading... deeply.

gm: Maiev is impressed with the displays. She has expressed to you an interest in seeing some of this "great fight" as she calls the Tournament, when it begins tomorrow.

Rob: I'll make an effort to make sure she has the best seats I can get. Her comfort is paramount.

gm: Your House will have a stand near the field with incredible views.

You pass your first group of travellers. They are happy, full of excitement.

Rob: Very good.

gm: They seem to be heading up the bluff for the view before retiring back to the Inn of the Maid.

Rob: If it helps me, I'd like to keep an eye on Maiev's thoughts. Want to be in synch with her. Ok, I keep my mind open and continue the walk. I assume I've seen many of these locations. If there's something I think might be worth taking a sidepath, I'm totally open tothat. Not opposed to risk.

gm: At the moment the only real difference to the city than normal is the incredible number of travellers. All the thoroughfares that have wagon tracks are completely jammed. There are literally hundreds of horses waiting to be stabled outside the Knights Hall.
Of course the Field of Flowers is temporary. They only finished laying it two days ago, and by the end of the Tournament it will have been torn to shreds.

Rob: I take it all in. Breath deep. I want an imprint of it all, like taking in a painting. Like taking a multi-level picture. I take the scene in like a snapshot. A snapshot that I can come back to, to explore its eddies.

gm: You hear one small note that is strange. It is not like feeling the emotions of a single other being, or feeling the thrum of a crowd. It is like one tiny thing that is repeated many times, which would otherwise be unnoticeable.

Rob: I want to tighten my focus on that.

gm: That tiny repeated note is expressed many different ways. It seems to add up to, "A Door Is Opening." The shadow of the Tower is cold as you cross it.

Rob: Is there a way to open my psyche further? Should the shadow of the tower be cold? What might that mean?

gm: You feel Maiev's hand on your shoulder. "Truncheon," she says with some alarm. "Are you all right?" It is cold near the Tower's base, where it sits all day, but not usually up here where it moves with the sun.

Rob: "Yes, keep an eye on me, I'm extending my mind to something un..usual."

gm: You realize you were about to step forward off the path, over a drop of perhaps forty feet.

Rob: holy crap. Did that happen when my mind was focused on the tower, or the repeated tone?

gm: The tone, you think. The tower's shadow crossed your path right when you were concentrating. But that does not make sense. Looking upwards, the shadow is two hours above you.

Rob: Then I suspect someone, or something, was trying to influence me. I want to find the source at all costs. What do I suppose might have caused such a phenomenon?

gm: Maiev is still looking at you with concern.

Rob: I ask her what she sees in me.

gm: "You went blank, and a chill went through you. You just kept walking towards the edge."

Rob: "Why are you looking at me with such concern?" I'm suspecting now that she might be being influenced. I will scan her for any perversities.

gm: No, she seems honestly concerned that you almost walked off a ledge!

Rob: I'm taking this dead seriously now. Ok. Tell her to keep making sure I don't make a mistake. What "is" The Tower? I need to have a better understanding of this before I can make further tactical judgements.

gm: The Tower is the dwelling place of Cian, The King. At its base, the Keepers of the Cards hear and pass on his pronouncements.

Rob: Is it inappropriate to be extending one's mind, as I was doing, in such a place? Might someone powerful have been trying to send me a clue? Telling me to backoff? Or, rather, trying to demonstrate that I could be put in danger if I'm not careful?

gm: You have never received such a warning before. You have never been told it is not appropriate. Those who do not like it usually simply hide themselves.

Rob: Am I able to continue to focus on the tone? Can I try to locate its source?

gm: Do you tell Maiev?

Rob: Yes. I tell her the pattern, too. Maybe it's a code she recognizes. If she's not oppossed to psychic influence, I'll give her the raw impression I got psychically. I'm gentle with her mind.

gm: She suggests perhaps you sit here on the landing before trying again. When you tell her, she comments, "A Door Is Opening? It sounds like some Alfari... Seeing." She listens to the impression. She frowns apologizing, "I cannot sense it in all the other noise. I'm sorry."

Rob: I take the advice. Sit for a moment, and try again. Rather than summoning Orsichx, am I able to summon an aspect of his mind, or his senses, to give me further impressions of these current phenomena?

His senses combined with my psyche might prove helpful.

gm: He seems always available. The shadow makes you think of him.

Rob: I summon his mind, I want his senses to flood me. I signal Maiev that I'm involved in something unusual, and to not interrupt.
The tone, The door... SEEK

gm: She nods, and helps a small group of travellers move 'round the two of you on the stair.

Rob: I want her to take care not to let me fall of a ledge, though. I appreciate her tactful tactics. SEEK. UNDERSTAND. IMPRINT.

gm: You listen. You feel his ability to ignore extraneous thoughts pushing away other things. His darkness makes contrast and light. It seems he would direct you to find one feeling -- for this is a feeling, not an explicit thought -- and follow it to its source.

There are many... thousands. But two are clear and strong. There and There.

Rob: Which of the two feelings do I seek? Can I get a deeper feel for the differences between these two "sources"? Here's the abstract idea: Can I summon these feelings into shapes? They have to be part of a greater shape.

gm: The sources have a strangely similar feeling, though one is tinged with more sadness and fear, and the other with more acceptance.

You don't know. You have never tried without envisioning the shape first.

Rob: I move toward the sadness and fear.

gm: The sad note echoes near the base of the Tower.

Rob: there is more to be known there. less discipline, perhaps, more to read.

gm: Perhaps even within the Tower Keep's walls.

Rob: Is it inappropriate to push my psyche beyond the tower walls? I don't want to get in trouble for trespassing.

gm: Very few live there; if it is a Keeper of the Cards you intrude upon, your chances of escaping undetected are very small. Then again, the person may not care. May not.

The other source is from the direction of the House of the Lily.

Rob: Is it possible to NOT go toward the sadness, the fear, but, rather, use its energies to "summon" an image of the vessel it is inhabiting? The idea here is to map the image of the person from the inside out. Does that make sense? And summon the form. Only an image, not the actual being. Only the reflection of the being.

gm: This seems possible, but you would have to back out to "know" more of the being and you are not sure you would be able to keep your focus with all the noise.

Rob: What do you mean by "back out"?

gm: bring your focus away from just that one tiny thread of feeling.

Rob: Will I lose my connection to it if I do that?

gm: You don't know, but suspect it would be extremely difficult if possible at all. You could much more easily travel towards the source.

Rob: Ok, I will then do that. I will travel toward the source, all the while trying to get as much an imprint of The Fear. Trying to see if I can get The Fear to take shape. In other words, I'm gently trying to determine (without being directly invasive) WHAT that being actually fears.

Rob: Let the fear fill me if it helps.

gm: (clarification, you are travelling towards the more fearful feeling of the Door (near or at the base of the Tower), or the more accepting feeling (near or at the House of the Lily)?

Rob: more fearful feeling of the Door. Base of the Tower.

gm: You will not be able to enter there, you realize.

Rob: Ok, then to The House of The Lily. Toward the more accepting feeling. Try to get a feel for The Shape of what that being is accepting.

gm: You signal Maiev to help you, which she does. In her eyes you see reflected the dark smoke that curls around you. She helps you stand, and the two of you continue down the stairs until you get to the first main branching. Left towards the golden house.

Rob: Ok. I want to keep my focus true.

If Orsichx is able to externalize himself from me and take The Shape of "whatever it is that the person is accepting of," I'd be willing to allow that.

gm: He moves out of your pores, a whispy edge barely visible.

Rob: The way I am interacting with this force is to keep trying to get surface impressions. The idea is to gently take surface impressions to eventually help me see an entire picture. Sort of like gently touching another's trump, over time, until I get what I'm seeking. The idea is that the answer is available, only that I need to do it over time so as to not disturb the source. I'm guessing, not stating fact.

gm: That would be easier if what you sought were more complex, ironically. There would be more angles and surfaces to touch upon to get the shape of it.

But you are approaching the House and will probably see the subject of your investigation soon. You have had to slow your pace, as you are now on the main level of the crossroads, and the crowd is unbelievable. Maiev forges your way for you, and you are making progress at least.

Rob: I'm seeing more an impression of "That which is being accepted". Not the person, the Thing that the other feared. In this instance, it would be The Thing that that person is accepting.

gm: The smoke you can see in that corner of your eye twitches, forms, unforms. It makes a great dark line that slowly widens. Perhaps, literally, a door. The door is widening to blackness.

You feel Maiev guiding you by the arm.

Rob: What lies beyond? Can I ping into the blackness? Like sonar, can i ping and see what impression comes back?
Is the door able to accept something to travel through? i might be able to do an instant summoning, and give myself the ability to see through its eyes as it travels beyond.

gm: You don't know.

You are standing at the gates of the Lily estates. Beyond their ornate filigree is an incredible courtyard of fountains, trees and bowers, tables and chairs and hammocks set aside in artistic groupings. Far beyond is the impossible structure of the House, like a Mediterannean (player reference) great house made of marble and hammered decorative metals, set around with dark archways.
(sure you could instant summon. What the heck would you summon?)

Rob: (a bird?)

gm: (If you want. Are you taking your focus off of the being who is giving off the feeling?)

Rob: (Let's try that. send it through this weird door that Orsichx is making. give myself the ability to see and hear through the bird…
Um... no. i'll just keep going toward the being. I'm getting in over my head. let's keep this simple.)

gm: The thought of the bird waits in the wings (no pun intended) of your mind, but you move forward.

There are beautiful and hideous men and women sitting, talking, drinking, eating, laughing, reading... many of them so extraordinary even you may find yourself staring.

Maiev is disciplined, and used to such.

Rob: ok. sounds good. i'll try and keep my focus.

gm: As you enter, a woman you recognize from previous visits looks up from her game of chess and smiles at you. She is not the person.

Rob: I gesture politely, smile, and give a sign that I'll be coming back around eventually.

gm: Her name is Gleannine, you remember, a white-haired beauty. She seems to consider approaching, but the woman she is sitting with distracts her attention, and she merely waves.

Rob: Very good. All is well. I continue. I wave back, of course.

gm: By the central fountain, a strange man sits in contemplation. He appears to be meditating or perhaps creating some glamour or sorcery. When your eyes fall upon him you recognize him as the source of the feeling. He opens his eyes and looks directly at you, smiling faintly.

The man suits this House well. He is tall and slim. Beautiful. But a long red cut, perhaps a quarter inch deep, goes in a straight line from his scalp over his left eye, down through the eyed an cheek and neck, down his chest bisecting his nipple, down his hip where it disappears at his belt.

Rob: I smile back. Approach at a polite distance, indicating with an expression that I'm waiting for his invitation.

gm: He turns up his left hand, indicating space on the bench beside him.

Rob: I sit where he gestures. He's not wearing a shirt? Is that how i can see his cut?

gm: No. Just silk pant (like harem pants) with a rolled silk cord and gold cord belt.

His hair is black over a pale complexion. Even his lips are pale, as if to make the raw wound more colorful by comparison.

"I do not know you by name, old one. I am Cuan of the Lily. Welcome."

Rob: "I am Ewen of The Serpent. Thank you for inviting me to sit and talk, Cuan of the Lily."

gm: It is fairly cold outside this winter's day... perhaps 50, or 55 degrees.

Rob: "You see many things."

gm: "You sought me, but I sense it is not my kind of pleasure that you seek. What brings you?"

Rob: "I am fascinated by many pleasures, and would love to know of the complexity of yours. I sense a door is opening, bringing something that some fear, and some accept."

gm: He looks at you, and his smile gets... more complex. "There is always a door opening somewhere (this is a common phrase from Alfari Seers, to mean opportunity comes), but that is not what you mean."

Rob: "Your insight is pleasing. Yes, you are correct. What opportunity comes?"

gm: "The unknowable. Change."

Rob: "I find such things intoxicating. Is there a way in which I might be able to assist you in your... augury?

gm: "No Seeing can pierce this door, and no path leads around it. That is what is feared. The future narrows to a single point. This happens only a few times in millenia. It could mean that there will be no one left on the other side to see. But we all face such a door eventually, even Alfari."

Rob: "Then what can we do? Are we simply only to wait, then?"

gm: "One always has the opportunity to prepare. The door may only be a new step upon our way, or it may be a final end to Cian's dream and all of us. In either case, would you go through it as you are, or would you face it newly minted?

"You have that choice each morning. This may be nothing more."

Rob: "Complexity upon complexity upon complexity."

gm: You sense he does not believe that, but he has accepted that he has limited options. Like you, perhaps, he is interested and curious.

Rob: "How may I begin to prepare?"

gm: "I do not know you, so I cannot help you in that. If you were not sensitive to such, if you had not heard my Seeing, what would you have done?"

Rob: Is his status greater than mine?

gm: He is probably only of greater status to the extent he may be well known in his House. You don't sense that he is any kind of celebrity, but even though he called you 'old one,' you feel the length of his experience of life is much, much greater.

Rob: Right. I definitely noted the 'Old One' reference.

"I would have gone forth with living, enjoying what pleasures I could afford, and the beautiful eccentricities of Alfar. But I DID hear your Seeing, which tells me that my role MUST be deeper in this process. Therefore, I can not continue as if I had not heard."

gm: "Have you found compassion? Or are all your pleasures within yourself?"

Rob: "I have found some compassion. I do not know how my compassion measures when compared to others, though. Without compassion, we risk becoming something dark, something perverse, something... less. But I do not mean to sound as if I am preaching to you, sir. No, I am merely speaking of my own understanding about how I feel I should live."

gm: He nods, understanding what you mean or perhaps agreeing with your assessment of your feeling. "These 'beautiful eccentrics' among whom we live, do you value them? If your role is deep in the coming days, then they will sorely need you.

"Being needed is a pain even I cannot heal."

Rob: "I do not know how I could not value them. I appreciate your insights. I'm hoping that we can, perhaps, maintain some kind of contact, as things unfold. You seem a seasoned mind."

gm: He grins at that, a little disconcerting as the cut on his cheek widens and you can see his teeth, slightly blooded. "I will attend the Tournament. Many have need of me there. I would enjoy speaking with you again."

Rob: "Can I help to ease some of your... pain?"

gm: He tilts back his head and looks at you straight on. You feel a light touch of empathy, perhaps a Seeing, touch upon you (you can close yourself to it if you wish).

Rob: no, i open myself. i make myself vulnerable to him. see what he does with it. but i do this because i am giving trust. not because i merely want to see what he does.

gm: The "feeling" of the touch is that he mainly focuses upon your gut, your liver almost literally, the source of power. After a time he nods, but says, "My Way would not empower you, though there is power to be had in this House. Perhaps Gleannine, if she is done with her guest, or Diormid... I know they may bring you some release, the little death and the rebirth it brings."

("Way" said like that means something like "calling," his goal, his life work, and his source of power all in one.)

"And our feast rooms will be open through the night."

Rob: "I thank you for your candor and Sight. Your Ways are something I will need to meditate upon. There are deeper undestandings of which I am simply naieve." I hug him if he lets me, but will not if I sense any hesitancy on his part. "Perahps we will enjoy some simple pleasures, together, along the Way."

gm: He does not shrink away, putting one arm around you and then standing as you stand. "Journey to your Way, then. I hope to see you along it." He gives you a slight bow of his head, and turns to pad barefoot across the courtyard and into one of the archways of the House.

Maiev had been standing back, waiting for some sign you were finished.

Rob: I give her that sign.

gm: Do you seek further company or diversion in this House as Cuan suggested, or head elsewhere?

Rob: From what I understand, earlier, many folks will be gathering here. If that's the case, then I will make arrangements for a table, and get involved in the ebb and flow of the wonderful feast.