Difference between revisions of "1-31-2015: The Birds"

They're having an early dinner--before Maya's evening gig in the financial district--when, out of nowhere, over salad:

"I want to go in, tonight," she says after a bite of lasagna. "To see if I can get anything off that cave."

Skylar drops the fork and looks sharply to Maya, eyes wide. "Y' ain't-- Y' said y' knew it was too dangerous."

Maya's gaze flickers down. "I won't get too close. I'll let Hawk tell me when to back off. Or you, even. But I couldn't even really get near it from this world, and when the moon changes all the traces will be really gone." Her brow furrows. "I want to know if it's this guy. Your Dancer. If I could get a really good read on whatever's left, maybe it'll help us identify things later on." She takes another bite of lasagna, frowning.

Skylar picks at the edge of the table, her gaze dropping to that small movement, and then rising again. "Y' can't go alone," she says, pushing up from her chair. "A'right? Y' can't go without me. Yeah?"

Maya nods, looking across to her. "I'm kinda worried that this is crazy stupid, though," she says quietly. "And you can't fly. But it's probably mostly gone already, and the longer I wait... the more likely it is that there won't be anything left to pick up." She chews on her lower lip for a moment. "Can you run fast enough to bug out, if something picks up on us bein' there? That's what I'm scared of."

Circling around behind her chair, Skylar grips the back. "'M fast. Y' know I'm fast. A'right? Y' don't gotta worry 'bout me. We'll go t'gether. A'right?"

Maya wets her lips, and looks over to Skylar. "Have you outrun the spiders and the whippoorwills, before?" she asks quietly.

"I chased th' whippoorwill," Skylar answers, pulling the back of the chair toward her. "A'right? But it's better 'f we both go. Y' can't go alone."

Maya nods, and takes her plate to the sink. She hasn't eaten much, but she never does before singing. "Okay. I'll meet you here after the gig, tonight... we'll cross over at one of my spots. I'll have to talk to Magpie again... I really don't want to just rely on running to get out of there, if something goes wrong. And we'll be close enough to the river that maybe I can bug out that way." Head bowed, expression tight, she doesn't look all that sure.

Skylar paces a small circle that takes her toward the counter. "Don' go without me, a'right? I'll wait f' you, but don' go without me."

Maya looks over her shoulder. "I won't. I'll probably be here around nine-thirty. Okay?"

"A'right," Skylar agrees with a nod, and hops up onto the familiar perch she takes at the counter.

Maya's come to recognize when Skylar's rafter gymnastics are a signal of boredom, and when they're a signal of deeper troubles. Tonight it's the latter, and when Maya walks in the door, Skylar is pressed between two beams, making her way higher, toward the ceiling's peak.

Maya doesn't seem as tired as usual, post-performance; Saturday nights are one of the shorter stints, mainly because the financial-district bars and coffee joints tend to book multiple people in two-hour slots. Tension comes to her expression, though, when she spots Skylar. The Dreamspeaker closes her eyes briefly, and turns to prop the guitar in its corner. "I've got some prep work to do," she says quietly, trying not to let the worry color her voice. And not quite succeeding.

"A'right," Skylar answers, progress halting as she watches the woman below. "Y' want me t'... do somethin'?"

"Be careful?" Maya says wryly. "Meditate, if it helps. Or... climb, or run, or whatever will clear your mind, you know?" She looks up, concern in her eyes. "Or maybe we should forget the whole thing, if it upsets you that much," she offers, softer.

Skylar starts making her way down - the long, slow way, rather than jumping from any great height. "It's good," she says. "We gotta do this. So it's good. I'm good. A'right?"

Maya takes a breath, and comes over to kiss Skylar hello. "I'll be maybe an hour," she warns. Then she changes into clinging knits, runs through a trio of warrior sequences, and takes a conscious-intention shower for purification. By then, the jangling of her mind has settled down enough for the evening's real work.

Skylar stays out of the way while Maya prepares, going so far as a run to keep herself busy, and to keep from interrupting. By the time Maya is ready, Skylar is pacing by the door.

Then the Dreamspeaker starts gathering materials. A smallish chrome bowl goes into the usual messenger-bag kit, and she half-fills a leather flask of water to hang at her hip. Any nonessentials are stripped out of the messenger bag, leaving only those essential focus aids: cedar smudge, pottery bowl, lighting materials. The jewelry she's found for Magpie, she tucks under her clothing--including something personally precious to her, a moonstone pendant given to her by a good friend from home. She wears leather pants for their warmth--the same very well broken-in pair that made the long journey with her--and a nondescript thermal knit shirt, Victor's knife and Kardiaegis strapped around her waist underneath. Last but not least, she re-plaits the skinny braid, and secures the feather to it with sinew and thread. There's a moment taken, to meet her gaze in the mirror; a purposeful, clearing breath; and then she heads for the door and Skylar.

There's a short drive, to the easternmost working location Maya's found so far. It's a half-empty lot in Measure 2 country, with part of an old warehouse providing a framework for brambles and vines, shrubs and trees coming up, fragments of brick wall providing cover.

Skylar is quiet on the ride over, watching Maya and the side of the road in turns. She doesn't ask until Maya parks, and she's ready to step out of the car. "Y' got a plan?"

"Kind of," Maya answers, as she piles out of the Pinto and takes off her coat and scarf. These are left in the car, where hopefully they'll stay a tiny bit warmer than they would if left outside. The messenger bag and the water get slung over her shoulder. "First, I have to see if Magpie will help me out, again. Hence, the shinies." Since Maya doesn't normally go in for sparkly rainbow rhinestone earrings... that explains that. She leads the way down the block. "Red Feather?"

<<I am here, at your call,>> the hawk-spirit answers. <<You wish me to send for cousin Magpie?>>

"Please," Maya answers, as she starts leading Skylar on a roundabout path deeper into the half-gone warehouse. "I think I want to look at the cave again, see if I can get a better feel for this guy. And maybe try to get a look at things from up above, up high. If Magpie will bargain with me."

"A'right," Skylar says as she follows along. She tips her head at Maya as the woman starts speaking with the spirit she can't see, and she rubs her hands together as anticipation and anxiety set in.

<<It will be done,>> Red Feather confirms, taking wing and departing deeper into the Umbra. <<I will bring him, if he will see you.>>

"Let's keep our fingers crossed," Maya murmurs. She makes her way to a small mostly-cleared area, with a wool army blanket laid out over the frosted bare earth and dead weeds. It's sheltered from the street by a bit of partially-destroyed brick wall, and in the other directions it's loosely surrounded by a few unusually healthy evergreen bushes. Two outer walls of the warehouse are still mostly present, complete with windows, the gridded panes like rows of broken teeth.

Dropping to sit crosslegged on the blanket, Maya stifles a shiver. Her hair is still wet. She takes out the things she needs: one of the small pottery bowls, her matches, one of the bundles of smudge. Then she sets her hands in a mudra, and deepens her breathing--settling in to ignore the cold as she waits.

"Y' want me t' wait?" Skylar asks, before Maya begins her meditation. "Cross after you?"

Maya gives a small nod. "I'm not going to do it, if this thing with Magpie doesn't work out," she murmurs. "I'll be a while, though." Her eyes drift closed, and she starts chanting softly, a rhythmic call that addresses the four directions and their elements.

"A'right," Skylar answers, and moves a short distance away, studying the building, their surroundings, rather than watching Maya.

When Maya opens her eyes, she looks down at the mandala on her wrist, and with the other hand begins tracing its pattern in the air as she follows it with her eyes. The smudge is lit after that, with another set of chanted words-- and the mandala traced again. Another chant, this one stronger, and she traces the mandala a third time. Then she tips her head back and calls out: “ Ahn! Magpie! Mirror-gazer!"

"AH!" Skylar's shout is as brief as it is fierce, full of shock and fear. Her hands go to her eyes, palms pressing hard, and then she drops to her knees. "Ahhng!" she calls again, far less volume than the first.

<<DICE>> Skylar rolls Perception + Primal Urge, difficulty 5 
<<DICE>> 2 successes (1 4 6 7 9, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)
<<DICE>> Maya rolls arete, difficulty 3 
<<DICE>> 3 successes (4 5 6, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)
<<DICE>> Maya rolls arete, difficulty 3 
<<DICE>> 3 successes (6 8 10, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)
<<DICE>> Maya rolls perception+alertness, difficulty 6 
<<DICE>> 2 successes (3 3 9 10, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)

As Maya's perceptions and communicative reach crosses the Gauntlet, she startles the swarm of small songbirds - whippoorwills - that were flocking to an area roughly corresponding to where Skylar was standing when she cried out. As if they sensed Maya's presence, they scatter in all directions then resolve in a path towards the dense webbing.

"Red!" Maya calls out, a sudden flash of alarm in her eyes. One hand goes automatically to the small of her back, to draw Victor's knife--although it lacks the blessing that would make it do any good. "Shit," she whispers, watching even as she goes to check on Skylar. She kneels by the Garou. "What happened? What'd they do?" Her attention's divided, now, between watching the dwindling flock and trying to see what's wrong with the Walker.

"Ahhh!" is all Skylar manages, trying to grab at something invisible, intangible before her eyes. "I can't--!" Her eyes flutter open, but don't seem to focus on anything. "Get it out!"

<<DICE>> Skylar rolls rage, difficulty 5 
<<DICE>> 0 successes (1 2 3 8, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)

Indeed, her eyes are without apparent corneas, perhaps being dilated beyond all normal possibility.

<<DICE>> Maya rolls perception+awareness+1, difficulty 8 
<<DICE>> 0 successes (1 2 2 3 3 4 7, Specialty: No, Willpower: Yes)

"I've got you," Maya whispers, one hand going to Skylar's face. "I'm not going anywhere without you." Then she starts chanting again, calling on Bear this time to aid her, as well as Eagle and Hawk and Owl. Her touch leaves, then, and she passes the knife through the incense smoke before using the blade to prick a fingertip. "Help me see, great healer, farseeing brothers and sisters," she whispers fiercely. “N’hlamq'e, a'atat, yetsiits, aid us..."

((Maya's calling on a blending of Spirit and Life perceptions, since she's aware the damage was caused by spirits. Spirit 1, Life 1, to see if she can perceive whatever's gotten into Skylar's eyes.))

Skylar flinches from the touch, obviously not seeing it coming. "Maya!" she says, panic in her voice, though the volume remains low. She tries to rise again, one hand outstretched, finding Maya entirely by happenstance.

<<DICE>> Maya rolls arete, difficulty 4 
<<DICE>> 4 successes (6 10 10, Specialty: No, Willpower: Yes)

Maya's hands return almost immediately, as soon as she can jam the knife back into its sheath. One hand stays on Skylar's shoulder. "Look toward me," she says quietly. With her free hand, the one that's bleeding, she draws a line with the blood under each of her eyes, and she touches a dot to her forehead as well, to represent the Third.

Minutes pass, as Maya calls to the spirits of healing and distant perceptions. They answer, swarming around Skylar and guiding Maya's senses through the bond of blood. The awareness of Skylar's perfect physical health (aside from elevated pulse and other markers of a stress response) are the only thing reassuring about Skylar's condition...

Though, physically, she has a pair of perfectly functioning eyes, her spirit self - which is fully half of any Garou - has had both of them plucked out; thankfully unsevered. One of the many dangers of crossing the Gauntlet, one that all who deal with the spirit world learn about first, is that of becoming trapped within it. Skylar's spiritual eyes are bound - deliberately - in precisely that manner. To return her vision, then, one must free her eyes from where they have been pinioned.

Skylar is still fighting panic, but Maya's voice seems to help, and she stills under her hand. Still, she flinches at each unexpected touch. "Get it out," she says. "A'right? Jus' get it out."

Maya takes a shaking breath. "I'm here," she says quietly. "I'm here. Breathe, I've got you, just focus on your breathing... I can do this." She keeps her hand on Skylar's shoulder, her grip firming. "Breathe, and stand still. I'm gonna let go, but only for a minute." Then the chanting starts again. She calls on the predator birds, the beings of clear sight; she calls on Bear, the healer; and she calls on the escape artists, especially Rat.

The metal bowl's filled with water from the flask, and this is passed through the smudge several times, blessed with Rat's power and Bear's healing strength. The bowl's held in one hand, as the other guides the kneeling Skylar. "We're going to wash it away," she says softly. "Rat is going to help free you. I want you to call with me. You're Rat's friend, and Rat can escape ‘’anything’’. There's a bowl of water, and while I sing I want you to wash your eyes clean of their power."

This time, when Maya starts chanting, there's a hint of narrow melody--and the words seem fierce, purposeful. With her free hand, she sprinkles a little of the remaining water over Skylar's head.

((Maya: Spirit 3, washing away the tangle of Gauntlet-locking. She's thinking of it like dissolving webs... if Skylar's eyes are bound, she wants to dissolve the magic that's doing the binding.))

Skylar focuses on her breathing, on getting that under control. There's a brief hitch when Maya's grip leaves her, but she orients on the sound of her voice and control returns.

When Maya explains, there's a brief twitch at her brow, but she doesn't argue. "Yeah," she whispers. "A'right." Then Maya is chanting again, and she tries to follow along, repeating the Dreamspeaker's words half a syllable behind. Still, she flinches when the first droplets of water hit.

The city could be burning down around them, and at the moment Maya probably wouldn't notice. She's completely focused on her task, the world boiled down to a single goal, her will focused on its aim. The hand that isn't holding the bowl for Skylar touches her chest for a moment, closing on the quartz. "Wash it away, N’hlamq’e, wash it away..." Then she steers Skylar to bend down to the water.

<<DICE>> Maya rolls arete, difficulty 5 
<<DICE>> 4 successes (6 7 9, Specialty: No, Willpower: Yes)
<<DICE>> Maya rolls arete, difficulty 5 
<<DICE>> 2 successes (2 5 10, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)
<<DICE>> Skylar rolls Perception + Awareness, difficulty 5 
<<DICE>> 3 successes (3 6 8 8, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)

Skylar follows Maya's guidance, but the fear and uncertainty make her usual fluid movements halting and tense.

The water, and whatever else Maya put behind it, does the trick. Skylar is treated to a cooling sensation that runs deeper than the skin that the water chills, salving away the inverted feeling and transitioning her vision from entirely blacked out, to cloudy, to hazy, to clear.

Maya can see the changes in Skylar's eyes as whatever it is rinses away with the water.

Skylar blinks, and blinks again. Her gaze moves from the unfocused distance to Maya, and she swallows as she seeks out the details she'd lost. And then she's looking around, twisting, ready for whatever danger is still present. "Where'd it go?"

The Dreamspeaker doesn't stop chanting until she sees Skylar's eyes return to normal. "It's gone?" she asks, a little urgency behind the words.

"It is?" Skylar stops trying to find whatever it was, and returns to Maya. "Y' got rid of it? Y' got it out--" There's a furrow to her brow as she studies the Dreamspeaker, now.

“Lemmlmt'sh,” Maya whispers, relief clear on her face. Then she's in motion, grabbing up the bowl, tossing the water out to feed the surrounding plants, stubbing out the cedar smudge. She tosses Skylar the car keys, maybe as a test. "Start the car? We have to get out of here--" Looking up, she calls, "Going home, Red, we were attacked--" And then she's grabbing the rest, the pottery bowl and smudge stick, and finally the blanket--which gets a quick shake.

Maybe her vision isn't quite back to normal, or maybe she's just distracted, but Skylar fumbles with the keys before she manages to grab hold. "A'right," she says, and gives another look around the space, backing toward the exit for several steps before she turns. "Hurry?"

Bundling the army blanket to her chest, Maya breaks into a jog through the roundabout path.

Skylar has the car open and is slipping in behind the wheel when Maya nears. "Maybe you should drive, yeah?" she says, hesitating.

"Sure," Maya answers, breathless with cold. She throws everything in back, and doesn't bother putting on her coat. Within seconds, the engine's running. Maya doesn't drive home, but goes to a second place much like the first. "I just-- I can't be walking around blind, after that," she explains. "I need to know if they're on us, or if they come back."

Skylar tenses, but doesn't disagree. Hands on the dashboard, she bows her head and nods. "Yeah," she whispers. "A'right. 'S important t' know."

<<DICE>> Skylar rolls Perception + Alertness, difficulty 6 
<<DICE>> 0 successes (1 1 5 7 8, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)

Maya looks over to her, intent. "Stay here. If something happens, just get out. Go to Ben, or one of the others." She piles out of the car, still sans coat, and grabs up just the messenger bag before ducking into the dark, pathetically small park.

Skylar returns Maya's look, sharp, afraid. "Don't," she breathes. "Don' let nothin' happen. A'right?"

"Nothing's going to," Maya says quickly, pausing only long enough to look back before stepping onto a broken-pavement path beneath skeletal trees. Finding a place where she's worked before--the sort of blank-spot-with-bushes-around that makes a great fort when you're six--Maya lights the smudge again. "Red Feather, is all well with you?" she asks in quiet Selish.

It takes some time before he answers, but after a few minutes of silence... <<I am well, stormchild. Cousin Magpie is displeased that you were not there. He was further displeased at the reception that was there. You fled the enemy's eyes, which is wise - but we must apologize to Magpie soon.>>

"I can return, before the moon reaches the horizon." Maya's voice is quiet. "I have gifts for him tonight, though I meant them as payment." She takes a few deep breaths, and speaks the soft chant for Sight, fanning the cedar smoke to herself.

<<DICE>> Maya rolls arete, difficulty 3 
<<DICE>> 2 successes (2 5 8, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)
<<DICE>> Maya rolls arete, difficulty 3 
<<DICE>> 1 successes (1 3 9, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)

<<He will understand that there were... extenuating circumstances.>> It takes Red Feather some time to come up with the right words to get that concept across. <<But all the same, we will need all the friends we can get.>>

Maya's eyes drift closed. "Yes," she agrees, and then continues her chanting as she sinks deeper into trance.

<<DICE>> Maya rolls arete, difficulty 3 
<<DICE>> 3 successes (3 5 6, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)
<<DICE>> Maya rolls arete, difficulty 3 
<<DICE>> 0 successes (1 1 6, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)
<<DICE>> Maya rolls arete, difficulty 4 
<<DICE>> 3 successes (5 6 10, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)
<<DICE>> Maya rolls arete, difficulty 4 
<<DICE>> 1 successes (1 7 10, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)
<<DICE>> Maya rolls stamina + meditation, difficulty 6 
<<DICE>> 0 successes (1 1 2 2 7, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)
<<DICE>> Maya rolls perception+alertness, difficulty 7 
<<DICE>> 1 successes (5 5 6 7, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)

When all is said and done, and Maya has finished her intense chanting. There is nothing, to her senses, different about either side of the Gauntlet or their denizens. No signs of further pursuit from the place they first encountered the enemy's eyes.

Maya takes a few deep breaths, looking up to the sky; she even hops up onto a bit of playground equipment for a better view. "Okay. Good."

"Red? I'll come back in an hour, maybe, and hopefully we can-- talk to Magpie." She scans the sky, searching for him, a hand coming up to screen out the slanting moonlight.

<<Call me,>> he says, <<when the stormchild comes to Cousin Magpie.>>

——

It's around an hour later, when she returns and begins new preparations. This time, she's back to the larger working of calling out. "Red," she offers, as she lays out the blanket and lights the cedar. "I'm back."

<<So you are,>> Red Feather confirms, swooping into the Penumbra from somewhere deeper. <<Cousin Magpie is on his way. You should prepare for his visit.>>

Maya sits down, and fans the smoke toward herself; then she begins chanting and sketching the mandala, as before.

<<DICE>> Maya rolls arete, difficulty 4 
<<DICE>> 2 successes (3 5 5, Specialty: No, Willpower: No) 
<<DICE>> Maya rolls arete, difficulty 4 
<<DICE>> 2 successes (2 8 9, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)
<<DICE>> Maya rolls arete, difficulty 4 
<<DICE>> 2 successes (3 8 8, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)
<<DICE>> Maya rolls arete, difficulty 4 
<<DICE>> 0 successes (2 3 3, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)
<<DICE>> Maya rolls arete, difficulty 5 
<<DICE>> 2 successes (4 6 10, Specialty: No, Willpower: No)

The chant ends with the same words: "Magpie, Ahn, Mirror-gazer... I am here!"

The thick barrier between the worlds thins and finally gives way to Maya's chanting, her mind completes its journey through the mandala and finds its place of open-ness to the Other. As Maya's perceptions transcend the physical, she becomes aware of the presence of a great, dark-and-light-feathered bird spirit, standing on the ground, studying her - point blank, eye to eye.

<<Yes, yes, Stormchild. I hear you.>> The gruff language is not unusual for the Jaggling, but there is an impatient undertone to Magpie's presence here. <<At least this time you are where your guide has told me you would be. I trust we will keep the False Feather,>> a proper name, apparently, <<out of this negotiation, this time?>>

"Yes," Maya answers, reaching up to unfasten one of the earrings. She offers it out, and says simply, "You have my apologies. They attacked my ally, and I had to help her. They went to the web, and I was afraid they would return with reinforcements." She lowers her eyes, in apology. "I shouldn't have fled."

<<You shouldn't have called someone important to meet with you,>> Magpie corrects, <<‘’until you knew yourself to be safe…’’>> He looks around - left first, then right. <<As it is, the False Feather has felt your presence and long gone off to summon his master. We do not have very long before they come sniffing around here - but it can't be helped if you will insist on lingering in this wasteland.>> The disdain for the surroundings is written plain in his tone. <<But you come to me for more than contrition, I trust - and it will take more than a bauble if you seek something more than my continued regard.>>

"Yes," Maya says quietly. "What can I offer you? There are things that I value... and there are deeds. How can I aid your children?"

<<A good merchant cannot set a price,>> Magpie chides, <<until he knows what product he is haggling over.>>

"I sought only to find currency," Maya answers apologetically. "But I seek your help to fly, as I did before. It will take too long for me to learn... and until then, I need aid from the spirits. If-- I'm hoping I can find a pattern in the web, see something that can help us figure this out."

<<Humans are fond of asking for one thing…>> Magpie muses aloud. The observation would sound idle to most, but Maya can sense the intentional nature of the lateral conversations, the way Magpie tests her. <<…when they really want another.>>

Maya's brow furrows, and she tips her head. "It's true that borrowing your wings is just a stopgap. Until I find the power to fashion my own." She looks across to Magpie. "Unless perhaps Magpie, with his brilliant vision and wits, would fly high above the city. But I would not ask a spirit to take the risk that ‘’I’’ should take upon myself."

Magpie isn't moved by the humbleness - he's a boisterous, prideful thing, himself, but he does approve of Maya's words, particularly when she suggests he might fly above the city. <<Wings are expensive,>> he says, plainly. <<They are my pride, my freedom. I love them as dearly as you love your breath.>> He lets that sink in a moment. <<Hawk's eyes have found me many great wonders, and I owed him dearly for that. But you have done me only this one small thing, and you would take my wings to places full of danger. I could not be certain you would not perish with them in your hands. But if what you wish is simply to see... why should you, daughter of storms though you may be - still you are but a child, face this disease alone? There are those who soar higher than either of us ever will - there are those who understand patterns beyond yours and my ken. The secret, which I share with you freely, is that success is had not by being the quickest, smartest, strongest, toughest, AND luckiest. Merely, stormchild, by being the shrewdest.>>

Maya presses her lips together hard, and nods. "And I must find my allies--" There's worry in her eyes, when she looks to the spirit. "Those who soar higher--should I seek in the high reaches of the Umbra, then?"

<<You could,>> Magpie says, leading her back to him, instead. <<Or you could spend your time doing what you do best, and let your friend, Magpie, negotiate on your behalf. Perhaps, Magpie - being a cosmopolitan sort - has already spoken to those who know such things. After all, he's been collecting little things for his nest for a lot longer than you. But again, you ask for one thing, when what you really need is something smaller, isn't it?>>

Closing her eyes for a moment, Maya winces. She takes a breath, and looks across to Magpie. "There are so many needs," she says quietly. "Finding the pattern of the webs, if there ‘’is’’ one. Finding out what the secret was that was found, that enabled this-- mixing of poisons. Figuring out how to destroy it. It must have a weakness--" Her expression is tight, almost grieving, when she looks to the bird. "I don't feel like any of the things I need are small," she says with a ruefulness that borders on tears.

<<Many strokes, though with a tiny axe, do fell the mightiest oak,>> Magpie recites. <<Your problems seem large because you do not yet know how to see the trees, instead of the forest. It is only because you are friend to Falcon's brood that I share this much - normally I would gladly fleece you for all you were worth. But Falcon sends you here to do what must be done. There is a pattern to the webs - but it is not the pattern that is important. You seek the single answer, to a dozen riddles. This is wishful thinking. The pattern is that there is not one pattern, but dozens. Not one voice raised in wrath - but thousands. Not one secret - but three, five, or nine.>>

Maya takes a deep breath, and nods. "One source at a time, one problem at a time..." She bows her head, then, her brow furrowed in thought. "Okay," she says quietly. "Thank you." Reaching up to the back of her neck, she unfastens the leather strand that holds Aaron's moonstone, and offers it as she looks across to the spirit again. "You are known for your cleverness, Magpie. Is there one tree in that forest that you have seen? Is there a place, a piece, where I can start making a difference?"

<<There are many,>> Magpie says. <<Show me what you offer, and I will pay you fairly in kind.>>

Opening her head, Maya looks down at the moonstone pendant: a large, smooth cabochon with excellent highlights, framed in an ornate silver setting. A faint smile, half-tearful, comes to her lips. "I don't know if it is enough," she says quietly. "I will offer deeds as will, if you wish to ask anything that will help your wild children."

<<Take your offerings west from here to the road. Follow it north, pass six roads, and turn east. Travel from there until you find the church. Leave these offerings in the rectory. Be silent as you can, say nothing. Take from the rectory the small bead you find there, and then sleep, stormchild. Leave the bead beneath your head. I will show you but one. When you wake, you will have answers.>> This is the bargain he offers - and she may refuse it without insulting him. <<I will warn you - you will have more questions.>>

Maya's smile returns, a little stronger, wistful. "I will always have more questions," she says, warmth in her voice. "Thank you. North, six roads, east to the church. I will fulfill the bargain."

<<Good. And begone from this place, now. We are out of time. I will lead them away.>>