01<@Ardweden> [Sydney steps in after Hank.  The thick smell of incense greets 
her along with smokey air, and as she blinks to adjust her eyes to the light she 
realizes that Hank... is gone.  The door closes shut behind her, and she hears a 
cackle.  "Sydney Raynerson," an old woman who can only be Medea says, "Welcome 
back."]
 06* Sydney looks around. "Um, good evening? Where'd everyone else go?"
 01<@Ardweden> [The store has shifted since she was last here; while still 
filled with old trinkets and the occult, a considerable amount of space has been 
cleared in the middle of the room.  Medea's there, looking just as Sydney 
remembers, smiling a smile filled with crooked and missing teeth.  She's seated 
at a bare wooden table with a candle flickering slightly off its center.]
 01<@Ardweden> [She gestures for Sydney to sit opposite her, and yes, there is 
only one chair.  "They're well, I assure you.  Sit."]
 06* Sydney sits. "Is this a dream? Are we in multiple dimensions? Can you be in 
a bunch of places at once?"
 01<@Ardweden> [Medea raises an eyebrow.  "I could attempt to answer those 
questions if it pleases you.  But I doubt that is what would benefit you the 
most."]
<Sydney> No.  I want to help my sister.
 01<@Ardweden> ["Is she lost to you?" Medea asks as she pulls a deck of cards 
from her sleeve.]
<Sydney> She's becoming stuck in a dream.  We're trying to get her out.
 01<@Ardweden> [She nods, handing the deck over.  "Shuffle these, child."]
 06* Sydney blinks in surprise, or perhaps confusion, but she takes the cards 
and gives them a good shuffle before offering them back to Medea.
 01<@Ardweden> [Medea takes the cards back and cuts them.  "You are going to 
flip a card, and it will show you a lesson - one you are trying to teach 
yourself."]
 01<@Ardweden> ["After that, I will allow three questions, each of which I will 
attempt to answer to the best of my ability through this medium."]
 06* Sydney frowns slightly. "Oh, now I wish I'd brought my notebook. Any card, 
or just the top of the deck?"
 01<@Ardweden> ["Any card, dear."]
 06* Sydney closes her eyes and reaches for the deck. She hits a random point on 
the table, then looks sheepish and opens her eyes. Her hand hovers over the deck 
for a moment before she lifts the top ten or so cards off, sets them next to the 
stack, and flips over the newly-exposed card on top.
 01<@Ardweden> [Sydney flips the card.  It's The Sun, the image being exactly 
that, brilliant and yellow with a blue sky and hovering over a dragon, 
stretching its wings.  Medea nods.  "The Sun.  And The Scarlet Flame."]
 06* Sydney looks at the card, then points at the dragon. "Is that supposed to 
be me?"
 01<@Ardweden> ["So it would appear, or perhaps what is inside of you.  You are 
far more reliable than you give yourself credit for, child.  The Scarlet Flame 
tells you so - none can stop her, and none can stop *you*, because you're a 
constant supply of hope - but only if you let yourself become such."]
 01<@Ardweden> [She pauses, then says, "Don't forget that, though you may 
despair over your sister, she will understand in time."]
 06* Sydney smiles a bit shyly. "I never... I hadn't really ever thought of 
things that way." She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "And I do 
worry about her, because she's my sister and I love her." She takes a deep 
breath. "Okay, I kind of feel like this is a rude thing to ask, but... are 
people close to us being targetted because we're dreamwalking, or is it just 
random and we're 
 06* Sydney aware of them *because* they're people close to us?"
 01<@Ardweden> [Medea takes the deck and shuffles them expertly before placing 
it back on the table.  She lays her hand on the top and closes her eyes for a 
brief moment, before flipping the top card, coming up with Death.  She flips 
another one, this time coming up with The Wheel of Fortune.  Medea lets out a 
soft sigh.]
 01<@Ardweden> ["The Wheel is not actually random - however, it is not as 
selective as we may hope as to who it chooses."]
 06* Sydney hmms softly and scratches her chin for a moment. "Is there a way we 
can prevent a person from getting lost in a dream if it hasn't started yet?"
 01<@Ardweden> [Medea considers.  She draws another card and places it next to 
the other two, this one The Tower: a clock tower sundered by lightning with 
beasts surrounding it and birds screeching from the sky.  "What may be the 
clearest path.  Bring The Tower to its full potential, and let it do its work."]
<Sydney> Did my question about the Sun and the dragon count as one of the three, 
or do I still have one left?
 01<@Ardweden> ["You still have one.  Even after that one.  I do not fancy 
myself needlessly cruel."]
 06* Sydney half-smiles. "Yeah, I was kinda hoping asking about my number of 
questions wasn't going to count. Anyhow... what more can you tell me about teh 
Tower?"
<Sydney> (the)
 01<@Ardweden> [She sweeps the other cards up, leaving just The Tower, and 
shuffles them together before laying cards in a circle: The Nine of Swords, with 
a man clutching his head in wakefulness.]
 01<@Ardweden> [The Three of Cups, with three men standing with a toast.]
 01<@Ardweden> [The Seven of Wands, with one man fighting off an imageless six.]
 01<@Ardweden> [The Eight of Swords, with a woman trapped and blindfolded in a 
maze of swords.]
 01<@Ardweden> [And The Moon, with sundry animals calling up to it.]
 01<@Ardweden> ["What it does," she says, gesturing to the Nine of Swords, 
before moving to the Three of Cups.  "What it was."  And then, to the Seven of 
Wands.  "What became."  To the Eight of Swords.  "Where it is."  And to the 
Moon.  "What you see."]
 06* Sydney blinks several times. "Um... so, it keeps people awake, that makes 
sense, and... it used to be three guys with cups... three guys working together? 
And then there was a fight... and it's hidden somewhere... on the moon?" She 
shakes her head. "That... it's not on the moon, right?"
 01<@Ardweden> [Medea laughs, her voice raspy.  "No, child, not on the moon.  
This is a card of illusions and trickery, and one of beasts."]
<Sydney> Illusions and trickery, huh... 
 01<@Ardweden> ["When one views the moon, there is always more to find."]
<Sydney> I will have to do that.  Literally and, uh, not-literally.
 01<@Ardweden> [Medea chuckles.  "Yes."  She collects the cards.]
<Sydney> Thank you.
 01<@Ardweden> ["You are welcome, Sydney," Medea says, not unkindly.]
 06* Sydney stands up. "I should go home now and write all this down."
 01<@Ardweden> [Medea nods.  "I hope to see you after the next cycle.  Be 
careful, child."]
<Sydney> I will.
 06* Sydney heads for the door, which presumably opens at this point.
 01<@Ardweden> [It does!]
 01<@Ardweden> [Session End!]