Clues to Mara's Rescue

TLC 03/1

Problems:, My mother is trapped in an eternal waiting room and with the dead shoving her around. We are Berens women," said Eireka. "We don't accept our fate. We do something about this. Leira, we're finding a way to get Mom out. You got me out, there has to be a way." Getting you away from stupid humans was difficult. "You know it's not possible to get someone out of there. Even finding them, or take it another step, seeing them is very difficult from this side. You may have to find comfort with knowing where she is and do your best to let go." Now, we're moving into magically impossible." "We're going to need help." (Will get Correk, willens)

What they saw: "Nana was in a room but not like you or I might be. It was more like..." "Two separate dimensions," said Eireka. "That's how I knew it was the world in between. I've had contact with others from that realm. There's a certain feeling that comes with it too. A cold chill that feels like an emptiness. Words fail, really.""There was something familiar about the room. Can't quite place it though," said Leira "Was she easy to see? Did you see any clouds around her?" asked Correk."You mean like a weather pattern? No... you mean something sinister." Leira's eyes narrowed. "Yes, I saw Nana get pulled away by something and suddenly there was this woman there, begging me for help. A dead woman." "What gave you a sense that she was dead?" asked Correk."The hole in the center of her forehead was a giveaway but even without that I would have known. I don't know, it was a feeling. Like the life force was gone from her. Was there a sense of darkness?""No...no there wasn't. Just sadness and an aching need.

Facts: Leira and Eireka had polled their energies, created a small space through which they had caught a glimpse of Mara, along with another woman. She (they) were both in the world in between. "The world in between has existed for as long as there have been portals. There are many ways that have been written about how to get sucked into the void but the most frequent one is attempting a portal when the gates are not open. There is a slight time glitch that occurs when the two worlds are pulling apart or coming together." That space sometimes leaves a random opening to a void." Correk gave off a shudder. "We know a few things about the glitch, like you can't arrive before you leave, on either side. There's no kind of time travel.""Has anyone tried to see if they can use that glitch to their advantage?" asked Leira."It's wise not to try and play with the time line. I've never known it to end well." ."Do you know of anyone ever escaping the world in between? The living or the dead?" "If the dead escaped they would move onto whatever afterlife there is and so, I can't say about them. I've never heard of anyone still living getting out of the void. But, if there was anyone who would know, it would be the Gnomes. They are the keepers of magical knowledge for all of Oriceran." "You realize that there have been powerful practitioners of magic, kings even, who have tried to get beings out of the world in between and with utter failure?" Correk stood up, balling his hands into fists. "Damnable Gnomes refuse to say a word about anything locked in that vault. For thousands of years they have been the guardians of the darkest secrets.""Then we figure out a way to get them on our side or go around them."

Suppositions: "Nana must have gotten sucked in trying to go through a portal. You don't need to confirm that she traveled between the two worlds.""That much is obvious. But, I'm starting to get the idea that she did it more than once. With this time glitch she could have been slipping away while I was in school and getting back, without anyone being the wiser." "I don't think your grandmother came to Oriceran as often as you think. She's a Light Elf. If she were a frequent visitor I would have heard of her at some point.""Unless she was hiding her real identity. She was doing something illegal using portals like that.""Commonly done." She wouldn't have been advertising that she was coming over from Earth. But, it leaves a lot of open questions. The big one is why go over so often? Regular visits would mean she had an intention, a plan.""The Wood Elves might know. They have their ways of seeing what others are up to." There is a big dark cloud thing in there, trying to get to me, Leira said. It's tried twice. The first time Nana' energy was enough to force it to retreat, the second time Casey brought a brilliant white light which made it retreat, so there IS a way to control the dark cloud there. There actually is a way out for the dead. Casey seemed to shift, like she made up her mind about something or found some courage to do the right thing. Not sure about that part just yet, but after she did that the darkness was taken over by a beautiful white light. There's really no other description for it. Don't go weird on me. I don't know what it was but she suddenly looked whole again. Alive. Happy. And then the light kind of took her over and she dissolved into it. Maybe we can get others out, too. At the Comicon, Leira talked with Toni about getting all of the "tribe" to help pool their energy, so that Leira would have it to draw upon if the Darkness came after her again, , to help get Nana out. Toni felt that everyone would be happy to help. How do we find her? Go to a place that humans think is haunted, like the Driskill Hotel. TLC 03/9

Solutions: "We will redefine impossible as, yet to be done." "Then we start with a Willen. The Gnomes pride themselves on their integrity and are known for being meticulous. A bribe with them won't work. A threat even less. But on a Willen, both will work and they are as great a petty thief as the Gnomes are a watchdog.""Why hasn't anyone bribed them before to find out the secrets of the world in between?" asked Leira."I'm sure it has been attempted. What they want must be very difficult to acquire." "That's the first thing we do, ask them what they want.Most powerful question there is. "How do we talk to a Willen?" Finding one will be easier than you think. We can talk to one right here on Earth. They're sneaky little bastards. That includes opening up small portals and sliding back and forth between the two worlds. The Dark Bazaar on Oriceran uses them as couriers all the time. We talk to the right one and we may get what we need. Or at least a step further.""They're far too large to move around in the open. We go underground to the world that thrives right under your feet." "More magical creatures scurrying around down there?""Gets them even closer to the energy source." We want a particularly skilled Willen. We go to the nearest kemana. The city underground is called Hilldale and is well established. It won't take long to single out the Willen we're looking for." Correk and Eireka to get to the underground kemana to find a Willen as soon as possible," TLC 03/11 A summary of the solution: "A Willen. To find that I will definitely need Correk's help. He says they're great thieves and will bargain you out of everything." So you find a talking rat, you make a deal and then..." "And then, we trust the thieving rat does the impossible and steals from a group known for their ability to keep things locked away. And that's the easy part. If we get the intel we need, then we hold the Oriceran equivalent of a seance with a bunch of magical people from Austin holding hands...""And we open the gates of hell, or a kind of a hell and hope that nobody gets sucked in and my grandmother is standing there, ready and waiting when we do. Easy peasy." TLC 03/14 Before any further actions can transpire, Mara again warns Leira that she will need reinforcement to fight the Darkness that is hunting her. The veil between the dimensions is growing thinner, sooner, and is becoming dangerous for Leira.