The order is given, the dragons land, find or make at least one good entrance into the caves. Siege is climbing down from Tamaranth and walking towards Robin and J'rim with Markyta. Kourin seems to have domestic concerns on her agenda and L'tarn is also heading towards the two. He probably wishes to discuss defense, and possibly offense.
            All around Robin, dragons and riders move in a controlled symphony of seeming chaos, and yet no one seems to get in anyone's way. Shortly, all are in the tall seaside cave.  The rain continues, although the lightning and the winds die down even further.

Robin stays out of the way, but ready to help if needed.  As the ranger watches the chaos, the delight of a young girl is clearly visible in her eyes.  Lining her lips is the watchful and approving smile of a leader of men.  And in the tilt of her head, is someone who is learning and planning.
            Distracted, Robin slides down the bronze hide of the dragon.  But once her booted feet hit the ground, she turns and hugs the soaring Saurian.  "Canareth!  That was wonderful.  Thank you so very much!"

Jovian takes on a listening posture for a brief moment and smiles broadly. "He says you're most welcome any time, but asks that you pick a clearer day for surfing next time."

Robin laughs delightedly. But the glimmer of a plan is dancing behind her eyes.
            "Aaactually.  I was hoping that maybe in the future I could talk the two of you into a night flight."  She grins, but waves away the subject as the work of setting up takes priority.

Jovian looks over his shoulder at a sky illuminated only by the occasional stray thunderbolt, a sky from which the sun set a few hours before, and looks back at his sister with a bemused shake of the head.  "We'll scope out Tir na n'Ogth by air sometime," he suggests with a chuckle.

"Great minds," Robin says fondly and lightly punches her brother on the arm.

(Jovian) Thence to L'tarn: "Get a watch rotation set up from the main entrance. Darker colored dragons only by night, others can take turns after dawn. Two-hour shifts only, I don't want anyone getting absent-minded from fatigue. I think a couple of the boys from M'hall's wing had minecraft apprentice training before Impression; get them on the job of finding out how many entrances we have to secure. What else have we got?" he adds, slightly abashed, realizing he probably cut the second off from something important.

Robin grins to Siege and waves, her happiness at seeing him up and around evident.
Siege nods back and hurries over. He seems stiff but is moving under his own power.

L'tarn smiles. "We have got similar minds, which is a thought that will prevent *me* from sleeping well this evening. Depending on how long 'night' is in these parts, we've got a watch schedule. I have a bigger watch than we need, three in each. I'm assuming we won't even find anything that can burn, so the risk of smoke being spotted is not a concern. If what we saw is the best they've got, we'll get up, have a leisurely breakfasting, and trounce them before lunch."

"They've got worse." Siege says. "You get over the city and some enterprising young witch or canny old warrior will try to see if the anti-blockade weaponry will work on you. And if you can dodge flaming balls of pitch, they'll get worried and call out the heavy stuff. This'll be no stroll on the beach."

"We've got a few surprises, too," Jovian responds with the grim hint of a smile. "But we've got priorities, and a frontal assault may not satisfy. First, stop the ritual murder of your commander. Second, retrieve an item of Robin's that Vianis has taken. That may or may not involve leaving her alive, depending on whether she's carrying it at the time and how cooperative she feels. If you have opinions on how we ought to treat your grandmother, I'd like to hear them."

Robin nods her agreement with Jovian's assessment - priority-wise and approach-wise.  Though the Ranger is quiet, her green eyes glimmer with the anticipation of more mayhem.  Those glimmering emeralds slide over to L'tarn and one eye closes in a playful wink.
            "If getting all dry and toasty will help you sleep better, dragonrider," she quietly teases L'tarn so as not to interrupt Jovian and Siege, "there's a big pile of drift wood tucked back there behind that outcropping.  Pushed there decades ago by a mother of a storm and drying ever since."  She grins as the fire of the Pattern flares briefly in her.

This does not escape Jovian's notice.

L'Tarn and Siege go and look.

"Robin," he suggests as an aside, "if we suspect family's involved with Vianis, shouldn't we ought to do *that* sparingly? Thank you, but do be careful."

"Carrrreful."  There's a quiet growl to Robin's voice as she looks down and toes the ground.  Turning she stands beside Jovian, looking past his shoulder, with her back to the bustle in the cave, her eyes sparking in anger.  "Deep Green, Jovian.  I've been careful so long I feel like I'm dead."
            But then the girl's shoulders lift in a sigh, and she nods, a wry chuckle escaping her.  "Sooo, I suppose I can do it a bit longer."  She grins to her brother.

Jovian swallows the lecture that he was drawing breath to give and merely nods. "Think of it as prowling, or stalking. If Vianis lives up to her rumors it won't help, but it can't hurt to sneak a little." He returns the grin in full measure.

The two men return, L'Tarn carrying an armful of the firewood. "Lady," L'Tarn says, "given the things I've seen this past fortnight, I could sleep through a threadfall klaxon."

Robin chuckles to the bronze rider.

Siege tells him. "Use it sparingly. They may be able to sniff us out, or at least find us in the morning."
            Siege turns to Robin. "Lady, your warleader asked about my grandmother.  She broke with the Lady during the Black Forest War, because the Lady would not summon her husband to win the war or sacrifice himself for the good of all. That was why she started this civil war."
            "I do not believe that we should revive the old ways, but more importantly I swore an oath in The Temple to be loyal to the Lady, and I am. If I were to capture my grandmother, I would take her to the Lady."

"Well, my feelings about Vianis are a bit more intense than that... but, I figure you, your Lady and your Commander have prior claim."  Robin shrugs.  "As long as I get my item back, I'm willing to let the local authorities deal with your heretical chancellor as they see fit.  Of course, if I do get a vote, I'd like to see something that leaves her screaming for a least a decade."

"I'm more concerned about the possibility of being forced to kill her," Jovian advises Siege levelly. "I doubt she'll give up either of her prizes easily, and one of them is small enough to be on her person. If that's going to be a problem, we'd best know in advance."

Again, Siege addresses Robin.  "We are at war and she is the leader of the enemy. Killing her would hurt them, although it would not stop them."
            He turns to Jovian. "There might be some advantage to capturing her, but I am not aware of it. Avis will know. Or Lady Robin can decide, if Avis is not available."

Robin raises an eyebrow at Siege's behavior.  For a moment, the ranger's green eyes sparkle with suppressed humor, but she gets it under control quickly and speaks to the warrior with fond seriousness.  "Siege... He's asking if you - personally - are going to have difficulties watching us kill your grandmother."

"No one wants to kill their own grandmother, Lady. But war is war. I shall have no difficulties that I cannot overcome."

"Soooo... " Robin claps her hands together in a 'let's get down to business' way, and heads over to where a bit of dirt has built up on a level place.  "You're figuring Avis is at the Temple.  What's the layout?"  The Ranger crouches down, obviously looking for someone (named Siege) to draw her a map.

Jovian joins her at the improvised sand table, watching Siege expectantly.

Siege squats and with deft motions draws squares in the sand.
            "This is the Chancellery, where civic affairs are conducted. You and I were there, Lady. Across the common is the Lady's Temple, where Avis' mother was High Priestess before the war. The attached cloisters are where the Priestesses learn sorcery. I regret to say that some number of the Priestesses and Initiates followed my Grandmother into infamy.
            "All of this is on Temple Hill, which overlooks the port. A fleet is in the making at the port, although it should not leave for some weeks. I saw it before I was captured. It will be preparing to invade our strongholds on Methrin's Isle with the goal of killing The Lady and dissolving the bond between her and her consort, who is a God."

"Hunh.  This God have a name?"  Robin says oh-so-casually from where she's crouched looking over the map.

Jovian ceases drawing breath to ask the first six tactical questions that came to mind, but except for a quick glance at his sister and a slight widening of his eyes, there is no other reaction. He has heard just a little too much about gods in the family recently to interrupt.

"The God Gerard, son of the high-God Oberon and the Goddess Rilga. I have met Gerard and know his son by our Lady well."

Jovian looks to his sister, an eyebrow raised in an uncannily Julianic expression. "Gerard?" he mouths noiselessly. "Son?"

A snicker breaks forth from the young Ranger as she returns her brother's gaze.  "Green, we're subtle."  She shakes her head in amused exasperation.
            Then the girl focuses back on Siege.  Really focuses.  With the eyes of a warrior, the senses of a musician.  "Gerard and his son.  These would be two you have met with my strength and stamina."  It's not a question.  "And what is your Avis to them?"

"Avis is sister to Vere. I am not sure how she is related to Gerard. Most of the nobles are related to the Goddess Rilga, distantly. There is some philosophical debate about how close one must be to be 'divine' or 'semi-divine'. It is mostly a matter for the old women who concern themselves with theosophy."

Jovian breaks his intense silence, but not his intense gaze. "What if another divine presence showed up, a messenger with news of the battle against the force that gave the Black Forest its power? Would that sway Vianis' followers?"
            It is evident that he is not quite at ease with what he's contemplating.

The Ranger lets her attention drift back to its normal bubbling curiosity with a wry smile, an ironic chuckle and a shake of her head.  Well, she got half the answer she wanted.  The girl's shoulders lift in a shrug - she figures she can guess the other half well enough to start a war.  Or at least close enough.
            Though Jovian's... idea does bring a wrinkled nose to her face.

Siege looks at Jovian and then at Robin. "I am a warrior, and I prefer warriors' solutions. How such an event would affect those who are already caught up in heresy, I do not know and it is not my place to speculate."

Her blonde head nods.  "Yeah.  I'm with you there, Siege."

"Jove?"  Robin looks to her brother seriously, which then melts to warm fondness.  "I get the feeling things might... go better in the future if we leave this place standing after we're done."  Her mouth quirks in dark humor.  "And adding additional fuel to a religious / civil war -- yikes!  So yeah, thank you, it had to be mentioned but let's table that idea.  And stick with lesser goals.  Like busting Avis out and just plain busting Vianis."  She grins.

"My *goal,*" he responds stiffly, "is to *avoid* all-out war by undermining Vianis' authority with her troops, so that we *only* have to bust her and not break through a larger force."
            "It might be useful to know," he continues, turning to Siege, "that I am in fact Jovian the Shadowflyer, whose father is Julian, son of Oberon and Rilga, brother to Gerard and Lord of the Forest Arden. I came here on my way back to the Eternal City from the battle where we *put down* the force behind your Black Forest and every other manifestation of the Black Road from the vale below Oberon's castle clear to the ends of existence."
            What began as a mere statement of disagreement with his sister gains force through this recitation; Jovian's volume does not substantially increase, but he has definitely raised up his aspect of authority. He resists the temptation to exercise the Pattern and tweak a dramatic lightning bolt out of the storm, however.
            He draws a breath to let the statement sink in. "Gerard, whose strength is unequalled, held the defense of the Eternal City alone while his brethren fought the battle at the Abyss. My Sister Robin can tell you better than I how he fares. If this civil war you're facing is fought on the pretext of Gerard's absence from your Black Forest War, our news may be of some value toward ending it, by separating your Vianis from her pretense of moral authority. Will her supporters be swayed, or are they too deeply in her personal thrall?"
            His point made, Jovian relaxes back into himself - still a presence, but not making a point of being a dominating one.

Jovian finds that Siege has gone down to one knee and has his good hand on his forehead.

"Me and my big mouth," he mutters.
            "Please, Siege, rise," Jovian says, keeping his distaste out of his voice and expression.

L'tarn puts a companionable arm around Jovian's shoulder. "I have a *raft* of new vocabulary words to learn. What's a 'god'?"

Sotto voce: "Dunno, exactly. I think it's got something to do with the wellbeing of a place and population being connected to your own. In any event, lots of people seem to take the word of one seriously."

A rude snort from Robin echoes off the cave walls.

The Ranger stands, brushes off her knees and looks over to her brother with exasperated fondness.  "Jovian... Okay fine.  You did the rescuing, it's your operation. I'll follow your lead.  But I'd appreciate it if you laid off the brave and resourceful man who rescued me from madness.  And who is - by the way, oh mighty conqueror - a close personal friend of the god that's going to be in charge of the refit and supplying of your men when you get back to what is no longer the Eternal City.  Okay?"  Robin softens the sarcasm in her voice with a rueful chuckle and a headshake.
            And then she realizes that she juuusst might have said too much there, her and her own big mouth.  The young girl nibbles her lip nervously while obviously deciding if there's someway to extricate herself from this one gracefully.

Again the dragonrider aims the Julianic eyebrow at his sister, but the set of eye and jaw say: Table that for later.

He turns back to Siege, and his tone is as close to apologetic as it would be seemly to allow, given the revised dynamics of the relationship. "Siege, what we are is...complex. It is not as simple as saying we're regular people. It is also not as simple as saying we're gods, in the sense most people seem to mean that. If you find you simply must treat us differently than you would have a minute and twenty-eight seconds ago, let it only be that you trust us a little more and decide there's no use in being anything but honest with us. It's Vianis' followers I want to impress; I need you to be immune to the effect so you can act quickly if things go sour."
            Jovian looks levelly at Siege, gauging his reaction with care. "Do you think they will be persuaded?"

"I apologize for not recognizing you before. Prince Jovian, Princess Robin.  While I am but a soldier and not well versed in the unmanly arts, I was unaware that Prince Julian had children. As to your question about the Heretics and Apostates, I do not know. Some surely would try to sacrifice you, returning you to your heavenly bodies in the Holy City in order to do more damage to The Lady. Some would be persuaded because of your powerful army, assuming you helped us militarily. Some might want to test the stories of your immortality with steel.
            "But these questions are not fit for a man. Avis or the Lady could give you better counsel, my Lord and Lady."

"Hey, no apologies needed, Siege."  Robin punches the Danu companionably on the uninjured upper arm with a grin.  "So yeah, me and Vere are first cousins, I guess."  The Ranger rolls her eyes and snorts in laughter.  "Can you imagine?!?"
            "Ah well.  Avis and the Lady.  They get along with my kin, right?  We not going to have to explain to the Man about how we helped his arch-nemesis out of prison or anything, are we?  I mean, the paperwork alone!"  Robin's eyes glint with humor.  And if Siege hasn't gotten to his feet yet, Robin will a-hem aid him upright.

"So the men fight and the women study," Jovian ruminates, an aside to L'tarn and, not far off, Kourin. This gets both a Julianic eyebrow and his own distinctive twist at the corner of his mouth.

L'tarn replies, "That's not what's odd. Our man Siege is plenty brave, even opinionated, but it's like he's conditioned not to make any decisions. Did he say J'lin came from here?" L'tarn sounds slightly dubious.

"Not conditioned, Wingsecond.  Careful."  Robin smiles fondly to Siege before looking back to L'tarn.  "Vere does this too.  No assumptions, no flights of fancy, just the facts as accurately as can be presented.  And observe, observe, observe and then at the right moment - nudge."  Robin makes a mischievous little pushing gesture with one hand.  "Horribly, horribly effective."  She ends with a chuckle.
            "And J'lin does not come from here."  Mock indignation.

"No, and Gerard his brother doesn't either," Jovian confirms. "Apparently he sired a son here, though."
            Returning to the matter at hand, Jovian smiles at the interplay between Siege and his sister. "All right, back to the direct approach, only we're clearer about whose side we're on in the broader conflict. I trust you'll excuse my earlier skepticism, Siege; I was unaware Prince Gerard had...*ties* to this land."

"Prince Gerard is husband-consort to the Lady and represents the Gods. Until a few decades ago, he was here frequently. On the last occasion, he took his son Vere away with him. It is the last we have seen of him."

Robin turns a serious face to Siege.  And draws a breath.  "If it's the same Vere when last I saw him -- he... was well.  Surrounded by those who valued him.  Using his talents to their best.  And a key figure in the Holy City or whatever."  She finishes with a wry smile.

Jovian looks behind him momentarily at the dragon-sized cave entrance, squinting at the night sky. "Avis is due to be sacrificed tomorrow night, right? So if we want to get anything done under cover of darkness *before* then, it's got to be tonight." Again he turns to the other dragonriders. "How much firestone have we got left? And how many ships has Vianis got in one place?" he adds to Siege.

L'tarn shakes his head. "Not enough to fight a war. We haven't exactly been back to the Master Miner's halls this sennight."

Siege crosses his arms and replies. "Avis could be sacrificed at any time, if she is a prisoner. For best effect, it will be done at noon in front of a large crowd. Or at night if they are going to burn her alive. Tomorrow is a propitious day for it, that is true, but it is not required. The reason my group was here was to determine if the rumors were true. Vianis was supposed to be building up a fleet here to attack the Lady. We were to determine if it were true and disrupt it if possible. If it is there and not a feint, I would expect it to be magically defended."

Robin looks back to Jovian and shrugs.  "Siege saw the fleet beginnings six months ago and I didn't get to the harbor before I was clonked.  If I can get out of this dung-ridden cave and maybe get some time, I can probably get you a ship count.  Annnnd maybe I can swing a confirm of a new gallows or pile of firewood or something.  Course that'd proooobbbably..." she checks with Siege, "be near The Temple.  Which could get tricky."

At the words "get some time," Jovian gets an odd, troubled look on his face. "We'd have to be careful you don't--" He cuts himself off, getting the look of someone listening for a faint sound while doing long division in his head. He shakes his head, dissatisfied with the answer. "Probably too risky, we'd better stay in the present. Do we need to assume magical sentries, that can detect, say, an intrusion by air at some distance?"

L'tarn says "Vocabulary word number two: Magic."

Siege says: "If they don't have magic in whatever hell you found your great beasties, then count your blessings. It probably means you're the top fighters in all your world. Imagine a woman who can turn your blood to water in your veins, at a distance. I've seen the Witch-Queens do that to a man, on the mainland. If she hadn't been alone, my patrol, including Prince Vere, would have been wiped out. As it was we lost half a cohort that day."

He turns to Robin. "Grandmother would be pleased to hear about Vere, Lady.  She always said that he should decide if he was to be a man or a God. Not that she wouldn't want to sacrifice him, but she'd be pleased he came to a conclusion. The Lady will want the news of her son and husband as soon as we can get it to her."

Robin nods, her lips in the flat line of a repressed smile, her eyes twinkling.  Yep, this is definitely a Vere place.
            "Understandable.  But let's get back to her daughter -- are we likely to run into any Witch-Queens while busting out Avis?  And what can 'Priestesses' get up to?  Know of any convenient limits - line of sight, silver-allergies or such? And the aerial question is valid for me as well."  Robin crouches back down by the drawing, grinning at Jovian.  She shrugs.

"A priestess, Lady, is a woman of great wisdom who has studied the ways of the Goddess and devoted herself to the betterment of all through the careful and judicious uses of her magical powers, granted as a sign of favor for her deep knowledge and commitment. Our people venerate our Priestesses, who rise from all classes of the populace to become members of our ruling elite.
            "A Witch-Queen is a woman of great foolishness who has perverted the ways of the Goddess and devoted herself to personal aggrandizement through the reckless and harmful uses of her magical powers, taken unwilling from the Goddess. The enemy is enslaved by their Witch-Queens, who place themselves above the wise and the noble.
            Siege snorts, and there is clearly some strong emotion in his voice. "This is something I would not have told you a decade ago. I would not say this were any of my brotherhood with me, for it is not a happy observation and unmanly as well. But a decade ago, I would not have thought of my grandmother as a Witch-Queen.
            "Vere might say that the difference is only in person. Our Priestesses are not like their Witch-Queens. Except in the particulars of what their powers are, of course. Grandmother always said that Priestesses were only limited by their imaginations. She used to claim that she had almost none, but I no longer think that is the case.
            He looks across the fire, unseeing. "Forgive me, I should not be so free with my tongue. I think your medicines were very strong."
            Siege does not look to be at his best, now that he mentions it.

A sympathetic cluck of the tongue comes from Robin.  "Yeah.  It's been a long night.  Look, Siege, I'm planning on bunking down near the entrance.  If you can stand the fly-by watch changes, you're welcome to scrounge up a bed-roll... or do you think you might want a quiet chat with T'dor?"
            Having been around a fair share of men who would try to 'walk off' a broken leg, Robin keeps her voice friendly and reasonable, hiding the concern in her eyes from the dragonriders.  Though the Ranger is well aware that her brother is probably going to pick up on it.

Siege shakes his head. "I'll be leaving this world shortly, Lady, but I shall come back to it. I'm not that badly off. Your friends have been feeding me. I could sleep on a demon if need be." The word 'demon' comes out of Siege's mouth as 'dragon'.

The corner of Jovian's mouth twists at this, wryly amused rather than annoyed. This is not, for a change, accompanied by the hereditary brow workout.

Whereas Robin looks confused, and shakes her head.  "I don't under..."  the ranger breaks off as she is distracted.

There is something of a commotion near the largest entrance, and they all see Kourin coming towards them. L'tarn looks at Jovian sharply.
            //Hoshith says that Kourin wants you by the entrance. The watchriders see someone who is not there.//

At L'tarn's look Jovian unfocuses for half a moment, then snaps his head around, his eyes gleaming hawkishly at the large entrance. He straightens up and covers the distance from himself to the senior queen rider. "Kourin, what've we got?"

She falls in with Jovian and L'tarn, heading back towards the entrance. "A semi-transparent woman floating in mid-air, who is not visible to dragons." She says this in a remarkably rational and cool voice, as if she has lost the capacity for rational thought.

"Oh, Shit," says Siege.

The Ranger sighs as she straightens to her feet once more.  "And me without my poker.  Okay, Siege.  What is it and how do we cause it a world of hurt?"  Her grin is grim, but there is a spark of something... deep in Robin's green eyes.

Rather than wait for the answer, Jovian closes the distance between himself and the entrance rapidly, peering into the darkness. Prepared for the worst, he reaches into Canareth's mind for the level of rapport that lets them share vision....

Siege says "There!" and points, rather unnecessarily, to a floating, translucent woman in a long white robe. Her kinky red hair is spread out in a corona around her face and she is looking at the cave, but not moving.  She seems utterly unaware that she has been spotted. She has her hand over her eyes, shielding them from the rain. She is leaning forward and they all get a feeling of anticipation, dread, and immense distance.
            Siege looks confused. "That's not a witch-queen."

"Damn," says Robin blandly.  "I knew I was in someone's snowglobe."  Her face wrinkles in disgust and she barely holds herself from spitting to the side.
            The Ranger's bright eyes dart to the other entrances of the caves. And she moves toward the closest of those.  Just to make sure that they are only dealing with one floaty ghosty woman and not a surrounding force.

Jovian keeps an eye on the woman directly, standing a little back at the edge of the entrance to avoid direct eye contact to the extent possible. "Do you recognize her, Siege?"

"No, Jovian, I don't," Siege says. "I was hoping you did."

The woman continues to hang in the air, neither apparently seeing nor responding to Jovian and Siege.

Robin heads towards another entrance, If anyone were looking in her direction, they would notice that Kourin's eyes become unfocused. The cave is a hive of busy activity and as Robin reaches the side entrance, so does a middle aged rider. He is slightly stocky and reminds her vaguely of Eric.
            "Good Evening, Ma'am. I'm T'lon." He is also looking out the cave entrance.

"Well met, T'lon.  I'm Robin.  I guess we're on flank guard."  Robin grins and winks to the dragonrider.
Quick strong hands tear a strip of fabric from around the bottom of Robin's tunic.  And slip a handful of conveniently round and sturdy stones into her pocket.  Though one of the stones is slipped into the Ranger's makeshift sling.
            Bright green eyes dart over the rider, checking how he's armed.

He's armed like most of the male dragon riders. Belt knife, of the serious 'I sometimes work on leather harnesses' type. Stiff leather boots that could conceal anything shorter than his calf, (although T'lon doesn't walk like he has that much steel against his leg.) Large, Telepathic Dragon in constant mental contact. Vast Ego.

The Ranger represses a quick laugh.  Surrounded by 'bigger is better' men, ah well, could be worse.  The girl turns her twinkling eyes to the outside.

Robin hears nothing but the activity behind her and she does not spot any floating women from where she stands. She could exit the cave and possibly see the one near the big entrance, but not from the cave opening.

The Ranger slides nearer the opening and sends her senses out into the night.  Keen eyesight searches among the greenery for the telltale of armed men.  Nostrils flare as Robin tests the night winds and the hearing of a creature of the wild brings the song of the world back to the Ranger.
Quiet, Quiet, Quiet. Without is silence, and creatures gone to ground.

A quick breath of consternation blows out of Robin's lips.  Of course, if she were a forest creature, the storm, the crowd of mighty loud dragons, the plethora of men... yep, she'd go to ground too.  Well, that just means she'll have to be extra quiet.
            Robin looks over to T'lon and carefully lays her hand over her lips in 'quiet, being sneaky now' gesture.  Then she lowers the lids of her eyes to cut down on the reflection from the whites of her eyes, seals her lips and breathes through her nose to hide the glinting teeth.  Nothing to be done about the 'unnatural' yellow hair right now.
            With eyes narrowed, Robin slips the sling stone from its nest and pops it into her mouth.  The taste of dirt mixing with her spit as unspoken curses begin to move along the girl's tongue.  Then comes the sudden sense of absence as one of Julian's best Rangers slides out into the darkness.

Robin the forest creature moves silently into the trees on the hill's eastern slope. She quickly ascertains that there are no people in the area and that the scrub woodland of this seacoast is, indeed home to some small, quiet birds and animals. Perhaps on a nicer night there would be more.
            Robin moves a bit away from the cave entrance and looks around the outcropping to where the floating woman should be. The woman is there, floating, perhaps bobbing in the air currents just a bit. The only difference is that while before she was looking past the Ranger in the direction of the cave entrance, now she is looking past her in the direction of where she is standing.
            The feeling that she's being tracked brings a scowl to Robin's face.  And a deep flicker to her emerald eyes.

Spitting the cursed stone back into its sling, the Ranger begins swinging loosely before stepping clear of the outcropping.
            And releasing.
            Not a killing shot backed by a scion of Amber's strength.  But a stunning blow aimed at the translucent shoulder.

Meanwhile, "If all the people can see her and all the dragons cannot...it's either something about dragons' physical ability to see, or...."
            A look of tightly contained anger hardens on Jovian's face. "Clear your minds, all of you," he directs in calm but firm tones. "Try to think of nothing at all." For his own part, his mind reaches into the weave of the shadow, not yet sure what he'll do with it, hoping to find some tweak that will disrupt the concentration of whomever is manifesting the redhead in his mind or vision. To test reactions only, he begins by building energy back into the mostly-ebbed storm, stirring up the wind  again.

The shadow of this place is strong and there is much to grasp. The redheaded woman continues to float, oblivious to attention or inattention from riders, dragons, or children of Julian.
            As the breeze rises, Jovian notices that her hair is blowing slightly in it.

A perfect shot that flies exactly as Robin desires. It passes through the woman's  shoulder in a way that reminds Robin of her crossbow bolt passing through Laurel's Uncle. The rock splashes into the tide and is lost.

She floats there, placidly looking into the distance. The only connection between her and this world is that her hair is blowing slightly in the rising breeze.

Jovian sees from the east side of the cave, a rock flies out, passing through the woman and splashing into the water behind her. She takes no notice and continues staring at the cave entrance, as if she is on a widow's walk watching the sea for signs of her lover's ship. There are no sounds other than those made by a cave-full of dragons and riders.

A frown furrows Robin's brow.  The girl isn't sure she likes being ignored any more than she likes being tracked.  At that thought a wry grin twists the ranger's lips -- with some women, you just can't win.
            But standing there looking at the apparition, Robin finally gives in to an impulse she repressed before.  And turns around to follow the floating redhead's gaze behind herself.

Jovian and the dragon riders watch her for a few moments more. The fickle storm comes closer to the shore and the clouds come up, crossing in front of the moon. The woman fades, a wash if glimmering sparkles, as they watch. At no time does she take notice of it, anyone here, or the returning storm front.

Jovian releases his hold on the storm front, letting it break up... then, with a puzzled, thoughtful look, wills a shift in the wind to let the moonlight through dispersing clouds again, watching intently the spot where the woman's image had hovered.
            "Siege," the dragonrider beckons in a low voice. "How did you *know* she wasn't a witch-queen?"

"Aside from the fact that she wasn't carrying a staff or wearing any of the normal attire, aside from the fact that we weren't blasted by lightning until we were black and crispy, mostly it was that she didn't look like a witch-queen."

Jovian slips for a moment into a language that isn't Thari or anything local; anyone watching the other dragonriders' reactions might well deduce that he's cursing in their native tongue.
            "With that assessment, and neither of us recognizing what our visitor *was,* I suppose we'd best be ready to move out again. Is that sort of behavior," Jovian continues, hiking his thumb back at the entrance, "something you wouldn't find unusual in one of your Lady's priestesses?"

Siege thinks for a moment, parsing the question. "No, but then I didn't expect gods to show up riding flying dragons today, either. I haven't seen much that is usual since I met your sister. If I did not hurt so much and in such specific places, I would wonder if you all were hallucinations I was having in my cell."

L'tarn laughs. "We think we're real, like almost 100% of the people we've seen today."

"But please note that he had to specify 'today,'" Jovian hastens to add.
            The wingleader peers into the night, staring intently at something no longer there. "We just don't have enough information. But for the fact that the wings haven't gotten enough rest, I'd really love to hit that fleet *right now,* on the assumption that Vianis knows we're here but can't prepare instantly."

Robin turns and searches in the direction that the apparition was apparently looking. She searches for a few moments and sees nothing. The line she draws would, she supposes, eventually intersect the east coast of the island, if Siege's geography lesson was correct.

The sky darkens and T'lon gasps.

The Ranger moves quickly and fluidly for cover behind the rock outcropping and slides another stone (non-cursed variety) into her sling.  At the same time, her green eyes dart to the dragonrider to see what startled him, and skip skyward for the cause of the yet more darkness.

Clouds cover the moon and the woman fades from view. The cloud cover clears as quickly as it rose, and the moonlight returns, but not the woman. Robin suspects that the clouds were not natural weather.

The Ranger makes no sound as she waits for a moment to see if more funkiness develops.  As it seems not to, she makes her way -- a shadow herself -- back to the cave mouth.  With final look around and a come-along to T'lon, she strides inside.