Enter the Labyrinth {Tag: Meds}

[The Meddler]

"They are The Seer, and The Keeper of Balance. My daughter is not the Sage." She stated as she shuddered.

Midhir's eyes flicked to Jareth, who was lost in his conflict with Kassiendra. Then he shrugged. "The seer or the Sage. One who sees or one who knows. The distinctions are muddled, telepathically." And then he smiled. "Besides, aren't the titles of a Time Lord claimed instead of granted?"

And then he nodded his head. "I beg pardon, my Lady. I meant no disrespect, and I fear my tone may have offended."

She braced her hands on her sides, gritting her teeth in pain. Midhir caught her about the shoulders and helped her to sit. And then he noticed the curious, suspicious look she was giving him.

"Are you a child of Puck, Robin Goodfellow, Lord Midhir." She asked finally.

"What a curious question," his head tilted to one side. "Whatever would lead you to ask it?"

[Seren Ash]

Rage suffused the features of the female as wind kicked up around her. The biting chill of winter swept through the room again, as snow started to sweep into the window. Ice creeping around her feet, as she took a step closer to him. Not afraid of him, or his crystals. Her eyes narrowed as she glared daggers at him. "I never made it through your Labyrinth. You arranged it for me!" She yelled at him, as her rage continued to build. The darkness sweeping around her, as the pain flared on her face.

"I was nearly out, when the Firegang swept upon me. I was going to push past them, but someone had given them cold iron. I never made it from the Labyrinth, I never made it back to these chambers. So whoever you met was not me." She hissed as she reached up. A rather startling thing happened next as she unsnapped the buckles of her chest plate of leather, and it dropped. Showing a plain breast cloth, and the nasty black twisted scar beneath. Starting just under the right breast, and sweeping down to the left hip. The bitterness on her face, as she showed such a scar. Especially in the presence of others.

Fae didn't scar often, there was few things that could kill them. And she had a built immunity to cold iron, because of this wound. "I was a handful of centuries old, and they swept upon me. I fought, but one gutted me. They thought it was a came, that I would come apart like them. But what happened was I got iron rot." She hissed between her teeth, the tears glimmering in her eyes. "I thought you had given it to them, to keep me from escaping. I spent two hundred years healing from the wound. It was why I didn't appear in the courts." She stated as she stared at him. The pain rushing across her face.

"But now... now you speak of someone else that looked at you in such a way. Treated you in such a way. That was not I."

[Seren Ash]

The Specialist stared at him, as he approached, and then his hands landed upon her shoulders. Her eyes locked with his, and swirled with the look of the Schism. Her eyes narrowed faintly, and then widened as she reached out, one palm pressing to his chest. "I have an understanding and connection to time, that others do not." She stated as she pressed her palm firmly to his chest. Feeling the sensation there.

"I know my own kind, when I see it. Not completely either, which means there is only one way you could be what you are. If you are child of a Time Lord and a Fae. Meaning if your father is indeed the Trickster, as you stated, that means he is The Meddler - Robin Goodfellow. Which means your mother must be either The Dreamweaver, or her mother." She stated in a low voice. What was odd was none of her words were verbal. All of them were telepathic, and that was the true test in the matter.

She was stopped by the sudden bone chilling and grinding pain. A gasp rushing from her as the pain lanced through her. She whirled away from Midhir to hear what Kassiendra was saying. "King Jareth, is there a way for any being in your realm to mimic the form and energy of another. Is there a way?" She said in a low voice. A shiver racing through her. "Who could have gained by keeping her from you. From keeping her from completing the Labyrinth and showing you the affection she wanted to." She said in a low voice.

There was a plan afoot here, someone had arranged this. Had they manipulated these beings, as she and her kind had been as well. "I've seen something similar happen before. Just not quite to this Degree. The Doctor and The Archivist were separated due to a threat to her family." She said in a low voice.


That was when the quiet voice of Kassiendra was heard, the chill leaking away from everything. "I was intended for another. I refused the union, I loved the city and the Goblins... and it's King. But what is done is done. What is said is Said." Kassiendra's voice wobbled a little, as she stepped back, her cloak rustling and bristling like a living thing. "I am nothing to him."

[The Master]

"I never made it through your Labyrinth. You arranged it for me!" She yelled at him, as her rage continued to build. The darkness sweeping around her, as the pain flared on her face.

"Arranged?" there was contempt in his words and on his face. "I have never arranged for someone to fail the Labyrinth. I have made it difficult, but there are rules. If you failed, then..."

His voice trailed away as she continued to rage, screaming about the Fire Gang and cold iron. And then she was stripping away her armor and her shirt, revealing a jagged black scar ripped across the smooth flesh of her abdomen.

Shock showed on his face. Shock, mingling with horror, transforming to fury as she finished her tale.

"But now... now you speak of someone else that looked at you in such a way. Treated you in such a way. That was not I."

"Who..." he snarled, voice shaking, "who would dare such a thing in my domain?"

[The Meddler]

The Specialist's eyes - now burning purple and blue with the energies of the Vortex - met Midhir's gold-threaded brown eyes.

"I have an understanding and connection to time, that others do not." She stated as she pressed her palm firmly to his chest. Feeling the sensation there.

"I have heard that, yes," he said, sounding nervous.

Twin hearts thudded slowly under her hand, and to her senses the reek of the Future was on him. "I know my own kind, when I see it. Not completely either, which means there is only one way you could be what you are. If you are child of a Time Lord and a Fae. Meaning if your father is indeed the Trickster, as you stated, that means he is The Meddler - Robin Goodfellow. Which means your mother must be either The Dreamweaver, or her mother." She stated in a low voice. What was odd was none of her words were verbal. All of them were telepathic, and that was the true test in the matter.

He licked lips turned suddenly dry. My Lady the Specialist, he answered telepathically, I assure you that I was neither sired by a Time Lord nor born of a Fae. The thoughts had the flavor of Time Lord training, but there was truth in them.

Midhir smiled at her. "There are more tricksters than one in the Courts," he said aloud.

The cold intensified, and he looked to Jareth and Kassiendra even as the Specialist did. The Morrigan's Daughter seemed to be stripping and, for an instant, Midhir approved - he had always been a conniseur of beauty, after all. But then he flinched as he saw the twisted black scar, and he listened in horror as she related the end of her tale.

"King Jareth, is there a way for any being in your realm to mimic the form and energy of another. Is there a way?" She said in a low voice. A shiver racing through her.

The Goblin King, sprawled in his throne and staring at Kassiendra, ignored her.

"It could be done," murmured Midhir. "I could have done it. Any Sidhe with power and skill could do it, at least well enough to fool the likes of the Fire Gang..."

"Who could have gained by keeping her from you. From keeping her from completing the Labyrinth and showing you the affection she wanted to." She said in a low voice.

Jareth remained silent, staring at the woman he had once loved.

"The Morrigan herself," speculated Midhir, "or the Killing Frost. My Lord the King is not well loved by the other nobles of the Court, after all. I would be surprised to learn that either would contemplate allowing such a match."

He considered further. "Mizumi, the Queen of Moraine. She loved him once, and is bitterly jealous still."

"I've seen something similar happen before. Just not quite to this Degree. The Doctor and The Archivist were separated due to a threat to her family." She said in a low voice.

"I have heard that tale," Midhir said, nodding. "I even wrote a ballad about it. But we have no High Council to tamper in that way."

That was when the quiet voice of Kassiendra was heard, the chill leaking away from everything. "I was intended for another. I refused the union, I loved the city and the Goblins... and it's King. But what is done is done. What is said is Said." Kassiendra's voice wobbled a little, as she stepped back, her cloak rustling and bristling like a living thing. "I am nothing to him."

Midhir pursed his lips. "If I may be so bold," he said, "Who was your intended? Love rejected may turn swiftly to hate, after all."

"Phlaag," the Govlin King suddenly said, voice shaking with suppressed anger.

The goblin crept to his side, trembling at the sound of his master's voice. "Yes, Dread Majesty?"

"Take as many goblins as you need, and enter the Labyrinth. You are to bring the heads of the Fire Gang to me."

"Just... just their heads?"

"The rest is optional." He swirled his hand in a complicated gesture, and threw an orb of dreamcrystal to the goblin. "This will lead you to them. Go."

Phlaag banged his head on the floor as he crept away.

"I will know who has done this thing to us, Kassiendra. And my vengeance will be terrible."

[Seren Ash]

Kassiendra put her armor back on. Scars were a shame to show around normal fae. Warrior's understood, and so did those higher up. She was trying to put her blank facade back up, as she did. Her shame shining on her face. She was the daughter of a Warrior Goddess, a creation of the Killing Frost. They had created her to be the perfect daughter for them. And everything she had done, she had done for them.

The Specialist leaned back, listening as Midhir mused on different ideas. Her eyes closing as her lips pursed, she tilted her head back. Her breath rushing from her, that was when the voice creapt into the woman's mind. Mother, who is Prince of the Abyss, in this realm. The voice whispered to her. "Who is Prince of the Abyss?" She echoed aloud.

Kassiendra suddenly yanked back, a hiss leaving her as her eyes darkened and flashed with red further. "A Kingdom allied and bordering Moraine." She said, her actions giving away too much, as her hand played on the edge of her blade. Her eyes clenched tightly shut. Her breath hissing through her teeth, as the tears began to leak again, turning into shards of ice before they even reached the ground.

"And this Queen Mizumi, was she shunned by Jareth, before or after your advances." The Specialist asked calmly, her hand resting on the crook of Midhir's elbow, her breath rushing from her as she tried to focus her energies, calm the children within.

"It was an obsession that was started before I was even seeded in my mothers Womb." Kassiendra said as she stepped back again. Her body bowed as she sat on the edge of the window. Her form changing, from the imposing fae female, to a shorter version of her look. It was all a glamor, the tall imposing female. It was a glamor built upon her need to scare away others.

"Among your kind, only those powerful enough can shift in form and energy - to that of another. Is it not possible, that this Queen Moraine, or the Prince of Abyss set up a trap? One to destroy the union that might be built? If not directly did it, indirectly." Tracenista whispered lightly.

Kassiendra shook her head for a moment, as she slowly released the ball of pain in her chest. Gaining her composure, as she stared at those there. "My mother has never lied to me. She swore to me that she approved of wherever I loved. It is because I am off her blood, she rarely loved, and when she did - the males were precious. She would not take my choice from me. The Union was set up by my father, to pay off a debt incurred before my birth."

Kassiendra licked her lips and continued. "The Morrigan, The Phantom Queen - has forever loved this kingdom and it's subjects. She feels they were as outcasted as she herself. She was of no use to the Tuatha De'Dannan - lest there was war that she needed to decide the outcome of. Otherwise she was ignored by most of her kin. Has none not noticed the number of crows and raven's in this realm? She has her eye everywhere. I cannot control her crows."

[The Meddler]

Midhir listened to the exchange between Kassiendra and the Specialist, nodding thoughtfully and taking mental notes. He hadn't been aware of the relations between the Morrigan and the Goblin King, and in the labyrinthine networks of alliances amongst the Courts any snippet of news could prove useful.

"The Prince of the Abyss..," he mused aloud. "I assume that he was your betrothed? It would make sense, then, in a strange sort of way."

He frowned. "We would need proof, though. Not merely supposition that hangs together well. There are laws governing revenge, and the forms must be obeyed."

[The Master]

Jareth sprawled on his throne, one hand supporting his chin. His eyes burned like chips of oxygen ice.

"Laws?" he asked, idly. "Laws? Midhir, my son. If the Prince of the Abyss and the Queen of Cups have done this thing, to me and in my realm..."

His words trailed away.

"There is not vengeance enough to be found in all the Labyrinth," he said, coldly. "I will bind them above the Abyss with imperishable chains of black iron and cold fire, and leave them suspended there as an eternal feast for the thingwaites."

"Father..." Midhir began, softly.

"NO!" Jareth roared. "This is not vendetta. I will not be satisfied with a blood price! They will burn for an eternity, their flesh given to satisfy the Horrors that Rise, and their suffering will be the stuff of dark legend."

[Seren Ash]

Tracnista turned to face the Goblin King. As everyone began speaking of the situation at hand. She frowned softly as she tapped her finger on her lip, trying to think of a good way to get the information they needed. "Not everything is as it appears to be. For one, we need to figure out who it was that approached you. Mimicing her. That is the larger part of the crime, and the Firegang will tell us who it was that gave them the blade that nearly killed her." She said lightly as she began pacing.

One would wonder if all the excitement was good for the children. But they would be Time Lords one day! Of course it was. Her children were going to be glorious, and fulfill their lives to the ability that they made the choice for. "Likely from the sounds of it, The Prince of Abyss - probably came disguised as her. If he had been her intended - that meant he had spent plenty of time with her, and learned her actions well enough and energy well enough." She said softly as she tapped her foot.

"Because Moraine borders the Labyrinth's Kingdom, it's likely had got passage through Mizumi's kingdom. Especially if he told her that he intended to keep me from reaching Jareth. Our situation was one that raised a lot of alarms through the court. My own mother got in a fight with Lugh, because she told him that my choice was my own. Many were against it." Kassiendra said as she leaned on the window now. Her eyes closed as she reached out an arm, a crow landing on the outstretched hand. She pulled it back in and started to stroke it's feathers, and stopped.

The crow jumped down from her hand, and then shifted - twisting like a living thing. As an older woman, long dark hair - cloaked in feathers, appeared. Her eyes turned on Jareth First, then on Midhir, then last on The Specialist. Your task is admirable, I will say as such. This puzzle is one that must be unwoven. For danger is filling all worlds. The woman said, not with her mouth but with her mind. Gallifrey has returned, somehow. And the Shining World has not been reborn through The Mother of Times actions or deeds. Another - even I'm not sure who, has brought it back. The woman said, and then twisted her cloak around her.

She stopped before her daughter, and kissed her softly on the forehead. Before looking at the court that was gathered. Remember when you were a boy Jareth, saving that Crow from the pain others would have caused it. That has earned you the safety of my kind. No crow would ever turn it's beak upon you. But the Carrion crows of another kind - will return to rip apart everything that everyone has set up. No one will be safe. There may be another war dawning. She said, and then she shifted back into a crow and vanished.

"Well obviously, your mother had just bloody perfect timing." The Specialist said as the woman left. Crashing into a seat and not caring that it was a bit musty or disgusting. "Fact is, Mizumi may have not directly harmed the situation, but through her inaction of stopping this Prince, she directly effected The Goblin King. She insulted his intelligence, and his ability to make his own choices."

[The Master]

"Not everything is as it appears to be. For one, we need to figure out who it was that approached you. Mimicing her. That is the larger part of the crime, and the Firegang will tell us who it was that gave them the blade that nearly killed her." The Specialist said lightly as she began pacing.

"Yes, they will," Jareth said darkly. "You need have no concerns in that regard."

"Likely from the sounds of it, The Prince of Abyss - probably came disguised as her. If he had been her intended - that meant he had spent plenty of time with her, and learned her actions well enough and energy well enough." She said softly as she tapped her foot.

The Goblin King steepled his fingers and glowered over them. Midhir stepped forward, and dropped to one knee before the throne. "Father," he said, "I implore you, consider your actions carefully. Rash deeds will bring disaster-"

"Failure to act will bring disaster, Midhir," the Goblin King snarled. "If I am perceived as weak, if I allow this insult to go unremarked and unavenged, my throne will not be secure."

"My father..."

"I will hear no more, Midhir."

He brooded, not hearing Kassiendra's words as she mused on how the Prince of the Abyss could have entered the Labyrinth. The next words - the words of a Presence - caught him by surprise.

Your task is admirable, I will say as such. This puzzle is one that must be unwoven. For danger is filling all worlds. The woman said, not with her mouth but with her mind. Gallifrey has returned, somehow. And the Shining World has not been reborn through The Mother of Times actions or deeds. Another - even I'm not sure who, has brought it back.

Midhir made a startled sound. "Already?" he asked.

She stopped before her daughter, and kissed her softly on the forehead. Before looking at the court that was gathered. Remember when you were a boy Jareth, saving that Crow from the pain others would have caused it. That has earned you the safety of my kind. No crow would ever turn it's beak upon you. But the Carrion crows of another kind - will return to rip apart everything that everyone has set up. No one will be safe. There may be another war dawning.

"And when has the Morrigan not predicted war?" Jareth asked.

"Well obviously, your mother had just bloody perfect timing." The Specialist said as the woman left. Crashing into a seat and not caring that it was a bit musty or disgusting. "Fact is, Mizumi may have not directly harmed the situation, but through her inaction of stopping this Prince, she directly effected The Goblin King. She insulted his intelligence, and his ability to make his own choices."

"Assuming the Queen of Cups was even aware of his actions," Midhir added. "And assuming it was, in truth, the actions of the Prince of the Abyss that have brought us to this point." He rose, dusting off his knee. "Remember: all we have right now is supposition."

[Seren Ash]

Kassiendra stared as her mother left. She looked at Jareth, and then at Midhir. A long sigh leaving her as she slapped her forehead, a very human gesture, but sometimes you pick up things when you travel in their world. "My mother is a goddess of war. At least she warned us, without her brethren heckling her to do so." Kassiendra pointed out as she stood up, and adjusted her armor again. Feeling odd still about the scars.

"Well, King Jareth. Is there not laws within the Fae realms, then when one royalty is passing through anothers Kingdom, they must send a messenger ahead? If the Prince was the one that did this, and from the sounds of it he likely paid a part, if Mizumi did not know about his passing through her kingdom, then he must have breached protocol with her as well." Tracenista said as she started to settle down. The words still echoing in her mind. Another war, another war. Rassilon, what was she to do?

"That is the truth. So what our best recourse is would be waiting for the Goblins to return with the heads of the firegang. They are obligated to speak nothing to but truth to their Liege lord, and as residents of the Labyrinth, they must speak nothing but truth to the King." Kassiendra said as her hand shuffled through white curls, unbraided and unfettered by their usual bindings.

"If that's the case, when they speak of who gave them the cold iron, what next? If it was a minion of Mizumi? What if it is a minion of this prince? Either way, who is to say the decided this plan on their own. Mizumi could have agreed out of spite that a younger and much prettier fae woman - may have gotten the man that she wanted so much?" Kassiendra said as she resisted the urge to pace. She paced when she was thinking deeply. This was a difficult thing not to do.

"Is there no one we can ask for the full truth? That would say it without the riddles that the Fae are so oft to have?" She asked again as she looked at the group.

"There is Cerridwen, Guardian of the Cauldron of Knowledge. She is the most knowledgeable being in all the realms. And as she is known to be a truth sayer, she would tell the truth - at a cost." Kassiendra said as her lip curled a little. "But as her and mother are often opposed, and I'm my mothers daughter, she won't say anything to me. The Goblin King is considered a darker lord, to that particular Daughter of Danu - so the price would be very high for him. The only one with a chance in here would be Midhir, or yourself." She said as she looked at The Specialist.

[The Meddler]

"My mother is a goddess of war. At least she warned us, without her brethren heckling her to do so." Kassiendra pointed out as she stood up, and adjusted her armor again.

Jareth shrugged eloquently, conceeding the point.

"Well, King Jareth. Is there not laws within the Fae realms, then when one royalty is passing through anothers Kingdom, they must send a messenger ahead? If the Prince was the one that did this, and from the sounds of it he likely paid a part, if Mizumi did not know about his passing through her kingdom, then he must have breached protocol with her as well." Tracenista said as she started to settle down.

Jareth and Midhir exchanged meaningful glances.

"There is law, yes..." Jareth said slowly.

Midhir drew a deep breath. "And, of course, no noble of the Courts may break the law without risking his honor and his title."

"Of course not," Jareth agreed. "Law is the foundation stone of the Courts, both Seelie and Unseelie."

"But there is law, and there is law," Midhir continued. "I am royalty, myself. And yet I travel with no entourage, no heralds, and no messegers. Because, for the moment, I travel as Midhir. Not as his Majesty Midhir, King of the Courts of Spring."

"And as Midhir, fosterling of the Goblin Courts," added Jareth.

"Well, of course," Midhir said with a shrug similar to the Goblin King's own. "But the point is, there are ways for even royalty to travel without requiring permission." He gave Jareth a look. "Which means..."

The Goblin King glowered at his foster son. "Which means that, by law, it is possible that my revenge may not be permitted to fall on the King of the Abyss. Only on Silver-Armed Nodens."

"The forms must be obeyed, after all," smiled Midhir.

"That is the truth. So what our best recourse is would be waiting for the Goblins to return with the heads of the firegang. They are obligated to speak nothing to but truth to their Liege lord, and as residents of the Labyrinth, they must speak nothing but truth to the King." Kassiendra said as her hand shuffled through white curls, unbraided and unfettered by their usual bindings.

Jareth snorted. Then he snickered. Then he laughed - starting slow and building into deep guffaws that left him clutching his sides as he rocked back and forth. "Obligated," he gasped out, "obligated."

Midhir managed to look both amused and embarrased at the Goblin King's reaction, shrugging and offering an apologetic look at the two Ladies. "There is law," he repeated simply, "and there is law."

Jareth's laughter slowly died away, and he drew in a ragged breath. "I'll be certain to remind them of their obligations."

"If that's the case, Kassiendra continued archly, "when they speak of who gave them the cold iron, what next? If it was a minion of Mizumi? What if it is a minion of this prince? Either way, who is to say the decided this plan on their own. Mizumi could have agreed out of spite that a younger and much prettier fae woman - may have gotten the man that she wanted so much?"

"Or they could have been framed," Midhir added. "Both of them set up by enemies of their own, for reasons unrelated to you and the Goblin King except for the fact that you happened to be useful." He grinned at the various looks this prompted. "If we're going to indulge in unfounded, paranoid speculation, then let us indulge to the fullest."

"Is there no one we can ask for the full truth? That would say it without the riddles that the Fae are so oft to have?" The Specialist was sounding frustrated, now.

"There is Cerridwen, Guardian of the Cauldron of Knowledge. She is the most knowledgeable being in all the realms. And as she is known to be a truth sayer, she would tell the truth - at a cost." Kassiendra said as her lip curled a little. "But as her and mother are often opposed, and I'm my mothers daughter, she won't say anything to me. The Goblin King is considered a darker lord, to that particular Daughter of Danu - so the price would be very high for him. The only one with a chance in here would be Midhir, or yourself." The last was spoken to the Specialist.

Midhir considered. "I can think of a few others that we could ask as well - Mimir or Othinn come to mind immediately. But I am clearly the best choice for the quest - I, after all, am not the mother-to-be of twins."

[Seren Ash]

As things continued to be spoke of, the usually unflappable Specialist was looking more and more frustrated. "So basically we are at a checkmate." She hissed between her teeth. She was half-tempted to throw a fit. She had never thrown a fit, she had always been completely unflappable. A soft whimper left her as she whined a little and buried her face in her hands. "If I can't handle something like this, how will I ever handle the stress of running a court." She said finally.

Kassiendra looked at Midhir and nodded. "You are the one that will have to quest to get the information. Which is greatly appreciated. A loan then, of a weapon to aid you." She said as she held out her palm, the flesh facing up as the spear started to form. It was one of the making of Lugh, and the more it formed the greener Kassiendra looked.

"It looks like it pains her." Tracenista said as she looked up. Her eyes taking on an awed look as the light spear formed in the palms of Kassiendra's hands. The smell of burning flesh, as Tracenista winced. "If it hurts, how could you even keep it?" She whispered in awe.

"I won it in a game of cards, with Lugh. And I usually keep it far away from me. But now I'm loaning it to Midhir so he has something considerable for his quest. If he comes bearing a weapon crafted by Lugh, Cerridwen is more likely to speak to him. If he came bearing arms from Morrigan - he would be turned away at the gate." She said finally as she gasped and curled up a little. The pain flaring through her and her hands pushed the items towards Midhir, as she collapsed on the windowsill.

[The Meddler]

A soft whimper left her as she whined a little and buried her face in her hands. "If I can't handle something like this, how will I ever handle the stress of running a court." She said finally.

Midhir laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, a gesture oddly like a grown child comforting a parent. "You will find, milady, that you will rise to the occasion. When the time comes."

Kassiendra looked at Midhir and nodded. "You are the one that will have to quest to get the information. Which is greatly appreciated. A loan then, of a weapon to aid you."

"I have a weapon," he started to say. The rest of his words - keen wits, a keen blade, and a silver tongue - died as spear forged of golden light formed in Kassiendra's hands.

"I won it in a game of cards, with Lugh. And I usually keep it far away from me. But now I'm loaning it to Midhir so he has something considerable for his quest. If he comes bearing a weapon crafted by Lugh, Cerridwen is more likely to speak to him. If he came bearing arms from Morrigan - he would be turned away at the gate."

"Nobody plays cards with me, anymore," Midhir said lightly, accepting the spear - gingerly, until he realized it wouldn't burn him. "But I thank you for the loan of the spear."

[The Master]

"Far be it from me to disrupt a quest in the making," the Goblin King observed from his throne, "but I feel that all of you are overlooking a simple detail about approaching Lady Cerridwen."

Midhir looked back to the throne. "And that is, my Lord?"

"A spear forged by Lugh may indeed allow you to pass her gates, but it offers no guarantee that she will speak with you."

His eyes rested on the Specialist. "But, if a mother-to-be approached her? One seeking wisdom, and truth about a betrayal of love..?" He smiled. "Lady Cerridwen would find great difficulty in refusing such a request."