"I should hope not, my Lady." Kirsty answered, taking a step forward to get out from under the ogre's too familiar touch and gave a deep bow. A curtsey would probably be more appropriate but bowing somehow seemed more natural to her. She straightened and gestured to the tattered remains of her dress. "Given the state of my attire I'm sure I look like some tragic heroine harassed to the point of madness and I am certainly not that. Though I have a feeling that is not quite what you meant, is it?" She smiled meaningfully at Spring Lady. "Perhaps you are referring to the fact that I appear to be of this world but that I clearly am not."

"Huh?" Gardum scratched his head as he looked first to the Lady then Kirsty. He really couldn't follow the conversation. Of course Kirsty was Kirsty! If she didn't belong here than where did she belong?

"Yes . . . but there's something more . . . " The Lady addressed Kirsty, seeming to look through her for a moment. Then she smiled brightly. "No matter. But where are my manners? I am Muirethriel, the Lady of Springs." Now standing on the surface just at the edge of the water, she gave a little curtsey. Up close, it was clear that she was nude beneath the shimmering curtain of hair that covered her.

"Spring Lady!" Gardum echoed brightly, glad there was something he understood.

"That's right, Gardum," Muirethriel turned her attention to the confused ogre again. "You did the right thing bringing her to me." She took him by the hand and pulled him down so she could kiss him on the cheek. "Now why don't you go collect some wood for a fire?"

"Sure!" Half dazed, Gardum turned and stomped off toward the forest, humming tunelessly to himself.

"Now, then - lets get you cleaned up and situated." The Lady of Springs held out one delicate hand to Kirsty.

Kirsty relaxed noticeably when the ogre left. He had seemed to be behaving better now that they were with Muirethriel but she was still glad when the Lady of the Spring found an excuse to send him away for a bit. It would be easier to talk with him gone. "Thank you." She smiled when the Lady suggested she get cleaned up and took her extended hand without a second thought. She probably she have been more wary of this unknown Fey but there was something so disarming about Muirethriel. "Cleaning up sounds like a wonderful idea."

She'd only been there was a couple of hours at best but she really felt like she'd been put through the ringer. Which reminded her, "What did you mean before? If you weren't referring to me being from another world... What was it that you thought was strange about me?" Kirsty suspected she knew what it was but was afraid to say it first. Something was very wrong with her. The goblins wanted her, Gardum wanted her... Hell, even the trees wanted her. This was not normal. She had gotten stuck in fantasy worlds before but this had never been a side effect she had experienced. She very much wanted to know what it was and how she could shut it down.

Muirethriel guided Kirsty out onto the water. Where she stepped lily pads appeared, making a surprisingly stable walkway for the girl to traverse. This plant path lead toward the base of the keep, right below the balcony.

"I'm not entirely sure," she responded to Kirsty's question. "Some of it is a part of you . . . The method by which you entered this fantasy I should think." The Lady paused for a moment, musing to herself as she walked.

"The other part reminds me of something I haven't seen for a long time," she said at last, stopping to peer at Kirsty again. "It's a power that shouldn't be there, yet it oozes out of you like . . . " Muirethriel colored slightly and cleared her throat, turning away abruptly.

"Something best not mentioned," she finished in a murmur. Her gaze fell on the ogre's diminishing form. "It seemed to have infected poor Gardum . . . "

Kirsty blushed under the faery woman's regard and then felt a sudden need to defend herself. "Well, I certainly didn't mean to infect him. It's quite inconvenient to have trees and ogres suddenly start lusting after you for no apparent reason. I am honestly surprised I made it here in one piece." She sighed in exasperation. Now that she was finally out of danger she felt suddenly overwhelmed with emotions her survival instinct had kicked to the back burner until now. "It just doesn't make any sense. It's never been like this before. What the devil is going on here?"

"Relax, dear," Muirethriel soothed. "I'm not blaming you. It's obvious you are as much a victim here as the rest of us . . . " Her sentence trailed off as she began walking again, leading Kirsty toward the tower.

"As I mentioned, the power that's infused you isn't supposed to be there. It was put there by some outside force. Something penetrated your psyche and deposited it there. I think it's what caused your dreamwalking to go out of control." The Lady finally reached the base of the keep and an even larger lily pad appeared beneath her feet. She motioned for Kirsty to step onto the green platform.

****

Meanwhile, Xoku cruised ever closer. Truth be told, he could have traveled faster, but he still dreaded having to go to the 'Spring Lady's' home. He knew the ogre and his charge must have arrived there already and since he couldn't catch up, he decided to take his time and delay the inevitable as long as possible. In any event, he knew Kirsty would be reasonably safe with Muirethriel.

Up ahead, the serpent heard a crashing in the trees. A quick scan revealed a simple mind thinking only of gathering firewood. Xoku altered course to intercept the ogre whose scent he recognized immediately. At least he no longer smelled aroused . . . and to Xoku's great relief he didn't smell of recent sex or maiden's blood either.

"Ho, ogre!" Xoku called from a distance. Best not to surprise such a large creature, though the serpent was in little danger from him.

"Hrm?" Gardum turned to see who was addressing him. At the sight of Xokuxuatl, the blue ogre dropped his armload of logs and bowed low . . .

"An outside force is doing this?" Well it wouldn't be the first time, she supposed. Still, this felt different. "I don't know..." She said thoughtfully. She sifted around will her senses, trying to separate the power she knew was hers with the power that was not. There was an ample amount of extra power circulating through this dream but it didn't feel like someone else was poking around inside her head and manipulating things through her. Really, it just felt like something had given her powers a boost. "Things are definitely out of whack here but it doesn't feel like someone else is guiding this..." She hesitated to say the world illusion in front of Muirathriel. It was her reality after all.

Kirsty sighed and shook her head in defeat. "I don't know. Maybe I tapped into a well of power on Shokushu or the play I was reading was cursed or something. I can't think of any reason someone would want to screw with me like this. I don't have any enemies where I'm from..." At least not yet anyway. She was still new to Shokushu and she knew how her "gift" tended to attract trouble. But no one should know about her yet. She only just got there yesterday. Had some mischievous spirit sensed her power already and decided to wreak havoc on her for shits and giggles. She thought back to the strange dragon that had sent her running blindly into the woods. He had seemed out of place... "No, that can't be it. He seemed just as confused about what was going on as I did."

"Not someone, but the power itself is causing your power to access this reality. It is far older and more powerful than your system is ready for and it has pushed you far beyond your known limits. I'm just not sure who put it there." The Lady paused and listened attentively to Kirsty's assessment of her situation, showing no signs of confusion at the odd names and terms she used. Her eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of a mysterious 'he' though.

"Whom do you mean, dear?" Muirethriel asked as a fountain or water sprang up beneath the giant lily pad. The living platform lifted smoothly into the air, bearing its passengers toward the balcony above.

Kirsty gasped as the lily pad beneath her feet suddenly shot up into the air and she dropped instinctively to her knees to brace herself. She felt silly the next instant when she realized it was supposed to happen and that Muirethriel was staring at her. She blushed and stood up again, still feeling a little unsteady on her own legs. "S-Sorry... Umm... I sorta met this dragon earlier but he seemed out of place. He's the reason I ran off into the forest in the first place..."

Muirethriel smiled reassuringly at Kirsty as the girl regained her feet. "I'm sorry, dear. I should have warned you." The ride was relatively short as the keep was not particularly tall. But the higher vantage point still afforded a breathtaking view of the little hollow with its sparkling lake ringed by trees.

The Lady took a hold of Kirsty's hand and helped her across the little gap to the balcony. Behind them, the lily pad melted into the column of water which fell away to the lake below. Inside, the top level of the keep was done up as a cozy little suite. One side held a little pantry and kitchenette while the other was dominated by a large pool. In between was a sitting area with cushions resembling tufts of soft grass and moss. Muirethriel ushered Kirsty into the sitting area, partially drawing a gauzy curtain across the portal to the balcony.

"There, now take off your dress and have a seat while I prepare the salve," she said, practically flowing into the kitchen area. She moved purposefully, giving Kirsty no time to object as she began to rummage in the pantry. "Can you describe this dragon you saw?" she called suddenly, almost out of the blue.

Kirsty considered the question for a moment before answering. "Well, he certainly didn't look like a European dragon... More Chinese." She elaborated in case Muirethriel had never seen a Chinese dragon before. "Kinda like a giant flying serpent with the head of a lion. He was very... colorful. I don't really know that he's involved though. I was talking to this goblin when he suddenly dropped down from the trees and told me to run. I guess that implies he knew I was in danger but if he'd been the cause of it I can't see why he'd bother warning me off..."

A crash resounded in the kitchen area as Kirsty's narrative trailed off. For the first time, Muirethriel looked shaken. "It can't be . . . " she almost whispered, mostly to herself.

The Lady gave herself a little shake, which made parts of her barely concealed anatomy jiggle enticingly. She quickly recovered the container she had dropped, disappearing behind a low partition as she scooped up any spilled contents. When she reappeared, she had regained her composure.

"Who was this goblin you were talking to?" Muirethriel asked casually, almost as though nothing had happened.

"Muirethriel! Are you alright?!" Kirsty asked when she heard the crash in the kitchen and was about to go in to find out what had happened when the Lady reappeared. She seemed find. Kirsty hadn't heard her whispered words in the kitchen, only the question she asked when she returned. "The goblin? Oh, I'm not sure. Sqwatz or something like that." She replied, completely butchering Sqwazit's name. Though, in her defense, a lot had happened to her since meeting the goblin.

"Sqwazit?" Muirethriel supplied helpfully, though her countenance revealed another look of shock. At least this time she didn't drop anything. Instead, she focused on mixing the ingredients she had gathered while listening for Kirsty to confirm her suspicion. If Sqwazit was involved, it had to be him . . . but why?

"Yes, I think that was it. Do you know him?" Kirsty regarded Muirethriel curiously. She seemed uneasy but she couldn't understand why. She was fae too, wasn't she. Kirsty was just a vanilla human... Okay, maybe not all that vanilla but still no where near fae level powerful. She had every reason to be unnerved by her current situation but Muirethriel... "Please, if you know something about all this then you must tell me. Sqwazit tried to claim me for his master before the dragon intervened. I don't know what happened after I ran away but I'm willing to bet the goblins will be coming after me soon. If you have any information about them then I implore you to tell me what it is. Do you think they are involved in this strange enhancement to my powers?"