"Look at the state of you. Too much excitement and let loose in the forest."<br/>Under bright kitchen light, the masked orderly knelt down to unlace Danae's muddy boots. It was unthinkable to track the dreary weather any further into the house's sanctuary.<br/>"Off with these, and we will set them outside to dry."<br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Aloisa's Insight</div><div class="spoiler_body">Through the mask it was difficult for Aloisa to get much of a feel for the orderly, except that she possessed a persnickety mood, and took great concern with the state of the manor.</div></div><br/>Once safely unshod, it was permissible to pass from the kitchen into a great sitting room, so deep that a column was needed to support its center. At the base, a fireplace to keep the empty groupings of chairs sat extinguished.<br/><br/>In the sitting room there was a second orderly, her walking dress a pinstriped drab, a small hat to keep the morning sun from her eyes. For a moment she ceased her sweeping, and peered curious through her own porcelain mask, but resumed her work shortly.<br/><br/>"Some visitors arrived through yesterday. There was another who instructed us to expect you, and here we are."<br/>Pictures stared back from the parlor walls between an array of nine doors branching out to all regions of the asylum. Empty sitting arrangements hinted at factions among the mad, discrete clans who preferred to sit with the fire, or with the tables, or in the darkest corner. Between the kitchen and the tall, narrow door where the orderly beckoned, a sign dominated:<br/><em>EZRA is WATCHING. </em><br/>Over those letters a figure in flowing white, wings raising from the disintegrating grime of the world into holy serenity, glorious, immaculate, lovely.<br/><br/>"Those first arrivals are resting in the infirmary, under the capable care of Doctor Rehner, Doctor Noire and Doctor Blanche around the clock. You can expect a full recovery. Foremost, this is a hospital, you understand. We must ration our supplies shrewdly and there may be discomfort with the unexpected addition of half a dozen guests, but it is a hospital."<br/><br/>"This will be your room."<br/><br/>Too many bunks were crowded into a space intended for only a single guest's comfort. Now it would accommodate eight or ten, but with no allowance of privacy. Folded atop a trunk at the native couples' bed were several drab changes of clothes in white buttons and feeble hem.<br/>"The girl who arrived with Doctor Rehner is resting comfortably. Be patient, and you will all be reunited."