<strong>Point Respite: Magna Sophia chapter house</strong><br/><br/>The new arrivals may have struggled through the night, but the rest of the chapter house had fared better. Just as the activity of the previous evening had ended late, the morning began early. By dawn, the muted sounds of toil and conversation had already began to filter into the dormitories.<br/><br/>Well before the sun began to rise, however, the elf keeping lonely vigil in the common room found herself slightly less alone. A tall, solidly-built woman entered the room from the back, carrying a load of wood, likely with intentions of placing it by the fireplace. She hesitated for a moment, upon spotting the almost-hypnotized Reliyian, but then resumed her earlier plan of action, dumping the firewood with an unceremonious thump.<br/><br/>She was dressed in a fairly utilitarian fashion, as one might expect of a member of the chapter house, with the only oddity being the heavy, multi-pocketed leather smock hanging from her front. Her complexion was a little ruddy, and her hands had been roughened by some sort of hard work. She looked at Reliyian appraisingly for a moment, then crossed the room and sat calmly down in a chair adjacent hers.<br/><br/>"Good morning, miss," she began, her tone bright. "If I'm not mistaken, you're one of Doctor Sunlight's guests, yes? I saw the lot of you coming in last night." She smiled sardonically and added, "And I heard, second hand, about the kerfuffle she raised. Though maybe you weren't present for that? But no matter. I'm Doctor Seabreeze. A somewhat fanciful name, I know, but I picked it when I was younger and I've never bothered to change it. I generally go by Catherine, or Cate, as you please."<br/><br/>"Anyway, I believe that I've seen that expression of yours before. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you woke up early, didn't you? I'll admit to some ignorance about elves. Not my field of expertise. But if you're going to be up when the sun isn't, you need someone with you, at least at first. Dra Sirdu is a nasty place and it's only normal to feel unnerved, but you'll get used to it, eventually."<br/><br/>Having said her piece, she settled into the chair she had selected and simply waited. If questioned, she'd explain that she wished to speak with Doctor Sunlight before her Sister departed. "Of course," she said dryly, "if she leaves through a back entrance, then I'll be right and properly out of luck. All I can do is hope that nobody showed her around last night."<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Dr. Seabreeze</div><div class="spoiler_body"> Roll Result: Dr. Seabreeze rolled: 4d6<br/>Comment: Will<br/>Result: 1, 4, 6, 6, <br/>Total: 17<br/><br/>Roll Result: Dr. Seabreeze rolled: 4d6<br/>Comment: Empathy<br/>Result: 1, 6, 6, 5, <br/>Total: 18<br/><br/>This is a little bit of a cheat on my part, but also a slightly lucky roll. Catherine's Will isn't high enough to beat the +5 threshold I set for full awareness, but she can at least speak about what's going on. The empathy roll (which is a net Good (+3), due to the +2 from the roll) is to gather details about Reliyian's state of mind as they converse, unless resisted (deceit, rapport, will, etc.).</div></div><br/>When Aeryn (followed closely by Eshalu) did finally dash into the common room and towards the entrance, Catherine stood and moved, clearly with intent to intercept her. She offered no physical opposition, of course, but raised a hand, palm out. "Doctor Sunlight?" she asked. "A moment of your time?"<br/><br/>She advanced to offer Aeryn the usual set of greeting kisses, then retreated again and said, "Doctor Catherine Seabreeze. Metallurgy and archeology. I am one of the administrators of this chapter house, though not entirely by choice. I wished to apologize for the poor state that it is in and wish you luck on your expedition."