Anli gasps almost audibly as the sudden arrival of the Whisperer catches her by surprise.<em>No, leave me,</em>she responds with her own silent, internal voice, setting her jaw as her head throbs and the edges of her vision cloud.  Bustol's voice seems only half-heard at best while Anli struggles to keep her composure, steadying with a white-knuckled grip on the edge of the writing desk.<br/><br/><em>I already told you --</em><strong>"No,"</strong>she blurts, a bit more forcefully than intended.  Her face flushes, and after a second she gives a small nod, not quite making eye contact with the young man.<strong>"I ... just need a minute,"</strong>she adds softly, stepping out of the small study towards her old bedroom for a moment of privacy.  The strange book, the fainting, the throbbing headache -- it was something Anli had never experienced before, though she was certain it was no accident.<br/><br/><em>If you know so much, tell me what was in that book,</em>she thought to the Whisperer.  Anli's reaction to her ethereal tormentor was not one of fear in the strictest sense; that time had passed years ago, and now she mostly regarded it with resentment and distrust.  Every so often, it would return to her without warning, speaking in riddles, taunts, temptations, alien insights.  At the worst of times, the girl could scarcely separate its voice from her own thoughts until minutes or hours later.  When she refused to answer it, it would go silent, and on the rare occasion she reached out to it, it would respond just as often as not.  This was her reality for the past six years, but what happened this morning was overwhelming, and now Anli wants answers.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Dice</div><div class="spoiler_body">Watchfulness check: At 2013-10-03 07:19:28, Anli Revell (uid: 25495) rolls: 3d6a3 Result: 8 (http://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=50562)<br/>Shadowy check: At 2013-10-03 07:20:12, Anli Revell (uid: 25495) rolls: 3d6a1 Result: 14 (http://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=50563)</div></div>