[Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC

[Anarion]

"Thank you, Doctor Washnowski. I really do doubt we're the nicesest, but I'll do what I can to assist you, as long as I am provided assistance. My colleague recently received injury while acting as a Good Samaritan, and she lacks proper medical insurance and paperwork. I will require either treatment of her injury here on-site or the right doors greased and the right paperwork provided to take care of the injury." Confidence, aggressively so. The right set of the shoulders and the right pitch of voice and the expectation that everything is going to happen the way you say as long as you keep talking, and that certain set to the eyes. It's magic, but not the Glamour kind, the headology kind.

"Oh, sure, sure. What did you need? I can run over to the supply closet and get you whatever bandages, surgical tools, and chemicals, whatever you want! If you need a surgeon, E.R. isn't in today, so sorry, she's in on Tuesday-Thursday and some Sundays, when she feels like it."

[For 1L on the wing, by the way, you don't need a surgeon. It just needs proper cleaning and a good bandage.]

Action
Stand. Move.

[Stephanie suffers 2 bashing from that narration.]

Stephanie is off again. The gasps of all the people are audible. Several doctors are running to treat her. A flash bulb goes off. She's already moving. Away from the crowd, away from the people. Into the city blocks. Lost in the maze of houses.

[Thanqol]

[Stephanie suffers 2 bashing from that narration.]

Stephanie is off again. The gasps of all the people are audible. Several doctors are running to treat her. A flash bulb goes off. She's already moving. Away from the crowd, away from the people. Into the city blocks. Lost in the maze of houses.

Deep coded reflexes had her pull her hood up as soon as she saw the camera, denying the photographer anything more than a blurry image of a moving cape.

The extremity of the motion had helped her think. Advice. She couldn't trust this to just anyone, but she had no way of working through it herself. She needed to go to someone who knew how souls worked.

Stephanie moved at a run. She was going to shul - she needed to find a rabbi she could ask for help.

[Raz_Fox]

"Oh, sure, sure. What did you need? I can run over to the supply closet and get you whatever bandages, surgical tools, and chemicals, whatever you want! If you need a surgeon, E.R. isn't in today, so sorry, she's in on Tuesday-Thursday and some Sundays, when she feels like it."

[For 1L on the wing, by the way, you don't need a surgeon. It just needs proper cleaning and a good bandage.]

"I believe it needs someone who knows what they're doing to take a look at it, clean it out, make sure it's not hit anything vital, and bandage it properly," Marchande says crisply.

[SiuiS]

"'It' is a wound on our friend, and she is right here." Charlotte says with some malice. She knows from experience that there is no catching Stephanie, and no predicting her without knowing the area. There's just damage control.

Damage control...

"How does ensorcelment work, miss? Would an ensorcelled one see only this—" he gestures at Marchande's fur and muzzle, we own pallor and stitches, "—or would They see both this and our masques?

Charlotte takes two o the spare stones and quietly secrets them away.

[Anarion]

"I believe it needs someone who knows what they're doing to take a look at it, clean it out, make sure it's not hit anything vital, and bandage it properly," Marchande says crisply.

"Well, I guess I could look it over. I did Boards* like, 5 years ago. How hard can it be to remember all that stuff, anyway?" She shrugs and smiles, moving to inspect Rose's wing.

"How does ensorcelment work, miss? Would an ensorcelled one see only this—" he gestures at Marchande's fur and muzzle, we own pallor and stitches, "—or would They see both this and our masques?

Charlotte takes two o the spare stones and quietly secrets them away.

"They see the real you" she says, while inspecting the wing carefully, removing the amateur bandage and looking over the bullet wound. "That's usually just the Mien, I dunno if it has to be, I've only ensorcelled one guy and I got bored with him pretty quick.

Oooh" she says, finely really looking over Rose. "Are you the one that got in the paper today? How'd you get shot? Must have been a busy night for you."


*America has a series of medical student tests conducted before a board of reviewers, which are shortened to "Boards" in case anyone is unfamiliar with that.

[Anarion]

She was going to shul - she needed to find a rabbi she could ask for help.

Congregation Emanu-El loomed before Stephanie. At her rapid pace, it had barely taken her 15 minutes to get there.

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It had been a long time since she had been there. The blue tarps were new. The secretary at the door said that the rabbi on duty was working in the main sanctuary, so Stephanie dutifully headed there.

It was always a somewhat humbling experience. As the oldest and largest Jewish congregation west of the Mississippi, Emanu-El had a great deal of money and a need for grandeur. Stained glass windows reflecting the old testament adorned the multistory walls, as pews stretched into the distance. In front, the Torah was housed in an island built of dark marble columns, and above it was suspended a torch to represent the everlasting light. The rabbi, a young man, was standing on the stage, chanting some of the scriptures alongside a young boy, about age 11-12, when Stephanie walked inside.

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[Thanqol]

It had been... ages since she'd last been here. Not since the funeral. Service hadn't been here, of course not, no way they'd been able to afford something like that, but as soon as she'd stopped having her parents to drive her she just hadn't been able to make the trip and a temporary gap turned into...

seven years?

And, a little inner voice helpfully reminded her, you only came back when you needed something.

Stephanie muttered the most apologetic and sheepish prayer of all time and slunk towards the stage. She got almost all the way there before she realised she'd moved so stealthily that there was no way that he could have possibly heard her, leaving her to awkwardly clear her throat.

[Anarion]

The rabbi and the boy stop chanting, and both start a little bit. Stephanie doesn't recognize this rabbi. He must have joined the Synagogue during the time she was gone. At any rate, the man has the good graces to look sheepish and turns to the boy. "I think that's a good stopping point anyway, Joseph. Why don't you find the Cantor and practice singing the prayers for the end of your Bar Mitzvah with her?"

He turns to Stephanie "He'll be turning 13 in two weeks and he's a little nervous about standing up before the whole congregation." After checking to see that Joseph is on his way, the man turns back to Stephanie and introduces himself. "Hullo there. My name is Rabbi Katzmann. I don't believe I've met you before. What can I do for you today?" He extends his hand to shake.

[Thanqol]

"Uh, hey. I'm Stephanie," Stephanie said, shaking the offered hand hesitantly. "I haven't been here in, like, a million years. And while I've been out... I, uh. I found a few problems. Complicated problems."

Gosh, a plan of some kind would have been super helpful right now.

[Anarion]

"Uh, hey. I'm Stephanie," Stephanie said, shaking the offered hand hesitantly. "I haven't been here in, like, a million years. And while I've been out... I, uh. I found a few problems. Complicated problems."

Gosh, a plan of some kind would have been super helpful right now.

Rabbi Katzmann adjusts his square black glasses and runs a hand through his brown hair, which is short and somewhat balding. "Well, you've come to a good place to seek counsel. Being Jewish isn't something that you can pick up or put down. It's a culture and an ethnicity, not just a religion. We're always here when you need us, or when you're simply feeling a little more spiritual."

He looks Stephanie over up and down. "If the problems are complicated, perhaps you'd like to speak in my office, instead of this intimidating room?"

He leads Stephanie through a back corridor behind the sanctuary's stage. They loop through a couple hallways and then he stops in front of a wooden door with a Katzmann name placard on it in black and gold. His study isn't especially large and he's used up all the space. The room is about 8x10. The Rabbi's desk is on the left side and there are two chairs opposite the desk for guests. Other than that, every wall except one window on the back wall is lined with bookshelves, all crammed with books. There are more books piled on the desk and more still piled on the floor all over the right side of the room. Stephanie notices a few titles. "The Talmud" "Commentaries on the Talmud" "Commentaries on the commentaries (or why 3 Jews in a room always means 7 opinions)," "Kabbalistic interpretation and numerology"

He gestures for her to sit and clears some of the books off his desk and to the floor next to him so he can look at Stephanie. "So, what would you like to tell me?"

[Thanqol]

Ah. Books. He was for real, then.

Stephanie had good memories of sneaking into one of the rabbi's offices to read the books. She understood less than half of what she was reading at any point, being about six years old at the time, but it was all worth it when she was able to drop some complicated-sounding question that she barely understood the meaning behind to the rabbi later and get a disbelieving moment of silence. Learning had never been as fun as when it had been about stealing knowledge.

Best way to get Stephanie into school would be to tell her that she wasn't allowed to go.

"I don't think I'm a human being any more," said Stephanie.

She hadn't even noticed she'd said it. It was a thought that had drifted by while her mind was occupied with the memory and slipped out her mouth.

And it shocked her that she said it. But it was true.

Two hundred meters. On the way over here.

Was this a bad thing?

[PhoeKun]

Oooh" she says, finely really looking over Rose. "Are you the one that got in the paper today? How'd you get shot? Must have been a busy night for you."

"You could say that. What are the papers saying, anyway?" Rose shakes her head and rubs her eyes, sparing a glance at the door. Well, too late now. Stephanie would show up again when she's ready, probably behind the wheel of a sports car a total stranger gave her out of the goodness of his heart or something equally ridiculous. Shrug.

"I'll tell you how I got shot if you can explain to me where I can find 'Youtube'."

Kalina grimaces. Please don't let it be something stupid...

[Anarion]

"I'll tell you how I got shot if you can explain to me where I can find 'Youtube'."

Kalina grimaces. Please don't let it be something stupid...

"Aha, you're one of the ones that was gone a while. Here, take a look at this while I give you the computers in 5 minutes or less tutorial."

She throws a copy of the San Francisco chronicle over to Rose. On the front page is an article titled. CITY OF ANGELS, ISN'T THAT SOUTH OF HERE?

There's a picture on the front, but all it looks like is a shining light and at the corner, Speaker Kalina Rogers is flinching away. The article explains how some kind of meteorological phenomena combined with an early activated firework from the bridge celebration to make it appear that a reporter attempting to accost Speaker Rogers was cloaked in divine light.

Autumn pops back over with a laptop computer, a pretty standard PC. She opens up the screen and keyboard and shows Rose her desktop.

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"Oh, uh, you should ignore that picture, it's just a picture that I like, doesn't mean a thing." *awkward laugh*

"Now, the screen shows information. Each one of those little pictures on the left is a different program, which is something that the computer can do, like keep notes, play a game, make a telephone call, or connect with other people's stuff over the Internet.

You move the mouse around to select things and click the mouse twice to open them. "she demonstrates, then has Rose do it, most likely with a great deal of awkwardness*

You type stuff by pressing the buttons on the keyboard, like a typewriter, if you've ever seen one of those.

There are a lot of different things computers can do, like writing documents, solving math problems, and making phone calls. The one you asked about, YouTube, is a place to watch movies. You open a program to go on the Internet, which is a big system that connects computers all over the world. Then you type www.youtube.com in the white bar on the top, and once you're there, there are literally millions of videos that you can watch if you know what you're looking for. Did you have something specific you wanted to see?"

[Anarion]

"I don't think I'm a human being any more," said Stephanie.

Rabbi Katzmann puts his hand to his chin. "That's a very bold statement to make, Stephanie. And also a very wrong one. I do not know what you have done, or what has been done to you, but you do not stop being human because of what you do. Even the darkest soul, that has turned away from God's Mitzvot is still a human.

Tell me what troubles you so, that you would think yourself cast out from all the world's people?"

[Thanqol]

Rabbi Katzmann puts his hand to his chin. "That's a very bold statement to make, Stephanie. And also a very wrong one. I do not know what you have done, or what has been done to you, but you do not stop being human because of what you do. Even the darkest soul, that has turned away from God's Mitzvot is still a human.

Tell me what troubles you so, that you would think yourself cast out from all the world's people?"

"Well, I can do this," said Stephanie. She got up on the chair, flipped upside down, and put her feet on the roof.

Then she took her hands off the chair.

"For starters," said Stephanie, hanging from the ceiling like a bat.

[Anarion]

"Well, I can do this," said Stephanie. She got up on the chair, flipped upside down, and put her feet on the roof.

Then she took her hands off the chair.

"For starters," said Stephanie, hanging from the ceiling like a bat.

[This strikes me as an obvious display of magic in front of a witness, requiring a clarity check with 3 dice. Thoughts?]

[Anarion]

The rabbi sucks in his breath. "Is this a prank? Some kind of trick? How are you doing that?"

As he's talking, he moves over to one of the bookshelves behind him, and frantically begins running his hand across it. He stops and pulls out a largish book decorated in brown and green ivy scrollwork. The title is "A bestiary of biblical creatures and their symbolism." He puts it out on his desk, but waits for Stephanie's response before looking through it.

[Thanqol]

The rabbi sucks in his breath. "Is this a prank? Some kind of trick? How are you doing that?"

As he's talking, he moves over to one of the bookshelves behind him, and frantically begins running his hand across it. He stops and pulls out a largish book decorated in brown and green ivy scrollwork. The title is "A bestiary of biblical creatures and their symbolism." He puts it out on his desk, but waits for Stephanie's response before looking through it.

"I can also triple the world long jump record, see in utter darkness and fall from tall buildings without damage," said Stephanie. A strange serenity had fallen over her, a perfect clarity and focus that the entire world was making sense through. She just needed to stay calm.

"I can show you, if you want to see. True sight for a month. Be sure, because this will be a favour I'm doing you. Swear it on your name that you won't tell anyone, or it'll work out badly."

[Oath of Rose and Thorn, Changeling p186.]

[PhoeKun]

There are a lot of different things computers can do, like writing documents, solving math problems, and making phone calls. The one you asked about, YouTube, is a place to watch movies. You open a program to go on the Internet, which is a big system that connects computers all over the world. Then you type www.youtube.com in the white bar on the top, and once you're there, there are literally millions of videos that you can watch if you know what you're looking for. Did you have something specific you wanted to see?"

Rose glances down at the paper, reading through the details while she waits.

"Early fireworks? Well, at least I know I didn't ruin her career. That's... good."

Finally, the machine boots up, and Rose is confronted with an image of a... a... um... cartoon? She guesses? Must help with something. Although she's darned if she knows what.

But if Autumn thought that moment was awkward, it's nothing compared to how Rose feels trying to manipulate a mouse. Tentative at first, afraid of breaking it, she has trouble getting it to go anywhere. The lack of physical feedback confounds her, sending the cursor just about everywhere but where she's trying to get it to go. It's close to a full minute before it's moved where it ought to. Not on purpose, either. One click, two. Deliberate. Not fast enough, she's told. Hrm. Click. Click. Well, you'll get it.

Rose frowns, and watches on. Typing seems... considerably simpler, but she'd cross that bridge if and when she came to it. Something she wants to see? Well...

"I'm... looking for a speech by a person calling himself 'Paladin'. I was told this is where I could find him. The only place, in fact."

[Anarion]

"I can also triple the world long jump record, see in utter darkness and fall from tall buildings without damage," said Stephanie. A strange serenity had fallen over her, a perfect clarity and focus that the entire world was making sense through. She just needed to stay calm.

"I can show you, if you want to see. True sight for a month. Be sure, because this will be a favour I'm doing you. Swear it on your name that you won't tell anyone, or it'll work out badly."

[Oath of Rose and Thorn, Changeling p186.]

The man laughs. A long, slow chuckle, not very loud, but fully heartfelt. "You walk into my office, ask for advice, and challenge the better part of modern theology. And you want my help. Yes, I accept your oath, Stephanie. Show me where you fit within Tipheret."

[Thanqol]

The man laughs. A long, slow chuckle, not very loud, but fully heartfelt. "You walk into my office, ask for advice, and challenge the better part of modern theology. And you want my help. Yes, I accept your oath, Stephanie. Show me where you fit within Tipheret."

"I was hoping you could tell me," said Stephanie, letting the glamour slip from her palms and open his eyes to the reality she saw.

"Because until now," said the shadow, spreading it's arms and blinking large orange eyes, "the only answer I've really had has been 'superhero'."

[Anarion]

"Oh." He blinks, looking rather unimpressed. "Hmm, I was expecting an astral journey or a vision quest. You appear to simply be a shadow person, which does explain hanging on the ceiling, though not why you're an especially fast runner."

"Well, let us back up for a moment. You are not human, in a traditional sense, but you have free will and a mind to think, so in fact you are still of humanity, whatever your appearance may be.

But surely, if you thought of yourself as a superhero, you needed no help. Why come to me? And why now, at this moment?"

[Thanqol]

"Oh." He blinks, looking rather unimpressed. "Hmm, I was expecting an astral journey or a vision quest. You appear to simply be a shadow person, which does explain hanging on the ceiling, though not why you're an especially fast runner."

"Well, let us back up for a moment. You are not human, in a traditional sense, but you have free will and a mind to think, so in fact you are still of humanity, whatever your appearance may be.

But surely, if you thought of yourself as a superhero, you needed no help. Why come to me? And why now, at this moment?"

Stephanie gave a long, blank stare.

[Anarion]

Stephanie gave a long, blank stare.

The Rabbi stared right back, and after a moment said. "Well, did you want my help? I believe I also owe you a favor now." He takes off his glasses for a moment and begins wiping them on his shirt, continuing to speak. "You do need to speak, if you're interested in something from me. Otherwise, I suppose I can start looking up your species in my book here."

[Thanqol]

The Rabbi stared right back, and after a moment said. "Well, did you want my help? I believe I also owe you a favor now." He takes off his glasses for a moment and begins wiping them on his shirt, continuing to speak. "You do need to speak, if you're interested in something from me. Otherwise, I suppose I can start looking up your species in my book here."

Stephanie's brain made a resolution and snapped back into motion. For better or worse, the only rationale she'd applied to this freakishly calm reaction was Wow, rabbis are really smart.

"Uh, yeah," she said, blundering directly into full gear. "It's just, I met this person, and they gave me this rock and said that it'd show me what my soul looked like, and it's like half empty," she said, putting the rock on the table and feeling like she was eight years old again.

[Anarion]

"Uh, yeah," she said, blundering directly into full gear. "It's just, I met this person, and they gave me this rock and said that it'd show me what my soul looked like, and it's like half empty," she said, putting the rock on the table and feeling like she was eight years old again.

Interestingly, when Stephanie takes out the rock, there is an extremely thin, spidery line of blue running through a small section of the black area near the base of the stone. That wasn't there before.

Rabbi Katzmann takes a look at it. He picks it up and examines it in the light and begins flipping pages in the book he took out. He also goes to the shelf and picks out another book, entitled "Entities of Ein Soph" and begins skimming through that one as well. After a few moments, he says "it seems to me, that if this is your soul, then it has been tainted by the abyss in some manner. I do not know whether this is a sign that you could become a Qlippoth or a hopeful sign that something was done to you from which you are slowly recovering. Perhaps it could go either way?

Tell me how you came to be like this."

[Thanqol]

"I, uh. I went to another dimension where I was a superhero and thwarted the evil schemes of James McClaw," said Stephanie, trying to take in as much as she could. "I only came back a few days ago. I don't know how it happened."

She felt vaguely guilty when she said that last sentence. As if she'd lied.

[Raz_Fox]

As Rose receives her YouTube tutorial, Marchande slips the paper out of her grasp and starts flipping through it, trying to find items of interest. She chuckles to herself when she sees that the most honorable Speaker was saved by everyone's tacit agreement to ignore the supernatural, and then goes hunting for trouble in ink and cheap paper.

[Anarion]

She felt vaguely guilty when she said that last sentence. As if she'd lied.

"It occurs to me that you may not have a complete understanding of what happened to you. I do not dispute your words, nor the existence of this 'Dr. McClaw' but I do wonder if other events were occurring that were not visible to you, Stephanie. Perhaps the events that made you as you are?

Can you describe to me what the trip was like when you first went to the place where you became a superhero?"

As Rose receives her YouTube tutorial, Marchande slips the paper out of her grasp and starts flipping through it, trying to find items of interest. She chuckles to herself when she sees that the most honorable Speaker was saved by everyone's tacit agreement to ignore the supernatural, and then goes hunting for trouble in ink and cheap paper.

Newspaper headlines

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OUT IN LEFT FIELD
Giants Pitcher Tim Lincecum truly hasn't been himself at all this season. The sponsors noted that he lost nearly 20 pounds, but everyone thought his pitching was still up to snuff. But 3 junk starts in a row goes from a fluke to a slump, in this writer's opinion. Tim needs to get his head together. We need to see the old Lincecum back out there, not this terrible new guy.

MISSING TOTS
A third reported kidnapping came in last night, from a middle class family that had just moved into a new apartment in SoMa. This makes the third incident this month. Authorities can't seem to piece together a pattern, as the other kidnappings were in widely separated parts of the city.

DOWNTOWN BUILDING CONDEMNED ONLY 5 YEARS AFTER RENOVATION
A bit of wet paint and loose water knocking someone down the stairs isn't of much note. A light fixture losing a screw and smacking a person on the head is a freak accident, not worth a news story. Bums shatter windows every day. But the Federal Government Building on 6th and Market has been all those things and more. More than 10 people have entered that building and come out on a stretcher. It's like the building wants them out of there, and it has succeeded. The government is fully condemning it, boarding the whole thing up. The only part that's going to be left open is a small section on the bottom floor that serves as a soup kitchen to the homeless and can be accessed through a separate door.

SHERIFF IN SCANDAL OVER BEATING WIFE
He claims that he was merely holding her arm when they were unexpectedly jolted, but the panicked 911 call and the severe bruises prove otherwise. Analysts think that head Sheriff Mirkarimi will be forced to resign by Mayor Lee. In the court of public opinion, the rule is guilty, no matter what's proven.

"I'm... looking for a speech by a person calling himself 'Paladin'. I was told this is where I could find him. The only place, in fact."

"Hmm, that might be tough, it's a bit vague. You look for videos by writing down words that are related to them, but 'paladin speech' isn't really...oh, hmm, is this what you were looking for?

Video

Spoiler

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A small desk is facing the camera. There is a light on, but you can't see the source. A man walks in. It's hard to tell how big he is because the desk fills the whole bottom of the screen and you have nothing else to compare to for his height.

He has his head covered. He's wearing armor all over his body, along with a white cape and a white turban wrapped around a steel helmet that covers his whole face. His cloak broach has a small golden pin in the shape of the holy grail.

As soon as he starts speaking, it becomes obvious that he's doing something to alter his voice because it doesn't sound human at all, it sounds low and filtered.

Greetings men and beasts. I come offering you a grim message, but one of ultimate hope.

This world has become corrupted. Dark power suffuses it. Tricksters move unseen beneath your gaze, hiding in their illusions.

Those that draw on the darkness bring a vengeful gaze upon the land. Gods descend upon the world and do what they will, for they are random and capricious, not to be trusted.

Yet those that know refuse to act. They fear change, they seek to control you. They seek to steal your will, and fill your belly with fear and doubt.


He draws a sword that was hanging at a sheath at his side. The blade is not steel, but sparkling crystal, tinted in gold.

It is time for us to take action, my friends. Change is not easy. We must set a flame beneath the establishment and scourge away the taint. Only in the purifying fire can the world be made anew.

The ways of the gods must be sealed, the paths of the tricksters closed to them forever and burned off the face of he earth.

We must return to what we once were. Simple, happy. We can no longer live in the fantasy we have made for ourselves. Only by starting a fire beneath the established order, by turning away from false gods and idols can we return home. We are all asleep, it is time to wake up.

It shall not be easy, my friends. But I am here for you. Your fellows are here for you. Those that seek the purifying flame shall be found and gathered. For we are already gathering, growing strong and biding our time until the day when we can finally end the fantasy and return the world to what it once was.

It shall be the end times for the gods. Ragnarok is upon us, my friends! Best you prepare.

"Why the heck did you want to see that garbage?" Autumn asks incredulously.

[PhoeKun]

"Why the heck did you want to see that garbage?" Autumn asks incredulously.

The world is shrinking. Smaller than this tiny room, smaller than the desk Rose sits at. Smaller and smaller, until the only things in it are herself and that screen.

Man. Stature unknown. Height unknown. Face unknown. Voice unknown. Really a man? Unknown. But armored. Do... do people like that exist here?

The blade is drawn. Rose's breath catches in her throat. One hand reaches out toward the screen, outstretched fingers trying to stroke it. A sigh, at last, audible and tinged with something bordering on lust. And jealousy.

'...false gods...' Eyes narrow.

'...purifying flames...' Fists clench. Joints crack in protest.

'...return the world... Ragnarok.' Lip curls. Presses. Draws thin. Rose closes her eyes. The world returns to its normal size. Words echo around it:

'Why the heck did you want to see that garbage?'

"You wanted to know how I got shot." She points her finger at the screen, jabs it twice at the darkened space where the video had been. Her whole hand is trembling. Words tumble out, and she can't stop them, "Her name is Anna. She isn't more than twelve years old. Last night, she was being carried off to become kindling for that man's fire..."