Fighting the anger that was growing inside of her, to her horror, at Martin, Rina let loose a thousand curses in her mind. She cursed everything and everyone from Akatosh to Sithis to Zenithar, and then even Vivec, wherever he might be, but nothing sufficiently quelled her resentment. She looked down the face of the cliff at the sleeping city of Bruma, and she did something she had never done before.

She ran.

The portal still stood on the island in the middle of the bay, as it had for some time. That guard had finally lost interest in fighting with everybody and everything that came through the gate, Rina was somewhat gratified to see. With every step towards it, Rina could feel control slipping away from her, like the blue glow was madness itself. It had never felt so welcoming. Instead of a weakness, something that she needed to constantly fight, she would enter the portal, and let madness provide a refuge for a time. It was not unlike the feeling she had gotten after completing her first Dark Brotherhood contract. A sort of disconnection at the same time as feeling… hyper-attuned to everything around her. A sort of thrill, if nothing else.

Thinking of that reminded her that she still had to meet with the rest of the Black Hand in Bravil, since she was now a part of it, so they could awaken the Night Mother and seek her wisdom. She tried to push it from her mind as she took another step towards the glowing door. Shivering Isles. Her place there was calling to her.

For how long she was going to stay in the Isles, she did not know. She knew she couldn't face the Countess yet. And until she did so, she wouldn't be able to talk to Martin. She'd have to explain why she hadn't summoned Carvain when things were so urgent and- there really was no excuse. No excuse she could tell him.

The longer she stood, gasping and trying to catch her breath, staring at the portal and willing herself to go through it, to take just one more step, the more she knew that she could not run. She could escape for a while, yes, but nothing would ultimately be solved.

Still not knowing what to do with herself, she turned, walked down the path, and braced herself for the shock of the cold water as she swam back to the mainland.

The only thing she knew was that something needed to change.

After much deliberation, she finally decided to see to her business in Bravil. The Purification had solved nothing. All it had done was make Rina mourn for her lost friends and colleagues, though she had to admit that the prospect of not having to deal with the Orc and Vincente anymore was not so troubling.

Arquen, the Breton with the shifty eyes, and the rest of the Hand- minus Ungolim- were waiting for her. She felt somewhat out of place, but they were beginning the awakening ritual even as she was walking up to them. Arquen spoke the necessary words, pleading to the Night Mother for guidance.

The statue contorted itself, reaching up to the heavens as if trying to grasp a faraway rescuing hand, and froze once again. A trapdoor was now revealed where solid marble had formerly been. Even with all that was going on in the Mages Guild, Rina couldn't help being somewhat amazed.

Following everyone else down the ladder, she dropped down the last couple of feet and took stock of her surroundings. There was something familiar about it, though why a tomb littered with skeletons would be familiar she wasn't sure. Something was almost hospitable about it.

The Night Mother was a frightening sight. Before Rina stood a ghost without eyes who was still able to see, and with a chilling voice that echoed off the walls of the chamber, like a void that would swallow the very stars in the sky.

Before Arquen could even finish speaking, the Night Mother was answering- her voice grew and grew, and the torches they were holding blew out.

"Fools! Lachance was not the traitor! The one you seek still stands among you!" she bellowed.

Before Rina knew what was happening, the Breton had killed one of the Hand and was trying to kill her as well, but Arquen helped her defeat him.

She didn't really remember what came next. The Night Mother was asking her things, and she was answering…

Climbing out of the crypt, she stood for a moment, not quite believing what had just happened.

"I'm Listener…" she whispered to nobody in particular. It was as if she could feel, see, and hear every shadow around her.

After a minute, the shock wore off and reality hit her. She had already spent too much time on her own business. She could avoid it no longer. She had to go back to Bruma. It would be too late by the time she would be able to get there for her to speak with the countess right away. She rode as long as she could, until fatigue forced her to hand over a handful of Septims for little more than a cot on the floor of a small, cramped room at a remote inn. She drifted off into a troubled sleep.

She wasn't sure how many days she was gone. As far as she could tell, she was somewhere between Bravil and Skingrad, if only by the vegetation. Everything was becoming a blur, and she didn't really care anymore. Using a quick detect life spell to make sure nothing was going to attack her, she fell down onto the thick carpet of grass. She thought of everyone waiting for her back at Cloud Ruler Temple, especially Martin... she wondered what he was doing. Probably staring at the Xarxes, as he had been doing for a while. She started to feel guilty

Morning broke over the Jerall Mountains. Shadowmere refused to climb the path to Cloud Ruler Temple, and Rina was forced to walk the entire way by foot, barely awake once she reached the top. Everything was exactly as she had left it. There was no air of doom here, in fact, everyone was rather disgustingly optimistic. Naively so, even. Blades were practicing new combat techniques in the designated areas, and Rina paused a moment to watch them. As skilled as she had become with a sword, she still learned a few things. She began to fret- were they all sufficiently trained? Would those participating in the battle know how to handle whatever came at them? Would the Blades even be participating in the fighting, or were they going to stay holed up in-

A familiar voice broke through her thoughts.

"Rina! Where have you been? We were worried. It is good to see you again. What did the countess have to say? Will she meet us to discuss battle plans?" Martin was looking at her eagerly, waiting for her to report. He looked like he hadn't slept at all, which was probably the case.

"I- haven't spoken with her yet," she replied with some hesitation. "Look, I need to talk to you. It's urgent."