[center][h2][b]Ophelia[/b][/h2][/center]

The soothing flow of the whispers into her mind helped anchor Ophelia in this otherwise fraught moment, and she looked up at the Shopkeeper grimly once again.

"Prepare for a chalice ritual. If anything will know how to fix her, it will be my blade made whole." Ophelia said flatly, climbing to her feet as she did so, and storming out of the workshop as quickly as she could muster with no heed for whether the Shopkeeper acknowledged her or not. Once outside she turned to Farren, and Torquil nearby, and looked over to find Gerlinde approaching the patches of lingering flame before shouting out. 

"The Doll is... dead? Inanimate? We need to get the false Paleblood [i]out[/i], now. Castle Cainhurst. Annalise knows blood well. She will keep it safe. We will get the chalice. We will restore my blade, and maybe it can help us get her back. Now." she spoke, though much like Farren earlier her voice was flat and terse, not to mention hoarse from her screaming... though it was still imbued with an impressive amount of urgency. For all that Ophelia liked to take charge normally, something was different now--they were no longer safe here in their Dream, able to take things at their leisure, and with that safety gone so was an element of Ophelia's geniality. They had lost something truly, truly precious and she would do anything to get it back, no matter the cost, no matter how much she had to trample on any of her fellows' feelings. She was [i]done[/i] losing people to the influence of gold, done letting this bastard toy with them and treat people like playthings to steal something that was never his... and her tone very much reflected her new warpath.

It struck Ophelia in that moment that if introducing false Paleblood into the Dream had allowed the usurper to gain more influence over it and disrupt its connection to its owner, Flora, perhaps obtaining more of Flora's blood or essence or [i]something[/i] might tip the connection back in its favour.

[i]"Do you know where Flora is?"[/i] she asked of the whispers.

"[i]Elsewhere.[/i]" they replied.

[i]"Somewhere we can get to?"[/i]

"[I]It does not know. It does not know where Flora is... just that she is not in this Nightmare... nor any realm you have brought it.[/I]"

That reply scuppered her idea of attempting to find Flora and introduce more of her essence to the Dream to set it to rights--at least for the moment, until they might get a lead. Perhaps it was time to return to Yahar'gul, and learn the methodology of their ritual. They beckoned a different Great One entirely, one not even of the same type as Flora, but perhaps what they were doing could be repurposed...

[i]"What can you tell me of the false Paleblood?"[/i] she whispered again.

"[I]It feels similar to Paleblood... but different. It tries to be Paleblood... but is imperfect... destabilizes the Dream. Not much... only temporarily... but enough to hinder.[/I]" came the reply.

[i]"Could the ritual at Yahar'gul be used to beckon something else? Flora?[/i]"

"[I]The ritual... no. Not Flora. Slumbering Great One. Deep in the Cosmos. Powerful.[/I]"

Throughout all of this, Ophelia simply stood waiting for the others.