Watching the distillation process was akin to watching a plant grow, or paint dry. I was glad I had two days to deliver this potion, because otherwise I would fail.

I kept checking the glass jar I had put under the catch tube, and after hours and hours, I saw only a little puddle, barely enough to cover the bottom of the thick glass.

While we waited, I chatted to Aleister about the mystery of the Winter Lady.

The last step of instructions for Winter’s Kiss was: After the preparation is complete, it is wise to speak the Winter Lady’s true Name over the decoction and then one should Open the properties of the mixture.

I was on my way to brewing the potion, but I had no idea who the Winter Lady was, or what her true Name might be.

As was becoming customary, I took my problems to the cat.

“I imagine that's the patron spirit of Holly.” Aleister said.

Holly was one of the Signs of the Zodiac. I knew that there were twelve Signs. Besides my own sign Snake, there was also Holly, Sparrow, Pitchfork, Oak, Arrow, Rabbit, Palm, Wheel, Water Lily, Octopus and Ladle. I found them all listed in Old Toad’s book, under ‘Names.’

I had already learned from Aleister that each Sign had a patron spirit associated with it. These spirits were known as Names. I only knew one: Zinia, The Serpent’s Caress.

“Can’t you just tell me the Name that’s patron to Holly?” I asked Aleister.

“I can tell you what they’re all called. But, it won’t help you. Simply knowing a name is not the same as being given someone’s Name.”

“I don’t understand that at all.” I said, exasperated.

“When Zinia introduced herself to you in your Vision, she gave you her Name. Only she could do that. Now, that you have her Name, you may use it for Sorcery. You may imbue any potion with the essence of Snake, through the Name. You can think of that as a gift she has given you.”

I think I was starting to understand. Just knowing the words wasn’t enough. The spirit I was working with had to be in accordance. They had to reach out to me somehow, and introduce themselves. And only then could I use their names for Sorcery.

I thought of that Vision I had, where the knight pierced with arrows had terrified me. I was beginning to feel like I had royally screwed up. I wished I was braver, so I could have continued the Vision and learned all the Names. It was too late, and I would have to do something else.

And I think I knew what I had to do.

“I guess I’m staying up late again tonight.” I announced to the two animals.

“To try to induce a Vision?” Aleister asked.

I nodded solemnly

“That might work, but the chances are against you.”

“Why?”

“Visions are never a guarantee. You might become deathly exhausted one night, and never see a Vision. Or, you might not be able to escape them another night.” Aleister added thoughtfully, “Even if Visions come, can you be sure that the right Spirit will appear? What if a trickster comes that’s pretending to be the right one? Worse yet, what if a malevolent spirit makes an appearance? That’s why the chances are against you.”

“Is there any way I could tip the scales? Maybe, influence my luck?”

“There are some. I believe there’s potions for that but you likely don’t have the time to brew them.” Aleister fell silent, thinking

I looked out the window. It was depressing not to be able to see anything outside. I wished I had a view of the street or the forest. I could hear the soft patter of rain outside, and it was a pleasant reminder that there was a world outside of this locked house.

“Normally, Names give you ways to reach them…” Aleister began, weighing each word.

I nodded. I believed that’s what Zinia had done, when she showed me the series of images: a split pomegranate, a rose thorn, a golden ring, a red dress, red wine, Belladonna. These were items that were somehow connected to her.

“You could try to evince a Vision, while holding something related to the Winter Lady. Of course, you don’t know what those items are, so you would be guessing… Perhaps, that’s no plan at all.” Aleister concluded grumpily, unhappy to not know the answer to something.

“Wait a second, I know some things she likes! I know from the riddle she likes frost, robin feathers and Holly berries!” I said my voice mounting with excitement. That was what the first line of the Winter Lady riddle had been. ‘The Winter Lady is gathering Holly berries. She will put them in her hair, along with frost and robin feathers.’

“But I don’t have any of those things.” The excitement left me as quickly as it came. I was back to square one.

“No, you don't.” I could hear in Aleister’s voice that he was onto something, “But you do have the riddle. The page itself.”

I looked at the cat with skepticism

“Now, I’m not confident that will work. In fact, if I was betting, I would probably say it shouldn’t. But I don’t see what else you could do?” He said, a bit defensively.

He was right. I didn't know any other way to go about it.

---

I was finally growing dark outside. I had spent the day in a fairly unproductive manner, puttering here and there. I didn't want to do much, since I could gain no EXP all day, anyway.

Aleister had advised me to light white candles to welcome the Winter Lady.

“It’s really Sorcery 101, and barely has any effect, but we’re trying everything to entice luck tonight, aren't we? So you ought to stack the deck with every card you have.”

I dug out some candles from the store room (all white, as the cat suggested) and placed them around the house. I put the majority in the kitchen, but left some in the hallway and the front room.

Once they were lit, the house was absolutely transformed! With the rain picking up outside into a full fledged storm, the kitchen was a comfortable bubble of light and warmth. I sat for a while, and enjoyed the atmosphere, while snacking on the delicious cherries that Mr. S. Beaugiron was so kind to send. Just in that moment, life really wasn’t all that bad.

I was also excited to meet the Winter Lady! In my imagination, she was a beautiful maiden, with a red cape, trimmed with white fur. Maybe she had Christmas lights in her hair. Maybe she gave out presents. But that was all supposition. What would she be really like, I wondered?

Eventually, Aleister and Cheerful decided they would not try to stay up with me, and went to bed. Aleister curled next to the fire, and Cheerful found himself a perch above the cabinetry. I was suspecting that the bird had made himself a full fledged nest up there.

The cat admonished again to be on the lookout for unkind spirits, before yawning and falling asleep.

I found myself menial chores to complete while I waited for the Tiredness debuff.

I busied myself rinsing out the dusty glassware. I imagined that I would need it soon, to store all the potions I would be brewing. Might as well be prepared.

I took my time with each fragile container, washing it with cold water, and drying it with a kitchen towel. I was trying to draw out the chore, so that I had something to do besides sit staring at the walls.

I must have washed dozens of phials, casks, and vials of different shapes before the debuff finally came.

Debuff: Tired

EXP gains are decreased. (Already affected by Daily Card)

Sleep is essential. Missing sleep is a hazard to mind and body.

(Warning: Tiredness may cause Visions! )

I quickly grabbed my Winter Lady riddle page, and went to sit by the fire. I clutched the page to my chest with one hand, and lazily poked at the fire with the other. I kept trying to catch shadows moving, forming, and becoming something Other.

Nothing happened.

For hours I sat next to the fire, and no shadow tried to spook me, or whisper its secrets to me. I just about gave up, after hours of pointless sitting, and battling my fatigue. That’s when I got the second debuff.

Debuff: Exhausted

No EXP can be gained. (Already affected by Daily Card)

No buff may be gained.

Certain actions are restricted.

Sleep is essential for health and sanity. Avoid it at your own peril!

(Warning: When Exhausted, Visions are more likely than when Tired! )

I read the message, struggling to keep my eyes open.

This was good news! As I stayed up later and later, my chances of having a Vision became more likely.

I looked around me at the fire-lit kitchen. Were the shadows moving yet? Congealing into forms?

I didn’t think so. Not yet.

I sat and waited and some more nothing happened. I was beginning to get very exasperated. Then I got a message:

To Do:

Go to Sleep

That was odd. I hadn’t gotten a message like that last time I had Visions. I wasn’t sure what it meant, so I ignored it. I would eventually go to sleep, after all.

I kept waiting and waiting, and it became almost impossible to keep my eyes open.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I heard an awful laugh. It was soft, masculine, but imbued with so much cruelty it made every hair in my body stand. Fear coursed through my bloodstream, and I had to clap my palm over my mouth to stop a yelp.

I thought about trying to hide under the covers and going to sleep, but immediately discounted that. Hadn’t I already screwed up a Vision by being too chicken? No, this time, no matter how scary my Vision was, I would ride it out!

And, I thought, I must be nearly there. If I’m hearing disembodied voices, maybe the Visions aren’t far off.

I was right.

The shadows started shifting just slightly, growing and encompassing more of the kitchen. I couldn’t tell if there were human-like shapes in them yet, but I didn't think so. I clutched the Winter Lady riddle tight to my chest.

I kept staring into the shadows, expecting something to happen. Looking around the kitchen, I saw something on the floor. It wasn’t moving. From my place on the floor, next to the fire, I crawled over on my hands and knees to examine the new object. I must have been very tired, because I thought it suddenly got very dark.

When I got to it, and picked it up, I saw that it was a red string. It wound around the table, and went out the kitchen door.

That's when my To Do list started going crazy.

To Do:

Go To Sleep

Go To Sleep

Go To Sleep

Go To SLEEP

Go To SLEEP

Go TO SLEEP

GO TO SLEEP

GO TO SLEEP

GO TO SLEEP

GOTOSLEEP

GOTOSLEEP

GOTOSLEEP

GOTOSLEEP

GOTOSLEEP

It scrolled on like that. I tried not paying attention to it, but more and more ‘Go To Sleep’ objectives kept populating on the list.

I stood up, unsteady on my feet from exhaustion. The Winter Lady was partial to red Holly berries. Maybe she liked red strings too? Somewhere deep in my heart, I knew that wasn’t the answer, but I was determined to follow this through.

I looked down at the red string in my hand, and got the impression that I was supposed to follow it.

When I made the decision to do just that, I was overtaken with a wave of nausea. Something was wrong. I gritted my teeth and remembered my failure last time I had a Vision. I couldn’t let that happen again!

I started following the string.

When I left the kitchen, and stepped into the hallway, I got another message, but it seemed very different than anything I had seen before.

DO YOU WISH TO PLAY MY GAME?

The message wasn’t something I could interact with. After a while it faded, leaving a ghostly outline of the letters in my view.

It occurred to me that the hallway was so devastatingly dark that I had to keep my hand on the wall to find my way. I still had the string in my hand, and it was leading me into the front room. Hadn’t I lit candles? Where were the lights?

I followed the string into the front room. I had left the electric lights in here, but they were flickering, and occasionally casting the space into complete darkness. I approached the counter, and saw that there was a red ball of yarn. That was where the red string had led me. Next to the yarn was a very thin, unlit, black candle.

Aleister had told me to light candles to welcome the Winter Lady, so this must be evidence of her presence!

But he had said I needed to light white ones.

LIGHT IT!

Another wave of nausea and fear rolled over me as the message appeared. I really didn’t want to light the thin, black candle, but I was so determined to succeed in my quest that I fought the feelings down. If I was going to light it, I needed matches.

I found my way back to the kitchen by feeling the walls, still letting the red string flow through my hand.

In the kitchen, all the lights were extinguished save for the glow of the coals from the fireplace.

I must have tripped over Aleister and woke him up as I stumbled towards the fireplace mantle, where the match box was kept.

“What are you doing?” I heard Aleister’s sleepy and annoyed voice.

“I need a match.” I answered, hazily.

“What for?” He asked.

“I have to light the black candle…”

Suddenly there was something sharp and painful digging into my chest. I was about to fight it off, but then Aleister’s voice was very close to me, and I realized the cat was digging his claws into me.

“Go to sleep right now!” He sounded so scared.

“But the Winter Lady…” I wanted to protest. I had come so far, I didn’t want to give up now!

“That’s NOT her! Go to bed!”

The kitty can certainly sound very commanding. I grumbled, but I was so, so exhausted that the idea of going to sleep sounded heavenly. I fell into my quilts, and shut my eyes gratefully.

DON’T BE SCARED. COME PLAY. PLAY MY GAME.

The message somehow made me feel awful and yet paradoxically called to me to get up and finish what I started. But I just didn’t have any more energy. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t get up from my sleeping place.

Just before I finally fell asleep after my long night, I got one more message:

YOU WILL PLAY WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT! HA HA