Lunch happens. The oriental gentleman continues to fail to react, until halfway through the meal. He gets up and bows deeply (seemingly a ritual, rather than an acknowledgement of worth). He scratches his belly scar subtly, and greets Mistress Janice. "Pardon me, madam, may I join your soiree?" in the precise accent of Cagliostro's home domain. She passes the buck to Cagliostro ("my father"), who greets the gentleman. They discuss the food and its components - the gentleman only eats fruits & vegetables, not items with meat or grain. There appears to be enough fruits and vegetables to satisfy him. "We" - those who follow the "path" and the "way". He does a demo and has five marbles as a pentagram on his hand. Discussion of balance happens - Cagliostro has a different view of balance than the gentleman. The discussion almost devolves when the gentleman uses his sword as a pointer and Gil holds his knife at his throat. Cagliostro's demonstration gets sucked into the marbles on the gentleman's hand. The marbles are a huge magical working, folded. The mystic inertia is low, but they have a quarter Caelin of magic total. They are not the marbles that Cagliostro saw in Cobalt. Cagliostro and the gentleman discuss the world. The gentleman in question is convinced that there is one world, he's walked over the entire thing, and Cagliostr's maps are wrong. He walked about a quarter mile to a chunk of veined stone that Cagliostro doesn't remember. The stone is dark green, the veins are marbled black - obsidian in nature? The chunk is about 3-4 inches larger than the individual sitting. Explain radio to the gentleman. He's not comfortable going anywhere that he hasn't walked. Send him, and the radio, up the ramp. Turn to the gate - the marbles have drowned out the signal. Nuts. Cagliostro flips through the cards - pulls out Alhaserus's card. Concentrate - really having to push - with Gil's help. Alhaserus is clinging to the bottom of a rock, and screaming in defiance as he's being attacked by Salmonella goblins. Gil is bluish and comatose, her life energy is at a low ebb. She seems like she will recover. "You know what really sucks? Being cursed to return to a place that ain't there anymore." Alhaserus bandages himself. Mistress Janice suggests re-triggering the dreams by making Alhaserus successful. Alhaserus picks up Gil, they head up the ramp toward the gentleman. Catch up with the gentleman, who recognizes Alhaserus. He produces a book; less than 1/8 of the way through (150 pages) is a line drawing of Alhaserus. There is writing, which the gentleman translates as warnings that the red-headed devil upsets the balance. Alhaserus asks to see the balance; the gentleman produces the marbles. Cagliostro gives his lens to Alhaserus - who is skeptical about using i t on these. He examines it, vanishes it, and a marble moves. The balance is shifted - the gentleman meditates on whether Cagliostro is allowed to help, while Cagliostro examine the marbles. The marbles have a root in one of five elements, but things get much more complex. He's been pulled into water, but there are aspects of him spread out over all five marbles. He woods out, Janice tries to trump Gil and Alhaserus and fails. Janice trumps Colin, who checks up on Gil. Cagliostro starts his working; when he looks up again, Janice is writing, Absalom has six or seven chained and beaten up individuals, and there are two humvees. Janice informs Cagliostro about the prisoners - she's been taking notes. Gil comes out first - wearing drab slacks and a blouse, a tweedy overcoat, and a very different haircut, smoking a complex multi-chambered pipe and holding a book. She says that was fascinating, but she lost track of Alhaserus about six hundred years before - two hundred years after she entered. Soon after, Alhaserus is pulled out, looking apparently the same but in the middle of his meeting. Alhaserus left the lens in his knapsack, which was not with him. Cagliostro keeps bringing things out, and gets the knapsack, a table, and a dining companion. Cagliostro is introduced to Gromm, tries to put things right and destroys the objects in hyperentropic dust without restoring the balance. Absalom suggests Hamster Dworkin to help with Mr. Wood, and Cagliostro realizes it's a good idea. He trumps Hamster Dworkin, who agrees to tutor Mr. Wood, who is considered a previously unknown member of the family. The drytowners decline to act as Cagliostro's messengers once they leave his line of sight. Mistress Janice confirms that their sense of honor only exists at the point of a knife, they don't believe in the sun when it's night, etc. Cagliostro sighs, conscripts the drytowner s to his service and wipes their memories. He restores them with the memories of late guards. The guards look at themselves and ask Cagliostro for what purpose they have been altered. Mistress Janice takes the ball and runs with it, explaining the infiltration mission for drytown. Neodrytowners head off; Mr. Wood says that he has lost the thread of justice. Cagliostro apologizes for being a work in progress. Hamster Deirdre trumps Cagliostro, and explains that she volunteered to start the process while Hamster Dworkin is busy - the cree of baby hamsters is not something she finds appealing, and Llewella has given birth again. Hamster Deirdre arrives, is confused for Cagliostro's pet, then the tutor's familiar. She begins to learn about Mr. Wood and the Balance. Cagliostro heads back to his castle, with the firm intention of doing constructive work and not dealing with people for a while.