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You step with feigned confidence into the next room, as ever unsure what you will find but keen to look like you know what you're doing in case anybody is there... but when you see this room you falter. Whatever you had expected, it hadn't been this.
You are in a study with triangular indents into the walls which the occupant uses for shelves. The walls themselves are made of cob, and painted a regal-rich purple. Light pours in from one large window, and you feel both respectful of this space, which feels like it has something sacred about it, and uplifted by its ambiance.
You haven't eaten in a while and your Life Force clock has ticked down. Reduce your Life Force clock by 1 (from green to amber, amber to red, or red to dead). If you survive, continue.
You return your attention to the room. One detail you find very strange is that this study is clearly a through-room.
All of this is before you even account for the woman who sits at her desk. It seems she was expecting you, for she appears to have taken your arrival in stride. She leans back in her chair with easy grace, one hand absently handling the pendant of her necklace. "You come at last," she says, power in her voice and bearing.
You wonder for a moment whether she is a sorceress, and what her alignment might be. You warily judge from her appearance, from the deep, rich red of her dress to the cuffs around her forearms and her defiant makeup, that she has a strong affinity for magic.
She laughs, and the hair stands up on the back of your neck. Did she just read your mind? Then she talks and you file away the thought for now. "You have come far. Soon you will enter level 2. But first, sit with me a while. And yes, I know you are concerned about your Life Force running out." She pushes a jar of wafers in your direction. "Take one as and when you need it. You may call me Orphia."
You offer her the most grateful smile you can, although your fears are not yet allayed. If you decide to accept her offer of food, drop a wafer into your knapsack. Restore your Life Force to green.
"Which way did you come?" she asks, and her tone makes this sound less like a question and more like an instruction to brief her.
So you do. You tell her who you have met on the way, which rooms you went through, and the dangers you have survived.
She scratches absently at her chin as she listens intently. She nods, and she asks you questions. When she is satisfied she knows your story in full, she speaks.
Which items do you have: