Elfborn

K'Suthin

Touched in some manner by Alura's fey magic, Naneen quickly found her way through the maze surrounding the Vestican, reaching the library door in moments. Just in time to shrink behind a column as the Dark Companions stepped from it, talking amongst themselves in low conversation, a quartet of Mist men guarding the four corners of their formation. Black-bladed swords were naked in their gloved hands as the Mist men strode silently forward, full of sinuous grace beside the abruptly awkward movement of the humans they warded.

Naneen watched with narrowed eyes as the Companions summoned several flying platforms which they quickly mounted. That left the Mist men on the ground. But not without an avenue of escape. As the Companions soared off into the pale sky above the jumbled maze of the city, the Mist men seemed to blur as they began walking towards one of the many avenues leading through the main plaza. And then, in the space of a heartbeat, they too were gone.

Still the slender Askant maiden stood behind her column, not moving as she waited for what could have been cloaked Mist men making their way out of the heart of the city. Only when she was satisfied that they had moved on, did she step out from behind her column and quickly slip into the library door. Her only defense against the nightmare creations was the magic raging in her mind. But that same magic could trigger the N'Ajier wards that held Alura in place, ripping the city apart. Not a viable option.

She heaved a sigh of relief when she was finally back inside the library without any sign of pursuit. 'And now to my business,' Naneen thought as she turned to slip through the heavy bookshelves to the back of the library.

It was exactly where Alura said it would be: the second secret entrance that guarded a second secret room. Slipping through it, Naneen found herself in yet another curving hallway. This one too led to a small, circular room, its walls covered with hundreds of small openings for books and scrolls.

But, instead of being filled with scrolls, the openings were filled with jumbles of artifacts, small and large, whatever could fit. Dominating the room's heart were several broad tables instead of what should've been bookshelves, their surfaces also heavily littered with a chaotic mass of artifacts. By the way the artifacts were placed, Naneen could tell that the keepers of this place had no idea of what they had found even though there were several open books on the tables filled with scribbled notes.

A glance was enough to tell her the notes were an attempt to catalogue the ancient pieces, putting them into some sort of order. Thankfully her new memories gave her more accuracy than simply guessing.

Stepping back from the book she had looked at, Naneen let her eyes scan over the nearest table. In doing so, she quickly made a discovery. Some of the pieces were obviously chunks of building, a corner here, a piece of wall there. But other ... they were much, much more!

"Burn me, a portal stone!" Naneen husked as she scooped up the smooth stone ball, recognizing it from her gathered memories. It was a more efficient way to open a portal than the spell she had previously used, and could be charged with enough power to open several in a row before needing a recharge. Approximately the size of a grapefruit, it was divided in the middle by a sinuous line, each half having its respective portal Rune of Power carved deep into it. Even as Naneen ran her fingers over it, the runes flickered with stored energy. Smiling, Naneen carefully put the portal stone back on the table. That bode well for other, even more useful artifacts still being fueled by the magic that created them.

Then a thought made Naneen pause. 'Useful, yes. But only in the real world! The inherent properties of objects in the dream world versus the real world ...'

Naneen's thought abruptly halted as her fingers, lightly dancing across the assembled chunks of stone, suddenly fell across something that sent a cool thrill through her body. A thrill triggered by the tingle of magic the object spilled into her. A tingle made possible only if that object was wholly contained within the dream world!