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Completed Chapter II: Blades in Motion

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Eltheron Delioss

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Eltheron stood from his crouched position, taking a moment to look around at the now shaded world, he felt the same, but different at the same time, a strange sensation... he made his way back out to the main road, and approached the guards slowly. When they made no immediate reaction to him, he assumed himself successful. Carefully he circled around them, staying as close to the wall and out of their way as he could.


Once he stood behind the guards, he grabbed a small pebble from the floor, and threw it down one side of the building, pinging it off a wooden fence just beyond the Library wall. He hoped this would get their attention and draw them off from the door long enough for him to slip in.
 
The Shadow Realm was gray and blurry, and it seemed less than solid. Oddly enough, everything from walls and the ground to people seemed to shiver - like distorted pictures the edges of which flickering shadows. However, Eltheron soon learned that this effect could be dispelled simply by focusing his eyes on something. The guards' faces looked dark and sinister, their figures threatening, but they did not see the elf behind.


Picking up the pebble took Eltheron two attempts. Some lesser degree of concentration appeared to be required to interact with Shadows. He knew immediately that the door would require more effort. When he tossed the stone, it drew the guards' attention but not sufficiently to get them to leave their post. But something else happened at that moment that served the purpose just as fine.


Opposite of the library was a small inn, out of which marched what looked to be nothing less than a drunken dwarf. He must have been drunk, because he couldn't walk quite normally and because of what he did then. From the middle of the street he called over to the knights at the library entrance, engaging in a stream of foul language partly in his native tongue. The words that could be understood included "bastards", "dogs" and "Sorceress".


The knights looked at each other and apparently decided to ignore him, but their decision came to a quick revision when the dwarf drew his sword and approached the steps. The elves drew their own steel and warned him to leave, but he was persistent in his intentions and moments later there was a fight on the library steps. The dwarf was either not so drunk after all or skilled enough to hold his own even under intoxication. It looked like the encounter could last for a few minutes.
 
Henvei Relkor vech Daltzen

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The Messr. Daltzen, meanwhile, had other things to worry about.

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The dwarf took care of things nicely. Even from his hidden vantage point, off in a secluded corner of the street, Henvei knew that it would be unlikely the fight be a mere scuffle. But what to do? Attacking now would mean...well, fights were nasty business, and no reason to get the whole town up in arms to fight a magus. Henvei had no desire to be branded a villain, or have his brand of magic labelled sinister. But...

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The wheel of fate drives ever on.

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A bolt of what, then. Fire? No, too destructive. Water made no sense. Air...what was this, a party? No. No indeed. It seemed odd, having nothing to do and yet nowhere to go. For Henvei had no intention of leaving to get the rest, oh no.

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This was his library. Throwing his gaze around, the magus searched for anything, anywhere, that might lead him further to his goal. At least, he thought, the elf would do the dirty work of getting inside. Worst case: wait for that.

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Eltheron Delioss

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With the Guard's undivided attention focused on the stout dwarf, Eltheron turned his own focus upon the large wooden doors. The pebble was troublesome... these doors were... well they were quite daunting frankly. Eltheron focused himself as he placed his hands on the door, and began to push, forcing it slowly to open enough to allow him to slip in.
 
The great wooden doors of the library appeared more solid when Eltheron focused on them. The wavering smoke effect was lost on them for now, as he struggled to open them. It was like trying to move a brick wall at first. One had to negotiate his way through the Shadow Realm mentally as much as physically. Without really knowing how, at some point the elf succeeded. The doors slowly opened and remained that way while he stood at the threshold. The interior of the structure was revealed: a short hallway about as wide as the door itself, ending in a larger room up ahead. A big, wide desk was visible from way here.


Meanwhile, the guards still fought the dwarf who kept throwing occasional insults at them. He was starting to slip, though, now and then in his maneuvers.


The rest of the Chosen fellowship had just arrived at the gates of Aboran where the local guards stopped them, asking for the purpose of their visit. The company was simply too colorful to just slip by unquestioned.
 
Dina Ailsa

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Dina stopped. What should we tell them? We're just passing by? On a pilgrimage? She looked at others hoping somebody would come up with a good reason. Maybe visiting some distant family? Dina knew that there would be somewhat tighter security with Ilhirel's minions here. We might be too late. Fright ran through Dina's mind, she felt dizzy. Maybe I should act ill and ask to be let through so I could go see a doctor?
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Laurolf Fangür

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Laurolf looked at the elf guards, then at their group. "We could be bribing them, hmm.. Aye, but that would be bein' a tad risky. Ilhirel's hounds tend to be bloody loyal." He thought, "Attacking, nay, would just make our- But, of course." An idea! - The Dwarf cleared his throat as he pushed Dina in the back, to make her fall to her knees, "Sorry 'bout this, m'lady."


Laurolf pretended to slap Dina in the back of her head, "Bow before ye' superiors, you mutt!" He said loudly in a mean and degrading tone, "Yer' only so lucky that we didn't chain ye' up.. Or worse, hm!" He said and took a step forward as he now looked at the guards, "We're just hired hands of Her Majesty, lads- 'Ere to take this little bitch back to Alicante." He blew out some smoke, "Don't be bothering to ask why though, we just do what we're paid to do, eh? So, how about ye' let us go about our business so that we won't be losing our heads, for keeping Lady Ilhirel waitin', hm?"


"Believe it, and ye' wont be losing yer heads today, lads." He then thought, hoping his little ruse would allow them safe passage through the gates.
 
Eltheron Delioss

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Eltheron decided staying close to the walls was his best bet for now, wasn't quite sure how he might interact with people in the normal realm, didnt want risk his thinking too hard and bumping into them. Carefully, Eltheron made his way down the hall, towards the larger room, and towards the large desk. Perhaps there was some clue as to what was going on upon the desk.
 
Dina Ailsa

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Dina fell to her knees and gasped in shock. This is no way to treat a Lady! She thought but kept her mouth shot. Actually, some playing along should be in order. A thought came after a few seconds in which her head cleared from confusion.


"I'm sorry. Please don't hurt me." she said in a low, scared voice. Dina kept her face down, her body still.
 
The guards at the gate loosened up a bit from their initial state of weariness. Judging from their appearance they belonged to Aboran's town guard regiment, but the fellowship had learned at the inn earlier that day that elite soldiers from Reindir had arrived earlier that day. Right now there was no sign of them.


"On Her Majesty's business, you say?" The guard seemed to think about it for a moment. "Yes, that sounds right. You're a bit late though, aren't you? The knights from Reindir arrived hours ago. I imagine you'll want to join them as soon as possible. You can find them at the barracks or the library, just along the main street." He pointed the way with his halberd. They moved back to their post looking relaxed again, uninterested in further questioning. The other guard was glancing at the kneeling girl.


Meanwhile, Eltheron was exploring the library unhindered. The room he emerged into was large and clearly served the purpose of a reception. The desk was in the middle of the room, made up from four parts shaped like a hollow square. There was no one inside and it was quiet. The place was littered with papers, books, writing equipment and other trinkets. Three hallways led from here, doorless, one in each wall. It was logical to assume that the left one led to the west wing, the right one to the east wing, and the last one deeper into the main building.
 
Eltheron Delioss

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Eltheron made his way behind the desk, glancing over the paperwork shuffled around on the desk. This place is deserted, a strange contrast from what i remember...


Eltheron kept looking around at the papers upon the desk, looking for a library map or layout of some sort, but no luck was found. Too much to ask for a map marked "Secret Stacks of Forbidden Knowledge" I suppose...


Moving on from the desk, Eltheron assumed the logical course of action was to find the highest concentration of guards, figuring more guards would cluster around the treasure we all sought. Feeling more comfortable now in his shadow state, jogged down the passage leading to the west wing, slowing when he reached the diving archway, and crept in slowly, as not to run headlong into - or through?- any Reindir soldiers.
 
Laurolf Fangür

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"Aye, when yer hauling a prisoner travel tends to be more difficult- Besides, those bastards from Reindir have bloody quick feet, eh?" Laurolf chuckled acting all kinds of friendly to the guards, although he felt nothing but spite inside. He didn't care who they where or why they supported Ilhirel, that bitch's hounds were responsible for the death of his family and his kinsmen, they raped Knalga and corrupted it's once magnificent halls, using the great forges to create weapons for the Sorceress' beasts and puppets. Nothing would have pleased Laurolf more, than to slice these elves in half, but despite it all- He didn't want to die, not until he had at least had a chance to chop Ilhirel's head off. "Alrite' laddies, let's go get us some well-deserved pints." He said, shrugging off his dark thoughts as he pushed Dina up and through the gates.


Once the lot of them were far enough away from the gates, Laurolf released his grasp of the human's arm, "Me apologies, lass-" He started, almost whispering, "Had to rough ye' up a little, but it was the quickest way to get past those two.. And, since they be thinkin' we're on the same side, they probably won't be reporting us anythin' worth noting, eh!"
 
Dina Ailsa

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As soon as they got away from the entrance the dwarf spoke.

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"I understand. That's why I played along. Though it would be nice if you kept things like this as your last resort." she answered. She tried to smile at him but failed, her pride as a lady was damaged after all.

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As Eltheron proceeded to explore the west wing, the hallway he took led him into a huge room. It was approximately twenty meters wide and double that in length. In its center there was a line of tall bookshelves facing the windows and the walls, around which were tables and chairs. The wall to the right was entirely covered with more bookshelves. This, he knew, was the reading room. Eltheron couldn't be sure how dark it really was in here, since the Shadow Realm was brighter than the real world in some places. The whole play of light and dark was difficult to understand here. But the broom was empty of people. That much he could see.


Meanwhile, Henvei remained in his hiding place long enough to see the end of the fight between the dwarf and the guards. The swordplay led them further away from the library steps and towards Henvei's alley. One of the guards just realized how far they'd come from their post - and that the library doors were ajar! He alerted his comrade and sent him off along the main street to the east to fetch reinforcements. He himself fenced for a few more moments until he forced the dwarf to retreat, and then ran for the library entrance. The dwarf stood by the alley leaning on the wall and catching his breath for now.


Having made it past the guards, the rest of the fellowship were just passing by the mayor's residence - a large building with plenty of guards patrolling around. There were more people on the road here, merchants and minor nobles mostly, from their appearance. The wind brought the salty scent of the sea from the east.
 
Eltheron Delioss

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As Eltheron looked around the room, fighting back memories of his younger days, and sticking with his objective. No time for reminiscing now. The room was empty. Either yet not searched or not of importance to the soldiers. In either case, Eltheron was done in this room for now, he made his way out, and headed back along the corridor for the East Wing, the wings were likely smaller than the building main, so he'd check them first. More comfortable in the shadow realm than at first, he took off at a run down the hallway.
 
The east wing of the Great Library was where most of the actual library part was located. The hallway which Eltheron took opened into a somewhat wider but lengthy room with bookshelves on both sides. There were no windows, but lighter shades of gray poured in from another doorway at the far end. If the elf's memory served, there would be another hallway through there, perpendicular to this room, and it would lead into the chamber that was one of the reasons why the Great Library was thus named.


The building was silent. So far it seemed that he was alone.
 
Eltheron Delioss

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Eltheron kept his pace to a light jog, moving through the room, heading for the doorway at the far end. He kept his eyes open, in this world of gray scale he needed to be better aware of what was around him to ensure he didnt stumble past something of import. The last thing he wanted was to turn a corner and go head first into a Reindir Knight... he still wasn't too sure what would happen if that occurred, would he pass through them? Unlikely. Would they feel the impact? Presumably, but he just wasn't sure. And he didn't want to find out the hard way with these soldiers.


The words of the Spectrals suddenly rose up from his memory, "-Yet the more time you spend with shadows, the more you will become part of them. Use it wisely."


He reasoned with himself that he hadn't been in this form for an overly extended amount of time, and pushed any worry from his mind. He needed to remain focused, but he also needed to hurry, the other could be here soon, Hopefully Henvei has rejoined them by now. Eltheron gave his head a little shake, just imagining what the Drakkar might do to the Elven guards if they blocked his path... or perhaps just out of boredom.
 
Having disengaged from the dwarf, the knight entered the reception room of the Great Library just as Eltheron made the turn at the second hallway of the east wing. That's when Henvei lost sight of him, for the moment.


The rest of the Chosen were just passing by the town's barracks and they couldn't not notice an elven knight, clearly distinguished from the local soldiers, running through the traffic. He had just made the turn into the barracks.
 
Henvei Relkor vech Daltzen

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None can stop the wheel now turning!

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Gathering himself up as best he could, the scholar took two quick looks across the street, and then set of at a wild run, dashing to the library's door as best he could. The results were outrageous, yes, but he saw no other option, and...the doors. Get to the doors! The crazy train of a Folk gave no regard to anything else, his mind set on getting inside no matter what.

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Dina Ailsa

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"Oh no!" Dina gasped when the knight passed by. We're too late! He looks different from the rest of the guards. He's with Her. What should we do?! Dina could feel herself giving in to panic. Her hands shaky, her breathing quick, and this urge to run. She thought of the Spectrals and not knowing what else to do she tried reaching them with her mind the way she does with her power. She concentrated on the memory of them, the voice of the one who spoke to her in that Inn. Help! Please! I don't know what to do. The concentration was strong enough to snap her out of panic.
 
Laurolf Fangür

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Laurolf just grumbled at the human's reply, as they started walking into the town. "Last resort? That's me bloody axe, ye' ignorant fool. We cannot be hesitating to take action with the goal we be havin'" He thought, shaking his head and wanting to say a few words of wisdom to the woman, but chose not to. They didn't have time to waste bickering and arguing, so Laurolf decided to just head forth with haste- Though, at a speed that wouldn't make them appear suspicious.


Then, just as their target was right around the corner, the woman stopped gasping. "Oh what now!?" The Dwarf thought, without paying any attention to the elf knight that passed them by. "Bloody hell lass! We cannot be affordin' to stop right now, if ye' ain't up to the task, then go to the inn and wait for us there, or leave!" He said angrily, cursing all of humankind in his head. He then turned around and headed towards the library - Chances were Eltheron and Henvei had already been welcomed by Ilhirel's hounds, and Laurolf wasn't about to miss the fun- uh- let his new comrades get killed, by filthy puppets of the sorceress!
 
The dwarf was still standing there when Henvei darted past him. He hadn't even noticed the man prior to that, and by the time he did it was already too late.


Henvei entered the Great Library and passed through the long entrance hallway. Actually visiting this ancient place of which he had only heard of until now must have been an exhilarating experience for his scholarly mind. These walls were history themselves, not just the books. And past the smell of dust he could almost catch the sweet scent of knowledge. Conjuring images of this place ablaze sent only horror through his mind. Perhaps it was good he arrived prior to the drakkar. But suddenly Henvei was faced with a much more imminent threat than that: The elven knight whom he had followed inside was just alerted to his presence on the threshold of the reception room. Eltheron was nowhere in sight.


"You'll pay dearly for this deception, human." Even in half dark, he seemed to immediately recognize the man from before and blame him for the breach in security. He advanced towards him, sword in his right hand. Eltheron could have heard the commotion in the absolute silence as he was proceeding down the hallway towards the library archives.


Meanwhile, as the rest of the fellowship advanced over the last street twist that stood between them and a gaze at the library, Dina got an answer to her prayers. It took several long moments for the contact to come, and she had nearly given up when there was a cold, deep voice in her mind. It belonged to one of the Council specters, though to which one exactly she could not tell.


"We promised to contact you upon your arrival to the Great Library." the specter said. "You are still not there, and you must make haste! The enemy has already been alerted to your presence. Go! Waste no time! Hurry!" The sense of urgency that had overwhelmed Dina only slightly dissipated when contact with the Council was broken.
 
Henvei Relkor vech Daltzen

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"Ah...Shhh, one minute please..."


Henvei's brain was actually in danger of shutting down, so overwhelmingly pleasing the experience. To think, that-


The world was saved another painfully long monologue, however, by the wrenching mental tug that abruptly ripped his thought process apart and brought it back to reality. A slight wind kicked up around his head, kicking up his long hair in a gentle dance and propelling the steady stream of whispers now emanating from his traveling chest into his ears.


The scholar stumbled as he turned to face the knight who was now advancing."Ah! I see...I could have figured as much...I certainly was quite hasty in that regard." He muttered, disgusted with himself. "I don't suppose we could discuss-"


Another violent mental ripping. With some regret, his blissful state soon slipped out of his ears, and back into the traveling trunk, tucked away safely for the upcoming pleasantries. The Folk slumped slightly as his mental state left his head, losing focus and consciousness all at once.


With a sudden, wild whipping, Henvei threw his arms wide, sending his dusty cloak swirling about. Hands outstretched, the scholar closed his eyes in deep concentration, as a great glowing slowly grew from the center of his chest emanating outwards in a brilliant blue icy glow. It soon detached completely from him, flowing forward from the folds of his cloak into the world in countless unreadable runes.


Enter, Codex. The great tome breached the cloak, settling itself in front of the scholar, and casting the room in its icy blue glow. It was a book like no other: bound and dressed in an anciently magnificent material, deeply laid with unimaginable decor; it both drew the eye and repelled the brain in one slew stroke. Countless metal locks held its pages firmly shut, however this did not stop the scholar as he laid it flat in front of him with one swish of his hands, opening his eyes again to gaze upon the knight.


"I am ready. On your mark, knight."
 
Henvei's actions and the appearance of the Codex seemed to have forced the elven knight to pause for a moment. He shot him with a cautious look, but was without real options here.


"You'll regret ever coming here." he said and moved towards him with a raised blade poised to strike. The glowing blue tome obviously instilled some hesitation in him. His movements were clearly not particularly confident despite his attempts to hide it. Several more steps and he would be in range to attack. Had he ever encountered a mage before? Judging from this; unlikely.
 
Henvei Relkor vech Daltzen

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Henvei himself would have also been aware of his own lack of options, but that train of thought had been quite firmly locked away in his trunk, along with all regrets, fears, and terrors that he would otherwise be quite loudly ranting on about. That was a thing for another time.


The magus began with air: a huge, sweeping blast of violent wind, which rushed uncontrolled from the magus straight at his attacker.


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