As an Olympian might put it, Fortunatis smiles for a time upon Envoy (aka "Yovne"), as her disguise proves sufficient for her departure from Abu Dhabi on the Ferocious Roarer of the Veldt, with the assistance of the young Count Kurai. The airship makes its way across the sands of the Himaat, the blasted lands of Tizban, the wilderness of Himar, and lastly the Lake of Langour, reaching the cliff-top city of Parthos.

Here they part ways, as Count Kurai's business takes him eastward on the "Moltpaa Express", whereas Envoy's takes her westward. At the count's direction, arrangements are made so that Envoy can ride on west on the Moltpaa "rails" without drawing undue attention. Still, there is the matter of getting properly supplied for her expedition, and Parthos is as good a place as any to take care of the matter.

Although it may once have been the heart of a great empire, Parthos is now the only city of note in a nation of very humble means, drawing a significant part of its wealth from vacationing nobles and merchants, and even the student of magic hoping to find some long-forgotten gem of wisdom amongst the tablets and crumbling scrolls of Olympia's libraries. Even in ruin, Olympia's architecture is awe-inspiring, built with classical engineering and mortal hands, and the city has a certain romance about it, with its quaint traditions and local legends.

All that said and done, however, the truth is that a great many of those coming to Parthos on the holidays are there for its famously indulgent celebrations. Even stuffy Gallees somehow feel justified to take part in a little debauchery when it's all in the name of reliving ancient Olympian tradition. And with the New Year coming up very soon, very little is done in the city that doesn't have at least a little to do with preparing for the influx of wealthy visitors and partying in the streets.

Although Olympia is primarily Katthan in its makeup, Parthos now seems almost as diverse as Rephidim, what with migrant laborers, entrepreneurs and entertainers drifting in from Kroz, the Wild Lands, Amazonia, the Himar Region, and places even further away. On the bright side, any given foreigner – Nohbakim or winged Aeolun – might stand out just a little less.

On the negative side, few inns have vacancies, and those that do charge handsomely (expecting vacationers in a mood to pay such inflated prices). Obviously, staying at the local Mages' Guild Hall and making up for it by lending magical aid isn't an option at the moment for Envoy. But then, if all goes well, Envoy probably won't need to spend long here at all.

Despite the vast wealth of information stored here, any attempts to organize its contents in an efficient manner have been sporadic and inconsistent, largely due to the attitude that the truly devout of Logos will find each and every morsel of knowledge worth reading and learning – not just select pieces of particular interest. The priests and priestesses who attend this place, however, are generally very well versed in the exact locations of particular treasures of knowledge, and it is not an uncommon practice for wealthy "worshippers" to make donations – of money, of rare books, of supplies for the temple – in exchange for expert help and a candle to light the way through the windowless temple.

An exotic visitor to the library – a Nohbakim by the name of Yovne – makes a donation of twenty shekels at the shrine at the entrance, which is enough to grant her the loan of a blessed candle-holder (fashioned with several faces in the likeness of Logos along the dish, and a central column fashioned much like one of the felinecaryatids supporting the faintly fragrant candle). When she further asks for general directions in which to find information on the land of Moltpaa, she is told – in a polite enough tone, "Gentle visitor from afar, this is not a place of simple reference, to quickly find the facts one seeks, and to then go one's way. Rather, this is a temple of Logos, and all knowledge contained here is worthy for study, in His worship. In due time, you will come across many treasures of knowledge – perhaps also including that which you now seek."

Yovne's antennae waggle about as she considers how to proceed. Certainly, it would be tempting to read the entire library, but she doesn't have the time for that. "I too am a devout seeker of knowledge," she says to the priestess, "but my time is unfortunately limited. Is there some way I could receive the aid of one already versed in the knowledge I seek?"

The milky-furred Kattha priestess says, "It is customary for a donation of at least a copper to be made toward the support of the Temple of Logos, or a book of merit to be added to the Library of Logos, in order to enlist the assistance of one of the priesthood to find one's way."

Not one to carry books around, since she's never had to once she's read them, the Nohbakim reluctantly digs out a copper shekel from somewhere within her heavy cloak. "I offer this donation then, in hope that someone can aid me in locating information about the underground kingdom."

The milky-furred priestess bows. "Please place it in the fountain," she says, making a sweeping gesture with one billowy sleeve to indicate the stone water-filled bowl, which has a smattering of ceramic coins (metal is, after all, a less common affair) underneath the water's surface, and a fully sculpted towering statue of Logos rising above the water in its center. (She does not point, because, as Envoy learned during her days as a bard, it is considered a rude gesture to point in Parthos – even if visiting nobility do it all the time.)

Bowing her fake head, the disguised Aeolun goes to the fountain and kneels at the edge before tossing in her coin. I don't know if you're willing to help someone that gets along so poorly with deities, Logos, but I'd appreciate any you can offer, she thinks.

"Could you please describe to me again the information which you seek?" the priestess asks, as she takes up her own candle and starts to lead the way past the fountain and into the central open area beyond.

Getting up, Yovne says, "Information on the geography of the area, and any unusual formations, as well as the ecosystem. Specifically, I seek any legends or texts regarding a crystal column amidst a lake of molten rock, wherein a bright light shines."

"'The area' being 'Moltpaa,' I am assuming," the priestess says with a nod, still walking along at a slow pace, "unless your interest has changed to Parthos."

"Yes, Moltpaa," Yovne says as she shambles along beside the feline. "Has anyone ever read all of the books in the library?" she asks, trying to make conversation.

"There was a time," the priestess says, "when such a thing was done, but no longer. Old scrolls may crumble, but our priesthood is devoted to the preservation of these texts, diligently scribing copies. For every text you find here, there is at least one copy in our vaults – which are kept far from here, in case some catastrophe, Logos forbid, should befall Parthos. So, our stores do not shrink over time. We build upon the knowledge of the past, and add the new. Even those texts to be found in great error are not destroyed – though their place in the library may be changed."

"Simply put," the priestess adds, "there is not enough time in one's life to read all of these texts with the attention required to truly take every word to heart. If someone claims to have read every book, I dare say he has only skimmed over the words, remembered only a summary of these things. We wish to gain knowledge, and thus, what is read, must be retained. Proper study is not a quick process. It is a lifetime's devotion."

"It is good to know that all knowledge is respected here," Yovne says, thinking that one day she'll have to try and read it all herself.

"Of course," the priestess says. "Logos is God of Knowledge. To show knowledge anything less than respect – that would be blasphemy. You will even find texts here explaining the tenets of faiths diametrically opposed to our own, and claims that there are no gods, and that there is no higher purpose in existence. We do not shy away from ideas that might make us uncomfortable. We are confident in our belief that in Knowledge itself is great merit, and that only through the acquisition of knowledge can mortals make achievements worthy of divine pleasure. Here, up these stairs." And she turns toward a spiral marbled-stone staircase leading up to a second-floor walkway that leads along the perimeter of the library interior.

Hunched over in her costume, Envoy waddles up the stairway. Hopefully they will appreciate my quest here then, she thinks.

A bookish-looking raccoon hunched over in an alcove near the second landing pauses in his reading long enough to turn and peer over his spectacles at the bizarre sight of the "Nohbakim" waddling up the stairs, but then when the priestess looks his way, he just smiles and nods and returns to his reading.

"This way," the priestess directs, getting off of the stairs and proceeding along the walkway. "We have but copies of copies, but I believe you will find some tomes of interest concerning Moltpaa here – though here, these days, it is known as 'Kroz.'"

"The same Kroz as lies on the surface?" Yovne asks.

The priestess nods. "The term you use is an obscure one. It would indicate you are already well-read on the subject." She makes her way around a bend on the walkway. Although Envoy cannot see the entirety of the interior of the library, it seems to be fashioned in the shape of an enormous cross – or an 'X' – with the entrance coming directly to the crossing at the center, and a triangular courtyard "Yovne" had passed through on the way here, framed by two of the "wings".

Around the corner, there is another shrine-alcove-desk down the way, occupied by a bone-white creature with a bottle-like head, stooped over a book – a Hooka.

Yovne nearly stands up straight in surprise. She'd never expected the Hookas to be literate.

"Here you are," the priestess says, directing the "Nohbakim" to a section very close to the Hooka. "Maps of Kroz, tales of the underground empire, treatises on monsters to be found in the land, incursions from Bosch, the histories of the Principalities, and many other topics of interest on the region."

"Thank you for your aid, Priestess," Yovne says. "And may Logos guide me in my search."

"If you do not find all that you seek," the priestess says, "then return to the entrance, and I will show you more of the library." She bows, then says, "Logos grant you the knowledge you desire," and heads off back toward the stairwell, her own candle in hand.

Envoy sets her candle down, and removes the head of her costume. The fisheye effect from its lenses can make reading difficult – and she doesn't imagine the Hooka would be shocked by the act.

The Hooka, indeed, doesn't seem particularly concerned at all. He hops down from his stool, then proceeds to remove a few of his own body parts, rearranging his form from what was previously a more or less quadruped form, now into a much taller bipedal form … which is all the more convenient for him (assuming it's a "he") to return his book to one of the higher shelves. The book's title reads, "Luminescent Gems Beneath Kroz," in Olympian.

Noting the title of the book being returned, Envoy interrupts the Hooka. "Excuse me, but I could I see that book?" she asks in Olympian.

The Hooka turns to face Envoy, hoots something in return, then obligingly takes down the book and hands it to her. He hoots a few other things, but her grasp of the Hooka language is not sufficient to have the slightest idea what he has to say, other than that he seems friendly.

"Are you from Kroz?" Envoy asks the creature as she browses the book's index. "I'm afraid I don't understand Hooka yet."

The Hooka makes some more hooting noises, then a distinctive sound that it made earlier, that sounds like "Whonkahonk," accompanied by a vigorous head nod.

The Hooka then begins reassembling its body into a more "centauroid" form, with four legs on the floor, a torso and two arms, as it grabs another book – at a lower level – from a nearby shelf.

"Is that your name, Whonkahonk?" Envoy asks her fellow reader.

"Whonkahonk!" the Hooka repeats, and nods vigorously, then makes a querying sort of sound, nodding toward Envoy.

Pointing to herself with gloved right hand, the Aeolun says, "Envoy."

The Hooka's "antennae" bounce up at this, and it makes a long stream of noises at this, though it still seems to be taking pains to be quiet. (This is, after all, not only a library, but also a temple.)

Envoy blinks at the reaction. Surely this Hooka wouldn't have any reason to know me? "Do you know me?" she asks quietly.

Whatever the Hooka's hooting response is to this, it is not accompanied by anything as plain as a head nod or shake.

After scratching at her head through the thick black bandana she wears, Envoy shrugs to show that she doesn't understand, and goes back to browsing the book on luminous gems.

The Hooka hoots a little more, then scurries over to its stool, hops onto it, readjusts a few pieces of its own body, and starts reading its new book. Meanwhile, Envoy can make out – somewhat awkwardly, what with trying to hold a candle light and a book, in her current getup – that the book has no index at all. Rather, it looks like it is a translation of a journal of a wealthy Gallisian whose interest in acquiring precious gemstones of note led him to go spelunking in Kroz. Given that this must be a copy, it's hard to tell just how faithful the illustrations are to the originals, but they're done in colored inks where they are to be found, haphazardly mixed in with the text – a rambling travelogue that occasionally goes into details about interesting crystal formations andstones to be found in Kroz – mostly underground.

Holding the candle awkwardly in her "claw," the Aeolun reads through the book as quickly as she can, hoping for something familiar from her vision to be mentioned.

Alas, there doesn't seem to be anything exactly like her vision, but there are a number of references to what Envoy recognizes as Sifran crystal networks (some of them apparently greatly damaged by the ravages of time), as well as other crystal formations that seem to be entirely unrelated. One particular type of crystal formation to be found in the caves of Kroz is what the writer dubs as "Song-Sapphires" – clusters of blue crystals that glow in response to sound, particularly when someone plays a particular note, which may vary from cluster to cluster.

Envoy finds the travelogue interesting, but not directly useful. Once she's finished with it, she stands up and looks for the slot it should go into before looking for a more promising title.

It looks like Envoy can reach the slot easily enough without anything so drastic as rearranging portions of her body. The Hooka, meanwhile, is still engrossed in his book, occasionally flipping pages, showing no sign of being quite the speed-reader that Envoy is.

A brown-and-white mouse, dressed in a skirt and tunic that would look more in place on the streets of Rephidim than Parthos, slips down the aisle of books. She carries a shuttered lantern in one hand, and shines it along the spines of the volumes with a curious and intent expression on her face as she comes nearer to Envoy.

The Hooka makes a happy little noise to himself (itself? herself?) much like someone blowing over the top of a glass bottle half-filled with water, and cranes his neck forward to peer more intently at the illustrated pages of the book he has placed on the desk in the cramped alcove, under the light of the torch sconce.

Too far from her Nohbakim "head" to reach it without drawing attention, Envoy continues to look through the book titles and hopes the Skeek doesn't pay any particular notice to her. She moves a little closer to the Hooka, and makes as if looking over its … shoulder.

The book that the Hooka is currently flipping through seems to be another travelogue, also on the topic of peculiar gems of the underground land of Kroz … only that it happens to have maps. Judging from the many crisscrossing straight lines crossing over otherwise mountainous terrain, it would seem to suggest something more than mere roads going across Kroz.

However, Envoy has little time to look it over, before the Hooka slaps the book shut, and lifts its own head off its neck.

Envoy blinks and steps back, wondering what the Hooka is about to do, and momentarily loosing track of the Skeek.

As the Skeek draws nearer the "Nohbakim," she stops her scan of titles to shine her light before her so she won't run into the other person. The light shines over Envoy and the Hooka, and the mouse squeaks, startled by the curious sight. For a moment she just stands there, blinking at the two odd-looking people.

Reaching up to make sure her bandana is still covering her hair, horn and crown, the Aeolun smiles to the mouse apologetically. "Forgive us if our appearance startles," she says in Olympian. "Are you looking for information on Kroz?"

The Hooka's fore-legs come up and take the head from the two "hands," and it then proceeds to rearrange segments of its body, plopping the head back onto a new "neck." It slides off of the stool, and in short order has rearranged its body from a centauroid form into something more bipedal, though with two legs and four arms.

"Sorry," the mouse squeaks back in Rephidim Standard apologetically. "I don't speak your language."

The little rodent is distracted from Envoy's curious appearance by the sight of the Hooka reconfiguring itself. She doesn't seem so much disturbed by the ability as … impressed.

Envoy takes a quick glance towards her own candle (and the nearby Nohbakim "head") while the Hooka's display hopefully distracts the mouse. "Oh," the Aeolun says in Standard. "I … we … didn't mean to startle you, I'm sure. Are you looking for information on Kroz?"

The Hooka bobs its bottle-like head, then hoots what sounds like, "Hello!" (Or more like "Hewwo!")

"Oh," the mouse says, looking again to the Nohbakim. "Umm … no, not really. I'm mostly looking for something in Standard, at this point. I came in thinking they might have some interesting books on old artifacts – you know, Sifran and the like – or mechanical things. But at this point … I'll settle for most anything I can read." She smiles, first at Envoy, then at the Hooka, to whom she gives a little wave.

The Hooka mimics the wave with one of its arms, then hoots out (again, an approximation), "I Whonkahonk. Who you?"

Envoy blinks at the Hooka, impressed by its ability to "talk."

"Oh! I'm Kia, Mr. Whonkahonk," the mouse answers. She steps forward and shifts her lantern to her left hand so she can offer the right to shake. "Pleased to meet you."

Whonkahonk extends two right hands to shake Kia's, and then looks down at his hands as if surprised, and indecisive about which one to finally offer. At last, the lower hand wins out, lurching forward to loosely grab Kia's hand and shake it twice … and then the other takes its turn, shaking it again. "Pleas koo meek you," it whistles quietly.

Offering her own gloved hand, Envoy says, "I am … uh … Yovne."

"My!" Kia squeaks, looking pleased if confused. She turns to Yovne to shake her head. "It's nice to meet you, too. It's nice just to hear Rephidim Standard again. I think the next time I go on a trip I need to make a point of learning the native tongue first." She smiles, flashing small white teeth.

Envoy smiles back, and says, "I haven't come across any books here on machines or Sifran artifacts yet, but I've only just started. I'm searching for a particular artifact myself."

"Really?" Kia perks her ears. "What sort?"

The Hooka swivels its bottle nose toward Envoy, seeming to be interested in what "Yovne" has to say, as well.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure," the faux-Nohbakim admits. "I know that it gives off a bright light and is inside of a tower or Sifran crystal surrounded by a lake of molten lava. I'm hoping to find out more about it here in the library … such as how to find it."

The Hooka nods, and hoots, more or less, "I look hor klowy hems." Or maybe that's not exactly what he's saying. His "accent" is a bit thick, since it sounds mostly like vowels, with the occasional sharp-cutoff that approximates a "k" sound, resonance suggesting an "r", and sounds that might either be "l" or "w".

"Klowy hems?" Kia looks between the two, then tries, "Glowing things?" while looking back at the Hooka. "At least, that sounds like what Miss Yovne was just talking about. Where did you hear about that artifact?" she asks Yovne, curious.

The Hooka hoots, "Hems … Hewels … Kryskals."

"Glowing gems!" Kia beams. "Are you two together?" she asks, looking at both again.

The Hooka shakes his head. "Hrom Kroz," he hoots. He thenpops off a bulbous portion of his body … or that is, some sort of case that looks misleadingly like a part of his body … and pops it open on a little hinge. Inside is a cluster of deep blue crystals. "I kollek klowy hems," he hoots, and occasionally the notes of his whistling are accompanied by brief flickers of blue light from within the crystal growth.

"Oh!" Kia squeaks, eyes widening at the contents. She scurries over to peer at them. "How marvelous! What are they, do you know?"

"Sapphire gems?" Yovne asks, looking at the crystals. "I'm following a vision from an oracle. I have some things that will help me locate Sifran crystal."

"Klowy hems," the Hooka repeats. Again, the little cluster of crystals, resting in a bundle of rags within the rounded bone-white case, seem to respond to sound – including Kia's squeak. It seems that they are most responsive to certain frequencies.

Envoy runs her voice through various chords to see which ones the Song-Sapphires respond best to.

Sure enough, different shards of the crystal respond to different frequencies of Envoy's singing … but when she manages to sing an entire chord at once, the entire cluster lights up at once. Whonkahonk makes a delighted-sounding hoot at this sight.

"Those must be very valuable," Yovne comments. "Do you sell them, Whonkahonk, or just collect them?"

Kia claps appreciatively for the display. "Fascinating! Might I hold one, Mr. Whonkahonk?" she asks, looking to him for permission. "I've never seen anything like it before."

"Kollek," Whonkahonk hoots, then holds the case closer to Kia, nodding toward her.

Grinning, Yovne says, "Funny, you don't look like a Vartan, Whonkahonk."

Whonkahonk's head spins around a half turn (even while his arms are still facing Kia), and he gives Envoy a querulous hoot.

"Oh, Vartans are big bird-Rhians that like shiny things," Yovne explains. "They wear them in their tails."

The mouse squeak-giggles, taking the cluster of crystal carefully into her hands, and squinting to analyze it, trying not to make any more noise to increase the glow, lest it become harder to look at. She sets her lantern on the table, instead trying to study the curious object under its light.

The Hooka nods, then swivels back to watch Kia. The crystal largely remains dark, only occasionally letting out a dim foxfire glow now and then when the sounds of conversation set it off just so. It feels hard and cool, a burst of shards that in cross-section tend to look like stylized four-sized "diamond" shapes, like a square knocked slightly askew at the corners. The crystal has an appreciable weight to it, though not so much as to be a burden to hold, given its small size. (The Hooka's little case has room for several more of these crystals to add to his collection.)

"Do you find much Sifran crystal, Whonkahonk?" Envoy asks, and pulls up the edge of her bandana to reveal some of her crown. "Like this?"

Kia fumbles at her tinker's bag, fishing out a jeweler's eyeglass and looking through it to study the intricate crystal, letting the light of the lantern shine through it to see if she can spot anything odd in its depths, or anyapparent source for the glow.

Through the magnifying glass, the seemingly solid blue of the crystal gives way to intricate, almost organic-looking faults running through the crystals, having an appearance about them like capillary vessels … or perhaps a tiny root system running through the crystal. The illumination seems to originate from somewhere within these tiny hairlines, which are most dense toward the heart of the cluster, fading out toward the extensions of the crystal.

Whonkahonk shakes his head at Envoy, then cocks his head sideways and peers curiously at the odd crystal crown on Envoy's head. After a little more consideration, he nods. "Yez. Likwik kryskal."

Envoy tugs the cloth back in place, and nods! "Yes, liquid-looking crystal. I'm looking for a big column of it," she says, using her hand and "claw" to indicate something tall and wide.

Experimentally, Kia tries a few soft squeaks to get the crystal to light up while she's studying it. For now, she lets the other two carry on without paying much attention to them, struck by the oddity before her.

Whonkahonk nods. "Wunkerkrownk?" he hoots back at Envoy. The little blue crystals flicker now and then at Kia's squeaks, as she gets a better grasp of what notes trigger the most impressive responses. However, lacking the unlikely ability to sing an entire chord of notes with one voice, she's unable to mimic "Yovne's" ability to get the whole cluster to illuminate.

Envoy tries to parse "Wunkerkrownk." "Underground?" she asks the Hooka.

The Hooka nods vigorously.

"Ah, yes!" Envoy says, nodding back. "Underground, surrounded by molten rock."

The Hooka nods some more, and hoots something indistinguishable, then cocks his head the other way.

Kia's ears cant to the side at the dialogue of the other two. "That sounds like quite a vision you had, Miss Yovne," she remarks.

Tapping the book that Whonkahonk was looking through, Envoy asks, "Can you show me on the map?" Blinking she turns back towards the Skeek. "Oh … well, yes, it was very impressive. There was even an underground railway in it, with Hookas riding in big boxes."

"Really?" The mouse looks at Whonkahonk. "Riding in big boxes? Like a railroad car?"

Envoy nods. "A Hooka railroad, underground."

Whonkahonk nods vigorously both to Envoy and Kia, so much so that it seems almost as if his head threatens to fall off again. "Wunkerkrownk!" he hoots.

"I don't know if it is a machine or just another sort of Hooka though," Envoy comments to Kia.

The Hooka then picks up the book he was looking at, and flips it open to one of the partial maps of Kroz. The borders seem a bit inaccurate or perhaps having changed since the time the map was originally penned, and a lot of the details show more interest in artistic embellishment than exacting measure of distance, but Parthos is clear enough, and a network of lines going over the landscape (or, perhaps, under it?) The Hooka hoots a bit, seeming to fall into his "native tongue" in his excitement, tracing a line from Parthos over to a juncture, and then up a diagonal toward the northwest.

Envoy watches carefully. "The lake of lava is that way?" she asks, just to make sure.

Kia stands and peers at the book. "Is there an underground railway around Parthos?" she says, eyes wide. "I mean – is that what this is a map of? Underground railroads?"

"I think so," Envoy says. "The Trans-Nordikan Railway joins up with it to go under the mountains into Kroz."

The Hooka hoots and nods vigorously again, then reaches up and straightens out his head.

"Oh my!" the mouse squeaks. "I'd love to see that! Do the Hookas let other people ride? I've always wanted to see a railway. And to think, one running underground!"

Envoy smiles at finally having directions, then thinks to ask, "Are there any monsters there, Whonkahonk?" That route does head towards Bosch after all.

"Woskers?" Whonkahonk hoots back.

"Like … Grooks," Envoy says. She tries to pose like something nasty, baring her teeth and curving her arms up, growling.

Whonkahonk nods. "Loks. Skay insihe ke hoks," he hoots.

"Lots of monsters, stay inside the box," Envoy translates, then frowns. "But I have to get out to the crystal. Are there monsters in the burning lake? Any that can fly?"

"I guess Kroz is pretty dangerous," the Skeek comments. She puts the intricate crystal back in the Hooka's case, settling it reverently, and a bit longingly. "Where did you find this crystal, Mr. Whonkahonk?" she asks, curious.

The Hooka looks back down to the case, and then snaps it closed. "Wunkerkrownk," the Hooka hoots, then points at a spot on the map somewhere west of the area he traced out earlier, though no landmarks are immediately identifiable to either of the others conversing with him.

Envoy reaches up to retrieve the Gallisian travelogue, which described the Song-Sapphires and where the author found them. "This might help," she says, offering the book to Kia.

Unfortunately for Kia, the Gallisian travelogue has been translated into Olympian – which she can't read. It does have some very nice-looking illustrations that must have been painstakingly copied from the original, right down to colored inks, and she is able to recognize a picture of what must be a cluster of blue crystal similar to the "Klowy Hems" that Whonkahonk carries.

The book that Whonkahonk is holding onto, however – the one with the map – looks a little more intelligible to Kia, oddly enough. The script is a bit unfamiliar, but it looks like it is very closely related to the Skeek/Skreek tongue … though with curious ways of forming the symbols, and some curious substitutions of consonants and a few unfamiliar characters.

The mouse accepts the volume, but after leafing through it to look at the illustrations, she gets ready to hand it back to Yovne, saying, "I can't read this language… what does it say about these crystals?" She points to the illustration that looks like Whonkahonk's artifact.

The Hooka nods a few times, and then lets off a long and complex series of whonks and hoots that … well … are unintelligible.

"The author calls them Song-Sapphires, and says that they glow in response to specific sounds," Yovne explains, then adds, "I imagine it is the result of piezo-electricstimulation of biophosphorescent material in the crystal."

The Hooka nods a few times, as if this makes perfect sense to him.

"I don't suppose you can read any of the legends on this map?" Yovne asks the Skeek, pointing to the book Whonkahonk holds open.

"Oh," Kia says, as if it doesn't make perfect sense to her. "Is it made by artifice, or naturally occurring, do you think? I guess if there were any more of it there, Mr. Whonkahonk would have gotten it."

"There may be little difference between the two in this region," Yovne suggests.

The mouse makes an "mmm" sound of thought, then goes to look at the symbols in the book with the map, peering curiously at the unusual – and yet familiar – text.

"How old is this map, Mr. Whonkahonk? Is Kroz still divided into three kingdoms?" she asks, curiously. "I don't know much about surface geography.

Whonkahonk looks at the map, then back up to Kia, then performs a shudder in his body that looks very much like an attempt at a Gallisian shrug.

"I think there are a lot more than three now," Yovne says. Pointing to the area where the northwest route heads, she asks, "What region is this?"

Kia smiles. "I guess I'm not the only one who's not so good at geography."

"I've never been to Kroz," Yovne admits. "I only know that the main rail line goes to Naochi."

Following Envoy's indication, Kia studies the map again. "That line goes to the Middle Kingdom," she says. "This map shows three kingdoms: East, West, and Middle."

"Oh!" Yovne goes. "Those must be the names for the Underground Kingdoms. Moltpaa!"

"This line – " Kia traces it with one of her small, delicate fingers, "goes to the Middle Kingdom's capital, Stalto. Is this the one you meant, Mr. Whonkahonk?"

"Whoot!" Whonkahonk honks, nodding his head several times.

"Stalto?" Yovne asks. Looking to the Hooka, she asks, "Does this book say anything more about it?"

The Hooka cocks his head to one side, looks at the book, then does his attempt at a shrug again. "Whoot?"

The mouse squeaks, squinting at the little drawings. "Maybe that's something to do with your 'lake of fire'," she remarks, gesturing at the little "flame" marks around Stalto on the map. She scrutinizes the map for any sign of a tower along the rail line, and then starts flipping through the adjacent pages to see if there's anything more, particularly about fiery lakes or crystal towers.

While the threesome are clustered around the book, they can all feel a slight tremble in the walkway. Someone very heavy must be walking this way, around the corner.

Envoy glances towards her "head" again, but decides that putting it on now would only cause problems for Kia. Instead, she just pulls up the hood of her cloak.

As Envoy glances back toward the head, she can't help but notice that it no longer has a pair of antennae.

Where have Knick and Knack gotten too? the Aeolun thinks in near panic, and starts making the clicking sounds she normally uses to call them.

Meanwhile, Kia is having a very rough time working out the curious dialect that this book is written in … and the unclear writing of the letters. Perhaps if the lighting were better, and she had more time to study this, she might pick out something … though she does see a page that has a nice illustration of an aqueduct that appears to be carting water across a large cavern chamber with what looks like a number of structures along its floor and sides.

And around the corner comes a large grizzly, bespectacled lupine figure, hefting a massive hammer over his shoulder. He holds a dinky candle in his free hand, looking absently off while he walks along.

(Nothing, incidentally, immediately responds to Envoy's call.)

Envoy steps out of the Titanian's path, trying to get back to where she can pick up her mask.

The mouse squeaks, wrinkling her nose. She puts the book on the desk beneath the torch, and shines her lantern on it, absorbed enough by her study that she's not given any thought to the Titanian yet. She looks at the picture of the aqueduct, trying to sort out what else is in the cavern with it.

The Titanian, likewise, hasn't given any thought to the Skeek, and doesn't notice the Hooka or the "Nohbakim," either. The Titanian bumbles right into Whonkahonk, prompting a loud Whoot! of alarm, and prompting the Hooka to fall over, and several segments of its body to pop off and roll along the walkway.

Envoy yeeps, and rushes to try and retrieve the various Hooka parts. "Watch where you are going!" she chides the Titanian.

The disintegration of Whonkahonk does get Kia's attention, however, and the mouse squeaks, setting her lantern flat on the desk and scurrying to help Envoy gather Hooka parts.

"Oh," the Titanian rumbles. "Sorry. Did I break it?"

"No … but you could have," Envoy says, trying to get Whonkahonk's upper right arm to reconnect. "You need to be careful in libraries."

Kia manages to grab Whonkahonk's head before it goes rolling off the edge. He hoots plaintively. Envoy, meanwhile, gets Whonkahonk's arm to pop back into place.

The mouse carries the head back to the rest of the Hooka, looking for a likely place to pop it back on while patting him consolingly. "We'll have you back together in a jiffy," she assures the Hooka, locating his neck and trying to reconnect him.

POP The head goes back on. A couple more pieces, and Whonkahonk is pretty close to how he looked before (and as for the differences … he can quite probably sort them out himself later).

"If it's broke," the Titanian helpfully offers, "probably a good whack in the right place'll get it going again."

"I think we have all of the parts," Envoy says, looking around in the dark room. Now, if only I could find my dark-colored pets. "Uhhh, I don't think Whonkahonk needs a whack, thanks, Mister … what's your name?"

Kia gives Whonkahonk another reassuring pat on the side, wrinkling her nose at the Titanian's suggestion.

"Geargrinder," the Titanian rumbles. "Looking for the steamworks section."

"Oh, well this is the section on Kroz," Envoy explains. "I don't know where the books on steam are here."

"Kank-yoo," Whonkahonk hoots to Kia and Envoy, and shrinking a little from the Titanian. "I ko home now? I ko to kunkerkrownk, kollek klowy hems."

The Titanian nods. "Oh. Guess I gotta look more. Thanks, buggy-thing." He then squeezes his way past and starts striding on.

"I don't suppose you can take me to Stalto along the way?" Envoy asks the Hooka.

The Hooka nods vigorously, threatening to dislodge his head again.

Envoy smiles in relief, and turns to Kia. "Thank you for translating for me… oh, you haven't seen my antennae crawling around, have you? Could you check your pockets?"

The mouse looks tempted. "I'd like to see the railway. Would it be all right if I… ?" She trails off at Yovne's mention of antennae. Reflexively, she pats her pouch and pockets, staring at the Nohbakim.

The Hooka turns to Kia and nods several times. "Whoot!"

Meanwhile, there's a woman's scream from the direction of the fountain.

"They crawled off my head when I had it sitting on that table," Envoy begins to explain, until she hears the scream. "Ah, they must have gotten thirsty again!"

The mouse starts at the scream, then stares at Envoy. Aftera long moment, she looks between the Hooka and the Nohbakim again. "Are you sure you're not together?"