After the mishap with the krozmideon, Kia was able to provide more insight into the immediate surroundings by translating various inscriptions – some of which required a bit of cleaning off to read properly. The domed building to the northwest of the intersection is a museum, and the other structure to the northeast might be translated either as an auditorium or perhaps an opera house. The corridor leading off to the north is a main throughway leading to the city proper, though it soon dips into the flooded portion.

Toward the east, there is apparently a bank or treasury, a barracks, and what might be translated as an embassy. Toward the west, there is a trade center, maintenance access, a library, and what might perhaps be translated as a hotel for visitors.

The "snic-snic-snic" noise that Whonkahonk claimed was from "khosks" hasn't been heard again so far, nor have there been signs of any threats from creatures such as the "gorks" encountered earlier. In fact, for the time being, so far it seems that – aside from the possible inclusion of luminescent mosses – the explorers are the only living creatures within this underground city.

"The museum might be worth a look," Envoy suggests to the Skeek and Hooka. "Maybe there is a model of the city inside, so we can find an alternate route past the flooded tunnel."

The mouse tinker's nerves have calmed somewhat, especially since noises from other inhabitants haven't been heard recently. "Maybe," she answers Envoy. "Do any of these places sound like the one you're looking for?"

Envoy shakes her head, and says, "Not particularly. But if I'm looking for artifacts, a museum seems a good place to start."

Whonkahonk nods amiably. "Ank klowly kewels!"

"Those too," Envoy admits, grinning to the Hooka.

Kia squeaks in amusement. "A better shot at those than a map, I'd think. All right. Let's check it out."

Whonkahonk hoots happily, and starts ambling over to the domed building on the northwest corner of the intersection, and poking his nose around, until he finds – only slightly obscured by a fallen column and a build-up of sediment – a large pair of double doors. "WHOOT!" He hops up and down.

Envoy walks up to inspect the doors, looking for any damage that might prevent them from opening.

The mouse investigates, as well, wondering whether the doors open in or out, and if the fallen column blocks them.

It looks like the doors open inward, thank goodness, but there's still something built up on the other side that prevents them from opening very far. Between the bunch of them, they're able to get one of the doors to open just enough that Kia might be able to squeeze through (if she took off her pack first and pulled it through after her), or if Whonkahonk used his bizarre take on "contortionism" to get through. Something would need to be done about the blockage to get Envoy through, though, as even with her wings collapsed, she's still a bit too big to fit without considerable violence to her person.

"I'll have to try and deform the door with magic," Envoy says, and starts her handy-dandy mold spell once more, hoping to soften the door material enough to push it aside.

Panting a little from the exertion of getting it this far open, Kia steps back and slides her pack off her shoulders. "Maybe I'd better go in first. Maybe I can see what's in there that's making them stick – if we're lucky, it'll be a long rod or something I can – oh. Or you could use magic," the mouse finishes, blinking at the Aeolun.

Whonkahonk watches this with great interest, trotting up and standing right next to the Exile/faux-Nohbakim.

Envoy blinks as well, nearly losing her concentration. She hadn't even considered that the blockage could be simply moved from the other side.

Despite the near-loss of concentration, Envoy manages to finish her rushed spell without interruption and … nothing happens. Oh, she could maybe trace her name in the dirt crusting the door or something like that, but that could just as easily be done with her finger. Apparently this door is not so heavily saturated with 'Moltpaa Magic' that it's quite so pliable to urging from Earth Magic without a little more oomph behind it.

Whonkahonk, not realizing any of this, nonetheless watches with rapt expectation. "Whooooooooo," he whistles, impressed at the mystical goings-on.

Likewise, Kia watches, wide-eyed, at the glow of magic surrounding the gestures. She waits for it to take effect – not realizing that nothing more is going to happen.

With a sigh, Envoy gives up. "I'm not strong enough to affect the door. I'll have to wait outside while one of you goes in and checks it out, like Kia suggested."

The mouse looks disappointed for a moment, then shrugs. "All right." She shines her lantern through the gap, trying to get an idea of what she'd be going into. "Do you want to go first, or shall I, Whonkahonk?" she asks.

Inside, Kia can see an entry lobby, the floor covered in patches by layers of dried mud. Perhaps, when this street was flooded at some point, water rushed along, depositing earth here in little eddies, and then, when the flood receded, cleared away most of the debris in the relatively open area of the street, but left pockets of debris behind in out-of-the-way spots such as this. It doesn't look like any great muscle power would be required, though getting dirty would be most assured.

Whonkahonk bobs his head up and down. "I ko!" He pops his head off … and attaches it to his left arm, poking it through the gap in the door to look around.

"Hookas are very handy," Envoy comments, watching Whonkahonk. "I wonder how many segments a head can control? And could multiple heads manage a really big Hooka?"

"All right. Be careful, though. Don't touch any booby traps," Kia warns the Hooka, stepping away from the door to let him in. She looks worried for him.

Whonkahonk starts rearranging the segments of his body, until he starts looking like a Hooka-snake, and then inch-worms through the muck, vanishing into the dark interior of the room.

"Can you see what he's doing in there?" Envoy asks Kia, holding her own lantern higher up to try and illuminate more of the room beyond the door.

Once Whonkahonk's through, Kia sidles back to the door, trying to do exactly what the Aeolun was asking her about.

Inside, Whonkahonk is busily rearranging himself. He waddles over to a stagnant puddle of water, then dips his head down … and with a loud sucking noise, drains most of the pool. He then waddles back over to the crusted dirt, and sprays the water back out, and stomps around, making a muddy mess.

Kia giggles, watching the Hooka work. "He's making a big mess in there. I think he's wetting down the earth to soften it up so it'll move easier. Here, I'm going to go in and help him." She sets down her pack and tries to squeeze through the gap.

As Kia squeezes into the room and pulls her pack after her with only a little more dirt on it for the trouble, she can now make out that this chamber is far from empty. There are many statues of rat-men, these much more detailed than the more stylized ones guarding the entrance. They are most certainly digitigrade in stature, rather than the plantigrade variety occasionally seen. A flight of broad stairs leads up to the second level that looks out upon the main hall, offering a higher vantage point of a suspended case that dominates the center of the chamber: Contained within is a model, it seems, of the city, and a complex crystalline network and an ocean of translucent red beneath it.

Envoy tries to see what she can through the partially open door, turning her lantern this way and that.

Envoy may not be able to squeeze her whole body through, but the angle of the door still gives her a reasonable vantage point from which to occasionally see Whonkahonk at work, turning dirt into mud, and going back to other puddles to add more water to the mix. She can also get enough of a glimpse of the city model to guess at its purpose.

The mouse squeaks in excitement. "Yovne, there is a model of the city in here!" She almost starts towards it, then remembers herself and turns to help Whonkahonk push the mud out of the way, pulling a little trowel out of her pack to use as a very makeshift shovel.

"I hope it's still accurate," Envoy says as she listens to the work. "Let me know when to start pushing from this side."

The work goes on for some time, and Kia's trowel proves to be a more effective shovel than Whonkahonk's rounded appendages – which mostly just mash things around – once enough has been cleared away, and Envoy is able to push from her side, at last the door scrapes open, finally enough for Envoy to squeeze through – and with enough room that Kia and Whonkahonk should be able to get back out without any special contortion, in the event they might need to make a hasty retreat.

Envoy squeezes through the gap, and says, "Thanks for helping me get through! This place looks impressive."

Shining her lamp up at the model, the Aeolun sucks in her breath. "It looks like they mapped out the Sifran network and crust all the way down to the magma."

In addition to the model of the city, there are a great number of statues that sport seams not unlike the broken Dromodon-machine that was located outside. Various contraptions of resin are here and there, though some have collapsed, and it looks as if a few might have had components of less durable materials that have since rotted away or perhaps even turned to dust, given the amount of time this museum may have been abandoned.

"Isn't it though?" Kia wipes the mud from her face and hands onto a rag from her pack, then cleans off the trowel … and looks rather sadly at the state of the rag. She shakes it out a little, then lays it on the top of her pack to dry out. This done, she turns to face the museum, tail-tip twitching before she decides to join Envoy in examining the map.

Envoy studies the displays with her magic sense as well, just in case, but focuses most of her attention on the map.

As for the model, there are some steps up around it that offer one a chance to get up and get a better look at the details, though due to its size, there's only so much that can be seen from below, and it's unclear where exactly the explorers would be in relation to it all. Underneath the city, it appears that there is a large open space – and not just an artistic separation for the sake of clarity – dotted by supporting columns and natural formations of rock, suspending the city over a lake of magma that flows amidst the network of crystal, which forms from a chaotic network toward the edges to a more orderly web in the center, surrounded by crystalline structures that look in some ways like the petals of a rose, and with a glittering jewel that seems to hover (a trick of perspective, not magic, it seems) within the midst of them.

"That chamber looks closer to what I'm looking for," Envoy says, pointing to the large open space in the model. "There's some sort of magic incorporated into the model as well, so I'm going to see if I can recharge it a bit," she warns.

Kia smiles in wonder as she looks at the map, using her finger to follow the line of one of the crystalline paths to the rose center of the lake. "Oh! More magic?" She perks her ears, then starts circumnavigating the model, trying to find a pathway that leads to the lake of magma below the city.

One of the very first basic cantrips Envoy learned was how to recharge an enchantment of the Sphere of Earth, so she tries it out on the model to see if it will have an effect.

Envoy's horn begins to glow faintly … and then the glow passes through her and down her arm, to her finger, to spread into the crystalline network of the model. Light flows like water through the network, filling up little crystal reservoirs, and giving the red lake a wavering fiery glow that suggests far better the flows of magma. Traces of "steam" form in misty veins of smoky crystal, and the crystal petals surrounding the central gem slowly rotate in place.

Kia, meanwhile, finds a stairwell leading down to some precarious-looking walkways running underneath the city, and, orienting by what must be the "railway" leading into the city, is able to figure out that the stairwell must lead up to somewhere west of the museum, possibly even down that first east-west street that they encountered outside.

"Whatever that crystal structure is, it could be the reason they built their city here," Envoy suggests, "unless they found it later. I think it's what I'm looking for, though. Can you see any way down to it?"

Clapping her hands in admiration, the mouse tinker stops when she spies the stairwell, and peers at the rest of the model. She holds out one hand, trying to trace with her finger the street that leads to it.

The part of the model that would actually show the interior of the city is not easily visible from this vantage. Kia would have to go up the stairs to look at it from above … or else climb on someone's shoulders for a hoist up and a better view.

"There's a stairwell down to those crystal paths. I wonder if they're still intact? I'm not quite sure how to get to the stairs from here … but I'm thinking maybe if we go back down that street outside, we might be able to spot it. Whonkahonk, do you see it?" Kia points the stairwell out to the Hooka. "Can you get up over the model and tell me where it meets the street?"

Whonkahonk peers at the model, and then turns about and gallops up the flight of stairs leading to the upper level. He then hangs his head over the edge, turning his head about this way and that, and sometimes upside-down, then hoots, "I see ik!"

Envoy tries to find a better vantage point to see what Kia is pointing out. "Wasn't one of the areas to the west listed as being a maintenance access?" she asks, more to prompt Kia's memory than her own. "Could that be it?"

"Hankenank Akkess!" Whonkahonk parrots.

"Great!" the mouse calls up to him. "Can you tell how we'd get there from here?" She gets down from the step she's on and starts over to the staircase before pausing at the Aeolun's words. "Yes," she replies to Envoy. "I think there was… " She takes another look around the model, checking for inscriptions around it.

As Envoy goes up beside Whonkahonk, she can see the part of the city they've explored so far, though alas she doesn't have Kia's ability to decipher all of the inscriptions – except for those that Kia has already translated for her. That's good enough, however, to see a few things, as there are little labels here and there pointing out certain locations, such as the museum. (There's an arrow pointing at it, and some writing that might say something like "You are here.")

Kia manages to find some inscriptions, though many of them seem like some sort of obscure jargon that might well not have true translations into the Skeek she knows, though her own technical background helps immensely. There are several vents through which steam rises, and power various devices, but if she is to understand some of this narrative correctly, the magma isn't just magma, but has some sort of "energy" associated with it – perhaps more "magic." The "rose" in the center of the network is described with words that seem to suggest a role as "stabilizer" or "shield", and in its center, the gem is referred to as the "Observer." There are clearly walkways leading there, and the area the stairwell disappears up into is described as "Maintenance Access".

"Can you see any labels around the turning crystal object?" Envoy calls to Kia. "I think Whonkahonk and I have found the museum and street we're on."

"Oh!" the mouse squeaks, after deciphering the inscriptions. "I think you're right about the lake being the reason they built here, Yovne. They describe it as … well … like an 'energy source?' I think the rose and the crystal at the middle are important to it." She translates the various labels she's seen, pointing to them in turn for Envoy's and Whonkahonk's benefit.

After blinking three times, Envoy comments, "The Observer part sounds promising, but I have to wonder what they thought it was shielding or stabilizing."

Although a lot of the terms Kia sounds uncertain of, Envoy is able to recognize some of them as being related to terms that have made it into the jargon of modern magic – hinting at some connection after all. This magma must not just be ordinary molten rock, but a material with properties related to Sifran crystal – or, at least, the minerals often found in combination with Sifran crystal growths.

"The city, maybe? It is right over a lake of magma. I don't think this would work too well under ordinary circumstances," the mouse says, looking doubtfully at the way the vault of the lake's 'ceiling' supports the city.

"That depends on what the supporting material is made of," Envoy says, tapping a claw against the guardrail. "That magma may be a source of magic as well. It's not uncommon for volcanic areas to have high levels of magic."

"We should look at the maintenance access," Envoy suggests. "But you might want to look at the library, too. It's likely to have books about some of this technology that you'd find interesting."

The mouse's ears wilt. "I guess you know more about magic than I do. But … if it's magic lava … well. I guess that just makes it sound more dangerous to me. Maybe the crystal has to keep the magic from gushing out into everything." Kia stops herself, her tail twitching. "I'm sorry. I must sound like an idiot, blathering on when I haven't really a clue. Except it does say it's shielding something."

Whonkahonk scans the model a few more times, then goes poking around the exhibits of the museum. He finds a miniature model that looks very much like the mechanical Dromodon from outside, and starts peering at it from every possible direction.

Kia perks a little at the idea of finding books. "That'd be good! Perhaps we can find something that would explain what the lake and the crystal is all about, too."

"That would be helpful!" Envoy agrees, and turns to watch Whonkahonk. Since the little mechanical models probably run on steam instead of magic, she doesn't know what to really make of them. "I imagine some of the technology here could be made to work on Abaddon. Or at least understood there."

Whonkahonk makes some warbling noises, wandering along the line, scanning the various exhibits, sounding disappointed when he finds that most of them are in deplorable condition.

"It used to work here, though. Why would we have to take it off world to make them work again?" Kia asks. She walks over to the model mechanical Dromodon that Whonkahonk had been studying, to take a look for herself.

Following along, Envoy says, "The probability field of Sinai changes over time. That's why you see alcohol-fueled engines on airships now, but not five years ago. The conditions may not be right for these machines to work anymore, although I imagine a Titanian would find a way to make them do something."

"I've got a small hammer in my pack," Kia offers, grinning mischievously.

It does indeed appear to be steam-driven. Cutaway views show the interior, which has room for a boiler and some fairly clever mechanisms for counterbalancing the movements of the legs, though one might argue that it's overly complex for something that could just be accomplished with a wheel-driven device. The mechanical Dromodon is a vehicle one rides on top of, as if it were a beast, with control panels built into the sides (press in to "goad" the beast to accelerate, release to stop), and steering accomplished by guiding the head this way or that. It lacks anything as clever as a way to go in reverse, however, which could present problems if one walked right up to a wall at a dead end, and righting it if it fell over looks problematic. The resin must be of surprisingly light weight for its mass, for this to actually work, and there are indications of "quantum stabilizers" or other such strangeness around the boiler and key points to keep it from explosive mishaps.

"Then again, they might work perfectly, if they were given the proper maintenance," the Exile proposes. "That's the problem with machines; they can't repair themselves."

"Maybe I could," Kia murmurs, staring at the views depicted on the model. "I – I want to go to the library," she says, suddenly.

"Alright, let's go," agrees Envoy, smiling. "Find anything glowy, Whonkahonk? We're ready to leave otherwise," she calls to the Hooka.

The Hooka makes a sad noise and shakes his head, then gallops back down the stairs toward the front doors.

So, after Kia stuffs a souvenir from the museum into her pack, the explorers squeeze back out and make their way down the street, avoiding obvious pitfalls (and a few not-so-obvious ones), making it at last to…

Getting up the steps required a bit of climbing and some more Hooka-engineering, but at last the explorers find their way inside, this time not having to deal with sedimentary deposits. However, the library is dry enough not to have large clusters of luminescent moss, so this time they have to rely on their own light sources to find their way.

"These tablets are durable, but not very compact or portable," Envoy says, shining her light on one of the resin writings. "Probably why they were left behind when the city was abandoned."

Surveying the bulky tablets, Kia can't hide a look of disappointment. "At least they lasted," she comments, trying to see the bright side. She picks over a few, attempting to determine if this library is organized in a more self-evident way than the one at the Temple of Logos.

The books are constructed of thin sheets of resin – thin enough that many of them have broken – hinged not in a traditional book-bound way, but folded in such a way that they "zigzag" when unfolded, forming essentially a very long "scroll" that one can read down from top to bottom – and then read the reverse side after turning it over. For particularly long volumes, however, assistance would be recommended.

Although the books themselves may not be in the most convenient of forms, at the base of the statue is a map of the library, including this chamber as well as the branching wings, and inscriptions that apply names to the various sections, with smaller text describing sub-sections. Such topics as history, geography, physical engineering, arcane engineering, zoology, xenology, language, fiction, poetry, music, theology, and a great many other broad headings are mentioned.

"I wonder what they used for light in here?" Envoy asks out loud, and shines her lantern on the walls and ceiling looking for the answer.

There are several glassy orbs that look much like those found back in the "train station" back in Parthos, though none of them hosts any colonies of luminescent algae at the moment. The torch held aloft by the plump Skreek statue in the center of the room has a crystalline top that simply begs to have some sort of magical mechanism associated with it, though no obvious means of accessing it presents itself.

"I'd like to check their section on engineering," Kia says, after translating some of the broader categories from the map. "I want to find out what that crystal structure and the lake is all about." She glances curiously to the glass orbs again, tail-tip twitching, but doesn't add any other items to her wish-list, at the moment.

Envoy tries waving her crown as close to the torch as she can reach, to see if there is a reaction indicating the use of Sifran crystal.

From the floor, Envoy can do little but just wave her crown about, since the Skreek statue is much larger than life-sized. Climbing up one of the many ladders and hanging out on one of the platforms might get her closer – or else, of course, she could always just fly. In any case, there's no reaction evident in the crystal by waving the crown about from this far away.

"Lead the way, and I'll hold the light for you," Envoy says to Kia, putting away her crown for now. She reasons that she can check the crystal out closer later on.

"Ok." Hoisting her pack against her shoulders, Kia hikes off to the right section of the library, after fixing its location on the map in her mind.

Checking the map, it looks like the Engineering section – including both Arcane and Physical sections, as well as several other sub-sections – is straight ahead, around the statue, across from the entrance, occupying one of the larger and more prominent sections of the library. Kia finds it easily – all the more so with the help of a light source – and Whonkahonk bobs along (less than quietly) to join the exploration.

Once there, Kia scans through the blocks of resin, looking for something that refers to the city, or to some of the keywords she saw on the map: "Observer," "stabilizer," "shield," and so forth.

Inside, it appears that reaching any particular part of the library is an exercise in rolling wheel-bottomed, track-guided ladders along the shelves, clambering up them, and hoisting the contents over to the nearest convenient platform – or hauling them all the way down to the floor for a less precarious examination. Numerous desks and tables litter the floor, some of them broken by fallen blocks, and there are quite a few books that have either fallen from the shelves, or that nobody bothered to put back whenever the city was abandoned some time ago.

Envoy shines her light around as necessary to avoid any debris on the floor, although being in direct line of sight to the glowing crystal helps a bit. "This could take awhile," she comments, looking over the sheer number of resin documents.

At last, Kia finds what looks like a promising section – several books devoted to, apparently, the mechanisms that this very city is based upon, in particular. "The Rose Shield," "Theories on the Interplay of the Observer with the Stabilizing Network," "Harnessing Xylphran Magic from the {unknown word} Magma," "Construction of Stalto City," among others.

Squeaking with delight, the mouse twitches her tail from side to side. "Whonkahonk, can you help me with these?" she asks, hefting "The Rose Shield" into her arms and looking to see if the Hooka can stretch up to take it from her and put it on a desk.

Whonkahonk nods, and proves himself to be quite adept at this, though the way he sways around while at the very extent of his height might give one reason for concern. Nonetheless, he manages to get the "Rose Shield" book down to a clear desk without incident.

Starting at the other end of the chamber, Envoy begins looking at book titles herself. She can't read the language, but can at least recognize the key words if she runs across them.

Envoy finds a book that, near as she can tell, appears to focus on the finer points of constructing krozmideons, judging from the illustrations, and another book that has something about "Xylphran" and "Network."

By this time, Kia has considerable faith in Whonkahonk's general durability, if not grace. She passes down two of the other likely suspects, then carries the last title down to a desk herself.

Picking up the book on Xylphrans, Envoy continues on down the row.

Whonkahonk sways back and forth, then, deposits his load on the desk. "Kooks!" he honks happily.

As for Envoy, working with what she can see – and the occasional help from Kia on particular keywords – she's able to find a book with "maintenance" in the title, another with "shield," and another with the keyword, "observer."

Kia nods her head in agreement, looking just as pleased. She starts leafing through "The Rose Shield," scanning to see if she can puzzle out what the purpose of the crystal arrangement is – what it does, if not how it does it.

Envoy brings her own bundle of books over to Kia's desk, and tries to read over the Skeek's shoulder. "If you read out loud, it will help me learn."

Reading into the book, it is not long before Kia is able to discern that the "rose shield" is something that predated the construction of Stalto City. In fact, the suspended platform the city is built on was already here as well, though more supports were added, and walkways to facilitate mere mortals to walk about and access the place – plus, of course, the buildings and the aqueducts and the railway providing access to the outside (so to speak) world.

Whonkahonk peers over Kia's other shoulder, not to be left out.

Excitedly, Kia relays to Envoy what she's learned, almost waving the Aeolun over before she remembers the other doesn't read Skreek. "I don't think even the Moltpaans knew where it came from, exactly."

"From the Sifras," Envoy says, "or the Xyphrans, as the Krozites called them. I think this book here talks about the network that makes up the platform the city sits on."

As for the purpose of the shield itself, there is a considerable conjecture, but there are some anecdotal examples of times in the past when an earthquake damaged some of the structures. At that, apparently the Moltpaans had access to 'arcane engineering' and knew enough about the crystal structures to repair them, but as the book suggests, some damage to the shield resulted in a rising of the level of the magma, and several fissures that appeared in the supporting structures underneath the city, and the total collapse of one of the walkways (to the detriment of those who were standing on it at the time).

"It sounds like it regulates the level of the magma for some purpose," Envoy comments. "Maybe that's what they mean by shield."

"Oh! I guess they would be," Kia looks embarrassed not to have recognized the name. "It sounds like it keeps the magma from flooding the city, to me."

She adds, "Maybe that's not the purpose the Sifras had in mind, but it was pretty important to the Moltpaans.

"Does it say anything about the Observer?" Envoy asks.

Kia checks, wrinkling her nose thoughtfully.

There is some more arcane data about the rose shield, and some attempts by the Moltpaans to construct devices with similar features. From what can be discerned, this led to the invention of an early prototype of the 'quantum stabilizer' – by the account of the book, not a very reliable prototype, alas, judging from the mishaps associated with its early use. There is some mention about the Observer, which is described as a Xylphran crystal that hovers in the center of the rose shield, but little notice is given to it in this particular volume.

"Not in this book," the mouse concludes. She closes it and turns to Theories on the Interplay of the Observer with the Stabilizing Network. "This one looks more promising."

"I found some other books that talk about the network and the Observer, and mention maintenance," Envoy says, patting the stack she brought over as Kia switches books.

Kia takes a moment to glance over the new titles before starting in on the one she selected.

"Proper Maintenance of the Auto-Devourer Garbage Disposal System," one title reads. "Progress in Steam-Assisted Armor," another one reads – the word for 'Armor' being easily confused with that for 'Shield,' depending upon the context. "The Observer Calamity of 405 ME," reads another.

The mouse picks out the one called "The Observer Calamity," then goes back to scan "Theories" first.

As for the Theories on the Interplay… book, it starts off with yet more that confirms that this crystal predated Stalto City, and hints that its exact purpose was not fully known. That said, however, this writer still seems to be fairly certain of his own theories, as he presents them as facts. If his account is to be taken at face value, the Observer was a device created by god-like beings known as the Xylphrim, who existed millions of years ago, and who still haunt the world as "nature spirits" and "elementals." The Observer is only a part of an enormous device they constructed, which in turn was part of a giant arcane machine which encompasses the entire world of Sinai, of ultimately a purpose that even the writer does not claim to understand. But as for the Observer, he writes that it serves to monitor "arcane impulses" (and some other techno-magical-gibberish) that come through the crystal network, and thus facilitates "stabilizing systems," such as the rose shield.

Kia wrinkles her nose as she deciphers the essence of the book. "I'm not too sure this fellow knew what he was talking about," she says to Envoy, after giving her the gist of what she understood the author to be saying.

"Well, the part about it being part of a planet-wide mechanism probably isn't too far off," Envoy concedes. "I don't know about the rest, though. Maybe the book on the Observer Calamity will be more enlightening."

"I hope so." Kia sets Theories on the Interplay… to one side and opens The Observer Calamity.

The "ME" of the title appears to refer to the "Modern Era," and it's not immediately clear just how it lines up with the Rephidim calendar. In any case, the calamity of Year 405 is related to one of those earthquakes hinted at in the book on the Rose Shield, wherein the Observer stone was knocked somehow from its perch. The Rose Shield was observed to spin irregularly, more earthquakes followed, some "elemental spirits" wrought havoc in the city, and a great many other disasters happened, until a team of brave Moltpaans headed down into the inferno – most of them perishing in the adventure – to put the Observer stone back in its rightful place once more. Thereafter, the mayhem decreased in intensity, until things returned more or less to normal, and Prince Stalto proclaimed the members of the team (some posthumously) as heroes, and appointed them as members of a new Honor Guard of the Rose, dedicated to keeping watch over the Rose Shield and the Observer Stone at all times.

As she skims through the text, Kia's eyes widen. She finds herself absorbed in the narrative, trying to translate it for the benefit of her companions as quickly as she can. "How horrible," she whispers as she reads about all the Moltpaans dying trying to put it back.

Whonkahonk makes a sad-sounding whistle.

Envoy frowns. "Well, it doesn't look like the Observer is something I can take with me then. But I still need to see it, I think. Exposure to it or the energy in the magma might be important."

Kia shakes her head, agreeing, "No, you certainly couldn't take it. Mph. I hope the Rose Shield is still intact after all this time. I wonder if problems with it contributed to the city being abandoned?"

"The flooding could have been from the aqueducts collapsing," Envoy suggests. "But otherwise the city seems largely intact. There could have been earthquakes since then that make it too dangerous to inhabit again though. Maybe there is a book in the history section talking about the war and its aftermath that the krozmideon suggested?"

"Maybe." Kia doesn't sound too encouraged. "Though I don't really expect that anyone stayed behind to write a book about why everyone else left. But perhaps a note or something was left behind, A warning, maybe. Somewhere."

"Perhaps there is an office for the head librarian or historian here," the Aeolun suggests.

Kia jerks her head about suddenly from the book she's looking at. "Did you see that?" she asks, scrambling to her feet and staring at one of the ladders.

"Whoot?" honks Whonkahonk, as he spins his head around in a full circle to see what's up.

Envoy blinks in surprise at Kia's outburst, her attention having wandered to a nearby desk. "What?" she says, and shines her light towards the ladder Kia stares at.

"Hello?" Kia calls out in Skreek. "Is anyone there?" She walks over to the ladder.

"Whonkahonk, have you moved any books that were laying on the desks already?" Envoy whispers to the Hooka, while still trying to find whatever Kia is looking for with her light.

Whonkahonk gives Envoy a questioning warble, then shakes his head from side to side emphatically.

The ladder appears to have nothing particularly unusual about it, and has a thick layer of dust on every rung – not being one of the ladders used by Kia or Envoy for their searching previously.

Envoy frowns. "We may not be alone then. It sounds like Kia thinks she saw a person if she's trying to talk to it," she whispers to Whonkahonk.

Kia touches the dust on one rung of the ladder, a frown of concentration turning to worry on her face.

A convulsive shiver passes through Kia's frame. "I thought – " She starts climbing the ladder suddenly, inspecting the dust on each rung before she touches it.

Whonkahonk lets out a worried wail, and starts more vigorously scanning the room as his head swivels about from point to point.

Turning her light to scan the floor, Envoy tries to find any footprints that don't match their own, starting at the desk that seems to have had a book removed from it, by the way the dust is cleared.

Kia finds that each rung has just as much dust as any of the other ladders before she and Envoy started disturbing it with their explorations. And Envoy finds that the desk to which her attention is drawn is not in the immediate area either of them had explored earlier – and there is no evidence of anyone else leaving footprints in the dust, either.

"You aren't letting those theories of elementals and nature spirits get to you, I hope," Envoy says. "I'm pretty sure I'd notice a spirit moving around. Although, I don't know what could have removed a book without leaving a track in the ground, unless there is a flier in here." She shines her lamp as best she can towards the ceiling.

No fliers reveal themselves to be clinging to the ceiling – nor anything else out of the ordinary, for that matter. There is a fairly nice mosaic tile pattern going on, however, illustrating various feats of Moltpaan engineering – that is, where sections haven't fallen loose and plummeted to the floor.

The mouse checks the spot on the shelves where she thought she saw the mouse. "Well – no. I thought I saw a Skreek, but maybe it wasn't one. An Eeee, maybe?"

As for Kia, she reaches a level where there is a book just within arm's reach, having noticeably less dust on it than those around it. The title reads, "The Impact of the Wild Realm on Arcane Engineering."

"Hello?" Envoy calls out in Eeee, and continues to scan around the upper parts of the chamber.

The tinker takes the title down from the shelf, checking the dust surrounding it to see if there are any other visible signs of disturbance.

No signs whatever present themselves that anyone has been here examining the shelf besides Kia.

The mouse lets out a puff of breath, shaking her head. She looks up at the mosaic ceiling.

And no signs present themselves to Envoy, either, that they are not alone in this room … except, perhaps, the very faint, strange noise that might be something like "Snic snic snic snic… " that is so quiet that Whonkahonk apparently doesn't catch it.

Mosaic depictions of great Moltpaan engineers of old look back down at Kia from the ceiling, expressions bland and serious as they point toward their particular contributions to the various fields of engineering.

"Did you find something, Kia?" Envoy asks, somewhat quietly. She shines her lamp back down the main hallway, half expecting it to be full of mutant Skreeks.

"No. Just a book less dusty than the others." Kia makes a face, coming down the ladder with the volume in hand.

Envoy freezes in place, staring out at the hallway. "Kia? Whonkahonk? I think we might have a problem," she says, trying to sound calm.

Whonkahonk makes a questioning hoot, and swivels his head around to look.

The mouse stops, too, halted by something in Envoy's voice despite the Aeolun's efforts to stay calm. She tries to follow the path of Envoy's lantern down the hallway, and see whatever it is she sees.

After straining her eyes for a bit, Envoy asks, "Do either of you see a horde of furless, empty-eyed mutant Skreeks in the hallway? I can't really … focus … on any of them."

At this, Whonkahonk lets out a sudden wail and starts galloping wildly about the room, as if looking for another exit (though there is none that immediately presents itself).

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," Envoy comments, not turning to watch the Hooka panic.

"No," Kia says, quite loudly and firmly. "I definitely do not see a horde of mutant furless empty-eyed Skreeks. I think we are definitely imagining things. I think this has something to do with 'Wild Magic' that maybe I haven't gotten to reading just yet. I think we should leave now, though."

"Just walk out through the horde of imaginary monsters?" Envoy asks, and blinks in surprise as they actually seem to retreat into the shadows at Kia's suggestion. She didn't think her imagination was that active.

Whonkahonk, having failed to find another exit, just cowers behind Kia and Envoy, letting out pathetic little whimpers.

"Absolutely." Kia calmly takes one of Whonkahonk's appendages. Holding the latest book she took down under one arm, she walks toward the exit, emphatically not catching glimpses of any strange activity, or hearing odd noises that she can't quite identify.