It's now the morning after Anisa's return from Caroban, and her excuse of "airship lag" is no longer in effect. So, once more she finds herself back behind the bar with a few minutes to herself as the last of the late-breakfast crowd leaves.

The white doe pours herself a cup of mateh, adding some sugar to it in the hopes that the bags beneath her eyes will go away. The excuse might not work anymore, but the real lag is still hitting her.

"Didn't get much sleep on your little trip, eh?" Quinn says, winking at Anisa while he clears off the last of the tables.

Anisa takes a deep swig from the mug, wincing at the bitter taste that greets her tongue. "Not really," she replies. "We were always up doing something, and the trip back was a crowded one." She cracks a small grin. "It was worth it, though. I haven't been to a party like that before!"

A Rath'ani pokes his head in through the tavern door. He sniffs lightly at the air and grins, smelling the remnants of breakfast still wafting around as he tip-toes in. He's dressed in a faded set of red mage's robes, which makes him stand out enough to make the whole tip-toe routine seem almost comical.

The older Lapi nods to the Rath'ani, and says, "Welcome to Snowshoe's! Christina here will take of you." Quinn then vanishes into the kitchen with the dirty dishes.

The younger rabbit makes a quick glare at her brother for pawning the customer off on her, but immediately replaces the look with a mask of hospitality. "Hi there! What can I get you this morning?"

The raccoon bounces on his heels, causing the tip of his hat to dance up and down. "Christina Snowshoe? Ah … I've a message for you, but … um … you wouldn't happen to have anything for breakfast still left around as well, would you?"

Anisa blinks at the Rath'ani, then arches a brow in puzzlement. "A message? What kind- oh!" The rabbit's eyes go wide, as she wasn't expecting this so soon. "I'm pretty sure we can fix some last minute breakfast up, but first … " She looks about to make sure there are no eavesdroppers. "Don't you have something to say to me?"

"Message? Oh! Right! The message! Just a moment." The raccoon pulls his hat off and moves as though he's about to place it on Anisa's head.

The Lapi jerks her head backwards. "Whoa, hey! I'm not a hat rack! That's over by the door!"

The mage shrinks down. "Sorry … just … um. Well, it makes for a good method of privacy." He pulls his hat back on his head and motions for the Lapi to come closer.

Anisa perks one of her enormous ears forward and towards the raccoon. "Don't worry, you can speak as quietly as you like." The rabbit leans forwards.

The raccoon shrugs and nods. "Morpheus is rising," he whispers up into the proffered appendage. He grins sheepishly, adding, "But hopefully he can wait until after breakfast."

The white Lapi grins in return, and gives a nod as she leans back behind the bar. "That's all I needed to hear. But first things first: what'll you have?" The Lapi reaches into her apron pocket, and pulls out a pad and pencil. "We're mostly vegetable fare, but if you like fruit in the morning, we have that too."

The clink of stacking plates echoes from the kitchen area as the cleaning-up continues.

"Oh, I'm not picky at all. Fruit will be just fine, and if the mateh is any good I'm wondering if I could have a cup of that as well?" The mage makes a motion to dust off his robes despite the fact that they don't look all that dirty. "By the way, Madame, my name is Fenter Nutzenboltschen, Chaos Mage Extraordinaire. Should you need a good luck charm or a fortune telling, I am at your humble service."

Anisa rips the piece of paper off the pad, and places it in the serving window of the kitchen. "Don't put up everything just yet, Quinn! Need a morning fruit platter, and I need it yesterday!" She turns back to the raccoon, genuinely smiling. "And you already know my name, although I go by Anisa instead of Christina. Glad to meet you." The Lapine takes a mug from the platter, pours it full to the brim, then pulls a stool up to the bar so she can see the raccoon without having to stand on her tiptoes. "The mateh might be a bit strong. It's been simmering for a while. So I suppose Mage Shift sent you?"

"We're out of … oh, wait … never mind," comes the voice of Quinn as he retrieves the order slip.

Fenter bobs his head up and down. "Mage Shift? Actually, it was Faust, and he wanted to make sure you brought your … um … thing." He makes a plucking motion at his neck.

"Yeah, I got the 'thing'." Reaching into her collar, the Lapi pulls out the charm in question. "This is the one you were looking for? And, by the way, who's Faust?"

"Fruit-plate pick-up!" Quinn calls, having quickly set up a platter full of sliced fruits and berries, including breadfruit.

The raccoon grins, although his eyes bug out a bit as he sips the mateh. "He used to be a dean of some sort, I think – one of those dreary spirit mage types with no sense of humor or fun." He sticks his tongue out, although it might just be to cool it off from the drink.

Anisa takes the plate from the serving window, and places it down in front of the raccoon. "A spirit mage? I thought it was the dream mages that wanted the pendant." The rabbit looks at said charm in question. "What does he want it for? Shift said it was just to study."

"Er … I wasn't told that bit, actually. Just asked to fetch you and have the necklace brought to him." Fenter selects an apple and munches noisily on it.

The doe looks startled by this. "Fetch … me?" A snow colored ear flops forward. "I thought you just needed the pendant. You need me too?"

The mage droops. "Oh! I knew I'd make a muck of it! I told Mage Faust that he should use one of those reliable Earth Mage types." He picks some apple fragments from his robe and pops them into his mouth. "I'm not arresting you or anything, miss. Just … well … it is your property. I think it was sort of assumed that you'd want to see what was done to it."

"Well … yeah, I guess I would, to be honest." Anisa props her elbows on the bar, and rests her chin in her paws. "I'd like to know more about this thing, and why I was the one who ended up using it. Plus, I'd like to learn more about that 'Morpheus' guy. All I ever heard was his voice." She sits back on the stool, slipping the pendant back into her shirt. "I'd also like to keep a bit of an eye on it too. No offense, but you can't always be sure of mages' motives – or at least, my experiences tell me so."

"It was a shame when they left off to do that Caroban thingummy," Fenter laments. "But at least I got to be one of the lucky ones to stay in Rephidim. Someone needs to keep an eye on all of those empty rooms at the Collegia, after all. And all those empty beds … and all those larders … and those big unused kitchens going to waste." He gets a dreamy look in his eyes.

The Lapi can't help but crack a smile, "I'll bet. How's the fruit, by the way? Should we be off when you finish?"

The raccoon stuffs a few fruits in his pockets for later and then produces a ten shekel coin; one half of it is corroded and grimy while the other is so highly polished it looks as though it were minted that morning. "No rush. Faust will probably clack his beak at us and growl at us for being late even if we were an hour early … but I won't hold you."

"Off?" comes Quinn's voice, followed by the Lapi himself, and the towel he's drying his hands on. "Try to be back before the end of the lunch-rush, Anisa."

Reaching behind her, Anisa unties her apron, setting it aside behind the bar. "I'll try, but I can't make any promises," she says with a smirk. "Official College Esoterica business, you know. And you wouldn't want to make them mad!" The white rabbit crosses her arms, grinning while she waits for Fenter to finish.

The raccoon slurps down the remaining dregs of mateh, wipes his muzzle off on his sleeve and hops down from his seat. "Ready whenever you are, Madame." He puts the coin down on the bar top and takes a sweeping bow, as though eating breakfast were some great performance.

The older Lapi just rolls his eyes and says, "Yeah … well … don't make a habit of this sort of thing, is all." He then vanishes back into the kitchen.

Taking the coin, Anisa places it in the moneybox, and rolls her own eyes in retaliation. "Whatever. Anyways, I should probably change out of my bar outfit, but it'll do for now. Let's go." Gulping down her own mug of mateh (which makes her fur frazzle with the sudden surge), the rabbit comes from behind the bar and stand by the raccoon. "Lead the way!"

Fenter pops a slice of breadfruit into his mouth as he shuffles out the door. "By the way, if I'm not being too noisy – was the other Lapi gentleman a relative of yours? You both sort of smelled similar."

"My brother," replies the doe. "Stick around long enough, and you'll meet a veritable deluge of them- hey, what do you mean 'smell'?"

"Well, he did touch the plate. You eat at Binter's long enough you learn to smell everything just a little before you put it in your mouth." The Chaos mage shrugs and holds the door open for the Lapi. "So this is a family owned business, then?"

Anisa nods in thanks at the courtesy (if biting her tongue) and steps outside. "Yeah, my daddy owns it, although Quinn more or less owns it anymore. My brothers and I all do the work there, I guess it's cheaper than hiring out of family."

It's a pleasant day out, and the mid-morning shoppers seem content to dawdle along and browse. It's also time for the latest batch of bread to be laid out at the bakery up the street, which has attracted a crowd of children to its window.

Fenter's hands vanish into his pockets. "For a bit I thought you were pondering becoming a mage yourself. I bet a fire mage would be quite useful in a restaurant."

The rabbit smirks, looking over to Fenter. "Me a mage? Whatever gave you that idea?" She smoothes down her ears, and shakes her head. "I don't have the patience to be a mage, or the smarts for that matter. And if I were a fire mage, Dagh take it if I worked in a restaurant!"

Perhaps in retaliation, the candy shop across the road from the bakery combats the smell of fresh-baked-bread by displaying an early selection of Ring Day candies. This succeeds in drawing off a few of the children from the bakery.

A lone Gallee cub stands in the middle of the street, torn between temptations, until he spots Fenter. "Hey!" the poodle barks, pointing to the mage. "It's Mister Magic Eyes!" This draws more children's attention toward the pair.

"It's more instinct than intelligence, really. I mean, I'm quite the moron myself – or at least that's what all my teachers told me. Have you ever danced, Miss Snowshoe? Weaving a spell is much like it … and you get so lost in the casting that it doesn't seem nearly as tedious." The raccoon coughs into his fist. "Some people just … oh dear."

"I love to dance. I take just about any opportunity-" Anisa cuts herself short, her ears springing upward in surprise at the Gallee cub. She blinks at Fenter. "'Mister Magic Eyes?' What does he mean by that?" A curious smile creeps onto the rabbit's face.

A few of the children rush up to the Rath'ani now, grinning widely and generally acting excited. "Mister Magic Eyes! Mister Magic Eyes!" is the common chant, along with, "Do the eye trick!" and, "No, do the one where you blow a giant bubble out of your nose!"

Fenter covers his eyes. "Really now. I'm on very important Collegia business at the moment. But if you leave us to go on our way, I promise I'll come back and make something explode later." He steps closer to Anisa and mutters, "I had an accident with some flowers a few years back. Another reason why I picked up the habit of always sniffing my food before I ate it … and also not letting myself get so hungry that I pop anything with a bit of color into my mouth."

The Lapi giggles a bit, covering her muzzle with a paw. "Well, you'd better be careful with this audience; they look pretty demanding."

"Is this your helper?" a Jupani cub asks, tugging on Anisa's skirt. "Are you gonna saw her in half?"

Anisa looks down at the little wolf in amusement. "Saw me in half? I hope not! I have places to go today." She flops her ears playfully at the pup.

The raccoon peeks out though his fingers. "I'm sure that Miss Snowshoe would be very cross with me were I to do such a thing, and as she has told me she has several brothers I am sure that they would be cross as well, and I've been told that Lapis are very good runners."

"I saw the Great Mysterio do that in the Bazaar!" chimes in a Lapi girl. "There was blood everywhere! It was gross! But the guard took him away before he could do it again."

The older Lapi blinks at the smaller one. "Um … I don't think I'll be doing that anytime soon, no. I like my legs." She smirks.

"Just one Eye Trick?" the original Gallee cub begs Fenter. "The one where you close them and we get to guess what color they'll be? Pleeeeeease!"

"Would you mind if I did a quick cantrip, Miss Snowshoe? I'm sure Mage Faust won't get any more cross than he usually is." Fenter squats down and appears to be playing a game of peek-a-boo with the poodle pup, covering his eyes and then revealing them again.

The cub laughs in delight, trying to keep up with the colors. "Red! Blue! Purple … no … violet!"

Anisa laughs. "Go right ahead! Maybe I'll learn a thing or two."

"Do you do any tricks, Ma'am?" the Jupani cub asks Anisa.

Anisa shakes her head. "I'm afraid not, unless you consider making brothers disappear with a word.""Would you mind allowing me to handle the hem of your dress, ma'am? I assure you that there will be no sawing in half or explosions involved. Just a tiny little cantrip." Fenter points to the billowy portion of Anisa's dress. "It's an old chaos mage trick."

Anisa looks up to the Rath'ani, and grins. "Go right ahead, good sir. Just make sure you don't shrink it or anything."

The Mage mutters to himself and slowly starts to trace his finger across the green of the fabric. As he does so, his finger trails first a darker green as though he'd freshly re-dyed the color on, and then lighter as though he'd suddenly aged it. Very carefully, he traces the rune for the sphere of Chaos on Anisa's dress, although the first portions of his sketch are already slowly fading back to normal by the time he finishes.

"Wow," is the only comment from the fascinated audience. At that age, being able to draw with your finger is considered a pretty cool ability.

Anisa's ears perk upwards, and her own interest is piqued as her nose begins to twitch rapidly in curiosity. She remains silent, keeping her eyes on Fenter's paw.

Once the image is completed, the raccoon hops up and takes a deep bow. "And many thanks to my amazing and talented assistant, Miss Anisa Snowshoe, who makes the best mateh in Rephidim … er … which none of you should drink because it stunts your growth and will make your parents chase after me for even suggesting that you … oh never mind. Just applaud the nice lady."

The Lapi woman laughs, and takes a bow despite the goofiness. "And make sure you give applause for your magician of the day, Fenter the Eye and Dress Mage!"

The assorted cubs applaud and whistle, with only a few grumblings of, "Sawing in her in half would have been neater." Their attention is finally drawn away once the Toy Shop decides the candy store and bakery have had enough attention and puts up the stuffed fuff'nars with squeakers inside.

Fenter's ears blush slightly. "Sometimes it's hard to say 'no.' There are days when it seems that the only people who seem pleased with your magic are the children." He pulls out a half eaten apple and munches thoughtfully on it as he resumes walking to the Collegia grounds. "Have you thought about being tested for potential, miss? I mean … I wouldn't recommend life with most of those folks on Caroban as a permanent thing, but there's other places to have yourself stationed."

"Children are sometimes more aware than adults, so I wouldn't sweat that." Anisa smoothes out the hem of her dress as they resume walking. "Get tested? No, I can't say that it's ever crossed my mind. I guess I've had a lot of run-ins with magic, but never thought I had any potential myself. I figured one of my brothers might, but not me."

"Maybe you're a Chaos mage! I've heard people talk about how Lapis are associated with luck." The raccoon chuckles. "The biggest hurdle is finances." He winces, having experienced that personally.

"I'm still paying off a little fiasco I had a few years ago," replies the doe. "But now you've got me curious. Chaos mage? What do they usually do?"

The shops and cafes begin to give way to townhouses once the two reach the edge of the Scholars' Quarter, with the towers of the old Collegia Esoterica and Collegia Naturalis dominating both ends of the eastern skyline.

Fenter plucks his lip. "Well, by reputation, we sort of make things happen. We can suppress magical energies, or enhance them for a bit. We can also tweak the threads of probability a little and make them more positive or negative – like casting a ritual on an airship so that it might have a safe journey, or blessing a prospector looking for metal. Generally we make things happen, sometimes good … sometimes … er … "

Anisa smirks. "In other words, you mess with chances. Bet it'd be useful to play cards with." The doe looks upwards at the spires. "Wow! I've never actually been inside the College. I didn't even know anyone was still there since the move."

The main gates to the Collegia grounds are soon in sight, although there doesn't appear to me any activity around them. A uniformed Jupani guard dozes in a kiosk at the entrance.

"Not many. Just us important types given the great duty of watching the grounds. You never know when someone might try to steal one of the buildings or something of that nature." The raccoon waddles over and knocks on one of the girders of the kiosk. "Helloooo!"

The Lapi nods with a smirk, and follows along, standing behind the Rath'ani as he hails the guard.

"Fire!" the Jupani cries out as he snorts awake, then sheepishly looks around. "I mean … uh … oh, it's you, Mage Nuts-in-butter … er … whatever." Eyeing Anisa, he arches an eyebrow at the Rath'ani. "I thought you weren't allowed to be near girls?"

Anisa blinks, furrowing her brow at the guard, then to Fenter. "Say what?"

Fenter pulls his hat down over his ears. "I am simply escorting the young lady!" He peeks out at Anisa. "Grandfather has asked me … er … not to make him a great-grandfather."

The doe suppresses a laugh, and turns to the guard. "Mage Shift has asked me to meet with Mage Faust. I have something for him."

Checking his clipboard, the guard actually looks surprised. "Hey, it does say here 'and guest' next to Fenter's name. That would explain why he isn't just climbing over the wall." The Jupani steps out of his box and opens the gate, bowing to the pair. "Welcome to the Collegia Esoterica."

Fenter straightens himself, which is still a bit goofy looking, considering his hat is still pulled halfway over his eyes. "I only scale the wall because they have neglected to build my own personal entrance just yet!"

As Fenter and Anisa enter the main hall of the eerily empty building, an ethereal Creen flies up to them, performs a little wriggling dance, and then scoots down one of the halls. It pauses midway down, as if waiting to be followed.

Anisa perks an ear upwards. "I guess he's our escort. We'd better not keep Mage Faust waiting." The doe feels at her neck, and nervously twiddles the necklace's chain.

"I made hats out of those once," the raccoon muses. "Ahem. You are correct, ma'am. Now then, don't let Faust intimidate you too much. All those spirit mages are gloomy little things who think about death far too much. It would drive me to drink … more than usual at least." He shuffles after the Creen.

Following after the raccoon, the doe nods. "What do you think he's going to use the pendant for? I mean, it hasn't exactly brought me much luck. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure why I'm wearing it now."

The guide-spirit leads the pair through the bowels of the building, finally bringing them to one of the unused laboratories. Perched on the edge of a chair inside is perhaps the oddest Korv Anisa is likely to have seen: completely white, with bright pink eyes. "Ah, Mage Nutzenboltschen," caws Mage Faust, as another wispy apparition seems to flutter about his head, "and Miss Snowshoe. I'm glad you came. If you'd please just step into the middle of this ritual circle … "

Anisa's ears fall backwards, and her fur stands on end at the sight of the ancient avian. "S-step inside the circle?" The rabbit looks wary. "Is that necessary, sir?"

Carved into the floor is indeed a ritual circle, with ominously glowing runes.

"Good morning, Mage Faust." The raccoon attempts to grin, but it comes out as more of a grimace really.

"I spent several hours setting up the ritual," the Korv says, as if trying to guilt Anisa into submitting. "I wish to make certain you are not being affected by any lingering effects of your … involvement … in that Babelite ritual. This is not to imply that you are actually possessed," Faust adds, waving a wing, "but my experience in this matter obligates me to be absolutely sure."

Ears wilting and mouth frowning, the white Lapine nods, stepping forward towards the circle. Regarding it like a pit of lava, the doe steps in toe first as though she were testing the waters of a bath, then quickly jumps inside the circle. "It won't … hurt, will it?"

Fenter steps out of the way, but seems a bit surprised by all of this. "Er … do you need any assistance, Mage Faust?"

"No, it shouldn't," Faust says, and begins to gesture with his wings. "Mage Nutzenboltschen … please be ready to restrain the Lapi if she claims to be a goddess or attempts to alter your mind in any way." Once he begins to chant, the misty wisp that was hovering around his head jumps across the ritual circle to start orbiting around Anisa's ears.

The doe's ears shoot up. "Claim to be a goddess? What do-" She cuts herself short as the cloud appears.

The raccoon blinks and takes a step backwards toward the door. "It's just to see if you happen to be possessed, Miss Snowshoe. Probably nothing. Nothing at all. I'd think you'd know if you were possessed."

The misty halo begins to descend, expanding as necessary to clear Anisa's body. It takes several minutes, but eventually it reaches her feet and then starts to ascend once more.

Fenter takes another step towards the door though, just in case.

The halo reaches the tips of Anisa's ears again, then condenses into a ball and shoots down in an arch to impact the crystal pendant … where it vanishes without so much as a pop.

Anisa opens one of her eyes for a peek.

"Ah, interesting," Faust mutters, and picks up a pad and quill in his wing claws to make a note. "You do not appear to be suffering from any lingering effects or spirit manifestations, Miss Snowshoe. You may step out of the circle now. If you would be so kind as to hand over the necklace … "

Making a small sprint out of the circle, the rabbit shudders, visibly creeped out. "Yes, the necklace." She reaches behind her neck, and unclasps it. "If you don't mind my asking, what do you intend to do with this? I thought it was the Dream mages who were interested in it."

"That was interesting … puffed it right out!" The raccoon visibly relaxes.

"Oh, I'm sure they'll want to try and contact Morpheus with it," the Spirit Mage says, his tone one of disdain. "Messing about with strange beings … bah! My own interest is more practical. As Mage Nutzenboltschen noted, the pendant has certain spirit-dispelling properties. I wish to test these further, to determine if it can protect a person from other sorts of manifestations."

"Where did the pendant come from?" Anisa holds the charm out to the Korv, smoothing her ears back with her free paw. "I mean, I guess it wasn't created by the mages, or you'd know more about it." She perks an ear, and takes a quick glance at the notepad. "And if I might pry … what did you write about me?"

"Allegedly, this Morpheus creature was able to grow these crystals on Sinai, due to the interactions of the spell used to bind him from Babel," the Korv says, and turns his pad to show a bunch of odd symbols to Anisa. "Nothing here about you actually, just about the effect on the spirit probe."

The Lapi mouths a silent "oh," and nods. She hands the pendant over to the Korv. "He didn't seem too threatening in the dream – not as much as Barada did, anyways. I'll be glad to get rid of the thing, personally."

As he accepts the pendant in one wing-claw, the Korv turns a pink eye to Fenter. "And before you ask, Mage Nutzenboltschen, the answer is 'no.' You may not borrow the pendant to see if it cures hangovers."

Anisa stifles a giggle.

Fenter makes a face. "The least it could do would be to cure a headache or two if it's capable of taking my job from me."

Mage Faust returns his attention to Anisa. "Ah, if only all Lapis which came across mystical artifacts shared your attitude, Miss Snowshoe," he clucks. He drops the necklace into one the pockets of his vest, then begins to rummage around in another one.

"It wasn't my first run-in with magic object- wait … all Lapis?" Anisa blinks at the crow, her ears rising curiously. "You mean I'm not the first?"

Finally pulling a key out his vest pocket, the Korv scribbles something on the attached card and says, "Perhaps I exaggerate. There was only one other Lapi that recently failed to turn over a dangerous artifact when he should have: a foolish fellow named … hmm … 'Leftfoot,' was it?"

"Leftfoot?" The doe scratches an ear. "Leftfoot … do you mean 'Lightfoot?'" The rabbit blinks. "What could he have possibly had?"

"'Lightfoot'. That could be the one. Some shopkeeper," the Korv says, and then offers the key and card to Anisa. "It all happened a few years ago … part of that whole Amaranth debacle. Now then, here is your compensation, Miss Snowshoe. I'm sure Mage Nutzenboltschen here can show you to the storehouse to collect it."

Anisa takes the key, and regards it strangely. "Um, thank you, I think." She looks up to the Korv. "Tell Mage Shift 'hello' for me, and please be careful with the pendant. They can be deadly if you're not careful." The rabbit turns to Fenter, and looks at the card.

The Rath'ani smirks. "Ooooh, something out of storage? From one of the locked boxes? They don't let me poke at those."

The card has a large inscription on it, "LOT C-17," along with a tiny form that has been filled out and signed by Mage Faust, declaring one "Christina Snowshoe" to be the new owner.

"I am not surprised, Mage Nutzenboltschen," the Korv comments. "And if you are worried about your job … well, I will be needing a test subject to wear the pendant while he is being attacked by spirits, to gauge its effectiveness."

"Hopefully it's nothing alive. I don't think they'd keep it in a box if it was alive. Usually they just lock the wine awa – ERK!" Fenter waves the Lapi out of the room. "Thank you for the kind offer, Mage Faust, but I'm really far too busy at the moment. Very important work to do … yessiree."

The doe shows Fenter the tag. "Looks like you'll get a chance this time." At the raccoon's sudden change in demeanor, however, she finally registers the Korv's words, and she gives a light shove to the raccoon to get him to move. "Thanks again, and be careful!"

The Korv grunts, and goes about cleaning up the leftover ritual components.

Fenter, despite his squishy bulk, is easily shoved. "Byeeee!"

Tucked away next to the old School of Chaos dormitory, the storage building is a squat windowless box. The entry room is the size of a small warehouse, with a large gate blocking access to the storerooms and a dozen or so wheeled palettes of various sizes. A bored Jupani guard sits at a desk near the entrance.

"Fenter, what are you doing here this time?" the guard asks, giving the Rath'ani a suspicious glare.

"I was just looking for the … oh wait … I'm supposed to be here this time!" Fenter gestures to Anisa. "The lady is here to pick up her property, newly given by Mage Faust."

Anisa nods, and steps forwards to the guard, presenting the key and tag. "Mage Faust gave me this."

The Jupani's demeanor shifts instantly as he sees Anisa, and he smiles politely as he reads the card. "C-17 … finally got rid of it, I see. Well, follow right along, Miss!" he says, and heads for the large gate at the end of the room, sifting through keys on a large ring he carries.

"Finally … got rid of it?" The Lapi follows along, shrugging at Fenter. "What's this 'it'?"

The raccoon shrugs. "I only get to peep in the boxes without locks on them. Although if it's here, it could be related to the sphere of Chaos. A good luck charm or something perhaps?"

After working several locks, the guard slides the main gate open to reveal a long, dark hallway. He makes a note on a clipboard next, and then picks up and lights a lantern. "It's a ways back; best stay close. This place swallows up lantern light like a sponge soaks up water, and you definitely do not want to get lost!"

Anisa shrugs to Fenter, then nods to the guard, keeping near him as he delves into the inky blackness. "Why didn't they take this stuff with them when they moved to the Caroban? Too much trouble?"

"Excellent for sneaking around in." Fenter quietly winks to Anisa. "Not too sure why some of it didn't go. Some of it was too delicate, some of it they didn't know who it belonged to … plus since it's a sky island, they were limited in space."

"And I found your trail of breadcrumbs from last time Fenter," the guard grumbles. "Place was crawling with vermites after that." He leads them past several large open spaces, which have vague boxlike shapes stacked in them. Some of the shapes almost give the impression that they're huddling or hiding from the light.

The doe's fur stands up yet again, a chill running up her spine. She uses her large ears to find her way, relying on them more than her eyes in the darkness. "This place could use a window or two."

Finally, the guard stops in front of a set of double-doors wide enough for a wagon to drive through, secured with an ominously large lock. "Here we are! C-17. Just pop your key right in, Miss."

"Oh … that's just to intimidate people. We've not lost a person in here for weeks!" The raccoon puffs his chest out proudly.

The rabbit is momentarily taken aback as she gives the doors the once over. "I was expecting something like a lock box or such. Are you sure this is the right place?" Without waiting for an answer, Anisa places her key inside the lock, and twists it.

The guard nods gravely in agreement. "The bones'll show up eventually. They always do." As the lock clicks open, he takes a few cautious steps back.

Fenter stands on his toes and peers over Anisa's head. "I hope it's nothing so large that she can't carry it back. I've not been able to do any heavy lifting since the accident."

Anisa's ears shoot up in alarm. "Bones?!" It's too late to back out however, as the door begins to swing open. The Lapi's nose twitches wildly as she too takes a few steps back.

The storage area is moderately sized, about twelve feet deep and ten high and wide. The entire rear of the space is taken up by a tall stack of padded floor mats, while the sides are filled with exercise equipment and crates. Two weightlifting benches rest stacked atop one another next to a pair of pulley-festooned isometrics machines and a standing frame holding a deflated punching bag as big as Anisa. Across from these are crates holding an assortment of old body padding and solid rubber medicine balls, as well as the disassembled skeleton of a gymnastics bar set. A final barrel is filled with empty sandbags used for weightlifting.

"Aaaah! You've given her a torture device!!!" Fenter staggers away from the door.

The Lapi's ears turn from a look of alarm to one of curiosity. "What the … ? It's an exercise room!" The doe walks into the room, a lopsided smile slowly creeping onto her face. "Or it might as well be!" She laughs. "He must have read my mind or something! I could start up a whole gym with this stuff! Wow!"

The guard harumphs at Fenter. "Well, some of the students spelled 'physical fitness' with an i instead of an a like you, Fenter. This stuff's been sitting here since they closed down the big gym. Guess it was too heavy or old to carry over to Caroban."

Holding the lantern closer to the door so Anisa has more light, the Jupani mutters to himself, "Lessee, today's 15 Ring I think." Louder, he says, "You can come by and haul it all off anytime before 5 Ring, Miss. After that, you'll have pay the storage fee."

The raccoon gapes. "I suppose it's a good thing you have a large family, miss Snowshoe."

"This is unbelievable! All this for that little pendant … " At the Jupani's words, however, the rabbit's ears begin to wilt. "I guess I can get them to help me move it, but where will I put it all?" The Lapi frowns. "There's no way I can fit it all in the tavern, let alone my room."

"Time to dig a basement, I think. It still looks like a torture rack to me." Fenter brushes himself off. "And it makes me feel all peckish again. How about we go back to your tavern and join the lunch crowd while you tell your family about your newfound prize, miss Snowshoe?"

The small doe strokes her ear in thought, trying to think of a place to stash her new score. A small grin alights onto her lips as she recalls the conversation she had earlier with Faust. "Sure, we can do that. And afterwards, you can come along and run an errand with me. I think I need to make a call to Mr. Lightfoot's."