Somehow wandering the streets of J'zar had been an experience in itself, crimson eyes skimming over the local populace while leading the way to their destination, recalling the path easily from her former journey to the desert. Inevitably they settled upon several Half Orcs, meeting their lustful stares which spoke a silent yet unmistakable tongue, seeing with utmost clarity how they were undressing the alluring beauty with their eyes and imagined the great many things they could do with the exotic red head before approaching in order to make their vivid fantasies a reality.

A portion of her had been fond of the attention, the wanton glances which promised an unforgettable adventure on their own though with an almost dismissive wave of his hand Typhoon had driven them off. Perhaps her studies should focus more on the less violent methods of ridding herself of any unwanted admirers, considering that they approached with him by her side it couldn't have been anything except maybe another spell rather than his appearance and while she was keen on learning more in that regard they had other business to attend.

Checking the road for any curious eyes they made their way into the back alley, unsurprisingly coming across a closed window which denied them entry.

"Really? I don't see anything." But regardless Flame stepped back as instructed, not recalling any traps though perhaps her memory wasn't the best even without someone deliberately suppressing the majority of them.

She watched in awe as her male companion transmuted into liquid, making his way toward the window where he appeared to be slipping through the near invisible gaps from where the fiery vixen watched on, patiently waiting outside while keeping an eye out for any sort of trouble in case someone had caught him. Several breathtaking minutes passed until she and Spencer were able to get inside, shutting the window behind them.

"I remember bits and pieces of the tale how it came to be as you see it before you now, but with my current memory I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to tell you everything." She flashed a smile briefly before seeing to the model nearby.

Flame proceeded to search for the path they'd taken previously, looking for the small house with waist high walls and the garden Whitney tended to during their first visit here, wondering how he was holding up, especially at this hour while tracing a line from the park to his home, thinking that it would be easier to reach their destination from there without too much of a hassle. It would be a pleasure to see him again, the old man did seem quite charming back then despite their inquieries on the witch and would hopefully share in her excitement a little.

"His house should be here." She pointed at the structure which appeared to be reminiscient of his before gesturing at the wide open area of the park. "Spencer should bring us down there. Once we've landed you have to shrink him as well, I need him close for later."

At least the sorceress presumed they were going to enter the City in that way, last time Jamal placed them inside and without anyone else nearby that seemed to make the most sense. "I think that would be all. I'm ready."

The window had not been trapped last time, a new precaution after her and Roc's disappearance last time? A magical trap was far more likely to be detected by them before entry into the place should they return. Jamal had been none to happy with them despite the fact that they were suppose to be on the same side.

Typhoon was full of all sorts of knowledge, some practical such as bypassing this rather simple trap to useless trivia. He returned Flame's smile. “You can tell me all about it when it returns.” He was in no rush, he was the embodiment water going with the flow and while not as patient as Roc he could be. After all water eroded even stone and if it were necessary Typhoon could select a course of action which drew upon patience as a solution and thus his course of action would become unyielding until something better came along.

“Very well, here goes.” He shrank them down leaving Spencer large for the moment. Typhoon was tossing around magic effortlessly but it was not to show off but the fact that it was the quickest and best solution thus far.

When they were mounted Spencer went invisible and they did too as he extended it to them. They all turned visible once at the park.

“Aw, do I really have to shrink down? I'm the size of a dragon! A real dragon.”

“Afraid so.” Walking down the streets with an enormous dragon would tend to grab too much attention. Typhoon expected more of a fuss from the Fae but Spencer was only kidding and allowed himself to be shrunk down. He went invisible and stuck by the others as they made their way to the Mayor's home, Whitney outside working on his garden though surprised, he stops when seeing them waving in their direction. He goes back to work until it is apparent that they are coming to see him and he stops working walking towards the front of the building where there had been a gap in the low hanging wall about the property.

“Why hello again, I didn't expect to see you so soon no that I'm complaining about that.” He wiped his hands on a rag then took her hand kissing the back of it and shaking Typhoon's. “And you are? What happened to that fella you were with last time … Roc was it?”

In a sense their actions might've caused Jamal to reconsider his initial opinion of them, securing the room with a trap before long. Perhaps they were better of sneaking in rather than confronting him directly, there was no telling what he might've done otherwise.

Aside from the minor resistance Spencer put up they were brought into the park and shrunk the Faerie Dragon before pressing on, the fiery young woman leading the two of them through the streets though the beat of her heart became more prominent as they closed in on the man they were looking for, equal measures of excitement and nervosity pumping through her veins at an urgent pace.

Whitney had been working on his garden even in the evening hours considering that the last time they were here he did seem quite focused on the task at hand, seeing to the fruits of his labor and their eventual fulfillment with dedication, seemingly content with his simple way of life. With proper care he might've grown something even in the warmth of the desert, quite possibly keeping himself in shape through manual labor at the same time which had the alluring sorceress wonder what he looked like beneath his overalls and how well he might fare plowing her fields instead of the ones in his yard.

But these were distant albeit carnal thoughts for the old man which Flame tamed in the back of her mind, returning his friendly gesture before approaching his home, crimson eyes settled on the mayor along the way as though she were indicating her intent to see him rather than anyone else, soon meeting him near the gap in the wall which surrounded his residence.

"Well, I feel that a few days of absence are more than enough to warrant another visit, wouldn't you agree?" She smiled warmly at that, exchanging pleasantries with him similar to their previous encounter although with the others in tow and what Spencer had seen she decided not to make her excitement too obvious. "It would've been a waste not to stop by your house and seek your pleasant company while we were in the area, mayor."

He kissed the back of her hand, causing the formidable red head to flash a smile of radiant happiness, the moment passed almost as soon as it began, his lips tingling on the creamy skin in a phantom touch. "May I introduce you to my companion? Whitney, meet Typhoon. He has accompanied me through the streets of J'zar and kept me safe from the less respectable denizens. My dear friend on the other hand has already heard a thing or two about you, but I'm sure we have time for such things on another occasion."

She paused briefly, rather displeased that they couldn't stay for long. "Roc is being held up in business elsewhere and as much as I appreciate the hospitality you've shown last time I'm afraid we haven't come here for neither tea nor small talk."

Her voice had been lowered as she spoke, wary that anyone might be listening. "We need to talk about Abdul. He accomplished what he set out for initially, but a fair lady by the name of Renee has trapped him on the Shadow of the Nod. We need to know where she lives in order to obtain the key which can set him free, as well as your help to trace his steps because we don't know where exactly to find him."

“Even a few days is too long at my age,” Whitney smiled, "but well worth the wait.”

“So most everybody?” J'zar wasn't too friendly and Whitney gave a firm handshake despite his age. “I'm glad that you've stopped by. And I do hope there are no lies going around about me,” he teased, “to what do I owe the pleasure? I mean, more accurately what business brings you back to my marvelous city?”

He considered her words for a second then nodded making a gesture for the trio to follow him into his home. As cluttered as usual the book he was looking for sat atop a stack since he had used it recently, cracking it open and setting it on his desk drawing the others around.

“This is a section of Nod. Save for the doors that are constantly appearing and disappearing that map is accurate. The point here on this map is a portal into Nod that Renee completed years back now.

“And this marks the point that has been accessed before, Samir's door. It has been attempted before though magic cannot unseal it. The key I'm assuming is the key that Renee has been working on for nearly as long since they discovered they could not gain access to Samir's dream. I do not know the particulars about it though, just that Renee's key was suppose to open any lock.

“Her portal is here too at the Hidden Drink her bar. Her home is just above it. The portal is a simple door in the basement. Chances are you'll find her toiling away in her lab in the basement or on rare occasion in her bar making an appearance.”

Typhoon studied the map carefully. He did not have an eidetic memory but he had a phenomenal memory. “Do you have a copy of this?”

“No. Abdul made a copy of it magically before leaving though.”

Typhoon nodded. Spencer peaked over his shoulder and the fact that Whitney had not gawked at his presence showed that he had seen his fair share of unusual in his day.

“Does that help?”

His tease played upon her senses in a dangerous game of Risk and invited these lewd thoughts back into the lustful maiden while crimson eyes briefly explored the venerable male in a fleeting glance which skimmed over his full form when in truth the voluptuous vulture ogled the object of her desire, wondering whether she would ever have the chance to indulge in his presence without anyone else in tow. "I don't know about lies, but I'm sure anyone who happens to pass by your house once I manage to catch you all by myself would feel inclined to spread rumors instead."

Naturally Flame hadn't spoken these words out loud, keeping them to herself as they resounded through her mind. Her companions and lack of time wouldn't allow for anything of the sort anyway. He must've spent years without bedding another woman, an untried flavor hidden in his testes the ravenous temptress would be all too happy to try.

Alone with the alluring sorceress he would've been a popular subject throughout town should he happen to make the busty vixen scream in pure bliss even though his vast amount of experience in the field surely wouldn't prevent any of his potential lovers from reaching an orgasmic high, but ever since the incident with Roc and Spencer she couldn't afford to be caught again. She didn't seek to be unfaithful to Nicodemus, but nothing had been set in stone yet without confessing her true nature and while her heart remained with the Angel, her body refused to share in her determination.

Whitney beckoned them to follow and unsurprisingly his home had been as chaotic as ever, not that she minded the premises for someday she might help him organize the great many scriptures though for the moment the three of them observed the one he retrieved.

He showed them a section of Nod, something she didn't believe to be possible when they first relayed information of that particular Shadow to the red head, but regardless Flame began to embed the map within memory, thankfully with two travelling companions she didn't have to rely on her personal memory alone.

"Great .." News on Renee, however, had the young woman ponder on the technicalities of acquiring the key, making no secret of their intentions here. "Renee makes an appearance in the bar herself whereupon we might chance upon an opening that'd allow us to access the basement by ourselves, or we wait until she either closes down shop or goes to sleep."

In case she never closed down in the first place they might have some trouble staying undetected, but Spencer would have ample opportunity to go invisible before long. His concern would be to locate the key without anything remotely specific, thinking that she would possess more than one in order to lock her doors and cabinets perhaps. "Do you, perchance, know of the key's appearance? I wouldn't want to risk accidentally stealing the false one since we can't afford to make any mistakes in her establishment."

Flame glanced up from the book once these matters had been settled, neither of them having any trouble with the Faerie Dragon in their group though the nubile temptress smiled warmly at the old man. "I'm incredibly thankful for your help, Whitney, I don't think it would've been easy to free Abdul without it."

"We could use directions to the Hidden Drink bar, I believe, other than that it would appear to be a rather simple task as far as our path goes." She paused, considering their plan before casting her eyes upon Typhoon in a quizzical look as though she wondered whether they needed to know anything else.

Spencer was a young Fae but he could follow the sexual tension here seeing that Fae were all about sex. He tended to think about it in some fashion every few seconds though Typhoon seemed oblivious. Not that he was dumb or blind but rather he was human so his mind did not instantly jump to sex. Nor did he think their ages warranted the matter in a serious thought but Spencer, being attached to a group of creatures where age was nothing between lovers had no taboos that stopped him from considering it.

He did not bring any attention to the matter though. She was human after all.

“We'll wait until she closes. She can't remain awake forever, or open forever, correct? It will give us a little time to look around for the key too.”

“She closes the place at two in the morning. You are welcome to stay of course until then. Let's see, the key ...” he worked through the clutter of books until he had found a volume detailing devices that had been theorized, finds a page and shows then an illustration similar to a skeleton key.

“It looks something like this. It is made out of bone two so it should be an off white color and fairly light too being made of a bird's bone the key is hollow and can alter itself as necessary to open any lock, at least that was this person's theory, I'm not sure how much of this applies but she's used this as a guideline I bet.”

“If it is a magical key I could Divine magic. If we send Spencer in to retrieve it and I'm close by I could confirm that he got the right one.” Typhoon figured he could get the key on his own but Spencer was far more intelligent then simple rats and could think to look places that they would not.

“Your welcome. Though it is a bit surprising about Renee and why she would want Abdul out of the way. As you know this city harbors all those of the resistance against the Efreeti and we are all allies her, or so I thought. There is something else going on here that I have yet to figure out.”

“Thus far it seems that matters are all straight forward. I think we might know more about what is going on with Renee once we free Abdul and while we could find out her motivations that is just a distraction from the goal of freeing the former Flame Serpent Master in the first place.”

Flame thought Renee might have hired someone else to take over whenever she headed to bed before considering the possibility that outside of the local populace none ever graced the establishment with their presence given the limited access over the City Within the City. Nothing more than a minor inaccuracy which actually benefitted the unusual trio since there would be an opening for them to exploit wherein neither patrons nor the owner would impede their progress.

Regrettably they had several hours to spend until they were able to take action, wasted time in her opinion which could be spent on the task at hand, but waiting had been preferable to seeking the key and portal during the busier hours in the evening.

She nodded in thanks for the offer to remain in his home until that moment in time arrived. "Your hospitality is much appreciated, as always. I'd be delighted to stay." Crimson eyes honed in on her travelling companions in a fleeting glance, wondering what they might be doing with their time in the City whose gates usually weren't open to outsiders, let alone the knowledge that it existed in the first place.

"A skeleton key .. I imagine that one should be easy to find." Whether the theory Whitney produced with the tome from his personal belongings applied to the object couldn't be said with certainty, but they only needed to use it once anyway. Any device of the same kind granted the wielder a certain extent of superiority, nothing major unless the chosen door contained something of great power which had the young sorceress think that her less than noble intentions might've led to Abdul's imprisonment.

In the end the majority of their responsibilities fell on either Spencer or Typhoon, the woman in their midst unfamiliar with Divine magic unless her memories contained that knowledge, but unfortunately they were suppressed as well which gave them little alternatives here.

She straightened up before long after having seen to the map and illustration they were shown, concluding her thoughts on the matter. "I agree. Abdul might have the answers we're looking for and until then we shouldn't lose track of what we came here for."

Understandably the mere notion of her father being held captive angered the fiery vixen, even more when one considered the fact that Renee was supposed to be part of the resistance as part of the City they found themselves in. It took great measures of composure and restraint not to become furious when faced with the location of the one who seemingly took his freedom deliberately, but at the same time she realised that it wasn't her responsibility to dish out the punishment. Her father would dictate how to deal with her appropriately, whether to forgive or make her pay although time for an immortal being must've been mostly irrelevant.

Flame and the others had some to spend, however, and she regarded her possibilities with the mayor or even one of her companions. It was truly a shame she never got a tour of the entire City, especially one as marvellous as his though should time permit it perhaps Whitney would be glad to show her around, or them depending on how many decided to join them. "Say Whitney, I haven't had the chance to see the former City of Barnes yet. Unless there is anything else to discuss, would you mind showing me around?"

Whitney had supplied them with directions to the Hidden Drink. Time was on their side. They still had eight hours or so before then, the passage of time here in the city was the same though the sky was different. It was an illusion, at night their was a sky full of stars and during the day there was a sun. Once in the model those inside it could not see out of it even if someone was looking down upon the tiny city they would not be seen due to that illusion.

Everything had been laid out for them.

“There's a guest room and a couch somewhere beneath all the books,” Whitney added in the event that they desired to rest.

“Shouldn't we check out the place, get an idea of the lay out and what not,” Spencer added, he seemed to have picked up on the sexual tension and was distracting Typhoon of it. “We won't need Flame until we're ready to do this right seeing that the portal is there.”

Typhoon rubbed his chin in thought. “I supposed.” There was only one bad apple amongst the whole city as far as he could tell so Flame should be safe. But Abdul must have thought that too. “We'll have to leave you to your little tour and meet back here.”

“It will be unlocked if you return ahead of us.”

Typhoon nodded before the pair departed leaving Flame with the Mayor. “Well, what would you like to see first?”

Given how stunningly realistic the heavens above turned out to be Flame never even considered life down here to be any different than outside these walls seeing how nothing truly hinted at the single truth that they resided in a model.

But even with their plans settled eight hours were an eternity to spend. Fortunately the nubile sorceress had something else on her mind, weighing choices as to whether or not give in to temptation rather sooner than later whereas Spencer appeared to have picked up on her profound desire and suggested that he and Typhoon study the premises of the Hidden Drink instead of staying here.

"Be safe you two." Bidding the others farewell she assumed that the potential dangers were minimal, nobody could've known that Abdul was capable of summoning his daughter among others to his rescue, even less that he had family of any kind. Of course the red head could defend herself should any trouble arise, refraining from harming the man in her fabricated dream given her familiarity with him, but any strangers which meant to cause harm wouldn't be nearly as lucky.

Alone with Whitney there were a great many things Flame would've loved to see and explore, particularly the forbidden grounds of his personal chambers and what laid hidden underneath his clothes considering that the work in his garden must've graced him with the clear musky scent of himself which all males wound up giving away under physical exertion.

How the exotic beauty might seduce the old man was another matter entirely, but the mere fantasy of wrapping her lush lips around his manhood was well worth the wait even though the two of them couldn't indulge in the pleasures of the flesh here, depending on how long the Fae managed to keep Typhoon busy they might run into them in the middle of things.

Hesitantly she approached, smiling warmly despite her growing excitement while she pondered on his question. "I must admit that I've only been to your house and the nearby park, going back and forth between the two because we didn't have the time for any prolonged sightseeing back then. We're quite busy nowadays and I haven't had the chance to see the remainder of the City the last time we were here."

"A man in your position must know the streets better than anyone and I thought you might wish to point out the highlights to someone who hasn't lived here in the past year, not to mention that it would be an honor to be shown around by the mayor himself."

Perhaps they might even stop by a restaurant along the way, being taken out for dinner considering that Flame possessed nothing of value though it might serve as the perfect lead in to her seduction. Before long she offered the man her arm to hook into his, planning on walking beside him in such a fashion should he be lured in by her charms. "Shall we?"

In such a case a coach might have served him better but walking made him more visible. There would be talk of course. Flame was no native after all and people would wonder who she was and what he was doing with her though it was no one's business not that anyone would be likely to jump to that conclusion.

With the other two gone he took her arm delighting in that soft touch. He had had considered what she would find most interesting not privy to her thoughts of course as they made their way along. Had she had her memories she might have been use to men taking double takes of her, in fact even now she had been somewhat familiar with that from her travels to J'zar in the past.

Now men and women were doing it but they were not doing it on just her account it seemed.

“You like scrolls?” He rubbed his chin. “To be truthful I hardly get out to more than a few places. Home, City Hall, the library and there's a shop near City Hall I use to get bagels from to munch on at the library …

“I suppose we can see the library first there is the Reflecting Pool near there too though your lucky, I can get you into places that the public has no idea about. I should ask, is there anything you would like to see?”

Flame lightened up despite already being in high spirits once Whitney embraced the offered arm and the two of them set out for the streets, heading nowhere in particular at first although their destination didn't matter nearly as much as the journey itself which gave her ample opportunity to hold onto him without arousing any suspicion regarding her lewd intent, appreciating the bodily warmth derived from the man by her side without putting too much thought into concealing her elated mood.

Certainly others cast their curious gazes upon them as they were passing by, an occasion which usually had the charming sorceress flash a soft smile whenever the observers hadn't gone unnoticed before pressing on. Unfamiliar with the attention they received a mild crimson shade soon graced her delighted features, wondering whether some of the inhabitants recalled her mother whose appearance matched her own perfectly or if they simply absorbed the beauty of an exotic woman in their midst.

Either way she wanted them to look, uncaring of whom the people studied more closely because for the time being they were wandering down the street together, leaving any bypassers to fabricate stories and rumors in their wake. Surely that'd make life here far more exciting for him and the more people they passed the more she felt accomplished in her decision.

"The Reflecting Pool? I'm afraid I don't know what that is .. Would you care to elaborate?" An area for recreation perhaps? Reflecting Glass on the other hand she was quite familiar with, having experienced the device first hand though she couldn't hope to draw any similarities between the two.

She thought briefly of where to begin. He possessed a great many rare scriptures which probably couldn't be found anywhere else and exploring a library whose doors weren't open to the general public outside of the City itself might prove to be interesting. "Sure, I'd love to skim over the selection your local library has to offer. I imagine I'd be one of the lucky few outsiders who ever got to see it since last year."

"I'm mainly interested in Elemental Magic and the technicalities of learning more than a single element at once .. I seek to study them sometime in the future and perhaps devote my time to further research in another Paraelement which does not yet exist." Typhoon relayed some of the information to his companion in her fabricated nightmare, but not nearly enough to provide all the answers and perhaps she was missing out on another kind of magic entirely by limiting herself to the elements alone.

An ambitious undertaking, perhaps, but Flame cast him a mischievous smile as they were headed for the library. "But don't think we'll stay there for long, I expect a full tour of your City." She was deliberately putting him under a little bit of pressure with that playful notion, keeping him on his toes though it would be difficult to bore the young red head in his presence, no matter what they chose to do.

But he left another matter unexplained, keeping her guessing as to what he'd meant as though he was trying to excite her a bit. "Hmm .. I'm not sure if I should exploit your authority to get into places none of the others know about .." She smiled, obviously not entirely serious. "Well, we have several hours to spend and unless you plan on doing anything else tonight I'd like to visit a few of those places."

He had wondered if he should tell her or not about the pool or keep it as a bit of a surprise. He set it on their list to check out though and had decided to elaborate on it. He was not particularly gloating with some of the shocked looks they were getting and naturally he would have to explain that nothing had happened, that he was just showing around a visitor and nothing more although he wouldn't have minded if he were only a few decades younger.

“There are two of them really. The one for the public is a nice spot meant for individual reflection. It's quiet the peaceful spot, visually stimulating. As you are aware water is a bit of a commodity in the desert so it is showy. A magical decanter resides at the bottom of the pool which, when unsealed sprouts water in a steady flow. The pool is used to collect drinking water by the city that distributes it though the true Reflecting Pool is locked away indoors and can be used to scry on the outside world to keep appraised of what's going on or study our targets before sending people on missions.”

But the library won out for now. She probably wouldn't want to leave it, he seldom did though there were other places like the Hall of Doors not open to the public which she would deem interesting the library was probably more up her ally.

“OK, but you'll probably be the one that doesn't want to leave.”

There was a general library for the public that he brought her too though in a section where the books were seldom referenced their was a hidden door concealed by a false book shelf. It lead to stairs, numerous stairs that descended down into a corridor, their way magically lit by a green light. They had to pass through a door guarded by a pair of Golems in the form of suits of armor, then another door guarded by two others and a secret door before they were in a huge multiple floored room where the walls extended upward further than their vision allowed though ringing about them were various tiers and a great deal of doors and bookshelves that had all manners of books, scrolls and tomes. A plethora of bridges connected the floors or provided an easy point in accessing the other side of the floor and some where randomly moving or at least appeared to be randomly moving at first though on closer inspection their were other people on them moving from floor to floor or across the tier they had been on.

Stairs lead up to the first tier or floor, this one having several large tables and chairs with a man just standing there who appeared to be a librarian of sorts may. He looked to be about Whitney's age and seemed to be just standing there as if waiting for something.

“You probably won't find any place like it. Few know of it save for well learned scholars, beings that have good position in the resistance or the builders. This is what we call the Vault. Everything that has been ever written down can be found here. From doodles to magical treaties. You just have to know where to look for it,” he smiled and looked up.

“Some say it goes on forever. As more and more is written floors magically appear. I don't really believe that myself but I suppose it is possible. Elemental magic can be found here but it is but just one subject amongst the many. Enchantments, Illusions, Necromancy, even untested theories like Chromancy, all can be found and more.”

"I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?" For better or for worse, their age difference mattered little to the buxom vixen whose arm had been intertwined with his along their journey through the streets and while he may be unaware of her struggle for dominance over temptation, Flame certainly planned on seducing him that night after spending some quality time with the mayor himself. At least by appearance alone they didn't seem to be along the lines of lovers, the nubile maiden by his side containing herself in that regard as to not make her intent too apparant to him and the public masses.

"Not even five minutes into our little tour and I can already tell that your City is full of surprises." She smiled, holding an almost innocent curiosity in the depths of her ruby red eyes. The Reflecting Pool sounded rather interesting, especially under the circumstances which might give her an understanding of current events on Brindel or elsewhere. "Could we head to the Pool once we're finished with the library? Even if we don't get to use it while we're there, I'm sure it's quite a sight to behold."

With the assumption that his companion probably wouldn't want to leave the place, they soon entered and traversed the library as Whitney went on to show the adventurous red head a hidden path amongst ordinary looking shelves, glancing at the nearby sections in hopes of memorisation should she return here at another time. He guided her through a series of safety measures, the golems here intimidating the newcomer slightly though with the old man in her presence they were free to pass. Soon they emerged into the final chamber, a library which dwarfed anything she ever laid eyes on and even lacking most of her memories there was no real doubt about that sentiment being true.

"I .. I don't even know what to say .. You honor me with the privilege of coming here." Flame had been caught up in the awe inspiring architecture which surrounded them upon their arrival and almost immediately brought her crimson eyes to the ceiling in a fruitless search for the other end of the impressive structure, unable to discern the exact dimensions of the premises as though she were looking at the horizon itself where things simply became too small to recognize from afar. Sheer endless knowledge and wisdom lingered within these walls, surely more than any man could ever hope to study while their reward for trying would be the notion that they couldn't ever hope to memorize the most recently connected levels before they passed away.

She watched the great many bridges between areas move without seemingly any strings attached, ignorant of the technicalities behind the marvellous achievement of the builders though judging by the purest fascination which resided on her features the young sorceress found herself content in not knowing everything for the sake of keeping the true magic of the moment alive. He would learn something else, however, another aspect of his excited guest for she was holding onto him tighter when faced with her fear of heights, feeling slightly uneasy at the thought of ascending more than a few floors.

"Oh! My apologies, I didn't mean to .." A faint blush crept over her cheeks by the time she noticed and began to ease up on him in an attempt to feign a certain measure of professionalism, staying close for the moment although not as close as they were on the streets considering the type of people who frequented the place. "I just don't take kindly to heights, if I'm being totally honest, but it is absolutely stunning regardless. I cannot thank you enough for bringing me here."

Drowned temporarily were the more carnal thoughts of her mind, her chosen destination quite a distraction as she listened to the old man and cast him a surprised look, thirsting for knowledge. "Everything? No way! There must be more than a lifetime's worth of reading material here. Have you any idea when it was constructed and by whom?"

More appropriately would be to ask why they did or how someone managed to imbue the site with such powerful magic which somehow gathered every single available written record across the Shadows and dumped them here though taking his words literally had the young woman by his side ponder on the matter for a moment. "Oh, and you know where to look?" She teased playfully. "I seem to faintly recall the great many scriptures in your home which haven't been placed in any recognisable order and it would be hard to believe that you'd have an easier time navigating your way through here."

Nothing too personal Flame had hoped, Whitney wasn't Spencer nor Roc though he might have the humor of the former and patience of the latter, but before long he guided her focus elsewhere. "Does it really never end? I mean, has anyone ever reached the top, or at least tried?" She smiled softly at her charming host in admiration of his insight on the subject matter. "How much of it have you seen yourself?"

It would've been hard to miss the elderly male nearby and in turn he would have a hard time ignoring the enthusiastic red head and the mayor in his presence, but she wasn't in any hurry to speak to anyone other than the one she wished to acquaint herself with the most in the few hours they had. "Shall we sit here or would you care to guide me through the first few floors? We can always head straight to the Elemental magic if you wish to keep some surprises for the next time I visit."

“Not at all,” he answered her with a smile as they continued along. He gave thought to her question regarding the pool and granted her a brief nod. “Yes, we may go to the pool afterward. This city does have a lot of secrets. It is important enough to hide from the Efreeti after all. If they were to acquire some of those secrets and add then to their own well ...”

She could fill in the rest of that statement however she had liked for there had not been a need for him to finish that statement.

Not that he had minded that closeness that swept over him then, her fear apparent as they ascended a few levels though it was not really necessary to even ascend to the second level. He did move to the railing though and gazed up at the seemingly endless ceiling then back down.

He turned and smiled. “There is no need to worry about it. There are safety features in place. Plus there is a quick way up too and down as well. The whole area is protected magically … the documents cannot be burned, the shelves and the like can but the materials can't. Anyone or thing falling is caught up in a Feather Fall effect and on the ground level there is a Teleportation Circle on each and every level so you can move between the tiers easier, or you have the option of using the bridges that span all about.

“There is another option to. Come here,” he waited for her to draw near before pointing out the old man on the very first floor that was still standing there. He noted the tables too. “He is a Retriever, or at least that is what we have taken to calling him. You can simply tell him what you are after and he gets it, granted the time it takes him to retrieve it varies. Sometimes an hour, sometimes mere minutes, regardless it can find specific or general scraps of information often quicker than one could hope to find it.

“I figured you would like to see the place a little.” Whitney explained. “Of course you may have guessed given the dimensions of this place that we are no longer in the city but a Shadow Dimension attached to our Shadow … I guess the easiest way to explain it is that it is a closet and our Shadow a bedroom so it is attached to it but you can only access it from one point. You can't get into that closet from your kitchen. Even if you walk the Shadow it doesn't exist in them since it is attached to one and you have to come straight to the entrance to access it.

“Some places are like this, usually just little storage areas, vaults and the like but every now and again you get one as large as a Shadow itself.” He thought of an example. “The Shadow of Hades is such a place, attached to the Shadow of Olympus. It is the underworld of Olympus and attached to it. To go to Hades you have to go to Olympus and access it at that point … well there are several different ways into Hades but some Shadow Dimensions are like that.

“To get to this library you have to come to the Shadow of Brindel and travel to Sirocco or wherever our shrunken city is and access it through our library. There is no other way, and that is today's history lesson,” Whitney smiled again.

Whitney nodded, confirming what he had stated. “Yup. Everything. There are many different tales and I don't know what is the truth but the one I like best is that the ever popular deity Tyrez ordered one of his Angel scribes to keep a record of everything we humans did and devised a means of making a copy of everything ever written. I that story there are other places like this, one full of rooms, theaters after theaters or leading into halls with story tellers that passed matters along via word of mouth. I'm afraid the origins of the place are lost though there may be a record of it somewhere within year that would take more than a life time for even Retriever to find.”

There were other theories, that a Demon made the place to collect secrets to use and what not but there were too many theories and it was unlikely that anyone would know outside of the creator. “Oh, I know where a few things are. Typically I just have Retriever collect materials for me and work downstairs. All this walking about any way is something I can pass on for the most part though in my youth I was quite active and I certainly do not mind in your company either.”

He had thought for a moment. “Yes, there was a youthful scholar that tried once. It was said that he used the Teleportation Circle reciting numbers to jump to higher and higher floors. He hasn't been seen in over three years now. Either he's still ascending or found an interesting section of the library and got lost reading. I haven't seen anything higher than the third floor myself.

“There are Retrievers further along too, but they are usually sent by the adventurous to grab a bit of food rather than books that is how we know that scholar is still alive somewhere up there."

Whitney gave the question some thought. “We can go to the Elemental magic … fire I am assuming?” He did not know the exact floor but could ask the Retriever before setting off to it via one of the Teleportation Circles.

Should the City Within the City ever fall into the hands of the Efreeti they would surely rejoice at the sight of the hidden library alone, spending their eternal lifetimes gathering knowledge any mortal could never hope to obtain in their rather limited existence and she hadn't even remotely seen all there was to see. Knowledge may be power, but considering the countless secrets within the city walls they certainly weren't limited to studying scriptures.

Flame smiled warmly at the old man, battling an irrational fear as she followed him to the railing and yet refrained from looking down. "Thank you for your comforting words, I will try not to think about it too much."

In truth she never did decide for herself what was to be feared more, heights themselves or falling from them. In spite of the great many safety measures in place the young red head despised the idea of losing any solid ground beneath her feet which had been merely enhanced by standing closer to the edge, as unreasonable as that may seem. Should her most trusted friends weave spells themselves which were designed to slow, perhaps prevent her from falling entirely, even then that fear wouldn't diminish in the slightest. For the moment she preferred to trick herself into thinking that they weren't high above ground in the first place, seeking the bodily warmth of the man beside her.

She approached without comment, crimson eyes dashing to the man they'd seen, standing there as though he were a statue. "A Retriever .." A puzzled look graced her features. "What are they? Golems or humans? Have they been here since the Vault was created or were they more of an afterthought for human residents?" Should the theory regarding Tyrez be proven correct the latter would certainly make more sense, but Flame didn't expect to get any straight answer since their creation might as well be as unknown as the origin of the Vault.

Whitney began to explain where they found themselves at the time. "I understand .. Now that I look back on it, I imagine it would be fairly naive to think that the structure lies within the City itself and not somewhere else." She could faintly recall the incident of her conclusion that the City had been shrunk throughout his entire life, a rather embarrassing moment back in the day the nubile sorceress sought to dismiss for a while longer.

"Which means whenever I want to come here for business or otherwise I'll have ample opportunity to spend some more time with you." Flame teased with the prospect of another encounter in the future in hopes of showing at least a minor degree of fondness for him, warm and feminine skin touching upon his as her hand settled down on the railing beside one of his own although the enchanting temptress hadn't seemed to be in any hurry to withdraw from their bodily contact.

"Even for an immortal being that would seem like far too much time to spend on acquiring the answer to a single question." Unless the ones seeking to cause them harm were determined enough to find whatever they needed, particularly their sworn enemies who sought to rid themselves of the resistance, obtaining the knowledge stored here should they ever succeed in finding the City formerly known as Barnes.

Slowly her radiant ruby eyes returned to him, expressing utter content in the form of a tender smile. "I'm pleased to hear that you don't mind, I suppose I have a certain talent for breathing a little more life into the people I meet." Her cheeks deepened in coloration ever so slightly, barely noticeable thus far and yet an observant eye might pick up on her mildly flushed features. "I'm rather fond of your presence myself, not to mention that listening to someone as charming and knowledgeable as you certainly trumps skimming through scrolls any day."

Her focus ascended to the ceiling momentarily, wondering whether the tale about the adventurous spirit amongst the scholars ever gave up on his quest or stumbled upon something else which got him lost in reading intriguing tomes he refused to draw away from. "I hope he does come down eventually, or else his obtained knowledge would pass away with him."

When Whitney had been ready to embark to her chosen destination Flame spun around to follow, smiling softly while nodding her approval of the section they were headed to. "Fire magic would be a great start."

Flame paused briefly. "You know, I always wondered how many different types of magic there are .. Naturally there are the Elements and their respective Paraelements, Enchantments I'm well aware of and yet I'm unfamiliar with almost everything else. Recently I've encountered a Demon who tried to usurp my mind which thankfully didn't happen due to my travelling companion Roc who cast a protective spell on me. Where do demons or even the abhorrent creatures of the Abyss derive their powers from .. Dark Magic, perhaps?" Her voice had been filled with uncertainty, not entirely sure what to expect for an answer and maybe the darker paths of sorcery were equally as taboo as Necromancy to the Fae.

"Forgive my curiosity, but ever since my memories have been suppressed I've been feeling more like a helpless child whose accumulated knowledge merely consists of a few days worth of information. Typhoon deterred a group of Half Orcs with a wave of his hand earlier and even now I don't know how, likewise the Feather Fall effect which I'm almost certain falls under Air magic." She smiled innocently. "I still have very much to learn."

Something brushed up against his arm once more, a hand belonging to the buxom sorceress who sought to get his attention for she was rather unfamiliar with the device he spoke of. "Now admittedly I have never used any kind of teleportation device before and .. well .. Could you explain to me how the Teleportation Circles work? I don't want to make any mistakes while using them."