ETTING   OME   O   LFANDRA

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Hespa's Story part 15 - The Library

Awellyth frowns. "No, I'm sorry but I don't know the University very well - this is the first time I'm here. And I'm afraid I can't help - my own magic is mostly just playing with ice, snow and coldness. But there must be someone around here, I mean, there are many dragons in Alfandria who know powerful magics, and this IS the University..." She turns to Cira. "It's up to you now, I guess. We don't know almost anything about the DU."

"Well, we came here hoping to learn something that would help us in the library.  It's right this way."

He leads the group down one of the smaller passage ways.  As we travel away from the main hall the light dwindles and another characteristic of the stone floor is observed.  The wide red border edging the floor glows with a fiery light, as do the thinner patterns on the floor's interior.  So that, though it is dark, no one stumbles or finds themselves hampered.  We come at length to a circular chamber lit from above.  Two stories up is the domed rotunda of the library.  A double helix staircase leads there.

The Library is quite large and two main wings extend  from the central rotunda.  We have returned to the edge of the mountain and windows peck holes in these South West facing walls.  [for those of us who have any sense of direction remaining];>  Each wing curves gently following the shape of the mountain.  Behind us a third wide wing holds the reference collections and items other than books which are in the collection.  Each wing is two levels high and the central book shelves have ladders for creatures who cannot stretch and reach the top.  The entire University is amazingly well designed and regardless of how small or large one is there are accommodations made.

Cira looks around at all the books and displays.  It is clear that it would take us a week just to walk every row let alone search the entire library.

"I'm afraid that I don't really have a clear picture of what exactly to look for.  I know we don't have that much time remaining.  Hespa?  What time is it where you are?"

**nearly one-thirty in the morning....i'd be tired if i wasn't so busy being worried....that gives us five hours until emma's parents get up....anywhere up to eight hours until emma's mother checks on her, not that i want to test that upper limit...**

"Well, what do we need to do?  We need to find out how to create a gateway from Here to Thick Air, and we need to create a similar rift from Thick Air to RL, but not just anywhere--it has to open up directly into Emma's room in RL."

"It would be easier if we could bypass thick air," notes Emma with a slight frown.  "Forced entries into it tend to lead, at best, to forced and painful exits..."

"OK, I didn't know that.  I've been to RL a few times, but I don't use thick air.  Unfortunately, I've never been able to take anyone with me, and it's hard to explain exactly HOW I travel."

There is a pause as Pyros tries to think of a way to explain it.

"I don't use a single spell, or create a portal...I have to relax and go into a semi-meditative state where I can "feel" RL from Alfandra...then I picture a location in RL (usually a room rented in my human name, I know it's empty and no one would get suspicious) and then picture Alfandra fading out and the new location fading into existence around me.  I then "wake up" out of my meditative state and I'm there.  I've always had this ability--it took a bit of training when I was young, but my parents were there to guide me."

He takes a breath.  "If you want to try that, I can help guide you.  But "feeling" alternate dimensions seems to be an innate ability, and very few people born in RL seem to have it.  It probably won't work, but we could give it a try.  If it doesn't, there has to be a portal spell somewhere in all this...." He indicates the shelves.

Emma considers the idea.  "I don't know, considering that I'm RL in origins, I doubt I have anything in the way of an innate magical ability - after all, we've already proven I don't have thick air ability, even though Hespa does.  It's probably best to go with the books."

"All right.  Let's search for an hour--our time, of course, not Hespa's--and if we don't find anything useful then, we'll try it.  OK?"

"OK."

Hespa adds an afterthought: **i don't know that it matters where in rl you arrive, emma....the fact that we cannot exist in the same dimension ought to mean that your arrival anywhere in rl will catapult me out**

"On the other hand, I would *like* to end up in my bedroom, Hes - it saves on difficult questions later..."

"If we can do that, that would definitely be best."

"Well, I never understood how this library was organized.  I always seemed to find what I was looking for just by picking up books and looking through them."

"Sounds like a good system to me," says Emma, moving to a nearby shelf.