After all the cold, the dank underground maze, and living out of tents, even a timeworn old home is a blessing to weary travelers. From a comfort perspective, it wasn't much, a couple rooms, some beds made from canvas packed with straw, and a good supply of dry, split, wood to fuel the fireplace. Still, it was warm, and some of the best shelter the group has had in a long time.

Sam, by proxy of helping Rosy, ended up getting practically bathed himself. But really, there are worse fates to endure than getting soaked if warm spring water that smells faintly of roses. He probably hasn't smelled this good for a long time and the warm water did help alleviate some of the aches and pains of traveling. Once the dog duties were taken care of, Sam took on the role of dealing with the fires and preparing a meal. Trail rations never taste great, no matter how you prepare them and no one seemed immediately inclined to ask the felines for food since, as Rosy put it, there's no way of knowing what sort creature any meat they got came from. Still, even with the poor ingredients, Sam produced both a passable dinner and breakfast.

Hannah well, the young fey didn't find the evening as restful as she probably would have liked. Nothing has gone quite as she hoped and now she has to rescue Tristan along with rescuing the wayward goblin they've been pursuing. Its one of those times comments Thomas has made regarding having to lead and look after others becomes much more understandable; it's hard, it's scary, and it's wearing. Still the only way out of all this is to continue on and one thing Hannah has never been is a quitter. She survived an enchanted forest on her own as a child, she can survive this. While it is likely she would have appreciated an evening curled up with her knight, the morning breakfast and banter between the others does much to lift her spirits.

So now they stand just outside of their temporary home. So many questions probably still linger on their minds, but the most important one is 'What are they going to do next?' Will they seek out more in this strange and forgotten city? Will they seek an alliance with these odd cats? Or will they simply bid their farewells and head back out into the cold and search out the lair of the ice wyverns; the creatures known to have captured Feezle.

The City on the Edge of Decay
Stretching out into the earth is a massive cavern full of ruined buildings and grand pillars. Once this may have been a great city beneath the earth, full or ornate pillars and great houses. To Fey eyes, the architecture is most likely dwarf-make. It's funny how the diminutive dwarves had such a fondness for huge buildings and tall ceilings, really. Crystals embedded in the walls, ceiling, and pillars glow with a cool blue that illuminates the city. Even in its current state, the city is far from abandoned. Great felines stalk about its alleyways and perch on the rooftop, their eyes watching with lazy disinterest. In more open areas, the feline children (small and quite puffy), can be seen darting about, hiding behind various things, and pouncing each other.

Sam inquires of Hannah bemusedly, "Why does the spring water smell like roses? Magically improved, ya think?" as he gnaws upon the lizard jerky stew that he improvised for breakfast - it took all night soaking the meat to get it to be passably chewable.

"Flower petals are often used as a seasoning in soups and broths," Rosy tells the minstrel with a sardonic grin.

The minstrel examines the doglin to see if she's been replaced by an impostor. There seemed to be somewhat less dog and more something else in that last pronouncement.

Peaches doesn't even comment. The Knightsteed has been uncharacteristically quiet since the incident with Tristan and Souhait, and a lot more attentive of Hannah. Maybe she realizes that she's likely to share in whatever fate might befall her rider now.

"If anyone could find a way to grow roses in such a frozen place, I'm sure these ice cats could," Hannah comments mildly. "Unless they get a supply from other lands and bring them back. Anyway, I think I'd like to talk to Eis before we try to find the prince. He may be able to give us some valuable information about the lay of the land near the wyverns' lair."

"An excellent idea," Sam agrees. "And maybe we can find out if these ice cats happen to want a quo to go with the quid pro."

Peaches looks like she's about to bite Sam for that, but just snorts in exasperation instead.

Hannah chuckles at Sam's remark while she strokes one hand idly through Peaches' mane, appreciating her extra concern. "I see we're thinking along the same lines. Come along then, let's see if our host is awake." With that, she leads the way to the tribe leader's residence, which he had pointed out to them last night.

"Nothing makes you quite feel like dinner than huge felines watching you from their perches on roof tops. Thankfully, none of them seem to quite have the energy to jump them, at least. Rosy, in all her current misfortune, seems to have a 'follower'. One of the kittens seems to be using her as stalking practice. It's zipping along behind the group and hiding (poorly), in the shadows.

Sam gobbles up the last of his bowl - it's not particularly great but he's been raised not to waste food - and scrambles after them.

"I'd get in trouble if I barked at a kitten," Rosy grumbles and trudges along. Her tail is down and not wagging for once.

Of course, Hannah can't help but notice the following kitten. Her lips twtich as she tries not to smile. However, she does whisper to Peaches, "If that kitten goes from stalking to jumping Rosy, would you please block its path? I fear I'd only get bowled over if I did so."

The Knightsteed whickers, and starts swishing her long, flowing tail as a distraction.

Hannah whispers back to Sam, "That could be, yes. I'll keep an eye out, too. Although this makes me wonder where the youngling's parents are!"

The wisdom of Peaches' plan is questionable ... and that becomes readily apparent when a giant ball of fur comes flying through the air and lands right on Peaches' butt. Its jaws glomp around the base of her tail ... but thankfully don't bite too hard. RrrrrRRRrrr it goes.

The Knightsteed whinnies and rolls her eyes, and then falls over on her side, playing dead!

So, of course the kitten tries to drag Peaches off. The net result is a lot of tugging from the cat and no real movement from Peaches prone body. The barking ... however, does catch the cat's attention and the tugging stops. Its backside wiggles as it prepares to pounce the doglin next!

"Good guess!" Hannah exclaims to the minstrel. She then blocks the kitten's path to Rosy herself and says quickly, "That was an excellent display of stalking and leaping, but could I ask you to help us now? We're on our way to Eis' home. We could do with such an experienced escort such as you."

Once the kitten is off of her, Peaches gets back to her feet as if nothing had happened, but does make a mental note to have Hannah curry her rear and tail a bit more thoroughly later.

The kitten sniffs loudly when Hannah interjects herself into its pouncing path. So ... it sits back and just starts grooming its foot as if it really didn't want to pounce the doglin after all. Everythign about its posture just screams I'm ignoring you ... except that its eyes are flicked just so to keep an eye on Hannah. Maybe its considering the request.

"From now on, I'm stocking balls of pepper-soaked yarn with me," Rosy whispers to Sam.

"Perhaps a bribe would be in order," Sam whispers sotto voce to Hannah. "If you have something a kitten might like?"

"We would appreciate it if you came with us but if you are busy with other matters, then I understand," Hannah continues to the kitten, as if the creature were giving her its complete attention. "Although we could compensate you a little for your time," she adds, pulling out one of the sticks of lizard-jerky Sam had prepared, which she'd been saving for later.

The cat takes its sweet time grooming that paw, then finally walks over and snatches the bit of jerky away. "I suppose I could walk with you," the cat claims, "But if you want something really neat, sell me the dog. I broke my last toy..."

"Oh, well, if you want a toy you can't break," Sam suggests. "We've got a neat painting back at the campsite. You can claw it up all you want and it'll grow back."

Hannah pats one of Rosy's shoulders comfortingly as she tells the kitten, "I'm afraid we can't sell her to you. She's helping us right now and we can't afford to let her leave. But...yes, you might like that painting. If you can take the screaming."

"Paintings are boring," the cat complains, "You can't chase them." It eyes Rosy one more time, then snaps its jaws at her, loudly. "Oh, just come on," it finally relents, "Eis is this way. I hope you're expected. He's cranky if you bother him..."

"Thank you very much," Hannah says, relaxing. "Eis offered to speak with us if we needed to, so I think it's all right to see him." Before following the kitten, however, she goes over to the Princess and examines her rump. "Are you all right?" she asks softly, now stroking her tail.

Peaches whickers appreciatively, but gives Hannah a look that says, 'There had better be combs later.'

Hannah sighs in relief and gives the Knightsteed one final pat before following after the kitten.

Sam grins and then trundles after. "You sort of look like a dog if someone squints," he whispers to Rosy. "And how many dogs has our friend kitten encountered already, to know what they look like?"

The remainder of the walk is without incident, perhaps because they've already been 'claimed' by one of the kittens. Soon enough they're sanding before one of the larger buildings; one that's in a reasonable shape, at that. None of the pillars are broken and the door hinges actually look oiled. The light as seen through the windows indicates at least someone is away.

"Well, I'm bored," the cat declares and starts walking off. "And your dog had best watch its tail here. Their kind is evil after all. The served the Year's End," it adds as a parting shot.

"We shall look after her, don't you worry," Hannah says after the kitten. "And thank you for the escort!" She decides to ignore the rest.

"At least I don't eat my own ..." the cat retorts ... and thankfully the last bit is too faint to hear.

The door opens after Rosy's final complaint. Hannah finds herself staring into the stomach of Eis. "Playing with the children?" the large feline rumbles as he glances off in the direction that the kitten went. The feline shakes his head then lowers itself down to be more at eye level. "I hope your rest was satisfactory. The others were told not to disturb you."

Rosy snaps her mouth closed on a comment about cats following orders, and just curls her tail between her legs when she sees how big Eis is.

"We rested very well, actually. Thank you for allowing us to stay the night in your city," Hannah replies, inclining her head respectfully. "As for the youngling - well, she decided to play with us first. So I thought that asking her for a favor would be a little more constructive. And less rough on my friends," she adds, smiliing at Peaches and Rosy.

Sam mentions, "The rose-tinted water was an especially nice touch. I think I smell nicer than I have in..." He looks skyward. "Ten Years or so?"

"Ah. Well, I am sure your friends provoked the child," Eis says in a completely serious tone. The rose comment ears an arched brow from the cat, then a nod, adding, "That is good. We prefer to keep our homes smelling clean." The large cat then walks backwards, turns and starts walking away. "Come in," the cat says.

Hannah follows the tribe leader inside and looks around for a few moments with interest. She also figures that it's best not to quibble about who provoked whom at this point.

Since she wasn't told to stay outside, and the home has to be large enough to accommodate a giant feline, Peaches trots right in behind Hannah.

Sam nods wisely. "That tail swishing, done with just such a swoosh, is bound to drive any cat mad with the desire to pounce on it."

Rosy elbows Sam, then winks and asks, "So.. is this the first cathouse you've been invited in to?"

The inside is brightly lit and surprisingly well decorated. More than one would expect for a cat, anyway. There are several absolutely huge lounging pillows in the room that Eis leads them too (but no chairs). A fire crackles in the nearby fireplace and a huge suit of silvery armor stands in the corner. The proportion and shape are very much feline, though the craftsmanship appears to be Fey.

Hannah wanders over to the suit of armor and looks it over appreciatively. "This is wonderful," she says softly. "Was it made for you or one of your ancestors?"

Up close Hannah can tell the armor is old and shows signs of numerous repairs (from dent repairs to actual puncture repairs); not to mention the very style of its make reveals its age. The one think that stands out the most shocking of all is the small Hawks crest etched into the upper left of the chest plate.

"It was my great-grandfather's. It has been in the family for a long time," Eis remarks as he settles down in one of the pillows near the fireplace. He sighs, content from the feel of the heat upon his back.

Unsure of what would be seen as impolite, Rosy just stays standing near the entry to the room.

Hannah starts a little at what she's found and takes a few moments to process it. "I think you mentioned that your great-grandfather knew Lord Thomas?" she asks finally, slowly. "I only ask because I see the crest of the Golden Hawks etched into his armor. If I am prying too much, though, I apologize and can move on to other topics."

"He knew him, yes," Eis comments, the tone implying it is not prying to ask such. "That is why we did not simply kill you when you trespassed."

Hannah smiles wryly as she comments, "Then we were...fortunate to be so. Was your great-grandfather affiliated with the Hawks in any way himself?"

"Yes and no," Eis comments as his large head rolls a bit to the side to get a better look at Hannah. "What do you see when you look at me?" he asks.

"As for stories, do you really have time to listen to things of the past of little importance? Eis asks, sparing the doglin a brief look. "For example, the courtship of Thomas and some knight named Miurenn has no bearing on now."

The great cat shrugs. "I do not know. Thomas and my great grandfather had a falling out long before anything ever came of it," he notes.

Hannah knows to answer this question, she has to move closer to the great cat. So she takes her nervousness in hand and walks over to him, stopping just a few paces away. "I see your size and the indicators of your physical strength," she says, her eyes wandering over his body. Then she looks into his eyes. "I also see a great deal of intelligence in your features. Am I supposed to see something else?"

The cat huffs a laugh. "Look at me as though you were not one of the Hawks. Look at me as the world of the Fey see us," the cat suggests.

Hannah's face flushes a dull crimson, embarrassed. Then she looks again, considering the tribal leader from an ordinary Fae's point-of-view. "I could see how others would be very frightened of you," she says at last. "They would want to banish you to far-off places because of that fear. Or...worse."

"Lord Thomas courting a knight?" Rosy asks, sounding suspicious. "Sounds made up!"

"Big, terrifyingly strong and fast, and fanged," Sam agrees. "You'd either be a great companion to a hero or a monster, the way most ballads go."

"Indeed," Eis rumbles. "Thomas, from what my great-grandfather Lyne said, did not wish to expose him to that reaction. So, his involvement was kept fairly secret; often only missions where Thomas was alone would he sometimes be invited. And before you apologize, it is unnecessary. It was the reality, no slight was felt."

"The fey couldn't have treated you that bad, or you'd have joined Lord Eoin," Rosy asserts.

"/We kept, and still keep, away from the Fey,/" Eis points out. At the mention of Eion, though, he growls. "And as for That name, I will forgive its mention in my house once. He took from us./"

Hannah thinks about this for a while, feeling that she's just learned something else new about the Hawks and its leader. Then she comments, "Actually, I wish I could offer my thanks to your great-grandfather for offering to help in spite of the circumstances." She's silent again for another minute, then asks, "Do you mind telling me what caused his falling-out with Thomas?"

"Lyne was the one who was stubborn and impulsive in this case," Eis corrects and sighs, "Lyne only ... understood why Thomas did ... Well, it is no matter now. It it is too late to apologize."

Hannah smiles and finally sits down on one of the cushions facing Eis. "Well, I'd be a hypocrite if I said that I haven't done things out of impulsiveness myself," she remarks lightly. "I did defy my father to join the Hawks. And I had to wander alone through an evil forest to do so, all at a too-young age."

"It's only in retrospect that it seems like too-young an age," Sam says cheerily, wagging his eyebrows.

"Why is it too late?" Rosy asks, looking around. "Don't you know that Lord Thomas is back? I was there when his forces invaded the Fortress of Year's End. Did you know he smells sort of whistly-orange-purple in person?"

Hannah pokes the minstrel with a finger for his teasing but she doesn't look very put-out but it.

Sam rolls Rosy over on her back and rubs her tummy up, distracting her from the subject at hand.

"My great grandfather isn't," Eis points out, "He fell to the wyverns and was taken long ago. So, even if your stories were true that he had returned, which I doubt, it is too late."

Hannah watches Sam rub Rosy's belly with an amused air as she asks the cat, "Just out of curiosity, why don't you believe that Lord Tomas has returned to Mirari?"

"Because Lyne saw him die," Eis answers. The cat shifts around so that he's now facing the fire. "Well, he saw Thomas final message to those he cared about before he fell. People do not return from death."

"Maybe people don't, but legends can," Rosy barks, finally regaining some of her senses. "Legends never die."

Hannah feels it is best not to argue too much with the cat over this, as it is obviously causing him some pain. "If you saw proof of this with your own eyes one day, would you believe it then?" she asks instead.

"I never knew him. Whether I believe or not would not matter," the cat claims.

"Very well, we will leave it at that for now" Hannah answers gently. "But should you change your mind, I might be able to arrange something for you. That is, if I survive our encounter with the ice wyverns. That's actually the main reason I came to talk to you. Do you know anything about the terrain surrounding their lair?"

"Or about the wyverns themselves?" Sam wonders. "It sounded like you had a grievance with 'em."

"Yes, the lair. It is difficult to reach without wings. The paths are treacherous and narrow," Eis say after a pause for thought. "Steep walls, rocky and icy terrain, and narrow shelves to traverse. It is difficult enough for one of my kind to make it," he adds as he lifts his hand and flexes out some nasty looking claws, "I do not see how you will reach it. As for the wyverns .. yes, we do. they have attacked us repeatedly. I am sure it is their leader directing such."

Peaches looks a little uncertain herself about keeping her footing in that sort of terrain. She may be a Knightsteed, but she's not a mountain goat.

Hannah considers the terrain issues. "Well, we suspect your home was originally built by dwarves. Perhaps they left some of the tools of their trade behind, such as axes and outdoor icepicks? We could check, anyway." Then she glances at Sam. "Hitch a lift? On what?"

"Maybe there are catapults we can use," Rosy offers. "Shoot us right up their weir."

Hannah stares at the minstrel as if he's lost his mind. "And how do you propose that we convince the wyverns to carry us without trying to eat us? Or drop us to our deaths?"

"All we have to do is get some really big animal that they like to eat, something that's too much to eat in one sitting," Minstrel Sam explains. We hide in it, make it look like it's alive with glamour, they carry it back home, then we jump out when they're digesting."

"I was right, you have lost your mind," Hannah mutters. "As far as I'm aware, Tom had the idea to ride a wyvern once but didn't!"

Hannah rubs her forehead with one hand and sighs, sounding weary, "Can we please consider a plan that has at least a toe-hold in the world of reality?"

Sam shrugs. "You're talking to a minstrel here. The world of songs is much more interesting than the world of boring reality."

"What do wyverns hunt, usually?" Rosy asks Eis, trying to sound polite about it.

Hannah just shakes her head. "All right, I see your point, but as we don't have a friendly wyvern or a mammoth or even a pig, we're going to have to go back to the idea of getting up to the lair of our own accord."

"Now there you're talking crazy talk," Sam says. "Though... I've heard of one device from Tom, a contraption that allowed him and some of his friends to float in the air. He called it a 'hotter bloon'."

"Other than my kind, you mean?" Eis rumbles, "Goats, deer, and any creature unfortunate enough to enter the mountains. They always take their prey back to the lair. Part is tribute to their leader, part for themselves."

It takes the fae girl a few seconds to parse this. "Wait...do you mean a 'hot air balloon?' Yes, I think I've heard of this. What's it made of?"

"And goblins, if they carried off Feezle," Rosy notes. "I mean.. we could just go out and wait to be carried off. No need to trick them into doing it."

Hannah hmms and thinks about Rosy's point, as well. "Yes, but do they kill their prey before carrying it off? It'd be no good to us to be dead by the time we got up there!"

Sam searches his memory. "Let's see... He described it as a big bag with a basket attached, and a little fire-breathing dragon that sat under the bag and breathed into it. I'm not sure how they kept the bag from burning up, but supposedly it works like steam rising off a teapot, except they caught the steam, like a sail catches wind."

"So, let me get this straight. Either we take a long time to construct something we have no clue how to make, get carried off by wyverns as food and possibly die before we get to their lair, or make an extremely dangerous climb up with tools we have no idea if we've got or not." Hannah sighs again and stares off into space.

"I vote for barrels! Covered in bacon fat or something," Rosy says, raising a hand.

"Mm," Eis says, finally speaking up and offering, "We could try to lure the wyverns out into battle while you climb. A distraction, as it were, should you choose to climb."

Hannah doesn't seem to be listening to any of this; in fact, she's still staring out into space. Eventually, her eyes seem to focus on her surroundings again and she starts. "It's a long shot but if we're lucky..." she mutters. Then she looks up at Eis. "Have you ever found anything here that looks like a map of the city?"

"Mm?" Eis responds, the great cat shuffling around to regard Hannah. "There may be such in the old dwarven library. It is of little use to us."

Hannah looks excited now. "I know this may turn out to be nothing but... I just realized again where we are. In a dwarven city. Their kind are famous for cutting tunnels and cities into mountains - and creating tunnels that go through and up mountains. I want to know if there are any inside passages that might take us closer to the wyverns."

Minstrel Sam mutters to Rosy, "I'm all ready to stay out of dungeons after the last one..."

"Oh, hey!" Rosy barks. "That's clever! Maybe their roost is in some old lookout or the royal palace or something!"

"If such passages have not collapsed over time," Eis points out, but still nods, "It may be worth checking, though. I will show you to the library once we are done here."

The doglin pats Sam on the head. "Don't worry, I'm sure dwarven traps would just kill you, and not mess with your mind."

Hannah looks at the assembled group. "Well, as far as I know, our talk is finished for the moment. Shall we go ahead and look through the library?"

"Can we avoid traps this time, please, dwarven or otherwise?" Sam asks plaintively.

Hannah also smiles at Sam. "All we can do about that is our best." Then she consider's Eis' question. "He is a strange man sometimes but definitely a good one," she replies.

The cat nods slightly to this, then stands. "/Then I hope he is the one my great-grandfather knew," he says, "/Lyne spoke well of him. It was he who taught him both your language and your art of glamour. And Lyne taught his children. He helped us survive./"

Hannah looks surprised by this, then pleased. She stands as well and smiles. "Well, that answers that mystery! I had wondered how your people had learned of glamour."

Peaches raises her chin. She obviously thinks she could teach them a thing or two about glamour.

"Shall we depart, then?" Eis asks as he heads back towards the main doors. "And would you object if I joined your travels for a time? I fear leaving you in the care of dogs."

Hannah's jaw drops at this but she stammers, "N-no, of course not! We would be honored to have your company." Then she regains a little of her composure. "However, I only feel it fair to say that Rosy has been a help to us on our journey thus far...well, except for the suggestion about hiding in barrels."

"Even a dog can be lucky sometimes," Eis comments seriously, then flashes a small grin and actually pats Rosy's head. To Hannah, Eis explains, "Helping you is in thanks for what the Hawks did for us. It is us who are honored to repay an old debt."

"Time-honored tactic, hiding in barrels," Rosy mutters. But her tail still wags from the pat.

Hannah doesn't know what else to say to this. She merely nods her thanks and follows the great cat out of his home.

The walk through town is ... interesting. As the group follows Eis, more and more of the cats seem to take interest in what is going on, to the point of lining the streets now to watch curiously. At a guess, it is probably a big deal as the phrase goes, to be personally escorted by their leader. Once in a while, one of the larger males on the side roars out, only to be countered by an even louder roar from Eis. Chastised, the males tend to slink back into the background.

"See, if this had been a city designed by cats, there wouldn't be any roads," Rosy opines. "Just lots of fences to connect everything."

And within minutes they group is ascending a long flight of stairs to a decaying building. The building itself looks to have once been several stories tall, but time has not been kind. Only the first and maybe parts of the second would likely still be usable. "I hope one of you knows how to read the dwarven tongue," Eis comments as he uses his great size to shove the doors open. They groan under protest but do part. The air that rushes out is musty; the scent of mildew and old books.

Hannah tries not to look directly at any of the cats - the males in particular - in case they might take that as a challenge or an affront. She merely walks behind the tribal leader, staring somewhere in front of her. Once the doors of the library have been opened, however, she peers cautiously inside.

The place is a mess. Shelves toppled over, books and papers scattered everywhere. A lot of the books look to be so far gone as to be unreadable, even by someone which extreme familiarity with the language. At least dwarves were goon on one thing, cataloging. Everything is organized by subject ... so its a matter of finding the one on 'construction'.

Rosy can't help by rush ahead with her nose to the ground, sniffing for anything other than dust.

Hannah picks her way carefully through the ruin now, looking at the shelves and hoping that her rudimentary grasp on the dwarven language carries her though. She looks for anything that might be considered a shelf-label and what's printed on the spines of the surviving books.

Sam can't be sure ... but he might have found the 'exotic' carvings section, judging by the the rather risque poses of dwarven men ... no, wait, those are women, in ... interesting poses. The beards make it hard to tell.

"100 Ways to Drink More Festively," Sam pronounces, setting the book back on the shelf. "Find anything, Hannah?"

Hannah, however, is having much better luck. She deciphers enough to find the section of the archive dedicated to construction projects. The down side is it's huge. It may take a bit to find the notes on this place.

The fae girl rubs her chin, considering the size of the project she's facing. "Well, I found the section of books on the building of this place but it's a huge section. If any of the rest of you know any Dwarvish, I'll need your help to locate the maps of the surrounding tunnels. If I'm right and there are any tunnels!"

The minstrel goes over to assist. "If I were organizing it, I'd put it somewhere prominent, near the front, but dwarves like extra work."

"Hmm, yeah," Hannah grumbles, but gamely picks out a thick book and flips it open.

Rosy keeps up her own investigation, searching for rats - since rats can eat paper, and there aren't any cats in here, and rats would probably be eating the books they wanted. At least, that's doglin logic.

Sam reaches up to tug a book loose. "Ungh... This one's stuck, what did they do, pack them in with mall--" The shelf of books topples over on him. fwump

Hannah gives a sharp shriek of alarm and tosses her book to one side to try pushing the shelf off Sam!

The minstrel groans from under a pile of heavy books. "Did anyone get a look at the driver of that lorry that just ran over me?"

Caught by surprise, and still down on all fours, Rosy just.. barks.. at the bookshelf.

Eis just sighs. "And you hope to sneak into the lair of wyverns and steal away someone? That is if they haven't devoured him yet?" he asks as the cat comes over and helps Hannah lift the bookcase off Sam.

"See, this is why I like the idea of using bait more," Sam jokes, sitting up and brushing dust off.

"They wouldn't eat Feezle!" Rosy insists. "He smells more like flowers than we do now, and wyverns don't eat those."

"Are all of you done playing?" Eis inquires as he now joins in searching the now pile (instead of shelf), of books.

The new problem that Hannah sees, however, is that all the books they were trying to look through are now in one big pile they have to dig through. Still, she grins up at Eis as she reaches for another title and quips, "We'd all go crazy if we were serious all the time. Well, crazier than we are now, anyway!"

Since digging is involved, Rosy dives right in and starts burrowing through the pile. "What should I look for?" she suddenly asks, half-way in.

Sam says, "Some book that shows the layouts of the tunnels for here and for the mountain where the wyverns are roosting. Um." He looks up thoughtfully. "All the books here should smell really old, but I'm guessing that this one will smell like it was used a little more. Maybe by someone with greasy hands."

Maybe Rosy just has a keen sense of grease or use, because she manages to find something that looks like a bound manual of blueprints for the city. All the pages are made of translucent skin (better not ask where the skin came from), but as the pages are laid on top of each other, you can see level after level of a complex of tunnels and where they all interconnect. Hannah may have been onto something, as it sure looks like there used to be a way to the mountain peak ... along with plans showing a very large room up there.

Hannah pets the doglin and willingly, too. "Great job, Rosy! This set of maps to the tunnels looks very promising!" She peers at the labeling of the large room to which the tunnels lead, trying to make out any other information about it.

Eis peers over Hannah's shoulders. "I recognize some of these passages. There may be a way up," the cat rumbles, "But until we go, we will not know for certain. Prepare yourselves as much as you need and then we'll go."

Rosy pets Sam back, saying, "Good thing you pulled that bookcase down! You must be really lucky!"

Hannah lets out the breath she didn't know she was holding. "I'm glad to see a hunch of mine actually played out," she murmurs, relieved. "Now, let's just hope that none of these tunnels are completely impassable...or it's back to being wyvern-bait!"