Eryn was
stunned into silence and was only temporarily brought around by Xera trying to
stand. He had been badly shaken and was covered in dirt and part of a evergreen
bush. What had careered down the staircase was a rock garden that presumably,
given by the hole it left in the roof of the stairwell, had floated above not
moments ago. Unfazed, Silas asked Chloe to pass him the skull, to which she did
at arm's length. He snatched it from her grasp and gave to the creature. It
started to analyse and dissect, while one of its tentacles draw Silas closer as
their voices dropped to a whisper. Chloe wanted to know what was going on, and
demanded and answer, he told her that the girl should keep quiet. Her stubborn
line of questioning was met by the same response and fanned the flames frustration
and anger. By the staircase, Eryn had asked Xera to see how much damage the boulder
had done. As he looked up he was doused
in the face by a deluge of water. Eryn trying to keep his amusement to himself
but it was as predicted. He turned around to notice Silas finishing discussing
with the creature.
He told the
group that he had only come down here to check on the head of the remaining
Neave specimen but was glad he had found Chloe. A thinly veiled lie. He told
her that she and long with the head was important to him, to everyone. He asked
her how much she remembered being with the Aeon Priests, to which she replied
she had little knowledge. He told her, while striding up to her wrist stump, that
she was the vessel and that she needed to be made water tight and to be moved
out of the city as quickly as possible. He held out a syringe and her head was
filled with the chime she had heard when leaving the priests. It was the same
chime that the crystal voice recognised and took control of her pleading
request. She turned her head away as the tip was thrust into the stump. Within
seconds the same purple crystal that had adorned her hair, eyes, nails, clothes
and jewellery was now part of her skin. It was growing very slowly, the hand
she used to have, free from the manacle. As the crystal started to expand,
Silas invaded her personal space at every angle. He was studying the crystal as
it grew, mouthing words under his breath as if reading. Soon those words were
louder and cursing. There was panic in his voice. From out of a tiny gold
threaded purse he pulled out a almost tent sized cloak to cover him. It was the
same recognisable colour as the twins in the Narrkonis Atrium, the Purple
Order. Eryn tried to force out a few questions but hardly any of them made
sense. Confusion descended upon the group as Silas asked Xera to hand over his
wooden box. He also confirmed with Xera about the Loquella he had 'acquired'
from his last trip to the Lyathran storehouse
.
Xera hung
his head, he had been sure he hadn't been caught in he act but a family such as
he was discovering probably were hiding in the shadows watching him, or more
simply, the stock takes. He pulled out a small flat wooden frame with an
embossed metal feather with a faux quill top made of a black metal, presumably
onyx. Xera had discovered this object had similar properties used in the
printing of tomes and had managed to manipulate the wooden device to be able to
use standard parchment. Silas told him to put the notes under the creature but
Xera refused, only handing him the box. Silas sighed, picked up one of the
fallen stones from the ground and threw it at the Ncythemeron. It shimmered as the rock passed straight through
and clattered against the floor. He shook his head and knelt down to a small
glowing orb that was in the centre of
the creature of the floor. He opened out the wooden struts and put the parchment
scraps Xera had been saving from the rooms below. Silas told Xera to be a good
employee and to take all the notes when the creature had finished its analysis.
Although the parchment that went into the small machine had already been
scrawled on, the metallic quill had managed not only to wipe it clean but also
to write its own script. Reams and reams of the code were pouring out onto the
page, but the creature was still talking in their language. Xera presumed the
creature must be psychic on some level, and powerful if it did not even need to
be in the same room.
With a swift
flick of the thumbs and a few taps on the box, a draw fell open from the side. Inlaid
into the purple velvet lining of the drawer was a dried flower, a small thin
tube of opaque pale blue liquid, and what looked like a pumice stone. As he
picked up the tube the ground started to shake violently again. Upstairs the
start of the building collapsing in on itself could be heard. His movements
accidentally cracked the vial but the liquid was quickly poured onto the
flower. It was instantly revitalised, and placed on top of the pumice stone. Roots sprouted like worms, wriggling around
the stone until they had completely encircled it. The flower by this point had
not opened but after the roots had settled the flower opened and there was a
corresponding light in the ball of roots. Xera was amazed at what had just
happened. The formula for the liquid he remembered from Melvile's research had
been mass produced. A little distracted he was knocked back to his senses as
the boxes owned by all four of them mentioned to connect. The ground was
starting to fracture along with the walls. The pressure from the rubbish
outside started to force its way in. The group all connected and vanished from
the room as the image of the Ncythemeron was swallowed up by debris
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