The Forest City

Ottothal's pale hand glided along the Emperor's bed. He had left the room untouched since being elevated to his position. Today he had the urge to take a look behind the curtain. The theme of the Emperor's personal rooms was gold and the bed chamber was no excpetion. Their were ornate chests with gold trim, statues of gold, the fireplace framing was gold. Ottothal liked gold but this was too much, he would need to redecorate before moving in here. The first thing he would do is remove the gaudy four poster bed where there was even more gold. It wasn't even uniform, as his wandering hand found a piece of wood sticking out. He drifted over it, and he heard a faint click.

'Curious.' Ottothal grabbed the little wooden part and pushed, the entire bed shifted down. He grinned, 'What secrets were you keeping Arokaan.' He sat on the bed as it lowered into the floor. The tunnel wasn't very long and when he reached the huge underground room, he laughed. Seeing the gargantuan gold dragon body laying on the horde of coin. 'Even in death you are full of surprise.'

The colossal trees of the Twilight Palace started to peak out above the forest canopy, noticeable at night because of the magical glowing leaves that surround the tree. They were close to the city. After thirty minutes they walked out of the forest canopy and entered the forest city. No gates, guards or security guarding the outter perimiter, designed to be one with the forest. Children laughed and played running around, as their mothers watched from their homes or shops. There were buildings above them in the trees as well. Wooden bridges swaying between branches. Orbs of light float in front of the buildings. It was a magic filled place. A few people on the street recognized Alissa and Erigos, some even bowing to her.

Rothox and Harim made eye contact, "Is Alissa a princess?" Rothox asked.

"Not that I'm aware of." Harim watched a lady bow to Alissa.

The two foreigners followed the elf and blonde haired girl into the city, heading towards the palace trees. They passed by beautiful buildings built into the trees and many self standing homes. The city was abundant with many creatures thriving with the citizens. Colorful birds sang their songs as little forest critters played with the children. Rothox found it weird to have a city blended with the environment.

Alissa marched right into the gardens of the palace, the first place there were guards. At first they went to intercept this odd group but stopped noticing Alissa and Erigos. They bowed and moved aside letting them pass. Once inside the living palace Alissa went straight for the stairs to her room, like she had just been gone a few hours.

"I'll be right back." She said as she dashed up the stairs.

An elven lady came around the corner after hearing Alissa's voice "Alissa! Are you home?" She saw Erigos. "Erigos, you are home. Welcome back." She looked around for Alissa. "Where is Alissa?" She glided over to him and embraced him.

"She went upstairs. It is good to see you, my Lady." He bowed to her.

"Who are your friends?" She extended her hand towards Harim.

"Harim and Rothox. We have been traveling with them for a few months now." He introduced them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Queen Amalia." Harim kissed the back of her palm.

Rothox bowed but did not kiss her hand.

She didn't seem to care. "You all look famished, but first: hot baths you smell of death." She clapped her hands and from hidden areas in the walls a handful of servants appeared. They escorted them towards the baths.

Alissa came down the stairs, "Amalia!" She rushed the remainder of the steps and hugged the queen.

"Welcome home my dear." She stopped the hug and looked her over.

"I have so much to tell you."

"I'm sure you do, but first a hot bath." She nudged her along while noticing her carrying the old wooden box she had brought with her on her first day in the palace. Even though Alissa was a woman in her own right she still had a child-like curiosity and outlook on life. It's what made her special but the queen was worried about her. In a way a part of Alissa still lived in the little girl who was still waiting for her parents to return.

"Hey Harim," Alissa called after the monk as he followed the servant towards his bath. He stopped as she caught up to him, passing him the box. "Here, maybe you can open it."

Harim took the puzzle box, "I'll see what I can do." He already began to inspect it.

While soaking in the hot water of his private bath Harim began to work on the puzzle box. The box itself was a simple design with a few visible seams. The question was how to open them. As he flipped it around, feeling the corners he noticed four engravings, faintly etched into the wood. They were all the same except two were on the bottom of the box and two on the top. Grabbing one of the upside down corners he twisted. It flipped around and it clicked into place when it matched the other corners. He did the same with the fourth, it too clicked into place. One part of the box was unlocked. It would still take him longer to figure out the rest and the chance he did open it, he didn't want to open it without Alissa so he set it aside and finished his bath. He found himself staring at it curious as to what was inside.

It was the best meal they had all had in months. They tried their best to not gorge themselves on the bowls of fresh exoitc fruits, cheeses, plates of steamed vegetables and freshly baked breads. Alissa informed the queen of everything they had done since she had left on hers and Erigos' journey. Queen Amalia listened intently, nodding when appropriate and asking questions. She was genuinely enthralled. When Alissa got to the part about Trixia she had already been informed of Trixia's imprisonment, and had doubted the truth of her incarceration. Eventually the tale ended. A few times she looked worried about the dangerous things they had come across but she tried her best not to say anything.

Queen Amalia placed her ands on the arms of her high backed chair and began drumming her fingers. "That is quite the adventure but why are you here in Avent if you already have the cloak? Don't get me wrong, I am very happy you are here."

"We hope that we can use any research you may have here to aid our search for the last two artifacts," Harim said

"Of course the library in the palace is open. I hope you can find what you seek." She stood up. "Alissa, Erigos, would you care to join me for an evening stroll." They got up and left the table. As they exited the palace and walked through the garden the other two were led to the library.

"Why did you want to walk with us?" Alissa asked once they were away.

The Queen looked back at her, "Because I wanted some alone time with my family," she smiled. "Is that okay?"

"Of course!" Alissa said.

They walked through the garden, reminiscing about the first time they had been in the garden together among other memories.

It was a gorgeous library built into an upper section of one of the large trees. The different layers of the wood, the weaving branches and bark acting as the twisting shelves, staircases and different levels of the library. Large leaves that weave into the library glow with a magical enchantment offering the ambient lighting, the same leaves that light up the outer part of the tree. Even though the library is located in the palace it is available to the public through a separate entrance. However, it was empty tonight and Harim and Rothox were alone among the stacks.

Standing in the tall and spirling library they weren't sure where to begin. A catalog of the works had been carved into a branch, the paper made out of the bark taken from this very tree. Flipping through it a title caught them by surprise, 'Orudon the Wise.' They looked at each other curiously,

"It can't be the same gnome, can it?" Rothox asked.

"Can't hurt to check it out."

'How do we know where it is?" Rothox stared up at the library.

"It says here…" Harm flipped to the front of the book. "Tap and receive." He flipped back to the book they found, he tapped the title. They watched as small leaves began to grow out of branches above them, extending out towards the books. One leaf grabbed a tome, removed it and carried it down to them.

Rothox raised his eyebrows, "Now that's cool."