While waiting for a response from Mythe and Laurence, Professor Maz turns to respond to Hin's questions "Well, we haven't translated all the text, but the little we have, says the Khi'mur and Kaethius houses are connected somehow." He pauses for a moment "It's likely they will have more details figured out once I return to the site. I'm hoping you all will take this opportunity of not having class to come with me. This is pure speculation, but perhaps once they were one and the same."

"So long as our comrades don't mind, I wouldn't leave them to explore without support of their peers. I like to think we help keep each other standing, like trees in the wood. That being said, scritches is sure to be ripe about it."

True to form, Scritches immediately flustered out of his hair and grumpilly jumped into his apron nesting pocket.

"I have another question. Just for clarification, are all of our... surnames---I guess you could call them---found at the site? Or just that of Mythe and Laurence? Either way, I agree with Barburry, I won't let you be the only ones in on all the fun." Hin grins brightly and continues jotting down her notes. She stops and thinks, Look at me, I'm one getting step closer to being a full-fledged scribe with every word I write. Almost as fast as Dad, now. She's filled out a page now with her constant note-taking.

One and the same...? Laurence rubs their chin in thought and responds to Professor Maz after a moment, "I know of the Kaethius family, but I have not met a member, or Mythe, before coming to the academy. As far as I know, none of my family has told me anything about an ancestor from so long ago. We don't have much of a family record, nor had I been particularly interested..." They sigh a little through their nose, and I can't exactly go back and ask.

They smile at Hin and Barburry's remarks, but suppresses it and clears their throat. Placing a hand on their chest, feigning shock and hurt, they say: "you would assume that I'd be so thoughtless and go alone?" More seriously, they add, "well, I know about this as much as you all do, I'm counting on your help."

For the first time since her towermates have met her, Mythe looks truly startled, lips opened in a small “o” of surprise as she glances at Laurence. “Surely you are not implying that this hobgoblin and I are.. related. How can that be? I had never even heard of the Khi’mur house before coming here, much less met one them personally. I highly doubt they are of any importance to the Kaethius family.. though I suppose I would be interested in finding out more.”    
The elf does not acknowledge the others offers to tag along, but she does not seem to have any objections. After three weeks of living together she has grown used to their presence, perhaps even appreciating their company in serious situations such as this.

"Oh my, no." he stops to think for a second "I mean - I suppose it's likely biologically possible, but I don't think you're related. I think perhaps the houses once shared the same name. It seemed like the little we translated pointed to an origin story. I am hoping they have discovered more once we get there." With that, you all take the familiar path across the several rickety bridges, island hopping, until you reach the archeological dig once more. As you arrive, there are once again four archeologist in here working, only two of them you recognize from last time though, the other two are new faces. Both older dwarvern fellows. One of the dwarves speaks up as you enter "Ah master Mazhulli, welcome back. We've managed to translate some more of the script, and you may be very interested to see this. It has confirmed some very old theories about the 2nd era." the dwarf gestures to a table full of research material and sheets of paper "you may want to take a look at this for yourself."

Laurence raises a brow and gives Mythe a look of 'I can't believe you just said that but also I don't know what else I expected'. Having known each other for 3 weeks, it's probably a face that Mythe is well acquainted with. But it's easier to just go along with the rich. Exercising practised patience, they don't make any comments.

Following Professor Maz on the familiar path, it felt like it was only yesterday that the group visited the ruins. As they head in, Laurence gives the archeologists a courteous bow, and walks towards the table, "excuse me, may I have a look at your research as well?"

Donavera Isemist

Vera lets out a cackling noise when she fails to communicate with the Mother through Augury. She's been laughing out loud for awhile, enough to draw attention of the outsiders or wake them up in the middle of deep slumber. But, she wishes that they'd consider it as an integral part of her peculiar lifestyle and let her be.

Sometimes, she will try to sneak out of the tower at night and keep searching for eerily obnoxious materials, digging holes in the ground to excavate bones and sticks so that she can make a necklace. Other times, she attempts to maintain her pleasant aura and works in unison with Barburry and the company. Especially, she's interested in plucking flowers from the garden and creating matching crowns for herself and Zodiac.

She has somehow lost a few pounds and there are dark circles under her eyes, perhaps overwork is taking a toll on her health. So, when she hears a rumor about Mythe, she doesn't pay any heed to it just because she's too much drained of energy. Actually, she believes that it's better not to judge a person without knowing about them well enough.

Once the small group of apprentices will reach their destination, Vera will nudge Hin with her elbow to draw their attention. "Psst.. psst, don't you have the artifact with you, Hin? Rod of the loreweaver? I think it will help us to uncover the information about the ancestors of house Khi'mur and house Kaethius."

Hin isn't fazed when her questions aren't answered. Seems like we're going over there soon, I'll surely find out more later.
To Laurence's feigned shock and accompanying remark, she adds---with an equally staged tone of voice---making pleading gestures with her hands, "Of course not, my dear Laurence! I would never think that of you!" She chuckles lightly at the jest, and nods in a mix of agreement and support of their following remark.

As they traverse across the islands to the dig site, Hin retreats into her own mind again, thinking of a lot of things as she whistles the same lullaby as before. 
There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of them. I wonder what they would say if they saw me now, following their footsteps. Or what they would say if they saw me up all night, all the time... Why were there so many pages ripped out of those books? What did Delyra know at the time that I didn't? Many questions float about her head. Questions she was afraid of asking herself at times other than deep in night under the intoxicating moonlight, where she was sure she wouldn't remember the dark corners of her mind she spent so many hours lost in.

But soon enough, she snaps out of it when they reach the dig site. Feeling Vera's elbow lightly against her side, she whispers back, "I do. I'll bring it out later, once we have more information. I don't doubt your judgment one bit on this, as it makes sense, and I want to see where it would make the most sense to use it most. You did say that it could be dangerous if used incorrectly, right? I want to minimize that risk as much as possible. But yes, I have it stored safely in my pocket."

She brushes herself off, as if brushing off the remnants of her clouded mind from her thoughts before. She walks up confidently to the dwarven man that just spoke, and offers her hand for the man to shake it. "Hello. My name is Hin, and this is the rest of my cohort. I study under Professor Mazhulli, and the rest of my student companions also study at The Academy. I was wondering if we could take a look at the research you've laid out here at the table, if you don't mind." She politely waits for the researchers to respond.

Vera, you very easily over your free time managed to build matching flower crowns for yourself and Zodiac, and Zodiac wears it like a pro.

In response to both Laurence and Hin asking to view the research notes the dwarf speaks up "Of course, the research belongs to the academy, you're welcomed to view it" upon you giving him your name, Hin  he speaks up again "I'm research expert Theodore, and this is my company. I do believe you've met a few of them already." Professor Maz speaks up "Theodore has been working for the academy for what? 20 years now?" the dragonborn looks at the archeologist "Just over 20 years, yes. In fact-" the dwarf looks at Professor Maz with a slight smirk "I bet something Mazhulli here hasn't told you is he worked for my company before becoming a professor at the academy!" "Anyway.." the professor grumbles "Ah right! So, the gist of the translations so far confirm those ancient 1st and 2nd era theories. It appears the Khi'mur house granted their elven servants nobility and their own house name." The dwarf pauses for a moment, gauging expressions among the group and the professor "You mean we have a Khi'mur and a Kaethius here? This is amazing! What are the chances?"

Reading over the actual translation notes you see the following: Year 1432 U2 house Khi'mur granted nobility to the family of elves who had been serving them. House Kaethius has been born, a powerful mystical boon placed on them ... In order to safely travel the lands, without fear of capture.

Research side notes: Year 1432 U2 later declared as Year 1 U3, the first year of the 3rd era. Serving seems to be the cleanest translation, but it could have also meant living with.

Hin chuckles heartily, glad to learn something new about her own professor. While her stance is a little less formal than before, she's still comfortable and clearly in her element as she talks to Theodore. "Is that so? I'd love to know more about what Professor Maz did before his years at the academy. In any event it's nice to meet you, Theodore." She walks over to the table and skims through the papers, adding to her notes as she goes. "Laurence, it's my understanding that you had said that you didn't have much of a family record, but what about you, Mythe?" While waiting for an answer, she mutters under her breath, "Fascinating. I wonder how far back these ties go."

"This is... Well, I am intrigued by the existence of this history, but it is a bit too far back to mean much to me, even if I am a Khi'mur," Laurence says lowly and leans down, taking a good look at the notes. They then raise their head to look at Mythe, gauging her reaction. This ancient history means little to me, but if she's bothered... should I start worrying about that baseless rumour I heard?

Turning to Theodore, they ask, "Mister Theodore, is this all from the 3rd era? So this may be even earlier than the paintings we saw last time of Kreslene? Is there more context to this text? Why did the elves fear capture? What was the boon?" They rapidly fire off multiple questions as the gears in their head grind into motion after the initial surprise (or shock?) of a sudden family history reveal. Realising their lack of manners, they straighten up and clear their throat to hide the bubbling embarassment, "What I meant to say is, I would love to know more if you don't mind explaining. I'd also like to see where you found these texts, if possible? I do doubt it but there is a very small chance that I or Miss Mythe may recognise something if we can see the original text?"

Barburry seems a little adrift in the cave.  He still considers the events prior to have been capped by what he believes was a tremendous blunder.   Whilst the others are engaged with professor and researchers, he attempts to remain attentive but is frequently looking around.  "I wish I wasn't so anxious.  Come on you big doof, this is supposed to be exciting.  Worse than making a blunder is doing nothing!"

In an attempt to recapture the excitement of discovery he had last time, he finds and opportunity to inquire about the more recently discovered room. "Just curious, what was the mechanism for accessing the new secret room?  Were you all able to draw some conclusions when comparing the 2 access points for the hidden rooms to help root out any others?  Has there been anywhere yet to be given as thorough a walkthrough or to be scrutinized?  Maybe I'm just having a hard time seeing the forest through the trees here, but this has been quite the collection of items.  It seems like some of it was a record of some histories, some artistic impressions of those events, and then a portal to a pocket dimension where a being of interest was actually occupying. What in the earthen hills was this places purpose?  I feel like a dog staring at a rainbow."

Donavera Isemist

Vera somehow detects the fact that Barburry is anxious about something. When he compares himself with a less intelligent creature, Vera seems troubled by the idea too. She will extract a copper coin from her backpack and toss it upward to cast Detect Thoughts. Her intention is to read the surface thought of Barburry initially, so that she can provide him with support if it's necessary. But later, she will perhaps use the arcane ability for a malignant cause depending on the context of the situation. "A penny for your thoughts?" She asks Barburry while tilting her head slightly, trying to listen to his inner monologue.

“The Kaethius’ were… servants?” Mythe’s pale cheeks flush pink as she struggles to regain her composure. This went against everything her relatives had taught her about her history, about who she was. Then again, her family wasn’t exactly the most trustworthy. She wouldn’t put it past them to make up history in order to seem of higher blood.  Turning to respond to Hin’s question she seems to calm down a little, her face becoming a passive mask. “My family history goes on for many generations. We always took pride in being descended from high society elves. But if what that text says is true.. this changes everything I thought I knew.” 

The elf nods along to Laurence’s questions. “Yes. I should also like to see this text.”

The dwarf responds to you quickly Hin "perhaps when we have more time, I will share more" before turning to answer Laurence's questions "All the markings in this cave seem to be dated to the beginning of the 3rd era. The very first few years of the ice age, to be exact." Listening to your other questions he continues "there is more, we still haven't translated yet. You're welcomed to look, of course. We do not know what the boon was, but as for why the elves feared capture." Professor Maz speaks up "It's long been thought that at the end of the 1st era, when demons and devils were banished from the Prime Material Plane, a new threat rose up. A goblinoid threat. The beginning of your legacy-" the silver dragonborn points at you, Laurence. "Many historians believe at some point, the goblinoid races worked well together and conquered much of the known lands. The elves lost their greatest weapons, the demons, when they were banished. Which caused major weaknesses to arise in many elven regions. But much like the previous conquerors of the lands, the ancient goblinoids turned on each other.. eventually."

"That hand painting next to that hidden door was capable of revealing and hiding the door. It had an ancient pulley system operating it, honestly I'm amazed it still functioned." Theodore points over to the hand painting next to the hidden door you saw last time you were here. "We haven't found any other secret doorways yet. We've honestly been focusing mostly on translating the main chamber before discovering more to work with. My company is stretched a bit thin, so I can't bring more researchers out to help." the dwarf turns towards you now, Barburry, as Vera flips her copper coin into the air "Those tunnels you had gone down originally, we haven't given them a good look over." Listening to your final question he speaks up again "It's a miracle is what it is. We're calling it The Loreweaver's Sanctuary. When the deities were shunted from the heavens during the ice age, the Loreweaver must have made his home here. He is burdened with keeping all history, and it appeared he attempted to continue on without his divine blessings. At least for a short while. Like I said, it only contains a few years of history, all at the beginning of the ice age." The dwarf points to the wall on the opposite side of the cave "that wall over there talks about the fall of several cities and regions at the beginning of the ice age. Entire regions falling into chaos, almost instantly."

Theodore gestures to the wall you're all currently standing in front of, as you ask to view the wall itself. Browsing over the wall you can without too much difficulty locate the words Khi'mur and Kaethius, among some archaic forms of goblinoid and elven that hardly make sense. "Well-" Theodore speaks up after you speak, Mythe "you very well may have descended from the A'yeth Taersi elves, but history has a funny way of twisting things as it sees fit. We'll hopefully know more soon, there is still plenty to translate here. It could lead to some new clu--" he's interrupted by a loud "aha!" where the other male dwarf still diligently studying the wall and scribbling in a journal looks up "Oh shoot, I'm sorry for interrupting sir, but you may want to hear this. The Khi'mur house and the elves later known as Kaethius had some sort of agreement. What it was isn't on these walls th-" You all notice as this dwarf's speech stops mid-word, the four archeologists and Professor Maz have froze in place, no longer moving.

(OOC: Barburry, be sure to share any extra surface thoughts you're having with Vera.)

Vera

"What wasn't on these walls?" Hin says over her shoulder, still looking at the research on the table. After a few seconds of silence, she turns around and looks at her professor and company. "Hello?" She waves tentatively in their general direction.

"I see, the demons." Laurence repeats, the hesitance in their tone betrays the fact that they did not know elves used demons. As Professor Maz talks about the rise and the eventual fall of the goblinoids, they nod along and mumbles while their attention is still captured by the ‘mystical boon’: "Was the past Khi’mur house in possession of great secret magics? Those in power can't resist tearing each other down, huh..."

They stand up straight and turn to Theodore as he explains about the ruin, absentmindedly commenting, "Loreweaver's Sanctuary, what a lovely name." Scanning the papers on the table, but not daring to rearrange them, Laurence only realises after a few seconds that the new voice is no longer speaking. They raise their head and see Hin wave at the researchers, "was there a new discovery?" After another moment of silence from the researcher, their brows furrow and looks around them warily. Only our tower is not affected? Can we never explore this ruin in peace... They move slowly to the dwarf near the wall and tentatively reaches out a hand to touch his shoulder lightly. (ooc: anything..?)