Roxana shakes her head as the Half-orc slips away. "Almost," she says to Anita, ready to sprint after him again.

She's a bit surprised when he stops in the alcove and a woman appears! 'Is this like the halfling upstairs?' she wonders. She looks at the woman, now walking towards the area at a more normal walking pace.  "I do not believe Kylth has been here for a very long time." Though she can't help but think, 'But we didn't expect you to be here either! So who knows?'

"We really do not know what happened to him. Clearly there was an immense battle here. How did you get here though? Where did you come from? You weren't standing there a second ago! I'm Roxana by the way, from Longsaddle."

Rash breathes a sigh of relief as he takes his beloved's hand.

"Thank the gods for that," he says. "The glyph shoshouln't he a problem anymore now that its magic has been expended."

Then his attention turns to the girl who just appeared... a servant, perhaps even an apprentice, of the mad wizard? She could be trouble...

"You are the wizard, Rash!" Anita kisses the half-orc, to better underline the satisfaction of seeing him master of her actions again "I trust your opinion on magic!"

Meanwhile, the girl who appeared out of nowhere slowly approaches Roxana, continuing to look around her, apparently recording details... and evidently becoming more and more disturbed: "It's incredible!" she confesses "Look, you, Roxana from Longsaddle, and you two... My name is Ardjena, by the way, Ardjena Lambys. Look, I was saying... I also see, from the state of this place, that it seems like some time has passed, a long time. You'll probably think I'm crazy - even though I can assure you I'm not. The point is... that time hasn't passed for me!"

"A moment ago I had Master Kylth next to me, there..." Ardjena gestures vaguely with hers hand towards the position in which she appeared "and the 'immense battle' you speak of, Roxana from Longsaddle, was underway! It was the last prisoner we had secured, Ekandre the Arcanaloth, who had escaped and was causing trouble. I remember well the roar of the explosions... the flash of lightning... the screams of the other employees... the smell of ozone, of burnt flesh, of chlorine gas..."

"Kylth took me to that alcove for a moment, with him..." the apprentice's eyes seem to look far away, towards infinity, while she recalls "He affectionately stroked my hair... A tender gesture... So uncharacteristic of him... He'd never done it before... He whispered words to me that I strained to hear, over the background of explosions and heart-rending screams. 'I'm casting a spell on you that will keep you safe' he told me. 'I'll finish setting things right here, then I'll get back to you. It'll all be okay - if you allow me to say so'. He looked at me, for a few interminable moments... I was returning his gaze, trusting. He was Kylth Harpell. I knew he could do it. I knew he could stop the apocalypse that has been unleashed. I smiled, as I received the spell..."

"Next moment," she sighs "you were here. And all was... like this. And you don't know where Kylth is. He did not need to 'protect' me... I was the best of his apprentices! I could have helped him, maybe just a little, during that battle... Oh, well, we'll find him. He'll know what to do. He always does. What day is today anyway? How much time has passed without me realizing it? At least, Longsaddle still exists..."

"I don't exactly know, but I think it's been a long time since anyone was here. It's currently 1500 DR," Roxana informs the woman, waiting to see her response.

The girl rolls her eyes as if Roxana had hit her with a fist. No, actually, as if Roxana had first transformed into a Hill Giant and then hit her with a fist.

"It is not possible!" Ardjena sighs, risking losing her balance - in fact, for safety, she sits down, regardless of the dirt and rubble "It's... been... two... hundred... forty... five... years!"

She has extracted a crystal ball from a large pocket in her dress and begins to observe it, as if deluding herself into finding answers - or at least comfort. "Alone..." she murmurs, perhaps she doesn't even know to whom "I'm left alone. I wonder if any Lambys are still alive. Or any Harpells. But even if they were, they wouldn't be Lambys or Harpells that I know or who know me. I'm like... a wreck. A wreck that had sunk in the river of time and has been brought up - but in a reality alien to it".

"I'm... very sorry. I can't even imagine," Roxana says sympathetically. "There are Harpells still in Longsaddle. Though as you say, not ones you knew."

Aidwyn, after the shock of what had happened just for opening a door walks back with the little celestial elephant trying to find if Solitude is fine and gather with the others but it takes her a few minutes to reconvine with her as they seems to have split. 

"You ok?" and where is Rash? " she asks to Solitude once she is with her again.

Quote from OisinmacCameron >>

Hearing the voices from afar, Spira finally begins to understand where she is.  As she struggles to free herself from the sticky webs, she favors her brother with a long smiling half-glare.  "Dearest Gaer, I suppose I owe you my life and it was you ... and I mean that in the fondest plural," as she turns to smile completely at Solitude, "who snapped me out of whatever insanity overtook me; ...but I swear to Hanali, Aerdrie and Sehanine together, Gaer, if you tease me even once  about these cobwebs in my HAIR ... !!!"  The intensity of her glare sufficiently indicates where she intends wrapping said cobwebs in that case.  "Now ... what happened?  Do I hear the others talking ... to someone?  Or just talking?"

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Perception 20

Spira's eyes widen as she realizes that she does indeed hear a strange voice.  "They are talking to someone!  We should go see what's happening!"

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(leaving it up to you when in the conversation we'd arrive & be able to interact)

Aidwyn reaches Solitude and Gaer while the two are helping poor Spira, finally in control of her own actions again, to free herself from an impressive quantity of shreds of cobweb.

"Yes, don't worry, everything is fine dear..." the tiefling ex-prisoner sighs with relief "Gaer and I managed to hold Spira long enough to allow her to recover... Rash fled in the opposite direction, towards the great hall - Anita and Roxana chased him to look after him".

At that moment, Spira announces that she hears a new voice from the said 'great hall'...

"The hall is a considerable distance away, Quspira..." Gaer looks puzzled. "And I'm not hearing anything... But I guess getting together is a good idea regardless! Let's go there".

"What will I do now?" in the meantime Ardjena closes her eyes and facepalms "What will I do?"

At Roxana's words, the young wizard tries to find some hope again (although she doesn't seem too convinced): "Maybe I will be able to start again as an apprentice with the Harpells of today... Do you know them? Do you have contacts? I imagine so... since you have obtained permission to come to this place. I could give you this in exchange" she closes her right fist, makes a quick gesture with the crystal ball in her left hand, muttering a short formula... and when he reopens his fist, he has a cute luminescent ring in his palm!

And it is at that moment that Aidwyn, Spira, Solitude and Gaer open the double doors that Anita had closed and enter the majestic room, seeing Rash (quiet again) in a corner, holding Anita's hand... and, more towards the center of the room, Roxana, standing next to a tall, thin young girl with wavy, carrot-coloured hair, apparently saddened, dressed in a hooded tunic and holding a crystal ball in her left hand... and a crystal ball in her right luminescent ring that she is apparently offering to the girl from Longsaddle.

"Thank you, that's generous," Roxana says slowly. "I'm not sure it's necessary though. We were asked by a wizard studying with the Harpells to gather information her. Perhaps we could speak with him about rejoining them." She hopes that sounded reasonable enough to the woman. 'It is the truth at least, even if it avoids her question a bit.'

"Anyway, we'll give you a hand - reward or not."

Ardjena looks at Roxana in a way between surprise and suspicion, as if she wasn't used to receiving spontaneous help... but after a few moments, evidently not identifying any danger or trap, she simply makes the ring disappear and shrugs: "So... thank you, it's really very kind of you".

"What information did this wizard want, by the way?" the young apprentice asks, maybe trying to offer a favor in return "Did he want to continue Master Kylth's studies? I could summarize for him what results we had obtained up to today... that is, 'my' today..." her shoulders hunch in disappointment when it occurs to her that her knowledge might no longer be so up to date "245 years ago... No, how stupid, it would certainly be useless! Surely someone has continued Master Kylth's studies, in all this time! Who knows what discoveries and conquests they have led to..." she finds a half smile at the thought of what progress in the arcane arts the work done here must have allowed.

Upon hearing how far the slender girl has been cast forward in time, Spira's whole face melts in sympathy, and she pulls off her own warm cloak to wrap it around her, and an arm around her shoulders if she will allow it.  ""You poor dear, that's terrible!  I'm sure the Harpells would take you in.  They would likely see you as a long-lost one of their own to welcome back, since you say you studied with Master ... Kylth?"  Her mind suddenly flashes back to various past conversations with Zentromya, and her eyebrows rise.  "The  Master Kylth?!  The mage who built this place?  Good heavens, that's quite a distinction!"

Ardjena's face lights up for the first time: "Finally someone who holds my Master in the right consideration! I knew that his fame must still be great, even though so many years have passed! And it would really be a dream, if the Harpells saw me as a long-lost one of their own to welcome back..."

"Certain!" the tall, slender young girl with freckles confirms "Building this place to conduct his secret studies was Kylth's idea! He was a brilliant wizard full of original theories! It's a shame that everything was left to decay like this... But,” she deduces “some of Kylth's spells must still be active, if you had to procure Kylth's Flags as guests did in my day. Is Elky still active too?”

Spira smiles, and then sighs.  "Yes, Elky is still offering high tea to all comers and reminding them about the flag riddle.  But I'm afraid all else is in far worse shape than I'd like to be able to tell you of.  Terrible things have been happening over all of Toril, and not only the Harpells but wizardly houses in all lands have lost contact with so many outlying scholars.  The gods have warred over the world, not through avatars alone but in their own direct person; Netheril rose again, and Mystara herself was murdered such that plagues and calamities rocked the land as the fabric of magic went insane.  That has only slowly been restored...until the pace became abrupt and calamitous once again.  The world is only just recovering from that upheaval."

"I fear contact and memory of this place was lost some time ago.  I'm sorry.  We were sent here by the Harpells because one of their diviners saw a vision of the front entrance arch and foretold we could find some way within to bring back from death the fiancé of one of the Sharnshields who was unjustly killed.  And ... um ... ," she seems not quite sure how to put this last part; "we ... I ... um ... didn't know this was a prison, or how the cells worked.  We were just told we needed to find a magical bead, so we thought that was the item that would bring the fellow back, and well, ... I'm afraid in the confusion we ... I ... went and accidentally  let out one of the remaining prisoners, and they let out some more, and then all Pandemonium broke loose!  Rash here had to wrestle a devil whose beard was made of, I swear to Angharradh, snakes!"  She shudders at the memory.  "Things have settlrd down since then but I'm ... afraid I'm not sure how many prisoners are left."  As she says this, she is frantically trying to think of a way to warn Aidwyn not to let Balfby see this apprentice of her captor; or how far Zentromya's kind nature will stretch in this particular case.  "One of them ... referred to your master as they departed, so I knew his name.  It's just that even in neglect, the art with which the place was built struck me enough that its architect must have been a learned and powerful wizard."

Rash gets to his feet a little bit clumsily, still a little shaky from the spell.

"Yeah... that was something," Rash says with a chuckle. "Ah well... it is what it is. And we're all alive. Anyhow... I think I might have dropped some of my books in the other room... let me just go check. Anita, let's go check."

It isn't untrue, but in large part he wants to have an excuse to intercept Zentromya before the elephant's path crosses with the apprentice of the wizard who imprisoned her. And, to be honest, there's a part of him that wants to neutralize the potential threat that Kylth's apprentice may pose (non-lethally). After all, she apparently didn't see a problem with imprisoning a literal angel for her master's sadistic experiments... though it was also possible she was in the dark about what was really happening. Honestly, he would like to ask Zentromya what in the Nine Hells they should do about this situation, without the subject of conversation right there in the room.

Roxana can't help but sigh and shake her head a bit as Spira talks. 'Well, if that doesn't blow it then probably nothing will!  Does she have to reveal everything to this stranger who clearly worked for a maniac?' she thinks.  Seeing Rash and Anita head off, she nods. "Of course, you go check for your books and we'll just stay here."  She then looks back at Ardjena. "What did this place look like before? It must have been a magnificent workshop. Part of what we were hoping to do was to recover what we could. But yes! Tell us what this place was like when Klyth had it in perfect order!" (Deception if necessary: 13) 

Ardjena's Insight: 17

Ardjena listens to the 'historical-summary-of-the-last-245-years' by Spira with great attention, often finding herself in disbelief, with her mouth open, in front of the most surprising revelations. However, when she hears that Elky is still in service, she can't help but shake her head and smile: "Mystra is dead... Master Kylth is missing... but Elky is still active! Surely my Master knew how to cast resilient spells! Obviously there will no longer be servants above... so the hospitality that Elky can offer is necessarily limited! What a faithful programmed illusion, however... And since you use the Flags, Guards and Wards is also still in place. Impressive".

The good mood is soon replaced by fear, when the young apprentice hears that prisoners have recently been released: "This is terrible! Some of the most dangerous creatures in the Multiverse were confined here! Have you fought with Kekszakal?! You are lucky to still be here! live! Or perhaps" she concedes "you are very good warriors. A wizard who grapples a Devil?" she raises an eyebrow and looks, perplexed, in Rash's direction - but Rash is heading out with the excuse of the books "Are you an Eldritch Knight? The elite guards here were... Oh, we'll speak later, I guess" she shrugs, as the half-orc wizard exits "However, if there are still such prisoners around, we must seek powerful help... Probably help from the Harpells themselves! No telling what those powerful creatures could do, now that they are free..." checking frantically, she finds that all the cells are empty "Not only Kekszakal, the Bearded Devil, but also Balfby, the Yeth Hound... Trefax, the Barlgura... Zentromya, the Hollyphant... they are all free! Or maybe. .. There is a strong possibility that they massacred each other - they didn't have exactly the same philosophical positions... Do you know exactly if any of them are still alive and capable of doing harm?"

The concern for the prisoners is such that even Spira's final appreciation of the place or Roxana's attempt to change the subject have only limited success: "Yes, of course," Ardjena smiles "I will be happy to explain to you what it was like and how this place worked - we could start with my room..." she sighs, heading towards one of the doors "I don't think I'll be able to continue living here, I might as well get my things - or what's left of them. But the priority is the prisoners... Do you see all... this?” she with a wave of her arm embraces the surrounding destruction "It was caused by one, only one, who escaped! Okay, Ekandre the Arcanaloth was by far the most powerful, but still the others are not to be underestimated at all... and it is plausible that they harbor a grudge against those who tried to study them! They could seek revenge against the first creatures they see! For this reason, it is important that you describe to me exactly those of them who are still alive and capable of harm..."

And at this point, the young girl with carrot-colored hair and freckles has now reached the door exactly opposite the double door that gives access to the living room and is about to turn the handle.

Rash meanwhile, going out with Anita, immediately runs into the very dangerous and murderous Zentromya, who was also heading towards the hall: "I was about to join you," she says telepathically to both of them "did you find anything interesting in the great hall?"

Yes, we did, Rash tells the little elephant telepathically, putting a finger to his lips to suggest to Anita that it would be best not to say anything out loud. It seems that one of your captors was still here... a girl named Ardjena. I'm not really sure how to deal with this situation. She hasn't done anything hostile yet, but I am concerned about how she may respond when she sees that you are with us. What can you tell us about her?