The Abode is as safe as your home...
- That is if your home contain poisonous plants, deadly traps, intelligent pests, plotting inhabitants and other lurking dangers, add that you train combat daily with real weapons and do advanced experiments with potions, magic or dinner... Then you'll really feel like home...
Windows: Never leave a window in the Abode open unless you are very familiar with the reality it connects to, or have put up good protective spells! A closed window is like a one-way mirror into another world, but if it is opened there will be a temporary two-way connection. Therefore there are windows that can't be opened without proper magic, but that is no guarantee that other windows (that can be opened easily) are safe. There was an incident of a window left open showing a beautiful calm meadow that caused a rather troublesome troodon invasion of part of the Abode (and later Tomomi and Shinju's experiment to use them as kitchen assistants, with a rather messy result).
Doors: Internal doors between the rooms of the Abode are usually safe, there are a few doors who have multiple short-cuts, and it might be wise to memorize how to open them, since where you will end up might depend on that. Potentially more dangerous are the doors that lead out of the Abode. First of all some of these doors connect to several different realities, either through a time-share system (shifts every hour or so (but usually far more complex)) or through some type of mechanism where you can choose which world it will connect to through a dial setting. As with windows, it is not recommended to let a door stand open at any time (several have self-closing mechanism or magic to avoid this). The greatest danger is to get lost, since it is not sure you can get back in, once the door closes. Even with the time-shared doors it is not so simple, the reality you open a door to is in sync when the door is open, but it might be out of sync once it is closed, and you may end up with a though year ahead of you while waiting for the next opening hour in the Abode. Normally this is prevented through the use of pendants that will keep you at least partially synced. Still many think it is good use of time to leave it slightly out of sync, like leaving the Abode for a quarter of an hour to buy food at the local market for a couple of hours, or do a whole day shopping tour in the lunch break (in the latter case it is wise to include time for a nap if you want to last the rest of the day in the Abode).
Portals: These are permanent openings between other worlds, and sometimes planes, and they are not easy to close. There are several portals that are considered safe in the Abode, but even those will be an "open door" to any invasive force. When war has ravaged the Hyperborian world, the need for extra wards and physical barricades has been essential to the survival of the Abode (which is why the Hyperborian annex was built). Many of the portals in the Abode are heavily protected with alarms, wards and massive doors, some of them strong enough to stand against even the most powerful magic or technology, some of these are protected thus from both sides. There are emergency procedures to shut down a portal, that all the advanced student have to learn, but the Abode is dependent on portals to exist, so closing down to many could mean the end of the Abode, and its inhabitants, and opening a new portal between realities is difficult.
Visiting other realities: Before going out (through either a door or portal) and visiting another reality, it might be wise to get to know where you are going, and what is expected, or at least what is not expected. It might be a considered a bad day to get hunted down by a mob because you wore the false colours, or wrong money... Some places are very open and used to strangers, or even strange beings, and it is usually preferred to visit these. When visiting more advance cultures, and realities where suspicion rules (like "the Reich and the Crown"), great caution should be taken, and it is usually best to have a good guide (Alma knows the mentioned reality well, but it can be discussed if she would qualify as a safe guide), and a good backup story to explain things if you get cornered.
The "Labyrinth": Refers to a sealed of part of the Abode where several portals that are considered unsafe are located. One reason for the precaution is that magic can reach through these portals even if barred and warded, and some of these lead to places you wouldn't want to go unless you really, really, needed to. There also lurk other creatures of magic in this section, so it is unsafe on several accounts.
The Library: There are forbidden and secret sections in the library (apart from Old Magicians erotic collection) that contain tomes of dangerous magic. Unless you know what you are doing, you should avoid those. Men (and women) have lost their wits for less and it is known that some have lost limbs as well...
Guardians of the Abode: Apart from the pair of Sphinxes, who guard the main entrance to the library, and Cheetah who patrols the Abode, there are several animated statues whose main purpose is to protect the Abode. It is wise to never get into an argument with any of these, if they say you should move (or stay), there is probably a reason and rest assured, if they have to choose between you and the business of the Abode, you might as well never have existed.
That is some of the dangers of living in the Abode... Apart from the inhabitants...