After a short visit and distracted meditation at Stonehaven Shrine, you feel the bite of the cold enough to make snow fall. It’s hard to stay out for too long. You urge Talik to come with you to the back of the Shrine. "The Guardian showed us an entrance to the underground cavern and a passage to the Library of the Arcanum. It's just behind these boulders."

You both push through the snow-covered rocks, revealing a hidden mechanism. The cold has slowed it down, and it groans in protest as you manipulate it. Finally, with a loud creak, the entrance opens, revealing a narrow, spiraling staircase descending into the earth.

The journey down is quiet at first, the only sound being the soft crunch of your footsteps on the stone steps. The walls around you glow with a faint purple light, growing more intense as you descend. When you reach the bottom, you find yourself in a vast chamber lit by the ethereal glow of the etheria tree. Its branches, withdrawn for the winter, cast intricate shadows on the cavern walls.

"Beautiful, isn’t it?" you remark, barely taking in the grandeur as your mind is elsewhere.

Talik nods, but her eyes are already fixed on the passageway ahead. "Yes, but we need to keep moving. We can’t be distracted now."

As you make your way past the great tree and along the passageway under the city, Talik breaks the silence. "Do you think Delrona, the water witch, is truly gone?"

You hesitate, the memory of Delrona’s last stand still fresh in your mind. "I hope so. She was powerful, and what she did... I never thought a mage from Kath could turn so bad."

Talik sighs, her voice tinged with frustration. "She wasn’t just a mage from Kath. She was one of the best. It's embarrassing to admit that one of our own could fall so far."

"It’s more than embarrassing," you say, your tone heavy with remorse. "It's a failure. A failure of our training, our teachings. How mages miss the signs?"

Talik stops and turns to you, her expression fierce. "It won’t ever happen again. We can’t let it. Mages aren’t infallible, but we have to believe in our training, in the teachings of Ky. We’ll learn from this."

You look at her, seeing the resolve in her eyes, but also the underlying fear. "I want to believe that, Talik. I do. But it’s hard to shake the feeling that we could have done something differently. That we should have seen it coming."

Talik places a hand on your shoulder, a rare gesture of comfort from her. "We all feel that way. But we can’t let it paralyze us. We have to keep moving forward."

You nod, appreciating her words even if they don’t fully soothe your guilt. "You're right. We have to keep going."

At last, you reach the door to the Library of the Arcanum. It stands tall and imposing, made of ancient oak and reinforced with iron bands. Intricate carvings of magical symbols and runes adorn its surface, and a faint glow emanates from the keyhole.

Talik steps forward and places her hand on the door, murmuring an incantation. The door responds with a soft click, and it slowly swings open, revealing a vast hall bustling with hundreds of mages, healers, and warriors, all in pursuit of knowledge and learning. Some are deep in conversation about their fields of study, while others engage in heated philosophical debates and arguments.

In the center of the great hall stands a massive etheria tree, its core wrapped around a time crystal as large as a building. The crystal pulses with an inner light, casting a mesmerizing glow over the entire chamber. Two rivers of fresh water pour into the room via an aqueduct and form a delightful waterfall and create a calming "shoosh" to the busy and cavernous room. Mister Minz had made the waterfalls a non-negotiable in the design of the library when its plans were first drafted. A flight of hundreds of stairs leads from the floor of the great hall up to two imposing doors: the entrance to the Tome Vault circled with a huge disk engraved with symbols of the geometry of the islands. The circular disk reflects the light of the winter sun into the room making the cold space feel warm and light. 

You observe the goings-on and stand back in awe of the room, taking in the vibrant energy and activity. Then you spy the stairs. "We are going up there!" you declare, determination filling your voice.

Talik nods, her eyes following your gaze. "Let's get to it," she says, walks towards the stairs. "Not that way, say loud enough for her to hear but not others, "someone will see us, follow me!" And you begin your surreptitious ascent towards the Tome Vault via a passage at the base of the waterfall.

Why did you think Mister Minz made the waterfalls a requirement in the design of the building. Add the correct answer to Thy Quests Below to move on. 

Next: E9Q1 Mister Minz