Dayea looked around hesitantly. She wasn't used to this dissapearing and appearing at random. She fingered her knife hilt. Who knew when the next duplicate would show himself.

((I'm leaving on Monday or Tuesday and won't be back until around the 24th of August so I may post once or twice during that time but it's not likely.))

Sylvia made a rude noise after Shono's comments and waved her hand dismissively at him. She continued to inspect the books, pulling some out and flipping through them.

"These barbarians may not know what a library is, but I do. My sister Floria had a truly lovely one. The bookshelves were built into the trunks of the trees in the heart of our forest. The thickest moss imaginable grew everywhere, it was lovely to lie on and read a book for days and days on end," Sylvia said, sounding almost wistful before her normal mocking tone returned. "Also, I work in a bookshop and we have more books on one shelf than you have in this whole room, so there."

Roj curiously began to look more about him. He was not very used to magic, and it startled him that he could be actually the object of magic.

After Sylvia's comment, Roj spoke up. "I know what a library is! The question is not What are we in, but Where is this library we are in? I mean - we're not in Ditto Town, are we?"

"Yes," Kari spoke up. "See, we've kind of been manipulated and stuck in a place that's far away from where we live. Which planet are we on?"

Xerec ran a hand over a nearby shelf and admired its texture. She had never been one for reading; instead she enjoyed experiencing, or acting. "Do you have a monster attacking your village?" Xerec asked nonchalantly.

Treasa bowed slightly toward Cosmi.

"You are very kind, young sir. Welcome to our library," Treasa said, smiling, before Isra turned her tittering laugh onto Sylvia.

"Our welcome extends to you also, then," Isra smirked, "since you have self-identified as not a barbarian. But be careful about lying on moss, if that is your bent. It may bite you. As for your workplace, I think Treasa should like to see such a bookstore--she would be quite happy at such a shop. I doubt it can have more books than we have here, though. You can get a human into full cardiac arrest just by making them take the stairs from the top floor to the bottom."

Treasa shook her head then paused, considering the next four questions that had been hurled at her, and gently put her papers down. After a sigh, she plopped onto a table and, swinging her feet from the edge, began to answer.

"To begin, no, you are not in Ditto Town. I am surprised that you even know what it is, it was destroyed many generations ago, even before my time. That world is now half ice, half fire. So, either you are from the past, or you are from an alternate timeline, or both. From what you, little miss," Treasa here pointed her chin at Kari for a moment, "are saying, I am inclined to think you are both from the past and from an alternate timeline. If someone wanted to get rid of you, the easiest way would be to send you into an alternate timeline in the future, since, well, that can't really be undone. At least, not without the help of some things that have been destroyed.

"However, that isn't really answering your questions. You are in the library of Annagda, on Sayanna, in the fourth quadrant of what you would probably have known of (in your time) as the Dit- or Ditto-topian Galaxy."

"Honestly, I'm surprised your civilization lasted as long as it did," Isra laughed. "How can any, if no one can even agree on what it is called? Anyway, what Treasa is telling you is, pretty much, you're stuck here. As for looking for monsters, that depends on who you ask. If you ask the right people, I'm a monster, and so is Treasa. Why are you looking for one? Do you need an adventure? If you are, Treasa and I are plotting one out right now."

Isra smirked again, then giggled, beginning to eye each member, trying to determine their race and their ability to handle adventures.

"What sort of adventure?" Tomas asked. He wasn't fond of any kind of "adventure", but he knew that planned adventures were generally less dangerous than the unplanned variety.

Cosmi refrained from lecturing Isra about the supposed bane of Dittopian society, while his author attempted to reach the 50 word limit.

"Well, I'm not exactly human," Sylvia said with what could best be described as a tinkling laugh. She made a face at Isra's back and went back to poking through the books.

Desdemona yawned hugely and let her fang face surface.

"Simon, darkling, I'm so huuungry. Bring me something ... juicy to sip, please.

"Then," Isra tossed her words over her shoulder to Sylvia, "you have nothing to worry about."

Treasa smiled and shook her head, beginning to sift through papers. "Well..." she began, then fell silent. Isra's head snapped suddenly to look at Desdemona and Simon. She smiled a....toothy smile, but then looked hurriedly at Treasa, then sent a very dark look in Desdemona's direction. Isra did not want her host being harmed.

Finally, Treasa began speaking.

"Long ago, right before your world was destroyed, two women, who were from the original races that lived here, before they began reconstructing our world, built a sort of amulet. This amulet was specifically designed to...well, to help people and to sort of 'program' two basic rules into the psyche of every individual born on this world--one, that they would be driven to succeed and two, that they would never kill another without reason. Well, several generations after the mutations began--oh!" Treasa paused. "I suppose you wouldn't know about that. Never mind. Anyway, several generations were born under this, and then the amulet disappeared. We have reason to believe it was deconstructed. After decades of careful research, we think we have discovered where--and how--to find and reconstruct it."

"What she's trying to say is, in short, we gotta retrieve something," Isra said, who had now stopped glaring at Desdemona, but had turned her gaze onto Simon. "And it happens to be in Kiotaie territory."

"Coyote?" Kari echoed Isra. "What is that? Some kind of tribe or something?" These people seemed very strange. Supposedly they were monsters, but they didn't seem so physically. Except that perhaps they seemed to have a lot of teeth. "Why are you guys considered monsters, anyways?"

"Shall we be given further instruction on how to complete our quest?" Xerec asked.

((BTW, Kiotaie is pronounced key-oh-tay ))

"Your quest? You mean our hunt, or did you come here on purpose to wreck havoc?" Isra tittered to Xerec then started playing with her nails. Treasa popped up on the table, swirled her feet around, and popped Isra in the arm with her toes.

"daobih! What?" Isra asked, smacking Treasa's foot.

"She asked you a question."

"Oh. The Kiotaie...well, they're the leftovers from the old world. Elemental-ish, most of the time look like fireflies or raindrops, and they're incredibly evil. They even smell evil. And they can disguise themselves to look like humans, and then they kill G'ni," --Isra pointed vaguely in Treasa's direction-- "Which isn't nice. And if we try to kill them instead, they're made of poison."

"Some of the Kiotaie are very nice, and great allies. However, it is hard to tell friendly ones from wild ones. I have a very good friend who is a Kioto*." Treasa added. "Our world is made up of four different races. Part of the problem with the amulet vanishing and being dismantled is the tribes don't balance each other out anymore. My tribe, the G'ni, and Isra's, the Bavre, are the only two that still balance each other. The Devrac and the Kiotaie aren't worth anything anymore. Anyway, if you wish to go with us when we start, we will be leaving shortly. If you need anything before we go, let me know. Actually," Treasa began to muse... "You could help us very much. My Kioto friend would keep you safe, and help you find the pieces. We can't go very far into their territory, Isra will get sick, and I won't be safe traveling alone. But if you get the pieces, we can possibly reassemble the pieces. You must understand, this could get you home safely. Reassembling the amulet would open the top level of the library, where The Honored Ladies kept their most valuable tools. It has a time/space continuum chamber. You go into it, think of where you want to go and be, and when you step out, you are there. That could jump into your timeline and time and get you home...Yes, that would be the best way to get you home. Will you help us?"

*Kioto is the singular masculine version of Kiotaie.

Kari absorbed the information. "What do you get if the amulet is reassembled?" She asked. "Is it just that everything will magically balance out?"

"That doesn't seem exactly fair." Xerec said thoughtfully. "Isn't it by choice that the Kiotaie and the other tribe have become evil? Is it out of their hands, or something like?"

Shono took all this in silently, it seemed that the others didn't take into consideration a few facts, first off, were these creatures telling the truth, secondly could this space and time distortion chamber jump universes. Because he was sure that the mansion had transported them to an alternate universe during this Game they were involved in.

Another thing to take into consideration, wouldn’t of the game master prepared for the Space and Time distortion chamber? I mean after all, it was his game and the rules left no reason for them to be allowed to jump out of it using the chamber.

While all this was going on in Shono’s mechanical head Matthews bio brain was utterly blank, and just taking in every thing. Before “How can we tell your telling the truth?” he asked out loud, minutes after Shono had thought it in his head, Shono facepalmed.

"That's quite a story to make up on the spot," Cosmi said slowly, still pondering it himself. "I think we can trust what they've told us. I believe them." He doubted if the device would really bring them back to their own universe, but they had to do something.

The Mouse glanced from Treasa to his master. Perhaps what she says is true, he thought. It's what she might not be saying that worries me. She seemed harmless, but then, so had Mona. Better to have one's fears dispelled than to be caught unawares.

"The amulet serves as the key to the Door that only the Honored Ladies passed through," Treasa replied. "Once it is opened, our research tells us that there are many devices that can be used to re-balance our world, you see."

"I don't think they do."

"Well, let me see if I can explain the history of the Honored Ladies. Perhaps that may help.
"The Honored Ladies are the last remnants of the old civilization that was on this world. When they were young, they were forcibly taken from their home. They were sisters, about ten years apart. Before either could return, almost the entire population was wiped from this world, courtesy of the Sith that had taken them. They had their revenge, and eventually returned to this world, to rebuild it. Between the two of them, they were able to, using the DNA of those passed on, to re-create the four basic people groups that had lived here previously."

"And they learned to create immortal genes," Isra added.

"At a price," Treasa murmured. "The elder Honored Lady, out of desperation, put those experiments to work too early, to save the younger when she fell ill. It had many bad results, and both sisters died shortly thereafter, before it could be undone. We don't know if it can be. But we do know that, once in the upper level of the library, we can find out. That was their workplace. And it has all the notes from their experiments."

Treasa paused, then looked to Xerec.

"I think that partly answers your question, too. And no race is any more evil than any other. They just have worse effects on some races than others. As for you,"--her gaze shifted to Matthew--"You may either believe us, or not. However, if you don't, do your best not to wander too far from the city."

"So...will you at least retrieve the first for us? There you will have a guide." Isra said, smiling.

with sweeetlilgurlie's permission

Kraid spun the knife through his fingers, as he always did when he was thinking hard.

He thought it perfectly logical to believe the women. After all, they were asking them to do a job...perhaps if they completed it, they could get out of here.

But then again they could be lying, death could be right around the corner.

He spun the knife faster and pondered between the two choices.

But he had already made up his mind, he would have to believe them if he was to have any chance of leaving.