[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/ytkwQgc.png[/img][/center] The library was dusty and old and filled with books that looked like they weighed a ton. Whoever lived in this house must have been an avid reader. Riley raised her jar of glowing jellyfish above her head and squinted at the books, trying to make out titles or author names. As a journalist in training, she believed that the books people read told others a lot about what they were like. Unfortunately, the books this person had weren't all to exciting and she rolled her eyes at all the boring titles. "The Existence of the Universe Explained by Oreo Milkshake." Well, at least the author had a really interesting name. Most of the books she found were encyclopedias and text books, so she guessed whoever owned the place was a curious individual. The kind of person who enjoyed mathematics on rainy days and philosophy on cloudy days. In other words, Hakuren, or a teacher, that worked too. It was pretty quiet and she heard the voices of the others slowly growing farther away, everyone seemed to be splitting up. The girl began looking around, wondering if anyone had decided to tag along. There didn't seem to be anyone else, but eventually a faint glow farther down several aisles caught her eye. It had to be one of them, since Avian handed them these glowing bottles. Riley made her way towards the faint glow only to see the dragon tamer strolling down one of the corridors. A mischievous grin made its way onto the girl's face and slowly, she began following after Leila. "Boo!" It wasn't exactly terrifying, but she figured the atmosphere would help her out. I mean, they were in an old mansion, one that was possibly cursed and all. "Hey dragon tamer," Riley grinned, "did you find anything interesting? The only thing I could find were text books and encyclopedias." She scrunched up her nose in distaste. She liked books, but honestly, textbooks weren't her favorite. The girl began walking around the corridor, her jar of jellyfishes tucked beneath one arm. "This place is really amazing, huh? It's like a giant maze. Almost like one of those libraries you see on medieval TV shows." The quiet girl managed to pique Leila's curiosity, at first she merely thought Leila was shy, but her stunt with the dragon pretty much changed everything. Quiet people were interesting, they rarely told people about what they were thinking and getting into their heads was a lot harder. "Hey," her eyes flitted from book to book. "Hey Leila, why did you get on the train? Lesley told me that he saw his acceptance letter and Vinvin," she was about to roll her eyes, but then it hit her like a sack of bricks, he was dead. Riley lost some of her cheer but tried not to let it show. "The guy saw girls and wine and as for me, I saw the job of my dreams." She gave Leila a smile. "So what did you see, dragon tamer?" Riley paced around with gestures that were almost comical. "Did you see a mountain of gold? The largest icepop in the world?" She popped up behind Leila looking like devious imp. "Maybe a devilishly handsome guy with a smile as bright as the sun and a rock hard six pack? C'mon, spill it." The girl placed both hands on the girl's shoulder and waited for Leila to say something, she definitely wasn't taking silence for an answer. Riley waited for Leila to speak then made her way towards a shelf that was propped up against one of the walls. Her eyes landed on a giant grey book on the fifth row, it looked ancient. "That looks interesting," Riley got on her toes and yanked the book out. As soon as she had, the shelf let out a low rumbling noise. It slid open, much like the doors of a train would, revealing a dark stairway that led to who knows where. "Secret entrances, ooh, how enticing." Riley held out her jar of jellyfishes before glancing at her partner in crime. "Should we take a look? It could lead us to some clues." [i]Or lock us in for all eternity.[/i] She shuddered at the thought but pushed it to the back of her mind. There was no time to fear, especially when one was in the presence of a dragon tamer. --- [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/tKFjLAr.png[/img][/center] Everyone was starting to split up. "If anything happens, we'll meet back here, okay?" The boy stared warily at their surroundings before his eyes landed on the jar in his hands. Several bugs buzzed around inside, smothering the darkness around him with a soft orange glow. It was comforting, but it wasn't enough to make him feel much better. Something about the mansion just screamed eerie and haunted, but they didn't really have a choice. The rain outside wasn't the kind of rain that one could walk in, it was the noisy kind that fell in torrents and made puddles go splash. Harper tucked the jar beneath one arm then felt the hilt of his sword with his free hand. The amulet on his neck began to glow a little and it helped him feel a little bit braver. They had survived a fight with a giant mushroom, had even rode a dragon, so there was no way they were giving up anytime soon. He looked around and noticed that most of his companions had already left in small groups and pairs. Harper deflated at the thought of looking around by himself. Oh well, he was just about to head towards the left wing when he noticed Ace looking at what seemed to be a small door. "Hey Ace," he made her way towards her with a smile. "Mind if I tag along?" Going alone wouldn't be the smartest choice on either of their parts, and he had to admit, Ace's courage was contagious and he'd need it in a place like this. She was probably one of the bravest people he had met and in a place like Nowhere, that was invaluable. "This place looks at least a hundred years old, don't you think?" He twisted the doorknob and pulled, there was a bit of resistance but after a forceful tug, the door creaked open, creating a cloud of dust. Harper sneezed then began swatting at the air with his free hand. He tucked his glow in the dark jar into his messenger bag, making sure that the top portion stuck out then switched on his flashlight. The dark room was filled with jars and all sorts of unrecognizable trinkets and machines. Deeper inside the room was a wooden staircase that led downward into darkness. It looked old and it didn't look safe at all. The boy shone his flashlight all over the room before focusing on the wooden steps. He didn't want to go there, he really didn't, but he couldn't let Ace go by herself either. "I think I saw a nice function room somewhere, so are we really going through with this?" He gave his friend a quizzical expression before regretting his question. This was the girl who leaped onto the dragon's head, the girl who ran into Yonder's city hall without so much of a protest. Of course, she was going to brave through this, there was almost no doubt about it. Harper steeled himself for the inevitable answer, as much as the unknown scared him, he would watch his friend's backs and they would all go home, together.