Dust motes swirled through the shafts of sunlight that managed to filter in through the windows, stirred into a frenzy as a young elvin woman pushed open the heavy wooden door to the library , and stood still for a moment, pausing for just a few heartbeats as she allowed her eyes to adjust to the comparatively dimmer light of the building's interior. Elma Telthris, as she was known, stood at just shy of six feet by an inch,, making her not the tallest of her race, but she Felt as if she stood out in a crowd of humans like a beacon whenever she was among them. She had a long wirey build, but portrayed a gentle evidence of muscles even through the soft green fabric of her tunic and leather jerkin. Her skin was lightly sun kissed, telling of many days spent out in the light of day, with a few scars evident along her forearms, the backs of her hands, and one small vertical white line on the bottom left side of her chin. Her hair, long and straight, was a pale blonde streaked through with the faintest of pastel greens, and was currently, as was her usual preference, pulled back into a French braid starting at the midpoint of the back of her head and fell to just above her hips. Bangs framed her angular face, of which had high cheekbones common among Elves, but had a pointed chin and a long nose that were all her own. Beneath arching eyebrows, her eyes were slanted almond shapes that were a light forest green in color that gradually changed into a cornflower blue around their pupils. These were currently a light with curiosity as she finally moved into the room, closing the door softly behind her.

The smell of dust, parchment, leather, ink, and wood polish made for a pleasant mixture of smells in the air as Elma began to weave her way through the bookcases, though part of her preferred the woodsy smell of a forest over the smell of a library, she still had to concede that this sort of atmosphere had its own charms. Running her fingertips along a few of the spines of The leather bound pages as she walked by, the elf enjoyed the soft texture beneath the pads of her fingers immensely, even as her gaze flickered around continuously in search of other occupants of the building. In particular, she searched for a man called Matthias. Instinctively it seemed, her free hand reached up to touch the exterior of a message satchel bound to her waist as the name crossed her mind. Inside, nestled up against her own letter, lay a thick parchment envelope sealed with a wax crest of the royal family of Elethrian, the name of King Microm inscribed above the red wax. She had been surprised when the king over the human kingdom had not only sent her a message requesting her aid in a rather dire circumstance, but even more so when he continued on to request her assistance with recruiting someone else to the cause, including the letter to the unknown Matthias to help with the persuasion process.

Shadowy creatures had been steadily moving down from the north, twisted abominations that ravaged cities and villages unbiasedly, only a handful of survivors managing to escape to bring news of the attacks, babbling about twisted monsters and rotting corpses. It was unclear what the source of the creatures was, Who controlled them, who summoned them. But it was painfully clear that whoever was behind the attacks, they thirsted after destruction. Elma had been specifically sought out to investigate The source of the abominations, urged to seek out who was behind the chaos, And somehow, this Mathias would somehow be able to help her. Stomach twisting with apprehension and uncertainty at her ability to accomplish such a task, the young elvin woman came around yet another empty corridor of bookcases, frustrated somewhat by the lack of another living soul. Holding back a heavy sigh, Elma finally lifted her voice to call out in an accented soprano lilt, "Matthias? Hello?"

For a moment, it seemed like her speaking up had had no consequence. However, just as some feelings of doubt could have risen to the surface, the noise of a heavy book slamming shut dimly echoed from somewhere among the shelves, followed by the less noticeable sound of a leather belt tightening around something. "Matthias might be at his office, lady", could be heard from the same direction, spoken in a rough voice, almost like someone was intentionally trying to sound as old as the bookcases filling the building. "But worry not, I'll go fetch him. Said he was not to be disturbed, but if you have the need to call for him by name, guess it outweighs restoring that book's binding. Just don't go too far from where you now are so I'll find you again." And then whoever this person was made off, the sound of his footsteps now breaking the near perfect silence of the place.

For a good while after the footsteps had faded away there was nothing. Light filtered in through the windows and the ambient creaking of shelves Not a moment too soon however, two pairs of footsteps approached. The other sounded distinctively like the earlier one while the new addition had a much slower pace in their walk. "I still cannot fathom what business they could have with me directly", a voice leagues smoother than the one that belonged to the faster paced walker wondered. The two stopped every now and then to check if they had missed someone between the shelves, but their search drew slowly but surely closer to the visitor. Finally the taller figure saw the elf and approached her.

Standing about three steps away from the visitor, Matthias had to confess that this someone was longer than them, which was not all that common an occurrence to this man who had grown accustomed to looking at others in a slightly downward facing angle thanks to his length of five feet and three inches. He was not currently dressed in the librarian's robes people usually saw him around the library as he had chosen to have only a brief pause in the restoration of the book to find out what it was all about and thus was still dressed in his less presentable attire of a long-sleeved beige tunic and brown woven pants. His pale skin and short, almost soldier-like black and oily hair had a funny contrast going on, and his dirt-brown eyes scanned the visitor up and down. Behind the librarian skulked a dwarf that could be not be even four feet tall, covered in the sky blue librarian robes with a distinctively book shaped cloth pouch flung over his shoulder and held up by a thick leather belt. "My colleague here informed me that someone was looking for me around here and if I am not mistaken that would be You. I am Matthias in case we have not met before, but as you knew me by name, I'll have to guess I have regrettably forgotten who I am conversing with. Please pardon the attire, I happen to be in the middle of fixing things", he stated with a friendly smile and waited to see what she had to tell.

A small jump ran through Elma's muscles as the book was unexpectedly slammed shut, her hand instinctively flying to her belt as if expecting to grasp a sword hilt, But of course, she had courteously left her weapons behind at the inn she was staying at, So her hand fell on smooth leather instead. But just as quickly as she had reacted as if to a threat, the voice put her concerns back in perspective, the overreaction giving color to her cheeks with embarrassment. She was glad the speaker was out of view, it would give her time to get rid of the blush before she came face to face with anyone. Listening as the steps receded, the elf released a long sigh, leaning her back against one of the nearest bookcases and tilting her head back against a shelf. At least it appeared that she had located Matthias accurately in any case.

By the time that the footsteps could be heard again, Elma had managed to get the color back to normal in her cheeks and had even begun to Peru's the titles of the nearest books, once again running her fingers over the soft leather spines. She tilted her head up though at the sound of a new voice, one which she hoped belonged to Matthias. Straightening up, she pivoted around just in time to see a man coming around one of the bookcases, a shorter dwarf following close behind him. Feeling a little more chagrined at the staggered difference in all of their heights that she couldn't quite suppress before the thought crossed her mind, Elma held back an impulse to sigh as she focused on the human.

"I am indeed The one who was searching for you. Greetings Master Matthias. We have not been formally introduced thus far. I am called Elma Telthris." she responded, pressing a fist respectfully to her chest and giving a small bow. "my apologies on interrupting your work, but I have a message for you that is of the utmost importance." As she said this, Elma unfastened the latch on her message satchel and slid her hand inside, locating the unopened envelope and offering it to the librarian. "The sender is someone you might know. The king." She added, a smile twitching up the corners of her lips.

Being called a master had Matthias surprised. Nobody had ever called him that if his memory served correctly, so it was rather flattering to hear it. "A pleasure, lady Telthris", Matthias replied while mirroring her gesture. She was quick to inform him of the reason of her visit and before Matthias could really even start figuring out who would have anything important to tell him, she was already offering him the sealed envelope. The wax seal... Matthias would have sworn he was not seeing what he believed he was seeing, but the visitor just had to confirm that his eyes were still in working condition. The king had sent him a message.

"Th... The one time I greet a visitor in less official manner... The one time I..." Matthias was not too far from a breakdown on that particular moment. He had not been prepared. Nevertheless, the damage, if there had been any, had already been done and if he wanted to avoid any further embarrassment before the messenger's eyes he'd have to stitch his act together. He cleared his throat and made a point on acting as natural as he could. "I cannot say I would really know the man who wears the crown too well but...", he started as he took the envelope, "the crown holds authority, and I certainly know who I should and will listen to." A nervous smile made a brief appearance on his face as he said those words. Was he really this stressed only by his choice of apparel? They could even judge those words to be treason!

It would be an excellent idea to find out what the letter was about anyway, so he made the choice of unceremoniously tearing the envelope open and reading what the authority would have of him. For all the time his eyes darted back and forth across the letter, his face kept turning more and more into a shape that portrayed how he simply could not believe what he was reading. And as he reached the end of it all, he let his arms fall on his sides and his posture slumped down somewhat. "I cannot believe this..." he blurted out before darting upright again and rising the monarch's order to chest level. "How can the information here be true? Where can all of this be coming from... Were it not for the seal, I would surely claim you jest lady Telthris", Matthias gathered his thoughts and continued: "Although by the looks of things, I'll be finding out the answer to my questions first-handedly. But if you will excuse me, I would like to finish the restoration work on the book before leaving. It will likely take another hour or two... You may join me if you'd like. I'm past the most concentration intensive parts, and I would love to have a chat about this... subject." Matthias made a quick look in the dwarf's direction before turning to face him and saying "Thank you for your assistance Bogar, but you should return to your own duties." And with that, he turned back to his new acquaintance.

Being called Lady Telthris was quite an interesting sensation in turn, making Elma feel as if she needed to look back over her shoulder to see if her mother had walked up behind her. But The title was complementary in a way, The experience was not something she had encountered before. It made her smile in a way that made the corners of her eyes crinkle. And then she was smiling for a completely different reason as she watched the ever-changing expression on Matthias's face as his earthen colored eyes traveled down the parchment in his hand. She was quite sure that she had had a similar look of incredulity on her own face when she had first read her own letter... Trying not to let out the laugh that bubbled up in her chest, attempting to look more like the part of an official messenger even though she wasn't,Elma could only manage a small lifting and fall of her shoulders in response to the questions that Mathias peppered her with and gave her had a gentle shake. She knew just as much about the subject matter as he did, Which wasn't much at all.

"I don't mind waiting for you to finish your restoration project. It sounds fascinating... And I could use some time off my feet. I've been traveling all day." She admitted, very aware of the ache in her feet as she reminded them of the long walk they had had earlier. Smiling politely as the dwarf was dismissed, she took a step forward, ready to follow the library and to his office.

Lady Telthris stayed quiet for most of the time Matthias spent questioning the contents of the message, merely shrugging at his remarks, but she finally spoke again to respond to his request of finishing the restoration work. Matthias let loose a short laugh and replied: "Oh, it is probably not half as interesting as you think it is. But who knows, maybe to somebody who is not doing it for the hundredth time it might actually prove to be something new and exciting. We'll see." With that, he started to walk back to the room where he had left his work. Hopefully Jones had not encountered any trouble with keeping the glue heated. As stitching the pages to place would not be an option due to most of the pages still being intact, the few exchanged pages had to be glued to the back.

It took some time to reach the back of the library where they came to a large wooden door. The door was decorated to some degree with carvings, but it was nothing spectacular. The most noteworthy thing on the door had to be the parchment in a frame of sorts that conveyed a simple message: Only the library officials were allowed beyond this point. "We are nearly there", Matthias remarked as he pulled the handle. While the large keyhole in the door could have suggested otherwise, it didn't seem like the door was even locked. As he held the door open for the elf, Matthias politely gestured for her to go first. Once she had passed him, he closed the door behind them and took the lead once more.

Not long after walking along several nondescript hallways they arrived at one door much like all the others. It was a wooden door with nothing more than what was necessary, and if Matthias had not memorized the path to his little office he could easily have come to the wrong door. He knocked on the door, and immediately one could hear someone shuffling inside. In a moment that someone opened the door, and exchanged a few words with Matthias: "So am I done now?" "I would say so. Thanks again. I have some news for the other librarians once I'm done with this restoration... and that is why I have this fine elf lady with me here now. Please try and gather everyone." "I'll see what I can do..." the man finished with a puzzled undertone in his voice as he squeezed past the two and made his way in the direction they had come from. Matthias made a beeline to the gluepot, making a few stirring motions with the wooden stick and then took a quick look at the book and the pages. "Please do close the door after you, will you?" he requested and lifted the small pot onto a stand on his table.

"I believe we have much to discuss lady Telthris", he began as he sat down and pulled gloves on. "If I am not mistaken, we are not on level ground when it comes to knowledge about the situation. While I might be wrong, if your ladyship has anything to share it would be greatly appreciated." Matthias paused for a moment as he examined one of the many pages he'd have to attach and compared it with the open spread on the book before applying glue to one of the many sides of the page. "And I also wonder why his majesty wanted to request me specifically. Lady Telthris, is such information Yours to share?"

In all honesty, restoring an old book might have had its dull moments to most, and Elma silently admitted even her enthusiasm over the idea might wane eventually, but she loved the idea of working with her hands, using her own creativity and experience to make something better. She ran the pad of her thumb across an intricate pattern of branches and leaves tooled into the leather along the bottom edge of her jerkin, remembering fondly the long hours that it had taken her to put them there. Lips curling up into a smile, the elvin woman trailed after Matthias is he first led her through the rows of stocked shelves and then into a set of hallways that gave her the impression of being trapped within a maze. It was a wonder how anyone found their way back here, with every door looking so alike. But Matthias steered their course confidently and seemingly without hesitation, stepping up to one of the doors and giving a knock.

A rather flustered man answered the door, inquiring almost immediately if he was done with whatever job he had been assigned with. A few words were exchanged, several curious glances were thrown in her direction, and then the man was hurrying away, leaving the office to Matthias and Elma. The smell of hot glue permeated the room, intensifying somewhat as Elma shut The door behind her as instructed, catching her interest. She watched the head librarian move over to the pot of what she assumed was the glue, One of his hands reaching out to give the liquid a few experimental stirs, before he settled himself into the seat behind the desk and began his work. Glancing around the rest of the room, she hesitated for only a moment before claiming one of the other chairs situated on her side of the desk, unable to stop the audible sigh that passed through her lips as she took her weight off of her feet. Settling back into the chair, she watched as Matthias carefully selected one of the delicate pieces of parchment and began to apply glue along its inner edge. But then he called her Lady Telthris again and she grimaced slightly at the sound of it.

"Please. You may simply call me Elma." She insisted, giving him a look that clearly stated she was not going to settle for otherwise. "From what I can tell, we are going to be spending a lot of time together in the foreseeable future, and I don't feel like spending that time continually looking over my shoulder to see if my mother has come upon us." She smiled, though the look in her eyes stubbornly continued to convey that this was one insistence that she would not budge on. And before any objection, if there were such objections, could be raised, Elma folded her hands together and her lap and gave her head a thoughtful tilt. "I wouldn't say that I hold an excessive amount of knowledge on our task, But I did not read your letter, So I cannot say for sure that the King gave us the same information. From my own request, it appears that some sort of demonic or enchanted creatures have appeared in the north and are terrorizing the villages..." A frown creased her brow. "I myself work as a ranger, a guard for hire in most instances, and I asked others in my company that had traveled north if they had seen anything unusual. Only one, Naia, confessed to seeing a figure from a distance, a huge hulking sort of beast that was shaped like a man but seemed... lopsided somehow." She gave her shoulders a delicate shrug. "I have no information beyond that. I don't know the source of the stories, the creatures, or why the king would think that one such as yourself would be qualified to go on such a quest. I am not even privy to the knowledge of why he would think someone like myself would be qualified, either. I can only guess.

Matthias had to say that he was somewhat surprised by the sudden request of simply referring to lady Telthris by her first name. He had thought elves were proud of their family names and usually preferred them... maybe his information had been wrong for some reason. Maybe misguided, perhaps old... Nevertheless, if that was her wish, so it would be. Before he could tell her that he would be trying to remember that from now on though, she did tell him what she knew of the errand the King had for them. It was rather puzzling... but in a certain corner of his memory, small bells were rang. Old memories were brought to surface, as Matthias' limited knowledge of necromancy raised its head. This sure did sound like something that could be related... He had no solid ground for this, but given the speculations... could be. Could be. He'd share this concern once the time would be right.

"Intriguing, very much so. Elma... and forgive me if I slip back to surnames out of habit, you know the things they say about librarians, I can somewhat guess why we are chosen. I am a man of knowledge, and you seem to be one capable of handling yourself in the wilds which I have limited, if still useful, knowledge of. I won't die if left alone, but I won't progress too quickly either is what I mean to say. Just so you know your working partner on some level", Matthias kept on speaking as he placed the pages on their places with old routine. The smell emanating from the little pot bothered him as it always did. It was not the most pleasant of them all and it could take weeks to get it out of the office, but at least it wouldn't be his problem anymore. Still, he wondered why one never got used to it.

"Would you, and I assume I may just say you as we are on a first name basis even if it was rather quick, please tell me a little about your talents? I may share that I am indeed a 'Cryomancer' as they call me, frost is my thing. You would not believe the puns people make of it though, but I guess others have to deal with that too, no matter what kind of magic it is. I could give an example, but I'd rather not. They are mostly terrible", he went on, and finally shut his mouth. One one one was his kind of conversation, that was for sure, but this was on it's merry way to being a monologue if he did not let Elma have a word.