[color=gray][quote=Celadon]“Don’t suppose you have any idea where it is we should go next to find more of those stones that lead us here, Elurra?” He then returned his focus to their host. “Any help you could provide would be most welcome.”[/quote]
[quote=Morrian]"I have no need to return. But I know I can't stay here." Morrian reasoned. He turned to glance toward their host Elurra. She had his attention.[/quote][quote=Mayonaka]"Hey, if you got nowhere else to go, why not come to my world? I could use a friend or two on my mission! If you don't mind a bit of danger that is!"[/quote][quote=Levi]"Excuse me. Sorry to intrude on your home, but please tell me how to take that path." His eyes were firm and determined. He would need to go back to his home eventually, and he needed to know how.[/quote][quote=Ellis]"I'm in no rush to get back home, that's for sure. But, I would rather be somewhere much warmer."[/quote][quote=Felix]"Eh, shite must've been a bad dream. Snow in the middle of August who-," he thought then peered up to the individuals around him. His eyes widened as he immediately saw the giant walking lizard. "What the bloody hell!" he sputtered out. He stood up, back against the wall.[/quote][/color]

Elurra's concerned eyes were drawn to the shouting man -- the one who stared fearfully at Morrian with a terror he had every right to feel -- and she gestured quietly toward the hearth. [color=lightgreen]"You are quite safe, I assure you,"[/color] she told Felix in a gentle voice. [color=lightgreen]"Please, come warm yourself by the fire. Your home has been left far behind, I am sorry to say."[/color] She scanned the faces of the rest of her guests. [color=lightgreen]"But should you all agree to work together . . ."[/color]

Her voice trailed off, and she crooked a finger at the little robot at the door.

The robot shut the door, sealing out the chilling winds, and whirred and clicked its way across the floor to stand next to Elurra. She knelt beside the little automaton.

[color=lightgreen]"Keep still, my dear friend. I must borrow your heart."[/color]

She took hold of the compass at the robot's chest and turned it with a click. The robot's glowing eyes flickered and went out; its limbs stiffened and the whirring stopped. Elurra pulled out a complicated device that fit in the grip of her hand. It was a messy but beautiful arrangement of little gears and sprockets and springs, secured by encasements of copper and gold. At its center, the needle of the ornate compass pointed steadily toward the closed door.

Elurra stood, and she showed the device to the collected company. [color=lightgreen]"This is called the Chroniker,"[/color] she explained. [color=lightgreen]"There is nothing else like it in all the universes. It has the capability to transport you to a random world."[/color]

Anyone who wished to take a closer look was allowed to do so. There was a wide slot in the top of it, and a permanently fastened turnkey at the side of the compass. Underneath the smooth underside of the Chroniker was a wide button. When pressed, several metallic bands emerged from the device and wrapped around whatever was pressed against it, securing the device in place. A twist of the compass released it.

[color=lightgreen]"But it cannot work on its own. In order to activate it, you must acquire a Vanishing Stone. I trust you all know the stone of which I speak. It will have been the last thing you touched before you arrived here.

"There is only one Vanishing Stone in every world. The compass points the way. When a Stone is placed into the slot and the key turned, you -- and anyone touching you -- will be taken to another world. For those of you who wish to see home again, it is possible that one of those random worlds will be your own."[/color]