“Follow me!” Amber called out enthusiastically after we finished lunch.
“The study is this way.”
We followed Amber to a hallway on the left wing of her mansion. There, about halfway through, there was a large double door on the left that she pushed open and waved us in.
“Where are we?” I asked the moment I walked through the door.
We were standing in a large room full of shelves with books with a very large table at the center. It all looked like some sort of library and, looking at the shelves, it seemed some books were really, really old.
“This, Zephyria, is my father’s study. He did all his research in here.” She walked through the room and disappeared between 2 bookshelves.
“Just hold on a moment,” a muffled voice came from the other side of the shelves.
Suddenly we heard something like wood snap and a big noise of things falling prompted us to run towards Amber. When we looked around the corner we saw Amber on her back, buried under a mountain of books.
“I might have been a bit too heavy for the shelf to hold me it seems,” she said awkwardly.
After cleaning up a bit Amber picked up some specific books and we went back to the large table in the center.
“Look at these books,” Amber started seriously. “These are the books I have found so far that mention things about gods and heaven. Which is what my parents talked about as well.”
Amber ordered the books and pointed to Lucian
“Lucian, would you be so kind as to take that book and check if you can find anything in there that I might have missed?”
For the next 4 days, we went through hundreds of books to find hints of Ambers parent's research on the Celestial Plane. We found small bits of paragraphs that could have been small hints or parts of the research but nothing conclusive. Lucian did find some texts that Amber misinterpreted and were more related to the research than she thought, but in the end, didn’t make it any more useful.
During our time searching for clues I was working as one and a half person. The final half was constantly monitoring the flow of Aether. Zephyria has a keen sense when comes to Aether and from her point of view I could often notice enemies approaching way before they could catch us by surprise. During our training on our journey, my senses have gotten better and better. They are now at a point where I can notice where people or animals are that are in a certain area around me without much trouble.
During the time we were researching, the unknown people that were surrounding us never really moved or came close to the mansion. It was almost like they were monitoring us. But on the fourth day, something changed.
“Yes!” Zeph suddenly called out. “I think I got something!”
We all rushed towards him to see what he found.
Amber being there first jumped with joy. “What did you find?! Tell me, tell me”. She couldn’t contain her excitement. All that hard work might pay off now.
When standing around Zeph he started to explain what he found.
“Apparently, your parents were really close to finding the location of the entrance to, what they called, heaven. Though later on” Zeph flipped some pages forward “Here… It says Celestial Plane. So that must indicate that they found out the name and maybe possible location.” Zeph flipped some more pages. “When you read this text here and combine it with the text earlier, it indicates that they were really close.”
While Zeph was reading through the texts I noticed that the back cover looked off.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“Zeph, check out the back cover. Something’s off about it.” Though this remark gave me some weird looks, Zeph kept looking at the book.
Zeph flipped the back and opened the book from the back. To our surprise a layer that was glued to the back of the cover let go completely and revealed a small secret hole. Within it, we found a small folded note.
Zeph picked it out of the hole and gave it to Amber. “Here, you should be the one to read what it says.”
Amber took the note and once she unfolded it her eyes sprang open wider than ever before.
“What is it Amber? Does it say anything about the Celstial plane?” Lucian asked.
Amber looked at us and nodded. “It looks like they found the general location of the gate and they most likely just went for it. The area isn’t that big so they would most likely find it pretty soon. That is if it really existed.”
Amber sat down and started reading the note:
“
Incredible news!
During today's excavation at Sylvari Sanctum, a site far to the east of Alora in the mountainous area of the Crystal Cascades that has long intrigued us, there are promising indications that we may have uncovered the physical entrance to the celestial plane. The artifact and symbols found at the site align closely with the ancient texts and myths we've been studying.
The intricately carved symbols on the artifacts seem to correspond with what we have seen before. The architecture surrounding the area suggests a place of great significance and power. In the myths and legends, the artifact is shown to give those who have it immense power. Our research, however, indicates this power lies not in a physical or magical manifestation but in what it opens. As I have concluded this artifact to be a key to the Celestial Plane.
“
Before Amber finished the note, I sensed the group of unknown people scatter.
No longer sensing any of them I waited for Amber to finish before throwing in a warning.
“Guys, can I interrupt you for a moment? The people that were keeping an eye on us have all moved away and I can’t sense any of them anymore. I think we better prepare for something happening tonight.”
My senses were at full alert and my mind was racing. Thinking of all the scenarios that could unfold. Zeph started to discuss what we could do for the servants and maids. We didn’t want them to get hurt in the crossfire.
“I have a saferoom down in the basement. I will instruct all the people in the mansion to go there right away.” Amber finished and left the study.
“Zeph it will be best if you and Zephyria go to your own rooms. I will hide myself in the room next to Zeph. That way I can help out faster and surprise them if I can.”
Me and Zeph nodded in agreement. “But don’t do anything reckless ok?!” Zeph urged.
“Yeah, Yeah, I can handle myself you know.” Lucian winked as he left the room.
While we walked through the main lobby, getting a good look at where everything was, Amber came down the stairs.
“All servants are on their way to the basement room now. I think we are all set for tonight. What time is it now?” Amber turned around to look at the clock. “Ok, it is 7 pm right now. Usually around this time of year the sun sets at around 9pm so we probably have some time before darkness falls”
“Good,” I replied. “I have a question though. The note we found talked about an artifact. Do you know where it is?”
Amber looked questioningly. “uhm. I believe it is somewhere in the basement vault.”
I already had my suspicions.
“Wait, is the basement directly underneath the study by any chance?”
Amber looked surprised at this comment. “Yeah, how did you know?”
“All the ruins of the ancient civilization that we have passed had a small hint of Aether coming from. It isn’t much and I only noticed it when I fell against a wall when we traveled through a ruin. But I recognized the distinct Aether it released. During our work in the study, I noticed the same Aether coming from directly below the room. And I believe I know why these people might be here.”
Amber was confused now. She probably knew about the existence of the artifact but never noticed anything. Her parents probably never even mentioned anything about it either and it must be a key to something else, but not the Gate they went to and lost their lives at.
“The moment the note talked about the ‘symbols corresponding with the research’ it seemed to be a cue to move. My guess is, that they are after whatever myth or legend they believe to be linked to that artifact. But now that we know that it might be a key as well, we can’t let it fall into their hands”
Zeph turned around and walked to the door. “You 2 go and check if that artifact is in the vault. I will stand watch in case something happens sooner than we expect. We have no clue what that key can do so we must protect it. If it is our ticket into the Celestial plane, I will do anything to protect it.”