Ernest ran her fingers over the inscription on the door, knowing that it probably contained a clue to how to enter, but unable to read it. She was studying it a final time when she noticed that one of the letters was raised slightly above the others. Hoping quietly that it wouldn't kill her, she pushed the letter into the door. The doors swung open. 

"Well, that worked," she said, somewhat surprised. She entered the door, and walked down the hallway, trying to keep from getting distracted by the carvings. They were so intricate, though! And they appeared to be telling a story. She didn't think she had the background to be able to tell what it was, but as she walked farther down the hallway, she thought she saw Angela represented a few times in the sculpture.

There was a book on a pedestal standing at the end of the hallway, but Ernest mostly ignored it. It was what was beyond that she had come for. The compendium of knowledge in this temple, that was what she wanted to see. She suspected it was beyond this archway.

As she walked into the room beyond, she stopped dead with astonishment. It was filled with books and books of books, stretching as far as the eye could see. She stared around, trying to see if there was anything else. Her eyes alighted on the glass plates. Perhaps those would do something special. She didn't think there would be any death traps in a temple.

Walking up to one of the plates, she reached out and laid a hand on it. Nothing happened. Staring closer, she stepped onto the edge of one of them, ready to jump off if need be. The plate flashed with a rune, and before Ernest could react, the plate started moving upward.

Had Ernest been a little more trusting, she would have been fine. As it was, she tumbled off the edge of the plate, landing in an awkward heap on her back, bag several feet away, hoping against hope that no one had been watching her.

The clattering from out in the Temple Library was not lost on Adraejen from where he was tending to his pets in the Conservatory, and Tar Eisalae was quick to let him know that they had a visitor. The huge Arriese Hydra he had been feeding nipped at his robes with its three large heads affectionately, and Drae scratched all three heads beneath the chin before he brushed himself off and headed back towards the archway. As he passed by the icy climate where the living snowman, alpaca, and evergreen ent moved around in the enchanted snow, he paused and conjured a huge elk carcass which he flung into the enclosure where it was immediately snapped up by a rather grumpy looking Boreas Dragon. He often wondered why the dragon didn't just eat the alpaca. However,  he was also aware that the mistletoe that the alpaca carried around was toxic, and thought maybe the dragon didn't feel like being poisoned. It was either that, or the dragon didn't mind being constantly pestered for a smooch. 

Adraejen left the Conservatory and walked back into the Temple Library, where he noticed a young woman had fallen off one of the levitation plates. He walked up to her and offered her a hand. Shockingly, he realized he actually recognized her. 
"I do hope you didn't hurt yourself," he said apologetically. "The levitation plates can give a start to those who aren't expecting it," he said. "Now, what can I do for you, Ernest? It is Ernest right? I've seen you around the Awakening Gardens with Angela," he commented, explaining how he might have known her. 

Ernest blushed beet red. She opened her mouth to say something, but her mind seemed to have forgotten how to form words. She sat there blinking for a second, somewhat confused and very embarrassed.

"I remember you being taller," she finally got out. Where had that come from? She had no idea. "Sorry. That was random." She blushed again, and used his outstretched hand to pull herself up, glad to stop talking for a second.

When her brain finally started working again, she grinned, somewhat nervously, and said, "Yeah, I'm Ernest. And I'm all right, thanks. I was just trying to find something that wasn't books, and I thought the plates might hold something." She took a few steps and grabbed her bag. "Like this thing." She pulled out her record orb. It floated into the air a few inches above her hand and she had the distinct impression that it was mad at her.

"Sorry to be so disruptive," she said. "I wasn't meaning to cause such a ruckus."

Drae chuckled and pulled her to her feet. "Don't worry about it," he reassured her. He watched Ernest and listened. 

"Ah, well the plates don't hold knowledge per-se. They levitate, and take people to the other levels of the Library if they don't feel like climbing the stairs," Drae explained. He looked at the orb that floated above Ernest's hand. He lightly picked it up and looked it over. "A record orb," he said with interest as he looked hers over. "It seems to me you've been neglecting yours," he said. "Don't worry about the noise. We get worse than that when people come to practice or when there are mishaps in the Alchemy labs," he reassured her. 

"Now, I do keep record orbs. But it all depends on what exactly you are looking for," he said. He motioned to the Codex. "The Codex can lead you to anything you are looking for. All you have to do is tell it what you are looking for," he told her. 

Ernest laughed. "I really should learn not to be more careful around things like this," she said, gesturing to the plates. "You would think I'd learn." She raised an eyebrow. "How does one take care of record orbs?" she asked. "I didn't know they needed anything. This one just followed me around." With a rueful grin, she added, "Knocked me over the head a few times, too, trying to get my attention."

She turned to look at the Codex. It looked just like another book to her, but she knew better than to assume. With magic objects, you could never tell. She studied it for a moment. "I don't know how to say what I want to say," she said. "Is there anywhere that says, well, what we don't know, almost? You see, I'm an explorer, and if I'm not able to travel the whole world, I want to explore the unknown parts of it first. How would you look for something like that?"

"Record orbs are pretty easy to care for," he said. "Usually they only bother the person that they belong to, typically when they haven't been used in a while. They thrive best and remain happiest when their owners use them regularly, even if to just record simple musings or daily activities," he said. He lifted his hand to the orb and it floated in to his hand. He pulled a soft cloth from his pocket and simply rubbed the crystal orb's surface until it was shiny. "They also love being polished every once in a while," he added simply before he released the orb and it flew back to Ernest, appearing in color much happier than it had been a moment ago. He watched as she looked at the Codex. It was clear that the traditional use of the Codex was going to be useless here, as Drae had the sneaking suspicion that Ernest couldn't read. 

"I understand. I'm sure we can find something to help you out," he commented as he stepped up to the Codex and pulled the massive book open. "Unexplored regions, record orbs only," he instructed the Codex, and immediately the massive tome flipped open and offered the spider thread silk to Drae and Ernest. "I can't tell you about undiscovered places, because if they are undiscovered there is not a connection to Tar Eisalae. Unfortunately, that is not knowledge we've obtained. However, I can help you with finding regions and areas that are largely unexplored or unknown," he offered instead as he carefully handed her the thread. "Follow that and let us see where it takes you."

Ernest grinned at the orb as it floated back to her hand. "Good to know," she said. "I try to record things regularly, but I don't like doing so in front of other people." Not that she knew many other people.

She stared in astonishment at the book for a few seconds before realizing that she probably looked like an idiot and taking the thread from Drae. "Thank you," she said. she followed the thread through the library, rolling it around her hand as she walked. When she got to the end of the thread, she froze in shock. The sheer number of record orbs resting on the shelf was incredible. She selected one near the bottom and picked it up, ignoring the fact that hers was now tapping her indignantly on the shoulder. 

"Unexplored areas," she said to the orb, and it blinked to life.

"The largest known unexplored area to date…" started the orb, but whatever it was going to say was abruptly cut off as Ernest's orb knocked into her rather hard, causing her to fall over backward and the other orb to go flying into the air.

"Oh dear," she muttered. "Jealous much?" she added to her orb as it hovered self-confidently above her.

"That is quite understandable. They are, after all, meant to be private things," he replied before he handed her the thread. Once she took it and began following it back into the rows of shelves, Drae decided to follow quietly. He didn't want to disturb her, but he was quite curious as to what she might find and if it would prove helpful to her. He had some ideas right off the bat, but it seemed she was determined to discover things for herself, and he approved of her initiative. 

The shelves of record orbs were deep, and the shelves had built in ledge lips to keep the orbs from rolling off the shelves. They were organized into perfect pyramids each glowing softly, and appeared quite healthy, despite having been sitting on the shelves. The last thing Drae had wanted was for a myriad of angry record orbs to be flying around the Temple Library and bothering his other visitors. So he had made it very clear that the Record Orbs were to never be left on their own for too long. Unfortunately it took up a lot of Magnus's time to carefully polish each one, but it had proved helpful. 

He watched from a short distance away as Ernest, much to her own orb's annoyance, picked up another orb and activated it. When it full on knocked Ernest over, Drae swooped in a caught the second orb before it hit the floor. He also snatched Ernest's orb from the air and looked at it. 
"If you refuse to be helpful to your mistress, I can disenchant you for the duration of your stay here," he warned the orb before he let it go and turned to help Ernest up. He did hope that would settle the issue with the unruly record orb and he handed the second one back to Ernest. 
"Fickle things, really. Who would have thought they could feel jealousy," he mused. He tapped the orb she had chosen. "I do believe that this orb was about to refer to Bakulaw," he said. "I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure that was where it was going to mention." He sounded pretty confident. 

Ernest went a funny shade of pink and accepted Drae's help to get back on her feet. "Some days I wonder if that orb is worth the trouble," she said. "It seems to have a personality all its own." She would never really leave it behind, though. It had proven itself invaluable.

"Stay put this time," she said to her orb, then picked up the second one and activated it again. "The largest known unexplored area to date is commonly believed to be Bakulaw Isle. It is so far known that it is one of the most dangerous places in all of Parvpora. The land is populated with giant beasts similar to dragons, and smaller predators that hunt with extreme speed. Poisonous plants also are hidden within the landscape. That is, if you even make it to the island. So follows an account of one such journey-"

This time it was Ernest who cut the orb off. "Thank you very much," she said. "That is very helpful." She turned to her orb. "Can you remember that for me?"

The orb fluttered a few feet out of her reach, and Ernest could imagine it was glaring at her. "Fine," she said. "Be that way." She shook her head. "Bakulaw Isle. I'll have to remember that until this thing quits its fit of temper." She wasn't really that worried, besides the fact that the orb was annoying to deal with. "Who knows, it might get mad it me if I try to go there."

"I can't tell you how many individuals have said that, however, at the end of the day, none of them regret having one. For those who wish to keep records, but do not have the luxury of parchment, quill, ink, and time, they can be extraordinarily handy, as you have undoubtedly learned," he chuckled as he helped her up. He stepped back so she could continue her research, and this time her own record orb behaved while she activated the orb she had tried to activate the first time. 

He had been correct in his assumption that the orb was going to be referring to Bakulaw Ilse, and the faintest hints of a smirk played about his elvish features. Her orb was clearly being stubborn with her, it being unwilling to record the details provided by the orb she had been referencing, and his eyes narrowed at it. 
"I could always keep yours here with me and you could take that one with you," he commented off-hand. "I'm sure I could find plenty of work for yours, and maybe it would be far less finicky upon your return," he offered. "This one seems much more docile and cooperative," he said with a grin.