Chapter Fourteen: Affinity
Thursday, 30th September 1999.
Harry lay still under the covers, warm and safe in this refuge from the world. His right arm was trapped by the slumbering figure beside him and he couldn't help but drink in their form. The wild hair spread all over the pillow, a stark contrast in its thick brown colour compared to the pale cream of the pillow. The soft familiar features of her face were different without the usual looks of thoughtfulness or stubborn resolve. And yet beautiful all the same.
Having slipped straight into bed, neither of them had cleaned up after the day before. There were a few soft streaks of dirt on her skin and in her hair. And there was a smell that was decidedly Hermione in the air that filled Harry's senses with every breath. More so when he breathed in as she breathed out. He felt at peace, despite his failure the day before.
His mind wandered to the sight of the road before he tore it away and refocused on Hermione. For months he'd felt himself being drawn closer and closer to the woman who was his closest friend. Their time at Hogwarts and during the war had forged an unbreakable bond between them, between all of them. But it was in the time since then that it had grown strongest between the two of them in particular.
He'd found himself often lost in her presence. Her joyous rapture on learning something new and exciting. Her sorrow and now relief over the situation with her family. Her intensity when she set her mind to a task. And he'd been unable to ignore the fact that she was a stunningly beautiful woman any longer.
In school it had been easy, the changes had been subtle and constant. He grew up alongside her and wasn't all that conscious of the change. But now, the difference between the eager girl of his memories and the powerful woman before him was too great to put aside. He didn't know the exact moment things had changed between them, but he was certain that they had.
A soft moan drew his attention back to Hermione's face as her body undulated under the covers beside him. A few moments later, her eyes opened and blinked a handful of times before they seemed to focus on his own in return. Harry felt his heart thudding irregularly in his chest at the shimmering brown colour staring back at him.
"Harry." Hermione croaked softly, before taking a moment to clear her throat.
Her cheeks immediately became lightly dusted in a pink colour Harry was very much coming to love seeing on her features.
"Good morning." He replied, having to clear his own throat as well, which brought a slight smile to both faces.
Silence filled the space between them for a long while, neither aware of just how much time was passing as they lay still, lost in the other's comfortable presence. There was so much that Harry wanted to say, but he didn't understand where to begin.
"Harry…" Hermione whispered lightly, her lips drawing his eye as they moved.
"Hermione?" He replied softly.
"What is…" she paused, and her lower lip suffered between her teeth for a moment as she considered something carefully. "What is this?"
"This is me comforting, and being comforted by, my best friend after seeing some terrible things." The words tumbled out of their own accord and Harry winced at the plain description he had given that didn't come close to how he felt at this moment.
Hermione's lips twitched into a slight smile again as she snuggled closer into his arms. "Yes… It was awful."
"Do… you want to talk about it?" Harry offered, pulling her closer still until her face was pressed once more into his chest. She nodded but did not speak. "I can go first if you like."
Another nod spurred him on. "Luna is really clever. We managed to track them in no time flat, and she managed to hit the first two no problem and we tagged them off to the desert base. But the third seemed twitchy. He started driving erratically, knocking other cars off the motorway, and making him hard to hit." Harry sighed as the view of the day before filled his memories once more, the carnage he had witnessed. "Luna suggested I'd be more maneuverable alone and apparated off the broom, going to help the people in the crashed cars however she could.
"It worked. I caught them up fast and managed to disable the car but it still had enough speed to flip over the barrier into the oncoming lane. And… before I could tag the driver through the window of the upside-down car… it exploded. Big, violent. It knocked me off the broom. And all those people. By the time I was standing again, there was nothing of it left to beam away. I think I have an idea of what the street looked like the first time Padfoot confronted Wormtail. Jagged smoking metal and asphalt were everywhere, and the smell... It was horrible."
Harry felt Hermione's arms pull him tighter and he let himself fall into her grasp instead of his memory. Letting the mangled shapes that used to be cars dissolve away to be replaced by so much bushy brown hair.
"It's not your fault, Harry."
"I know, but I couldn't save those poor people."
"Neither could I," Hermione whispered and Harry noticed her eyes were shut tightly. "It was only a small family. Parents and two children. But those things… they killed them. And they didn't seem to care in the slightest. They were all busy examining an ice cream, while…"
Harry pulled Hermione tighter and an errant thought danced across his mind wondering if it were possible for the pair of them to be any closer at that moment.
"And I can't stop seeing my parents lying in their place. Or you, or Luna or Neville. Or Colin Creevey and the others who…"
Harry knew exactly which others she meant. He saw so many of them in his darker dreams about the end of the war. Innocents taken too soon by the whim of a madman. "That's not your fault."
"I feel like a terrible person. A family destroyed and I keep making it about me."
"That's not what you're doing. You're trying to cope with seeing something horrible. I know what it's like. The things I've seen in Voldemort's head… You aren't alone in trying to rationalize what you've seen. To make it hurt less."
Hermione looked up at him and Harry realized he hadn't actually told her about the handful of moments he'd seen the former Dark Lord project during the hunt. The horrible things he'd done for pleasure during those long months they'd been searching for the means to end him. Moments he still carried even now.
"Please don't be angry. Sometimes I'm just not ready to talk about something."
Hermione inspected his face closely for a moment before she nodded and the pair allowed silence to fill the air between them once more, settling back into their previous snuggled positions. Harry felt himself beginning to nod off again when he heard the quiet response. "Me too."
He blinked his slightly heavy eyes and looked to Hermione once more, who was looking at him with an intensity that had not been present during their previous talk. "What?"
Hermione flicked her eyes down, seeming to take in their positions before she smiled softly and looked back up. "I think I'm ready to talk about this though."
The grogginess faded quickly as Harry felt his heartbeat accelerate once more. "This? You mean… as in this?" His eyes flicked back and forth between the two of them and Hermione smiled and nodded.
"You feel something too. I know you do, Harry. I can see it in your eyes when you look at me."
Harry swallowed heavily before he nodded as well. "Yes, I don't know when, but yes."
"Neither do I. It's been quite a while though, and it keeps getting stronger."
Harry held Hermione tightly and buried his blushing face in her hair once more, allowing her scent to wash over him, to fill his senses completely. "I don't know exactly what I'm feeling for you, but it's more powerful than anything I've felt before."
He felt Hermione smile against his chest. "It took me a while to work it out too. I thought it was relief at first. Then shared experience. But having my parents back again," Hermione paused and Harry knew she was worried saying that would open his own wounds regarding his parents.
"It's ok, Hermione. I'm at peace with it, you don't need to tiptoe around it."
She nodded and took a deep breath. "Since they've been here with us… it's the same feeling, Harry. Well, not exactly the same feeling. With them it's familial... " she pulled back to look into his eyes as she finished, "with you, it is very much not."
Harry gave a heavy sigh as he pressed their foreheads together, his eyes shutting tightly for a moment as he considered the swirling feeling in his stomach and chest. "Yes. I know I care for you so much." Hermione smirked, knowing Harry cared for a lot of people, but he could see that she knew his meaning without him having to clarify out loud. "That, and Natalie is not exactly subtle."
Both of them began to laugh heartily as they recalled the heavy-handed hints the Granger matriarch had made in their combined presence, apparently out to see just how brightly she could make the pair blush. Harry liked Natalie a lot, she reminded him so much of Hermione with her tenacity and heart.
"I don't think I'd ever call my mother subtle, no. Does this... bother you?" Hermione asked after a few moments, and Harry knew she wasn't referring to Mrs Granger now.
"No. It's wonderful, even with all the bad we've been through. I want to explore this, if you do, that is."
Harry suddenly felt frightened that maybe Hermione didn't, but one look at her face quelled the unease. "I very much do. And I'm always here for you, no matter what."
"Even… even if…" Harry's eyes locked to hers questioningly, looking for an answer.
"Yes. Together, always and everything."
The pair came together again, eyes closing as they lost themselves in the simple presence of the other, basking in the warmth, both physical and emotional.
"Together, yes. Always and forever." Harry ended, feeling a hell of a lot lighter after their talk than he had when he'd knocked on the door last night. He hadn't known how much he needed this, both to talk about the day before, and to finally clarify what he thought had been there, building with Hermione for so long now.
He still wasn't sure exactly what it was between them, but they both felt it and wanted to explore it. Harry felt… he wasn't entirely sure. The word happy didn't seem to fit quite right, but whatever it was, it was positive and he was full to the brim with it. He relished in it as he felt Hermione drift off in his arms once more and he soon followed her back into the world of dreams again himself.
ϟ
"That's a lot of damage," Richard noted, staring at the display of the ruined hangar, understating what was before him in that way only dads seem to be able to do.
The framework lay open like broken fingers reaching out of the shattered concrete floor. The metal walls had blasted outwards, showering the nearby buildings with debris, and in some cases, hanging menacingly embedded in the walls of its former neighbours. It looked like a fragmentation mine of enormous size had gone off.
A small crater was visible in the centre of the space, cracks in the concrete lancing out in all directions from the indentation. The couple of trucks that had been against the closest wall had been thrown through the sides of the building and lay cracked and torn, strewn over a large area themselves.
"Thank goodness it was empty," Natalie added, snuggling up tightly to her husband.
"What happened?" Padma asked the hologram as it observed Luna working the controls of the computer.
"High energy explosion. Centralized on the bodies we had deposited there. A similar one occurred in the mountain at the base of the astria porta. The damage was contained there by the construction of the room. Records indicate it was designed to survive such blasts. The hangar was not."
"Why did they explode?" Neville asked, looking in awe at the destruction.
"Uncertain. Shortly before the detonation, the Astria Porta engaged and a large number of the creatures got through. It seems the base staff shut off the connection before they could all escape. Your historical records seem to indicate that suicide is not uncommon as a last resort of captured enemy agents."
Richard shuddered at the thoughts of cyanide pills and the like from human history. This was an extreme version, but it had yielded a similar result. If anything, this was more effective. The explosion had removed almost all traces that the creatures had ever existed. No bodies were left for study. Well, almost no bodies. It seemed the Americans had managed to somehow prevent three from being destroyed.
"Have they started the assessment yet?" Natalie asked.
"They have not. Ours has completed. Thankfully no one was in that particular room when the detonation occurred, so they have not noticed that they were 'missing' a body. The subject is quite unique. Exploring the databases at my disposal, I found a rather unusual trait in the body. In this galaxy, purple blood is the result of hemerythrin in the blood instead of haemoglobin.
"On Earth, it is only found in some marine worms and brachiopods. But none of the databases I have access to has any traces of a land-based species with that physiology that exists within the Avalon galaxy. Nor any non-land-based ones that could possibly have evolved to this degree in the time available."
"So they're extra-galactic," Padma stated.
"It would seem so. I have sent the description to the Asgard, requesting any information they might possess on the species, but they have not yet replied."
"What about…" Padma began to ask, drifting off and Richard knew instantly what she meant but was afraid to ask. She had only seen them as the trio were leaving the site.
"Has the family been found?" Richard finished for her.
Natalie tightened her grip on his waist and they turned to Merlin to await a response. It seemed to be checking against the database for the answer.
The image nodded. "A full autopsy is still scheduled, but so far it is being considered a mugging gone wrong. Apparently, this is a common occurrence in that part of the world?" Merlin finished, questioningly.
"Unfortunately," Natalie replied.
Silence filled the room again as Luna's fingers danced over the controls and the image changed. While the location was different, the result was the same. Carnage spread over a wide area. Twisted metal shards embedded in concrete and asphalt. A much smaller crater at the epicentre. By now, all the bodies had been removed, but clean-up was still ongoing with the destroyed vehicles.
"Should we check on them?" Natalie asked the room at last.
"Best to leave them be," Luna spoke for the first time, and everyone turned to her. "They'll come to us when they're ready. No one can help them better than the other."
The fact she had delivered her little comment without even slowing at her work impressed Richard greatly. Luna was definitely the oddest of his daughter's friends, but he found the girl fascinating in the best way. He noticed the tiny girl's shoulders sag as she looked at the display and he stepped forward, noting tears gathering at the corner of her eyes.
"What's wrong?" He whispered quietly.
Luna hesitated for a moment before she turned to face him. "I should have been there."
"You were." He smiled, reassuring her.
"The last car was getting away from us. I let Harry go alone while I tried to help the people the alien ran off the road."
"See, you were busy helping people. This isn't your fault. By the looks of the hangar and the mountain, that guy was going to explode regardless of what you did."
She gave him a weak smile and Richard stepped forward, pulling her into his arms. Luna seemed to hesitate for a moment before she relaxed into the gesture and he gently rubbed her back. It once more drove home the fact that these were a group of teens and young adults. They may have fought a war, but they were still very new to the world and some of its darker aspects.
Natalie drew the attention of the room away from the two, earning a soft smile from Richard. "Have the SGC accepted the idea that the aliens got there on their own?"
"Their reports do indicate they believe the aliens made it to the desert base on their own and were attempting to recover the alien technology there. One report finds it suspicious they were all in an empty hangar when the explosion occurred, but otherwise, it seems they do not detect our involvement. Mostly, they seem concerned that the other Astria Porta was their target, and are taking steps to better secure it. A new detail is being assigned under one Colonel Maybourne."
"What do we do about preventing this from happening again?" Padma asked firmly.
Richard glanced at the girl. Of the group, he knew the least about the newest addition. She was apparently quite new to the group as a whole and often took a harder stance on a few of the issues they discussed than the other teens did.
Merlin turned to face her as well. "I have dedicated a new console to monitor the mountain's alien population more closely. If any large influx occurs, it will notify me. Or if a small steady stream of visitors occurs."
"And?"
"And what?" Natalie asked.
"What do we do if it detects them? This lot nearly lost the planet to an invading force. From the records I've read they also nearly sucked us all into a black hole as well. Can we really allow them to continue being so reckless?"
"We're no more equipped for this than they are. We may have some fancy technology, but we're still all human too." Neville argued, standing up from his place by the wall. "We can't dictate how they operate. They're a military outpost as well. Everyone in that mountain is trained to kill. What do you want us to do, storm in their wands blazing?"
Padma looked both angry and chastised at once and Richard tried hard not to chuckle at the sight. "I don't know. It was easier before I knew there was so much danger out there. When the worst I had to worry about at night was an upcoming test, nasty potions professors and the shadowy but nebulous idea of Death Eaters that my parents used to whisper about."
Natalie gave her a soft smile. "Welcome to my world circa 1991."
Richard laughed at the memory of their own world expanding for the first time. Though the lady who transformed into a cat hadn't gone into any detail about the possible threats in this new world of magic as they had quickly discovered during their steps into the galaxy at large. His wife's hair was a steady reminder of the dangers that lay just beyond the nearby porta.
"For now, we observe." Hermione's voice came from the doorway and the group turned to see the pair in the opening. "How is the dialer update coming?"
Richard smiled at his daughter as Luna pulled free of his arms and dashed over to the girl, giving her a firm hug before latching onto Harry as well. At times Richard felt like an outsider looking in, being one of only two adults in the group. But it made him so happy to see his daughter had made such good friends.
"Very slowly. I have the database of the Alterans and their designs, but making them fit the interface the humans are operating with is very complex. It cannot even detect more than half of the responses the astria porta can provide when dialling."
"That computer was huge. I don't think we can replace it without them noticing. Maybe we should replace the porta instead. A new model which can better fit their system?" Harry asked.
"It might be possible. But it would take time to prepare as well. There is no instant solution." Merlin paused. "Besides shutting them down altogether."
"Odds are high they would have people off-world right now. If we forcibly shut them down, they'd be stranded." Natalie said. "I don't think we can act without a lot more information."
"So, we do nothing?" Padma grumbled.
"No. We finish our mission. The greatest threat to Earth remains the Ori. We have our next location if everyone feels up to another trip." Harry glanced at the others as he finished and they each nodded. "So, it's settled. Merlin will continue to monitor the mountain, while we prepare. To go to a planet in the centre of a perfect geometric shape travelling through the galaxy. That is still impressive."
ϟ
Saturday, 9th October 1999.
Hermione leant over the bench, staring at the woven fibres through the large magnifying glass as tiny flickers of white energy danced over the surface, leaving minute traces of some of the planet's rarest materials in their wake. The silvery gold surface left behind looked pristine, far more so than if she had done all of it by hand.
She ignored the sound of the door behind her opening and closing, focusing on her work rather than the soft footsteps approaching.
"Hermione?" Padma's soft voice filled her ears, loud after so long of silence.
"I'm fine." She replied, still not turning from her work.
"I know you are. But you've been in here for over a day. What are you working on the suits for?"
"It's necessary."
Padma filled her peripheral vision, now standing so close Hermione could touch her. "What's necessary? Talk to me, please."
Hermione sighed heavily before she turned away from the suit and glanced at the girl beside her. "Protection."
She turned back to her project without another word and continued guiding the beam energy as it laid out the tiny filigrees into the very essence of the suits.
"You're strengthening the suits with more runes? I could have helped with that." Padma groaned.
"Needed the distraction," Hermione mumbled her reply.
"Hermione, stop." Padma grasped her shoulder and waited a moment before she turned Hermione to face her. "This isn't about that family, is it?"
Hermione gently shook her head. "No. Harry helped with that. I know it's not my fault."
"Your mum wasn't your fault either. None of us knew something like Anubis was out there."
Hermione looked up at Padma, stunned that she had so easily divined her intent.
"Please. You are not that much smarter than I am." Padma smirked, referring to the occasional times back in Hogwarts where the two had competed over marks. "I'd be terrified of something happening if my parents were going through the porta with me too. Especially after what happened last time."
Hermione nodded silently, but the tension in her shoulders lessened slightly. "I can't have her hurt like that again. I've seen too much of it…"
"I know. Not fully, obviously, but I get the sentiment." Padma released her and the pair stared at one another for a few silent moments. "Now. Are you going to let me help you finish?"
Hermione blushed slightly but nodded to the far corner of the room. Padma followed the movement with her eyes and noticed the other suits hanging up. She walked over and gave a soft tisking noise as she noticed that all the other suits were already completed.
"Really? That's the last one?" Hermione's blush grew slightly. "Fine. You go and have some dinner, and I will finish this one."
The Indian girl stepped in front of Hermione again and gave her a soft look. Hermione nodded her acquiescence and took a steadying breath. Between the new runes and all the potions they'd been making, she knew that she'd done all she could to make them safer on their coming trip, but it didn't silence the worry entirely.
ϟ
Sunday, 10th October 1999.
The village lay before them, multi-story buildings with steeply pitched roofs and smoking chimneys broke the view of the green hills in the background. Neville was amazed at how similar it was to the village on Camelot, with the only real difference being the lack of a large protective wall around its perimeter.
The group were once more dressed in their protective suits, overlaid with the thicker robes to obscure their true origins. Most of the villagers went about their lives throughout the square quite happily ignoring the strangers.
"Now what?" Richard asked softly as the group stood amidst the activity.
"I'm not totally sure. Myrddin didn't come here that we know of, so we've no real information on what to do next." Luna replied. "It's not like we're just going to find another library with the answer inside."
"Excuse me," Natalie asked aloud to the next villager to pass her by, getting stares from both her companions and several of the villagers, who looked almost surprised by the comment. "Looking for the Sangraal. Any idea where we should look?"
Neville couldn't help but chuckle at the face Hermione was making at her mother's blatant question. The nearest villager, however, stepped closer and replied. "You seek the Sangreal?"
Neville noted the slight variation in the term the woman had used as Natalie nodded in response. "Yes, please."
"Very well. It has been many generations since anyone came looking. If you truly seek it, you must consult the Parchment of Virtues in the village library." She pointed across the square and Neville tried his hardest not to look at Luna's face. "It will prepare you for the journey to come."
Natalie smiled brightly at the woman. "Thank you very much." She turned back to the others and smiled smugly.
"But I should warn you." The woman continued, drawing their collective attention once more. "No one has ever returned from the Quest alive. If you value your lives, you would do well to reconsider."
The group glanced at one another, and Neville noticed Hermione looked rather concerned when she glanced at her mother. "Thank you, again. You have been a big help." Natalie replied once more.
The woman merely shrugged and the villagers' attention returned to their own actions, many having stopped to watch the odd display and now acting as though it had never even happened. Natalie gave the others a quick smile and headed off in the direction the woman had indicated, quickly finding the library as the building with windows blocked by towers of books and scrolls.
Stepping inside, Neville noticed it too was rather dark, as Myrddin's library on Camelot had been, but this showed obvious signs of regular use. It was not covered in the layer of dust that had been present in Myrrdin's library, and the only cobwebs were contained to the corners and under the ceiling beams.
"So…" Harry said. "Any ideas on where we start?"
"Perhaps," a voice came from around one of the shelves, "you could speak with me?"
An elderly man stepped out from behind the shelving, his white thinning hair had receded a long way, and he had a beard that, in Neville's opinion, quite suited his aged face. He wore much nicer robes than the villagers outside, and Neville wondered how often the man left his library.
"My name is Osric, and I am the keeper of the village archives here in Sanguire. How might I be of service?" The man seemed open and welcoming of the intruders in his domain.
The group seemed surprised at the response and it was eventually Padma who replied. "Thank you, Osric. We are looking for the Parchment of Virtues."
"Ah, another band of stalwart heroes come to tempt fate in the hopes of claiming the legendary prize." Osric smiled as he walked over to a wooden ladder and began to climb it. Luna quickly stepped over and supported the shaky device, the man glancing down at her and smiling. "Oh, thank you."
He reached for a long wooden box, not unlike the one Neville kept at home with his father's old broken wand inside. The one he had received his own current wand in. He passed the box to Luna as she descended the ladder once more, looking quite old and infirm, and yet possessed of a fire that so many older people had in his experience. Such as his grandmother.
Reclaiming the box from a smiling Luna, Osric moved over to a large table in the centre of the room. Continuing to speak as he opened the box and laid out the parchment within on the table. "Many have come seeking the Sangreal throughout the ages. None have ever succeeded."
"Have you ever met anyone who has quested for it before?" Hermione asked, stepping over to the table, the others spreading about its edges.
He glanced at her and gave a soft knowing smile. "No. None have come during my lifetime. I know only of the legends. It is located in a cave…" He turned from the table and headed into the back of the archive, talking as he went, "beyond the outlying forest. A journey that is fraught with peril. Ages ago, Morgan Le Fay enchanted the area with a terrible curse."
"Morgan Le Fay?" Natalie asked aloud, about to follow the man into the depths of the archive when he returned with another wooden box.
"Yes, Morgan Le Fay. These were purportedly left behind by Morgan herself, as a guide for knights of noble spirit, since it is said that only the most virtuous will succeed in claiming the Sangreal."
Osric opened the second box and pulled a fabric scroll from within. Neville could almost see through the material of what appeared to be some kind of map. The elderly man unfurled it on the tabletop before he opened the parchment scroll and laid it over the top. The entire scroll was covered in blocks of Alteran text. Hermione stepped up next to him again and began to read the scroll aloud.
"Only those of virtue true may win the prize concealed beyond the reach of the flawed and tainted. The Sangreal shall instead belong to he who speaks the guardian's name." She paused, looking to Osric, confused. "The Guardian's name?"
Osric smiled wryly. "Legend says the Sangreal is protected by the most powerful of magical beasts." The group all glanced at one another. "A dragon."
Neville looked to Harry, noting the sudden movement of his arm towards his left hip. Neville well remembered the last time he'd seen Harry take on one of those legendary creatures. Luna moved to his side and whispered something in his ear, drawing a soft nod from Harry as his eyes seemed to refocus on the room.
"A dragon?" Natalie asked, looking excited at the idea.
"Trust me, mum. Amazing animals, but not something you want to try and get past." Hermione explained, turning back to the scroll. "Prudence, wisdom, charity, kindness, and faith. Let these be your guide on this perilous quest." She sighed softly. "Looks like Morgan went to the same school of obtuseness that Myrddin did."
"I'd say so. They were on Atlantis together." Luna nodded and the others turned to face her. "What?"
"Morgan was Lantean as well?" Richard asked.
Luna shrugged simply. "I'd have to check the records to be certain. But back then she went by the name Ganos Lal. She ascended on a planet aways from Earth shortly after their return. She was a teacher on Atlantis, and she's the one Myrddin learned the beaming and phase-shifting technology from."
"So she was likely the one the Others sent to interfere with Myrddin's work?" Harry queried.
Osric stood there watching the group bemusedly as they discussed ancient figures like old friends. The group soon fell silent as they considered the implications when Osric directed their attention back to the table.
"Morgan Le Fay also left the map." He indicated the fabric cartograph under the scroll, Hermione shifting the parchment aside as they looked carefully at the intricate design. "It shows the village, the nearby hills and the forest leading to the cave. Every now and then a group of youngsters from the village will tempt fate by journeying into these lands. Most who go do not return."
The group looked up from the table, glancing at one another cautiously. Neville quietly took the spare vulta from his pocket and engaged it. Allowing it to invisibly hover above the table, recording the map.
"Prudence, wisdom, charity, kindness and faith," Padma stated, more to herself than the group. "And this path leads us to the cave?"
"Indeed," Osric replied. "You may take your time to remember the map, but I am afraid neither item can be allowed to leave the archive. As I have said, none who venture after the Sangreal have ever returned, and we only have these copies of them."
Osric smiled at them before he turned and headed back towards the shelves he was at when they had arrived, leaving them to memorize the two items.