The trio entered the fog once again. This time instead of grasping each other's hands, Sylgja suggested they attach a rope to everyone. While neither Rasmus or Reinhardt carried one, luckily she had one in her pack. Combined with a curious aura that bolstered his morale when near the paladin, Rasmus found this fourth excursion through the fog the easiest yet to navigate.

Sure, there was still a lingering cold and the inherent confusion, but he was bolstered by his two allies as Reinhardt lead, followed by Sylgja, trailed by Rasmus. Still, while he knew the tower quite well, or at least he thought he did, its abilities to warp twist its very levels around was very disconcerting. Were they going to end up in the gardens, his residence, the master's residence, the treasure room, or maybe even the dungeons? Or was the fog going to deposit them back into the laboratory so they can begin their trip anew.

His question was answered though as they exited the fog and into the…

"….this is an impressive library," commented Reinhardt as he gazed upon the tens of thousands of books his master had accumulated.

Rasmus agreed. While his memory was slowly fading, the mage fondly recalled spending hundreds if not thousands of hours exploring its shelves. There were practical application books such as 'The ecology of the Manticore' written by the Muave wizard Moore, to bawdy romances such as ' How I dated seven sisters' by some fool named the Minster Elm, to even exotic map texts by a merchant named Volo. It was rumored that Master Leroung even had some ancient scroll dating back to the great Starfall cataclysm that buried the Runelords and the ancient Azlanti people, but Rasmus had never laid eyes on it. Not that he particularly wanted to, especially after he experienced first hand ancient magic with the use of that Cacodaemon spell.

"Ahh, you are learning slowly. Ancient magic doesn't necessarily equate to power, sometimes it's simply just weird, " commented Reinhardt vocally while using his mind reading tricks. Given his brief time with the Infernal, Rasmus still couldn't tell when or if he was using his telepathy and he found it very annoying.

"Eh, did I miss something? " asked Sylgja with her large inquisitive eyes.

"Oh its nothing, just talking to myself, " smiled the Infernal.

Rasmus ignored Reinhardt as he focused his attention on the paladin. While her big blue eyes were certainly captivating, he found himself mesmerized by her throaty Ulfen accent. It had a sultry quality about it that he found irresistibly enticing. He asked about it, and she explained her grandmother was a clansmen of the Linnorm kings who made her way to the Vyre Islands. There she settled down and married into a minor noble house much like his own in the Menador mountains.

She joined the Hellknights there and after her training, ventured throughout the kingdom to restore order and mete out the law. Rasmus assumed somewhere in her travels she was lured into the Reclamation's cause. Though why she and her brethren would assault such an isolated and strategically unimportant place as Leroung's tower was a mystery to him.

"We should rest a few hours to regain our strength after that journey through the fog. I find it disorientating,"said Reinhardt. "Maybe even catch some sleep and recover your spells."

Rasmus had only used a small compliment of his spells and did not require rest, while he doubted the Inhuman Reinhardt needed any rest at all. From what he recalled the creatures regenerated their wounds like a troll, and given their immunity to cold and oddly fire, that made them near immortal save against holy weapons. As for Sylgja, despite her earlier disorientation, she had quickly recover her strength and seemed more than capable of pressing forward.

As Rasmus was about to protest, the paladin fell into a chair with a deep sigh. "I concur. I must have been slogging through this tower in this armour for over a day now. I'm exhausted."

At the mention of the possibility of the Ulfen woman taking off her armour, Rasmus quickly changed his mind and even let out a faux yawn. "I too need some rest. I must…mediate for my spells. " Which was a lie, since he didn't have any of his spell books to meditate from.

"Don't get too comfortable yet," said Reinhardt as he gave a wink to Rasmus. "There might be more guardians. Stay on guard as I scout the area."

With that, the Infernal left the paladin and the mage in the room.

Rasmus wasn't sure if this was all an Infernal ploy for Reinhardt to secretly loot Leroung's library, or was the fiend simply being a loyal cohort and giving him an opportunity to be alone with Sylgja. Though Reinhardt probably scanned his thoughts and had an idea he fancied the paladin, it seemed highly inappropriate to pursue such a relationship while still trapped in the tower. Despite Reinhardt's 'good' intentions, Rasmus would have none of that silliness. He wasn't some teenage boy easily distracted by the first good looking woman he come across. He would concentrate at the task at hand, which was returning to his residence, retrieve his gold, then exit the tower. In all likelihood that would be the last he would see of Sylgja since she was still set on killing his master. The thought of wasting his time to getting to know this woman better was foolish since they would soon go their separate ways.

"Rasmus, can you help me take off this breast plate please," asked Sylgja as she struggled with her straps. "It's pretty tight, and I'm just too tired to fiddle with the knots."

Rasmus rushed to her side, almost tripping on a stack of books in his haste.

"Careful," chuckled Sylgja."Reinhardt hasn't scouted this area yet. We don't want to alert anyone of our presence here."

Rasmus nodded as he began undoing her knots. "Isn't it dangerous taking off your armour, in well, this could be considered a dungeon."

Sylgja shrugged as she held her breath to give the knots some slack. "I'll still have my leather surcoat and mail, but honestly I need the rest. Ever since I arrived here with my band, I've been fighting non-stop till I met you two. "

"Your band….are they dead?"

"I don't know to be honest. I was separated from them during a fight with a giant stone man, but I doubt they would perish so easily."

Giant stone man? A golem or a large earth elemental. Rasmus hadn't seen either , but he was leaning towards a golem, especially after the encounter with the Gargoyles. For all he knew the creature could have been hidden in the walls of the tower for all this time.

"In all likelihood I consider the possibility they might have left without me, given the difficulty of the tower's wards, but Kasmir seemed really we insistent we pushed on."

"Kasmir Rosala? The antiquarian?" asked Rasmus, recalling the name of one of his master's close associates. The man had visited the tower many times though he had little direct contact with him. What was more troubling was the fact that he had difficulty remembering his sister's face, but for some reason dark haired Kasmir's thin chiseled face, long dark hair, and cruel hook nose blazed in his memory.

Sylgja hesitated but then relented and nodded. "Aye, one and the same. He convinced Lady Marshal Alexeara Cansellarion that this tower was conducting dark experiments and it needed to be stopped. Lady Cansellarion was not wholly convinced but sent a small band to aid him. I didn't believe this plain looking tower could harbour such magics at first, but from what I've seen, it appears I've badly misjudged this place. "

Sylgja released her breath as Rasmus undid the last strap and gave the mage a warm smile. Rasmus smiled back as he got a good look at her without the hard armoured shell. Even with her leathers on he could tell she was tall of height, broad of shoulder, thin of waist, and high of breast.

"Okay, stop your gawking its embarrassing. Tell me a bit about yourself," she said with a snarky grin as she slumped into a high library chair. "Tell me why a nice mage like you is studying under a tyrant like Leto Leroung."

Rasmus rolled his shoulder and shrugged. "For one thing, my memory is fading, so there's not much to tell. I have a sister, but I can't even recall her face and name. It's the fog, or some other magic here. I don't know."

"Can you recall anything?"

"I like books. I enjoy learning. I value my friends."

"Misa the cook , is like my mother here. I hope she's safe since I didn't see her in the kitchens. Old Captain Dwen, who sadly passed away saving me from my own naivety it seems. The maids Vetta and Vandia, they've always been kind to me here. I think you would like Vandia. She kind of looks like you, but a smaller version.."

Sylgja snorted at the comment. "Most women are."

"..while Vetta is, well she's Thrune tainted, she has horns and a tail…but she has a good heart. Please don't judge her harshly if you meet her."

"A tiefling. The curse of the thrice damned legacy of Queen Abrogail. I don't hate the poor creatures, I pity them and fear that is the fate of all Cheliax if the Crusade fails."

Rasmus sighed. She was correct. Despite everyone's justifications of House Thrune's contracts with the pit, there was no denying the pain and the horror when women throughout the land give birth to those deformed tieflings. Most are horribly misshapen or simply look like monsters, they are mostly driven out and live in poverty on the fringes of society, while in rare cases those whose 'gifts' that are less monstrous looking could find work in menial jobs ... such as being a maid to an eccentric wizard.

"and Reinhardt?"

"He's just a creature I summoned, but yeah I guess he can be considered a friend. He's weird for a fiend though, not what I expect."

"You, well you're his master or contractor or something, he won't hurt you unless you violate the pact you forged. For myself I'm just a paladin, his natural foe besides tanarii. He could have killed me many times, and he could probably kill me now if he wanted to. I've dealt with all manner of fiends before, and not all of them are the attack first variety. The truly dangerous ones are the ones that are the talkers. Really smooth, get you off guard before they strike or betray you, or worse yet corrupt you. However, for some reason I don't get the feeling from Reinhardt. Sure, according to my holy sight, he's one the most evil things I've ever encountered but I don't get that fake friend feeling from him that I get from most greater fiends. I don't know if that means he's truly different, or he's simply toying with me and just that much more dangerous. Either way, I'm keeping a blessed dagger at my side just in case. "

Rasmus considered her statement. He couldn't deny her observations. Given what he's seen of his nature, he very well might be toying with the both of them. Though it was hard to believe, he could imagine Reinhardt leading him out of the tower, and then pouncing on him and dragging his soul to hell since his contract was effectively completed. Still, there was something he trusted in the Pale man, and for now he would keep that trust.

As Rasmus turned back to the lovely Sylgja, he saw that she was transfixed on something above. A monster? Some type of rune?

He glanced up and saw she was looking at a portrait of Master Leroung. He was a large man, who was considered more husky than strong. Rasmus thought he looked quite regal in his embroidered robes.

"Rasmus….is that you?" asked Sylgja as she traded quick glances with the portrait and the mage.