"You want me to help you to break into the other areas of the underground tunnel network?" Amala asked.
"Just for tonight. We will go through to see what is in there. Just a sneak peek," Suomi tried to persuade as Margu watched.
Amala stared at Margu who anticipated an answer.
"I have no problems breaking some rules, but still. I bet they are off limits for a reason and from what I understood, Rufus himself wasn't too keen to cause trouble," Amala said.
"We already are in trouble....the gods want to kill us in this world, the same gods are about to enter an apocalyptic war and here we are having the possibility of getting answers even faster. The same things Rufus is looking for," Suomi explained.
Suomi knew Rufus well and understood he was taking the harder path.
"Think how much Rufus would be pleased if we could find some answers, a way to push us forward in the direction of finding a way to save his sister," Suomi bid her idea, "And in the worst case scenario, we find no answer, leave the place and no one can point the finger toward us."
"...fine"
~~
Margu and Suomi, with Amala in the front, took the stairs down and entered the tunnels. After just a bit of walking in the tunnels, they came into contact with guards. All were clad with heavy armor, making sure that no one continued any further. Large iron doors stopped anyone from continuing further.
Amala summoned stone arrows, with dulled tips and quickly shot them at the warriors hindering them, but made sure not to kill them.
The guards were incapacitated, and the group quickly moved past the large iron doors. They found themselves in a labyrinth of corridors, each branching off into different directions. The walls here were lined with ancient texts and symbols, imbued with texts older than any construct in the Sassan world.
Amala, leading the way, was cautious, her senses alert to any sign of danger. Suomi, despite her previous eagerness, now moved with a hint of trepidation, perhaps realizing the gravity of what they were doing. Margu, however, seemed entirely at ease, his eyes scanning the walls with a mixture of fascination and recognition.
"This way," Margu whispered, leading them down a corridor that sloped gently downwards. The air grew cooler as they descended, and the light from their torches cast eerie shadows on the walls.
They came upon a chamber, vast and circular, with a high domed ceiling. In the center stood a pedestal, upon which lay an ancient tome, its pages open and glowing faintly. Surrounding the pedestal were intricate designs and symbols etched into the floor, shimmering with a strange light.
"Look, Suomi," Margu said, "The universe explained, and we are here to learn and study it."
"You are not here to learn what you want," Amala said, "Look for something that explains Haley and her condition. That is why you are here."
"Yes, yes," Margu said, "Now Suomi, let us dwell into understanding time."
"Time," Suomi said with great wonder in her eyes.
"Yes, with a perfect understanding of time, one can do anything. Even I am sure to help Rufus's sister," Margu explained and looked at Amala.
~~
For about an hour the two sorcerers dwelled in the texts. Learning to understand how things worked, like an engineer studying a manuscript for a machine, but the machine here was the universe itself. But as they read, Suomi got impatient, "Damn it. There is nothing about time in here. It's like even here there is no knowledge of it."
"Patience is key," Margu exclaimed.
"Not for us...."Amalka said," You have ten more minutes before we leave here and leave it like we hadn't touched a thing.
Amala's words hung in the air, a reminder of the risks they were taking. Margu seemed to bristle at the time constraint but nodded in reluctant agreement. Suomi, however, was visibly frustrated, her fingers reading the glowing texts on the wall even faster.
Soon the servant of Margu came in with Amala looking at him with shock," What is he doing here."
He whispered something into Margu's ear with Amala yelling, "Hey, I am talking over here. You better answer or I leave you here. I bet the guards soon wake up."
Margu than got a realization and touched the wall, He then realized, he could move the panels on the wall, re-creating new texts.
"Why didn't I think of this before," Margu said with his eyes glowing.
He moved them around and as he did, some of the divine texts started to activate, with the divine winds gathering in the room. Margu didn't seem to care as he just kept moving the wall panels. The more he played with it, the more raw divine winds gathered, with even Amala feeling something was going on.
"Hey, stop it, old man! We have to get going now!" Amala yelled, feeling uneasy.
"Wait," said Suomi, "He seems to be getting somewhere."
~~
During all of this, Diod felt something. He felt the divine winds gather, blow with immense power, and head down to the chamber. He immediately lept up and went outside to the balcony and he saw how the literal divine winds were being gathered.
A servant came in and asked is something of a miss which to he replied, "Send message to Kormos. NOW!"