Borun gaped in astonishment at the magnificent architecture. No dwarf had ever constructed anything like this. After regaining his composure, Borun gawked again at the blue-skinned "elves" in their flying vehicles.

Taking his cue from Grimfast, Borun stammered through his own introduction. "I am B-Borun Redbeard. Representative of the Diamond Heart Academy in the Iron Hills."

Borun fell silent while Radagast began negotiations. After preliminary discourse, Borun added, "Actually we seek the location of the entwives, who have been missing for centuries. I don't suppose that you know anything about them?"

Anira's lips curved into a small smile when Borun went straight to the heart of their mission.  She rather liked his straightforwardness and while she too was curious about these people and their protective dome, she knew they would have to be moving along quite soon.  She remained quiet for now, respectful of Radagast and the emissaries.

Saxon was the last man out because he was doing something very dumb. He had tied a rope to the door and then walked through the portal. He hated portals, too much magic and not enough logic when it was all boiled down. Once he... galumphed through the portal he pulled the rope to ensure the books remained secure and that door closed.

He made the choice based on his love of books and his desire to keep them safe even after everyone left.

His eyes still burned from the closeness to undeath but his stance was far from a thing of authority. He was scrunched around his books and looking around for anything that would assault him for the books.

He gave a weak smile and waved at the long-eared people. "Saxon, I'll save titles until I am up to speed."

"You speak of the Trees That Walk?" Duana replied.

"No one here was alive then, but we have tales of the Passing of Trees. Since we can not leave the dome, we have no idea where they went or where they are now. They came from the west and moved to the east."

"How did you get through the dome?" she asks. There is clearly a slight sense of hope in her voice.

"We used some sort of teleportation device from the city of Naethrul," Borun replied. "Alas, the city itself has been cursed. The citizens are reduced to a form of walking death. We hope to help them after we rescue the entwives."

"We came through the portal," he explains, gesturing to the portal on this side, which looks nearly identical to the one they stepped through.

"Were you not aware that this was a portal that led to the library in Naethrul? Of course, you have to worry about the undead that now inhabit the city."

He was not yet ready to tell these people everything. Not that he distrusted them, but he got the impression that Forstan was like a cork in a bottle, and he did not want to be the one to pull that cork.

He'd have to examine the dome more closely. It had clearly been a way to protect this city from Sauron, but was it even still doing that? Or was it just a prison now?

"Portal? NO! We were unaware that it is a portal!" Duana replies.

"We thought it was a scrying mirror... one that was either broke or we didn't know how to operate."

"Undead? What can you tell us of them? And can you show us how to operate the portal?"

It wasn't a surprise that they didn't know what it was for if they did they would of used it by now.  So many years locked under this dome.  There was a slight sadness to her facial expression but was removed when more questions were presented.

Looking over to Grimfast

"It is best that we don't share much about their Fate to you but only that we wish to help them to be free as we will with your people.  To learn how to use the portal we would first need to meet with anyone here that is your leader or your High Council.

Anira remained quiet and observant, wondering if they had opened up a whole new can of worms.  Had these people been protected by the dome or kept here to keep others safe from them?  She wished she could speak her thoughts openly but knew it was best to keep suspicions under wraps for now.  In essence, they were trapped here now as well except for the portal and they couldn't very well turn back now until this part was finished.

"I realize that you have been trapped here for several hundred years, but you must realize that, outside the dome, there is nothing there, nowhere to go," Radagast added.

"I don't pretend to know what that's like... there's nowhere to go, but the fact that you aren't allowed to go there chafes against the soul, doesn't it?"

"Have any of your people given any thought to what you would do or where you would go if you could get through the dome?"

"No such plans have been made, though dreams... wishful thinking... have been considered," Duana replies.

"We expected to go out and search for anyone else that may have survived, but we had no real hope, as no one has visited us in so long that we figured all others were dead. At one time, our Elders worked on figuring out what an expedition would need... food, water, etc."

"The Entwives were the first indication that we had that anything else still lived, although we occasionally see flying creatures in the distance, though we had no way of knowing if these were creatures of Sauron or not."

"As soon as you were spotted, the Elders were informed. We are here to learn who you are, why you are here and whether you are any threat."

"I do not see that, so we can escort you to the Elders, if you wish."

"Yes, we should like to meet your Elders," Borun agreed. Perhaps the Elders knew more of the entwives. If nothing else, Borun and his companions could give them information about Naethrul that might help them to reconstruct the portal.

She nods her head in agreement with Borun.

I wonder if they get old or have they lived these years out alone in here. she thought as they began to walk.

The group is led around the balcony to a flight of stairs that spiral down around the spire. The stairs are crystal as well, which makes it a strange sensation walking down them... it's almost like walking on air.

There are a couple of landings as you go down, with doors into the spire.

You don't go completely to the bottom, but enter a door one level up. A short hallway leads you into a central chamber that's a good 60 feet high. There are three other entrances into this central chamber, and along one side is a raised platform with five chairs. People are seated in the chairs.

Duana approaches them.

"Elders, these are the visitors. May I present Radagast the Brown, Lady Isile, Anira, Borun Redbeard, Saxon and Grimfast."

While standing there her eyes focus on the five people sitting in the chairs.  Trying to determine their race or any information possible from that.

Borun bowed respectfully and waited for Master Radagast or the Elders to begin the conversation.

Anira bowed as well, respectful in demeanor as she continued to defer to Radagast. She would observe as he spoke with the elders, trying to assess their mood and motivations.

---

Taking 10 on Sense Motive for a total of 29.

"My emissaries tell me that you have come from outside of Forstan, using a portal to penetrate the dome," one of the Elders addresses the others.

"If this is true, then you are the first visitors we've had in a thousand years."

"Is this portal a way that we can finally leave the dome?"

She looked at the Elders and only wished she was capable of casting a spell undetectable.  But the spell wasn't something she could do at this moment.  Here eyes looked at them all and wondered why none of them ever tried the determine what the mirror/portal was or its power.

That alone would mean that there are no one here capable of casting Arcane magic or a library to study the mirror.

"A thousand years.

Has your people been able to reproduce or have you all lived the same age for the years?

I'm not sure if the portal is your way out but we can take the time to understand it more while we are here.

"We live normal lives," replied the Elder. "We are born, we grow up, we have children, we grow old, and we die. Fifteen generations have passed since Azurak the Blue created the dome to protect us from Sauron."

"He left then, to assist others. At least, that is the legend that has been recorded. We did not know how long the dome would last, or how long it would be needed. Sauron, in his anger at not being able to attack us or corrupts us, destroyed the land. For years, we had no reason to leave the dome. But it has been hard to convince each new generation that the city is the whole of their world."

"It worries me that anyone we send out now to scout the region might never return, but we would not know if that is because they did not want to come back to living in the dome again or if they had perished."

"What can you tell us of the surrounding land? Does anything live there?"

"Back beyond Naethrul, there is a scarp with strange flying beasts living in the caves," Radagast replies. "And farther to the west there is Endor. Although Mordor lies in that area, too, there is also the Shire, Gondor, Rhovanion, Arnor, Lindon, Rohan, Rhun and Eriador. It is several days travel to get there."

"As for the surrounding lands, we have not been here long enough to encounter anything living yet, but we have not seen any creatures or people."

"As I said, however, Sauron is on the rise again."

Looking at Radagast then to the Elders "As Radagast stated we have no idea what the outside of your dome looks like for we didn't travel by land.  If we are able to get out then we could assist in helping you.  But that too is a mystery to us as well. she wanted to see if anyone Elders gave Radagast the Brown the respect one would of someone of his station.

"Yes he has and we can only hope to repair any damages he has done.

Would you happen to have a library that we might be allowed to learn from? she asked the Elders.

"To be more specific, we do not know how much distance there is between Naethrul and Forstan," Radagast adds, "and since we did to travel across that distance, we have no idea what lies there."

"As we were able to see from up on the spire, the lands immediately around Forstan have been ravaged and shattered just like they were around Naethrul. It appears to extend for hundreds of miles, but we do not know just how far it goes. We were hoping you might have some knowledge of that."

"But, first things first. We need to go and inspect the dome up close. Could you lead us to it?"

Anira was definitely curious about the dome as well, mostly how it had lasted so long.  Like Lady Isle, she also wished to seek information in the library.  "Perhaps there are maps in the library that could give us an idea about what the area used to be like, help us make a connection from then to now," she suggested.


OOC:  Anything on the 29 on sense motive I made earlier?

"I see..." replied the Elder. "We were hoping for more information. What you have said is little more than what we already knew. It certainly explains why we have been isolated for so long, but that does not make the burden any easier."

"We could not believe that the whole world had been destroyed, yet had no evidence to the contrary."

"We will show you to the Dome. And then to our library. I am Veralynn," the female Elder finishes.

All the Elders then rise from their seats and lead the procession out of the chamber, down a curving flight of stairs, and across and through the streets of the city to the edge. Most of them stop about 20 feet away from the Dome, but Veralynn walks up to it and cautiously reaches out a hand to touch it. It is completely transparent, so you can't really tell that it is there except for the demarcation on the ground where grass grows right up to the Dome, but becomes tumultuous rock-strewn ground after that.