(jump back in time a little bit...warning, monster post!)The moment Zak felt the summons, her heart had been racing. Who could it be...? None of her new friends knew of the bellpull in her library, and surely DM had nothing to say to her....some other traveler, perhaps?
She said her farewells and walked through the swirling otherness of the portal, stepping out of one of her bookshelves into her library. Strange...I've never been here before, but it's all intimately familiar.... Then she looked to see who had summoned her.
"It has been some time since we last met, Lorekeeper," came the deep, booming voice.
Zak winced. Shadowdemon was floating with folded arms and smirking face beside his daunting master, looking irritatingly smug. Venger wasn't smirking, but she could hear it in his words. She forced a wan smile. "Hello, Venger. What do you want?"
"My servant has been telling me that you are aiding the newcomers in their quest. I admit that I was surprised to find you suddenly working against me, after so many centuries of.... peaceful coexistance."
Zak scowled at them. "I was only doing my job. It's my duty to aid those who ask assistance of me."
Venger inclined his head. "Of course, Lorekeeper. And of course, you shall have no qualms in also assisting myself, as your geis compells you."
Zak bit her tongue to keep from saying her first reply, which would undoubtedly have led to mass destruction of her precious books. "What do you want?" she repeated in a surly voice.
"Information, first. I want to know who these new young ones are, and how I may use their powers--"
"I'm a lorekeeper, not a spy! Send your little shadow-lapdog to do the dirty work! I can only tell you things that have already happened, and I didn't SEE enough before the summons to tell you anything more than he can. It's not my fault you summoned me here before I saw anything useful." This wasn't entirely true, but as long as he didn't question her further, she wouldn't have to say anything more.
Fortunately, Venger seemed to think this was fair enough. He even sent a glower at Shadowdemon, who quailed under that red gaze and hid under a cluttered desk.
"How much do they know about what it is that they seek?" He asked Zak next.
"Very little," she had to admit. "And I don't know either. I assume it's here...somewhere..." She indicated her library with a vague wave of her hand.
Venger smirked. "They seek a fractured artifact...and the largest of the pieces resides under the city. I can feel that it has already been retrieved. I want you to tell me where the remaining shards are hidden."
Zak turned pale. "I don't know-"
Venger took a step closer. "Yes, you do. You were there when the artifact was shattered, weren't you....?"
Zak closed her eyes, memory springing unbidden to her thoughts. Vaguely, she did remember..."Yes...and YOU were the one who shattered it. And the pieces...were given to several people, to hide, before you regenerated..." She opened her eyes again, her surly gaze not quite able to meet his eyes. "I'd have to look it up the rest, as it WAS a very long time ago...why the interest in it now, after all these years?"
Venger smiled. "You shall see, Lorekeeper, and you shall record it- my final triumph."
"Humph. I've heard THAT before," she replied, turning away. "Now go away."
She stopped as she felt his hand take hers, the one with the bracelet that encircled her wrist like a manacle, and forced herself not to pull away as he examined it. "You realize that I am more than capable of removing this, Lorekeeper." He held her hand like the gallant man whose form he'd once assumed to trick her, and she yanked it free with disgust.
"You're no more charming now than you were then, Venger," she snapped, before he could complete his bribe attempt. "I know better than to trust YOU again. I'd be worse off than I am now."
Venger smiled again, but there was little humor in his gaze. "I give you a week, Lorekeeper. Then I shall return. And you shall tell me all you know of the remaining shards."
"Or else what? You know you can't kill me," she said, much more defiantly than she felt. "And if they ask my help, I shall give it to them, as well."
"No, I cannot kill you, but I can make you wish you'd never lived," he replied quietly. "Beware of choosing sides, Lorekeeper. Remain neutral, and you shall remain unharmed." He beckoned Shadowdemon to his side, who shot Zak a parting smirk as they vanished.
Zak breathed an immense sigh of relief after their departure, trying to still her trembling hands. She looked around her at the familair settings, centuries of memories coming back to her, centuries of watching Venger slowly taking over the Realm, and only recently having the satisfaction of seeing him defeated. She tries to think of a way to avoid this, to get around betraying her new friends....but the only thing she can think of is to give the same information to both sides, and to let them duke it out.
She smiled. Of course, Venger only ASSUMED her memory was bad....when it was actually quite quick. And dispite her centuries of existance, she remembered nearly everything she'd recorded over the years. She knew where the information was. There was nothing saying she couldn't give it to the good guys FIRST. Venger would get it at the end of the week....
Still grinning, she turns to her shelves and begins searching for the correct title.....
((and at this point, what she finds there is open for debate....does anyone have input as to what this object is? I rather liked Cole's/Iris's/Eo/whoever else was on that email's....if there are no objections I'll go with that!)
