[color=gray][quote=Meryn]Looking down into her bag again, she dug her hand in. The felidrake still seemed grouchy, but it was preoccupied with eating the rest of her food. Meryn tried not to roll her eyes as she avoided touching it to pull out the tiny silver bell. Triumphant, she held it out to the bird between her two fingers. The name and the rune glistened in the light as she eagerly hoped for some sort of explanation.[/quote][/color]

The little bird ticked its mechanical head to the side, and her thin metal feathers flicked with interest.

[b]"Your dreams have an unusually vibrant color,"[/b] she informed Meryn. Her glassy eyes were staring over the courier's head; the statues around them whistled softly. [b]"Your question is about the silver bell, right? They're from the temple magi that used to study here. When an apprentice becomes a mage, his final task is to imbue a small part of his soul into a silver bell -- that's what the rune is. Every mage carries his bell with him his whole life. When a mage dies, his name is inscribed on his bell and it's kept at the temple as a memorial. Some of the oldest temples have entire rooms filled with souls that date to the beginning of history. It's breathtaking, if you ever have a chance to see it. The Temple of Winter Silence at Soondark Pass has an enormous and very creepy memorial room that still gives me the shivers to think about. I highly recommend a visit, if you like spooky things."[/b]

Echoes of shouting rose up from the road below, and the little bird raised her head in confused curiosity.

[color=gray][quote=Alex]"So you think that it's ok, just because the mother of these creatures was sick, and they have a chance of being sick as well, to just chuck them into nothing! They're completely innocent, and you're killing them because of their mother! You're a sick monster!" Then I attempted to punch him again.[/quote][/color]
Spook moved fluidly, and with an effortless shift of his weight and twist of his shoulders he entirely missed Alex's punch; Alex's fist whiffed in empty air.

[b]"You're entitled to your opinion of me,"[/b] Spook said with the same grinning voice -- and as long as Alex continued to try to hit him, the Traveller would continue to avoid being hit, but never raised a hand. The felidrakes in their cages yowled frightfully.

[b]"Are you volunteering to take personal responsibility for them?"[/b] Spook picked up another of the cages, and in the same motion held it out over the gaping nothingness of the portal on the ground. [b]"It's a painless death,"[/b] he offered helpfully, as if this fact made everything better.