[h1][color=olive]Keeper Julian[/color][/h1]
[hr]
[i]"Well..."[/i] Julian began, readjusting his position atop the rock.

[i]"Those keys are... how do I say this... like needles. The Junction is a lumpy knot, and all these tunnels and doorways are... strings, I suppose. The needles help you find your way through the knot, to and from the Junction to other parts of the land."[/i]

They both looked somewhat confused at the sewing analogy he was attempting to make.

[i]"Perhaps a better way to say this would be... the keys are like, beacons. The Junction senses these beacons, and whoever is carrying them, and grants them full access to its pathways. A dead end cave becomes a tunnel leading here, or a closet door in an abandoned house... so on. And the Junction does these things on its own bodiless whim. Sometimes it transports people[/i] without [i]keys, it's... random. Been like that for as long as I've been here."[/i]

They seemed slightly more pleased with that answer.

[i]"And as for your second question..."[/i] He began again, [i]"I don't know the origin of the curse. Vorris might, but... we don't say much to each other anymore. You're not the first to ask, many an intellectual has attempted to uncover its mysteries. Break it, even. But the lot of them eventually gave up, or... perished, searching."[/i]

He sighed.

[i]"Some part of me thinks it's not so much a curse as it is a... a net. A net that...[/i] catches [i]these lost pieces of the world, and keeps them from falling into nothingness. And I don't know who or what could have made that net... but I wouldn't question their actions if I were to stand before them. I wouldn't wish the net to be torn."[/i]

He gave Piper a bit of a concerned look, shrugging.

[i]"How could anyone?"[/i]

[@Empour]