[quote]Once he felt comfortable enough with how dry his clothes were he would start his ascent up the cliff-side.[/quote]

Arthur would find the white cliff-face sheer and slightly cracked, with just enough footholds to give a highly experienced rock-climber a challenge -- for this child, however, the task he had chosen was quite an undertaking indeed. He would find the stone powdery and salty under his fingers, almost crumbly under his feet, creating a precarious and dangerous situation -- and he'd only just cleared the tops of the scraggled trees.

The salty wind rushed through him, quickly drying his hair and his clothes the rest of the way. From here he could hear the shuffle and grunt of the monsters on the gangplank, the squealing laughter of seagulls, a sharp human voice directing the guests inside. From here he could see the dazzle of the ocean that spread out in all directions, little waves capped by flashing froth, the sun casting bright shimmers on the calm water.

His next handhold would prove unsound, and there was nowhere else to go. The way up still seemed impossibly high, the top of it hidden in a misty mystery.

"D'you want a little help?"

The voice belonged to an enormous flying fox, twice as big as Arthur himself, who clung to the side of the cliff, licking the salt from the rock. She shuffled a little closer, hanging by the sharp claws on her wings, and twitched an ear and blinked an eye. "You fall from here you'll wreck your head, I imagine. Unless that's the point, in which case you've got a good effort."

After a few more licks, she twitched the other ear. "You could climb on my back, if you wanted. Unless you think you can make it yourself to the top. I'll watch you try, it'd be jolly fun."

[hr][quote]It tumbled, like the rest of them, down to the little pile at the bottom. The book struck ground, and opened up to a page. Riley quickly scrabbled down, eager to read the contents.[/quote]

[indent][indent][i]At the end of the war, a neutral ground was required which could contain the egos of both horrors that led the armies in opposition. The Orphanage by then had been left abandoned -- rather, cleansed -- and was a space both sides groundedly feared. Naturally this was the site I chose for the Lilyrose House.[/i][/indent][/indent]

Inside the cover of the book was an inscription that marked the book belonged to Lily Rose. It was handwritten, as a diary, and each page had a slight glimmer of magic threaded within it.

[indent][indent][i]We humans, obviously, would be in great peril in the company of the horror-armies -- our flesh and bones are highly regarded among their culinary circles, when they bother to cook us at all. I had devised a disguise, however. This very book contains within it the elements of the shroud that has kept me safe -- highly-regarded, even -- among the horrors. It is created for human eyes -- for you, my dear reader. Speak aloud the enchantment, and any shape, any form that you touch, may become your own:

[indent]Magic of the breathing seas
Singing of the wind
Shroud me in your majesty
Create in me your kin
Give me shape that's whole and new
Give me shape that sings
Give me shape that pleases you
That fools the teeth and kings[/indent][/i][/indent][/indent]

A door creaked. One of the enormous horrors was coming out of the right-side door, a stack of books in its tentacles. It had not yet seen Riley -- but in only a few moments it would inevitably discover her.