[@Rhiven Knight]
Surely the whole library could hear the alacritous pace of her heart! Had Rhayven not provided his steadying hand, her impending tumble would have been disastrous and not a little embarrassing. Profuse thanks tumbled from her lips unheeded as Rhayven identified three books of interest.

“Rose, I have just had a stunning realization, and there is something I need to retrieve as a result. Would you be a dear and synthesize the information from these three books on a ruin they reference? Try to ascertain all pertinent details on its location. It occurs to me that when I was working in one of the ruins of the Ancients recently, I came across something I believe refers to a location described in these three books- only, the descriptions are wildly different, and only the connection to the item I found made me wonder if, without the key, different people experienced the ruins differently.”

He selected [u]The Knight and the Fairy[/u], [u]Records from Midhaven[/u], and [u]The Lost War: A Retrospective[/u] from her stack. "When you are finished," he continued, "we need to find the others, but we will have to do so separately. We can try to find the prince, or go looking for the two foreigners. I am inclined to say we go after the foreigners in town, as if my suspicion is correct, the site described will be tied to their once-illustrious homeland. I’ll meet up with you after I find the treatise I wrote on the object and the ruin I found it in.”

[i]Would you be a dear?[/i] he'd said. Rose lifted an eyebrow and tried (unsuccessfully) to stifle back a smirk. "If synthesizing information for you makes me a dear, heaven help me if you take an interest in my research papers." She made eyes at him for a moment before delving into the content.

The Knight and the Fairy was a popular children's book in which a Fairy, discarded by a cruel adventurer on account of her clipped wings, was rescued by a Knight in Shining Armor. Because she could not fly, he swore to escort her back home to "where the good things lie." Her home, it turned out, lay across the "Sea of Despair" and was only reachable by ship. When they came to the last ship in the harbor, the captain said it was too full, but he would send another later. So the Knight and the Fairy had to survive until the next ship arrived.

That was easier said than done. A vast army of hideous "Shadows" emerged from the Sea of Despair and ravaged the whole country, and the Knight barely survived an encounter with one of them on his way to the harbor. To improve their chances of survival, Fairy agreed to accompany Knight as he searched for the Four Sacred Keys, the Four Dungeons they unlocked, and the Sacred Gears they guarded. Each key was hidden by the Four Kings, who ruled nations along the four cardinal directions of the land.

The first was the Jade Key, held by the Dwarf Lord of the West. It unlocked the dungeon for Aegis, a sturdy shield that even the Shadows could not break. The second was the Skull Key, held by the Beast Lord of the North. It unlocked the Aurum Fists, a pair of magical gauntlets that allowed Knight to cast Fairy spells. The third was the Leaf Key, held by the Elf Lord of the East. It unlocked Luna, a legendary bow whose arrows flew straight and true, never ran out, and could pierce any armor. Last, there was the Dragon Key, held by the High Lady of the South. It unlocked Titan, powerful armor that gave godlike strength.

Alas, Knight could not find all the Sacred Gears in time for the next ship to arrive. Together, Knight and Fairy fled to the harbor, and Knight stood guard against all the armies of Shadow while the captain prepared to set sail with Fairy. As the ship floated away, Fairy watched the Shadows slay the Knight in Shining Armor, so she swore that she would remember him for the rest of her days.

Rose put the book down and wiped her eyes. "Welp, that's one book down. Good lord, I'd forgotten how sad that story is! Anyway, if we assume that there is some truth to this fantasy tale, it indicates that your 'ruins' are actually 'dungeons,' which are basically dangerous vaults that drive off the unworthy from taking their contents. There are four dungeons, one in each cardinal direction, and to access them, you need the 'key' for each one. Each key is guarded by a 'king.' Unlock them, and you get a super-shield, super-bow, super-gloves, and super-armor."