"Where are they?..." Exalndria, sweeping the contents of her tabletop aside. Only one item survived the onslaught. A small, black key. Innocent and yet evil. Pure but corrupted. The lexarch scanned the key with a small data scanner. She glanced at the readings and threw it across the cramped room. The scanner tinkled as it shattered against the opposite room.
"Where are they?..." the same words were spoken again, but not by the lexarch.
"I don't like it here," grumbled Gedrick, looking at the pristine architecture of the Grand Palace.
"Really?" Fam was only a bit surprised. She'd learnt that wherever they went, Gedrick was bound to find something wrong with it "But I thought that you'd have liked the earthen buildings."
The dwarf walked over to the closest, pure white, pillar and placed his hand on it. He closed his eyes and, for a moment, just stood their, listening. Fam waited for the results of her friend's analysis of the building.
Gedrick sighed "It's too clean."
"Is that all?" asked Fam, both wanting to press on with their mission and enjoy another, precious, moment of memory without the pain of the past few days consuming her.
Gedrick narrowed his eyes, concentrating on the colour of the pillar, "The rock has been changed."
"Well, of course it has!" cried Fam, her friend's stubbornness starting to get on her nerves, "It's been carved!"
"That's not what I mean," continued Gedrick, patiently, "I mean that it has been changed using Light Energy. Watch," he drew Smokespitter.
"Wait!" Fam leaped forward just as Gedrick fired a shot of smoke at the pillar. The smoke stained the pillar black.
"What have you done?" exclaimed Fam, aghast,
"Just watch," replied Gedrick.
Fam looked back over at the pillar and gasped. The dark stain was being absorbed by the rock before being dispelled into the ground.
"See," said Gedrick, walking towards the doors of the Grand Palace "The rock's been changed."
Fam looked between the pillar, the ground and Gedrick before shaking her head and ran after her friend.
They pushed open the great door - a huge, white, object gilded with gold and silver. The entrance hall of the Grand Palace stretched before them. The floor was a dazzling rainbow, the walls blocks of light. Candles, lamps and other forms of light covered the space and, yet, neither Fam nor Gedrick were blinded. They walked down the rainbow and bowed before the throne of the Queen of the Dawn - Eos.
"Rise," called a voice from above.
Gedrick did so and looked upon the queen. Her long brown hair flowed down to her warm red wings and saffron dress. She walked down to the dwarf and placed one rosy hand upon his shoulder, smiling. A flicker of pain crossed her eyes and she took her hand back.
"And what brings a dwarf and a water nymph to my domain?" the Creator asked.
"We come bearing a request," replied Fam, her head still bowed.
Eos walked over to the nymph, "A request?" she looked surprised "And what could that request be?"
"We need a Dawnbringer plant so as to heal our friend."
Eos fluttered back to her throne and sat down "Ah, he's fallen prey to the Nightfall serum, has he?"
Fam nodded, "He has."
"And why do you think that I should give you some of my, exceedingly rare, flower? And for nothing in return?"
Fam faltered, taken aback by this response. Hastily, Gedrick answered "You are mistaken, your highness, for we do not plan on taking the flower without proper payment to yourself and your house."
Eos nodded staring deep into Gedrick's eyes. She sighed and motioned at one of her servants, who left the room, "No," she started "I think I'll give it to you now. I think that you'll become of service later and that you'll need your friend to do so."
The servant returned and handed a delicate, white flower to Fam. The nymph stared at the flower for a while, not quite believing the ease at which they had gotten it. She bowed again "Thank you, your majesty. We shall always be of service."
The two friends left the Grand Palace and set off back to the O.U.T.L.A.W.S. HQ and Orpos. Eos looked on. "Good luck," she whispered, her thoughts turning back to what she had felt when she had placed her hand on Gedrick's shoulder. "The Dawn might break but Night must fall," she muttered, remembering an old prophecy that her father had once told her "The Earth shall crumble and Water will run. The Changer will Hunt and Keys will be found. Knowledge shall undo and Chaos will reign. And so the half will be outlawed again." The Queen of the Dawn pondered this message for a while before getting up and preparing for the next sunrise.
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