Alaic Stargazer flipped the lens over in his hands a few times, examining it intently. He had been able to calculate just the precise thickness of material and curvature of the lens to give it a near perfect magnification. Even without rune enchantments the telescopic lens would be able to see much further than any other telescopic lens invented. Once he had got a rune master to enchant the material, arranging its molecular structure (a term he himself had thought up one day) to his specifications the lens should be so good as to see detail in the nearest stars.<br/><br/>Ever since he came to the town of Ulthric two years ago they had called him a master astrologer. Somehow the word 'Astrologer' didn't seem to fit. It didn't adequately describe his study of the stars and the motions of the twin moons of Expellia. He had seen what other astrologers did. They concerned themselves more with how the stars had an effect on the personal lives of their fellow Expellians. It seemed a ridiculous notion to Alaic but he didn't voice his opinion for fear of offending these nice people who had adopted him as their own. Alaic's own interest in the stars was more one of a desire to learn what they were made of, how far away they were, and how he might one day reach them.<br/><br/>He didn't know why he felt so restless. The fact that he wasn't entirely the same as his fellow townsfolk didn't help. They had found him two years ago wandering along the path that lead from the small village of Woodhaven to the south. He couldn't remember who he was or how he had gotten there. They had told him that he was possibly from a distant land beyond the purple sea, but they had never seen the likes of him before. His ears were too small, his build a little too large and stocky. He spoke with a gruffer, less musical voice and he seemed to instinctively 'know' things that their academics had spent years studying.<br/><br/>He had with him a purse of gold coins and that was enough for him to purchase a small house. His talent both for science and engineering allowed him to invent new and better ways of his fellow townsfolk to do things. He was always inventing.<br/><br/>But then the nightmares started. They coincided with the arrival of the black oak wardrobe. It simply turned up one day outside his house, no note attached to it. It had an ornate silver lock but no key. The best locksmiths in Ulthric were unable to open it. Now it lay in his study, a decorative curiosity that one day he may actually get around to studying.<br/><br/>The nightmares themselves were more sensations that visual imagery. He was travelling great distances inside a box that was not a box. He was running from something. Something bad. Something that didn't belong in this universe. The only visual image he remembered in his dream was of a woman with intense brown eyes and midnight black hair.<br/><br/>He was interrupted from his reverie by a knock on the door of his office. The rune master had arrived. He would soon be able to test his new lens.<br/><br/>***<br/><br/>The town was awash with people. Close-built houses lining narrow streets. The smell and sounds of a town heaving with people was a stark contrast to the village that had been Krista's home. With the envelope unopened in her pouch the poor girl hadn't been given much to go on. Despite this, as soon as she had entered Ulthric she had became aware of a presence. It was like a distant voice calling her, weak yet there all the same. It felt feminine and yet also didn't feel like it was of this world. The voice led her down one of the main streets toward one of the residential houses. Whatever was calling to Krista was inside that house.