Alchos: Labyrinth

The Royal Library of Odess was a maze in the open areas and moreso in the restricted stacks.  But few had access to the deepest levels, which were a literal labyrinth, designed to keep out those who might try to penetrate the records of the Odess Intelligence Service.  Alchos navigated it with ease, barely paying attention to Zephyr, who had come to him saying that the librarians in the records department had information to share with him.

He knocked twice, paused, then knocked three more times.  Zephyr, had it had eyes, would have rolled them, but settled for pushing the door open.  Inside several figures hustled about, from research desks to the stacks, putting notes into tubes that would take them to the levels above, moving into rooms held private for magical sendings.  At one bookcase, a large figure with a complex braid stood with her back to the door.  Zephyr stopped at her side and hummed.

She shelved the book she was looking over and glanced down to the elemental.  Seemingly realizing why he was there, she started and looked around to Alchos.  The Genasi smiled and waved. "Hey, Tami."

"Oh, Alchos!  You're here, good.  I found something on what you'd asked me to research," the Half-Orc responded, smoothing her dress.

"Fire away," responded Alchos, smiling.

She paused for a second, unused to such glibness from superiors. "Ok, I looked into the few words you recalled from your encounter. They didn't come up in virtually any of the languages regularly spoken in Odess."

"So they're a mystery?"

"Not exactly. A couple were similar to Ignan and Terran. One may have been drawn from... From Yuan-ti."

Tami paused, her face carefully neutral. Alchos rolled his shoulders uncomfortably.

"Honestly, that's a shaky connection. No one really speaks Yuan-ti. No one sane or who isn't a Yuan-ti, anyways."

"Ignan, Terran, and... Yuan-ti. Maybe the Ignan and Terran had to do with the souls of the Genasi?"

"That was my assumption as well. The words themselves lethu and lej... In Ignan, lathun is 'servitors.'  Terran uses ladge for 'individuals.' They clearly share some ancestral root for 'people' with modifying suffixes, which makes some sense. It is said the elementals once shared a home..."

She paused, rubbing her hands together. "Kelur is a Yuan-ti word for 'god.' I was unaware that those creatures of madness had gods as we know them, but perhaps they created it once they encountered those of us."

Alchos grimaced. "Jaryae, let this pass. I'd much rather the snake-folk stay a tale of the past."

Tami nodded.  "In any event, it seems the whole thing was a sort of ritual.  Something about their souls and a god.   Nothing good if it is related to the Yuan-ti."

Alchos nodded in agreement. "Nothing good."

Silenced stretched for a moment before Alchos sighed. "Keep researching, Tami.  This only confirms that we need to know what's going on. But be careful! If things get weird, if you even get a whiff of the idea that someone is following you over this information, go straight to Agent Shenre.  Goddess' mirth! Go straight to Master Bevelford."

Tami looked irritated but nodded.  Under her breath, Alchos heard her whisper, "I'm an operative of Odess Intelligence, too. I can take care of myself."

As he left, Alchos made a mental note to ask Melechae to look in on her.  Something is seriously wrong and we can't let it get any further ahead of us...