A Theoretical Impossibility: Again.

[Faith Augustin]

~~Everything is theoretically impossible, until it is done. ~~
Robert A. Heinlein

They were as prepared as they could be.

They'd been here before, three of the four of them, and they had used all their skills and abilities to get themselves ready for this excursion. Padraig had been here more than any of them, of course, but each time it had become a little bit easier and a little bit more informational - because each time they had been a bit more prepared.

This meant a few things. Leaving on the 40th Vhalar, the ship's captain the same one that had been with Padraig each time. He and his crew knew what they were expecting now and Faith had made sure that everyone on board had plenty of warm clothes, she'd brought home-made blankets for them all, made with her careful layering technique. She also insisted that she cooked for everyone on board. Faith loved cooking, but that wasn't why she did it. She knew that she could make them healthier food that way and so, she did it. She also made sure that there were plenty of sweet treats which were, in fact, boosts to their immune system. It was very much what she did, and Faith enjoyed cooking for crowds of folks.

She also took the time on the way there to prepare for once they were in the effect of the barrier. Just in case there was an issue, they would be able to eat for a full month, Faith figured, if they were stranded. If she was there, it would be more than that because she could make food stretch - but she prepared for her not being.

All of their equipment was packed away, carefully. They didn't use Domain Bags, because the bags wouldn't work, so there were bags and boxes and for those who had not travelled this way before it might seem like they were being overly cautious in the packaging.

But then, there was the day that they entered the area of effect - passing through the invisible barrier which took them from a calm ocean to a storm, from cold to sub-zero and to somewhere where lightning struck the sea, filled with icebergs. The ship rocked and swayed and - had they not prepared and been prepared - they would have been in a lot more trouble. But it wasn't a surprise, the captain and crew were experienced and had experienced this particularly, and they were prepared.

On the trip there, they had been able to work a little - but the packing away of equipment meant that there were limited things out - because no one knew the moment where they would cross that invisible line and enter the area of effect. She made sure, though, that they spoke together, the four of them, each trial. She also brought with her as many samples from Quacia and their time there - and the fallout from it - as she could. Written records, of course, because she knew that she would lose that perfect memory the moment they went into the effect of the barriers and, besides, she tried never to rely on that lest it became a crutch rather than a tool.

Padraig's dragonling was with them, as was a most odd being called Chuckles. He seemed to be made entirely from fire, but did not set anything alight. Faith did her best to care for him as much as any other on board and her diris did the same. But, eventually, it meant that they stood together, the four of them, in the freezing space just in front of the barrier and she explained (not for the first time) the hypnogogic state they needed to get into to get over there. Faith was wrapped up in as many layers of warmth as she could manage whilst still being able to move - she hated the cold.

She had the supplies with her, and now she gave them each a small chocolate treat. "It will put you into a semi-sleep state," she said. "It's what we need to get through." And what they had to get through, of course, was the enormous wall in front of them. It was thick and like a wall of ice or glass - there seemed to be shapes beyond it which could not be quite made out. Smiling at Doran she added. "I forgot. Welcome to the Edge of the World." As strange as it may seem, Faith considered, this wasn't the most amazing thing. To be standing here was to be in a stepping-stone to their destination. "Buckle up," she said with a smile. "You're about to go to somewhere quite extraordinary. Everyone ready?" And, if they were?

"Let's go."

40th Vhalar, 721
~~ Beyond The Barriers ~~

[Doran]

The trials before their departure had been filled with a whirlwind of activity. Doran had made a trip through the Eclipse Portal, back to Scalvoris, in order to retrieve Chuckles as well as pack a number of samples. There were different kinds of glass now, including drainglass, and small bags with all kinds of Scalvoris sand. Furthermore, there was a sample of Balthazar Black’s blood, contained in a glass vial and a piece of cloth that he had alchemificated with his old acquaintance’s blood, contained inside a box made of glass. He didn’t count on it, but there was a small chance that glass would make a difference.

He had also told his employees where he would be going – and why. He was not really worried about dying behind the barriers, even though the lack of ether had a profound impact on Mortalborn – he considered worrying in advance to be a largely counterproductive activity, besides, he was travelling with people that had made the trip several times – but he wanted to make arrangements in case he didn’t return regardless. He wanted them to be able to stay in the former lighthouse that he had recently acquired, and he wanted Plia, his research assistant, to have whatever was in his laboratory.

There was a distinct feeling of excitement as he boarded the ship on the 40th of Vhalar. Over the course of the previous couple of arcs, he had grown restless and become tired of being in his laboratory all the time. He wanted to see the world – and uncover all of its secrets – and he could not help but look forward to the trip, although a part of him wondered what it would be like to be without his marks. He had never relied on them – he considered doing such to be foolish – but his being a Blessed of Xiur had become an important part of his life.

Once on the ship, he made sure to introduce himself to Varlum as well as the crew and get to know them – they needed to work together and be able to depend on each other in case of a crisis. Apart from talking to Faith, Padraig and Varlum each trial, he checked their research notes so that he would be as well-informed as he could be. He made sure to eat plenty of Faith’s food – she was an extraordinary cook, and he told her that. There was a chance that his strength would begin to fade behind the barriers, at least if Faith’s potion didn’t work as intended, and her food that made him healthier might help.

He also checked the equipment that he had brought and that was contained in a number of boxes, thoroughly – his domain bag that he usually used to transport things wouldn’t work, he had been told. All the glass was in padded containers now to decrease the risk of something breaking as much as possible. The sea would be turbulent once they entered the area of effect, and he didn’t want to take any chances.

Finally, he spent some time with Chuckles, not only to take care of him – he knew him best out of all the people on the ship – but to talk to him and get some information from him. He asked him what he knew about the barriers, the dragons and a war between them and the parents of those whose marks he bore (Chuckles was a very knowledgeable entity, but he had a unique way of speaking and seeing the world, and he wasn’t sure if he was familiar with the term “Original”, or if he knew the Originals by name.)

Eventually, the big trial arrived, the air was suddenly so much colder, and the sea was filled with icebergs. He stood next to the others, bundled up in layers of warm clothing – while he didn’t mind the cold particularly, he could still feel it – and looked ahead. His Iceforged diri that took the form of a small Kioo Tulki and that rested on his shoulder chatted excitedly for a moment – it was a curious being, and this seemed like a great adventure – before it abruptly fell silent and looked on, its eyes wide. It had never seen anything like that before!

“Thank you”, Doran said to Faith when she handed him a chocolate treat, smiled slightly and inclined his head before he turned to look at the enormous wall that rose in front of them. He had read about the barrier, of course, but reading about something and actually seeing it were two very different things. His heart beat a little faster for a moment as he thought about what would soon happen and what he might find on the other side, not out of fear, but because he was in awe. He had met Immortals and monsters, and stood in the Heart of Scalvoris during the Forging, but he had never been part of something like that before, in all of the four centuries that he had been alive.

“It’s truly amazing”, he remarked and raised his head for a moment, as if to try and find the upper edge of the barrier, even though he knew that was impossible – the barrier was much too high for that - before he looked at the others again, a light smile on his face once more. “I’m ready, as ready as I can be”, he said in a firm tone of voice. She had told them to buckle up, so he would – and he would make sure to eat the chocolate as well as follow her other instructions in order to reach the other side safely.

“Let’s go”, he repeated and nodded at the other three, and Chuckles.

[Padraig]

Even if Padraig was to live forever, and as a mortalborn, chances were he'd at least live for a very long time, this now familiar journey to the edge of the world and beyond would never become anything close to routine. Each trip had revealed wonders he'd never imagined before; and gave birth to more mysteries in need of solving. Questions upon questions and layers upon layers to be peeled away and he tended to think they'd be hard pressed to ever uncover them all.

In the meantime, there was the trick of getting there without mishap. And as he'd learned twice before, that was never assured. During the first voyage, once they'd passed through an unseen barrier along the way, the storm at sea had nearly ended them all. And with or without that squall, the cold was beyond anything he'd ever experienced before. However that very condition made the heavens all the more spectacular to gaze upon at night.

Faith's preparations on behalf of them all had made all the difference. Good and healthy food that kept them going, warmed them up on the inside, and plenty of warm layers to help keep some of the frigid cold at bay. He'd done his own preparations so far as the equipment he'd take along on the journey. And like the time before, it meant taking extra measures to place each piece in heavy lined crates that would both protect it from being tossed and knocked around, and further insulate it from freezing temperatures.

Though Padraig, Faith and Varlum had been there before, and this Padraig's third trip, Doran's excitement and wonder was nonetheless contagious. On the calmer and clearer nights then, Padraig would unpack one on his telescopes and set it up at the rail, encouraging Doran to gaze up at the stars through, to his heart's content. Faith as well, and Varlum if he so desired. Meanwhile, he'd do his own work in that regard, recording charts of the night sky and comparing them to the previous times he'd seen them, and comparing the skies and the movement to what they were all much more familiar with by now.

Meanwhile, the little dragonling, while it probably didn't mind the cold much, had spent most of it's time snuggled in to a large fur lined pocket inside Padraig's coat. His larger companion and mount Kaldvind, which appeared to have been created out of pure, striking blue ice, appeared to savor the extreme cold. Not surprising of course, the creature watched the way ahead over the rails and seemed to sense they were returning to visit his homeland.

Finally they'd arrived, and Padraig never failed to marvel at the wonder of it all. The size of the icebergs that were yet dwarfed by the enormity of the barrier itself. With a smile, Padraig took the treat that Faith handed him, and smiled when Doran appeared more than eager to go. Understandable, there was another world to be revealed just a few steps in front of them and seeing, was believing. "Ready," he said, and when that moment arrived he'd place a hand on the surface of the barrier just as he had twice before now.

[Varlum]

At first, Varlum felt nothing but excitement. Their last trip beyond the barrier had been incredible, the time he had spent in the presence of a being he now knew to be his ancestry. A shared soul, the Ithecal and Dragons. It was a powerful feeling - as if questions Varlum didn't even know he really had were answered. Knowing he would be going back to that place had given him the motivation he needed after the events with Valtharn. Spending time with Vega and Arlo had helped him in ways he could only begin to thank them for, but now it was time to go back into the world.

He could only rest for so long.

Once they got on the ship and set sail, however, Varlum quickly found a problem. As his defiance had grown in power, so to had his mutations, the molten Ithecal quickly feeling a discomfort being away from the Earth. Minutes went by, and before long he found himself shaking, anxiety rushing over him in waves. Not feeling the Earth underneath him made his body tremble, his head rush with thoughts he didn't need to have on a journey like this. Immediately, he reported this to Faith and the others, knowing they would be qualified to help deal with the issue.

Despite the anxiety, he made an effort to spend time with the group, introducing himself to Doran as the man had done to him, and talking with them where possible. While it was obvious he was fighting to even talk, his face was determined, not willing to let anything best him now. When he was alone, and when it came time to sleep, he would wrap up in the Blanket of Calm, giving him comfort through the journey. As the trials went by, he started to walk around wrapped in it, looking visibly better to his crew. At first he'd thought it strange that Ethelynda had handed him a blanket of all things, yet she knew him well enough by now. He didn't need help in battle. He didn't need to learn to fight more. He had that under control. Instead, he needed more time to himself, to heal.

Across the days they travelled, Varlum told them all he knew of the Dragons and Ithecal, as Ethelynda had told him. He shared in the food Faith had made, thanking her for it, and he gazed at the stars with the others that did so, all while wrapped up in the blanket to keep calm. As time went by, he looked out over the waters, until they finally saw it - the barrier. Everyone prepared and Doran, who had never been here before, had the situation explained to him. Varlum gave a nod to the professor. "This'll be fun" he said with confidence, mustering a small smile.

"Let's do it."

[Basilisk]

With experience and preparations, they quartet made it to the barriers in safety and even a fair amount of comfort. As had happened before, Blessing abilities, domain magic, and even mortalborn powers started to fail as the group approached the Barriers. This even applied to items, and since they knew about this in advance, they were able to prevent any damage to divinely or magically enchanted items. However, this didn't apply to Spirit-based items, and here something interesting happened. Varlum had told Ethelynda about the barriers, and it appears she had planned for that in her Ascension gifts, as both the pillow and the blanket, if he had brought the latter along, were spirit-made and thus, still functional even as they approached the Barrier.

When they arrived at the Barrier and passed through it, they would find themselves in almost the same place they had arrived at before, though there had been some changes. Most notably, there was now some infrastructure on the cliff face they once again found themselves standing on. A small cabin had been built on top of the platform and there was a large platform built into the side of the cliff, with one of those pulley systems that they had spied last time built into it. Now that they got a good look at the systems, they could see the gears on the pulleys were operated by what appeared to be a pair of very large, very furry raccoons, though if one were to look at their feet, they would notice they were even better designed for gripping than a regular raccoon was.

Only a few minutes after they arrived, however, the door to the cabin opened and Adalsteinn, who three of them had met on the last trip, came out, followed by a Kaldvind. There had been some changes since they were last there, and they could even see most of them since he was much less bundled up than he had been on the last visit, owing to it being not as cold. His hair had turned light blue and looked almost crystalline, and the irises of his eyes were white. His breath also misted as he spoke. "Velkominn aftur, leitandi! Við vorum farin að hafa áhyggjur að eitthvað hefði komið fyrir þig." he said, his tone cheerful. He waved a friendly greeting at both Faith and Varlum, then gave Doran a curious look but after a second waved at him as well.

"Eins og þú sérð smíðuðum við lyftu fyrir þig. Þarf ekki að bíða eftir fuglunum í þetta skiptið." he said, gesturing at the pulley system, before he suddenly grimaced slightly and gave them a slightly shame-faced look. "Fyrirgefðu, ég gleymdi. Ekkert ykkar talar tungumálið okkar." he said, before shaking his head. He seemed to think for a moment, then nodded to himself and pointed back towards his cabin. "Koma. Ég er með hugmynd." he said, and if they seemed agreeable, he'd start walking back to his cabin.

[Faith Augustin]

~~Everything is theoretically impossible, until it is done. ~~
Robert A. Heinlein

They all stood together and Faith breathed in and smiled at the three men with her as they made their way.

On the journey there, she had made sure to speak with and be with each of them, daily. Padraig, of course, she fell asleep with and woke up with ~ but this was new for Doran and also, Varlum seemed to be really suffering this time. Faith did her best to make sure that they were both cared for in the best way she could. He explained what it was and how it was affecting him and she was there to support him. Faith did it the best way she knew how - she was a healer first and foremost, after all, but she was also a very well-rounded individual. So, she fed him food which made him feel better and she specifically had experience of helping those with issues like this, so she worked with him.

Eventually, though, they were there. Back on solid ground and Faith smiled at Varlum, checking he was alright.

But, in the end, they went through. And there, there it was. "It's changed a little, since we were here last," Faith said. She spoke this more or less for Doran's benefit, since Padraig and Varlum would notice. "This is new," she said. Faith wanted to know why, particularly, they were installing this here, but she didn't want to assume anything, and they had little time to think about it as Adalsteinn joined them, greeting them. "Velkominn. That is welcome, yes? Hello. Velkominn, Adalsteinn." She waved back to him with a slightly raised eyebrow to almost ask if she got it right. It wasn't anything about the language, for Faith, it was a puzzle. She motioned to Doran. "Doran, Adalsteinn. Adalsteinn, this is Doran." When he gave them a shamefaced look, Faith smiled and nodded, moving her hands to her ears, "we don't understand you. Adalsteinn... " she took hold of her own hair. "Hair." She said. Then she pointed to her eyes. "Eyes." Wracking her brain for what she had worked out last time.

" Þú?" she asked. "Adalsteinn, hair að eyes?" It was the best she could do.

He gestured to his cabin and said "Koma", but they none of them knew what that meant. Faith considered it and then spoke. "Adalsteinn? Ég að Padraig að Varlum að Doran koma Þú?" Were they to go with him, she wondered - and tried to communicate. As she spoke the word "koma", she made a movement with her hand, mirroring the walking towards the cabin and then raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Or, do we go there?" And at that, she gesture to where there were raccoons and levers. She thought he meant that they should go with him, and if he indicated so, then that was what she'd do. But she wanted to be clear and, besides, the only way to learn a language was to speak it. Hopefully, this would give her the word for hair and eyes, and an understanding of koma.

!	Message from: Basilisk
	Adalsteinn will gesture the party towards the cabin and will be semi insistant of them going towards the cabin rather than towards the raccoons and such.

40th Vhalar, 721
~~ Beyond The Barriers ~~

[Doran]

Varlum suffered the most during the journey. At first, Doran was confused as to why his fellow Mortalborn was in such bad shape before they had even reached the Barriers; when he explained what was going on, he did what he could in order to make him feel better though. He left most of the actual treatment up to Faith – she knew Varlum better and was far more qualified to deal with such issues – but he spent time with him when it looked like he needed it. As the son of Faldrun struggled to even talk, he made sure not to overwhelm him.

Varlum’s problems aside, the journey was surprisingly smooth, far smoother than Doran had expected after talking to Faith and Padraig and reading Faith’s research notes. There were no catastrophes, the ship wasn’t damaged, and nobody was in serious danger. He did in fact feel quite comfortable, despite the effect that the Barriers had on most of his abilities.

Ziell’s blessing had made him more tolerant to the cold, and Xiur’s blessing enabled him to see perfectly in the dark. As the ship got closer the Barriers, those abilities started to fail. He furrowed his brow very lightly as the world became the way that it had been for him once upon a time, before the Immortals had started to play such an important part in his life.

He was not particularly worried, and he was not afraid, but found that new development most … fascinating. For a moment, as they passed through, there was even a light smile on his face. He was, he realized, about to see something that few people had ever seen before him.

A part of him wanted to write everything down right now, but that was hardly the right moment for such scholarly activities. Besides, he didn’t want to possibly miss something because his head was bent over his notebook. With that thought in mind, he kept his gaze firmly trained ahead. When the cliffs came into view, and his gaze fell on some sort of infrastructure, his eyes widened before he turned to Faith, a questioning look on his face.

He had known that there were people living behind the barriers, of course, but reading and hearing about it and actually seeing that structure were two completely different things.

When Faith remarked that it had changed a little, he nodded before he turned to study the structure that had been built into the cliff face again. The gears on the pulleys, he noticed, were being operated by what seemed to be a pair of very large and furry raccoons which puzzled him, to be honest. “Are those beings related to our cadouri?” he asked softly – the cadouri were the only similar creatures that he had any experience with.

There was not a lot of time for him to study his new and surprising surroundings. But a few bits after they had arrived, a man walked out of the cabin, followed by what looked like a miniature dragon. There was something unusual about him. He looked human, for the most part, but his hair was light blue, and the irises of his eyes were as white as snow.

In some way, he reminded him of the Eidisi and Ellune of his frozen home, but he knew that he probably didn’t have anything in common with them. He was something different.

As Faith had met the people that lived behind the barriers before and would hopefully constitute a friendly face to them, he stayed behind her. He had a lot of questions, possibly more than he had ever had before, but he curbed his curiosity and tried to appear calm and relaxed. When Adalsteinn gave him a curious look, he offered him a friendly smile and waved back before he turned to listen to what he said - except that he didn’t understand him.

There were some words that sounded familiar – he was pretty sure that “koma” meant “come” and that “ég” meant “I” - but all in all, he realized, he was dealing with a new language, most likely a language that had not been recorded in any of Idalos’ archives so far.

“Ég Doran”, he said in a respectful tone of voice and inclined his head once Faith introduced everybody before he continued to listen. Judging by the shameful look on Adalsteinn’s face, the second part of his speech was likely some sort of apology – “fyrirgef” sounded kind of like “forgive” - although he wasn’t entirely sure why Faith reacted to that apology by talking about her hair and eyes. Maybe, he mused, she wanted to learn Adalsteinn’s language and had decided to ask for those particular words first?

He understood that. He was rather fascinated by that language – and everything else about that new place – himself and wished to know more about it as well.

“Fyrirgefðu”, he said in a polite and friendly tone of voice to Adalsteinn, echoing the other man’s words in an attempt to apologize for the fact that he didn’t speak his language either – and in order to make sure that he wasn’t mistaken as to what the meaning of that particular term was - before he raised his head towards the pulley system.

Did Adalsteinn want them to go up there? He turned around in order to look at Padraig and Varlum – he wanted to make sure that the son of Faldrun was feeling better now - before he faced Adalsteinn and Faith once more. Faith seemed to want clarification as to where exactly they were supposed to go. When Adalsteinn gestured towards the cabin, he inclined his head and spoke, “Ég koma.”, aware that the suffix was very likely incorrect.

Learning the words – and being capable of communicating – was more important than getting the grammar right though. With that thought in mind, he followed. He walked after Faith again as it seemed prudent to let someone who was familiar with that place take the lead. It seemed to him as if Adalsteinn wanted to tell them something in particular, and he was curious as to what exactly that was. Had something happened here?

[Padraig]

In a strange way, an unexpected one, it was a fascinating and wonderful experience to observe another seeing this all for the first time; as was the case with Doran. It almost felt like experiencing it anew for himself, all over again. Each step along the journey, from the moment they'd all climbed on board until this very moment, the other man's observations brought to mind things that even Padraig might never have considered before.

Except that this time, they were far, far better prepared than he had been that very first time. Even better than the last, when he, Faith and Varlum had traveled together. The cold, for instance, was expected, but no less a shock to the system than it had ever been. Nonetheless, here they stood, ready to pass through the barrier together. The point of arrival was familiar, and yet, also appeared change. As if time had marched on at a different, perhaps faster clip than it did back at home. This came as no great shock to Padraig, but was fascinating all the same.

"I suppose that time, while perhaps as linear here as back home," he considered when Faith observed something quite similar outloud, "may move at a dissimilar pace." Or perhaps time was circular, a possibility that the physicist had considered more times than he could count by now. Nonetheless, it occurred to him that perhaps all this new construction was being put in place as a result of their last visit here. Adalsteinn's face at least was unchanged...sort of, considering that some aspects of his own appearance had seemed to evolve as well; and when the man came to meet them, Padraig dipped his head in greeting and allowed Faith to make the introductions.

As for his apparent explanation regarding the new construction, the pulley system, and the strange creatures, Faith was better equipped than him to untangle it. He hadn't a clue. The pulley system, however, fascinated him and he'd have liked a better look at just how it was operated. Sadly, however, when Faith sought to clarify in just what direction they'd be proceeding, it was away from the fascinating apparatus, and not closer. He smiled, thanked the man and obliged of course, and followed along, just behind Faith.

"They do bear a striking resemblance, don't they?" he as good as whispered back to Doran when he mentioned the little raccoon like beings, and their resemblance to similar creatures back home. "We didn't see anything of the like last we were here. Then again, quite a lot seems to have changed since then," Padraig added then thoughtfully, and looked forward to discovering just how much, and why.

[Varlum]

Despite how hard the initial journey had been, his friends had made Varlum's life easier. Faith's foods and company, as well as the company of Doran and Padraig, helped his anxiety far more than he knew was possible. It was strange, to be away from the land and to feel so distant, almost homesick. But he knew he'd be back soon enough. Even if the land was beyond the barrier, maybe it'd be something. Enough to push the anxiety away. He'd had enough of it for one lifetime.

Varlum took his step through the barrier and immediately a weight was removed from his shoulders. He still had magma wrapped around him, the physical mutation remaining and keeping him warm, but the fear and anxiety he had felt on the boat was gone in moments. Touching the ground, even without his connection to Defiance, felt incredible. As Faith commented that it had changed a little, Varlum knelt down and placed a hand on the ground, inhaling for a second. His head then raised to look around at all the new contraptions and buildings they had added to the arrival point. Perhaps they were expecting to see Faith and Padraig back again and had prepared for it.

"Seems they were waiting for us" he commented aloud, only to see Adalsteinn moments later leaving the cabin. Quickly, Varlum realized that the people here, including Frosvinddur, didn't know that Varlum was connected to the souls of dragons. It was a conversation he would need to have when he got the chance, to explain to everyone what he knew. Maybe it would mean something to the Dragon, or not. It didn't much matter. It was information they needed to know, one way or another.

When it came time to move on, he did so, sticking with the group as Faith and Doran spoke to Adalsteinn. He gave a respectful nod to the man, before following along quietly. He was never one to talk much, at least not in languages he didn't understand. That had always been Faith's strong point on their adventures. Varlum was more of the combatant, typically. That hadn't been true when they crossed the barrier, however. Instead, he had the honor of meeting a Dragon, one he now knew shared a soul heritage with Varlum. Perhaps it would give him more to talk about this time.

Sticking beside the others, he followed.

[Basilisk]

Adalsteinn smiled slightly when Faith made further attempts to learn his language. "Hár og augu." he said, touching his hair and pointing at his eyes in turn. When she figured out he wanted them to follow him, he nodded. When Doran apologized, he gave the new arrival a slightly surprised look, then smiled slightly. "Það er ég sem gleymdi að þið töluðu öll svona." he said, his tone calm. Fortunately for Padraig's curiosity, Adalsteinn's cabin was next to the pully system, so he was still able to try and figure it out while they followed him to his cabin.

Once they got into the cabin, and Varlum might be surprised to realize that he didn't even have to duck that much to get in the doorway, they found it was cozily appointed, though it was apparent that Adalsteinn mostly lived alone. There was, however, indication that he sometimes had other people living with him. Particularly, it appeared that he sometimes had very small children visiting, as he had toys and books that looked suited to the rearing of little ones. They could also see the weaponized looking climbing axes that he had carried on their last visit, hung on a wall next to a warm looking coat and a heavy backpack. Of course, the first thing anyone was likely to notice was the Kaldvind stretched out on his floor. The Dragonling looked up at them when they entered, then stood and walked over to them. There was nothing threatening in his posture or body language, and it quickly became apparant that he was just interested in sniffing them.

While his Kaldvind attended to the sniffing of the quartet, Adalsteinn walked over to the kids section and started looking through the books. After a moment, he nodded to himself and picked one out of the collection, bringing it back to the group. "Því miður, ég veit að þetta er fyrir börn. En þetta gæti hjálpað þér að læra tungumálið okkar hraðar." he said, handing the book to Faith. If she, or anyone else, took the book and opened it, they would find it was a kids picture book, with pictures of common items and, more importantly, their names and how they were pronounced. They'd probably still maul the pronunciation, but it would probably get them on the right track.

One of the first things in the book was the pulley system, labeled as "trissu" in the book. After a short bit for them to read through the book, Adalsteinn gave a slightly awkward look around his cabin. "Svo ég ætlaði upphaflega að koma með ykkur öll beint niður fjallið, en núna eruð þið heima hjá mér, svo..." he said, his voice trailing off slightly before he gave a half shrug. "Langar einhver ykkar í eitthvað að borða eða drekka? Eða viltu frekar taka trissuna niður fjallið?" he said, his tone cheerful again.