They had only been at the library two, maybe three weeks and so very little of their time had been free for them to explore. So the night before they departed, Trent found himself aimlessly exploring the massive building.
About forty minutes into his wandering the found an unmarked door. He placed his hand on the knob and a realization hit him like lightening.
He had not spoken with Alex since the day they set sail. He opened the door and slipped inside to find that the room was full of carved tree trunks. Dozens of them lined the walls of the room. Dozens more hung from the ceiling. His entrance caused the closet few to sway slightly.
He found an empty patch of wall and pulled the door knob from his belt pouch. Alex had said to just touch it to a wall and while he trusted her he still felt stupid doing it for the first time. A thin electric silver line emerged from above and below the door knob and traced out the shape of a door into the wall. When the line was complete he knob turned naturally as if it had always been where Trent had just placed it. The door opened a crack and Trent peaked through the gap.
He saw the darkened central area of Alex's bar. It was the middle of the night and the place wad dark but a quick reach through to touch the wood slatted floor confirmed that it was really there on the other side of the doorway.
He dragged a log over and used it to wedge the door open so there was no change it could close on him accidentally. Once he was absolutely sure the log would stop the door he stepped through into the restaurant.
He was sure the building was deserted and yet he realized he was tiptoeing as if was expecting to get caught. He reached the bar and saw a fairly large rock holding a stack of papers down. He moved the rock and discovered the papers were letters that Alex had been writing them. She had started the day they had left, which is when she realized that something like this late night arrival might occur. Each letter was dated a little later into their journey, she had kept detailed notes as to the state of Lidarion and the status of the captives and the king. He had glanced at less than half the letters when he felt the beginning pangs of homesickness.
He took the letters and found a scrap of paper and pencil behind the bar. He left a simple note, apologizing for such a long absence and promised to return again tomorrow during the day.
With his note finished he gathered the letters and went back through the door, closing it behind him.
