Jing nodded, looking at Silver. “I know we should help that dragonkin and mitchi but… we need to warn our friends first.” She said before blinking a couple times and looking around. “I’m… not sure.” She said before sighing, was Girsfam part Jerboa or something for dissapering at such a serious time?!

Silver soon caught sight of the glow of light down the tunnel towards the mechanical room, and he gabbed Jing’s hand and dragged her off towards it silently.

Jing looked at Silver before letting him lead her off. She looked back once the way they had come before looking forward. “Grisfam?” She said, looking towards the glow.

Grisfam looked to them as they apprached. “Ah about time, you younguns just doddering about, leaving me to do all the work!” He pointed proudly at a plain wall. “Look what I found!”

Jing walked over to the wall, blinking a couple times. “Grisfam… its just a wall. We need to find the others! They are in danger!”

Silver blinked, looking at the wall, then his eyes widened and he grinned, “A secret door!”

Jing looked  at the wall before blinking “A secret door? How can you tell? It just looks like a wall.”

Silver pointed at the thin lines on the wall outlining the door. “See? THough how Grisfam found it, no clue, I’ve been up and down this place many times and couldn’t find anything!” Grisfam smiled indulgently, then scolwed, “But it won’t open!”

Jing sighed, bringing her hand to the door and pushing on it a little. “A door isn’t much use if we can’t open it! There has to be a way.”

“I don’t think pushing it will work.” Silver said, as he got to busily inspecting the area around the door.

“Was worth a try…” Jing said, backing up and sighing. “I hope the others are okay. I’m worried about Iris now and…” She bit her lip thinking about what she had heard them talking about. “Silver… what do you think about everything that dragon talked about… after the yurble left?”

Silver paused as he worked, looking to Jing. “What do you mean?”

“After he talked about… Iris. He mentioned something called a Demi. And the other stuff he said… who do you think he was talking about?” Jing asked, tail twitching behind her.

Silver shrugged, “Didn’t make much sense to me.” He said, and triggered a hidden switch, that made the door open. “Found it!” He hopped to his feet and peered inside the new tunnel.

Grisfam clapped his hands. “Well done, my boy!” Said the old magician. Silver started to crawl through the door, then stopped, looking back. “You guys stay here with the light, I’ll see what’s up ahead.”

Jing bit her lip as she heard that “You should take the light with you…” She pointed out. “Don’t want you getting into trouble that you can’t see.” In her mind she remembered that slug that attacked Silver when he wandered off and it was pitch black around.

Silver shook his head, “That light might give me away.” He replied, then headed out into the darkness.

Jing sighed, knowing he was right before sitting down and waiting. Her mind kept going to what she heard, trying to figure it out. Iris was in danger but the other. She realized she had been mentioned… unless more of the group had gotten seperated after the chain room. But the other…

Silver was off for a while, then reappeared at the door. “It’s a corridor.” He whispered, “There’s a staircase at the end but that prolly goes down to the throne room, so I don’t think that’d be a good idea. There’s another door on one side of the corridor, so we can try that one, I don’t hear anything inside.”

Jing nodded and sighed “Lets go then. We need to find a way to get to the others.”

Silver helped Grisfam through the door, and waited for Jing, then led them to the double doors. Pushing gently, he easily opened the double doors. Pausing to listen, Silver entered cautiously, followed closely by Grisfam and the puffball flame.

“Some sort of art gallery.” He said, glancing around a giant room where paintings, covered with dust and grime, hung on the walls. High slit windows in the walls gave them a glimpse of the stars and the tops of high mountains.

Jing looked around a little, sighing “I was hoping it would be a way out of here…” She muttered, wandering and looking at the paintings, as well as looking for the exit.

The paintings depicted various scenes of battles and glorious heroes, though one caught Jing’s attention, a large tapestry that covered half a wall that depicted large beings that could only be gods. In the center was a man who looked like a scholar, holding a book in one hand and a balance on the other. To either side were two larger gods, a knight in shining platinum dragon armor, and to the other side a woman clad in darkness, five chromatic dragon heads sprouting seemingly from her back, defying the platinum god.

Around these three were lesser gods, and between them, interwoven in the battle between good and darkness, with neutral in between, were the demi-gods.

Jing stopped at the tapestry, looking at it in awe. “Wow… This is amazing.” She said quietly.

To one side, near the gods of neutrality, was a golden brown kankiru with cat-like eyes, surrounded by a horde of felines, a black mantle over his shoulders. His smile was wry and slightly familiar.

Jing froze as she saw the kankiru, starting to shake a little at what she saw. “S…Silver… Look at this…” She said quietly, not able to lift her voice up much higher then a whisper.

Silver had been studying other pictures, and he hurried over to see what she had found. He glanced at the large tapestry in awe. “Woah, who are those guys?”

“I don’t know… But… Look at that one…” Jing said, pointing at it. “Who does he remind you of?” She asked, mind going a hundred miles a minute but getting no where.

Silver tilted his head, blinking. “Bast.” He looked surprised, “But… why would Bast be there?”

“I’m not sure… Hey Grisfam? Do you know anything about this thing?” She asked, looking towards the old ixi for a moment before back to it. Her eyes went to the knight in dragon armor, then the kankiru that looked like Bast, then to the others each in turn.

Grisfam toddled along slowly, and looked up at the tapestry, smiling faintly. “Ah… the gods of the world.” He said, “Quite a pompous pic, I suppose, but quite detailed.”

“Gods of the world?!” She said looking at them all before her eyes stopped on the kankiru. “What about these ones?” She asked, pointing to the kankiru and the ones around him. “The smaller ones. Are they gods too?”

Grisfam smiled, shaking his head. “Not quite… more like their helpers.”

Jing kept quiet for a moment before blinking a couple times “What are they called?”

Grisfam considered, wether trying to remember or decide what to say was hard to tell. “These down here….” He pointed to the figures around the kankiru, including it, “Are known as the Beast Lords. They are beings that protect those under their care, mostly beasts of different types. They are not immortal, but it’s rather hard to get rid of them, unless you slayed all those they rule over.”

Jing didn’t like the answer much, and felt like Grisfam was leaving out part. “I don’t like this…” She muttered, thinking about what the red had said again. “Demi… gods…” She blinked a couple times before looking at the kankiru again, hands going into fists. “That dragon was talking about Bast! Him and Iris are in danger! Come on no more sight seeing we have to find the others and warn them now!” She said, walking away from the tapestry and searching for a door out of the room.

Silver looked confused, but turned to follow Jing. “Hey Jing! I think I know where the dragon’s lair is now, and we can rescue those two. It’s not far from here.”

Jing’s hands went into fists as she heard that “Our friends are in danger Silver! I…I want to rescue those two… but… Bast and Iris come before two strangers in my mind!”

Silver looked hurt at this, and Grisfam walked up behind them, “Hm… hastyness isn’t that good in the young.” He commented, and it was suddenly as if a could of drowsiness fell upon the two smaller pets. Jing felt weary, and her thoughts fled her. All memories of the picture and information she had just acquired vanished.

Jing groaned a little, bringing hre hand to her head. What the heck…? Blinking a couple times once the strange feeling went away she looked around the room. “Um…” She started to say but grew quiet.

Silver looked a bit lost too, until Grisfam smiled, “You were saying Silver?” And the jerboa smiled,”Oh yes! I know where we are, and where the dragon’s lair is!” He tugged at Jing’s sleeve.

Jing looked at Silver before nodding “Alright. Lead the way then? Lets get them then find our friends.”