Step 3: Get Her to Open the Box

Too excited to wait for either Darvin or Hring to respond, Talathel reaches into his backpack, grabs the sphere, and places it on the desk, underneath the candle chandelier.

When Talathel sets it on the table and removes his hand, the 5" dark, cloudy sphere seems to shrink, and as it does, out of the inky depths of the sphere, what looks like a bronze structure seems to grow outward. The bronze structure is a cube, and on each face an octagon is cut out. As the sphere recedes to the inner edge of the octagonal cut-outs, it ripples and stops shrinking, until eventually a cube, approximately 4" on a side, sits on the table, with the same murky material filling the octagonal cutouts on the sides that made up the sphere.

Talathel steps closer to get a better look at the top face of the cube. As he stares into the pools of liquid night, words form in his mind. They are formed with letters he can't read, but they are very clear, and imprint themselves on his memory immediately. You can remember well enough to write the words down even though you don't know what they mean.

Intrigued at the sudden words in his mind, but disappointed he doen't know what they mean, Talathel turns the cube to another of its sides. Again, words form in his mind in a language he doen't understand. Frustrated, Talathel turns the cube again and again, learning six new phrases in a language he doesn't know and that he can't speak because he doesn't know how to pronounce any of the letters, even.

Sitting down, Darvin and Hring see the cube form from a sphere, but do not see the words that appear in Talathel's mind.