Completely distracted by his arcane musings on the possible connection to the cyphergate, Zane completely misses the question at first. "Sorry Nakoda, I do feel that something very important may lie on the other side, and the blood trail shows that at least one person was dragged through the arch while bleeding heavily."
"I don't know...did the fighter, here, have any written orders? The thought of simply leaping through a magical portal to an unknown destination is not without its attractive features, though sensibility is not one of them."
You don't find any written orders on the Pain Taster's body.
You recall what he said before the fight:
“Master Nolveniss bade me give you his apologies, that he will not be present to see you die.”
The gate is blinking faster now.
The fact that neither Shalelu nor Kaerishiel nor any of their assault teams attacking the other entrances have arrived is disquieting.
"That, and the rest of our forces may need our help here and now. We are, after all, inside the drow perimeter, and I expect that we could find some way to take advantage of that."
"Something is very wrong here. There's no sign of the other two teams at all." the elven ranger says looking troubled. "If we go through, can you use the portal to bring us back?" she asks Zane.
"They should have gotten here before us, unless they encountered unexpectedly heavy resistance elsewhere. If they'd been here, they surely would have left some sign of their presence...can one of you with better tracking skills (and vision) look for that before we, er, leap?"
"If there's a way to activate it I'll figure it out.....eventually." Zane responds. Frowning, the wizard shifts his eyes to detecting the magical spectrum, looking for any indication of a hidden message.
Quickly backtracking to the other entrances to the building, your worst fears are realized as you find the bodies of more than two dozen combatants, both Drow and Elves.
If you are reading the signs aright, the few Drow survivors retreated back into this very room, taking a few prisoner elves with them.
You see no sign of Shalelu or Kaerishiel among the bodies.
Back in the gate room Zane reads the flickering gate as about to close.
"Let's go, then. Leave a message for the others."
Zephram nods, "I think that's best. Though I think a message from you would be more likely to be understood and trusted, even with the battles we've won on behalf of your people."
He draws his rapier, and steps up to the portal, "Normally, I would offer to scout ahead, but we do not have time -- given what we may face on the other side, I may not be the best choice to serve as vanguard."
Drawing both her blades, Sylvianna wordlessly leaps through the flickering portal.
Cynara follows the other two, blade ready.
Zephram smirks, "That should work.", then checks his bottles and follows his companions through the portal,
Stepping through the portal is a dizzying experience, and when you stagger clear on the other side it takes a few moments for the world to right itself.
After a time, the surrounding elven city becomes clear; its tall, graceful spires rising up among manicured boughs of a well tended forest.
These buildings... They seem familiar, resembling those of ruined Celwynvian, but strangely restored and made whole!
Although this glimpse through time is convincing, something is off.
Colors seem dim, sounds are muted, and the shadows appear strangely long and dark.
These clues point towards your being on the Plane of Shadow. Probably.
Yet most disconcerting of all is the sky above—for it is nothing more than a vortex of gray clouds, spiraling around a dark blot in the sky!
"We're om the shadow plane." Zane says staring up at the swirling darkness.
Zephram looks around carefully, clearly wondering at the intact architecture until Zane speaks, That would explain it... He says, "I don't think I'd ever realized that the Plane of Shadow could be used to study the past like this. It is truly impressive. To be honest, I always thought if I were to visit another Plane, it would be the Plane of Air."
Looking around, you find yourselves them atop a short stone stairway that may have once led upward to a gate tower or other structure, but now simply comes to an abrupt end at the city’s edge.
There, you see the air at the top of the stairs continues to whirl and shimmer; indicative of the spatial distortion that brought you here.
The large blot hangs in the sky, producing an uneasy feeling in your gut. It is similar to the one that floated above Riddleport but it is hundreds of times larger and swirling like a vortex.
Ahead of you, the stairs lead downward 10 feet to the east and into the city itself.
At the base of the stairway is an imposing figure. He is an elf clad in resplendent robes of muted green and silver.
He does not appear to notice you as he is busy staring up into the sky at the vortex.
The Blot....could it really be just a leak from the plane of shadow into the material? What magical even would tear a permanent hole between planes?
The fascination on Zane's face is clear asn his mind races across the possibilities.
Zephram whispers, "Should we address the elf below? I'm a little wary, given the Aboleth's subterfuge, but at the same time, it does not appear to be a drow... and he may know much that we do not."
The oracle nods. "Agreed. I don't suppose I have to remind everyone to be wary? I didn't think so." She clears her throat to attract the attention of the other elf and addresses him in Elvish. "Excuse me? We are newly arrived here. What is that in the sky?"
As Cynara addresses the man, Sylvianna studies him intently.
The elf noble turned and nodded in your direction.
"Greetings newcomers. That in the sky? That is a very good question strangers. We call it "The Occlusion"; an astronomical event never before seen on Golarion. Or indeed anywhere in this planetary system!
"Some wags have informally nicknamed it 'The Inkblot', or just 'The Blot', but I think that is overly crude for such a magnificent sight, don't you think?"
(click on) Looking back up the stairway...
You know that the planar portal won't let you back without a portal key, but that given time and concentration you could jury rig one of your own. Probably. You're really better off getting the key.
"I suspect that this is something akin to the elf-gates. If so, we'll need a portal key to reopen the gate for our return. Zane may be able to make one, though, given time."
"Yes, indeed. When did it appear?"
The elf noble turned from watching the blot to Cynara.
"Hm? Oh yes. It was just noticed a month ago."
He turned back to gazing raptly at the blot again.
"Magnificent is it not?" He said, raptly staring into the sky. "The Celestial ramifications are incredible! The Celestial Mechanics texts will have to be rewritten...
"But you are new here, and clearly have more questions.
"Your best font of information is the Library of Reenai."
He gestured vaguely to his right.
"Down the boulevard, on your right. Master Eloquan is who you need."
"Thank you, sir." Cynara bows and begins to make her way in the indicated direction before pausing. "Have you seen any other strangers come this way recently? We were separated from the others of our party."
You've never heard of Master Eloquan.
Just looking up the avenue you can see the building. It takes you a minute, but you realize that the Library of Reenai is where you had a fight with a drow squad while securing a pathway for the elves to advance.
It was broken down and half collapsed last you found it, but this building is whole; a magnificent elven building with delicate engravings, a stylish roof and filled with light.
Again the elf noble seemed to have trouble drawing his attention away from the titanic blot in the sky.
"Hm? Oh, the shadow folk? They scurried away up the avenue." He said, waiving his hand generally the same way you are going, if you intend to visit the Library of Reenai.
"Most likely." Zane comments in regard to the gateway. "Hmmm.. so this version of the library still stands."
Sylviana holds her bow ready as they move toward the building, still quite wary of what they might find here.
Walking along the pathway, you marvel at the difference you see in the Celwynvian of long ago. The roadways shine with a pearlescent glow. The many bushes of the modern era replaced by lovely flowering plants. Elven lords and ladies pass by, riding unicorns, exotic carpets, or even just flying.
You don't see any blood trails or distinctive tracks made by the drow or their prisoners.
This building is similar to the one in the Celwynvian of the present, save that it is well kept and orderly.
Entering the open doors of the Library, you see it in a new light; the walls filled with art, lovely carpets on the floor, glittering light sources well suited for reading circling slowly overhead.
All of the globes in the hall of memory are present and apparently functional.
A distinguished lookin High Elf in scholars robes sits in an elevated kiosk able to overlook all the stacks and patrons on the ground floor.
Cynara squints down at the walkway. "No bloodstains. They probably didn't come this way, but I expect we'll need to if we want to figure out what this place is. Have we been thrust back in time somehow?"
Zephram shakes his head, "I believe it is more that this place is like a.. well, a memory of our world. Perhaps we could inquire with Master Eloquan about our quarry?"
He frowns, then adds, "Unless we think it's possible that the portal brought us somewhere other than where they went?"
Cynara shakes her head absently. "No, the elf we spoke with at the gate mentioned drow, though he didn't use the term. They may have gone in a slightly different direction, though. It is a rather large city."
"And if, they're familiar with here, the most likely have a stronghold that they're taking them to." Zane adds.
Zephram nods, "That does seem logical. Though I wonder how they gained their familiarity with this place...."
"How long have they had the gate open in Celwynvian? They could have been traveling to and from this place for days."
"Have we been thrust back in time somehow?"
It certainly seems like that to you. The city and people are richly detailed and radiate a peculiarly elven 'vibe'.
All seems in line with being in the past, except for... well, it seems to you like the color is washed out of everything here.
"How long have they had the gate open in Celwynvian? They could have been traveling to and from this place for days."
You recall that Lady Eviana said that the elves had cleared the ancient city, driving the drow away several times; Only to have them erupt out of seemingly nowhere to occupy vast sections of the city again.
You wonder if this Gate to the past is the reason.
"Perhaps we could inquire with Master Eloquan about our quarry?"
The distinguished elven man's eyes look up to you as you approach his desk.
"I greet you, ladies and gentlemen. You have the look of foreigners visiting our fair city. I am Eloquan, Master Libriarian here in Celwynvian. How may I help you?" He said, looking you over with mild curiosity.
Your eyes wandering over the stacks, you recall your last visit here.
When you defeated the Drow scouts that had raided this place, they had been looking through some books in the Southern stack of this library.
Aside from some titles, you couldn't make out much then because of the age and decayed state of the books.