Altra couldn't help but look over his shoulder as the priest lead him across the marble floor of the cathedral. The ceiling arched high overhead, and a large stained glass window let light into the room on every five feet, on each wall. Pillars shaped to depict holy figures supported the ceiling every twenty feet to all sides, forming a large grid. And at the end of the gigantic room, a large alter stood majestically, surrounded by golden stands holding lit candles. The brown-robed man led Altra straight across the room, until the finally reached the alter. The priest pulled the alchemist silently around the podium and flipped a large rug there over, revealing a wooden trap door.

Grabbing a candelabrum from the podium, the priest lifted the door and descended into a dimly lit library, which was even larger than the cathedral above it, if that was possible. Bookcases twice Altra’s height formed an impossible maze, standing end-to-end, and corner-to-corner, forming five foot wide passages. Magical globes of light hung near the top of each bookcase, casting an eerie orange and yellow glow. Without a word, the priest led Altra through the passages, until he finally stopped and lifted a hand to point at a shelf on Altra’s right.

Nodding his thanks, the alchemist slid a latter over and began to climb, the priest already heading back to the shaft of white light in the distance that marked the exit to the church above. Ignoring the silent man, Altra began scanning the books, sometimes pulling one out and flipping through it before putting it back and selecting a new one.

The ninja wasn’t sure how long he spent down there, pouring over the research when the slightest flicker of a shadow off to his side warned him to leap off of the ladder to the side. A wooden stool burst into splinters on the bookcase, just barely missing the leaping young man. Altra landed in a handstand, immediately spinning around and launching himself backwards as a chair burst into pieces on the floor where he had landed.

The ninja looked up to see a woman standing about ten feet from him, her eyes flickering eerily into the magical lights. She didn’t say a word as Altra quickly examined her, his eyes finally resting on the red symbol on the back of her right hand.

“Well, well. Isn’t this a surprise.” He said, a slight grin coming to his face as he clapped his hands together. He passed each hand over the other one, transmuting a blade on his right and a small shield on the left. “I was just coming to find you.”