Before long, the two have crossed the quarter and descended the once-secret staircase into the small library and study room that serves as the Korranberg Archive's first level...

Althea: So, probably the most useful places to start would be either going over basic magical theory, or turning practice. The former is pretty much core to everything, but the latter would probably help you keep a lid on the power you've already shown.
Althea: So whichever you think is best worth prioritizing.
Edgeworth: You've described what I've already done as "turning" several times by now, but you've yet to explain what it is.
Althea: "Turning" refers to the channeling of energy, either positive or negative depending on the nature of the cleric. To be more precise, one could say channeling the energies inherent to the planes of Irian and Mabar...
Edgeworth can't contain a wince and an awkward glance away at the word 'channeling'.
Althea: The term derives from the phrase "turn undead" which refers to the most basic practice of using such positive energy: to drive away, destroy, or otherwise de-animate undead creatures.
Edgeworth: ...Ah...
Althea: In the case of those who use negative energy, it's more a matter of exerting direct control over undead, and may be referred to as "rebuking".
Althea: It would seem most likely that you channel positive energy, which would seem also to be in line with the nature of your 'faith'.
Edgeworth: Er... how so?
Althea: The light of Irian takes many forms. The "light of truth and knowledge" would I believe be among them.
Althea smirks slightly.
Edgeworth looks slightly less awkward at that and nods slowly.
Edgeworth: Many of the themes covered in her description remind me of...
Edgeworth shudders.
Edgeworth: But I can't afford to shy away from this. From the moment this power began answering to me, hasn't it challenged me to face the implications of what was proven about the events on that mountain?
Edgeworth glares ahead. "Though I admit curiosity about basic theory, it would be in my best interests to learn to control what I already possess."
Althea nods.
Althea: We should probably check in with Dil first, then.
Althea: Oh, actually, let me take care of something else first, it shouldn't take long.
Edgeworth half-frowns. "Very well..."

After disappearing off into the lower level for several minutes, Althea eventually returns carrying some sort of headgear, and heads over toward the table Dil is sitting at, waving at Edgeworth to follow.

Edgeworth examines the helmet, turning it over in his hands in various directions, as he makes his way over to the two.
Althea: A good meal, a little perspective, and a bit of debate over terminology seems to have settled our new friend here enough to explore his abilities a bit further. Would this be a good time to go over turning in a bit more depth?
Althea gestures for Edgeworth to put the helmet on.
Edgeworth does so with care, trying not to disturb his bangs in the process.
Dil looks up from his writing. "I'm almost done... I'd like the last minute or two I'll need first."
Edgeworth: !...
Althea: Of course.
Edgeworth: Why can I understand this simply from donning a helmet? Perhaps she was more prepared to present evidence than it seemed after all...
Althea turns to Edgeworth. "That helmet is permanently enchanted with two different spells, the first of which matches what Dil used earlier. Unfortunately, it does not leave the premises, but it should be of help while you're here."
Edgeworth looks down at Althea, wide-eyed with awe. "I... I see..."
Edgeworth: Er... I suppose that under the circumstances, I owe you an apology.
Althea: Regarding...?
Edgeworth: The matter of circumvention of language barriers.
Althea: Well, I guess I managed to finally prove something at all, then. I was starting to wonder if I even could.
Edgeworth smiles smugly, shrugs, and shakes his head. "True dedication to the truth precludes an inability to be persuaded of it."
Althea: The other spell's usefulness we might not get to in this visit, but it will probably be helpful eventually; it will allow you to read magical writing, which includes scribed scrolls and prayers.
Edgeworth: Huh. Are such things normally unreadable?
Althea: Not precisely. Magical writing tends to be unique to the writer, and very complicated; deciphering it effectively without magical help requires a good deal of skill and effort.
Edgeworth: I wonder if it will grow necessary for me to pick up such skills if I remain here for long...
Dil sets his pen down, holds down the page he was writing on with one hand, and fans it with the other. "There."
Dil adds the page to the bottom of a stack, straightens the stack, and files them into a large manila envelope.
Althea nods to Dil. "Probably best to stick with Common, since he's working on picking that up first."
Dil stands, taking the envelope under his arm, and looks to Althea. "As you will, then."
Dil's gaze turns up to Edgeworth. "Please follow me. The third basement has an open area for things like this."
Edgeworth: Understood.
Edgeworth follows Dil to the staircase at the far side of the room.
Althea follows Edgeworth.

The next floor down is more closed in. Edgeworth only manages to take note of a hall that leads right, further into the floor, with occasional doors along it on their way from the staircase they just came down to the one beneath it.

The third basement seems constructed with an eye towards holding the other two up. While open, it's slightly smaller than the first basement, and arches and buttresses shape and define the room. The floors, walls, and ceiling are constructed of eerily continuous stone that's only just rough enough to allow for easy walking.

Edgeworth's gaze wanders the room with interest.
Dil: This is probably excessive for our purposes, but it is out of the way...
Edgeworth looks to Dil, coolly expectant.
Dil pulls a scroll out of a case hanging at his side, unrolls it, and recites the spell on it while gesturing with one hand. The words fade as he does so, and when it's blank, the scroll crumbles in a dim glow that also encompasses Dil.
Dil extends his hand to Edgeworth again.
Edgeworth: Strange; why was a scroll involved this time when it wasn't before?
Edgeworth touches Dil's hand. "If this is what I assume it to be, I notice the procedure was different this time."
Dil frowns in confusion. "Aren't there any scrolls where you're from?..."
Edgeworth: So it is... Not of this or any other magical sort.
Dil stares. "Where are you from?..."
Althea: We had a fair bit of discussion about this earlier. Apparently magic is more about superstition and trickery where he's from...
Althea: As to where exactly that is, so far there's not a whole lot of common knowledge to even base guessing around.
Edgeworth: Althea suggests that I'm from another "plane of existence". Certainly, this planet is not my own; I'm from one called Earth rather than Eberron.
Dil frowns in puzzlement at the word 'planet'.
Dil shakes his head. "If it's really that far behind magically, then I'll need to start with the basics..."
Dil: Normally, the energy for spells or a connection to it is stored in the mind or soul of a spellcaster, though the exact details vary a lot depending on what kind of spellcasting you know.
Edgeworth frowns at the word 'soul', but doesn't interrupt.
Dil: I'm trained as both a cleric and an archivist, but both of those traditions require preparing specific spells in advance — just in different ways.
Edgeworth raises his finger to his temple. "In other words, one can't simply wave one's hands and recite a spell and expect results from that alone."
Dil smiles. "Right. A magical scroll has more than just the instructions for either an arcane or a divine version of a spell — it stores the energy you need to cast it, too."
Dil: But it's draining to scribe them, and the right materials for them are costly.
Edgeworth taps his temple and grins. "Thus, if I understand correctly, you weren't prepared to cast the spell you used before again unaided, hence the need to use an alternative method?"
Dil smiles a bit wider. "That's right. You catch on fast when you're not fighting."
Edgeworth glares at Dil.
Dil only frowns in response to the steel glare. "But we're off-topic, aren't we? This will only last for a few minutes."
Edgeworth huffs and crosses his arms. "Indeed; I wish to gain control of my apparent ability to, er, 'turn'."
Dil nods. "You'll need your holy symbol for that."
Edgeworth: OBJECTION! It isn't a —
Edgeworth groans in frustration, rubbing the bridge of his nose with one hand while fishing through his pants pocket with the other. "Never mind..."
Althea: It is a symbol of your faith, whatever else it may also be.
Edgeworth takes out his badge. "More properly, it's a symbol of the job I find to be most rewarding and suited to my talents, which one can only pursue in a healthy manner with such beliefs."
Dil: Well, that makes it easy, doesn't it?
Edgeworth: I beg your pardon?
Dil: You already express your talents and your beliefs through your job, right? This is just a more symbolic way to do it.
Edgeworth peers at Dil dubiously.
Althea: Symbolism tends to be a core part of divine magic.
Dil: Exactly. A lot of the Archival Foundation's work involves deciphering what little formula there is to it and how to help individuals build symbolism on top of it.
Dil grins. "You seem like you'd be more comfortable as an arcanist, but you believe in the kinds of things it calls for so much that you've received these gifts instead. Funny, isn't it?"
Edgeworth looks at Dil disapprovingly. There are certainly ways in which this does remind me of a cruel joke...
Althea: A form of humor perhaps you and I can appreciate more readily than he...
Althea: Still, nothing precludes you from following other paths simply because you have some talent here.
Dil: Some people learn to nearly master both, but it calls for a single-minded dedication to magic.
Edgeworth: I'd rather not leave more mundane solutions to problems by the wayside, particularly given the limitations you described earlier.
Dil smirks. "So why aren't you trying what you came for yet?"
Edgeworth: ...
Edgeworth looks down at the badge in his open palm. Perhaps I should review what I already know. On the two occasions that I 'turned', as they put it, I was both resolute in my basic convictions and thinking of banishing something. Althea claims that the process involves... channeling a force she calls 'positive energy', which she associates with light in every sense, and I did have the sensation of something passing through me for a brief instant prior to each flash.
Edgeworth: Apparently physical symbols, assumed to be holy by most here, are used to focus such efforts, and the typical use of this particular technique is to drive off...
Edgeworth shifts awkwardly.
Edgeworth shakes his head. Nevertheless, one would assume it to be suited to driving something away if that particular thought is one of the keys. Conviction clearly is another. Their arguments and my observations, when taken as a whole, seem to suggest that I somehow attract this 'positive energy', which must flow through me to my badge and out from there to manifest properly.
Edgeworth: Dil suggests, and Althea agrees, that my badge's very status as a symbol is important — that indeed, symbolic associations are something I should expect to need to work with heavily as I continue down this path. More specifically, supposedly I must draw a parallel between the act of turning and the way my job, my strengths, and my... faith interrelate.
Edgeworth hesitates for a long moment, then raises the hand his badge is cradled in. ...Every error, every paradox, and each and every lie must be burnt away. Court is a vehicle through which this can happen, and my place is as part of a courtroom. And yet, only so long as I dedicate myself to the just, the true, and the rational do I have a right to be there.
Edgeworth: Through reason, the truth grows clear. Through truth, justice becomes possible. Through justice, we drive away barbarism!
Edgeworth gleams a pale blue for a split-second before light of the same color radiates from his pin to fill the room. It's not entirely even; 'clouds' of white or pastel blue briefly fade in and out of existence at seemingly random locations during the few seconds in which the light persists.
Edgeworth staggers as the energy fades, barely closing his hand in time to not drop his badge as his arm falls.
Althea nods slightly. "You may find that making such attempts becomes somewhat more taxing as you continue; you're only going to be able to manage so many times without rest, though it's difficult to know just how many at this point."
Dil: Limits can be pushed if they have to be, though.
Dil shrugs.
Althea: Not that I'd recommend it just for practice.
Edgeworth has regained his balance by now, and is wearing a smirk that's a mix of satisfied and uneasy. "Understood."
Edgeworth: Concerning that, there's no time like the present to learn.
Edgeworth raises his pin again. He closes his eyes for several seconds, then they snap open to reveal a steely glare ahead as the room is filled with pale blue light and ethereal 'clouds' once more.
Edgeworth stays firm even as the light fades this time, though takes a deep breath afterward.
Althea raises an eyebrow.
Edgeworth: I believe it best to understand my limits immediately.
Dil shrugs again. "The way you've talked, I guess that's understandable. Most of us feel like we'd be exploiting our gods by just using what we've been given for no reason, but if you don't think there's anything to exploit... heh."
Althea: On the contrary, I'd think discovery is every bit sufficient justification for his faith.
Edgeworth smirks. "Quite."
Edgeworth closes his eyes once more. It takes a bit longer, and he furrows his brow shortly before it happens, but the blue-tinged positive energy does erupt from his badge once more. This time, however, he raises his free hand to his heart and pants with exertion when the light passes, and there are a few beads of sweat on his forehead.
Edgeworth: I can't help but be reminded of what an error felt like that time...
Dil: So are you done?
Edgeworth: I'm... not sure. I'm unused to sensations such as these...
Edgeworth takes a moment to catch his breath and let his heartbeat slow, then closes his eyes again...
Edgeworth is breathing hard with a furrowed brow and gritted teeth by the time this particular turning begins. It flickers out a second sooner than the last few, at which point the prosecutor collapses to his hands and knees with a weak grunt, inadvertently letting his badge clatter to the floor in the process.
Edgeworth: Nngh... I... shouldn't... h-have... d-done that.
Edgeworth: Not only was the previous sensation magnified, but I have the strangest sense of painful awareness of my prior indiscretions...
Althea: Mm, I suspect you may have pushed yourself a bit far. It'll take more than rest to make up for something like that...
Dil kneels down with a concerned look.
Edgeworth nods weakly, then looks around for his pin.
Edgeworth spots it and picks it up. He repockets it while rising unsteadily to his feet.
Althea: I think it's safe to say we're done with that aspect of exploring your abilities for today.
Edgeworth pulls out a handkerchief to pat down his face. "Verily."
Edgeworth: Is... there anywhere I could go to relax with a cup of tea?
Althea: There's a break lounge just up from here.
Dil: I'll leave this to you. This spell's going to wear off any minute now...
Althea nods.
Dil smiles humbly. "I'll be going to look for the materials for replacing it." He then waves and heads for the stairs up.
Edgeworth looks to Althea. "Lead the way."
Althea nods and heads for the stairs.
Edgeworth keeps pace, the physical signs of his distress having largely passed.

The break room is at the far end of the long hall that divides the second basement in two, on the left. It stands out for having a sign that states in both Common and Gnomish that books, scrolls, and other paper items are not allowed. Within, a counter that spans two walls features a number of ceramic cups, marked tins, a sink, a tea set, an old-fashioned coffee pot, and a runed kettle. In the room's center are tables and chairs.

Althea drops her backpack under a table and heads to the counter.
Edgeworth raises an eyebrow at the kettle as he seats himself at the same table. Is that mere decoration, or are even such everyday things accomplished by different means here?
Althea: So, what kind of tea are you looking for? Under the circumstances, I don't think I'd recommend something strong.
Edgeworth: Certainly not. I would request green tea if I were certain that it even exists here.
Edgeworth: Under the circumstances, however, the best course of action to come to mind is to allow me to smell a few of your recommendations.
Althea gathers up a few tins of weaker teas and a couple of herbal teas, and places them on the table.
Edgeworth carefully uncaps and slowly sniffs at each, pausing several seconds in between each sample, then lapses into consideration...
Edgeworth: I suppose the specific plant I'm used to either doesn't exist here or has never been used for tea. A pity...
Edgeworth frowns.
Edgeworth picks up a centrally-located tin. "This one appeals the most for this purpose."
Althea nods and picks up each of the remaining tins.
Edgeworth stares at the table while Althea does this. Matters seem to have taken a more unpleasant turn. First I overextend myself in alien ways such that my sins begin to ache, and now I learn that tea as I know it may be unavailable in this place...

After returning the tins to their places on the counter, Althea puts enough water for two full cups into the kettle. At the end, she places a hand briefly on the kettle surface while uttering an unfamiliar word.

Edgeworth glances up at the water-filling, and "hmm"s softly at the kettle's activation.
Althea carries the tea set over to the table.
Edgeworth nods in appreciation, though there's still a twinge of melancholy in his eyes.
Althea: Nothing suitable for late-night cramming, but definitely one of the better varieties commonly available here.
Edgeworth manages a satisfied smirk at that, then removes the lid again and spoons a moderate amount of leaves into one of the teacups before passing the tin to Althea.
Althea spoons out a similar portion before replacing the lid.
Althea: So, I take it you have a better feel for your limits now?
Edgeworth: Indeed.
Althea: It's commonly believed that overreaching like that offends one's god... Presumably you have some appreciation for how such a belief could come about?
Edgeworth shifts uncomfortably. "Indeed. It's as though that last attempt wore through me sufficiently to..."
Edgeworth glances away.
Althea: ...I would imagine that, as someone who professes no belief in a god, your own impressions of the experience might well be of much interest to a great many Foundation members.
Edgeworth closes his eyes briefly before looking more resolute. "Point taken. It felt as though my second-to-last attempt was vaguely painful in a way similar to the emotional sort. As for the last, it felt far more like that, and additionally felt as though it had breached some barrier between it and my memories."
Edgeworth shakes his head. "Not all of which were compatible with its nature."
Althea blinks. "...you 'turned' your own memories...?"
Althea sounds both fascinated and concerned.
Edgeworth: Those so affected didn't flee or fade; on the contrary, they're more apparent due to... what I can only think to describe as them being in pain.
Althea: Huh.
Althea: ...I suppose so long as they were 'true' it wouldn't do to destroy or hide them, certainly...
Edgeworth glances away again, looking somewhat ashamed despite himself. "Indeed not."
Althea nods to herself after a moment.
Althea: At any rate, rest will help with most of it, but pushing your limits like that is an act not as readily repeated.
Althea: I'm a little surprised you'd mustered the effort for it this early in your endeavors...
Edgeworth smirks. "This isn't the first time I've gone beyond the assumed limits of possibility."
Althea stands and heads to the counter to retrieve the kettle.
Edgeworth: That being said, I'm far from eager to repeat that experience. At least it should be apparent when to stop.

The two soon drink the mild tea Edgeworth picked out without incident. While the relative unfamiliarity of the flavor to Edgeworth somewhat undercuts its use in calming him down, he still finds it soothing and enjoyable enough not to have been a waste of time. Edgeworth finds himself needing several minutes to himself before he's haunted little enough by his own past to feel comfortable continuing to make sense of his situation, however. By the time he seeks out Althea again, it's early evening...

Edgeworth walks up the steps to the first basement only to find that instead of people being scattered around absorbed in work or study, there's over a dozen people crowded into a quarter of the room.
Edgeworth: Er...
Althea: ...said it felt as though a barrier between the light he was channeling and his memories had been breached.

"His memories?" "Fascinating." "Why?" "I'm not sure I understand..."

Edgeworth grits his teeth. I can't say that I wasn't aware this was coming.
Althea: If I had to guess— ah, here he is now. I think we'll have to pick this up another time.

"What, really?!" "Awww..." "There he is! He's a human, right?"

Edgeworth crosses his arms and looks to Althea with suspicion. "Is there any particular reason why my presence here would warrant suspension of testimony?"
Althea: You mean aside from the fact that we'll miss the train coming in if we don't leave soon?
Edgeworth taps a finger on his arm. "Yes — if that were the primary concern, you would have come to find me."
Althea: Okay, how about feeling it slightly more polite to not engage in group mass speculation about the nature of your recent experiences in front of you, at least before you've had a chance to fully contemplate it yourself?
Althea: But if you want, I can probably keep going for another ten minutes without hurting our schedule.

Much of Althea's audience has meanwhile started staring at Edgeworth instead. "Wow, I don't recognize that language either..." "He sure seems pompous enough to be a cleric —" "Hey!" "Nothing magical on him except our helm, all right..." "The 'atheist cleric', huh... wow."

Edgeworth: Nrrgh...
Edgeworth removes the helmet and sets it on a nearby table, then rubs his forehead. "This is a larger degree of attention than I'm comfortable with dealing with quite this directly."
Edgeworth: Perhaps leaving for the time being is for the best after all.
Althea shrugs. "Up to you."
Edgeworth storms to the door out, waving off anyone who gets too near as he does so.
Althea shakes her head and follows Edgeworth out.
Edgeworth starts in the direction of the open-air market they passed through before on the way to the train station, though not so quickly as to prevent the smaller Althea from correcting their course.
Edgeworth: I hadn't counted on my possession of this power attracting quite this much attention. If I'm to come to a full understanding, however, I suppose I'll have to learn to live with that as well...
Edgeworth: It hadn't been my intention to be disruptive.
Althea: Of course not. That was why you didn't shout 'objection', was it not?
Edgeworth eyes Althea. "Nothing particularly wrong was said that could be objected to, but you are still partially correct in that I would have shouted had I been aiming to interrupt."
Althea shrugs. "Cultural assimilation doesn't exactly happen overnight, and I only have one member to observe as it is; it will doubtless take me a while to properly understand the ways of your people."
Edgeworth: I'm well aware, having spent significant time abroad in my own world. I must say that this is the first time I've encountered a culture in which both secret police and a thirst and respect for knowledge are present, however.
Edgeworth: Typically in Earth's history, if the former comes to exist in any given country, it's due in large part to the government finding the latter to be threatening.
Althea: While there may be little that can be done about the matter under the circumstances either way, I suppose I may as well ask. Have I wronged or harmed you socially by placing you in my debt?
Edgeworth hesitates. "You have not. However, I can't say it's an entirely comfortable position to be in from a personal standpoint."
Althea nods. "Is a certain level of hostility and suspicion part of a social ritual to balance that out, and would it be of any assistance were I to reciprocate?"
Edgeworth: I-I beg your pardon?!
Althea: I apologize for being blunt about what seems like probably a difficult subject, but I'm not having the best of luck second-guessing these kinds of things with you...
Edgeworth rubs his temple in irritation. "With all due respect, ma'am, I've found myself in an alien world, suddenly possessed of powers I've never so much as conceived of before, where not just life but physics apparently break from the norms I'm used to, and this is only what's grown clear in several hours' time."
Edgeworth: Furthermore, I do my job and live my life based on being able to count on certain basic norms. I lack the frame of reference necessary to even begin to pursue the rather different truth here, and I rather fear that I lack the tools as well.
Edgeworth glares at Althea.
Edgeworth: I can still scarcely believe what's happening at all! Is it so strange to be outraged when one's life is upended?!
Althea: If I have given the impression that I do not comprehend the enormity of the difficulties that your situation presents you, I apologize. I had gotten the sense that overt displays of sympathy might make you even more uncomfortable. I'm neither asking for nor expecting you to set aside your frustrations nor meet some unfamiliar cultural expectation.
Althea: However, thus far, despite the obvious fact that I may be the only one available here who can provide a level of assistance your situation clearly requires, I can find few other ways to interpret your reactions to me than that such assistance is deeply unwelcome or problematic, to the point you fervently wish to reject it, should but such an option become realistic.
Althea: Even if I could in good conscience abandon you to your circumstances, I think that would do either of us little good. I may be far more in my element than you are, at this moment, but I'm not that much better equipped to sort out our differences. Clearly, I'm not meeting some need of yours, and I don't know what it is you expect from me.
Edgeworth: As far as meeting my needs, my lack of a frame of reference for this world seems to have made it more difficult to present evidence that I can easily accept as such than you seem to be able to appreciate.
Edgeworth looks away before adding bitterly, "Beyond that... it is enough to say that not everyone who has assisted me in the past has done so out of the kindness of their hearts."
Althea: If anything, it may be less difficult than what I had come to expect; it was only recently established that I can do so at all.
Althea: As for the latter, I'm not Zil, I won't demand such favors be repaid... unless you would prefer me to, anyway.
Edgeworth: ...
Althea: My own reasons to be involved are myriad, and not all are matters I'm comfortable discussing in present circumstances.
Althea: First and foremost, though, one could say that I am troubled when I see someone subject to an injustice, even if it's brought about by no apparent will but a mere cruelty of circumstance...
Edgeworth: How my appearance here could possibly be an accident is a question that comes to mind, but I'd best not derail the topic for the moment.
Althea: Additionally, whether you hail from an unknown part of the Material Plane, some unknown other plane, or even somewhere so far outside the bounds of how we understand existence that it is not even part of any plane as we understand the term, you do represent a glimpse at the otherwise unknowable, a glaring hole in our knowledge and understanding of the possibilities of existence.
Edgeworth nods slowly at that.
Althea: It may be somewhat selfish, but I do wish to know things that perhaps only you can elucidate. Then again, perhaps a selfish motive would be of more comfort.
Edgeworth glances aside with a frown. "I've been nominally 'helped' for far more selfish reasons than that."
Edgeworth: If I really can fear nothing worse from you, I'll be content once I feel confident that it's the truth.
Althea: I can suggest little more than time for that, myself.
Edgeworth opens his mouth to speak, then looks puzzled for a moment.
Edgeworth: Why am I suddenly reminded of her earlier statement concerning what abilities ought to be within my reach?
Edgeworth shakes his head and hmphs. Don't allow yourself such flights of fancy, Miles!
Edgeworth: I, er, suppose you have a point.

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