Anything that involves a mirror, he answered, knowing that if he were any more specific he would surely have to explain the basics of spell-casting. Nothing he had time for.

That was... less specific than she might have wanted, but it was something. "Alright." She took a look at the bookshelf closest to her. An Atlas of the Plants of Lalariel, Enchantments and Spells of the Third Level, Fifty Fashionable Ways to Wear Hippogriff Feathers — wait, what? — Cursed Artefacts and How to Use Them Safely… So far nothing seemed to fit, but the more she saw, the more eager she was to go back home.

"I don’t think so." In the list of strange titles, she had by now also seen Ethereal Properties of Fairy-Dragon Dung, The Complete History of Underground Elf Hair Dealing in Samigoloumaroum and — that one had made her shudder — Creatures of Hell: A Sociological and Ethnological Study of Shinokigee's Troupes.

He was quite literally bent over the book. Good old Jebbebiah. Absolutely illegible. His handwriting was atrocious. Probably that tremor in his right hand he was famous for. Who in Hells would write "muriorsz" for mirror ? he muttered with indignation. What did you find ?

From where she was standing, the book seemed to be written in some kind of gothic script crossed with Hebrew and hieroglyph-like pictograms. Granted, she was looking at the text upside-down, but still. She placed her own book on the table. "Something about a Rift, a mirror of Guldin and Balance of Heavensaw." She understood what those words meant separately (not even all of them), but strung together they made no sense whatsoever.

Navi raised an eyebrow. The skepticism was apparent on his face. That's not what we are looking for. Or..... was it ? It's true it couldn't have been a coincidence that the corrupted mirror of Guldin split open the earths of Heavensaw and let out hell-spawn so they could wreak havoc on the land. There was something there that was worthy of study. Buuuuut not for him. Too boring. Why fry your brain over something so messy when you could develop potions that made you even more beautiful !

How exactly was she supposed to know what they were looking for ? She had made it crystal clear that she did not dabble in magic in any way. Still, Yeva had enough practice not to let her irritation show. "You said to look for anything mentioning mirrors."

Yes, but... How could he explain this in words she'd understand ? Are there hells wherever you're from ?

"'Hells'? Well, there’s Hell, and I guess you could use the plural if you’re using Dante’s vision and dividing it in various circles." She didn’t see the link with what she was looking for. Or rather: she feared that she saw it all too well. Magic wasn’t exactly something good christians were into. Oh Lord, have mercy on me, that is not how I had imagined my day would go.

Well the mirror of Guldin is what opened the hells here years ago. If he was vague it was because he couldn't be bothered with counting the precise years. It was long before he was born ; that's all he needed to know. It's not a mirror. It's the mirror. Thus it can have nothing to do with the innocent spell that sent you here.

"Pardon?!" That came out before she could stop herself. Hell opened? What the... well, hell, pardon her French. Was this person just talking casually about Armageddon as if it was just another historical event?

Was there something she hadn't understood or was she hard of hearing ? I said : the mirror of Guldin split the earth and let out the creatures of hells. Thus... not the same mirror ! Not the same spell. You'd need a mage of immense power to concoct a spell like that. I doubt a mage like that would spend their time sending old women through my mirror.

Oh dear, this was going from bad to worse. After a not-quite-devil in her kitchen, she was now discussing (very) dark magic with some strange and unknown individual. What had Nastya put in her tea? Either she was going crazy, or she should be concerned about her soul. Possibly both. "Fine, are there other mirrors I should know to ignore?" There was no point arguing: the quicker she found a way out of here, the quicker she would be back home, where things were normal. And it was saying something that she would call her life "normal" compared to her current encounters.

Hmmmm. He shrugged. No. And then he dove back into his book. He was onto something here. He could feel it. Don't talk to me for a few minutes or I'll lose track of my thoughts. He shooed her with his hand as if she were a petulant child.

What was it with those people and politeness? Really, when she was their age… Oh well, now was not the time to reminisce. So for now, while the other was focusing on whatever magic could be of use, Yeva looked around, trying to find a chair to at least make the wait bearable. With all this excitement since a purple not-quite-devil had popped in her house, she had been on her feet for quite some time now.

The closest thing to a chair Navi had in his magical basement/dungeon was a throne of books. Considering the size of the thing, he had most likely constructed it when he was a child. It wouldn't be able to fit a body of an adult, unless the adult had the size of a child.

All right, I think I've got a lead ! Navi said about 15 minutes later.

Her search for a chair, or anything where she could seat herself being fruitless, Yeva settled for the next best thing and leaned against a bookshelf that looked stable enough to support her weight. This was turning out to be somewhat too much excitement for a lady her age. She closed her eyes and tried to forget where she was (no such luck), then opened them again when a cry of victory caught her attention. "Excellent. What does it say?" She hoped that this time she would not play guinea pig for an untested method, because last time she had, it had landed her in China.

I might be able to use the mirror you came through to perform a ritual and open up a portal that sends you back where you were born. He paused briefly. And I mean the geographical location. Not inside a womb. I think.

She didn't like the sound of "ritual" at all. "What kind of ritual? And does it only send me through space, or do I risk being sent back to the time of my birth, too?" There was the added issue that the domain of her birth was nowhere near Moscow, but it was already closer than China or here (wherever "here" was), so there was that.

Oh, you know. She probably didn't know, but that's something that escaped Navi's knowledge. The classic ritual. Full moon, fairy circle, blood sacrifice. Nothing out of the ordinary. He was already scrambling to collect ingredients and notes. The full moon was tomorrow after all.

That would not do at all. What was she getting herself into? She really had to sit down and, in the absence of anything resembling a chair, she leaned against the table until her heart stopped thundering. She had the distinct impression that she was about to sell her soul and was starting to reconsider. But if she didn’t go back to Moscow, then her family may be in serious trouble… There was no right solution. "Whose blood?", was all she finally managed to utter in a slightly strangled voice.

What a strange question. Why, do you have anyone you want killed ? He narrowed his eyes. I don't want any trouble, I'm warning you. It would be so rude if she repaid his genuine kindness (he was helping her, after all) by bringing paladins or city guards to his doorstep. He was not really worried about handling that situation, but the cleanup was usually not worth it.