Ulryn blinked for just a moment, barely stifling a snicker at Ark's soliloquy before raising an eyebrow at Chanda and looking at her intensely.

"Ah yes, you can imagine forgetting. I'm sure you all can imagine forgetting. An object perhaps, or where you put it. A birthday, or the favorite food of a loved one. But can you imagine forgetting whole stretches of your life? Days? Weeks? MONTHS, just GONE in an instant? People coming to talk to you whom you've never laid eyes on, treating you with familiarity, but it doesn't ring a bell. Can you imagine forgetting a lover? A friend? A birth? A death? The power of the drawer is deep and unpredictable. Generally you will lose any memories attached directly or sometimes even indirectly to whatever object is placed inside. It can be a great blessing, or a terrible curse."

He looked to Ark and then to Mauslin.

"You'll each recieve a nominal sum for expenses, but I will also help equip you for this journey. My many years of wizardry and adventuring have left me with a great many things for which I have very little use. Please, tell me a bit about each of you - your strengths, your weaknesses, so I might better know what would help you, and so that each of you might get to know each other a bit better. The journey may not be incredibly far, but it could take some time, and is bound to be difficult. If you have any specific needs, let me know, and I'll try to meet them. My cottage may look small, but believe me, I've a great many more places to keep things than it would appear. As for why I haven't fetched the key myself, I am too old to be galavanting about, looking for things. That is best left to a younger crowd. And yes, I do have a general idea of where would be a good place to start looking. The last memory I have of the key was the feeling of it in my pouch as I felt for gold to pay the inkeeper in the town of Forrest Gate to the west of Arabel, set amongst the King's Forrest."