"Who comes to seek the Oracle's counsel?" the figure intoned.
"The Guardian comes, the Oracle's wisdom to seek," the creatures flanking Lenore responded in unison.
"It is well. Be welcome, Guardian. May the Oracle grant you wisdom."
The torch-wielding creature gestured her into a doorway, shutting the door behind her. Lenore was alone in...where? All she could see was blinking lights all around, overhead, underfoot.
Gradually her eyes adjusted, and she found herself in a small, irregularly shaped room. Like the buildings outside, it appeared to be an odd blend of nature and technology: wooden walls, floor and ceiling, all inlaid with delicate circuit-board wires, following the grain of the wood. Small flashing LEDs appeared at irregular intervals.
Her attention was caught by a shape in the wall directly in front of her, where the flowing circuit boards appeared to form the shape of an abstract humanoid face. She stretched out her hand to touch it. Closer, closer...
There was a sudden loud rattling, and all the lights flared brightly for a moment. She snatched her hand back, blinking away the spots in her vision.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw a small wooden shelf now protruded underneath the face, covered with tightly packed LEDs. Some of them were lit up, forming the word: GUARDIAN.
"O-oracle?" she stammered.
The lights on the shelf flickered, forming new words: YOU HAVE QUESTIONS. ASK.
Her mind raced through everything that happened, everything she wanted to know. She slipped a hand into her pocket, feeling the smooth shape of the egg, and finally she simply asked, "The egg. What is it?"
THE EGGS ARE SYMBIOTES. THE GUARDIAN PROTECTS AND TEACHES; THE EGG GIVES POWER.
THIS ONE HAS AWAKENED AND SELECTED YOU AS ITS GUARDIAN. AS YOU JOURNEY, IT LEARNS FROM YOU.
TEACH IT WELL. KEEP IT SAFE. THERE ARE MANY WHO WOULD SEEK TO CONTROL GUARDIAN AND EGG.
Control? That didn't sound good.
"Oracle...what must I do?"
TAKE THE EGG TO THE CRADLE. IT IS STILL EMBRYONIC. AT THE CRADLE, IT CAN COMPLETE ITSELF. IT CAN HATCH.
"What happens then?"
EGG AND GUARDIAN MERGE FULLY. YOUR KNOWLEDGE, ITS POWER. YOU WILL BECOME ONE.
"Power? What power?"
STAR EGGS ARE MOST RARE. THEY GRANT THE POWER TO ALTER REALITY. THAT IS WHY THEY ARE COVETED.
Lenore was half tempted to throw the egg as far as she could and run screaming. But a small voice inside was whispering, But if I gave up the egg...who would get it? What would they do with that power?
She took a deep breath. "Alright. If I'm going to do this, I need to know where I'm going. Where can I find this Cradle?"
YOU NEED NO GUIDANCE. YOU KNOW THIS REALM. YOU HAVE SINCE BIRTH. THE FORM HAS CHANGED, BUT THE SUBSTANCE REMAINS THE SAME.
THE PREVIOUS GUARDIAN. YOUR PROGENITRIX. SHE IMPOSED HER WILL ON THIS REALM AND MADE IT HER HOME.
Lenore blinked. "This...this was Great-Grandmama's house all along?" Shaking her head, she refocused. The Cradle must be the old nursery upstairs. She frowned. "Where am I now?"
THERE IS NOTHING MORE I CAN TELL YOU THAT YOU DO NOT ALREADY KNOW.
"What? Hey. I wouldn't have asked if I already knew."
THERE IS NOTHING MORE I CAN TELL YOU THAT YOU DO NOT ALREADY KNOW.
She glared. "Useless computers." Then she slumped, sighing. "Alright, alright, I get it. I'm on my own."
She was turning away toward the door when she caught a flicker out of the corner of her eye.
BEWARE THE TWO-FACED ONES. THEY WILL HELP, AND THEY WILL HINDER. DUAL SIGHT, DUAL MIND.
The LEDs flicked off with finality. The room went dark.
"Help and hinder? What does that mean? Hey. Hey!"
But the room stayed stubbornly dark, leaving Lenore to feel her way to the door and the crowd of strange creatures that awaited her.