Books sat stacked in unwieldy piles several high all over the floor. In the center of the room a small fortress of volumes stood leaning like a drunkard at the corners while Leyla turned the pages of the tome she currently held on her lap. Teacher had been gone for two days, off visiting his old friend. Zeptik had repeated constantly that Teacher was making deals and negotiating but Leyla was pretty sure that you could visit someone and still do all that.

Leyla missed their lessons and his company but she couldn't be sad that Teacher got to see a friend after all. No matter how angry Mirriana was, which was very, the girl was certain that this ‘Emeriss’ must be a good person. You don't get a big huge wall hanging like she did without being some kind of hero, she reasoned.

“Iskra, look here! It's you…kinda”, she angled the book to the demon resting on the floor beside her.

Iskra’s lidless eye appeared within the sigil carved into the top of the skull and he began to rise off the floor to observe the pages. He clicked his beak together several times thoughtfully as Leyla watched him read the entry on Burning Skulls, complete with illustrations of several variations of the caste of demons. In her opinion he was the most amazing demon in the Tower, simply because he was hers.

“This is very incomplete, there are at least seventeen additional forms I do not see represented here.”, Iskra said finally, his voice whispering in her ear despite the distance from her.

"YEAH! I don't see you anywhere in here, I've been looking through all of them so we can learn more about you! We're gonna get stronger like Teacher and Zeptik, and then we'll have our own Tower”, she paused as she imagined it while Iskra looked on curiously, "With flowers! And we’ll let everyone come learn stuff because we'll be super strong!"

Iskra almost shivered at the prospect, a bit of greed leaking through their connection back to Leyla as she exploded into laughter at the demon's unrepentant avarice. She dumped the book off her lap and stood, stumbling a bit as she was ferociously assaulted by an intense prickling sensation in her feet that transformed her rapid charge into mincing birdlike steps as she grimaced. Iskra floated along at her right side dutifully as she slowly exited her room into the dimly lit corridors.

Leyla slowly regained some speed as the sensation faded and they made their way to the library, ascending a long spiraling staircase to the second floor. Leyla waved at another of the Towers eyes that sat above every doorway arch in the structure. They all looked the same as the one on the Gate, just smaller. Leyla was positive they were all the same demon because they all rolled and looked away in the same manner when she waved happily in greeting them. This eye was no exception and it did so dramatically as they passed under it and onto the spacious open chamber of the second floor.

“Your Teacher is wealthy beyond my comprehension."

“Yeah Teacher has a lot of important stuff! Don't touch any of it though, Zeptik counts the dust. He’ll know.”, Leyla replied seriously as they both took a moment to admire the contents of the room.

Treasures of all descriptions and varieties lay in neatly organized and sectioned areas denoted by lines of runes along the floor. Gilded weapons, suits of dark armor that rippled like liquid on their stands, staves of all descriptions topped with crystals, even lavish clothing had its own section in the storeroom. Leyla's eyes were drawn to the gold and stranger, pale coins of rainbow metal edged with crystal, that lay in heaps and piles around the chests that held the bulk of them as they spilled out onto the floor. She'd touched one once as Zeptik had graciously allowed her a three second inspection and found to her shock that they were packed full of mana like tiny stars.

Leyla snapped herself out of her thoughts and called out happily, “Come on hurry up slowpoke!"

Iskra eyed everything at once as they made to leave, literally, while a swarm of a dozen eyes manifested in the air around his skull. They leered about the room like he was trying to memorize it, or perhaps estimate the value of everything he saw. Leyla watched happily as they darted about in the air like birds themselves while Iskra followed her across the huge open floor to their destination. She began to trot happily as they neared the door on the other side after a few minutes of walking and bolted through to the Library.

The archway overhead powered up as they passed through, subtly marking them as they entered the room. Leyla giggled as the skin on the back of her hands tingled and the temporary mark appeared that permitted her to touch the scrolls and books. She took a moment to remind herself that she could only borrow the books on the shelving marked with the same symbol. There would be no repeating the ‘Scroll of T’Rìn’ incident. She looked guiltily at the scroll on its pedestal in the center of the room surrounded by dark candles that burned with Teacher’s green flame and scampered to the bestiary sections.

Iskra did not follow and it took Leyla several seconds to notice as she spun crazily to locate him. He remained in place where she had stood looking at the scroll, remembering spilled ink and Teachers frantic response.

“Iskra, c’mon we're getting more books! Leave that alone, everyone will be mad again!”

"T-that is…I cannot…it was lost, destroyed. All the kingdoms of the earth would descend on this place if they…to think that the Warlock possesses it…”, Iskra stuttered quietly into her ear from across the room in his thin strange voice.

Leyla skipped back over to him as she smoothed down her hair and processed the shock that had exploded through the soul link between them. She tried to send back calm like Teacher had taught her and pushed a tiny tendril of mana into the emotion as it crossed the bridge with it. She scooped the skull out of the air like a child would hold a large cat, beak pointing out of her embrace as the skull continued to unerringly face the scroll and mutter in awe.

“It's really cool, Teacher showed it to me once. It's very pretty, the drawings move! Oh! And it makes everything look funny when you open it. It scared me and Teacher was very cross.”

"It is the scroll of the Keepers, in the ancient tongue, written before the first of the Old Kingdoms were named. Even the Lords of the Underworld themselves would attempt to claim it if knowledge of its survival was proven.”, the avian skull spoke in awe as his voice broke, “It is the Key that unlocks the Mountain Gate.”

"Oh. That sounds important.”, Leyla said seriously as she held the demon.

"I spilled ink on it once.”

Iskra's scream of anguish that echoed back from every corner of the towering library made Leyla giggle. He was so funny sometimes.

_____________________________________

“Where is she now?", Kallio asked Mirriana as he settled down in his chair at the head of the table in the dining hall.

Mirriana continued to stare at him in shock alongside Zeptik whose mouth hung open a bit as he bounced up onto the table and hopped over to the Warlock. Kallio regarded them both with amusement as he leaned back in the throne-like chair and laid his arms comfortably along the armrests. Though his face remained skull-like and withered, and his arms still ended in boney claws, Kallio was heavier by far. The dessicated flesh that once wrapped his body swelled with lean muscle and his robes no longer hung limp beneath the straps of his breastplate.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I am quite well, I assure you. Emeriss’ mastery of Undeath far exceeds my own. I am much restored, though the process is not entirely reversible.”, Kallio’s voice traveled throughout the dining hall as he addressed the two, “Now, where is Leyla? Emeriss has agreed to my request to shelter her while we conduct our business to the south. We shall be leaving tomorrow and much will need to be prepared, least of all the girl.”

"Emeriss’ did this?”, Mirriana spoke with awe as she approached and began to poke and prod her Master inquisitively. She stepped back and shot the woman's tapestry a look, her expression equal parts bitter and grateful.

“It seems that I was wrong, Master. My apologies, I allowed my dislike of the woman to color my advice to you, it will not happen ag-"

Kallio cut her off with a wave of his boney hand, “Mirri, you have never liked Emeriss. I don't expect you to start now over such a small favor as this. The Undertakers merely realigned the flow of energies within my body. I created that spell as I was dying, it was woefully inefficient and was bleeding almost as much mana as I regenerate. I am now merely as I should have been had I possessed the time to correctly complete the spell.”

Zeptik hopped onto his spot on Kallio’s shoulder, hands and feet clinging to his robes as his head poked up from behind his Master's back. He leaned around the side of the shoulder and raised his left arm as if to fire a spell, bouncing himself several times while the breastplate rattled slightly.

“Oh yeah, that's much better. It felt like I was hanging onto a scarecrow full of fish bones before.", the imp said with a pleased cackle and a final hard shake of Kallio’s robe.

He turned to find Kallio regarding him silently as he did so and stopped immediately.

“Sorry boss."

Kallio continued as if nothing had happened, swinging his gaze back out over the large table in annoyance while he addressed the room at large.

“Enough of this. I command you, where is my apprentice?”

The Warlock's voice rang with power as he spoke, eyes blazing with fel light. The light swelled also in the eyes of the demons as they replied in harmony to Kallio's question.

“The Library, Master."

The glow diminished in Kallio's eyes as he nodded and released the power he held over them. They both sagged as the light faded from their vision and Mirriana let out a huff and crossed her arms, refusing to face Kallio as she pouted. Zeptik shook his head several times and snapped a look of pure outrage into the side of Kallio's head as he stiffly climbed down onto the table and moved to stand before him. He leered into the Warlocks burning orbs before he spoke snottily.

“Rude."

“I asked quite nicely. Twice. We have much to prepare and little time. The sooner we begin the higher our chances of success. If Emeriss learned of my return so quickly there may be others. We have been hasty,” Kallio spoke ominously as Mirriana abandoned her sulk to stand beside the chair the Warlock rested upon. "I have learned the true forces of this age do not walk the earth and inspire the people with their deeds, as is proper. They cling tight to their allies and only strike with overwhelming force or when all other options have been eliminated.”

Kallio's eyes burned with disgust while he continued, fire in his voice, as he clenched his fists upon the armrests of his seat, “They do not lead those of their people who show potential to glory and strength, but instead venture forth in small groups, weighted down by trinkets and spells to do battle only with that they are sure they can defeat.They leave the people of their kingdoms to fend for themselves, and only defend the honor of their homes and lives of their countrymen for payment.”

Even Zeptik seemed mildly repulsed by the news as his face screwed up in distaste.

“Oh yes, Emeriss told me much of this…Adventurer’s Guild that holds my blade as their trophy. Now go, bring me the girl. I would explain it to her myself so that she will not be too troubled by it.”

_____________________________________

Blackstone followed the man called Guide quietly, bringing up the second place in the single-file line they had formed as they trotted through the woods at a comfortable pace. Sweat ran into his eyes and soaked his golden hair as he focused intently on keeping up and staying quiet. Even Selda had declined to resummon her enchanted armor as they ran for long hours, with Nari being the only one out of them all who seemed to be enjoying the run. He wore a tiny grin on his face as he darted away from the group to scout ahead before returning to confer with Guide often.

Nari reminded Blackstone of a hunting falcon the way he would speed away from Guide and zip into the trees only to return minutes later with additional information. The elf never seemed to tire and vanished as if he'd lived in the forest his whole life the moment he reached the brush. Blackstone envied him his light elven frame, the bastard wasn't even sweating as the rest of them suffered. He decided to focus on his breathing and cycled a healing spell through the group as he ran, soothing their aching muscles and restoring their energy. The entire group made an appreciative noise as the carefully casted spell vanished without a trace as soon as it was completed.

Blackstone had learned better than to simply allow wisps of mana to scatter from the spell form after the first time something had immediately picked up on their trail because of it. That fight had lost them almost an hour of daylight and most of his mana. They had to reach a suitably defensible spot for a campsite before dark, Guide was absolutely insistent upon it. Blackstone's little blunder had cost the group almost an entire days travel as they now needed to deviate their path.

“Down, into the brush. Spread out, no noise, no spells.", Guide hissed rapidly before throwing himself off the tiny game trail and into the foliage.

Blackstone turned hard as his foot came down, wheeling left while he took the opposite direction from the man off the path as the others followed suit. He slid over a log thickly overgrown with mushrooms and used it as cover while he quickly covered himself with detritus and peeked back through the dense undergrowth stealthily.

Nothing happened. Nari did not return to the group at the expected time. Wind rustled through the dense pines and birds sang merrily to each other in their branches. Blackstone held his position diligently even as he felt tiny crawling things begin to move over his arms from the disturbed leaves and other debris he had covered his body with.

“Hello?! Hello?! I need help! Oh Gods, my leg! Help me!”

The shouts for help broke the silence like a clap of thunder, and Blackstone's heart pounded in his chest. He didn't recognize the voice, but it sounded frightened and hurt. The pain in their voice tugged at his sympathy strongly, but he remained hidden and remembered Guides' words as he willed himself into absolute stillness.

A glitter of bright metal passed through the trees along the game trail they had just left as clicking and whirring sounded through the trees and the birds went silent and still. Even the buzzing of insects had ceased as Blackstone held his breath, frozen in horror.

It was tall and birdlike on its powerful legs, a long neck counterbalanced by an even longer tail, extending up to an eyless reptilian head, its maw gleaming with crystal teeth. Lean and powerful arms descended from its stooped chest, tipped with three dagger-like claws and a smaller grasping digit almost like a thumb. It clicked and rattled as it stood, body bouncing and shaking with the gentle sound as its long tail swayed behind it. It opened its jaws again as another voice emerged, this time that of a terrified child.

“DADDY? ARE YOU THERE? I'M SCARED, I WANNA GO HOME!”

Blackstone's heart hammered in his chest as the Automata closed its jaws and tilted its head as if to listen for a moment before moving farther down the trail as it begged, pleaded, and screamed for help in a dozen voices before fading out of earshot. Blackstone lay there like a stone, drenched in cold sweat as the sun crept slowly across the sky and he tried to calm his breathing. After almost an hour he heard Guide's signal and began to make his way carefully back to the trail.

As they formed up Nari emerged from the bushes farther ahead and jogged up to the group with wide eyes, pupils nearly non-existent with stress. They were all pale and soaked in sweat, Guide seemingly the only one accustomed to the circumstances and was shaken but not terrified. He shook some dirt from his leathers and adjusted the wide brimmed hat he wore as he addressed them.

“Breaks over. We're moving. No names from this point on."

Their faces were grim and serious as they began to run once again.