Hans used his time transcribing the book to study it more closely.

Izz and Thuz retired to empty beds in the Tribe dorms relatively early that evening. They had many more questions to ask about the Gomi dungeon, how it worked, and how Gomi was using it, but they were weary from the road. Long before they arrived, the lizardmen assumed they would spend a good deal of time in Gomi with Hans–given the nature of the package they delivered–but they now believed they would be in Gomi far longer than that.

Olza slept on the couch, an open book on her chest, snoring softly. Hans snuffed her lamp to make her more comfortable, leaving his desk lamp as the lone light source in the apartment.

He lacked the reference materials to confirm, but he was certain his assessment of the Takarabune was correct. Its mechanics matched that of an astrolabe as he understood them, but this device built upon, or was an arcane variation of, what sailors used for celestial navigation.

The device had five layers. The round base of the Takarabune was called a mater, and the layer on top of that was a tympan. The two flat pieces nested together like fine dinnerplates. The outer rim of the mater was marked with measurements, like a round ruler representing degrees and hours. The tympan could rotate within the mater to align a sophisticated web of swooping lines and numbers to the numbers around the edge.

If he remembered correctly, those lines represented longitude and latitude, but he was neither sure of his memory or that this device functioned in the same manner.

On top of the tympan was the rete, a series of overlapping rings with open interiors so that the rete could be aligned with the tympan and the mater beneath it. Finally, the Takarabune had a rule on the front and an alidade on the back, both long thin pieces that helped the user sight and calibrate the device–akin to the hands of a clock.

Celestial navigation always looked challenging to Hans, giving him a great respect for career sailors. The Takarabune appeared to require similar knowledge, but he also saw spell runes and alchemical symbols with the same prominence as longitude and latitude.

From what he could tell, the Takarabune provided coordinates and a color. Some Guild Masters recorded the colors as simple primary colors–red, blue, and yellow–while others attempted to better define shades, leaving notes like “dark orange” or “blue-green.”

Hans would need a reference to translate all of the symbols on the device itself, but he recognized a few runes from schools of spells–Healing, Illusion, Fire, and Ice. He initially suspected these labels were how the guild assigned a Diamond quest to the appropriate class, but in reviewing old quest records, color seemed to have the most importance. He wasn’t sure why and didn’t immediately find an explanation.

He expected to find the answer eventually.

The math for using the device spanned more than a dozen pages, and he understood very little of it. Locating Diamond quests required much more than traditional pathfinding it seemed. He hoped Olza would be able to help.

The latter half of the book contained pages and pages of notes left by previous Guild Masters, detailing their observations from using the device and logging the results of each quest–the ability the adventurer earned as well as the treasure they brought back for the Guild. Those treasures included a number of books, enchanted jewelry, and magic weapons.

When he skimmed through the older entries, he found notes about party sizes. Reading more closely, he learned that Diamond quests used to be assigned to groups of four to six as opposed to the present practice of sending one. One Guild Master expressed worry that “too many Diamonds will dilute the prestige of the Guild.”

Hans recognized a handful of the Guild Master names but none of the artifacts listed. If the Guild kept them, they never talked about where or why, and Hans certainly hadn’t heard of any of these items being used in the field.

Is all of this loot in a vault somewhere?

Gret had expressed frustrations similar to Hans’ about adventurers being sent into jobs unprepared or the Guild seeming to withhold resources and knowledge that could help the masses. Yet, he never suspected the Platinum of Rogue of going as far as to betray the Guild completely.

New questions formed when he learned why Gret had not acted on the knowledge in the manual. An astrolabe was an intricate device requiring precise inputs to use correctly. The Takarabune was the same, making its basic construction a significant challenge to even seasoned crafters.

But the kingdom had skilled crafters all over. If Gret managed to solve that manageable challenge, he had to then provide an assortment of rare materials, one of which was a six-inch wide diamond shaped flat into the mater. The diamond had to be a singular piece of material, not a composite of several diamonds linked together. Diamonds were reasonably common, but a diamond with those dimensions… was that even possible?

That must be where the ‘Diamond’ rank got its name.

The manual called for the plate to be made from hihi'irokane, a material more commonly known as “scarlet steel.” To Hans’ knowledge, no one had yet cracked the riddle of how to produce it without cyclops blood. Since cyclops blood was incredibly difficult to acquire, if someone wanted to work with scarlet steel, an existing item made from the material had to be smelted down and reforged. In Hans’ case, his party fought a cyclopean warlord wielding a flail made from scarlet steel.

The rete was fashioned from valorite, a form of iron that had soaked in wild magic, turning the ore a distinct cerulean. He had seen that material only once as well, used to operate the inner mechanisms of an unusual golem.

The rule and the alidade were to be made from celestial steel. Of all the materials listed in the manual, celestial steel was the easiest find, though it was still incredibly rare. Celestials refused to trade away their resources and considered it a grave offense to even be asked. Fallen celestials, however, often carried weapons made from the material when they invaded this plane. Those monsters were akin to highly ranked demons, and killing them was the only way for this world to get access to the steel.

Common wasn't the right word to describe fallen celestials, but they were encountered often enough in the deep frontier that news of another sighting wasn't shocking. Killing them was far more challenging than locating them.

Once the device was assembled, the manual said to immerse it in mimic blood. Just reading the word mimic made Hans shiver. Finding mimics was a challenge for obvious reasons, but engaging one–or worse, several–plunged parties into paranoia. Soon, they would be stabbing every object and surface, expecting everything and anything to be a mimic.

The value of the materials alone would empty the King’s coffers. As for the value of a functioning Takarabune, how would he begin to measure the value of locating Diamond quests?

They'll never stop looking.

Hans looked up from his notes to see the first hints of a Gomi sunrise. He smiled.

“Yeah. No matter what, they’ll never stop.”

Quest Update: Finish transcribing the manual and decide on the next course of action.

***

“Hans,” Charlie began before stopping again. He refilled his glass of whiskey and threw it back. “My old heart isn’t built for a life this interesting.”

Hans sat at a dining room table with Charlie and Galinda. The shoulders of Hans’ tunic were wet from rain, and he listened to the drops outside falling harder against the roof as Charlie searched for words.

“If only we could return the thing, but you’re right that no good would come of that. I grew up next to a boy who stole a knife from the local smith. His Pa made him give it back and apologize. Got arrested right there and rotted for ten years.”

“Ah.”

“The best life lessons are the ones someone else pays for, as they say.”

“...I'm not sure they say that.”

Charlie poured another whiskey. “How concerned are you?”

“Slow down, love,” Galinda said softly.

“You're jealous my tolerance is higher than yours.”

Hans coughed. “This may be because I haven’t slept since yesterday morning, but I'm not worried, which is odd for me.”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

The Mayor and his wife agreed that was odd.

“The Guild would have sent someone out here again whether we had the book or not. It will go the exact same way it did the first time.”

Charlie narrowed his eyes. “You're not planning to use it?”

“We should definitely consider it,” Hans said. “We will have several years before any of our people are ready for Diamond. Not to mention we have to make the thing and figure out how it operates.”

The Mayor was still suspicious of Hans’ optimism. Hans assured him they didn't need to be concerned. Not more concerned than they already had been, anyway.

“Well…” Hans thought for a moment. “I suppose they could have a spell to track and locate it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, maybe.”

Galinda patted Charlie on the head. “He is teasing you.”

The Mayor scowled.

“Seriously, though, I've been thinking about this a fair bit,” Hans said. “Nonstop, actually. The Guild will poke around no matter what, so our plan doesn't change. It can't change. If we can disguise a dungeon, we can disguise a few Diamonds. Who would want to bother Gomi then?”

“Careful, Hans.”

Hans shook his head. “I don't mean violence. I mean influence… with an undertone of potential violence I suppose, but that's not the point. Take Izz and Thuz for example. Those guys are loved by pretty much everyone. Anyone who dislikes them doesn’t want the trouble that would kick up from bothering them, so they leave them be.”

Charlie rapped his fingers on the table, thinking. “Years you said?”

Hans nodded. “In the short term, we keep doing what we are doing now. Our deal with the forest eliminates the danger of a surprise visit. When someone does show up, they'll see the same old Gomi. Long term… I have a few interesting ideas.”

“How interesting?”

The Guild Master admitted his ideas ranged from incognito Diamond-ranked adventurers traveling the kingdom to using the Takarabune to negotiate alliances between Gomi and neighboring kingdoms.

Charlie groaned. “Fine. We sit on it until we figure what we want to hatch.”

“Are you two done?” Galinda asked.

Charlie said he supposed they were.

“I have a silly question,” she said. “Can we paint the palisade?”

Hans didn't understand.

“I ordered more paint. If it won't attract more monsters, we should ask the kids to paint. Let them make part of Gomi theirs.”

Though it took a moment, Hans’ brain caught up with Galinda’s sharp conversational pivot.

Oh that kind of painting.

“That sounds like a Mayor question to me,” Hans joked. “I don't see any harm in it, though.”

The Mayor said he saw no harm either.

Hans raised a finger for Galinda to wait. “I heard there's a special portrait of Charlie. Maybe that would make a good addition.”

Charlie slammed his glass on the table.

“I remember where I put it,” Galinda said, standing from the table and disappearing around the corner.

“Gods help me, Hans…”

The grin on Hans’ face grew. He yelled out of the room, “Can you scale it up to mural size?”

“Larger might intimidate the men in Gomi even more,” Galinda yelled back.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Hans looked across the table.

Charlie had stolen Hans’ mischievous grin and tripled its size.

Hans paled. “Galinda! I changed my mind! I don't need to see it!”

***

“This is a drill we learned in our country,” Izz said. “We call it the Mountain King.”

The lizardman used his foot to draw a circle in the dirt while the children watched and listened. Thuz stood off to the side.

“Everyone, raise your sword hand.”

The children did as they were told.

“Look around. In this game, you are not allowed to use your sword hand, so now you can see if your classmates attempt to deceive you.”

The children giggled when Izz smiled.

“The goal is to tag your partner with your sword or push them outside of the ring,” Izz explained. “Force is not required. The smallest tap wins the round. Whoever wins, remains in the circle and faces a new partner. The other student steps out to wait for their next turn.”

Izz instructed the children to form a line. Thuz helped guide them, and then two children began the game.

The first several rounds went to the child who attacked the quickest, landing a tag moments after the round began. Soon, though, the ideal strategy evolved. Recognizing that a speedy attack was inevitable, some of the kids began to set traps, anticipating an aggressive attack to trick their partner into leaving an opening.

The “parry then tag” strategy soon gave way to methodical pokes and prods, neither student willing to commit to a full on attack.

Quentin slid next to the Golds.

“Good timing,” Hans said. “What do you think this drill teaches, Quentin?”

The Apprentice thought before he answered. “Mobility, but that's an easy one. Tactics is the real focus, right?”

“How so?”

“They're all trying to trick each other to land a tag. Lots of feints and traps.”

“You were right, Mr. Hans,” Thuz said. “He is quite bright.”

Quentin tried but failed to hide his smile.

“There are two drills happening together,” Thuz added. “The children in line are practicing observation. They watch the king and look for weaknesses because they know they will face them again soon. They watch each match to learn from the choices of their classmates, to see what works and what doesn't.”

The Apprentice listened intently, nodding all the while.

“There's also a nice balancing mechanism here too,” Hans said. “The longer someone wins, the more tired they get while every new partner is fresh and has been thinking about what to do when they are up again. Gives the less advanced students an actual chance against a tough challenge.”

Quentin nodded. “That’s a lot of lessons in disguise.”

“Mr. Hans said that you solved the squonk puzzle,” Thuz said. “Your solution was impressively clever.”

Izz agreed. “Is your sword as sharp as your mind?” Izz asked. “We saw a flier in the guild hall. Do you intend to compete?”

When Quentin glanced between the lizardmen and Hans, Izz asked if he had committed an offense with a question.

“No, nothing like that,” Hans said. “We're not sure how safe it is for Gomi children to travel.”

“On account of the war,” Quentin added.

The lizardmen nodded. Looking at one another, they exchanged words in their native tongue, a language based on hisses and variations of what humans would call an S sound. No other race had the anatomy to replicate the unique elements of their language, however.

Hans attempted to learn as much of it as he could, but he soon discovered that his ears couldn't distinguish between pitches and annunciation that Izz and Thuz insisted were obvious.

“Is your concern solely the safety of your tusk students?” Izz asked Hans.

“As opposed to?”

“Their preparation for such a contest or, perhaps, there is a conflict of which we are not aware.”

“Kane and Quentin are the only students who would go. One of our own got attacked for being tusk over the winter–in the same town. I don’t want to put Apprentices in a bad situation.”

Izz nodded. “With your permission, we would gladly accompany the Apprentices.”

Quentin's surge of excitement made him an inch taller. “Would that be okay?”

Lizardmen experienced similar prejudices as tusks, though not to the extremes the orc war enabled. If Izz and Thuz were with Kane, they might not be immune to poor treatment, but Hans trusted them completely.

If he asked them to keep Kane and Quentin safe, they would stop at nothing to keep their promise. Where Bel and Lee held back in their fight with Osare’s underbelly, Izz and Thuz would end them right then and successfully argue self-defense afterward. They had the power and the charisma.

“Our deal with your dad and Uncle Ed approving still applies,” Hans said, “but I would have very few worries if Izz and Thuz were with you.”

Quest Update: Confirm Roland and Uncle Ed’s decision on the Osare tournament.

Quentin didn't bother trying to hide his elation. “Thank you, Mr. Thuz and Mr. Izz. Thank you so much.”

Thuz frowned at the drill. “We shall discuss this in more depth later. The mountain needs a new king.”

Thuz strolled to the back of the line, triggering a series of concerned glances and confused murmurs among the children. Gunther asked why Thuz was in line. When the lizardman answered that he awaited his turn to challenge the king, the murmurs escalated to shouts about how that wasn't fair.

The lizardman smiled the whole way to the front of the line.

Hans smiled too when the lizardman politely demolished every challenger he faced.

***

Open Quests (Ordered from Old to New):

Progress from Gold-ranked to Diamond-ranked.

Mend the rift with Devon.

Using a pen name, complete the manuscript for "The Next Generation: A Teaching Methodology for Training Adventurers."

Expand the dungeon with resource-specific monsters for each of Gomi’s major trades.

Find a way for Gomi adventurers to benefit from their rightful ranks in the Adventurers’ Guild.

Secure a way to use surplus dungeon inventory for good.

Confirm Roland and Uncle Ed’s decision on the Osare tournament.

Finish transcribing the manual and decide on the next course of action.