“You want to go to Riverkeep.”

Ezo stood in front of the fireplace, watching the flames dance. After the emotional confrontation earlier in the day, Remec had turned in early. He’d accepted his position as the keeper of Mountainkeep, but something about Remec’s arguments made Ezo think there was more going on. He was beginning to wonder about the true nature of Remec’s relationship with Jacob and how deep it had gone.

Ezo turned to look at Kammon, who sat with a book in his lap. It was a common sight these days. Ezo liked it if he was honest. The days of rest and study in Mountainkeep had done as much for Kammon’s health as the waters in Tam’s Flat. Kammon never used more power than he could easily call upon, and he didn’t overtax himself constantly.

If they built the tunnel like they talked about, that would change, but Ezo could take the brunt of it himself. Unlike the fights they’d gone into where Ezo needed to rely on Kammon’s experience and reflexes, Ezo could lead the way this time.

“I want to make sure nothing happened to Riverkeep in my absence,” Ezo answered Kammon. “After spending this much time here, I need to get back. I found a mention in Jacob’s journal that there were other libraries, but no other details. I didn’t read the journals for the keepers of Riverkeep, though. I never knew there was such a thing so I didn’t look for them.”

“What were you looking for?” Kammon asked.

“The bond. I didn’t know anything about it when I found Riverkeep. It’s more than Riverkeep, though. I’m worried about Alvrey and the players. If the Imperium knew we traveled with them, would they give them any trouble?”

Kammon shut the book he was reading. “Most people would think they were just traveling companions we used to stay hidden. Someone like Eques Lestan or Salinger, though? They might take action to draw us out.”

“We should find them,” Ezo said. “You agree, don’t you?”

“I think leaving Mountainkeep will put us back on the run from the Imperium.”

“Is there anything we can do to stop that?” Ezo asked. “I can’t stay in Mountainkeep forever. You and Remec were just arguing about that earlier. You don’t expect me to remain here.”

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“No, but that doesn’t mean we can discount the fact that the Imperium won’t stop looking for us. And they’re probably keeping an eye on anyone we’ve been known to associate with.”

“So Tam’s Flat is in trouble?”

Kammon nodded. “We don’t need to worry about Danya and Cassen, but the Imperium will certainly have them under watch. We won’t be able to return there.”

“Good thing I have Riverkeep, then.”

“What are you looking to learn, Ezo?” Kammon asked. “You’ve buried your head in books, but I still don’t know what you are searching for.”

“I’m trying to understand,” he said softly. “The bond we share. The Vow you took. Effigies and the impossible. Why is the history we’re taught different than what I see in these books? What does that mean for the wars you fought and the people that live in a nation ruled by the Imperium?”

Kammon laughed.

“What? What’s wrong with that?”

“Do you plan on righting all the wrongs of this world, Ezo?”

“I know I can’t, but that doesn’t mean I can’t try to understand it.”

Kammon stood and dropped the book he had been reading in the chair. He approached Ezo, a smile still on his face.

“Sometimes I forget how impossible you are.”

He smacked at Kammon’s chest when he grew closer. “It’s what Jacob taught me.”

“Is it?”

Ezo nodded. “We aren’t elementalists to change the elements. We are elementalists to be elements of change in this world. I can’t be anything else.”

“I wish I had learned that when I was younger,” Kammon said. “It’s a better way of looking at our role in society than the University ever gave me.”

“So you going to help me change the world, or what?” Ezo demanded.

“Someone has to be there when you get yourself into trouble.”

When Kammon pulled him into his arms, Ezo let him. They still bickered and fought, but Ezo welcomed the quieter moments between them now. The ones that had happened because of their time in Mountainkeep. He would be sad to see it go, but they were leaving the library in good hands.

“So we’ll find Jaroh’s Traveling Players and then head to Riverkeep?” he asked.

Kammon nodded. “After we finish here. We need to build a tunnel for Remec and we should take a few trips out ourselves to make sure Voth has actually left the area and isn’t lying in wait for us somewhere.”

“You think he gave up?”

“No. I think he’s lying in wait for us,” Kammon said with a smile. “We need to pull him away from Remec and Mountainkeep so that he doesn’t investigate this area too much. Maybe show up a few places further out from Mountainkeep to make it look like we just passed through instead of staying here for a month.”

Ezo frowned. “I almost forgot about him. He was really your student?”

Kammon just nodded.

“So, get Voth off our backs, find our friends, and then go to Riverkeep?”

“Bed.”

“What?”

“First, bed.”

“You afraid I’d forget to sleep tonight?” Ezo teased.

Kammon ran a hand through Ezo’s long, dark hair and smiled. “I said bed, not sleep, Ezo. Bed. Then we worry about the rest of the world.”

Ezo stepped back but grabbed Kammon’s hand and pulled him towards the door. “That is the best plan you’ve ever made.”