The next afternoon, the five of them gathered in the planning room once again. Jasper, Rogue John, and Artie had finally had a chance to catch up on sleep after their late night excursion into the Church of Rhore. They breathed easier with every passing hour. Quimby seemed to have kept his promise, for if he hadn't they would have surely been arrested by now.

"I've spoken with some of my associates," Ryujin said as they all sat down to some mead, bacon, and bread. "The Mask of Mandu is believed to be in the possession of a man named Dellevant who collects all sorts of relics. Luckily, he lives in a villa just a couple miles outside the city."

"We really are getting lucky," Artie said, beaming.

"That just means something horrible is going to happen soon," Jasper said. Though he smiled as if it were a joke, he truly hoped their fortune would hold. "Should we go pay this guy a visit?"

"I'm going to go check in on Udai," Slade said. "I went this morning, but he wasn't home."

"And I need to go see Cerana. It's been a couple days, so she'll be worried," Artie said. "Why don't you come with me, Jasper?"

Jasper shook his head. "No. I'm going to go with Ryujin to visit Dellevant."

Since Artie had told him that Cerana was in love with him, Jasper had not visited her. He had spent a long time trying to piece together his own feelings; if he did love her, it would crush him even more to be around her in her illness, and if he didn't love her, he would feel like he was giving her false hope in her trying times. He expected Artie to argue with him, but his friend nodded in understanding.

"I'm exhausted," Rogue John said. "I've been carrying this whole operation on my shoulders the past week, and I really need a break. I'm going to spend some time with Vesper and then check on some of my other wards. I'll be back here tonight if you need me."

"Time to collect your share?" Slade asked, smirking.

John chuckled. "I told you I made some smart investments."

"Looks like it's just you and me," Ryujin said, looking at Jasper. "Are you ready?"

"Let's get this mask," Jasper said.

----------------------------------------

Jasper and Ryujin set upon the road shortly after the meeting was adjourned. There were only a few hours of sunlight left, and most of the traffic was people returning to the city. The two of them hoped to be back not long after dark, if everything went well with Dellevant.

"So how did you and Artie meet Slade?" the dragonborn asked.

Jasper said, "Through the tavern. We liked going there after a big exam. Then we started going at the end of the week. Then we started going almost every night. Slade's a good man, and he told us stories about all his adventures."

"Slade is a good man. Seems you took a liking to his stories and started going on some adventures of your own."

"Not at first. After Cerana's situation worsened and no one could help, that's when I had the idea."

"I see. It's an honorable thing you're doing."

Jasper chuckled. "Artie tells me it's reckless."

"It is," Ryujin replied, "but the honorable thing sometimes is."

Jasper mulled on that for a moment and then said, "You know, thinking back on it, Slade never mentioned you, Rogue John, or Udai by name, but I'm certain you all were involved in a lot of his adventures."

Ryujin laughed. "Indeed we were."

"Why didn't he mention you? I think Artie and I were pretty deep into our drinks when he would talk to us, so I never realized before..."

"Slade is very cautious after what happened to his wife."

Jasper looked up at the dragonborn. "Wife?"

"You didn't know?"

"That Slade was ever married? No!"

"I've said too much, then."

"Why would he never tell Artie and I about a wife?" Jasper furrowed his brow. In truth, he felt hurt that the man had hidden such a thing.

"As I said, he's cautious... protective of his friends."

"Maybe we're not as good of friends as I believed... How could he hide that? What else could he be hiding?"

Ryujin started as if he had been struck, looking down at Jasper with sympathy. "Do not doubt his friendship. You will not find better."

"It's a lot to take in."

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They walked in silence for several minutes, until the dragonborn breathed in deeply and said, "Slade's wife was arrested by the Church of Rhore, under some horrifically false charges that she was demon-possessed and using dark magic to heal people. It was all slander, and a way to remove her."

"Why did they want to remove her?" Jasper asked.

"Because her magic was healing people faster and better than their own clerics could. Bad for business..."

"What happened to her?"

"She was hung in the streets, and when he tried to get her body back they burned it right in front of him."

"I'm surprised he didn't burn the church down..."

"He would have, if Udai hadn't been there to stop him. They both served in the military, you know, so they were close."

"Yeah, I heard."

"Slade did cripple a priest before Udai could stop him, and Slade served some jail time for it."

"Really? I didn't know that, either."

"Yes. Ever since then, he's been more cautious about what he says about who. The Church of Rhore is nothing to mess with."

Jasper nodded. It made sense to him now why Slade had chosen not to participate in their raid the other night. It must have been difficult to watch his friends go off to a place that he knew to be so dangerous. At least that part was behind him.

It wasn't long before the two of them arrived at their destination. A sign out front read "Dellevant's Museum of Relics and Curiosities." The villa was being illuminated in preparation of the coming night. Servants scrambled around lighting candles and placing colored glass globes over them to bathe different sections of the home in their own color, and matching paper lanterns were strung overhead. The path leading up to the fence was red. The garden area was left with the natural light of the candles to allow the flowers exploding in vibrant colors to show themselves off, along with the giant bushes trimmed to resemble different animals. The patio area with tables, benches, chairs, and hammocks was bathed in soft yellow light. The exterior walls of the house were awash in dark blue.

"Seems a little much," Jasper said.

Ryujin led the way forward with great, lumbering steps. The servants shuffled aside and bowed as they passed, keeping the position until well after the two of them were gone. Jasper couldn't remember a time he had ever been bowed to, and he didn't care for it. He could tell that Ryujin was used to it, but he would have been surprised if someone who had killed four dragons wasn't used to being esteemed.

The front door swung open as they approached and a dark-skinned man stepped out, smiling warmly at them. He was dressed in a cream-colored robe and had a long-stemmed pipe between his teeth. "Welcome," he said, "to my museum of oddities." His tone was calm, inviting. "I am Dellevant, and I'm always happy to meet new friends with an interest in antiquities."

"Thank you for having us," Ryujin said. "Your museum is something to behold."

"Very kind of you to say. Come in - the best is yet to behold."

Dellevant wasn't lying. Jasper and Ryujin were led around the house, marveling at how much stuff the man owned. Glass cases full of jewelry, fossils, and rare tomes. Racks upon racks of gleaming armor, hundreds of weapons mounted on the walls. Scraps of cloth, letters, scrolls, books, musical instruments, paintings, sketches, and miniature models of different inventions were all neatly placed in a way that somehow made the house still feel open and uncrowded. It would have made Udai jealous.

Jasper was dumbfounded. It wasn't even the fact that he was surrounded by so many relics and historical artifacts. What bothered him was the fact that for months he and Artie had made it their mission to collect treasures just like this, yet he had never once heard of this place. Months of crawling through mud, climbing cliffs, swimming in underground caves, dodging traps, and fighting monsters and it had all been for nothing. Now he saw why none of the places they had explored had held any treasure - it was all here!

Would he have robbed Dellevant if he'd known about his museum? He had been fully prepared to steal from the Church of Rhore, and so he wasn't going to pretend his conscience would have factored in. Dellevant was a stranger and Cerana needed help. He would have robbed him blind if that was what it took. But he hoped now that Dellevant would be reasonable, and they could walk out with the Mask of Mandu without any trouble.

"That was just the quick tour," Dellevant said, leading them into a lounge area. "Take your time and enjoy the pieces at your leisure. Complimentary pipes are at the desk in the back room, if you don't have one of your own to enjoy."

"Thank you," Ryujin said. "I will have to come back another time, however. This visit, we've come with a purpose."

Dellevant studied them a moment as he puffed on his pipe. "I see. These types of visits aren't uncommon to me. I suppose you'd like to purchase one of my pieces?"

"We would."

"What is it you're interested in?"

"The Mask of Mandu," Jasper said.

"Oh, my." The collector indicated a plush couch near them and then took a seat in a chair. "Are you sure I can't get you a pipe?"

"No, thank you," Ryujin said, settling in. "We're only here because of the mask."

"I had it at one time, but no longer, sadly."

"What happened?" Jasper asked, his hopes diminishing.

"A couple years ago, there was a man who showed up who was also seeking the mask. I told him I would not sell it to him, for it was too valuable. A mask that can cure any ailment? Who could part with such a thing?"

"But you don't have it anymore, so something happened."

"He attacked me, knocked me unconscious, and took the mask. My security was not what it is, now... He didn't take anything else, strangely..." Dellevant nursed his pipe for a time while he reflected on the memories.

Jasper glanced around, trying to find the security that he spoke of. Other than the servants they had seen outside, and a few inside tending to the cleaning of the displays, Dellevant was the only person they had seen. A chill ran down Jasper's spine, though he tried to hide it.

"You don't have any idea where he went?" Ryujin asked.

"Well, I have an idea, but I never thought it worth pursuing. I myself am not a fighting man, and I figured anyone I hired to go after him would just take it and sell it themselves. Better to let the man have it. Perhaps he truly needed it."

"Now we need it," Jasper said, trying to sound persuasive. "I have a friend who is sick, and this is her only chance."

"You would be better off spending the time with your friend."

The words struck a nerve with Jasper.

Dellevant continued: "Do you truly believe the legend of the mask? I do not, and I had possession of the thing. I think it's strength comes from stories. People believe them, and so they feel better."

"It's better to use the mask and be wrong than to be right and not have it."

"Hm..." Dellevant scratched his chin while the pipe smoke wafted around his face. "Wise words. I will not stop you. I've made peace with my loss of it. All I know is that the man hailed from the east. His wife was sick at the Tiger Spires monastery, or so he said. I don't know if it was true."

"I'm familiar with the monastery. I have friends there," Ryujin said.

"I do hope you'll come see me again when your mission is done. You seem like capable people, and I may have work if you or anyone you know may be interested in acquiring other relics. I would pay well."

Ryujin smiled and said, "I might know a few."