A door chimes a man walks into a small store. Its an old bookstore but everything is in kept clean and organized. Behind the counter an old women sits and looks up from a book she had been engrossed in.

"Oh Sir Chase, what brings you here today?" The old women asked.

"Good Morning Melony, may I just point out that you look the same as you did when i first walked into this store 20 years ago" Sir Chase said taking off his winter coat and hanging it up on the hooks made available to customers

"oh you flatter, you on the other hand have gone from a scrawny little twig to this absolute hunk hahaha *COUGH* COUGH Cough" Melony held up her hand as Chase rushed forward to help the old women.

In a more serious tone Melony asked " what are you here for today you haven't visited in nearly 4 years?"

"ah my apologies, my wife had passed away not long after the birth of my child Eliyetta , I'm actually here to get my 3 year old daughter some picture books for her fourth birthday." Chase said placing his hand on his chest and bowing ever so slightly when apologizing.

"right well, down the hall, row four, bottom shelf." Melony said opting not to press any further.

Chase thanked Melony and walked towards the area Melony had mentioned. squatting down he was a little disappointed at the selection but he understood that his town was not particularly rich. With the seasonal monster swarm attacking the walls there was plenty of meat to eat. there was also a pretty decent amount of income from the pelts and hides of the Monstrous beasts. Most of that money was then spent into repairing the damage and training and then preparing for the next monster invasion. the city had been doing this for generations now and casualties were now a rare thing often times from the carelessness of a youth who thought nothing of the beasts. deciding to just buy them all Chase took the small stack of books and walked over to the desk where Melony was once again engrossed in the book she had been reading.

without looking up Melony said "Three silver per book"

"3 silver? that's a lot Melony why so much for children's books?" Chase looked genuinely surprised by the amount.

" I'm too old to be haggling in the market, I'm also the only bookstore in this town left. Come next season I'll probably be passing my store to my apprentice" pointing her index finger at Sir Chase's Coin pouch, "that bag of coins on your hip are my retirement funds" Melony grinned with surprising pearly white teeth.

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"nonsense, you still look to be in your mid 40s, your not some Holy Knight recluse are you, An ancient alchemist pretending to be a library owner, or worse your couldn't possibly be a grand lich could you" chase went on in mark horror

"heh, what if I was something like that? not like anyone would care? they are all too busy punching things to read books in this town. I'm just glad your not all idiots; here I had a gift I had meant to give you to celebrate the birth of your daughter, though you never stopped by.... well I'm sorry for your loss...anyway, here take this" Melony reached under her desk and pulled out a small but rather thick purple book decorated in white stitched leaves and vines across the cover. the book had no title. Melony handed the book over to Chase and then said," it was a gift to my ancestors from the old kingdom. yes I know this book could be considered blasphemous by the imperial family but as luck would have it the book was gifted to the old kingdom by your family. so they don't have much of a leg to stand on."

"this book was originally in my family?" Chase was astounded, it was a lot of information, potentially dangerous information. 'Still it is just some old book, as long as no one makes the connection of the book belonging to the Old Kingdom I will probably be okay to keep it.' Chase thought. Chase took the book from Melony and placed it in his satchel along with the children's books and placed the money on the counter.

"I'll review the book when I get home and see if its worth keeping or reporting to the book to the imperial family." Chase said looking conflicted, worried about the implications should anyone find out he had it.

Melony had a look of panic on her face you, "you can't Sir Chase, you could get killed!!!"

"Bwahahaha for having a book in my possession I doubt it. the worst they might do is destroy the book, the real problem is it would smear my houses name. this could lead to merchants not coming every year leading to more casualties during the Beast Monsoon" Chase wasn't concerned unlike Melony he was a noble. This was not the first time a noble had turned in something from the old empire after reading its contents.

"I'm serious Sir Chase, the imperial family will not like that you have that book. if it was anyone else they may have just destroyed it as you said. but this is a relic from your ancestors and the ancestors of the old kingdoms royalty. it gives you the right to make a claim to the throne just by owning it. you cannot tell them."

Chase thought about it for a second " I will keep that in mind Melony. I have only met the king once but he seemed the kind sort. If i think the book is an issue ill turn it in anonymously does that work?" Chase said trying to sooth the Melony to prevent another coughing fit.

Looking worried Melony took a knife from the folds of her garb and quickly swiped his hand holding the book.

"MELLONY!!" Chase shouted ready to restrain the old women. but then the book started glowing and soon it was bright enough to light up the entire shop.