Carlos looked across the small clear area in the center of their new camp and was unsurprised to see Amber staring blankly with her jaw dropped open. He was a bit stunned, himself, and that was without having looked up to Sandaras as his ultimate idol for most of his life like Amber had.

Amber's mouth snapped shut, and she started exclaiming excitedly over their telepathic bond. [Archmage Sandaras's personal spellbook?! Carlos, we have to take that! Putting up with helping Kindar is nothing compared to that!]

Carlos knew better than to argue with that kind of enthusiasm. [I agree in principle. Let's get all the information first to make sure it really is what it sounds like, though, okay?]

Amber hesitated. [I suppose.]

Carlos broadened his focus to include Stelras again. [I have questions. To start with, what exactly is Sandaras's "personal spellbook" and why does he have one? Every spell a mage learns is written into their soul, so why would he need them written in a book?]

Stelras's amused agreement came over the link like a feeling of a smiling chuckle. [I had many questions for Darmelkon, myself, when he offered that book. Though my question for that particular point was about why Archmage Sandaras had made an additional copy, rather than why even the original would exist. Our dear lord merchant's answer was that, just as Sandaras wrote an introductory textbook to draw the interest of future aspiring mages, he made a few copies of his personal spellbook to be rewards for the most promising graduates of the royal mage academy.]

Carlos cocked his head for a moment, then shrugged. [Okay, that fits. What's in it, though, and how did Darmelkon end up with one?]

[Interestingly, the answers to those two questions are related. Allegedly, the book contains Sandaras's research notes for all of his most advanced spells, with a number of unfinished draft versions in addition to the completed spells. Neither Darmelkon nor the mage who sold it to him could verify that, however, as most of the contents are somehow locked by a very complex spell.]

Amber narrowed her eyes quizically. [Sandaras cast some kind of locking spell on these copies of his spellbook, and then didn't give the recipients the key to go with it?]

[Precisely.] Stelras's amusement came through loud and clear. [As the story goes, it seems that the would-be thieves who accosted Sandaras here in Dramos were merely one example of a problem that has plagued him for most of his life. The most common target of those who tried to steal from him was the book where he wrote out new spells, ideas, and other such notes, and he created a new spell just to ensure that even a successful theft of that book would not meaningfully benefit the thief. He made a few backup copies of the book, too, so that he wouldn't lose anything from its theft.]

Carlos nodded. [Okay, that explains the lock spell. But why no key for the people he intentionally gave the book?]

[According to the story Darmelkon passed on to me, Sandaras declared that any worthy successor to his most advanced knowledge should be capable of unlocking the book without aid. He apparently considered it a challenge and final test for the recipients to prove their worth.]

[Huh.] Carlos chewed his lip for a second. [Does Darmelkon have any information about the lock spell and any attempts at breaking it?]

Stelras mentally shrugged at him. [Not much. I anticipated you would want to know that. The mage who sold the book to Darmelkon told about a rumor that the recipient of the first awarded copy had successfully dispelled the lock, only to find nothing but blank pages, despite having taken great care to prevent any contingent destructive measures that might have been concealed in it. The recipient of the second copy had shown no sign of having learned anything special, despite having had the book for years. Darmelkon's copy was the third one awarded, and the mage who sold it to him disgustedly declared that the whole thing was a farce, with an unreasonably complex lock spell that had nothing to protect.]

Carlos frowned in thought. [Darmelkon had an independent mage examine it for him, right? I can't imagine him paying a meaningful price for something like that without verification.]

Stelras laughed. [Of course he did! His independent expert couldn't make any sense of the damn thing at all. The book has a very complex spell of some kind on it, cast by someone very powerful, and that's all Darmelkon's hired mage could verify.]

[So… It's essentially an exceptionally difficult puzzle box, supposedly containing an extremely valuable reward for solving it, but there's no proof of the reward without solving it first, and the only person known to be capable of solving it would undoubtedly refuse to help, if we even knew how to contact him.] Carlos delivered his assessment in a calm deadpan.

[Correct.] Stelras paused momentarily. [Well, mostly correct. The spell doesn't cover the entire book. At the front, there are several plainly written, or so the mages said, spell incantations. The readily readable spells in the book are not particularly special, however. They are advanced spells, but still ones that are regularly taught to select students at the academy, not secret knowledge of the archmage.]

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Carlos shrugged. [Eh, those are nice to have, but we can get them from… maybe not Trinlen, actually. The top troublemaker of the academy would not be the teachers' choice for special advanced knowledge.]

Amber piped up, finally losing containment on her reluctantly-held-back enthusiasm. [Felton probably knows them, but who cares! I want that book!]

Carlos made one last note of caution. [And if it turns out that we can't unlock that spell either? Will it still be worth it then?]

Amber nodded firmly. [Yes. Better to know that I gave it my best effort than to be stuck wondering for the rest of my life because I didn't even try.]

[I have to admit that I'm curious and intrigued, myself. Though…] Carlos frowned as another possibility occurred to him. [What if he's just making it up and the book is fake? How likely is that?]

Stelras answered confidently. [Lord Merchant Darmelkon did not achieve his wealth and position by taking that type of risk. His business and power depend in large part on his reputation for holding up his side of any bargain, and the discovery of such a fraud - in a trade with high nobles, no less - would be tremendously damaging. While I'm sure he did choose this particular item because of Amber's, ah, well known interest in Sandaras, he would not even consider offering a counterfeit.]

[Fair enough. And it's part of the up-front payment?]

[Yes. He brought it with him.] Stelras sent an image of a heavy tome being firmly placed on his desk. The book looked dense and sturdy, with gold embossed writing on the front cover; probably the title, but the image wasn't clear enough to read it.

Carlos nodded. [Alright. Just one more question: Do you think there's room to negotiate for even more?]

Stelras sent an impression of Darmelkon frowning and acting hesitant. The image had some strange non-visual overtones to it, imbued with some kind of unusual perceptive ability that Carlos didn't have. [Not without offering something major in exchange. At a minimum, committing to making Kindar a high noble, not just minor noble at mythril rank, and giving up the clause of it being dependent on Kindar's good behavior. I believe I've already pushed Darmelkon to the point of the cost being a burden to his business.]

What is that strange overtone in his mental image? A special sense that Stelras has? I'll ask some other time. Carlos dismissed the thought. [Very well. We accept these terms. We will have to get back to you about the possibility of having Kindar join this trip because of how far we've already gone, but we'll send Esmorana to pick up the book. Or maybe Felton, if he's willing.]

[You know that Kindar will hate that, right?]

Carlos shrugged. [It can be the first test of how well he's actually willing to behave: Can he handle being a low priority for us? We'll help him when doing so won't slow down our own development.]

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

Ushler, agent of House Golarn, sat in the common room of the Adventurer's Haven, the premier inn of Dramos, and brooded. Or pretended to brood, anyway, slouching over a drink he hadn't touched in the last half-hour. He just didn't want to have to talk. It would distract him from listening, which was what he was really here to do. Now if only the people here would talk about something interesting. He sighed forlornly and shook his head, perfectly in-character for a brooding loner. A long while later, he perked up inwardly when a new customer entered the inn. The newcomer bounced up to a table on the other side of the common room with a smirking grin. Despite the distance and the noise of all the other conversations in the room, Ushler picked out the youngster's words clearly.

"Hey guys, guess what? Another servant of the Crown teleported in today!"

A heavyset bearded man at the table stopped sipping his ale and slammed the mug onto the table, ignoring the small splash that spilled out from the impact. "Another one? That makes, what, 3 or 4 in just the last week or two?"

Murmers erupted around the table. A slender woman nudged the bearded man with her elbow. "Hey, do you think it has anything to do with whatever old Mayor Stelras had the guards turning the whole city upside down looking for last week?"

The man elbowed her right back, mug in hand again to take another mouthful. "Maybe. Not my business if it is. If the Crown is looking into a lead on buried treasure, or whatever, I'm staying the hell out of their way." He quickly chugged the last of his ale and slammed the empty mug onto the table again. "What is my business is that it's time to start taking bets on when the next one comes!" He dug some silver coins out from his pouch and placed the stack of them on the table. "My money says tomorrow afternoon. Any takers?"

Ushler couldn't hold back a frown at what he'd just heard. The Crown is already involved here? Likely in response to the incident that prompted House Golarn to send me? It appears that someone broke the only unanimously acclaimed rule of the rotation agreement: Do not attract the Crown's attention! I'll have to report this. But first, can I find any more details to add? He grabbed his drink and shuffled over to the gathering of people he'd eavesdropped on, which was growing rapidly as more nearby tables joined the betting pool. He sidled up to someone who was just watching the spectacle with amusement, took a swig of his drink, and nodded in greeting. "I'm new in town. What's all this about?"

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

As night fell in the Wilds, Amber stared at the book in her hands, hardly daring to breathe. The title embossed in gold on the front was clear to read: Secrets of Sandaras - Awarded for exceptional merit. Smaller writing in silver lower on the cover declared, "To any thief who steals this book, if you somehow manage to actually extract its secrets, you will have earned them well. Fat chance of that! Seriously, go bother someone else, this is not worth stealing."

Carlos stood at her side, examining the book closely, though with much less reverence. He sighed. "I hate to say it, but asking Felton to fetch it just because his teleporting is faster than Esmorana's flight was pointless. We are not prepared to crack that monstrous tangle of a spell."

Amber reluctantly nodded and slowly set the book down on the portable table in front of them. "Not yet, no." She took a deep breath. "But we will be."