The Book Baron Tavern was bustling with late breakfast patrons. I spotted Jovial behind the counter, tending the bar, and glanced around in search of Cambrin and Ceylas (Perception: 13+4=17). They were tucked into a darker corner of the room far to the back rather than at what Jovial had told us was Cambrin's favorite table.

Jovial caught my eye as I began to approach. He lifted a bushy eyebrow in query and raised a mug, tipping it slightly. “Drink, Lo’Kryn?”

I nodded. “Surprise me,” I called back. Hearing our raised voices, Cambrin and Ceylas ducked their heads. Ceylas lifted a finger to her mouth and waved me over. I hurried across the room, glancing at the patrons but not paying much attention. There was only a little interest. Most everyone had already returned to their meals, if they’d bothered to note my entrance at all.

“Be quiet and sit down, you oaf. We’re incognito,” Ceylas hissed, gesturing to the chair opposite her. It left the three of us facing the room. I noticed they’d positioned themselves near a door with a good view of the rest of the tavern.

“Why all the shadow and mystery?” I asked. Cambrin flushed, which made me all the more curious. I raised an eyebrow at him. “Well, out with it.”

“We did something reckless.”

“And by we, he means me. But honestly, you needed it Cambrin. They were going to keep it locked up. There’d be no way to convince Fenlyn if we can’t show her ourselves.”

I sighed, not following a word of all this. “Maybe you two should start at the beginning?”

“Well, as you know, I was reading the Bible of Balance after Nelalwe brought it to us yesterday. It is a very interesting tome and there is a great deal to absorb. It speaks of the founding of the third pantheon, of the discord between the Pantheons of Light and Power, even the gifts of the first travellers which I could barely begin to get a handle on it was so diverse and complex. There-”

Ceylas cleared her throat, “Get to the point, Cam. We don’t have time for the full table of contents.”

Cambrin flushed again, glancing at me. “Well,” he continued, “as you can imagine, I could barely catch a glimmer of the surface of its contents even with several hours of study. Still, I returned it to Nelalwe when she came for it shortly before midnight.”

I nodded. This was exactly as I’d expected. “Nelalwe is an ally. I expect she’ll let us access to the book again in the future.”

This time Ceylas dipped her head, avoiding my gaze. Something was clearly up with them both.

“Was there anything significant that can help us right now?”

“Yes,” Cambrin nodded. “Before we slept, I told Ceylas some of what I had read. The part most pertinant in the moment is in regard to an ancient relic.”

Ceylas interrupted him, “The Battleaxe of the Serpent Slayer.” Her voice was rich with awe. “Isn’t that awesome?”

“What has that got to do with what we’re doing?”

Cambrin flushed again. “Well,” he sighed, glanced around the tavern where everyone seemed to be absorbed in their own business. He reached his right hand into the heavy pouch at his hip. His arm disappeared up to the elbow and he pulled open the mouth wide enough to draw the large black tome free. My whole body tensed. That book was supposed to be secure in the restricted section of the Palladium Rise archives. He’d said he’d returned it to Nelalwe.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Cambrin?” I said, warily, as he flipped the book open.

He flicked through pages until he found what he was after. Then he turned the book toward me, pointing to the page. “Does it remind you of something?”

BattleAxe of the Serpent Slayer.png [https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1018366558780784650/1070631929407344650/BattleAxe_of_the_Serpent_Slayer.png?width=902&height=1135]The large, double-headed battleaxe depicted in the illustration shimmered with golden essence like the sun shone through it. The depiction was exactly the same image that had been emblazoned on Fenlyn’s vestments. My jaw was still tight. I lifted my gaze to Cambrin whose chin had firmed.

“It is important and entirely Ceylas’s fault.”

I glanced at his sister. Her gaze was fixed and stubborn. Her chin lifted. “We needed it,” she stated, firmly.

Cambrin closed the book again. He glanced around then slipped it back into the bag. “The point is, the item in question is somehow linked with Fenlyn’s order.”

“Dunerath is not of the Pantheon of Balance.”

“No, they are not.”

I swallowed, not at all sure what this had to do with anything. We already knew Fenlyn was important to whatever we were supposed to be doing. This was, perhaps, a way to convince her to join us. But if they stole this, then, “The whole Order is going to be looking for us.”

“Which is why we need to go, today,” Ceylas said.

“We don’t even know where we are going,” I hissed back.

“First, we must convince Fenlyn to join us.” Cambrin wove his fingers across the table as if practicing the somatic motions of one of his spells. His shoulders were still tight and his brow furrowed with tension. This clearly did not sit well with him. I wondered how he felt about being fugitive of the highest order of learning on all of Essaedris.

“What the fuck were you two thinking?” I muttered, my voice dropped to a hissed whisper as Jovial approached. Cambrin just sighed, shaking his head. Ceylas sat mutely silent.

“Morning folk,” Jovial said, placing three mugs before us. He seemed oblivious to the tension of the table (Insight: 4+2=6). I couldn’t tell if he was masking his curiosity or entirely uninterested. The mugs he set down were steaming with a rich, creamy something that smelled of buttermilk and spices.

“Thank you, Jovial. What do we owe you?”

“Three silver, and the story of your sour puss faces.”

I glanced at Ceylas who sighed and pulled a gold coin from the pouch she’d kept for party funds. “One gold and you forget we were ever here today.”

Jovial chuckled. “My memory is worth more than seven silver, my friend. But I’ll respect your privacy regardless and I thank you for the tip. Perhaps-” he trailed off, glancing up to the bookshelves, “I’ll be right back.”

The three of us sat in silence a few minutes. Eventually Jovial returned.

He tapped Ceylas on the hat with a small book, then handed it to her. “Some inspiration,” he said with a wink before turning to return to the bar. Ceylas frowned at the book in her hands. She opened it on the table, flipping the pages. It was full of colorful portraits.

“What is that?” I asked. Ceylas had picked up the book and was turning it, looking at the non-descript cover and back. The spine was etched with a dark stain of strange letters.

“I can’t read this,” she said, glaring at it with frustration.

Cambrin leaned forward. “A Thousand Faces Across Essaedris,” he said, reading the text along the spine of the book. “It’s in elvish.”

Well, that was cool, Cambrin knew elvish. I imagined Jake was thrilled about that.

“Why would he give you that?” Cambrin asked, flicking through the pages himself.

I looked over Ceylas. Her gnomish features were petite and slightly pink from the warmth of the drink she’d been sipping. A pale froth of foam colored her lip before she licked it away. She lifted a shoulder in a careless shrug. “No idea.”

I waved a hand toward her head. “I think he may have recognised your hat.”

“My hat?” She fingered the brim, then smiled. “Oh! What a great idea!” She snatched the book back from her brother and began flipping through it more slowly, taking time to examine each of the faces. There were an array of races and types through the book, depicting people from across the continents.

I sipped my own drink and leaned back in my chair with a sigh. “What are we going to do?”

“We will seek out Fenlyn, and then we will head south to the Stones of Avanlugh. The Goddess will have answers for us.”