It was a short trek to the library, Rose and I quiet as we worked through the enormous crowds of Burmaise, our faces visibly tired. When we were finally popped out the other end, we were right in front of the city library, one of the largest in the world.

“This place is huge! How are we ever going to sort through all this?”

“You don’t have to help.”

“Nah, then I’d just be bored and we don’t want that.”

“Why not?”

“I do dumb shit when I get bored.”

“Like what?”

“Robbery, arson, casual sex while I’m emotionally vulnerable.”

“Maybe it’s for the best you don’t get bored then.”

“Exactly what I’m saying.”

We went quiet as we approached the front desk, a very helpful and informative looking acrobir too deep in her notes to notice us. By the intensity of her research and the manner of her demeanor, it was clear she was an advanced and devoted scholar. Despite her flat nose and scales, she looked very human.

I wore my usual friendly smile as I waited for her to recognize me, something that usually didn’t take long with my stature. She didn’t even look up though, and a look back confirmed Rose wasn’t even focused as she gazed at the woman with a dumbstruck face. I looked down to be sure my Lord sticker was perfectly visible, and it was!!

“Um, excuse me…”

“Whoa!”

The acrobir, startled, jumped and flipped all her books and notes, loudly cursing as several sheets of paper casually floated down after a couple books comically bonked her head.

“Oh hi! I’m so sorry, welcome to the Burmaise library! I’m Kalbir, can I help you find something?”

“Yes, actually. I’m looking for any information on the Lords of Edge.”

“Oh, easy. The Lords of Edge were founded in 1847 after Voraleen had a quarrel with King Lact—”

“Wait, you're just going to tell me that off the top of your head?”

“Yeah? Why not?”

“I’m just surprised, that’s a lot to remember.”

“Please, I read most of those books years ago! I can find you some tomes though if that would make you feel better, I might be a bit rusty… Hold on.”

I couldn’t say another word as Kalbir bounced off, disappearing into the bookshelves. Not minutes after, she returned with a wobbling stack of books, swaying with each step. She motioned for Rose and I to follow her, and so we did to a side table, the books dumped on top.

“This is pretty much everything. Except for a thrilling romantic drama short story, but that one isn’t entirely historically accurate…”

“Whoa, where is that one? That sounds cool!” Rose beamed.

“Oh, one second!” Kalbir zipped away, her scaly tail waggling in a fury. She was back only seconds later, thrusting the book into Rose’s hand.

“I’m impressed, you found that so quickly!” I remarked.

“Yeah, I personally organized this library. It was in a really sad state before.”

“You sound like quite the impressive scholar.”

“If you say so, I’ve barely only researched two thirds of this library. The rest is in a dangerous dungeon that kills anyone who goes near though, so I’m hitting a roadblock…”

“So you’re doing research here? How long have you been studying? This library is quite massive.”

“A year. I hop around, too much to know in too many places.”

“Only a year? That’s at least a decade’s worth of research!”

“That’s why I started working here! Well, not working. They don’t pay me, but none of the actual librarians can do the job as well as me.”

“That’s really cool!” Rose grinned, staring at Kalbir.

“Thanks! You both look really cool too, not too many people here with armor like that. Also nice sticker! You’re a Lord?! What are you here for? Something dangerous?”

“I’m Lord Mortemer of Kansas, Duke of San Diego, the Great Masochist. The Lords of Edge took my castle, and I want it back.”

“Hiii I’m Rose!” Rose beamed, her eyes glossed over.

“Hi Rose!”

“Hehehe hi!”

I shook my head as Rose planted hers in a hand, still gazing at Kalbir who didn’t seem to notice.

“That’s so cool!! I’ve always wanted to study a Lord, but we don’t get many humans around Burmaise…”

“Study one?”

“Yeah!”

“And you’re not going to elaborate?”

“No.”

“Alright… I need to study these tomes then. If you could assist us, I’d be forever grateful.”

“Yeah, of course! Let me read a bit to get a refresher…”

Kalbir whipped open the book closest to her and read at a lightning speed, referencing her own journals laid out to the side that looked ancient and decrepit. After a few minutes of her intense study while I tried to read and Rose merely played with a quill, she sat up to deliver her findings.

“I'll go over everything I can. So. Starting with their history, the Lords of Edge derived from the Lords of Virginia, like yourself. Lord training is typically divided between readers and warriors, but Voraleen, the person who established the organization, felt that both fit their needs. Originally they advocated to the King and his council to stretch the rules for themself, but the King wouldn't budge.

“Voraleen eventually found other like-minded individuals who also weren't comfortable with choosing between reading and fighting, and a council was born out of that common interest. United, they petitioned the King and their trainers again, but after being ignored, they decided to take things into their own hands and started their own research into both divisions. After the King of Virginia learned of this, he banned them from their Lord training and exiled them from Ohio. In secret however, the group continued their training with their own research, developing skills in both spell reading and combat, eventually excelling in both.

“Years later, after their successful training, they petitioned the King once more, despite their exile. After being denied again, the group decided to publicly call out the King, presenting their training and findings to guilds and other governing forces. A few more conflicts and stuff happened in the meantime, but eventually it led to a divide so large that the Lords of Edge were eventually established, completely independent of Virginia. To them, they're a group of people trained beyond even a Virginian Lord. They believe knowledge in both spell-reading and combat is the true training a Lord should pursue. Most members of the organization either work towards self improvement, or they study a certain field to gain a better understanding for themself and their peers. So a bunch of independent scholars with good fighting abilities basically."

As Kalbir finished, I went into thought. The Lords were not so different to myself. I was highly trained in armed combat, and they likely were as well, but their magical abilities made them far more intimidating. Lord training was already hard enough on most people, and to seek both fields seemed nearly impossible, or at the least improbable. I questioned how fluent they were in each school, and if the training resembled that of a Virginian Lord's.

"What of their training? Are there any dissimilarities?"

"Not exactly. They follow the curriculum of the Virginian Lords, but of both paths. A few things are cut out in their training to accommodate both reading and armed combat, but they highly resemble Virginian Lords as far as training goes. They differ mostly in their politics. Virginia uses their Lords mostly as soldiers, but the Lords of Edge have their own organization to look after. Being so small, they often remain neutral in conflicts and try to ally with other kingdoms to give them protection. Otherwise, they're very secretive and their inner workings aren't exactly clear from the outside."

"Thank you, that was really helpful, Kalbir. Still, there's not a lot of information we can learn without speaking to them.”

“I can help with that too, I’m very good at talking to people.”

“No, I can’t ask you to put yourself in danger like that. You’ve done more than enough for a total stranger, Kalbir.”

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“Yeah Kalbir, you’re amazing!” Rose swooned.

“Thanks! Now, about studying you Mortemer…”

“You were serious?!”

“Yes! I’ve got notes from books, but not a real life Lord! Think of the places you’ll take me, and the things I’ll learn!”

“I don’t plan on being in Burmaise long, are you sure you’re willing to just leave like that?”

“Yeah! I’ve traveled around a lot in life, I’ve only stayed here so long because the library is so big.”

“I imagine we’ll certainly come across more libraries.”

“Then I HAVE to go with you!”

“If you’re as informed as I’ve seen, you’ll make a great asset.”

“”Yeah Kalbir, please come with us! It’ll be so much fun!” Rose looked between me and Kalbir beggingly.

“Come, we should start planning right away," I responded. "I think it will be best if they think I'm alone. I don't know how they'll respond to my questioning, but if things go wrong the plan will fall back onto the two of you. That being said, Rose, I think it would be best if you entered with me, invisible. Maybe have a look around and see if there are any manner of documents we could use to learn their plans. If things start to go wrong though, get out of there immediately and leave with Kalbir. Also keep in mind, although we know those two Lords of Edge were responsible for those two acts, that may not mean the entire organization was behind them. They could be quite cooperative. I'm expecting the worst however. Does that sound good to everyone?"

"Yep! Got it!" Rose replied.

"I'll stand down the hallway a bit, watch for guards or something."

"Good idea Kalbir. It's a plan then. Let's head over and get things going."

⧫

With Kalbir hanging further down the hall and Rose turned invisible, I initiated a hearty knock on the office of the Lords of Edge, almost immediately after a short "come in" sounding from inside. I slowly entered, nervously, making sure to keep the door open long enough to allow Rose in.

"Greetings, my Lords. I am Lord Mortemer of Kansas, the Great Masochist, Duke of San Diego. I am here for the purpose of an investigation."

"Investigation? On what?"

"On your organization to be precise. As aforementioned, I am Lord Mortemer of Kansas, the Great Masochist, Duke of San Diego. The town was taken two weeks ago by a force I have reason to believe was led by one of your own. And then, a posse of your troops tried to kidnap me! And then, four days ago I was assisting Dolrin with a harrowing spell that threatened their health and food. The person behind the spell was for sure one of your people. So I ask, what is your organization planning?"

"You come into our hall and make these accusations?! Preposterous!" one of them started, standing and slamming their fist on the table.

"Calm down now. I'm sure Mortemer doesn't mean to be hostile," a slender man in the middle said. "Lord Mortemer, you are a Lord as well. That means you know that sometimes sacrifices must be made. I will admit, we did take San Diego. It was a necessary move. But I'm sure you already knew that."

The other Lords looked surprised or smug, all staring at me in anticipation. I was surprised as well, I had expected them to be less cooperative.

"Why did you take San Diego? And what of your neutrality? By taking a settlement of Virginia, you've made them your enemy."

"I think not, Lord Mortemer. You were also neutral in the ongoing war, and I think you'll find that your King cares not for those who defy his will. If we hadn’t done it, your own King would have taken San Diego instead. Consider yourself fortunate that your settlement is not being used for the purposes of war like your King would have it."

"No, I have known Loratadine all my life! If he could spare even a platoon of soldiers he would save San Diego from the likes of you! Why even take San Diego? It serves no purpose to you!"

"Oh believe me it does, whether you see it or not. We will, however, keep our reasoning to ourselves."

"And what of Dolrin? Was there a reason behind the suffering you caused there?"

"My, Lord Mortemer, if you are simply here to yell and accuse then I am afraid you are wasting your time. We don't take to this manner of aggression in our own home. I’m afraid you should leave."

I paused, trying to figure out what to do. It was clear I couldn't gain any information from them directly. As I pondered, I felt a light tap on my shoulder and the wind from a passerby hit my face. It was most likely Rose finished with her search.

"If that is what you wish, " I stated with a short bow, seeing myself out of the room.

I made my way to an empty room down the hallway, the meeting spot we had agreed upon. Inside was an obviously perturbed Rose and confused Kalbir.

"Rose, did you find anything?"

"Nope. There really wasn't a lot of time, you should have shown them paintings of your dog or something. Even if I did, all the important stuff was either at the table with them or locked in a safe I saw. We're going to need to go back."

"That's what I was afraid of… You used to steal, do you know how to open the safe?"

"Oh yeah, I can definitely crack it open. I'll need some time though."

"Is there anything I can do?" Kalbir asked.

"Hmm, you can't exactly help us look, I don't want to risk you getting tied into this, and you can't exactly keep guard… Do you have any suggestions?"

"No, not exactly…"

"She could wait in the room. If we don't come back, I have this contact scroll and you can ask Daisy—the ahh, Queen of Dolrin for help," Rose recommended.

"The Queen of Dolrin?! How did you get one of her contact scrolls?!"

"Well, let's just say we have a bit of history… I can get into that later. Let's just focus right now."

"Yeah, that's a good idea Rose. If things go wrong I don't know what it could mean for us, especially with the King on their side. For now though, I want to go to a scroll shop. We’re going to need a way to copy whatever information we find. Also I need to get you some armor, Kalbir. I’ll get that while the two of you find a room."

⧫

We rented out a small, cozy two bedroom suite in an average looking inn, nearly across the entire city from the Lord's of Edge. I wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible. Kalbir was settled at the desk, hunched over a book and scribbling some drawings next to it. Rose sat perched on the couch, occasionally glancing up at Kalbir as she tried to get some rest, a look of concern on her face.

"Everything okay Rose?" I asked, concerned.

"Just stressed."

"About what?"

Her eyes glanced quickly towards Kalbir before emitting a small "I'd rather not talk about it."

I decided to leave her with her thoughts, it wasn't my business to pry and she'd talk to me when she was ready. Meanwhile, Kalbir gave a large gasp and whipped around to face me.

"Hey Morty!”

“With respect, please don’t call me Morty.”

“Oh sorry, Rose said you were fine with that nickname… But I just found out about your dad!"

"W—what?!" I stammered back.

"Your dad and how he tried to kill you but you killed him first as a baby. It's written in this book 'Lords: an Account and History.'"

"I didn't know I was in a book…"

"Every Lord from the past century is listed here as well as a few of their notable accomplishments. It also says you're a war hero and fell hundreds of soldiers at the battle of Enema with just a rapier! Wow! Is that true? You have to tell me about it!"

"I'm sorry Kalbir, but that was a long time ago. I don't take pleasure in warring and using my combat training to kill people. I now use my skills to protect the people of San Diego. Or at least, I used to."

"Oh. Well what about your dad? Do you remember doing all that? What exactly even happened?! This is so cool!"

"Kalbir, I'm sorry, but that's not something I'm necessarily comfortable talking about. My childhood was quite a dark place and I'd rather not recount it at this time."

"Oh. Any other cool Lord stories?"

"I'm afraid I haven't done much with my position, unless you want to hear detailed accounts of my managing San Diego."

"Hell yeah! I've always wondered what it's like to lead a whole town, let alone a kingdom! If I could personally speak with a queen or someone that would be so cool!"

"Trust me, it's not as exciting as you'd think…" Rose moped.

"What? Why not? I think that would be super cool to just have a conversation with one! And well I guess I am, Mortemer! You're a Duke! And a Lord! And a Masochist!"

"Kalbir," I started, "I know that all this is exciting for you, but I'm not comfortable talking about many things in my life. A lot of it is personal or traumatic, I'll tell you when I feel comfortable enough to give you a proper explanation."

"I'm sorry, I just get excited and… Sorry."

"You're alright Kalbir. I love your enthusiasm though. Perhaps I can tell you a different story, even if it is a bit boring."

“Yeah!”

Although I only told Kallbir of my more tedious administrative duties, she listened intently the entire time, only staring into her journal to write more notes. Next to her, Rose buried her face in her book, her eyes glazed over. After a while, I checked my wrist sundial, it was getting late, and more than likely that the Lords of Edge had disbanded for the night.

"We should get back into their office now. Kalbir, sorry but you should stay here, I don't want you getting into danger. Use Rose's contact scroll if we don't come back by the morning. Let's get going."

⧫

The hallway was empty, even from light as the only illumination was a dying candle halfway down the wall. I could just barely hear Rose’s muffled footsteps; it was so quiet, and I struggled to maintain her level of discretion. But fortunately there wasn’t a person in sight, and I held my distance as Rose approached the door of The Lords of Edge to pick it open. My head was on a swivel as she quickly worked, making minced meat out of the lock and finishing in mere seconds.

“Wow, shit lock,” she muttered as the door seemed to open of its own accord. I followed her in and began searching whatever I could while she tried to open the safe. Many documents were still on their meeting table, as if they would never expect their office to be violated. Most of the papers didn’t have anything too important however, as I had expected. Most of it was schedules, scrawls of notes, and other insignificant things. Finishing looking in there, I went into the side room Rose was in, hoping she had finished with the safe. And as I entered, she definitely had. She was visible with a small candle lit, beaming as she looked at the papers.

“Morty, there is so much information in these! They have a file on every one of their operatives and what they’re doing. We can look through it later, but yeah, this is it.”

“Good, find some blank paper. We need to place the scroll on top of the blank stack, then place what we need copied above the scroll.”

She silently nodded and grabbed the scroll I handed her, unrolling it and grabbing a stack of paper off a nearby desk, keeping the scroll on top. With her other hand she grabbed the documents and used them to make a scroll sandwich.

“Vor nu trya—no that’s not how you pronounce that… Vor nu tryeh gennwah weesimal.”

The ink on the scroll glowed a dim purplegreen and I could see the paper underneath begin to fill with text rapidly. Out of all the scrolls for sale, this one was the fastest at copying, and despite its high price, it was worth it. We both watched in silence for about two minutes, checking the backside of the stack to see if the text had filled in yet. As soon as the last word was inscribed, I whipped the scroll back into my pocket.

“Thank Daddy that worked. Put the originals back and turn invisible, we need to get out of here.”

Rose quickly responded and began to close the safe.

“Who’s in here?!” a voice said outside the small room.

“Hels!” Rose muttered, staring at me in fear, her stack of paper disappearing along with her.

My mind fought for an idea but I had none, I had no choice to face the person in the meeting room. I felt a rush of wind as Rose scurried away, and I took a deep inhale as I followed her out. In the meeting room, right by the entrance was a Lord of Edge, one of the same I had spoken to earlier. He fashioned a grim smile as I stepped into the light, hand on my sword.

“Mortemer, I thought you might come back here. Glad I was right. Guards are waiting for you outside, I suggest you don’t try anything silly, you silly goose. You are an absolutely silly goofball, you dummy, you buffoon. You goofy square, you hooligan, you made an oopsy you won’t forget!”

He laughed as two guards filed in, placing my wrists in shackles.

“You’re going to rot away in there, thief.”