Kyofi stood over the book, and kept poking at The Firefly Diary. "Open, book, open. Open sesame, hocus pocus?"

Vanos said, "We've tried everything to open up the first third of the book, and nothing's happening, Mosor. I think it's about time we stopped focusing on it. It's a dud."

"It's only been three days," Mosor said. The book had taken residency on the carved wooden table in the living room. "You guys simply need to wait. I think we can open it up in a bit."

Ahmond came upstairs, eyes squinted and nose crunched up.

"What's your problem, kid?" Kyofi asked. Too bad Ahmond only gave her an angry look and went off.

"Brat," Kyofi said, as she followed. Mosor shook her head and she and Vanos followed until they got into Ahmond's room.

"You better have a good explanation, little girl," Kyofi said as she confronted Ahmond, who had the nerve to not look at Kyofi.

"Maybe you should leave me alone, I'm not in the mood right now," Ahmond said, and pulled a pillow over her head.

Mosor stepped forward calmly. She gestured to the other two to simmer down. "Ahmond, I know you must be feeling bad about something. I can help you only if you allow me to help you out."

Ahmond kept her mouth shut.

"You can talk to me whenever or ifever you feel like it," Mosor said as she turned tail. Ahmond stirred.

"Actually... Mosor, I'm kinda feeling down." Mosor perked up. "It's about the ice cream thing, I don't know if that's my calling. But if I don't do it, then I'm looking away from family tradition."

"Did anything spark these feelings?" Mosor asked her. "Was there an incident with you and your friends?"

Ahmond said, "Now that you mention it... It had to do with how Lilu is a princess. She's going to be future queen of the hyenas in Wysdom. She's told me she doesn't feel like following her family footsteps. I never thought I was trapped in mine until she mentioned it, and if she doesn't like being a princess, why would I like being a counterworker?"

"Cashier," Vanos said. "There's not anything called a counterworker." Mosor shushed him, and urged Ahmond to continue on.

"It's not that I don't enjoy the family business, but I can't think I'll be doing it for the rest of my life, or even part of it, actually."

Mosor said, "You would be third generation if you did it. But you're not inclined to follow simply because it's tradition. Grandma's children did, and her children did, but if you feel like skipping out, you can do that."

"But I can't," Ahmond said. "Because then, if I don't do it, who will?"

"I think it's important that you acknowledge that others have a choice in the matter. In most societies, you have no choice on your job. Usually there are class systems in place that prevent upward mobility."

Ahmond blinked and said, "Thank you Mosor. You're actually pretty cool, better than Kyofi and Vanos."

Mosor laughed, but the other two weren't as happy. Mosor said, "You should have some time to yourself." She gently closed the door.

"That was amazing," Vanos said. "She's stubborn, and yet you managed to get past her defences. How did you do that?"

Mosor said, "Some sneak around and unlock doors and rob banks. I unlock hearts, because and then I rob hearts, since that's how I roll."

The Firefly Diary snapped open to the first page, and all three turned to it. They ran over, scanning over the page it had.

Vanos read, "Empathy. The first major quality necessary to find the three treasures. Empathy is the power to understand others. Other qualities fail without it."

A drawing depicted a goblet with a long handle, lined with rubies and emeralds. "The goblet of wind. It's outside the hyena kingdom, apparently."

Mosor said, "In that case, I guess we're going down to Hyena district... And then, we search for waterfalls."

Kyofi said, "If that Lilu brat's a princess, maybe we should bring along Ahmond. Maybe those two could talk?" All three agreed.

***

"I don't know approach a queen," Kyofi said. "Should I knock?" A palace stood before them, with a single tower. All of it was painted a faint shade of pink.

Ahmond said, "Maybe I could try." She went up to the door knocker and knocked a few times. "Lilu?"

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A guard came up behind them. "I'm guessing you're one of Lilu's little friends?" Ahmond turned, to see the hyena, one of the biggest males. "I can help you out."

Ahmond nodded. "My family is feeling like dropping me off with her. If that's possible with you, sir."

He laughed and said, "You don't have to call me sir." With a key around his neck, he opened up the door and let her in, and entered himself.

"Now that that's out of the way," Vanos said, scanning the area. "We can search the wilds, despite that being risky."

Kyofi said, "Risky is fun, even if it is the darkest, grimiest, probably scariest part of the wilds. That's where the woodsman is."

Vanos said, "That's only an old urban legend." He growled at her, admittedly a bit scared of the story.

They reached the edge of town, saw the gnarled tree branches that kept raking claws out for any visitors. With a deep breath, Vanos told Kyofi, "After you."

"Wait, why me?" Kyofi asked. "You should be the one to go first. You're the one with the best meat on you."

"No I'm not! You're the fat one of the family," Vanos said. "That hyena heritage does not make you skinny."

Kyofi said, "But you're the one who's always talking about how good you look. I bet that any monsters would like to eat you."

"You guys are pathetic," Mosor said as she entered the woods first. Kyofi entered, not being afraid, but still mad about being sacrificed. Vanos entered warily.

The shadows enveloped them, as still air kept them cool. But during the travels, they saw a bright light.

"That goblet has to be here somewhere," the light said. She was a jackal, but it looked like she was made of congealed light. Her feet seeming transformed into whips as she took a single step.

"An elemental," Vanos said as he saw the fellow searcher walking around. "She must be trying to find the goblet."

"The book didn't say anything about where the goblet actually is, only that it's roughly outside of the hyena kingdom," Kyofi said. "And technically, anything that's not the kingdom is outside the kingdom."

"I think it said right outside," Vanos said.

"Who is there?" the jackal asked as she overheard them. She wasn't more than forty feet away, and she walked over. Along with her was a Boh that the group recognized.

"Here to undertip us again?" Kyofi asked as she stared at the Boh. "Who are you two anyway, and what's your business with the goblet?"

The jackal swished her tail and put her paw to her chest. "I am the ever lovely Lantorn, and this is my assistant Arber, the sassy Boh."

Arber waved at the three of them, and put his paws over his chest, but it was more idle than Lantorn did.

"Anyway, I am the sole recipient of Lhyna's little book, and I am destined, handpicked by her to be the one to find the three treasures."

"That's not right," Vanos said. "Because she chose us to find the three treasures. She didn't choose you."

Mosor said, "This confirms what I thought. We're not the only ones who got the book. She must have figured out the empathy part too."

Lantorn scanned the three from head to foot. "I guess you must be some riffraff seeking the book. I'd rather not keep us in suspense, how about this?" She pointed down south. "The goblet's probably in the tree of knowledge. But only I know where it is."

Vanos said, "If you know where it is, why aren't you going to it?"

Lantorn said, "Because the tree itself won't tell anybody anything. But I can't simply go into it. I'm not allowed to. If you go in, we can share the goblet."

Kyofi told Mosor, "I don't trust her." Vanos nodded in agreement.

Thinking for a second, Mosor said, "She's not that shifty." She smiled and said, "Alright, Lantorn, you got a deal."

Lantorn locked eyes with Kyofi. "Good thinking." She turned tail and led everybody deeper into the woods.

***

The tree of knowledge smiled. "What knowledge do you all seek?" He leaned forward as he greeted them.

Kyofi said, "I can't be the only one who thinks a talking tree is creepy." Mosor shushed Kyofi, but Vanos inwardly thought that too.

Mosor said, "We're wondering if you know where the Goblet of the Winds is? If there's any way you can get that to us."

"For seeking knowledge, you have to leave a token, then I can tell you anything you need to know."

Vanos said, "Erm, you mean, like, a watering can?" He tilted his head, but the tree roared and shook his head.

After laughing, the tree said, "No, a token that was I can divine the answer for you. Divination requires an appropriate medium."

"I don't know any psychic mediums," Kyofi said. "But I know that a lot use stuff like tea leaves, or candles."

"I brought a torch," Mosor said, fishing one out the bag. She took it out and lit it in front of the tree, then asked, "Does that work?"

The tree thought, and said, "It might. But I must warn you, that some have tried to trick me before, and I've sensed great disturbances within them. Some that make me not give their knowledge to them.

Vanos asked, "What's that mean?"

Vines shot out of the tree, and before the wolves could respond, the vines pierced into their hearts.

The tree's eyes glowed bright pink, and its mouth fell into a giant o as it stared into the fire itself. "I see many things, and I see you for who you truly are now. I think that we can step forward to the next part."

He released them, and they all fell down, having massive headaches from the squeezing sensation. The tree took a breath. He must have read their souls.

He spat out a goblet, and said, "I keep that away from the more dangerous ones. Some I cannot read, like elementals, for they have no brains."

"You can't say that about the boss!" Arber called from behind a bush, and Lantorn growled at him.

"You!" The tree's leaves turned from green to red as it stared at the pack. "I thought you were all good. But now I see the truth if you work for her!"

Lantorn ran forward. The tree attempted to swat at her, but she grabbed the goblet in her maw.

"Follow her," Vanos said, but Lantorn poked the gem, and wind came from the cup and blasted all three away.

***

Vanos crashed into the window of their house, and slid on his chest, butt in the air. He slowly stood up.

Kyofi and Mosor crashed right next to him, with Ahmond entering via stairs. She stared at the three adults who had been roughly thrown.

"What happened?" Ahmond asked.

Kyofi said, "Mosor decided that somebody who couldn't be trusted should be trusted. And now we've been magicked back home without anything to show for it." Vanos nodded.

"I didn't think that this would happen," Mosor muttered as she shrunk back, having lost them a treasure already.

Vanos said, "I already said this search didn't matter, and now it won't as we can't find any of the three treasures at this point... But I guess I won't stop."

As everybody stared at him, Vanos said, "I mean, one out of three treasures is good, and two out of three is good too. You unlocked the book. Maybe we need to unlock it a couple more times by finding the other qualities?"

Kyofi said, "You're right, Vanos. Who knows what Lhyna has in store for us anyway, if Lantorn couldn't get past the first part."

The group of four smiled and figured it was time to take some downtime, before Mosor went to write in her section of The Firefly Diary.