Two screams were heard before Eliana rushed out of the church, Kayzel not far behind her. The old men were understandably hiding behind the altar. If something dangerous was happening, it was up to the mercenaries to deal with it. What she saw outside she wasn’t quite ready for. A creature from mythology, one thought long extinct. Well, she knew better of course, being who she was, but even Eliana was shocked to see an arachnaya on the surface. An arachnaya was an eight-legged creature that primarily lived in deep caves. They had a diet of primarily mushrooms and other plants that grew deep within the dark tunnels, but they were known to wander out of their caves at times. Just like most other humanoid “monsters” as they were often referred to, these arachnaya were quite intelligent and far from monsters or beasts. The researchers were probably aware of that but the mercenaries.
Eliana’s worry was confirmed the moment she looked behind the arachnaya to see the leader of the mercenaries, a serious looking man named Gale, bleeding heavily from a wound in his side. Two of the other hired folks were thrown aside as well and another was currently squaring off with the creature. Eliana quickly took a few paces forward but was stopped by Kayzel who held her arm. “What are you doing?” He asked. “We’re paying them to take care of this, not you.”
“They’re just going to fight with him, let me talk to him, I can maybe fix this.” She cut loose from Kayzel and stepped past the remaining mercenary. “Good morning, are you the one who has been taking care of this place?” She asked.
The arachnaya stayed on guard but his interest was caught. “So now you speak to me. First you defile my village, then you attack me on sight and only after I deal with your companions does it suit you to speak.”
Eliana looked around her to make sure she had a good view of the situation. The leader of the mercenaries looked bad, but with quick aid he would probably make it. The rest of the mercenaries looked fine, relatively speaking.
“With all due respect, I doubt any of these folks know what you are, so it’s no wonder they were defensive from the very start. They are nothing more than hired muscle after all. I can only apologize for their actions.” She tried changing the subject. “So you’re the one who has been taking care of this place then, if it’s your village?”
“Who’s asking?”
“My name is Eliana Tidesinger, I’m a captain in these waters.”
“Never heard of you, why are you here?”
The arachnaya was clearly not happy they were here, but she at least managed to turn the violent encounter into a more diplomatic one. For now. “I was hired to sail some researchers to this archipelago. I’ve got a bunch of old men inside that are trying to learn from this place.”
“So you’re not here to steal things?” He asked, seemingly relaxing at least a little bit.
Akane shrugged. “I don’t think they were planning to steal things and I’m sure if we talk it out we can agree to not take anything.”
The arachnaya paused, still not fully trusting. After a quiet moment he spoke again. “My name is Larach. I’m a student of Owlana and I’m in charge of keeping this ancient place of worship from falling to the elements.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Larach. It’s been many years since I last met one of your kind.”
“You’re met arachnaya before?” Larach exclaimed with surprise.
“Twice before,” Eliana said.
“Where did you meet them, who were they?” The threat of violence seemed completely gone now. “Kayzel, go get the old men out here,” she said to the young man, who quickly retreated back into the building. Turning her attention back to Larach she said, “I once met a young arachnaya girl when I was sailing far north from here. She lived in a cavern that you couldn’t really see from land, but only from the sea. We happened to spot her caves when we sailed past and found her very ill when we went exploring. Luckily we had a capable doctor on our ship that managed to help her become healthy again. The second time was when we were somewhere near the center of the continent. It didn’t end as well, we were on opposite sides of a conflict. I don’t know what happened to either of them after that, to be honest.”
Larach listened intently, seemingly excited to hear any news about others from his kind. “I’ve been on this island for a few decades now.”
Distracted by Larach’s arachnid features, she only now noticed that the upper half of the man looked like a man in his early seventies. His gray hair looked well kept and swept to one side but it was definitely graying and thinning a bit. His arms and upper body were well defined, those of a man who took his training very serious. It was much harder for Eliana to see any age in his spider half, which didn’t really show aging the same way. “Well, I suppose I’ll hear you all out,” Larach said, clearly a bit more relaxed now.
The remaining mercenaries dragged their leader away into the building, where they would bandage him up and make sure he was okay. The researchers, Eliana and Larach, were all sitting in a circle in a nearby house. It seemed like besides the actual church, there was another building that Larach had taken care of. It wasn’t his home, but he would stay there sometimes. It didn’t have a proper roof and he told them there was no need to show them where he really lived. The researchers soon bombarded the arachnaya with questions about who he was, where he came from, what he was doing here and what the church was for. Larach didn’t seem to mind, he probably enjoyed the chance to talk to people for a change and after he felt safe that they weren’t there to hurt him or steal anything from his village. He explained to the researchers that he was a protector of Owlana’s place of worship and they quickly assured him that they would treat everything here with the utmost respect. They were purely here to gain knowledge, not to steal or gain anything from this place.
Eliana was a little bit disappointed by the lack of treasures they found here, but there was nothing she could do about it. The researchers still seemed overjoyed with everything they were learning and at the end of the day she was primarily here to get paid for the trip back and forth. Kayzel was also fully engaged by the things that Larach was telling them. After spending a few days on the island looking the church up and down, they eventually said goodbye to the arachnaya and made their way back onto the ship. As they were sailing away, Kayzel came up to Eliana after she had finished giving orders to her men and women. “One thing we didn’t get an answer about was why that statue of the siren was there.” He said, not really posing it as a question but more as an observation.
“I guess we don’t always get the answer to every question we have,” Eliana replied.
“After that we went our separate ways,” Kayzel said, “and for the longest I assumed the captain here would be shipwrecked somewhere far away.”
“You’ve grown awfully cheeky after all those years, not at all the timid young man you once were.” Eliana shot back.
Cobal and Mana were both leaning back in their chairs, several drinks in. The story was an interesting one.
“But an arachnid person and a siren,” Mana said. “None of those existed in my world.”
“Perhaps they were just better at hiding.” Kayzel suggested.
“Perhaps.” She looked at Eliana. “That siren, would she be the same as the people I met off the coast of Ravadier, that I told you about a while ago?”
Eliana shook her head. “Those are different people. They might have a similar origin somewhere far in the past, but sirens tend to live long lives, many centuries at least, whereas the merfolk you encountered probably live a little longer than your average human. They also possess far less magical capabilities. Sirens can captivate sailors with their song, command the wind and rain and do incredible feats of power. Imagining an entire city full of them is horrifying.”
“Did you ever go back to the church?” Eliana asked Kayzel.
Kayzel shook his head. “After returning to shore we finished up our report to the king and then all went our separate ways. The old men went back to their homes to study and Ada kept working for the noble that hired us in the first place. Not long after that trip I decided it was time for me to travel the country before I eventually ended up here.” He smiled. “It’s good to see you again.”
“We weren’t that close,” Eliana said.
“Don’t be like that, we went through a lot together,” Kayzel replied, his feelings definitely hurt.
“You’re right, you’re right. Either way, we should go back sometime and see how Larach is doing. He was a nice guy after all.”
“That he was, although I did have to get over the fact that he had that many legs.”
“We all have our charms.” Eliana got up. “I’ve got to take a piss,” she proclaimed, before walking away.
“So Kayzel, was she always like this, or has she changed?”
“She seems to have mellowed out a bit.”
“If this is here when she’s mellowed out I’m happy I didn’t meet her when she was younger.”
“So how long will you be in town for, you think?” Kayzel asked.
Cobal thought for a bit. “It honestly depends on how efficient our research ends up being. There are quite a few things we want to accomplish here but we want to get them done fast. If things go well we’ll be gone in two or three weeks, but if we struggle I can see us staying here for a month or two. It really depends.”
“Well, I know of a few more good spots to eat so if you need some recommendations let me know. Of course I can also help you out in the library, although my expertise might not match with what you’re looking for.”
“We appreciate that,” Mana said. “I’ll definitely take you up on that.”
After talking until the sun had long gone under and most of the other patrons had left the building, the four of them made their way back as well. Kayzel had a nice home a little ways away from the center of town so he said his goodbyes and headed off alone while the three of them went back to their inn. “I’ll check in with Grac in the morning, I think it’s time for us to start investigating the surrounding area a bit and see if anything strange is really going on nearby. That manor we heard about has piqued my interest, I’m hoping to figure something out instead of sitting still and twiddling my thumbs,” Eliana said.
Cobal nodded. “Mana and I will go back to the library tomorrow, I’m meeting with a scribe that is an expert on herbalism and could possibly figure out how to undo the petrification that we encountered.”
Having a plan thought out for the following days and their bellies full of drink and food, they each went to sleep feeling good.

The village ahead of them was hauntingly beautiful in its abandonment. The buildings made from large and uneven stones were mostly crumbled with only a few walls still standing. The wood that seemed to make up the floors had mostly decayed and disappeared. Vines and moss grew everywhere giving the place an almost eerie feeling. Even though they were standing on the threshold of a village, this place didn’t belong to people. This place very much still belonged to nature itself. At the center of the village stood the one building that didn’t seem to be touched by nature all that much. Sure, the outside was covered in vines and moss just like the rest of the village, but the building itself was still fully standing, no parts of it crumbled or damaged. Even the stained glass window in the front tower was still intact.
“Now be very careful,” one of the older researchers said. His name was Bobar, if Eliana remembered correctly. “We don’t know how close to crumbling any of these structures could be. If we don’t approach with utmost care we might damage something important.” The researchers started setting up their small camp where they would do their research from. Within an impressively short time they’d cleared out a space near the edge of the jungle, put down cloth to cover the moist dirt floor and started organizing several books, some writing equipment and several brushes and other tools. Kayzel carefully started walking through the empty streets, most of them covered in a thick layer of leaves and tree roots that had broken through the surface, reclaiming the land that once belonged to the jungle. He had to be careful with every step he took and Eliana watched him slowly progress down the path until he made his way to the church itself. He stopped in front of it for a while, staring at it in awe.
“Please don’t touch anything yet, Kayzel,” another one of the old men said. Eliana didn’t remember his name at all and she wasn’t going to ask again at this point.
“Don’t worry, I won’t touch anything, I’m just looking to see if there’s anything we can learn from the outside.” he pointed up at the stained glass. “I think that looks a lot like Owlana’s symbol, does it not?”
“Boy, do you really think my eyes are good enough to see that at this distance?” the old man replied.
Eliana could see what he saw though and agreed with his assessment. What was a temple to Owlana doing out here in the wild? Actually, was that really so strange? Out of all the gods, Owlana was by far the most confusing one. She seemed to have believers in the strangest of places and although her temples and churches were definitely commonplace in the big cities, there were also many of them out in the countryside. It wasn’t all that weird that they found one here as well. Owlana’s symbolism was often that of feathers, and owl and books combined in some way. The stained glass here looked like an open book with a quill pressed into the paper, ready to write something. Eliana wasn’t the type to pay much attention to the gods, but the building was – just like the village it was standing in – hauntingly beautiful. Kayzel walked back to the rest of the group after doing a quick circle around the church. “It’s strange, it almost feels like someone was just here, but I don’t see any traces of a person.”
“Perhaps you’re just freaked out for no reason?” Eliana suggested, drinking absentmindedly from the bottle of liquor she kept with her. She wasn’t a heavy drinker, but she did enjoy the warmth of the drink whenever she felt a bit anxious. Despite how uninterested she pretended to be around this village, in truth it freaked her out as well. Like Kayzel said, there was definitely something eerie about this place. The path seemed untrodden by anyone for a long time yet it still looked like a path. That was probably the best way to describe it. Paths would disappear over time as they were something man made. So why was this pathway through the village much more clear than anything else. Someone visited this church long after the village was abandoned, but not recently. That was the conclusion that Eliana came to.

“So what’s the plan?” Eliana walked up to the researchers that had spent the past twenty minutes crouched around several books, discussing something in circles. “I’m getting bored.”
“With all due respect, Captain Tidescreecher, we’re currently discussing that. It is of the utmost importance that we approach this with as much patience and care as we possibly can.”
Eliana shrugged. “More time for the wild animals to converge on this spot I suppose. I’m pretty confident I can outmaneuver most creatures in this jungle, I hope your mercenaries are equally good.” Although she wasn’t serious, she did seem to catch them off guard and saw worried looks being exchanged. Whatever it took to get them to speed up a bit. “Well, I suppose we can start our field investigation soon.” The old man named Bobar looked at Kayzel. “Young Kayzel, would you be so kind as to inspect the door for us, you’re a bit more nimble than the rest of us.” He chuckled.
Kayzel nodded and as he walked down the path to the church entrance once more, Eliana followed him. “Are they always that slow and boring?” She asked.
Kayzel laughed. “More or less. When you get that old you’ll probably be boring too.”
I’m pretty confident I’m much older than those fools, she thought to herself, but she didn’t say anything. The front door to the church was larger than most doors. Standing at a solid three meters tall and about two meters wide, it was large enough that the two of them had to work together if they wanted to open it. First they had to cut away at the vines that were covering part of it, as they would stop them from moving the door at all. Once all the vines were cut off, they started to work on the roots that stuck out of the ground and blocked the door. Kayzel had brought a shovel with him after he noticed the roots during his first inspection of the church and using the shovel to break the roots they finally managed to clear everything that was in front of the door after a couple of minutes. “You do the honors,” Eliana said to Kayzel.
He looked at her. “You know it’s probably too heavy for me, is this some sort of bullying tactic?” He asked.
Eliana laughed. “Glad you know your own strength, kid.” She helped him pull open the door and with a creaking sound it opened, causing a big groove in the dirt ground where it opened. The inside of the church looked dark except for the center of the room which was lit up by the sunrays that came through the stained glass window. The pews were still intact and even the altar at the front of the church stood proud. If someone told Eliana that there was a service here last week she would believe it. But that was obviously not the case. Something or someone kept this place from crumbling. Perhaps it was magic. Kayzel lit a lantern as they stepped into the dusty space, lighting up the different paintings and statues that lined the walls. Eliana didn’t really recognize any of it, but perhaps the old man would know what this was all about. The thing that really caught her attention was the large statue looming over the altar. It wasn’t a statue of Owlana, that much was certain. “What do you think this place is?” She asked Kayzel. She could hear the old men shuffling down the path as well, probably joining them inside the church shortly.
“Honestly, I’m not sure. I think we’ll have to ask Bobar, he’s much more of an expert on old architecture and strange religious practices. If I were to put in a guess though, I’d say this is likely a mix of common religious practices on the mainland combined with something else, something foreign to me at least. I don’t know what that statue of the strange man is, at least.”
“Me neither,” said Eliana. “But it’s giving me the creeps.”
Kayzel sighed deeply. “Glad I’m not the only one then.”
The old men – which at this point Eliana figured she should probably learn their names because referring to them as the old men in her head was feeling kind of mean – finally made their way carefully along the path that led to the church and stepped into the relatively dark building. They all had lanterns, brushes and tools with them and soon the place was much more lit up. The mercenaries that brought them here stayed outside of the building to keep an eye out.

“This is quite curious,” Bobar admitted. They’d made their way into the church and started their investigation. “There’s all sorts of artworks in this building, but none of it matches the rest. It’s almost as if someone went around through different places at different points in time and stole a little bit of art from each place. There’s old art from the mainland here but also relatively new art.” He pointed at a painting. “Look, that’s painted by an artist called Malowin. Malowin is a painter that is still alive and yet,” he pointed at a statue towards the back, “that looks like the handiwork of Gal Garan, a sculptor that lived more than a thousand years ago.”
Eliana was impressed. “You really know your stuff.”
“I may be old and frail and a liability, but I didn’t come here unprepared,” Bobar said proudly.
Eliana chuckled. “Fair enough.” She looked at the old man that had shuffled towards the big statue towering over the altar. Bobar called him Sefan and she made sure to remember the name. “Sefan, do you know what that is a statue of?” She asked.
The man with the long beard and missing front teeth turned around and wore a big, toothless smile on his face. “But of course I do, this is a statue of Aradin.”
“Aradin?”
“I suppose he’s not a well known figure in modern times. Aradin was the first follower of Owlana. Although many followed in his footsteps and she turned into a commonly known goddess over time, when she first ascended this wasn’t the case. She was always powerful and knowledgeable, of course, but you can only do so much as long as people don’t believe in you. So when Aradin stumbled upon her first temple she gave him a large share of her knowledge and he immediately started spreading the word. According to historians he was a very charismatic man, quite the opposite of the goddess of knowledge who has often been described as indirect and cold.”
“Have many people interacted with her?” Eliana asked.
“Many would be an overstatement, but she has shown herself to scholars on occasion and most of them were disappointed by how cold she seemed.”
“Well, if you’re a god you probably have other priorities than being overly nice.”
“Either way, seeing a statue of Aradin is rare. That’s not something that normal temples build. But this church is also much older and stranger than most of the ones you encounter on the mainland, so I’m curious who is behind all of this.” The old man rubbed his chin. “Someone must be taking care of this building, it looks too well maintained for it just to have been abandoned to the ages.”
Kayzel agreed. “It seems like it’s also much less decayed than the rest of the village, which is weird.”
“Could it be magic?” Eliana asked.
“Doubtful, but not completely impossible.”
As they were discussing their different options they suddenly heard a scream from outside.

“Captain, over here.”
Eliana looked up. She and her crew had made their way to one of the islands of the Dowan Archipelago, a cluster of islands to the north-east of Jasodar. They were accompanying a group of mercenaries and researchers here. Apparently there was some sort of ruin on this island that was of interest to the kingdom. Her crew had just finished putting down supplies for the next few days.
“Ah right, there you are Bardabin.” She looked around, the hot sun blinding her slightly as she took off her captain’s hat to fan herself. “So, what does it look like?”
Truth be told, they’d considered going to this archipelago before, but it was one of those things that never really felt right. This expedition was the perfect excuse. The researchers carefully came off the ship, huffing and puffing in the process. They were a sorry bunch of old folk with only two youngsters among them. A bookish kid named Kayzel and an abrasive woman in her mid twenties called Ada. The rest of the researchers would crumble if left out in the heat too long so Eliana instructed her crew to quickly set up some shade for them. When the old folk were finally sitting down, she sent out a few people to look at the jungle that seemed to cover most of the island. “Don’t go too deep into it yet, we first need to have a better idea of what we’re dealing with,” she carefully instructed them. After they left she turned around to see the kid standing behind her. She called him a kid but Kayzel was probably close to twenty already. To someone like Eliana who lived a very long time that seemed like a kid but Kayzel probably wouldn’t be all that happy about being referred to as a kid. “Can I help you with anything?” She asked.
“Well, I was just impressed with how efficiently you managed to set everything up here and I wondered if you’d done this kind of thing before?”
Eliana smiled. “It’s good that you recognize my greatness. And yes, we have experience babysitting, so we know how to handle folk that aren’t used to leaving their towns. We’ve been sailing these seas for quite a while, after all.”
“What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen on your journeys?” Kayzel asked, eyes almost glimmering with excitement.
Eliana chuckled. “Aren’t you a curious one?” She thought for a few moments. “Well, there was one time to the south of the Ravadier peninsula. We got stuck in a storm and then after being thrown way off course we eventually collided with some strange black mass. It didn’t seem to be alive at first, but as we made our way out of those waters it almost seemed to be stalking us. Very creepy stuff. And then there was.” Eliana stopped when a voice from the jungle grabbed her attention. “Captain, you’re going to want to see this.” She looked over to see Bardabin with a worried look on his face.
“What’s wrong?” She said, walking up to him with the young Kayzel in tow.
“Well, there’s something strange a little further in, follow me.”
She followed Bardabin a little bit into the jungle until they rather quickly reached a small clearing. In this clearing was a marble statue of a woman that was half fish, half human. A shiver went through Eliana but she quickly shrugged it off. “Doesn’t this kind of look like you, captain?” Bardabin asked.
Eliana shrugged. “If every beautiful woman with long hair looks the same to you then you’d best keep that to yourself from now on.”
Bardabin took a step back. “I meant no offense captain.”
“This is a siren.” Kayzel commented.
Eliana glanced in the young researcher’s direction. He was looking at the statue in awe. “The siren folk are said to have lived in these waters a long time ago, but have since either moved or gone extinct. The last siren sighting was over fifty years ago.” He turned to Eliana. “Have you ever seen any?”
Eliana shook her head. “Can’t say I have. How long has this place been uninhabited, have the old men figured that out yet?”
“I believe it has been uninhabited for at least a hundred years. Sirens were already rare a hundred years ago, but they did exist in these waters back then, so perhaps they had a town on this island before they disappeared from the region.”
“Could be,” Eliana answered. She didn’t sound convinced. “Why do you think there could be a statue here otherwise?”
Kayzel pondered this for a moment. “Perhaps the person or people living on this island revered the sirens, treating them with respect. That or they just thought she was a beautiful woman.”
“Someone should carve a statue of me,” Eliana remarked.
After thoroughly looking at the statue of the siren the three of them made their way back to the camp where they shared the information with the other researchers. They seemed to agree that it must have been a relic from a time when sirens still inhabited the area. That seemed to be the end of it, they made and exchanged some notes but Eliana wasn’t really all that interested in that part. She found Bardabin again off to the side. “Besides that statue, anything else that’s interesting?”
“Well, yes actually. I’m not certain, but it does seem like we’re not the only people to be here. Or at least someone traveled through the jungle quite recently. I’ve seen signs of someone cutting away branches.”
“Well that’s concerning.”
“For sure, we’ll have to keep an eye out.” He looked at his captain. “Are we going to accompany them inland? We only promised to bring them here safely.”
Eliana nodded. “We’ll definitely not be up front, but I can’t say I’m not curious about what we’ll find here. Perhaps it’s worth it to tag along in case things go poorly. That way we can take off with any valuables we come across.”
Bardabin grinned. “You never change, captain.”
Eliana grinned as well. “You know it.”

After a relatively calm night, besides some eerie animal screeching coming from deeper in the jungle they got ready for their trek inland. The researchers were all standing over a map of the island. They’d deduced that the ruins they were looking for were likely on the northern part of the island. They were on the eastern shore right now. Their plan was to travel along the shoreline for an hour or two and then make their way into the jungle. Progress was relatively slow as the mercenary band that the researchers had hired made sure everything was safe. Not to mention the researchers walked quite slowly. Kayzel walked up to Eliana again. “So, what do you think of this place so far?”
“Why are you asking me, you folks are the experts.”
Kayzel chuckled. “We’re experts on history and legends. But none of us are familiar with strange lands, dense jungles and weird statues that seem to have been there for many years but show no signs of aging.”
Eliana looked at the young man properly for the first time. “I thought you didn’t notice that little detail.”
“Do I look that incompetent to you?”
“Do you really want me to answer that?”
“Anyway, I figured you have journeyed to strange places a lot more often than most of us have and I wondered what you thought about this particular place.”
They’d reached the part of the island where they would start traveling inland which meant that their pace slowed down to a crawl as the mercenaries carved a path through the dense jungle. Besides the seven mercenaries, the five researchers and Eliana there were also two members of her crew. Both Bardabin as well as a young woman named Mella, who had only joined the crew somewhat recently accompanied their captain. The rest of the crew would stay put on the beach and the ship, making sure it didn’t get attacked by anyone or anything strange while the captain was absent. Their ship was their life after all and as Bardabin had said before, they didn’t really owe these people any help once they got here. It’s only Eliana’s curiosity that caused them to join the expedition inland.
“Well, you are correct in saying that I likely have more experience than you with exploring strange places. But I’m afraid I don’t have any clue what could be on this island. As for the statue, I’ve seen that kind of marble once before. It’s likely from the large marble caverns that are in the northern part of the Razelath desert. The marble mined there has a special property that allows it to retain its shine and quality over very long times.”
Kayzel nodded. “I was thinking of that as well, but do you know what that means?”
Eliana nodded. “Someone still needs to take care of the statue. It’s very good quality marble that will stay good for pretty much forever if someone takes care of it. If it’s left on its own it will eventually wither due to rain and other weather.”
“So that implies someone is on this island?” Kayzel asked.
Eliana looked over her shoulder as he said that, almost as if she felt something breathe in her neck. “That’s what I’m worried about.” She looked at the slow older men walking in front of them. “But I’m more worried about these old folks if I’m honest. They’re a liability if anything happens.”
“That’s what we hired those mercenaries for. They get paid to protect us from any danger. Even if there is someone on this island, I doubt there are many people.”
“I suppose that’s true.” Eliana kept to herself what she thought of the mercenary band that the researchers hired. They seemed like nice people, but their equipment was too shiny and new to really prove their mettle. If there’s one thing Eliana knew, it was people. And she could see that these people were relatively new to the mercenary life. That in and of itself didn’t mean they were incompetent, but for someone like Eliana who had lived a dangerous life for a very long time this was enough information to be on guard. She wouldn’t want to worry the researchers with it. Them knowing this wouldn’t change anything anyway.
“So how did you get into this business?” She asked Kayzel, getting her mind off of the creepy feeling in the back of her mind.
“My mother was a scribe at the Ruby Observatory.”
“Isn’t that a fancy library? The one in Marsolin?”
“That’s the one. It’s one of three actually, it’s a very impressive collection of buildings. She worked there for most of her life and as I grew up in Marsolin I was often brought there to visit her and watch her work. I loved the stories she would tell me about old ruins and interesting civilizations from many years ago. When she passed I decided I wanted to do something similar to her.”
“And you’re not in the Ruby Observatory because?” If he was already there, why wouldn’t he just stay? Eliana thought to herself.
“It’s a bit boring if I’m honest. I’m still young so I want to be out there and see the world. Stories are great and I’m sure I’ll spend a lot of time in libraries throughout the years, but first I want to see things for myself.”
Eliana smiled. “That’s a great attitude to have. Who knows, perhaps you’ll become a fancy librarian one day and then I’ll come visit.”
“Ha, wouldn’t that be fun.”
The mood had shifted ahead of them and it hadn’t gone unnoticed by the two. The thick jungle that blocked their path for the past two hours was slowly thinning out and finally the party found themselves at the edge of what looked to be a completely overgrown and ruined village. It seemed like they reached their destination.

“So, tell us all about the journey you spent together.” Cobal asked Kayzel as they were getting settled in Baliar’s Nook. The scribe hadn’t exaggerated when he claimed it was a good spot. The ale was tasty and the food smelled incredible. Cobal was hungry after a day of looking at books, and couldn’t wait to dig in once the food would be brought out. Eliana was half asleep, or at least gave off that impression as she leaned back against the wall of the booth they were sitting in. Kayzel sat next to her with Cobal and Mana opposite of the old acquaintances. The leather seating, filled with something that made the pillows quite comfortable made for a great way to fall asleep while talking. Despite the impression that Eliana gave off, she was fully awake and listening to the conversation.
“Well,” Kayzel started, “we first met each other when I was on a research expedition for a merchant that lived in Jasodar. He hired me to explore an archipelago quite far to the north-west of the city. Nowadays it’s a properly explored archipelago and nothing of real value is left there, but back then it was still a mysterious land full of opportunities.”
Cobal had heard of the Coral Archipelago. Rich with coral reefs and once home to a strange series of buildings from a long gone civilization it was a fairly well known point of interest. But as Kayzel said, it was explored a long time ago and all mysteries have been solved since then.
“Because we didn’t know what we could expect at this archipelago, we hired some sailors and mercenaries to accompany us on this mission. Eliana was the one in charge of the ship that took us there. I don’t quite remember the name of the ship, but it’s not the one that you have nowadays, is it?”
Eliana shook her head. “The Stonegaze sank quite a few years back, I’ve been sailing on the Tidesetter ever since.”
“Maybe I’ll hire you again in the future just so I can see your new ship.”
“Do you have enough money to pay for it?”
Kayzel laughed. “What do you think a scribe makes?”
“Not enough to hire me and my crew,” Eliana replied, a smirk on her face.
“Captain, of course not, you’re priceless.”
“Stop it, you’re making me blush.
“Anyway,” Kayzel continued, “we journeyed from Jasodar to the archipelago, a three day trip by ship. It was quite crowded because we brought a lot of people. I was part of the research team, although I was still learning back then. There were five of us in total. The crew, us five and six mercenaries. All of us cramped on a single ship, but we made it to the archipelago safely.”
“Thanks to the skilled captain,” Eliana added.
“Thanks to the skilled captain,” Kayzel repeated. They both chuckled and Kayzel continued. “Although the journey was far from comfortable, it was also not really eventful, which is all you can ask from a journey to an unexplored land. We then docked on the southern beach of the largest island on this archipelago. What we saw there was a sprawling jungle that seemed to cover most of the island. There were no signs of life initially besides from some native animals.”
Kayzel was interrupted by the arrival of their food. With the fresh aromas of beef stew filling the booth, none of them were all too interested in the story for the next few minutes as they were all quite hungry after a long day of work.

They changed to more general chit chat while they ate, aware that the story would be better told after they finished their food.
“So what are you studying here?” Cobal asked Kayzel.
“Mostly history and old artifacts and ruins. I’ve done my fair share of field work and have since moved on to the safer but equally important research part.”
“Which is more fun?” Mana asked.
“Definitely the field work, if I were a younger man I would still be out there.” Kayzel didn’t look all that old to Cobal, but there were definitely a few gray hairs here and there. He reckoned exploring unknown ruins probably wasn’t the easiest task as you got older.
“Any interesting discoveries you’ve made while researching at the library?”
“Well, the big one is that most things that are mysterious are actually already known about. At least that’s what it seems like. No matter how obscure the ruin or location, someone has probably written about it at some point. This means that I rarely ever research something that I can’t find anything on, but it’s arguably more frustrating than finding absolutely nothing. Some of these explorers of old would write down the silliest details of their findings and then omit the important parts completely. It’s often that I feel like I’m really close to learning something important and then the topic changes to how pleasant the nearby creek was. I get that this seemed important and relevant at the time, but what use is that to me?”
“Perhaps it’s an invitation to visit it for yourself and when you do, make sure you bathe in the pleasant creek,” Cobal suggested jokingly.
Kayzel sighed. “Maybe I will, but for now I’m comfortable here in Marsolin.”
“This seems like a very nice place to settle down in,” Mana commented.
Kayzel nodded and his face lit up. “Coming from the much more uptight and energetic Jasodar, this was a very nice change indeed. The people here live life at a slower pace. Everyone here appreciates the time they have and spend it doing the things they enjoy. That’s why you see so much art and music everywhere. It’s honestly a wonder that we don’t get more people moving to our little part of the country. Perhaps the forest surrounding us puts a lot of people off, but it really adds to the wonderful atmosphere here.” Kayzel took another bite of his food and the conversation died down again for a little while. Eventually they all finished eating their food and Mana reached into her pocket. “Before I forget, I got something the other day?” She pulled out a small paper satchel and Cobal recognized it. It was from the jeweler they visited the other day.
She looked at Eliana. “I know we’ve only known each other for a relatively short time, but during our travels together I’ve learned quite a lot from you. You’ve quickly become an inspiration for me in how steadfast and confident you are. Despite all of that, you’re not afraid to talk about your vulnerabilities either which I believe is very commendable. So to show you how much I appreciate you, I bought you a little something.” She handed the little satchel to Eliana who had emerged from her reclined and bored posture and was now leaning forward, fully attentive. She almost delicately took the gift from Mana and held it in her palm for a moment before carefully opening it. From it she took the small earring with the beautifully carved ruby that Mana picked out with Cobal the other day. “I heard it was actually made by a friend of Cobal, which is a crazy coincidence.” Mana added.
“It’s beautiful, are you sure you want to give this to me?” Eliana seemed dumbstruck by the gesture. As far as Cobal knew, Eliana has had the reputation of a ruthless pirate captain for a very long time. Although there was definitely a good reason for this reputation, and she could absolutely be a cutthroat killer when times called for it, she wasn’t a bad person at heart. Receiving a gift from someone as honest as Mana probably meant a lot to her.
Eliana carefully inspected the earring. The links of metal were shimmering in the fire of the heart that was elsewhere in the small eatery. The ruby itself was almost encased in a golden shell, with the shining red gem visible on either side as it slowly turned back and forth, dangling from her hand. “Thank you so much.” Eliana carefully took off her other earrings and put this one on. She then retrieved the matching one from the paper bag and put it in her other ear. “How do they look on me?” She asked.
“You’re gorgeous,” Mana said.
“Stop, you’re making me blush.” She turned to Cobal, awaiting a comment from him as well.
“They suit you well, they’re really fiery.”
“Good enough,” Eliana replied. She smiled. “Thank you again, I’ll treasure these.” She put her other earrings in the paper bag and put it into her pocket.

When the barmaid came back to the table with another round of drinks, Cobal asked her something that had been on his mind ever since they sat down.
She gave him a peculiar look. “The painting above the bar?” She asked.
Cobal nodded. “It looks interesting, I was wondering what it’s supposed to be.”
“It’s an old painting of Marsolin, from long before you and I were born.”
“Really? Cobal looked at it again. It didn’t look much like the vibrant town that they had just arrived in the other day, but it had some similarities. There were three tall buildings at the center of it, although they would be dwarfed by the current libraries. “Were those the old libraries then?” He asked.
“Exactly. The woman in her late 40s smiled. “Apparently this is the fifth time they were rebuilt, and there’s already some talk of rebuilding the Topaz Slumber again in the near future.”
“Wouldn’t that be almost impossible with how many books are in each of the libraries?” Mana asked.
The barmaid shrugged. “I’m sure they’ll figure something out, it sure isn’t my problem.” She put down the last of their drinks. “Marsolin hasn’t changed much in recent years but it used to be changing so regularly that when my great-grandfather returned after living elsewhere for a decade, it looked so drastically different that he thought he’d accidentally gone to a different city.” She chuckled. “Imagine that, you return to your hometown only for it to look completely different, that has to be quite the shock.” She looked around. “Can I get you folks anything else?”
“We’re good for now, thank you. But in a while we’ll probably need more drinks, so don’t go too far away,” Cobal replied half jokingly.
“I never do.” She winked at him and walked off to a different table.
Mana turned her attention back to Kayzel. “Now that we’ve got some drinks in us, would you tell us about your expedition on that island?”
Kayzel nodded. “Of course, where was I again?” he asked.
“You were just telling them about the incredibly attractive pirate captain that sailed you there.”
“Was I? I don’t think I remember any attractive pirate captains.” He’d barely finished the sentence or a hint of pain showed on his face. Eliana had put her heel on his foot. “Are you sure?”
“Now that I really think about it properly, I do remember an attractive pirate.”
Eliana smiled. “That’s better, continue your story.”
Kayzel cleared his throat. “Very well. We took a ship from Jasodar to this archipelago and when we landed we were faced with a seemingly uninhabited island overgrown by a thick jungle.”
Cobal and Mana were both leaning back in their chairs, full from the food, warm from the nearby hearth and drinking some surprisingly nice tasting ale as Kayzel started telling them about a young researcher and a slightly less fiery pirate captain and the things they found on a strange island off the coast.

After leaving Lysa’s office, the first place the duo visited was the counter on the ground floor where they’d asked for Kayzel earlier that day. Eliana had quickly left them as she was allergic to books. Those were her words. She would go and find Grac to update him on what they learned. The two of them had already set their eyes on Solin Manor and were going to do some investigative work while the other two did the studying.
There was a different person behind the counter than earlier this day. This time it was a young gnome, barely peeking out over the counter when Cobal stepped forward.
“Good day sir,” the high pitched voice said, “how may I help you today?”
Cobal smiled. “A good day to you too. We just came from senior librarian Drant’s office and she told us to ask for Melchir or Salandra, are either of these scribes available?”
The young gnome grabbed a ledger from the side and thumbed through it. “It seems that scribe Melchir has been gone for a few days, visiting family in a different city. Scribe Salandra is currently in the Topaz Slumber for a meeting but should be available either late evening or tomorrow morning.”
“Is there any chance you could ask her to meet with me tomorrow morning then?” Cobal asked.
“Certainly, although I cannot offer any guarantees.”
“That’s quite alright, it’s not like it’s a long walk from the inn to the library.”
“Very well then, and who is requesting her presence?”
“Cobal.”
“Very well, I’ll make sure she gets your message, is there anything else I can help you with today?” He also looked at Mana who had been quietly standing next to Cobal so far.
“Well, the two of us are here to look into a few things. For starters, I would like to have some information on strange and lost magics. I am aware that this is a broad question, but if you could get me started that would be nice.”
“Ah, strange magic, not the most uncommon request we get here. Let me call a scribe for you to help you on your way. Is there anything else you want help with before I go fetch someone?”
Mana shook her head. “We have other things to look into, but this is the main priority, besides what the other scribe you mentioned is going to help Cobal with tomorrow.”
“Very well, I’ll be right back.”
With that, the scribe at the counter exited through a door behind him where Cobal could see movement. Perhaps there were some scribes on standby or something? He would ask someone about it some other time. While they waited, Cobal turned to Mana. “So what do you think?”
“I think we’re definitely on the right track. Lysa seems to know what she’s talking about, and the circles in the book she showed me looked very similar to what we came across on our travels. I think we found out who we’re dealing with, it has to be this Jasmine order.”
Cobal nodded. “That’s the impression I got as well.” He looked off at the exit. “I wonder if there are some of these cultists in that manor we learned about on our way here.”
“Solin Manor?”
Cobal nodded. “Yeah, that’s something I’ll look into after I find a way to help Dylon and the others return to normal. What is Solin Manor and why are there bandits operating out of it. Although I hope Eliana and Grac find out some things as well. 

The scribe returned a few moments later with another scribe following closely behind him. “Good morning, my name is Sephe, how can I help you two today?” The man looked to be quite old already yet seemed to be quite energetic for his age. He had a kind smile on his face when he walked over to Cobal and Mana.
“Nice to meet you Sephe, my name is Cobal and this is Mana. We’re looking for information on strange and ancient magic.”
Sephe smiled. “Ah, a familiar topic for sure. Is there anything in particular you’re looking for?”
“Well, we’d like to get a bit of insight into what this place has to offer in general if that’s alright, and we’d also love to learn about anything involving written magic. Spellbooks and magic circles, things like that.”
Sephe scratched his beard for a moment before nodding. “That can both be done, please follow me.”
They followed Sephe up to the main stairway. “As you might have seen already,” Sephe said as they ascended the stairs, “there are mainly meeting rooms on the ground floor. It’s not so much a part of the library as it is a place for people to meet up and discuss research. For actual books you’ll have to visit the first through third floor. Anything above that you’ll need to get special permission. On the first floor you’ll find most of the senior librarian’s offices. The walls are lined with books that have yet to be accepted into the library proper, but are available for people to read regardless. Then you’ll find the vast majority of our books on the second and third floor. Books on rare magic you’ll find on the third floor, so if you’ll follow me up the stairs I’ll lead you to the correct section.” They followed Sephe up two more sets of stairs and found themselves in a massive room filled with nothing but rows and rows of books, only interrupted by a few rows of tables where scribes were busy copying books or reading them. “This right here is where most of the books on magic can be found. The previous floor also holds a hefty amount of books on magic, but for the more advanced stuff, this is probably where you want to be.” He looked around. “If you want to get some help while you’re searching, I suggest you ask one of the scribes on this floor, most of them will either be able to help you or find someone who knows more than them.”
“Thank you so much for your help.”
“Not a problem at all, if you need anything else, don’t hesitate to call for me. It’s nice to take a break from copying from time to time.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Now then, if you’ll excuse me,” and Sephe walked off, back down the stairs.
Cobal turned to Mana. “So, where do you want to start?” She turned to him and he could already see the wonder in her eyes. He smiled. “Should we just do some preliminary research and look around for what they have to offer?”
Mana nodded. “I think that’s a good idea.”
Cobal laughed. “Definitely, and it’s not because you want to explore, is it?”
Mana let out a very unbelievable ‘no’ before they split up. Cobal was determined to find some information about the magic circles. He likely wouldn’t be able to understand most of it, but if he could get some books that were useful for Mana, that would be good enough for now, considering he would have to wait for tomorrow to do his own research anyway.

After a frustratingly unproductive afternoon, Cobal went back upstairs to the third floor where he found Mana pouring over books. Not the most unfamiliar sight to him, as she’d been studious since the day they met, but the pile of books was definitely more impressive than usual.
“How are you doing?” He asked.
She looked up, lost in her thoughts for another moment before realizing it. “Oh, nothing concrete yet about the circles, but there are tons of interesting things in these books. Did you know that magic can vary wildly from person to person and that there are so many exceptions to the rule that they stopped keeping track?”
Cobal thought back to his own – short lived – time studying magic under Diriak before being sent off to practice with a sword instead. His teacher had always been very strict about rules and how magic followed a specific set of knowledge. Without using the specific rules as outlined in his books, he wouldn’t be able to use magic. Cobal already understood that there was more to it than his teacher seemed to think, but Mana implied that his understanding was still shallow. She was probably right. “Make sure you don’t get too lost in your own interests, we’re here for a reason.”
Mana blushed. “I know, I’ve been working diligently.” She looked at his empty hands. “Did you come up with anything?”
“We’re not talking about me right now,” Cobal replied with a grin.
Mana chuckled. “So not much luck on your end?”
Cobal shook his head. “This isn’t my thing after all. I tried finding some books that might be useful for you but even that proved difficult. This place offers far too much, it’s hard to find what you need.”
Mana nodded. “It’s both a good and a bad thing. They have super specific information that’s hard to find out in the world, but good luck figuring out which book is in it. I suppose that’s why they have so many scribes walking around. If each person only needs to know the details about a small section of the library it becomes a lot more manageable.”
Cobal saw the look in her eyes, she was right at home here. He smiled. “Don’t worry, once we get my brother back and stop this war from breaking out we’ll return here and you can browse the entire library without worry.”
Mana smiled. “I would like that. Perhaps we shouldn’t bring Eliana for that trip though.”
Cobal laughed. “She would probably get bored to death here.”
He sat down opposite of her. “What have you found so far?”
Mana turned around the book she had open. “There’s not a lot of mention of the magic circles, which Lysa already told us, but I did find this reference.” She showed him a page about runic script. “Look at those symbols in the top left.” Cobal looked at them but it didn’t really meant much to him. “What am I supposed to be looking for?”
Mana took the paper with the magic circle out of her bag. “Look at these.” Cobal looked at the magic circle and then back at the book. “They’re the same.”
Mana smiled. “Bingo. This scholar of runic symbols talks about the same runes that are used to create these magic circles in the first place. This means that if we can find out more information about these runes we can perhaps even learn the script itself. That would mean we could accurately parse what each magic circle does.”
“That would be very useful,” Cobal agreed. “But is there enough information about those runes in this book?”
Mana shook her head. “No, this is just a basic reference book that talks about different forms of magic. It does however mention a scholar that studied these runes.” She pointed at the bottom of the page where a name was written. Iarn Starvis.
“So if you can find any books or scrolls written by this person then perhaps you can find out more?”
Mana nodded. “I think that’s where I’ll look next. Perhaps I can find some of his books here. It mentions that he used to work here in his youth.”
“I think that might be a good plan. But should we wait until tomorrow?”
“Why?”
“I spoke with Kayzel earlier and he invited us for some dinner and drinks at his favorite restaurant in town. Eliana is coming too.”
Mana’s face brightened. “I’d like that, maybe he can tell us stories about Eliana when she was younger.”
Cobal grinned. “I bet she’d hate that.”
They both laughed. “Let me put my books away for now and grab my coat, then we’ll head to this restaurant. Is it nearby?”
“It’s opposite of the Sapphire Respite, it’s called Baliar’s Nook.”

“There are many strange folk in the world with many strange ideas.” Lysa put her hands together and leaned forwards on them. “Some of these folk will flock together and become larger groups. Some of those groups become so large that they gain notoriety until they become large enough to have a real impact on the world. One such group is an organization – a cult – called the Jasmine Order. They have banded together in their shared belief that their idol, Shifeth, is rightfully a deity and should be treated as such. They see the fact that the world does not treat Shifeth as a deity as an insult to their order.”
“And who exactly is this Shifeth then?” Cobal asked. “If they’re not one of the gods of this world, they have to be something else, right?”
“That’s complicated,” Lysa replied. “Shifeth was a powerful arcanist known to live a long time ago, centuries or even millenia back. They ruled over this entire continent long before any of the currently existing countries were founded. Eventually they died of a deadly disease.” Lysa had been staring at her desk and now looked up at the trio sitting across from her. “That would have been the end of the story, if not for the fact that a powerful mage managed to resurrect Shifeth several hundred years later.” The atmosphere in the room had gotten quite tense, alongside being a librarian it seemed that Lysa had a talent for telling a compelling story as well. What made it more intriguing was the fact that it was also seemingly a true story. “To this day, resurrection magic is considered to be impossible. It never happened before Shifeth and it never happened after Shifeth. Even the circumstances surrounding Shifeth’s resurrection are questionable at best. Regardless, it’s undeniable that a very powerful person that was thought to be dead turned out to suddenly be alive and this created a devout group of followers that believed this must mean they were no mortal. Mortals cannot be resurrected, so the only explanation for Shifeth being resurrected is that they’re one of the gods.” Lysa took a sip from her tea and let out a sigh. “That’s the broad story.”
“What happened to Shifeth after they were resurrected.” Mana asked.
“That is unsure. Most scholars seem to agree that they died in solitude, not being able to handle the toll of being resurrected into a world they once left behind all that well. Some of Shifeth’s followers believe that Shifeth is still alive somewhere on this continent, planning a glorious return.”
“And that is where this Jasmine order comes in?” Eliana asked.
Lysa nodded. “They’re what remains of a different group that tried to resurrect Shifeth a second time. That group was dealt with when they started to become a nuisance and those that went into hiding after that ended up forming what we now call the Jasmine order.”
“Why was the previous group dealt with?”
“A lot of their rituals were rather sinister and involved sacrificing innocent people to build a connection with the afterlife. It’s all unproven magic that we don’t really have to get into, but basically they ended up becoming a danger to the nearby villages which caused the army to step in and swiftly take care of them.
“I see,” Mana said. “So in summary, it’s a cult that wants to sacrifice innocent people to revive an old ruler that they believe to be a god. And how is this related to the magic circles we’ve encountered?”
Lysa stood up and picked up a book from one of the shelves. “That’s the worrying part. The type of magic that these cultists have been  using is eerily similar to the magic you describe having found in your travels. It’s an old form of magic that was somewhat common in the age that Shifeth was once resurrected in, but it has since more or less disappeared.”
“And do you know why this magic mostly disappeared?”
“That was by design. The magic, although potent, was easy to strengthen by sacrificing something. You could sacrifice some blood, a limb, a live animal or even people. At the height of this problem, people had started figuring out how to sacrifice entire villages to amplify a magical effect tremendously. So every mage was forbidden from teaching the magic and those who disobeyed were executed.” A dark expression appeared on Lysa’s face. “It’s hard to fully rid the world of knowledge once it exists, but they did a very good job in turning it into a much more obscure type of magic until eventually it was mostly forgotten by the world. But nothing is ever truly forgotten.” She opened up the book that she picked up from the shelf and thumbed through it for a bit before handing it to Mana. As she was about to hand it over, Mana asked her. “How many people do you know of that have been summoned to this world?”
Lysa paused, holding the book in her hand still. “We try our best to keep records of every known instance of someone from another world, but it’s hard to know for sure. I know of at least seven. Two of those people died not long after coming to this world, so there isn’t much known about where they came from. One of the people summoned here didn’t seem capable of any language at all and was summarily executed for attacking a noble. Then there was Thomas, who lived in a village deep in the Feral Wildlands for several decades before dying of old age. We only know of him due to travelers bringing stories of him out of the wildlands. He was actually responsible for introducing coffee to our world. Besides that, it doesn’t seem that there was much to him, no offense meant to him of course.” She continued. “Finally there’s rumors of a man being summoned to Owlana’s temple only to then kill everyone there and flee the scene. This happened almost a thousand years ago, and out of all of those I think Thomas is the most recent one, happening four hundred years back.”
“That’s only five,” Eliana remarked.
“Well, the remaining two are Might and Mana.”
“You’re right, that makes sense.”
Lysa smiled at Mana. “You’re the first person from another world that I’ve personally met, and I’d love to spend as much time as we can talking about that.”
Mana nodded. “Once we’ve finished our urgent business I’ll make all the time in the world, although I’m sure we can find some moments to chat now and then.”
“I’m looking forward to it. But like you said, you’re here for a reason. What exactly do you want from us?”

Cobal answered the question for the group. “Well, we originally came to Rilodar to try and figure out where my brother had disappeared to. The official stance is that this kingdom is responsible for his kidnapping but upon investigating the magic circle that we found in his chambers we’re not convinced. What we think happened instead was that either my brother is working with someone and left of his own accord or he was kidnapped by someone incredibly powerful that managed to take him without even a scuffle. And if Mana’s understanding of this magic is anything to go by, it’s unfortunately more likely that my brother chose to leave.”
“And what caused you to come to this conclusion?” Lysa asked.
“Well,” Mana spoke up, taking her notes out of her bag, “I’ve tried to parse the magic circle as if it were a language. I was a language teacher in my old world, after all. I couldn’t quite get it to fit a structure with verbs and nouns and all that, but I could find a seemingly consistent structure in the circles.” She showed her notes to Lysa. “As you can see, this is the circle we encountered when those strange beasts attacked us. It has two layers and what I believe those to be are a core spell layer as well as a direction layer. The circle in Sapher’s room had a third layer which I think was written by a different person. This leads me to suspect that Sapher drew the inner two layers of this spell, using it to summon someone to his location. This person then drew the final circle, disappearing them both to another place.”
Lysa stared intently at the notes as she listened to Mana talk. “That sounds plausible at least. So you’re here to see if you can learn more about the magic circles?”
Mana nodded. “We want to learn more about the magic circles, we want to figure out a way to turn our paralyzed friend back to normal and finally we want to look into the manor north of town. We believe that some of these cultists are holed up in that place and we want to help out a friend who has been dealing with them.”
“Are you talking about Solin Manor?”Mana nodded.
“I see, I didn’t realize it might be in use by someone.” She stood up and walked to a small box that was sitting on a pedestal in the corner of the room. She produced a key from inside of her sleeve and opened it. From it she removed three pins, each with a ruby as well as the initials L.D. engraved into them. “These pins are proof that you’re my personal guests. This gives you access to the first three floors of this library as well as the first two floors of both other libraries. If you need materials from elsewhere, you’d have to get special permission from either myself or another of my station.” She smiled at them. “Consider it a gift.”
Cobal understood that this gift probably meant Mana was expected to share some knowledge with Lysa, but that was still a really good deal for them.
“As for where to start your search, I do have a few suggestions, actually. I recommend that you study the magic circles and the cult primarily in the Ruby Observatory, and you’re welcome to knock on my door and ask for my input. There’s a reason I had a book on the cult in my room. I’ve been tangentially interested in their existence for quite some time now. As for your friend who has been paralyzed, I recommend you ask for one of the scribes that specialize in herbalism and medicine. Go downstairs and ask at the front desk for either Melchir or Salandra. Either of them could probably help you out with that. And what was the third thing again?”
“Solar manor.”
“Right, Solar manor. History of the region is probably most easily found in the Topaz Slumber. These pins should give you entry there as well, so feel free to check out each library.”
“What about the third library?” Mana asked.
“Oh, you mean the Sapphire Respite? The Respite is where we keep art, musical collections and fictional stories.”
Mana’s eyes lit up. “Fiction?”
“Yes, made up stories. Some myths and legends that are considered true by some and made up by others are in there too, whereas the more believable myths are in the respite. The people who study myths have complained for years now that there has to be a better system, but you know how slow these things change.”
Cobal chuckled when he saw Mana’s pleading eyes. “I’m sure you can find some time to look through those books while we’re here.”

Upon entering the small study, they came face to face with one of the more important people in this town. Behind a small desk sat an elven woman, short of stature. Her white and gray hair was bound tightly into a bun on top of her head, making her pointed ears more accentuated. She was wearing similar robes to the other scribes Cobal had seen walking throughout the library, and the same ones Kayzel wore, but she wore a sleeveless maroon cardigan over the robes. On her chest was a metal pin with a ruby laid into it. It shone brightly in the light peeking in from the windows. On the desk in front of her were several books and scrolls, as well as a piece of parchment she was writing on. The four of them waited for a few moments before she put down the quill and looked up at them, her green eyes piercing right through them. “I’ve been informed that we have a royal visitor.” She stood up. “My name is Lysa Drant, I’m one of the senior librarians here at the Ruby Observatory. Whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with?”
“My name is Cobal Blueyerd, third prince of the Blueyerd Kingdom.”
“Prince Cobal, a pleasure to meet you. I’ve not met with a royal from your family in several centuries.” She looked over at Eliana.
“The name is Eliana Tidesinger,” Eliana replied.
“Tidesinger, that sounds vaguely familiar. Have we encountered each other before?”
Eliana smiled. “I sometimes go by Tidescreecher.”
Lysa pinched the bridge of her nose with her left hand and let out a deep sigh. “Kayzel, do you realize how much trouble you’ve brought into our library?”
“I apologize, senior librarian Drant, but she’s an old friend of mine and I owe her a favor. I’m sure she’ll behave herself.” He shot a pleading look at Eliana who just shrugged.
Lysa shook her head. “It’s fine.” Turning her attention to the remaining person she asked, “and who might you be?”
“My name is Mana, it’s a pleasure meeting you.”
Her eyes showed a hint of recognition. Her gaze moved back to Cobal. “Is this who I think it is?”
Cobal nodded.
She stood up and walked over to Mana. She reached out her hand. Mana hesitantly shook it.
“I’m so sorry for the things that the people of our world have put you through.”
She looked at Cobal. “Your people have played with magic they shouldn’t have played with. Do you have any idea how dangerous this little stunt was?”
Cobal nodded. “I am fully aware of the ethical problems that have arisen from my family’s actions. Although I was not involved in the decision and neither myself or Mana are to blame for this situation, we’ve both been careful about the way we approach things and we’re limiting the amount of information that gets shared with others.” Cobal said every word with confidence, believing each word he said. It seemed to be enough to convince Lysa Drant. For now at least.
“Fine, I understand. I’ll back off for now. Besides, I’m curious about what brings the prince of Blueyerd and the hero from another world to our library?”
“As you’re probably aware,” Cobal said, “my brother, crown prince Sapher Blueyerd, has been missing for a few months now. Although the initial suspicion was that the Rilodar kingdom was in some way responsible, myself and Mana believe that there is something else going on. We’ve come here to find out more about the few leads that we have, as well as figure out some other problems we’ve encountered.”
Cobal had to wait for a few moments before Lysa responded.
“Very well, please have a seat so we can talk about it in more detail. I’ll get us some tea.” Without waiting for a response she briskly walked off, leaving the quartet of strange folk alone for a bit.

“What the hell kind of friends have you been making?” Kayzel asked Eliana after Lysa left the office.
“You know, things happen, one thing led to another and now we’re here. I try not to worry about it too much.”
“A prince and a person from another world.” Kayzel couldn’t seem to believe it at all.
After a little while, Lysa came back with some very fragrant smelling tea.
“That smells lovely, your office looks great too,” Mana remarked.
Lysa smiled. “Thank you, I try to keep it looking nice and filled with a bit of nature.”
Cobal had also seen the – in his opinion – excessive amount of plants everywhere that looked very well kept. “What do you study here?” Cobal asked.
“Botany, mainly. As well as some herbalism and history.”
“I should have known, after seeing the office.”
She smiled. “Looks can be deceiving. But in this particular case they aren’t.” She picked up a quill and took a fresh sheet of paper from a drawer. “So, tell me in a little bit more detail what exactly brings you to the library and what I can help you with.”
“So you’re going to help us?” Cobal asked.
“How often do I get the opportunity to have a prince owe me one. Not to mention,” and she looked at Mana when she said this, “there’s a person here I’d love to have a few long conversations with.”
Mana smiled a bit awkwardly. “I can’t promise it’ll be interesting.”
“I’m confident it will be.” She returned her attention to Cobal. “So your brother?”
Cobal nodded. “While Mana and I were away from the capital, my brother disappeared. After we rushed back to Saphestan, we got a full briefing of what transpired. According to the guards that were present at the time, he just disappeared without a trace one night. They saw him enter his bedroom for the night and when one of the servants went to wake him up in the morning, there was no one there. There were no signs of violence, the windows were all still closed and barred, and the only thing out of place was a strangely drawn circle on the floor, with symbols in them.”
Cobal took a sip from the tea while Lysa scribbled down several notes based on what he’d told her. The tea was quite lovely and caught him by surprise. He’d never tasted anything like it, but it was sweet like honey while also having some herbal qualities to it. For a moment he got distracted by it before he noticed that Lysa was looking at him again, expectantly. “Right, Mana and I encountered similar magic circles in our travels, specifically to summon and teleport people and creatures. At least that’s what it looked like. So when we saw this circle, we compared it to the ones we’d encountered before and there were enough similarities that it’s likely a match.”
Lysa paused her writing. “Can you tell me exactly in which ways you’ve seen these magic circles used?”
Mana answered this question. “We first encountered one on our way from Ravadier to Milinia. It seemed to be almost randomly placed in some poor woman’s house. We had to save her from disaster and unfortunately her house burned down. It was hidden under a cupboard and it summoned a fiery beast. We managed to defeat it, and although we initially thought it was something that came from the Feral Wildlands, we’ve since then concluded that this wasn’t the case. The second time we encountered these circles was during the Harvest Festival in Milinia. A bunch more creatures attacked us there as well as a strange mage that spoke of others and although all we got from them were vague hints about some bigger plan they had. We had Dionil look at them as well, but he couldn’t make much of them either. The idea to go to the library here came from him, although we initially planned to stay in Milinia longer. The news about the crown prince’s disappearance sped up our decision to go back to the capital.” She thought for a moment. “Oh, and of course we also encountered them on the island where we fought those cultists. There were similar looking circles there as well, one of which paralyzed a friend of ours. That’s something we’re trying to find a solution to as well, while we’re here.”
Lysa listened intently, making a few notes here and there. “Right, a few questions then.”
“Go right ahead.”
“These circles, is there any logic you found in them yet.”
Mana nodded. “Nothing we could confirm, of course, but I personally believe that they are layered, and that each layer has a different circle.” She pulled the copies they’d drawn of the circle out of her bag and put them on the table in front of Lysa. “You see this one? I believe that the inner circle is the magic itself, then the second layer sets the specific parameters and the final circle sets the destination. I don’t know if that’s true, but we’ve seen one that didn’t have the outer layer and we assume it was used as a trap to send someone to a random place. That’s probably where some of our friends disappeared through.”
Lysa looked intently at the drawing while talking. “It sounds like you’ve had to go through a lot before coming here.”
Mana smiled. “It’s been a rough few months.”
“Coming from you that’s probably doubly true.” She nodded, satisfied with what she’d seen. “And you told me your friend was paralyzed. Do you know if he was turned to stone, unable to move at all or stuck in a particular position.”
“The last one. We could pick him up and move him, and he still had a pulse, but we weren’t able to move his fingers or arms. We didn’t try particularly hard, of course, but we tried it enough to be pretty confident he was stuck in that position.”
Lysa nodded. “Although I can’t make promises, that sort of magic does exist outside of those strange circles and usually the person turns back to normal after a while. Depending on how potent the magic is this can either last a few hours or a few months. It won’t be a fun experience for your friend, but if this is the sort of magic I think it is, it probably won’t kill them.”
Cobal let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good to hear.”
Lysa looked him in the eyes. “This isn’t a promise, keep that in mind. It could be a magic I’m unfamiliar with that does something different, but I think it will probably resolve itself eventually.”
Cobal nodded. “One less thing to worry about, for now.”
“You’ve mentioned a strange mage and some cultists throughout your story, can you tell me a little bit more about them? I have my guesses as to who they are, unfortunately, but I would like to hear a bit more before I share those.”
Eliana chuckled and looked at Kayzel. “You’ve made some pretty smart friends since we last met.”
“She’s my boss.”
“So was I, do you not consider me a friend?”
Kayzel smiled nervously. “I think this is a bit different.”
Lysa Chuckled. “Scribe Kayzel and I aren’t particularly acquainted, but I am aware of his work in our library.” She looked back at Cobal expectantly.
“Right, the cultists. We unfortunately don’t really know anything about the mage we saw at the Harvest Festival. That person is a complete mystery to us. The only information we gleaned from them was that they had some sort of interest in us – I presume in Mana specifically – and would be back. As for the cultists we encountered off the coast of Jasodar, we learned a little bit more. They were trying to bring some powerful god into this world. That god was the one that granted them this magic. Apparently these magic circles existed for a long time, and the knowledge was mostly lost until one of this god’s followers found a scripture containing it.”
Lysa sighed. “The good news is that I know exactly who you’re talking about. The bad news is that they’re, well, bad news.”
“So who are these cultists then?” Eliana asked.
Lysa sighed again and put her quill down. “I’m pretty certain that the people you’re talking about are the Jasmine Order.

Although the three libraries of Marsolin were quite the impressive sight from a distance, walking in front of the entrance of the tallest of the three buildings was an even more overwhelming experience. There was a large open plaza in front of the stairs that led into the library. The other two libraries were a little bit behind it and to each side of this library. Each of the other two libraries had their own open plaza in front of it, and roads connected all three plazas. The Ruby Observatory was built out of marble which had to have been imported from quite far away, seeing as this region didn’t seem like it would contain a lot of marble. At the front flanking two massive oaken doors that looked like it would take half an army to open there were massive stained glass windows that showed off a mage and a starscape. The stairs leading up to the library were massive and looked like they might be hard to climb.
“Not very good for accessibility,” Mana remarked, “what if someone is old, has a bad leg or is in a wheelchair?”
“I’m sure they’ll have a solution for that, I doubt a library wouldn’t be accessible to old people,” Cobal replied.
“I guess.” They climbed the stairs and walked through the large open doors into the main hall.
The main hall was bustling. Where the walls were mostly made out of the marble that was visible from the outside, everything else in here seemed to be made out of the same oak that the doors were made out of. There were several counters with people working behind them, helping people out. Scribes and others were hastily walking across the large hall and deeper into the building there seemed to be several rooms where people were either working or discussing something. Perhaps some sort of meeting rooms. At the center of the hallway, in front of the meeting rooms, was a massive staircase that led up to the first floor. It started somewhat slim at the bottom but widened as you climbed up the stairs, being about twice as wide by the time you’d step onto the first floor. At the bottom of this massive staircase was a small desk setup with two people sitting behind it. It seemed like you needed to have some sort of clearance to go up to the first floor. Many people went up immediately though, so Cobal figured the required clearance wasn’t all that hard to get. Cobal was so lost in admiring the impressive hall that he didn’t realize Eliana was already talking to one of the scribes behind the counter.
“So you’re looking for a specific scribe that works here, named Kayzel, do I have that correct?” The young scribe looked at Eliana who nodded. “That’s right, tell him that his old friend Eliana is in town.”
The woman went through a list of papers and eventually found what she was looking for. “I believe Kayzel should be working here today, I’ll check the upstairs offices to see if I can find him for you, please wait in the main hall.” With a smile she got up from her desk to go find Eliana’s friend, while another scribe that had been working at a desk behind the counter came up to take over for her while she was gone, helping the next person in line.

It took a little while before the scribe came walking back down the main staircase. After looking around for a moment she spotted Cobal and the others and walked up to them. “I’ve talked with Kayzel and he’ll meet with you in a couple of minutes. He was in a meeting which would take a little while longer. If you don’t mind, I can bring you to one of the visitor rooms where you can wait for him.”
They followed her off to the side of the staircase and into the small corridor that led to several of the rooms that Cobal had assumed were meeting rooms. It seemed like they were specifically for visitors, as the scribes that worked here had offices on one of the higher floors. “Could I bring you some tea or coffee?” She asked as they got settled.
“What great hospitality,” Eliana remarked.
The woman smiled. “We’re entirely funded by those who are willing to invest in our library, so it’s in our best interest to treat everyone well.”
“Well, I’ll have some coffee,” Mana said. Cobal and Eliana both ordered some as well, and the woman left to go prepare it. She came back a little bit later with their coffee, as well as some fresh bread.
“I could get used to this,” Eliana said to her, winking at her.
“Well, if you become a scribe at the Ruby Conservatory, you can have all the bread and coffee you want.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Please don’t let a whirlwind of a woman anywhere near the books here,” an unfamiliar voice said from the doorway. Cobal looked up to see a middle aged man he didn’t know. This must be Kayzel, he thought.
His guess was quickly confirmed by Eliana loudly proclaiming, “Kayzel, you got older!”
“And you barely aged,” the man responded. A broad smile appeared on his face, showing off a few of his wrinkles. For as old as he looked, his hairline was still immaculate and the gray hairs that started to peek through the black made him look that much more dashing. He didn’t look like the bookish type at all. “It’s so good to see you again.”
“I’ll leave you to it,” the woman said, closing the door behind her.
“So, who are your friends?” Kayzel asked, looking expectantly at Mana and Cobal.
Mana and Cobal exchanged a look.
“This is Cobal and Mana, they’re travelers I met on the open seas.”
“Be honest with me, did you sink their ship and force them to join up with you?”
“What do you take me for?” Eliana responded, feigning being offended.
“Yeah, she would never do something like that,” Cobal added. “We joined out of our own volition. After she locked us up for hitting her ship. And then made us work for her and fight for her.”
“Listen, that’s all in the past now,” Eliana said.
Kayzel just shook his head. “And what brings you all here then? I can’t imagine you’re here to come and study something, so it must be either because you miss me or because your companions have something they want from this library.”
“You hit the nail on the head Kay.”
“So you’re here because you miss me?”
“What do we need to do to get access to the entire library?” Eliana asked, ignoring his joke.
“Well, that kind of depends on what you mean by that. To get access to the main floor, you need to be a guest of a working scribe. I can arrange that much for you. If you want access to the upper floors, you need to be sponsored by one of several senior librarians. If you want access to everything here, you need to become one of the senior librarians.”
“And could you ask one of the senior librarians to hear us out?” Cobal asked.
Kayzel shook his head. “Unless I can give them a good reason to do so, I doubt they’d waste their time on anyone who shows up.”
“That’s not a problem, is there a senior librarian that you think can be discreet?”
“I’m not sure I follow.”
“I would like you to tell them that Cobal Blueyerd, third prince of the Blueyerd Kingdom, is here to visit.”
Kayzel’s eyes widened and he gave Eliana a shocked joke. “Is he messing with me?”
Eliana shook her head. “This kid is a proper prince.”
“Kid?” Cobal asked.
“I said what I said.”
Kayzel turned his attention back to Cobal. “I didn’t realize I was in the presence of royalty, I humbly apologize if I’ve been offensive in any way.”
“No need for that Kay,” Eliana interrupted him. “We’re not technically here on official business, he’s just some kid for all you know.”
“I’m in my twenties.”
“Again, I said what I said.”
Kayzel stood up. “Well, I’ll go and retrieve senior librarian Lysa Drant, if there’s anyone who would know what to do in this situation, it would be her.”
“Can she be trusted to not reveal our identity to anyone else?” Mana asked.
Kayzel nodded. “I believe so. At the very least, she’s probably one of the most professional people in this place.”
“We’ll trust in your judgment then,” Cobal said.

After waiting for a good while, Kayzel returned. “Lysa would like to speak with you in her office,” he said.
“Sure, lead us to her then,” Eliana said. They followed Kayzel out of the meeting room and towards the main staircase. Kayzel walked up to the two men at the desk in front of the staircase. “These three are guests of mine and they’re going to meet with Lysa Drant, can you get them a visitor’s badge?”
The man behind the table nodded. “What is the reason for your visit?” he asked.
“Do you want to know what sort of books we want to read?” Cobal asked.
“That’s what it boils down to, yes. We like to keep track of what sort of things people study here.”
“It’s a few things. We want to learn about the history of this town, lost forms of magic and some herbalism.”
“That’s a lot of difficult topics, but if there’s any place in the world where a daunting task like that is doable, it’s here in Marsolin.” He got up. “I’ll go get some badges, please wait here for a moment.”
Kayzel looked at Eliana. “What have you gotten yourself into?”
“It’s a long story, but to give you a quick summary we ran into some problems. Some of our friends have been paralyzed by strange magic and Cobal and Mana need to learn about a specific ancient magic that they’ve encountered.”
Kayzel paused for a moment and it seemed like he was considering a few things. “So is she who I think she is?” He asked Eliana.
“Yes, but let’s not discuss that out in the open.”
“And why do you want to learn about the history of Marsolin?” He asked.
“We have some leads on the people that caused our problems to begin with, and they lead to this place.”
“I see, well let’s hope Lysa Drant can help you out.”
A few moments later, the guard returned with a few necklaces that had small metal plates on them with a symbol etched into them. “These are for guests specifically, when you leave, please hand those in here or at one of the desks. They allow you to access the first floor, which is also where you will find Lysa Drant’s office.” The man smiled. “Thank you for waiting and good luck with your business in the Ruby Observatory.”
Cobal smiled. “Thank you for your help, we’ll be on our way now.”They passed the guards and went up the staircase. There, they found themselves in a hallway that seemed to go all the way around the central chamber. The central chamber had doors leading to them that were open, and Cobal saw rows and rows of books inside.
“The offices are this way,” Kayzel said, leading them down the corridor towards a bunch of doors that led away from the central chamber. Even the hallways were lined with bookcases.
Kayzel saw Mana and Cobal looking at them and explained. “Everything in this library is peer reviewed before it is allowed to be put on the shelves. Those who wish to get their books peer reviewed will be allowed to leave them here, on these shelves outside of the actual library. That way the senior librarians and the scribes that are assigned to go through new books can read them and judge if they are proper and should be allowed into the main library.”
“So basically it’s a place to put your work in hopes that someone picks it up and approves of it?” Cobal asked.
“More or less. There’s too many books and scrolls coming in for someone to manually check all of them. The important ones go straight into one of the librarians’ offices of course, but anyone with a bit of inspiration can drop off a book here. That’s why it’s so full.” He motioned at one of the doors that had a metal plaque on it which read Senior Librarian Lysa Drant. “We’re here.”

Cobal and Mana were sitting in the common room of the inn. Eliana had gone out to find her friend in town while the two of them would wait here. Breakfast was pleasant. There was a nice stew with lots of vegetables in it that they enjoyed with some freshly baked bread. Clara, the innkeeper, was apparently a cook for a few years before she opened her own inn, and picked up quite the skill. “How long have you been running this inn?” Mana asked her.
Clara grabbed one of the chairs and sat down next to them. It wasn’t particularly busy this morning, so she wasn’t running around nearly as much as she would be at dinner time. Two elderly men were playing some sort of dice game in the corner and a group of town guards were having breakfast at a table near the door. Everyone was taken care of for the moment. “I first moved to Marsolin as a little girl. My father is a painter and wanted to come and study under a famous painter that lived here in town. So I grew up here for a big part of my childhood. When I turned sixteen I started working as a waitress, eventually moved into the kitchen and when this property was for sale I begged my dad to loan me enough money to pay for it. He obliged and here we are.”
“Did you make enough profit to pay him back yet?” Cobal asked.
“Not quite yet, but I’m close. It’s not like he’s in a hurry to get it back so I’m making sure I live a little too.” She smiled.
“Clara, some more bread please,” one of the guards over at the entrance said.
“Coming right up.” She nodded at Cobal and Mana and went back to her work.
“Well then, I’m going out for a walk I think, want to join me?”
Mana shook her head. “I think I’ll do some work, I have some ideas I want to put on paper.”
“Alright, I’ll be back later.”
Cobal strolled through the streets of Marsolin. The spring air was cold but pleasant. The trees that surrounded the city, and were present within the city limits as well, kept the wind at bay, making the little bit of breeze that snuck through pleasant and not biting. The perfect weather for a walk. Cobal preferred this to being cooped up inside. Mana was the opposite of him, she was much more excited at the prospect of visiting a library. Despite the fact that they came here for important reasons, it seems like she was looking forward to it. Cobal didn’t blame her. She had to do quite a bit of traveling and training recently that she never signed up for, so she deserved to be working on something that fit her better. She needed her rest as well. If she worked too hard, her anxiety would get worse and that would hamper their work. So whenever she talked about taking it easy or needing a break, Cobal made sure to give her the space she needed. Besides, wandering the streets alone had its charms as well. While walking through some of the town’s busier streets Cobal noticed a big difference. Blueyerd and Rilodar had a population of primarily humans. There were elves, dwarves and spirits – as well as some other races like gnomes and even a handful of wild touched. But not a lot of them. Marsolin was different. He felt like humans might even be considered a minority here. Most people here were of elven descent but there was a vibrant mix of people, all coexisting in a single space.
“It reminds me of a college campus,” a voice popped up behind him. He turned around to see that Mana had decided to follow him after all.
“I thought you decided to stay back at the inn.”
Mana smiled. “That was the plan, but I felt a bit restless so I decided to have a walk as well. This place is gorgeous,” she added.
“It definitely has a vastly different energy than most big cities I’ve been to.” Cobal slowed his pace. “What did you call it?”
“A college campus?”
“What is that?”
“I suppose it’s what this city is, but back in my world this was a place where a lot of schools or just a big school with multiple buildings was. There would be people studying all different fields. Generally there would be restaurants and shops that catered to students. Because people of all ages and walks of life would come there to study, it was often a very diverse and unique atmosphere.”
“I see, and this town feels similar?”
Mana nodded. “Of course there are no levels or dwarves back in my old world, but putting that aside it feels almost nostalgic.” She chuckled. “It definitely brings back some anxieties from a long time ago.”
“What do you mean by that?” Cobal asked.
“School is something that causes a lot of stress to people in our old world. Deadlines for assignments, having to work well with other people and having to take tests. It’s probably very different in this world. At least from what I’ve seen it is very different. Here it’s much more for the rich and bored people than for everyone.”
Cobal nodded. “I remember talking about that, back in Ravadier.”
Mana looked up. “The weather was a lot worse than it is now. I remember being so scared back then.”
“Of me?”
“Of many things, but also of you, yes.”
Cobal shook his head. “I’m sorry you felt that way.”
Mana grabbed his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “I know you do. I also know it wasn’t your fault that I felt that way. But it’s good to acknowledge these things so that we can learn from them. Back then I thought I’d be abandoned by you as soon as you figured out I wasn’t some mythical hero.”
“And now you know that won’t happen, right?”
Mana’s face hardened ever so slightly. “Cobal, I trust you,” she said.

That’s not what I asked. Cobal didn’t say that part out loud. They’d stopped in front of a jewelry store and Cobal looked at it. “Want to go inside and have a look?” He asked, hoping to get rid of the sudden tension between them.
Mana nodded.

The jeweler was cozy. That was the best way to describe the atmosphere of the cramped store. There was jewelry lining the walls and tables and even with only the two of them as customers, there wasn’t a lot of room left. If more people wanted to shop here at the same time, it would likely be an uncomfortable experience. Luckily, that didn’t seem to be the case. The shopkeeper was sitting behind the counter, carefully working on a strange contraption that held a ring in place. Cobal understood what he was doing, since the process was one that Selvia showed him once, but the machinery this shopkeeper seemed to use was very different, much more convoluted it seems. They had a thick beard that was dyed a dark purple and wore a septum piercing. Their head was completely shaven and they made an imposing figure once they stood up from their work and walked over to greet our duo. “Good day to the both of you and welcome to my humble story. My name is Daves, what can I help you with today?” They wore their smile well as they awaited Cobal and Mana’s response. “A pleasure to meet you Daves, we arrived in town just the other day and we were curious about what kind of wares you are selling here. A close friend of mine is a jeweler as well, so I have a little bit of interest in the craft.”
“I see, a connoisseur of the most wonderful craft in the world. Feel free to have a look.”
“You have an impressive collection here, from the looks of it. Do you make it all yourself?”
Daves shook their head. “I make as much as I can, but my partner is much better at it. We also import a fair bit, whenever we get the opportunity. My partner is in the capital right now, actually.”
“That’s nice, makes for more variety,” Mana commented.
Cobal’s eyes rested on a particular piece. He picked up the delicate looking necklace made out of gold and ruby gemstones.
“Did anything pique your interest?”
“Actually, something has. This piece right here,” he showed the necklace to Daves, “could you tell me who made this?”
Daves looked at it a few moments before nodding. “Let me double check in my registry real quick.” He went behind a curtain to the back of the building and after a few moments returned. “I bought this one from a woman that came in from Blueyerd a few weeks ago.”
“Was her name Selvia, by any chance?”
Daves looked surprised. “It was, how did you know?”
Cobal sighed. He’d seen some of her jewelry on the way here and was already worried about her. “She’s the friend I mentioned before. I’m here on different business, but I did hear from her father that she was currently in the area.”
“So are you also from the Blueyerd Kingdom then?”
Cobal nodded. No point in lying about that. “We’ve come to Marsolin for its famed libraries. There’s some topics that my friend here wants to study up on.”
“I see, well the piece is for sale if you’re interested.”
“Spoken like a true salesperson.” Cobal paused. “I’m more interested in where Selvia might be though. I’ve been meaning to get in contact with her, I had no idea she was here in Marsolin.”
Daves scratched their beard. “Well, it’s been a little while since I last saw her, so I don’t know if she’s still in town. My best guess is that she traveled back to the capital. She told me she wanted to visit a few jewelers while she was here to learn from their different styles.”
“I see.” Cobal sighed. “Well, I appreciate the information and if you do happen to see her again, tell her that Cobal is looking for her.”
“I will let her know.”
Mana had been distracted by something else in the meantime. “How much are these earrings?” she asked, holding up two ruby earrings.
“I didn’t think red was your color,” Cobal remarked.
“It’s not for me, it’s a gift.”
Cobal looked at the earrings and saw a few similarities with the necklace. He looked at Daves. “Let me guess, these were also made by Selvia, weren’t they?”
Daves laughed. “You guessed it.
Back outside, the two looked for a place to get some quick lunch before heading back to the inn.
“I really miss pizza,” Mana said.
“What’s pizza?”
“Does it not exist at all in this world?”
Cobal shrugged. “I’ve never come across it, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.” He added. “It’s definitely not common, what is it, maybe we call it something else?”
“Basically, it’s a thin circle of dough covered in tomato sauce and cheese. You add pretty much anything you’d like on top of that and then put it in the oven for a while.”
Cobal thought for a while but it didn’t sound familiar. “Never heard of it, is it good?”
“You have no idea what you’re missing out on. There’s tons of great toppings, including salami, ham, bacon, different cheeses and some lunatics even put pineapple on pizza. I wouldn’t recommend that though, it’s not very good.” She laughed.
“Is that a joke?”
“People putting pineapples on pizza? No, that’s a real thing but it’s funny for a different reason. Perhaps when we’re back in the capital we can get someone to make it for us, it’s really nice and I’m sure it will be a big hit with nobility and regular people alike” She trailed off as they reached a nearby square with several small shops around it. “That looks pretty good right now.” Mana pointed at a shop that sold custom sandwiches. “That’s something we have in our world as well, although I hope the quality is a bit less dreadful here.”
Cobal followed her into the shop. Most of the time she would get this strange longing for her old world. At other times, there was a fear in her eyes when talking about it, but a rare few times she would get really excited about something. He wasn’t surprised that there were things she missed from her old world, and the idea of having someone recreate a dish she loved was clearly something to look forward to.

Cobal looked over at Mana, who was enthralled by the story. She talked about liking this kind of stuff earlier and he could see in her eyes that this came from a place of nostalgia. Cobal smiled as he watched her before turning his attention back to the storyteller as well. He’d taken a short pause, sipping on his drink while he looked over the crow that had come to listen to him. He put the drink down and continued his story.
“There’s something you need to understand about Algaror. Although the stories told about it are nothing more than rumors, the rumors themselves are consistent. It existed a long time ago, before us humans moved to this continent. It was home to a cat-like people, similar to some of the wild touched you’ll find on the eastern side of the continent.” He must have picked up on the confusion in some parts of the crowd, or perhaps this wasn’t the first time he told this story because he quickly added “the wild touched a druidic tribe that can change into animals. They often start to exhibit some of the characteristics of the animals they change into like ears, tails, hair and feathers. The people that lived in Algaror were similar but had a different origin. The city itself was large although I suspect most of it was still hidden under the desert sand. This desert wasn’t there when Algaror flourished, mind you. We believe the ground was much more arable at some point. The oasis we found was likely once a much larger lake, seeing as a lot of the area directly around it was devoid of buildings. Whatever turned this place into the dried out desert that it is now did a real number on the remains of the city. But after exploring a little bit and setting up camp next to the oasis, we quickly started noticing that something was off. At night, it felt like something was watching us. During the day some of the mercenaries that were with us started reporting that they saw something from the corner of their eyes or they heard a strange sound that they couldn’t place. We never found out what that was all about, but we did make an eerie discovery. You see, there was a tower on the far edge of this city. It took us a bit to find it because most of it was still under the sand. And although all the other buildings were made out of mainly bricks and some wood, this building was sculpted entirely out of bone.”
Cobal immediately looked at Eliana when the storyteller mentioned this. Eliana, who had been listening but not as intently as the other two had gone completely pale.
“We were scared to go near it at first, but eventually some of the braver mercenaries descended into this strange bone tower. We never saw them again.” Marvus paused his story for a little bit, testing how the crowd would respond to it. It was still quiet. “After we realized there was something dangerous about this tower, we decided to go back to the king and report. This was either a big mistake or a choice that saved our lives as when we returned to the ruins a few weeks later, with a small army to back us up, they had completely disappeared.” Marvus chuckled. “The king was really eager to throw us all in jail for lying to him, but we managed to calm him down. Fellow by the name of Rodred Farsep convinced him. The silver tongue on that man was incredible. As a storyteller it makes me jealous to think someone has such a way with words. Needless to say, we didn’t get paid for our failure of an adventure, but I got a great story out of it, so I’m not complaining.” He took a deep breath. “Ladies, gentlemen and others, I have been Marvus Greyvane and I do hope you enjoyed tonight’s show. If you did, make sure to leave a tip at the front of the stage and enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Cobal saw Eliana get up in the corner of his eyes. “Where are you going?” He asked. Her knuckles were completely white from clenching her fist. “I’m going to hold him upside down and shake everything he knows out of him.”
“Let’s take a moment to calm down. We’ll go down there and see if we can’t get a moment of his time.” he put his hand on Eliana’s shoulder. “No need to start with the shaking down part, we can always move on to that later.”
She let out a deep sigh and took a few deep breaths. “Fine.”
Cobal motioned at Mana to come with them and they quickly made their way down the stairs and out of the inn. The crowd was slowly dispersing and they could slip through and make their way close to the stage. Cobal saw Marvus standing with another person, both drinking next to a table. As they approached a young guard stepped forward. “Apologies, but you’re not supposed to be back here,” he said to them. Eliana grabbed his shoulder and Cobal felt bad for the poor boy as he got promptly and unceremoniously pushed to the side.
“You, storyteller, a word.”
“What is the meaning of this,” the other person next to Marvus said but Marvus made a motion with his hand and the other man quieted down.
“What can I help you with?”
“The bone tower.”
“Fascinating, isn’t it?”
“Did you really see it?”
Marvus’ eyes narrowed. “Why do you ask?”
“I saw a bone ship in the middle of the forest, many years ago. I need to know more about this.”
Marvus’ eyes went wide. He seemed to think for a moment before nodding. “Follow me,” he said. He finished his drink and put down the stein. “Cavres, I’ll be back later.”
The other man nodded and the trio followed Marvus away from the square. Two streets further he took out some keys and opened the door to a small home. He put down his bag and his other stuff and pulled out a chair. He motioned the other three to do the same. “You said you saw a bone structure in a strange place as well?”
Eliana nodded.
“Tell me what you saw.” Marvus took out a quill and ink. “Any details that stood out are welcome.”
Eliana hesitated but then told Marvus everything she’d told Mana and Cobal a few days ago. She talked about the strange bone ship they found in the forest and how members of her traveling party disappeared and were found dead mysteriously. Marvus asked for a few details, like how porous the bone was, if it looked like it was shaped or like it grew that way. Eliana recounted how it seemed like none of it was built. If it was built – which was very possible – it was done so in ways that weren’t common now. After Eliana stopped talking Marvus kept writing for a little while, quiet filling the small room. Eventually he put his quill down and looked up. “This is the third of these structures I’ve come across now.”
“There’s more?” Mana asked.
“I’m sorry, I got so distracted by the topic you brought up, I forgot to ask your names.”
They all introduced themselves. “Well, Eliana, Mana and Cobal, after I encountered the bone tower in the ruined city of Algaror, I became interested in what it could mean. Sort of a morbid curiosity so to speak. So I did some research and learned about another one. I will say that I haven’t seen it in person, so I don’t know if it truly exists, but I heard a story about a tree made completely out of bone. If we include the ship you mentioned, that’s three now. This really makes me wonder how many more of these structures could be out there, and what they could be.” Cobal didn’t miss the grin that had appeared on the man’s face, made more ominous by the candlelight on the table. “Where did you find this ship?”
“I don’t remember where exactly, but a few days to the east of Tas’Irkan, a village in the Feral Wildlands.”
Marvus scratched his chin. “The tree was also supposedly in the Wildlands, but with how vast the unexplored region is, that isn’t saying much.”
“So what do you think these things are?” Cobal asked the storyteller.
He shrugged. “I have no idea if I’m perfectly honest. They creep me out. Despite that I have a morbid fascination with them. I want to learn more about them and if you ever encounter one again I’d love to hear about it.” He looked them over. “Assuming you survive of course, I don’t recommend getting too close to these things without a plan.”
Eliana nodded. “I’ve already learned that lesson, unfortunately.”
“Aye, I can relate.” He stood up and dragged a chest from under a nearby chair. He opened the clasps and revealed that it was full of papers. He rummaged through it for a few minutes, silence filling the small room, before he took out a piece of paper. “This is a copy of the report that we submitted to the king back then about this structure.” He handed it to Eliana. “I hope it can maybe give you some insight into what you saw in the wildlands that day.”
Eliana nodded and opened it up.

His Majesty King Hasbith,

As requested we have gone and visited the ruined city of Algaror.
I am hesitant to report that not only did we fail to find the treasure that is rumored to be hidden here, but we have also encountered an eerie problem during our expedition. At the center of this ruined city we found a structure made out of bone. It looked like a tower of sorts and although the structure seemed to be completely intact, we didn’t spot any other materials or things within it. It almost seemed like the bone was the foundation of a building and something else was used to complete it, but had been removed or destroyed as time went on. When we sent a handful of men into the tower to investigate the parts of it that were still hidden under the sand, we never saw them again. We sent in a second search party to find the men but we lost contact with them as well. Regrettably, we decided to call the mission a failure and we are on our way back to the capital. We hope you understand our decision and await your further instructions.

Rodred Farsep.

Eliana read the note out loud so that Mana and Cobal could hear it as well. When she finished reading it, she closed it and handed it back to Marvus. “This does sound similar to the discovery that we made that day. A bone structure with no real signs of other materials anywhere in a place where it felt like it stood out. People who went in to explore vanished and it seemed like it was doing strange things to those of us who stayed in the vicinity as well. I’m confident that they’re similar phenomena, which worries me. If there’s knowledge of three of these structures, I wonder how many more there could be out there.” She stared at the fire burning in the corner. Cobal could see fear in her eyes. The fierce pirate that wasn’t scared of anyone would fall into this state of vulnerability whenever she spoke about this event in her past. Cobal understood it though. Watching a bunch of your friends die with absolutely no explanation for how or what just happened had to be absolutely mortifying. It was impressive that she could even talk about it at all.
After staring at the fire for a few moments Eliana stood up. “Well, we shouldn’t take up much more of your time I suppose.” She reached out her hand and Marvus shook it. “It was a pleasure meeting you, and if you find out anything else about this, please contact me.”
Eliana nodded. “I promise I will, and you do the same.”
After waving goodbye to the storyteller, the trio went back to the Phantom Homestead for the night.