They followed the cobbled path the whole way. Reina explained her hometown to Alderion in a one-sided conversation. Until Reina stopped them in front of a greystone building, taller than most and far older. The designer must have been a fan of old Gothic architecture because it seemed more out of place in this fantasy town than he was. There were stylized statues of unfamiliar winged beasts with open fanged mouths perched on the rooftop like gargoyles. A single tower that stabbed out from the middle of the building towards the blue sky, and set within was a bronze colored bell that had the word Kraken written on it. Old as dirt, as if it were built during the founding of a town, and the rest of the place was designed around it.

  “So what is your relationship again with Angus?” Rook asked, remembering one of their first conversations in the Stumbling Ogre.

  “He. Er. He and I dated,” Reina replied with a sigh. “Actually, he proposed to me.”

  Rook was taken aback. “Oh, well, I had no idea.”

  “He proposed to me after a few weeks, and at the historical society no less.”

  “What does it mean to propose?” Alderion asked.

  “It means to pledge yourself through matrimony to one person until one of you should die,” Reina said, rubbing at her face while her cheeks flushed.

  “The man did that in your first few weeks dating?” Mara asked.

  “Yeah, that is embarrassing,” Rook responded, looking at the old cathedral. “Only kidding, we all have our share of bad decisions and regret,” Rook said, glancing at Al. “Also, on another note, this building may be haunted.”

  Reina fiddled with her cuffs. “I think there are two ghosts employed there. They are warded within. Who better to know the references to Ollar’s history than those who lived through it?”

  “I’m not a fan of ghouls and ghosts,” Rook muttered.

  They made their way around the building towards the front. The wall with the entrance was clear, a crystal material. What a strange design.

  “I think I’ll stay out here. There’s too many fragile things within a place like this,” Mara said.

  As much as Rook wanted to protest, he couldn’t, so he just nodded. They entered the double doors and upon entry, he stared up at the two arches with rune engravings.

  “Angus should be here on the bottom floor, where the library is.” Reina crossed her arms. “Don’t forget, we are guests here. So please don’t make trouble.”

  “I got it. Go find your boyfriend.”

  Reina gave him a wicked frown, pivoted on her boot heel, and walked down towards the towering bookcases. He looked around the library, where there were floating Wisps that settled on books, surrounded them with their energy, and floated the tomes toward a front desk where a customer was waiting. Talk about on demand.

  Sitting at a table, Rook and Al waited for Reina. After several moments, a very annoyed enhancer was being followed. Well, followed was generous. The man wobbling behind Reina was no older than himself; the long orange beard and rotund shape could have cast him as a fantasy dwarf in any movie. Piercing green eyes stood out beneath sharp eyebrows, indicating a sharp intelligence. Under all the blubber, there were sharp cheekbones and a jawline. I bet the scholarly types were all over this dude; no wonder Reina dated him.

  “Are these the men who want to be graced by my knowledge?” Angus asked, letting out a laugh that sounded like a creaky door.

  Reina rolled her eyes, and Al looked towards him as if to ask Is this human serious? Rook nodded politely and stood to meet them.

  “Yes, I wanted to know what you could tell me about the Sacred Cipher and the Dawndrasil.”

  Angus’s mood changed; he narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “No, I can’t help you.”

  “What do you mean?” Reina asked.

  “I can give you everything I have on the Dawn Elves, but I can’t help you with anything else.” Angus snapped two sausage fingers, and two wisps gathered books and placed them on the table in a neat pile. “This is everything from the Dawndrasill. The history, interactions with humans, and when they left Yorthon.”

  “What do you mean when they left Yorthon?” Al asked the man.

  “The Dawn elves haven’t been here in a long time.”

  “How long?” The elf took a step towards the historian.

  “Maybe a hundred or more years,” he said sheepishly, taking a step back.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  Al sat down and began feeling the books. Realization hit him. He couldn’t really read without eyeballs. “There has to be another way,” he said.

  “What’s wrong with the books?” Angus retorted, with a scoff.

  Al looked up and lifted his blindfold to grace Angus with his sightless eyes. Rook smirked at the historian. He’d seen the look before, the look of you just gave me nightmares forever, thank you look. Angus snapped again, and one of the wisps settled next to him. The hovering mass rippled and expanded until it turned into a human-shaped mass. The figure made Rook’s skin crawl.

  “How can I be of assistance, historian?” The ghost asked.

  “We have a sightless person, wishing to read the texts. Please teach him the art and transform the books into the touchscript,” Angus said.

  “As you wish.” The ghost returned to its wispy form once again and flew towards the shelves. “Please try and read the books, Dawndrasil.”

  Al opened a book, slid his fingers across the text, and smiled.

  “On to my other request.”

  “I can’t do it, Reina, my sweet, sweet Reina.”

  “Can’t or won’t?” Rook asked, with a frown. “It would really help us out if you could impart some of your knowledge on us. We rely on your intellect,” Rook lied. “It would probably impress all of us if you did,” Rook said, glancing in Reina’s direction.

  Command Presence- Silver Tongued Bastard activated.

  Angus gave him a grunt, and a look of understanding crossed his face. “I could get into trouble lending out texts like this. Wait here, please, Mr. Impatient.”

  “Roger that.”

  Angus returned with a few old parchments and texts, tied with a white piece of twine. “All of the documents on the Sacred Cipher are in this stack. Take it.”

  “Thank you, Angus,” Rook said, grabbing the stack and nodding at his party. “Are you guys ready to go?”

  They exited the society building and Mara took her place beside Reina. He was glad to be out of that place, with its ghosts and knowledge. Looking over the group, Alderion clutched the papers as if they were made of gold, Reina crossed her arms, deep in thought, and Mara looked around the streets, as if she was waiting for stonists to attack.

  The crowd of people moved about the way as normal, their footsteps clicking on the cobble. Everything seemed normal. He’s walking through a fantasy town, magic is real, and in his group, there’s an elf and a minotaur-like beast woman. When in reality nothing was normal. The quests, his new stats, and the new discomfort in his hand. He looked down at his finger; there was a small burning, followed by a painful buzzing. The buzzing intensified, and I swatted at it, thinking it was a bee sting.

  “Is everything alright?” Mara asked, her ear twitching, swatting away a nearby gnat.

  “Damn, what’s going on?” Rook asked, raising his hand to his face. The buzzing continued, and he realized it was his ring. “Reina, we’re being summoned, I think.”

  “How,” she said, clutching at her ring. “We’re not level twenty five yet.”

  I don’t know.

  Would you like to answer Sentinel Summons?

  Y/N

  Yes, damn it, make the pain stop.

  The world flashed, and the party disappeared out of existence. Just one freaking thing after another, huh?

  The world materialized all around them. Rook impacted hard against a wooden surface, landing flat on his ass. Reina. He looked around. Mara, Al? There was nothing but bright light as his eyes refocused. Where am I?

  “Well, that was a quick answer,” a gruff familiar voice said from the light.

  “Ow,” Reina said, impacting nearby and shaking the wood. “God Maker, that hurt!”

  “Indeed, they were very quick,” another, more familiar voice chimed. “Rook, Reina, listen, it’s Phane. You’re going to take another few moments to adjust to the light.” Footsteps approached feet away from Rook.

  Someone’s open palm connected with Rook’s forehead, sending his head backward and stars in his vision. Sputtering laughter rang out before another slap, followed momentarily by Reina’s cry of surprise.

  “What the fuck’s going on!” Rook yelled, rubbing at his forehead. “If I’m here to fight, at least bring my vision back.”

  “No fighting, young Sentinels. Not today,” The same familiar voice responded.

  “Nobody has seen something like this happen in at least a century. However, it seems you are just a little bit more special than the rest of the fumbling initiates we have,” a high-pitched voice sounded out.

  The footsteps backed away, and Rook’s vision returned to normal. That’s why the voices sounded familiar. Standing in front of him were Jensen, Phane, Carrick, the Torokin, Uldannish, and the Gnomish Shadow Walker. What a crowd. He was in a circular room, filled with mosaic paintings of Sentinels fighting giant dragons, monsters made from magma and in another a great sea serpent. There were no chairs, and the room was filled with blue light from mana crystals.

  “We understand that you haven’t yet reached level twenty-five. However, I can see your stats and they are not those of a normal level twenty-five nor a level 20, same as Reina. We summoned your whole party, but must speak with you who were in the order first, before we bring forth the other two.” Carrick said, stroking his small beard.

  “Exactly right,” Jensen said, crossing his arms. “The situation is dire. The reason we've summoned you before level twenty-five is because you’re cursed and marked for death by Teru’s cult.”

  “He’s what?” Reina interjected.

  “Watch your tongue, Soldier, you’re speaking to the Sentinel Commander. I won’t allow you to disrespect-” Earthsplinter began.

  “My friend, it’s fine. The situation calls for it. If I found that one of you was in danger, my courtesy may falter as well.”

  The torokin bowed slightly and took a small step backward. The others stood by, seemingly awaiting command from their leader.

  “We lost contact with Lieutenant Jody almost two days ago while in the dungeon,” Jensen said, crossing his arms.

  “He’s gone.” Rook’s voice was flat, distant.

  Jensen silenced the outbursts from the others with a hand. “I wouldn’t call the whole Ollar Sentinel sect, unless I wasn’t worried about the fate of Centrulia, perhaps Yorthon even. I need you to run me through exactly what happened from start to finish, beginning with your leave from Ollar towards the Mine of Struggle.”

  “One thing, if any of you’re lying, I’ll have you killed.”

  Rook gulped and looked towards Reina. Breathe, Rook. He went ahead and told Jensen about the series of events including being kidnapped by the goblins. Finding Alderion and then finding themselves in Teru’s tomb. Reina added bits and pieces. They spoke of losing Jody to the Nightwalkers and liberating the dungeon.

  The group looked on both in awe and surprise, seemingly dumbfounded. “We need to hold the service for Jody,” Earthsplinter said, wiping a tear away from his eye.

  “You sure the city will want that, considering his crimes?” Koraxe asked.

  “His crimes are doing what was necessary to save everyone he could.” Earthsplinter was cold, and he approached the gnome. “It’s more than I can say for those who-”

  “Enough,” Carrick spoke, through pressed teeth. “There are those of us who aren’t privy to that information at our current rank,” he said, looking at Rook and Reina.

  There was a pause. The group sat in silence when Gail spoke up. “How could such a low level accomplish this? It was supposed to be a simple goblin tribe extermination,” Gail said, taking a seat against the wall.

  Jensen nodded throughout the exchange, looking at Phane every now and again.