"Can you smell it, Fi?" Idgie paused, ignoring the jostling of the great throng of people in the market for the moment, and lifted her face to the sky, inhaling deeply through her nose. She let out her breath with a happy sound of satisfaction, putting her hands on her hips and ignoring the fact that she was thus elbowing a pair of overdressed purchasers nearby.

"Smell it?" Fiona had to guess at what Idgie said, so great was the din about her. People in all manners of attire scurried about, some darting in and out of various and sundry booths, others opulently dressed and plodding about slowly as if without a care in the world, so that all passers-by might admire their great wealth. There was quite a lot of shouting, most of it in various forms of haggling and bargaining, and more than a bit of it from people angry at being pushed about by the surging crowds. Luckily, Fiona's embroidered robes, worn over a simple yet elegant blue gown, marked her as a member of the Academy, and so most people gave her a wide berth. But the same could not be said of Idgie, and the younger woman several times astonished a less-than-careful passerby by drawing a hidden dagger, poking it painfully but harmlessly into an offending hand, and then sheathing it again in the same fluid motion. Yet this seemed little less than a minor distraction to Idgie, whose eyes sparkled with unmasked delight. Idgie was truly within her element here.

There were two great times of booming economy in that part of the world, the greatest of which came in the middle of September, when the farmers took in their harvests, and the rich landowners suddenly had a great deal more money to spend than usual. People from great distances on all sides of the city came to be within Sarakkhis's walls to participate in the great economic watershed that always preceded the Harvest Festival. Come to meet them were thousands of merchants from every imaginable land, bringing with them tents and kiosks, filled to the brim and overflowing with all imaginable goods from the very corners of the known world, and crammed together in a startlingly complicated manner, falling over one another and so cramped that one could barely breathe, in the central market square in Sarakkhis. Rich men came to invest their money in overseas ventures. Poorer men came to do their fancy shopping during the one time of year when they had two coins to rub together. And many, many people came just to stare at all the wondrous things brought there from all over the land. Carpets from Mandor, ivory from Mandala, tobacco-pipes of the finest make from Meerschaum, and silver from the mines in Riva, were but a few of the wondrous things to be seen. And salt, being at its most plentiful – and hence at its cheapest – at that time of the year, was traded, bought and sold in quantities that were simply unimaginable, bringing more and more money into the city that was the jewel of Northeastern Andiria.

Fiona lifted her face too, and sniffed at the air. She caught the smells she was used to for the marketplace at this time of year; since her childhood she had tagged along after he father as he came to the great market to negotiate the sale of his share of the salt from the mines. The smell of salt was, of course, overpowering, being topped only by the smell of bodies that were less washed than Fiona wished them to be, sweating profusely even in the chill air of early autumn. But here and there she could catch the occasional whiff of exotic spices and perfume on the air. "Smell what, Idgie?" Fiona looked up, but the younger girl had already danced off into the crowd. Fiona spotted Idgie a moment later as Idgie bounded back to her side.

Idgie smiled her most winning grin, breathing in deeply through her nose again. "You mean you can't smell it?" She said. She had a small purse in her hand, which Fiona did not recognize.

"It smells like it always does at this time of year," said the mage. "I really wish some of these people would learn how to bathe." She wrinkled her nose as a particularly pungent woman in outlandish dress passed by.

"Yeah, but there's something missing." Idgie smiled. "Port cities always smell like the ass end of a cow, especially this close to the harbor. But not here. I love it!"

Fiona nodded absently. "That's because Prince Kheldar had the foresight to hire Dwarven pipe-fitters and work with a few mages from the old Academy to install indoor plumbing, and use magic to keep the unpleasantness from intruding on the harbor." In fact, magical fields transported runoff from the city's sewers to a place in the ocean several hundred miles from shore. But there was something in what Idgie said that triggered a stray thought in Fiona's mind, and she cocked her head to one side. "What other ports have you visited? We haven't even been as far north as Brundel, or as far south as Arendia."

"A couple, here and there." Idgie ignored the unspoken questions, and idly fed a few coins from the strange purse into her hand.

"Idgie!" Fiona glared at the blonde girl, perhaps a bit less angry than she acted. "Whose is that?"

"Ah, keep your knickers unknotted, Fi," said Idgie. She pocketed about four gold coins, put the rest of the money back in the purse, and tied it shut again. "I was just getting some spending money. He didn't need it all, anyway." With a casual flick of her wrist, Idgie sent the coin-pouch sailing over the head of the crowd, striking an overdressed, bag-jowled merchant in the side of the face. The man stopped with a start, and looked down to see his purse, its strings now shorter by an inch or two (and its insides lighter by a few gold crowns), sitting at his feet.

"Really, Idgie. I just cannot take you anywhere, can I?" Fiona glowered gently at the girl, who grinned impudently in response. Fi knew it was hopeless case even before she started, and so she gave in without a fight.

"You can trust me, Toots," said Idgie, patting Fiona on the behind. "Now, let's get to work. What was it that you needed again?"

"I'll find it myself, thanks," said Fiona. The mage had no desire to give Idgie any reason to try pilfering the required materials she needed, and besides, they had to be of certain quality and size in order to suit her purposes: they were some of the more difficult-to-find material components for her spells.

"Hm. Okay. See ya!" And with that, Idgie vanished into the crowd again.

Fiona did not have to look too long to find what she needed: a few ounces of gum arabic, a few choice herbs and spices, and some grains and fruits that she could use to bake exotic breads, the recipes of which she had found in the books Hoeven had brought back with him earlier that month. The loaves would be gifts to Madelyne, Vernon and Baldric before she left town in a week or two. The entire venture took the better part of three hours, and would have been markedly worse if people weren't taking steps to avoid bumping into her. In all, she paid a fair price for the goods. Perhaps not as good a price as Idgie would have gotten, but still, Fiona felt all the better for having procured them herself.

Idgie seemed to be possessed of an uncanny sense of timing, for it was less than thirty seconds after Fiona finished her shopping that the shorter woman showed up again. Idgie was nibbling at a taffy-like candy that had been twisted around the end of a wooden stick, and under one arm was a small, embroidered blanket. "So, where to now, O fearless leader?" she asked between mouthfuls.

"Back to the Academy," answered Fiona. She turned to the north and set out, with Idgie keeping pace at her side. The mage's tone darkened slightly. "We have to meet Karna in an hour or so."

Even Idgie didn't miss the obvious turn to Fiona's tone of voice. "What's up?" she asked.

"Hm?" Fiona had been lost in thought for a moment. "Oh, nothing really. Just thinking."

"About what?"

"About Karna."

"What about him? Is there something wrong with him? Brain damage? Bad breath?"

"No." Fiona creased her brow and sighed a bit. By now they were free of the maddeningly thick crowds, and had breathing about them as they walked, and so they could speak to one another without having to shout. "Idgie, how much do you know about Elves?"

"Well, they got pointy ears." Idgie grinned and took another bite of the candy.

"Besides that." When Idgie responded with a shrug, Fiona continued. "Well, first of all, they tend to have a bit of a different outlook on life than the rest of us."

"How so?"

"Well, for one thing, they live a lot longer. This means that…"

"Why is that?" interrupted Idgie. "I mean, how come an Elf can live a thousand years and we can only live to be a hundred or so?"

"I don't know," answered the mage. "I seem to remember being taught that it was because the gods decreed that it be that way, but…"

"Wasn't it Indra who made them?" interrupted Idgie again, spilling a bit of her candy down her chin. She picked the sugary scraps off her face and popped them into her mouth. "I mean, I think I was taught that by the local priest when I was little."

"I think so." Fiona sighed quietly. The two women were now well outside the market area, and the buildings were now spaced a bit further apart, with lawns and the occasional private path among them. Fiona and Idgie were moving through the neighborhoods of some of the moderately well off residents of the city. But as yet the Academy buildings were still out of sight to the North. Because it was still not quite noon, the majority of the people they encountered were moving with all haste towards the burgeoning marketplace, the noise of which they could still hear behind them. "In any event," continued Fiona, "You'll have to talk to Mandi about that sort of thing. It's her field. Anyway." Fiona sighed. "As I was saying about Elves…"

"Were you saying something about Elves?" Idgie looked away innocently as Fiona gave her a quick dark glance.

"Elves tend to live longer, and so they tend to have less of a sense of urgency about things, or so it would seem." Fiona stopped again, expecting an interruption. But Idgie only nodded, and then smiled inwardly when Fiona grumbled a bit in annoyance at this. "Karna, of course, is an Elf, and he sometimes shows some of his race's… less desirable characteristics, shall we say."

"Like not giving a shit about things?"

"I wouldn't put in that way. More like, he's got to have a fire lit under him if he's going to do anything at all. He doesn't have any sense of urgency when it comes to getting certain things done within a certain time."

"Yeah? So, how does that apply to us?"

"I need him to get some research done for us, and I need it quick. If I give him even an inch in any matter, he takes a league. I don't want to be a nag to him, but I've got to convince him that we mean business, and that his usual nonsense won't be tolerated."

"What usual nonsense?"

Fiona only sighed. "You'll see soon enough, I'm sure."

The first peeks of the Academy were now showing over the tips of the buildings ahead; Fiona and Idgie would reach the grounds soon. Soon, Fiona could also catch glimpses of the oaks, maples, and elms on the campus, showing off their autumn fire with fierce pride, seeming to stretch even higher into the crisp blue sky to display their reds, oranges and yellows. Fiona always found that strolling among those trees assuaged her feelings, and she had begun to lose herself in the myriad colors of the leaves when Idgie spoke up again.

"So, how're you gonna do it?" asked Idgie.

"Hm? Do what?"

"Get Karna to do what we want him to do. You gonna make pretty, jiggle your chest and bat your eyelashes?" Idgie finished the last bite of her candy, and looked around idly for a place to discard the stick.

"Heavens, no, Idgie!" Fiona bristled a bit at that. She took the stick before Idgie could pitch it into the bushes, and placed it in her own basket among the items she had purchased that morning. "You know me better than that. I would never stoop to such nonsense."

"Really? Not with Baldric when you need a favor? Not even with Vernon once in a while?" Idgie smiled. "He is awfully cute."

"Most certainly not." Fiona unconsciously smoothed her hands across the front of her skirt, and flushed a bit. "In any event, such tactics might get you what you want in the short run, but it never works in the long term. You remember my friend Maddie, yes?"

"The short one, red-head, almost graduated?"

Fiona nodded. "About a year and a half ago, she started dating one of the other students at the Academy. He was a nice enough guy, but he let her walk all over him. All she had to do was smile pretty at him and she got her way. He was too nice to ever object. Anyway…"

"Let me guess. He got sick of it, and in no time flat he was out like gout."

"Not that way I would have said it, but yes." Fiona gave a half-smile at Idgie's expression. "Let her go without so much as a goodbye. I spent four days listening to her wailing, and changing my dress three times a day, my shoulder was so wet from being wept upon."

Idgie nodded. "So, then, whatcha gonna do?"

"You'll see." Fiona caught sight of the clock on the tower of the Main Hall of the Academy. "Ah, good, we're a bit early, so we can take our time, and have a look at the trees. Aren't they pretty at this time of year?"

The Academy Library itself wasn't a single building, but rather a complex of seven buildings connected aboveground and below by a network of catwalks and tunnels, many of the catwalks having scenic and/or strategic views. They had been among the first buildings built on the Academy grounds, and so now they were some of the oldest buildings still standing in the entire city. The two women made their way across the campus walkways to the largest one of these buildings, trudging on the way through the small flurries of leaves that had fallen. The building itself was three stories tall, and made of ivy-covered red brick and mortar. The steps to the main door were of marble, as were the life-sized, expertly carved lions guarding the doors. Over the door, etched into the marble crosspiece, was the inscription "NA 133". Fiona's face broke into a wide smile as she crossed the threshold and entered what was perhaps her most favorite building in the world.

Idgie had heard Fiona's descriptions of the place before, but the young thief had never actually set foot inside the building, and she was taken with awe as she walked into the place. A gentle scent of beeswax candles burning came to her nose, accompanied by the gentle smell of dusty books. There was a warm, ripe openness to the place that invited her in. The second and third floors were open to the vaulted ceiling, which was covered with gloriously perfect windows that let just the right amount of natural light into the building. Bookshelves lined every wall, the main floor was taken up by row upon row of bookshelves which reached nearly all the way to the ceiling; the upper shelves were reached by catwalks from the second and third floors. The ironwork on the railings was a thing of wonder. And the carpets on the floor, obviously Mandorean imports of the finest quality, must have been worth a fortune. Every part of the library seemed designed to draw one in, and keep one there. There were even comfortable-looking seats in some of the corner niches. Idgie began to understand the great attraction this place had for her taller, more serious companion.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is your first time here, yes, Idgie?" asked Fiona, breaking the younger woman out of her reverie.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, right." Almost at once, Idgie was back to normal. Her half-dreaming expression was replaced by one of acute alertness. Now, Fiona was quite perceptive in her own right, but she simply could not even hold a candle to Idgie's skills in that realm. Fi speculated as to whether her friend was simply taking in the surroundings, or sizing up the value of anything she might want to pocket. Fiona sighed inwardly and grinned despite herself.

After some time, Idgie's eyes came to rest on a large jade urn sitting on a pedestal near the main entrance, and her jaw nearly dropped to the floor. The urn was carved with scenes from some ancient battle, and the figures were so beautiful and lifelike it seemed as if they would come to life and continue the battle before their very eyes.

"It's an Illysia-Shalzim memorial urn, from her late period, from about twelve hundred years back," murmured Fiona to Idgie. "It depicts Rook's stand against the coming of Vecna across the western plains towards Albania in the Great Wars, near the last century of the Second Age. It's priceless, but I don't suggest you pilfer it – it's well-guarded by magics that would do things to you that you wouldn't even want to consider."

"Yeah, I know," said Idgie.

Fiona paused a moment to think about which part (or parts) of her statement Idgie was referring to, but shrugged it off. "Anyway, this is, of course, the main building for the mundane library. There are seven buildings in all for this complex, and it houses a copy of almost every known book in the world. Now, since you're not a member of the Academy, and since I'm not high enough in rank, I cannot bring you to the arcane library at all, nor can I bring you to the Archives. It's the Archives that I'll be asking Karna to search through." Fiona paused for a moment, unused to being uninterrupted by her fiery friend. Idgie was still taken by the beauty of the run. Fiona half-shrugged to herself. "In any event, among all the libraries here, there is a more extensive collection than anywhere else in Andiria, and perhaps anywhere else in the world, with the exception of the libraries at the Academy at Ehvenor, and the Royal Libraries at Colden."

"Ehvenor, the Shining City," breathed Idgie, finally taking her eyes off the urn and returning to gazing at all her surroundings. "I'd love to go there someday, Fi, wouldn't you?"

Fiona nodded. "I'll get there someday."

It was at that moment when an older-looking man dressed in white robes trimmed in brown made his way up to them. He was taller than Idgie but a good hand shorter than Fiona, and there was a twinkle in his eye, as if he had just been laughing at some private joke. A gold ring with a small ruby was the only adornment he wore. The only other item of note was an emblem sewn upon the breast of his robes: a clenched fist that seemed to be sporting a pair of antlers. "Good day, Fiona," he said, and his voice had the same nearly laughing quality as his eyes. "Is there something I could help you and your lovely friend with today?"

Fiona turned to him and, smiling in return, clasped his hand in greeting, while Idgie beamed at the compliment, which had been given despite the fact that she was still dressed in her customary boyish clothing. If the same greeting had been given to them in a tavern, Idgie would have responded with a quick barbed comment, but there was something in the old man's eyes that told her he was being nothing but pleasant. After Fiona had returned a pleasantry to the old man, she turned to Idgie and said, "Idgie, I'd like you to meet Fistandantilus, the chief librarian on campus, and an accomplished mage. Fisty, this is Idgie, one of my adventuring companions."

Idgie caught the joke at once, but not knowing how to properly react to it, she kept her mouth shut. Instead, she made a motion of respect that was closer to a curtsey than a bow, and then clasped the man's hand in greeting as he offered it, and she smiled brightly. His smile in return let her know that her usual charms were working, and she mentally patted herself on the back for having made a good impression. "Good to meet you," she said. "I take it you're on the Council of Mages, if I may ask?"

"You certainly may!" he said in response. "And I certainly am! Been on it for 50 years now. It's a bit of a boring job, but it pays well, and it passes the time." He grinned broadly.

"Then you certainly must be a great and wise man, Fistandantilus, if half of what Fiona has told me about the Council members is true."

"Wise, maybe. Great? Pah!" Still smiling, he turned back towards the side room he had come from, and clapped his hands twice. Two young men dressed in uniform-like robes and wearing some sort of badge came forth at once. While the two guards made their way over to the trio, Fiona mused silently to herself. That was much to smooth, she thought to herself. Idgie always tries to come across as a simple townswoman, but there must be something about her that she's keeping hidden. It was not the first time Fiona had noted such a slip on Idgie's part, though the slips were few and far between, and well disguised when they did occur. But Fiona had noticed nonetheless. She made a mental note to follow up on her ideas some time in the future. In the meantime, the two young men had stopped within arm's reach of Idgie.

"You'll have to turn over your weapons," said Fiona to Idgie. "Also, you must turn over any writing materials, and any liquids you happen to have on you. If you need anything, you may call for a scribe, and for a small fee they'll write down small amounts of information for you. If you have enough money, you can even make a request for them to make copies that might take several days, or even weeks. Security is very strict."

Idgie nodded once, and wordlessly she removed her short sword and both daggers she had hidden on her person, and handed them over to the guards. Then she and Fiona turned and began making their way through the main building, Fiona leading the way. Fiona nodded to many an acquaintance, and Idgie caught and held their names with ease. Opal was an elderly mage with curly white hair and a sparkle in her sea-blue eyes; Ticonderoga was a burly Elf in priest's trappings; Harold was a sneering, arrogant young man whom Fiona quickly brushed by, muttering "Artless Invoker" under her breath so that only she and Idgie could hear. Meanwhile, the two women made their way down the center aisle of the library, heading towards a spiral staircase, at the rear of the building, which climbed its way to the upper floors. The dappled noon light on the staircase gave the impression that the stairway was enchanted, and would take them clear up to the sky and beyond. They were almost at the dead center of the building when Idgie broke the silence.

"He has a peculiar sense of humor, doesn't he?" asked the blond woman.

"Who?" Fiona had been thinking about something else at the moment, and had only caught the tail end of the sentence.

"Fistandantilus." Idgie raised her hand and made a fist with it, and then hooked out her pinky and thumb in a semblance of antlers. "Or should I say, Fist-and-antler-us?" She smiled.

"Oh, yes." Fiona smiled in return. "He's quite fond of the horrid puns. He makes them all the time, even during important Council meetings."

"Doesn't that piss off the other mages?"

"Yes. I think that may be why he does it." Fiona smiled. "He might be the only one who can get away with that sort of behavior. In any event, don't let him fool you about his skills. He has the seventh ring of spells open within his mind. All my magical skills are nothing compared to his." Idgie nodded quietly, and Fiona continued. "I should mention, though: Fisty might seem a shade less than serious at times."

"I can imagine."

Fiona nodded. "Yet at the same time, being more serious about things is one of the things I have to impress on Karna."

"Is he really that bad?"

"Karna? Well, yes and no. He's a decent enough fellow, but at times he can be a bit, well, unraveled. Or I should perhaps say, unfocused. He doesn't take the same care we do in some matters."

"How's that?"

"Well…" Fiona paused for a moment to think at the base of the spiral staircase. "It's like this. Fisty is rather like you in one way – you both like to have a good time, but you also know when to be staid and when not to be. You both have a pretty good idea of what's going on. But I'm not sure that Karna does. We'll have to get him to realize exactly how important certain things are once we get going."

"Why, thank you, Fi!" Idgie, beaming broadly in a smile that seemed a tad too sincere, clapped a hand on the mage's shoulder. "It's not often that I get complimented twice in one day, much less complimented by you!" She grinned widely.

Fiona rolled her eyes. "Don't let it go to your head."

They ascended the staircase, and they passed a pair of younger students, neither of which Fiona recognized immediately. They attained the third floor in a moment, and then traced their way a quarter of the way around the third floor perimeter to the Atrium, a beautiful lounge the size of a middling tavern located on the top floor of the main library building. There were many windows in that alcove, including several on the ceiling; there was a fireplace in the corner, empty at the moment, and there was an array of potted plants decorating the room. Two crystal vases, both nearly as beautiful as the urn at the main entrance, stood on small marble stands in the corners. There were several tables in the room, each of which had several chairs at them, and sitting at one of these chairs, lost in some reverie as he stared out one of the windows at something not immediately apparent to either of the two women, was a young-looking Elf. He was about Fiona's height, and he had black hair and olive skin, and deep brown eyes. He had the pointed ears of his kinfolk, and he seemed to be at once both completely relaxed and yet ready to spring from his seat at the slightest provocation. It was an odd duality that Idgie could not quite put her finger on. He wore red robes of good make, tailored almost as expertly as Fiona's own robes were, and Idgie guessed that her was much stronger than his almost slender frame would suggest. He was not particularly handsome, nor was he unattractive, and he seemed to be less concerned about the arrangement of his hair than Idgie might have expected.

Fiona walked over to the Elf at once. "Hello, Karna. Have you been waiting long?" she asked him, as he continued to stare out the window.

The Elf stirred, obviously a bit startled, and he turned to meet the pair who had come to talk to him. "Ah," he said, standing up. "Fiona." He smiled just a bit too earnestly. "So nice to see you again." He turned to Idgie.

"This is Idgie, Karna," said Fiona. "She's been with me from the beginning, and she's a good friend."

"Ah," said Karna again, turning a bit stiffly to the blond woman. "I am very pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Idgie," he said, bowing a bit too floridly. Karna had none of the raw oiliness about him that Faro had had, but he seemed just a bit too, well, eager for Idgie, and she found herself becoming a bit cautious with him. She found his open earnestness to be a good thing, but she really had no idea how to react for just a moment before quickly settling into her usual display of aplomb.

"Pleased to meet you too, Karna," she said, nodding to him, and offering him her hand to shake. She was pleased to note that he had a good, solid handshake, at least. "And please, not 'Miss' anything. Just Idgie." She flashed a disarming smile at him, and he wore his response to it on his face, stammering a bit for the next few minutes.

"Ah, um, good. Well." He turned to Fiona. "So. Where is the rest of the group? I'm looking forward to meeting this great she-bear whom you have so eloquently described to me. And also, what did you want to meet me today for?"

"You'll meet the others soon enough, Karna," said Fiona. She sighed inwardly. It had always been thus when she and Karna spent time together. He was always exquisitely polite, but his manner was strained, and Fiona found this unsettling. If he would just loosen up a bit, she thought. It was the same with his studies at the Academy: in short, he had been held back in a few classes – in fact, he had nearly not graduated – because of his refusal to learn anything but textbook uses of spells and techniques. He simply would not go beyond the ephemeral and immerse himself in the subject; and much in the same manner, he seemed forever trapped in small talk whenever he ventured into conversation with people. However, Fiona was convinced by his sheer skill at the basics, and his surprising knowledge of mathematics and physics, that he was possessed of a great potential. It would require quite a bit of work to realize that potential, but if things were to work out for Karna in the group, that potential would have to start being realized. Fiona decided that it would be best to start trying to get him to live up to his potential right now.

Fiona turned to Idgie. "Can you show him the map, please?"

Karna perked up at this. "Map?"

Idgie looked about, pointedly letting her eyes fall on the pair of younger students Fiona had not recognized, who had moved upstairs to the Atrium and were now chattering at a table nearby. "Could we talk about this where there are less eyes around?"

"Yes, certainly." Fiona led the three of them to a small alcove in one corner of the top floor, about a quarter the size of the Atrium, and containing but a single desk and a chair. When they got there, Idgie took out the translation of the map and showed it to Karna. "Here's the story," said Fiona, and she told them what little they had discovered. "Idgie found this among the possessions of a caravan of hobgoblins that we ran into on our last outing. Yes, that was the last outing we went on, which led to the fracturing of our group, if you were wondering. In any event, what we actually found was a copy of what you hold. The original was written in Dwarvish letters and is now in the hands of Master Kane – you know him, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," said Karna in his quiet, surprisingly edgeless voice. "I had him for a pair of courses. Very interesting gentleman, and a most competent instructor. Dwarvish letters, you say?" When Fiona nodded, he continued, "Hmm. Very interesting." He put one hand to his chin, cupping his chin in his palm. "How did you manage to get him to translate it for you? If I remember correctly from Master Kane's teachings, the Dwarves don't allow anyone else to learn their language."

"You're correct," said Fiona. "We did a few favors for him. One of those favors was to give him the original once the copy was made, to better preserve their secret language."

"You didn't keep a copy for yourself?"

"One of us wanted to." Fiona cast a suspicious eye at Idgie, who looked to heaven and whistled innocently. Fiona sniffed in annoyance, and Idgie grinned inwardly at that. "However," continued Fiona, "I managed to convince her otherwise." She sighed, and turned back to Karna. "Anyway, I'd like to solve, as soon as possible, the riddles on this map, and then the lot of us should head out to Beleriand at once."

"Sounds like a good plan of attack," murmured the Elf, poring over the map. "I take it these numbers are some sort of puzzle…?"

"Obviously. I haven't been able to make to much sense of it yet, but I think I have an idea or two about what they might mean. I should have it cracked within the next few days."

"Hmm, good. Very impressive work." He handed the map back to Fiona. "I would like a copy to peruse, yes. But there are a couple things which I do not understand. What and where is Beleriand? What is meant by 'Beware the Guardians'? And who is this Lord Bartholomew fellow?"

Fiona smiled. "Beleriand is a lost city of the Dwarves. I'll be visiting some local cartographers and antique dealers over the next few days to see if I can find any good references as to where it exactly is – or should I say, was. I figure we'll know more about the Guardians when we get there, or perhaps when I crack the code with these numbers. And the last bit is your responsibility. I'd like you to find out as soon as possible exactly what or who Lord Bartholomew is. Search through the libraries and archives, see what you can find. I'll be around the Academy grounds when I'm not talking to mapmakers. Contact me if you find something."

"Uh, actually, I think it might be best for me to look for the maps, considering my experience with them," said Karna. "I used to make my own, you know." Karna had worked for several years as a ship's navigator before he had come to the Academy.

"I know," said Fiona. "But I have some contacts who should help me get that job done much more quickly, and you're nearly as good as I am in researching things here. This arrangement will be a more efficient use of our time."

"Very well, good," said Karna. "I'll get on it right after the Harvest Festival."

"Um, actually, Karna, I'd appreciate it if you could get it started within the next day or so." Fiona bit her lip a bit to emphasize her point. "Beleriand is somewhere in the North Woods, and it'd be best if we got there and back before winter sets in."

"But the Harvest Festival is tomorrow…"

"Karna." Fiona's voice was firm, and her eyes set. She had no desire to browbeat him into it, but she had to be sure of his commitment to the team.

Luckily, he relented at once. He flushed briefly. "Very good. I'm sorry, I should have offered immediately." He shuffled his feet a bit, obviously unhappy that he had been hemmed into the situation and berated for his response. "I should get going on this right away. It's barely past noon. Perhaps I can come up with something before the day is through." He turned and bowed to both Fiona and Idgie. "If you'll excuse me." He turned to go, and then it seemed that he had a sudden inkling about something. He turned back to Idgie. "Perhaps, later, Idgie, if you're not too busy…"

It was Fiona who responded, before Idgie could even frame a suitable response on her lips. "No." Her voice was again firm.

"Ah." Karna blushed a bit. "My apologies. I meant –" he suddenly broke off his thought. "Never mind. I should be going." With that, he left.

Fiona and Idgie immediately went to the Mug to get a bite to eat. Fiona hadn't eaten breakfast that morning, and Idgie had only eaten the sticky candy, and so both women were quite famished. Much to Fiona's relief (and likely Idgie's as well), Faro was nowhere to be seen, nor was his usual entourage. So long as he wasn't there, things at the Mug were peaceful and leisurely. The fire was warm and the entire place was well lit by small light-emitting stones embedded in the ceiling at regular intervals. "Lightstones," said Fiona, referring to the light source. "Made by casting a continual light spell on a common pebble. It's a simple spell for a mage of my level – or so I've heard. I don't have the spell myself, but it's apparently very common."

"You don't have the spell? What do you mean?" asked Idgie. "I thought the Academy just plain gave you all the spells you could cast, once you got the right… rings, is it?… opened up in your head."

"Not quite," smiled Fiona. "I would have said 'mind' instead of 'head', but I understand. No, in actuality, our masters have to give us a single spell of our choosing from their spellbooks, and nothing more."

"That sounds dumb. Why not just teach you all they know?"

"Money, pretty much. And protocol. The more common spells are no really big deal, but mages sometimes like to make money by selling their spells."

Idgie nodded. "That kinda makes sense."

"And there are a lot of unique spells that individual mages have created for their own. Many of us guard knowledge of 'unique' spells very closely, and it's also part of protocol that we all accept this sort of behavior in one another."

"How come?"

Fiona shrugged. "I haven't given it much thought. It's just the way things are."

It was just then that who should come walking in the door but Mandragora. She was dressed in a manner that neither Fiona nor Idgie had ever seen before: she wore the heavy garb of a traveler, as opposed to the plain gray or blue dresses she was so fond of wearing. She had on a pair of heavy leather britches with feminine leatherwork on them, a loose white blouse, ankle-high boots, and a heavy cloak made of blue-dyed wool. Over her left breast was embroidered an emblem: the crossed sword, spear and lightning bolt that marked her as a priestess of the sky-god Donnor. She wore a pendant with a similar design on a silver chain about her neck.

"Mandi!" said Idgie, practically bouncing out of her seat, waving to the newcomer. "C'mon over!"

"Hi girls!" The priestess strode over and joined them at their small table. "How are things going with you two? Did you meet up with this Karna fellow all right?"

"Yes, we did," answered Fiona. "Things went about as smoothly as expected, perhaps a bit better than planned."

"He's kind of weird," offered Idgie. "Polite and nice and all that. But he's such a stiff it's amazing. And he tried hitting on me."

Mandi arched an eyebrow. "Oh, dear. One of those?"

Fiona shook her head. "Not exactly. He's just a bit young for an Elf – only 50. Care to have some lunch with us?"

"I'd like that." Mandi smiled widely. There was a casual ease to her sincerity that made Fiona feel surprisingly comfortable talking to her. Fiona felt that Mandi would fit into the group much more quickly and easily than Karna would.

"Good." Fiona returned Mandi's smile, and then called over their waitress. "One more of the chef's special, please."

"So, whatcha doing up here?" Idgie asked Mandi.

"Oh, I'm on my way up to spend a little time with Xenia." Mandi paused to shrug off her cloak and to request red wine from their waitress. "She invited me over to stay with her uncle for a while. I figured it'd be nice to get to know her a little before we all start traveling together, and it'd also be nice to talk shop with her – battle tactics and the like."

Idgie's eyebrows shot up. "Battle tactics?"

Mandi nodded. "You forget that my lord Donnor is the patron of the legions as well as lord of the Sky. We receive tactical and strategic training from the church, beginning when we are first accepted as an acolyte."

Fiona nodded, her brain suddenly moving quickly with a hundred pertinent thoughts. "Actually, although Delmar usually forced us into following his battle tactics, things usually worked for the best for us when we used my overall plans. We'd expected to keep it that way." She thought for a moment, and realized that she had perhaps not phrased things as politely as she might have. "That's not to say that…"

"Oh, don't worry, I understand." Mandi smiled again, and Fiona knew that things would be fine.

Their food came soon enough, and most of the next hour was taken up with pleasant conversation about nothing in particular. At one time, Idgie got up from the table to win a few games of darts while Fiona and Mandi chatted about various light topics. After lunch was finished, the three of them promptly headed out of the Mug towards the South Gate to the campus. Not only was it the direction to be traveled in anyway, but it was also where Mandi had left her horse – and her weapons – with the Academy guard.

"Nice toys," said Idgie, admiring the quality of the footman's mace and spear the Mandi was busy attaching to her belt and her horse's saddle, respectively.

"Thanks," said Mandi. "I thought that Xenia might be able to give me some pointers."

"That she certainly can, knowing her, unless you're an expert with them already," said Fiona. "Do you know how to find her?"

The priestess nodded. "Straight up the Forest River, left at the third tributary, and follow the path five miles in."

Fiona nodded in return, and at that, farewells were exchanged, and Mandi mounted her horse and headed off to the north. Fiona and Idgie stayed in place until she was out of sight.

"So," said Idgie, and there was an eager excitement in her voice. "Where to now?"

"To an old friend's," answered the mage, turning east. "Follow me."

The two women headed just to the south of due east, occasionally turning down this or that side street to avoid traffic. Idgie thought it much less fun that way, but Fiona wanted efficiency, and so they kept to areas with fewer people. After perhaps fifteen minutes of walking, during which time they passed by the homes of the upper middle-class people who dwelt in neighborhoods near the Academy, they came to a busier, more fast-paced portion of town marked by wooden buildings and red cobblestone streets. It was the main shipping district of Sarakkhis, and it was second in traffic only to the central marketplace at this time of year. Even though it was but a stone's throw from the quays, the roaring surf was not to be heard over the shouting and bustling of people running to and fro in the streets, many of them wearing the uniforms of sailors from strange lands. Several people who sped past them – one or two of them stopping to ogle them luridly – spoke in outrageous accents, in dialects barely recognizable as the common tongue. One of the more offensive visitors, an unwashed, unshaven man wearing a red officer's coat, got a little too close for Idgie's comfort, and suddenly found himself sorer by one well-placed kick, and lighter by one coin purse. Or, to be more accurate, he would later find that his purse was missing, Idgie's quick sweep of the dagger and snatch of the pouch passing too quickly for him to notice in his slightly disabled condition. This time Fiona didn't complain about Idgie keeping the purse.

A few moments later, Fiona spotted the building. "There it is," she said, pointing. The two women reached it in but a moment. It was a building that had certainly seen better times. Many of its weatherstained sideboards were warped, and Idgie guessed that thee must be a fine breeze blowing through the entire two-story structure. One of the front steps were broken, and the sign that hung above the door had apparently once been fancily painted, but all that could now be read of its lettering was the word 'MAPS', written across a splotch of white on the dingy brown sign.

"Koh's nipples, Fi, who the heck lives here?" asked Idgie, wrinkling her nose at the building. "The Guild owns better flop-houses than this."

"A very old, very dear friend," responded Fiona. "Trust me here. Follow my lead." Idgie only shrugged in response.

The entire first floor was a single room, and the cracks in the walls had been stuffed random wads of paper. There was a carpet on the floor, and it had paths marked by years of muddy footprints running from the door to the shelves to the small desk at the rear of the room. The shelves were full to overflowing with papers of all sorts, and from what Idgie could see of them, she guessed that they were maps and navigational charts. The place was dusty, and smelled of salt and camphor. At the rear of the room, sitting half-asleep behind the desk, was an old man. He wore plain, simple clothes, and his thinning hair was fleecy and white.

"Good day, Uncle," said Fiona aloud after a moment. "So nice to see you awake on such a beautiful afternoon." There was an odd sense of amusement in her voice.

"Eh?" The old man stirred and peered about. His right eye had been lost some time back, and had been replaced by a plain white glass eyes, without a painted-on iris, and much brighter than anything else on his body. The man squinted about the room, his good eye finally coming to rest on the two women. "What? Who are…" He paused. "Fiona? Fiona Faraday?" He asked incredulously.

Fiona smiled, and glided across the room to meet him. "So nice to see you, Uncle." She hugged the old man fondly, and he, laughing, returned the hug, and planted an enthusiastic kiss on her cheek.

"Little Fi!" he said jubilantly. "My, my, my, haven't you grown, and into one of the most lovely creatures I've ever laid my eye upon!"

Fiona beamed back at him. "It's been far too long, dear Uncle." She then turned to Idgie. "Idgie, this is Kevin the mapmaker. He was a very dear friend of my father. He's one of the best cartographers in the city."

"Ah, used to be, when I had two eyes to work with," he said gruffly. He extended a hand to Idgie, and when she took it, he shook hands with her with a grip so strong she thought her fingers would break. "Nice to meet you, lass," he said. "You a friend of the little lady here?" He looked over his shoulder at Fiona.

Idgie nodded, trying not to wince in his grip. "Have been for a while now. Nice to meetcha."

"Ah, good." He turned back to Fiona. "Now, what's the prettiest girl in the whole city want with an old man like me? And how's your father doing?"

"I've not seen my father since he left town, Uncle," Fiona said guardedly. She did not like to speak of her father. "You remember, he sold the business to the Kappa family."

Kevin looked a bit disoriented for a moment, and Fiona felt a pang of pity for him. He obviously did not remember. Fiona smoothed it over and continued, putting her own feelings aside for the moment. "He sold his holdings and left town about eight years back, just after putting me in the Academy."

"The Academy!" The old man's face brightened again. "You mean that my little Fi is now a sorceress?"

Fiona had to chuckle. "Not quite yet, Uncle. But this is why we've come to you. Idgie is one of my adventuring companions, and she and I are in need of your services."

"Anything for you, Fi. You were always the nicest little girl, the only one who would talk to an aging old man when you and your cousins would come to visit. Name it, and it's yours."

"All I need, Uncle, is a map of a place called Beleriand."

"Beleriand?" Kevin thought for a moment. "No such place. Least, not now there ain't. Used to be a decent-sized city of the Dwarvish folk, but it vanished years back. Not too many of the maps show it anymore. Not sure they'd even be right about where it is. Why?"

"We have interests there," said Fiona, hoping the old man wouldn't press for information.

He didn't. "Hm, all right, lemme see what I can find here…." He began rummaging through vast heaps of paper. The maps and charts seemed to be strewn about the room in a completely random order, but Idgie got the impression that the old man knew exactly where everything was. There was some sort of pattern to it all that she simply couldn't see. "Ah!" Kevin suddenly said, pulling out a single sheet of heavy parchment, tearing it slightly in his enthusiasm. "Here we go." He brought it to the desk, and spread it out in front of him.

The map showed a portion of the world near Sarakkhis. It showed Sarakkhis at the very bottom of the map, labeled as a small coastal city, and it showed much of the North Woods and the Northmarch Mountains to the north of the city. The Forest River was marked in, but it trailed off into a single question marked 'Unnavigable' shortly after entering the Wood. Sarakkhis itself was misspelled 'Syrakhus'. Almost due north of Sarakkhis, deep into the forest, was a spot marked 'Nimrodel', the city of the Elves. "Nimrodel's prolly marked accurate," said Kevin, pointing. "But as to this…" He moved his finger to the left, a short ways west to a small black spot on the map marked 'B'. "This is Beleriand. But it was a place closed to Men, only open to Dwarves, and at the time, Elves. But Elves nowadays have kinda let Beleriand slip from their memories. It vanished a couple hundred years ago. Dwarves blamed Elves, Elves said it was the Dwarves angered the gods and were punished. Elves erased it off all their maps. But there might be a few more maps around, and some might have a better location for it."

Idgie was fascinated by the map, and pored it over in silence. Fiona was a bit taken aback by Idgie's lack of chatter, but continued her conversation with Kevin. "Yes, I'd planned to talk to you about the matter, and see if I couldn't get some decent extrapolation from some maps, if none were known to be very accurate."

"Good idea, sweetie," he said. "But best leave it to me. Tell you what. Go to the other places in town – uh, let's see, Marcus, Diana, Mildred, Uncas, and what's her name? Kika – and tell them I sent you to borrow a map from them showing Beleriand. Here." He handed Fi an old, battered coin with a hole punched through the center. It bore the image of Orvald, grandfather of Arialantha, the Overlord in Kolvir. "That's a rare issue coin from about eighty years back," Kevin said solemnly. "Those folk all know it's mine, and they'll recognize it when you go. Now you go on, scoot, come back when you get the maps."

"I would, Uncle, if it were not for one thing."

"What's that?"

"You haven't given me directions for finding these people."

It took Fiona and Idgie over a day and a half to get the maps together, so far spread out were the five other cartographers in the city. At first, Fiona had been surprised that there were so many mapmakers in the one city, but when she remembered that Sarakkhis had nearly a hundred and fifty thousand people within its gates, the number fell into perspective, and she suspected that there were even more mapmakers than the six she would be seeing.

Things were made worse by the fact that it began to rain the next morning, a steady icy drizzle that soaked one to the skin in no time at all. However, on the good side, Idgie was able to keep her instincts in check and not steal anything from any of the five mapmakers they visited. A few of the cartographers – Marcus and Kika in particular – were particularly difficult about things, insisting on seeing the coin several times, asking for payment for the use of the map, and making a general fuss over their not liking the arrangement. Fiona tolerated them patiently, although she had to elbow Idgie a few times to keep her from making some pointed comments. The weather did nothing to improve the moods of all people involved in the bargain, and it also made the protection of the documents all the more problematic. Fiona borrowed a large scroll tube from Fistandantilus, and used it to keep the charts dry.

Kevin took the maps from Fiona with great delight. "Haven't done anything like this in some time now," he said. "No-one wants to go anywhere new and unexplored any more. People are getting fat and lazy."

"There are some of us who have higher aspirations, Uncle," Fiona told him as he worked.

It took the old man about half an hour, much of involved with calculations using instruments that Fiona had perhaps used once or twice in a class some time ago, and had promptly forgotten about afterwards. "There we go," he said after putting in appropriate guidelines and a legend. The chart he had made was perhaps a yard square and made of top-quality paper, with Sarakkhis at the bottom, an accurate tracing of the coastline and portions of the Forest River, Nimrodel near the top, and Beleriand a short ways to its left.

"What's this?" asked Fiona, pointing to a thin black line traced from Nimrodel through Beleriand and trailing off the paper to the west.

"An old road," answered Kevin. "Dwarven make. Used to connect Nimrodel to Beleriand and the Iron Hills."

"The Iron Hills," said Idgie. "Isn't that where the Dwarves live?"

Kevin nodded. "Actually, it's the mountain range under which the Dwarves have their main city. They don't reveal its true name, so people just call it the Iron Hills."

"Wow, cool," said Idgie, leaning closer to the paper. "How many Dwarves live there?"

"Later, Idgie," said Fiona. She turned back to Kevin. "Does the road still exist?"

"Nope." Kevin sighed and leaned back, scratching at the stubble of his white beard, his glass eye glistening eerily in the light. "It wasn't being used too much in the first place, the Elves and Dwarves being what they are and all. Then, after Beleriand vanished, all traffic stopped, and the woods probably ate the road back up, taking its own back. Only a Ranger might be able to find it now."

Fiona looked to Idgie, who had a wicked grin on her face. "This kicks ass!" said Idgie.

Kevin looked baffled. "You have to meet Xenia sometime," Fiona told him. "Then you'd understand."

Kevin caught on, smiled, and gave her a wink. "Hope she finds that road for you," he said. "With the location of this place being so iffy, it might be the only way you find it." He stood up. "Now, if you'll excuse me. Your little trip around the town looking for these maps has brought my name to the attention for some people, and I've been commissioned to make charts for a small merchant fleet." He beamed, and Fiona felt tinges of pride within her for this dear old man. "This will make my Harvest Festival the best one in years! All thanks to you two ladies." And he gruffly seized each one and bussed her noisily on the cheek.

Laughing despite herself, and a bit embarrassed by the display of affection, Fiona led the three of them to the door. "We've still yet to pay you for your favor, Uncle."

"Nope!" He shook his head vehemently. "And you ain't gonna, either. Getting my name spread about again, and helping me land this nice bit of business, that's pay enough. And don't be using your magic to make money appear in my house! I'll just send it back to you."

"Well, at least we can bring the maps back for you," offered Idgie, remembering her manners.

"Oh, no!" Kevin shook his head again. "Well, actually, here." He shuffled around with three of the maps, rolled them up, and stuffed them into the scroll casing. "Take these ones back, but as for Marcus and Kika, screw 'em. They gave you a hard time, they can damn well wait, for all I care. I'll return them myself, and give each one a solid kick in the pants for their behavior! Now, off with you! I'm a busy man!" And with that, he shooed them out his door.

Idgie now had some unspoken business to attend to at the Guild before the group was to leave, and so she took her leave of Fiona. "Also, you got dinner with that cutie Vernon tonight," smiled Idgie, and she smiled all the more when she saw Fiona's fidgety reaction.

"Really, Idgie." Fiona folded her arms. "It's with me, Vernon, and Maddie. The three of us want to have a nice dinner together before we part ways for a bit. Vernon's actually leaving before we are, I think."

"Oh? Where's he going?"

"He's signed himself on with an adventuring group. This is his first outing. Maddie and I are giving him special going-away presents."

"Oh, ho, ho!" Idgie was all but laughing at this point. "What are you two going to give him, hmm?"

Fiona blushed a bit at that, and scowled at Idgie. "Nothing of that sort, you can be assured." In fact, Fiona had made Vernon an embroidered handkerchief, midnight blue silk with silver stitching, with the words "For the Gentleman, upon his First Venture" in fine silvery threads. She had considered putting a touch of her perfume on it, but she had discarded the idea immediately as inappropriate. At the moment, it rested on her pillow in her dorm room, waiting for her to fetch it before dinner. Fiona waved her hand at Idgie in a shooing motion. "Now, off with you! I have things to get done."

"Sure, Fi, whatever you say." Idgie gave one last impudent grin and vanished up the street.

Fiona still had some time before dinner, and so she decided to drop in on Karna to make her report and check on his progress. After all, she would be expecting this sort of report from him in the future, so she felt obliged to make such a report herself right now. The walk back through Sarakkhis to the Academy was a delightful stroll in the light of the setting sun. Yet even as Fiona's nostrils were filled with the scent of evening meals cooking in the homes she passed, and the autumn wind swept her warm hair about her face, her mind was racing madly through a thousand ideas at once. A hundred ideas had come to her mind and had been discarded before she even got back to the Academy grounds, and a hundred more came and went before she reached the Library complex, and set about looking for Karna.

She found him in the Archives, his nose buried in a book. "Nothing yet," he told her. "I've checked all the annals of the Dwarven kingdoms, both the independent Dwarven city-states and the Dwarven factions in cities of Men, like the one here in Sarakkhis. No mention of any Bartholomew, even in census records." He handed Fiona one of the books next to him. "I checked the Elven records as well, although Bartholomew is a name not used among my kind, or even among the Dwarves, for that matter. The Elven records are unfortunately sparse – I am sure that more extensive records exist in Nimrodel. I'm nearly finished checking over the annals of the human city-states. Well, what annals we have here, in any event. No mention of any Bartholomew from anywhere within four hundred leagues of where Beleriand might be. I'm checking the last few annals now."

Fiona nodded, pondering. "Hmm. What do you think the odds are of you finding something in those last few books?"

Karna shrugged. "Probably not very good."

"I see." Fiona closed her eyes and thought for a few moments. "Tell you what. I'm going to start assuming that the name is a red herring of sorts – I'll see if I can get anywhere in assuming that at least that portion of the map is a riddle, maybe a puzzle of some sort. In the meanwhile, finish up the checking, so that we can be as sure as possible about that assumption. Then come find me, and we'll see what we can do." She stopped short of physically patting Karna on the shoulder. "Good work, Karna. Keep it up."

Karna nodded absently, already back in his work.

Dinner that night was back at the Mug, for none of the three of them had enough cash to afford any better. Fiona paid her own way, and Vernon was obliged to dip into his small stash of money to pay out for Maddie.

Now Maddie, of course, was delighted to see the two of them, as she always was. "Hi, Fi!" she nearly giggled as the youngest of the three arrived late as usual. "Hiya, Vern!" She was the only one who called Vernon by that name. Fiona had recognized the name at once as an affectation that Maddie was using to try to hint to Vernon that she might like to be something a bit closer than just friends. Maddie had started using the name for him almost a year ago, and had not stopped despite numerous attempts on the part of Vernon and Fiona to hint to her that Vernon simply wasn't interested.

"Hallo, Maddie," Vernon returned her greeting.

"Hi, Maddie," said Fiona. She was genuinely fond of this young red-haired girl, yet still, every so often, she would feel a tiny twinge of something resembling jealousy within her, when Maddie would openly gush at Vernon. At the very moment, Maddie was talking to both of them, but quite actively seeking out Vernon's eye, and smiling a bit more dreamily whenever he spoke to her. It was always thus, but once in a while it genuinely bothered Fiona, and the simple fact that Fiona felt anything at all bothered her all the more. The older woman quickly snuffed out all unwanted feelings within herself, put on her best smile, and rejoined the conversation without another word.

As was the norm, Maddie monopolized the entire conversation, while Fiona and Vernon exchanged knowing glances between polite responses that allowed Maddie a moment to inhale. Madelyne, her red hair bobbing and her girlish green eyes flashing with childish delight, related all sorts of tales to the other two in excruciating detail. Before their food had even been served, Maddie had regaled them with accounts of every exam she had had in every one of her courses in this, her final semester; descriptions of and opinions about every last one of her classmates; her entire new autumn wardrobe that her father had purchased for her on her birthday; and everything she had had for dinner there at the Mug in the last four weeks. She spoke breathlessly and with abandon, pausing only on occasion to exhale, or to stuff a piece of food in her mouth and swallow it after but a single chew or two. "And then we all went over to Beldin's tower to see if he'd done anything strange to his trees in his front yard. Have you ever seen those trees? They're so big and pretty, especially in the fall! Anyway, he'd gotten mad at Harold again, and he – Beldin, that is – said he'd make Harold an example of by tying him to a post and flinging donkey poop at him. Isn't that funny? Tee hee! Oh, what was I saying? About the trees? Oh, they're such pretty trees. Anyway, Beldin told Harold that the next time he – Harold, that is – did something stupid, Beldin would hang him from the front of his tower for a week, and then carve all his trees into topiary sculptures of exactly what he thought of Harold! Tee hee!" And so on, without pause, for the entire meal.

All the while that Maddie chattered away, Fiona watched Vernon. Once or twice she found herself staring at him too often for her own liking, and she silently chastised herself for such behavior. She found that she had been trying to somehow fix Vernon's image in her memory, in case he never came back again. Fiona shook off that notion immediately, angry with herself for thinking it, and paid all the more attention to Maddie's endless ramblings. Dinner ended soon enough, and dessert and coffee followed. The three of them stayed up until well past sunset, until the clock on the main tower struck ten, enjoying one another's company. But with the mark of the late hour, they decided to split up for the night.

Maddie was the first to make her goodbyes. "Bye, Fi!" she cried, hugging the older woman tightly. "Come back soon, okay? I'll miss you when you're gone. I can't wait to tell you all about everything that happened since you left, which won't be until a few days from now, but anyway, bye!" And then the red-haired girl turned to Vernon. "Bye, Vern sweetie. Don't go getting yourself into trouble! Fi and I don't want to have to come rescuing you!" And with that she tiptoed up and kissed him full on the lips, and then vanished giggling into the night, before Vernon could even manage a stammer.

Fiona arched an eyebrow. "Well, that was certainly… interesting." She looked to Vernon, who was blushing furiously.

"Hey, don't look at me, it wasn't my idea!" he nearly wailed, still out of sorts from the unexpected display of affection.

"Mm-hmm." Fiona smiled winsomely at him. "Whatever you say, dear. Oh!"

"What?"

Fiona wrinkled her brow. "Maddie said she had a gift for you. I think that that was her gift."

Vernon nodded, his face still flaming. "Great gift," he chuckled. "Well, I doubt I'll forget it, in any event." He turned back to Fiona. "Well?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have a gift for me, too?"

"You actually doubted me?" Fiona smiled and produced the handkerchief from within her robe. "I made this just for you."

"Why, Fiona! It's beautiful!" Vernon smiled happily and not without some pride. He took the handkerchief and examined it closely. "You've outdone yourself, Fi. This is exquisite. I'll carry it with me always." He turned to her and smiled. "I must be the luckiest man in the world to have friends like you."

Fiona smiled. "I'm glad you like it," she said. "It suits you. I thought you'd like a gift with a bit of utility. May it serve you well."

"I think it will." Vernon opened his arms, and Fiona glided into them. They stood there for some time, holding each other gently. All that Fiona could hear during that entire time was his heart beating against her cheek. Then she reached her face towards his, and they kissed each other on the cheek, letting their lips linger there for just a second longer than usual.

Then she pushed him away, and was only half-surprised to feel a tang of regret within her when she left his arms. "Now, it's time for us to be going," she told him. "You've got to be up early tomorrow, and on no account will I be responsible for you leaving bleary-eyed and dazed."

Vernon nodded. "Can I walk you home, Fi?"

Fiona nodded, and wordlessly she took his arm. The autumn wind was strong and frigid that night, but she barely felt it. The two of them walked the entire way in silence, and paused before her dorm room door, which opened magically at her touch. She turned to him, and they took each other's hands. They started into one another's eyes for a moment before Vernon broke the silence. "I'll miss you, Fi."

Fiona nodded quietly. "I'll miss you, too, dear." They kissed one another on the cheek again, and then Vernon waved to her, mouthed 'Bye', and strode off into the night.

Fiona turned the treasure map over, carefully comparing the front side to the reverse. Idgie looked on with interest, polishing her daggers absently. "Do you make anything out of it, Idgie?" asked Fi, her brow creased in concentration. "'All parts of the center through the center, in order.' All parts of what?"

"The center. You just said that."

Fiona glared at Idgie, who grinned impudently in return.

Fiona continued on. "The center is this 72. Might this mean something? There are also seventy-two numbers surrounding the center in the middle ring here." She pointed. "And if you count the spaces as 'missing letters', and count each element of punctuation as a letter, there are 144 letters in the outer ring, and 144 is, of course, twice 72."

Idgie nodded. "I'm not that good with my arithmetic, but I'll take your word for it."

Fiona nodded in return. "You have to have a certain level of expertise in such things to be allowed into the Academy. Then you're required to take more training in mathematics. A good number of spells require use of mathematical formulas in their casting, and you have to be able to do some quick calculations of areas, distances, and volumes in your mind. It would not be pleasant to cast a fireball in a narrow corridor, for example. A typical fireball explodes into a 30-foot radius sphere," she explained. "If the spell is cast in a confined area, the fireball expands outwards from the center of the detonation to fill an equivalent volume. If the spell goes off in a hallway that's ten feet high and ten feet wide, the explosion will cover…" she thought for a moment. "About 115 feet of the hallway, give or take. An error in your calculations can get you and your companions all cooked."

Idgie smiled, and worked a little harder at polishing a speck of rust off her favorite dagger. "Like I said, I can't follow all that. I got a decent schooling when I was young, like most city kids. I can do some math stuff by hand, if I have the time, and something to write on. It's not like I use math in my work, in any event. That is, unless you include counting money."

"Oh, I'm sure you use it more often than that. You told me they know you for lockpicking in the Guild. That requires some good knowledge of solid geometry."

Idgie chuckled. "Whatever you say, Fi."

Fiona nodded. "Yes," she said absently, her brow creased all the more in thought. She stared at the map some more. "I just think I'm missing something here. I should have cracked this by now. I'm convinced that I'm missing something that's all but trivial. I'm going to kick myself when I find out what it is, I'm sure of it."

It was at that moment that a knock came at the door, and after being greeted, Karna stepped in. "I finished the last of the records. No luck."

Fiona nodded. "That's about as good a confirmation we'll get that this is a riddle, I think." She handed the copy of the map to Karna. "I think that the puzzle might have something to do with simple arithmetic of some sort, but it seems to be escaping me for the moment." She quickly outlined what she had reasoned so far. "Any idea what might be meant by 'part'?"

"Hmm." Karna again put his hand to his chin, and Idgie noted the characteristic gesture. "Could it be a partition? Maybe it has something to do with breaking the letters into a bunch of equal-sized subsets and rearranging them to get a message."

"I don't think so," said the taller woman. "That seems a bit too complex. This map must have been created for some reason, and that reason wasn't likely to have been for the map's intended recipient to be stumped by the puzzle. The creator of this thing must have intended it to be cryptic to most people who found it, but not so cryptic that the person it was meant for would be unable to translate it." She sighed. "Besides, that seems to ignore the seventy-two numbers in that middle ring."

"That may be a red herring," said Karna.

"It might be, but I don't think so."

"Hmm." Karna's expression gradually molded itself into an approximation of Fiona's own scowl of concentration. There were several minutes of silence, during which time Idgie prudently kept quiet. Karna made the next suggestion. "Maybe the numbers can be partitioned into subsets of 72, or maybe multiples of 72. Perhaps those then will determine some sort of partitioning of the letters."

"No, that's even more complex than before. I'd also guess that Bulghur would tell us that there's no nice method to partition the numbers that way, either." Bulghur was the enormously fat man who was the Academy's resident mathematician. "But I do think you have an idea there. I just can't seem to put my finger…" Fiona paced about the room for a few seconds before suddenly stopping and exclaiming, "Got it!"

"Yes?" said Karna and Idgie in unison.

Fiona didn't respond, and instead seized the map and a ruler. After a few seconds, she cried, "Yes!"

"What is it?" Karna leaned closer, and Idgie noticed that he was trying to keep a respectful distance from Fiona, even as he tried to see what she was doing.

Fiona spread out the map on the table in the room. "Here." She traced a line from the 72 in the center, through the number 1 on the middle ring, and the line extended to cross the letter S in the outer ring. "It's not multiples. It's factors! Look! The numbers that divide evenly into 72 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, and 72." She traced out eleven more lines, from the 72 in the center through each of the indicated factors, to the outer ring. In order, the letters spelled out S-I-X-E-L-E-V-E-N-T-W-O. "Six, eleven, two," said Fiona, and she smiled. "We got it!"

"More like you got it, Fi," said Karna. "In any event, what does it mean? Does it have anything else to do with the rest of the map? Is there another puzzle?"

Fiona, still very pleased with herself, looked over the map. "I'd guess that it doesn't," she said, and she put the map down. "You know what? I don't think that we'll find out any more from this map until we get to Beleriand. When we get there, we'll take in the surroundings. We'll see if we can find that temple, and the entrance that the map indicates. We'll go on from there. What do you say?"

The other two nodded.

"Good," said Fiona. She turned to the other woman. "Idgie," she addressed her, "Karna and I will have to start preparing immediately if we want to get moving quickly – it'll take us some time to get all of our paraphernalia together for the trip. Can you out to the woods and tell Mandi and Xenia that we'll be leaving at dawn the day after tomorrow?"

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