“I’ve been thinking, Felaern,” Orenda said as they walked together toward town, “About this book.”

“I suspected as much,” he said, keeping time with his walking stick against the stones of the pavement, “Because you’ve been carrying it with you. But I didn’t want to press my luck.”

“You said you wanted to take it to a print shop,” Orenda continued, “And I see no reason not to have a copy made.”

“That takes a long time,” Quiroris told her, “They have to make a reproduction, and I would say that they’ll be busy this time of year.”

“Well,” she said, “I’d like you to know that I’ve made up my mind. I’d like to allow you to make a copy.”

He looked anywhere but at her as he thought, and they walked a few more paces in silence.

“That means a lot to me,” he said, quietly, “Perhaps if I pay extra they would be willing to put me ahead of other clients. Do you mind if we stop there first?”

“I think I would prefer it,” Orenda answered, and wondered if the headmaster was blushing. His face had turned a shade pinker than it normally was, but he had been in a strange state since he had told the story about the Emerald Knight beating Tolimaur to a pulp, which Orenda still believed was probably half-remembered fantasy.

“Lovely,” he said and winced. They had turned a corner and heard the shouting.

“The false prophet,” the crazy man was explaining again, “Wants you to believe that she holds the power of the sacred sword! She has never made a public appearance with it! The pedestal sits empty in the capital! Xandra does not possess the sword! Xandra is not the chosen child of Thesis!”

“You would think the city guards would do something about that,” Quiroris said as he wrapped one arm around Orenda and protectively led her around the man as he continued to scream his warnings. “Don’t make eye contact.”

“The Chosen One lives!” The madman asserted to the crowd that ignored him, “The Chosen Avatar of Thesis walks among mortals! They will judge us for our acquiescence! The hand of Thesis shall smite those who believe the false prophet! We are being tested!”

He shoved a flier into Quiroris’s face, and Quiroris tossed it to the ground with the others that already littered the area around the madman.

“Right in the square,” he huffed as he guided Orenda into a shop, “I’ll tell you, Orenda, it did not use to be this bad. This was once a respectable place. That kind of treason would not have been tolerated.”

Orenda quite liked the place they had entered. It smelled like ink, paper, and heat, and there was a sound of crunching machinery that reminded her of the workhouse. She didn’t know why she enjoyed the memory, because she hadn’t enjoyed her time there. A human woman stood behind a desk and Orenda could see a large, open space behind her where several earth elves, some younger than she was, worked quickly on machinery that she didn’t understand.

“Hello,” Quiroris said pleasantly as Orenda wandered off to look at the posters that covered the walls, serving as testimonials to the quality of the services offered.

“Happy solstice, sir!” She said.

“I need a copy made of an important book,” Quiroris told her, “I should like to speak to Ms. Kearie, please. It’s important, and I’m sure she’ll be interested in it.”

“Yes, Headmaster Quiroris,” the woman said, and Orenda wondered how much business he did there as a particular poster caught her eye.

It wasn’t on the wall, like the others. She had wandered back to Quiroris’s side and noticed it buried in a stack of papers on the desk. It wouldn’t have caught her attention at all, except she recognized the strange machine by its uniqueness. She could only see the slightest corner, and didn’t want to call attention to it, but she was absolutely sure that it was the symbol that she had seen beside Gareth’s signature and painted on the side of the wall the night she had come to the school. She knew that if she lifted the papers and looked at it fully, she would see a mask and sword accompanying the part of the strange machine visible from the exposed corner.

She stared at it, trying to figure out what to do with this information, when a pleasant earth elf woman appeared, smiled, and said, “Oh, Happy Solstice Felaern!”

“Happy Solstice, Spring,” he said with a smile that Orenda didn’t like because he seemed genuinely happy. “You’re not going to believe what I’ve come across. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with it, and I need a quick turn around because it’s being borrowed.” He motioned to Orenda and went on, “This is Orenda Nochdifache, a student of mine. She’s in a unique position.”

“Happy Solstice, Orenda!” The woman said.

“Happy Solstice,” Orenda said back, thinking of the best way to feel out the situation. “I quite like your shop.”

“Thank you,” The woman said, and left it at that.

“Orenda, show her the book you… found,” Quiroris said, trying to hide his excitement.

“I’m quite protective of this,” Orenda explained as she set it on the counter, “I wouldn’t lend it to just anyone.”

The woman stared at the cover, then reached under the counter and put on a pair of gloves. She opened the book carefully and turned the pages slowly, as the book, Orenda had to admit herself, had been greatly damaged. The woman carefully pried the title page from the back cover, where it left an impression, and many pages threatened to fall out altogether, due to the fact that the steam had weakened the glue. Orenda felt her hands shaking as Spring assessed the damage, but managed to keep herself quiet. There were no excuses to be made. She had destroyed the book Ellie had been so proud of.

Still…

Orenda saw recognition flicker over the woman’s eyes, but she hid it well, and Orenda thought that if she hadn’t known what to look for, she wouldn’t have seen it at all.

“Isn’t it amazing?” Quiroris asked.

“It is,” the woman said, “I would… be remiss to say that I could copy something like this quickly. The illustrations could take years to replicate properly. It has quite a few of them.”

“Years?” Quiroris asked, obviously taken aback, “Do you think you could replicate just the text then? A little faster.”

“I would rather do it justice,” Spring said, turning the pages slowly and taking them in, “This is a rare find, Felaern.”

“Do you often make posters?” Orenda asked, trying to sound like a curious child.

“Oh, yes,” Spring answered, “We make prints of many kinds.”

“Do you have any of animals?” Orenda asked, “I don’t have many decorations for my room at the academy.”

“What is your favorite animal?” Spring asked with a voice lighter than her intentions.

“I’m not sure,” Orenda answered, “What would you recommend?”

“I’m partial to rabbits,” Spring answered, looking into Orenda’s eyes.

“I like rabbits,” Orenda said, “particularly the white ones.”

“Oh,” Quiroris said, “Like they sell at the Eishtar festival?”

“Yes,” Spring said, “Miss, if you would let me borrow this book, I would be willing to do a follow-up job, for free. Or perhaps I could do it first, today, while you wait. Then I could follow it up, with the book.” She nodded, and looked back at the book, “Yes, I would follow the white rabbit.”

“That sounds lovely,” Orenda agreed.

“Really?” Quiroris said skeptically, “You would be willing to leave it here, Orenda?”

“It seems a rather safe place,” Orenda said, “And I imagine I could come and check in on it. It’s within walking distance of the school.”

“That sounds perfect!” Quiroris said with genuine excitement, “This means so much to me, Orenda. Thank you. It’s so nice to see you finally building some trust.”

“I’ll get started on your poster,” Spring said, writing something out, “Here, Orenda, take this receipt for your book. Bring it with you when you come to check on it.”

“Thank you,” Orenda said as she took the folded paper and stuck it in her pocket.

“Will it take long?” Quiroris asked, “I was going to take the young lady to get her ears pierced. We may pick it up on our way back.”

“Oh, well, of course,” Spring replied, “If you wouldn’t want to wait, that would be fine.”

“Lovely. I would say that we will return within the hour,” Quiroris smiled, “Come along, Orenda.”

“It was nice meeting you, mam,” Orenda told Spring, “I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”

She turned and followed Quiroris out of the shop and he instantly put a hand on her shoulder to lead her away from the madman still yelling on the street.

“Honestly,” he said, “It’s the solstice, there’s a crowd about! You would think someone would do something!” He made a disgusted sound, then continued, “Orenda, thank you so much. I would like to learn all I can about the lost culture of the fire elves.”

“You’ve made that clear,” Orenda told him and tried very hard to fight the urge to shrug his hand away.

“There’s a nice jeweler's shop that does wonderful piercing work,” he pointed down the street, “I think you’ll enjoy the experience. It really doesn’t hurt very much at all. But, I would caution against getting the piercing with the earrings you have. If they were a gift, they were probably a precious metal. You need something more resistant to infection to begin with… a lesson I learned in my youth...”

“I haven’t any money for new earrings,” Orenda told him, “again, Felaern, someone took all of my money.”

“I told you I would pay for it, Orenda,” he sighed.

“I don’t particularly like taking charity,” Orenda told him.

“I should think that we’ve already established,” Quiroris began, and Orenda felt his hand tighten on her shoulder, “that I am repaying a debt.”

Orenda did not like being put in the position he had placed her in. She was not a stand-in for all fire elves, and certainly not a way to rectify whatever horrible things he had done. She did not exist to ease his conscience. But, Bubbider was right, and she needed to get all the information she could out of him. She needed to gain his trust.

“Can I ask you a question?” Orenda asked.

“You can ask me anything,” he replied, “I can’t guarantee that I’ll have the answer, but you can ask me anything.”

“Who was Tolimaur’s sister?” Orenda asked, “Back at your home, you said that he hadn’t wanted to desert, that he had been listening to his sister.”

Quiroris took a deep breath and seemed to be considering his options. They were outside the shop he had pointed to earlier, and he stared at the sign for some time instead of answering.

Finally, he said, “I don’t want to talk about Sokomaur. Let’s get you adorned, alright? Let’s… let’s have a fun trip.”

Orenda stared up at him, and when he entered the shop, she followed.