Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Highbane, Geoffrey, and, Duran were still pouring over the old scrolls and tomes for something that could aid or totally avoid the oncoming war.
"How many relics have we sifted through?" Duran asked exasperatedly.
"Too many," Highbane sighed, "Let us just be thankful Ciricus has not found the Owls' library, else we'd be digging through a mythically larger number of tomes."
"Owl's Library? I've heard mention of the Owls here and there, but I've not heard of the legends."
"Understandable, in this city, education comes second to the perverted games of a tight fisted, scum sucker. Anyway, the Owls are said to be the chroniclers of all mortal knowledge. Tales say they amassed a cult of scholars, and set them to guarding the vast collection the Owls had kept. It is also said, that the cultists, which originally hailed from many different races, even some unknown to us, were allowed to read from the books, and from the records, they learned the secrets to life, being able to create a new being from dust, and preserve their own."
"Ciricus," Geoffrey interjected, "claims to have found the library. He says a few of these books once belonged in it."
"Hah, and I have the speed of a kennit," which was a sizable rodent native to the lowlands of Highland, famed for its great land speed, floppy ears, and, unbefitting a rodent, it's horns. "Ciricus may be good at a lot of things, but invading a god blessed site, which no one is even sure exists, hardly fits his personality, or skill."
"Isn't it, Duran?" Came a voice from behind, the trio jumped nearly out of their skin, when they turned they saw Ciricus, "Oh come on, do you honestly think Highgold could get in here, even if he wanted? Believe me that's one of the many things me and Harold made sure of."
"Don't scare us like that Ciricus, you almost gave us all heart attacks."
"Haha, well, have you found anything?"
"Not a single scrap," said Highbane, "Everything we've looked through almost everything, the only thing useful would have only been useful to a single Unfortunate."
"Well, if Highgold had it sent outside of the city, he either knew that the Owls' Cultists would have come for it, or he thought whoever he gave it too would keep it far from anyone, which would be fairly difficult given that the Cultists are versed well in every known form of combat, even ones I've not heard of or seen."
"Yeah, well..." Duran was about to make a point when a cowardly looking little man asked for Ciricus.
"I am he, what do you need?"
"Is that you Grogg, what are you doing in Dark Haven?"
"It wasn't exactly my choice" Grogg said, biting his lip
"I believe it was mine," said a greasy looking man coming through the corridor. Ciricus looked a little surprised that the man had come through the doorway. "This book supposedly belongs here, and a rather, unsavoury fellow dressed in these horrid, blue silk robes, wanted to return it to the 'library'. So I thought maybe the book might be safer here In Dark Haven, since he made no attempts to obtain said book until it came into my possession."
"That's because," said Ciricus, "there's a palling," which is basically an invisible magical wall, "around the city, which keeps their like out, much like there's one around these archives which hinders anyone who wishes to abuse it's knowledge."
"So that must be what the snarky look was for, nope, books aren't my forte, if I need information I have better ways of getting it." He said with a distasteful smile.
"So what book is this?" The thug showed Ciricus the book. Upon seeing that it was the book that Highgold had stolen, he lit up like a beacon. "Where did you get it, we need that book!"
"My employer sent it to me as a 'bonus'. And I'm afraid it means it's mine now, and I don't like sharing." The thug noticed one less head in the crowd, and turned in time to prevent Duran from pilfering the book from his person. The two thieves started at each other in a stalemate. Highbane took immediate action and pounced and caught hold of the book, sending it towards Ciricus. "NO! That's MINE!" All of a sudden the thug was frozen in place, and seemed to be suffering from lack of air.
"Perchance you wished to use this book for your own devices, else the palling wouldn't be suffocating you right now."
"You lied!" Grogg blurted, "You said you couldn't read the old languages."
"Perhaps he can't, but he might be able to find someone, or at least thought he could. Highbane, help him out of here." Highbane walked the thug to the hallway, he gasped for air after coming free of the palling's grip. "I have buissness elsewhere, now that we have this, I shall also try and extend the palling to the prisons, incase Highgold tries to steal this again."
Still trying to catch his breath, the thug said "It won't work, believe me, I know how slick he is, he makes us thieves look like small time penny pinchers. Oh and, Duran, learn to use misdirection to your advantage, rather than try and take opportunity of minor distractions." Grogg looked at Duran confusedly.
"Get outta here, Eastern Sellout." Duran turned to Grogg, "Before the Thieves Guild split, he and I were 'top of the class' as it were, but I was lacking in the brutal side of thieving and he was too well at it for us to get a passing grade. Needless to say when the split happened he went to the East Guild, which sold out to Highland..."
"Ah, well I..." Grogg was interrupted, by the thug.
"Are you coming? I still haven't been lifted of my charge to watch you."
"Loyal, to an extent," Duran said "I'll give him that. The amount of gold in it probably helps too. You don't have to leave if you don't want to Grogg. Go tell your employer you did you job, and find some other undeserving person to bother, Preferably in Highland!" The thug left and Duran, Highbane, and Geoffrey went back to work, and Grogg stayed and lent a hand.


"And this must be the legendary Axe of the Highland Thieves." Said Highgold, in a raspy voice. "A rather ironic name, for a city founded and run purely on capitalism, oh, my mistake. Still, what could this mysterious wonder do? I must send Ciricus and his foolish friends to seek the information I require. Maybe the greyer heads will find what mine cannot. Until then I think I'll stick this beauty into my little closet."
"You called for me sir?" Derid, Highgold's new appointed butler, asked.
"Yes, I'll be leaving the city for three days; I shall need you to wrangle me some supplies, and keep an eye on the place whilst I'm gone. The only rule is don't open my closet, the last butler who did didn't come out."
"Anything else?"
"Yes, in fact, take this letter to Ciricus Coletrane," He said, handing a small sealed note to Derid, "About this time of day, he should be in the, Kitchen, if I remember his strange rituals well enough, anyway, he'll be the tall grey haired man, who looks far more charismatic than I."
"I'll get right to it then." Derid left after giving Highgold a short bow.


"I SWEAR! He was here only a minute ago!" Kaze said, standing in front of an empty jail cell. "I left to relieve myself and I get back and both the Cursed one, and Roger were gone."
"It doesn't matter," Ciricus said, patting Kaze on the shoulder, "It was bound to happen, what we need to do now is to find him. And judging by the fur on these bars here in the window, he squeezed out. Where Roger is, is another story."
"Master Ciricus?" A voice came from behind.
"Yes, who may I ask are you?"
"Derid Ostenhouse, Highgold's new butler."
"Oh I'm so sorry," Ciricus said in a slightly sarcastic tone. Kaze chuckled a little from this comment, "Well what does the old windbag have for me today, a poison letter?"
"Just this, sir." Derid said, handing over the small letter he was given by Highgold.
"'I'll be out of town,'" Ciricus read, "'For the next three days, be a dear and do a little research on an artifact I've been hunting, the Axe of the Highland Thieves, and let me know what you've found when I return.' Son of a bitch, he knows now that my curiosity is going to make us research it, and whether or not we find anything, and no matter how tight a lid we keep on it, he's going to find out. Chances are he's got this axe already. Damn his sleight of hand, with one bloody letter he's managed to get us to damn ourselves no matter what we do."  Ciricus sighed, pacing the floor, rambling to himself about how much of a pickle he was in.
"Why don't I see you out," Kaze said to Derid, and they both snuck out of the room to leave Ciricus with his thoughts.

Vale was prepared to turn in for the night, when suddenly there was a knock at the door. She figured it was Grogg, back for more rejection, but when she opened the door, she saw her fiancé, a little worse for wear, but there none the less. "By the Dragons! Is it really you!?" The beaten man nodded, "Oh my gosh, you look horrible, come in. Is Dark Haven as bad as Liss always says?" another nod, "Are you alright? You said you might have contracted Lycanthropy in your letter," He shrugged, not giving a whole answer, "Oh, as long as you're all right." She flung his arms around him and they turned in for the night, together.