Mesu sighed. She couldn’t tell if she was relieved that the job was over or frustrated that there could be more. Zoe assured her that her group would join them the rest of the way. That deal came with the possibility of being sidetracked with more quests like this. Mesu wasn’t thrilled with the thought. She was appreciative of the protection, but so far, adventuring was more trouble than it was worth.
Zoe and Tai invited Anna and Mesu to deliver the item, and both had accepted. Mesu was surprised that it wasn’t a king or noble who was looking for the book. The building was a shop just like the others on the street. Zoe had taken to carrying the book in a traveling pack. Mesu missed the extra weight and felt like she was doing training even during the travel time.
The midday sun made the world bright as they arrived. Stepping into the shop was a difference of night and day. Candlelight and streaks of sunlight poked through to illuminate the inside.
“Wysen, we have returned.” A seasoned man appeared behind the counter with a jump. Mesu wondered if they had just woken him up by the startled look in his eye.
“Ah, my favorites. You have returned. With apprentices, it looks like. I hope these two aren’t pushing you too far.”
“I don’t know if I would say apprentices. They are along for the ride at the moment and are in training,” Zoe said.
“Might as well be then. I take it you have been successful?” He peeked around Zoe as they all walked in. His eyes already had a light that Mesu hadn’t seen. His lips formed into an O shape as Zoe released the strap and opened the bag. She set it down gently on the counter in front of him.
“Yes. Yes, yes. Just what I was looking for. No trouble I hope.” Mesu wasn’s sure if that was a question or a statement by his tone of voice.
Zoe held out her hand and raised an eyebrow. He looked her over and nodded. He reached under the counter and produced a bag. Some coins were dropped into Zoe’s hand. Another moment passed, and she kept it there. Without further direction, more coins were placed into her hand, and they smiled at each other.
“I have your next target lined up already. There is a.” Zoe cut him off.
“Not yet. We can’t take this one. There’s something we are taking care of in Eberdeen. After that, we can talk again.”
It took a moment for the old man to register what was said, as his focus was on the book. A smile crept over his face that Mesu wished she could unsee.
“Eberdeen, you say? Do tell, what is out there you are looking for?”
“You know I can’t disclose that, Wysen.”
“Ah, yes, yes. Well, it just so happens that I do need something from there. This amulet. I do hope you don’t mind.” Wysen left the book open to the page he was looking at as he scurried away to another shelf. Mesu and the group followed him, turning the corner. He pushed a step stool over and climbed on it. The book he grabbed was significantly smaller.
“Yes, this is what it is.” He thumbed through the pages and stopped at a full-page entry. The symbol resembled a tree with branches as long as it was tall. They drooped down, almost touching the edges of the sides. Three stars dotted the outsides, one up the middle, as the other two were on the outsides of each branch. It was something that Mesu had never seen before.
“It’s green with this exact symbol. Slightly smaller than a fist. Another religious artifact, if you cared.”
Zoe turned to Mesu and Anna. Her voice was lower, trying to be without hearing of Wysen.
“Is this something you seek?”
Mesu shook her head. She was not exactly sure what she was looking for when it came to getting to Eberdeen.
“Wysen, we’ll take the job.” Zoe turned back to him, and the smile returned to his face.
“Excellent. Now, the temple that it was at, it was thought to be destroyed. I have heard reports that it has and hasn’t. I have no idea who to believe, as the sources varied as widely as the stories. No one has seen this one for generations. I saved this for my most trustworthy seekers. The book proved you were ready for the high-priced jobs.”
“I have to ask, do you know what was guarding the book? It was large, ugly, a single eye. A flesh colored, grotesque beast.”
Wysen turned his head to Zoe. The question seemed to confuse him. It was a few moments before he moved back to a shelf and pulled a new book. It was no wonder to Mesu now that the place was as messy as it was. Mesu looked back at the symbol on the pendant they were looking for as he continued his search.
“Yes, here it is. An ogre?” The group nodded out of sync as he held the book up and showed the page. “That’s very interesting. This is a creature of legend. Not seen for many years, lifetimes. It’s entirely possible that this was something born of someone’s imagination, also. However, if you are saying you have seen one, then it is a reality.”
Wysen read the passage to himself. Mesu tried to peek over the counter a bit to see if she could read the words as well. The language was one she didn’t recognize, but she was not surprised.
“This is not the weirdest you have seen, either?” Wysen didn’t look up as he asked.
“Not at all. There are a lot of things that seem to have come out of hiding.”
“Come out of hiding, maybe. Being manifested, more likely. There are accounts of all these things you have brought me tales of, but the stories are old. The heroes of the past were the ones who battled them. I’m willing to bet that something major has changed to bring them back. If it was a slumber like you thought, they have awoken. Maybe something happened where they were gone from this world, but are now returning. Either way, the world is becoming more dangerous. You need to watch yourselves.”
Wysen closed up his book on the ogre and put it back where he got it from. Mesu let the news sink in. She wondered what the others thought of this as well. A surge of excitement and concern ran through her.
“What about magic?” Wysen paused where he stood as Anna asked. Mesu caught a look of caution that Zoe threw Anna’s way before turning back to Wysen.
“I will confirm that magic is back. The artifacts and scrolls I have collected over time, something has happened with them in the last few years that I’d never seen before. They seem to be coming alive, if you will.”
Wysen moved to the bookshelf and pulled a scroll off the top of a pile of similar papers. He unrolled it and looked around the shop.
“The only reason I’m showing you this is that I trust you.” His next few words were none that Mesu knew. His tongue twisted in ways that she didn’t know were possible as the strokes on the paper illuminated through the back. As he finished, the words stayed lit for a second and went dark. Mesu looked around the room, trying to see if anything had changed.
The old man seemed to grow taller behind the counter. He rose higher until Mesu realized he was not growing taller; he was flying.
“I still need to work out exactly how to use this one. If I’m outside, I fear the wind would take me.” He pushed off the ceiling and drifted down slowly. Wysen tapped the bookcase behind him and glided down at an angle toward the middle of the shop.
“Give me a tap, towards the counter, please.” Zoe gave him a nudge on the knee, and he was gripping the counter with his feet. He lowered back down and spoke a much shorter phrase. With that, he was now on the ground. “I have much to test with these, but am afraid to alone. I knew this to be a safe one. A dead language that almost controls you as you look at it and focus. This is also not for sale.” He held up the paper and pushed it back on the pile.
“Thank you, Wysen. We’ll track down that amulet and return it to you. Don’t float away in the meantime.” Zoe reached the counter and grabbed the coins that he had left there. Mesu followed, still in awe of what just happened.