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"It's a rock."

Twi's voice was right in my ear, causing my body to tense up for a brief moment at the surprise. When I could feel the muscles relax, I then noticed that Twi had slid in close, pressing herself against me as she stared down at what I held.

This wasn't some dull rock, I thought. The warmth it gave off, the light beating; this thing was entirely new to me. I didn't know how to describe any of this to Twi, so instead, I pushed the stone into her hands.

Instantly, her eyes went wide in shock. Her mouth opened, moved silently as if trying to speak, but nothing came out. It seemed she was equally as stunned as I was. Neither of us knew what to do next. My earlier idea of selling it came to mind, but after feeling that heat and beating, I wasn't so sure about it anymore. A stone that moved like a heart sounded like the kind of nonsense you hear in children's fables. Then again, this was the real thing. I couldn't deny that, not after holding it.

"What should we do with it?" My voice came out rough and louder than I intended. My words seemed to snap Twi out of some trance regardless, her entire body shivering before her eyes switched their focus from to me.

"I'm not sure," she mumbled. She let the stone fall from her grasp, and we both watched wordlessly as it landed with a soft thud in the soil.

"This thing isn't normal."

Scoffing, she responded, "No kidding."

With my eyes wandering back up the sky above, I tried to see if there were any remnants of that eerie dark swirl. Something that could perhaps explain what we just witnessed.

There was nothing of note. Only the same gray clouds that followed us from Junefeld.

I let out a long, slow breath as I thought on what our next move should be. On one hand, I was sure whatever this thing was, it couldn't be good. An object from the sky, crashing down after a complete blackout of the sun? It was enough to send a shiver down my spine. Oh sure, I'd seen my fair share of things, being a sword for hire kinda meant I dealt with some offputting scenarios; a rampaging beast with blood and viscera still dripping from its fangs, a madman attempting to kill children, a would-be assassin of some small up-and-coming business owner. But nothing could compare to this.

Then again, on the other hand, I still wondered about the possible profit if we just fenced it. It still didn't seem like the best idea, but maybe letting this be someone else's problem would save us whatever hassle might come in the future. After all, if this thing proved to be dangerous, why risk our own necks when we could just cash it in and live worry-free?

Well, first things first. We needed to get home. Slowly, I picked the stone back up, paused for a second to be astounded once again by its beating, and quickly stuffed it into a small satchel. I could see Twi side-eying my actions, the look of confusion on her face plain as day.

I explained myself. "Look, we have no idea what this thing is. I don't think we should just leave it here."

She started to say something, but cut herself off before a single word fell from her thin lips. She stood there pondering our current situation, until finally coming to a head. It was then Twi said something I definitely didn't want to hear from her.

"We need to go see Ursh."

~~~

"Are you really sure about this?"

After Twi's earlier words, we raced home, destined for New Serrak's upper district. Located there, deep in the Fifth Ward and placed near a local bank, was a jewelcrafter's shop. The place wasn't very large, and was mostly of woodwork unlike the brick homes and stores nearby. Be that out of a cost reason, or because the owner just wanted the place to stand out, I wasn't entirely sure. It was after midday, and there was the odd customer coming and going. It was here we found ourselves, right outside the shop's door.

Twi shook her head and groaned at my words. "Of course not," she grumbled, "but he's the only person we can trust about this...thing." A knuckle rapped against her backpack, where that odd stone was hidden in some cloth, to keep it away from prying eyes.

"The one you trust," I corrected. She fired me a look that said she was none too pleased with the correction. I didn't relent, however. "Kinda hard to trust someone after they've attempted to kill you, ya know?"

"And he apologized about that," she pointed out rather bluntly. "It was just a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding, my ass." But, despite my objections, I was still there with her. Deep down, I knew the owner could be trusted, if only because of Twi. He wouldn't do anything if she was around, so at least there was that.

With the tiny spat resolved, we steeled ourselves as we pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Everywhere the eye could see, there were jewels. Every corner of the room stocked with rings or necklaces and other such things. Shelves lined with bracelets, tables adorned with chockers, mirrors placed at either side of the room perfect for viewing oneself with whatever finery one saw fit to purchase. Customers in nice clothes stared at us, our raggedy looking gambesons a stark contrast to their pressed shirts and freshly laundered pants.

Across the way, sitting at a plain little desk, was a saurian. His scales held the same dark coloration as Twi's, his eyes the same bright yellow. The two had similar facial structures; the way their brows dipped right on the edge, giving their eyes a slight upward slant; rounded off snouts that ended in a noticeable point, causing their faces to look angular. They both even shared the broad chests. The only noticeable difference was that Twi had that small fin running down the back of her head.

A cold stare came from the saurian at the desk. His entire body subtly twitched, either in anger or something else, I wasn't sure. Probably anger, though, considering the last time we spoke. Regardless, there was a young black-furred kalrin woman standing near him who he leaned over to whisper something to. She quickly made her way over to us.

"Um, Mister Ursh has asked that the two of you come to the back of the store." She sounded worried, nervous. Likely, she had no knowledge as to who we were or why we would speak to her superior in private, and seemed completely unsure what to do beyond what she was told. As we silently strode passed her, she sputtered out a "Thank you" before going around to tend to the customers.

The back of the store was a combination office and storage area. Boxes were piled up on the tables in the room, and in the corner was a small safe containing daily profits and such. I'd always been tempted to see just how much money was in that safe. Now that we were away from the customers, Twi slid her pack off before leaning against a wall, letting out a long, low moan as she did so. A foot tapped against the floor, impatience quickly setting in as she kept stealing glances over to the entryway, wondering when the owner would finally decide to grace us with his presence. Meanwhile, I stood opposite her, folding my arms across my chest. Without much to do, my eyes began to reflexively count the individual planks of wood that made up the walls.

I thought back on the trip home from the crater. The silence between Twi and myself, the tension so thick I could practically choke on it. We had no idea what to expect out of this rock. Every time Vox made any sudden movements, Twi and I sucked in a collective breath, worried something, anything might happen. But nothing ever did. The rock was rather plain after I'd placed it into Twi's backpack. I also noticed, as we left the crashsite, the warm air gave way to cool autumn breeze once more.

Even when we finally passed New Serrak's gate, the two of us didn't take it easy. All around us, people were speaking in hushed whispers about the strangely blackening sky. No one knew what happened, but all had witnessed the strange phenomenon, sans the harsh winds. It appeared that that part of the event was selectively for me and Twi. However, as we walked, I heard a few choice words about a golden streak through the air.

Others had seen the rock's flight. But none knew what it signified. None knew what the streak of gold really was. But still, if the rest of the city had seen the swirl of clouds, it made me all the more cautious about our newfound treasure, and it forced me to quicken our pace towards Ursh's shop, regardless of my feelings on the shop's owner. All along the way, however, we were assaulted by rumors of what the black sky meant. Some said it was an omen of the end of days, others that it meant a god was manifesting a mortal form or some such nonsense. Even when we arrived to the shop, a group of housewives were strolling by and I could hear one say she thought it meant old fables of magic were coming true.

Back out of my memories, I realized I lost track of the wall planks and resumed my count. It didn't take long for Twi's near double to show his scaly hide, however. Soon enough the noise of the customers outside quieted down, and footsteps sounded off as the outline of the saurian jewelcrafter could be seen heading our way. Neither Twi nor I moved as he entered the room, an icy gaze still stuck to his face. Calmly, he walked over to the table in the middle of the room and sat down. From a pocket of his coat, he produced a cigar which he lit up and took a long drag from before finally saying anything.

"It's nice to see you again, Twi." As he spoke, his gravelly voiced words were accented with puffs of cigar smoke. Without even looking my way, he added, "I see you brought 'him' with you."

My eyes narrowed at the blatant insult. "Listen here, you son of bitch. I'm fine with you being a prick, but at least have the balls to face me when you do it and not act like some coward."

Still he refused to look my way when he responded, "Coward? If I recall our last meeting correctly, you were the one who left with your tail between your legs." A thin smile graced his lips at the mention of that.

The words came flying out me without a second thought. "That's only 'cause, unlike you, I don't kill family."

Finally, his eyes snapped to me, widening in anger as they did. The cigar dropped from his lips as he stood up from his chair, hands slamming down onto the table as he got up. Clawed fingers balled into tight fists as he moved around the table, feet hitting heavy against the floor as he stomped.

A hand went to my dagger as Ursh stepped towards me. I was preparing myself for another fight like last time when a sharp crack of thunder sounded, and something sped by in the space between us. Something thin, with a pointed edge. Collectively, our two sets of eyes turned to see Twi, her hands holding up her crossbow. Realizing at once what just happened, I sheathed my blade and backed away from the now slowly calming saurian male, who in turn retraced his steps to his chair.

When the tension in the air had begun to cool, Twi cleared her throat. "If you're both done with this nonsense," she said with a condescendingly motherly tone, "I think it's time to get to business."

Even though the heat had died down somewhat, Ursh still had an unpleasant look about him. Furrowed brow ridge, a deep scowl, hands clasped together, body tensed. It was as if he believed one of us would still try to attack him. From his point of view, his two least favorite people just barged into his shop, so it wasn't a wonder he'd be a little upset. Well, least favorite person and Twi. While I knew he never liked me from the first time we met--on account of the whole attempted murder--he at least appeared to still hold a soft spot for Twi. Not much of a surprise, really.

From her pack, Twi pulled loose the stone from the sky, setting it down before Ursh.

The ridge of his brow raised at the sight. "A rock?" His sight shot up, alternating focus betweeen Twi and me. "You decided to come bother me over a rock?"

"It's not some plain everyday rock," I started. I went on to tell the whole story about how we came upon it.

Ursh listened in silence, but I could tell from the look in his eyes he was not amused. His scowl, by some miracle, managed to deepen even more. When I explained the heartbeat-like pulsing, he let out a snort, and I could see some remnants of smoke puffing out his nostrils.

A low growl came from the saurian man. A twitch formed at the corner of his mouth. "You realize how asinine this all sounds, right? Some stone from the heavens? What kind of idiot do you take me for?"

"Where have you been all morning?" My words were accusatory. "Have you even talked to any of your customers? Surely one of them mentioned what happened." How ridiculous this was, I thought to myself. A business owner who didn't even know the goings on right outside his door.

A twitch of the brow and a snarl came from the angered scaled man. "Unlike you, I don't have the luxury of galavanting around the countryside to chase meager profit. I have to stay inside most days and..."

From beside me, Twi interrupted him. "You know we wouldn't lie about something like this," she pointedly stated. "We wouldn't be here if we didn't think it wasn't important."

Ursh's eyes fixed on Twi for a long pause. After studying the younger saurian, he came away with a soft breath. He replaced his gaze to the stone once more, a hand slowly picking it up. At the feeling of the warmth and pulsing, his face lit up in surprise. His jaw dropped as he failed to articulate a response.

I smirked in smug satisfaction. "See? Not just a normal rock, eh?"

Once he swallowed a lump in his throat, Ursh found his voice. "I've never encountered anything like this before."

Great, I thought. A dead end. We came to see the only expert we knew on this topic, and even he didn't have an answer.

Placing the stone back down, Ursh coughed and fixed the top button of his shirt. "I'd like to study this stone," he said. It wasn't a question, I noticed. "Doing some routine experimentation, I might be able to determine just what this thing is made of. It shouldn't take me..."

"No," came my immediate answer.

Twi sighed at me. "Graham, this isn't..."

"No," I repeated, interrupting her as well. "If it turns out to be something valuable, I don't want him having more of it than us. And if it turns out to be dangerous, I definitely don't want him having more." Jamming a finger at the jeweler, I continued, "You can take a small piece. Just enough for your little experiments. Got it?"

Rather than argue, as I thought he would, Ursh nodded and pulled out a tiny chisel and hammer from a pocket. Placing the chisel at an inclined angle, he struck the hammer down, and from the golden stone popped off a small chunk, barely bigger than a strawberry. Pleased with the result, he returned his tools to their resting place and picked up the small piece of stone.

His gaze directed at me, he said, "This small enough, your majesty?"

I wanted to start a shouting match at the admittedly bland insult. I could even feel the response bubbling in my throat. But, before I had the opportunity to say something, a thought occured. He actually did what I asked without even fighting back. Maybe, in some way, perhaps he was trying to make peace since we were faced with some unknown object from the stars. Maybe. Probably just wanted to get this over with so I'd leave sooner. Whatever the case was, I silenced the argument in my soul.

"Yea," I responsed. "You know where to find us once you're done with your stuff."

Wordlessly, he nodded again then picked up the larger segment of stone, holding it out for us. I plucked the rock from him, returning it to Twi's pack afterwards. I was getting ready to leave when Twi touched my arm again.

"Do you mind letting us talk for a moment?" At first, I wanted to say no, but I could see the pleading in her eyes. I told her I'd be right outside, and made my exit.

When I left, I noticed the kalrin woman standing out by the entrance, her hands held together, fingers fidgeting with nervous energy. She still seemed worried, as when she saw me leave, she jumped and moved back a pace or two. Tempting though it was to try to mess with someone so wound up, I let it go, finding myself a nice space of wall to lean against to wait for Twi. This wasn't the first time she'd asked to speak with Ursh alone. Every time we visited, they always had a nice talk. Granted, we never made our visits frequent, though thinking on it, that was probably why they always liked to spend some time together.

The fact of what I had done in the shop finally hit me then. I'd called Ursh a murderer. Twi probably wouldn't be happy I brought that up. That might even have been one of the things they were discussing without me around. Their family life was mostly a mystery to me, as Twi didn't like mentioning it often, and I didn't like to pry. Even so, the fact I brought up a possible painful memory for both of them wouldn't win me any favors.

Why did I do that?

Ursh had tried to take my life once before, so I wasn't entirely without reason to shittalk him. Not like he ever gave me any reason to treat him fairly. Talking down to me, not even looking my way when he insults me, acting like my mere prescence was an affront to his very being. It was infuriating. Not to mention, he'd never formally apologized for trying to kill me that one time. Oh sure, saying there was 'a misunderstanding' was one thing, but he never took a knee and asked forgiveness.

Well whatever, I told myself. He was only good for his knowledge. Once he figured out what this stone really was, hopefully then I could sell it and get Twi away from our crappy life. No more sellsword business, just living a live of peace. Then again, without our typical jobs, I wouldn't really know what to do with my time. We'd been doing this for so long, I never really thought about what we'd do if we ever stopped.

Maybe really make a family of our own? I couldn't stand children, though maybe if they were my own flesh and blood, that'd be different.

Open up an inn or a tavern somewhere? I didn't really know how to cook, but I figured I'd grow into it.

Just go live on the edge of a town and become hunters by trade? We knew more than enough about killing game animals, and some beyond that, to make something of ourselves that way.

Whatever the future might hold, I wouldn't be alone in making such a decision. And as I had that thought, my other half could be seen pushing the doors open and leaving the jewelcrafter's shop. I flashed her a grin and held an arm out for her to take. A roll of her eyes was her initial answer, but she gave in anyway, sliding in close enough for me to wrap an arm around the small of her back. Resting my hand just above the base of her tail, I gave the apendage a small squeeze, earning myself a weak slap to the chest from one slightly annoyed saurian.

It was time to go home finally.

~~~

Once we were home, Twi let out a long relieved breath and sat down. I meanwhile immediately went to the money hole to stash away the skystone and the coinpurse Boylan gave us. While I was removing the stone from the wall, Twi perked up.

"So, any ideas on what this even is? Like, it obviously isn't normal."

Yea, you could say that again, I thought.

With the stone now hidden, I stood up, arching my back slightly. The sound of joints popping and cracking came forth, and a wave of soothing feelings ran through my body. "Oh, that's better," I mumbled out.

"Graham, I'm serious," came the almost irritated tone of my saurian love. "You said yourself earlier. What if it's dangerous?"

"Eh, we'll cross that bridge if we come to it," I told her. I then began unbuckling my gambeson, and just after one buckle was undone, the cool autumn air rushed into the open garb. The cooling wind took away all the sweaty heat from the thick wool.

In truth, the idea of danger had crossed my mind several times the last few hours. Clearly, the stone had something about it. The heat, the throbbing. It was possible it might even be some kind of weapon. Until we knew for sure what it was, however, there wasn't much use worrying. After all, it hadn't done anything up to that point.

While I removed my puffy jacket, Twi followed suit, starting with her boots. The leather footwear still looked relatively well, if a bit dusty from use. Her thin fingers undid the straps and ripped off the boots in swift, near violent fashion.

"I still don't like bringing Ursh into this."

"And I don't care." The sheer bluntness of her words stopped me in my tracks. "I told you already, we can trust him on this."

"I know, I know," I said, annoyed. "I just..."

"Don't like him," she finished my thought. "Believe me, the feeling's mutual in that regard."

"Then why do you trust him so much?" My tone was accusatory. I could never wrap my head around why Twi put so much faith in her brother, especially when he never deserved it.

"Ursh is many things, but he's good for his word," she explained. "Always has been, ever since we were kids."

Pulling the belt off my pants, I slung the leather cord over the back of a chair. "So that's it, then?"

"What more do you want from me?" she bit back harshly. "If you can't trust him, then at least trust me." Calm, slow steps brought her over to me, where she wrapped rough scaled arms around me and nuzzled a smooth cheek against my neck. The feel of her cool body against my naked chest sent a small shiver through me. "Trust that I know what I'm doing."

Nodding along, I assured her, "I always do." Returning her embrace, I pulled her down to the nearby bed, letting us sit down as we held one another. While there in her arms and her in mine, my mind began to wander back to my earlier ideas. Thoughts on what we might do if we ever left the sellsword trade.

"Twi?"

"Hm?"

Finding my lips surprisingly dry, I mentally cursed myself. Doubly so when my throat felt tight as I tried to voice my thoughts.

"I've been thinking some," I finally worked out. With slight effort, I pushed my companion away so I could look at her face when we spoke. "We've saved up quite a bit of money from all our jobs."

She nodded to my words, but otherwise kept silent.

"And, considering we might be able to sell the skystone..."

She poked in a word. "Skystone?"

"Yea, it just kinda came to me," I tried to give an explanation. But, I had to get back on topic. "Anyway, if it's something we can sell, I think it might be time to leave New Serrak."

A frown ruined her wonderful face as she looked on in confusion. "Don't you like it here?"

"It's not that I don't like it," came my reasoning. "It's more that we could do better."

"Well, I admit it would be nice to have a bigger place."

"Exactly," I exclaimed.

"But why should we have to leave town for that?"

"To make a fresh start. Something new."

The frown upon her thin lips swiveled upwards into a tiny smirk. "New? Oh, so you don't enjoy your life with me anymore?" She was teasing.

I ran my hands up her sides, my palms following the outline of her curves, and came to rest them on her shoulders. "Twi, I'm being serious. If we have enough money, we could leave this sellsword thing behind and have something...safe."

Her smirk merely grew larger. "And what would you do that's 'safe?'"

"I don't know!" I really didn't. No matter how much thinking I did, I could never come up with something concrete. "But, I do know that whatever it is, it'll surely be better than putting our lives on the line for some idiot with a sack full of coin."

I wasn't sure if it was the tone of my voice or what I said, but Twi's little smile faltered. A heavy look came over her as she stared intently into my eyes.

"You're actually serious, aren't you?"

A simple nod was my answer. Her eyes never left mine.

"Alright," she began, "I don't exactly disagree with you. Being a sword for hire isn't much of a rewarding experience."

Rather than respond right away, I grasped her scaled cheeks between my hands and pulled her face close, planting a soft kiss on her forehead. She let out a little joyful chirp and pushed me down onto the bed.

"You know, I hear Farrhold is a great place," she said as she laid down beside me, curling herself up and resting her head on my chest.

"Oh yea?"

"Yea," came a response surrounded by a loud yawn. "Nice little forest and lake nearby. We could be hunters there."

Through a small chuckle I stated, "What about heading up to Piler's Valley? They got plenty of room for farmlands."

"Pfft, farming? You?" The sweet sound of her laughter hit my ears. "You don't know the first thing."

I gave her side a pinch, causing her to fidget away while laughing as I repeated the action. "I can learn," I declared.

We spent a large part of the afternoon on this back and forth while laughing at each other's ideas. By the time we wound down from the high, we simply laid down on the bed, huddled up close as the sun was descending beyond the horizon to be replaced by its silver cousin. From the cracks and seams of the house, the soft glow of moonlight provided just enough light to see. Slowly but surely, the two of our breathing slowed until we met an even rhythm and our lids felt too heavy to keep up.

When I woke, it was the jostling of my arm. Twi was shaking me, ridding me of some peaceful sleep. I opened my eyes, greeted by the sight of my one and only saurian love. Warm sunlight was shyly peeking out through the window slats.

"What, woman?" I barked out as I sat up calmly.

"I have an idea," she breathlessly said. Her half-crazed look in eyes told me I probably wasn't going to like this idea. "I know how we can try and find info on what we saw yesterday." I was going to grumble about wanting to go back to sleep when she added, "Without attacting attention to ourselves."

Giving her a narrow eyed stare, I sighed, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

"Fine," I moaned. "Let's just go now. No sense waiting till later, I suppose."

As I started to move out of bed, I noticed Twi had already placed some clothes out for me; they had been placed right over my legs, probably so I wouldn't miss them. She must have been eager to get going, I thought.

It was just after dawn when we arrived, the cold air slowly warming up in the early morning sunlight. The building was an old one, its once proud brick walls having been worn down by time, their bright red color now dulled down to a slight pinkish hue. Sitting near the center of the upper district, it stood tall and wide, a monument to the town's foundation and formation ages ago. Some would call it a home of knowledge, its vast array of books and texts and scrolls and tomes, all dedicated to one form of research or another.

Thinking on it, I wondered why we hadn't started here instead of bothering to get Ursh involved. But then the memory hit me; the archive was a guild operation, owned and operated jointly between three separate guilds no less. That realization caused a long groan to exit my lungs as Twi and I walked up the steps to the entrace.

While ascending, Twi turned to me and said in a hushed voice, "Let me do the talking. Don't say or do anything, got it?" She finished off the rhetorical question with a warning glare as she stepped throught the front door.

For my part, I mouthed out a simple, "Fine," and followed after her. Of course, I also rolled my eyes, more for my own amusement, as she had already turned around and walked ahead.

An apt description for the archive was that it was like a library but older, full of more specialized knowledge, and run by worse people. The interior of the archive was what one would expect; wall to wall rows of bookshelves filled with all manner of whatever you'd want. Well, whatever the guilds would want, to be more precise. Hardwood floors were cleaned and shone so bright, I could almost see my own reflection within them. Placed periodically around were an assortment of tables and desks, at many of which sat some person or guild member doing who knows what.

Close by the entrance was a reception desk, behind which sat a saurian male of considerable age it looked like. One could always tell a saurian's age by their eyes, even if their outward appearance could mask it. It's said the eyes are a window to the soul, after all, and this one's eyes showed a sense of weariness within. The kind of weariness that only comes with a long and storied life. His sand colored scales were speckled with flakes of an almost sunbleached white, and he wore what best could be described as a jester's outfit minus the silly belled cap. It was a two-toned suit, one half black and the other half red, and I wondered if it was some guild uniform or a personal choice. Either way, it looked comical on the aged reptilian.

He glanced up at us, studying Twi and myself for a brief moment before opening his toothy maw.

"You're not with any guilds." It wasn't a question. He somehow knew the truth without even asking. His voice had a tone similar to a grandfather's, that odd mixture of wisdom and annoyance at the youth.

"Observant one," Twi mumbled under breath. As she said she would, she took charge and handled things. "No, we're not," she addressed the jester-clothed saurian. "But, it was my understanding we don't need to be."

The old reptile began his response with a harumph. "You don't need to be, but it means you ain't allowed to take any books outside the building." From below the desk, he reached a scaly hand down and produced a small book, opening it up to a page filled with names, dates and times. He pointed to a clean line and ordered, "Sign here. You'll sign again when you leave."

After we both signed the little book, Twi glanced around and asked, "Do ya happen to know where we might find any research texts on phenomena in the sky?"

The old reptile, confused, said, "Meaning?"

"Oh, you know, lights in the night sky, strange noises, odd cloud formations. Those kind of things." While she spoke, she moved her hands about idly, making small circles and wiggling her fingers slightly.

"Hmm," he mumbled in absent thought. He grunted a few times before his memory seemed to come to him. "Ah, probably interested in that dark sky from yesterday, eh? I believe you'd find such things in section 2125. It's on the second floor."

She thanked the elder and the two of us made for the stairs. As we climbed, I decided to voice a thought.

"Why did you want me not to say anything?"

She said with a scoff, "Knowing your dislike of the guilds, you'd probably inject some nonsense about the way they operate, and annoy the poor bastard." A barely audible chuckle escaped her then. "We just got here, wouldn't be smart to piss off the people running the place and get kicked out."

She was right of course, but it wasn't like I was going to admit it. So instead, I shrugged the comment off as we landed on the second floor. As the ground floor below, it was full of rows upon rows of shelves, each one filled to bursting with all manner of books. Along each row of shelves was a small plague detailing its row's number. The closest one was, naturally, named section 2001. Our feet made little noise as we walked the long halls of books locating the section we were pointed towards.

It was a long and quiet journey towards our destination. The loudest sound was that of flipping papers as people read whatever they desired all around us. The second loudest was the occasional coughing here or there. After quite some walking, we came upon it, a small sign on a shelf signaling section 2125. The long row of bookshelves that followed hopefully contained some kind of clue, any hint towards what we witnessed in the sky. With no real idea where to actually start looking, I pulled out the first book I could see.

It was titled "When the Sun Turns Black." Skimming the few odd pages, I saw this particular book was about old myths concerning eclipses. Nothing helpful to our mission. While replacing the book, off to my left I could see Twi making a nice stack of texts. Might as well do the same, I thought, so I started following her actions. Not like we even knew what we were supposed to be looking for exactly.

This was going to take some time.

For hours we hunkered down at a table, twin stacks of books between us, and we read. Page after page, book after book, on and on for nearly half the day. Sure, there were some interesting facts about the way clouds are created from air currents high in the sky and other such wonderfully informative details, but the further on we read, the more I felt the answer was eluding us. Nothing seemed to shed light on our curiosity, but still we kept at it. But as the clock ticked on and my eyes scanned countless pages, words began to form together, jumbling themselves into an incomprehensible mess.

My eyes fixated on a paragraph, trying in vain to read something, anything. All that could be seen was a haze of letters. Furstrated, I slammed the book shut and let loose a loud breath through my nostrils, doing my best to bite down on a angered yell.

"No luck, huh," came Twi's soothing voice. I looked up and saw her giving me a look that seemed to say all I needed to know.

Neither of us had yet to find a damned thing.

Glancing back over to the row of shelves, I mumbled, "Could take us a few weeks to pour through all those books." That would mean a few weeks of no paid work, my brain finished the thought. Pushing that aside, I realized that there was no feasable way we'd be able to do much good on our own like this. This only led to the obvious question of who could we trust. Ursh was...Ursh, but I doubted he'd do anything rash. We had the odd connection with a select few other sellswords, the occasional merchant I hadn't scared away, and even some petty criminals we'd worked with in the past. None of them struck me as the type to believe our insane story, nor did any of them seem trustworthy enough with what little information we had.

Trapped in my thoughts, I could hear in the distance Twi calling out to me. Returning to the archives, I looked back to my companion, whose face was twisted up in confusion. It was almost comical to see her so bewildered.

She eyed me for a second. Trying to figure out if I was back, probably. "Everything alright?"

Nodding, I answered, "Just thinking." When I paused, Twi gave me a gaze telling me to elaborate further. "What if this whole thing is something entirely new? Something that's never been recorded down or even seen before? I'm actually kinda...worried."

"You, worried?" She scoffed at the mere thought. "All that tough mercenary crap you pull and this is what's getting to you?" Her lips curled up into a big smirk, and she tried to conceal a laugh.

Brushing her mockery off, I continued. "I mean it. This whole thing feels weird. These kinds of things don't just happen. Certainly not without reason, at least."

I gave her a few seconds to swallow the laughter down so she could properly talk. When she calmed herself, she still had a slight smile, however.

"Maybe it's magick."

"Very funny."

"Hey, I'm serious." Her continued smile made me think otherwise. "What if the legends are real and magick does exist? That would make sense of this whole situation."

She had a point. It would explain things, even if it was absurd. But still. Magick? That stuff was ancient myth, the kind of thing that there was so little records left, it made people wonder just how far back the tales went. Regardless of my personal feelings on the matter, I pocketed this idea somewhere deep inside my head. Perhaps there was some truth to this. Perhaps not.

For the next few days, Twi and I kept up our little study. Every day, we pulled book after book from the shelf. And every day, we came no closer to an answer. We even branched out to other sections of the archive, but came away just as empty handed.

~~~

A continuous knocking at the door startled me awake. Inky black darkness encompassed the room, so I could tell it was still night, but just how late was beyond me. From my side, Twi bolted upright in bed, and we two jumped off and grabbed some weapons; her a dagger, me a crossbow. Together, we stalked towards the door of our ramshackle home while the rapping still sounded.

As I pulled the string of the crossbow back and readied a bolt, my scaly partner wrapped her delicate fingers around the door handle. The instant another knock came, she pulled the door open, dagger raised high, and I brought my own weapon up to eye level as I took aim.

"Wait! Please don't kill me!"

It was a feminine voice. One I could almost swear I'd heard before. Heard recently, too. Through the open door came the brisk air, sending a wave of chill through the room.

Harsh lamplight stung my eyes as the figure in the darkness raised a lantern, revealing themselves to be a black furred kalrin woman. Her loose fitting clothes were cut short, clearly not made to be worn outside during a cold night. She kept her free hand pressed close to her chest as she shivered in the breeze.

Keeping my weapon held up, I barked out, "Who are you and why are you here? You have five seconds."

"Please no," she squeaked out. Her shivering went overboard, the lantern in hand looking as if it would shake out of her hand. "I'm Blaire. Mister Ursh sent me."

Lowering the crossbow, I took a second look at the kalrin girl's face, and instantly I recalled where I'd seen her last. She was that skittish little thing working at Ursh's place. I almost didn't recognize her. Then again, I'd only seen her once before, so it wasn't like I had real knowledge about her.

Twi's hand pushed my crossbow to point down towards the floor as she sheathed her blade.

"What are you doing here this late?" she interrogated the frail mouse.

The onyx furred lass spoke a mile a minute. "Mister Ursh needs to see you two right now and he sent me to bring you to the shop and I didn't want to be a bother so I'm sorry for waking you up so late but you really need to come with me because he said it's really really important." It was actually kinda impressive how she said it all in one breath.

Twi snapped her head back to look me in the eyes. With just minor movements of our brows and widening or closing of our eyes, we shared a silent conversation. At the end of this wordless talk, I nodded and went to grab some clothes for us to change into, and soon enough we were out the door, following the short kalrin lass.

On this short hop to the jewelcrafter's, the wind seemed to only become harsher, blowing harder and stronger while we moved. Papers and other debris fluttered about as the dark streets were met by the miniscule hurricane. The winds were barely a step below cutting, but the cold more than made up for the missing bite. Ahead of us, Blaire was barely holding onto her lantern as she was overcome with shudders.

Why in the world did she retrieve us in such clothes? She didn't even have a cloak or anything.

Rather than get into unneeded conversation, I kept my mouth shut, as we were closing in on the shop. A light was shining forth from the windows and smoke poured out the chimney. Warmth awaited within. Blaire took us to a side door that assumedly led to Ursh's living quarters.

We stepped through the threshold and were met with the heat of the fire blazing strongly in its hearth. No warm coals were these, but rather hardy wood that, judging by the stack of logs nearby, would last through the night. Across the way, Ursh was sat at a large desk littered with several open books and tomes. In the middle of this chaos was the small chunk of golden stone he'd been given, housed upon a cut of red cloth. On the floor beside the desk were more texts, half opened, spines bent. Discarded.

We didn't even have the time to remove our cloaks when Ursh spoke up. "Good, you're here. This is important." He waved his assistant off, telling her she was dismissed. The girl took this well, simply bowing out and retreating to who knows where.

"This is about the stone," Twi huffed.

He stood up quickly, knocking a book off the table in the process. "Of course it is."

Twisting my face into a lopsided and confused grin, I said, "It hasn't even been a day. You couldn't have done all your dumb experiments already."

"I didn't have to!" His answer came swift and harsh, his tone raised. Letting out a breath to calm himself, he closed his eyes for a brief second before continuing. "I'd never even heard of any rock, stone, mineral or whathaveyou that could give off its own warmth or...or have a heartbeat. It's a thing of childish fairytales, I told myself."

My next statement came with a shrug. "Hard to deny it when it's staring you in the face, though."

Extending one long scaly finger, he pointed my way. "Exactly." He then gestured towards all the papers scattered about the desk and floor. "So, I took to every book I had on the topic of rare and unique stones."

He gave a long pause, taking a deep breath before finishing the thought. "Not a one of them had any answers."

My jaw was practically on the floor. The one so-called expert we knew had no information. No sort of revelations or discoveries. Once the shock passed, a different emotion came through me. Anger.

A torrent of anger entered my being. Fingers tightened into balled fists, muscle tensed ready to strike. I snarled out, "So you mean to tell me, you woke us up in the middle of the night just to tell us you don't have a damn clue?"

"Let me finish," he spat back. He then sighed rather annoyed--all for my beneift no doubt--before he went on. "As I said, I found no traces of this stone in any of my research texts. But, while pouring over the notes, a thought came to me. What if this stone is not natural?"

"The sky ripped itself open, of course it's not natural." This time it was Twi who interrupted, not I. I was in fact quite pleased with my saurian lover for this, my chest swelling with pride.

"What I mean," he got back to topic with a groan, "is what if this stone isn't a stone?" A swift hand pulled up a book from the top of his desk and began furiously flipping pages. "Something about this seemed oddly familiar in the back of my mind, like I'd heard something like this. And lo and behold, I found something that might just explain it."

"Well, don't keep us all in suspense," I joked.

Yellow eyes narrowed my way as he continued flipping pages, until at last landing on what he had been searching for. He cleared his throat, preparing himself for the information he was about to share with us.

"According to old scholars, this thing might in fact be a piece of a dragon."

"A dragon?" Twi and I repeated at the same time, both of us too stunned to really add anything else at the moment.

With a gleam in his eye, Ursh almost excitedly explained his findings. "Indeed. According to experiments performed on the last reamaining dragon over six hundred years ago, their entire body houses portions of their power. Remove a piece of bone or horn, and a miniscule amount of power remains in that piece. I think what we have here might be a hardened piece of scale."

I scoffed at this explanation. "This is ridiculous. How in the world could this thing be from any dragon?"

"I'm getting to that," he assured her. Pages flipped swiftly once more as he searched the book again, mumbling incoherently to himself all the while. "There it was," he said jabbing his long thin finger into the page. Slitted eyes scanned the pages as he recounted his findings. "Supposedly, old alchemists experimented on dragons, and during these experiments, they found that any piece of a dragon that was broken off or such, would give off a subtle warmth, and even a soft pulsing."

Well that certainly sounded familiar.

"That's not all," he said after a pause. A frown appeared on his face then. "It says here, that any piece of a dragon only gives off that warmth and pulsing only so long as the dragon it came from still lives."

All three of us went silent. After Ursh's little information dump, none of us really did anything for a few moments, just letting this all settle in our brains. If this was true, if this rock really was from an ancient dragon, then it was more than just some pretty bauble to be sold off. Though they had gone extinct, dragons were still regarded as one of the world's greatest creatures. Intelligent, strong, fast; dragons were second to no beast. Some believed they even rivaled the intellect of the children of Meloire. There were even ancient myths that dragons could bend the elements to their will. If a dragon was somehow still alive, who knows what that could mean for the world.

But, one thing still bothered me in the back of my mind, scratching away at my thoughts.

"This still doesn't explain what happened with the sky."

Two sets of yellow eyes snapped to me, and both saurians let out little unsettled grunts. Though we now had a possible answer about the rock, we still had nothing on the swirling clouds and abscence of sunlight. And even if the stone is some dragon scale or bone or whatever, where did it come from? How did it come from the sky? Did anyone else even see those circling clouds, or was it only for me and Twi to witness?

Questions, but no answers. No leads, even. Things were not looking up.

"Welp," I said with an annoyed moan, "no use standing around here." Directing my attention to our gracious host, I said with a smile, "Thanks for nothing. Next time you knock on our door in the middle of the night, maybe actually have something useful to say."

~~~