Rufian looked over my shoulder before taking the note from me. Instead of reading it first, he took a whiff of the paper, absorbing the scent before he said, “This note is from Jayarthi, a member of the High Order. I recognize the cheap cologne.”
“A council member?” Maxi said with fear in her worried eyes.
“I doubt the guild got it directly from him. This was a deliberate goose chase. If I had to guess, the guild was given potential locations for the codex, thinking it moved around periodically to avoid being captured.”
Maxi took a step toward Rufian, confused and scared. “How did they know we lived here?!”
“They probably didn’t. Some of these locations are landmarks. It was by sheer bad luck they chose an area where you decided to hide in.”
“Well that does it. We need to pack our bags tonight,” Tienus said anxiously.
“I will keep this. After many years of clashing, I could finally settle an old score…”
I turned to him cross. “We don’t have time to settle an old score.”
Rufian smirked. “Pardon us, but we should really be heading on our way.”
Maxi charged at me with a hug, thanking me again. “May your travels be fruitful, warrior.”
Her husband approached me and offered, “That hit list wasn’t the only thing I stole from the big one,” he said, sticking out his hand for what seemed to be a handshake. Maxi took a step back with a bubbly smile as her husband continued, “Take a look for yourself. It’s easier this way to show you.”
I took his hand and behold, items. His inventory looked different, items segregated into categories and names. Two names to be exact. Pixie and Lanette. I also saw a label that said restored items that were stolen from him and reclaimed.
“Pick anything you like. A small price for saving our lives.”
“Oh, I would have loved to see the looks on their faces when they realized they’d been robbed blind,” Rufian tittered. “Priceless.”
I browsed. Between the two girls, they were surprisingly broke, and nothing really caught my eyes but a few sammies and… wait, was that what I thought it was?
Antatha’s hairpin, made of Jeterium metal.
I let the couple keep the sammies, seeing as they had to relocate. But I took the hairpin for Antatha.
“A hairpin?” Tienus said, surprised. “Are you sure that’s all you want?”
“Yeah. It’s made out of Jeterium, and it means a lot to someone.”
“Oh right, I almost forgot about that! You could get plenty sammies if you traded that to the right trader.”
“It was actually stolen. All I’m doing is giving it back.”
“How noble of you,” Maxi said sweetly. “If you ever need a place to stay, look for us. We’d love to have you both.”
Rufian bowed respectfully. “We’d take you up on that offer. Tread carefully out there. There are dragon soldiers where you’d least expect them. You must be ever diligent. They are using our magic against us and taking our form.”
Crafty dragons, that was no secret. After we parted ways with the friendly couple, I told Rufian I scored the feather, and all we had to do was return this hairpin to its rightful owner to get it. He was down for it, and after we went back to the emporium, we secured the first ingredient to the codex locator spell.
Next on the list was the bone ashes of a baron’s blood.
“Ashes of a baron’s blood?” I asked him as he prepared to teleport us further inland.
“Blood relative, doesn’t have to be the baron exclusively.”
“Okay, but what exactly is a baron in Thalian?”
“In Mavriel you mean. The land of the fae is the only region which has barons. And in those baron courts, you have their lineage, or bloodline. I am surprised that Jezz hadn’t told you about this already.”
“She seemed pretty headstrong about hating her own kind.”
“Ah, that makes sense I suppose. Well, before we head there, you do need to understand the basics or you’ll look like an imposter.”
“Then school me.”
“In Mavriel, there are noble families. Seven in total to be exact. They reside in districts, similar to that of the Dragon Conclave and how they oversee regions south, west, east and north. But with barons, they do not have a king as crown. Instead, we have the High Order. Some call them Holy Order, or High Fae Councilmen. In total, there are seven members, and it isn’t a coincidence that we have seven royal families as well. Each councilman regulates a family, hence regulating a district. They make sure the barons are setting everyone in line. They also manage our military, our schools, our jobs, and our lifestyle.”
So, communism.
“Punishment for not falling in line is grave, so the barons must uphold these laws to survive not only as a district but as a family. You have Baron Rueds, the first baron family. Baron Castle, the second, Baron Alpinuer, the third, Baron Elridge, the fourth, Baron Exhavier, the fifth, Baron Velarde, the sixth, and lastly Baron Woodrose, the seventh.
“I’ve met Exhavier’s daughter, Gavori.”
“Then you know that the house of Exhavier is a bunch of enablers. They love to get their hands in dragon affairs, and it often gets us as a nation in trouble. Truthfully it isn’t their fault. Their overseer is a pompous bastard who thinks he is untouchable.”
“Sounds like he belongs with the dragons.”
Rufian chuckled. “Very much so. But I digress. Baron Exhavier had a recent death in the family. His eldest son Nicott had died from disease, most likely associated with the dying of our planet I am sure. He has been cremated, and his bone ashes will serve as an ingredient to our locator spell.”
“Wait one hot minute, how the heck did you know he died if you’ve been hiding with humans?”