I was eager to be off. But Jacob followed me. The spindly old man didn't need me to slow down for him. Somehow, despite his decrepitude, he followed me easily—almost bouncing with excitement. As we crossed the foyer, I wondered if he would leave the front gate of the Tower and expose his ancient body to natural aging beyond the intense Order field that shielded it.

His words drummed out of him, spilling over one another. He was more toddler than sage as he babbled with sheer, unadulterated excitement.

"…and if you do detour to encounter the dragons, I need you to note the similarities. Reports on them have been so confounding and conflicting—I need something more solid. Are they related to one another? Did they derive from the same source? I need you to look for features that would have an inherited source. Fiends adapt, Tiberius. I've made that very clear. You can make mistakes quite easily about lineage by being distracted by the superficial. What I am interested in is structural similarities and differences. Do they have the same number of limbs? Do their joints bend the same way? Oh, number of joints on corresponding limbs, of course. Don't be distracted by protrusions or horns—those can be quite cosmetic. Do you think you could manage to take note of some ratios? Forearm to spine, perhaps? It would be truly wonderful if you could estimate the number of tail vertebrae. Only in intact tails, mind you. But you wouldn't be silly enough to count the vertebrae in an appended tail, I'm sure…"

We crossed through the door of the foyer and out into the light. I could feel excitement brewing in me. I strangely wanted to be on the road again. I wanted to be out there. And I had particular excitements before me on this journey. I was both anxious and excited to spend time with Olaf. I felt a friend in him—but something about that gave me terrible anxiety. I would leave a message for Joel, start to steer our relationship, stop letting him steer me. I could see Dodge again, hopefully in a better state than I had left it. And then there was the other meeting I had planned…

Jacob continued to ramble. I did my best to pay attention. I respected the old priest. It wasn't from disdain that my attention wandered from him. It was simply that the words never stopped flowing.

"…it's evidence of reproduction that I seek. By all accounts, the mud-beasts have a queen. Is she truly a reproductively active matriarch? Or are they just a cluster of co-adapted individuals that bear no hereditary resemblance? Oh, Tiberius, if there were eggs… do you know what that would mean? It would prove all my theories completely wrong. How exciting that would be! Can you imagine? But don't be distracted. Of all the sites you might stop at, it's the Worm in the St. Louis ruins that I would be most obliged if you could visit. They say it speaks. The accounts are far beyond trustworthy, but we simply have to know…"

We descended the path to the main gate. I noted that the knights on duty were the same two I had met so many moons ago. I eyed the man who had spat at my feet. He had none of his bravado now. He simply stared at his boots. He didn't fail to salute me as I approached, but he couldn't make eye contact. I wondered if he was embarrassed by my success, or if he feared my displeasure. It was scary how good it felt to think he might fear me.

We neared the gate, and I continued to wonder if Jacob's excitement would actually lead him to leave the preserving Field.

"…can't tell you how good it is to be working with a Griidlord who's so accommodating. For so long I've dealt with egotistical nobles. A boy like you, from good common stock—you're a true gem…"

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I kept walking through the gate.

Jacob stopped abruptly, finishing his sentence. "…I've waited my whole life for someone like you. Happy hunting."

I stopped and turned back. He hadn't even stammered.

I said, "Wait… did you plan your speech so it could end at the gate?"

The old man blinked. "Well… yes, of course I did. Why wouldn't I?"

I said, "But… I thought you were rambling… how could you time it…"

He looked at me like I was mad. So matter-of-factly, he said, "Obviously there are 1,445 steps to the main gate. You walk quite briskly—equating to an approximate travel time of nine minutes and fifty seconds, allowing for the lift descent. It was only prudent."

I gaped at him. I tried to see if there was a jest in there, but he only returned my stare with bizarre innocence. I felt my nascent affection for the man growing somehow.

I said, "Take care. I'll see you again soon."

I turned to walk away. His voice bounded to my back.

"Tiberius, don't forget—"

Without turning back, I raised a hand to interrupt him. "I know, I know. Retain a horn of Glurb, an egg of Cynthia, and note all the ratios."

As I kept walking, my suit's ears heard him mutter, "That's my boy."

I found myself fading down the hill with a pleasant smile on my face. I felt a bloom of affection toward the old man. He had become a constant presence in my life. He was there to manage my healing between battles. He was there to advise. When I had asked him to make sure our assigned train route would take us near the salt flats east of Kansas, he hadn't asked any questions.

But for all of that, I was looking forward to having my thoughts to myself while I walked to the gate. The city thrummed with life around me. There were waves, salutes, but none approached me. I was too grand a being in their eyes to be bothered.

I felt peace. I was becoming comfortable with who I was, growing easy in the skin of the Sword of Boston. I cherished the prospect of the calm I could feel as I walked through the town—with the people, but alone. I needed to cherish it, for a Griid-train awaited, and there would be precious little time to be by myself soon.

I had covered maybe twenty yards when the small, quick steps took up their place alongside me, and my solitude was broken.

I looked down, perturbed at first by the intrusion. My perturbance was quickly broken by an easy smile as I saw the face of my new companion looking up at me, keeping easy pace with my longer strides.

I said, "Katya… what brings you to town so early?"

"I came with Lauren. She's visiting the Tower, plying more voters with her affections. The overarching idea is quite noble and exciting, but… the machinery of it all is sooo boring. I left her to it and wandered the shops. But then I saw you!"

I was warmed by the friendly gesture. I was chagrined a little. I kept thinking of my relationship with Olaf as a burgeoning chance to have a friend who was a peer, but I had failed to consider Lauren and Katya. We had spent many evenings together in Castle Oakcrest, talking, drinking. They had welcomed me with grace and ease. Maybe—just maybe—some of the warmth of their inclusion had been borne of guilt or pity for how the first stages of our relationship had concluded. Whatever the case, as much as that had turned out contrary to my expectations, they had been present ever since.

I said, "And then you saw me and thought what better way to pass the morning than a friendly stroll with your good friend?"

She screwed an eyebrow at me. "Tiberius, it's much more important than that!"

I returned her furrowed brow with a raised one. "Oh?"

She said, "Of course it is. I need something from you!"

I said, "Yes?"

She said, "I need you to get me more volumes of the…" she cast her head about, ensuring there was no one in listening distance, "I need more volumes of the Journals. If you were able to get a volume of the diaries of John the Dispeller so easily, you can get more, yes?"

I started, somewhat. With everything that had happened, it had quite left my mind that I had designated that task to her. Giving her the book had lifted one weight off my mind and left me free to apply myself to the rest of the deluge of unresolved issues in my life.

"You've finished it? Already?"

She said, "Of course. It's only a little book, Tiberius. I really wonder why you couldn't have gotten through it yourself."

I said, "For Oracle's sake, Katya! Tell me! What's in it?"

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