Farilane continued to shout, “I’m fine. Kolby’s fine, and you’re protected by Cedric. I’m just going to grab the book and come back. It can’t be far. The Monks of Maribor are human, not dwarven, so they couldn’t have dug too deep. Just sit tight.”

Everything she said made perfect sense, her logic impeccable, but still, she was worried.

“I’ve got this.” She spoke too quietly for them to hear over the splash of the waterfall. That didn’t matter. She’d said it mostly to herself.

Chapter 2: The Ragman

Chapter Two
The Ragman

Sheldon Faust had always thought the city of Percepliquis was crazy huge, and that its five square miles weren’t nothing if not filled with mind-boggling wonder. All them streets being paved like they was, windows having glass, ladies having hairstyles, and men walking around with shaved faces and shoes was just, well, better than anything had a right to be. And the city had plumbing—plumbing! Sheldon had never heard the word before coming there. Back in his village of Damansa—where cheese ruled and cow patty flinging was a legit competition—everyone carried their water in buckets. But in the city of Novron, plumbing was the miracle that made water flow from fountains, clean enough to drink, and so plentiful that people soaked in it like chickens simmering on his mother’s stove. Folks in Damansa never bathed, but here whole buildings were made for people to sit, soak, and waste their time. He’d even heard of homes with pipes and taps in the walls. Rumors held that some of the fancy villas even had hot water. Just turn a screw and steam pisses out the end!

Yup, Percepliquis was certainly grand. It was the home of the emperor, a bull’s-eye of business, the belly button of the world, and now Sheldon Faust was here.

He just hadn’t expected to be a hunted criminal.

Darting down Ebonydale, Sheldon stopped at the Column of Destone, an out-of-place, tapering pillar of rock. At eye level, an arrow pointing east had been chiseled into the stone. Below that were markings. Sheldon couldn’t read, but he knew they were letters, and the markings bothered him. When Novron ruled, writing was forbidden, but the column had been put there by the first emperor’s son. Nowadays, the old rules were back, and writing was more than merely illegal. It was heretical, and that was just fine by Sheldon. He guessed no one had bothered to erase them words on the column, but that would change.