The keep smelled of fresh plaster, new-cut lumber, and the faint metallic scent of oil from carpenters’ tools. It continued to be incredible how quickly the place had transformed from a leaning disaster into something that might eventually pass for a noble estate. Raith stood in the entry hall, arms folded across his chest as he listened to the rhythmic hammering echo through the stone corridors. Embry's men had been gotten to work the moment the the crews were done working on the second floor near their rooms. Every strike felt like a promise that the world was slowly becoming less dangerous.

  Zinny buzzed past on a trail of glittering motes that drifted down like shed moonlight. She spun in a tight loop and clapped her hands.

  "It can't wait for you all to come to my party," she said, kicking her heels together. "Very exciting. I shall invite everyone. Oh wait, I do not like everyone. I shall invite only a select handful of people that I like. It will be perfect." She peered at Raith suspiciously for a moment and nodded curtly. "You may come."

  Raith sighed. At least she was in a good mood.

  Tolliver swept in from the kitchen, sleeves rolled up and his hair tied neatly back. He held a ledger and quill, looking very much like a head steward, which Raith supposed he sort of was in this house.

  "Repairs to the eastern stairwell are complete," Tolliver reported. "The masons believe they will finish the courtyard wall within a week. The roof braces have been secured. And the third floor no longer creaks when one walks across it. A minor miracle."

  "We have a third floor?" Raith asked.

  "If it could be called that," Tolliver replied. "More of an attic that could generously be called a third floor. Provided it survives the coming days without collapsing."

  Raith nodded sagely. "A modest dream, but a noble one."

  He kept walking through the hall with Tolliver at his side, Zinny darting ahead to examine anything that sparkled. Thea appeared at the turn of the corridor, brushing sawdust from her shoulders while two construction workers hurried past carrying a heavy beam.

  "Embry sent word he will arrive tomorrow morning himself," she said. "He wants to start laying the traps and wards as soon as possible."

  "Good," Raith said. He rubbed his palms together. "You can finally stop carrying that mirror around and we'll have someplace secure to store our valuables."

  Thea gave him an relieved look. "That can't come soon enough."

  Nyhm padded in quietly from the herbalist room he had claimed on the second floor. His fingers were stained with purple plant juice.

  "I thought I heard you out here. What's the plan for today?"

  Raith gestured for him to come along and pushed open the door that led to his chambers. This had once been a grand noble suite, although time, disrepair, and general filth had done their best to disguise the fact. Now, after considerable [Skilled] effort, the room looked like a proper residence again. A thick rug lay across the floor. The fireplace had been restored, its stone polished to a deep gray. There was even a sturdy wardrobe with functional hinges.

  But the real treasure lay behind the hidden door set unobtrusively into the far wall. Raith’s bedroom connected directly to a second chamber that no servant or visitor would ever see.

  Tolliver stepped inside with him as Raith crossed the room to open the hidden door.

  "I must say," Tolliver murmured, "I approve of the placement. Very secretive."

  "I wasn't sure I wanted to bring everyone in through my bedroom, but finally decided I want the mirror stored away from me even less."

  He pushed the door inward. The mirror room sat finished at last.

  The chamber was circular and reinforced with stone and steel. Embry’s instructions had been meticulous. The floor was inlaid with concentric rings of polished marble, each etched with faint lines that would later hold binding sigils. At the center of the room stood the massive wrought-iron frame that would soon hold Raith’s enchanted mirror.

  Tolliver whistled. "It looks like the entrance to a dungeon."

  "It might be the entrance to several. Sort of. We set it up to connect to my library, but it still serves as a gleaming to many gossamer paths, similar to the Hollow Earl's."

  They stewed in the implications of being able to travel like that for a moment. Tolliver broke the spell, crouching to inspect the runic lines carved into the floor.

  "Embry will trace these with opal dust,. Once activated, the entire room will be protected from intrusion."

  "And all of these these pockets in the stone will contain traps," Raith said, pointing.

  Zinny flitted around the room peering.

  "But you mustn't keep me out," she said with a frown.

  "You'll be allowed to visit," Raith reassured, and she instantly brightened.

  Thea reached into her pouch and pulled out the puzzle box.

  "I believe it's time to introduce you to our guardians, since they'll soon have something to guard."

  The others watched as she manipulated the artifact in a complicated pattern that Raith couldn't quite follow. A few moments later, two magnificently crafted golems stood in the center of the room, waiting patiently for instruction. They were each nearly the height of a grown human and notably longer, built from a curious mosaic of smooth stone and polished metal plates. Their etched faces were expressionless, but bright blue glyphs pulsed steadily across their bodies reminding Raith somewhat of his brother's tattoos.

  One resembled a stocky bear with giant paws and a rough-plated chest textured like fur. Its head was broad and rounded, with two tufts of ears whose delicate etchings made them look softer than the steel they were made of. Its eyes glowed like sapphire lanterns. When Raith stepped toward it, its head tilted with curious vigilance, mimicking a real creature far more closely than he expected.

  The second was leaner and longer, something between a lizard and a panther. It had a sleek, segmented tail that flicked back and forth with a predator’s restless energy. Raith wasn't sure what enchantment was at work, but its carved claws were completely silent as it shifted on the stone floor. Despite its smaller size, something about the smooth confidence of its stance made Raith uneasy. Its eyes glowed a more intense violet than its sibling’s blue.

  "These two will guard the manor," Thea said proudly.

  "They are incredible," Raith said. He reached out and touched the steel bear’s head. It leaned into the contact slightly, like a tame animal.

  Zinny fluttered up to perch on the lizard-like golem’s back. "I like this one," she said. "It feels like it wants to eat thieves. I support that attitude."

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  Tolliver smoothed his robes with a dignified air. "Do they have names?"

  "Not yet," Thea said. She folded her arms. "I thought the team should help decide."

  Zinny immediately raised her hand. "I vote Cupcake and Butterbean."

  "No," Raith and Nyhm said together.

  Tolliver eyed the creatures as if evaluating their usefulness in a laboratory.

  "I recommend giving them simple names."

  "How about Mossy and Murder?" Thea offered. She had clearly given the matter some thought.

  Raith considered this. "You know what, I do not hate that."

  Tolliver groaned. "You don't think Murder is a bit melodramatic?"

  Nyhm tilted his head consideringly.

  "It will certainly deter trespassers."

  "Mossy and Murder it is," Thea said with a proud smile. "Let's introduce them to the staff."

  ***

  The next morning dawned bright and clear. Embry arrived precisely at the scheduled time, garb practical but finely wrought. His lit up ever so slightly when he stepped inside the manor.

  "You have done well for yourself" he said looking around with gnomish curiosity. "This place looks nearly as nice as it did the first time I burgled it."

  Embry threw Raith a wink and a sly smile, but wasted no time. He followed Raith upstairs into the mirror chamber and set his tool case on the floor. As he arranged his materials, he explained each of the defensive mechanisms he would be setting into place.

  "First," Embry said, opening a jar of iridescent powder that shimmered like crushed opal, "a spatial anchor to prevent teleportation or planar shifting within twenty paces of the mirror. The second layer will keep it concealed from detection of any kind."

  Raith nodded with approval, amazed at the trapmaster's magical acumen.

  "I didn't realize you were also gifted at runecraft."

  The gnome cocked a bushy eyebrow up.

  "Many traps are runic in nature. It's not much of a trapmaster who knows naught of magic." He turned his attention back to the traps. "Second, I've placed the physical traps, here, here and here. Each is utterly fatal. This is your control box. Who do you want it attune to?"

  Raith was enough taken aback by the question to pause in [Staccato]. Nyhm and Thea, obviously. But did he trust Tolliver and Zinny that much? He had to admit that the answer for Zinny was 'no'. He did trust her, but there was a limit. She was far too chaotic, and her loyalties ultimately lay with her King.

  Tolliver, on the other hand...he set the world back in motion.

  "Aside from me: Nyhm, Thea, and Tolliver."

  The guildmaster gave a nod, not questioning his judgement.

  "And finally," Embry said, "the sentry."

  "I already have two guardians."

  "And they are truly remarkable," Embry said. "But this one is not for combat. This one is for detection."

  He placed the sphere, with a hole in the center like a pupil, into a brass housing built into the mirror’s frame.

  "This is a sentient warding core. It sees through illusions, glamours, invisibility, and most forms of divine concealment. No one can approach the mirror unnoticed, and all who are attuned will receive the alarm if someone tries to breach security. It can fire an extremely potent paralyzing beam in an emergency, but will need time to recharge afterwards."

  Raith exhaled, tension easing from his shoulders.

  "Thank you. Truly."

  Embry gave him a friendly smile. "You have made enemies far above your weight class. It is wise to take precautions. Besides, the tome you procured for me has far exceeded expectations."

  The guildmaster spent the next several hours inscribing runes, pouring shimmering dust into the floor channels, and humming quietly to himself while positioning strange contraptions at precise angles throughout the chamber.

  Raith stood at the doorway, watching with fascination and taking copious notes in his library. When the guildmaster was finally finished, he dusted off his hands and carefully packed his tools.

  "My aides will be done with the perimeter security. Nothing immediately fatal, as per your instructions, but anyone trying to break into your home will find an unpleasant time of it. Even with the right [Skills] it will be nigh impossible to do it quietly. The covert emergency exit is also complete."

  Raith breathed a sigh of relief and again offered his gratitude as he walked Embry to the door. One step closer.

  With that part finally completed, Raith felt the urge to collapse into a chair and sleep for three days. Instead, he forced himself outside into the courtyard because Thea had insisted on showing him something. She also had the mirror in her pouch, and he wanted to get it set right away now that the room was ready and protected.

  The druid circle had gathered in the garden Thea was cultivating the cleared land next door, where she was in the process of replacing the ruined house with living greenery. Today they stood in gentle formation around a mound of fertile soil. Their hands rose in unison as they murmured an old canticle that vibrated with quiet reverence.

  A shimmer rippled across the dirt. The mound cracked open.

  A shoot of deep emerald green pushed upward with impossible speed. It unfurled into a stalk thicker than Raith’s forearm. Leaves the size of shields blossomed outward, and a single bud the size of a man’s head opened in a slow blooming that made the air sparkle with floating flecks of golden dust.

  Thea’s father, Darius, stood at the edge of the circle, a proud smile at the work of his wife and daughter. He gave Raith a nod at his approach. Thea also noticed him come over and broke off from the group to join them. She gave her father a side armed hug and leaned into him.

  "It has been years since I have seen a circle work together like this," Darius whispered, so as not to disturb the [Druids]. "It truly is magnificent."

  "It will be even better when the full garden is finished," Thea said, cheeks glowing with pride. "It isn't often the circle gets to design their own garden, but I'm giving them free reign."

  Raith stepped beside her. The warmth of the blooming plant radiated like a gentle hearth.

  "It is beautiful," he said truthfully.

  Darius turned toward him.

  "Speaking of beauty," he said gravely, "my daughter tells me you wish to show me some sort library. Something about a personal collection I must see to believe, although she would not go into more details." He shot his daughter a frown at the secrecy, but she lifted her chin unapologetically.

  Raith felt himself twitch with mild panic, but quickly pushed it down. This had been his idea, and a big part of the reason for getting the mirror.

  "If you can come back this evening, everything should be set up."

  ***

  Raith stood inside the mirror chamber with Darius and Vandamir and gave a nod to follow him as he stepped through the shimmering surface of the mirror. Crossing the threshold, the air shifted, becoming warmer and thicker with a subtle pressure that always reminded Raith of stepping underwater. The two men slowed to a halt just beyond the mirror.

  Darius drew in a sharp breath.

  Vandimir’s mouth fell open.

  They stood in the vaulted expanse of Raith’s [Mnemonic Library], floating shelves drifting slowly along invisible tracks. Books of every size and age rotated in deliberate, rhythmic spirals. Scrolls suspended in air. Lamp globes glided overhead in gentle arcs, their soft gold light illuminating endless tiers of knowledge.

  Raith had fancied things up a bit for the occasion, but looking around thought he'd taken things a bit too far. He'd put it back to normal later, but for now was pleased with the effect it had on his guests.

  Darius stepped forward reverently, almost afraid to disturb the air.

  "By the Weave," he whispered.

  Vandimir adjusted his monocle three separate times. "Magnificent. Utterly magnificent. I suspected you had…" His mouthed moved as he searched for the words before giving up. "This exceeds anything I imagined."

  Raith leaned against the nearest reading table, trying and failing to hide the small swell of pride.

  "While I can bring you both in here, nothing may be removed. They are made of dreamstuff and will not hold up outside of my realm."

  Darius nodded and looked around, awe giving way to anxious curiosity.

  "But we may peruse them while here?"

  "Of course! That is why I've brought you here."

  Darius moved toward a set of scrolls floating nearby in a slow orbit. Raith recognized them as from the Hollow Earl's collection, and had placed them conspicuously for just this reason. The satyr's eyes widened even further when he recognized the sigils etched into their bindings.

  "These are faerie works," Darius breathed. "I studied only fragments once, long ago. To see them whole in their original form is…" He swallowed hard. "Raith, this is a privilege beyond measure."

  Raith rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, after everything you've done for me over the years, both of you, letting you visit here is the least I can do."

  Vandimir’s expression softened with heartfelt sincerity. "You honor me, my boy. Truly. I have wondered for years at your secrets. I am glad to finally understand. And more glad still that you chose to share this with me."

  Raith gave him a faint smile.

  "I trust you. Both of you. And there is something else you should know. When you are in here with me and [Life in Staccato] is active, no time passes outside. You could study for hours and walk out with only a moment passed."

  Darius snapped his gaze toward him. "That is impossible."

  "It is how my [Skill] works," Raith said with a shrug. "Believe me, I tested it more than once."

  Vandamir looked around with renewed awe. "Infinite study time. Raith, many [Scholars] would commit unspeakable crimes to gain access to such a gift."

  "I am aware. Which is why this stays between us."

  Darius placed a hand over his heart. "Then allow me to offer something in return. Complete access to the Order’s library. Any text you desire may be added to this place. If you will let me visit your library, I will grant you entry to ours."

  Raith felt his heart soar at the opportunity, and had to stop himself from rushing off immediately.

  "I would like that. Very much."

  The three of them stood together, surrounded by drifting tomes and ancient knowledge, each quietly marveling at the impossible place they now shared alongside their love for books. Raith gestured broadly at the library with a smile.

  "Now please, explore. Read. Take all the time you need."