He went to the table, taking a seat as he tried to push the memory away. “Supposed to meet with Ioaniss at the museum this morning, while Stacia is with her mom doing bridal things.” Shaking his head, he got back up to wash and get dressed. A knock sounded at the door just as he was finishing. Brow furrowed, he opened it to find Deidre there with a tray of food.
“Mornin,’ Alburet. Since Stacia nay be here it was decided tha’ I would bring ya the breakfast today,” Deidre gave him a warm smile.
Alburet stepped aside for her, “I wasn’t expecting this, thank you.” He closed the door behind her and followed her to the table where she began to set out the different items.
“We hope ya did nay mind us tryin’ to get a rise out of Stacia the other day. None of us really wants to do anythin’ with ya, but she was getting’ a bit insufferable always yammerin’ on about ya. Alburet this and Alburet tha’, ugh, it was enough to make even us want to slap her.” Deidre kept up a bright chatter as she finished setting the table. “Now then, here ya be, breakfast for ya. Curious as to wha’ ya plans be for today.”
Alburet blinked as he realized she had asked him a question. “My plans? I am to meet up with Sir Jones at the Royal Museum for a tour of the place. Other than that, nothing planned. Really at a loss without Stacia around. Funny how she seemed to become such a key point to my life in such a short time.”
Deidre giggled, “Aye, she has always dominated a room when she be about. We hope ya will be takin’ good care of her in the comin' years.”
“Worried for your sister? That is sweet of you, but you shouldn’t worry. At this point I think it would take an act of the gods to separate us.”
“Aye, tha’ be good to hear. Iffin there be nothin’ else, I be leavin’ ya to ya meal,” Deidre said as she stepped to the door.
“No this is fine, thank you. Also, thank you for clearing up that you all glomming onto me the other day was an act. I was really concerned for a time about that. Stacia seemed a bit worried as well.”
“Good, it worked. We felt the need to make her worry. Ya be safe from us, though. I be hopin’ to catch me a Paladin of the Dark Lord. Erin be wantin’ a nobleman and Marian is more into lasses than lads. Me thinks she liked the looks of the assassin ya’ve dallied with before. Our youngest sis still thinks boys are dumb, bless her heart.” Chuckling, Deidre opened the door, “Good day to ya.” With that she was gone.
Shaking his head at how talkative she was compared to Stacia, Alburet turned his attention to the food. Eggs and bacon like Stacia normally brought him. A cup of coffee with the right amount of cream already added. “I guess Stacia set this up for me. I should thank her for that when she gets back,” he murmured before digging into the food.
Chapter Eleven
Alburet nodded to Erin, who was behind the bar as he headed out, getting a friendly smile in return. Finding a carriage for hire, he paid the driver a gold to take him to the Royal Museum. When they got there, he got out, thanking the driver before pausing to take in the outside of the building. The building took up an entire block, four Dead Man Inns could easily have fit inside of it. The front of the building had three low, wide steps along the front and a small over hang that was held up by fluted columns.
He climbed the stairs to the front door, finding Berk standing out front. “Morning, Berk,” Alburet greeted the assistant of Ioaniss. “Is Sir Jones waiting for me inside?”
“Yes, he is. Please, follow me,” Berk said with a slight bow of his head before leading them into the building.
The interior was well made, but not gaudy. No marble flooring or gold chandeliers, but good solid stone work all around. A number of rather plain chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceiling. A large number of small displays behind glass cases were laid out in rows, down which a few people were walking. Berk led them towards the back past without pausing, to a single door marked Personnel. Berk didn’t pause as he went through the door with Alburet trailing him, down a hall past a few other doors with name plaques on them before reaching one with a gold plaque attached to it. Berk knocked once, waiting for the reply before opening it and ushering Alburet in.
Ioaniss sat in a rather comfortable looking chair before a massive oak desk. Across from him sat a middle aged non-descript man who seemed to have a vaguely lost expression on his face. Ioaniss stood up when Alburet entered, a friendly smile on his face, “Good morn, Alburet. I hope the day is going well for you. Let me introduce you to my good friend, Marcus Elliott, the curator of the museum.”
Marcus lurched to his feet, an amiable smile coming to him as he extended a hand, “Oh, it is good to meet you, Alburet. Ioaniss has told me that you are the one who found the Forgotten Prison exhibit. We’ll be moving that out to the main floor tomorrow. Would you like to see the closed exhibits?” Marcus’s voice was filled with wonder as he spoke of the exhibits.
“I would be glad to learn as much as I can about Alpha World and its history, sir,” Alburet said as he crossed the distance and shook hands with Marcus.
Ioaniss winced slightly at Alburet’s response, but kept a grin in place, “Well, before I go attend to other matters, to answer your requests last night. The king has decided to grant all of your boons, but it is contingent on two things. First, you must have a place to hang out a shingle as it were. A place where your guild can be found, a base of operations. Secondly, you must register your marriage to Stacia Crowley inside of five days. Once both of those conditions have been met the king will issue the proclamations.”
Frowning slightly, Alburet nodded, “The second one is easy. The first one, though, might take me a bit longer. How long will I have for that condition?”
“As long as it takes,” Ioaniss replied, pulling out his Mindstone. “Just trade info with me so you can contact me when both conditions have been met.”
Alburet tapped his Mindstone to Ioaniss’s, who then took his leave quickly. Alburet turned back to Marcus. “I am in your capable hands, sir,” Alburet said before recalling the story about Marcus having gotten lost in this building before.
“Follow me, then,” Marcus replied happily, leading them out of the room and down another hall.
Eventually they came out in another large room, this one not nearly as well-lit as the main hall. This room held shelves of crates along the walls, with a few glass cases in the middle of the room. Marcus led them to the shiniest glass first, inside of which lay the book open to the title page along with the letter opener. A plaque on the display told what the items were and that Vladimir Dracon had gifted them to the Crown.
“You already know about these two items,” Marcus said, smiling down at the display like a proud father. “It was so gracious of Vladimir to gift them to the king. I am fairly sure that he copied the book first, though, as there are two small ink smudges with newish ink on a back page. He must still be seeking the whereabouts of the prison to see if he can verify if one of his ancestors really was held there.”
Lips pursed, Alburet finally understood why Vladimir was so eager to get the information about where the prison was. “His ancestor was imprisoned in Alctriuz?”
“Most records of who was imprisoned in the place are lost to time, so it could just be a malicious rumor. Now let me show you some of the other exhibits that we are preparing to send back to their native countries. You see, we do a rotating exchange program with the other countries so everyone has a chance to learn more about the world.” Marcus rambled on as he walked down to the next display case. “This hammer is known as Mojonor, forged by the dwarves for a legendary hero known as Evansthor. It is said that only those with a pure heart and massive strength can hope to wield it. It is rumored to have been used by the hero to take down one of the Dragon Tyrants a thousand years ago.”