Nefelden Mountain Range, South of Nefelden, Kingdom of Alkhana
The sun shone brightly on the mountain city of Nefelden, the warmth of the midday sunlight gently evaporating the last remnants of the morning rain. Though Drahl was still a fair distance away from the city nestled within the valley, part of him swore that he could hear the voices and shouts coming from it’s boisterous marketplace. He smiled grimly and felt his tail flick behind him with a bit of amused irritation, for he knew that after so long travelling in the Nefelden Mountain range, the bustling sounds of the moderately populated city would likely send his sensitive feline ears begging for quiet. The jaguar didn’t truly mind, however. As long as he got the book he was searching for, this irritation would all be worth it. If Moira willed it, he would be spending the evening celebrating at the Inn, dining on warm food and taking pleasure in good drink. Perhaps he’d even find someone who would be willing to spend the night with him- lass or lad, it didn’t matter.

The jaguar dynthe took his focus away from the city and his plans, slowly chewing a piece of jerky as he looked out over the cliff at the rest of the valley and forest below, as well as the mountains surrounding them. Though his travels had taken him through these mountains a few times before, their wild beauty never failed to take his breath away.

The sun’s light shone on the trees, which seemed to steam slightly as the warmth evaporated the rainwater off of the needles and leaves of the intermixed coniferous and deciduous flora of the Nefelden Mountain range. The leaves and needles held a beautiful green color, crisp and captivating against the backdrop of the white, snowy mountain range and the gentle blue sky. The air itself seemed refreshed- similar to the previous evening, yet somehow different because of the shining sun.

With a calmed sigh, Drahl finished chewing his jerky and swallowed the last of his breakfast. He looked down at himself, trying to decide whether his current attire- a simple set of trousers, his boots, and a shirt would be appropriate for travelling into the city. He felt little desire to trudge into the city in his stuffy, hot, and heavy metal armor, but at the same time knew that if any dangers lay between him and the city, it would be foolish to travel the distance unprotected. The dynthe was brave, not idiotic.

Flicking his furred tail, the dynthe turned back to his tent, standing up and packing it away, removing the structure from above his napsack and armor. His metal armor sat atop a cloth layed down next to his napsack. He’d worn it for most of his journey due to the presence of bandits on the road between his home in the province of Genwythe and the city of Nefelden, and it had saved his life, but… it was also slowing him down.

Should I sell it in Nefelden? How much coin would it earn me? I have lighter, leather armor, but if I’m attacked on the way to Genwythe, the armor may save my life. But at the same time… I was trained in lighter armor.

The jaguar dynthe growled, his tail lashing in frustration.

'I’ll sell it. The coin will be worth it, I suppose, and I’ll be able to travel faster without it, after all.'

The dynthe wrapped the armor in the cloth, bundling it up until it was securely wrapped. He removed his leather armor from his bag, setting it on his napsack before he carefully placed the heavier armor within the larger bag. After it was properly stored, he whispered a word over the bag, screwing up his face in concentraction.

Seemingly satisfied, Drahl started the process of placing the leather armor over his body. It took him a while, but once he was finally equipped, he strapped his sword to his side. Finally packed up, the dynthe rolled up his napsack, strapping it secured so that it sat above the bag with the heavy steel armor within.

The dynthe slung his bag with food inside over his shoulder, hanging it opposite of his sheathed sword. He then grabbed his other bag, the one with the armor within, and after a testing pull upwards, slung it over his shoulders, wearing it as a backpack.

'I’m getting better at that…' Drahl thought smugly. 'Most humans still wouldn’t be able to carry this- but at least with that little trick, I can find it managable.'

Finally ready to set off on his travels, the jaguar dynthe made his way out of the clearing, once again walking the path and back onto the trail. He felt his tail flick in excitement- soon, hopefully within the hour, Drahl would be in the city, with coin in his pocket, and a new book in his bags.

The jaguar dynthe had prepared a long time for this. He had great confidence that his preparations would be worth it.

---

Alubard and Son’s, Nefelden, Nefelden Mountain Range, Kingdom of Alkhana
The bright light of the sun shone down through the bookstore’s windows, shining down into the small store and casting a golden light on the shelves and their contents. A fox dynthe and his small son stood browsing the shelves within, a rare occurance on any given day. Nearby, a human teen, about 18 years of age, stood stocking the shelves, a bit of a smile on his face. It wasn’t often that the shop had potential customers, and though he was extremely cautious not to hover and scare the father and son away, he wanted to stick closeby in case either one had any questions.

Lucian knew that the two were nobles, as their clothing was far more luxurious than anything that one could find in the neighborhoods nearby. This was a good thing, since once they found this shop, most nobles ended up buying one or more volumes, unlike the other, more common folk, who may have browsed but held little actual interest in the trove of knowledge held within.

Unfortunately, however, even nobles rarely visited twice. Alubard and Son’s sat far out of the way of the more wealthy peoples who lived in the noble quarter. The nobles who were frequents at the establishment only came because they knew Lucian’s father, the bookkeeper who started the shop when he first came into the city, 30 years ago.

After a brief span of time, the fox noble had picked out a small collection of books on cooking, laughing lightly as his son asked a question. The fox turned to Lucian, who smiled and led the pair over to the desk at the front of the shop.

The fox gave Lucian the coin, putting the books into his bag. After a brief exchange, he said farewell, turning and holding his son’s hand as the two left the shop.

“Please visit us again soon!” Lucian said as they left. He heard a small laugh.

The human stepped back from the counter, breathing a sigh of relief. That was a pleasant surprise- most nobles turned their nose up at everything in the lower quarter. However, the fox seemed to be quite down to earth- kind, unlike many others.

The human shrugged. Most of Nefelden’s nobles were human. He guessed that explained it- dynthe had a cultural heritage that led them to be less snide when given places of power, unlike most humans. Even Lucian had noticed how much the human nobles took pleasure in humiliating their less fortunate subjects- and it irritated the bookkeeper’s son to no end.

The human’s thoughts were interrupted as the bell hung on the door rung again, opening to allow a new visitor into the small bookshop. Surprise ran through Lucian as he recognized the dynthe, a tall, rather powerful and intimidating looking jaguar dynthe wearing leather armor, bags strapped to the traveller’s back and a black sword hanging from his belt.

“Oh, hello!” Lucian said in greeting. “How may I help you today?”

Lucian was fairly certain that this was Drahl, but he didn’t want to make any assumptions. That would be quite an embarassment if it was someone else entirely. An embarassment that Lucian… would probably hold with him for the rest of the day.

---

Drahl breathed a sigh of relief as the peaceful scent of parchment and books filled his nostrils, replacing the almost overwhelming stench of the city outside. The frequent rains had washed much of the distracting scents of the city’s populace away, but they had little impact when one considered the fact that Nefelden was a city mostly populated by the poor, who lived without reliable access to soap or baths. Drahl knew that leaving himself to think on the injustices within the province of Alkhana would lead him only to anger, and so he pushed those thoughts aside, ready to take his book and be done with the wretched city. The conditions had only gotten worse since his last visit, making it hard to keep himself from shaking his head in disgust. Drahl decided to abandon any plans he had to stay in the inn, for he doubted he could stay long without retching.

“Good day,” Drahl said in response to the human lad’s greeting. “I am here on a business venture, looking for a certain volume. The Book of Archons. I trust your father told you of my arrival?”

The human nodded, looking at the dynthe with interest sparkling in his hazel eyes. “Aye, he did. You are Drahl, correct? I will bring the book to you right away.”

The dynthe nodded in approval, not wanting to speak more than he had to as he waited for Lucian to return with the book. The stench of the city had sent his gut into madness, and he intended to fully steel himself before setting foot outside again. How any dynthe could live in this city with its conditions, Drahl simply couldn’t understand, but yet Nefelden had a reasonably large population of dynthe amongst its citizens. The jaguar dynthe supposed that part of it had to do with coin- and part with adaptivity. Whatever the reason, Drahl still felt disappointed. Nefelden’s nobles could have done something about the city’s conditions, and yet they stayed stagnant?

Drahl growled at himself, forcing his mind away from the subject. Dwelling on the city’s conditions would get him nowhere, and only served to fill his heart with anger. He forced his attention elsewhere, flicking his tail and taking in the scents of the books that surrounded him. He could tell that many of them had travelled long distances to find their way into Alubard’s shop, carried by numerous different owners before finally finding a place on a shelf in Alubard and Son’s. The jaguar stepped out of the entryway of the shop, going to explore one of the closer shelves. The sale of his armor left him with a hefty sum of coin, and he’d spent a portion of that coin already on food and supplies. This, he decided, he could do for himself.

The dynthe looked towards the back of the shop, watching Lucian for a moment as the human lad gave the Book of Archons one last careful treatment, getting ready to wrap the volume in cloth as a means of protecting it from the elements during Drahl’s travels. Taking note in the human’s thoroughness, the jaguar gave a soft chuff of approval, before looking back at the shelf.

Many of the volumes were on things such as history, farming, and perhaps cooking. The jaguar was well versed in all of these subjects, in fact having read copies of these tomes before, so he combed over, not truly paying attention until-

'No- the old man couldn’t have just…!'

A sense of shock ran through the jaguar’s spine, his eyes wide with surprise. 'Magick is feared here, and yet a spell book is lying in Alubard’s shop! Oh, you fool!'

The jaguar took the volume off the shelf, reading it’s title with a sense of wonder. Cergaurde’s Stone Charms, it read. Drahl remembered it’s name before- Cergaurde was a mage from the early days of the Elgathaean Empire. He was famous for developing the basic spells that both Dynthe and Dwarves used to construct and furnish their cities- finding a copy of the book here was something that Drahl never dreamed of. Not only that, but Cergaurde was also an excellent Sorcerer- he helped in the creation of a spell that could bind spirits into stone. Something like this… well, it could be immensely useful!

'I am no mage, but regardless, I know some in Lythell who are looking for something like this. Besides, these magicks… well, some of them may be useful in my travels. Better than the makeshift charms I’ve been using, regardless.'

Drahl looked up, hearing Lucian approaching, book carried carefully in his hands. A smile worked it’s way across the tall feline’s face, the pleasant surprise of finding the spellbook overtaking much of the irritation that had plagued him minutes before.

Lucian looked surprise at the Jaguar’s sudden change in mood, eyeing the book with interest as the jaguar held it in his hands. The jaguar saw a flicker of disappointment shoot across the human’s face, before being replaced by a friendly smile.

“Are you looking to buy this one, as well?” Lucian asked, curiously. The jaguar nodded, following the smaller human lad to the desk that sat in the front of the shop. The dynthe paid for the books, then carefully placed them into his bag.

“Thank you for your business!” Lucian said as the dynthe left the shop.