Ralator was talking about the religious movement that had come from the Scaled Nation, and apparently had led to the dungeon murders. Vonn thought of other horrid symbols and the ideas behind them. "Do those people rule the Nation?"

"I believe it's a more decadent government than that. Not run by the true believers, which is for the best, but their kind sets the tone. If one of our own Barons fell for their sect's mystic garbage, that reflects badly on all Kobolds who want to be left in peace in our kingdom."

Ralator fumed, pacing in his laboratory. "So. You've brought up the hateful sect, business pressure, and something about magicite. Oh, and you've hardly told me about the flying machines. What other revelations did you bring me? No, first, what is this discovery?"

Tazo explained the anti-gravity concept and Vonn handed over his shiny golden samples: both the intact crystals he'd seen before, and the pebbles. (Or "Antigravel", Vonn suggested, but the pun didn't translate. He saved it for Selen.)

Vonn said, "We decided it was worth letting you study these in more detail. We'd love to get more with the gravity effect, for flying machines, if we had any idea how. Remember, so far we were only able to get gold shards from a dungeon right after it spawned. Can ordinary crystals be made to do this effect, or only gold ones?"

Ralator had already turned away, his eyes wide, to begin prodding the enchanted crystal bits with every tool he could lay his hands on. Vonn wanted to say more, but it seemed like a shame to interrupt the man.

Besides, it would be awkward to mention another topic in front of Tazo: the reason that Ralator had once noticed something odd about magicite collected by him and by Tazo. Which was the same reason that a necromancer had once thought that Vonn looked somehow spiritually different. Vonn had never told Ralator about his unusual background and wasn't sure this was the time, yet he wished he could lay all the cards on the table.

Selen arrived with with Sunflare the red messenger bird, chirping out an attempt at Sousa's "Liberty Bell March". She went right for Vonn and he hugged her tightly, then let her go to Tazo and waffle over a hug versus a handshake. They went with the former.

Selen said, "It's been busy in Grandbridge! And sir, Ralator, I hope you're well."

"Always with a new mystery to solve," he said, glancing toward the latest one.

She asked Vonn, "You're showing him that stuff?"

"It's time. We're here to learn."

The wizard reluctantly put the new treasure away for the moment. He ushered them all upstairs to his study, which made Brightstep grumble. The stairs wound around the tower's inner wall, so they weren't too narrow, but the Centaur obviously struggled on them.

Upstairs Vonn found a lounge made for thick-tailed Kobolds but also for other species. Shards of magicite lined the ceiling like stars, and a wealth of books lay on shelves and tables. Brightstep's guard helped his master up the steps and dropped off a heavy jug and cups and a sack of pastries before Ralator showed him the door, politely but firmly. Sunflare, too, got shooed out with a promise of a magic lesson later.

The group up here was the wizard himself with Brightstep, Vonn, Tazo, and Selen. Once they'd all agreed that the food and beer were good, and that it was indeed starting to get cold, Ralator spoke. "Each of you is my student, and I'm honored to have your attention. Since the war, my goal has been to turn my skills toward peace and discovery. From communicating with you lot, I see a chance to advance that goal more than ever before. I must ask each of you what you want, young as you are."

Vonn said, "I'm using the talent I'm blessed with to bring machines and technology to the world, and new stories."

Selen declared, "I come from a slightly different angle. I want to use my own blessings to improve this world, making it more educated and free and fair. Inventions and stories are part of that. Oh, Vonn, I started building --"

"Now, now," said Ralator, holding up one clawed hand. He looked expectantly at Brightstep next.

The Centaur still looked rattled from stair-climbing. "I haven't heard them speak that bluntly. I suppose what I want is to rule my father's domain well, and make important contributions to magic."

Tazo's whiskers twitched as she faced the pressure of these aspirations. She said, "I want to be a great wizard and Engineer."

Ralator contemplated all this, resting his muzzle on his clasped hands. Then he said, "Why?"

Brightstep asked, "What do you mean? I'm a Baron's son and I have a role in the gods' work, but I have no desire to conquer anyone else. And magic fascinates me, so I'd like to be known as someone who advanced it."

Tazo looked at the floor as she said, "Vonn inspired me. I wanted to do magic, without any real plan, but now he's talked about a hundred ways we could do amazing things. Most of them I'll probably never live to see, like the rocket, but even a fraction of them would make the kingdom rich and powerful and make us all heroes."

"What is a 'rocket'?" asked Ralator.

For once, it wasn't Vonn or Selen opening that particular door. Brightstep said, "Yes, what is it? Vonn, you've told me about Selen's backpack artifact and its effect on weight. But you were obviously holding something back. What is it that makes you and Selen so wildly ambitious for commoners with hardly any education?"

Vonn threw one arm over his sister's shoulder. She heaved a deep breath and told him, "It's all right, fuzzbutt."

Vonn met Selen's eyes and spoke to her in English. "How much of the truth do we dare say?"