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Gerard shrugged and left her to it to go tend to the gentlemen, who were starting to clamour for more tea.

While perusing the books Ezra might have noticed a certain red book with the name "Bardus" written upon the spine. It was a new book, certainly not as worn as the ones around it, and thus stood out. But what is in a name? Surely there were many persons named "Bardus" and it could not have possibly been the drunkard who whisked her away here.

That very same drunkard, it appeared, was coming down the stairs now looking renewed in vigor and clothing for he was wearing a different outfit and had a slight bounce in his step. Seemed mighty happy for an elf just suffering a hangover. He sat at the bar a few seats away from the woman without a word to her, and waited for Gerard with a wide grin on his face.

"Ah," He responded to her as if finally taking notice. Perhaps he had thought that if he had ignored her she would not see him, "I'm afraid not." Bardus got up and retrieved the book she was speaking of, and selected another book that was right beside it, one that was considerably more worn.

He held up the red book to her, "This book was written by my grandfather, a fine lorekeeper who studied the Precursors. And this," he held up the worn book with a bit of a frown and a crease in his brow, "is mine..." He placed the book he claimed to be his grandfather's on the counter before him and studied the book he claimed was his as if it were a curiosity of some sort.

Finally he offered an explanation, "Seems as though some jester thought it appropriate to age my book and renew his."

As Ezra looked through the tome the only thing of import was a single folded piece of paper nestled between the pages of a map. The rest was just history.

"My father is an apothecary, my mother, well." Bardus paused, he never really knew what his mother did. Something with magic to be sure. "A witch."

He tossed his book onto the bar and sat, still puzzled, beside it. "I've only explored what there is to see in our lands. This book here is on my journeys while doing so." He opened his book and flipped the pages as though it was a deck of cards. "I was in the company of Eliam, whom I am sure you know..."

Bardus said this a little flatly as though withholding a negative opinion of some sort. Eliam Borovas was a name every elf was sure to know, he was the young, daring, valiant elven lad who faced the traitorous elven rebels and "singlehandedly" destroyed a lost city of the Precursors. The latter was his most recent achievement.

"...And this book of mine is of my travels with him."

And it smouldered in poor Bardus' mind.

"The most interesting part is of the Scathesian Relic. Which unfortunately was lost in the city." He fingered a page and turned to it, revealing a nicely detailed sketch of what looked to be a mechanical device. It was unlike anything the Elves had made, and so was a new sight to all those viewing. A glass-cased piece of thin metal capped at both ends by metal. So the notes indicated anyway. It would be a rather common sight amongst the ruins of the Precursors, if it weren't for the fact that his notes further indicated that it was attached to something else.

"I didn't have time to draw what it was attached to." Bardus said glumly, "but I tried to describe it."

"It was this small...machine...no, that's not the word," the word machine oft inspired elves to think of war machines, "but it was like that. And it had leather straps and a sort of cushion, making me think it was almost like a rucksack of some sort." He paused. "I'm really not sure what it was for."

Bardus pondered the device more than her words on Eliam.

"I could not hope to remake what that was, only to find another."

He shrugged and closed his book, still waiting on service that was never to come it seemed.

"Oh Gerard!" Bardus called sweetly, "would you be so kind as to bring me some tea?"

Gerard, having engrossed himself in conversation with the gentlemen while the two elves conversed, rose pitiably and set off to do his job. Bardus sighed and began tapping his fingers on the table. One of the gentlemen at the other table spoke up to Bardus, having lost Gerard.

"Oi Bardus, how's that brother of yours? What was it you were celebrating again? The 'last night with the dullard!'" The four men laughed together on that one.

Bardus blushed a little, "Yeah, that was it alright."

"Must be quite a pain in the a** to drive an elf to drink so much!" Another one, and another laugh.

"And he took your only chance at that artifact you found you said. Chances are you'll be at it again findin' another one aye?"

Bardus shuffled around in his stool to face the wall, luckily his tea arrived just in time to make it look as though he wasn't shuffling away from drunken words said in a shamed state.

Unluckily the door burst open just then.

"Bardus! Eliam requests your presence immediately!" A short man, dapper in outfit, sweaty in face.

"Not without my tea he won't." Bardus grumbled taking a sip.

"He has been challenged to a duel! You are to be his second."

Whether it was anger or fear that crossed Bardus' face, one would never know. He stood quietly and retrieved his stuff, finishing his tea as he did so.

He made a passing remark to the bar as a whole, "Want to come see Eliam rub it in my...his opponent's face why he is a Knight?"

"Why, Eliam of course." The dapper little man continued on his way as if that wasn't a strange question at all. Bardus, however, eyed Ezra with some scrutiny.

The district they were traveling in was different than the one they had traveled to get to the Tavern, owing to the nature of the Bar. This place had high walls against the side of the mountain that rose in the distance from the docks. The architecture was astonishing and easily recognisable as religious. The motif's and murals on the walls depicted event both past and prophesied, and the people were quieter here than in the market. Smells of the flowers met their noses as they turned a corner and found themselves in Nature's domain of Avignon.

The dapper "man" stopped short of a house and pointed towards the door. "Best be off then, good luck on Eliam's duel that you should not have to fight."

Bardus looked at the little man.

"This is not where my brother was staying."

"He is through that door, sir." the messenger pointed again.

"Why don't you come with us?"

"I have other errands to run sir."

"Well come with us and I might have you do another to prepare for this duel."

The small man's eyes shifted side-to-side as he tried to think of an excuse not to go, however failing, he slunk his shoulders and agreed to go in.

"There's a good boy." said Bardus, still unaware of the nature of this "man."

Bardus looked to Ezra, and whispered in her ear as the little man trudged up the path to the house. "Something is not right."

"No." Bardus said quickly before retrieving from his robe (revealing that there were many many pockets inside, as though he had bought it from an apothecary) a rolled piece of parchment.

Not alive?

Why would his brother use a puppet? Unless.

He sprinted to the door behind the "man" placing the rolled piece of parchment on the thing's hat. Setting both the parchment and the hat aflame as he did so. The short man took a moment to notice he was on fire and began to panic accordingly.

Bardus was already at the door of the house and bursting in expecting to find the worst. Instead, all he heard was a woman giggling upstairs, and what sounded like a man's voice.

"That's Eliam's voice upstairs." Bardus headed for the staircase, expecting Ezra to follow, but was stopped when he saw his brother had reached the top of the stairs before he had even gotten a chance at the first step.

"Ho Bardus! What brings you here?" The robust voice of a Knight of Brisk boomed out in the otherwise empty house. "Ah, right, my duel perchance? Yes." Eliam descended the stairs with grace. Somehow, though the smell that came from him was salty and sweet, he managed to look as though he had fully groomed and dressed. The woman Bardus caught a glimpse of behind him as she giggled along the landing, however, was stark naked save for a sheet she used to cover herself.

"I trust Ude found you well?"

Bardus pulled Eliam close by his arm and whispered, "Ude is a puppet! Did you know?"

Eliam merely laughed and clapped his brother on the back, "Of course! Of course! My mistress here is a necromancer and made him to serve her most grueling needs."

"That's illegal!"

Eliam frowned, "Come now you old sod, he was dead when she found him."

He turned his attention to the elf woman who came with Bardus.

"Paid escort no doubt? I say not as heavy on the make up, very natural, I like it." Eliam gave an appraisal of Ezra.

The woman, only mildly dressed in mostly undergarments, came downstairs at just the right time to catch Ezra's remark on services for Ude.

"Unless you want to find me another corpse sweetheart there's no getting rid of Ude. He's dead and doing my chores and that is all there is to it," spoken like a true gentlewoman.

Eliam, not heeding any of Ezra's remarks, moved on to another room where he could be heard fiddling with whatever he brought over to this woman's house.

The woman looked over Bardus, "You're cute you know that?"

"Not interested lady."

"I'm not 'lady'. I am Mistress Sovia, to you." She looked between Bardus and Ezra, "and for the record I have a writ saying I can practice my necromancy in Avignon."

"Bardus!" Eliam called, "Come here a moment."

Bardus excused himself leaving Ezra and Sovia alone.

Sovia, human, had blonde hair and blue eyes, similar to many of her eastern counterparts. He frame was thin but healthy, and she had a rather flat chest. One could suppose Eliam did not prefer ample-breasted women.

She was the first to break the silence, "What brings you to the city of Hope? Surely not Bardus and Eliam." She sat in a chair and looked her guest over.