Chapter Five Hundred and Twenty-One - Time and Bride Wait for No Bun

    It took half an hour, but eventually it was determined that none of the contents of the box were dangerous. Well, not dangerous in any sort of obvious way.

    We were still in the office of the Property Deed Archive. In front of us, on the table, the contents of Rainnewt''s gift were laid out like the evidence of a crime. Amaryllis had been right earlier when she listed everything out.

    There was a letter, a clock, a book, and a small bouquet of flowers.

    "So... what do we start with?" I asked.

    "I believe it best that we start with the letter," Desiree replied. "It seems as though it''s addressed to you, captain."

    I chewed on my lip, because she wasn''t wrong. The letter wasn''t in an envelope; it was just a single sheet of thick, soft paper, folded into thirds and sealed shut with a dollop of wax. The other had ''To Bunch'' written on it in a quick cursive font.

    "May I?" Caprica asked. I gestured, and she carefully plucked the letter from the table, turning it this way and that. "This vellum''s from the Trenton Flats," she said.

    "Huh." I peered at it. "How can you tell?"

    "They make the best vellum in the known world," Caprica explained. "The hides of Trentonian sheep are well-suited for it, and their crafters have unparalleled skill in its manufacture." She paused. "But unfortunately, it doesn''t mean much. The Trenten flats export this to everyone in the region. I''m sure you could buy something similar here in Port Royal. The ink... seems like normal ink to me." The princess shook her head and flipped the letter over before presenting it to me.

    "Thanks," I said. I shot a burst of Cleaning magic through the letter. I''d heard stories about poisons and stuff before, and while no one had found anything... well, I wouldn''t put it past Rainnewt to discover some whole new kind of poison. That seemed like the kind of person he was.

    Pinching my tongue between my lips, I popped the seal off the letter, then carefully unfolded it. The page was mostly empty, with only a few short paragraphs of dense, somewhat sloppy handwriting.

    Dearest Broccoli,

    I hope this letter finds you well. I imagined that you and your companions would be around for the wedding, and once I confirmed your presence I decided to postpone any plans I had with regards to the local dragons.

    It seems unwise to provoke them in any case. Combatting one of them would be a monumental task. So many at once would be foolish, and I would like to think of myself as not too foolish.

    In any case, enjoy the wedding.

    Enclosed are a few small gifts. Flowers and a book for the bride, and a clock for you. It''s counting down to something special. The book is a hint, and perhaps the flowers are as well.

    Good luck, fellow Earthling!

    -Rainnewt

    I tilted the letter so that my friends could read it, then when it started to get a little crowded, I just handed it over to Amaryllis. She squinted at it for a moment, then leveled a flat stare at me. "I have no idea what this says," she said.

    "Huh? Oh, it''s in English?" I asked. The letters were... well, English.

    "Huh," Calamity said. "I do."

    "As do I," Desiree replied.

    Amaryllis stared, then nodded slowly. "I think most people will know of this. If only as legends and children''s stories."

    "Do you think that maybe Rainnewt has decided to give up on his life of crime and decided to become a children''s book author and that the countdown is to his first release?" I asked hopefully.

    "That''s wishful even for you," Caprica said. "I''m not aware of these stories. Though I''m not too surprised, I doubt the harpy read Sophia the Sweet-tooth to their children."

    "We have our own set of fairy tales and childrens'' stories," Amaryllis said with a nod. "The tales of the Black Avatars is old however. More like something my parents would have been told. What''s more curious is that you recognize them." She turned towards Desiree and eyed the fox girl up and down.

    Desiree''s tails flicked. "Is it so strange? We don''t treat the Black Avatars as children''s stories so much as we treat them as legends. We have temples in their name, and a large library as well. Ah, yes, and there''s an order of swordsmen that wear all-black and try to match them."

    "That''s a little more involved than what I remember," Calamity said. "I mostly remember the stories of Black Cat the Black Avatar. He was a princely thief and troublemaker, and he got into all sorts of scraps."

    I turned towards Awen. "Were there any stories like that around Mattergrove?" I asked.

    "Um, I think so? But they were boy stories," she said.

    "Boy stories?" I asked.

    "Fairytales for boys, so that they grow up to be noble knights. Most of my stories were about princesses and friendly wildland animals." Awen shrugged. "I overheard some of the other stories, but never paid them, ah, that much attention."

    I looked down at the book and flipped it forwards. There was a note from the author, just a couple of paragraphs explaining that they''d gone around the lower end of the continent--so Mattergrove, Deepmarsh and the Trenten Flats--and collected several stories about the Black Avatars into a single book which was then illustrated.

    "I think we''ll have to show this one to Booksie," I said.

    "The wedding has wrapped up by now," Caprica said. "She might be wondering where her bridesmaids are."

    "Ah! You''re right! We wasted so much time with this," I said. "Desiree, can you find anything out about these flowers? Awen, let''s go make sure this wedding ends on a high note for Booksie, and then... well, whatever Rainnewt is stirring up, I''m sure it can wait a day."

    "Are you sure?" Amaryllis asked.

    "Yeah! Bad people only deserve as much attention as you need to keep them from being bad enough to ruin your day. At least, sometimes," I said with a nod.

    Whatever Rainnewt tossed our way, we''d be up to fixing it, I was sure.

    ***