A Talk with Daniel

As Adrian walked inside the apartment, he looked around and sighed. The apartment was tiny. There was only one room, a single bed, a dresser, and a mirror the size of Adrian's palm. Amber walked into the room behind Adrian and closed the door behind her.

"It doesn't look like our friend was very wealthy," Amber sighed. Adrian slowly nodded, then turned to the bed. He walked to its base, then brought his palm to the wooden frame that kept it on the floor. With as much strength as he could muster, he began to pull the bed away from the wall. Amber helped and together they managed to push the bed toward the opposite end of the room.

"You start searching other places. If our friend lied about the floorboard, we may be here awhile," Adrian said. 

"Why did we kill him then? We could've come back to question him some more," Amber asked. She turned toward the dresser and then began to search through the drawers. Adrian stepped onto the floorboards that had been below the bed. He began to push his toes against the boards- one by one- as he tested their stability.

"We threatened him with death. That should've been enough to turn him honest," Adrian answered. He felt his feet tap into a floorboard that rang with hollowness inside. He smiled, then bent down and pulled the floorboard away. Beneath, Adrian found a small open compartment, like the kind he had seen in spy movies. A few documents waited for him- though Adrian didn't care about any of them. His eyes turned to a leather pouch that acted as a paperweight for the documents. The leather pouch was placed next to a second pouch- that one much larger.

He pulled the pouch out of the compartment, then opened the pouch and showed it to Amber. As she turned away from the dresser, Adrian looked inside and smiled as a view of dozens of silver coins and a few gold coins waited for him. 

"That's quite the fortune. Why didn't he pay for a nicer place?" Amber asked as she took the pouch in her hands. Adrian looked back to the compartment and pulled out another pouch- this one full of bronze coins.

"Maybe he was saving up for something. Might've had a girl he fancied," Adrian shrugged as he put the bronze pouch into his backpack. Amber shrugged as well, then dropped the pouch with the silver and gold coins inside as well.

The two of them returned to the inn- paid for another two days as they were at it- and got themselves an actual meal.

That night, they talked with themselves as to what their next steps were.

"We'll meet with Daniel tomorrow, hear him out," Adrian said as he took a bite of his dinner. Amber nodded and took a bite as well. She was enjoying her dinner much more than Adrian was, yet didn't care to confirm it, "Afterward, we'll go around town and buy whatever we need. Magic books, equipment, and food for the journey."

"Finally, new clothes," Amber muttered with a full mouth, "do you think what we have is enough?"

"If the silver we paid for a room has the same value as a night's stay at a hotel on Earth, then we have enough," Adrian said, "I'm not sure why we'd pay the same amount for food, but that deal included room service."

"How much value do you think a silver coin has, then?" Amber asked.

"Fifty dollars? Maybe less? A copper coin is five dollars. A gold coin is five hundred," Adrian answered, "Though I'm only guessing."

"That would make us rich, wouldn't it? How much? How much do we have?" Amber gawked as her fork dropped to her plate. Adrian sighed, then quickly nodded.

"If my estimates are correct? We have a little over four thousand. A lot, I know, when we were hoping to only get a few hundred," Adrian told her, "We have forty-three bronze coins, thirty-six silver coins, and four gold coins."

"Let's hope it's enough," Amber muttered as she tried to hide the smile on her face. Adrian looked at her, then smiled as well.

"It will be."

The next morning, the twins met with Daniel for breakfast in the café of the Blue Mimic. Daniel was wearing a different set of clothes- still nice enough to wear to church- as he met with them. The twins were already eating their breakfast when Daniel saw them.

This time, Daniels's clothes were of a much lighter color than the last time they saw him. His trench coat was gone, probably hanging on some hangar in his room. As Daniel noticed them, he smiled and waved, but didn't move in their direction. Instead, he walked to the kitchen, where the employees were handing out food to anybody who would take it- and had already paid the attendant at the front desk for it.

"So? Are you two coming with me?" Daniel asked a few minutes later as he pulled up a chair to sit across from them. Adrian put down his fork, then looked to Daniel and nodded.

"We tried the Coin Guard. Just as you said, they denied us due to our weaker level of strength. But I do find myself wondering, why did you actually decide to invite us?" Adrian asked. Daniel looked offended for a moment, but Adrian was quick to intervene, "Don't misunderstand, I appreciate it, but I can't help but be curious."

"Oh, that's all? I already told you, it's to give my thanks," Daniel answered. Adrian stared at him and raised an eyebrow.

"That's a long way to give thanks," Adrian said, perplexed. He stared at Daniel for a few more seconds before he sighed, "You know, don't you?"

"That you're Artists? It wasn't hard to find out. My family has been counting down the years until the next game. Our founding Ancestor was an Artist, after all. I've been aware that the game would start around this time for years. Not sure about the exact day, but I wasn't surprised when I saw you two," Daniel admitted.

"So your clothes?" Amber muttered as she gazed at his tie.

"Designed from what my ancestor wore, back in his day," Daniel nodded, "I apologize for not explaining myself fully when we first met. My family likes to claim themselves as patrons of the Artist way. We're a smaller family, yet we've spread our influence to the entirety of the capital."

"So, what? You want us to join your family?" Amber asked. Daniel's eyes widened in amusement as he chuckled. He quickly shook his head and smiled at Amber.

"My family doesn't allow anybody to enter through the family in such a way, even if they're Artists themselves," Daniel laughed, "You'd have to marry in, unfortunately, and I'm not sure your brother would appreciate that. Instead, I'd like to offer you two an invitation. Not to the family itself, but to the organization in which we lead."

"An organization?" Adrian asked as he looked to Daniel for more clarification.

"The Order of the Librarian."