Portia smiles at the men as they are introduced. "I am Portia Starflower of the Song of the Morning. We will take the gem back to Candlekeep. May we see you there soon and may Lathander's light guide you."

"I have to admit, I was hoping that you would return with us," Kanon says after their introductions. "But it is understandable that you have your own mission to attend to." 

He turns his horse towards Petti. "Told you!" He says before trotting back to Orst's wagon. 

The riders head east while the group continues northwest toward Candlekeep. Aside from some strange noises in the distance, mostly far distant grunting and indistinct voices carried by the wind, and of course the hacked corpse of a hill giant lying to the side of the road, the remainder of the journey is smooth. You arrive at Candlekeep only two hours past sunset.

"The Keeper of the Tomes has foretold your arrival," a man in red robes trimmed with gold calls out as you near the gate. "You are welcome guests. Let me see you to your chambers."

The gates part for you and the man gestures down a long stone path through a rich garden full of laceleaf and yellow lillies, up grand stairs and through towering iron gates, toward the main keep. 

"Keeper of the Tomes?" Pettilaen whispered to himself. Speaking up, he adds, "That guy sounds important! Though the job must get a little dull, considering what his title entails. I mean... how many books can one man have? And how many does he actually need? Perhaps someone needs to sit down with him and have a "coming-to-Ilmater" meeting, if you catch my meaning." He chuckles to himself, amused by his own joke.

It almost seemed like Gildedhoof could only shake her head in distress. Gaia said nothing, only hanging her head low, as if his manner of speech and actions no longer came as a surprise to her.

Zeratto follows everyone in relative silence, making sure to greet people only as Zeratto, as his reputation is yet to preceed him. He is naturally wary of any new people, and is vigilant for any kind of oddities that may crop up in the proceedings between his party and the other group.

"Of course he's bloody important," Zina elbowed the other gnome. "This is one of the greatest libraries in all of Faerun!" The wizard was practically bouncing in her saddle with excitement. "You can never have too many books," she added.

"Can we see the Keeper of the Tomes now?" Zina turned her attention to the man in red robes. "And how did he know we were coming? Is it some divination spell? Could I learn it? Do you have any books on trapping souls in gems? Or on illusions. Oh! Or on the Red Wizards of Thay..." The gnome assaulted the poor man with a barrage of questions, changing topics with little warning and giving him no time to answer her. It was clear that the illusionist was very excited. 

The man laughs as you ascend stair after stair, though garden and gate, on the long trek to the main keep. You pass many of the "candle" libraries and laboratories, their white flames lighting the night like day, and note that each is heavily guarded by men in plate mail shrouded by tabards of red and gold.

"It will be some feat if you find yourself in the presence of the Keeper of the Tomes," he says with a chuckle. "I've lived my entire life within these walls and I have never as much as seen him at a distance. You know, it's quite a gift that he's granted you permission to enter the Inner Sanctum at all. Usually, such an invitation requires that you donate an exceedingly rare tome with a worth no less than 1,000 gold coin."

He pauses to address a half-dozen guards flanking a massive wrought iron gate.

"These folk are guests of the Keeper," he tells the guard serjeant. "I am to escort them to the Inner Sanctum."

The serjeant looks you all over for a few moment, then nods to his men, who unlock and open the gate.

"Anyway,"  he continues as you pass through the gate and ascend another stair, "as I was saying... If you're very, very important, you may have a brief word with First Reader Tethtoril, but I wouldn't place any bets on that. He's got his hands full with VIP's these days. All sorts of powerful scholars and arcanists have made their way to Candlekeep of late - more than I've ever seen in one place. If you keep your eyes peeled, you may well see someone famous."

Kanon's eyes are open wide when he's told the Keeper has been expecting their arrival. He hold his excitement and wonderment in as he's lead through familiar grounds and in to the keep. He spent two years in candlekeep as a scribe and steward, learning from the scholars as they continued their day to day activities. He's always wanted to meet the Keeper, but never thought he'd actually be able to.

At Petti's words and once the escort finishes, Kanon says, "You know Petti. If you feel it's torture to be the Keeper of Tomes, then isn't the Keeper already fulfilling his duty to Ilmatar?"

He chuckles at the thought.  To both him and Zina this place is a bit like a town carnival. You want to soak everything in and play every game. The tomb he had used to gain entrance came in the form of a candle. The words spoken by the candle meant more than any entry fee, it seemed, and it won his right to enter the keep. The only reason for his leaving was so that he could spread his newfound knowledge, as was the way of The college of the Herald. 

"I want to take you everywhere Zina! You're going to love this place, even if you think everyone here is just a bunch of stuck-up scholars..." He stops himself from continuing the sentence when their escort gives him a look. Zina had badmouthed the scholars here in the past, but he was eager to prove her wrong. 

"I want to go everywhere!" Zina replied to Kanon excitedly. "It doesn't matter if the people here are just a bunch of boring librarians, the books themselves are spectacular."

Her brain was whirring with endless possibilities. The wizard was thinking about all of the knowledge she could soak up from this place, ways to sneak in and visit with Keeper, and so much more. As soon as they were alone, she would ask Kanon some more questions. But for now, they had someone looking over their shoulder. 

"So how is this place organized? Blackstaff had this dreadful alphabetized system that made just perusing awful. Sure it was fast if you knew the exact name of the book you were looking for, but if you just wanted to look for all of the books on illusion you'd be searching for hours," the gnome said, looking into the various halls they passed. "How will I know where to look for the information I need?"

Kanon laughs, his eyes shining with delight, "Oh no, Zina," he says, "There are waaaaay too many books and scrolls for any sort of alphabetized system. It could take months just to find the specific book you're looking for. The resident gnomes here spend a lifetime learning the organizational structure of the keep. I haven't had much contact with them though... I spent most of my time assisting in research." 

"Oh!" Pettilaen gasps, fumbling around in his clothing, searching for the artifact. "We retrieved something of great value. We found several monks slaughtered on the side of the road. Their faces were bashed in, and some of them had their intestines ripped out and sprawled across the dirt. They were practically drowning in their own blood... But anyway!" He pulls out the gem, holding it towards the guide. "We found this, and some Eltuuran knights told us it was an artifact of great value!" Muttering to himself, he adds, "No doubt worth a fortune to the right buyer... But!" he exclaims, "We would be happy to give it back to the proper personnel here for free. And would most graciously accept a reward for our valiant efforts, no doubt." He grins widely at the guide after mentioning the last bit.

"You should put that away for now," he says. "I am certain your possession of that item is the reason for your being welcomed into Candlekeep. If the Keeper were not already aware that you have it, you would have needed to donate a tome to gain entry just like everyone else."

He smiles, but you can see some urgency in his eyes. Waving around the sparkly gem, which catches the light of the "candles" and gleams like a star, seems to make him nervous. He leans down to whisper to Pettilaen.

"There are prying eyes even here in Candlekeep. Best to use the utmost caution with such a... thing."

The guide leads you through the huge oak-and-iron doors of the central keep and into a vast hall of white granite speckled with silver and gray. The light from the large oil lanterns hanging from oaken rafters causes the walls to glow with a gentle white ambiance. He motions to a teenage boy in a simple red robe, sitting on a bench just inside the entryway.

"Steward," he says to the boy, "These are guests of the Keeper. Please lead them to a quiet room and call for an Elder Reader and an Alchemist to meet them there. They will already know what it's about."

He turns to the party. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have many more duties that need tending before I can retire. You are in excellent hands."

He exits the main doors, which close behind him, as the boy hurries up to you.

"Follow me!" His enthusiastic voice echoes conspicuously through the entryway, causing him to cringe and turn sheepish. "Sorry. Follow me..."

He heads off down the long hall past many intersections, down which you see rows of oaken doors and archways leading to deeper portions of the keep. He finally stops upon reaching a tall oaken door with freshly oiled iron studs and bands that glisten in the light.

"In here," he says as he opens the door and ducks in.

Inside, you see an oak-paneled room full of ornate carvings of Candlekeep and the surrounding countryside. Several small red-and-gold curtains along the walls lead to quiet alcoves for study and meditation. The young man points out the curtains and the alcoves beyond.

"Those rooms are plenty large enough for each of you to unburden yourselves and set out your bedroll. The um..." He glances at Zina and Pettilaen. "The... smaller... of you may even be able to use the wooden bench inside as a bed. They're quite padded and soft. In any case, I'll run and get the Reader and the Alchemist for you. It sounds like this is very important, so I'm sure you won't have long to wait!"

He smiles and heads for the exit.

"Oh... my... gods..." Kanon plops atop the one bed in the room, not caring that his dirty leathers have transferred days of travel to the clean linens. 

He plops up to the sitting position. "Can we just stay here forever?" He asks. "Zina and I can study, Petti can... steal, Portia can pray to her heart's content, Orst can empty the rum, and Zeratto can look imposing. The perfect life, if I do say so myself." 

"I'm not sleeping in a farjin bench," Zina pouted, waiting until the man left them alone. She could barely contain her excitement.

"Oh... my... gods... Can we just stay here forever?" Zina followed Kanon into his quarters, watching him plop into his bed with a satisfied smile. "Zina and I can study, Petti can... steal, Portia can pray to her heart's content, Orst can empty the rum, and Zeratto can look imposing. The perfect life, if I do say so myself." 

"Are you ready to take me to the cool sections now?" Zina asked, eager to get this show on the road. "We have no time for sleep when we are literally surrounded by more knowledge than I could have ever dreamt of."

"Shouldn't we at least see what we're here for?" Kanon asks. "They're sending an Elder Reader and an Alchemist to meet us!!  If anyone can tell us where to find what you're looking for, it's them!" He's overly excited at the thought. He's never actually worked with an elder reader or an alchemist the whole time he's stayed within Candlekeep.

"How about this," Kanon says, "We find out what Petti's gem does, then we spend all night wondering the libraries." 

Petti's gem. He liked that sound. "It is my gem, isn't it!?" he exclaimed jubilantly. "It's like my own little precious... gem."

He spent the next minute or so, meticulously cleaning himself with Prestidigitation, afterwards plopping himself down on the nearest bed. "Mine." he called out. After getting cozy, he sighed and asked, "Anyone else need a quick clean before we meet these important people?" He winked at Zina, certain she'd finally see the use of the spell.

"Fine," Zina replied to Kanon, her shoulders visibly sagging. "But I hope you realize that you aren't going to get any sleep tonight."

Zina had long since realized the utility of Prestidigitation, but didn't want to admit that to the smug gnome beside her. "Some of us don't need to use magic to make ourselves presentable," she retorted. The illusionist planned on teaching herself that spell as soon as possible, but she hadn't had the time to really do so yet. 

Portia had other things on her mind. She wasn't interested in books or Pettilaen prattling about the gem, which he would probably not have much longer. She did want to know what was so important to get them here. Maybe it would help lead to something she could do to help restore Beregost even if that would probably take an army. She felt rather small, but even the smallest of help could make a big difference.

She disappeared into an alcove and started cleaning herself up the best she could. There wasn't anything to wash with since this was a study room, not a sleeping room. One would think they would properly give them real rooms for the night after the talk of importance. She planned on checking on Malark if she didn't get pulled into something of import. 

Orst struggles to squeeze his wide body through one of the narrow curtained doorways, then gives up with a sigh and a laugh.

"Not too many scholars as fat as I am, I guess."

Instead, he sets the bulk of his belongings in one of the rooms and lays out his bedroll in the main, wood-paneled chamber.

"I'm anxious to meet with these folk and get some messages sent. People are dying out there while we wait..."

Orst wrings his hands and takes a seat on a wooden bench. He seems more anxious than any of you have seen before, and it strikes you suddenly that he hasn't had a drink in several days.