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entitled Life under the Dia Orella: the One God of the Tugrulian Empire .
    She flipped through the pages. The dearth of information about the Tugrulians’ lone god and the sacred temple, the Dia Orella, surprised Chenda. The book recorded the various tales merchants brought back from the Empire, and the accounts were just a collection of rumors. Some had heard that the Tugrulian sacred writings were kept guarded in the temple at the Kotal, but no westerner, and most of the Tugrulians themselves, had ever read the words of their God or seen the inside of the Dia Orella.
    Chenda sighed. The chapter on ceremonies didn't say much either. She found no discussion of Singing Stones. None of the other books seemed to mention the word pedradurite either. As Chenda continued to read, she began to understand a bit about what life was like in Tugrulia. Their whole society was shaped by nearly unending war. With their agricultural land burned and poisoned, Tugrulians had taken much of their life below ground. There, they propagated a wide variety of fungi, mosses and algae. Much of their protein came from the cave dwelling lizards, bugs and fish raised in underground ponds, or caught in the Kohlian Sea.
    Chenda looked up from her book as Alme brought the breakfast tray to Edison's desk.
    “Daniel is on his way to town, ma’am,” she said. “You will have your things in just a few hours.” Alme paused in the doorway, and looked back at her young mistress with a worried and motherly gaze.
    “If you don't mind me saying, ma’am,” Alme started, “I am surprised you didn't go to shop for yourself. You always seemed to like visiting the shops personally.”
    “Not anymore,” Chenda said, turning back to her reading. “Please let me know when Daniel returns.”
    Chenda spent the remainder of the morning making a mental list of important facts about the Tugrulians and their Empire. Several sources categorized the men as fierce or warlike, and aggression seemed to be a cultural trait. Tugrulian society isolated women, and most remained uneducated and abused. Women were expected to produce beautiful children for their husbands, and be servile to the needs of all men. In general, the Tugrulians had dusky skin, dark eyes and straight, shiny black hair. For the men, beards and mustaches were very unfashionable, and long hair was acceptable on both men and women, often braided into or twisted around various caps or head wrappings. Tugrulian clothing was loose and layered, meant to be protection from both the hot days and cold nights. Tugrulians favor a variety of acid colors that are produced by the chemicals brought up from deep underground or from various colorful bugs.
    Fascinating, thought Chenda, but, does any of this help me?
    At mid-day, Alme knocked again and slipped into the study.
    “Is Daniel back from Lilienthal's?” Chenda asked.
    “Yes, ma’am. Just arrived.”
    Alme followed Chenda into the foyer as Daniel entered, carrying a large, paper-wrapped bundle.
    “Excellent,” Chenda said. “I'm glad you're back so quickly. I'll need to go out this afternoon for several errands. I'll be ready to go in just a moment, but, first, would you take that package to my room, please?”
    Chenda began to turn back toward the study, but stopped when she noticed Daniel standing perfectly still, his eyes wide. Alme stepped forward to explain.
    “Daniel's doesn't know where to go, ma’am. He's never been in the house past the foyer, apart from the day that he was hired by Mr. Frost.”
    “No? I thought all the house staff gathered in the kitchens whey they weren't on duty.”
    “I keep to the garage, ma’am. It's my place to be there.” Daniel said.
    “It's no trouble,” Alme interjected. “I'll show him where to go and have him back in a jiff.”
    Alme led Daniel up the stairs, leaving Chenda to her thoughts. She went into the study and retrieved the small black velvet bag from the secret compartment in Edison's desk and tucked