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deep breath and raises the axe above his head, preparing to hit the floor with as much force as he dares.
    “Wait!” shouts Nyx from her seat. She slips off her boot and shakes it over her lap until the Compass Key falls out. The seven circular gems shine as the half-elf timidly holds it up to her face. “I guess the foam pushed it into my boot. No wonder I couldn’t find it. Maybe I should go back to walking around here barefoot.”
    “You had an ancient relic in your shoe and did not notice?”
    “The foam makes my skin tingle and the Compass Key slipped onto the top of my foot. I thought the sensation was being caused by getting drenched so badly,” she answers while blushing. She runs her finger around the alabaster pearl in the center of the relic, the taste of its power mesmerizing her for a few seconds. “Trinity and Stephen were after this, so it’s important to the Baron. They’re going to try to take it, so we need to figure out how it works. Once I master the Compass Key, I can hide it out of their reach and only return to its location when we need it. Even Stephen won’t be able to get this from me if he . . . captures me.”
    Timoran sits next to Nyx, the table creaking under his weight. “I apologize if this angers you or hurts your pride, but I do not want you to face Stephen alone. Delvin told me about what happened and we agree that he is too dangerous for you to fight.”
    “Luke already gave me the ‘over my dead body’ speech. I don’t want to be alone with that monster, but I refuse to cower like a terrified child. He’ll enjoy that and I’d rather kiss a hobgoblin than bring that bastard even a scrap of joy.”
    “That man tossed me aside with very little effort. I am not in any rush to fight someone with such power. Not until I have a better understanding of his abilities.”
    Nyx hops off the table and stretches her arms over her head, the caster quietly noticing that her skin has become very pale and dry after months of staying indoors. She winces at the sensation of a knot in her lower back and tries twisting in every direction until the stiffness is gone. The half-elf reaches under the table for a satchel and pulls out a thin book, its yellow cover cracked along the leathery spine. The title of the tome is faded to the point where the solitary word is unreadable without the aid of magic.
    “I believe Stephen is a Chronos,” Nyx softly explains, handing her friend the book. The big warrior gingerly takes it in his hands, a worried look on his face. “They are rarer than Song Casters and a lot more dangerous. They aren’t true casters with spells, but they use their aura to alter time and reality. Most die within a few years because their power irreversibly ages them with every use, but if one is immortal then it’s possible that the side-effects are negated. That book explains the few things that are known about the Chronos, which isn’t much. All I got out of it is that none of us have the power to permanently put Stephen down.”
    “Then we avoid him until we discover his weakness,” the barbarian states as he thumbs through the book. He catches his breath when one of the pages splits in half, his hands frozen in embarrassment. “Gabriel would not pit us against him if he did not have a way for us to win. We have already been told that Fizzle is immune, which may be the first step toward victory. Though I believe Stephen will play with us for a while, so we can use that time to find the key to destroying or sealing him.”
    “We destroy him. If he’s sealed then he can escape and come after me again.”
    “You make a good point,” Timoran says as he closes the book. He wrinkles his nose at the smell of dissolving foam and the thought that crosses his mind. “I do not like what I am about to say. Stephen is mostly focused on you, so he will get the Compass Key if you are captured. I should point out that you have rarely let the relic out of your sight since we found