There once was a dwarf, stout and bold,

Who thought books were boring and cold.

She scoffed at the sages,

"The best kind of pages—

Are maps to where treasure is sold!"

Goldie Honorhide.

I went to find the Lore Society. This looked like a single-story shop in the central area, next to the city administration offices. I walked in, and the human working at the front desk didn't even look up. "Yes," he said in a bored tone.

"I would like access to the books to research some topics. Where do I start?"

"Membership token, please."

"I am not a member," I replied.

Then he looked up, then up, and again to see my face. "Wow, you are bigger than the Orcs."

"Yes, I am aware."

"Right, sorry. If you want access for a day or longer, those are the fees there," he said, passing a sheet of paper across. "If you want continued access, both here and in other Lore Societies in the Kingdom, there is an annual Membership fee, and you need at least three Lore Skills in Apprentice. That will give you Apprentice-level access. Your contributions to the Society earn higher-level access."

"I would like to become a member. I currently have Animal, Plant, Mineral, Monster and Arctic Lore at the apprentice level."

"Excellent. We are always looking for information on the Arctic. If you pay the annual fee, I will get you a membership token and show you around."

We did that, and then Kevin showed me around. "This top floor is for public use; that side contains information on the city and politics, followed by the environment. In the middle, we have information wider afield than the locals, including what we have on the Arctic. That section is on Monster Lore, and then this section is on skills and classes. That is our most popular section. You will find it is common skills, classes, and a few common specialisations."

"What about affinities?" I asked.

"In the members-only section downstairs, along with less common Skills and Classes. Advanced Classes are restricted, and special permissions are required. We have a list of Skill Books available, and if you are interested, I can book a session with a Skill Trainer. The Cost varies depending on the Skill. Lore Skills are the cheapest and easiest, but you can often learn them by reading."

"Skill books?" I asked.

He looked at me funny. "Certain trainer classes enable the use of Skill books. Less easy-to-get classes can create and use said books. I am working on my Scholar Class for now, and once I get it to the Journeyman level, I will train as a teacher. That should enable me to be a Skill trainer and help people learn new skills."

It turns out Kevin was a fount of knowledge. He loved his job, and I think he would make a good teacher. I asked for books on star navigation, and he located three. However, it turns out my reading skills were very basic.

"Do you have the Literacy Skill?" Kevin asked. I shook my head. "I could teach you. It could take a couple of days of work, probably, as I have the Tutor Skill." He looked at the Star Navigation books. "That topic will also require Mathematics Lore. The deeper you get, the more you will also need Calculus skills."

"I navigate by the stars now," I said. "Why would I need this?"

"You have been taught very basic navigation. This is the theory behind it, and it is used more in shipping than in land use. This is why we only have three books, and this is really the only in-depth book. For more information, you will need to go to Obalno. The Navy teaches its navigators this. Do you want to get the navigation skill, which can also lead to the Map skill? Scouts often get the Map skill as part of the specialisation class, but they skip the navigation."

"I have the Map Skill from my Explorer Specialisation, but I need more," I said, as this seemed like a good excuse.

"Explorer Class! That is awesome. Were you exploring the Arctic? You must have a lot of stories. We can help you record things like that to add to the Society."

"Maybe later," I said, "Literacy and Mathematics Lore seem to be my first step."

"Right. Literacy will help you record your own experiences, too." Kevin went and found a book. "Here, this is a starter book. It will be faster if you knew more than just Common."

"I am fluent in my native tongue and at the Journeyman level in Common and Dwarvish," I said.

"Good, good. You know, recording your native tongue will also count as a contribution to the Society."

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Kevin was pretty keen on everybody contributing to the Lore Society.

"Before we start, how much will your tutoring cost?" I asked. I remember the trainers advertising in the Mercenary Society and what they charged per lesson.

"Ten copper an hour," he said hesitantly.

The minimum I remember from the Mercenary Society was a silver lesson. This was cheap, and from a scholar, I found it extremely cheap.

"You are supposed to be working here, are you? Can you help me as well?"

His face fell, "I am working till after lunch, but I can tutor you after that."

"I tell you what," I said. "You get me started, and I will try to limit my questions. After you finish, you tutor me for the afternoon, and I will pay you two silver for the day."

His eyes lit up at the offer, "Deal. I will get some more books. You can start with mathematics, and that will also help your literacy. Do you have anything to practice writing on?" I shook my head. "That is fine. We often sell supplies to members. I will get you some."

He came back with some blank sheets of paper and a thing he called a pencil, which left lines on the page. I set myself up at a table but found the chairs very small and the table too low. I ended up moving them and working on the floor. Kevin found it strange based on his looks, but he didn't say anything.

Kevin was a very good tutor, even though he insisted the skill was only at the apprentice level. He didn't get to use it much, so he was rapt at working with me. He probably would have done it for free.

"How did you lose your eye?" he asked, "Was it a Monster?"

"No, it was actually self-inflicted because I was an idiot and didn't put protections in place."

"Oh," his face fell. I think he wanted a monster story. Kevin was more knowledgeable about monsters than other things, if that was possible.

"Have you ever seen a monster?" I asked.

"I helped dissect one once, a Dire Cat," he replied, "What about you?"

Well, that started a whole thing. Ice Trolls, Griffons, Frost Spiders, Mammoths, Pikes and a Taniwha. His eyes were huge, and his questions were many.

The stern dwarf who came to take over at lunchtime was not interested in being friendly. She gave me cross looks at what I was doing and quieted us a few times, but the society only had a few visitors that afternoon.

I must have had something of a math affinity, as I had Level 1 Mathematics Lore by the end of the day. Literacy took longer, but we had a breakthrough when Kevin learned I had the Drawing Skill. "Just use the drawing skill to copy the shapes, and that will work for both." He thought I might also get calligraphy skills, which I gathered was fancy writing.

"I am heading back for dinner with my team. Why don't you join us, Kevin?"

"Oh, I couldn't. I don't know them, no, I couldn't, ah, thanks though,"

"Come on, you won't get to know them if you don't actually meet them. They don't bite." Then I thought of Makara, "I mean, they won't bite."

"I couldn't, thanks, though."

"You like learning new things, right?" Kevin nodded, unsure of where I was going with this. "Did you hear about the Shark Mer that is in town?" He nodded. "Do you want to meet her?"

His eyes lit up, but I think he was actually lost for words for a minute there. "Do you? Ah, yes, sure, I will come."

"Did you know she has a water affinity?" I didn't think he could get any more excited. This was going to be fun.

We packed up the books, and I led him out of the building. I was greeted by Felix, who seemed to have collected some stray hangers-on. Two were canine, and one was a little human girl in dirty clothes.

Kevin seemed to know the girl. "Jasmine, sweety, you need to head home now. Your Mum will have dinner for you," he said, and he guided her off. She went reluctantly. It looks like Felix has an admirer. His Team Leader skills are showing.

"Kevin, this is my bond, Felix,"

"You have a bond? That is so awesome. What is it like with a bond?" Kevin went on to ask a thousand questions. I am starting to think he has a skill called that. I didn't mind, as I was learning a lot, even from the questions he asked. In due course, I would need a break from Kevin, but that can happen.

Kevin has always wanted a bond, but animals and books were incompatible.

"No, they are not," I said. "You don't need a large animal. One of those sparrows would help you find things, or maybe a pigeon to carry messages. Maybe a rat can help you get into places. Do you know how to form a bond? One of the dwarves in my team taught me, Yoboc. He has had two bonds in his time, a red fox and an Osprey hawk."

"I read about it and have been doing the mental exercises, but I don't know anyone with the bond or if I am doing it right," Kevin replied.

"Now is your chance to talk to an experienced bond master." I handed him his pay for the day's tutoring.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked, indicating the coins, "I feel I should be paying you. I have got so much out of the day. It is amazing."

I shrugged, "It is what we agreed. Same tomorrow as well?" I felt he stuck to his books, and getting real experience would benefit him. He seemed to hang off my every word. I didn't think I was that interesting.

"Absolutely!" he agreed enthusiastically.

The Inn was not far, and he asked questions the entire way. I could only answer about half of them.

Kevin fell silent when he came face to face with Makara. I bet Yoboc it wouldn't last more than two minutes before the questions started.

I introduced him to Yoboc and Goldie. Goldie said, "Books. Humph. Boring. You got any treasure maps in that building?"

"Ah, I don't think so," Kevin replied.

"Not interested, then," Goldie stated.

It might have been a little longer than two minutes, but he was now pestering Makara about the life and anatomy of a Mer and how this should be recorded and added to the Lore Society records, as they had nothing like that in Becov.

Kevin was fun to watch when you were not the centre of his attention. I compared him to the other humans in the room. He was thin but of average height. His hair was short and light brown, and his skin was pale like a dwarf's. He seemed quite young. If Scholar was his first class, it was not giving him any physical attributes. He was smart, though.

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