“A book of ink,

  a study of might,

  In darkness we found this odd delight;

  A book that may just turn the tide—

  Or a weight that we must hide.”

  Pos rolled his eyes at the lousy poem, if it could even be called that. He was no [Scholar], but Pos was sure Jes would have fainted from anger if he heard this goat dung.

  “Oh please, as if you’re not interested in what the book is about.” Ferdinand, the lousy poet, laughed.

  “Doesn’t mean I want to hear your failed attempt at poetry.” Pos countered. That got a few chuckles, proving that Pos was not alone in his view of the halfling’s scholarly pursuit.

  “Well, what do you think?”

  Bazel posed the question at Fabiana who had been studying the thin book since the party received it. Pos looked at the book in the hands of the sage and it was indeed a strange find. Dungeons did give out books as treasures, but this one was different. The cover of the book bore a title in an elegant, almost alien script, and the author’s name defied easy pronunciation. The party were still not certain they’re saying it right.

  “Honestly,” Fabiana, her brow furrowed, flipped another page, “I’m not sure what to make of it.”

  Umdar, who had been mostly silent since the book was found, grunted. “Looks like some kind of device. Reminds me of the machinery we used to work the forge.”

  Pos peered at the book, “Now that you mentioned it, it does look a little like a machine of some sort. The title's peculiar though. I had never heard of a ‘Printing Press’, and if a dwarf hasn’t heard of it, then it’s probably useless.”

  “Fabi, you still haven’t said what the book is about.” Bazel reminded the [Sage].

  “It looks like some sort of device that could press words on paper.” Fabiana said uncertainly. “Something a scribe would use, I guess.”

  “So, it’s useless.” Pos grumbled, kicking a loose pebble which skittered down a dark passage. “We were the first party to clear the second room and all we got was ‘this’.”

  “Perhaps it's a magical artifact,” Barwin mused. “We won’t know till we build it.”

  Fabiana’s fingers traced the strange words on the cover and shook her head. “I doubt it. Though I’m not entirely sure what it’s for, the device does not have runes or enchantments. It doesn’t even need arcane energy. It runs by someone pulling a lever to ‘press’ ink on wooden blocks onto paper. There’s no need for any discernible mana or divine energy of any kind.”

  Ferdinand tapped his chin. “Now, that’s certainly an odd thing to find in a dungeon. Most dungeons yield weapons, jewels, or perhaps a potion or two. Not… whatever this is.”

  The party navigated a tight turn, going through the third floor maze at a steady pace. “It’s most likely useless, I tell you," Pos declared again as he drew on a scroll. Mapping the maze was supposed to be Fabiana’s job but the [Sage] was too busy going through the book. For the third time. “This 'Printing Press' is probably just some archaic junk.”

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  “Unless it is significant,” Fabiana countered softly, showing that she didn’t really believe it herself, “maybe it’s a device, or a forgotten technology…”

  Pos scoffed. “You’re the one who read it! Does it contain any useful spells or, you know, instructions?”

  The [Sage] flipped through a few pages. Although the book was thin, it was dense, and numerous script and intricate diagrams fill the inside. “It's a complex device. It’s all about these strange small blocks and ink. And pressing them down. Repeatedly.”

  “Blocks? Ink?” Pos snorted. “Sounds like a painter's diary. Still useless.”

  “It looks like a device…,” Fabiana paused, with a flicker of intrigue in her eyes, before continuing. “A method of… duplicating words. A device to make many copies from one device.”

  “Making many copies of what?” Umdar asked as they approached another branching path. “Paper? What good will that do?”

  “Perhaps making books,” Fabiana whispered, “imagine if this device allows us to reproduce stories, books, and scrolls without the arduous task of copying each one by hand. Think of how important that would be.”

  Pos glanced at the other members of the party, and it was clear the [Sage] was the only one who was excited about that. Like Pos, the rest of the party would much rather have a treasure that’ll helped them survive this delve.

  “Which way, halfling?” Pos asked.

  “My skill says left.” Ferdinand said with a shrug.

  “This would be so much easier if the elf was here.” Pos grumbled as he shot Umder a look.

  The dwarves had discussed this beforehand, and the [Knight] did not miss his cue. “Elf? Which one?”

  “The [Explorer]. She was in the party when we came down for the first expedition.” Pos replied.

  “Talata is no longer in Viaggia, for obvious reasons.” Bazel said with a quiet sigh. “Hopefully, the problems with the elves will be settled soon and she’ll return.”

  “Problems with the elves, he said.” Ferdinand guffawed, and both dwarves joined him.

  Bazel gave the three non-humans a rueful smile, not really defending his species on the cause of the ‘problems’.

  However, as a citizen of the Bright Empire, Barwin did. “It is just a minor dispute. Things will go back to normal soon.”

  “Not if the Bright has bigger ambitions than the Vale.” Umdar replied in a low voice. And low voices travel further in a dungeon.

  The three humans turned at Umdar, the halfling just laughed. “Oh, you dwarves heard the same thing, did you?”

  “What thing?” A confused Fabiana asked.

  Ferdinand did not answer, but from his words, it was clear to Pos the halfling had heard the same rumours as the dwarves. So, he took over the conversation. He raised a brow at the [Sage]. “The Bright Empire don’t intend to stop at the Vale of Dunkark. Their army is going into the forest. They intend to take over the lands of the elves.”

  “Nonsense,” Barwin immediately said. “The border has been settled for centuries. No one in Bright would…”

  The [Swordsman] tailed off when he saw the look on Bazel’s face. The [Dragoon] did not look surprise. Instead, he looked sort of resigned.

  “Bazel?” Barwin said, his unasked question cleared to all.

  “Focus on the dungeon. Politics can wait till later.” Bazel ordered. The rest of the party looked at each other for a moment, before silently agreeing with their leader.

  Politics can wait.

  The party turned another corner and saw something that would usually get an adventurer’s heart racing. Sitting along the path was a small stack of glittering gems and gold coins. Pos’ eyes widened in disbelief. “That’s not the exit.” He deadpanned.

  “My skill is [Treasure Sense], not [Exit Sense]. It tells me which direction to go to get to what I most desired. Not where the exit of a floor is.” Ferdinand countered.

  “What we most desired now is the exit of the floor, not treasure. Get your greed under control halfling.” Pos fumed.

  Ferdinand looked at Pos in mocked horror. “What kind of dwarf are you to say such blasphemy?”

  “Enough!” Bazel said, his eyes never leaving the pile in front of them. “Chances of a trap?”

  “Almost certain,” Barwin replied with a nod.