Elias looked up. Standing by the mahogany shelf was a woman in a grey wool coat, her eyes fixed on the vellum. She didn't look like a scholar; she looked like a shadow that had stepped into the light.
"You weren't supposed to find that," a soft voice whispered.
She tapped a specific point on the map—a cellar under a local pub called The Eagle and Child. "If you want the truth, meet us there at midnight. But remember what the preface says: Once the secret is shared, the seeker is gone. "
Elias looked up. Standing by the mahogany shelf was a woman in a grey wool coat, her eyes fixed on the vellum. She didn't look like a scholar; she looked like a shadow that had stepped into the light.
"You weren't supposed to find that," a soft voice whispered.
She tapped a specific point on the map—a cellar under a local pub called The Eagle and Child. "If you want the truth, meet us there at midnight. But remember what the preface says: Once the secret is shared, the seeker is gone. "