"Oh. Ah. Ahem." Clark shrugged, clearly a little uncomfortable with the attention toward his feelings. "It's, you know... Sure, when I left Fletcherville to make the delivery with you, I had assumed I'd be home by now. And I've never been in the city for so long. And there's too much stone and not enough greenery and I do miss eating plain grass and...

"And still, you know, I can't help but like it here, kind of? Did you know, I can already feel I'm getting somewhat better at mindreading! I used to only get simple concepts, and even that was somewhat fuzzy, and it did get better with time, but these past few days, I think I'm getting ever more complicated thoughts and feelings off people. I think it's because there's so much of them here. I can't help but listen in on bits and pieces of thoughts, and it adds up, you know? Even if it tires me out more than it usually does." He shrugged again.

"And, you know... Back home, every bug knows I can read minds. And it makes most of them feel uneasy, which, I don't blame them, I understand totally, but... it's... no one really wants to have anything to do with me, and it's... It's nice to feel like I'm useful for once, you know?"

Clark fell silent, hunching in on himself a bit. Awkward silence dragged on for a short while, upon which he resumed with somewhat forced cheer:

"That said, I really can't say I like fighting. Now that I've tried it, I'm very positive that I, in fact, do not like it. Even if it has turned out that I'm good at kicking things. So, uh, I'd prefer it if we could avoid my involvement in that as much as possible.

"Other than that, I'm looking forward to finding the keys with you, Arthur! I'm quite interested in the outcome by now. And you are good company." The cheery tone of his last sentence, though still a bit forced, also revealed genuine fondness and enthusiasm.

Arthur was frankly a little mortified by all the emotion evident in Clark's monologue, and feeling way out of his depth. He was (evidently) not used to long talks and friendly shows of support. He was in the middle of deciding whether patting Clark on the shoulder was an acceptable way to offer support and show his gratitude, when the cricket snickered.

"I can hear you thinking way too hard over here, you know? It's okay, I know that you'll have my back when it matters." And with that, Clark smiled and made his way to his bed, where he sat with a satisfied sigh.

Arthur let out a relieved sigh of his own. Emotions were hard. Having his companion's back when it mattered—that, he could deal with.

[hr]

One healthy afternoon nap later, Arthur and Clark were awoken by a gentle knock. Marissa's voice, muffled by the door, called out: "Mind if I come in?" Arthur jumped up to get the door while Clark sat up, yawning.

Marissa strode in in a brisk, businesslike manner. Upon reaching a bedside table, she opened her respectably sized belt pouch and pulled out a small book. It was a strange-looking book: the covers were thin sheets of wood that had small holes drilled into them along one side. The papers inside evidently also had holes in them, since they were held together by a small length of cord that passed through the holes. A title was burned into the wood of the cover in neat, if slightly uneven, letters:

[i]
[indent]A Traveller's Guide
To Key Locations
In The Country Of
Nargyll[/indent]
[/i]

Arthur chuckled. "Subtle."

Marissa smirked. "Open it. I couldn't collect much at such short notice, of course, but there's a summary at the beginning, and..."

She trailed off as Arthur and Clark simultaneously let out an awed sigh. "No, no, this is perfect!" Clark exclaimed.

And it really was. Inside the covers was an eclectic mix of papers, inks, and handwritings. Most of the writing had been done in a steady, loopy, easily legible hand (presumably Marissa's), but there were bits from others here and there, whoever they were. The amount of information was frankly astounding for something assembled in several hours.

"Well, I hadn't known there was a spy ring operating in Irris," Arthur joked weakly. At least, he had intended it as a joke; now, he wasn't sure.

Marissa chuckled. "Oh, you know, just something for a bunch of us nosy gossips to pass the time," she intoned dismissively, as if quoting someone full of himself. Then she winked.

Arthur wisely decided he didn't want to know.

"Well, it's all in the summary, really," Marissa continued after a bit of silence, "but let me walk you through real quick." Unfortunately, we only have three leads—for a given value of the word. The first is the rumor that the treasure itself is buried somewhere not very far from here, a couple of days' travel at most. That's likely why Edgar was so interested in finding out about the keys. The rumors vary on where the treasure is located. Some say it's on the island out in the sea—there's several, but only the largest is inhabited, if you count several fisher huts. Others say it's buried somewhere in the woods surrounding Irris. The only place of note in the woods that I know of is The Black Cairn. It's, well... We don't go there. It's an ancient burial place, and people have seen things, you know? Heard things. Best let the dead lay in peace, that's what I think of it."

She took a moment to collect her thoughts, then continued.

"The other lead is about a location of a key. It's, um... I have a question for you, Clark."

"Yes?" Clark replied politely.

"...Is it true that there's a giant ant empire located underground beyond the Border river?" she asked, sounding half embarrassed to be mistaken, and half hoping to be.

"Why, yes," Clark nodded. "The Queen watches over our domain." There was plain, natural reverence in his tone.

"Well..." Marissa blinked. "I mean, that's good, this means the rumor might be correct. Apparently, two or three years back, several giant ants passed through the outskirts of Irris. On their way west, they were heard saying they were looking for a key. On their way east several weeks later, they said they had been called off the search."

"So, it might mean that a key was discovered by the ant kingdom," Clark said thoughtfully. "They are very organized, you know. Skilled at finding things."

Arthur looked at Clark. "You said before, at the fountain, that your town and the ant kingdom help each other in times of need, right?" Clark nodded. "Could we... pay them a visit, maybe? We both or just you. Is that... done?"

"Well, it's a somewhat complicated topic..." Clark replied. "But if the business is urgent, it's possible." Clark wasn't saying something, but Arthur guessed he shouldn't pry into insect politics. He settled on saying: "Good, so that's an option."

Marissa nodded and continued: "And, last but not least... There's always the capital. The Stormguard Mage Guild has a giant library, and a while ago, they have sent out a notice of a reward for any information about the keys—they're offering fifty gold for anything they haven't heard of yet, and double that if you can prove what you're saying is true. Far too much money on their hands, if you ask me..." she muttered in a disapproving tone.

Marissa continued for a while, retelling trivia about the capital—where they could go, what they could find, and whom of her intimidating network of friends they could ask for help. However, Arthur tuned it out, hoping Clark would catch that. He was feeling uneasy ever since Marissa started talking about the capital. When she mentioned "the Stormguard Mage Guild", a shiver ran down his spine, so strong that he could barely conceal it. The worst part was that he didn't know [i]why[/i] he was reacting to the name. He could only conclude that in his past, he had had some kind of dealings with them.

Clark must have noticed his uneasy mood because the talk soon wrapped up to a close. After giving her last reassurances ("It's color-coded, and I included an index in the back"), she left with a promise to bring them up their dinner when it was ready. Much as Arthur was thankful for the wealth of information Marissa brought them, he was even more thankful for the silence.

Soon, they will need to decide how to act where to move next, but for now, he settled on falling back onto his bed and trying to blink away his discomfort.