Don't say Treebeard, Don't say Treebeard, Don't say Treebeard

"Treeboobs." Fuck.

"Excuse me?"

"Never mind, wait hang on it can't be that simple." You put your mother's letter down beside dissembled book. "I have asked so many people and none of them can remember your name, I have spent most of the day going over some of the worst bookkeeping I have ever seen, and my mother decided she had to intervene a give me a letter, not in the first book I would have opened but in, I honestly lost count. And trick is not that I need to find out your just that I have to tell you what name is from now on." You felt justified in your annoyance, if nothing else your mother could have put the letter in an earlier book. Actually why had your mother picked this book.

You flipped to the first page and had a quick read. Aside from starting with some better record keeping nothing stood out. Queen Tira had better taste in archivists at least.

There was a mock cough from the elf on the table. "Yes, in case you were looking for an answer." She smiled at you. "Name is all that's left."

"Any guide lines on the name?" You asked not looking up from the book, there must be something in here, though you wouldn't put it past your mother to punish you for not going to have sex by making you waste your time ... your mother is a weird woman, was a weird woman.

"Something a bit more interesting than Birch would be nice." Your eyes drifted to the letter you'd put on the table. You flipped it over to see if your mother had a retort to the elf's criticism. The back was blank, both you were a little disappointed.

"So I just give you a name and that's it? No additional shaking hands or sharing auras or anything?"

"Certainly not." She looked a bit ill when you suggested sharing auras. "Just pick a name, unless you want to go with Treeboobs?"

"No." You said quickly. "Alright so name." You closed eyes to focus on thinking of a name for an elf and not on the pages in front of you. All you could think of were Lord of the Rings names.

How? You literally hadn't had anything to do with that for more than two decades how can you remember so many of them now.

"It doesn't usually take this long." The elf commented, jumping off the table and walking around behind you.

"I'm thinking." You said drumming your fingers on the table trying to not say Arwen.

Just go with your gut, something you'd be happy to moan while fucking me." She put her hands on your shoulders and started to massage you. It was still strange how soft wooden hands could be.

"Not helping." You mumbled, standing up, though her hands were surprisingly relaxing it wasn't helping your unhelpful mind. You opened you eyes and saw an amused smile of her hip height face. And now you are thinking of calling her Goblinette. You leaned on the table and stared at her.

"Should I be taking poses?" She asked, her amusement at the situation seemed to have run dry and now she sounded bored.

"Sarean." No idea where you pulled that from.

Sarean looked a bit shocked then smiled approvingly. "Sarean?"

"Yeah." You didn't want to admit you pulled it out of thin air so nodded wisely at her, "I think it suits you."

she repeated her name a few times as if she tasting it. "Alright, let's make it official." She held up her hand to you but you didn't take it right away. "Or is it back to Treeboobs?"

With a slightly embarrassed redness in your cheeks you shook her hand. There was a tingling where you touched her but when you pulled your hand away the tingling left and there nothing left behind. "So all done?"

Sarean rubbed her thumb along her fingers with a broad smile on her lips. "All done, when you need the sword come and ask me."

"Can I have it now?" You would like to get some practice imbuing in as soon as possible.

"No."

"Why not?" You'd been assuming the loaning of the sword meant whenever you asked not whenever she wanted to give it to you.

"Because I can't fit a sword through a bookcase." She said flatly.

"Oh right." You looked at the bookcases as she walked over to them and rested her back against it. "So I'll see you at the academy, Sarean?"

"Looking forwards to it Christopher." Her broad smile didn't diminish as she sunk into the bookcase, the smile being the last thing disappeared, though even then it look like the grain of the wood turned into a grin.

You'd seen her emerge and enter desks and tables constantly, but something about that persistent grin was a little unsettling. Shaking the feeling off you returned to the table, determined to find out if your mother had a goal in mind when she'd picked this book.

You read each page carefully, reassembling in the correct order as you did. Aside from an astonishing number visitors gifting Queen Tira with paintings of naked men. In one week she'd received thirty-six portraits, eighteen landscapes of naked men frolicking, and six miniatures of phalluses, the archivist even made little notes in the margin about how long the queen studied each item.

You neared the end of the book having only learned that Queen Tira was clearly a widely know pervert. You were a little curious where all the paintings, carvings, sculptures and figures had gone, by your count she had enough to fill a decently sized museum.

On the last page you'd expected to find the location all this porn had been sent to, instead you saw a small note.

'Gift of the Lady of Alsera. Ring. Refer to book three of Gifted items.'

Alsera is your family land and it's the only gift from a Lady in the book, the lowest rank otherwise had been a Viscount. Was this what your mother wanted to draw your attention too? Well it must be, either that or she had just been punishing you for not having sex and this was a coincidence. Well you're already here.

Stuffing your mother's letter into your pocket you made your way to the gift room and found the relevant book. You were unsurprised to find most of the book was dedicated to describing porn. In here the time the Queen had spent had been noted, along which items she chose to 'view' in private, and how long she spent viewing them. Eventually you did find the page you were after.

'Gift of the Lady of Alsera. One ring, silver, single black gemstone embedded, small writing on outer edge no translation provided.'

There a note in smaller text below it that looked to have been made later.

'still can't translate the thing and the Lady has disappeared, her heir didn't know anything about the ring. Placed into vault for re-gifting or smelting.'

There was nothing about re-gifting for any of the other items. That could be down to no wanting to give anyone used porn but it was still strange. There was an urge to find out more about this ring. You didn't really know why, it seemed pretty unremarkable and it's not like you don't have other things to do, plus finding out what happened to it could be impossible. Who knows if or when it was re-gifted or smelted, could be sitting in the vault to this day.

You took out your mother's letter and reread it. Nothing even suggestive of a ring or that you should ring it. This is probably the sort of thing that will take more than a day to find on your own in the library and you have more important things to be doing. You could ask Sarean if she knows about the ring. Or you could just drop this, you do have other options on how to spend what is left of your day.

Fuck it, you're already here might as well ask the librarian if she can point you towards the gift vault's records. Leaving the room you find the librarian in question and ask. She just raises and eyebrow and leads you back the way you had come. Going further than previous she opens a door to stairs leading down. A spark and a lantern she'd grabbed from the wall ignites. Downstairs she touches the wall and a soft glow illuminates a corridor. A short walk down she uses a key to unlock a door and opens it for you.

You walk inside and see single book resting on the table. "How did that get there?" She asks walking inside and grabbing the book.

"Actually can I see that." Guess you made the right decision. She hands it to you and you flip through looking for the ring. The records here are perfect, on the left of the page is the item, the middle had a re-gift column, the right had a smelting column. beside drumming her fingers impatiently on her hand. You look through and find exactly what you want.

'Ring, silver, black gemstone, unknown writing.'

Neither the re-gifting or the smelting columns had anything in them so presumably the ring is still in the vault. "Thanks." You tell the librarian giving her back the book. Your mother clearly want you to find that ring so next step should be going to the Palace and asking Aurora if you can go into the vault to find it.

The librarian takes the book and put it away. She ushers you out of the room and re-locks it. Together you head back only this time you give her and her husband a goodbye wave. With all the help they've given you you should try to think of some way to repay them. They said they were excessively busy when genealogies had to be examined before the debut season began, maybe you could drop by and offer to help, or ask Aurora if she can give them more workers.

But that is for later right now you need to decide if you are going to the palace to ask about the ring now, or if you'll go to the academy to get the sword from elf for imbuing practice. Alternatively you could go to the strip club, the sun is starting to set so dinner would be happening soon. You doubt you'll be able to find Edin and Ana at this time of day.