"And I'm still fine with middle watch."

Resting occurs! Garrus wakes Belmarniss again, but doesn't have a pithy comment this time.

She preps spells and starts Deekin's book.

Deekin's book is quite well-written, and bears no trace of its author's linguistic difficulties. The prologue briefly details the birth and childhood of a kobold named Deekin, who is runty and does not get along with his peers but is eventually taken under the wing of the great white dragon Tymofarrar, who teaches him reading, writing, and magic. The book then clarifies that this is not Deekin's story, and switches to talking about a young adventurer-in-training named Alan Tagan, the paladin apprentice of a dwarven mystic theurge by the name of Drogan. Alan is a well-intentioned lad, but slightly off; he has a temper, and there's a darkness to him that he does his best to fight and doesn't always succeed. A few incidents are recorded: fights with residents of nearby Hilltop over philosophical differences, a near-fatal brawl with an adult named Toman Bross based on an insult to one of Alan's co-apprentices, and an ongoing feud with a young woman named Nora Blake, cause unknown.

Disaster strikes one day, as kobolds from the tribe near Hilltop attack the village. The reason for the attack: several artifacts under Drogan's care. The casualties: about a dozen villagers, and Drogan himself is poisoned and lies near death. The result: Alan and two of his fellow apprentices are sent to recover the artifacts. Along the way, Alan acquires the ingredients for an antidote to the kobolds' poison, helps a wandering Red Wizard of Thay, and rescues Nora Blake's child from the kobolds who have already killed her husband. Then, he tells her that he's not giving the child back, and she attacks him, and he kills her. When he does so, he experiences the sickening, vertiginous sensation of a paladin's Fall from Grace.

The murder is described with a clinical eye for detail. Alan receives neither condemnations nor apologia. His actions are not explained, because the narrator readily admits that he does not know why Alan did this. Alan looks at the blood on his hands, looks at the sleeping infant in his arms, and looks at the path ahead of him.

The chapter ends as Belmarniss's companions begin to stir.

"This is really well written," she remarks to Deekin when he's up.

Deekin grins, fastening Enserric's scabbard. "Thanks! Deekin tell story how it happened, but story was good story, so."

"I'm noticing that items are cheaper but resurrection seems maybe more expensive."

"Um, resurrection if body fresh and available cost about... five thousand for diamond, plus five hundred for caster? Hilltop very poor town, though, no big clerics for raising."

"Maybe I'm just spoiled by the insurance system."

Deekin shrugs.

Southward the party goes, until they reach a door labeled LET SLEEPING DRAGONS LIE.

"Bad sign," Deekin notes.

"Eesh. I guess it was real polite of him to label everything as far as that goes."

"Are we sure we don't want to take a look? It could be cute baby wyrmlings."

"I guess if we need four then it's probably either this or the mirror, and that's if we decide we definitely want to take on the fey, assuming as tidy a dungeon structure as seems implied so far."

"I'm not going to go around assuming anything, but this level has seemed pretty straightforward so far. And yes, I think we'll need two out of three, so it's either dragon and mirror or mirror and fey or dragon and fey."

Jojo squints at the door and winces. "There is a moderate aura of evil behind that door. Not overwhelming, as a great wyrm might be, but not negligible like a wyrmling either."

"I guess fighting a dragon's a classic I haven't gotten around to, and we're fresh. - The advantage if we're feeling pressed for time of the mirror is that it doesn't benefit from being fresh, presumably they'll match us however we go in even if that's down to cantrips and beat up."

"The other advantage to the mirror, as I see it, is that we can send one person to look into it and take out their reflection together from a distance - and pick which one we send, too. I'd rather fight an evil you than an evil Jojo. Uh, no offense intended, it's just, he's so fast."

"Thank you," Jojo says wryly. "I do try."

"I wanna talk to her first. If she'll talk, if she won't talk go ahead and shoot her."

Nods all around. "I'm sorry to ask it of you," Jojo says. "We can at least investigate the dragon, see if we can guess its age and level of danger - my sense for evil is not a fine-tuned instrument, and it is still possible that we could defeat it handily."

"Maybe if I go first it'll guess I'm friendly since I'm purple."

"Deekin was going to suggest making Silent Image of door, then opening door and looking through illusion door," Deekin says. "Lower chance of Belmarniss getting eaten."

"Good idea. If the door opens out."

Conveniently, it does!

Deekin casts the spell and opens the door. The room beyond is largely empty, except for a treasure chest and, in front of the treasure chest, a statue of a massive black dragon. Clutched in the dragon's claw is a yellow rod.

"I was really hoping for the wyrmlings. This is much less cute."

"It wouldn't fit through the door, but probably it's grabbing too hard for a mage hand to get it. ...Mage Hand plus Grease? I didn't prep Grease but I can cast it anyway, if I want to blow that for the day."