Getting the Book on the Twisted Line

Bran shouted to the approaching party. "Hey! I mean, 'Halt!' Who goes there?"

"It's us!" they replied. "Who are you?"

We quickly discussed what we should do.

"Hey!" they ahouted. "Are you going to come out and parlay with us or what?"

"We have a wizard," warned Bran.

They approached us. They were a group of men, wearing broad brimmed hats. "You've stumbled into the wrong stretch of hell, friend," one of them said. "This isn't a place you're allowed to be."

Ryn noticed that one of them was making a symbol recognized by other members of the Book Club. Ryn smoothly stepped out of the shadows and made a gesture in response.

The leader of the party looked surprised. "OK, why didn't you say you were members of the Book Club?"

"Well, we're in a strange land, and we are not sure who to trust."

"That's fine," their leader replied. He introduced himself and his party. "I'm Nighthawk, them's Ace, Happy, and Fibs. We call him Fibs 'cause he lies. And by 'lies', I mean sits on his ass. The ugly fellow is Stitches; he's our Healer. And him what's riding drag is Chuck Wagon, our Feeder. Don't mind him; he's full as a tick."

He looked at us. "What are you doing here?"

"We're -- uh -- looking for morons to harvest," Kale quickly replied.

"So, how long have you been here?" asked Ryn.

"I was born and raised here," answered Nighthawk. "We control the Book around this area. When were you last here?"

"About ten year ago," replied Ryn, "when I was 12."

"Well, things here are run by a new guy here -- Caro. He seems to be doing a good job."

"KAY-row?" asked Carlagnios.

"What happened to his predecessor?" asked Ryn.

"Muse? I don't know. They don't tell me." Nighthawk shrugged. "I'm not Inner Sanctum."

"Well, I hope you don't mind if we pass through," said Ryn.

"Are you headed on the Twisted Line?" asked Nighthawk.

We looked at Carlagnios, who simply shrugged.

"Don't tell mean that you ain't got the Book on the Twisted Line," sneered Nighthawk.

"We could trade you a book for the Book on the Twisted Line," suggested Kale.

"Sure," replied Nighthawk. "Which one of you is the Finder? What do you have to offer?"

Tiny and Kale both raised their hands.

"That's a lot of finders," remarked Nighthawk.

"We could offer you a book on Sour Well or the Bonebreaker," said Kale.

Nighthawk considered the offer. "Well, this is a hot place. It's a good pokeout."

"So are these."

After some haggling, Kale was able to exchange the Book on Sour Well with the Book on the Twisted Line.

"Great," said Nighthawk. "What's say we camp here tonight and share the watches? We could have some drink and share some stories."

"Sounds good."

"OK," said Nighthawk and turned to one of his comrades. "Pass the bottle of Eau de Joy."

After much drinking, the night passed uneventfully, and in the morning, we went our separate ways.