Back to the narrative, I suppose.

My brothers and I continued to journey on, just the four of us now. We moved faster, though in what direction, and to what purpose, I knew not at the time. After many days of travelling, we arrived at a small town. It was a storybook image - cobbled streets, ivy running down the walls of houses, signposts hanging off shop windows, and filled with rather large maidens in colourful aprons, pushing carts around the pavement, and rather portly gentlemen with mutton chops driving horse carriages down the roads.

Gyro led us into the first pub he saw, whereupon we learned we had travelled over a hundred miles. I was shocked, Henry and Ignius triumphant, and even Gyro allowed himself a small smile. It had not felt like we had travelled so far. Gyro dug into our savings and ordered us a drink each, and we spread the map out over the table. In times of celebration, planning the next stage always seems more fun.

Gyro pointed to a town only a few miles north of this one.

"This, my dear brothers, is where we have been aiming for. It is the last place that sighted the Crystals, and it seems to have all but forgotten them. We shall search the village, the buildings, the graves - anywhere they are liable to be hidden."

I shivered.

"I hope you don't mean looting the town, dear brother," Henry put in. I was glad he had, if only to see Gyro shake his head, as if talking to a child.

"Of course not! I mean only to search. Now. Would you like to hear the tale?"

It was clear to me, and to Henry and Ignius by this point, that Gyro was intent on leading the quest as a child's book club, but he seemed innocent, if a little egotistic in his intentions, and I saw no reason to rock the boat. However, I do believe it important for you, my dear, to hear the story he told us that day in the pub. Where he heard it, I do not know, but I am aware of its truth.

"Long, long ago, when the Crystals were not a myth, but a power to be sought, like a crown or a sceptre, they passed from hand to hand frequently. You might think this strange, as such a powerful, valuable object surely passes its gift on to the owner, thereby rendering it theirs forever, as who could overcome that kind of magic? Truth be told, we are in luck, brothers, that the Crystals have passed into folklore, for it gives us time to master and understand them like no one man could do before.

"The Crystals are not of this earth. They are hard to connect with, hard to understand, and hard to learn to use. I have even found documents that imply they have a mind, and you must first bond with them, although I have dismissed this as nonsense, and you needn't worry yourselves with it.

"My point is, no man found the time to unlock any Crystal before another man took it from him. Which is why we are blessed, as now, no one shall come after us.

"The Crystals always stayed together throughout history -"

Here I remember Ignius interrupted. He asked why. I remember Gyro's reply was entirely demonstrative of his attitude and unfortunately, that of the majority of men.

"Because, Ignius, if you can find all three, why would you leave two behind?

"Now, the last man to have written in a trustworthy fashion about being in possession of the Crystals stayed in that town, in that hotel there. That was where he died, that same night. It is unclear as to whether the Crystals passed to his murderer, but I think we can rely on him taking such power with him. Who would leave it behind?"

At this, all my brothers nodded good-naturedly, Gyro's last point still fresh in their minds. It was true, I supposed. Who would leave such power behind, unguarded, with no knowledge of who might next possess it? And, perhaps more importantly, who would decide to leave such power behind, as opposed to taking it for themself.

Gyro continued, describing details of the old inn where the man had stayed, the buildings around it, the cemetery where he was buried, and the places of interest that most people visited in the town.

"So this is our plan." He laid his hands out flat on the table, leaning over the map, the little town framed by his thumbs and forefingers. I remember the make of the map, the once sturdy, now frail and thinned paper, yellowing and curling at the corners. I remember the storybook ink drawings of little houses, trees, brooks. I remember the delicate, elaborate print that the cartographer wrote in, the way the top of the 'd's flicked off, and the 'i's always looked as if they were accented in the name of the town.

Little Dwindle. That was the name of the town.

"Ignius and I will go to the inn and book rooms for us all while the two of you go straight to the cemetery. Find his grave. Mark it. We will convene at the cathedral for a mid-afternoon tea. The old man grew up there - his father played organ. Ignius and I will get the tour, and maybe go a bit further. If we find anything interesting, we'll mark it. I want you two to go back to the inn. Take our bags. Inspect our rooms, the dining area, any public places. Maybe make friends with some others who are staying there, try and look in their rooms, compare it with ours, check if it's worth our time later."

"Later?" Henry asked. He was clearly slightly riled at being put with me for the day, and given what seemed to be the least significant jobs.

"Yes Henry. Later. We will have dinner at the inn and go straight from there to our rooms. I forgot to mention - in order to save coin, we will be doubling up, in the pairs we were in throughout the day. After dinner, I want you two to go straight out the window or something, I don't care, just sneak out and get to the cemetery unseen. Dig up the old man's grave. If there's nothing, there's nothing, but I believe it's worth a look. Henry, leave him to bury the man again and come straight back to the inn.

"In the meantime, unless we find anything of interest in the cathedral, Ignius and I will be staging a burglary in the inn. After, of course, we've burgled it. We will search it for any signs of the Crystals or clues to their whereabouts, then return to our rooms and act as if bandits had come in the night. We will claim they are following the same trail we are across the countryside. Does everyone understand?"

We all nodded.

"Good. We will go over this on our journey to the next town. You'll be happy to know, by the way, I've decided it would be best for our quest if we took a train to the next village. It leaves the day after tomorrow at dawn, and we will be staying the night here. I've booked us rooms. Same roommates as discussed earlier. Spend your time wisely - small towns rarely look that different. Look at where things could be hidden."

Gyro seemed to run out of things to say before he finished his lecture. He nodded to us, and sat back down, taking a large drink from his glass. We all nodded between us. The plan sounded solid, but not convenient, or as if it would amount to much. It sounded like this quest did - a grab at something that could not be there.

But I cannot criticise, for I suppose that is all this book amounts to. A grasp at something that could not be there, can not be there.

Ever.