City of Gods and Monsters

There are no immediate clues in the Old Hall, so the trio searches while Darien and Loren flirt. Dallas teases about the tension between them. They find an inscription that reads “To everlasting life” in an ancient magical language (256). Behind the inscription, they find a door that has not been opened in a long time. It bears a mark that matches Loren’s amulet, which she uses as a key. The door opens, revealing a staircase that descends into the darkness.

Loren, Darien, and Dallas go down to the Old Hall’s basement, where they find a large Master Scroll covered in strange symbols. Darien can read parts, but what he reads doesn’t make sense. He determines that the scroll has instructions to make an Arcanum Well, but not what that means. Loren assumes this is the Phoenix Head Society’s artifact, but the scroll offers no insight into why someone is hunting her. She wants to try trading the scroll for Sabrine, but Darien urges caution. He asks about Loren’s past, and she admits that she has no memories before age five, but she reportedly was abandoned at a temple. The priest who found her has since died. Dallas doesn’t have any useful information and doubts that her parents will agree to questioning.