He turned and scurried inside so quickly that Jack had to dart after him in a most undignified manner in order to make sure he was inside rather than out when the door creaked closed again. Jack found himself standing in a dark-paneled foyer, dim and dusty, the air thick with dust and the faint, mysterious scents of exotic incense and alchemical experiments. The old man was nowhere in sight.

Jack waited a long moment, and then, just as he was about to strike off on his own, he was surprised by the sudden appearance of a tall, heavyset wizard in voluminous robes. The wizard was a young man with a round, sallow face and a drooping black mustache; he resembled nothing so much as an overfed house cat with a lazy inclination to toy with its prey.

"I am Meritheus. So, you're interested in Guild membership?" he said in a bored voice.

"The Dread Delgath is indeed interested," Jack said. "In fact, the Dread Delgath is so pleased by your magnificent guild house and your friendly porter that he shall refrain from charging you for the privilege of his company. Access to your library shall be sufficient for his compensation today."

Meritheus merely raised an eyebrow. "Our thanks. Now might I see some small demonstration of your powers? We would like to ascertain whether or not you are really a wizard before we consider your application."

"Under normal circumstances the Dread Delgath might incinerate you for your insolence, demonstrating his powers quite thoroughly!" boomed Jack. "However, the Dread Delgath is from time to time moved to small and compassionate acts, and thus he refrains from destroying you utterly. Attend, sir!" He reached out and seized the magic in the way he always had, shaping a spell of chaotic energy that swirled around him in a green spiral.

In the blink of an eye, Jack stood behind the wizard. He reached out and tapped the fellow on the shoulder; when the Guild wizard turned, he disappeared again, now standing back in his original spot. He tapped the wizard on the other shoulder, and then magicked himself to the top of a nearby bookshelf, where he perched like a brightly colored bird.

"Witness how the Dread Delgath masters time and space! I can be here-" he vanished, taking up a position on the other side of the hall- "or there!" – now standing on his head at the opposite end of the hall. He vanished again, appearing right before the young wizard. "Or anywhere, for that matter!"

The young wizard frowned. "I have seen spells such as that before, but I did not see how you cast it. Are you using some kind of magical device to accomplish your teleportations?"

"Faugh! The Dread Delgath needs no crutch to employ his magic!" Jack thundered. He dropped the iron rod to the floor and repeated his instantaneous vanishings again. "My magic is simply too advanced for one of your minuscule accomplishments to comprehend!"

Meritheus pulled a small notebook or ledger from the sleeve of his robe and readied a pen. "I'll take your word for that," he said dryly. He looked Jack up and down, and then started to write. "Name: Delgath-"

"The Dread Delgath!"

"The Dread Delgath, then. Specialty: None-"

"Master of time and space!"

"Very well, then. Specialty: Master of time and space." Meritheus narrowed his eyes and scratched angrily at his book. "Rank at entry… your spell of demonstration would seem to indicate full membership over neophyte or associate status, but I do not have the authority to vest you in a more advanced circle."

"The Dread Delgath shall, of course, demand immediate attention to that matter," Jack replied. "However, for the nonce, he recognizes that you are merely a powerless functionary incapable of making any bolder decision without the express consent of your superiors. Fill in your book as you see fit."

"Very good, then. Your application for membership will be considered in three days' time, when the Guild council meets. If you are accepted, you will be required to pay a small entrance fee-"

"Insignificant," Jack said with a wave of his hand.

"-of five thousand gold crowns," Meritheus finished. "After which, of course, your monthly dues will be twenty-five gold crowns. Unless, of course, you convince the council to accept your immediate promotion into the inner circles, which would be somewhat more expensive than that."

"Five thousand gold crowns?" Jack asked in a small voice.

"The Dread Delgath, master of time and space, surely does not balk at such a trivial sum?" Meritheus asked with an expressionless face.

"No, of course not!" Jack roared. He waved his arms in disgust and paced in a small circle. "But, for the sake of argument: if, perchance, for reasons unknown and unfathomable to mere mortals, the Dread Delgath elected not to advance such a pittance at this time, what other options might be open to him?"

"In that case, the Dread Delgath might be interested in our 'affiliate' membership. The cost is only fifty gold crowns."

"Describe at once the privileges and responsibilities of such an arrangement," Jack said.

"Affiliate members are entitled to attend any social events the Guild sponsors, such as our twice-a-tenday Fifthnight gatherings and our monthly Revels Arcane. You will receive a comprehensive briefing on the laws and obligations of practitioners of the magical arts within the city of Raven's Bluff, and you will receive limited access to the Guild library."

"Limited in what way?"

Meritheus consulted his book. "You may use the common areas of the library between the hours of sunrise and noon, on the third and eighth days of each tenday."

Jack thought quickly. Today was the twenty-third day of Ches, and the third day of the week. "Including, I take it, the remainder of this morning?"

"Were you to deposit the affiliate membership fee now, then yes, I suppose for the rest of the morning." Meritheus rolled his eyes.

"Then the Dread Delgath so agrees!" Jack cried. He immediately counted out ten five-crown pieces from the now-spent advance Elana had provided him with and pushed the gold coins into Meritheus's hand. "Take me to the library, at once!"

The mage simply pointed. "The second door on the left. And please, remember to be quiet."

Jack marched off at once to the indicated door. He hadn't planned to spend the rest of the money that quickly, but a membership with the Wizards' Guild might be useful. He'd never considered it before; he wasn't a real wizard, and it was very expensive. He could pass for a mage at need, perhaps commanded more arcane powers than many who claimed full membership. And, if it was a mere fifty crowns standing between him and the clue he needed to locate the Sarkonagael, then he stood to come out ahead.

He threw open the library door with complete confidence and stepped inside. It was a surprisingly small, cluttered space, a series of four or five small vaulted chambers illuminated by high, narrow windows spaced evenly along the wall. Heavy bookshelves stood an arm's length apart in a dozen serried rows, jutting out into the room like the piers along the Fire River. Several mages glanced up in annoyance at Jack's entry; he took no notice of their presence and strode over to the librarian's desk, where an angry-looking woman of indeterminate years worked furiously to catalog several stacks of books. She ignored him as long as possible, until Jack cleared his throat so forcefully he immediately started a coughing fit.

"Yes?" she snapped when he finished.

The Dread Delgath requires your assistance," Jack intoned.

"Who's that?"

"I am the Dread Delgath!" Jack declared.

"Does the Dread Delgath refer to himself in the third person because of some disorder of the mind, or is it simply a puerile attempt to invest a measure of imaginary confidence in an otherwise inadequate personality?" the librarian asked. She waited a moment, watching Jack choke in rage, and then shrugged. "Never mind, I suppose it doesn't matter. What is the Dread Delgath looking for?"