Zap Stormspike's Arc

Chapter 3 of 8

Zap crouched beside a small fire pit at dawn, the ledger open on their knees. One name kept circling back through the pages, underlined, circled, unexplained. Without knowing who it pointed to, every spark Zap tried would land blind again. They shut the book and stood. Time to ask someone older than guesswork. The weathered stone library sat heavy and quiet, its worn shelves smelling of dust and old ink. Zap slipped inside and dug through stacks until they found a small red book, its cover soft with age. Inside, the same unknown name appeared, tied to a faded sketch of a copper-wrapped rod and a single word: teacher. Outside, Zap hurried to the rusted bulletin board layered with notices. Fingers shaking, they scanned faded postings until they spotted it — the same name, pinned near the bottom, with a location scrawled beneath. A real person. Alive. Still in Rustbottom. Zap pressed the paper flat against the ledger and breathed out slow. The blind practicing was over. They had a name, a place, and a door to knock on. Whatever waited there, Zap would not be guessing alone anymore.