Drake in a Teapot

I'm sitting with Nehria Briel in the Bahara Library while the rest of my group searches for books about the cursed pillars and the knot symbol. Cravien is here, too, but she's asleep. She seems to be more of a nature lover, like Steam, and not much of a fan of libraries. Nehria told me that their group has now given itself a name: 'The Sixfold Shadow'. I have to admit, that's a cool name! I'm curious to see if we'll come up with a group name when this is over, or if we'll even still be a group. Alizée seems to want to have as little to do with us as possible. I enjoyed having breakfast with several people today. I could easily get used to this! Especially when I'm not responsible for the food. As Dùath would say, I just need my highly concentrated leaf juice in the morning before I am truly awake.
While I'm on the subject of "Shadow and Flame", Nehria also has a copy! It's laminated and in good condition — he even showed me that it's signed by Balthasar. Poor guy — doesn't he know it's the least valuable signature of the original group? Balthasar signed everything, which is why his signature is so easy to forge. I am a little jealous, though. Mine is in such bad condition... At least I have the magic protective cover now , so it can't get any worse.
 
By the way, Nehria is a big fan of Balthasar the Hero. It actually makes a lot of sense that he wants to be a hero too! Tess'Ardra has described Balthasar as incredible hero in their work! I don't even know who my favourite character would be. They work wonderfully as a group, and I love how these different characters experience adventures together. Neither origin nor burdens play a role in the group. They respect and love each other no matter how different they are. In a group like this, I feel you can truly be free. You can leave everything behind and finally let your guard down.
If I had to choose, I would choose E̶p̶h̶i̶a̶l̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶G̶r̶e̶a̶t̶ ̶S̶h̶i̶e̶l̶d̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶P̶r̶o̶t̶e̶c̶t̶o̶r̶ A̶r̶a̶b̶e̶l̶l̶a̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶N̶o̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶E̶m̶p̶r̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶P̶e̶a̶c̶e̶m̶a̶k̶e̶r̶ Dùath the Shadow as my favourite characters. His story shows most clearly how someone like me can find a trusting group and slowly regain trust. Goodness, that's far too romanticised. I can't even dream of something like that. Tess'Ardra really captured all the emotions and the friendship of this group in his book. They were all so friendly to Tess, just because they could be. They never expected anything in return, and Tess showed their gratitude through their immense wisdom and nature magic.
 
Anyway, the Steams family had already left by the time we woke up. We all slept very well due to our lack of sleep the previous day and the comfort of Alizée's mattresses. We briefly discussed our plans for the next two days (just kidding... hopefully). Steam ran off to get Alizée's snowflake drake while we started our way to the library. Soon, we saw Nehria and Cravien on the beach. Her hands were deep in the sand as she gathered... stuff. It didn't seem to be a search for ingredients; rather, she was just picking up whatever she found. The two of them look very much alive, and it's nice to see them. I wonder how the rest of their group is. They told us that they had watched us all night — I wonder how they slept — and that other murders had happened in the same way as before. Cravien told us that we couldn't be the killers and that she would maybe be our witness to prove our innocence.
 
By the way, Oro burned the evidence we found yesterday because it was an 'evil sign'. You can't just burn everything that seems evil! Also, Oro asked more about the soul knives. He really shouldn't be so nosy about those things. I told him that they're made in my hometown, and now he wants to visit! That's a really bad idea. I can't let outsiders in; they'll kill him before he even gets to town! Or worse — he could die before he even gets there! They asked me for the name of the city, too. I can't tell them — I'm pretty sure I'm not even allowed to. 'No one other than those damned to be here can know of this city,' as my mistress always told me. I wish I had spent more time studying soul knives. If I had become a soul smith, I could have helped Oro now. But then I would have had to live with what soul knives are used for.... Even at home, they are only used for the worst punishments. And if I had become a soul smith, I wouldn't be here now...
 
In any case, the two of them accompanied us to the library. There, I took on the role of distracting Cavian and Briel. Madame Tsubaki would be proud of me. I hope she is well; I really must contact her as soon as the entire investigation is over. I know she was very fond of the Majilisun.
And yes, I know that this is actually part of my training, but listening to Briel is exhausting, even for me. I don't even have to pretend to be interested in what he's saying, he just keeps talking. And he only talks about himself! He had 30 (!) name suggestions for his group that were just his name or a variation of “hero.” I like "The Sixfold Shadow" more.
The entry is so disorganized, but I can't concentrate while he's talking all the time.
Nehria was a spectator at a trial and decided there to devote his life to justice and heroism.
 
It seems that our group has two subgroups now. I remain again with Steam and Frederick while Oro, Aura and Alizée search deeper in the library. It is the same parture as yesterday on the crime scene! The three of them are in an empty (?) Section of the Library - some guy who went to see the monolith we are looking for. I really hope they find something interesting...
Alizée was so angry at Steam because he brought her drake back in a small Teapot. It really looked messed up. Steam hit the poor guy until it was unconscious. I would be angry too, and now I'm making sure that Te'Sarim doesn't get anywhere near Steam's fists of fury.