The Familiars: Secrets of the Crown by Adam Jay Epstein, Andrew Jacobson

and child will respect its authority.” She handed Skylar the folded parchment with the wax signet imprinted on the crease. “Now, you’re just forgetting one thing.” She turned to the doorway and called out, “Scribius!”
    The enchanted quill shuffled its way into the grand hall, proud to be called to duty.
    “I trust you know the way to the Hinterwoods,” said the queen.
    Scribius was already drawing a map on a piece of parchment.
    “Does anyone else find it curious that every magic item in the land has ceased to function, yet Scribius continues to write?” asked Edna.
    “Perhaps the spell that enchants him predates human magic,” speculated Dalton.
    “He was an heirloom in Kalstaff’s family from centuries ago,” said Loranella. “His origin is a mystery.”
    With a final stroke of his quill, Scribius completed the route to the dogwood tree, a full day’s trip through the western Bronzhaven Plains to the Ebs, and then across its waters to the northern tip of the Hinterwoods.
    Skylar placed map and pen in her satchel. Gilbert and Aldwyn stood on either side of her. Queen Loranella faced them.
    “Find the Crown and bring it back to the palace,” she said. “We’ll assemble an army, and when the Fortress is summoned, animals and humans together will reclaim it.”
    The trio nodded.
    “Familiars, for hundreds of years the safety of Vastia has rested on the shoulders of wizards,” continued the queen. “Now its future rests on yours.”

 
    Aldwyn, Skylar and Gilbert stood before the grand bronze portcullis for which Bronzhaven had been named. It took the strength of twelve horses to lift the heavy gate into the air, now that the queen’s feather spells could no longer lighten the load. As the familiars passed beneath its shining bars, Aldwyn looked back to see Jack waving from the royal cleric’s room. It was too far to shout, so Aldwyn lifted a paw instead, and loyal and familiar shared one last unspoken goodbye. With the gleaming parapets of the palace behind them, the trio headed down Bronzhaven’s main artery, a thoroughfare paved with gold and silver taken from the Lilic Mines at the base of Kailasa. Unlike Aldwyn’s former stomping grounds of Bridgetower, with its gritty back alleys and underground sewer markets, Vastia’s capital city was befitting a queen, perfectly groomed and immaculate in every way. As a result of the council’s recommendation to stay indoors, few citizens remained on the streets, but those who did stepped out of the familiars’ way. Aldwyn assumed it was because they recognised him and his fellow companions as the prophesised ones.
    “I’m still not used to this,” said Gilbert. “When I see strangers staring at me like that, I always think I have food stuck in my teeth.”
    “Once word got out that a cat, bird and frog were going to be the saviours of Vastia, what did you expect?” asked Aldwyn.
    “I don’t know,” replied Gilbert. “Maybe a story written about us in the historical scrolls.”
    “Those aren’t looks of reverence,” said Skylar. “They’re nervous that we’re not capable of meeting such an insurmountable challenge.”
    Aldwyn glanced back at the people and immediately realised that her observation was on point. The citizens were watching them doubtfully, and Aldwyn, trying to see it through their eyes, could imagine feeling the same way. If he had been told that three animals an eighth of his size were all that stood between him and certain death, he wouldn’t believe it, either.
    Once they had reached the edge of the city, where the gold- and silver-flecked street turned to dirt, they turned west and headed down the fence-lined road that would lead them through the outer villages of the western plains. It was fast going, save for Gilbert, who Aldwyn noticed was hopping about rather strangely.
    “Why the waddle in your step?” asked Aldwyn.
    Gilbert hemmed and hawed a little. “This is how I always walk.”
    Aldwyn looked at the