Master Halin's Home

Eden knocked, then swung the door open, the sweet smell of ancient books engulfing him.

Master Halin, an old dwarf with a short white beard, sat in the corner of the room, smiling up at him, wearing the simple, silver robes of a town administrator. He placed a small letter on a side table as he rose from the plush armchair, then rummaged through the papers on his desk. Endless stacks had been piled there, some as loose sheets, others bound together with string or rolled up. Eden could not remember whether he had ever seen the desk's surface.