Congratulations to any and all who got any or all of the riddles.

Congratualtions, also, to everyone who has managed to put up with 15 chapters of what is essentially prologue, showing the pairs the characters have settled into. As the Goons (of Goon Show fame) were wont to say: this is where the story really starts!

Episode 4: For the Lost Leonardo, Chapter 1

It had been a long time since all the Librarians, and Jenkins and Baird of course, had eaten together. The usually map, scroll and book covered central desk now held pots of coffee and tea, orange juice, milk, boxes of cereal, an empty toast rack and the remains of a hot, cooked breakfast, the smell of which had been enough to drag Ezekiel from his sickbed, which he was quite happy to stay in all day when it suited him. The chatter around the table had been sporadic but joyful. They were all here. They were all safe. It was worth celebrating.

"You're quiet," murmured Eve, looking over at her fiancé beside her. "What's wrong?"

"Hmm?" Flynn looked round, his hand still in mid-air where his chin had been resting on it. "Oh, nothing. Just thinking."

"Flynn, when you think, you're mouth thinks with you," she chided. "What is it?"

He gave a quite, wry laugh and stood up. "Well, I am full," he announced in his usual, good-humoured spirits. "And, if you will all excuse and forgive me, I would just like to steal away my future wife for a moment." Flynn held out a hand to Eve. "My dear, if you would accompany me."

Eve took his hand and followed him from the room. When they reached the Library floor, she dragged him round to face her. "Okay, now I'm really worried, Flynn. What's going on?"

"You mentioned a dream in Egypt," he began, taking both her hands in his. "I know this sounds weird but I need you to tell me all of it. It wasn't a hypothetical question, was it: you'd already had that dream."

"I had," she nodded. "When we were on the boat, I dreamt I went up on deck and watched a cat, like the one you described the next morning, walk from the mouth of a wadi towards me. When I turned it was sitting on the apex of the roof, watching me. I removed a thorn from its paw. It went back the way it came."

"A thorn from its paw?" Flynn mused. "Pakhet came to you for help. And that was the only time you dreamt of her?"

"When we fell, I thought I felt a cat lick my face then brush past me as I came round," she told him, watching his eyes.

"So when you needed her help, the goddess came to you," he murmured. "But it doesn't make sense: in the dream, it was she who needed your help, not the other way round. Dreams like that are usually foreshadowings of some event."

"Aren't dreams usually, like, backwards from their meanings or something?" Eve pulled a face.

"Only in psychology," said Flynn, bobbing his head. "In mythology they're usually far more direct. Obscure and metaphorical, but direct."

"So if Pakhet didn't need our help then," began Eve, "does that mean she's going to need it soon?"

"Maybe," said Flynn, his eyes far away in thought. "Maybe we've already helped her in some way. Maybe removing the statue from the temple helped her."

"How? Nobody even knew there was another floor hidden below the public one," shrugged Eve. "It's hardly likely to suffer from flood damage that far from the river."

"I don't know," murmured Flynn, turning his head in the direction of the statue in question. "It's vexing."

"You do seem very vexed," quipped Eve, glad to see this tug a smile from the corner of his mouth.

"It is very vexing," he responded, returning her smile. "Very, very vexing!"

"And yet I'm sure, whatever it is, we'll work it out," she smiled encouragingly. "Together, Librarian."

"Together, Guardian," he grinned back. "Ooh, we should write that into our vows!"

"You mean you haven't finished yours?" Eve scolded jokingly.

"I-I'm at the er, editing stage," her fiancé assured her, failing entirely in his endeavour to look serious.

"Of course you are," said Eve, a look of dubious sympathy spread across her features. "Have you spoken to Stone yet?"

"They're only just back!" Flynn cried waving a hand in the direction of the office.

"I've asked Cassandra," Eve smirked.

"When?" Flynn's eyes narrowed.

"When I helped her bring in the coffee and breakfast dishes," Eve announced with a smug smile of triumph.

"I'll ask him today," her fiancé assured her. "I will."

"Uh-huh?"

"I promise: barring monsters, mayhem and magical mysteries."

"Oh, we're on the M's today?"

"Mm-hmm."

They made their way back to the office, arm in arm and smiling happily. Breakfast had been declared over in their absence and the desk was devoid of dishes. The sound of laugher and splashing from the kitchen suggested Cassandra had been landed with the washing up. Stone's presence in the office confirmed that Ezekiel was helping. Or possibly hindering. Eve cast a questioning glance at him, sitting back with a book in one hand and mug of coffee in the other.

"We had a deal," he explained, glancing up and shrugging, then looking back to his book.

Eve shrugged and pulled a face that screamed 'well, okay then'. She looked round as she felt Flynn move away from her side and saw him heading for the shelves. She caught his eye and glared. He mouthed back 'go help with the dishes', and shooed her in the direction of the noise. She crossed her arms and the glare darkened. He sighed and rolled his eyes, which didn't help, then, arms waving expressively mouthed 'leave me on my own with him'. Eve's brow cleared and her mouth made an O. She blew him a kiss and walked out of the room.

"You wanted to talk to me about something?" Stone asked, watching the oblivious antics from the other side of the room with an look of amused puzzlement.

"Er..." Flynn hesitated, lost for words for once. "Actually yes, now you come to mention it. It's just... It strikes me that... I mean, we've got to know each other quite well, reasonably well, well, well enough..."

"Were you this bad when you first asked Eve out on a date?" Stone winced.

"Worse," admitted Flynn. "And that was after I'd kissed her!"

"No offence, but I don't think that tactic would help in this situation," laughed Stone, putting the book and coffee aside. "Just say what you gotta say. I'm all ears."

"I was wondering, hoping, really..."

"Hey Stone!" Ezekiel's voice cut though Flynn's haphazard sentence.

"Ah, Ezekiel," said Flynn. "I didn't hear you there."

"Was that sarcasm?" Ezekiel asked.

"Nooooo, of course not," replied the Librarian, shaking his head.

"That was definitely sarcasm," Jones frowned.

"Not if the first one wasn't," Flynn sing-songed under his breath as the ex-thief sauntered past him to Stone.

"Need your help on a case, mate," announced Jones, presenting his clippings book to the centre of attention.

"Need?" Stone looked up dubiously.

"Want," Jones shrugged. "Well, thought it might be up your alley, anyway."

Stone looked down at the book and his eyebrows rose. "She was right."

"I'm sorry?" Ezekiel feigned to look mortally offended.

"Cassandra, when she sent you through here," grinned Stone.

"It's not like I wouldn't have asked you: she was standing right next to me!" Jones cried, flinging his arms out in loud appeal.

"New case then?" Flynn queried. "I'll just leave you two..."

"You know, I think Flynn should come with us," suggested Stone before Flynn could escape.

"Really?" Ezekiel frowned.

"Really!" Flynn groaned.

"Yep," nodded Stone. "It'll give us time to talk about your stag party. Of course, that's really a job for a Best Man, and I'm sure Ezekiel has much more experience and contacts in the party planning world that I do..."

"Of course I do, mate!" Ezekiel cut in, brightening. "No offence, but nobody wants a barn dance for their stag, not these days anyway. And I can get score us free tickets to any number of clubs, and I'm talking members only clubs here. Gentlemen's clubs, if I may..."

"Stone, I need you to be my best man," Flynn blurted out.

Stone's grin broadened. "Deal."

"Hey!" Ezekiel returned to mortally offended status. "What's wrong with free entry to clubs?"

"No offence, Ezekiel," began Flynn, "but, after spending so long managing to stay alive doing this job, I do not have any intention to be done to death now by my intended when she finds out who planned my stag night."

"Just because I planned it doesn't mean she has to know what went on," the young man protested.

"She'll know," replied the other two in unison.

Ezekiel raised his hands in mute surrender.

"What have we got?" Flynn asked, walking over to peer down at the book over Stone's shoulder. The newspaper article on display showed an obituary, followed by another announcing an auction of the recently deceased's estate.

"Okay, we're going to an auction," said Flynn, rubbing his hands. He paused and looked over at Jones. "But can't you just steal whatever it is? Why do you need us?"

"Actually I said I needed him," Jones pointed to the art historian in the room. "This thing wasn't exactly clear on what to steal and he's more likely to know than you. No offence."

"Donald Carmichael," began Stone, indicating the name on the obituary, "was one of the foremost art collectors in the world. There's gonna be a lot of museum pieces at this thing."

"And you hope Stone will be able to pick out the one we're after," Flynn sighed in understanding.

"Again: my gig," said Ezekiel. "I asked him. I didn't ask you. Just like you didn't ask me to be your Best Man."

"Ah, quit complainin', we'll invite you to the stag party," grinned Stone.

"Yeah, because it'll be so much fun with you in charge, mate!" Ezekiel complained. "One note of a country and western song and I'm bailing."

"You're not bailing," said the two older men together.

"Although it might make who we chain to a lamp post more interesting if he tried," mused Flynn.

"Like you have a set of locks that could hold me," grinned Ezekiel. "I'm awesome, remember?"

"Houdini didn't just write books too, you know," grinned Stone.

"Oh, you've read those?" Flynn asked breezily.

"Yeah, they were interesting," Stone breezed back.

"Okay, fine: he can come," decided Ezekiel. "I'll go get my bag."

Stone and Flynn watched the young man sulkily slink away, disappearing in the direction of his current abode.

"Eve asked you already didn't she," murmured Flynn when he was sure the ex-thief was gone.

"Might have mentioned somethin'," smirked Stone.