The Boiling Isles annual book fair had just opened up. Though Luz and Stephen didn't share a lot of things, they do have a love for the literary arts. But while Luz loved the fantasy adventure genres, Stephen browsed through the fair looking for books that would help him understand the Demon Realm and his powers. He mainly searched for something that would explain his bile sac. That's when he noticed someone across the hall.

Eda stood before a ghostly person. They gave her a manilla folder before floating away. Eda opened up to look through it, so Stephen took a gander to approach her.

"Eda." Stephen said suddenly spooking the Owl Lady.

"Stephen? Don't you know better than to sneak up on me? You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Being decapitated doesn't kill you, but a heart attack will?"

"Who said it will kill me?"

"Touche. So who was that ghost person? And what did he just give you?"

Eda widened his eyes before closing her folder and putting it in her hair. "Uh… Don't worry about it. That was a paranormal investigator and they were just helping me look into something."

"What were you looking into?"

"Like I said, don't worry about it."

Stephen shrugged. "All right. Forget I said anything." He looked around until a couple of people caught his eye. "Uh, oh."

"What?" Eda asked before seeing who Stephen was seeing, which were Lillith, Mordo, and an Emperor's Coven scout. "Oh, great. It's my prissy sister and her boyfriend. What are they up to?"

"I don't know, but it's probably best that we…" Stephen started to say, but when he turned, he saw that Eda was already tailing the three. "Follow them, apparently."

Reluctantly, Stephen joined Eda in hiding behind one obstruction after another. Vases, bookshelves, tapestries. Everything. They eventually stopped when the Emperor's Coven stopped to meet a brown, sloth-looking merchant with gray clothes.

"Do you have the item we discussed?" Mordo asked.

"Indeed." The merchant reached into his desk and pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper. He gave it to Mordo who unrolled it. He smiled as he gazed upon its contents before sharing it with Lillith.

"It's right here, Lillith. The map to the Axe of Agnarruumus."

Both Stephen and Eda gasped at the sound of that. Mordo heard the sound and turned his head, but the two ducked out of sight before he could see them. Still, he gave a slight smirk before turning back to his partner.

"Excellent." Lillith said. "The Emperor's been looking for this artifact for so long. It will make a fine gift to him."

"Ma'am, sir," said the coven scout, "Shouldn't we be searching for the Owl Lady to join the coven? Remember that whole plan?"

"The Axe of Agnarruumus is one of the greatest relics of wild magic to ever exist. And you know how the Emperor doesn't tolerate wild magic." Mordo said. "Besides, we can get Edalyn whenever. Lillith, didn't you say that she was so weak, we can catch her without any problem soon?"

Eda scowled while Lillith responded. "Well, I didn't say that exactly. I just said that her curse left her frail."

"Right. Apologies." Mordo said. "The point is the Emperor will want this first."

"Yeah! All hail the Emperor!" the scout cheered.

"Very good, Steve." Lillith said petting him on the head.

"Shoulder pads for Steve." Steve said before leaving with his bosses.

Once they were gone, Eda and Steven emerged from their hiding place. Eda went to confront the merchant they were talking to. "Hey, buddy. Did you just sell my prissy sister and her pompous boyfriend

a map to the Axe of Agnarruumus?"

"That I did." The merchant replied. "I met the baron the other day and showed him the map. He brought his partner over to authenticate it and begin their search for the axe."

"Is it really the Axe of Agnarruumus?" Stephen asked. He pulled out his Ancient One journal and flipped through its pages. It was then that he found the page he was looking for.

"Do you have another map for that thing?" Eda asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do." The merchant said before handing an identical map to Eda.

"What? Eda, wait." Stephen said. "This can't be right. Are we even sure this is the real Axe. According to the journal, it's trapped in the earth."

"Gotta take a chance, kid. This will show Lily who's frail."

Stephen frowned. "Oh. So this is because your sister made fun of you, isn't it?"

"It's about the principle." Eda said. "Look, kid, I don't know if this Axe thing is real, but Lillith and Mordo believe enough in it, and that's at least worth checking out. And hey, since you've been looking into those Ancient One notes a lot, maybe you can help me."

Stephen sighed. "This is going to be full of regret."

After packing and leaving Luz and King to their own adventure, Stephen and Eda began their journey into the forest. Eda was following the map reading off its directions.

"All right, kid. Let's get this started." Eda said. "What does that book say about the Axe?"

Stephen turned to the bookmarked page and read from it. "The Axe of Agnarruumus seeks a champion. Until one takes it, it's the earth it'll still be in. It hums with magic, so follow its lead. Then, the Axe will be yours to heed."

"Follow its lead?" Eda asked. "Any idea on what that means?"

"Afraid not." Stephen said. "Guess we'll find out when we find it… or if we find it. Say, Eda, do you know much about the Axe?"

"Not a lot. Most of the legends are shrouded in mystery. But I have heard that the Axe can create a magical bond to whoever claims it. It will respond to them and them alone until the time of their death. After that, the Axe goes to the next sucker who picks it up and the cycle continues."

"That's pretty interesting." Stephen said.

Just then, the two of them stopped at a large object covered with vines. Eda pried them off which revealed a statue of a creature called a "Minitaur".

"Okay. We're on the right track." Eda said looking at the map. "Now, from the Minitaur, we head due north, and with luck, we'll get to the Axe of Agarruumus before Lillith and Mordo."

"Hopefully, before they catch us." Stephen said. "You said it yourself. If the Emperor's Coven learns we're looking for the Ancient One's artifacts, we could be in trouble."

"Don't worry. We won't run into them."

As if on cue, the bushes were separated and Lillith and Mordo walked out. All four of them were surprised to see each other.

"Lillith?"

"Edalyn?"

"Human boy?"

Stephen groaned. "My name is Stephen."

"And yours is Karl." Eda laughed at Mordo.

"Okay! I get it! We all have names!" Stephen stopped the exchange.

"What are you two doing here?" Lillith asked. "And before you answer, know that I still remember what happened at the Covention and I still have questions." Stephen chuckled at that.

"Wait. Lillith, look." Mordo pointed at Eda's hand which held the map similar to what Lillith was holding. "It's the same map."

"What?" Lillith asked. "Wait. Are you looking for the Axe of Agarruumus too?"

"Well…" Eda said looking for an excuse. Thankfully, Stephen spoke for her.

"Eda thought it would be worth something." Stephen said. "I mean, when she heard the legendary Axe of Agarruumus was here, she thought she could sell it at the Night Market."

"Nice save, kid." Eda whispered.

Lillith groaned. "Of course, you're thinking with your greed, Edalyn. Why don't you go home and rest? Wouldn't want you breaking a hip."

"Ouch." Mordo commented. "You really want to say all that, Lillith. I know you said she was frail, but she's still your sister."

"Yep. Her stronger sister who can do this." Eda made a circle in the air which blasted a super strong gust of wind. Lillith and Mordo were instantly blown to the nearest tree. Eda then grabbed Stephen and ran north with him. "Come on, kid! We've got a head start!"

After recovering, Mordo and Lillith gave chase. They soon caught up with Eda and Stephen going side to side at each other.

"We can't let them reach the Axe before us!" Mordo said.

"I couldn't agree more."

Lillith pulled out her magical staff and fired a blue blast at her sister's direction. Eda managed to shield herself from the blast and counterattack. They began exchanging blows at each other with their respective partners beside them.

"You're always do what your boyfriend tells you?" Eda asked. "You always were a pushover, Lily, but this is something else."

"I happen to agree with him. And you should show better respect to him. He didn't get this far by doing nothing. He became a baron by besting the powerful wild witch, Umar."

"Yeah. Keep kissing up. That'll win me over."

While those two bickered and blasted, Stephen groaned behind Eda. "Can you two can it?"

The chase eventually stopped when the four came across a stone dias. Right at its base was an old, single-handed axe sheathed to the ground.

"Is that the Axe of Agarruumus?" Lillith asked.

Eda suddenly pushed Mordo right to Lillith. "Sorry, you two. But this baby's all mine." She proceeded toward the axe.

Lillith growled getting back up. "Why are you always like this?"

"Because, Lily, you think I'm just some tired old biddy, but I'm more than that. And getting the Axe of Agarruumus will prove that." Eda gripped her hand on the axe handle and began pulling. "Just watch and…" She stopped when she realized she was having a hard time pulling it up. She used both hands, but she didn't have much success with that either. "Okay, there might be a problem."

"So uncultured, Edalyn." Lillith said as she took Eda's place at the axe's handle. "Here. I'll show you how it's done." She pulled, but like before, the axe didn't move. "Come on. Work with me."

"You do know the axe doesn't talk, right?" Eda asked smugly.

"Quiet!" Lillith said. "Karl, would you mind helping?"

"All right." Mordo took Lillith's spot. "But first…" He held up a piece of paper with a familiar insignia on it. "A little power boost from this Construction Coven glyph will do the trick." He placed it on himself and then held the axe by its handle. He pulled with all his might, but even with that glyph, he had no luck. "Well, I'm all out of ideas."

"Hey, kid," Eda said turning to Stephen, "Wanna give it a shot?"

"No. I'd much rather figure this out." Stephen said looking at the stone dias noticing the strange symbols. "At least this solves the mystery of how the Axe is 'trapped in the earth'. It must be sealed. But I still don't know what these symbols mean."

Eda looked at the symbols and arched her eyebrow. "Huh. These look like bard symbols."

"I'm sorry?" Stephen asked.

"Yeah. These symbols are about early bard magic. I kinda dated a bard in the past."

"So a bard sealed this axe here?" Lillith asked. "But how do we unseal it?"

"YOU DON'T!"

The raspy hiss echoed from behind the dias. The four of them stepped backwards while a familiar shadow emerged. It was the same merchant who sold the maps in the first place. He laughed and hissed while he licked his lips.

"I know you must be confused. 'How do we get the magic axe?' Well, you don't! This dumb thing may be real, but no one can pick it up. But it is fun to see them try before they realize the trap they're in. And now that I have led you to my nest, I'll suck the life out of you to satisfy my unending hunger!"

Though he made his threat, his four 'victims' were not phased at all. They just looked at him without any surprise.

"He scammed us." Lillith said. "Can you believe he scammed us?"

"I thought there was a 50/50 chance going in." Eda said. "Hard not to admire the tenacity though."

"Good entrance." Lillith said. "But that outfit… HA!"

"And look at those little shoes." Eda added with a snicker.

The merchant looked embarrassed at the comments made at him. He burshed it off and tried to recover. "Well, maybe you've never been led into a lethal trap before, but the response should be, 'Aa! No! Spare us!'"

"Sure. Spare us." Mordo said. "Do you have any idea who we are?"

"Seriously." Stephen shared the amusement. "There are four of us and only one of you."

"What the kid said." Eda said summoning her staff. "We've got the two heads of the Emperor's Coven, a human who can do magic, and me, the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles."

"R… Really?" The merchant asked in shock. He chuckled nervously slowly stepping back. "Well, this has been fun. So let's just call it bygones and…"

As he tried to turn around, he suddenly found Lillith right in front of him. "I don't think so."

"Wait! This…" The merchant begged before all the witches fired at him. He scurried away barely missing all the blasts fired at him.

The next couple of minutes were just the merchant panicking in fear trying to avoid Eda, Lillith, and Mordo. When he came across the baron, he panicked some more.

"Hey! What's going on? This isn't…"

Mordo interrupted him by kicking him harshly in the face. The merchant groaned feeling a cut on his lip from that kick. That's when Stephen jumped right in front of him.

"I got him!" Stephen formed a big, magic circle and shot a blast of fire that the merchant barely ducked to avoid. But the fire didn't stop there. It went straight to what was right behind the merchant: the resting place of the axe.

When the fire hit, the blast caused a blinding explosion of light. Everyone had to avert their eyes until the light dimmed. Once it did, everyone was surprised to see that the axe and the place it was wedged in was gone. There was nothing there but a crater.

"The Axe… It's gone!" Lillith gasped. She turned angrily at Stephen. "Look what you've done!"

"I'm sorry! It was an accident!" Stephen defended.

"All right, enough." Eda said. "Look, it's been a long day, we got to thrash around this con artist."

"Edalyn's right." Mordo said. "There's no sense now. Look, technically, these two didn't do anything illegal. I know the emperor will be upset, so I'll take responsibility."

"Are you sure?" Lillith asked. Mordo nodded. "All right. Let's pack it in."

"What?" Eda asked. "Aren't you going to cart me off to the Emperor's Coven?"

"Not now." Lillith said. "Because I want to give you a chance to join on your own. Join me in the Emperor's Coven, Edalyn. He can even heal your curse."

Eda thought for a moment. Stephen was honestly a little worried about what she'd answer. "No. I'll heal it on my own terms. I don't wanna owe him anything. Catch you later, sis."

Lillith gave a soft smile. "Not if I catch you first."

"Hey, kid." Mordo said. "Stephen, was it?"

"Uh, yeah."

"I thought so. I have to say, seeing a human with magical abilities is pretty impressive. You're a little rough around the edges, but with the right guidance, I bet you can be a great witch."

"Are you offering me a chance to join?"

"Perhaps. I know Emperor Belos would like you see you soon. He can be a bit intimidating and firm, but he only wants the best for the Boiling Isles. Hopefully, you can understand."

"As tempting as that sounds, I think I'll stick with learning magic on my own terms."

"I understand. Well, the offer's still open if you change your mind."

Eda summoned her staff and she and Stephen flew off on it.

Right when they were closing in on the Owl House, Stephen began to ask Eda a question.

"Were you ever tempted?" Stephen asked. "I mean, that offer did sound pretty good."

"You mean joining the Emperor's Coven?" Eda asked. "Nah. Truthfully, I only wanted to join so I can be with my sister."

"What happened?"

"Well, there was only one spot available and they wanted us to fight over it. Realizing that the Emperor's Coven was more her dream than mine, I forfeited and let Lily take the job."

"That's pretty big of you. But now, it means you're on the run from the Emperor's Coven, including your sister."

"I know. Hopefully, she'll come around and understand me better. Then we can be happy again. But enough with the mushy stuff. Let's just… Sweet Titan, what is that?!"

Eda landed in front of the Owl House where a stone dias rested. It was the same dias that was in the forest earlier. It even had the Axe of Agarruumus still etched into it. Luz and King were already outside staring right at it.

"How the… kids!" Eda called out. "What's going on?"

"I dunno." Luz answered from the front door. "King and I just came home when suddenly, some portal opened up in the air and that thing landed on our front yard from a bright flash of light."

"It looks spooky." King commented.

"That's ridiculous. How did…" Eda stopped when he saw Stephen's mischievous smirk. "Wait a second. Stephen, did you do something?"

"You… might say that." Stephen answered. "I knew that if we left it alone, the Emperor's Coven would secure the axe's area and we'd never get it, and if we took it, they'll come after us. The best thing I could think of was to take it while making Lillith and Mordo think it was destroyed."

"But how?" Eda asked.

"It's called misdirection. It's how a lot of magicians do their tricks on Earth." Stephen said. "While you, your sister, and the baron were beating up that weasel, I surrounded the dias with light glyphs. When I blasted that fire spell, I also activated a plant spell that shot small vines from the ground that activated the glyphs. That created a blinding effect which covered the dias' disappearance. That way, the axe would get here safely and the Emperor's Coven would think it was destroyed."

"But how did you make the thing disappear?" Eda asked. Stephen answered that by reaching into his pocket and pulling out something that made Eda smirk. "A sling ring?"

"I thought we might need one, and as it turned out, I was right."

Eda couldn't help but burst out a laughter. "Oh! That was good! You pulled a good trick there, kid."

"Thanks." Stephen said.

"So now that it's here, what do we do now?" Luz asked.

"Well, the axe is stuck in the dias, which is a problem." Stephen said taking a step closer to examine it. "There are bard symbols etched on it, so it must be a clue."

"Does the Ancient One's journal say anything about it?" Luz asked.

"It just read 'It hums with magic, so follow its lead. Then, the Axe will be yours to heed.'"

"Hums." Luz said. "And you said there are bard symbols, right? So maybe music is the key."

"What, you think he has to sing to it?" King asked.

Stephen thought hard until an idea hit his head. He turned it to Eda. "Eda, you know bard magic, right?"

"Duh. I'm the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles."

"Then I need to know how bard magic works." Stephen said. "Can you give me something basic?"

"Hmm… Well, I can try." Eda said. "Basically, bard magic is about feeling the music you play as well as knowing it. If you focus on how the music affects you in your heart, you can play along to it and make something from it."

"Play along?" Stephen whispered until an idea came to him. "'Follow its lead'." He approached the axe and grabbed its handle again. This time, instead of pulling at it, he closed his eyes.

Stephen stayed silent until a feint sound played in his ears. It was a humming sound that Stephen could follow. He hummed along with the sound he heard as he carefully began to move the axe. After finishing his humming, he opened his eyes and stared in amazement as the axe was removed from the ground and he held it high from where it was. He then turned to the others who shared his surprise.

"Whoa. How did you do that?" Luz asked.

"The axe had its own humming tune. I just played along to establish a connection." Stephen said. "And now, the second relic is uncovered."

"Ooh! Gimme!" King demanded as she leaped up to Stephen's arms and swiped the axe from his hands.

"Hey!"

"At last! With the fabled Axe of Agarruumus, I, the King of Demons, shall…" King's rant was cut short when the axe disappeared from his hands and reappeared in Stephen's. "What the…"

"That's the legend of the axe." Eda said. "Since Stephen was the one who claimed it, it'll be stuck with him until he dies."

"Just like Azura's White Band." Luz commented. "Congrats, Stephen."

"Well, this should be something." Stephen said before putting his new axe away. "All right. It's been a long day and we should probably get rid of this dias soon before the Emperor's Coven finds it and discovers our ruse. But for now, I just want to relax indoors and read a good book."

Suddenly, both Luz and King widened their eyes full of worry and fear. They laughed very nervously.

"Books?" Luz asked.

"Nope! I don't know nothing about that!" King denied.

"We hate books! Wow, look at the time!"

"What's a book? Good night!"

Luz and King ran back inside the Owl Sanctum leaving Stephen and Eda confused.

"What's up with them?" Eda asked.

"Probably the usual Luz and King hijinks." Stephen said.

Eda sighed while scratching the back of her head. "Well, I'm about to hit the nest. See you tomorrow. And be careful with that axe."

"I will."

Eda removed her hand, but as she brushed it across her hair, something fell out without her knowing. Stephen recognized it as the folder which he saw the ghost investigator give her earlier. He picked it up just as Eda went inside the sanctum.

"Wait, Eda, you…"

Stephen stopped himself when a bit of the paper inside leaked out. He saw a picture that got hit attention. He held the folder with both hands and opened it up. The more he looked, the bigger his eyes got. Inside the folder, he saw written notes and pictures that were taken clearly in secret. And every single content in this folder centered around one witch that was familiar to Stephen.

"Clea? Why is Eda investigating Clea?"

"So you're really going to take responsibility for this failure?" Lillith asked.

"Better that then let the blame fall on you." Mordo said as he picked up the merchant by his shoulders. "Why don't you head on home, Lillith? I'll take this creep to the Conformatorium."

"All right." Lillith smiled. "Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow."

Lillith gave Mordo a quick kiss on the lips before leaving the forest. As soon as she was gone, Mordo's smile dropped and he released the merchant, who continued to rub his mouth and snarl at the baron.

"Oh, sure. You get a kiss on your lips while I get a cut on mine."

"The next time, keep them shut." Mordo warned. "You almost blew the operation."

"Can you blame me?" the merchant asked. "Getting beat up was not part of the plan!"

"You're lucky I didn't do worse to you when you tried to trick me with this scam the other day."

"Well, now I can use this scam on anyone anymore! That human boy made me lose my only bait!"

Mordo groaned before pulling out a bag that made a jangling sound inside as he threw it. "Here. That'll be enough for you to retire to Palm Stings. Just stay out of sight."

The merchant looked at the snails inside before nodding. But before he left, he had one last thing to say to Baron Mordo. "You know, I'm grateful you decided not to sent me to the Conformatorium, but I'm still confused. You hired me to pull the same scam on your girlfriend and her siter, but in the end, nothing changed. The Owl Lady still hasn't joined your coven."

Mordo gave a slight chuckle. "You fool. Fine, if you wish to know, I'll give you this much. I never wanted Edalyn Clawthorne to join the Emperor's Coven. This was never about recruiting her. I just needed her and Lillith to fight in any way possible."

Baron Mordo turned away from the merchant only to pull out a small flask that was half-full of red liquid. It was sealed by a red gemstone that acted as a cork. He took a good look and saw a tiny, red drop fall out from the bottom of the stone and into the liquid.

"After all, every last drop counts."

Author's Note: Okay. So I was a planning on uploading this next week after the Season 2 finale, but after seeing the latest episode, I just couldn't resist. I can't believe we're so close to the end of season 2 and how short season 3 is going to be. I don't know how they're going to put all that action in that time. I can't wait.

If I didn't do enough for the Axe of Agnarruumus, I apologize. I researched as hard as I could, but all I could find on it is that it "hummed with magic", so I decided to make my own spin on it.

Any and all comments are welcome.