The rare alcohol that Saul ordered couldn't be found anywhere else in Riddleport, and with advertisements reflecting that fact, business at the Gold Goblin picked up rapidly. Sarek was enthusiastic about the development as everyone under his employ knew their roles by now, including his companions. Not only was he able to make gold but he was able to show Saul how good of a floor manager that he was. He was a little disappointed at himself for putting off Tess' meetings knowing she wanted to get back to the blot but he had found success without discovering what it was.

In addition to the gold made working at the gambling hall, Sarek was able to divide the loot they were able to find from Braddikar and his men. Old Korvosa's shield was magical, but as no one from the group used a shield, everyone decided to sell it for five hundred gold. The gold was divided between himself, Keya, Madia, Belar, and Tess. Although Ryland was offered a cut, he denied it in favor of Braddikar's longsword and cloak. The cloak was magical to make its wearer more resistant to danger and the sword, while not magical, was finely crafted. Sarek was glad that Ryland had no interest in going after the Foamrunner and no one objected to him claiming the items.

Sarek was finalizing the dealers' schedule with Keya in his office when there was a knock at the door. He smiled when he saw Samaritha enter the room, and although they haven't had much time to talk, he always enjoyed seeing her. The sorcerer was so caught up in her visit that he was taken by surprise when she told him why she stopped by his office.

"The Order of Cyphers has accepted me as an apprentice," Samaritha announced.

Sarek's smile grew wider. "That's great!"

"Way to go!" Keya joined in.

Samaritha smiled at the praise but followed it with a sigh. "Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to maintain my apprenticeship and my job here. I think you can see where I'm going with this."

Sarek nodded as his smile faded away. "You're leaving the Gold Goblin then."

"It's nothing personal, Sarek," Samaritha reassured him. "I need to dedicate as much time as I can to becoming a cyphermage, and since I can stay at the Cypher Lodge, I don't need to work here any longer."

"You're still moving up in the world," Keya said, not losing any of her cheer. "You'll make for a great cyphermage."

"That you will," Sarek nodded in agreement. "If you ever need anything, you can always stop by for a visit."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Samaritha smiled faintly. "It was nice to meet you, even if we hadn't had much time to talk."

"That it has."

Keya slowly crossed her arms. "Maybe you two should do something to celebrate?"

Both Sarek and Samaritha were caught by surprise from Keya's suggestion. The sorcerer could see the mischievous glint in the gambler's eyes and wondered what exactly she had planned. He was intrigued by the prospect of spending more time with Samaritha before she left, but when he thought about it, Sarek wondered if he would have time.

"And what do you mean by that?" Sarek questioned cautiously.

"I think that the two of you should go out tonight and celebrate," Keya explained with a grin. "You both have a lot in common with your magic and everything and Samaritha joining the Order of Cyphers should be a moment worth celebrating."

"That would be fun," Samarita nodded. "Sarek, what do you think?"

"As much as I would like to do something with you, I have to work tonight," Sarek said with a sigh.

"That's not a problem," Keya shrugged. "I'll take over as floor manager for you. We have extra dealers and I'm sure one of them wouldn't mind covering my usual shift."

"Keya-" Sarek started, realizing what Keya had in mind.

"I insist on it," Keya interrupted Sarek and turned to Samaritha. "How about you go get ready for tonight while Sarek and I finalize the details of our plan. He'll come by your room in about an hour."

"I can't wait," Samaritha said, smiling towards Sarek. "It's a date. See you then."

Samaritha left the room with a wave and closed the door behind her. Sarek wasn't able to get another word in before she left, and even if he did, he imagined that Keya would interrupt him again. It was obvious to him that this was a plot by the half-elf to claim his position as floor manager, even if it was for one night. He knew that she wanted to be floor manager as well, and while they remained on good terms, she was out to prove her skills to Saul. One night could be all Keya needed to show she was a better floor manager.

However, Sarek also thought that she wouldn't be able to make that big of an impression over one night. There also wasn't anything wrong with spending time with Samaritha. He hadn't found enough time for the two of them after taking over as floor manager and it would be nice to spend time with her before she left.

Keya spread her arms out wide and grinned. "You're welcome!"

"You really want to be floor manager, huh?" Sarek chuckled.

"It's not just that," Keya shook her head. "You work way too much. It's time for you to take a break and have fun. You're lucky that you get to do so with Samaritha."

"I work the same hours as you do," Sarek pointed out.

"But you still work more. I play Golem during my shift and I have fun doing so. It doesn't even compare to what you do."

"I suppose you do have a point," Sarek admitted with a sigh. "Still, I don't know where to take Samaritha tonight."

"And lucky for you, I might have an idea that I'll let you take credit for,," Keya said with a wink. "I just hope you don't mess anything up after all I've done for you."

Sarek had to give Keya credit with her idea on where to take Samaritha to celebrate. The grand Mystery of the Gate was an inn and tavern that was an attraction to traveling scholars in particular. Samaritha brightened up once the building came into sight, and while Sarek wasn't too much of a scholar, he had no complaints about the destination. Although the night might be the only time they had for a date, they were going to make the most of it with Samaritha wrapping her arm around Sarek's arm to let him escort her inside.

The interior walls were inscribed with an assortment of glyphs and etchings of the Cyphergate. The Mystery of the Gate took advantage of its proximity to the monument towering over Riddleport as their theme to lure clients in. Sarek was surprised that there was a large crowd during the evening even if the people weren't too rowdy. The two took a seat at an open table with a waiter coming by.

"Good evening," the waiter greeted. "Might I interest the two of you in our roast goose?"

"I think that works for us," Sarek said, glancing at Samaritha to see her reaction.

Samaritha nodded. "Is something going on tonight? There's more people than I expected given what I've heard."

"You're in luck," the waiter grinned. "Twice a week, the Order of Cyphers conducts a free lecture here and the one tonight is due to start shortly."

"How wonderful," Samaritha smiled.

"Indeed," Sarek nodded. "I'm looking forward to it."

The waiter left after taking their order, leaving the two alone. Sarek tried to strike conversation with Samaritha but her gaze turned toward a podium where a cyphermage was setting up for his lecture. Although the sorcerer was glad that Samaritha was getting a chance to pursue her interests, this wasn't what he had in mind for how their night would go. Still, he figured that there would still be plenty of time after the cyphermage was done and could wait for the right moment.

The cyphermage, a middle-aged man that was balding, delivered a lecture on the blot, which was still the talk of Riddleport among academics. Although Sarek was curious as to if the Order of Cyphers discovered anything new, it became apparent that wasn't the case. The cyphermage focused on Argentus Blakely, the cyphermage who discovered the blot before it came into view. The blot was informally named after him although Sarek wasn't too keen on the shadow being named after anyone when it could disappear. Although Samaritha eagerly listened, the sorcerer toned out the lecture. He looked around the tavern but found himself looking toward Samaritha often.

Partway through the lecture, the waiter returned with their meals. The food itself wasn't anything special but it did serve as a distraction from the lecture. While Samaritha was still mostly focused on the lecture, whenever she turned to take a bite from her food, she smiled softly in Sarek's direction. He was content to know that he was still in her mind. Eventually, she sighed and shook her head.

"I was hoping for something more magical than historical," Samaritha whispered. "Everyone in Riddleport has heard of Blakely by now."

Sarek smirked. "What else do the cyphermages have to talk about? There isn't any new development about the blot. Sometimes, it does something to Riddleport, but there isn't any pattern."

"Is that why you haven't been focused on the blot?" Samaritha asked.

"That, and the Gold Goblin has turned out to be more of a venture than investigating the blot," Sarek nodded. "What made you want to join the Order of Cyphers to begin with?"

"I've always been interested in runes, something that cyphermages specialized in," Samaritha explained and tapped the tattoo on her face. "My father, my human parent, was Varisian, and our language incorporates ancient Thassilonian runes, like this one."

"You must be serious about runes," Sarek said, smiling. "What does that rune mean?"

"Avaria," Samaritha lowered her hand from her face. "I didn't get this tattoo because of my interest. There's power in some runes."

Samaritha pointed her finger at her fork, which had a piece of meat on it, and the utensil lifted up in the air on its own. She took a bite from it and winked at Sarek, who couldn't stop himself from smiling. The spell she casted was simple but the magic didn't come from rigorous studying, but rather from the rune. The levitation trick was more similar to the sorcerer's innate magic even if he couldn't cast the same spell.

The cyphermage finished his lecture and the tavern clapped. Sarek and Samaritha heard the applause but their eyes remained locked with one another.

"The lecture could have been better but I won't complain about the rest of the night," Samaritha said, leaning against Sarek. "I have to give your credit, Sarek. That was something special for not having a lot of time to plan."

"I think best when I have a deadline," Sarek chuckled. "I'm glad you had a fun night."

The rest of their time at the Mystery of the Gate passed by, and eventually, the two made their way back to the Gold Goblin. Ryland, who turned away a group of sailors, let the couple enter with only a quiet nod. The gambling hall was closing for the night and Sarek caught a quick glance of Keya directing the employees when he and Samaritha entered the building. If she was going to be the floor manager for the night, then he had no objections to taking credit for her idea on where to go. Samaritha turned to face Sarek and let go of his arm.

"It's been fun but I should get to my room," Samaritha said. "I have some packing to finish before I move into the Cypher Lodge."

"If you need help, I could come with," Sarek offered with a grin. "The two of us together should be enough."

Samaritha grinned but shook her head. "I'm tempted, but not tonight. Next time, maybe. I'd like to see what you do with time to plan."

"We'll see," Sarek nodded. "Have a good night."

"You too."

Samaritha turned around and made her way to the hallway where the guest rooms were. Sarek watched her until she was out of sight and sighed. Although he was tempted to arrange another date with Samaritha in the future, he didn't think that it was possible. She was going to be busy with her studies as an apprentice and he would be busy helping the Gold Goblin prosper. Sarek enjoyed the time they spent tonight but thought that was the end of their time together.

Sarek was so caught up in his thoughts about Samaritha that he hadn't noticed Keya walk up behind him. He jumped up in place when she gave him a friendly slap across the back.

"How'd tonight go?" Keya asked after a quick laugh. "Is there going to be a second date?"

"We don't have time for another for the foreseeable future," Sarek explained with a dismissive gesture of his hand.

"Or maybe Tess was right about you," Keya smirked.

"Right about what?" Sarek asked, unable to hide his suspicion. "How long have you two been talking about me?"

"We talked while you were out on your date," Keya answered without missing a beat. "She said you have a problem when it comes to commitment to anything."

Sarek figured that Tess was getting more impatient about getting back to the blot. The sorcerer hoped she would lose interest eventually but the elf was persistent. He was going to have to find a time to let her down gently that he wasn't interested, but for now, getting Keya off his back was the goal he had in mind.

"Maybe," Sarek said with a shrug.

"There's no 'maybe' about it."

Sarek turned to Keya with a grin. "You know, I thought of a perfect way to thank you for setting me up with Samaritha tonight."

"Is that so?" Keya crossed her arms with a smirk. "What were you thinking?"

"I'm thinking about repaying the favor by setting you up on a date," Sarek said and tapped his chin in thought. "I bet I can talk Ryland into taking you out dancing. That'll be fun, right?"

Keya tried to stay silent, but after several seconds, couldn't help herself from bursting out into laughter at the idea. When she wiped a fist across her eyes, forming with tears of joy, Sarek took the chance to slip away. The one benefit about letting Keya serve as floor manager for the night was that she wouldn't be able to follow him until she finished locking up the Gold Goblin.

A/N: Sorry that it took me so long to get back to this. Something came up that kept me distracted from writing for the past several days but I'm back and ready to continue.

We still have one last thing to wrap up before we dive back into the action but I'm hoping to get both of those chapters done over the next two days.

Until next time.