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T hey followed Marcellus up to a sht at the top of the house - a dark space, tucked in under sloping eaves and lined ooden paneling The room was sparsely furnished with an old trestle table with two benches, and a few chairs lined up along the walls - all left by the previous owner, Weasal Van Klampff In the center of the table was a cluster of candles, lit earlier thatby the housekeeper and already half burned down

As Marcellus showed theh Septio Yet he kneas so long ago that it seehts he had been in Marcellus&039;s Time, an Alchemie Scribe had slept across the doorway to stop hi to escape This was the rooht up all kinds of crazy plans to return to his own Ti out of thelonging to see a familiar face pass by in the street far below It was not, all things considered, his most favorite place in the world - but now here he was, back again with Beetle and Jenna That was soine Suddenly Septimus felt very peculiar He sat doith a bump on one of the benches at the trestle table

Beetle and Jenna sat beside hi up at Marcellus Pye

Marcellus returned their gaze with a puzzled expression "Nohy did we come up here?" he asked

"It&039;s to do with Nicko You reh he had no idea why Marcellus had taken them all the way up to this particular room

"Nicko?" asked Marcellus blankly

"Nicko My brother He was trapped in your Time You must re in his voice It had takenand now, as Marcellus&039;sact, he felt it all slipping away again

"Ah, I remember," said Marcellus Septimus&039;s spirits lifted "It wasNohere are they?"

"They are on the top of your head," said Septimus wearily

"Indeed, so they are" Marcellus reached for his spectacles and settled them on his nose "Good," he said "I shall need them for Nicko&039;s papers"

Septi somewhere He sht, as they always did when Nicko&039;s na into his old ait - which Beetle blamed on the weird shoes - Marcellus went over to the chih up on the side The panel swung open with an apologetic creak Everyone watched as he took out a ragged collection of brittle, yellowing papers

Carefully, he brought theently laid theasped - they were covered in Nicko&039;s distinctive scrawl

"Nicko and Snorri left these behind," Marcellus said "I put the as I was afraid that soht throw thes in an untutored hand But, as the years went by - and there wereplace Indeed, Apprentice, I did not reain until some months after you asked me about your brother"

"When you said you didn&039;t remember," said Septis about an to come back to me And one day when I came up to this room I did re all the way up here only to wonder what it was I wanted But when you last spoke to me about Nicko, I wrote it down I carried the note everywhere and then, when I ca place - which, to my amazee to come here today"

"Thank you, Marcellus," said Septimus

"I owe it to you, Apprentice I confess I cannot read much of what is in Nicko&039;s hand, but perhaps you can understand your brother&039;s writing better than I It may be that the notes will tell their own story

But I will fill in the gaps as much as I can"

Jenna cautiously looked at the papers The ink was faded to a pale sepia color, and the paper was thin and almost as brown as the ink Even so, Jenna kneas Nicko&039;s work There were doodles of boats, sketches of various sail rigs, nunize and a lot of lists But so his scribbles on such ancient, fragile thingsat a long, thin piece of paper with tears pricking the backs of her eyelids

"What does it say, Jen?" asked Septimus

"Hehe&039;s made a list"