It's a longer chapter than what you've written, on average, so far, but everything you've written has fit together so well that this part of the story isn't "crammed" at all. It's longer becasue it's supposed to be - it's length is due to the nature of the voyage.

And oh... you will so have to speak to Gene about what Seyton has gotten into and what Gene could embarrass him by revealing, if he so chose. Seyton knows what he's risking if he calls Gene by his given name ;)

I did ask Gene if any of Seyton's adventures could have involved a Brindle and Mastiff WarHound. Gene said he wouldn't be surprised, so I just have the suggestion and I left it at that.

As for the trouble someone CAN get into with a WarHound... One was clocked at 115 mph during a chase. Due to bylaws of the town this happened in and the route the chase took, the car was impounded for a minimum of 120 years (it is now in the Furriston Automotive museum, still officially impounded) and that was when the insurance companies blacklisted the model.

Eugene's curiosity has never been greater, and has never had more people willing to answer all his questions. :)

There are some things they WON'T answer. Like what is contained in the books which are behind locked doors in the Imperial Library.

These hidden books are books considered heretical, preserved for the priesthood so they know what to look for. The Priests of the Nameless One believe most heretics are simply mistaken and need guidance in the right direction or, in extreme cases, treatment for mental illness (and some of those books were written by the truly mentally unsound; even a modern, well-trained psychiatrist would read those books and agree the person belonged in a mental instutition). Rarely is a heretic punished for errant beliefs.

As for Shaun, he is an acolyte of Kelthanyerr the Scholar, who was an Animen (one of the real ones) in life. It is right for him to answer questions.

Question for you: Could a spirit watch over a specific artifact? There is a reason I'm asking this. :)

If, by "spirit" you mean one of those ethreal, vestigal entities similar to the saber-tooth tiger that will be following Eugene around in our future stories, then of course, by all means. If the artifact was or particular importance to the species that the spirit was a member of, even more likely so.

The guardian spirit is a semi-intelligent smilodon. Its soul duty is to make sure the Obsidian Flame does not fall into the wrong hands -- and its presence (along with certain other things) marks the real thing.