I took a carriage, even though buying a horse probably would have been quicker. Horses present unique difficulties when your head barely comes up to the bottom of their stomach. I.E. they're too wide to ride comfortably, and mounting is either impossible, or weirds the horse out. The innkeeper tried to persuade me to wait for a fancier, faster carriage that traveled along this route, sure to arrive any day now. "Much more suitable for an adventurer such as yourself," he claimed.

I demurred, and took the normal one. Firstly, I'm not an adventurer, I'm a thief, adventures and excitement are usually signs I screwed up. Secondly, he probably was just trying that 'cause he had some sort of deal with the owner of the carriage, get cut in for a take on business he gets them. Most importantly, though, it got me out of the town quicker. That place was DULL! I'd been in taverns whose common rooms were bigger than their town hall!

Anyway, when I got back to the city, I took the sword to my apartment and pulled the curtains tightly shut. Then I unwrapped the sword slightly and reached in to pull it out. The glow grew brighter, lighting the room much better than my lamp and in the same deep voice it'd used earlier, the sword spoke.

"Who are you that dares treat..." it began.

"Right now, none of that," I said, letting go of the handle and flipping the cloth back over it, muffling the light and voice.

When the sword was silent and dark again, I flipped the cover off and continued, "Now, let's try that again. This time, when I pull you out, let's not have any of that silly glowing; the lamp provides plenty of light. And at least try to talk in a more normal volume, trust me, some of my neighbors shouldn't be disturbed. Okay?"

The sword sat inanimately, while I waited. I got bored and decided that was probably a sort of yes, so reached for it again. The instant I touched the sword, the light flared brightly and the sword's voice rose. "You dare demand..."

Squinting against the light, I sighed and let go, flipping the cloth back over the sword. "Fine, we'll do it your way. You can wait in there until you can be reasonable. Or, I can always just find a nice deep well and...SPLASH!"

A muffled, much quieter sound came from under the sheet. "What was that?" I asked, pulling back a corner.

"You wouldn't," the sword said, faintly.

"Try me," I replied, then wrapped it up and put the bundle in a pile of junk in my closet, then went to get dinner.

After dinner, I had to take care of a few things, so it had been dark for a while when I returned. Amazing how some people try to ensure a business deal goes the way they want, it'd have been cheaper to hire me than those thugs they tried to have "convince" me probably. But, anyway, I went and got the wrapped up sword. Then I shut the curtains, AGAIN, and put the sword on the table. It seemed quiet, and only seemed to react usually when I touched it, so I got a long knife out and unwrapped the cloth from it with that.

It lay there. Overall, it was probably a hair over three feet long, in the sheath, which had made the thing awkward to carry. The sheath was plain, just old leather, preserved presumably by the cell it had been in. The hilt of the sword, on the other hand, made up for the plainness of the sheath. It was all gold, or at least gilded, studded with gems, the whole nine yards. But, the handle at least seemed like it was actually designed to be held. I couldn't see the blade, for obvious reasons, and wasn't going to try unsheathing it again yet. Chances were probably 50/50 it was either plain, but shiny as anything, or covered with runes/sigils/whatever, to look suitably impressive. Some of these things are kinda predictable.

"Well?" I asked.

The sword sat there. Hmm. It certainly reacted when I touched it, though. Maybe that was part of it, it somehow got power from people touching/being near it or something. Or a specific person, anyway. One way to prevent the bad guys from using it, I guess. I moved my hand close to the handle, but was careful not to touch. "Well, you in there?"

Nothing. I gritted my teeth. "Remember what I said!" I warned it, then lightly grabbed the hilt.

No screaming bugles, no glaring lights. The sword sort of hummed, but that was about it. "So, did you have time to think?"

"I observed some of your neighbors. They are certainly not a proper class of people to discover my presence, I agree," it replied.

I sighed mentally, but at least it was quiet, this time. "You could put it that way, I guess. So what do you want with me?"

"You discovered me! You are the chosen one! You must lead the people of Mycheria free from the repression of the evil wizard! He corrupted the empire from within and seized power for himself! He is an utter madman and must be stopped, before the people are ground into the dust! And only you, the chosen one who recovered me, Brightbringer, the scourge of evil, can do it!"

"Woah, woah, hold up here. Rescue the people of where??"

"Mycheria."

"Where's that?"

"It's the empire that spans from one sea to the other! It rules the lands from the Great Desert to the Mountains of Ice in the south!"

"Never heard of it."