Chapter Four

You walk towards the centre of the empty room, where Tegan is standing with the briefcase. Thomas greets her with an elbow tap, eyes sparkling with amusement. "Alright Tegan, what's going on?"

Tegan gestures at the briefcase. "The bookworms. They're not destructive pests, they're literary treasures! And Gregor was keeping them all locked up, the poor things. We have to free them."

Thomas raised an eyebrow. "So they aren't the cause of the missing words?"

"That's partly my doing," Tegan replies sheepishly. "I've been feeding them pages from old texts when I can, slipping them into the briefcase and taking them out when they're done snacking."

"But why?" Thomas seems more curious than exasperated.

Tegan rushes to explain. "Bookworms don't just eat words, they spit them back out – and when they do, they can create surprising new works of poetry! The Dadaists famously cultivated them for this very purpose. Rather than imprisoning them in a confined environment, we should take care of them so we can collaborate! That's why I led you to this hideout: it's a safe place to open the briefcase together."

You marvel at her convoluted plan.

"Alright. I'm excited to meet these critters myself. But how are we going to open the case?" Thomas and Tegan look expectantly at you.