Ducking back behind one of the large domineering houses of the upper district, Ephin and Beth tried to lean against the outer wall to look as if they weren’t simply creeping around in case anyone noticed them. It was difficult to act ‘normal’ with Hunter always standing to attention near Beth.

The tower that hopefully held what they wanted, and what they needed to free their friends, laying waiting, looking down at the three of them as they planned their approach.

“So, what are we exactly looking for?” Beth asked.

“There are a few different options, but recent experience narrows it down,” Ephin answered, “if I’m going from my dreams, that have yet to steer me wrong-” he held a look at Beth to counter her own judgmental eyes at the thought of planning off of information from a dream “-there were multiple relics that made up the collection. We have seen the paintbrush and that Jackson guy is searching for the sword. That leaves a staff or a gem. I do not know what color or specific design they would have though.”

“That’s good enough for now I guess,” Beth said, “at least we can do some research while we’re in there.”

“True,” Ephin agreed, keeping his head on a swivel to catch anyone potentially seeing them. So far, they were in the clear.

“Well, no time like the present,” Beth said, slapping a hand on Ephin’s shoulder and striding off toward the archives.

“What are you doing?” Ephin hissed after her.

“It’ll look a heck of a lot more suspicious if we tip toe our way in. We need to act like we’re meant to be there.”

Ephin conceded that that was actually a good idea and straightened up too.

Trying to not look nervously around, Ephin fell into step behind Beth, who was walking at quite the pace. Hunter matches Ephin’s speed and distance from Beth.

“Hello,” Beth called to the receptionist desk, just inside the entrance to the main tower. Inside was an elderly woman, perched on a stool so that she could see over the desk at Beth as she approached. “I would like to collect some books.”

“Why of course, miss?” The receptionist paused and looked up at Beth.

“Melneramus, Beatrice Melneramus. I have family in the city and had taken a trip to meet them. Unfortunately, now that I wish to go home, there is an army to stop me. Just my luck!” Beth burst into a frenzy of obnoxious cackles. “These two are with me. A priest to help show me around and keep me honest, and an automaton. Simply the best sort of servant money can buy. Unfortunately, it is a little clingy.” The little lady behind the counter was so flustered at the whirlwind of a person that was speaking to her that she simply nodded and waved an arm to her side, staring at Hunter as he passed in a slight shock.

Inside the imposing tower was a staircase to the far right, by the wall, and a simple open foyer. Blue stone floor, decorated with simple patterned carvings. The ceiling was low, possibly to help pack in an extra floor or two above. There were a handful of doors leading out of the foyer, but the signs indicated the staircase was the path to the books, which was what Beth was both pretending to look for and genuinely interested to see.

They all took the stairs up and found a similarly low ceiling, however this floor was crammed with bookcases at all angles, attempting to fit as many in the circular tower as possible. There were no doors on this floor, but the bookcases spread out to take up what room could have been taken up by whatever was behind those doors.

“Now we just have to find a staff or a gem somewhere in this tower,” Beth said.

“If every floor is like this, it might take a while,” Ephin remarked, “split up to cover more ground?”

“That sounds like a good idea. I’ll head on up and try to find a section related to the Rupture War or time period nearest it and start there. You just work up from here and we meet in the middle?” Beth proposed, to which Ephin nodded and Hunter and Beth both disappeared up the staircase to the higher floors, leaving Ephin where he was.

Ephin scoured the first floor of his search, looking for any fancy decorations that had jewels and gems encrusted into them, or any particularly well carved bookshelves that could house a staff as part of their structure. Unfortunately, whilst the foyer of the tower was well cleaned and well presenting to visitors, the same care had not been given to the upper floors. The room was caked in dust and the bookshelves so old they sagged under the weight of the books. Ephin wouldn’t be surprised if he could snap a shelf just by pushing down on it too hard when returning a book.

Ephin turned to go up the next flight of stairs and continue his search, but was blocked from his route by a man reading a book. He calmly took the next aisle, smiling at the man he had disturbed. Weird, he thought, I didn’t think anyone else was on this floor.

He turned the corner around the bookcase to go down the next aisle and the same man was standing in the same position reading the same book.

“I’m sorry,” Ephin said, looking the man up and down closely, “can I help you? I just need to go upstairs. The book I’m looking f-”

“Yes, you can help me,” the man said, closing his book and turning to Ephin. “Out of curiosity, what book are you looking for that isn’t on a bookshelf?”

The man was dressed almost entirely in black, his suit crisp and matching his short black hair.

“What do you mean?” Ephin asked.

“You’re looking for a book, right? Perhaps you should try looking on a bookshelf and not scanning your eyes at anything other than books.”

“My methods are my own,” Ephin said. He liked how that sounded.

“Nice. Mysterious. I almost believed you meant it. Here’s one from me,” the man took half a step closer, looking Ephin in the eye. His pupil-less green eyes meeting Ephin’s. “What are you to Jadon?”

“Who?”

“Now don’t start that. We’re on our own in a dusty old tower. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t know you were connected. Okay, how about something less pretend mysterious and specific? If you don’t answer my questions exactly how I like, I can and will kill you where you stand.” The man took another half step towards Ephin to emphasize his point. Even knowing the man was walking, Ephin couldn’t hear a sound from his steps. He matched Jadon in silence.

“Don’t think I’m so defenseless,” Ephin said.

“Oh, I’m sure you’re the fiercest priest in the city. No matter, you won’t be able to get a single prayer off before I’m done with you and especially not after. So, about my question?”

“I have no idea- wait. You’re the chyringa aren’t you? Who else would bother chasing us down like this?”

“Chyringa? Finally, an opportunity not to lie,” the man cracked a shining white smile, “I am absolutely not a chyringa. Although I appreciate the compliment. Back to my question. One more chance or I go and interrogate your friend up-”

Ephin pulled out a book from the book shelf and flung it the rest of the distance to the man. The man caught it without flinching and Ephin ducked back around the bookcase as the book was sent speeding back at him. It crashed into the wall with a thud, knocking over a metal plate that had been propped up on a shelf, it’s importance unknown to Ephin. The plate fell off its perch and hit the floor, spinning as it came closer to rest, making a loud, consistent, metallic sound.

“It has been fun, little Ephin, but next time we meet I will get what I want.” The warning was whispered over the bookcases as both of them could hear footsteps making their way up the stairs towards the sound. Ephin took the initiative and darted up to the second floor to avoid any questions about why he wasn’t with Beatrice Melneramus. The man in black had seemingly vanished in the shadows already. Damn, he’s good, Ephin thought as he ran up the stairs, the footsteps increasing in pace as they heard him running. We need to warn the others that either the chyringa is in the city, or there is yet another deadly enemy trying to kill us.

Beth was in the place of her dreams. Surrounded by books, she only wished she had more time to look through them all and uncover what they stored away from the world, just waiting for her to open them.

She had stopped at each floor temporarily to see what the topics of the books were and quickly realized the tower was organised by time period. With that she ran up the stairs as quietly as she could to not disturb anyone else in the library, until she reached the time of the Rupture War. The war itself was given its own shelf, but all of it was just historical accounts and musings on what either led up to the war or what really happened in contrary to what the other history books said. Nothing was useful.

The shelf below the one dedicated to the Rupture War was on related works. She noticed one detailing other realms and the use of ruptures for travel, so she pocketed it for later.

“Hey, Hunter,” Beth said as she looked through the different titles, “can you read?”

“Of course, many languages. How many, I am not entirely certain.”

“Can you look for a book on a specific topic for me, and bring it back to me if you find it?”

“Of course, what sort of book are you requesting I locate?”

“Something with more expansive information on this topic,” Beth said, pulling out the almost illegible notes and handing them to Hunter. “I might not still be on this floor, can you find me if we’re split up for a while?”

“Of course, I always know where you are.”

“That’s not creepy at all,” Beth remarked.

“Thank you.”

“Can you just-” she took a breath and looked back up at the automaton, “we are in a little bit of a hurry, so please try to find something quickly and quietly. If I leave the library, return to me whether you have found it or not, okay?”

“Yes. I will see you shortly>” With that, Hunter left that floor, heading down the stairs to begin his search.

“Now that that’s gone,” Beth mumbled to herself, “what exactly am I looking for?”

Her search of the books wasn’t helping so she scanned her eyes around the dust-filled room. Nothing but a bunch of old paintings lined the walls, bookcases filled the rest. She cast a glance over some of the paintings. There was a depiction of a fierce battle between what could have been dwarves and a people resembling humans. Nothing relevant so she moved on.

Another one was of some sort of celebration, a lot of fur-covered people, like large cats but on two feet, were dancing around a campfire.

She moved on again.

Wait.

Beth backtracked to the painting of the battle. She scanned her eyes over it and- yes. Nestled into the painting was a lone soldier that did not appear to belong to either side. Their back was towards the viewer but Beth felt like she could feel their sorrow.

Beth felt like this painting was significant. It closely resembled one of the carvings in the ruins back home. There was nothing special about the frame and it was only hung on a nail, so it wasn’t hiding any secret compartment for relics.

“What did the riddle say?” Beth asked herself as she pondered over the painting. “So, we are in the city before the ice, so that much is correct. Knowledge to connect the realm and close to the palace, the helm. What else, what else. Hidden from those who hid it. What the heck does-”

She looked at the painting again. If everything they knew was right, this soldier was a depiction of Jackson. As Jackson was charged with protecting one of the relics it wasn’t a stretch to think he could have been in charge of protecting this one too, or could have given it to the people of the forest to hide from him, on the off chance he became compromised.

“Three thousand years is a long time for anyone,” Beth whispered, “I might lose my morals before the end of this life, let alone after a thousand lifetimes. He’s done pretty well all things considered.”

So, Beth thought, if this is a depiction of him, and he originally hid it.

Beth turned around to see what was directly opposite the painting. She could see the arrangement of the bookcases meant the aisles were directly in line with the direction she was facing, leading to one bookcase. It’s behind him, Beth thought hopefully, hidden from him.

She walked down the aisle and scanned her eyes over the bookcase. Nothing looked out of place. Everything was old and dusty and didn’t look like it had been touched in decades and-

One book stood out to her. The spine was devoid of a title, save for two small pictures. One of a ship and one of a shield, below it. Beth’s heart lurched and she tore the book off the shelf fast enough to kick up a lot of the resting dust.

Once Beth was done coughing she went to open the book, but heard a lot of loud footsteps getting rapidly closer.

Damn, Ephin’s been caught, she thought.

Sure enough, Ephin appeared moments later, hurtling up the staircase that encircled the tower. She stuffed the book in her bag and sprinted up the staircase behind him, kicking the guard that had been closing in on Ephin. The surprise impact knocked him backwards, into the other two guards that had been chasing her friend, sending them all tumbling down the flight of stairs.

She picked up the pace and caught up with Ephin rather quickly as he had been running up the stairs for a short while at this point.

“There!” Ephin shouted, pointing at a door on one of the floors they were passing in quick succession.

“What if someone is in one of them?” Beth shouted back.

“Better the chance of bumping into a scholar than the definite of being caught by guards,” Ephin struggled out his argument as he ran, his breath running ragged.

“There’s another,” Beth called, grabbing Ephin before he went up another flight. They didn’t have time to hesitate, they simply ran through the aisles of bookcases and ran into the, thankfully unlocked, room beyond the door.

Nobody was in, another thing Beth was grateful for. They slumped down behind the door, hoping the guards hadn’t heard them.

“Hiding from guards in an office,” Ephin chuckled breathlessly.

“We should find another one,” Beth said, “for an even three.”

Once she had her breath back, Beth opened the book she had found.

“Empty,” she said in disbelief.

Every page of the book with the ship and shield was blank. She flicked through and held it above her head. Nothing. She turned to Ephin.

“Did we just waste our time again?”