“And as the ever shining light met the eternal darkness a… mircle happened?”
“Miracle.”
“Yes, right, of course. An in- intertwinement of a harmony of elegance and a devou… devouring void. And as sun and night mingled, a pulchrid- I need a break.” With a sigh, I closed the book. I wasn’t prone to violence but whoever wrote this amalgamation deserved a stern talking to.
“Come on, you are so close to finishing the chapter!” Lilith encouraged. “You’re improving so fast, that I’m frankly jealous. It took me months to get this good.”
“Thank you, Lilith,” I nodded, smiling in the direction of her lounging form. This was the third day of learning to read and I was getting pretty good at it. However, I couldn’t take all the credit for my rapid progress. Sarvad was the main reason for it. Even though I couldn’t read, he could, and I possessed a lot of his knowledge. That didn’t make me immediately fluent, but it was a huge help.
“So, let me get this straight: Noctus is the son of Abnar, God of Light, and Durmera, Goddess Of Darkness, correct?”
“Yup.”
“Huh.” That… kind of made sense. Shadows were a mixture of light and dark, so it only made sense that the god of them was a fusion of both. Although, how that was physically possible was beyond me. Probably some weird essence thing. Maybe I could ask him the next time we met. “Does that mean that followers of Noctus, Abnar, and Durmera all like each other?” I asked. Lilith burst out laughing. “Hahaha, not even slightly. They all hate each other.”
“Wait, but their patrons are a family. How does that make sense?” I questioned her. Family was an abstract term but I at least knew the definition for it. A family was a group of people who were related to one another and who also cared for each other.
“Yes, they are a family,” Lilith confirmed. “Just not a very good one.” She tilted her head to the side. I had noticed that she always did that when she was thinking. Pecta had a habit of doing it too, though to a much lesser degree.
“I got to admit I’m no expert on their relationship,” the assassin admitted. “I know some stories, but their validity is debatable. All I can say for sure is that Abnar and Durmera are generally at odds. Not that much of a surprise, since light and dark. Abnar is also the unofficial head of the Pantheon of Order, while Durmera is a member of the Pantheon of Chaos.”
I shivered. Pantheon of Chaos didn’t sound very pleasant. Seeing my reaction, Lilith shook her head. “I can guess what you are thinking, but you’re wrong. The gods from the Chaos Pantheon aren’t exactly evil, despite what the Creator’s Church would have you believe. They stand for darker concepts, sure, but those are just as intrinsic to life as the more fun stuff. But I suggest talking to someone who worships them. They can explain it much better than I can.”
I nodded, but also frowned in confusion. “Isn’t Noctus a part of the Chaos Pantheon?” Lilith chuckled and shook her head. “Nope. Noctus isn’t part of any pantheon which makes him disliked by both sides. It may be legal to worship him here, but it is heavily frowned upon. Followers of Durmera are more accepting of Noctus, but only by a little. Though, as far as I can tell, the relationship between Noctus and his mother isn’t all bad. Sure, there is that one story where he steals an artefact from here and as revenge, she sends out bloodthirsty monsters of darkness to devour all his followers. But there are also some where they almost act like a normal family.”
“Very interesting,” I stated while doubting that her concept of normal was the same as mine. “Oh, but his relationship with his father is always described as shit,” she added. “Actually the one following his birth is my favourite. It revolves around Abnar commanding his angels to-“ “Hey!” I interrupted and glared at her. “What?” She asked confused. “Don’t tell me what happens!” I demanded. “It won’t be interesting if I already know what’s coming.”
Lilith laughed and stretched her limbs. “Come on, knowing what will happen isn’t that ba- ok wow, I’ll stop!” Luckily for her, she stopped the heretical words from leaving her lips. Probably had something to do with my growl. At my look, she chuckled and stood up. “Well, about time I leave. Want me to grab you another book?” She frowned at my displeased expression. “What’s wrong?”
“I- It’s nothing.”
“Ok, now I definitely know that something is up,” Lilith stated as she plopped into the chair across from me. Her eyes rolled when she saw my hesitation. “Come on, I’m responsible for keeping you safe. And being sad won’t make my job any easier. So spit it out.”
“I…” In truth I was frustrated. Sure, the book had alleviated my boredom and was sating my curiosity but it felt like I was still stuck. It contained many interesting facts about Noctus and the other gods but nothing about demons or anything that could help me in my current situation. It felt like the walls were closing in around me. The many hours of being alone with my uncertainty were starting to gnaw on me and not even books could distract me from it. My restlessness had gotten so bad that I struggled to eat. Even my dreams were getting worse, with some just being a jumbled mess of sounds and disturbing feelings.
I didn’t want to burden Lilith but keeping her guessing what my problem was wouldn’t help either. “It feels like I’m stuck. I have spent seven days in this cell without seeing the sun or breathing fresh air. And what am I doing with my time? Not something productive. What makes it even more frustrating is that the answers to my problems feel so close. Like I just need to search in the right place to find them.
“Yeah,” Lilith sighed. “Can’t say I relate. Most of my work for Noctus’ Dream didn’t involve a lot of unknowns. Scout, prepare, and kill. Simple routine. But I do know that boredom’s a bitch.” The next couple of moments were spent in silence, as both of us were submersed in our own thoughts.
“There is a place where we can look for information.” I looked up as Lilith continued. “I can take you tonight but it is risky. If someone catches us we’ll be in trouble.” With trouble, she most likely meant death or in my case capture. “Of course, I want to go, but shouldn’t we talk to Pecta first?” My other companion had been gone for a few hours, following his ‘lead’. In the last couple of days, he had frequently disappeared, often not knowing himself when he would be back. One time he was gone for almost an entire day.
“We can talk to him but that would mean postponing the trip for at least another week,” she said. “One week has gone by and the Guild Master is starting to be desperate. After today, he wants to ramp up the search for you even more. I will be too busy to accompany you and there is no way you are leaving this place without me. Way too risky.”
That was a difficult decision. I had no way of knowing how long Pecta would be away and not informing him seemed risky. But on the other hand, wasn’t this what I’d been looking for? A way to get more answers. We would only be gone shortly and with Lilith accompanying me the risks should be minimal. Moreover, another day spent in solitude might drive me insane. Looking at her, I nodded. “Let’s do this.”
Lilith grinned. “I knew you’d be up for some fun. Before we go, I need to take care of some things, so let’s say in 3 hours.”
The next three hours passed in a flash. There wasn’t a lot I needed to prepare so I spent most of the time restlessly pacing around the room. When Lilith arrived I stood ready. Most of the clothes Pecta and I had salvaged back in the desert had been basically scrap so my companion had gone through the trouble of getting it up to snuff.
Beneath my leather armour, I now wore brand-new clothes that were a bit too big but still way more comfortable than the rags I had previously worn. The armour was also cleaned of blood and the biggest holes had been patched up. My dagger was tied to a belt and concealed by the cowl that I had put on. The cowl was necessary to hide my setup and my claw. All in all, I wore 3 layers of fabric, which would be very uncomfortable for a normal human. For me, it was just cozy.
Lilith had been so nice as to gift me two sets of bandages, one yellow and one black. Because nightfall was fast approaching, I decided to wear the black one. ‘Bandages’ actually wasn’t the proper term for them. They were a ritualistic item called ‘umbral’ used by followers of Noctus but Lilith also just referred to them as bandages.
My companion whistled appreciatively when she saw me. “Like looking into a mirror.” Her getup was identical on the outside. The only real visible difference was my bulky stature, due to the armour I was wearing beneath.
“Ready to go?”
With a nod, I followed her outside. Night had set over the city and the only light shining into the alley was from the silver moon. Carefully looking around Lilith motioned for me to close the entrance to the hideout and follow her.
We wove through the tight alleyways, one of us more graceful than the other. The moon only provided minimal light, which was not enough for me to avoid the various dirty-smelling obstacles. I didn’t even want to know what half of them were and I was certain that I had stumbled over at least one sleeping human. Lilith rolled her eyes at my mistakes but it was obvious that she was enjoying herself.
After some time we finally reached the main street. Lilith motioned for me to stop. “Going the rest of the way through the alley system is too risky. I’m sure that at least one of my guild members is watching them. We will instead blend in with the crowd on the main street and make our way from there.”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Won’t the bandages make us stand out?” I quietly asked. “They probably will,” she admitted. “But it is better than you walking around with your face exposed. Half the city has already seen your wanted poster by now. Hopefully, everybody will be too preoccupied by the festival.”
At my questioning look she rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry about it. The Flow Celebration just includes some minor partying. You’re not missing out.” Lilith put a hand on my shoulder. “Just don’t leave my side or do anything that would cause attention. We don’t want to deal with the city guard. With that, she grabbed my human hand and pulled me along.
Despite the late time, the streets weren’t empty. Far from it actually. Many humans were walking around, making sure to keep their coats tightly pulled around them. It was astonishing how different the temperature was from day and night. We inconspicuously joined the rush, heading deeper into the city. Lilith had to admonish me several times for staring at people but I couldn’t help it. Being forced to stay in a cramped room for several days had been horrible and had almost made me forget how beautiful Seran was. Were other human cities the same? Hopefully, I would get to find out.
As we got closer to the city centre the street began to fill. What had been solitary humans going about their business turned into large crowds making a lot of noise. A pleasant smell wafted through the air and the general mood seemed to be jovial. The humans were smiling, dancing, and drinking. Torches were lining the streets, giving off warmth and creating shadows that seemed to be dancing as well.
A female human standing at the entrance of a house locked eyes with me and hollered out, “Hey handsome, wana have a good time?” The woman seemed nice and I liked the idea of a good time. Though why she was barely clothed was something I couldn’t answer. But before I could do anything Lilith pulled me along. “Don’t get distracted by all the glamour,” she muttered, so quietly that only I could hear. Then, under her breath, she added, “Every city has some kind of celebration to distract the people from their misery.”
Her attitude got me thinking and I tried to look past the surface. Beginning to adjust, I started noticing irregularities. Everyone was celebrating but some didn’t seem to enjoy themselves. The woman who had called out to me had already turned her attention towards another male human. She seemed eager, purring about what fun things they could do together, but her facial expression was off. Using Sense Mind revealed what I had started to suspect. Desperation. Even as the man followed her inside she reeked of emptiness and desperation and she wasn’t the only woman on the sidewalk doing so.
Shuddering I tried to look away but more and more cases of helplessness started to become apparent. A man was playing cards with three other humans on a small crate. One of them laughed and collected the shining coins that had been laid out. He seemed to be enjoying himself but the other man certainly wasn’t. Despite them only being copper coins he looked to be ready to punch the other man.
Multiple alleyways branched off from the main street and I could see figures lurking in them. They were wearing rags and looked on at the celebration with hate and envy. Without realising it I quickened my pace. I spotted the occasional city guard but they didn’t pay us any attention.
Suddenly, a scream split the air and a small figure clutching a purse scurried into an alleyway. A pair of guards followed and not long after more screams could be heard, these ones filled with pain. I wanted to rush in and do something but Lilith stopped me. “Don’t. We can’t risk getting involved in other people’s business,” she looked towards the alleyway that the figure had disappeared into. “They will only give the thief a small beating and return the purse. Probably.
Moving deeper into the city only thickened the crowd, as more and more people joined in the celebration. With this, my feeling of unease only grew at the increasing number of miserable people I spotted.
I was almost glad when Lilith pulled me into an alleyway. “From here on out the main street is too dangerous. The city guard is getting more numerous.” I nodded, as I had noticed that the number of armoured humans overseeing the celebration had increased. Silently we continued on our way.
It didn’t take long before we finally reached our destination. The area we were in housed larger buildings than the outskirts of Seran and our target was no exception. It faced the street, meaning that we only saw its back, but that was enough to confirm that this was a place for nobles. The building towered over us, made out of perfectly sculpted sandstone. Each floor had rows of large windows that were flanked by humanoid statues holding swords and books. Sadly, I couldn’t see much of the structure, due to the stone wall blocking our path. Squinting my eyes I tried to read what was engraved into the stone. “Li- Library?”
“Yup,” Lilith confirmed. “The perfect place for finding more information on the not-so-public stuff.”She shrugged. “Or so I’m told. Never used one myself.” I gulped as I realised what the plan was. Breaking into a library wasn’t on my list of things I wanted to do. It seemed like a bad act. But so was murder but despite that a guild that killed for money was allowed to operate in Seran. Sadly, I had come to find that morality was malleable for a lot of humans. If I wanted to get anywhere I would have to adapt. If breaking into this building wouldn’t hurt anyone, I was on board.
Breaking into the library was actually way easier than expected. No guards were stationed there and entering simply involved Lilith climbing over the wall and throwing me a rope. My less-than-dextrous claw made it impossible for me to climb over, which meant that I had to tie the rope around my waist. Lilith managing to pull me up was astounding, considering that I probably weighed more than her. Or maybe humans were anatomically heavier? Asking Lilith about her weight earned me a glare. I chalked it up to Chosen strength.
Once we crossed the wall, a door was the only thing that separated us from infinite knowledge. Kneeling in front of the lock, Lilith pulled out a pair of wires and began finicking them into the keyhole. After a minute something clicked and the door swung open. My fellow housebreaker stood up and motioned for me to enter.
I moved forward but stopped when Lilith didn’t follow. When I questioned her about this she shrugged. “Don’t see much use of going with you. There is nothing in there for me. Plus, you probably know better than anyone what you’re searching for.”
That was a valid point. I was looking for information on the people who were chasing me but what did I truly know about them? That they were powerful and probably evil? Finding answers was a long shot but it felt good to at least try Maybe I would find something about my demon problems or the fact that I had multiple voices in my head. “Ok, but please stay nearby.”
She grinned and waved me off. “How sweet. Don’t worry, I will stay and help if something happens. Although, I doubt that anything will. Most peasants can’t read, so they don’t guard the library. And all the workers are already in bed, dreaming of sucking up to the next noble who enters.”
Ignoring her derogatory remark about simple workers I quietly snuck inside. The door silently closed behind me. I found myself in a small corridor leading to a set of stairs. It took a while for my eyes to get accustomed to the light, but when that happened I noticed the device almost hidden behind the doorframe. It was a lantern, similar to the one in the hideout.
Picking it up I removed the blinder, exposing the lightstone within. It illuminated the corridor and made it clear that this wasn’t the main entrance. From what I had heard, nobles wouldn’t be caught dead in a hallway full of dust, which meant that this was a backdoor.
Quietly sneaking up the stairs, I entered a small room, that looked like a workspace. Many desks covered with papers and half-finished sketches filled the cramped space. From the amount of chairs, I assumed that a sizeable number of people worked here during the day. Now it was all empty.
I spotted a door that led deeper into the library when a sudden noise startled me. I whipped around and got ready to defend myself but nobody was there. Had that just been my imagination? No, there it was again! It sounded animalistic and not something a human would make. Maybe a monster.
Gripping the lantern I debated whether to leave or to continue onwards without investigating. But in the end, I headed for the noise. I wanted to say that it was a tactically smart decision, and maybe it was, but I did it mainly to satisfy my curiosity. What or who could be in a library at night? Another thief? The noises were coming from the end of the room.
As I approached, I could make out the hunched-over back of a hooded figure leaning over a desk. I got closer but nothing happened. The figure didn’t move. When I was within arms reach, I grabbed the hood and pulled it back. A groan almost escaped my mouth when I saw the sleeping human. The animal noises had just been him snoring. From his clothing, I assumed that he was a worker who had fallen asleep while working. Why nobody had woken him was a mystery.
Like all the other desks, his was also filled with scriptures. One wasn’t fully complete and had ink splotches from a knocked-over jar on it. The human seemed to have fallen asleep while making it. I skimmed over his work but stopped when I saw that it was a documentation about monsters called sand snails. Certainly interesting but not something that I had the time for.
Putting it back, I noticed a small piece of paper that had fallen to the ground. Picking it up and reading it revealed that it was a checklist. It started with a bunch of menial activities, like cleaning hall 1 and sorting the books in the agricultural section, that were marked with checkmarks. Two tasks were not marked as complete. The first was to create a copy of the book “The Lives of Sand Snails”.
The second was a bit longer. It read: “Dispose of all books that have been marked red —> deemed heretical”. There was a note in a different handwriting attached to it: “Important!!! There have been complaints from nobles and we do NOT want the fucking Creator’s Church snooping around!” I cringed at the vulgar tone and placed the list back on the ground.
Making sure to stay quiet I started walking towards the only other door in the room. Then I changed my mind and walked back to the human to cover him with his cloak. There was no reason for him to be sleeping uncomfortably.
When I walked through the door I immediately realised that I had entered the main hall of the library. It was absolutely massive and filled with dozens of bookshelves, all placed parallel to one another. This hall alone probably contained more than a thousand books.
And that wasn’t even all, as from my position I could make out a staircase that probably led to more bookshelves. This sight was impressive but it also made my job all the more difficult. How was I going to find anything in this hill of knowledge?
Luckily, there were big signs hanging over different sections of the hall that proclaimed what could be found there. I walked past the ruling and mathematical sections but stopped at the history section. It would not go amiss to learn more about the history of the world. I skimmed over titles like “The Battle of the Trees” and “The Reformation of the Creator’s Church” until my eyes spotted a book that had been marked with a red cross.
Frowning, I pulled it out and read the title: “History of Sanktrum and Zalfanum”. So, this book was considered heretical. From my talk with Lilith, I remembered that Zalfanum was a nation of non-humans bordering the Kingdom of Sanktrum. Certainly interesting, but worth stealing? I was about to put it back when I remembered the last point on the checklist. Marked books needed to be disposed of. Would they truly miss a book that they would have gotten rid of anyway? Probably not.
Without giving me further time to hesitate I put it into the interior pocket of my cowl. I continued through various sections that were of no interest to me before reaching the stairs. The haul of the first floor had amounted to one history book and I was eager to see what the second floor would hold.