The private room of the library was still quite big. It had shelves as tall as the ones in the main library and they were even more stuffed than those outside. Books, bindings, scrolls, and various other writings were strewn about everywhere. At first glance, it looked messy. Upon closer inspection though, it was clear that the private library was just not large enough to hold all the content in it. Unlike the main library with its wide walkways and many tables, the shelves were so close together in this room that there was barely any room to walk between them.
Vain was waiting for the three, already sitting at the only table in the middle of the room. He had his wooden tablet out, a few bounds sheafs of paper, and his spelled quill that never ran out of ink. There was also a pot of ink on the table, just in case.
Lilian took a seat right in front of that pot and started rummaging through their sack. Thar ignored the round table and walked up to the closest shelf to him. His fingers touched the spines of a few books before he wandered off somewhere between the stacks. D’Argen closed the heavy metal door behind him and then sat right opposite Vain.
It took most of the day for D’Argen to tell the entire story to Vain. Starting with the wandering merchant, the white fire flowers, the village and their stories, and then the screams. He got off track a lot of times and Lilian directed him back on topic with an ease that bellied their mood. It was when he got the part of leaving the party to escort the mortals back that he paused.
“Now that I think about it, I think it would be best both Abbot and Yaling are here to also tell their parts. Do you mind if I send a quick spell?”
“Go ahead. I will as well,” Vain said and put his quill down. He flexed his fingers and then stilled.
Unlike D’Argen, Vein was a mentalist and did not require any spoken words or finger movements to guide the communication spell. It passed by D’Argen so quickly that he barely even felt it. Instead, he focused on sending out a message to look for Abbot and another to look for Yaling, in case the two were no longer together.
“I have also requested someone to come up and bring us nourishment. Any preferences?” Vain asked.
D’Argen shook his head, Lilian requested water, and Thar, a large book in his hands not that far from them, remained silent. Vain let out a heavy sigh as if he did not have the patience to deal with any of them. He looked down at the multiple papers he already filled. Although he had a perfect memory, he had once tried to explain to D’Argen that did this not mean he had access to all of his memories at once. The scent of vanilla became stronger as he used a spell on himself, most likely to organize his thoughts.
As the magic continued, he leafed through the papers and made a few more notes here and there. He hesitated on one note and looked up at D’Argen. “White fire flowers? Can you tell me more about them?”
Lilian was the one to clear their throat before they said, “Matias, the merchant, actually spoke more to me about them than D’Argen. He said it was a personal concoction.”
D’Argen looked as Thar put away his book and grabbed a new one from right beside it. He did not look like he was reading them, just skimming the pages as if looking for something.
A knock at the door made all of them stop before Vain called for them to enter. The door did not shift.
“It must be the food. Please get that.” Vain motioned to D’Argen then turned back to listen to Lilian.
D’Argen opened the door, heavy and spelled so no mortal could open it. There were two men on the other side with large silver trays piled with fruits, vegetables, two pitchers, and a stack of glasses. D’Argen took the first tray and deposited it on the table. The mortals were not allowed in the room and they knew this. D’Argen collected the second tray and said his thanks.
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As the two turned to walk away, he noticed Abbot and Yaling approaching. They had washed up and changed into more casual clothes. The artist was wearing his usual long pleated skirt and open shirt with sandals and a sheer cape. Yaling was wearing tight trousers a large billowing blouse. He welcomed them into the room and was about to close the door when he noticed another figure approaching.
Although he had seen Acela not that long ago at the mahee conference, his queen was even more stunning up close. She was wearing a white dress with a golden and embroidered trim and a pair of long sleeves that started at her elbows. There was a thick leather sash around her waist and an assortment of golden chains all over her body.
It did not look like casual wear.
She passed D’Argen into the room without so much as a glance.
“Thank you for coming,” Vain stood from the table and bared his neck.
“You said it was important,” she responded.
D’Argen closed the door and deposited the second tray on the table.
Lilian stood up from their seat but Acela motioned with a hand and Lilian sat back down. Abbot and Yaling took two of the chairs and D’Argen returned to his seat. Acela remained standing but moved to be behind Vain. Thar remained at the shelves but he had stopped flipping pages.
“A summary?” Acela asked.
Vain shuffled a few of his written notes and then handed one over to her. As Acela read the information, Vain focused on removing bowls from the trays. He used a pair of silver sticks to portion the vegetables into bowls and then placed the first before Lilian and another two before Yaling and Abbot. He placed a bowl filled with only fruits near the edge of the table and then dragged both trays closer to himself.
The silence felt awkward.
“So, you escorted the group of mortals down and then?” Vain prompted, not waiting for Acela to finish reading. He had his quill poised over a new sheaf of paper and his other hand was picking through the vegetables. Once he found a stalk of cauliflower he bit into it with a crunch.
D’Argen cleared his throat and glanced at Acela, unsure if he should speak while she read. She did not look at him. After a moment more of thinking, he decided to continue.
“That was when Abbot… we had an accident,” D’Argen quickly corrected his words to avoid blaming Abbot completely for being blinded. “I saw shadow demons but then I lost my sight and we believe—”
“You saw shadow demons?” Vain interrupted. He wiped the hand he was using to eat and got up. He walked past Thar as if the man was not there at all then disappeared around one of the shelves. A moment later, he was back with three thick volumes bound in red leather. D’Argen remembered those books.
Vain dropped them on the table and leafed through the second one. He found the page he was looking for immediately and then started reading out loud, “Shadow demons form in the shadow of their subject and copy their movements until they get to a stage when those movements can become their own. Once they have copied completely, they take the shadow into the mortal plane and can copy all moves separate from their subject. Is that what you saw?”
“No—”
“Yes—”
Abbot and D’Argen stared at one another.
“Well… I didn’t see it while it was still in her shadow but yes, I saw a shadow demon copying Yaling’s movements and even her whistles,” D’Argen explained.
“I saw mimic demons,” Abbot explained his earlier negative.
“Excuse me?” Vain physically turned in his chair to face Abbot fully. “Please explain.”
“I saw mimic demons. They looked like the trees and used D’Argen’s voice to distract us. Among others.”
“Vain,” Acela prompted with just his name.
Vain opened another tome and leafed through it until he found the description and then started reading again, “Mimic demons. Their forms can change shape to match the environment and adjust their voice boxes to be able to copy any sound at all. Although they do not understand speech, to our knowledge, they can mimic words and voices completely.”
“Thank you,” Acela confirmed and finally put the sheet down.
“So, one of you saw shadow demons the other mimic demons. Anything else?”
“I saw mirror demons,” Yaling added in.
Vain flipped a few pages and started reading again, “Mirror demons can be invisible to the naked eye in their original shape but become visible when they take on the image of—”
“Stop,” Acela interrupted. “This is all at the same time?”
D’Argen, Abbot, and Yaling all nodded at the same time.
“Were you all high?”
“Yes,” Lilian answered. After a moment, they took out a small glass jar filled with black mushrooms. “Also… I did not see any demons at all.”
D’Argen turned to face Lilian with wide eyes. Their voice had taken on that horrible emotionless quality as earlier and their entire face was slack. Their words were worrying, but it was their entire body language that scared D’Argen.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“The entire night. I did not see demons even once. Even when Thar was fighting them right in front of me. Nor did I hear screams after that first night. It was… it was something else.”