Roan's Point of View

Chapter 11

I finished screwing in the last of the new latches, the sun gleaming off the warm bronze. The lending library swung its door open and closed without a single squeak before bouncing back and forth.

"Okay, okay," I said, patting it on the roof. "You're all set now."

Wait. When did I start talking to them as if they were people? I jerked my hand back. It was far too easy to get comfortable here.

"We're finally done!" Oren wiped his brow, accidentally streaking paint across his forehead, before collapsing on the picnic table. "Phew, that took all morning. I'm ready for lunch."

"Lunch sounds good."

Nyssa walked outside, grinning. "They look amazing!"

As she oohed and ahhed over each lending library, I felt a bit of pride swell in my chest. They really did look good.

But then her eyes widened. "Uhhh, Roan? Why are there knights inside these libraries?"

Oops. I'd forgotten to let them out. I winced, then put on my best smile.

"They were...repairing the lending libraries from the inside," I said, giving them a knowing look as Nyssa unlatched the lending libraries. "We couldn't have finished so fast without them."

The commander was a bit red in the face, but he readjusted his armor and nodded. "Right, we did our duty well."

I let out a breath, grateful he'd played along. But Nyssa didn't seem convinced as she stared at me, arms crossed and eyebrow raised.

"Fine," I said, "they were causing a ruckus. You should have seen them! Just ask Oren."

Oren laughed, holding his hands up. "Leave me out of this."

"Riiiight," Nyssa said, smiling just a bit as she carefully removed the knights from their little prisons. "Run along and stay away from the big scary adventurer for a while."

"Yes, my lady. Thank you," the commander said with a bow.

I rolled my eyes. "It wasn't that bad, I promise."

"Try and behave," she said, shaking her head as she walked back inside.

As I sealed the paint and put away the tools we used, noises pulled my attention to the path leading up the mountain. The sounds of wagon wheels and people talking was unmistakable, but who would be coming here?

And what would the creatures do when they saw even more people barging into their territory?

"There's people coming up the path," I told Oren. "Take the lending libraries to the woods out back and hide. I'll head inside to wrangle the rest of the creatures in case they make their way inside."

"Leave that to Nyssa," he said, "she'll find some way to keep them out. She's the librarian after all."

"Right, stay safe."

The library was aflutter with creatures helping Nyssa with the patching, some on the golem's shoulders with her while others marched around the area picking up after her. I leaned back, cupping my hand around my mouth.

"Nyssa!"

She glanced down. "Roan? Need something else freed from a make-shift prison?"

"No, listen. There's people coming up the path. You need to go talk to them before they burst in here and see...all this."

Her eyes widened, but her voice stayed calm. "Golem, could you please put me down for a minute? I need to go figure a few things out."

"Okay," it rasped, taking Nyssa in its hand and lowering her to the floor painstakingly slow.

I felt myself bouncing just like those lending libraries earlier, glancing from the door to Nyssa anxiously. Come on, come on. If she didn't hurry, the creatures would see whoever was outside and I might not be able to stop what came next.

There had to be a reason so many townsfolk had posted missions about spooky things on this mountain, like shadows chasing them down. Plus, they weren't too keen on Nyssa walking in the first time. What's to say they wouldn't react badly again?

When Nyssa's feet touched the ground, I raced her to the door. "Oren's out back with the lending libraries. What do you want me to do here?"

"Hide them," she said, eyebrows pinched together. "They won't like it, but we can't let anyone see them."

"That sounds like a good plan," I said, staring at the 20 foot forest golem, "but how am I supposed to hide and control that?"

She winced. "With creativity and perseverance?"

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I groaned as she went outside to see who it was, just in time to greet the guests.

"Hello, I'm Nyssa, the Misty Mountain librarian." Her voice was muffled through the door, but I could hear pride in it.

"Oh hello," a man's voice said. "We're the contractors you hired. We finished our last job early, so thought we'd head up here."

"That's great! Let's take a look around outside first."

Good, that would buy me some time to hide everyone in here while she distracted those contractors. First things first: what room would be big enough to hide everyone together so I could keep an eye on them?

Hmmm....the special collection exhibit should work. It was empty right now and had sliding doors to separate it from the rest of the library. Nothing needed to be repaired there either, but it was a bit small for all of us.

"Listen up everyone," I said, trying to cast my voice loud enough for them to hear, but not loud enough to draw unwanted attention. "The contractors are here a little early to fix the windows and the roof, but we need to get out of their way so they can work. Follow me to the special collection exhibit."

For some reason, I half expected them to actually follow my lead, but that was a big fail. The golem pulled down the last remaining patch Nyssa had been working on while the dragons swooped over the shelves in a race. The demon lord was thankfully nowhere to be seen, but that still left the knights who were currently scaling the stacks to shoot arrows at the dragons, and the three-headed dog.

The contractors would definitely run away screaming if they walked in here.

"Nyssa really needs your help," I said. "They're going to put in all new windows and make it so the rain doesn't come in anymore. Isn't that what you want too?"

A dragon shot by my face doing a barrel roll. Great. Just great.

Lisa covered a laugh up behind her teacup. "Do you possibly need some assistance?"

This whole day was trying my nerves. I was supposed to get rid of wild magic, but here I was, hiding these creatures away instead. If this were any other mission, I'd have dispelled them and called it a day.

So why wasn't I doing that now? Because of Nyssa? No, it was something else, something needling the back of my mind. This library wasn't normal and neither was the wild magic inside it.

"Yes, I'd appreciate your help, Lisa," I ground out to her amusement.

But instead of Lisa getting up, the red panda leapt off his chair and raced across the room, running straight up the golem's arm! The red panda shot up to its shoulder, chittering and squawking louder than I'd ever heard it. Everyone in the room stood with rapt attention, hanging on every noise the panda made. I didn't know what it was saying, but even I felt the power in it.

Mochi wanted them to help me.

These creatures really didn't seem that bad. They didn't act like they were made from wild magic, they weren't hurting anyone or causing chaos. It was like the wild magic had brought them to life, but lost its edge after their creation.

The story spirits ambled into the special collection exhibit, quietly letting me close the doors without incident. My back itched though, knowing they weren't going to stay this cooperative all day. The longer we were cooped up in here, the more likely they'd try to do something to the contractors. I'd have to be ready for anything.

There wouldn't be another mission posted to the guild on my watch. Not about haunted libraries at least.

I pulled a chair in front of the sliding doors and sat down, guarding the exit. Just in time too as the sounds of people clamoring around filled the library.

The creatures huddled in the small room, the golem squished in a corner with dragons using it as a roost. Lisa pulled out a book and started reading, an amused smile on her face like she was waiting for this all to fail miserably. Or maybe that was me.

Minutes ticked by as hammers pounded away outside. Mochi shuffled over, offering me a cookie.

"No thanks," I said, too focused on keeping an eye on everyone to eat.

The knights had already given up on being quiet and were wrestling on the table while the dragons leaned down, eyes full of playful curiosity. As long as the golem didn't join in, I could handle them.

The three-headed dog trotted over, dropping a ball in my lap.

"Sorry, I'm in the middle of something," I said, setting the ball down carefully so he wouldn't chase it. "Maybe later."

He whined, his head drooping as he curled up in the corner. My heart ached seeing him like that, especially when Lisa clicked her tongue and went over to pet him, whispering soothing things to him. The dog perked up, wagging his tail, but one head still stared at me with puppy dog eyes.

Was I the monster here because I wouldn't interact with these creatures? No, I would not let a wild magic animal make me feel guilty. No matter how much it might look like an adorable dog.

Two knights ran over, fired up about something. Okay, they were definitely about to escape, now was my time.

"Sir Roan, settle a bet for us," one of them said. "Which is better: a broadsword or a rapier?"

I slumped back in my chair. "That's what you're asking about?"

"It's important!" he shouted. "This fool thinks a rapier makes him look dashing, but a broadsword always gets the job done."

Before their argument got more heated, I stepped in. "They each have their own merits. A rapier is best when you need agility against an unarmed foe and the broadsword is best when you need power against an armed opponent. Now please, try to keep it down."

"Ohhh, he could be onto something," one of the knights said with a bow. "Thank you, Sir Roan."

Then they were off, rejoining their group.

Lisa joined me, sitting on the arm of my chair. "You know they respect you, right? They just want you to see them as warriors like they see you."

"They're pint-sized wild magic creatures."

"So?" She raised an eyebrow. "I didn't take you for a man who judged people by their size."

"That's not what I--" I sighed. "What do you want?"

"These creatures, as you call them," she said with a disapproving look, "are just living their lives, however they can. We're all striving for something more though, reaching for the thing that will make us feel whole. We're part of stories that haven't finished yet, we're incomplete. Maybe you can empathize with that?"

Empathize with them?

"But you're made of wild magic."

"Again I say, so what?" She patted my shoulder. "You should really be more open-minded. Are you the expert on wild magic? What's to say it can't be good?"

She had a point. The wild magic I'd seen had all been chaotic, but did that really mean all wild magic was? Maybe it had fulfilled its purpose by bringing those creatures, no story spirits, to life. Maybe they were something new now, a whole different kind of magic. Library magic.

The three-headed dog shifted in the corner, still staring at me with those sad eyes. I really could have thrown the ball for him once. It wouldn't have hurt anything.

"Fine, I see your point," I said, leaning down to grab the dog's ball. "Come here Cerbie, do you still want to play?"

The dog leapt up, eyes bright and tongues wagging. Instead of going for the ball, he leapt into my chair, knocking me back. I laughed quietly as he licked my face, pressing against me like he was the happiest dog ever. I pet him for a while until he curled up in my lap, obviously not realizing how huge he was for a lap dog.

But it was fine. Cerbie was happy and right now, that made me happy too. He was a good dog.

Maybe Lisa was right and I didn't know everything about wild magic. Maybe these story spirits weren't going to do something unpredictable and cause a magical mess. And maybe everything would be okay after all.

That felt like wishful thinking, but I'd never wanted to be wrong more.