Complete and utter silence followed Quinn’s admission. Milaro stared at Quinn, who felt decidedly uncomfortable, and then he held up a hand. "Wait a second, what do you mean she healed Eugea?"

"She did!” Nishpa put her hands on her hips and gave Milaro a smug smile. “I've been trying for weeks to heal the minds of all the Esposians that were rescued, to coax them out from the torment they were suffering as the aftermath of the book - Machmüller's Theory of Dimensional Dissolution and Disintegration through Ritual Sacrifice."

"I knew what you meant by the book," Milaro said with a sigh and then turned to Quinn. "But you healed it? You used mind healing?"

Quinn shrugged. "I didn’t really mean to, I just kind of instinctively knew how to do it."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Milaro asked.

"A lot happened on Ishiposa. I sort of forgot since it happened before the whole golem fight," Quinn said. There had been a lot on her mind when she came back into the Library.

Milaro threw his hands up. "How would you forget something as momentous as that?"

"First," Quinn said, "to me, it wasn't exactly momentous. I don't know what I did, I don't know how I did it, and thus had absolutely no idea how amazing it was at the time. I just know that I did it. And secondly, I've kind of been engrossed with trying to prevent myself from burning to a crisp. You'll excuse me if I was a little preoccupied with myself for once."

Milaro cringed. "That was pretty pompous of me, wasn't it?"

"Yes, you were only living up to the elf name," Quinn said, "You can't help it."

Milaro sighed. "I do apologize for that, but I really need to—"

"No, just wait, Milaro." Quinn held up a hand. Her mind might think quicker these days, but there was still a point where everything hit the overwhelm and she was getting close to it. They needed to finish one thing before moving onto the next. "I think we need to respect everybody's time because I know that Nishpa and Escadril, and Ikeshal probably all need to get back to where they're from and you should probably be running a kingdom or something. The Library has already cataloged the ability and the related affinity. I promise we'll address the healing later. You know, I did it now, you'll remember, you're good like that. Let's just try and stay on track and finish this first."

She turned back to the table, but even Ikeshal and Escadril were looking at her with renewed interest. She suppressed the next sigh and took a seat again, not realizing that she'd stood up to yell at Milaro. He was substantially taller than her. She had to do everything she could to make herself feel, well, less small.

Quinn clapped her hands together, startling most of them, except Malakai who'd been watching intently from the doorway. He could have reminded her to tell everybody about the healing thing, but he hadn't. She’d probably have words with him about that. On second thoughts, that's exactly what he probably intended by his actions. Sometimes he could be such a shitstirrer.

"Ah, right," Nishpa said, going through a few of her things on her own HUD if her eyes were anything to go by.

Dottie piped up, "We do have yet to address the state of the Ilgonomur and the Aracnio alliances or their relation to the Library."

"Ah, yes," Nishpa looked through her reports.

Escadril cleared his throat, interrupting her. "I do not mean to alarm anyone, but it is a fact that approximately five years ago, the Aracnios did break off complete and utter contact with us as trading partners." The leaves of his hair rustled as he spoke creating a lulling juxtaposition to his words.

Nishpa gasped. "Are you serious?"

"What, what's so dire about not trading anymore?" Quinn asked.

"Oh no, you don't understand. The Aracnios have a very lucrative contract with the Salosiers. They require silk for many of their nurseries, and the Aracnio silk mines have always had a monopoly on providing it. And it has been a very long standing relationship." Nishpa sounded quite shocked.

"325 millennia of trade relations thrown away just like that," Escadril sighed. "But such is the fate of the worlds, I suppose."

"But not your fate," Nishpa needled him. "You will find another supplier."

"No, not our fate. And yes we have already sourced an alternative, but the Aracnios have not spoken to us for many a term. That is why we were rather perturbed to hear of Narilin's report when she mentioned there were Aracnios working at the Library."

"Narilin reports to you?" Quinn asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not in a spying way. She simply delights in telling her entire family how marvelous the Library is on the occasion that she does visit." Escadril paused and the clarified. "On the occasion that she does take a day off and come home."

"Oh, well I'm glad to learn she does indeed take some days off," Quinn said. "She works so much I sometimes worry."

"Three times Librarian," Escadril clarified further. "Three days since the Library opened."

Quinn frowned at that. "I’ll encourage her to go home more often."

"I doubt you would be successful, but thank you for your concern." Escardril offered a barky smile.

"Okay," Quinn said. "So anybody else? I mean, is that definitive proof? Maybe they're just annoyed they didn't think they were getting enough money or something."

"No," Ikeshal piped up. "No, the Aracnios have been withdrawing from trade agreements, pulling themselves from gatherings for the last decades or so. I'm unsure why. Tell me, is anybody aware of how long the Library had left had Quinn not been found?"

Quinn shivered ever so slightly. The Library was silent and Lynx's connection was but a bare wisp in her mind.

When no one else spoke, Quinn did so. "Basically, as I understand it, they used up most of the last dregs of power to pull me here. From what they mentioned, the reserves were all but depleted and there would have been about three or four weeks remaining, I'd say. Maybe a month or two longer. So basically a few months at the very most."

There was silence after Quinn answered the question.

Then Dottie spoke in a very small voice. "Do you think they could have known?"

"Maybe, if that's the reason why they withdrew from you all," Quinn said, "then they must have had some way of tracking the levels of power in the Library."

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"They couldn't get in." Milaro said, thoughtfully twining hair around a finger. "It was sealed off."

"So was something transmitting to them?" Quinn asked. "I mean I can't check for that right now. We need the Library for those questions.

"Surely the Library would have noticed if it was leaking information out." Nishpa said, making as if to wave that line of questioning away.

"Right now," Quinn said, "I don't really know."

Siliqua jumped in. "The Librarian's right. We don't exactly know what the Library has been able to keep successfully track of and not. We're lucky it hasn't completely broken down. So after the success of the current procedure they're performing, I think we're going to get a lot more answers."

Quinn didn't comment, but in her mind she was thinking that maybe it was a shallow hope. How could they be so certain? "Basically we have marginal proof that the Aracnios are against the Library or at least against the alliances the Library has," Quinn asked.

"Yes," Nishpa stated flatly. "They've withdrawn from any and all trade agreements, any and all social engagements, and any and all political discussions, discourse between the nations, between the planets, between the solar systems. They have effectively blacklisted us all."

There were several seconds of stunned silence around the conference table. Quinn cleared her throat, before breaking it. "Wouldn't we be blacklisting them?"

Nishpa shook her head. "Well, technically yes, but they've blacklisted us from their dealings... I think."

They looked at each other for a few seconds in confusion before shrugging.

Quinn hesitated briefly before continuing. "I guess that leaves the Ilgonomur then?" she asked, not liking that her voice wasn't nearly as strong and confident as she wanted it to be. But she was starting to get so tired of so much negativity. Not that it was anyone in the room's fault, but she just wanted a break. She already had enough drama to fill up the next several years of her life. Hopefully, they could get the Library up and operating as it should be and put all this behind them.

Wishful thinking.

"Ah, yes," Nishpa bowed toward the Librarian. "I'm sorry. I was distracted."

"By the machinations of evil," Ikeshal needled her this time.

"Yes, by that exact thing," she said. But it was clear that the Firionas had recovered most of her usual disposition. Quinn heaved a slight sigh of relief.

"Anyway," Milaro clapped his hands. "This needs to be resolved. There's a lot to do before Quinn makes her trip to Halschius."

Ikeshal raised an eyebrow. "I was not made aware of this."

"She has a standing invitation." Eric spoke for the first time since the meeting began, his voice grumpier than usual.

"Yes, I was made aware of that but I did not realize she would be gracing us with her presence quite so soon." Ikeshal clarified.

"We find it necessary," Milaro said.

"As we also find necessary," Quinn butted in, "figuring out if the Ilgonomur are all against us or perhaps just a few of them."

"To be honest," Escadril said, "it is in my humble opinion that the Ilgonomur have been against us and the Library for quite some time. At least as a general rule. I am quite sure there might be outliers, such as this Finn person who works here?"

Quinn nodded and Escadril continued. "Their dealings with my people, with the Salosiers, have become stagnant and practically non-existent. I did notice that they were not at the last four war councils."

"War councils?" Quinn asked, pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers. She could already feel another headache coming on. "What are the war councils?"

"Ah, my apologies, Librarian. Every five years, we hold a war council to evaluate any of the less antagonistic conflicts between species. However, for the last 15, 20 years, they have not attended these meetings."

"Did they ever give a reason?" Quinn asked. War councils sounded like a pretty important event to her.

"No," Escadril shook his head, his leaves rustling soothingly. "And beforehand, they were always a cantankerous yet welcome addition to them."

Quinn mulled that over. "And we don't know if some of their factions have broken off and wish to distance themselves from the others?" she asked. There was hope in her still that perhaps Finn's family weren't bad people. Maybe they had simply been overeager about... nope, she couldn't even lie to herself about that. Quinn sighed. "Well, I guess that rules them out, too."

"I do believe," Nishpa interjected, "that there will always be outliers, just like Cadre, who is aiding you. His species is not amenable to much of what the Library stands for. But Cadre is trusted in many of our circles because of the integrity he has shown as an individual."

"I know," Quinn said. "I'm not ruling out everybody in a species just because they have a barrel of bad apples."

"Good, I didn't think you would, but I wanted to have mentioned it." Nispha flashed her a bright smile.

"Thank you," Quinn said. She sighed and looked out over the table, suddenly extremely tired. "Is there anything else we needed to discuss? How to move forward?"

Malakai mumbled from the doorway. "Can we track them?"

"Great point, Mal," Quinn said, suddenly just wishing she could fall asleep. "Is there anything we can do to keep an eye on these species or have they all disappeared?"

"I do still have my agents following the Sedimentites, to be honest," Nishpa said, glancing around the room. "And I do hope this will all stay in this room." She said very pointedly, looking at Ikeshal and Escadril. They nodded their acquiescence. "Most places that we have dealings with, as the Firionas Fae, have some of my agents in them at any rate."

"Have some of your agents in them," Quinn said. "Is that discreet? Are you supposed to be telling us this?"

"No, probably not. But I do believe we are among friends," she said, glaring at each representative in turn.

It was Escadril who laughed. "You never fail to amuse, Lady Nishpa. I do know that you are aware that we think along the same lines."

She smiled. "I am aware of this, but sometimes I'm not sure exactly how observant people are."

"OK, so basically you've got spies everywhere and should be able to gather information," Quinn said.

"Precisely." Nishpa preened a little. "It's what my spy network is for, after all."

Quinn raised an eyebrow before continuing. "Once the Library is back in full operation, we need to heighten security, but that's something I'll have to discuss with the Library and Lynx before we implement it."

"You're still sad that the Aracnop brothers aren't who you thought they were, aren't you?" Milaro asked.

"Of course I am," Quinn said. "I really thought the people who applied were eager for the Library's return."

She stopped, realizing just how upset she was. The Library had felt like a home relatively fast. And all the different people in it became a part of that feeling. Quinn realized she actually felt quite betrayed even though she was fully aware this wasn't personal against her at all, but a long standing animosity.

Still, it sort of hurt.

"Understandable." Escadril said in a grandfatherly tone not unlike how Milaro sometimes spoke. "Anyway, we have very close to proof that they have, in fact, cut all the ties. The steady distancing has added up."

"What about security when it comes to Jim and Bob's access?" Ikeshal asked.

Quinn nodded. "Yeah, Lynx blocked them before he went into stasis, shortly after their no-show actually."

"Excellent," said Nishpa.

"Well, does anybody have anything else to add?" Quinn asked.

Everyone around the table shook their heads, and Siliqua was watching Quinn closely, but the Librarian refused to make eye contact.

"Oh, I think we all have a lot of work to do," she said, and stood up immediately. Ikeshal, Escadril, and Nishpa raised an eyebrow, and everybody gathered together, including Dottie and Eric. Quinn smiled. "Thank you so much for coming. I look forward to your next visit."

It took several minutes for them all to usher themselves out after bidding each other farewells. Quinn sat in her chair, reminding herself to breathe.

"Well," said Milaro when everyone else but Malakai and Aradie had finally left. "That was expertly wrapped up. Well done, Quinn. Now about that heal..."

Quinn held up a hand to forestall him. "I...I can't do this right now, Milaro. I'm really happy to sit down and chat about this whole healing thing. But right now, I need some downtime. I am tired. Feeling a little frazzled. So no complex discussions right now even though I realize others are potentially waiting for healing. The Library scanned me through. It has a basic understanding of what occurred I believe."

Quinn paused, trying to push down the guilt she felt at just wanting a few hours to herself. "I'm just going to go and eat. And I'm going to take a little walk around the library, I think. I don't want to listen to any political machinations. No library emergencies. No sudden visits. I'm just going to take some me time."

She paused at the door. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

With that, she turned on her heel and left her office.