Quinn didn’t feel like she had time to prepare for this trip. Technically, they’d been talking about going for a few days now, but considering her head felt a bit like mush because she’d absorbed two pretty hefty books, she wasn’t exactly with it.
Even as Cook walked her through the different types of preparation food they’d created for her, she couldn’t quite focus on what they were saying.
“Sorry, could you repeat that?” Quinn asked.
They paused and blinked at her. “Librarian, are you feeling yourself?”
“Yes, I’m just... I’m fine,” Quinn shook her head, not entirely sure she was fine. Perhaps overloaded and needed to process information was the better phrase for it. “Just haven’t got to everything I was meaning to.”
Cook studied her for several seconds before nodding. “Then these will help on your trip, should you encounter energy intensive situations.”
“Thanks.” She shot them a grateful look.
Cook took that as their cue to continue. “This set of cakes is for your prolonged regeneration - they will give you constant regeneration for five minutes. Do not use more than two of these a day. I don’t want you to receive backlash from the ingredients. They are more potent than previous versions.”
Quinn paused, looking at the two sets of cakes, and gestured to the one on the left. “This set of cakes, the ones with the white icing, not the orange icing.”
“Yes, the white icing cakes,” Cook repeated, glancing up at Quinn again with what might have been a raised eyebrow if they had them. Like he was going to ask if she was okay again, but thought better of it. He then turned to the orange iced dense cakes. “Anyway, this one is for immediate energy recuperation. These will allow you to recuperate 500 energy immediately. That is why they are small and compact. Do not take more than five of these a day. They will damage you internally and require that you recuperate for several days if you try to overextend them.”
“What about both together?” Quinn asked. “Can I use both of these at the same time?”
Cook didn’t answer for a few seconds. “Technically, yes, but I would caution you not to use more than five in total per day just to be on the safe side. And make sure you adhere to the not more than two per day of the white iced ones.”
Quinn nodded. That made absolutely perfect sense. Sort of.
“Okay, these are healing tonics.” Farrow butted in, pushing several small bottles her way.
“Thanks,” Quinn said. She hadn’t been expecting to see Farrow in the kitchen, but it did stand to reason that they were pots for boiling. Cauldrons for magical whatevers.
“No problem, Librarian. I must go and attend to the worms.” With that, Farrow turned and sashayed toward her domain.
Quinn frowned.
“Something troubles you?” Cook asked.
“No, I just... “ she shrugged. “It’s nothing.”
“Your encounter will not be this uncomfortable.”
“Pardon?” Quinn asked.
“Your encounter with the Balisors will not be as uncomfortable as you think,” Cook said as they pulled another huge pot up onto their main stove and began to throw things into it, seemingly at random.
“How do you know that?” Quinn asked, hoping Cook had some sort of clairvoyance in his golem makeup.
Cook shrugged. “Just one of those feelings. Do you get those feelings, Librarian?”
“Sometimes,” she said. Maybe Cook was a little more human than she’d originally thought. Poor sod. However, they had managed to make her feel ever so slightly better. “Thank you.”
“Don’t forget to eat dinner. Eat a big dinner,” Cook continued, as if she hadn’t said anything. Then they continued, practically mumbling to themselves. “You need to at least get six hours sleep before you leave. Preferably more, but I believe there’s only about eight until you depart. I do not understand what Nishpa is thinking.”
“Well, why don’t you just ask me then,” Nishpa said, suddenly appearing next to Quinn.
Cook turned ever so slightly. “What are you thinking?”
Nishpa glared at Cook and then shrugged. “I’m thinking we’ve delayed it enough.”
“Did you teleport?” Quinn asked suddenly, still trying to figure out how everyone just kept appearing if teleportation was so difficult. Not to mention she’d sort of learned a brief teleport at the very beginning to get out of harm’s way, but now she was scared of using it.
Nishpa interrupted her thought spiral. “No, I flittered. I’m fae. You know that.”
Quinn blinked. “I do know that. Why are you in a bad mood?”
“I’m not. I just finished speaking with Narilin, and she does not currently have time to go over things with us. She said we can do that on the way to visit Escadril. She has three more books to bind before we leave, and won’t be sleeping, anyway. Cook, however, is correct. You, Librarian, require sustenance and sleep.”
“Yes, apparently I do,” Quinn said, knowing they were all right, but still far against going to sleep in what she considered the afternoon and waking up to leave in the middle of the night.
Aradie pulled one of her hairs.
“What?” Quinn said, looking up at the bird. “What is wrong? No, I know I have to sleep. I’m just...” A slight wind of calm wafted through Quinn’s mind, and she took a deep breath and let it out. Thank you, she sent the thought to Aradie.
You really should take better care of yourself. Just go and sleep. The Library can run itself. We will be gone for a few days, and then we will be back. And then you can look at fixing everybody and everything else.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Thanks, Quinn said and turned her attention back to Cook. “Alright, can I take my dinner upstairs?”
“Yes,” Cook said, “I have packed you a schnitzel sandwich.”
Quinn smiled with delight. She could practically taste the food already. “Thank you!”
“With some pommes frites.” They added with a half smile.
“Wow.” Quinn was so excited. She reached over and gave Cook’s shoulder a very light squeeze, knowing that they weren’t exactly partial to hugs. “Thank you again.”
“Make sure you drink enough water and get enough sleep.” Cook said without looking up from their new pot again.
Quinn took that as a dismissal and headed out of the kitchen. Nishpa left with her and stopped Quinn as they exited. “I’ll make sure you wake up in time, Librarian. Thank you for doing this. While I believe they’d eventually bring the book back, I can’t tell you how long it’s going to take them. They are stubborn people.”
Quinn smiled. “Well, let’s just hope they’re not trying to attack me with a cephalopod and stab me with ice and a mind bomb sort of people, because, you know, stubborn people I can deal with. Murderous people, not so much.”
Nishpa actually laughed. “Very well, Librarian. It is good to see you in great spirits. Go get a few hours sleep.”
Quinn glanced over at the check-in desk, noting that it wasn’t exactly busy yet. It assuaged the guilt of not doing Library regular duties all the time. “I shall go and sleep,” she said and headed upstairs.
Back in her room, she gorged her food down, had a quick shower, and stumbled into bed, paying no mind to her wet hair. She’d deal with that at midnight.
For one of the first times since entering the Library, Quinn fell into a completely dreamless sleep.
~~
Narilin Jenishu-Salosier looked positively ethereal in the dim light of the Library around midnight, Library time. Her willowy form bent in supple ways reminiscent of boughs in a heavy breeze as she swayed to her own stretching routine. Quinn approached the check-in desk, her eyes drawn to Narilin. The salosier’s dark green hair glistened in the pale light, and the leaves that cascaded on thin vines down her back all the way to the floor rustled ever so slightly with each movement she made. Her green skin seemed almost black in the dim lighting, but her eyes still glowed like a silver lake of mercury.
Quinn often thought that the creatures she came upon while manning the Library were so fantastical she’d never even read about them in fictional worlds. Perhaps she just hadn’t been seeking out the right books.
“May I help you, Librarian?” Narilin said without breaking her flow of stretching.
“Nope, sorry. Just appreciating that the dim light of the Library makes us all look a little different.” Ethereal and not quite real, was what she wanted to say, but wasn’t entirely sure how that’d go down. They didn’t need extra tension on this trip.
Narilin paused and turned her gaze on Quinn, raising a very delicate eyebrow. “Do I want to know what you mean by that?”
“No, you probably don’t,” Quinn said. “I was just having an epiphany.”
“Very well, Librarian.”
“You seem oddly calm this morning,” Quinn said to her, highly aware of the fact that Narilin had never been on the best terms with Quinn. She seemed to blame all the damage done to all the books that required repairing on Quinn, even though she’d had absolutely nothing to do with it.
“Librarian, will...” Narilin paused as if she was trying to figure out exactly how to phrase what she was trying to say. “Will we be... Will this?”
“It’s okay, Narilin,” Quinn said, realizing they’d both been thinking about their previous encounters. “We’re fine. We’ve always been fine.”
Narilin let out what appeared to be a sigh of relief, and Quinn raised an eyebrow. “Is it that unbelievable?”
Narilin shook her head. “No, I just realized that on occasion, I have not behaved in a manner befitting my station. Not always.”
“Well,” Quinn said, shrugging. “You know I don’t always behave like the Librarian.”
Narilin laughed, a sound like bells. A lot of things laughed like bells, Quinn thought. Maybe it was just the timber of the acoustics in the Library. When Narilin finished, she smiled. It was one of the most genuine smiles Quinn had ever seen her give, or perhaps even one of the few smiles Quinn had ever seen her give.
“I appreciate your candor, Librarian. I will endeavor to act my age and be the best book doctor, as you call me, that I can be.”
“Excellent,” Quinn said. “Now, what do I need to know about these Balisors?”
“Ah,” Narilin said, cracking her shoulder, which was a decidedly an odd sound given the wooden nature of her body.
“Are the Balisors envious?” Quinn prodded, trying to get the conversation going.
Narilin shook her head. “Not quite the word I would use. I believe you call it entitled.”
Quinn laughed. She’d met entitled people in her life, a lot of them. She’d probably been one before her parents died. “And just what do they think they’re entitled to?” Quinn asked.
“Everything, all things, positions, books, information, magical power, magical prowess, everything.”
Narilin was about to continue when Nishpa popped into being. “Ah, there you are. Now let us depart.”
Quinn blinked. She sent a thought to the Library. Are you really okay with me going right now?
You really do need to go, the Library said. There’s so much to do that we can’t keep delaying the retrieval of books when that retrieval would potentially open another branch. You can’t stay here indefinitely, and I can’t expect you to hang around waiting for us to gather our memories. If we need you, we’ll call you back.
Quinn grimaced internally.
Oh, the Library continued, as an afterthought, remember, you are the Librarian. You have access to me and all the information pertaining to the Library, no matter where you are now that our power levels have risen.
I know, Quinn said.
Yes, but your brain isn’t quite trained in accessing the console automatically yet. Remember, if you need to know something, you can easily find it out.
Quinn took it to heart, nodding to herself. Nishpa raised an eyebrow this time. “Are you just about done, Librarian?”
Quinn colored faintly. She felt like Nishpa had just scolded her in front of her entire classroom of people. “Yes, yes I am.”
“Well then, shall we?”
Quinn glanced around at the Library. There were still dozens of people in it. Far less bustling than during the Library day, but still quite busy with two people manning the other end of the check-in desk. “Yeah,” she turned to Nishpa. “I’m definitely ready.”
The Firionas nodded once and turned toward the doors. “Let’s not keep Escadril waiting any longer.”
Magically, the double door in front of the check-in desk swung inward. The crack opened to reveal a beautiful midnight-bathed forest wonderland. That’s all Quinn could think of. Vines hung down from tree limbs and they moved and swayed. As Quinn stepped through, hovering ever so slightly so that she didn’t misstep and fall flat on her face, she glanced at all the vines swinging even though there was no hint of a breeze. She frowned and turned around, looking questioningly at Nishpa.
Nishpa gave her a tight grin. “Very good that you remembered to hover. And do you see this entranceway here?” She pointed underneath them.
Quinn looked down. There was a piece of wood underneath that was about three feet by five feet. Not very large, but not too small. It had a series of runes around the edges. Very simple safety runes.
“This,” Nishpa pointed at, “this is where you can stand. You hover between these areas.”
Quinn nodded solemnly and the doors behind her swung shut. With an odd click of finality.
Quinn jumped despite herself. There was something about these woods that set her on edge. Maybe it was the no sunlight shining through the canopy. Maybe it was the way there was no breeze and the vines and leaves moved, nevertheless.
Or maybe it was the odd deep green glow that suffused Narilin and the manic smile that crossed her face.