Quinn was one of the first to go through the portal back to the Library. She hit the other side running and accessed the main console at the check-in desk.

“Hospital requirements,” she muttered at it and it brought up a long list of information. Quinn fueled her anger at the Balisor situation into action. She scanned the list, looking for the structure and the cost... Cringing at the energy it’d sap, she double checked with the Library that it wouldn’t completely drain the bank.

No, we should be fine to fund a hospital with the current energy levels. We won’t sink back down. Visitors have been plenty over the last few weeks and our power is constantly growing. Just do what needs to be done to save them.

Quinn didn’t need to be told twice. She activated the first and what she considered the best choice.

Library Hospital Option 3

Capacity: 350 Patients, 50 staff

She blinked at it. Wait. Did that mean it came with staff?

No, it doesn’t come with staff. You can order some golem nurses, maybe a surgeon and a doctor. Universal versions, which is what we’ll want, costs more materials, but we currently have enough. If you don’t opt for the universal version, they won’t have the ability to treat all species. Don’t skimp. There are more than enough helpers from the rescue teams to assist in other areas.

Quinn nodded, grateful that the Library was just as focused on helping these victims as she was. This wasn’t something she could or wanted to figure out herself. Not with lives on the line. She activated the hospital, complete with a doctor, surgeon, and ten nurses.

While she wasn’t sure what they’d do with the patients once they’d treated them, at least they had a facility capable of housing them for now. Given the state of most of them she was mostly certain they’d be in the hospital for a while. After their ordeal, they’d need more than just bodily healing.

Hospital Level 3 Activated.

Location: Offshoot of Infirmary

Construction time: Negligible - 15 minutes.

Doctor Golem Initiated

Craft time expedited. Ready in 91 minutes.

Surgeon Golem Initiated

Craft time expedited. Ready in 124 minutes.

Nursing Golem x 10 Initiated

Craft time expedited.

Incubation optimized.

Ready in 65 minutes.

Quinn blinked at the listing, just happy they’d get somewhere as fast as possible. She still didn’t understand how the Library could shift around in its dimension and build things like the Hospital, but she wasn’t about to look that particular gift horse in its mouth.

Once that was done, she went back through the doors to assist getting the rescued Balisor-Salosier’s to the infirmary.

Time passed in a blur of action. Where all the elves around her whipped the injured into healthy enough to transport mode. Geneva and Finn helped ferry the injured through the Library, giving directions to those on the rescue team who weren’t regulars.

Even Nishpa contributed, keeping most of them in a more relaxed mental state. Quinn could practically see a soft blue hum around each of the victims heads, like it was keeping them calm and oblivious for now. Having been in those node dungeons for who knew how long, their minds were a mess. Fully understandable, but not something Quinn knew enough about to risk attempting to help with on her own magic.

Nishpa, however, was a godsend. She knew the brains of people like the back of her hand. Even if they were a different species, there were some things she could do for them to ease their suffering, calm their emotional centers, and help ease their transition through the dimensional portal back into the Library.

Nishpa frowned as they moved several from the last hovel through. Their bodies jerked, unable to take on all the magical streams that entered their brains.

Quinn got that. Magic had been used to defile them, it’d been used to wrest control of their bodies and minds, and so traveling through something with as much magic as the doorways to the Library had to be destabilizing.

The Library foyer was full to the bursting, and still there were more patients to come. Quinn muscled her way through the crowd, grateful for Nordon and Hilrick who attempted to make way for her.

They began funneling people into the Infirmary getting ready for the main branch of the hospital to open. It took almost no time for it to pop up. Or perhaps relatively, it seemed like almost no time. Probably not to those who were waiting for it.

Finally, with the hospital in place - they were able to begin allocating rooms to each of the injured. It was a long process, and Quinn wasn’t entirely sure what she would have done without Finn, Geneva, and Dottie. Not to mention Malakai’s cousins, Hilrick and Nordon. They all rallied and helped get the injured into beds.

Milaro and Nishpa began to check on the patients while they waited for the doctor and surgeon golems to be completed. Quinn wished she’d studied up enough on healing to be able to help. However, a lot could be learned from observation. So, she watched closely.

Karella was one of the first people to be seen. She wasn’t quite catatonic, but the shock to her system about her husband’s death and her daughter’s likely death, or at least disappearance, had put her into such a frozen state that she was of little help to any of the survivors.

Slowly, Nishpa and Milaro worked their way through the initial influx of patients. It’d take another half hour for the nurses to be available, so they had to work with what they had.

Hilrick returned to assisting the transport through the portal, making sure their brains remained intact on the journey through the door.

Quinn hadn’t ever seen the doors open for this long.

But there were still a hundred or so people needing to be moved in. It wasn’t like it’d stop anytime soon.

The first nurse wasn’t exactly what Quinn had expected. It appeared like the typical clay version of a golem she’d always thought they’d be, except it was in coloring only. The golem was actually more metallic, just in that reddish orange clay hue, and at first Quinn was taken aback.

They had a little nurse had on the top of their head that was practically embossed with a red cross, the one that looked more like a plus sign. But that was where the similarity with old fashioned nursing from Earth ended. The cross had syringes and vials surrounding it in a circular fashion, and some other implements Quinn didn’t recognize.

None of the golems were particularly gendered, and they all appeared mostly the same.

Quinn would get around to giving them names when they didn’t have a few hundred survivors to get through.

Once the nurse golems arrived things began to move smoother. Patients were checked in faster and checked over by not just the nurses but the healing aides. Nishpa had requested aide from the Jenishu Salosier division, even though they came in hazmat gear. Couldn’t be too careful with root spores in the atmosphere.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Quinn sighed with relief as it appeared they’d be able to handle this many patients.

Though she had no medical background, and frankly, very few healing abilities, Quinn was eventually able to assist Nishpa in calming the patient’s mental states as the Firionas guided her in how to calm them using some of her more advanced metal abilities.

This wasn’t like what Arnekai had asked Quinn to do to her son. They weren’t taking away choices. They were calming the panic attacks, the realizations of what had happened, giving them room for the body to heal so they could address the damage to their minds later.

It was something Quinn was fully on board to learn. Considering how much she’d been able to help Eugea way back on Ishiposa Isle, this was just the next logical step for her to be able to accomplish. She needed to understand it fully so she could finish the affinity avenue she’d created.

Not to mention, it was something hugely beneficial to all of the patients they’d just gotten. And it meant she could do something.

Next, the general doctor popped into view. He stood about six and a half feet tall, around Malakai’s height. And he was, undoubtedly, male. Dressed in a suit, and remarkably similar to Misha’s metallic tones, he approached Quinn with pure purpose to his stride.

“Librarian. I have been summoned to assist you. Please give me more than just the rudimentary information the system has so far gathered.”

Quinn had to stop herself from gaping. Other than Misha, Cook, and Farrow, she’d never witnessed a golem be so conversational, or, with it, upon its creation. She wasn’t entirely sure how to brief the golem.

Hilrick stepped in very smoothly. So smoothly, in fact, she hadn’t even realized he was there prior to him stepping in.

“I will walk with you as I gave initial treatment to all of our current patients.” He steered the doctor away and Quinn heaved a sigh of relief. Something about the immediately active golem gave Quinn pause. She’d not expected such an alert and forthright one.

The Library piped up. Also a type of supervisor. The surgeon golem will be much the same. They are more advanced versions because of the complexities involved in the tasks they must perform. You’ll be able to summon him the same way you summon Misha.

Quinn pondered that for a second. So, they’re like Misha - supervisory level?

Precisely. With the same powers and not beholden to them.

Quinn wasn’t sure Misha would like that, but then again, they didn’t have a choice. How do I summon him? I didn’t give him a name yet.

Doctor will suffice for now. Surgeon for the surgeon. The Library paused momentarily. Do you require other golems other than those you’ve currently ordered?

Quinn shook her head and then added No for good measure, just in case the Library couldn’t see her shaking her head.

Excellent. I’ll put the system into hyper mode so we can pull some more power from the amount of activity we’ll be having for a few days. It’ll help us regenerate what we just used for this massive undertaking.

There wasn’t even an undertone of concern in the Library’s tone. It was obviously fine with what had been expended for now, although, if Quinn had said they needed more, she got the feeling the Library would have made it work. Despite the desperation to get the Library back up to full power, in this instance, Quinn could tell that Drevicia was far more concerned with taking care of the victims they’d recovered.

For now, they were okay.

Quinn couldn’t promise the same for whoever had done this to the Balisors when they found them.

With all the patients in the hospital, the lobby felt empty once more.

“That’s a very novel way to get all the patients into one place.” Nordon said from her side, startling her as she hadn’t even realized he was there. These new elves were sneakier.

“The Library expands wherever and whenever it wants to,” Quinn shrugged. “People can just use the Library doors to get directly into the hospital now.”

Nordon eyed her, like she’d just stated something the bleeding obvious...Then he spoke. “You’re nothing like what Malakai described.”

Quinn blinked. First up, she hadn’t even known about these cousins, although in hindsight she knew Mal had family. It’d just never really come up. But that he’d been talking about her? She wasn’t entirely sure how to take that. Before she could figure out how to respond, though, Nordon spoke again.

“It’s really not a big deal. He just told us about the new Librarian when we asked. That’s all. Probably not in the way you were thinking, anyway.” He flashed her a rather mischievous grin.

“Well, I hope it wasn’t all bad.” She said, trying to lighten the moment and get out of feeling ridiculously put on the spot.

“No. It definitely wasn’t all bad.”

Quinn wasn’t entirely sure how to take that grin and she wasn’t expecting the next voice to admonish the first.

“You’re spinning lies again, aren’t you Nordon.”

Quinn turned around. “Mal? What are you doing out of bed!?”

He grinned at her. “Pleased to see me then? I’ll have to raise my rates.”

Quinn rolled her eyes. “You know I’m not paying you more than we already do. You didn’t answer my question. What are you doing out of bed when I know for a fact that you should still be resting up?”

“I can walk and rest at the same time. Lynx and my grandfather are headed to your office for a chat so I thought I’d come and fetch you. Not to mention save you from my cousin's load of bullshit.”

She looked between the two of them. Nordon grinned again, and she figured out what it was about his expression. They were competitive with each other. She just wasn’t entirely sure in what way that’d be. Especially considering Mal was so much younger than those two.

Regardless, if they had stuff to do in her office, that’s where she was headed.

“I need to get going.” She said, “thank you for everything. You guys were amazing. We wouldn’t have found them without you.”

Nordon shrugged. “Perhaps, maybe we wouldn’t have saved as many, but your flames did the bulk of the pruning work. I just turned their poison around on them.”

Quinn remembered the ash and rot that consumed the vines and roots. “Whatever you think. It was teamwork as far as I’m concerned. I appreciated your help.”

Before he could say anything else, Quinn turned and headed for her office. As much as she’d enjoyed working with the Seveshall cousins, there was other work she had to take care of.

On the way, however, Dottie stopped her and Malakai.

“Librarian! You’ll never guess! This is stupendous!”

Quinn raised an eyebrow. “Just what is so stupendous then?” She asked trying not to sound too impatient.

“Two books! We only need two more books for the medicinal and alchemical branch.”

Quinn raised an eyebrow. “I know. We just retrieved that book.”

Dottie almost seemed to deflate. “Well, I know, but I wasn’t entirely sure you’d remember we only have a couple more books to retrieve.”

Quinn crouched down on impulse. She wasn’t sure if the bench would take offense to it, but she really hoped Dottie wouldn’t. “Look. I’m super excited about opening the new branch. Can you get those locations ready to go for me, so we can hurry up and get the next two? I’d also appreciate a little more information on the regions the books are supposed to be located in. This time, we weren’t as prepared as we should have been. That’s not going to happen again.”

Dottie beamed at her. Not that Quinn could see an expression, but she got this distinct stream of happiness and determination from the superellelex futora. Dottie was engaged and excited to be helping in any capacity.

“I’ll get right on that.”

Pushing herself back to standing, Quinn ignored the look Malakai was giving her for a few steps before finally giving in. “What?”

“You’ve come a long way from the girl I met when my grandfather dragged me here the first day.” His words were soft, but she could tell he meant every single letter of them.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

He nodded. “Good.”

She waited for something else quippy to come from him, but it didn’t. So, as she pushed open the door to her office, she was slightly unsettled, just waiting for the next joke or pun to fall from Malakai’s lips.

But instead, Milaro greeted her, along with Aradie who, it seemed, had retired to the office for whatever reason. Lynx was curled up in cat form on the couch, one eye open as he tracked her entrance into the room.

“Well?” Quinn asked. “What are we doing?”

Milaro smiled, Aradie hooted, and Lynx stretched languidly, only speaking after his yawn was complete. “We’ve narrowed down the location on one of your missing restricted books. The Parsneauvian Theory of Spatial Dimension Manipulation in fact.”

Quinn knew there was more to it. She narrowed her eyes. “And… what are you leaving out. This sounds mightily too convenient.”

Lynx snorted back a laugh. “Told you she’d ask.”

“Ah, that you did.” Malakai hesitated. “Well, it appears the book might actually be quite close to one of the Library’s kin…”

“Drav…?” She asked, remembering almost too late that she probably shouldn’t use the whole name.

“No. Not him. But…” Milaro glanced at Lynx as if seeking confirmation. “We have the location of one of the hibernating dragons.”

Quinn blinked. Of all the things on her lists, she hadn’t expected this.

After all, it wasn’t even one of her checkboxes. And she had no idea what it meant.