Something crashed as the sound of the troll voices began to get louder and closer. Benson, however, was moving quickly between the shelves. Left and then right he weaved between the shelves as his eyes traveled over the lettered signs.
“Do not concern yourselves with the intruders. Any damage they cause will be instantly repaired by our inversion sigils after they leave.”
They followed him in single file as the little ghost led them out of the forest of bookshelves and through an open study area with sofas, desks, and cushioned seats. Calista stayed to the rear, looking back over her shoulder as, here and there, she could hear the stomping armored feet or a bump or a crash as one of the trolls knocked something over. Their party was putting distance between them and their enemies, but how much space did they have? How big was this library? And most importantly, was there another way out? Finally, after crossing through the study area, Benson led them over a bridge that spanned a tiny stream. On the other side, the wall before them turned to reveal a two-story-tall turnstile of bookshelves.
Benson stopped before the display, again taking on the air of a tour guide. “And here is the Encyclopedia Nobilica where Master Severin houses all of the personal histories of any and all deceased persons he deems notable enough to keep separate from the rest.”
Behind them, the sound of a hundred books hitting the tile floor was followed by a whoosh of flames. More voices and more shouting followed. Calista glanced behind them and then back to Benson. “So you don’t know where the book itself is, do you?”
The ghost shook his head, “Not off the top of my head, I’m afraid.”
Calista looked up at the rotating bookshelf. It was a cylindrical tower that contained nine different levels of shelves and had space at its base cut out for six different reading spaces, each complete with its own furniture.
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Lefty stepped up next to her. “Well, do you want to be the one looking for the book, or the one looking for the hidden exit.”
“What makes you say there’s a hidden exit?” She asked.
“How many adventurers do you think have made it here without managing to pull guard aggro?” Lefty replied. “There’s almost no way someone could have sneaked in, grabbed the book, and then expect to sneak out the same way.
She bit her lip as she examined her surroundings, “True, I suppose if you help the goblin look for the book then I can look for the exit. However, when the trolls do come, I fully expect your spells to protect me for as long as possible before we both die violent and horrible deaths.”
The mage nodded, “Agreed.”
The mage pulled over a ladder while she walked over to the nearest wall where she began searching for anything that might resemble a trigger or a button or a hidden door. Flipping through books and parchments, she was working her way along the base of the library’s outer wall when she heard a pair of bookshelves crash into each other. She turned just in time to see a series of the shelving units crash into each other in a clatter of books. This was then followed by a lot of shouting and another ‘woosh’ of flames. Moments later, she could see the smoke rising from the middle of the room.
She looked over to the giant rotating shelf unit where Lefty was standing atop his ladder and Narene was sitting on the floor, sorting through a stack of leather-bound tomes. The mage was neatly sifting through each row, carefully going along each title as he searched; while below, Narene picked up each book and looked it over like a piece of produce, before tossing it over her shoulder.
On the other side of the room, the flames were now visible between the shelves and the smoke was billowing against the ceiling. Beyond that, she could hear the trolls shouting to one another and knocking over books and shelves as their voices grew nearer and nearer.
When she heard a loud baritone cry, “Over here!” she knew it was over. Her brief search had yielded no escape. There was no trap door, false wall, or secret portal that she could find. They were stuck with their backs against the wall as a host of enemies closed in with fire and blade.
Standing, she accessed her inventory and pulled out her crossbow and quiver. Fitting a bolt into the slot, she pulled the lever to cock her weapon. Then she kicked over the nearest desk to use as cover just as she called back over her shoulder, “Look alive guys! They’re almost here!”
On cue, the first troll stepped out from behind a bookshelf. As he brazenly walked out into the study area, Calista took aim and fired as her first bolt struck him directly in the throat. He fell to the tiled floor where he lay gurgling in a pool of his own blood while she reloaded. As she was cocking back her second round, she spotted a second troll lean out from the same spot and aimed and fired again. This bolt caught that troll right through his eye socket and he died before he hit the floor.