69 - Trapped Part One
Alyena is working in the library. These days, she has little time for her beloved hobby: searching through old books.
Today, however, the Empress has taken a break from her busy work. In order to distract herself from the problems that continue to arise within the country, she went in search of the library's oldest books.
Some books are hundreds of years old, some others even older. Alyena hopes that somewhere in these ancient books there are secrets about the old empire. Perhaps it contains interesting facts about how the old empire functioned. If she’s lucky, she might even be able to solve some of her own problems.
Because Alyena has been in the library since she was a child, she knows exactly in which part the old books are. This section is the least used and the books radiate that too. On some shelves there is even a thick layer of dust.
"I will ask Gerben the librarian to maintain these books a little better. Otherwise, I fear that it won't be long before we lose all the knowledge in these books."
"I don't think it's unwillingness, your majesty," Captain Cervik replies. "In my opinion, Gerben is just starting to grow old. I think the man was already old when I was a rookie in the imperial guard. That was about ten years ago."
"Damnit, you're right. Maybe it's time for him to find a successor."
Empress Alyena is not someone who makes a fuss and rushes straight to the entrance of the library, where the librarian has his desk.
"Gerben, can you explain to me why so many shelves and books are covered in dust?"
The librarian looks up in horror. Deeply lost in his work, he had not even seen the Empress coming.
"Mmmajesteit, I do my utmost to maintain all the books. You have to believe me. This library is my life! You know that."
"That doesn’t take away the fact that some books in the back are in very poor condition. You know how much I love old dusty books, but that doesn't mean they should actually be covered with dust!"
"I'm afraid it's because of my rheumatism, your majesty. It takes me more and more time to drag those ladders all over the place to keep things clean. I always start at the front of the library, because that part is the most used. That is why it is a bit more dusty in the back, because by the time that part comes to the turn, it starts to get dusty again in the front."
"Maybe you should go find an assistant. Someone who can eventually even take over your job as a librarian? You understand that that will be for my successor, because you will continue for another fifty years or so." Alyena tries to keep the conversation about a successor light-hearted with a joke.
However, the librarian is quite distraught.
"Maybe you're right. Nowadays it takes me more and more effort to get out of bed in the morning. But I wouldn't know what to do without my work."
"Puh, I think you’ll work here until you drop, Gerben. There is no one to keep you out of here. Your assistant will have to accept that you will always be the librarian. But it would still be nice if there is someone who knows what you know. I don't like it when knowledge is lost."
"You are right, your majesty. But speaking of which, what were you looking for in those old books?"
"Information about the old empire. Since we found the secret arsenal, that's my favorite topic. You know that, don't you?"
"Ah, the old empire. But why not search in the closed off part of the library? I'm sure there's a lot of information about the old empire there."
"Which closed off part?!" Snarls Alyena. This is the first time she hears about a closed off part of the library.
"There is a closed off part in the imperial library. Access to this part is only for the emperor (or in this case the empress), and the librarian. Apart from those two, the only one who even knows about this part of the library is the captain of the imperial guard. He must know this in order to guard the emperor when he is in the closed off part."
Alyena looks at Captain Cervik angrily. "You knew about this? All this time you've let me search and search, and you knew there was a piece of library I've never even been to?"
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The captain actually blushes. "I'm sorry, your majesty. To be honest, I had forgotten about it myself. Your father almost never came to the library. He was satisfied with how the empire was doing without trying to change it. Maybe Gerben knows if he has ever been in the closed part, but not since I took charge of the imperial guard. Back then I heard about the closed off part of the library, but I have never been there myself."
"Gerben! Show me the closed off part. I just need to know what's out there.
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"Mayor, the trading ship of the New Legion has just arrived from Aran. They have a number of people on board who want to speak to you."
"Can't they wait Leo, I'm still busy with these construction drawings."
"It seems to be important, mayor. Apparently the ship is packed with refugees."
Aulis is stunned, dozens of people can be transported on a trading ship.
"Maybe I should indeed wait a while with these drawings. If you're right and we're getting new residents, we may need to adjust all of our plans. Send those people in if you want."
"All of them, Mayor?"
"Well, I’d say only the spokesmen. I don't think this office has enough space for a shipload of refugees."
"What do you want me to say to those other people? There's a whole crowd at the door, and people are still arriving."
Aulis lets out a deep sigh. "Just tell those others that I need to consult with the spokesmen. It's hard to talk to everyone at the same time, if I don't even know what it's about."
A little later, Aulis gets up when five men enter his office.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen. My name is Mayor Aulis. I hear that you came to our humble village as refugees?"
"That's right," hums the man who entered through the door first, "I'm Mayor Crow, and these are mayors Toth, Phast, Deist and Wuld. We come from the north, from the province of Edoi, where the Chakras have taken possession of our land. Thanks to the army's early warning, most of our people were able to flee before those murderous maniacs could catch up with us. As mayors of the largest villages, we have been appointed spokesmen."
"Yes, that sounds like you were able to escape with a large group. Or am I hearing that wrong?"
"You're right. I think hundreds if not thousands of people got away before the Chakras took their positions at the new boundary. Unfortunately, thousands more were not so lucky."
"At least that's better news than we'd been told so far. According to the latest reports I have seen, hardly anyone would have escaped. But let's get to the point. Why exactly are you here, and what do you want from me."
The man seems amazed. "We come to settle here of course. It is not without reason that we have travelled all over the empire to come here. First we were given a mandate by the Empress to settle in the province of Aran, but when we arrived in the city of the same name it turned out that there was not nearly enough land available for all our people. And that while a large part had already decided not to continue and has settled in other places during the trip. However, the mayor in Aran indicated that there would be more than enough land available for us here."
"To be frank, mayor, we were promised land here," one of the others also joins the conversation. "I myself had never heard of this island, but according to those people on the ship, there is enough land here to make each of us rich." The man gets a glint in his eyes from the prospect of living like a nobleman.
"It is true that there is a lot of unused land on the island. However, there are some factors that you are not aware of. This country has only recently become part of the empire. In addition, even that is not entirely correct, since this entire island has been claimed by the New Legion. The village here is established with the consent of that legion, and although I have permission to accept new inhabitants, I am not allowed to move an entire people here. In addition, we do not have much space left in the village. How many have you brought?"
"Well, like I said, a lot of people have already stopped somewhere along the way." Mayor Crow takes over from his colleague. "I think there were about a hundred and fifty people on the ship. Double that are still waiting for a crossing in Aran. I don’t count all the people who were allowed to settle in the province of Aran."
"Those are pretty big numbers, Mr. Crow. I think it would be better to try and establish other settlements for you. This village is currently not nearly big enough to accommodate so many people."
"That is not a problem, now that the weather is starting to get better, it is possible to hold out in our tents. We can probably set them up somewhere here until we have found a place."
"I think I even know a place or two where you can settle. However, I must first ask permission from the officers of the New Legion before I can promise you those places."
"How long do you think that's going to take? Me and my people would like to start building our new village as soon as possible so that we might harvest enough this year to get through the winter."
"I know something better. There is a road from this side of the island to the other side. It ends at the headquarters of the New Legion, naval base Centurion. Several of the places where you could possibly settle are along the road. How about visiting Centurion with me? Then we can immediately see if there is a place that suits you."
Mayor Crow seems to like it. Two other mayors seem less enthusiastic.
"How far is that, Mayor Aulis?" asks the same man who just spoke. "I had actually hoped for a few days of rest."
"You can also stay here. I assume that you have entire families with you, not only women and children. If you send a group of men with us, we should have enough people to make the right decision, don’t you think?"
No sooner said than done. The next morning, Aulis leaves for Centurion with Mayor Crow and twenty other men.
After a short stopover in the second village of the island, where the hunter Dew joins them, they follow the road of the old legions.
On this side of the mountains there are only a few places where there used to be settlements. Most of them were located on the north side of the island. However, there is one place that Aulis thinks could be a beautiful place. This is located just before the start of the pass through the mountains. Nearby are the old mines that Dew had found a few months earlier and there are also open fields here that can be used for agriculture. The only downside is that it is some distance from the nearest river. That makes the drilling of wells pretty important. Mayor Crow is therefore not yet convinced about this spot. He prefers to look at some more places before he comes back here.