He hadn't expected them to give him the original copy of course, but he had hoped they would at least have the map. What were they hiding it for?

If there was a place this original was kept it would be here. This was the largest library in the Amalgamation, and Elrin had said they had the largest collection of original works. He looked at the original fragment in his hand. It had cost him quite a bit, and the Vaarie he bought it from had been certain they had taken the rest here.

He pocketed the wooden fragment and began flipping through the rest of the book, inking in a few notes here and there in his notebook so that he looked busy. One by one the other patrons left until he was the last one left. Soon the lights dimmed and the guard walked over.

“Library is closing.” He said curtly.

“Oh, of course!” Aeron packed away his notebook, then picked up the journal and walked over to the desk. The Sao-Vaarie clerk was burning something into another wooden tablet with a long metal stylus that glowed on the tip. As Aeron set the journal on the desk the clerk looked up at him and then set the stylus down on a small metal plate.

“I trust you found everything you needed?” He asked.

“Of course, although I will probably be back tomorrow to continue studying that record. What time do you open in the morning?”

“Oh, we open an hour after sunrise. I’ll keep this down here for you then if you plan on returning.”

Aeron pointed down at the stylus, the glow on the tip had dimmed as soon as it was set down.

“Seems kind of dangerous using those things in a tree.” The clerk looked down at it as he hurriedly packed the journal beneath the desk.

“It can be, however we are trained since birth to manipulate heat. The guards also have a very fast response time to fires.”

“Good to know, I'll worry a bit less now. I did have a few other questions if you have a minute to spare.” The clerk paused for a moment.

“I suppose I could spare a few minutes.”

“Great!” Aeron leaned down, placing his elbow on the desk. “First off, you wouldn’t happen to know if there is a place here I can stay? I plan on staying a while here.”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

The clerk gave a long-suffering look down at Aeron’s elbow.

“There is a campsite for travelers below one of the trees to the west of here, I’m sure you can find suitable accommodations there.”

“Perfect! Thank you!”

“Of course now if you’ll excuse me…” He began to stand before Aeron interrupted again. “Just one more thing before I go. I enjoy studying history, as you can probably tell. That nice lady, Elrin I believe her name was, mentioned you have the largest collection of original works here too. You wouldn't happen to know if they are on display at all would you? It really would be the chance of a lifetime to look at some original Sao-Vaarie works!”

The clerk paused for a moment, his eyes flickered to the guard and back before saying,

“Of course, the original works are housed securely in the top hollow. I can arrange an escorted viewing for you in four days if you would like.”

“That would be perfect, thank you for your help!”

“Of course, have a good night.”

Aeron turned back around and made his way across the room. The clerk picked up his things and walked away toward one of the other doors. The guard went back and stood at the same door as before, eyeing Aeron.

Aeron walked slowly back down the stairs toward the lift platform. Four days was far too long. It would give them time to hide anything they didn't want him seeing. He stopped just before the exit. Peeking outside, he could see one of the guards sitting on a stool by the lowering mechanism. Elrin and the other guard had left already. This last one must have been left to let him back down when he finished.

He pulled out a tan handkerchief and wrapped it around his mouth and nose. Then he reached for the bag on his belt and pulled out a fistfull of gray powder.

As he strode out onto the platform the guard turned around to look at him, eyes going to his handkerchief. Aeron gave a friendly wave with his off hand.

“Cold tonight isn't it?”

“Yeah, you ready to…” Aeron flung the powder into the guard’s face.

It spread out in a cloud of dust and the guard coughed for a moment before he dropped to the floor like a bag of rocks. Aeron bent down and pulled him back away from the edge. He propped him up on the stool so he was leaning against the mechanism. Aeron dusted the remaining powder off onto the guard’s uniform. The sleeping pollen should have him out for a while. Hopefully he didn’t run into many more guards, that stuff was hard to come by. It would give Aeron at least six more hours or so before he woke up. By then Aeron had to be gone. He looked back up into the tunnel. If the journal was here it would definitely be in the top hollow. Now to find his way up there.