Freda rubbed her sore wrists and looked up at Chloe, "So why would a young witch, newly arrived in our fair city, need a sack full of animal brains?"

Chloe took a deep breath, "I've been commissioned to brew a batch of feral insight potions," she replied, trying her best to stick to the script Belgemine had given her.

Freda seemed unconvinced, "Feral insight potions? It's not yet hunting season, so who would commission a batch this time of year?”

“The miner’s guild,” Chloe replied quickly. “The silver mines in Shale valley have been infested by ratkin. The potions are needed to make sure none survive.”

Freda snorted, “Your words sound true enough, but your eyes betray you. But it is none of my business, but just so you know if you turn out to be some rogue necromancer, I'll kill you myself."

"Have you had problems with necromancers before?"

Freda snorted, "A few years ago, a warlock named Bentley arrived in town. He opened a brothel serving a rather niche clientele. It turned out he was a necromancer digging up fresh bodies, reanimating them and putting them to work in his brothel."

Chloe felt sick. She had heard the stories of how necromancers could raise the dead as slaves. But to think someone could be so twisted...

Freda continued, "The Sixth Order was called in, the mages burnt the brothel to the ground, including everyone inside. Many witches lost their lives in the witch hunts that followed."

"Now," Freda said, "If you're thinking of raising an army of zombies like Bentley did, don't. The Order might pretend to be all merciful and shit, but if you get on their bad side, they'll string you up and leave you for the crows. They won't stop there, though. They'll track down your friends and family and hunt them down one by one till there's no one left for them to torture."

Chloe nodded, "I get it," she said.

Freda smiled, "I'm glad we understand each other."

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Chloe sat on her bed, on the top floor of the Dead Man’s Drink, stuffing her face and trying her best not to think about the soft brains that squished between her teeth.

[Hunger 14%]

She'd followed Belgemine's example and boiled the brains first, it didn't do much to disguise what she was eating, but it did keep the visions at bay.

She was still hungry though, but she'd spent two gold on brains and if she bought more she'd draw the wrong kind of attention.

She hopped off her bed and watered the plants growing in her coat pocket. The growth spells Belgemine had placed on the plants made them more resilient and less likely to be squashed if she sat on them, but they still needed the basics, sun, soil and water.

Chloe stepped over to the window and sat on the ledge. She filled her pipe with dried demon's bane and lit it.

She puffed on her pipe while she watched a group of drunk women leaving the inn down below.

She breathed out a cloud of silver smoke, it made her feel full, but only for a moment. She knew when she woke in the morning, everything would still be shit. She'd be stuck in this world, her sister would still be missing, and she'd be hungry and worst of all she’d still be a bloody zombie.

She sighed. "What am I doing here? Why do I have to save this scholar when I can't even save myself?"

She looked back towards the bed, there were no answers to these questions waiting for her.

She took another puff of demon's bane and continued smoking until she was too tired to stay awake anymore.

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Chloe's eyes fluttered open, a hand was over her mouth and the tip of a silver knife was pressed to her throat.

"Who are you?" A man asked, his voice low, raspy.

Chloe tried to move, but the blade cut into her flesh.

"Answer the question!" The man said, his grip tightened.

Chloe's mind was spinning; the last thing she remembered was sitting on her bed before falling asleep.

"Chloe," she muttered.

The man loosened his hold slightly, but kept the knife against her neck.

"Chloe, I have a message for you. Your brother and sister are here in the city, they hunt the same target that you are after."

Chloe struggled, trying to pull away from him, but he held onto her tightly. "What are you talking about?" she demanded.

"That is what my master wished me to tell you," the man said.

Chloe shook her head, this man had snuck into her room. She felt violated and pissed off.

"I think you have the wrong person," Chloe said as she readied herself to attack.

The man shrugged, "Chloe the undead, with silver hair and blue eyes," the man began ticking points off his fingers, "Who hunts demons and wears a golden amulet around her neck."

Chloe could feel the silver blade burning into her neck, the pain helped her think clearer. If she moved, he'd had the knife through her throat before she could land a single blow.

"One last thing, zombie girl. My master says that if you find the book, you'll find the girl you seek."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

But before he could answer, clear, resounding footsteps echoed in the hallway. The footsteps stopped outside her door and a key turned in the lock.

When Chloe looked back, the window was open and the man was gone.

A sudden, unexplainable fear came over Chloe, she leapt out of bed and grabbed the doorknob and held it tight, leaning her body against the door, so nobody could get in.

She heard the sound of the lock turning again, and somebody tried to push the door open. She held on tight, refusing to let go, the struggle continued for a few moments, and then she heard the footsteps leaving.

Chloe breathed a sigh of relief, but she wasn't foolish enough to believe that the intruder would not return.

She opened the door and peeked outside, there was nobody else in sight, the hallway was empty.

She locked the window, closed the curtains, and then pushed her bed against the door. The rest of the night she spent lying on the floor with her back against the bed and her feet pressed up against the opposite wall.

A few hours later, the sun rose, and the birds started chirping outside her bedroom window.

Chloe got up off the floor and stretched. She was still exhausted and sore, but she needed to find Sylvia today, or all of this would have been for nothing.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

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Chloe climbed the steps into the library, she'd left her coat behind and was wearing her black leather pants, and red tank top.

She quested outward with her mind and found Onyx scratching in the garden behind the library. The familiar sensed her attention and replied with a warm fuzzy feeling.

When she entered the library, the guard she'd spoken to the day before approached, he looked hung over from the festival.

"The girl you were looking for arrived an hour ago," the guard said, seeing her. "She's in the basement near the stacks."

Chloe followed the guard's directions through the maze of tomes and scrolls housed in tall shelves of polished wood and down a set of stairs.

Enchanted lights flickered in the basement, casting shadows on the walls and adding to the libraries sense of mystery and magic.

Chloe's nerd sense tingled as she paused by a bookshelf protected by a transparent, shimmering ward. She peered through the protective shell and saw ancient tomes bound in exotic leathers and illuminated with gold leaf and intricate artwork.

She suspected they contained sacred religious manuscripts and works of magic and alchemy.

What I’d give to get my hands on some magic scrolls.

She looked around and saw a library guard eyeing her over a stack of books.

She quickly moved on. She entered a large adjacent room lined with tables surrounded by chairs where people sat in silence, hunched over their work.

The tables were covered in pile of books, along with some other magical devices that Chloe didn't recognize.

"I'm looking for Sylvia Gremlock," Chloe said in a low tone, but her words sounded loud in the quiet room. "Is she here?"

The scholars looked up at her with annoyed expressions. One of them raised his hand and pointed at a door.

Chloe bowed her head in thanks, the man had already turned back to his notes, and hadn't noticed the gesture.

Chloe walked past the table and kept heading straight for the door. It opened before she reached it, and a man stepped out.

He was dressed in dark robes and had his hood pulled up with only his eyes visible. He bumped into Chloe, and the smell of pond water filled her nostrils. The man cursed under his breath as he hurried out the room.

There's definitely something off about him.

When she was sure he was gone, she stepped inside the small room. Pages of notes laid scattered across the table, many of the pages held strange symbols and drawings she couldn't quite make out.

She made her way to the table and saw a book lying upside down on the desk.

Looks like I'm not the only one looking for Sylvia.

Words she’d heard a few hours early drifted through her mind,'Find the book, find the girl.'

Chloe picked up the book and turned it right side up. It was old, the leather cover was cracked and torn, the pages were yellowed with age.

She opened the book and as she did her amulet slipped out from under her shirt. A low humming sound permeated the air as the amulet began to vibrate.

The pages in the book began to turn themselves, moving faster and faster. And then it stopped and fell open onto a page containing a detailed sketch of a strange symbol.

Chloe lifted the amulet from around her neck and placed it in the center of the symbol. Immediately, the amulet began to glow, and then it began to pulse with a golden light.

Chloe gripped the book tight as the light continued to expand, engulfing her and the entire room. She felt her feet lift off the ground. A powerful wind rushed all around her and her world turned white.

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The light faded and Chloe blinked. She was in a library, but not the one she'd just left.

A colossal tree was situated in the middle of the library, and golden lights hovered around its boughs and branches.

Wooden shelves placed like a dome around the tree stretched higher than her eye could see. Moss hung from books shelves and ivy grew in between the dusty volumes.

In one corner, a large globe floated in the air, glowing with a soft green light, showing a map of a large part of the world.

Where the hell am I?

Beneath the tree, strange creatures lounged in squashy couches with books in their hands. Some were dressed in robes, some were covered in feathers, scales or fur.

A horned, gray skinned monster was hunkered over a table, reading in silence.

The golden lights drifted throughout the library, illuminating the shelves and the faces of those gathered within.

"Hello," a voice spoke behind Chloe. "Are you lost?"

Chloe spun around to face the speaker.

A man stood before her, he wasn't human. He looked like he was made out of bark and twigs and moss. His long green hair fell past his waist and tiny leaves grew behind his ears.

His eyes flashed as he extended a hand.

"I am Boreal, the librarian. Welcome."

"Chloe," she replied quietly, taking his hand and shaking it gently.

His grip was strong and firm, his hand was leathery with calluses on his palm.

"Where am I?" she asked.

A wide smile spread across the librarian’s face, "A pocket dimension carved in space by the goddesses' own hand. Within this library is every book ever written, dreamt about or imagined."

Chloe stared up at him, her mind racing. "How is that even possible?"

"Magic, dear Chloe. Magic."

Boreal let go of her hand, and then his body began to glow a green light. Leaves spun in the wind and he disappeared.

Make this quick, Chloe, before something stranger happens.

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She wandered between the shelves, looking down each aisle and walking up the stairs to the second floor, her eyes constantly scanning for Sylvia.

Minutes passed, and then she saw a girl sitting in a corner with a will-o-wisp on her head and a pile of books all around her.

Chloe approached, and the will-o-wisp danced around the girl's head, flitting through the air before landing on her shoulder.

The girl touched her round glasses with the tip of her finger and squinted up at Chloe, worry creasing her brow.

The girl quickly looked around and then visibly relaxed when she saw Chloe was alone.

"Are you the scholar?" Chloe asked and just as she spoke a sudden unexplainable recognition washed over her.

She knew this girl, they were friends, they’d fought and bled together on countless battlefields. She rubbed her eyes and the memories of her future self faded.

The willowy young woman brushed dark hair out of her face, "I'm a lore master for the Order," the girl stuttered, "Are you the one that's been following me?"

"No,” Chloe said, and her voice sounded far off as if she were removed from her body. “Belgemine sent me to talk to you. She knew… she knew your mother, Moraine. They were part of the same-"

"Coven," interrupted the girl. "Yes, yes, I know all about that. What trouble has my mother gotten herself into this time?"

Chloe frowned. “Moraine…” she hesitated. “Your mother, she’s dead.”

Sylvia opened her mouth and then closed it again. Her eyes widened. Finally, she said, "Oh, no," in a weak small voice.

"That can't be,” she continued. “The last time I saw my mother.” She adjusted her glassed. “I warned her that she needed to stop dabbling in witchcraft, or I would be forced to tell the Order.” She sniffed loudly, and then she took off her glasses to wipe the tears out of her eyes, "How did it happen?"

Chloe hesitated, not sure how to answer, “Your mother along with the rest of her coven died saving me.”

Sylvia shook her head, "Did she suffer?"

Chloe had never been good at comforting people, and now that she was an undead, she found her emotions even more stunted than before. All she wanted to do was grab the girl and get the hell out of wherever she was.

"It happened instantly, I'm really sorry."

Sylvia wiped her face with the back of her sleeve, "I'm glad she didn't suffer," she sniffed again, "Mother never liked pain."

Chloe subtly adjusted her stance, shifting from one leg to the other, offering the girl a moment to regain her composure.

"You said someone was following you,” she said, when she thought enough time had passed. “Is that why you are here?”

“Aha,” said Sylvia. “Someone has been tailing me all week.” She stood up, "At first I thought I was being paranoid, but this morning I saw him again. He came into the library, something was strange about him-"

"A wrongness?" Chloe interjected.

"Exactly! I had to get away, fortunately the Order lent me the Forest Gate for my research," She smiled nervously, "So when I saw the man in the library I disappeared into it."

An odd croaking sound interrupted them.

Chloe blinked and looked around, "Did you hear that?"

Sylvia shrugged, "There are strange sounds in this old library, the tree sometimes creaks when the wind blows."

Chloe nodded, "Is it the amulets that give us access to this dimension?"

"It's actually the goddess’ blessing. The amulets are a part of her body,” said Sylvia. “That's why people don't see her anymore. Her body was broken into fragments when she sealed her children away."

"I guess that means you are studying the amulets?" said Chloe. “Maybe that's why you were being followed?”

"What No, I'm an eschatologist, my work focuses on end time prophecies."

Chloe stared at the young woman, "End of what?"

"End of everything."

The croaking sound came again, closer this time.

Chloe turned, and her eyes widened as something, the size of a large dog, suddenly thudded onto the floor before the two women.

In a heart-pounding moment, the demon toad's tongue shot out, a sinister streak through the air, homing in on Chloe and Sylvia with terrifying accuracy.

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