Archive Ch.13

“We’re here.”

Nic looked up at Jordi where he stood several paces ahead. He’d stopped short at the end of a passageway, standing next to a small metal cylinder bolted upright to the floor. It obviously didn’t belong, far too modern compared to its surroundings and positioned to be obvious rather than melding in with the rest of the décor.

“That the beacon?” Nic asked.

“Yep,” Jordi nodded, turning to look back at Nic. “Past here there be monsters.”

“…Metaphor?” Nic asked.

Jordi said nothing, instead turning his attention to the device. With a wave of his hand, Dewey obediently ambled up next to the device and extended one of his smaller arms towards the device. A dim blue glow erupted at the point of contact, Nic watching through his eyepiece as a flood of spellcode rushed both ways.

“Marking our passage?” Nic asked at a guess.

“Good instincts,” Jordi replied. “Just in case someone needs to come looking for us.”

“You expect that to happen?”

Jordi shook his head, a ghost of his serious persona slipping back in. “No, but better to not need than not have.”

Nic couldn’t fault that logic and leaned against the bookcase as they waited for Dewey to finish. While they waited, Jordi’s glasses glowed as data streamed across them, his eyes idlily flicking back and forth as he read their contents. Then, suddenly, they stopped, his head tilting in confusion.

“Huh,” he said. “That’s odd.”

“What?” Nic asked.

“Someone else has been through here recently. Not two days ago by the look of it.”

“Okay.” Nic paused, waiting for an explanation, carrying on when Jordi offered none. “And that’s good? Bad?”

“It’s curious,” Jordi said. “I don’t know about any other expeditions heading in, aside from that big one that hasn’t left yet.”

“Does it say who they were?”

Jordi shook his head. “Just a CAT registry number I don’t recognize. Not unusual, that’s what we’re leaving too.” He paused, continuing to stare at the data. “Strange they didn’t leave any logs though.”

“Maybe they’re not technically supposed to be here either.”

“Maybe.” Jordi chuckled. “We should team up.”

A beep sounded from the device and Dewey retracted his arm. Tapping the side of his glasses, Jordi stepped away, turning to continue down the aisle.

“Alright we’re good, let’s get our book. Shouldn’t be far now.”

*

It was starting to occur to Nic that he should probably ask Jordi the exact definition he was using for certain words. Specifically, the words short, just, and past, because last Nic had checked none of those described an almost hour’s walk completely out of sight of their only known landmark. Though it would probably be in a teasing sense rather than an accusing one as Nic was otherwise too enthralled by his surroundings.

The geography had started changing again almost as soon as they stepped past the beacon. Where the first layer of the Library had been all straight and right angles, the second layer quickly began to break with those rules. Nic had done an actual double take when they came to the first crossroad, so used to uniformity that the sight of a passage going off at a skewed angle genuinely caught him off guard.

From there the changes had only grown more notable all around them. Though the books retained their previous diversity, the shelves started joining in, gaining random recesses and bulges with no clear functional purpose. Some were large enough that Nic could have stood within or atop them, reminding him of caves worn into cliff faces.

The skewed angles also turned out to be a consistent detail. Every crossroad they came to seemed to have at least one passage that shot off in a random direction, destroying what little spatial awareness Nic had left. The deeper they went, the more common they grew and, as a direct result, the more distorted the layout became. It wouldn’t be much longer before the strict grid layout was lost entirely to the rat nest of criss-crossing paths.

About the only thing that remained consistent was the diverse collection of books. They carried on in their thousands, covering every wall in dizzying variety. Even in just the time they had been walking they had already passed more books than anyone could ever read in a lifetime.

And through it all, Jordi still seemed to know exactly where he was going. Boldly he led the way, moving with what Nic could only call a stride, taking every twist and turn with the confidence of an old master.

It was a comfort to see, one that Nic found himself strangely needing. Though their little band was the only thing moving, Nic just couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. Maybe it was the knowledge they were somewhere they weren’t supposed to be but the young techne found himself looking over his shoulder at every errant sound. Nothing was ever there but that did nothing to assuage the feeling.

“This is it,” Jordi said.

Nic stopped, looking around to find, as usual, nothing to make this place stand out. Endless chaos or endless order, it all tended to blur together in the grand scheme.

All the same Jordi seemed sure and Nic had no reason to doubt him. He looked up at the place Jordi had indicated to find an alcove sitting above them. It cut so deep into the wall that Nic couldn’t see the back, the overhang casting the interior into murky, impenetrable shadow. The books surrounding the opening were mildly more uniform, their spines all coloured in various shades of red from bright neon to deep maroon. Together they formed a border around the mouth of the cave that either looked like rust or blood, Nic couldn’t decide.

“Let me guess,” Nic said. “Inside the cave of wonders?”

“Make you a delver yet,” Jordi said with a laugh. He turned to Dewey, pressing several buttons on the bot’s back before something seemed to occur to him. He turned to look back to Nic, a devious smile on his face.

“Actually, on that subject, you want to try this one solo?”

“What, go up there on my own?”

Jordi nodded. “You still got that eyepiece I gave you?”

Nic nodded, pulling it from a pocket.

“Well then you got everything you need I’d say.” He stepped back, gesturing to Dewey as the arms began to unfold from his back.

“I mean, if you’re sure,” Nic said, a mingling of excitement and apprehension roiling away in his gut. The excitement won out and he stepped forward into Dewey’s waiting arms.

“Just one book this time?” Nic asked.

“Well, I wouldn’t complain if you grabbed the next volume of The First Spell too. The one we found ended on a cliffhanger.”

Nic raised an eyebrow, casting his companion a very pointed look. Jordi just shrugged, unrepentant.

“I’m a fast reader.”

“Noted,” Nic said.

He braced himself against Dewey’s arms, taking up the same position he had last time, pleased to find that he remembered the movement almost perfectly. Once he was set, he nodded to Jordi and soon after found himself rising through the air. In short order he had drawn level with the book cave, calling up his light cantrip to get a good look inside.

The space seemed even bigger than it had from the ground, going so far back that it must have overhung at least part of the next aisle. Books continued along the walls, shelves wrapping around the corners in unbroken lines. The red colouration also continued, through darkening significantly to the point that stretches of the books looked almost black.

Stepping carefully from Dewey’s arms, Nic advanced inside. Pulling out the eyepiece, he slipped it on and waited as words quickly flooded his vision. In seconds every book he looked at was accompanied by reams of data, informing him exactly what he was looking at. Which in this case mostly seemed to translate to romance books of every kind imaginable.

“You alright?” Jordi called from below.

“Just getting my bearings,” Nic called back. “I’m looking for the book we already have, right?”

“That’s the one. If our theory’s right, what we’re after should be there instead.”

Nodding to himself, Nic advanced further into the space, keeping his light close as he began to scrutinize the walls in earnest. Book after book passed under his gaze, eyepiece displaying details to be absorbed and dismissed as they proved to not be what he sought.

After a few minutes he had found the right section of shelf, the complete works of The First Spell proudly arranged in a span almost two meters long. Quickly he worked his way down towards the numbered volumes, eager to reach the one he was after, only to stop short when he finally arrived. Where it should have been, there was instead only a gap, filled only by the next volume tilted over to lie against it.

“The hells?” Nic muttered to himself.

“Everything alright in there?” Jordi called from outside.

“It-” Nic stammered. “It’s not here!”

“What do you mean it’s not there?”

“I mean it’s not there. There’s nothing here, just a gap where it should be.”

Nic’s mind raced at the possibilities, trying to construct some kind of explanation. He had few, lacking the needed information to form even a guess, let alone a theory. Though the knowledge that books occasionally liked to get up and move on their own in this place did sit meaningfully in the middle of them all. And they tended to not take kindly to interlopers.

“Alright, stay there, I’ll come up and se-”

Whatever else Jordi had been about to say was cut off by a surprised cry and a clatter of metal. Nic whipped his head around to face the entrance just in time to see Dewey’s arms vanish from sight. Not down as might have been expected but instead sideways, flying out of view as if the large bot had been tipped over.

“Jordi!?” Nic called in a panic, rushing for the edge to get a better look. Worrying sounds broke out in the meantime, the crashing of heavy objects into solid ones and the squeal of metal upon metal. Flashes of a thousand terrible things rushed through Nic’s mind, all manner of dangers known and new that could be swarming down below.

Arriving at the edge, he looked down to a scene of utter carnage. Dewey was indeed lying on his side, arms bent and floundering in every direction, sparking as their mechanisms misfired. Looking closer, relief rushed through his chest when Nic caught sight of Jordi still alive, standing some ways down the aisle.

“What happened!?” Nic called.

Jordi’s head whipped around to face him and instantly Nic knew they were in trouble. Any trace of mirth was gone from the delver’s face, replaced by grim seriousness that Nic recognized all too well.

“Look out!” Jordi shouted, pointing at something above.

Nic whipped his head around, having just enough time to spot the clawed hand lashing out at him from above. On pure instinct he pulled away, just managing to evade the attack as it swept past his chest, missing by only a hair’s breadth. A true stroke of luck.     

A stroke which promptly ended as he lost his footing and stumbled straight over the edge.

*

Previous‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎Home‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎Next