by Pirateaba
Many mages didn’t care to wander outside of the thick walls that made up the citadel that was Wistram academy. Thus, this change in ambient light was the only clue some had that it was time to sleep. In parts of the citadel where there were no windows, mages could wander for hours without ever seeing the sun.
“I hear it’s dimensional magic. Very complex stuff. I wonder how big Wistram really is. Has anyone ever tried to measure it from the inside and compared it to the outside?”
“Shut up!”
Most mages preferred to walk the halls at night with orbs created by the [Light] spell. However, the two new students who crept from shadow to shadow used no magic now. They were trying to be quiet.
And failing.
“I’m just saying, who created this place? It had to be an [Archmage], but how many additions were made over the years?”
“Pisces, for the love of leaves, shut up!”
The half-Elf in front snapped at the young man creeping along behind her. Pisces closed his mouth, and she prayed he’d keep quiet.
“Are you sure we’re going the right way? I thought we should have gone left back there.”
Ceria hissed with annoyance and straightened up. She paused in the shadows between two globes of light and looked around to make sure no one was walking down the corridors.
There wasn’t anyone. They were safe. Mages did like to stay up at odd hours, it was true, but this wasn’t a particularly well-travelled part of the academy in the day. Most students up this late would be drinking or having a party elsewhere. As for the mages, they’d be studying books, or doing the same thing as the students.
Still, Ceria lowered her voice as she spoke to Pisces.
“We’re trying to be stealthy here, don’t you get it? And the oval library with the staircase is this way, I’m sure of it!”
Pisces frowned, but Ceria knew her sense of direction was better than his. Wistram was confusing, but she’d gotten used to wandering around forests where every tree looked like the last one.
To his credit, Pisces kept his voice low, but he still kept chattering. Both he and she were nervous, and so he kept talking while she led them onwards.
“I don’t see why we’re hiding. It’s not as if we’re doing anything wrong.”
“We’re going to steal a book from other students. And we’re going to one of the restricted libraries to do it!”
“Well…it’s not their book.”
Ceria knew what she was doing might well get them kicked out of Wistram. But she was sick of sticking to the rules. She’d had to deal with Rievan, the rude, arrogant Human teacher who seemed to hate half-Elves, and Illphres, who had refused to teach them magic. She hated Wistram’s stupid secrets and the way everything was give and take around here.
And she was afraid she would fail the exam that was only a couple of weeks away. So Ceria had decided to break the rules and help Pisces steal the magical spellbook.
“They didn’t expressly forbid us from entering this section of the academy.”
Ceria frowned at Pisces.
“They told us this place was off-limits!”
“Ah. Yes. Well, I believe that may have been a warning rather than an inviolable rule. From all we’ve seen, I surmise that these restrictions are meant to test how we react to such impositions, not actually stop all of us.”
“What? Stop using complex words!”
Pisces paused. He chewed at his lip and rephrased his statement.
“We can break the rules—if we’re not caught. They’re expecting us to.”
“Oh. Right.”
Ceria thought about that and nodded.
“Makes sense. Okay, let’s get in there. Why couldn’t you have just said that from the start? You always use too many complicated words!”
“But I like complicated words.”
Pisces muttered as he and Ceria snuck down the empty side-corridor. She knew he was right, at least in a sense. It didn’t seem like Wistram had many totally absolute rules. But still, she had to point out a flaw in his reasoning.
“The problem isn’t whether we’ll be caught by other mages and get punished. It’s whether anyone sees us and sells someone else the secret that we were sneaking about right before a spellbook got stolen.”
“Ah yes. Secrets. That would be problematic.”
Behind Ceria, Pisces grimaced. Here in Wistram everyone’s actions and words were carefully noted by people around them, to be used and traded like currency. Secrets were the lifeblood of the mages here, and it meant their presence in this part of the academy would be noted by anyone they met.
Ceria peeked around an intersection and then moved down it when she saw no one was there. She glanced up at a painting on the wall—some relief showing a bunch of adventurers battling a Goblin Lord. That meant they were close.
“You’re sure the other students aren’t going to try and grab the book tonight?”
“They said they were going to talk to another mage who specialized in dispelling wards. I think we’re safe. The magic killed or nearly killed one of their friends. I don’t think they’ll be too eager to try again without preparation.”
Ceria stopped. She turned to look at Pisces. He was nervous, but his pale face also looked excited. She was less sanguine.
“One of them got killed? Are you sure this plan of yours will work?”
He hesitated.
“Fairly. I believe there will be no risk to either one of us, even if it fails. The only thing we have to fear is being seen.”
The half-Elf shook her head.
“I wish you’d explain.”
“Too many ears back in the banquet hall. And I’m still not sure the older students don’t place eavesdropping spells in the hallways. I can tell you now if you want, but it’s faster this way.”
“Tell me later, then. We’re close.”
The two moved onwards. Ceria knew her footsteps were almost inaudible, but Pisces shuffled around a bit in his cheap robes. Still, she didn’t expect anyone but another half-Elf or a species with good hearing to pick up on the faint sounds.
“How did you know what they were saying, anyways? Do you know a listening spell?”
She had to ask. Pisces hesitated. When he spoke quietly, his voice seemed uncertain.
“Something…similar. Suffice it to say I heard every word they spoke. Now…is this it?”
They’d reached a pair of double doors, set right next to a diagonal intersection of three corridors. Ceria stared at the doors and then at the way the wall ended a few feet ahead of the doors. Architecture and the laws of space didn’t seem to matter in this place.
“This is it. Keep an eye out and make sure no one’s coming.”
Pisces nodded and looked around while Ceria put her ear to the door. She knew the room beyond the doors was large, but she listened hard for any sounds of people moving about. After a minute she’d still heard not a sound. Satisfied the room was probably empty, Ceria opened the door and she and Pisces slipped inside.
The oval library with the staircase was one of a multitude of libraries in Wistram. Most contained books, as befitted libraries, but some were dedicated to one subject, or all comprised of books from a certain era. One library had a pool of water in it, and all the books were waterproofed to let mages read and bathe.
Wistram was very odd. But this library was fairly normal, as libraries went. The room was indeed ovoid, and a central staircase led up to four walkways around the room where shelves of books sat side by side.
Ceria had never seen so many books before coming here. This place alone easily held a fortune in old, sometimes cracking books of dust and ink. She coughed and Pisces sneezed as they walked into the room.
“Rot. Golems haven’t dusted in here for a while.”
Pisces nodded. Eyes watering he sniffed and pointed.
“Too many…books. Ah, but look. You can see someone’s been here.”
Indeed, Ceria could see places where the dust had been dis
turbed. She and Pisces made their way up the staircase, following the cleared areas and found themselves on the second level, staring at a wall of books.
“Is there some kind of mechanism here? Some activated spell?”
“I think so. But let me see…hey, these are all real books!”
Pisces pulled a few tomes out of the shelves. Ceria stared at them. It looked like this entire shelf was dedicated to Human history. She spied different genealogies, historical accounts, and personal bibliographies, all from Human kingdoms she’d never heard of before. She frowned at Pisces as he flipped open a book and stared at the writing inside.
“They’re real, yes. So what?”
“Well, apparently if you do this—”
Pisces pulled one of the books from the shelves and switched it with another book higher up. The instant the two books had been pushed into place, the entire bookshelf suddenly faded. Ceria gasped, and Pieces whistled quietly.
“Truly impressive. They’re books that were all spelled with the same enchantment.”
He waved a hand, letting it pass straight through the bookshelf. Ceria stared through the intangible books. There was a tunnel in the wall, one that lead straight into another room.
“A second library?”
“Yes. That’s where we’ll find the spellbook.”
The two students stepped into the secret tunnel cautiously. Ceria gasped as she looked around the circular room occupied by a shelf full of books, and of all things, a bed and dresser! There was a small table and mirror which were both covered with dust.
Pisces sneezed and raised a small cloud of dust, and Ceria coughed and wiped at her eyes.
“Dead gods. Is this some secret bedroom?”
“Looks like it.”
“Who’d make a secret passageway into a library of all places?”
“Someone who values their privacy?”
Pisces sidled away as Ceria kicked at him.
“Or someone who likes books. Or…”
“Or?”
He nodded towards the passageway that led back to the main part of the library.
“Or perhaps this library was ideal for whomever lived here. Most of the books seem to be largely historical in this section. Few people would bother to peruse the stacks. So whoever lived here might have constructed this hiding place in a time when the mages of Wistram were less…amiable towards each other than they are now.”
Ceria shivered at that thought. She imagined mages fighting each other, sneaking about in hidden passages like this.
“You’ve got a twisted imagination Pisces, you know that, right?”
He shrugged self-consciously.
“I prefer to think of myself as pragmatic. Now…my plan should be working as we speak. We just need to find the book.”
“Shouldn’t be too hard.”
Ceria walked over to the bookshelf.
“Ah—don’t touch any of them!”
Pisces cautioned Ceria as she reached for a book. She snatched her hand back.
“What? I thought the books were spelled against opening.”
All the spellbooks she’d heard of were warded against being read, but Pisces shook his head.
“The one we’re after apparently killed the student who tried to take it out. And we cannot be sure the other ones aren’t trapped in the same way.”
“Dead gods. Who’s so paranoid they’d use a spell like that?”
Ceria groused as she and Pisces studied the books on the shelf at a respectful distance. It wasn’t too hard, just difficult to see the covers with all the dust clinging to the books. Pisces suggested blowing it away with a spell, and after that it was much easier.
“I’m assuming this is a personal spellbook, right?”
“Correct. There should be no title on the spine. And if we use [Detect Magic]…aha! These two books seem to be the most powerful.”
Pisces pointed to two of the tomes. One was thick and it looked to Ceria’s untrained eye like the spell on it wasn’t that powerful. She guessed it was just a valuable book of some kind, warded against tearing or decay. But the other book shone in her vision, not brightly, but with an intensity that made it seem realer than the other books in the room.
“That’s the one. I’m sure of it.”
“I think so too. Now, what was your big plan? Pry it out with something? A pair of sticks, maybe?”
“Don’t be silly. The spell might activate! No, we just have to wait—”
“Hold it!”
Ceria held up one hand, suddenly alarmed. Her ears twitched and she put a finger to her lips. Pisces went still and Ceria crept back towards the entrance of the tunnel. She whispered to Pisces.
“I hear footsteps.”
They must have been loud, for her to hear them. Ceria held her breath as she realized someone was definitely coming towards this very library. She looked at Pisces, suddenly worried.
“The students?”
“No—I think it might be someone else. If it’s who I think it is—”
“Who?”
Pisces opened his mouth, but the door opened before he could tell Ceria. She flinched back into the tunnel, realizing too late that they’d left the transparent bookshelf! Anyone would be able to see something was odd in an instant.
But the being that walked through the doorway was no mage, and certainly no student come to take the spellbook. A tall, inhumanly perfect woman made of grey stone seemed to glide through the doorway. She was eight feet tall and the stone clothing she wore rippled as she walked, as if she was alive.
Cognita turned and stared around the room. Her eyes found Ceria, hiding behind the transparent bookshelf at once. The half-Elf jumped and shuddered, but Cognita just strode towards her with the same look of calm on her face as always.
“Ceria Springwalker. I hope you are having a good night?”
“What? Um, yes. Yes, I am. Cognita. Uh—”
Ceria stammered and took a step back as the Truestone Golem stopped in front of her. She was enormous. Ceria had no idea why she was here, but Pisces stepped forwards and Cognita’s head nodded fractionally.
“I have just received your note, student Pisces. May I ask what is the matter?”
The young man coughed and stood a bit straighter as Ceria’s head turned from him to Cognita rapidly.
“Yes, thank you Miss Cognita. I was hoping you could help me retrieve a book, you see. It’s warded with some kind of spell, but I would like to study it to advance my grasp of spellcraft.”
“I see.”
Cognita’s face changed slightly as she stared down at Pisces. Ceria saw something shift in the Golem’s usually impassive features. Was it curiosity? Then the eyes shifted to Ceria and the half-Elf felt a jolt in her stomach.
“I assume your friend is here for the same reason?”
“Ceria? Yes, she’s just here for ah, moral support. The book is this way. If you would…”
Pisces gestured, and Cognita stepped forwards. He smiled up at her, letting the tall Golem bow her head to enter the tunnel. He would have followed, but Ceria pulled him back and hissed at him.
“You called Cognita? That was your plan?”
Pisces looked blankly at her.
“What’s the problem with that?”
“Well…”
Ceria spluttered, unable to explain. How could she convey the unease she felt when she looked at Cognita, or rather, felt the Golem’s eyes on her?
The eyes of the Truestone Golem had been sculpted to perfectly mimic the eyes of a Human woman. But they were not alive. They moved as if they were, though, and Ceria knew there was some intelligence controlling the thing that called herself Cognita. But it was not the same as living and it scared Ceria.
She knew other students in Wistram felt the same or more strongly. Some mages avoided Cognita in the hallways. Ceria could get along with the Golem because she was helpful and acted quite normally, but she didn’t like Cognita’s eyes.
Pisces however acted
as though Cognita was no different than Ceria. He walked after her as the Golem studied the shelves and looked around the room.
“You see Cognita, we ah, happened to learn about this room you see, and I note that its previous occupant is probably long since deceased…”
“Yes.”
Cognita nodded once and looked back at the two students.
“This is the residence of Nemistra Verdinan, a Selphid who lived here for many years in hiding. She is long dead, but it is good to see her room has finally been discovered. I will have other Golems collect the lost books and return them to their proper locations.”
Both mages blinked up at Cognita, caught off-guard by the matter-of-fact response. Pisces coughed.
“Yes, well, I am, ah, glad. But could I trouble you to ask whether taking her former spellbook would be permissible? It’s the one on the second shelf from the bottom you see—”
“Yes. I see it.”
Cognita studied the tome, eyes unblinking. Ceria and Pisces held their breaths. When the Truestone Golem turned, she nodded again.
“The tome is guarded by several wards that would melt the flesh of anyone attempting to retrieve it. I can remove it without issue to myself, following which the wards would be broken.”
“Excellent!”
Pisces rubbed his hands together happily, but Ceria was uneasy.
“So you’ll just give us the book? Really?”
Cognita paused.
“That is acceptable. However, Wistram law now dictates that mages below the third year only be allowed one personal spellbook for their use. You have already been issued one. If I give you this book, you must return your spellbook.”
Ceria groaned. Of course. There had to be a catch. But Pisces was undeterred.
“Very well, Miss Cognita. I would happily trade in my spellbook for this one. Would you ah, like me to retrieve it before…?”
“No need.”
The Truestone Golem turned, and the stone woman calmly pulled the book out of the bookcase. Ceria held her breath, expecting something dramatic to happen. But all she saw was a slight ripple in the air as Cognita pulled the book out—then she calmly turned and held it out to Pisces.
He was reluctant to take it. Pisces’ hands trembled a bit as he reached for the book, and Ceria saw him visibly brace himself. But when he gingerly grasped the book and Cognita let go, nothing happened to him either. He nearly dropped the book in surprise.