(part of) Chapter Thirty
Wherein Julie Gives the Gnomes (and Rat)
a Tour of the School
The four of them moved out of Julie’s office into the large central common room which was set up like a library. Like Secondhand Sorcery, it seemed much larger on the inside than it did from the outside. Bookshelves were freestanding in no particular order yet still readily accessible. Overstuffed chairs, benches, and several tables also seemed to be placed by whim. Even so, the area was well used and there were plenty of pathways leading between the maze of bookshelves and seating options. The edge of the central room was only apparent because of where the thick, colorful throw carpets ended. The hardwood floor beyond the carpeting created a wide hallway which arced around the middle of the Gristmill. The classrooms were pie-shaped, fanning out from the central hallway and each had several windows. A tightly wound spiral staircase in the very middle of the structure ran to the very top. Above, the floor of the next level was a full fifteen feet overhead. Exposed beams thicker than Julie’s arms radiated from a central ring. The central ring did not touch the spiral staircase which just twisted up out of sight. There were no supports in the middle of the room to break up the flow. Nowhere on the first floor was there a feeling of being pent-in, much less that one was inside an ancient, albeit massive, windmill.
Grimbledung had taken to staring at the ceiling. “I’m sorry, Julie” he began.
For a moment, Julie thought the Gnome was going to apologize for his behavior. But that was not the case.
“I just don’t see how that floor stays up there without any supports down here.” He stopped and stared up the middle staircase. “How do you work that?”
“You’re teasing, right?” She asked. For the three years, she had been working in the Gristmill, the open space had never given her pause. With only a brief encounter to judge him by, she was sure he was not the brains of the operation. If she were pinned down and had to make a hard choice, she would have said that it was Rat. Out of the trio, she figured Grimbledung came in a strong fourth.
Drimblerod shook his head. “You know; I have to agree with Grim on this. That’s some pretty fancy carpentry you have going on there.” He also had been looking up. It was both impressive and also disconcerting- the floor which should at any moment come crashing down- spanned a good fifty feet with all the supports seeming to meet at a central wooden ring which was not attached to anything. “What sort of magic are you using for that? You have a hundred Levitation Wands inlaid in the beams?” he guessed.
The two of them were craning their heads back almost to the point of falling backwards. Even Rat took part. “I would say that it’s a Feather Spell that’s been cast on the wood so that it doesn’t fall under its own weight.”
Julie looked up. “Ahhh. No. Not even close.”
Grimbledung snapped his fingers. “The beams are cantilevered so all the weight’s being carried on the outside of the Windmill. Once I saw the Temple to Notra Dahm. It was like that. They said it was held up with butts.”
“With you, it’s always about butts,” scolded Rat. “You need to get your mind out of the gutter.”
“No really! That’s what they said. It was all butted and stressed! I’m positive that’s what they said on the tour!” Countered Grimbledung angrily.
None of the three had noticed that Julie had begun moving up the stairs. She had to take them sideways to make it up the tight spiral. Once she was half way up, she called over the railing, “The tour continues upstairs. Come up before you break your necks.”
The three looked at each other embarrassed. “Move it Grim!” Commanded Rat. Grimbledung obliged by beating Drimblerod to the stairs. Quickly he raced up them but by the time he reached Julie she was already on the next level. He bent over, huffing and puffing, hands braced on his knees. Drimblerod appeared soon after, breathing hard as well. “How many floors are in this place?” Asked Rat since he was the only one not out of breath.
“Three,” answered Julie. They were in a smaller version of the floor below except this room had thick wood beams evenly spaced out that ran from the floor upwards and into the ceiling.27
There was still a sitting area but it was substantially smaller. The book cases were also shorter so that light could make it across the entire area. There were also fewer classrooms. As the structure went higher, it got narrower with a steeply pitched roof on the very top.
“There are classrooms on this level and the one over it. The first floor you saw had fifteen classrooms. This one has eight. The next one up has three.” She leaned over the railing and peered up. Grimbledung did the same. “Up there is another floor with just one open classroom with a balcony that we use for levitation exercises, and above that is just a storage area.” She stopped leaning over the railing- even for her it was disconcerting. “Then above that,” she continued, “the Magicked gears that run the blades.” Even from the second floor, the staircase disappeared into the darkness. Grimbledung, still leaning over the railing and looking up, had a feeling of vertigo wash over him. Losing his balance, he reached out and grabbed Julie’s elbow to keep from falling over.
“Don’t you dare fall with me on you, Grim!” Warned Rat, who was holding onto Grimbledung’s ear for stability as the two leaned precariously over the railing.
“Hey there!” Snapped Julie. “Watch the hands buster!”
Grimbledung was definitely NOT holding onto Julie’s elbow.
“Well, I’m dashed! Grim! Let go of Julie’s ...” Rat began. “Let go of Julie you fool Gnome! Most inappropriate, that.”
His balance somewhat returning, Grimbledung turned to look at Julie and realized where he was holding. What he was holding. He let go as another wave of vertigo crashed over him like a cart load of Trolls. He teetered back over the railing. This time it was Julie who did the grabbing as she reached out and pulled Grimbledung back onto his feet by his jerkin. “Delberger’s Hand! Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“I.. I ... I” attempted Grimbledung. The stutters had arrived with a vengeance. He looked down and walked to the seating area. He flopped onto a well-worn Shambler leather wingback chair. “I need to sit a moment, I think,” he mumbled. He was flexing his hand open and closed as if it were numb.
Rat hopped off Grimbledung’s shoulder, onto the arm of the chair, and then the carpeted floor. “I think I’ll walk from now on. Where’s the tour go from here Julie? Personally, I think it’s going down. Down like a mine basket overloaded with greedy Dwarves.”
Julie laughed. “I agree, Rat. Down it is. Follow me, Gents.” She said as she once again side-stepped down the stairs. Grimbledung made it a point to wait until Julie was well out of sight before following Drimblerod down the stairs.
“This is a really nice main building you have here,” commented Rat, “and the out buildings are more classrooms and a dormitory, I imagine? Places for staff even?”
“Yes. That’s about the size of it,” said Julie. She was a little let down that it seemed the tour was being cut short; she was quite proud of the school.
“Rat” scolded Drimblerod, “We are not skipping the rest of the tour just to fill your belly.”
Rat matched Grimbledung and began to look intently at the floor.
“I swear; I can’t take you two anywhere.” He turned to Julie, “Where to next? We need to get a feel for the place to have an idea of the kinds of wands you are going to need.” He glanced to the two, who were now examining a chair intently, in a louder voice he continued, “So we’ll have a good time on the tour and get something to eat later.” He waited for either of them to acknowledge him. Neither did. “I said” he began again, testily; “We are going to enjoy the tour and get something to eat afterwards.”
“Does this mean someone’s going to carry me? I’d hate to faint.”
Grimbledung silently reached down and picked up Rat and sat him back on his shoulder.
“No more teetering,” warned Rat.
Drimblerod exha
led slowly. “OK, Miss Julie. How about we see some instructing in action.”
Julie perked up. “Great! Let’s go to the sparring ring. We just got that set up. That’s a good place to watch the action up close and personal.” She walked to the main entrance. As she got to it, the doors opened. Both of them. Per her explicit instructions to the Gargoyle Brothers -Pollux and Castor- both doors only opened for her; everyone else got one or the other. There was no pattern to which opened- it depended on which Gargoyle won Odds or Evens or whatever other bet had been made. “Thanks guys,” she said over her shoulder as she exited. Before the Gnomes got to the door, the one on the left closed quickly, making them abruptly change course to weave out the open door on the right... They were, after all explicit instructions.
Tales From a Second Hand Wand Shop- Book 1: They Were the Best of Gnomes. They Were the Worst of Gnomes. Page 49