LSRO: Chapter 334 - Mock Astonishment (Patreon)

Chapter 70 Mock Astonishment If only Quinn’s will to sleep translated immediately into action. Instead, she lay for a while, just staring up

Chapter 70

Mock Astonishment

If only Quinn’s will to sleep translated immediately into action. Instead, she lay for a while, just staring up at the admittedly very entertaining ceiling. 

It still showed images from all around the library with wooden people walking around as if it was a stop motion movie. They picked up books, talked to each other, and huddled in the sitting areas over books. Golems ferried Carty and others around as they retrieved and shelved books. Assistants wandered around,answering questions that patrons gave them, checking books in and out. 

It was oddly soothing to watch the amazing carved ceiling work, but everything was slightly odd since Quinn came to the library. Magic had a way of making so many things possible.

Aradie looked down at her from her perch at the head of the bed. The owl, for once, just seemed calm and quite relaxed. There was no judgment in her gaze, no side-eyeing, and no expectations of her to understand images that she’d spammed into Quinn’s mind. 

So Quinn took the peaceful moments to run over everything in her mind and practice some breathing exercises.

More branches were open than not. They’d zapped them into existence and set them to fully functional. They were finally getting the pillars sorted, and they’d discovered what it was Kajaro did in order to get nine lives, which, to be honest, had been quite a surprise because of how heinous it actually was. That he technically had Ardenil prisoner for so long, Quinn shook her head. 

She was itching to get her hands on the information Hal was gathering about Sölem. And finally, she had the list of the missing restricted books. As she went through everything in her mind, her eyes grew heavy and finally, she fell asleep.

When she woke, it was with a feeling of restlessness that she hadn’t experienced in a long time. A sensation of actually having recovered during sleep. She instinctively knew everyone let her sleep in and couldn’t help the slight shiver of trepidation that washed over her. 

There was something she’d forgotten, and it wouldn’t leave up on the sensation. Something at the back of her mind, on the tip of her tongue, that just wouldn’t come to her. 

Frustrated, but aware that she didn’t have the time to just sit and wrack her brains until she figured out what was bugging her, she stretched her arms up and dragged herself out of bed. Aradie’s absence was unexpected and quite unwelcome. She’d grown so used to the owl just being there.

Showered, hair brushed, dressed, and marginally alive, Quinn headed downstairs. She paused on the landing at the top of the spiral staircase to look out over the vast area that was the main floor of the Library. The check-in desk had grown again. Which was a good thing because there seemed to be a need for multiple check-in and borrowing lines as far as she could see. Several people bustled about behind the desk, working under Betty’s guidance. Quinn watched as the little sprite flitted around, checking and double-checking on all of her employees.

Around them and beyond, at the chairs and couches, desks and alcoves, people gathered. The discussion areas all appeared to be full, although she had no doubt if someone needed more, the Library would oblige. 

Patrons also wandered around, half the time getting in the golems’ way. However, the golems didn’t appear to mind. Nothing had really changed down there, apart from the size and the sheer amount of people, like a small sea of them. She wasn’t sure why, but a surge of warmth entered her. If she discounted everything else going on, she actually felt quite proud. The Library thrived. At least it appeared to at first glance.

With more branches open than closed, many of the basic beginner books available again in all the subjects, sufficient staff manning the stations, it truly seemed like a universal Library once more, as if it had come alive. She did pat herself on the back for having put Betty in charge. Frankly, organizing all the staff hadn’t been hers, nor had it been Jasper’s forte. Betty was well suited to the hiring and firing of people. An excellent judge of character, if Quinn was any judge herself.

If she concentrated, she could hear and sense all the opening and closing doors, allowing for patrons to enter the library and leave. Surges of magic whittling down their malachite stone storage, and yet it was never depleted now they had regular incoming stones to power the doorways. And even though the library seemed full, it wasn’t actually at capacity. 

An underlying thrum ran through the Library, almost like a purr, as if it was obviously happy and content. Such a contrast to how the library’s personality had been lately. It had been oddly sulky and quite quiet. Perhaps it had to do with trepidation at the upcoming reactivation of Ashiron. It could only go two ways, bad, or everybody survived.

Quinn frowned and headed toward the kitchen, her contemplative mood gone. Now she found herself worried about the actual Library. When she entered the culinary division, Cook didn’t even speak up, but instead handed her a doughnut for one hand and a coffee for the other. She smiled, took a swig, and then a bite. The cinnamon and dough melted on her tongue, as it was just the right warmth. An absolutely perfect reminder of how much she loved the Library. A reminder of home. Of her old home.

When she was done, Cook finally looked up. Their eyes narrowed, and they leaned back against the counter, watching her. “You have much on your mind.” And now Cook’s eyes were practically slits as they narrowed further, which was comical given the mostly flat golem face they had. “Be careful,” they continued, “you are not looking at everything you need to from the best angles.”

Quinn blinked. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“I mean exactly that. You need to be careful what angle you look at things from. Sometimes, I believe you get stuck in your own head.”

She raised an eyebrow. “That’s very astute of you.”

Cook managed a small smile. “It is rather. Anyway, you should list things out to organise your course of action. It will help you focus and make it easier on yourself.”

“Well, I already make lists. I just...” She motioned widely with her hands, floundering slightly.

Cook smiled. “You get bogged down in them. You allow them to govern what it is you are thinking. So, I ask you to focus on one thing at a time when you make a list. Stop making things difficult.”

Quinn narrowed her eyes. Cook was always so observant. “How do you…?” 

Cook shrugged. “Your aura is quite splintered today. You are trying to concentrate on too many things at once.”

“Could you always read this about me?” Quinn asked.

Cook moved their head from side to side as if to say ‘not exactly’. “Aura perception allows me to interpret perfect meals for anyone who might need one. It allows me to base what I make given the general atmosphere in the Library on any given day. And more specifically for you and for other supervisors who are extremely important to the operations of the Library, it enables me to further tailor your dining experience. I can also use that ability for other things.”

“Like these chats?” Quinn asked with a smile, feeling more light-hearted than she had before.

They chuckled. “Yes. Technically. Like these chats. I am not sure what it is that leads you to me, but I am proud that you choose to come to me when you are uncertain about things.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“Food probably helps with the feeling of comfort.”

Quinn laughed. “Yes. I think it does.”

Cook’s mouth stretched into a smile, or at least what passed for one of their golem face. “Anyway, I will have some goulash sent to your office as soon as it is ready. I believe you have many things to do today.”

She smiled, feeling cared for. “Thank you.”

“No thanks,” Cook said. “I just need you to promise me you will talk and reason things out with those close to you who are in a position to help you with your quandary.”

Quinn nodded and felt very sombre. “Is there something I should know?” she asked.

Cook shook their head. “No, I cannot see the future as much... as I would like to. All I can do is sense those around me. And I am especially attuned to you, Librarian. Thus, I feel caution is advised in this moment, and so this is what I do.”

“Okay,” Quinn said, mulling the words over. It meant there was something she should be paying attention to. “Thank you. I sometimes don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“And I you, Librarian,” Cook said. “After all, none of us would be here if you hadn’t found us.”

And they turned away, focusing on their cooking. Quinn walked to her office, still sipping her coffee, slightly perplexed, but determined to take Cook’s advice. When she got there, her office was empty, which wasn’t really surprising. 

She turned around in it, taking in stock, realising the couches were still there and the conference table was still gone. But not even Aradie was on her perch. Disappointment flooded her. She wished her owl was there to talk to. She’d missed her this morning when she woke up.

Instead, Quinn plopped herself down in her huge comfy chair and pulled up the list of restricted books. It had been gnawing at the back of her mind and she couldn’t put her finger on it. They were familiar in a way that they shouldn’t be, except for the last few. She’d never heard of Lohse’s Myriad of Dimensional Weaves and Unbindings, had she? She definitely hadn’t memorised them. Plus, they were missing. Oswald’s Journey Beyond Dimensional Restrictions? They all sound foreboding and definitely should not be out of the library type of books. But still, maybe it was just that she had known about the Seveshall Lineage book and the Ashelan Mind Capitulation Device and Chmlienko’s Guide to Dimensional Complacency. That had to be it. She knew a few and so her mind was inserting a vague feeling that she should know the rest.

Malakai wandered in and she put the list down. Even writing it out by hand hadn’t jogged her memory. He came in, rested a thigh against her desk and leaned toward her. “I had a strange feeling you might need to talk. But I’m not sure why.”

“I just needed to reason through some things,” she said.

“Like what?”

“I swear I know these names,” she said, suddenly sure she should confide the odd feeling. “The books. Maybe it’s all in my head. But I feel like I should know the names. That I should be able to place them.”

“Yes, they’re all missing restricted books,” Malakai said. A fond smile on his face. 

She tossed him a half-hearted glare. “I know that. But I can’t help thinking I’ve seen them before.”

“Well, that can hold until we’ve fixed the pillar, right?” He asked.

“Oh, yeah.” She frowned. “It has nothing to do with those.”

Malakai shrugged. “Well, probably not, right?”

“Exactly,” Harish said as he swept into her room with Siliqua, Cadre and Milaro hot on his heels. “Librarian,” he said. “I believe we are about ready to get this underway. Are you excited?”

“What, to finally have a pillar that isn’t going to explode and take the entire universe with it?” She asked in mock astonishment. 

Milaro chuckled. “Yes. Are you ready?”

“No time like the present,” she said, hoping they weren’t the universe’s famous last words.