From Bookish To Goddess

Highthorn was ready to go by the door, which meant he had figured out my sleep schedule. That was what a good guard would do, but I was still getting used to having someone wait on me. “Highthorn, do you think Firth would make a good go-between from the refuge to me?”

“Yes, and no, Lady Astrid. He is a well-known negotiator, but he is also known for being sneaky about getting what he needs. I heard King Al’Don complain about him a few times.”

That is almost exactly what I am looking for. I want the refuge to have a thoughtful leader that knows how to play politics. Though I think I will have to warn him about being sneaky with me. I don’t respond well to any games. Whenever the patrons of the library would try to manipulate me, it didn’t end well, especially if my fan club got a hold of them. I suppose my new fan club would be my church. I would have to visit them later. There was just so much to do and not enough time to read! “Thank you for your input. How are you all getting along here?”

“We are doing great. We all love children's books. We never really had access to those. There are only a handful of books being passed around in the lower city. Only if you make it as a guard, manager, or get into the academy do you get to study more. Well, there is also the church, but they keep most of their knowledge locked up. My kids also really love the bears. They said they are really fuzzy when they climb on them.”

The lack of access to knowledge was worrisome; libraries should be open to all. If I pushed them, then I knew they would distribute them. The best part was finding out that the children were giving the bears a hard time. “That’s good to hear that your children are doing well. Let’s go back then, so I can give Firth my decision.”

We exited the library only to be surrounded by people on their knees awaiting my return. I looked around at all of them, feeling queasy at all the attention. Firth came out of the front entrance to greet me.

“Goddess Astrid, you have returned. We welcome you. Have you decided if we are worthy of you yet?”

This worshiping had to change, at least until I got a better hold of it. “Lady Astrid, not goddess. I understand I exude unfathomable power, but please use my correct name.”

The crowd heard my words and hurriedly dispersed. “Yes, Lady Astrid. Forgive me. After yesterday, you left a huge impression on all of us.”

“That’s fine. I accept your offer as leader of this refuge under a few different conditions.”

Firth smiled as wide as I had when I first came to the library before saying, “That’s fantastic to hear, what conditions would those be? We will fulfill anything you ask for.”

“For starters, no more openly praying to me as I walk around. I wish to blend in here, I don’t want to be stared at wherever I go. It’s honestly creepy and will take a lot of getting used to. Also, instead of praying to me, write more books, that is how you can worship me. So, as you seem most in control here, I want you to be my representative,” I said, trying to impress on them that I just wanted more books to read. It would also help raise literacy levels and a source of income.

“I would be honored, Lady Astrid. What else do you need?”

“I wish to expand the size and scope of the refuge to take in all otherkin. I want this to become a place where people can spend their time reading and learning rather than being worried about surviving. You need to draw up plans for expansion. Keeping it underground is probably best for now till I figure out how to deal with the calamity beasts. You have seen what I am capable of, but feel free to ask questions when I am around.” 

He stared at me reverently like I was a savior, but as I thought about it, that was probably true. It would more than likely solidify their view of me as their goddess. “Yes, Lady Astrid. We will start working on plans immediately.”

“I heard about your past and realized you seem capable of achieving this, so please do this for me.”

He looked ashamed and looked towards the ground. “I have done many bad things. I apologize for that. “

“From what I can tell, the people have accepted your apology, so don’t worry about it. Just keep helping me make this place even better.”

He looked directly at me and smiled like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. “Thank you, Lady Astrid, I won’t fail you. Is there anything else?”

“No, not for now. I will be headed towards the mushroom farm. Oh, that’s right. How have the mushrooms been?”

“Everyone loves them. They taste great and they are risk-free. We don’t have enough books to read in front of them, but we have been writing books to do as you said.”

It was good to hear they were trying to use the area how I had intended, but I wasn’t sure if it was too restrictive. “You don’t have to read in front of him. They just need your passive mana. You can also actively pump mana into them.”

“But you said that we needed to read —”

“I guess I did kinda mislead you. I just wish for people to read and learn more. So I figured if you were forced to read to get food, then you would learn more.”

A grin grew across his face. “That sounds just like what the goddess of knowledge would do. We want to follow your guidance, as it is a divine proclamation. We shall only directly pour mana in an emergency.”

Was I really acting like a goddess? I’m only a teenager, not even an adult yet. Though that was a little confusing of a topic. That was another thing I wanted to discuss with philosophers. “Is there anything that you need, Firth?”

His face filled with anger. “The fire in the previous farm and storage areas was intentional. The Council and I were hoping you could figure out who it was. We don’t want anyone else harmed.”

That was very serious. I wondered who would betray their own people when they’re already so weakened. I suppose I could do some sort of mass surveillance and peer into people’s minds, but that felt kind of weird and I really didn’t want to know what people’s internal thoughts were. Every time I had used that spell in the past, it got kind of awkward, especially with how my fan club worshiped me and wanted to protect me. Their minds continually just repeated, “MUST PROTECC!”

I stood there for a few minutes and realized that maybe I wouldn’t need to do anything, but the threat of me would. “Just spread the message that I will investigate them later tonight, but if the traitors turn themselves into the Council before I investigate, I will not harm them personally. They should be scared after the magic I used yesterday. I mean, you all are in awe of such a minor spell that anyone could cast.”

“You’re wise, but I don’t think anybody can cast that. If that was nothing to you, then your power is even greater than we realize. I shall do as you say. It is a great idea. I pray to you it works.”

Oh, dang it! Can’t I ever win! This human curse keeps messing with me. If they could cast, they would believe me!

I headed down to where the mushroom farm was to see how it was being used. Everyone just kinda stared at me and went quiet when I came into the room. I quickly left, not wanting to interact with so many people at once.

By the time I got back up the stairs, Firth was waiting for me.

“Lady Astrid, we found the culprit. We waited to question him to tell you to talk to him.”

“That was fast. Though I’m not that good at interrogations. The last thing I interrogated someone about was where they hid a good book.”

“Yes, but your presence should make anyone talk. Any fool would fall to the threat of you.“

I nodded in agreement but decided to do a quick dive into my memobrary. “Please give me a moment to collect myself,” I said as I mentally dove. It took only minutes for me to find what I was looking for: “A Rogue's Guide To Espionage and Counter-Espionage While On The Run By Daniel Bound.” It had so good pointers on how to spot deceivers and liars and some spells to deal with them. There was also a very soft memory alteration spell that made people forget the last few moments. It fit well into my acceptability range.

After I came back mentally, we went to where the prisoner was. He was surrounded by the hunters I had met yesterday. They seemed angered by the situation which I completely understood.

There he stood, looking at me in pure horror, his eyes bulging, his skin scuffed up. It seemed they had already done a number on him. I wanted to know the answer to the mystery of why he did it. “Why did you betray your own people?”

“Please forgive me, goddess. I didn’t know you would be here; it was the Royals that ordered me to do it. It was Do —” Electricity coursed through his body as he tried to speak a name. There was panic in the room. Highthorn lunged in front of me, ready to defend me.

If I had been fast enough, I probably could have stopped it, but I hadn’t been on point. There was the possibility of chronomancy but that was always very dangerous. I decided it was time to stop reviewing my utility spells and instead focus on my battle spells. He just lay there paralyzed from the shock.

“This is a name triggered spell. There’s a lot of play here. Keep this news quiet, do not repeat it to anybody. I will investigate this myself. I really don’t like royals gone mad.” This just got very awkward. I would need to pry into the Royals' memories to see which of them was at fault. Even if I didn’t like it, it had become necessary. It could get terrible if a war started.

I cast a mass charm spell that I have learned from “Milda’s Glamour Intrigues” to freeze everyone in their location as they stared at their deepest fantasies. Then I cast the memory alteration spell to make them forget what they just saw. As I dropped the charm spell and everyone shook their heads, looking at the electrocuted man on the floor.

I used the low-tier suggestion spell from the same book to influence everyone. “I believe it was a heart attack for having offended me. This is why I have told you not to over worship me because the shock of failing me could harm you if you worry about me too much,” I said, trying to slip in some counteraction against their reverence.

Firth looked at me for a moment before giving instructions to the hunters. “Take him out in secret. Tell the others that he had a heart attack from the shame of his own actions. Keep an eye on his condition”

That contradicted what I said, but he probably had a reason for it. I would need to ask him about it later. I would need to heal him later but not before getting a chance to do some reading. The punishment of paralysis is good enough for having tried to ruin everyone's lives here.

“Firth, come see me in the emergency contact room. Highthorn, stay here and help the hunters put him in a safe place till he is healed. I want him watched until he is healed. After that lock him up,” I said, not wanting Highthorn to be put in an awkward position against his former employer. This needed to be resolved soon. I took off ahead of Firth.