Library of Rain

Rain ended up teleporting away from the newly minted Ash Fox-kin right before dawn. Her new minion clutched his smoldering book and looked at her respectfully assuring her he would find loyal people to help him. Her acting skills must have been better than she thought; she had him fooled into thinking she could actually do something to him if he turned on her. 

 

Rain changed into a pretty green casual dress. She had started keeping buttons in an inner pocket of her coat so it could use them when it changed shape. Today, she was using some simple wooden ones. 

 

Skipping down the street, Rain spread her arms like wings, carefully avoiding the cracks between paving stones. She deserved to have some fun, right? Not many ten-year-olds could say they had taken the first steps to becoming the criminal overlords of the capital. 

 

Rain wished the early risers wouldn’t be so good at avoiding her; it would be more fun if she had to dodge between them. Boring people wouldn’t ruin her mood, though. She had done it! She had used one of her books to help someone! Admittedly, when his hair had turned gray, and he grew pointy ears and a tail, she had thought this would be another failure on her part. But no, he had had a race evolution just like the uffters. There had been a few differences. The race was already known, so she hadn’t had to name it, and Mr. Purple had said something about his records, whatever that meant. But it didn’t matter. He seemed alright with it, so she would be too.

 

Now that she had Mr. Markson and Mr. Mirage working for her, she would need more information to know where to sow more seeds. Hence, her current destination: a tavern in the Mid Ring she could use to contact the Watching Stars. 

 

Unfortunately, when she arrived, it was to see the building surrounded by armed men wearing the symbol of Lord Miggos—the man whose manor Rain had set fire to. Well, ashes, she might be responsible for this. 

 

Whether or not this was her fault, she wouldn't be using this method of contact to get in touch with the Stars. What would be the next best bet? She remembered there being instructions to get in contact with them through the Mid Ring Library and Goldhand Auction House. 

 

The library it was. She had had enough of auction houses to last her a lifetime. Pivoting on her heel, Rain headed towards the inner part of the Mid Ring where the library was. She was excited to see it. It would be way smaller than her library, but it would probably be cool.

 

When she arrived, it was to find that the library was one of the larger buildings in the Mid Ring. The building was shaped like a large spire with smaller spires branching off it. Rain was disappointed to see men and women with the Miggos house symbol about the place. Rain could give up on the library and go to the auction house, but there was no guarantee that it would be any less infested with Miggos’s minions. 

 

Rain couldn’t wait until she was the one with the minions. 

 

 

She had been all wrapped up when she visited Miggos’s House, so it should be safe for her to enter. Right? Checking that she had a coin in a safe place, she walked right into the library's front doors. None of the Miggos Minions - should she call them Miggions? - paid her any attention. The front doors led to a large stone room with a red carpeted floor and large windows letting in light. Behind a counter, an old woman sat reading some kind of book. There was also a door with an armed guard standing next to it that looked like it led into the library proper.

 

She assumed she needed to talk to the woman behind the counter to get permission to enter the library. Rain made sure her posture was straight and her expression was mature. If she was being honest, she wasn’t really sure what a mature face was supposed to feel like. Either way, she approached the woman.

 

“Excuse me, Mam.”

 

The woman looked up but said nothing.

 

“What do I need to do to enter the Library?”

 

The woman scrutinized Rain's appearance, noting her disheveled hair, tired eyes, and neat but simple clothing, and found her wanting.

 

“To enter the first three library floors one time is an old. If you plan to frequent the library, you will want a chit of admittance, which will cost you forty old.”

 

That was a lot! And it would only get her into the first three floors? How many floors were there? Rain’s contact was on the first floor, so she should probably buy a chit to come by whenever she wanted. It didn’t hurt that she was curious about what non-cursed books were like. Despite having knowledge from her past life, there were still things she knew nothing about. Libraries were one of them.

 

Reaching into her coat, Rain produced forty old coins and placed them on the counter before the woman. The woman’s eyes widened at the sight of the money, clearly not expecting Rain to be able to pay. 

 

“I’d like to buy a chit Mam.” Rain said, trying to keep her satisfaction out of her voice at seeing the surprised look on the woman's face. 

 

“Very well.” the woman said, taking Rain’s money and recounting it. “Here is a chit for the first three floors. You will need to pay more to go above that. You may not take any books out of the library. You will be searched when you leave.”

 

As the stuffy lady spoke, she handed Rain a thin rectangle of carved wood with an image of the library carved onto its face. It had a small hole drilled through the top where it could be kept on a string. A small number three was at the bottom, under the library's image.

 

Rain took the chit and happily left the woman mid-speech. She showed it to the guard, who let her in with a smirk at the judgy woman. Rain liked him.

 

Now Rain needed to find her contact. The notes Mr. Manas had given her said that she needed to ask for help understanding a section of the book ‘Ashmin Cooking.’ So the first thing she would need to do was find that book.

 

The moment she entered the library proper, her mouth fell open. Maybe it was just the lack of fog obscuring everything, but this library looked far larger than hers. How was that possible? Her library was supposed to be where all forbidden knowledge was held. It should be massive compared to a regular library.

 

This first floor was full of shelves of ordered and boring-looking books with large windows letting in light and a balcony around the outside walls providing access to even more bookshelves. How was Rain supposed to find a specific book in this place?

 

Looking around for someone to ask Rain saw more Miggions walking around like they were looking for something. That was going to add another layer of complexity to getting in contact with the Stars. For some reason, Rain found herself smiling. Was she looking forward to this? 

 

Reminding herself that this was not a game, Rain started by looking for someone who might be able to help her find the right book. Every time she had to pass a Miggion, she would feel a slight thrill. Pretending she wasn’t scared as she walked by was fun. Maybe she should try to become an actress so she could have fun like this all the time.

 

If she did become an actress, she would have to decide whether she wanted to play the pretty lady or the black classer. Maybe she could be a pretty black classer? No black classers didn’t wear green. 

 

Rain rounded a corner to find a counter with another woman behind it. This woman wasn’t as old as the first. She seemed to be in her twenties with blond hair, and, were those glasses? Rain knew of them but had never seen them before. They were cool. Rain wondered what they felt like.

 

“Excuse me, mam.” Rain asked the lady, “Do you know how to find a specific book?”

 

“Of course. Do you have the name of the book?” 

 

Rain noticed that one of the Miggions was close; he might be in earshot. Not sure if they knew about the book, but thinking it was likely given that they were here, Rain realized she couldn’t say anything until there was no one around to overhear. 

 

“I don’t know how to pronounce it.”

 

Hopefully, there was a book with the location of all the other books in it.

 

“That's no problem. If you can write down the book title you’re looking for, I can help you find it.”

 

That wasn’t what Rain had been hoping to hear. But it was still a good way to get what she needed. So, ears burning red, she wrote ‘Ashmin Cooking’ on the piece of paper that the kind lady offered her. Why had she said she didn’t know how to pronounce it?

 

The lady looked at the paper and gave a soft laugh. 

 

“I’m afraid another patron is currently reading this book. But if you want, I can lead you to where they are studying?”

 

“I, er, okay.” Rain answered. Hopefully, she could still make contact with the Stars here. She really didn’t want to have to go to the auction house.

 

“Follow me, dear.”

 

The woman led Rain to a side reading room. Its placement and size reminded Rain of her bedroom back in her library. Inside was a table topped with piles of books and surrounded by comfortable-looking chairs. A man, who also looked to be in his twenties, sat at the table reading. 

 

“Sorry to interrupt, Orm. This young lady is looking for one of the books you’re hoarding in here.” 

 

“Huh, oh, is she now? Well, come on in, young miss, what book are you looking for?” 

 

The man Orm’s voice was distracted, and he never bothered to look away from the book he was reading. 

 

“I’m looking for Ashmin Cooking.”

 

That caught his attention. And for the first time, he looked away from his book. His eyes immediately captivated Rain; one was a normal gray, while the other was a vibrant ice blue. 

 

“Ya, I can take care of her. Thanks, Hope.”

 

“Oh, it's no problem. I’m happy to help you if you ever need anything, Orm.”

 

The lady, Hope, had her hands clasped in front of her. She looked like she was trying to find the right words and failing. She also hadn’t taken her eyes off Orm since they entered the room. Orm, for his part, had yet to spare her a glance. 

 

“Yep, yep, I’ve got this thanks.”

 

Hope bowed slightly and left. Rain caught a glimpse of a sad smile as she turned around. 

 

“You can look through the pile of books for Ashmin Cooking if you really want that book, or you can just tell me what the number thirty-six means to you.”

 

Rain briefly froze at the question before deciding to take the risk.

 

“My past.”

 

Orm grinned. 

 

“So you’re the troublemaker who got Miggos all riled up? Good for you. What do you need?”

 

“Just to clarify, you are one of the Watching…” Rain left the sentence hanging, hoping he would finish it.

 

“Watching Stars, yes. I’m the library contact today.”

 

Rain looked at the man closer. He had blond hair that went well with his mismatched eyes and a long gray robe with ink stains on the sleeves. It wasn’t how she expected an informant to look, but now that she thought about it, what was she expecting?

 

“Here is a list of things I want information on.” Rain said, pulling a sheet of paper she had prepared and handing it to Orm.

 

He looked it over briefly and nodded. "That will cost thirty old upfront and another thirty upon completion.”

 

Rain winced at the price. Sure, she could afford it, but it was still a lot. Rain pulled out the thirty old he asked for and handed it over. 

 

“Great, come back in a week, and I’ll have your information for you. If you need it sooner than that, it’ll cost more.”

 

“A week is fine.”

 

“Great! Oh, and as an advance, talk to Hope if you want to know about noble culture and customs. She’s a smart one. Just maybe ask her on a day when Miggos isn’t being a pain.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Orm was already fully invested in his book and didn’t bother to answer.