The Great Library of Frisia

That day started out as any other ordinary day as a librarian at the Great Library of Frisia. People came and went - never taking any books with them because you never take any of the rare tomes from the Great Library. Any reading of these books takes place in reading rooms located on each of the twenty floors of the library.

As I was saying, the day began normally, up until a ragtag group of what appeared to be adventurers or warriors stepped through the imposing ten-foot-tall doors of the library. There were five of them: three men and two women. Two of the men wore nearly full knight regalia (sans helmets), while the third man wore the extravagant costume of a bard with a mandolin strapped to his back. One woman poised herself like she was royalty, donning a fine dress of pink silk, and the other woman wore the linen attire of a paladin - flowy, drop-crotch pants, a large tunic secured with an assortment of belts, and a navy scarf that obscured the bottom half of her face.

Needless to say, this collection of personalities is uncommon, to say the least, at the Great Library of Frisia. The bard sauntered up to the help desk that I was sitting at. He leaned against the desk and flashed at me what he seemed to think was a stellar smile.

“What can I help you with today?” I asked him in a professional, almost bored tone. I had been sitting at the help desk all day.

“Yes,” the bard said, “ah, we were wondering if you have a particular book.” Over his shoulder, I spied the fancily dressed woman rolling her eyes.

“What book?” I prompted, becoming annoyed.

“The-uh-Songs of the Dead: Volume II,” the bard replied in a rush. My eyebrows shot up. What did they need that for? I mean, of course we had it at the Great Library. But it was locked away in a vault for only the “worthy” to read. The secrets in the pages of the tome were deadly and powerful. So deadly and powerful that people have died from reading it from various causes.

The adventurers were tense now. I smiled and stood, coming around the counter. The group visibly relaxed. “I’ll see what I can do,” I said, beckoning for them to follow. “Come along.”

The vault was located on the twentieth floor, a journey I rarely needed to make. Which was why I was short of breath by the time we reached the top of the stairs. The twentieth floor was unremarkable, full of bookshelves packed with fading books surrounding the reading center; a collection of tables and chairs. Unremarkable, except for the safe that sat at eye level on a shelf directly across from the door.

All of the adventurers followed me to the safe, a solid metal box with no apparent door or lock. “I need a drop of blood from the worthiest of you to open it,” I explained. All of the adventurers blanched, silently communicating amongst themselves with slightly confused expressions. One of the knights stepped forward, a fair-haired man with a short beard. “I’ll do it,” he said.

I only noticed that the bard was not entirely with the group when I heard him mutter, “What’s this?” and try to take one of the books off of a shelf next to me. Only, it didn’t come off of the shelf. It only tilted 45 degrees until there was a loud click, and the room began to shudder.

“Oh gods, what have you done?” the paladin asked the bard.

The bard shrugged. “The spine was blank. I wanted to see what it was.”

We all watched with mouths agape as the bookshelf sank into the floor, revealing a dimly lit staircase. Sconces lit with blue arcane fire followed the stairs down the spiral stairwell. “Where does that go?” the other knight asked me. He had dark hair and thick, stern eyebrows.

“I had no idea that existed,” I replied. The dark-haired knight raised a skeptical eyebrow.

The finely dressed woman looked between the staircase and the safe. “Now what do we do?”

“We investigate the staircase,” the fair-haired knight suggested. “The book will still be here when we get back.”

“If we get back,” the dark-haired knight added darkly.

“I agree with Kenneth,” the paladin said, nodding at the fair-haired knight.

“I don’t have any arguments,” the bard said.

The dark-haired knight shrugged. “Majority rules, I guess.” The party started for the staircase. I lurched forward and blocked the stairwell with my body.

“You’re not going anywhere,” I said. “At least, not without me. It is my duty as a librarian of the Great Library of Frisia to know what is at the bottom of this staircase.”

The adventurers blinked, silent for a moment. “You don’t need to convince us,” the bard said. I relaxed slightly and moved down the stairs to allow room for the group.

As we walked, the finely dressed woman wrapped her hand around my arm, discreetly enough that I flinched. “This may have been a very dangerous decision, and I don’t want you to get hurt or even die because of a bunch of strangers. But it doesn’t have to be like that. My name is Racine Clearwater.” I paused, but Racine urged me forward. Clearwater was the name of a wealthy ranching family that owns the most land in Frisia, second only to the royal family. I wondered why Racine was with this motley crew who were clearly beneath her class.

“I’m Arabella Windwalker,” I replied. Racine smiled at me warmly. She began to point out and introduce me to her companions. The paladin was called Idris Ali. The bard was Curtis Class. The knights were brothers of the surname Hamilton. The dark-haired knight was named Darius and Kenneth was the name of the fair-haired knight.

The staircase seemed to span the entire height of the library and then some. The sensation of being underground settled in on me as the scent of damp earth filled my nose. Everyone was silent except for the occasional quip by Curtis, who was instantly shot down by his comrades.

Finally, the stairwell opened up to a wide, damp, earthen room dimly lit by wall sconces with blue flames. The only thing in the room was a colossal treasure chest. I broke away from the group and rested my hands on the lock holding the chest shut. Darius was at my side. “Let me open it,” Darius said.

I stepped away as he lifted his handaxe and hacked the padlock into pieces. The shards of the padlock landed with a thud in the soil. Without my asking, Darius retreated to his group at the foot of the stairs, allowing me to open the treasure chest by myself. I pressed the heels of my hands on the metal seam of the chest. I lifted the lid and beheld… nothing.

No, not nothing. Hidden in the shadows of the bottom of the chest was a gold signet ring imprinted with a seal that I did not recognize. It either belonged to some obscure family of a lower noble class or an ancient family that had been scrubbed from history.

“What is it?” Idris asked from directly behind me, making me jump three feet into the air. Literally. I showed her the ring.

“Um, a signet ring. I don’t know what family, though,” I explained.

Idris reached for the ring. “May I?” she asked. I let her take it. Idris gasped as she studied the seal. She beckoned her companions over to study the ring.

“Do you recognize it?” I asked as Idris and I were surrounded by the other adventurers.

“Is that…?” Kenneth asked.

“That’s the ring Silas wanted!” Curtis exclaimed.

“It must be!” Racine said.

“What is it?” I asked. The name Silas, in an archaic context, was tantalizingly familiar to me, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

“Silas was one of the old gods,” Racine explained. “The god of misery and pestilence. I don’t exactly remember how we ended up there, but while we were at his shrine, he appeared and asked for his ring that would have this symbol on it.” She brandished the ring for emphasis. “The Songs of the Dead: Volume II was supposed to tell us where it is.”

“Can we take it?” Darius asked. I stood there, indecisive. I could let them take it and keep this room a secret. If it was rediscovered, it would be an unlucky mystery. But if I was caught in a lie, I would almost certainly lose my job as Great Librarian as well as my reputation.

But if I didn’t let them take the ring, what would I get in return for keeping things as they were? A pat on the back then being returned to obscurity? I could never go down in history as Arabella Windwalker, Great Librarian and Saver of the World if I did that.

If one of the old gods had commissioned these adventurers to retrieve his ring, who was I to stop them? Silas, the god of misery and pestilence, no less. Who knew what suffering I was preventing when I gave the ring to the adventurers?

“Yes, you can keep it,” I said finally. An idea struck me as the adventurers rushed jubilantly to the stairs. I was not going to be around when the Head Librarians discovered what I did. “Wait!” I cried. All of the adventurers froze in their tracks and turned to face me. “Can I join you?”