So here we go with Chapter 3! Thanks to everyone for comments, favorites, and, especially, to those of you who think this story is good enough to follow!
I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am, so here is the next installment. I can't wait to see what's going to happen!
Standard Disclaimer: Everyone is 18+, no using the material without permission, and all that other stuff.
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The day after Mera had shown him the armory, she came into his room and woke him just as the walls were starting to illuminate. She had warned him of their "dawn" departure, but he was used to early marching times with the army.
The night before, they had prepared several portable meals that would keep throughout the day. Mera planned on a short excursion for his first day and had kept the menu small and light. With their food packed and both of them armed, they rode the lift to another of the mid-shaft doorways.
By an unspoken mutual agreement, they remained quiet throughout the morning hike; speaking only when necessary to pass information. Ashur was mentally preparing for what lay ahead of them while Mera seemed to be deep in thought. The tall soldier wondered if she was having some doubts about having him come along but with her face and skin unreadable, he resigned himself to following along with her.
The other reason for his taciturn demeanor was due to his constant attention on one of the three Library maps that he kept about him. He knew that, should he lose sight of his azure guide, the maps would be his only way of finding a way back to more familiar areas. It still amazed him to watch the images and words on the folded paper move and change as they traversed from one area of the Library to another.
After several hours of walking, the map seemed to go blurry on one edge. The writing was fuzzy and distorted on the side that corresponded to their destination. When he showed Mera, she had nodded and explained.
"Remember when I said that the Library is now bordered by other planes and realities? The map cannot keep up since it is tied to the space that the Library occupies. As we get into the overlapping areas, we are both inside and outside the Library at the same time and the map gets confused."
Thinking that the map wasn't the only one, Ashur folded it up and stowed it into a pocket. As part of outfitting him for these jaunts, Mera had given him clothing that was more appropriate for what they would need. His new trousers had several pockets sewn very neatly into the legs while the shirt and vest had more along the breast and sides. The stitching of the pockets was strong and intricate and the soldier was still getting used to them. It felt strange not to have a pouch or two hanging from his belt and bumping on his thighs. He had caught himself stopping to see if he had dropped them several times during their morning walk only to remember that he had used the pockets. When he had joked about this, Mera had simply shaken her head sadly and murmured, "So much lost."
Now, as they moved further into the muddled area between the Library and some unknown place, Mera slowed and became more alert. She stopped often and looked around the edges of bookcases or moved circumspectly around common reading areas. The juxtaposition of soft, deep chairs and intricately designed tables with the stalking woman's demeanor made her actions surreal and conveyed the gravity of their situation more than if she had simply told him to be careful. Taking the cue, he mimicked her movements and went from "soldier" to "hunter" in the space of a few heartbeats. As if she had felt the change in him, she turned to look back and nodded her approval.
Silently, they roved through the aisles with eyes moving back and forth looking for danger. What kind of danger, Ashur had no clue, but, having seen what had happened to Mera, he knew it was quite real. Working with decades of experience hunting and foraging while on long patrols, he watched for movement between the shelves and listened for anything above the soft susurration of their breathing and foot falls.
And so, they both heard the clicking of claws on stone floor. Ashur whipped his new sword from its sheath and activated the shield on his arm. Bracing himself for the fight, he saw Mera remove a small glass globe from the folds of her skirt as she stepped up beside him. It looked much like the one the female half of the giant statue held, but any further curiosity was pushed from his mind as the source of the clicking stalked around the corner of a bookcase.
The soldier almost took a step back from the monstrosity. It had seen them and started stalking forward on six large legs. The beast held its long scaled snout low to the ground and sniffed the air in their direction. Overlapping plates of thick green made up its hide and they moved across each other with the creature's movements. Once, it had cleared the corner, Ashur could finally see the entirety of what they faced. From snout to tail tip, it was no more than ten feet long, however the mis-proportioned thing stood nearly six feet at the shoulder. The strange monster waved its stocky head back and forth on an elongated neck as if to see them with both eyes which were set in either side.
Ashur braced himself to run forward to fight but was held back by Mera's hand on his arm. "Wait," she said. Holding up the globe, she stared intently at the approaching animal. It stopped in midstride as the ball in the woman's hand began to glow. Growling, the creature shook its head as if to clear something away, but, as the light intensified, both growling and shaking stopped. After a few moments, it stumbled backwards; obviously confused. Finally, it turned and retreated back among the shelves.
As the illumination in Mera's hand faded, Ashur relaxed slightly, but still remained ready should the strange beast return. The caretaker returned the globe to her dress and nodded with satisfaction. When she saw that he was splitting his attention between her and the receding clicking, she patted the air between them to reassure him.
"Don't worry," she said. "Right now, that poor thing is really pining for home and will follow the path I gave it back to wherever that is." At his confused look, she pulled the globe free again and held it up. "Part of the magic of the caretakers is in a manipulation of sorts. The female half can work with the thoughts and emotions of others since we are more attuned to them. The male half tends to work more with the body and its workings." She shrugged a bit and put the glass ball away. "There is a bit of overlap which is how I can speed up my own regeneration, though not nearly as fast as Colphon could. On the other hand, he could only receive impressions of other's emotions where I can change thoughts and desires if needed."
