Chapter 11

“To be clear, whenever we encounter a new passage or a new stairwell, Ebba goes first,” Sunder said. “She is faster than most, and she has more muscle memory than three men combined. She has the eyes of an eagle and the ears of a bat.”

“She also acts like she wants to rip the flesh off my skull,” Danel said, giving her as much space as she wanted.

“Ah, she likes you,” Sunder said. “If she truly hated your person, she would totally ignore your existence. I don’t know the story of her passage to the Temple of Ibados, but the tiny bits she drops over time sound harrowing, which makes her the best point person we have.”

They were standing in the south end of the Third Corridor on the First Floor, far away from the public ways for staff and visitors. Danel had left his robes behind and had his cords hanging loosely from his neck, handy for tying oneself to anything stationary if the stones slip or the wind gusts from the vents blow furiously. He was wearing a hat of layered hardened leather and a pair of googles on top of the brim for the time being. Wearing the gloves without fingers felt comfortable, but he stuffed a pair of complete gloves in his backpack. In his pack, he stored the precious pen, wrapped in cotton gauze and the travel journal.

“This stairway is secure,” Sunder explained. “It doesn’t change on us. The next one down, however, could land you in all sorts of trouble.”

Danel was reading the markings on the stairs. “The markings say ‘down, one floor’ on this set. What do they say on the other stairwell?”

“Down, and down,” Sunder said. “Okay, in line in this order: Ebba, Tsum, Rahim and Danel, me, and Malchus.”

Danel lined up with Rahim at his shoulder. The man was huge, fully a head taller than Danel who was not small, and a wide back with huge shoulders. The man could have substituted for a plow horse, Danel estimated. “What’s your story?” Danel asked.

“In the tribal war band, they always wanted to put me in the front. When I joined the kingdom’s army, they still wanted to always put me in the front. Here, I stand in the middle. I like the middle.”

“Why do you like the middle, Rahim?”

“I can see both ways and know all my people are safe,” Rahim said. “I’ve always been charged with keeping my people safe when out in the field. Now, I can do it the way I think is best.”

They began their descent down the stairs. Because this set was better known, they were not particularly worried. Instead, they were using this route to train Danel on how they moved in unfamiliar territory.

They reached the basement. The ceiling was not as high, and the light emanated from recesses at the meeting point of the walls and the ceiling. The ceilings were unfinished, exposing roughhewn stone. If Danel looked closely, he could see the chisel marks on the edges of the blocks. They turned northward and walked quietly, listening for whatever may lurk ahead of them.

The first hallway came up on their right. The markings were chiseled in the stone, but they were the same as more formal markings used upstairs. “This is hallway twenty-two,” he announced, feeling the gouged marks with his fingers. “Eastward. The corridor where we are standing is the second one.”

Sunder pulled out a small bound book from his pocket, opening it to a specific page. “The columbarium is down the twenty-fourth hallway. We continue that way,” he said, pointing with his finger.

They continued to walk quietly. Danel paid attention to the walls, finding them unremarkable and plain. Their footfalls echoed slightly, as if they were lightly dragging their feet. The sound was not comfortable.

Arriving at the next hallway, Danel came forward to read the gouges again. “This is the twenty-fourth. What happened to the twenty-third?”

“On a grid, the missing hallway could be between the first and second corridors,” Sunder said, making a note in his book with a thin lead. “Or it could have disappeared. Another mystery. Not for today, I think. We continue down this hallway.”

The hallway was narrower than the corridor, as was typical above; one level did inform the other in specific rudiments. Danel’s shoulder brushed hard up against the wall because Rahim was so wide, and it hurt. He expected a bruise to rise. He rubbed the top of his arm as they continued. The hallway ended in a large room.

The room was lit well, and the number of sealed niches stunned Danel. “How many dead Librarians are there? I thought we were speaking of a pot two hand spans around at least, but these are tiny.”

“A little bit of ash doesn’t take up much room,” Sunder said. “Since we are here, would you like to reserve your space for future use? You have quite a selection on this wall.”

“Trying to get rid of me already?” Danel said. “I would’ve thought you would have waited until after we found our target for the day.”

They all laughed. Sunder gave him a wry look. “Most people tremble in fear when they come to this room for the first time. Not only did you direct us without getting lost, you’re cavalier about the statement this room makes. Do you not realize you’re never leaving the Library of Ibados? Can you not see that this is your final resting place?”

Danel looked around. “The room looks clean and tidy. As far as I’m concerned, a niche here is better than a nameless grave on a battlefield somewhere out on the Steppes. Someone will at least recite some burial rites, yes? Just for the record, I don’t expect that I will need one of these holes for a few decades at least.”