Chapter 21

“There is a futility here that I’m having doubts I will come to terms with,” Danel complained as he stood before eight open books on the table. “Whatever I’m looking for, it’s not here. These authors have a different agenda and completely ignore what I need.”

“Welcome to the Library of Ibados,” Frage said. “Relevant information is not generated on a whim and certainly not by academics who are pulling their dicks or rubbing their buttons while they sit in musty halls. Information is generated when there is a need.”

“I don’t have that kind of time, Frage.”

“Danel, this is a boring collection, most of it is dedicated to how to build bigger things to kill more people at one time,” she said. “Having scanned the catalog in the corner, there is not one book in here that explains how one forges a round-tipped shovel. You were going on about chisels. I found one text that describes chisels for sculpture and warns the reader about the high cost of acquiring them. How to forge them? No.”

She closed every book in front of him. “Now that we have confirmed that this search within this collection is futile, why are we here, Danel? I’m happy to help, but you’ve got to give me some context here or you’re wasting my time as well as yours.”

“We found building machines on wheels,” Danel said. “The wheels alone are the height of two of me. Priestess Bahya was guided to their storage, and I don’t know why. I thought that if I understood the machines better, there would be clues. We’ve come up empty.”

“Obviously, you’re asking the wrong question. Reshelve these books and then we can go somewhere more productive.” Danel did as he was instructed, placing each volume in its proper place on the shelves.

“Where to?” Danel asked, wiping the dust off his hands.

“A question you can answer: tea or something stronger?”

“What I want and what I need are two different things; I’ll take the tea. Where?”

Frage motioned him to follow with her fingers. When he fell in alongside her as they walked down the corridor, she explained he had failed to take advantage of some of the privileges that came with their green cords. One of those privileges was afternoon tea with bread, jams, and fruits. An order placed in the regular kitchen would be delivered to whatever sitting room they chose. They settled into the Green Room, known for its overstuffed chairs, low tables, and the complete lack of books in the room. There was art on the wall and objects de art on the tables, but that was the extent of the decorations.

Danel sipped his tea as he poked at the strange fruits on the tray. He finally chose one and popped it in his mouth. His eyes went wide as the strong sour taste hit his taste buds. His head cantilevered to the side as he tried to chew and swallow as fast as possible. Frage was trying to not laugh out loud, only to snort and grasp her breasts with her arms as she choked at his distress. “You are still always good for a laugh, Danel,” she said when she could speak again.

“Glad to oblige,” he rasped, gulping his tea. “By the gods, what did I do to myself?”

“Where is your priestess who has been glued to your side like an extra appendage,” she asked after they had both relaxed back into their seats.

“I don’t know and honestly, I don’t care,” Danel said. “Her goddess is heavy-handed and while I wholeheartedly believe that the goddess wishes me only good, it’s been rough. No one told me that I would be liaising with the gods as a Librarian. Speaking of which, how goes your liaising?”

“We’re hosting a convocation of cosmologists in three months for two weeks of lectures, panel discussions, business meetings, and entertainments. We expect over three hundred to attend. We also expect some of our in-house Orders, whose idea of cosmology is quite primitive and world-centric, to act out. Yoodma is carrying part of the load, but I’m leading the business side of the fees, charges, and contracts. What a pain in the ass. I convinced Second to hire a man who knows double-entry accounting to take a lead part of the negotiations. He is the weasel we need.”

“Is it worth the hassle?”

“We will receive at least half of a years’ cost for the Librarians’ upkeep out of this deal,” Frage said. “We will probably get a few lucrative inquiries while they’re here, all on the hush-hush, of course.”

“My dear Librarian, it sounds as if you are our new moneymaker,” Danel said, choosing a fruit slice he recognized. He chewed slowly.

“Someone has to pay for all of your gallivanting,” Frage said. “Which brings us back to the reason we are ensconced in these thoroughly comfortable chairs. What in the name of the gods are you doing?”

“Which gods?” Danel responded with a wince.

“Oh shit. There are gods involved and you’re telling me that there is more than one,” Frage said. “No wonder that priestess is hanging off your arm every chance she can. She’s got professional competition.”

“As of today, Head and Second have forbidden me to speak about the project, while at the same time demanding that I spread the responsibility by getting help from my fellow Librarians,” Danel leaned his head into his raised hand. “The gods are demanding we get to the bottom of the Library of Ibados. Not only is there no direct route, but there are also no written directions for any other route. I cannot even find when the last time someone went down into the deep basements. It is as if all those documents have been destroyed. Head has no clue; Second has no records.”

“If Head and Second know all this, why does the burden fall on you?”

Danel winced again and looked at her with a hangdog face.

Frage tapped the side of the cup with her nail “Between the gods, our leaders, and you, the only irreducible conclusion is that the gods have fingered you for the job. They called upon you by name.”

Danel raised both hands, “I didn’t tell you.”

“Clever boy,” Frage said. “How does the priestess Bahya fit in?”

“The goddess Raua has a sanctuary in the basement, and I took her there in an attempt to find the route.”

“Raua is Erta in my pantheon,” Frage said. “I looked it up. Would you be willing to take me to her sanctuary? I have offered votive offerings to her back home. If Bahya is proving a poor guide, maybe the goddess will accept me.”

“I’d have to get permission from Head,” Danel said with a frown. “I don’t think he will be amendable. Second: forget it; she’s angry.”

“Where is that rangy boy from the Steppes who treated every day like an adventure? Take off the damn ball and chain they’ve latched to your ankle, and take me there. We can go after dinner, and no one will know.”

Danel took another fruit. “Ah, we typically have shadows when we venture out after dinner.”

“Bring them with us,” Frage said. “No one can say we traveled without backup.”

Danel crossed his arms and gave her a dirty look.

“Look, Danel, whatever you’re doing now isn’t working,” Frage said. “You’re running yourself ragged with these half-assed searches and these pointless explorations. If you are the one for the job, then you need to do it your way. There are fifty other Librarians with more years and experience, and a horde of priests and priestesses. Yet, none of them have been summoned to the task. Stop this nonsense and let’s get this done.”

“After dinner, then,” Danel said. “We say nothing to anyone and simply depart for an evening stroll. Better: there is a concert in Dominion Hall tonight. We sit in back and make a surreptitious departure during the first movement. We will already be on the First Floor, and I know a shortcut hallway between the corridors.”