Chapter 6

Danel dumped his dirty plate in the bin on the rectangular table next to the kitchen. Most of the Librarians left their plates for the servants to clean up, but Danel had a different agenda. He had already learned that the servants had their own networks of information and gossip. A simple gesture of respect, putting his plate in the bin, was instantly recognized, and provided entree into their world. Besides, he had been trained not to waste the servants’ time on trivial crap that takes two seconds if everyone polices their own dishware. His parents were smarter than he knew when he was younger, like six months younger.

He mustered up his courage and walked over to the table closest to the fireplace. “Excuse me, Second, may I have a moment of your time before we leave for assignments this morning?”

She rubbed her eyes like she was anticipating something distasteful was attached to Danel’s request. She agreed. After the assignments were distributed, she motioned him over.

Danel sat and told his story of the last two nights. When he finished, she released a weary laugh and shook her head.

“First,” she said, “There will be no children. You and your yellow cord fellows have been rendered sterile for the duration of your studies. The gods are probably keeping tallies and taking bets over the sexual antics of you and your fellows as they must do every year that we have candidates. I’m disappointed that only Frage has approached me about birth control. Men and their members: some things don’t change, I’m afraid.

“Second, as you might deduce if you are not thinking with your small head, the precautions that Librarians take are not discussed with any of the other groups within the Library of Ibados. You shall not mention these items either.

“Third, I am pleased you heard my warning about being drawn into the conflicts between the Orders. They can’t help themselves, and they make life miserable for everyone around them. I wouldn’t be surprised if their gods distance themselves at times such as this. Still, you were able to elicit the information and leave nothing behind: no promises, expectations, or favors.

“Finally, you know by experience that sexual relations are allowed between acolytes and Librarians as long as there is mutual consent. I strongly suggest you stay away from liaisons with higher ranking members of any given Order. They will have another agenda that will complicate your ability to act as a Librarian, every time.”

Danel bobbed his head. “Yes, I have learned that acolytes are dispensable. Few if any are treated as individuals and are, instead, lumped together as the community thereof. Meriting the gods’ providence comes with rank. Further, I learned the acolytes may share my bed, but they share little else. Their loyalty is to their god and not to me. As they give, thus have I given. They quench the undeniable urges and nothing more.” He grimaced.

“Please explain, then, why you took this particular acolyte with you back to your mattress after your conversation with the priestess.” Second watched him closely.

“Horse trading tactic,” Danel said. “Simple, really.”

“Horse trading? We do have a section of materials on the subject, but I have not delved into any of the texts. What was this simple tactic?”

“In horse trading, there is always a question of who is more powerful, the buyer or the seller, the breeder or the stable owner. Sometimes it is equal and other times, the balance of power is easy for all to see. Then there are the other instances. Priestess Aungsul thought to prove she was more powerful than a yellow cord Librarian. By taking her possession and leaving her without the ability to protest, I demonstrated to the priestess where the balance lay, namely, with the Librarian.”

“I see,” she said with a sigh. “I hope you were not particularly attached to that possession. If the priestess understood your message, that acolyte was reassigned to a temple elsewhere, probably far away, first thing this morning.”

“She was a sacrifice from the moment she was ordered to fetch me,” Danel said. “There is nothing godly about these Orders that I can see, Second. They are shortsighted, venal, and eat their own young. I recognize they are useful to the Library of Ibados, but there are consequences of their help.”

Second stood up. “We have a meeting of the minds, Danel. We are at the three-month mark and already you are demonstrating acuity we would hope to see in all our yellow cords. I’m not sure you got lucky, or whether your horse trading is that good. No matter, next time a ranking member of an Order summons you, demur. Agreed?”

“Yes, Second, I will do as you ask.”

“Good. Your exams are in eighty-eight days. You are expected in the Grand Reading Room this morning and you will be manning the back desk. If you do not run, you will be late.”

“Yes, Second. Good day to you,” Danel bowed as he wished her well. He bolted from the room and took a right at the corridor. The seemingly direct route to the largest Reading Room was to the left, but Danel had discovered another route the other day and he was anxious to try it.

He had found the older staircase hidden in an archway in one of the short hallways that contained pipes, conduits and ducts that were a mystery to most everyone. The lighting was spotty as well. Still, the stairwell was open going both up and down. He ran downward to the first floor and found a closed door. He swallowed before opening the door. Blinking in surprise, he stepped into a sorting room. Volumes and scrolls were dumped willy-nilly on shelves on one side, tables and workstations in the middle, and more shelves on the right with cataloged items ready to be distributed to the collection proper.

“Bridles and britches,” Danel said. “I think I reached the Grand Reading Room complex.” He crossed the room and stepped through another door into the reading room itself, near the front entrance. He scratched his head, wondering how that staircase got him to such a different part of the building that normally takes twenty-five to thirty minutes, yet here he stood, having beaten everyone to the room.

What had Frage called it? Folded space? She may have been more accurate than she realized, he thought as he chewed on a fingernail. There were several staircases that flipped direction if you stepped out and back in and now there was this one that went an impossible distance. The irony was Frage hated taking staircases and confined her forays to the bigger, better-known stairwells. He would never get her to try it.

Danel walked out the front doors of the Grand Reading Room, locking the heavy doors in the open position with the attached hooks. The wide foyer had an imposing desk in the middle that prevented anyone from going straight into the Reading Room. On the plaster walls hung artwork, huge paintings of pastoral scenes on one side and ocean shores on the other, supposedly by master painters. Danel had not gotten to the chapter on cataloging art. Next week.

Peering out the small window in one of the two entrance doors, he counted fifteen people already waiting to enter. These were mostly researchers. Some of them were on staff with the Library of Ibados, but most were visiting scholars and academics. By midmorning, the curious and the sightseers would arrive to crane their necks at the ornately carved ceilings and the leagues of stacks. Docents would usher them into the room with invocations of caution to remain quiet and hold their questions until they were back in the corridor.

The people manning the front desk were not Librarians. They were clerks and security, most of whom were employees of the Library of Ibados and a few others who were members of the Orders. No wizards were allowed. He had not necessarily been looking for people to voice sympathy with the wizards, but thus far, he had not found a single individual saying something good about wizards.