Chapter 8

The robed man had his hood up, hiding his features. The robe was homespun, dyed black as night and held closed with a simple rope belt. His sandal-covered feet were just showing below the robe. Hands came up from his side, grabbed the hood, and pushed it back. The man's head was completely bald, and indistinguishable, except for the glasses hanging off his nose. It was the first pair that Howen had seen on this world.

"Please come in. Our sister temple in Pelis alerted us to your arrival time. I am Benti, the Gatekeeper. I am here to show you where you can rest and wait for the Head Librarian.

"I must warn you, however, that it may be a few hours, as he was needed in the lower levels. It does take some time to get up from there."

Turning and smiling, Benti led them across the foyer. Howen looked around. The foyer looked carved out of the rock, but it was not rough, as you would think. It was smooth, almost polished, and there was no sign of any leaks that you would see from a normal cave. The ceiling was a dome arching high above the floor; torches lined the walls for light. The only decoration was on the floor. Imbedded in the floor was what Howen recognized as the scales of justice, like back on Earth. The difference was that there was also a book, open, below the scales, along the focal point.

The foyer had three openings. The one to the far left was where Benti was leading them. It turned out to be a stable, where they could see to their horses. They each took care of their own horses, as there were no stablemen. Afterwards, they were led to the far right opening. This, they were told, was the closest they had to guest accommodations. It was like an old hospital ward. Beds were places every so often, with curtains that could be drawn around the bed, to give the impression of privacy.

"Please, rest. When the Head Librarian returns, I'll come back and guide you," said Benti.

"Thank you, Benti. We'll see you in a few hours," replied Howen.

Two hours later, the companions were standing in the office of the Head Librarian.

"Welcome. I am Tourk, the Head Librarian," said a balding man of about 70 years old. He was sitting behind a simple desk covered with books and scrolls, except for a small area that was for writing. He was dressed like Benti, but with a silver medallion around his neck. Howen assumed that this was the symbol of his office.

"Thank you, sir," replied Coria.

"Our sister temple in Pelis told us of your coming but did not tell us why."

"In these times magical communication is unsafe. This was to protect your temple as well as us."

"We seek information on the Sword of Wisdom. We mean to have it ready when the Rightful Ruler comes," said Howen. He wanted to keep his identity as secret as possible until he had the Sword.

"I see," replied Tourk, with a thoughtful look, "I don't know of anything called the Sword of Wisdom, but I will send my researchers on it right away. It might take a day or so to find the information. Until then I offer the hospitality of our humble temple. For those who would like a tour of the library, one can be arranged after the evening meal. I shall have one of my acolytes show you around."

Howen and company walked out of the office to find Benti waiting for them. He said that the evening meal was going to be served soon and that he would show them the way to the dining hall. The hall was big but simple. It reminded Howen of his elementary school cafeteria. Big room with many long tables and benches, but he did not have to wait in line to get his food, it was already on the table waiting to be served. Everything was simple: the tables, the benches, the room, and even the food. It was the same as what they ate on the trail, just more of it and more veggies.

After the meal, back in there guest room, a woman was waiting for them. She was dressed in a short, light brown robe and sandals.

"Good evening. My name is Jocanta, I am the acolyte that will be giving the tour, for those that wish to do so," said the woman.

Of the group, only Howen, Dentris, and Cantis went on the tour. Jocanta began the tour by going back to the dining hall. From there she led them to a passageway that Howen had not seen before. Before entering the passageway, Jocanta told them that this was the entrance to the lower levels, where the library was.

Down about two flights of stairs, they came to the first level. To Howen it looked to be about a mile long and a half-mile wide. Evenly spaced along the length, were bookshelves. Carved out of smooth stone, and filled with all kinds of books and scrolls, from floor to ceiling, which looked to be ten feet high.

"This level and the next three are for indexing. These levels are where our researchers find any reference to anything, and where to find the material referencing it. Some of the scrolls are some of the oldest we have, dating back to the War with the Unknown God. They have been perfectly preserved so that the ink does not fade and to keep the paper from crumbling from the centuries and the constant use," said Jocanta, turning to them.

"How many levels are there?" asked Dentris.

"Including the four indexing levels, there are fifty levels."

Howen's eyes went wide at that statement, "How many rows of bookshelves per level?" he asked.

"Two hundred and twenty."

The numbers were staggering. This Library had approx. 11,000 miles of written material. Getting that information, they decided not to tour the rest of the library.

As they were leaving, Howen caught the sight of one of the scrolls that a researcher was going to return. He asked if he could borrow it and was told that they had several copies and to enjoy it.

The scroll was wrapped around a wooden dowel, to help roll it back up. A thin leather flap was glued to the top of the scroll with the title: The Origins of the Gods and, by Winetin, first Head Librarian of Zantan. It wasn't very big, but Howen needed to learn more about the Gods of this world.