Between Winters, part VIII
#11 of Between Winters
Between Winters
By Glycanthrope
Part VIII
Rhania closed her eyes and explored the smooth metal orb with her fingers. It was about the size of a chicken egg, but completely round. The design was plain with no inscriptions or markings to it.
"Anything?"
"Give me a moment, Vic".
The curtains were closed and Victor's study lay in near darkness so that daylight could not disturb the young fox's efforts. Victor smiled and shook his head in silent wonderment. She had come a long way over the few weeks that they had known each other - from a sickly youth with too much on her shoulders, to this sparkling young foxkin.
"It's magical", she said eventually. "No doubt about it"
"Can you sense what its properties are?"
"...no, all I sense is a prickling sensation and the colour of magenta."
Victor took the orb back and looked at it in thoughtful silence. Unlike Rhania, he could not sense the magical properties of this -nor of any other item. The skill that the young fox possessed was unique.
"Tell me, Vic, what IS it?"
"It is an orb medicii, a protective orb carried by many medics. It's supposed to ward off diseases that they may catch from their patients."
He let the orb roll off of his hand and onto the desk
"Sadly it does nothing to ward off the blood cough epidemic".
"Victor, why did you become a sorcerer?"
"I discovered that I could channel energy and focus it into matter or into action. Anyone who can do this is considered a sorcerer, but I found out that I was especially good at channelling energy into objects. Given the fact that many potions need a touch of magic to work, I decided to go down the road of herbalism. So, I went to the magic academy, set up shop in Oakenford and here I am!".
He handed her a dagger.
"Try this one next".
The blade was only about two hand-widths long and completely dull; this weapon could not cut a slice of cheese. The handle was carved from a dark type of wood that Rhania did not recognise, but elaborate miniature reliefs were cut into the handle. They depicted plants embracing trees, a scene that reminded her of the first time she and Victor met; the day where she had broken into his home in a final and desperate attempt to acquire a curing potion against the epidemic that had struck her parents. She had stepped into a vine-trap that had delayed her escape long enough for proper introductions to be made.
"Nothing. It's cold. There is no magic here"
"You are right again - there is nothing magical about it. It is a letter opener of elven make - it came with the house."
Rhania's ability to feel the glow of magic within an object had proven of tremendous value when making cures for the blood cough: the two of them mixed the potions, Victor activated them by channelling magical energies into each flask, and Rania sensed if the magic had taken.
"How are your parents anyway?"
"There is never much to do in the city for us foxkin, and my parents don't speak humanoid common very well. They tell me that they are happy, but I think that they really just want to move back to the forest - but at least we are in the same town".
Since their first encounter, Rhania had visited Victor for a few hours every day. In return for helping him with the potions, he helped her to train and develop her ability.
"Ok, let's do a final one".
He handed her a small wooden box.
"Vic! We've been doing this all morning. We should be mixing healing potions".
They were interrupted by the front door opening, and a human stepped out of the sharp outside sunlight and into the darkness. Rhania stopped concentrating on the box and looked at the visitor. It was a male in his mid-fifties and dressed in the robe that was standard attire for sorcerers employed by the city council of Oakenford.
He held his arms tightly wrapped around a bundle of cloth and was halfway across the floor before it occurred to him that the study lay in darkness and that he had navigated blindly out of sheer familiarity with the house. He stopped and waited for the veil of daylight to lift, blinked a number of times in rapid succession and was eventually able to make out two figures by the desk.
"Ah, Victor", he said with some surprise. "You too have taken a new apprentice... good... very good!"
He approached them with an excited spring to his step but then stopped abruptly when he saw Rhania. He turned on one foot, headed straight for Victor, grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him a few feet to one side.
"Victor, have you utterly lost your mind?"
"Sebastian?"
"Are you aware, that your new apprentice is a fox?"
"Sebastian... please!"
"What were you thinking? Foxes have no capabilities for channelling! You might as well teach magic to a dwarf!"
Victor patted the agitated mage on the back.
"Sebastian, Rhania is not my apprentice. She assists me in making cures for the blood-cough. By Odys, there is too much work for these two hands".
Sebastian cast a suspicious glance towards the desk, from where Rhania watched the two mages in bemused silence.
"So, what's with all the darkness and the_ orb medicii_?
"Sebastian, I have never seen you this agitated. What is on your mind? Surely you did not barge in like a mad taurian just to make comments about my assistant's racial background?
"I'm sorry", Sebastian sent a nod of apology towards Rhania, who returned the favour with some hesitation. "I needed to show you THIS!"
Sebastian laid the bundle on the table and began to unwrap it with fingers that shook visibly in anticipation. Layer upon layer of protective oilskin cloth was unwrapped until the content of the curious package was revealed
-It was a dog-eared copy of "A study into the catalytic properties of plants in magical use" - by Gaius Septimus.
Victor picked up the book and examined it. It showed signs of aging and of frequent use, but he found nothing of special interest.
"I bought if from a bookseller, who had gotten it from the trade caravan", Sebastian whispered secretively.
"I had no idea that "catalytic properties..." meant so much to you. If I had only known, you could have my copy - It's not exactly a rare find."
'It's not the contents... It's the book itself!"
Victor examined the ragged tome, leafed through it and still found nothing out of the ordinary.
"Is it a first edition, perhaps?"
"It's about eight hundred years old, but it's not a first..."
"Okay, then it has been signed by the author himself?"
"Nope!"
"Some famous mage once kept this in his collection?"
"Not even close!"
"I give up Sebastian, enlighten me!"
"It radiates magic!"
"Magic?"
-"Just a whisper"
Victor frowned and handed the book to Rhania. "What do YOU make of this?"
Rhania closed her eyes and focused on the book. She did not sense any glow from it; the tingling sensation of magic that she had grown accustomed to was not there. She let out a disappointed sniff and was about to hand the book back when she noticed that there was a faint new, sensation to the book.
"This one is new to me. I sense a feeling of velvet and a pale green colour, almost grey -It's a different kind of magic, Vic!"
"So, there IS an enchantment to the book. Do you have any idea of what it does, Sebastian?"
"I do Vic, and it doesn't do a thing", Sebastian smiled.
"It doesn't have any effect?"
"None!" Sebastian could hardly contain his joy, "It is a magic watermark. It was enchanted this way so that its magic could not be confused with any other. It was never meant to have any practical use, but only to be detected by litmus magii
- or so it seems, by the likes of your apprentice."
"Assistant!" Rhania insisted, still seated behind the desk.
"If the book was removed from its rightful owner and sold, say on the black market, it would be instantly recognised by its watermark. But just think, Victor... who in the entire history of Namairith would spend precious time and magical energy to protect something as common as "catalytic properties" from theft?"
"Sebastian, surely you are not suggesting..."
"Victor, the library of Tamaria has been discovered! It is REAL!"
Sebastian returned a few days later, this time carrying a wooden crate, and before Victor could intervene, Sebastian had cleared a large area on the desk with one sweeping motion of his hand, sending an assortment of pens and inkwells crashing to the floor. He emptied the box in a pile of notes and maps and selected a few prize items, which he waved eagerly at Victor.
"This is all that I have on the location of Tamaria. We HAVE to go and find that library, Victor."
Rhania put down a flask of potion-in-progress and walked to the desk, where Sebastian unfolded a map the size of a tea-towel.
"This is the second time you mention that place. What is it all about?"
Sebastian flashed a warm smile at the fox. For once, someone had actually invited him to share his enthusiasm. Victor shook his head and seated himself in the nearest chair, readying himself for Sebastian's favourite lecture on the fabled library of Tamaria.
"The library of Tamaria is part history and part myth. It is not known how much truth there is to the story, but legend tells that around a thousand years ago, mages from all across the Namairian continent collected all existing knowledge of the arcane into one great library for all to use. Books, scrolls, recipes, everything...
The original idea was well intended, but the temptation to abuse the knowledge contained for selfish purposes was always there. So, Little by little, the mages began to restrict access and eventually allowed entry only those whom they deemed pure of heart. They even employed only caretakers who were unable to channel magic, such as foxkin and dwarves. In the case of theft, every item was marked with a magic watermark, so that it could be recognised.
Eventually, the library closed down. No-one actually knows exactly where in Namairith the library was supposed to be".
-"Except", Sebastian pointed to the copy of "catalytic properties,
"Someone now knows."
Their discussion was interrupted by a knock on the front door, and Sebastian went to open it.
"It must be my new apprentice. I asked him to meet me here so that we can shop for reagents together"
He opened the door, and a young human male entered. The newcomer smiled and shook hands with Victor and Rania.
"This is Ted Arbinger, my new part-time apprentice. He is a very promising young sorcerer".
"Sebastian," Arbinger said modestly, "you're much too kind".
Sebastian and Ted Arbinger seated themselves next to Rhania. She thought that she noticed Arbinger examining her at length with some amused curiosity "If he mentions anything about foxes not being able to channel, I'll bite him good".
"Alright" victor said, "let's just assume that some lucky explorer stumbled across the library and grabbed a copy of "catalytic properties". Every collector in Namairith is going to have a field day, but I see nothing to get excited about".
Sebastian rose from his chair and began to pace the floor.
"Whoever found the library obviously had no idea what he was looking for. Otherwise, he would not have stolen something as common as "catalytic properties". But legends have it that books on dark and powerful magic were kept in there too. Not as library content, but simply to keep it locked away - forever. Fiends from beyond the grave, ways to raise the dead, servants from the abyss - terrible magic rests within the halls of the library"
"Legends, Sebastian. Legends! What was considered powerful and dark magic a thousand years ago surely is trivial by today's standard. Magic has come a long way since then".
"Besides," Victor pointed to the workbench crowded with healing potions, "I simply do not have the time to spend on your mythical fetish. The blood-cough epidemic is very real and has to be treated with very real potions".
"IT IS NOT A FETISH!" Sebastian shouted, "The evidence is right here!" He slammed the copy of Catalytical properties on the table with an angry 'thud'. "Someone has discovered the library of Tamaria, and is removing tomes of unimaginable value as we speak. Imagine what would happen, if this knowledge fell into the wrong hands. It could very well decide the outcome of the war!"
- "I could go!"
The two mages and Ted Arbinger took turns staring at Rhania, who had remained silent during the entire debate. While the two mages argued, she had rummaged through the random collection of notes and crudely drawn maps that Sebastian had brought.
"Most of these are close-ups of local areas only, and of the entrance itself. They don't actually say where on the continent of Namairith to look for the library, but they could be useful as local markers. Sebastian said that the book came off of the trade caravan, so they must have picked it up along the way. If the thief sold the book to the caravan, the library must be close to the trade route, and if he made a profit, the chances are good that he will return with more books. If we trace the caravan route, we can follow the stream of labelled books. Once the stream stops, we must have passed the library and then we can use the local maps for directions. "
Sebastian stopped pacing the floor and looked wide-eyed at Rhania.
"The fox is absolutely right! With her ability, she could feel any book that was brought to the caravan, and no one would ever suspect a foxkin of having the slightest interest in its magic properties. It is a brilliant idea."
Rhania had never before heard Victor raise his voice, but now he slammed his fist to the table and bellowed
"It is NOT a brilliant idea! Rhania and I almost have the local epidemic under control, and we are not going to stop because of your fancies. If you and your apprentice want to find the library, fine! But do so in your own time".
Sebastian was speechless. He too had never before heard his friend this upset or insistent and did not know how to respond. They almost had a plan worked out, but he could not go on the journey himself due to his duties with the city council, and Ted Arbinger was only a part-time apprentice. Everything now rested on the young fox's decision. He looked pleadingly to Rhania begging her to defend his case.
"Look, Sebastian, you seem like a really nice guy, but Victor is right. I'd love to go and search for your library - once we have beaten the epidemic, but right now, my place is here with Victor - and with my parents"
Sebastian did not say a further word, but slowly collected his maps and clippings into the crate with hands that trembled visibly.
"I'm really sorry, Sebastian".
Rhania saw Sebastian and Arbinger to the door. Ted Arbinger turned and offered Rhania a parting handshake.
"You really wanted to go, didn't you?"
"I guess I did. Making potions all day gets old after a while, but Victor needs my help and he doesn't really want me to go."
"Don't worry; he can still change his mind."
Arbinger went quiet for a few moments and squinted his eyes in a way that unnerved Rhania.
"In fact...I'm sure that he will".
TO BE CONTINUED