76 – Spotted

The floor was cold through her robes, and her head was ringing. For a moment she had no idea what had happened.

She blinked. Once. Twice.

Two books on the floor in front of her. And Willow looking at her wide-eyed.

Shit, the book.

For a moment, neither of them moved. Then Willow’s eyes dropped to the books. Alexandra watched her take in Clarity of Mind, the pale green cover, and arrive at the obvious conclusion.

She looked at Willow’s book.

She didn’t recognize the title.

They looked at each other.

“You—” Willow started.

“You—” Alexandra said.

Willow snapped her mouth shut. Her eyes went to the corridor behind Alexandra, then the one behind her. Empty, both of them. She grabbed both books off the floor and shoved them at Alexandra.

“Come with me,” she said. “Now.”

“Those are—”

“I know what they are.” She was already walking. “Come. Now.”

Alexandra followed.

Willow walked fast. Alexandra kept up, not asking where they were going. The corridors were quiet. Willow checked corners before turning them.

She stopped at a door a few turns away, unlocked it, and held it open without looking back.

Alexandra went in.

Willow’s room was the same as hers. Same layout, more clutter. Notebooks on every surface, notes pinned above the desk in overlapping layers.

Willow took both books from Alexandra and set them on the desk. She stood with her back to Alexandra for a moment. Then she turned around.

“So.”

“So,” Alexandra said.

Willow crossed her arms. Uncrossed them. Sat on the edge of her bed and looked at the books.

Alexandra stayed near the door.

The silence stretched. Neither of them had anything clean to say. Alexandra was aware that she was waiting for Willow to go first and that Willow was doing the same.

“I’m not going to report you,” Willow said finally.

“I wasn’t going to report you either.”

“Right.” Willow looked at her hands. “Good.”

She turned to Alexandra. “I might as well explain.”

Alexandra tried to tell her not to, but Willow spoke too fast. “I’m a follower of Tash, like most students here. However, my people have a different read on her teachings than the Keepers.”

“And that brings you to steal books?”

“No!” Willow passed a hand through her hair. Light brown, thin. “Well, yes.”

Alexandra tilted her head.

“I hail from Goodpeak, a small city deep in the Kushtar range,” Willow said. “We believe that knowledge should be spread around Laika. Not held captive in this tower.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

“The Keepers don’t see it this way. Most of them, anyway.”

“And what does Tash think about this?” Alexandra asked.

Willow smiled. “That’s the issue, isn’t it? We believe we’re following her will. So do the Keepers. Of course, if you ask me, Tash wants knowledge to reach everyone. Others would argue she only cares for its accumulation.”

“So you just take books out and what, send them home?”

“We make a copy. Then we return them to the library.” Willow glanced at Clarity of Mind on the desk. “Not the enchanted ones, though.”

“And you’d have me believe that nobody has noticed you and your friends?”

Willow hesitated.

Alexandra looked at her. “Someone knows.”

“Not everyone shares the same view on the matter,” Willow said carefully.

“Keepers are helping you,” Alexandra said, then she shook her head. “Even then, Raymond would know.”

Willow frowned. “Raymond?”

“The Magus.”

Willow froze. She opened her mouth. “You… think so?” She stood up and grabbed Alexandra’s hand. “Tell me you’re joking.”

“Look.” She tried pulling her hand away, but Willow’s attributes were higher. “I suspect he knows. But I could be wrong. If he does, he hasn’t done anything to stop you.”

Willow’s grip tightened for a fraction of a second, her fingers digging into Alexandra’s wrist before she abruptly let go. She sank back onto the edge of the bed, the sudden drain of color from her face matching the pale green of the stolen book.

“If he knows,” Willow whispered, “then we’re already dead. Or worse. The Keepers don’t just expel people for breaking the laws of the Iron Library, Alexandra.”

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“Then why are you still here?” Alexandra asked, keeping her voice low. “If Raymond wanted you gone, you’d be gone. He’s letting you do it.”

Willow’s frown deepened, her mind visibly racing through the implications. “A trap. He’s letting us map out the whole network.”

“It’s hard to know why he’s doing that,” Alexandra said, backing up a step to put distance between them. “I could ask him next time I see him.”

Willow blinked. The tension in her shoulders vanished. Then she scoffed. “Yeah, right. You’re going to talk to the Magus.”

Alexandra opened her mouth. She doesn’t know.

Willow looked from Alexandra to the two books on the desk.

“So what’s your reason?”

“My reason.”

“For the book. I told you mine.”

Alexandra looked at her for a moment. Fair enough.

She summoned her journal.

Take a book outside the Iron Library (1/1) -> Quest Completed: +10 exp, +1 DEX.

Daily Quest Streak: 21 -> 22

“So,” she said, wondering how much she should reveal. “I have a pretty unique class. I get a quest every day. I do it. I get stronger.”

“And today it told you to steal a book from the Iron Library.”

“Yes.”

“And you just… did it?”

Alexandra shrugged. “I have a streak.”

Willow looked at her for a long moment. “How does that explain anything?”

“If I miss a daily, my streak resets. I can’t have that.”

“Right,” Willow said. “Right.”

“By the way, are there trackers on those?” Alexandra asked.

“I’d say no, but you seem convinced the Magus knows everything,” Willow answered. “So maybe.”