96 – Flying Disk

Murmurs and steps broke the silence of the Iron Library’s first floor. Alexandra stayed close to the stacks, changing course every time she heard someone come from the other direction. She couldn’t afford to be spotted.

The sound of two students talking. She climbed on a ladder and continued her path on the upper stacks. A shadow rounded a corner, and she turned back, going in the wrong direction.

The enchantment section was perhaps not the busiest of the entire floor, but it was near the top. Not every student at the Iron Library destined themselves for a life in the order. For those who didn’t, enchantment stood alongside alchemy as one of the most profitable disciplines.

Which noble family didn’t have a ward keeping their garden cool in the summer months? Which trader didn’t employ someone to enchant his storage for preservation and safekeeping?

A beacon on a lighthouse, a strengthening enchantment on armor, sharpening on a blade. The uses of enchantment were many and expensive.

Then there was the crown jewel of it all: spatial storage. An enchanter who could make spatial storage items was worth their weight in gold three times over.

So the enchantment section was busy. Worse, Alexandra wasn’t looking for riches. All she wanted was to complete her daily quest.

Quest Journal

Daily Reset: 06:00 | Streak: 49 Days | 2% All Stats, 2% Skill experience

Next Milestone: 50 Days

Daily Quests:

• Enchant an Item (0/1)

Despite training for weeks, she hadn’t managed to crack the code and enchant even the simplest wooden disk. Perhaps she should have put in more effort. In her defense, she was diligent, working on it almost every day. There simply hadn’t been a sense of urgency.

Now, things had changed. She ducked under a table, avoiding a pair of students walking past her.

She was on a timer, so she wanted to read enchantment books. That was the only place she could think of. But it meant stepping out in the open, where her pursuers could find her.

She paused. Pinched her cheek.

Fuck this.

It was sickness of paranoia acting up again.

Ever since that day she got lost in the forest, she’d been plagued by the curse. She hadn’t managed to get rid of it.

Sheepish, she crawled from under the table and straightened her grey robes.

The enchantment section was deep within the maze, in a corner of the first floor, tucked behind tall oak shelves that served as a natural barrier against foot traffic. Alexandra reached it without incident.

She exhaled.

The shelves here were no older than the rest. Made of dark wood, the grain was worn smooth along the edges where generations of hands had passed. The books were packed tight, spines faded to varying degrees of illegibility. She ran a finger along a row and tilted her head to read the titles.

She pulled the first book she saw with enchantment in the title. Put it back. Pulled another.

The section was busy, but not chaotically so. A pair of white robes sat cross-legged on the floor at the far end, a spread of open volumes between them, talking in low murmurs. A boy stood at the shelf opposite, copying something into his notes without looking up. Those scenes repeated all along the shelves.

Alexandra found the nearest kiosk and linked her mana to the enchantment. She began to browse properly. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for. She was a beginner, but not a complete one. After a few lessons with Professor Bird, she had a good theoretical base. Good enough that she should be able to succeed with her first enchantment.

Yet there she was.

The white robes laughed at something, and she glanced over before she could stop herself. Neither of them was looking at her.

She got her curse under control. It didn’t matter if they were laughing at her. If anything, better them than Sera. She looked up and down. The Keeper was nowhere to be seen. Maybe they didn’t need to send someone to watch her while she was inside the library.

She turned back to the kiosk and refined her intent. She needed help. Something with advice tailored to her specific situation.

“There you are.”

Alexandra’s connection to the kiosk snapped, and she whipped around to face the newcomer.

Willow stood right behind her, her hand raised as if she was going to poke her in the back.

“Sorry,” she said.

Alexandra relaxed, a hand on her heart. “You startled me.”

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“Everything does, nowadays.”

Alexandra looked down.

“Mind telling me why you haven’t asked me for help before coming here?” Willow continued. “You know I’m good at enchantments.”

Alexandra opened her mouth. She closed it.

“I didn’t want to bother you,” she said.

Willow gave a wry smile. “You were avoiding everyone when I spotted you. You went up a ladder.”

“Shortcut.”

“It isn’t.”

Alexandra looked back at the kiosk.

“I thought I was close to figuring it out on my own,” she said.

Willow glanced at the kiosk. “Have you managed a single enchantment?”

“That’s what I’m close to achieving.”

Willow grabbed Alexandra’s hand.

“Your room?” she said.

“The books—”

“Won’t help you actually do it. All you need is a disk and someone standing next to you.”

They didn’t retrace her path through the stacks. Instead, they went straight for the door. No detour. The cold hit her in the face the moment they stepped outside. It was raining.