“Find this book?” Nemuru asked herself as she read off the job request. “Well, at least it’s right here in Peace Village.” She looked up at the sky. “Hrm… barely noon, local and to simply find a book called ‘draconis ira’ in the library and deliver it to a nice old woman. Sounds like the best job ever.” The poison mage began to head for Peace Village’s public library.
Inside, she found the librarian’s desk to be empty. As Nemuru assumed she was helping someone else and honestly was a bit too shy to ask for aid anyways. The poison mage decided the card catalog was her best bet.
Searching for the card turned out to be a fruitless search. With a snort of frustration, Nemuru began roaming the library until she found the harried librarian loaded down with a pile of books.
“A-ano, Miss..” she peered at the girl’s name tag around the armful of books she was carrying, “Yomiko. Do you know anything about this book, draconis ira? A-apparently it was once housed here.” The librarian set the pile down and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Yomiko took the parchment and looked at the pro-offered request.
“A-ah, that one! That’s one of our rare books, we rarely let it out but I know that woman.” Nemuru’s face lit up, only to become crestfallen as Yomiko continued. “It has recently become misplaced. I doubt it was stolen as there is a spell guarding the books within the library. You are welcome to look around. However,” she gestured to the piles of books behind her, “of late some kids keep coming in and messing things up. I have my hands full with reorganizing this mess. If I find it while cleaning, I’ll say so but otherwise you are on your own today.”
Nemuru sighed and began searching through another pile. Unfortunately, the whole thing consisted of mass market children’s literature, not rare and out of print tomes. They don’t even belong in this section, she thought. The poison mage sighed with exasperation. With a sigh, she moved to the next aisle.
At first glance, it looked like the books had been left untouched. The spines were facing outwards and there weren’t any thrown carelessly on the floor. Yet, as her finger trailed along them, she noticed they were no longer grouped by subject, author or any logical manner. A groan escaped her.
Carefully, she began systematically searching the titles. The various sizes and shapes disoriented her. As she worked the librarian dutifully picked up all the books in the next aisle. Not too long into the search Yomiko came to check on her. “Are you sure you really want to find this for her? I mean, Caroline is a nice old woman but you could be here for weeks with this mess.”
“Of course, it is my duty as a mage to see this job through,” she said with steadfast determination. Nemuru looked back to the shelf. In a softer voice she whispered, “besides I have a soft spot for elderly people.”
A small smile crept across Yomiko’s face as she looked at Nemuru. “Alright, but promise to come take a break with me after a while. I don’t want you passing out from exhaustion just because you were doggedly looking for a book of all things.”
Nemuru shook her head and laughed off such a ridiculous idea. “Alright, alright already. If it makes you relax in your library, I will.”
“Then come now, the tea is ready.” I’m on a job, there’s no time for tea. Urgh. Well, at least, I can use the time to ask her questions.
Nemuru sat across from Yomiko in the backroom after having switched over the sign to say closed. Both agreed there was no need for anymore people in the library in such a state. Looking Yomiko in the eye, Nemuru spoke softly. She thought about calling on the power of her lineage to get the truth out of the librarian, then decided it was rather unnecessary and would only make Yomiko resent her presence. Worse yet, the librarian might decide to kick her out.
“Alright, Yomiko, you said there were some kids messing up the library?”
“Yes, three boys, all preteens.” She ran her fingers through her long brown hair. As she twirled it between her fingers, Nemuru realized she was kind of cute. This is not the time to be thinking like that, I’m on a job, she mentally chastised herself.
“And these boys, what parts of the library were they in?”
Yomiko frowned in thought. “The non-fiction section and the romance section. The children’s lit, they moved on to the floors of science fiction when I was on break.”
“Is this the only missing rare book? Perhaps someone stole it…”
“It is and I doubt someone would have, it’s just fiction.”
Nemuru thought back through her own searches in the library. “I searched science fiction, children’s lit and non-fiction. The library is relatively small. I am going to go check romance. Thank you for the tea, Yomiko. I had a lovely time despite the circumstances of the job.”
Well, at least I have a more direct point to search from, the poison mage thought. As she reached the romance section she blushed at all the covers. Why in the world did they have to mess with this area? Well… at least books are on the shelves and not the floor. Although, she noticed several were turned with the spines in to the shelf. Hrm,... I guess I may as well investigate.
Nemuru carefully began going along the shelf and checking titles. As she moved, she righted the books so the spines face out. Figuring she’d help out Yomiko, soon she had a small pile of books that were clearly not romance. A few of the titles and cover images shocked the poison mage. Why are these even in the public library? The mage frowned in frustration as she sat down, nearly to the end of the shelf.
“Ah, Nemuru… I opened the library to the public again. I hope you don’t mind. I’m nearly done reorganizing.” Yomiko caught sight of the small book pile. “Oh did you organize over here for me? How sweet of you. I’ll get these back in place and I should be finished before too long.”
Yomiko’d barely said that before people started filtering in. Nemuru watched with disbelief, surprised how much business the library received in the afternoon. Quickly, she decided to get back to work. A book on the shelf ahead of her didn’t seem to match the others. Though turned inward, the book was obviously a hardcover and bound in a different size. The poison mage reached out to grab it only to find a young boy there. Pulling back her hand so as to not afflict him with her magic, he snatched up the book and ran.
“Hey, stop it! Get back here.” Nemuru darted after the child.
“Not in my library!” Yomiko raising her voice gave pause to the poison mage.
The child laughed and began knocking books off the shelves as he rounded the end of an aisle. Nemuru speed walked around the other end of the shelves as she searched for the mischief maker. Finding the boy, she snuck up behind him and grabbed him by the hood of his sweat shirt. “A-ano… that book. I really need it, may I please have it back?” She wasn’t even sure it was the right one, but she just had a good feeling. Then she noticed he wasn’t holding it.
The boy glared at her obstinately, “I don’t have it anymore. You’ll have to find it again. Nyeeh!” He stuck his tongue out at her.
Nemuru’s temper flared. The poison mage held up her hand to the side and began a spell. Though it was only envenom and relatively harmless if it didn’t touch anything, the dripping poison and green glowing magic circle was enough to frighten the kid.
“Alright, alright! I’ll talk! Just don’t hurt me with that!” Nemuru laughed at his reaction making her seem even more menacing than she actually was. The spell dissipated with no viable target.
“Ok kid, fess up. Where’d you put the book?” She decided to cut to the chase.
“I gave to Edwin, my friend. I think he went to the fantasy stuff. Now, let me go!” The boy struggled and squirmed in her grip.
Nemuru sighed exaggeratedly, "fine, fine... but I believe there's someone else who wants to speak to you." Yomiko was standing blocking the entrance to the library, her arms crossed over her chest and arms tapping in annoyance.
Searching the fantasy section revealed another small boy crouched down holding a book. "P-please don't hurt me, M-ms. mage! W-we was just having some fun..." he sniffled, tears streaming down his face. Offering the heavy tome to Nemuru, stood and bow in apology repeatedly.
"Just go talk to the librarian..." The mage sighed in irritation, thoroughly sick of children after these last few jobs. She turned her attention to the book flipping it over. Draconis ira was etched into the worn, leather bound cover. "Finally," she murmured to herself. "Can I check this out, Yomiko?"
"Yeah, I'm done scolding these two for now. She lives three blocks that way, by the way." The librarian pointed to the west. "I know you have the address, but it will be much easier to find that way.
Nemuru tucked the book safely under her arm as she left. The poison mage looked up at the sky only to note it was now early evening. "Ahh... took longer than I thought to get that done. Never as easy as they sound. Well, money well earned, I guess. Soon she came to the address listed on the request. As she knocked and waited, the mage began to wonder what the book was even about.
"Hello? May I help you? I don't need another subscription to Sorcerer Weekly if that's why you are here."
"No, it's about your request..." Nemuru offered the book over, "I brought you the book from the library." Adjusting her glasses, the old lady smiled at the title.
"Thank you." Tears of joy fell from the old woman's eyes and Nemuru decided all the trouble was worth it.
(1730)
Inside, she found the librarian’s desk to be empty. As Nemuru assumed she was helping someone else and honestly was a bit too shy to ask for aid anyways. The poison mage decided the card catalog was her best bet.
Searching for the card turned out to be a fruitless search. With a snort of frustration, Nemuru began roaming the library until she found the harried librarian loaded down with a pile of books.
“A-ano, Miss..” she peered at the girl’s name tag around the armful of books she was carrying, “Yomiko. Do you know anything about this book, draconis ira? A-apparently it was once housed here.” The librarian set the pile down and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Yomiko took the parchment and looked at the pro-offered request.
“A-ah, that one! That’s one of our rare books, we rarely let it out but I know that woman.” Nemuru’s face lit up, only to become crestfallen as Yomiko continued. “It has recently become misplaced. I doubt it was stolen as there is a spell guarding the books within the library. You are welcome to look around. However,” she gestured to the piles of books behind her, “of late some kids keep coming in and messing things up. I have my hands full with reorganizing this mess. If I find it while cleaning, I’ll say so but otherwise you are on your own today.”
Nemuru sighed and began searching through another pile. Unfortunately, the whole thing consisted of mass market children’s literature, not rare and out of print tomes. They don’t even belong in this section, she thought. The poison mage sighed with exasperation. With a sigh, she moved to the next aisle.
At first glance, it looked like the books had been left untouched. The spines were facing outwards and there weren’t any thrown carelessly on the floor. Yet, as her finger trailed along them, she noticed they were no longer grouped by subject, author or any logical manner. A groan escaped her.
Carefully, she began systematically searching the titles. The various sizes and shapes disoriented her. As she worked the librarian dutifully picked up all the books in the next aisle. Not too long into the search Yomiko came to check on her. “Are you sure you really want to find this for her? I mean, Caroline is a nice old woman but you could be here for weeks with this mess.”
“Of course, it is my duty as a mage to see this job through,” she said with steadfast determination. Nemuru looked back to the shelf. In a softer voice she whispered, “besides I have a soft spot for elderly people.”
A small smile crept across Yomiko’s face as she looked at Nemuru. “Alright, but promise to come take a break with me after a while. I don’t want you passing out from exhaustion just because you were doggedly looking for a book of all things.”
Nemuru shook her head and laughed off such a ridiculous idea. “Alright, alright already. If it makes you relax in your library, I will.”
“Then come now, the tea is ready.” I’m on a job, there’s no time for tea. Urgh. Well, at least, I can use the time to ask her questions.
Nemuru sat across from Yomiko in the backroom after having switched over the sign to say closed. Both agreed there was no need for anymore people in the library in such a state. Looking Yomiko in the eye, Nemuru spoke softly. She thought about calling on the power of her lineage to get the truth out of the librarian, then decided it was rather unnecessary and would only make Yomiko resent her presence. Worse yet, the librarian might decide to kick her out.
“Alright, Yomiko, you said there were some kids messing up the library?”
“Yes, three boys, all preteens.” She ran her fingers through her long brown hair. As she twirled it between her fingers, Nemuru realized she was kind of cute. This is not the time to be thinking like that, I’m on a job, she mentally chastised herself.
“And these boys, what parts of the library were they in?”
Yomiko frowned in thought. “The non-fiction section and the romance section. The children’s lit, they moved on to the floors of science fiction when I was on break.”
“Is this the only missing rare book? Perhaps someone stole it…”
“It is and I doubt someone would have, it’s just fiction.”
Nemuru thought back through her own searches in the library. “I searched science fiction, children’s lit and non-fiction. The library is relatively small. I am going to go check romance. Thank you for the tea, Yomiko. I had a lovely time despite the circumstances of the job.”
Well, at least I have a more direct point to search from, the poison mage thought. As she reached the romance section she blushed at all the covers. Why in the world did they have to mess with this area? Well… at least books are on the shelves and not the floor. Although, she noticed several were turned with the spines in to the shelf. Hrm,... I guess I may as well investigate.
Nemuru carefully began going along the shelf and checking titles. As she moved, she righted the books so the spines face out. Figuring she’d help out Yomiko, soon she had a small pile of books that were clearly not romance. A few of the titles and cover images shocked the poison mage. Why are these even in the public library? The mage frowned in frustration as she sat down, nearly to the end of the shelf.
“Ah, Nemuru… I opened the library to the public again. I hope you don’t mind. I’m nearly done reorganizing.” Yomiko caught sight of the small book pile. “Oh did you organize over here for me? How sweet of you. I’ll get these back in place and I should be finished before too long.”
Yomiko’d barely said that before people started filtering in. Nemuru watched with disbelief, surprised how much business the library received in the afternoon. Quickly, she decided to get back to work. A book on the shelf ahead of her didn’t seem to match the others. Though turned inward, the book was obviously a hardcover and bound in a different size. The poison mage reached out to grab it only to find a young boy there. Pulling back her hand so as to not afflict him with her magic, he snatched up the book and ran.
“Hey, stop it! Get back here.” Nemuru darted after the child.
“Not in my library!” Yomiko raising her voice gave pause to the poison mage.
The child laughed and began knocking books off the shelves as he rounded the end of an aisle. Nemuru speed walked around the other end of the shelves as she searched for the mischief maker. Finding the boy, she snuck up behind him and grabbed him by the hood of his sweat shirt. “A-ano… that book. I really need it, may I please have it back?” She wasn’t even sure it was the right one, but she just had a good feeling. Then she noticed he wasn’t holding it.
The boy glared at her obstinately, “I don’t have it anymore. You’ll have to find it again. Nyeeh!” He stuck his tongue out at her.
Nemuru’s temper flared. The poison mage held up her hand to the side and began a spell. Though it was only envenom and relatively harmless if it didn’t touch anything, the dripping poison and green glowing magic circle was enough to frighten the kid.
“Alright, alright! I’ll talk! Just don’t hurt me with that!” Nemuru laughed at his reaction making her seem even more menacing than she actually was. The spell dissipated with no viable target.
“Ok kid, fess up. Where’d you put the book?” She decided to cut to the chase.
“I gave to Edwin, my friend. I think he went to the fantasy stuff. Now, let me go!” The boy struggled and squirmed in her grip.
Nemuru sighed exaggeratedly, "fine, fine... but I believe there's someone else who wants to speak to you." Yomiko was standing blocking the entrance to the library, her arms crossed over her chest and arms tapping in annoyance.
Searching the fantasy section revealed another small boy crouched down holding a book. "P-please don't hurt me, M-ms. mage! W-we was just having some fun..." he sniffled, tears streaming down his face. Offering the heavy tome to Nemuru, stood and bow in apology repeatedly.
"Just go talk to the librarian..." The mage sighed in irritation, thoroughly sick of children after these last few jobs. She turned her attention to the book flipping it over. Draconis ira was etched into the worn, leather bound cover. "Finally," she murmured to herself. "Can I check this out, Yomiko?"
"Yeah, I'm done scolding these two for now. She lives three blocks that way, by the way." The librarian pointed to the west. "I know you have the address, but it will be much easier to find that way.
Nemuru tucked the book safely under her arm as she left. The poison mage looked up at the sky only to note it was now early evening. "Ahh... took longer than I thought to get that done. Never as easy as they sound. Well, money well earned, I guess. Soon she came to the address listed on the request. As she knocked and waited, the mage began to wonder what the book was even about.
"Hello? May I help you? I don't need another subscription to Sorcerer Weekly if that's why you are here."
"No, it's about your request..." Nemuru offered the book over, "I brought you the book from the library." Adjusting her glasses, the old lady smiled at the title.
"Thank you." Tears of joy fell from the old woman's eyes and Nemuru decided all the trouble was worth it.
(1730)
