Library Maze [Job]

A visit to a village called the ‘Peace Village’. Dimaria was especially happy about this trip as she was going to find out how people who lived in villages, called ‘villagers’ lived. In fact, she wanted to find out how they constructed the village itself, the houses, how they chose the land, what they do there for a living. She heard they were smaller than towns, and looked less modernised. Usually, as she was told, villagers farm and sell their produce for a living, but that could not be the only thing they did in villages. Dimaria was now imaging a group of people planting and farming, only. There were obviously other things that the villagers did, like braiding each other’s hair and whatnot, she imagined with a short laugh. The journey to the village was half by a carriage and half on foot. She did not want to appear all too important to the villagers. She was not important anyway, just came from a more advanced society and wore more proper clothes, which she only noticed once she entered the village that housed a bunch of people who were clothes that barely covered anything. She was mortified. How could people not be ashamed of their body parts being revealed! Some women were dressed in such a revealing way that their breasts hung out of their clothes. It was a strange sight for someone like Dimaria to behold, but she could do nothing about it, so she moved further into the village.

The first thing she noticed was how the little straw huts had no order in how they were built. None of them looked like the other and they were scattered randomly over the small area of land that they occupied. It seemed as though there was no one to keep order, however she noticed how the villagers were peaceful amongst themselves. The entire village was protected by a low wall made of thin wooden logs that looked like someone could just run it over with nothing but a horse cart. What was such a weak defense protecting the villagers from? Wind? Choosing not to say anything about this, she moved on to study what they were doing. As expected, some of them had their own little farms, where they were trying to plant vegetables and harvesting what they could in a straw container. Almost everything they had were made of straw, or similar material, like rattan or the sort. If it weren’t for her extensive knowledge on the worldly elements, she would have thought that they were digging up dirt in one corner of the village. Moving on, she continued to notice how the mothers in the village did breastfeeding so publicly, she could feel her face heat up. She would never have the courage to display her breasts like that. She decided to rest for now, and maybe study the village further the next day as she was going to stay here for a bit. She held the strap of her bag that held her clothes firmly as she looked for a place to stay.

As she walked deeper into the village, she noticed how the little huts huddled together, closer as she went deeper. Then, an old lady who was properly clothes, a first in the village, tapped on her shoulder since she was standing still, looking for a guest hut, or whatever it was called here. The Stark girl turned immediately, a bit shocked by the touch. She was wrinkled, but the smile on her face made Dimaria feel welcomed. She asked if she was looking for a place to stay, which the wizard nodded to, and the old lady began to make her way slowly, however, to an isolated little circle of huts that was even deeper inside the village. After she passed through a thick area covered in foliage, she realised that it was not such a small are of land. In fact, it was quite possibly the largest village she had ever seen, or known to be in exist. Deeper in the village were larger huts, even larger than tens of the small huts combined. She almost said something that would make her look like an absolute fool, but was able to stop herself just in time. The old lady smiled at her again, and then gestured for her to follow. Dimaria nodded, lifting her dress a bit so that it would not be caught with the lower plants that tugged at its hem. Once she was free of such plants, she dropped it so it fell to the level of her ankles.

Then, the old lady opened the thin, translucent curtain to enter one of the larger huts and motioned for her to take the lead inside. Dimaria nodded, then lowered her head so she could walk into the hut without bumping her head into the arc of the doorway. Letting go of the curtain once the was inside as well, the old lady once again pointed to a small part of the hut that was made private by a straw wall around it, and a doorway that was blocked by a similar curtain like before. The aging villager then told her that it was for Dimaria to stay and that she lived not far from the hut, within the circle. If she needed anything, she could ask the old lady or any of the older villagers as they took care of their guests, not that they had a lot anyway. The Stark girl nodded with a genuine smile and placed her bag on the floor of the hut within the private section, seating herself on the comfortable bed. It was quite cozy for a bed that villagers made with not many materials. For example, she wondered  if they weaved their own clothes, and the cloths to make such things as bedsheets. The blanket was made of wool, however, so there must be some livestock around them that either came from the forests around the village or they bred their own.

Soon, Dimaria fell asleep from being exhausted, and woke up only at about seven in the morning, which was later than the time she usually woke up that was around five or six. The latest being six, and not a minute later. Once she was awake, she immediately freshened up herself, making sure that she looked presentable enough to show her face in the village. Clothing herself in a new outfit for the new day, Dimaria took a stroll. The villagers were up of course, way earlier than her, she imagined. She almost felt shame. But that was not important. Today she felt like visiting the old woman who had given her shelter. She would have a long, fruitful conversation with her, and then further study the village and the larger huts that she just discovered when the woman brought her to this side of the village. About fifteen minutes later, she found the old lady’s hut, in which she was actually looking for something. She made a soft knock on the small stool that she found, which meant that she was knocking for entrance, which is how it worked where she came from. It caught the old lady’s attention, but she was confused, instead of telling her something like ‘Come on in!’ Dimaria apologized for intruding, which the woman laughed at, but let her in. She told the Stark girl that she was in fact, looking for a book that she wanted.

She told Dimaria that she knew it was not in her possession anymore, which made the girl raise a brow. But the reason she was looking for it was that she secretly hoped that she still had it. Then, Dimaria offered to look for it, which the old lady accepted. But in the end, the book wasn’t there. With a frown etched in her features, the Stark girl felt like she had failed something, but the old lady reassured her that the book wasn’t there in the first place, and she was just imagining it. But if she really wanted to help, she could go to the library of the village and search for her. The old lady was too tired to go through an entire library on her own to look for a book that was supposed to be rare. Dimaria nodded firmly, guaranteeing that she will find it before nightfall. And so she ventured deep into the village, asking around where the library was, and everyone only pointed forward, like she was supposed to find it at the other end of the village. She didn’t stop, however. She kept going, until she stood before a great big hut that had a lot of decorations clinging to the straw. Squinting her eyes, she noticed the shiny runes above the entrance of the establishment. She couldn’t read them however, so she paid no heed to it, and entered it reluctantly, lowering her head once again. They seemed to like to build low entrances.

As soon as she was inside, Dimaria witnessed the chaos within the library. Children were running about with books in their hands, laughing, thinking that wreaking havoc within such a holy place was the best idea. The Stark, infuriated by the sight before her, yelled, “STOP!” And at once, the children stopped, giving her their utmost attention. They stared at her as she looked different from the other villagers, a strange sight especially for ignorant children like them. “You will return the books to their shelves. You will bring me the book named ‘A Tale of Endel Shmur’ in less than an hour! Now, GET TO WORK YOU FILTHY ANIMALS!” she roared, clearly angered by their ruthless actions. A man behind a desk, most likely the counter stared at her until she turned to face him. “What are you looking at?” she would ask, then gracefully take a seat on one of the bean bags placed around the counter. The man shook himself, then apologized for staring. Once the children were done with doing what she told him to, they would bring her the book that she had asked for, which put a smirk on her face. “Good job,” she told them without looking them in their faces, then left the hut to return to the old woman.