Heavy Reading (The Burden Of Knowledge)

The past few days had been eventful for Leona. First she had completed her first official job for Silver Wolf by delivering a message from Dr. N. D. Anna to Leila Vergious alongside guildmates Quill Scorchwood and Eero Saarinen. Then she had embarked on a solo trip to Hosenka in order to save a farmer from a messy situation. Both jobs were successfully completed.

Now Leona was in Capital Crocus to obtain a book for a wealthy collector named Benjamin Rellock. With her were Yuvon, Eero Saarinen, and the guildmaster herself, Leila Vergious. Standing outside the bookstore named Written Antiquities, Leona brought out the letter from Mr. Rellock stating that the Silver Wolf mages were acting on his behalf. She took a deep breath and entered the bookstore.

A bell chimed as she entered. There were rows upon rows of bookshelves filled with books. The rows were perfectly aligned, as were the books on the shelves. There was not a speck of dust anywhere. Well-dressed men and women in suits and dresses stood about and browsed the shelves or conversed quietly with one another.

The bookstore clearly catered to a wealthy clientele. The chandeliers on the ceiling were brass with handcrafted glass globes covering the light bulbs. Staff members wore suits and dresses. The furniture was all handcrafted and made of the finest materials.

Leona confidently walked to the desk and waited for service. A young black-haired man in a black tuxedo and brown-rimmed glasses approached her with barely concealed disdain on his face. He hesitated for a moment before greeting her.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"Yes. We've come on behalf of Mr. Rellock to collect a book of his." Leona stated her purpose for being there.

"Mr. Rellock? Why would he send such an ill-dressed rabble like you to act on his behalf?" He asked in a haughty tone. Leona frowned. She kept quiet and presented the letter to the staff member. The young man picked it up and read it, obviously disbelieving what he saw.

"It says here that Mr. Rellock has sent you to pick up his most recent purchase for him." The young man said.

"Yes." Leona replied.

"You'll forgive me if I don't quite believe you. Many people try to steal books by claiming to be working on behalf of our patrons. Hold on a moment while I call for the manager." He said. He briskly walked over to an older man with graying hair and a gray handlebar mustache. He was dressed in a brown suit with a black tie and brown shoes. The clerk whispered into the older man's ear. He then accompanied the clerk to the counter and faced Leona.

"William has told me that you are here on Mr. Rellock's behalf, yes?" The man asked.

"We are. We're with Silver Wolf." Leona said before presenting her guild tattoo.

"So you are Silver Wolf. Now, about this letter. Allow me to check and make sure it isn't a forgery." The manager requested. He picked up the letter and read it closely. He then swiped his hand over it and the written words began to float in the air before her. Leona was amazed.
After a few minutes of carefully studying the words and analyzing for inconsistencies, the manager smiled.

"Please forgive William and myself. We were skeptical when strangers claimed to be working for Mr. Rellock, but now we know that you have told the truth. We will bring to you his purchase right away." The manager said before he and William walked briskly to the back of the store. Leona patiently waited for them to return. A minute later they returned with a muscular blonde man wearing a black suit and black shoes. He was easily seven feet tall and his arms rippled with muscles... it was a surprise that his dress shirt and suit jacket were not in tatters.

He carried in his arms a large book with an obsidian cover. The title was written in gold cursive handwriting, but the giant's arms obscured the name. He set the book down upon the wooden counter with a soft WHUMP. Leona's eyes widened. How were she and the others supposed to carry something that heavy?

"Thank you, Gustav." The manager thanked the burly man.

"No problem, sir." Gustav said before returning to the back. The manager smiled.

"He's Gustav. He's our chief of security. He also helps us with any heavy lifting that is required." The old man explained.

"I can see why." Leona replied with respect. She took a look at the book. It was entitled "Hidden Knowledge: A Collection Of Writings Concerning The Contents Of The Obsidian Archives."

This was what they came for. That part of the trip was over. Now they had a bigger problem. How were they going to transport it to Oak Town?

[Word Count: 810]

Was this truly a good idea? Did any of his guildmates know of the passion- wait, yes, they obviously did! Several months of interactions with his closest friends may have them realize his ambitious attitudes resolving something as straightforwardly like him - accursed knowledge hidden in these books! Okay… he had to calm down. The masked librarian had visited the library of Capital Crocus many times, but one of his reasons to get so worked up was partly because of the security that the staff felt extremely needed, in which they prioritized secrets, surveillance and discretion to the highest level. Even the fabled Kraken prince was not able to read many books as it wasn’t just a book store, but also a service of transferring owned and claimed books by key figures all over the land. As if he could just read every book that was in here… most of them held such private, intimate, deep plots and secrets.

It only aroused his crave for confirmation more. He had to pull himself together, though; he had caused minor obstacles on his path to knowledge, both for himself and for Silver Wolf. The last thing that he needed to do was ruining the mission that he gladly accepted. Just to summarize for himself, despite his almost photographic memory; they were to obtain one book for a certain, famous collector that went by the name Son of The Right Hand- oh, excuse the nerd’s translation, Benjamin. Yes, Benjamin Rellock… now, if Yuvon took this journey on his own - ohhh boy, he would drown in his own weakness. The greatest chain that kept him in order was his companions. Now, of all things, he couldn’t read minds - at least not so easily *cough* - but perhaps his Guildmaster had accompanied them out of worry? There wasn’t much to worry about, though, if he thought this thoroughly - Eero and Leona had shown great signs of diplomacy and nobility… ironic for him, a man hailing from the very land of extreme nobility, he feared that she would have to keep an extra eye on his lust for written papers. Heck, what if he opened the book that they were supposed to deliver to Mr. Reddock? What if the book was cursed or bewitched, what if it brought shame to his guild?! He couldn’t let that happen, may his body be torn to pieces before it happened… b-but… then again, he hadn’t seen the book yet. It might’ve just been some thin diary of his, or perhaps a collection of psalms.

As the gang entered, Yuvon was last in line as he spiritually concealed his lust inside his brain, behind lockers made of carbon crystals and titanium. It was time for actuality, he was in the middle of a job. Although it went fairly well - even he understood the susceptibility possessing these staff members - they managed to gain access to the book… oh, by Minstrel, that book was large. And its cover… obsidian?! This was far from a diary; this book might contain ancient treasures! Given its chest-like form, what could dwell within its pages!? YUVON, PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER… okay… he managed to calm down before his excitement got the upper hand.

Yuvon would move closer to Leona in order to take a good look at the cover; almost pitch-black with violet nuances, the book’s cover revealed its full name: ‘Hidden Knowledge-‘ Okay, once more, the librarian had to find peace. He would turn around for a moment and do a movement with his hand sliding it from his head and down to his chest whilst saying: “I-I… I’m quite in awe at this book, I need a moment.” A moment as in a few seconds to reflect of his duty here would provide him with willpower.

“Yes… the book sure looks heavier than we can lift on our own,” he commented. Slowly, he would move a hand under the book and feel its weight thoroughly, confirming that it was too much for one hand - obviously. Now, with two hands under the book’s sleek cover - mind you, he barely managed to lift the bottom cover yet - he tried to elevate the obsidian book but with no luck. “… *huff*…” This called for teamwork, in which he called for aid from his tentacle fellas who helped him lift up the book to his back. Giving Eero’s bag a look, it didn’t seem to have space enough, so they would have to carry it to the train station like this… but its weight misbalanced his stature. He would need a solid back-up. “Eero, I need some hands to… you know, make sure I don’t fall on the way,” he begged. The book was much heavier than any other book that he had read in his life. It deserved to be remembered… he would have to have a talk with this Reddock guy about this book, though. No way he’d let it disappear from his memory…

He could see the fluffy, grey ears of Leila's twitching in curiosity as her eyes were fixated on a book... did he just see himself? Really? How cute... but dangerous as well to drown in the pages to knowledge.

WC: 874

Leona was still trying to figure out how they were going to move the book to Oak Town. Yuvon had stepped in and tried to muscle it, but he could barely make it budge. It was unfortunate that they could not borrow Gustav to carry it for them, but he was the chief of security for Written Antiquities. His job came first. The Silver Wolf mages would just have to figure out the problem for themselves.

Leona placed both hands underneath a corner and attempted to move it. She had about as much success as Yuvon. She barely lifted it from the counter before the strain became too much. She did not know how Eero or Leila were supposed to move it. The blonde tried to come up with a plan.

There were no conditions on how the book got transported just as long as it made it to Oak Town. Maybe Leila, Eero, or Yuvon knew a teleportation spell. That would solve the problem, but thinking about it led to another issues.

Leona was not educated in magic, but a teleportation spell probably stipulated that the caster must have previously traveled to where they wanted to send the book. Leila was the one most likely to have been to Oak Town before. However, chances were that she had not been to Mr. Rellock's house before. The blonde was back at square one... until she saw Gustav again. That gave her another idea.

"Well guys, the only idea I have right now is to go to the local gym and hire a few really strong guys to carry the book for us." Leona told Leila, Eero, and Yuvon. It would be a costly idea since someone had to pay the men to make it worth their while. Leona did not care. She would pay them herself if she had to. Getting the job done and boosting Silver Wolf's reputation mattered the most.

"Does anyone else have a better idea?" Leona asked them before she moved to enact her plan. She wanted to give her fellow guildmates a chance to show what they could do. For some reason, she felt like she was always taking the spotlight away from them. Now she would step back and see what they could come up with.

Leona did not know much about Yuvon other than he liked tentacles and he liked books. She also knew that he almost always wore his mask. She had never seen him without it.

Leona knew very little about Eero. He seemed to avoid the spotlight, but from what she saw at Dr. Anna's home, he had a genuine interest in scholarly matters. He could be the one who came up with a plan that saved the day.

Leona knew the least about Leila. Judging from how she was hanging back, she was clearly trying to let the guild members solve the problem. She was also trying to see what her guild members were capable of... or so Leona thought.

[Word Count: 501]