Ephemeral Reverie #1 - The Silence Between

Chapter Seven - Mend

Charlie wanted to scream.

There wasn't a single book even remotely helpful in the small, sad excuse for a library—economics, Farming for Dummies, Fishing 101, and tons of other 'normal' subjects. But there wasn't a single mention of the Guardian, sprites, or anything. The place didn't even have a computer! At least not from what she could see, and the librarian—the intimidating eyepatch woman—was in the far back of the museum side, hammering away.

And speaking of museum... Where were all the artifacts? The display areas just had dust with random shapes where something once sat, and the tags were just as bare.

The heat of the forge hit Charlie's face when she walked through the thick hanging flaps. A rhythmic tap-tap-tap on stone filled the room and a small sun pulsed within the forge, casting an eerie glow across the walls and floor. The tapping suddenly stopped, and the woman looked up.

"Ah, hello!" she chimed in a thick Dacian accent. Her smile spread wide across the side of her face that still had an eye. Hints of a nasty scar poked out from under the eyepatch. "Charlie, right? Now what do I owe the honor of the Cove's next Guardian gracing my humble little shop?"

"Yeah, that's me. I...didn't catch your name."

The woman giggled.

"I'm Ruby, dear. I run this sad excuse for a museum. I'm also the librarian and blacksmith! So, is there anything I can help with?"

Ruby...was not what she expected. Her genuine authenticity and friendly demeanor surprised her. She had unfairly stereotyped her, and quickly amended her judgement. With a deep breath, she gave the run down, but her hopeful smile quickly faded as Ruby's expression shifted.

"We did have some old books covering legends of the Hollow," she began slowly, "but the last curator took 'em when they got outta dodge. Sorry, Charlie."

"What about a computer?"

"Now that we do have."

Ruby led her to a small office with a big LIBRARIAN ONLY sign above the door. Inside was an old desk and chair, large shelves creaking with the weight of books, plaques, and other knickknacks, and a big, old, clunker of a computer. Despite its age, it turned on relatively fast.

Left alone, Charlie immediately set to searching, but despite altering her terms many times, nothing came up, and what did was blocked by a firewall. At another dead end, she thanked Ruby and bid her farewell for the day and stepped out for some fresh air.

Well, now what? She couldn't just break into the southern tower, and no one seemed to have anything helpful to say when asked. The denial via firewall only made her stubbornness grow. There was no way around it. She needed internet. Full, far-reaching, uninterrupted internet.

Her first instinct was to ask Griff, but he was playing shop keep until later that evening, and she didn't really want to bother Tal. Jason probably didn't have a computer, and Sophie definitely didn't. Hannah and Molly were away for the weekend on a shopping trip to the city...

Wait! Masae! She was always tinkering with something and it was usually tech-related stuff. She had to have a computer. Charlie hadn't seen her in town that day, which meant she was probably still at home. Taking a deep breath, she turned up the path leading into the mountains.

‡ † ‡

When Charlie arrived at Lori's house, the sign on the door read CLOSED, which meant the building was just a house, and Charlie still felt enough like a stranger to not just up and walk in unannounced. It was Masae who answered the knocks, and she smiled brightly as she invited Charlie inside.