Heroes and Monsters

Chapter 6

Turns out the worst that could happen was getting myself locked inside Raziel's sanctum. It was easy enough to get past the door in the first place. The paper imps had all but ignored me with the exception of a particularly stout one pushing me rudely to the side in order to get through the tight corridor. The lone entrance had shut once their business was done and they retreated through some honeycomb shaped passages on the ceiling that I had missed. Getting out would be an issue for the future but for now I occupied myself with exploring the first level of the Archive.

The marble steps of the pathway were dimly lit by torches of magical fire that lined the walls and I cringed with every echo that came from my trek downwards. Polished wooden floors greeted me, accentuated by a thick burgundy rug and moderately sized bookshelves much unlike the ones from above. These books looked to be more recent than the ancient parchments my instructor kept with information on his home Iteration. I slid out a particularly hefty tome wrapped in taut, brown leather without much care. There was no dust to speak of so my passage would leave little to no trace behind. I only needed to put back everything as I found it for there were none of the tower's paper librarians in sight. It had no title but inside I found intricate diagrams detailing the physiology of a branch of the Blue's Abominations; a winged variety of the muscled monstrosities that attacked us back in king Duncan's castle. The creature that the author had apparently dissected operated with six appendages like a dragon from European mythos rather than having its wings replace its arms. I continued to study it with great interest, eventually deciding that the book pertained to the different forms of avian Abominations sighted throughout the Blood War. Every other followed the same theme and covered a range of other varieties, most of them terrestrial, one aquatic.

I made a mental note to return to this section at the next opportunity and moved on deeper into the first floor. It was here where Raziel's weapons case was stored behind a screen of sheer magic. From my vantage point I could make out the room for what it was; an armory. Its presence here was not unusual considering the almost religious passion Sheilda had for weapons but the large, metal box at the end of the room still caught my attention. The iron casket was protected by a mere keypad. Whatever magic that coated the doorway would no doubt be enough for most intruders but I knew that I'd somehow find a way through. It's not like I'd get into much trouble after all. Perhaps a stern lecture from Faith and more training sessions from Instructor Raziel. Propped up on the walls were Buzz guns and a pair of heavy Slugs with full magazines of rune-sealed explosive rounds powerful enough to punch into a fully armored Regular. Buzz guns were a popular choice for the Rangers of the Main Army. The widespread, superheated plasma rounds were useful in tight spaces and effective when fighting against the hordes of creatures controlled by the Blue. Its Terra muzzle prevented any melting from the SMG's high rate of fire and the weapon's trio of ammunition ports allowed the wielder to hold down the trigger for an extended period of time before its Terra rods degraded into lead. It was curious to see such weapons here for to my knowledge, they were restricted to the three R's of the Main Army; Rangers, Raiders, and Regulars.

My hands drifted to the compact data tablet beneath my robes and I pulled up its simple scanner in an effort to map the room. It wouldn't be perfect but the software would allow me to create a rudimentary copy of the floor's layout. Planning out my snooping and crossing out any shelves I'd gone through would be the most efficient course of action. Discovering the Archive's secrets would take some time. Perhaps years depending on the additional layers of security that could be hiding in the lower floors. Having my ship at Raziel's tower would dissuade my servants from looking for me for the time being, but not forever. Another thirty minutes perusing the shelves would have to do for today. A set of thinner volumes stored in a decorative, glass display case caught my attention. Delicate golden clasps secured each brown book shut and were accompanied by titles written in filigree of the same shade.