**18+ ONLY**
It is well known that when seeking out a witch, an offering is to be given in exchange. Some witches are picky about their payment types. The new witch in Arvos, though, offers a range of options: food, herbs, alcohol, pets, secrets, de...
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Lybras asked me to help vir to sort a large shipment of books. A mansion out west was declared abandoned, so the local court went about repossessing everything on the land. Despite only have being sent a fraction of the collection so far, ve had a small archive's worth of new books.
"Glad I brought caffeine and snacks," I chortled when I saw all the stacks.
"Handle only what you feel to," ve dismissed. "I already expect to spend weeks on this."
"So you get to keep all these books?"
Ve glanced up from vis notes to glare a warning at me. "Depends on what we find. But yes; most will be staying here." Typical dragon hoarding a trove. Ve gestured to a stack and said, "Start there. Be careful though. Some of the books are spelled."
"Spelled?" There were a number of reasons to spell a book. If it were to keep unwanted readers at bay, though, the trouble would be the level of security they had. I was reluctant to find that answer. "How so?"
"They didn't elaborate," ve grumbled. Figures. Why would the court make our job easier?
For hours it was just mundane filing. It was easy yet numbing to fall into a rhythm. Which was why I jumped and yelped when Lybras suddenly yelled. I looked over and saw vis hand encompassed in flames. White, magical flames.
I cursed and ran to vis side. I cast the counter spell but instead of putting it out, it made the fire jump to me. Cursing, I fell on my ass as I panicked. This wasn't basic magical fire. Trick fire then? Maybe. I didn't have too much time to think about it as it was quickly spreading up my sleeves—I really liked this sweater too. I squeezed my eyes shut focused. It wasn't a standard spell so my usual counter spells wouldn't work. It leapt to me when I tried dispelling it, so it had to have some type of reflection element in it. Dammit! Who the hell cast such a complicated fire spell on a book?
Suddenly the fire was gone. Well, technically it was no longer eating away at my sweater and now attacking a poor potted plant Lybras was holding a safe distance away.
"The hell?"
"The fire jumps to the last living thing to touch the book. Your foot hit it when you came to my aid."
"It burns the last—how the fuck did they even manage to send it here?" I grumbled as I picked at my burnt sleeves. I guess I should be glad my skin wasn't burned.
"I'll add it to the dues."
I crossed my arms and looked around, scrutinizing the remaining books. "I'm going to hunt down more of the spelled tomes. The fewer outfits that end up ruined, the better."
Ve grumbled, not caring either way. I took off one of my rings and a chord bracelet so I could craft a makeshift pendulum. A quick enchantment later and I could easily sort out the mundane from the magical.
