Dralin

Chapter 15

Pelya was sure they had gone further than she would probably be allowed, but that was fine with her.  Ebudae had shown her amazing rooms: quarters for sleeping, a large dining room and kitchen, and what she believed to be classrooms.

The room they were in at that moment was a library.  Ebudae said it was the room she spent the most time in, but there were many books she couldn’t read.  Pelya was running her fingers along some of the ones on a bookshelf in the back corner.  There had to be thousands of books and scrolls resting on ancient stone shelves reaching up to the high ceiling.  She could speak and read in a few languages, but was only fluent in Altordanian, the language of the country Dralin was in, Common and a coastal language many people used.  None of the writing was in any of the languages she knew.

On their walk to the library, they had fought a large spider in one of the hallways, but it hadn’t been much of a battle.  Ebudae cast a small ice dagger that punctured it fatally.  Other than that, there were mostly rats and insects.  As they went further, the critters became more numerous.  Ebudae told her that they were entering dangerous territory.

Pelya walked back to where Ebudae had her lantern sitting and a few books open on a stone table that was well preserved along with everything else in the library.  The wizardess was studying pictures in one and had been doing so long enough for Pelya to become bored out of her mind.  “Why are there more animals and insects the further we get?”

Ebudae yipped, startled out of her reading.  “Don’t scare me like that!” she hissed loudly.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine, just don’t scare me.”  She looked around as if remembering where they were.  “What did you ask?”

“When we came down here there were only a few rats and insects, but the further we go, the more there are.  Why?”

Ebudae blinked a few times.  “One of the massive columns holding up Dralin is near the theatre.  You can’t see it, but it’s there.”  She glanced at her book as though wanting to continue reading, but closed it instead and leaned against the table with her arms folded.  “There are runes that repel anyone who intends to tamper with them, animals, and monsters from what I’ve read.  So the closer you get, the safer you are.”

“Who put them there?” Pelya asked, walking casually to the still-intact stone door, wanting to do more exploring.

“I don’t know.  Probably the wizards or something, but I have no idea how.”  Ebudae came up behind her, holding her lantern again.  “I’m sorry I spent so long reading.  We can explore now if you want.”

Pelya turned to her, biting her lip in thought.  She finally shrugged.  “It’s alright.  Your books are important.”

“Yes, but I’ve been here lots of times.  Let’s go someplace I haven’t been.”  She led the way out and turned to the left.  Pelya followed and waited while the wizardess relocked the door.  She had a large key ring found in one of the other rooms and had been thrilled when one of the keys was to the library.  She believed most others belonged to locks on wooden doors that had long since disintegrated.  The key ring had runes to preserve the condition of the keys.  “I haven’t been much further than the library.”  Ebudae smiled over her shoulder.  “I really like books a lot and have been spending most of the last year in there.”

“I like books too, not as much as you, but I like them.  It’s a shame most people don’t know how to read.”

“I know, right?  I think that’s why I spend so much time trying to read everything.  I’m scared something will happen to grandmother and I won’t be able to have books anymore.”  There was real fear in her eyes.