Chapter 14 – The Slums

“Good morning, my name is Salandra Fevezar. I am one of the scribes working at the Topaz Slumber and I was told that you are in need of someone knowledgeable of herbal medicine?” A young woman stood in front of Cobal, a fair bit shorter than he himself was.
“That is correct, thank you for taking the time to help me out. My name is Cobal.” Cobal replied.
She smiled and moved a lock of hair out of her face and behind her ear. She had fairly rounded features and she wore her dress in such a way that it highlighted certain parts of her body while other parts were more loose fitting and concealing. The yellow accents on the dress showed that her main place of study was the Topaz Slumber, the smallest of the three libraries.
“If you don’t mind, I’ve got a room at the slums reserved for the day where we can discuss what exactly you need help with.”
“The slums?” Cobal asked, unsure what she meant.
“That’s what most of us call the Topaz Slumber. A very long time ago it was housed in a building that looked absolutely awful from the outside. That combined with the fact that slums already sounds like a shorthand for slumber made it stick around even after the original building was demolished and the books were moved to the new tower that is the Topaz Slumber you can see over there.” She pointed at the building in the distance.
“That’s interesting to know.” Cobal nodded. “And that sounds like a good idea, I’ll follow your lead then.”
He followed Salandra across the square and down a nice path that led from one library to the other. Despite being called the slums and being the smallest of the three libraries in Marsolin it was still an incredibly impressive building. The tower reached into the sky like a curled finger almost with the very top curving down again. “How does that work?” Cobal asked her.
“I couldn’t tell you what’s keeping it from falling, but I can tell you what it looks like on the inside. It consists of two floors, one small one at the very top where rare artifacts and other valuables are being kept. The floor below it has some offices as well as some very rare books that can only be read there. If you look closely at where it curves there’s a bridge connecting two rooms. The part of the tower that’s curving down can only be accessed through that bridge and the lock is magically protected. Only a few high ranking librarians have access to that part of the slums.” She smiled at him. “But I’m sure that whatever you need is probably on one of the accessible floors.” She held out her arm. “These are the slums,” she said.
“Despite the name, it’s still very impressive.” Cobal looked at the pin that Lysa gave them that would allow them entry. “Is this enough to let me in?”
Salandra nodded. “That pin is actually quite valuable and gives you more access than even some of the scribes working here. You should be careful not to lose it.”
“I will keep that in mind.” He followed Salandra up the staircase and into the building through the two large wooden doors. The doors looked very similar to the ones that they walked through to enter the other library. “Are the designs the same in the towers?”
“Some parts. The doors are the same in each tower and some of the banisters and staircases were made by the same company of carpenters so they all look the same as well, but there are design differences here and there. Each tower has some unique changes that really highlight their individuality. And of course the way the books are stored is different depending on who is the librarian in charge. But if you have everything in a town built by the same people, things are going to look similar at their core.”
Cobal nodded. That made sense to him.
She turned around to face him and gestured at the entrance space around him. “So, what do you think?”
The Ruby Observatory felt very organized and sterile in a sense. There was a desk where you could get help, there were guards and there was a constant stream of scribes going through the hallways to meeting rooms or back upstairs. The Topaz Slumber felt more chaotic. There was a single desk set up in the center of the room where two elven women were helping out visitors. A guard lazily sat on the bottom steps of the staircase that led to the first floor. There were no meeting rooms on the ground floor but instead an open space with benches and even what looked to be a small restaurant.
“It’s more homely,” Cobal remarked.
“Most of us scribes have lunch here in the slums due to it being a more comfortable space. All trade and communication with other institutions on the continent is done in the Observatory as it is the biggest and most modern building. The slums is more for us locals, although just like the other two towers, everyone is welcome here.” 
After talking to one of the receptionists, Cobal and Salandra made their way up to the first floor where she led him to the back of the library. Rows and rows of bookcases lined the path they took until they arrived at one of the alcoves built into the stone wall. It looked as if the space was almost carved out of the big blocks of stone that the building was made with. Cobal couldn’t even begin to imagine how a building like this was made with what looked like boulders. How would they even get that high up with them? Cobal had many questions but now wasn’t the time for it. They sat down in the stone alcove and Salandra closed off the space with the fabric and turned on a lantern. “It’s quite the cozy space, don’t you think?”
Cobal nodded. They were in a massive building with people walking everywhere but it still felt like they were alone.
She crossed her arms and leaned back. “So, what brings you all the way here? You’ve told me your name but nothing else and I can’t say I’m not curious.”
“It’s a long story.”
Salandra smiled. “I’ve got time.”
Cobal hesitated. How much was he willing to share with this total stranger. Salandra brushed her brown hair behind her ear and he looked at her green eyes that seemed to look from him to the wall almost nervously. Her other hand was fidgeting with the belt that formed her dress so nicely around her figure.
“While on a ship, we were attacked by a strange group of mages. Following them to their base, we encountered several dangerous traps set for us or other intruders. Some of our friends were then sent off to some far off place while others were paralyzed. We’re here to try and figure out more about these people – who we’ve learned might be a cult – as well as figure out a way to unparalyze our friends.” None of what he said was a lie, but he wasn’t quite ready to tell her about who he really was. “That’s the summarized version of it.”
“Wow, sounds like you went through some scary times.”
Cobal hadn’t really thought of it that way, but he’d also left out that they were searching for his brother. His determination to find out what really happened had really removed a lot of the worry and fear from the immediate situation, but looking back on it they did go through quite a lot. From accidentally encountering pirates only to find out that Eliana was in fact the person they were looking for, to fighting cultists in the hills to the north of the capital of the country they were at war with. And now they were in a foreign land, studying at a library they didn’t really know all that much about, to find out where their friend’s wife was being kept and what his brother might have to do with all of this. “You know what, you’re right, that’s scary stuff.”
“Are you just now coming to that realization?” Salandra laughed.
“I guess I am.” He smiled. “But enough about me, why are you a scribe here?”
“Oh, that’s not an interesting story at all, I’m afraid.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
Salandra laughed. “Really, it’s just a very simple order of events. My parents moved to this town when I was young, my mother was a scribe here for a few years. Eventually she retired when my father made enough money with his bakery and they’ve been working there together ever since. When I got older I wanted to see what this place was like, since my mother always talked about it when I was a child, so I applied for the position of scribe and I got it.”
“How do you even become a scribe here, and what does the function entail?”
“Well, the way you become a scribe might be different for everyone. Some just apply like me and go through an interview with one of several senior librarians. They’ll see if you are a good fit for the organization, but from what I’ve understood they’re not particularly strict. My interviewer definitely wasn’t, but she also knew my mom, so I already had better chances than most.”
Cobal smiled. “I believe Mana would call that nepotism.”
“Who’s that?”
“A traveling companion of mine, she’s in the Ruby Observatory right now.”
“Ah. Anyway, most scribes that work here get paid for transcribing information. Either you copy important works so that they become available to more people at once or you summarize works, help organize floors and guide visitors. A lot of the money to run this place comes from the crown, so we don’t have to make a big profit to stay open. It’s our country’s pride and has been for generations, after all. We get many rich sponsors as well.”
“I see, so you just work with books all day, doesn’t that get boring?” Cobal was already losing interest in the books and wanted to talk more with Salandra instead.
She laughed. “Well, it gets boring sometimes, sure, but most of the scribes here love books and learning. I want to learn more about many different topics, so I spend a lot of my time studying in between tasks. That’s one of the big benefits of the job.”
“And what are you studying?”
“Mostly herbalism and the likes. I love the way that magic and medicine can sometimes meet and find common ground.”
“Medicinal magic isn’t very common where I’m from.”
“Where are you from?”
Cobal hesitated. “I’m from Blueyerd.”
“Ah, our neighbors to the south. It’s a dangerous time to be traveling between the two kingdoms, with all the tension near the borders. How are things on that side?”
“Tense as well. Nobody wants a war, but the Rilodar royals have supposedly kidnapped our prince.”
Salandra nodded. “That’s what is being used as an excuse, but I think it’s nothing more than an excuse. Why would our king do something like that?”
Cobal shrugged. “I don’t know, but it is true that the prince has disappeared from public sight.”
“Perhaps they’re just hiding him?”
Cobal shook his head. “I don’t think that’s it.”
Salandra shrugged. “Well, I don’t know either. I doubt any wars would reach this place. I hope not, at least.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Cobal said, quickly finding an excuse to change the topic. “But medicinal magic, how does it work? I am here partially to find something that can help out my paralyzed friends after all.”
“Right, that’s what we were talking about.” Salandra looked him in the eyes and smiled. “I think there’s some ways I can help you with that, I’ve studied similar magic before, so I know where to start research on this particular issue. Why don’t you start by telling me exactly what caused this paralyzing effect.”