For a long time afterward, Alden sat in that room, just taking in everything. He found dozens of paintings, diaries, papers, pots and more. Each depicted a different great power, a different civilization. Some were benevolent and lifted their people higher into an era of prosperity and peace. Others killed more than the civilizations could count. Dozens of connections existed between each of these events, notations describing each one. Bob sat silently with him as he went through hundreds of notations and documents. He didn’t squawk or splay his wings- just stayed by Alden’s side as he slowly explored the area. Alden sighed and ran his hands through Bob’s feathers, mind running furiously. “What do I do Bob?” Bob turned his head and clucked in a low register. Alden shook his head. “I can’t just leave it. It wouldn’t be right.” Bob clucked again. Alden sighed. “I know, I know. The path they were on is not one I imagined for myself.” He ran his hands gently around a frame, with a painting of his mother and father depicted upon it. He paused as his fingers tickled along the edge of the silver.


    “I don’t owe them anything you know. They chose to give me up, chose to continue this path, chose to leave me in that place.” Bob cooed and Alden huffed out a breath. “We can’t choose our parents, can we?” He was silent for a moment-before he brought out the scroll. “They seem so sure that everything would be better. Have they never considered that their belief was in error?” Bob fluttered his wings and Alden chuckled. “Your right. Everyone believes that they can do it better, that it was the execution and not the idea.” Bob clicked. Alden stood, scooping him up and depositing him on his shoulder. “We’ll see this thing through. Whatever that means, we will accomplish what needs to be done. It is our Duty. It is my Duty.” Bob dug his talons into Alden’s shoulder pad. Alden began to march out of the door, holding up the sheet of papyrus before him. “First things first. I need to find someone to decode this thing.” Alden exited, feet carrying him swiftly.


    He came up into the apartment not long after, giving Frank a nod on his way out. He didn’t recognize the symbols, and very much doubted that many would. His informant would hopefully have his network together in a few days. If he didn’t show, then Alden would have to get creative. “Well, they have a library, right? There’s gotta be some information in there.” Alden took a right turn and began to hurry down the hallway. A left turn, down the stairs, and into a side room he was there. Alden stroked Bob’s waddles as they entered the foyer. A skinny lad was stretched out behind the desk, feet kicked up and a book laid out across his lap. Alden walked up to the desk and put his hands on the counter, waiting for the lad to look up. He waited. And waited. And waited. He cleared his throat, and the boy held up a single, pale, finger. Slowly he flipped the page, placing a small bookmark in it before closing the book. He looked up.


    “How can I help you?” Alden’s voice was as cheery as ever. “This is a library, right? Of course it is, don’t bother answering. How do I get in?” The boy sighed and spoke slowly, enunciating each word carefully. “You. Need. A. Card.” Alden’s smile grew somewhat strained. “And how might I acquire a card?”  The boy sighed again and adjusted his glasses. “You need to see the head librarian.” At this point Alden’s smile was beginning to shrink. “And how do I see the head librarian?” The teen sighed. Again. He opened his mouth to speak- before a wizened voice cut him off. “That would be me boy. Josephus, find your sister and tell her to get out here. If she’s fondling that Wizer boy, I’ll beat them both black and blue.” The boy- Josephus- scrambled out of his chair, words spilling out of his mouth in a jumble. “We- I mean Jania is, well she- the point is that-” He was cut off again as an ancient lady shuffled into the room, wooden staff in one hand. “Stop talking boy, you’re only making things worse. Run along now, before you scare off this interesting young man.” Josephus’s mouth flapped like a fish- before he turned and fled, book in hand.


    The old crone sighed before turning to Alden. She marched right up to him, voice cracking like a whip. “Lean down youngster so I can get a better look at you.” Amused, Alden did so- and hissed as she grabbed his ear in a vice-like grip. She turned his face this way and that, probing and pulling every inch of skin. After a few moments she released him, his hand rubbing his poor, abused face. “What was that for?” She harrumphed and turned around, heading through a back door. “It is the province of the Elderly to do as they see fit. And it is the privilege of the young to be under the Elderly.” Alden stared at the crazy woman before following. “Maybe some Elders.” He thought he had muttered it quietly enough. He thought wrong. “I heard that!” Alden grinned and shrugged, before rushing to catch up with her surprisingly fast pace.


    Her voice was old, and cracked, but it still straightened Alden’s spine when she spoke. “What are you looking for boy?” Alden cleared his throat before speaking, making sure to keep his voice friendly and casual. “Whatever information you have on ancient Gelid civilizations. Preferably with some type of dictionary or other Hoffata stone included.” The librarian huffed a wheezing laugh-cough. “What’s a young mage like you doing, poking around old things graves?” Alden shrugged at her back. “Curiosity. I’m also interested to see how their mages operated.” The librarian halted and spun to face him. Alden stumbled behind her, eyes dipping down to her furious face. A blistering pain erupted from his leg, a curse on the edge of his tongue as the old woman retracted her cane. “If you’d wanted to study mage practices you should’ve said so boy. Follow me and I’ll show you what you need.” Alden limped slightly as he continued to follow, fighting to keep the grin off his face. While he hadn’t expected her to realize what he really wanted to do here, he also hadn’t expected that she would provide him with a perfect cover. He didn’t think Tunk’lan had anything to do with his parents but, well, it never hurt to be extra cautious.


    The Librarian led him through the twisting passages with a subtle type of grace. It was in the way she made no mistakes, didn’t hesitate at any of the doors or intersections. It was interesting the way everyone who passed them acknowledged her. Whether it was with a nod, or a bow or a subtle gesture, they all paid their respects to the ancient woman. After an eternity of walking, she finally took a left and pushed open a door. Before she stepped fully in, she threw one last comment over her shoulder. “Don’t gape in the entranceway. We have plenty of curious entrants that don’t need to be blocked by some fool boy with visions of grandeur.” Alden smiled and shrugged, before following her in- and almost failed her request. He monotonously stepped to the side as his eyes took in the massive library- collection- no, repository before him. Every room he had entered so far had some version of a limited and cramped room. Even the marketplace, for its relatively expansive area, still had a normal-sized roof. The room before him was constrained by no such things.


    The ceiling towered above him, easily over 10 meters in height. Shelves stretched from the floor to the ceiling itself, books packed into every square inch. Rolling ladders were held at the edge of every shelf, even as the very books themselves flew to a few people walking around. Alden leaped to the side, obeying every instinct he had, avoiding the cane that lashed out at him. The woman harrumphed at him before waving her hand. “That’s enough gaping. Come here, let me show you what you need to work on.” Alden just nodded dumbly, eyes still tracing the titanic amount of information. It was only when her cane tapping started to peter out that he startled after her, chasing after her swishing dress. He came up to her right speedwalking as best he was able. “How do you have so many books? Did you have more before our relocation? What languages are they all in? Are there supposed to be people making out in here?” “Hold on bo-wait!” Her head snapped to the side and the couple that was passionately making out behind the front shelf.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    “Damn brats. HEATHRO! JENNA! Get out here before I whip your butts like your parents’ ought to have!” The two teens- they were even younger than Alden himself- heads snapped up. They both wore guilty expressions and stumbled out, talking rapidly about how they were studying, and this or that. Honestly, Alden just tuned them out and watched the show. He wished he had some good meat skewers. Maybe some hard molasses. Thwack! That cane arced out lethally, smashing the boy in the thigh. He grunted, even as the girl behind him gasped as the cane hit her too. “Shut up boy, your only making things worse. Both of you leave, and make sure to stop this canoodling. Else I’ll tell your families, and your fathers can handle you.” Both their faces went whiter than a ghost’s- before they spun and tore out of the library. The boy threw one glance over his shoulder before he left, and Alden gave him his best shrug. The boy didn’t seem very comforted by it, strangely enough.


    The old lady harrumphed as she began to stride forward again. “Where was I? Ah, yes, no need to bombard me with questions boy. Everything will be answered soon enough. In the meantime, I’ll answer one of your questions. Make it a good one, I rarely give out freebies.” Alden thought over it for a moment. “How do you protect this much information?” The old woman gave him a considering look. “That is a surprisingly wise question. Mostly, we don’t let people know we have it. The few who do know also know that we have enough power to back it up.” Alden grunted, thoughts spiraling into himself. Bob’s talons digging into his shoulder brought him back to the present, eyes darting back up. The old woman was staring at him, eyes narrowed, and lips pressed together. “Say, boy, I don’t think I’ve seen you around before.” Alden shrugged. “Long lost family member.”  She hummed. “What family member?” Alden narrowed his eyes. “Martha.” The old lady stared at him a minute longer- before throwing her head back and cackling.


    “Of course. Martha Frank, the most book-avoidant little girl I’ve ever known, gave birth to a Seeker. Tell me boy, how is she?” Alden stared at her flatly. “She’s dead.” The Libarian lost her mirth at that. “I’m sorry for your loss boy. I am glad that you found us, however. Some wounds never go away, but family can help soothe them.” Alden just grunted and looked away, face going blank. She stared at him for a moment longer before gesturing at the bookshelves on their left. “Here’s what you need.” He followed her as she expertly maneuvered around random paintings and pots on pedestals. “Starting from where we are is the most recent civilizations. Go further back and you get to older peoples. Is there anything in particular your researching?” Alden shook his head. “I don’t know yet.” A huff. “Of course you don’t. Martha is your mother after all. The library closes at the ninth bell. You can tell because the moss and shrooms will start to darken by then. Any one of the helpful people walking around with a card on them is one of my staff. Feel free to ask them any questions.” Alden nodded and turned around to thank the woman- only to see her turn the corner and swish off into the distance. “Well. I guess she doesn’t do goodbyes, huh Bob?” Bob clucked. Alden chuckled and shrugged. “Your right. Let’s go.”


    The problem with trying to be circumspect is that it made everything take forever. Alden was already running a risk by telling the head librarian that he was looking at ancient civilizations. That she presumed he was looking at mage techniques would hopefully provide him a cover against any scrutiny. In hindsight Alden had to admit it made more sense. A young man with the chicken affinity looking at ancient Gelid Cultures? What was more likely- that he was researching a clue his dead mother left behind- or that he was trying to find some secret spell and make himself all powerful? Alden sighed and pushed away his tangential thoughts. Entertaining as they were, distractions were the least of his worries right now. He groaned and threw his head against the headrest, kneading his forehead. Bob cocked his head and clucked deeply, watching from the chair across from him. “I know, I know we need to keep looking. But I’ve been looking for hours Bob, and the closest thing I’ve found to what I need is about a civilization only briefly mentioned in a cold studies case. Nothing else has it, not even a mention of it.” Alden leaned back even further, hands rubbing furiously.


    “I don’t even know what to do with this Bob. If someone was trying to hide the information they’ve done a fantastic job at it. If I can’t find any information here, where will I find it?” Bob fluttered his wings. Alden sighed and flipped open the next book- before pausing. “Bob. Hide.” Bob didn’t question him, diving down under the table. Alden stood carefully, walking a few steps in front of the table and leaning against the shelf. He slowly slid down with his back against it and buried his head between his knees. He silently shook, no noise escaping him. He could feel the shudders sweeping over him. Sounds pinged at the edge of his awareness as adrenaline flooded his veins. He could feel that urge to do something, anything grow within him. His magic gnawed at the last strands of sanity he had. Something tugged at the inner part of him. He ignored it. Something shuffled.


    His head snapped up as blazing spellforms leapt into his mind’s eye. Next thing he knew, he was standing across the room hand reaching out. He heard a huff as it collided with someone before his body moved, sweeping the leg and controlling the hands. He tumbled onto the floor and raised his hand, Aether collecting-“Wait!”- and froze as the voice entered his ears. The dull roar that filled his brain slowly faded. His magic dissipated. Alden blinked and looked down. A young woman, brown haired and brown eyed, stared at him with an open mouth. Alden grunted and stood, extending his hand. “Ever heard of announcing your presence? It’s not good to surprise people.” She blinked. “Wha-why- what just happened!?” Alden shrugged as she scrambled to her feet. “You surprised me. I reacted. What’d you think happened?” Her hands flopped in the air as her mouth flapped. Words seemed to escape her. Finally, they managed to escape her throat, somewhere between an incredulous hiss and a yell.


    “What do you mean I surprised you!? I was minding my own business when you attacked me! What’re you doing back here?” Alden shrugged. “Research.” He scratched the back of his head and gave her a smile. “Sorry about the sweep. You just caught me at a bad time that’s all.” She stared at him for a moment longer- before sighing. “Whatever.” She turned away and hustled back out. Alden shook his head, breathing a quiet sigh of relief as he returned to his studies. The last thing he needed was some librarian- what was the term? Errant or something similarly silly he thought- poking into his business. Settling back down onto the table he waved his hand at Bob. The proud bird hopped back onto the seat and settled in as if nothing happened. Alden sighed and waved around him. “You need to keep a better watch around. I could’ve knocked her out.” Bob squawked at him as Alden hunched over the book. “Uh huh. Whatever you say, although a real chicken would just cock up and accept responsibility.” Alden smiled as his companion launched into an extensive diatribe towards him. He flipped the page, revealing another set of non-matching symbols. Hopefully something would turn up soon.