The guards lead the way until we walk left and right into a passage that suddenly turns down and then up. Despite memorizing the labyrinth, I feel as if I haven't been to this place before. It doesn't seem to be in the book Nehal gave.
Judging by Obrecht's scrunched brows, it seems that this part of the labyrinth is new to him too. Though what I'm most concerned how can it be so unfamiliar when it's so accessible like this. Shouldn't kids or some people have had roamed here and there like us since there are no barricades or walls?
Noticing Obrecht's confusion, the older guard says, "It's a patterned direction not many know. You know, like one of those vaults with a rotating lock. The more you follow the set of right turns and left turns, the more the path looks different, but the closer you are to getting there. Of course, if you stop in the middle or take a wrong turn or mistakenly speed up, you might not be able to go forward nor go back. It's just a myth though." The older guard shows a cheeky smile.
"Where are we heading", Obrecht questions.
"Lumea's Hidden Library", the older guard smiles proudly, as if saying, "I bet it's your first time there, aren't you surprised? I've already been there before."
The final passage way is darker, but at the end of it, light shines brightly, elongating our shadows behind us. I blink a few times as we walk out of the narrow space and into a circular junction to opened to numerous archways and paths.
My eyes widen behind the secrecy of my mask.
"I received Raguk's report. I would also like your account on things", Nehal walks out of the shadows, a glowing floating orb in front of her as her hands were busy skimming over an old heavy book. Slowly, she closes it with a thump, with her thumb substituting as a bookmark.
"Of course. It's part of our job. I'll have someone send it by fire notice after I write it", the older guard cordially replies. Nehal nods at him, and he turns around with the other guards, going back the way they came. I contemplate whether we should follow the guards, but Obrecht doesn't, and so I stay.
When the guards have left, Nehal utters, "Follow me. Everyone's waiting."
She opens up the book once again and starts flipping a few pages, her head buried over it as she follows the leading orb of light. We arrive at the same room we had once stayed in. There was no one inside.
"…Nehal", I open my mouth to ask her what she meant by 'everyone' but I just walked straight forwardly. She's going to hit the wall! I walk briskly but it was too late, and yet what I expected didn't happen.
The wall ripples for a few second before it disappears.
Unconsciously, I turn to Obrecht who does the same. Upon a small realization, we both awkwardly look away.
"Let's go", Obrecht whispers as he grabs my hand and pulls me to the wall. I stare at the hand that squeezes mine.
A few seconds pass, and my eyes adjust into a more brightly lit room. There were dozens upon dozens of floating orbs that hovered above, with high thick shelves that permeated the smell of magic, old leather, and parchment.
"Over here…" Nehal's voice barely echoes on the carpeted flooring. She was already quite far.
Quickly, we walk over to where her voice came from.
The ceiling's so high, making the cluster of floating orbs hover higher, and the in-between of the bookshelves darker. Just as I thought so, two orbs floated downward and drifted down in front of Obrecht and I. The soft light chased away the darkness. If it weren't for it, this library, though amazing and overwhelming at the sheer number of books they held, would look eerie as if something could be lurking within the darkness that lay ahead.
It's a good thing the darkness is my ally.
"You've arrived."
In the middle of the shelves, a row of large oval tables lay in the middle, with a one table occupied by so many people sitting around it—the Batrani. I scan the crowd and I could see a few more familiar faces hidden in a few corners; Raguk and his brother, Odeti, and a familiar-looking boy that stood behind Vita. Even Krael was here, sitting beside his father, Kivn.
Looks like Krael decided to come as well. I breathe a sigh of relief. If he's here, then it must mean that Vera's out of trouble already.
"Sit down", Nehal offers, acting as host.
"We've already heard the story from Krael, Ruzha's sons, and the few witnessing guards. We just need your statement as well. We sincerely hope for your candor on this", Kaivalya says straight-forwardly. Although she says they 'sincerely hope' for us to speak the truth, the tone of her voice proclaims that we have no choice but utter it, not a single secret kept.
Obrecht begins to stand, when Amos interrupts him. He knocks on the table twice.
"Pardon my rudeness, Obrecht, but I don't think we want to hear your account first on this one." He stares at me. "Of course, we would love to hear it, but first, let's hear Videre's side of the story."
Clenching his teeth, Obrecht obediently sits down again, not a single emotion reflected on his face as if no roaring wind or storm could bother this mountain.
I nod briefly, standing up. I turn to the other people and then back to Amos.
"Very well", he answers. "The others except for the Batrani, please step outside the Hidden Library for a moment."
Krael doesn't hesitate to leave, the chair screeching softly. The others also follow his lead, and step out the way we had come from.
Raguk hesitates a little, until his father, Ruzha, nods at him. He throws me one last look as he walks away through the dense forest of bookshelves.
"Right", Kivn starts, "What happened?"
I look to him in question. Shouldn't they have had a clue already if Krael was already here? Or is this a polite question to start the interrogation? No matter how hard they disguise it, it's still an interrogation. I squash down the small instinctual fear of being questioned and stared at like this.
"What happened that got Vera unconscious, that even Krael won't even say no matter how much we ask or pressure him", Kivn demands, his usual sleepy self not to be found anywhere. As Krael's father, I can't blame him. To refuse speaking of the truth when questioned by the elders that make up the Batrani, is in fact a crime in itself. An obstruction of the truth is a major crime.
Feeling their eyes on me, I bow respectfully, my face nearly kissing the table's surface.
"I will not make any excuse, nor hide any secret. It was my fault and mine alone that endangered the lives—"
"Videre!" Obrecht quickly objects with a raised voice.
"—I will accept any punishment for it."
"I came on my own. You didn't—He didn't—"
"Enough! Obrecht, sit down" Halvalt demands.
The father and son stare at each other, until Obrecht backs down and sits beside me again.
"We brought you here to know the truth, not to deliver punishment", Otis says. "Even if we do, we can't deliver one unjustly. We have tried asking Krael's account on the matter, but he refuses to say a word, saying that it was better to have it come from you instead. I'm assuming that there is a reason for it?"
I don't answer.
Otis sighs. "How about you start from the beginning—when and why did you decide to go outside Aovialutre's barrier despite knowing the rules of Lumea?"
I chew the words in my mouth as they wait in silence for my answer.
"We have already acknowledged you as a citizen of Lumea, and you know fully well what rules you cannot break. Rules exist for harmony and peace", he continues to preaches. "Videre", he urges.
Slowly, I reach out to my face, putting down my mask on the table, as I stare at the shiny surface.
"…I'm not a Lumean. Aovialutre doesn't see me as a Lumean. This in itself is proof of it", I swipe the hair on my forehead upwards and concentrate at making it the rune show. A warm sensation flickers on my forehead, and then I put down my hand.
"What do you mean", someone confusedly asks.
"It's true that it doesn't look like the usual blessing rune, but doesn't it like that because…", they trail off with unfinished words.
Because I'm a surface-dweller. Right.
"…She called me a wanderer. Maybe that's why."
"She?" Halvalt gave a confused expression.
I nod. "Aovialutre."
Their surprised exclaims and expressions never ceased as I retold the same story I told Obrecht and Krael, with the addition of the dreams I had during my coming of age ceremony, but with the exemption of leaving Inferis to complete Aovialutre's quest. I know that I'm selfish this way. In the end, I don't tell them that Vera was pointed as Aovialutre's vessel.
"Could it have been a Walker-born who controls dreams?" Kaivalya evaluates.
"Walker-born", I say in questioning tone, trying to recall it.
"It's the equivalent of a Djinn-kind", Obrecht finally answers.
I sit back down, and he gives me a small smile. Whatever he was thinking before, it seems that he was finally over it. I throw my own small smile in relief.
"That's impossible", Mortimer counters. "The hall is protected by an array inside and outside. Even if someone is to pull off a prank, they can't induce a hallucination like that when one is awake."
"Not unless it isn't a hallucination, but maybe a soul recall? Maybe someone tried to talk directly to his soul when we did the ceremony. But who?" Rohati discusses with Mortimer.
"That's not even our biggest problem." Everybody turns to Ruzha. "If what the kid says is right, then we don't know until when Aovialutre's barrier as well as the Inferis will hold up. The more pressing matter is the collapse of Aovialutre's barrier. We can still keep the entrance hidden or manually close them, but there will be nothing to keep those centipedes at bay should Aovialutre's protection dissolve."
The atmosphere's grim.
"The people can defend, but it will take a large toll not only on the crops, but to our homes. If those insects are able to travel through the Earth so easily, then I'm guessing rocks and boulders won't be a bother to them. The canyon won't be safe by then."
"No place would be safe."
"Not unless we eradicate them first."
"You don't even know where their nest is and how many there are."
"An expedition should be alright."
"We can't risk it like that."
"You're all forgetting that if we tell the majority, it may induce panic."
"Kali's right. It may as well induce panic. We should handle it secretly for the time-being."
"I disagree. Keeping it from the majority would be counter-productive."
The Batrani continue to debate over the actions they should take, until Raguk's brother comes in with the older guard that escorted us here.
"Apologies, Batrani. We wanted to inform you that the Amos' daughter is awake", the older guard says.
Amos, and Vita stand up abruptly, just as Obrecht and I do. They head on out, following the guard. I wear my mask again at the sudden arrival of other people, but it doesn't hide my attention to their retreating figures.
"We might as well continue this discussion after Amos and Vita has returned. The annual tournament has yet to be finished. It won't be could if the majority notices that all of us are gone and nobody is managing the battles", Nehal suggests, and nobody objects, standing up to leave one by one.
Halvalt walks over to us. "Rest first. I'm telling the both of you right now, I'm really disappointed."
I lower my head. A hand lands on the top of my head.
"At times like this, you could've asked your seniors for help, Videre. I may not come close to your Apa, but I can at least act as your Tito. More than being lied to, it really disappoints me that the first thing you do is to keep everything to yourself rather than ask us for help or advise. Please don't do this next time."
I clench my hands. "…I'm sorry", I say in a hoarse voice.
Halvalt doesn't answer, strokes my head a bit, before retreating and then leaving back the say we came.
Obrecht and I follow him. The wall ripples, and the two floating orbs that used to follow us, returned to hover over the space below the ceiling. We don't see Krael and the others around outside.
Halvalt also looks around and notices that Odeti isn't anywhere nearby.
"Let's go home for now. You can visit your friend tomorrow." He takes the lead and we follow him through the maze of corridors and pathways, until we exit a pathway that lead to the canyon.
Looking upwards, anybody could tell that it was well into the night, a few hours to midnight.