A few days before the meeting with the Ecne, the Tuatha guest, Lian and Ogda got a visit from someone they least expected. The frigid air let them immediately know that the target they had been following around for days was right at their door.
Since Lian and Ogda confirmed that Feth, the Head Librarian, was involved with the incident with the dark water at the arena, the two followed his every move, trying to gather more information and, if lucky, proof of his shadiness. They found him wandering the town most of the time, going on long walks through its large parks, narrow alleyways and step buildings…but nothing they could call too suspicious happened.
He knocked once, twice…thrice.
Lian- " Is that…we should open it, right?", she asked Ogda, who's scatterbrain was trying to figure out what to do.
Shaking a bit, Ogda replied- " Lian, did you know…vampires can only enter a domain if you let them in?" he spouted a seemingly useless fact, which shocked the girl with how he brought it out at the most inopportune time. The water firbolg then started heating his inner liquid, steadying himself for anything.
The young girl, thinking a bit more about the situation, realized something. " True about vampires, but he is a mist being. If he wanted to, no doors or walls could actually stop him from entering. Isn't that right, mister librarian?" she asked while fastly and suddenly opening the door, letting a cold breeze travel through the circular room. The Head Librarian floated in front of the girl, waiting for a clear invitation.
Feth- " So…I'm allowed to pass your framed barrier?", to which Lian, after giving Ogda a signal to stand down, nodded to the mist creature. He gently floated his garbs in the middle of the room, keeping eye contact with the nervous Ogda, and then, to the amnesiacs' surprise and bewilderment, the librarian bowed his head to the water firbolg.
Feth, while keeping his head down, started to apologize. " I'm sorry Middle One, my pitiful actions interfered with your superior directives. I wasn't aware of your presence until I met you the other day." He then turned his bowed head to the young woman, not asking for forgiveness though. " Tell me Middle One, is this really her?"
The vagueness of his questions brought down both of their guards, switched out with bewilderment on both of their faces. What was going on, why was the librarian acting that way, especially since they didn't see him do anything peculiar while "tracking" him.
Ogda- " I have a question…several", he said, trying to calm down his nerves. " Middle One…You know what that means? What are…we? You and me, what…who are we?"
The inquiry lifted the librarian's head off the ground, and he kept climbing, almost reaching the ceiling, while Feth analyzed the water firbolg. After finishing his evaluation, the mist firbolg changed tunes, considering that obeisance was no longer required.
Feth- " Tsz, and I was wondering why you took such a…shameful form…but that's the only level you can sustain now, right?" Feth's attitude changed swiftly, staring at Ogda with pity and annoyance. "If that's the case, you can't even answer my questions, right? What about you girl", he then turned towards Lian, "tell me, do you know what he is?"
Lian- " My…friend and familiar?", she tried to guess what he expected, so went with the least complicated answer to their relationship.
Feth shook his head and started muttering to himself. Angrily. " Such a fucking mistake. Shit, shit, shit. Being able to recognize and confirm that you're the middle one was already implanted in my crafting, but why not her identity?" His trashing made the two sweat, once again becoming concerned about his presence. Ogda took a few steps backward, and Lian did the same. A gust of freezing mist flew right past them, closing the door and freezing the door's jambs.
Ogda- " What the hell are…", but a sudden blast froze the inside of his head, leaving a silent block of ice in its place. Ogda lost control of his body, splashing into the ground into a seething puddle, but this time it took less than before to reconstruct himself back.
Feth- " Good. At least you can do some basic stuff properly, you golem. Let me reintroduce myself…properly this time. I am Index and my mission here was to prepare the ground for our Fabricator…but now apparently, is to help you do your job, Middle One."
Lian- " Wha…are you talking about?"
Feth- " You!...probably. Tsz, so him, just like me, is a construct set up with fulfilling a purpose in this Layered Domain. His, this far cry from a "superior", was to protect a being important to the Fabricator. I don't know who, or what. Maybe you", he said pointing at Lian, " but I have to be certain of that. Your faulty memories are a hindrance to all of us!"
The librarian then easily defrosted the door and was striding out of it, but stopped when he felt a pull on his clothes. Lian was dragging onto them, her face scowling with fury while her tongue was filled with venom.
Lian- " You think you can take your leave? What if we avoided all the trouble and just reported you to the Union? I'm more than prepared to argue with them until the sun dawns infinitely! But if that makes sure that Ogda and I are safe from whatever you are concocting, I am more than prepared to become their worst annoyance."
The librarian, unsure of how much of that is a bluff, was more than prepared to throw his own threats." Do it and see how it won't matter. Because I have my own methods of keeping myself safe and hidden.", he screeched through his teeth; " Since I can use all of my abilities, I can easily convince the others that Ogda is a dangerous being from Dubnos…And trust me, unlike your empty threats, I had years to prepare the field for my victory", he continued, twirling a spiral mist with his finger, letting it fly in all kinds of directions.
Lian was untaken by the display, though, and once more threatened the librarian . " Right, as you actually have the kind of pool you think. You are respected, true, but people are also doubtful of you. No matter what you think, people still find you suspicious as hell." He barely reacted, as if he already knew that.
Feth- " As I said, I've got my own toolset. I don't need to convince them, as their own memories will do that for me. I've done it before", he finished, almost growling his last phrase. "Now, I'm off to find a way to confirm your identity, you petulant self-serving human, and be done with this whole fiasco." Before he could turn around though, something else came to him. "Right, the reason I came here…Ops."
Lian- "Oh good…more of your presence."
Ogda, caught in though, was piecing together all he learned so far, and like everything else he discovered until then, it made sense to him. And a feeling of easiness almost washed over him, except for a gear that didn't fit properly. " Fabricator…fabricator..hmm"
Ogda- "...Another question. Did you dream…about the ocean…last night?", he asked, with a sour tone.
For a short while, Feth became once again the meek visitor he presented himself as. His eyes were wide, his hands stood motionless by his side and the mist that always surrounded him dropped to the floor. For once, he lost control of his form, and his clothes fell around a small, floating orb. It was shining a green, fluorescent color and if Lian wanted, she could have held it in the palm of her hand.
The break was only for a second, as the Librarian returned to his usual form in the blink of an eye. He ignored, or wasn't aware of what he just did, as he replied immediately: "Yes…yes! I'm dreaming of it every day and night. That's my reward for when I'm done here, a ticket back home." His gleeful response took the two back, a bit weirded out by how happy he seemed by the occasion to talk about the ocean.
Ogda- "...Back…home? So, that's really where I'm from then…"
Feth- " Yes. Both of us. We don't belong here, we only exist for our missions…which brings me to what I wanted to warn you about. The Tuatha guest."
The young girl's ears perked up, and her curiosity took over the uneasiness Feth impulsed in her. " Ok. Speak then, you've got my attention", she replied back with an unintended eagerness.
Feth- " While it will be impossible to avoid him, don't speak with him for too long. Don't mention that you already have a Pact with Ogda, just make him believe that you two are still failed candidates. And you", he then looked at the water firbolg; " I was told you can turn into an even more, ugh, basic form?"
Instead of replying, Ogda turned with a round, slime like being, which visibly frustrated Feth.
Feth- " Oh my…it's fine, it's fine. I'll ignore that, just stay like that whenever the Tuatha is near you."
Lian- " I've seen your orb form, you green golf ball", Lian quipped back, a bit annoyed at Feth's impulsive responses..
Feth- " Right, a pure geometrical form is on a lower scale for you than the primordial mess of a bag of slime? At least, this makes me more hopeful that you aren't the Fabricator's important being."
Ogda- "...Can we move on?...So, this Tuatha might recognize me? Is that bad?"
Feth- " He will recognize the form. It's the most basic form of the countless drones dwelling in the Dubnos. A legion of these drowners, only existing to feed the ocean. Which he probably fought against hundreds of times…" he paused, trying to think of what else to tell them. " And if he wants you to touch a book, refuse. At all costs. The names of creatures from Dubnos are scribbled over…Tried it myself, in Krass's book. If he figures out Ogda's origins, he won't hesitate to kill both of you on the spot, in front of the entire Union. "
Lian and Ogda shared concerned looks, but both believed him. "Alright…thank you, relative?" asked the water firbolg, to which the librarian just snickered.
Feth- " Ha. Relatives? We? Right, you truly are a joke; We're just top-shelf products, golem, as it was intended."
He then whisked himself out of the room, hiding back in the corners from which he came from