The light slowly began to shine through the curtains. I sat up and leaned against the wall. All I could hear was Tess' regular breathing. She was only half covered under the blanket, due to the heat that reigned in the room even though winter was approaching. Her long, narrow leg stuck out from under the blanket. I half regretted turning her down. Hopefully she would manage to get to Medroinia and live a happy life. I climbed out of bed, gathered my things, and left her apartment. Another day began. I looked around the street, many people were setting off on their journeys away. Suddenly an old man appeared before me. He was human, but he looked as if he had lived for hundreds of years.
"Young man, can you please deliver a letter?" he paused. "I will pay you handsomely," he added.
"Why me? You can send it through some couriers who will deliver it faster." It was suspicious.
"It needs to be anonymous and if you open the letter, believe me, my friends will find you." His face said I was not to ask any more questions. My need for some money was getting the better of me.
"Okay, where should I deliver it?" The old man smiled eerily. Something about him was wrong.
"Deliver it to the head librarian at the Endton National Library." I took the letter. I looked around to make sure I wasn't being followed. The air felt clean, but I didn't want to believe it. I turned back to the old man, but he had disappeared. Some magic was at work, because it was carried by the wind. Maybe a changer? I really don't want to mess with that, I thought. I headed towards the center.
The square was almost empty. Most people had already evacuated. The library was pretty easy to spot. A huge building with a tympanum and columns in the foreground. The doors to the inside were wide open. In front of the library were many carts carrying rare books. I went inside. The distinguished librarians were recognizable at first glance. Their distinctive dark blue robes with a cap resembling an open book.
"Excuse me, where can I find the chief librarian?" I asked a passerby.
"What do you want here? You have no business here." The librarian frowned suspiciously.
"I have a strictly important letter for him," I said.
"Give it to me and I will give it to him," the librarian offered.
"No, it is important, I must give it to him," I insisted. I tapped the hilt of my sword lightly as a threat.
"There is a large door on the first floor, these are his chambers." Many people with books were walking past. I went up the stairs and stood in front of the door to the chambers. The guards on both sides grabbed the doors and opened them. They didn't look much like chambers, with bookshelves strewn everywhere. There were only two people in the chambers. I followed the voices when they suddenly appeared in front of me. The head librarian was taking books off the shelves. The other person was familiar to me. He was a huge Ming warrior. I recognized him only when he turned to me. Jurian, I had hoped I wouldn't see him again. Despite his fearless face, there was a hint of surprise on his face.
"What are you doing here?" he said before I could react.
"I have brought a letter for the head librarian, it is said to be very urgent." I held out my hand with the letter. The librarian suddenly stopped when he saw the seal.
"Jurian, what you have discovered is a miracle, don't spread the information too much, or it will fall into the wrong hands." He handed him one of the books.
"There is a little in this book that might help you, but now excuse me and leave these chambers." Jurian looked at me in confusion, then at the librarian.
"Are you sure?" Jurian asked.
"Yes, I am sure," he said unequivocally. We left the chambers and the guards closed the door behind us.
"Did you say you would go on a journey again?" Jurian snapped. He was mad at me senselessly.
"What if I just didn't want to travel with you," I retorted back. In an instant, he crossed the space between us. I didn't have time to react when a fist suddenly appeared against my face. I felt pain in my entire jaw. I spat out blood. It was a warning blow. He didn't want to hurt me.
"Are you afraid to give it a full blow?" I urged him. He was literally seething with rage.
"Do you know how much it hurt Lasin? You were important to her." He tried to ignore me. "When you left, it was as if she had withdrawn into herself and barely spoke," he said. We were both in a fighting stance. The guards had their hands ready on their weapons.
"What do you know about this," I paused. "Nothing, so stay out of my life," I reprimanded him.
"I don't care what's between you, but no one will hurt my friends," he said. I laughed.
"Friends? You've only known her for a few days and she's probably on the Empire's wanted list." His gaze was razor-sharp.
"I don't care what happens to me, but I sense something good about her. In these dark times, I would rather seek the light than wallow in darkness." I couldn't say more. The words stuck in my throat and wouldn't come out. "Don't touch me." He turned and knocked on the door of the head librarian's chamber. There was no sound.
Jurian knocked again, louder.
No response.
"Pestasi?" he called. Nothing. He opened the door. The smell of blood carried on the wind. Jurian immediately rushed into the chamber. I followed him inside. We ran around the shelves. The smell of blood grew stronger. In the moment We found the body. There were bloodstains everywhere. I looked down. The librarian's robe was relatively clean, but when I looked at the rest of the head. It was absolutely disgusting. The front of the skull was dented inward. There was very little left. It was as if someone had simply crushed it. Jurian dropped to his knees. He simply mourned the dead man for a moment. He turned to me.
"What have you done?!" he said hatefully. Concentrated magic was emanating from his eyes. This was very dangerous. I have to calm him down.
"It couldn't have been me, we were arguing in the hallway just now." It didn't help. His hand was on the hilt of his sword.
"The letter!" he shouted.
"Look at that head, it couldn't have been an explosion, someone had to be waiting when he was alone." He relented slightly and looked at the head. He had finally come to some sensible thoughts, I thought.
"Maybe the killer is still nearby," I suggested. Jurian nodded. The windows had already been opened, so he could have escaped through the window, since the chambers were empty. He got up from the ground and together with the other guards we ran out to search. We got into a narrow alley and climbed onto the roofs using simple ledges and windows. The chances of finding him were slim, but it was our best chance. We looked around. Nothing anywhere. It had all happened a moment ago, so there was still a chance of finding him. We tried to be as quiet as possible. The streets were relatively quiet. I had the feeling that he had escaped us when suddenly there was a loud impact on the ground. We ran out as if lightning had struck us. I looked over the edge of the roof and saw a person in a dark hood. I climbed down to the nearest ledge. It took us quite a while to get down. I jumped down one last time and looked around the street. We didn't have time him. Jurian landed next to me. For a man running with the Mings, I was keeping up with them pretty well.
"Where did he go," one of the soldiers cursed. I needed to catch my breath. Where could someone hide? At that moment, something occurred to me.
"Are there any sewers?" I asked. Jurian nodded.
"Follow me," he commanded. "There are small secret hiding places underground." He ran to the nearest entrance. Luckily, one was right next to it. He pulled the hatch open and began to descend the ladder. Nothing was visible through the darkness. From the tiny rays of light, I could barely make out the main flow of the sewer and the side paths. We turned into another alley. In the distance, a tiny light began to be discernible. We crept to the entrance.
"Let's toast to another successful murder," one of the voices said. The clink of mugs rang out. Jurian slowly drew two throwing axes. I touched his hand to stop him. He looked in my direction and stopped his movement.
"I don't know who hired me, but it was worth the money," said the second voice. They were quite confident that no one had followed them here. I pulled my hand away from Jurian. In a moment he was gone. Then all I could hear were screams of fear, and then the painful ones. I didn't dare peek. The guards around me were afraid to breathe. After a while, the screams were replaced by shuffling footsteps. Jurian climbed out of the entrance with a keg of beer in his hands. "You take the keg." He pointed at the guard. It was barely visible in the darkness. We went back to the surface.