LSRO: Chapter 348 - Needing Protection

Hey you wonderful people.

So trying to get book six finished in time for my deadline with my audio publisher is proving a challenge. This means huge word days for me, and I also need to edit the chapters.

Which takes longer than I remembered. So oops right there. I usually only edit one chapter at a time, buuuuut...

I'll be spreading multiple posts out over the weekend.

Anyhu here is another chapter!

Getting into the groove now.

~

Chapter 11

Needing Protection

More assistant Librarians than Quinn realized they had scrambled around the place helping the golems pick up scattered books, tidying any lasting remnants from the earlier attack. It seemed the shaking in some areas as Dronar broke through shook more than just books loose. Furniture was upended all through the Library, too. Sensations ran through her as she surveyed the Library, calculations as to power distribution and allocated resources all flooded through her head. 

The deluge of information took her by surprise, giving her momentary vertigo. 

Thanks to Milaro, she was able to compartmentalize things, pushing them into boxes to be monitored in case something important popped up. Into containers until she had to retrieve information. That way her head could stay relatively uncluttered. While, at first it was significantly overwhelming; she was slowly acclimatizing to the onslaught of information. 

Malakai nudged her. He really needed to start finding a different way to get her attention.

“What?” she asked, trying to keep the irritation out of her tone.

He shrugged. “You’re sort of blocking the doorway.”

Quinn looked around and laughed, before stepping out of the way, a bit embarrassed she hadn’t thought about it. “Sorry.”

“I’d ask you what’s on your mind, but I have a feeling it’s far too much right now and we don’t have time to talk about it?”

“You’d be right.” She answered, her eyes still skimming over everything both directly in front of her and being fed to her through her new connection. “But it’s the thought that counts. So, thank you.”

As they walked over to the check-in desk, Quinn marveled at the efficiency everything around them seemed to run at. Dottie was an extremely organized... bench and Quinn could see her flare in everything, right down to people working together and following lists. As much as she craned her neck though, Quinn couldn’t seem to find Betty, which was odd. She climbed into the massive desk space and walked to the far side, to the only console that wasn’t already in use.

Quinn frowned as she surveyed the Library once again from where she stood. There were staff everywhere and a surprising number of patrons. She gestured toward them quietly and inclined her head toward Milaro. “What do you make of it?”

“I’m not a mind reader when I don’t have permission, Quinn. You’ll have to be clearer than that for me.” He raised an eyebrow as he followed her line of sight. “I could guess any number of concerns right now, but it would do us little good unless I get it right.”

He had a point. Quinn had hoped he’d be on exactly the same wavelength as her. She gestured around them again. “Everyone seems to have taken things in stride. Even the patrons. They’re helping pick up the mess. I can’t sense or see panic in anyone. Frankly if I wasn’t absolutely certain the alarm had gone off and that we’d been attacked, I’d almost believe it was all in my head.”

“Felt like a half-hearted attack at best anyway,” Malakai muttered.

Quinn couldn’t help but agree with him, which led her to believe Dravishk had been doing something else. Maybe he’d been distracting them, or perhaps Dro acted on her own. But since they had no evidence of that, she couldn’t do anything about it. What she could do, however, was chase down the leads they had and pursue what their evidence actually gave them.

Milaro cleared his throat. “I think, with Ashiron fixed and the Library about to reach full power, that the hopeful sentiment leaks through to everyone here. The Library has always been, even when it was in emergency power mode, even after it got sabotaged. You’ve persevered. The Library has grown. It’s strong and lively again. All of us can feel that. It resonates through the walls, through every step you take once you’re in this little pocket of ours. Can’t you feel it?” He asked the last genuinely.

She took a second to monitor that feeling, that sense of belonging permeating the entire structure. He had a point. The walls practically thrummed with life, purpose, and resolve. The Library, if Quinn understood it, took the ability to become a dragon from Drevicia and thus, in its own sort of way, wasn’t just sentient; it was alive. The soft thrum through the soles of her feet confirmed it, intermingled along with her very own heartbeat.

Her own sense of home strengthened.

“Yeah,” she said, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. She let it happen. “I can feel it.” Quinn clapped her hands together and turned around, surveying the whole front area. “Now, where might I find Dottie and Betty?”

In that moment, Hal appeared at her side, towering over her even as he brought warmth along with his welcome. “Found one of them.”

“Librarian!” The vibrant little bench came to rest in front of her. Not for the first time, Quinn wished she could see Dottie’s expressions. The energy she exuded, the sheer force of life, felt oddly juxtaposed when emanating from a bench.

“Hey Dottie,” Quinn said fondly. She couldn’t help it. Dottie was so much of what made the Library a home. Even if their inauspicious beginning hadn’t immediately set them off on the right foot, they got there on their own and were stronger for it. There wasn’t much Quinn wouldn’t trust to Dottie. “Do you know where Betty is?”

Dottie hesitated, and then Quinn got a distinct impression that the bench shrugged. “I don’t, actually. I haven’t seen her all day. Not since... perhaps yesterday morning? Yes, that’s probably it. Why? What can we help you with?” So many words just to say no, and yet Quinn couldn’t help but crack a smile. 

“That’s okay; what about Geneva? I’ll need at least two of you, and I don’t feel like going over all of this twice.”

The bench laughed, “I know where Geneva is, just let me get her over here. She’s been supervising deeper in the Library, making sure everything is gets back to where it belongs.”

Quinn could see how overzealous helpers might accidentally deliver books to the wrong areas. Not that magic couldn’t fix that, but why make something require more effort if they didn’t have to.

“Librarian?” Geneva’s melodic voice had its own kind of warmth, and her golden skin was radiant. “What can I help you with?”

“I have a job for you, or else at least a task? For Dottie, it’ll be more on the management end of things since some of it requires leaving the Library.” She watched their expressions.

Dottie immediately perked up. “Anything, Librarian.”

“Be careful what you offer, little one,” Hal grinned as he spoke, taking the sting out of the words. “Self-preservation is always a good idea.”

Dottie laughed. “Don’t be silly, Uncle Hal, you know we’d do anything for the Library and Quinn.”

People just wouldn’t stop saying and doing nice things for her. Better than the alternative, though. Quinn cleared her throat. “I need you to finish finalizing the inital overdue books. Specifically, the ones for the horticulture and Academy branches.”

Before she could elaborate, before anyone could ask for clarification, Eric darted into view.

“Did someone say fines?” He asked, his wings fluttering faster than usual as he hovered with obvious glee. 

Quinn suppressed a groan and opted for a wry smile instead. “Not technically, but close enough, I guess?”

“A fine is a fine is a fine,” Eric grumbled, but his eyes shone and he couldn’t quite hide his smile. “So, what do we do?”

“She was just about to tell us,” Geneva pointed out, leveling a glare at the imp.

Eric shrugged, completely ignoring the glare. “Excellent. I made it in time then.”

“Do you know where Betty is?” Quinn asked, not overly hopeful.

“Day off maybe? Sometimes she has them. Especially after she offloads a heap of Sprite dust into the system.” Eric grinned and rubbed his hands together gleefully. “Now fill me in on what and why I’m fining people.”

“Hold on. You’re not arbitrarily fining people, so just back off that idea.” Quinn suppressed a laugh and made a note to check what it meant to offload Sprite dust into the system. Something about that just sounded strange. “We need to open the last two branches as soon as possible. Return the Library to what it was.”

Dottie sounded confused when she spoke. “Of course. We’re always actively working toward that, but the fact remains that the Library shut down while it was at full power, so... will this honestly help? What could we be doing that might help more?”

The bench did have a point, something which Quinn admitted grudgingly. But the circumstances had been so specific and likely not repeatable as long as they didn’t have a self-sacrificing unisceros in their vicinity. She said as much. “Totally different set of circumstances. Right now, a repeat of what happened five hundred years ago doesn’t appear to be much of a possibility.” There, she’d sort of hedged her bets, right?

Hal stepped in smoothly. “What the Librarian means to say is that we’re making chasing down the books our top priority over everything else. You can delegate interior projects to everyone else. "We only want supervisors to lead this because it’s fairly sensitive.” He looked at Quinn, seeking confirmation.

She nodded, and he continued. “I’ve helped before, and you, Geneva, know just what hoops we had to jump through to get some of these. I’m counting on you all to do this. Take something off Quinn’s plate. I have too much on min to do it this time around. I expect you all to step up.”

Quinn grinned despite herself. It was nice having someone give the demands. She pulled up the status of the initial overdue books. 

Main Branch Tome Report

1,875 still outstanding from the initial overdue amount. 16,167 books returned. No books in reproduction. 287 in repair status.

No restricted books missing.

Horticulture: 693/720

Bardic Musical: 897/897

Crafting: 730/730

Academy: 742/785

Culinary Arts: 282/282 - Culinary Branch Open – 2,290 Books of 3,795 remaining, 1,550 total culinary specialist books returned, 0 of which are in repair status. Would you like a categorical breakdown?

Yes, or No?

Alchemical/Medicinal: 384/384 - Alchemical/Medicinal Branch Open – 4,250 of 5,892 remaining, medicinal ingredients verified and stocked, 1,642 total specialist books returned 287 of which are in repair status. Would you like a categorical breakdown?

Yes, or No?

Combat: 837/837 - Combat Branch Open – 6,908 Books of 9,085 remaining, 2177 total combat specialist books returned. 141 books in repair status. All books location verified. Would you like a categorical breakdown?

Yes or No?

Crafting: 730/730 - Combat Branch Open – 7,382 Books of 7685 remaining, 303 total crafting specialist books returned. 194 books in repair status. All books location verified. Would you like a categorical breakdown?

Yes or No?

Bardic Musical: 897/897 - Combat Branch Open – 7,745 Books of 8254 remaining, 509 total Bardic Musical specialist books returned. 385 books in repair status. All books location verified. Would you like a categorical breakdown?

Yes or No?

Note: All branches must be opened in order for the Academy to open. Should all books for the Academy be returned prior to other branches, then the Academy will have to wait. It cannot operate without access to all branches of knowledge.

Please Note: These numbers are those vital books that were overdue while the Library was offline. Please note that information on all post-reopening overdue books is compiled elsewhere.

Quinn read over the statistics several times to make sure she digested them properly, while pushing the information over to all of her colleagues. They were much closer than she’d realized. Or at least, than she’d let herself realize. Frankly, with everything she’d had going on, she just hadn’t quite processed what the last opening meant for all of them.

“Not as bad as I thought,” Hal grinned around at the group of them.

Quinn thought that was a bit of an understatement. “True. Does this look doable to you three?”

“What do you mean three?” Eric asked. “I’m staying here and leveraging fines.” He crossed his arms as if daring Quinn to gainsay him.

She rolled her eyes. “You’re going out to help Geneva since I can’t find Betty, and Dottie is unable to leave the Library.” She ignored his under the breath cursing, knowing that he really didn’t mean anything by it. About to give directions, Hal interrupted her.

“Narrow down the list and divide it into regions. If you can cut time down by getting both branches’ books in similar locations, then do so. The Academy can’t open before the Horticulture branch, but it still needs all of its trigger books in order to open as soon as Horticulture is.” He grinned at them. “If you really can’t get through to the holders, then come and get me or Quinn.”

“Probably Hal, he’s scarier.” Quinn quipped.

Hal grinned, showing off his teeth as if to prove her point. “Any questions?”

Geneva shook her head, and then hesitated. “Do we have a deadline?”

“Yesterday,” Hal said and glanced at Quinn. 

She nodded. “Sounds about right.”

“Got it.” Geneva grinned, and it was the same look of determination she’d worn when they fought Adrito and his golem. Quinn wondered if Hal realized just how scary the Furionas Fae could be. Probably.

“I’ll leave you two to make plans then.” Quinn said, and they darted to the console behind her.

“Dottie, are you okay overseeing everyone while Betty isn’t here? And helping those two coordinate the books they’re still missing?”

Dottie nodded. “Always Librarian. You know you can count on me. We are family after all.” 

There was a soft smile contained in those words, like a hug the bench couldn’t physically give her. Quinn smiled. “Could you spare a few minutes and come for a walk with me though?”

Dottie nodded, or... bobbed her end of the seat up and down in what was probably a nod.

Aradie shifted on her shoulder and Quinn scritched her absently. Malakai and Milaro fell into step as they walked back to Quinn’s office, sort of like shadows, even though Quinn was fairly sure it was more like being her bodyguards. They didn’t say anything, just stood at her back, protecting her, and moving to the side to speak in soft voices directly inside of the doorway.

Quinn shivered ever so slightly as she closed the door, not entirely sure how she felt about needing protection.

~~

Right? I would too.

DUN DUN DUUUUUN

Much love

KT