Chương 12: Chapter 10 ~ Ideas Barely Out of Reach

19/10/1111 EotTS, 11: 51 Gysel took in a deep breath of the bookstore air, letting the bibliosmia fill her lungs: the bookstore had the same sweetness as the Academy library, mixed with the scent of strong, black tea and tobacco. Books were stacked, placed, or balanced on any and every space that would allow for a book to be stacked, placed, or balanced, even in the section in the front that housed a selection of knick-knacks and notebooks.

There were hints of a desk behind the piles of books, with the towers arising from the piles turning it into a fort, with a small column of smoke curled up from above them, and warm light came through the cracks, bringing the shadows of the spires with it.

Beyond the fortress were dozens of old, wooden shelves; they lined the walls and ran across the floor in parallel rows; each had a sign on top that might have been to show genre or to alphabetize a section, but their words could not be read, as they were buried behind mounds of orphaned volumes. The carpeted floor gave way to a creaky, worn hardwood as Gysel made her way to the back of the store. The shelves were close enough together that people would never be able to pass each other between them.

The top rows ('top rows', both the top and upper-middle as neither could be reached) were shelves mainly with dust and the occasional book, but the lower rows were packed tight. She languidly looked over the spines; there was nothing particular to look for, and even if there was, all the spending money was sitting on the bedside table back in Wihrakolm. The twins began bickering from a few shelves down, and Gysel paused to listen.

"I have that already," said Lyvahn.

"I want my own to annotate," said Lyma.

"I already annotated mine; we don't need another copy between us."

"I'm buying it," Lyma's voice left no room for discussion.

"It's father's money anyway, and your annotations are useless because no one can read your writing." They did this a few more times in other rows before Visi had to come mediate, telling them which book he had extras of that they could have. Gysel worked her way to the section containing books all related to ceremonial and ritual magick. It was nice how the shop had been divided by the different pillars; it made it easier to search: if the rest of the bookstores were like this, it would be excellent.

"Looking for anything specific?" Ardhy asked. Startled, Gysel stood back up, put her hand on her chest, and looked up to Ardhy; Wyohla's eyes were peeking above his left shoulder.

"No," Gysel said.

"I am just perusing." This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

"Can I make a recommendation?" asked Wyohla. Gysel looked Wyohla up and down—can she? of course she can, but may she? yes, she may; Lyma said Wyohla excels at both Ritual and Spiritual Magick, so the recommendation would likely be useful.

"Yes."

"Top shelf, thick and blue." Wyohla pointed at something above Gysel's head.

"Why don't you get it?" Ardhy said.

"Can't fit."

"Yes, you can."

"Not sideways," Wyohla tugged on the chest of her blouse.

"And I can't reach it unless I'm facing the shelf." Ardhy turned to face the shelves and sidestepped in. He pulled the book down.

"You might want this one, Gysel," Wyohla said. Ardhy handed Gysel the book: it was a large, thick book with woad blue leather, and a silver-leaf title reading 'Tales of the Moons and Lunar Magick,' a matching silver-leaf thirteen pointed star in the center, and no author credits on the front. Flipping the book over, Gysel held it open by the covers, letting the pages hang down, grumbling at the sight of the hollow.

Turning the book back over, she inspected the end pages: they were two different papers: the one at the front being black with a starry design, and the one at the back being a blue with silver constellations, the former was slightly elevated, unlike the latter, likely being replaced to install reinforcement for the front cover, but the job was poorly done, leaving a corner unglued—it is best to be careful.

"You seem to know a thing or two about books," Ardhy said with a chuckle.

"Does your family work with them?"

"No." Gysel closed the book and turned it over.

"I have read enough to know what I do not like." She flipped to the table of contents and looked it over. It was all lunar magick: Luhnylla and the Sisters, the thirteen maidens, divination, and rituals: it seemed to be far too specialized for a first year.

"I do not think I will need this."

"Already have books on lunar magick?" Wyohla asked.

"No." Gysel handed the book to Ardhy and pointed back up to where it came from.

"Then you are going to need this. It covers everything."

"Why?"

"You will need it as reference material for ritual and spiritual classes," said Wyohla.

"It got me through first year."

"I thought you failed."

"I did, but I didn't fail because of my placements in ritual or spiritual alchemy. You should get the book." This was an opportunity to inquire about Wyohla failing, but this did not seem like the best place to interrogate someone whom one had just met, so it would be best to stay on topic.

"I have no money."

"I'll pay for it," said Wyohla with a shrug. Gysel took the book back from Ardhy—this changed things.

"All right. Are we leaving now?" Ardhy checked his watch.

"No, we still have time. Browse as much as you want." This was not something that needed to be said twice, but after thirty minutes, it became time to pay, and nothing interesting had been found. There would be a reading list for the classes, and if the school bookstore did not have them, Wyohla could be invited to come book shopping, and given a wide smile when it came time to pay. At fifteen minutes to the thirteenth hour, when everyone was ready to leave, Wyohla found Gysel and brought her to the book-fort desk.

There was an older woman behind the desk, with a pipe hanging from the corner of her mouth. She was perched on a stool, and looked about the same size as Gysel, if not smaller. The crone looked at the book and opened the front cover. She took her pipe from her mouth.

"That's my husband's writing; I haven't seen his writing in a while. Didn't even know I had this." She chuckled and put the pipe back between her teeth.

"Two Full Moons." Wyohla dug into her purse, which looked lighter than before, and produced the two silver coins, and paid for the book.

"Going to be back again today, Wyohla?" the crone asked.

"No, maybe once class starts." Wyohla headed for the door; the others followed. Taking the book from the desk, Gysel gave the woman a smile and hurried after everyone.