Harvest by Oswald Elizabeth

Author:Oswald, Elizabeth
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781737651093
Published: 2022-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

❦“Ha!” A familiar voice cackled as Aspen finished his fifth blind step. His eyes popped open involuntarily, and he looked straight into the bright blue gaze of the Head Librarian. The little man looked much the same as he always had, though his robe and the ridiculous pointy hat he always insisted on wearing were now made of heavy red silk, instead of the cheap and faded cotton that Aspen was used to.

The old man pointed a knobby finger at Aspen and laughed again. “Oh, this is going to be fun! I told Lisette I could get you all to hop to it, and here you are!” He clapped his hands together, and two chairs and a pedestal with a concave top appeared behind the trio. One chair was large and solid, while the second was much smaller, and the wooden arms were carved with intricate patterns. They hesitated, and the Head Librarian waved at them impatiently. “Sit! You only asked for ten minutes, and the magic and I are still getting acquainted, so ten minutes is what you have.”

Aspen sat, but said, “I asked for a minimum of ten minutes.”

The Head Librarian snorted. “Dungeons don’t give you anything you haven’t earned, boy. If you want more, you should have asked for it. Now, speak!” He sat down, and a brown wooden chair appeared behind him before his rear could drop more than a few inches. From what Aspen could see, it looked exactly like the shabby old seat from the Head Librarian’s office in the library in Bright.

Sarave cleared her throat and leaned forward. “The Traveler FantumHat and his followers are coming to Refuge. What can you do to help us?” Her words were blunt, and her voice tight.

The Head Librarian smiled a little sadly, and shook his head. “Nothing, I’m afraid. Unless, of course, they come into the Dungeon, in which case I can do a great deal. That is a double-edged blade, however, because if they manage to complete their tasks, they may well leave this place more powerful than they were when they went in.”

Aspen felt a sharp pang of disappointment, followed by welling despair. He had hoped against hope that despite what the Head Librarian had said when Aspen gave him the Dungeon Seed, the wily old man would manage to find a way to aid them somehow.

Sumi, who had taken up a perch atop the cupped pillar, scratched gently at the stone with one leg. <What is this place, then?>

The Librarian looked at her and smiled, and Aspen suddenly remembered that the old man had always been able to understand Aspen’s companions when they entered the library. “This is the Athenaeum Dungeon, of course.” He stopped there, but something about his aspect encouraged them to continue.

“What do you do here?” Sarave ventured.

“We impart knowledge,” the Head Librarian said. “No more and no less than that.”

Aspen’s eyes narrowed, remembering the odd quest he’d received on entering the dungeon, and also of a time he was recovering from mana burn and the Head Librarian had whiled away the time with very informative….

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.