Chapter 99: For Love of Learning (1/2)
Mike walked across central campus and approached The Spire. As he got closer, he noticed that there was a circular structure built around the base of the towering shard of crystalline material. Judging from the traffic, this was the entrance.
An ornately carved archway led into a wide staircase heading down underground. There were two doors to other portions of the circular building, one placarded with 'Secondary Library,' the other with 'Administration.' A sign hanging from the ceiling read 'Main Library' with a simple arrow pointing down the staircase, which seemed to curve gently to the left. Crystalline fixtures set into the wall bathed the passage in a steady white light.
Deciding that the Main Library sounded like his best option, he started down. After descending for a few minutes, he began to wonder how much longer he would be walking. He'd passed a few weary students who were trudging back up the staircase, pausing every once and awhile to catch their breath. It seemed like the height of folly to have this kind of set up.
[I wonder if the Secondary Library is where they store the books for general readership, and they keep the actually valuable volumes in the Spire itself. It would be silly to make students climb up and down these steps every time they needed to visit.]
After approximately five minutes he reached the bottom of the stairs, which opened up into a large lobby-like chamber. Several people dressed in simple grey robes were working behind desks. Another archway seemed to lead into the library itself. Two armored figures stood guard next to it, evidently monitoring the entry way.
Not really sure what else to do, Mike walked up to one of the desks carved with the words 'Collections Management.' A young female dwarf was working there. It was the first time had seen women of the race up close, and was surprised to find that they didn't look too different from humans.
She was definitely shorter, maybe 120cm, but broad of frame. Her limbs looked powerful, but her motions still carried a feminine grace. Chestnut hair was tied back in a simple ponytail, displaying a wide, rounded face.
”May I help you?” She asked a little gruffly, since he had been staring a bit too long.
”Ah, sorry. Its actually my first time visiting the library, and I wasn't sure what I should do.” He replied apologetically.
”That's a bit of an issue. Ordinarily, I would send you up to have your account registered, but our account manager is currently out, and the University in its infinite wisdom hasn't bothered to have him replaced in the meantime. Without an account, you can't check any books out, nor access the more restricted sections.” She replied with barely concealed frustration.
”I see....Do I need to come back later?” He was hoping that his trip down here wasn't wasted.
Sighing, the dwarf woman set down her quill. ”No, I'll help you. With the current term coming to a close, my workload is quite lenient at the moment. If you'll follow me, I'll take you up to the Account Management Office.”
She started walking through the guarded archway, and passed by it with a casual nod to the guards. The archway led into another crystal-lit hallway that terminated in a series of three doors. Turning towards him once they were through, the dwarf gave him an appraising look. ”So what brings an adventurer to the library?”
”Eh? How did you know?”
”Lucky guess, mainly. The way you hold your self betrays martial training, but your not as stuck up as one of the knights. You aren't well-dressed or groomed enough to be one of the noble brats that end up here, thinking they own the place since their dads rule some backwater in the middle of nowhere. You definitely don't look smart enough to be a scholarship student for any of the more intellectually minded departments, and Martial Arts students don't usually bother with books until fairly late in their studies, once they've realized that there is more to fighting than simply hitting things with sharp bits of metal.”
She stopped and gave him a flat look. ”I'd guess that you got in with a recommendation, which means you did something pretty impressive for someone pretty important. Since you aren't a knight or a noble, they most likely option would be an adventurer. Now if you don't mind answering my question.”
Mike laughed, ”I'm here to explore mainly. I start classes tomorrow, and I wanted to get a feel for the library and the resources it offers before I get too involved in my studies.”
”Fair enough.” She said while turning around and leading him through one of the doors. They entered a small chamber, with a lever built into one wall.
[This couldn't be...]
The dwarf must have caught the look on his face, because she laughed as she pushed the lever up. With a rumble the chamber began to rise. Mike started once he realized he could actually see the stone of the walls move.
”Bet this is new to you. One of the wonders invented by generations of faculty members here. A innovative use of magic and technology that demonstrated the cooperative creativity of the University. Or so they would have you believe. Honestly, I think they just got tired of walking up the stairs.”
”Pretty impressive.”
”You haven't seen anything yet. By the way, I don't think I caught your name.”
He glanced over at her, noticing that she was still examining him out of the corner of her eye, but looked away when he notice.
”You can call me Mike. How about you?”