Chapter 139: Literary Concerns (1/2)
Mike awoke the next morning refreshed as usual. From the sounds of it, the others were already up and getting ready, so quickly throwing on some plain traveling clothes, he moved out into the living room.
”Good morning, everyone! Ready for the request?” He announced cheerily.
Sera nodded as she was inspecting her selection of arrows, ”We were thinking about heading out soon. According to the locals, the island can get pretty crowded in the afternoon. Our best bet of finding those herbs is to get there before anyone else.”
”Fair enough. Do you want me to come with you? I know you were a little hesitant on account of my aura of dramatic luck.” He asked with slightly forced nonchalance while pouring himself a cup of tea. He frowned when he realized that it was lukewarm, although a quick application of Fire and Water Magic fixed that.
”I appreciate the offer, Mike, but I want to do this on my own as much as possible. The request should be an easy one to accomplish, even if I were to go by myself. Brenden and Tal will just be there to make sure I don't run into anything too dangerous in the process.” She replied in a consoling manner. ”You should take the day to relax and recover from the events of yesterday.”
Judging from the flash of guilt he saw in her expression, he could tell that she understood how this might be construed. Nevertheless, he knew how things tended to go when he was involved. So, while it hurt a little to be excluded, he did not begrudge them their choice. ”Now worries. There was a couple of things I was thinking about doing today, anyway. Just make sure to be back in time for Broderick's gathering.”
”Ah! I almost forgot to mention.” Sera exclaimed while running back into her room and returning with a folded piece of paper. ”This note arrived last night while you were out.”
Mike looked over the impeccably written letter from Broderick. With many more words than was necessary, he apologized profusely for the inconvenience, but due to safety concerns, the party he was planning on hosting was canceled. Instead there was to be a larger gathering utilizing the resources of his house tomorrow night. He understood if Mike and his group wouldn't be able to attend due to the short notice, and he hoped that they would forgive him for the trouble.
In its concluding section on page three, he explained that his sister, Elaine had been asking after them, and would very much like to meet once more. As such, he hoped that they would see fit to make an appearance.
”Huh, looks like they're making an event of it.” He commented after finishing.
”Even though it is in a slightly unorthodox way, we've been invited to a party held by the main family of a ducal house. There is a lot of baggage that comes with this kind of thing. Actually, him inviting us in this manner is a bit of a faux pax as it is. We'll talk more about it later, just know that you will need your wits about you tomorrow.” Sera lectured before leading the other two out.
Mike sighed, and took a relaxing position on the couch. Now he needed to come up with something to do today.
After some internal debate, he decided to finish recording the remaining elemental chants into his grimoire (journal), and visit the library to return some books. Depending on how long that took, he was thinking of doing a little shopping. He wanted his own set of alchemy tools so he could start practicing the skill outside of class.
He also entertained the idea of tracking down professional crafters in the local community to see if they could teach him the basics of their crafts, and figured he would look into it while shopping.
Since Mike had already recorded the majority of the book's chants, it didn't take long at all to finish. While he was writing, he already noticed several small improvements he could make, given enough time to do some experimentation. Making a mental note to look into it later, he packed up and headed to the Spire.
While turning his books back into the collections desk, he ran into Rusilka again. Apparently she worked long shifts on the weekend in order to cover the cost of her tuition. Taking the opportunity to speak to an expert about the matter, he asked her a few questions.
”Say, you wouldn't know where I could go to buy books like these? While I certainly appreciate the Library, I keep running into circumstance where it would be beneficial to have reference books on hand, and the one-week check out limit is troublesome in that regard.” He asked as politely as he could manage.
The bookish dwarf gave him a hard look anyway, before answering. ”Depending on the nature of the work you are talking about, I may know a few places. Anything to do with magic is strictly regulated. So, unless you can convince the Mage's Guild to sell you some of their collection, you'd be hard pressed to find willing sellers. Books that pertain to skills, their improvement, and their acquisition can be rarely found in the general market, but they are almost exclusively sold to the nobility. It's virtually impossible for commoners to get their hands on them.”
Mike frowned, this news was expected considering the unenlightened way the kingdom handled its spread of information. Nevertheless it was disappointing to hear.
[Maybe I can come up with some sort of magical means of replicating texts.]
”As to books of a less sensitive nature, there are a few ways to acquire them. Often, its easiest to simply find an individual willing to sell from their personal collection, especially if they've recently acquired but have no use for. I know for a fact that the Acquisitions Director here at the Spire keeps an eye on noble estate sales for that exact purpose. Another option is to attend an auction in which rare works are sold to the highest bidder.”
Mike made an appreciative noise. An auction, especially if it hosted other rare items as well, could be just what he needed.
Rusilka sighed, before glancing around surreptitiously, ”Look, I don't know what kind of fancy pants background you came from, but if you have the right connections, there is a third option. Here in the capital, there is a store that sells valuable books. Now, they only accept customers on the recommendation of existing clients, and I've heard that their prices tend to be rather extreme, but it may be your best bet to acquire what you are looking for. Legally, at least.”
”Does this store have a name?' Mike asked, brimming with curiosity.
”It's currently being referred to as the Nook, although the owners change the name and location every so often for unknown reasons. I would recommend talking to some of your classmates, friends, and instructors. Chances are, someone here at the University has access to the store, and can get you a recommendation. When you go, just remember your old friend Rusilka.” She replied with a knowing wink.
”I'll keep you in mind should my efforts prove successful.” He said, while admiring the sheer shamelessness of the dwarf to call herself an old friend after knowing him for a week. Considering how difficult it was to get a hold of books in this world, he didn't exactly blame her doing so.
[Emmanuel can probably get me that. Saving his life should be worth at least that much. Alternatively, I can see if Broderick knows anyone who might have access.]
After exchanging a few more quips with Rusilka, he went upstairs to select three new books to check out. Since he was still limited to the level one restricted section and general collection, he was limited in the choices he could make use of.
[That's another thing I need to extort (ahem) request from him.]
It didn't seem like there were any texts that dealt with Intermediate Elemental Magic in the section, so he took the opportunity to select an introductory book on Summoning Chants.