She left the conversation with directions and one other hint: the idea that she could improve one of her statistics per season, starting now in the spring, by cashing in three skills of the same type. So, she could be a point less good at Literacy and two other things to lift her Learning in general, boosting the skills' base level. Or train herself in three Strength skills to become a more beefy bird. How the heck this System could improve her mind or body, she didn't know. It was not in her top five most urgent mysteries to solve.

The Knowledge Society looked like a converted mansion, with its own surrounding brick wall and garden. An Elf dressed in a fine brown jacket answered the door, saying, "Do you have business here?"

"I'm told you have the best library in the city." It wasn't exactly what she'd been planning to say; could that be the effects of that Charm ability? Never mind that.

The doorman said, "Indeed. Are you a resident?"

"I'm Selen, of the family that owns the Two Hoots."

"Ah. You may enjoy the Public Room." He let her in, and paused at a niche with a bowl of scented water and a towel.

Selen washed her hands, feeling a minor cut stinging. Alcohol for cleaning. Good. Satisfied, her escort took her to a room with comfortable chairs and tables, and... a single two-level shelf of hardbacks.

"Is there any particular topic you seek?"

"History, magic theory, and... just those for now."

"I'll leave you to it, then." He nodded and left.

Selen huffed. No need for a librarian, though. No other readers here either. She got the sense that this man was here to keep out riff-raff and she'd barely passed muster. So! She browsed the shelf. Everything was hand-copied, primitive. She grabbed a volume of Sundry Lands of the World and another on The Prepared Arcanist and sat down to read.

She struggled reading the handwriting on the first one. But there were sketched maps, invaluable for someone like her. Okay! This area was part of the River Kingdom, mostly lining the south-flowing Starry River for hundreds of miles. West was the Scaled Nation, a land of Kobolds. Ah, those must be the lizards she'd seen. The book called them savage and hateful unbelievers. Her ruler was, of course, a wise and benevolent lord, living southward on the river mouth. Eastward lay two more kingdoms of little note to the writer, but for the fact that the "islands of the sand and shifting stones" lay eastward beyond them. Selen scoffed. No world map, and hardly even what a grade-school geography text would contain.

One detail stood out though: something about "vast dungeons enriching the brave and foolish" in the east, "including the largest ever discovered". The word "dungeon" translated perfectly for her and it sure didn't sound like these were prisons. Were they talking about the imaginary kind full of treasure? Ha, what a job it'd be to explore places like that for a living.

The magic book mentioned them too, in the context of finding crystals called "magicite" to empower spells. Selen read gleefully about the elemental flavors of spells, the wicked art of necromancy, and the basic techniques of Mana use. The first-ever spell, it claimed, was Lorinari's Sanctuary, a crude technique used by a desperate Elven hero for raising shelters up from raw stone.

The footman returned, saying, "You're not sleeping, are you?"

She startled, wings flicking outward as she looked up from the book. "No, this is interesting! I just started using magic and this material is, ah, a lot more relevant to me than it was a few days ago. Did you know that this magicite stuff can emit energy even when it's not being attended? I want to measure the output and whether it declines over time."

He raised one eyebrow. "Indeed. What might it tell you if the output did decrease?"

"It's the difference between one of these crystals containing a fixed amount of energy, and being a permanent source. We could also measure the efficiency based on how quickly it wears out when actively used versus sitting on a shelf. This is a whole potential field to study."

The doorkeeper looked her over, then at each of the books beside her. He answered, "And you're literate at your age? What did you make of this other one?"

"The Sundry Lands? It's a great start, but very incomplete. The author seems to have given up trying to describe the course of the Starry River."

The man scoffed. "Any sane man would! You've probably never traveled it or you'd know its shifts and surprises."

"I've never seen more than the stretch I crossed today. But I'd like to see it all."

He said, "You've been here for hours. Shouldn't you be out somewhere putting your knowledge to use?"

She was starving. "Oh! Yes, I should go." She headed for the door but paused. "Where can I get ink and paper?"

"There's a stationer's shop in the north market. But the Society has discounted supplies for members. You may want to join."

#

It was late afternoon, and chilly. Selen had no money in these clothes. Come to think of it her torn outfit probably helped explain the snooty reception.

She found her way back to the river and from there to the Two Hoots. Twice along the way she practiced flowing Mana into her wings and giving a quick flap, lifting off and soaring for a second. The bystanders seemed not to care except when she strayed too close.

Back at the home tower, messengers bustled around the rear door with its basement entrance and the exterior stairway. People of several species came and went with bulging bags.

"Hey, Selen!" said a Human boy of no more than twelve. "Got your powers yet?"

She flapped. "A level of Mage!"

"Neat. Your Dad's asking where you went, though."

"Thanks."

She went in. The first-floor inn was fairly busy now, with some rooms obviously being cleaned by a bandanna-wearing Farpeak and several people sitting around at the central tables to rummage through bags or look at maps.

Bluemoon peered down at her. He was perched on his elevated desk and scribbling with a blue quill pen. "There you are! I thought you might wander off a little, but you really should have checked in after what happened last trip. Did you at least get a proper meal?"

"Ah, no. But I did get the level, thanks to your lesson." She showed off the flapping again.

"Good! Keep practicing, after you get food. And see if you can lend a hand in the mailroom afterward."