He looks so stiff thought Els as she clung to Arthurs' arm.

"You need to loosen up, someone will suspect something" whispered Els.

She nearly laughed as he rolled his shoulders and attempted to put an easy smile on his face.

"Maybe you should avoid making eye contact with anyone" said Els.

"Then where should I look" asked Arthur.

"Look at me, we are supposed to be courting after all" said Els enjoying his discomfort.

Arthur turned his green eyes on Els, for a moment they stared at each other not aware of the world around them until they bumped into a primly dressed professor who was rushing to the front gate.

"Watch were you're going" he snapped before adjusting his wig and charging off.

"Maybe we should keep our eyes forward" muttered Arthur turning away.

"Agreed" said Els.

"No,no,no" said Mistress Sabine. "This won't do at all".

The beautiful woman was stood over Els, her high heeled shoes giving her a few inches of extra height.

"If you want to seduce a man lovely then you will need to look much more fetching" said Fayne one of Sabines girls.

"I don't want to look too... Well to-" began Els.

"Like a whore" laughed Fayne.

"Don't worry dear none of us are too precious about our profession, you'll look like a midsummer fairy when we are done with you" Sabine gave her a smile.

Midsummer fairy, more like a tavern server wrapped in green. Thought Els as she struggled with her long puffy dress.

How do they keep these things clean. She jumped over a small puddle to avoid staining her dress. She had snuck a pair of breeches under her large skirt and replaced the dainty green shoes with her knee high boots. She was forced to wait in a long queue before she was allowed into the feasting square. At the front was a gowned student with a collection bucket. Els cringed as he demanded a high price for entry. She batted her painted eye lashes at him when she slipped the coins into his bucket. The pimply faced scoffed at her and pushed her into the crowd.

Not a great start.

She spent the next hour flitting from table to table trying to engage anyone in a long black robe. Everything she learned from Mistress Sabine and her girls was useless. All her advances were rebuffed: the slight touches on the arm, the eye contact, laughing at their japes.

Eventually she was swept into a melee of dancing and chanting, she found the arm of a red faced student who was deep in his cups. She latched on to him and pulled him close. It took all her self restraint to stay close to his repulsive breath. She whispered certain lecherous promises into his ear and his intoxicated mind rushed to offered up his dorm in the university. Els agreed and they marched off through the front gate.

If Arthur could hurry up that would be splendid thought Els as she evaded the drunk students foul touch.

They walked around the University grounds searching for the library. Few buildings had signs denoting their purpose which made their such longer.

"Perhaps it will be in the middle of campus" said Els.

"Can't hurt to try" said Arthur.

He steered them toward the small dome which was dwarfed by the other, modern, buildings.

*The university was founding building was it's library. It makes sense it would be the oldest* thought Els as they arrived at the front door.

"Is it locked" asked Els.

Arthur grasped the large handle and tried to push it open.

"Yes" he said when it didn't move.

"Keep watch" said Els bending down to look through the keyhole.

Arthur leaned against the large stone frame, blocking Els from view.

She reached under her large skirt and pulled out a lockpick she had borrowed from Fayne. She pushed it into the old lock and started working.

"When did a noble like you learn how to pick locks" said Arthur.

"I had a teacher" said Els through gritted teeth as she failed to hold the pins in place.

"We're starting to get looks" muttered Arthur impatiently.

Click. And the door gently sloped open.

"She walked into the immaculate library. Not a speck of dust lay on the tiled floor.

Cleanest place I've seen in all of Maven.

The books shelves rose to the top of the short dome, huge stepladders with wheels stood down each aisle of bookshelves.

"How are we going to find the books we need" said Els, she realised she was speaking to herself when Arthur didn't reply.

She turned and saw he was still lounging around the front door. "Arthur get in here".

He glared at her and didn't move for another few minutes, he slipped in and gently closed the door behind him.

"I didn't want to draw too much attention" hissed Arthur.

Els rolled her eyes. "We have much bigger problems", she gestured up to the tens of thousands of books.

They split up and each took one side of the library. Els searched for a list or index which would help her find the section pertaining to the arcane or ancient history. There was no such organisation in the old library. She looked for patterns in the titles of the books displayed on each bookshelf.

*It seems that whoever organised this library had the planning skills of a bog snake*. She slammed a book into the shelf in frustration. She heard faint voices drift across from Arthurs side of the library.

What is he doing.

She peeked through the bookshelves and saw Arthur talking to a old man with a crutch and bent back. Arthur stayed at his normal level of awkward stiffness as he spoke to the man. The librarian lent forward straining to hear what Arthur was saying.

Hopefully he's half blind as well.

Arthur waved her over.

"The gentleman scholar tells me your interested in the arcane, we have some interesting tomes that have some relevant information" said the Librarian. His doddering voice made every word feel like a sentence.

"So if get the step ladder for me I will gather the best books we have on the ancient arcane" he said.

Arthur pulled a stepladder along the row and placed it in front of the old man.

"Are you sure you'll be able to climb that".

The librarian grasped the rungs of the ladder and shot up with practiced ease.

"Wow, I didn't think he had it in him" exclaimed Els.

"He is a librarian, this is all they do" said Arthur.

"The man can barely walk, I hardly expected him to climb like that" said Els.

"Never judge a book by it's cover" said Arthur.

*That's nearly a smile*.

The librarian slid down the ladder and came to a quick stop before his feet touched the ground. When he did he took his cane from Arthur and bent himself back over.

"Here you are" he said hading them a leather bag with two bulky blocks in it.

"Thank you Mister Langer" said Arthur taking the bag from him.

"Yes, yes now I'll retire to my study".

"We have to read all of this" sighed Arthur as he flicked through the heavy book.

"Of course we do if we want to learn anything important" said Els sat at a table in the library. "Could this not have waited until we returned to the Inn".

"There is no way we would be able to concentrate on reading in that foul place" said Els.

"I used to live in that foul place" said Arthur.

"I thought you stayed at the orphanage", Els looked up to see Arthur glaring at her.

"My sister only let me stay there recently, she didn't want the children around me when I was a mercenary. That foul place was my home and I won't have the likes of you looking down on it".

Els was momentarily cowed by his angry outburst but she wasn't going to roll over, not after she finally got him to listen to her.

"The likes of me" said Els.

"Yes" he said looking back down at his book.

Els was prepared to say more until a banging at the door interrupted her. Arthur quickly threw both books into the leather bag and shot to his feet.

"Anyone in there, Langer open this door" shouted someone from the outside.

"We need to get out of here" said Els.

Arthur was already looking around the large room. She looked as well and spotted a number of doors.

"Those doors" she whispered at Arthur.

"Who knows where they go we need to be outside".

"It's better than getting caught" she grabbed his arm and pulled him through the door. It led to a cupboard where racks of brooms and dust cloths hung off every wall.

"A broom room" said Arthur incredulously.

When they were hidden inside Els ripped off the green dress.

"What are you doing" said Arthur averting his eyes.

"Getting off this suffocating cage". She stood in her breeches, boots and a linen shirt. "I'm clothed Arthur" she whispered at him. Els swore she heard him sigh in relief.

Arthur had his ear pressed up to the door. "There's more than one".

"Then we go out the window" said Els.

"I won't fit through that tiny window".

"Well I'll go out and draw them away" she pulled the dagger from Arthur belt and swung the pommel to break the window.

Arthur caught her arm before she could smash the window.

"We can just wait, they'll be gone soon enough".

"You don't know that and it sounded like they were looking for someone" said Els.

Arthur caught her arm again. "Wrap it in the dress, it will make less noise".

Els cracked the window open and shimmied her way outside. The day was already darkening when she rolled to her feet and looked at the sky.

How long were we in there for.

Els dropped into a low crouch before creeping to the front of the library.

What do I do now thought Els.

All she had was her dagger and her wits and at that moment they were failing her. She peered through the door and saw two men searching through the large chamber. They weren't dressed like university students, they wore studded doublets and one carried a shortsword and the other a handaxe.

My fathers men Els knew as soon as she saw ones face.

She heard them kicking doors open.

"She's out here" yelled Els before ducking behind the large door frame.

Dagger in hand she waited for one of her fathers men to round the corner. She felt her heart beating faster and faster. Her thighs shook from nerves, it was a familiar feeling she experienced anytime she was in a fight. Her mind raced. Was she holding the dagger right? Would the man die quickly? What if she missed? As she was thinking a man stepped out of the library and scanned the area with his eyes. She stepped out and stabbed her dagger forward and stabbed it into his neck. If she were slightly faster she might have run him through, but the man raised his hand in a flash and the dagger stabbed into his palm. She held onto the handle for dear life as her assailant flailed his hand around. He tried to swing the axe at her byt his raised arm was in the way. She heard his partner rushing to the door. Els ducked an axe swing and forced the dagger out of the meat of his hand and stabbed upward into his throat. This time she made contact and nicked his windpipe. He collapsed on top of her and pinned her to the ground with his dying bulk. Els tried to pull the blade out of his neck to defend herself against the next face to appear but when she finally managed to prise it out there was no other face. She pushed the dead man off her and stood to see Arthur wiping blood off his sabre.

"Good distraction".