"In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it."

- Oscar Wilde

The dockyard casino…

“We will withdraw and leave the city…” Oswald, called the ‘Hunter’, was saying.

As he was interrupted by Garreline. “What are you saying? Our reputation would be damaged beyond recognition!”

“Now you are talking about that!?” Oswald looked incredulous.

“Could you cease your lover’s spat?” Vanessa put her hands on her hips, not before retracting her claws of course.

“We are not lovers!” chorused the two. Oswald was a bit red in the face and Garreline looked a bit amused.

“We would be amenable to that.” Iseret interjected.

The unconscious thugs meanwhile were bound with ropes and chain. The snake-eyed fighters worked efficiently, covering each other while two of their number worked on securing the room. The gigantic many headed snake abomination had, at a signal from Iseret, coiled itself in a corner, the horrific wounds closing slowly. Baleful eyes fixed on Garreline.

Laughter sounded from behind Oswald, Garreline and Cracks. As they looked behind them there stood a smaller snake-woman with living snakes on her head instead of hair following a young woman who carried an unconscious weasely looking man in fine clothing, blood dripped from the back of his head.

“Silver, that is far enough.” the smaller snake-woman ordered.

“We accept!” Oswald called out. Garreline looked as if she wanted to protest, drew breath and then defeatedly closed her mouth.

“Many thanks Vanessa. We will take it from here.” The medusa winked at her. “Contact Iseret when you have the time. She will be at the Cockerel every other day around the ninth hour.”

Iseret repressed a sigh then smiled. “Naturally.”

Vanessa looked at the blood all around her then with a visible effort shook her head and dismissed the dark mist with a gesture. “I will be going then. îdh mae.*” (*Good night)

And with a flourish of her- partially ripped and bloodied- cape she was gone.

“Where did you find someone like her?” Oswald shook his head.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Iseret retortet, her smile containing a bit of warning.

Oswald raised his hands placatingly. “We know when we are neither needed nor wanted, ey Garreline?”

“Yes, yes.” The dwarfen woman looked at the snakelike monstrosity and with a wary expression accompanied her friend outside.

The small medusa looked at Iseret. “Do you think that was a good idea, letting them leave like that?”

“They will not find a warm welcome with our enemy after deserting like that and why should we risk fighting to the death with all that means when a few words should suffice.”

“You are soft my dear.” As she drew near the smaller woman was fully illuminated by the remaining undamaged globes. She wore a dress made of dark yellow silk highlighting her ample curves, her lightly scaled skin was a light greenish color with darker highlights on her cheekbones and where the eyebrows would be in someone that grew hair, which she definitely did not. Her hands were small and delicate with long fingers and expertly manicured fingernails. The snakes making up her hair were independently active but at the moment only coiled slowly around each other in a sensuous dance. Her large eyes were a dark yellow-green with golden highlights.

“Yes Matane that I am.” Iseret gave a small bow.

Behind them Cracks stood near Silver and looked her over concernedly as they were disarmed and bound.

“Have no fear. Our quarrel is mostly with your employer and we need experienced personnel at the moment.” Iseret flashed a disarming smile which nonetheless failed to reassure the captives.

The next day in the academy.

“We need a study group.” Alea adjusted her blindfold.

Mireille looked a bit hesitant. The spider on Alea’s shoulder turned in her direction.

Alea continued, “Yes mostly for you. I can’t condone a retainer of fief Graufurt failing her exams. And I mean that seriously. I already asked Lucille and we will reserve Sunday evening for that. We will simply have to get back a day earlier.”

Mireille hung her head. “And now that I no longer need to have tutoring! We could have stayed longer! I really love the room, the bed, the food…” She trailed off.

Alyssa laughed while trying to hide behind the palms of her hands.

They were sitting in their dorm room while the setting sun painted the walls a dark rose red. The remaining snow, dirty and trampled as it was lay heaped beside the road and smaller paths. Ice blooms covered the corners of the window panes. An unseasonal early frost had let the temperature plummet.

A knock came from the door and the trio looked at each other in surprise. It was shortly after dinner and there was usually no one that would come over for idle conversation. The test had rudely awakened the students to the possibility of failure and most had taken to studying a lot more seriously. Not to mention there was a test for academic subjects at the end of the week.

“Come in!” Mireille used the distraction to get herself out of the embarrassment she was feeling.

The door opened and Vivienne and her brother Valens entered. “Good evening!” The green-haired girl twirled one of her whitish locks that were sprinkled through her green mane and looked to be enthusiastic about something.

“Excuse the mess.” Alea looked at the notes and books lying around, some stacked on the floor. “Sit where you want.”

Alyssa got up and sat down on the bunk bed beside Mireille gesturing towards her chair. “Have a seat. Do you want tea?”

“No thank you, we don’t have much time!” Vivienne nearly burst from giddiness. “You know that Poroskar fellow, Leonhard?”

“Yes? He was persistent and somewhat annoying.” Alyssa looked at her with scant comprehension.

“He was the one that incited Otto.” Vivienne dropped her news and the girls were silent for a moment.

“Really? That means it’s bigger than we thought.” Alyssa still looked a bit confused.

“There might be someone propping him up, even a teacher or professor perhaps, but there is more.” Vivienne sported a grin that would put a grown wyvern to shame. Cyrus looked on curiously.

“Leonhard is peddling Bluestone and uses that to influence people. But thankfully he is stupid and greedy about it.” After dropping another bombshell she continued before anyone could say something. “And I heard from a reliable source that he plans to steal something from the deep archives.”

The deep archives were a collection of mostly dangerous artifacts and texts, not all of them powerful or even usable but all of them were, in the wrong hands, lethal to user or the person it was used upon.

“How he thinks to manage that is a mystery to me but he plans to do it soon, possibly today.”

“And your ‘reliable source’ knows all that and tells only you?” Alyssa looked sceptical. “Not that I doubt you but are you sure you are not the target of a malicious prank? But more importantly, is Bluestone not a very dangerous drug?”

“Quite sure. My ‘source’ knows what is good for...it.” She grinned. Alyssa thought she saw Valens shudder at that but that was certainly her imagination.

“And yes, the Bluestone peddling is a big problem we should put an end to, but without evidence and hard evidence at that it will likely be seen as an attempt at slandering an opponent. He would most likely point to a friendship with Otto or some such rubbish.” Vivienne who still had not taken a seat paced before them while Valens waited like a guard or servant near the door.

“And what do you propose?” Alea tilted her head while the spider focused on Vivienne.

“I think we should try to see what he is up to. I can be pretty sneaky when I want to be and most of you should visit the library anyway.” She smiled evilly at Mireille.

“No, no, no! I learn a lot when someone teaches me, not reading thick books written by boring people, dead boring people. Most likely dead of boredom. No! Definitely not!” Mireille shook her head and sent her strawberry locks flying.

Alyssa grinned. “I think we should do as she suggests. Fair warning: I am biased by the way, anything that has something to do with the duel and me being ostracized is something I won’t take lightly.”

“If you put it that way…” Mireille grumbled. “But you will let me sleep with you tonight. It’s cold!”

Shaking her head in exasperation Alyssa grinned, “Of course.”

“Then let us go.” Vivienne smiled.

The girls grabbed their coats and headed outside. They had received them with the uniforms but had not thought that the time to wear them would be so soon.

The air was crisp but cold. Only frazzled wisps of cloudy matter hung in the vastness of the sky turned red by the sunset.

The trees had shed their leaves and even the late-blooming wisteria at the banks of the pool were brown and bare.

Crunching over freezing sludge they trod towards the distant library. Vivienne seemed to have boundless energy and led them along the sideroad.

Mireille eyed the partly thawed and then refrozen snow at the roadside. “Aw, it’s a shame we could have built snowmen and have a snowball fight! But not with those dregs.”

“It will most assuredly become very snowy in the next weeks. I spoke to a third year majoring in divination.” Alea calmly retorted.

“Really?” Mireille perked up only to deflate a bit shortly afterward. “But then it’s getting even colder is it?”

“Yes,” was Alea’s laconic answer.

Alyssa stumbled as Cyrus pushed himself from her shoulder into the air beating his wings while slowly gaining altitude. She looked around and spotted Semiramis scratching at what would probably be a mole burrow. The hawk-eyed cat meowed a greeting to her scaly friend and continued to wait in ambush, spoiling her stealth with impatient swipes of her claws into the burrow whenever the boredom became too much.

The library was an imposing barrel-shaped tower with a diameter of no less than thirty yards approximately. Despite its height being around six stories tall it made the whole building look stout and a bit inelegant even.

A big bronze plaque with an inscription labeled the building the ‘Library of the reborn Academis’

Alea lifted her head, “I asked. The Academis was the institute of royal learning of Allisair but perished along with the island. The first mages to settle here wanted to revive the tradition but some of them were not so enthused by letting some of the culprits for the fall and destruction of their homeland carry on with their titles and privileges. So it was finally decided to make a new institution, the Academy of the Arts.”

Alea walked in silence for a minute or two and then continued after thinking it through some more, “But someone, probably one of the librarians of the old Academis found fault with that and named the library as the reborn Library of the Academis. As he had some clout and personal power the name stood for as long as he lived. Which was considerably longer than thought and afterward it was tradition and some nostalgia may have also played a role. Even though the mages did not want the old guard to continue their meddling ways they did not hold the old institution in the same contempt. And here we are.”

Vivienne clapped. “Very good. I knew some but not all of it. Nice going, little lady.”

Alea scoffed a bit at that but had to smile nonetheless.

They entered the silent Library. It was late and it was cold and the tests – the magical ones- were done for a few weeks at least, so the building was deserted.

Entering and scuffing the snow from their feet on the entrance mat they looked around. They stood in a sort of overlarge entryway with the large double door behind them and an arching ceiling above with two doors leading to the sides. Ahead of them, the arched ceiling opened up into the main room of the library. Tiered walkways surrounded a large central pillar towards which free-hanging ramps, stairs, and walkways extended. The walls were covered with shelves reaching several stories high. There was a ceiling that cut off about a third of the building but the remaining colossal room was awe-inspiring. There should be thousands of books.

Rows of desks covered the lower floor with attendant chairs, most of which were already put upside down to ease the cleaning. Two large reception areas would probably be staffed by librarians or their helpers to receive or hand out books for study. Strangely there was no one to be seen. A steaming set of tea stood on one of the desks indicating that the absence of personnel was recent in nature.

Vivienne became serious of a sudden. “Be silent, there is something wrong.” After looking around she hastened towards the reception desk. Even though she did not seem to be especially careful no sound could be heard from her footfalls. As she looked behind the desk her expression turned dark and she frantically waved them to come over.

Hurrying they nevertheless tried to be stealthy, no one managed especially well other than Valens perhaps. Vivienne winced at their scuffing and shuffling but held her peace.

When they arrived at the desk they saw an older woman with greying brown hair lying behind the desk a shattered tea cup beside her. She looked pale and was barely breathing but seemed otherwise unharmed.

“What is happening here?” Alyssa whispered.

“There should be two librarians. Where is the other one? It should probably be the junior helper of the one lying here.” Alea answered quietly. “I have been here and stayed until closing time, there were always two of them.”

“The deep archives?” Alyssa asked.

“We are a bit late it seems. Let us make haste.” Vivienne gestured.

“Why don’t we tell someone?” Alea looked questioningly.

“Because we don’t have much time, the tea is already nearly cold, Leonhard and whomever he has with him could be long gone if we first look for someone,” Vivienne argued.

“Mh, you are right.” Alyssa nodded.

“I will come with you!” Mireille looked at the door leading outside and shuddered. Looking for a teacher would mean trudging through the cold.

“We should make haste.” Alea had a complicated expression but nodded in the end.

Valens did not even nod but his acceptance was not in doubt.

“Cyrus is still outside, should we get him?” Mireille asked.

“No time.” Vivienne shook her head and then walked towards a side door.

As they neared they could see that the door stood slightly open.

Opening the door they saw a stair descending to the left and ascending to the right, following the rounded outer walls. A shuttered window leaked cold air into the stairwell. Glow-globes shone with their pale light.

Walking down the steps it grew steadily colder. At the first platform, they reached the door was firmly shut and the sign beside it proclaimed the ‘Restoration Workshop’.

“Someone has to repair old and damaged manuscripts and books.” Alea shrugged.

Down they went. There were quarters, an upper archive, a middle archive, and last the deep archives. There was a large door banded with iron and heavily inscribed with runes.

The door stood open.

“That looks bad.” Alyssa looked conflicted. “Should we really enter?”

“Yes,” Vivienne spoke firmly. “We have to see what he is risking all that for. And we can’t let him succeed.”

The rest nodded at that. Mireille looked at Alyssa apologetically.

Entering they came upon another open door. Behind that were rows upon rows of shelves. Most contained damaged vases, machines, weapons. If one did not know better it could be summarized as old trash.

In the back of this hall which was perhaps twenty times twenty meters light shone.

Walking deeper into the room they came upon a younger woman in her late twenties lying face down on the ground. Her clothing was ripped and torn and she had blood matting the hair of her head.

“Valens? Can you look after her?” Vivienne looked at the woman with anger in her eyes. Her brother gave a silent nod and shook his hands free of his sleeves before beginning to quietly cast healing magics.

“We have to hurry!” Vivienne pointed at an open doorway.

Hastening their steps they entered another room, the door was heavy and made completely of bronze, a complex-looking key was inserted into a lock on the right.

Inside the room were chests and glass pedestals on which lay much more ornate items. The room was half the size of the one before and the walls instead of bricks were seamless stone. Two guardian statues stood to the sides. Leonhard was in the middle of the room intently studying a necklace with a large onyx set into a silver plate the size of a small dish. As he heard something from behind him he grabbed the necklace and turned around.

Looking very surprised he stuttered. “What are you doing here!?” And after realizing the nonsensical nature of the question he firmed his mouth. “You followed me and found the girl. Shit.”

Alyssa looked at him coldly while Vivienne put her hands on her hips and shouted. “Put that down!”

Gauging his chances Leonhard put on a greasy-looking smile. “Can we talk about that?” He looked at the necklace and simply pulled it over his head.

“What in the nine hells are you doing?” Alyssa readied herself for violence.

Asandria was suddenly floating by her side. ‘There is a lot of interesting things here. Finish him and then let me guide you.’ Her tone turned serious as she gazed at the boy before them. ‘I cannot tell you what this talisman does, but it has a serious amount of magical power. Time aspected. Might not be too bad after all.’

“Put that thing down and surrender.” Alyssa gestured and chanted a spell and a sphere made of roiling flames grew before her.

“You are just as guilty of trespassing as me. Get out and leave me alone. Why is what I do any of your business!” Leonhard narrowed his eyes and shouted.

“You hurt the librarian- Even if you were not working against me all the time that would be something intolerable.” Alyssa countered.

“You are doing this for the bitch outside? She was gossiping about you and calling you all sorts of names. We had a good laugh at your expense. And now she is your buddy or what?” His eyes looked shifty as he said that.

“Why would you try to hurt me?” Alyssa questioned calmly.

“That’s a lie! I tried to help you and you turned me down and were rude to me.” His eyes drifted to Vivienne who looked on with an amused smile. He pointed at her. “She poisoned you against me! She is playing games with all of us!”

“If you spray enough spittle some will stick?” Vivienne looked at him disdainfully. “I could say much but will keep it short- You have proven yourself a scumbag, nothing else is needed for a normal person to stay away from you!”

“So it is like that?” Leonhard looked at them and found no sympathy in their faces. He concentrated and spoke a command word. With a crackle, his hand that had held the amulet began to glow with pale light and as he pulled the hand back another figure solidified before him, looking like a somewhat older Leonhard. He looked around thirty years and wore a coat over mail armor emblazoned with the insignia of the royal legion.

The original Leonhard looked at that and grinned. “Awesome. Make them suffer!” The second ‘Leonhard’ grimaced as if in pain and tried to say something which sounded like the howling of a distant wind, then seemingly giving up turned and drew a longsword before running at them.

The girls stunned at the display caught themselves and the firebolt Alyssa had been forming flew at the charging man hitting his blade before dispersing into many smaller fires which began to burn on his arms and chest. A windblade from Vivienne finished him off, stumbling and falling on his back he vanished.

Leonhard, the original looked at the situation and laughed before mouthing the command word a second time. The pale light bloomed again and he pulled another ‘him’ from the amulet which began to emit a glow growing brighter by the second. The third Leonhard was a haggard man in his late forties, receding hairline, splotched nose, and cheeks, his left hand was partially amputated, an older wound it seemed. He looked around in confusion.

“At them! Don’t kill them. I have other plans for them.” He laughed.

The older man struggled for a moment then ran at them with nothing more than his fists. The original looked startled at that. “Use your damn magic!”

But the older ‘Leonhard’ did not seem to hear as he barrelled towards Mireille.

“I don’t think I will play that game with you.” Mireille looked irritated and voiced her command words, hasting herself and covering her fist in lightning. And then she stormed towards the older Leonhard before jumping and flipping over him while hitting his head with the lightning-covered fist. With a flicker, the person began to grow transparent and fade away.

“Don’t come near me!” Leonhard pulled several ‘persons’ from the amulet.

The group before Mireille had a sort of haziness to it. Only the original looked solid. There was another soldier, an officer this time, a few merchants, an alchemist by the look of his apron, no one used anything other than mundane weaponry.

Mireille snorted and accelerated rapidly crashing into the first ‘line’ of Leonhards. Flickering with a pale glow several of them vanished after taking severe hits. But more were always appearing. A cut from the side hit her armor another sliced across her arm and she felt hot wetness flowing into her bracer. Suppressing the pain with clenched teeth she fought ahead.

Meanwhile, Alyssa summoned firebolt after firebolt. If she fully hit her target they would vanish, more often they simply began to burn. The room began to smell like smoke.

Vivienne and her brother had summoned a Sylph that inhabited a roiling column of air and water.

Alea had called upon her eye of Arun and lanced glowing bolts of radiance into the fray.

The throng of Leonhards grew even thicker and a shelf was thrown to the ground. Alea was hit by a staggering soldier in tattered armor with ripped-off epaulets, most likely a deserter. Blood flowed from a split lip and the small girl crumbled with a cry.

Vivienne jumped into the air and remained at the apex of her unnaturally high jump for a full minute sending a gust of wind blasting into the crowd.

They clambered over shelves, crashed into each other, the stream of ‘Leonhards’ was endless. Mireille stumbled and fell. Alyssa ceased her efforts with fire and began to intone the Second Seal as…

A pale light flooded the room and the specters of possible futures began to flicker and fade. Leonhard Poroskar stood in the middle shouting a word over and over while pushing his hand against the talisman and then his hand slipped into the onyx and he began to scream. It lasted no longer than it would take to draw a deep breath and perhaps exhale that breath gently before he got his hand back but the young man, boy really, staggered with pure horror in his eyes. Looking like a man that had seen everything worthy in his life go up in smoke, all hope burned to ash.

Asandria looked on dispassionately. ‘That necklace should be destroyed. It reeks of infernal fate magics. I think he just burned every avenue of his potential save the worst. He will never have any luck in his life, every venture will turn against him, all allies forsake him and love pass him by. And worst of all, he knows it. When the girl that held all the ills of the world opened her box and let fly plague and death, age, and misfortune there was said to be one last boon inside that would make everything else bearable. Hope. And he will never know it again.’

It was the first time that Alyssa heard something like pity in Asandria’s voice. ‘It should be possible for a very powerful time-mage to fix that. But good luck finding someone like that who would sacrifice his time and effort helping the likes of him.’

Alyssa was not listening anymore as she screamed “Vivienne please help Alea! I will go and help Mireille!”

Vivienne nodded and descended rapidly before being joined by her brother. But thankfully the damage was minor and soon Alea staggered to her feet.

The elemental danced and whirled in place once, then vanished.

Mireille was battered and bleeding but very much alive to Alyssa’s profound relief. Singing the waters of life she began to mend tears and scrapes before she tried to alleviate the pain of deep bruising.

Mireille groaned. “Ah, that feels good, please continue!”

Leonhard was on his knees looking at his hands with a blank despairing gaze.

Vivienne looked at Valens. “Look after the Librarian. Distract her. We need some more time I think.” She looked around curiously.

With Alea, the only student she could not predict in this setting, still disoriented and no teacher or adult present, and one vault already opened there was no way she would not try to get something out of this. A predatory smile lifted the corners of her mouth.