The Twins Spear in hand, Adrian quickly descended the wooden stairs. Dodging stacks of flayed parchments, human skulls covered in gold dust, and sand clocks of Lost Time with jade beads flowing infinitely, he only caught his breath halfway down, once stopped by a heavy gate.

“Strange…” he said, scrutinizing the tall glass panels and bright ivory frame. “This floor wasn’t here when I arrived earlier.”

Adrian hadn’t forgotten his quest: to find the Codex of Pausis and put an end to the plans of the vile Pethey. But a peculiar whisper drew him closer to the door as the panels displayed his twisted reflection.

“Who’s there?” the young boy asked, brandishing the magic spear. The slender double tip sparkled in mauve and made a sizzling sound. No one answered. But something stranger had happened: Adrian’s reflection hadn’t followed his movements. Instead, it waved its hand, inviting him to enter. “Who are you?”

Through the translucent glass, the teenager saw a library. A library probably full of magical secrets. An obvious fact when one appeared to roam around the Tower of White. Perhaps Adrian would find something in there to help him in his quest? Sir Potter’s cloak of invisibility, King Sauerkraut’s ring of power, or maybe a new weapon. A staff, like those wizards from the Words Islands.

Adrian walked towards the doors. His reflection smiled at him, and the panels opened without a sound. A warm wind blew in his face, and the boy reflexively closed his eyes. The surprise made him forget his protection spells, and he cursed himself for being so reckless.

“Hello Adrian,” a voice softly whispered this time. It was a woman’s.

The young mage opened his eyes. The library was huge; wider and taller than the tower itself. Hundreds of shelves stretched endlessly or disappeared under mountains of colorful leather-bound books. From the glass ceiling hung the skeleton of a three-headed dragon. Its teeth, sharp as daggers, were made of diamonds or rubies. The creature’s name was KheRamLee, and Adrian knew everything about its legend.

But apart from old bones and gloomy black marble statues resting between brass ladders and jars filled with disconcerting contents, the magic gloomy library remained as silent as empty.

No woman was in sight. And yet…

“Adrian? What are you waiting for? Come!” insisted the voice that seemed to come from a painting just to the right of the doors.

As the latter were closing behind his back, the boy pivoted and walked towards a portrait. It represented a woman in a brown ball gown. An aristocrat with a wide smile, holding a red book in her hand white as snow. Adrian knew this woman too, from a statue in the town square back home. She was Baron Baron’s grandmother. When she was young and beautiful.

“Lady Baron? Is that you talking, my lady?” Each of his steps raised a silvery dust that swirled around him.

“The book, Adrian. Look at the book.”

Adrian raised an eyebrow. “The book, my lady? Could it be the Pausis Codex?”

“No, Adrian. Much better!”

“I hope it’s not cursed. Because if it’s anything like my uncle’s… with the naughty lizard maid doing more than her housework, then… no thanks,” Adrian grumbled as he reached the golden frame.

“Much better, Adrian!” chuckled the voice.

“I want to believe you, but where is this book?” the young mage asked.

But no sooner had he said these words than the painting trembled. The baroness laughed before her giggle distorted itself into an eerie incantation as a shadow ran across the canvas.

“I—I am an enchanter,” Adrian stuttered. “I’m on a mission. And I will know no fear!”

Resolute, the young boy got a closer look at the prankish painting. But when his nose came inches from the flaking picture, the baroness’s beautiful milky features melted apart. And it was a cackling skeleton that made Adrian scream and fell backwards.

“Of course! A necromancer’s trick!” the boy grumbled, as he rubbed his sore shoulder. He coughed before dusting off his clothes. In front of him, the aristocrat had disappeared. Unlike the book.

This last one rested at Adrian’s feet. It was a beautiful, thick and real novella bound in the carapace of a sagouin; a small animal living in the sands of the Haute-Terres, a vast territory in the Western Continent. When the young boy picked it up, he saw that the pages were made of a paper so thin the texts on both sides overlapped and complemented each other. For each letter had been cut in half and printed either on one side or the other. And the book could only be read with a light source coming through, by bringing his nose as close as possible to the paper.

“Curiosity paid!” Adrian smiled. “That’s an odd book, indeed! But what is it about?”

Approaching a randomly chosen chapter, he squinted… before widening his eyes.

For the boy had toppled forward, swallowed up by the book. As he fell into a swirl of lights, he heard the young woman’s whisper one last time: “Bon voyage, meddlesome boy!”

Cursing, Adrian fell and fell again. First head down, then feet first. He hovered with his arms outstretched, then like a rocket with his limbs stuck together. Sometimes he dived faster. Occasionally he seemed to rise anew. For a moment, he thought he was treading water. One thing was sure, the whirlwind of colors gave him the spin. His long-awaited landing took his breath away; or maybe it was the spear of the Twins hitting his throat.

“Ouch—I—”

It was chilly all of a sudden, and Adrian wanted to scream. But his mouth and throat filled with cold water. In a deep, black ocean. He was alone, far below the surface.

“I’m going to drown!” he panicked. “I can’t—”

Adrian stopped. Before him shone a small, bright bee. With his last bit of strength, he grabbed it. The insect stung his thumb and Adrian shouted. The next second, the boy was lifted out of the water. And a warm air filled his lungs.

“By the mustache of Saint-Eustache!” a panicked voice called out. “Susan! Susan, come and see, my dear!”

Adrian opened his eyes. He was on a bank; the sky was blue through the treetops. The Twins Spear slipped from his hand and rolled into the green grass.

“How could you catch a fish like that!” a high-pitch voice asked. When Adrian turned towards it, he saw a small otter with a pair of glasses.

“It’s not a fish! It’s a human! A tiny one!” her companion, a white rabbit wearing a straw hat, scolded.

“Greetings…” Adrian coughed. “My family—the Herald… The White Tower sent me—I’m on a mission—looking for the Codex of Pausis. I must find it before Pethey. And—”

“Turlututu!” the otter interrupted him. “You are here in Greenshire. There is no herald or…” She snapped her webbed fingers, searching for words as she glanced at her furry friend.

“Codex—something, my dear...” completed the grumpy rabbit, rolling his eyes as he put away his fishing rod made of bulrush.

“Yes!” The joyful otter smiled, handing her hand to help Adrian standing up. “I am Susan and this is Moses. And it’s time, I think, for a warm cup of tea!”