Hilda, the hag-like apothecary regaled me with the tale of Border Town's defense in that grating voice of hers. Carol left in the middle of the story, but that didn't give me any lasting reprieve from the old witch as she only increased the volume once my slumbering teacher evacuated. Near the end of the story my head felt like an army of pixies were trying to mine the back of my skull and the dizziness became unbearable. I retched into a bucket next to my bed while Hilda barely paused to dab at my face with a cold damp cloth.

Carol had been gone for a while, and Hilda had departed to 'fetch us a meal' as she had put it. Hilda returned first with a tray in one hand and a book in the other. The tray held two bowls of steaming porridge with herbs and miniscule chunks of meat decorating the lumpy mass. There were glasses of the watery citrus wine on the side along with the wooden spoons. She offered to feed me, but resigned herself to quietly reading the book when I politely declined the service.

I slowly consumed the somewhat salty meal in silence until Carol returned with a book of her own. She left the book with me after she checked to see if I was okay. Once she was satisfied she dismissed Hilda for the night and went to bed next to me instead of on her normal perch in the dome. I set my dishes aside on the tray, I couldn't stomach anymore of the gross stuff. I downed my glass of wine and drifted off to the sound of Carol's breathing next to me.

I woke up the next morning with a damp rag covering my eyes and forehead. My headache and dizziness had abated and I was ravenous, having barely eaten the previous night. I glanced around and found that a meal had been set at my bedside. I could tell Carol made it by smell alone. The bowl may have contained something brown and lumpy just like last night's meal, but that was where all similarities ended. It was oatmeal with cinnamon and large chunks of apple, I voraciously dug into the meal and it was gone all too soon. I washed down the oatmeal with the drink that was not wine for once. It was vaguely similar to black tea, sweetend with honey.

With the meal done I noticed that Carol was watching me from the stairwell with a light smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. I guess she saw how much more I enjoyed her cooking than last night's guest. "Do you think you could eat more?" She asked in a manner suggesting that I probably didn't even taste the food as I shoveled it in. "Please?" I asked as I tried to get up to bring the bowl to her. "No, you stay there. I read your book on first aid and people with a concussion aren't supposed to be active until they've recovered." She commanded as she approached. I tried to argue that I felt fine, but she wasn't hearing any of it. "If you feel so well, then read that book I brought you. You're a quick reader, so by the time you've finished it I'll allow you to go about as normal."

I scowled at the thought of not being able to go about my normal tasks, but I relented and opened the book. Crystal Magic was the title, the book was authored by Rhea Sylphus. I didn't recognize the author, but it meant something that was good news to me. This book was proof that the library was receiving visitors who were sharing their knowledge.

I smiled at the warm thought and continued on to the table of contents. Carol came back with my refilled bowl. I thanked her and ate slowly as I read. The introduction to the book was a basic breakdown of important facets to crystal magic, the pun was actually written into the book by the author and it made me cringe as it occurred to me that I wouldn't escape bad puns even in the afterlife.

Anyway, the important things to note about crystal magic are as follows: size, number of sides, and the gem used. I flipped to the first chapter which was titled with another bad joke, Size Does Matter. Size denotes the inherent strength of the spell used and the amount of mana the gem will foricbly pull from the caster to fulfill the spell it casts. The rest of the chapter could be easily summarized as a cautionary statement never to use more than half of your available mana on one spell, and also never to try using more mana than you have. This was written in as a series of cautionary tales about famous magic researchers or prodigal casters that overstepped their bounds while using crystal magic. I remembered the size of the garnet I used while on the wall and shuddered at the possible results.

The second chapter was much longer and focused on the number of sides or the cut of the gem used. I was spared a joke title this time(thank the goddess) and I skimmed straight to the meat of the chapter. The cut of the gem not only focuses the direction of the spell, but determines the form the spell will take. The examples in the book were a pyramid shaped emerald would summon a golem of rock while a cube would create a rock wall.

The common cuts and their usual effects are as follows:

Pyramid(tetrahedron) - Summoning, Controlling

Cube - Wall formation, Containment

Octahedron - Beam

Dodecahedron - Empower, Weaken

Icosahedron - Ball, Arrow

Finally there was another statement against using spherical or uncut gems as they can cause the spell to go wild and will more likely damage the caster than the target. As a side note the author states that this also destroys the gem. I was getting more upset every time I saw a statement about what not to do with a crystal. I swear that guard captain is either a total bonehead or he was trying to kill me.

The last chapter of the book was little more than a list of gems and the element they tap into when used. There was also a cautionary statement at the end of this chapter, but for once it didn't apply to my reckless action during the battle.

Carol saw how far I was into the book already and frowned, "you weren't supposed to finish it in one day." She said worriedly. I looked at her holding the next tray which was for lunch and realized that less than half the day had passed as I was reading. "I kind of want to get back to work." I said with a straight face that was all business. she held up her unburdened left hand and lightly shook her head while saying, "The mine's shut down for the day. The spell you used yesterday melted the gate and the miners and foreman are all on site to take the gates down for replacement." Carol stopped for a moment. "If you're in such a rush to do something, why don't you design your foci so you'll be able to start saving up for the materials once things settle down?" I thought on that for a moment and decided that was exactly what I would do for the rest of my day, since she wasn't going to let me walk around town in any case.

I ate the lunch while Carol went on a errand to pick out some things she said I would need for my foci. Since she said it might take a while I figured I should at least finish my book. Due to the laborious information mechanically listed off in the final chapter, I almost couldn't finish the book. It took several hours just to take everything in. I could spend all day listing the known gems and their proven elemental effects, but it's more easily summed up by modern mineral knowledge.

Basically only silicon based gemstones are positively useful by magic. The carbon based diamond drains all mana regardless of how much you have, killing the user in the process. Corundum based gems like ruby and sapphire apparently have no effect. The elemental effects of all silicone based gems are tied to the color of the gem, but I can't scientifically rationalize how. Finally, it seems obsidian or volcanic glass works wonders as a circuit for connecting gems and combining their effects.

I found myself more worn out than I thought I would be after absorbing so many facts. Either that or doing nothing all day was having an ill effect on both my body and mind. Carol returned from her shopping expedition with a bunch of packages and made a hearty meal for dinner. I was feeling sleepy after such a large meal, but I remembered to congratulate Carol on her success in getting visitors to contribute to the library. She shot me a warm smile and thanked me before letting me know she would be searching for other books from her recent visitors.

I promptly curled up in my blanket and drifted off with a warm happy feeling in my heart.