Bloom?’ the custodian said, having finally pushed the vision of an inebriated tree-dwelling mammal out of his head.
‘That’s a wild understatement.’
Garrowain narrowed his eyes, assessing the irate teenager. ‘Come with me,’ he ordered and turned on his heels, floating back in the direction of the doorway.
This is the last time I’m blindly following somebody into a strange place.
Max made his way over to the door, into the library proper and whatever awaited him on the other side.
- 10 -
The dreadful mist was back.
It hung high in the large circular room they all now stood in, blanketing the ceiling and defying all laws of precipitation.
The room itself looked much more old fashioned and gothic than the rest of the Chapter House. It was all sweeping buttresses and knobbly stonework.
Several arched doorways were sat at regular intervals in the smooth, grey stone wall and tall metal sconces were placed between them. They were the same as those on the upper floors, containing orbs of light which gave off a pleasant blue glow, illuminating the large chamber and the underside of the disconcerting mist.
The temperature had dropped several degrees and Max was glad he’d elected to wear his hoodie today.
‘It’s so good to be here again,’ said Merelie.
‘You absent yourself for too long these days, my girl,’ Garrowain agreed.
‘Circumstances have been against her, custodian,’ Borne said, defending his mistress.
All three of them were acting like devout parishioners in a church; speaking in hushed tones and moving around in a careful, quiet manner. This was obviously a sacred place to the people of the Carvallen Chapter House.
Max was having none of it.
‘What’s this gaff, then?’ he said in a loud voice.
‘This is the Main Hub of the Carvallen Library, Mr Bloom,’ the custodian replied. ‘From here we can visit any section we desire.’
‘Ah, right. Does that include the one with the invisible book chucking lunatic?’
‘You refer to the Guardian of the Stacks, I assume? That entity only roams the corridors of the Library devoted to supernatural texts. It is the physical embodiment of dark writings, produced by many disturbed individuals.’
‘Ah… nut jobs.’ Max flashed the old man a quick grin.
Garrowain chose to ignore this and walked over to a pedestal in the centre of the room on which – naturally - sat a book.
This one looked properly magical in Max’s opinion. Not boring and ordinary like The Cornerstone.
It was huge, with an ornate silver and green cover, replete with embossed writing, curly filigree and other somewhat unnecessary artistic flourishes. The pages inside looked like they’d been dunked in tea for a fortnight. It even had an ostentatious padlock, keeping the book’s secrets from all but those with the appropriate levels of wisdom and glaring self-righteousness.
Garrowain fished out an elaborate silver key from his robe, twiddled it in the lock and opened the great tome.
‘This another magic book then, Gandalf? What are you gonna do with it, turn me into a banana?’ Max asked.
Garrowain picked up a long quill from the pedestal and paused to look at him. ‘Mr Bloom, I can assure you the rise you are attempting to get out of me with your rather coarse behaviour will not manifest. I take no pleasure in the situation we find ourselves in, nor in what must be done to resolve it. Therefore, directing your anger at me is pointless. You should learn a little trust.’
‘If you say so, Yoda. But if you don’t mind, when it comes to trusting what people say around here, I’ll keep my options open, alright?’
Merelie touched him on the arm. ‘He’s telling the truth, Max. Garrowain wouldn’t lie.’
‘Your caution does you credit, young man,’ the old man said and turned back to the great book on the pedestal.
He opened it to a page about halfway through. Max peeked over his shoulder.
Several entries had been made in a variety of
‘That’s a wild understatement.’
Garrowain narrowed his eyes, assessing the irate teenager. ‘Come with me,’ he ordered and turned on his heels, floating back in the direction of the doorway.
This is the last time I’m blindly following somebody into a strange place.
Max made his way over to the door, into the library proper and whatever awaited him on the other side.
- 10 -
The dreadful mist was back.
It hung high in the large circular room they all now stood in, blanketing the ceiling and defying all laws of precipitation.
The room itself looked much more old fashioned and gothic than the rest of the Chapter House. It was all sweeping buttresses and knobbly stonework.
Several arched doorways were sat at regular intervals in the smooth, grey stone wall and tall metal sconces were placed between them. They were the same as those on the upper floors, containing orbs of light which gave off a pleasant blue glow, illuminating the large chamber and the underside of the disconcerting mist.
The temperature had dropped several degrees and Max was glad he’d elected to wear his hoodie today.
‘It’s so good to be here again,’ said Merelie.
‘You absent yourself for too long these days, my girl,’ Garrowain agreed.
‘Circumstances have been against her, custodian,’ Borne said, defending his mistress.
All three of them were acting like devout parishioners in a church; speaking in hushed tones and moving around in a careful, quiet manner. This was obviously a sacred place to the people of the Carvallen Chapter House.
Max was having none of it.
‘What’s this gaff, then?’ he said in a loud voice.
‘This is the Main Hub of the Carvallen Library, Mr Bloom,’ the custodian replied. ‘From here we can visit any section we desire.’
‘Ah, right. Does that include the one with the invisible book chucking lunatic?’
‘You refer to the Guardian of the Stacks, I assume? That entity only roams the corridors of the Library devoted to supernatural texts. It is the physical embodiment of dark writings, produced by many disturbed individuals.’
‘Ah… nut jobs.’ Max flashed the old man a quick grin.
Garrowain chose to ignore this and walked over to a pedestal in the centre of the room on which – naturally - sat a book.
This one looked properly magical in Max’s opinion. Not boring and ordinary like The Cornerstone.
It was huge, with an ornate silver and green cover, replete with embossed writing, curly filigree and other somewhat unnecessary artistic flourishes. The pages inside looked like they’d been dunked in tea for a fortnight. It even had an ostentatious padlock, keeping the book’s secrets from all but those with the appropriate levels of wisdom and glaring self-righteousness.
Garrowain fished out an elaborate silver key from his robe, twiddled it in the lock and opened the great tome.
‘This another magic book then, Gandalf? What are you gonna do with it, turn me into a banana?’ Max asked.
Garrowain picked up a long quill from the pedestal and paused to look at him. ‘Mr Bloom, I can assure you the rise you are attempting to get out of me with your rather coarse behaviour will not manifest. I take no pleasure in the situation we find ourselves in, nor in what must be done to resolve it. Therefore, directing your anger at me is pointless. You should learn a little trust.’
‘If you say so, Yoda. But if you don’t mind, when it comes to trusting what people say around here, I’ll keep my options open, alright?’
Merelie touched him on the arm. ‘He’s telling the truth, Max. Garrowain wouldn’t lie.’
‘Your caution does you credit, young man,’ the old man said and turned back to the great book on the pedestal.
He opened it to a page about halfway through. Max peeked over his shoulder.
Several entries had been made in a variety of
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