LSRO: Chapter 154 - Almost Empty (Patreon)

Okay so this finally got where I wanted it to go. It was a bit touch and go with this chapter. It gave me some trouble. But I hope you enjoy it - and yes. It's a bit of a cliffy.

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Chapter 154

Almost Empty

When Lynx mentioned that Geneva and her aunt would be wanting to see Quinn, she'd expected them to come to the Library. She's anticipated that Geneva would come to her and go over several things pertinent to the Library because of her prolonged absence, and that they'd then make their way to the Esposian homeworld and take it from there.

She hadn't expected to be woken up early by Aradie, and then rushed to the doors by Malakai and Lynx, before she'd even woken up properly; before she'd even had time to get breakfast from Cookin the morning to Cook! Not to mention, she wasn't prepared to traverse through the Library doors before her brain had fully woken up.

However, this time, perhaps because Lynx came with them, the door opened perfectly, exactly where they needed to be. It didn't open a foot off the ground and send her falling on her face.

Two things struck Quinn as odd when she stepped into the world of the Esposians. First up, she wasn't expecting it to look like it had been ripped straight out of a fantastical game world. Although, in hindsight given how their last visit to the area had gone, she should have expected it. After all, when they found the books and the afflicted Esposians, it had been on a world such as this -- with floating islands and fantastical skies. 

Quinn still didn't understand the physics. She assumed it was just hand-wavy magic, but there was something slightly unsettling about looking off into the sky and seeing multiple floating islands with massive building structures and bodies of water that simply fell over the side of them.

The second thing she hadn't been expecting was the sheer opulence of the city they ported into. Right at the front gates with the entire thing stretching up in front of them. Majestic, and oddly quiet.

Their entrance from the Library opened up right in front of Geneva and... another Firionas Fae who resembled the Librarian Assistant in a remarkable way, as if she was a pale copy of Geneva. That had to be this Aunt Nishpa.

Nishpa offered her hand to Quinn in the form of a greeting from Earth. "Well met, Librarian," she said. Her voice was a lower timbre than Quinn would have thought given her size, but then she guessed that was speciesist, because the Furiona Fae were indeed diminutive. She smiled.

"Thank you for having us," Quinn said as politely as she could with a slight incline of her head. 

Nishpa laughed, and it reminded Quinn of Geneva, who hadn't said a word yet, and hung back. Her wings, even while they were fluttering rapidly, were somehow also drooping.

"This isn't my abode," Nishpa said self-deprecatingly. However, she gestured to the mass of buildings, the town, how high the wall around them stretched up in a representation of sheer power, not to mention the castle beyond the town. It was straight out of a fairy tale book. There were multiple stone houses, inns, double stories, single stories with gardens and children playing in the front yards, and right up behind everything else rose a massive castle. It reminded Quinn of some of the dwellings she'd seen in documentaries on England and Germany. It was majestic, but not in ruins. Perfectly preserved.

Quinn smiled. "Then I am grateful that you're here to greet us, because we wouldn't know where to go." She realized she was nervous, and had spoken thusly. She glanced at Geneva again. "Hey, there."

Geneva raised her eyes, and Quinn had to stop herself from gasping in shock. Her assistant looked so tired. Even her beautiful golden skin had a much paler hue to it, not quite as light as her auntie's, but the beautiful red of her hair, and her gorgeous iridescent wings, everything just seemed to be toned down a notch. She'd obviously been through a lot in the last several weeks. Quinn wished she could do more to help.

"You doing okay there, Geneva?" she asked.

"I am doing as well as can be expected, Librarian," Geneva answered, not even a fraction of her usual self evident in the words. 

Quinn frowned.

Aradie cooed in Quinn's ear, and she nodded. She spoke to the bird telepathically. Yeah, I'm aware. She's obviously given a lot of herself to help the healing of her brethren. I wish, I only wish there was something I could do.

Aradie cooed several more times, and punctuated it with a hoot. Quinn raised an eyebrow. If you want me to understand that, you're going to have to actually speak to me.

Aradie huffed. Quinn decided it probably wasn't important enough if the bird wasn't going to actually put things in words for her.

Malakai stepped forward. "Well met, Aunt Nishpa."

"Malakai," Nishpa said, a beautiful smile spreading across the woman's face, even if it did reveal extremely sharp teeth. "It has been an age since I've seen you. I think you were, well, as tall as me last time I saw you." She laughed again. That self-deprecating manner that seemed to come so easily to her, Quinn thought, really came easily to a lot of people, including herself. She took note of their interaction, watching intently.

"Well, I mean, I've grown," Malakai said, "so you mean you and your standing on the ground height, right?"

Nishpa laughed yet again. "How are you doing? Have you seen your mother recently?"

Malakai scowled. 

"Ah," Nishpa said, "then I guess the rumors are true. You got left with Milaro, didn't you?"

Malakai rolled his eyes. "You know, as well as I do that he's been training me for the past decade."

"Yes, yes, I do know that. Apparently you've done very well," then she paused and her expression grew serious. "I was very sorry to hear about your father."

"Not as sorry as the rest of us. Not as sorry as me. Anyway," Malakai said, changing the subject, "what's the agenda? Are we going to stand here in front of the gates all day, or do we get to actually enter the city?"

"Don't be so rude," Lynx snapped.

"Don't be so moody," Malakai shot straight back at him.

Quinn laughed. "Guys, we're here to visit, and I'd really like it if you don't chase the people off with your antics."

"What do you mean, our antics?" Malakai said, but Lynx actually looked thoughtful. That was when Quinn realized that they'd really taken Lynx with them. He was corporeal. He was separate from the Library. Was that truly okay? For him to be out here with them despite his current memory situation not being resolved yet. She could feel panic rising in her.

Don't panic, Lynx shot at her.

Wait, you can just talk through my shields?

No, I can't. I'm not in your shields. I'm in the surface of your mind.

Oh, she said. 

I couldn't make you do anything if I tried.

Oh, she said again. So you're here in the Library's stead then?

I have a better connection to it, makes sure this information gets back as fast as possible. Don't worry, you'll catch up to this level of intricacy next time you synchronize, but just... I used to be able to do this all the time.

You sure it's safe to be doing it now? Quinn asked.

It's about as safe as it's going to get, until they completely fix me. 

Well, don't accidentally link up to any systems and infect them or something.

Again, Quinn, not a machine.

Yeah, yeah, got it in one. She smiled at Nishpa, who was still talking to Malakai. "So, I have to ask, is Malakai right? Are we moving into the city anytime soon?"

This time Geneva laughed. But even that sounded exhausted. She finally did flash a half smile at Quinn. "No, we were originally going to take you straight to the castle, but I thought it might be better if you came and saw the people you helped save first. I think this is something you all need to see, and I have to admit, I'm very glad Lynx is here to be able to relay it directly to the Library."

Before Quinn could respond to Geneva's comment, she noticed a shadow passing over them and glanced up. It must have been a mile or two up in the sky, but an island was directly over them, floating ever so slowly past. 

She paused. She'd always assumed the islands were stationary. "Did they always move?" she asked, slightly shocked.

"Of course they all move. I mean, they're not tethered to the ground," Nishpa laughed. "You didn't think they just hung in the sky, did you?"

"Well, I didn't feel the one move that we were on last time we were here. Neither of them." Quinn was floundering a bit here.

Nishpa chuckled. "Well, they don't move fast. Doesn't your earth rotate? You don't feel that rotating, right?"

"No, I don't feel that rotating. I guess I never really thought of it."

"Don't worry, this will pass in several hours." Nishpa said in a gentle tone. "Every now and again, there's just a little bit of extra shade."

Quinn's mind was suddenly alive with questions. "What about storms? Do clouds form next to islands, underneath islands, over islands? Some islands block it out for other islands?"

Nishpa laughed again. "Sometime... I promise, Quinn, one day I will sit down and teach you all about the physiology of the floating worlds. It's quite fascinating and very magical. But right now, Geneva is correct. We need you all to come with us and observe the victims yourself. They have... I'm just going to let you see them before I take you to see my cousins, the Prime Minister and his wife. Is that okay? Is that acceptable?"

"Well, of course. I mean, we rescued them, right? Sort of? Kind of?" Quinn said, recalling the state they'd been in when Geneva found them. They'd appeared almost bereft of the will to live. She often wondered if they did them any favors by saving them.

"I don't know," Malakai said. "I kind of think it was a fate worse than death. I would have liked to be put out of my misery. They looked like they were in agony."

"Don't say that near them, thanks," Geneva said. "It's taken a lot of work to get them to even the stage they're at now. You wouldn't understand."

"No, I probably wouldn't," Malakai said. "I just, I don't like to see people suffering. The pain they were in makes me furious and I want to make someone pay."

Nishpa patted him gently on the arm. "We'll find them and I'll make sure you're with us when we do."

"Is there any way we could help them?" Quinn asked, reaching for some hope.

"I'm not sure at this stage. There could be some obscure knowledge deep in the Library and that's why we're extra glad Lynx is here. Perhaps seeing them will trigger a memory of a text or an observation in a text." Nishpa looked at the manifestation with hope in her eyes.

Lynx simply nodded. "I'll do my best to help."

"How about you take us to them?" Quinn asked.

Nishpa waved their group on. "Come on, let's go."

Quinn smiled as they walked through the beautiful town. She could still see the amazing islands in the distance. All of the wonderful towns above them, below them, out beyond them. And then there was the town they were walking through. The thing was, she could hear every single footstep she took. It resonated against the pavement. Even though she could see children, there were no loud sounds. There was no chatter. And they were definitely not playing boisterously, or at all, really. None of them looked at her. They didn't seem overly aware of her. But every single one of them appeared to be extremely cautious.

Like they were all acting on their best behavior.

Quinn slotted that away for later.

"So, are we welcome here?" Quinn asked as they passed several stalls that were selling all sorts of fruits and vegetables. At least, she thought they were fruits and vegetables. They looked very fruit and vegetable-y.

"Well," Nishpa said, "my cousins are perhaps slightly reticent, but open to possibilities."

"Beautifully diplomatic answer," Quinn said.

Malakai snorted a laugh. Lynx, on the other hand, looked like he wasn't paying any attention to them. He seemed to be engrossed in his surroundings, taking everything in around him. And that's when Quinn knew he was aware of what she had also observed. They'd probably going to compare notes later. Aradie shuffled slightly closer to her head as if she didn't like the atmosphere around them.

Just when Quinn was starting to feel extra uneasy, Geneva pulled one of the curtains aside and ushered them into a building. It was made of a type of sandstone, Quinn thought, although she was no expert on building materials. Still, she thought it looked like sandstone. And it was much cooler inside, which was very welcome because the humidity had started to rise in the main part of the city.

They walked through what appeared to be a communal living area, where several people mingled, but no one spoke.

Another curious occurrence.

But Quinn kept her attention on Nishpa, whose shoulders seemed to hold an odd tension as they went through that room to a larger one where there were six beds. Quinn pushed down her gasp of horror. These Esposians, she could recognize them.

She got the distinct impression that they weren't being told everything and she didn't like the sensation one bit.

The patient's wings were still translucent, even though they were supposed to be sort of ghost-like in a way, this was another step past that. As if all the color had been sucked from them. All of their energy drained. 

They had a sickly pallor, and they stared.

"Hello, everyone," Geneva said, her voice almost impossibly gentle with a hint of sadness. "The Librarian is here. She came to see how you're doing."

They didn't register any of the words, apart from perhaps blinking once or twice more than usual. A couple of them gradually turned their heads to look at Quinn, and that's when she realized their eyes were all blank. There was no expression, no feeling, nothing in them, no recognition, no will, no want. 

On the bright side, it seemed the pain had left them as well. They were almost empty husks, except for one.

She seemed younger. She had very long, pale white hair with a hint of gold spun through it. 

A tear that rolled down her cheek. Quinn moved before she realized it, acting on instinct. Something hummed through her body, through her mind. Right behind her eyeballs, it rolled all the way down through her body. She could feel it. 

And she knew exactly what to do and how to do it. 

She visualized it in her mind, reached out her hand toward the crying Esposian and placed it on her shoulder.

"Sanabitur," she said.

A rippling wave of energy left Quinn's body in a rush, winding her so much she fell to one knee. It swept over the Esposian, spreading out from the point of contact all the way over her body, right up to the wing tips.

Quinn opened her mouth to speak and her vision blurred. 

She couldn't even hear what people were saying before everything went dark.

~~

BWAH HAH HAH

Her powers are sneaking up on her

Which is, to be fair, half the fun of a mostly dragon Librarian coming into her own evolving powers.

Much love

KT