LSRO: Chapter 81 - Interlopers (Patreon)

I have so much stuff coming up! Like so much I have to introduce to Quinn and to you all! 

Anyhu! Here is 81, I hope you enjoy it!

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Chapter 81

Interlopers

With the Serpensiril out of her office, Quinn a wave of exhaustion washed over Quinn forcing her to sit against her desk even as her office transformed back to its usual state around her.

She checked her energy levels; they were fine. Her mana levels were still relatively low, but not enough to drain her of energy like this. Her mind whirled, unable to stop analyzing every single event that transpired after she took the S erpensiril into her office.

The knowledge to restrain their hostile visitors simply popped into her head with action words that she was fairly certain were latin, a dead language on Earth even. What in the Library was latin doing being her trigger words for powers she didn't even realize she could execute in that manner beforehand?

Perhaps that's how the universal translating doohickey managed to present it to her. Gravitas Teneri loosely meant that gravity would hold them in place. Cateno restricted them. And Clausura locked them in place, their minds down. At least, that was her understanding of what she'd done. Quinn had, after all, never taken a latin class in her life.

She knew all of this information theoretically because she'd only just absorbed the books. She hadn't spent any time practicing the elements that she needed to in order to have them under such good control. The sudden knowledge of how to restrain them and her intrinsic capability to do so, was actually rattling.

She didn't look at Misha, nor Lynx. Malakai had left with the Guardians.

She leaned more heavily on her desk and decided it was time to ask the Library just a few questions. How the hell did I do what I just did?

You mean leaning against the desk?

Don't be facetious, you know what I mean.

There was a hesitation before the next words. Almost like the Library didn't want to answer. To be honest, I don't know.

Quinn ran her hand through her hair. A chunk of it had come loose from her ponytail. She didn't feel like putting it back up. You know, you seem to not know an awful lot for a Library of everywhere.

That's a little bit speciesist, isn't it? the Library said.

No, Quinn retorted. It is precisely the truth and exactly right. So much has been revealed since the rebook. So much was taken from you.

That's also not exactly my fault, the Library said, sounding extremely defensive and perhaps mildly concerned. I did not exactly foresee these circumstances as they have arisen.

Do you have any theories? Quinn asked, still absolutely exhausted.

The Library didn't speak for several seconds. So long that Quinn thought the Library was doing one of those 'just not going to talk to her anymore' things. And then there was an audible sigh that echoed through Quinn's head.

Look, you take care of the interlopers, go and speak to the guardians, talk to Misha, learn what we're going to do in regards to retrieving the information that we need out of them.

I don't know. I'm not really into torture. Quinn really wasn't sure what to make of the Serpensiril, or how to deal with them.

Yes, Quinn, we realize this. None of us are exactly into torture. We don't want to torture people, but we do need the information they have because they very obviously came here with an agenda. To the extent that they had explosives with them, if that hadn't been contained by the builder, that would have been so bad for the Library, Quinn. If all three of them had managed to let those off in the Library itself, that would have been some almost irreparable damage.

We do have backups of the books, right? Quinn asked.

Yes, we have backups of the books, but I don't have backups of my internal organs, okay?

Quinn filed that little tidbit away but didn't say anything else. She sensed the Library wasn't done talking yet.

Look, you go with the guardians, take care of them, figure out what we're going to do, take care of all of the new assistants that are out there waiting to see you, and hoping that this hasn't blown up in all of their faces. And when you're done with those things, I want you to come down to the Core room because I have something very important to teach you.

You have something really important to teach me? Quinn prodded the thought as she had it.

Did I stutter?

No. No, you didn't, but you got really snarky. Quinn said defensively.

The Library paused again before answering. Look, this has all gotten so far out of hand. I was supposed to fetch you and make the Library whole again. In the process of rebooting everything, we've lost such a plethora of information, and I have ridgy-didge, as you would say, gaps in my memory, which is not something that has ever happened to me before or even something that I'd conceived of as possible. So just indulge me.

Quinn could do that, but she was still curious. So why can't Lynx teach me then?

Lynx is a lot of things and can teach you a lot of stuff. However, he is only my manifestation. He is not me. He is and has become a definite, mostly unique individual. He is quite literally his own person, and one day I will get him a tangible body if he wants it. But what I need to teach you...

I think he'd love that, Quinn said.

Well, of course he would, but at the same time, I think he'd be a bit lost. Anyway, I digress. What I want to teach you requires more finesse because it deals with organic creatures.

Okay, Quinn said. I'll go wrangle the assistants and make sure that we figure out a way to deal with these interlopers, which, by the way, in case I didn't mention, is a much better term.

I know, the Library said. And when you come down, Quinn, clear a few days.

Done and done, Quinn said.

Misha approached her while Quinn still had her head in her hands, leaning against her desk as she finished up her conversation. "Librarian, what is the next move for the interlopers?"

"You've been talking to the Library, haven't you?" Quinn said without moving a muscle, well, apart from her mouth.

"I am synchronized to the Library." Misha said, as if that explained everything.

Which it sort of did. Quinn sighed. "You are, aren't you? As for the interlopers...I believe it's best left to those who know how to deal with this sort of thing."

"If I may say so, Librarian. You did just deal quite well with them." Misha's tone gave no indication to how the supervisory golem felt about that.

"Malakai's already there, correct?" Quinn asked, deciding not to pursue anything else awkward for now.

"Yes," Misha said, "I do believe we are fetching Milaro once he has finished his current tasks in his homeland."

"Ah," Quinn mulled that over. "Because of the mind-stuff?"

"Because of, as you so eloquently put it, the mind-stuff," Misha said. There was a slight twitch to Misha's lips as they gave a very brief grin in response.

Quinn chuckled. "Well then, what is it he'll be doing?"

"I do believe he can use thought extraction, but I would have to double-check that." Misha hesitated a second and then continued. "He will not be able to attend us immediately. It will be a few days before he gets here."

"Okay, well, while we set all this up, I think it best to go and check on the assistants."

Misha's voice lowered until their words were soothing. "They are doing fine. I believe we have narrowed down nine and the three siblings of Narilin's, giving us a dozen new assistants."

"That's a lot of new assistants." Quinn said.

"Having this many allows us to divide them into four shifts a day so everybody is working a maximum of six hours at a time. It leaves people less cranky, leaves them less likely to snap at the patrons and attempt to impose fines like Eric constantly does." Misha said with an echo of distate.

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "Does he really do that?"

"Yes, Quinn, he really does that." Misha didn't seem to approve of Eric's approach.

"Should I go and meet them now then?"

"Do you want to go and meet them?" The supervisory golem countered.

Quinn sighed. She still felt very drained and very confused. All she actually wanted to do was go down and visit the Library Core. To hear whatever it was the Library wanted to teach her. But she knew she had a couple of things to check on first. She looked over at where Lynx hadn't moved since the others left the room. His eyes were flickering, so she directed her words at him specifically. "Okay, let's go and do that, shall we, just quickly, and then I'll go and check on the interlopers."

The Library manifestation looked up, his swirling eyes steadying as he blinked.

"Very well," Lynx said and ushered her out of the door. It wasn't nearly as much of a hullabaloo beyond the doors as Quinn thought it would be. Everyone was seated on the seats or around them in the area she'd first interviewed Narilin. Eric, Geneva, and Dottie stood in front of the semicircle, going over a lot of information with the new assistants. Quinn could hear every word through her connetion to the Library, even though they were a good 50 yards from her. She walked toward them, knowing that they would sense her approach, or at least that Dottie would.

"Ah, here she is," Eric said. "Our wondrous, our fantastic, from galaxies far away, Librarian. I present to you, Quinn."

Narilin's sisters looked up at Quinn. Large deep green eyes and small smiles. The leaves that made up their hair rustled ever so slightly as if in a welcoming breeze. Quinn returned the smile, feeling more at ease because of it.

Everybody else seemed quite intimidated. One of them was a mantisha. It was all Quinn could do not to stare. Half of her brain wanted to dedicate time to figuring out how the different segmentation of body parts worked. But she flashed them a smile and turned to the rest, two of which were sedimentites. Their strong, dark as coal bodies rippled with contained heat.

Quinn was really excited to have them working in the Library. There were a couple more of Milaro's people, and two more of the Firionas like Geneva. She inspected everybody, gathering names that she knew she would forget as soon as looking at them right now. But it at least let her know, and keep them in her notes for later reference.

"Welcome to the Library," she said, feeling like the words were extremely hollow right now. She wasn't her usual self. Her confidence in what she was doing was flagging and she couldn't understand why. But she had accepted her place as the Librarian and with that came responsibility. She kept the smile on her face, and tried to let it reach her eyes. "Does anybody have any questions?"

The sedimentite, whose name was Larry, put his hand up. "I just wanted to know if we get, you know, vacations to go home and see our family."

"Of course," Quinn said, looking at Lynx for confirmation. He nodded his head almost imperceptibly. "While this is a job you get paid for, you're also technically Library volunteers. We appreciate everybody who comes and works in the Library. Of course, you can go home and visit. You're not stuck here seven days a week. You can just hop through a door and get here. You don't have to live here. We have that option available because sometimes it's just easier."

Geneva nodded. "Yes, the dormitories upstairs are at your convenience. I've found them quite comfortable personally. You are not required to live in the Library."

"Right then. Great." Larry rumbled and his lips curved into a smile. His molten eyes glowed for a second. "This is really great."

Geneva smiled at the obvious enthusiasm as she continued "Now, please make sure that you let Cook know if you have any dietary needs."

Quinn sighed, turned around, and left the group. She'd put in an appearance. That was enough for the day. They were settling in. They'd be taken through all of the knowledge they needed to become amazing assistants. And now Quinn had to go and visit what amounted to prisoners.

Her next stop was the new interrogation room. Its door was just down the wall from her office, slightly before the spiral staircase that led into the bowels of the Library. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

There was an antechamber before it, almost like a viewing room with a big glass window. She assumed it was similar to the interrogation rooms they used in procedural dramas, where the people on the other side couldn't see those on the other side of the glass from where they were sitting.

Guardian 3, upon inspection, was standing in there, waiting.

"Librarian," it said by way of greeting.

Quinn stared at the guardian for a moment. "I think you should be called Fife."

Fife nodded and a subtle glow of blue permeated their body, changing it ever so slightly. The armor became more condensed, their build slightly thicker. "Fife is an acceptable name. Appreciated Librarian, do you wish to view from out here or would you like to enter the domain?"

Quinn shook her head. "Here is fine. Would you be a dear and get the others for me, please?"

He did so and swapped positions with them. Misha appeared in the other corner of the antechamber, watching silently.

"Uno," she pointed at Guardien One, knowing it was a little bit on the nose. "And Dale," she said to number Guardian Two as they entered from the other room.

Dale paused for a moment before altering slightly as well. He became slightly more slender and perhaps two or three inches taller, with masculine tinges to the armor he wore. Whereas Uno remained exactly as he had been.

"Much appreciated, Librarian," they said in unison. And they both disappeared back into the chamber.

Misha stood next to Quinn. "That made their day."

"I'd imagine being called into existence again after however many millennia it's been since they were last needed was probably the highlight of their day," Quinn said.

"Likely, but this made it even better."

They watched as the security golems enforced what looked like a forceful submission, while Malakai stood in a corner of the interrogation room watching. Quinn squirmed. She didn't like seeing anybody forced into a position, even somebody who seemed hellbent on blowing up the Library. Taking it down by conventional means had apparently not been something that the Serpensiril were willing to do.

"I don't know what to do, Misha." Quinn said, feeling alarmingly out of her depth.

"May I give you advice, Librarian? I have many eons of experience in my head, garnered from all the previous supervisory golems before me. I would like, if you would let me, to lend you some guidance."

Quinn paused and looked at Misha. "Fire away."

"Milaro is one of the foremost experts in the universe on mind magic. He does not know every aspect, as evidenced by the slapshod solution currently in your brain. But he is exceptional at interrogation."

"Could he cause them pain?" Quinn asked softly.

"Of course he could cause them pain. But Milaro also knows ways to extract thoughts from those who, A) do not wish to part with them, B) have been put under influence that might otherwise restrict them from sharing some of those thoughts, and C) he knows how to compel them to speak the truth. You might not know it from the friendly way he treats you, but Milaro is a formidable king. There's a reason he is in the position that he is."

Quinn listened, sobering up very quickly. She nodded. "Okay, we requested his presence, right?"

"Yes, we have sent a message, but I will let him know the urgency. He is currently dealing with a situation in his homeland. At this rate it will take three to four days for him to arrive."

"Acceptable," Quinn said. "We can do that. I have somewhere I have to be anyway."

"Excellent. Then I will see you when Milaro arrives." And Misha was gone.

Quinn glanced at the time in her HUD. It was late in the day and she was very tired. She needed food. She needed to shower and sleep. Her subconscious needed to digest the rest of the magic knowledge she'd devoured. All those books needed a lot more time to percolate.

And tomorrow? She thought she might just take some snacks and go and nestle in the boughs of the Core for a couple of days.

After all… they were fast approaching the time when she’d be able to start leveraging fines. She had every intention of being completely prepared for it.

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EEEEEEE Excited.

To be fair - when Quinn decided she was naming everyone, this author may not have realized the gravity of that particular situation.

Stuck with it now haha

Much love

KT