Chapter 269: A Familiar Face

Adalia's hold on me was almost snake-like. In steady increments, I felt her arms slither more and more… for every discomforting sound, for every straining sight… until we were locked elbow-to-elbow.

She clings on any tighter my arm's gonna go numb from blood loss… weak and delicate as she may appear at first glance, she could still pop my arm to absolute mush like an overgrown pimple just as easily.

Fingers crossed she doesn't get negligent on her own strength … don't think any kingdom would take in a one-armed jester to their high court.

After avenue-twisting and some district-hopping at a snail's pace, we eventually came to a stop nearing the corner-end of a particular building.

Like a mouse, tiny and meek, Adalia made a little squeak. "This… is it…" 

"This?"

The Library didn't look like no library I've ever seen, no banners or signs indicating so either, but I suppose I ain't exactly a certified library-ologist to be making that kind of assumption.

If a two-story chunk of wood and brick was library enough for Adalia, then it's library enough for me.

We whirled around to the entrance… only to find it barred, sealed behind with a guard and a spear, and further beyond it was a makeshift line spanning the entire length of the building.

People forming lines, giggling and writhing in anticipation to enter a library. 

That's gotta take the cake for the most surprising thing I've seen all day.

Popular attraction, I suppose. Popular enough at least to warrant a staff guard at the doorway.

We won't have to wait long, do we?

"Do we… wait… with them…?" Adalia quietly asked, a slight hint of dread sounding in her always vacant tone.

Guess she wasn't much fond of long lines, especially ones buzzing with chatter aplenty such as this one.

"On the contrary…" mused I, slowly pulling us over at the head of the line. "Maybe we won't have to wait, after all."

As soon as he saw us, the guard stamped his spear against the cobble, halting us in place. But that's nothing a little wave of a badge couldn't solve, or so I thought at least.

And just as I hoped, the guard stamped his spear, and then promptly stamped his feet aside, beckoning us safe passage through with a welcoming wave and a bow.

You know, I can get used to this whole VIP treatment deal… it's really no wonder how people in high places tend to get so pompous and entitled. With everybody, everywhere all the time doing as they desired, who wouldn't think their hot shit?

Power like this, I gotta watch not to end up with a head too big for my body… and I ain't talking about the badge now either.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and if Mom's anything to go by… well, let's just hope I don't forget that saying anytime soon.

Anyway, where was - ? Yes, library, inside, walking, well it was a pretty loud place, first and foremost. 

The noise levels of an inebriated tavern would pale in comparison to the commotion that was happening here, ironically enough.

If silence was golden, then clearly we were hearing bronze… and if not for the stacks of hefty books in shelves lining the walls and in rows lining most of the interior, this place would have been the sorriest excuse of a library I've ever seen.

Adalia winced, stifling her discomfort between narrowed lips. "I saw… the gem… over there…"

Turns out, ' over there' began with us treading even deeper into the premises, and it didn't take long to find out what all the commotion was about. For every line of bookshelves existed a small partition, a section alongside it where people could gather and presumably enjoy their picks from the seemingly infinite choices that brimmed the shelves full. 

Only nobody had a book in hand, nobody in any of the tables, in any of the seats we've stumbled through, was reading anything. Instead, they had their hands raised up high, instead, they were shouting out the most random things aloud. 

I also noticed that these gatherings were mostly made up in three groups of two sharing one large table amongst themselves. Two had the left, two took the middle, and the last two owned the remaining right.

There was also one final element to these assemblies. Each one always had a ringleader sitting center across from them. The ringleaders were the sole exception to the no-book rule, and in case you couldn't tell who was who - they all dressed the same too. 

The same loose robes, the same ragged hoods. Putting two and two together, I'm guessing they were the wizened scholars to this treasure trove of knowledge.

We kept walking, the same sights, the same sounds, no matter where our paths would twist.

"Purple Hats! Illusion and Hexes!" proclaimed a voice to our right.

"Rangers of the Foreverfield!" shrieked another somewhere to the left, only for someone else to yell out right after them. "It's the Everfields, you idiot!" 

In both cases, the Scholars on both sides could be heard slamming shut their books as they shouted with just as much fervor, "Correct!" or in the case of the gathering on the right, "Wrong!"

I didn't have to play a guessing game to figure out just what the event here was all about… 

"It's a guessing game," I turned to Adalia, who sought elsewhere with keen eyes for the gemstone glittering red. "We're gonna have to play a quiz if you want the prize."

Slowly she turned her vacant stare back to me. "It's… there..." She had her hand up, a pointed finger pointing straight at a corner-right. 

Okay, then.

"How knowledgeable are you on a scale of one to ten?" I asked, as I lead us forward, turning to her right.

"Knowledge...able…" She muttered quietly. "Amelia is… the smarter one…" 

"So you don't think you're smart?" 

She blinked blankly. "Five…" 

Five'll do, I suppose. Hopefully. I mean I rate myself a strong five too, and if my maths ain't wrong - five fives is a ten right there. That's how intelligence works, right?

Well let's hope it does, 'cause we were here now, no turning back. The little partition surrounded by teeming shelves looming high, we took our first step inwards.

Only briefly did I have to look around before suddenly - 

"Oh, finally, for once! I was beginning to feel that no one would actually come. Ah - Welcome, welcome! Make yourself at home, won't you?"

That happened. 

It was a welcoming voice that came to greet us at the tableside, a very unexpected voice too for two major reasons. 

For one, this ringleader here wore no robes, no hoods to hide under either. Number two, and perhaps most surprising of the two, I definitely recognize that voice.

I recognized that wooden staff, that rather large hat… and she, in turn, unequivocally, recognized my ringing, my chiming, the bells on my head, and definitely my voice too. 

"You're that Witch," I said, with a stare wide open.

"And you're that Jester," She answered, standing up, with a stare just as wide. "Well, well, we meet again. Don't take my seat this time, you'll have one right there."

"What are you doing here?" 

"Dear Jester, this is a library," The Witch said, amused, stretching her arms open. "I'm a Witch, knowledge is my power… where else would I be?"

I shrugged. "Judging?"

"And so I am indeed," She sat back down, an overtly fervent smile on her face. "And it seems you're all set and prime for judgment already."

Oh wait, what?

"You're going to be… judging us?" 

"Well, more overseer than judge, you did enter my domain after all… and mine's a special place from all the others."

"I'm not following."

"You know how in games you have difficulty settings? Easy, Normal, Hard. It's the same here… and the harder the questions, the better the rewards. From one end of the library to the other… easy, normal and hard."

Then quietly, almost malevolently, the Witch gave a snicker. "So here's a practice question for you… which end of the library do you think you're in?"

Knowing my luck, I don't even have to guess, I don't even have to answer… the glances we exchanged, we both already know. Had this been for any other reason, I'd have probably walked off to an easier end of the place by now and try my luck there instead.

But perched right above the witch's pointed hat were plaques mounted in a row of three. Third, second and first prize displayed from up high… and there glimmering dead center of it all was an enticing glow of scarlet red. 

I looked back at the Witch. "What's first place?"

At that, her gaze veered slightly left and stayed there, smirking. "Your girlfriend's staring right at it."

And indeed, turning to her, Adalia's misty white eyes were shimmering back the same red hue… mesmerized, almost entranced in a way. 

"It'll make for a good romantic gift, don't you think?" The Witch said. "Provided you actually manage to win it, of course."

"Or a good apology…"

"Hmm?"

"Nothing," I pulled us forward, taking our second and third step in, then without wasting another second, sat us both down on the vacant seats in the middle. "We'll play, we'll win."

"That's what I wanna hear," She beamed even wider. "Okay, give it a few moments… we'll find you some worthy opponents to contend with."