Chapter 547 547 Blessed Traveler

Evangeline planned to head straight east toward the mountains as soon as she left the farm. They had a lot of information about the areas around them and if the Librarian was here they would have known by now.

That meant that she likely hid somewhere east of the mountains, where very few were allowed in and out, so the news from the rest of the world didn’t really spread.

“Hopefully she isn’t just hiding from us. That would be a huge pain in the ass.” Laura pointed out, thinking almost the same thing as the Seraphim as she found a comfortable spot in Evangeline’s hair.

“She was supposed to be on good terms with Cain so she shouldn’t be hiding from him specifically, but maybe something happened and she’s hiding from someone else. If we spread the word that Ancient Cain is looking for the Librarian she will at least know that we aren’t the ones looking to hurt her.” Evangeline agreed.

“I say we start with the Youkai villages. They live as long as Elves, and they are more reclusive than the Demons. There are two of their villages between here and the mountains who might have news or even a story about the Librarian if we are lucky.”

Laura’s idea was a solid one, so Evangeline took to the air, and headed for their first target.

It was a quaint little village full of Tall Youkai with a single black horn in the middle of their foreheads, which Laura mistook for unicorns for a moment, before realizing that it was people walking beside a regular horse.

The duo landed just outside the gate, and a small crowd gathered to see what they were up to since it was unusual to see a Seraphim at all, much less traveling alone.

“Hello everyone. We are just passing through, but we are looking for a long-lost friend. An Elven Librarian, originally from the Central Continent, though that was centuries ago. She has a book left by the Ancients that we need a bit of information from. I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything about someone like that? Even if it wasn’t recently.” Evangeline fished for details.

“Oh, the wandering Librarian. Lots of Youkai have stories about her, but I’m pretty sure she is a Myth. The stories are centuries old.” A young man in the crowd answered.

“Bring her to the Elder in the bookstore, she knows more about books than you do.” Another one added, sticking her tongue out at the first man to answer.

“She’s got a point. You might know the story, but can you even read it?” Another Youkai joked, making the crowd burst into laughter and then circle up for the imminent fight.

“Please don’t fight on my behalf. I still need someone to show me to the bookstore and introduce me to the Elder.” Evangeline pointed out.

“Let them fight, it helps burn off the excess stupid. I will lead you over.” The youkai girl who was taunting the first man to speak laughed.

She just waved to the guard as she led Evangeline through with Laura on her shoulder, so the situation here must not be too dire yet. Evangeline would have to warn them about the issues with Morgeth and his armies before she left since they were still so close to the towns that Cain had set up Guardians in, but that could wait until after they had some news.

“Here we are, the bookstore. Everyone just calls the Elder inside Granny, and I don’t know her real name, so you can introduce yourself however you want. I am sure she won’t turn down a conversation with a Seraphim, I swear those old folk just live for long conversations with new people.

But I have other errands to run. It was nice meeting you.” The girl told them before running off toward another shop and disappearing inside.

“Granny, do you have time to talk? I brought candy.” Laura called into the bookstore before Evangeline could enter.

“At least wait until we are inside and can see the woman. There’s no point in bribing her if she can’t even hear you.” Evangeline pointed out.

Bringing Laura has both advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, she is a formidable combatant when threatened. On the negative side, she is Laura, and staying on task is not her strong point.

Case in point, right now. Granny had appeared from between the shelves, and the Dragon flew over to meet her with a handful of caramel candies as a peace offering.

“We heard you know the story of the wandering Librarian. We are looking for her on behalf of Ancient Cain, but we don’t know where to find her. Does the story tell us anything?” Laura asked the elderly Tengu woman.

“The story is a simple one. A little under two hundred years ago now, when the village was a fair bit larger than it is today, a strange Elf came through, leaving messages with all the Elves and Youkai that she met. Every village got the same message.

[Tell the Ancient to meet me at the end of the world]. But some of them also got gifts. Some spell and skill books, scrolls, or even relic items.

We are one of those lucky places to get a relic item, and I have it right here.” The elder told them with a toothless smile.

She wandered away to her desk and pulled out a small emblem badge that none of them could identify. It had writing on it that the System didn’t translate, likely the Ancient script, but the central emblem didn’t raise any memories, not even with Cain or the Echoes when Evangeline and Laura sent the thought through the Communal link.

“It is an odd thing, and it doesn’t seem to do anything, but when I hold it or scan it, I can tell that it is an Ancient Quality artifact. If only they came with instructions.” The elder sighed.

“Can I hold it? I promise not to break it.” Laura asked, flying close to the elderly Tengu to inspect the item.

“I don’t see why not. I’ve dropped it more than once or twice and it hasn’t hurt it any.” The elder shrugged and passed the item over.

As soon as Laura touched it, the emblem gave off a brief burst of light, making an arrow that pointed vaguely east for a few seconds then faded again.

“It doesn’t look like the enchantment is worn out, it is just on a cooldown timer. Elder, do you think that we could hold onto this for a while? I can return it after we find the Librarian.” Evangeline asked.

“Go ahead, Dear. I’m sure it was for you anyhow. She didn’t leave any directions, only that I would know what to do with it when the time came. I carried it for years, wondering when the time would be right.”

“You make it sound like she passed it to you personally,” Laura said, passing the old lady more candies, in her own version of thanks.

“She did actually. I was the Village Elder at that time before I retired to let my daughter take over. Now I just run the bookstore, the same as I have for the last hundred and fifty years.” The old lady smiled happily at the books, a lifetime’s worth of collecting and care.

Most of them weren’t spell or skill books, but stories, educational textbooks made by transfers, or non-fiction history books to carry on the memory of this world’s heroes.

“Take a while and look around. The Librarian isn’t going anywhere. Well, I suppose she could, but she probably isn’t.” The elder told them, then led Laura to a section on cooking and baking.

Evangeline realized that it would take a while to get the food-obsessed Dragon out of here, so she too went looking for something to read. Now that they had a compass of sorts, leading them toward the goal, they could move with a bit more certainty.

They also knew that they needed to look for Elves and Youkai since that was where the old Tengu said that the Librarian was stopping off on her journey. All of the old cities that they passed had a chance to have someone with firsthand details that could help them find her.

Evangeline gave Laura and the Elder one hour to talk and snack before she bought a history book and took Laura away from their discussion on baked sweets.

“We should try to get to the next village tonight before dark. Thank you Elder for your assistance, and I hope to see you again soon.” The Seraphim bowed and left, then took to the air, heading east for the next Youkai village on her map.

“Such a nice young lady. I do hope that she finds what she is looking for.” The Elder smiled, then turned back inside to her books, wondering what took so long for the Ancient to come looking for the Librarian.