Library of Rain

As she cautiously pushed the door open, Thirty-six was greeted by a thick darkness that seemed to swallow all light. She tentatively extended her hand into it, watching as her hand disappeared from view before reemerging unscathed.

 

If this was a portal to the Library of Oru, she could hide there where no one would find her. Then, she could find a way to escape after the auction when the doors to this room should be unlocked.

 

Giving the room one last look around before entering, she saw Eighteen and Forty-two looking at her with wide eyes. Making a decision, she motioned to them, beckoning them to follow her. Eighteen looked uncertain for a second, but when Forty-two looked away, she did as well. 

 

Thirty-six stepped towards them, determined to convince them to come with her. Maybe if she helped them escape, they would be her friends. Before she could reach them, she heard footsteps coming from outside the door the Keepers had left through. 

 

Out of time and afraid that one of the kids would tell the Keeper she could open the door, she turned around and stepped through the darkness, closing the door behind her. 

 

For five minutes after closing the door, Thirty-six couldn’t take her eyes off it, afraid that it would open and the Keepers would come to take her. 

 

The door looked different on this side. Where it was made of paneled wood on the other side, this side was made of stone and some kind of black metal. Carved into it were creatures that Thirty-six had no knowledge of. They were all different, made of scales, claws, tentacles, and horns. Some had wings, while others had fins. Some had many eyes, while others were blind. However, All of them were trying to eat each other while they were, in turn, being eaten. This mess of limbs and teeth was carved in intricate detail from the top to the bottom of the door. The rim of the door was made of black metal that bled into the carving to add swirling shadows to the already confusing scene. 

 

Ripping her gaze away from the mesmerizing scene, Thirty-six looked around. It only took her a moment to decide that she wouldn’t be naming herself after anything she found in this place. She stood in a large room. The floor was made of gray and black tiles cut and fitted together in a pattern that seemed to shift and turn in impossible ways. 

 

After staring for a minute, Thirty-six realized that the floor was actually changing. The ceiling was shaped out of a glossy brown wood. As she looked at it, she thought it might be walnut. Whatever that was. It was carved in the shape of a man's head, mouth open wider than any human could manage. Vines or tentacles poured out of the mouth like hundreds of long tongs, each tongue wrapping around a screaming person.

 

The wall was swirling darkness. Things seemed to form in its depths: monsters, battles, twisted faces wrapped in anguish, but as soon as the images appeared, they vanished only to be replaced by another. 

 

On the other side of the room was a gap in the wall that stretched from floor to ceiling. A thick black fog started about halfway through the room and made it difficult to see what was beyond the opening.

 

The air was cold and dry, not helping the wet Thirty-six stay warm. Hugging herself in an attempt to stay warm, she walked deeper into the library.

 

The first thing she noticed was that the fog seemed to move so that it was always twenty feet or so away from her in any direction. By the time she got to the other end of the room, she could hardly see the door she came in from. 

 

The room beyond the gap was made of nothing but bookshelves. They were made of the same type of stone as the floor in the entry room and possessed similarly strange carvings. 

 

More strange than the shelves, though, were the books on them. No two books were alike. Some were bound in leather, others in bone, others in stone; some were wrapped in materials that Thirty-six didn't recognize. 

 

One book was bound in white leather with luminous golden symbols on the spine. The book next to it was simply a stack of pages sewn together, blood dripping from between its pages. Another book had fingers peeking out from it as though it had been slammed shut on a hand; the fingers were still moving. One ordinary-looking book whispered to Thirty-six, promising her everything she could ever want and warning her that she would never find happiness should she ignore it. 

 

Turning away from the burning, screaming, glowing, dripping books, Thirty-six hugged herself tighter. Now, it wasn't just because of the cold. The books were unsettling, and she felt things were watching her from the dark mist. 

 

Why had Past Her wanted access to this place so badly? She was only in the second room and was already wondering if she shouldn't return to the auction house to be sold rather than stay here any longer. 

 

If I was willing to give everything for this place, there must be something good here. I just need to keep looking.

 

Walking through the shelves and ignoring the voices from the books in the mist, she pressed forward until she reached the opposite wall. There was no opening on this wall; instead, there was a line of twisted pedestals. Each had a book on them. The tops of the pedestals were at an angle to facilitate reading what was resting on them.

 

Cautiously, Thirty-six walked up to one of the pedestals. A thin leather-bound book with a colorful stylized eye tattooed on the front lay atop the plinth. Of the books she had seen so far, this one was the least intimidating. The eye was even pretty. A thin chain attached the book to the pedestal, preventing anyone from taking it from its resting place. 

 

Thirty-six curiously opened the front cover. Inside were words written in a language she didn’t understand. When she tried to read them, the words peeled off the page and flew towards her face in long strands of inky runes. 

 

She lurched away from the book but wasn't nearly fast enough. The strands of words pierced her, sliding between her eyes and her sockets, slithering their way into the back of her skull. Knowledge began to flood into her mind. Not like when she had used the “Terms of the Deal” skill, this was far more violating. As the words wrapped around her brain, she understood the color of truth. She understood how falsehoods bent reality and twisted what lay behind the visible world, leading to discolorations.

 

As suddenly as it began, it was over. The words returned to the page, and the book lay open innocently, inviting her to turn the page. 

 

Thirty-six backed away from the book until her back bumped into a bookshelf. 

 

What was that?

 

Dozens of swirling lines formed in front of her, intertwining until they created a message. Mr. Purple had answered her question.

 

[Skill Attained: Truth Sight.]

 

[Creating class around Truth Sight.]

 

[Error: Truth Sight has been absorbed into Master of the Library; creation of new class canceled.]

 

[Truth Sight: You can now understand the truthfulness of spoken words based on their color. Read further into the Tome of Chromatic Truths to unlock more features.]

 

Before she could process what she had just read, Mr. Purple formed another message.

 

[WARNING: Mental corruption has risen 3%. Current mental corruption 3%]