Touch of Fate

Chapter 139: Literary Concerns

Mike awoke the next morning refreshed as usual. From the sounds of it, the others were already up and getting ready, so quickly throwing on some plain traveling clothes, he moved out into the living room.

"Good morning, everyone! Ready for the request?" He announced cheerily.

Sera nodded as she was inspecting her selection of arrows, "We were thinking about heading out soon. According to the locals, the island can get pretty crowded in the afternoon. Our best bet of finding those herbs is to get there before anyone else."

"Fair enough. Do you want me to come with you? I know you were a little hesitant on account of my aura of dramatic luck." He asked with slightly forced nonchalance while pouring himself a cup of tea. He frowned when he realized that it was lukewarm, although a quick application of Fire and Water Magic fixed that.

"I appreciate the offer, Mike, but I want to do this on my own as much as possible. The request should be an easy one to accomplish, even if I were to go by myself. Brenden and Tal will just be there to make sure I don't run into anything too dangerous in the process." She replied in a consoling manner. "You should take the day to relax and recover from the events of yesterday."

Judging from the flash of guilt he saw in her expression, he could tell that she understood how this might be construed. Nevertheless, he knew how things tended to go when he was involved. So, while it hurt a little to be excluded, he did not begrudge them their choice. "Now worries. There was a couple of things I was thinking about doing today, anyway. Just make sure to be back in time for Broderick's gathering."

"Ah! I almost forgot to mention." Sera exclaimed while running back into her room and returning with a folded piece of paper. "This note arrived last night while you were out."

Mike looked over the impeccably written letter from Broderick. With many more words than was necessary, he apologized profusely for the inconvenience, but due to safety concerns, the party he was planning on hosting was canceled. Instead there was to be a larger gathering utilizing the resources of his house tomorrow night. He understood if Mike and his group wouldn't be able to attend due to the short notice, and he hoped that they would forgive him for the trouble.

In its concluding section on page three, he explained that his sister, Elaine had been asking after them, and would very much like to meet once more. As such, he hoped that they would see fit to make an appearance.

"Huh, looks like they're making an event of it." He commented after finishing.

"Even though it is in a slightly unorthodox way, we've been invited to a party held by the main family of a ducal house. There is a lot of baggage that comes with this kind of thing. Actually, him inviting us in this manner is a bit of a faux pax as it is. We'll talk more about it later, just know that you will need your wits about you tomorrow." Sera lectured before leading the other two out.

Mike sighed, and took a relaxing position on the couch. Now he needed to come up with something to do today.

After some internal debate, he decided to finish recording the remaining elemental chants into his grimoire (journal), and visit the library to return some books. Depending on how long that took, he was thinking of doing a little shopping. He wanted his own set of alchemy tools so he could start practicing the skill outside of class.

He also entertained the idea of tracking down professional crafters in the local community to see if they could teach him the basics of their crafts, and figured he would look into it while shopping.

Since Mike had already recorded the majority of the book's chants, it didn't take long at all to finish. While he was writing, he already noticed several small improvements he could make, given enough time to do some experimentation. Making a mental note to look into it later, he packed up and headed to the Spire.

While turning his books back into the collections desk, he ran into Rusilka again. Apparently she worked long shifts on the weekend in order to cover the cost of her tuition. Taking the opportunity to speak to an expert about the matter, he asked her a few questions.

"Say, you wouldn't know where I could go to buy books like these? While I certainly appreciate the Library, I keep running into circumstance where it would be beneficial to have reference books on hand, and the one-week check out limit is troublesome in that regard." He asked as politely as he could manage.

The bookish dwarf gave him a hard look anyway, before answering. "Depending on the nature of the work you are talking about, I may know a few places. Anything to do with magic is strictly regulated. So, unless you can convince the Mage's Guild to sell you some of their collection, you'd be hard pressed to find willing sellers. Books that pertain to skills, their improvement, and their acquisition can be rarely found in the general market, but they are almost exclusively sold to the nobility. It's virtually impossible for commoners to get their hands on them."

Mike frowned, this news was expected considering the unenlightened way the kingdom handled its spread of information. Nevertheless it was disappointing to hear.

[Maybe I can come up with some sort of magical means of replicating texts.]

"As to books of a less sensitive nature, there are a few ways to acquire them. Often, its easiest to simply find an individual willing to sell from their personal collection, especially if they've recently acquired but have no use for. I know for a fact that the Acquisitions Director here at the Spire keeps an eye on noble estate sales for that exact purpose. Another option is to attend an auction in which rare works are sold to the highest bidder."

Mike made an appreciative noise. An auction, especially if it hosted other rare items as well, could be just what he needed.

Rusilka sighed, before glancing around surreptitiously, "Look, I don't know what kind of fancy pants background you came from, but if you have the right connections, there is a third option. Here in the capital, there is a store that sells valuable books. Now, they only accept customers on the recommendation of existing clients, and I've heard that their prices tend to be rather extreme, but it may be your best bet to acquire what you are looking for. Legally, at least."

"Does this store have a name?' Mike asked, brimming with curiosity.

"It's currently being referred to as the Nook, although the owners change the name and location every so often for unknown reasons. I would recommend talking to some of your classmates, friends, and instructors. Chances are, someone here at the University has access to the store, and can get you a recommendation. When you go, just remember your old friend Rusilka." She replied with a knowing wink.

"I'll keep you in mind should my efforts prove successful." He said, while admiring the sheer shamelessness of the dwarf to call herself an old friend after knowing him for a week. Considering how difficult it was to get a hold of books in this world, he didn't exactly blame her doing so.

[Emmanuel can probably get me that. Saving his life should be worth at least that much. Alternatively, I can see if Broderick knows anyone who might have access.]

After exchanging a few more quips with Rusilka, he went upstairs to select three new books to check out. Since he was still limited to the level one restricted section and general collection, he was limited in the choices he could make use of.

[That's another thing I need to extort (ahem) request from him.]

It didn't seem like there were any texts that dealt with Intermediate Elemental Magic in the section, so he took the opportunity to select an introductory book on Summoning Chants.

He followed that with a basic compendium of alchemical recipes, which included a rather lengthy discussion of the various kinds of equipment used in the practice. This would give him a good idea what to base his shopping list on.

With his first two selections decided, Mike had a hard time figuring out the third. There were three works that had caught his eye. First was an introductory martial arts manual for an unarmed combat style, which seemed useful considering his long streak of broken weapons. Next, there was a volume covering the basics of Scrivening, the practice of charging written works with magic that could be discharged at a later time. Finally, there was a tome which dealt with the proper wear and fitting of leather based armors.

He had been looking at this last one out of curiosity, since he was a little confused why something like that would be included in the restricted section. However, that changed when he read through the introduction, which called the book 'a tool to guide future warriors through the process of mastering their armor skills.'

[Waitthere are skills for that?]

Mike had largely given up on wearing armor, since every enemy he'd fought up to this point had been able to punch through it without any issue. He'd had a vague notion that he must be doing something wrong, but finally decided that focusing on dodging would be a more effective method of avoiding damage. Besides, anything he couldn't avoid or resist with his natural endurance, would be taken care of by his regeneration. However, if there was a skill based method of improving the utility of armor, it may be worth considering.

Thus, he engaged in a deep internal debate.

Finally, Mike decided to go with the book on Scrivening, which would hopefully give him some insight into the Artifice skill he needed to make storage items. Additionally, having the ability to store spells in a consumable object would go a long way to helping with his mana problems.

Besides, it wasn't like the war was going to kick off this week. He should have more than enough time to get the benefit of the book and exchange it for one of a more martial leaning.

Before leaving, he took some time to look for information on Wyrms, hoping to get some idea of what to expect with his familiar. Unfortunately, there were only a few generalized mentions of them, which either lacked details or gave horrible inaccurate ones. He figured that he would have to explore the higher level restricted sections for better information.

While he was checking out, he waved to Rusilka, who was busy dealing with a rude customer. She returned the gesture half-heartedly with a resigned expression on her face. It looked like there were some definite downsides to her job.

The dwarf mouthed, 'Kill me,' before focusing once more on the long list of complaints the middle aged woman was leveling at her. He caught a few pieces of it from where he was standing, and it seemed like she was whining about not having access to the restricted section.

Rusilka broke in long enough to mention something in a forcibly calm voice, which only caused the annoying woman to complain louder.

[Looks like customer service is a pain in every world.] He thought while walking over.

"Excuse me ma'am, what seems to be the problem here?" He asked in a confident voice.

The woman started, momentarily blushing as his Charisma took over, before launching her diatribe. "Like I was telling this rude receptionist, I was prevented from accessing the restricted section for some reason. As the wife of the heir to the Westwood Barony, I should be well within my rights to access any book I please."

Mike glanced over at Rusilka, and took note of the disgusted shaking of her head. Obviously, the future baroness had an unreasonable impression of her own power, and would not listen to reason when it was presented to her.

Luckily, Mike had seen this type of person before, and he knew just how to deal with them. "I'm sorry to hear that ma'am, I'm sure this is all some kind of mistake. If you happen to have your copy of the Form 382-B, I'll see about getting this worked out."

"Form what?" The woman asked, suddenly out of her depth.

"Form 382-B, the Request for Expanded Access form. You should have received it after checking in at the Administration building." He explained quickly. "If you have your copy on hand, we can get this straightened out quickly."

"Why, I never got any copies of any forms! Is this going to be a problem?"

"Not at all ma'am, I'm sure there was some mistake during your check in process. There is a relatively simple procedure to correct this issue. You simply need to bring a copy of Form 783-D to the Archives in the basement of the Administration building, and they will be able to provide you a copy of your 382-B."

"Oh good heavens, where should I go about finding that one?" She asked, starting to get exasperated.

"That one is easy. You just need to report to the guard post in front of the University at six bells precisely. They close quickly, so don't be late. It's a relatively simple process, assuming you bring along three different types of identification, proof of nobility, and-"

"Forget it!" The woman yelled, cutting him off, before storming out while grumbling about 'overly complicated bureaucracy.'

"Thanks for that." Rusilka said with a laugh. "But you know she's going to be right back here in a few days complaining about the same thing."

"Are you working then?" He replied with a mischievous smile.

She just laughed again. "Good point."

"Anyway, I've got important things to do today, so I better be off." He said with a wave as he started walking away.

Returning the gesture again, she called after him, "By the way, impersonating a staff member can lead to a lifetime ban from the library. Just for your information."

Stumbling slightly, he quickly resumed walking, not willing to give the satisfaction of looking back to see if she was kidding.