Chapter 53: Three pillars
One of the Guild’s largest buildings stood before Percy. It was made out of the same polished stones as all the houses and shops, covered from top to bottom in intricate glyphs, shimmering faintly whenever the colourful motes landed on them.
He’d walked past the library many times since joining, although he’d never entered. And he wasn’t alone in that. Apparently very few people ever bothered, as it wasn’t the easiest way to learn alchemy.
‘Let’s do this then. My time here is limited after all.’
At least the place was always open, so he wouldn’t have to tailor his schedule to any inconvenient opening hours. He only needed to press his badge against a rune to be allowed inside. As soon as he gazed upon the countless towering bookcases, his heart began racing.
‘Gods, I’ve missed reading!’
It used to be his main pastime growing up, but he’d been too busy over the last couple of years. Glancing around the room, he saw two middle-aged men dressed in blue, sitting on different tables. Each had a pile of books by their side. However, both had stopped what they were doing, giving him strange looks.
‘What? Did I do something wrong?’
On closer inspection, one of them was the guy who’d given him the introductory lecture a month earlier. Percy never caught his name, but he did feel grateful for the freebie. He walked up to him, with a smile on his face. In his experience, the man was approachable, and he could use some help finding what he needed.
“Good evening, sir!” he whispered to avoid bothering the other guy who’d returned to reading by now.