Chapter 8: How it Was Before

The group was ready to leave just before dawn, but Alena chose to stay behind despite the arguments of disapproval from the others—especially Clarkus. The charr was not keen on leaving his asura friend behind, but Alena assured him she would be safe within the Priory’s walls and that he and the others would be fine without her. She further explained the Priory’s group investigating the airship would be there already, so they would have assistance. He huffed, but eventually acquiesced, and his striped tail dragged along the stone floor as he left her behind to join the others making their way out. Alena was confident in all of their abilities as fighters, and those abilities would serve them well in rescuing Seren and Salara. They would be okay without her this one time, at least that’s what she told herself. Alena could still hold her own when needed. She certainly proved herself the night the Byrnes attacked and burned down their home, but brawn would only get them all so far. If they were to continue on this journey with more than a modicum of smarts, they would need more information.

Alena worried about Nienna though.

Even though the woman did her best to compose herself, it was obvious she was not okay. Granted, they all looked a little worse for wear, but Nienna’s normally proud stature was wilting, and her eyes, though lined with dark circles underneath, were wild and unfocused. She looked like a woman who had been pushed to the edge and was now staring into the abyss. Alena tried to convince Nienna to stay and rest, citing reasons the asura believed to be sound, but Nienna stubbornly declined. Her desire to find their people and bring them home was too powerful for reason. Ultimately, Alena couldn’t fault her. If someone she cared about was in danger, she would have already been on her way. So, she let Nienna go, but only after making Dee promise to look after her. The norn swore on Bear’s honor she would. That was all they could do on that matter, and it would have to be enough for now.

Once they all said their good-byes and everyone had gone, Alena immediately made her way to the Priory’s archives to put herself to good use. Her first task was to gain permission to peruse the impressive collection of tomes and scrolls, but her guardian had already submitted a request to put her on the access list. Smiling, she made a mental note to thank him later. He always had her back—even when she didn’t know she needed it yet.

She slowly padded up and down the tall rows, her eyes hungrily taking in the sight of so much information at her fingertips. The Priory’s archives reminded her of the stacks in Rata Sum where she spent her college years as a librarian. A bittersweet smile grew on her lips. She missed her duties walking the rows as she shelved the tomes. The delightful scent of leather and parchment was everywhere, and it eventually permeated her attire. Alena didn’t mind though. It was her happy place away from the rest of the world, but her contented memories abruptly ended there.

One unfortunate day at the stacks, she had discovered the curator, Fradd, dead in his own place of employment. Even though the years had gone by, his untimely death still hurt to think about.  He had been expunged, the investigators kept saying. Alena frowned. It was such an impersonal word: so cold and clinical. She remembered cringing every time she heard them say it. Fradd didn’t deserve such detached treatment. He had been her supervisor, her friend, and one of the very few asura who hadn’t made a big deal about her differences. But that was the asura way. She may have understood its function, but it was still a system she never really felt like she was a part of.

Alena never was able to get to the bottom of what happened, but with Fradd gone, she didn’t remain at the stacks much longer. Poor little Ippi, Alena thought to herself. She wondered if she should have stayed for her instead of leaving Rata Sum like she did. Ippi, Fradd’s daughter—his progeny—had already lost her mother, and then to lose her father—Alena knew the emptiness it created, having lost both of her biological parents herself. In her own case, Alena had Jakob to help her pick up the broken pieces of her heart. Ippi hadn’t been so lucky. Maybe I should look her up when this is all over, she wondered, but then cleared her throat and quickly composed herself as she looked at the tomes on the shelf in front of her. The past would have to stay where it belonged. Right now, Alena needed to keep her focus in the present.

Reaching up, she pulled a tome titled Rare Artifacts of Volatile Natures down from the shelf, and then another on a similar topic. She made a thoughtful noise as she looked down at her arms and then back to the shelves. It was doubtful she would find everything she needed in these two books. She would likely need help carrying everything, so with a wave of her hand and focused concentration, Alena raised her flesh golem, Gordo. His hulking, primitive frame seeped through the stone floor, entwining elements of its grey, grainy texture with the creature’s flesh and sinew.

She carefully read each spine as she went down the rows and selected reading material she felt would suit her needs. She then placed them on Gordo’s outstretched limbs until they nearly reached the large horn protruding from the front of his head. However, the two of them were soon bombarded by questions from curious Priory initiates about what she was looking for and her purpose there. Preferring not to comment on anything, she wordlessly retreated from the archives with an armful of books. Gordo shuffled quickly after her while carefully balancing his own load of books on his thick limbs. Together, they made for the reading rooms as quickly as they could. Alena emerged only once for lanterns, to request a pot of tea, and to send a message to her guardian.

The soft illumination from the lanterns revealed the room had been recently cleaned. She breathed a sigh of relief.  There wasn’t a cobweb in sight, and this made Alena quite happy. Messy or dirty spaces distracted her, and she certainly hated spiders. Anything with eight legs or more made her skin crawl. She ordered Gordo to sit down next to her stack of books while she arranged the lanterns around a large cushion and then sat down to read. There was a desk and chair already in the room, but she preferred the floor. It was less restrictive, and she could spread out.

Alena leaned her book to the side just enough for the lantern light to illuminate the pages for a better read. Her eyes stayed glued to the text, even when an initiate brought in a tea tray. The asura merely motioned to a spot on the floor nearby where they could leave the tray and said nothing. The initiate—a young man of no more than twenty years old—glanced over at the resting golem. Gordo paid no mind to the new arrival, choosing instead to remain staring off into the dark shadows of the room. Wide-eyed and uncertain about the golem’s presence, the initiate quickly set down the tray and sped out of the room. Ignoring their departure, she continued reading, letting herself sink into the information for hours. Sometime later, she turned another page and raised her teacup to her lips again to drink, only to find it was empty. Frowning, she held it up above her head while continuing her reading.

“I require more tea, please,” the asura announced politely.

From his assigned spot next to a stack of books, Gordo rose and lumbered over to the tea tray. He carefully turned his club-like limb to the side and hooked the top handle of the tea pot with his claw. With skill that took years for the golem to master, Gordo slowly walked the pot over to his mistress and tipped it just enough to pour out a small amount of the herbal infusion. She took a sip and sighed contentedly.

“Thank you, Gordo. That’s much better. I can feel the tired synapses in my brain sparking again,” she said with a pleased smile.

The flesh golem lumbered back to the tray, carefully setting down the tea pot before returning to his spot next to the books.

“Here you go, kiddo. Quite an interesting selection. Not exactly what I would consider stimulating reading though,” Jakob said as he entered the small reading room with five more books in his arms. He glanced over where Gordo sat quietly. “Hello there, Gordo. Keeping my girl company?”

The flesh golem turned and silently looked at the man with his empty eye sockets before going back to staring off into the shadows.

Jakob nodded, knowing he would never get a verbal response from the golem, but it seemed rude not to at least acknowledge his presence.

“Sometimes, the juiciest tidbits of information are hidden in the monotony of everyday life,” Alena replied, finally looking up from the book on her lap. “By the way, thank you for getting me access.”

“My pleasure. Anything I can do to help.” Her guardian made a thoughtful noise as he studied the spine of the book on top of his stack after setting them down next to the rest of the books Alena and Gordo had carried in themselves. “Grievances Against the Court,” he read out loud.

“I remember their names—sort of. Byrne, I believe Nienna said. A noble couple, likely from Divinity’s Reach.” Alena slipped her little pale grey finger underneath the page and turned it as she ground her teeth. She worried she volunteered too much information.

Grabbing a nearby sitting cushion, he settled himself down across from her. “How do you know that?”

“Nienna had the pleasure of sharing a conversation with them before we were almost murdered by an ice creature under their control.”

Her guardian blinked as his visage twisted in concern. “Murdered by an ice creature? You know, I try not to be one of those hovering guardians worried about everything my kid does.”

Alena looked up from her book. “I know. And I said almost murdered.”

“That doesn’t really make me feel much better. How bad is this, kiddo?”

She sighed and took a sip of tea as she thought about how to present the situation without divulging too much information or making him worry more than he already was. It was a bitter internal battle that tore her up inside, and finding where that line existed felt damn near impossible. “I won’t lie, we’re not in an idea situation. In fact, it’s pretty serious. But I know Nienna, and I know the others. We’ll get through this. We’ll get Seren and Salara back. Just—just don’t ask too much about it. Please. The less you know, the better off you will be.”

Jakob frowned deeply and stroked his beard. “I’ll be honest, it doesn’t sit well with me.”

“I know,” Alena replied as she shifted on her sitting cushion. “I’m sorry I can’t say more.”

“We don’t keep secrets from each other.”

The asura frowned, staring down into her tea. Jakob was right. They had never kept secrets from one another. There never was any need to—until now. She hated it. Alena never believed in secrets before, and she had seen what sort of destruction they could do to people and relationships. And yet—sometimes secrets could protect. She needed to keep her guardian safe right now, and she needed to believe their relationship was strong enough to weather the storm of omitted truths it was about to be battered with.

“Do you trust me?” Alena asked as she looked over at Jakob. He may have assumed his beard hid his displeasure of the situation, but she knew every crease and wrinkle on his face. The lines deepening on his forehead and around the corners of his mouth revealed the depths of his displeasure.

He stared at her for a moment while considering his feelings on the subject. “You know, you’ve not had the easiest of existences. Both parents gone and raised by a human man,” he said, pointing to himself, “and taking on a human surname. I still remember hearing the other asura whispering about it when I came to visit. Yet you have navigated these turbulent waters and come out the other side self-sufficient and strong. So no, I may not like it, but I will trust you know what you’re doing.” His features softened and he gave her a little smile.

Letting out a relieved sigh, Alena returned his smile with one of her own, her crystalline blue eyes glassing over. “Thank you.”

He cleared his throat. “What do we do now?” he asked as he opened one of the books and set it on his lap.

Alena went back to her book. “Well, I will be getting to know the Byrne couple. If I can figure out their motivations, then maybe we can make that work for us. But you…,” she trailed off as she fished out a slip of parchment from her coat pocket and presented it to her guardian, “can you sign this please?”

“What is this?” He scanned the carefully penned words. “A records request for the archives at Divinity’s Reach?”

“Yes, can you please sign that right now. The next runner is leaving shortly, and I’d like to get those records as soon as possible.”

“Anything I’ll get in trouble for?”

She shook her head. “No, just standard records requisition. Permits, requests—you know, the usual. If we can find out what they’ve done, maybe we can piece together what they’re going to do. At least, I hope we can.”

“Well, whatever I can do to help.” Jakob looked around for something to sign his name with.

Alena picked up a quill from the floor next to her, dipped it in the ink pot, and handed it to him. She had found both sitting on the desk when she arrived in the reading room. He took it from her, and with one more look over the request he was signing, Jakob scrawled his name on the line at the bottom.

Jakob got to his feet, pausing once to stretch his sore back from sitting on the floor. “Anything else I can do to help?”

Alena considered his offer, but eventually shook her head. It pained her to keep him at a distance. She had fond memories of long days and nights when she was a mere progeny. She and Jakob would spread out books of every kind before them. They poured over the words together, and Alena absorbed them like a little sponge. She wished she could go through these tomes and scrolls with Jakob now. His perspective and knowledge would be valuable in her search. But after years of him looking after her, it was now Alena’s turn to look after him.

“No, thank you,” she replied solemnly.

Jakob flashed her an understanding smile and then quietly exited the reading room. Alena frowned as she watched him go, her eyes welling up with tears. She took in a deep breath and looked back down at the book in her lap. At first, she couldn’t concentrate. The blurry letters appeared out of order and nothing made sense. She shook her head, wiping away a few tears rolling down her cheeks, and then looked back down at the book. Narrowing her eyes, she focused and made the letters fall back into place until the pages made sense once more. No matter what it took, she was determined to see this through so everything could go back to how it was before.