Library of Rain

As Rain appeared in the street, the backlash of having her portal forcefully closed hit her like a kick to the chest. Blood dripped from her tightly shut eyes as she struggled to pull in air. Numbly, she crawled further into the dark alleyway, dragging her prizes with her. It was still night, and there shouldn’t be anyone about, but if someone caught her with the head, she would have all kinds of problems. 

 

After crawling as far as she could, Rain curled up into the fetal position, whimpering in pain. Everything hurt. Her ears were ringing, and she could smell blood. In front of her, Mr. Purple was trying to tell her something, but she couldn’t get her eyes to focus enough to read it. 

 

Using all her strength, Rain pulled herself to a doorway and used it to open a way to the library. Exerting her powers like this made Rain's head hurt a hundred times worse. It felt like someone was trying to knock her head off with a hammer. 

 

Rain managed to barely pull herself and her trophies through the door and close it behind her before she passed out in front of her new pile of treasure.

 

She didn’t see Lon the next day or the day after that. Instead, she lay curled up on the floor, her mind fogged with pain as whatever the Pontiff had done to forcefully close her portal continued savaging her. 

 

After two days, the pain subsided enough for her to pull herself to her bed, where she slept restfully for another day. By that point, hunger and thirst drove her out of bed; even though she still hurt all over, she could now move, and her head was clear. 

 

As she moved through the library to the exit, she asked Mr. Purple to show her what he had been trying to since the day she got hurt. Every time he tried so far, Rain ignored him because she was in too much pain. She should probably apologize to him for ignoring him.

 

Fortunately, Mr. Purple didn’t seem angry as he swirled into existence, showing her the message she asked for.

 

[Congraulations: Oru is amused by your actions in humiliating Agro and his chosen. Oru would like to reward you with the skill: Librarian’s Insight. Do you accept?]

 

Rain didn’t need to think long about it. More skills would always be good. 

 

I accept.

 

[Skill Attained: Librarians Insight.]

 

[Librarians Insight: You will now receive notifications on the skills and corruption gained when anyone reads a book from the Library of Oru.]

 

This gave Rain pause. With her “Lend” skill and this new skill, she had a good set of tools to make use of the library. She wouldn't be reading any more books herself after what happened because of the last one. The lumps were still a constant aggravation. But people with skills and classes were far more likely to become important figures. If she could give skills to people who would be grateful to her and help them rise to prominence, she could influence the world far more than if she tried to fix everything herself. 

 

There would be problems like figuring out how to find these people, but that would be a problem for future Rain. Right now, she just wanted some food and maybe a bath. 

 

Wiping crusted blood off her face with her now totally fine cloak, Rain decided she would also get some clothes. This cloak was great, but it looked a little odd compared to what other children were wearing. She also wondered what shoes felt like. In other words, it was time for her first shopping trip.

 

Scooping up a handful of coins from her pile in the entry, she pocketed them. 

 

“Take care of the place for me.” Rain said, patting the deformed golden Agro head. 

 

Stepping through the door, Rain noticed the sky held an afternoon sun. 

 

First thing is food.

 

Rain had to leave the Mid Ring to find a fruit vendor, but the walk wasn’t long. As she walked, she noticed things about this city that seemed off. For one, despite the slave trade being a part of the city, she had yet to see a single obvious slave. The people she had seen cleaning the streets looked poor but free.

 

She also realized she was wrong when she thought there were no street urchins. She saw a few of them watching her from a distance. They were either very good at avoiding trouble or backed by someone with enough clout to protect them. Given Rain’s situation, she might need to look further into that. 

 

Rain finally found a fruit cart and bought a snowy white fruit she had never heard of, meaning it likely didn’t grow on the mainland. The fruit had almost no flavor, seeming to just disappear in her mouth. Rain smiled at the sensation and bought another one.

 

After her meal, Rain searched for a cobbler to get her new shoes. She ended up just wandering around till she found one after asking for directions earned her a volley of insults about ‘freaky worthless orphans.’ 

 

When she did find a shop, located in the Lower Ring but surprisingly well-kept, it even had glass windows, Rain was ready to be insulted and ignored until she waved some money around. To her delight, that never happened. 

 

The shop owner was an older man with silvery hair and nice eyes. He let Rain in and said that if she was here for a safe place to rest, he didn’t mind her staying until it was time to close shop. When Rain asked about the price of shoes, he told her that for feet her size, he would charge ten old. 

 

Everything the man said was true, making Rain want to buy her shoes from this place. She went through her pocket until she found eleven gold coins; placing them up on the counter, she asked him for a pair of shoes. 

 

The shopkeeper's eyes widened at the sight of the money.

 

“My apologies, young miss. I didn’t think you were a customer. Please have a seat.”

 

He motioned to a small wooden stool.  Rain sat, and he knelt to look closer at her filthy feet.

 

“Hmm, what kind of shoes are you looking for?” he asked, retrieving a cloth and cleaning her feet.

 

“Good ones?” Rain answered, unsure what he meant.

 

The man laughed.

 

“Of course, all the shoes I sell are good. What I meant was, what purpose do you need the shoes for? Do you need light shoes for running, thick boots for the coming winter, sturdy boots for working, or elegant shoes for impressing?”

 

Rain thought about it for a second, “Can you make some that are kind of fancy but not too fancy and also good for running?”

 

“Of course.” the old man said with a smile. “Let me take your measurements.”

 

With that, the man grabbed a string with black lines and began using it to measure Rain's feet. Once he finished, he told her to return in two days and ushered her out the door.

 

The rest of her shopping was faster. The seamstress had clothes that fit Rain, so she didn’t have to wait. She learned that the clothes were baggy because people would line the insides with furs during the cold months to keep warm. 

 

She ended up leaving with some boring, sturdy brown clothes like children in the Lower Ring might wear, as well as some of the nicest that this seamstress had. Her favorite was a deep green sleeveless dress. It was impractical and wouldn’t keep her warm, but she couldn’t wait to wear it. Once she had her shoes, Rain would be able to shop in the safer Mid Ring without raising suspicion.

 

That would be good because someone had been following her all day. Across the street, a young boy with dirty blond hair was talking to an older woman. He seemed to be completely oblivious of Rain, but she doubted that was the truth. 

 

She had first seen this boy with other urchins as she headed to buy fruit. Nothing about him made her think twice about him until she saw him the second time talking to a store owner as she left the cobbler's shop. 

 

After that, she kept an eye out. He was always around. Not in a way that would make Rain think he was watching her, except that he seemed to have business wherever she happened to be. 

 

The question Rain had been mulling over for a while was whether to ditch him or capture him.