Library of Rain

Once Rain and the creature were through the door and on the now familiar balcony of the shaft, the creature stretched out a hand to Rain.

 

“Take it so we won't get separated.”

 

Rain stared at the long hand, wondering where she should grab it. After a moment, she decided that the palm was her best bet. The moment she grabbed the thing's palm, its fingers wrapped around her hand like the legs of a massive spider. 

 

“Good, now we jump.”

 

And like that, the guide dragged Rain off the balcony's edge and into a freefall, barely giving her time to drop a coin before she was over the rails. The swift fall down the center of the shaft made Rain feel like her heart was in her throat, and she was clutching Snow like her life depended on it, but after a few seconds, Rain realized that despite the balconies rushing past her, the floor - or massive eye in this case - was getting no closer.

 

That was all it took for Rain to start having fun as her hair streamed straight up and the air washed over her body. Below her, the massive blurry eye fixed on her and the guide. She had no idea how she would land, but she had a coin lying back by the entrance, just in case. The only thing ruining her fun was Mr. Purple informing her that her corruption had risen to ten percent. She was getting close to dangerous levels. If she didn’t find what she was looking for before she hit fifteen percent, she would turn back until she managed to lower the corruption again.

 

“Hold on tight.”

 

Rain felt the spidery fingers of the guide clamp down on her hand before her whole arm was jerked. Her freefall was transformed into a swing, bringing Rain and the guide towards a wall. Before they could slam into anything, the guide grabbed Rain by the waist, and all of Rain’s momentum seemed to drain away.

 

The guide gently set Rain down on a narrow walkway, and she fell to her knees, laughing uncontrollably. That had been so terrifying, yet Rain had enjoyed every second of it. She needed to find more high places to jump from.

 

“Come.”

 

The guide was floating away, and Rain realized that she was feeling better. The emptiness and insubstantiality she had felt when she first summoned the guide were still there, but she no longer felt listless. 

 

While that was definitely a relief to Rain, it also helped her to feel just how risky this deal was. She made a note to never make big decisions when she couldn’t muster enough emotions to care. Then, she made a second note to try to make deals with others when they were in that state. 

 

Rain followed the guide past several doors. Then, for no reason, the guide stopped and turned around without explanation, floating straight back the way they came.

 

“What's wrong?”

 

“Nothing, this is simply the path.”

 

Rain almost said something before realizing where they were. Why wouldn’t backtracking lead them somewhere new?

 

As the guide passed, Rain shivered at the sight of its face. Then she froze. Was this how people saw her: creepy and unnatural? The moment she realized that, she felt a crushing guilt hit her. She should be better than the people who shunned her.

 

“Um, Ms. Guide, do you have a name?”

 

“No.”

 

“Then do you mind if I give you one?”

 

The creature paused for the briefest of moments, loose pages floating around the two of them, before it continued moving forward.

 

“Do what you must.”

 

“Okay, in that case, I’m going to name you White because of your hair. What do you think, Ms. White?”

 

“Through this door.” Ms. White said, completely ignoring Rain’s question.

 

That was okay, though. Rain would be nice to Ms. White as long as she didn’t try to hurt Rain. If Ms. White didn’t want to be friendly back, that was her choice.

 

Rain followed Ms. White through the door and stopped in her tracks. She had expected the door to lead to some odd room like her last time exploring the shaft, but instead Rain found herself standing in the middle of a dead forest, the smell of rot strong in the air.

 

The trees had ashy bark. The few sparse leaves Rain could see were golden and covered in runes. Nailed to each tree was a piece of paper with the same twisted symbol painted on it with black ink. Overhead, a single massive moon rained, black tendrils uncoiling from behind it, grabbing stars and pulling them towards the enormous moon.

 

“Come.”

 

Rain jolted at the unexpected sound before sheepishly following behind Ms. White. Mr. Purple gave her a message about her corruption rising to thirteen percent, and Rain thanked him. 

 

As Rain walked the narrow trail, she couldn’t keep her eyes off the golden leaves of the trees. What was written on them? They called to Rain, and were it not for her past experiences with books that called to her, she might have climbed one of the trees to read its leaves. But she resisted the urge until they stepped into a clearing with a single golden shrine sitting in the center.

 

The shrine was simple: four engraved golden pillars holding up a roof that flared out at the base. Inside stood three ornate altars in a triangle with a single book on each one. As Rain stepped into the shrine, she could tell each book was a work of art. 

 

Before Rain could ask which book she should take, Ms. White floated between the three books and pointed straight down.

 

“Here.”

 

Rain followed the long finger to see a slight break in the pattern of the vibrant wood floor. 

 

Going down on her knees where Ms. White pointed, Rain pried up a small piece of the floor to reveal a rich brown leather book with a perfectly molded cover. A large spherical diamond was set into the front cover with strands of pale blue light racing through it, forming complex geometric shapes and throwing wild shadows across Rain. 

 

All around the gem were raised portions forming swirling patterns. When Rain looked closer, the swirls seemed to form the vague shape of half a face, with the gem being the eye.

 

Bronze filigree adorned the edges of the book and the title, which Rain could thankfully read, ‘Whispers of the Soul.’ 

 

“Is this the one?” Rain asked, pointing at the book.

 

“Yes.”

 

“What do souls have to do with navigating this place?”

 

“This book will help you use the part of your soul that contains the magic circle to summon me and create a magic item capable of calling me as many times as you need.”

 

Magic. Rain had heard that word before. She was pretty sure it had been a part of the skill name from of one of the uffters she had experimented on. But based on what Ms. White said, souls and magic were a part of how skills worked. And magic items sounded like extra cool, skilled items. Rain found herself staring at the book with renewed interest. Nothing for it but to take the book. 

 

The moment Rain pulled the book from its hidden compartment, the three altars around Rain crumbled to dust, the beautiful books on top of them withering until all that remained of them was stacks of dried, brittle parchment flaking apart in the slight breeze.

 

“Very good. I will inform you of the favor owed when you create a magic item to hold my summoning circle.”

 

Rain looked up into the milky eyes of Ms. White and forced down the fear they caused.

 

“Thank you, Ms. White.”

 

For the briefest of moments, Ms. White’s face contorted in an emotion Rain couldn’t read before returning to its normal wide grin.

 

“Summon me once you create the magic item.”

 

With those final words, Ms. White changed once again and returned to a shadow before reattaching to Rain. Rain felt a warmth flow through her as whatever had been stolen from her when she summoned Ms. White returned. Then Rain felt something else sneaking into her along with the warmth - a wriggling slimy coldness. Sure enough, Mr. Purple confirmed Rain’s suspicions.

 

[WARNING: Physical corruption has risen 2%. Current Physical corruption 3%.]

 

There was the first half of the price for finding this book.