Dalquist cleared his throat, his face blank. "What sort of things do you like to do, Grimm?"
"I like to read books when I can," replied the child, with an earnest expression on his face. "Granfer had quite a lot, and he let me read them when my chores were finished. They were big, grown-up books. There were some about birds and animals and plants, and a lot of them had nice pictures. I can read books that don't have any pictures, though," he hurriedly assured the mage.
Dalquist's face cleared, and he held out his hand to the boy. "Follow me then, Grimm. I have something to show you." He led Grimm out of his cell and into the long corridor.
There were ten cell doors like Grimm's on each side of the passageway, all of which were open and none of which showed any signs of occupancy. "Are you sure there aren't any other charity boys like me here, Dalquist?" asked Grimm, with a slight tremor at the thought that he might be alone in this dismal corridor for a whole fortnight.
"There is a total of eleven charity Students. Although, there's only to be one other to join us this year, and I don't believe he's arrived yet. There may be other boys of about your age around, but I'm afraid, offhand, I don't know of any. If there are any, they're probably either in the recreation yard or in study rooms. Very few people bother with what I am about to show you. You'll like it, Grimm, I promise."
Tense with expectation, Grimm followed Dalquist to the end of the dark passage. Nearly hidden in shadow was a plain wooden door. The mage opened it and led Grimm up a winding stone staircase, holding tight to the boy's hand, lest Grimm stumble and fall in the near darkness. At the top was another simple door with a gnarled, pitted black ring for a handle. Opening it, Dalquist led the young Student into what, to the child, seemed like a wonderland.
Racks and racks of books stretched to the ceiling and off into the depths of a huge room, a labyrinth of beguiling complexity, full of mystery and promise. Each rack was filled to capacity with books, and Grimm stared in awe at the wealth of literature before him, eyes nearly popping from his head.
A musty but pleasant smell filled the room, and motes of dust danced like fugitive fireflies in the soft rays of light emitted from radiant globes high above.
"This is the Scholasticate library, Grimm," the mage said in a soft voice. "Most Students only come here to retrieve a book, and then retreat to their cells or a crowded study room. You may use this library as you wish in your free time and, if you sit in one of the corner alcoves, you'll be left in peace to read to your heart's content.
"I was never much of a reader myself, but, when I wanted to be alone, I found that this was the ideal spot. It is always well lit and warm, even in the depths of the bitterest winter, which is more than can be said for a charity boy's cell. Do you like it?"
Grimm felt as if his eyes would burst from his head, and he felt himself unable to speak.
"Breathe, Grimm! You look like you were about to burst."
The boy tore his gaze away from the bookshelves and looked up at Dalquist with a beatific expression on his face.
"Oh Dalquist, the books!" he cried. "The lovely books! It's wonderful! Can I really read any of them if I want?"
Dalquist smiled. "If you want, but to be truthful, some are a little dry and others will be a little old for you. But there is a lot to read, more than a man could read in even a mage's lifetime. Would you like me to tell Doorkeeper that you will be staying here until lunch?"
Still eying the literary bounty, Grimm breathed, "Oh, yes, please, Dalquist. I do love books so."
"In that case, Grimm, I'm more than happy to do so. I'm afraid I must leave you now, as I have a few duties to perform. I promise I'll try to see how you are getting on from time to time, whenever I'm here. We charity boys should support each other."
"Thank you for spending some time with me, Dalquist." Grimm struggled to find the right words. "Thank you ever so much for showing me this lovely library. I was feeling very unhappy when you came to see me, but now I'm feeling much better. Thank you."
Dalquist nodded. "Think nothing of it. Believe me; I know only too well how difficult enjoyment can be to find at times for charity Students. Enjoy your books."
"I will, Dalquist," Grimm whispered, as the mage left the room, closing the door behind him.
When the mage had left, Grimm turned his voracious gaze to the nearest bookshelf. Thaumaturgy and Its Application to Meteorological Phenomena sounded intriguing, but it seemed to consist of nothing but cryptic diagrams, so he put it back on the shelf.
Meditation; the Art of Inner Calm sounded boring, as did A First Primer of Cadences and Chants. He picked up The Necromantic Vocation and leafed through it, but he soon returned it to the rack with some distaste; it seemed the book was concerned mostly with dead bodies.
The books seemed to be in no particular order that he could fathom, so he began to dart around at random.
Finally, he hit upon Herbs and Plants; Their Attributes and Uses and took it to a battered but comfortable leather chair near the door. Opening the book, Grimm saw a beautiful, hand-painted picture of a herb he knew well. Dock, he thought, it's good for nettle stings. Reading on, he saw that its "primary attributes" were "cool", "shady" and "watery". Then, as he read on, he saw that the "secondary attributes" were "Febrifuge", "Balm" and "Emetic".
Looking further down the page, there were further details of the kinds of magic to which the dock was "sympathetic", those to which it was "antagonistic"-which, Grimm gathered, meant unkind, although he couldn't see how a herb could be either kind or nasty-and the "tertiary attributes", which were described by strange, angular symbols.
At the bottom of the page was the cryptic comment Suitable in all cases in the primary and secondary phases where indicated, tertiary attributes to be applied only by Healers of the Third Rank and above, on pain of undesired resonances in the infrastomal conjoints. This meant nothing to Grimm, but the words had a certain ring of majesty about them.
As he read on, he saw many plants and herbs that he recognised and others he did not, but even the humblest weed seemed to have significance far above his imaginings and his comprehension. Grimm was still engrossed in the book when the urgent peal of a bell sounded in his head, if not in his ears. With a start, he turned to see Doorkeeper towering above him.
"It is twelve o'clock. We must go to the Refectory now, young Grimm, or you will miss your luncheon. We can't have a growing lad missing his meals." Grimm had not been aware of the passage of time, and he realised that he had spent nearly two hours absorbed in the strange book.
"I'm sorry, Doorkeeper. The book was very interesting."
Doorkeeper glanced at the title of the volume that Grimm held, and he raised his eyebrows quizzically. "Isn't that book a little old for you? Surely you don't understand it all."
Grimm shook his head. "I just like the words. I know a lot of these plants, but I never knew that there was so much to know about them.
"Groundsel's good for bad dreams," he said, eager to relate what he had learned, "and blackweed can be used for colic. Bottle-spurge can be used in the… in the second phase of… of thaumaturgic group spells of the third order, whatever that means."
Doorkeeper could not understand why anybody might read for pleasure. The last time he had read an entire book was on the day before he was finally Acclaimed as a Mage, and that was just so he could be sure of what he had to do at the ceremony. Ever since that time, he had vowed with fierce determination to avoid literature whenever he could.
Muttering to himself, "Can't be good for the eyes," he led Grimm down the worn spiral staircase and into the corridor.
Chapter 7: Long Arm of the House
Dalquist was on his way through the great hall back to his own cell to engage in some study when an insistent tickle in his forebrain told him that Lord Prelate Thorn required his presence immediately.