“Have you seen Valeria?” Teryn demanded of the warden. The worry was plain on his face.
Slowly, the Book Warden raised his gaze from the book he was reading to look at the young wizard. Most students were in a hurry when they came to him, but the Book Warden made a point of taking his time with replies, no matter the tone of the asker. Many said he relished in the distress it would cause them.
“Please, tell me. Have you seen her at all today or yesterday?”
The Book Warden thought about it long and hard. “No, my child, I’m afraid I haven’t,” he replied after a few minutes. “She said something yesterday about having a busy day today and not to expect her.”
“This can’t be happening!” Teryn exclaimed in frustration.
“What can’t be happening, exactly?” The Book Warden fired back. The answer to his question would never come. Teryn had already raced out of the library as fast as he’d entered. The Book Warden went back to reading his tome and shook his head slightly. “Kids,” he muttered to himself. “Always in such a hurry.”
Teryn raced back to his house, more in a vain hope that maybe Valeria would show up there than because he wanted to. He threw open his door and searched inside to find his home as empty as always. He sighed in despair. Valeria was in some sort of trouble. Somehow, deep down, he just knew it.
He wanted to go out and search for her, turn up every stone he could come across, but it was almost curfew. A chill ran across his spine at the thought of curfew. Normally he never cared about it, but tonight was different. His friend was in trouble. He didn’t know how or why, nor did he have any proof of it. Only a gnawing feeling in his gut. But that was enough.
He thought about the words Valeria had told him before she’d left. Mindlessly, he pulled her ring out of his pocket and fingered it. He wondered what the ring’s purpose was, and why she would have left such a priceless token with him. That fact only strengthened his resolve to do something.
His mind was made up at last – he would break curfew. Damn the consequences. Valeria was worth whatever punishment may come. He went through his cupboards and grabbed a couple items – another muffin, a kitchen knife, and a jug of water – and headed out his door.
He only made it a few steps before a wave of exhaustion swept over him. Desperately, he fought against it, determined to trudge forward, but it was too much. His last thoughts before he fell unconscious were of Valeria, trapped somewhere, desperate to find him.
* * * * * * * * *
Teryn woke up the next morning not feeling any more rested than he had the night before. During the night, the screams had come again. He’d heard them more clearly this time. Each time they came, he tried to move off his porch and continue his search, but each time the overpowering wave of sleepiness came and robbed him of the opportunity. About halfway through the night he gave up and headed back indoors.
In his mind, he was still listening to the screams. It felt like they were trying to form into a word in his brain, but of course that was ridiculous. Even if that were true, it was hopeless, as he couldn’t make out what it could be. He tried to distance the screams from his mind and focus on the task at hand. Today, one way or another, he was going to find out what had happened to Valeria.
He got to work and instinctively looked for her at the entrance to the shovel-shaped building. He couldn’t find her anywhere. He was early, though, so he waited a while. It was Etansday, and they always worked at the same place on Etansday, so if there was any way she was fine, then she’d show up sooner or later.
An hour passed by, then two, then three. He was hopelessly late for work now, but he didn’t care. He went up to the front desk of the building to ask if she had somehow slipped in while he wasn’t watching.
“Excuse me!” he called to the front desk clerk.
“Teryn, there you are!” the clerk fired back, annoyed. “You are very late! Come quickly, we’re short staffed today and there’s a lot of work to catch up on.”
The clerk pulled on Teryn’s robes to lead him on. She was surprisingly strong.
“Wait,” he insisted. “First please tell me, have you seen Valeria today?”
This made the clerk stop in her tracks. “Who?” she asked, wrinkling her eyebrows in a look of confusion.
“Valeria. You know her. About five feet tall, maybe a bit more, curly black hair, magic ward tattoo showing on her neck and cheek?” The clerk looked even more confused now, if that was even possible. “Come on, she’s a Trilober! She works here with me every Etansday! You have to know her!”
The clerk looked at him like he’d just suggested they cast the Fhyrrstorm or something. The Fhyrrstorm was a forbidden spell of terrible destructive power. Rumors abounded that casting it could kill the caster, or do something even worse. Not that anyone knew for sure. Even bringing it up in normal conversation was taboo.
The clerk took a deep breath to calm herself before responding. “Sir, I know every wizard in this Guild and we don’t have a single Trilober that works here. Haven’t had one in years.”
“That’s impossible!” Teryn shouted frantically.
“Are you sure you’re feeling alright?” The clerk responded, her confusion replaced with concern. “Maybe I should call
