The Scavenger kept on exploring the Library hoping to locate the area where the ‘Book of the Universe’ was kept.
As he walked around, he saw a congregation of guards in front of a door on which Rakezin was written in bold letters. It appeared to be a sensitive area. The Scavenger camouflaged himself in the surroundings and decided to wait and observe.
For a long time, nothing happened. There was a shift change in which a new set of guards replaced the previous set. The Scavenger kept watching patiently from his hiding place.
Suddenly, a group of five sorcerers appeared in the hall led by a Chief Sorcerer who had a long white beard. He was carrying a wooden staff with a star shining prominently on it. One of the guards rushed forward and bowed to him. The Chief Sorcerer touched his staff on the guard’s head as a gesture of blessing him and spoke something. The guard rushed back and signalled his fellow guards to open the door.
The sorcerers went inside along with a few other guards. The Scavenger, well-camouflaged as a guard, slipped in with the group.
It was a big hall that looked ancient. The Chief Sorcerer spoke to the lead guard, “Osay wants a proper sanitisation of the Rakezin. I tried telling him not to worry, but in vain. How can anyone enter the Rakezin without knowing specific spells? But Osay is tense; I don’t know why.”
They reached a corner. There was a glow of Lights in different colours coming from the wall. The Chief Sorcerer turned towards the guards. “You cannot proceed further. I and my team will sanitize the interiors and come back. You may leave now.”
As the guards started to leave, the Scavenger knew what he had to do. He immediately activated the invisibility circuit.
The Chief Sorcerer waited for the guards to leave. He then turned and pressed the wall with both hands and spoke the words, “Hola, Hola, Hil, Hil, Ho.” He repeated the spell five times, while thumping the wall with both hands after each repetition. On the fifth repetition, the wall parted open like a door.
The sorcerers went inside. The invisible Scavenger followed them like a shadow.
It was a small chamber. An ancient book was placed in a glass casing on a centre table. On it was written – The Book of the Universe.
The Scavenger made a mental map of the place. At about six feet from the table, there was a wall with a fireplace. A semi-circular arc extended ahead from the fireplace.
The sorcerers dipped their hands into a glass containing a pink solution and threw the droplets around while chanting spells. The Chief Sorcerer was doing strange, vigorous movements while kneeling at the edge of the semi-circular arc as he chanted spells.
One of the sorcerers was about to collide with the Scavenger, who managed to jump aside just in time.
Three minutes were over. The Scavenger had to get out of the chamber in the next two minutes, before the invisibility circuit got discharged. He decided to peep into the fireplace before leaving.
As he reached there, the Chief Sorcerer stood up and moved towards the glass casing which had the ‘Book of the Universe’ inside it.
The Chief Sorcerer chanted a spell, “Piri Toki Chi Bhoom,” three times and the glass casing disappeared. The Chief Sorcerer placed his hand on the Book, closed his eyes and chanted some spells.
Suddenly, the FLICK started vibrating. Only thirty seconds remained before the Scavenger would be visible. The Scavenger immediately turned towards the door of the Rakezin. But, was shocked to see three sorcerers standing there. There was no way the Scavenger could exit without touching them.
The Scavenger tried to control his nerves. He tried to wriggle out, but it wasn’t possible. Five more seconds passed.
In a split second, the Scavenger thought to open the Magic Compartment and combine the Pages of Destiny in the Book. But in the next second, the thought exited his mind. He had to keep his promise.
Time was running out. The three sorcerers did not seem to be moving away from the door.
The final countdown of ten seconds started inside the FLICK.
The Scavenger had to act. There was no time left. He had to take the risk. He thought that if he has to lose, he would go down fighting.
In the flash of a second, he closed his eyes, remembered Lord Arcane and Matt, clenched his fist and darted towards the door where the three sorcerers were standing.
...Five... four... three... two... one...
The invisibility circuit got discharged.
The Scavenger appeared in the hall just outside the Rakezin. For a moment, he couldn’t believe his luck. Just two seconds before, as the Scavenger whizzed past, the sorcerers had moved away from the door, leaving enough space for the Scavenger to exit the door.
Fortunately, there was no guard in the hallway. The Scavenger immediately hid behind a grey coloured pillar. The FLICK did well to camouflage him by turning grey and merging him with the surroundings.
The turn of events that had occurred in the last few minutes had shaken the Scavenger to his core.
He decided to stay there for at least half an hour so that the invisibility circuit would get recharged. Once it was done, he started walking down the hallway.
It was time to leave.
But how?
The Scavenger knew he couldn’t exit through the platform used by the guards when they changed shifts. It was extremely risky to knock out another guard. He decided to explore a one-way route, one that could lead a person outside, but not inside the Library.
The roof.
The Scavenger moved fast towards the roof. He safely reached an isolated area on the top floor of the Library. The place was littered with construction material and garbage. It was evident that the cleaning staff seldom visited here.
He climbed onto a heap of iron shackles that was almost reaching the roof. On pressing a button, a thin blade protruded out of his hand.
