“Probably,” Khollo agreed. “Any chance you could lower me down this way?”
Kanin considered this. Perhaps. I cannot fly you down, but I think this might work. He draped his tail over the edge of the hole so that the spines on his tail formed a reasonably useful ladder. Khollo examined this solution critically, then shrugged.
“One way to find out,” he muttered, grabbing hold of Kanin’s tail and working his way down slowly. The dragon watched with glittering eyes as Khollo descended into the library, swinging slightly every now and then.
Khollo quickly discovered a problem with this method of entering the library. The skylight above overhung the railings by a foot or two, presumably to keep rainwater from reaching the bookshelves set a little ways back. As a result, there was a gap approximately a meter wide between Kanin’s dangling tail and the nearest walkway.
Khollo, still clinging to the tail, reached out his right foot tentatively. He just managed to hook his toes over the railing, and drag himself over until he could step onto and over the railing and then down onto the walkway of the top level of the library. He let go of Kanin’s tail and bounded nimbly to the floor.
“I made it,” he called softly. The tail disappeared and Kanin’s head snaked out over the opening as he peered down at Khollo.
I do not think you will be able to leave the library in that manner.
“Neither do I,” Khollo agreed. “I’ll see if I can find the other entrance we discovered earlier. Wait here.”
Khollo heard the scrape of scales and claws on stone as Kanin settled down to wait, his head still hanging down into the library. Khollo took a deep breath and looked around.
Now that he was in the library, he was able to appreciate it much better. The bookshelves were made of dark, gleaming wood and stretched from floor to ceiling. The contents were ordered neatly and carefully labeled in the old language. Some shelves contained scrolls that were stuffed into cylindrical cubbyholes and others contained tomes that stood side by side in a solid wall of decorated spines. Khollo moved along a row of shelves, away from the center of the library, and found himself standing at an arched window that overlooked one of the waterfalls he and Kanin had discovered. Weak gray light filtered through the window, along with the merry sound of the brook.
“Remarkable,” Khollo murmured, peering out at the waterfall. He looked left and right and saw more windows in a seemingly endless, unbroken line, interspersed with thin graceful supports. The stone walls were slightly curved, bowed outwards, and the floors and ceiling were dark wood. The walls showed no tool marks, cracks, or scars, as though they had been found this way.
As Khollo continued his exploration, he discovered that the library was also amazingly warm, where most underground spaces were cold and damp. The further he descended into its depths, the warmer it was. Khollo reached the first level and found a wide stone basin, with a shallow pool of water in it. A fountain stood in the center, a beautiful stone creation with floral elements in several levels. A trio of dragon heads, mouths wide to spew water, stood above the first level of the fountain, presumably to supply water for the pond when it was not raining. Khollo gazed upwards. In a good rainstorm, he guessed that the water would fall in great sheets down into the pool, a circular indoor waterfall.
“This place is amazing,” Khollo murmured, looking back up at where Kanin was waiting.
The dragon tilted his head curiously. I thought you were looking for an exit.
“Right,” Khollo muttered. “Sorry,” It’s easy to get lost in the gracefulness of this place.
Khollo climbed back to the uppermost level of the library, reasoning that any entrance from the surface was likely to be at this level. In no time at all, he discovered two gently curving staircases that went through solid rock, rising slowly as they went. Khollo chose one and was about to climb up it when he noticed a crack a few centimeters wide running all the way along the bottom step.
Is the library falling apart? he wondered, confused. He looked around towards the other stairwell and noticed a peculiar thing. Where the central well was closest to the stairwell, a small shelf protruded outwards a little way. Khollo frowned at the anomaly, trying to discern its purpose. Eventually, he was forced to give up.
Hurry, Kanin urged. Rains are near, I can sense it.
Thunder boomed in reply. “Right,” Khollo muttered. “Time to go.”
The young warrior bounded up the stairs recklessly. There was not much light here, but the library had been only dimly lit in most places and Khollo had gotten used to the lack of light. In a moment, the stairs were brightening again and then he was back in the courtyard above, across the way from the stairwell he and Kanin had discovered earlier.
The dragon bounded over from where he had been observing the library. We need to go, he repeated, wings half raised for flight. Come.
Khollo scrambled up the proffered foreleg and Kanin lurched into the sky, moving low and fast, wings pumping. Khollo clung desperately to the spine in front of him with both arms.
Next order of business is a saddle, he thought grimly. He winced as Kanin jerked a little in the air and the dragon’s scales rubbed especially hard against his legs.
They flew on as quickly as Kanin could, trying desperately to reach the hold before the storm hit. The winds were intensifying now and Kanin was struggling to make headway as he was buffeted left, right, and back. Khollo clung grimly on, wishing that he could contribute to the effort in some way.
