Darkness Within

CHAPTER THREE

“Here you are, Mistress,” Gerald said, surprising her. She hadn’t heard him approach, and almost fell from her chair when he tapped her on the shoulder.

“Thank you, Gerald,” she said.

“Is that everything?”

“For now, though I won’t hesitate to ask should I need it,” she said, anticipating what he was going to say.

Gerald smiled, bowed again, and left her to her work. Tessa studied the book cover. This book had been the centre of her studies for the last few months, and she couldn’t understand what had gone wrong. According to her calculations, the experiment of the night before was supposed to have worked. So what was she missing?

A sigh escaped her lips as she examined her papers. It just wouldn’t do – she might as well try all over again, and make sure she double- and triple-checked her calculations this time. She opened the book, only for a piece of paper to fall out.

There is something afoot in the Tower, the noted read, and it is your job to find out what exactly, and to bring the culprits to justice. Do not be fooled, or distracted by petty scams, and look at those whose trust runs deepest. M.

Tessa frowned. Could this be the message the Master had promised he would send? If so, how had it got into the book in the first place? She glanced in Gerald’s direction, but the librarian appeared to be engrossed in a book of his own. Either way, she doubted that the Master would use a man of Gerald’s status to deliver his own messages.

She pondered the message for a while before closing the book. If anything was clear to her, it was that she would not be able to carry on her studies for the day.

What could be going on in the Guild, she asked herself. Something, obviously, but beyond the petty tricks of Alchemists who sought to earn easy money, there was little else for them to do that she could think of. They had no great powers, not like the wizards of old, or even the Elementals that still, on occasion, turned up. There was little they could do that would not be discovered, sooner or later… Unless someone had invented something new and not informed the Guild of their success.

She knew where she had to go next. The Assembly was the one place where each Alchemist kept record of what they did, and the registers dated back to the origins of the Tower, albeit with a few holes here and there. Maybe that would help her.

She gathered the books and handed them back to Gerald. “Already finished, mistress?” the librarian asked.

“No,” she replied. “I mean, yes, for now. I’ll be back for these books later, so please keep them at hand.”

“As you wish, mistress.”

Tessa left the library, picking up her pace until she was moving at a brisk walk, her thoughts bouncing around her head and giving her an urgency she rarely felt. She didn’t even know why – she had been filled with reluctance when the Master had scolded her and told her to work for him, yet now she was willing to do whatever she needed to do to fulfil the task. It was almost as if she were under the influence of some powder.

She shook that thought from her mind. There were few substances like that, and all Alchemists were trained to recognise when they were being used. Maybe it was just the thrill of discovery that had her going like that.

The Assembly was at the bottom of the Tower, though was rarely used for formal occasions. Apart from the monthly gatherings that the Alchemists had, it was mostly abandoned, save by the occasional Alchemist who wandered there by mistake during the night. Tessa herself mostly ignored the meetings, showing up only long enough to sign her name into the register and update her current project before going away to get back to work.

The ground floor was the largest of the building, nearly twice the size of the floors above. It was also the highest – the Assembly was an airy room, though it was mostly taken up by benches and seats used by the Alchemists for their meetings. It was similar to the Stadia used for gladiatorial games elsewhere, now that Tessa thought of it. Maybe it was because of the acoustics, which allowed the speaker at the centre to address everyone in the room clearly.

As she entered she looked around, but the room was abandoned as usual. It was still relatively early in the day for most of her colleagues and there was little to do here in any case.  She descended the spiral staircase that fed into the stands. Around her were a bunch of casual yet comfortable chairs, mostly in groups, that were used in the meetings. Apart from that, however, it was empty. There wasn’t even any dust littering the surfaces.

It took her a minute to find the registers. They were hidden in a cabinet, possibly to keep them safe from those who shouldn’t touch them, but the key to the cabinet itself was hung up next to it. How stupid, Tessa couldn’t stop herself from thinking. He remembered the days when she used to steal, long ago though they were. If she were a thief, she wouldn’t have passed up this chance, not with the keys right there.

She opened the cabinet and took out the book. Now what am I going to do? She realised she hadn’t actually thought about that part. She had nothing to take notes with, and she was pretty sure that taking the book was forbidden…

Tessa shrugged. Only if they catch me. All she had to do was bring it back within the next week. Surely no-one would check it before the next meeting, and that was over a week away. Plenty of time.

After a glance in all directions to check nobody was watching, she stuffed the thin book under her robes, rearranged the rest of them and closed the cabinet. It was time to do some research.