Page 53 of Legends and Librarians
“I think they’re fine,” I said. “Mabel did say they’ve been doing this for a while, so they probably come here a lot.”
“True...”
Nyssa leaned moved closer, watching the silly little dragons for another minute before tugging me after the apothecary. Every day with her was a wonder, a new adventure without even leaving the mountain. Maybe staying in one spot had its own perks if the place was full of people like Nyssa and these dragons.
The library really was a magical place and we were one step closer to revitalizing it.
Chapter 19
Nyssa
We’d managed to get three haunted library missions taken down at the guild, but there were still a few more and we were running out of time before the final ceremony of the festival. Especially since we had to officially sign the library up for the event and decorate for it too. Before we did any of that though, I had to make sure we actually couldhost the festival. There were a few library essentials I hadn’t seen anywhere yet.
“Hey, Lisa?” I asked as I joined her at the table. “Does this library have a book well? And statues of the gods and all that?”
She flipped a page in the book she was reading, eyes widening. After reading a bit more, she set the book down with a satisfied smile.
“Sorry,” she said. “I was at a really good part. But yes, of course we have statues and a book well. What kind of library do you take us for?”
One that hadn’t gotten the story gods’ blessing in years and was about to disappear, but I wasn’t about to say that. I thought I remembered them from when I was a kid, so maybe the statues were just hidden away somewhere for safekeeping, not destroyed or given to a more popular library.
The well should have been noticeable though since it couldn’t exactly get up and walk away. A book well was ourconnection to the story gods, the one place where we could talk to them and actually get a response. Every year, hundreds of writers tossed their books into it like pennies in a wishing well, hoping the gods would be pleased with their stories. It was vital for the festival.
“Okay....but where are they then?” I asked.
Lisa took a slow sip of her tea before answering. “We moved the statues into storage when the roof started caving in. The well is where it always was, in the lobby.”
“In the lobby?” I walked back over there, studying the wide-open space yet again, but all I saw was a large potted plant, some cozy chairs, and a few bookshelves. “There’s no well here.”
“Look closer,” Lisa called out from her seat at the table.
I frowned, not really sure what to look closer at since there wasn’t much here. The potted plant actually looked a little wilted though so I went to get it some water.
And that’s when it hit me.
The plant’s pot was made of wood that came up from the floor, as if the library itself had grown it. Which meant it wasn’t a pot...
“No way,” I whispered, poking around in the dirt a bit. Sure enough, there was a wooden cover holding all the dirt up. “You’re using the book well as a planter??”
Either she was too far away to hear me or she was too engrossed in her book, but either way, that was just plain wrong. The book well was our connection to the gods, not some corner store flower pot. It was supposed to be filled with the magical water of hopes and dreams, not dirt and rocks!
My hands itched to rip that plant out and toss it outside where it belonged, but I took a deep breath and thought about it for a minute. The golem was the only one who cared about plants enough to do this and I’d already upset it once when I’d torn its window patches down without asking.
Maybe if I asked the golem to transplant this, it would be okay.
I wandered outside to where the golem was pulling weeds from its body and smashing them underfoot.
“Weeds,” it muttered, “always weeds.”
I’d never thought about if golems grew weeds like normal dirt did, but now I’d never unsee it. The golem carefully yanked weeds from around the poppies on its shoulders, smiling once the last one was gone and the flowers basked under the sunlight, tilting their petals up.
“Hello.” I waved to the golem. “How’s your garden going?”
“Beautiful,” it rumbled, motioning at the very full flower beds.
Honestly, they really were beautiful. Each flower bed held a different assortment of plants, like a living mosaic of greenery. Some of the flowers glowed like they were filled with magic, making them even more eye-catching. The floral scent filling the air was rather comforting too, making me want to sit and gaze at them all day.
We should add some chairs outside for people to read and enjoy the flowers at the same time. I bet the golem would like that.
