AMLB 02

Adriana’s Magical Library and Bookshop

02

Life for Adriana was harsher than one might think. While she was a registered citizen of the city of Epheas, she was also decidedly non-human and even worse, a non-standard monstrous race according to the vast majority of people in this city.

She liked to think she was quite a friendly face, as those who got to know her seemed quite okay with her, and even asked her about her books from time to time. Yet even though this was the case, every time she went out to meet those who were a part of the city, they paled in fear of her drider form, citing her spidery lower-half and her magic as proof of her being a man-eating witch.

Sure, her family back home might have some more carnivorous diets, but that didn’t mean they ate sentients! Saying such a thing was slander, and quite hurtful. No matter how she tried to dissuade them, they simply seemed to be of the mind that she was some sort of terrifying monster.

As she walked through the city, stopping at a fruit stand, the owner clutched their chest and began to gasp for breath. She looked at him, used her magic to clear his airway and sighed. “Try not to breathe while eating your apples, you’re going to choke one day.”

“Wh— Wiiiitch!” he cried, before running away at high speeds, completely misunderstanding what she had actually done.

It seemed he thought she was the one choking him, when in reality, he choked on his apple because he saw her, and tried to gasp while eating. She had saved his life, but he was going to report her to the guards again.

Granted, the guards all knew her very well by this point, and a good portion of them borrowed books from her to read while on duty, but that was neither here nor there. Just because she wouldn’t be sent to prison for saving someone’s life, doesn’t mean the opposite wouldn’t be true if she had ignored his idiocy and let him suffer.

…Not that she would, but it was sure good incentive to make sure people were healthy and happy, regardless of their fear of her. Because not only was it the right thing to do, but her life and livelihood actually depended on it.

Still, as she made her way to the stationary shop, squeezing through the doors that she knew weren’t that tight just the week before, she walked past the shelves that had been packed much closer together to deny her easy access and used her magic to pull what she required from the shelves, placing it before the shop owner with a smile. “I need this wrapped up, so I can purchase it and take it to my book shop for writing more books, and giving out my daily lessons,” she told him politely.

To merchants, direct and to the point, without wasting time, was the most polite way of business. The tone was always friendly, but sometimes the Merchants Guild was usually filled with those who feared spiders in general, so many merchants were told to charge her triple unless she pushed.

The merchant totaled up the price, and sighed. As usual, the prices were far too high.

She flashed the Lord’s Badge, looking at him intently. It was a little game she had to play with all the merchants, as they were being watched. So flashing the badge made it official business on behalf of the lord, rather than her own personal business. This meant they couldn’t overcharge her.

The price was recalculated, and she was given a rather large discount as was standard between them, in exchange for allowing them to say they did business with a Mage Lord. Such a thing would increase their standing with the guild, when she stamped the badge enough times there.

Silly, bothersome human rituals and politics. She would rather just share her books with people. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

Once she was done there, she made her way back to the bookshop and sighed, setting her stuff down on the counter and waving at her Elven Gardener — who had been assigned by her patron, Lord Hammerstein — as he watched her settle in through the window. He was a sunny guy, who liked to play in the gardens as much as he could with his magic, and loved the taste of plain fresh bread. A fun Elf, who played music that encouraged plant growth for them, so that they could also farm enough food to keep themselves from going hungry in the end.

It was going to be another day of book keeping, and tidying her shop while she waited for customers, but she didn’t mind that. So she simply smiled and got down to work, her mind drifting off into the sea of knowledge that she had yet to truly explore, all in pursuit of the creating the greatest library known to her people: the Akashic Records.

~~~~

The sounds of quill scratching against parchment filled Lord Ernst von Hammerstein’s office as he worked tireless at the paperwork the rest of his fellow mages ignored 90% of the time.

His office was a wonder in mundane utility and magic. Mundane utility in that it was, at the end of the day, very clearly an office with a desk, cabinets, a chest, and more needed to make a busy office function, with extra ink stashed in drawers, even a cooling plate of biscuits and tea set aside on the desk.

Yet, bits here and there, subtlety gave indication to the magic of his station. The silver Spirit Lanterns hung up for light, providing crisp, blueish lighting for the office, checked and topped off with alchemically treated bone fragments taken from very particular, spiritually active gravesites. The fireplace looked normal at first glance, but one would notice that the burning logs never faded, never truly changed, as if they were locked in a sort of stasis for eternity.

He’d been mocked by it by his own family. Not grand enough, not enough magic to show off his mastery, his research. Lord Hammerstein thought his fellow mages needed to come down to Earth before the burnt their pretty little heads.

Case in point: his current missive.

To

Sincerely, I do not have the time or resources to waste on feeding peasants. Peasants feed us, that’s the entire purpose of their existence. Surely if the crop’s failed, then those who cannot support themselves should simply find employment elsewhere? Or import the crops from somewhere that had a more bountiful harvest.

It’s almost insulting that you think a bad harvest in your territory is my problem. As for your aspersion that people that can’t afford to eat will turn to banditry? Well, I say let them! We can get rid of the disobedient and ensure that we have only the most loyal and hardworking peasants.

In short, at most I’ll be sending some minor financial aid. I have research that’s much more important than talking about inanities like crop cycles and pest management with uneducated, provincial ‘people’ who scrabble around in the dirt all day.

Yours, Wilhelmina Von Bergenburg, Duchess of Bergenburg

Hammerstein knew in his heart of hearts that if he ever found Duchess Wilhelmina burning on the side of the road, he wouldn’t spare the piss to put her out.

It was honestly foundational to the issues he’d come to despise among the mage upper classes. At least the regular old nobles below had some contact with the wider world, but outside their incessant magic research, they didn’t care even when they should.

A blight meant a poor harvest. A poor harvest meant both poor tax income and famine. A famine meant an unruly population ready to riot while poor taxes meant the noble administrators couldn’t work on infrastructure, leading to a self-feeding cycle that would invariably see the system break and result in unrest and rioting. A riot, or worse, an uprising, meant everything else was disrupted, and the army would need to be called in. When they failed and in a bad enough famine they would, or worse, join the uprising, which in turn could lead to barbarous tribes or other civilizations, or worse, other mage societies to pounce on the vulnerability. All of this would finally, finally, force the oh so exalted mages of the Mages Tower to come out of their seclusion, burn all the offenders to a crisp, and then spent months reorganizing the survivors of the problem they could have solved since the very beginning if they’d just given a rat`s furry ass to solve it.

What grated even worse than the above knowledge? The fact that as a mage he was mocked for paying attention to the wider world, that he tried to solve problems in their society before it became an issue. Hell, some of the mages would probably fail to realize if every single human being alive for 500 kilometers dropped dead except the tower only when the kitchen maids failed to bring them their supper.

A knock at the door interrupted his ruminations.

“Come in,” Hammerstein said.

Sir Gerald, one of his attendants, came in with a sheaf of paper in his hands, ready to make a report of some sort. Whatever sort of news it was, it seemed there was at least some bad news, as his expression was difficult to read.

“Milord.” He nodded, bowing slightly to Hammerstein.

“Ah, Gerald, good, come in, take a seat. How goes my project in the lower city?” Hammerstein asked. It truly pained him he couldn’t go into the lower city himself to check on it himself, but appearances had to be made. It was already bad enough he “debased” himself going down to the noble quarters to talk with the non-magical lords and administrators there to better understand the needs of the realm. Going into the Lower City himself would be…

Well, nothing short of disastrous for his social reputation, at least at this juncture.

“Unfortunately, there’s still a lot of superstition from the common folk when it comes to her. Positive rumors are spreading about her running a house of learning.  She’s even gained a few regulars, including some truly ‘salt of the earth’ sorts, but those damned rumors about her... appetites are still circulating,” Gerald grimaced, shaking his head slightly. “Do the common people think Driders are some sort of succubi?”

Hammerstein grunted. “Unfortunate. Those rumors will have to be squashed, or at least not allowed to fester.” He understood to an extent. The unfortunate fact is that Adriana did have spider parts, and that set off some primal fears instantly. Though, he didn’t really get the “temptress” angle, if for no other reason than anyone who met her would not think “foul seductress of the underworld”.

“Are the merchants treating her well?” he asked. There’d been some issues with them overcharging her in the last report but gifting her a badge of his house should have solved most of those problems.

Gerald nodded. “Nothing overwhelms a man’s suspicion like the sweet allure of profit. It’s a process, but with her regulars and those she works with spreading the truth... we’re getting somewhere.” He paused, stroking his moustache thoughtfully. “Men will sell their soul for money, after all, even if they’re foolish enough to accuse the buyer of eating it. Not that she’s actually trading in souls, but well. I suppose it’s an apt enough metaphor?”

“Good, good,” the lord noted. “Did she have anything else she wanted to say in your last visit?” Sometimes, since that first chance meeting, Adriana had specific messages or notes for him. He did not get to talk to her as much as he would have liked, and she offered such an interesting perspective counter to the tedium he’d come to associate with the Tower.

Gerald fetched a sealed scroll out of his pocket and handed it to Hammerstein. “And a missive from the esteemed lady herself, My Lord.”

“Ah, wonderful. Do take a long break, Gerald. I suspect I will have more work for you soon, but for the time being, you’ve more than earned a rest,” Hammerstein dismissed Gerald, who gave a short bow and left the room.

Hammerstein unfolded the message, eager to read Adriana’s words.

Dearest Lord Ernst von Hammerstein,

Thanks to your continued support, we have successfully helped many farmers who were having slight issues with Fungal Rot and Soil Drainage, as well as introduced proper crop rotation and maintenance practices that will certainly improve yield for years to come. This has been investigated and is being dealt with as we speak.

As an aside, expect to be eating a lot of cheese and meat in a few years, as a good amount of the problem with some of the farms was either too much manure, or simply not enough. The farmers have sorted such out, and it will be a better harvest now that they all know that such can be used to help the growth of new food products — as well as their old ones in greater quantity — if used sparingly.

As for magical things, well, there have been a few people who were interested, but mostly just the knights and lesser mundane nobles. I have noted some talent they have, that is more… raw, I guess? Based on faith rather than knowledge. If I may be so presumptuous as to offer advice, you may want to keep an eye on it for it’s potential uses.

Other than that, business as usual.

Sincerely, Adriana.

Hammerstein read and re-read the letter several times, just savoring it. Adriana did not speak down to him, did not feed him false or misleading information, and had a genuine interest in people and the world they all lived in. If he had a 100 Adrianas, no, even 50, he could change the entire society in under a year.

Sadly, he had to make do with what he had.

The work never truly ended. He grabbed fresh parchment and ink, and began to pen his reply.

Dear Adriana…

~~~~

AN:

TheBug: Chapter 2 of Spood story. Just like real life spood this one has it also very hard in Human society. Fear not she is backed by a powerful mage to eventually achieve her dream. Let’s not hope that there will be betrayal or anything else like that.

HiddenMaster: Indeed, she has things a bit rough in the big city, but she has friends, allies, and a dream to chase.

Kitsu: Za Spood be spoodering. I’m just thinking we need to have a section with demon bees soon, lol. Would be funny.

BookDragon: The duchess’s name is a little pun how German cities and the people who own/run them are named, or were historical. Also, apparently Bug has gone too far on the bug sauce and is playing Dungeons and Bees instead of Dungeons and Dragons.

Kitsu: Fun fact, I had no idea. I just kinda thought it made sense in a spooder fic.

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