Eldritch Guidance

Chapter 80: Reading Session

-Back at the Arcanium Archive-

Joe’s group remained in a private room at the archive, meticulously poring over the books Sorin had been re

Alan: “Ah, OK. So it's a weird game of telephone with this book.”

Dan: “Hang on a second. If they're constantly reproducing and changing it, how do you know which copy is the original? If each version they copy is slightly different from the last, then some of these books must be completely different from each other. It would turn into a completely different text if they did this for long enough,” he said while putting the book he was reading down and joining in the conversation.

Sandra: “It is as you say. Some of the copies are completely different from each other. There are versions of the Rattle Scratching that have a lot more forbidden knowledge related to necromancy in them, and others a lot less.”

Alan: “Then the version I have must be the one that has hardly any information about necromancy in it. Why am I even looking at this version then?”

Sandra: “Because that’s the version of the Rattle Scratching Sorin took out. Although, there are versions with more details about how to conduct necromancy in them. I have no clue why he wanted this version.”

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Rell: “I think I know why. There is a project at the Grayscale College they’re working on that specifically relates to the Rattle Scratching. It has something to do with pattern recognition in those texts. They ended up finding some secret messages in a handful of versions of the Rattle Scratching. I think he made some small contribution to that project.”

Joe: “Do you know how involved with that project he was?”

Rell: “I don’t believe that much. Like I said, he only made a small contribution. And, the enforcers already talked to the person in charge of that project about his connection to Sorin. She didn’t know anything.”

Joe: “I would still like to talk to that guy if possible.”

Rell: “I’ll put in a request, but I think someone else from the Slight-Hawks might already be talking to Professor Snaila. Oh, and it’s a 'she', not a 'he'.“

Joe: “If someone else is already talking to her, don’t worry about it. Let’s just focus on these books we got to go through. Because after we’re done with this batch, if we don’t find anything useful, we have to go through the rest of the books he took out. Based on what we’ve been told about professors taking books out, I’m sure it’s a lot.” he said while looking toward Sandra.

Sandra: “Yes, It is quite a lot,” she said, confirming Joe’s comment.

Dan, Alan, and Jaffar all sighed.

They had already spent several hours working on this, but their progress had been painfully slow, with little to show for their efforts. Despite their best attempts, they hadn’t even managed to get through a tenth of the books that had been brought to them. Many of the volumes Sorin and Jixi had taken out were incredibly dense and difficult to decipher. Some passages were so packed with complex and convoluted ideas that they required multiple readings just to grasp the meaning, further dragging out the time it took to make any headway.

The task was so tedious that it took considerable willpower to stay awake while wading through the heavy, sleep-inducing texts. Half the group was already starting to feel a little mentally drained, and yet there was still so much to do.

Alan forced himself to pick up the once more, his fingers tightening around the worn cover as he braced himself to dive back into the nearly incomprehensible ramblings of a madman.

Alan froze, hearing a distant, ominous tapping sound echoing from somewhere behind him. It sounded like something hard striking against stone, sharp and poignant. His heart pounded as he slowly turned to look over his shoulder, expecting to see the source of the noise. But there was nothing there—only a wooden wall, its surface mostly bare. The tapping sound stopped the second he started to turn his head.

Joe glanced up from the book he was reading, catching sight of Alan glancing over his shoulder with a nervous, unsettled expression. Alan's eyes darted around the room, his posture tense as if something had spooked him.

Joe: “Something wrong?”

Alan: “Oh, um. I thought I heard a weird tapping sound. Did anyone else hear that?” he said while turning back to the group.

Joe: “Hmm, no. I didn’t hear anything.“

Everyone else present, except for Alan, also nodded in agreement with Joe.

Joe: “I must be losing it.”

Jafar: “You’re probably just tired. It's late, and you and I were just training with Mitra earlier today. So it might be a bit expected.”

Rell: “You two trained with… Mitra…” he said, sounding surprised.

Jafar: “Yeah. Didn't you know?”

Rell: “No. I’m very sorry to hear that about you two,” he said with a look of sympathy.

Alan felt uneasy under the sympathetic gaze Rell directed at him. He was accustomed to Rell being a stern, reserved figure, much like Mitra. Seeing any emotion from Rell, especially sympathy for Alan, was unsettling and felt completely out of character.

Dan: “What are you sorry about?”

Rell: “I’ll tell you and Joe later.”

Dan: “Why not now?”

In response to the question, Rell pointed silently at Jafar. Dan turned his head to see Jafar with a thousand-yard stare. His eyes seemed empty and devoid of life as he recalled the training he'd gone through with Mitra. It was clear that Jafar wasn't fully present at the moment. His mind had drifted back to the grueling training sessions he had endured with Mitra. The intensity of those experiences echoed in his vacant stare, as if he were reliving the trials that had shaped him, leaving him momentarily disconnected from the reality in front of him.

Dan didn’t know the cause for such a stare, but he recognized that hollow expression all too well. It was the kind of look that spoke of exhaustion, frustration, and the weariness that comes from being trapped in an endless cycle of burdensome tasks. Dan had experienced something similar himself during his own ordeal with the relentless paperwork that had nearly driven him to the brink.

A deep sense of sympathy swelled within Dan, reflecting the same emotion Rell had shown earlier. Dan unexpectedly found himself empathizing with Jafar, and the weight of whatever burden was haunting him. He couldn't shake the feeling that if Rell elaborated on what he was alluding to, it might only push Jafar further into that state.

Dan: “Ah, later will be fine then.”

Joe: “If you two are tired, I can take you home. The rest of us can keep working at it.”

Alan: “That's ok. I can keep going for a little bit more.”

Joe: “Don’t push yourself. You two are still students. Rell here is a full-time enforcer, and the rest of us are full-time officers. We don’t have to attend class after this like you.”

Jafar: “Hmm. Maybe we should head home. Joe is right, I have some classes early tomorrow morning.”

Alan: “OK, just let me finish this book first. Then we can head home.”

Alan was about to pour himself back into the Rattle Scratching when a sharp beeping sound cut through the air, emanating from Joe. The sudden noise snapped everyone’s attention to the officer.

Joe calmly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box with a tiny flickering screen—it was a pager, a device used to receive text and voice messages. The group watched intently as Joe’s expression shifted, the message on the screen unfolding before him. Whatever information was being transmitted, it clearly demanded immediate attention.

Dan: “Who’s messaging you? Is it Mike?”

Joe: “No, it’s Tony from the forensics team. He wants to see me right away.”

Dan: “What for?”

Joe: “Don’t know. Just says it's important. In that case, here’s the plan. I’ll take you two with me,” he said while pointing at Alan and Jafar. ”Head towards where Tony is asking to meet, quickly help him out, then take you two home.”

Jafar: “Actually, Alan and I don’t live that far from the Archive. We can just walk home ourselves from here.”

Alan: “All the same, I still would like to go with you and help out.”

Joe paused for a moment. He was about to tell Alan that he didn’t need any help. But then, he stopped himself. Instead of immediately saying anything, Joe crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, studying Alan with a look of intense contemplation

Joe: “Sure. Are the rest of you OK staying here and working through these documents?”

Rell: “No problems here.”

Jafar: “I’ll keep working on it for a little more before heading home.”

Dan: “OK, how long will you be? And, are you coming back?”

Joe: “Don’t know, and yes. I’ll help you two out after I finish helping Tony and drop Alan off at home,” he said before turning toward Sandra. “How long are you willing to stay here?”

Sandra: “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll be here till midnight.”

Joe: “Ok, then. Let’s get going.”

Joe rose from his seat, and Alan quickly followed suit. Without exchanging another word, the two of them exited the private room, leaving the others behind in silence. The air in the room seemed to shift as they departed, the door closing softly behind them.

Once outside, they began walking side by side down the expansive hallway that led toward the entrance of the Archive. The corridor was dimly lit, its high ceilings echoing their footsteps as they moved in unison. Arcane candles floated above their heads, lighting the path before them.

As they walked along, Alan couldn’t help but stare back at the door to the private room they were just in. Wondering what that tapping sound was, and why hearing it made him feel so nervous.