Twenty First Chapter

I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.

Jane Austen (1775 - 1817), Pride and Prejudice, 1811

Throughout the vast history of BZ-Metru, there is only one place where there is treachery, romance, laughter, and adventure contained in one building.

It is the library.

Stretching for miles in all directions, the old, red brick building had forever been the home for writers. It was surrounded by a circle of beautiful, tall, Oak trees planted long ago. The rest of the land contained a lush green park, with a lake, fountains, and walking paths. The shelves inside went on and on, seemingly endless, stocked with epics, short stories and comedies.

There were five levels in the library, each connected by a grand spiral staircase. The first floor contained the lobby and the Library’s collection of Short Stories. The lobby contained the front desk, where patrons could ask the Librarians (usually Forum Assistants or exceptionally accomplished authors) on duty questions about the collection, such as how to find specific books.

Next were epics, which was easily the largest collection in the Library. This floor’s shelves contained over twenty thousand volumes, ranging from incomplete drivel to finished masterpieces. An interesting feature on this floor was a large bronze statue of the Library’s most renowned author, GaliGee.

Comedies was a mess. That is all that could be said. Amongst the many attempts at humor, there were plenty of gems, but unfortunately they were dwarfed by the thousands of humorless works. To make matters worse, it was overrun by “noobs,” as they were called, who spoke almost incomprehensibly and wandered around causing general mayhem. A brave moderator named Kaita had once tried to clean it up, but it drove him insane to the point of schizophrenia. That is how he got his nickname, “Schizo” Kaita. He disappeared soon after his attempt.

The uppermost two floors contained apartments for writers and offices for the staff. The largest office belonged to Hahli Husky, Forum Leader of the Library. In actuality, she shared her duties with Smeagol4. But because he was usually at the Admin’s Palace, and only rarely came to the library anymore, HH was considered by most to have sole control over the Library.

One day, the day Toaraga was captured, she woke up at her usual early time of six. By seven she was on her way down her private staircase that led into her office, as usual. She put her key into the door, as she normally did, and opened the door.

But that is where all normality ceased.

Hahli’s jaw dropped open as she looked around. He entire office had been ransacked. The two busts that had stood on either side of her main door on marble columns had been shoved over and shattered. Her massive bookshelves that lined the wall opposite her were broken. Her books, most of which were originals transcriptions and imports from far off lands, were thrown around the floor, chunks of pages ripped out.

Her desk, which had sat in front of a window that provided a beautiful view of the Library Park, was turned over and smashed. All of Hahli’s papers were ripped to shreds. Her PMs, her drafts, everything was destroyed!

Hahli slowly walked through the room, after the initial shock had worn off. She couldn’t believe it. She had no enemies, no rivals. Who could have done it?

The main door opened to reveal a Forum Assistant named Senjo. She was holding a pot of tea.

“Ma’am, I have your morn-”

She stopped in mid sentence, almost dropping the tea. She looked at Hahli with wide eyes.

“Call… call Smeagol4. Now,” said Hahli. Senjo nodded, backed out of the room and closed the door.

Smeag arrived a few hours later. He spent about fifteen minutes looking through Hahli’s office. A young man named Letagi followed him around, scribbling notes in a notepad as Smeag dictated them.

“Quite a mess, Hahli. But you said nothing was stolen?” asked Smeag.

Hahli nodded.

“Well then there’s nothing else I can really do here. If it was a BZR operative, they probably would have stolen something. The culprits were most likely kids or a gang. But there’s one thing that makes that makes me doubt that. The broken bookshelves were cut with an axe.”

“What’s so special about that?” asked Senjo, who had been with Hahli during the investigation.

“The cuts on the boards were also scorched. I believe that the boards might have been cut by a special axe that the military used several years ago. The blade was able to heat up to very high temperatures, allowing it to cut easily. It made cuts similar to these,” said Smeag, picking up a piece of wood.

“But you still haven’t said what’s wrong with that!” said Hahli, raising her voice. She was very annoyed and depressed by the break in.

“The axes were discontinued and recalled four years ago. There’s no way a gang could have gotten a hold of one… unless…” Smeagol trailed off, looking into blank space.

“What?” asked Senjo.

“Oh!” exclaimed Smeag, as if snapping out of a trance. “I need to head back to GD. There’s some research I have to do. I’ll call you in a few days. Until then, Letagi will stay here with you.”

Letagi, a young man of about 20, looked up at Smeag.

“I am, sir?”

Smeag glared at Letagi. “Yes, you are,” he said forcibly. Letagi sighed.

“Hahli, go ahead and get your office fixed up again. Remember to call me if anything is even remotely suspicious,” said Smeag. “I’ll be on my way. Good day.”

He nodded, turned, and walked out the door. As he walked out the front door of the building, he remembered that he had been wearing a hat when he had gone in. He realized he must have forgotten it, but was sure Senjo would find it and send it back to him.

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