Song of the Piper

::17:: A Change of Plans

Music is Everything Changes from the Assassin's Creed Revelations OST. Play it!

******

Lady Anya led us into a room situated towards the end of the main hallway. It was hard to describe what looked like yards and yards of glowing words floating around us. Some were bright, some were dim, while some looked disjointed—if words could ever be disjointed. The room itself wasn't very grand, but its contents more than made up for its lack in architectural brilliance.

Tentatively, I extended a hand and tried to catch a fleeting word—Anna, or something like that. But it dissolved once my hand passed through it, and proceeded to float by while mending itself together.

"What is this place?" I asked. My voice was a reverent whisper, barely audible.

"It's where we keep all records of sorcerers, their Affinities, and so on." Lady Anya waved a hand, and a few words drifted over to her. She cradled them in her palm, holding them out to me. "These are the records of your precious Lord Himmel."

I tried to ignore the deliberate tactlessness in her tone. I squinted at the words. I wasn't quite an expert on reading—my training had little to do with it—but I could just make them out: Markus Himmel, Nullifier.

"So the records of all sorcerers are kept here," I breathed, amazed.

"In case you didn't hear what I said, yes." She swept her free hand around her. "There used to be a lot more in here," she sighed, the lines in her face suddenly deepening. Although I placed her to be in her mid-forties in terms of appearance, she looked like she had lived through the centuries, seen every horror the world had to offer, and survived.

I tore my eyes away from her, staring at the words dancing in the space above her hand. "So what can these...records do, exactly?" I asked.

Her lips twisted into something akin to amusement. "It basically connects the sorcerer to our Fountain here in Starkfurt. Not bind, mind you. Just connects. So whatever the sorcerer does is automatically recorded. You can access the memories of an individual here"—she jabbed an experimental finger at the letter 'M'—"by casting a specific spell."

"You can sift through memories here," I realised. A sudden chord struck my mind. Josef's plans...Should I stick with them? After all, his strategy was fairly fool proof. All I had to do was execute it. How hard could that be?

If only I could somehow manage to trick Lord Himmel for a few precious moments while I demanded a presence with the Council. But would the Council members even believe what I had to say? I could, of course, ask that they cast a truthtelling spell upon me. However, I was walking on a thin line here—one that threatened to snap at any moment. Rumour was that the Council composed of strict, law-abiding set Magi, who had no tolerance for protocol breaking, even if it was a matter of utter importance.

Suddenly, the plan didn't seem as sound as it was when Josef had first proposed it to me.

"Thank you for the demonstration, Lady Anya," Lord Himmel cut in. He had a frosty look resting upon his brow. He blew towards her, and the words puffed away. Lady Anya frowned at him. "If you would be so kind to get on with the actual point of this little tour?"

"You have duties to attend to, Lord Himmel?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," he replied evenly. I shot him a quick look; he returned it with a smile. My brows scrunched together in confusion. He'd said that we would remain in Starkfurt for at least a night, if only to recuperate and spend two days out of the sodding wastelands. In fact, he'd promised me that he'd already informed the Council of our stay.