The Keepers of Chaos: A Vault of Hell

Alekzandr Ikorov: XXI

"Well I-" Rishall started but a bell for the shop went off behind him.

"Attend to your customer's comrade.." Alekzandr tried for a smile as he closed his eyes, still picturing her face. "The crimes of the Rushiki can wait for another day." he opened, greeted by Rishall's concerned face, his expression worrisome.

"Take the rest of the day off Alekz.. Look through the books here." Rishall reached into his breast pocket and set down a pouch of coins, Alekzandr could only assume were a few pieces of gold. "You can take one of the books you find.. Take care." Rishall hurried from the room as he could hear him talking to an array of individuals.

'Markos.' Alekzandr thought to himself, one of the many crimes of The Marrow war, its name after its placement near the spine of the world. Children of the Marrow. Those were their names. He felt embarrassed, the Rushiki looked down upon the Ercelan's yet they bred with them, they spawned children with them. Not that many survived. Alekzandr knew too well what happened to Rushiki defectors, and Ercelan traitors. He could still hear the screams, even now. Alekzandr decided he would stroll to the sections on religions scoffing at them as he passed by, religion was not a tenant he needed to live by after all where were these gods when Marrow children were hunted for sport? Focusing on a shelf of mystic history Alekzandr noticed the books on infernal knowledge were missing. Not just one but an entire row of over twenty books were gone. Someone was really curious about hell. He pulled a small leather bound tome from the fifth shelf.

"Uliard's mysteries of the old ones.." Alekzandr chuckled, Uliard was such a half wit trying to find knowledge and magic in places it clearly didn't exist. Parsing his way through the front cover of the light blue book he read its opening passage.

'Not for the faint of heart, the knowledge here is forbidden.' Alekzandr laughed. "Uliard.. You did have a love for theatrics didn't you?" He mused as he began to turn pages.

"That he did." A cold malonic voice came from Alekzandr's right. He furrowed his brow, the only thing to his right was the backroom of the shop. Alekzandr looked over catching only a glimpse of blue skin, before whatever figure was there vanished. He turned to look to his left before a new book appeared on the shelf. Where the infernal section was once empty sat only a single black book. Alekzandr read its title.

"A history of mystical weapons.." Alekzandr read in its undercommon writing. "What.."

"In fact, I believe Uliard had a deep love for the dramatic.. Wouldn't you.. Ikorov." Alekzandr spun around. The cold voice was behind him now but again he caught nothing, no glimpses, no images. "He wrote on a subject he knew nothing about.. And labeled them beings of power, with no knowledge of true power." He felt his spine tingle a cold feeling running down it. The voice was far now, but it spoke in barely a whisper.. Alekzandr slowly turned around, as he felt his own heart beating, desperate to know who was talking to him.

"Who.." Alekzandr started but in an instant he felt the book shelf behind him buckle.

"You will find out soon enough." Alekzandr felt a voice whisper into his ears as he collapsed, his eyes closed cringing from the slithering feeling that invaded his mind. "The real question is how you interrupted that one's plans.. Marvelous.. Interesting.." Alekzandr fully closed his eyes and moved out of the way of the collapsing bookshelf. Alekzandr collected the fallen books, arranging them back on what was left of the bookcase, before slowly inching back to the front of the shop, to tell Rishall of what had happened. Alekzandr felt the sensation of unease settle within him. Not fear, not even anxiety, simply unease. He was unsure what to make of that encounter, whispers on knowledge of Uliard the scholar before making a bookcase collapse on him? It made little sense to him. Alekzandr told Rishall of the mess in the back, to the Dragon borns own disappointment, as he sent an elven employee to go fix it up.