The Harvest of Souls

CHAPTER 36

Concentrating as much as possible on each slight movement, Fernand managed to reach the end of the top floor. The architectural design of the building was favorable in the last challenge. The details hung outside the building and allowed Fernand to get his hands on them and then pull the rest of his body into a narrow cement gutter. He sat sideways on the gutter, gripped the battlements that surround the roof of the building, took a breath, and then stood up, grabbing the battlements tightly and throwing his body into the flat part of the roof.

Fernand lay for a few seconds, panting, watching the utterly dark sky. He then regained his strength and rose to his feet. He walked around the corner of the building through the battlements to a certain point, where he then began to climb the building's green roof. The roof wasn't very steep, and the climb wasn't as complex as he thought it would be. Upon reaching the top of the roof, he noticed that the inner side of the building did not have crenellations in the same way as the outer sides of the building. He wouldn't be able to slip through the roof. There was a considerable risk of not being able to stop and fall straight to the ground.

He looked at the sequence of buildings and identified that, unlike the roof on the side, the roof of the main building was less steep. 'Good!' Everything was going well so far, now it would only be necessary to regulate the speed that he would slip to the gutters of the courtyard. Fernand descended slowly, using the soles of his boots to control, and after a few meters, he had reached the narrow gutter on the other side of the roof. He looked to the left and could see: a sequence of three windows.

Fernand made his way cautiously to the nearest window, stopping just beside it. He noticed that the window opened vertically, and then he carefully lay down on the narrow gutter, his right arm and leg hanging out of the building. With a slight nod, he risked trying to spell open the window. As soon as he nodded forward, securing the clasp on the inside, it clicked open, and the window tilted outward, opening wide enough for Fernand to drag his body inside.

Sweating and snorting, Fernand fell onto a marble bench waving his left hand. Just as he had been lying on the roof after the climb, Fernand remained on the marble bench; his legs bent touching the floor. He stared at the intricately carved wooden ceiling and several paintings, magically floating in the vast space.

He knew this place; he had been to that part of the museum inside the Neue Burg before. Once inside the building, it would now be simpler to get to the Royal Office. He took a breath and stood up, imagining that there would be no security whatsoever inside the building.

Fernand followed the corridor to a wide marble staircase, descending quickly two floors, he entered a circular gallery filled with marble columns and countless statues and sculptures. He ran down the hall to another set of stairs, reaching the center of the museum. He then quickly descended the stairs and followed the circular corridor, already on the first floor. "All the buildings in the Hofburg are connected via the first floor." Fernand continued quickly through the gallery to its end, connected to a second corridor on the right.

He entered the corridor on the right and headed towards the building that housed the National Library of Vindobona. He went straight to the big doors that gave access to the library. Ignoring the majestic doors, Fernand entered the corridor just in front of them, and in a few steps, stopped right in front of a small door, which, given the beauty of all the other entries in the corridor, would go unnoticed by any visitor. Fernand took a deep breath and then tried to open the door with magic.

The handle vibrated and clicked, but the door did not open. Fernand nodded more vigorously, and again he could hear a click, but the door didn't open. 'What is going on?' he wondered. Then, he decided to risk something: he placed his hands on the doorknob and turned it. The small door opened, and Fernand entered the Royal Office excitedly.