Royal Academy Diaries I

The Amulets of Mertiaten ⚜ Ch. 4

That weekend, Baltazar went to the library and picked up every book on werewolves he could find. He looked up curses, what happened to those who were bitten, the effects of each phase of the moon. The desk was piled high with books and scrolls.

As he was busy studying, someone approached his desk.

"You look busy."

He glanced up to see Camillio. "Oh hello. Well, there's no time to waste, is there?"

His expression was unreadable as he sat across from him. "No there isn't. What are you reading now?"

Holding up the old book, he said, "It's an old record of curses and how they were cured. I was just getting to an interesting story. There is a legend of Egyptian scarab charms that were created by the Princess Mertiaten. She made one hundred of these precious amulets and had them sent around the world to heal people and end curses. The last known location of any of the Amulets Of Mertiaten was southern France. 

"Let's see, the story is that a priest brought the amulets to an Abbey to use them for healing, but had to hide them from the sheriff  - who would want to take them to bolster his wealth, and from his superiors - who would kill him for witchcraft."

"And were they ever used?" Camillio asked.

He shook his head. "I haven't read that far yet."

The warlock looked like he was holding back tears - and maybe hope as well. "Let met know what you find out, okay?"

"I will," he assured him. As he read on, Cam picked up one of the books and started reading. There was something rather nice about not being alone in the library for once.

By the time he'd gotten through just a few books, the librarian was locking up for the night. Camillio had left, and he needed to go back to the dorms. Gathering as many of the books as he could carry, he started the long trek up to the tower.

He was half asleep by the time he walked into his room.

"There you are," Ryuu said, already laying down. "We'd thought the monster in the dungeon got you."

Paying them no mind, he stacked his books on the desk and kicked off his shoes. Practically collapsing in bed, he was asleep within minutes.

As the night wore on, he slept fitfully with nightmares of jaguars and ruins covered in snow.