The dust rolled off of the shelf in a choking plume. It drifted out from where it had rested for so long, now scattered to the slightest motions of those in the room. Wish faced the worst of the wondering particles, as she had been the one to disturb them. She squinted through the dust and let out a light dry cough which was followed by a snort of air through her nose. She waited with held breath as the rest settled down beyond her face. Turning back to the shelf she looked through the titles she had bee trying to reveal. She had already read through several of an ordered set of memoirs on magical theory, and the last had not seemed to be a stopping point. She had been sorting through the bookcases around where she had found them to no successful search of the next book. The shelves seemed to rearrange on their own time to time. Not in a manner of books changing places as others read them, but entire shelves trading places with another, dust and all. Wish wondered what it would take to make use of that magic, but she would likely have to speak with the barkeeper for longer than it was worth. She continued her hunt by herself.
As she stood on a stool, the big man who had been coming into work each morning walked by. He seemed nervous and gave a very brief wave of his hand, his eyes dashing around the floor as he walked past. Wish had seen him from her window come and go from the building several times. Each day he would arrive, clumsy and nervous to a point of panic. But not moments after going back towards the kitchen space, he would reappear, drifting among tables with eased caution. He would dust notable things with a soft cloth, move tables under the direction of the barkeeper, and accept and carry away deliveries from suppliers. The barkeep would give him subtle encouragement and guidance throughout the day over the different errands, and this man (Elliot she believed he heard him called) would go about it.
As of right now, he appeared to be collecting something from the end closet at the end of the hall past her usual table. Wish waited for him, not wanting to dump more dust down on top of him as he passed back through. He opened the closet and pulled out a broom, and began sweeping in a scattered pattern, nearly stirring more dust than piling. Wish stood, wondering if she should just sit again, and read a book out of the pile she had on her table until he finished. If she waited she could be trapped for some time on her perch. Elliot seemed to be gaining a better understanding of the broom, but she didn’t know what his goal was. He might even just stand around to whisk each bit of dust Wish knocked loose. She decided to retreat back to a random book, a more reliable option for the moment.
She stooped and shifted one foot off the stool as she reached out a hand to catch herself as she leaned forward towards her table. Before she could finish her short controlled fall there was a loud smack as the broom handle rapped the side of her stool soundly. Wish, now off balance, wobbled and flailed her arms a bit, having enough time to look over and see a rather surprised Elliot. She reached up to grab the shelf for support but grabbed hold of a small chest that was used for a bookend instead.
She fell.
The chest had given nearly no resistance before sliding off the shelf, a couple of books coming with it. Wish was now overbalanced to the point that her stool tipped out from under her remaining foot. She could only manage to think of how disappointing it was that she wasn’t going to be able to find the book to read. Instead, she was now going to draw attention, and be doted over should this end up injuring her. She closed her eyes preparing to hit the floor.
Instead, a large arm caught her by the shoulders, and she could feel the wooden chest lighten as it too was caught. She opened her eyes in time to see the broom handle as it struck her solidly on the forehead.
Elliot had managed to let go of the broom in time to catch her and the chest, but the unattended handle had only become what fell instead. Wish gave a chuckle at the irony and rubbed at her forehead as the large man helped her stand. Elliot was babbling what she thought might be an apology, but she waved at him with her free hand.
“No, no, it’s fine, not your fault, thanks for catching me.”
Elliot finally gave a bit of a teetering bob, rather than a dismissing bow, collected his broom and walked away. Wish hoped she needn’t speak with the barkeeper as well, she just wanted to get back to a book. She sat down and combed back the loose strands of hair that were not bound in her braid. Elliot had left the chest on her table beside the fishbowl. She looked over at the little fish, the water still waving where the chest had nudged his bowl. He stared out of the glass with his bright blue eyes. Wish noticed that it appeared that someone had taken the time to sort the colored pebbles in the bottom and spell out something, though it was hard to read now that the bowl had shifted. “KELP” was the best she could tell. Must be the fish’s name.
“Well, then Kelp, should we see if what’s in this chest was worth the trouble?”
Wish figured she may as well see, the book could have been stored away inside. She flipped the simple latch and lifted the lid open. Inside sat the most detailed and overly decorated book she had ever laid eyes on. The materials which made its cover were varied and seemed valuable. One large round gemstone dominated the center of its cover. Wish reached forward to gentle pick it up. At once the gem flared with a light, which then gathered and focused, a bright pip darting around on the gem, like some magical eye. The book flung itself open, leaping from the chest. Wish gave a slight squeak, as the cover snapped shut at her hand, then with a flip of pages the book stood slightly open on the table, its cover facing into the room, its lit gem shifting around as if observing the room. Then with a flurry of flapping pages, the book rose up and flew out and away, disappearing from sight. Though it was only flapping pages, the sound could only be described as cackling laughter from the flying book.
Wish looked around, as if a rational explanation might be nearby as well. She only found the barkeeper beside her, appearing silently as he does. He was still smiling at least.
“I meant to let him out a bit ago, but he hasn’t adjusted well.” He glanced down at the fish, his deep brown eyes again meeting the steely blues. “Some things have trouble accepting how things are within these walls.”
And with that the barkeeper was over at the door, speaking with the half-elf. Wish reached over and absent-mindedly pulled the top book off of her stack, not even sure which it was. She opened it up as she slid low into the safety of her seat, wondering if the broom had knocked her senseless.