Chapter 4

Mentally you try to reassure yourself.

“The shrouding spell worked on the guard,” you think encouragingly, “whoever is inside will not see you if you move slowly.”

After a minute of repeating several variations of this thought, you are able to build enough courage to creep towards the door ever so slowly and peer inside. From your vantage point, there does not appear to be anyone inside – at least no one that can be seen in the moonlight coming through the windows.

Holding your breath for good measure, you inch your way past the door, being careful not to touch it.

So far, so good. In the dim light, you can barely make out the outline of the shelf against the far wall where you need to replace the tome.

You take one tentative step towards it and peer into the darkness again.

Of course, you had to have a taken a tome from the shelf furthest from the entrance!

You almost sigh in frustration at your own hubris, then catch yourself just in time. Silence would be better suited for this endeavor.

You settle for rolling your eyes instead and take another slow step forward.

Still no reaction to your presence.

After another step you stop to look and listen, mentally berating yourself for not being able to cast a proper Cat’s Eyes Spell. For some reason, that simple spell to see clearly in the dark had always escaped your mastery. The Master had once remarked that it might be so because your talents lay in other, more combat-oriented directions. Naema was of the opinion that it was because you are an idiot…

Scowling at the thought of Naema’s constant belittling, you take another step, and then another. As far as you knew you were still all alone in the library. Perhaps the door had really been left ajar earlier in the day by some careless soul after all?

…Better not to take any chances…

Over the next five minutes you repeat the same three actions: step, listen, look.

Each time getting a foot closer to your goal. After an agonizing, heart-aching journey, you take stock of your progress and realize that you are only halfway across the room.

Surely, this was both nerve-wracking and pointless! By this point, it was obvious that you are alone in here!

From your position in the middle of the library, you can just make out the shapes of the individual books on the tall, thin bookshelf that is your target. If you move at a normal pace, you would easily be able to put the tome back on the shelf and get out before the guard’s patrol route took them past the library again – one less thing to worry about!

What do you do?

> Just put the book back and get out! [ Chapter 2 ]

> Keep sneaking on the off chance that there is someone in here… [ Chapter 5 ]