This time as he wandered back to the palace, Cecil took note of his surroundings so that he could easily find his way back. There was a lopsided dog shrubbery, a pink fountain, past the creepy statue… he stopped. Then walked back a little for a second glance.

  The thing had always fascinated him and repelled him in equal measure. It was carved of white marble, its hollow eyes staring into the distance. It’s chin rested on its fist as it contemplated who knew what.

  Cecil quietly backed away, then hurried to the castle. He knew exactly where to go now, but he definitely wanted to find a route that did not involve passing The Sage.

  It had been the capstone project of a group of engravers long ago. They carved it in such a way that it could freely move on the pedestal, and answer questions. They had given it a whole library to read so that they could ask it questions, and it could answer them.

  Cecil stopped in his tracks.

  People still asked it questions sometimes.

  He could ask it a question.

  When he was younger used to go by and see how it would position itself when he was younger with a kind of macabre fascination. It wasn’t human. So, even though it wore the form of a man, its thoughts on a comfortable position were often skewed.

  Cecil turned around, then ran back to one of the openings in the hedge around the thing. It turned its head to him, its eyelids blinked over the deep hollows. It lay supine with its head dangling off the pedestal at a right angle.

  “What is it that you came back for, child who watches from shadow?”

  He took one step inside the engraved circle, and felt anxiety and confusion twist like snakes in his stomach.

  He took another breath, then walked closer. If the statue would teach him, he wouldn’t need to go through with his plan.

  “Can you teach me engraving?”

  It slowly rolled to its stomach and stared at him.

  “Yes.”

  Finally! Now that he had someone to teach him, he wouldn’t have to go through with disabling the security systems and robbing the library. He could just come here, and the statue would tell him all he needed to know.

  “Then tell me the basics and what I need to get started?”

  “No.”

  No?

  “What do you mean? I thought you said you would teach me?”

  It slowly rolled onto its back, head dangling over the edge to keep eye contact.

  “You asked if I could, not if I would.”

  “Fine. In what circumstance will you teach me?”

  “Give me a book I've never read, and I’ll give you an equivalent amount of knowledge. One page of new knowledge, one page of lessons.”

  “Ok then, I’ll find you a book.”

  Cecil left and ran to the library.

  When he got there he opened the double dark wood doors and marveled again at the splendor before him. To the left were large shelves going back in obscure shadows. It had study desks hidden in the crevices which acted as islands of light among the darkness. The dark was to preserve the books, so the best lit section of the library was the front desk to his right. There Pro Ostrion was snoring so loudly, it had an echo.

  Cecil giggled slightly as he passed, pausing right in front to grab a lumos before continuing. The old man could sleep through anything, which had been good when he was planning on breaking in. But now he wouldn’t need to do that.

  As he neared the darkness he held up the lumos he’d grabbed. This one was a stick with clay covering the engraving as the bottom. The lumos were student practice pieces which the library used because they were cheap. This one, however, was always on, and not that bright. It cast a dim circle of yellow light around him. Just enough to see by. Which would suit his purposes. Supposedly it was one of these, but much nicer, that had killed Pro Xeon’s student.

  Had they vetted the rest of these?

  It glowed innocently in the palm of his hand.

  The thing wasn’t that big. If it was going to explode, it probably would have done so already. But just in case, maybe he should hold onto this one. Since it seemed disinclined to do more than light up.

  Satisfied, Cecil walked by random shelves and picked up books that were skinny so that he could carry more. And he took the resulting stack of eleven to the front desk and dropped the lumos back into his book bag.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “Pro Ostrion?”

  The man continued to snore.

  Cecil sighed, and grabbed another lumos that was just a stick. It was long, brown, and skinny. He leaned over the desk and reached towards the open mouth, he could just…

  The snore stopped mid rattle as the old man fell out of his chair with a splutter.

  Cecil dropped the stick back into the basket and assumed an innocent posture as the old man gained his barings and glared down at him.

  “You could have just used the bell.”

  He smiled innocently,

  “What bell?”

  The scowl deepened as Pro Ostrion came to the realization that his bell was indeed missing.

  “You didn’t steal it did you?”

  “Nope.”

  Cecil happened to know who did though. Tavv had somehow rigged it to the Talmage’s chair so that whenever he stood or sat, it would ring.

  The man sighed deeply and adjusted his glasses, “very well then. Let me check these books out for you.”

  He touched each with the engraved piece of wood that had his name on it.

  “Cecil, these are quite the spread of books. Are they for your lessons?”

  He hadn’t paid attention to the cover names, just if they were the right size.

  “Uh, yeah. You know how Talmage is sometimes.”

  “Of course it would be him. I’ll have to give him a talking to. “A comprehensive guide to horse breeding” is certainly not necessary literature, unless you are around horses.”

  Cecil forced a laugh as he slid his stack of books towards his chest, “yes, well, he said I should read it before getting on a horse. You don’t need to complain on my behalf.”

  “Of course. If you are willing to learn, who am I to stand in the way of education?”

  He started walking towards the doors, “of course Pro Ostrion. Thank you for your concerns though.”

  Then he ducked into the hall and ran back to the statue. He might need to read the horse book just to prove he had done so, but it would be worth it.

  “I have already read those.”

  It stood on one leg with the other leg brought forward, his book stack resting on it.

  “How do I know you aren’t lying?”

  The statue gave a very good impression of rolling its eyes before handing him back the books.

  “I cannot lie. And there is no way for you to validate that claim if I could. Bring me different books if you want to try again.”

  Cecil fumed as he stalked back to the library. He had told the Pro Ostrion that he had mistakenly grabbed the wrong books, and that he was back for the right ones. Except for the horse one. There was a small chance that Pro Ostrion would mention his excuse about not getting a horse until he had read up on them to Talmage. And the wiley old war vet was not above requiring more learning before fun learning.

  Since the lumia he had used to tickle the librarian's tongue hadn’t exploded, he figured it would be worth the gamble to try for one with better lighting. The one he grabbed was a block of wood, with a piece that had been taken out, then put back in with glue after the inside had been engraved. It gave off a soft white light that allowed him to read the titles he passed fairly well.

  This time, as he walked through the stacks, he focused on books that had been printed recently. Maybe people wouldn’t have gotten around to letting that cranky construct look at those books yet. Cecil also made sure that they weren't too outlandish so that Pro Ostrion wouldn’t raise a fuss.

  This time the statue lay on its stomach, kicking its legs back and forth.

  “I have read all of these recently. Try again.”

  Cecil exploded, “who is giving you all of these books?”

  “Nothing is exchanged for nothing. There must be a giver before there can be a taker.”

  Cecil flung his hands up, and gestured at the thing “Fine. Give me those back.”

  The statue kept kicking its legs while Cecil stalked back to the library for the third time that day.

  “Cecil, are you by any chance trying to feed the statue knowledge?”

  Cecil snapped his head up, “Uh, no?”

  Pro Ostrion chuckled. “Ah, the follies of youth. I did the same thing when I was your age. But what I didn’t know is that there is a community dedicated to showing the statue all of the new books written, and keeps track of all the questions asked and information received.”

  “Oh.”

  He never had a chance to begin with.

  “All is not lost young man. I joined that esteemed group which handles the statue. called the Mondaty, and learned all I wanted to learn as a child, and much more beyond that.” he creaked forward, “you could join too if you wish. I would vouch for your appetite for knowledge.”

  “Really?”

  He couldn’t believe his luck. He could learn engraving, swordsmanship, and even more if he joined right now.

  “All you need to do is renounce your family ties and travel to the nearest temple. Then when they approve you, travel north to one of our main holdings. You would be allowed to learn in near isolation until becoming proficient in your areas of study, then become a protector or teacher.”

  “Oh.”

  His hopes crashed. He couldn’t leave his family. They would be sad if he just left. And he would be sad too. And he had a duty to his family and the country that he couldn’t just give up. He crushed that small part of traitorous soul that longed to say yes.

  “Pro Ostrion, thank you for offering, but I can't accept. I have an obligation here.”

  The old man sighed, “Yes yes of course. Many people say that. But if you ever change your mind, I’ll be here. Now shoo. There is nothing on the first floor of the library that the statue has not read.”

  Cecil nodded and walked with hunched shoulders to the door. Then his mind caught up with him. No books on the first floor? Which meant there might be some books on the second or above that it hadn’t read. Cecil picked up his pace.

  It seemed that all of his plans ended with a need to access the second floor. In order to get acess, he needed to become the heir. In order to become heir, he needed to set himself apart by learning engraving. In order to learn engraving, he needed to have access to it. And the only way he could access it, was through the second floor.

  Unless he wanted to leave everyone behind and take up Pro Ostrion's offer. But being in a foreign land after he had cut ties to his family was not a comforting thought. Even if he did have unlimited access to knowledge, without obligations and family, how would he use the knowledge given to him?

  He shook his head. There were several things he had to pick up if he was going to pull off his library heist.