¤ Silver, Adventurer Librarian

“Travellers that brave the journey through the monster-infested Orbis Tower will pass by an enigmatic sculpture at its highest level. A calm, beautiful girl stands on a tall polished pedestal, poised for takeoff with both devil’s and angel’s wings.

Many speculate about her story and her past. Why the devil’s wing on her back, in this World of Fairies? Is she mortal, or fairy? The fairy residents of Orbis, however, refuse to speak about her, preferring her story to be kept a secret from us mortals.

How do I know that? Well, I just happened to have had one of them slam a door in my face when I asked. That’s how.”

Silver snapped her journal shut with a sigh. Closing her grey eyes, she leant back against the door that was so recently slammed in her face, feeling annoyed.

When she had decided to embark on a new Project to add to the knowledge preserved at the Ellinia Library, she found herself drawn to the mystery surrounding the statue at the Orbis Tower. While she had devoted herself to discover the origins of that statue, those very origins seem most devoted to escape her discovery.

Never in her career as an Adventurer Librarian had Silver met with such a stubborn mystery. She turned to stare at the door she was sitting in front of. Fairies, she thought in disgruntlement. Give anyone a pair of fluffy wings and they think themselves too good to talk to us normal mortals. Frustrated, she snatched off the blue Maro from her head and ran a hand through her curly silver hair.

‘Hey!’ A soft whisper came from the left. Puzzled, Silver stood up. Dusting off her red Piettra skirt, she looked around.

‘Miss Silver! Over here!’ A second later, she spotted a soft fairy glow coming from the side of the house. The gentle aura was unmistakable even in the cheery sunlight that perpetually shone in Orbis. Going closer, Silver discovered that it belonged to a very small fairy.

Squinting down at the tiny creature, Silver asked, ‘Who are you?’

‘I’m Hella, disciple of that fusspot that threw you out just now.’ The young fairy giggled, then clapped her hands over her mouth guiltily when she realized what she said. ‘Sorry about that, but you should have known elder fairies like her do not have much tolerance for humans…’

‘It’s okay.’ Silver shrugged and turned to go.

‘Wait! I think I can help you with your quest.’ Hella fluttered after Silver. Fumbling with her waist satchel, the fairy retrieved a scrap of parchment and thrust it to the human. ‘Here. I found this last week. It was amongst some old crumbling scrolls that Mistress Spiruna wanted to be thrown away, but I kept this scrap because-’

‘Hellaaaa!’ A shrill shriek pierced the air.

Wincing, the fairy hovered anxiously. ‘Ah, the sweet dulcet tones of Madame Spiruna. I hope it helps. Good luck! If you ever need help in Orbis, you can go look for my housekeeper Elma at my house in Orbis Park.’ She smiled, then vanished back into the house.

‘Thank you!’ Silver called out to the empty air and gave an amused smile before looking at the scrap of parchment. To her surprise, she found an ink sketch of a girl that looked vaguely familiar.

‘Oh. Wow.’ After a moment’s study, she recognised who it was. On that parchment was the calm, beautiful face that had intrigued her so much and the reason why she sent herself on such an impossible mission. It looked younger and more cheerful in the sketch, but it was unmistakably the face of the statue at the Tower’s entrance.

The artist had signed off with a spectacular flourish at the corner of the picture. In fact, it was such a spectacular flourish that it made the name hard to read.

‘S… s..c…a…d..m?’ Silver squinted harder. Who the heck was Scadm?

‘It’s not an “m”. It’s “u” and “r”.’ A soft murmur next to her ear made Silver jump. ‘S. Scadur.’

Her heart racing in fright, Silver whirled on the person that had stolen up so silently to her. ‘Who on earth are you to creep up on random strangers like that!’

The person was a young man, fully suited in a thief’s armour. His light blue eyes were set in a slightly tanned face, framed by a spiky fringe of brown hair that peeked out from under a Silver Identity hat.

‘Hey, chill.’ The young man held out his hands in a friendly gesture. Or rather, it would have been friendly if he didn’t have a sharp Serpent dagger in one of his hands. The dagger’s keen curved edges glinted maliciously as it made small arcs near to Silver’s face.

——————————————————-
Next chapter: link