Aeriliya couldn’t fathom how her day could get any more complicated, and it was only just a bit past lunchtime which she just realized she had skipped, but it was a bit late to remedy that. The Hatchet Man. The mere mention of that name made her feel like her heart stopped beating for a moment. It had been years since that name was in anyone’s near memory, but even that group of ‘anyone’ wasn’t many. Looking back, the Hatchet Man was one of the greatest mysteries she never solved. Memories of her time as an Inquisitor, exposing demons hidden in plain sight and any criminals that worked with them for an easy coin flashed through her mind. The man just appeared like a ghost and disappeared just as quickly.

  There both was and wasn’t a pattern to where he’d be. Something unusual would happen, he’d be involved somehow, but before anyone could obtain proper clearance, he’d and the unusual something would vanish. People went missing, property was destroyed and at least one thing was always left sitting on fire. But for as much as the Hatchet Man seemed to be at the epicenter for rampant destruction, two things always happened. She had never heard of anyone being given orders to hunt the man down and it didn’t seem to matter because the next time she heard of his movements, it was somewhere she didn’t even know he could get to so quickly.

  A journey to the Rathborian Capitol’s Library of Chronicles was certainly in order. The library was the country’s highest authority on all things related to the Communion of Twelve Pantheon. There were many kinds of books here. But its focus was everything related to the religion’s history, its dogma and in recent history, its heroes would be documented here. The outside was nearly fifteen stories tall, the stones weathered by years of sun exposure, giving them the same yellowed appearance as the papers within. The inside was no less impressive. One could seemingly lay flat on their back and not see the top of the bookcases.

  A man wearing the light blue cloth of an Epiphinian, a follower of the sect of Knowledge, approached her, “Sergeant Carnelis, we’ve been expecting you.”

  It was always a little unnerving just how rapidly information seemed to reach certain ears, “I need you to point me towards all the information you have on the last Demon War.”

  Offering a benign but troubled smile, “That’s quite a tall order, Sergeant. It was such a long and widespread war that there are any number of records available.”

  “You didn’t let me finish”, she calmly interjected, “I want books about the Corrupted Lands.

  The librarian’s smile remained, but his eyes seemed a bit pinched, “That’s going to be difficult in a different regard, miss. There are very few of those records and many of them are out of reach for… the sake of secrecy.”

  Aeriliya was used to people giving her roundabout answers, but it was always the bureaucratic dodging that was the hardest to navigate, “I was under the impression that the Demon War was one of the most widespread wars in this world’s history”, the man’s smile became more reserved, “So I find it hard to believe that there’s so little information on the lands our enemies turned into their dens.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  The man’s smile was gone, but his face was diplomatically neutral, “Sergeant Carnelis, you must understand, the Corrupted Lands were many, but as for what all we know about the lands themselves is limited.”

  Holding a sealed envelope in her hand, “Even with a letter of recommendation from Judge Hardstriker himself?”

  Before the man could answer,“That will be all, Librarian”, a woman’s authoritative voice said, “I will oversee things from here.”

  The man bowed as a half-elven woman approached her, "I am Barya, the head scholar of the Library of Chronicles.”

  Aeriliya could detect the smell of alcohol on the sleep deprived woman. Saluting in greeting, “It’s an honor to be within this place of learning, Scholar.”

  Barya led Aeriliya to an office which could be a library in itself. The only indication it wasn’t was that the desk inside was less organized and that the sight and smell of empty wine bottles weren’t typically part of a library’s decor. Despite the clear lack of rest and hygiene, the Scholar still retained the presence befitting her title. Sitting with her chin resting on one hand, as if Aeriliya were just another tome to be read.

  “Sergeant Carnelis, even if you have a letter of recommendation from a Judge, what you seek is highly confidential.”

  “Shouldn’t a place of learning be ready to give me that information? Especially if it relates to what almost brought the world to heel less than twenty years ago?”

  Steepling her hands, Barya explained, “The things that went on in the Corrupted Lands and what every nation had to do to drive it back is something that isn’t for many to learn. There were any number of forbidden spells and arcaic magics practiced. Corruptions of which we hope never to see explored. And for as much of a war against evil as it may have been, even those who fought in the name of the gods had to do things which would cause them to shake their heads. So, even if you have a letter of recommendation, and even if you were part of secret things yourself, Former Inquisitor, I can’t allow this.”

  “You misunderstand, Scholar. I’m not looking for what any one nation or even what the demons did. I’m looking for anything I can find about the people who actually walked into the Corrupted Lands to kill the demons where they slept.”

  Barya waved a dismissive hand, “Oh, those old rumors? You had me thinking you were actually after something important.”

  Aeriliya crossed her arms, “If that’s your attitude, then point me to the nearest rumor mill, because we both know that’s not mere hearsay. And a mere rumor doesn’t appear in a forest claiming the lives of almost four thousand soldiers and swearing revenge either.”

  Barya sighed in annoyance. She leaned down to open one of her desk drawers and pulled out a half filled bottle of wine. Not even getting up to grab a glass, she took a large swig of the purple concoction. She slammed the bottle on her desk but Aeriliya didn’t flinch. The half elf stared at the full elf, “Rumors don’t get recorded.”

  “I know”, Aeriliya simply replied.

  Huffing as she hauled herself to her feet, Barya walked over to the bookcase. Dusting off the front of the shelves, she spoke in the magic tongue, “That which has been forgotten, is merely that which is waiting to be relearned.”

  There was a soft grating of stone on stone as the bookcase backed up and moved to the side. Muttering the incantation to a weak light spell that flew into the dark hallway, the two women followed it down the staircase.