Gashesh wiped a cold film of sweat from his forehead. He almost turned the page of his book with his wet hand but then remembered to wipe his hands on his robes first. The tomes in New Albion Hall’s library were valuable and zealously cared for. He’d stand a fair chance of being noticed if he didn’t treat them correctly. “What was I thinking? If I get caught, no, when I get caught, I’m sure to die horribly in some experiment in the necromancy wing. Oh gods, what was I thinking?”
Of course, he knew what he’d been thinking, and it wasn’t about overly assertive librarians. He’d been thinking about how he’d always been ignored by his professors. He wasn’t the most promising talent at New Albion Hall, and he wasn’t from a rich family that could afford to have his shortcomings be overlooked. So while other students, the ones from the noble families, got initiated into deeper mysteries of the arcane, Gashesh was assigned cleaning duties in the laboratories.
He’d also been thinking about gold. Extra large sums of gold for a young man who happened to be well placed to help an enigmatic employer acquire some of the Hall’s latest, more sensitive research. And it wasn’t unethical, right? Didn’t this kind of stuff happen all the time?
The Great Academy of Han and New Albion Hall were the preeminent schools in New Albion. The Academy supposedly received funding from the Emperor, and the Hall from the provincial government, but in reality the gold only trickled in, leaving the schools to compete for support from the noble families and wealthy merchants in a most cutthroat fashion. They regularly employed mercenaries and adventurers to hunt, discover, or steal all manner of artifacts and knowledge, both scientific and arcane. Results would be presented and peddled, thereby gaining the favor of different Houses and other financial backers. But support could prove fickle, hence the unscrupulous competition.
And now Gashesh was drawn into that not-so-subtle conflict. The amulet he wore enabled him to safely bypass the wards guarding the different laboratories while he did his custodial work, but his professors had underestimated him, as usual. He’d figured out how to get past more than just doors with his bauble. He may not be the best student, but he had other talents that made up for it. He’d always had agile fingers, watchful eyes, and a keen grasp of puzzles, locks, and mechanical things that helped him ‘discover’ things he would otherwise never have been allowed to see. Getting into rooms, closets,or chests that were supposed to be off limits wasn’t much of a challenge at all.
Per the instructions he’d been given he awaited his contact at the Hall’s library. It was a strange choice to his mind but then again, who would look for a thief in the heart of the campus? Once he delivered his prize he could take his gold and leave this backwater province. Maybe become a student at a university in the heart of the empire. He’d have enough money to learn some real magic if he did. Come to think of it, he’d have enough money to do anything he wanted.
Both schools had campuses with laboratories, dormitories, classrooms, gardens, and very heavily guarded libraries. A Lord Luminary was the head of each institution, with professors working under them who worked to expand and deepen their knowledge of the world. There were ostensibly other, lesser schools but in truth they typically served as pawns or spies for the greater two. Rumor also had it, on very rare occasions, that such minor schools could serve as neutral ground for cooperative (if clandestine) endeavors between the Academy and the Hall.
He sat at a small desk in a secluded nook in the library, pretending to read the small stack of writings that he would have been pouring over on a normal day. He’d wiped his forehead clean of sweat for at least the fifth time when he noticed a man standing near him. He glanced at him quickly and noticed the fine robes, receding hairline, spectacles, and… no, he quickly looked back down. Best not to see too much.
The man may have smiled. “Have your studies progressed as you’d hoped?” It was the coded question he’d been waiting for, so he gave the correct code phrase in answer. “Oh yes, today’s lesson was splendid.” A trickle of sweat rolled down his spine, but he tried to appear calm.
“Can you help an old man with retrieving a book? It’s about glassblowing.”
“Yes, of course. I know just where those books are.”
Books about mundane crafts were in the least visited section of the library, and he soon found the tome he’d been looking for. It was actually a container designed to look like a book. As he opened it up to see the gems and currency inside, he couldn’t suppress an excited yet anxious shudder. He replaced the volume with one of his own; the text of research he’d been tasked with stealing, along with a small box containing a prototype related to the work. He returned to his desk.
“Is this the book you wanted?”
“No, but thank you for looking. I’ll find it myself.”
The man went to retrieve his prize, and Gashesh sat back down and pretended to study for another half hour before getting up to leave. He’d been instructed to wait an hour, but he was too nervous to stay that long. He returned his books and left the library, full of fear and excitement that this deal was done and he was now a rich man. If he could stay alive and uncaught, that is. There was no way he could sleep. In fact, he couldn’t even consider staying on campus. He walked away with nothing but the money, the clothes on his back, and the contents of his pockets.
In the end, leaving the library a half hour earlier than instructed may have saved his life. He spent a sleepless night at an inn near the outskirts of the city and found passage on a boat sailing up the Ohr first thing in the morning. It was full of would be prospectors, soldiers and craftsmen. No one who would care or ask questions.
However, his theft didn’t go unnoticed for long. A little more than an hour after he left campus, a security detail raided his dormitory and his two roommates were extensively questioned. They were innocent, but it didn’t keep them from being expelled after the investigation. Gashesh remained at large, and accusations flew back and forth between the Lord Luminaries of the Hall and Academy as usual, but Gashesh never heard a thing about it. He was busy elsewhere…