#platonic intruober

[naminethewriter]

How It All Began

Chapter Five: Library Visit

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Story Summary: Remus, son of a simple fisherman, had worked hard to become the captain of his own pirate ship. And in his humble opinion, it was going great! His crew was small but reliable and they had just stolen something that could them some nice cash from a military vessel they happened to cross on the open sea. They just needed to hide it somewhere until it was safe to sell. How lucky for them that they come across a nice, uninhabited island.

Little did Remus know just who he would find on that little piece of land and how it would change his life entirely.

Content Warning: Books, Minor Violence, Threats, Piracy, Breaking In

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Remus loathed libraries. He always had. Which kinda sucked because he loved learning, but in a library, you had to be quiet and mostly still and he just couldn’t do that for the life of him. He learned better through listening anyway. So standing in the entry hall of the biggest library he’s ever seen made him feel kind of sick.

The place was huge. Three floors full of books, marble columns supporting the upper floors. The main hall was long and open towards the ceiling, with the second and third floor stretching from balconies on either side about 10 feet apart. It was a pompous place that had already done them a great service, as much as Remus loathed to admit it.

After presenting his crew with the instructions Janus had given them, Remy had supported Remus’ hunch about the ‘Ever-Frozen Isle’, while both Sloane and Missy agreed with Patton on the volcano bit. Corbin had been the one to identify the ‘Mouth of the Ocean’ as a giant whirlpool somewhere in the northeastern seas. Remus had heard about the phenomenon before, the thing was apparently a few miles wide and had swallowed countless ships that were unlucky enough to get too close to its rapids. He just never knew that it was referred to as a mouth, though he could see where the name came from.

So, after they had sold the Admiral’s seal (to Patton’s relief and the crew’s monetary benefit), they set off to Marblerock Port, a huge trading city about five days travel from their location. Once there, Missy and Toby had gone off to party, drink and maybe find some material to fix up their ship (not that it necessarily needed improving, Missy was just a tinkerer). Corbin, together with Sloane and Elliot had gone to the library for further research into their clues. Patton had tagged along on their first day, trying to help out when, according to Corbin, he had seen a worker have a bit of a meltdown when she dropped some books. Always willing to help, Patton had offered to assist her and apparently did such a good job that he was asked if he could come back the next day. Quite a few people that normally worked in the library had gotten sick and they needed to fill their vacancies somehow. Patton had refused at first, but Corbin nudged him to at least consider it and, after consulting their captain, they decided that an inside man could be helpful. So, Patton accepted the job for the few days they planned to dock.

Which turned out to be very fortunate for them, since some of Patton’s new coworkers were quite chatty and with his innocent demeanor, Pat had soon found out that Woodsworth’s book was indeed still in the library’s archive, though under restrictive access.

Why Logan had told them about the book also became clear once Corbin had figured out which volcano the note spoke of: Coal Black Peak, named for its ash covered crater that painted the mountain’s tip black, located about half a day’s journey into Siren territory. They had found it by connecting Glacier Paradise (the Ever-Frozen Isle) and The Swirl of Doom (aka the Mouth of the Ocean (whoever named it had a flair for the dramatic apparently)) on a sea chart. In the middle of that line, they then located the island where Coal Black Peak stood.

Sailing through Siren territory and surviving wasn’t unheard of, but it certainly wasn’t easy or a smart thing to do. If that book Logan spoke of had some information that would help them not anger a bunch of immortal beings known for sinking ships, then it would be worth getting. Which led to why Remus himself was currently standing in the library, along with Remy and Toby. Corbin and Elliot were already inside as visitors, Patton was working, Sloane and Missy acted as lookouts and Emile had stayed on the ship.

The plan was rather simple:

Locate the head librarian that they knew was working the floor today from Patton. Apparently, they were very severely understaffed.

Have Patton, Corbin and Elliot shoo out every other visitor under the guise of 'closing early because of official business.' While only Patton had the authority to do so, Corbin and Elliot could claim that they had been asked to help and if they weren't taken seriously, they could send Patton their way.

Get the head librarian to the back by asking about the history section.

Threaten her with guns they smuggled in to get her to take them to the restricted section and retrieve the book.

Patton and the others make sure no other employees interfere.

Tie the librarian up so she can't call the cops on them, leave her to be found by her colleagues later.

Bail back to the ship and get the hell out of the harbor quickly.

If they are tailed, let Toby shoot them down until they aren't tailed anymore.

Easy-peasy. Trying to blend in with the crowd was super annoying (Remus had to comb his hair – yuck!) but it worked well enough that they weren’t being stared at while walking through the shelves to find the head librarian. Patton had described her as a stern-looking and blunt older woman with gray, shoulder-length hair. She was supposed to be mostly at the front but when Remus and the other two had entered, there was only a young man behind the counter, who was in the process of checking out another visitor.

Remy and Toby had separated from him then. They were still in view, all three of the mulling about close to the entrance waiting for the woman to return from wherever she had gone. Remus idly played with the locket around his neck as he pretended to read the titles of the books in the shelves in front of him. Logan would have probably gotten a kick out of the place. He just found it suffocating. Thankfully it didn’t take long until Remy spotted the librarian first, giving the other two a signal before approaching her with a kind smile.

“What can I do for you, young man?” The woman fit Patton’s description to a tee and her voice just made it more obvious, firm and to the point while remaining appropriate for a library. Remy explained to the woman that the three of them were tourists and very interested in records of the local history, when Remus spotted Patton on the balcony above them. He gave him a nod, which he returned and then hurried off to tell the other patrons to file out.

“Hmph. Finally a tourist with a little sense. You’re actually come to learn something about our history,” the head librarian said when Remus tuned back into the conversation.

“Oh, of course, it’s fascinating,” Toby smiled. To the woman it must look friendly, Remus could see that Toby really just wanted to knock her out and get the whole thing over with. “I’m sure just this building alone can tell an interesting story.” The librarian looked far too pleased about the comment and, predictably, started telling them all about its construction, former uses and the extensive collection it now hosts while leading them deeper into the bookshelves. She was too distracted to note the number of people heading towards the exit.

They arrived at the history section conveniently located close to the entrance to the archives. The woman continued talking, even as she stopped at the relevant shelves. The trio let her. The longer she talked, the more patrons would get out of the building.

“…and I’ve held this position here for the last thirty-four years,” she finished with a smile. “Anyway, enough about me–“ Remus hadn’t even noticed that she had switched over to talking about herself at some point. “It’s the local history you’re interested in. These shelves should contain everything you could want to know about the subject, from out city’s founding to the renovation efforts of the last five years.”

“Great,” Remus said in the fakest happy voice he could muster. “I just have one more question for you.”

“Of course, I am happy to help,” she smiled. She didn’t notice Remy slipping behind her, gun in hand. Toby was next to her, ready to shut her up if she tried to yell. Remus pulled out his own pistol and pointed it at the woman’s chest.

“Would you be so kind and take us to the archive to retrieve Woodworth’s book about Sirens?”

The woman’s eyes were wide as saucers as she first stared at the weapon pointed at her and then Remus’ smile. She tried to take a step back, but Remy simply pushed his own gun against her.

“This doesn’t have to escalate,” Remus informed her calmly. “You get us the book and nobody gets hurt.”

“You—you can’t threaten me!” she squawked. “We are still during opening hours! There are many people here who will notice my absence!”

“Oh, weren’t you informed?” Remus asked, acting innocently. “The library had to close early today. All patrons were asked to leave.”

“As if my staff would fall for such a trick!” Her eyes darted between Remus, his gun and Toby next to her. She hadn’t even attempted to scream yet, Remus had to give her that, she seemed to realize there was a reason that Toby kept his hands free.

“Look,” Remus growled, now growing impatient. “I’m not some cliché villain that will tell you his entire evil plan if you stall long enough. I know you know where the book is. I know you have the key to the archive on you and I know the door down there is right around the corner here. You will bring us down there now, you will give us the book, or I will shoot you and then my crew will burn this building down to the ground, capiche?” Terrified, the woman nodded. “Great. Then, after you.”

Remus stepped aside and Remy poked his gun into the woman’s back to get her to start walking. Flanked by Remus and Toby, she led them to the locked door labeled ‘Archives’. With shaking hands, she pulled out a keyring and opened the door. Behind it was a staircase leading down, wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side. Remus took the lead, Toby put a hand on the librarian’s shoulder and guided her forward. Remy took up the rear, pulling the door behind him but not closing it fully.

When they arrived at the bottom of the stairs, they were greeted by a massive array of books that rivalled what they had upstairs in the open library, though the lighting down here was much worse. With the shelves reaching up to the ceiling it was hard to tell just how expansive the collection was.

“If you think you can lead us around in here in circles to buy time, you should forget it. I know this should take you no more than ten minutes to find and I will keep track of time.”

“Of—of course,” the librarian stammered. “It’s this way.” She started leading them through the bookshelves, Remus taking note of the turns they took and making a show of glancing at a pocket watch he had stolen at the market earlier that day. He usually didn’t bother with clocks. Eight minutes in the librarian stopped.

“It’s here.” She motioned to a safe embedded into the wall in front of them. It was a big iron door that probably had a whole room filled with banned books behind it.

“Well then, open it.”

“It’s— uhm, it’s complicated and I can’t really – well not alone at least – I…”

“Shut up,” Remus growled. “I’m not dumb. And I know you’re not dumb either, so if you really hadn’t been able to open this alone with what you have on you, you would have told us about it upstairs, because if we shoot you right now and leave, no one will know about it until your corpse has already started to rot. So–“ He leaned close to her face and grinned. “Open this door, get the book and stop wasting my time.”

She was wise enough to not open her mouth again and simply nodded, fumbling with her keys again. She had the safe open in less than a minute and Remus motioned for Remy to wait for them outside, he didn’t want to give the librarian a chance to lock them all inside. Remus took a look around the room while Toby hovered over the woman’s shoulder as she located their book. Few of the book spines told him why they deserved to be locked in a dusty room, never to be read, but he figured most of them were there for stupid reasons.

“H—here it is!” Remus turned around to see the librarian pull a book out of the shelves and hand it to Toby, who immediately held it out for Remus to take without taking his eyes off her. She visibly swallowed. Remus took the leatherbound tome and quickly leafed through it. It seemed legit.

“That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” he asked with a grin. Frightened, the woman shook her head. “Good, then let’s get out of here. Toby, keep a hold of her.” Toby did as he was told and Remus left the room, Remy nodding at him as he stepped out before filing in at the back again, gun ready. Remus took the lead back himself, pretty much to show off to the old lady that she couldn’t have made him lose his way down here if she’d tried. Once they were close to the staircase, but not in sight yet, he stopped.

“Tie her up and to a shelf. We don’t need her anymore.”

“You can’t leave me here, I’ll–” she started protesting, but Remus quickly shushed her as Toby pushed her arms together behind her back, firm but not hurtful, while Remy pulled out some rope.

“We’ll make sure someone else will come down here before the end of the day. We just need you to not make a ruckus until we’re far away.” Before she could try and argue again, Toby pushed her down by her shoulder until she sat leaned against the corner of a shelf which Remy then tied her to.

“You are an enemy to academics everywhere,” the woman spat as they moved away from her.

“Me?” Remus laughed. “I’m not the one who locks books away because they don’t fit with the narrow worldview I’ve built myself. From what I understand this book–“ He pat the bag at his side where he had stored Woodsworth’s book for now. “–shows a way to coexist with Sirens, or at least that they aren’t the monsters they are made out to be. But you and your like don’t want to hear that. You want everything to stay the same, to blame them for the shit you do. You piss me off.” Remus spat next to her, making her flinch before walking away, Toby and Remy close behind. Upstairs, they left the door to the archives open slightly and calmly walked out the front door, passing Patton on the way, who nodded at them.

Back in the fresh air, they made their way into an alleyway close by where Sloane was waiting for them. Remus handed the bag with the book over to him and the man quickly left. Sloane was the fastest out of all of them and hadn’t been an active part of the heist, so he was their best bet to transport their newly acquired cargo back to the ship where Elliot, Corbin and Emile should await him. Missy should have seen them leave the library and be on the way back as well and Patton would end his shift and push for someone to check the archives before closing.

Everything had worked out just fine.

Remus loved simple plans. They just worked.

With a satisfied smile, he made his way back to the ship, Remy and Toby by his side, joking about something or other already. Remus was so lucky to have them in his crew. He wouldn’t trade them for all the riches in the world.

~~~

“Jan? I’m back!” Janus was lounging on the ground of his ‘room’ when he heard Virgil calling.

“Wonderful!” he hummed back, using magic instead of having to raise his voice because he didn’t feel like exerting himself. He had gotten a break from doing work for the Council and he fully intended to make use of every moment.

“Still in lazy mode I see,” Virgil commented as he swam in, floating above Janus with a smug smile.

“I am relaxing, Virgil, something you should learn about sometime.”

“Oh, shut it.”

“You came in here to talk to me, don’t blame me that I acquiesced with your request.”

“I didn’t request anything.” Janus, who had had his eyes closed thus far, opened one of them to look at his friend. Virgil didn’t seem to actually be upset though, so he went back to dosing on his moss.

“Then what did you come here for?” he asked with a yawn.

“I thought you would be interested in hearing about what the status of the pirate was.”

“There’s a development? I would have guessed he would take longer to figure things out.” Janus didn’t open his eyes again, but his voice showed his interest. With a grin, Virgil floated down, stopping next to him without actually lying down.

“Oh, on the contrary. Not only is he on his way to the volcano, but he also somehow got his hands on some protection runes that he had his people carve on the belly of their ship. They’re a bit outdated but should let them cross our territory without drawing our kin’s ire.”

“Huh. Maybe he’s smarter than I thought.” Janus’ tone sounded bored and uninterested, but Virgil could see the smile tugging at his lips. He was trying to mask how invested he’d gotten. What else could Virgil do but tease him about it?

“Oh, stop trying to sound nonchalant,” he grinned. “You like him.” Janus sputtered, sitting up and staring at Virgil in offence.

“I do not! He’s filth! A typical human, a violent one at that!”

“Please! If that were the case, you wouldn’t have given him the quest in the first place!”

“I wanted to see how bad he could screw it up! I didn’t think he would get anywhere!” Janus’ protests were weak, especially since Virgil could watch the skin of his right cheek turn red in embarrassment.

“Stop denying it, Bananaconda! You’re interested! It’s not a bad thing.”

“I am not interested! He’s human! I hate humans!” Janus hissed, trying to act offended but Virgil could hear his voice falter. As much as Janus didn’t want it to be true, since he was put in charge of supervising Logan, he had slowly learned that not all humans were bad.

“You’re going soft,” Virgil teased with a grin.

“I am not!” Janus fumed.

“You so are!” Virgil laughed and Janus lunged at him. He dodged out of the way and took off into the tunnels, Janus close behind. As he continued to flee, Virgil wondered what other changes the humans would bring. And while he usually hated change, he couldn’t help but look forward to it.