Fear crouched behind Darien, making him constantly look over his shoulder to see if something was sneaking up on him. The tower had felt safe, being shielded from the outside world, but Darien didn't feel safe any longer. He felt trapped, locked in a stone box with an unknown menace waiting to spring out at him from the shadows. He wanted desperately to leave, but Darien couldn't depart until the needed information had been found.

Darien started his search on the second floor near the map mounted on the wall. Most of the books on the shelves contained geographical information for the lands displayed on the map. Several volumes held descriptions of weather patterns and climate variations for each region.

Deciding the books on this level had nothing of immediate value, he put the books he'd examined back upon the shelf, checking over his shoulder again and finding no one.

Trying to shake the uncomfortable feeling of something sneaking up on him, Darien left the shelves and inspected one of the rooms housed within the confines of the tower's outer wall. Dusty boxes on the floor and bottle racks upon the walls filled the storage room to capacity, leaving very little space to walk. The bottles were neatly organized with tags tied with string to the neck of each bottle just below their cork stoppers.

Darien read a few of the labels and found the bottles contained samples from different geographic regions, everything from the golden sands of the Tekein desert to moss covered bark gathered from the dense forests of Menkuor. One glass container was clearly enchanted as the half full bottle of water had an un-melting chunk of glacial ice from the northern sea floating in it.

No matter how impressed by the incredible effort someone must have gone through to accumulate such a collection, Darien pushed his admiration aside and kept moving.

The third floor bookshelves were filled with listings of ingredients both ordinary and exotic. Full descriptions of each item, their uses, and possible side effects were inscribed in the books, along with what appeared to be hand drawn illustrations on the opposing page.

Darien checked another book and found recipes using many of the ingredients he'd seen listed in the previous volume. He felt certain someone would have to go on an expedition just to find some of the components required.

The storage rooms in the wall were similar to those on the previous floor, boxes and bottles neatly organized and filling the room to nearly overflowing. Because of the colored powders and liquids of different hues and viscosities, Darien assumed the items held here were the ingredients he'd previously read about. He didn't bother checking the labels as he was in a hurry.

Wasting no time, Darien left the supply rooms behind and used the amulet to float to the fourth floor and continue his search for answers. Naja had promised the information needed to corroborate her story was here somewhere. If she was lying or telling the truth, he was determined to find the evidence to prove it one way or another.

Level four was focused on all things medicinal. Books on healing salves, balms, and powders filled the shelves, and the storage rooms were loaded with the necessary components for making the healing mixtures. Boxes were filled with bandages and medical implements from many different cultures.

Whereas level four was geared toward the treatment of injuries, level five centered on causing them. Lining the walls on racks and stands was every kind of weapon imaginable. From tiny daggers and throwing knives small enough to be hidden behind a single finger to long poled weapons of war like spears and halberds, the arsenal of deadly weapons was in no way lacking in selection. The books shelved on level five were all about the tools of warfare, the techniques of their manufacture, and the variation of weapons and fighting styles between cultures.

Continuing his ascent to level six, Darien discovered books on law and government. One book detailed which rules overlapped between nations and which were unique to a specific society. The storage rooms contained flags and banners of the diverse lands and the governments ruling over them in the past years.

Level seven had instructional books on magical enchantments. Darien made careful mental notes, pulling out a pair of books he wanted to examine later. He left them on the shelves but sticking out far enough he wouldn't have to do anything more than glance at the shelf to find them again.

The next floor up was filled with musical instruments. Some were stringed, others were hollow with numerous holes drilled into their surfaces. Darien found one that clearly looked to be made for a musician with multiple arms. The storage closets contained scrolls and stacks of old parchment where songs and musical compositions had been collected from every land. A few music boxes played some of the tunes, and Darien even found an enchanted box capable of playing different musical pieces on a variety of instruments depending on what inscribed tile was placed in the slot of the box lid.

The ninth floor reminded Darien of a marketplace for clothing. Racks of shirts, pants, dresses, robes, and even armor were hung and stacked everywhere. The books he found hidden behind a clothes rack had information on the styles of dress each society wore over the years and the reasoning behind them. Some of the attire was simply preferential while others were ceremonial.

One item listed in the books was a focusing ring designed to amplify magical power similar to the amulet. Darien wondered if the amulet or focusing ring came first and was the basis for the design of the other. He suspected the answer to his question was in one of the books, but he lacked the time to look for it and concentrated on his primary reason for being in the tower.

Level ten was filled with mementos and trophies. Some of the items were inscribed with dates and the deeds worthy of remembrance. The thankful sentiment on the items spoke to the good things the wizard had done, but Darien also considered it was possible the words of praise were the forced statements of people living in fear telling their overlords what they wanted to hear in an attempt to avoid their wrath.

Out of his dreams, level eleven was overflowing with treasure. Gifts or tribute from countless nations were stacked along the walls and spilled out of the permanently open doors of storage rooms too full to be closed. A book resting atop a cauldron filled with gleaming gold coins detailed the wealth of many lands. Gold, silver, and gemstones of every size, cut, and color were cataloged and on file should anyone wish to retrieve a sample for inspection.

Darien almost shook with excitement. Never had he set eyes upon such wealth in his life, but when his stomach twisted uncomfortably, he realized he couldn't take so much as a single copper coin. He knew it would come back to haunt him as the theft of the Book of Passages had done.

Rather than be tormented by the lovely view of what he could never have, Darien moved on and finally found historical information on the twelfth floor. He scanned the titles and found one relating to the serpents, but after checking the table of contents and skipping to the back for the last entry, he snapped the book shut in frustration.

The book didn't have what he'd been looking for, and he realized he should've known from the start. According to Naja, the tower was abandoned some time ago, so nothing recent would've been contained in its records, only the ancient history he'd found. The history of the past told him nothing of value as any species could change in a few hundred years, becoming enlightened and benevolent, or sinking into the depths of despotism and villainy.

Darien had no way of knowing the attitude and character of the serpents in present day. He wondered if Naja had known his efforts would be fruitless when she'd sent him here. The feeling of walking into an ambush closed in on him again in full force.

Floating back down to level seven, Darien collected the two books of magic he'd seen during his earlier search and decided to take them with him as they might help in a magical battle.

"I'm just borrowing them," Darien called out to the empty tower, his voice echoing from the walls. He didn't know if the tower was truly abandoned or not, but he'd enough trouble without someone else hunting him down for stealing the two books.

As he descended through the open center of the tower, Darien realized his level of mental exhaustion. He was tired of this story, tired of trying to play a part he knew nothing about, tired of trying to find out who was lying and who was telling the truth. Most of all, he was tired of dodging people and creatures trying to kill him. Darien checked the map on the second floor wall, deciding on a place where he could live out his life away from everyone and everything.

Numerous cities were connected through the anchors, so he had a great number of choices. If the Librarian wanted him to finish the story, Darien would put things straight and write himself out of it, freeing Naja and sending her back to her people before leaving and going far away. Whatever happened after that was no concern of his. He'd never wanted to be dragged into the story, and he still wanted nothing to do with it.

Only one person stood in his way, Lendus. The apprentice would surely object to abandoning the goal of bringing the serpents to heel. Lendus had already threatened and even openly attacked Darien before, so it was highly plausible for Lendus to try again when Darien revealed his intentions to depart.

Darien considered showing Lendus the amulet in order to make him back off. If the apprentice no longer believed he had sufficient power to beat Darien in a fight, Lendus might let him go. It was a fool's hope, but Darien had little else. Unless he wanted to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder expecting to be attacked by Lendus, the apprentice would either have to let him go or be killed. Darien hoped for the former rather than the latter.

Stepping outside, Darien put the amulet in his hand out in front and walked through the exterior shield. The moment he'd fully crossed the invisible barrier, Darien was struck from the side. The impact drove him to the ground. Pinpoints of light exploded across his vision as his head struck the paving stones and the amulet slipped from his fingers.

Darien tried to get up and go after the amulet, but he'd been severely shaken by the trauma to his head and stumbled several times, his legs refusing to work properly. His attacker had suffered no injuries in the collision and sprinted past him, scooping up the amulet.

A second attempt to rise was also met with failure. Darien could only lay helplessly on the ground as the unknown figure vanished into the ruins with the amulet.