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‘You test my patience yet again. I assure you that I was entirely thorough. There must be some strange mechanism by which the Library can conceal its pathways. To my mind, the most likely reason is that it is able to shift walls and hallways or even entire rooms as it pleases.’

“Yeah, that sounds like something that this cheeky building might do.”

‘But that is only my guess. I fear there may be yet more to it. Some other component that I am unable to even imagine.’

Ibai stuck on that notion for a moment, rubbing his chin as he thought about it. “Some other component, huh? Interesting...”

‘Might you have some idea?’

“Oh, it’s too soon to say anything about that. Wild speculation can come later!”

‘That’s not really what I was getting at.’

“Do you know who built the Library of Erudia?”

‘Ah. Now that is a complicated subject. This place is as ancient as they come. ‘Tis a remnant of the many lost civilizations that once called Exoltha home.’

“Many? Not just one?”

‘Oh yes. It was a long-continued project, spanning generations and bringing together cultural figureheads from across this continent. Kings and queens, prophets and apostles, akhunds and mobads. Many were brought together in the shared pursuit of the preservation of knowledge.’

“Mm! That was a really big deal back in those days, wasn’t it? Because they’d had so much trouble with heretical book burnings and whatnot, right?”

‘Oh, indeed. You’re familiar with the history?’

“A tad.”

‘Yes, wars were fought over these matters. It was certainly no coincidence that brought all of these learned men together. Many would have needed little or no convincing about the importance of the undertaking, having personally witnessed barbaric hordes descending upon their beloved institutions of learning.’

Ibai just nodded along silently.

‘As for who, precisely, began the long venture of trying to build the Library: I believe that information has been lost to time. Too many others came to be involved in its creation over such a long period of time. And there are quite a number of fantastic tales surrounding the various stages of its construction, too. It may be an impervious fortress now, but that is only because many brave people sacrificed everything in order to protect it while it was still vulnerable.’

“I read a bit about that, not long ago,” said Ibai. “There were something like forty sieges on this place before it was finished.”