Frensia's thin lips moved while reading yet another text. Despite days of mind-numbing exhaustion, it appeared they were no closer to an answer than they'd been when they'd first arrived at the Library of Filamir.
Brax was used to exercise and physical exertion, but he'd had no idea sitting and reading produced its own form of exhaustion. The longer he sat, the more he wanted to crawl back to his chamber and sleep.
"Brax!" Tace punched his arm.
Brax bolted upright, blinking furiously. Had he fallen asleep again? He thought he'd only been thinking about it, but perhaps he'd accidentally dozed off.
"Sorry, I was just—"
"Resting your eyes, I know." Tace smirked.
Brax looked over at Frensia. He was still perplexed, not knowing what Frensia was.
The being looked up at him. "Do you have something to ask me?"
"Um, I… No?" Embarrassed, Brax dropped his gaze to his folded hands on the table.
"You are curious about me. It doesn't take a fool to see this." Frensia nodded at Tace, then at Ademar. "I am correct, aren't I?"
Ademar bowed his head slightly. "I've been here before, Frensia. I should have prepared Brax and Tace better."
Tace held up her hands. "Hey, I'm fine with Frensia."
"You came here seeking knowledge." Frensia’s slender hand rested on the table. "It is only right I explain about myself. I am umgar. I am from a place far from here. You would have to travel across the water for many weeks to reach my homeland. Umgar are neither male nor female. We are all genders and none."
"Do you procreate?" Brax knew he was probably prying, but he couldn't help himself.
"We have spawn, yes," Frensia said. "When there is a need for children, some of us become pregnant. When there is no need, we remain barren."
"Do you have a choice?" Tace asked, her eyes wide.
"We do what is required. Choice matters little. Choice is impractical. We do not have wants the same way the other races do. We have needs, and umgar attend to those needs." Frensia gave them a thin-lipped smile. "We don't pay heed to emotions. In fact, many of us no longer have them."
"But you're smiling. That indicates happiness," Brax said, sure he'd caught the umgar in a contradiction.
"I smiled for your benefit, Brax. Did it illicit calmer feelings? Did it help to make you more comfortable?"
Brax opened his mouth, then closed it. The smile had disarmed him.
"You may refer to me as they, rather than he or she. Now, shall we get back to searching for the answers you seek?"
Without waiting for a response, Frensia set their book aside. They reached into a nearby basket, pulled out a pair of white gloves, and pulled them onto their hands gracefully, giving a final tug at their wrists. Frensia then picked up another large, dusty tome. The keeper brushed a layer of dust from the top of it with a soft cloth, set the book down, and carefully lifted the leather cover.
"That's it!" Tace sprang from her chair before Ademar grabbed her arm and pulled her back to her seat. Raseri slipped off her perch on Tace's shoulders and flew around the room, agitated.
"Don't make a scene," Ademar said. "We don't want anyone else knowing why we're here."
Tace shot him an angry glance. "Don't you think I know that?"
"The xarlug," Brax whispered, pointing at the book with a shaky finger. The book showed an illustration of the beast, and even that was enough to turn his bowels to water.
"Yes, this is not the only book with mention of it," Frensia said. "We are looking for information beyond the xarlug. You want to know what else it is connected with. It seems a simple task, but as you have seen over the previous days, it is not so easy to find answers."
Tace tapped the table impatiently. "How much longer could this take?"
"We have millions of volumes—"
"I know that," Tace said. "But don't you have a cataloguing system? Some method of organization? This is taking too long. We need to get back to Agitar before something else happens."
Frensia closed the book, to Brax's relief. He didn't have to look at the xarlug anymore.
"What will happen?" Frensia asked.
Tace bit her lip, averting her eyes from both Brax and Ademar. "I don't know."
Brax felt irritation rising in his chest. He'd given up going home, even though there wasn't much to go home to anymore. He'd felt a strange loyalty to these orcs after his people had marched on them. More than that, he had felt he owed the orcs something, and this was the only way he could think to repay it. "I came here to help the two of you learn more about the history of the orc religion, so we might have some idea what other beasts might be lurking underground," he said. "So we could learn the difference between myth and truth. Is there something else you want to tell us?"
"You can tell us if there's more, Tace," Ademar said. It wasn't the strong reproach Brax would have preferred. Ademar's feelings for Tace often kept him from speaking his mind.
Tace gritted her teeth so hard, Brax thought they might crack. Her tusks cut into her upper lip, drawing blood. Apparently seeing her distress, Raseri flew back to them, landing on the table. The little dragon stood before Tace and bared her teeth at the others.
Tace patted the dragon on the head. "It's okay, girl." She touched her shoulder, and Raseri curled herself around Tace's neck. "I may have also been interested in information that was irrelevant to our purpose, but it doesn't matter—because this is taking far too long."
"They'd send a raven if there was anything for us to know," Ademar said. "Alyna and Vron wouldn't keep us in the dark."
Brax wondered if that was true. He'd learned quickly that Alyna would do what she thought was best, not necessarily what was right. If she didn't want them to hurry back due to another attack, Brax knew she'd keep it to herself. Still, if anything major had happened, word would have likely reached the tower. Someone would know. Word would spread. In the meantime, he had come to the library to do a job, and he was set on making sure it got done.
“It’s not like you’re actually going to tell us anything,” he said to Tace. “All you do is keep your little secrets and never share with anyone else. If I didn’t know better, I would think you know more about the xarlug and the mysteries surrounding it than you’re willing to admit.”
Tace leapt over the table and grabbed Brax by the collar. "You don't know what you're talking about, human."
"Please refrain from violence, or we will eject you from the library," Frensia said. "You were barely allowed entry, Tace. Don't make us change our minds."
Brax stared into Tace's eyes, which were filled with bloodlust. He'd faced orcs before. He wasn't afraid.
Tace's shoulders heaved. She let go of his collar and returned to her seat. "I don't like being questioned," she snarled at Frensia. "I didn't like what your inquisitor put me through."
"Our inquisitor did not like your secrets, either," Frensia said, their eyes narrowing.
"Maybe we should break for the day," Brax said.
"No!" Tace said at the same time Ademar said, "Yes."
"Tace." Ademar rested a hand on her shoulder. "Let's talk somewhere private."
"I think that's a good idea." Frensia stacked the book they had opened back onto the pile of unread books. "We can pick up again here in the morning. Come with me, Brax."
Brax glanced at Tace and Ademar once more over his shoulder as he followed Frensia out of the main library.
They stopped outside his chambers. "Wait here a bit," Frensia said. "I will send Melethiel to dine with you. Would you like that?"
Brax nodded. He would indeed like to see the elf inquisitor again. Very much.
Frensia turned to leave.
"Wait!" Brax said. "Am I in trouble like Tace? Am I to be questioned again?"
Frensia smiled, a gesture Brax now knew was done solely to soothe him. "No, Melethiel only asked to see you again. We granted her request. Is this acceptable to you?"
Brax swallowed the lump in his throat. "Yes, thank you."
"Then I will send her to escort you to the dining hall for dinner." Frensia bowed their head, then left Brax alone in his chambers to await the stunning elf he'd met upon arrival.