During those peaceful days, I spent most of my time in the library.

  The first thing I had asked about, after making sure Lynn and the kids got settled in of course, was the location of their library. Philorena was kind enough to have the girl, Mina, show me the way. Lynn giggled teasingly and mumbled something about me being “predictable” before kissing me goodbye. I preferred the term “reliable” myself, but I aloofly ignored the warm spirited jab as I ambled out the front door. The young lady who served as my guide shrugged off my attempts at conversation in a similarly aloof manner, but that didn’t hurt my feelings terribly. I was too excited to see the Maegar library to be distracted.

  And what a library it was. It was at least 5 times the size of our clan library, with dozens of rows of bookshelves stretching out in front of me on just the first floor. You could get lost wandering through the various piles of literature, and that is exactly what I did immediately, after saying a quiet goodbye to my guide. There were writings on a wide variety of mediums, with stone plates packed in alongside vellum bound books and scrolls in protective cases. I examined some of the plates eagerly, only to find that I couldn’t read any of them. A quick examination showed that most of the vellum books were also written in unintelligible scribbles, making me finally realized what the problem was. Just as the Maegar spoke a different language, they must write in a completely different script as well.

  A dark void opened in my stomach as a wave of anguish bashed at my soul. Surrounded by all these books, and I could barely read any of them. Like a drowning man watching a final boat pass him by, I stared down at an incomprehensible jumble of words in a moment of shock and horror before I snapped back to reality. There was no reason to despair. If the writing was different, there was no reason I couldn’t learn to read it. I could even learn the Maegar language as well, if necessary. I silently tracked down a librarian, a kindly looking old man who spoke flawless human, and he directed me to a language section. He explained that they would be willing to tutor me for a fee, but that I could learn everything I needed to know about Maegarish just by reading a few books they had here, written in human. I had no intention of dipping into our resources when I didn’t have to, so I simply thanked him and went to work by myself.

  There were plenty of chairs and tables throughout the library where people could study in peace, so I plunked myself down in one of the chairs and I began to read. It took around two weeks for me to familiarize myself with most of the basic grammatical structures of Maegarish, as well as its unique alphabet. It only took that long because I allowed myself to take breaks and spend time with the others, especially Lynn, but I had progressed to reading simple books in Maegarish by the end of those weeks.

  Vocabulary and advanced expressions were still a problem, of course, but I did much of my studying with a book of advanced grammar and a dictionary by my side. I used them less and less as overtime, however, and soon I found myself strolling the broader library and looking for works on important topics. I devoured books on the politics, geography, and fauna of the wider world, but especially the north. I was eager to help my family survive in the broader world, of course, but even then, I snuck in a work or two of wider literature for entertainment.

  I was in heaven as I perused the wide catalogue available, but as I was walking along a lone figure caught the corner of my eye. In a secluded corner of the library, Mina Mira was hard at work writing animatedly on a long scroll. She was sitting alone, but the table was big enough for more than one person and I vacillated for a moment. She had been rather unfriendly to us since the moment we met her. You couldn’t be liked by everyone of course, but the Miras were some of the only familiar faces our family had in this big city. It would probably be helpful for us if we could get along with all of them, even their standoffish young daughter. Plus, the poor girl looked lonely, if energetic. It might irritate her a little, but I figured I would extend another olive branch.

  Sidling up to her table, I silently took a seat just across from her. She glanced up for a moment, expressionless, before going back to her work. While pretending to read, my keen eyes surveyed the books she had with her as well as the work that she was doing. The parchment of her scroll was suffused with neat, tight writing, with a couple of diagrams of shapes interspersed between paragraphs. Geometry it was then. She was quite good for her age, as some of this was rather advanced, but she wasn’t perfect:

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  “Proof 3, paragraph 2.” I spoke, breaking the silence. She looked up in a slight shock, before looking back down at her paper, searching for the relevant place. As she did, I elaborated:

  “You’ve misapplied the ratio here. What you should use instead is…”

  I spent a few minutes walking her through this proof. After pointing her in the right direction, I mostly allowed her to lead and questioned her when I thought she had gone wrong. To my surprise, she was very chatty, and she asked me several probing questions in return. Math was never my strong suit, but I managed to work her through her mistakes and answer some of her questions. Once we had finished with that, my eyes flitted to one of the other books she had with her. It was a novel from an author I recognized, and I seized on the opportunity:

  “They have you reading Margon, huh? I’m new to Maegar literature, but I though A Blazing Thunder was a little unsubtle with its messages.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t pick this up for pleasure reading, but he is an ancestor of one of my tutors, of the same name, so he assigned it to me. The drama was fun, but you are right about the themes. If you are looking for something really good, try…”

  The young lady had come alive, eyes wide an excitement as she gave me more book recommendations than I could get through in a year, much less a season. I was a little surprised at how quickly her defenses had come down, but I was happy to talk with her for the next few hours about her recommendations and what she was currently learning in school. Eventually, our conversation was interrupted when the lights had dimmed, signifying the beginning of “twilight” and indicating that we should start heading home. We spent the whole walk home gabbing and continued our long conversation even over dinner.

  The whole table seemed gobsmacked as we chatted about academics on the far side, surprised to see the young Maegar lady fraternizing with the human houseguests. Hagor and Philorena seemed happy that their young girl had come out of her shell, while Lynn seemed downright proud, though of what I didn’t know. Julia, curiously, seemed a bit scandalized and distressed, and I caught her eye and gave her a wink. Teasing my younger sister can be a lot of fun.

  Eventually, Mina noticed that everyone was looking at us and she withdrew again, but when I saw her at the library again it wasn’t hard to pick up the conversation from where we had left off. My newfound friend had a lot to say and years of education, so I found myself picking her brain on a wide variety of topics, especially the geography of the mountains and the various paths you could take through them. She asked me right back about Brynn and Corynth, filled with endless curiosity about my childhood home. Talking about them was painful, as the wounds were still fresh, but Mina’s endless curiosity was easy to indulge.

  She taught me much faster than I could have learned reading books, especially because she was good at both summarizing and prioritizing the most important information. I splurged on a blank leatherbound book, and I took a great deal of notes on a myriad of important topics. My time was short, but on the days that Mina was free we would usually spend all day at the library. These intensive studying sessions would leave both of our heads spinning by the end of the day, but we both loved it and looked forward to each opportunity we had to compare notes. I was contributing to the team’s future success and having fun with a new friend at the same time. Few things were more fun than that.

  I was determined to cram as much information in my head before those peaceful days were over, but I wasn’t prepared for just how quickly things were able to change. Sometimes, as I lay at night with Lynn in my arms or as I sat by the fire with a book I borrowed, I would dream of the possibility that none of this would truly end. Strictly speaking, it didn’t have to. We had gotten permission from the Maegar elders to stay for only a short while, but there wasn’t any real reason they couldn’t extend that permission. From the rumors I was hearing, Steve and the others were making waves with their successes in hunting. If they could prove that we would be an asset, rather than a hindrance, we could lobby to stay for even longer. And a longer stay could stretch out into an indefinite respite.

  There was nothing in city law against it. I checked, and there were actually a small number of humans who lived permanently in Mahria. It was mostly blacksmiths who had come here to hone their trade, only to get hitched to one of the local Maegar girls and stick around permanently. For a moment, I considered trying to set Steve up, but Julia would probably try to kill me if I did. I most certainly didn’t need a fratricidal sister on my hands. But in all seriousness, there was no reason we couldn’t pay for the privilege to stay, or even try to matchmake one of the younger folks. Al was probably a lost cause, but Ann seemed to be friendly with many of the local boys.

  These were sweet dreams I dreamt, but they were never destined to be anything more than just dreams. Even as I was considering the possibility of a safe and comfortable life behind a warm fireside, old ghosts stalked the mountainside, biding their time. Sometimes, life has a lot to throw at you, and you can only pray you're prepared to handle what it dishes out. But the worst kinds of challenges are the kinds that catch you unawares.

  I had seen the mountains' warmth, and, unbeknownst to me, I was about to feel their fury.