The Sky Garden; [Open]

Liseran looked back at Cassima after the latter remarked on the lack of students in the library.

"Err...people don't really like this library," she said. "So they go to the other ones. They complain that it's..."

The young man loudly protested against being called odd. Regardless of his claim at being a guest, Liseran kept her guard and placed one hand on her hip.

"W-well, that doesn't give you the right to just appear out of nowhere!" she said. Granted, her argument was rather illogical. "And do you have the papers to prove it? Also it's terribly dangerous to go about on ladders from up high in the dark! You could have just lighted the entire building, you know? A few extra marks wouldn't be that much to dispense."

Liseran turned back to Cassima briefly.

"I'm so sorry about this. You were asking about enrollment. I promise to help you with that matter once we deal with this odd--err--unexpected guest."

Cassima felt weary when the mention of guest passes and paper signing were mentioned, as she didn't have a pass nor any papers that she signed, so she felt like she shouldn't even be allowed to be in this building like the man if he lied about his guest past. She decided to keep it a secret, for now, hoping that the man or Liseran wouldn't bring it up, instead the focus was dealing with the man and the next topic after that will finally be about Cassima's enrollment into this academy if it was possible.

Cassima herself meanwhile was instead fixated on the rune near the man that had now turned to dust. "Incredible." Cassima was distracted. She didn't even hear what Liseran just said right now. She shook her head and looked back at the woman. "Right uh, I do not mind the waiting. I have waited for a while but I can still wait for a little while longer about my enrollment." She turned back towards the mysterious blonde figure.

"We can help you find the book if you want so we can get back to more important subjects on our minds." Cassima offered her services to help the man. Of course, when she meant WE she meant her and Liseran can help him.

"Oy oy oy! I heard 'odd' again!" the man exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger. "And don't talk about lighting up the entire library like it's nothing! That's a waste of magic energy! I'm not the type that can hurl fireballs in succession y'know!"

The boy continued to grumble as he rustled around inside his traveler's cloak.

"Right, right, my guest pass. I put it around here somewhere.... Ah!"

The left side of his cloak rustled before something emerged. From the folds of his cloak, a wooden arm extended, holding in its artificial fingertips a stack of papers with an official seal on he top page. Wooden spheres made up the various joints and the surface was smooth from fine sanding and still rough as it lacked any varnish finish. The back of the hand had a runic circle and each fingertip had a cartic rune carved into it like arcane fingerprints.

"I'm just here poking around for research," he stated as he handed the woman his papers. "My name is Jude Johny Spriggins, but you can call me Jack. In fact, I prefer you call me Jack."

Liseran merely turned her nose upwards as the man tried to defend himself from being called odd again. She honestly didn't want anything to do with anybody, but now here was Cassima offering to help him find whatever book he was looking for. That irked her, and she gave the slightest glance of disdain at the girl for suggesting it.

"Yes, I do suppose you'd need both of our help considering I'm the only one who's familiar with this library, unlike either of you," she said rather aloofly. She sighed and placed her bells away. She guessed it wasn't right of her to act snootily. After all, Cassima seemed genuinely interested in helping--and getting enrolled of course. And the Jack character managed to furnish the papers necessary to access to library--not that this didn't warrant a frown from Liseran.

"Alright, alright," she said. "May I inquire what book you're looking for? And while I'm at it, Miss errr...what's your name again? I can show you a basic carta book. If you're on your own, you really should know basic cartic spells such as lighting. It will help a lot."

It took Liseran awhile to become aware of the man's wooden arm. A prosthesis maybe? An alteration? It was curious, but not so much to be suspicious. After all, she'd seen prostehtics before. Why, Goibniu had a metal arm that could fire ammunition, after all! Still, she decided keeping her guard up was necessary. With both characters, really.

Cassima looked at the boy's cloak and noticed what appeared to be a wooden arm. She didn't want to point it out, instead, she wanted to point out his odd name. "Jude, Johny, Spriggins?" Cassima sort of laughed at the name but nodded soon after. "Jack sounds like a more easier and less funny nickname which I like." She then looked back towards Liseran. "I do know an assortment of some simple spells such as lighting from some books I had at my old home. Unfortunately there back at the inn i'm currently residing in but I would really like to see this basic book on Cartic magic. I just need the right things to try and perform the spell." Cassima also forgot to mention something to Liseran.

"Oh, that reminded me, I also know how to brew certain potions. If you want, I can show you one of the potions I can make after we help Jack here find some books in this library that needs to permanently add lights." Cassima then began to think of something and looked behind Liseran. "What's up there might I add, at the top of the stairs?" She pointed behind the girl.

But her eyes slowly started to drift back towards the books, as she wanted to get started on helping Jack and herself find the books they need.

"Oh, so the girl who looks like the kind of character that would self-sacrifice herself at the drop of a hat is the librarian, hm?" Jack mused. "I'm looking for "Theories on the Application of Life Magic" by Johnathon Spriggans. They didn't have a copy in the other library so they told me I might have some luck here."

Liseran flinched and for a moment lost her composure.

"S-s-self sacrifice??" she squeaked, her face turning bright red. "Wh-what is that even supposed to mean?? I'll have you know what I wear is very common for mages! And at least what I'm wearing doesn't make me look like some scary trespasser!"

The way Liseran was acting, one would almost mistaken she was an upset child. The young woman puffed her cheeks before crossing her arms.

"And I'm not the librarian, either! I just...happen to frequent this place a lot," she said.

Her little episode dissipated quick enough, and she heard Cassima's inquiry as to what was on the higher floors. On other occasions, Liseran would have been more than delighted to have a curious little thing under her wing, but this was not that occasion. Reluctantly, she looked upwards and answered.

"Well, there's a botanical garden up there," she said. "Quite the odd spot, I know, but one of the, err, old founders of the academy had one placed up there. Hence the name 'Sky Garden'. It's quite pretty, and if this place hadn't been so abandoned, it would have been quite frequented. but alas, people are either too lazy or too scared to go all the way up there."

She gave a small sullen sigh, as if she found the entire notion saddening. She then smiled at Cassima's offer for showing her brewing skills.

"I can't say I brew that many things myself, so I'd be more than delighted to see your brewing skills. For all you know, it might stand as grounds for a scholarship if you go into a specified field of study."

While Cassima was as much as a stranger as Jack, Liseran was at the very least aware of Cassima's circumstances, and she had seen her during the festival. She seemed to be nothing more than a good person in a bad situation. Jack, on other hand, was already commenting on Liseran's clothes like he himself wore anything all that fashion savvy. She frowned at the man.

"As for your little book, it's probably in the Theoreticals," she said. "We have a bit of a way to climb again, so please follow me. And young lady, you're more than welcome to follow. I suppose I can give you two a little more of a tour of the place lest you become stranded or fall."

"It's kind of true, I mean you do look like the kind of person that would jump at the call and save there friends. Even if it means losing your lif---Before Cassima could finish however, Liseran pouted and Cassima decided to stop speaking, as she didn't want her to pout even more about what comment regarding self sacrifice. She looked back up to the glowing light at the top of the stairs, which led into a botanical garden. You could say it was, a Sky Garden, which it actually was. "A Sky Garden? Does it grow fruit or anything up there?" Cassima questioned Liseran. "I feel like it's for the best, as I feel like if there were many students up there during the day, then it might cause problems with the environment of the garden. But why are the students scared or don't want to be here? The only problems in this library is the darkness by the looks of it." She then turned and proceeded to follow Liseran.

"Oh i'll gladly accompany you two, hopefully, my brewing skills does help me get in. Brewing can be fun to do for many hours, take it from someone that doesn't have many things that she can do at her old home." She then realised the name of the author of the book that Jack was looking for. "So, Johnathan's related to you?" She asked the boy, no longer worried about slipping on the stairs that she was walking up on now.

"See, see," Jack jeered on with a cheeky smile on his face. "She totally looks like the kind of character that goes, 'For everyone's sake, I'll take on this burden by myself' right?"

The ragged boy laughed energetically as he followed along. Then the young girl asked about the author's name and he averted his eyes to the side nonchalantly.

"Mmm. I guess you can say that. Not like I ever met the guy myself."

Liseran's face burned bright red as the two newcomers came to an agreement. She groaned and stomped a foot.

"W-what are you two even implying!??" she whined. "How is what I wear have anything to do with illogical altruism!???"

By this point, Liseran had practically lost all of her composure, and was just a pink-tinged mess. She childishly pointed at Jack in accusation.

"Y-you're a horrible person! First you interrupt my research, and then distract me from helping this poor girl with her schooling, and now you've roped her into your warped little assumptions about by garb! I-I ought to turn you into an ice statue and be done with you!"

Her face still bright red and her ears steaming, she walked ahead the two of them at a faster pace, hoping to cool off as she led them higher up. She could care less about the man's stupid book and his stupid relation to the author. She just wanted him gone, she wanted Cassima gone, and she wanted to get on with what she was trying to do. Chin high and the book she had taken from the shelf earlier close to her chest, she stopped at the next level of bookshelves.

"Now then," Liseran said as she turned back around to the two. "Young lady, you did make quite a good observation earlier. If students were here a lot, that would definitely put the garden at risk. I suppose it can be partially due to the reason this library is filled with more obsolete books in contrast to the main library. Because it's practically abandoned, the library is kept dark as it is indeed a waste of Cartic marks to keep them on all day when no one is around. As for the structure of the library, you may notice it does indeed look odd, and perhaps even impractical, but each level is divided based on certain fields of Cartic study. What I mean by level is that after each couple of staircases, we pause at a ground with shelves along a balcony floor such as this one. Each level is dedicated to a different level for ease, rather than a person having to go up and down repeatedly. What a workout that'd be! We have theoreticals on the floor higher up, practicals and guidelines at this first level here, higher up are history books, and there are a few other in between."

Liseran talked about the library with one finger up, as if a teacher instructing a bunch of students on a history lesson. She pointed to the shelves they were at now.

"Aside from being divided by level, the levels are divided by shelves too based on fields such as alchemy, alteration, conjuration, restoration, and the like," she said. "As for why students are scared of the place, well--"

Liseran paused. She had gone off tangent in her little lecture. She knew Cassima had asked, but she was also planning to info dump them to the point the question would fade. Liseran's bashful expression returned and she crossed her arms.

"Err...well, people think this place is haunted."