52. Face to Face

She placed her other hand over our handshake and smiled at the wizard. "Charles, it's fine. He was just doing what he felt was polite. Be patient."

Jul 04, 2025

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When the Gem awakens to call a Hero, the world is ill prepared...and its fate is placed in the hands of a 17 year old boy, named Wendell.

Some will say this is nothing but a tale of fiction.
Let them think as they may.

After all...I can't fix stupid.

Previously: Alhannah's live interview with Rishima Geebler goes south when Chuck storms in unexpectedly and is overly intoxicated. When Wendell decides to check on the old wizard, he finds an unexpected portal leading to a magical introduction.

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I couldn't look away.

It wasn't that I meant to stare, but…how could I not stare?

She continued to smile at me.

…and it didn't feel weird.

At all.

Which was weird.

Gosh, her smile was lovely, though. Kind and soft, and…heck, she even had perfect teeth.

She let out a soft laugh.

Her eyes never left me.

"You're being rude," Chuck whispered harshly. He made an awkward motion for me to come stand next to him.

I blinked. "S-sorry," I stammered and quickly stepped over.

Chuck's bushy eyebrows rolled forward into a near scowl. "I said 'There's someone I'd like you to meet.' That's when you approach us, son. And because you are a child who has learned some form of manners, you do so and then smile politely." He looked up at the shimmering woman floating next to us. "Some people's children."

The woman continued smiling at me. "It's alright, Charles," she said.

You better speak up, buddy, cause you're looking EXTRA stupid right now, Doubt whispered.

"No," the woman said softly, still staring at me, "he is not."

I blinked. Hard.

Okay, that…was creepy, Doubt mumbled.

The smile faded from her face. "You are not welcome in this place."

…and I heard a door close.

My mind went quiet.

Chuck winked at me. "She's good, huh?"

I should have run. Maybe I should have screamed? These crazy experiences hadn't caught up to me until now. All I wanted to do to was check in on Chuck. The whole thing with Alhannah and the interview with the Geebler lady, I was worried about how the wizard was taking it. Finding his large wardrobe cabinet against the wall, door ajar, and voices coming from the open door?

Of course, the natural reaction would be to climb INTO the wardrobe.

Not like that was an original idea, right?

But I didn't find snow, a lamppost or a faun.

I'd found a library.

Not your local public library, either. No. This thing had more books that I could likely count, open to the universe overhead, and apparently run by what looked to be a ghost.

"No, Wendell," she breathed, "I am not a ghost. Just a steward."

"What?" I choked.

Chuck placed a hand on my shoulder and produced a grin. "Wendell, I would like to introduce you to the Librarian." He smiled at me, then shifted his attention to the woman. "Eva, this is Wendell. The young man I've been so worried about."

That's when she blinked for the first time. What surprised me was that she then held out her hand. "Hello, Wendell," she said, her voice carrying right to my heart. "I am delighted to meet you."

Honestly, I don't know why I went stupid again, but I…

"You are not stupid, child," she said. "You wonder if I am a specter. If I have substance, and if you will feel my hand. Completely logical from the appearance of my form."

I gulped.

She didn't look away, her hand still stretched out.

I looked at Chuck, who quickly nodded in the woman's direction. "Go on, son. Be polite and shake the girl's hand. You're making me look bad."

The things I knew about ghosts weren't good. I mean, most of what I knew obviously came from woke writers from Hollywood. Not exactly brimming with accuracy, but it was disturbing enough. Coldness, ectoplasm-something-or-other that turned to goop, something about a never-never place, which they came from…oh, maybe that was a Harry Dresden book?

Whatever.

I reached out and took her hand.

She was…real! Solid, at least, and what shocked me even more, was that her touch was warm. Soft, firm, and warm.

My anxiety melted away with a deep exhale. "Hello, Eva, pleasure to meet you."

"No!" Chuck snapped, flicking the back of my ear with a finger.

"Ow!"

"No. No. No. No. You do NOT get to call her 'Eva'. Absolutely not. To ME she is Eva, but to YOU nit-wit-boy-who-can't-obey-fast-enough, she is known as 'The Librarian', or simply 'Librarian'." He gave a tiny snarl at me, then smiled genuinely at Ev—the Librarian.

She placed her other hand over our handshake and smiled at the wizard. "Charles, it's fine. He was just doing what he felt was polite. Be patient."

I smirked. "Not one of his strongest characteristics."

She laughed softly. "Oh, I know that all too well. Just remember that it is because he cares deeper than you realize."

Chuck gave us both a snort. "When you're burdened with the weight of what is and what could be at every turn, you get the luxury of waiting out every choice made by other people."

“You give the boy too little credit, Chuck.”

“Boy?” I mouthed, frowning.

“He's still untested,” Chuck replied. “Kind, yes. Courageous in his own clumsy way?" He gave me a stern look, but his expression cracked and he winked. "Obviously. But you know as well as I do, Eva… it’s not enough.”

My stomach flipped.

“That is why he must begin.”

Chuck sighed. “He hasn’t even touched the truth of what he is. Or what he’s done.”

"What I've done?" I cut in. "Oh, you mean you've seen…"

He waved his in a circular motion. "Yadda-yadda-yadda….yes. Sorry, my boy, this is challenging, trying to catch you up on what we've been discussing for centuries."

I looked to the Librarian. "What did you mean by begin? …and can I please ask what IS this place?" I turned back to Chuck. "And how is it that I get here from a cabinet…from your office?" I winced. “I—I couldn’t sleep. I was just checking on you, and the cabinet door was open, and—”

Chuck waved a hand. Not scolding. Just… tired.

“Stop. Just,…stop,” he mumbled. “We have all the time we need in here. Eva, would you please?”

"Of course." Holding out her palm, a pinpoint of light appeared a few inches over her hand. Another point of light joined the tiny speck, but this dropped from above us. Another traveled over from a nearby book, and another rising from the floor. On and on at a rapid pace, infinitely small bits of light, now varying in colors, gathered to the hand of the Librarian, as if answering a silent call.

As The Librarian's fingers closed around the base of the lights, they all faded…and in its place, an hourglass appeared.

Gray stone at each end, held together by two pillars carved in the shape of colorful fairies, squatting on rocks. At its center, millions of grains, glowing a bright purple, churned inside crystal blue glass.

Red runes flared around the rim of each flat, circular end. The Librarian smiled at me again. "It is done." She drifted toward me. “You may ask as many questions as you would like, Wendell,” she said, her voice soft. “Time will no longer pass.”

I frowned. "Wait. What?"

"Now wait just a cotton picking minute young lady," Chuck growled, "I have no intention of—"

"If you will not answer his questions, Charles, then I will accept that responsibility," she said.

Chuck's mouth clamped shut, and he wiggled his mustache at both of us. "Fine," he grunted. "I need a drink." Then he turned on his heel and walked away.

I rushed after him. "Wait! Chuck, what's going on? What does she mean, 'Time will no longer pass?'"

Screeching to a halt, the mägo flipped about, making one solid crack against the ground with his dragon staff. "If you can't understand plain English, boy, we're in for a VERY long forever in here." He glanced over my shoulder at the Librarian and let out a big sigh. "She's determined. Oh, alright. Come on. I'll explain all this in a moment. I want that drink"

I followed his slower pace, out from the aisles of books, into a huge center section of the Library. Unlike the rest of what I'd seen so far, this open section was a single large circle. Maybe 30' in diameter, all the aisles seemed to meet at this point.

At the center was a monstrous, deep red table.

Bigger than my parents' dining table back home. It was three times as thick, with six muscular legs that curved down to dragon claw feet. The top of the table was inlaid with a rich green leather, while the texture of the table and legs looked similar to scales accented with bright gold. AT its center was a large golden serving platter. Atop the platter, two golden goblets and a long-necked pitcher, wrapped in golden leaves and flowers.

At each end of the table sat two high-back chairs. Again, thick and muscular legs, with what looked like folded wings for the back, where the tree leather formed cushions to lean against.

Chuck motioned to one of the chairs. "Have a seat."

I walked towards one end, and the chair turned outward.

The motion made me freeze.

"Oh, don't be a boob," the wizard chided me. "Everything here is magical, son. It's also the safest place I can think of on the planet. You are more protected here than anyplace else I could take you. Just accept the fact that the very existence of The Great Library is to serve the host of the Ithari." He motioned to the chair. "It's making sure you are as comfortable as possible. Just…roll with it, alright?"

I nodded and cautiously sat down.

The chair softly shifted back to the table.

Not that I should have been surprised by all the motions or magic. It was probably becoming so comfortable with the technology of the gnomes that I forgot about the test of the world around me.

Which caused me to pause.

I looked down at my hands and gasped. When I looked back at Chuck, I noticed for the first time that it was the same.

"We're human!"

Chuck nodded. "You cannot lie in this place. Annoying sometimes, but this is where truth is collected and stored. We're both still wearing our charms. They just don't work in here." He sat down, then rapped on the table's surface with his knuckles. "Can I please get some service around here? Barmaid? Someone?"

The Librarian floated up to the table, shaking her head. "You know the rules, Charles," she smirked.

He pointed at me. "Boss." Then pointed at himself. "Steward without a job."

She sighed and turned to me. "Wendell, as the rightful heir to the Library through the Ithari, are you revoking Morphiophelius's position as steward of the cottage and all things pertaining to it?"

"Uhhhh, wha-huh?" It hadn't occurred to me that Chuck was, in fact, the steward of the Hero's estate, and everything pertaining to it. I mean, I'd known that. He'd told me that. But it never clicked. Now that I was here, and had taken the possession of the gem, all this was now my responsibility.

But…I didn't have a clue how anything worked. Not yet, anyway.

I looked at Chuck.

He stared back, wide-eyed. "Well?"

"Um. No. If it's okay, I'd like Chu—uh, Morphiophelius to keep his job, AND all its 'perks', if that's okay? I could use help learning how all of this works, and I'd like that to be him."

The Librarian nodded. "As you wish."

Chuck made a loud clap with his hands and rubbed them together. "RIGHT! Then let's get some food and drink on the table, shall we?" Raising his fingers to his mouth, a high-pitched whistle pierced the magical atmosphere.

Even the Librarian flinched.

"I wish you wouldn't do that, Charles," she said, visually disappointed.

Chuck winced. "Sorry, my dear. Old habit."

" I second that, sir," came a voice to my side.

"Jeb!" I grinned. Standing as tall as he was able, in his perfect suit and tie, the Fämäli steward gave me a nod.

"Mr. Wendell, sir." He then looked up at Chuck and raised a single, white eyebrow. "Mr. Smith."

Chuck grinned and tipped his hat. "Jeb."

When the steward met the gaze of The Librarian, however, he paused. Unlike his response to Chuck and myself, his right hand went to his chest, and he bowed deeply from the waist. "My Lady," he said, just above a whisper. "An honor to be in your presence once again."

Her delight was unmistakable.

"Hello, my friend. It's lovely to have you back in the Library. How long has it been?"

The steward stood upright once more, adjusted his spectacles and pondered. "According to world time, or Library time, m'Lady?"

"I am bound to this domain, my friend. Library time would be more accurate," she replied. Her smile seemed to grow as she watched Jeb try to calculate variables I could only imagine.

"That would make it eight hundred and sixty-four years, eight months, one week, two days, thirteen hours and…" he pulled a pocket watch from his vest pocket, "forty-three seconds."

The Librarian nodded, while displaying a playfully serious expression. "Far too long. As always, Jeb, you have both my permission and protection while within this domain."

Again the bow. "You are too kind, m'Lady." Then he turned once more to Chuck. "If I may be so bold, sir, you are looking malnourished. May I prepare you something special, perhaps using today's pickings from the garden?"

Chuck snorted. "As long as it's fried and wrapped in bacon."

I thought I saw a crack in the Fämäli's demeanor. "As if I could persuade you by any other means." He gave me a polite half bow. "Pleasure to see you again, sir."

When he turned to leave, I sat forward. "Uh, Jeb?"

"Yes, sir."

"Can…I have some food too?" I asked.

"Of course, Mr. Wendell. This very establishment is here t serve your every need."

What I didn't expect was to see the platter in the middle of the table slide to my end. Before I could say a thing, steam rolled out from the pitcher. It smelled like…hot chocolate.

Even the smiley on my shirt blinked in astonishment.

"Is that…?"

Jeb looked at the platter, then at me. "It seems that is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, with hot chocolate, if I am identifying the scent correctly, sir."

"What?"

I turned back to see a perfectly made sandwich, on a plate, at the edge of the platter.

Chuck grinned. "Before you burn a brain cell, son, you should know that the platter responds to the one in charge of the Library. It's one of the great perks of this place. Jeb came to take my order. You just have to think of what you want, and the platter will provide what you crave."

The sides of my mouth curled up towards my ears. "You mean if I wanted…" And I kid you not,…all I did was blink and 'poof', there was a 32 ounce red raspberry slurpee sitting in front of me. Spoon straw included. I squealed like a five-year-old, grabbed the cold treat, and started shoveling.

Almost a minute passed before I realized no one was talking.

My hand froze in mid shovel.

Jeb was…smiling. As was Chuck. The Librarian softly giggled.

"Wha—…" I said, mouth full. "It's gud..."

They laughed.

Lunch was wonderful. I got to eat what I liked most…and what I missed from home. Peanut butter and raspberry jelly sandwich, Greek olives with artisan sourdough bread and cold butter, rounded off with fresh sushi and iced tea. Since it appeared as I wanted it, I didn't ask where it came from.

As we finished eating, another chair had appeared as the Librarian joined us.

"Sooo…we can be in here as long as we want, and time just stands still in the real world?"

"Sort of," Chuck replied. He took a sip of coffee. "I didn't build this place, so I don't understand most of it. The last hero told me he'd made the Library an 'exception' to time, not an exemption. It's a place to provide you with an advantage to study and moments of solitude to think out problems."

"Smart move," I said.

He nodded. "I agree. It's why I lured you in here. To take advantage of this place."

I gasped. "Crud, Chuck, I don't think I closed the cabinet door. If anyone comes to get you, they'll see…"

The Librarian leaned forward in her seat. "Don't concern yourself, Wendell. Only those permitted in the Library can see the entrance."

I pondered that. "What about Dax? Is he allowed to come in?"

"I used to bring him all the time as a child," Chuck said. "I'd come here to study and consult with Eva, while Dax played."

She nodded. "Anyone you invite may enter this threshold, unless they have ill intent. Morphiophelius was the steward of your estate and brought Daxänu with him. Since you have not revoked his privileges, he shall continue to have that ability to approve of visitors." She paused, her gaze drifting away. "I do miss Daxänu. He was a delightful child."

Chuck snorted. "If you say so."

"What if someone had ill intent and they entered anyway?"

She looked at me matter of fact. "They would wish they had not."

"Riiiiight."

Chuck set his coffee cup on the table. "For now, I'll connect a permanent door to the cabinet. You can come and go easy enough until I teach you how to form your own doors. Now that you know this place exists, you have access to its contents."

I looked between them both. "Which is what? Books? Maps? Conversations with a pretty lady?" I smiled at the Librarian.

Chuck shot me that smile that makes me nervous. "Learning."

The Librarian rose from her chair, floating into the air. "Morphiophelius tells me you desire to learn magic?"

Ever had one of those feelings in your gut that no matter what you say, it's gonna be the wrong answer?

"I…guess so…?" I whispered.

The Librarian's eyes started to glow.

"Then let's begin."

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WELCOME to Season 5!

More magic, more gnomes, more adventure….and more Wendell.

You may have noticed that I have changed the formatting at the top of the page a bit.

Not much, but the way I’ve been doing it, from the title, then the series art, description, etc….didn’t ‘flow’ for me. SO now it’s the chapter title, series art, series description, ‘Previously’, back and forward buttons, subscribe from….then the chapter.

Anyway — that’s the OCD in me.

So excited to get writing and publishing this story again!
I missed publishing it.

Onwards and UPWARDS!!
—Jaime