It was rather odd that my Master had never visited the Temple before, unbelievable really. Though my service has thus far been brief I knew there were some unalienable tenants followed by scholars. In a stroke of irony acknowledged by all, but unwritten was the obligatory pilgrimage to Sechrastium, the Temple of the Tome.

More of a misnomer, one might believe two things upon hearing its name. Firstly that there was some religious connection to this place, quite the opposite in fact. It was a space occupied exclusively by learned beings of renown, praying at the altar of knowledge and believing only in the supreme power of the mind. And secondly it may seem as though they are studying a singular tome, as I had first thought, but to sate the voracious appetites of their inquisitions requires an unparalleled trove of tomes.

After attending to my Masters coat, pack, and notary duties upon entering I could absorb the majesty of the Temples interior. No mortal hands could have crafted the woodwork found within, the boards were not joined or nailed, but rather melted to each surface. How one melts wood is beyond my imagination and indeed created a breath taking foyer.

The soft curves and hard lines married beautifully along the vaguely ovoid shaped room which bounced the incoming light into some arcane pathways through the air. Before us rose a central velveted staircase that reached a landing and then winged off back upwards in either direction to the next floor. Books, scrolls, and boxes jaunted up and down the steps, carried by unseen hands to be filed or flipped through. Busts of pristine marble dotted alcoves along the sweeping staircase depicting honored Grand Magisters past, present, and future.

Ascending the steps I couldn't help but crane my neck to the domed ceiling of waxed black glass. My shadow peered quizzically down at me, seemingly as awestruck as I. My Masters boots wasted no time ascending the steps as if They had viewed these paltry relics before, but I knew better. They were a newer initiate into the upper echelons of the Learned in relative terms and that didn't come without pressure.

Peeling my gaze from the myriad oddities I hurried to catch up, lest I be left woefully lost. The upper landing was no less splendiferous than the first and hosted five hallways at its semi-circular edges. Bookshelves clogged their lengths in shapes, sizes, colors, and dimensions to mirror the plethora of knowledge surely held within. 

A moment of hesitation from my Master before They took the leftmost path, a wise choice I surmised, though I didn't have clue Their purpose here. A gentle ripple stopped me in my tracks before crossing the threshold, an aftershock of my Masters entry. My hand reached for the ethereal barrier and a strand reached back to meet it. I marveled at this perceived sentience woven into the very being of this place just before a hand reached through to drag me across.

My Master reprimanded me for my unproductive lollygagging, They were right of course, leave the wondering to the professionals. Beyond was not quite what I expected in terms of grandeur. Everything until this point had led me to believe that the fantastical nature of the Temple would only compound the deeper you traveled within, but now I wasn't so sure. The hallways was no hallway at all, in fact it appeared to be a room, a small one at that.

The floor was rustic hardwood boarded and warped by time and moisture. The walls had peeling olive wallpaper obscured only by dilapidated bookshelves and tattered curtains. The windows were stained a ruddy hue and viewed not the grand cityscape vista below, but rather a murky second story glimpse onto a tight, gloomy rats nest of streets.

I was about to open my mouth in inquiry, but thought better than to disturb my Master. They were looking intently at a waterlogged ledger unremarkable from the stacks clustering the room. A smack resonated from Their finger forced onto an unseen discovery on the page, eyes wide and wild. A deft flick of Their wrist tore the page from its bindings and stuffed it into Their pocket, patting it as if in reassurance.

The doorway rippled violently behind me, alerting my Master to an apparent intruder. My collar was grabbed once more and dragged with choking force through a nearby window. My eyes caught the interlopers through broken glass and falling rain on our descent. Red robes filled the wound in the buildings side each with a vile curse on their lips for the prize slipping through their grasp.