…What a mess… 

…What a clutterflip…

...I just can't believe it. It's mind-boggling…

She... herself... had just agreed to do the ever-hated paperwork! Practically plunged herself into a quagmire without any help from the side!

If someone had told her this before, she would have laughed. Maybe more than that. Possibly she'd have added a few more harsh words.

Her destiny is good at using sucker punches. For purely pedagogical purposes, of course... but who, pray tell, has come out the better for it.

Ami sighed, picked herself up from the floor, and obediently crept back to the Archivist. 

This strange light should be accompanied by strange actions. Trying to learn the basics of the secretarial profession was a semi-functional plan.

The Kantinian stomped a little near the entrance to the realm of the tablets. 

She tapped the wall near the entrance with the knuckles of her fist as a Kantinian habit, but immediately rubbed her hand and winced in pain. She had forgotten that she should have been warned about her appearance in Omill... Here we go again. 

Luckily for her, while she was standing there, Lucille looked out of the window, noticing movement outside.

- Ah! Come in! - She waved.

Ami obediently made her way into the small room, most of which was taken up by huge shelves containing countless reports, case files and other undoubtedly important documents...

...an overwhelmingly huge amount of information. 

Ami is so... small by comparison!

Trying to assess the size of the gigantic filing cabinet and the amount of knowledge it contained, Ami suddenly felt dizzy and sank heavily into the chair Lucy had carefully placed beside her.

The Secretary herself sat down on the top of her desk, shifting the work plates slightly to the side.

- How... How do you get something from the top? - The new Archivist asked in amazement.

- Information from above is rarely used. You can get it from the second level... if you need it. Milo will give you the access gesture to the Upper Vault. - replied the experienced one. - Provided you stay here, of course. You are, aren't you? 

Lucy looked at Ami questioningly.

- Yesss… - the Kantinian hissed habitually.

- Good. The Masters have been talking about the importance of this programme for so long that I almost believe it myself.

- Give me a good scare with a message that I need to know what this wall of reports is all about and where everything is, and you'll see me running back to Kantine, terrified and screaming.

- Actually... you do need to know. There's a complex system of cataloguing here. Documents are categorised by activity, by chronology, by geography, by authorship - by the personalities who created them, by the subject to which they relate, by subject, by type of document... - began the secretary cautiously, seeing Amelia's widened eyes. - But wait with horror and screams! As you won't be here for long, you don't need to know everything... Just remember that there are recent cases at the bottom. You'll usually be asked about them. Near the door are reports, in the middle are incidents, by the window is correspondence and the third party documents.

- Only the lower ones... - Ami echoed sceptically, feeling a lump of approaching fear in her throat.

She looked at the seemingly endless shelves and swallowed again.

- Yes, - Lucille cleared her throat and continued. - From time to time, there will be visitors to Milo's and Moki's offices. Don't worry about them, just show them the way to the right office if they hesitate. And you will meet couriers like yourself.

- And envy them.

- You chose the side.

- The darkside… Right.

Lucy thought for a moment. Then she shook her head and continued.

- I don't think I have anything to add at the moment. You see... Nothing is scary here, especially once you get used to it. You can ask me if you have any doubts, I'll leave you my address. It's all so sudden, even if you consider that I've had my travel bag ready for a while. Ever since Prime approved the exchange programme. I'll still have to pack and check everything, but not in your stressful way. I have nothing to run from or to. I'll wait for the caravan to Kantene, because I hate walking and I like to see my luggage not on my back.

- Lucky you. My walk, expected to be joyful, turned into suffering due to a chafed shoulder.

- Sad case.

- Yes. But not so sad compared to participating in a local festival.

- Alrighty then… - the acting Secretary frowned in concentration. - Don't be scared. You'll mostly be asked the same questions. And not so often now. Practically the whole team is working on these weird cases.

- Wow! - Amelia perked up, temporarily forgetting her troubles. - How weird? Really, really weird-weird? Or just... weird? 

- Really, really weird... Even the VST agents were involved. - Lucy confirmed it. - You can read it yourself, by the way. If you're interested in such things, this job might not be so boring for you.

- I wish I could be there! I hoped... it doesn't matter what I hoped. Pray continue.

- Alrighty. Well, anyway... You'll see Kyle here soon, when he's back from Prime, rested and with more information on the case. We're lucky to have him and not one of those arrogant VST nerds who interact with local life forms strictly according to protocol. He's as nice and simple as all great souls are. And when it comes to the amount of coffee he drinks with us, he's one of us. And we are happy and proud of it. 

- A real VST agent! How sad he’s not here, I never saw one! I heard one of them worked in Kantine, but it was before I joined the service. Unfortunately.

- Be patient. You’ll see him. You’ll see the cases… - Lucy made a wide sweep, covering the infinity of shelves, which was perceived as such in contrast to the modest size of the room itself. - And that everything isn’t so bad.

- What are the cases? In brief? - Amelia shifted impatiently in her chair.

- If not to go into details... memory loss and... people loss. Amnesias. Disappearances. Deaths... In amounts that Omill… no, even the Mainland had ever seen before.

Lucy looked confused, she shook her head sadly. 

An uncomfortable chill ran down the back of Amelia's neck. She shivered.

- It's… no fun. 

- Truly no. 

The women were silent for a moment. Both had the feeling that in the already dark Archive closet, the darkness of unsolved cases was thickening, moving from the tablets into their souls with a disturbing sticky eeriness.

- As I said, there are similar cases in our city. 

- Maybe that’s why the Temples Masters want this integration so badly… Anyone knows we can’t solve it alone. - the Omillian Archivist thoughtfully assumed.

- Quite right. But I must warn you - Kantene keeps these cases under wraps. Our Temple Department, as always, is confidently planning to handle everything on their own and take all the credit...

Lucy snorted disapprovingly.

- ...but all they will get, as usual, is a dressing down from the Administration, who will traditionally pretend that they had nothing to do with it and were unaware of it all along. - Amelia continued.

Lucille smiled mockingly.

- Stupid intrigues in the face of a true jeopardy.

- Yes. I tried to examine one document. But it disappeared soon. I think our Secretary helped it.

- Was it... about the disappearance of a VST agent?

- No... I think... no... it was something about people and instruments... VST agent disappeared too?! Oh no! How?! Why... why is there no investigation, no official search?! You know... now I'm really pissed off. I have always admired the few stories about VST agents that I have come across in my professional life. I've always wanted to do something to help them. Even though I knew that their skills and influence were much greater than mine. Good news for me here, as I see, you have full access to information, unlike the Archives of my home Department?

- I wish I knew less. - the Secretary threw up her hands.

- Good good… you will know much less in Kantine, I assure you, curiocity isn’t much favored here… So. If I’m a Secretary now… then all the secrets are mine! And it finally makes sense, you know... And now we're talking.

- Help yourself. - Lucy smiled as Amelia's sudden enthusiasm quickly replaced the utter despondency that had preceded it. - But please, keep everything in order.

- I will!

The confused Ami was no longer there. Sitting on the chair was the embodiment of the concentrated curiosity she had always been.

- You shouldn't disrespect archiving itself. You are the memory of the entire Temples Complex. It's a difficult task and an honourable position. Knowledge should be treated with respect. Try leaving the Station for a couple of lights without the Archives, and you'll see true chaos. No one can do anything without the proper information. Information is the key to everything.

Kantinian service woman smiled faintly.

- I agree. I love the Primean approach to knowledge and I respect the written word. I'm an omnivore when it comes to information. And thanks for trying to cheer me up.

- You were so upset! - Lucy shook her head in sympathy.

- Everyone will if they have to go to Kantene… Why… why you’re not upset, by the way? Things aren't going so well for you either! I almost feel guilty.

Lucille shrugged slightly.

- I’ll be glad to see my relatives, as I said. I love the air, the food, and the landscapes of Kantine. So quiet and peaceful. Maybe I'll be unhappy later. Who knows.

- I hope you'll never be there long enough to get as sick of these landscapes as I am... It's eerily quiet and peaceful there, yeah. Like a swamp full of sleeping ghouls.

- Well... what can I say? The Omillians say: "If you're born in Omill - you're already a winner".

- Agreed. - Amelia sighed enviously. 

The Secretary rose from her desk and made an inviting gesture.

- I invite you into a winner's circle. Time to get acquainted with the most interesting side of the functioning of our Station, which is the biggest part of our job. And time to meet the most desperate, incurable caffeine addicts, the Omill's first biscuit eaters! They're about to have their traditional junket. Shall we?

She's great at making lovely Festival announcements, isn't she? If Lucy had a word at their Fertility Festival, or at least introduced the speakers, maybe things wouldn't have looked so hopeless in those lights.

They left the Archive and Lucy sealed the entrance with the usual witchy motion.

...How will Ami do it herself? It's not clear yet. 

Probably - she won't be able to. It is an impossible task for a non-witch. Just another in a series of impossible tasks in her new position.

But... Milo is fine with it, and Ami has just found a purpose in this confusing part of her pointless life.

- Ami, this is Donny... - Lucy introduced the thoughtful Kantinian to the service man who was hurrying to the coffee table. - Ami... will be filling in for me.

The stocky, tanned Omillian smiled broadly.

- A new competitor for the sunrise coffee and pastries!

- I'm not much of a competitor, I guess. I'll be desperately shy for a while, like a moment. Then I'll be gone. And then Lucy will be back. That's all.

A sleepy-looking officer crawled out of the cell under the stairs. 

She blinked her big yellow irises, trying to focus on the couple standing before her. But it was as if the woman was looking through them, not at them.

- Laivy! You're up early. - Lucy greeted the sleeper carelessly. - Did the smell of coffee disturb you?

The one called Laivy made an indeterminate growl that could be interpreted as agreement, greeting or curse, and followed Donny to the coffee table.

- Laivy's the nightwatchwoman… - Lucy explained in a low voice. - All light she sleeps, all dark time she watches. An invaluable worker. And the target of endless jokes all the time when she’s not hearing. And when she does hear it.

- Does she always react with that sound?

- No. Sometimes she also reacts like this. - Lucy raised her eyes and blew air noisily through her lips.

The officers turned at the sound, and the Secretary smiled sweetly.

Smiling back, they decided that fresh coffee was more interesting than the details of what was going on. The aroma of the drink, warmed by the witch's warmth in the palms of their hands, was already wafting through the Truth Station, luring the others out of their offices.

- We have some of the best coffee in the city here. - Lucille announced proudly. - I don't know where Milo dug up those seedlings he planted in our yard, but the raw material is great... Now, about brewing it here according to our family recipes. Like I said, it's time to stop lying to people and admit we're a coffee shop. Change the sign. Forget about these weird cases.

- "Coffee Station" or "Truth Coffeehouse"?

- We haven't decided yet... That's why the sign stays the same. The second thing that might be an obstacle is that we don't make our own biscuit makers here. But that can be fixed.

- Where do you get the sweets? - Ami asked with real interest.

She could use a sweet treat for her stress right now. 

- Usually someone brought them from their favourite coffee shop. Or from home. When they take the trouble to make something according to their mood and their family recipes, it's always a real celebration!

- The only kind of celebration I like. When the mood makes you celebrate, not the schedule.

Lucille nodded.

- True Omillian approach. Moki! Milo was looking for you. Moki, wait! This is Ami. From now on, if you want to ask me a question, ask Ami.

Lucy deftly managed to intercept a dark-skinned young officer as he tried to fly past. This man was graceful, and handsome but somewhat aloof, like almost all native Selvas. And unlike most Selvas, he was scowling.

- Aha... - he muttered absent-mindedly, as if the archivist had only slowed his body and his thoughts had travelled in another direction.

Moki cast an absent-minded glance at them, then at the office door on this level, apparently realising that he needed to reconnect with his thoughts, then flew away.

- Let's go to the coffee pot before the swallows blow everything out and eat all the biscuits. - Lucy suggested. - I'll introduce you to the others later... Or Milo will.

- I like your priorities. - Ami grinned.