Another month had gone by and more things had changed. I spent every morning at the library, always grabbing the dictionary and at least two books before sitting at a table with them and carefully reading. I took notes of anything that I wanted to keep track of and mostly just enjoyed each subject as it came to me. It was much like being back in school when you had self directed learning time. This usually came in the first week of a new school year where you would decide what you wanted to learn. That’s where I first found my passion for writing.

  Unlike my school days though there were no classes to sign up for. There were just the books in front of me. I knew there was some kind of school in the area, a college or university perhaps given the scholars that I often shared the research room with, but I doubted I could afford that even with a better job. That better job did come though, one day as I was shelving some of the books I had been reading. The librarian I had first interacted with the day I found the library (whose name I had come to learn was Marigold), came over to me, head tilted up to see my face.

  “You are quite proficient at that for one not in this library prior to a month.” She informed me, sitting on her haunches.

  “Uh thank you. I didn’t want to just leave the books sitting around after I was finished for the day.”

  “Yes, much more polite than the students and others who come by here. And yet you leave every day around this time.”

  “I’ve been working at a warehouse in the trade ward. My shift starts soon.”

  “I see.. I see..” She bobbed her head, then scratched lightly behind an ear. They were a bit smaller than my own but stuck up a little over her skull. “Well, is it is if you are planning to live in Dacathus long it would seem that the library could use someone so considerate. I do not know how much the warehouse pays you but I can offer you a starting salary that will cover a room at place I know as long as you don’t mind living under someone else’s roof, cover food and probably a new outfit.” She looked me up and down as my head swam with the possibilities.

  In some ways I had already been living like that though I was sleeping on a floor by a hearth. Not that I minded, but I had known a while that I needed to move out. While Hestern and Lemet were happy to have me they broke even with what I could give them after the extra food I needed. There were my friends at the warehouse to consider. Tyrech, but that was little more than a dalliance between us. Not serious, even if she was lovely, kind, and enjoyed smart people.

  “I would actually love that.” I told her, my own tall ears flexing their full height with the prospect of a room. Money for another thing to wear. “What would be my duties if I worked here?”

  “Shelving of course. You would also start off being responsible for sweeping the floors as some of the guests who come by can be quite a mess. You would help guests find books that they are looking for. If you can handle that you might be expected to work with research, possibly note taking. A lot of the things I’ve already witness you do. I am guessing you have a level or two in [Chronicler]?”

  This was the first time I’d ever really discussed my levels. It wasn’t a taboo topic, I’d checked that out once I found the book about classes, but I still didn’t tend to hear it in normal conversation. “Yes. Level 4.”

  “Oh good. Hopefully you have some useful skills in there. I myself am a level 15 [Organizer]. I make sure everything is in its place. I see when it is not. That is why I make this offer.”

  I would have been a fool to turn down such an offer. Even after meeting my new landlord, professor Thanolin, a somewhat grumpy old Aulterun, I was enthused. The room was tiny compared to back home with just some worn cushions for furniture, but it was nicer than where I had been living.

  When I told everyone about my new job at the room I would be renting there was mixed emotions. It was a bittersweet parting. Since I’d come to Dacathus the lizardfolk couple had become a bit like family to me. They had done what they’d told the gate guards they’d do though, got me on my feet in town. Made sure I wouldn’t be sleeping in the streets.

  At the farewell dinner at the Clattering Crossroads that the warehouse crew insisted on having for me I told them “I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me, and if it helps I know you’ll be wonderful parents.” Even with their talking in their own language at times I had figured out a while ago that they were treating me a bit like a test case.

  Hestern patted my hand fondly as Lemet beamed. “You taught us how to read and write… we can do the same for our future children to give them a better chance in the world.”

  Tyrech patted my arm affectionately as well. “You’re always welcome to come back to the warehouse if things get too much out there but I can see you found more of your place among the books.”

  Ryan laughed, lifting a mug of ale. “To Ramjack, the near kid who came here barely able to talk and now is leaving to work at the library full of books many can’t read. You really are a wonder.”

  My small whiskers flattened against my snout at that. A mark of happy embarrassment. “Thank you.” I said as I drank my ale. In my old life, back home on Vakanar, I don’t think I would have ever known anyone like them. I lived in apartment, wrote, and rarely socialize. I doubt I would have ever found myself working the sort of job that would have had weekly outings to a tavern. I was still living in the same room I had been raised in back there, but to myself since both my siblings had left for other opportunities. I hoped they were ok and tried not to let thoughts of my family bring down the celebration. I had to take joy where I could and push the thoughts to later when I was alone.

  Not that I was truly alone here. Even after the farewell dinner I spent one more night with Hestern and Lemet, insisting that they take the rest of the money I had been saving from the warehouse. I told them they had been so good to me and would need it for when they had children. I had gotten goodbye hugs from both as I left with my few possession for my new home.

  It was a townhouse in the Scholar’s Ward, fairly close to the library. Just a street over in fact. I passed a little cafe and bakery on my way there, the tantalizing smell of pastries making me wish I had kept a little of the coin for myself. But such treats could come later. At the door of the townhouse I could see Professor Thanolin already waiting, his black eyes stark contracts to his pure white plumage.

  “Is that all you have young man?” He asked, showing me inside and to the same small room that I had seen the other day.

  “Yes sir. I am still pretty new to Dacathus.”

  His head tilted to the side, something I had learned to recognize in aulteruns as curiosity and interest. “I see… tell me boy, if this is not too rude of me, do you come from elsewhere?”

  I stared at him, a light tremor going through my body. One thing I had yet to find in my research at the library had been evidence of what had happened to me happening before. I nearly went into panic mode when I answered with an honest “Yes.” But in such a low voice that I was sure he had to strain to hear.

  “Oh. Well, splendid how well you can speak or read then, and follow the rules. You didn’t stumble into town trying to fight anything and you are already being polite. Not that I have seen many in your situation mind you.”

  I swallowed hard. “It.. I… it has happened before?”

  “Oh yes. Every so often someone in odd clothes, or a people that has never been seen before, wanders in. If you want to talk with someone more knowledgeable about it I would talk to headmaster Millet. But they are quite busy and you are not a student so it will be a while.”

  I set the remains of my bag down inside the room, studying my new landlord. “I hope me being from, elsewhere, will not be a problem for you sir.”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  “Ah no, it shouldn’t from what I can see of you. You are so far polite. As long as you do not make noise during normal sleeping hours for me we should get along splendidly.”

  “When is that exactly?”

  “Oh I tend to sleep around dawn till sometime in the afternoon. I take it that is about when you go to work now yes?”

  That probably meant no getting breakfast here at the house. And as I was about to answer the door next to mine opened and a paracrest stuck their snout out. “Oh, is this the new guy then?” they asked as I just stared at them.

  The professor ruffled his feathers, his black eyes focusing on the door. “Yes yes, this is Ramjack. He is living here now. Ramjack, that one is Bibbel Ofspry. A poor student if I ever had one.”

  The paracrest snorted and slammed the door. “Too bad I need his money.” Thanolin grumbled so soft my sensitive ears barely caught it. He yawned then, beak open wide. “Well, I am up past my bedtime.” He handed me a set of metal keys, “You will likely need these when you come back from work as I might still be asleep and Bibbel will be in class by then.”

  With that he turned and headed up a set of stairs at the end of the hallway. I opened my own door, pleased that one of the keys worked in the lock. Not that I had anything worth stealing but having privacy again was welcome. Before I left I also took a moment to jot down the name the professor had mentioned, Headmaster Millet. So I wasn’t unique in my experience, something I had suspected given the presence of humans and talloni, two species I recognized. Hopefully at some point I would be able to talk to them, to know if there was a way back or if I should continue to build my life here.

  My first day actually working at the library was pleasant. Unlike my previous jobs in this world there was no guts, fluids, or the sweat of other workers. There was still lifting and carrying, but not as much as in the warehouse. I was instead re shelving books for most of the day. There were more sections in the library than just the main room I had stuck to before. I had been so busy learning new words, understanding classes, history of the city and such that I had not seen the upper floor at all.

  The second floor was a bit easier to navigate when shelving books since they were sorted by author name rather than subject matter. The order was simple, since different cultures had different placements of family names, if they had any at all, then whatever was given as the first, or front, name was used for sorting. The content of these books? Wonderfully it was fiction, which I wrote back home.

  I didn’t have time that first day to grab any for reading though but it opened up possibilities. What if I continued to write my stories only for here? I would have to understand the way classes worked better though and maybe more bout how real magic worked, but I could do that. I would need to practice writing in the local language more so than in Vazack.

  That would be a project my notebook could handle. It was small, filled with notes already, but there were enough pages to at least write a bit of a story. A rewrite of what I had previously published back home on Vakanar. So before dinner that night, after I had returned from work I began. I still had words to research and refine of course but without checking my language notes I transcribed the most basic information about Prince Torrid of the planet Drem. I changed the planet to the land of Drem though. A far off place filled with dragons, giant serpents, unicorns and magic.

  In thinking of the weird snake person I had grappled with I decided to reform the prince a bit, giving him the lower body of such a creature but the upper still of a dragon person. Those two existed on this world, as they did in the known universe. Dragon was a term used for creatures who flew with the use of hydrogen bladders that resulted in explosive exhales at times, also known as fire breath. They showed up in many worlds, though in myth more often then not. I had learned that as a child when I first wanted to write. Now that I was here though I wondered if like with this world dragons from various worlds might have had one or two of their number show up on another giving rise to the myths.

  I sat at the dining room table, steadily writing when the professor came in. His head tilted as I looked up. “And here I thought you were not a student young Ramjack.”

  “Oh no sir, I am just writing for the sake of it. Back home I was just starting out as a fiction writer and it occurred to me that maybe I should write it here as well.” I could see his feathers ruffle, making me worried that he was not happy.

  “Fiction, with your talent to learn? You are new here, said you’d only been in town what, two or three months? You knew nothing of how to speak or read and now you work at the library. You can go further with your [Chronicler] levels if you do more than aspire to fiction.”

  I wanted to argue the point with him but I did not know professor Thanolin well enough to determine if he would get mad at such a thing or if debating was as pleasant to him as writing was to me. “Well sir, I have a lot more to learn. The library gives me both the path to this learning and money to live on.”

  “Ah yes yes. Well, there are a lot of real things out there that might be of interest to a young smart lad such as yourself. And if you do not waste your money on frivolous things you will have the coin to look for lessons at the Scholar’s Hall. You might even earn yourself a class payment reduction if you ingratiate yourself with various professors.”

  From our introduction the other day I knew that Thanolin still taught twice a week there. He was retired as he would say, but still had a wing in. As he turned away from me I set my notebook aside and rose from the bench. “Professor, should I assist you with meal prep? I did that at times where I last stayed”

  “Oh? How good of you to offer.” The aulterun’s head turned all the way around, looking past me to the door of Bibbel’s room. “That one never offers, though he is out at class at this hour.” The head spun back, something that still creeped me out a bit concerning the species. “Yes you may. You are a meat eater? The only trouble with renting to paracrest and talloni is that they are both herbivorous. I keep food for them stocked but they like roots which I do not eat. I tend to make rice for us since it is all agreed.”

  I laughed a little at that, my tail thumping the ground a bit. “Same with me sir. I like rice, fruit, leafy things but my stomach does not agree with roots. Meat is my preference.” I even flashed my sharp teeth which made the bird hoot in return.”

  “Excellent. No rice, Bibbel can fend for himself if he hasn’t bothered to eat before he comes back. We’ll have rabbit cutlet.” He turned his head around to study me. “You aren’t a rabbit hybrid or something are you? You do have ears like them.”

  “Oh no sir. Completely Zagariean.”

  “Never heard of them so I will take you as a prime example. Now, grab the pan over there and put it on the stove. I will stoke the fire to bring it up to cooking level. These will cook faster than putting it on a spit.”

  ————

  While I missed Hestern, Lemet and the warehouse crew (especially Tyrech), my new routine was most satisfying. I would get up early, trying to be quiet for my landlord who had just gone off to sleep, and once I was earning money headed to the cafe. It was a busy place that time of day but there were enough tables that I was able to sit at one with a pastry and cup of tea while I did what I could to recreate the stories I had sold back home.

  I hadn’t wanted to argue with the professor that there were better uses of my time. Not only was this a pleasant activity for me but there was a chance I could use it to earn a bit more money. More money and who knows. Even if there was a way to get back home I wanted to plan for a life here. And one good way to do that would be to get into the Scholar’s Hall.

  Professor Thanolin had implied that maybe I could audit one of his two classes but I didn’t want to push my luck just yet. I didn’t know when the next classes started but I had resolved to keep on his good side and earn what I could. Besides, if I got into the school perhaps this headmaster Millet would have time for me. If they knew about where I came from then perhaps they would have the answers to what caused me to appear here to begin with.

  Each day at the library as a worker instead of just a patron was something new. New books to shelve, new people to meet, and new rooms to uncover. One day I was sent to the basement where damaged books were kept. There an overworked clerk sat with many scrolls at an old wood table. I was shocked not to have seen her before, or any of her kind in the city, but I recognized the species at once. A terrisian. Tall insect-like beings with antenna, mandibles that looked like side-ways beaks and two sets of arms. I knew it was a she as the compatible species was one with distinct gender differences. Well, mild ones but more so than my own kind or even humans.

  She looked up with her main eyes blinking at me. She had five all together, two that weren’t so different from my own and three that were almost the same black shade as her carapace.

  ~Are you new here?~ her voice was clicks and whistles but I could feel the words in common settle into my brain as she spoke. It was a bit startling but little more than a tickle of sensation.

  “Oh, uh, yes. I’m Ramjack. I was sent down here with this?” I held up a book whose binding one of the students had damaged when he’d opened it up wider than it should have been.

  The terrisian lifted one of her slender hands. “Give it here and I will add it to my workload.”

  I did so, trying not to crowd her as I worried I was staring too much. “I… haven't seen another of your kind around.” I managed, knowing how rude that sounded.

  The woman clicked, her antenna whirring as she looked back at me from her work. ~Not many of us around Dacathus. Most like the areas closer to the Bush Desert to the north.~

  I nodded, trying not to cough as the dust and mold from this workroom pricked at my sensitive nose. It was probably why a terrisian was the perfect choice to work done here, no noses. Their antenna were the only things that came close to picking up such details, or so I had learned from compatible alien biology class. “Well, I’ll leave you to your work then. I’m sorry for disturbing you.”

  She said nothing more as I left. I didn’t even know her name. But like talloni and humans she was at least a race I recognized for a change.