The Lust Lord Librarian-Chapter 53: The Red Sands

Adal had to admit that it felt strange leaving the Library open whilst he was not there. Still, he had faith in his women and the instructions he had given them.

Dressed in his black trench coat and casual wear, with his dagger by his waist and a roll of notes in his pockets, Adal made his way to the store where he had first met Opal, way back when she had called herself Lorraine.

Every time he travelled these days, he was recognised by a few faces. Those who had read his novel or attended his play.

When he arrived at the quiet street, he swiftly made his way towards Lady Cho’s store.

The wrinkled old woman was clearly having a quiet day of work, as she sat behind the counter reading a book.

Not just any book... it was The Karamazov Siblings.

Adal smiled when the woman looked up and saw him. Her squinty eyes suddenly went wide with shock.

"It’s you!" she said, her voice high-pitched and croaky.

"It is I," Adal responded jokingly, as he made his way to the desk. "I see that you are reading my novel, but I wonder if you might remember when I attended your store a few weeks ago?"

Lady Cho nodded her head vigorously.

"Of course! You helped get rid of that thief woman with the blonde hair... what was her name again... Lorraine something?"

Ah, yes, Lorraine Fortune. Apologies, Granny, but that was actually Opal Overlove, princess of Iglantis.

Adal didn’t voice his true thoughts.

"Yes, that was me. I’ve come here to ask a favour of you, Granny. I was wondering if you had access to any Outer Realm Gates that could take me to the Glassborn Kingdom?"

The old lady looked at him carefully as she scratched her hairy chin.

"Yes, I do. What business do you have there, Librarian?"

"Not much... I thought that I might spread my works to the Sun Elves. What would it cost for you to allow me to use it?"

"Nothing... I have no use for the things, since it’s nearly impossible for me to get my hands on a Ring of Guidance. If you have a way to navigate the portal, then be my guest."

Adal didn’t need to know how to navigate the portal. He showed the granny his hands and wiggled his fingers.

She saw the silver-red ring on his pinky, and her eyes went wide.

"A Ring of Guidance!" the lady gawked in disbelief. Afterwards, she opened the door leading to her back room and began to make her way inside. "Come, follow me."

Adal followed the slow granny downstairs into the basement of her store.

Once there, he found that it suddenly became hard to breathe. They entered a large storage room filled with at least one hundred crates, most likely containing many different magical artefacts.

Adal suddenly wondered who this granny was, and just how she had come into so much power.

He would have to research her later...

They made their way past the storage room and through one last door made of iron. It required three different keys to open, and once it was opened, Adal was met with blinding light.

He stepped inside, following the granny, and waited for his eyes to adjust to the light and his ears to adjust to the humming.

Once they had, he saw that he was standing before five different Outer Realm Gates, lined up in a small room. The ground beneath them was stained red.

Granny pointed towards the second gate.

"That’s what you’re looking for, lad. The gate that will lead you to the Glassborn Kingdom. I must warn you, I do not know the exact location where you will emerge, so if you end up in some sort of prison cell, or inside a Duneworm’s stomach, don’t blame me."

Adal tried not to become nervous as he stared at the portal. He managed to keep his cool.

"Where do those other portals lead?" he tried to ask, but the granny shook her head.

"Cough up a few notes or a valuable item, and the answer is yours."

Adal decided that could wait for a later date. For now, he wanted to head to the Glassborn Kingdom and return to his Library as soon as possible.

Granny made her way towards the exit and began to close the door.

"Give a loud knock once you have returned. Oh, and knock seven times so that I’m sure it is you. Otherwise, you might end up as another red stain on the ground."

The door closed, leaving Adal alone in the room. He could now make guesses as to what the red stains were...

No time to focus on that now.

Adal drew his dagger, and after taking a deep breath, he approached the gate and leapt through.

~~~

Just like many times before, Adal emerged from the portal in what felt like an instant.

He raised his dagger in a guard, prepared for whatever might come for him. He spun left, in an attempt to make sure nobody was waiting for him.

Then something tightened around his neck from the right, dragging him to the floor. It was too fast for him to react, and when he tried to slash at it with his dagger, the weapon rebounded off something solid.

Adal flailed in the sand. Red sand. Then he looked up towards multiple figures standing over him.

He realised that what had wrapped itself around him was some sort of necklace made from stone. Attached to the collar was an iron chain, which then connected him to someone beside him. That person wore the exact same contraption, connected to another, and then another, and then...

There were roughly ten people, Adal swiftly counted. One man stood at their head, leading them.

He was an ugly, dark-skinned man with pointed ears and ragged brown clothing. He held a sabre in one hand and used the other to keep hold of the chain, directing his group of ten wherever he wanted them to go.

"Hell yeah," the man rejoiced. "I knew it would be worth waiting by the portal instead of going inside. Fuck taking that risk."

Adal could not believe what had happened. What were the chances that he would arrive at the exact location he was looking for?

A smile tugged at his lips, making him look insane.

"Musa Desertsword. I have been looking for you." He said calmly.