by Cadman, Dean
Mr Daffer swiftly opened the door, almost as if he had been eagerly waiting on the other side for them to knock. He poked his head out of the door and quickly looked up and down the street again, before beckoning them inside the shop.
“Quickly. Quickly, please, in you come,” he said in a hushed voice. Then he turned the sign over in the window so it read 'Closed,' and locked the door behind them.
“Good day to you Mr Daffer,” Lusam offered in his most polite voice.
“That remains to be seen young man, but at least you weren't late, so that’s a good start I would say,” he replied smiling.
Lusam noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, and as he turned he noticed a middle aged woman in a light blue dress standing up from behind the counter.
“I would like to introduce you both to my wife Lucy. Lucy, this is Lusam and Neala. They are the two I told you about who will be helping us catalogue the books in the basement.”
“Nice to meet you both,” Lucy replied, nodding her head and smiling.
“Nice to meet you too,” they both replied in unison.
Mr Daffer cleared his throat and said, “I think the first order of businesses today will be for us to lay down the ground rules here at The Old Inkwell. That way we won’t have any misunderstandings between us while you are in my employment. If you disagree with any of them, or feel that you can not comply with them, you are free to leave any time you like. I hope that sounds fair to you both?”
“Yes, of course,” replied Lusam, while Neala just nodded her head in agreement.
“Good. First thing you should know about The Old Inkwell is that although I have only recently inherited the business, which has in fact been running here in Helveel for well over two hundred years. We are a highly respected establishment, who cater for every kind of clientele, from the lowly student in history just starting out, to the master scholars of the high universities. One thing they all have in common however, is a high status in society, and as such are not inclined to conduct business in any establishment that is seen to employ dirty looking street kids. No insult intended.”
“We had already thought about that as we approached your shop, so we waited until the street was clear before knocking on the door,” replied Lusam, slightly defensively.
“I thank you both for your diligence. However, it will only be a matter of time before the inevitable happens and you are spotted entering or leaving, or possibly even come face to face with some High Lord inside the building itself. I can not take that chance, so I have taken the liberty of asking Lucy if she could dig out some of my son's old clothes that will fit you, as the ones you're wearing are little better than rags, and will never survive the washing process. As for you Neala, I'm afraid we never had a daughter, but I did notice your clothes were in much better condition the last time you were here, and only in need of a good wash. You can also wear some of my son's clothes until we get yours cleaned, if that is acceptable to you both?” Lusam and Neala looked at each other, then both nodded their agreement to Mr Daffer without speaking.
“Good. Now that’s settled. The next thing I wish to discuss is your current accommodations. Where are you currently sleeping each night?”
Lusam looked at Neala and replied, “Well, Mr Daffer, that depends, it can change from night to night.“
“And it also depends what time of year it is,” Neala added.
“Hmm … Just as I suspected. Neither of you have a permanent place of residence do you?”
Feeling slightly embarrassed by the question—which surprised him, as it really wasn’t their fault they were on the streets—Lusam just shook his head, and Neala followed his example.
“I have already discussed this subject with my wife Lucy, and we both agree that, given the fact you may be in our employment for some time, we feel it would be best if you stayed here at The Old Inkwell. The location this building now occupies, was the exact spot where an ancient temple once stood. Although the building you now see is much newer, and obviously was built for a much different role, the old underground rooms and store rooms of the original temple were incorporated into the newer building, and so still remain. I'm sure we can adapt a couple of the old accommodation cells the monks used, and make them comfortable enough for your stay here. If nothing else, it will certainly be warmer and more comfortable than the streets I'm sure, and your clothing will have a much better chance of staying presentable at the same time.”
Lusam certainly longed for some place to call home again, even if it wasn’t going to last forever. Every day of winter spent inside a dry building, brought him closer to spring or summer, when it wouldn’t be quite so tough back out on the streets. He knew he was more than happy with the offer, but he didn’t want to make the decision for Neala.
“What do you think Neala? It's got to be better than out there at this time of the year I think.” Neala took longer to reply than Lusam was expecting, and at one point he actually thought she might decline the offer. He would have to try and remember to ask her later what her hesitation was over.
“I have a question Mr Daffer,” Neala said.
“Certainly, ask away,” he replied smiling at her.
“I don’t know about Lusam, but I'm not accustomed to being locked inside anywhere. May I ask, would we be allowed to come and go as we pleased?” Then she suddenly had another thought and added quickly, “Outside of our working hours of course.”
Mr Daffer looked quite shocked at the implication that he might be suggesting enforced imprisonment, and was very quick to reply, “Of course. Of course, you may leave any time you like. All we ask is you return before ten in the evening, so we may lock up fully for the night.” Then he added, “Also, we would appreciate you being as quiet as possible if you return so late. That way you won’t disturb our neighbours, or indeed myself and Lucy, as we may already be asleep upstairs.”
“Oh, yes. That wouldn’t be a problem Mr Daffer,” Neala replied looking a little guilty. Lusam noticed Neala's question had made her a little uncomfortable, and so tried to move the conversation on swiftly.
“Thank you for your kind offer Mr and Mrs Daffer. We would both be very happy to accept your offer, and abide by your rules while we are your guests here,” Lusam replied smiling at them both.
“Very good. There are a few other minor details we must discuss before you start work of course, but they can wait until later. We were just about to eat some lunch. Nothing too grand I'm afraid, only cold meat and bread, but you are both welcome to join us for something to eat, if you haven't already eaten that is” suggested Mr Daffer, looking slightly more relaxed than when they had first entered his shop. Lusam and Neala looked at each other, but neither of them needed to discuss the prospect of free food, so they agreed more than readily to Mr Daffer's offer of lunch.
“That sounds great. Thank you Mr and Mrs Daffer,” replied Lusam. “Firstly though, we would greatly appreciate you having a wash, and changing into those clean clothes Lucy has for you over there on the counter,” Mr Daffer said, pointing over towards where Lucy was still standing. “You may use the wash basin in the room at the back of the shop. It's not a large room, but you should also be able to change your clothes in there.“
“Okay, thanks,” they both replied, and they went to gather the clothes Lucy had prepared for them on the shop counter.
Lusam suggested Neala get washed and changed first. While he waited he noticed for the first time just how big the shop actually was. Book cases lined all the walls, and there were several long rows of free standing book cases that formed long corridors lined with books. He was wondering just how long it might take to actually read them all, when his day-dreaming was interrupted by Neala informing him that it was his turn.
“Thanks,” he replied, and entered the small wash-room to get himself washed and changed. Lucy walked over to Neala and asked for the clothes to be given to her for washing, then suggested Neala should make her way into the dining room and make herse
lf comfortable, as they would be eating lunch in a few minutes.
Several minutes later Lusam joined Neala in the dining room, now dressed in a clean white shirt, brown trousers, and a pair of shiny boots. The boots were a little on the large side for his feet, but were still much better than the ones he had been wearing.
Neala looked him up and down and raised an eyebrow, smiling at him as he entered, before playfully teasing him with, “You certainly scrub up well.”
“You too,” was the only witty reply he could come up with, just as Mr Daffer reappeared through a set of double doors at the other end of the dining room.
“Ah, much better,” Mr Daffer said, referring to the fresh appearance of his new employees. Less than a minute later Lucy entered the room through the same double doors carrying a large platter of meat, bread and cheese. She then placed it in the centre of the large table, and took her seat next to Mr Daffer. At the mere sight of the food in front of him, Lusam's stomach reminded him loudly, and not too subtly that it must indeed be time to eat.
“Please, help yourself,” Lucy said, indicating towards the food on the table. After thanking them both again for their hospitality, Lusam and Neala both helped themselves to some food, and a drink of lemonade that Lucy informed them she had made herself. It was actually rather good, and Lusam commented on the fact that it was so tasty. That seemed to make Lucy very happy, and so she proceeded to explain in great detail the process of making such a sweet tasting beverage.
After the meal was over Lucy excused herself, saying she had other duties to attend to, and left them both with Mr Daffer in the dining room. During lunch, Mr Daffer had informed them that he had already taken two mattresses down to the basement, for them to use in whichever rooms they decided to take as their accommodation during their stay at the The Old Inkwell. He suggested they all went downstairs into the basement so he could show them around, and also explain exactly what he would like to be done with the books there. Lusam and Neala followed Mr Daffer through the double doors and into a long corridor, which had several doors leading off to the left and right. At the end of the long corridor there was a large wide wooden staircase that curved around, before disappearing up onto the floor above. The walls were made of dark wood panelling, but it didn’t make the corridor too dark as there seemed to be a large amount of colourful light flooding across the floor coming from somewhere above the staircase. As they approached the staircase, Mr Daffer stopped outside the last door on the left and took a key out of his pocket. While he was unlocking the door, Lusam glanced up to see where the light was coming from. He was amazed to see a huge crystal glass dome in the ceiling high above the staircase, lighting up the whole area below it. He was so engrossed at the amazing sight that he didn’t notice Mr Daffer and Neala had already started to descend the stairs into the basement, and had to hurry to catch them up. The stone stairs ended on a small landing, before turning and continuing down to an old heavy wooden door at the bottom. Mr Daffer opened the door, and Lusam was pleased to see someone had already lit several lanterns inside the room that lay beyond. As they stepped into the room, the sheer size of it became apparent to both Lusam and Neala, as they stood there opened mouthed looking around. They were now in a chamber bigger than any room Lusam had ever seen before. It was immense. It was instantly obvious that this place was much older than the building above ground, simply by the way it had been constructed. Huge stone blocks made up the walls, and running down the centre of the room were two lines of giant stone pillars that supported a vaulted ceiling high above. As Lusam looked up at the ceiling, he could just about make out what looked like pictures of something between the giant arches, but in the poor light of the lanterns he was unable to see exactly what they were.
There were several corridors leading away from the main chamber in various directions, but none were lit, so it was impossible to tell how far back they extended.
“Well it's fair to say you won’t be short of space down here,” Mr Daffer said, gesturing towards the huge open space. “No kidding,” laughed Neala.
“Down that first passage are the sleeping cells of the monks who used to live here. There are well over a hundred rooms down that way. I suggest finding a couple close to this main area, as all the rooms that I have seen all look the same anyway. Your mattresses are here when you choose which room to put them in, and there are also some blankets here,” he said, pointing to the pile in the corner of the room. “If you both follow me, I will show you where the books that I need you to catalogue are being stored,” Mr Daffer said, as he walked towards the second corridor.
They walked past many doors on the way down the corridor. When they finally reached the end it opened out into another large room. This room was maybe a quarter of the size of the big room, but it was still huge, and almost half full of books, which were stacked almost to the ceiling. Lusam had been expecting new books, or at least recently bought books to catalogue, but these books looked very old indeed.
“And here we are,” stated Mr Daffer. “These are the books I need you to catalogue. There is a desk over there with plenty of parchment, pens and ink,” he said pointing to a very old writing desk in the opposite corner of the room. “I think the best way to do this would be to list them alphabetically. Now, because we have no idea how many books start with each letter of the alphabet, it would be easier to use a different piece of parchment for each letter of the alphabet. You will probably also come across some books written in a foreign language, please just make a separate list of these books and I will decide later what to do with them. Please can you also stack the books alphabetically as you record them, so we have a pile, or several piles for each letter of the alphabet. It will make finding any book much easier in the future, and as you can see, we aren’t short of space.”
“Sounds easy enough,” replied Lusam. “If you don’t mind me asking Mr Daffer, where did all these books come from?”
“When I took over the Old Ink Well about a year ago, I was curious about this place down here. When I was a boy, I asked my uncle many times about the monks who once lived here. He told me that they had been a very secretive cult, and nobody really knew very much about them. None of their order ever left their ranks, and the temple above ground was only the public face of their cult down here. So when I inherited this place, I started to explore a little down here. Eventually I came across several rooms where I found these books, and I moved them all into this larger room over several weeks.”
“These books sure do look old,” said Neala picking one up and blowing off a pile of dust, then instantly wishing she hadn’t, when she started sneezing uncontrollably. Mr Daffer laughed, and replied, “Yes, I believe some of them are very old indeed. Most will be worthless I'm sure, but maybe among them is a valuable book or two that will make it worth my while paying your wages.”
“I hope so too,” replied Lusam, looking at the gigantic pile of books now facing them.
“I think now would be a good time to find the rooms you plan on using, and make them comfortable for tonight. I will bring down a good supply of lantern oil, so you'll have no chance of running out later. I have spoken to Lucy, and she agreed that you should join us for the evening meal tonight, but after today, food is something you must provide for yourselves, using your own coin. If the main shop door is locked, there will be a spare key hanging on the hook behind the door. Please make sure the door is locked, and the key is returned to the hook. Do you have any more questions before I leave you for now?” he asked.
Lusam and Neala looked at each other, and with a shake of their heads let Mr Daffer know they were happy to do as he suggested. Mr Daffer told them he would come back when the evening meal was ready, and left them to prepare their sleeping arrangements. Neala let out a quiet sigh to herself, but Lusam heard it, and noticed she looked a little concerned about something.
“What’s the matter Neala? Have you changed your mind about being here?” “No,” she replied quickly. “It's not t
hat. It's just … well, that’s a lot of books, and you know I can’t read. I just don’t want to be useless here that’s all. It's not fair taking half of the money if I can’t do anything.”
Lusam Laughed. “You sound just like me. Wasn’t it you who told me that kind of sentiment just means you will go hungry?” he said with a smug look on his face. “Besides, I've been thinking a lot about that small problem, and I think I have the answer to it. I'll simply have to teach you to read. We will have plenty of time here in the evenings for me to teach you, and you never know, it might help you a great deal in the future.”
Neala smiled at Lusam then replied, “That’s very kind of you, but I'm sure learning to read will take a long time. This job would probably be long finished before I was any help to you.”
“Of course it might take a while, but I know how we can make a good start, even before you can read. One thing we're not short of here is space, so it would be easy to make a pile of books for each letter of the alphabet, even before we catalogue them. I'll ask Mr Daffer for some chalk or charcoal, then I'll write each letter of the alphabet on the wall spaced out evenly around the room. It will be a simple matter of picking up a book, and matching the first letter of the title with the letter written on the wall. If we do it that way, you can help sort out the books no problem.” Neala looked at him, and ever so slightly shook her head. “Do you know Lusam, sometimes I think you are just too smart for your own good,” she said, trying to hide the smile that appeared on her face as she turned away, but not quite managing it.
