The response from the bookstore was incredibly fast, even given that it was only up the street a few blocks.
Within the hour, workers were showing up with wheelbarrows full of books, and being ushered through the shop, past confused custors.
"Right in here. This room is the library, pardon the chaos, we were just tweaking the illusions." Karl instructed.
All the curtains had been drawn, and Cara had returned to her space when the guests arrived, so there was no indication that the room wasn't actually shaped this way, though it would be a waste of interior space, as the illusionary space was round.
It was also two stories tall, and Karl noticed that there were bookshelves all over the second floor, which was only accessible with a small spiral staircase.
That had to be a nightmare for the workers, but they didn't appear to mind.
Karl was concerned that he might have to restrain Remi, though. The Naga Queen was interested in every title that entered the house, even though there were thousands of them for the workers to place.
The problem was only solved when Remi found an Alchemy textbook among the titles, and settled in on a cushion along the far wall to read.
"Where did all these co from, it's quite the wide range of books that you've found for us." Karl asked as a worker loaded the shelf beside Remi.
"Oh, everything here is a return. They're all used novels from the Castle, the Academy, or the lending Library that were retired and repaired. The shop has a whole basent full of boxes of books that were fixed and never made it back for sorting and resale.
Now, they have a bit of space in the basent again, as we will have delivered nearly ten thousand titles to you by the ti that we're finished with these last shelves.
A lot of them are fantasy and Romance titles from the ladies of the Castle. They tend to be voracious readers, and the Noble ladies like variety, so we have a contract to replace their selections once a year.
Most of those books end up in the basent, and now here.
We went all along one wall, though. So you don't just have recent arrivals, so of the books that made it to your shelves have been in that basent for nearly a hundred years, preserved by the shop's magic." The worker explained.
That was great news, as they would have the chance to get so forgotten knowledge in the mix with their random selection. Remi had noticed there were an awful lot of educational tos as well, so they actually had a rather large training Library now. "Were they sorted in any way?" Karl asked as the workers finished the shelf and began loading another.
"Yes, as well as we could. There are four sections upstairs. Educational, historical, skill knowledge, and Magical knowledge. On the lower floor, we have fiction, romantic fiction, modern affairs, and that final shelf will be full of introductory training tos from the schools. We have found that acolytes and assistants from the Guilds like to sneak into the Library, and they make a smaller ss if they think that they got lucky and found the introductory tos that they were searching for on the first few shelves."
The worker loading that bookshelf smiled and winked at Karl as he put a leather-bound to labelled "Introduction to Water Magic" on the very bottom shelf, against the edge, where it would escape sight from the door.
Soone looking for it would notice it quickly, but it would appear to have been forgotten at the bottom of the shelf, where dust would normally accumulate more quickly.
Not that Caretaker Jo would tolerate dust. Hopefully, her magic was suited to gently cleaning the ancient tos and well-worn schoolbooks.
The book dealer's workers finished, then looked around the room. "I know that you said there were illusions in play, but this room is spectacular. I think that most Noble Hos would be envious of the Library that you have amassed now. Enjoy your space, Sir. We have been inford that the bill was settled in advance."
Then they were all gone, and Remi began to pull the curtains open again to reveal the view of the city.
Karl heard a commotion downstairs just after they left, and the sound of soone drawing a sword.
He raced down to the shop, Ophelia and Tessa right behind him, and found a man in the black and white tabard that he had seen the first day he entered the city standing with his sword tip down, lodged in the floor.
The tabard wasn't halved, it was two thirds white, but other than that, it looked very similar to Karl's.
"Who is in charge here?" The man demanded.
"I am. What seems to be the issue?" Karl asked, noting that the man was an Overlord Rank warrior.
"Our Truelight Host challenges your Imposter Guild for possession of this Guild House and rights to remain in the city. The loser will be expelled from the city, or exterminated." The man announced.
{Guild War activated}
The man's na imdiately turned red in Karl's sight, and an alarm sounded at the guard station.
"Did you wish to settle this by Champion, or by a full Guild War?" Karl asked with a smirk slowly spreading on his face.
The man whistled, and six more warriors in matching tabards marched into the yard, all Overlords.
Karl activated his armour, the Gold trim of the Guild War Champion tabard shining in the light.
The man's glare faltered for half a second, but he continued.
"War."
Karl activated [Invisibility] and the full suite of buffs at the sa ti that he drew his sword with the Haint Claw on his other hand. Then he moved two steps left with [Silent Movent] and attacked.
The warrior hadn't even located him yet when a sonic boom shook the walls of the shop, and Karl's blade pierced through the challenger's armour, while a shoulder slam carried them both out to the yard.
Karl reappeared so that the others could see the soul being torn from the Overlord's body.
Rae and Cara were out, ready for battle, when Karl called his summons out with Remi's.
[Hey, I can see glowing red people in the city.] Hawk noted.
[Avoid collateral damage.] Karl warned.
[No problem. I can see their house.]
The warrior in front of Karl spun to face behind his position and lashed out with a skill that tore half the roof of the workshop off as it passed through Rae's incorporeal and invisible body.
She only solidified her limbs as she tore into the warrior, targeting the weak spots in his armour.
Unfortunately for him, his first instinct had been to use [Slash], which was fast activating, but a physical damage skill. Physical skills did nothing to the [Night Haunter] incorporeal form, and before he could recover, it was too late.
Karl went after the man closest to the building, distracting him for an instant before Cara ran between his legs and cast [Disintegrate] straight up. The groin of most armour sets was the weakest spot, as the warrior needed to move his legs freely. But that ant that attacking from below was especially brutal.
It didn't cause the sort of deadly damage Cara had expected, but by the pained howl the man made, it had gotten through his armour.
Karl didn't let up, driving him backward and onto his back, where he was struck by a massive bolt of lightning that left him twitching until Thor's massive foot ca down on his skull.
Tessa was on the Cerro's back, and Lotus was in tree form behind the house, where she couldn't be seen by enemies approaching from the street.
Whistles were sounding all over the city, and Karl turned to face the gate as a squad of Guardsn ran inside.
"Halt! Public Guild Wars are prohibited in the city!"
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