The next day, Matt woke up more than a little sore. His training sessions the day before had apparently made something of an impact, and with Tanya's warnings echoing in his head, he decided to take the day off from driving himself into the ground at the Arsenal.

So instead, Matt went back to working on his personal Source, building the Foundation for it through the mantras that Melren had shared with him. It was an uphill battle; even with the change in season, Winter was still grindingly difficult to achieve, though he was drawing closer to completing it. Once he did, all he would need to do was complete the remainder of the Foundation for Soul, and then he would be ready for the next set of spells.

After dedicating himself to that work for an hour or two, he turned his attention to the fresh reports that had poured in from around the Kingdom. There was more news of chaos near Heartlight, a rumor that the new head of the Blackleafs would announce her support of the Angru Declaration, and more updates on the fighting in the Summerlands. Matt had shaken his head over those bits of parchment and gone for a walk. He needed something more concrete to focus on than abstract reports, and even walking through the city was not enough.

The lifeguards had gathered around him as he left the palace, creating the usual protective herd. Matt felt unhappy at needing so many defenders, especially in Redspire of all places, but he accepted it as he walked on past the New Arsenal and the Maiden's House to reach the third and most recent of the major construction projects along the main road.

It had no official name yet, though most of the people were calling it the Great Library. Matt didn't know if Riley had spread the name around, or if the people themselves had echoed the earlier label for the Earth version, but this one was certainly going to be worthy of the name by the time construction was done.

Riley and the Speakers had been heavily involved in the design of the place, from what Parufeth had told him. They had asked for three buildings in all, one of which was to be the Tower of Wisdom dedicated to the Speakers, set into the back left of the block, near the Maiden's House and away from the main street. The second building was going to be called the Garden of Knowledge—Riley had apparently tried to describe early education, and had only partially succeeded—which would be where the instructors would teach reading and writing to the children of Redspire. Upper floors would be for adults who were looking for more specialized education, and Matt had heard whispers of further buildings as the Library expanded.

The main building itself was almost as big as the Maiden's House, set into a massive foundation of its own. It rose nearly four stories into the air; work was continuing on its brick exterior even as Matt approached it. Large steps made from solid brickwork marched up to the front entrance, where pedestals waited for the addition of statues on either side of the entrance. Matt would have wagered almost anything that Tanya was already involved in discussing exactly whose visage would stare out at approaching visitors; he could only hope she wouldn't slap her face on this place as well.

He walked up the steps, heading for the main entrance, where the doors had yet to be placed. His footsteps were trailed by those of his lifeguards, who were searching in all directions for the next threat to his safety, but Mat suddenly felt himself relax as he entered the building for the very first time.

There was something calming about the place, empty and incomplete as it was. Matt drew in a deep breath, and the smell of dust and hard labor filled his nostrils. He looked around the entryway and saw stairs leading up to the upper floors; another pedestal had been placed in the middle of the foyer, along with something that looked like the foundations of a large series of desks. It was easy to imagine a small army of librarians checking things out or taking returns once everything was complete.

Further back, he could see an open room lined with row after row of bookcases, some of which were built into the walls. The blueprints that Parufeth had shown him had contained reading rooms, sorting facilities, and even a small bookmaking facility meant to repair or copy volumes that saw heavy use. There was even supposed to be a vault located in the middle of the building where dangerous or valuable literature would be kept guarded.

Curiosity drew him a bit further into the building, past the pedestals. He had just poked his head through the doors leading to the first room when he heard a startled yelp. "Sire?"

He turned and saw Parufeth himself scurrying towards him from a nearby reading room. A set of workers had followed the foreman out, but they paused and headed in a different direction, shooting glances back at Matt as they went. Matt tried not to notice as he focused on the Gnome foreman. "Parufeth, I hope you don't mind that I dropped by to see how things were going."

The Gnome grinned and shook his head. "I don't mind at all, sire. Just wish that you had given us a little warning, is all. We might have cleaned things up for you!"

Matt gave the foreman a skeptical look. As usual, Parufeth had a healthy coating of dirt, mortar, and other unidentifiable substances. "Don't worry about that. Are you still on schedule?"

Parufeth nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, sire, we are. I'd say that we're almost ready to shift most of our workers over to the Speaker's Tower instead of the Main Library itself. By winter, I'd expect that we can start the book collections." The Gnome paused, an uncomfortable expression on his face. "If we can, of course."

If the Kingdom wasn't bankrupt and starving by then, he meant. Matt nodded, both at the words and the unspoken qualification. "That will be a sight to see. How many books did you say this place could hold?"

"Oh, hundreds. Thousands, maybe." Parufeth gestured for Matt to follow him. "I know that the Maiden of Books was very proud of some of the libraries in your world, but I don't know if they'll really match up to a place like this. It'll be just as impressive as that silly little art museum next door."

Matt struggled to keep his face straight. Parufeth's rivalry with Ikpesh, the stonemason working on Tanya's building, had obviously not disappeared. He spoke carefully. "I'm sure it will be impressive."

The Gnome nodded. "It will indeed. More than just impressive, even. I'd say that once the Maiden's plans go into action, we might need our own personal guards in here to keep the thieves out. That's why we're building everything nice and secure."

He gave the foreman a skeptical look. "Why would you say that? Are the books really that valuable?"

Parufeth blinked. "Of course, sire. The Maiden of Books wants to put every bit of lore and history that she can in here. Forget how expensive all of that will be. The spell books alone…" The Gnome shook his head in mild disbelief. "I've heard of royal spellholds with less to steal. Yet it'll be open to every freeholder and noble in the Kingdom. We'll see a golden age, mark my words."

Clearly, Riley's plans had gone a bit further than he'd heard. Matt glanced at his lifeguards, some of whom seemed a little uneasy. Notably, it was the nobles among them that looked worried; the Low Folk all seemed far more enthusiastic about free access to mantras and spells. "All within reason, correct?"

The Gnome blinked. "Oh, of course! We aren't going to be selling anyone's secrets. Just gathering the public knowledge and spreading it around a little. Like mortar for bricks, as the Maiden would say." Matt saw some of the lifeguards start to relax, and he repressed a grin as Parufeth continued. "Either way, at the very least we're going to have the biggest collection of Speaker lore in all the world, at this rate. Half of them want to help, and the other half are already up at the palace, working your scribes to the bone. We'll be fortunate if half the main floor isn't taken up by their mutterings."

Matt coughed, trying to hide his initial laugh at Parufeth's apparent lack of piety. He looked around in fresh appreciation at the empty bookcases. "Well, I'm glad to hear things are going so well. It looks like you've accomplished yet another miracle here."

Parufeth's face flushed at the compliment. "Just hard work and good planning, sire, but I can't take all the credit. My workers have put their souls into it, and the Minister's been a great help."

Matt opened his mouth to respond, only for another, deeper voice to interrupt. "Glad to hear I'm not just taking up space, jefe."

He turned to see Miguel grinning at him from an empty doorway. The other man was almost as coated with grime as Parufeth, though he seemed just as unconscious of it. Miguel nodded to Matt, his eyes taking in the lifeguards surrounding him. "Come to make sure we're on target, Matt?"

His lack of formal address made Parufeth shift his feet, but Matt simply shrugged. "I've been told I should take a bit more time to look at things, so here I am." He spread his arms wide as if to indicate the whole building, and Miguel grunted. The big man shook his head.

"You're the only king I know of that would spend his time off touring a work site, but somehow, I'm not surprised." Miguel glanced around the room, his eyes seeming to linger on a few spots that might have needed some kind of correction or another. From what Parufeth had told him, the man seemed to be a genius at spotting where workers had cut corners, or had been slacking off. The construction schedules all over Redspire had been accelerated by Miguel's simple dedication to making sure the crews stayed honest and on task, a fact that Matt had appreciated as financial ruin loomed in the future.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, looking around as well but failing to spot whatever had caught Miguel's attention. Internally, he shrugged it off. "So, mind giving me a look around the place?"

"Sure, as long as Parufeth doesn't mind." Miguel looked at the Gnome and raised an eyebrow.

Parufeth looked conflicted. Matt knew the man loved to show off the buildings he created, but by the looks of things, he was still up to his eyebrows in the work. He glanced around and sighed, clearly unhappy. "I suppose I'll have to hand him over to you, Minister. I have a crew over at the Tower that needed my advice on something. Perhaps I'll have the chance to see you again before I go."

Matt nodded, writing himself a mental note to make sure their paths crossed before he left the work site. "Of course. Don't let me get in your way."

Parufeth bowed and then strode off through the building, heading for one of the other exits. Matt watched him go for a moment and then turned back to face Miguel. "Well?"

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Miguel snorted. He stood away from the wall and performed a moderately passable bow. "If you'll follow me, sire." Matt couldn't help but roll his eyes at the title, but he fell in on Miguel's right as the man started off through the building.

He paused just long enough for another work crew to rush by. "So, is there anything I should know about how it is going?"

The man gave him a surprised glance. "No. I think it's all according to schedule so far." He looked up sharply at a spot near the ceiling as they headed towards one of the stairs. Matt caught sight of a slightly sloppy bit of work around a sconce for a lantern. "Just a few things to fix here and there, but the crews here are good. They've had plenty of work by now, and I don't think they will get anything past me."

Matt raised an eyebrow. "You mean they know better than to try?"

Miguel grunted. "No. People aren't that wise." He gestured to the building around them. "More like they aren't going to come up with a way that I haven't already been catching. This place will be built just as sturdy as the New Arsenal, and with the same kind of standards. No worries there, vato."

They headed up the stairs and onto the second floor, which turned out to lead to a series of balconies that stretched around the room he'd seen on the main floor. More reading rooms were set into the walls, and Matt could see occasional stations set up to overlook the entire room. "Some kind of guardpost?"

"Guardpost and organizing lookout, all in one." Miguel chuckled to himself. "It seems like the librarians here are going to be one part monk, one part bookkeeper, and one part military police, from the way Riley's been talking about it."

Matt frowned. "That would be the first I've heard about it. I thought this would just be some kind of school and library, with something for the Speakers thrown in. Since when are there going to be all kinds of spellbooks too?"

Miguel raised an eyebrow at him. "Literacy means something a little different here. In our world, we had to learn computers and stuff, right? Here, education means spells and mantras as much as math and history."

Understanding dawned. "Which means they are going to need a repository for both to help everyone learn what they need to."

"The ones who are learning and the ones who are teaching too. Can't have one without the other." Miguel chuckled to himself. "I think she wants to convince some of the Speakers to go full time, but she might have an issue there. A lot of them seem to think that this is going to be some kind of church thing more than anything else."

Matt winced. "I might have… implied something along those lines, at the start." Miguel gave him a skeptical look, and Matt grimaced. "I just said that I would help them have a place where they could train new Speakers and keep a record of their lore. I didn't say that they would only teach Speakers here."

Miguel fell silent for a few more steps. He was leading them around the edge of the second floor, letting Matt get a good look at the shelving down below. "That makes sense, I guess. Wouldn't want them to be opposed to the whole thing, not if you wanted them to support you." The big man shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably. "Still, you might want to talk to them at some point. Just to straighten things out."

Another item for the list. Matt sighed. "I will." He glanced at the ceiling. "Is the third floor already set up?"

"Not quite. The crews are still getting everything into place. Fourth floor's a huge mess, too." Miguel shook his head. "If you want, I can show you some of the other galleries, and maybe the testing sites in the Garden. I think Riley was saying they might be able to do some spell research there as well?"

Matt blinked. From what Melren had always said, spell research was something only the most noble and well-off families could afford. Building and rebuilding Sources, just to experiment on unknown spell frames, was the kind of luxury very few could have the wealth to sustain—and most who reached that state would likely rather spend their time on less dangerous, less costly pursuits.

He glanced at the lifeguards, who seemed just as baffled as he was. "Research?"

Miguel snorted. He held up his hands defensively. "You'd have to ask her, honestly. She's been talking to the Speakers so much I can barely understand what she's saying half the time these days."

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a look." Matt gestured. "Lead the way."

Miguel led them around the full circuit of the Library itself before descending the stairs back to the main floor. He led Matt and his guards out of a side entrance and across another short separation to the second building of the three, the Garden. It seemed far squatter and sturdier than the Library had been, as if it had been built partially into the ground. Matt remembered seeing a lot more excavation beneath the Garden than he had the Library, which made him wonder if that was actually the case.

Sure enough, Miguel led him down the stairs and into a series of underground corridors, all of which looked like some kind of foreboding tomb. Crude spell lights had been set into the sconces, giving them enough illumination to see the half-finished rooms, all of which had been built like they were meant to contain prisoners, rather than schoolchildren.

When he had broached the subject with Miguel, however, the man had just laughed. "The Garden isn't just an elementary school. It's more of a university of sorts, with different sections for different purposes. This part of it is meant to be about as far away from the kids as possible."

Matt glanced inside one of the rooms. It looked like the brick walls were twice as thick as they had been in the Library. "Just in case something goes wrong with the spells?"

"Exactly. It's why they're underground too." Miguel tapped the doorframe as they walked by another room. "The Speakers apparently have a few spells that can contain magic. They've already promised to inscribe some of them into the walls and ceilings of this place, to make sure nothing gets out of hand. In return, I think they want some guarantees about the kind of thing we research."

There were a few mutters from the lifeguards, which Matt ignored. "In other words, they want to avoid having anyone doing something like what the Red Sorceress would do down here."

The mutters among his guards cut off, and Miguel nodded. "Something like that, yeah." He shrugged. "I figure it's not a bad thing to have a few ethical types running around to keep things honest."

"As long as they stay ethical." Matt's mind was already racing ahead, imagining what a few religious fanatics might get up to in future years. How long would it take for some movement to spring up about limiting spell development to support traditional morals? Would there be protests outside the Garden while the researchers tried to work?

He shook his head. A more immediate problem would be the Council's reaction. Matt doubted they intended to let the Speakers have the only voice in the process. It was easy to imagine a few noble houses trying to steal the work for themselves, while denying it to others. Of course, that was if the Council allowed the research to happen at all. The nobility was notoriously uncooperative when it came to sharing magic, especially with other nobles, or worse, the freeholders.

Matt frowned as he thought over the problem. Maybe they would need some committee or something, with representatives from the Margraves, the Speakers, and the Council? It would at least keep everyone's interests aligned, and if they somehow managed to cooperate against the freeholders, the Voices could always intervene. All it would take was…

His thoughts were interrupted as Miguel took them down another corridor and up a staircase into the daylight again. He blinked for a moment and realized that the man was leading them towards the still-unfinished site for the Speaker's portion of the campus, the Tower of Wisdom. From the plans, it was supposed to stretch nearly as tall as the Tower of Penance or the palace itself, with floors meant for lodging for both teachers and Speakers, as well as specialized classrooms for prospective Speakers in training.

Currently, it was missing a couple of the upper floors, but Matt could already picture how it would look, stretching into the sky. "Are the Speakers happy with it so far?"

Miguel looked back at him. "I think so. You should be able to ask them yourself, though. There's always a few hanging around the work site these days. We had to have a discussion with them about staying out from under our feet, but they still like to watch." He shrugged. "Might see Riley there too, with that Elf she likes to learn from. Dystani?"

"Dysyani." Matt grinned as Miguel made an exasperated gesture. Elven names seemed to give him a lot of trouble, for whatever reason.

"Yeah, Dysyani. That's her name." Miguel hesitated. "She seems nice enough, but sometimes I wonder…"

Matt was still smiling as he looked ahead and saw the familiar figures of both Riley and her Speaker friend, observing the workers continuing the construction. He raised his hand to wave at them, ready to shout for their attention.

Then someone smashed into him, and Matt found himself on the ground with very little idea of how he'd gotten there. He struggled out of instinct more than anything else, and Harak snarled at him. "Stay down."

The urgency in the Orc's voice froze Matt for a moment, just long enough to hear shouting and screaming. He heard a distant explosion, followed by a few closer impacts. Despite Harak's continued weight, he still managed to turn his head enough to see an arrow skip off the ground nearby. Grebs, a Wizard from the Sortenmoors who had just joined his lifeguard a week ago, was kneeling with an arrow in his arm, even as Mulwan sent a dozen shadowed illusions in all directions.

There was a second blast, followed by a third, and then Harak was finally letting him breathe a little easier. The massive Greenriver Orc yanked Matt to his feet a heartbeat later, and the lifeguard practically carried him back towards cover, their eyes searching in all directions.

He squirmed enough in their grasp to see Miguel, still standing. There was a small hole in his shirt, but the big man appeared unaffected; if anything, he was looking down at it with a smirk. As Matt looked, another arrow struck the man in the cheek, only to ricochet away like it had struck an iron shield. Miguel flinched at the impact and then shook his head before following Matt to safety. Yet another blast of attack magic, and there were no more arrows. At least, none that he could see before the lifeguard had dragged him back into the doorway of the Garden.

Matt found himself surrounded by angry, alert lifeguards, all looking for another target. Miguel joined him a moment later, shoved into place with an amused expression. Still mildly dazed, Matt looked him over for wounds, but didn't find any.

Miguel caught him looking and smiled. "Ironskin Weave. Earth, Summer, and Body." He tapped his chest, which made a hollow sound. "Figured it would be useful after that last time."

Remembering the crossbow bolt Miguel had taken in the Summerlands, Matt nodded. "There were archers?"

The other Human nodded. "Yeah. Looks like they were set up in the houses over there. Your lifeguard is already clearing them out."

Matt grunted. He looked over his lifeguards, searching for missing faces or more wounds. "Grebs, are you okay?"

The Wizard jerked in surprise at Matt's question. He accidentally tapped the shaft of the arrow buried in his arm and hissed in pain. "I'm fine enough, sire. Just stay in cover."

Harak snorted. "You too, little one. We'll get you to a healer soon."

Ricketh, a High Imp new to the lifeguard, appeared a moment later. His face was flushed from exertion, but he looked more triumphant than fearful. "They're all down or running, sire. We should be clear."

Rethferd spoke up, his voice hard. "Should be, or we are?"

The High Imp gave the Hard Scythe Orc a sharp look. "They're gone. I'd stake my life on it."

For a moment, Rethferd hesitated. Then he nodded. "We head back to the palace. Sire, I'm sorry, but we need to cut the tour short."

Matt nodded. "I understand." Then he looked out across the construction site, seeing workers hiding behind brickwork and Speakers peeking out from piles of dirt. Riley was crouched among them, her face nervous as she tried to look in all directions.

To the south, where the construction site was bordered by a collection of houses, smoke was rising from where the upper floors and roofs of a pair of buildings were on fire. He grimaced. "We go slow, however, and I want to speak with some of the workers and Speakers before we go."

The Hard Scythe Orc bristled slightly. "Sire—"

"Ricketh said they're gone, and I believe him. They took their shot." Matt made his voice firm. "Now we need to show them that I'm not afraid. That the people aren't afraid of them." Rethferd opened his mouth, and Matt gave him a firm look. "We're doing it, Rethferd."

There was another hesitation, and then Rethferd sighed. "Balred never had to deal with this shit." He started to order the lifeguards back out into the open, clearly wishing that he had a vault he could lock Matt into somewhere.

Matt allowed the first handful of warriors to form a vanguard, and then he followed them back out into the light. A part of him wanted to laugh. Tanya had probably pictured a lot of things when she'd suggested he rest, but she definitely hadn't been expecting that to happen. He waved to Riley, who was already on her way across the construction site, her face full of concern. Still smiling to show he was all right, he made a note to ask her to come with him to the office. Better that she didn't hang around and get herself shot as well. Things had already gone poorly enough today.

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