Justin and the rest followed Ignis through the labyrinthine stacks of the library. They encountered no trouble as they reached a stairwell that spiraled downward. Above the stairwell, there was a metal plaque, still quite legible despite the passing of years, that said “Level 6: The Ether and Elemental Forces” in both Zantheran glyphs and English script.

  Justin translated the sign for the rest.

  “Interesting,” Ignis said, coming to a stop. “This floor would cover most magical disciplines. While it would be interesting, I need something to help me better understand Zantheran and the Ancient Tongue first.”

  Justin nodded, but inwardly, he was starting to think Eldrin had the right idea. This was like searching for a needle in a haystack. The odds of stumbling across exactly what they needed were slim. Did the Vault really want them to go in this direction?

  Justin cleared his throat. “So, what do we actually know about the spider constructs? Their ether crystals are still powered, which means they are getting recharged somewhere, right?”

  Ignis responded without hesitation. “Oh, that’s simple. When they’re low on power, they go toward the bottom of the island to recharge. That’s where the Ether Foundry is.”

  “The Ether Foundry?” Lila asked.

  “Yes. It was where the raw ether was refined and loaded into crystals. They must have some maintenance constructs that keep everything running.”

  “For ten thousand years?” Lila asked incredulously. “That’s how long ago this place existed, right?”

  “It does seem remarkable,” Ignis said. “But gnomish engineering and artificing were second to none, so it’s not beyond the pale. And it’s possible the magic of the Vault has awakened something else, making the constructs even more numerous.”

  That didn’t sound unreasonable to Justin. Similar dwarven constructs roamed the Underdeep of Drakendir, and he doubted they had an Ether Foundry like these Zantehran constructs.

  “Maybe the Ether Foundry will have some answers,” Justin said.

  “Possibly,” Ignis allowed, “but there’s a catch. If we don’t know how to influence the central enchantment controlling the constructs, there’s no way to turn the spiders to our side or give them new directives. At best, we might power them off. That won’t help us against the sphinx. Any language interface dealing with that enchantment will likely be in Zantheran.”

  “Enchantments like that can be tricky,” Eldrin added. “They are far outside of my knowledge.”

  “Which is why I need something that can help me figure out the language,” Ignis added. “Otherwise, we might as well give this up.”

  “And can you figure it out?” Emberlyn asked, her tone doubtful.

  Ignis sighed, his flames dimming slightly. “Maybe it’s my hubris that makes me think I can figure it out in a short amount of time. I am a level 15 Scholar, so I get a lot of abilities that enhance my ability to absorb knowledge and cross-reference information. But your concern is noted.”

  Justin crossed his arms. “So, what do we do? Should we just give up this search?”

  “I think we should head to this Ether Foundry place,” Lila said. “How do we get there?”

  Ignis straightened. “We’d have to circle back to the transit station. Find the right elevator. I know enough Zantheran to deduce where some of them lead. We just need to pick the right one, and that should take us straight there. But, again, good luck trying to influence these constructs without even knowing the language.”

  “Well, we’re already searching around here,” Emberlyn said. “If we can find something that can help Ignis understand how to turn these constructs, well, that could help us turn around an unpleasant situation. Most libraries have a section dedicated to languages, right? Maybe we should start there.”

  Ignis’s flames flared slightly—something Justin took as excitement. “Yes. It shouldn’t be hard since Justin here understands the Ancient Tongue.”

  “How many levels are there?” Justin asked.

  “Eighteen total,” Ignis replied. “And as you said, this is Level 6. There are five levels above us, all dedicated to fiction. That’s where I found that book of plays. Languages would probably be somewhere below us.”

  “Sounds good,” Justin said. “Let’s head down.”

  They continued their descent, the stairwell spiraling ever downward. Justin read off the title for each floor: Engineering and Artifice, The Sciences, Philosophy and Ethics, Religion and Spirituality. Unlike conventional logic, the numbers went higher as they went lower.

  At last, they reached the eleventh level: Languages and Linguistics.

  “Perfect,” Ignis said. “Let’s see what we can find.”

  They stepped forward into the lobby, scanning their surroundings. Two spider constructs loomed near the entrance, seemingly in sleep mode. But as soon as the group approached, they powered on, their ether crystals flaring to life, logging as Level 18 Knowledge Crawlers.

  With a sharp chittering sound, they charged.

  Justin reacted instantly. Stepping to the front, he twirled his cane in a flourish, activating Dandy’s Swagger. The first spider locked onto him, drawn by the movement. As it lunged, Justin performed a swift Gentleman’s Sidestep, narrowly avoiding the attack before bringing his cane down in a decisive, ice-laden strike. The construct crumpled under the blow, sparks flickering from its shattered crystal.

  The rest of the group handled the second spider just as efficiently. Within moments, the battle was over.

  They paused, waiting to see if any other threats would emerge from the stacks. The silence that followed was absolute.

  Justin adjusted his coat and took a breath. “Time to look for some books.”

  Over the next couple of hours, they combed through the stacks. Most of the shelves were empty, their contents long since crumbled to dust. Even the books that appeared intact disintegrated at a mere touch, their pages collapsing into brittle fragments.

  Justin soon realized that the only books still in readable condition were those that had been enchanted against deterioration. Hopefully, some sort of translation guide would be included among them.

  After two hours, they had only scrounged together a handful of scrolls and eight books that were more or less legible. All were written in the Zantheran language, so they were practically useless.

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  As they were about to move on, Justin caught sight of a thick tome previously hidden behind other fragments. It was hefty and in perfect condition, and more than that, its title was actually in English.

  “English-Zantheran Lexicon and Translation Guide,” Justin read aloud. “Jackpot.”

  Ignis, overhearing, snatched the book from his hands, his flames flaring with excitement. “By Ashralok, we’ve got something good here!”

  Justin blinked. “You’re welcome, I guess.”

  Ignis was too focused on the book to care. He flipped a few pages, where it showed a series of glyphs, along with an English translation. “Yes. Yes, this is exactly what I need!” He looked up at Justin. “English. Could this be what the ancient humans called their own language?”

  Justin nodded. “Yes. That’s the word that comes up. I simply refer to it as ‘Ancient’ since that’s what people are more familiar with.”

  “I see,” Ignis said. “Although with me, call things by their proper names. Whatever the case, with your help, I can have full mastery of both languages within a few days.”

  Justin frowned. “A few days? That quickly?”

  “Well, it depends on the depth of your knowledge of this ‘English,” Ignis said. “If you are as fluent as you claim, then yes. If not, then it might take several weeks.”

  “I have to ask, what’s your endgame here?” Justin asked. “Will learning Zantheran really help us with the constructs?”

  “It’s possible,” Ignis said. “What I’m counting on is a central enchantment that can be interacted with using the Zantheran language. If it requires knowledge of Aetheris, well, we’re out of luck. Only the Enchanter or Artificer class can directly interact with enchanted items on the scale we’re dealing with. But I don’t think that will be a requirement. After all, when you interact with an enchanted item, you’re still able to use it despite not knowing how it works.”

  That actually made sense to Justin. He supposed it was similar to making use of a computer, even if you didn’t know how to code. Enchanting, in a sense, was this world’s version of coding. That there was a central enchantment of sorts was just a guess, if an educated one. So this could still end up being a dead end.

  But with that sphinx and the dangers of a Level 28 Vault, they had to explore every avenue.

  “Look,” Justin said. “I’m all for teaching you English, but as long as it takes no more than a couple of days. We’re on a clock here. If we haven’t figured it out by then, then we’ll need to head to the Ether Foundry. Or find a way to attack the sphinx directly.”

  Ignis thought this over for a moment. “Well, I’m certain I can learn both languages, as long as you know English as well as you claim.”

  “I do.”

  “Then there’s nothing to worry about. But we’ll need to buckle down.”

  Justin was already dreading it.

  “Let’s head back to the alcove,” Eldrin said. “It’s getting late, so it’ll be a good place to shelter for the night. It might be small, but it’s nothing we can’t manage.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Ignis replied.

  Justin couldn’t help but feel a sense of misgiving. Of course, Ignis wouldn’t just be learning Zantheran, but also English. And if he had free rein over the library, that was a lot of knowledge at his fingertips. Knowledge that could potentially be dangerous.

  “Look, I’m happy to teach you,” Justin said. “But I want to be clear about something.”

  “On what?” Ignis asked.

  “I’m sure you’ll be spending a lot of time here in the library once the Vault is done. If I ever come back, I want a guarantee that I can ask you questions about things you’ve learned.”

  “What kind of questions?” Ignis asked somewhat suspiciously.

  “Nothing crazy. Like you, I have questions about the past. And I want to share in those answers.”

  “All right, fair enough,” Ignis agreed.

  Justin nodded. He would have sealed it with a Gentleman’s Agreement, but he had already used it with Emberlyn earlier that day. And he hesitated to use it again while in the Vault. He doubted he’d need it for the sphinx, but he wanted to keep it in his back pocket just in case.

  If need be, he could form the agreement afterward. He had no real reason to distrust Ignis, but knowledge was power, and if Ignis learned anything juicy, he might want to keep it to himself.

  They made their way back upstairs. Within ten minutes, they reached the alcove. Eldrin and Lila got to work preparing dinner—cold rations, nothing fancy—but it was enough. Ignis and Emberlyn gratefully shared in the meal, surprising Justin. He had assumed the Fyrspawn would need a significantly different diet because of their fiery nature. But it turned out the flames were less a bodily necessity and more a gift from their chosen god.

  Dinner was quick, and soon enough, Ignis had opened the lexicon to the first page, which seemed to be a page in English, some sort of introductory foreword to the rest of the work by the author.

  “Okay. Read that aloud in Ancient,” Ignis instructed. “And then translate it into Aranthian.”

  Justin nodded and turned the page, his eyes scanning the ancient script. He hesitated for only a moment before speaking the words aloud. It was written by a person named Aetheron, explaining the origins of Zanthera, and that Terridan, the God of Earth, gifted the gnomes the Vein of Aetherus upon which to build their city, in return for the unquestioned loyalty—a bargain the gnomes had accepted. By the time the author’s own ancestors had arrived, a people that seemed to be called “The Six Thousand Tribe,” they set to work creating a translation guide so they could communicate with the gnomes, of which this was the twelfth edition.

  So, this Aetheron fellow seemed to be a descendant of this “Six Thousand Tribe,” whatever that meant. In just a few brief paragraphs, Justin was left with more questions than answers. It was something to investigate further, or perhaps have Ignis investigate.

  Aetheron then recounted his experiences updating the lexicon of the Zantheran gnomes, which was a bit more dull.

  As Justin spoke, the others watched him, rapt with attention. English, at least in this form, likely hadn’t been spoken in millennia, except perhaps by other Earthers with knowledge of it. The words sounded strange on his tongue. It made him feel lonely, giving him a raw sense of what he had lost.

  Once done, Justin translated it into Aranthian.

  “Fascinating,” Ignis said, flipping to the next page, which listed at least one hundred disparate glyphs. Given that the lexicon had at least a thousand pages, this was going to take a while, especially considering that not everything would translate exactly.

  “Can you really do this in a few days?” Justin asked.

  Ignis ignored the question, instead pointing to the first word. “This one I know. Fire.”

  Justin nodded. “Right.”

  Indeed, the glyph, with a semblance of flames, recalled flames, and the English word was marked right next to it. Simple enough.

  Justin went through the rest of the page. This page seemed to list all the elements, along with a lot of other basic words related to magic.

  As Justin read the words off, explaining each one, Ignis nodded, taking it all in. The Fyrspawn read everything back without a single mistake.

  “You remember all that?” Justin asked incredulously.

  “One of my boons is Perfect Recall. When I will it, I can remember anything, and it will never escape me.”

  “That sounds immensely useful,” Justin said.

  “Let’s head to the next page.”

  As they went page by page, Justin couldn’t help but be impressed. Ignis’s ability to learn was supernatural.

  While he could memorize the words, speaking them was another matter. He would trip over what seemed to Justin to be simple pronunciations, but he would get them after a few tries and never repeat the mistake again.

  After a couple of hours, the magic started to happen. Ignis picked things up faster and faster, and Ignis was learning as fast as Justin could translate each glyph. At times, Ignis needed no instruction at all, aided by the context learned from previous pages.

  As the rest settled down for sleep, Justin and Ignis continued working long into the night.

  They took a break from further memorization, and Ignis wanted to learn to actually speak and read sentences in English, not just simple words. Thankfully, there were several pages of explanatory text in the codex’s front and back that served as useful training material.

  Mostly, Ignis worked on his own, but he would ask Justin questions here and there as Justin nodded off. In the beginning, Justin had to constantly explain the nuances, but Ignis absorbed it all, quickly translating phrases and cross-referencing with his growing knowledge.

  Ignis’s mind seemed like a sponge, effortlessly soaking up everything. By the time Justin couldn’t go on, Ignis had learned in a few hours what would have taken anyone else a couple of years of dedicated study. He could string together sentences in English with surprising ease.

  “I would have never thought the Scholar class would be this powerful,” Justin said. “You can memorize anything.”

  Ignis paused, his flames flaring for a moment in satisfaction. “It’s not just memorization—it’s understanding how the structure of these languages works. If you understand the rules, the rest comes naturally.”

  It was hard to say just how late it was, but they had been at it for at least eight hours, well after midnight. At last, Justin couldn’t go on anymore. Ignis continued to work on his own, poring over page after page.

  Justin found an empty spot in the room’s corner, closed his eyes, and was instantly asleep.