The Parliament of Books

The whispering was a wild river of cacophony, and Fred and Astra couldn't discern any individual voices. Over time, though, a few grew louder for moments over the din. All the voices were in foreign languages, but Fred and Astra could understand snatches of it. Each had a very distinct character, but all sounded worn and dry. There were two books arguing about whether the world would be better off without money or not, two others debated the meaning of virtue, a cluster of books seemed to be having some kind of incomprehensible argument about logical categories. In the distance, they heard a book singing what seemed to be an epic poem about a long-forgotten emperor of the Great Empire. Fred and Astra were filled with awe and apprehension. "Surely this must be the work of demons!" said Fred.

"We do not know that," said Astra, "but I have certainly never heard of magic such as this before."

"Who are you and are you doing here?" said a stern, imposing voice from above. They looked up and saw a pedestal portruding from the ceiling. They realized that the room was much higher than it had seemed, with shelves reaching all the way up to the cieling, which seemed to have somehow transformed into a floor. There were also other rooms at impossible angles to the room they were in, all filled with books. The voice seemed to be coming from a book which they could somehow see clearly in spite of its great distance from them. Its covers were deep green and it was filled with jagged mystical glyphs which seemed to pulsate.

"We have come to slay the evil dragon who dwells in these caves," said Fred. "I am Lord Frederigo D'Honaire and this is Princess Astra of Aqualaria. The dragon has harmed both our lands. I do not think you serve him, as I do not know why the dragon would have reason to construct such a place as this, but if you are, we will find some way to escape and destroy you." Astra rolled her eyes--she would have tried to be a bit more diplomatic, although she couldn't help but admire Fred's courage.

"You are right," said the book. "This place was created by a mage who lived in this cave long before it's present owner's great-grandfather was born." Fred and Astra were startled, both knowing how long Dragons could live. "It was placed here not for destruction but to gather knowledge from all those who pass this way. I do not wish to take sides in the struggles of the outside world, but I must maintain my purprose. You must give us a piece of knowledge that we do not already have. A story will do, if you must. We will then give you a similar piece of knowledge which will be useful to you."

"And if we do not?" said Astra.

1. "You will be returned to where you were, but you will not have knowledge that you might have had, which could have helped you on your quest."
2. "You will die."

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