Hal trembled whenever he thought back to Margret. What was she, a law or maybe something even more terrifying, a concept?
He was too frightened to think about it any longer, as whenever he tried, he was struck by a chilling terror that almost drove him into a mental breakdown each time.
He finally finished putting on more decent attire as Mr Faizo finally blessed him with a suit that was not for butlers, but not for nobles either
It was a light green suit with a white shirt and cream trousers, a colour scheme preferred by many scholars.
He was also blessed with a pocket watch and a monocle for the love of being fancy.
He fitted the cufflinks to his suit and then took a look in the mirror
He looked more mature than he usually did, and to be honest, he was pretty impressed by his current appearance
He said his goodbyes to Tai, Elizabeth and Mr Faizo before finally leaving the mansion. He had also received a cream coloured hat that he diligently placed on his head as he called out to a carriage
A carriage pulled up to him, and its doors opened. The driver, who was seated at the front, turned to Tai with a smile
He lifted his hat to reveal shabby brown hair and greeted Hal with a wide smile
"Huh, dressed like a true scholar, mister, might there be anywhere I can take you
Hal smiled back at the carriage driver as he placed his hat on his chest
"Please, take me to the Congregation of Knowledge, good sir"
The driver chuckled
"It seems I did guess right, you are a scholar, get in and let this diligent carriage driver take you to your destination"
Hal placed his hat back on his head and stepped into the carriage that departed soon after
The trip was indeed long since the Congregation was all the way on the other side of the middle capital.
Hal resisted the urge to fall asleep in the carriage, and soon they arrived at their destination.
He handed the carriage driver one blue jade, causing the man's eyes to shine with greed.
"Please, my good sir, keep the change", the carriage driver lit up as he quickly bowed and started in a hurry, as if afraid he might ask for his money back.
Hal smiled as he appreciated those English lessons with Mr Faizo; they were harsh, but at least they had taught him a lot.
I finally turned around and took in the full spectacle that was the congregation of the Knowledge building.
The place was built in the shape of a giant tree with multiple windows appearing here and there, and the place was lined with multiple balconies that acted as outdoor reading areas.
Scholars were everywhere, and as expected, most of them were wearing green attire, although not all of them were not suits, as others preferred more subtle attire.
A large group of stairs led up to the huge doors of the congregation, where multiple scholars could be seen arriving and leaving the congregation building.
Hal let out a deep breath and stepped forward, climbing up the multiple stairs that led him to his destination.
He was nervous but knew he had to play the part of a scholar. He reached the big wooden gates that had a huge tree imprinted on them.
There were tinier doors on it, through which people were walking in and out, with the ones on the right being for entry and the ones on the left for exit.
He made his way through one of the entry doors and entered the building, which was filled with multiple scholars strolling around.
The building seemed bigger on the inside than it appeared on the outside and was filled with bookshelves high enough to put two giraffes to shame, and this was just the first floor.
There were raised pathways that looped around the entire building, delivering scholars to the books they needed, alongside floating platforms that carried scholars to different parts of the building.
"Excuse me, sir, how may I help you?" Hal turned to see a woman seated behind the counter eyeing him with a strange emotion in her eyes
Just like everyone in the room, she wore a green long dress that swept the beautiful marble floor and glasses that protected her eyes.
She had blonde hair and blue eyes that made Hal nervous to stare directly at them.
Hal pulled out the card handed to him by the detective and handed it over to the woman.
"I'm just here to acquire some knowledge from your libraries"
The lady examined the card for a while before her eyes widened. She stood up from her seat and gestured for Hal to follow
"Please, sir, follow me"
Her tone changed to a more welcoming one as she strolled Hal through the building. He followed her up to a group of spiralling stairs that led into a dark abyss below.
Hal calmed his building nerves as he led down the stairs, and the further they went, the more the lamps suddenly burst into flames to illuminate their way.
They finally reached a steel bar with the same tree design as the others, but before the young lady opened the door, she asked.
"Pardon me for asking, but can you comprehend forbidden knowledge?"
Hal's eyes widened slightly as he took his hat and placed it by his chest
"It would be such a great gift if I could, but alas, I am unable to attain such knowledge, but I believe the scholars were wise and teaming with other types of knowledge as well, and I would like a sample of that sweet knowledge"
The woman smiled at him and proceeded to touch the steel door, and with it, the tree engraved on it moved
The leaves on its branches moved as if being blown by the wind, as the tree slowly filled with light from the bottom to the top, and when all the leaves were illuminated, the doors squeaked and opened
"For a young man like you to be chasing knowledge at this age is really commendable"
Hal gave a brief bow
"Thank you, madam, maybe the love of knowledge just blossomed within at a younger age than most, and in fact, I have not asked yet what your name is?"
The woman smiled at him as the doors finally fully opened
"You may call me Roshuna, and who may you young sir?"
Hal wasted no time in answering the question presented to him
"You may call me Hal Leonardo Alternis, and it has indeed been a pleasure"
The lady giggled as she gestured him through the door
"Here you go, little charmer, the congregation's archive where all the books belonging to every single scholar to existed in Haverfield are kept"
Hal was in awe as he walked through the steel doors. The room was illuminated by crystals lining the ceiling that had a tree with pink leaves painted on it. There were multiple reading tables and paintings of different scholars hanging on the wall
Hal took his time to appreciate everything before turning back to the lady
"There is a specific scholar whose books I'm most interested in, so can you be of any assistance in that endeavour?"
The woman nodded briefly.
"I have all the scholars and where their books are kept memorised, so just state the name and I will show you the way"
A memory came back of his talk with the detective as soon as they left the restaurant.
The detective prepared his windpipe pipe, filling it with some sort of leaves, before Hal asked his question.
"So, what was the scholar's name? It will be easier for me to locate the information I need that way"
The detective took a sip from his windpipe before letting smoke from his lips.
"The name of that scholar was a mystery until my grandfather finally uncovered it. The scholar was named Gregory Woods"
Hal returned from his sea of thoughts as the name now resonated in his mind.
"The scholar whose books I seek is called Gregory Woods"
The young Lady's face twisted to a frown as she examined him with caution
"Why would you seek such a book, sir? Do you wish to sink into the mysteries of the blue moon?"
Hal stroked his chin and stared at the lady for a while before faking a confused face.
"Hmm, why would I dabble in such mysteries? I desire to find out something else from his book. Gregory was said to have been a great architect, and my brother is obsessed with him, so I promised him that during my research, I would read about him as well"
The lady let out a sigh of relief before using her finger to direct Hal
"The books of scholar Gregory are found on the fourth shelf after you have reached the 'G' section of the books"
Hal bowed in thanks before returning his hat to his head
"Thank you, I will make sure to enjoy myself in here, Mrs Roshuna" The lady bowed back to him as the doors began to slowly shut
"When you are done or need something, just ring the bell and I will come to your aid"
Hal gave her a slight nod before the door finally shut, and as it did, Hal let out a sigh as he turned to the limitless shelves of books
"Time to get to work, I guess"