I gathered the others, and tried to get them up to speed.

  “They wouldn’t,” Berryhop said after I was done.

  “What about that town? And what about this?” I said, holding out the cog. “Maybe the town got too close to something they didn’t want them to see?”

  “We shouldn’t jump to conclusions,” Cal said, “but I agree that this is alarming.”

  “It’s not just alarming,” Bernadette said, “I think this place is just straight evil.”

  “We don’t know that,” I cautioned. “We’ve killed our fair share of people. Adventurers could have been killed here, but maybe not because there is anything wrong with this place. They could have been murder hobos, or something.”

  I glanced around after I said that. I couldn’t get my eyes on a robot, so at least we had a little bit of privacy for the moment.

  “There were dozens of murals back in the antechamber. You think they were all bad guys?” Bernadette asked.

  “No. And I didn’t get good vibes from Sexy Copper Lady either,” I said.

  Berryhop became crestfallen, and held herself.

  “What’s our next move?” Cal asked.

  I looked at Bernadette.

  “Maybe we say we’re staying for the night, see how they react. Maybe we explore the tower, and see how far we can push?”

  “Or maybe we ask to see this Master of the Tower now?” Cal offered.

  The telltale sound of metal feet on the iron stair interrupted us, and brought conversation to a halt. Somehow behind it, came the soft thumping of what could be boots. We all walked, as if in a daze, toward the middle of the room.

  Eight of the robots, four on each side, stood at attention flanking the stairs. It was significantly more than had been here. Anne descended, wearing a green dress this time. Behind her was a man.

  He wore a beautiful blue silk robe, small stars and swirling stardust embroidered in a paler, shinier blue against it. He was tall and trim, shining blonde hair combed from a part over his eye. Crystal blue irises sparkled. His ears revealed him to be human, but one could be forgiven for assuming he was an elf. The man was beautiful.

  Freshly shaved, and with a smile that was welcoming, but well practiced, he held his arms out in greeting from the stairs just above Anne.

  “Welcome, friends, did you find the information you needed? Have my staff been accommodating?” His eyes flicked to the feminine construct, “Has Anne been good this time?”

  “You know that I have been busy elsewhere,” Anne deadpanned.

  Again, I waited for Bernie to take the lead.

  “We have had a delightful time, but we seem to be missing the information that we seek. May we have the pleasure of spending the night here? We would only trouble you for some pillows and blankets. But if that is too much, I think we will be able to make do.”

  The man with the glittering blue eyes smiled.

  “I hear in your voice, is that a Texas accent?” he asked.

  “Missouri,” Bernadette said.

  “Ah,” he replied. “But your friend has a Texas accent. Maybe he’s starting to rub off on you.”

  “How do you know?” I asked.

  “That twang. It’s very distinctive, isn’t it?”

  There was a pause in conversation as we all worked to get our heads on straight. This guy seemed to be an expert at keeping us on our heels.

  “How about,” he continued, “I grab some things I feel you may find illuminating. That way we get you on your way sooner. The only thing I ask in return, is that you indulge Anne her curiosities. We often need more for our collection, and she has a knack for getting to the bottom of people’s stories.”

  Bernadette looked at each of us for objections, then responded with, “that sounds wonderful.”

  “Great! I assume you are from America? In the 2010s?”

  I told him the time period we were from.

  “Ah,” he said with some disappointment, “so I was just under. I will return shortly.”

  He left, peeling two robots off with him. Anne stayed.

  “I was right,” Bernadette said.

  Berryhop walked forward, and struck up a conversation with Anne. Cal looked around uncomfortably, but moved to stand a little closer to Berryhop.

  “Right about what?” I asked.

  “The Master is a man.”

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  “Of course.”

  “And if he’s that good looking, and decided he’d rather build a woman rather than talk to one like a regular person, he has to be evil as hell.”

  I thought for a moment. I think I understood where she was coming from. He had the good looks, and charisma to earn a woman’s interest. The fact that he needed to build one spoke to a pathological need for control. That’s assuming he did indeed build Anne.

  “That’s only if he built her,” I said.

  “You see the way he looked at her?” Bernadette accused.

  “Yeah, he seemed to like her.”

  “That wasn’t ‘like.’ That was amusement. She’s his toy. He’s a monster.”

  “You could be right,” I said.

  I didn’t have the head for this kind of thing. I didn’t read any of that from what I saw. He just seemed like a dude. Good looking, for sure. But I didn’t trust my judgement over Bernadette’s. If she thought something was off, I believed her.

  I gestured to her to let her know that I thought we should join Berryhop as well.

  Berryhop told Anne her life’s story. Anne gazed at her intently, asking questions when appropriate, while a robot scribbled Berryhop’s words down on some parchment. After some time, Anne took her own parchment and began sketching.

  Anne’s metal fingers held the quill delicately, moving it quickly over the parchment, raising and lowering her fingers ever so slightly to dip onto the page at intervals, making the picture appear from the minute dots it left on the page. Berryhop was delighted, but Anne prodded her to continue.

  After she finished her portrait, she began sketching scenes from Berryhop’s pastoral life. Berryhop’s life before meeting us was very quaint, and I was reminded why we didn’t work out. We had very little in common.

  Then a single robot carrying a stack of books came down the steps. When it arrived, we each received a book with a note thanking us for visiting, and suggesting books to follow up if we needed.

  My book was on the technical aspects of singing, and how it interacted with magic. Basically a manual for improving my Bardic abilities. I had been relying on just shouting my spells, as that was easier to do in pitched combat, but if I had a way to integrate my magic into an improvised ‘battle song’ I wouldn’t even need to think about it, it would sort of form out of free association. Genuinely good advice and something I’d have to work on. Berryhop got an alchemical textbook, Cal got something elfy, and Bernadette a book on the layout and creation of Sofia’s capital city.

  I noticed that Berryhop looked uncomfortable. She leaned over and whispered something into Anne’s ear. Anne nodded, and they moved together to another part of the library.

  A robot brought candles for us to work under. Cal and I set up the tents. Maybe things wouldn’t pop off. Maybe this place wasn’t as dangerous as we thought. We were determined to set watch anyway, in case the robots came for us in our sleep.

  I also messaged Mark, and asked him what he would have asked to learn about in this place. I was sure that I wasn’t getting it. I was told to pay attention but there was just too much here. I didn’t even know where to start.

  After setting up camp, I wandered around trying to find Berryhop. Around a set of bookcases I heard a voice. It was Anne. She seemed to be saying something about plants.

  Then I saw them. Berryhop was in her lap, and Anne read to her. Berryhop took notes.

  In hindsight this made some amount of sense. I knew she could read, but maybe just relied on her keen memory, and the pictures for the last one. Not everyone had the same reading level. How kind of Anne.

  Bernadette tapped me on the shoulder. I put a finger on my lips, and followed her to a place where we could talk.

  “I want to explore those upper floors,” Bernadette said.

  “By yourself?”

  “It worked well last time,” she responded.

  “Yeah, but you don’t know what kind of things are on the upper floors. Could be trapped. Could be he has ways of knowing when invisible creatures are around. I think we should do it together.”

  “We do it together, we prompt a response. By myself I may be able to go unnoticed.”

  “Okay,” I said, “but let's go somewhere a little further away from the robo-minx.”

  We found a hidden corner, and I gave her a kiss, then made her disappear. I hoped we were doing the right thing.

  My slate buzzed.

  Ailmer: If you are where I think you are, then I am furious you didn’t think to invite me.

  Breznik: I had no idea what was in this tower til we got here. And it’s mostly just a bunch of books.

  Ailmer: Books here are more valuable than gold. And if this is really a dimensional pillar, then I could have learned so much.

  Breznik: This place is just a two day ride from Greenvalley village. Over a big lake. Come teleport here.

  Ailmer: I do not have time. Find out as much about the nature of this place, both the dimension and the tower, and report back to me if you can.

  Breznik: Yeah, I’ll do that, I guess.

  Ailmer: I am not holding my breath.

  I wanted to punch somebody. Why did he have to be so smug about everything? And it’s not like these robots were just gonna hand me this world’s greatest secrets over because I asked.

  I settled down in our tent, and waited for Bernadette to get back. After an hour or so, I began to worry.

  I exited the tent. The stars outside the windows looked beautiful over the mountains. The glow from our tents were the only things shedding light. The robots had all left except for one. If I listened intently, I could still hear Anne’s voice.

  A scream came from the floor above.

  I ran to my pack and pulled Redeemer. Rachel and Cal exited their tents.

  Anne walked swiftly around the corner.

  “I will check on it,” she said.

  There was only one person who could have made that scream, and I wasn’t about to wait for her to become so hurt I couldn’t heal her. Without another word, I grabbed Provoker also, and ran for the steps. Anne moved quickly after me.

  I cast Levitate and leapt into the air, floating for the steps and the floor above.

  Anne wordlessly began casting a spell, her hands moving in a pattern, and lighting arcing between her fingers. Cal loosed an arrow at her. It bounced off of her porcelain plated face, a minute crack forming.

  “No!” Berryhop yelled.

  I shoved Redeemer through my belt, and nocked an arrow. The robot guarding the stairs rushed Rachel, and moved to put his hands on her, possibly to restrain her.

  Anne stopped casting the spell, but her hands still crackled. The robot stopped just short of Rachel, who leveled her rapier at it.

  “Things are tense. Do not betray his hospitality.”

  I loosed the arrow at the robot, plinking off a plate, then nocked a replacement.

  Anne pointed at me and loosed a bolt of lightning. It hit me in the chest.

  A flash of light. My mind went blank. I tasted blood. I didn’t remember falling, but pain spiked from the back of my head as it struck something.

  Then all was blackness.