Hundreds of volumes of large tomes cover shelves that reach up to the very high ceiling. You are in narrow crack between two long shelves. You walk through the space between the shelves, trailing your hands on the book. The shelves are so close you can't help but bump into a book here and there. The shelves are so large and heavy they don't make even the slighest movement when you fall against one accidently.

You've tripped over a ladder. It's laid along the ground, edges from shelf to shelf, the same kind as there is in every other row. They were used to reach the books once, but no one reads these records anymore. Now they just keep the space between the shelves uniform. Those maps hate being in the same place as the other non fiction and always try to push the shelves apart.


The books are all a dull green, faded from dust and time. They are larger than usual. Each one is about as wide as your palm and the same length as your arms. They are stuffed in very tightly, leaving not one inch of space. You wouldn't want to have the job of putting them into the shelves.

You reach one end of the row. There's next to no room between the wall and the shelf, but you manage to squeeze through. The rows of shelves seem to go on forever in this direction. You use the next row to turn around and face the other way. The shelves end a few rows up, so you head that direction. You come out into a small space between a shelf and the grey stone wall.

There's a door here you could try it but it's locked. Oh. There's also another small shelf here at the end of the row. You look at the small selection it has. Most are records of the books in this library. They include just a topic and a number. There are too many books to even list the names in this tiny shelf.

Three books that are not records draw your attention.

You pick up the gigantic green and gold book

You place your hands over the gigantic book. It has a smooth and soft cover. Hands on the sides of it you strain to lift the thing, but settle for sliding it out instead. You sit down by the door so you can place the thing on your lap


You turn it around and lift the cover. Inside is written I can't understand this language "Sinful Lake" in large, golden letters on a black page. It's written in the formal language of birds that are red. You'd think that birds, even just red birds, would only need a single language to communicate, but you must admit, you like the formal language over the everyday filth they will typically squak in. It's a good thing both languages are part of their education system.


You turn the page. There is a diagram of a regular looking oak tree in white and more golden writing.


"Quercus miaxia, also known as the Sinful Oak, is a species of oak tree that exists solely in the region of Sinful Lake. It is the only thing that will grow anywhere within a mile of the stagnant, murky waters. They often grow much denser and taller than other oak trees, but besides that, their diet, and their peculiar taste in soil, they are nearly indistinguishable from Quercus prinus. The Sinful Line is the tree line beyond which they cannot survive. It creates a very noticable change between thick forestation and bare plains.


Boring


You flip ahead a few pages.


However, there has been some controversy over their diet. They have been known to trap smaller prey with the use of a sap that first traps them and with an oxydizing process begins to digest in a very slow manner. The tree will then grow around the trapped prey, which is often still alive through most of the  process. After the prey is absorbed the tree will shrink down around the space the prey has left, with only the bones of the prey remaining. Certain logs found with the bones of what is agreed to be a extinct canine species with a bone structure remarkably similar to humans in the center is the cause of some very unfortunate rumours for us who study these awe inspiring trees.


These rumours that they can trap and eat humans are completely unfounded. The numerous expeditions that into the Sinful Lake region that have disappeared are agreed to have traveled through the Lake into a little known bed and breakfast that exists on the other side. Numerous letters and records are listed in volume 2 and 3 of this series to prove this.


You flip back to the beginning. "Sinful Lake". Under that in very tiny letters it reads "A study by Quercus miaxia Bob".


You pick up the book with some effort and make your way to row A139 to replace it.