Zachary (8)

*This article is about the chapter. For the character, see Zachary Ezra Rawlins.*

> Zachary Ezra Rawlins sits on a velvet bench in the fanciest elevator he has ever occupied wondering if it is not an elevator at all but rather a stationary room rigged to feel like an elevator because he has been sitting in it for what feels like a very, very long time.
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> Book II: Fortunes and Fables, **Zachary (8)**

"**Zachary (8)**" is the 8th chapter from Zachary's perspective, and the twentieth chapter overall.

*Proceed at your own risk if you have not yet finished the Starless Sea.*

## Summary

The chapter opens with Zachary sitting in a ridiculously elegant, slightly baroque elevator, the doors patterned with the bee-key-sword motif, but no other identifying marks, such as numbers, floor indicators, or buttons. There is a chandelier on the ceiling, and it shakes as the elevator rises. The walls are gold, and maroon velvet adorns the bench he sits on. Both are worn, have lost their respective shine and fuzziness.

The elevator has been rising for so long that Zachary is half convinced it's just a stationary room. He paces, reaching out to touch the motifs carved into the door. The key seems to buzz under his fingertips. but finally, the doors open to a huge room that reminds him of the atrium in his university's library. It is luminous; the ceiling done in curved panels, the translucent, glowing marble walls the colour of honey shifting in tone across the room. It covers everything but the stone floor, the ceiling, the elevator, and the one door at the other end of the room. This door is reminiscent of his own painted door, the one he didn't open all those years ago. He tries it, but it's locked. The rest of the walls are exit-less, even the elevator having since returned to wherever it came from.

As Zachary looks around the room, he finds an alcove in one of the walls. Inside, in a stone basin, there is a black bag of six six-sided dice, and a word carved into the marble: *"Roll".* Instead of normal numbers, the dice are engraved and accented in gold with bees, keys, swords, hearts, crowns, and feathers. He rolls, and all the dice land heart-side up. After rolling, the bottom falls out of the basin, and the dice (along with their bag) disappear. On the opposite wall, there is a matching alcove with a liqueur glass in it, containing a sip of honey-coloured liquid. This one is carved *"Drink*". He does, ignoring the warnings from countless fairy tales, and he finds it tastes of honey, orange blossom, vanilla, apricot, clove, and cream (with a very alcoholic kick). The glass disappears in the same way as the dice. Counterintuitive to the fact that the drink tasted strongly of alcohol, Zachary's head feels clearer after drinking it. He tries the door again. This time, it opens.

It leads to yet another large room, this one looking like a cathedral. The ceilings are high and intricately tiled, as are as the six columns around the edge of the room (though some are missing tiles around the base, reavealing stone underneath). The tiles on the floor are worn to the stone underneath, the wearing heavier around the six entrances leading off to other parts of the building. Four are archways leading to darkened hallways, but across from where Zachary stands, a door sits ajar, emitting a soft light. On the ceiling, there are many chandeliers, some resting on the floor, some hanging at "irregular, chandelier inappropriate heights". The largest light (not a chandelier) is a cluster of glowing globes hanging among brass hoops and bars. At the end of these bars are gold-cast human hands, all pointing outward. The tile above them is patterned in numbers and stars. In the middle of this light fixture is a pendulum hanging only inches above the floor. Zachary thinks it may be some sort of model or clock.

He calls out, peering down the hallways to see books stacked everywhere. Down one hall, there is a pair of glowing eyes that disappear when Zachary blinks. Finally, the Keeper answers, asking if he can be of assistance. Amazed both at the fact that somebody else is there and that the place exists at all, Zachary bursts into hysterical laughter. The Keeper looks concerned. He asks again if he can be of assistance, but Zachary cannot stop laughing and falls to his knees, coming eye-to-eye with an orange cat. Eventually, the Keeper tells Zachary that they're closed, that he isn't supposed to be here, his eyes falling on the sword necklace that Dorian had given him in order to sneak into the Collector's Club. Zachary (unsuccessfully) tries to explain that it isn't his. They go back and forth, Zachary insisting he needs to be there, the Keeper insisting that he doesn't, until the Keeper notices the paint on Zachary's coat, obviously from a door that Mirabel painted. He asks Zachary what he rolled on the dice, and after a quizzical, almost recognitive look, (finally) permits him entrance.

> “I know why you are here,” the man says as they pass the swinging pendulum, as though he can hear Zachary’s thoughts.
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> “You do?”
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> “You are here because you wish to sail the Starless Sea and breathe the haunted air.”
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> Book II: Fortunes and Fables, **Zachary (8)**

Unfortunately, Zachary is informed that this is not the Starless Sea itself, only a Harbor on its shore. Zachary follows the Keeper into a thouroughly un-officelike office filled with books, filing cabinets and card catalogues. The tiles in here are worn in a path leading around the desk in the center. Around the tops of the bookshelves, a string of paper lanterns illuminates the room (with the help of a green glass lamp near the desk). A phonograph plays "something classical and scratched". There is a fireplace opposite the door, fire burning low. Other items around the office are a twig broom, a large, real sword, an antler, another cat, and several jars filled with keys.

The Keeper starts to check Zachary in, asking him about the door he entered through, as well as his name. The Keeper does not express concern about Dorian's kidnapping, saying that Zachary won't be able to depart without Mirabel as an escort, so rescue missions were out of the question. He gives Zachary a golden compass on a long chain, the back engraved with a bee, the front engraved with a heart. Upon opening it, Zachary discovers there is only a single mark where north should be. The Keeper tells him it is to make sure he can find his way back to the main room (the Heart). The Keeper asks if Zachary would like to be pointed in the direction of Mecca, but Zachary tells him that he is agnostopagan (spiritual, but not religious). Zachary's thoughts turn poetic, and he wonders what was in the drink from the alcove.

The Keeper leads Zachary through a book-and-cat filled hallway, doors branching off to more book-and-cat filled hallways still. Zachary keeps expecting to run into other people, but there are none. They pass many, many books, many, many cats, and a marble bust wearing a silk top hat. Once they arrive at Zachary's designated room, the Keeper seems to think it will be in disarray, but it is perfect. It is covered in dark green velvet, which adorns chairs and the curtains of a four-poster bed. There is a desk, there are multiple reading nooks, and the floor is covered in a variety of rugs. On the walls, there is an assortment of framed art. The fireplace is lit. It seems the room had been expecting a guest. The Keeper welcomes him to make use of the Kitchen, advises him not to feed the cats, gives him his room key, and leaves. Zachary removes the better part of his suit, but the sheets are linen and the pillows are lamb's-wool, and so Zachary Ezra Rawlins falls asleep.

## Characters

### Major

* Zachary Ezra Rawlins
* The Keeper
* Mirabel (mentioned)
* Dorian (mentioned)

## References

1. Book II: Fortunes and Fables, **Zachary (8)**