It's a bit snowed-in, but the inside is worse

A few minutes later, you find yourself walking down the empty streets, shivering as you keep your hands in your jacket pockets. You remember Nina’s advice as you look out for the library, a building hidden in a rocky alcove. You sure hope you don’t miss it, because the wind’s picking up again and you really want to get back inside right now.

Thankfully, Nina was right when she said that the building couldn’t be missed. It’s quite literally built into the rock, almost like a small mountainside had been chiseled away, but it looks like it got really unlucky with the snow, since a drift has been pushed up right against the door. There must be almost four feet of snow pressed up against it.

Peering through a gap in the shuttered window, you think you can see a light flickering. That must be Akvi with a candle, otherwise it would have been snuffed out during the night.

“Hey!” you call out, “are you alright in there, Akvi?” The light is snuffed out for a second, and you see a figure get between it and the window. Akvi sweeps the shutters aside, and you get your first good look at her.

She certainly doesn’t look like a typical, quiet librarian. Hell, if you didn’t know better you’d say she was a mage or a witch, given how she’s dressed in long, dark robes. “Finally someone shows up” she says with a grumpy sigh, “where is that useless feline, wasn’t she supposed to be doing the rounds?”

“Uh, she injured her leg, so she sent me to check up on you” you reply, taken aback by the hostility.

“That girl considers herself a soldier, yet she injures herself walking around a peaceful village? Pah.”

“So…I take it you’re doing fine?” you feel a bit miffed, so you’re hoping she’ll just send you away.

“Have you seen the door?” she says, “I may still be alive, but that won’t last forever if I can’t leave this place.”

You nod, internally groaning at having to stay, but you have a job to do. “Is there a shovel somewhere I can use?”

To your surprise, Akvi opens the window and hands a shovel straight into your hands. “I took the precaution of bringing it inside, to make sure it wouldn’t get lost in the snow.”

“Fantastic” you say, trying not to let the sarcasm seep into your voice. “I’ll have you out of there in no time.”

You’re not lying, it’s a relatively simple job. The snow may be relatively heavy round the door, but with a shovel you’re able to make reasonably light work of it. After about 15 minutes, you’ve managed to clear out enough space for Akvi to open the door from the inside.

“Well done” she says, an almost imperceptible air of…something to her voice. “I suppose I better invite you in for some tea, I presume based on how long it took to get here that I was your last stop?”

“That’s very nice of you” you really feel like a drink, and you suppose it would be rude to refuse, “thank you, I’ll take a tea.”

“Come in” Akvi replies, “and try not to track in too much mess.”

Gods, this woman.