The World in Dissonance (Volume 1)

Chapter 3 - Part 2

Part 2

Dozen of minutes have passed since the two of them were in the Library. Alyss and Sonya, alias Lola and Helena were actually exchanging words with the Librarian. With their natural communication and adaptation skills, they had the capacity to open up to people of all age and thus, won the heart of the middle-aged woman with grey hair and wearing round glasses that was acting as the manager of the Library.

The number of students that was in the Library was less than the number of fingers of a single human being. It would have been a different case if there were no one else in the room, but the fact that the Librarian was discussing with them regardless of the rule of silence in the Library meant that she was doing them a favor.

Unlike during their previous visit, the two girls stood at the core of the campus library. It revealed itself as a gentle sanctum of learning, its ceiling canopy decorated by hanging fixtures of heavenly bodies, which were a representation of the different stars and planets in the Solar System. Beneath those magnificent fixture stood a circular island of shelves acting mainly as the circulation counter where the Library Manager would be positioned. It was stout and well-ordered, embracing a cushioned ring where a scholar might pause, reflect, or surrender briefly to reverie. Volumes of every discipline crowded the wood with quiet confidence, their spines aligned perfectly, reminding the work of a professional Library manager.

Around that calm center, the wider hall extended with measured symmetry—tables waiting patiently, bookshelves of 2 and a half meters tall standing firmly, aisles stretching with promise, and the subdued murmur of study lingering like a well-bred whisper. It was not a place of grandeur, but of purpose; a modern cloister where youthful ambition met the old, enduring pleasure of books, and where one felt that time itself had halted to let the moment last for eternity.

“And so, that is why the witch hunt is only happening during the evening. The town has to maintain the economy balanced, but we can’t just keep living on as if nothing happened.”, explained the Librarian. Her name was Gertrude, and she has been working as the Librarian of Bellemort Campus for at least 20 years. “During the last few days, tourism rate has raised exponentially in town, which is something good in itself. But we also attracted many paparazzi and occult fanatics who won’t hesitate to jump on the occasion and fight for even a single clue pointing to where the witches are. In the end, some are just interested in fame, wanting to expose the truth so they can get more visibility!”

“Yes, there is definitely a raise in the number of tourist visiting the village for the last two days! I guess it’s in the human nature to stick their nose everywhere.”, confirmed Alyss as she was listening to the middle-aged woman.

“It was a bit of a shock for me, this morning while we were on our way here, there were unusually many strangers dressed somehow in a very unique way. I am amazed that Lord’s Lot Forest hasn’t been invaded yet, especially by those occult and paranormal enthusiasts!”, said Sonya, trying not to judge those person. Could it be considered as a funny fact as the two girls themselves could be counted as strangers usurping fake identities? Sonya reflected on that while realizing the weight of her words.

“Well, you are half right on that point, young girl! You see Helena, while it didn’t appear on any official news yet, but there were some cases of uproar in the front gate of the Lord’s Lot forest during the afternoon. And according to the report of the entry and the exit of all personal in the register, most of you students were still in the campus at that time.”, revealed the middle-aged Librarian called Gertrude. “Well, it’s something of a secret information so it’s wise not to bring it up outside these walls. The Mayor wanted to avoid causing unnecessary scandal, so he asked all the journalists who witnessed the scenes not to publish any articles on it!”

“I see! Thanks for those highlights!”, answered Sonya.

“Anyways, remind me why the two of you is interested in this witch hunt, Lola, Helena!”

“Well, to be honest with you Ms Gertrude, we actually wanted to document then record the story of this Witch Hunt. We are trying to write a small book as an archive to what happened in this beloved town at this precise time. This is why we approached you, as you may have more knowledge on it than anyone else, due to your access to dozen of books of all kinds in this Library.”

“It’s just as Helena said.”, asserted Alyss, or Lola as in her fake identity. “To finish our report, we will require the perspective and the analysis of a very knowledgeable person. And you fit that role perfectly, Ms Gertrude!”

Not knowing how to react to those compliments, the library-keeper acted smugly while adjusting her round glasses with her right hand. Without any doubt, her reaction was as valuable as that of a teenager who just got complimented for getting an A+ on a very difficult subject during an exam.

“Well, you have asked the right person!”

The middle-aged woman going by the name of Gertrude stood from her chair and moved away from the circulation counter.

“Follow me!”, said the woman in glasses as she was walking towards a precise bookshelf. “You will need some books and other documents as reference for your work.”

Once in front of the 2 and a half meter tall bookshelf, the title of the section could be observed from where they stood. The label written on the catalogue was ‘Documentary’. It was a section regrouping documentary books or old documents serving the purpose of archives. When it came to archive, it was mostly documents about history, tho not always limited to that. Gertrude checked carefully for the documents she wanted. She verified those on the top row, then continued to descend until getting her hands on the book she was looking for. The middle-aged Library-keeper held it against her chest then right after, she turned towards the direction of a different bookshelf in a different section.

Gertrude was the expert here so Lola and Helena, the two intruders under fake identities, just followed her. Somehow, it felt like following a certain someone but that person was sometimes lacking the ability to be serious, especially in the presence of the girl in glasses under the distinction of Helena Steinfield.

Arrived in front of the other bookshelf, this time, the catalogue had the label ‘Non-Fiction’ written on it. Non-Fiction books could be said to be factual works that provided informations on real-world subjects, such as history, science or even memoirs. Then again, while holding the document from before, Gertrude looked for another book by starting her research on the middle row. She quickly found what she looked for, took it and passed it to Helena.

“Please hold this for me!”

Then she switched to a different row, and looked for another title. It didn’t take her long to finally find the third book, which she took and passed to Lola.

“That’s it. These three books should serve well as reference material for your document. All that’s left to do is to register these for you to take them home for your work. Just make sure to bring them back before the due date! Normally, you can have them for a whole week but in your case, I can extend the period for two if necessary .”

“Thank you for your kind consideration. We do appreciate it!”, said the two girls in unison.

‘The Wonderful Discovery of Witches in the County of Lancaster’,

It was a book written by Thomas Potts in 1613, one of the rare contemporaneous account of a series of English witch trials that took place in Lancaster Assizes on 18-19 August 1612. Being the clerk to the court during the trial, the author Thomas Potts was ordered by the trial judges to write an account of the proceedings.

‘Mist Over Pendle’,

A historical nonfiction novel in which Robert Neill displayed the superstition and fear of Seventeenth Century England, when the ancient fear of demons and witches were still a part of life and death. Originally published in 1951, the book was referred as a classic tale of witchcraft based on the Lancashire witch trials.

‘Witchcraft and Demonism’,

Published on 1933, it was considered as a concise account derived from sworn depositions and confessions obtained in the courts of England and Wales. Presented by Cecil L’Estrange Ewen, the book delved into the origins of witchcraft, examining its root in ancient pagan religions and its evolution into a Christian heresy. Exploring various forms of witchcraft and demonism that have existed throughout history, it studied deeply the witch hunts of the Middle Ages to the modern-day practice of Wicca and other neo-pagan religions.

The book-addict girl named Dedicatus would have gotten undoubtedly excited if she was present with them at that time, after all to read was to learn for her, and learning implied acquiring knowledge. As the three of them returned to the circulation counter, a young girl made her approach and intercepted Lola and Helena, who were waiting for Ms Gertrude to register the three books they would borrow.

The girl had long brown hair with a smooth and tidy finish. It was parted slightly off-center and swept back from her forehead, with the top section gathered and secured behind her head, leaving the rest to fall down on her back. Small red hair clips held a strand in place on each side, adding a sense of elegance to her figure.

“Please excuse my curiosity but I overheard your discussion earlier and it seems that you two are documenting the current witch hunt in the village?”, asked the young girl.

“And you may be?”, questioned Alyss in response to the girl’s question.

“My apologies, where are my manners! Allow me to introduce my self, I respond by the name of Elena Rosenthal! Pleased to make your acquaintance!”, answered the elegant girl while holding her skirt and bowing reverence, in a manner of an aristocrat, as she introduced herself. “My humble self here is just but the representative of the class 12B.”

The presentation left the two girls speechless as they didn’t expect such a mannerism, and unmistakably because the girl’s first name was the same as Sonya’s previous fake identity. It was common to find many person with the same first name, but it would have been awkward for Sonya as she never expected to meet someone with that name while disguised as a fake. Aside from that, they knew nothing about the whole internal structure of Bellemort, like the number of classes or how it was repartitioned. The National Curriculum was commonly shared among all the high school systems in the whole country but the structure of each campus wouldn’t be the same, thus the fact that she mentioned class 12B wouldn’t ring the bell in Lola and Helena’s mind.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance! I answer by the name of Helena Steinfield and this one here goes by Lola Bishop.”, replied Sonya while matching her manner of speech. “And to answer your inquiry earlier, we are in fact documenting the current situation in the village. Are you by any chance interested in documenting it as well?”

“You may say I have some interest in how their secret society operates and how is it structured! You may think of it as a ‘curiosity of youth’, if I might say so.”

Right at that precise moment, the vision Alyss previously had in the early hours was shown back to her. The images of two girls burning on a bonfire flashed in her mind, giving the young girl a sudden migraine.

(This vision again!)

“Is everything alright Miss Lola? You appear to be in pain!”, questioned the class rep of 12B while showing sincere concern.

“Don’t worry, I just had a sudden headache. It’s common to experience when it’s hot.”

“Can I call you by your name? I realize we have just known each others for a short period of time, but we kind of share the same interest so I guessed we could be friends!”

“No worries! You don’t have to be so polite with me. Drop the honorific and just call me Lola! You can do the same with her as well! As for being friends, your sincerity is admirable so I don’t any reason to stop us from being so!”

“I won’t be hiding you how much this makes me so happy! (⁠｡⁠･⁠ω⁠･⁠｡⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠♡ You have my sincere gratitude!”

“I was actually returning some books our class has been using recently, so I have to get back now. Maybe we continue this discussion and get to know each others better after classes?”

“Let’s do that! The two of us will be in the cafeteria at noon, you can join us there! We can talk while taking lunch together!”

“I accept the proposition with pleasure.”, replied the elegant girl, while bowing down slightly to show her gratitude. “If you may excuse me, I will take my leave now.”

“See you later!”, waved the two girl as the class rep was leaving the Library.

“We can get down to business now!”, declared Sonya as they were now free to make their next move.

They took the three books that Ms Gertrude had registered and put on the circulation counter.

“Thank you Ms Gertrude! We appreciated your help! Please take good care of yourself!”

“Wait! Before you girls leave, I’d like to give you something that would be of use to you!”, said the library keeper before the two girls left the place. “Once you arrive at destination, look for someone named Gilbert and hand him the content of this envelope. It will surely come handy!”

The middle-aged woman handed them an envelope. As Sonya reached out to take the envelope, Ms Gertrude explained to them its content.

“Inside that envelope, you’ll find an introduction letter I’ve just written while you were discussing with the young girl Elena earlier. You can present it to the guards stationed at Lord’s Lot gate. It will make things easy for you.”

“We can’t be thankful enough for this, Ms Gertrude! You have our outmost gratitude”, said the girl in glasses as to express how thankful they were. “We will also be taking our leave!”

.

..

...

Around an hour had passed since Alyss and Sonya left the campus’s library for the Lord’s Lot forest. Since they were not local citizens of Lancaster, it took them more time than necessary to arrive in place due to not knowing the town fully well. The two girls were close to the public entrance. As they expected, the city was rather crowded during the day, but they were never really sure about it as they spent the whole morning in the Campus’s library. It’d been a few days since the news about the Witch Hunt spread and without any concrete results, people started tl lose interest in it. Nevertheless, there were still some persistent occult enthusiasts trespassing around, thus many security guards were stationed at strategic entries where they would possibly try to sneak in.

But in reality, it was not like there were really a gate. The 77 hectares green forest was mainly accessible to the public, and it had a plain landscape where anyone could enter, but the main access point was managed by Forestry Commission, who cooperated with the local to secure the public entrance.

The aforementioned forest was a low-lying wood in close proximity to the town of Carnforth, at less than 5 kilometers, in an area with scattered woodland cover; it was important for local access. Lord’s Lot wood was used mostly by the citizens for informal recreation and used occasionally for orienteering events.

The distance between the two places would take around 1 hour by feet and few minutes by train, so it was mainly the reason why the townspeople of Lancaster, or more precisely Carnforth, did their witch hunt the whole afternoon.

In order to look for the named guard Gilbert, Alyss and Sonya went directly to the post serving the security guards of Forestry Commission as a small and temporary gatehouse close to the forestry gate. The gatekeepers were only about two guards.

“Greetings Gentlemen, would you be so kind to tell us where can we find the guard going by the name of Gilbert?”, asked Sonya in a polite manner.

“The name is Gilbert! What can I do for you two?”, answered one of them.

He was about 1m85 tall, wearing what looked like a combination of modern tech while harboring the remnant of there night watchman gear. The company’s logo could be seen on his left epaulette and he was armed with flashlight and a baton. A portable two-way radio, which was commonly known by the name of walkie-talkies, could be seen on his armored gear, and his footwear was composed of sturdy boots, adapted to their patrol round.

Alyss handed to him the envelope Ms Gertrude entrusted them.

As Gilbert was reading the text, his expression went from a strict officer to more of a chill person. One would obviously understand that the library keeper and the security guard were acquainted to each other. But that story would be for another time, the main focus of the two young maidens was to get in Lord’s Lot woods.

“Since this is a request from the Campus’s library manager, you can freely move around and work on your documentation! But don’t go too deep in the woods!”, instructed the guard named Gilbert. “The crime scene is a far from the entrance here, but it’s easy to spot. You just go straight in the woods and after approximately 272m, you turn left and continue that way! The citizens have made some cross mark on some trees to avoid getting lost!”

“Thank you for your concern, we appreciate it! With all of those noted, off we go!”, answered Alyss.

And with that said, the two girls entered the forest without any further delay.