06-09-2017, 01:30 PM
An old dwarf dragged a step ladder around the library and grumbled to himself. “I don’t know who they think they are making a mess like this and just leaving it for someone else to deal with. Do I look like their mother? I swear. Kids these days have no respect.” He could only reach the first two shelves from the ground and couldn’t reach the top one even with help.
“Trouble already?” Odin asked as he placed a book on the top shelf where it belonged. The dwarf hadn’t heard him approach but was too grumpy to be startled. He looked Odin over and decided he was too old to be trouble.
“Aye, and they weren’t even fighting. I could understand an old-fashioned brawl, but just goofing off? That’s just disrespectful. I tell you what, if my pop had caught me acting that way, he would have bent me over the anvil and given me a what-for.”
Odin continued returning books to the upper shelves. The little guy’s rant probably wouldn’t be any different if there was no audience. He certainly didn’t seem to care if Odin was listening.
“-and he calls himself a demon. Moving books around isn’t demonic; its childish. I had half a mind to go over there and shove my boot up his ass. But noooo, Mr. Jak says we have to be respectful and show good customer service.”
Now we’re getting somewhere, thought Odin. He hadn’t been listening for the dwarf’s sake after all.
“Now I’ll admit, the little girl was trying to help. She put a few books away and tried to explain to the demon boy that this library wasn’t his to mess around with. But did she stick around to finish the job? No! She skipped off with her new friends to get some lunch. Do you think I get to eat lunch before fixing this mess? No. No, I do not.”
The stamina the dwarf had for bitching was astonishing. Odin was getting worn down just listening to it. The librarian was showing no sign of slowing down, however.
“And then the squid! Let me ask you, why is there a squid here? Do you see any water? No! Because water ruins books. And do you know who has to pay to replace the books? I do. Did you know that I was the head librarian in Dwarfholm before this? But they kicked me out on my butt like a troll-lover. How was I supposed to know that my uncle was going to use the necromancy book a lent him from the restricted section to establish a skeleton army to take the throne from the king? Do I look like a mind-reader? No. I don’t. I look li-”
Odin had backed away into a reading nook at this point. It wasn’t worth it. Nothing was worth listening to that insufferable dwarf any longer, and it wasn’t like not having an audience seemed to affect him anyway.
“Trouble already?” Odin asked as he placed a book on the top shelf where it belonged. The dwarf hadn’t heard him approach but was too grumpy to be startled. He looked Odin over and decided he was too old to be trouble.
“Aye, and they weren’t even fighting. I could understand an old-fashioned brawl, but just goofing off? That’s just disrespectful. I tell you what, if my pop had caught me acting that way, he would have bent me over the anvil and given me a what-for.”
Odin continued returning books to the upper shelves. The little guy’s rant probably wouldn’t be any different if there was no audience. He certainly didn’t seem to care if Odin was listening.
“-and he calls himself a demon. Moving books around isn’t demonic; its childish. I had half a mind to go over there and shove my boot up his ass. But noooo, Mr. Jak says we have to be respectful and show good customer service.”
Now we’re getting somewhere, thought Odin. He hadn’t been listening for the dwarf’s sake after all.
“Now I’ll admit, the little girl was trying to help. She put a few books away and tried to explain to the demon boy that this library wasn’t his to mess around with. But did she stick around to finish the job? No! She skipped off with her new friends to get some lunch. Do you think I get to eat lunch before fixing this mess? No. No, I do not.”
The stamina the dwarf had for bitching was astonishing. Odin was getting worn down just listening to it. The librarian was showing no sign of slowing down, however.
“And then the squid! Let me ask you, why is there a squid here? Do you see any water? No! Because water ruins books. And do you know who has to pay to replace the books? I do. Did you know that I was the head librarian in Dwarfholm before this? But they kicked me out on my butt like a troll-lover. How was I supposed to know that my uncle was going to use the necromancy book a lent him from the restricted section to establish a skeleton army to take the throne from the king? Do I look like a mind-reader? No. I don’t. I look li-”
Odin had backed away into a reading nook at this point. It wasn’t worth it. Nothing was worth listening to that insufferable dwarf any longer, and it wasn’t like not having an audience seemed to affect him anyway.