Chapter 3 – Ladyship's Library
It had been several weeks since the little orc named Nutt had arrived at Lady Margolotta's castle. He often thought about the day that Pastor Oats had brought him there, remembering that day with a strange mixture of gratitude and uncertainty. But Lady Margolotta had been as good as her word – Nutt had been given the opportunity to learn, and there had been much, indeed, that he was able to learn within her castle. Now, Nutt had developed a voracious appetite to learn as much as possible, the kind of appetite displayed by one desperate to make up for lost time. The library was full of books, and he was gradually making his way through them all. He was now able to speak and read nine languages almost fluently; and he was also trying to learn some dead languages – although he was less sure about the pronunciation of some of the words in those languages. Still, Mrs Healstether, the librarian, was of great help to him, patiently explaining the meanings of words and phrases, helping to test his understanding of all that he had read. She was happy to discuss any concepts he was unclear about – she seemed to have an insatiable desire to teach him anything that he wanted to know, and she seemed to rejoice in his enthusiasm for his acquisition of knowledge; such an attitude being the hallmark of a skilled librarian. She would answer any question that he asked of her – and Nutt asked her questions very often indeed. But even she slept sometimes, and Nutt had quickly learned that people tended not to like it when he woke them up to ask them questions. Nutt himself seemed to need very little sleep, so he spent a lot of time alone. He did not really mind this – it gave him the opportunity to read and to learn – but he wrote down any questions and uncertainties that he had, so that he could discuss them with Ladyship or Mrs Healstether later.
He had just finished reading a book on love poetry, and was thinking about what he had just read, as he carefully placed the book back on the shelf. He did not really understand much about love, but he knew that he liked strong women, and, from what he had read about world history, it seemed that the Disc was full of them. He thought he would have liked to have met Queen Ynci of Lancre – except when she was having a temper, of course – although, as he read more about the history of Lancre, he began to suspect that she had not been a real person, but rather a myth made up by the people of Lancre, who also seemed to like strong women.
As he wandered aimlessly along the corridor of Ladyship's library, he wondered if it really mattered whether Queen Ynci had been a real person or not. Well, perhaps he would never know. Anyway, he decided that he wanted to read something different now, something to contrast with the book of love poetry, deciding that, while love poetry was pleasant enough in small doses, this represented only one aspect of the human condition. He decided that there were other aspects of this condition that he wanted to explore, including those less pleasant aspects. As Ladyship had explained, only a few days ago, life could not be all about beauty and love poetry – there was also ugliness and war. Nutt vaguely wondered if it was his personal character flaw that he was equally interested in all of these different aspects of the human condition. Regardless, he had decided to read all of the books on war, gradually tapping away at the mountain of his ignorance, gradually gaining more knowledge and understanding.
He finished the third book on the campaigns of General Tacticus, and thoughtfully put it back on the shelf, exactly where it belonged, as he always did. Humans were strange creatures, he mused to himself, as he once more made his way along the seemingly endless shelves of Ladyship's library. They could be capable of such cruelty and viciousness, and yet were also capable of such beauty and compassion. Surely no other creatures were capable of such…such contradictory behaviour?
It was while he was thinking this, that he noticed a long corridor, stretching out before him. It seemed that he had wandered into a part of the castle that he had never been in previously. His curiosity piqued, he decided to explore further along this new corridor. It took a few minutes, but he eventually reached its abrupt end. And there, in front of him, was a cupboard, made of glass and wood. He peered inside, looking through the glass. There was a single shelf within, and, on that shelf, a single book. He peered closer. There seemed to be something written on that book, but he could not read what it was, as the book was covered in chains, and there was also a padlock covering what appeared to be the book's title. He stared at the covered book for a moment, frowning slightly to himself. Why was this book here? Why was it covered in chains, and locked with a padlock? Should he ask Ladyship about this? Yet there was a strange, exhilarating new thought entering his head – he could not ask Ladyship about this, because it was a secret. This new thought was both beguiling and exciting – he had never had a thought quite like this before. Besides, he had enough questions to ask her, especially about the love poetry that he had been reading. But he kept looking back at the chained book, and thought about it a great deal, as he made his way back along the corridor, and back to the more familiar parts of Ladyship's castle.