Plague Doctor

This was not the real Arkham, at least Gu Jun could confirm that, this was merely a world inside a book. While he was at the restaurant, he tried to summon nightgaunt, Shub-Niggurath and channel the Ancient Seal, they were all to no avail. In this world, he could not gain contact with any supernatural power, he was bound by the power of words. His strange behaviors were only remembered by Hannah. She looked at him like he had really lost his mind.

But now there was another question, where was Yu Chi, was he here too? Since Gu Jun, Dirty-minded Yu and the witch survived, Yu Chi probably did too. Even though Arkham had a small populace, it was not that small. On the way to Miskatonic University, Gu Jun saw more blocks and citizens. Hannah had no idea how many characters in this world were named, so far, she only knew 7. However, she should recognize more people than that, after all she grew up here. Hannah handed Gu Jun her phone, there was a long list of names in her contact list but when Gu Jun wanted to take a closer look, most of them faded away into a blur. Clearly these people were not assigned a role in the play.

Of the 7 people, one of them was the head librarian at Miskatonic University, Professor George Armitage. He was a kind, amicable scholar over 60. He was well-read and well-loved, a popular character at the university. At Massachusetts, the Armitage family was one of the Old Gentries. George's grandfather, Henry Armitage was also a former head librarian, and his father one of the university's board of directors. Therefore, the Armitage family was closely related to the Miskatonic University's library. The contribution this family had made to the library was unrivalled. Normally, whenever he was at Arkham, Professor Arkham could be found at the library.

When Hannah visited the library to check out the King in Yellow, Professor Armitage was there as well. Apparently, he also picked the book up to read after Hannah left. Gu Jun was cautious about this character, not only because George Armitage came with a name and a detailed background, he was also the head librarian at the curious library. He was not to be trifled with. Eerie darkness shrouded the campus. Miskatonic University sat on both sides of the river that cut through town. The two campuses were connected by a stone bridge. The architectural style was very Early Victorian. Grey spires stood in the campus and it looked more like an ancient castle. The University was said to have grown alongside Arkham.

The car drove down the campus road. There were not that many students around. Even if there were, they shuffled around like zombies. This chilled Gu Jun. Ever since they left the restaurant, there was no 'correction', it was as if they were supposed to come here according to the script. Cutting through a small forest, the car stopped at a carpark not far from the library. The old-fashioned oil lamps gave off weak light. It casted a sense of graceful yet insidious atmosphere to the night.

Gu Jun looked up at the library. It was not as large as Pnakotus but it had its own unique flavor. The church-like building was 3 storeys tall. Its dome reached into the sky. The library was incredibly well-lit. It was only 9 pm so there were quite a number of students inside doing revision. Furthermore, the library was open overnight on weekends. The library was a quiet place, it was ruled by silence. But strangely enough, while Gu Jun could not hear any sound from inside the library, the world outside was overflowing with auditory stimuli.

Gu Jun could hear the sound of rivers and dog barking that appeared to come from everywhere.

"Can you hear the barks?" Gu Jun asked Hannah who got down from the car, to make sure he wasn't imagining things.

"Of course," Hannah nodded casually, "There're dogs everywhere. The university keeps them, they're strays and quite ferocious."

Gu Jun looked around. "Looks like we're at the right place." Hannah walked towards the library entrance. Gu Jun followed behind her. They walked up a long stone staircase. Before entry, they had to show that they were the university's students and alumni. The guard allowed them to go through without saying anything. At the first floor lobby, there were many antique large tables. The students sat around them. Some read, others worked on their laptops… these were all hardworking students. The bookshelves lined the four walls, some of them even reached the ceiling. They were stocked full with books, treasure troves of knowledge. However, as Gu Jun walked past the tables, he glanced at the books and notes that opened before the students.

The students were all rapt in studies but the pages were all empty. The pages turned from one empty page to another. These were just props…

Gu Jun was overwhelmed by annoyance. 'Even if they're just props, shouldn't they at least contain some literature to appear more believable?!' The moment he thought that, the pages started to surface with blurry characters. They wiggled like worms. Whenever Gu Jun tried to focus on them, they unfocused into an intelligible blur.

"You'll see what you want to see but only to a certain limit." Hannah said in passing.

Was the professor at the library? Even though he was the head librarian, he did not live at the library. Regardless, Hannah led Gu Jun past the lobby and up the second floor. The place had lesser tables but more shelves. The books at the library were arranged according to their value. The higher you climbed up the library, the rarer the books you would encounter. The rarest and collector's books were kept on the 3rd floor which was guarded. Previously the King in Yellow was stored on the 2nd floor.

Gu Jun was on alert as he moved along his sister. He had never fully trusted Hannah and he did not plan to allow himself to be guided by her forever.

Ever since they left the restaurant, they had not challenged the script. With a sudden desire, Gu Jun leaped towards a shelf that lined the wall. His hands reached madly for the books and pulled them all to the ground. The books tumbled noisily. Some of them opened from the fall and the pages were also startlingly empty.

At the same time, Gu Jun could hear the barks coming closer. It sounded more ravenous than before…