Beckyann Short Number 29

Like many things often do, it started out innocently enough. It had begun with a conversation with Redamous.

Beckyann had spoken to Red and told him that hobbies were something that they could all still do. They allowed one to expand the mind, and with their rotten bodies having various issues, their minds were the last bastion of existence that a death knight really had. This thought had spurred Beckyann on to consider her own hobbies and interests. She liked art. She was interested in history. She enjoyed visiting tombs and crypts, and had even funded expeditions to such places. Was it possible then that archaeology was one of her hobbies? It seemed to be so!

But Beckyann had never actually felt the thrill of digging up an artifact herself. While she had funded gnomes to dig for her, she was, at best, merely a patron of the science and perhaps a very unskilled layperson in relation to its methods and terminology. This clearly had to be corrected if she was going to consider it a major hobby of hers!

And so she found herself in Stormwind's library, walking amongst the many rows of books there. She had signed up for an introductory archaeology class taught by none other than Harrison Jones himself, but she also was curious in studying on her own and learning as much as possible. It was often easier for her to pursue things in her own solitary fashion, and this hobby would be no different.

As she walked, she checked the end of each row of books, carefully noting where she was amongst the vast collection. After a time, she paused, looking at the numbering on the shelves and nodding to herself before slipping down the aisle. It was here where she would find the books she most wanted to study. As she perused the collection, she easily spotted the particular tomes that she wanted to read on a shelf above her. She reached up, stretching as far as she could before realizing they were out of reach.

Beckyann bit her lip in frustration, looking up and down the aisle to see if there was anyone taller than her. Even though she was wearing chunky, five-inch heels beneath her black dress, she couldn't even touch the very bottom of the book when standing on her tippy toes and reaching as far as she could. While she could likely use magic to death grip the text down, she didn't want to create a scene, and using necromancy in Wrynn's keep would likely be an issue.

As she paused to consider the problem (and failed to locate any stepstools!) her eyes scanned the rows of books below her. She paused, smiling to herself and pushing her tinted glasses up on her head as an idea formed. On the very bottom shelf she saw an extremely thick book, and she bent down to read the title, murmuring aloud to herself, "Stormwind City Tax Preparation and You; A Guide to Paying Your Dues."

She smiled and nodded, crouching down to grab the huge book and slide it from the shelf. She placed it on the floor in front of the bookshelf that contained the text she wanted. Carefully, she bunched her dress up at her hips, looking down to ensure that she placed the rounded toe of her designer shoe directly on the center of the book. Once she'd balanced one foot, she placed the toe of her other shoe there, standing on the book firmly and again stretching upwards while on her tippy toes.

The book had given her a good fifteen inches of additional height thanks to Stormwind's rather unfortunately long tax codes. With a smile, Beckyann reached up, her hand grazing the books near the one she wanted as she reached for it. In this most vulnerable position, balanced upon a book of tax laws while wearing ankle-breaking shoes and stretching up, is when disaster struck.

Someone had filed a book in the wrong place!

Of course, it was no ordinary book that had accidentally been shelved beside texts relating to archaeology. It was a prayer book of the Holy Light. One blessed by the clergy and used many times in sermons and ceremonies in the city and palace grounds. As Beckyann's fingertips trailed over its cover, the contact with the holy book sent a burning spike of pain through her unholy arm. With a yelp, Beckyann jerked her hand back, her other hand reaching up to snatch at the tome she wanted. The book came free easily, it's weight tipping against her even as her other hand pulled away.

It was the tipping point.

Arms windmilling wildly and eyes wide, Beckyann felt herself shifting backwards. She attempted to come down off the tips of her toes, only to find the heel of her shoe had missed the edge of the tax code book. Almost comically she reached in vain for the shelf in front of her, her fingers digging into the wood and serving only to pry loose the shelf in front of her, resulting in utter disaster.

The shelf in front of Beckyann gave way, the many books on it tumbling down and dislodging the shelves below them, spilling more books. Even as this happened, Beckyann herself fell from the tax code book, only managing to avoid completely striking the ground because her heels were thick enough for her to take several stumbling steps backwards...

Straight into the bookshelf behind her.

With a crash, the bookshelf she'd slammed into shuddered and began to tip backwards from the force of the impact, books spilling from it. In the meanwhile, the shelf in front of her tipped away from her, the weight of the spilled books lightening one side until the entire shelving unit could spill over. Of course, both bookshelves slammed into the shelves in neighboring rows, knocking them free and sending a cascade of books tumbling to the floor. The room echoed with the sound of falling books and shelves slamming together as well as the cries of other library-goers as they dodged falling books and dashed from between collapsing aisles.

In about three seconds the destruction was finished, five rows of shelves tumbled down, books laying in piles, library patrons rubbing bruises and glaring angrily, and papers fluttering in the air. Standing in the middle of the bedlam was Beckyann, her glowing blue eyes wide in shock and a book about archaeology still clutched in her hands. A paper fluttered down and landed on top of her head even as guards rushed in to see what had happened.

A librarian dashed from another room, skidding to a halt next to the guards and gasping in shock. The guards merely shook their heads, several of them chuckling once they saw there was no immediate danger and no one was hurt. Beckyann just stared around her, blinking and reaching up to remove the paper that had landed on her head.

With a sigh, the librarian  walked over to her, grabbing her roughly by the arm, "Miss, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Beckyann nodded once, biting her lip again before holding the book in her hand up. "C-can I at least borrow this book. I really wanted to read it..."

The librarian gave her a look that would have impressed Beckyann's companions back in Acherus before giving a long-suffering sigh and nodding, "Yes, I suppose you can. Let me see your library card and I'll check it out and THEN clean up this mess you've made."

"L-library card...?" Beckyann said in a small voice.

The guards burst into laughter even as the librarian slapped his palm over his face.

It was going to be one of those days.