"Perhaps, just for a lark," said the scholar, smiling gently. "The books in the forbidden section are forbidden for a reason, you know."
"Regardless," said the hooded figure. "You did say you wanted to learn the deep lores. They are contained within. You have learned to read the Faded Runes, after all. Did you learn them just upon a whim? Or to gain knowledge? And knowledge, they say, is..." The whispering voice trailed off, allowing the scholar to fill in the word.
"This is not my field, though, not really," the scholar laughed, a bit nervously, looking around. He was not supposed to be in the archives after hours, not supposed to have lifted the key to the book cage, not supposed to be learning anything outside the twelve approved curricula.
"But you are a professor, a seeker of wisdom," the hooded figure coaxed. "Surely you could learn. And you might share what you learn with others, if you find something of value."
"I'm convinced," the scholar said, taking the book from the hooded figure's withered hand. "But just a quick look so that I can..." He gazed at the first page and fell silent. "This isn't...I'm not trained to..." But the scholar continued to read: eyes, and no other part of him moving. He felt a surge of something in the back of his mind, small, subtle, almost unnoticeable. It was the merest whisper.
Finally, he looked up. "It's extraordinary. But I ought to stop here. It gives a glimpse of other things. But there are prohibitions for a reason. My training, I..."
The sound of the water clock dripping in the library echoed. The scholar was alone. All he had to do was put the book away, or, as part of his mind cried, to throw the book in the embers of the fire and watch it burn. He longed to, but even as his right hand reached out to destroy it, his left hand caressed it.
"It's my right to learn, to absorb this, and teach it to others."
"Of course," said the hooded figure.
"I can read just one more if I wish. Reading two books doesn't mean I have to read a third or a fourth."
"Yes. You are free. That is what you are learning."
"And it is not so absorbing, after all," the scholar said, picking up the second volume. "Another taste. Another taste."
Seven hours later, he looked up with a start, as dawn filtered through the archive windows. The hooded figure was gone, and the scholar placed the volume back. The novices would be here soon, and he had a new lesson to teach them.
