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THE STOLEN TOMES

OOC NOTE [click to expand]

ooc note

Exploration logs aren't events per se, nor are they mandatory. They're another type of prompt, not unlike the Notice Board's -- albeit (typically) a bit more fleshed out. And they serve multiple purposes! We use them to explore uncharted territories, specific establishments in Stygia or an NPC's motives, for instance. They do sometimes moderately correlate to the overarching plot, and will most of the time offer some kind of reward: artifacts, new transformations, clues, boons, etc. These prompts are generally available during less eventful months and for an undetermined amount of time. Just like the Notice Board's, they might create great opportunities for CR building. You're absolutely welcome to share your discoveries!

You are approached by the chief librarian of the Academy, who explains that several important books have vanished, and that theft is suspected. Rather than admit that they have been lax in their duties, the librarians ask you to investigate the losses.

“Can I count on your discretion? We have been losing books. Well, not exactly losing … we think our books are being stolen. Naturally, it would not do for the Academy Elders to learn that we librarians have allowed important volumes to go missing. I’m asking you as a favor to discreetly find out what’s happening. We can’t offer much, but you would certainly have our gratitude.”

You enter the main hallway and are met with rows upon rows of colossal balconies, which stretch impossibly further than what the exterior of the building would suggest, housing seemingly endless rows of nearly identical bookcases. The shelves are filled with tomes both famous and obscure, innumerable in subject and author. All around, strange orbs of light seem to dance and glimmer about, as if sentient, through the bookcases and main hallway, as if to invite you forward. Books, both single and in small collections, levitate through the air, moving about as if to organize themselves back into their place - wherever that place may be. The scene is wondrous, chaotic, and oddly serene. The librarians lock the main doors behind you, and for a few hours, the library is quiet, allowing you to explore and search the place.

► STORAGE ROOM
Reams of parchment, blank vellum, quills, and ink are stored on shelves in this small area.

► CHIEF LIBRARIAN'S OFFICE
The head librarian’s chambers contain book-lined shelves, a desk, a small bed, a table, and chairs. It is homey and crowded, with decanters of fine liquor, jars of aromatic weed, and a collection of handcrafted pipes. The wall behind the desk looks a little odd, as if altered or repaired in the recent past.

► DOCUMENTS ROOM
The walls of this room are lined with shelves containing varied documents—old manuscripts, maps, records and the like—as well as several tables and chairs for study. Stairs go down to a basement that ends at a locked door. It contains various items including food and water, three tall statues, cleaning supplies... and skely-tons. One of them carries a rusty key in its mouth, which unfortunately doesn't unlock the door there.

► BOOKS YOU MIGHT COME ACROSS

► Under The Silver Moon: This book contains information on lycanthropy and the effects that it may bestow upon you. The author of this book makes lycanthropy sound like a REALLY good idea.
► Cooking with Grandma: This seemingly pleasant sounding book goes into great detail explaining how the flesh and bones of older humans can be used to make delicious food.
► Call of the Void: A strange tome written in an unknown language. Attempting to read it causes headaches and dizziness.
► Mnemotical Magic: This tome has moving pictures of funny situations and animals. Which seems like a humorous pass-time soon reveals that the magically animated graphics are powered by a curse, probably. Directing an open page to a person will also make them repeat the depicted action; if the page shows a dog wagging its tail, for instance, the targeted person will feel the urge to mimic exactly that.
► Bargains of the Netherworld: A mysterious memoir recording the author's descent into madness before murdering his family.
► Incredible Creatures and How to Kill Them: Details weaknesses monsters are known to have.
► Claiming the Crown: An Experienced Guide to Assassinating Royals. How to brew a poison, how to create a disguise, tips on wielding daggers, and more!
► Half-Human, Half-Darkling, All Man: Porn. It's porn.
► Nightwalkers: A well used guidebook of general information on creatures that hunt humans such as Nightweavers, Werewolves, and Hags.

If you go back to the Chief Librarian's chambers and investigate the wall, knock: it's hollow. There's a safe on the other side: unlock it with the key, and you'll find a diagram detailing three highlighted areas in front of three different statues. The basement. In truth, there are three pressure switches in front of each statue on there; when all three are pressed simultaneously, the locked door opens on a secret passage. However, if any weight is removed from the switches, the door is once again locked. Parties with 4 or more characters may make easy work of this predicament, but smaller parties may have to improvise and use books or furniture in lieu of other characters.

When all four switches are triggered, the hidden passage is revealed... and as you reach the end, you realize, too late, that it's a trap. The Chief Librarian stands before you, the glimmers of the library congregating around him; books begin to float, most likely the stolen tomes.

“It was a joy watching you run in circles. It would have been much quicker to just lock you in, but I'm in dire need of entertainment. I've been under the scrutiny of the Elders for a while, you see. So many of these tomes are filled with lies... It is my sworn duty to revise and redraft, but they would rather follow in those damnable stingers' footsteps. Well, no matter. These books will disappear with you, and the truth will finally adorn the shelves. You've been a most excellent decoy. May you rot in peace now as I continue my work.”

The door locks behind you, and the Chief Librarian lurches forward, transforming into a giant, monstrous beast. A werewolf, particularly weak against silver. If you're bitten or scratched, you'll experience your first transformation on the next full moon, which will also negate the alterations you may already be going through.

Once you've defeated the Chief Librarian, report to the Academy's Elders. They'll investigate the scene and reward you with a Slumberbook, which soothes and calms the listeners’ Shadows if read aloud. If you ask about the stolen tomes, now scattered across the ground among ripped robes, they'll hesitate and mention that 'the truth will rise when you gaze upon the cantilever stairs.' And with that, you're encouraged to leave, but not without an invitation to come back whenever you wish to browse the available collection of books.

being a were doesn't limit you to lycanthropy. you may choose to turn into any beast you like. available changes include:
► sharper canines, pointier ears, and claws
► longer hair, patches of fur anywhere on your body
► uncontrollable urge to turn into beast on full moons
► berserk-like behavior during transformations
► enhanced strength and agility, five senses heightened
► can turn others by scratching or biting them
► pack instinct
► memory loss and exhaustion after transformation
► transformations may be triggered by strong emotions
► may be cured by piercing the were's hands with silver nails

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Silco's eye narrowed, like he was lasering in on Bruno's suggestion.

The Documents room, would likely have some very interesting finds. ]

It's worth a shot. I suppose we'll have to do a thorough search of the items in there, too. Won't we?

[ He was going to rifle through those. ]

Huh, I thought you'd at least sound a little more excited for a room full of documents than that but... wait... do you even do excitement? Like, emotion-wise? Or?

[ Or no. No, probably not. There always seemed to be some veneer of calm right up until it was ripped away by some disaster or another. Oh well, Bruno could be excited enough for the both of them and then some, although he paused when the doors of the library were shut and locked with a definite thump that resounded through the stacks. He looked back that way, brow creasing in worry for half a second.

It's just a library, though, he told himself. It'll be fine. ]

...uh, anyway, I think it's over here.

[ And it would be. It only took a weird, winding path through several other sections to get there, to the door suitably labeled "DOCUMENTS ROOM". It would be unlocked, too, leaving them free to wander in to poke around. Shelves upon shelves upon more shelves filled with stacks of paper and beyond those and the varying tables and chairs scattered about, a stairwell leading down, but Bruno was drawn to the shelves first. ]

Thiiis... looks like a lot. [ Of stuff. ] I'll check for any wayward books if you wanna look for, I dunno. Whatever it is you keep hoping to find.

[ It's true, Silco doesn't really do excitement, and the roll of his eyes at Bruno said that well enough, didn't it? His lip curled, even. ]

I'll be excited if I find some proper dirt.

[ By excited, of course, he means he'll actually smile for .2 seconds. Be ready for that particularly expressive moment, Bruno.

He followed behind, and when the door clicked shut, he started rifling, his fingers looking, in particular, for financial documents. To figure out where the money flowed. ]

Right, any books in particular? Just in case they're... [ He gestured before him, at the rack of documents he was looking through. ]

[ He'll be sure to swoon for those .2 seconds of witnessing it but until then, Bruno carried on checking shelves on his side. Unlike Silco, he was looking specifically for books that may have been dropped into them and forgotten. ]

Let's see, the titles were... [ And he rattled off a few very dry and serious-sounding titles as he worked his way from shelf to shelf before coming to an immediate stop with, ] Oh, here's a book!

[ He took it out from under the various papers it'd be hidden beneath and squinted at the title. ]

"Half-Human, Half-Darkling, All Man". [ An awkward pause followed reading that title out loud and there was a quiet rustling as he opened the book to a random page. Ah. ] Nnno, okay, this definitely is not one of the missing books.

[ Silco straightened slightly, and looked over his shoulder. So far, nothing interesting on his end, just dry documents about business licenses or some such. Kind of not what he'd want to look for, thank you very much. Still important, could be useful, but he wanted dirt, not something that should be public access. ]

Hm?

[ He asked, and leaned back, as if he could look at the contents. ]

What's in it?

[ Was this... a study? Maybe it could be useful? ] Don't some people become...similar to these creatures with time?

Edited 2022-11-27 02:56 (UTC)

[ Silco wasn't wrong about that but what he might have been hoping for, something even remotely useful, was not going to be what he got. Bruno slowly closed the book and slid it right back into the same shelf whence it came. ]

Uhhh, I mean, y-yeah but that's. A very detailed account of it. Like, intimately detailed, so I'm just gonna put that right back for whoever left it... there.

[ Porn. It was porn. Bruno won't say out loud that it was porn but it was. ]

Huh.

[ Said Silco, who can put two and two together.

He snorted, an undignified sound that's almost a laugh, before he turned back to the pages he was rifling through, trying to find something of note for himself. Mostly financial records, but... ]

I'm sure they'll thank you, for not taking their...materials later.

[ He said, making a joke of it, but with a note of annoyance, he moved to the next, deciding that this pile was useless. ]

Ha, yeah, I'm... sure, probably.

[ In any case, he moved on quickly. Another few minutes of searching and turning up nothing of note before a quiet rattling sound and the pitter-patter of tiny feet broke the silence. It sounded like something darting across the floor, loud enough to be heard but not big enough to be clearly noticed.

Bruno froze for a second or two, then slowly turned to glance Silco's way. ]

W-was that you?

[ Oh, he sounded so hopeful. ]

[ Silco's head also swung up, his head tipped, looking for the source of the sound. ]

No.

[ He let the papers fall back into place, and he turned away, to look around a shelf, to look for the source. ]

Is this place infested?

Not with rats, if that's what you're thinking. I would have noticed.

[ Because, exactly as he mentioned before, he happened to be a fan of rats. He hadn't seen any signs of infestation in the library before but... Out of the corner of an eye, there was a flash of white, several things moving quickly and clattering down the stairs at the far end of the room.

Bruno gave a jump and whirled to face that way, stepping back even though there was clearly already a decent distance between him and those stairs. ]

Oh, no, not rats, those were not rats!

[ Silco released a note of affirmation, before Bruno jumped, and he heard the skitter of feet, before he turned to match the direction of his eyes, and -- ]

What was it?

[ He eyed the stairs, suspiciously. ]

What did you see?

[ was he pulling out a knife? It wouldn't last long, probably, but Silco felt better with something in his hands, when there was so much danger here. ]

Okay, this is gonna sound nuts, but I think they were little skeleton... things? Y'know, like those little flame guys but. Skeletons? Like, s-skulls and. And all.

[ Bruno was staring at the stairwell leading further down now, unsure what to do next. What was down there? Why would tiny skeleton people go there? Did they even want to find out? ]

More monsters.

[ He said, with a bit of an annoyed scoff. What were they going to do, to deal with this thing? Silco had never fought a skeleton before, and those little flame guys would have killed him, supposedly, so...

His lips quirked, and he hoisted his knife, before he stepped a little closer.

He wasn't about to get jumped by one of the damned things. ] Well, I suppose we'll need to deal with them, hm? You coming?

[ Bruno lingered by the shelves, gaze switching uncertainly between the stairs and Silco, the stairs and Silco, the stairs... and Silco. For a moment, it definitely looked as though he was going to say no, he was not. He absolutely looked as though that's what he wanted to say, but, ]

Y-yeah, sure, let's. Let me just, uh. [ He went back a few shelves and retrieved the saucy tome of Half-Darkling erotica he'd put back before. Sure, it was porn, but it was also a very thick, hefty book of porn. He could probably whack something with it. He held it up before him like a shield, one with a particularly barechested cover but still. ] Alright. Let's go.

[ Silco would have lifted an eyebrow, but it was the one over the blackened eye, so it's left to stare at him, almost blank, before he shrugged.

Hey, an improvised weapon was an improvised weapon, right? ] Right. Maybe they'll be repelled by the power of pornography, so we don't damage it.

[ It's a joke, but still. He started toward the door, and took the first few steps, his feet on the stairs, knife in a reverse guard, and he crouched, to keep his steps silent, as they started down. ]

Okay, look, it isn't ideal but not everyone carries a knife, Silco!

[ Bruno probably should seriously consider it, though, only he would assume he would only end up hurting himself in doing so. A book, though? Worst he can give himself happened to be a bruise and a papercut. Thus, book held high, he inched down the stairs in Silco's wake.

Down the stairs they went, bit by bit, both quiet as mice — or rats, in this case — until they reached what turned out to be the basement. Packed with food and cleaning supplies and, weirdly enough, three tall statues. At the end of the basement, another door. Down here, it was quiet, nothing moving just yet. ]

Maybe. You. Should.

[ It's terse. After all, they'd already traversed through to the star metal, why wouldn't he start carrying a weapon. Sure, they didn't last all that long, but it was better than being disarmed. He'd rather a knife with a chance of breaking over no knife at all.

He started to peer at some of the containers, looking for what he suspected was actually a rat, and not a skeleton, his knife held at the ready. ]

Anything? [ He whispered, his voice low. ]

[ Yes, maybe he should indeed, and yet, he likely never would. Bruno wasn't going to argue against the concept of carrying a knife, though. He didn't actually consider it a bad idea, just... not a him idea. Regardless, the basement continued to present no obvious signs of life and the feeling of being a jumpy fool began to creep in.

Had it been his imagination? Had he seen nothing at all? He walked further into the basement, away from the stairs, and his own attention was drawn to the three statues ahead of them rather than the random boxes of supplies. ]

Why would anyone put these down in a basemENT—!

[ Ah, yes, the last part of that last word went higher into a startled shout and Bruno lept back, book held high again, as a collection of tiny skeleton... things... came scuttling out from behind one of the statues in question. They seemed unbothered by the two of them, busy dusting the bases of the statues with dusting clothes as they went about their own work. They were, however, undeniably skeletons, not rats, and it was a bizarre sight to behold.

Still, slowly, Bruno did lower the book. ]

...uh, they're... just... cleaning?

[ Silco's head whirled to Bruno when he exclaimed, the knife rose quick into an attack position, but he froze.

Whether it was from Bruno calming down, or the skeleton, it's not quite clear. Silco's eye narrowed, his mouth slightly agape, as he took in the details of the things that skittered out, their movements...

Well.

That was odd. He lowered the knife, but didn't sheath it quite yet, not willing to give up the opportunity for defense if it was needed. ]

What? That seems...mundane. [ He tilted his head, but... yeah. They did. ]

[ Bruno inevitably let out a sputter of laughter. ]

Mundane, yeah. You'd think they could hire normal cleaners.

[ But the tiny skeletons carried on with their dusting. One leading the charge from statue to statue, however, very clearly had a key hung off of one of its teeth. That wouldn't be anything that Bruno went after, though. He simply watched for a bit, wondering at them. ]

They're kind of like those flames, right? Only, I dunno, bone elementals instead? Is that a thing?

You're asking the wrong person.

[ He said, but he did crouch down, and when the one with the key came near... well, Silco had maintained the sticky fingers he'd had as a boy, and the key was gone, just like that. He slipped it into his pocket, but stayed down for a moment, before he stood, and dusted off his hands.

He turned to look at Bruno. ] We don't have anything like this where I'm from. Magic isn't really a thing. [ Well, there's HexTech, but... other than the Gemstone Jinx had stolen, they had no access to it. ]

Well? I suppose this is a dead end. Should we head back? Maybe check out the Librarian's chambers?

[ They'd passed that room on the way in, and if the documents room wasn't really giving them much -- and Silco had found nothing of use for his goals... ]

[ That Silco got his grubby fingers on a key goes right over Bruno's head. He hadn't noticed it yet and then, just like that, it was gone, and so when Silco suggested the Chief Librarian's chambers, he had to blink at him and raise his eyebrows. What? ]

You think he would've left those open?

[ While they had been bidden to search any part of the library they wished, private offices? Really? Well, maybe. Maybe the librarian hadn't been worried about them doing so. ]

I mean, sure, I guess it wouldn't hurt to... try? If they are?

[ Silco, of course, was much more interested in private documents than literally anything else. Why would he bother with the rest of the library? ]

It's better than rifling through the documents room, isn't it? There's nothing there that I've found. If there's going to be something of use... it'll likely be there.

[ Something of use... for him. Of course.

Sorry Bruno, this is entirely self-serving. ]

Come on, let's get out of this...

Supply closet.

Alright, alright, let's go.

[ He wasn't in any place to disagree, not really, not when the document room managed to turn up nothing of interest.

Bruno paused briefly to look back at the little skeletons again and wave a little goodbye to them. They, of course, carried on, unworried about the wayward wanderers in the library. The girthy tome of smut, however, would remain, tucked under an arm, just... in case. He does not, as already mentioned, have a knife of his own, and now he's worried about what else might be lurking through the stacks.

Up the stairs and back out of the document room they go and backtracking to the Chief Librarian's own office door. Should Silco try the door handle — and Bruno will let him take point on that one, thanks — he'll find it... actually is unlocked, the handle turning underhand easily, odd as that might seem.

Maybe librarians simply don't care about guests poking around... ]

[ Silco did eye that book under Bruno's arm, since he'd apparently decided to keep it close? There was a joke here, but he refrained from it, and given that the man was often so jumpy, he didn't think it was a bad idea to bite his tongue.

Besides, they were supposedly on a mission of sorts, weren't they?

When they came to the door, Silco was pleasantly surprised by the door's easy give. Really, it wasn't like he couldn't pick a locked door, but... truly, far too many people left their doors unlocked here. When he opened the door, it looked...crowded -- musty too.

He eyed the jars and decanters with some interest, before he started looking around at the desk. Bruno could do what he wished, but Silco was curious if there would be anything in any of the drawers. ]