Session 43, part 2

The team does some research in the library, and Glod runs in to an old schoolmate.

06/29/08

Players: Gante (Jon), Epona (Elizabeth), Kerwyn (Will), Glod (Adam F), and Arya (Sashsa)

3rd of Summer’s End

Outside, Glod takes a moment to get his bearings, as he hadn’t frequented this side of campus often. The team follows him towards the western side of the campus. Along the way, they pass a group of students practicing invisibility spells with their professor. One student has only his upper-half invisible, appearing as a pair of legs, much to the amusement of the others. Glod leads the team to a large building, not far from the school walls. It looks almost like a church, with towering spires and a grand staircase entrance. Up the staircase and through the large doors, they enter into the quiet sanctuary of the library. Three floors are visible from the central atrium, which is open up to the vaulted ceiling. On either side of each floor, rows of books extend out, almost creating a labyrinth. Tables set up near the center are packed with students, pouring over the information. To the left, a sort of check-out desk is staffed by a halfling woman buried deep in her book.

“Okay, this is probably not like libraries you may have been in before,” Glod warns them, “so you might want to stick close. If nothing else, those shelves are an absolute maze.”

They follow Glod up one of the twin spiral staircases up to the second floor. The shelves turn corners many times, so they can’t see the opposite wall and quickly lose sight of the atirum behind them. Occasionally, the shelves open into a sort of clearing, centered around a table, generally with another student reading. They catch sight of a pair of students trading a bag of coins with a flask of bright blue liquid near the end of a row, who get out of sight once they see the team pass. Finally, they arrive at the books dedicated to magical artifacts.

The team begins searching the books. Kerwyn keeps an eye out for anyone suspicious passing by. Epona does manage to find a book to help her identify her feather tokens, but nothing else. The team is about to give up hope on finding anything on the subject, believing that the chancellor may have removed any books regarding the subject. Kerwyn takes a quick look, spotting a slightly different looking book on one of the upper shelves. Whereas many of the others are covered in a nice layer of dust, this one seems recently used (or cleaned). The binding reads “Greater Artifacts”

Kerwyn reaches up and shows the book to Glod. The gnome sighs, “typical. Well, I suppose things are looking up now.” Glod holds the book. It’s colored deep blue, matching the somber tone of the other books, which are all deeply colored, generally with gold lettering. No author is listed on the cover.

Glod opens the book, and his eyes skim across the page. After a moment, he closes the book and hands it back to Kerwyn. “Actually,” he says, “I really need to take care of some other school-related matters.”

Gante looks at him quizically. “Wait, what?”

“Yeah, I really can’t put it off.”

“What about the book, though?”

“The what? Oh, I guess I’ll check it out later.”

“Hold on, we spend this entire afternoon searching for this book, and as soon as we find it, you want to just leave it here? Are you sure you’re feeling okay Glod?”

“I really just need to go ahead and get this exam out of the way.”

“Can you at least tell us where your exam is? Or what it is?”

“It’s called ‘Course’s End.’ It’s a sort of obstacle course/dungeon where you go through traps and mosters, just trying to impress the professors. You can come along too actually… Wizards are encouraged to party at school.”

Kerwyn holds the book out. “Okay, we’ll come with you, but we’re going to take the book with us, is that fine?”

“Well, I’m in a hurry.  Somebody check it out at the desk.”

“Shouldn’t you be the one to do that? You are the only student here,” Gante says.

Somewhat irritated, Glod concedes. “Okay, but let’s be quick about it.”

The desk at the front has a halfling woman behind it. She has a large book in front of her, which she is intently focused on. She doesn’t notice the team. Glod coughs loudly to get her attention. Startled, and a bit embarassed, she looks up quickly, and pushes her book aside. “Oh, excuse me. Checking ou- Glod?”

“Sera?! Oh, I didn’t see it was you behind that book!”

“Oh, wow! It seems like it’s been ages since you left on your whole thesis project thing…”

“Well, I’ve got a final to take, but my friends want to check out this book. I’m in a bit of a hurry, but I will make sure to stop by later.

“Oh, yeah. No problem.” She jots down the title and Glod’s name on a long list of checked books.

As Glod heads for the door, Gante asks “Ma’am, you wouldn’t happen to know a Marlak would you?”

“Marlak? No, ‘fraid not. Another friend of yours?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry about it right now, Glod has to do this ‘course’s end’ thing.”

Glod impatiently stands by the door. “One last question,” Gante says. “Has anyone else checked out that book recently?”

“Uh… hang on.” She looks through the sheet on the desk, quickly scanning through it. She reaches into a drawer pulling out a few more sheets. “Not today… and… not in the last week, at least.”

“Well, thanks alot. Maybe you and Glod can catch up when he’s in a better mood.”