Session 43, part 3

There seems to be some mystery behind the book the adventurers found.

06/29/08

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

3rd of Summer’s End

The team heads outside, with Glod leading at a brisk pace. He slows down as they cross the lawn, and eventually stops. “You know, maybe I ought to go catch up with Seraphina some more… I mean, it’s not like I have to get to that exam right away.”

There’s a quick burst of confused statements from the team.

“Huh?” “But…” “Wait a second, what?”

“Something is definitely wrong here,” Kerwyn says.

“Nah, there’s no rush. I mean, I should probably take care of it before I leave, but I figure there are some mysteries to be solved here, first.”

“You were just rushing us out the door a minute ago!” Arya says.

“I was probably just a little anxious. School seems to do that, you know? I mean, you have been to school before, right?”

“Well, I wouldn’t call it school,” Epona says. “Not exactly…”

“Same here,” Gante says.

“Um, yeah… School… Anyway, what about this book, huh?”

“Well, lets go see Seraphina about it. She does work here after all…”

The team heads back in to the library and walks to the front desk. Glod takes it from Kerwyn and sets it on the desk. “Hey Sera, got a minute to look at this book?”

“Huh? Yeah, I guess so. What is it, anyway? Cramming for a test?

“No, not really…” He looks around and lowers his voice, a sly look coming across his face. “Can you keep a secret?”

She smiles and leans forward, matching his whisper with her own. “Yeah?”

“Well, we found this stone while adventuring around. Had a sun pattern on it… Anyway, a wizard named Marlak took it to study. We haven’t heard from him in a while. We traveled here to see what there was to find out.  The chancellor had us in to see him right away, drilled us for information, and told us to forget about it. I’m hoping this book might have some information.”

“Wow, that’s pretty heavy.” She leans back in her chair.

“Yeah, but keep this quiet. I know you’re reliable on that, at least, being a librarian.”

“Heh. Well, I’ll take a look.”

She opens the book and looks at the page. Fairly suddenly, she closes the book. “Although, I do have a lot of paperwork I need to catch up on…”

“Oh, come on Sera. You’ve got time for this! What’s all this about, huh?”

“Something’s wrong with that book,” Kerwyn says.

“Glod, as soon as you started reading the book, you put it down and suddenly wanted to get to your test, and now she suddenly has more important things to do. I don’t need a spell to tell me there’s something up here.”

“Hang on a minute,” Epona says. She takes a moment and, saying a few powerful words accompanied by divine gestures, tries to magically determine what she can about the book. After several seconds, she puts her hands down. “Well, it’s an enchantment spell, if that wasn’t already obvious. But I can’t tell much else.”

“Well, I woundn’t know much there,” Glod says. “I never really studied enchantments much… If it’s just some kind of suggestion spell, she should snap out of it soon enough. We should probably wait around here for a few minutes to see what happens.”

The team waits not far from the desk, watching Seraphina’s sudden productivity. Within a few minutes, she slows down and finally puts the papers away, somewhat confused.

“Not feeling so rushed anymore?” Glod says, walking back over.

“Well, I mean, I’ve got plenty of time to finish this, I guess.”

“Sera, there’s some kind of enchantment on this book. It… distracts you, or something. It doesn’t seem all too powerful, but do you know of any way to break it?”

She takes a moment to soak things in. “It may be beyond my skill, though I may be able to point you in the right direction of someone who can…”

“Well, would they be able to keep a secret?” Gante asks.

“Oh you bet. I’m guessing that bypassing something like this won’t get anyone extra credit, but I know where people would be more than willing to take it on.”

Sera lowers her voice. “Second floor of Coron Hall, after nightfall. There’s a group of… less scrupulous students who meet up once the teachers clear out for the night. They’re mostly out to cause trouble for the school, so that may be just the kind of guys you need.”

“Sounds about right,” Gante says. “Guess we’ll wait until then.”

“Hang on, let me get a good look at that book… If I can keep my concentration, I might be able to keep a figment up long enough in case someone passes by to check on it. But please, please keep this secret. The last thing I need is to be kicked from school this close to graduation…”

“Don’t worry, we aren’t telling anyone.”

“Alright. Good luck then.”