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Valerio lets out a small sigh at seeing the contents of the next room. Music, music and more music? At least the tomes of Cheliax had some more meat to them, even if they weren't generally as secret and well hidden.
Yet, knowledge is power and even uninteresting knowledge could prove useful. With this in mind Valerio rummages through the musty old tomes. The fact it would help with his mission probably factored in there somewhere too, though only as an after thought.
Zosimos hums along to the music as he works--the opening of the medley is a tune he's familiar with, being one of those ridiculously pompous and over-the-top Taldan baroque pieces originally scribed to celebrate some event or another everyone's since forgotten about. In any case, he realises when it's going to build up to a particularly rousing section--although it doesn't really matter too much, for the Pathfinders all have their noses in books and records and aren't making much noise themselves...
Tippy's a little overwhelmed by the task at hand, but the others all quite enjoy the process of digging through various manuscripts. Mohok's unorthodox method of tracking actually comes quite in handy, and he is able to discern that the leftmost shelf sees the most use (the wooden floorboards are particularly scuffed around there). The reason, as Valerio determines, is the presence of an aged and yellowing card catalogue kept stored here. It matches up the subjects and rooms, but some of the pages are missing or out of order... better than nothing, though.
Zosimos and Zherohd spend some time being frustrated over the bizarre ordering system in the room, for they are initially unable to find any kind of logical pattern! There's obviously something, but what it is eludes their ken for some time... at least until Zherohd accidentally pulls out a thin reference about music notes and scales, and it suddenly clicks. Right! The ordering follows musical scales! ... Well, that's not too useful unless you can figure out which room follows which scale... but hey, it's something.
Card Catalogue: This aging card catalogue system notes where one might find various types of information. The reference is somewhat dated and inaccurate.
Clue: Use this clue to learn how many clues or texts remain in any two rooms.
Esoteric Alphabetisation: This library uses a strange system for organising its texts: it alphabetises its texts based on the progression of major musical scales instead of using the Taldan alphabet.
Clue: You may use this clue to grant a +2 bonus on all checks made to find texts in a single room for the rest of the scenario.
It takes you about fifteen minutes to find these two things. Shall you continue on, or head out to investigate another room?
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Meanwhile, Cesare, all by himself in the opposite classroom, he's barely got enough time to puzzle out the strange ordering system used by the librarians here and maybe pull out a couple of books to look through before the others come on over. His task is made all the harder by Cademon wandering around and pestering him with mindless chatter.
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Having contributed all he's likely to in the first room, Mohok steps across the hall to the room where Cesare is investigating historical references and Cademon scrabbles about on the library floor, claws scratching on the stone. The burly half-orc moves past the odd fey creature as it studies the dust motes in the air for clues.
Though Mohok knows very little of books or libraries, he has spent hours on the parapets of Nerosyan, watching for any demons approaching - and spending those boring hours watching the wizards of the Diamond City scribing great scrolls and banners, covered in giant magical runes. Since this is the closest thing to book-learning Mohok has had in many years, he tries to recall all he saw, looking on the spines of the shelved texts for any similar symbols or sigils.
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"Well played everyone. Agreed, let's find a large room and use what we've learned thus far to speed us on our way. Well done Mohok. If you'd be so kind, I tend to become somewhat hidebound when surrounded by knowledge. Keep an eye out for others in this section. It wouldn't do to be caught with our noses in books."
I say we move to a large room ASAP, use our clues, then continue.
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While Valerio in part agrees that searching for the largest repository of knowledge may be the best course of action, he also cannot help but wonder what lies in the other room.
Wandering across to join Cesare, Mohok and the odd creature he has resolved to do his best to ignore rather than question, he glances about the room to see its rather confusing contents. To serve Taldor, I must first learn the history of Taldor? Why is someone giving a history lesson in a basement? Rummaging around the room he notes the focus on codes and encryption and becomes even more convinced of this room's value; he agrees with the sentiment of moving on, though he only acquiesces to do so once he has a chance to investigate the intricacies of Taldan cipher-crafting and perhaps why there is a classroom in a secret archive.
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In general, I agree that larger rooms may be the preferable focus of our search, I do think that we must assume that rooms that have references to the virtues of Taldan Kings to have special importance given that odd sign at the entrance.
Cademon, stop getting in the way in here; keep watch in the hall to be certain that no one sneaks up on us.
Zherohd will join the others in the classroom to try finding something of interest. That plaque certainly suggests that there's something of value.
While some of the others head to the classroom with ciphers on the brain, Zosimos (followed by Cademon, who is, after all, following orders by hanging around in the hallway, right boss?) opens up the double-doors on the other side of the hall. There's actually another set of doors thereafter, with a plaque on the wall in between listing out some basic library rules (no food and drink, no running, no talking, etc.) The second pair of doors are much more intricately decorated than the outer doors, with images of a studious lion reading a book carved into the hardwood.
Finally, you find the main library chamber beyond. Thousands of books line the dozens of shelves, each stretching up many metres into the high and arched ceiling. The roof is decorated much as the library was upstairs, although this time it features the various monarchs over Taldor's esteemed history. Several tables and chairs near the centre of the room provide a place to read quietly, and five rows of pew-like benches nearby face an immense and ornate lion's head carved from the stone of the eastern wall.
The small, underground classroom quickly grows packed with knowledge-hungry students--although not of the usual kind that are tutored down in these hallowed halls. The Pathfinders focus on the discussions of ciphers and codes, but find, for the most part, the texts stored here only deal with introductory material. Most of the ciphers are simple things that would be quickly brute-forced or easily solved by intrepid Pathfinders, and are thus of little use to you: shift ciphers, affine ciphers, substitution ciphers, and the like. There is also a fair amount of discussion of tap codes, thieves' canter, hand signals, and other similar secretive (if commonly understood) communication methods. The majority of the shelves here are actually dedicated to Taldan ceremonies and traditions that the lot of you essentially take one look at and toss away.
After scanning the fourth chapter on shift ciphers in as many minutes, Valerio flips through to the last chapter of the textbook he's reading through in frustration. This, to his fascination, seems to be a chapter on "advanced ciphers"... however, except for the first few pages (an introduction and a brief blurb titled 'Advanced Cipher 1'), the rest have been ripped out of the book! What rude students, defiling books like this!
Mohok, Cesare, and Zherohd set to searching around for the missing pages, but all they come up with is a ruined old book stained by what looks to be orange juice. It's a little sticky, and the pages are all stuck together. Mohok originally mistook the blotchy markings for arcane symbols, but, alas...
Ruined Book: This book is a testament to why libraries should prohibit food and drink; someone spilled a beverage on it and sheepishly put it back on the shelf, where it has sat for several months at least.
During your search, you hear Zosimos call out for aid. It only takes you about five minutes to check all the books in the classroom, and so you (presumedly) head on over to help out.
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Mohok stuffs the juice-stained book back onto the shelf in disgust, surprising himself by actually feeling indignant that anyone would treat a book this way. Funny, I guess this library is growing on me some, he thinks to himself.
When he hear's Zosimos say he needs some help, Mohok raises a hand and says, "Let me go first, before you lot step on any useful clues in your rush to get to the books." He steps across the hall and carefully surveys the library, looking for signs of heavier traffic, such as those that led to the card catalog across the hall.
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I had expected the subject matter of this room to have more to do with Taldor's history, given that portrait's legend.
Zherohd has a look at the portrait before moving onto the main library.
This is an impressive library. Hey Cademon, I know I said you don't have to read, but you do know more about many things than I do - come have a look at some of the books in here.
Zherohd again focuses on the languages and age of the books, rather than the apparent subject matter to try and find ones of relevance.
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Following dutifully behind Mohok, Valerio attempt to avoid scuffing any possible tracks useful to the half-orc's unusual form of investigation. This is until he actually has a chance to see the sheer size of the library they had uncovered, after which he quickly skirts ahead of the ranger.
His focus of investigation falls, somewhat, within the purview of their mission. What better way to learn about the campaign against a mighty necromancer than searching for arcane insights? The fact Valerio had always held an interest for the arcane, in spite of his indoctrination into the church of Asmodeus was simply an added bonus.
Cross Reference
Prolific Author
Hand Written Notes
An Exciting Read
The classroom crew follow after Tippy and Zosimos once they're satisfied their job elsewhere is done. When they arrive, they find the elf has already mapped out the scale-to-alphabetisation method in this room, and he's trawling through two (or possibly even more) books at once! He's found a good supply of modern (and not so modern) references about Ustalav, supposed state secrets and the like, although they only obliquely reference the Shining Crusade. However, one dossier makes frequent reference to a series of logbooks written by Taldan generals in the Crusade... hmmm... if only you could find the primary source!
Tippy's made good use of Zosimos' ingenuity, and he plonks himself down to read up on the oh-so-fascinating stories of Taldan succession and present and prior nobles. Mostly the texts are made up of long, rambling exultations of the (probably made up) achievements of various nobles. However, he notices that many of the better written tomes are penned by one author in particular, one P. J. A. Taylor. Might be a good idea to keep an eye out for his work in particular.
Valerio finds ample tomes on necromantic magic, most of which have absolutely nothing to do with Tar-Baphon, at least directly. However, he finds the books themselves absolutely fascinating, with subjects ranging from the morality of necromancy (and whether it is truly 'evil' to use the corpse of a beast once it has been slain), white necromancers in the church of Pharasma, experimentations on the use of gemstones other than onyx in the raising of the undead, and borderline farcical theories about the negative and positive energy plane's relation to undead.
Zherohd gets completely side-tracked looking at older books, particularly those written in foreign languages. For one, he starts getting confused, his theoretical understanding outpacing his actual working use of the languages he tries to read; and for two, Cademon keeps bugging him to let him know that he's found some useful book or another. 90% of the time, it's really nothing. However, the fey-eidolon (feydolon?) does bring his master one notebook detailing underground cave systems in Ustalav. There, written in the margin of one page, is a heavily underlined reference to some other historian: ... (the handwriting is hard to read) ... looked into this area... thinks it's related to Tar-Baphon's lichdom...
Mohok employs his tracking techniques yet again, and he discovers - shockingly enough - that the most well-worn areas are the centre tables used for study. He notices that one of the drawers has been used so much that one of the hinges has broken slightly, leaving it slightly askew; and, actually, looking closely, can see that there's some papers shoved inside. On a whim, the half-orc has a look through them, and to his surprise finds something some of his friends might be excited to see: one of the missing pages of the Taldan cipher textbook!
An Exciting Read: You have found several particularly engaging texts, and you find it particularly easy to concentrate on the reading.
Clue: Use this clue before a PC rolls a skill check to find a clue or text. He rolls twice and takes the higher of the two rolls.
Cross Reference: A book references another promising text. If only you could find where that other text is...
Clue: You may use this clue to gain a +3 bonus on a single skill check made to find texts.
Hand-Written Notes: There are extensive notes scribbled in the margins of this book. These hand-written insights could be key to your next big discovery.
Clue: You may use this clue to gain a +3 bonus on a single skill check made to find texts.
Prolific Author: It appears that a long-dead historian wrote more than a dozen books on the topics you're researching. Perhaps you can find other insightful books by this author.
Clue: You may use this clue to gain a +3 bonus on a single skill check made to find texts.
Taldan Cipher 2: According to this text, one common cipher involves changing each consonant into the letter that comes three places after it in the alphabet and changing each vowel into the letter that comes two places before. For example, D would become G, U would become S, and Z would become C. (Since the vowels rotate backward and the consonants rotate forward, it's a particularly puzzling cipher to break.)
It takes about twenty minutes for you to make a first pass of the main library. Where to now, Pathfinders?
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Mohok pulls the slightly crumpled scraps of paper from the drawer and paws through them, though he seems a bit distracted as he does so, his eyes flicking about watchfully. He flips through the pages and says, "Hmmm, that's interesting." He stands and strides toward the doorway leading into the hall, holding up the page and saying to his companions, "Come with me, I've something to show you all."
Once his fellow Pathfinders assemble in the hall with him, Mohok closes the library door behind him. He waves the ciphered page dismissively and says, "I found a piece of the code textbook, and it might be useful, but that's not what I wanted to tell you."
He pauses, as if gathering his thoughts - which is not something his companions have known him to do, as plain-spoken as he tends to be. "You'll all think me driven mad by demons or some such, but that lion is watching us. The great lion head on the wall in there moves and watches when it thinks we're not looking. And it does it especially when we're in the south end of the library, like it's worried we'll find something there. I didn't want to say anything in the room with it watching us, in case it's listening too."
He studies the group's reactions for a moment, wondering if they'll think him completely mad and drive him away, or just politely ask him to wait outside while they get on with the mission. Hopefully, he asks, "Any thoughts on how to handle this? Go up and talk to it? See if we can take it by surprise somehow? Though I don't know how you attack a bit of the wall and hope to defeat it..."
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It's a statue, what's it going to do if it decides it doesn't like us poking around the south side of the room? Glare at us? I could have Cademon try to find whatever it doesn't want us finding. It wouldn't exactly be out of character for him to stop reading the books.
Generally speaking though, I think it makes sense for us to try to get a better idea of the layout of the rest of this place before deciding how to proceed with our research.
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Were it not for the half-orc's generally matter of fact demeanour Valerio would have scoffed at the suggestion of an ornamental spy, however such a revelation was troubling indeed. Till this point he assumed that their presence here had gone relatively unnoticed but who knows what could have been watching them up till now; a chair? a table? Perhaps Prince Stavian himself from his frame on the wall...
"Definitely do not speak to the feline voyeur itself, that I am certain of. I agree with Zherohd though, that perhaps simply assessing the full extent of this 'library' is the best course of action..." Valerio speaks in a low voice, who knows how well stone cats can hear, though even at a whisper his sarcasm in referring to whatever this place is as simply an archive is obvious; he is certain he has been duped into a situation far more convoluted than he first realised when taking the mission. "...Though if we want to investigate the southern side of that room further, perhaps someone can keep an eye on the curious cat? Pretend to be admiring the craftsmanship of the beast, while another sneaks a peak between the southern stacks?" In truth Valerio prefers the second idea, the clues they have discovered so far lead him to believe that anything worth knowing in this place will not be left plain to see but he leaves the decision ultimately to the majority.
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Mohok is pleased that his companions have taken him seriously, given what madness he’s talking, and nods heartily at their suggestions. ”Makes sense to me, let’s check the place out, make sure we know what’s where and what’s what, and see how we can best use what we’ve learned so far. There are doors on either side of the lion, I’ll check ‘em out, and try not to upset the lion too much. Maybe while I’m near the big kitty head, someone should see what’s so interesting in the southern part of the room?”
He opens the door to the main library room and re-enters with the party behind him. He wastes no time in crossing the room and approaching the door on the north side of the lion head. He studies the door for a moment, then listens at it. He then shrugs and opens the door.
Card Catalogue: This aging card catalogue system notes where one might find various types of information. The reference is somewhat dated and inaccurate.
Clue: Use this clue to learn how many clues or texts remain in any two rooms.
Esoteric Alphabetisation: This library uses a strange system for organising its texts: it alphabetises its texts based on the progression of major musical scales instead of using the Taldan alphabet.
Clue: You may use this clue to grant a +2 bonus on all checks made to find texts in a single room for the rest of the scenario.
Taldan Cipher 1: This text describes a cipher in which one must read the message backwards, reading only every third letter; all other letters are ignored. The example the book provides is "RMNEB SISWD IILPL OTRSES," which means "soldier".
Ruined Book: This book is a testament to why libraries should prohibit food and drink; someone spilled a beverage on it and sheepishly put it back on the shelf, where it has sat for several months at least.
An Exciting Read: You have found several particularly engaging texts, and you find it particularly easy to concentrate on the reading.
Clue: Use this clue before a PC rolls a skill check to find a clue or text. He rolls twice and takes the higher of the two rolls.
Cross Reference: A book references another promising text. If only you could find where that other text is...
Clue: You may use this clue to gain a +3 bonus on a single skill check made to find texts.
Hand-Written Notes: There are extensive notes scribbled in the margins of this book. These hand-written insights could be key to your next big discovery.
Clue: You may use this clue to gain a +3 bonus on a single skill check made to find texts.
Prolific Author: It appears that a long-dead historian wrote more than a dozen books on the topics you're researching. Perhaps you can find other insightful books by this author.
Clue: You may use this clue to gain a +3 bonus on a single skill check made to find texts.
Taldan Cipher 2: According to this text, one common cipher involves changing each consonant into the letter that comes three places after it in the alphabet and changing each vowel into the letter that comes two places before. For example, D would become G, U would become S, and Z would become C. (Since the vowels rotate backward and the consonants rotate forward, it's a particularly puzzling cipher to break.)
Alice – how much time have we spent so far?
Cademon and Zherohd sneak down one of the aisles to try and surreptitiously scope out the southern end of the library, but they really come up with nothing exciting out of the venture. ... Books? Lots of books? They don't notice the lion statue moving at all, either, for that matter. Hmm. Was Mohok just being delusional and/or paranoid?
Mohok, meanwhile, approaches the north-eastern door and tries to open it after determining that there is nothing beyond. Alas, he finds that it's tightly locked.
"You're going to need to try much harder than that if you want to go traipsing out there, my boy," a growling and richly regal voice fills Mohok's ears. Looking up, the half-orc may be shocked to discover the lion head has turned his way--and is speaking, to boot! For a moment, its blueish stone eyes glow, and then it speaks again. "Come here, boy! And bring your friends! I don't believe I've met any of you before, now, have I? 'Tis most rude to not introduce yourself..." The lion-statue talks in a way that makes you think of the most snobbish and pompous Taldan nobles, with a keenly patriarchal streak.
Nothing happens to Zherohd though.
The lion turns to Cesare, and rumbles, "Excuse me, boy, but that's quite rude. One should always ask permission before doing that kind of thing, don't you think? Now, come on, come closer, these eyes aren't getting any younger. Have a sit down and let's have a chat, now, why don't we?"
The lion statue glows with a moderately bright, silvery-blue aura, not unlike the colour of its eyes. You can't quite determine the type of aura, though. However, you believe this is some kind of intelligent magical item.
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Mohok takes several steps closer to the lion, doing as he's bid, and stands up straight in front of it. He looks much like a chastened schoolboy, though a fiercely ugly, broad-shouldered one, his face covered in jagged tattoos and his unruly black hair restrained by a sweat-stained rag. "Um, I'm Mohok," he says, doing his best to make the deep bass note of his voice as polite as he can manage. After a long, tentative pause, he adds, "Who're you?"
The lion statue turns to Mohok and eyes up the half-orc curiously. "Thank you for being the only one of your fellows to respect my words," it says in a low grumble, sounding particularly miffed. "My word, the impertinence of new recruits nowadays..."
"Mohok, you may call me the Guardian," it continues proudly, "a fitting title for one as magnificent as myself. What do you think, Mohok? Am I not a wonder of modern magic, a marvel of architectural prowess?"
"Perhaps you might tell me why you are here?" The lion statue swivels away from Mohok to look down one particular aisle of books, and Valerio feels a burning gaze land upon him. "Particularly those of you who feel they have to hide from me. You don't have something to hide, now, do you?" the Guardian growls.
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Upon hearing the Lion's request, and seeing that it's a near impossible task to accomplish alone, Zosimos puts a book down and joins everyone.
"Not so much hiding as staying on task. It is my life's mission to learn everything I can. It's not often I get to explore something as vast and magnificent as this. I can truly see why it requires a Guardian such as yourself. I imagine a Guardian such as yourself must be quite august. I can even picture shields bearing your likeness on the fields of battle like the Shining Crusaders facing off against the Whispering Tyrant."