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The adventure begins as Master of Scrolls Kreighton Shaine summons you to the Overflow Archives, an annex of the Grand Lodge libraries, to investigate a sudden flood of seawater.
"I have no love of puns," announces a peeved Kreighton Shaine, the Master of Scrolls in the Grand Lodge, "Yet it cannot go unremarked that the Overflow Archives have begun living up to their name." The pale elf gestures across the library’s stone lobby toward a pair of shut double doors from beneath which water steadily seeps. He is only one of the midnight visitors bearing witness to this disaster. Next to Shaine, Paracountess Zarta Dralneen stands with folded arms, glaring at an initiate whose hair and clothes are utterly drenched. All three speak at once, but Shaine’s shrill voice rises above the din. "Magical shenanigans in the archives are prohibited, especially this soon before the Grand Convocation!"
"Let us prioritize," Dralneen suggests. "Are the artifacts within the vaults in danger?"
"How should I know?" Shaine barks back. "This delinquent initiate — what was the name? Wormell?"
"Virml, sir," replies the sodden Pathfinder.
"Virml says he sneaked into the archives on a dare," summarizes Shaine, painfully emphasizing the initiate’s name with scolding disdain. "Presumably, he thought the holdings would be harmless. Instead, in his naivete, Virml triggered some dormant curse or other. So, yes, thanks to Virml here, the archives and the vaults below continue to flood, threatening all the books therein."
Miserably, Virml holds up an armload of soggy manuscripts. "I salvaged a few, sir."
Sighing, Shaine leads Virml towards the stairs. "Take them up to the scriptorium. Start making dry copies." Then, turning to survey the rest of the room, he continues issuing orders. "The remainder of you should wade in there and plumb the origins of this deluge. Stop it, if you can. I must report this debacle to my colleagues and begin organizing the cleanup." Abruptly, he seems to notice the paracountess for the first time. "What are you doing here, Dralneen?"
Zarta smirks and shrugs. "Unlike you, Shaine, I love a good pun."
"Do you have questions?" Shaine asks impatiently.
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A large man in stands by, dressed in what looks to be a soldier's uniform but adorned by symbols of Gorum. A large sword lay sheathed at his back, and a traditional morningstar dangles from his belt. Although well-built and somewhat handsome, any impression of wit or charm is quickly dispersed when he speaks.
the man says much too loudly for the close quarters.
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"Antonella? Is that really you? Whiskers! Look who is here with us! Tuna!"
Wembly hugs the woman back and Whiskers, his green colored cat-thing both grin broadly as they see their friend.
I have not seen you in...well, I cannot remember how long. I have so many stories! I am sure you do too. Oh, I guess we need to be quiet now though and listen."
Wembly tries to focus on the mission.
"I am not a good swimmer and neither is Whiskers. We may need some special supplies, right Antonella...like when we saw those shark-men"
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"What else do we know about this...curse?" A small individual in dark-colored exotic finery suddenly asks in the clipped accent of a distant land - if he'd been in the room before, nobody'd noticed him. His features are wickedly sharp, almost appearing two-dimensional from the side, and even more striking than his indigo skin and intense purple eyes is his wild hair that somehow manages to be vibrant black and lambent white simultaneously. He turns to Raul. "I am Sihir Aneh Yang Mengembara Alam Semesta, and apparently, I am your aforementioned clever wizard. I think I shall find this a refreshing way to return after my last journey through Osirion's deep desert - now that was an adventure for the ages."
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"I don't think you need diving gear inside, but as far as I could see there is a lot of water in this level and there is another level below this level. I don't know what awaits you there." Kreighton Shaine answers to Ticlo's question.
Virml sheepishly relates, "I ... I merely picked up a wee scroll, read part of it aloud for fun — some kind of riddle about birds and fish? And then it flew to bits in my hand, and I caught the quickest glimpse of a handsome man ... and then ker-sploosh! I washed out here!" Virml answers to Sihir's question. Virml produces a dripping fragment of a scroll. Shaine snatches the parchment and hands it over, saying "It appears to be one of the rhymes from The Name of the Fox. It’s an odd little scroll of Varisian doggerel, scripted in Sylvan. There’s nothing remarkable about it—"
"Nothing until now, perhaps?" quips Zarta Dralneen.
Shaine reports, "Our delinquent initiate here is vague on the details. But clearly, some unclassified item in there must have borne a well-concealed curse that caused the flood." he turns over to Virml "Don't wast time, start to copy!" he shouts at him and Virml runs upstairs almost crying.
The Paracountess takes Abraxi to the side to talk to him privately.
"The Dark Archive thrives by the good graces of the Decemvirate and Ambrus Valsin, yet I can tell that some still doubt our ability to handle truly dangerous relics and the rare disaster like this. As a result, there remain many storerooms barred to our comprehensive study, including the Overflow Archives — until today, that is. It is critical that you minimize the damage to these archives and do so in as professional a manner as possible. If I can demonstrate that my agents are capable and trustworthy, we may win permission to study the truly mysterious treasures beneath the Grand Lodge." She shrugs and smiles before continuing. "That said, I know that there is more than junk beyond those doors. I’ve heard that someone squirreled away a copy of The Darklands Precepts somewhere in there, and it’s far too dangerous a tome to leave lying about. Get it out of there and return it to me, no matter what excuse Shaine might make to toss it back in the pile."
May the winner wear gold while the loser eats crow
Knowing nothing save that which he knew not to know.
Cross! Cross was the owl at the albatross
For catching the bulk of the fish
So the owl cast deeper, awaking a sleeper
Who made of both feathers one dish.
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This spacious library is a damp catastrophe. A lake of dark water clogged with books, scroll cases, and a few overturned shelves obscures the floor. Steps descend into the brine from the western doors, while at the east end of the room a spiral staircase rises from the water to a mezzanine above. The same metal staircase must descend into a basement below as well, for the water there burbles downward in a dark, lazy whirlpool. A sporadic cascade of water spurts and gushes down from the mezzanine, just south of the spiral staircase.
The northeast corner of the room remains in disrepair, having never quite been rebuilt in full following damage during the massive earthquake that rocked Absalom over a decade ago.
The spiral staircase sits upon an elevated masonry foundation about 1 foot in height, preventing the water from immediately flowing down to the lower level. From there, the stairs rise about 10 feet to the upper level and descend to the lower level.
Tow birdlike creatures — one owl-faced, the other resembling an albatross — have converted a mahogany bookshelf into a fishing boat. The pair are casting their crude fishing rods near the spiral staircase.
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As you arrive you hear them bicker over a prize for the one who catches the biggest fish. The prize is a recently retrieved scroll fragment. When they hear Antonella suggesting to stop fishing the owl answers "We don't see shore here, Miss. It's just water and walls." The albatros says "You are encroaching on our bestest fishin’ spot." The two birds are easy to influence and don't act hostile. "What refreshments are you talking about?" the albatross asks.
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"I think these are Gathlains," Sihir explains to the party, making no particular effort to keep the "owl" and "albatross" from hearing. "Paragon citizens of the First World who make Gnomes look staid!" He then turns to said gathlains. "Do tell," He calls out. "How did you find your ways in here, of all places? This is not an easy place to enter! And what is that scroll you've got there? I couldn't help but overhear you're having a little contest for it - might we join in?"
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"Well, the shore on the other end of the sea you mean? Well, that's quite far to travel, Miss. But there is a rock we can rest on and have a picnic." the owl says while pointing at the staircase. "Unfortunately we did not catch a fish to share, Miss." the albatross answers "But can we have a look at what you brought?"
After hearing Sihir's question the albatross answers "We had a harrowing journey through the belly of the big sleeper. But that's a story we are not going to tell every stranger, Sir. She will eat us if we do!" The albatross is hushed by the owl. "What if she's listening! Stop talking about her!"
"We found that fragment floating on the water. It's a poem. We have a contest, whoever catches the biggest fish gets the poem. What do you have to offer to join in? Some nice trinkets? " the owl comments on the scroll fragment.
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Sihir heads toward the edge of the water, holds out his enchanted cane , and begins casting a spell . Suddenly, a fine fishing rod with a sparkling violet bobber sprouts from the tip of his cane, and he casts it into the depths. He focuses on this for upwards of half a minute while the others engage in their "picnic," when suddenly the pole jerks sharply downwards.
"Phracêā bn læa d̂ān l̀āng!" Sihir suddenly exclaims in excited Wayang. "I've caught something! Everyone stand back, this is an enchanted pole, I've no need for help and it could be dangerous...."
Sihir appears to struggle mightily with the pole for a few seconds, then with a final flick of his wrist and a great splash, the line reels up a fish like none other: it is 7 feet long and 3 feet wide, with the colors of a parrotfish, the expressive eyes of an ocean sunfish (8 of them, arrayed like a spider's), 7 long tentacles with snowflake-shaped tips forming its back end, sharp, swordfish-like fins that appear to be formed of living gold, and the fearsome maw of a dunkleosteus. It thrashes with vigor on the end of the line, scales, fins, and tentacles all shimmering as it does so.
"A-HA! Not a bad catch! I think I shall have to release it, however - I would hate to deprive the greater seas of its splendor." Sihir says triumphantly. He turns to the owl and albatross. "In the meantime, however, how does this measure up with your catches?"
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The owl and the albatros take the food and sit on the stairs and start to eat.
"She dwells up there. And she produces all the water. She's dangerous, be careful, Miss." the owl answers.
"Ssh! What if she hears us talking?" the albatros interrupts the owl. "I would not go up there if I were you, Miss." the albatros says to Anontella with some cranberries in its spout.
"We don't know how deep the water up there is, we were swept down here when we escaped the prison." the owl adds.
"She's angry, because the handsome smarty-pants dogcat escaped." the albatros continues while the owl nods. "He also splashed down into the fishin’ hole, scarin’ away the bestest fish. If you want to stop the water, I think you have to talk to her."
"Oh no, don't send them up there." the owl interrupts again.
Both of them look at the scroll fragment and the albatros says "This one looks similar to ours, Miss. Ours says As we have heard, the worm’s got by the bird
Who gets up so early a-dawnward,
But what of the bird who, deceased and interred,
Becomes food for the worm worming onward?"
They continue their picnic while watching Sihir and Ticlo try to catch some fish. "Oh, that's really a nice rod you have, Mister. I bet you catch the nicest fish with it."
Once the pole jerks downwards they jump up. "What did you catch?" they asks and get down from the stairs to have a look at the fish. When Sihir reels up the fish both birds look at it in astonishment. "That's the greatest fish I've ever seen, Mister. You are a great fisher man!" the albatross says "And it's shiny!" the owl adds.
Toric stabs and picks out several sheets of paper and wet books. The birds look at the catch and say "Well, that's also a nice one. But it's not shiny." and after thinking and discussing for a minute they say "It's clear who winds the prize! The catcher of the shiny rainbow fish shall get it! Yes!" the albatross says and hands you both scroll fragments. Yours and theirs.
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"I am honored." Sihir takes his prize and looks back at his "fish." "And by you, as well! Swim free! Back into the Great Unseen!" Sihir's "fishing pole" recedes back into his cane, and the Great Rainbow Fish flings itself deep into the water before vanishing...almost as though it was never there at all.