The Stross ruled in the city and province of Zobeck for nearly 600 years, marrying well, fighting off invasion from the Magocracies to the west, and holding its own against the advances of Morgau & Doresh to the northeast. They did it the old-fashioned way, with fistfuls of silver and a ruthless cruelty that scattered their enemies.
But it all came crashing down one night when the people rose up against them. Within a day, the city was taken over by the citizens while the Watch stood by helplessly. The castle was a more difficult battle though. After months of fighting, the newly formed Free City Army managed to defeat the Stross forces during the Battle of Oros Bridge. That night, the mob stormed Strossheim, forced the gate, and sacked the castle. They freed prisoners from the dungeons, tore down tapestries, and carted off food and gold. By dawn, more than 40 bodies hung from the battlements, arranged from youngest to eldest.
The desk doesn’t offer anything of particular interest, mostly just writing utensils and teaching material for what looks like a class of the arcane arts.
The books prove much more interesting. You find two texts of note. The first is an aging card catalog system notes where one might find various types of information. The reference seems somewhat dated, but it might still be of use. The second text references another promising text. If only you could find where that other text is.
As you search the room, you also note the small placard beneath the painting that reads “To serve Zobeck, I must rst learn the history of Zobeck.”
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Leaving the card catalogue to Cassandra's librarian expertise, Tessara focuses her mental energies on the placard's hint. Hmmm... was Grand Prince Stavian III a member of the Stross dynasty, and if so was he killed in the uprising?
And the king whose evil advisor tricked the fey into performing a sacrificial ritual to Sarasota, was he of the Stross line as well, or far older? she ponders, trying to recall decades back to her tutor's lessons on the history of this region.
Vors joins George at the next door on the left. He check it for traps.
"George, I do not wish to get separated. I can at least get this out of the way while they work that room."
"Then I shall remain at your side, Mr. Aman," Prince Magniventris says, watching the rogue examine the door. "How close do your comrades normally leave themselves when you perform your duties? Have they received any, ah, collateral damage?"
I don't want to get caught in the fringes of a rain of poisoned arrows or the like. But what is bravery if one is not afraid?
Grand Prince Stavian III was not a member of the Stross family from what you can remember. In fact, the name doesn’t sound at all familiar and even the title of Grand Prince is quite strange.
After thinking for a moment, you remember that the king who was tricked into preforming a sacrificial ritual to Sarasota was the Holly King of the Fey, nearly fourteen hundred years ago, centuries before humans ever set foot on the lands around Zobeck. The Stross family did not come into power until 700 years ago, far after the event.
Cavasin continues to search through the room, but doesn’t find anything else of interest.
Vors searches the second door on the left for traps, but finds nothing out of place. Underneath the door, he can see a small amount of hardwood (similar to the hardwood floor upstairs), suggesting that the flooring in this room may be different from the other room that has been searched.
This room’s well-worn wooden floor sets it apart from the others. The west wall is lined with shelves that support books, a variety of instruments, and dozens of rectangular baskets that contain loose sheaves of paper. Several chairs are pushed against the wall, and a portrait of the Grand Prince hangs to east, surveying everything in the room with magisterial authority; a brass plaque on the frame of the portrait reads,“Persevere, persevere, persevere!”
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Following Prince Magniventris and Vors into the next room with the second text in hand, Cassandra ponders the strange portrait and clues so far. "I don't think I've ever heard of a Grand Prince Stavian III... have you, George? He certainly wasn't of the Stross dynasty. Could he have been a secret leader of the Collegium itself?"
As she considers these questions, she flips through the pages of the book, scanning for more information on the promising text it mentioned, and searching the titles on the shelves for a copy.
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The books prove much more interesting. You find two texts of note. The first is an aging card catalog system notes where one might find various types of information. The reference seems somewhat dated, but it might still be of use.
I see... so seeing as this is a much smaller repository, we may have already exhausted its useful resources...
She stows the card-catalog, rationalizing that it would be far more useful in a larger wing of the library. Besides, they could always come back to this room... right?
Cassandra is also mystified on the portrait of Prince Stavian, and takes specific note of the placard underneath.
Another adage? Hmmm... perhaps this one is also worth noting. "Our Monarch's Virtues Are Our Own," and "To serve Zobeck, I must first learn the history of Zobeck."
She memorizes the phrase and quietly follows Magniventris into the next room, grabbing the hourglass on her way. She inverts it so as to begin its sand falling.
Once entering the next room, she once again searches for clues.
She is also entranced by the quote "Persevere, persevere, persevere!"
Now this is... different? This isn't even a complete sentence! Just a command! I wonder if these are actually useful. No matter, it doesn't hurt to simply record...
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"Ah yes, Grand Prince Stavian III. He was quite... grand, I assume? Not as grand as myself of course, but who can be, ha ha?" Prince Magniventris says to Tessara. "In all honesty I do not recognize the man. I am afraid I am of no help here."
Seeing the instruments Magniventris rushes to them. "Aha, we may make a concert of our own to enjoy this evening! Do they have a flute here..."
If he finds one, he picks it up, but stops himself before he attempts to play a single note. "Ah! Be not distracted!" He puts back any wind instrument he finds and moves to the baskets on the wall. I am not here for myself.
Prince Magniventris looks through the loose sheaves of paper, searching through them for anything relating to the Dark Fey.
The change of flooring interests Vors. He looks for trap doors and secret doors
Stenne yawned as she followed the group about,clearly uninterested in learning about Zobeck's history and its aristocracy.
Most of the texts in this room relate to music, but you manage to find two noteworthy pieces of information. The first, is a text detailing how the library is organize; strangely enough, it alphabetizes its texts based on the progression of major musical scales instead of using the common alphabet. The second text contains extensive notes scribbled in the margins of the book. These hand-written insights could be key to your next big discovery.
Vors searches the room for any sign of traps, but yet again comes up empty handed.
Vors is fairly certain there are no hidden doors in this room, he decides to head to the first door that is 60 ft in on the western wall. "Moonshine, George, I could use some help and backup with this next door."
"Seems we're only uncovering information that leads us to the actually useful information. A curious way to organize a library, but that's what you get for not letting a true dragon-blooded kobold design this repository."
"Right behind you, sir." Prince Magniventris moves adjacent to Vors as he goes to the next door.
"Shall there be foes afoot behind this next room, madam Deepmug? I do not wish for danger, but I too wish for a little excitement..."
Vors shows George and Moonshine how they can aid him locating traps by relating what to look for. "Moonshine, doth thou have in thy possession any corn liquor or whiskey? I could use some of that about now. George, I shall alert you when danger is present and you should back up. So far, I have killed no one with my trap finding. I am new to this."
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The first, is a text detailing how the library is organize; strangely enough, it alphabetizes its texts based on the progression of major musical scales instead of using the common alphabet. The second text contains extensive notes scribbled in the margins of the book. These hand-written insights could be key to your next big discovery.
After conferring with Cassandra, Tessara takes the thoroughly-annotated book and leaves the musical cataloguing treatise to her.
"Seems we're only uncovering information that leads us to the actually useful information. A curious way to organize a library..."
"Perhaps we've merely found the antechambers so far, and the true archives lie deeper inside... this hidden complex is much larger than I pesonally expected," Tessara comments distractedly, the indigo satin of her gown swaying around her slender ankles as she slowly follows the dwarf and kobold at a distance, still skimming through the margins of the book in her hands.
Stenne snorted and passed Vors a flask of her applejack cider she'd been sipping from.
Vors takes a sip and appears quite pleased with the taste. He then takes two or three swallows before returning the vial. "Thank you, Moonshine. You make a fine cider. Perhaps that will help to steady my hands and nerves should I locate a trap. Disabling lethal devices can be quite stressful at times."
"There is a first time for everything," Prince Magniventris says to Vors. "And better my tough dragonskin take any damage than that scaleless covering you call flesh." He then stares at the door intently to aid Vors, but has no idea what he is looking for.
To Tessara, he says, "Aha, a hidden chamber within the hidden chamber? My not-inconsiderable intellect reels at the thought. I admit I spend little time among the tomes, but now that you mention it, this library does seem abnormally vast."
...it alphabetizes its texts based on the progression of major musical scales instead of using the common alphabet.
UGH! Bards and their frivolous esotericism. They can't do ANYTHING right! SERIOUSLY WHO DOES THIS?!
After her own internal screaming bout, Cassandra looks at her hourglass to note how much time has passed since they left the last room. She then quietly urges:
"We should probably continue when we get the chance. I believe we've exhausted this room's resources as well."
This library alphabetizes its texts based on the progression of major musical scales instead of using the common alphabet? How can that be? I know a little about music. There are only 8 notes in a major scale. The progression is based on steps and then it repeats. Full, full, half, full, full, full, half. I think I will stick to traps, apple cider, and any other threats we may encounter.
Vors checks the doors for traps thoroughly, with Prince Magniventris’ help. Finding no traps, Vors opens the doors to find a ten foot hallway and then another set of doors. Vors continues his diligent search for traps through the hallway and to the next set of doors. Not finding anything on the second set, Vors opens the doors to find the room beyond.
Thousands of books line the dozens of shelves in this high-ceilinged library. Several tables and chairs near the center of the room provide a place to read quietly, and five rows of pew-like benches nearby face an immense lion’s head carved from the eastern wall.
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"Indeed, George. I fear we must move with even more haste, if we are to uncover our goal before the concert ends."
Tessara pauses, the steady clacking of her fine black leather bootheels silent as she listens for the music through the walls, making sure they still have time to continue their search.
Then once inside the vast archive room, the elven noblewoman takes in the view, and breathes a weary sigh. Best get to it.
"Cassandra, would that musical cataloguing guide perhaps be best put to use here? It seems like it would be most efficient if used to lead us all in splitting up and searching the stacks for books relating to our varied areas of expertise."
The enormous sculpture also draws Tessara's eye. "Deepmug, darling, what do you make of that strange lion's head? I know dwarves have a keener eye for fine stonework. Could it perhaps hide a secret passage or compartment?" Or another clue?
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Organized by musical scales? Prince Magniventris thinks. Perhaps my training under Grand Flautist Galway shall provide a little insight in recognizing their organizational methods.
"Grand idea, madam Silverfrond. I shall scour the section on magical arts. Perhaps an ancient wizard transcribed his experiences with the dark fey? Or a sorcerer found her bloodline tainted by their corrupting touch?"
Prince Magniventris heads to the magical studies section and searches for anything related to the Dark Fey. He drags a stepstool or loose chair to assist his search on the higher shelves, not afraid to place a booted claw on the shelf for an extra inch or two.
"I can read Draconic, Dwarven, Gnome, and of course Common. Is anyone here literate in Sylvan, or perhaps Elven?" he says as he holds up an intricately calligraphied but (for him) indecipherable tome. "I can't make heads nor tails of these flowery scripts."
Vors is astonished at the number of books here. He inspects them as best he can before looking for secret doors. Perception 25.
...This place must've been designed by quirky gnomes. All these puzzles ,riddles, and secret doors.Steene took a swallow of her cider,wiped the back of her mouth and continued to search for anything worthwhile.
She tried to ponder anything relevant from what she knew locally but came up wanting.
She searched alongside the others.
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Now THIS is what I'm talking about!
Presented with such a huge repository of books, Cassandra's eyes widen in excitement. She stands at the entrance with reverence and wonder, almost forgetting about the mission. As her companions foray before her, however, she snaps back into the task at hand.
At the closest table, Cassandra lays out the reference on what she had affectionately begun calling the "Dewey Decibel System" and begins explaining it to her comrades.
She herself begins looking for relevant texts, hoping that their answers would be found here.
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After listening intently to Cassandra's summary of the cataloguing system, Tessara follows her to the section she indicated on Zobeck's ancient history and begins searching through the stacks with the human woman.
"I can read Draconic, Dwarven, Gnome, and of course Common. Is anyone here literate in Sylvan, or perhaps Elven?" he says as he holds up an intricately calligraphied but (for him) indecipherable tome. "I can't make heads nor tails of these flowery scripts."
Upon hearing the kobold call out, she pauses to come over to the nearby arcana shelves and have a look. "Not to worry George, I'm quite good with Sylvan, and Elven is my first language, as you would expect." With a kind smile for the Prince, she flips through the book he was holding to see what it's about.
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Upon hearing the kobold call out, she pauses to come over to the nearby arcana shelves and have a look. "Not to worry George, I'm quite good with Sylvan, and Elven is my first language, as you would expect." With a kind smile for the Prince, she flips through the book he was holding to see what it's about.
"Goodness gracious, you're an elf?" George asks, clearly flustered.
All these longshanks look... no no, prince, do not be speciesist. You spent half a year learning the differences between dwarves and gnomes. Now's as good a time as any to learn what elves look like.
"Is it the nose? The teeth? I thought elves kept in their cloistered towers high in the forests, dressing only in clothes made of vines and leaves."
Prince Magniventris steals a quick glance at Stenne, double checking to make sure she really is a dwarf and not simply a short human with a love of alcohol.
she had affectionately begun calling the "Dewey Decibel System”
As you spread out to search the room, you find a lot of information to sift through. Above you, you can hear the orchestra continuing to play; the music softly floats through the room. Other than the music, the room is strangely quiet; you have yet to see anyone else within the chambers beneath the Collegium, though the floors and tables seem to be well worn.
The first find is a series of books written by a single author on the topics you are researching. While the author seems to have passed away many years ago, many of his texts reference the shadow plane and the fey in passing. Perhaps you can find other insightful books by this author that will give you more details.
The second text, is the elven text that Prince Magniventris picks out from the others. Not many texts here are in anything other than common, but this text is quite pertinent. The text gives a detailed analysis of hundreds of proclaimed “ironclad” prophecies told by the Cloven Nine that have failed. The author speculates that any prophecy made by the Cloven Nine should be viewed with considerable skepticism. It also goes into some details about how the Cloven Nine have gone to considerable lengths to hide this fact.
As Cavasin starts sifting through the rows of books, he comes across a small section of books about religion. These books are quite well written and prove to be quite an exciting read and he finds it quite easy to concentrate.
Vors is lucky enough to find a series of tombs that have extensive indices and bibliographies that might point to even greater discoveries about the shadow fey.
After handing the elven book to Tessara, Prince Magniventris continues his search through the library. He finds a books that has an entire chapter devoted to the shadow fey. However, when he flips to that chapter, he finds it covered in old, dried ale. It seems someone spilled a beverage on it and sheepishly put it back on the shelf, where it has sat for several months at least. The entire chapter on the shadow fey has been ruined.
However, as Prince Magniventris goes to put the book back on the shelf, the book next to it is a magnificent find!
Stenne caught the kobold giving her a rather intense stare and snorted,I assure you,George,I'm not an unfortunately stunted human. I'd rather doubt humans possess livers as e-eff*uurp*effecient as mine.
When she swept the room again with her keen gaze,she did a double take at what she caught out the side of her eye. That carved lion's head had been turned in her direction. Like a guilty party caught ogling, it snapped back to the stationary position,staring blankly straight ahead.
Stenne bristled with unease. Some sort of animated object? A variant of gargoyle?
Keeping her voice level,she announced to the others as she strode towards the suspicious bust,withdrawing the Morningstar that hung at her belt and smacking it into her gloved palm with intent:Oi,not to alarm everyone--and I'm nowhere near buzzed to be seeing things--but this here bust j-just turned around from looking at us.
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"Goodness gracious, you're an elf?" George asks, clearly flustered. "Is it the nose? The teeth? I thought elves kept in their cloistered towers high in the forests, dressing only in clothes made of vines and leaves."
Tessara feels the color rise in her face, and has to take a moment to compose herself and be sure that the kobold is not intentionally mocking her (which would demand a challenge and satisfaction, something they most definitely do not have time for). When she speaks, there is an edge of pride to her voice, of both the noble and elven variety.
"Perhaps you are thinking of wood elves. My family are high elves, and ancient nobility of the capital city of Ustalav. We do not dress in leaves, and--" She has to stop and take a breath to calm her rising temper. Once she continues, her tone is softer and more forgiving of the unintended slight. "I suppose it is understandable that you might confuse elves and humans, coming from a very different race. Humans have much shorter, rounder ears, thicker builds, and rarely have the almond-shaped eyes of my kind."
Eager to change the subject, she flips through the Elven book and skims its contents, until Stenne's warning draws her attention from it. Stepping out of the stacks and closer to Cavasin and the dwarf, she murmurs the words to a detect magic spell and gazes at the statue, concentrating to try and discern its nature. "תראה לי את הסודות שלך"
Vors studies his new find.
As you look towards the carved lion’s head, you notice a distinct magical aura emanating from the statue. This object is most definitely magic, and probably quite intelligent.
As Stenne speaks and moves towards the lion carving with her Morningstar, the carving comes to life and turns towards her.
In a deep, calm voice, the carving says ”Hmm… You are quite the perceptive new apprentice. I normal get much longer to study new people before they realize my capabilities. No matter.” The head turns around the room, looking at everyone. ”Please everyone, come closer, my eyes are not as good as they once used to be. I do like to inspect the new apprentices before we get to know each other.”
come closer, my eyes are not as good as they once used to be
To Stenne: "I'm not sure anyone possesses a liver quite as strong as yours."
To Tessara: "Please accept my apologies. I know the feeling myself; I am often mistaken for a true dragon."
Prince Magniventris shouts in Draconic upon finding the book:
He slips back into Common, marginally calmer: "Some drunk was in here, sloshing their ale and violating clear guidelines on the use of food and drink on the premises." Prince Magniventris holds up the damaged book. "This contains exactly the information we're here to find, and it's destroyed!"
Still addled by the ale-stained tome, Prince Magniventris quietly takes the adjacnet book/clue, too caught up in his righteous indignation to admit that what he found next is actually useful.
As the Archive Guardian awakens and speaks, Prince Magniventris is startled at the being's voice. "Blessed Apsu! What is this? 'New apprentice?' I'm afraid you are mistaken, but perhaps we can of help to each other. I am... George. It is a pleasure to meet you. And you are...?"
You do not have a large amount of experience telling wether a construct is telling the truth or not, but from your experience, it does not seem like the construct is attempting to mislead you.
The eyeless gaze of the lion carving turns to Prince Magniventris. ”You are not new apprentices to the Collegium? Hm.. That is quite strange. I do not recognize your voices.” His glowing eyes narrow as if squinting.
Stenne recoiled in alarm at being directly addressed,juggling the Morningstar frantically before catching it by its haft and collecting herself.
At the backhanded compliment,she started to retort but caught herself....Just take the compliment.
At the ranting kobold,she quipped, Well, it wasn't me,that's for certain. Why would I be reading and drinking,for one. Secondly,it could've been some other sort of sloppy drunk. Third,why would I waste good drink?
Cassandra, also startled at the talking Lion statue, is dismayed that none could deceive it before their Kobold Comrade gave up too much information.
Cassandra speaks to the edifice: "Greetings to you, O great lion. We are but a group of humble researchers who have been given leave to seek truths within your great library. Might one as lowly as myself entreat you for your name?"
”Humble researchers? Does that mean you are not part of the Collegium? Hmm… That is rare indeed.” The Lion’s expression changes to one of confusion or question. ”Oh! Of course! Most people here simply call me the Guardian, though I could hardly be considered a guarding by any means. In fact, I am more of a wall hanging these days ever since Guildmaster Orlando forbid anyone of speaking to me about…” The Guardian’s voice trails off. ”But that isn’t important.”
The Guardian pauses for a second and you feel a wave of energy enter your body.
”And what are your names?”
You do not have a large amount of experience telling wether a construct is telling the truth or not, but from your experience, it does not seem like the construct is attempting to mislead you in any way. In fact, he seems quite excited about your presence.
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Tessara takes her time before speaking up, all her instincts telling her to be cautious around this strange entity. "I am Tessara Silverfrond, nobility of the great city Caliphas. It is an honor to meet you, great Guardian." She bows respectfully, and, siezed by a sudden impulse, asks "What can you tell us about the Grand Prince Stavian III?"
Deepmug. Moonshiner.