Rogar is able to free himself from the mound of dirt just in time to see G'look carpet bomb the area with acid. The barrage washes over the swarm, sizzling the ants into nothing as Sihir finishes off the last of them with magical frost.
What's left of this section of the library remains before them. The agents can make out some of the titles of the books showing this to be a section on medicine.
The remains of several mostly-eaten kobolds have been piled in the southeast corner of this section. Among the pile are a pair of gloves, a scroll (identifiable as a scroll of mage armor) and a potion which radiate a magical aura.
The agents attempt to recover anything of value, but the magic used to defeat the swarm has taken its toll, severely damaging most of the texts.
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Sihir looks over the ruined texts sadly before passing the potion over to G'look while he examines the gloves.
Then, he remembers he has something that might actually help! He pulls out a stout wand of solid low-quality diamond, inlaid with runes in colored lacquer. It might be able to restore some of the texts - but it's power is very limited....
"Anyone willing to give me a few taps with my healing wand here? I think I need some help... those ants were NASTY!"
Though valiant efforts, neither G'look nor Sihir are able to salvage any usable documents or tomes. Sihir contemplates using his wand to repair any books, but the pages are too corroded with acid to be repaired, even magically.
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Mely will do her best to help with recovering the books where Sihir and G'look couldn't quite manage. But only after being certain no bugs were going to jump up and try to eat her the way they did Rogar.
Speaking of which, she's more than happy to take the man's wand and thwack him on the side as many times as necessary to put him back together. "I'm not -that- familiar with creatures on the surface, but I've never seen bugs eat anything... or anyone... so fast. I think making you go first was a pretty smart decision, no offense."
Even the combined efforts of Maldrek and Mely are not enough to salvage the wrecked medical section of the library. A bit distraught, but not discouraged, the brave agents press further into the library's stacks.
A huge clockwork orrery occupies the center of the building’s main floor. Broken glass is scattered around the base of the device, and a large mirror frame hangs on the wall near it, empty save for a single jagged triangle of amber glass. It radiates a moderate aura of conjuration magic.
The party sees a woman standing near the orrery. She is of clear Tien descent and wears wide rimmed glasses. She has dark hair graying on the ends.
G'look sees something in one of the glass railings near the Orrery. At first, just for a moment, it appears as a wispy angry looking phantom but quickly transforms into a reflection of Maldrek. He is sure it is looking at the group.
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"I'm more concerned with the weird woman standing right there at the moment. She looks like one of the reflections I've seen." Mely tries to pitch her voice low so only the party hears her. She peers around Rogar, trying to keep a lot of the man and his bulky armor between her and what she can only assume will try to kill them.
Considering nothing else in here has been particularly nice, she sees it as a healthy precaution.
Despite her concerns she raises a hand in a cautious greeting. "Um, hello! Do you know this library? We're looking for a few books!"
Mely speaks to the woman, who turns her head and looks at Mely. She smiles but says nothing.
As you interact with the woman, you notice something amiss. As she turns her head her form goes translucent if just for the moment. An illusion!
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"The woman isn't real. She's some sort of illusion or trick. I don't know why, but there it is... uh, does anyone want to go check the thing out? Just watch out for ants." Mely, for her own efforts, will weave a quick spell and enchant her vision so she can see what she can learn about the mirror's magic without getting too close.
Maldrek approaches the identified figment. As he walks over, aided by Mely's observations. He can see that the image is indeed a semi translucent image. The image looks at Maldrek, the woman's eyes almost sparkle with contempt. As Maldrek steps closer, he hears a click before a number of chains spring and fill the air, each with what looks like a bear trap attached. One of them coming straight at Maldrek! It strikes Maldrek, clamping down on the tiefling. He is held fast, blood seeping from the point of impact of the traps claws clamping down on Maldrek.
As the chains and jaws of the trap try to hold onto Maldrek, a flash of light releases from his neck. The chains are forced aside and Maldrek is freed, just in time to witness the chains begin to recede, the sound of a mechanism echoes through the area. Maldrek watches as the chains are dragged back across the broken glass littering the floor thankful he did not remain in the chains to join them.
The party recover two amber shards of glass than emanate a magical aura. The party does not find any additional traps.
The titles of the books in this section suggest they are of a philosophical nature. The begin to search the volumes.
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Mely jumps slightly the the trap attempts to sink its teeth into Maldrek, and hesitates to move forward until it appears like the device is done with whatever plans it had for their tiefling friend. Once it's safe she'll move forward slowly, trying to avoid stepping with her bare feet on any of the shattered glass. "Are you okay? That looked at least a -little- painful. I can fix you if you need."
And while she was waiting for Maldrek to reply she'd start helping with rummaging through the books for any from the list they'd found. She'd mutter to herself about inaccurate maps as she worked.
Mely and Sihir are able to pull a number of valuable tomes from the pile. Both Mely and Sihir come across a notable volume, The Application of Justice in a Well-Ordered Society, a title on Ha Jin's list.
The agents have nearly explored this floor of the library. They head over to the last section.
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Mely will, like the rest of the group, just assume there's something nasty ready to spring out at them without a moment's notice. "I think I'm noticing an awful pattern here. Maybe I should summon up a creature and have it wander ahead just to trigger whatever is about to get triggered anyways and spare us?" It wasn't the nicest way to treat a summons, but if she asked and since they aren't having their true body harmed it should be okay... right?
Try as they might, the party can see nothing unusual before them as they proceed to the last section of the library they have yet to explore.
Statues and paintings depicting divine heralds, miracles, and ghosts decorate this section. Many of the books here look especially old or ornate. The bookcases in this section are covered by leaded reflective glass doors, though many of them show signs of the attempts to obscure them.
Sihir attempts to see if anything here appears illusory, but his training and expertise assure him that everything is at it appears.
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Well if the ghost is afraid and there doesn't seem to be anything ready to spring forth and hurt them... again... she'll make her way up the stairs towards the actual book shelves, and start skimming them with one pale finger to hunt down any useful titles. "You know, I wish this library had a better system for coding. My eyesight is already bad, having to search every title just makes my head hurt. And it takes forever!" Did they have forever?
Maybe the Demiplane was about to collapse, or the ghosts were going to eat them. No, no don't focus on silliness. Focus on finding anything worth taking for their time.
The party moves into the room to search the tomes in this library section. As Mely makes her way to the staircase, she hears a mechanical click. Turning to see the source of the noise, she sees several globs of fire on the end of what look like arrows with an ornate small goblin like face streak toward her and narrowly missing Maldrek. The arrows slam into the merfolk.
After ensuring Mely survived the trap, the party continues to search the stacks. They discover many books relating to religion. Sihir displays his learned knowledge yet again, selecting several volumes that he is certain are the plum books of this section. One book, entitled The Manual of City-Building appears on Hao Jin's list. The book is secured with a heavy padlock and chains. He deposits them into their bag of holding which he sees is getting near capacity.
The other agents poke around. G'look finds a stack of arrows that radiate a magical aura. About a dozen, each arrow's arrowhead is carved to resemble the head os a strange vaguely humanoid creature. Rogar picks up a piece of a broken mirror that matches the others found in the library. The group having collected the ones they have come across as they explored the library have a total of 6 shards.
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"These traps are becoming a problem. If you'll permit me some time, I can offer an...alternative..."
He looks for somewhere sheltered from any and all reflective surfaces...
...and once he finds such a place, sets to work with a bolt of cloth and a ball of twine; about 10 minutes later, before you stand two Sihirs, one an exact duplicate of the other.
"Now, if you would follow my lead..." Announces "Sihir" as he heads to the next section....
Sihir and his makeshift double lead the team about the library. He feels pretty comfortable that they have fully explored the area. As his learned mind turns over all that they have discovered, his attention is drawn to Rogar as he idly looks over the shard of mirror he recently discovered. Sihir can still make out the faint trace of its magical aura...
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Mely takes a pair of arrows to the shoulder and lets out an appropriately loud scream for her troubles. The arrows seem to be burning, but an aura about her absorbs the flames. She still does not look particularly happy... or healthy.
Not even the site of a knitted together wayang improves her mood as she works the arrows free and proceeds to try and piece herself back together.
When she's satisfied she's not going to leak blood until she dies, Mely will gather herself up shuffle after the rest of the group. "That's a neat trick, Sihir. How did you make more of yourself?" She gives Rogar a slightly funny look. "Rogar, put that down. It's shard and we're suppose to avoid reflective things."