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Iliyana’s eyes go wide as the realization of the fire hits her. “Fire...” she whispers, “By the gods!” Iliyana turns to the group. ”You need to get out of here. Quickly! I will try to give you as much time as I can.” Without any more warning, Iliyana turns and runs towards the staircase at the end of the hall.
”Yes, that is correct.” Iliyana says. ”If you’d like I could…” her sentence trails off as Vors manages to open the door without her help. ”Or we could use your approach.” Still clutching her side, Iliyana walks towards the opened door. ”We should be careful in here. If they were willing to set traps in the other rooms, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were more.”
”I am not well trusted here.” Iliyana manages to say before wincing due to the pain. ”Yes, it was most definitely created and set to guard this room.” Iliyana winces again, but the blood has finally stopped soaking through the bandages. ”The collegium is not a particularly trust bunch, and the information in this library is highly coveted. I must say I am not surprised that they are protecting it in some way.”
Iliyana perks up slightly with Stenne and Cavasin’s help, but as soon as she takes another step she cries out in pain again. ”It is most likely a construct of some sort” Iliyana winces as the pain shoots through her body.
Breathing heavily, the blood soaking into her clothes, Iliyana mumbles "I.. I don't know for sure. If they aren't magic, they are probably..." Iliyana bends over and shouts out in pain as she tries to take a step. "Agh! I... I am losing a lot of blood." Iliyana says as she tries to apply pressure to the gash on her side.
The blood starts to soak through her clothing, giving no signs of stopping. Iliyana stumbles down to one knee. "I must... get back to my room..."
Iliyana screams as the pages come flying out of the cabinet, covering her with cuts. Covering her head as best she can, Iliyana starts running for the door. ”Oh gods…” she mutters under her breath as she runs.
"Very well. I too am quite interested with the content of this shelf, I have never opened it."
As Iliyana finishes unlocking the last shelf, she approaches the cabinet with the books she thinks might be of interest. ”This is the last shelf. Have you decided wether you would like me to open it?”
”Unfortunately, since the loss of my sight, I have had trouble keeping track of where each particular book is stored. But this room contains some of the most valuable books that the Collegium owns, so it is most likely that occult knowledge such as that which you are seeking would be stored here.”
”What do you mean by fluttering? There shouldn’t be any breeze, I take great care to ensure that the rooms are kept in perfect conditions to preserve the books.”
Iliyana steps into the room. ”Years ago, back when I still had the use of my eyes, I was told not to touch the books in the center shelf along the east wall. Perhaps the reason for that was that they hold some secret knowledge. Would you like me to open it for you?”
”Yes, yes. Of course.” Iliyana walks over to the door and opens it with one of the keys she keeps on her belt.
Iliyana steps inside and holds open the door to allow everyone to enter. ”If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know.”
”Very well. But be careful not to disturb anything.”
”That door, well, that is the Administrator’s office. He is in charge of the archive.” Suddenly, Iliyana becomes visibly uncomfortable. "I… I don’t think it would be the best idea to… search that area.” Her voice trails off. ”Anyways. Where would you like to start?” Cavasin: Iliyana is hard to read, especially since you aren’t able to see her eyes. From what you can gather, she is genuinely afraid of her employer, and surprisingly willing to betray them. Based on her comment about “the first time” she may have had trouble with the Collegium in the past.
Iliyana hesitates for a moment then says, ”There are a few places the books you are looking for might be. Come with me, I will show you.” Iliyana leads you out into the hall. She stops at the first door and says ”This is the study chamber where students and professors alike can come and study the tomes we keep here. No one is currently in there, but I know a few of the faculty leave what they are currently researching open on the desks.” She then motions to the second door, ”That s the Ancient Books room. Many of our oldest and most valuable books are kept there. Of course the room is locked, but I have the keys to open it if you would like to look there. Either of these rooms will probably contain the information that you are looking for.”
”That is true, little one. But I have also learned that it can be dangerous to keep said secrets. You had best all be right about no one finding out about this, because if they do, I will not be the only one they come after.” As soon as Prince Magniventris starts to play his flute, Iliyana looks towards the noise and snaps, ”Quiet! Do you want the whole Collegium to know you are here?” She takes a deep breath, then continues ”How can I help you?”
”I see. That does sound quite troublesome.” The woman pauses and an awkward silence falls across the room once again. ”I am Iliyana Baslee, and as you know, I am the caretaker here. How you know that is another question, but it seems I don’t have time to uncover all the mysteries you bring along with you.” Iliyana turns to Vars. ”It is my occupation to assist the legitimate patrons of this archive in their research. Helping you, however, will be very dangerous on my part. If the administrators of these archives discover that I aided you in stealing secrets from here, my punishment will be much more serious than it was the first time.” Iliyana reaches up and adjusts the blindfold over her eyes. "...Um,would you fancy a drink,ma’am?” Iliyana looks over in the direction of yet another voice. ”My goodness! How many of you are there? I appreciate your offer, but I try not to indulge such… on second thought...” She reaches her hand out and accepts Stenne’s offering. ”How can I be sure that your transgressions will never be traced back to me?” Iliyana says after taking a large swig of Stenne’s drink.
”Yes, I can tell you are not students, they tend to have the sense to respect me. I am an old woman; do not be so foolish as to think that just because my eyes are failing me means I am unable to see the truth that lies before me. You see, the Guildmaster himself introduces anyone of authority to me personally, so that I can ensure they have the support that they require. You have made it quite clear that you are not students, and your overly rushed and secretive demeanor quite clearly points to one fact: you are not supposed to be here.” A half smirk appears on the woman’s face, and she continues, ”Now tell me, why should I not scream for the guards right now? This place tends to be quite dull, and I would be happy for some entertainment.”
The woman pauses for a moment, and there is an awkward silence in the conversation. You stand there, and you can hear the music overhead softly floating through the dimly lit halls. ”The scáthesidhe? Why do you require information on such creatures? Which professor are you studying under?”
”Yes, you have invaded my privacy. I suggest you knock before you enter if you don’t know where you are going.” The woman stands up from her stool. "Vors? That name is not familiar to me, and I do not recognize your voice. What kind of research are you doing? And why must it be done now instead of after the concert?” As another voice emerges, you notice the woman flinch slightly, obviously caught off guard by the newcomer. ”And who are you?” Prince Magniventris: You notice that the frame around the picture of Grand Prince Stavian III has a brass plaque that reads “In the end, loyalty is its own reward."
”Hello? Who’s there?” As the woman turns, you notice she is wearing a blindfold. She does not remove the blindfold, but looks towards the open door. |
