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Onyo makes his way over to the caretaker's closed door. "Apologies for disturbing you. Service to Taldor appreciated." He makes his way back to the Rare Books room and pockets his card from the underside of the table. As the illusory wayang vanishes, Onyo decides to pick up a book from one of the main library's shelves. Who knows, may be a chance something interesting in these works.
"Hmmm." Onyo vcarefully replaces the card catalogue and moves to address his colleagues. "Appears as though we have mined what useful knowledge we can here. Based on present circumstances and as best determined having explored entirety of archives, suggest we recuse selves back upstairs." "We have already failed at complete silence; it is possible undue attention already aroused. Should someone come by, best have bodies to explain things to them than arcane images. After all, research would be for naught for the Society if we are made unable to return to report."
"Bah!" Onyo kicks the desk in frustration, then begins muttering curses in Tien under his breath. The alchemist resists (we more difficulty than he is used to) defacing the painting before closing his eyes and reminding himself that Stealth is required. Fishin around in his pockets, he pulls out the Card Catalogue discovered previously and tries to cross-reference their findings so far.
Watching his colleague tinker with the trap, only to find it a simple red herring, Onyo gives out a frustrated grunt. Dejected, he leans to rest against the desk for a moment. The alchemist, catches the portait of the Prince staring back at him from the corner of his eyes, the royal seemingly taunting their failure. Onyo glares at the painting, then his mind flashes back to an inscription found on an earlier wall. Tentatively, he steps towards the portrait and attempts to inspect it.
Again, I'm not even entirely sure what that is supposed to be. We were sent to retrieve undoctored/'edited' historical documents, as well as information about military crusades and the fight vs the Whispering Tyrant. We've got that (some anyway) so far, but Onyo isn't exactly an expert in the Taldan political minefield and In- and out- of character I am still unclear as to the type of 'smoking gun' document Miss Marilla is secretly after
Sigh....fine. Will do what must be done." Onyo says, gritting his teeth and hastily mixing up a small explosive in one of his vials, stopping just before the liquid is catalyzed. Readying his arm to throw, he sidles over next to Tatiana and braces himself. [occ]Similarly, Onyo will wait for Tatiana to open the door once more and, assuming he can see the still-active swarm, throw in a bomb[/ooc]
Now free from the vortex of paper and binding, Onyo tears off a piece of his cloak as he makes a desperate effort to staunch his wounds. Over the crescendo above he faintly hears the thunk of Odmar slamming shut the door again, while his eyes spy Tatiana approaching him with a drawn rod.
"Well, that less effective than hoped for." He says. Realizing his voice barely carries over the music, he tries to speaker louder.
Stupid, stupid Onyo! Onyo thinks as paper begins to swarm around him. He tries to cover his head as a spine thunks against his arm. Too reckless. Unbecoming, and outside normalcy. Cannot let showing off endanger self.
Onyo attempts to wave off the assaulting books but the swirling pages around him are undeterred. Between the blood loss from sliced skin and the rapid motion of his head as the wayang tries to look back and forth at his attacker, Onyo begins to feel dizzy and unwell, and scurries to retreat towards the hall.
"Hmmph" Onyo says as he hoists out a small staff. "Have bludgeoning instrument. Not especially skilled in martial matters however. Also..." He hesitates for a long moment, then continues through gritted teeth. "Also have several flammable spread concoctions. But to be used in this case. Even if trapped, would prefer to burn knowledge only as last resort."
As Aramil rushes past the antiquities room and down the hall between it and the study room, Onyo follows him part of the way, stopping to listen carefully at the door to the older book collection to attempt to hear if the animated books are still flapping about.
"Well, have received a few works regarding military campaigns in Crusades. Should provide some assistance to Society, as it is. Still unsure of why this 'patron' assisting wanted from this however." He whispers as his ears strain through the wood.
"Hmmph" Onyo lets out a fristrated sigh, pouting at his lack of success in this last room. As the others seem to be cleaning up after themselves, he gives a mock bow to the Prince's portrait on the far wall. "Many thanks for your generosity, good sir." Straightening, he hears Odmar and Aramil discussing the balsted book that had triggered the odd trap earlier. While they're distracted, Onyo scuttles over towards Tatiana and flashes the bit of cypher to her. "Quick word. Captain Musello provided this, asked if we could translate using any techniques discovered here. MAde attempt myself," he says showing her the Taldan cypher notes they've previously discovered, "but best could come up with is 'has the bell of obecence' Seems off still. Would, appreciate, additional pair of eyes." Just as quickly as he approached Tatiana, Onyo turns back to the others. "Silver Horn may be useful; it was only place with additional security. It and that room could hold more to find. Spots deemed trapping are doen so for a reason."
[ooc]Excellent. So can I attempt to aid Tatiana, Aramil, and Odmar then, even though they're midway through?[/occ] Making his way down the hall, Onyo enters the last room to see his three colleagues fast at work poring over the adminstaor's room. He raises an eyebrow as his gaze lands on the cocky visage of the Taldan prince. He certainly thinks highly of himself for his skill at being born to proper bloodlines... Moving to an unoccupied corner of the room, Onyo begins to slip a select few volums from the shelves. "Has this section been searched by you yet?"
Onyo sighs as he finishes transcibing the last work. So much text devoted to mundane movements and military configurations. So little devoted to detailing the nature of the magic they fought against. Willful ignorance, or simply mistaking what is of greater value? Still, a task is a task. Glancing around to see Hork and Flash also appear to be coming to the end of their investigations, he carefully checks to make sure everything remains as he found it, takes one final scan in hopes of a last find catching his eye, then moves down the hallway towards Tatiana and the others.
Once Aramil rushes through the door, Onyo starts lightly smacking the half-elf as Tatiana slams the door shut. "Fire! Burn books! What are you thinking!? What could have been lost!" He stops himself, then attempts to smooth out the ruffles his outburst has made on his clothes. Taking a deep breath, the Wayang catches movement to his right and turns to face the emergent Illyana. "Much apologies. Assure you, had no intention of making any sort of racket. Were unaware of some of the more, aggressive, texts you stock here. We forced to defend ourselves. If you could advise of any further such dangers, we would be indebted to you, and likely minimize any further disruption to your own work."
Onyo rushes towards the doorway only to arrive in time to see Aramil chuck a flask of alchemist's fire at the animated volumes. As the flames seem to fail to catch, the Wayang's eyes widen in horror. "NO!!! Burning books? Are you mad?!?" He motions to enter the room, but Tatiana's yell stops him in his tracks.
Absorbed in a report on 45th century abjuration theories, Onyo hears the sounds of shouts echoing from down the hall. "Quiet. Trying to concentrate. This is library you know!" He turns back to his work, but the shouting continues. The Wayang's peripheral vision sees Hork make a break for the door, feathers rustling as he double-times it towards the other room. Lifitng his head to watch the man go, Onyo spies Tatiana following the gunsmith shortly. Left alone in the library, Onyo stands still, rapidly thinking. Hmm, priority knowledge. Each of us have specialty, information and research where I can best contribute. Not combatant, not compared to others at least. If issue necessitating violence, most efficeint path leaving them to handle it. Why disrupt own efforts for suboptimal role? Still.... With an exasperated sigh, Onyo puts down the paper he was reading and shuffles quickly towards the others.
Onyo dances around the room, fltting between desks. For a while a set of notes on something called "The Shining Triumph" catch his attention, but to the scholar's dismay they turn out to actually be about a variant illumination spell. Any other day would be useful. Right now, not worth time. Hmph. As he tries to re-splay the notes accross the table in the way he found them, Onyo ponders the scrap of nonsenical phrase Valdin had tasked them with. Cost of working for others I'm finding. Can no longer just engage in magical research, must be distracted by intrigue to THEN get access to information. Frustratingly backwards. He moves over towards a new desk, piled with promising texts on chargin tactics, when Onyo halts with a flash of insight. "Of course! Backwards. Have been approcahing text wrong: not Encrypting but Decrypting. Simple, foolish mistake. Of course should not have been expected to be versed in skullduggery in the first palce..." the wayang mutters to himself as he quickly jots letters down onto a spare scrap of his papers. h-a/v-s-t-h-e/z-b-e/z-l-l-o/j-f-o/j-b-e/z-c-e/z-n-c-e/z. "Has the Bell of Obecence"? He frowns. Hmm, seem both incomplete and mispelled. But something. Next quiet moment will ask Flash or Tatiana for second opinion. With a small shrug, Onyo continues his research.
Onyo waits fidgeting as the theif tinkers with the door's lock. As soon as the alchemist hears the *click* of the mechanism give, he hurries past Odmar to enter the room. Gazing around at the newly revealed archive, the Wayang vaguely hears his comrade mutter something about closed doors. "Yes, yes. open doors. Good I can begin here." Moving through the chamber, he begins to pick through the material, examining the scattered pages and open volumes on the desks as he searched for anything referencing the Crusades. As he goes, he makes an effort to attempt to note the positions of the items strewn accross the tables and stations. Caretaker aware of us. Lion aware of us. Must try to put everything back in its place; 'stealth' mission already too noticeable.
"Thank you M'lady. You're assistance is much appreciated." Onyo says, moving forward slightly as she enters the hall.
He then hobbles over towards Tatiana. As he approaches however, Onoy notices her struggle against the loced door. Dast! Redundancy of obstructions would be admirable, were they not frustrating Us
”Encarthan Maps you say? Of course better prose not necessarily key to useful information, assuming still pass bar of ‘legibile’. However, could be just what is needed.” “Administrator’s room down the hall? Do not mean to intrude of course. Still, knowledge must be known in order to be put to service, and material access is of utmost importance…”
"Lion did mention one text I believe. Silver Horn, was it not, Owyn?" Onyo asks, recalling the Lion's booming response to whatever Amaril had been whispering about. Nature of that scheme unimportant of course. All have secrets after all. Still, provides starting point, focus for her. "Of course, even enchanted objects no replacement for flesh-and-blood researchers. It is always down to real folk to do the hard work to keep everything strong." the Wayang says as he attempts to flatter, yes, that is the word Iliyana to assist his comrade.
Unfortunately, this act is akin to having a fish try to walk, and the scholar gets the sense he isn't quite helping matters.
No, of course not. This lady is a scholar, not an enemy. Still yourself for now: blindness does not correlate with deafness. Onyo hastily whispers to Hork. He then turns back towards Iliyana, nervously trying to get a read on the woman.
”Leo Darius, my lady. And must say, it is one thing to be told of these archives and their legacy. Quite another actually move amongst them. And yes, it appears we could use some assistance. Sent down to examine works regarding the great Shining Crusade. Need to access logbooks of commanders; glimpses of past can help guide us to future greatness once again.”
Onyo starts at the sound of a woman's voice. The Wayang tenses. Unfortunate, if not unforeseen. Had hoped to avoid detection entirely. Must have words with Venture Captain over definition of 'secret' archive. Looking past Odmar and Aramil, Onyo relaxes, slightly, as he gets a glimpse of the librarian. Well at least perception impaired. Thank the Eye for small favors. He stands in the doorway and sublty attempts to clear his throat before speaking, straining to smooth out his typical rasp into something more imperious-sounding. "Ah, you are the Caretaker then? The Guardian mentionned you might be back here. Must say: your filing system is significantly obtuse. Still, that's part of the challenge too, yes?"
As Onyo walks, he turns over the passage from the Venture Captain in his mind. NWYZNFCFMMPGPCFIJFTIF? No, can't be right. Error in translation: has to be flaw in my perspective. Stopping next to Tatiana, the Wayang opens his mouth to ask the woman for advice with the cipher, but catches himself. Maybe best to wait until away from the Lion. Intelligence hints at unexpected power, and creature/creation/thing appears to be quite loyal to Taldor. Inadvisable to hint at Lodge subterfuge within its presence. His thoughts are interrupted by Aramil's boldly proclaimed riddle. Onyo cracks a thin smile as it concludes. Hmm. Florid, and don't understand opening line. Still, a fair enough composition.
Onyo clutches the text on ciphers with a thin grin across his face. "See, something of use here in the end. Obliged," He says to Tatiana, Flash, and Aramil, grateful for their additional assistance. "So, might be best to hurry towards Eastern rooms, past lion. Believe he mentionned some form of warden or researcher there: implies potential risk, but liekly correlates to higher rate of valuable returns." He continues talking as he quickly puts back the disturbed books and heads out into the hall. "May want to plan course of action in case of encountering mobile opposition." As Onyo passes Flash, he shows his find to the dwarf. "Flash, discovered interesting encryption procedure. Could be interesting to secure your own formulas. Never can be too careful in protecting discoveries."
Onyo glances up from [i]The 7th Charge of Felli's Brigade[/] as the two enter the room. The acknowledgement is short-lived; a second later his over-sized head is buried back into the sheaf before him. "Hmm, anything of interest found in the other room? Mostly musical works here, but may be close to discovering something of note." "Here," he stretches his arm out towards them, holding the next book in his row, "Can look through this if you'd like. Otherwise I will catch up with you once finished here. Hate to leave project incomplete."
Looking around at the instruments and sheet music around him, Onyo sniffs the air in disappointment. Music in a library. Fah! Melodies distract from concentration, truth in lyrics too often altered or excised to fit better melody or propganda. He takes a depp breath, raising his nose in the air with a mild expression of disadain, then purposefully begins shfiting through some of the texts and pieces. "Musical Department appears to be in here. Odmar, Hork. could use a hand if know about songs. Might still be kernel of facts buried in operas and military odes." As he searches, Onyo begins humming one of the few tunes he knows to himself, poorly.
finishing paging through one last book - Tactical Movement with Ustalavan Topography - Onyo places the volume back on the shelf carefully and waddles over towards the center of the room. He rubs his eyes slgihtyl as he walks, 'coming up for air' from a short research binge, the glances around at his fellows. "Discovered a few interesting facts, some notes that might assist in finding more. Filing system here is a bit arcane, frustrates efforts somewhat." Almost as an afterthought, Onyo pauses then turns briefly to the animate lion bust and gives a slight nod in recognition. "Some rooms to the east not yet examined. Should we explore those? Or head deeper into these archives, look at missed chambers if time later?"
As Onyo reaches for the next book in fornt of him, he pauses as he feels the weight of someone watching him. Slowly pulling the book towards him, he watches the mounted bust's eyes appear to track him as he moves. A frown splits his dark cheeks as his head drops to pore over this new text. Carefully opening its pages, he calls out to his partners as they spill into the library chamber. "Statue in the south appears to be observing us. Could be decorative illusion for gravitas. Or could be sensor, alerting others as we speak. Either way, very distracting. Disruptive to work. Appreciated if you could handle it."
Onyo stands in the doorway for a moment, letting out a rare remark of devotion. "By the Eye..." He stumbles forward, a slow shuffle turning into a barely concealed sprint as he heads towards the shelves. Pulling a book at random, he reads it furiously. ...lish opera singer best known for his performance of the Mwangi aria, Derimus rose to a significant... Feh, music. Onyo quickly grabs another. ...ombining Lucene's second theorem with the research of the mostly obscure 'Raven Author', Jermian developed a new technique that would concealment falsehoods while only require a second valence expenditure of energy. It should be readily apparent tha.... NO! Onyo wrests himself away from his book, throwing it forcefully on the ground beside him. Immediately crouching down to frantically retrieve it and fan smooth any wrinkles he caused, the arcanist looks around at the stacks surrounding him. "So many volumes. Could spend a lifetime in here. But no: must prioritize. Remember, texts about the Crusade and the Tyrant needed." Trying to live up to his own advice, Onyo roams the stacks searching for titles that might bear on their task.
Bah, more hallways. We came here for books, not stonework Onyo grumbles to himself. His long ears perk upwards, trying to catch any snippets of the orchestra above. Very quickly however, he starts fidgeting and brushes forward, nearly tripping over the bottom of his robe as he does so. "Come on, we must be quick about this. Much to discover and too little precious time for delay." Onyo waddles up to the first door in the hallway and gives it a quick scan. Then , he opens it.
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