The Grand Library in Treaty City
The Grand library is located in the south eastern section of Treaty City, well away from the docks but being such a precious resource, still a good distance from the outer city walls. It is open to the public with the understanding that only a few books can leave the building, those that magically return themselves. The rest may be freely read but are not allowed outside of the building. Several scholars work as librarians guiding visitors through the great structure and to the books they need. Many refuse the help of the librarians preferring to find their own way and at least ten librarians are on duty sweeping the place for those who are lost and need to be guided back out.
The great library is considered to be a treasure of the world not just because it's open to the public but because as part of the treaty that handed the city over to the currently ruling kobold council, admission to the library is free, even if the help of the various librarians is not.
The library is at times said according to various seers and divination experts to be one of the three largest libraries in the world. Where it ranks among those three changes with the caster and the phrasing of the question. More importantly of the three, only Treaty City's library is open to the public.
Purpose / Function
To preserve and collect the greatest works of civilization for the benefit of visitors.
Alterations
The outer walls of the prison are now load baring supports for a large amount of the inner building. The outer areas are all brand new expansions on the human prison works. Many of the cells were turned into office spaces and only near the tower top set in the library's foundation are any of the bars on cells still there. The rest were removed and in most cases to save on money added to the interior of walls or floors as re-enforcement.
Beyond the expansion of the walls to allow more books to be added to the building, sorcerers also created a series of windows inside of the building that let in light during the day so that it's easier to see. Around Treaty City are several windows that cannot be opened and happen to be attached to walls with nothing but brick behind them. These widows are magically connected to the library. While the windows appear pointless and you cannot use them to enter the library the light and view that these windows take in are visible from their counterparts inside of the library.
Architecture
The main prison building is in the combination of slab stone and earthen filled walls that humans favor so much. The outer shell however was designed and constructed by the rulers of the city during the expansion. Gnomes usually living in the hollowed out mining tunnels, used that as a prinicpal for the creation of the library, making it a rather unique structure. The foundation and outer walls are squared off at right angles while the walls begin to slope inward after the third floor. Rising six floors across the structure and near the center a seventh and eighth, the roof domes creating what the gnomes refer to as a mountain arch, where everything is stronger and more supported because of the weight and pressure applied.
In traditional halfling or goblin architecture such a dome would be made decorative in some manner with etchings or facings, the only adornment in the great library's roof is a series of depressions lightly made in the surface. These impressions are the one major contribution of kobold architect Jeph Gret'tek. The channels divert water when it rains to the windows and walls in such a manner as to create waterfalls that look decorative and also allow the street to have proper gutters so that it doesn't flood and drains instead considering the amount of water displacement such a large structure creates.
History
To understand the Grand Library better it is suggested you read up on Treaty City first. Starting two thousand years before the Storm Bridge, Treaty City and it's environs have always been heavily contested. Being a center for commerce, the city grew rapidly and the availability of supplies to help it grow in meaningful ways led to it being one of the first places know to have a magical academy. The academy like many academic institutions grew in size until it took up a full campus with several buildings. During it's time it began to develop a grand set of traditions, backed by excellent instructors and students who excelled.
This all came to an end during the third Great Cleansing. The academy rather than remain neutral in their standing began sending some of their best and brightest students to support the war effort and the eradication of the gnomish people. The gnomes on their behalf decided to send a message back to their fellow magi. Four necromancers were sent to the city. Over the course of one to four months (estimated) they used their tireless undead to create a sinkhole of sorts underneath the academy. They then collapsed the supports when they were ready destroying all of the undead servants but the necromancers themselves escaped. The result however was not just utter chaos and several deaths. The tallest tower top of the academy was now level with the city streets, the entire campus sunk several stories into the earth.
Not long after the academy was informed that while many died the gnomes knew that most of the students and teachers would survive the event. The sinking of the academy was the gnomes way of suggesting that the academy remain out of the cleansing efforts. After careful consideration they decided to comply. Not long after that the cleansing efforts were abandoned for the third time. several magical 'fixes' were attempted to make the academy functional again. Magical raising and lowering platforms, teleportation areas, and carved staircases to name only a few. However access to the place remained far to impractical. The undead that arose from the magi (students and instructors alike) who did die also made the campus rather dangerous. Proper cleansing efforts of the Wraiths and Morligans that arose from the even were never fully carried out due to access troubles and the danger of the creatures.
The city was conquered three times in the interim and the site of the former academy became the focus of several 'delving groups' who would risk the undead's wrath to be able to plunder a few of the magical tomes and resources left behind. Not forty years after the Storm Bridge, human conquered the city and held it for nearly fifty years. During their time rather than try and find some sort of solution to the academy and it's ills, the humans simply filled in the hole around the buildings and campus with the various detritus of their conquest and buried the whole thing. Only the very tallest tower top of the main building remained accessible. On this they built a prison, the more daring were of course allowed to try and escape by going down and then some how 'out' through the now interred academy. Apparently this was the focus of some gambling and entertainment for the humans who ruled the city. It also meant that they didn't have to pay for or upkeep any prisoners who decided to try and escape down. This would later be known to have increased the undead issues in the academy below.
The city was recaptured by the combined efforts of the Rathviki dwarven clans, King Tseng Lo Pai's elven army, and the financial efforts of the Valinci Trading family. Once the city was retaken a long period of renovation and repair was needed as well as magics to staiblize the 'ground' around the academy. It was discovered that the prison was connected properly to the top of the tower, using it as part of it's foundation. This became important because of the manner of enchantments that the academy had originally. All papers and documents were preserved and rodents of all kinds were naturally driven from the place. Rather than continue to use the place as a prison it was repurposed given the magical protections into a library.
The library was opened to the public later after four hundred years and two more conquerorings by a Chaka on the march and then by the gnomish people in their retaliatory attacks after the fourth (and last to date) Great Cleansing. While they had control of it for the next three hundred years the gnomes made access to the library public and also began accepting donations of books of all kinds. The library grew until an expansion had to be built.
The outer prison walls had doors built into them or shaped by spell. The entire former campus is now located inside of a single building. The former prison is still the heart of the library and the more important and rare books are kept inside of the deeper chambers where it's harder to get at them and easier to control access. The head librarian even has their office where the former wardens office was inside of the original prison building itself.The library now takes up the same amount of space as the original magical campus located beneath it and has even been expanded by sorcerers so that it has extra dimensional space.
Tourism
While several scholars of various kinds make their way to the library each year, the librarians have little time for the telling of the library's history. There is a book on that, located not far from teh entrance.
Given the cost of a guide and the focused mindset of the librarians in general unless you are there for a book, most visitors who simply 'wish to see the place' do so from outside or walk themselves around for a time before leaving.
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