Session 20: Memory Loss In The Atheneum

General Summary

Landing in the Atheneum's in the dark, the party headed down the cobblestone street through the small commercial district, ending up at the Reader's Repose inn. Veren Stillbrow, the elderly gnome innkeeper, greeted them. Sitting in the quiet common room, Alden and Eirame tried to ask Veren some questions, but he quickly sent them over to the louder common room, still on the quiet side compared to most pubs. Shadow and Rome gambled and each won a bit of money. Doug tried some spiced sandworm steak, which was tasty but hotter than he could handle.   Ready for bed, Veren looked over each party member and chose rooms for them. Despite the doors looking identical, the rooms were magical, bigger on the inside and sometimes in completely different locales. Doug found himself in a forest grove with a treehouse which contained a bed, bookshelves, and a comfortable chair and table. Shadow ended up in a gothic library with bookshelves lining the wood-paneled walls and a high-backed chair facing the fireplace, but there was no bed. He discovered a hidden door by moving a book, opening an entrance to a second small room with a bed. Tamugar ended up in a small stone room, with bookshelves carved into the stone face, the decor seeming like home to him. Alden and Eirame found themselves in a meadow with a small cottage at the centre, warm and bright and clean inside with two beds, chairs, a reading table, and bookshelves. Lastly, Rome and Viridian found themselves in a quiet forest beside a stream, with some bookshelves, table and chairs, and a large bed beneath the trees, with no walls save the bookshelves on three sides, with the open side facing the river.   The next morning, Doug, Rome, and Tamugar all tried the spiced sandworm steak; Rome easily managed the heat, while Doug and Tamugar both felt some burning. The party entered the large rotunda, asking the attendants at the central desk if any knew Vash'atar. None did, but they directed the party to more informed scholars in one of the pllars. Choosing the Pillar of History, the party found that the Tallow there also had never heard of the language. Suspicious, the party left the library and headed to the Halls of Acquisition, finding that an attendant there also didn't know the language. She fetched Sharanda, who, to the party's dismay, said that the book he had read, and dictated to a scribe, was a guide to various cat breeds with ornate illustrations.   Confused, the party first had Sharanda translate the original journal into common. The book had then been picked up from Sharanda' s room and taken to Chief Archivist Berantil, but the archivist also remembered the book as a book of cat breeds. As the translation had only been made the day before, Berantil hadn't yet had it dispatched to the library, so he found the book, showing the party that it was indeed a book about cats. Neither he nor High Lorekeeper Durstan recognized the language. Durstan sent his assistants, a human male with dark black hair and a dwarven female in her 20's, out into the hall while he discussed the situation with the party. Sending the dwarf to fetch Terron, who penned the  book, he and the archivist answered some questions to the party.   Most notably, Rome asked about the whereabouts of the Delirium Travelling Troupe, and the archivist confirmed that from incoming posters, the troupe had passed through Mossward Pitch three weeks ago and Ladanthis two weeks ago, suggesting their path probably took them north into the Forest of Telnara.   The dwarven woman returned, finding that Terron had been murdered in the bed in his room. Alden urged everyone to go take a look, and they did, finding nothing out of place. Seeing a painting of Terron and his wife and young daughter on the wall, Alden rushed the party to his house, with Sharanda tagging alone. His wife was distraught at the news of her husband's murder, but fearing some further attack, the party carefully searched the house, finding nothing. In the meantime, Durstan made sure no one was allowed in or out of the Halls of Acquisition, waiting until Order of the Tome monks could come investigate.

Notes

Takes place on YA 2269, The Panther, day 22-23