10/6/24 - Hitting the Books

General Summary

Standing in the hall of the West Wing, our adventures debated on what should be their next course of action. It was getting into the witching hours of the night and they knew the Gif raiding party would arrive as soon as the sun evaporated the mist. It was determined that their best course of action was the path they were already on; finding the books for The Tabaxi Sisters.
Meandering back towards the help desk, Slayer kept an eye out for the librarian he had spoken to previously. Unfortunately for him, the building is quite large and he was nowhere to be found. They passed by the auditorium room and decided that once they grabbed another token, they party should rest there. The help desk was unstaffed, but by now Welcome Tasks knew the drill. With only three books remaining on their list, Slayer chose the title that sounded the most interesting to him. Upon requesting The Scrivener's Tale, he was slightly disappointed that the token was pulling him towards the Fiction section once more. In any case though, the group decided that now would be a good time to sleep before exhaustion started to take hold.
Within the auditorium sits a small stone stage and lectern when speakers probably once discussed many ideas. The stage seemed like a perfect place to hide under and Malikae whipped up some stone walling between the support pillars. With a good hiding spot, Milam’s Sword of Warning, and enclosed in what our adventures called “the silent room”, Welcome Tasks was able to get a full eight hours of rest(or at least as well rested as someone can be sleeping on an unpadded stone floor).
Peering out from behind the shone shaped walls in the morning, Aglizzy and Slayer could see the sun beaming through a few of the arched frames in the wall. The room had a more elegant look to it in the daylight; the paint along the walls showed off their vibrant colors and anywhere where there was gold leafing sparkled in the sun.
Aglizzy did a once over of the room and determined the walls and ceiling were quite dry. This was suspicious to the Druid. An individual attuned to the natural world would have expected dew of water markings along the surfaces, but none were to be found. Conversing with Slayer, the simple answer was “magic”, but what type, its source, or the reasons for its existence was unclear. It felt a minor detail and Slayer decided that they should get a move on to see what the Gif were up to.
Crossing the northern door frame, our Tabaxi was bombarded with sounds of what clearly was the first wave of the Knowledge Run. A booming voice in a language incomprehensible to Slayer as well as war horns and gunfire echoed through the halls. In addition, he could hear the faint sound of war drums far in the distance. Of the sounds, the booming voice was the most concerning to Slayer. This was mostly due to it being unknown and its tone sounding both monotone and authoritative. Hoping that the raiding party was preoccupied with whatever that voice was, Slayer headed southward back towards the help desk.
He crept down the hallway, past the east entrance to the “silent room”, but paused at the L-bend in the hallway. A Gif, fully armed with its spear cannon, stood on watch and was directly standing between Slayer and his intended destination. Beyond the Gif, the Tabaxi could see another Gif around the turn standing at the eastern L-bend of the library’s main structure. In addition, Slayer could hear voices coming from the help desk room, but couldn’t make out if there were two or three individuals.
Wanting to get a closer look, he snuck past the first Gif, leaving the line of sight of Milam and Malikae who watched from the east archway. His sneaking prowess was on full display as he used a large ceramic pot as mobile cover, and he was able to observe what was happening inside the help desk room. There stood three more Gifs, one of which had a slightly more decorated uniform. They were discussing something about next moves and at their feet was a small pile of books.
Seeing that he was far from the rest of the group and outnumbered, Slayer began to make his way back. Unfortunately for him, his technique of moving an old clay pot backfired on him. When placing it down for cover as one of the sentinel Gif looked his way, the pot shattered and alerted the whole squad. When confronted, Slayer joked “would you believe me if I told you Tabaxi are born this way?”, but his humor was only met with gunfire.
Unable to hear any of this, the rest of the party waited patiently for Slayer’s return. It was only after the Tabaxi came dashing back and under fire did the rest of the group spring into action. Aglizzy, laid down a field of spike growth at the corner of the hallway to cover Slayer’s retreat. While the Gif saw the danger form in front of them, it still was more than an effective tactic. The Gif that originally saw Slayer became essentially immobile(between the froth and getting struck with a concussive arrow from Slayer) and the rest of the Gif halted their advance to form a defensive position.
A few minutes passed before fighting resumed again as both sides anticipated their opponent. Slayed hopped upon their newly found rug of flight and circled round to the opposite end of the hallway. His intention was to sneak around and summon the librarian at the help desk while the rest of the party held a defensive position waiting for the Gif to venture through Aglizzy’s hazard.
While these tactics were being played out, the Gif raiders had their own plans. First, they formed a firing line facing where the spike growth enveloped the hallway. Second, the garrison commander assisted the stranded Gif to hopefully minimize his squad’s damage. Lastly, and most importantly, he trumpeted his war horn to let others know the squad needed assistance.
Welcome Tasks was not ignorant to the fact that reinforcements were coming. What did catch them off guard was how the first Gif arrived at the battle. The booming voice that echoed through the hallways grew louder and its source was carrying a Gif warrior out of the library. One of the statues the party had spoken to when they entered was carrying the hippo person like one would carry a wet cat; all the while bellowing in a monotone what could now be comprehended as Elvish.
The statue stood tall, roughly ten feet in height with its loxidon form being carved of white stone. It plodded past Welcome Tasks and through Aglizzy’s spell completely unphased. Slayer got a glimpse of this spectacle as well, and saw the garrison commander try and hope on the statue in an attempt to be ferried over the spike growth. This bizarre event could not be gawked at for very long though, as the remainder of the second patrol marched behind it.
Seeing the danger, Malikae summoned up his spirit guardians to damaged and slow the Gif’s approach, while Milam conjured up duplicate illusions to draw away their firepower. The pair was only half way successful though. The soldiers as well as the garrison commander saw them as standing in their way and opened up a strong salvo of gunpowder fire. Malikae was struck and unaccustomed to the shrapnel damage, lost his focus on his spell quickly. Milam fared much better. His mirror images took several rounds before the illusion disappeared, saving the knight a great deal of pain.
When the sounds of this fighting began, Slayer took that as time for him to fly to the help desk. He swooped down, rang the bell, and hoped the librarian would be swift. He waited for a short period of time, but felt that he was in too opportune of a position to simply wait around. The Tabaxi made his presence known as he released an arcane volley of arrows into the unsuspecting cluster of Gif. While most effective, the Gif returned fire in kind and Slayer soon found himself further away from a healer than he was comfortable with.
Speaking of Malikae, he and Milam were front lining the second squad of Gif and doing their best to halt their advance. Before getting into melee, the cleric of Helm brought down a powerful flame strike upon the garrison commander and one of his squad mates. The commander then ruthlessly charged the pair, knocking Milam flat onto his back. The rest of his troops followed suit and soon the pair found themselves surmounted.
Aglizzy had wisely stayed in a vanguard position to the frontline. He felt that the spike growth was the only thing keeping the first squad from pincering their position and did not want to lose focus on the spell. This did not mean he simply watched. Using his star map, the Lizardfolk took on his constellation form of an archer and peppered the second squad of Gif from a safe distance.
Meanwhile, Slayer was taking the brunt of the first squad’s shots and felt that if he wanted to survive he would need to head towards his friends. He fired an arrow as he fled over the Gif towards the other side of the combat, killing the garrison commander. Safely back in line of sight of his companions, Malikae quickly tended to Slayer’s wounds. Once our four heroes were united, they were able to focus their attention on the second squad. Milam struck true with his green flame blade into the commander, killing him, and the Hammer of Matrang crushed the remaining members of the unit. The first squad, wounded and without an officer, routed. They fled through the main entrance of the library, leaving behind their fallen as well as the books they had attempted to take.
It seemed the dust had settled and Welcome Tasks took stock of the situation. Aglizzy took the opportunity to have a late breakfast and immediately began to consume one of the fallen soldiers. The rest of the group, trying to be ignorant of the previous sentence’s gruesomeness, investigated the other foes. The Gif are a frustrating bunch when it comes to loot, as their anti arcane ways means no chance of magic items on their person. They did find some gold, their firearms, and a garrison commander emblem among the bodies of the second squad.
Where the first squad fled, there were a few more things of interest. First, the fallen garrison commander had had his rank medallion removed by his compatriots. Unfortunately, the party is unfamiliar with Gif culture and couldn’t surmise why it was taken. Moving on from the last fallen Gif, Slayer leafed through the books the raiders had left behind. Among them was a rather large leather bound text that caught Slayer’s eye. Opening the book, its lettering suggested that it was written in Draconic. Happy it was in a language someone in the party could read, Slayer quickly left the help desk room to find Aglizzy.
Finishing his meal, the Lizardfolk took up the lengthy book and leafed through it. Its cover inscribed the title The Elements of Great Rulership and its content broke down four different rulers from ages past. Very curious about all this, the party kept the script on their person and planned to check it out of the library before they left.
Curious about what other knowledge could be found, the party headed back towards the east wing and the non-fiction section. Much like the west wing, a long wide hallway split the wing into northern and southern sides of the wing. To the north, several large archways opened up to reveal book shelves that extended taller than the door frame. The southern archways in the hall showed more standard size bookshelves, tables and other decorative furnishings typical of such a building. Welcome Tasks was drawn to the southern area and proceeded to thumb through some books there.
Each person walked the shelves hoping to find something of interest.The room was in disarray as such a section would be exactly the type of place those looking to weaponize information would look. After some careful scanning, Slayer pulled a book written in common that described horoscopes and constellations. It was not something quite in his wheelhouse, but he knew Aglizzy had an affinity for such things. Passing the book along, it was beyond insightful. Seeing the constellations that had persisted, shifted, or disappeared entirely was very moving to Aglizzy. He felt that he could use these new constellations in a unique start form, albeit using the book itself as blueprint for such a change. He could certainly memorize all the forgotten horoscopes but that would take some time.
Meanwhile, Malikae headed deep into the room in search of one thing: an atlas. In a connected room to the one they entered to the east, the dwarf found another room in even more decay than the first. If non-fiction was prized by Gif, then maps would most definitely be in an echelon above that. It was no surprise that most books were either taken or tossed about the room. Malikae checked the shelves carefully though. As luck would have it, tucked in the back of one of the shelves was a well preserved map of the entire region that the Gif had overlooked.
In true Chuvoi fashion, it was meticulously laid out, full of detail, and completely unlabeled. Malikae returned to the others and the four of them tried to piece together as much information as they could. Milam was quick to pinpoint where on the map the library was located and from there they could extrapolate several places they had adventures through. Things seemed to line up pretty nicely; Vorua Pleaura/Schildkröteneisen, Bin Min’s Temple/Temple Helm, and what is now the undercity of Fallmouth were clearly present. However, the sheer size of it was overwhelming. If the scale was true, then their plodding around for the past six months covered less than a quarter of the jungle portion of the map. If they included the desert that extended past the edge of the map, they could spend the next few years and still not see everything. Seeing that this map would require a deep dive, Malikae tucked the map away on his person for later reading.
The group set back out to the help desk, hoping that enough time had passed for Tamvoi to return. When they got there things were just as they had left them. With no sign of the elf anywhere, the group weighed their option. They could explore the library further, but Aglizzy remembered that when he had sent his bat familiar the previous night the library was not the only point of interest the creature had seen. In addition, a temple not far from the library was scouted by the bat and it recalled it having efigies of elephants. Seeming like the most logical place to look, Welcome Tasks left any unchecked out books at the help desk and left the library.
The town looked fairly different in the afternoon light as opposed to the dense fog. An average sized town that probably held a few hundred individuals at its peak could seem sprawling throughout the valley. Looking West, Aglizzy could see the temple maybe a quarter mile from where they stood. Between the two points a waterfall cascaded into the valley before dropping into a cenote, forming a second waterfall. This cenote would normally be a major obstacle but it clearly existed when the town was but as a well constructed stone bridge spanned the opening. With a clear path, Welcome Tasks left the library stairs, crossed the stone bridge and arrived at the front of the temple.
As mentioned before, there were clear symbols representing Chuvoi. Structurally, the temple was quite interesting. From the outside, the main hall was a tall single story chamber and to its rear a cylindrical tower as wide as the main hall reached upward of almost five stories. The front had three entrances, but only the center was not deliberately barricaded from the outside with stone. A hesitant feeling swept over the group and this was only heightened by Aglizzy’s insight.
Remembering the omen he got by the rainforest’s plants giving the Druidic sign of “stay away” as they approached the valley, he looked around once more. Rather that seeing more of the same, he noticed a distinct lack of life surrounding the temple. To an untrained eye or even someone proficient in survival, this would not be all that shocking. A place covered in mist certainly would not be able support life that requires the sun. However, to Aglizzy this could only be a sign of death and informed the others of what he saw.
Cautious but undeterred, Welcome Tasks opened the double central doors to the temple and proceeded inside. They found that the temple was pitch black and seemed unoccupied. Pilars lined the open hall, more symbols of the elephant god were present, and several benches were seen within. For Milam and Aglizzy’s sake, Slayer lit a torch so that everyone could see the darkened room. Slayer called out for the librarian by name, and at the far end of the chamber he could hear the whisper of a few voices.
Stepping closer into the chamber to see better, the party could also see that the temple once had many open archways, but like the front door they were all filled in with barricaded stone. Calling out again, someone answered this time. Somewhat similar the last time they spoke with a librarian, the person responded in elvish before switching to common.
They asked why the party was there and how they knew Tamvoi by name. Slayer explained that they had just spoken to the head librarian and he should be expecting them. Further still, Milam chimed in, explaining that Tamvoi had requested his presence specifically in a dream he and Melkor shared. The explanation seemed acceptable as Welcome Tasks heard the large double doors being closed behind them and the individual drop their invisibility To show themselves a short distance from the group.
While not Tamvoi, this elf also wore the same religious garb and had similar skin tones. He said that the party should make themselves comfortable while he goes to retrieve him from the upper levels. With that, the elf effortlessly glided along the floor and out through the far end of the chamber. It is unclear what comes next. They seem to be welcome guests and the librarians certainly have been nicer than the Gif, but their distant nature and Aglizzy’s intuition casts doubt on the situation. Now Welcome Tasks waits for their host to arrive and the truth of the matter will surely reveal itself shortly.Even in this tense situation though, one thought keeps crossing Slayer’s mind, “Did The Tabaxi Sisters REALY send him all this way to pick up romance novel??”

Time Table
Days remaining until Malikae must return to Temple Helm: 28
Days remaining until the fog returns to the library : 7
Days remaining until Gentle Repose ends: 5

Report Date

06 Oct 2024

Primary Location

Rang Nahan

Related Characters

• Tamvoi

Books Requests
Tamvoi:
Voi Toi 4-2.16: Events and Accomplishments of Bay Dihn Soi Under the Rulership of Ivellios the Cultivator
The Tabaxi Sisters:
The Historical Cylinders of Ao Choang Go
Scrolls of Inner Alchemy (Currently Checked Out)
The Scrivener’s Tale
Her Unexpected Dragon Match(In Slayer's Possession)
Libram of Shepherds (In Aglizzy's Possession)
Voice of the Menagierie’s Alpha