7/21/24 - The First Chapter With Tamvoi

General Summary

We begin with our faithful heroes still separated from one another. Slayer , Melkor, and Malikae remained in the endless hallway debating what to do next. The Tabaxi was perplexed as to why his token did not lead him to his request. He studied the book that the token actually directed him to. The subject matter of the book seemed to be a short story about some bees helping a chrysalis, but what was truly bizarre was that nearly two thirds of the book’s pages were blank. Further still, after leaving the book open to one of its blank pages, a page removed itself, lazily drifted about Slayer and then tucked itself back into the book’s binding.
Unfortunately, the Tabaxi couldn’t make heads or tails of how this magical book functioned. He then turned to Malikae and hoped the cleric could provide some clarity. Wasting no time, Malikae cast detect magic to glean some insight. It was obvious that the book contained some form of conjuration magic but beyond that little else was pieced together.
Meanwhile, back in the grand staircase, the remaining party members waited apprehensively. While waiting, Saepe observed that their new gif friend was slowly levitating off of the ground. Blargo immediately panicked and began yelling at the library. Saepe’s first instinct was to grab the gif’s ankle to prevent him from floating any higher. While this did stop Blargo’s accent, it did appear that he was drifting upwards to the ceiling like a balloon.
While things were not getting worse, Aglizzy wanted to see if he could figure out their gif’s predicament. He climbed up the now two person chain and deduced Blargo’s pack was causing him to float. He tied one end of some rope to the pack and then asked Rory to hold the other end. The hippo was happy to help and, as a “sports model” build, he weighed more than enough to hold the backpack without being lifted off.
With the pack secured but still levitating, the group pondered what to do next. Since they could not see their friends down the hallway and felt they shouldn’t waste time, they followed the token that Aglizzy had procured at the help desk. This one was pulling him up and towards the west wing of the building. So the human, the Lizardfolk, the gif, and the hippo trotted up two flights of stairs and into the misty wing of the building. The long hallway reflected the long hallway on the first floor where Slayer grabbed Her Unexpected Dragon Match, but the layout of the rooms were different.
Along the southern wall were several arches leading to shelves of books and reading spaces one would expect in a library. The northern wall was mostly solid with a large opening roughly at the center of the entire wing. As the group approached, Aglizzy noticed two things. First, in several languages to the left of the door, the word “Arcanum” was etched and second was that similarly to the large symposium room, runes marked the doorframe.
Back in the basement, the other half of Welcome Tasks was grasping at straws. Not sure what to do next, Slayer used the sending stones to see how the rest of the group was fairing. While the dialog was not greatly insightful. Slayer learned that his friends had made their way to the west wing and were in the process of obtaining “Libram of Shepherds”. Not wanting to be too far apart, the basement team retraced back to the grand hallway with little effort and began climbing the stairs.
As they made their way up, they were surprised to see someone descending down. The individual levitated rather than walked and was dressed in elvish finery of some religious order. His attention was buried in a book and almost caused him to collide with Slayer who was leading the group. When the individual, now clearly a wood elf, stopped in front of the party he first addressed Slayer in Elvish before switching to Tabaxi.
He exchanged pleasantries and seemed quite happy to have people in his library not there to raid it. While no one asked his name, it was clear that this was the librarian who had sent them on this quest and referred to himself as Tamvoi. Slayer's first questions were about the book he had requested. He wanted to know why his token had taken him to the wrong place and where the book was actually located. The elf only half answered his question, saying that the book request was actually part of an encyclopedia set of the clerical order’s personal catalog.
Content with the idea that he had new patrons in Rang Nahan, Tamvoi said he would fetch the book for the group and welcomed them to explore the halls. If they ever wanted to check anything out, they simply needed to place the book and the token on the help desk counter and one of the clerics would check him out. On the topic of tokens, the elf looked at Malikae and without asking directed him to where he could find his request. This prompted the dwarf to ask some follow up questions.
The curious cleric wanted to know more about the order of Chuvoi that was here, and how they communed with their god now that it was killed. Tamvoi said that he and his order was aware of the consumption of the menagerie, but the effects of Chuvoi still lingered. When asked about the order, the elf was brief but courteous mentioning that there were five others who resided at the temple to the elephant god.
Pressing further, Malikae then asked about the elf himself. It was strange seeing an “old-world” heritage in Quai Thu and he wanted to know more about him. Tamvoi talked about where he was from, the largest city on Quai Thu known as Bah Dihn Soi and that he had been a librarian here for roughly a millennium. Trying to piece together a little bit of geography, Malikae followed up about the city.
He asked first if this city was on the lake “so large you can not see across the shore”, but Tamvoi clarified. He said that while yes there was a city along the coast by the lake, that is not his home. Tamvoi also noted that the residence once there were considered to be River Elves, not Wood elves. Malikae was still curious about this city, but changed topics.
He then asked about something that had happened to the party months earlier when his fallen kin Brunor had almost drowned inside a water weird. While drowning, Brunor had a vision of a green celestial comet crashing near this endless lake and this insight has been in Malikae’s thoughts for some time. Tamvoi smiled, impressed that he knew some history. The librarian told Malikae about how more than half a millennia ago a green comet crashed into the great lake. He punctuated his recollection saying that in Quai Thu society, it was taken as an omen for the beginning of end for The Menagerie.
All the while, Slayer listened to this conversation intently. While he found the exchange interesting, there was a nagging feeling about the whole thing. Soon, he realized that this was a tangible pull on his cloak. He looked back to see who was tugging on his clothes but there was no one behind him on the stairs. Upon further investigation, he figured out that the pulling was coming from the genie bottle on his belt.
Slayer ’s first thought was that the long winded conversation from Tamvoi was a ruse to take Connaissance with him noticing. He thought about getting ahead of the librarian by releasing the djinn and making a bold final wish. Wishing the god-eater dead and for the rest of The Menagerie to return seemed bold enough, but Slayer debated whether or not a single genie was powerful enough to accomplish such a feat. This pause in the Tabaxi action actually allowed him to deduce the true meaning of the situation. It turns out, Connaissance was shifting his weight inside the bottle causing Slayer to block Tamvoi’s line of sight. The Tabaxi aided in this effort by shifting his cloak, although clumsily.
This development added some complexity. Welcome Tasks’ relationship with Connaissance has always been unclear at best. Whenever asked why he provided them three wishes, he says that he is just grateful to be freed from the abandoned temple. He tends to grant the wishes in a more literal sense which can cause some trouble.
Further still, Connaissance claims to be not beholden to the bottle for which he is kept in. Again, this is unclear if even this is true. Historically, genies of all elements hate being imprisoned, and are some of the most ambitious elementals. By contrast, Connaissance seems aloof and in fact him trying to hide himself seems to be the first time he has taken any action independent of the party.
Fortunately, Tamvoi didn’t notice Slayer ’s shifting cloak and proceeded to tell the Tabaxi and Dwarf that he would go to the personal collection of his clerics for the book Slayer requested. Before parting ways, he deciphered the book that Slayer ’s token had led him to and showed him its magical properties. And with that, the librarian and the party went their separate ways.
In true Chuvoi fashion, the librarian’s conversation meandered. In that span of time the rest of the party was getting into the thick of things. The doorframe marked “Arcanum” was covered in runes and Saepe, Aglizzy, Blargo, and Rory were skeptical. Aglizzy took the lead, stepping through the archway and into a small room. The room was mostly empty with a few stone benches and a large wooden double door opposite of the archway he came in from. The runes continued to line the floor, but Aglizzy felt no effects. Feeling only slightly confident, he signaled for the rest of the group to follow.
Rory put his best hoof forward and plodded to catch up with Aglizzy. However once across the threshold, he promptly disappeared, causing the floating backpack to become untethered and bob on the ceiling in the main hallway. Concerned, Saepe immediately performed the conjuration for Rory to return and asked him where he went. The hippo maintained his usual demeanor. He calmly explained that he had returned to his home plane of existence and while he enjoyed being home, he was happy to be by Saepe’s side again.
Not wanting him to apparate again, Saepe directed Rory to stay in the main hallway while the rest of the group plotted forward. Making their way through the wooded doors across the room, Aglizzy, Blargo and Saepe saw the doors open up to a series of small windowless chambers. The first room had more stone benches, a small desk, and two hallways: one leading north and one leading south. Aglizzy’s token was pulling them southward, so that’s the direction they went.
The hallway winded around to a room roughly the same size as the previous, but furnished with tall bookshelves. After a short meander through the stacks, Aglizzy’s token tapped the spine of a leather bound book. It was a thick tome of a few hundred pages, a black cover with gold leaf embroidered lettering, and a pair of silver rings wrapped around its spine. While unable to read the cover, as it was in a language Aglizzy didn’t comprehend, he was confident he had found his book.
Not wanting to be too separated from Rory, and the other half of Welcome Tasks, the three retraced their steps back to the main hallway. Rory was waiting for them patiently with the floating backpack. The party crossed the runic threshold and put Libram of Shepherds into the pack before turning towards the grand staircase. No sooner did they turn their backs, then the backpack started to shake violently before it exploded. While the content of the bag scattered everywhere, two constructs of arcane energy hovered aggressively towards our heroes. With that, the Lizardfolk, the gif, the human, and the hippo charged into battle.
The battle was not quiet nor easy. Fortunately, Malikae and Slayer could hear the sounds of conflict and rushed up the stairs as quickly as they could to aid their friends. The constructs fought with pure force energy both with their fists as well as a devastating arcane pulse ability. There were times where things could have gone south, especially since it has been so long since the party has recuperated.
Having a cleric and a paladin to provide healing certainly helped. They made good use of their magic weapons of Bin Min, and allowing Saepe to get an additional charge on the creatures. Aglizzy and Slayer did their parts as well. The Lizardfolk deftly weaved and struck at his foes, keeping them distracted from a fairly wounded Malikae. It was Slayer though, with the use of The Tabaxi Sisters’ arrows that finally ended the conflict.
The group was happy to be back together once more and clearly the dangers of this library are numerous. They took to picking up the contents of Blargo’s pack that had been scattered throughout the hall. While much of it was destroyed, Libram of Shepherds was undamaged minus its missing silver ring bindings.
The most notable thing however was not the book. Much like how the pack before the fight, one of the prayer rugs they had looted earlier gently bounced on the ceiling. With a little teamwork, they were able to wrangle it down and figured how to use it properly. The rug is strong enough to lift two people(or one person who is wearing heavy armor) and is fairly nimble. Certainly an item that will be helpful both in exploring the library and on future adventures.
It has been a very long night and it would seem that dawn has only gotten closer. There are still three books The Tabaxi Sisters requested as well and thousands of other books with potential information. With the start of the knowledge run only hours away, Welcome Tasks need to make some choices on how they wish to proceed.

Time Table
Days remaining until Malikae must return to Temple Helm: 29
Days remaining until the fog lifts from the library : 1
Days remaining until Gentle Repose ends: 6

Report Date

21 Jul 2024

Primary Location

Rang Nahan

Related Characters

• Connaissance
• 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