A Half-Orc walks into a bar...

[WxCougar]

She gave him a sympathetic smile, though with his mistake she knew to be careful herself when speaking. "Thank you, sir. I'm hoping to learn more about this place - and the whole country really. I figured this was a good place to start." Then she continued as if her curiosity got the best of her, "Is he a regular?" Her head gave a slight tilt back toward the busy kobold.

[Hroderich Gottfrei]

Arnost nervously glanced in Grom's general direction before looking down at the ground and (finally!) back at the young lady. "Regular? He practically lives here. He rarely leaves, doesn't seem to eat or drink, and is continually disregarding my pleas to only take the books he's reading! And he marks on them all! It's outrageous!" His voice dropped again, having realized his vehement whisper had grown too loud. "I don't know how to make him leave or to to stop writing in our books," he confided "and the little wizard terrifies me. I don't want to make him angry again."

[WxCougar]

She gave an almost scandalized expression at the idea of writing in the library's books. The idea was quite shocking really. Writing in one's own books made sense, but not with ones that were not yours. What could he possibly be writing in them? She didn't ask this question out loud as she wasn't so sure the poor man knew the answer. "Considering the little... spell, I wouldn't blame you. He has done something to you before?"

[Hroderich Gottfrei]

"Ye-yes. He's particularly gifted at evocation and subtler necromancy - he utilizes some more primitive form of magic.. He spoke a word to me and caused me to experience excruciating pains when I attempted to take one of the books from him. [[OOC: He uses wordcasting in addition to traditional magic - he cast Wrack on the poor Librarian]] Since then, I've just... sort of let him have his own run of the Library. I don't know what to do about him. He dismisses me whenever I approach, and I can't compete with his magic." The fat half-elf shot a terrified glance in Grom's direction. "I don't know what to do. But.." He paused, regaining his self-control, "But you were here for information on The River Kingdoms - there's plenty to be found on these shelves!"

[Leonidas Wahrheit]

In a gentle motion, Leo twisted the knob and slid open the door. The warm smell of dusty tomes and infinite knowledge greeted his nostrils as he strode in with several dampened "clanks." Some of the occupants raised their heads in protest only to see a relatively muscular man in full plate silently mouth apologies in their general directions.

"Do you ever take that off?" Relena whispered, her leather boots muffled underneath the steady thumps of Leo's armored feet.

"Ha. No."

An elderly woman approached the two, curiosity clearly abound within her gaze. Her beleaguered face and slumped shoulders betrayed years of stress and worries, yet the glasses that rested just above the crest of her nose spoke wonders about her knowledge.

"Hello," she greeted Leo and Relena, her voice barely audible above Leo's racket, "how may I assist you today, Knight?"

Leo bowed and apologized once more for the racket he created. The woman brushed him aside.

"Come now. You are a warrior of holy virtues. You fight so that we may live in peace."

Before he could speak, Relena slipped past her armored friend and grabbed the woman's hand.

"It's so wonderful to meet you. This is Leo and I am Relena. Would you happen to be the caretaker of this facility?"

The older woman smiled and shook her head.

"No deary, I am but a humble worker. The caretaker of this library is a bit preoccupied at this moment, but I can help you with whatever you may happen to need."

Leo scanned the room and stopped at the sight of what looked like a Kobold. It had been years since he dealt with one of the servants of dragonkind.

"How curious..." He thought to himself, forefinger tapping his chin.

"Madam," Relena interjected, cutting Leo off from his thoughts, "would you be able to point us in the direction of your...banishment and scholarly research tomes in reference to outsiders?"

As her expression darkened, the woman looked left, then right, and squeezed Relena's hand. As if she completely understood their plight, the woman wordlessly led the two holy warriors toward the back of the library.

"Young Knight," she pointed at Leo, "rest your hand on that door. It will only open for you or her."

An ominous obsidian door carved with various etching and holy seals, sent a slight chill down Leo's spine. Whatever presence awaited within these tomes clearly contained manifestations of only the purest of evils. Leo set his hand upon the door and the runes glowed with a bright cyan light.

A soft "click" announced the pair's admittance.

[WxCougar]

Clearly a Kobold who got straight to the point. Likely the finger gesture of earlier was a reminder to the librarian. Deciding to not push that matter further, Nadya nodded. "Yes, that's right. Do you have any good suggestions, sir?" Maybe getting on to a less stressful topic would cheer him up.

Though just as she asked this she could hear what sounded like one heavily armored walking. She didn't look, but she thought amusedly to herself, I'm sure that Kobold is glad he can't hear that.

[Hroderich Gottfrei]

Grom, blissfully unaware of the thump thump crunch thump of Leo's heavy feet, turned to the next page, sighing softly (and silently) to himself as he began making yet more corrections to this tome. He started on his fifteenth ink bottle, and began turning this page mostly blue as well.

He felt a pressure on his back, waited a half-second, and turned to see someone in heavy full plate walking away with The Old Woman. He shook his head, glad for his continuing silence spell, and returned to his work.


Arnost grinned at the young woman, obviously happy to be pulled off the topic of the angry bronze kobold. "Yes, absolutely! Here..." He turned to the shelf, rushing to the old dark wood, trailing his finger along the spines of several books until he came across what he wanted. "Ah! Here we are..." He began to pull three large, relatively new books from the shelf. "Silvandel's Encyclopedia of the River Kingdoms and Surrounding Areas, Volumes I-III." He hefted (one at a time) the massive books and place them (heavily) on the table with a grunt. "As you can see, there is plenty of information! I believe these first three will get you started... there's also this" he pulled out a reference book, "and seven more Volumes just there, on the shelf!"

[WxCougar]

Nadya gave him a friendly smile as she took note of the different books. "Thank you very much, sir. I hope I didn't take up too much of your time." Though likely enough, between the various volumes, she would be kept quite busy for awhile. Though the newest patrons seemed interesting... She'd certainly keep her ears open to whatever it was that was going on beyond the shelves that blocked her view.

[Leonidas Wahrheit]

"The tomes you seek rest on the third shelf," The Old Woman whispered. She bowed her head and made her way to the front of the library. Leo and Relena locked eyes.

"Ok. I'll start doing some research about our new...friend. Why don't you grab a couple of the enchantment tomes within the main section of the library so that we can begin work on a Sigil or item to use in this fiend's banishment? The books in here should contain the method of sending it back to the Abyss, but we'll need a guide on where to find the materials and the proper method of application and mixing."

"Understood, madam!" Leo gave his compatriot a half-hearted salute, grinning all the while. Relena flicked his chestplate and scowled.

"I'm sure the Demon appreciated your sense of humor as well, Leo."

"Well, I guess you could say I was on fire."

"No. That was terrible. I'm going to read books about Demons and other evil creatures. If you make another joke like that one, I swear to Sarenrae that I'm not going to heal you." Relena sighed as she crossed the threshold to the room and sealed the door behind her. Leo turned and began browsing through the copious amounts of paper in hopes of finding the enchantment and herbalism sections on his own.

[Hroderich Gottfrei]

Grom, engrossed in his tome, realized after a long moment that he could hear again. Luckily, things seemed qu- Thump. Thump. Thump. Clank. Thump. Clank.

Grom very carefully and precisely set down his pen and closed his ink bottle before folding his tiny hands in his lap and waiting with seeming patience.

Arnost shook his head vigorously, his fat chins wobbling freely. "No, no, no! You most certainly haven't! I was - am - glad to be of service, Miss! If there's anything else you need, just come find me. I'll be" he glanced in Grom's direction, south of them, "in the eastern areas of the Library. Enjoy your reading!" Arnost bowed deeply, almost falling over, before turning to head away and give her some peace and quiet. He heard the thumping footsteps of someone (or something?) and headed towards their source. He studiously avoided looking in Grom's direction while he did so.

[WxCougar]

With the librarian on his way, Nadya turned to look at the stack of three books sitting on the table. She fingered the cover of Volume I a moment, considering. Then she picked it up, testing its weight. Heavy, but still something she could conceivably hold onto. Setting it down a moment, she adjusted her bag to sit more comfortably on her shoulder and picked the book back up again as the sounds of movement from the armored patron continued. Her green eyes flicked toward the direction of the enchantment section with a hint of curious amusement. Were they really heading that way? That could be interesting considering the kobold.

Taking the book carefully in hand she began to drift a little down the bookshelf to try and position herself in a way she could hear - assuming that spell was gone of course - and perhaps see around the books without seeming to be paying anyone else any heed. The tome in her hands would serve as her point of attention to any who happen to look her way. Just another library patron pausing here and there along the book shelf to read the text and glance at the other books. It gave her a chance to not only glance through the Encyclopedia, but satisfy her curiosity all at once.

[Leonidas Wahrheit]

"Let's see..." Leo murmured to himself.

"Potions, spells, incantations, no no no," he whispered, running his finger along the bottom of the shelves. None of these books appeared to provide any knowledge about enchantments. Before he moved onto the next set of shelves, a book with a shoddy brown cover and golden inlay caught Leo's eye.

"What do we have here?" He gently nudged the book out of its home location and flipped open the cover. "The Ancient Tome of Dragon Lore?! By Bahamut! What is this doing in the potions section?" Totally engrossed in his discovery, Leo began absorbing each and every page's content. It had been some time since he had updated his repository of knowledge on the various legends and tales of Dragonkind.

[Hroderich Gottfrei]

Arnost arrived near Leo to see the armored man completely lost in his book. Slowing his pace, Arnost approached with a little caution. "Good day, ser!" he exclaimed in a voice just above a whisper, for once managing not to be a wrecking ball of volume in this quiet place. "Is there, perhaps, anything I can help you to find? Oh! Dragon Lore! Are you perhaps interested in Dragons? They've never been my specialty, but I have dabbled in their lore. That's our only copy of the book, unfortunately!"

Grom checked his claws, silently, waiting. Arnost's volume had grown with his excitement, and the little Kobold licked his dry lips, deciding which spell would be most appropriate retribution for breaking his concentration.

OOC: Sorry for the long time lapse!

[WxCougar]

There was a hint of amusement that danced in her eyes when she heard the librarian speak up. She couldn't quite see them from her current position, but even with the lowered voice, she was still close enough to make out his words easily. She tipped the edge of the book against the book shelf to rest her wrist. That book was certainly heavy...

But dragon lore? Interesting, she pondered to herself. Though that may not necessarily be a good thing if that is what the armored man was looking for. She turned one of the pages in the book she was holding to keep it as if she were reading, but she didn't make out a word as her attention was on whatever reply she could pick up to the eager librarian.

[Erian El'ranelen]

A voice sounds near to Nadya, respectfully quiet but easily heard, "Silvandel's Encyclopedia...my father made several contributions to that work from what I recall. It's a good set for historical perspective and geographical insight. Of course, the nature of the River Kingdoms means any information on societal or political matters is quickly outdated."

The man standing behind Nadya is easily recognizable as elven-blooded, though not fully so. His brown hair hangs loose but neat, framing slightly pointed ears and almond-shaped, hazel eyes. His attire--a tooled leather and wool jerkin, plain but well-tailored breeches, and sturdy boots--hint at someone of financial means yet comfortable with travel.

He bows slightly at the waist and lowers his head, "Erian El'ranelen, son of Sevren,at your service. I have studied this region extensively if I might be of any assistance."