[center] [img]https://i.imgur.com/C7nwoGY.png[/img] [b]Words:[/b] 1,814 (+3) [b][color=ea590c]Edward Portsmith: Level 9 (22 cells) (2 level ups stored)[/color] [/b][color=ea590c]////////////////////////////////////////[/color]///////////////////////////////////////////////// (40/90) [b]Location[/b] Frozen highlands - The Midnight Walk [/center] [center][b]The Arcaneum[/b] [img]https://i.imgur.com/aC8G6LQ.jpeg[/img][/center] It seemed to be Edward's lucky day, for his next room turned out to be a drum-shaped library of rather humble design, its stone brick arches converging into a support ring above the room's center. Horn candelabras and simple iron candlesticks provided ample illumination for shelves of dusty tomes and crinkly scrolls, over a hundred in total, all under the careful supervision of the elderly Orsimer librarian [url=https://i.imgur.com/POcaAb9.png]Urag gro-Shub[/url]. At Edward's entrance the old orc looked up, held a finger to his lips, and looked back down at the register of books. Edward’s mouth hung open for a moment, caught just before he had been about to call out, before he closed it. Whether it be for library etiquette or because talking was dangerous (you never knew what might set off a poorly scribed tome of magic), he gained nothing from breaking the implicit rule (no matter how absurd the former reasoning would be given their shared circumstances) and so stuck too it despite his urge to ask questions. Thus, leaving a set of golems to hold the door, and waving at the Somnadrix to stay back, he approached the man with casual pace before stopping a polite distance away and raising a hand in greeting, and an eyebrow in a questioning manner. With a grunt, Urag turned a dry eye Edward's way. "Read whatever you like. But nothing leaves this room. I will be watching," he said ominously. [color=ea590c]”I see”[/color] Edward replied, carefully controlling his expression to not betray that that might be a problem. Still, no need to make it one until he knew that the note he’d read about the other two pieces of the drawing room puzzle being here. [color=ea590c]”Having trouble with thieves?”[/color] he asked, casually, as he skimmed the contents of the shelves to get a sense of what sort of literature the library held. "Like you wouldn't believe," the librarian practically growled. Each section of the library catered to a different genre. The most populous were for historical and fictional works, as well as a number of cookbooks, bestiaries, and so forth, but there was also a 'Restricted' section, evidently for books with some functional use. This contained spell scrolls, religious texts, and tomes that could be used as weapons or casting catalysts. It was quite the treasure trove whether one happened to be a scholar or a looter, but fulfilling one set of goals would seemingly be much easier than the other. Edward was, of course, both, but he did like to think he was more the former than the latter, as much as necessity might threaten to make him a liar. At the very least, he did not intend to roll a cannon up to the door as an opening as his opening move when it came to maneuvering his way into the restricted section. [color=ea590c]”I don’t suppose this might be one of yours that has found its way out of your possession then? I found it in one of the other rooms of this shifting labyrinth, you see, in a place that it did not seem to belong”[/color] he asked, as he retrieved the Condragon Tome and showed it to the book keeper. A spark of recognition appeared in Urag's eyes. "Yes...one of mine. That scoundrel was damnably clever." He waved his hand, and the book in Edward's hand vanished. A blink of light in the restricted section gave away where it ended up: amongst a couple rather similarly designed tomes, bearing different emblems and colors. Edward’s eyes widened just a little in surprise at this magic, before he mused to himself that the thief must have indeed been quite clever to steal something from a man who could teleport his inventory around. Clever as well to not pick a fight with a man who could cast such advanced magic as well. Time would tell if he’d have the wisdom to not do that himself. [color=ea590c]“There’ll be another attempt, given that they didn’t get everything from you that they wanted, after all”[/color] He said, digging up the note regarding the rest of the pieces of the puzzle being located in Arcaneum (which he deduced that this was). [color=ea590c]“Might I ask how they managed it the first time? Swapped it out while you weren't looking?”[/color] he speculated, given that the orcish scholar seemed to be the type who’d get distracted easily enough by his own collection. A look of hostile skepticism crossed Urag's face instantly. "You are not privy to such information," he brushed Edward off brusquely. "I am [i]always[/i] looking," he then emphasized. "I never sleep. I never lose focus. In fact, I am rooted to this very spot." The librarian seemed proud of what one might consider a hellish existence, if his words were true. Edward resisted the little temptation to lean over to check if his feet are literally rooted to the spot. It would make him a rather easy target if so, assuming whatever mage had bound the orc to this place hadn’t accounted for that (and they probably had). Fortunately, though it did block the angle he had been attempting to go with when it came to bartering for what he wanted (namely giving the man more eyes to watch with), it did offer up another approach in the process [color=ea590c]“That last does seem a slight inconvenience. Might I be able to interest you in a way around that little restriction in your blessing, so you aren't restricted to relying on the luck and kindness of strangers to retrieve your stolen property in future?”[/color] he offered, while gesturing a hand back towards the golems holding open the door to the orc’s domain as an example of what he was offering. Now came the tricky sell, namely asking [color=ea590c]“All I ask in return would be to be allowed to borrow the two other tomes your thief sought long enough to open a path that might lead out of this maze. I can, naturally, provide you with suitable hostages if you do not trust my word after receiving my half of the bargain, and with the magic I will provide you may watch every step of the process to ensure I stay on track”[/color] "The books do not leave the Arcaneum. No exceptions," Urag snapped. "If you want to leave this place, the front door is in the Dice Room." Edward’s mental gears immediately began to lunge over onto this different track, only for him to grab a hold of the transition and ask [color=ea590c]“and if we wished to instead continue to travel the Midnight Walk and reach higher up the mountain? Would this entrance do so or take us back to the artifact that teleported us all inside?”[/color] "You should be able to proceed up the mountain," Urag told him. [color=ea590c]“Marvelous”[/color] Edward replied, rubbing his hands together, before asking [color=ea590c]“I don’t suppose there’s anything you could tell me about this ‘dice room’? Any complications it might involve?"[/color] Edward suppressed a sigh, before backing off the topic with a [color=ea590c]“Very well"[/color] He had already gotten quite valuable information after all. That said, the unsolved puzzle in the drawing room did nag at him, and so he did have to ask [color=ea590c]“But before I go I don’t suppose I could take a read of the other tomes in the Condragon set? Specifically with regards to ones about knights and pegasi? It would be nice to see if I can copy the magic, even if that need is far less pressing now thanks to your help"[/color] "Copy?" Urag raised an eyebrow, but after another moment he relented. "Well, as long as the originals stay here. I have only one Condragon tome...but perhaps you refer to the Wingbane Tome and Unsaddling Tome. They are weapons effective against the enemies you speak of." [color=ea590c]“That does sound like exactly what is needed, if you’d let me take a look"[/color] Said with a nod. The librarian nodded in turn. Taking that as consent enough, Edward approached the restricted section, eyes scanning briefly over the other works before he checked the section containing the two mentioned tomes. Having gotten an eyeful of those, he slid the books he was actually here for out of the shelves one by one. He then tucked them under his arm and then returned to the center of the room, where he sat himself down on the stairs by one of the small tables and cracked the Unsaddling Tome open to give it a peruse. Every page, Edward found, was covered in magic circles, diagrams, or rows and rows and rows of arcane or runic symbols, with nothing legible to speak of. This tome wasn't too thick, but it still featured a good hundred pages, minimum. Copying it would be quite the arduous chore. It was an awful lot of work to do the same job that a spear did, Edward thought. Then again, that kind of work was exactly what automation was for. As he finished his own reading, he set the books down and informed Urag that [color=ea590c]“I shall be back in a moment"[/color] True to his word, he did indeed do so, carrying two of the books from the Lecture Hall he had decided were the most worthless. Accompanying him was a squad of copper golems, created sans their spears. [color=ea590c]“My scribes"[/color] he explained, before setting them up to do the arduous job of copying the spells for him. Naturally he had his own ink and quills aplenty for his own note taking, but that only solved the writing, and not what to write on. For that, Edward made use of a vial of the strong turpentine mixed with water and held in a shard of the astrolabe he’d shattered to make a light paint thinner to be used to clear the existing ink off of the Lecture Hall books’ pages. Even with their many hands and bodies it would take time for the squad to first clear enough space and then replace it with symbols, naturally, and Edward would have to keep looking over their metaphorical shoulder given these constructs weren't exactly meant for this. However despite all these limitations it would allow copies of the tomes to be made while he continued to explore the maze, so it was well worth the mental load in the Dreadnaught's opinion. Urag grumbled a bit at the sight of this. Unsurprisingly the book collector wasn’t the most enthused about the destruction of the Lecture Hall books. He didn’t seem to be about to do more than that however. Maybe, Edward theorised, he couldn’t, stuck in one place as he was, and possibly only in command over his own stock. A limitation to take note of, certainly. Still, that was for later (if it came up at all), as for now the Dreadnaught was done with the room, bidding its curator farewell, before heading across the hall and preparing to open the final door in the lecture theater.