Day 3

[mirror_mod]

Eventually the group finds themselves in a new part of the city. The stone is cleaner, the air is brighter, and everything seems far better cared for. Whether this is illusion or truth, it’s hard to mistake the trickling sound of a fountain ahead, drawing you into view of a massive open courtyard. Rising out of the middle of it is a tall building with a strangely crooked spire, topped with a globe like a watchful eye.

Closer, it’s easy to read the carved sign above the doorway.

LIBRARY

Perhaps there are answers here.

LOWER STACKS | RESTRICTED SECTION | OBSERVATORY

Comments

LOWER STACKS

[mirror_mod]

It’s dimmer here, but it lacks the malevolent aura of the forest and parts of the city. Rising all around you are cases upon cases of books, reaching far upwards into the zenith of the spire itself and well past your vision. There is a constant staccato of fluttering pages as the books themselves seem to shift and dart about in the air before returning to the stacks. A few butterfly nets lie nearby, in lieu, perhaps, of a catalog.

While you watch, one of the books flits down to a tall pedestal, where a disembodied quill begins to dance over its pages. It’s a decent climb up a ladder to see for sure what it’s writing, if you’re curious.

[gevurah]

[ A pile of books and still not a damn clue on where to start. The quill is the main attraction for Kate. It must be writing something, so she'll her usual bold steps toward the ladder. She puts a hand on it and gives it a gentle shake to gauge how reliable and stable it will be if she climbs it. ]

It's like out of a children's story. Only creepy.

[persequor]

[ A butterfly net in hand, Arya attempts to snap off its head. ]

All those stories are creepy.

[cloakand_danger]

[Well, the purpose of the butterfly nets seems clear enough, at least. Yuan grabs one of them, and starts waving it around in the air, trying to catch one of the flying books, apparently under the assumption that these will be more interesting than the books on the shelves.]

[persequor]

Why don't you just grab one off the shelves?

[atadiscoverer]

Maybe if we work together?

[Carson approaches Yuan, his own net in his hand.]

Work to corner one of them?

Because these two had to meet eventually.

[fistfullofmagic]

...Perhaps if we cornered one?

[Don't mind the the weirdo who wore a cloak to bed, he just wants to help. He's already got a butterfly net and everything!]

[youhavebeenflynned]

[Harry looks around the room. The surrealism of it all causes him to shiver slightly. he does have a bad idea about all of this. Some of the journals catches his interest though and he reaches out for one]

[messin_with_my_zen_thing]

[Have a curious Zen dude looking curiously at you, Harry.]

What've you got there?

[thetrudger]

[Geoff's taken quite a few books from the shelf and is sitting cross-legged on the floor, flipping through one of them with a frown.]

[fredless]

[One, two, three....six books later Fred still has the net tucked under her arm as she moves quietly to sit next to Geoff. After looking around, a moment of extremely practicality settles over her and she sits on the majority of her find, all except for one book.

She turns the leather over in her hands once, then twice]

[hellshaped]

[Hellboy's wandering the stacks at the moment, and peers over when he passes this guy.] Anything interesting?

[schrodingersghost]

It just had to be a library, didn't it. [Danny is scowling as he trudges through the rooms.]

[squartatore]

[her passing glance becomes more fixed when she notes the look on Geoffrey's face]

Something wrong with that?

LOWER STACKS

[sixguns]

[Noah moves off by himself to take a closer look at one of the books, avoiding the few what try to smack him in the head. He's always taken comfort from libraries, and it's disconcerting for one to resemble a decrepit, dark and strange bird sanctuary than a home for the written word.

[He takes one off the shelf at random and flips through the pages.]

[wolfuncaged]

[Fenris is giving the books no heed, after all, his reading skills are not the best, and he'd much rather be on the lookout for danger than...reading.

So he passes Noah the slightest of glances, before turning back to the library at large]

Is there anything of use within them?

[squartatore]

[casting a wary glance at the book, wondering if it's only being docile for the moment and ready to fly out anytime.

when the book doesn't squirm in his hands or anything, Sayaka will move a little closer to pull one of its neighbours out for further inspection]

[ironlady]

[Caterina is watching the books fly about for some time trying to discern a pattern for it. Eventually she will opt to grab some off the shelves and leaf through them while occasionally looking up to see if it is still happening.]

[dontpatr0nizeme]

[Washington is actually going to join her at examining the shelf books, as he'd really rather not wrestle with flying books. But he can't resist a comment.] Never a dull moment.

[squartatore]

Want to move elsewhere? [she gestures at the books moving on and off the shelves not too far off -- what if one of them hit somebody in the face?]

RESTRICTED SECTION

[mirror_mod]

A spiral staircase leads upwards to a higher floor. The books here seem a little older and far more silent than the busy tomes below. Stretching out far over the dizzying head of the tower, across a narrow bridge to a floating platform, is a single massive volume on a pedestal and surrounded by a gilded cage. Even from here the word on the cover can be read – CAIR PARADISA.

oh god why you guys I don't even.

[perfectisnteasy]

[CLU doesn't HAVE to breathe, but if he could, he'd stop once he saw this. as it is, he just freezes, staring. that's it. that's the key he's been looking for. what he needs. he turns and .... does the one thing you probably shouldn't do in a library in the middle of a creepy magical world.

he raises his voice]

EVERYONE, COME LOOK AT THIS.

yes lets get all the loud ones together

[honorinflames]

[yeah, that's right where he's headed, jogging over. yelling in a library is the best idea]

What is it? [calling out before he reaches him]

OBSERVATORY

[mirror_mod]

From the upper level there is one last stairway to the top, like some kind of observation tower. A large round window looks out beyond the city. A spyglass stands conveniently nearby, for any that might like to take a look.

[persequor]

[ Arya peeks through the spyglass. Would it let her see the city or just her room? She's still avoiding looking overlong into windows. ]