Grand theft bibliotheca (Valentin) Frost 5th 9:30 Am

[Myles Arnnett]

Frost 5th 9:30 am
Waking with a start as always Myles winced as he moved and his leg protested with painful twinge. The first encounter with the shadow beings two days prior had been… less than ideal. That and the mercenaries the following day. though the actual source of his injury was more concerning. Something had happened with the girl and the dragonshard had reacted, even now Myles swore the glow it emitted had grown a deeper shade of violet. From what he could tell, the girl had no control of the thing, but it was capable of defending her on some level. When the shadow creatures had first attacked them the shockwave that came from her had been indiscriminate and had blasted him along with the monsters that attacked them. Thankfully his armor had worn most of the brunt of the attack, though veins of corrosion now wicked through his gear.

Deeper now in the northside Myles had been able to secure a room he didn’t think he’d be tracked to for some time, that was if the bribes he’d been forced to shell out were worth their weight in silence. With how strange times were he feared many people saw the orphan he traveled with as an omen and couldn’t help but tell others of what they’d seen. There days in the empire were growing fewer as the cons far began to outweigh the pros of the empire. Still Myles had one more lead he felt he had to pursue before he could leave satisfied that he’d tried all his obvious options the empire had to offer. He planned to make his way to the imperial academy, famed for the wealth of knowledge it hoarded. He wagered that any security the place had would be otherwise preoccupied.

With that in mind Myles looked to the girl, she hadn’t been making eye contact with him since the blast, he wasn’t sure if it was guilt or something else he didn’t understand. “You ready to go” a quick nod of the head was all the reply he received. Leaving the hovel they were staying in cautiously as ever Myles took the girls hand and lead her towards the spires of the emperors palace and the plaza that laid before it. Navigating the city during the day, or what was left of it Myles kept himself and the girl in the open where possible staying in what light the maudlin sky offered and avoiding the deepest shadows. The girl clung close to his side, she too now understood the dangers of dropping her guard. He hated that the girl was constantly being exposed to fresh horrors but there was little he could do to spare her them in this world gone mad.

As they left the impoverished norther side of the town more and more patrols steadily made themselves know, it seemed their garrison in the middle of the city above the “gash” as they called it was till holding in spite of the efforts of the pervasive darkness. Crossing the bridge in the middle of the town still made him ill to his stomach, but circumnavigating the chasm was out of the question. Kathar on the wing patrolling the expanse did little to assuage his frayed nerves.
Still their trip was thankfully uneventful and in due time Myles and the girl stood before the Imperial plaza and the foreboding spire that lay in its center, the looming spires of the Palace behind it glowering down over the city. Scanning the various government buildings that lay about them Myles searched for he one that looked the most like an academy. Fortune smiled upon them as even in a city of garish displays of wealth were even the central bank was seated and yet the academy still managed to be the most ostentatious structure in the immediate vicinity replete with great marble stairs guarded by two bespectacled Lions. “At least some things are consistent…” Myles Mused to Himself as he and the girl climbed the steps and approached the great double doors of the academy, only to find them locked and an elegantly penned sign in the window that said “Classes delayed until the emperor sees fit to release the lockdown, be well, keep studying!” Clocking his tongue in annoyance Myles pondered the strength of the lock before him briefly before thinking better of it. “I suppose we’ll look for a back door first.”

[Valentin]

The streets of Southside, especially Wintergarten, were roughly as safe as anyplace else in Gel'Grandal in the endless gloaming. The streets were lit with dragonshard lamps, shedding a steady light which quieted the slinking beasts of shadow, and Kathar guardsman stood watch above. With appropriate caution, there was no real reason the bright young minds of the Imperium could not have maintained regular studies at the Academy.

Yet the people who sent their precious scions off to learn were paranoid, and perhaps not excessively so. Even if the shadow beasts did not tear their princelings to pieces, the day-that-was-no-day provided terrific cover for any number of acts of sabotage against them. Therefore, the Academy had released its students from their dormitories and sought no exemptions from the Palace's edicts. As such, it should have provided a perfect opportunity for Myles to practice a little light larceny.

Unfortunately, he wasn't the only skulker abroad today.

"Sandoval... Sebastian... the Norths?"

Valentin Valentin sat on a balcony in the high stacks of the library, reading. A small pile of books lay beside him, forgotten for the moment- he had originally come here tonight to look up a few of the finer points of the Gesetzgebungsgeschichte, the obnoxiously long and tedious collection of tomes in which the oral minutes of the provincial parliaments, which were updated by great effort once every sixteen years. It had been some time since the last printing, so each of the original volumes now contained a half-dozen slipcover additions with errata, commentaries and recent developments. These histories were so arcane and loathsome that even lawyers avoided them, which meant that they were among Valentin's weapons of first resort.

He had become distracted, however, by the library's guest log, a tremendous tome which usually sat safely on an enormous wooden plinth and should have been quite impossible for a man of his slight stature to lift. He had simply teleported it up to the table here (which groaned somewhat under the massive book's weight) as he carefully scrutinized the ledger entries. His purpose was simple: if he could find out what books important people had been reading, he would have some idea of what it was they had been doing for these past few tumultuous months.

And that might be worth an evening of boredom.

There were no guards at present, but Valentin didn't mind. The eclipse was past for the remainder of the day, and his powers of Traversion had freed him from concerns involving monsters long ago. As he went over the ledger, making occasional notes, Valentin found himself being lulled almost into a state of complete relaxation. Up here, at the top of the Imperial Library, making notes on a hundred other citizens, he felt as far removed from the problems of the Imperium as a dragon did from the problems of ants. It was, he reflected, perhaps the same sense of security which had lulled past emperors to deadly error.

[Myles Arnnett]

Striding from the front entrance of the building Myles and the girl began a clockwise patrol of the Academy looking for any easy means of access, or at least a less visible means of access. The windows were all dark and revealed little beyond what one might expect of an imposing school building, The doors that led into the academy were all heavy, framed with steel. The school seemed to take its security seriously, and while Myles wasn’t sure the doors could stop him he was certain it would make a scene if he tried. Continuing his search Myles rounded the side of the building he found what he assumed to be the servants entrance, again a heavy door, but with peeling paint and rusted hinges. The ground was heavily littered the burnt remains of smokes and pipe ashes, filling the air with a moist acrid scent.
Trying the door Myles found it had give to it. Turning the knob slowly Myles discovered the door unlocked, or mostly unlocked, as he pushed it in a chain caught the door only allowing it to open partially, still this was likely the best chance he had to get in. Briefly thinking the gods for smokers and their bad habits Myles slowly unsheathed his sword. Motioning for the orphan to step back Myles split the chain with a quick downward strike, a metallic clang and rattle sounding lightly in the gloom. Ushering himself and the girl in Myles shut the door behind him and secured the proper door bolt.

Looking around again Myles found himself in a large dimly lit Kitchen, not unlike the facilities used to feed the soldiers of Zaichaer, though significantly nicer. Briefly tempted by the idea of searching the academies pantry Myles shrugged off the base desire and reminded himself of the purpose of this venture, they needed to find the academies library. Stepping from Kitchen to cafeteria Myles found the school to be largely open on the inside, the main halls easily found. Looking about the building Myles frowned trying to sus out where the library could be in this scholastic labyrinth. Step by step office by office and class by class Myles left a path of open doors behind him. After searching three of four branching halls Myles finally found a respectable pair of double doors that had no equal in the academy. Pressing them open Myles was washed over by the musty scent of old books and before his eyes confirmed it he already knew he’d found it.

Still as his eyes adjusted to the light Myles balked at the monumental task before him. Even if all the knowledge he needed was present it could take him weeks to locate it. Time he didn’t have. Casting his eyes about for a directory and finding nothing Myles sighed and strode into one of the many isles of shelves and began reading to spines of the ancient volumes hoping to find something useful. The girl seemed to be more relaxed now that they’d found their destination, looking around with interest she peered at the volumes on the lower shelves. Myles wondered if the girl was literate, he knew she’d been from an at least somewhat well to do family so it stood to reason she likely could, perhaps she could help him search if he told her too look for some specific words… “look for anything that mentions dragonshards, or dread mists, that should be a good start.” Saying it As much to himself as he did her he continued his search in the belly of the library. Little did he know he’d begun his search in the wing of the library dedicated to engineering far from where he needed to be.

[Valentin]

The Imperial Academy was huge, drafty and echoing, and Valentin's ears merely human. He continued his unabashed snooping on the third floor balcony, not noticing the sounds of doors creaking or feet thumping in the adjoining halls. Once the double doors began to open, however, no man could fail to notice; the great mahogany portal--a relic of the Imperium's unfortunate invasion of Ecith--practically trumpeted each opening, which is why they were usually tied securely open during the day.

The vast creak filled the skulking lawyer with a sense of alarm. Had someone realized he was in here? Was one of the Kathar patrols coming in to question him? It was hardly a major offense, but it would be profoundly embarrassing if any of his colleagues heard about him being dragged out of the Academy in shackles.

Curiosity overpowered caution, and Valentin leaned forward in the overstuffed armchair where he'd built his little nest of moldering tomes. His eyes peeked out over the balustrade, and across the great empty vault he spied... a large man and a small child?

"What is this?" the man mumbled under his breath. He recognized neither figure, but why would anyone sneak a child into the library, in the dead of night and under quarantine?

Valentin was still as stone as he watched them wander below. The man said something to the child, but at this distance it was hard to make out specific words: “ˡᵒᵒᵏ -------- ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᵐᵉⁿᵗⁱᵒⁿˢ ᵈʳᵃᵍᵒⁿˢʰᵃʳᵈˢ --- ᵈʳᵉᵃᵈ ᵐⁱˢᵗˢ, -------- ᵍᵒᵒᵈ-----"

Dragonshards? Dread mists? Valentin's interest peaked as he turned the words over in his mind. What could someone do with that kind of information? In the middle of the great umbral emergency afflicting the city, no less. Could these be hedge-mages, come to rob the Academy for its rarest tomes? Or agents of one of the families, trying to deprive the others of access to some relevant fact? It could be any of those, or a hundred other things.

Luckily, Valentin had a way to learn more. He withdrew his head slowly, willing the beating of his heart to grow less loud, and then leaned back into his armchair. The mage closed his eyes, then drew upon the power of the Cardinal Rune of Traversion, casting his mind back to the separation of body and spirit he'd been introduced to the day of his initiation.

Slowly, painstakingly, Valentin pried his astral form out of his material body, stepping out of his own flesh like a mason pulling themselves from a knee-high puddle of mud. Once he'd extracted himself from himself, the ghost of Valentin floated slowly down through the floor, moving towards the intruders. Thankfully, he'd learned early on the nearly nobody could see him while in astral form, so he should be safe to observe the intruders without attracting their notice.

When he reached the man and the girl, however, Valentin realized immediately that they were... searching the engineering tomes. That wouldn't do. He didn't recognize the man, nor the girl's profile (for he hadn't yet seen her face), so he wasn't going to know what they were seeking until they found it.

Dread mists... the ghost mused, silently, anything more than naturalistic studies would be in the locked stacks, I imagine.

Odd that these two had invaded the library without even knowing where to go, but Valentin's impatience got the better of him. He floated over to the door leading to the restricted section, then focused on the bookshelf next to it, hitching one of the books just a few inches from its original spot.

In the material world, a book next to the door labeled "Eingeschränkt" flickered, then toppled out of its bookshelf, crashing to the ground. The noise echoed in the great room, the direction immediately apparent from anywhere within.

[Myles Arnnett]

Myles and the Orphan Searched quietly, Myles squinting in the dark and reading the spines of the books, the orphan hovering behind him, by the time he’d read all the titles on a shelf he began to think that physics and mechanical design were not magical terms. However, as they Myles straightened himself up from his search a book suddenly fell to the ground with a loud thud. Myles and the orphan both flinched at the heavy thud that intrude on the silence they were cloaked in, the hair on Myles neck prickling with unease. The orphans fingernails dug into Myles arm where she grabbed him briefly pulling him in the opposite direction of the noise. Returning her tight grip with a soft squeeze of his own hand Myles crouched to eye level with the girl.

"It's okay," Myles whispered, trying to reassure the Orphan. "Just a book."

But as Myles turned to investigate the source of the noise, he realized that the book had fallen from next to an imposing and locked door. The Orphan looked at Myles, her eyes wide with fear her expression was enough to tell Myles that she was more than ready to leave this place, he regretted that he couldn’t yet allow that. Still he couldn’t shake the oddity of a book falling as it did, the books had all been shelved studiously, none he’d encountered thus far had been loose. Never one to trust fate he crept along carefully pulling the girl behind him as gently as he could.

Myles approached the door He tried to turn the handle, but it wouldn't budge. Unsurpised but annoyed all the more Myles gripped the handle and pressed his shoulder into the door listening to the heavy wood groan as it resisted him. Taking a breath Myles began ramming his shoulder into the door as quietly as one could, and on the strike the doors lock gave way, or rather the wooden housing of the doorframe, the deadbolt still sprouting from the door shining in what little light there was. Myles and the Orphan stepped inside, looking around at the shelves and shelves of books. Myles quickly realized that the restricted section was filled with tomes and grimoires that were of no use to him. He saw books with titles like "The Art of Necromancy," "Rites of the Dark Arts," and "The Grimoire of the Damned."

Titles he all deemed useless to him, Myles pressed on, determined to find what he was looking for. He and the Orphan searched through the books, their eyes scanning the shelves for anything relevant to their search. They moved quickly and quietly, not wanting to draw any attention to themselves. Finally, after what felt like hours of searching, Myles spotted a book with a title that caught his eye: "The Lost Magicks of the Elder Races." He eagerly pulled the book from the shelf and flipped through its pages, hoping to find the information he needed. But found himself disappointed to be reading what seemed to be an utter work of fantasy filled with bod assumptions. Quickly placing it back Myles continued the search clicking his tongue in irritation he knew that they only could count on so much time before someone or something crossed paths with them and he needed to get what he came for before that happened.

[Valentin]

Elation filled Valentin as the intruder took his bait, entering the locked stacks and beginning to root about- there was no feeling in creation quite so sweet as seeing a plan reach fulfillment with its players none the wiser. Invisible, the astral mage stalked into the forbidden section, following so closely behind the unknown man that he had to fight off an unconscious worry that Myles would feel his breath on the nape of his neck. Now, there was nothing but to wait until he revealed the object of his search and swoop in.

Just a bit more waiting.

Just a bit... more...

"Come on, come on." Valentin's ghost whispered, inaudible, "What are you waiting for? What are you looking for?"

Seconds turned to minutes as the man slowly scanned the books, selecting one, then quickly discarding it as it did not seem to fit his criteria. As smug as the spectral lawyer had been a moment before, Valentin was quickly filling with raw frustration. How could it possibly be that this man had broken into the city's premiere library against all law and convention without even knowing what he was looking for? This sheer buffoonery was going to ruin Valentin's entire heroic plan! There was no point in thwarting a thief who couldn't even manage to steal anything.

The traverser stopped and forced himself to breathe deeply (metaphorically speaking). He simply needed to look at this situation clearly.

"What is he looking for?" Valentin mused once more to himself, looking at the shelves the intruder had disregarded. Grimoires, books of necromancy, myths predating the Imperium... he was looking for magic, to be sure.

It was then that Valentin finally noticed the girl. He'd known she was there, of course, but single-minded in his pursuit, had not bothered to pay her any mind. Now, looking at her, the crystal deformities presented themselves at once. It hit him.

"Yes, it's her condition. That's why he's brought her." It was the only logical explanation; she was too young to help the man in his search. Surely he was looking for some book which might help explain or reverse the strange dragonshard-like corruptive growths. Possibly she was some farmer's brat, caught out in the storms which had rocked the whole of Geleriad three seasons gone. Almost a miracle that she was still alive, but the mists took every victim differently.

The lawyer frowned, deep in thought. He was no doctor, or even a wizard in a conventional sense, but he had studied- you had to, before they'd approve you for a Cardinal Rune. Crystal growths, presumably from the dreadstorms... none of the literature on contemporary Rune magic would suit, he suspected. Not the aetheric studies, the technomantic texts, the forge manuals. No, what this man needed was a treatise on the connection between Chaos itself and dragonshards.

That was a subject on which a lot of ink had been spilled, but mostly unproductively. Philosophical texts spinning yarns about the connection between the Mists and the divine would be worthless for treating someone. Valentin floated near the upper stacks, frowning. Something like... that... one...?

His aetheric finger brushed the spine of a book.

~~~

A small dragonshard inset above one of the higher shelves lit up as the wards detected magical influence acting on one of the forbidden texts. Immediately, a klaxon rang out through the library, the gem blazing with light as it sought to summon librarians and guards to intercept the interloper.

[Myles Arnnett]

The sound of the alarms echoed through the library, shattering the stillness of the night. Myles knew he had to move quickly. He darted down the aisle and began grabbing several books and tomes that might contain pertinent information on dragonshards, dreadmists, scrivening, or magic theory. He snatched "The Arcanist's Handbook," a thick leather-bound tome with gold-leafed pages and an intricate design etched into the cover. "Secrets of the Dragonshard Mines," a worn, leather-bound book with the edges of the pages frayed and a faint odor of sulfur emanating from it. "Dreadmists: Origins and Effects," a thin volume with a dark, glossy cover that seemed to absorb light. Lastly, he grabbed "The Lost Art of Scrivening," a tome with a simple brown leather cover, but with intricate, swirling designs etched into the pages that seemed to writhe and pulse like living things.
With the books in his arms, Myles made his way to the main entrance of the library. He pushed a nearby bookshelf over to block the entrance and create a distraction for the guards, and then another, soon the entrance was filled with the chaos of fallen and falling bookshelves He then ran to the second floor orphan in tow. As he crested the flight of stairs Myles grabbed a coffee table and hurled it down the stairs following it with the two lounge chairs that had been paired with it, following that with another toppled shelf Myles began making his way to a window he had scouted out earlier.The sounds of chaos had erupted below as people began forcing their way into the library. He forced the window open and climbed out onto the narrow ledge, the wind whipping at his clothes and hair.
Myles looked down and saw the ground was much farther away than he had anticipated. He took a deep breath and let himself drop, trying to brace for the impact. As he landed, he stumbled and nearly lost his grip on the books, but managed to keep hold of them. He then turned and looked up, just in time to see the girl emerge from the window.
"Jump!" he shouted.
The girl hesitated for a moment, fear etched on her face. But the sound of the guards closing in spurred her into action. She took a deep breath and jumped, her arms flailing. Myles caught her, her weight knocking him off balance, toppling the two of them in a pile on top of some poor shrubbery.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his heart racing.
She nodded, her face pale and sweaty.
Myles grinned “thank goodness”, his mind already racing with thoughts of what to do next. The books he had taken would be invaluable to his studies, but he had to get out of the area before the guards caught up to him, or saw his visage, he had no doubt their days in the empire had just been numbered.

[Valentin]

Valentin cursed himself silently as his errant aetheric digit set off a sudden cacophony amidst the stacks. The intruder and his ward stiffened, then the man leapt into action, sweeping books from the shelves and grabbing at random.

Dammit! His slip-up had provoked the man to incaution, and now he'd never know for sure just what the pair had come in seeking. Worse yet, the alarum was sure to draw attention, either just from whatever night staff remained on the grounds or the passing patrols of Kathar. If he were caught skulking about the library illegally, it would be a scandal for him, though likely of minor legal import. He had to get moving.

The ghost flitted back through the walls and floors, and Valentin's soul made contact with his body once more. It was a slow process, the rejoining of aether and flesh, of intention and matter- as quickly as he'd stepped out of his body, the energy comprising his form and his spirit had begun to slowly distinguish themselves in the handful of minutes they'd been apart. It was a strain, and not a little painful, as he crushed himself back together.

Still, it wasn't all that long before he awoke with a gasp, books spilling off his body as he struggled feebly back into an upright position from the slump.

"Son of... perdition..."

The feeling was a lot like limbs falling asleep, and Valentin massaged his extremities furiously as he hopped over to the balustrade and cast his gaze wildly about, seeking- there! The mysterious intruder and his girl were just making their way out the main door, and towards the second floor.

Though adrenaline was coursing through him, Valentin forced himself to stop and be calm before he invoked the Cardinal rune once more. He was skilled enough to traverse short distances with great confidence and ease, but better mages than him had been lost in the slipspace in a moment of chaos and weakness before. Once he was confident in his internal map, he tore a portal through reality, stepping through the veil of worlds to reappear just steps behind the intruder.

Said intruder was in the process of hurling furniture to the floor in a mad attempt to make barricades. Valentin watched, partially concealed, as he threw open a window and descended, pausing only to assist the girl in her own escape. This was Valentin's last real chance to stop the man; once he was out into the city, there were any number of twisting alleyways and other barriers to sight, and Valentin was not equipped to track him long. Thankfully, though the intruder seemed larger than him, he had the advantage of surprise and a lifetime of power to establish his authority.

With another blink, Valentin stepped out of the air in front of the man and the girl, for the first time getting a real glimpse of their faces. Their faces and... the man's stature. For a book thief, he was hugely muscled. Still, Valentin knew that demeanor and confidence counted more than muscle with this set. He held up an imperious hand, and shouted:

"Stop! You've violated the law!"