Encounter in the Library

The all too familiar sound of leather boots walking on stone echoed throughout the chamber. The high walls and ceilings of the Dawnhaven Grand Library responded to each footstep with the soft reply of many more. Perched behind a long mahogany counter sat an elderly gnome, seated in a comfortable looking velvet chair. Barely looking up from his current novel of interest, the gnome greeted the traveller.

"*Good evening, sir, Welcome to the Dawnhaven Grand Library. I am Gerbo Humplebumple, caretaker and head librarian. How might I assist you in these early hours?*" The gnome’s voice is courteous yet quiet. It is evident they are well practiced at speaking in hushed tones yet are able to project their voice well to compensate for the reduction in volume.

Stifling a laugh, a melodic voice responded "*Ah yes. Hello GH, nice to meet you. I am seeking information regarding a variety of topics, and I am wondering if you may be able to assist?*"

A middle aged, tall, blonde haired, bearded human man replied. Sneaking a peek over the counter, the man can see the velvet chair upon which the gnome is seated is precariously balanced on several piles of stacked books, providing just enough height for the gnome to see over the counter.

"*Although... You can just point the areas out to me, no need to get up*" the man added.

Gerbo looks up from his book, '**Shapechanging and You: 12 Druidic Steps to Change your Life**'. With an expression of appreciation on his face.

"*Thank you young man, it's difficult to re-position these books in just the right....*" The gnome pauses, surprised at their momentary break in professionalism. Gerbo peers at the man closer for just a moment, focusing their attention on the human's face. It's almost if ...

"*No worries at all my intelligent friend, I am more than capable of finding what I am looking for*" the man responded.

The gnome shakes their head briefly, dispelling their previous train of thought. "*Yes, okay, well... What is it you are seeking, young man?*"

A small piece of parchment unfurls from the human's pocket and he begins to read "*I require information on the following topics*:"

* Genies, Dijinn, Hags etc and, more specifically, how to break their curses or 'gifts'
* The core principals of legendary artifacts and wonderous magic items
* Information on divine magic, and the practice of holy resurrection
* A manual on how to fight a variety of magical creatures and extraplanar beings
* Information relating to the plane of existence known as "Mechanus"

"*I can help you with a number of those areas, although the quantity and quality of tomes we possess relating to combating extraplanar beings are quite limited. You may be better off speaking to the new visitors in town, the Silver Dawn. I believe their order is familiar with such topics*." Gerbo replied. "*May I also suggest an informative book on better quality sleep? It's not uncommon we have individuals looking for complicated novella to help distract the mind, particularly at 3 in the morning - such as yourself?*"

"*I suppose it wouldn't go astray*" the man grinned back. He then pauses awkwardly "*do I wait here or...?*"

"*Take a seat in the reading room next to this one*" replied the gnome. "*I’ll have the appropriate books brought to you*."

Time slowly ticked onwards as it does in the very early morning, and the gnome was moderately curious about his most recent visitor. Very odd topics for a stranger to explore, no less so early in the morning. There was something about that man's presence. He was very charming and well spoken, and came across as very trusting... Yet.

The gnome gazed at the man in the nearby reading room, casually flipping through the pages. The stranger was obviously tired, and his eyes must be growing sore from reading by the candlelight, as the man pulled out a small container of from his backpack, opened it gently and began applying some ointment or salve to his eyes. Gerbo’s fascination turned to puzzlement, as the man began pointing at various indiscriminate locations throughout the reading room, locations that were simply in mid-air.

"*Well, that is odd*..." mused the gnome. It was not uncommon for the occasional strange character to come to study in the library though. Maybe the man was cursed to see hallucinations of Dijinn wherever he went?

After a short while, the man returned to Gerbo. "*Thank you master gnome; these books will provide some insight into areas of interest to me. Tell me, how does the check-out or hiring policy work*?"

"*Ah it's simple really, after an ordained period of time, the book returns to the library. Tomes eligible for hire are inscribed with an enchantment, you see. Just don't go taking them to another plane of existence though, or the spell won't work... Uh*!" Gerbo hurriedly covers his mouth in a moment of shock. "*Look at me and my big mouth. Well, I don't suppose you have any plans on leaving the Material Plane, do you* " chuckled Gerbo. “*Very dangerous realities lie beyond our own, so they say*"

"*So they say..*." echoed the man, distractedly looking over the gnome’s shoulder, before pointing again at a random location in the foyer of the library, touching the flute on his belt and mumbling some arcane babble. "*Look there is one other area I need some information on*" returning his attention to the gnome.

"*Yes*?" the librarian replied now looking suspiciously at the man after his odd incantation.

"*I want information on necromancy magic, more specifically the manipulation of what you or I would call the soul*"

Gerbo looks taken aback "*Well I certainly have books on the subject; however, the corresponding repositories of knowledge are not eligible to hire. You know, to prevent evil entities from exhaustively studying them and raising an army of zombies for example*."

"*Ok well, how about you show me the books and I'll simply have a quick read*" the man responded in an even and measured way. Carefully gauging the gnome’s reaction.

Gerbo's facial expressions evidently relaxed "*Certainly, there is no harm in simply reading. Arm yourself against the no-do-wells I always say*"

A number of leather bound, heavy tomes came floating from underneath the chaos of books and parchment behind the librarians desk. Various arcane runes inscribed on the covers of each tome.

"*You will have to read them here though; I can't have you making notes or similar*" cautioned Gerbo.

"*But of course*!" smiled the man.

Watching the human’s face carefully, the gnome spoke quietly "*This information is frowned upon by the general populace and the Arcane College here in the city. Many times, they have requested these books be destroyed, yet we continue to preserve them, as all knowledge should be*."

The human continually nodded as Gerbo spoke partially listening to the gnome yet focusing on what they were searching for.

Then, the nodding stopped suddenly. The librarian swore they almost saw a small smirk flicker over the man's face. He looked down and saw the chapter titled *'**Extradition and Preservation of the Mortal Soul*****'**. "*You know what, this information here is REALLY interesting stuff, and I would appreciate the opportunity to study this more to... expand my knowledge*." The man stared hungrily at the pages.

Gerbo slowly reached over the counter and began to drag the book back over to their side. Chuckling nervously, they said "*Well, um, that's really all I can let you see. We are, um, closing soon for cleaning and uh renovations and I need this back please*."

The man stared evenly at the gnome, with a look of determination in their eye "*Renovations at four in the morning*" queried the man?

"*Yes, yes well, uh it's unusual yet um*..." Gerbo stammered.

"It's OK *my gnomish friend, I understand. But tell me, are these all the books you have in this library regarding this topic?*" The human gestures to the tomes stacked on the librarian's counter.

"*Yes, but like I said, you can't take them with you!*" the gnome replied exasperated.

"*I understood the first time*", the man stated pointedly, "*and this... is standard protocol. You won't be changing your mind anytime soon?*"

"*No, I simply can't!*" exclaimed Gerbo.

"*Very well, bureaucracy and all that*" sighed the man. "*I guess I'll just take the books I originally requested.*"

"*Certainly!*" squeaked the gnome, very obviously relieved."*I'll just have to take a few details from...."*

The gnome suddenly paused, frozen in mid-air, quill half-dipped in the nearby ink pot. Their eyes glazed over, and a small amount of saliva pooled at the corner of their wrinkled mouth

The man calmly strode to the other side of the desk and spoke quietly into the gnome’s ear.

> "*Early this morning, a man came to the library to hire some innocent, innocuous books. Their name was John Smith, a male, human carpenter from Newharbour.*
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> *They did not request anything suspicious.*
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> *They did not enquire about forbidden or restricted knowledge.*
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> *You performed a routine inventory check of the restricted books in the early hours of this morning, and all were accounted for.*
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> *You are just about to sign off on this matter and recommend another inventory check in six months’ time.*
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> *You have no obvious reason for suspicion regarding your encounter with John Smith."*
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And with that, the man piled all the books, into a bag attached to his belt. The bag defied all laws of physics, as each book fit neatly inside, despite the physical dimensions of the bag suggesting otherwise.

He then walked calmy out of the library, leaving nothing behind but the sound of footsteps.