13: The Library

Previous Session | Next Session

## Summary

### Reading is Fundamental

After the showmatch, the party is invited to eat dinner with the fighters in the mess hall. Mujie receives his very own custom gladiator uniform (a pair of embroidered hot pants) and Bran and Mahi are treated to some sisterly bullying, while Cat, Tira, and Luca chat with Lita and Nell. To celebrate their not-so-long-awaited reunion, Lita and Nell suggest a trip to the Library.

After Tira explains that the “Library” is actually a speakeasy, Lita and Nell lead the gang (along with Imta) stealthily through the streets of Ashta. Eventually, they make it to the old library, which has been abandoned for the five years since the fire. Lita and Nell lead the group to a dusty old records room, where an illusion hides a trapdoor to the real Library—a would-be bar downstairs, with music, liquor, and plenty of carousing locals.

While Mahi and Bran sing some duets, Tira knocks back some drinks with the Ashta girls in the hopes of getting Imta to loosen her tongue a little on her childhood in the Kkora Desert. Eventually, she tells the gang about crossing the sands on lizard-back, roving bandits in the Waste, and even legends of dragons terrorizing the mountains and the far-lands. Though she knows about the Spring the party seeks, she tells them that its location is a well-kept secret of the Meranhi, and that they should expect some difficulty getting there. But before they can talk much more about the Empire and the mysterious foreigner spotted leaving the city, the Mayor’s Night Watch crashes the party.

### Fun Police

A hush falls over the revelers as about a dozen or of the Night Watch bust in from the stairwell, followed closely by a few more heavily armored guards. They seem to be looking for something, but after a tense few minutes tearing the place upside down, one of the watchmen declares the Library empty. Frustrated, a lead guard tells everyone they’re under arrest for drinking unsanctioned alcohol, and a fight breaks out in the taproom with the party surrounded.

The party, along with Imta, Lita, and Nell, take on the Night Watch, as townsfolk around the bar watch on. While the guardsmen await reinforcements, the party dispatches the group at the back of the room. Cat uses his familiar to scope out the upper floors, where a powerful mage and the Night Watch’s commander are making their way to the taproom. But before they can come and shake things up in the fight, the party and the rest of the civilians make their exits through a secret tunnel that leads back up to street level.

### The Missing Relic

Away from the fight and back in the quiet alleys of Ashta’s midcity, attention turns to what the Night Watch was looking for. Lita and Nell ask Imta if it was the Moonsilver Glaive, an ancient weapon traditionally held by rulers in the Malabar region. According to the barkeep, he heard patrons say the guardsmen noticed it went missing that morning. While Nell seems certain it was the mysterious foreigner, the rest of the gang isn’t so sure. There are several political factions in the city vying for power, as well as the arrival of gladiators from K’nafay. Though the Mayor is an unpopular figure by all accounts, Mujie gets the idea that the party might be best served trying to work with him to find the Glaive for a little something in return. But how to get his attention? Well, he never misses a big event at the arena.

## Quotes

### *DESERT FOLKTALES:*

> “It’s a harsh place, the Kkora Desert. Scorching heat in the day, freezing temperatures at night. You’ll need to charter lizards to make it to the Capital in one piece, and that’s not to mention bandits.”
>
>

> “When I was a girl, my father told me stories about great, terrible blue dragons terrorizing the far-lands and the Kkora mountains. There were rumors that the emperor, Gimsaan, had slain a dragon. I don’t know how much is true, but the desert certainly holds more than its fair share of horrible beasts.”
>
>

> “This spring you seek… It’s probably… Ah, I forget the name. But there is a sacred place, far out in the desert somewhere. Generations ago, warriors would make the journey to the sacred place to undergo a legendary trial, to become more than themselves. There is an old folktale of Meranh’s first Empress, who passed the trial thousands of years ago and returned with a desert flower for her love. Perhaps it is just romantic nonsense. But that is likely where your “spring” lies.”
>
>

> “It’s a heavily guarded secret of the Meranhi. We are a traditional people, warriors by birth. An ancient race of desert elves, distrustful of foreigners, even of me. Perhaps things are different now… But you should certainly expect some roadblocks if you’re trying to get anywhere near the spring.”
>
>

*—Imta*

### *WHAT THE HELL IS A GLAIVE, ANYWAY?:*

> “The Moonsilver Glaive is like, this enchanted lance. Maybe it’s more of a ceremonial thing, but whoever's in charge in Ashta always has control of the Glaive. So if it’s missing, the mayor must be freaking out…”
>
>

*—Lita*