The Basement Library

[willpell]

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Okay Patdragon, you don't need to have finalized stats to roleplay through this introductory scene; this takes place prior to your character's acquisition of class levels - essentially you're "level 0" with a +1 level adjustment, having perhaps half a hit die and no Skills to speak of, getting through life on circumstance bonuses and a healthy dose of cowardice regarding cats. You live in one of several cities, which I'll describe for you shortly and allow you to choose among; you've gotten a job working for a guy who you don't yet realize is a member of a secret organization, and have no idea that the things that organization is hated for doing are even possible. Your mentor has some hold over you, whether it's just money or perhaps a few cryptic revelations of some greater purpose for you "when you've earned it"; either way, just ignoring his nonsensical orders is not an option. And thus, we begin in media res.

You've been scrutinizing this tome for hours, trying to make sense of the incomprehensible text; while transcribing one letter at a time from the Undercommon dictionary was relatively effortless, for a man of your intelligence and dexterity (thanks to your peculiar heredity, you don't even strictly require a pen, although getting ink stains off of a claw takes more scrubbing than you'd prefer, so figuring out how to grip a quill without accidentally slicing it in half is worth the extra bother), making any sense of the resulting gibberish was another story. Was it some sophisticated cipher, a letter-substitution code which seeks to conceal the author's secrets, perhaps requiring a "key" without which it can probably never be decrypted? And then, finally, you stumbled upon the clue which unlocked the mystery - a character which revealed to you that the book wasn't in Undercommon at all, but in Tyranski, the language of the horrific "eye tyrants", which contributed greatly to the formation of Undercommon but doesn't originally have a written form at all (because the tyrants have no hands to write with).

Having only briefly noted the language's existence in a catalogue of dialects, you couldn't hope to recognize it from the words which were assembled out of roughly-fitting Undercommon characters (themselves mostly swiped from the Elvish alphabet when the Drow first started figuring out that they might need to talk to some of their neighbors, if only to give them instructions after enslaving them, instead of just killing them on sight); the Common transliterations you saw made it sound less like a language than like the noises an ogre makes while eating a live tapir, so little wonder that you didn't recognize it. But this vaguely pictographic symbol, although clearly akin to its neighbors, must have been created to identify some concept from the language of the eleven-eyed monstrosities which simply won't translate into humanoid words. Whatever exactly it means, the icon's visual resemblance to a twisting eyestalk is impossible to mistake, and so the confusion of what you're looking at abruptly untangles yourself - leaving you with the inescapable realization that you just wasted half the evening on a complete fool's errand.

[Patdragon]

Rubbing his eyes a little from weariness and looking at the now pointless inscribing scattered on the table he can't help but think deciphering this text he had been given by his mentor was either a test on his determination and his abilities or just another one of those things he was expected to fail and be taught a "valuable" lesson on. What he had learnt at least was failing without trying would either cause him to get stuck with more menial duties or a quick thrashing, depending all on his mentors mood, which after being at the library nearly 3 months always seems to change day to day.

Having already had his fill of both of those options; working for a bit longer always seemed like the more obvious choice. So pushing his chair back and stretching his limbs and cracking his knuckles he slowly stood and tidied away his papers, leaving it neat and organised. He was bound to get asked on his progress in a little while, and other than unlocking that it was Tyranski, a good enough feat by itself, it still wouldn't be enough to gain the respect of his peers and for the revelation they keep promising, what ever that was. The one last thing he could do before he retired was go over language catalogues and check to see if there was any more information on the Tyranski translation and if not them there was always the odd historical archive of book that sometimes had a second puzzle piece if you could find it. Maybe this time it won't even take all night to find it.

Working his way to the catalogue section, his academic robes swishing as he walked he saw two other people studying in the library, both didn't look up as he passed so he let them be.
Finding the language section he flipped through the index until the T's .... mumbbling to himself the different language "Terran,Thri-Kreen, Tirbana, Treant,Tsochar, Tuilvalanuue, aHa Tyranski. Hmm... looks like only five direct references, best try and find all of them" and so he begins to wander into the "stacks" to find his books.

[willpell]

While the presence of others in the library is unusual, it's not unheard-of; the individuals who have a key to access Master Greborsk's private collection are numbered in the dozens, perhaps even hundreds, though that still makes them a select group indeed in a city this size. The others are doubtless scholars of some erudition, and it would not be wise to disturb them as they go about their work.

As you're sliding the book into the new spot where you've decided it should be filed, you suddenly become aware of the indefinable presence which always alerts you to the arrival of your mentor himself. Somehow, despite all appearances to the contrary, you've always had a vague yet irresistable private sense that Greborsk is less human than you are; your claws and scales mark you clearly enough as a variation on the typical design of the Race of Destiny, whereas the elder scholar seems normal enough aside from his complete baldness, but something in your gut tells you that there's something in his blood and bones which sets him subtly yet irrevocably apart. Turning, you see him studying you with an expression of mild consideration - not quite a frown, but a wry press of the lips which suggests that he's not entirely satisfied, yet not overtly displeased either.

"Tyranski? I can't believe that didn't occur to me; you have a good eye, little firebrat," Greborsk says, using the diminutive nickname he assigned you after first finding you in the bookshop he runs (the part that's open to the public is quite a bit smaller and more banal, almost insultingly so, and you were in the process of giving up on the place when he found you). Though the name clearly communicates that he considers you an insect and a pest (they eat the paste which binds pages together, and can easily destroy priceless volumes if they're left unattended too long), he always says it in a tone of voice which, by his standards, positively beams with affection. (Granted, it might also suggest that he hasn't bothered to remember your actual name.) "I suppose it's to be expected, having immersed myself in far more challenging problems for so long; the man who watches for an approaching dot on the horizon may never notice what stands within arm's reach of him. A fresh perspective was the key, I see; good to know that my keeping you around pays off now and again. So, with that attended to, what else should I have you do?" He clearly is asking himself, and doesn't have much interest in hearing your opinion.

(The NPC may not be asking your character, but the GM is asking you - what's next? We're not quite ready to start with the binding, so your next assignment ought to involve clearing up some bit of knowledge about the campaign world that you ought to have by now, even as a rank novitiate, but which hasn't been formally introduced.

[Patdragon]

Only thing that springs to mind is laying the grounding to except binding. So perhaps a question like what lies between dimensions? This would lead me to research and then head out and ask different people their views (for better or worse). For example for each of the knowledge skill that might be appropriate i need to find an answer and make my own view with the dangerous one maybe being religion.

[willpell]

Alright, I have ideas in that direction but they're not yet complete, so let's work on picking out a city for you to explore a little, though you're probably leaving it later so I may regret whatever your choice - still, we can always have a dramatic homecoming to whever you were exiled from. Here are some fitting candidates:

* Kaddastrei - A city straight out of the D&D books, which might be convenient in detailing it, but also means I don't find it incredibly interesting (though it was better than other cities in the same book).

* Tar Bannoch - Stands in the shadow of a famous fortress-academy which trains warmages and defends the Empire's border with a militant nation of hobgoblins; also home to a thriving trade in antiquities and mystical objects.

* Woodhaven - A slightly feral town where the general "good wins" ethos of Whiteleaf is a bit loose, due to the economic unsustainability of its ambitious foundations. Lots of greenery and nature, but also much more crime and corruption than you're supposed to be able to get away with in the oh-so-perfect Empire, and a strong local resentment toward same.

* Greysea - Even worse than Woodhaven, openly a haven for piracy and bloodthirsty cults. Probably way overdue for a major raid by the authorities, which could be the instigating force for you to flee the area, but the fact that it's the kind of place where you might just get knifed on the street means it isn't an ideal base of operations for a group that prefers to avoid trouble, as is true of the (renamed) Theurgians.

* Rixtam, the "Trickster's Town" - populated primarily by wizards and rogues, who engage in a constant game of outsmarting and one-upping each other, often at the expense of the common folk.

* Hungerford - a town I haven't developed all that well, but home to a fairly important NPC antagonist and her minions, so it's worth expanding on it a little and then leaving it alone, long enough for the proverbial pot to boil over.

* Logfort - An extremely pretty and peaceful city which remains independent of the Empire, and gets lots of trade by virtue of its status as a harbor port. If you want the place you started to be very nice, this is probably your best bet; most Imperial cities are even more prosperous, but they also tend to be well-scrutinized enough that a secret society would avoid them.

* Bergburg - City in a formerly independent nation which only recently joined the Empire; suffers heavy extraplanar surveillance which would be a problem to the Theurgians, but also is generally rich enough in mystical lore that they might risk it. The locals absolutely do not think their city has a stupid name.

* Argyros - A city design I'm very proud of, but probably not incredibly fitting with your story needs. There's a sort of tension involved in its law enforcement which might create an opening for the Theurgians to hide there, but it's not ideal.

Just as a general-purpose brag about my worldbuilding prowess, I have reasonably well detailed about twice as many other cities that I'm choosing not to offer as choices here, since they aren't especially aligned with the backstory we want to create for you. So take a look at these descriptions and let me know if any of them speak to you.

[Patdragon]

Out of those options I think Tar Bannoch seems the best fit for what I had in mind of a farily lawful and ordered home upbringing, and the hobgoblin influence might explain a slightly more evil leaning. Plus the antiquities and mystical objects might bring in more rare books to the library such as those hinting at Syfal.

[willpell]

"Hm. Alright, I tell you what. You're looking a bit pale between the scales; I think I've kept you cooped up down here long enough for one day. Here, I've been meaning to deliver this scroll to the artisan Kylara, but I keep having things to do, so why don't you run out and call upon her? Then do whatever amuses you for the rest of the day, and we'll pick up the work again tomorrow morning. You'll free me up to work on the syllabus I've been drafting, which I've had trouble prioritizing in view of everything else I have to do. She has a shop at the corner of Vigilance Avenue and the Charger's Route; knock thrice."

[Patdragon]

There was still no question asked directly at him so in this case he decides not to speak and merely nod his head in respectful agreement whilst underneath his calm persona he was quite happy to have a break. Following his mentor to his office he collect the scroll and quickly exits. Leaving through the side entrance his collects his coat and heads out into the streets, The way was maybe just under an hours walk and the air was a little chill today but refreshing enough.
The streets at time had a mix of people about but most were busy with there own business so he walked enjoying the air and moving of his limbs, paying them little heed.
On route a thought occurred to him the artisan Kylara had been to the library once or twice before and delivered here own messages to Greborsk. This trip wasn't exactly a trust based mission so he decides to look at the scroll in a quiet moment when not many people are around (if it is not sealed he will read the contents, if it is he doesn't even think about it).
He thoughts then proceed to what he will do after this. Maybe visit the bakery and nab whats left from the days cooking at a cheaper price, or perhaps head of to see Sloxx, a friend he had meet and made a few years back, or perhaps go and see that lovely little thing of a girl called Lissy who sold fabrics in the market. He'd decide on which after his task tho as he had just arrived on charger's route and was making the final walk looking for Kylara shop.

[Patdragon]

Also i was hoping to play down the obvious visible draconic heritage aka scales in the face and his draconic feature be mostly focus on the hand/claws up to the shoulders. but i can see Greborsk having found it amusing to keep mocking me a little as currently i'm used to it but still dislike the fact. As my own parents who look normal had no information on their parents having both been orphans themselves.

As for looks I'm picturing him a little like this

[willpell]

No seal; it proves to be a spell scroll, covered with the kind of incomprehensible magic writings which are unique to each wizard, though in this case they seem to have been deliberately crafted to be more easily understood than is typical; with your expertise in cipher translation, you could manage to figure out what the spell is, and possibly even how to cast it. (You may make an untrained Spellcraft check using just your Intelligence, and/or an untrained Use Mystic Device check to cast the spell despite lacking spellcasting as a class feature; success is unlikely but the option exists.) Of course, then you'd have to deliver a scroll to Kylara which has only X spells on it and is obviously long enough to have fit X+1 of them, but it's possible she'd assume that Greborsk cast the first spell himself before deciding to give the others away; some wizards jealously hoard their arcana, while others are eager to participate in a great community of mystics. Greborsk himself seems to be somewhere in between, from what you've observed of him - capable of both compassion and fierce jealousy.

or perhaps head off to see Sloxx, a friend he had meet and made a few years back, or perhaps go and see that lovely little thing of a girl called Lissy who sold fabrics in the market.

(I assume Lissy is just a random girl that you're sweet on, but if you want me to use Sloxx at all, you'll have to provide me a better description of who or what you imagine him being; leaving some of the details up to me is okay, I just want to make sure you don't have something in mind that then contradicts what I come up with.)

[Patdragon]

Seeing the scroll is a spell he does try to decipher it contents but doesn't try and cast it once he succeeds or fails he pockets it without much further a do and carries on to Kylara's finds it on the corner of the streets he his looking for a knock three times.


(I'm planting seeds of ideas I've not fully realized so we can move move on them if needed. If we are now indeed in Tar Bannoch i was thinking Sloxx could be a trained hobgoblin who sometimes comes down from his training/ you've twig on the lissy idea already, and the bakery is just there for a third option were all other sorts of people might turn up..)

[willpell]

Go ahead and roll your Intelligence check to figure out what the spells on the scroll are.

(A hobgoblin in Tar Bannoch would be extremely unlikely. The neighboring "Hatchet Kingdom" is absurdly belligerent and also fiercely paranoid; the only way any of its citizens will cross the border is to attempt a raid, usually with the intention of baiting the Empire into a military response. The fact that the Empire is very good at success in such responses mean they don't try this very often. Any hob who came over to the human side would be regarded as a deserter and face execution by his fellows if they got wind of it before the fact; if someone managed to make it through, though, they would face an extremely chilly reception among the Bannockites, who have lost a lot of loved ones and possessions to the few raids that the hobs do attempt. Expatriates seeking a better life would almost certainly choose somewhere further away to resettle - and the Hatchet government propagandizes constantly about everything that's wrong with humans in general and the Empire in particular, so even if a hob was embittered with his nation, he'd be more likely to emigrate in any other direction.)

[Patdragon]

* Tar Bannoch - Stands in the shadow of a famous fortress-academy which trains warmages and defends the Empire's border with a militant nation of hobgoblins; also home to a thriving trade in antiquities and mystical objects.

The way I read it the fortress academy trained warmages with hobgoblins not from them, so i thought they would be plenty about town. As such will change sloxx to someone else and here is the spellcraft check tho it doesn't matter with this roll of an 8

[willpell]

* Tar Bannoch - Stands in the shadow of a famous fortress-academy which trains warmages and defends the Empire's border with a militant nation of hobgoblins; also home to a thriving trade in antiquities and mystical objects.

The way I read it the fortress academy trained warmages with hobgoblins not from them

An understandable grammar mistake. The sentence breakdown is as thus: {a famous fortress-academy which trains warmages and defends the Empire's border} + {the Empire's border with a militant nation of hobgoblins}. I can see why you misread it; a comma after "warmages" could have prevented the error.

so i thought they would be plenty about town. As such will change sloxx to someone else and here is the spellcraft check tho it doesn't matter with this roll of an 8

(I see what you mean, but for the record, I wouldn't have called for the roll if it was entirely incapable of mattering. Granted I don't know exactly how it matters yet, but it's an intentional precedent for something that will happen later. However a roll of 8 certainly can't decipher anything more arcane than the dollar menu at Burger King, so we'll move on.)

Unable to make heads or tails of the abstract symbology and unpronounceable-looking words which litter the scroll, you roll it back up and proceed on to complete the delivery. You find the stated intersection, then spend several minutes looking around for something that looks nondescript and unobtrusive, since you know that wizards are in the habit of prizing their privacy, and thus can hardly be expected to hang out a sign identifying where to find them (even if they do a brisk business with the public, they almost invariably don't want the entire public getting into their store, as the number of people who can steal a wand or a crystal ball and fence it on the black market significantly outweighs the number who can purchase it, for their own personal use, especially at the exorbitant prices that must be charged for a creation that one literally invests a part of one's soul into). Finally, you manage to spot a showroom full of pottery which isn't deep enough to account for the existence of a door set into the side of the same building, and upon closely inspecting the woodwork, you see where what appear to be natural weathering cracks actually form the component runes of a basic security spell, probably inactive for the day. Being fairly confident that whatever the ward is, it can't very well incinerate a person upon mere contact or the City Watch would have gotten a summons by now (some drunken fool is certain to stagger and lean against the door by accident, and thusly city ordinances limit the acceptible use of pre-emptive force in one's security measures), you knock thrice in accordance with Greborsk's instructions, and then wait.

Close to five minutes pass, and you're beginning to wonder whether anyone heard you, when finally the door half-opens. Seeing the pretty young face which appears in the crack and says "Yes?", you recollect that you've been hearing the name Kylara since you were born, and so this barely-more-than-adolescent girl almost certainly isn't her (there are mages vain enough to spend all their time shapeshifted into a younger and prettier body, but nothing about the artisan's reputation suggests this is the case with her). Most likely this is an assistant, apprentice, or simple household servant who's been assigned to perform routine tasks for the wizardess - though it's conceivable she could also be some manner of spy, simply pretending to be so....

[Patdragon]

His mind having drifted towards what to do later after waiting five minutes leaves him a little surprised when the door opens finally and the girl appears.
Looking the pretty young girl up and down briefly as if making up his mind who she is, he thinks very briefly before speaking as politely, but authoritative as he can.
"Why hello there pretty mistress I hope I didn't distract you from your duties, I've come to deliver a scroll into the hands of the artisan Kylara, may I ask if she is within residence currently so that I may finish my duties for the day?"
He takes a step forwards and holds the scroll in his hand.
"If it matters the scroll is sent from my mentor Greborsk and I believe she has been expecting it."

He waits expectantly for an answer, whilst trying to appear friendly to the girl.

[willpell]

"Ah, Greborsk, yes; come in sir," the maiden says, opening the door fully. "Dama Kylara is preoccupied with a craftwork at the moment; it will require about another two hours to complete. But you're welcome to wait, or I could take the scroll and deliver it to her directly when she emerges from seclusion." The girl's gaze wanders appraisingly up and down you (without her head moving, just a subtle glance), hesitating in the middle somewhere, probably at the sight of the twisted, clawlike hands with which you are holding the scroll. But she says nothing about it, simply waits for your response.

[Patdragon]

Two hours he thinks to himself... that was a bit longer than he had expected...what to do...in the end it came down to one thought, following orders he could have his free time after he delivered the scroll. Hmm... Is there no chance of just getting her attention for a few minutes, I'd prefer to give it to her directly, I got an ear lashing the last time I didn't hand something over to the person it was for, but two hours is a bit of a wait. Even so I guess I better wait if is mid stride of her work, these artist types can get into their flows as it were. May I wait inside, it might seem a bit odd if I just stood here for two hours."
If he is invited in he will continue the conversation a little.
"So what is your dama working on at current? anything interesting at all? and what about yourself, from your look perhaps a talented new apprentice?

[willpell]

(The rules don't clarify whether the 8 hours per day that you can spend making a magic item need to be continuous and uninterrupted, but I've always kind of leaned toward assuming so, though it's possible I'll change my mind on that eventually.)

"I'm afraid the process can't be interrupted. But yes, you can certainly wait in the study." She leads you into a sparsely furnished sitting-room containing primarily bookshelves and chairs, with one central table cluttered with still more books, half of them lying open. "Me? No, I'm just the Dama's housekeeper, and I'm afraid I have duties I still need to attend to. I trust you can preoccupy yourself while you wait." With minimal further pleasantries, she leaves you to entertain yourself. The books look inexpensive and don't appear to be warded; if so inclined, you could probably just take one or two of them, though of course this would be rude at best, and carry the risk of discovery. But it seems as though at least reading them while you wait is entirely appropriate.

A partial list of the books you can see:
* About thirty Citizen's Directories for various Imperial regions.
* A Tome of Clear Thought, obviously exhausted of its magic, though its various tips and tricks can still be of marginal benefit to your average Citizen. It's possible you could learn a thing or two from perusing the remaining text, but it's not likely.
* Serpentine: A Seduction. You've never heard of this, but the title suggests it's probably an erotic thriller, likely written to appeal to women. While not many can afford such things, the demand among those can seems limitless; it's known to be one of the most profitable sectors of the nascent printing industry, right up there with religious works and standardized collegiate textbooks.
* A book in Elvish. Let me know if you read that language.
* Rejecting the Evolution Myth - you know this to be a text popularized by the Church of Zarus, a human-supremacist group that is as influential among fringe elements as it is widely-disliked by the social mainstream.
* Touchstones Of Our World - a travel guide or the like, you'd assume.
* Romance of the Three and a Half Kingdoms
* Baby's First Spellbook - obviously this cannot have any actual spells in it.

[Patdragon]

No intention of stealing anything but definitely just going to do nothing in silence for two hour, he rummages through the books available seeing the title mentioned. Nothing really jumps out out at him except the tome of clear thought but he would save that to read when it was a new copy to read so he picks the one he thinks will most likely not get him to involved if he does like it, and starts to leaf through the Touchstones of Our World. Flipping through the pages he waits his stomach beginning to growl slightly after the first hour...Perhaps he should have gone to the bakery first...Ah well he'd go there straight after this to see if anything was left and if not off to see Sloxx and the gambling den where he worked. It was mid week so nothing major on the router just some minor dice and board games. it was the weekend where the gambling always had something special, This week I was some form of tiny animal fight. Perhaps he'd go find out the ratios and place a bet.

[willpell]

Touchstones of Our World proves to be a roundly fascinating book; it describes natural wonders from all over Whiteleaf, such as:
* The Liquid Rocks of Tesh-Matar - boulders made of a peculiar semisolid mineral which causes them to ooze slowly around as if animate, though long-term observation has proven that their motions simply repeat a complex geometric pattern, probably influenced by leylines or the planetary magnetic field.
* The Glowing Cliffs of Sytherea - transparent pink limestone cliffs which are lit from within by natural geothermic veins; the entry describes not only the cliffs themselves, but surrounding villages which profit from the tourism they attract, and an order of Knights who consider the Cliffs a symbol of the virtue they strive to uphold.
* Grindstone Lake (a freshwater inland sea formed in the caldera of an ancient volcano, whose surface is 70% covered with chunks of floating pumice of gradually decreasing size; the banks echo with a cacophony of small collisions as the waves dash the porous stones together, and occasionally a new chunk of pumice breaks free of the lake bottom and rises to the surface, perhaps bringing up a catch of unusual deepwater fish....or even sunken treasures from the long-destroyed city that once occupied the slopes of the then-dormant cone.
* The Pool of Frozen Souls - a small and perfectly hexagonal pond found on a nameless islet in the Inland Sound, the coordinates of which are given for anyone who knows navigational jargon, which retains a bitter cold temperature throughout all seasons despite the near-tropical temperature of the latitude, and is said to grant those who can endure the brunt of its freezing waters a permanent resilience against any lesser degree of chill.
* The Palace of Princess Argentine - one of the few architectural rather than natural sites the book mentions, this lovely edifice is pictured in great detail, although the text admits that this is a reproduction of an earlier account and that the author has never been there. The marvelous monument was ordered built by the Princess to commemorate her lover, who died attempting to bear their magically-conceived child; the inscription over the door is listed as reading "Should one guilty seek asylum here // all her sins are to be scoured clear // the sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs // and the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes".

[Patdragon]

The places in the book do seem like interesting places to one day try and see if he is ever near any of them and who knows he may one day decide to travel a bit just to see the world. For now though he was studying and if he could find out about more about his family tree and other dragon descended people it might give him an insight into his future. The past is after all a reflection of the future. So many things are repeated, but knowing whether they have been done before and whether they worked give you a better clue for your future. It is only when there is no history/or experience or you have bad results you should try new things, so researching first is always a good idea.

In today's example waiting and learning should pay off in the long run. Sure he could have passed this scroll on and had his whole afternoon free but if he is lucky he might be the first to see one of Kylaras works and now has a few places of note he could see in the future. Something new in the mundane.
His stomach rumbles a little, before he picks up the serpents book for a quick glance as he is still waiting.

[willpell]

You confirm that "Serpentine: A Seduction" is indeed every inch the bodice-ripper you suspected it would be, and are about to put it back, when your eye falls upon a curious line - "Stripping to the waist and anointing his blonde-furred chest with essential oils bearing the scent of jasmine, Dirk fell to his knees before the sacred seal. 'Oh great and noble Nagazar, Duke of Disappointment, lend me the power of your crushing embrace, that I might smite the foul Yuan-Ti and reclaim my beloved', he called out in supplication. Within the circle of power, a glistening jade energy began to arise, forming itself into the image of a great ogrelike serpent, who began to speak to the kneeling ranger in a sibilant voice thrumming with otherworldly power." Flipping around a few more pages, you eventually get your fill of the purple prose and give up on the book, lest you end up losing what little lunch you managed to get eaten this morning, but by then you've managed to gather the gist of the storyline - Dirk the ranger is trying to get his girlfriend Ophelia out of the clutches of a Yuan-Ti seducer named Prince Shezhor, and Nagazar is an ancient lord of the Yuan-Ti, who ascended to the cusp of godhead and was then assassinated, but his half-divine pseudo-ghost somehow persists on the verges of the world, and can offer power to those who bow and kotow before the proper arcane iconography, which summons him back into the realm of the living. It's an interesting bit of mythology, and surprisingly sophisticated plotting for a novel of these type, which usually are very broadly and shallowly written, to appeal to the preferences of female commonfolk of every race, creed, and country (since the printing industry is expensive enough to be only marginally profitable, and so they have to guarantee large numbers of sales on a book in order to justify its manufacture).

Of course, you've heard the term Yuan-Ti before; tales of these half-snake infiltrators, lurking among humanity and plotting its ruin in the name of their dark deity, all very theatrical and black-hat, circulate constantly among the middle class in various low-rent semi-rural districts across the human world (not just in the Empire from what you've read, but also in the neighboring Heather Plains Alliance and throughout the myriad kingdoms and duchies and principalities that have not yet been absorbed; they're said to be particularly popular in the rival nation of Cycadria, probably because it hosts a lot of the very same sweltering tropical jungles where these stories always seem to be set). The sagas of bloody sacrifice and sinister arcane rituals, usually taking place in a ziggurat or a snake-festooned temple of black stone, are thrilling and sensational and calculated to capture the public's imagination. They are also, according to a vast plurality of all the scholars who've ever looked into the subject, entirely fictional; no such species as the Yuan-Ti does or ever did actually exist. They're not like the enigmatic Lillendi or the dreaded Mind Flayers, where the whispered rumors persist in large part because of a downright suspicious lack of evidence that could either corroborate or disprove the witness's claims; the bardic authorship of some of the earliest tales is well-documented, and numerous men of great intelligence and erudition have sworn on the strength of their reputation that their divinations, inquiries, and empirical or academic research have all failed to detect any truth whatsoever in the Yuan-Ti legend.

[Patdragon]

Yuan-ti, the snakemen certainly an odd myth after the little he did read about their seduction apt for the type of book with all the convenient metaphors. The seal part did seem out of place perhaps the writer suddenly had a flair of actual inspiration and needed to get it in somewhere, perhaps they were thinking it apt with that whole "becoming one" being idea or they just liked the idea of adding the phrase a the spirit entered him. It was mostly drivel but perhaps he would look up this Nagazar later and see if the writing had made it up or it is partly researched, plus the thought of the Yuan-ti did remind him of a time he was insulted as being one because of his scaled hands. Still that resolved itself in the normal manner, brief fisticuffs and getting hawled off by the school teacher to do writing detentions.

Not really interested in the rest of the books he stands up and studies the room a little to see if there is anything else of interest.

[willpell]

You were engrossed in the reading for longer than you thought; just as you're coming to the conclusion that nothing else in the room is worth your time, you notice that a well-preserved elder has quietly stepped into view. "Ah, good evening, young man; I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long, but the Craft waits for no one, as you will hopefully someday see for yourself. I am told that you have something for me, from Master Greborsk? I am in fact Kylara, and I commend your dedication in wishing to verify that you delivered your message to me personally."

[Patdragon]

Looking towards the elder to see if it indeed is Kylara this time, he nods and decides at least the age is right and the hands do look like they have been working on something as the are now a little stained.
"I thank you for your commendation, I don't deliver things very often and having once had an item for me gone astray after it was not handed to me directly I make it a habit to hand things over directly.I hpe you have managed to finish what ever creation you are working on currently. I have only heard a little about what you make, may I ask what you were working on? It always seems so mysterious when crafters disappear into there labs to work.

Oh Here this is the scroll mentor Greborsk ask me to deliver and he apologizes for the small delay as he has been rather busy of late. "
He hands over the scroll trying to not make it to obvious about his hands, he must get his gloves fixed perhaps a trip there first after this before Sloxx.