One Day at the Scale Library

Schneider is here in the Library, doing a bit of research of his own, he's got some things he needs to investigate, and he's inclined to check here before going out into the open world, given the Palace Lander threat. The threat down here is much less: The entrance his hidden in an unassuming off-branching corridor from the Inner Cloister of the Igneous Temple. Locks, complicated ones, very heavy doors, and heavyset 'clergy' keep this place very much off the beaten path. You have to want to come here, it is not a place you get to by accident, and even with all the non-Scale people in the Tower, the Library, itself, generally is restricted to Scalies except by arrangement.

Arrangements aren't /hard/ to make, coordinating with Schneider to be there and unlock the doors, and maybe an escort down because the path is twisty.

The dome-shaped library is gray stone, and is composed of two levels, each fulled with dark wooden shelves and lamp-lit reading nooks. At the center of the first floor and overlooked by the circular balcony of the second is the reception desk, where the archivist and their assistants tend to the day-to-day operations of the library. Above, a brass chandelier hangs from the dome's zenith and casts a warm glow across the mural painted across the ceiling. Stand lamps in the corners of both floors keep them from becoming too dark, though their flames are contained behind glass to keep the tomes safe from accidental incineration.

    Naniko doesn't have an appointment. Shifting from shadow to shadow, she makes her way through the corridors--a decidedly safer place to play the sneaky sneak than in an area filled with monsters. Worst they'll likely do is question her and take her where she wants to go or throw her out, leading her to try again. Darkness envelops her as she ducks into one shadow, hiding her from a passing set of eyes, then tries to follow her like fog as she rushes from one to the next, quickly dissipating into normal areas of light and shadow.
    Finally, Naniko finds the door she's looking for. A quick overview of the locks inspires her curiosity, as these are impressive things. She draws a fine needle from one of her cloth bracers. She works at the locks for a few moments before realizing that this is beyond her. She slips the needle away and stands in front of the door. Raising a fist, she pounds on the heavy, locked door.

A porter opens the door, looks Naniko over - probably including an Inspect - and asks, "Can you lower your hood, please?" It's almost certainly a Crown check - that's become a known issue by now. When the fellow is satisfied, he'll admit Naniko, wondering, "Are you looking for the Library? I'll show you the way." And it is a slightly convoluted path, but Naniko will untimately be led to the Library, where Schneider is doing his research. "Visitor," the fellow announces, and Schneider looks up.

Smiling, he calls out, "Welcome to the Scale Library. It's a bit ... well, out of the way is an understatement, but that decision happened before my time. I'm Schneider, by the way, the Librarian."

    Naniko lowers her hood when asked to. She follows quietly until the porter calls out to Schneider. Their paths seem to part at that point, and she's left under the librarian's watchful eye. She bows respectfully. "Hello, Mister Schneider," she says. "My normal library is...under new management," she continues, hesitantly. "Would you mind if I poke around the tomes and such here?" She holds up her arms, palms facing him. "I promise my hands are dry."

Schneider smiles warmly at Naniko's greeting, and says, "Please feel free to look around. We have one of the rarer collections in the game." 'Under new management' draws a sigh, and he says, "Are you guys planning on retaking it any time soon? Let us know if we can help. Many of us in Scale are champing at the bit for a good, coordinated go at the Palace Landers. We gave them something to think about at Eas, and I'd like to throw them off Fourland entirely. I'm not sure how they did what they did, but if they did it, there's got to be a way to -un-do it."

    Naniko is about to break off the conversation and go to her studying, but Schneider begins anew with a conversation that requires response. She hangs her head slightly and shakes it in the negative. "I'm afraid I'm not particularly well informed about such things," she confesses to the librarian. "I'm putting all my effort into not dying. I haven't yet, and I really don't want to start, now more than ever."

Schneider nods gravely about not dying. "I suppose the Palace Landers have taught us a bit. About why not to die, if nothing else. It didn't seem /particularly/ bad, other than the inconvenience, but now I wonder what's missing." He can only shrug. "And that's without getting crowned on respawn. That's particularly heinous." For those from Fourland.

As far as not being informed, he sighs sympathetically. "You and me both, then. They keep the rank and file in the dark. I suppose it keeps secret plans secret. But it also means we can't help or offer suggestions." That's his main beef, anyhow.

"By the way, what are you looking for, I may be able to help you find it?"

    Naniko listens, but only responds to the last sentence. "I found an...easter egg, maybe? Someone said the world may have made it specifically for me, but I don't know. Under a lake, there's a little shrine thing. I often go there to be alone. Once he suggested it may have been created for me, it got me curious, so I'm doing research to see if I can figure out anything about things like that happening."

Schneider arches a brow, nods slowly. "Interesting. A place in the world created for one individual." He considers the idea, and finally says, "It seems strange, but I don't know much about games. This one or others. Please feel free to look around, and if I can help you, please let me know." He bows his head and will gesture to the library as a whole. "I hope you can find what you seek."

    Naniko bows her head in an echo of Schneider's gesture. "Thank you," she says. She moves to the books and begins perusing titles. Every so often, she pulls a book from a shelf and opens it, reading a page before putting it back on the shelf from whence it came.