Ecko parts ways with his mechanical beholder and trots up to the party after giving a more-than-thorough and perhaps irritating instruction on the things it could do to Valor and the appropriate command words tied to them. Among other functions, the thingy could light up, repeat a few programmed words, and - best of all - squiggle around like an actual Beholder would.
“House of Binder, right?”Ecko turns his head and points in the direction of the building nearby. He begins to bouncily step into the building, apparently very excited to explore the less interdimensional parts of Candlekeep. Valor was easy enough to find. Maybe the other one will be, too? Perhaps they should ask where the selection of art books is?
The House of the Binder was a massive library. A sign on the wall described the following: A seeker can request a copy of any book or scroll in the library, and the work of creating copies is performed by scribes in the Houser. The entire text must be replicated, since the Avowed insist on maintaining the scholarly intent and integrity of the original author.
Nonmagical Tomes. The copying and binding of a typical book in Candlekeep’s library generally costs 100 gp or so (double for a translated version), though large books incur an additional charge. The manufacture of a facsimile takes weeks or even months for large tomes, so those who desire such a work must commission it in writing, provide payment in advance, and then return to the front gates to pick up the book or pay an additional price to have it delivered.
Spellbooks. A copy of a spellbook costs 50 gp per level of spells contained within it. For example, a spellbook that contains two 3rd-level spells, four 2nd-level spells, and six 1st-level spells (20 spell levels total) costs 1,000 gp to copy over to a new book.
Works of the Avowed. Each year, Candlekeep releases a small book stamped with the sigil of the library and credited to “The Avowed of Candlekeep.” These limited editions contain short essays, excerpts, and other writings relevant to a particular theme or subject, such as gardening, gemstones, longevity, or transformative curses. They are sold at the keep and by Candlekeep representatives in large cities for between 50 gp and 100 gp per book; speculators often acquire multiple copies in anticipation of a high resale value.
Raastin's eyes bulge at the massive collection of books as inside his head pinball wizard sounds click, whir, bang and bell as his cash register brain quickly calculates how much coin lies in front of him. "Quite impressive, quite impressive indeed!" he mutters aloud.
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Corrin Kettlewhistle: Halfling Life Cleric (Curse of Strahd) Kip Dalton: Human Lore Bard (Waterdeep Dragon Heist) Debauchery Dalliance: Half-Drow Oath of Conquest Paladin (White Plume Mountain)
A few of the Seekers and Avowed look in our general direction. Eralynn holds up her sketchbook with the word YALERION on it, like a limo driver at the airport waiting to pick someone up. Eventually, a young scholar approaches. "Hello. I am Yalerion. Is there something I can do for you all?" he asks with much curiosity. He is friendly, and handsome. "I like your sign, my dear." Eralynn mouths the words Thank you!
Garmus steps up to the scholar "The book ya brought here tried ta kill us and we're needin' ta gather some information. Where did ya get that book, boy?" He asks, leaning in a bit.
Eralynn waves sheepishly at Yalerion, and "giggles" shyly. She swallows so hard you can actually hear it.
"Tried t--! Oh my! This is indeed awful news!" he said, looking both at you and Eralynn as he speak. "Well, let me remember. Ah, yes. About ten days ago, I bought the book I thought was Mazfroth’s Mighty Digressions from a market stall in the Wide - it's a large and crowded marketplace in the Upper City of Baldur’s Gate. I remember that the stall’s name had “dune” in it, but I don't remember anything else about the place. The Wide was too noisy and hectic for my liking. I arrived at Candlekeep five days ago and intend to stay for five more while I do research and other exciting things. What did the book turn into, you say, when it attacked you?"
You notice that Eralynn is sweating and has a dreamy look on her face.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Raastin looks at Eralynn, blinks twice and shrugs. To the others, he groans, "I'm not going to The Gate. I just got inside this place." As someone who has trafficked in the black markets of Faerun, though, the rogue thinks back to his travels to see if he remembers a place with the name "dune" in it.
History: 11
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Corrin Kettlewhistle: Halfling Life Cleric (Curse of Strahd) Kip Dalton: Human Lore Bard (Waterdeep Dragon Heist) Debauchery Dalliance: Half-Drow Oath of Conquest Paladin (White Plume Mountain)
Eralynn waves sheepishly at Yalerion, and "giggles" shyly. She swallows so hard you can actually hear it.
"Tried t--! Oh my! This is indeed awful news!" he said, looking both at you and Eralynn as he speak. "Well, let me remember. Ah, yes. About ten days ago, I bought the book I thought was Mazfroth’s Mighty Digressions from a market stall in the Wide - it's a large and crowded marketplace in the Upper City of Baldur’s Gate. I remember that the stall’s name had “dune” in it, but I don't remember anything else about the place. The Wide was too noisy and hectic for my liking. I arrived at Candlekeep five days ago and intend to stay for five more while I do research and other exciting things. What did the book turn into, you say, when it attacked you?"
You notice that Eralynn is sweating and has a dreamy look on her face.
"Curious..." Ysabell mused to herself after hearing the man's tale. "It seems you may have purchased your book from the same exact place as the other woman we spoke to. If I had to guess, somebody wanted to stir up trouble... or target someone in particular within the Keep." Pausing as she thought on what she knew of Baldur's Gate, she continued. "What kind of book is Mazfroth's Mighty Dig- Oh Eralynn, are you quite alright. You seem a bit ill or nervous."
Garmus sees Eralynn, an idea forming at her calf-eyed stare. "It turned into some warped, hell-hated bat creature." He nudges Eralynn. "Scribble him a picture Lynny."
Eralynn jolts out of her swoon and nearly drops her pencil. She grabs it, nearly dropping her backpack, and she "laughs" nervously. She looks at Garmus, nods, and begins sketching the ectoplasmic creature. At times, she looks up and smiles sheepishly at Yalerion.
"Good heavens. What kind of monstrosity is THAT. And..is that a little heart?"
Ecko takes a fleeting glance at the array of spell scrolls offered before letting out an irritated sound of machinery snapping - the prices. They were exorbitant! Ecko pulls out his own little notebook full of spells and marks down some spells for future reference. He would be interested in purchasing some soon.
Completely oblivious to Erelynn's interaction with the - in Ecko's opinion - overly friendly Yalerion. He winds a message on his sonograph. "Should we check with the registry about any books coming from that location at all? I'm not eager to go back, but we can certainly hazard a guess on which books are truly ectoplasmic terrors in disguise. Aren't they fascinating?" he quickly babbles, eyes widening at Erelynn's drawing. "We can even give them a picture-perfect reference as to what they look like! Perhaps this place doesn't even have books of your caliber, Erelynn. Maybe you should be the one contributing to them!"
Eralynn jolts out of her swoon and nearly drops her pencil. She grabs it, nearly dropping her backpack, and she "laughs" nervously. She looks at Garmus, nods, and begins sketching the ectoplasmic creature. At times, she looks up and smiles sheepishly at Yalerion.
"Good heavens. What kind of monstrosity is THAT. And..is that a little heart?"
Eralynn turned red like a cherry.
Ysabell raised an eyebrow and smirked at Eralynn's display before returning to Yalerion. "Well that's what we're trying to figure out. Can you tell us why you bought that particular book in that particular part of the city? From what we can gather, it's an odd place to go book shopping..." As she waited for a reply, she watched the man closely, seeing if he might be hiding something.
"Should we check with the registry about any books coming from that location at all? I'm not eager to go back, but we can certainly hazard a guess on which books are truly ectoplasmic terrors in disguise. Aren't they fascinating? We can even give them a picture-perfect reference as to what they look like! Perhaps this place doesn't even have books of your caliber, Eralynn. Maybe you should be the one contributing to them!"
Eralynn wrapped her arm around Ecko, giving him the warmest of hugs.
"Well that's what we're trying to figure out. Can you tell us why you bought that particular book in that particular part of the city? From what we can gather, it's an odd place to go book shopping..."
"It just seemed like an interesting read." he confessed, truthfully. You detect no deception, other than the notion you're getting that he's purposely enjoying the effect he's having over our young mute bard. "The Old Ones are fascinating!"
"Well, looks like we are takin' a trip to the Wide, huh?" Garmus says to the group. "Haven't been there in awhile. Last time was pickin' up a nasty little bugger that stole from a merchant friend of mine. He tried to cut off ma beard and came up a few fingers short." He recalls as he strokes said beard.
Eralynn nods vaguely and dreamily in agreement with Garmus, and turns to walk away, her head turning last. She nearly trips on herself, and when she does, turns back to Yalerion and sheepishly waves, giggling, and trying to play it off the best she can. Yalerion waves back and she nearly has a fainting spell, but she catches herself and sticks with the group.
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"What's not to like?" He says, chest puffed out a bit.
Eralynn wrapped an arm around Garmus.
I totally agree!
Over at the House of the Binder, the one called Yalerion could be anywhere? I wonder, how would we find him?
Ecko parts ways with his mechanical beholder and trots up to the party after giving a more-than-thorough and perhaps irritating instruction on the things it could do to Valor and the appropriate command words tied to them. Among other functions, the thingy could light up, repeat a few programmed words, and - best of all - squiggle around like an actual Beholder would.
“House of Binder, right?” Ecko turns his head and points in the direction of the building nearby. He begins to bouncily step into the building, apparently very excited to explore the less interdimensional parts of Candlekeep. Valor was easy enough to find. Maybe the other one will be, too? Perhaps they should ask where the selection of art books is?
Eralynn nodded.
The House of the Binder was a massive library. A sign on the wall described the following: A seeker can request a copy of any book or scroll in the library, and the work of creating copies is performed by scribes in the Houser. The entire text must be replicated, since the Avowed insist on maintaining the scholarly intent and integrity of the original author.
Nonmagical Tomes. The copying and binding of a typical book in Candlekeep’s library generally costs 100 gp or so (double for a translated version), though large books incur an additional charge. The manufacture of a facsimile takes weeks or even months for large tomes, so those who desire such a work must commission it in writing, provide payment in advance, and then return to the front gates to pick up the book or pay an additional price to have it delivered.
Spellbooks. A copy of a spellbook costs 50 gp per level of spells contained within it. For example, a spellbook that contains two 3rd-level spells, four 2nd-level spells, and six 1st-level spells (20 spell levels total) costs 1,000 gp to copy over to a new book.
Works of the Avowed. Each year, Candlekeep releases a small book stamped with the sigil of the library and credited to “The Avowed of Candlekeep.” These limited editions contain short essays, excerpts, and other writings relevant to a particular theme or subject, such as gardening, gemstones, longevity, or transformative curses. They are sold at the keep and by Candlekeep representatives in large cities for between 50 gp and 100 gp per book; speculators often acquire multiple copies in anticipation of a high resale value.
Raastin's eyes bulge at the massive collection of books as inside his head pinball wizard sounds click, whir, bang and bell as his cash register brain quickly calculates how much coin lies in front of him. "Quite impressive, quite impressive indeed!" he mutters aloud.
Corrin Kettlewhistle: Halfling Life Cleric (Curse of Strahd)
Kip Dalton: Human Lore Bard (Waterdeep Dragon Heist)
Debauchery Dalliance: Half-Drow Oath of Conquest Paladin (White Plume Mountain)
Garmus looks around for someone they can talk to. "Anyone around here?" he says loudly. "We're lookin' fer someone by the name of Yalerion."
A few of the Seekers and Avowed look in our general direction. Eralynn holds up her sketchbook with the word YALERION on it, like a limo driver at the airport waiting to pick someone up. Eventually, a young scholar approaches. "Hello. I am Yalerion. Is there something I can do for you all?" he asks with much curiosity. He is friendly, and handsome. "I like your sign, my dear." Eralynn mouths the words Thank you!
Garmus steps up to the scholar "The book ya brought here tried ta kill us and we're needin' ta gather some information. Where did ya get that book, boy?" He asks, leaning in a bit.
Eralynn waves sheepishly at Yalerion, and "giggles" shyly. She swallows so hard you can actually hear it.
"Tried t--! Oh my! This is indeed awful news!" he said, looking both at you and Eralynn as he speak. "Well, let me remember. Ah, yes. About ten days ago, I bought the book I thought was Mazfroth’s Mighty Digressions from a market stall in the Wide - it's a large and crowded marketplace in the Upper City of Baldur’s Gate. I remember that the stall’s name had “dune” in it, but I don't remember anything else about the place. The Wide was too noisy and hectic for my liking. I arrived at Candlekeep five days ago and intend to stay for five more while I do research and other exciting things. What did the book turn into, you say, when it attacked you?"
You notice that Eralynn is sweating and has a dreamy look on her face.
Raastin looks at Eralynn, blinks twice and shrugs. To the others, he groans, "I'm not going to The Gate. I just got inside this place." As someone who has trafficked in the black markets of Faerun, though, the rogue thinks back to his travels to see if he remembers a place with the name "dune" in it.
History: 11
Corrin Kettlewhistle: Halfling Life Cleric (Curse of Strahd)
Kip Dalton: Human Lore Bard (Waterdeep Dragon Heist)
Debauchery Dalliance: Half-Drow Oath of Conquest Paladin (White Plume Mountain)
Nothing comes to mind, chief!
"Curious..." Ysabell mused to herself after hearing the man's tale. "It seems you may have purchased your book from the same exact place as the other woman we spoke to. If I had to guess, somebody wanted to stir up trouble... or target someone in particular within the Keep." Pausing as she thought on what she knew of Baldur's Gate, she continued. "What kind of book is Mazfroth's Mighty Dig- Oh Eralynn, are you quite alright. You seem a bit ill or nervous."
Zoldier’s Curse of the Crimson Throne: DM/ Redii || Zoldier's Strange Aeon's: DM
Nothing comes to mind about the Stall, but it appears the books were purchased at the same place from the same stall.
Eralynn, with a dumb silly smile on her face looking at Yalerion, nods slowly and dreamily.
Garmus sees Eralynn, an idea forming at her calf-eyed stare. "It turned into some warped, hell-hated bat creature." He nudges Eralynn. "Scribble him a picture Lynny."
Eralynn jolts out of her swoon and nearly drops her pencil. She grabs it, nearly dropping her backpack, and she "laughs" nervously. She looks at Garmus, nods, and begins sketching the ectoplasmic creature. At times, she looks up and smiles sheepishly at Yalerion.
"Good heavens. What kind of monstrosity is THAT. And..is that a little heart?"
Eralynn turned red like a cherry.
Ecko takes a fleeting glance at the array of spell scrolls offered before letting out an irritated sound of machinery snapping - the prices. They were exorbitant! Ecko pulls out his own little notebook full of spells and marks down some spells for future reference. He would be interested in purchasing some soon.
Completely oblivious to Erelynn's interaction with the - in Ecko's opinion - overly friendly Yalerion. He winds a message on his sonograph. "Should we check with the registry about any books coming from that location at all? I'm not eager to go back, but we can certainly hazard a guess on which books are truly ectoplasmic terrors in disguise. Aren't they fascinating?" he quickly babbles, eyes widening at Erelynn's drawing. "We can even give them a picture-perfect reference as to what they look like! Perhaps this place doesn't even have books of your caliber, Erelynn. Maybe you should be the one contributing to them!"
Ysabell raised an eyebrow and smirked at Eralynn's display before returning to Yalerion. "Well that's what we're trying to figure out. Can you tell us why you bought that particular book in that particular part of the city? From what we can gather, it's an odd place to go book shopping..." As she waited for a reply, she watched the man closely, seeing if he might be hiding something.
Zoldier’s Curse of the Crimson Throne: DM/ Redii || Zoldier's Strange Aeon's: DM
"Should we check with the registry about any books coming from that location at all? I'm not eager to go back, but we can certainly hazard a guess on which books are truly ectoplasmic terrors in disguise. Aren't they fascinating? We can even give them a picture-perfect reference as to what they look like! Perhaps this place doesn't even have books of your caliber, Eralynn. Maybe you should be the one contributing to them!"
Eralynn wrapped her arm around Ecko, giving him the warmest of hugs.
"Well that's what we're trying to figure out. Can you tell us why you bought that particular book in that particular part of the city? From what we can gather, it's an odd place to go book shopping..."
"It just seemed like an interesting read." he confessed, truthfully. You detect no deception, other than the notion you're getting that he's purposely enjoying the effect he's having over our young mute bard. "The Old Ones are fascinating!"
"Well, looks like we are takin' a trip to the Wide, huh?" Garmus says to the group. "Haven't been there in awhile. Last time was pickin' up a nasty little bugger that stole from a merchant friend of mine. He tried to cut off ma beard and came up a few fingers short." He recalls as he strokes said beard.
Eralynn nods vaguely and dreamily in agreement with Garmus, and turns to walk away, her head turning last. She nearly trips on herself, and when she does, turns back to Yalerion and sheepishly waves, giggling, and trying to play it off the best she can. Yalerion waves back and she nearly has a fainting spell, but she catches herself and sticks with the group.