Meriele's eyes dance with wonder as her gaze falls on the dusty tomes. She has never imagined such a treasure trove! She can't even begin to think or dream of what secrets and mystical knowledge must be contained in some of those books. Lost truths of the Big City, clear and crystalline, tying everything together, so that all the hardship of the residents of the Big City's miserable existence makes complete sense in light of a world and a civilization that has passed away and been forgotten. Revelations! Answers! She knows there's something out there, she just doesn't know what, or where.

But she curbs her enthusiasm and follows Xilbella's instructions. She begins her walk to secure the area, looking carefully for vines or for anything that might be useful in blocking the window.

Perception: 16

Dranon nods at Xilbella in acknowledgment, even as others look to board up the window. “I’ll scout around to see if there are anymore vines inside.” Before doing so, he takes the time to cast Detect Magic, as Xilbella had asked.  Once completed, he begins his patrol to secure the area.

Soren too is grinning. One more great catch of his lifetime, a great legacy for his peoples, to be sure. Now it must be secured. He nods at Xilbella, a knowing look between them. The hard part is yet to come. He begins to sweep the area, looking for any signs of magic, as he does, he gently reminds his companions. "She didn't mean to split up, stay together and keep close to the main group. If something comes at you, pull back and lure it towards us so we can envelope it... And remember, if we do fight in here - no fire." 

Luna whistles with excitement has he jumps down from the window and sees all of the books, "I good find to say the least." Heeding Soren's words, Luna scans the room for any other threats while staying close to his allies.

Perception: 16

The top floor seems relatively safe, though the window is still open. There are no hints of green or sickly brown in the place, and grey seems to be the dominating colour. As Meriele looks about, she doesn't see much besides shelves, but she notes that the shelves are not fully secured to the ground, as evidenced by several that have fallen or collapsed over the years. If one could be pushed in front of the window, it would cover it quite nicely. Dranon's gaze detects no magic, but he understands that this doesn't mean there is none in the area. Some magical books or spells have utterly mundane bindings, but hide magical secrets, smothered behind leather and vellum.

Dranon has seen many things in his short time with the Grey Guard.  Often, disturbing things.  Including party members in close proximity claimed by the Gut with not a sound or any signs of struggle.  Regardless of one’s experience or metal, it can be unnerving.  So, Xilbella’s words resonant when she asks the group not to stray too for from one another.

With firearm drawn, Dranon carefully patrols the area, looking for weeds and other dangers.  As well as any other egresses into or out of the building. All the while keeping an eye out for anything obviously magical, as well as anything seemingly mundane but of interest.  Be it tome, container, item or other. 

Perception 17

(If he finds nothing, he makes his way back to the others. “I found nothing. The area looks secure. Nothing obviously magical to report, either.”)

(occ: Note sure why roll message came up after editing text to correct spelling and syntax? Original roll was actually a 22)

(If you edit the text above a roll, it will reroll it. It's just how DDB works, I guess. In general, it's best not to edit posts with rolls, to be safe. I'll trust you on this one, but don't make a habit of it.)

Dranon finds a number of other windows, around half a dozen, though about half are blocked off by debris or collapsed shelves. One even opens up into the brick wall of the building right next to it. The area is still clear of weeds. He finds no obviously magical items, and upon skimming through a few texts, he discovers a bit of a problem. Time has not treated these books well, and they are almost completely illegible. Often, entire chunks of pages crumble to dust under his fingers, and those that survive are patchy, covered in tears and holes. Evidently the books in this area weren't meant to remain here for as long as they did. Dranon recalls tales of how in the Great Library, there were often hexes put in place to ensure the survival of the books, though in most places they had failed, leaving the tomes as useless as the ones here. He doubts that this area ever had such magical safeguards, or if it did he cannot see where they may have once originated from.

(ooc: Gotcha. I was not aware editing text could impact one’s roll. I appreciate the trust.  I noticed DragonDenn has used GameLog. I’ll have for read up on that.)

Examining the bookshelves, Meriele says to the others, "I don't know how sturdy these still are... but we could move one in front of the broken window to block it."

Soren looks carefully at the books. "Perhaps mending can preserve some of these? Let us not open them, or disturb them in any manner which could damage them until we have done some testing. All of you, help me unload this shelf - it appears to have books already in an advanced state of decay. Clear the shelves and help me move it over to cover the window we entered from. If you see passages or doors to other parts of the building, let us secure them in a similar fashion, until we have had a chance to clear the building properly. We can use this space as our base camp. This gutrun has only just begun." Soren would work with the others to empty and then quietly move the shelf to block the window. Once done, they will brace it with another shelf perpendicular (like a 'T'). 

(( How many floors are above us, or are we on the top floor? ))

As the others secure the entrance window, Dranon begins securing the other windows he found in the same fashion. All the while, being extremely careful not to damage any books (or anything else for that matter) .  

(Anyone moving bookshelves, make an athletics check. You are on the top floor, the buildings are less... amalgamous here, near the more sensible outskirts.)

Meriele Athletics: 13 

Athletics = 8

Athletics  14

The issue is less moving the bookshelves, as it is keeping them intact as you move them. However, you all manage quite nicely, setting up bookshelves in a 'T' pattern in front of each window, as Soren indicates. Soon, every window is blocked off, and the building is sealed from the outside. Hopefully, those weed-walkers you saw ambling towards you earlier have lost interest, now that you're all blocked off, though there's no way to know for sure.

Luna looks at the group's handiwork.  He would've helped if he could, but brawns was not a strong suit of his and he didn't want to get in the way or cause problems like earlier.  "Well that's one problem handled.  Soren, you said something about a spell that could possibly fix up these books?"

Taking a moment for breath, Soren gives Luna a thoughtful stare, then stands upright. "Correct. The spell is called mending, but it is very particular. If a book is basically intact - meaning the written and illustrated works aren't themselves already distorted by age, and only the pages and bindings - the paper, wood, vellum, wax, and hard leather - if only those constituent components are in a state of decay, it might work. There's no certainty, and it may only be useful on the ones only mildly damaged by age and exposure. We'll have to experiment. Best not to touch any books, just leave them on the shelves as they are and I'll see what works. Worse case scenario, I mend the books but we lose the contents - though we still get to keep perfectly good blank books. Still not a useless outcome there." He stops a moment, a thought crossing his mind. I'm rambling. "At any rate, let's setup a camp, watch order, and plan of approach for this gutrun before we do anything else. Everyone, be on the lookout for faded small square placards with overhead maps drawn upon them. They tend to be made from wood and are generally mounted on walls at just below eye level near doors, and may present with faded paint. They were miniature wayfinder maps common in city that once was, and may give us an insight into how this building's interior is laid out." 

Having only used Mending primarily to repair weapons, equipment and similar, Dranon listens to and watches Soren intently, in order to lend a hand with trying to preserve the deteriorating tomes.

(What's the plan from here? Are you venturing below, trying to mend the books, setting up some sort of camp, or what?)