Cob smiles at Dvark's offer of help. He straightens out his vest and adjusts his pack.

"It just doesn't look good," Cob says. "But I can make the sacrifice.'

He then looks over at the Annex.

"Yeah, better to spare a couple of minutes now if we need to go in there rather than come all the way back across town,' Cob says, walking towards the Annex. 

"I appreciate it. I'm happy to take a quick glance at the annex then."

investigate check to look for more info on the Pitchblende waste: 3 (5)

Walking toward the Annex, you notice that there is a person humming in front of the main door. He is a stocky dwarven man with slicked-back hair and a braided beard that had been looped around his neck due to its length. He is wearing a blue leather jerkin with the emblem of the Archive of Ages on his left breast. His hand is covered in thick leather gloves as he tended to a small plant decorating the front of the Annex. 

"Visitors and seekers of knowledge," he greets you with a grin. "Which collection do you seek? Pitchblende? The only pitchblende that I know is a type of mineral found long ago. It was found near a large basin of water, washed over from someplace deep in the mountain. You won't find any information about that here. This part of the Mantagard Annex is solely for the collection on the subject of philosophy and history. Geology, physics, and engineering could be found in the Ironside Tower. Librarian Kender won't allow you entry unless you have something substantial to trade with or is a member of the Archive, as per the regulation, but tell him that Librarian Horace gave you permission to look. I don't give a damn about a policy that hides knowledge from people and the more I irk Kender, the happier I get." 

"Well it isn't exactly what I came for but it'll do!" Dvark pulls out the list of sites he made back in Erdulon and shows it to the dwarf, "I'd like to look at some information on these sites, specifically the plague that toppled them."

"Huh, that's curious," the dwarf says. "From the description, that's Voslana-Ebraithe, an Ancient city ruin that was quarantined due to, as you said, a plague at the time. Didn't really connect it before, but it was quite curious that you mentioned pitchblende and then mentioned this city. Voslana-Ebraithe stood near a large basin of water where a mine once was. The mine had been submerged under water for a long time, but it was from the shore of the basin that the first and only pitchblende was found. It's a curious rock, pitchblende. It had no other purpose than fooling the founder. It had the same texture as coal but none of the combustibility, making it rather worthless. That pitchblende rock, as big as my fist, is currently in the Main Archive for study. So far, it's useless and no other mine had it."

"Well, come in, come in," he says as he ushers you in. "You can find more inside."

Entering the Annex, you are quite surprised to see not the many shelves you would expect from a library but pews and an altar. Behind the altar is a symbol of a triquetra within a triquetra, the symbol of the Mistress of Memories, the Goddess of Magic, Mystery, and Secret. The dwarven librarian leads you to a side chamber and presses a lever on the wall. With a jerk, the floor of the side chamber begins to slant down into a staircase. 

"Surprised?" He asks. "I was too when I first took position in this city. Different from any other Annex, the Mantagard Annex was built by a worshipper of the Mistress of Memories. There are a lot of symbolism to the Goddess of Secret here. Exhibit A is the altar back there and exhibit B is the hidden entrance to the library. Everyone knows that this cathedral is the Annex, but few know the real location of the library without being told to by the librarian in charge of the cathedral or the other three towers. The main complex is an underground ring that encircles the city. Here lies the entire collection of the Mantagard Annex."

Drexon follows Librarian Horace through into the cathedral and down the secret passage.

"A wonderful secret indeed", he says complimenting the Librarian who was obviously proud of the Annex's hidden nature.

"I wonder if you might be able to direct me to information regarding this symbol", he says, and appearing in his hand is a small illusory image of a tree with many grasping branches cradling people and cities. The same as the buckle the would be wizard thief was wearing.

I'd also like to request a hint. Where, if even, could i find something about magical transportation. You know, the instantaneus kind. I dabble but would like to know more about the limitation and risks.

Under the cathedral is a view that you would expect from a library. Rows upon rows of bookshelves line the wall from floor to ceiling. A small area has been freed in the middle for people to walk and study. Right above the staircase, you can see the word "Philosophy, History, Arts History" written in Common, Elvish, Dwarvish, Celestial, and Halfling. Along the ceiling, there is a metal rail with handles and chains. You notice some people dressed in blue robes pulling the chain and begin moving rapidly from one side of the room to another. 

"Hmm... Branches..." Horace takes a while to hum and haw before moving slightly away to a large desk right in front of the staircase. "Branches and roots had been colloquially known to represent a network. A similar analogy would be webs or strings. There had been several organizations in the past that had branches in their sigils or symbols. The Archive of Ages is one such organization with the little sapling branch. Hmm... We have a collection of symbols and their meanings in Aisle S-W-16. I'm not sure I have ever seen such a symbol myself, but perhaps your younger eyes can see something I missed. Notify me if you find anything so I can add it to the record and the collection can be updated with your interpretation or insights."

"Now, you," Horace says to Karm, "would be lucky to find anything of the type here. It would be easier to find a needle in a haystack than find such a book. All arcane subjects are stored near the Westmoor Tower. You can inquire about it with Librarian Mara, but I don't think you will find anything concrete. Such knowledge had been banned for quite some time now. I tried to get the law revoked, but alas nothing had been done about it. I do understand the interest in instant transportation. Walking the length of this Annex is murder. That's why we installed the zipline system. You just tug the chain and you will be under the Levitate spell. The chain will move along the rail, and when you are about to arrive, you just let go of the chain and the magic will stop. The histories of transportation or translocation magic, though, we have quite a lot. Aisle S-E-7. It's mainly the ones recorded during the War of the Best, but that's interesting enough a read."

{{Make an Investigation check with advantage, Drexon and Karm.}}

Drexon thanks Librarian Horace then makes his way via the levitating chains to S-W-16, and makes sure he is focussed during his search. He also offers to help Karm before or after his own search, providing focus to him as well

Investigation (with Advantage and Guidance): (5,13)+2+3=18

Eremoz watches as his friends are taken by chain off into the library. “Might as well ask since I’m here,” he mutters to himself. “Mr. Librarian, do you happen to have any books on runic magic?”

Cob flits along with the others, taking the library in more as a tourist than a scholar. The large book in is pack weighs on his mind but he suspects any interesting connection between that tome and those around him are down the road in his future somewhere.

{{With an 18...}}

Drexon, you go to the appropriate shelf and find dozens if not hundreds of books on symbols and their meaning.

You see one in particular titled "The Branch of the World"; it is a book concerning the symbolism of flora in many parts of the world. You skim through the book's contents and see many interpretations of leaves, branches, roots, and saplings in many organizational sigils or emblems. The Rangers Conclave has the mighty white oak tree as its official emblem. The Archive of Ages has a sapling being cradled.

After looking at the many symbols for a time, you notice something intriguing with one emblem. It is a black leafless tree with a dozen branches and roots. There is a large eye in the middle of the trunk and dozens of smaller eyes at the tip of each branch and root. When you refer to the symbol that the wizard rider had, you see a degree of similarity between them. The title of the page is "The Veistonii Hegemon". It is the forces that invaded Sabitah during the War in Heaven, the war that ended the Second Age. There is a good chance that the Residuum's founder is inspired by the Veistonii Hegemon's emblem. 

Eremoz, you notice Librarian Horace looking at you with curiosity before nodding. "Yes, of course," he says. "Not many people are interested in runic languages and magic anymore. The one using the collection is mostly crafters and jewelers, but even they start to lose interest after a while. Runes are a very complex language to understand. Powerful and nearly everlasting, yes, but complicated. I don't recommend going through any collection in runic magic by yourself to avoid danger. Head to the Westmoor Hub and look for Librarian Mara. She will know more about this than I do. Take the zipline and drop when you find a large table like mine."

Drexon makes his way back to the Librarian, content that his search proved fruitful.

”I see similarity between the symbol I showed you and and that of the Veistonii Hegemon. Could you provide any insight on them?”, he says to Horace.

Eremoz grabs the chain and makes hIs way to the large table. He begins milling about the area. “Umm… Hello?”

"The Veistonii Hegemon was vast," Horace says. "You could say that they are a multiplanar nation. As you might know, before the Ancients disappeared, there was a conflict that changed the very landscape of Sabitah. The main theory was that there was once a supercontinent and the War in Heaven, the war between the Ancients and the Children of Tuada against the Veistonii Hegemon, split that supercontinent into the continents we know today. It was a time of great changes. It was said that ships flew in the air. Dragons ruled the sky unopposed.

"We have little information about the events during that time, but we've gained insights on the Hegemon by following the little that we found on military communique and scars on the land. They are vicious aberrations. Monstrosities that turned up in our very nightmares. And most of all, they are many and almost endless. Some surviving records at the time told of a sea of gangly aberrations covered in black leather with hands shaped like spears. There are records of massive flesh golems rending walls of fortresses. There are even records of a great fire that rendered what is currently known as the State of Nylmas a desert. They are insatiable invaders that wouldn't stop until they subjugate the entirety of Sabitah. The Children of Tuada escaped their home plane due to the Hegemon's invasion. The people of Sabitah would have to do the same if not for the combined power of Curiosity and Tuada. 

"When their leader, the God Emperor Strax the Exalted, was struck down by Curiosity and Tuada, the Hegemon broke and fled back to the realm they came for. It was theorized that the Ancients followed them to rid their threats once and for all, but we have no information to prove such a theory."

Eremoz, when you reach the Westmoor Hub, you see a woman wearing a long flowy blue dress sitting on a throne of books. She looks raggedy as if she hadn't moved from that spot for a couple of days. Her red hair is a mess of tangled knots and the thick glasses in her eyes seem to droop ever so slightly before her hands pushed them back up the bridge of her nose every once in a while. She doesn't show any sign of responding to your greeting. 

It takes quite a little while before the woman's rapid page-turning comes to an end. She slams the book shut and finally looks in your direction, a bit startled that someone had appeared out of nowhere but regains her bearing quickly. 

"Oh, hello," Librarian Mara says. "Visitors. Don't have visitors often. Why would they do that? What can I help you with?" 

{{A bit late to the party once again}}

Investigation: 22 + 3

Karm, you look through the shelves and find a couple of mentions in several books on instant teleportation. The first is the ability to traverse a short distance quickly; a wizard during the War of the Best did it to escape an ambush but lost their arm due to complications with the spell. Strangely enough, you notice that the sigil left behind by the casting reminds you of the residue left behind by the Meanwhile. It seems to go hand in hand, but something is still missing if you want to traverse further distances.

The second is the mention of the Ausvic, the God of War, Peace, and Judgement, who is capable of traversing a large distance by turning into lightning for a brief moment. A thunderous rumble always accompanied his arrival. The third is also divine in nature concerning speculation on how to split the fabric of spacetime. The Braveheart was said to have cracked the code to do it and used it often during the War of the Best to rescue some people. So far, no mortal had been able to replicate such feats.

The fourth and the fifth are something that is widely used currently. It is a circle of teleportation or gate of teleportation that is used to transport small objects. Larger objects had been tested, but the object either shrunk at the destination or break on arrival. The object itself cannot be alive or biological in nature. Something with the spell, or perhaps with the nature of the Cradle that prevented teleportation magic, caused anything biological in nature to combust or wither upon arrival. The most successful attempt to send something alive through the circle of teleportation was the case of a baby climbing into a crate that was about to be sent. The baby survived but succumbed to madness when they grew up. It was postulated that the circle of teleportation is an incomplete spell that instead of instantly sending an object from one place to another, the spell transported the object briefly through a demiplane as a shortcut. 

"That is interesting, my thanks", Drexon says to Librarian Horace.

He looks up at the chains, and smiles.

"It seems to me your chain system is a very practical way of getting around, might we use it to go to Westmoor?", he asks.

{{ He doesn't know Eremoz went there anyway as he had left to do his research beforehand }}

“The other guy sent me here.” Eremoz points the direction he came from. “Looking for information on runes. Specifically, I’m looking at how to apply them and ensure they are stable.” He points to the crudely scratched rune on his boot. “I’ve dabbled a bit, but I have the feeling this won’t work in the long term.”