Waysoftheearth's Hinterlands PBP
Moderators: ehiker133, waysoftheearth
"Finally," Flewellen mutters to himself, "I hint of good luck.". Flewellen looks through the book for identifying marks--no one would miss it if he took the old, alchemist's journal into his possession would they? Back and forth wonders.waysoftheearth wrote:Flewellen; The Traders' Concourse
The bent old librarian shuffles off in the darkness muttering something harmless to himself, leaving Flewellen to begin his long and tedious search.
He begins with those tomes that are piled knee and waist high on the tiny cramped floor space, examining first the title of each tome and trying to sort them into those that might be of interest against those that might not.
However, he soon finds that at least half are penned in scripts he is just passingly or wholly unfamiliar with. These he shifts into a new pile for later scrutiny. Of those he can read right away, many are in ancient tongues or very obscure hands, and make for difficult reading. It is painfully slow going, but as the hours wane Flewellen gradually moves through those ledgers that begun upon the floor, and onto the lower shelves of the first of five tall bookcases that surround him.
His eyes pass over scores of dusty old tomes detailing the histories of lands and families and expeditions, or treaties or accounts of battles, political fortunes, or bizarre bestiaries from far away lands. There are manuals detailing the construction of armour, fortifications, siege engines, mine shafts, and unfathomable apparatus. There is poetry and song intended for forgotten courts to be sung by Men and Elves and Dwarfs. This goes on and on and on, but still he searches...
At last Flewellen comes across what appears to be an alchemist's journal detailing experiments in the identification of various metals which, after some long reading, hints at the use of a sorcerous divination. This looks promising, but by this time, the lantern flame is beginning to flicker for lack of fuel, and Flewellen suddenly realises he is famished. He must have been reading for hours!