Salutations and Introductions
The Notice had been posted to the board, but that didn’t lift any of the concern from the white-haired Lorekeeper’s shoulders. He had been exploring the Atheneum as much from necessity as curiosity, seeking farther into its depths as he pursued the books he so desperately needed: on demons, on barriers, on Long Nights, and gods.
And he’d been coming across an unsettling trend as he trod dusty corridors between leaning shelves; paths that hadn’t been walked anytime recently since there were no tracks there but his own. There had been things left on the floor, or draped over rotting chairs. Coats, gloves, small packs and, once, a doll. After finding several such stashes – left as if the owner had simply set them down while they perused a book – he had begun nosing about the nearer sections, the ones that saw more traffic and were in generally better repair. And discovered the same pattern. Items that might have been forgotten, if anyone on Caido could afford to forget something as important as their gloves or scarves in the killer cold. Packs of personal gear from outlanders, he assumed, like himself – packs they would never have willingly left behind when they had so little to their names in the new world.
All so very similar to how Samuel’s gear and his own had been left lying, forlorn, when they’d been sucked into that children’s book. That story had ended well, releasing them when they had vanquished the villains and rescued the princess.
He’d been asking around, using his position as evening entertainment at the Rathskeller to do what he did best – gather information from the locals. Finding out who had gone missing and where they’d been heading when last seen. Some had gone to the woods or the outskirts and never returned…
But some had only gone to the Atheneum, to retrieve or return a book.
And, it turned out, he and Samuel weren’t the only ones to stumble upon a hungry book. A few others – very few – had encountered similar adventures, and had been willing to talk of it after a glass or three of whiskey and some attentive coaxing. Like Samuel, they’d largely found it traumatic. But unlike Samuel, not all of them had completed their tales. They’d done something wrong, made one mistake too many—Died, in shock and pain. And been spit out, even without reaching their true endings. Returned unharmed, except for the mental scarring.
But something in the Atheneum was making people disappear, without traces of blood or struggle. Just… gone, only their nearby belongings to show where they’d been. And they weren’t being returned within an hour or two. Or a day. Or longer, if the dust on some of those items was any indication.
So something needed to be done. Not simply because Jigano needed to be able to explore the Atheneum without fear of getting ‘disappeared’ as well, but because it was right. And while he thought highly of his mind and his skills, he wasn’t so overconfident as to assume he could do it alone. It had taken him and Samuel together to finish their first book, a relatively innocent children’s tale.
He suspected that if it was, in fact, a sentient book that was the problem— that this time, it would be no gentle fable. He’d need help, as much as he could get. However much it hurt to ask it. However little he wanted to rely on others again like that.
So he waited, expression calm but heart in turmoil as he stood at the appointed table, nodding to those who found their way to join him and offering a smile of welcome, balanced with a sober speech.
”Thank you for coming. I appreciate it, truly. I know it must sound a bit unusual, but let me assure you: the danger of some or all of us not returning – at least not anytime soon - is very real. So please, be very certain before you join me in this hunt.”
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Welcome to my first PQ! Hopefully it’s not too rough around the edges ^_^;
I’d like this to move fairly quickly, so Chapter updates will happen either once everyone has posted, or every 76 hours – whichever comes first. If you miss two or more updates you might not be able to complete the PQ.
1. Remi
2. Isla
3. Kalt
4. Samuel
CLOSED
{{A request for any who wish to join this thread: I often have trouble loading/reading posting tables, so I would appreciate if people don’t use them here. Thank you!}}
