Nothing can possibly go wrong

[ezra_pyreborn]

Who: Ezra, Anyone
When: A day after arrival
What: Ezra is learning about the city the best way he knows how: by meddling.

The perimeter around the old library was slowly populated by a combination of well-understood mechanical devices and the strange light-emitting fixtures Ezra discovered. They provided illumination without fire, when powered by whatever tame lightning courses through the city's ley lines, and he was intensely interested. Ezra was no goblin or gnome, but he understood lightning, and a shielding spell against it allowed him to work safely with these peculiar gadgets.

And what was the purpose of this strange behavior? Simply put, things stopped working when he moved away. But why? Their internal rules suggested they ought to continue. Observation said otherwise. Clearly it was the city. But if there were rules for that, observation would uncover them. He suspected it was a function of inherent magical power, arcane reserves, or something similar, but needed a larger sample size to be sure.

From time to time he withdrew a voluminous tome from a satchel bag slung around his shoulder, taking notes with a quill pen in his crabbed and cranky handwriting. Once the observations of the hour were thus taken, he returned the book to its resting place and resumed his work.

The experiment would serve a secondary purpose. Anyone approaching the library would, naturally, trigger a series of lights and sounds. Should someone decide to sneak in and steal a book without permission, they would be in for a rude awakening. So would the neighbors, of course, but Ezra was interested in discovering if any indeed existed, so it was all for the best.

Comments

[kuromu_dokuro]

Given a collection of traps of various kinds, Chrome could not resist doing her best to get through it without setting anything off. Teenage assassins with illusion powers, what'cha'gon'do? She flipped and bounded, used her spear, used her Mist-flames (aka: illusion powers+*) shield, used her flames to fly as she'd seen the people in the future fly.


*Just...take illusion with a grain of salt. They're called illusions. They're about as traditionally illusory as Japanese Kit-Kats. **
** Canon starts with cursed magical assassin babies and goes sideways from there.

[ezra_pyreborn]

Unaware, the undead wizard continued his studies. A few times he checked on some of his other experiments: similar mechanical implements, meant to give off light and sound, attached to glass vials containing a red fluid.

Only once during the day did he need to refill one of the vials. And it became clear what his source for the stuff was, when he briefly sand-shifted into his living form and sliced open his own arm. His life's blood dripped into the vial until he judged it enough. Satisfied, Ezra tightly wrapped the arm, then shifted back into his charred undead state and moved on.

He would be an easy target, of course. The perimeter was an alarm, not a defense. There were plenty of gaps to exploit.

[kuromu_dokuro]

In time there was a chirping girl's voice from behind him, "Did you set up the traps?" she wondered aloud, her spear no longer in hand. She loved being able to summon and dismiss her weapon. She also liked startling people and face it she was really good at being overlooked until she wanted to be seen.

Especially for someone with brilliant purple hair.

When he did look he'd be greeted with a five-foot tall girl who weighed maybe ninety pounds soaking wet. There was the aforementioned purple hair, an eyepatch with a skull on it, and an olive green Japanese boy's school uniform. She'd been wearing it when she ended up in the city.

[ezra_pyreborn]

It takes working glands to be really startled, but surprise works on anyone with a mind. Ezra was at least quick-witted enough to recover with aplomb. One can always say one stood still while considering a response.

"Yes," he finally answered, and turned slowly, appraising his visitor in the process with his glowing eyes. "But not for anyone motivated enough to bypass them. It's not security, but an experiment."

He tipped his black hat politely. "Ezra L. Pyreborn at your service. Historian and linguist, currently acting librarian." He gestured with a bandaged and black-scarred hand toward the building itself. "Silence and attention to detail make for good readers, should you care to borrow a book."

[kuromu_dokuro]

Chrome bowed politely, "My name is Chrome. Chrome Dokuro. Assassin and Mist user. ...I think I somehow became the police force. Or possibly pest control. The city sends me places to take care of monsters destroying property, but it also gave me a badge."

[ezra_pyreborn]

"Ssome call me monsster. Decide for yourself, yess," the wizard answered, holding up his hands for inspection. Beneath the white stripes, the ruined undead flesh is obvious. "But I would know. What other monsterss have you encountered here? What iss there to fear?"

[kuromu_dokuro]

"I have a skewed perspective on humanoid monsters." Chrome said with a shrug, "My best friends from home had an unfortunate genocidal period, Loki-san of Asgard is my mentor, and my adoptive brother spent ten years without a heart. You're not even the first bandage-wrapped corpse that I've met, although if you're Vindice we'll probably end up fighting." she held grudges like trees held sap and the Vindice were not her favourite people, "You're not running around killing people and causing property damage, so you're not a monster to me.

"I mean, if you start doing so I'll stop you. Apparently that's what I get paid for now, and all. Until then, though." she shrugged, "Eh. Live and let live. Or whatever."

[ezra_pyreborn]

"I've fortunately killed nobody in quite awhile, and it iss alwayss a regrettable necessity, yess. Redemption iss my preferred outcome, always. Not alwayss possible, but always preferred."

Ezra thought a moment. "I know nothing of these 'Vindice', but.. I am gratified in a sense that I am not sso foreign to you. Otherss in this place are not as accepting of the undead."

[kuromu_dokuro]

"Well, we've definitely established the fact that you've got the moral high-ground. I'll kill almost anyone for the right price." She beamed up at him, "I'm widely considered somewhat weird, so dealing with undead people is just kind of par for course." it was light and chipper and bright.

[ezra_pyreborn]

"The Forsaken... having the moral high ground.. hur hur.. huehahaha..." The laughter itself was hideous, but the spirit behind it no less light.

"You, I should want to exhibit before those sself-righteous zealotsss, the Scarlet Crusade, yess. That would be mosst amusing."

He calmed down somewhat. "But perhapss there are no monsters here yet. Perhapss this is not the place for ssuch creaturess to exist. If the hunter has no quarry, what does she do, eh?"

[kuromu_dokuro]

She joined in the laughter because it was light in spirit; hers a "Ku fu fu fu fu fu fu fu fu fu fu!" that chirped like a little bird, "What are the Scarlet Crusade?" danger Will Robinson, answer one question for Mist and you'll be answering questions forever.

"Oh, no, there have been plenty of monsters. Last night I spent three hours chasing down lizards bigger than me that kept eating pieces of buildings. It was okay until they started ganging up on me...I'm really glad I learned how to do minor healing magic. I've been here for a couple of weeks and I've been really busy almost every day. It's nice."

[ezra_pyreborn]

"Call on me ssshould you wissh assistance, then, my friend. I have hunted my sshare of sscaled creatures, ho ho.." Ezra chortled at some private joke.

"The Sscarlet Crusade? They are zealots. Fanatics. They osstensibly defend the living, but are obsssessed with purity and fear any hint of 'corruption'. They are madmen, but understandably sso. Their circumstances made them sso, yes."

"My ex-wife joined them for a time. She has ssince had a change of heart, yes."

[kuromu_dokuro]

"Not everything has been scaled." she offered, "There've been birds and animals and all kind of other things. The giant floating jellyfish were fun to hunt. Still, if I need to I'll deputise you to help." maybe, although her voice was perfectly sincere. It wasn't the dead part, it was the adult-man part. She was much, much better with adults than she used to be but it was a work in progress.

"Huh. What do they consider impure and corrupted?" she perched on a table, swinging booted feet like any other teenage girl.

[scorned_progeny]

Some people were curious, understandably. Some people? They were...high strung. The moment one of the noise makers outside went of there was a startled flare of musical notes, violin if he was conversant, then ominous and complete silence.

A few moments later, well, the bell at the front desk was rung. A simple, easy sound. "Hello?"

[ezra_pyreborn]

"Welcome to the library," came a voice. It seemed to emanate from the rafters. Looking up, one could see a humanoid figure, crouched spider-like against the ceiling. Black coat and hat wrapped a body covered entirely in white bandages, these in turn concealing fire-charred undead flesh. The creature scuttling about the ceiling was placing books on the top-most shelf.

This done, the creature dropped at an easy pace, levitating itself down with a brief spoken incantation, and tipped its black hat politely in greeting. "Allow me to attend to any of your literary needsss, yes."

[scorned_progeny]

At the words from above she lifted a violin to her shoulder once more and laid the bow across the strings, but didn't draw any music forth. Instead she looked up, poised and waiting, until she could make out his form. Once he was on her level though she relaxed the musical instrument to her side once more. Great, the librarian was a zombie? Not that she had any room to talk though.

"I need a library card. Apparently I'm not allowed to get new music at the symphony hall without the ability to requisition from the library." Apparently. The city had some weird regulations.

[ezra_pyreborn]

With a wave of a white-wrapped hand and a muttered incantation, the zombie librarian animated a nearby quill pen. On the service desk rested sheets of parchment, and the quill moved of its own accord to the topmost sheet. Faster than a mortal hand could write, the quill scribbled out a message and he presented it for inspection.

The sheet was a license for withdrawal of materials from the library, with few to no restrictions, signed by Ezra L. Pyreborn, acting librarian. Apparently he did not run a very tight ship where return policy was concerned.

[scorned_progeny]

"...I'm guessing you're not classically trained as a librarian," she noted, looking the note over. She'd be shocked if he was, honestly, especially considering her new 'library card' didn't even have her name on it.

"Point me at the laminator I guess? That way I can at least get this to last longer than a week in my care?"

[ezra_pyreborn]

"I am a hisstorian and linguisst, yess. Academic purssuitss are my area. Thiss business of access to a library is ssomewhat new," he admitted. "Normally the scholarss capable of reading and using a library's materialss know each other and it is of little use to the common folk."

"I do not know this word that you have used. If your writ is damaged, requesst another, yess."

[scorned_progeny]

"Ah. Librarian access is kind of very common place in most worlds beyond a certain tech level I think? So you'll probably get a lot of people wandering in." In case he'd actually wanted to have it as his private sanctum?

"And that's kind of time wasting. Let's see if I can find a laminator and I'll show you how to use it? It could come in handy for you later."

[ezra_pyreborn]

"As you wissh." The wizard gestured around him, indicating the library at large. "I am new to my pressent ressponsibility, and exploration sseems indicated."

He cut a decidedly low-tech figure. His long black coat seemed competently made, but still the product of a civilization that hadn't advanced far past leather. A hand-bound book peeked out of a similarly crafted leather satchel on the desk, which he slung over one shoulder.

[scorned_progeny]

"If you're not used to libraries it'd probably take a while to get the layout down," she admitted easily, stepping up on the desk chair so she could get a good look around. "And you might want to read books on the Dewy Decimal system, looks like this place is arranged by it!" But from school reports she knew that the system didn't exist for some time, so, a vaguely historic appearing zombie wouldn't have the keys to that either.

"Probably this way. They usually tuck it back by the printers." Which even high tech libraries never seemed to do with out. It was a way to share information after all, printing, so there'd probably be printers into infinity or some such.

[ezra_pyreborn]

Ezra laughed. "Libraries are indeed familiar. The halls of learning in Dalaran, Undercity's Mage Quarter, and even the great library of Sstormwind were open to me in my time. THIS library iss another matter, yes."

"A printer I undersstand, but I have met nobody working here, sso perhapss that position has not been filled yet. Perhapss they are traveling."

[scorned_progeny]

"Sorry, I meant the modern version thereof," she admitted with a sheepish grin. "Annnnd...the modern version of printers yes. Machines that can do that instead of people." He was in for a bit of culture shock wasn't he?

"These are printers. Smaller than I'm used to but the basic concept is the same." And there was a whole corner of them! "Annnd...that in the back corner there looks like a laminator, yup. I used to hang out in the college library a lot when I attended."

[ezra_pyreborn]

"Thiss sounds like goblin sscience," concluded Ezra. "Or, ssince it is in a place where fire would do great harm, gnome science." This was apparently enough explanation for him.

"Let uss ssee this marvel."