A Library Encounter

The gorgeous (if chilly) day has slowly crept into a windy evening. Dinner and ale has called many people away, even a few of the library's patrons. As the library slowly empties, the usually quiet place becomes more so, not unlike a tomb. The silence is only marred by the occasional turning of the page.

The cleric, decked out in robes bearing Navos' style and colour, is one small source of noise, flipping pages, taking notes, and the occasional thud against the chair, her feet swinging freely. So many notes, her notebook is nearly full to bursting, with many sketches and cursive writing.

Lucius is also among a handful of the library's usual suspects who have remained during the dinner hour. He ambles between the columns of bookshelves and study tables, hugging to his chest two large and alarmingly thick tomes. Even from a few feet away, the robed cleric's constant motion catches his attention. He looks away for a moment. "Navos be damned, I could never," he mutters to himself, but perhaps a little more loudly than intended. Lucius hugs the books he had chosen to peruse a little tighter.

The Goblin's head turns sharply, red eyes peering out from under her hood. A single finger reaches up to her lips, and she admonishes the Cavalier with a shhhhhhhhh. "Such language.", she whispers, "Is unbecoming of one such as you." In a hop, she is down from the chair, and moving towards the taller man. "Let me assist you before you drop one."

She holds up her hands to receive one.

"Oh, my apologies." Lucius stops and peers at the goblin as she approaches. "I didn't mean to interrupt your studies." He glances around, hoping that his outburst hadn't disturbed anyone else in the library. At her offer, he wiggles out the slightly smaller book and offers it, balancing precariously in his outstretched hand. "Thank you kindly. Any one of the tables nearby would be good, I think."

When the cleric comes near enough that he's able to make out the hourglass symbol around her neck, the colors of her robes finally seem to register with him. "Excuse me for asking. Are you one of the faith of Navos?" He flashes a smile. "I know a little of some of his teachings, but undoubtedly not as well as you would know them."

She catches the book, and wobbles back and forth, eventually wobbling back to her table. It was the closest, after all.

Simony pulls out the chair for him, offering a nod of her head. "Indeed, I am one of Navos' adherents. Your studies have been sufficient. I wouldn't know the extent of them, however, though I suppose we could test each other, hmm?"

The albino turns the book around, to peer at the spine, squinting at the writing, before pulling a small pince-nes from a pocket in her robes. She sticks it upon the end of her nose, and peers at the book spine again. "What are you researching?"

"I, er, suppose we could." Lucius takes a deep breath. "In my case, I'm afraid 'studies' is too strong a word. I can't profess to have more than a casual interest in Navos and his dogma. My name is Luke, by the way, or Lucius if we're being more formal. Oh, thanks."

He lowers himself into the chair. "I heard that the curse of the Felwood has been weakening of late. There's a joint venture between Alexandria and Mythwood to use this opportunity to explore the Felwood and potentially end its curse for good." Pointing to the book on the table, he continues, "A history of the Felwood to help me better understand what's been going on there." He places the other book on the table as well. "And this is —" His face falls. "— the same edition, but in sildanyari, apparently, which I cannot read. Sorry, how terribly absentminded of me."

GAME: Simony rolls knowledge/history: (10)+8: 18

"A casual interest is something, at least. One cannot fault someone for wishing to acquire knowledge, it is a far greater treasure than gold." The Goblin studies him for a moment. "Simony.", she offers up as a name. "Nice to meet you, L... Luke."

She rubs a pale hand on her cheek, and she nods lightly. "I have a passing knowledge on the Felwood. If I recall correctly, some sort of portal or hole opened to some place in hell, and demonic things spewed out for a time. Not a very in-depth or extensive amount of information, I know... but perhaps I may assist you?

The albino quietly struggles with her chair, not wishing to drag it and potentially make noise. Her hands turn the Sildanyari book around, flips it open, and begins perusing it. "While I do not know many languages, Sildanyari is one that I am passably able to read."

Luke nods. "In that, we can agree. After all, knowledge is why I'm here in the first place." He spreads his arms, indicating the library at large.

He absorbs Simony's explanation for a few seconds, nodding slowly. "I heard a similar account the other day, from an official for the Adventurers' Guild. He said it was caused by a conflict between the Millennium Kingdom and some Duke of Skald. I have no clue if a portal itself was opened in the Felwood, but some of the demons ended up in there one way or another.."

Luke blinks. "You can read sildanyari? Er, forgive me if I'm mistaken, but you don't look like an elf or a half-elf to me. Either way, I'm very impressed by that."

Simony adjusts her pince-nes, looking over at Lucius. "I am willing to be incorrect, but I believe that the portal was opened in the wood. Eventually its influence corrupted the wood into the Felwood we see today. Had not the portal been closed? If so, the influence should wane over time." She gestures with a hand, "One hopes, anyways."

At his mention of not being an elf, her eyebrows raise up. "The last time I checked, I was of the Goblin persuasion. You... do realize that languages are a skill that one can train others in, yes?"

"There's a very good chance you're right. I think a portal in the Felwood being closed would explain a great deal about why this so-called curse has been weakening." Lucius grimaces. "At least, it sounds right to me. I find that not having a background in magic can often be a hindrance when trying to understand phenomena that are decidedly magical in nature."

He squirms a little in his seat. "I certainly did not intend to imply otherwise. I mean, we were not born with the knowledge of any tongues, as far as I know. I suppose I was curious whether someone had taught you, or if you had learned sildanyari by yourself."

"As I said, one hopes. We shall see. I mean, we should be watching it closely. Don't want it sneaking back or having someone meddle with it, yes?" She pushes the pince-nes a bit farther back on her nose. "I think it was a magical effect, but most likely just demon taint, hmm? Couldn't say without investigation, and I do not know if I wish to travel there.

Simony smiles at his reaction, and she lightly pats his arm. "It is alright, I was being cheeky. I was going to say to check my ears to see how elven they were. But that might not have worked out so well. I also discarded a few other lines for a variety of reasons."

She lets out a breath. "I was taught the basics, and have learned more on my own. So a bit of both, to answer your question more precisely."

Lucius exhales as well. "I'm glad I did not offend," he replies. He thumbs the book in front of him absently. "Does that mean you've never had a chance to see the Felwood for yourself? I visited it once before, but only briefly and in the dead of night. Didn't see much, I'm afraid. The weather that night was rather unfortunate as well." He winces at the memory. "In any case, I expect the guild to be posting various jobs related to the joint Felwood expedition in short order, so it's only a matter of time before I return." The mere thought appears enough to bring a smile to Luke's face.

"Oh goodness no. That place has an ill reputation, and I would be hesitant going with a group, let alone by myself. It has been the source of much sorrow." Simony pulls the pince-nes from her nose, and huffs on it, rubbing it with the hem of her sleeve. "I would wish to update my knowledge of the wood, as well as the potential dangers that ... escape from it."

Lucius nods. "A sensible perspective, to say the least. At the end of the day, there's little need to take unnecessary risks when knowledge and learning are available in spades within the security of academic spaces such as this one."

He rubs his chin and smiles thoughtfully at Simony. "So have you spent much of your life inside these libraries? Would you happen to be a scholar by trade, perhaps?"

I mean, I would go if necessary, but there would be a lot of planning involved. Not in a rush to die, yes?" Simony chuckles, "Unlike some adventurers." She cants her head slowly, and reaches up a hand to tap her holy symbol, the tilted hourglass of Navos. "You could say that, being a scholar. And not this particular library, but I have spent a lot of my life with books."

"She leans forward a little, flipping through the book written in Sildanyari. "What of you, LUci... Luke?"

"I suppose you could say that I'm one of those adventurers who can't wait to die." Lucius snorts. "There's no getting past the fact that the nature of adventuring is inherently risky and unpredictable. I think many of us try to minimize these risks. Some of us embrace them. For all I know, the dogma of Navos might describe the whole lot of us as incurably mad." He laughs indifferently.

"Even though the scholarly life never called to me, I have nothing but respect for those who choose it. That," he points to Simony's copiously filled notebook, "is a level of dedication and passion that I'd be unlikely to ever attain, no matter how hard I tried. And yet I don't regret choosing my path. We seek different unknowns, in different ways."

"I doubt he would call you mad. In any endeavour, you need someone who will act. It may benefit you to gather more knowledge first, but acting is very important." She leans on the table, and leans her chin on her hand. "The evils of the world do not dawdle, and acting before their plans come to fruition is in our best interest."

She idly flips through the pages of her notebook, showing drawings, and copious notes. A few images of Lucius are seen, but she is quick to turn past them. "It is good to go through life not regretting the path you've chosen."

Luke blinks when he notices the drawings of himself in Simony's notebook. "Well, yes, I suppose you're right," he replies distractedly. "Knowledge and action are both necessary. It wouldn't be good enough to have one without the other."

After a moment, his eyes snap back into focus. "And what about you, Simony? Do you have any regrets? If you had another chance, would you have chosen a different calling?" On the study table, his fingers begin quietly tapping an irregular rhythm.

Her smile is quick, and she giggles lightly, once again an image of the man is spotted as she flips through the pages. "I've got bunches of people I've sketched. I just happened across you a few times." A few more images go by. The fountain in the temple district. The Navosian monastery. The Fernwood Pub, but an inside view. A ship, very obviously in the city's port. And notes. Notes for everything.

"I do have regrets, but I don't dwell on them much. Something I would do differently? I don't know. Maybe. I missed out on things, certainly, for being a bookworm, and a priestess."

Luke nods fervently. "We all could have done things differently, and only Navos knows what our lives would have become if we'd made different choices. I'm glad that it doesn't bother you, because it shouldn't." His face beams with conviction.

His fingers cease their tapping as Simony reveals more of her notebook's contents. "Wow," he breathes. "I wonder why you refer to yourself merely as a bookworm and a priestess. You must be quite the artist as well. That notebook of yours, it's like you infused the pages with a lifetime of your experiences."

Simony shrugs lightly. "I don't think he knows, he could probably find out, but decisions we didn't make aren't important here. What's important is what we decided, and how we deal with the consequences." She rubs at her chin thoughtfully. "It doesn't bother me because I cannot change what was, or what is, only what will be."

Her shoulders roll in a shrug. "It is not the best art in the world, just the product of a quick eye and an even quicker hand. I just try to get the basic essence of it across. If I spent more time on it, it could be good. But it's almost impossible to do that when I'm running around, and taking notes and everything." Her cheeks flush a light pink and she rubs at them in embarrassment. "Thank you. I do appreciate you saying that."

"I see." Lucius rests his chin on one hand. "Isn't there something about art being in the eyes of the beholder? I myself consider a little bit of chaos to be not at all a bad thing, and it's refreshing to see that represented, in a way, through your quick and spontaneous sketches. There's no doubt you've succeeded in capturing the essence, as you say. Though I'm sure your artistic standards are higher than mine, which I respect as well." He grins before looking down and patting the cover of the Felwood history book in front of him.

"I guess I should get started on this. You've given me a lot of food for thought, but I should've expected no less from a priestess of Navos. Thank you for imparting your wisdom upon me, Simony." The adventurer makes himself comfortable in his chair as he prepares for what will undoubtedly be a tiring night ahead.

"We are our own worst critics.", she says with a nod. "And I don't dare let praise inflate my ego." A beat. "Much." She pulls her hood back up to cover her head and face.

"I am still willing to translate the Sildanyari for you. I could read it while you take notes, or I could write it all out in common, hmm? You can find me at the Navosian monastery on the mountain road. It was fun to meet you and chat!"

WIth that, she hops down from the chair, takes up her notebook and the book she was initially reading, and walks off towards the doors.