MoonLight, Deepest Night, Within the Glade a Maiden Dances

Aylstra Illianniis · Post by **Aylstra Illianniis** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 9:19 pm

The young bard stares at his companion, agast. "And you have this WHY?!" he asks. "That thing is foul- you should destroy it! Some things, friend, mortals were not meant to possess. Any fool knows that!"

It is clear that he is repulsed just being in the same room with the book, and he seems to be having doubts about Zazzt, as well. "Besides, I thought you said we were not to remove anything from that place. I took only those few pages that were burned to see if I could find a way to restore them, but this? A bit hypocritical, don't you think?" He says pointedly, with one brow raised.

NathreeDe'Shezbron · Post by **NathreeDe'Shezbron** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 9:32 pm

"I had said that I had plundered the place... removing books that I thought would be safer in my tower, rather than an old decrepit library. And it is not my place to destroy that which the elves of old had kept, I simply moved it." Zazzt sat down, and put his face in his hands, "I agree with you completely, and I would have destroyed it, but that is not my prerogative here, I am merely a keeper of the city." Zazzt stood up, and put the tome back in its place, " I assure you, I have many books like it, some dealing with imprisoning deities, others with their destruction, and others with worse." Zazzt chuckled, "And I have read each and every one of them, as I was told to do by the Great Lady herself. If I had a choice in the matter, do you think I would have stayed in this place, living side by side with demons, devils, undead, liches, and crazed adventurers plundering everything they can?"

Aylstra Illianniis · Post by **Aylstra Illianniis** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 9:57 pm

He takes in the other drow's words, thoughtful. "Well, I suppose... I still don't think it is wise to keep such things. Some knowlegde is simply better off lost, I believe. Great Lady- whom do you mean, precisely? I've heard many dieties called by that term, and not all of them are deserving of such a title, if you take my meaning."

He gazes around the room, wondering what other dangerous tomes might be here. His past experiences with wizards has not been good, so he is doubly wary of one who would knowingly traffick with the darker aspects of magic and planer creatures- even if charged to do so by a deity. Never mind that the old sorcerer who was his teacher was a cold-hearted tyrant and a disgusting pervert besides....

NathreeDe'Shezbron · Post by **NathreeDe'Shezbron** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 10:15 pm

"Lady Mystra is the Great Lady," Zazzt looked at Lothir, "Come my friend, none of these books have ever left my tower." He put his hand on Lothir's shoulder, "They will not see the light of day."

Aylstra Illianniis · Post by **Aylstra Illianniis** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 10:50 pm

"Mystra? Well, that is alright, I suppose. Would still prefer that they saw the bottom of a furnace, but that is your business... But how can you be certain? Seems you take a lot on simple faith- could they not be stolen, or some foul thing like that pit feind kill you and take them? You are takeing a terrible risk. Goddess-protected or not, nothing is certain in this world. Take care, friend. I've seen enough to know such things are dangerous. And what would you do with them?"

NathreeDe'Shezbron · Post by **NathreeDe'Shezbron** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 5:43 pm

"I store them away, "Zazzt said, "I keep them away from the prying hands of those who [i:nq7u3m2n]would[/i:nq7u3m2n] use them, and in doing so, unravel all that we hold dear in the world."

Aylstra Illianniis · Post by **Aylstra Illianniis** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 10:47 pm

He says nothing, just shakes his head. He seems doubtful, but doesn't push the point. <Guess that's just something I'll have to disagree on,> he thinks, and finally turns back to the other.

"So what is our next move, then? Was there a particular reason that devil was there? Beyond the book I mean. Seemed rather annoyed to see us there. Annoying devils is never a good idea. And then there is that rather mercenary friend of yours. What's his business in all of this, or was that just a joining of convenience?"

NathreeDe'Shezbron · Post by **NathreeDe'Shezbron** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 1:47 am

"Convenience, I caught him robbing a helpess maiden, then he just tagged along with me to my tower." Zazzt shrugged, "As to our next step... I do not know, the books are safe here, for the time being, and you will find that I have a long history of annoying devils, as you put it. As you can see, I'm still here." Zazzt stood up and snapped his fingers, "Come, perhaps you can help protect the books." He touched a tile to Lothir's left. It and its neighbors vanished, revealing a winding staircase. Zazzt walked down it, the walls were lined with with alcoves, each with a book in it. Each alcove also was covered with runes, and sigils. As Zazzt and Lothir passed one, a rainbow of multicolored lights appeared around the opening. Zazzt coughed, "These are the books that I have taken out from the library. And yes, there are many."

Aylstra Illianniis · Post by **Aylstra Illianniis** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:50 pm

The young drow looks to his companion with a puzzled expression. "Why in the Hells would elves keep such things? I was under the impression that most of them would find them to be vile and distasteful. You wouldn't happen to know how old they are, would you? Before the Sundering, perhaps? Might explain a few things...."

He stares at the runes, trying to decypher them, but is careful not to touch anything or speak any of the words aloud. Finally, he turns and shrugs. "Exactly what did you mean by helping to protect them? You seem to have done a better job of that than I ever could. I'm a musician, not some Archmage. My magic- such as it is- is mostly for everyday use, and perhaps a few spells useful in a fight. And one or two for more- personal use. But nothing that would deter anything powerful enough to get through all this."

NathreeDe'Shezbron · Post by **NathreeDe'Shezbron** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 11:35 pm

Zazzt shook his head, "No, I have no idea as to the age of these tomes, I just keep them, and as to your help, why not? You must have some sort of bardic magic that would help with the situation." They reached the end of the stair case, and came upon a small paved corridor, at the end of which stood a pedestal, on which rested seven silver scrolls, and beside them lay a large book, who's cover was made of the bones of human beings. In the middle was a small human skull, perhaps that of a halfling, but in any case, in its sockets there were still blue eyes that followed their every move. "This is the book that the fiend really wanted. The other book I showed you would have brought Asmodeus and Demogorgon to this plane, but they would have broken free of the diagrams in that book instantly." Zazzt put his hand out, "Do not come any closer, the wards extend to the mouth of this corridor, and I do not wish to dismantle them now."

Aylstra Illianniis · Post by **Aylstra Illianniis** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:14 am

He gives the book a long, repulsed look, and shakes his head. "No worries there. I don't want to get within ten feet of that thing. Honestly, Zazzt, how can you even stand to be in the same room with all these evil tomes is beyond me. And as far as magic goes, I stand by what I said before. If you wanted to make a demon dance or tickle it to death, I could probably oblige you, but I'm not exactly brimming with spells to banish or destroy lower-planar beings, or even wards against them. I mean, really- the most I could do would be to use the bonefiddle spell on it, and that's assuming it even worked on them. Not to mention that it's a bit messy."

NathreeDe'Shezbron · Post by **NathreeDe'Shezbron** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:22 am

Zazzt shrugged, "Very well, just a thought, you never know, even a simple spell as that tickling thing might come in handy... and we would get to hear a devil laugh. No small thing, that." Zazzt turned around, "I agree, perhaps it would be best if we left." He walked back up the stairs, and into the same room, "I will go and check to see if we were followed, I do not want to take any chances with that devil." He opened the door, and a blast of that black fire filled the room. Zazzt fell backwards onto the floor, a plume of dark flame. "At last I find you, Zazzt." Said that pit fiend stepping over Zazzt, and walking into the room, it spotted Lothir, "Well, what have we here?" It grinned, showing sharp teeth, it raised its hand, the black fire dancing around its fingers.

Aylstra Illianniis · Post by **Aylstra Illianniis** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:32 am

He glances down at his fallen companion, as if to say "I told you so," then quickly readies his blades- glad that he never bothered to put them away.

"Vith!" he spits. "I knew this was going to get ugly. And speaking of ugly, you must have fallen from the proverbial ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down!" he taunts the pit fiend with a sneer. "Hells, I wouldn't even be surprised if it clubbed you intentionally!" He blurts out the words to the first spell he can think of- a ghostly harp that plays a sort of lullaby, hoping it will cause the devil to fall asleep- or at least distract it.

Lizarus Alkaven · Post by **Lizarus Alkaven** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:34 am

OOC: You're not going to get rid of me THAT easily! XD
IC: Lizarus heard the devil talking from outside, and started to try to sneak in the building to see what was happening. He peered in through a window, and was shocked at what he saw. He snuck in to get a better look.

NathreeDe'Shezbron · Post by **NathreeDe'Shezbron** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:56 am

The devil raised an eyebrow, "Does it look as though I feel tired?" Then it started laughing, "I will tell you something about us pit fiends, we never sleep, too wary of getting a dagger in the back."
OOC: hint hint
IC: "The reason I tell you this, is pathetic drow bard, I will kill you, right here and now." It unleashed the fires it had held in check, aiming a concentrated burst at Lothir's head, careful not to damage the rest of the tower.