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[Dwarmin]

"It is not a surprise-few who encounter it fully recover. Osirio was a fortunate one...

This Verbum Scripsi is in some ways a form of immortality. One who desires eternal life must first make an blank book composed of pages made from the skin of your species...through various enchantments, you scrub the life that came before-the memory of which still lies in the pages. Then, you begin to write. The tome takes your life as it is when you write-a copy of your soul, if you will. It is barely intelligent, however. It is a simulacrum...at least to start. The power is that, Verbum Scripsi is very...possessive. It seeks to entice those who come after to read the book-you may think it a jumble of words and and phrases, but for certain people it is a undeniable challenge-like myself. I was so sure there was some secret to eternal life, I pored over the tome for days...

Those who read too much give their life force and strength to the shade of the author, who begins to recover some form and function. Eventually, a particularly strong spirit will attempt to copy themselves from the script, to the reader. One can find their mind overthrown in such a manner, and given enough time, the Verbum Scripsi can even alter your physical form, by draining the energy of other living beings in a less delicate way. Of course, even possessing the knowledge of such a thing is a death-crime among most arcane circles. Many Mages desire eternal life, but having hundreds of copies of yourself running around is not a good idea.

Osirio was curious to find this secret himself, once upon a time. He nearly found himself overwritten-into the form of a centuries dead Sorceress. It was a near thing. Her will was very strong, and she had been very patient...and at the time, I was not entirely sure if I wanted to live."

Osirio runs his finger down the spine of one of the books on the shelves thoughtfully.

"Now and again, I still hear her voice in my head-a laugh, a comment, a gesture. She is not so much intruder, as the prisoner now, and I'm not sure if she can-or if I even want to-purge her completely. I like her sense of humor, her strength of will. I admire her. Honest and ruthless, traits I much enjoy.

...That is why you should be careful, anyway. Magic can give you interesting scars. Better to avoid the trouble, though. Leave it to the professionals."

[Nerjin]

"I had never heard of such things. Immortality sounds like it would be interesting but certainly not in the manner you've described. Lichdom or vampirism seem more interesting to myself." Culpa pauses for a moment "Do you happen to know where the book is?"

[Dwarmin]

"...I sealed it in a metal trunk, and tossed it to the bottom of Winedark Sea, in the the hopefully bottomless Dragongulp Trench." Osirio replies lightly. "It's not easy to destroy Verbum Scripsi, oh, don't worry. It has a way of following you around, or finding it's way back to you once it has a hold. Burn it, and you'll find a copy in your pack the next day. Toss it in a trash bin, and a month later a merchant will try to sell you the same one back. I try to stay away from beaches, personally. I always have a feeling it will wash up at my feet one day, looking brand new."

[GiglameshDespair]

Ava turned back to him, eyebrow raised.
"You have a voman in your head? Zhat talks to you?"

[Dwarmin]

"That's an interesting question, really. Is it a real person? A fragment of a living soul? Or just a memory? If so, is her memory, or my memory-what I imagined her to be from what I read in her diary, given some form of life?

And, she rarely speaks, or answers if I consciously try to contact her. If her presence is inside me, it is not very strong anymore. In truth, I believe she is content to watch and live through me, if she can be said to live at all." Osirio replies casually. His grin slowly widens.

"Surely you are not jealous, Ava? The Sorceress has been dead for more than 8,000 years..." He replies flippantly.

[GiglameshDespair]

Ava twitched imperceptibly.
"Jealous? Vhy vould I be jealous?"

[Dwarmin]

"We are married after all." He says brightly. "You'd have to be a bit jealous."

[GiglameshDespair]

"I am not jealous of any book-bitch zhat you have lodged in your head!" Ava snapped, not entirely sure why she was annoyed.

[Dwarmin]

Osirio spaced out for a moment.

"...Hmm. Don't worry, she says not jealous of you, either." He says, not indicating if that was a joke or not.

[GiglameshDespair]

Ava pouted slightly beneath her scarf.
"Humph. You are mocking me."

[Nerjin]

"Captain... Sometimes I just can't get a read on you."

[Dwarmin]

"I do try to maintain an aura of mystery, Mr. Culpa. It lends such color to a personality."

Ava pouted slightly beneath her scarf.
"Humph. You are mocking me."

"Am I?' Osirio replied with what can only be poetically described as an 'amused glint' in his eyes.
"I suppose I will have to make amends for it later.' He said, with mock resignation.

[GiglameshDespair]

"I zerpose you vill."

POke around for anything else valuable, or other rooms coming off the library.

[Dwarmin]

((Bump bump bump! Is this game died? The GM was on today, but he didn't post...how disappointing...

Hephhephhephheph))

[flame99]

Osirio nattily swiped book dust off himself, controlling his breathing.

"...That was taking a bit longer than anticipated...in any case, we have won, and the knowledge is now being ours...be careful what you read, or touch. As you can see, magic books are...tricky. The wrong book may take you to another world, or make you into a different person-and not being in a poetic, imaginative sense."

Action: Osirio begins to search the book stocks for anything remotely interesting. Arcana be checking, yo.

((Where's our XP, BTW? Is the encounter not over yet?))

[13+7] You browse over the books. Many aren't of any great interest to you; a few manuscripts on tactics and combat, what you presume are drow folk tales...A particularly hefty handful of tomes catches your eye, however. The Archmagi's Familiar: A study on the Art of Binding, the title declares. You've heard of it in hushed tones. A guide form of magic not commonly practiced and wholly despised by most churches. Glancing over it, six volumes should be present, but the fifth is missing. The books seem to comprise a basic introduction and tutorial to the art. Even then, many parts of it are carefully encoded, it would appear, requiring a mentor to interpret it.
Setting the thick tomes aside, you continue to search the shelves, once more without interest for a long stretch; however, you eventually find something in a slimmer volume. Runes etch into a book made of some leather you can't identify, declaring...Something. You've never seen anything like this, nor has any of the party. You try to open it, but find that to be impossible; perhaps some form of magic holds it shut?

"I zerpose you vill."

POke around for anything else valuable, or other rooms coming off the library.

Aside from a wealth of literature and knowledge, little of value to the snow warrior turns up. An examination of the perimeter reveals nothing in the way of trap doors, or hidden ones. No, clearly there's nothing fur--

The bookshelf beside you shifts. Whirling around, you look around, before noticing a figure crouched in the shadows atop the bookshelf.

((This is Immaterial's character; he will post his sheet shortly and take control of them.))