• Solo • Of Nooks and Crannies

[Doran]

Ymiden 41, Arc 721

The Prime Atheneum in Viden, the Mortalborn decided when the Scholar’s Nook finally came into view, was without a doubt the biggest library as well as the greatest source of knowledge in all of Idalos, in general, but places such as this one could be unexpected treasure troves. Sometimes, a book, or a certain piece of information that none of the libraries or universities possessed, could be found in a place that looked decidedly out of the ordinary – and the tower that rose in front of him definitely fitted that description in his opinion.

The season before, the Immortal Qylios had given him a task – she wanted to understand what had happened in Scalvoris back then and how Enri Von Smooglenuff had been involved. He had decided that the best place to start his investigation would be the island where everything had happened, although he planned on consulting his sources in Viden as well once he returned home (He spent a few trials every season at one of the Academy’s sister campuses, in order to research as well as hold guest lectures).

While the exterior of the Scholar’s Nook had already looked unusual, the interior was even more out of the ordinary, the Mortalborn observed as he opened the door and entered, only in order to raise an eyebrow slightly as he let his gaze drift across the multitude of levels that were arranged in a somewhat haphazard manner, and the bar that was located at the core.

A light smile was visible on his face for a moment as he looked from the archeologists examining relics and artifacts over the botanists studying plants to the historians pouring over books. There was something undeniably fascinating about the sight in front of him. He had hardly ever seen such a diverse crowd in the places that he frequented in his frozen home. The atmosphere was, for the most part, relaxed. The Scholar’s Nook, he decided, was a place that was just begging to be explored and studied.

He made his way towards the bar, taking off his elegant dark cloak and draping it across an arm as he did so, having come to the decision that he would start his research with a conversation with one of the employees as they knew the Scholar’s Nook best – and something to drink and, perhaps, a light snack. Famula had removed his spark – and thus the mutation that affected his food preferences – but Cassion’s mark seemed to have increased his appetite.

Combining research with such activities was far more appealing than it had been.

It was just as he was trying to decide who exactly to approach that a woman with shoulder length brown hair and a wide smile walked up to him. “Welcome, welcome! It’s always good to see a new face. I’m Caz, the proprietor of this establishment”, she told him with obvious pride and gestured around. “We have a table just for the newcomers – we are always happy to see new people at the Scholar’s Nook, you know? This fine gentleman is my brother Flea, by the way. He works here as well”, she continued and pointed at a slightly younger man who nodded at them, a look of vague bemusement on his face.

“Anyway, let me know if you need anything?” Caz asked and raised an eyebrow slightly.

[Doran]

“I’m Doran”, the Mortalborn said and inclined his head in a greeting – since Caz had introduced herself, he considered it to be appropriate to do the same – before he added, “I’d like a cup of your milky hot chocolate please.”

“That professor from Viden?” Caz asked and raised an eyebrow.

He nodded his head, finding it interesting that he seemed to have become comparatively well-known recently.

“It’s good to meet you, Doran”, Caz told him. “Flea or Maz will bring you your drink shortly. And oh – since you are new here, have you heard of our Book Exchange Tariff System?” she wanted to know. When he shook his head, she proceeded to tell him all about it.

“Ultimately, everything is negotiable though”, she added with a smile.

"That system sounds wonderful”, Doran remarked and returned the smile. It really did. Judging by the way that Caz had described it, the BETS system assured the existence of a continuous exchange of knowledge. He could see himself partaking in it in the future – and maybe even bringing some of his own works to the Scholar’s Nook in order to share them with Scalvoris, such as his essays on alchemy and the story of the Forging that he planned on writing.

“I have to admit, I’m looking for something in particular though”, he continued, having come to the conclusion that Caz herself would be the best person to ask. “I’m trying to research Enri Von Smooglenuff, his stories and the Smooglenuff family as a whole, and I was wondering if you have any books in that regard”, he admitted in a polite tone of voice.

He had hoped that Caz would be able to help him, of course, but her reaction surprised him, nevertheless. When he mentioned the name “Smooglenuff”, the mortal woman’s eyes lit up and she told him, “Oh, we have quite a few stories about Enri! Baron Von Smooglenuff – the late Baron Rodrigues Von Smooglenuff, to be exact – also held those murder mysteries at the old manor on a regular basis, and he took the stories in question to the Scholar’s Nook for Cassion’s trial.”

“Hey, Flea”, she addressed her brother who just arrived, carrying a small tray with a cup of hot chocolate that smelled delicious in Doran’s opinion. “Could you show the professor where the Smooglenuff books are when he’s finished his drink, please?”

“Sure, sister”, Flea replied, grinned at his older sibling and proceeded to set the tray down in front of Doran. “Just let me know when. I’ll be behind the bar”, he added and pointed.

The Mortalborn inclined his head in a gesture of gratitude. Truth to be told, upon discovering that the Scholar’s Nook did indeed have literature on or by the Smooglenuffs, he was suddenly tempted to go and take a look right now. He couldn’t let his drink get cold though, and he didn’t want to risk getting chocolate stains on the books by taking it with him either.

For that reason, he decided to curb his curiosity, or rather postpone it, sit there and watch the other people in the Scholar’s Nook while he sipped from his drink that was wonderfully sweet. He found the conversation of a group of fellow alchemists that were nearby – they were discussing the many uses of Yellow Dragon Wood – especially fascinating. There was something about the atmosphere in the Scholar’s Nook – about the people, the books and the smell and taste of chocolate – that filled him with a sense of comfort, he decided.

[Doran]

Doran didn’t leave the empty mug at his table when he had finished his drink, but handed it to Flea who was indeed standing behind the bar, as he had told him which earned him a nod from the human who he estimated to be approximately thirty arcs of age. Caz’ younger brother had given him the impression of being bemused and a little lost before, but when he told him that he’d appreciate his help in finding the Smooglenuff books now, he started talking as if there were no tomorrow. It was a little unexpected so that the Mortalborn raised an eyebrow slightly for a moment before he smiled at him.

The man was verbose to the extreme, and he sometimes used twenty words when one would have been entirely sufficient, but his enthusiasm was contagious, and he seemed to know what he was talking about. “Traditionally”, he told him as they made their way up one of the numerous staircases. “Baron Smooglenuff submitted the story from the murder mystery of the Saun before. He didn’t do so for a while before his death. I believe he has been unwell, and I don’t know why he waited an arc to take the stories here, and do you actually know what Cassion’s Trial is, professor?”

Doran did not have the chance to answer that question, for it was just then that they reached their destination. “So, we have the murder mysteries here, and stories about Enri’s various adventures over there”, Flea explained and pointed which caused Doran to momentarily furrow his brow, barely noticeably, as some of the books were located at the very top of one of the shelves.

“I thank you, Mister …?” he replied politely, hoping that the mortal would supply his real name - calling him "Mister Flea" felt a little strange.

“McNulty, Theodore McNulty”, Caz’ brother replied and cracked a smile. “But people usually call me ‘Flea’, so really, it’s totally fine if you do so as well, professor. Anyway, I’ll be over there, at the bar, again”, he said. “Good luck with your research, and let me know if you need anything else”, he added and departed while Doran momentarily wondered how the man who looked completely normal, was of a normal height and did not suffer from fleas or similar problems, from what he could see, had earned such a nickname.

A moment later, he decided to focus on Qylios’ task again though and began to meticulously look through the books (With the exception of the ones that were located in a somewhat inconvenient place; he decided to take care of those later on.). Finding the information that he needed was a far less time-consuming process than it had been once upon a time. What might have taken him breaks once upon a time, took him mere bits nowadays which was why he was sitting at his table again before long, reading the books and taking notes.

As he did so, he came to a most interesting realization: Apparently, Enri Von Smooglenuff had a penchant for monsters with unusual names.

Or maybe, thought with a hint of amusement, monsters with unusual names had a penchant for him.

Either way, the Smooglenuff had not been the only one.

[Doran]

As the son of Ziell continued to look through the stories of Enri’s various adventures and summarized his findings in his notebook, another thing soon became clear to him. Enri Von Smooglenuff was a truly heroic figure – he did not doubt that most of those stories had actually taken place – but he was not the kind of man who defeated monsters with pure force and violence. He was in fact far from one of those monster slayers with a big sword that featured prominently in some of the stories that his students seemed to be so very fond of. Instead, he defeated his opponents with wit and cunning.

(He did not have a problem with stories about heroes slaying monsters with their big swords, but actually found them mildly entertaining – they just shouldn’t be read during an alchemy class in his opinion.)

One of the books, a thin volume bound in leather that had been dyed blue told the story of the Pigalothsloth, for example, a behemoth with the face of a pig and fins that lived in the ocean to the north and that grabbed people that got too closer to the water and devoured them.

The inhabitants of a village near the Pigalothsloth’s home asked Enri for help for they didn’t seem to be able to defeat the monster.

After he had researched the Pigalothsloth for a while, Enri had an idea. He tied himself to the top of a rock whose southern side was facing the water, very tightly. There was a rickety bridge that led to top the rock on one side, and he made sure that the bridge was the easiest way to reach him.

Enri began to taunt the hungry monster.

At first, the Pigalothsloth tried to simply grab him with its long paws and pull him off the rock, but it could not. Each attempt to reach him brought the Pigalothsloth closer to the other side of the rock and the bridge, until it finally left the water completely and climbed the bridge in order to get to its prey.

The bridge collapsed under the monster’s weight, and the Pigalothsloth fell – into the pit below the bridge that Enri had asked the villagers to help him dig beforehand which allowed them to defeat it.

Over the course of his research Enri had found out one thing about the Pigalothsloth – it was weaker and more uncoordinated if no part of its body was in contact with water, and since it had fallen into a pit it could not get back into the ocean to regain its strength.

Yet another book talked about how Enri had defeated a monster called the Garglesmash with a story. He had convinced the Garglesmash that he could turn his fingers into venomous snakes that would devour it and invented an entire story around his ability so that the monster simply ran away, fearing for its life.

The story of the ravenous Pigalothsloth, Doran decided, sounded as if it might have happened like that – everything that he had read about Enri so far gave him the impression that he was an exceptionally clever man, but he was somewhat doubtful when it came to the Garglesmash. And yet, he had heard stranger stories that had turned out to be absolutely true.

(He also briefly wondered if Enri had in fact given the Pigalothsloth and the Garglesmash their names. He had named the Smooglenuff such in order to make people smile, because a monster with a funny name was less scary.)

Perhaps, he thought as he stroke his chin thoughtfully and looked at his notes again, he would be able to ask Enri about his adventures once he had found him. He did not doubt that he was still alive somewhere for his previous research indicated that he was a Mortalborn, of Xiur.

And if he wanted to find him, learning more about his past as well as his past adventures would be helpful, he decided. It would enable him to understand Enri’s personality as well as his view of the world better – and perhaps help him figure out what he could be up to now.

Ultimately, the best way to figure out how Enri had been involved, was to track the man himself down.

[Doran]

Once he had returned the first couple of books to their correct shelves, Doran looked for new reading material – and remembered something. Enri Von Smooglenuff had not only been a skilled storyteller and someone who defeated his opponents with wit and cunning, one Admiral Mosra who had written his works around the time of the Smooglenuff had also called Enri one of the finest star cartographers that he had ever met.

(That was another thing that made him think that Enri was indeed Xiur’s son – Xiur was the Immortal of Stars.)

With that thought in mind, he looked for books about astronomy, and stories about the stars and came across Nero and the North Star before long. It was called a legend rather than a historic event, but it might still be relevant, for legends were often based on real events and contained a kernel of truth. The story that he had found seemed to be a region-specific version, with Enri as one of Cassion’s helpers which he found fitting.

It was likely that Enri was not only a Mortalborn of Xiur, but also a Blessed of Cassion which subsequently made him wonder if it might be a good idea to ask Cassion about Enri whenever he met the Immortal again.

For the time being, he summarized the story of Nero and the North Star though, returned the book and finally stood on his tiptoes in order to get the books from the highest shelves – and take a look around the Scholar’s Nook, to see if there was anything else that looked promising.

Over the course of his research for the war against Slag’s Deep, he had learned that Enri had a penchant for anagrams and secret codes – he had used “Mrs. Violunne Guffone” at one point, for example. Matters of cryptography still eluded him at this point – that was something that he planned on taking care of in the near future – but there was one book that did catch his attention – because the author’s first name was Enri.

The spine declared it as “A Historical Study of the Pirate Lords of Scalvoris”, and it was written by one “Enri T’nooh-Meougg”. Had the vowels been different, he might have wondered if this was a different Enri – that name had to be somewhat popular on Scalvoris – but the vowels were exactly the same ones as in “Smooglenuff”, barring one. And the consonants …

He abruptly took the book back to his table, opened his notebook and started writing, slowly, checking each letter of the author's last name carefully in order to find out if his suspicion was indeed correct. After some time, he came to the conclusion that Enri had apparently replaced every consonant of his last name with the letter that came after it in the alphabet, but left his first name untouched, for whatever reason.

The book listed the names of the twenty Pirate Lords, among other things, from Dianarv over Gwiona to Vaniel.

And then there was Araman Musizu, “the Ageless” who Faith Augustin had told him was believed to be a Mortalborn. That made him wonder if Enri had gotten the information in the books from the Pirate Lords themselves, if he had in fact accompanied them for a while - for he strongly suspected that the Warden had been one of them.

Had his cousin told him?

Cassion had said that the Warden and Enri had been like brothers.

It was another thing that he would look into, he decided before he closed the book, returned it and finally packed up his things, making sure to thank both Caz and Flea before he left. He had spent quite some time at the Scholar’s Nook and wanted to rest a bit before he took another look at what he had found out so far and planned his next steps.

That was something that he considered to be important – to update his state of research with new information on a regular basis. It wouldn't only prevent himfrom losing track of what he had researched so far, it could also lead to a new realization every now and then.

Even if his research at the Scholar’s Nook was done, at least in regard to Qylios’ task, he would definitely stop by again though, he decided as he walked back to the Knight's Rest Inn where he had rented an elite room for the duration of his stay on the island, drink hot chocolate and partake in the discussions. Some of them had seemed quite interesting.

[Pig Boy]

Player Name: Doran

Points awarded: Tier 2 plot progression.
Magic xp: none

Knowledge:

Tier 1 Knowledges:
Cryptography: Replacing a consonant with the next letter in the alphabet
Investigation: Learning about a person’s past can help you find them in the present
Investigation: Start your investigation where everything happened

Tier 2 Knowledges:
Research: Doing literary research at the Scholar’s Nook
Research: Enri Von Smooglenuff’s heroic deeds
Research: Updating your state of research regularly is important

Renown: 0
Loot: -
Injuries/Overstepping: -
Wealth Points: -

Skill Review: All Skills used appropriately to PC's level

Notes: That Enri sure had a knack for naming baddies. They were such odd names, and hard to remember too. I suppose part of making a funny name can be the humor of a mispronounced one as well, so maybe it's layers upon layers with Enri.

The solo was long, but it didn't feel excessively so. There was just enough development and interaction with NPCs to keep the flow steady throughout. Doran really does seem to enjoy himself around Scalvoristown, I'm beginning to wonder if he'll return to Viden!

It was an interesting moment when Doran found a book that was possibly penned by Enri under a psuedonym that is just a rearrangement of the letters of his last name. I wonder just how much information he'll find out about him there?? I'm really intrigued by the Pirate Lords myself.

Good writing, and good luck with the rest of your Tier 2 plot.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding this review, feel free to PM. Enjoy your rewards!