A stack of four books on a shelf just about twenty feet away begin to glow with a faint dweomer.

Zmija points at the glow and says to Loukas..."It looks like they have found what they seek...this is a good time for us to talk further and I can begin to explain how you must adapt your skills to that of the skill set of my order. We already have much in common but there are certain secrets that I can begin to reveal to you that will become of great use to you given your advanced experience in the physical arts."

In reply to Zmija (msg #35):

Loukas glances once again in the direction of the glow and then turns back to Zmija. He had never heard the term, "physical arts" before and there was something about it that he found quite appealing despite the fact that he really had no idea what it meant. Nodding, "Right. No time like the present, as they say. I think you must have much to explain to me. My uncle always complained that I was a poor student, but I shall endeavor to disprove his claims and, perhaps, please his spirit in doing so."

"Ah, Sir Mage," smiles Dyanna as she looks at the glowing tomes.  "It seems you've found a trove!  Let us see what we may!"

She approaches the tomes, though has a care not to disturb any until Balthazar can join her.  She looks for any sigils or sign, or marks that would identify the tomes on the bindings (without touching, of course).

"Watch for any hidden traps!" she murmurs to herself thoughtfully, wondering how one would go about disarming such on arcane tomes...

After some scrutiny it is clear that there are no traps. In fact it looks as if these books were set here out of place. Perhaps abandoned by a scholar when the Pechenegs looted the building.

The four books do not look terribly old or terribly thick but that does not mean they do not contain much worth.

Balthazar stashes them into his magic pocket and looks around to see if his spell detects more such books.  "I've got 5 cubic feet of space in this pocket, so don't be shy, if you see something valuable, grab it and hand it to me."

After a thorough search it is decided that the library contains no other spellbooks. Some spent scrolls are found but presumably the spells themselves were transfered into the spell books found.

There is nothing else of worth here besides books...and a lot of them at that.

Balthazar asks Zmija to go run and check on Michael and the horses to make sure they are okay.  Then he, Loukas and Dyanna start looking at the occult books to see if there are any references to the Cube.  If this were a Call of Cthulhu game, it would be time to make a Library Usage roll!
This message was last edited by the player at 20:00, Mon 26 Apr 2010.

Zmija bolts from the library with alarming speed and is back in less than a minute with a report that Michael is safe and taking care of the mounts just fine. He joins the others in a search.

I have actually taken your CoC advice and gave everyone a chance to spot something here in the library. Obviously the two magic users being the most book type of characters have the best chance.

Dyanna continues to search until she hears the others call her back.

Approaching them she asks, "Did you find anything?"

Having traveled with Zmija, Loukas was not surprised by the man's quickness, but it did occur to him as he watched the Rus monk move with such speed that following the precepts and practiced they had been discussing would enable him to do the same. It was both a thought both exciting and intimidating, but mostly the former.

Being in this state of mind he found himself rather less interested in the books than he was in the conversation that he'd been having with Zmija. Unless he is encouraged by the Rus to assist Balthazar and Dyanna he will attempt to pick up the conversation with him where it was left off when he went out to check on Michael.

"Nope."  Balthazar notices that Zmija and Loukas have gone off by themselves.  "Except this book on erotic massage.  It seems I could learn a thing or two from this."  He shows her some of the drawings of the advanced techniques.

"Perhaps you can practice on yourself," Dyanna says, offering a wry grin.

Turning away then, she continues, "When we settle in this eventide I'd like to discuss our discoveries."

Zmija pops his head back in the library from his talk with Loukas..."I heard Dyanna mention eventide...this will be upon us soon. I suggest we finish up here and be on our way so we are not caught out alone in the dark."

"Alright everybody, let's finish up."

Back to home base.

"I'm ready," replies Dyanna, following with Balthazar as Zmija exits.

Balthazar keeps an eye out for anything obviously valuable while on his way out.  Still lots of room in his magic pocket.

The five leave the library area and head back towards the north gate without incident. The streets are still deserted but there are sounds of battle tot he south it seems.

With in a half hour or so the party arrives back at the head quarters of Dobrynya...Loukas and Zmija have been involved in a deep discussion all the while.

It looks like the others are enjoying the hospitality of the future Regent at an outdoor feast. The only ones who seem to be missing are Jaleh and A'kos.

Sorry a bit of a rush post but at least it gets us mostly back together. I did do the random checks to make sure your return was not just a blatant return for games sake though.

In reply to Nestor (msg #51):

Balthazar asks Dobrynya and Zmija if they think organizing a search party to go after Jaleh and A'kos is warranted.

"We will give then one more hour and if they do not show up, we will search for them yes?"

Balthazar nods and remains tense, worried about his companions.

"Perhaps we should retire, Sir Mage, and begin the examinations of Pyotr's Bane," murmurs Dyanna to Balthazar with an arch look.  "A look at our discoveries from this day might be in order."

"Indeed, I am keen on that as well.  I hope we don't have to interrupt our, um, studies, for a rescue mission, but if we do, Dobrynya knows where to find us."

Balthazar retires with Dyanna into seclusion, where he pulls great treasures out of his magic pocket.

We will keep Dyanna and Balthazar here in this thread. Remember they have a makeshift lab set up in a building by the North Gate.