Tegan took note of the gate and its surroundings. He had been posted to spots such as this many times during his service in the Saltspire Militia, although the gates had always been on the exterior walls of the city. He knew such duty to generally be quite boring -- and given the local weather, with its damp fog off the harbor, in this place it would be bordering on dreary and uncomfortable.

Marking a gate-guard by his accoutrements and uniform, Tegan strode over and nodded affably as he said "Good day." He knew from experience that a smile or a kind word could brighten a guard's day -- many people who were stopped at posts such as this were in a hurry (largely because they deemed themselves to be much more important than they really were, in the grand scheme of things). They resented being halted (and sometimes even questioned) and frowned or scowled the whole time, venting their displeasure as best they could on the man or woman who was, in their eyes, unnecessarily delaying their progress.

"I'm thinking that you need to see this," Tegan added, pulling the Writ of Passage from his haversack and handing it to the guard.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:54, Sun 22 Nov 2020.

While trekking towards the office district Yshtar thought how much more simple it would have been if she just took the advice of Drina Forgemire and took a look at the kobolds infesting the city sewers. Then she wouldn't have been forced by an undead composer thing to venture down his halls and wouldn't have seen the purple vistas of the Lady. She sighed. At least she had a couple of things she wanted to research in the Archives. She turned to Bartimaeus when Tegan marched to the guard and quietly started talking to him.

"Quite smooth so far. It looks like nobody is really paying any overt attention to us. When do you think we will get further attention?"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:15, Sun 22 Nov 2020.

A pair of guards bar our way at the gates to the Office District. The gate itself is little more than two portculli set into a large stone archway in the district’s massive barrier wall. The gates are currently raised to allow traffic through, but the guards are clearly keeping an eye out for those who don’t look like they belong. Taking the initiative and approaching them before they pick you out as newcomers seems a smart idea.

Both are human, one a tan-skinned man in his early 40s, the other a paler figure of a more ambiguous age and gender. Both wear the typical chain-and-leather armor of the city guard, as well as simple half-capes hanging from their right shoulder with a dark blue checkerboard pattern on them. Both guards quickly scan over the writ before handing it back. The man takes one look at Tegan, then at the three of you as a whole. “Awfully well-armed for a book delivery, ain’t ya?”

In reply to GM (msg # 31):

Tegan had a smart-mouthed reply on the tip of his tongue, but decided that giving voice to it would most likely not prove helpful to their intended purpose. And so it was that he replied politely "I can see why that might occur to you."

"As for myself, I have arrived in town only this morn, and I am still wearing the armor and gear that I wore during my journey to this place."

"Is that a problem? Insofar as I know, my Writ should be in good order."

In reply to Tegan (msg # 32):

The guard gives you a look you recognize from your own days as an enlisted defender. Your superiors would often wear it when addressing a new recruit or a known trouble-maker. It’s a look of someone just waiting for you make a mistake so they can deliver a bit of disproportionate retribution.

After a pregnant pause and another look over the writ, he hands it back to you. “Well don’t bother lookin’ for lodging inside. The wharf district’s got some places for outsiders to bed down, but the Office District ain’t a place for newcomers. Get the job done and get out. Plain and simple... Your friends here to guard your back while ya drop this book off, I take it? Sure you need all the help ya can get for such a daunting task.”
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:56, Sun 22 Nov 2020.

In reply to GM (msg # 33):

~I know the sort of fellow this one is,~ Tegan thought to himself.

~Although he fancies himself quite witty, he is rather slow-witted. But his primary trait is that he is a bully. He enjoys lording it over those who must recognize his authority by virtue of his position in the Guards.~

~A diligent sergeant or officer would have cured him of that, but for whate'er reason, it has not been done. And so, he continues his bad habits. I would love to break him of them and teach him some manners, but today is not the day.~

And so it was that Tegan nodded and replied "Lodging in the Wharf District -- got it." He refused to rise to the bait of replying to the other man's pointed jests about needing people to watch his back whilst he delivered the book.

Instead, he retrieved his Writ and stepped inside the gate, knowing that Bartimaeus and Yshtar would take that as their cue to move up and engage the Gate-Guards in discussion.

~I am not overly worried about Bartimaeus, but I find myself wondering how short Yshtar's fuse is.~

In reply to Tegan (msg # 34):

With that, you are let through the gate. Bartimaeus and Yshtar are free to follow or engage the guards as needed. It seems that, for the moment at least, all three of you are permitted to pass on authority of the single writ. Whether you choose to present the one Bartimaeus acquired or not is entirely up to you at this point.

"Ah, a slight misunderstanding. We met each other in the Town Square with a similar destination, if not errand."

He presented his writ to the guard.

"I expect, or, that is to say, I hope I shall be in the Archives for a substantially longer period of time, but presumably there is procedure within for obtaining that permission...?"

In reply to Bartimaeus (msg # 36):

The guard barely even glances at your writ, having already decided the three of you are together. “Couldn’t say. That’s something for the archivists to tell ya. Just don’t go touching nothing that ain’t yours while you’re in there. We clear, outsider?”

He motions for you to move through and does the same for Yshtar; clearly assuming she’s present to guard you or some such explanation.

Beyond the gate you find yourself on the main thoroughfare of the Office District; an upward stretching expanse of road, large enough to fit two lanes of traffic down, with ornate buildings on either side of you. This entire quarter is made up of three large hills that all overlook the rest of the city. The closest one appears to house a large vineyard. The second and clearly tallest of the three, which you can see beyond that one, supports the governing offices and court. The third you can only make out a small portion of. It appears to contain the more extravagant housing within this sector; likely for government officials, if you had to guess.

Traffic is moving at a steady, if somewhat slow pace, with people wandering here and there on the edges of the street while numerous carts rattle their way up and down the middle portions. Many of the folks you pass look barely present; clearly lost in their own thoughts and schedules more than anything else. You pass a wide octagonal pavilion on your left, inside which a series of small offices are set up. Lines and lines of people from every walk of life seem to be gathered here; interfacing with either tellers at the office windows or guards standing amongst the crowd. Several are coming away positively beaming, while most seem to be leaving with far more disgruntled expressions.. On the right, you wander by a decadent pleasure house the size of a small castle; a sign out front reads “The Sea’s Bounty,” and it is flanked by a carved stone bas-relief of a winged creature with the tail of a serpent and upper body and face of a beautiful woman, riding upon a cresting wave.

Further down the street you see businesses of all manner. Many of the clothing, jewelry, and accessory shops look so far out of a typical person’s price range that you can’t help but wonder how they stay in business at all. A small cottage-like structure sits nestled into the back of an alleyway between two of them, its tiny stone-and-thatch bulk looking insanely out of place amongst the rest of the modern buildings around it. Everywhere you look there is some new curiosity... yet the more you look around, the fewer and fewer guards you see. While the gates and some of the businesses boast an impressive amount of defense to keep common people out if they don’t have business here, the rest of the district seems to handle itself without the need of armed enforcers on every corner.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:50, Mon 23 Nov 2020.

"As crystal, guardsman. Blessings upon you."

Having passed through the gate Bartimaeus folded the writ back up, securing it in his vestments, and walked up to Tegan.

"Right. Now we only need to find where the archives actually are. Don't suppose you all know. Hmmm."

After the walk up the hill Bartimaeus decided directions were in order. Outside of a large inn he spied a group of porters lounging momentarily after having loaded a coach with several steamer trunks and approached them, clearing his throat. "What direction to the City Archives, please?" and flipped a silver to the most senior-looking of them.

In reply to Bartimaeus (msg # 38):

The coin is caught by a dwarven man with gray hair and a beard reaching practically down to his knees. He snatches it out of the air as he stands atop the edge of the cart, finishing securing a series of ropes meant to hold everything in place. “Archives? Yer’ll be wannin the Hill o’ Judgement. Governing-looking buildings and whatnot. Archives are right at the base of it, so no need to climb the whole trek upward. Yer’ll know it when ya see it. Positively beautiful bit o’ architecture that one. Marble and alabaster, shipped in from the high North. Cost the Shadesworns  more than one damn fortune to build back in the day, but it’s held up nicely over the years.”

Yshtar looked around looking at all manner of rich and soft people trudging away at their leasure or at the schedule of their masters.

"I haven't been to such districts in a long time. Too much work to do."

She said to particularly no one before Bartimaeus started talking to the dwarf and his comrades. She stepped next to the priest of Oghma recognizing the dwarf's need for a little gossip.

"The guards on the way in were quite stingy this morning. Anything happen or are they always like this?"

In reply to Yshtar (msg # 40):

“Festival Season,” he says with some notable amount of distaste. “Gets this way every year. Too much to set up in too little of a time. Always gets done, o’course. Just a real mess behind the scenes is all.”

With that, he begins the preparations for the cart to begin heading out.

"I suppose that makes sense," Tegan said as the Dwarf offered up "Festival Season" in response to Yshtar's inquiry as to why the City Guards seemed out of sorts.

"Festivals, fairs, carnivals and what-not always bring a flood of sneak-thieves, cut-purses, rigged-game sorts, and general ne'er-do-wells into a city in addition to the otherwise honest visitors who serve as their marks -- which means more work for the City Guards, of course. And that is in addition to all the work involved with set-up and clean-up. I can well imagine why moods might be gruff and tempers short."

That was giving the Guardsman who had taken Tegan to task the benefit of the doubt, of course. In his own mind the Half-Elf had the man pegged as an out-and-out bully, with mayhap stresses from the Festival stoking his fires of ill-temperment. Not that it really mattered all that much, now that the threesome were well away from the fellow.

Turning to Bartimaeus, he remarked "And in answer to your question, nay, I had not the foggiest notion as to where the Archives might be. You did well to ask directions."

Glancing now at both of his new-found companions, he added "And now that we have them, shall we put them to good use?"

Yshtar nodded and started looking for and walking toward governing-looking buildings made of marble and alabaster on a hill.

"Let's go."

Once there she started looking for anything looking like City Archives.

In reply to Yshtar (msg # 43):

Continuing on your way, you pass more and more of the upscale businesses, homes, lodgings, and entertainment facilities. Numerous individuals of the city’s upper crust roam the streets, standing out quite clearly from the more ordinary population moving about around them. The upperclass, you are quickly coming to realize, do little to hide their apparent wealth and station in this part of the city.

As you move along to the more even ground between the villa hill and the one housing the government center, you immediately catch sight of a large marble building, built to resemble like one of the Tenebrian Empire’s opulent circular palaces. In many ways, its shape reminds you of a cupcake or some similar pastry, with its round base supported by numerous marble pillars, its wide brim near the center of its height, and the swirled dome atop its crown. A plethora of stained glass windows line what you can only assume to be staircases inside, while a hefty set of ebony double doors await at the very front, open to allow entrance.

Across the street from it, you spot the only other building in this section of town to rival it in height. With its massive bulk, dozens of spiny steeples, and illustrious flying buttresses, you are confident it is a church or temple of some manner. The single vast window of golden-tinted glass above its carved stone doors stretches out in the shape of a rotund sun with twelve spiked rays jutting from it.

These two structures seem to almost be staring one another down as you approach.

In reply to GM (msg # 44):

"Based on what the Dwarf told us, I would guess that the circular building made of marble is our destination. It seems a bit . . . overdone for a library, but I suppose that is neither here nor there," Tegan said.

"Shall we?"

“Just a moment! Just a moment! Appreciate the architecture! Rotundas like these are rarely seen so dramatically opposed. One of them would be the jewel of any city, but two?! Simply stupendous.”

---

OOC:
Bartimaeus will enjoy the vista; does he also know to whom the temple is dedicated?
20:35, Today: Bartimaeus rolled 22 using 1d20+5.  Religion.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:58, Tue 24 Nov 2020.

In reply to Bartimaeus (msg # 46):

Observing the temple a moment, you recognize it instantly as a church dedicated to Amaunator, the god of Sunlight and Law. His influence has been quite noticeable all throughout the city and he has a fairly grand temple in the Town Square as well. This one, however, makes the other look like a penniless hovel by comparison. The sheer grandeur and immensity of the structure is stupendous and awe-inspiring to look upon.

The other building you are quite certain is the archives. And while it certainly does seem far too grand to be a simple library, Bartimaeus would know that its purpose goes well beyond that; as this is the primary repository for ALL knowledge within the city dating all the way back to the settlement’s founding some 500 or so year back. It would have grown over the years, to be certain, and most likely moved from one location to another as the town expanded into a true city, but this is as much the cradle of knowledge and information in this city as any main archive would be in any other metropolis.

"When you are done admiring the view, let's go into the Archives. We don't have all day for researching."

Yshtar didn't even glance at the church, her singular focus for now was getting into their destination and doing her research.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:01, Tue 24 Nov 2020.

Bartimaeus gave Yshtar a broad grin.

~~ Ah, the energy of unfocused youth. Never has time for the present. ~~

“Of course,” he replied, and gave one last look to the temple of Amaunator. “We’ll need to see the inside, as well. Inspiration, Yshtar. That’s what temples offer. A promise of what we may become. Another time.”

He turned to the archives and began ascending the steps. “For our present must now be concerned with the past and what has been. May the Lord guide my steps to Him.”

---

OOC:
Cast Guidance on B.

Tegan listened to what Bartimaeus had to say as the threesome ascended the steps of the Library building.

Turning to Yshtar, he chuckled and asked "Does he always talk like this?"

Stepping through the large double doors of elegantly carved wood, you find yourselves entering a veritable bastion of knowledge. Four stories rising up to the spiral dome of the ceiling; each floor absolutely teaming with bookshelves and scroll racks. The tallest shelves act as walls, splitting up the main central chamber of the cavernous interior into a maze of corners and alcoves where scribes move about in silent diligence.

Stained glass windows all around the structure cast rainbows of color all across the interior, while small enchanted lanterns hang from the edges of bookcases and balconies all about; their enchanted glasswork glowing flamelessly. Two massive staircases spiral up the interior walls, diverging away from one another right at the open end of the antechamber you three first step into. They then converge at the far wall, two floors higher, before carrying on their helix ascent until reaching the fourth floor; of which you can see precious little from down here.

Directly ahead of you, passing through the arched antechamber at the very front fo the building, you come to a desk manned by a young human woman who looks to be in her late teens or early twenties. Her face is youthful, but nondescript. She looks like a hundred other nameless individuals you’ve passed by without a word, every day of your life. Her hair is extremely short, blonde, and mostly concealed by the draped hood of her dark purple robes. She acknowledges you with some curiosity as you enter. “Good day to you all. Welcome to the Repository and the Prime Archives of Tideswallow.         I... don’t believe I’ve ever seen your faces here before. Are you here on research business or do you seek an audience with one of the archivists, professors, or          others currently employed in our research projects here?”
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:08, Tue 24 Nov 2020.

In reply to GM (msg # 51):

"Most impressive," Tegan muttered under his breath as he glanced around at the interior of the building. He halted when the threesome came near to the desk and the young Human female who was stationed behind it.

"Good day to you, as well," he responded with a nod when she greeted them and inquired as to their business.

"I am here to return a misplaced volume to Lady Shadesworn. Do I . . . ummm, should I deliver it to her personally, or do I simply hand it over to you?"

"I am not from this city, and I am unfamiliar with your procedures."

Bartimaeus was positively giddy. So much so, he had to gather himself together and stop looking at the library stacks and focus on the young woman.

“Ah! Yes, right... Good morning! Ha. A-HEM. Blessings of the Lord of Knowledge upon you. I am Brother-Scholar Bartimaeus Gianakos of the Oghmanic Monastery of Q'kwarm. My abbot has granted me the privilege to spend my sabbatical year abroad here in Tideswallow.” Again he presented his letter from the abbot. “Do you offer carrels and study shelves for visiting scholars? For the meantime my access to these facilities is limited by writ from the Town Square library. What may I do to acquire a reader’s license for an extended presence in the District, and proper perusal of this... wealth of knowledge?”

“Oh, of course, if Tegan here will be meeting the Lady Shadesworn, I would be honored to attend, present my regards, and ... my abbot’s apologies for Brother-Cleric Restim, ha. Ha ha.” he finished, somewhat lamely.