Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
Back in the abbey, Emmerson takes the scroll sent along by the bishop. It seems like a lifetime ago that he had sat in The Cat & The Fiddle, interrogating Oktav about the abbey. He waves the scroll toward Vonmora to get her attention.
"Vonmora, do you know how to perform the exorcism ritual of your people?"
"Aye," she nods. Deep black circles have appeared under her eyes, although her voice betrays none of her weariness.
"Lothian be praised," Emmerson murmurs. "It took all of us to cleanse this abbey. It took more from some than from others, to be sure. If ever there was proof that united faithful could accomplish great things, then this abbey is it. It should be dedicated to all our gods."
Vonmora reads through the scroll, nodding to herself.
"Let's do this," she nods.
"Emmerson, you stay here with Vonmora and Oktav," Tucker says, grabbing a lantern. "Emus and I can go poke around, make sure there's no surprises left here. We'll start with the dining hall, then go from there to the dormitory and the attic."
The pair departs, leaving the priests alone.
"Let's do this outside," Vonmora says, rerolling the scroll. "Do it in the cloisters, spread the blessing to as much of this place as possible. Grabbing her gear, and Bufer's discarded backpack, she leads the way.
The party spreads out through the abbey as darkness descends.
What Tucker and Emus mostly find are sad reminders of what was once here. Some of the sisters' goods have been rifled through, long ago, probably by other adventurers or by thieves before word of the haunting had spread. Other than ruined clothes and worm-eaten wooden bowls and the like, the search of the abbey turns up little.
Oktav finds an old oil lamp and sequesters himself in the library, sorting volumes by levels of decay and whether the books are safe to move. When asked, he indicates that he intends to bring the books back to Middleborough for restoration and cataloging prior to finding them a permanent home.
Seeing the light in the library, Tucker pokes his head in.
"Hey, Oktav. I just wanted to say that you did well out there today. I'm glad you came along with us." He starts to leave, then turns around. "Do you know what the bishop's plans for this place are? Start it up again? Burn it down? Anything?"
"I do not know what the bishop intends for the abbey. It technically still belongs to the Church of Lothian, even if there was a long period where it was unused."
Emmerson crosses the cloister, dry grass crunching beneath his feet as he approaches the library.
"Tucker, if I may interrupt. Brother Oktav, a word with you."
"Yes?" the acolyte asks, clearly impatient to get back to the books.
"About the book that started this," Emmerson says. "While it would be important evidence for his Excellency against the foul villain who sent it, I refuse to allow it to exist any longer. Would burning it get rid of it and its evil? Or is there a sanctioned way to proceed with its disposal?"
"Assuming the book really is the cause of all of this ... I do not know," Oktav shrugs. "No one ever trained me in the methods of destroying books. It does seem a shame not to record whatever ancient lore is in the book beforehand, though."
"That's the same kind of thinking that got the abbey in trouble in the first place," Tucker observes dryly.
"You don't know that, deputy," Oktav snaps. He too is obviously exhausted by the day's events. "And more importantly, the sisters were right: Things are being forgotten, more and more each year. And as the printing presses break down and those that remember how to repair them die of old age, the records we have of the past become more and more precious. Destroying a book of this age simply because it makes you nervous is something the sisters would have been violently opposed to doing. Their goal was to preserve knowledge against the coming darkness, not hasten the tide of ignorance."
It's obvious this is the sort of thing that he takes very seriously: His face is getting flushed and he's raising his voice more loudly than the adventurers have previously heard it.
"Very well, brother," Emmerson said. "I just suggested it because last time we were in this library you said the church didn't gather these books, it burned them instead."
"Well, all right. Unless you have another suggestion, we shall take it to his Excellency once the abbey has been sanctified once again. Master Potentloins and I have much to discuss with my lord bishop. In the meantime, the book stays in the abbess' room. No one touches it until the ritual is finished."
"Vonmora, do you know how to perform the exorcism ritual of your people?"
"Aye," she nods. Deep black circles have appeared under her eyes, although her voice betrays none of her weariness.
"Lothian be praised," Emmerson murmurs. "It took all of us to cleanse this abbey. It took more from some than from others, to be sure. If ever there was proof that united faithful could accomplish great things, then this abbey is it. It should be dedicated to all our gods."
Vonmora reads through the scroll, nodding to herself.
"Let's do this," she nods.
"Emmerson, you stay here with Vonmora and Oktav," Tucker says, grabbing a lantern. "Emus and I can go poke around, make sure there's no surprises left here. We'll start with the dining hall, then go from there to the dormitory and the attic."
The pair departs, leaving the priests alone.
"Let's do this outside," Vonmora says, rerolling the scroll. "Do it in the cloisters, spread the blessing to as much of this place as possible. Grabbing her gear, and Bufer's discarded backpack, she leads the way.
The party spreads out through the abbey as darkness descends.
What Tucker and Emus mostly find are sad reminders of what was once here. Some of the sisters' goods have been rifled through, long ago, probably by other adventurers or by thieves before word of the haunting had spread. Other than ruined clothes and worm-eaten wooden bowls and the like, the search of the abbey turns up little.
Oktav finds an old oil lamp and sequesters himself in the library, sorting volumes by levels of decay and whether the books are safe to move. When asked, he indicates that he intends to bring the books back to Middleborough for restoration and cataloging prior to finding them a permanent home.
Seeing the light in the library, Tucker pokes his head in.
"Hey, Oktav. I just wanted to say that you did well out there today. I'm glad you came along with us." He starts to leave, then turns around. "Do you know what the bishop's plans for this place are? Start it up again? Burn it down? Anything?"
"I do not know what the bishop intends for the abbey. It technically still belongs to the Church of Lothian, even if there was a long period where it was unused."
Emmerson crosses the cloister, dry grass crunching beneath his feet as he approaches the library.
"Tucker, if I may interrupt. Brother Oktav, a word with you."
"Yes?" the acolyte asks, clearly impatient to get back to the books.
"About the book that started this," Emmerson says. "While it would be important evidence for his Excellency against the foul villain who sent it, I refuse to allow it to exist any longer. Would burning it get rid of it and its evil? Or is there a sanctioned way to proceed with its disposal?"
"Assuming the book really is the cause of all of this ... I do not know," Oktav shrugs. "No one ever trained me in the methods of destroying books. It does seem a shame not to record whatever ancient lore is in the book beforehand, though."
"That's the same kind of thinking that got the abbey in trouble in the first place," Tucker observes dryly.
"You don't know that, deputy," Oktav snaps. He too is obviously exhausted by the day's events. "And more importantly, the sisters were right: Things are being forgotten, more and more each year. And as the printing presses break down and those that remember how to repair them die of old age, the records we have of the past become more and more precious. Destroying a book of this age simply because it makes you nervous is something the sisters would have been violently opposed to doing. Their goal was to preserve knowledge against the coming darkness, not hasten the tide of ignorance."
It's obvious this is the sort of thing that he takes very seriously: His face is getting flushed and he's raising his voice more loudly than the adventurers have previously heard it.
"Very well, brother," Emmerson said. "I just suggested it because last time we were in this library you said the church didn't gather these books, it burned them instead."
"Well, all right. Unless you have another suggestion, we shall take it to his Excellency once the abbey has been sanctified once again. Master Potentloins and I have much to discuss with my lord bishop. In the meantime, the book stays in the abbess' room. No one touches it until the ritual is finished."