5522/Chimes

Chimes
Date of Scene:	20 October 2017
Location:	Lumiere
Synopsis:	Clues are sought about the mysterious Chimes and perhaps where to find Crow, in the lower reaches of the Library of Murdered Knowledge.
Cast of Characters:	974, Count Kord, Staren, Kushiko, Tomoe

---

Carna (974) has posed:
    It has been awhile since everyone has gathered in the Library of Murdered Knowledge. Their last visit to this place was when they were fleeing from hordes of Monstrous Invader Murdering Incognito Constructs, including ones that Enark had not made himself. Crow has apparently been instrumental in safely retrieving things from the Library for further research, due to its ability to go undetected and near-immunity to direct attack, but as they stand in the study that, aside from sojourns into the insane maze of Escher below, was the sole residence for Enark for billions of years, they find that they have a problem.

    "Crow is missing," Enark reports heavily as he pours himself some coffee. The coffee maker, television, laptop, and other modern conveniences that have found their way into the study that has shelves stretching up to the ceiling thirty feet above on its shelves, are all the result of regaining access to the outside world, and further being able to visit and retrieve things from the Multiverse that Lumiere is part of now.

    "During the visitation to the painting world of Queen Priscilla, he vanished. I am not certain when exactly it happened, due to Crows ability to go unnoticed. But I would guess it was either right before we were all returned to the exterior chamber on the outside of the painting, or occurred simultaneously with said ejection. I am not certain where he is exactly. So whatever knowledge we seek about that drowned city and temple, we will have to find ourselves." He slurps his coffee from his mug. The mug has the text '#1 Coffee Drinker' on it.

Count Kord has posed:
    Kord shows up to the sight of many modern devices he still cannot entirely figure out. He can at least come to terms with the purpose of a coffee maker, but the television seems to make him take pains to stay at a certain distance from it, as anything that does anything similar in his world has been haunted by a Rotom or inhabited by a Porygon faerie. The demigod is, thusly, probably standing at a weird distance from Enark if he's near any of the screen-possessing devices, which might be a little silly.

    "Odd."

    That is all Kord has to say about the shadow's disappearance. "Where do you think such books might be found?" he asks Enark, immediately switching gears to see if he can get a point of reference for what to look for.

Staren has posed:
    Crow is missing.

    "What?!"

    Enark explains. Staren scratches his head -- In the safety of this room, he's briefly removed his helmet to let his ears move around -- "Could Crow be stuck in the painting? Sheesh... This is a mess..."

    He looks towards the door to the library. "You know, all these mimics not built by you... Does someone else have to have come up with the idea for mimics and then died for the idea to end up in your head, or...?" He looks like he does at least recognize this is an awkward question to ask.

    "Do you at least know which part of the library might have the information we seek, or are we going to need to do a more extensive search?"

Kushiko has posed:
She remembered both incidents quite well enough--both the visits to the Library and everything that went on with Priscilla's painting. When it came to Crow, she didn't even pretend she understood it; she only knew she felt something /weird/ when it came to him and that divinity.

Because dwelling on the full specter of what was going on here was going to get to her more than it already had been. Trying to equate things together... yeah, she didn't want to think on it right now.

<"Simultaneous feels more likely,"> Kushiko remarks; she was disrupted fairly powerfully by the keening ... /thing/ at the end of it when they were ejected. <"We felt something when everything shifted the way it did. At least that's all we can call it. We lost Transference for a little, before restoring it once more."> Speaking of the Tenno and Transference, the figure itself that was here was the somewhat more gunslingery Mesa, cloak fluttering lightly from her shifting around a little bit.

As to the knowledge, well. <"... maybe we should look into what we've been seeing him manifest. Isn't there some analogues, those paintings and what not? I could be remembering wrong.">

Tomoe has posed:
So here they are at the Library of Murdered Knowledge, Tomoe is in armour, and lets face it? When is she not wearing some semblance of armour after all? She seems to get Cord's issues with the computer here. Given the way this world is? The computer could indeed eat one'ssould. She looks to Enark for amoment then back to Kord.

"Wait, crow went missing? I ran into a massive crow I wonder. It acted like it knew me..."

She thinks about that for a moment before she starts to look around the Libary some more.

Carna (974) has posed:
    Enark scrunches his face up a bit and waggles his free hand in response to Kord. "The Library is a very large place, obviously, and I have not had the opportunity to read everything that is in it. Some things, like USB drives and floppy disks and cryptoplasma I simply didn't have any device capable of supporting. Just because everything that dies winds up somewhere does not mean it all winds up here." he tap-taps his desk, sending a bobble-head of one of the Popes bouncing around when his hand jostles it.

    Enark nods solemnly to Staren. "He was on his own for a very long time, and he is... Stronger now. And more knowledgeable. It is likely that Crow can handle himself wherever he is. It is worrying, but hopefully when we return to Ariamis we will be able to confirm our Shadow's presence or not. It is odd that we keep having people go missing though. First Lady Carna, then Queen Priscilla, and now Crow... At this rate, eventually I too will go missing!" He slurps his coffee again, emptying the mug.

    "...I really hope that doesn't happen." he mutters as he stands up from his desk. He shakes his head and addresses Staren's second question. "The concept of people already existed, as did the concept of automatons, robots, statues, and so forth. I devised the method to put it into action while trying to figure out how to make more people. But it was beyond my power. Any inanimate structure I can analyze, I can turn into a Mimic. I have mastered that quite thoroughly. But controlling them is another matter. I think infusing them with their own will was something I learned too well, while changing the subject's form I was too subpar at."

    He stretches and turns towards the doors leading out into the library, once barred and barricade, now simply sealed with some magic wards. The Shrine of Light in the circular alcove right before the doors glows softly and soothingly as ever. "If I were to guess, I would say that if information on Lady Enion were considered restricted, it would be down below, in the flooded areas. For whatever reason, it became impassable while I was indisposed. That may, in fact, be tied to the flooding of the Temple of the Drowned, and that same city we seek information on." He shrugs. "It is really all I can suggest at the moment."

Carna (974) has posed:
    Kushiko's inquiry about Crow reminds Enark they have yet to discuss what happened at the God Forge with the others. As he heads towards the doors, and begins disabling wards, he says, "Well, while forging Carna's new blades at the God Forge, with the aid of Queen Priscilla, Sir Kord, and Crow, apparently some sleeping power was awakened, and we discerned that Crow is... Or WAS... The Lord of Silence known as 'Orc'. The first generation thereof. We know not why he is the way he is now, but since then, parts of that hidden past have been emerging more and more frequently, culminating with the recent event where I was severely injured. I am not certain where the transformation will stop. IF it will stop. But it is supremely dangerous to not only us but to Crow as well if too many people learn of his true identity. As we have seen, attempting to steal or trap him is 'a thing', and that may be tied to what power could be harvested by someone with sufficient knowledge. Queen Priscilla, Sir Kord, and Carna only found out recently. And I am not sure if Crow quite understands himself." He sighs, as he finishes with the glyphs.

    The wood-panelled doors are easily pushed open after that. "If there is something tying Crow, or rather Orc, to Queen Priscilla's world, we will find out soon enough, I am sure. The giant crow you met, Lady Tomoe, might be a good lead. I actually suspected Lord Tharmas may have a connection, beyond the reproductions based upon the Book of Los, but I have no method of verifying that presently."

    He then steps through the doors and back out into the gigantic library with all its branching corridors filled with books and writings of all kinds. He inhales the smell of books that saturates the air, smiling, but then growing serious as he begins keeping an eye out for trouble while approaching the large circular opening, lined with a railing, in the center of this particular area. "Down there is the flooded section. Let's see if anything has changed now that we have drained that sunken city."

Staren has posed:
    "Ugh, great. I did not bring underwater weapons. Though my lasers will work in a pinch." Staren comments. "Is there any way to drain the Library?" They can't see him fiddling with the settings on his laser pistol wirelessly.

    Now they learn something about Crow. "So our doubles are plotting to capture a Lord of Silence... Clearly, they have a plan for it."

    Before walking into the library, Staren puts his helmet back on. Then he walks to the railing and looks down.

Count Kord has posed:
    And so Kord follows Enark into the rest of the library, having listened to the words exchanged about people going missing... he frowns behind his mask, turning to observe the round around him as if paranoid about someone swooping in at that very moment. He then turns to walk up to the railing without speaking a word, and hops up to stand on the railing itself, peering down, down, down...

    And just pitches forward to drop down, his wings manifesting shortly as he flies downward at a relatively slow pace. He is very careful to check his corners, his scythe soon drawn from its holster to hold in one of his hands. Whatever is down here, he doesn't seem to care if it's a threat or not. He's just not all that knowledgeable about Earth fiction and mythology, which is both a boon and a curse.

Kushiko has posed:
<"That helps... we had been wondering, but we didn't want to press. Or more properly, it's never been a good time to ask, 'oh hey why are you glowin'?'"> Mesa-Kushiko shrugs once, before moving about towards their point of focus for exploration.

<"If anything still remains, waterwise, we have ways to traverse it."> Though she doubts they will. <"And if nothing changed, I'm going to be annoyed,"> she adds, almost tartly when it gets right down to it. She deftly unslings a pair of elegant looking machine pistols--if said machine pistols had part of their ammo fed from a sensual curve of ruthenium-gilded material from above. She helps herself up and over, and as she starts to fall fast--she doesn't.

She doesn't because she simply exerts some bizarre control, gravity lessening it's grip. The edge of a railing she'll use to stop completely, before letting herself fall again, sortof covering Kord, whom she lets go down faster.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe is worried about Crowbut he can take care of himself. She looks at Enark for a moment.

"I'm startingto wonder if everyone involved here might be in someone's list. If they cxould get Priscilla...I'm pretty damn scared of that."

She notes before keeping an eye out for trouble.

"This is true, it seems a lot of worlds are connected I mean someone here /saw/ me and the rest of the off worlders here coming long before I was born or my world unified."

She notes but she also think about the book tht was mnreniuoned there's not much time ot think on that as she moves ahead and she just kind of sighs at the idea of the Mimics in flood water.

"This is going to be one od those days."

Carna (974) has posed:
    Enark does not have a method to descend on his own, so hopefully Staren is able to assist with that. The Blue Scholar, after verifying the decreased water levels, actually seemed to expect to go find some stairs or an elevator down, but with Kord and Kushiko just jumping down a vertical shaft into deep darkness and who knows what else, they may fall behind. Oh, and Tomoe. Can she fly? Enark doesn't recall. "Well... There should be a lift around here somewhere. If all else fails, we can meet them below." Unless another option is provided, he leads the way to said lift, like an iron cage on a chain, and they ride down. If flying or something is an option, they can do that instead.

    As at least Kord and Kushiko descend, they pass by floor after floor of books, bannisters, and balconies. For the initial few dozen floors, though the areas beyond the central shaft are poorly lit, the parts nearest the hole at least have some visibility to them. Book shelves, racks of scrolls, and so on, all wet and running with flood waters in rivulets that join together into miniature water falls as each expansive floor very slowly drains.

    It does not appear any materials are damaged if they examine them, thankfully, so all this knowledge will not be lost by exposure to environmental factors. However, the further down they go, the darker it becomes. The light shining down from hanging lamps and ceiling fixtures high above, almost like sunlike shining down into ancient ruins from a hole in the roof, become filtered more and more by the depths, taking on a bluish tinge, and then fading to gray, and then black.

    And then, somehow, as their descent takes them to a point where the lights barely reach at all, the darkness becomes blue as well. Or maybe there's some ambient light? The floors here are more waterlogged than those above, and continuing to go down may result in plunging into murky waters with who-knows-what-in-them. This may be the place where they should stop and begin looking. Or wait for their resident Blue Scholar to join them.

    Though in the blue-tinged shadows here, noises that might not be just water and the settling of soaked documents sometimes can be heard. Almost like... Something flat and flexible slapping against stone. But it's very quiet, and rarely repeats. Maybe it's nothing.

Staren has posed:
    Down they go! Down, down, down into darkness (a light comes on from Staren's helmet). Eventually they reach a point where there's still water. After setting Enark down, Staren places LED lights around the railing, to illuminate the immediate area and also make it easier to spot when they're finding their way back. "Well... I guess not being attacked yet is a good sign..." He fiddles with his weapons and shoulder straps so that he can either ready the rifle or, in a hurry, draw one of his SMGs.

    After hearing that eerie slapping sound, he sticks microphones to opposite sides of the railing to try and triangulate its location.

    Only after all that preparation does he begin looking at some of the nearest books. "Is there any organization to this place, or do we have to check /every book/ to make sure we don't pass it?"

Kushiko has posed:
<"... we do not think we're alone in either event,"> Kushiko remarks in that odd little way of hers. Twin beams of light are cast out from each of her weapons, with a third from just around the 'collarbone' of the Warframe. <"At least, not until we are certain of it by careful searching,"> she adds. Better to be wary all the same.

<"... will any of this be useful?"> she wonders aloud, gesturing to the water-logged books, flipping one of her guns to her hip to point out the grossly waterlogged aspect of some of them. <"Or even be restorable?"> She looks--so to speak--back to Enark since Staren was able to bring him down; Mesa is not good at multiperson transport like Nova is.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe make sure the water levels are down as she gets ready to decend with the rest of the party, she cna fly if she's got enough light evne if not she's got enough tim to keep them from going splat at the end. She will move to help though she won't have too much toruble carrying anyone she needs to but with the light she will not have /very/ long to fly before her own wings will no longer unction she's going to end up using them like a break at the end of a jump. She's thankfully very agile too so it doesn't end up in disaster as they get down.

"Let's hope there is or we're going to have to dig through all of this worold's information humans have ever had..."

Count Kord has posed:
    Kord is, by no means, an expert on libraries. He tends to avoid them whenever he can because his barely functional literacy (in his opinion) is a point of extreme embarrassment for him. Which is why it takes him a moment during his descent to remember he's looking for books that explain the Drowned City, and that he should probably be looking for books with such a title. So he pauses once he reaches a region of the library where it feels like they might be in the right place. Everything is blue, blue is associated with water, and so he tries to find a reference point by coming to a landing and browsing shelves, very careful to hover around major streams of water as he investigates. If he doesn't find anything of value, he moves on, either descending or going around the inside edge of the library.

    Kord is very mindful of magic nonsense flying at him at odd angles this time. Anything icy could seriously ruin his whole week.

Carna (974) has posed:
    Staren provides illumination. Where it alights, the blue tinge to the darkness is blotted out, turning the surroundings back into just blackness contrasted with artificial glow. But beyond its reach, deep in the stacks, and down twisting corridors lined with tomes, scrolls, and who-knows-what-else, hints of the blue hue can be glimpsed, indicating there is potentially something in the air, or some other ambient lighting that is blotted out when other light sources are available. The former possibility is probably not the most appealing, because it means that whether they can see it or not, they might be breathing something pretty not-great.

    Anyone with knowledge of chemistry who runs through a mental list of what kind of gasses or substances would turn the air blue at this elevation is probably better off not going through such a list. On the other hand, it's Lumiere, so it's obvious that conventional physical laws don't always apply. Case-in-point: This very tower.

    As the catboy inventor places down Enark and sets about affixing additional lights around the area, the Blue Scholar pauses and brushes his robes off a bit as he looks around the rows of books. This used to be like home to him. The ache of familiarity distorted is apparent in his features as he scans around. "I can find what we seek, as long as I am free to conduct the search. Given enough time, anyone with a clear idea of what they are looking for would find it, but the attunement to the Library is the unique gift given to us by Lord Tharmas. I can find what we seek quicker than any mundane search would, with or without knowing what precisely to look for."

    He breaks off as he hears that not-entirely-distant sound in the darkness beyond the reach of their lights, and moves a bit closer to Kushiko, nodding in agreement. He keeps an eye on where the laser sights land for a few moments before shaking himself and prioritizing getting what they are after and getting out. "Though one thing I can say with certainty," he voices quietly. "It goes even faster when multiple people seek the same information. That is why there was an Order instead of a lone librarian. Among other reasons. Do not concern yourself with the condition of the information. It would take vastly more than water, fire, bullets, or blades to actually harm any part of the structure."

    As he feels over the shelves, attuning himself to the Library, he hastens to add on for Staren's sake, "Although I should note that setting off explosives in a confined space continues to be hazardous to our own health."

    With Kord assisting in tracking down what they seek, Staren trying to track down the source of the sounds, and Kushiko standing watch, it falls to Tomoe to stand guard over Enark himself as he begins to pusher further and further into the darkness, though at least this time being mindful of his own well-being and ensuring the group is near him at all times. Despite his lack of blood circulation, lack of need to breathe, and so on, the cold and damp down here have him shivering. Or maybe that's fear at being in a twisted version of a place once-familiar, and now with lurking intruders within. He mutters near-inaudibly to himself as he goes along, reading off titles, making mental notations, or maybe speaking to the Library itself. The group is gradually working away from the partially-submerged portion of the central shaft, that will require more to reduce the flooding, it seems, than draining a drowned city.

    According to Staren's investigations, the source of that sound is four rows over from their current position, and seems to be stopped. Four rows of these book shelves is the same as having four walls between them, though where gaps between where one book shelf ends and another begins, passages are created, forming a maze of branching paths, wet books and puddles, and darkness wherever they do not bring their own lighting.

    Whatever the source of the wet slapping sound was, it is presently immobile. Enark seems more bothered by that than when they could

Carna (974) has posed:
    Enark seems more bothered by that than when they could hear it, as now the only sound is their own movements, their own breathing, their own devices and speech, and the ever-present pattering of water dripping everywhere, or pouring down in the now-distant central shaft to the murky pool that obstructed further descent (at least for those who don't have aquatic abilities).

Count Kord has posed:
    Kord can deal with silence. He doesn't make noise, even his own breathing so quiet that it may as well not be there, and he slinks between the stacks and vanishes if no one is keeping track of him. He moves with his mastery over flight to seek out the source of the sound that Staren was tracking earlier, having grown disinterested in that and more interested in whether there's something in here he can murder. He is, after all, a warrior by default. If it can sense his approach in the first place, it would be an incredible threat to Enark as well, and he just confessed a valuable skill they need for finding anything important in this place.

    Kord keeps his priorities in mind as his scythe is held in both hands and he flits through the blue-tinted air in near utter silence, any sound he could make overpowered by the others and the constant dripping of water.

Staren has posed:
    So now Staren knows where it is ? sort of ? and it?s not moving. He?d go and look, if it were mroe direct, but he doesn?t trust that space isn?t warped here and that sounds like a good way to get lost. So instead he stays in touch with his sensors, watching for any signs of movement.

    Staren rolls his eyes at Enark?s explanation. Of /course/ there?s a. mysterious power that can find its way to the right book, and of course the Multiverse is too full of stuff like that for him to be able to afford time to understand it. So he follows Tomoe and Enark as additional protection, occasionally stopping just long enough to glance at some book titles.

    He half expects to find a book titled ?Everything Staren Wants To Know? or ?Secrets of the Multiverse? and then it turns out to be water damaged and illegible.

Kushiko has posed:
Despite a lack of things jumping out at her, and the fact that she too, isn't so much into direct 'research' as much as she could be simply collecting information for others to peruse, so she'll do something else, though not directly overwatch Tomoe and Enark directly.

No, given her systems, she figures if nothing else she can probably scan some of the tomes, intake the information and let Ordis peruse through it remotely. You know, to search for the keywords and the like that they're already searching for, at least once it reaches a kind of critical mass that's not just 'oh hey, have this single mention that has nothing to do with what you need'.

That, and she can keep looking around. So to speak. No eyes and all.

Tomoe has posed:
The party is able to get down without losing anyone else. She only has basic highschool chemistry but that's jut enough to know fire might not be wise, given the nature of decay related things tend to not react well to fire. She keeps watch over Enark as they keep pushing further in to this place that hold enough information to drive a single person mad should they somehow aquire it all.

"The book in question may want to be found."

Carna (974) has posed:
    As Kord makes his way through the shadows towards the last place the source of that sound was heard, Enark, Kushiko, and Staren combine their efforts to search for what they seek. Tomoe is on look-out, but in the darkness, and with only the lights they brought with them, they can only be thankful that the aisles are so narrow, leaving few places for something to hide. While many of the items on the shelves aren't labelled at all, giving no hint of what they have in them unless actually physically examined, Enark seems to have an idea of where to go, and when he pulls a book off the shelf to start looking it over, he seems excited by the discovery.

    He flips quickly through the pages, reading and scanning for information, and reporting what he founds. "This is about the Emanations. The female aspects of each of the original Lords of Silence. That explains why some legends speak of there being eight, while others say four. There were four Lords of Silence, but each possessed a duality: male and female. I knew of Lord Tharmas's Emanation, but was unaware the others had them as well. Let's see here..."

    He reads through the book, scanning for more details. "Enion, Emanation of Lord Tharmas. Enitharmon, Emanation of Los. Vala, Emanation of Luvah... Luvah? Who in blazes is Luvah?" he mutters to himself. "Ahanaia, Emanatio nof Urizen... And... Jerusalem, Emanation of Albion? Why is she named after..." he continues interrupting his reading to mutter commentary.

    As Kord comes ever closer to the creature, the sound again resumes. Much closer to him now. The wet slapping of something flexible but solid, impact moist ground, or itself being wet. It seems to be moving nearer him, though whether it is actually aware or simply being drawn by the sound of Enark's voice, is hard to say. But very shortly, he should be in the same aisle as it when he finds the opening between the stacks that leads into it.

    In the air, though not visible in the light provided, there is definitely something. Because the light does not carry as far as it would otherwise. Some particular matter, perhaps, or some mystical presence that limits how far light can penetrate.

    Enark puts the book back, apparently determining this is not what they seek, and continues searching. Kushiko's scanning turns up two leads. A book called, 'Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion', as well as one labelled, 'Temperospatial Claudications, Sub-Juncture 827, Pathway 2, First Chime: R'lyeh Glyph'. The second seems quite obviously relevant to their interets, though the first might have some clues as well. The former is straight ahead. The latter is in the next aisle.

    And without reaching the next gap between shelves, seeing what lies in that narrow, darkened passage is difficult for those with eyes. Down here, thanks to whatever is in the air, unless a light is shone directly on something, the surroundings of the 'cone' of light are as pitch, and this effect becomes more pronounced the deeper they go. Seeing things up close still works fine. But at a distance, they are moving blind. Having at least one person who isn't impeded by that is thus invaluable.

    Staren may pick up something as well, as he scans the book titles. A book that radiates pinpricks of darkness just to look at. It is utterly black and non-reflective, almost a book-shaped hole in the world than an actual object. It stings to look upon, let alone touch.

Carna (974) has posed:
    Darkness: Staren

    It also seems to be whispering to him. Him personally, though the words are indistinct.

    Darkness: Kord

    The familiar voices of the Darkness whisper in Kord's ear to beware. That something comes from deep below.

    Darkness: Kushiko

    The sound of water and the panic of crushing darkness and drowning in the deeps teases at the edges of Kushiko's senses. She herself, on the other end of her connection. A wordless warning, perhaps.

    Darkness: Tomoe

    An insistent anxiousness from outside of Tomoe herself presses upon her. It is extremely vague, but perhaps enough to put her even more on alert than she already is.

Kushiko has posed:
Dark places where few dare to traverse; this is not something known to Kushiko but that does not make her any less wary. No, a practiced concern, a way to work through all of this--though it does remind her of similar, hellish conditions in other times--this is different. It's enough to give pause, give reason to focus her unusual senses; after all, Warframes themselves? Do not have eyes.

She sees through the Void that she permeates the Warframe with, the varying sensors and the like useful to others who watch, but it's all her. Sight beyond sight, yet with what she's feeling, she turns on the lights on her weapons, and focuses those lights outward.

The warning prickle--too familiar. Too wrong, given it teases at the /her/. It's enough to put her on full alert, gesturing with both guns to cast a out a ribbon of light that begins to orbit her. She's expecting trouble; so naturally a preliminary buff wouldn't be a bad idea, though it's supernatural source of light may help as she works to get the book closest to her--carefully--so as to scan it's contents and then stow it into a foldspace.

But as soon as she's done that, she's got her guns out and focused on the vague sense of direction from where that warning originated from in the Dark, before advancing towards the next aisle. May as well provoke this... thing.

Count Kord has posed:
    Kord doesn't stop. His weapon is ready to fight something in the dark back there behind the shelves, his heart thumps in his chest, his eyes widen and his wings flex and flap as he reaches the opening in the shelves and rounds the corner. He can hear it, and it's clearly right HERE, so close, and with their luck it could easily be a creature that wants to eat one or all of them. And he really cannot afford to let Enark get attacked again. He makes sure to make the shadows extra oppressive so only the most sightless predator would be able to act, just to reinforce his advantage in the dark.

    When he spots whatever he spots, there is a very loud WHUMPF behind that shelving. Kord promptly projects an array of solid shadow to try to pin the creature against a nearby wall, covering its mouth in case it makes some kind of noise or screams. He is solely trying to restrain it, hoping that his profound power over darkness allows him some time to study what he's seen.

Staren has posed:
    A mysterious dark book... and he can feel it whispering to him...

    Well, it's certainly got Staren's attention! He reaches out to it... Not to READ it, but to stick it in a bag and take home and examine in a secure room after consulting Ainsley about possible hazards and security measures to take.

    The sudden pain on contact, even as gentle as it is, makes him jerk his arm back in surprise and shocks him to his senses. He has a book expert RIGHT HERE! "Enark? Have you ever heard of a book made of pure blackness that whispers to people?"

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe is wary is on her guard and she know it's getting pretty dark she's going to chat a spell for a moment causing a sphere of liught to hover at her shoulders to help light the way or try to. She finds even with the light it's hard to see, it would be impossible without it, she feels on edge now something isn't right and she's very much alert now she's looking around expecting trouble.

She was going to check for books, but that now isn't in the cards.

Carna (974) has posed:
    Enark is looking around nervously as the situation starts to turn grim. Just when it was looking up, too, thanks to Kushiko locating likely-sounding texts! He starts to answer Staren's question, while looking warily at the object on the shelf that 'bit' Staren's hand. "Black Books are an anomaly. They come into existence when something exists within the realm of human knowledge, but no human has yet learned of--" but then the warnings come, to everyone except Enark apparently, and he shuts his yap.

    tWhen Kushiko dumps the nearest book into her claudication/foldpsace, the exact sort of thing the other book in the next aisle mentioned, it begins to read itself, in a deep voice, speaking... Angry or aggressive-sounding German (is there any other kind)?

    "There is a Void, outside of Existence, which if enterd into.
    Englobes itself & becomes a Womb: such was Albion's Couch.
    A pleasant Shadow of Repose calld Albion's lovely Land.

    His Sublime & Pathos become Two Rocks fixd in the Earth
    His Reason his Spectrous Power, covers them above.
    Jerusalem, his Emanation, is a Stone laying beneath.
    O, behold the Vision of Albion

    'Half-Friendship is the bitterest Enmity, said Los
    As he enterd the Door of Death for Albion's sake, Inspired.
    'The long sufferings of God are not forever. There is a Judgment.

    Every Thing has its Vermin, O Spectre of the Sleeping Dead!'"

    The sound definitely isn't doing them any favors in the stealth department, but at least it appears to end there.

    Enark decides to do what Kord suggests and grab whatever he can in case they have to flee in a hurry. He ducks into the next aisle, following along after Tomoe's ball of light that leads the way.

    Kord sneaks up behind the creature. It isn't facing him when he sees it. It is hunched, its shape vaguely recalling a human's, but a twisted mockery of such. It is wet, with protrusions from its scaled flesh (fins?), and what might be webbed feet and hands. Its rattling, labored breaths, like a fish trying to breathe out of water, are quiet, loathesome gulping noises, but Kord is close enough to pick them up. Others might not notice them until it is too late.

    Just as Kushiko prepares her weapons, and Tomoe's light ball reaches the book on claudications, and Enark reaches for said book in turn, disaster strikes. Something he never would have seen or heard if not for Tomoe's magic emerges from the darkness in a ghastly, nightmarish surge, all monochrome hues in the dimness.

    https://tinyurl.com/yc2dzrx7

    Its inhuman jaws spread wide enough to engulf the Blue Scholar's entire upper body while he stares in horror.

Carna (974) has posed:
    The thing that Kord seizes in his shadows struggles, but can not break free. However, it is certainly not going to be happy if it is released, and is highly unlikely to NOT be hostile now. A steady rumbling or bubbling sound emerges from behind the group, but as Kord stayed further behind than the others, he is the one closest to hearing. Somethings comes from below. Maybe more of these... Things. Maybe something worse. But it might very well cut off their escape route if they don't make it back in time.

    Time to choose what's most important.

Kushiko has posed:
Time to make a decision indeed. On the one hand however, Kushiko herself is incredibly swift, even though she almost hisses in that weird displaced sense of vocal presence she has. She's recording it, by the nature of her aspect, but she's going to direct her light--her weapons--in the direction of the other book.

And haul ass over there to grab the book--oh, well. The Deep One is attacking Enark. This is not even remotely good at all. Decision is made, and it doesn't even take a second for it. She gives her weapons a quick twirl, looking /about/ ready to shoot with the AkStilletos, but the flip is to cause the weapons to blip into light as the longbarrels/tonfa looking thing on her forearms flip into the place previously held by the guns.

In this, her hands provide the remainder of the barrel and hammer as she quickly remarks, <"Get Enark and the book clear!"> Because when she fires, there's not a single shot that won't go towards the Deep One, but there's a supernatural sortof presence she now exudes. The Regulators, empowered by her Peacemaker ability, and she just keeps firing. Given the fact those guns are part of her, she is the weapon.

Fire with one's heart might be a good point to compare.

Count Kord has posed:
    Kord grimaces at the horrific fish beast's nature as it thrashes in his hold. The Count decides that, instead of fighting the creature, he's gonna rudely throw it as hard as he can by picking it up by the ankle and chucking it away from him, likely to send it cartwheeling through the air and smashing into the floor face-first. That might slow it down enough for him to flap his wings and bolt, heading back to the others. Once he reaches them, he doesn't pause to wait for anymore words to be shouted. He simply grabs Enark around the middle, and takes off at high speed.

    He is, of course, weighed down by carrying someone, but he tries to move back up, up, up and away from the blue-tinted region so soaked with water.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe looks at the fish beast she feels a good deal of horrorn she moves to to he best to cover her allies as they attempt to get going to vover everyone pulling back but well how do you cover vs something big enough to devour you whole. She will fire a few brif light spells at the thing but she gets the idea she may be at fault fot this.

"GET THE BOOK AND WE NEED TO GET OUT"

If needed she's going to be coving eveyrone else falling back but it is indeed time to go.

Staren has posed:
    So, the black book is not dead knowledge, but knowledge that never got to live in the first place -- metaphorically. Staren considers how to pick it up without touching it, but while he's thinking about it, there's noise in the next aisle -- and not from any of them. The whatever-it-is is close! Before he can react to that though, there's the sound of Kushiko opening fire. He rushes around to the next aisle to open up with his beam cannons on the deep one. He's not sure what it's done to Enark that's holding him in place and preventing spellcasting -- hopefully they can undo it.

Carna (974) has posed:
    Kushiko's void-charged bullets slam into the scaly horror. Tough skin like overlapping armor plates nonetheless produces bursts of cold, dark-red blood and horrific shrieks of pain that are all the more horrific for the fact that despite the inhuman appearance of the one producing them, the screams are NOT devoid of a human element. Enark manages to avoid his fate thanks to the time bought, the monster releasing its clawed grip on his shoulders just as Kord comes zipping in, navigating the paths he took to hunt the other fish-creature, after deciding that struggle was not worth as much as the life of an ally.

    The Blue Scholar is seized and pulled away, carried back towards the exit on wings of shadow, as Staren lights up the darkened, water-dripping library with his plasma cannon, making the fishman glow superluminous from inside as his insides catch fire from the intense heat, and then release a cloud of steaming vapor from his torso, mouth, fishy ears, and even his eye sockets.

    The Deep One collapses, but in the light produced by Staren's cannon, the nightmare vision of dozens of other goggling, hostile, fish eyed figured marching towards them up the aisle, and crowding in from the next, is revealed.

    Tomoe may well have to cover their retreat, but not if it means standing and fighting. They need to go. The sound of the water filling the lower reaches of the Library bubbling and churning as something large and terrible rises from below continues to grow in volume, signifying that time runs short.

Staren has posed:
    On the bright side: The Deep One goes down pretty quickly!

    Unfortunately, the bright side illuminates that there are many more where that Deep One came from. He could get out the serious explosives, but he doesn't want to damage the library...

    Ah. There's an idea!

    <"Tomoe! Get back around the corner!"> He urges the Salamander back before reaching into his bag and throwing a small object at the horde. The dazzler detects lenses, eyes, and the like and shines blinding lights at them. Hopefully it will distract them long enough for everyone to escape! Staren doesn't wait to see if it works, he just runs.

Kushiko has posed:
Tomoe might be a good person to cover their escape, but Kushiko, particularly with Mesa here isn't a slouch either; plus if she actually had to, she could and would sacrifice the frame in order to ensure their escape.

That being said, she quickly disengages her Peacemaker aspect, the Regulators unlocking and the AkStilettos appearing with a flash back into her hands once more. Since it's been too much time, she gestures, spinning the guns and causing a renewed focus of orbiting light--her 'Shooting Gallery' power, which immediately results in a copy of it jumping to Staren, which will augment his own shooting abilities a bit. It'll jump from person to person, like an energy lasso. And quite possibly do a bit of blinding as well, given that while the Deep Ones have no guns to jam, the act of trying to, well.

The Void's funny this way.

Nonetheles, she's moving to work to cover the escape because of her unique position, further augmenting her durability, layering her shields but staying mobile, popping off normal (if heavily corrosive and fire-imbued) bullets from her twinlinked guns.

Count Kord has posed:
    Kord doesn't stop and think, or gawk at anything that impedes his path to the open space that leads up and out of this drenched hellhole. He picks up speed once he has the space to do so, the acceleration likely to be absolutely harrowing to the poor scholar he is carrying around. The Count doesn't worry about the others overly much, instead focusing on the priority here, just the person that knows the most about this place out of anyone they have spoken to so far.

    "I hope you cannot vomit," he murmurs. Yeah, Kord isn't great at making the ride comfortable for other people.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe gets the idea even as Staren calls at her to run She turns to disengage and she's going to get the hell out of here she knows more are comming and staying behind would be a bad idea the large woman hauls tail to do what Staren has wisely suggested and she gets the hell around the corner as fast as she can move.

Carna (974) has posed:
    As everyone gets out of there, the combination of blinding lights on eyes equipped for visiomn in deep, dark waters, have some difficulty dealing with the repeated changes in light levels between both Staren and Kushiko. Thankfully, whatever else they may be, they don't appear to be very fast, so there is little need to shoot at anything on their way out. Also, due to their expedience in escaping, they all manage to make it back to the central shaft they descended down originally, and whether under their own power, or with the aid of others, they manage to ascend back up to where they started. But anyone who happens to look down at the seething pool of water below before their view of it is cut off will see yet another vision of nightmares to add to the many accumulated within Lumiere so far.

    An eye. Just a giant, bulging, glowing yellow eye, right below the waterline. It fills the entire core of the tower down there. If there's anything attached to it, how it squeezed itself in there if so, WHY there's a giant eye down there, all of that is unknown presently. But it tracks their movements the whole way up. And then it blinks horizontally, lids sliding closed from either side around its vertical pupil. That's the last any would see of it for now.

    Because from here on out, it's time to just go back to the study and rest... And eventually start perusing what they recovered.

    Though now they have fish people to worry about. Whenever they return to the Temple of the Drowned, they are going to be in for some interesting times.