Skyhaven Keep Library
The Skyhaven Keep Library stands in a great building overlooking a tranquil courtyard. From the outside, as you approach, you wonder at first if it is some sort of cathedral; the white marble walls are pierced with towering glass windows, the high-peaked rooftop lined with gargoyles and grotesques (all of which appear to be writing, reading, carrying, or merely perched on books.) A pair of great winged lionlike statues flank the entrance; one, the more dragonish, clutches a massive, weathered book in its forepaws, while its partner, somewhat more birdlike, holds a long writing quill over a thick furl of stone parchments. As your jewelwing guide approaches, the great doors between the statues slide open with barely a whisper of noise despite their great size and weight. You climb the broad steps uncertainly, half-convinced that the sightless stone eyes of the statues and gargoyles are watching you. Within, the smell of leather-bound paper and fresh-polished wood greets you. Stairs not unlike the ones outside lead down to the main library, where a veritable maze of shelves surrounds a central aisle and reading area. Spiral staircases to your left and right ascend and descend to more hidden wonders, and in one corner a glass doorway leads to a small bookshop. Even considering the size of the building, somehow it seems impossibly larger inside. Not impossibly, you remind yourself as your jewel-winged guide waves to get your attention. Improbably, or unlikely, but not impossibly. Not here. Walking down the central aisle, you catch glimpses of other patrons, few of which resemble your own species any more than the fairy dragonfly. At the end, Sky Dancer waits patiently, perched on the edge of a great circular desk at which sits a man you can only assume is some manner of librarian. Too tall and thin to be human, dressed in simple robes that look, at first glance, to be made of old parchments yet fold like silk, he appears to be engrossed in some sort of puzzle involving letters on a metallic sphere hovering before him. "Silver... rivers... sleigh... hawthorn? Ratclaws! Won't work," he mutters, furrowing his pale brows and tapping the ball with his long, pale fingers. A string of letters vanishes, returning to a round mirrorlike plate beneath the sphere. As you approach, Sky Dancer taps the desk bell with his butterfly-finned tail, and the man looks up, startled. "Hm? Oh, it's you, Sky Dancer," he says, almost returning to his puzzle before he glimpses you. "Ah - and a visitor! Er... was anyone due in today?" "It's a bit of a long story, Quillby..." the jewelwing explains, glancing at you then looking away quickly; you realize that he is still disturbed by your unexpected arrival, despite his earlier assurances. "I take it the visitor section's still in the same place?" "No, they moved it yesterday morning. They're moving everything around lately," the librarian complains, still eyeing his puzzle and muttering now and again under his breath. "North wall, third alcove. It's a bit sparse at the moment, but... well, you know how it's been lately, what with the reorganization and all." "Tell me about it," your guide sighs, launching himself effortlessly from the desk. "Come along, then." You follow Sky Dancer through the shelf maze to a small table near one of the impressive windows. On it rests a thin book and a glass bell. "Just open the book and pick what you want to read, then turn the page. If you don't mind, I have a few other things to attend do at the moment. If you ring the bell, you'll be returned to the Main Adoption Lairs - I'll meet up with you then." With a flash of light that seems to tingle like static, only deeper in your bones, the jewelwing vanishes. Still a bit bewildered, you look at the book before you.
Ring Bell and Return to Main Adoption LairAll backgrounds and images, unless specifically noted
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