Library and a Corpse

This posting contains the most recent findings of the party. This information, along with all of the other findings, have been assembled into one comprehensive post: see 30 Minutes.

After having pocketed the iron key found on the corpse, Bruno makes his way into the library and begins to study the tomes upon the shelves in earnest. Given the volume of books on the shelves, Bruno asks for Arimas' help in scanning the spines of the books in order to get a quick snapshot of their content. The information that follows is the culmination of Bruno's and Arimas' combined effort in this investigation.

The books on the shelves along the central portion of the north wall contain The Master’s grimoire (some of the book titles are written in Sidhe; others are written in a language unknown to Arimas and Bruno).

The books on the shelves in the northwest corner of the room are written in a language unknown to Arimas and Bruno.

The books on the shelves in the southeastern corner of the room are all written in Common and contain descriptions of various facets of the necromantic art. Dominant subjects are reanimating of corpses and prolonging life.

Concerning the books on the shelves along the southern wall of this room, some are written in Common; others in a language unknown to Arimas and Bruno. Of the tomes written in Common, what can be determined is that they contain a dissertation on the Sidhe, as encountered by The Master. In general, they contain his perspective on the Sidhe based on his dealings with them years ago. Three of the books, however (written in Common), describe particular items/entities created by the Sidhe:

Book 1: The Nine Items of Power

Book 2: The Twelve Towers

Book 3: The Lost Sidhe Nation of Beower


Johan walks Verinda and Frederick back up to the third floor. As they reach the top of the steps in the library, they look around in subdued amazement. This room (as all of you had already noticed) is more nicely decorated than the rest of the rooms in the tower and the two servants pause for a moment, studying the surroundings of the library.

Johan leads them into the windowless room where the corpse (now cut in half, along with a Vyn-sized crack in the rough table/bed on which it is lying) is located. Verinda and Frederick stop a few feet short of the bed, their mouths agape as they stare at the corpse's face. The look on their faces is that of shock and disbelief, but there is not a hint of remorse in their eyes.

Verinda turns to face Johan. Staring at him wide-eyed, in a halting voice she says, "That's definitely him, but he looks... old."

They are certain that the corpse before them is that of The Master.

They are also certain that they saw him leave that morning... dressed in robes, not the tunic and breeches that adorn the corpse lying before you now.

Johan looks back at the corpse and notices that now that a few more minutes have passed that the rapid decomposition of the corpse isn't so much rapid decomposition as it is accelerated aging. The face of the dead man appears to have gone from that of someone in their late 40's to someone in their late 60's.