+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | The Olympia Times Thunder and rain year 10 | | June 29, 2015 | | | | turn 77, 125 players olympia@shadowlandgames.com | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ Questions, comments, to play: http://www.shadowlandgames.com/olympia Olympia PBEM * * * * * * =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Player-contributed press =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Some lessons just are ones that must be learned time and time again ... -- Gizmos [ka9] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The situation gets far more better now. -- Brotherhood of Blue [lk8] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Rumors =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Oops Mr Hotzenpoltz jumped over the side Twas Mr Seppelt that is sleeping with the fishes =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Returning from the grave is a nice but strange sensation. The weirdness will only go away when my cat plays with the skulls of my enemies. And when my dog chews the bones of their mothers. And when maggots crawl out of the eye sockets of their children. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Chapter 1. Oleg Securing the library is a straightforward task. Oleg has a solid routine down which is good. His current rage and weakening health would deter and distract him otherwise. These damned students with their last minute returns. There's a misconception going around the current batch that if they return their damaged and overdue scrolls that he'll forget by the time he rises again and their fines will be forgiven. They are wrong. Oleg never forgets. They really pushed him this time though. He needed them to clear out by noon, but he was still shoving them out the door as others were crowding in well later. He goes from window to window closing shutters. Occasionally pausing to catch his breath or steady himself. This purposeful winding down of his health to build aura is never easy. Once the decision is made there's no turning back if he needs more time. By 30% he needs to be headed to bed and by 25% he will be unconscious. When he arises is less certain. His health will fall to five percent and only after it has risen back to 25% will he regain consciousness. If all goes well, he wakes in two weeks. It's worth it. For all the aura he can build and harvest. For all those ghost warriors he can summon. For all the battles he will win and the lands he will conquer with those warriors. Still, the library of the Unseen University which he holds as the center of his power must be secured. There is too much of value here for it to remain open while he is out. Even his closest adviser Osswid cannot be trusted with these ancient scrolls during that time. He stops in front of the largest window that looks out over the spires of the university. He leans one hand on the sill and thinks about the latest acquisitions to the library. He would have preferred to catalog them more thoroughly before winding down, but there is no time. The demands of this latest campaign necessitated - He whips his head back to the stacks. Was that the rustling of robes? He braces himself against the sudden dizziness. He knows the students have left. He cleared the room hours ago. He walks over to his desk and lights a candle. With most of the shutters closed as the day is waning, shadows are filling the room. The rustling - does he hear it again? He walks slowly down the end of the stacks and sees no one. Of course he doesn't. No one is there. And there is no time for a seeking spell, he is so tired. He returns to the windows and shutters the last ones. He goes back to his desk and pulls out his key ring. It's so late in the process. The keys are heavy. So many. He walks slowly to the chest of in-progress work and locks the locks. He moves next to the door and double checks the bar. He throws multiple deadbolts and turns several locks on the door. He goes next to the slot where scrolls and letters can be deposited while he's out. The box at its base is clear but he knows it won't be when he arises. Damn students. He goes back to his desk to put away the keys. He slides them into a drawer, a clever compartment that will not be visible to anyone once closed. He rests for a couple moments, but knows he has very little time left. He must finish his duties at hand. He moves next to the stacks. He double checks the cabinets are locked and the shelves are tidy. He is confident they are, he would tolerate no less. The stacks are empty. He knows they are. At the back of the stacks, he opens the door to his private quarters. He is so tired. He has no energy. His health is so low. He moves to his bed and double checks his side table. The water, wine, food, what he'll need when he arises is there. He lifts the wineskin - is it light? It can't be. He just filled it a couple hours earlier. He is so tired. He walks slowly, so slowly around the room closing the shutters. He bolts the door that leads back to the library. He pulls off his robe, and drops his linens. Does he hear a gasp? It must have been his clothes hitting the floor. He sinks to his bed. What is that smell? Could it be orange blossoms? Is it cloves? He is so tired. He grasps the covers but they fall from his hands. As his vision greys out, he sees a woman leaning over him. She smiles. He tries to lunge up but he cannot. His health is too low. He feels the slight breeze of covers lifting up and then settling over his body as he fades from consciousness. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Chapter 2. Okhyra As she smooths the covers over Oleg's legs, Okhyra eyes the wine bag. Did he notice she had taken some out earlier? She knows there's a fair chance she'll need more time in the library than his sleep provides. She's prepared to deal with this eventuality. Turning around in the room, she notes where everything is situated. While two weeks seems like a long time, she will need to be efficient. It's been many years since she was a student in the University and had ready access to the stacks. While much that is recorded on the thousands of scrolls is useless to her, there could be some gems amid the dross. And there are the new acquisitions... She gazes back on unconscious Oleg - he's still scowling, but his face is easing. She knew that little bit of theatricality as he was fading was unnecessary but so irresistible. The provocation may or may not prove helpful long term, but she suspects it will be. She unbolts the door to the library and steps inside. Her eyes adjust to the shadows of the stacks. She'll have to take advantage of what small amounts of daylight come through the shutters. As she comes out of the stacks into the reading room, she pauses seeing the empty tables, remembering her time here. She sinks into a chair and runs her hands over the smooth wood. Her route to the University was as unorthodox as her life since then has been. But she was happy here. Or is avid a better word? She was so greedy for everything on offer. That, at least, hasn't changed over the years. Rising from the table, she takes stock. She walks around the perimeter of the room. The library has changed since Oleg took over. Years ago, it was more cluttered, dusty, more than a little chaotic. Now there's a sternness about it. The order makes it look simple, but she knows it won't be simple finding what she wants. Oleg is canny and ferocious with his power, which begs the question - what kind of librarian is he? ... After two weeks, she is not satisfied. She's gleaned some interesting information here and there. Some clever minor spells. One or two students of great promise from far continents with interesting turns of phrase. References to some useful-sounding plants as well. May be some travel in her future. But she has not found what she is seeking. She extends his sleep a while longer, but realizes more time will not help. She's read every scroll on every shelf, in all the cabinets, in the "hidden" compartment in Oleg's desk. His nasty little trap there didn't faze her. She's thoroughly checked his private rooms, too. Nothing. If she's going to gain access to the prize she believes Oleg to have acquired, she needs information. And she knows where she'll have to get it from. Oleg. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 24: Taken from Lion [149990]: 24: one lion [280] 30: One lion died. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=