Heroes' Hearth

[Earl of Purple]

Library

A small red-chested bird flutters down outside the library, recognisable as a Eurasian robin. Shortly after landing, it changes, expanding outwards as the wings change shape, losing the feathers and growing fingers, the splayed toes turning back into humanoid feet clad in white trainers, the legs human legs, wearing thick black tights and a knee-length green skirt, whilst the torso is concealed under a red hooded jumper and topped with a human head with short black hair and green eyes. She's about fifteen, and looks around a little before concentrating and holding her hands out in front of her. There's a flash of light accompanied by drifting symbols- hearts, clubs, spades and diamonds- as she teleports a battered red rucksack into her hands, which she slings over her back and heads inside.

"Hello? Anybody here?" She looks around, rather curious about the new library and its rumoured hoard of magical knowledge and secrets.

[Personification]

((Just so you know, the location tag for the foyer is...))
[Library Foyer]
There is currently an old elven woman sitting at the desk (the library location descriptions are upthread).
"Hello young lady. What can I do for you today?" she says. (This is an NPC, you can control her if you want.)

[Earl of Purple]

Library Foyer

"Um, hi. I was wondering if you had any books on Conjuration magic? I've mastered most of the simple stuff in my spellbook, but it's a beginner's guide and I'd like something a bit more advanced. Oh! And possibly anything you might have on latent shapeshifters, please." She's not sure they'll have anything on the latter, as it's a pretty obscure subject even on her homeworld, since most latent shapeshifters never learn they possess the ability.

((Latent shapeshifters, like this character here, can 'store' shapes magically, but lack the ability to adopt a shape of their own, meaning they're limited to shapes other people or methods transform them into.))

[Personification]

[Library Foyer]
"We may have just what you need, dear. Don't you worry! As to the second request, check floor three. You'll find a large selection of magical and scientific treatise and the like on shape shifting there. Also on that floor you will find, in the biographies and memoires area, a book called The Puppetmaster: My Life as an Oblex, by Siri Yull-Kellu'ur, it's a personal favorite of mine, and while it might not be as helpful as some of the more technical works, it is much more entertaining. As for your first request, it depends on what you're looking for. If you want textbooks or books on magical theory check floor four, but if you want to take out an actual spellbook you will have to go to floor five and get special permission from the Professor before you take it. If you take that route, I recommend Tosscobble and Dafnooble's Intermediate Conjuration, it is one of the few books in our collection that is both an actual spellbook and a textbook. Whatever you choose, you will need a library card to check it out. Just fill out this form and give it to me, and we'll get your card to you in about an hour. Actually, I'll have it sent to the Professor's study on floor five, so that if you want to get the spellbook you can just pick it up when you go to check out.

She hands you a form (the description of its contents are upthread) to fill out for a library card.

[Earl of Purple]

Library Foyer

"I don't know what an oblex is, and I don't think the book would be very relevant, but thank you anyway. I'll check it out." Puppetmaster is far from what Natalie's doing. "What's the difference between magical theory and a spellbook?" In Natalie's homeworld, 'spellbooks' contain just magical theory and explain how a practitioner of that magical discipline can actually do anything. It's down to that practitioner to actually use that theory to craft spells.

Name: Natalie Flome
ID:
Description: Black hair, green eyes, pale skin.
Species: Human
Magic type: Conjuration/Summoning
Organizational ties: Good League of Good (dwelling place)
Other notes: Latent shapeshifter, can assume spider-monkey, robin, chameleon and otter forms.

[Personification]

[Library Foyer]
"Well, magical theory is the study of the basic concepts, mechanisms, and effects of magic. It can be used to increase one's understanding of spells and be used to design them, but the books don't contain the actual incantations. A spellbook, on the other hand, is a collection of spells created by a mage, along with the specific directions on how to cast them."

As she is saying this, the elf drops the form into a slot on her desk.

((If you don't know OOC, an Oblex is an ooze that can take the memories and form of those that it eats.))

[Earl of Purple]

Library Foyer

"I've never worked with incantations, and I don't see how directions to cast a spell would work without an understanding of the theory behind why the spell works. I've worked from theory since I started, and... My spellbook makes it seem like most magicians do." Natalie's confused, as her magic- whilst inspired by DnD- is not actually very close to DnD magic. And I knew there were differences, but I hadn't realised this was one of them. She's also using 'magicians' as a non-school-specific term for multiple practitioners of magic.

((I am vaguely familiar with oblexes, but Natalie's not from a Dungeon & Dragon world.))

[Personification]

[Library Foyer]
"In that case you'll want floor four, someone down there should help you find what you need."

((I actually think that they are pretty new to D&D. From my understanding, a few months ago a kid used his Make A Wish wish to help design Dungeons and Dragons. He got to spend a day at Wizards of the Coast, toured the place, and talked to the designers. Then they let him design a monster, and the result (which is honestly awesome and super disturbing, was the oblex, which they published in their next book, Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. There is a video about it here.))

[Earl of Purple]

Library Foyer --> Fourth Floor

"Thank you." Natalie will then leave, heading to Floor Four.

((That is awesome, and I own Mordenkainen's Guide- it's my only 5e book outside the core 3. Just haven't used one or faced one, so I'm only vaguely familiar.))

[Morty]

[Library Foyer]

Batu returns here after a week, to retrieve his library card. He's curious how the place has changed in the meantime, as well.

[Personification]

[Library Foyer]

Batu receives his library card from the front desk and is told:
"If you just head to classroom A on the 6th floor, the professor will be with you shortly."

((Earl of Purple, if you are waiting for an interaction, I am not entirely sure what to do. The library is an open area, and the Librarians are, generally speaking, NPCs.))

[Morty]

[Library Foyer ==> Classroom A]

Batu pockets the library card and heads to the classroom. Seems that the professor has whipped this place into shape alright. Must not be the first time he had to hire new staff and start from there.

[Earl of Purple]

Library- Fourth Floor

((Mainly I wanted an excuse to look around, get to know you and maybe see if I can give Natalie a power boost or rework her abilities slightly, which is why I hadn't replied sooner.))

Natalie's going to look around at the books, trying to find a book on conjuration theory.

((I can wait until you have an idea, Natalie and Batu haven't met so these scenes, despite being in the same general place, don't have to rely on one another.))

[Personification]

((I would just like to apologize for not replying to this in forever. I also apologize for the forthcoming walls of text, I don't know how to avoid them.))

[Classroom A]
The doors along the halls on floor six are labeled with several different sets of numbers, letters, an symbols in such a way that it probably makes some sense to somebody, but unless they explain it to you you could easily get lost. Luckily, Classroom A is pretty close to the elevator, so you find it with no problem. Inside, you see a medium-sized room with counters running along the walls, under which are cabinets. There are three tables and nine chairs pressed against the wall, leaving the room's center free. In about a minute, the Professor walks in.

"Ah, good, you're here. Now, before we begin, I realize that I never actually explained how fees work. If you have incurred a fee, the cost will be charged to your library card account. If you have access to some form of automatic payment method, you can link it to the account. Otherwise, you can pay it at the front desk. If you have a total of 30gp-worth or more on your card, or if any single charge to your card is more than three months old, you cannot utilize any library services until you have paid. The rules are slightly different for late book fees, but that isn't relevant now. Anyway, the fee for this lesson will be 5gp, if you learn nothing, that will be reduced to 1gp, or, if you just need more time, I will make your next lesson free.

((Writing this has made me realize that I don't actually know how time or money work in the Nexus, am I dong it right?))

The Professor than goes to the center of the room, makes sure that you are near the walls, and opens one of the cabinets, inside of which is a control panel. he pushes a button, and a large portion of the center of the slides away, revealing a pool of water.

"According to your library card, you have the ability to transform into a crocodile. It just so happens that, while most of the magic you wanted to learn, non-telekinetic transmutation, is beyond my ability to teach, I know two spells that not only perfectly fit what you are looking for, but will help bridge the gap between what you can now do and what you wish to do more of. One of them is a cantrip, which means that it will take little to no expenditure of magical energy for you, but it may be impossible to learn, there are weird limits to learning cantrips, and while I spent a large part of my life working to circumvent those limits, most people haven't so it is really hit or miss. Anyway, that spell will cause your fingernails or teeth to suddenly expand and become corrosive for a few seconds before snapping back to normal, allowing you time for perhaps a single acidic attack. The other spell is one of the most powerful I can teach from a pure magical expenditure point, but still requires relatively little compared to most other spells. It allows you to fundamentally alter your physical form in one of three ways for up to an hour, though it requires you to continuously focus on it. One of these forms can breathe underwater and swim exceptionally, one works similarly to the cantrip, making your teeth and nails long and sharp enough to attack with, and one allows you to make yourself appear like any person of a similar height and weight to yourself. My hope is that I can use your pre-existing transformative power as a jumping off point. I believe that I can teach you to almost transform, but instead snap back after just a few seconds without expending magical energy, or to expend a burst of energy and concentration partway through the transformation in order to hold the intermediate form, where you are yourself but with extended claws, at which point we will advance to taking that transformative energy and using it for other purposes, such as the aquatic or cosmetic forms. After that, you should have a good enough grasp of the concept to eventually learn how to use similar magics on others, and eventually work your way up to True Polymorph if you are so inclined. For now, I would like to see your crocodilian transformation, so as to better understand how to utilize it.

He gestures towards the water.

((So, Morty, I am not entirely sure how to do this. I think it might make the most sense if you tell me whether Batu can learn these things (the spells are Alter Self and Primal Savagery, a Druid spell from Xanathar's Guide to Everything), as well as any specifics on how you think the process would go, and I turn that into a training montage. Do you have any other ideas? @Earl of Purple, again, I am uncertain of what to do here. I think that what might make sense is for you to narrate a scene in which Natalie finds her book (all librarians except the Professor are NPCs), and then goes to the Professors study, where he will be soon after Batu's lesson, which I assume will have happened while you are searching. If you can think of something better, or if someone else who is reading this wants to add a character to interact with her, that works too, nut otherwise, I don't know.))

[Morty]

[Classroom A]

Batu listens intently, then takes a look at the water.

"I've got two transformations, really. I can turn into a were-crocodile or I can turn into a regular one. But I'm not good at controlling the latter one yet. It'd take me a while to become a hobgoblin again. But..." Batu concentrates again and grows. He not only becomes a fair bit bigger, but his skin turns into a crocodile's scales, his hands grow claws and a tail grows out of his back. His head is also one of a crocodile. Strangely enough, his clothes aren't damaged. They must have been made to accommodate his shifting.

"That'sh the long and short of it," he says, awkwardly speaking through the massive teeth. "It givesh me the ability to control water, like thish."

He waves his hand and the water in the pool rises and falls somewhat.

[Personification]

[Classroom A]

It takes several hours of coaching, and probably the expenditure of several uses of the shapeshifting ability (if that is a limited resource) as well as at least one 2nd level spell slot or an equivalent (if that is something Batu even has to worry about), but eventually Batu starts to make progress. At first, he has trouble keeping the form for the right amount of time, either accidentally completing the transformation or not letting it last long enough even for Primal Savagery to be used. Eventually however, after watching the Professor perform the spells himself on some dummies, Batu stands in the middle of a pile of soggy stuffing capable of completing both Primal Savagery and the claw/fang section of Alter Self. Then the Professor teaches him how to harness the Transfigurative energy, eventually allowing him to use the spell fully.

Batu can now use the spells Primal Savagery and Alter Self, he owes the Library 5GP.

After the lesson, the Professor says good bye to Batu, Prestigitates the classroom clean, closes up the pool in the floor, and heads to his office where he does paperwork.

[Murkus]

[Library Foyer]

After accepting a brief but warm welcome from the Acolytes of Hero's Hearth, Adir makes his way here. He looks to be a very tall, strapping man of mixed blood, and seems to be about thirty years of age. He doesn't look like he's very familiar with... libraries in general. He glances around a bit dumbly before approaching the counter, or wherever it is an attendant happens to dwell.

[Personification]

[Library Foyer]
As Adir enters, he sees a circular desk in the center of the room, at which an elderly elven woman sits.
"Now what can I do for you, dear?" She says.

((I just want to let people know that due to a heavy workload followed by a week-long vacation, I will likely be unable to post much if at all for the next 10-ish days (though I will try). In the meantime, all of the NPCs in the Library (except the Professor, he is my PC) are fair game for anyone to use, and the library itself is too, as it probably has the information you seek. If you would rather wait for me to be able to participate, as I said, I should be able to post more regularly in a little over a week.))

[Murkus]

[Library Foyer]

Adir smiles charmingly. "Well, see, I'm looking for lore about a jerk I know..."

((Thanks dude. I guess since it's mostly up to Nova how much info there is and how useful it is, I'll see if he wants to run some NPC's/control the information Adir uncovers.))

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Library Foyer]

"Well, that's a bit broad, there are a lot of stories and histories with jerks in them," the elf says with a bit of a smile. "Perhaps you can be a bit more specific about which jerk you're looking to find out more about?"

[Murkus]

[Library Foyer]

"This one in particular calls himself Zenon the Devourer," Adir extrapolates. "Do you think you could find a reference to that name anywhere?"

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Library Foyer]

The old elf looks thoughtful for a moment.

"The first part of the name doesn't ring any bells, but there have been lots of nasties calling themselves 'Devourer' over the years. Floors two and three are likely to be your best bet. A librarian up there might be a bit more help in narrowing things down for you. You'll need a library card if you want to check out any of the books, of course, but you're free to read here as long as we're open."

[Murkus]

[The Library Foyer --> Floors Two and Three]

"Thank you, ma'am," Adir says, wobbling on his heels to give a silly little nod and smiling before he turns away. He shall go search high and low for information on Zenon. Sure there are probably a million Devourers to get through, but this fell and his slick armor had to be pretty distinctive right?

[Nova_Eclipse]

[The Library Foyer --> Floors Two and Three]

It stands to reason that Zenon's armor and appearance should be unique, but depending on where he came from, finding information on him might be more difficult. Adir finds the second floor easily enough, and is greeted shortly by a young elvish woman wearing a set of round spectacles, her dark hair pulled back into a simple, yet unflattering braid.

"You're looking for information on someone called Zenon the Devourer, yes? The front desk asked me to try and help guide your search," she says, blushing slightly as she looks him over. "There are a lot of 'Devourers' in the literature. Can you give me a description of him? Or of the sorts of powers he has? Many of them are active supernaturally; it would be helpful to try and narrow the search."

[Murkus]

[Floors Two and Three]

"I guess I'd say he's supernatural. I don't know the extent of his mojo, but he wore some strange guns on his hips. And the armor..." Adir will describe Zenon to the best of his ability. "And from what I understand, he was pretty much indestructible. It's why I'm here. And listen, keep this hush-hush, will ya? This guy seems pretty nasty and I wouldn't want him trying to burn all the records of himself, especially if there's actually any here."

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Floors Two and Three]

The woman nods several times as she listens to Adir's description of Zenon.

"Hmmm, that style of armor doesn't sound particularly common except in some of the more...technologically-inclined literature. It certainly doesn't sound familiar, but there are a few entities with the title of Devourer that match your description of his powers. There is one account of such a being that comes to mind immediately. This way, please."

She turns and leads him into the stacks, twisting and turning through the massive number of books that comprise the library's historical collection, until she comes to a particular stack. She stands looking for a moment, before pulling out what seems to be an older book with a latch on it. She hands it to Adir.

"Start here. There are a few other accounts I can think of, now that I've had a moment. I'll have to fetch a ladder for them, though."

[Murkus]

[Floors Two and Three]

"If you don't mind?" Adir prompts, taking the book. "I have to try everything I can."

He will sit down to start reading.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Floors Two and Three]

"It's no trouble," the elf says with a bow, before scurrying off to fetch said ladder.

The book itself appears to be an observation log of a diviner who liked looking into different realities. It takes several pages of skimming before he finds the first account of a creature that might be similar to Zenon. Some of the powers the author observes are similar, such as teleporting using a black manifestation of a maw with eyes, though unlike Zenon, this creatures' maws appear to be more nebulous and cloud-like. The observer notes that despite the dimensions' inhabitants having a very high technology level, nothing they seem to throw at it deters it, even as it consumes all in its wake. The observer manages only a dozen or so entries, before alarmingly noting that he's now unable to scry into this dimension; he notes it as though the dimension has simply been deleted from the multiverse.

Adir is interrupted by the librarian when he reaches this point in the text.

"What do you think so far? Sound like the person you're trying to learn about?"

[Murkus]

[Floor Two and Three]

"A little... Do you think you can find any more accounts like this?" Adir asks, though he happily accepts whatever else the elf has found. A floating maw with eyes... conventional and advanced weaponry failing... What was the trick? And if Zenon was this thing and he could eat universes, why hadn't he eaten the Nexus yet?

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Floor Two and Three]

"There are a few," the elf says, as she sets the ladder up, resting it against one of high shelves a few feet away. "They're what I'm going to get now."

She scurries up the ladder, and returns a few minutes later with an armful of books. Some of them look quite heavy, but she seems to be managing it one-handed just fine.

"These are pretty close. There's some more from the author you're currently reading, and a few of his colleagues. I'm not sure what else we might have, but if you find something that gives you an idea, let me know, and I'll try to find more on the subject."