Chapter 156 - 156

Misha is the first to find something valuable, sending a Guild message that she's found an abandoned bookstore, and is carefully exploring in search of surviving texts. The magic in skill books might have kept them intact, and sometimes a double sealed case can preserve documents even without magic.

There is a glass topped case by the counter that has books inside that look completely intact, so Misha carefully heads behind the till to examine them. The case is latched shut with a locking latch that seems to seal the case, like a water tight door on a ship. The lock has been left off, so Misha carefully twists the latch open until, with a hiss of pressure equalizing, the case swings open. 

The labels are in Gnomish, which none present can read, so Misha carefully removes the first tome and opens it to a random page in the middle. 

It's porn. Gnome Porn to be exact.

Maybe the next book will be better luck, so Misha looks for a tome that looks different than the first one. 

Also Porn. Of the human variety, but also with Gnomes. 

Now she's starting to wonder if this case is the adult books section of the store, so she carefully places the tomes back in the glass case and seals the latch, which closes with a puff of air being expelled from the case. It seems the twist action also operates a pump hidden behind the frame that pumps air out of the case to keep the contents secure. 

Moving through the store, she finds a collection of books with Elven writing on the spine and signals her translator to come over and check them. 

"Children's books. This one's for learning to read, that's for math, the ones over there are all storybooks." The Elf points to the various books, which all look to be in pretty delicate condition, but doesn't touch them. 

They search the area and find a bit of what they're looking for just one row back. School texts. They're all labeled as introductory, but they're enchanted and all look to be in fairly decent condition. Elven Children must be as hard on school supplies as humans are, Misha decides when she notices the enchantment. There's multiples of each, so they collect one of each textbook and move back through the aisles, gathering books as they go. 

None of it seems to be about combat, or trade skills, but they all still hold valuable knowledge. They've even got Gnomish copies, a true rarity as far as any of them know. 

Other than the textbooks, very little survived the centuries, so Misha begins heading to the door before stopping and looking back at the first cabinet she encountered. What if the valuable books are also sealed in there and she just can't tell without checking them all?

Better safe than sorry. 

She's about to open the case again to add a selection to her collection when she finds the entire case can be stored, books and all, as a container in her inventory. So that's what she does, hoping that it's not entirely some Gnomes Porn collection. 

As she is leaving the bookstore, Cain and his group have found the courtyard of the Royal Guards facility. 

"Don't you think this is a bit odd, it looks like someone has cleaned this area recently." Cain says quietly to his Supporters.

"They've definitely cleaned, there's no fallen leaves from the Dragon tree, and it should drop them every tenth year." The Dark Elf says, indicating a large one situated in a field of crystals, giving off its own white light. If Cain recalls correctly, Dragon Trees are named for the durability of their leaves, which the Elves use to make armor. Cain has never heard of a glowing white one though. They usually give off a soft green glow. You can see one from the Sunnybrook Guild House in fact.

As they approach, being sure to keep to the path for fear of traps, they notice there also is no collected dust or debris here, despite many of the smaller buildings like the bridge over the pond, which still holds water and fish, being in a crumbling state. 

"Did they cast an enchantment to keep it clean maybe?" Cain wonders, looking around at the faded glory of this ancient facility. Well, ancient to him, since it seems there are still Elves alive who worked here. 

"There, on the right, that should have been the recruit training facility. If we're going to find a combat manual, that's the most likely place for it." The Cleric points towards a sign carved of rock, indicating the layout of the facility. 

This building seems to be in very good shape, the roof is intact not fallen, the entry doors are closed but look solid. Even the windows are intact, indicating the building hasn't shifted and settled enough to break them. They approach with caution, again noticing the lack of dust and debris. It's like the Royal Guards only left a few days ago. 

"Shamans, you'll need to stay outside, I'm not sure these old floors can support you. Elves, with me, let's search this place for a copy of the textbook, and anything else that might be interesting. You know the drill." Cain says, gently pulling the entry door, which swings silently open. 

Inside is like a time capsule, perfectly preserved, only this one is empty. There are desks, chairs and hard mounted training equipment, but no signs of books, tools, weapons and anything else easily removed. Maybe they actually packed up everything before they left, unlike the residents who took what they could carry and went looking for a new home. 

"That's a full sweep of the training facility with nothing. Let's take a look through the main building, and if that's empty too, we can look for a fighter's training academy. If it's in ruins they might have left something behind, unlike this place." Cain suggests, looking at the large black building, looking somewhat like a mosque with its domed roof.

Inside the main building is just as spotless as the rest of the courtyard, but not as empty. A few paintings and other decorations still adorn the walls, faded with age, there are carpets on the floor between the clusters of comfortable chairs that line the walls and a guest book sits open on its stand by the door.

"What is your name, do you recall? Summons don't always have their memories." Cain says to the Summoned Dark Elf Clerics. 

"Drazzit is my name." They say in unison. Cain looks down at the first book and writes both their names followed by 'plus escort' as the Primordial Shaman doesn't have a name of its own that can be pronounced or written by humans.

He looks over the sheet carefully, seeing that the previous postings were all people signing out on the same day, but he doesn't recognize the calendar system. The Beginner Valley used the calendars brought by the transfers, but this one is totally unfamiliar, the day number is 84, so clearly they're not dividing the year into months. 

"It's the old Solar Calendar, divided into the four seasons. Each equinox and solstice begins a new quarter, with the new year being celebrated on the winter solstice." She explains. Well that's easy to remember, and efficient too, the calendar self adjusts without need to calculate leap years. Or maybe this world doesn't need them, Cain hasn't been paying close attention to such things. 

They split up to move into the side rooms, finding them all to be well furnished sitting rooms, the sort you would expect to meet with government officials in, luxurious, but tasteful and boring. 

They gather back together at the stairs and move on to the second floor, finding the door closed and a spell circle cast on it. Cain signals for Drazzit to be ready to heal him before passing his hand over the Inscription and adding a single point of mana. 

"State your name and business." Comes a voice from the door. 

"Cain and Drazzit, looking for information on the Royal Guard." Cain answers, assuming it's part of the spell. 

"Feth off then, they're all gone." Comes an elderly and cranky sounding reply. That's definitely not a spell, who programs their door lock to tell visitors to bugger off? Okay, he might have done it if he'd had the option in his last life, but that's not the point. 

"I want to learn the Dark Elves dual wielding combat style, and I'm willing to make a trade if you're able to teach me." Cain tries again. 

"There's chocolate walnut cake and Elven Forest Tea." Drazzit tries when there is no answer. 

Slowly the door opens and the two find themselves looking at an old Dark Elf in the Royal Guards work uniform. 

"You'd best not be lying about the tea, I ran out years ago." He says suspiciously and Cain pulls a bag from the Guild inventory. The Elven Forest Tea is a favorite of the Guild, because it's got higher caffeine than coffee, and the cake is possible, he'll just need to send someone to the market for it unless his Companions are carrying one. 

The man takes the bag of tea with a wrinkled smile.. "Lloran, High Captain of the Royal Guards, at your service."