Compellation of the Eternal

GAME: Harkashan rolls Knowledge/Religion: (6)+5: 11

Far beneath the Arcanists guild, far enough down that you had to take two staircases and something called an 'exporter' to reach it is a room. The 'exporter' was nearly traumatic in of itself being a piece of floor that seemed to fall for several feet in pure darkness and then opened again into a new set of stairs. Even for those that have experienced quite a lot of what Alexandria has to offer, it's a new one.

The room at the bottom of the stairs is a huge empty white space made of some kind of material you've not experienced before. It has some give to it, but is also quite firm. Like folded cloth almost. Save that all the walls and even the ceiling and floor is made of the plain white stuff. In the center of the room has been provided a single table of moderate size, but no chairs.

It was firmly requested that all magical items be left above, as well as mundane weapons. It was also requested for reasons that remain unclear that all food and drink be left above as well.

"Wow, that was just like back with Dad," Magpie says, as she leads the way to the secure room... But she doesn't *quite* sound as nostalgic or excited as all that. And, to be honest, the exporter is the kind of device that would prooooobably not invoke happy childhood memories in anyone. Except maybe a wizard.

The book that the gnome intends to trigger, Magpie totters to the table at the center of the room. With a small 'Hup!' she tosses the possibly-dangerous, possibly trapped bundle of paper and leather up to the tabletop, then turns to face the group, clearing her throat.

"So I figured, if we were going to do this, it'd probably be smart to do this in the safest possible place. ...For the city, I mean, not for us. If anything goes wrong in here, it's pretty much guaranteed to only happen in this room, and it'll happen *all over* the room. So, y'know... Thank you all for coming, and you're officially the bravest people I've had the pleasure of knowing.

The gnome turns back to the table, then stops, seeing no chair. There's a moment of silence, then a deep, bone-weary sigh, as she turns back to face Dolan, raising her hands in the air. "Uppies, please?"

Telamon arrives, looking... bemused. The reason is clear. He's had to doff his magical gear, though dressed in the ruffled white silk blouse, linen trousers, and boots, he's still as fashionable as ever. But despite the prohibition on magical equipment, he is... bearing something.

Or rather, someone.

Coiled around his shoulders is a tiny golden dragon, sleeping soundly. Ever so often she stirs and gets a better grip on his shirt, but other than that she seems happy to sleep. Clearly, Tanith has decided Telamon is simply too comfortable of a perch to hop off of.

"That was very odd," he muses. "It's like nobody notices except those who know her..." Catching sight of Magpie and Dolan, he raises a hand in a kind of embarrassed way. "Ah... sorry if I'm a little late."

For Dolan, that means taking not much more than himself, and watching him divest himself is a touch disturbing, for he also removes, with a minute or two of effort, the golden gem that is set into the scarred half of his face in place of his right eye. He wraps the gem in its bronze-and-steel setting in silk and tucks it into his belt pouch, and dons a leather eyepatch that covers a good bit of the right side of his face. When that is done, he lets out a breath, and lays the rest of weapons and gear aside.

The journey down into the bowels of the Arcanist's Guild is more than a little disturbing, and he'd worn a frown when he walked out of it, and still does, his shoulders tense. Standing by the table now, though, he looks down at Magpie at the request, and tries on half of a grin. "Yeah." With an effort, he lifts Magpie beneath the arms and up onto the table in a single, swift motion. "Better?"

Telamon's voice seems to catch him by surprise, and he looks around for a minute before identifying the source, and grinning a touch sheepishly. "Brightest of days, Tel. I've got something I need to talk to you about, but later. Let's get this done. She decided to come with us, I suppose?" The grin gets turned on the sleeping Tanith.

Auranar looks a bit green as she enters the room just a touch behind Telamon. "Oh my." She manages to utter, holding a hand over her mouth and entering the room a touch more carefully. "That was... I do not want to do that again any time soon. Do you think we have to take that... thing back up?" The wild elf looks back at the rest of the people coming in behind her and smiles wryly at Telamon. "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. How can you miss something as beautiful as she is?"

Andelena without her sword is a downright anomaly, but the tall redhead woman is here anyway sans Deliverance. She's dressed in a similar fashion to Dolan where she's got a tunic, breeches, and boots on, the only indication of her station as a Sunguard dangling from her neck in the form of a symbol of Daeus. "Bry, let me lift her." she offers helpfully, but... He's beaten her to the punch.

She waves to Telamon as he walks in. "Hey married man," she offers. "I see you recovered fine from our little trip into the land of the fu--the weird." Somehow it seems wrong to cuss in front of Tanith, as she bites back the word at the last moment when her eyes land on the miniature sleeping dragon.

While not technically on duty, and hoping that said services shall not be needed this day, Verna wears her Mourner robes. She divests herself of a number of items, placing all within her own satchel before stowing it as directed. Then begins the descent with the others. While familiar with many aspects of the Arcanist Guild, this particular path and destination are among the unknowns. "I presume we would take the same path on the return," she notes to Aura before also casting a fond look to Telamon and his shoulder ornament.

She then turns her attention to the table, and Magpie, and the book. When the tome is hefted upon the table, she cannot withhold a reflexive wince. Enchanted or otherwise, it is still an old tome to be handled with care. In this case, perhaps even moreso.

There is definitely something incredibly disconcerting about 'plummeting' straight down a dark shaft of pure darkness. It's one of those moments that it becomes clear that the red scales of Harkashan's don't actually bear any light themselves. Still, there is the occasional little roil of red near his muzzle, though there is a lack of a proper dragon's breath in this one. Descending down all the way, until they have come to the bottom.

The white space they arrive to has him make a bit of a disconcerted sound. In fact, considering he's slept in caves beneath the night's sky before and experienced pure dark, this pale white is perhaps the worse for it. That deep rumbling growl that tends to always linger in his chest grows a bit more 'stiff' in tone at all of this. Remaining close to Verna, who has brought this one with her.

Bearing more typical Sith-makar dress - which means largely a few cloth bands to cover himself - instead of weapons and armor, the only thing that remains part of his usual fare is the lavarock that hangs between his horns from a set of soft chains. Of course, when in the pale white, that strange effect of his scales seems to return, making that sense of an 'inferno' return to him.

There's a questioning tone towards Telamon, failing to understand what they are referring to in regards to people not noticing matters. He'd ask about it, but his attention is instead drawn by a gnome asking for uppies not moments after suggesting that whatever comes next may very well be cause for notable concern.

Realizing that he should probably introduce himself to these adventurers, he touches his hand to his scaled chest and makes for a short bow. The lavastone jingles between his horns.

"Thank you for having me. I am the Deathsinger, Harkashan." He speaks with more refinement than might be expected from a Sith-makar, lending to his work as a Speaker. Yet, by his words, he's of the Shaman caste. Compared to Verna's grey robes, he stands out like a sore thumb. Hard to think of him as a Verdaman Cleric. Yet, here he is, moving alongside of the woman and moving to the table with the rest.

"Thaaaanks," the gnome sighs as she's deposited on the tabletop like a grown-ass adult and not a child. Stooping, she picks up the tome again, and places it much more gently in the center of the table, orienting it so that when standing in front of it, she faces the group. Looking up as Harkashan introduces himself, Magpie grins. "Oh cool, a new face! Wow, really jumping into the deep end, huh? Okay so, most of you know what's going on, but just to recap..."

Clearing her throat, Magpie clasps her hands behind her back, ambling in lazy circles around the book. "So, there's a devil that's become something of a *super personal* problem for Dolan, here, name of Jal'goroth. Really nasty, likes to work through cutouts... y'know. Fiendly fiendness. Been causing some problems all over the place. That's bad enough, right? Well, turns out, Auranar and I were helping Dolan find some more stuff about this guy, and plot twist! He's got a master! A master only known as *V!* Oooooo, single letter -- or Kulthian numeral, that didn't occur to me -- anyway, very mysteeeerious." This last, said with 'appropriate' wiggling of fingers.

"So we found this out by way of a book! Not this one, the book we found out happened to have its author's soul stuffed into it. Wizards, experiments, y'know how it goes. Which reminds me I should drop by soon, read him a new Crimson Pen book I've found..."

Shaking her head, Magpie seems to have to physically haul her train of thought back on track. "SO ANYWAY. Talking to this wizard-soul-book, we learn there's *another* book to look for, 'Compilations of the Eternal.' That's this guy, right here! Except... that's not what this book is, either! Oh it's a *really handy* guidebook for demon hunters! But there's also a spell in it, that seems like it'll turn it into another book entirely, once it's triggered. Which is why I sprung for a high-energy secure lab! Because we're gonna trigger it."

Telamon mulls over this recap, as well as looking around to examine the walls. "Well, there are worse places to try and trigger a magical trap. Honestly, it's either this or the university training grounds." He pauses, contemplating. "I wonder if it's just a false name, an identifier? Finding the true name of a demon or devil can result in said fiend having a very bad day."

He offers a smile to Dolan and Andelena. "Yeah, she... doesn't want to let go. And it's odd, I don't think people can see her unless they're looking for her specifically -- or children. Definitely children can see her."

The half-elf bows his head to Verna and Harkashan, smiling at them both. "Harkashan," he repeats, then his eyes glint. "Ah. You're Leirune's friend. A pleasure, sir -- I am called Telamon Lupecyll-Atlon." Shifting his gaze back to Verna, he inquires, "You're better read on this than I am, Verna. Should we lay down some additional wards?"

Dolan's grin remains, and he seems well-pleased once he has set Magpie down and stepped backwards so that Andelena is at his right shoulder. "Thanks baby. I'm okay." A quick reach of right hand to the leather cuff on left shoulder, but it's a brief rub - not much more than a scratch, really, and he turns his attention to the others. "Yeah, I learned a bit more about V."

Before he can go on, though, Telamon's comment twigs him, and he turns himself fully towards the man, eyes on Tanith. "Er, is she okay? She's probably scared." Real concern colors the unexpectedly deep voice. "Dolan Donnelly," he adds to Harkashan.

Harkashan erects his posture back up, looming by at least half a foot over most of those here, and bows his head in appreciation as Magpie begins to recap. Something he rather desperately needs. Trying to match things up with what he knows as far as he can. The gnome is... energetic, to say the least. He lifts his hand from time to time, trying to perhaps get a question in. But there's no way to get a word in edge wise at first.

Until the revelation that they are going to trigger the spell on this book, which if he understands correctly, may very well be another wizard-soul situation thing? Or at least, they are here because the results are unpredictable enough that they rather not take any chances.

He lowers his hand and lets out a deep rumble of a sound and then inclines his head to Telamon. "Indeed. I am Leirune's friend." He answers him. "Well met, sir Telamon Lupecyll-Atlon." He flicks his tongue out a few times, 'tasting' that name of his. "Telamon." He seems to decide.

"Miss..." Magpie, but he doesn't know her name yet. "'Uppies'." He decides, giving her that temporary nickname. "Or perhaps I should ask Dolan. But might you go into the history of why this Jal'goroth has a personal problem with sir Dolan?" Followed by an appreciating nod at Dolan giving his full name. Another repeat, tongue-flick tasting the air, and then a repeating of the first name.

Verna nods politely as she listens. She is already at least tangentially aware of a fair portion, though not all. At the name drop, she nudges Auranar lightly. Encouragingly. Shortly before she turns to Telamon's inquiry. "I am far from the most read on this particular situation and defer to the experts, " a gesture to Magpie and nod to Auranar. "If the effect targets the book, itself, there should be little concern. Some general protections could be emplaced, as well, though the fact that magical items were forbidden may mean that the room may already be protected from or negate magic in some manner.”

While everyone is getting acquainted and talking, Auranar head over to the table. "I'm Auranar." She gives a little wave to Harkashan and stands near Magpie offering the gnomish woman a broad smile.

Andelena gives Dolan a cursory inspection, as though she really _does_ have to give him a once-over to make sure he's okay, but apparently, he passes muster, as she nods lightly and looks back to the group, listening to everything discussed.

"I can explain some about _that_ fuckhead, but Dolan's the better one to tell it," Andelena replies to Harkashan's question. "I'm Andelena of Selentia, eventually Andelena Donnelly once we get that whole wedding production going." Given the warm way she looks at Dolan, combined with the lightly wicked grin she gives him, it's pretty evident why her name's on the docket to be changed. "I'm a Sunguard of the Temple of Daeus. Just not in my uniform at the moment."

"Magpie," the gnome corrects, but 'Miss Uppies' is definitely cause for amusement. Returning Auranar's grin, she scoots the book back on the table, to allow Auranar easy access to open or read from it. "And yeah, Dolan, if you want to elaborate, g'head. I just don't like telling anyone else's story when they're right there. It's, y'know, rude."

"But before you do," she says, waving her hands for attention. "The reason I got this workroom? If something *is* happening that we need to put a stop to, then all I need to do is scream about brined vegetables, and the room'll suppress all magic inside. Which is why you were asked to leave your gear up top."

Auranar. Andelena. They each get a polite nod from the fairly tall Sith-makar. He isn't versed in magical books so much, so he leaves that part of the discussion to Verna for now.

"Auranar." He repeats, then soon, "Andelena of Selentia." And taking note of the matter of marriage. There's a glance between her and Dolan for a moment though, because of that glance. "Well met." He bids them. Waiting for Dolan to perhaps speak as he turns to miss Uppi~ Magpie. "Magpie. Like the bird?" He inquires, wondering what the significance may be there.

"What kind of brined vegetables are we speaking of. Is... 'gherkin' a popular safe word in this part of the world?"

Telamon shakes his head at Dolan. "I think she's... well, glomped onto me since I'm a devotee of her goddess. And I guess that makes me... comfy?" He spreads his hands. "In any case, I couldn't leave her behind and I suspect she'll wake up quick if I utter a certain magic word. Four letters, you probably can guess." His eyes twinkle, stars glinting in the depths.

That done, he nods to Magpie approvingly. "Good idea. That'd disperse any nasty surprises or buy us time to get out." He pauses. "I hope. I really don't want to try and fight a demon with only my stunning wit and diplomatic skills. Never works out well."

"I've pulled Jal'goroth's tail a few times. Killed a couple of his minions. But -" Dolan crosses his arms pensively. "Jal'goroth's a demon in service to V, like Magpie said. V's sent shadow demons after my family. There's someone trying to kill me, and I think -" He stops, takes a deep breath, and continues. "This might be connected to an older grudge, but it might not be. Those shadow demons have stolen a couple of the totems, which is weird. From what I was able to get, V's a problem. The child of a demon and a devil. Technically a devil, but with some of the powers of a demon. Damned dangerous, but usually doesn't have any interest in Ea. If that's true, then what in all the green garden hells is that one's interest that they're getting involved with that? That's what I need to find out. The trail to Jal'goroth led us to," and he gestures to the book.

He tries on a grin. "Glad you warned me. If I've got to go half-blind, I'd rather know about it than have it happen by surprise."

Auranar waves her hand, not taking the book from Magpie. "No, this is yours to do Magpie." She smiles at the other woman and hovers nearby just the same. "I'm just here to help if you need it. Though if you could be a little clearer on which word we're not allowed to say except in emergencies Maybe write it down?"

Harkashan listens on the topic of Jal'goroth and V. Listening to the matter of the grudge, those it almost feels like things are not quite adding up. Like an important piece of the puzzle is missing here. At least this one knows something of the difference between Devils and Demons to make sense of what Dolan is speaking of.

"One does not have to have interest in a land, to have interest in what's found there." Harkashan offers as a consideration, after which he turns to the book itself, laying his hands to his back, and patiently waits for what will come next.

"Well I mean, I *could* tell you the word, but then it'd activate, and we couldn't trigger the book! So... Just don't be surprised, is all! I'm not any less weird than usual if something goes wrong and I'm yelling 'the actual word for preserved cucumbers!' over and over." Looking to Auranar, the gnome nods once, and shifts back to in front of the tome.

"Okay," she says, taking a deep breath. "The reason I want everyone here is, I don't know *how* this is going to end up. And if it ends up in a big talking head made out of light, I'm'a want everyone to listen close to what it says. Everyone's perspective'll give you different information, and when we all compare it, we'll probably have a good idea of the truth."

"Here's hoping I'm not the blind man who puts their hand in the elephant's butt," she mutters sourly, and begins to work.

GAME: Magpie rolls use magic device: (5)+10: 15
GAME: Magpie rolls use magic device: (13)+10: 23

The 'work' that Magpie does seems to largely consist of folding certain pages in certain ways. An act which is largely horrifying to anyone that knows anything about books. She fiddles with the spine a little, and then!

A huge gust of wind expels from the book. It sweeps out from the table and then just as suddenly the gust of wind changes direction and sweeps _toward_ the book. The gust is so strong that everyone is pulled just a little bit toward the book. Hair is caught up, some stray strands drifting toward the book and then a booming voice that sounds like one Albus Kinkade (to those who know him) speaks up from the book. "NEW CONCLAVE REGISTERED. IF YOU WISH TO GO TO THE OPTIONS MENU PLEASE SAY ONE NOW. TO UNREGISTER YOUR CONCLAVE SAY TWO. TO REREGISTER PLEASE SAY THREE. TO RELIST THESE OPTIONS PLEASE SAY 'ELUNA'."

Telamon reels as the wind blasts outward and back, reaching up to cover Tanith with a protective hand while the other hand is cautiously raised. His hair blown around in a remarkably distracting way (well, to anyone into pretty half-elf boys), before the wind dies down. He looks to Magpie, and then--

Tel actually flinches at the booming voice. He's wise enough to not -say- anything, but he very clearly mouths, 'What the fuck?' his expression absolutely nonplussed. He blinks slowly, trying to process what the heck he just heard.

GAME: Dolan rolls knowledge/arcana: (3)+9: 12
GAME: Telamon rolls knowledge/arcana: (15)+14: 29

Dolan's lone eye widens, and he looks at _least_ as baffled as Telamon. One hand reaches to scratch at his hairline above his ear, and he frankly _stares_ at the book. "What's a conclave?" he whispers loudly, leaning in close to Andelena and reaching to snake that same arm around her waist.

GAME: Harkashan rolls Sense Motive: (4)+11: 15

Auranar looks around the room, furiously trying to get her hair back under control after that massive gust of wind. She'd looked lovely during the wind tossing (for those who find elvish women attractive) but now her hair is all but standing on end. "Wish I'd brought a brush." She mutters to herself.

Harkashan's body draws back slightly to fight the draft, his head tilting back, and that lavarock goes jingling between his horns from the tug of war, until the voice comes. He doesn't recognize the voice, but the volume is far too great to be pleasant to him. Grimacing ever so slightly.

At Dolan's inquiry, Harkashan shakes his head lightly. Unknowing of the answer. "Beyond its true meaning, a place of meeting, or a secret group, I fear I do not know." Keeping his hands behind his back, patiently listening.

"I leave these... 'options'... to you." He senses no malice in that tone, no hidden agenda. He doesn't bring this up however.

GAME: Magpie rolls knowledge/arcana: (19)+10: 29

"WAAAAAAAAA--" Magpie exposits with perfect precision, as the gust of wind slamming into her face proves strong enough to push under her hair, and hurl her copper-chain headwear to a jengly pile at the back of the room.

"--AAAAACKTPBLHTLBPLTHPLBPTLPLT" she denounces, as the wind reverses course, and all that freed hair is sucked *toward* the origami project in question.

When the theatrics die down, and the voice is booming, the poor gnome weaves unsteadily on the table, upper face absolutely obscured by a honey-colored rats-nest that could, if pressed, make her seem the size of a dwarf.

Shaking her head, she rakes her fingers through her hair as the voice thunders on, lips pursing. "Conclave -- group of like-minded and magically-inclined spellcasters who practice together. Like Witches in a coven, only without the weird hag bullshit. Basically, it's identified all of us as legal users of the book. So... okay. Okay. This is a decision tree. We say one of the linked numbers, it'll perform the operation it talked about, and since *we don't know* what we need, better to find out what your options are."

Clearing her throat, she tips her chin back, in the hopes that gravity will work a little better on her hair.

"One!"

Understanding dawns in Telamon's eyes as well. "It's a construct. Like that thing they have at the Temple of Serriel." He tilts his head. "Though that one is a bit more... uh... talkative. I guess this one, we just... have to follow the directions?" He shrugs at Andie and Dolan. "Never seen anything like this before, though."

As Magpie takes the lead, he quiets down again, letting her issue the commands. No point in accidentally turning it off or causing it to try and teleport them somewhere. He glances at Tanith to make sure she's still sleeping.

Somewhere in all of that, the gust of wind that had sucked everyone's hair in and then blown it back out leaving him picking both his straight brown hair and Andelena's titian curls out of his mouth, and pushing them away from his remaining eye.

Magpie's and Telamon's explanations do draw a nod of understanding, but he, too, seems content to watch Magpie and Telamon manipulate the book, and snuggle Andelena close to him.

"CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE BEEN REGISTERED AS 'Wacwibabiltotywacgolamiswptlwiacowtwhbbiiaoualuotbsootiadtws' TO R-" The voice starts to say something in the middle of Magpie's words, and then stops only to continue again. "WELCOME TO THE DEMON DIRECTORY, FOR A FULL LIST OF DEMONS, DEVILS AND OTHER FIENDS PLEASE SAY ONE. IF YOU KNOW THE NAME OF THE FIEND YOU WISH TO CONTACT PLEASE SAY THE NAME OR ALIAS NOW."

Somewhere in between poor Dolan having to fish Andelena's hair out of his mouth (wouldn't be the first time) and the words 'welcome to the demon directory', Andelena gets the gods' good senses to _keep her mouth shut_ on this one, lest the group end up calling her mother by accident. She looks at Dolan in sheer disbelief as to what's happening. The poor Sunguard is thoroughly out of her element here.

Verna straightens herself and her lips purse at the follow-on message with Magpie's response. Fortunately for her and/or others, her hair is minimal enough that windlown equate to ruffled. Her mouth opens once, she considers, then closes it again. She is not the expert here, and she will leave it to the experts. She shall remain quite. At least until such time as someone possibly ventures into outright dangerous options. "I highly recommend against contacting any fiend."

"THE FIEND: Ihighlyrecommendagainstcontactinganyfiend IS NOT REGISTERED IN THIS INDEX. PLEASE STATE THE NAME OF A FIEND REQUESTED."

"...Wai-- dammit," Magpie says, eyes widening as the conclave is named, and one even more of a mess than anything *she* is comfortable with. Eyes widen as the purpose of the 'Demon Directory' is stated, and both hands clap over her mouth, resorting to a quick casting of Message to cover everyone else in the room. "...So uh, just like mouth the words you want to say, the spell'll pick it up," she says, once she's certain the call of the void is properly sat upon, "Who wants to get a sick nasty big bad guy on the sending? Cos if I'm hearing this right... we just gotta know a name, or an alias, and this book can *get us in touch.* Holy custard puffs, that's *terrifying.*"

Big eyes blink, blink again, then sloooooooowly turn to Dolan, and Andelena.

"THE FIEND: Wai'dammit IS NOT REGISTERED IN THIS INDEX. PLEASE STATE THE NAME OF A FIEND REQUESTED."

Harkashan picks up on the matter real quick like, and shakes his head at Magpie. It's hard to tell if this is an old person being disapproving, or just saying he doesn't think it's a good idea to go contacting anyone without a plan first. He's not used enough to the Message Spell to pick up on what's intended with that casting.

Telamon starts shaking his head. Very vigorously. The -last- thing he wants to do is contact some obnoxiously powerful archfiend. He switches to the Message cantrip as well. "Let's -not- try to contact it. See if we can maybe get information?" He glances around at the others, then back to Magpie. Silently, he smiles at her, trying to boost her confidence despite his own nerves.

Andelena clears her throat. Which, maybe, could qualify as a demonic name if they're all really unlucky. She opens her mouth to speak, but... Well, nobody else is speaking. For good reason. So, she opts to a skill she rarely gets to display, her hands rapidly signing and hoping that someone picks up on it.

"Okay. Anyone happen to know any... _Useful_ demons to contact that aren't Jal'goroth? No judgment. I mean, a little judgment. I'm a Sunguard and I'm sort of sworn to kill demons and shit." Andelena tries to look not as cross as possible. <handspeech>

"THE FIEND: Ggggruhgh HAS BEEN LOCATED." As the book speaks the book begins to glow intently. Changing shape subtly and then flopping on the table. Nothing else happens.

Harkashan answers with a similar motion of his hands while shaking his head. "No." Followed by a pause, and then continuing to remark; "Though I do not know how it works with those of soft skin, the Deathsingers do not associate with demons and devils. Do we know what we want out of this~..." His motions stop as his eyes flick to the book as it speaks. The Sith-makar growing stiff in posture.

How did it even remotely come to 'Ggggruhgh'?! <handspeech>

Verna does pick up on Andelena's gestures, making a very distinct return gesture in the negative. She then mouths and whispers to make use of the cantrip. "I suggest listing the direct-oh my." Now her attention snaps to the book. Located is ... something.

Dolan, who had been listening in wide-eyed silence to the exchange, straightens when it mentions locating a fiend. His hand drops from Andelena's waist, and he takes a step backwards, dropping into a ready, defensive posture. "Fuck. I think it summoned something," he whispers loudly.

Looking blanking at Andelena's gyrating fingers, then Harkashan's Magpie tips her head to one side, wondering if curse words are as suggestive in hand-talk as she thinks. The priestly sorts seems like they'd know!

But then, Andelena proves the fullness of their collective misfortune. "CANCEL," Magpie shouts suddenly, eyes wide, waiting for the book to respond before trying anything further.

The book however, remains unresponsive and no demon, devil, nor fiend reveals itself. The book itself does look different, and after a moment its realized that the book is in fact open. Just that the pages are as dark as the binding now. At the top of the page is the name, "Ggggruhgh" written in large scrolling letters.

Alright, this is beginning to unnerve Telamon. This thing is way too responsive and there's too many people here who might misspeak. Remembering how it mentioned Eluna at the start, Tel figures: maybe that'll reset it, send it back to the beginning? So he says in a clear voice, "Eluna." and hopes for the best. At least it's not, uh, a demon with a throat-clearing name.

"DID YOU SAY 'ELUNA'? TO GO BACK TO THE DIRECTORY PLEASE SAY 'ELUNA'." Says the loud voice from earlier. Somehow it's more unsettling with the book open.

Telamon immediately nods. "Eluna!" Being back in the directory might be safer than trying to avoid talking about a possible fiend. He looks apologetically at Magpie, but this is -really- nerve wracking. Invoking the Message cantrip again, he hisses to her, "I thought this was a source of information, not a portable demon-communing kit!"

The book shuts abruptly. It is notably bigger now, the pages darker. "WELCOME TO THE DEMON DIRECTORY. FOR A FULL LIST OF DEMONS, DEVILS AND OTHER FIENDS PLEASE SAY ONE. IF YOU KNOW THE NAME OF THE FIEND YOU WISH TO CONTACT PLEASE SAY THE NAME OR ALIAS NOW."

Dolan has, this entire time, been watching the book itself very, very closely, and now reaches for the stylized dragon around his own neck. Bringing it to his lips, he stares at the book, and murmurs, "Holy Sunlord, show me the presence of Your enemies." A blink or two from the lone remaining eye, and he nods, as if in satisfaction, but he remains staring at the book even as he releases the pendant in his hand.

"THE FIEND: Holysunlordshowmethepresenceofyourenemies IS NOT REGISTERED IN THIS INDEX. PLEASE STATE THE NAME OF A FIEND REQUESTED."

GAME: Magpie rolls use magic device: (4)+10: 14
GAME: Magpie rolls use magic device: (8)+10: 18

This is getting ridiculous. And if *Magpie* is thinking that, things have well and truly gone off the rails. Opening the front cover, the gnome's eyes flick and skitter over name after name after name, mouth falling open as she flips to a random page attached to a name, and finds...

• Detailed instructions for that demon's summoning.*

Slamming the book shut, she looks up to the ceiling for a moment, then takes in a long, deep breath.

"PICKLES!!!"

There's not even a moments hesitation before the room around you turns crimson and suddenly the book is... well it's no longer responding to any verbal cues. It's not returned to its natural state, but it's not saying anything either.

"Ah... of course... so just vegetables in general." Harkashan decides, patting a fist onto an open hand, understanding now what Magpie had meant previously. Though all of this has been a most interesting situation, he wonders how much they've gained out of all of this so far. "Is this what you hoped you would find?" He inquires with Magpie, now that the chambers have turned red. He presumes they can talk now.

And the room goes red, and the book shuts down. It doesn't deactivate. It doesn't return to its initial state. It's just... quiet.

An open line to all of the powers of the lower planes, tied off and waiting.

Staring down at the quiescent tome, Magpie feels more fear than the little gnome has ever felt in her lifetime. Cannibals, hydra, entitled grad students? Nothing, in the face of this. Because a stray word, a voiced *thought,* could make their lives so much more complicated.

For a moment, Magpie considers sitting on the tome, just in case. Then seems to decide that she's rather have the goblin-chili trots, than to put her butt on a hellbook.

"...I didn't know what would happen," she says quietly, staring fearfully up at Harkashan. "But it *wasn't that.*"

Finally, Andelena can speak again, and she lets out a breath that she didn't know that she was holding. "Fuck me sideways," she mutters darkly. "A fucking... conduit. A tool that gives us _that_ kind of information. This is some fucking dangerous shit."

She looks weary rather suddenly. "I was not expecting that. _Any_ of that. Question is, what do we do with it from here."

Dolan, who had been intently watching the book, still in that ready crouch after donating a hair, abruptly straightens and turns his back on the book, and on the table. "I can't touch that thing," he tells the others, almost as soon as the room turns crimson, reaching for the dragon around his neck again. "And none of you should, either. Summoning fiends is playing with _fire_. I can have it shut down and locked up with people who know how to neutralize things like that." He speaks with his back to the others, and to the book. "Don't fucking mess with that. There's a gods-be-damned _reason_ Kinkade's soul is locked in a book."

Verna is not wholly startled by the calling out and the shift in the room, but it is a novel thing. She eyes the book that now appears dormant... though if others consider it still a danger... "If it can still enable anyone to contact or summon them, it should most certainly be secured, if not destroyed utterly." Which Dolan can arrange, thus she readily leaves it to him.

Falling silent for a moment, Magpie turns her back on the book, toddling to the edge of the table, where she leans over and splays both hands against Dolan's shoulder. "Hey. Buddy. Gotta ask you a really, really important question. *Do you trust me?*"

Dolan nearly jumps out of his skin as Magpie touches his shoulder without warning, and whirls on her, but when he sees who it is, grins apologetically. "You, I trust, Magpie. It's _that thing_ I don't trust." He jabs a finger at the quiescent book. "What are you planning on doing?" The others are entirely forgotten, for the moment.

"Do you trust me enough, you won't ask again for an answer to that question?"

"I've got your back Magpie." Says Auranar gently, moving around the table. Her eyes speak volumes to Dolan though. She won't let anything go too far. No demon-summoning. Nothing that her morals won't allow. She'll back Magpie, but also act as a balance if there's need.

Dolan's one-eyed stare is penetrating, and it fixes itself on Magpie. "Work inside wards, and don't summon or offer to make deals. If you get in over your head, you know where to find me. Just remember, fiends _lie_. Trust nothing. They'll twist anything you say to their own ends. They've had thousand of years to perfect this." The stare shifts to Auranar as she speaks, then back to Magpie, and he nods finally. "I can't touch it. I'm sworn not to." He doesn't explain. "Be careful."

-End