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Story/03 - Demense/Orange-Demense.txt

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+This gate is a golden ring with an orange magic wall, looking like a slowly filling hourglass
+  
+ORANGE demense  
+  
+In the Library:  
+https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT_Ql8kwm4M  
+  
+In the back lab:  
+https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y-PFMU_NiM  
+  
+## Upon exiting the ORANGE gate,  
+you each stumble on your way through and land on all fours one after the other in a pile of sand. There is a distinct dryness in the air, like it is devoid of moisture.
+ 
+*BEFORE YOU*
+There are two triangular (lime)stone structures, easily hundreds of feet tall, each one with a stone staircase leading up to an opening in the front. But beyond that, all you see between them and on the left and right is endless miles of sand. 
+  
+Welcome to the DESERT demense!  
+ 
+*BEHIND YOU* 
+The gate itself is angled backward at about 45 degrees, as it is physically built into the angled wall of a third (lime)stone structure. You DO spot a pair of staircases going right around the Gate and up the stone incline, to an opening about six feet high and six feet wide.
+
+*GO IN LEFT ONE*
+The pathway inside is about 50 feet deep, and slowly expands out wider and taller as you go deeper. It ends in a strange arena-like space, multiple rows of stone seating surrounding it. But there doesn't appear to be anyone here.
+
+*GO IN RIGHT ONE*
+The pathway inside is about 50 feet deep, and slowly expands out wider and taller as you go deeper. It ends in what looks like a massive laboratory filled with a few sectioned off areas, each one full of beakers & test tubes, burners & freezers, microscopes & petri dishes, and all manners of bright lights & VERY old machinery anyone would recognize from any old horror movie. 
+ 
+*GO IN MAIN ONE WITH GATE ATTACHED* 
+The pathway inside is about 50 feet deep, and slowly expands out wider and taller as you go deeper. It ends at a pair of ten foot tall iron doors, both of which have iron handles covered in hieroglyphics, and one has a sign above the handle with raised letters stating PULL. 
+ 
+*IF THEY GO IN* 
+You feel an immediate wave of coolness break the heat as you peer into what might be the largest library you have ever seen.
+
+The floors are sandstone in hue with orange carpets trimmed in black, and you see decorative hieroglyphics all along the higher parts of the walls casting a glowing light that illuminates the whole building, including the stone columns in the corners of the room that you can see. 
+
+(To the left)
+There is a check-in / check-out station that doubles as a store, selling bookmarks, colorful book covers, comfy bookbags, magic rings in an orange hue, and several other bits and bobbles. At the moment, there is noone behind the counter, and there is a sign saying BACK SHORTLY.
+
+(BEFORE you)
+There are rows of bookshelves reaching heights well exceeding a second story building's, the columns easily double digit, and the depth too far to immediately spot with the naked eye.
+  
+(TO THE RIGHT)
+There is a series of wood tables & chairs, and brown leather couches & ottomans, sparsely occupied by people reading, barring one tiger man taking a nap with a book over his face. There is also a card catalogue drawer off in the corner with a sign saying USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.  
+
+-----
+- COUNTER
+- BOOKSHELVES
+- CARD CATALOG
+----- 
+ 
+*CARD CATALOGUE* 
+The catalogue drawer itself looks relatively normal, aside from there only being one drawer.
+
+*OPEN IT*
+You pull it open, and it reveals name card after name card in an organized rack, so many so that you could step backwards and it would just keep on coming.
+ 
+The sleeping tiger man walks over to you, eyes closed and barely awake. "Oi mate... you know this is a MAGICAL library, right? You opened the drawer without an inquiry and now it's showing lit'rally every book it can think of." 
+ 
+He pushes the drawer shut with one swift motion, pulling you with it. "Ask the drawer for something specific and it'll shrink the options." 
+
+He will suddenly flop back onto the couch, curling up and resuming his cat nap in peace.
+
+*SPECIFIC REQUEST*
+This time when you open the catalog, it only shows a small number of cards. Each one has a book name, author, publication year, and location number.
+ 
+----- 
+ 
+*THE BOOKSHELVES* 
+While exploring the seemingly endless shelves of books, you will randomly spot a quick trace of a person waltzing by just out of sight. 
+
+(NOTICE Roll) (Results highest to lowest)
+- You see an orange furred hand placing a book on a shelf, but the person is suddenly gone
+- You hear rumbling and just BARELY dodge someone in a white coat whizzing by on a wheeled ladder 
+- You see someone's wobbly legs as they round a corner with a pile of books ten feet tall 
+- You DO find a Diadem history book, but it's the same one you spotted at the bookstore, and the space on the shelf it likely WOULD be is empty.
+
+-----
+ 
+*THE COUNTER* 
+When you approach the counter, the sign has SOMEHOW changed to now read RING BELL FOR SERVICE, and there is a bell you swear was not there before. You also see traces of orange sand on the counterspace around both.
+ 
+*RING THE BELL* 
+A tiger man suddenly stands up from behind the library counter, as if he was always there just out of sight.
+
+He flips his dark brown ponytail behind his shoulder, straightens his spectacles, adjusts his white flowing longcoat trimmed in black over his black tee shirt, and pulls out an orange nametag reading CONROY from his pocket, pinning it to his coat. "Ello ello! 'ow can I help you?"  
+ 
+*IF THEY ASK* 
+The tiger man that was asleep on the couch is, indeed, gone. 
+ 
+----- 
+  
+Upon being asked any question he cannot readily answer, he will duck down out of sight. Moments later, an orange furred hand will slide a book with a title matching what you're asking for, and Conroy will step back behind the counter, smiling wide, before opening the book to the page you're looking for.
+ 
+----- 
+ 
+*ISLAND HISTORY / DM / REGALIA* 
+He will do a doubletake and think for a moment. "The book you're thinking of isn't so much a history book, but a chronology tome. I haven't had anyone ask for that one in a few years, have they really been asking SCHOOL CHILDREN to sit through reading THAT?!"
+
+He jumps down behind the counter, then reappears moments later with a hundred-years-old golden tome with bent corners and burn marks, placing it carefully on the counter.
+ 
+He slips on a pair of tight orange vinyl gloves and carefully opens the book, showing the pages are very old paper, most of them are illegible due to obvious cuts and burns. "Bad news lads and lasses, this book is definitely past its prime, but I can try to gleam something from its remains."
+
+You detect the stench of burnt paper fill the air as he carefully flips through the damaged pages. "There must still be something of use in there... Ah, here we are!"
+
+By the spring of 1472, not only had everyone survived, the population had grown to 43
+
+In that same season, a new group of settlers had arrived from the same land, curious to why noone had returned
+
+This caught the attention of the twelve helpful strangers, whom admitted there is a way to... something, treasures, erm... can't make that part out I'm afraid...
+
+Here we go... the second generation was up to the challenge, and fought the strangers with all their might, but could not defeat a single one.
+
+Dubbed masters of the treasures, these strangers offered the bravest and noblest among them the chance to challenge them again, and each time a new generation joined, the process... I believe it says 'begun anew'... history repeats itself on a short loop, I suppose.
+ 
+He flips through the rest of the pages, looking for anything else of use, one of the pages partly dissolving against his fingertips, causing him to whimper a little. "Well... that's upsetting... I'll need to see about restoring this book somewhow, I suppose... but that's for another day."
+
+He puts the book down under the counter out of the way. "Anything else I can help you with?"
+ 
+*IF THEY ARE DONE* 
+"Wait a tic! Since I 'elped you, maybe you can 'elp me in return? See, when a new person comes 'ere, we 'ave them contribute to the library, in a sense. I would only need a moment of your time, if that's alright?"  
+
+*IF YES*
+"Wonderful! Follow me please!"
+
+He takes you out of the building, and into the entrance of the building to the right. Inside you see a massive laboratory filled with a few sectioned off areas, each one full of beakers & test tubes, burners & freezers, microscopes & petri dishes, and all manners of bright lights & VERY old machinery anyone would recognize from any old horror movie. 
+ 
+He guides you to the back-right corner of the room, to a strange circular metal chamber with an orange magic circle drawn on the ground, and a panel containing an orange slab of stone with odd writing on it. 
+ 
+"The process is quite simple, this magic circle is comprised of chronomancy magic that reads your mind and body for anything knowledge-based, checks it against any pre-existing books, and either fills in the blanks or writes whole new ones. Now if you would be so kind?"
+ 
+He guides you inside the metal tube and has you stand as close to the center as you can manage. "Now just stand right there, keep your eyes closed, and..."  
+  
+He slams his hand onto the orange stone tablet and causes it to jump to life, summoning a small swirling sandstorm to surround you all. Each pellet glows with a soft orange light for a few second, before taking off toward the entry way. "And that'll do it! Let's see what we have..."
+
+Conroy giggles with glee as he stares at the orange stone panel. "Fantastic! 43 new books added including 9 sequels, 27 new books started, 16 incomplete books finished, 83 furthered along, and (player number) all new ones all about you!" 
+ 
+An explosion occurs near the doorway to the lab, sending a small body careening across the room in a high overhead arc, headed straight for the nearby wall.
+
+-----
+
+(ATHLETICS Roll)
+
+*IF DONE WELL*
+You jump out of the pod and make a quick dive for the small body, catching it right before it hits the wall, but the inertia does cause YOU to hit the wall, making you take 1DMG.
+
+*IF DONE POORLY*
+You jump out of the pod and make a quick dive for the small body, but just fall short, the small body slamming into the wall with a dull thud before slooowly sliding down to the floor.
+
+*IF THEY DO NOTHING*
+The body slams into the wall with a dull thud before slooowly sliding down to the floor.
+
+-----
+
+Conroy dashes over to the body, picking it up and dusting it off to reveal a young teenage boy, body obscured by a singed indigo hoodie, his orange nametag reading CAELUM. 
+ 
+"Caelum?! What have I told you about doing your dangerous experiments inside the lab?! You do that OUT IN THE DESERT or the arena Pyramid so the property damage is minimized!"
+
+He sets the boy down on his own two feet, and the boy responds by coughing up a bit of soot. "Sorry, I just had this idea for that gold potion and I had to work on... it..."
+
+He slowly turns to your group, eyes wide and just now realizing you were there. "Uh... hello..?" 
+ 
+Conroy sighs and hangs his head. "Remember your manners, Caelum."
+
+Conroy will stand and approach your group, guiding Caelum toward you all. "Everyone, this is Caelum, my protégé. He runs the pet shop in Diadem, but spends his free time here doing experiments. He fancies himself an alchemist, mostly potions and such, but he dabbles in 'humanimal transmutation.'" 
+ 
+Caelum gets a bit huffy and extends his hand to your group, speaking with a bit of embarrassed irritation. "It's nice to meet you all.. if you need anything animal related, or.. maybe wanna.. experiment with my alchemical concoctions, you know where to find me.." 
+ 
+THE PLAYERS HAVE UNLOCKED THE ABILITY 
+TO RESET AND RESPEC THEIR SKILL POINTS 
+ 
+Conroy smiles seeing him genuinely try. "There's a lad, your mother would be so proud. Anyhoo, I should be returning to work, plenty of people here need a good book. But if you need any help with information, feel free to stop by anytime you'd like!" 
+ 
+Conroy and Caelum both head out the door of the lab together, and you can very clearly hear him talking Caelum up for attempting to be social with someone for the first time in a while. Caelum stops at the doorway as Conroy continues walking out the door, talking to himself the whole way.
+
+He walks closer to your group, squinting for a second in thought. "Hm.. I'm trying to think.. have we met before..?" 
+
+*NO WE HAVE NOT*
+"If you say so.. ugh, this is gonna bug me all day.." He walks away deep in thought, chasing down Conroy, whom you can STILL hear talking the entire time.