''A scent of Distant Lands''
(text-style:"italic","underline","superscript")[THE FIFTH MOON OF MERCY IN THE YEAR 88744]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ I sat in the gateway leading to the great Western Steppe. I often come here to reflect, but dare not go any further than the entrance. This is where Yara embarked on her doomed journey.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ The gate is monstrously huge, the largest I've seen in all the Library, standing around fifty meters high and twenty meters wide. It's intimidating on approach but pales in comparison to the sheer vastness of the Steppe beyond.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ As I sat there a soft wind graced my cheek, blowing from across the empty stone plains. It was followed by a distant hum, a low, forever echoing whistle. I felt and smelt the air the winds had brought with them, the sharp, wild scents collected on its long roaming journey. I caught the fragrant loam of faraway pines and sun extinguished bark. The brine of seas and incense of tribes, burning in rituals of lands I would never see. The wind suddenly stopped and the whole Library held its breath. Then, with great release, the world exhaled and bellowed a mighty gale that took all scent with it.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ It was silent. Beautiful and clean. Then creeped back the familiar stale of ancient concrete and once again I was back in my own body, and not in that distant land.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ I began to understand what made Yara leave.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[
[[//Next day//|Nabu Visits]]
](stop:)](set: $Unwrapthecloth to false)
(set: $Openthebox to false)
(set: $Unravelthescroll to false)
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''Nabu Visits''
(text-style:"italic","underline","superscript")[THE SIXTH MOON OF MERCY IN THE YEAR 88744]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ It was a solemn morning. The rains had passed and mists exhaled by well fed trees blanketed the woodland meadows. I was tending to the graves near my cabin. Most of the ancient dead rest in Barrows nestled on the edges of the Ephemeris Chamber, but there are a few lone shrines dotting the surface near my home. Out of respect, I make sure to keep their gravestones clean, scraping moss and grime away once every season. I looked to the sky beyond the Moon Door and saw only a pale, flat gray.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ A twig snap behind me.
‘Hello friend.’ said a soothing voice from across the thicket.
I smiled and turned around, it was Nabu. He was wearing his usual garb, a jumper of burgundy canvas weighed down by pouches and strange, minimalist tools.
‘Hello!’ I said. ‘I wasn’t expecting you.’
He cracked a warm smile ‘I hope I didn’t startle you.’
Nabu operates on no discernible schedule, as the Custodian of the Library he comes and goes as he pleases. I do not mind, he is always a welcome face.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ ‘Oh it's quite alright,’ I told him, ‘I’m just glad you’re here, if I knew you were coming I would have prepared us something to drink!’
He waved his hand and hobbled closer. ‘No need to worry Grier, I can’t stay long.’
Of course, Nabu is often quite busy.
‘I see the rains you were hoping for have finally come.’ There was a slight irritation in Nabu’s voice. I don't think he appreciates the clingy quality of nature that I have come to love.
‘Yes! The rain was much needed - oh, and I saw a rainbow! My first one. I’d never seen a more beautiful sky.’
‘Beauty... the sky was beautiful?’ asked Nabu.
I tried to describe it to him, the colors of the sky, the glistening water pouring down the walls, the beauty of the rainbow.
He slowly looked up to the Moon Door and then back to me.
‘Is it beautiful now?’ he asked
‘I suppose, but it's not quite the same.’
Nabu smiled, and I did too, but sometimes I feel a bit sad that the only other living person can’t see the beauty of the Library the way I do.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ ‘I have come to ask a favor, well.. Questions.’ Nabu’s voice had purpose, he put his hand on my shoulder.
‘I hold your opinions in high regard, not just as a fellow explorer, but as a friend. So you must answer my questions as truthfully as possible.’
‘Of course! I won’t let you down.’
‘Good.’
I led Nabu to the central clearing, there are some archaic, flat stones there I often use as tables. They were cold and smelt of wet iron. I sat with my legs crossed, Nabu kneeled down across from me.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ ‘I have brought three items to show you. They all hold great importance to me as the Custodian... and to the Library itself.’
‘To the Library?? Are they dangerous?’ I asked.
‘I can’t tell you that,’ Nabu said sharply. His smile had faded.
‘When you see an item I need your immediate first impressions. Nothing more, nothing less. In fact, try and keep your response under a single sentence.’
‘Okay.’
](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ He reached into the strange pouches wrapped around his body and extracted three concealed items:
1. //Something wrapped in silk cloth//
2. //A small, mahogany box, locked with an engraved latch//
3. //A dirty scroll, rolled up by twine knots//](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ I examined my choices carefully, perhaps the order in which I chose was part of the test?
Nabu’s eyes darted to meet mine. ‘Whenever you’re ready’ he said.
](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[
[[Unwrap the cloth]]
[[Open the box]]
[[Unravel the scroll]]
](stop:)](set: $Unwrapthecloth to true)
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ I carefully unwrapped the silk cloth, uneasy anticipation swelled within me. Beneath the silk was a solid black box, about the shape and size of a book.
](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ ‘You may touch it.’ Said Nabu.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ I gently ran my fingers across the smooth, cold surface of the box. Metal. I picked it up and held it carefully in my hands. It was much heavier than it had any right to be. On top of the metal box was a small slot, as if another item were meant to be inserted. I flipped the box over in my hand and saw a small engraving of a tree. The stark-white linework glared in contrast to the dark metal casing. I sensed something unknown stir deep within me.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ Nabu raised an eyebrow. ‘What are your thoughts?’](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[
[[I feel hunger]]
[[I feel entangled]]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ I gently unhooked the latch on the wooden container, it clicked satisfyingly. Inside was a beautiful miniature painting - at least that's what it seemed to be at first glance. It depicted a woman underwater, tethered by seaweed and wrapped in her own hair. She reached towards the surface where a small boat full of shrouded figures rowed away from her. She so badly wished to be with them, but not a single one knew she was there. It was vibrant and beautiful and yet deeply sad.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ On further inspection, I noticed there was no painterly texture, it was perfectly smooth and glossy. It couldn’t have been hand made, but I don’t know how else it could have been created. I carefully flipped the painting over in my palm, its canvas was incredibly thin and flexible. On the back was a short hand-written paragraph surrounded by a cluster of strange inscriptions, mostly arbitrary numbers.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ In the upper-right corner was an even smaller image that depicted a noble stag in the snow, ‘Yukon’ was written below it. The word struck me with an aromatic spike, like it briefly opened a mental vault containing fields of wildflowers. A memory so distant it had been diminished to nothing but an instinctual gut reaction. Still, the word ‘Yukon’ meant nothing but gibberish to me.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ I didn’t recognize the handwriting for the paragraph, it must have belonged to a long dead inhabitant of the Library. Much of the writing had been scribbled out, but from what I could decipher it said:](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[RESTRICTED------------PROCEE--------------TH --------------DEPARTURE TO----------BE---------AT 7:30 P----------AUTOPSY --------KE--P-------EYE CONTACT-----------AT ALL TIMES-------------------SINGLE ENTRAn-----------------OURNEY TAKING-------------ROUGHL----------THEY ARE----------------------------NOT YOUR CHILDREN, REMAI------------- ------------TWENTY-----------------HAV----------45-----------------------SCULPTOR -30°----------------------------------------LIKE HALF DOG PEOPLE -------------------------THIS IS---------------NOT--------SPE------------ ------------------IS PARAMOU-----------24-----------------------RS------- -----REMAINS UNKNOW-------------------------G----LU-K](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ More was inscribed right of the paragraph, in a different, rigid, handwriting:
//‘TO: EMIL UNDERHILL’//](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ The first word could be a name, the second word maybe describes a location? Perhaps where they live? I was stumped.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ I was lost in thought, pouring over every detail, trying to find meaning in the words. //Yukon, autopsy, dog people, underhill// all fluttered across my mind like swarming moths - suddenly, Nabu's voice snapped me back to the present.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[‘Grier? What are your thoughts?’
I re-focused my attention, flipping over the painting to look at the sunken woman once more.
I paused for a moment, collecting myself.
‘I feel sadness... grief. Like I should’ve been there to help her.’
Nabu squinted. ‘What? How? It's not a sad painting,’ he said.
‘Yes - it is. Look at her, she wants to be with the others.’
Nabu shook his head. ‘No. She's surrounded by seaweed and fish and water, all beautiful things! The painting is happy and warm. Not sad.’](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ ‘It can be beautiful and sad’ I said, pointing to the woman, ‘it brings me so much sorrow to see her alone. She wants to be with the others.’
Nabu snatched the painting from my hands. His eyes parsed the image with intense scrutiny. I've never seen Nabu so irritated. Before I could interject his intense expression retreated back into his calm composure, like an animal hiding in shame.
‘You’re wrong,’ he said.
‘Oh... I’m sorry.’
‘Its okay.’ Nabu’s smile returned. ‘The information is still valuable, even if you are incorrect.’
//But I was correct. I knew I was.//
](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[
(if: $Unwrapthecloth is false)[
[[Unwrap the cloth]]
]
(if: $Unravelthescroll is false)[
[[Unravel the scroll]]
]
(if: $Openthebox is true and $Unwrapthecloth is true and $Unravelthescroll is true)[
[[//Contemplate//|Nabu visits - end]]
]](stop:)](set: $Unravelthescroll to true)
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ I unknotted the twine, carefully unrolling the scroll across the table. The parchment felt unlike anything I had touched before. Brittle, densely textured, and slightly reflective. The scroll was burnt around a few of its corners, a dark material melted and coagulated on its edges.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ It looked like a celestial map, drawings of constellations and moon patterns were haphazardly scribbled across its surface. The artistry was crude and messy - as if it were drawn from memory or rushed. I've seen plenty of maps like this before, to the North-East there are thousands, but they are always from the perspective of the Moon Door.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ //I am still in shock as I write this// - but this map showed stars beyond what I could see! Beyond the Moon Door! I’d always thought some of the night sky may have been obscured, but this was so far beyond anything I could have ever imagined. Then, just as I realized the importance of the map, Nabu snatched it away and rolled it back up.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ ‘Your thoughts?’ Demanded Nabu.
I didn’t know how to respond, my mind was still stuck thinking about the scroll.
‘Who made the map?’ I asked.
Nabu raised an impatient eyebrow.
‘Please, Nabu, I want to see it again!’
‘No.’
A pang of frustration hit me. I’d never felt this way with Nabu before.
‘Now, tell me what you’re thinking.’](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ A feeling of anxiety rose up within me. Impressions of flickering symbols scratched their way across my vision, followed by sudden flashes of green movement - like an afterimage - that pushed the symbols back into darkness. A biting scent of brimstone stung my nostrils, then, like a second wind, the images returned. They stirred together, a shifting silhouette of people, thousands of them, all reaching towards a black sky. More visions swarmed me - ashen bones and dark wind - I tried to sharpen my focus, seize the floating images so I could examine them further, but my grip weakened and the impressions slipped back into faded nothingness.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ ‘Grier!’ snapped Nabu.
I shot back to reality. It felt as if I’d been dreaming.
‘Yes- sorry.’ I said.
Nabu chuckled, ‘honestly Grier, what's the matter with you today?’
‘I feel lightheaded.’
‘Really, that's it?’
‘What’d you mean?’ I asked.
‘That's all the map made you feel? Truly?’
There was something about how I felt that needed to be kept within me for now. It wasn’t ready to be spoken or described.
‘Oh - well a little anxiety. Some discomfort. But that's all.’ I said.
‘Hm. How foolish.’ said Nabu.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[
(if: $Openthebox is false)[
[[Open the box]]
]
(if: $Unwrapthecloth is false)[
[[Unwrap the cloth]]
]
(if: $Openthebox is true and $Unwrapthecloth is true and $Unravelthescroll is true)[
[[//Contemplate//|Nabu visits - end]]
]](stop:)](click: ?page)[==
(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ 'I feel a hunger... a vast hunger, something that can never be filled or quenched. I don't like it - It makes me feel empty.' I responded.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ 'Hmm' mumbled Nabu, rubbing his temple.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ He looked down for quite some time before returning the black box back to its silken wrap. I didn't want to interrupt his concentration, but I had so many questions! What was the box? Where did it come from? Why did it elicit such specific feelings from me? Before I could ask anything, Nabu answered for me.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ ‘I know what you're going to ask Grier. You were born holding it. That is all I can say.’
A silent shock fell over me, but Nabu seemed completely indifferent, as if his answer was common knowledge.
But it's impossible, I would have remembered something like this. Is everyone born with a box? If so, where are they? I have never once seen or heard of anything like it before! Why show me now? What catalyst brought about this meeting? Why was I born holding something that brings me so much dread? I had so many questions.
](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[
(if: $Openthebox is false)[
[[Open the box]]
]
(if: $Unravelthescroll is false)[
[[Unravel the scroll]]
]
(if: $Openthebox is true and $Unwrapthecloth is true and $Unravelthescroll is true)[
[[//Contemplate//|Nabu visits - end]]
]](stop:)](click: ?page)[==
(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ ‘I feel entangled, somewhere deep. I'm connected to others, like roots, but I don't want to touch them... and they don't want to touch me and none of us can escape each other.’ I responded.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ 'Hmm' mumbled Nabu, rubbing his temple.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ He looked down for quite some time before returning the black box back to its silken wrap. I didn't want to interrupt his concentration, but I had so many questions! What was the box? Where did it come from? Why did it elicit such specific feelings from me? Before I could ask anything, Nabu answered for me.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ ‘I know what you're going to ask Grier. You were born holding it. That is all I can say.’
A silent shock fell over me, but Nabu seemed completely indifferent, as if his answer was common knowledge.
But it's impossible, I would have remembered something like this. Is everyone born with a box? If so, where are they? I have never once seen or heard of anything like it before! Why show me now? What catalyst brought about this meeting? Why was I born holding something that brings me so much dread? I had so many questions.
](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[
(if: $Openthebox is false)[
[[Open the box]]
]
(if: $Unravelthescroll is false)[
[[Unravel the scroll]]
]
(if: $Openthebox is true and $Unwrapthecloth is true and $Unravelthescroll is true)[
[[//Contemplate//|Nabu visits - end]]
]](stop:)](click: ?page)[==
(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ It was silent for a time, both of us reflecting on the moment in our own worlds. Then, without saying anything, Nabu sat up and readied himself to leave. It seemed like he was in a rush.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ ‘What were these things?’ I asked Nabu.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ He shook his head resolutely. ‘I’m sorry Grier. I can't tell you anything more than what I already have, I can't corrupt any information for my research.’
‘Of course.’
Nabu began to walk away, back to the infinite halls of the Library.
I called after him. ‘When will I see you again?’
‘When time permits, the Library is vast and its needs are endless.’ said Nabu without looking back.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[//END OF EXCERPT//](stop:)]