Asteroid Library

Ocular lives on a large Asteroid approximately five miles in diameter. On the outside, there is nothing remarkable about this asteroid to suggest it is inhabited. Inside, of course, is another matter entirely. Inside a large fissure, 200 feet deep, there is a secret door which leads inside. The halls are smooth, square and bare no tool marks. The vast majority of the Asteroid's interior is taken up by the central Library. The Central Library rests on the Gravity Plane of the Asteroid, The floor is made from glassteel, and there are shelves on both sides. Most of the shelves line up, but there are exceptions where a shelf exists on one side, but not the other. The shelves vary in height from 35 to 50 feet, with ladders being plentiful and sturdy. The walkways are 15 feet wide and the ceiling is 100 feet from the floor, in both directions.

The books are mostly not labeled on the spine, but careful investigation will reveal that the library is carefully and meticulously sorted by category. The bookshelves themselves are not laid out linearly. They form a twisted maze of shelves over a 6000 acre area. Travel from one side of the floor to the other is intermittent at best, further complicating the maze. Non-flyers are encouraged to bring a map or a guide, neither of which are readily available. Illumination is plentiful, provided by glowing glass spheres embedded in both ceilings. The glass floor results in light being available both above and below, which generally enhances the vertigo effect.

In the center of the library, for those who are not hopelessly lost by the time they stumble into it, is a wide open area, approximately 300 feet around, and mostly circular. In the center of the reading room is a hole in the floor for passing from one side to the other, 15 feet in diameter just like all the others. Ringing this hole are 6 stone lecterns on either side of the glass, totaling 12. The outer face of each Lectern has a copy of the Library rules on it, though only the most common dozen languages are available. Loosely ringing the lecterns, 10 feet farther out, are two dozen identical mirrors. Each is 7 feet tall and 3 feet wide, framed in platinum, and perfectly smooth in a way no craftsman could do by hand. The mirrors take turns between one side of the glass and the other, with one dozen evenly spaced around the center on either side, off set from the other side by one half step.

Resting in the whole in the floor, half on one side and half on the other, is a large Beholder. The beholder has a couple monocles on various eyes including the central eye. His mouth is closed and he appears to be reading about a dozen books simultaneously. The Beholder's slow, relaxed breathing and the sound of a page turning occasionally are the only sounds of any kind in the cavernous library, it is very likely that there is no one else around.";

It had been one Hell of a journey with little coin to live on. Ah, but that wasn't exactly something new to her anyway, so there wasn't any real harm done. She was content during most of the trip, although from time to time she was given a little bit of trouble by one or another. More often than not, there was an easy solution to each problem she faced, which was usually just walking away or summoning forth some sort of offensive spell to defend herself with. Still, it would've been better if she didn't have to deal with these sorts of things during each journey she makes.

She discovered knowledge of this portal while within a school of varying magic. She didn't bother to read the actual name of the place - she just wished to read what books they offered to the public and see if she could find anything on her little dilemma. Of course she didn't, however, although she did manage to overhear some of the students there speaking amongst themselves about the portal and it's general location. They were incredibly vague, but even so Luna had never seen a portal before and was very eager to dissolve that fact. Besides. If there was a portal, it likely lead to another place she'd never been to before. And with new places, there were new people, and likely new forms of magic to learn. Someone may even be able to help her with her own little curse!

And now, crazily excited (internally, that is - externally she looked very neutral), she stepped through the portal she worked so hard to find. Her eyes widened upon entry, staring with such intensity that she seemed to absorb what she saw rather than just glancing. As if she was committing everything to memory. This wasn't a new land, this was a library!

[If I understood correctly, include this paragraph:]

Finally, her eyes would rest on the large creature reading in this room, though for now she was half tempted just to inch away and go back through the mirror. Either that, or just stare for a while longer like a big idiot. What was that thing, anyway?

As luck would have it, Luna arrived through a mirror that has a side view of Ocular. A couple eyestalks are on her side of the beholder, but the central eye and the large mouth are not pointed directly at her. One of the eyestalks on her side points directly at Luna, looking here up and down just slowly enough to be terribly creepy and terrifyingly menacing. The eyestalk stops on her face, looking her right in the eyes. After the eye completes it's quick evaluation of Luna, the gaping maw opens, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth that would put daggers to shame. Fortunately, for now at least, the mouth is opening for talking, not eating. The voice is deep and loud, but not uncomfortably so. It is clearly not shouting, quite the opposite. It's almost as if a human's shouting volume is similar to this beholder's quiet, library voice. The clear and obvious power in this voice suggests that a shouting beholder might be deafening.

"What now? I thought I sealed those portals. Who are you and what are you doing in my library? I didn't order any elves, and I am pretty sure I didn't order dinner either." Perhaps the most unsettling thing about this beholder is that when he is talking to Luna, he doesn't rotate at all to face her like a normal humanoid might. He just hovers where he has been the whole time and speaks into open air. He continues reading with all eyes but the one that is still looking at Luna, watching for an answer.

Luna was probably too paralyzed at the moment to do much of just inching further away from both the mirror and the Beholder. Although it could be a dangerous encounter, she knew that this was an entirely new place and she couldn't risk not exploring it just because she was scared. Even then, it was a riveting feeling, something that didn't happen too often simply due to her idiotic amount of arrogance. She was kind at heart, usually, but dear Lord she was the epitome of arrogance. The eyes were stared at even as she inched away, though when his mouth opened to speak, she visibly twitched and froze in her place. So much for sneaking away.

It appeared as if those eyes weren't just for show, judging by the fact he had announced her race without turning its face toward her. In a way, despite that last sentence, she felt relieved. He mostly just seemed sort of bothered she found a way to get there more than anything. Then again, her judgement could be off. For a moment, she allowed herself to think of a response that wouldn't sound too dumb. Really though, what she did was incredibly impulsive and she had no true reason of being here in the library itself. Well, maybe she did, but she had no reason to stay. Yet.

"Okay, okay - I'm sorry I'm in your library. I didn't think I'd find a library immediately on the other side...," she stated, trailing off into thought for but a second before snapping back to the conversation. "Oh, I'm Luna Song. No one of real importance, so you probably don't know about me." Except in her world. Her temper caused her to gather quite the number of small bounties from several people, usually all for trivial reasons.

She looked pained. Like she wanted to leave but she wanted to search the library for spells to study or if it had anything on curse removal. Her hand was toying with the fabric of her dress (now somewhat ratty from the journey) idly as she glanced around, though she was a tidbit too paranoid of the creature before her to keep her eyes off him for too long. He was intelligent, that much was known. But he looked terrifying and she didn't want to find out if that 'dinner' statement was a joke or not.

"If it bothers you I'm here," she said at last, this time sounding slightly disappointed in herself, "I can just leave. Where's the door?" By the time she began that last sentence, she was rotating her head this way and that to try to spot a door of sorts. Even if she couldn't read these books, as far as she knew there was an entire world to be explored outside. In a way, she seemed like she was rushing to leave, but not so much out of fear of getting eaten or anything, but because she was eager to explore. Her eyes were wide when they glanced about, lingering on nothing for more than half a second. She was excited, really, and still a bit scared, but mostly excited.

Well, fear sure doesn't last long with her. Dummy.

Most of the time, when a creature moves, there is a moment of muscle tensing, the changing of balance and preparation that signal their intent and direction. One almost never thinks about such things, until they no longer apply. Ocular does not move with lightning alacrity, nor does he have especially far to go. The stark suddenness of the change from perfect stillness to movement in such a large creature is eerie on the best of days, it's no wonder beholders inspire fear in almost everything. To make matters worse, Ocular doesn't just move randomly off the the side. He moves up out of his little hole and directly toward Luna, rotating toward her and down so that his large central eye is pointed directly at her and she has a gruesome view directly into his terrifying maw when he speaks. (OOC: The central eye will temporarily suppress all magic on or near Luna, it will come back right away without any complications when he either turns the anti-magic cone off, or she leaves the area).

Ocular's voice booms again, a little louder this time, and with a harder edge to it than before. There is still a little curiosity in his tone, but he seems to have become mildly irate with the situation.

"Do you even know where you are, little elf? Does this seem like your local Library Branch? Am I just another Beholder Librarian? Perhaps you would like to do some research, or check out a few books? I suppose you even expect me to help you find the section on what to do when you encounter a Beholder?" The sarcasm layers on thick, one could not cut it with a knife, but a sword might do it. "Speak now little elf, tell me your purpose in disturbing my reading, enthrall me with your eloquence and perhaps, if you are very very lucky, you may convince me not to eat you today." When he finishes talking the Beholder creeps ever so slightly closer, giving the impression of a humanoid leaning into a conversation slightly, except there is no body with which to lean.

Never until today had the elf felt so tiny. Sure, he was large, but she felt young and childish mostly due to the fear that continued to creep its way back into her, especially when Ocular moved. She was usually so rude and brash, but she knew an unpleasant situation when it was presented to her. She also knew that she was in a new world or plane or something to that effect, and she shouldn't immediately behave irrationally. She needed to be calm and smart and nice. Ugh. It was never fun forcing herself to act a certain way.

"There's no reason to be sarcastic, I sincerely didn't expect to find a library on the other side, let alone... a Beholder, did you say?" That inquisitive look diminished once she realized she needed to scramble to forge a decent answer. For a moment, she thought, but once the moment was through, she found herself speaking. At first, she wasn't really thinking of what was being said.

"I'm not sure what a Beholder is, honestly. But I came through the portal thinking this would be a new world, or a new location in my own, though I was hoping for the first. Um... I'm looking for help, whether in the form of a book or a spell-caster of sorts (so I was very pleased to see there were plenty of books, but... eh...). There's not much else to it, except I came through looking for help I suppose. Sorry for disturbing your reading, but I didn't entirely know what lay on the other side, so my intention wasn't to do that," she continued, sighing softly as she ended her words. Try to calm down, she thought.

Because of the situation at hand, she likely wasn't paying attention to being unable to use magic while standing before him. Hell, she probably couldn't even tell. Luna was pleased with herself because she had yet to let fear overcome her, although her breathing was fast and shallow and her eyes kept skipping from one thing to the other, usually his eyes. She probably appeared more nervous than scared half to death, though the panting probably clued in on that a bit. She thought back on what she said and how vague it might have been, so she contemplated just telling him why she was looking for help. After much mental debating, she spat out her reason.

"I can't use magic. Well, I can, but it has consequences that are too severe for my liking. It's been like this for years and I've been searching the entire time for a way to make the uh... curse, I guess you could call it, go away. I don't have any other reason for being here, so I'm not going to lie about that." She supposed if he seemed to be growing hostile soon, she could just run off, and her legs were even tensing a little bit in preparation to do just that if need be. She was swaying a little bit from side to side, helping her legs prepare, but for now she just stood there, staring at the creature, trying to calm her heartbeat and regulate her breathing.

Most people who know a thing or two about beholders believe they do not have very expressive faces. This is largely due to the fact that most beholders only feel two things, anger and hunger, neither of which is especially different nor are they often separable. Contrary to this belief, beholders actually have remarkably expressive faces, in large part due to their very articulate mouths and lips. Due to there only being one central eye, winking is often confused with blinking, not that either happens more frequently than once in a lifetime, nor are they happening at this moment.

"What?" Ocular pulls back and reacts with a distinct display of surprise at Luna's admission of not knowing what a beholder is. He is surprised enough that he does not otherwise interrupt her as she prattles on about her bipedal trials and tribulations. In fact, he doesn't even appear to be listening to her story, a fact that becomes even more apparent when she finishes, and he addresses the only piece of information he was paying attention to. Risen now, nearly halfway to the ceiling, Ocular is no less daunting at a moderate distance. His voice booms much louder than before, sweeping across the cavernous library, echoing off the uneven shelves in deafening waves of sound. Fortunately (for Luna) Ocular does not appear to be angry just yet, but he is certainly riled up, forcing her to hope that this is his maximum volume for fear of permanent deafness if he gets any louder.

"Everyone knows what a beholder is. I am the perfect sphere, living incarnation of perfection herself, the Great Mother. Never has there been a creature more beautiful or more perfect, nor will there ever be. I am awe inspiring, terrifying and breathtaking all at once. If I let them, the princes of the universe would line up at my door for a chance to bask in my glory. Sages of the stars would feed me their firstborn child for the chance to glean the slightest shred of my wisdom and omniscience. Dragons and Titans tremble in fear at the thought of my magnificent power. Entire Worlds dread the coming of darkness, for fear that it may bring with it my terrible wrath. Tribute is offered to me as to the gods in every corner of the multiverse. Kingdoms have been born out of the fervor of my worshipers, sweeping aside any resistance with the mere utterance of my name. I am Zilethipereskis, the great and terrible Ocular god of all that I see. How is it that you have come to stand before me without any knowledge of my immeasurable power?"

The word Power echos alone throughout the library for a few seconds longer than seems reasonable. It is just as well, for a moment of relative quiet would be necessary for even the most eloquent of orators to compose themselves after such a deafening verbal assault. After a few moments, one might even begin to wonder how he managed such a daunting display of pure sound without so much as pausing for a single breath.

Luna stiffened when he moved upward. Although she was relieved he was moving away, she soon found out she'd much rather have him close than speaking louder like that. The once-composed elf smacked her ears with her hands and kept them there. One eye was squeezed shut while the other kept its gaze locked on Ocular while he bellowed. She could hear him with her ears covered, but her hearing was a little more sensitive than a human's, so it was incredibly uncomfortable. Deafening.

When he concluded his conceited banter, she let her hands fall to her sides, both eyes now gazing at the creature. She attempted to straighten herself out, and waited until the ringing in her ears left. When it had, she took a big, shaky breath and began to answer.

"I don't know," she said. "To be honest, I've avoided most studies of anything other than magic. I've never encountered a... Beholder before. I've never read about your kind or seen your kind or even heard your kind. Not even in my dreams." She frowned a little bit and felt legitimately dumb. If his voice had caused her physical discomfort, what else could he do? She needed to be careful. So, she'd apologize. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were particularly known. Same goes with your kind. I don't have much knowledge of many beings." She hoped that helped, but it seemed like nothing was at this point. Still, this was a miracle for Luna. Behaving? Really now? How strange. Still, she was trying rather hard.

Ocular descends slowly toward the floor, pointed nearly downward as the central eye remains fixed on Luna. He is moving slowly enough that Luna could get out of the way if she chose to, but something about his expression suggests that he is daring her to do just that, similar to a game of chicken. He stops just before touching the floor, close enough that if Luna stood still, she could reach out and touch his massive eye. At such proximity, it becomes obvious that his breath is foul beyond words. The stench of decay is clearly present, even among the other various odors. A shoelace is stuck in his teeth, still tied in a bow and clearly not tied to the teeth. It would appear that Ocular has recently eaten something that once wore shoes.

“It is inconceivable, yet you do not appear to be lying.” Ocular's voice is still radiant and deep, but it is no longer deafening. This close to the floor, it works like a sub-woofer, making the floor vibrate as much as the air, even the deaf could hear Ocular with their feet. “You are clearly an Elf, a faerie creature with as much magic in you as any biped has, and yet you know nothing of beholders. You must have lived your entire life in the same tree. Remarkable.” Apparently done with his close examination, Ocular floats back and up a few feet, perhaps to a more relaxed distance and altitude.

Luna took no time to scramble away when he came toward her as he had. She didn't go far, but enough to be out of the way if he continued down that path. Instead, he stopped and spoke again. Still, he was likely close, and she found herself holding her breath. She observed the shoelace and visibly frowned. She was concerned about saying anything about it, and for now she thought it would be better to choose her words carefully so she wouldn't join whoever it was who was eaten.

A wave of relief washed over her when he started to talk again. He was slightly quieter, and it no longer hurt her ears to listen to him (though it sure did hurt her nose). She wanted to correct him, to tell him she didn't live in a tree, but she figured challenging him would likely end in disaster. Especially since she'd likely be a bit of a bitch about it. When he floated away, she sort of smiled, even more relieved than before. Hell, that smile hinted at that fact.

"So...," she piped up. "I take it you aren't going to eat me, then?" She finished the question with a nervous (yet equally forced) toothy smile.

The beholder lets out a deep rolling laugh. One might have called it a belly laugh, if there was a belly involved. When he finally stops laughing, his voice is still moderate, and the tone almost sounds amused, at least this might be what an amused beholder sounds like, very few people could offer an educated opinion on such a thing.

“I have not eaten you yet, be thankful for that little elf. When I do decide to eat you, rest assured you will be the first to know.” The astute observer will note that he used the word when, rather than if. “I believe you were telling me why you were here. Begin again, why are you here in my library little elf?”

That is the unmistakable sound of curiosity for its own sake. No part of this creature is concerned by your presence, nor is it alarmed that someone has simply appeared in its home. At this moment, the only interest Ocular appears to have is why an elf has suddenly appeared out of a mirror.

Okay, okay, this was good. This was better than it was mere moments ago. Luna relaxed herself a little bit and convinced herself she would just have to get out of there before he decided to make a meal out of her. But for now, she decided to repeat herself and hope for the best. She took a full breath.

"I overheard about some sort of portal located a ways away from where I was studying. Because of my dilemma, I sought to find it since I have yet to find help on my world. I didn't expect there to be a huge library with you in it, uhm...." She paused, trailing off, as if she couldn't recall his name. Regardless, she continued, "Honestly I expected some sort of similar plane of existence with different magic and the like. Though, I suppose that could still be the case if I find the doors out of this place. Hmm...."

Luna shook her head, snapping herself out of thought. "Sorry. Anyway, my issue is some sort of magical suppression or a curse or something that causes incredibly, hm, severe consequences. At least in my opinion. Would you happen to know of where I can go to fix this? Who I can see? What I can read, even?" Yes, Luna, just be polite. She was sort of uncomfortable with bombarding him with small questions like that, but why not? The risk of getting eaten was already inevitable, unless she got lucky and ran off quickly enough, so she might as well.

Ocular remains still, watching Luna with his central eye as she sorts through her thoughts verbally. A still beholder can be just as eerie as one that is moving. The body remains motionless, far moreso than most creatures are capable of, but the eyestalks drift back and forth slowly, scanning the room autonomically.

“I am certain this world is quite different from yours, and that the answer to your troubles lies within this library somewhere. The more pressing question is; why should I let you use my library? What do you have to offer me in exchange?” Ocular blinks his central eye at you to emphasize the question, an action that brings into stark clarity the realization that this is the first time you have seen him blink.

Luna's eyes focused on him solely, watching him do nothing but exist at this moment, curious as to what he was thinking. Was it a he? She thought it was. Sounded unlike anything feminine she'd encountered. And then he spoke, so she listened to his words. This was progress! But really, what did she have to offer? She had nothing on her person that could be of any value, particularly to someone as "omniscient" as this Beholder claimed to be. But she was desperate, and him claiming that there wasn't a doubt there was some remedy in this library didn't help anything at all. She was shifting nervously, looking around with a pathetic expression of want. Luna was so close, so very close... but if she said one thing wrong she could easily lose the chance to help herself. She felt nervous.

"If you're worried I will mistreat your books, don't. If there's one thing I don't mistreat, it's books," she began, chuckling with an odd tone; a mix of darkness and nervousness. "I'm not going to lie here. I have absolutely nothing on me that would peak anyone's interest. Maybe a few coins, and even then it's so little I wouldn't mind just giving them to you. The only other things I have are clothes and my magical abilities." She paused after that, thinking some. Should she agree to get eaten after she finds a cure, then make sure she runs out through one of the portals before that fate can befall her? Or would that be too obvious? She was seriously contemplating it.

Ocular grins malevolently, a truly unpleasant sight, and not just because of all the sharp teeth. He swoops down, dropping to half the altitude much faster than he'd previously moved. Fortunately he stops, having covered half the distance to the elf quickly enough to make a point.

“Ah, but you do have one thing of value. You come from a world I've not been to. You have an entire world of people that know nothing of beholders. Offer me your world to play with, to torment and torture, only then will I help you find your cure. How much do you value your life and your curse? Are you worth more than an entire world?”

Luna had to force herself to shudder much more subtly than her body wanted to allow. She stepped back a few steps, clearly disliking his fast movements toward her. Her fists had clenched, but relaxed when he stopped. It was then she listened to him, mulling over his words with what looked to be an expression of shock or being torn. This was difficult. Luna was selfish, yes, but to a degree. She'd steal from people without thinking of the sentimental value or the fear it would inflict on families who realized someone had broken into their home. She'd lash out at people for commenting on her or looking at her strange, which often escalated into fights. She just didn't care. But death wasn't something she was fond of, whether it was others or herself.

She looked troubled. Truly, deeply troubled. Would she put innocent lives at risk simply because she wanted to cast spells without feeling incredible pain? No, she didn't look troubled. She looked devastated. All this effort, all these years spent searching, and when she finally finds something that could help her, there was an unimaginable price to pay. For once, she felt helpless. Like a child hiding beneath a bed, watching her parents being cut down by some intruder. Finally, she managed to speak.

"I can't," she said, voice soft but cracking mid-way through, heightening in volume. She sighed and shook her head. Her eyes peered up to stare at the, what seemed to be, infinite amount of books surrounding her. Finally, she squeezed her eyes shut and composed herself. "I'm not that important. That's a lot of people, a few of which I care about. There's a lot I'd like to see there, but I don't want something messing it all up." She brought her hands up slowly, waving them a little in front of her face. "No offense."

Luna glanced around again, still looking so devastated and pained, wanting so bad to tell him she accepted, but she knew better. One life compared to the lives of her world was nothing, but it was worth a shot trying to convince him of her earlier idea.

"What if I let you eat me instead?" she asked. "Only when I'm done finding a cure, though. Would that be alright?"

Ocular's malevolent grin changes to a knowing and self satisfied smirk when Luna says she can't, clearly he was expecting that answer, one might wonder how many others have said the same thing. What he was not expecting was the counter offer. This is just as clearly evident from the confusion reflected in his mouth and single eyebrow.

“Why would I want to break your curse and then eat you?” He pauses half a moment, then asks a further question. “Why would you want to be cured only to be eaten?” apparently it is so alien for Ocular to think about the interests of others, it took him a moment to realize that it might be odd for Luna to want to be eaten. “Perhaps there is a Kingdom or continent you would rather I spare, instead restricting my activities to the rest of your world?” A counter offer, apparently this is a negotiation, albeit an odd one.

Luna stared for a moment. Okay, that turned out much better than she anticipated. So this was now a negotiation! Alright, so he was no longer interested in eating her it seemed, so she had to think. She didn't answer his questions, either.

"I don't stay in one place long enough to grow overly-attached to it, but I do travel a lot and tend to revisit places I like. What if I give you a list of kingdom's I'm alright with you destroying?" she asked. "I uh... don't have a list prepared right now, though I do have a city or two in mind. But if given enough time, I'm sure I can think of plenty! I could even wander about like I have been, find some cities, and give you their names?"

She wouldn't actually do that, but it was worth a shot to see if he'd fall for it. She'd write him a list though. That much, she could do.

Ocular chuckles at the latest counter offer, not the same as the great belly laugh before, but still clearly amused. “You would sell some cities and not others. Very well, I accept your proposal. Return through the mirror and bring me a musical tuning fork forged by a fine craftsman in one of the cities you wish to offer. Once you bring the tuning fork to me and I validate its authenticity, you will tell me all you know about your curse and I shall tell you how to get your cure. Depending on the curse it may take some time, but you are long lived and I shall not torment your world until you are cured.”

Ocular floats up a little bit and back, the motion seems similar to taking a half step back to give Luna a little room to think. Patience has not seemed to be Ocular's strong suit, one might imagine that this offer won't be on the table for very long.

Luna frowned visibly. This didn't turn out how she expected it. She expected to make a written list of town names she'd made up! Not to actually go and visit towns and return with things from them. That's alright. She figured out how to fix this dilemma. He promised not to attack any towns while her curse remained, so after she'd return with the tuning fork and they were working on her getting cured, she'd attempt to warn the town.

Relief swept over her as she figured out a plan that may or may not work. If it sounded promising to her, she was likely happy to hear it swimming about her own mind.

"Deal," she stated, then quietly moved toward the mirror, only to step through it again.