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Rare Books Room Rumpus

Scene details

  • Start date: Sept. 20, 2026, 4:59 p.m.
  • End date: Sept. 20, 2026, 7:43 p.m.
  • Location: Oradia - Rosia
  • Participants: Reize Seatlan, Ivo Galvan

Setting: In the wake of prior scandal, Reize and Ivo take a detour to the rare books room of the Rosian library to research certain unexpected features of vampire aristocracy, where they make an unexpected acquaintance.

Log


 Though the Rare Books Room of the Rosian library is vacant when our heroes arrive, no dust can be observed upon its many elegant stone and polished wood surfaces, a sign of the immaculate care taken of this fine institution. The noble edifice, built of towering blocks and pillars of the distinctive green-veined pale rock that paves Rosia's plazas, is open to the public, sharing a plethora of perspectives as suits the city's constant creative foment. But the Rare Books Room, tucked away on a higher level atop a great stone staircase, is typically reserved for those connected with the aristocracy and concerns matters related to them.
 As Ivo anticipated, the Star Chasers were ushered inside the moment the attendant got a glimpse of Reize.
 "What I'm looking for specifically is the origins of the tradition," the former is saying. "How could it be that mother and daughters might be engaged to the same person? Was there some precedent formed by some ancient politician? Or is this a feature of the way that vampires are sired and families formed in the first place?"
 Ivo's tone conveys his usual amiable curiosity, but his features appear especially amused as he scans the room. Is he *really* interested in the history of vampire polygamy? Or is this some extended bit he's dragging out to keep messing with Reize after the latest escapade? The answer, of course, is yes.
 "Oh, this shelf looks promising."
 Ivo's hair is ruffled by a breeze from a window left ajar, breathing humid jungle air into the cooler and drier library confines, as he approaches the corner of the room and begins running his fingers along book spines.
 "Ought to close that," he murmurs distractedly. "Bad for the paper."
 A sound of paper rustling follows from the far corner of the room, as if on cue, but Ivo does not seem to hear or attend to it, now absorbed in finding an ideally funny origin story.



  The young explorer had been following Ivo into the library, his antenna hair drooped down. He remembers that Ruidosa was furious and he had not gotten a chance to pay her a visit yet. To get his mind off of the situation for now, he decided to follow Ivo to just... entertain him? Reize is honestly not sure.

 It is a bit of confusion as Reize looks to be ushered in after the man got a glimpse of him. Oh, right, Reize is a bit of a noble now. The young adventurer had been looking around the library with a vague sense of awe. His eyes drift around, "Hm..." He grimaces. "... I really want to know what were those jewelry that I picked up." He gives a bit of an embarassed look, "... I didn't know that it was a proposal item." He hangs his head low, river of tears rolling. "Now Rui is upset with me."

  Reize, however, becomes curious over the sound of the rustling papers at the far corner. He starts to wander over towards that corner.

 

Ivo Galvan rolls 1d20>=10.
Comment: Research check: higher result means more entertaining for Ivo
Roll(s): 10. Total result is 10. This is a success (by 0).


 Ivo inveighed upon Reize to join him with various blandishments to which he figured Reize would be susceptible in his distraught state, but the reality is, of course, that Reize was the skeleton key for getting in here, the boy's reputation now preceding him as acknowledged by the vampire elite. Ivo, merely being among the retinue, did not imagine he could be so easily recognized. Now he can research to his heart's content.
 "Yes, yes..."
 He has taken a red-bound book from the shelf and is flipping through pages in short bursts, pausing to read before skimming further.
 "Competing accounts... unclear origins..."
 Ivo doesn't sound disappointed, exactly, since this is what he expected of any good historical record. His tone is patient as he continues to murmur.
 "Oh, allegedly the early Oradian vampires adopted a tradition of engagement gifts of beastkin relics specifically. There's little information on why, but I wonder if they too encountered the ruins of an earlier civilization that we did and treasured what they found. In which case... perhaps your gifts harkened back to an old tradition indeed."
 He looks faintly amused by this and, encouraged, keeps reading. It seems that Ivo's search for entertainm-- information is slow going, and he's sufficiently invested that he doesn't notice Reize beginning to slip away.
 Their fearless leader ventures to the unknown territory that is the other corner of the Rare Books Room... where he witnesses a surprising sight. A cat-like creature, smaller than a housecat and spotted like a leopard, is glaring up at him with big eyes from a nest it has made out of yellowed paper torn from probably priceless tomes. When it sees Reize, it hisses loudly, ears pulling back, then leaves its tongue slightly protruding, most intimidatingly. Surely Ivo hears this.
 "What? The Legend of... the Harem Master...?"
 No, he just got to the good part.



  There is the deal that Reize would be considered a noble now! So the fact that Reize is recognized in Oradia (and likely Granse) is a huge deal. However, Reize has not been aware of its importance.

 Reize turns his head to peek at Ivo as he rummages through the books. Ivo's remark about the beastkin civilization has the boy give a thoughtful look. "We should return there eventually to see what else we can find there."

 Reize slowly starts to make his way towards the little cat. It hisses at him. He gives off a grimace, "... Come on. Just... calm down. I won't hurt you." He approaches, slowly and carefully.

 Just a little closer.

 He extends his gauntleted arm out. "I just want to say hi. Just calm down."

 

Reize Seatlan rolls 1d20-3>=12.
Comment: Animal Handling, Because This Worked WELL MANY TIMES REIZE HAS TRIED
Roll(s): 15. Total result is 12. This is a success (by 0).


 Time seems to slow. A mote of dust drifts in the breeze from the window. Ivo's eyes widen as his finger traces a line down the open book in his hand. And the tilcayo cat's pupils dilate as its inscrutible little brain determines its response to Reize extending his hand. After several excrutiatingly long moments, it lunges--
 "Extraordinary!"
 --and headbutts Reize's hand in an awkward and impulsive display of affection before beginning to vigorously knead the crumpled papers beneath it into some semblance of a comfortable bed. It seems the wild cat is in the mood to relax rather than fight and doesn't mind a companion.
 "An Ashaldi merchant vampire who traveled the world in search of beauties to turn and settled in Oradia... ensuring that his unions would be accepted through generous donations to the Royal Family... giving away and selling fine goods said to improve one's romantic success..."
 Ivo pauses a moment, furrowing his brow. Did they once find something that met such a description in the markets of Rosia? But he does not hesitate long.
 "He boasted that he knew the secret to being forgiven by his vampire brides, regardless of his transgressions... but his diaries were lost...?"
 He flips through pages, back and forth, as if unable to accept that this is all the information the book contains. As he talks to himself, Reize's gaze may be drawn to the tilcayo cat's kneading paws. The wildcat has torn apart several books to make its nest and, in so doing, it seems that some less-yellowed pages, as if they had been hidden from the elements through some secret binding, have spilled forth and are now starting to get crumpled up themselves. A heading is partially visible.
 The Secrets of the Harem Master...?



 ... And the fate would bestow on Reize....

 ... A blessing?

 It comes to a surprise, even for Reize, when it headbutts against his hand in its awkward display of affection. Reize gives a happy smile, giving the cat a gentle pet on the head. "Hee, glad to meet you." He looks over towards the crumpled paper beneath it. He tilts his head over at the pages. "...Hm? What do you have there?"

 He looks over towards the kneading paws to see what appears to be some less-yellowed pages. While looking at the heading of the pages.

 There is a large sweatbead over the back of his head. "Uhh..." He calls out towards Ivo. "Ooooi! I found company...! --Who made his own nest."

 

Ivo Galvan rolls 1d20>=12.
Comment: And how does the tilcayo cat feel about Ivo coming over?
Roll(s): 15. Total result is 15. This is a success (by 3).


 Ivo sighs wistfully as he closes the book and reluctantly places it back on the shelf. Alas. It would be too much to hope to find the lost Secrets of the Harem Master so easily. But doubtless this shall be the beginning of another grand adventure that leads to--
 "Hm?"
 Ivo doesn't have to adventure very far, in the end. At last noticing what Reize is up to, he strides over in response to his friend's call and startles at the sight. The tilcayo cat, restively kneading in the paper with unsettling intensity, gets up and pads swiftly over to Ivo, who is carefully still. The creature is small and does not seem especially dangerous, but the Cosmopolitan has no particular affinity with wild creatures and mostly avoids trouble by knowing to leave well enough alone. This time, however, with the impulsive sort of movement associated with the feral, the tilcayo cat brushes along Ivo's legs before padding back over to Reize and brushing against his. Being comfortable here, it seems the wild creature has decided that These Guys Are Alright. In the opening that the tilcayo cat's movements away from its makeshift bed provide, Ivo is able to retrieve the paper that Reize has pointed out.
 "To those who seek the Secrets of the Harem Master," he intones, raising an eyebrow. "I must first congratulate you on overcoming the many puzzles and traps that stood between you and this prize. You must have journeyed far to acquire this, and so demonstrated your resolve."
 Ivo glances at Reize, deadpan, before continuing.
 "Know now my ultimate technique..."
 He pauses for effect.
 "Pining. You must visibly suffer from your desperate passions. When your loves understand that you are swept away by your agonized desires, they will cease to fault you, indeed, they will envy and admire you, wish to be in the presence of your exquisite adoration again. Cultivate this feeling acutely within yourself so that there is no deception, only permission, and attune yourself to the sweet devastation that follows from knowing the ineluctable singularity of each and every one of your loves, that to love at all is to understand that what is yours is forever beyond you. This is the essence of suffering love that summons the sympathy of your beloveds: that closeness calls for savoring each and every "now" with them, an eternity of loss accepted as moments upon moments pass."
 Ivo is silent for a long time, his expression unreadable.
 "Oh, there's a coda."
 He scans it quickly.
 "PS: And if that doesn't work, give them a cute animal as a pet."



 As they find the pages, he looks over towards Ivo while looking over the tilcayo cat. He moves to pick up the cat and he craddles it onto his arms. He gives a cheerful smile. "G--great!"

 Reize has a bit of a sweatbead as the technique is ...droningly described.

 You can start to see Reize nod off. He is listening, really. Sorta.

 ...Once it is done, Reize's face is pressed onto the cat.

 "ZzzZzzzzz...."

 However, the 'coda' is mentioned.

 "Huh?! Huh?! I'm awake, I'm awake."

 Give a cute animal as a pet!

 "Ooi, want to join us on an adventure, little guy?"

 


 Ivo is gazing off into the middle distance, not seeming to notice that Reize is now snoozing with a tilcayo cat for a pillow, the feline occasionally lashing out with a paw... to swat at Reize's ahoge, batting it about playfully, and otherwise unperturbed by the boy's behavior.
 "Pining..."
 The ultimate Secret of the Harem Master speaks to Ivo in a way that surprises him. Does Ivo not pine for extraordinary women who seem beyond his reach, like Priel or Daiby? But is his pining not a consequence of his own self-repression, his unwillingness to risk rejection mingled with sincere enjoyment of the relationship status quo? Fierce passion was a quality Ivo always associated with his father and so denied himself. But time adventuring as a Star Chaser has long since revealed to Ivo that he is a deeply feeling person with resolute convictions of his own. If he embraced his own yearnings and had the courage to express himself, could a new dawn arrive for Ivo Galvan?
 "...and animals."
 Maybe. But getting them cute pets sounds a lot easier.
 "Oh?"
 Such thoughts dissipate at Ivo's surprise that, evidently, the party has encountered an animal that, heavens forfend, actually likes Reize. This hasn't happened since the megamarmot incident, so far as Ivo can recall. As the tilcayo cat releases a screechy little trill and then hops on Reize's shoulder, where it perches easily, Ivo kneels down to try to reshuffle the crumpled papers into something resembling a book again. They don't look... too tattered.
 "It seems you've continued the hallowed legacy of this so-called Harem Master," the Cosmopolitan light-heartedly remarks as he cleans up the rare books turned makeshift bedding. "Perhaps we might find more of his lost relics to improve your chances."
 Ivo grins lopsidedly up at Reize.
 "That, or turn a La Crima property into a menagerie."
 Yeah... at this rate, they're gonna need a lot of cute pets.



 Reize's ahoge, perking to life, is batting at the cat as it bats at it. It's batting back!

  After Reize shows that he is wide awake (seriously, he is this time!), he looks over towards the cat that's perched on his shoulder. He gives a cheerful smile, giving it a scritch. He looks back towards Ivo with a thoughtful look.

 "... Yeah. At the very least, I think it'll put Ruidosa in a better mood." He gives a thoughtful look. "Oh! Sombra will have a friend as well!" He looks cheerful. "... Anything else that you need to look into here? I may leave you here for a while so I can show our new friend off to Rui!"

 

Ivo Galvan rolls 1d20>=10.
Comment: Is Ivo going to find anything else good?
Roll(s): 6. Total result is 6. This is a failure (by 4).


 "You go on ahead, chief," is Ivo's smiling reply. "I'm sure Rui will be delighted to see our new companion. As for Sombra... hopefully she's delighted too."
 One never knows with cats.
 "Hmm? What's this?"
 The scholarly Cosmopolitan is promptly distracted by a separate leaf of crumpled paper that had been made into the tilcayo cat's erstwhile bedding, only revealed as Ivo conscientiously began to clean up after it.
 "Secrets of the Harem Master, appendix 3... the Secrets of Getting Your Adventuring Companions to Journey Scantily Clad...?"
 Ivo senses the prospect of unlocking at least one new Schematic. This will surely provide a stat boost useful for the post-arc dungeon and, therefore, he would be remiss in not investigating further. Carefully, gingerly, he uncrumbles the sheet of paper...
 "No!"
 ...to find it has been shredded by kneading claws.