The air is quiet around you as you walk towards the door. Torches light the hall, your feet quiet on the plush carpet. As you near the door, it opens, slowly, quietly. Entering, you pause, allowing your eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. Cautiously, you enter the room, looking around you for any sign of life. As you walk on, the doors slip shut behind you, cloaking you in darkness. Turning around quickly, you run for the door. Soon you stop, realizing that you should have at least run into the door already. Panic begins to overtake you, your mind racing. Suddenly, torches flare up all around you, filling the room with light. You stand there, blinking, aware that you are completely helpless.
"What in tarnation.....another one of ya.....what has gotten into that GateKeeper.....I said no more visitors......." a voice cowls out of the light ahead of you. "Go on, get outta here...unless you have a pass......no that's not a pass....HEY!!!!! Wait a minute.....that's my stick you're holding....."
You slowly open your eyes, squinting to see a really old man appear out of the air before you. His gray hair was well kept, his mustache pointing out towards the walls, and his left eye appeared to be hurt. A blue cape covered in brightly colored patches flows out around him as he bumbles and hops his way over to you, grabbing at your hand. Looking down, you see a stick grasped in your hand. Startled you drop the stick, jumping back from the crazy geezer.
"IT WOULD BE BEST IF YOU LEAVE NOW............"
You turn to see a huge white dragon, staring down at you, it's eyes crystal clear, your reflection appearing in them.
"He has been looking for that stick for hours now. My thanks for finding that." With that, the dragon turns toward the old man and shakes it's head. Regaining your composure, you try to work some moisture into your mouth so you can at least try and hold a conversation with these two. Wary of the dragon, you walk towards the old man. Nidfar had retrieved his stick and was affectionately stroking it, talking to it in soft tones, trying to calm it, you guess.
"Sir," you begin, clearing your throat. Behind you the dragon watches closely, its breath warm on your neck. "I was wondering if you could help me....."
"What was that...you need help...with what....but talk softly....trying to come it down," Nidfar winks at you as he strokes the stick softly.
"I need to......." you begin.
"Well, sonny....out with it....you said you needed help......" the old man stands up and looks at you thoughtfully. "Well, let me see.....now we do have a wide selection of scrolls here...largest in the land.....well second largest......but we do have pretty much everything on self-help to fighting....choose your poison....."
"I don't need any self-help scrolls.....i need to find someone," you try again.
"Well I can't help you there....but I can recommend some good poetry for you to read," Nidfar continued, as if you were not there. He raced over to a long shelf, full of dusty scrolls.
"I don't want to read poetry," you exclaim, grabbing a hold of the geezer's arms, only to feel yourself anked away and slammed to the floor. The dragon's head appeared above you, a bit blurry from the shock.
"Please refrain from touching him," the dragon said, staring at you deeply before allowing you to sit up.
"Not up for poetry.....well...I guess I could find something else.....hang on...." Nidfar munbles as he walks off, heading deeper into the library. You hear him muttering and stumbling around as he searches for something.
"DAGBURNIT, you confounded dragon....where is it....what did you do with it...."
"Excuse me, my kind sir..." the dragon states, looking at you before it flys off into the darkness in the general direction of the clatter Nidfar is making. "Sir, I did not remove any of your scrolls. Maybe you misplaced it the other night when the bats got in here?" you hear the dragon say to the old geezer.
"NO, NO...it is here somewhere....Hey..." you see him come crashing into sight. "Go over to that desk there and wait for a sec...I'll bring the scrolls to you..." That said he vanishes behind the dragon again....
