The Orwalt Family Library

"Excuse me," the young man asked the librarian,"but I am looking for a book on language origins. Would you be able to help me?"
 
The librarian raised her head from her work. "Certainly. Can you tell me what language you are interested in?"
 
"It's an ancient langauge, it has no name."
 
"Ah, perhaps you know a word or two?" asked the librarian.
 
"Yes. 'Kjellas bimnelica' are the only two I am familiar with."
 
The librarian looked intently at the young man. "Really? From what region did this originate?"
 
"The Dragon's Spine" he replied.
 
The librarian let a wry smile move across her lips. "Well, then, I know just the book…"

To the unaware, the Omwalt Family Library seems just that – a library. Not ostentatious or overly ornate. A stone and marble building lined with bookcases and shelves fashioned of dark woods with tall windows surrounded by heavy drapes to protect the various tomes from decay due to sunlight.

But this is merely a facade, a front, for its real purpose: A meeting place for individuals who are considered Heretics.

Beneath the library, even beneath the basement where more valuable books are stored, is a maze of tunnels leading to a tavern, deep in the ground, a fitting meeting place for a group that has been driven to hide from the threats and persecution by the Dyan. Here, members of the secretive group can gather, exchange information, have a meal and drink, and even stay the night in the crypt-like rooms.

Whle there have been very few visible alterations to the building or the underground structure, the alterations that are not easily found are the most important. These include bokkcases that may be moved to reveal a hidden passageway, a change to the configuration of the passageways beneath the basement, and various traps and gimmicks to confuse anyone who might wander down into the lower sections. In addition, the area where the tavern itself is located has been retrofit with running hot anfd cold water, a boiler to generate the hot water, a small meadery, a kitchen and a few rooms for guests to sleep. All the smoke that might be generated is vented to the surface via an ingenious chimney system that uses venturi effects to pull the smoke out and dissipate it at the surface far from anywhere it can be seen.

After the Cataclysm, throughout the planet blamed technology – and the chase for better technology – for the world-altering blast. This blame turned into both fear and hatred for some, especially those who began to follow the teachings of the Dyan. Technologists, later known as Heretics, were ostracized, shunned, and later, hunted. As the number of Heretics dwindled, they began to meet more clandestinely for their safety.

The Omwalt Library was originally created by the Omwalt family in the decades prior to the Cataclysm. MIraculously, the buidling was able to withstand the blast, albeit with significant damage, but lost most of the books in the aftermath. Some were destroyed by the initial blast, others succumbed to weather coming in from blown out windows and holes in the ceiling. Yet others were used by desparate Orsholonians trying to keep warm in the 30-Year-Winter. But over time, the holes were repaired, windows replaced, and the library slowly restocked. It is believed the Omwalt family was wiped out in the Cataclysm, but the name remains on the building.

The tunnels in the lower area are believed to have been carved out prior to the Cataclysm, and may have been used for vaults to hide the Omwalt fortunes. There are many rooms in maze-like layout, but any loot that may have been there has long since been taken. When the Technologists began to be hunted, someone from ther area likely remembered the tunnels, and felt they could make for a suitable meeting location – if the maze could be solved.

Above ground, the Library is a stoic building, constructed in a classical style with marble columns and accented with bronze and blackglass trim. The tall windows along the sides of the building give the interior a rich look, particularly with the heavy deep red drapes hung from floor to ceiling.

Below ground, there is a fairly innocuous basement, filled with archival materials and bookshelves. But at one end of the basement is a special bookcase, one that can be moved, but only after the movement of a specific set of books in a distinct sequence. This releases a lock that allows the bookcase to swing open, revelaing a staircase down to the tavern level.

The staircase leads down approximately 50′, and stops at an intersection of corridors. On the walls near the corners are small runes etched into the walls. Thos who know the the Heretics Code will be able to easily understand which direction to follow, while others will simply get lost in maze of corridors from which they may not escape easily.

The passageways are hewn from bedrock, making them impervious to nearly anything above. How these tunnels were created is a mystery to even the most learned of the Heretics. The wallls are smooth and polished and make the passages echo with sound from every direction. Even the sound of a drip of water can echo through the passages, and it is believed that anyone lost in the tunnels could very well go mad.

Through ingenious design – and a series of locked doors – the sound from the tavern area is kept out of the passages, hiding its location. Numerous doors are placed in the passageways to act as decoys, often opening to passageways that simply lead back to a similar looking door. Again, runes carved into the walls next to each door lead the knowing to the right path.

In the tavern, the ceilings are high and lined with beautiful tapestries, giving the room a quiet acoustic signature that allows for conversation without an excess of noise. Walls are lined with bookcases, and an ingenious system bings sunlight in from the surface during daylight hours. The same system is used to distribute lantern light throughout the room at night.

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