Go to Siobhan's office

The rest of the day went by quietly. You found an inn to stay the night, and it passed by without controversary or commentary, and that was slightly problematic. The dwarf Ghlorim's words proved true in the end, nobody here cared about your fight in the arena. You have no fans looking to ask questions, no cheers to your success, or even a casual acknowledgement that you had, for a moment, put your life on the line for entertainment of others. The people of Ipsola had seen this kind of action a thousand times before, and you were too removed to be of any consequence. It's just as well you reckon with yourself. You wanted to be recognized as a master arcanist, with an impressive legacy for uncoveringing the deeper mysteries of the arcane world, not recognized as a great combatant in the arena, known for putting on a spectacle in front of his eager fans.

The next morning, you find your way to Siobhan's office with only slight difficulty. The college campus, originally a fort and barracks, has been retrofitted and added to since it's original creation in the past Age, and as a consequence buildings and their use are not in any logical or sensible layout. You were able to find her office based on the silver crescent moon painted on her door, a common symbol and decoration for elves to use. You politely knock to enter, and hear a hollered response "Come in! And be Quick!"

You do as you are instructed and close the door immediately behind you. Siobhan's office is small, dark, and cluttered. There has to be a couple hundred books stuffed away in here, of a variety of subjects and are arranged in no easily sensible order. There seems to be a large assortment of her personal affects strewn about as well, personal memento's and some magical gadgets of indiscernible quality or purpose. Siobhan herself sits behind a cluttered desk, looking through an old manuscript of some kind, paying you little mind. Without looking up, she greets you "Thank you for coming Verigas, and thank you for keeping the door closed. Would be a pain if he were to get out."

"Who?" You respond, not aware of anyone else.

"Him" She responds flatly, pointing up towards the scaffolding. Perched is a dragonling, barely old enough to fly. It sees you and swoops down, it's new silver scales shining bright in the reflections as it encircles you to get a whiff of your scent, returning to Siobhan's desk and curling into a ball beside her

"Amazing. I didn't think the college would let you keep a dragon."

"What they don't know won't hurt them. Especially this little fellow. Too much of a momma's boy to be of any real danger..." As she scratched the top of its head, which caused it to make purring noises, reminiscent of a cat. "If he got out he would just fly back in the moment he found something the least bit scary."

"Interesting." You said, in disbelief and lack of anything better "You said you were willing to teach me."

"Yes I did, and I am, provided you show the aptitude, and the willingness to work with me on my own little plan"

"And what plan is that, dare I ask? Keeping your pet fed?"

"Oh, nothing of that sort. We're going to destroy this academy, from the inside." Her cold directness was startling

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Metaphorically, of course, but still. Everyone in this organization is either corrupt or inept, and they all need to go. Either they leave voluntarily, or students will stop coming here, and the school will have to close. At that point, it gets reopened, under new management and direction."

"Yours, presumably."

"Yes, of course. Who else is more capable than me?"

"This sounds a lot like me being used a pawn in your game, Siobhan"

"I know it does Verigas…" She spoke calmly and gently as she got up from her desk. Standing in front of it, she leaned against it. You just now noticed she was wearing different robes from yesterday, these with thin slits to show her long shapely legs "Especially given that we had just met. I diverted you from one trap, only to point you towards another one."

"So, why should I trust you?"

"Because they'll burn us both if you get caught, most likely, and because I'm ready to play the long game with this. You and I have the benefit of outwaiting everyone else, if we need to. That, and for the moment I need to make sure that you're capable of learning before we actually begin even entertaining ideas of a conspiracy."

"Okay..." Her way of questioning your intelligence was underhanded and unappreciated, but you'll have to show her the hard way "So, what is my first lesson"

"A test, actually. There is a book in the library that I would like, but the head librarian is **** to loan it out anyone, especially me. Something about it being a one-of-a-kind publication. Please go retrieve it for me."

"That's all?" You ask, surprised by the seemingly menial task.

"That's all" Siobhan replies, her arms crossed.

"Very well. What's the name of the book?"

"That's part of the test Verigas. Now, get going"

Taking Siobhan's challenge seriously, you make your way to the library. Ancient and massive, you could never hope to read all of the books here, even with all of the years an Elf has. Animated automata move about the halls, removing and replacing books as directed, as well as dusting and maintaining the space. The library was constructed like a wheel, a central hub with numerous isles branching from it, at least three stories tall. You make your way towards the center, where the librarian resides, at least one of them. A short human woman, pale skinned with a gaunt face, dark brown hair pulled back in a tight bun, sits in the position. Like many of the staff here, she seems less than inclined to actually help you.

"Excuse me, I was hoping you could help me. I'm looking for a book."

"You don't say? Well, you've come to the right place. Grab one and be gone with it." sarcasm dripped with every word.

You didn't feel it necessary to explicitly state a specific book, but this seems that kind of place "No ma'am, a very particular book."

"Yes of course, and you are?"

"Verigas ma'am. I'm Siobhan's newest student."

"Nope, can't help you."

You are immediately confused "Wait, I don't understand. You don't even know what I'm asking for."

"Oh don't I? You think your the first one she's sent in here to get her book for her?"

"Well, I-" You are cut short by building tirade of the librarian

"Well nothing. I'll tell you the same thing I tell everyone else. Our copy of Principles of the Planes is the last one known in the world, and I'm not having it leave here for any reason, especially to someone like Siobhan!"

Well, she at least gave you more information than you had before, you take that for what it's worth. "I see. Why do you think she wants it so bad, beyond its obvious value as a rarity?"

"Damned fool wants to open a gateway to the lords of the underworld, I don't know. The book describes all of the known elemental and conceptual planes that can be reached, and how one may may reach them. It's very ancient, very complicated magic, and I'll not be having anyone trying to use it so long as it is within my power to stop."

"I see, and you don't think there's any way the two of you could reach a compromise?"

"I've tried to be accommodating, she is being painfully stubborn. If you want to try and build the bridge here, be my guest elf. Short of that, I have no answers for you, now goodday."

You walk away from the librarian, frustrated, but undeterred. Maybe Siobhan actually has something to her ideas after all. The belligerence of these people is only further fueling your motivation to find this accursed book. Thankfully, the librarian dropped enough information that you can work with, and find the book without her help. With some Divination magic, you could find exactly where this book is. Moving off to a far corner, you scour the spellbook you found in the cave for the correct page, and after a few minutes, were able to spot it. Understanding the arcane natures, you use a long eagle's feather as the somatic element as you cast the spell, whispering so as to not attract attention. The spell cast successfully, the feather starts to move softly as if blown by the wind, in the direction of your sought after book. Led down one of the spokes from the center, you're at least able to narrow down to only one out a thousand. The feather blowing stronger, it flies out of your fingers, carried by the magical wind. In panic, you try to grab it, only to realize the spell is working as intended, perhaps stronger than you anticipated. Flying up to halfway of the immense stack, it turns sideways and is stuck between two books, one of which has to be yours, you assume. You're not built for athletic work, especially not climbing, but this is all part of the test, you reason. Carefully, you wrap your fingers around the ledge of the bookcase and lift yourself up, step by step. Built from ground to ceiling, you're glad it's at least built to hold your additional weight, little that it is. After a few minutes of painful exertion, you're able to reach the level with the book, taking it out along with your feather. As you do, you hear a distinct shout, which startles you nearly to the point of losing your grip and falling. It's the librarian, unsuspecting anything.

"Hey, you fool!, we have ladders so that you don't have to be a gymnast to get your book. Are you daft?"

"Only in the mornings" You reply sarcastically "A ladder would be greatly appreciated, thank you" With a simple wave of her hand, a ladder kept on a metal railing magically swings to your position. You slowly ease yourself on to it and work your way down, the book in hand. Once down on the ground, you quickly make your way out, short of a full jog. The librarian, so protective of the book, didn't seem to care enough to see whether you were taking that book out or not. You suspect her main concern was spiting your instructor, Siobhan. You return to her quickly, with a smile on your face.

"Here is your book Siobhan. Principles of the Planes, as requested" You shouted as soon as you entered her office. As you enter, you see her softly petting her infant dragon, turning quickly to see you. "Very good Verigas, bring it here." Putting the hefty book in her hand, she scrutinized it carefully "Good work. The last person I asked to try and get this took his regular spellbook and cast an obfuscation spell on it to try and deceive me. Clever, but he got what was coming to him for thinking he could outsmart his master. This is the real deal...or at least, was." With a maniacal smile, she holds the tome in one hand, and snaps her fingers with the other. In seconds, the book started to catch fire. Unconcerned, the elder elf held it until the last second before letting it go.

You're astonished by her actions "What is the meaning of this! You have me fetch a rare book for you just to burn it! It was one of a kind! You said so yourself!"

"That's what they thought, yes" As Siobhan reached into her desk and pulled out an even more hefty book than the one she just burned "THIS is the last copy of the Principles of the Planes. That was a forgery."

"How do you know?" You ask, a hint of anger still leaking through

"Because this copy has been either in my hands or my masters for decades before they got a hold of their forgery. Also, that imposter leaves out both crucial details about how to travel between planes, and even misses many of the elemental planes themselves."

"What planes did they miss?" You ask incredulously

"Did you know there's an elemental plane of Lust?"

Surprised, you simply shake your head "No, Siobhan, I had never heard of it."

"Few are aware of it. Most that are view it as too low and debased a topic to be worth serious magical research." She smiles as she stretches from her desk, running her hands through her grayish-white hair. "The book has a way of getting there, if you're interested. Or, if you'd prefer, we could return to more basic studies to expand your magical knowledge.