I want to pursue my desires alone. Life is all about what I can get out of it.

You leave the coin at home. They might want it back after all. You’ll just say you sold it already if they ask. You think you are overreacting, there’s no way something like this real. Getting excited over nothing.

You dress and head out.

There’s no reason to be afraid. This will probably just be a pleasant distraction. You’ve already got some money waiting for you at home after all. You’re just enjoying the moment right now, the knowledge that you’re doing something exciting puts a spring in your step.

You keep an open mind as you enter a building at the address

There’s a stairwell to a red mahogany basement door. You descend down the narrow staircase, halting before the door. After turning to open it and failing, you knock.

A slit in the door opens and some angry looking eyebrows and intense eyes stare at you.

“Password?”, a man says.

“I found a coin.”

He looks at you, surprised.

“Damn it. Wait here,” he says.

They put a lot of work into this. You marveled at their dedication. Feels spooky, doesn’t it? A secret society? You laughed to yourself.

The slit opened.

“Okay, come in. Good luck,” he said.

Good luck? Why would I need that?

A robust library formed the walls and a bar formed a center island. A small number of patrons lightly talking to each other under some delicate classical music. They were all in varying states of dress with different styles. You felt a sense of importance and confidence from them, this would be fun. There was extremely intricate carpet of red and gold as the man who greeted you revealed himself to be in a tuxedo with white gloves.

“Don’t look at the girl in white and black with the long silver hair, she’ll be sitting alone. She’s trouble. The rest of them, they won’t mess with you if you don’t mess with them. Usually. I’m going to take you to the Boss who owns this place. It’s customary to give him a greeting. I don’t know why you came here, but don’t trust anyone. Not even me,” he said, taking this far too seriously.

You looked at the girl. She was wearing tight fitting aristocratic clothing and had long silver hair. It was quite beautiful. You didn’t think you were into this sort of thing, but now you are. She’s making this work, whatever it is she’s doing her appearance is top notch. Even though the other people here looked healthy, there was a shine about her. You definitely wanted to talk to her.

You were pulled into a room in the back through a small narrow corridor. A small refined office with a bespeckled type sitting at a desk was staring at you. The butler exited and closed the door.

“Hello there, I’m new here. My names-”, you started to say.

“No names. Let me ask the questions. You found a coin? Where?”, he said.

You suppose he’s the leader of the group, might as well play along.

“Under a bridge.”

“Just under some bridge? No one gave it to you?”

“No.”

“Do you have it? I’d like to see it.”

“No.”

“A shame. I can’t even check what runes were on it then. Guess you’ll find out one way or the other, right?”, he smirked.

Magic? You decided to let it go, maybe they wanted the coin back after all.

“Don’t worry about it, not much you can do now. Well, until you get a bit better after all. I’ll give you a choice. Follow my rules, and you’re free to do what you want. Or you can leave right now and hope no one took interest in you. From here on, it’s nothing but danger and learning hard lessons. You can understand what I mean, right?”

He was giving you a look filled with amusement.

“This roleplay is really detailed. I’m not sure I have the money for this though, I was just curious,” you said.

“What do you think this place is? Didn’t you read the coin? However, the rules first. Agree or not, that will determine what I will tell you.”

You decide to play along again. He’s really serious about this isn’t he?

“First of all, don’t ask names. Names are powerful. Giving your name is also a rookie mistake. Protecting your name in the regular world from those who would find it out is difficult, but once someone uses your name in front of you then you know they are an enemy. First rule, no names.”

“Second, don’t bother telling anyone about us. There are types of people you don’t want to anger in this world. I’m one of them, but I’m not the worst. Secrecy is vital, even if you get caught doing something you’re on your own. There have been people who blabbed, it never ends well for them. There are things worse than ****, you know.”

What, is this some sort of vampire cult? You’re not sure about this.

“Third, work out things amongst yourselves. If you have a problem with someone, you deal with it. If you come to me to work out a deal, that’s fine, but don’t complain to me unless you have something to offer. Currency in this world changes hands fast, and currency types change depending on the person you’re selling or buying from. Let’s just say money isn’t much of an issue for most of us.”

“Fourth, you have to learn what you can from here. The books are precious. Some are dangerous. Take a book and you become my enemy. Donate a book, especially if it’s one without any nasty runes in it, and I’ll be a little bit more of your friend. Once you leave this place, you will not have an easy time. I suggest to everyone that you stay here as long as you can. This is just about the safest place there is in this world for people like you. You leave at your own risk. I offer free housing and food here. If you have family you want to protect, don’t contact them. That’s my advice.”

“I’m a bookman. I like books. Treat my books well, and you’ll have a place to stay here. Oh,” he said, like he remembered something as he was talking.

“That girl, the silver haired one, the butler probably warned you about her. He’s a nice person, you can trust him. I wouldn’t advise you to trust me though. I like being honest and fair, no matter what. She’s staying here, the only other one doing so. She’s not an amatuer like you though. If there’s a way that you’re in danger here, it’s mostly her. I can’t do too much about her specific talents. Do whatever you can to avoid her. Even just looking at her too long is dangerous.”

Probably because she’s attractive. Maybe she’s this guy’s girlfriend, doesn’t want anyone hitting on her.

“Make sure you buckle down and read dutifully. I’m not your teacher. If you haven’t guessed yet, it’s everyone for themselves. I’m a bit different in how I operate, and I’m not the only one like this. Keep that in mind.”

“Sure,” you acknowledge.

“You understand then. Good. Break a rule and things will get difficult for you quickly even here. Take care,” the bookman gave an amicable wave.

You leave the room and the butler was waiting outside, he showed you around to the room assigned to you complete with a key. The place didn’t look like much from outside, but it was at least a small house with eight rooms upstairs squished to the side with the middle of the floor open to the bar on the first floor. You looked at that girl again. You were worried she’d look back and you’d get caught, this wasn’t normal for you.

Your head is full of questions. You lay back on the comfy bed enjoying the room. He said I could stay here quite awhile, but what if this is some crazy cult? You were a bit worried, the bookman did seem to not break character at all.

You think you should talk to that girl. The bookman said read the books, but you had a better idea.

However, maybe getting some sleep first might not be a bad idea. You were kind of tired.

You…