Chapter 1.6: Bright Books
Previously: Chapter 1.5: Student SurveyBright Books is well known in Arkham, a locally owned shop that's been in the Morgan family for a few generations, now. The first floor has big, glass windows that hold a comfortable display of books and lets light filter into some cozy chairs and tables for customers who don't want to leave so quickly, and the multi-level structure is home to several floors of books - and several employees only doors.
The name is painted in bright lapis-lazuli blue and gold, and an open eye is above the logo, marking both the sign and window.
There's a dark-skinned man behind the counter, with dark sunglasses on, his dark brown curls hidden under a dark black and purple beanie. He's wearing at least two swishy cardigans overtop his black shirt and is paging through a book from the new releases section while his customers explore.
The man behind the desk straightens, tucking a bookmark from the counter into his book and smiling at Tsem. "Welcome. You look like someone on a mission," his voice is friendly. "Are you looking for something in particular, or for someone particular?"
1.6 Bright Books
"I am indeed. A bit of both." Tsem responds with a sly smile. "The something, a book. A Jounal of a Dreamstrider. The someone, the author, Yeesha. If you have anything else about them, that would be even better."
The man smiles a little wider. "Oh? I'm afraid I don't know the author personally, so I can't help you with getting in contact with them."
"The Journal of a Dreamstrider, though, that's an interesting one to be looking for. Most people who end up picking that one pull it straight from the shelf. Is there anything about it that caught your mind?"
"We take it, from that statement, that you do know of the author?" Tsem replies. "As for the book, we find it of great interest. One could say it doesn't only catch minds, but also dreams..." Perking up, Tsem throws the man a mischievous grin.
Especially the lost ones.
"I've heard a few things," he shrugs. "There isn't much out there on the author that's solid."
He smiles back. "Yes. I would definitely agree. I might even go as far as to say that Yeesha's book has a habit of attracting dreamers."
Tsems eyebrow rises slightly. "Oh. How often do people come looking for such a text? It was quite difficult to find even the slightest facet of truth online." They seem to ponder the situation for a moment, only to continue. "From that we'd assumed it's not too popular, even for those mages who dream."
The man's posture shifts, a subtle opening, even as he moves his head to make it clear that he's looking past Tsem to scan the bookshop. He settles back into his place, sunglasses turning back towards Tsem. "Not every Dreamer who comes through our doors understands what they're doing. Not yet. If they pick up the journal, and come back with questions, I ask them not to spread the word unless they know that the person they want to tell is someone it will help."
He settles his folded hands on the counter, tattoos in black ink stark against the tanned skin of his hands. "Some truths are dangerous to spread without caution, and it's easier to guide people towards the resources they need if you can clock them before they try to do something that could kill them." He grins, confident and relaxed. "So. You know what you're looking for. Why do you seek it?"
Tsem feels their own demeanour shift into a stillness, considering whether this man could be trusted. No mere clerk would have such an interest in someone's justification for seeking a text. In other book stores, they simply asked for a book, were given a pointed finger, and went on their merry way. This enquiry, however... is very peculiar.
Who is this man? Why does this journal concern them so? We suppose, only one way to find out. Let's play along.
"Most likely a better reason than most who enter your establishment. We recently heard of this journal from an… acquaint—pardon our manners! We have forgotten the etiquette of a proper introduction. Depending on your familiarity with the context of the text, you may know, as did we, that Yeesha is a common name of the people of the D'ni. Our people." Tsem declares, touching their hand to their chest.
Giving the man a confident look, Tsem offers their hand. "The name is Tsem Aldor. Dreamstrider."
"Sawyer Morgan. Bookstore owner, Practitioner, Knowledge-Seeker, and certified sofer." The man takes Tsem's hand, smiling. "That's definitely a good reason to be looking for this particular book. I'm very familiar with the text - I've personally read and vetted every grimoire and guidebook in the building, even if they're outside the scope of my personal practice. Anything I haven't finished reading doesn't get shelved until it is. Safety measures.The Journal Of A Dreamstrider is one of the few books that's safe to keep on the public shelves."
He leans back, slightly, thinking, one hand raised to his face as he thinks, putting his esoteric tattoos - a medly of alchemical symbols, geometric patterns, and blackwork - in easy sight. "I'm afraid I've never had the opportunity to meet one of the D'ni before. Dream mages, plenty, but Yeesha is one of the few D'ni who have left accessible texts behind. How ever..." He grins wide. "....if you're willing to help me with a translation project, I've got something written by her father in the backrooms. It's not on the shelves, because it's written in what I assume is your native language. Not an easy thing for an Earth native to translate."
If and when Tsem checks their phone, their friends have been messaging up a storm. Cassidy talked to one of the “Dawn Commission Agents” and Scratch has been bombarding her with prank ideas and random questions.
“Interesting.” This seems almost too good to be true. Noticing the intricate markings Sawyer's arms, Tsem suspects there to be more to this man than he's letting on.
They feel the distraction of a buzz in their pocket, it's likely that Scratch is spamming the group chat with nonsense again. Not important for the moment, we'll check it later.
Unsure of whether to trust this situation more or less, Tsem continues on, ever curious. “Tell you what, we'll help you translate that tome for free. In exchange, a copy of Yeesha's book, and a promise to message me whenever you come across anything interestingly D'ni related. I can see this potentially being the start of a mutually beneficial relationship.”
More vibrations, more distraction. Fine! “Just a moment, Sawyer.” Pulling out their phone, Tsem checks the messages.
The man chuckles, then smiles. "Alright, we can do that. I'll need your number, however," he pulls a card from his pocket and sets it on the counter. "And you'll need mine."
He checks his own phone, briefly, as Tsem checks their messages, then settle in. They've got time, today, no projects on fire, no one he's expecting to check in. Besides. There's an interesting game he can play, while Tsem checks their phone, one of trying to pin down Tsem's features in his mind, a dreamlike element of difficulty to the perception of their appearance.
After checking their messages, Tsem learns that Cassidy is speaking with the monster hunters from earlier. Allegedly, agents of the Dawn Commission. It's worth updating them on what we've been up to. Details omitted, of course.
[Tsem] We're just looking for some research resources for one of our assignments in the book store. Good to know they're not the cause of this, however we're still conscerned as to why these agents were shuffling around in a room with that... thing. Message us if anything interesting happens, we'll catch up with you guys soon.
S. O. P. BACKSPACE. O. N. PERIOD.
An outside observer would notice that Tsem's proficiency with mobile devices can only aspire to the levels of their computer literacy.
"Apologies for the distraction, Sawyer, here's our number." Tsem looks back up after pulling up a note application on their phone. In it, there's a badly formatted list of name and phone number pairs, including their own. Pointing at it, Tsem continues, "...that one there. And by the way, do you know anything about the Dawn Commission?"
"Nothing to apologize for, today's quiet. Nothing time sensitive on the to-do list, today," Sawyer pulls his own phone out and snaps a photo of Tsem's number, then pockets his phone again. "The Dawn Commission? I started hearing about them a year or so ago, and a friend of mine works in their Library."
"I'm not personally affiliated, but I've always been more of a ... free spirit," he laughs quietly, then leans on the counter, one brow raised above the edge of his sunglasses. "What kind of anything are you hoping to learn about them?"
“The acquaintance we mentioned earlier; a Dawn agent. He was recommended Yeesha's journal by an eclectic magician of sorts; a librarian.” Tsem responds, with a mischievously proud demeanour. “We haven't met this librarian personally, but we hear they're very fond of glittery black things.”
Tsem punctuates the point by resuming a steady, intricate spinning of the pencil. The sparkles flickering in and out like stars in the night sky.
“We just want to obtain any resource we can on Dreamstriders is all. We have a specific problem, and we've exhausted all our options so far.”
"Yes," Sawyer grins wide. "That's her."
"We share a few hobbies, although I actively seek out, safety-check, and pull useful, and less-dangerous pieces from more actively hazardous tomes than she does on a regular basis," he props his chin on his hand. "So if you do run into anything that tries to bite your face off or melt your brain, I'm one of the best in the business to bring problem tomes to for... assessment and containment."
He circles the counter, smile lazy and relaxed. "I'm not sure if she has anything that might help, but I can ask her to take a look. As far as I'm aware, Journal Of A Dreamstrider and The Book Of Atrus are going to be the only first-hand accounts available. There may be other sources or accounts, but you're already on the path I'd recommend in terms of research. Are you willing to explain the specifics of your problem?" He motions for Tsem to follow, heading for the fiction section. "No hard feelings if you aren't. Everyone has secrets."
"Unfortunately not." Tsem responds grimly. "Just as you actively seek out dangerous books, we have done the same for dreams. On that, we can only advise you caution. No matter how careful you are, some things are better left unsought."
A grave chill slithers its way up Tsem spine. Actively severing it off just before reaching their head, Tsem supresses it from entering their mind space. Some things are better left unthought.
"Oh, I know," he says breezily, drifting down one of the aisles. "You don't gain the kind of repertoire or reputation for dealing with problems that I have without being on the recieving end of... consequences. Everyone makes mistakes, at some point. The question is whether they'll be the kind of mistakes that they can survive."
He glances back at Tsem. "Dreams are outside my specialization, so I'll have to take your word on the experience part. I've studied enough to know how to direct people towards safer practices, but if someone goes too deep, I can't pull them out." He crouches, plucking a book from the shelf. "Too often, the warnings people need come far too late to change anything."
The man's tone is still relaxed and easy as he stands, holding the journal out to Tsem, smiling. "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't keep an eye out for others, anyway. I appreciate the warning."
"Thanks." Accepting the journal, Tsem once again glances inquisitively at the markings on Saywer's arms. "You speak like a man who has a lot more experience than one should expect from your average bookkeeper. Why is that?"
"Because I do," he replies, lowering his sunglasses enough that Tsem can see through his dark eyes and into space, distant stars and galaxies.
He grins slowly. "My early missteps were survivable. My later ones were on purpose."
With a brief chuckle, Tsem responds, "Is this an ongoing purposeful misstep phase, or have we caught you in your lavish retirement? The old, 'grizzled adventurer settles down, opens a bookshop.'" Tsem lets out a wide smile.
"In any case, we'll return you the favour of not prying. Thanks again for the book. We'll be sure to find some time to help you out with the translation." Sliding their phone out of their pocket, Tsem checks for more messages.
"In the meantime, we should probably find a friend of ours. As usual, they might be in the process of getting themselves into trouble."
[Tsem] We're finished up with some errands we had to run. Cassidy, are you still with the agents? Hope you're not pulling a Scratch and getting yourself into trouble
Sawyer lets out a sharp laugh. "Oh, it's ongoing, I'm just on a short break right now," he straightens his sunglasses. "Have to at least wait for my kid to get through University before I pick the really dangerous experiments back up."
He nods, heading back towards the counter. "Be careful. Good friends are hard to find. Keep each other safe."
"We'll most certainly try. Was a pleasure, see you soon." And with that, Tsem, turns about and strides off to meet back up with the others. We're still a bit unsure about Sawyer, but he seems reliable enough to rely on his information. And given that, it's probably best to work with these Dawn agents, rather than around them.
The brows of Tsem's face furrow. We wonder how much they already know. The jumper is one thing, but they just left that—THING—in the room... well. We'll bring it up later. One problem at a time.
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