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Magical Library · Small · Level 4 · Medium

The Scriptorium of the Red Mark

The reception bell rings once, though its clapper is missing.
Rooms
7
Foes
8, CR 1/4 to 3
Traps
0
Treasure
280 gp
1234567Entrance
Select a room on the plan to open it.

The party is in

1. Reception and Returns

Seen

Something wanders by

At a glance

The threat

The upper-floor adjudicator, a bronze-and-wood construct called the Examiner, has mistaken its catalog rules for law.

Wandering monsters (1d3)

  1. 1

    1 swarm× Index SwarmCR 1/4

    When: A loud argument or the removal of several books from a shelf draws it from the nearest passage.A bundle of loose catalog cards that flutters like a flock of moths, each card whispering a different title.
  2. 2

    Folded FoxCR 1/2

    When: It appears when someone carries an open book between floors or approaches the red symbol in .A paper guardian shaped like a long-legged fox, folded from a children's tale and inked with tiny equations.
  3. 3

    Loose InkCR 1

    When: It wanders after the party damages a book or leaves a fresh bloodstain on the library floor.A drifting patch of animated ink with a face that appears only when it passes through lamplight.

Rooms

7
1

Reception and Returns

treasuresecret

What they see

Read aloud

A low reception hall holds a long desk, a tarnished bell, and a wall of cubbyholes stuffed with brittle visitor cards. The four doors lead into the library's scattered subjects; a cold draft leaks from the north wall, where no ordinary doorway is visible.

Features

  • A brass bell rings once when someone enters, though its clapper is missing.
  • The reception desk has a guest ledger whose newest entries are written in fresh ink.
  • The secret north door is disguised as a panel of blank book spines.

What the GM knows

Treasure

Returns Key15 gp

A brass key tagged RETURN opens the locked door in . The tag is stamped with the old library mark.
Room secrets · GM only

Notes

The desk ledger lists visitors from decades ago alongside the party's names, written in the same hand. The ordinary south door leads back out; the other doors lead to rooms-1 through as shown by the layout.

4 doors: S (normal), N (secret), W (secret), E (normal)

The place

What it is

The Scriptorium of the Red Mark is a compact, two-floor library whose rooms preserve subjects once taught to scholars and clerks.

Atmosphere

Paper dust, lamp oil, and the sharp mineral smell of rain on stone mingle beneath a steady whisper of turning pages.

The threat

The upper-floor adjudicator, a bronze-and-wood construct called the Examiner, has mistaken its catalog rules for law.

History

A century ago, the city clerks built this library to train translators, illustrators, teachers, and court recorders.

Rumors

1d4
Roll a rumor

  1. 1A clerk swears that the library's bell rings for people who have not yet arrived.
  2. 2The old picture room can show a door that is not there, if you look through the camera instead of at it.
  3. 3A bronze examiner is still holding lessons upstairs, and it gives failing marks with a hammer.
  4. 4Children near the sealed building sometimes wake knowing a lullaby no one has taught them.

Plot hooks

3
RecoveryThe Missing VerdictA village copyist wants a missing ledger recovered from the justice classroom before a land dispute turns violent. The ledger is likely among the Examiner's case files.From: Bryn, a blunt village copyistReward: A modest purse and a signed deed granting access to a forgotten family archive.
ExplorationThe Plates in the CameraA collector has paid for a set of glass plates rumored to show a hidden passage. The collector wants the plates intact, but the library's residents react badly to flashes of light.From: Ovela of the Quay, an art dealerReward: A silvered lens worth 75 gp, or the collector's payment of 100 gp.
RescueA Voice Between PagesA child has been hearing a lullaby from the library's upper floor and insists that a lost sibling is calling from inside one of the books. Find the source before the child attempts the dangerous climb alone.From: Pavel, a worried miller's sonReward: A healer's kit, a small purse, and the gratitude of the child's family.

Corridors

3

  • Passage between and

    A brass reading lamp hangs at each junction. Its glass shade shows a tiny painted eye that turns to follow anyone carrying an open book.

  • Passage between and

    Strips of faded multilingual catalog labels run along the wall, changing alphabet whenever no one is looking directly at them.

  • Upper-floor passage outside and

    A waist-high book trolley rolls slowly uphill toward , even when its wheels are locked. Its shelves hold only blank index cards.

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