Aredhel made his way up to the 2nd floor; which must have been Athos's study. A scan of the area revealed that the bookshelves were full of Historical and geographical texts of Decathros - dozens of them! Aredhel perused the titles of the book and found three rare pieces:
"Histories of the Kazan Mountains" - one of only a few remaining books which speak of the life of the Dwarves of the Kazan mountains before Rainshadow the dragon invaded.
"The Long Walk" - a valuable rarity written in fairytale form, which speaks of the protagonist 'Salassa Wren' and her possession by 'The Great Grey'. A story which outlines her possessed journey to a hidden city within the haunted northern forest of Kelevest.
"Mysteries of the waters deep" - A book written by an avid sailor who spent many years as a trader travelling across the seas. He writes of strange caves and in islands through the spiked sea, beasts betentacled and toothed which threatened to drown him and his crew, and of a tribal islander nation which worshipped him as a god, before trying to sacrifice him and his entire crew.
The first and third book were worth maybe thirty gold apiece, but 'The Long Walk' was something which was nearly impossible to find nowdays - worth over 200 gold pieces to collectors, surely.
The books on the desk which Athos was working on were theories on spellcraft, most of which Aredhel had already read.
However, upon leafing through the books, not one but two sleeves of vellum fell out onto the table. Aredhel recognised one almost instantly, seeing the spell in effect just moments ago: Shield. The other one eluded him for a minute or two as he gazed across the mystical scripture. Finally, with an "Aha!" of exclaimation, he saw the other scroll for what it was: Silent Image.
Aredhel moved from the desk to the table on the other side of the room and as he neared the table, one thing stood out to the elf: A faint, yet distinct magical aura was felt emanating from the odd, cylindrical rod which lay on the table. The elf lifted the object and turned it in his hands, peering at it intently. It looked like it would fit in some piece of alien machinery; there were grooves and slots which suggested it was part of a bigger thing. However even in the advanced Val-a-twyr homeland of Twyrlandir such a device would be an oddity; it was no craftsmanship that Aredhel had ever seen before. The wizard slipped it into his pack.
Additionally, Aredhel took at a look at the map on the table. Brushing the shards of glass left by Korchel to one side, he studied it: It was a standard map of Decathros, a common map found in many regions. Scrawled over it with a black ink were four black 'X's. One in The Kazan mountains, one in Skaldevale, one in Zhelezo and one in Kelevest. Although no details were written on the map, he felt that this information may be important somehow, so he rolled it up and kept it with him.
Finally, the elf rifled through the pockets of the unfortunate man that Helgkhor slaughtered. He found eight gold pieces and his handaxe.
Carus fluttered into the room just as Aredhel finished searching the room, and dropped a semi-precious gem of citrine into his hand as he alighted on the Wizard's shoulder - found within the rubble of the first floor.
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Atacuso took the book from Helgkhor's hand and flipped it open, leafing through the pages. "Yah. Dis be a job for Korchel, I tink. Let's you an' me look around here. You git the top floor!" Atacuso handed the book to Korchel, who sat down once more, glad for the opportunity to rest. He began browsing the text while Atacuso and Helgkhor made their way through the building.
The book was a dairy of past events; Athos's, by the looks. The cover held a tribalised inked drawing of a vulture perched on a branch.
What Korchel could glean out of the book was the this Order of the Originators cult was large. Far larger than even he thought. The book alluded to dozens of groups spread throughout Decathros, and Athos had many furious rants in his book about how his small sect was considered the 'runt' of the cult, and this operation with collecting the Favorim was going to be the thing to prove to the rest that they were capable!
The Order of the Originators seemed to be a cult who were attempting to waken or summon something into the world in order to re-shape it. How they meant to do this was not mentioned in the book, but it did mention something about them raiding a sunken temple in Voskinsar and finding an 'important artifact' which would make the rest of the cult give them respect.
One passage in the book caught Korchel's eye:
"We sent the woman to Tarquis this eve, as he demanded that no time be wasted. I do not understand what purpose she has to the Order; I think Tarquis must be using his leverage in the guild to settle his own grudge with Saulkement! The pompous bastard must think that if he can present the Favorim to the Emperor, he will name him as second only to him!
But Tarquis is our superior and I must do as he demands. At least this will show we are capable!
The Favorim will likely rot in the cells of the western mines which he controls. A pity."
The text wasn't dated but by the next couple of entries it looked to be three or four days old.
On the first floor, Atacuso found a a silver chain with a an engraved eagle pendant sitting on the lectern - a holy symbol of the previous owners of the chapel perhaps. Additionally a glass bottle of fine wine used for 'religious' purposes was pilfered from beneath the lectern. The rest of the room held only rubble and soggy mess.
On the third floor, Helgkhor swiped the pieces of gold left on the desk, and though he left it earlier, decided to grab the dagger as well. it was plain, but might fetch a couple gold. There was a small chest at the foot of one of the beds, and after looking it over for traps and locks, he determined it was safe to open. Inside lay a short-sword which he took, some unwashed smallclothes which he left (and turned his nose up at), and a well-made cloak of an unidentified wool, which felt smooth and warm in his hands, dispite the cool temperature. The cloak seemed like it was woven with small flecks of metal in it. Helgkhor took this.
In the dresser, he found Some dress clothing - nothing that Helgkhor would ever wear - or even fit into - but he piled a couple of the garments into his bag.
The barbarian found nothing else of value so he climbed back down the ladder to the second floor. As he did, Aredhel looked over to him and looked him over closely. "Wait, Helgkhor. Let me see what you have there..."
Aredhel has found 260 gold worth of rare books, should he choose to sell them. He has also found a Scroll of Shield and a Scroll of Silent Image. He collected a metallic rod, about 2 feet in length and 2 inches thick. It has a magical aura but the enchantment or purpose of the object eludes him. He took the map with the crosses marked on it, 8 gold pieces and a handaxe worth 10 gold. Carus found a citrine in the rubble worth 30 gold.
Korchel has opted to read up on the book and rest while the others search.
Atacuso found a silver chain with an emblem on it, worth 50 gold and a bottle of wine worth 10.
Helgkhor found 8 pieces of gold, a dagger worth 5 gold, a shortsword worth 10, He found 15 gold worth of dress clothing. He also found a cloak of undetermined worth, but Aredhel seems to find it interesting.
Disclaimer: I know these values aren't typical "pathfinder" values. I'm just unashamedly simplifying my job here 
Tomorrow I will post the continuation of the game, which will be a quick rest over at The Sodden Sailor, then onwards!
