The Remains of the Library

The gnomes wended their way through the cavern. Contrary to what they half- expected, there were few valuable objects in this part of the caves. Chucky did not desire to visit the heart of the dragon's home, which contained his hoarde, but he at least expected some ornate trappings. The rooms that they visited were plain. There were piles of the livery the dragon's servants, and piles of battleworn swords, axes, and clubs. Either this part of the complex had already been looted, or there was never much of worth here.

The gnomes then came to a large room, although it was about a quarter of the size of the ampitheater. Chucky exhaled and shook his head. Someone had been there before him. At the center of the room lay a large pile of ash. As he approached, it was what he had feared. Burnt remains of leather binding and useless cinders were all that appeared to remain of the dragon's library, besides the tantalyzing empty shelves.

Chucky kicked at a pile of ashes, his quest frustrated. It would be a long journey back home, and he was now out of ideas. If only he could have gotten here sooner! Flucky knew better than to disturb him. Flucky could not stand still - he looked through the empty shelves, under a desk, and in both the nooks and the crannies. At last, he was rewarded. There were two tomes that had survived the fire. The first was perched on a writing desk, badly burnt, with a portion of it now charred and unreadable. The remaining part was brittle, and would require careful handling. The second book was wedged under one of the shelves, and whoever set the fire missed it. It had only light, superficial, damange. Unfortunately for Flucky, he could not understand the language of the title embossed in its spine. He did recognize the title emblazoned across the singed front cover of this book, however:

1. "Ye Historie of ye Greete Warres of ye Weste and ye Tragik Aftermathe" by Aetherfels of Vernalia.
2. "My Life and Times," by Minestus Rex.
3. "Especially Dull Topics in Thermodynamics" by Robert the Obtuse.
4. "Exotic Flora and Fauna of Ryngaerd, Havnheim, and Vernalia" by Celestine and Brenner.
5. "Wringling Sisters' Sideshow" by Grommel Nock

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