All Over a Bloody Library Book

[Alexi]

"I am not saying he stole it. I am saying he ended up with it."
She turned down a road and into a warehouse district.
"Besides being a private detective he was also what we nicely refer to as a procurer. Wanted something? He could get it for you. Word on the street was someone wanted your book and bad."
She pressed a garage door opener button and a door opened. She pulled the car inside. There was a several other cars and a few motorcycles parked inside. She pushed the button again and the door closed.
"The word also was that Burt had gotten to it first. And I know what book you are looking for. I know because....."
She opened her door and stepped out, turning she looked at him.
"I am Alexi."
She closed the door. She had told him her name earlier, but he wouldn't have grasped what she was meaning by just saying Alexi. If he knew anything about New Haven, he'd have heard of Alexi. What had the damn secretary gotten him into? Alexi was known as being someone who could be bought by either side for a price. She switched loyalties as often as some people switched underwear. Yet once her price was paid, once she was bought she didn't waver or switch sides. She had a core of honor that was at odds with her seemingly mercenary nature. Everyone knew she was part demon. To be exact her grandfather was Satan himself.

[Levethix'moxt]

Unfortunately... he didn't know anything about New Haven. He was new to this land, new to this world, the reason the book was valuable was because it held within it the ability to allow one to travel to different Realms different worlds, beyond creation, full of entirely new wonders and horrors.

And Levethix was from one of these places. He was a dragon, and yet wasn't. He was used to humans, who were, yet where not. He was an analogue, a possibility that had not been realized in this reality, but had been in another place.

And he had traveled here.

As such it was completely understandable as to why he blinked at that, ''Who?''

[Alexi]

"Alexi....."
She looked at him and laughed.
"You are not from around here are you?"

[Levethix'moxt]

He looked at her eyebrow raised, ''Was it the accent that gave it away?'' he snarked. ''Regardless, the fact of the matter is I have avoided describing the book in detail up to now. This was intentional. So unless someone has openly claimed to have stolen it from me, or you've pulled the image of it from my mind, my point stands.'' He grimaced, ''Even the names not much good. It's grandiose, and overused. May as well have been 'Travelers guide' when it comes to Draconic tomes. The trick to recognizing draconic title is the accent.'' he held out the book, ''And your track-record isn't good on that.''

[Alexi]

"Tone Monsier Dragon.....tone."
She moved away from him and headed towards a door. She opened the door and walked into a room. It was sort of like a living room with other doors leading off to it. She walked to a door on the left and opened it, stepping inside. When he walked in she was sitting in front of a set of computers. This was obviously a computer room and the setup made Bill Gates look like an amateur.

[Levethix'moxt]

Not that he was a good judge of such things. Computers of this type were about as foreign to him as anything else. He had made himself familiar with the basic functions after learning just how valuable the little thinking constructs where, but knew only enough detail to recognize that he was standing before a large investment.

Something he'd have to correct if he ever chose to come to this land again.

''You would prefer a false politeness? I do not trust you madam, you have done some to warrant my faith, but much more to put me ill at ease, and while you have offered threat for your safety, you have yet to offer any token for mine.'' he eyed her sharply, ''You want the book, for purposes I may only guess, and have already threatened me several times. Why should I at polite with you when I have not yet any assurance that you wish more then to use me?''

[Alexi]

"Yeah yeah yeah......"
Her fingers flew over the keyboard. She moved between three separate computers. Indecipherable characters could be seen on each computer.
"Your book does it have any spells, enchantments, curses......on it?"

[Levethix'moxt]

''A few hundred.'' he stated with a sigh, ''Mostly defenses, locks, filters, traps, alarms, that sort of thing. It's got a few overall signals meant to let me find it rapidly, though those are muffled. If someone just outright dispelled it, it's useless as if you completely disarm it you actually destroy the knowledge inside, which is indecipherable without some of the traps their to muddy it up in just the right way to make it understandable to an instructed individual.'' He shrugged, ''Your normal mix of hard and mystic defenses. Oh, I almost forgot, a handful of those enchantments were placed on by deities.''

[Alexi]

She started typing on a computer's keyboard.
"I need names of the different spells and if they were cast by deities which ones."
She never took her eyes off the scrolling characters on the screen.

[Levethix'moxt]

''Nothing local, and nothing local.'' he listed off, ''There are a small handful of analogues to some of the deities I've found information on locally, but they don't seem to be actual facets of their existence,'' he explained. ''Trust me when I say it's 'foreign'.''