Session 10: The Hidden Library Report

General Summary

Valerie, Peter, and Quinn woke up the morning after retrieving Charon's Cryptex.  Valerie gave them some information on Charon.  She told them that he is the Ferryman of the Dead who brings souls across the River Styx when a coin is placed in their mouths upon death.  Peter tried to call Jessica for additional information but did not receive a response.  The group received a call from Liam who explained the features of Peter's car but did mention that he did not know what the large red button would do.  They also spoke with Hazel who again suggested that they go to the secret floor of the Library of Congress to find more information.  She also mentioned that the last she heard Jessica was in the Library at Haven doing some research.  She agreed to check on Jessica.  Valerie, Peter, and Quinn decided to leave Greg's place and follow Hazel's advice by going to DC.  On the way they were attached by a Quasit, Nightmare, and Flameskull.  They successfully managed to escape without Peter's car breaking down.  They proceeded to the Library of Congress.  Valerie showed them the disguised button in the elevator to take them to The Hidden Library.  Upon entering, they saw a wide variety of magical creatures, spells, and demigods performing frantic research.  They spent a few days there doing research and uncovered the following:    Veritas appears to be an entirely new group or a new name for an old group.  They could not find a historical record of a group called Veritas.  They found signs that Zeus had stricken from the historical record ing=formation on groups that did not believe he, Zeus, was the King of the Universe.  They did find information on the Greek goddess Alethea whom the Romans called Veritas.  She is believed to be either the daughter of Zeus or a construct created by Prometheus, depending on the specific myth being referenced.  There was mention of her in Aesop's Fables.  In one fable she is found living far from society showing that truth can only be found when separated from societal opinion and group conduct.  In another she was created by Prometheus and called Alethea, meaning sacred truth.  While Prometheus was away, his assistant tried to make an identical construct and succeeded in every way except her feet for which he ran out of clay.  The copy was called Pseudologos, meaning falsehood or subterfuge.  This shows that that which is false may begin successfully, but in the end only truth will prevail.  (The DM found this information here)   When researching the children of Ares who had magical abilities, Peter found information suggesting that one such child fought other demigods during WWII on a separate plane of existence.  This showed that it was common for these demigods to take part in major conflicts (particularly those involving demigods fighting each other), but these children of Ares are not typically known by mortal men.     The group discovered that Charon's symbol is the skiff.  He is frequently described as being truly ugly.  When people die and have a coin placed in their mouth, Charon will ferry their souls across the River Styx.  It is known that it is better to use a more valuable coin in this process, though the benefits are unknown.  Charon seems very reasonable for a deity.  Most people don't consider him a god due to the fact that he is much weaker than Hades and is bound by the rules of his realm.  There are very few records of people talking to him, but he is described as stoic and quiet.     The scroll the group recovered was written in the language of the dead.  Valerie spent a few days learning the spell comprehend languages so that they could read the scroll.     While on her own doing research, Quinn once again saw a bluejay.  She opened the window, and it went through the same sequence of transformations as it last did.  A voice emanated from the creature and said, "Daughter, if you look for answers among the Olympian Gods you will not find any information about me.  If they discover what you are, they will kill you.  Tell no one.  Stop looking for me, or I will not be able to protect you.  I grant you a boon."  This boon granted Quinn advantage when having a wild magic surge.  Quinn did some additional research and found that she needs to return to LaLaurie's tomb within the year after having her wish granted.     While Valerie was learning comprehend languages and Quinn was doing her own research, Peter fixed his car.  Quinn used her painting supplies to repair the one remaining scratch.     The three demigods met up in their hotel to cast comprehend languages on the scroll while Quinn used prestidigitation to prevent them from being overheard and Peter used divine sense to ensure that certain types of creatures were not close to them.  They discovered that a daughter of Athena and son of Hermes were the last people to have the scroll.  The code and writing on the cryptex is reset each time a new item is placed within it.  This signifies that the item within the cryptex should relate to Charon in some way.  The people who placed the item inside of it also created the new code needed to open it.  The scroll also mentioned that it, along with the cryptex, were left near an entrance to Hades so that Charon could access it should he leave the underworld.  They wished whoever found the cryptex luck with solving a riddle that would reveal the first letter of the code along with the location of the next riddle they would need to answer.  The riddle on the first scroll was, "A man named Tom goes to a party. He and three guests go into a back room to play some games. A few hours later the four of them are discovered dead. One was beaten with a shovel, another had a drill bit in his head, and a third had been clubbed to death. Tom had no marks on his body.  How did he die?"  (The DM found this riddle here) Peter discovered that they could write their guesses on the scroll.  Each guess had a reply of yes or no.  After a few guesses, Peter discovered that the correct answer was a heart attack as each death related to a suit of cards.  The scroll said the word yes before the ink began forming something new.    It is worth noting that no response has been heard from Jessica or Hazel in the days since Hazel went to check on Jessica in the library at Haven.