Day 3.2: In which we are "out of time"

We, all of us with the exception of Wraith again, walked into the bookstore to see what we could find. But as soon as I walked up to the book keeper all the man could do was gasp and ask if I was going to a costume party of some sort, as he thought I presume that my Imperium Academia Robes were some sort of silly outfit. I immediately corrected him and asked why he thought so and to make a long story short... the empress didn't just throw us through space in some sort of Gate but through time as well, by a couple of centuries in point of fact. I'm traditionally a man who prefers a cold glass of milk as his choice of beverage, but in that moment I think I wished to taste my first sip of some sort of alcohol instead. I immediately requested a history of some sort over what has transpired over the past few centuries, and went to reading. As I am sure that I could read faster than that man could ever hope to speak, as I can read two pages at the same time. I don't know how I learned this skill, but it did aid in my studies and training at the IA.
 
After copious amounts of reading completed in under an our and some heavy note taking in my Leather Journal, I returned the book and mentioned that there were no accounts of what happened to the Imperium Academia. As it was the arcanic and academic heart of the Empire, surely it survived and was protected. The bookkeeper had no answers but the mention the "Dirty King" was known to burn books and the like during his campaign in an effort to destroy all magicks and knowledge. I don't know what it was that broke in me in that moment, but it felt like I was about to have some sort of nervous breakdown that would result in blood pouring out of many of facial orifices. It was Medea that calmed me down in a few words, but it wasn't the words she used "calm down" but the tone and pressure behind them. I held back my potential loss in sanity as the last piece in the puzzle fell in to place.
 
I was always curious since my youth why the Emperor and the nobility not only tolerated but help fund the IA; in land where magic was illegal why was so much of it secured, contained, and protected behind its black marble walls? It was then that I realized that those blue flame torch lit halls, the mahogany shelves, and labyrinthine corridors that went many storeys up into its towering shape and miles below didn't exist to preserve such knowledge but to hoard it. The Emperor had planned his assault for decades, perhaps centuries, or even prior to the founding of the IA when the first 9 Magisters came together. We, the IA, were just another chess piece on game board; so long as he had us and his hoard then he didn't need to preserve the rest of the world as he tried to burn it to ash.
 
As recited much of this knowledge and conclusions out loud, Medea shushed me and told me to keep my blabbering mouth shut in front of mixed company indicating the book keeper who was slack jawed and wide eyed at us at this point. I only had two questions left for this noble seller of learning: Was there still a courier system in place and was there anywhere else where we could get information? He said the courier system was by foot only, as it seems and aviary mailing as been either destroyed or never made it this far north. Which is a shame as I wished to contact my foster-mother Magister Morgana Albion, and elvish woman of character as I am now worried about her. In addition I wished to contact Magister "Bran" as he told me to contact him in two days time, and it seems I missed our appointment. The book keeper's other answer regarding information redirected us to a temple/church that held not just a god or pantheon but all the known gods of the realm.... a house of a thousand deities of sorts. We thanked him for his time and made our way there.
 
We arrived that the temple and the place was enormous and full of parishioners, the priest there looked a bit stunned and confused. You would have though he'd seen the face of a devil or demon or something, and he was just as confused when he met us. He asked where we came from and I spoke over Medea who claimed we were "from the mountains" and told the good priest the truth. The man's eyes glazed over and was even more confused, so I asked if he heard that story before and he confirmed he had. I asked if it was from a red Tiefling and he said yes and pointed towards the celtic altars, and sure enough there was Wraith. I yelled over to him but he ignored me, and we ran out of questions to ask the priest and thanked him for his time.
 
Following that and Medea's lead on her new deed, we saw our way out of the city to what was to be our new home for now. Until we find a way back to our time and perhaps if we're lucky kick the Emperor's ass for stunning me and burning libraries. Dirty effing King indeed.