Mantor's Library

Mantor's Library was the preeminent place of learning in the city of Phlan. It was a repository for the knowledge about the city, the Moonsea North, and all manner of academic fields from the mundane to the fantastic.

Location

The library was situated in the center of Scholar's Square, in the Old City of Phlan.

Structure

Beneath the library proper was the sub-basement that housed its extensive archives. Deeper still beneath the basement was the network of sewer tunnels that ran beneath Phlan, and ruins formed from the numerous times the city had been destroyed.

Interior

Upon entering the library seekers of knowledge were greeted with the scholar's garden, a serene indoor space for quiet reflection complete with a reflecting pool.
To the left of the scholar's garden were the ground-level book shelves, containing scores of books covering subjects from philosophy, mathematics, history, geography and even some rhetorical works. Along the back wall opposite the entrance were several reading chambers and the scribes hall, a workplace used by the library's resident scholars, and the cramped personal study of Phlan's resident Master of Scribes, also referred to as the Scribe Master. On the right side of the garden were a series of personal compartments that offered the privacy needed for engrossing studies or the focus needed by the library's skilled illuminators.
The underground archives were set within a large square room that resembled a pyramid set atop a box. Along each of the 100 ft (30 m) tall walls were multiple thousands of tomes, scrolls, and historical documents of great significance. Hidden beyond the far wall of the basement from its entrance was the "Secret Cache", a hidden place where treasured knowledge and valuable magical items could be safeguarded.

Activities

The library was often bustling with activity, as the city's scribes always had some scholarly duties that had to be performed. Novice scribes were enlisted to transcribe documents and perform other less-than-exciting tasks.[9] The amount of energy that all the library's scribes poured into their Work was truly exceptional.
It was funded by nominal fees that were charged for the scribes' Work in conjunction with generous donations put forth by the city's wealthier citizens.

History

Following Phlan's destruction during the Dragon Run in the Year of Thunder, 1306 DR, Mantor's Library like much of the city, was left in absolute ruin. The library was reconstructed in earnest some decades later, in the Year of the Gate, 1341 DR.
A half-century later, in the Year of the Worm, 1356 DR, the scribes of the library and the city's resident wizard Denlor worked together to create the Secret Cache within the library's archives.
During Phlan's occupation by the malevolent spirit Tyranthraxus, Porphyrys Cadorna enlisted a group of adventures to delve into Mantor's Library in order to find more information about the pool of radiance beneath Valjevo Castle and restore the fame and fortune of House Cadorna.
After the Zhentarim took control of Phlan in the Year of the Blazing Hand, 1380 DR, the archives of Mantor's library was the site of a tragic book-burning led by the city's inaugural Lord Protector, Cvaal Daoran. The Bane-worshiping zealot destroyed and documents that were critical of the Zhent organization along with those that were critical of their politics.
Sometime during the early 1480s DR, the Cult of the Dragon directed two of their agents, Tibeem and Spernik to infiltrate the library and discern the location of the ruined Temple of the Scale in the Dragonspine Mountains. At the same time a series of books, including The History of the North, Lex Geographica, and The Weave: A Collection of Impractical Observations. were reported as being stolen from the library's shelves.
Another of the dragon cultists Ellison Berenger also came into the city under false pretenses, hiding among the library's scribes for a matter of months. He used that time to track down the memoirs written by Ren o' the Blade, with the inadvertent assistance of the senior librarian Garda Greenleaf. The deplorable cultist then killed the beloved Garda before fleeing from the scene of the Crime.
After the cult's patron Vorgansharax took control of Phlan, the green dragon known as the "Maimed Virulence" stripped the Lord Sage of Phlan of their office and occupied Mantor's Library with a squad of the Tears of Virulence soldiery.

Parent Location

Phlan