Tome Appraisal for Dyanna Winifrede
March 26, 2021
From the Client
The tall, pale Duskwight woman, indigo hair falling all about her shoulders, enters the shop, a wrinkle between her eyebrows as she scans the room. Dressed in hunting garb, with a wide brimmed hat atop the ensemble, she takes it off politely as she approaches the counter.
“This is where you bring tomes, yes?” The Duskwight accent is perceptible, her voice soft and low. At confirmation of this, she produces the tome, black and green, from her knapsack.
“In a collapsed tunnel, in the Gelmorran ruins,” she explains, removing it from the cloth wrappings. “I’m not certain how much it’s been through, how much might be recovered. But it seems it was either hidden or revered.”
She orders the Earl Grey, with a bit of aldgoat milk if possible.
Tome Attributes: Remnants of a kind of mortar, suggesting it might have been pressed into a mural or hidden under stucco on a wall.
Gil Donation: 1,000
Tea Order: Earl Grey Esoterics
“Aye,” Amon answered the woman, “You’re in the right place, my friend. I have to admit that ’tis the first time someone’s brought me a Gelmorran-found Tome so far. I am curious what those ruins might contain.”
He inspects the Tome with a bit of a squint, taking note of hints of a lingering dusty substance on the surface. He’d have to attempt to scan it to see if that would bother the data recovery, but he kept in mind to give the connectors a bit of a clean before and after.
The Elezen then serves her the Earl Grey tea with a slight apologetic tone, “I do have milk, though I’m uncertain if ’tis aldgoat or not. ‘Tis just the milk the markets sell around Gridania. I do hope ’twill be good enough for your tastes. Just give me a few minuets and I’ll tell you what I can of your Tome.”
Appraisal Outcome
This Tome has certainly been through some tough times. I was concerned about bent or mucked-up connectors making it hard to read due to the build-up it has acquired. I did get a reading on the content, but the data is somewhat patchy. I’m not sure how much longer this Tome will remain in working condition, I’m afraid.
The topic is curious however, roughly translating to: A Guide for the True Believers
Seeing that Allagans held little to no stock in faith and belief systems, I’m going to suggest this was writing procured from an outside group of peoples that the Empire absorbed. There were still folks who struggled to hold on to their belief systems despite being under Allagan rule.
If ’tis the case, then that would support what I’m seeing here – very old scripture and beliefs that struggled through hardship, and a Tome that’s likely seen a lot of hiding in its time. Sadly, this device’s days are numbered – how I do wish I had the equipment to create a copy of what data is still readable for you!
Amon returned the Tome to the woman with yet another apologetic look. “I’m afraid ’tis nothing collectable or valuable on this Tome. However, ’tis a symbol of strong belief that an ancient group of individuals fought to hold on to. Perhaps it can represent some inspiration to know that it still survives.
“I’m working on saving up funds to piece together a data cloning device in the future. If you’re interested in retrieving a copy of this data onto a newer device – perhaps if you have a Tomephone? – I’d be happy to do that. In the meantime, please keep this warm and dry – it helps to preserve the data longer.”