Tome Appraisal for Rinji
October 11, 2025
From the Client
Tea and Tomes, hm? Certainly sounds like a cozy place-...but Amon-? It couldn't be THAT Amon, could it? Rinji shook the thought from his head before entering, his eyes wandering with mild amazement as his ears picked up the humming of the machine nearby.
"Ah-...hello? I heard you appraise tomestones here?" The red-haired elezen placed the small device wrapped carefully in a worn cloth on the countertop. Given the care he took with it, it was clear its damage came from before its discovery.
"I was traveling through Ilsabard and this one stuck out to me. I'd like to know why, if at all possible-... ?"
Surely the spooky season and an eerie old tomestone wouldn't deter the great Amon?
Tome Attributes: Part of it appears chipped, and Rinji claims an, "Odd, cold aether clings to it."
Gil Donation: 20,000 gil and some home-grown Coerthan tea leaves.
Tea Order: Sage Scripture
“Greetings and welcome to Tea and Tomes, friend!” Amon gave a slight, polite head-bow to his newest potential client, beaming his trademark grin. “If ‘tis a Tome assessment you’re seeking, you’ve come to the right place!”
He accepted the payment, giving upraised eyebrows at the Coerthan tea leaves in particular. It wasn’t often that someone offered tea itself to the tea shop, and he was particularly interested to see what sort of blends he could make with such a treasure!
Unwrapping the offered Tome, the Allagan could instantly see why the owner had kept it covered. Something about the aether that condensed around it looked… off. Maybe even otherworldly. Not particularly dangerous, but also not in a good way.
Amon’s aetheric vision could tell that much, though – as often was the case – he could not immediately discern the meaning of the bleak energies. With a tilt of his head, he glanced at his client.
“Very curious. ‘Tis the second time as of late someone proffered the possibility of a spirit-haunted Tome device. I’d dismissed the idea originally, but mayhaps ‘tis more to the idea.” He then motioned to his Tomereader with one hand. “I’m afraid the machine doesn’t do much for reading aether, rather just data, but mayhaps knowing what is written upon the Tome can provide a peek into the aether that has come to cling to it.”
Appraisal Outcome
Upon scanning the Tome – which in and of itself, seems of common make and origin – I can tell that whatever had originally been written to the device was wiped and overwritten. Very curious!
There appear to be several different documents that bear the mark of what may have been an Allagan secret society – all heavily encrypted, mind you – but this does not waylay me! Some of the various document titles, which appear to be written in cypher, translate to things such as:
- Rooms We Never Lived In
- Where the Mirrors Refuse to Reflect
- The Archive of Forgotten Souls
- The Echo That Learned to Speak
Some seem to be journals of what may have been supernatural investigations. Allagan ghost hunters? ‘Twas such a thing in that age? I would not put it past anyone.
Mayhaps it could explain the unusual aetheric signature the device seems to hold!
Still curious about the findings, Amon somewhat reluctantly handed the Tome and a smaller SDTome copy of the contents to his client. He would have liked to spend more time reading through the contents – after all, while he didn’t know what he believed when it came to the supernatural world, Allagan research on the topic was still Allagan research.
“I can’t fully confirm the rarity of the Tome, but I’d wager that you’ll not find many copies of these files out there, if any other such survived the times,” he said, providing a written list of possible Tome collectors, circling a few names. “But mayhaps the right individuals may offer you an acceptable sum to purchase it based on their interests.
“Oooor…” one eyebrow tweaked up in a somewhat dramatic expression, “You may just deem this interesting enough to keep for yourself. Find a good translator and you might glean some knowledge of how the Allagans hunted their wayward spirits for your own fun and profit.”