The Librarian's: The Beginning

Welcome to the Metropolitan Library in New York.


On the outside it looks like a normal public library, but inside, beneath all its books lurks something magical. Most of you have no doubt heard of Excalibur, Pandora's box, the Holy Grail. You've also probably found that artifacts such as these have disappeared from the world...or have they? Deep under the library all sorts of artifacts lay preserved and protected from those who would use them for the wrong purposes. They are protected by the Librarians. This is their story.
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Alvin is the current Librarian and through a series of random events, he's acquired Alana as his companion who also is a Librarian, though he's still refusing to acknowledge her as much else than an assistant. They are about to be sent on their first mission, but neither of them have seen the artifacts, so it's all sounding pretty out there to them.

Artifact in question: Edgar Allan Poe's Quill Pen and Notebook

How it works:
When Poe's quill pen is separated from its companion notebook, readers of the notebook will find that words from the book literally move and crawl across their skin and seemingly cause a momentary lapse in sanity. The pen itself appears to give its wielder the ability to attack or affect people, in ways similar to attacks in Poe's stories, when they write words such as "wall," "fire," or "mine" on a piece of paper. Only when reunited do the pen and notebook become less active, though it may be possible to temporarily deactivate the notebook by telling a well-written story within close proximity. Each object appears to send visions to their current keepers in order to be reunited, with the visions becoming more intense the longer the two are separated and active. The notebook seems to have an invisible inscription written on its front and spine.

The pen and notebook absorbed or were imprinted with their original owner's creative spirit after being with him for so many years. The notebook calms when listening to people read books because of the passion and emotion when the story is read; the two objects were probably used to being exposed to this kind of passion when their master was still alive.

(Retrieved from http://warehouse13.wikia.com/wiki/Artifact:Edgar_Allan_Poe%27s_Quill_Pen_and_Notebook )


Where it is located: London, England

Report:
The University has been experiencing disappearances of a few of its students, and a shop keeper in Liverpool has been said to be in the hospital after a strange attack that has left him insane with words literally crawling on his skin.

Alana stumbled through the library door, a carry on bag tangled with several suitcases that bashed into her ankles and caused her to drop a manila folder in hand. She huffed, blowing dishevelment brown locks from her eyes as papers went everywhere. She grumbled and dropped her bags and suitcase at her feet, blocking the entryway as she took a moment to recollect herself.
She left her pile of things where they dropped and yanked her sweater back up onto delicate, hunched shoulders.
"Go on an internship, they said," she muttered under her breath, kneeling down and picking up the papers in a sharp manner. "You'll get to go to Rome, they said."

Alvin watched Alana with a raised brow. "You can't leave those there," he said as he walked around her and went towards the back. He had picked her up from the airport, though it hadn't exactly been a pleasant meeting. He'd been fairly sure she was going to throw her nook at him, had she not been so in love with it she probably would have. He meandered his way to the staff room in the back where the fridge held treats, which his stomach was loudly calling for.

Elana mustard a glare for the back of his head, fatigue and disappointment making her mood fowl and her words sharp. "Well where are they /suppose/ to go?" She called after, rubbing her face and pinching her eyes in an attempt to banish a migraine. "'Lotta help you are!"

"You're apartment," Alvin said in an "un-duh" voice, disappearing into the back room. A large grin spread across his face as he found the fridge and he immediately began to rummage through it, successfully coming out with a tapioca pudding cup. He quickly found a spoon and happily began to dig in, waiting for the always random and sudden appearance of the Director. She liked scaring people.

Elana stares after him for a moment before sliding down the metal security detector and onto her bum. She stared around at her cluttered mess of a life blocking the entry way, and sighed. "And that would be /where/?" She mumbled at no one in particular, picking up each paper the spilled from her folder one by one.

"Fifth floor, room 529," said a woman's voice. The Director had appeared right in front of her out of no where it seemed. She was an older woman, somewhere in her early sixties. She wore a tight smile as she watched Alana and glanced at Alvin as he came sauntering back with his pudding cup.
"Hey boss," he said casually.

Alana startled, her papers escaping her hands again and embracing their dash of freedom with new found vigor. "Crap, where do you - how did you- " she blew a wayward strand from her face again and stumbled up, finding it in herself to muster another glare for her 'helper'.

The Director gave a thin smirk, Alvin chuckling. "I have a very light step," she told her before her eyes landed on Alvin. "Alvin. Help her clean up." Alvin jumped to attention and did so, grabbing Alana's papers for her. He obviously had some kind of fear of the woman, no matter how casual he was around her. "Then I want you to help her to her room and get her settled, the library opens in an hour. As soon as you're done, which should be in fifteen minutes, I want you both in my office." The Director then turned and walked away, heels clicking against the marble floor.
"Yes ma'am, of course," Alvin said until she left, then he grumbled something incoherent, but obviously not nice and handed Alana her papers. "C'mon."

"Wait, you don't understand, there's been a mistake!" Elena called out, fumbling with her bags and resigning herself to Alvin. "Is that pudding on your lip?" She blinked, shaking her head and stuffing a rather heavy bag, forcing him to carry it.

Alvin went cross eyed as he looked down at his lip and licked off the pudding. He grunted when she shoved the heavy bag at him and shoved it right back, catching the light one before it could fall and carrying it instead, walking down the hall whistling. "Nothing around here is a mistake," he called back to her. "Keep up."

Elena scowled and heaved her bag up, not making any attempts to avoid his heels as she walked behind him. "My room is /here/?" Her eyes widened slightly at the prospect, staring around at all the books and inhaling deeply. The inhale cut short and she coughed. City air; a lot different then fresh, European air.

"Yup," Alvin said, kicking her whenever she stepped on his heels. He lead her to the other side of the library and through a pair of large wooden door. The hall itself was lined with doors on either side, but it wasn't until they reached the very back of the hall that Alvin stopped and unlocked one of the doors. He pushed it open and went in, tossing her stuff on her bed. "Home sweet home." Dropping the key on her desk he started to head out. "Hurry up, you start in three hours."

Alana suppressed a groan, dropping all her things at her feet. The papers went flying again. She huffed and left them. "I'm still here for librarianship, right? There's no way I'm spending the summer cleaning."

"Assistant librarian, you get to boss all the other people around," Alvin said as he left the room. It was true, she got to be bossy, and he just got to boss everyone, including her,

Alana stared after him. /He/ was to be her boss? Great. Just great. How could plans get so screwed up? She closed the door and flopped onto the bed, catching up on 2 hours of sleep before dragging her jet lagged but to the bathroom and staring into the mirror.

Alvin stared at the Director as they stood in the hallway. "No, I'm not taking her with me. Not happening."
"She has to have field experience, Alvin," the Director said, though her voice seemed as though she was talking down to a young child, trying to convince them to take their younger sibling.
"Well that's not my fault," Alvin grumbled. "I'm not taking her with me. I've been handling things just fine on my own."
"I'm not so sure...I happen to remember a certain instance with the Mayans."
Alvin's brow furrowed. "Ya but you came and helped me, see we make a good team! Why does she have to even be here?!"
"Because I said so, Alvin." With that, the Director turned and started back down the hall. "Be sure to show her the Archives."

Voice s wafted through her walls from the hall outside. Curious spiked, she played down her toothbrush on the sink with a plink and walked to her door. She pressed her ear to it and listened, brows slowly furrowing. Once a light step f footsteps faded away, she opened the door, addressing Alvin with wary amusement. "So we're partners, huh?"

Alvin spun and faced her, his eyes narrowing. "No," he said as he pointed at her. "No, and don't you ever get it in your head that we are. You're my assistant and that's it." He turned and started to walk away to his own room. "You've got twenty minutes before you have to start putting books away, hurry up."

A grin spread across her face, amused that she seemed to have hit a nerve. "Alright, /partner /". She closes the door and booked it to the shower, getting ready faster than most girls. Jeans and a simple blouse shifted her well enough. No make up. She slipped in contacts, grabbed her kindle which always stayed attached to her hip, and wandered out.

Alvin slammed his door shut at her calling him partner and he stalked his room, back and forth, back and forth. Picking up a vase that stood randomly on top of his T.V. he threw it, breaking it against the wall. It shattered into a million pieces and fell to the floor. The pieces then turned liquid in nature and congregated together again, turning back into the vase. "Not my partner," he grumbled and picked the vase up, putting it back on the T.V. He then flopped over onto his bed and ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. "There is no way that brat is going to be my partner."

Finding a vending machine, alana munched on a granola bar and wandered down stairs and through the ailses, picking up the ones that caught her interest and skimming to pass the time.

Twenty minutes later Alvin came out of his room, cool and collected once again. He found the largest book rack he could find that had the most books on it, and wheeled it over to Alana. "Get started. By the way, you have the desk." He then turned and started walking towards a pair of large wooden doors.

Alana grit her teeth but didn't complain, throwing herself wjoleheardly into her work. The load kept her busy, but she soon developed a rhthm, kept energized by granola bars.
After some time, she had the cart put away and worked just the desk, picking that up quickly as well

The rest of the day, Alvin made it his singular duty to give Alana as much work as he possibly could. Anything he could think of he made her do until closing time, then he refused to take her to the Archives. He didn't think she deserved to see it.