Merrick nodded to Otavia, then nodded to Kent.  The burly, stoic swordsman followed his nimble comrade over to the small doorway, looking on as Merrick drew a dagger and began to carefully saw away at the thin, sturdy ropes.<br/><br/>Aleric, meanwhile, followed Otavia over to the bookcase, standing behind her, alternating between looking around for any lurking dangers and peering over her shoulder at the shelf’s contents.<br/><br/>The books were an odd array, scattered in subject the way one might expect a small personal library to be, spanning about four shelves above a larger, empty shelf that could serve as something of a table.  A couple books Otavia recognized from her own arcane studies--rather fundamental books, all told, not likely to hold anything of interest even for a relatively inexperienced mage like her.  A few seemed to be religious texts from religions built around prominent goddesses, a few others seemed to be histories, although some of these titles referenced places and figures unfamiliar to the young mage.  The majority appeared to be novels, some of the titles seeming to promise adventures (“The Princess and the Labyrinth,” “Irea and the Orcs,” “The Treacherous Guard,”), some romances (“Forbidden Love”), some suggesting that the tales they contained were most explicit and vulgar in nature (“Making the Queen a Whore,” “Claiming the Sorceress’s Pussy”).  In addition, a few were in languages other than the common tongue--a couple in Draconic, but most in some kind of language whose characters Otavia did not recognize.  Apart from the prevalence of smut, none of the books seemed particularly unusual or noteworthy to her eyes.<br/><br/>The brawny arm of Aleric passed by her, just brushing against her long, flowing hair, fetching a volume entitled “One By One.”  After flipping through it briefly with an eye quirked, he casually slipped the book into his pack.<br/><br/><strong>”I took care of the trap.”</strong>Merrick was standing behind her now too.<strong>”I also took another sweep of the room, didn’t find any other traps.  The only places I haven’t really looked are, I haven’t gone into the side room, and I haven’t really examined the pedestal up close.”</strong>