Livin la Vida Library

Daysha hadn’t been to the California State Library in a long ass time. Not because she was opposed to the place, but she generally tried to use the internet, which she wasn’t the greatest at either.

So after using the card catalog which happened to be on line, Fuck you Dewy Decimal System., the Detective hit the occult section of the shelves. After glancing at book ends here and there she slid several off the shelf. It was funny how a laptop was a hell of a lot lighter than lugging books around. Spotting a table, Daysha let her pile spill out from beneath her arms onto the table. Making a slight oops face when they hit the table. She sat down, wishing she had some coffee, and pulled out her notebook to start writing down information.

…3 Hours later…

After paging through several books, getting up a few times and doing it all over again, Daysha felt a little weary. Yet, maybe she could make something of all of this. Some of it was fairly straight forward, and then again, some of it was obscure.

Toward the end while she had been sitting there, some tall fairly odd looking guy popped over in her direction. “So… need any help miss?” The seriously nerdy guy trying to look all suave. “I see you’re interested in the occult hmm?” His eyebrows rose in a look at me and my knowledge sort of creepy manner. “Someone like you I’d think would be more interested in say reading steamy romance books curled up on the couch.”

Pausing for a moment and rolling her eyes, Daysha turned her head slightly but didn’t bother to look up. “I’m sorry is my fucktard radar is on?”

Okay, seriously it’s time to go.

   11 suxx over 3 hours

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2013-02-09 20:28:46		[06] Daysha rolls 6 to Int+Academics+1 Library (10 Again)		1, 3, 1, 1, 5, 8		1 success
2013-02-09 20:28:46		[05] Daysha rolls 6 to Int+Academics+1 Library (10 Again)		5, 3, 1, 3, 7, 8		1 success
2013-02-09 20:28:46		[04] Daysha rolls 6 to Int+Academics+1 Library (10 Again)		4, 6, 6, 1, 8, 6		1 success
2013-02-09 20:28:46		[03] Daysha rolls 6 to Int+Academics+1 Library (10 Again)		1, 6, 10, 3, 3, 9, 5		2 successes
2013-02-09 20:28:46		[02] Daysha rolls 6 to Int+Academics+1 Library (10 Again)		1, 7, 10, 8, 6, 9, 7		3 successes
2013-02-09 20:28:46		[01] Daysha rolls 6 to Int+Academics+1 Library (10 Again)		5, 10, 4, 9, 7, 2, 9		3 successes

As Daysha spent several hours in the library, she rapidly came to realise that there was a whole bunch of potential fluff. That wasn't too surprising at least. One only needed to peruse the tween section with the intent of searching for vampires to realise that Hollywood and modern "supernatural" authors had had severely muddied the waters for Hunters.

One thick and dusty tome in particular however was written in a manner that was void of theatrics, and as such presented a shining light of credence to the information held within.

The writers remained vague in some parts, using the term 'Ephemeral Entities' to denote the creature or creatures they spoke of. Of these, the writers claimed there were at least five distinct types. Each could be clustered into a loose grouping based on behaviour.

The first distinct group speaks of entities that corrupt their targets, with items they inhabit appearing innocuous but in actuality present a great malevolence; holding dark pasts. For example, the Spear of Longinus is widely considered to have been behind some of the most deadly regimes in the known world. Not only from piercing Christ's side, but from the Nazi regimes obsessive pursuit of it.

The second group seemed to attach itself to a particular family member of familial unit, or an important location. These are rarely malevolent, but frequently lack any sort of intelligence; often inciting the performance of the same action repeatedly, until such a time as the act if completed or the object loses its power. For example in York, England after the horrific butchering of orphans by the owner of the establishment, the presence of the child was experienced by anyone who slept a night in the beds. This faded over time and is no longer reported today.

The third seems to attract individuals with a specific damaged psyche, and appear to induce an exaggeration in this defect. Much like the previous, they show no real intelligence or malevolence but continue to force the exaggeration until destroyed. Unlike the previous grouping they do not appear to wear out. An example of this would be Bacchus' Horns. When he was present and hearing the Horns, those close to him gave into their lusts to the extreme.

The fourth group attaches itself to objects which have a specific symbolism. The symbolism may be erratic or strange, but a common theme is unexplained incidents will occur around these objects. No driving force or distortion of the object is necessary in this case; the mere presence of the object appears to directly cause the incident without a particular stimulus. An example of this ephemeral entity would be the painting 'The Crying Boy', which is said to be impossible to burn. The painting itself however it consistently present in house fires, and salvaged without damage each time.

The final grouping is much more esoteric, and is an umbrella term for those objects that do not fit the aforementioned criteria. Often very rare and valuable said objects behave on a set of rules consistent only to them. Often one of a kind pieces, or fabled relics fall into this category. An example of this esoteric entity would be Excalibur. It has a potent presence in myth, and possess great magical power but of itself does not obey any rules previously mentioned. Additionally, Excalibur is a one of a kind item.

On the back cover are two names: Johann Hirsch and Alastor Grimm. The first author is stated to have died three years previously, however Mr. Grimm is still alive and resides in Sacramento. He currently works at the University of Sacramento. On the inside flap of the cover there is, helpfully, a photograph:

Alastor Grimm

Ephermeral Entities, hmm. Daysha pondered while going over notes.

While reading over the stuff about the Spear of Longinus, her brow had quirked. Didn’t I see something like that on that Constantine movie?

The next set of stuff read more like a haunting of sorts. Like an imprint from something seriously nasty that manifested.

Bacchus’ Horns. Which a quick google search would tell her it was centered around Dionysos. Hm, not what I’m looking for at this point. But definitely a bookmarker.

The fourth set of things Daysha found seemed a little more like what she was looking for. Symbolic and themed things surrounding incidents, like the doll with the neighbor girl. Okay but how the fuck do you get rid of this shit?

Shaking her head and reading onward, she was a little stricken by the Excalibur thing. Okay that thing can’t seriously be real. Uh, then again… I didn’t think that about vampires and the other shit a couple years ago.

Looking up the two names on Google, Daysha saw that Alastor was still alive and kicking. Not to mention conveniently in Sacramento. Weird… I mean he isn’t behind that shit…right?

Nahh. I mean it’s probably just coincidence his last name is Grimm and a ton of creepy fairy tales are by the Grimm brothers.

Easily finding his number from the U of Sac’s directory online, Daysha wrote down the number before leaving the library. When she got out to her car, she decided to give him a call. Hell it was the after noon anyway and she may as well attempt to talk to the guy sooner rather than later, or at least while the information was fresh in her mind.

*Ring Ring* Irina

It could not have been at all possible that the man was awaiting Daysha's call, but Alastor Grimm did conveniently pick up halfway through the very first ring. Perhaps he had just finished a different call?

The voice was very soft and polite, in an accent that at first hearing seemed to a mix of many.

"Franklin's Curiosities, how may I help you?"

Daysha was a little caught off guard when the phone picked up mid-ring. K. Weird.

"Uh, yes...hi."

"I was looking for." The Detective paused and there was a rustling of paper. "An... Alastor... Grimm?" A tiny lilt of a question in both pronunciation and right place. "I'm not sure if I have the right number." Did this get routed to a different number or did I write the wrong shit down.

The response from the man was immediate, and there was a faint trace of interest that someone should be looking for him. Sure, he had left the curiosity shop as his current number while he was getting himself settled, but the hesitance from the caller suggested it was not antiques they were looking for.

"This is he. How may I help you?"

Daysha felt slightly weirded out about the call so far, but still she pressed on. “Well, I stumbled upon a book of yours at the State Library. I was curious if you had time to discuss a few things.”

Then again, maybe he was a recluse. Despite owning a curiosity shop.

Wait… curiosity shop. This sounds even more peculiar now that I think about it.

The pause on the other side of the line was not particularly lengthy, but it was there nonetheless. When Alastor did speak again, it was with a certain amount of care and caution. This was not exactly unusual. For all he knew his "biggest fan" was calling, and trying to initiate some alone time.

"May I ask who's calling? I don't generally meet readers. As... glad as I am that your were curious enough about the contents of my book to prompt a call."

Hmm, maybe he got crazy fans once... or twice. Considering the content of the shit he's writing about.

"Daysha Jackson." Without hesitation to her name, she followed up with no change in tone. "If it's inconvenient, I understand."

Even though that'd be highly inconvenient for her, but hey she understood avoiding people sometimes. Who knows what they were.

"Oh, not at all," the man replied although he did still sound vaguely uncertain. "If you wish to speak, why don't you come to the shop, if it's convenient?"

And that way, if she was a crazed stalker, they weren't in the middle of nowhere.