[XXIX.16-112] The investigations of Capybarus: I have already uncovered a scholar in our midst, who, I am suspicious, is a member of Thanatar! Thanatari are known to employ the language of the trolls known to us as Darktongue. Now, Darktongue has a written form made up of raised or indented characters, which can "read" even in pitch darkness by running one's finger along the script. One Theodopolus Pandarus, an initiate of this temple whose own writings betray his animosity towards trolls, is fluent in both the written and spoken forms of this tongue, yet is known to have full sight! Blindness is, of course, a characteristic that manifests itself among the Thanatari due to the nature of the geases that they receive from their god. I contend that Pandarus has plans to become an initiate of that abominable cult. Who will forget that the first priest of Atyar was in fact a wandering priest of Lhankor Mhy? I will continue to investigate this grave matter further, even at the risk of severance.

[XXIX. 16-113] An erratum by Saryte Lekile, Grey Sage. My marginal note to Collectanea entry XXIX 12-76 was inaccurately transcribed by my slothful apprentice (who I assure you, was soundly whipped). The "note" thrown over the wall by that wry Death Lord was in fact carved onto a battered shield, rather than a piece of paper, as my apprentice in his laziness implied in the entry. May I take this opportunity to deride the Provost Apprentices for the increasingly poor standard of youngsters being brought into this temple...

[XXIX. 16-114] Ragar's vegetables on Greens Street in Airside are the most delicious in all Nochet.

[XXIX.16-115] What kills a walktapus is the publicity it gives itself.

[XXIX.16-116] A description of the Brittleskin disease by Aretaeus the Nosographer, White Healer of Arroin: "Shining tubercles of different size, dusky red or livid in colour, on face, ears and extremities, together with a thickened and rugous state of the skin, a diminution or total loss of its sensibility, and a falling off of all hair except that of the scalp. The alae of the nose become swollen, the nostrils dilate, the lips are tumid; the external ears, especially the lobes, are enlarged and thickened and beset with tubercles; the skin of the cheek and the forehead grows thick and tumid and forms large and prominent rugae, especially over the eyes; the hair of the eyebrows, beard, pubes, and axillae fall off; the voice becomes hoarse and obscure, and the sensibility of the parts affected is obtuse or totally abolished, so that pinching or puncturing gives no uneasiness. This disfiguration of the countenance suggests the idea of the features of a satyr, or wild beast, hence the disease is, by some, called satyriasis, or by others leontiasis. As the malady proceeds, the tubercles crack and ultimately ulcerate. Ulcerations also appear in the throat and nose, which sometimes destroy the palate and septum, the nose falls, and the breath is intolerably offensive; the fingers and toes gangrenate, and separate joint after joint."

[XXIX. 16-117] It is well-known that carrots improve your eyesight; get some from Ragar's stall on Greens Street in Airside at a very reasonable price.

[XXIX.16-118] The Doctrine of Baldrus the Black Reader of Nochet: "The classification of chaos is necessary for the final triumph of Law over Chaos. For once we have documented all forms of chaos, however multifarious and however small their differences, Order will have prevailed and Chaos shall cease to exist. This I have pledged my life to, and those of my disciples."

[XXIX.16-119] The nosographer is, by the very nature of his science, limited to mere descriptive passages when cataloguing disease. The entry above [XXIX.16-116] being a flawless exemplar. It is then, left to the AEtiographer to postulate, research and record possible cures, remedies and alleviations for the sick. The first and foremost action one must take when dealing with an outbreak of the Brittleskin disease is to immediately isolate those afflicted and to locate and stifle the source of infection. Note also that ordinary Healing magics are ineffective when treating the skin lesions of the sufferer; yet the Repair spell seems to have an effect! A full cure can only be achieved with the assistance of a Healing Spirit, or powerful rune-magic. The disease is both horrible to live with and difficult to die with: a victim may live out ten years or more before dying of another cause. Mirashi, Healer-Priestess of Deezola, The Binder Within.

[XXIX. 16-120] Fed up with bread and meat? Come to Ragar's stall on Greens Street and get some cabbage.

[XXIX. 16-121] Of Guilmarn the Fat, king of Seshnela, it has been said (though not in his hearing) that "he was a man of splendid abilities but utterly corrupt. Like rotten mackerel by moonlight, he shines and stinks."

[XXIX.16-122] The seven principal mouths of the Oslir; the Canopic first, and then, in order, the Bolbitinic, the Sebennytic, the Pineptimic, the Mendesic, and Tanitic and the Pelusiac.

[XXIX. 16-123] As related to Khost by N'qoboka, fire-priest of the M'dlaka impi: "This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life: he is merely a strand of it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself."

[XXIX. 16-124] Smoking elven dreamweed, White Niall, that same elf-friend who yearned to be the Pavis Champion, fell into a deep slumber and had this awful vision: "..and lo, the traitorous elves of The Garden, feeling themselves spurned by the new Champion invited chaos over the walls. The Crimson Bat, ridden by a Broo swept low over the cyclopean walls and consumed the plant kingdom. Thus did the first uprising of Pavis against the Red Moon fail..." Haunted by this sight, and wracked by whether it was true or no, Niall entered Labrygon's Puzzle Canal there to seek an answer in the magic painting hidden at its center. Neither he nor his companions have yet returned, although it be a season-and-a-day since their departure.

[Native to the Sacred Ground in distant Prax, dreamweed is a smallish herb with grey flowers and tuberous roots: it is the roots that are smoked or eaten . Consuming it gives visions, some true, others false. Who can say what the veracity of White Niall's vision was? Theo. P.]

[XXIX. 16-125] This is what Krang told me: Darkness was the first power to form from the ooze of Chaos, although some of the later powers were greater. These younger powers formed the Celestial Court,and later fashioned new things, which were often shared out among the world. The creations were given to Darkness first; this is why Darkness has so many secrets; for some of these powers were never passed on, but were kept hidden in the darkness.

[XXIX. 16-126] Turnips, Leeks, Loquats? Waymoles, Breadnuts, Yams? You can get them all at Ragar's.

[XXIX. 16-127] It has come to my notice that the Collator has been growing plump on excessive quantities of vegetables recently. It has also been noticed that "advertising" has been seen in these tomes. Perhaps the Collator needs be reminded that Truth and advertising do not mix well. A Higher Authority.

[XXIX.16-128] Life is too short to learn Auld Wyrmish.

[XXIX.16-129] In the cold hills of Sartar, nourishing livestock during the dark and storm seasons has always been difficult. Unable to forage on the frost-covered turf, the animals subsist on hay, which must be hurriedly cut in the darkening weeks of the earth season. Even then, most of the herd must be slaughtered. I propose to alleviate this problem by continuously running a fine stream of water across the breadth of a field, thus preventing ice crystals from forming. My recent experiments with a small undine in the temple coolroom were quite promising, and even now, I am attempting to secure a suitable hillock and herd to further my investigations.

[XXIX.16-130] The sorcerer's familiar is an unnatural creature; a freakish homunculus germinated outside lawful procreation.

[XXIX. 16-134] The horsemen of the Pentian steppe claim that their ancestor is the ancestor of all men, but to other men he gave gold, silver, fine clothes and salt, and to them he gave bravery.

[XXIX. 16-135] The Seshnelan city of Estau resisted Arkat's armies for a year-and-a-day, for it was protected with magic cords tied all round its perimeter, secured with a knot so complex and tight none could untie it. Arkat grasped God-Cleaver, his sword, and cut the knot, and so took the city. This legend offers an explanation as to why Estau is now an open city; it is interesting too, that Estau is the major rope-producing center of Tanisor. Goliard the Peripatetic.

[XXIX. 16-136] Reading about Estau just now reminds me that this city was one of the strongholds of the fabled Vampire Kings of Tanisor (another was the Red Ruins). These just rulers worshipped the Light Side of Nysalor before Arkat's coming, but turned to Gbaji and vampirism to defend their land against him. Capybarus the Thinker.

[XXIX. 16-141] [XXIX. 17-60] When the dwarves saw how Lokarnos kept gold in large wheel-shaped disks of even weight, their minds turned to coins. So, they made little brass disks to buy and trade with, called clacks, after the sound of their minting. The elves later convinced people to make clacks out of copper, in honour of Mother Earth, but some dwarves stubbornly insist on minting brass clacks, even though they are rarely worth more than their weight in raw metal, even to other dwarves.