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There's only so much Goliath can learn about this new era and the future he missed from the castle's library, and so he is visiting the ship's library again, looking for histories.

Besides - the datapad he was using until now is broken (again), so he's there to replace that, too.

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More like horrible, often insane, people who hide in the bushes with big snipers, waiting to kill mutants.

"A-a little," she admits.

"You have the look of one who has been hunted before."

So has he, but being able to crush sniper rifles in his bare hands does a lot to keep that possibility from worrying him more than it should.

He slows his strides. "You need not fear this darkness. If there were anything lurking in this city, I would have found it by now. And if there were enemies lurking in these shadows, I would not allow you to come to any harm."

He pauses, waiting for her to catch up. "I understand my kind appear . . . intimidating, but we are a race of protectors. You may walk beside me if it would bring you comfort."

"Yea..." She looks to the dark, biting her lower lip. "You can say that..."

She actually feels safe with the gargoyle. He's logical, nice, and seems like he could very well protect her from whatever could be lurking in the dark.

"Thank you," she says, coming up to walk next to him. Her nerves suddenly feel a whole lot better.

Goliath, and the night, are silent the rest of the way.

Fortunately, it isn't far to walk. The lack of strong wind inside Stacy has meant Goliath has been walking a lot more, so he's found the quickest ways.

The castle looms above them, dark and imposing, and slightly damaged, like all the others around it - this one, however, is the only one showing signs of repair, and a gate firmly closed. It's a little superfluous with the western wall as badly damaged as it is, but still -

"I dislike interlopers in my territory," he says, by way of explanation regarding the gate. As for how he gets in and out - he unfurls his wings and leaps atop one of the lower portions of the unevenly rebuilt wall. He lowers one hand down to Laurie, and when she takes it, lifts her up and over the crack in the wall.

Inside the outer wall, the grassy courtyard is overgrown, but the rubble that is becoming the wall again is neatly organized according to size and how well the shape of the original stone was preserved. The rest of the castle is intact, imposing and beautiful at the same time.

The red car, parked anachronistically by the eastern wall, is also quite beautiful, if you're one for classic automobiles.

"Welcome to Castle Wyvern. My clan's ancestral home, once the home of Prince Malcom of Scotland, and Princess Katharine after him."

And then Xanatos, but, you know, Goliath disliked him a bit more than the first two.

Laurie is in awe of the castle, she does a spin around, and almost falls flat on her butt in mid-turn-around. And even is she had, she would have continued to gape at everything around her. It's like stepping into an old architecture book she'd once read on medieval castles. The build, the material, the garden...and the car added a nice authentic touch.

All she can make out in her awed state is... "It's beautiful."

"The architects were old when I was still young, but they would be glad of your compliments," he says, smiling as she admires the territory. "The library is this way."

Laurie follows after Goliath, making sure to not reach out and run her hands along the walls and the doors or even stoops down and touch the floors (authetnic is authentic, and Laurie feels like this is all too good to be true).

The library is, indeed, huge.

It's also down halls of legitimate treasures, past ancient urns and tapestries that are most likely priceless.

The pieces aren't limited to one age or empire, either. Whoever the collector was, the only common thread to their taste was price. And price, judging by the prevalence of treasure, was no obstacle.

And at the end of one hall, Goliath pushes open one enormous door on to shelves and shelves of books, some of which are easily as old as the tapestries.

"In two years, I have only begun to scratch the surface of this collection," Goliath says, his voice warm for the few thousand or so items in Xanatos' possession for which he has any sort of attachment.

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If Laurie ever had the chance to faint, now would be one. But she maintains her balance and stares at the shelves and shelves and shelves of books. Not even the mansion library had so many books as Goliath's library. And of course, she has to say one of the oldest cliches in the history of stepping into big libraries:

"This place is huge! You must have over a thousand tomes in here! Oh!"

She spots an interesting color of binding on a shelf and crosses the room to it, reaching forward to pull it from the shelf...when she stops. I'm a guest in another person's home. I can't just grab something off the shelf.

She turns around to Goliath. "Would it be alright if I took a book off the shelf? Please?"

"Of course." Goliath smiles at her attention to etiquette, as well as her enthusiasm. "Only have care with some of the older tomes. Many are fragile."

He, meanwhile, is going to start looking for some of this Faulkner she mentioned.

Laurie almost lets out a delighted sound and takes the book from the shelf and whirrs around, plopping down on the floor where she stands, folding her legs in tailor-style. It's a very old copy of a book she had wanted to read a while ago, but couldn't locate in the mansion's library.

Goliath is away only a moment before he returns with a book in hand to pull up a stool nearby to Laurie. A companionable silence descends as the two fall deep into their reading.

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