MONDAY AFTERNOON...ISH...
[ so anyway i guess the striders are very willing to take punishment and stupid risks. dave opts to make his choice as [ redacted role ] on monday after they patch themselves up from round one. after that, they head to the locked building to try to pry some boards off the windows to see if they can like.
see inside?
if not they'll probably #yolo and open the thing anyway. ]
see inside?
if not they'll probably #yolo and open the thing anyway. ]

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If Dirk digs deep enough, he'll find a book co-authored by several individuals. There's an A. Philips listed on the cover page. It's titled Understanding Our Place in the Cosmos: The Many Worlds Interpretation.
Shuffly McSnapsnap the Monsterbeast is busy making extremely worrying noises from the west wing, like it's... slurping on something? Ew. Next to them, one of the bookshelves is leaning precariously against the other. Try not to let it fall while you're digging around, boys.]
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uh. fine these books seem okay so dave will take all three and wait for dirk to give an all clear before starting to head...east. towards the stairs. because west seems like a bad idea but he is still determined to go upwards. ]
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Dave is apparently determined to climb stairs so. Fine. Guess Dirk has to do this.]
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Make haste.]
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it's probably bad he prefers the horrorterrors creeping around to bro's spector, even though that's what's following him up the stairs in a weird sideways manner. ]
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Also why is there no option to PARKOUR UP THE STAIRS BY BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS, HUH?????? LET THE STRIDERS PARKOUR!!!
Anyway yeah I guess it's time for the Striders to slam their speed stats and then dive for cover. Dirk slips his matchbook out of his pocket rather than his scalpel. Because that's safe in a library.]
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On the second floor, they'll find the big ol' hole on the floor, looking very much like something smashed through the ground from below. There are no more bookshelves here, but there are at least a hundred cubicles, rectangular tables and desk chairs strewn around. Some of them are relatively intact, but others have been damaged by both time and the monster lurking below. Debris fills the room.
Noticeably, some of the windows on the second floor aren't boarded up. Instead, they reach all the way up to the ceiling, providing ample illumination to the room. There is a large chandelier hanging from above, though it's old and decrepit.]
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though staying quiet and ducking into a dark place sounds like a good plan he will take if the Thing makes it to floor two. failing that, he'll consider tossing the paperweight way in the opposite direction of the two of them to topple something...somewhere else.
THEFT WITH A PURPOSE no he literally just took it because it was an apple shaped item but that's a plan he will enact if it becomes prudent. ]
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Probably.
Mostly he's got a book to smash down something for a distraction (maybe) and/or to set on fire to set off the alarms to confuse whatever it is.
Anyway, in their sneaky hiding spot Dirk looks to Dave on direction of where to go next]
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If there is a third floor, as could be plausible from looking at the building from outside, there isn't a handy dandy staircase that leads to it. That said, the second floor's ceiling is ridiculously tall — so that's likely to be the cause of the building's size. Some sprinklers are visible on the ceiling, but it's impossible to determine if they're functional or not.
They can probably get away with smashing one of the windows up here and climbing out, if push comes to shove.]
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chooses to peer at the chandelier. how big is it. ]
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Also himself. He guesses?
Dave though mostly. So he is attending to slimy slurpface the snipper's sounds.]
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Mr. Slurpface sounds like he's on the move.]
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anyway he will be cautious and only head down the steps if he thinks it's safe. ]
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He also doublechecks the maps to see where the periodicals are? More local newspapers might be nice if they can find any.
Dirk, being a good person, doesn't point out they could've avoided this trip upstairs and its alerting of the monster.]
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like hiding in a closet until you're sure no one is there. ]
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And is I guess gonna sit quietly in the dark with Dave for however long. Sure why not.
Goddamned Raptor scene.]
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After a while, it kind of sound like the monster is... snoring? If weird, evenly paced growling can be considered snoring. That might be their sign to haul ass and get those sweet history books.]
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but when snoring starts he will start creeping downstairs to go to the history section. ]
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Cute (??) snores as their signal, Dirk follows his brother (??) down. There go the ninjas!]
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The second book Dirk picked up will turn out to be an elementary school level book. It helpfully illustrates skeletal anatomy, complete with a skeleton in a top hat. It's more fun than relevant, though, unless they want to give to Emily later.
The Teenage Sburb Ninja Striders will successfully get downstairs without rousing the monster awake, as long as they're quiet about it. Once there, however, they'll catch a glimpse of this between the bookshelves. Just the bottom half, covered in tough carapace and armed with sharp limbs. It's in the east wing.
Don't wake Fluffy the Slurpbeast up.]
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The history section is... relatively intact. A few bookshelves have survived Fluffy the Terror, but there are still books scattered all over the ground. Anything in particular they're hoping to find?]
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