LITBO MUMBLEHUM
Litbo Mumblehum, noted fourth and fifth century linguist and frobber
was one of the hundreds of people One the hundreds of people employed
by the Galepath University to organize and study piles of forgotten
tomes that had yet to be analyzed and revealed to the world. As Chief
Historian of the library, Litbo was responsible for overseeing every
research project, and helping everyone, from the Elders of Eru to the
youngest college student, find exactly what they needed amidst the
piles of dusty manuscripts. While others enjoyed indoors, Litbo basked
in the joy of his library. For years Litbo has been a fixture at the
library, shuffling slowly down the corridors, occasionally muttering to
himself, occasionally misplacing priceless manuscripts, and almost
always forgetting to go home. Nighttime visitors to the library could
sometimes find Litbo in a dusty corner, cuddled up with a candle and
the ninth volume of social treatises by Farn Fzort. Although by 398 GUE
many worried about Litbo’s failing memory, very few questioned his
qualifications as one of the world’s most learned students of ancient
writings.
When
most of the youth his age had been off skin diving, and sometimes even
glurking, in the far away waters of the sea, little Litbo had chosen to
sneak off into the Galepath University Library. As a boy he had listed
entranced to his father speak of his work in the archives.
Although
398 GUE put Litbo barely into his middle years, with most of his life
ahead of him, it seemed probable that he would spend the rest of his
days unmarried, for one simple reason. He did not understand women.
Having learned everything he knew about the world from the library’s
dusty old manuscripts, the dear little scholar had utterly neglected
his education on the ways of the world, and when a beautiful woman
crossed his path, he was utterly out of his element.
He knew Bizboz well; he and the librarian had often enjoyed long
conversations on all sorts of topics. The youth’s enthusiasm and love
of history intrigued Litbo, and he even secretly considered Bizboz to
be his one and only protege.
In those days, some of the University’s linguistics professors requested
permission to study some particularly obscure religious scrolls in
hopes that new translation methods would prove more productive than
ones used in the past, and it was Litbo’s job to locate the
manuscripts, which was no easy task, and approve their removal from the
library.
THE SACRED SCROLLS OF FIZBIN
In
398 GUE, a terrible illness struck Zylon the Aged, instilled by Endeth
Belzgar, who had been possessed and controlled by the fallen
Implementor Belegur. A minion of this evil being made a successful
attempt at stealing the Sacred Scrolls of Fizbin from the library
of Galepath University. Dodging the campus security, breaking carefully
into the library complex itself, and finding the works of Fizbin, all
of these stealthy deeds were pristine. Showing a surprising amount of
intelligence and initiative, the thief made way with several other
documents to confuse those who would eventually try to pick up the
trail and follow it back to Belegur’s lair. These works included
Entharion’s “Sleeping Your Way to Power” and the second volume on the
life of Mysterion the Brave. It was not until the morning after the
poisoning of Zylon the Aged that Litbo Mumblehum, the librarian,
discovered that these three works were missing. Litbo’s report of the
disappearance of these scrolls was only one of two things that reached
the ears of Mayor Spildo that day, for rebellion was beginning in
Mareilon.
The
regents who had been left in charge of the kingdom could find no way to
heal the unconscious Zylon. They realized that if they could
locate the Pool of Stasis, the king might be preserved despite the
absence of a remedy. Zilbo Throckrod (Zilbo I) and Dinbar sought the
Sacred Scrolls of Fizbin at the Galepath University, which they
believed contained the hidden location of this pool. When the two
arrived, Litbo Mumblehum informed them that the Scrolls had been
stolen. Zilbo returned to
Largoneth, while Dinbar stayed behind with Litbo to see if there was
any more information that could be found elsewhere within the library
detailing
the location of the Pool of Stasis.
In the meantime, Litbo
reread the Scrolls of Kar'nai and realized that all of the signs taking
place among the kingdom fit the fulfillment of one of their prophecies:
A fallen
Implementor meddling in human affairs. Quaking of the earth’s crust.
Civil unrest. Mysterious invaders from a long-forgotten empire. And
most compelling of all, the sudden illness of an aged king. The Great
Brogmoid had given the first sign, shaking the world in warning of the
events to come.
Dinbar teleported Litbo to Largoneth to share
the information he had discovered. The librarian arrived just prior to
the Quendor army's departure, who were marching to stop the rebellion
which was taking place in Mareilon. Litbo
explained to them the intentions of Belegur that they had
discovered in the library books. It was then that they knew that Endeth
had been under the power of Belegur. Endeth was ordered to be tracked
down, while Zilbo and Litbo marched with General Griffspotter and the
army
south.
In pursuit of Endeth, General Griffspotter
had changed the course of the march of the army many times so that
Zilbo and his librarian friend might capture the servant and find their
way to Belegur to regain the Scrolls of Fizbin. Their final march ended
at the Jerrimore Plains where they found that both the Galepath and
Mareilon armies had been destroyed by the Nezgeth tribe from the
Kovalli Desert. General Griffspotter was killed by these tribal
warriors and the rest of the Largoneth armies retreated at the command
of Zilbo, who had been thrust into
command of the Quendoran royal army.
Across
the small gap that separated the two armies, Ath-gar-nel, the leader of the Nezgeth began spitting
out orders at a furious pace. Again and again, several clusters of the
Kovalli tribe broke loose and headed towards the royal army. Each time
the Warrior held them back. For he knew that to fight again on that day
would be unholy, a blasphemy against the gods, to try their patience.
Soon the entire Nezgeth force waited peacefully. Ath-gar-nel walked just within
earshot of Zilbo and his company, crying out in a tongue foreign to
them, all save Litbo (he had studied a variant of their dialect many
years ago). When Litbo conversed with the Nezgeth leader in his own
tongue, Ath-gar-nel assumed them to be “The Fathers from the East.”
Using
Mumblehum as a willing intermediary, Zilbo managed to convince the
Nezgeth Warrior to abandon his worship and join in conversation.
Convinced he stood in the presence of the physical incarnation of
generations of tribal legend, the Ath-gar-nel introduced himself
haltingly and begged forgiveness for the ignorant attacks against the
sacred Fathers from the East. Zilbo was more than willing to oblige. At first the Nezgeth had been hesitant
to help in the work, almost none of their dead being counted in the
number. However, Ath-gar-nel had insisted; they had slain the holy men
from the east, and to dig their graves would be only fitting recompense
for the misdeed. During the process, the Nezgeth captured Endeth.
Ancient
prophecies told the Nezgeth that their goal lay deep underground, in
caverns near the coast. Litbo realized that these Nezgeth were the ones
who had been spoken in the Scrolls of Kar’nai and that Belegur could
not be defeated without the help of a ‘desert tribe.’ He also realized
that this prophecy describing Belegur’s lair as “a deep underground
cavern where a river spills to the sea” matches with what the Nezgeth
spoke about the cavern. The captain of the Lingolf
Garrison, well versed in the geography of Quendor’s outlying areas,
informed Zilbo of a fairly significant river that flowed to the sea not
far to the south of the Jerrimore Estates, just a few day’s journey
away. Satisfied, Zilbo turned to east, in the direction of the Great
Sea, and began the march.
After days of hiking over proud hills and
through ancient forests, the two armies finally reached the Griffspotter Caverns. It was then that Belegur completed the first
stage of the gateway to the Timeless Halls. It soared with a crackling glow
from the ground, surging upwards towards the heavens in one continuous
strand of light.
Nearly half
an hour later, the party found themselves at the base of the strange
column of light. The mysterious river referred to in Litbo’s prophecies
had been no more than a few hundred yards away from the campsite. Endeth
began to feel the call of Belegur once again. In a massive spasm of
strength, he threw away the arms of the careless Nezgeth captors and
broke into a run. He entered a dank, hidden hole leading into the side
of the hill.
The Lingolf garrison remained behind
to guard the tunnel’s entrance while the Nezgeth followed Zilbo and the
librarian boldly into the tunnel in search of what lay within. Deep and
deeper they went, into the inky blackness of Belegur’s tunnels. They
came to junction after junction, and each stretch of passageway was
filled with side corridors and nearby rooms, as the explorers entered a
more and more complex, self-contained universe. Litbo remarked that, “the caverns were undoubtedly natural, hollowed out by
unknown centuries of tides, coastal winds, and the flow of the nearby
river.” Although his analyses of other events are surely beyond
reproach, his skill as a natural historian must be called into doubt. Eventually they spilled
into a mammoth cavern filled with the same blue glow as the column.
Amid the chaos of the underground, was scattered reading material and
piles of fading scrolls and massive tomes, as well as an ornamental
knife. And at the center was Belegur.
Litbo, keeping safely behind
Belegur’s range of vision crossed to the middle of the chamber in an
attempt to recover the Scrolls of Fizbin, but the fallen Implementor
was not blinded by his advance. But at that distraction, Ath-gar-nel
and the entire Nezgeth tribe struck in unison at Belegur. This further
distraction broke his spell. Now locked in combat against the
Nezgeth—one dark magician against an entire tribe—Litbo grabbed the
Scrolls of Fizbin along with the other two missing manuscripts.
Though
Belegur was able to hold them off alone, his efforts were divided. The
blue column began to grow weak, flickering shakily with each further
release of energy. In the process, not only was the Implementor
successful at slaying Ath-gar-nel with a fabricated bloody axe, but
Endeth was able to sneak up behind Belegur and destroy the current
mortal vessel used by the Devil with a simple sacrificial knife. With
him, the crackling pillar of light
shattered, and a shower of blue fireworks tumbled to the cavern floor.
The gateway to the Timeless Halls had closed and vanished. And
so Litbo and Zilbo inched their way back to Quendor’s capital.
Immediately
upon the defeat of Belegur, Zylon the Aged was instantly cured. He
simply woke up and got out of bed and went right about his daily
business as though he had never ailed.
Nearly
two weeks later, Zylon the Aged, having read much in the Scrolls of
Fizbin, completed constructing the
gateway to the Timeless Halls. The suddenly blue beam of light that
snapped into the night sky from the southwestern tower easily caught
the gaze of Zilbo, Litbo, and Dinbar who were near the base of Signal
Mount. When the trio arrived at Zylon’s room, they found the king
laying motionless on the bed with his back resting comfortably on the
soft blankets. His eyes were closed and his arms rested easily at his
side, save the beginnings of the blue tunnel that sprang from his
forehead. The spirit of Zylon rose out of and hovered above his body;
it mirrored the likeness of the real king in every way, down to
identical clothing and the smallest insignificant facial features. And
with wordless smile, the spirit of Zylon the Aged moved into the stream
of blue light and was gone, leaving only a motionless body. On a scrap
of parchment, Zylon declared Zilbo the First as the Lord and Protector
of Quendor.
Three months
after Zilbo ascended to the throne, Litbo Mumblehum resigned his post
at the Galepath University to accept at Zilbo’s request the position of
royal advisor of Quendor. Before moving to Largoneth, the librarian
passed on his estimable store of knowledge to an up-and-coming scholar
of the mystic arts known to history as Bizboz of Galepath, who had
already been enrolled at the university. Thus, due
to a certain amount of instinct, good luck, and his own personal
librarian, Zilbo was able to continue the work of the departed king
Zylon, ensuring the long life of the Entharion dynasty and of Quendor
itself.
Litbo
Mumblehum is the author of several books, including "On the History of
Language" (written sometime before 398 GUE), and "Prophet of the
Northlands" (c. 400 GUE).