An Oddly Placed Door
rating: +8+x

An entity paces through the Library, calmly searching for a book that could provide at least a modicum of entertainment value (a requirement for a desired spell, not for actual reading). As it turns a corner, it stops for a moment, surprised to see a green, wooden door fitted directly into a bookshelf, frame and all. The entity circles to the opposite side of the bookshelf. There's an inexplicable wall just 5 meters into the aisle.

Curious, the entity quickly returns and approaches the door. The frame is made of a dusty, brown wood. The door itself is painted a worn green. It is in much worse condition than almost anything else in the Library that the entity has seen.

The handle of the door is a rusted, iron knob. A small, pin-sized hole at the center would suggest a lock on the inside. Wondrous, the entity grasps the doorknob and turns. A soft, grating noise is heard as the rusted surface of the knob conflicts with the coarse wood of the door. Small bits of paint chip off as the knob turns. After a moment, a metal clank is heard from the other side of the doorknob, a latch of some kind forced open.

The entity presses against the door and it swings inward. Inside is a small, messy room. Torn books are scattered throughout, putrid stains in small clusters on the walls and floor. At the center of the room is a small, scaled creature with horizontal eyes, hunched before a pile of books, a controlled fire burning atop them.

The creature looks up and releases a shrill hiss followed by an uncontrolled shriek before retreating by three feet to the back of the room. A garbled mess comes out before the creature is able to produce a coherent sentence.

"How did you get in here?"

The entity, slightly amused, responds.

"I opened the door."

"The door was locked! I locked it myself!"

The creature bends towards the door, close enough to see it without being near the entity.

"You broke the damn thing! The lock is smashed!"

"Oh, I did?"

"Yes! God, I'm so fucked."

The creature turns around and grabs a small vial of foaming, purple liquid before throwing it at the open doorframe. The vial smashes against the ground and a mist of purple haze engulfs the immediate area, forcing the entity to step back into the aisle. After a moment, the vapor disperses, revealing a completely normal bookshelf. The door has vanished.

Hastily, the entity returns to the adjacent aisle. The inexplicable wall is gone, along with any other remnant of the creature and its room (apart from a few bits of broken glass and some chipped paint).

A few days later, the creature would be caught by a Docent, the room's only defense gone.

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