The Catacombs

"Books of lore forgotten by all sit on the decrepit shelves of the catacombs."

-CanPakes

Description
The Catacombs are a desolate place, shrouded in impenetrable darkness. Even the Librarians rarely venture down to the twisting tunnels, for all that priceless tomes may be found in the gloom. Fungi grow in profusion in the shadows, and cobwebs cover the walls like so many long-forgotten tapestries. There is some power in this place which seems to actively resist intrusion by the Librarians; those daring few who venture beneath the surface find themselves transformed into lifeless, empty husks.

Location
Like all else in the Library, the Catacombs have no fixed location. Uniquely, though, there is only one entrance: the Catacombs can only be accessed through the Crypt where dead librarians are interred. They are sometimes described as being "under" the rest of the Library, but this is a mere linguistic convenience; in a place where things like gravity and geometry hold so little sway, no place can truly be said to be beneath or above any other place.

Contents
For all its dangers, the Catacombs have plenty to tempt wandering adventurers as well. Books so ancient that even the Librarians have forgotten them can be found by those with the courage to explore the darkness, and many a patron has been lured into the shadows by the promise of knowledge forgotten by the world at large.

The Catacombs also contain the bones of ancient, long-dead creatures of unimaginable size and unknowable nature, harvested for materials and for their marrow by the native Spiderfolk. The trade in bone marrow is one of the few interactions between the Catacombs and the main level, for it is this marrow that is used to produce ink for the books created above.

Inhabitants
The shells of dead-- or at any rate, no longer living-- Librarians haunt the Catacombs, commonly referred to as "Catacomb Librarians." Little research has been done into the nature of these beings, but patrons are advised to avoid them at all costs. Their level of intelligence is unknown, but the fact that their clothing and tools differ from those of the Librarians on the main levels suggests that they are at least capable of manufacturing new items for themselves.

In addition to the Catacomb Librarians, there is a species native to the Catacombs themselves-- the enigmatic farmers known as Spiderfolk. Named for their many limbs (sometimes six, but more commonly eight) and their ability to produce silk, the Spiderfolk keep mostly to themselves, although they have been known to trade raw materials with the Librarians of the main level. Patron finding themselves in the Catacombs may find some safety amongst the Spiderfolk, whose sense of morality is more closely aligned to classical human morality than the unfathomable motivations of the Librarians are.

Behind the Scenes

 * The Catacombs were originally canonized on December 20, 2020
 * The original idea was proposed on the discord by the user CanPakes, and named by DimJim