Classification: FH/0.0/B/A2/X
Description: Artifact #4 is a set of six button bookmarks, cast in pewter. Each bookmark features a different filigree on the button, containing an expertly rendered flourish. The set was acquired from an antique shop in a small village in the country of Gallia; the proprietor, M. Philbert Charbonneau, claims to have received them some years ago from a librarian friend.
When used as intended, i.e. to keep one's place in a closed book, the bookmarks have the effect of altering the text of the book forward of where they were left in it. Further, the amount of time the bookmark is left in the volume has a direct effect on the amount of alteration; books left marked for only a few minutes are changed only slightly, books left marked for hours have significantly different alterations, and books left marked for days or weeks are wholly removed from their original content.
Each bookmark has a different method of alteration, tied to the symbol presented on its button. Placing multiple bookmarks in the same book provide differing changes as per the point marked, with marks later in the book altering marks earlier in the book.
Archive analysts have given names to each of the symbols: Bounty, Echo, Wither, Seed, Burning Spark, and Soothe. Careful study of the filigree implies that four of the bookmarks (Bounty, Wither, Seed and Soothe) are from the same set, while the other two appear to be individual bookmarks that were separated from their respective sets. If this is correct, the Archive is naturally quite interested in acquiring the missing bookmarks from the other sets.
Examination #1: Six copies of Lady Creighton's Rectory, a 260 page romance novel by Thomas Nooncaster that tells a tale of a noblewoman who falls in love with an unavailable village parson, were acquired from the book's printer. Each copy was opened to page 189 and one of the bookmarks was laid there. The books were closed and left unattended for five days, at which time the bookmarks were removed and the stories examined for differences.
- Original ending: After a number of false starts to their relationship, leading to several liaisons and misunderstandings, Lady Creighton eventually resolves herself to the fact that, as a noblewoman, she has certain responsibilities above her desires; Pastor Gabbert, as well, decides to live the remainder of his life in penance for breaking his vow of chastity, and leaves the village for a monastery in the faraway Kalmar Union.
- Bounty bookmark: At a key point in the story, Pastor Gabbert receives a letter informing him that he has inherited a large sum of funds from a distant relative, who was himself a member of a noble family. Realizing his fate is with Lady Creighton, the two are wed in an elaborate ceremony, moving afterward to a castle in Northern Britland.
- Echo bookmark: Lady Crieghton begins to hear voices mocking her, but no one is there. She looks into the history of the rectory and finds it was built on a series of catacombs, where restless spirits of unrequited lovers reside. Since she did not have the mental discipline of the pastors, she realizes she had fallen to their wicked influence, and decides to join a nunnery.
- Wither bookmark: Eventually Lady Creighton's impropriety catches up with her publicly, and she is shunned by both noble society and Pastor Gabbert (who does so to save his career). In a series of vignettes following, the reader is shown Lady Creighton's descent over the next decades, ending in her death from malnutrition as a penniless street dweller.
- Seed bookmark: Lady Creighton becomes pregnant with Pastor Gabbert's child out of wedlock. Both are ejected from their respective circles, and journey to Hispania together to begin a new life rasiing their beaufitul son, where they are both much happier.
- Burning Spark bookmark: The novel rapidly descends into outright pornography, with pages and pages of graphically detailed acts of sin and debauchery. No resolution to the original plot occurs.
- Soothe bookmark: Eventually it is revealed why Pastor Gabbert will not return Lady Creighton's affections: not because he has sworn an oath of celibacy, but because he possesses powers of touch that he must always keep in check. Lady Creighton impulsively kisses him, and the remainder of the book describes a trance-like waking dream from her perspective.
Examination #2: Three copies of The Windfalls of Barnabas Lauckner, a 912 page picaresque novel by Washington Thuney that chronicles the adventures of a rougish tweeny who ascends through the social order, were acquired from the book's printer. Each copy was opened to page 232 and one of the bookmarks was laid there, then opened to page 751 and another bookmark laid there. The books were closed and left unattended for five days, at which time the bookmarks were removed and the stories examined for differences.
- Original ending: Navigating deftly through the working order of a mansion, the wry-witted Barnabas Lauckner goes from basement lackey to trusted family adviser by virtue of misdirection, playing various characters against one another. His main rival is the butler Jasper, a sniveling and uptight old man of tradition, while his confidant is Vivian, a slim, doe-eyed young chambermaid with a penchant for clockwork tinkering.
- Wither/Seed combination: Barnabas takes a turn for the worse when one of his machinations is uncovered by Jasper, who reports him to the master of the house. Barnabas is ejected and spends years as a pauper, betrayed by his own cunning and trusted by no one. At the low point of his life, he takes a job shaking down money from prostitutes; through this he meets Jessamine, the Strumpet with a Heart of Gold. By the end of the novel they have escaped the underworld together, traveling to Germania and starting a large family.
- Burning Spark/Bounty combination: In the midst of Barnabas's ascent to power, the master's only son and heir is kidnapped for a king's ransom. Barnabas seizes the opportunity to prove his worth, using his massive intelligence and powers of observation to find the kidnappers and plan a rescue operation. Barnabas and Vivian join forces, storming the criminal compound with vibromite-powered rapid-fire projectile launchers of Vivian's making. Returning with the master's son unharmed, Barnabas is repaid greatly, purchasing his own house in the countryside with the reward money and marrying Vivian. This version has since become incredibly popular among Archive staff, who generally laud it to be far superior to the original text.
- Soothe/Echo combination: A mystery surrounds the mansion; strange visions come to Barnabas in the night, where he finds himself in a world of hallways and doors. He discusses his dreams with Vivian, who confesses similar hallucinations. The two investigate the house's family lineage, discovering them to be descended from a clan of wizards. Vivian constructs a small lockpicking device, with which Barnabas finds a hidden room containing vast books of magic knowledge. His inability to wield the arcane powers properly, however, releases vicious demons from the spirit realm. All are driven mad but Jasper, whose bitter smirk on the final page speaks volumes.
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