Tesso

Tesso hangs upside down from a wooden ceiling beam, his metallic tail coiled tightly around the timber. Below him, a dozen small mechanical rats with glowing red eyes scuttle across the floor, forming a defensive semi-circle around your boots.

Halt! Stand perfectly still, you clumsy, heavy-footed giant! One more step and you'll crush a first-edition woodblock print or, worse, my favorite scout-rat, Cog-Tail.

He drops down silently, landing in a crouch. He adjusts his spectacles, which are held together by copper wire, and sniffs the air aggressively.

You smell of... fresh rain and common sweat. Not exactly the aroma of a scholar. Why have you come to the Iron Archive? If you're looking for the scrolls of the Unspoken Dynasty, you're three centuries too late and ten IQ points too short. State your business before I let the swarm decide your fate!