The library is attached to an institution called the Floutenack School. This small college is patronized mostly by a relatively cosmopolitan branch of House Esclage that believes in sending their heirs to Triskellion to learn of the world and politics. In earlier days, these houses were often involved in either shipping along the SW coast of Calabria or moving slaves down the Via Salutis, before the Bisclavret absorbed the house and took over most of these activities for themselves. Since then very few Esclage actually own ships or move slaves, but the tradition continues for the few families that can afford it.

The school has always been small, as previously, when Esclage families had more money, they would first attempt to send their children to Dunwasser if possible, and the Floutenack School was considered a backup option. Today none of the Esclage can afford Dunwasser (the sole exception being the Baron Epicium), and few enough have the funds or desire to send their children on that Floutnack School now has only about one third of the student population as porcupines. Most of the students are, in fact, of the middle-classes of Triskellion.

The library at the school is not impressive, particularly, but it is somewhat voluminous, with porcupines in administrative positions all over the continent sending in copies of their work constantly. As such, the majority of the works in the library are simply records. The librarians long ago stopped trying to keep it in any semblance of real order, and piles of papers are stacked up everywhere collecting dust, which the DuVarges dutifully remove at regular intervals. They also move things at the request of the librarians, not themselves being able to read, save one.

It was into the small servants quarters room at the school, just off of the library, that Frenold and Gosselle DuVarge brought forth their several children, including Quentin. There are a considerable number of DuVarges, and would have been more in Quentin's family had not his mother died in childbirth long ago. He still considers the library home, and when he's short on money often ends up sleeping in a quiet corner of the stacks (no longer officially a servant of the school).

The school is also important as the place at which Quentin met his most important friend, a porcupine named Gernith of Thanon, when this noble scion was attending college in Triskellion.

Frenold has become rather lazy in his old age, leaving most of the actual cleaning and ordering of the library to his children who have not moved out. More than a decade after Gosselle died, Frenold remarried. Quentin tries to admire his father for having things pretty well worked out for himself, but deep down feels that he could have done more.

Gosselle DuVarge believed in raising a big family, as that's a tradition in hers. She was a somewhat caring mother, but often just too busy with life to attend to her brood closely. She died in childbirth at the age of 30 when Quentin and his brother were born.

Frenold's second wife, Melindia is a frivolous woman who does not work, instead living off the tiny wage that Frenold makes (and consuming all of it in the process). She is fun to be around and generally lighthearted, other than when confronted with her clear fear of ever having to actually work. Frenold dotes on her, not wanting her to work.

Turelis was 5 years old when Quentin and his brother were born, and her mother died in giving birth to them. Her young mind could not separate the two events, and she has since had an irrational hatred of her brothers. Quentin has tried to reconcile with her on several occasions, but she holds on to her hate and refuses to budge. This darkness in Turelis has made her a loner, and she's never been courted by anyone. She has resigned herself to being a bitter old spinster that makes a living sewing lace.

Wenna married Victorion Mazonis at the tender age of 17, and moved out of the house. She and Quentin are not close, but they do see each other on occasion.

Not as pretty as her older sister Wenna, and having even less prospects after her father paid the entire family fortune on Wenna's wedding, Alvan has had few suitors, none of them very serious. She is a romantic, however, being the only member of the family that has learned to read, and spends hours with her head in stories about dashing knights and fair damsels, expecting that one day her prince charming will arrive to sweep her off her feet.

Alvan lives at the library, does most of the work in keeping the place dust-free, and helps the librarians with organizing. Quentin likes Alvan, envying her for being able to read. He very much regrets his own illiteracy, and comes at times to his sister for help in reading things. For her part she enjoys being privy to some of his intrigues.

Quentin's identical twin brother, Brondy is nothing like his brother in terms of personality. Never having left home, Brondy helps along with Alva, in maintaining the library. He largely keeps to himself, and seems to have little ambition other than inheriting his father's station.

Daughter of Frenold and Melindia, Luli theoretically is engaged as a custodian of the library, but takes after her mother a bit, and does very little of the work. She has a desire to move out, however, and is looking for ways to make that happen. Quentin feels somewhat protective of his little half-sister, and though they're not particularly close, he tries to watch out for her.

Daughter of Melindia and an itinerant sailor of no repute, Shara has not lived with her mother since she married Frenold when Shara was 8. She was boarded at a dockside tavern, working for the family who owned the place and who had no children of their own. She married a traveling merchant named Sarvek Treziu when she was 21, but he failed to return from a trip a couple of years afterwards, with no notice of where he'd gone.

Quentin was unaware of Shara's existence until she came to him a 5 years ago asking for money from her “brother,” having lost all her savings to her missing husband. Quentin discovered that she'd turned to being a working girl to make ends meet, but wasn't doing well even in that business. Having made some contacts among the nobility, Quentin got her some meetings with men with more money, and this is how he got into this business as a way of advancing his own interests.

Owner of a small shop that sells antiquities in new town.

Rennie is Frenold's sister, who comes often to see her nieces and nephews. She's very much a pinch-on-the-cheek type of aunt, and always smells funny.

Quentin has several other aunts and uncles, mostly on his mother's side. Those on his mother's side haven't spoken to the family to speak of since Gosselle died, and not at all since Frenold remarried. On occasions when one of them runs across Frenold or his kids, they simply turn away pretending like they don't exist.

Frenold's brother Morturo moved to Ardent when he was young, and he almost never visits, instead preferring to send rare correspondence.

Gernith is the son of a baronet with estates near Thanon, and his father sent him to the Floutenack School when he was 18. He took a liking to the wily weasel boy Quentin who he met in the library 16 years ago. Since that time their relationship has developed, until about 8 years ago Gernith revealed to Quentin that he was secretly a privateer, with his own ship. He has since engaged Quentin as his eyes and ears in Triskellion, angling to bring the Esclage back to some relative importance (or at least prevent them from having their nobility stripped as some have suggested).

Beyond this working relationship, they are pretty good friends as well, almost like brothers.

Folver is a Bisclavret wolf of an ancient line that still hangs on to some Phelan ways. He is Gernith's sponsor as a privateer. Quentin has only met Folver on a couple of occasions. He's a devious sort, dedicated to advancing the Bisclavret agenda.