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Post by Harpsdesire on Nov 17, 2010 16:58:08 GMT -5
Dania looked up at the sound of Colin's voice, and Joel came running over with the box held carefully in his mouth (oh, how he wished for hands at moments like this!). He put it down on the desk and looked at Colin with some relief. "I found a box that screams!" He said with a wide grin, then belatedly added, "Are you okay?"
Dania was blinking in surprise at Colin's sudden rank increase. How had that happened? She cleared her throat and gestured vaguely toward the cardinal's new 'Q' symbol. "Ah, congratulations." Now the bird was even more intimidating, and since he had changed ranks in this unconventional manner, she had no idea what his proper title was. It was a potentially embarrassing situation, and piled on top of everything else that was going on, a social faux pas was more than Dania felt she could handle.
After a slightly awkward moment's pause, she went on to tell Colin about how the remaining vessels faded away when he broke the jar and Joel opened a box, and pointed out the additional ground they had covered while he had been unconscious.
Dania had been through all but one cubbyhole of the heavy wooden desk, and Joel had searched about a quarter of the front wall, which contained shelves as well as the library's main entrance door. Admittedly, it wasn't a lot, since they had spent a good portion of the time fussing over Colin before realizing they would have to wait for him to come to on his own and getting back to work.
Her only unusual discovery was an old, folded bit of parchment sealed with scarlet wax imprinted with the spades court seal. It looked important. In fact, it looked so important that Dania had been afraid to break the seal. "I don't know if it's a clue, or just an old court document, but I wasn't sure it would be proper for me to open it... court property and all..." She handed the delicate item to Colin. It would be fitting for a new Queen of Spades to be the one to handle potentially sensitive court documents.
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Post by Lucca on Nov 17, 2010 22:31:25 GMT -5
Joel had found a box that screamed? Well, that was certainly...interesting. And not at all appropriate to use in a library, so Colin was very glad to see the box was closed at the moment. He was also glad he had been unconscious when the child had tested the box earlier, because judging by the way his Tove was eying the thing nervously, Arpeggio had not enjoyed the demonstration. Personally...Colin liked his 'prize' a whole lot better.
"Yes, I'm perfectly fine," he assured them both, beak turning in a smile. This time, it would be far more difficult to tell it was partially faked. It seemed the brief unconscious period had actually done him a bit of good...his head felt clearer, though the sense of power was still twisting persistently at the back of his mind. He listened to their account, interjecting the polite non-replies every so often and nodding. So it sounded like they'd turned up...a whole lot of nothing.
Well, that was a bit discouraging. Although... "Hm. I wonder what this is..." Colin said curiously, taking the parchment and looking it over. He was glad Dania had left it for someone actually connected to the Court to open, though he doubted it could be something all that important if it had been left unopened in the library for what seemed like years. Well, he was a Queen now, and that gavce him all the authority he needed.
The Cardinal went to sit at the desk, setting the note down carefully and using a small pen knife on the desk to break the seal. He opened the parchment. The first thing he noticed was that the missive was written in the official Spades house language, instead of in Common. That was interesting. He skimmed it, and his eyes widened. He eventually tucked it away behind a wing.
"As interesting as this is, Dania...it's not relevant to our current situation given that it was penned during the reign of the late Queen Lysarus." So, obviously, it wasn't a clue to what was currently going on...or, at least, it shouldn't be. He didn't offer up what the note had said. It wasn't something he felt everyone should know given that it actually contained rather...sensitive information regarding some individuals who may still be living.
"Well. Shall we get back to searching?" Colin asked a bit too brightly, standing up and clapping his wings together. Now that he knew there were odd things to be found in the library, he was more than ready to keep looking. He just hoped there wouldn't be any more screaming or vanishing boxes.
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Post by Nathalia on Nov 17, 2010 22:59:16 GMT -5
((Ok, I just have to interject informally that this nearly brought me to tears. Lucca, I honestly think they just found Lysaras's will. That silly little one addressed to Vana about how she wold get through the Donnie thing and they'd move away together? Yeah...hang on to that...I'mma make it a part of the plot somehow now. <3 I can't believe you thought of that. Holy hell. ;____; I'm so happy.))
~Nathalia
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Post by Harpsdesire on Nov 17, 2010 23:57:05 GMT -5
((Woots! Dania is soooo proud of herself. Even though I just had her find something random in hopes it could used somehow and didn't even know there was a will around.))
"Oh, I'm glad. I was worried. I know know hardly anything of first aid." Dania's tense body eased a little. Colin's new calm seemed to doing her some good as well, and the lingering effects of the screaming box were somewhat mitigated by Joel's casual treatment of the object. He seemed to think of it as some sort of toy, and since it was probably not the cause of Colin's faint, Dania was inclined to believe it was not cursed or overly dangerous.
A few times she had seen Joel put his paw on top of the box as if to open it again, and each time she had given him a very severe look. The first couple times he had acted like he didn't see her, and had just changed his mind about re-opening the box on his own. The third time he had grinned at her sheepishly and stuffed the box into the satchel which held his parchment and ink. It left a little squarish bulge in the bag which Joel glanced at speculatively from time to time, but he made no move to go after the box.
Dania was deeply curious about the parchment she had found. Anything old or historical fascinated her, and the fact that the tiny discovery had been hers made the anticipation of opening all the more sweet. She was a little let down to find that the note had no current use to them, but was able to surmise by the new queen's widened eyes and withholding of information that the paper had proved to be at least interesting. That was something, anyhow. "That sounds like it could be... historically valuable, at any rate." Hm. Dania had rather hoped it would be a clue.
She would have liked very much to know exactly what it was that she had unearthed from the drawer, but it seemed rude to ask. It would be different, perhaps, if she were a spade... but as a Diamond guest of the spades, inquiry into private court matters might seem unduly nosy. Instead, she headed over to the partly-searched front wall, where Joel, who had little interest in court history, was already poking around.
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Post by Lucca on Nov 18, 2010 9:07:17 GMT -5
((*loves on Nat!* I'm glad you like it! Though that wasn't -quite- what I was thinking, I like it better. <33 Yay plots!))
Colin nodded vaguely at Dania, still obviously quite taken with whatever he had just read. "It certainly is," he said, not realizing that he'd only be fueling the Rat's curiosity. Because there was no way Colin was ever giving this message to anyone except the sole Card it was addressed to. An old moral dilemma was clawing at him again, one that he'd thought he'd dealt with and moved on once he'd decided to join the Court. He staunchly ignored it, because that was the very last thing he needed right now.
However, he kept the parchment with him as he searched, safely under one wing. He first went to search a line of nearly empty shelves along the back wall, looking carefully at every object on them. He was so entirely sure that somewhere, somehow, they'd find another clue. And what did he have to lose? After all, he'd just gotten a major boost in power from something here. What else could be hidden here? What other items or...secrets...he shook his head as his mind tried to stray back toward the parchment under his wing. Arpeggio was a mostly-quiet presence behind him, still helping to search the areas where it wasn't feasible for Colin to get to. He poked his furry nose into a potted plant hanging from the ceiling above the desk.
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Post by Harpsdesire on Nov 18, 2010 10:12:25 GMT -5
Colin's words had, indeed, made Dania even more curious. It bothered her somewhat that she had made an interesting find and didn't even get to know what it was, and it felt a little like Colin was rubbing it in. She might even have said something if the overall situation wasn't so strange and creepy. Really, the last thing they needed to add to the tension in the air was a confrontation.
She frowned slightly as she searched each book along a low shelf, running her paw along the spines. As she did so, one shifted a little under the pressure of her paw, and she realized something: the books were all neatly lined up along the front of the shelf for appearance and easy access, leaving a gap behind the smaller ones where something could easily be hidden.
She backed up to where she had begun searching the shelf and started pushing each book toward the back of the shelf as she went, so that anything behind the row could not be overlooked.
Following Dania's instruction, Joel also started checking behind the books, although he preferred to do it by taking out a few books at a time from the shelf. He was humming something under his breath as he worked, and seemed to have picked up the improved moods of the adults. "I hope we find more boxes." He commented cheerfully as he searched. "Maybe you'll find something cool this time, Dania!"
"I, ah, I rather hope we don't." The rat felt like they had dodged a bullet with the containers they had opened. Considering everything else that was going on, the last thing they needed was to add more mysterious magic to the mix!
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Post by Lucca on Nov 18, 2010 10:42:24 GMT -5
Colin would be perfectly fine with finding more boxes, as long as they weren't going to scream. Or...be vanishing in front of his eyes. Really, he didn't want to deal with either of those things. Finishing his search of that shelf, he moved back to the rows and rows of books. Coming to the mess he'd made earlier, he frowned, casting about for a broom to sweep up the broken glass from the vase. Some sort of paranoia kept him from wanting to reform it into the vase again, now...like his new Rank was something that could be taken away just as easily as it had been given, even though he knew that made little sense.
He found a broom in one of the corners and swept the broken pieces into a neat little pile, not wanting any accidents. They glittered oddly in the dim light as he threw the whole pile into the wastebasket with the help of a dustpan. Them, of course, he went to pick up all the books that he'd dropped earlier. And, for an added precaution, checked in the small spaces under the shelves for any surprises before moving on to the next row of books. Putting away the books and looking carefully to be sure there weren't any clues anywhere he was missing, the Cardinal was absorbed enough in his work to barely notice that his Tove was no longer shadowing him so closely.
Arpeggio had decided to hover near Joel instead, poking his nose curiously into the hybrid's bag...or trying to. Apparently he had gotten over his fear of the screaming box, or maybe he was just curious as to what else was in there.
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Post by Harpsdesire on Nov 18, 2010 14:22:36 GMT -5
Dania watched Colin sweep up the vase from the corner of her eye. Had it been breaking the glass that had caused his dramatic gain in ranks? These old castles were full of crazy stuff, it seemed. The noisy box Joel had found wasn't exactly appropriate for a young teen, but it could have been a lot worse, she supposed. She should really keep an eye out for anything dangerous, lest Joel get ahold of something worse. She couldn't live with herself if anything terrible happened to him, not to mention what his parents would do to her if she returned their son is some horribly mutilated form!
Joel kept searching with the focus and determination of any corvie on the trail of a new discovery. Looking for clues had an appeal similar to unraveling a scientific mystery, and he was almost enjoying himself, despite the creepiness of situation.
It didn't hurt that he had the company of the tove Arpeggio, who seemed deeply interested in his satchel all of a sudden. He paused to take it off his shoulder and open it so the little creature could get a closer look. Aside from the box, Joel wasn't aware of anything interesting in the bag, and the lid of the screaming box seemed to shut tightly, remaining closed unless deliberately used, so there didn't see to be much of a risk of Arpeggio nosing it open and getting scared. "What are you looking for, little guy?"
While Joel was taking a break from the search to satisfy the Tove's curiosity, Dania had reached the center of the front wall, where the main entrance to the library was. On a whim, she tried the door's brass handle, then immediately wished she hadn't. A fresh wave of panic washed over her as she pushed harder on the door. It had to be a mistake! She rattled the handle more roughly, and was forced to concede that she had made no mistake. The door was locked. From the outside. "Colin? Did you lock this? Do you have a key to this door?" Dania's voice wavered slightly, as she was already dreadfully sure of his answer.
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Post by Lucca on Nov 18, 2010 19:26:59 GMT -5
Colin scanned the next line of shelves, carefully looking absolutely everywhere (especially at his feet...he really had no desire to trip again!) as he walked along. He pulled a few books out almost at random and leafed through them before replacing them on the shelf. He bent down to peek once again under the bookcases. He was trying to be as thorough in his search as possible, so as not to miss anything at all. More peeking inside the spaces between books, more poking around on top of them...
Arpeggio crooned and zipped inside of Joel's bag. He sniffed around, wiggling his body to try and get more deeply inside of it...hopefully Joel didn't have anything too fragile in there, since he wasn't being very careful with his horns. Trilling noises came from the bag, and Arpeggio also pawed around with his two limbs.
Colin was so involved in searching, he was completely oblivious to all of what was going on...until he heard his name. Sans title, but that only bothered him for a fraction of an instant, and then he registered what Dania had just said. "...the door is locked?" He felt an icy sort of chill go down his spine. Oh no...no, this wasn't at ALL what he wanted to hear. True, he hadn't been intending to leave the library until they found a clue, but...who knew how they had gotten locked in? Or for what purpose? He shivered and made his way over to the door. He fumbled with the handle, but, of course, made no progress at all.
Cold sweat burst out on his forehead as the Cardinal tried very hard not to panic.
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Post by Harpsdesire on Nov 18, 2010 22:33:52 GMT -5
Joel giggled and poked his nose into the pack after Arpeggio, who seemed to be conducting a thorough search of his own. Joel wasn't especially concerned about breakage, although it was possible that the tove's movement in the bag bent his quill pen or rumpled parchment pages left over from the task of organizing the library. "What are you looking for in here, Arpeggio?"
Dania had stopped searching as she simply stared at the door in horror. "Y-Yes, I think so." The locked door itself was threatening, but even worse was what it implied: They were not alone in the palace. It was not reassuring that Colin seemed to be trembling a bit. "Who do you think is out there?" Dania's voice sounded thin and strange. She jumped a little when Joel snorted with laughter at the tove's antics, as the happy sound was alien and too loud in the oppressive atmosphere of paranoia.
"Is there another exit at least?" The rat asked, wringing her paws. All sense of formality was lost in the flood of fear that threatened to drown out all rational thought. She looked around the library with barely-controlled panic. This could only be very, very bad. She glanced over to Joel just to reassure herself that he was still there.
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