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Post by Bee on Dec 6, 2010 22:46:03 GMT -5
Zeki was absorbed enough in worry that he only half paid attention to the conversation. He'd murmured out his name at some point; been approving of the spunky adorability of the name to which the Queen--Wulfram, apparently--had assigned the girl; and was also rather troubled by the degree to which the girl seemed to seek comfort in him, considering all he could think of the Tulgey crow doing was looming, which was rarely a benevolent action. But then again, maybe this was just a new side to the crow he hadn't seen; maybe he was legitimately concerned for the girl--for Devika. Maybe Zeki's own first impression of him was still clouding his thoughts. She was, after all, clearly frightened, and--oh. Those ears were certainly odd, weren't they? They might draw unwanted attention.
Or would, if there were anyone around.
He snapped back to full consciousness when the Queen spoke and began to depart. On the one hand, having Wulfram exiting his field of vision caused his heart no particular pain. On the other hand--pretty much every horror story he'd ever read or heard about starting going really south once the party split up, and the Queen was, admittedly, the person most capable of handling whatever danger might come their way.
"I guess we get in the carriage," he said, somewhat uncertainly. For now.
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Post by Vyn on Dec 7, 2010 0:00:13 GMT -5
There was no particularly easy way to deal with the risks of this situation. No matter how he sliced it he had something to worry over. If they moved in a group, they could lose the carriage. If they split up, something could happen to either party individually. Ultimately splitting up was the safest route and ensured at least one party would be able to escape if something did happen... not that either Zeki or Devika seemed particularly capable of defending themselves if it came to that. This was why he preferred working alone, he only had himself to worry about.
Once Devi and Zeki climbed back into the carriage, Wulfram made his way into the first shop and found it open. No one immediately revealed themselves once inside and he appeared to be as alone as the streets had seemed to suggest. He quickly located a basket behind the counter and filled it with whatever seemed like it would last the remainder of the journey and a couple canisters of water before hurrying back out to the pair in the carriage.
So far so good. "It's not much, but it'll last us until we arrive at the Court." He handed Zeki the basket as he glanced back out at the empty streets. He still didn't quite trust the silence of it all. Where had everyone gone? "From here we'll ride straight until we reach the Court, so be ready for the long haul." That said, Wulfram ducked out of view and returned to the driver seat.
He'd never been so glad to see a town behind him.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Dec 7, 2010 0:15:05 GMT -5
Devika sat quietly in the carriage, looking over at the boy sitting across from her. She didn't have much to say, really, and she still wasn't sure if she should ask questions when everything was so plain creepy. So she took to playing with her feet.
It seemed like forever before the Queen returned with the supplies. When he did she briefly perked at the site of food and water. Her stomach had been periodically reminding her that eating was something she needed to do.
Manners were forgotten, for the most part, as the girl snapped up what food was offered to her. When she was finished she actually remembered to give the boy a proper bright and happy thank you.
It still seemed like they had a long way to go.
She had been fidgeting for quite sometime and staring out of the window. Her curiosity was building as she watched the countryside pass by. Were they there yet?
"Is the Court of Hearts as scary as.... everything else, Mr. Zeki?"
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Post by Bee on Dec 7, 2010 0:33:50 GMT -5
"I hope not," he said. For a moment he had debated lying and telling her that it was sure to be better there than anywhere else, but if he were wrong, she would probably--and reasonably--become more terrified. He desperately wished it wouldn't be, however. He wasn't sure what he would do if he were unable to enter, as Wulfram was unable to enter the Court of Spades. Or if Virtute were unable to come out. The thought made his heart sink. He would find a way in. There was no way he could let himself believe that he couldn't do it.
"Hearts are, uh--" Well, this was certainly an awkward thing to say in front of a member of the Court of Spades, but Zeki himself was even lower on the totem pole, so perhaps that would lessen it--"generally considered the most capable of our Suits, so they might have a better handle on whatever is going on, but I really don't know. I think Mr. Wulfram can keep us safe, in any event." If he really was trustworthy. He had faithfully and painlessly returned with food, though, even if Zeki didn't eat nearly as much as he wanted to. And on some level, it was a little comforting to know they had a Queen with them.
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Post by Vyn on Dec 8, 2010 0:25:32 GMT -5
The remainder of the day passed in a mind-numbing monotony of green. He'd always found Esterberry to be too green and, like the inhabitants of the region, a little too perfect. Even in the bleary weather it was utterly uninteresting.
The Highland Hills weren't much better, but they were at least a change from their previous scenery and a promise of their arriving destination. Just a couple more hours of driving and they would at last roll into the Court of Hearts. Sunset lingered over the palace like a golden glow, but twilight was slowly encroaching in lengthening shadows between the buildings. No one stood guard at the gate, a rare occurrence for the Court of Hearts, and Wulfram was able to drive them up to the entrance unhindered.
He brings the Aces to a halt and taps on the carriage roof once more. "Ve're here." He slips down, studying the Palace warily. He didn't want to believe that something strange was going on here as well but he already suspected the worst. "Zeki, your voman is here, ja? Zhen ve vill follow you until I can locate a servant to fetch Her Majesty, Xiven."
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Post by Kari Muffin on Dec 8, 2010 1:01:26 GMT -5
She gave a small hesitant smile. That was a bit reassuring. At least the Heart Court could probably solve the problems everyone was having right? "Thank you, that's really comforting to know," she said brightly, blissfully unaware of what the boy was thinking. She automatically assumed that he was being perfectly honest and speaking the gospel truth.
The scenery slowly changed and the girl was back to nodding off. There wasn't much she could will herself to ask.
She snapped awake when there was a knock on the carriage. What? They were here? She shifted and waited for the door to open to get out of the carriage.
The Court of Hearts was quite a sight. She wasn't particularly sure what to think of all that was going on, she stood and waited silently. She would follow them wherever they were going since she had no idea where to go.
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Post by Nathalia on Dec 8, 2010 17:22:14 GMT -5
((The entrance to the Court of Hearts is empty and deserted.
There are no guards at their posts and there doesn't seem to be any form of staff working the gardens or attending the stables or anything.
An odd, foreboding sensation hangs over the entire Palace, unshakable and bleak.
Upon entry, they will find that while the grey day outside is still bright with daylight...inside of the Court it's dark as though night has fallen.
Inside, everyone's present...but frozen in place. Their bodies feel like hard, cold stone and they cannot be moved from where they are.
All of them are frozen in action as though whatever hit them did so without any warning whatsoever.
Wonder what happened here?
Your goal is to seek out the Queen and then begin to search the Palace.
You came all the way out here, so there's got to be something you can do...maybe for a reward, maybe just to help...or maybe you have more sinister reasons...))
~Nathalia
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Post by Bee on Dec 10, 2010 19:13:56 GMT -5
Outside the palace was deserted, just as the Court of Spades had been, which was just the first of many bad signs. Inside, it was worse. Zeki barely noticed himself picking up the pace, from the first moment he stepped into the darkened insides of the palace, to the first frozen servant, on through the halls he knew well enough to hardly register as a blur.
At some point he realized that he had broken into a run. Then he realized that with a ball and chain, Devika wouldn't exactly be the world's best sprinter. He glanced back to make sure they were still there, but his increasing fear for Virtute was largely eclipsing any guilt. He forced himself to slow a bit, and finally Virtute's room was right there and--
So was she.
After a fashion.
She looked like she had just gotten out of bed, began moving, and was stopped solid mid-step.
"Vir?" he said, cautiously, and received no reply. He was breathing in short pants, and not just from the speed with which he had gotten there. "Virtute?" he said again, panic tinting his voice. He touched her arm, cupped her cheek, but no muscle beneath his fingers so much as twitched. He looked into her eyes but they didn't track or blink.
Helpless dread weighed heavy on his chest. The Hearts hadn't been any more capable, after all.
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Post by Vyn on Dec 10, 2010 21:20:59 GMT -5
Well... So much for that shred of hope.
Wulfram arched a brow, slowly scanning the frozen staff as they passed through a cluster of frozen servants. Stopped dead in the middle of what they were doing like some bizarre still-life photo. They responded to nothing.
Apparently the Court of Hearts was not immune to this crisis. He remained utterly silent in their passage through the Court, studying everything with a critical eye. How could this be? The level of magic required to pull off something like this seemed monumental... An entire Court frozen in time, his own Court magically barring his entrance, and undoubtedly that was not the end of it. What else could have befallen the remaining Courts?
At last they arrived at this Virtue woman's room and she too was as frozen as the rest. Unfortunate for the Corvie. Undoubtedly he would need a few moments to cope, Wulfram used those few moments to focus on the young puffin.
"Are you doink alright, Devika? I'm sorry you've had to go through all ov zhis so soon, it must be terribly confusing." Inside the room, Zeki's panic had peeked... "Stay close to me, girl, und I von't let anything happen to you." ...and crumbled into helpless defeat. The crow gave Devika a reassuring smile before his expression darkened and he turned to face Zeki.
"I em sorry for your..." He stared awkwardly at the frozen woman. She didn't seem dead so much as enchanted, but it was a possibility... Whatever. "...unfortunate circumstances... But we should attempt to locate one ov Ze Queens. At least one ov them must have avoided being frozen." If he had, it had to be possible someone here had as well.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Dec 10, 2010 21:48:20 GMT -5
Devika wasn't particularly sure how to process any of the information that was in front of her. When she walked in the palace her ears seemed to droop. The palace had seemed depressing on the outside, and now? Well the inside was much worse.
She poked at one of the people with a toe. Stone?
When Zeki broke out into a run she watched with a rather pathetic expression on her face. She wasn't even going to attempt something like that when she knew it would most likely result in her beak hitting the marble floors.
So she lagged behind in mild terror of the atmosphere and well, everything. She finally arrived, not so silently and the Tulgey decided to focus attention on her. She looked up at him a little flustered. "Y-yes I suppose I'm all right? It is very confusing. Thank you for being concerned...." She peered into the room with curiosity. "Is this some sort of curse?"
She understood that Torquehelms were cursed, but this was a little different. Well. A lot different right?
The little puffin moved closer to the Tulgey. He'd protect her? That was good. She swallowed hard as she looked at Zeki and his girlfriend. None of this looked okay though.
Her ears seemed to droop even more. So they had to find another Queen to fix this? But... Wulfram was a Queen, why couldn't he fix it? She glanced down the hallway. Would someone be able to escape what was going on?
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