|
|
Post by Harpsdesire on May 31, 2011 10:16:45 GMT -5
The office they entered was not in an area she had seen the first time Dania came to Spades, and this was oddly comforting (although not so much so as the light touch of Faust's hand on her back). Allowing Faust to sit beside her if he chose, Dania seated herself on the couch's middle cushion, and Joel selected a seat just to her side, leaning closer to Colin's imposing desk.
The young man seemed unintimidated by The Queen's attention, and promptly began rummaging in his satchel for the pouch that contained the keys. When he found it, he pulled it out and tipped the pair of keys onto the desktop with a muted clink. They gleamed dully in the filtered light of the office, fairly vibrating with magical potential. Joel didn't much like to touch them with his bare paws anymore, for the buzzing tingle of their touch was a little disconcerting, so he let the small objects stay where fell rather than hand them directly to Colin. He looked at the keys intently, then back at The Queen of Spades. Bone. Amber. What did they mean?
"I found these in the attic the last time I was here. In that big chest, with a couple others that just sort of vanished." He wondered if Colin would remember how adrenaline had allowed him to heft the weighty thing on top of the former Lysarus. "I didn't mean to take them, I just picked them up thinking they'd be useful and sort of forgot I had them in my bag. But they're magic, and I can feel them getting, well, not stringer exactly, but... sort of... more. I know it's probably nothing important but I want to find out what they go to. With your permission. Of course. Your Majesty."
Although his little speech wasn't particularly elegant, Dania noted that Joel mostly looked excited, and it seemed he hadn't even considered that Colin might say no. Despite his words it was fairly obvious that Joel did think the keys important, at least to himself. She hoped for the boy's sake that Colin would be interested, even if she personally would be happier to leave well enough alone. The rat suspected Faust felt the same. He seemed more than a little uncomfortable with the whole situation. He had probably come along just to please her. That sweetheart. She glanced at the canine/avian fondly.
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia on Jul 1, 2011 20:33:01 GMT -5
Faust followed along with the group, listening to Joel and Colin talking and taking in his surroundings as best he could while suppressing chills.
Some of the halls were familiar...others were more like something out of a half-remembered dream.
He honestly began to wish he could bid the Queen a good day and take a carriage back out to the Capital, perhaps dilly-dally around in the shoppes until late at night, crash in a motel, and pick the other two back up in the morning?
He would never...voice such cowardice...but he had to admit the idea seemed lovely.
The keys placed on the table garnered looks from everyone...Faust certainly didn't remember them.
The off-white one in particular struck him as odd...he wasn't certain why it was just a...feeling it seemed to give him.
He didn't like it.
He sat back and waited to see what Colin would think of all this...if he had seen them before or knew of them.
Perhaps he'd read up on it in Queen's lore?
His gut twisted with doubt, he could no longer hide in his delusions as he had the first few weeks back with Dania...not now that so much of his mind had returned.
Truly, he was blessed with unpleasantness.
He noticed Dania giving him a look, he...couldn't quite interpret it, so he just flushed and turned his eyes back to the floor, though the small smile couldn't fully be erased.
------------------------------------------
The keys are giving off an odd feeling...
The bone key seems to be making the Torques in the room uncomfortable, while the Amber key is making everyone but Faust feel as though they are being watched...
Everyone needs to roll or choose a number out of 20!
~Nathalia
|
|
|
|
Post by Lucca on Jul 4, 2011 9:37:54 GMT -5
Colin eyed the keys with an unreadable expression on his features as Joel spread them out on his desk. He didn't really remember them, but then, he didn't want to try too hard. The events in the attic were sort of a blur of fear and rage and mystery that he didn't like to think on. The fact that it may be necessary to recall those events on this day was something that caused a chill to settle in his gut. The bone key, strange though it looked, didn't give Colin any sort of strange feelings. However, when he glanced at the brighter key...prickles ran down the back of his neck and he shivered, just slightly, and resisted the urge to peek over his shoulder to make certain there was no one there.
He knew there wasn't. "On the contrary, Joel...I'm certain they are very important. Nothing that happened that night was a coincidence." He kept his voice level, calm, despite the growing feeling of anxiety. They'd probably need to return to the attic, and it was the room in the castle Colin had most hoped to never see again. "Unfortunately, I have come across nothing in my studies which mentioned any sort of special keys. I can only assume they are either very old, the work of outside forces unconnected with the royalty of the Court, or both." He gestured a bit with his wings as he spoke, a thoughtful frown on the edges of his beak.
((rolled a 13))
|
|
|
|
Post by Harpsdesire on Jul 18, 2011 11:06:03 GMT -5
Colin's assertion that the keys were meaningful was oddly comforting to Joel, for it put into words what he had been feeling, no matter how casual he tried to be when it came to the strange little objects. He nodded. ”They do sort of feel like something that was made a long time ago, even though they aren’t worn out or old-looking…” Joel mused, nudging the amber one with his paw inside the cloth pouch. He felt, or imagined, that even with the fabric between fur and key he could feel the restrained fizzing of magic waiting to be unleashed.
Why was he so unwilling to touch them now, when he had felt almost compelled to grab the keys originally? From the corner of his eye, Joel caught sight of Dania glancing nervously over her shoulder. He followed her gaze, nearly certain that he would catch sight of someone gazing toward the group, but the door to the hallway was still closed and no source of the strange sense of being scrutinized was in evidence. Very curious. Was it the keys?
With the combined sensations of being watched and the generalized discomfort that seemed to be radiating from the bone key, Dania was feeling distinctly uneasy. Thoughts of propriety pushed aside for the moment by her apprehension, she scooted a little closer to Faust for comfort. He looked nearly as uncomfortable as she felt, and Dania put a paw on his hand for a moment in an attempt at reassurance. ”You alright?” She asked in a whisper.
Perhaps it had been unkind to bring him back to a place that harbored so many unpleasant memories. She had given him a choice, of course, but was it really a choice? Honestly, could he have turned her down, considering that he seemed to see her as a savior of sorts? (That title should more properly have gone to Joel or Colin, brave cards that they were. Those two had saved her neck once than once that awful night.) She sunk down a little further in the plush couch cushions, feeling suddenly and miserably guilty.
((6 for Dania, and Joel rolls an 18))
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia on Aug 7, 2011 22:49:15 GMT -5
(Yay, Joel!)
Joel and Colin very suddenly became aware that the keys were humming slightly, causing a strong vibration to run through the table they're laying on and causing their bodies to vibrate a little painfully if they hold them.
Faust and Dania don't seem to notice the change and are unaffected...
Faust gingerly curled his fingers around Dania's paw.
"Yes...sorry, just a little- Just a little unnerved, Dania."
Not the right look for someone who had once been an officer...he knew.
Still, it wasn't as though the memories of his past "bravery" had come rushing back...being here on the other hand...
He wanted to reassure her, and gave her paw another slight squeeze, before turning his attentions back to the Queen and the keys.
The bone one shivered as Colin gave it a thoughtful stare, before slipping soundlessly off the table, and slowly sliding its way toward the stairs and up them...
Faust's pupils dilated and he stiffened in his chair, trying desperately not to shove himself back away from the table.
Good God, what now?!
Upstairs, high in the attic...something moved...
|
|
|
|
Post by Lucca on Aug 8, 2011 10:02:09 GMT -5
Colin nodded to Joel and "hmm"ed in agreement--and was quite surprised to hear both keys starting to hum along with him. He couldn't help but stiffen a bit, though he was careful to keep the worry out of his expression. He glanced briefly at the faces of each of his companions, to see if any of them had also registered the sound. Joel was the only one whose expression had changed at all. But then, Dania and Faust already looked worried enough, so maybe a little bit of extra weirdness wasn't going to effect them.
Of course, no sooner had the thought crossed the Cardinal's mind than the bone key shivered like a child caught in a storm and then...moved on its own. Although Colin generally prided himself on effortless emotional control, his eyes widened and he felt his beak drop in surprise.
He tried to find the words, watching the key slip away from them, but for a moment all he could do was stare. That was just far and above what he had expected for today. He knew things would get weird, dangerous, and more than a bit creepy, but seeing a key move on its own--but at least it wasn't difficult to figure out where it was most likely going.
"After that key!" Colin finally managed to bark, and hastened to follow his own instruction in a flurry of feathers, hustling up the stairs after the odd little bone object. He trusted Joel to grab the other key, if he could, and then follow.
|
|
|
|
Post by Harpsdesire on Aug 9, 2011 15:51:42 GMT -5
"I don't blame you," Dania's mouth quirked in a shadow of a smile, and she squeezed his hand back as she watched Joel's back tense up a little as his deer-ears twitched as if he heard a sound she was unable to detect.
"Huh, that's str--" Joel's comment was clipped off mid-sentence as they bone key suddenly slid off the table and headed right for Dania and Faust before veering immediately off toward the steps. "Whoa!" He laughed, a short, sharp sound, "Now we're getting somewhere!"
Dania didn't say anything, but squeaked with shock. Unlike Faust, she did scramble backward a little in surprise, staring. Colin's words seemed to shock her back into action and she clambered to her feet, following Colin after the key. There was a little hesitation in her movement, and she hung back for a second as she reached the base of the steps to see if Faust would willingly give chase. Perhaps she should ask if he would rather wait in Colin's office? This day was already turning out a bit more exciting that she had expected, and there must surely be some risk that excessive stress could harm the Villa mix... cause a relapse or something!
Joel, meanwhile, grinned excitedly (the smile looked to Dania just a little too manic for comfort) as he scooped the remaining key back into the fabric pouch. Even through the cloth it buzzed uncomfortably in his paw. Shoving it back into the satchel on the side away from his body mostly solved the problem, but he could still feel it there, humming faintly. It could have been his imagination, but there was something... unfriendly about the vibrations, as if it was the echo of a swarm of angry bees, or the growl of a hungry lion. His smile faltered and he hustled to catch up to Colin and Dania.
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia on Aug 9, 2011 16:00:01 GMT -5
The key slid up the stairs, forcing its way around corners, under desks and doors, and over and under carpets, until it reached the attic stairs.
There, it whipped around, pointing under the door, and ceased all movement.
The second key continued to buzz, almost painfully now, through the cloth of Joel's pouch.
Faust gaped at the key as it whizzed off, unsettled by Joel's expression as much as the Queen's leap and chase and the key's strange behavior.
He watched both depart and faltered at the stairs near Dania.
His eyes met hers and he tried to give her a carefree shrug.
It came off as less than sure of himself.
"Heh... Well, if I remember correctly, we were safer upstairs than down last time, right?" He asked, reaching to his belt and pulling out a knife that he toyed with slowly.
He hated to lead Dania into danger, but...really, she was a Queen and could go anywhere she liked.
And he hated to leave Colin and Joel alone with...anything.
The least he could do was be nearby.
Hesitating only long enough to see if Dania was coming.
He followed.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lucca on Aug 10, 2011 8:53:09 GMT -5
Joel's youthful enthusiasm might have bothered him slightly on another occasion, reminding him how young he still was despite all the growing up he'd done, but in this case it merely bolstered his steps as he followed the runaway key. He was chasing a key. The thought, for some reason, made him want to laugh. Luckily, he was too out of breath to do so, as he didn't need to give the servants that gave him odd looks as he ran through the palace another reason to think their Queen was going completely off his rocker.
Strangely enough, even when the key led them right to the door of the attic, and Colin was forced to draw up short lest he step on the recently still object, his heart was pounding not with fear, but with adrenaline. Part of that could be blamed on the fact that he'd already expected to come here today anyway (something like that wasn't very hard to work out at all) but even that wasn't all of it. Could it be that there was a part of him, buried beneath all the trauma, that actually wanted this?
He didn't dwell too hard on it as Joel and, a bit more surprisingly, both Torquehelms came up behind him. "Well. I suppose it's pretty obvious what we need to do now," he said gesturing grandly toward the attic door with a sweep of one purple wing. "Joel, would you do the honors?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Harpsdesire on Aug 10, 2011 10:00:50 GMT -5
Although Faust's shrug held a certain false bravado, there was no mistaking the determination in his face as he drew the knife from his belt. Something about the way he had removed the weapon even before danger presented itself was honestly a little unnerving... or perhaps she was just feeling paranoid, seeing strange things in the behavior of her companions that wasn't actually there?
She forced herself to smile at his words. "You have a good point." She didn't really want to leave Joel and Colin alone in the attic either, even if both had shown that they could handle themselves in a fight. She nudged Faust's hand affectionately with her nose and followed him up the stairs.
Joel almost stumbled into Colin as the bird stopped suddenly. The key had also stopped, and pointed like an arrow to the attic door. Unlike the one remaining in his bag, it was totally still. In fact, it seemed so mundane, still and lifeless that he felt comfortable picking it up in his paw directly. "My pleasure." Joel responded to Colin with a smile, and as Faust and Dania arrived behind them, he slowly and carefully opened the door.
Dania was both relieved and discomforted to see that the same lamp that had shed meager illumination on the attic's horrors at her last visit had been replaced on the small doily-covered table. She retrieved it with a horrible sense of deja-vu. It was like the court had been totally unaffected by the terrors they had all witnessed her before. Nothing had changed... except them.
|
|
