I'm thinking about Empires, as there's a lot going on there at the moment :) This week I have to go to the UK and meet the UKGC people in Birmingham so it's going to be a busy one for me I think. Hmm, after pressure point and intolerable I was expecting breaking... but perhaps not the code :)
Breaking the code Four mages and a magister had gathered in the courtyard and, though to Samual's eyes they seemed to be standing around doing nothing, to magically attuned minds the flows of power around Scotland Yard were both vast and terrible. Tiny dragonriders, the rikkiel flitted back and forth, their dragons the size of dragonflies, and something that the magister was doing made the whole courtyard pulse slightly, with a dull, regular thud like the heartbeat of a sleeping giant. Samual tried to stand still, but he couldn't help shifting his weight from one foot to another, eager to do something, anything, to help. Two rikkiel arrived at once, landing on the burgundy sleeve of a mage's robe and there was a shrill twittering like angry birds arguing. When it stopped the magister sighed. "Death," he said. "Whoever did this is dead. The rikkiel have found the unravelling ends of the demon's path, but all we have is that it probably came from Shoreditch." "Not so far away," said a mage. "But still too big to search," said another. Samual looked hopeful for a moment. "I can get you thirty men immediately," he said. "More in an hour. What are they looking for?"
The building were a short walk away, less than five minutes, but even so Lord Derby noticed that he was oddly out of breath by the time he reached them. He stopped at the first door, breathing more heavily than he was used to, and looked back. The demon was still thrashing at the air with its wings, but it had practically sunk to the ground now, and would have to land. Lord Derby frowned, wondering why it was so reluctant to be on the ground, and then pushed on the door. It refused to open. A cursory inspection revealed no issues, but the door didn't move even when Lord Derby leaned his weight against it. The window to the left had no shutters, and no glass in it, so he looked through to confirm that the room was empty. He tore up some orange-brown weeds that were growing against the walls and pushed them through the gap, then swept them around the edges of the window, checking for anything waiting for intrusion. With no reaction he gripped both sides of the window and hoisted himself through. His eyes took a moment to adjust to the gloom inside, but there was still enough light to see by. The door's intransigence was revealed: there was a wooden bar resting on metal hooks across it preventing entry. A chair with a rotted-through seat was tipped out near a side wall, and a table covered in dust seemed to protect it. There were candles on the table, distorted and melted as though they'd been caught in a strong breeze, and there was a low bookcase on the other side of the room. Lord Derby pulled a box of matches from his pockets, pleased now that he'd already inventoried his possessions, and lit the candles. They burned, not entirely unexpectedly, with a lime-green light. The light revealed a sequence of geometric shapes on the back wall, which terminated at a door that was paneled. "A code," said Lord Derby softly. "So this must be... an antechamber. A waiting room for what though?" He looked out of the window -- the demon was still thrashing, though it could only be inches above the ground now. "How curious."
3 comments:
I'm thinking about Empires, as there's a lot going on there at the moment :) This week I have to go to the UK and meet the UKGC people in Birmingham so it's going to be a busy one for me I think.
Hmm, after pressure point and intolerable I was expecting breaking... but perhaps not the code :)
Breaking the code
Four mages and a magister had gathered in the courtyard and, though to Samual's eyes they seemed to be standing around doing nothing, to magically attuned minds the flows of power around Scotland Yard were both vast and terrible. Tiny dragonriders, the rikkiel flitted back and forth, their dragons the size of dragonflies, and something that the magister was doing made the whole courtyard pulse slightly, with a dull, regular thud like the heartbeat of a sleeping giant. Samual tried to stand still, but he couldn't help shifting his weight from one foot to another, eager to do something, anything, to help.
Two rikkiel arrived at once, landing on the burgundy sleeve of a mage's robe and there was a shrill twittering like angry birds arguing. When it stopped the magister sighed.
"Death," he said. "Whoever did this is dead. The rikkiel have found the unravelling ends of the demon's path, but all we have is that it probably came from Shoreditch."
"Not so far away," said a mage.
"But still too big to search," said another.
Samual looked hopeful for a moment. "I can get you thirty men immediately," he said. "More in an hour. What are they looking for?"
The building were a short walk away, less than five minutes, but even so Lord Derby noticed that he was oddly out of breath by the time he reached them. He stopped at the first door, breathing more heavily than he was used to, and looked back. The demon was still thrashing at the air with its wings, but it had practically sunk to the ground now, and would have to land. Lord Derby frowned, wondering why it was so reluctant to be on the ground, and then pushed on the door.
It refused to open.
A cursory inspection revealed no issues, but the door didn't move even when Lord Derby leaned his weight against it. The window to the left had no shutters, and no glass in it, so he looked through to confirm that the room was empty. He tore up some orange-brown weeds that were growing against the walls and pushed them through the gap, then swept them around the edges of the window, checking for anything waiting for intrusion. With no reaction he gripped both sides of the window and hoisted himself through.
His eyes took a moment to adjust to the gloom inside, but there was still enough light to see by. The door's intransigence was revealed: there was a wooden bar resting on metal hooks across it preventing entry. A chair with a rotted-through seat was tipped out near a side wall, and a table covered in dust seemed to protect it. There were candles on the table, distorted and melted as though they'd been caught in a strong breeze, and there was a low bookcase on the other side of the room.
Lord Derby pulled a box of matches from his pockets, pleased now that he'd already inventoried his possessions, and lit the candles. They burned, not entirely unexpectedly, with a lime-green light. The light revealed a sequence of geometric shapes on the back wall, which terminated at a door that was paneled.
"A code," said Lord Derby softly. "So this must be... an antechamber. A waiting room for what though?" He looked out of the window -- the demon was still thrashing, though it could only be inches above the ground now. "How curious."
Confusion
Retry
Actual
Conversation
Kind smile
The dating code is cracked!
Greg - yes, I can't believe we're halfway through the year already with Empires.
How curious indeed. No idea where you're going with this, but I am every so anxious to find out.
Morganna - hah, no doubt :)
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