Hmm, and now the prompt is burning. So... you've burned down the hospital that failed you? That seems slightly unCanadian of you :)
Burning "Dignity has a daughter? Was she born here?" Lord Derby's questions were a mixture of sharp and concerned even as his hands gently pulled the satchel from the corpse's grip and started going through the pockets of her jacket and pants. "Yes and yes." Tomasz somehow managed to sound offended and bored at the same time. "Why was she called Dignity?" Lord Derby paused, looking up at the young man for a moment. "She never gave you another name?" "Do you have to answer every question with a question?" "Not deliberately," said Ernest. His fingers found some small discs in a pocket; he let them fall into the palm of his hand. They looked like coins, and after a quick inspection he passed them to Samual. "Sometimes I forget that this isn't an investigation for everyone involved. Dignity was a code-name, to protect her activities back in London. I am surprised that she only gave you her code-name and not her real name if she was hear long enough to bear a daughter." "Bear a daughter?" Now Tomasz looked confused. "She arrived with her daughter." Lord Derby opened the front of Dignity's jacket and checked for inside pockets. There were none, but he did find a dagger with a greenish blade, seemingly made of some kind of ceramic, strapped inside. "The zbornat," said Tomasz as Ernest pulled it out. "She pulled it from the burning stones in the King's temple." Lord Derby handed the zbornat to Samual and sat down on the cold stone of the floor. He exhaled, puffing his cheeks out, and stared at the ceiling. "Wait," he said. "So much in so little time, and it's all got meaning. It's amazing that anything here works at all when everything's so convoluted. Let me see what we have: Dignity, who to the best of my knowledge has never married, arrived here with a woman she told you was her daughter? Ah, I'm an idiot -- how old is her daughter?" "Maybe twenty?" Tomasz shrugged. "She's like her mother, I wouldn't ask her that if I were you." "Right, she leaves London without a daughter and arrives here with one. While she's here she visits a place called the King's temple... what king is this? You said you're a community of about thirty people." "The King in Yellow," said Tomasz. He shivered and looked over both shoulders. "He's... native. He's the King of Carcosa." Lord Derby looked taken aback. "He's referenced in all the documents on Carcosa," he said. "But I thought it was a reference to some kind of magical construct or spell. He's not human, then?" Tomasz just shook his head and stared at his shoes. "So, Dignity goes to this temple and takes the zbornat there... let me guess, the King would view this as stealing?" A nod. "God be blinded," said Lord Derby again, and Samual noted to himself that he'd never heard Lord Derby swear before, let alone twice in an hour. "This is a royal mess, isn't it?" "I have to get back," said Tomasz. He shuffled his feet. "I have to tell her." "Yes, quite," said Lord Derby. "And... for the love of the Saints I wish I wasn't saying this, but... I think I need to see this King's temple."
Greg - nah, it's just that everything around us is burning. Well, not especially close, but we're getting all the danged smoke in the valley.
The awesomely fascinating developments keep right on coming with this one. A stolen blade, a (perhaps?) daughter, a king and his temple... I hope you're compiling all of this tale somewhere. Because I want to see it all together once you've finished.
Morganna - woah nelly. This is good stuff. One of your better acrostics, I dare say. I think 'Unhinged for you' is my favorite line but it's all so good and full of passion!
3 comments:
Hmm, and now the prompt is burning. So... you've burned down the hospital that failed you? That seems slightly unCanadian of you :)
Burning
"Dignity has a daughter? Was she born here?" Lord Derby's questions were a mixture of sharp and concerned even as his hands gently pulled the satchel from the corpse's grip and started going through the pockets of her jacket and pants.
"Yes and yes." Tomasz somehow managed to sound offended and bored at the same time. "Why was she called Dignity?"
Lord Derby paused, looking up at the young man for a moment. "She never gave you another name?"
"Do you have to answer every question with a question?"
"Not deliberately," said Ernest. His fingers found some small discs in a pocket; he let them fall into the palm of his hand. They looked like coins, and after a quick inspection he passed them to Samual. "Sometimes I forget that this isn't an investigation for everyone involved. Dignity was a code-name, to protect her activities back in London. I am surprised that she only gave you her code-name and not her real name if she was hear long enough to bear a daughter."
"Bear a daughter?" Now Tomasz looked confused. "She arrived with her daughter."
Lord Derby opened the front of Dignity's jacket and checked for inside pockets. There were none, but he did find a dagger with a greenish blade, seemingly made of some kind of ceramic, strapped inside.
"The zbornat," said Tomasz as Ernest pulled it out. "She pulled it from the burning stones in the King's temple."
Lord Derby handed the zbornat to Samual and sat down on the cold stone of the floor. He exhaled, puffing his cheeks out, and stared at the ceiling.
"Wait," he said. "So much in so little time, and it's all got meaning. It's amazing that anything here works at all when everything's so convoluted. Let me see what we have: Dignity, who to the best of my knowledge has never married, arrived here with a woman she told you was her daughter? Ah, I'm an idiot -- how old is her daughter?"
"Maybe twenty?" Tomasz shrugged. "She's like her mother, I wouldn't ask her that if I were you."
"Right, she leaves London without a daughter and arrives here with one. While she's here she visits a place called the King's temple... what king is this? You said you're a community of about thirty people."
"The King in Yellow," said Tomasz. He shivered and looked over both shoulders. "He's... native. He's the King of Carcosa."
Lord Derby looked taken aback. "He's referenced in all the documents on Carcosa," he said. "But I thought it was a reference to some kind of magical construct or spell. He's not human, then?"
Tomasz just shook his head and stared at his shoes.
"So, Dignity goes to this temple and takes the zbornat there... let me guess, the King would view this as stealing?"
A nod.
"God be blinded," said Lord Derby again, and Samual noted to himself that he'd never heard Lord Derby swear before, let alone twice in an hour. "This is a royal mess, isn't it?"
"I have to get back," said Tomasz. He shuffled his feet. "I have to tell her."
"Yes, quite," said Lord Derby. "And... for the love of the Saints I wish I wasn't saying this, but... I think I need to see this King's temple."
Begging, pleading,
Unhinged for you
Restless
Need to spend my life with you
I must not, can
Not live my life without you,
Grasping for you.
Greg - nah, it's just that everything around us is burning. Well, not especially close, but we're getting all the danged smoke in the valley.
The awesomely fascinating developments keep right on coming with this one. A stolen blade, a (perhaps?) daughter, a king and his temple... I hope you're compiling all of this tale somewhere. Because I want to see it all together once you've finished.
Morganna - woah nelly. This is good stuff. One of your better acrostics, I dare say. I think 'Unhinged for you' is my favorite line but it's all so good and full of passion!
Post a Comment