I am relieved that you have reached the wasp poem and not been too upset by it :) I can't remember if I mentioned it or not, but somewhen before the time that you were playing with wasps I was attacked by a jellyfish and I still have some of the marks from it about two months later. Having now read more about jellyfish I'm starting to think that it was a large one, and might even have been a box jellyfish... so perhaps I've been quite lucky with how little I was actually injured :)
This is mostly about our characters making headway with hiding from the newcomers, and it seems it's too long for one post. Sorry :-/
Making headway When they reached the statues of Esmaranth, listening to the odd noises below -- some like footsteps, only hesitant and jerky, some like things being pushed around, or over, and some like punching or beating -- Dread quickly identified the one called the Magician. It was a little shorter than the rest and wearing a domino mask and a blue cape. Fabian thought it looked rather dashing, perhaps more like a pirate or a swordsman than a magician, and picked a statue of a tall, elegantly dressed woman in silver and ivory to hide behind. She was not that far from the Magician, but she was as far as away from the staircase as he could get, and he wasn't entirely surprised that Rystin joined him there. Dread took up a hiding place much closer to the Magician, which Fabian found more than slightly suspicious, and the Maestro was entrusted with Sebastian and they hid themselves behind the plinth on which a pair of twins were standing. "Who are down there?" asked Rystin, and Fabian wanted, for an agonisingly long moment, just to snap back How should I know? The moment passed and he sighed and rubbed his face with both hands. "I think it's the Auditors," he said. "We know they wanted to get in here, and we know they were up to something. The Maestro said the exhibit didn't exist when the Halls were still open... whatever we've discovered is what they're up to." "What they've been up to," said Rystin. He sounded slightly distant and Fabian wasn't sure he'd meant to speak aloud. When Rystin didn't continue he prodded his shoulder. "What do you mean?" he said as Rystin looked at him, slightly bemused.
"You heard Sebastian," said Rystin. "That spell has been running for a long time. I wonder if they set it going and locked the place up and didn't expect to have to come back." Fabian stared at him. "That... that makes a lot of sense," he said slowly. "And then they lost the Staff of Five Elements so they couldn't get back in--" "I don't think they wanted to," said Rystin. "Or they'd have started trying to make one sooner. Something only changed recently and that's why they needed the key... the Staff." "But what does the spell do? I mean, it seems to hurt Elves, but Sebastian made it sound like it got worse recently." "Maybe it's a genocide thing," said Rystin. Fabian shuddered at the word; the Empire had a lot of history lessons for its children about genocides and the end results. The fact that the Empire had accomplished most of those genocides was not presented as an excuse, either. "Maybe it was supposed to be a slow way of removing Elves completely, without anyone realising what was going on. Or at least, without anyone being able to prove what was done." "I... I hope not," said Fabian, his voice a mere whisper. "That would be--" "Horrific," said Rystin. His voice was now cold and distant. "But not unthinkable, unfortunately." Something clattered on the ground floor, and then there was the sound of stomping feet. "That sounds like the stairs," said Rystin, changing the subject as though they'd been talking about the weather. "I think they're prepared for us, then." "What?" "They took too long to come up," said Rystin. "You think they're behind this, so they know where they're going. So why mess around on the ground floor for so long? They were setting something up, a trap probably, so that if we try leaving before they find us, we can't." "You're a bundle of joy," muttered Fabian. He looked up, trying to see Dread, but there was no sign of him. "I guess we'll have to try and find the back doors after all."
3 comments:
I am relieved that you have reached the wasp poem and not been too upset by it :) I can't remember if I mentioned it or not, but somewhen before the time that you were playing with wasps I was attacked by a jellyfish and I still have some of the marks from it about two months later. Having now read more about jellyfish I'm starting to think that it was a large one, and might even have been a box jellyfish... so perhaps I've been quite lucky with how little I was actually injured :)
This is mostly about our characters making headway with hiding from the newcomers, and it seems it's too long for one post. Sorry :-/
Making headway
When they reached the statues of Esmaranth, listening to the odd noises below -- some like footsteps, only hesitant and jerky, some like things being pushed around, or over, and some like punching or beating -- Dread quickly identified the one called the Magician. It was a little shorter than the rest and wearing a domino mask and a blue cape. Fabian thought it looked rather dashing, perhaps more like a pirate or a swordsman than a magician, and picked a statue of a tall, elegantly dressed woman in silver and ivory to hide behind. She was not that far from the Magician, but she was as far as away from the staircase as he could get, and he wasn't entirely surprised that Rystin joined him there. Dread took up a hiding place much closer to the Magician, which Fabian found more than slightly suspicious, and the Maestro was entrusted with Sebastian and they hid themselves behind the plinth on which a pair of twins were standing.
"Who are down there?" asked Rystin, and Fabian wanted, for an agonisingly long moment, just to snap back How should I know? The moment passed and he sighed and rubbed his face with both hands.
"I think it's the Auditors," he said. "We know they wanted to get in here, and we know they were up to something. The Maestro said the exhibit didn't exist when the Halls were still open... whatever we've discovered is what they're up to."
"What they've been up to," said Rystin. He sounded slightly distant and Fabian wasn't sure he'd meant to speak aloud. When Rystin didn't continue he prodded his shoulder.
"What do you mean?" he said as Rystin looked at him, slightly bemused.
"You heard Sebastian," said Rystin. "That spell has been running for a long time. I wonder if they set it going and locked the place up and didn't expect to have to come back."
Fabian stared at him. "That... that makes a lot of sense," he said slowly. "And then they lost the Staff of Five Elements so they couldn't get back in--"
"I don't think they wanted to," said Rystin. "Or they'd have started trying to make one sooner. Something only changed recently and that's why they needed the key... the Staff."
"But what does the spell do? I mean, it seems to hurt Elves, but Sebastian made it sound like it got worse recently."
"Maybe it's a genocide thing," said Rystin. Fabian shuddered at the word; the Empire had a lot of history lessons for its children about genocides and the end results. The fact that the Empire had accomplished most of those genocides was not presented as an excuse, either. "Maybe it was supposed to be a slow way of removing Elves completely, without anyone realising what was going on. Or at least, without anyone being able to prove what was done."
"I... I hope not," said Fabian, his voice a mere whisper. "That would be--"
"Horrific," said Rystin. His voice was now cold and distant. "But not unthinkable, unfortunately."
Something clattered on the ground floor, and then there was the sound of stomping feet.
"That sounds like the stairs," said Rystin, changing the subject as though they'd been talking about the weather. "I think they're prepared for us, then."
"What?"
"They took too long to come up," said Rystin. "You think they're behind this, so they know where they're going. So why mess around on the ground floor for so long? They were setting something up, a trap probably, so that if we try leaving before they find us, we can't."
"You're a bundle of joy," muttered Fabian. He looked up, trying to see Dread, but there was no sign of him. "I guess we'll have to try and find the back doors after all."
Greg - wow. I shall consider myself lucky, then, and hope that you haven't been gifted a lifelong scar!
Oof, things are getting tense. I hope, for their sake, the back doors do exist.
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