The Mad God's Masque and Bellicose Ball (IC) (M)

[Yugo]

Although she was heading generally in the direction of warmth and comfort, her eyes locked onto a particularly ostentatious dresser. A brilliant yellow waistcoat combined with bright orange fur and lustrous gold chains almost created an eyesore amongst the generally grey and white landscape. That some dressed in such luxury while others starved made Esme's blood boil. Several dozen families could probably eat on the money it had cost just to purchase that single outfit. Her eyes were still locked on the fat cat when she walked smack into another attendee, cursing and falling in a pile of limbs and wings. Disentangling herself from her accidental victim, Esme grasped the albino bat's hand, pulling her up, apologizing profusely as she did so. "I'm sorry madame, I'm afraid I wasn't watching where I was going." An expression of sincere concern was plastered on her face, despite her initial embarrassment, although she still couldn't keep a waver from her voice as adrenaline rushed through her veins. "You aren't hurt, are you?"

[Azlan]

The golem examined the note and filed it away for later, the officer was apparently swelled with his own self importance and drunk with the tiny little power he had been granted as a constable.  The issue would be handled like it always was, no one dared cause international incidents with Xe'Pherion, not even the Fae.

"Duly noted.  Anything else... sir?"

The golem waited patiently to be dismissed, it had all the time in the world.  Long after this officer and his precious town have turned to dust and were forgotten on this world, he would still remain.


Meanwhile...


Kiet had decided to wander about the market in town, do a little daylight shopping.  Camiole had decided to tag along to make sure he didn't try to buy the town.  Camiole couldn't help but wonder what all these strange findings Kiet had found truly meant. 

"What do you think of this 300 piece furniture set?"  Kiet asked.

Camiole shook herself out of her own thoughts and blinked at the older, yet wildly impracticable cubi, "what would we do with all of it?  I swear, if it were possible I'd assume you were half-fae."

"It is quite interesting to analyze one of their unfortunate mistakes... very nice insight into areas one would find disturbing."

The two continued examining the shops, looking for anything interesting.

[Sunblink]

Even long after she had awoken, Elizabeth found no reason to leave her room yet. She proceeded through her daily rituals both methodically and impatiently: her breakfast was delivered as she instructed it, and once she was finished eating (mostly to enjoy the flavor of the food and to keep up appearances), she quickly made herself presentable by changing into one of the garments she was transporting in her trunk. Once she was finished, she seated herself in the chair next to the entrance to the balcony and stared outside, nibbling on a complimentary mint that had come with her hotel room.

Elizabeth ruminated on the itinerary of the day. The only notable event she was aware of was her scheduled meeting with Tobias, and she still had some time to kill. The idea of simply languishing in her room until something interesting happened didn't appeal to her. Since she was wearing one of her dresses, she decided to leave her room and wander around outside, in the nearby town, until the time to meet her new friend arrived. On her way out the door, Elizabeth snatched up her purse just in case she saw any amusing souvenirs. If she encountered a thug on her way there, she could probably concoct a number of creative methods of evisceration.

[Stygian]

Sizzling, keeping her mouth shut with obvious effort, the bat walked on, just a stride and a half behind Jeremiah, while he distractedly poked and rubbed at his face for whatever reason. Even in her worry, she kept hearing his own internal discussion in between her busy thoughts, and became more and more perplexed with it, and irritated with the way he seemed to deal with it. He'd learned to shut out his voices, obviously. But if that meant that he were ignoring them on principle, even when they gave sound advice, or if they were actually pieces of his personality given free will...
   'I think I could go for a cup as well. And I suppose I should stop by the pharmacy. That should take care of my head...' she muttered.
   Someone was messing with her. Intentionally. And while most people would have argued that taking out the irritation on others would have been a bad thing, she thought it only fair actually, considering that the frog deserved a bit of it, and that it gave her at least a semblance of relief.
   It was in the most painful and humiliating manner that this relief was shattered like falling glass. Elyse caught the letters, her eyes narrowing as she struggled to read them, then widening with horror mid-stride. Everything seemed to slow down, yet she was too confounded and caught up in the suddenness of it all that she didn't react. She just felt the horror wash over her. And then, something knocked her right off her feet, taking the wind from her as she uttered a voiceless, surprised gasp. She even banged her head on the floor, even though she curled forward a bit. Her headache broke out in a heartbeat.
   It took a couple of seconds of dizziness and confusion, before the bat sprang up as if she didn't even recognize the other woman helping her, hissing between her teeth and putting a finger to her temple as she staggered forward, dizziness and pain coming on stronger for a second, before she started glaring around. Her eyes locked onto the lynx with suspicious anger that only dissipated when she felt genuine worry coming from the woman's direction.
   'What? What the...?'

[Gareeku]

Watching the tigress, Gareeku raised an eyebrow. He knew that look. She was suspecting that this seemed to be too much of a coincidence. The wolf had to admit; he too had thought that it was a little change, a little too convinient, but had decided to try to not think about it.

What Gareeku was after was also history related, but it wasn't anything to do with the castle. He was more interested in reading up as much as he could about a lost empire of myth and legend, said to possess some of the most spectacular treasure known to Furrae. The wolf had already seen some of this firsthand, but this time he was interested in a different aspect of this lost empire of legend.

"Excuse me." Gareeku said gruffly to the Librarian. "But do you have any books on the lost empire of Saiyetonia? I wish to do some studying."

[Boog]

Dabbing away the last of the nosebleed with his at-long-last-located hanky, Jeremiah went over what he knew. This woman's agitated, seemingly as a base state of being. Used to being treated rather well, which follows since she's been invited to this sort of thing. Something got to her yesterday, something about bodies...
And something today.
And something today. Jeremiah conceded the point to Cab; the personae was a manipulative bastard, and often couldn't be trusted, but it matched what he was thinking looking back on the incident.
   "I think I could go for a cup as well. And I suppose I should stop by the pharmacy. That should take care of my head..."
Jeremiah blinked. Did she hear him thinking about coffee? He'd already figured out she had SOME sort of extra senses if she'd been commenting on his Condition, multiple personalities wasn't something you picked up on with a GUESS, but if she just casually glommed that off his thoughts... No, this one was too easily a coincidence. Never assume, makes an ass of you and me.
No comment.
Fuck you, Bal. Cab, got anything else on her?
I think some of her ire is you-specific.
No shit. Any idea why?
You were not charitable in your initial opinion of her.
She's a cubi, she's probably used to knowing what people think about her without taking it personally. Isn't it the things that people CONSCIOUSLY do that matters?
Never assume.
Fah. Right, fine. So why drag me into town WITH her rather than just avoid me? Suspicion, spite... She seems smarter than to opt for spite. Which means that, again, one of my problems comes down to you lot making me look bad.
That seems like a bit of an oversimpli-
No it doesn't.
Fine.
The frog finally reached the hall closet and threw on his tweed coat, smiling contentedly to himself. Uniforms tended to make him uncomfortable, but with his coat over it he felt halfway like himself again. The old thing showed signs of wear from over more than a couple generations, patched and stitch here and there with whatever thread had been on hand. He even stood up a bit straighter wearing it.
"Well then, madam," Jeremiah turned and bowed to the bat with the first honestly cheerful grin he'd yet to offer her, "Should I arrange for a coach, or would you prefer the walk?"

[Stygian]

It took a bit before Elyse responded. For a long while, she just stared at the letters, growing more hesitant and nauseous by the second. Fear and pain brought back old memories, recounts and images flashing by and thoughts about horrors she had seen realized adding to the speculations already swimming like schools of ravenous piranhas under her mind, biting and nibbling at her concentration and confidence.
   'I'm...' she started, blinking, then turned back toward Jeremiah, for once not with a frown on her face. If anything, she looked vulnerable, which was certainly a change. The look didn't last long though; noticing his expression and feeling his surprise, she corrected it into solid, cold and unemotional plainness.
   'I never was afraid to stretch my legs. I know the responsibility might be overwhelming to you, but for once the decision is yours,' she retorted to the frog. Her eyes then flickered back up to the archway. The letters were gone.
   The hesitation was still there, but she knew she had her answer already, loathing and stubbornness making the choice for her. She would be made no one's prisoner. Tensing the muscles in her leg and back, focusing and stiffening her resolve, she breathed in deeply, and then out slowly, before turning once again to the feline beside her.
   'I'm quite alright, thank you. No need to worry,' she said, in as calm and tolerant a tone as she could manage. It might have been unnerving how her dark, intense eyes never even veered toward the wings on the Angel's back, but at the moment Elyse was too flustered to think about keeping up much of a facade of surprise or general being concern with being faced with a creature. In an instant, she locked her mind's attention on the lynx, catching snippets of irritation and the desire for direction.
   'Are you looking for someone?' she asked, wanting much to be on her way. 'I'd refer you to my companion, but I'm afraid he's a little slow, and busy at the time,' she continued, not dignifying Jeremiah with a look. 'Isn't that right, Igor?'

[Aisha deCabre]

Though Rynkura was nearly well up into the other room, her sense of hearing couldn't help but capture what Gareeku had inquired of the librarian back down in the entrance hall.  The tigress smiled to herself as her eyes wandered over the different books.  Saiyetonia...the great lost kingdom.  I remember their quest as if it were only yesterday...and imagine what was found right under my monastery...if anyone has the skill to find more of its secrets, I'm fairly certain it would be the two young warriors that I have become so fond of.

The Healer then let her mind wander over the subject, and of the one that she was curious about in the town that they were in, as she often tended to do while kept in the quiet solitude of a library.  The colors of the bindings did little to sate her curiosity...but just as the librarian had warned, there seemed to be nothing on the castle above the town.  "The place itself probably has a library..." the white tiger muttered, nearly giving up on the subject for the time being.  There was still time left for the party, but she wondered if anyone was going to the castle to check it out.

It was then, upon walking out, that her eyes fell on an encyclopedia that was lying open on a table.  She flipped through the large book's pages absently, expecting to find nothing, while making plans in her mind to visit the place soon.

[Cogidubnus]

 The door opened quite abruptly, and Atem was forced to step back to avoid being whacked. A green-coated dragon wearing a carefully-tied apron blinked at him, looked down the hall, and looked at Atem again. He adjusted a monocle.
"Can I...help you?" he said, tilting his head somewhat, and frowning, giving a small shake of his head and then continuing on. "Ah...the lady is taking no more appointments today. You may gain opportunity speak to her at the ball, however, when she will be mixing freely with the guests. You wish to speak with the Lady, yes?"

* * *

The badger simply smiled at Andrace. "A moment, perhaps?"

He reached for something else behind the counter, ducking down for a moment and emerging with a rather dingy-looking helmet, complete with a full snout, and the whole affair open on the bottom. He stuck a broom in it, and then leaned the it against the wall, the helmet tilting a bit off and forwards.

"I break, I die." he said, smiling, "But if you break, I will not make you buy. The helmet, I mean. If the dagger breaks, someone has certainly pulled wool over my eyes."

Knives and cutlery gleamed from the walls, casting light and forming sickle-shaped shadows all around.

* * *

"Yeah." the officer said, giving the golem a look. "Next time, please, don't vandalize my wife and son's car." he narrowed an eye. "You've got an eye for the poorer class of vehicle. Go dismantle a porsche if you want, but when you purposely aim for the people who can't fight back..." he paused, his lips pressing together, and he finally swallowed. "Have a nice day, s..."

***

The barista looked somewhat troubled by all this, the feline crossing one arm and grabbing the other as she listened to the smaller gryphon. She tilted her head somewhat.
"Ah...I'm not sure, really. A dragon in really fancy clothing?" she shrugged. "We didn't get a name, really, she just paid us and told us to give...you guys some hot chocolate. I..."

Her eyes bugged as Rover lunged for the truck, and mouth dropped open in horror as Rover ripped off one whole side of her car, the rending of tortured metal making her ears flatten against her head.
"My car!" she screamed, hands poised uselessly in front of her, one eye twitching in helpless anguish as the giant gryphon perched over her vehicle.

The officer, stopping midsentence to look at the commotion, glanced sideways at the golem, paused for a second, and began slowly ambling towards Tim.
"Not a good day for motorists..." he muttered under his breath.

"Now, rubble I can ignore..." the officer said, standing next to Tim and continuing to watch Rover. "But, well, immediate, visible, and wanton destruction is a little harder. I don't think I can let you go quite yet. You two are...?"

* * *

Kiet noted very little of interest among the shops, aside from the generally worthless quality of the goods, and the gun shop that he had frequented the previous night. There were jewelers and coffeeshops and confectionists and watchmakers, as well as enchanters of dubious quality and weapons shops that seemed to sell more kitchenware than actual blades.

* * *

Rynkura flipped the book open, and it fell open to the entry on Figgy Pudding.

Figgy pudding is a pudding resembling something like a white Christmas pudding containing figs. The pudding may be baked, steamed in the oven, boiled or fried.

The history of figgy pudding dates back to 16th century. Its possible ancestors include savory puddings such as crustades, fygeye or figge (a potage of mashed figs thickened with bread), creme boiled (a kind of stirred custard), and sippets. You can sometimes tell I'm coming, swiftly and surely as black death, other times you are succumbing, with no time to catch your breath. In any case, its methods and ingredients appear in diverse older recipes. Serve pudding warm with custard sauce or sweetened whipped cream.

* * *

The librarian frowned again, thinking. "If we did, it would be on Row 12 downstairs, which is the historical section. I'd try ancient history first, and if there's nothing there, there might be something in histories of nations. It's mostly alphabetical by title, so it shouldn't be that hard to find this...Saiyetonia, you said?"

* * *

Elizabeth didn't see much worth remarking upon in town, the shops largely touristy and the merchandise dubious. She was getting rather bored when the dead-end of one particular boulevard brought to her attention a sign that made her blink.
The Hanging Garden Funerary Service

The name could be a coincidence. There had been more than one Hanging Garden, after all...surely there had been.
Why a funeral parlor?

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Tim raised on eyebrow at Officer Y'mir. "In trouble," she completed, then buried her face in her hands, and sighed. Lifting her face, she went on. "I'm sorry, Officer. You kinda have to have a strange sense of humour to remain sane in the company of Rover, over there." She waved one wing in the direction of the giant gryphon, who was attempting to look into the now open side of the truck for the half-barrel of "paint" - which was clearly in view, steaming gently on the back of the truck. "He's the diplomatic representative of the Gryphons, and I, for my sins, am his companion." She sighed, again, and fished around in a pocket for the papers she usually carried to extract Rover from whatever he'd done this time. "Whatever sins they were, they must have been heinous, and I most sincerely regret them. Every day, usually..."

She shook herself, and rubbed one paw against her temple, handing over the papers - and the letter. "I apologise for the mess, Officer, but I believe the larger Gryphons are classed, in insurance terms, as an act of God. However, in order to smooth things over, I have been authorised to pay for any damages caused in the process of our particular, ah, diplomatic efforts. Obviously," she turned to the feline "that includes repairs..." A quick glance over at Rover suggested that such might be a vain hope; the large footprint in the panel that had been removed was probably going to give a panel beater the screaming heebie jeebies, just for a start, and the irregular screams of tortured metal that had been going on suggested that the rest of the truck wasn't in much better shape. Tim winced. "Or a replacement, and hire fees to provide you with a temporary truck until a replacement that suits you can be found and delivered. I do hope that that's sufficient; if not, merely ask, and I'll do what I can to resolve it." She sighed, yet again, and turned back to Officer Y'mir. "And, before you ask, I'm in the middle of attempting to extract him," with a shrug at Rover, "from your jurisdiction, and take him up to the castle."

In the background, a joyous cry of "Paint!" suggested that Rover had, finally, found the hot chocolate that was in plain view, and was now looking around for a suitable surface to express his artistic side.

Time winced, again. "A task that seems to get harder every time I turn around." She made a face. "Rest assured, I'm as horrified as you are about this. If not more."

[Boog]

The coat put Jeremiah in a good mood, but it wasn't magic. The collision of cat and bat jerked him out of his pleased state, just in time for Elyse's comments.
"Ah, and what a monster I've been made caretaker of." He grumbled, adjusting his tweed coat slightly before turning to Esme. "And I can spare a moment or so, for one of Castle Damaske's honored guests," he was laying it on a bit thick, as he often did when his professional pride was ruffled. "How may I be of service?"

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace smiled and nodded. "Fair 'nough," she said, "all th' same, I'll not be too rough on 'em just yet." She picked up a few more of the knives, arranged them in a fan in her left hand, and sauntered to the other end of the shop, her tail swishing back and forth around her hocks in a relaxed fashion. Someone passing by in the street outside caught her eye for a moment. Someone short, feline and with a long striped tail. Isn't that th' fluffy-tailed shrimp who walked past th' Gryphon last night? she thought. Wonder who he is...

The lioness turned suddenly, her bare paw-pads scuffing lightly on the floor, a look of intense ears-forward concentration on her face, and her right arm blurred into motion. The little knives flashed and glittered across the room, making sharp ringing sounds as they spiked into the old helmet. Two of them were embedded to the full length of the blades in each eyeslit, and the breathing grille at the end of the muzzle-piece now had a hole in it. Level with the hole at the back of the helmet there was a fresh raised dent. Something clinked, and the fifth knife fell out of the bottom of the helmet and clattered to the floor.

Andrace strode across the room, a smile of satisfaction on her face and in the curl of her tail, and bent to pick up the last knife. "Yep, good balance," she said, "good aim, an'... nope, not a chip or nick in th' edge. I'll take 'em." She pulled the other knives out of the helmet, laid them down on the counter, and took a small bulging pouch out of a pocket on the inside of her jerkin.

"How much?"

[e_voyager]

"Actually i am here wishing to leave a message for her granddaughter Melodie" aten said " we spoke recently and though she did advise that i meet her grand mother well i'd feel better being properly introduced to one of her great stature. " aten pulled out a letter addressed to Melodie. the envelope was sealed but not magically so. "I thank you in advanced for your assistance in  delivering  the letter to miss Melodie " aten said bowing his head as he felt the steward could be trusted to do what he felt was in the best interest of the family he served.

[Aisha deCabre]

Rynkura had always believed in chance more than fate.  That if things did happen for a reason, maybe one just deserved them.  Coincidence was an easy word for her to use, and would probably always be.  If something strange did happen, it could be easily explained.

That is why she was quite perplexed when she read through the entry that she happened by in the encyclopedia.

In her random flipping, the page had landed on a food item; figgy pudding in particular.  She rolled her eyes and chuckled.  It's nothing on the ancient history of the city or the castle, but perhaps I have a recipe for a food item to bring to the party, she joked to herself.

But in her skim reading, something caught her rather observant eye.  Carefully, the Healer went back over the paragraph until the out-of-place words seemed to go bold-faced in her mind.  "You can sometimes tell I'm coming, swiftly and surely as black death, other times you are succumbing, with no time to catch your breath."

The words were there, seemingly plain as it had been inked on the page.  Her head reared back and cocked to the side, eyes narrowing.  Now that is a far cry from describing figgy pudding.  Is it a misprint?  Or was the author a little disgruntled at the time?  What in the world is the purpose of this?

If the words aimed to disturb, it did so only by a small margin.  She took her eyes off the page and glanced back down the hall behind her, muttering.  "I wonder if I should alert the librarian about this..."

She looked down again.  "Perhaps not...her job is to lend and sell, not to edit.  Still..."

The curious tigress flipped away from the entry and to another one, just to see if similar misprints existed elsewhere.  Meanwhile, one ear swiveled behind her to hear the conversation in the hall; about the time that the lemur at the desk had finished answering Gareeku's question.

[Azlan]

The golem had nothing further to say, the officer struck him as the 'people's champion' type without a real cause to fight for.  He had been like that once, but it cost him his life and his body.  Now he was an automaton, locked on land and never to soar in the skies again, except on those rare instances when he is allowed to use the third form.

It, however, decided to do little more than watch the preceding scene, knowing far better than to interfere with a large Gryphon unless absolutely necessary.


****


Kiet made an abrupt stop and turned towards the knife shop, "oh, a sharp and pointy selling place."

"Knives, they are called knives!"  Camiole practically yelled in Kiet's ear.

The ringtail flattened his ears against his head, "names, names, names... why must you seek to label everything?"

Camiole poked the tip of Kiet's nose, forcing him to go cross-eyed to stare at it, "what would you have us call stuff then?"

Kiet stuck his tongue out the side of his muzzle and squinted one eye as he shifted his gaze to the sky, "well... things.  It is what we called everything like 80 centuries ago."

She through her hands up in the air, "Let's just go in already." 

"k... wow, shiny!"  Kiet entered and immediately attached himself to the most expensive and impressive piece in the whole shop, even if that item happened to be a 3 meter iridium butter knife.

Camiole immediately noticed the lack of mental emanations from the large, female feline, unlike the shopkeeper.  She wondered if Kiet had noticed, but he probably did not care even if he had.

[Gareeku]

Listening to what the Librarian had to say, Gareeku nodded his head in understanding.
"Thank you. I'll check that section out first." the wolf said, before catching what the Librarian had said last. "Yes. Saiyetonia. An ancient kingdom told in folklore and stories, largely believed to be nothing more than myth. Quite well-known, I believe."

[Cogidubnus]

 "Amazing." the badger said.

He smiled. "Simply by watching a person, in combat, or in life, you can often tell much about them. Such a steady hand suggests a person at ease with themselves. The calmness of inner fortitude keeps the hands from shaking, which is why the skittish do not make good marksmen." He waved away her bag of money. "Keep them, they are yours. But...indulge me, if you would please." he smiled at her deeper, and inclined his head slightly in a bow. "It would honor me to show you something."

He did not seem to have noticed Kiet at this point, or he was too busy interacting with his current customer to begin with the second one. He appeared to have no help to attended to his customers when he was busy, but anyone who had any business with him would hardly need someone to ask them what they wanted. For all to see, knives glittered in the sunlight.

The badger disappeared into the hallway, and began to ascend the stairs to the right.

* * *

Pages rustled and bent as Rynkura's book flipped open to the entry on Insanity. As she began to read, she found that she couldn't understand the words - as though she was trying to read them through smoked glass or through a mirror. She blinked and rubbed her eyes.
The ink on the page had run together - at first, she thought it was a momentary betrayal of her eyesight, the pages becoming so blurry as to make all the words run together into one black-and-white image. The sudden crisp clarity of a cracked mask caught her off guard. When the crack moved before her eyes to grin at her, she shut the book.

Opening the pages again, however, revealed nothing but blank, cream-colored sheets of paper. Not one word, image, or entry remained in the encyclopedia.

* * *

"Then I'm sure you'll be able to find it, sir." the librarian said, smiling. "Can I help you with anything else?"

* * *

Officer Y'mir scratched his chin. "I...see."

He watched Rover start drawing on the walls with the hot chocolate he'd uncovered from the truck, his expression largely blank. It twisted slowly into a straight-faced, nonplussed squint, and then into a grin of amusement.
"Diplomatic immunity means that matters will be taken up about the graffiti with the consulate. Restitution, I'm certain, will be made." he said. "The truck, though...I just got done laying into that thing over there about destruction of cars. It might make me look bad if I just let you off the hook. But..."

He looked at the tigress currently covering her own eyes, ears getting progressively flatter with each screech of tortured metal. "This is mostly an issue between you and her, and it does sound like you're willing to pay the damages..."

The tigress looked up at Tim, her eyes just a little red. "You'll...replace my truck? Seriously?"

* * *

"A letter for..." Walter paused, and cautiously took it from Aten. "Do you know, Ms. Melodie?" he said, giving Aten a sideways look. "If this is a matter of business, she is not in the habit of taking appointments on the Lady's behalf. But I will give her the letter." he said, putting it inside of his jacket. "Good day."

[Sunblink]

Elizabeth stopped in the midst of her stride to stare at the sign, seemingly mesmerized for what felt like an eternity. She assessed the sign blankly, her gaze sidling to the nondescript building to which the sign belonged, and scoffed almost haughtily. Whatever tension that lingered in her body evaporated instantaneously. Such nonsense, she thought with a sneer. She had no reason to, but she automatically detested the building, as though its very, blemishing presence in the otherwise innocuous town was an affront to her. There is no comparison whatsoever. No architecture crafted by Being hands will ever equal the majesty of the Hanging Garden.

That should have been the end of that, but Elizabeth felt firmly anchored to the ground. She wanted to leave. The building's familiarity disturbed her and its architecturally inferior visage irritated her - she felt that this meager establishment was nothing compared to the atramentous cathedral nestled in the back of her memory, wreathed with stony flowers. But she still felt compelled to investigate, if only to see what was so intriguing about this fake Hanging Garden. This seemed almost too coincidental... (It did not occur to Elizabeth that the name was not entirely original.)

Nevertheless, Elizabeth abandoned her inhibitions and approached the door. She twisted the knob in her hand, immediately recoiling as though the door was about to disintegrate into woodchips, only to be reassured of its solidity. With that, Elizabeth walked inside with her head held up high.

[Gareeku]

"No, thank you. I will be fine." The wolf replied with a nod of his head, before turning to walk away. As he approached the stairs to head downwards to the floor below, Gareeku glanced around at the impressive collections of books that the town's library had to offer. He would have to return here to see what else it had to offer sometime.

Having made his way down the stairs, the wolf made his way towards Row 12 as the Librarian had instructed. Sure enough, it was as soon as he had found it had he seen the large amount of history books the place, including ancient history.

Slowly walking along the aisle, Gareeku's eyes scanned spine after spine of the books lining the shelves. It wasn't long before he found what he was looking for; books on the mythical lost kingdom of Saiyetonia. Taking one book which seemed to focus on the descriptions of the lost kingdom, as well as the treasures and relics it was said to possess, the wolf sat down at a small table situated nearby and began to read, his eyes scanning the writing on the paper.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Tim nodded at the feline. "Really really. He's" she indicated Rover with a shrug "not the most careful of folk around, so this isn't the first time he's damaged something he shouldn't." She then muttered irritably, under her breath, "Although he's excelling himself this morning," before going on "So there shouldn't be any trouble with that." She paused. "Wait. Graffiti?" She looked back at the officer, who merely pointed.

Tim turned around. Behind her, Rover had pulled out the bucket, and, up the side of the white stone bell tower, painted a large - and impressively detailed - pattern of vines and leaves, blending in with the buildings structure as if it had been there all along. The only slight jar was his signature - a large, muddy brown pawprint - at the bottom right of the structure, about 6 feet off the ground.

"Oh, my word." She glanced, harassed, at Officer Y'Mir. "I'm dreadfully sorry, Officer. He doesn't usually deface buildings; I don't know what could have gotten into him. I'll go stop him immediately."

Before she could leave, however, the officer coughed, politely, and indicated the waiting tigress.

Tim winced. "I'm dreadfully sorry, miss. I almost forgot. Here," and she reached into a pocket, and extracted a sheaf of folded papers, a pen, and a handful of business cards. Flicking through the business cards ("Tim & Rover, Distructions-R-Us, Natural Disasters a Speciality", "Rover and Tim, Demolition Experts", "T&R Havoc Inc", ...) she selected one that read "Rover & Tim", then, under that in slightly smaller font, "Special Envoys of the Gryphon Race", along with contact details, and slipped the rest of them back into her pocket before anyone else could see them. Then she flipped through the sheaf of papers, selected one, opened it to check it was the one she expected, signed it and put the business card in it, closed it again, and put the others away. "This should get you seen to, and helped by, the nearest Gryphon embassy. If that fails, I've put in our card, so you can get in touch with us directly, although I don't expect them to give you any trouble. Is that acceptable to you? I don't wish to rush you, but I really need to go and collar my charge before he does something else..."

She handed over the paper, and glanced back over her shoulder, where Rover was happily decorating the second side of the bell tower with flowers and butterflies...

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace's ears and tail-tip twitched as she heard the ting of the doorbell, and the footsteps of two more people entering the shop. She'd heard raised voices outside a moment ago: hopefully they weren't about to bring a screaming argument in with them.

The lioness blinked, her ears and whiskers semaphoring a moment of surprise as the badger said she didn't have anything to pay for the knives. Something very odd was going on here — no-one just gave away top quality work like this for no obvious reason. Not one to look a gift Gryphon in the beak, though, she shrugged with a slight smile and put the money pouch back in her jerkin. It took only a few seconds to pack the knives back in the case and seal it up again, then she tucked it under her arm and followed the badger.

The new arrivals caught her eye as she climbed the stairs. One was definitely the ringtailed cat from last night: little more than half her size, he gazed raptly at the glittering displays like an easily distracted kitten wound up and let loose in a toy shop. The other was an attractive clouded leopard: taller, her head almost coming up to Andrace's shoulder, with a stance and feel to her that screamed bodyguard and very dangerous.

If they were coming to the Masque as well, Andrace hoped they'd have the sense to keep out of her way once she began hunting the TiPaollo 'Cubi in earnest. The cat seemed to be a harmless enough noble nincompoop, but the leopard... she looked as if she might be capable of chewing up Aunt Jocasta and spitting out scraps of bloody fur. The lioness looked up to the head of the stairs, her curiosity poking at her as she wondered what the old badger wanted her to see.

[Yugo]

Esme stumbled briefly, struggling with her fallen glasses and blurred vision to bring the picture in front of her into focus. Somewhere along the fall she had bitten her tongue; The metallic tang of blood began to fill her mouth. She swallowed, almost gagging on the strong flavor, and sent forth a cantrip to seal it shut, wobbling, still woozy from the fall. Blinking twice, she stared at the imposing figure before her for a brief moment. A mixture of indignity and politeness was plastered on the face there, unnerving her with the intense eyes that seemed to stare a hole through her. Standing straight and regal, it was clear that she caught the attention of others. The woman's words snapped out of her trance.

"Ah, yes, I am sorry," she managed, doing her best to keep a sense of composure about her. "I'm afraid I'm lost, and I'm looking for where to check in." Esme smiled sheepishly, somewhat embarrassed by both her situation and their recent collision. If she had been watching where she going, she reminded herself, it probably would not have happened in the first place. Running into others and injuring them was certainly not the best way to go about beginning a diplomatic mission. Perhaps if she hadn't been so intent on going herself, they might have sent someone older and more experienced, but for now Esme was going to have to make do with what she had put herself into. "Could you or your friend please direct me there, madam?", she asked in a quiet, polite manner, clasping her hands in front of her anxiously.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel's unhurried windowshopping had brought her all the way back to the front of the hotel. Checking the watch pinned to her lapel she decided that she had just enough time for another chapter of her book before getting ready for the wine tasting. Waving cheerfully at Frederick on her way through the lobby she quickly made it to the top floor.

[Aisha deCabre]

As she tried to read, and found out that she couldn't with every second, Rynkura felt more and more nonplussed.  Her eyes, which had very rarely played tricks on her due to her serious training, were either failing...or something else was amiss.

Especially when the words themselves blurred and formed a face in the middle of the pages.  Rynkura's concentration and focus momentarily faltered, and on instinct, she closed the book with a muffled slam.

Her fingers went to the bridge of her nose in that moment, her other hand pressed firmly on the cover.  "I must still be sleepy," the white tiger murmured.  "But I could have sworn I was fully awake a moment ago."

Regaining her composure, she reopened the encyclopedia, expecting to find the words back in their proper places; inked and pressed to the creamy paper.  But instead, there was nothing.  Completely blank pages adorned the huge book; not even the editor's notes and other fine print remained.  Her curiosity at this point could not be satiated, and nor was she going to be intimidated by illusions.

This is strange...but still certainly not without explanation, she assured herself.  Perhaps...  A portion of her eyes glowed a deeper emerald, and she closed the book again, pressing her fingers to the edge of the pages, flipping them like one would a flipbook.  In her knowledge of enchantment, a good scrying would probably discern whether or not something was amiss.  Even books could be enchanted.

And if she found nothing...well, suffice it to say, she just guessed, it was a thing of the mind and it would just be a good idea to take a break from the searching.

[e_voyager]

aten nodded and left as the ward seemed quite anxious to be parted of his company. the letter was little more then a thank you a regret that he could not find more on the history of the Valmont  family and wondered if her grandmother had ever mentioned. the also expressed the hope that he would see her at the ball later tonight.

[Stygian]

Elyse was surprised enough with the lynx's youthful innocence and gentle mannerisms, jarring when compared to the treatment she had received hitherto, that she lost her composure slightly. Her lips parted doubtfully, as if she wanted to interrupt, and her eyebrows rose, before she took a deep breath and set her face once again. And immediately, as she drew in air, she became aware of a scent. A very familiar one, copperish and tangy. She shivered, and her fur rose, the slight blush that had threatened to break out on her cheeks with consternation earlier now doing so for a different reason. She looked at Esme's lips momentarily, then her hands, then her face once again.
   'I... Excuse me?' she said, looking at the lynx for a moment. She had almost forgotten the girl's thoughts. 'I'm sorry, but I am afraid I would be unable to. And I regret to say I have no friends here either,' she offered, in a far warmer tone than before, tinged with some remorse that would hopefully inspire sympathy. 'However, this thing here,' she continued, indicating Jeremiah with a discrete gesture, 'can take you where you wish to go, if indeed there is anywhere to go. So far, I must sadly say that it seems no one has been allowed to meet any persons of influence or importance.'
   What in the name of The Saints could this girl be here for? the bat thought, simultaneously with her speech. Her suspicion had been triggered again; the woman obviously thought she was a diplomatic envoy as well. But judging from the assortment of individuals that had shown up... Well, it was far more likely she had been called there for an entirely different reason. Well, at least she seems a more reasonable, decent sort than what I've seen so far. Sweet, gentle thing... It might be the right thing to save her from this farce, if nothing else...

[Azlan]

Kiet continued to peruse the various implements, waiting for the return of the shopkeeper.

Camiole kept a careful eye on the lioness, her ears swiveled about at each sound, whiskers twitched as she tested the air.  Carefully she made note of the scent, It is best to make note of that one.  Besides her obvious physical attributes, her very demeanor projects an air of danger.  The way she moves, very little energy is wasted... she carries her weight well and gracefully.  Heh, she's sizing me up too... I can't help but admire a true professional.

 

[Cogidubnus]

 Andrace followed the badger up the rather narrow stairway - barely wide enough for her to walk without having to twist sideways, and she wasn't sure how the broad-shouldered shopkeeper made it through - up to the shop's second floor. It was apparent that this was the badger's personal living space, as opposed to a part of the shop proper, although it wasn't like any living room she'd ever seen before.
A clean, shining and bare wood floor gleamed in the sunlight that poured through the two massive windows on the far wall. The wall to her right was also bare, excepting for a doorway that lead somewhere she couldn't see, and what looked like a small house sitting on a shelf high above the floor, nearly to the roof.

The right wall, however, was nearly forested in all sorts of gleaming weapons. Daggers, longswords, and all manner of edged weaponry. No cutlery masqueraded as an implement of battle here. It was here that the badger was standing, pulling one and then another weapon from the wall.

"As I have said, you can tell much about a person by certain facets of their behaviour and appearance, and draw certain conclusions without even having to speak with them." he began, setting one weapon - a curved blade, inside of a black-laquered scabbard - paralell to the wall, and turning back to Andrace. A large, golden-hilted bastard sword remained in his hand, the edge politely reversed behind him.
"In your case, I must apologize for not noticing sooner. But you have the characteristics of a warrior about you. Your arm," he said, pointing to the lionesses sword arm, "Is larger than the other. Not so much as to be obvious, but it's something that tends to happen with practitioners. Your stance is another thing. It is one thing to stand imperiously, and another to stand with regard to ability to defend yourself. Your hands, when you took the knives from me" - he gestured how Andrace had grabbed the knives, palms up - "With subtle abrasions and calluses."

He gave a bemused smile. "This was all, of course, more apparent when you put holes through the helmet I myself forged."

"I would like to ask you directly, however." he said, his expression turning once more serious. "You are a warrior, yes? If not that, someone who has found themselves often in battle?"

* * *

The arrangement seemed alright with the Lynx, who despite her distress was more than happy to hear that she wouldn't be out of a car. A barista's salary hardly paid for anything more than liability on her truck, let alone a policy that covered 'gryphon'.

Officer Y'mir blinked a few times as Rover continued painting happily. "You know, if you'd asked first, they might actually have paid him to do all that. He's not bad, for having fingers bigger than my head."

* * *

Rynkura's scrying of the book revealed that the book itself was not enchanted in any fashion - it was just a plain book - but she did run across traces of magic that were rapidly fading from the pages. The feline, versed in light magic as she was, found the magical tracks familiar. They smelled of divine power, something she'd run across before in her studies, but like most such traces, it was too unique to be easily identified.

She found nothing else for several moments - the traces ended at the edges of the book and couldn't be followed any further - and she was about to despair of finding anything else. Her magical search bumped into continued, however - and bumped into...something.
The cracked mask from before flashed again before her eyes, so intense and with such a sound and fury that it knocked the tigress from her chair. Mocking laughter echoed in her skull, and a severe migraine settled on her like a wet blanket.

* * *

With firsthand knowledge, Gareeku didn't read anything that told him much he didn't know about the fabled city already, and in some places he found himself disagreeing with what the text had to say. He'd actually seen the ruins himself, after all.

"A scholar of history, sir?"

Gar looked up, and saw a feline standing at the other end of the table he was sitting at. A black cat, with one yellow eye was smiling easily at him, leaning against the opposite chair.

  * * *

Fredrick scowled at the dragon woman, returning quickly to his reading. He didn't even like the book, but it managed to be so incredibly dry and boring that it managed to dominate one's mind even to the exclusion of the madness that seemed to infect his place of work.

"Look, do me a favor, will you?" Fredrick heard his most ardently hated phrase being spoken to him.

"Why on earth would I do that?" he said drily, flipping a page. Ray looked at him forlornly.
"It's not my fault, alright? You would have had an aneurysm! I...just a little bad, is all. I got somewhat short with them. I think the big one might try and eat me, too."

Fredrick glanced out of the corner of his eye, and pursed his lips. "This from the man who already owes me for not reporting his late shift last Thursday? And Friday. And Saturday. Come to think of it, I can't recall a day you were on time this last week."
"You bastard. You wouldn't...fine. I'll go talk to the big scary gryphon. See if I ever cover your shifts again."

Ray grabbed a scarf and headed out the door, intent on informing Tim that they were not, in fact, being drummed out of the hotel. Probably right before they checked out anyway.

* * *

As soon as Mel returned to her room and opened the door, she found a letter lying on the floor in front of her, with a note in Walter's precise, nearly mechanical handwriting. She picked up the letter and the note.
"Melodie, it read, A very strange young man knocked on your grandmother's door and asked me to give you this letter. The boy looked somewhat daft and possibly didn't know what he was doing, thus I am simply sliding it under your door for your perusal, at your leisure. If it's regarding the family business, please inform Brunhilda she needs to explain family policy to this 'Atem'.
-Walter

[Gareeku]

As he read, Gareeku frowned with frustration. The book had told him nothing he already knew, but the wolf had to see if there was something else to that city. What had happened a small while ago concerning it had left him with the sneaking suspicion that Saiyetonia held more secrets than it was letting on. A kingdom so riddled with myths and legends surely would.

"A scholar of history, sir?"

Hearing the voice, Gareeku looked up to find a black feline standing at the opposite end of the table which he was sitting at, leaning against the chair just in front of it and smiling at him.

"...I suppose you could call me that, yes..." the wolf replied, leaning back in his hair somewhat and folding his arms. "It has deeply interested me as far as I can remember, after all. Though this book isn't really shedding any new light on what I already know. Can I help you with anything?"

[Aisha deCabre]

As it was wont to do, Rynkura's determination kept her busy as she kept scrying the book, inch by proverbial inch.  She was curious as to why, though there was surely something there, that the encyclopedia's signature was rather normal.  But still those small traces of magic picked at the edges of her consciousness like bugs that picked at a large piece of food, scurrying away when they were sure to be caught.

To the nature of the magic, the angel's glowing eyes narrowed.  What sort of divinity was this, to play mind games with the enchanter?  She knew of nothing that had this kind of ability, or at least, she had forgotten if there was.  Then, when she believed she found it...

"AH!"

The tigress's search and the magic stream ended with an abrupt screech in her ears and in her mind, causing her to actually lose her balance and fall backwards, only barely catching herself with her arms and letting the rest of her body fall off the chair.  For a moment she looked only like a vulnerable middle-aged woman that had been struck by something, one hand cupping her forehead.

The laughter faded, and so did the imagery of the cracked, maniacally grinning mask.  "By the blood...!" Rynkura cursed, immediately bringing herself back to her feet with the help of her staff.

Still holding her head, she looked at the book...or rather, glared at it.  It looked like a simple tome for what it was worth, waiting to be picked up by the next person.  Still, questions ran through her mind.  What trickery was that, and how was it able to surprise  her?

The headache persisted, and so she made the decision to not touch the thing again unless necessary.  Were the book hers, she would have had it further looked at; short of destroying it.

Curiosity shocked the cat... Rynkura growled to herself and headed out of that glassy nook and back to the front desk.

If the lemur looked up, she would notice the tigress coming down, still with a hand to the side of her head and a serious look in her eyes; like she had been caught off-guard by something.  "Miss, are you perhaps aware that one of your books was cursed?"  She asked the librarian in a dry tone.