• Closed • A Knife in the Door

[Ilinis]

47 Zida, 717

It had been hard in Scalvoris in recent trials. The biting winds of Zida ensured that few left their homes, lest they wish to subject themselves to the hailstorms and biting winds. A number of injuries had already occurred across the island, and many more still would this season. With travel comprised due to the weather, it was unlikely to see a new face in the city of late, though, not impossible if one was especially motivated.

The night of the 46 of Zida had been uneventful for the city. Another hailstorm, another enduring of ice crashing into one's roof keeping them awake at night. The same would be true of the room Victor had rented near the Campus. In the early hours of the morning it had sounded as if an extra large piece of hail had thumped against his door, barely distinguishable.

After the sun had broken through and the hail stopped, the city grew quiet save the shrill of the wind as it whipped through the buildings. Should Victor wish to brave the harsh gale, this may be his only time to attempt to find the treasure noted on the scrap of paper he obtained.

Upon leaving his room, Victor will find a dagger wedge into the wood of his door, affixing a parchment which reads:

I know you have the map. Let the flame caress it. Or else.

~L

Perhaps the Scribe, the city guard, or even some of the citizenry at the Campus would know who this "L" is. That is, if the note is even of importance...

Off Topic

Welcome to my guest moderated thread for Victor Amielle, approved by Harpy and Pegasus.

Victor, if there is ever anything that you need clarification on or have any questions. Please PM me. Otherwise, the scene is set for your treasure hunt!

[Victor Amielle]

As far as Victor could remember, there had not been a winter like that in recent arcs. Hailstorms, ice and wind had been troubling the island for the better part of a fortnight, making travel a challenge, to say the least. From his colleagues at the university he had heard that some of the smaller villages had been cut off completely. A few people had already died. An old man had walked to the stable at night because his horse had been whinnying loudly, fallen and only been found the following morning when his neighbour had come to visit. He had frozen to death. Somewhere in Scalvoris Town a woman had been killed by a roof avalanche, and a merchant had not returned from a recent trip to Almund.

Normally the classrooms at the Institute of Metaphysics were quite crowded when Professor Jeeve or Professor Gir were teaching, but these trials they were filled with empty chairs. A lot of students had decided not to show up. Victor had briefly considered doing so as well as the weather was fairly unpleasant, and he had no interest in catching a cold or in the negative effect on his appearance that came with it, but in the end his thirst for knowledge had won out, and he had braved the elements each and every trial. Perhaps, he thought hopefully, he would eventually build up some resistance to the cold.

The night of the 46th of Zi’da turned out to be especially bad. Victor had returned from the university a few breaks earlier and gone to bed almost right away as he was fairly tired, but the storm was so loud that he found himself unable to sleep. It sounded as if somebody were constantly hammering against the roof. Once he could hear something thumping against the door as well, so loudly that he abruptly jumped up. He decided to sit down at his desk to read something for a while before he went back to bed and finally fell asleep due to sheer exhaustion. He did not remember what exactly he dreamed about that night, only that it had been fairly unpleasant and featured houses being crushed by gigantic rocks, a result of his subconscious registering the constant noise perhaps.

When he woke up again, the storm had finally stopped, and sunlight was streaming through his window. He yawned, got dressed and made himself a cup of tea before he grabbed his backpack and opened the door – only to stop dead in his tracks when he noticed the dagger. He pulled it out of the door and put it into his backpack –he could always use another weapon, besides it would likely provide a few clues in regards to its previous owner – and then he read the message, furrowing his brow as he did so, before he pocketed it as well. Once he had done that, he briefly took a look around to see if anybody was watching before he walked inside again and locked the door, just in case.

That trial, he decided, he would stay away from class after all. He had no idea who “L” was and how they had discovered that he owned a treasure map, but he would find out. First he needed to take care of something though. He closed the curtains in case somebody was watching from the opposite side of the street, and then he pulled his desk away from the wall, knelt down and removed the loose floorboard under it. Until he could afford a house here on the island – he was too proud to ask his brother Stefan, the Lord of Lysoria, for money – that was where he hid his most valuable possessions.

As he looked into the small opening, he breathed a sigh of relief. The treasure map was still there, rolled up and tied together with a piece of red ribbon. He opened it, looked at it for a moment and then folded it so that it would fit into a small bag that he hid under his shirt so that nobody would be able to just steal it. Following that, he grabbed his sword and quickly threw a few supplies into his backpack, a compass, a folding shovel, some food, a bottle of water, bandages, a blanket, a lamp and a tinderbox, among other things.

He would try and find out who that mysterious “L” was and stop them, but if he was unlucky and could not find them, he would have to dig up the treasure that trial, no matter what. He had briefly considered involving the guards, but then he had come to the conclusion that it would take them too long. He only had a few breaks, at best. No, The Scribe would likely be his best bet. From what he had heard the proprietor, a man by the name of Tobias, could procure any information – for a price.

But a few bits later Victor entered the small, unassuming cottage, walked up to Tobias and put the dagger and the message on the desk in front of him. “I found this on my door this morning”, he informed him. “I need to know who is threatening me and how I can stop them, and I don’t have time to deal with the guards and all their bureaucracy. I’ll pay you well for the information. Just name your price.”

[Pegasus]

The travel to the Scribe was a long, difficult and arduous journey in comparison to what it had been. However, there was the house. The small, unassuming house in the middle of others, just like it. A tap on the door and it was opened by Crowther, who let Victor in. The Scribe's place was how it always was - lots of shelves, lots of books and parchments, bits of information everywhere. There was a musty smell in the place, the smell of a library mingled with the smoke of Tobias' pipe. The old man, for such he was now, looked at Victor and he shushed him with a wave of his hand.

The, he lowered his head and examined both the dagger and the letter. He was quiet for a few bits as he looked at them both and then he sat back and looked at Victor. "I can't help you," he said, with a frown. Motioning to a chair, he gestured for Victor to sit. "There are rules, yes, rules I must adhere to. Once bought, I don't tell who bought information," He shrugged and motioned to the letter. "How'd they know where you live, boy?" He tapped, hard, against the table.

"Think. People don't think, no they don't. How'd they know where you live, what you keep so secret?" He smiled and tapped the side of his nose with his finger. "Where would they go, hm? Who would they ask about that map?"

Crowther put down a mug of tea in front of Tobias and another in front of Victor, but said nothing. Tobias, however, was on a roll, it seemed. "They ask me! It's all there, you know. Everything you need to know, someone wants your map, why? What will you do?" He shrugged and sipped his tea. "This tastes like piss, Crowther!"

"You're welcome," Crowther said, dryly and carried on with his work, head bent over a book.

"Once I've given information, I don't tell who I gave it to, no." Tobias was certain and clear on that. "Bad for business."

Off Topic

Heya! So, I'm taking this on at your request. I have Ilinis' moderation plan, so will be following that! PM me if I miss any details!

[Victor Amielle]

“Thank you”, Victor replied, took a seat opposite of Tobias and studied him. The man looked old, he noticed, older than when he had last visited The Scribe, shortly after he had arrived on the island. He was obviously not doing himself any favors by continuing to smoke, but the Blessed of Delroth would not berate him for a bad habit that was affecting both his health and his appearance negatively as it would make him even less inclined to listen to him. Instead, he tried to be polite and hold back his anger as much as he could – even though the old man’s attitude frustrated him, almost beyond measure, and he wanted nothing more than to lash out at him and shake him until he finally changed his mind.

“Tobias, I assure you, I understand the need for secrecy, probably better than most, but this is a unique situation. My life is in danger. I wouldn’t have come here if there were any other way. I don’t know how they know where I live and that I have the map. I never told anybody about it”, he said in a calm tone, hoping that those words would have some sort of effect on Tobias. They didn’t, of course. Instead, the old man continued to insist that he couldn’t tell him. Victor’s gaze darkened, and he resisted the urge to throw his hands up in frustration. He was losing his patience quite rapidly. Fortunately, it was just then that Crowther brought them tea. He accepted the cup from him and took a sip. It did indeed taste like piss, he thought, but he looked up at Crowther and smiled at him nevertheless, as if it were the most delicious drink that he had ever had.

“Of course”, he remarked to Tobias and drained his cup, resisting the urge to spit the tea right out again, before he rose to his feet. “Then I won’t be wasting any more of your time. I’m sure I’ll eventually find out who wants to cause me harm. If you don’t mind, there’s something I’d like to discuss with your partner – something pertaining to my research”, he claimed and gestured for Crowther to come with him. The man was younger – he appeared to be about his own age - and seemed to have a bit of light-hearted demeanor. He would likely be more receptive to his words – as well as a little bribe.

“I’m not sure if your colleague really understands how serious this matter is”, he whispered to him. “This ‘L’ threatened to kill me. I need to know who they are so that I can protect myself. I don’t know what kind of treasure the map leads to, but it is obviously something big if they are willing to go to such lengths to keep me from finding it. I would be willing to give you a share of it – if you decide to help me.” Victor was normally a somewhat greedy man, but parting with some of the treasure was far preferrable to the alternative - not knowing who wanted to see him dead.

[Pegasus]

Tobias laughed, mockingly, when Victor spoke. "A unique situation? They all are, boy! And your life is of no interest to me, I deal in information." Victor seemed to be on a path into nothing with Tobias - he looked at him as though he was a foolish child, which was indeed his thought process. When Victor spoke of talking about his research with Crowther, though, Tobias laughed again and shook his head. "You talk about what you want." Tobias knew his colleague and knew him well.

Crowther moved with Victor and he listened to him speak. "Tobias won't sell out on information he's already sold, but let me see if I can help you," he said and he spoke to Victor thoughtfully. The younger man in this place, Crowther was more personable, more willing to compromise on situations within the confines they had to work in. "So, this person came here to find out about you. But Tobias, he just said to you - it's all there." That meant something, Crowther said, when Tobias spoke it was always in half-riddle and hidden meaning.

"I'll help you," he said and he smiled at Victor slightly. However, there was a sharpness in the smile he gave. Like a cat looking at a mouse. "What split are we talking. Half and half?" He'd do nothing until he knew just how much of a split he was getting and there was a very clear sense of the amount of help being directly proportionate to how much he liked the split.

"I've got ideas and thoughts about how to find this person, what you should do now and I'll come with you if you want it," Crowther said with a calm voice. "But at the end of the trial, I'm only doing those things if it's worth my time." His definition of that seemed to hinge on what split they were talking, "I can give you information, or actually assist you physically going with you. The second, of course, costs more. So, we need to be a lot more specific."

And that, most certainly, was up to Victor.

[Victor Amielle]

Boy? The Transmuter bit back a scathing remark as he heard what Tobias said to him. He was not a boy. He was a man of twenty-eight arcs. He had received a degree from a prestigious university. He had travelled the world, faced undead and stood before an Immortal. He hadn’t been a boy in over a decade. But no matter, he decided, the old man was below him and not worthy any more of his time. He would come to regret his treatment of him soon – as soon as he realized what kind of opportunity he had passed up.

Once he had realized that Crowther considered helping him, he calmed down considerably. “I appreciate your help”, he let him know and smiled at him, as if that near-outburst had never happened – only to look at him in confusion a moment later when he claimed that it was all there. What did he mean to imply with that? Was the information somewhere in the store? Or had Tobias himself paid him a visit and thrust a dagger into his door? He looked across the room, at the old man for a moment, considering him.

As Crowther suddenly started talking about a split, Victor furrowed his brow, displeased with what he had heard, but then he nodded curtly and somewhat reluctantly. If he went about this alone, he realized, he would likely end up with a knife in his back – and no treasure at all, and that would be worse than giving a share of it up. “A quarter if you only give me information, and fourty percent if you come with me and help me find the person and uncover the treasure. That’s more than generous, considering I’m the only one that actually knows where it is”, he pointed out. He was the only one that had access to the map.

“I wouldn’t offer my brother more if he helped me”, he told him, withholding the fact that Stefan Amielle of Lysoria would never sneak around Scalvoris, look for treasure and fight bandits and other lowlives, not even if he got paid. “What do you say?”

[Pegasus]

Victor laid out his terms and Crowther seemed unimpressed for a moment, like he would refuse. Of course, that was as much a front as anything and done with the intention of laying out the foundations for their relationship. He considered Victors words and then he gave a slight, tense grin. "So, you'd let your brother's children starve by offering such a piss-poor deal? Shame on you. Fine." He was pleased with the split, in fairness, he was expecting it to be a worse deal for him, but he didn't say that. So, he considered. "Alright, show me this note then?"

Assuming that Victor did just that, Crowther frowned and considered it. "Alright, so this person knows where you live. Why was this pinned to your door? I don't think they're necessarily threatening you." It made sense to Crowther, at least, that if the person in question wanted Victor dead or hurt, they wouldn't put him on his guard. "If they wanted you dead, they'd wait for you to be exiting or entering that door and they'd have a crossbow ready. It's really quite straightforward." That meant, Crowther said that the knife pinning the note to the door was one of two things.

"Maybe it's a message," he said with a slight frown. "The question is what kind of message? I don't think it's a threat, it doesn't warn you off. I think it's instructions." So it seemed to him, anyhow.

"Alright, so then. Where's the map?" Crowther looked thoughtful as he asked that. "I think we need to look at it over flames? It might be that there's some kind of hidden message there or something? If not, then the dagger itself?" He looked at Victor and motioned for him to step outside. "I say we go back to the scene and you talk me through all the details. We look at the map and the dagger in the flame and we take it from there. After all," he added and gave Victor a grin. "I've got to earn my forty percent."

[Victor Amielle]

Victor didn’t say anything as Crowther complained about the so-called piss-poor deal and talked about his brother’s children starving. Stefan’s children hardly depended on whatever that treasure consisted of – his brother had more money than he could spend in an entire lifetime - and Crowther’s supposed outrage was quite obviously part of the game. He’d seen his father’s business partners act in a similar fashion, back when he had still been living in Lysoria, before he had tried to get away from everything. For that reason, he simply looked at Crowther calmly and waited for him to finish his speech.

Once the other man agreed, the Transmuter allowed himself a light smile, nodded and handed him the note so that he could take a look at it as well. “A dagger in the door doesn’t seem like a friendly greeting to me”, he remarked somewhat dryly as Crowther stated that the didn’t think that ‘L’ was threatening him. “If they wanted to tell me something, they could just have sent a letter in the mail – or knocked on the door. I would have appreciated not suffering a shock first thing in the morning!”

Despite the fact that he didn’t entirely agree with Crowther’s assessment of the situation, he continued to listen to him, just in case. He had to admit, his idea did have some merit. Maybe the map would reveal more if they looked at it over flames. He considered what Crowther had said for a moment, and then he reached under his jacket in order to remove the map that he had hidden there. “I have it right here”, he said, but he didn’t hand it to him. He would hold onto it for now to make sure that Crowther honored their deal.

“Let’s go”, he said and followed him outside, casting one last glance at Tobias. “It’s not far. Follow me.”

[Pegasus]

Crowther shot him a glance, the kind that said that he knew he was not getting any more money, no matter how much he whinged about it and then he nodded his head. "Granted," he agreed, "a knife in the door isn't the most sensible way to get someone's attention. It just doesn't seem like anyone was trying to hurt you." Shrugging slightly, he considered, "Intimidate you, maybe, but not hurt you." Maybe, Crowther said, the person in question was a woman. A small, slight woman who wanted to appear scary so that Victor would work with her.

When he said that, he glanced back at his place of work, rather meaningfully. Then he looked at Victor and tapped his nose, in that sort of 'I know things' gesture which is usually just really irritating. "I mean, I'd never betray a confidence or anything, after all...." He said no more and left it at that. Hopefully, Victor got the message. If he didn't, Crowther thought, he probably wasn't bright enough to walk and talk at the same time, so best not say any more.

But they walked together and when they got back and Victor held the map over the flames, hopefully careful not to set it aflame. When they did, it was true enough, words appeared in the flickering light.

All my life they say I should dig.
Dig deep.
Dig hard.
Dig wide.
They were too foolish to realize that they should look inside

Crowther looked at it, over Victor's shoulder and nodded. "So. It's the graveyard this map is showing you. I suppose, the thing to do is go there, but.. there might be other places we could find information. Maybe the university. What would you like to do?"

At the end of the trial, it was up to Victor how they proceeded. It seemed fairly straightforward to him, but then, how did this person know that Victor had this map, how to get the words to appear? Come to that, what did the words mean? Crowther wasn't sure whether any of those questions were relevant, but he waited to see what Victor thought. End of the trial, it was his bat, his ball and he, very much, was captain.

So, the next move was his to determine.