oo2 — burn our truths into paper

[sorculates]

You think they'd make this harder...

[he looks down at an unconscious (and very naked) body of what could only be presumed to be a hapless man who had merely been attempting to do his job.

with the death of their queen came barely contained joy from nearly all who had lived under the reign of their, now dead, queen. in the streets, drunkards howled "long live the queen!" and laughed so hard afterwards, the alcohol dribbled down their chins. patrolling soldiers were at every corner, making sure that rejoicing was all the people were doing. and the drunk patrolling soldiers? they were hardly any different from the typical fool — except for the unfortunate fact that a sword hung from their waists.

timing was everything and his was the most opportune.]

Pleasure doing business with ya. I especially enjoyed the part of our conversation where I knocked your noggin with your own helm. Nothin' like a blasted idiot.

[pocketing the guard's keys, seilen casually walks the halls of castle as if he owns every inch of it and wants everyone to know it. it's a shame no one of import is there to marvel in his stride — not that he can afford let anyone see him, that'd be too much of a risk, even for a swashbuckler like seilen.

at the sound of hurried footsteps, he ducks into a dimly lit room, gently closing the door behind him. a library. ohhhh! if this was any indication, luck was surely on his side.]

Comments

[armoros]

[—and just as he ducks into the library, near the closest shelf to the door, egris blinks and turns slightly, just enough to catch sight of the intruder, or rather, guard? several long moments of uninterrupted silence and blank staring ensue as she gapes at the man decked from head to toe in standard guard armor, and then it abruptly dawns on her that oh crap SHE IS IN DEEP SHIT NOW BECAUSE IT'S OBVIOUS SHE ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE HERE...!

there's a fine mess of books on the ground from her unauthorized searching, everything strewn unceremoniously because she had been swiftly perusing the pages only several moments prior, leafing through every book she could get her hands on posthaste in search of something she had been waiting to find for so damn long. BUT FIRST THING'S FIRST—]

...Fuck!

[the word emerges as an undignified squeak as she promptly dives out of the way and makes a break for it, sprinting in the opposite direction]

[sorculates]

[picks a book up and carelessly flips through the pages. determining that nothing of value is inside, he aims the thick and hard-covered book at the running girl and flings it across the room — the guys back home always said seilen had one hell of an arm]

[armoros]

[of all things, she did not expect him to throw a book instead of giving chase, so the book clocks her right in the back of the head

and then she just

falls flat on her face

in a rather pathetic display of gracelessness]

...That just had to hit me by the corner, didn't it... [rubbing her abused skull]

[armoros]

[mildly irritated, egris picks up the book that struck her and lobs it back in the man's general direction and attempts to stagger to her feet in spite of the fledgling headache forming at the base of her skull]

[sorculates]

[he doesn't walk towards her, he clanks. that was what he hated about armor —

— the book throws him off guard and, really, seilen should count his lucky stars that he's wearing a helmet. still, he theatrically falls backwards, landing rather loudly on his back. damn this armor.] Now, that was just nasty of you.

[armoros]

...You started it. [it takes her a few moments to regain composure, but after blinking spots out of her vision and straightening up, she stares down at the guard and blinks a few times, the initial urgency of the situation already fleeing]

Some guard you are if you can't even handle that. [egris falls silent, pondering courses of action—she can't quite continue her search if he's here, but there's no way she's leaving empty-handed, not like this...]

[armoros]

But hey. [smiles sweetly, raising her hand a bit] Stay down, won't you?

Palenthe, heed me... [and then without warning, light surges from her fingertips, a small hex flinging in his direction, one that would paralyze him for several minutes if he didn't dodge in time]

[sorculates]

[he rolls and leaps to his feet, helmet hiding his expression of concern — not for anyone's well-being, least of all his own, but rather for the commotion a fight would inevitably cause. this girl needed to be taken out! wind plays at his fingertips and he sends a strong gust in her direction, blowing a strewn documents and books, toppling shelves and candle holders.]

Oh — wait — shit! [his eyes widened in realization at the consequences of his actions. so much for staying quiet.]

[armoros]

[the wind catches her by surprise—even with sheets of paper flying at her face and books toppling in the area, her stare grows critical and just a tinge fascinated, even as she squints through the storm of white that's obfuscating her view of the man]

Air magic. How is it that you know air magic—

[and then a nearby shelf is starting to creak, and she instinctively leaps away to avoid a whole series of books that plummets to the ground, dislodged by the wind, and that's when she sees it—a glimmer of gold that looks out of place amidst the other colors. egris dives for it, snatches it up; it's a tattered black book with a faded golden seal, the insignia intricate and detailed, and she'd recognize it anywhere. she clings to it as she glances in the direction of the exit, wondering if she can slip past this guard who's somehow inadvertently helped her find what she's been looking for. questions are still swirling in her head—air magic, he knows air magic, even though it's supposed to be rare—but then several voices emerging from the other side of the library catch her attention]

...You just had to blow it, didn't you—

[cringing, egris starts toward the exit, only to realize a fallen bookshelf has barred the path, so instead, she weaves past fallen books in search of a proper hiding spot]

[sorculates]

...you started it. [he follows after her as quietly as possible — at least, as quietly as a young man unused to wearing armor can possibly be. he freezes, hearing the sound of footsteps not as distant as he would like them to be.]

[reforgery]

[when crucis opens the door, he does not expect to find a library in ruins. it brings a crooked smile to his face.] It seems the queen not only took poor care of her people, but her castle as well. I did not realize we would be sharing space with...rats.

[there's amusement in his voice as he surveys the area, not looking for anyone really. the damage done was clearly dealt by vermin of the more human variety. his eyes land intensely on a certain region of the room, looking for an inch of movement or the sound of an intake of air — regardless of whether he finds what he wants or not, crucis shakes his head and chuckles] I don't know about you, my friend, but I couldn't be ever more grateful for the interruption. Nikolas is a bore when he goes on and on, agreed?

[reforgery]

[there's the slightest wrinkling of his nose as he follows crucis into the library, taking note of the disarray. he stoops slightly and drags a volume from the ground by the edge of its spine, rotating it in his hands to view the skim the title before neatly depositing it on a shelf and leaving it at that, neglecting to pick up any others]

[a wry smile] Edelia was a failure in more than one regard. [a pity, really, that the queen was respected neither in life nor death]

He has always been long-winded. [stretches slightly] Understandably so, this time. I don't know what deal he struck with Souliere, but we should have expected complications. We have disposed of Edelia, but even now, people squabble for the throne, disregarding reason.

To think he thought relocating power to the clergy would be so simple. [his lip curls slightly]

[armoros]

[she'd been wrinkling her nose in nonverbal protest when the man followed her—could he get any louder at all in that armor?—but the disdain soon falls away quickly in wake of the other men's presences. egris stiffens, peeking between gaps in the books, and her breath catches in her throat at the sight of them. everyone in the kingdom knew those faces—they were two of the high ministers]

...Wait, this can't... I thought it was said her knight killed her in the name of revolution, not because...

[reforgery]

Even if the process is complicated, there is no undermining his determination. If the power is to be with the clergy, then it shall. [admiration tinges his voice] A man with a vision is a fearsome one.

[unlike lazare, crucis does not even deign to trifle with the myriad of books — appointing a pretty servant to the chore would do the trick, just with less effort on his part.] I too exhaust of these contenders; brutishly cutting each other down and foolishly believing that once the throne is theirs, so will be the power that comes with the title.

No one is invulnerable. [looks up, as if recalling something] His plan is supposed to remedy that, is it not? Then, I suppose we have no worries.

[reforgery]

True. I had my doubts, but now... [lets out a low chuckle} I daresay this plan may end better than I initially projected.

That power isn't so easy to seize. [a small, condescending little shrug] Even if a nameless contender rises to the occasion, no doubt the fool will be stricken down by the majority. Nobody wants another despot. Each claim is just all the more ridiculous than the last.

[a small nod of affirmation] I suppose not.

[reforgery]

[digs deep within his pocket to pull out a pocketwatch; a look at time passed elicits a heavy sigh]

Nikolas should be expecting us back. Shan't keep the old badger waiting. [waves a hand, as if dismissing lazare] Ah, but you can go on ahead, I want to stretch my joints awhile longer. Goddess knows how excited I am to return.

[reforgery]

Are you sure you aren't the old badger now?

[with a quirk of his lips and a last glance at the disarray of books, lazare turns back and disappears through the door from which they came. they'd come to investigate the noise, yes, but either way, crucis could handle it; lazare wasn't particularly concerned]

[reforgery]

[mirthful] You may be right.

[crucis turns and strides slowly near a particularly hidden from view area — and stops, right at the divide between light and shadow. he stares into the darkness, looking for outlines of breathing flesh. finally, he turns away and walks towards the direction he came from. turning the handle, he exits and leaves only words of parting behind:] Have yourselves a merry evening. Be careful not to make a habit out of destroying libraries, others might catch on.

[armoros]

[the only thing egris manages to do when the minister glances straight at them is deflate pitifully, just a bit. she's left staring blankly as he leaves, her gaze interrupted only by the occasional disoriented blink]

...They...

[just kind of slumps, trying to process what she'd just heard]

It was just some scheme?

[sorculates]

And concocted by the great and almighty high ministers no less! [shaking his head in incredulity] When they said the capital was crazy, I wasn't expecting this...

[stepping out of their hiding spot, seilen takes off his helm to survey the wreckage. cursing slightly, he looks over his shoulder and sighs] C'mon, let's get outta here.

[armoros]

This is ridiculous. They're the ministers—what about the teachings? The gods? If anything, they should be the wisest, not a circle of corrupt politicians. [the words escape her lips in a hiss; it's clear she's more rattled by this that her expression implies]

[giving him a cursory glance as he removes the helm and makes a face as she follows him]

...You're not actually a guard, are you?

[sorculates]

Oh? What gave you that idea?

We can talk about all this later, but right now let's focus on not being found out by anyone else. [gestures towards the blocked exit] Obviously, we only have one door for escaping, but I'm not sure if I want to be following on after those two.

[armoros]

[ruefully]

I guess it'd draw too much attention if we blasted our way out. [purses her lips to hold back all her questions and stares at the pile of stuff]

...Well, you know air magic, right? Just. I don't know, gust everything out of the way. Since you were so good at it before.

[sorculates]

...and make more noise? Not sure if I like that idea, but fine. Time's a wastin'.

[he propels a gust of wind toward the toppled shelf blocking their way, sending it bursting out the door.]

Now, see, it's not so much as being good at air magic — [he darts out of the room, talking quickly and quietly over the distant noises of alarm] — I just have no control.

[armoros]

Good enough. I don't care how we get out as long as we're gone by the time they get here. [darts after him, wrangling with her mental repository of spells, then after some thought, she lets one loose over her head, the faint light rising from her fingertips and bursting around her head]

[suddenly, she's twice as fast as before, speeding past him]

Last one out's a rotten custard!

[wow, talk about cheap shot]