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Post by Justine-Juliette de Vair on Sept 11, 2020 13:26:29 GMT
“So a privateer, like our fathers? Not that I knew mine had been, til today.” She shrugged as they came nearly to the doorstep of the House of Peace and Respite. “A ship can take you a thousand places, but why go out seeking your fortune when you already have one? You’re not seeking fame and glory for your memoirs, are you?” She grinned to let him know she was at least partly teasing.
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Post by The Forgotten God on Sept 11, 2020 18:00:04 GMT
“Younger son,” he said. “Tobias will get the estates,” he said. “I’ll have gold but I’d rather get something of my own. Like father said, what’s given can be retaken.” He considered the term privateer a moment. “I prefer the term explorer,” he said. “Finding places people haven’t mapped or forgot about long ago.”
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Post by Justine-Juliette de Vair on Sept 11, 2020 22:18:16 GMT
“Younger son,” he said. “Tobias will get the estates,” he said. “I’ll have gold but I’d rather get something of my own. Like father said, what’s given can be retaken.” He considered the term privateer a moment. “I prefer the term explorer,” he said. “Finding places people haven’t mapped or forgot about long ago.” Justine nodded. She understood that. Heir and a spare; and the second usually got to have a more interesting life than the first, however that ended up playing out. She knew that very well. “Everything feels better when you’ve earned it. That does sound compelling. Seeing new things, discovering them...sometimes I think I’ve had enough excitement in my life, but how boring would it be to stop now?” She laughed, sure he would agree. Suddenly she remembered the satchel. “Say, do you know about the other items? I forgot to ask your father about them. I guess the sword had me a bit overwhelmed.” |
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Post by The Forgotten God on Sept 11, 2020 23:52:10 GMT
Alec shook his head. “No idea what’s in there,” he said. “I’m sure my father knows but I’ve never looked. Never even saw this stuff til yesterday. I can’t stop exploring,” he admitted. “Not unless I see everything and that doesn’t seem likely. Not in this life anyway.” They entered the place. “What a charity,” he said with a laugh. “Keeping morale high for twelve years.”
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Post by Justine-Juliette de Vair on Sept 12, 2020 3:39:36 GMT
“Only twelve years? It seems like such a permanent institution. Highly necessary in a place like this, I think.” She looked around at the well appointed public room and shook her head. She hefted the bag, as if weighing the contents. “I should definitely have asked him then. Want to take a look with me or are you anxious to get back to your exploring?”
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Post by The Forgotten God on Sept 12, 2020 15:31:26 GMT
Alec looked about. “Let’s see what he left,” he decided. “I’m curious what he’d have thought to give my father in a bad time.” Justine saw a show on stage making liberal use of mirrors. Best to avoid that one probably.
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Post by Justine-Juliette de Vair on Sept 12, 2020 17:27:41 GMT
“So what have you heard about me? Has your father been looking for me all this time? I’ve been out of the asylum nearly a decade now.” She led him to a small table in a corner, away from the weird sex show on the stage. They sat and she opened the satchel to see what there was.
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Post by The Forgotten God on Sept 12, 2020 19:09:04 GMT
Alec shook his head. “I’d heard of your misfortune as a child,” he said, “but I was too young to really understand what happened. He sent many appeals to Edysse but someone blocked them all before the Emperor even heard his emissaries. When you escaped he was able to file a motion against Lord Lockhart to either open his asylum for inspection or cease pursuing escapees. He chose the latter apparently until Lord Wolfhaven set him to rights. You should seek out Mistress Cassandra of Mythan,” he suggested. “She was the paladin who forced his vile work to cease about eighteen months ago.”
Inside the satchel she sees a bunch of papers written in code. She feels like she remembers it from childhood but can’t remember how exactly it worked. There’s a small sack of jewelry in there that had belonged to the family, a seemingly useless dagger that had a strange blade that looked like a key, a seal of house de Vair, and a paper with a rooster, a toad, and a spider on it. There’s also a fish but it’s been crossed out.
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Post by Justine-Juliette de Vair on Sept 12, 2020 23:40:13 GMT
“I don’t think any of us were old enough to understand, not really.” The rest she filed away, all the while wondering if this had anything to do with Konrad taking her to bed, or if it had mostly been Juliette. “So Lockhart’s just stopped the experiments?” She asked casually as she went through the items one by one.
She started with the easier items, letting the jewels fall through her hands as they conjured a vague image of her mother, and likewise setting the seal aside. The papers in code and the images of the beasts slowed her down a little. “Alex, do you have any idea what the animals mean?” She held it up as she moved onto the odd key-blade. This must be the one Terrence had mentioned specifically. Turning it over in her hands, she tried to remember anything from all those years ago.
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Post by The Forgotten God on Sept 13, 2020 0:04:32 GMT
It isn’t coming to her at the moment but she has a faint recollection of seeing it. Alec looked over the stuff. “Lockhart supposedly did,” he said. “The paladin order really stuck it to him apparently.” He narrowed his eyes at the pictures. “None of these mean anything to me,” he admitted. “They sort of look like heraldry signs but I don’t recognize any of them. More mysteries...” his voice trailed off. “Maybe some of this stuff is for when you take your estate back over.”
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Post by Justine-Juliette de Vair on Sept 13, 2020 4:32:20 GMT
"I really doubt he would. Lockhart I mean. That whole place..." She shook her head and took a deep breath, making herself focus back on her father's things. "They could be. Im sure there's a library or something in Bastion. For the papers, and the symbols. The key thing, well, I think youre right about needing to use it at the manor or something. Thats the last time I saw it."
She started carefully stowing everything back into the bag. "I guess all there is now is to have patience. It feels a little selfish or frivolous really, to want the title or the land or any of it. But if everything does go back to the asylum, to the Lockharts..." Justine shuddered and when she had recovered herself, looked intensely into Alec's eyes. If he looked closely, he could probably see Juliette there at the edges. "They deserve to fall. All of them."
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Post by The Forgotten God on Sept 13, 2020 5:58:29 GMT
Alec nodded as he looked into her eyes that had just the faintest whiff of madness, and he raised a glass in toast. “To the rise of House de Vair,” he said. “Whatever you need, I’m here for it,” he promised.
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Post by Justine-Juliette de Vair on Sept 13, 2020 13:57:20 GMT
Justine clinked hers against his and. “To House de Vair and...to adventure.” She Grinned at him and drank likewise.
“Will you both be staying in the city, for now?”
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Post by The Forgotten God on Sept 13, 2020 16:08:57 GMT
“No,” Alec replied after drinking. “I’ll probably stay around but my father has to tend to his affairs at the estate, or else people will start asking questions about where he is and what he’s up to. The life of a court politician is always in flux. The more boring you seem the fewer spies you attract.” He shrugged as the liquor burned his throat. “But I’m not a politician so here I am,” he chuckled.
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Post by Justine-Juliette de Vair on Sept 14, 2020 4:21:55 GMT
"Sounds true enough to me. Maybe I don't want the title after all," she joked, taking another sip. The buzz she had felt from the earlier glasses with Lord Valgard had worn off in the excitement of her small, but immensely esoteric inheritance. "So what will you be doing in the city? Hopefully not just keeping an eye on me. You'd be appalled at the company I keep. Or very interested. Not sure yet."
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