Night 009

[whiteofcrime]

[ Sometime early in the night, during Kaito's downtime, a series of lines begins to draw themselves across the next empty spread of pages.

The lines aren't completely straight. His busted shoulder means that even with a ruler, he can't utilise both hands to make the schematic perfect. However, his hand is steady and he works with patience to make sure everything lines up the way it's meant to. He'd practised on other non-journal sheets beforehand.

Eventually the map below takes shape, annotated in blue and red. ]

(click image for larger version)


[ In the corner, Kaito writes some notes about the watchtowers. ]

Watchtowers
There are four towers. The stairs lead to the tallest one.
They're lined up alone the side of the castle (you can see them from the Horticulturalist's room).
There's a guard room on the way up that has weapons, supplies etc.
Also a fox which can see through magic maybe.


(Disclaimer: All the above names are ones which Kaito has decided on. They are not necessarily the official names.)

Comments

[bloodyashes]

Any chance of more detail on why those names?

[whiteofcrime]

They're the best description I have of what the rooms look like or what they're for.

If you want to know more about a specific one, I'll write it out for you. I'm not going to describe Tanny's rooms here though.

[ He feels bad for snooping in there. ]

[bloodyashes]

The gardener's bedroom and that bathroom are what catch my interest, given where most of the snakes are around here.

[whiteofcrime]

Gardener's room
Lots of water fountains and potted flowers. It's set up like the orchard and it's in pretty much the same spot. Water channel runs around the entire room, one upper one lower, with pipes funnelling everything. Smells and feels like a greenhouse inside.

There were a lot of seed packets, mainly for flowers, and books about them inside the desk. I couldn't read a lot of what was written but I got the name of two flowers called "Annua's Rose" and "Cor Vitae". The flower in the orchard greenhouse has something to do with transformation apparently. Don't know the name.

K' said that the room probably belongs to an "Old One". Old Ones are some kind of ancient spirits. Whoever it is made a lot of marks on the wall near the bed. Almost 5000.


Serpent bathroom
It's pretty much what you'd imagine. Entirely themed after snakes. Taps etc. all snakes. There was a tank with an actual snake behind the sink. The bathtub had metallic scales and it looked like it could move, it was creepy.

Floor was heated from beneath though. That was nice. Not much else to say about it.

[bloodyashes]

That's probably the source of the water in the orchard, at least. They should be stacked on top of each other.

[whiteofcrime]

That's what I figure. I took measurements as best as I could and it's definitely in the right spot. Not right on top, but close enough.

[shuttersense]

[She's not going to ask about how he got this, not here. Anyone could read it, after all. Nor is she going to ask about the kitchen path.]

You've been busy.

Did you see anything that looked like a dining room? I-the vampire bedroom strikes my interest as well, but not in a good way.

I hope this doesn't mean there's something that will be trying to lure us in and drink our blood.

[Again.]

[whiteofcrime]

No. You probably have a better idea than I do where it is. Do you remember the path you took?

[ He doesn't recall them being blindfolded, so... ]

And I just call it the vampire bedroom because there's all this dirt packed into behind glass and it's really chilly inside. Whoever lives there was trying to research how to prolong life.

[ A topic he has some very, very strong feelings about. ]

[shuttersense]

Vaguely. I was distracted at the time.

[But it doesn't look right. Did they go up the stairs and she didn't notice? It's possible.]

But dirt behind glass? That sounds rather particular. I can't say I recall any notes on the subject before this. It might be better if I got a good look at this myself.

Even if it doesn't promise to be pleasant.

me suddenly realising I used the wrong font code oops

[whiteofcrime]

There are some things I wanted to show you anyway so I can explain better if we meet. I'm upstairs right now but I can come to you if you want.

whoops

[shuttersense]

I'm on my way. Met you halfway in a safe area?

[whiteofcrime]

Kitchen? That's usually safe I think.

[shuttersense]

Usually, yes. I'll see you there.

<s>lights, camera</s> ACTION

[whiteofcrime]

[ Kaito entered the kitchen at a run, fleeing from one of the haunts in the hallways outside. A quick glance back showed they weren't following and he breathed out a sigh of relief. Ignoring any stares, he headed for the pot in the fireplace to ladle himself some stew.

Rei would find him struggling to find a good way to hold a bowl with his arm. His injured shoulder didn't allow for a great range of movement. ]

[shuttersense]

[It was kind of terrible in the halls tonight. Not awful, but pretty uncomfortable. At least it was comfortable...even if there was the woman crying at the table.

Crying metal.

She took a moment to glance over, before coming over and offering to take up the bowl of stew.]

Here. I can hold that.

[whiteofcrime]

[ Attempts to talk to the woman hadn't garnered much response. As worried as he was for her, he saw several of the others offering help and decided to keep his distance for the time being. ]

Oh... Thanks.

[ He let her take the bowl, grateful. ]

Do you want some too? We might be talking a while.

[angel_of_death]

I'd like to talk with you later.

[That little conversation about what's in the vampire bedroom has caught his attention. As it turns out, Kaito isn't the only one in their little group that has reservations on that kind of research.]

[whiteofcrime]

All right. I'll be out in the garden. Or in the kitchen if it starts raining.

[angel_of_death]

[It isn't long at all before he emerges from the tunnel into the gardens, only to double-take at the nearby potted sapling that definitely wasn't there before.

The soft light emanating from the small fonstone secured to his collar is enough to give anyone nearby a good look at Walter's startled expression. Golden bark and crimson leaves? That certainly isn't any kind of tree that he knows of.

...Could it be Kaito's doing?]

[whiteofcrime]

[ Kaito has been napping up until the point he hears someone coming. Then he sits up, disturbing his flock of crows. They huddle close and have nearly formed a cloak by the time Walter arrives. Understandably, that may make him hard to see. So he raises a hand and waves. ]

Over here.

[ He's off to the side on the grass, correctly figuring the tree would draw attention first before him. ]

[angel_of_death]

[Of course the tree would draw attention. Not only does it have a striking colouration, it's situated in a spot near a secret entrance that it was nowhere near before. However, the sound of movement immediately draws Walter's attention away, body tensing and shoulders squaring for a moment before Kaito's voice permeates the air.

Walter stares for a second time. The boy is covered in crows.]

Bloody hell. You're relaxing out here with those wraiths slinking about?

[whiteofcrime]

[ Kaito shrugs, idly stroking the back of one of the crows that crawls into his lap. He peers at the clouded sky and rubs away a few flecks of rain. Not heavy enough to justify returning indoors yet. ]

They're fine if you don't look them in the eye. I've been pretending to sleep. [ He drops his gaze to the black birds. ] Anyway, if I get too near something dangerous, these guys will let me know.

[angel_of_death]

[There's a bit of silence that stretches on for almost too long before Walter sighs.]

Thank you for keeping my friend out of trouble. [Yes, he's clearly talking to the birds.] All of you.

[whiteofcrime]

[ Walter, are you trying to question his lack of self-preservation???

The crows shuffle and murmur. That's about the extent of their acknowledgement. Kaito sticks his tongue out at the butler. ]

So, you wanted to talk?

[angel_of_death]

[Walter questions a lot of things. But now that they're together, he is less concerned about the wraiths getting the idea to approach them at all.]

It's about the information you gained from the place you called the vampire bedroom.