QUIET MOUNDS - STEF HEART

[abardacttofollow]

You find yourself in a stone room that looks like some sort of medieval dungeon. There are (thankfully), no torture instruments, but there is a man strung up here. One large manacle is around his neck, chaining him stiffly to the door. His hands are free, but each foot is manacled to the matching bottom corner of the doorframe. There is a visible lock on each of the three manacles.

It's Stefen, and there's a knife in his chest. Despite that, he's alive, apparently alert, and doesn't look to be in pain, perhaps due to the lulling, sense-dulling music that seems to be coming from nowhere at all—in fact, if you were in pain before you entered, it's gone here. His wound is bleeding, but only a little, and he smiles his usual bright smile at you.

Behind him, but in front of the closed door he's bound to, you can see three double sets of strings running vertically. Where they meet the floor, they are fastened, and then each runs across the floor to the three doors on the opposite wall, then under them.

There is nothing else in this room.

((OOC: Here's how this will work! Since we're doing individual runs, rather than me putting up individual top levels for areas, just jump the post itself, and I'll run everything for you within your one thread. If you're wanting to do a run with someone else, just stay in the same thread together.))

Comments

[mindinthegittern]

[to himself]

...huh. So, not royal favour...?

[awkwardly giving the scepter back before anything else...]

[abardacttofollow]

Randale takes it, apparently accepting this weirdness at face value. "Beg pardon?"

[mindinthegittern]

Oh—I thought maybe the "weight of security" this time would be a sign of favour from you, Your Majesty.

[abardacttofollow]

"My favor..." Randale looks slightly perplexed. "He already has it, doesn't he? Stefen, come here."

Stefen looks a bit alarmed.

[mindinthegittern]

[mouths "sorry" at Stefen but also makes subtle get-over-here gestures]

[abardacttofollow]

Stefen carries his lute over, still playing. The Audience starts to disperse.

[mindinthegittern]

I obviously—had the wrong idea...?

[abardacttofollow]

"Well, let's solve this together," Randale says reasonably. "What do you give to get that security, Stefen?"

"Just... my music." Stefen doesn't quite look at either of them.

[mindinthegittern]

And your fingertips.

[abardacttofollow]

Stefen doesn't say anything to that.

"Stefen, let me see," Randale says softly.

[mindinthegittern]

[half-reaches for Stefen's lute, not like he's actually going to take it from him but a clear offer to hold it for a second so he can obey Randale]

[abardacttofollow]

Stefen hands it to him. There's blood on the strings.

Randale takes Stefen's hands. He flags fast, but is examining them thoughtfully. "Now, this is no good, is it..."

[mindinthegittern]

...

[stares at the lute]

Your music and your blood, huh?

[abardacttofollow]

Randale is already looking to be in pain. "Stefen," he says softly. "You can only take pain away from me for a short while. If you overdo it, aren't we both in pain after?"

[mindinthegittern]

Stef, he's right...

...excuse me, I'm just going to—

[lute > platform???]

[abardacttofollow]

Click.

Stefen and Randale are talking quietly on the dias behind you.

[mindinthegittern]

...

[stepping through into the next room]

The Gift 2

[abardacttofollow]

The next is a bedroom. It is cozy despite how richly decorated it is, with a canopied bed that has two plush pillows on it, and rich, maroon heavy comforters piled up. Two well-cushioned wood chairs are pulled around a table that has a bottle of wine in it, half empty, the dregs sitting in two cups. A bookcase has a number of gorgeous, hand-bound books, along with sheafs of music on it, writing utensils, and even a few musical instruments on display.

A window is cracked, looking out over a beautiful garden, with peacocks wandering around; you can distantly see a group of women all gathered around and a man with long white hair performing in the middle. The scent of honeysuckle comes through the window. A travelling sack is behind the door you came in through, opened a little as though someone's been living out of it.

It looks like a strange mix between Vanyel's quarters at Court and at Forst Reach.

Nobody is in here. As before, the cord runs through the room and under a locked door with some sort of weighted platform next to it.

A sign on the door reads: "What is the weight of family? What of love?"

[mindinthegittern]

[going over to the window to see if he can push it open at all. can he hear the music from here?]

[abardacttofollow]

You can get it a bit further open. It sounds like adult Vanyel singing some horrible sappy love songs, though it's far enough away you can mostly just make out the tune.

[mindinthegittern]

[hmm.

he turns back to the room for now, and starts investigating a little aimlessly, looking at the instruments more closely, then into the traveling sack. he's not shy about picking up or unpacking stuff, although he's being careful not to make a mess.]

[abardacttofollow]

The instruments are some of Vanyel's favorites to use. The sack has Stefen's casual clothes in it.

[mindinthegittern]

...that doesn't seem likely...

[putting everything back where it started and going to take a closer look at the books and music]

[abardacttofollow]

Some solo pieces, some duets. The books are a lot of historical works and similar.

[mindinthegittern]

...

[checks the bed?? shaking out the comforters, anyway, if he's going to rummage around he might as well make the bed in the process]