Re: MORITURI TE SALUTANT!! [S!4]
05-08-2012, 07:16 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Ixcalibur.
Nameless was frustrated. She was trying to make the best out of an unusual situation, but this mansion was not making it easy for her. Where most people might have been focused upon the negative aspects of being thrown into a battle to the death, Nameless has chosen to see it as an opportunity. In this run down old mansion, amongst the trash and the stuff that had gone bad, so to speak, during its abandonment there were some valuable items. In her hands at the moment she held an intricately carved cigar box. It was a little dusty, which was to be expected, but it was in fine shape and was likely an antique. Her instincts and her collar told her that this would sell for a fair few dollars.
Unfortunately she could not sell what was not legally hers. As much as she’d like to pretend that the fact that this mansion was in bad shape meant that everything inside was up for grabs, she knew that all this stuff had an owner somewhere. The fact that the owner was probably some real estate company that didn’t have the faintest idea of what was inside the mansion or the faintest inclination to have this place restored and sold didn’t really matter. The collar said it was owned and that was the end of the discussion. Nameless hoped that by striking a bargain with Jamie to split this mysterious treasure, she’d be able to circumvent standard ownership rules, but she couldn’t be completely certain. If it turned out that that didn’t work then she would be more or less out of options on how to make money in this place.
The other option would be to try selling aspects of herself… she didn’t have any problems with it, but Jamie didn’t look the type to buy and she reckoned that there was no quicker way to sour their relationship than to try to start down that path. Jamie could be useful; Nameless didn’t want to alienate her so soon.
“An urn?” Jamie asked thoughtfully. Nameless turned to see Jamie pulling a dusty old sheet from what turned out to be a well-worn maroon armchair. In their hunt for the treasure they’d ended up in what, they presumed from the ornate ashtrays and the slightly stained wallpaper, was once a smoking room. It was the closest room to where they had met that Jamie had not already investigated, so a logical place to start their search. Nameless responded to Jamie’s question with a semi-shrug that said ‘yeah but what is your point exactly’.
“You said that other people were here and you listed an urn as one of them.” Jamie said. “In what sense exactly is an urn a person?” Nameless looked thoughtful as she fished an expensive, yet worthless, cigar from the box. During the introduction the urn was something that she had taken special notice of, but not for this reason. It looked valuable; certainly more valuable than this cigar case and probably more so than whatever unspecified treasure there was hidden in this mansion. She’d wondered who exactly owned it, or since it was being treated like a person whether it could be said to own itself? Eventually she had concluded that the person to talk to about acquiring the urn for herself would be the Haruspex; in a way it could be said that person or not she owned all of them now.
Nameless scribbled down a note ‘was told’ and was about to pass it over to Jamie when she added ‘got a lite?’ as an afterthought.
“Smoking is a dirty habit.” Jamie replied critically as she handed the notebook back. Nameless shot her a glance and started rifling through the cabinet looking for a box of matches. “Who told you this anyway?” She received no response for a minute or so until begrudgingly she fished the cigarette lighter from her jacket pocket (such an item was a necessity for a teen sleuth in the same way that she didn’t leave home without her notebook and her magnifying glass) and passed it to the nameless woman.
After a cursory examination of the unfamiliar object Nameless figured out the lighter, lit up the cigar and took a drag of the smoke. Jamie watched her with a massive frown and her arms crossed; it would be difficult to imagine her looking more disapproving of anything. She could not have looked more disgusted if Nameless had been drowning a litter of innocent puppies and cackling as she did it. After a moment Nameless started coughing heavily though she didn’t stub the cigar out. After she managed to catch her breath she wrote another note ‘how much for the liter?’
Jamie scowled and snatched it back. She decided to change the subject. “Could you be any more specific about these ‘people’?”
Nameless took another drag on the cigar and wrote for a minute or so. For a moment Jamie stood and listened to the creaking of the old mansion; whether it was the sounds of distant movement or simply the background noise of an old mansion, it was difficult to tell. Impatiently she started reading Nameless’ note over her shoulder. ‘1 guy swetter pone tail and glases looked like a profesor 2 guy red hare black glases no coler cordernashun 3 guy red eyes hevy cote maybe homeless? woman blond mesy hare scrufy snake 1 green snake snake 2 black snake’
Nameless doubted she’d be able to get too much of a handle upon her competitors from appearance alone. Though with that said Nameless was pretty sure that the dark glasses guy was someone who in normal circumstances she would not be able to sell to. He looked like a narcissist, someone who believed he was perfect as he was. Of course the fact of their situation meant she had something extra to offer if it came to it. The guy with red eyes would probably be the easiest to sell to. He looked like the person who would have the least going on in their lives; the person would most appreciate a new aspect for themselves. The girl and the ponytail guy looked too normal to be participating in a battle to the death. It was too early to tell whether they had some hidden capability or whether they were as clueless and out of place as she was. And as for the snakes, maybe they would be classed as the Haruspex’s pets?
Jamie had torn the page from the notebook and was taking a good look at it. Nameless was in the process of writing another note ‘i rely dont think tresure is in here’ when she heard the sound of people moving in the hall outside.
“I dunno about that Apollo,” a voice was dimly audible through the thin walls, “sure he can shoot fireballs and whatever but I just don’t believe in monsters.”
Jamie looked up from the note, and rather redundantly pressed her finger against her lips. Nameless rolled her eyes as Jamie grabbed her bag and hauled it to the other side of the room; where she threw open a pair of French doors that led into the mansion’s courtyard. “Come on.” She hissed as the sound of footsteps in the hall got closer. Nameless didn’t need to be told twice. She stubbed out her cigar, and followed the teen sleuth into the courtyard.
‘?’
“I’m not exactly popular with some of the criminals around here.” Jamie explained as she closed the doors behind them. “I don’t know who this Apollo is, but that’s The Stick. He’s one of Bo Blackwell’s lunkheads.” She paused for a moment and then grinned. “Looks like we got some competition in this treasure hunt.”
Nameless was frustrated. She was trying to make the best out of an unusual situation, but this mansion was not making it easy for her. Where most people might have been focused upon the negative aspects of being thrown into a battle to the death, Nameless has chosen to see it as an opportunity. In this run down old mansion, amongst the trash and the stuff that had gone bad, so to speak, during its abandonment there were some valuable items. In her hands at the moment she held an intricately carved cigar box. It was a little dusty, which was to be expected, but it was in fine shape and was likely an antique. Her instincts and her collar told her that this would sell for a fair few dollars.
Unfortunately she could not sell what was not legally hers. As much as she’d like to pretend that the fact that this mansion was in bad shape meant that everything inside was up for grabs, she knew that all this stuff had an owner somewhere. The fact that the owner was probably some real estate company that didn’t have the faintest idea of what was inside the mansion or the faintest inclination to have this place restored and sold didn’t really matter. The collar said it was owned and that was the end of the discussion. Nameless hoped that by striking a bargain with Jamie to split this mysterious treasure, she’d be able to circumvent standard ownership rules, but she couldn’t be completely certain. If it turned out that that didn’t work then she would be more or less out of options on how to make money in this place.
The other option would be to try selling aspects of herself… she didn’t have any problems with it, but Jamie didn’t look the type to buy and she reckoned that there was no quicker way to sour their relationship than to try to start down that path. Jamie could be useful; Nameless didn’t want to alienate her so soon.
“An urn?” Jamie asked thoughtfully. Nameless turned to see Jamie pulling a dusty old sheet from what turned out to be a well-worn maroon armchair. In their hunt for the treasure they’d ended up in what, they presumed from the ornate ashtrays and the slightly stained wallpaper, was once a smoking room. It was the closest room to where they had met that Jamie had not already investigated, so a logical place to start their search. Nameless responded to Jamie’s question with a semi-shrug that said ‘yeah but what is your point exactly’.
“You said that other people were here and you listed an urn as one of them.” Jamie said. “In what sense exactly is an urn a person?” Nameless looked thoughtful as she fished an expensive, yet worthless, cigar from the box. During the introduction the urn was something that she had taken special notice of, but not for this reason. It looked valuable; certainly more valuable than this cigar case and probably more so than whatever unspecified treasure there was hidden in this mansion. She’d wondered who exactly owned it, or since it was being treated like a person whether it could be said to own itself? Eventually she had concluded that the person to talk to about acquiring the urn for herself would be the Haruspex; in a way it could be said that person or not she owned all of them now.
Nameless scribbled down a note ‘was told’ and was about to pass it over to Jamie when she added ‘got a lite?’ as an afterthought.
“Smoking is a dirty habit.” Jamie replied critically as she handed the notebook back. Nameless shot her a glance and started rifling through the cabinet looking for a box of matches. “Who told you this anyway?” She received no response for a minute or so until begrudgingly she fished the cigarette lighter from her jacket pocket (such an item was a necessity for a teen sleuth in the same way that she didn’t leave home without her notebook and her magnifying glass) and passed it to the nameless woman.
After a cursory examination of the unfamiliar object Nameless figured out the lighter, lit up the cigar and took a drag of the smoke. Jamie watched her with a massive frown and her arms crossed; it would be difficult to imagine her looking more disapproving of anything. She could not have looked more disgusted if Nameless had been drowning a litter of innocent puppies and cackling as she did it. After a moment Nameless started coughing heavily though she didn’t stub the cigar out. After she managed to catch her breath she wrote another note ‘how much for the liter?’
Jamie scowled and snatched it back. She decided to change the subject. “Could you be any more specific about these ‘people’?”
Nameless took another drag on the cigar and wrote for a minute or so. For a moment Jamie stood and listened to the creaking of the old mansion; whether it was the sounds of distant movement or simply the background noise of an old mansion, it was difficult to tell. Impatiently she started reading Nameless’ note over her shoulder. ‘1 guy swetter pone tail and glases looked like a profesor 2 guy red hare black glases no coler cordernashun 3 guy red eyes hevy cote maybe homeless? woman blond mesy hare scrufy snake 1 green snake snake 2 black snake’
Nameless doubted she’d be able to get too much of a handle upon her competitors from appearance alone. Though with that said Nameless was pretty sure that the dark glasses guy was someone who in normal circumstances she would not be able to sell to. He looked like a narcissist, someone who believed he was perfect as he was. Of course the fact of their situation meant she had something extra to offer if it came to it. The guy with red eyes would probably be the easiest to sell to. He looked like the person who would have the least going on in their lives; the person would most appreciate a new aspect for themselves. The girl and the ponytail guy looked too normal to be participating in a battle to the death. It was too early to tell whether they had some hidden capability or whether they were as clueless and out of place as she was. And as for the snakes, maybe they would be classed as the Haruspex’s pets?
Jamie had torn the page from the notebook and was taking a good look at it. Nameless was in the process of writing another note ‘i rely dont think tresure is in here’ when she heard the sound of people moving in the hall outside.
“I dunno about that Apollo,” a voice was dimly audible through the thin walls, “sure he can shoot fireballs and whatever but I just don’t believe in monsters.”
Jamie looked up from the note, and rather redundantly pressed her finger against her lips. Nameless rolled her eyes as Jamie grabbed her bag and hauled it to the other side of the room; where she threw open a pair of French doors that led into the mansion’s courtyard. “Come on.” She hissed as the sound of footsteps in the hall got closer. Nameless didn’t need to be told twice. She stubbed out her cigar, and followed the teen sleuth into the courtyard.
‘?’
“I’m not exactly popular with some of the criminals around here.” Jamie explained as she closed the doors behind them. “I don’t know who this Apollo is, but that’s The Stick. He’s one of Bo Blackwell’s lunkheads.” She paused for a moment and then grinned. “Looks like we got some competition in this treasure hunt.”
Heaven Help Us | Make Room!!!! | I'm Not Okay (I Promise)
Hang 'Em High | The Only Hope For Me Is You | Zero Percent | Early Sunsets Over Monroeville | DESTROYA | Demolition Lovers | To The End
Surrender The Night | Disenchanted | The Ghost Of You | Party Poison | Vampires Will Never Hurt You | The Jetset Life Is Gonna Kill You
Hang 'Em High | The Only Hope For Me Is You | Zero Percent | Early Sunsets Over Monroeville | DESTROYA | Demolition Lovers | To The End
Surrender The Night | Disenchanted | The Ghost Of You | Party Poison | Vampires Will Never Hurt You | The Jetset Life Is Gonna Kill You