Private Finished To Renovate or Not?

Zora · Aug 9, 2018

When Leora suddenly took off in soundless flight around the room, Celeste couldn't help but stare at her in fascination. She had seen a lot of wondrous things on the island, but Leora was truly something beautiful to behold.

"Ah, yes.. tea, a break..." Celeste said with a grin, suddenly remembering when Lux asked about the kettle. "Yes, you can put the kettle on, if you don't mind. It's in a box in the kitchen. I think there are teabags in there too," she said trying to remember what she had packed last night.

"I'll just dump this dirty water in the bathroom," she said as she took the bucket to the bathroom and poured down the toilet, as she came down the hall. She stepped on a loose floorboard that came up somewhat slightly revealing something that was hidden there.

Curious, she bent over to see what it was. Pulling back the loose board, she saw it was an old book, it looked ancient and had a strange symbol on the cover. Picking it up, she turned it around in her hands. It looked like a spellbook of some kind. Intrigued by this, she opened the book to the middle and saw drawings, what looked like runic symbols written on a sort of parchment in a strange brownish red ink.

"Lux?" she said as she walked to the kitchen - "Look what I found?" she said as she showed him the old book.

@Wolfie

Wolfie · Aug 15, 2018

Lux bowed his head in agreement as he made his way to the shabby kitchen. Boxes were stacked off to the side of the room that he took a quick look through to find the kettle and tea bags. Gryphon had mentioned to him about the order at which to add each component to make the 'perfect' cup of tea, yet it escaped him. He thought he had the right order which he considered his best bet. After finding the kettle and the bags, Lux turned on the hob after filling the kettle with water. Rummaging around in the boxes again, he pulled out two mugs and placed the tea bags in. Adding the boiled water and then the milk, he failed to find any sugar so decided to do without.

Coming out of the kitchen with two steaming mugs, Lux noted the object in her hand. It appeared to be an interesting looking book written in some language unknown to him. Placing the cups of tea on the ground beside them, Lux moved closer to inspect her findings. "This book was hidden under the floor?" he asked, observing the inscriptions on the parchment. "Is this something you are able to read?" From what he could tell, it was very old and it was different from any other book he had ever read. There was a certain uneasiness he felt about it, as though it was best left undiscovered.

Zora · Aug 15, 2018

"Yes, it was hidden over there, under those old floorboards..." Celeste said as she gestured to a pulled up wooden plank across the hall, the one she had lifted up moments before, and where she had found the strange book.

Glancing up at Lux as he spoke, Celeste's gaze returned to the book in her hands. Flipping the page, she found that she could indeed sort of understand what was written on the pages, if she tried hard enough that was.

"I think it's a version of old Castilian Spanish mixed with ... something else... maybe Basque, Gascon, old French? I'm not sure, I don't recognise some words although they seem familiar somehow..." she admitted as her finger traced a rune drawn on the page, somewhat fascinated by what was written and drawn there.

"I wonder who left it here?" she murmured, looking up at Lux again and noticing now the look on his face, "What's wrong?" she asked slowly, wondering why he seemed a little different, more serious now.

@Wolfie

Wolfie · Aug 21, 2018

Lux had heard of those languages but he was unable to interpret them. Somehow, he wasn't convinced they were all modern languages. The symbol that Celeste was tracing appeared to be some sort of symbol related to magic. A rune? Was that what it was called? He was pretty certain that was the name given to those inscriptions from a text he was reading a while back.

"Did you come in contact with the previous owner? Maybe they left it behind by mistake," he suggested. The people who had previously owned the property either did not look after the place very well or were living elsewhere. Either way, the book belonged to someone.

"I'm not certain but I'm sure that those symbols are used to aid in magic. From what I have read in stories, the protagonist usually uses books like this but it has a dark power to it. I am not familiar with this sort of thing, though, so do not take my word for it." Maybe it would be best if they brought the book to someone who knew more about that sort of thing.

Zora · Aug 21, 2018

"The owners are long gone I believe. When I bought the house, supposedly, it had been put on the market by the owner's grandchildren, and it took ages to sell... or that's what the estate agent told me," Celeste told Lux, remembering what she had been told upon making the purchase.

Looking at the book again, Celeste turned to another page. This one had more symbols and less words on it. It was like a diagram for summoning something, and there seemed to be, what looked like a gargoyle in corner of the page. She wondered what the spell did?

"I think you might be right, it's a summoning spell, but for what I am not sure? Celeste said as she stared at the page.

Wolfie · Aug 24, 2018

He did not want to seem like he was pointing out the obvious since he was not certain himself. "Perhaps it is for summoning that creature if it is as you suspect," he suggested, pointing to the drawing of the gargoyle. He did not know of such creature so he had no idea whether it would be friend or foe. Either way, summoning anything was probably a bad idea.

"I would advise not trying to carry out the spell. You do not know what it may want or whether it is friendly." It was not his place to tell her what to do; she was a grown woman after all. Lux had only known her a short time too so she had no reason to accept his judgement.

Zora · Aug 24, 2018

Celeste looked at Lux thoughtfully, "You might be right. It does seem that that would be the most logical explanation," she murmured, drawn to the book and that page. She just felt an odd sense of something. Trying to shake the feeling off. Celeste closed the book.

"I think you are right. Maybe I should just put the book away, maybe find the owner somehow," she said hesitantly as she placed the book on the window sill. Out of reach and out of her line of sight. She was being drawn to it and that was not good. Something was up.

"So, tell me about Leora, and yourself, How are things going for you lately?" Celeste asked curiously, needing to change the subject and focusing herself on Lux and his companion instead.

Wolfie · Aug 29, 2018

"Leora and I are well, thank you." Despite the planet being his punishment - his prison - Lux rather enjoyed living there. There were so many interesting people and aspects of the world that he just loved to learn more about. He was grateful that he had been taken in by Gryphon, a complete stranger at the time. "I do whatever I can in order to earn money for paying the rent," he explained. "Leora mainly flies around the island or gets into mischief," he said with a smile as the glimmering eagle perched on his shoulder.

"And how are things fairing with you?" he asked. As Lux had come in the door, he had already asked a similar question but it was only polite to return the conversation. Plus, there was not much that he knew about Celeste besides her career. His attention kept being drawn to that strange book, uneased by what it could be. He did not show any sign of that however but he hoped that Celeste would not do anything reckless.

Zora · Aug 31, 2018

Celeste could easily imagine Leora flitting around mischievously around the island, keeping Lux on his toes, and that made her smile.

"I have actually been preparing midterm exams - I'm thinking something basic like an omelette of some sort for the younger grades and maybe scones or muffins for the older grades might work for their practise part of the exam..." she said as she picked up her tea and took a sip.

"I was thinking something more difficult, but truthfully, I just want people to enjoy the act of being able to feed themselves. I was even thinking of them doing a pizza from scratch but I am not sure it fits the time constraints as well as the other options," she told Lux.

"Do you cook, by chance?" Celeste asked as she regarded Lux curiously.

Wolfie · Sep 17, 2018

Lux smiled and gave a nod. "It sounds like you have great eagerness when it comes to your subject. That is a nice sight. I am certain your students will enjoy whatever lesson you plan." In truth, Lux had never cooked these foods before so he had no indication as to the complexity of the dishes. He admired the fact that children so young were being taught how to prepare meals, giving them independence from a young age.

"Admittedly, I am not the best at cooking. I have dabbled a little into the art but it seems as though my efforts are never quite to the standards of others." Often, he would burn or undercook whatever he was preparing, still getting used to the rules and the equipment. "I have no need to eat but I consider it a useful skill to have in case I need to feed others. I am also told that it can be quite therapeutic. Perhaps you can give me a couple of pointers," he smiled at the suggestion. Celeste undoubtedly knew what she was talking about and was probably a good cook considering she taught it to others.

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Private Finished To Renovate or Not?

Zora

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Wolfie

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Zora

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Zora

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Zora

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