[Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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Straken
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Re: [Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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Ruarc was in the process of skimming over a passage about some roses that were a gift from an emperor's fourth great uncle to the cousin of the daughter of the twelfth pope of Nova Scotia, or some such nonsense. So when Jane arrived and captured his attention, he was more than happy to put the dead end book down. Silently he listened to the report from his companion before thinking through everything he had heard.

"You were gone for a thirty minutes," Ruarc said with a deadpan stare, but before too long his face softened and he chuckled lightly. "Well done, Jane."

He gave a bit more consideration to the prospect of the staff being agents. It would make sense, and also gave credit to the theory that something was hidden in the palace. Though how much they knew, or what they were capable of, remained to be seen. Rubbing the stubble on his chin, the Druid thought the matter over.

"Alright, well, let's check out the study. We'll see if anything stands out before heading out for the day. We can discuss everything when we get back to the room." Remaining vague, the Irish gave the American a wink and motioned towards the door.
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Re: [Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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Jane nodded, a little miffed that she hadn't had the wherewithal to hold her tongue until they'd left the lion's den. As they walked, she quietly added, "To be fair, I've got a sinking suspicion the little tourism gal already has the scent."
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Re: [Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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Feeling grim but doing his best to keep the appearance of an enthusiastic tourist, Ruarc led the way through a couple other elaborate hallways with Jane just behind him. Before to long the duo had made their way past the slowly thinning groups of tourists and arrived at the study. Once they passed through the door, the dull white noise of milling groups seemed to die away to the point where Ruarc and Jane may as well have been the only two around; at the very least they were the only two in the study. In the peace of the office the two were free to poke around the small room. For roughly thirty minutes they combed the office; from inspecting the desk, to thumbing through the books on the shelves, the only way they could have been more thorough would have been if they moved all the furniture as well. When nothing turned up, Ruarc checked the time and called the search off, noting that the palace would before too long. Ushering Jane along, he made his way back towards the entrance.

With the palace behind them and the sun getting close to the horizon, Ruarc led the way by taking a rather circuitous route; something Jane would easily recognize as the Irishman taking precautions against being followed. After the walk had effectively been doubled in length, the pair arrived at the base from the South. Quickly making their way inside and sealing the door, Ruarc finally let himself relax. With a heavy sigh the Irishman slumped down onto the couch and removed his shoes, and after undoing the buttons on his flannel top he got up and made his way to the kitchen.

"Ya hungry?" Ruarc asked, realizing they hadn't eaten since the lunch out on the Russian steppes. After inspecting the fridge and pantry, he pulled out some ingredients to begin preparing some dinner. "It definitely appears that the garden will be the place to look. And since we don't particularly want to stumble upon an ancient vault next to the Griswolds on vacation, we should get in there after dark. Given that a staffer is on to us, Ah would also suggest waiting until tomorrow night at the earliest. Thoughts?"
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Re: [Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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The confidence instilled by her findings in the garden overrode any dismay at leaving the study empty-handed. However flimsy Mr. Flynn's strategy may seem, it also seemed to be working. Part of her, the part that still refused to believe any magic was at work in her, didn't like that-- didn't like being reminded that her successes in life were not due entirely to personal skill.

Jane tailed Ruarc into the kitchen back at the safehouse. When he asked her thoughts, Jane replied, "Hope there's meat in your recipe. I could go for steak, but anything will do the trick frankly."
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Re: [Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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"Well, it's not a steak, but should probably do the trick," Ruarc said as he finished getting everything situated. After testing the temp of a large pan on the stove top, he plopped a sizeable pork loin in the pan as he got dinner underway. After searing the meat, he left it to continue cooking as he grabbed a towel and went over the the sink. Splashing some water on his face, the Irishman let out a refreshed sigh and dried off. It felt good after the long day.

Up until the food finished cooking, Ruarc had the floor plan of the Palace out on the counter, and was confirming the placement of specific entities in the garden with Jane. They had roughly twenty-four hours before they would try and infiltrate the building, and the more planning they could get done before hand the better. He was just starting to jot down the details of the puzzle when he returned to the stove and finished up the food prep.

A few minutes more and two plates were placed in front of the countertop seating; tenderloin medallions cooked with apples, and a salad on the side. With subdued pride, Ruarc was low key hoping to impress the American, but if nothing else he hoped it was a start to thanking her for agree to tag along and help his search.

"Alright, dinner is served. Afterwards you can have first go at the shower, and free reign of the bed; Ah'll take the couch," Ruarc said as he sat down with his own plate.
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Re: [Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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The planning went rather smoothly. The American's mind was an iron lockbox. If he had asked, she could have even provided basic descriptions of their features and stony attire.

After the first bite of dinner, she smiled. "That's a slice o' home right there. Mom loved pork." She appreciated the ensuing silence and spent the time relishing the meal. On the matter of sleeping arrangements, she made a counter-offer. "If'n s'all the same, I'd prefer the couch. Don expect trouble here, but if there is, I'd rather be ready to respond."
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Re: [Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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Smiling inwardly, Ruarc ate his dinner in peace, contented in knowing Jane appreciated it. What he was not expecting was the woman flipping his offer for the bed. Caught off guard, the Irishman took a moment to consider her suggestion. Just as he was about to start into what likely would end up as an inane back and forth about who would take the bed, a twinge of insight told him that there wouldn't be much headway to be made. He knew nothing was likely going to be breaching the wards once they were set, so the back and forth would come down to simply who was sleeping on the couch.

"Yeah, sure. If ya want, couch is yours," Ruarc affirmed as he cut into the last few morsels of his meal. After polishing off the plate, Ruarc returned to the kitchen to start cleaning up. "The offer for first shower is still there for ya though. Ah'm gonna clean up and get stuff straightened before Ah refresh, so have at it."

As the night went on, Ruarc finished cleaning the kitchen and freshening up, and once he was satisfied there were no other small tasks he relegated himself to the study upstairs; reading some historical texts he had brought along to pass time and relax. Faintly, from the opposite site of the building, he could hear the city's nightlife. It seemed an odd thing to him, having always lived well outside of big cities, but it was oddly relaxing in its own way. While he would still pick living in the country any day, he decided to still make a note that this would be a good place for a vacation in the future; when he wasn't planning to rob a castle.

Back downstairs, Jane was left to her own devices. The couch would be more than comfortable enough to sleep on despite its apparent age. Whether it was of consequence to the cowgirl or not, the living room was on the waterfront side of the building, and so the sounds of nightlife could be heard coming from somewhere along the river. The birds had gone to sleep, so the only songs were sung by passersby and by musicians earning a wage. When the two mages finally made their respective ways to sleep, the songs of Avignon were still there, and the night passed by.

Come morning, Jane would find all the wards and deadbolts still in place, with the only disturbance worth noting being an alley cat knocking over a bin next door. The room was quiet and dim, the sun just barely beginning to brighten the sky outside the drapes. Upstairs, Ruarc awoke a bit later to the sound of a rooster. Half asleep, the Irishman briefly dreamed he was back in Ireland before the bubble popped and he regained his bearings. Stretching wide, he swung himself out of bed, splashed some water on his face in the bathroom, and went downstairs to make up some coffee.
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Re: [Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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The heavy aroma of coffee would flare up the druid's nostrils as he hit the last step, and the sound of sizzling food would reach his ear. In the kitchen he'd find a robust woman hard at work, shirt untucked, sleeves rolled, and hair braided in a single skinny cord. Bacon cooked on a light glaze of milk and brown sugar, and the unmistakable fragrance of browning biscuits would finally arrive as he crossed the kitchen threshold. Jam and butter stood nearby a pair of plates, knives close at hand and eagerly awaiting their delicious duties.

She paused momentarily to glance his way. "Mornin, Mr. Flynn. Breakfast'll be pipin hot in a lil bit, n coffee's ready t'go. Help yeself."
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Re: [Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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"Tha's music t' ma ears," Ruarc said as he rubbed his chin, sleep still hanging over him and making his accent more pronounced. "Ah'm used to being the first one up, so i's nice t' have everythin' ready forra change. Guess tha' bed agreed with me."

The Irishman poured himself a mug of coffee, and sat down at the counter as he eagerly waited for the American classic breakfast. He figured it wasn't worth wondering why he had woken to a rooster, or why the breakfast was biscuits and bacon rather than a baguette and fruit. All things considered, he'd take the biscuits and bacon any day; though he'd of added some beans and black pudding to the mix as well. Taking a sip of coffee strong enough to hold a horseshoe straight up, Ruarc leaned forward on the peninsula and rested his chin in his hand.

"We'll take breakfast, run through the plan one more time before tonight, and then wait until showtime," he began, mumbling a bit due to his hand.

Once the food was ready, Ruarc dug in with gusto. Washing down some biscuit with another swig of coffee, he cleared his throat as he lifted a piece of bacon. "So, gameplan. We take today, gather any extra supplies we might potentially need, and set out nearin' midnight. The site will have been closed for some time at that point, and hopefully near the middle of guard shifts to reduce the chance of extra interference or reinforcements. Ideally we wont be noticed, get in, get the books, get out; but that's more jus' wishful thinking."

He took a bite of the bacon.

"Sho, whe go in bwetween," he paused to swallow the bite of bacon. "We go in between patrols. It seemed they focus most guards on areas with overtly valuable stuff, and patrol the other portions. Solve this garden puzzle, hope for a secret door, watch out for any traps, get the goods and skedaddle. If we are compromised, we do our best to get the books. Of course, the last thing I want is for once of us to not make it back over these texts, but if we don't get the books either security will go up, or the books will flat out be moved off site and out of our reach."

"Any concerns or alternative thoughts?"
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Re: [Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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"Well us non-movie star types gotta keep early hours, otherwise we caint compete," she replied teasingly. Breakfast was rather quiet, which was a sign of a well-made meal. She smiled silently to herself at the praise.

Once he'd run through the plan, Jane realized yet again she was entirely out of her element here. Ancient powers and mage scandals were common ground for her, but ancient texts and druidic orders were not. Fighting an eld abomination to save the world was more her forte; this cloak-and-dagger bookkeeping was perhaps as far from her modus operandi as she could get.

"Still concerned ye saddled a donkey ye thought was a steed, what with bringin me here n all, but yer plan sounds good as it gets."
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