[Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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Straken
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[Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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((An aside between Straken and Blackbird Lore))
(((Feel free to read along, it will likely tie in to future chapters)))
One Month prior to Episode 0

Tap. Tap. Taptaptap. Tap. Rhythmic drumming sounded on the oak tabletop in the small cottage at Safeholme Manor. Ruarc Flynn sat absentmindedly as his fingers beat their steady cadence. This had been his entire morning, and many others over the past few weeks. The corners of the room were littered with stacks of ancient tomes and unbound manuscripts, all of which the druid have read through and scoured for any trace of the information he was looking for. His current malaise, however, was the result of a phone call he had received earlier that morning. After making an inquiry with the main stronghold of the Druid Order, home of the Druid Archives. What he was looking for were tomes from the Druid histories; the all encompassing annals of the Druids. Since the founding of the ancient Order there had always been a scribe who's duty it was to record everything of even minor importance. The news he had gotten back were as much as he was expecting, in that a number of tomes spanning roughly from 40B.C. to 500A.D. were nowhere to be found within the Keep. It had been well known that those tomes were lost to ages after the Druidic Dark Ages, but he had to ask.

Now, sat in silence thinking over everything he had read through from his own library and the library within the Manor, trying to glean any possible leads for where to start looking for the texts. Tipping a coffee cup back, he was disappointed to find the drink had long gone cold. Doing little to hide his disdain, he sat the cup down, grumbled, and pushed his chair away from the table to get up. "Maybe I should get some other opinions, a pair of fresh eyes," he said to himself, remembering that Laoise had gone off to her day job. "Movies always make it look easy, think real hard for a bit, BOOM, epiphany..."

Perking his head up at the notion, Ruarc gave that thought some extra consideration. "Heh, epiphany."

Leaving everything as it was, Ruarc wasted no time leaving his modest home and making his way up to the main mansion. Along the way he passed by a handful of students of varying ages who had decided to stay at Safeholme rather than head home for the summer break. With a quick wave he passed by, hoping the person he was looking for was still around. Power walking down the hallways, he arrived at the room that served as the woman's classroom and office. Knocking, he opened the door and peeked inside.

"Hey Jane, are you in or busy?" Ruarc asked.
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: [Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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"Y'know, I ain't seen 'im, Mizz Vee. He 'n I ne'er really got to make acquaintances. Didja ask--" Jane halted mid sentence as there was a knock and the door opened. Ruarc would see only the hint of a feminine frown beneath a dark hood before a shadow swirled up from the floor to envelop the figure standing across from Jane Smith and spirit them away.

'Professor' Smith turned, a look of irritation disappearing when she realized who it was. "Mr. Flynn, t'what do I owe the honor?" The way she slammed words together made her rural accent sound all the more crude. It might have even sounded insulting, but Ruarc would know better. Insults were saved for friendly banter and villains. This was business.
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Straken
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Re: [Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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With his head poking through the door, the Druid felt momentarily sheepish as he had not really considered that he might have been interrupting. Catching only a momentary glace of the Texan's guest, the Irishman was unable to properly identify her; but he acknowledged that it was none of his business and brushed it aside. "Oops, hope tha' wasn't anythin' important," Ruarc said back, now opening the door all the way and making his way into the room.

"Well, to be frank, Ah was wondering if you could help me with some, uh, research Ah'm conducting," the Druid began. "Ah've hit a snag in trackin' down some historical texts, and was curious as to whether you're particular abilities could help me with tracking it down."
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Re: [Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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Jane shook her head. "Nothin I could help with. Just a social call." After hearing him out, she raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "I'm more the track-down-animals-and-bandits kind of tracker, Mr. Flynn, but if I got the tools ye need, I'll take care of it." She gestured with a gloved hand to the seat her previous guest had chosen to ignore. Jane settled into her own.

"What precisely ye tryna do, Mr. Flynn?"
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Straken
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Re: [Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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Ruarc narrowed his eyes and stared off into a corner as he thought of how to explain his goals, as well as just how much of it to explain. "Okay, so, bear with me on this one," he started, taking a deep breath. "Many centuries ago, a number of Druid historical documents vanished without a trace. For years it was considered unfortunate, but not much else. Recently though, Ah, ahem, learned that there is more to the disappearance than what was originally thought. Now Ah'm tryin' to find these long lost books, but they were taken and hidden quite intentionally. The snag, Ah've hit a dead end, figured some fresh eyes might help, and hoped maybe your abilities would help give a little extra push."
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Re: [Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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The druid received a hard stare. "Mr. Flynn, if yer lookin fer keen eyes, ye came to the right gal. But let's shoot straight: Ye didn't come into my office so ye could invite me over t'read some books in that cozy shed o' yers. What am I lookin fer, precisely, and which abilities are ye thinkin on when ye say so?"
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Straken
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Re: [Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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"Straight to it then," Ruarc said, more to himself than to Jane. "I am looking for evidence, or any information really, in the Druid histories related to Saint Patrick of the Catholic Church. I have reason to believe that he was directly responsible for the Dark Age of the Druid Order, and several other... injustices. As a result, I believe that amid the chaos of the time, Patrick took several tomes that related to important information about either himself or the rising faith. My goal is to recover these tomes, and discover the truth of what happened, as well as whatever it was that was covered up. And Ah need your help ta hopefully help me figure out what I am overlooking, by... being lucky?"

"Wow, saying it out loud makes it really sound silly," the Druid finished.
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Re: [Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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Jane sighed and rolled her eyes. "Ye mean t'tell me, ye are invitin me over fer readin n tea?" Jane wasn't sure which part was the most preposterous. It was all absurd.

She rose with another sigh. "Must be more desperate than a mutt in the desert. Alright, I dunno what ye expect from a poor girl come out the frontier, but let's see what we can find."
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Straken
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Re: [Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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"Ah mean, Ah suppose Ah can throw on some tea,, but mostly just want to run through some notes," Ruarc said plainly. Moving back towards the door, he ushered Jane to follow after him. Walking back down the halls and towards the cottage it became apparent that as disjointed as his explanations might have seemed, his posture and body language suggested the matter was important to him.

Once back at the cottage, Ruarc swung the door open and left it for Jane. Without pausing he strode past the stove, turned on the kettle, and proceeded to clear off the table before spreading the most important notes across the surface. Circling around in chronological order were Ruarc s hand written notes he had taken of every detail he could find that he felt were worth noting, as well as several rolled up maps.

"Ah appreciate the benefit of a doubt."
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Re: [Prelude] In the Pursuit of Knowledge

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The cottage was about what she had expected: cozy, mildly aromatic, and rustic. She took a moment to drink it all in, remove her gloves, and hang her hat. Chestnut hair sat in one skinny braid like it always did on days that would see physical labor. Those plans likely wouldn't come to fruition today.

All the notes were neatly laid out by the time she approached the table. "Ye know, Mr. Flynn, it's a lil suspect ye comin t'me fer aid in yer historical sleuthin. I ain't a scribe or a historian or even a gumshoe. Plenty o more qualified individuals walkin them halls.

She picked up the first sheet of paper. "Alright, so what am I lookin at, and what am I lookin fer?"
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