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user is offline ●
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Nobility
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Post by severine on Jan 11, 2015 4:02:03 GMT
The young woman was hunting. Though not in the traditional sense. Perched high upon a ladder in the royal library, Aveline was thumbing through a thick volume on Novian plant life and humming something under her breath. After a moment she nodded, tucking the volume under her arm and sliding down the ladder to land gracefully on her feet.
The library was best at this time of day- so close to dinner, the king and council, her mother included, would usually be busy with meetings and the members of court would be too concerned with dressing to come by and bother with the books. Even the guards on staff were impatient and distracted, and it was nothing if not Aveline’s duty to go unnoticed in court. It was a perfect time to escape, even for a little while.
Aveline pushed her heavy braid off of her shoulder and walked to the small table beside the shelf, placing the book on top of the growing pile of tomes on plant life and medicine. She looked back up to the towering shelf and frowned thoughtfully- there was time to grab one more book and take it back to her room before she would be missed. There was a particular one she had been eyeing- poisons and antidotes from a country so far away that the tome was written in a text she could not understand. But she could possibly study the illustrations and still understand something. With the recent assassination attempt on his Majesty, any research on foreign poisons and antidotes would be incredibly useful. Even her mother would have to approve of that line of thought, she assumed.
Aveline drew in a sharp breath for courage and adjusted her heavy skirts- climbing ladders was so difficult in courtly wear- and scaled up once again to retrieve one last tome.
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user is offline ●
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Never say anything that doesn't improve on silence.
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Crypt Resident
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Post by Roland on Jan 17, 2015 15:45:08 GMT
As the girl scales the ladder a book from a nearby shelf suddenly dislodges itself and flies towards the other side of the room where a man in a long dark coat and wearing a hat pulled down to conceal his eyes was standing. The man was almost sickly pale and the slight scruff on his chin gave the impression it had been a few days since he'd seen fit to properly shave. He catches the book with one hand and begins flipping through it.
As he does he notices Aveline and walks over to the stack of books she was reading. Poison and antidote texts mostly, this could easily be misconstrued...or maybe not. He thinks to himself as he looks back up at the noble pup who was still on the ladder.
"You know as a member of the royal guard I could really take your interest in these books the wrong way you know." He points out and the air around him seems to become heavier as he adjusts his hat and in a serious tone asks. "What is your purpose in researching these poisons?" He asks, there was a hint of accusation in his voice, though most people who had heard of the mage hound knew of his paranoid and generally belligerent tenancies.
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user is offline ●
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Never say anything that doesn't improve on silence.
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Nobility
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Post by severine on Jan 18, 2015 4:50:18 GMT
Aveline yelped and clung to the ladder when the book came shooting from the shelf. She looked down to the ground, her already large eyes wide. Sir Roland. She could recognize him anywhere with his dark clothing and scary aura. She swallowed hard at his question, a sudden anxiousness overcoming her. Of all the people to catch you doing something questionable, Sir Roland was the worst.
“Sir Roland-” she gripped the volume and scaled down the ladder, clutching the book to her chest. “Please don’t tell my mother. She doesn’t know.” more than his Majesty finding out, her mother discovering her little hobby would destroy her. She’d never see her instruments again. Aveline quickly deposited her book on the stack and looked around to make certain no one could overhear before leaning towards Roland, whispering.
“After what happened at the ball, I want to help his Majesty in any way I can. And if his Majesty’s life is threatened by some illness or poison, I want to be able to stop it.” she looked back over to the stack and heaved back up the tome written in words she couldn’t read. She held it up for Roland to see, peering around it. “This book has poisons and antidotes from hundreds of years ago and from other countries as well! If I can figure them out, I can help his Majesty.”
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user is offline ●
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Never say anything that doesn't improve on silence.
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Crypt Resident
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Post by Roland on Jan 18, 2015 19:14:34 GMT
As Aveline lets out a yelp she will feel the ladder being steadied by an invisible force, Roland had no interest in trying to cause the girl to fall and when he realized she was there he did what he could. The embittered royal guardsman picks up a couple of the books and begins to leaf through them. She's right there is just as much in these about antidotes as about poison. He looks at the girl with a grunt, she was certainly no longer a child despite, but he supposed some mischief was natural for the privileged.
As the girl tells him that she does not intend any harm he stares at her for several seconds that seemed to last for a small eternity. His bright amethyst eyes eventually break away from hers and he shrugs seeming to have decided that she was not lying to him. With aura of menace around him suddenly disappears and returns to it's usual willful belligerence.
As he sets down the book he is surprised to hear the girl ask him not to tell her mother to which he replies with a derisive snort. "You don't have to worry about me telling your mother, I see no reason to report someone who merely wishes to expand their knowledge, besides I try to talk to your mother as little as possible. I am very aware she like most in the castle doesn't like me, let Garrett deal with that kinda thing." He explains with a wave of his hand. Roland's opinion of the other in the castle was rarely disguised, after all he maintained his position due to the fact he was good at his job, both as a guard and as an administrator.
When the girl holds up a tome and mentions she needs to figure it out he tilts his hat back revealing a slightly intrigued expression. "Oh, I haven't read this one. Are you having trouble with the vocabulary? Or have you not been taught this language?" He asks her curiously.
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user is offline ●
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Nobility
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Post by severine on Feb 4, 2015 2:13:16 GMT
Aveline’s shoulders slumped with relief as Roland looked away, sighing from behind her book. He wasn’t so bad, he just looked scary. She nodded, lowering the book from her face. “Thank you.”
She moved to place the tome back on the table, tilting her head down at it. “Ah- it’s in a different language. I’ve never seen it before, but I don’t think it was brought over by those ah- those Fated people? I think it’s from here. But it’s so high up that I never noticed it before.” Aveline looked back up at Roland, smiling a little. “How many languages do you know, Sir Roland?”
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user is offline ●
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Never say anything that doesn't improve on silence.
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Crypt Resident
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Post by Roland on Feb 4, 2015 2:22:51 GMT
Roland begins to skim through the book. "I'd like to think I know most of the major ones, I've been told I have a flare for them and it helps when the guard has to deal with foreigners or when we receive guests, thankfully they usually send Garrett to deal with that. Though I prefer some of the ancient languages since often times their grammar systems make more sense than ours." He says in a distracted tone as he closes the book and looks the girl over.
She's a noble right? They get all kinds of education. He thinks to himself and finds himself asking.
"Hey Aveline, what kind of education and tutoring do you get? Do you have any experience with logistical or city management?" He asks her curiously as he hands the book over to her.
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