| Details for Door Seven: A Ghost, A Sword, A Throne |
| Summary: | At last, the first Hogsmeade weekend after break…and that means a chance to more fully explore the castle found several weeks previous. |
| Date: | 1939-01-17 |
| Location: | Hogsmeade House, The Ruin |
| Related: | The Strange Defense Plot. |
| Characters |
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The weekend had finally arrived. It's later in the afternoon, but the sun had already set. For Andromena, that meant she was both excited and apprehensive. More of the latter, to be truthful, but she buried it so deeply that undoubtedly she would need a wizarding therapist later on in life. Unless, of course, she could just suppress memories altogether. Ignorance is, after all, bliss. She walked with a quick stride, boots crunching upon the frozen ground, causing her hair to bounce upon her shoulders as she did so. Over her shoulder is slung a leather pack. It's older, but the quality it good. Most would assume books filled it, and typically they would be right - but not today.
In picture perfect Hogsmead, back behind the main road and rather hidden at the edges of the village, squatted one particular cottage among the many. One that hadn't been occupied in years, which the neighbors all tutted about it being caught in some family inheritance dispute. Occasionally there would be lights (suggesting by some that it was haunted), but mostly it was dark. The back door, facing a narrow little alleyway between some other cottages, looked like it had been stuck shut for centuries.
It was by it that a dark cloaked figure waited. Tall, straight backed, not too good at the whole looking inconspicuous rather than (in his own not too humble opinion) dashing. He had all the hallmarks of someone waiting impatiently.
So what is there to do today? Edgar is waiting in the pre-arranged meeting place, clad in practical clothes as to not completely ruin one of his uniform changes and at the same time to give him more mobility for, whatever the hell they are meant to do. And, of course, he is armed with his wand, but that's not half as important as meeting the others… right now.
The young woman, shrouded by a cloak, barely flicks her gaze around her with an additional measure of caution, quickly scanning the other cottages, the road beyond to insure that she hadn't been followed, before ducking into the alleyway. Much like Edgar, she wasn't dressed in uniform, but what clothes she does wear are warm and practical for the winter weather, adding an additional layer with a thick lining in her cloak. There was enough concern expressed over Andromena that Elizabeth had felt compelled to meet with the others, if but reluctantly so. And all this sneaking around didn't make her feel too comfortable either. When she sees Edgar, she allows a small breath of a sigh and approaches, with yet another glance thrown around them.
Andromena arrives before too long, so that neither of the two Slytherin boys were waiting very long. Behind her came Elizabeth, more or less. Merlin knew who else would appear! Switching the pack from one shoulder to another, Andromena looks toward Alphard, gauging his mood by the expression he was wearing. "Did you look inside?" Andromena asks of Alphard. She had done some cleaning; making use of her freshly learned spell from Domestics! A wave is given to Edgar and Elizabeth.
Like so many of those visiting Hogsmeade on this weekend Eibhlin is out of uniform. A wool skirt and plain blouse over which a practical jacket has been pulled, knee-highs and a pair of sensible winter boots round out the round out the rather simple outfit. A glance back over her shoulder assures no one's paying her too much attention before she slips around the corner. Its when she nears the cottage that she pauses seeing others along with Andromena and Alphard though she does offer her own greeting as she reaches the small group.
Pulling back his wizarding robes' hood, Alphard looked at the other teenagers who had so suspiciously gathered around the Hogsmead back alley. Especially Elizabeth. He sighed, then gave Andromena a look. "If something eats her, she was never here." With a look towards Edgar for moral support, Alphard turned to enter the cottage.
The door opened with a loud creak! And inside.. inside was a cozy (and recently domesticated) living room. No longer dust and cobwebs everywhere! There was a fireplace, some furniture. A bookshelf with a collection of.. three books. A perfect place for a group of teenagers to throw a Hogsmeade bash of the sort they wouldn't have been able to get away with in any of the drinking holes of the little village.
Variel isn't terribly far behind Liz. He's wearing comfortable, warm clothing well suited to the Scottish winter- which Maddie sense, he lived here. A dark gray cloak wreathes his form, keeping him a touch less conspicuous as he wanders after Elizabeth. He slows as he approaches the others, tossing back his hood and immediately identifying himself as his coppery hair catches light. "Looks like someone might be paying extra attention at club." The comment on getting eaten tightens his expression a touch.
A very curt nod at that, and Edgar follows after Alphard, helping to push the door open and hold it that way for the rest of the group. Moral support is something the brooding, extremely-quiet-in-these-situations Crow likes to provide. Makes him useful, anyway. A brief, friendly smile is flashed towards Andromena before he notes, "Nicely done, Mena."
Beneath the hood of her cloak, Elizabeth gently frowns at Andromena's first chosen words, hesitating only briefly before she lifts a small hand, half enveloped by the sleeve of her sweater as she gently curls her fingers in a wave in return. Her attention is quickly diverted however by the approach of Eibhlin, then by the shrouded Alphard as he whips back his own hood. She blinks once and frowns at him. "If something tries to eat me, I have a wand." she murmurs quietly. About as much of a retort as she can muster before the back door loudly creaks, making her cringe inside and make yet another quick glance around them, fearful that one of the neighbors had heard. Elizabeth waits a pause or so for the others to step into the club before she herself enters, her powder blue eyes carefully observing the inside of the cottage. It wasn't lived in, but clean, and she couldn't help the small smile the faintly tugs at her lips.
Andromena, beneath the pining gaze of her boyfriend, lowers her eyes. She might have looked toward Evie for support, but…no. In fact, Andromena said very little before pushing her way indoors and striding straight for the pitiful little bookshelf. "Alright everyone," she calls out as she reaches for the proper book. Eibhlin would already know - along with Alphard, of course, what to do. "Come over here and touch the book. It's a portkey to where we want to go." No sense in standing around in the cottage and talking about the castle when they could finally go back to it.
Alphard moved over to Andromena as if it had been him calling the shot, rather than letting the Ravenclaw take complete initiative and control. Positioning himself, he reached out and touched the book. For helpful clarification he added: "It only activates once you open it up."
The book Andromena was holding was titled: 'In Defense of Herbert Lestrange.' The other two books in the bookshelf were: 'Dragons' and 'Things A Wizard Can Do While Bored'
Edgar walks over to the book after instructions are given and presses his hand lightly upon it, in such a way as to give space for others to do so as well. As a precaution, he draws his wand with his off-hand, because one never knows what's on the other side of a portkey.
Blue eyes flit from one to the next, taking note of who's all there as she enters the cottage along with them. "Just be careful," Eibhlin comments to Elizabeth at the girl's mention of her wand. "The pixies are vicious," said with a glance and a grin towards Andromena and Alphard as she comes to stand beside the former and reach a hand out to the book.
Variel takes a moment to note his companions- Rowle, the Crow, Black, Shine and Dweedle. None he had particular concern over- promising talents all. He does as directed, placing his off-hand on the book, his wand ready in his other. Things he's already learned- there's real enough danger to have Black commenting (though perhaps not overmuch) and pixies. Great.
Elizabeth blinks her pale eyes with a little bit of surprise, but pausing only briefly before she takes a few steps, getting in closer so that she reaches out a hand to lightly to touch a small hand on part of the book indicated. It's after she does this that she blinks at Eibhlin's comment, caught off guard. "Pixies?" she repeats. Not good. Still, the amount of surprise hardens faintly. She's not afraid.
Once all the gathered teens have placed their hands upon, Andromena opens it. At about the same time she does so, she gives this helpful warning, "Ready." There's no talk of pixies, or any of the other potential critters they may encounter! Between the three former 'adventurers' they had taken plenty of precaution. Right?
WOOOOSH
The world spins around the six students as they're sucked through a vortex of time and space. Anyone who doesn't get butterflies in their stomach during a trip like that is made of steel. They're spit out somewhere else, with enough force to send anyone not prepared for the landing into a slide across a hard stone floor of a circular chamber. It takes up the entire top of a precariously tall tower. Each heavenly direction holds a grimy window. Someone has cleaned off small round peek holes in the dirt. There's not much to see outside. Sleet drives sideways, and everybody can hear the howl of the wind. Outside there's a storm. Inside it's drafty and icy cold. In one corner of the room a circular stairway leads the way down.
Alphard was prepared this time, and didn't fall on his ass, or roll halfway across the room. And so he got to look quite impressive, graceful, as if this was how he always came out of a port key.
Thankfully Edgar has crazy, cat-like reflexes, so when he lands, it isn't on his butt or sliding across the floor to hit the wall. It's a stumbling stop to brake the force and then standing up. "Where are we again?" He asks of the Black, since his fellow Slytherin might be able to enlighten them on their whereabouts.
Eibhlin just shrugs before Andromena opens the book. They have taken precautions this time, but there's only so much once an prepare for on an adventure such as this, especially when its your first time. How well those preparations will come in hand is yet to be seen, but they're certainly further ahead this time than they were the last. She's ready for the landing this time, but while she lands on her feet she does stumble a step or two.
Pulled through the vortex of time and space, colors blurred around them for what felt as if to be either an eternity or the blink of an eye. And spit out on the other side, Elizabeth topples onto her backside, luckily. She winces from the impact, using a hand to rub on one side before she struggles to her feet, pushing back her cloak off away from her shoulders in the process. Edgar asks what was on her mind. Where they are. But it looked like a deserted tower of some kind, deserted for a while it appears. Elizabeth quietly frowns at this as she uses a small hand to gently push up the rim of her glasses along her small nose.
"How the hell should I know?" Alphard asked with a shrug. "Somewhere.. cold, I guess?" It wasn't that Alphard didn't have a certain cunning intelligence, but geography just wasn't one of his subjects. At all.
Variel is a frequent Apparator, but this is different. His stomach might be set against jitters, but the force inherent in arrival slings him backwards several awkward steps before he manages to neutralize the momentum. He turns to peer out that nearest window, returning when the view is lackluster. "With an English book as the portkey, referencing a French mage? Probably still in Europe. Castle… means U.K., France, Germany… I'd bet France or Germany."
Andromena was prepared as well. Falling flat on her face just once was enough to cause a young woman such as herself to vow never to do so again. Though her stomach felt flipped, she managed to stand beside Alphard with an effortless agility as if the pair of them had planned such an outcome. Still, the Ravenclaw gives herself a moment before walking forward, so that her steps aren't wobbly. It would be just awful to have made the 'landing' so to speak only to fall down the damned stairs and end her journey before it ever really began.
"If it wasn't so miserable outside, I thought to gauge our location by the stars." That is, she was going to use Anthony to do so. "Anyway, let's get down the stairs. There's a landing down there with a locked door. Just. Just ignore that door." There were a few others they hadn't explored last time, but to be honest…Andromena wanted to go to the riddle room. "We could check out some we ignored last time, since I do think we need something of a camp, but…" She looked to Alphard, clearly expecting him to be the decider. (This was not a democracy!)
"We did see that it was an island last time," Alphard added. "So an island, somewhere cold." Though when it came to him being the decider? He puffed up his chest, cleared his voice, got a bit shifty eyed, then went: "Sure." As if that was much actual help. Rather than none at all. "Whichever."
"I don't think I would want to be in a German castle," Edgar remarks out of hand, then nods once to Alphard. Black has been nominated to lead, after all, so lead he must! Carrow will simply be on his guard, or dutifully play scout or something.
"What he means," Eibhlin interjects, "Is that we don't quite have enough clues to say for certain." She sends a nod towards Variel, "That seems a reasonable guess though," she agrees. Her attention turns back towards Alphard as the decision is being made on where to start but when his reply is lacking she turns to Andromena. "I say the riddle room." She knows they're both more than ready to get back there, so why not say it.
Variel's speculations earns a small, thoughtful frown from Elizabeth as she rolls over the thought in her mind. "Perhaps, though I think doing a little exploring around here might give us a better idea for where we might be." she murmurs, though briefly after she looks to the rest of the group. "But that isn't the mystery we've come here to solve, is it?" Elizabeth glances to Andromena, watching her before her gaze turns to Eibhlin, and a slight smirk appears. "I agree. The Riddle Room." Straight to the heart of the matter. What's better than a riddle?
Variel says, "Island leans me more UK than France…" He nods to Eibhlin, though. "I'm thinking making someplace tenable is a bloody good idea. Rowle and I, at least, have a few spells to make that quick. Then, this Riddle Room. That's how I see it. Carrow? Got any opinion?""
A riddling they shall go, then! Andromena nods towards the group, once again taking point. Because that was just the smartest idea in the world. The truth was Andromena had an issue with appearing at all incapable, let alone fearful - plus, she had already walked these steps before and so was not afraid so monster or axe-muderering rapist was lurking at the bottom, ready to do something horrible to her precious self.
"We'll go see the Riddle Room. Evie and I worked pretty hard on decoding the doors and I think I know what we are supposed to do." Andromena says this as she's walking down the stairs.
"Warding rune or something like it around here," Edgar replies. "We can make this the main room as long as someone casts a fire in the middle we can use as a reference. But yes, let's go to this Riddle Room you keep telling us about. I am curious about it."
"I don't know that here is the right place to setup," Eibhlin comments as she follows Andromena towards the stairs. "Its not exactly close to anything.." Which they're sure to find out soon enough.
"I was thinking one of the other rooms, if they're suitable." Andromena's voice echoes upwards.
Alphard shrugged, seeming content enough to head to the riddle room first. He had pulled out his wand, though, and was keeping it at the ready. "Ugh, listen for any odd noises," though the castle was full of the howling of the wind already. "Or movements. We got ambushed by pixies last time. I mean, they're nothing dangerous, but still a hassle."
Down, then. The narrow stairway circles around itself until it reaches the first landing. There is a sturdy wooden door with an iron key in the lock. Beyond it there are more doors, more landings. Five in total, and each of them has a locked door and no key.
The bottom opens up into a trash filled chamber, an octagon with the stairway in the middle of the room. Each side of the octagon has a bronze door with no handle or key, but instead a runic inscription. Infront of each door stands an empty pedestal.
There is a lot of trash. Heaps of it. Clothes, ripped paintings, cracked status, small this and thats of wizard life. Old remains of foodstuffs. Among them are: A star, a cracked jar that looks like it was meant to carry water, a sundial, a doll with its mouth sewed shut, a dirty mirror, an hourglass, a grinning skull and lastly a rusty old sword.
Variel waits for the others to move, keeping the vanguard without unnecessary chatter once the destination is selected. He is as alert as he can be, though a bit caught in his own thoughts.
Elizabeth is quick to scamper after Andromena as the other girl begins descending down the stairs. An excited smile alights her expression as she swiftly follows, eager. "What can you tell us about the doors? What have you found out so far? Is it a code or an ancient language? Has there been any books that you've had to use as a reference so far?" A flood of questions spill from the Ravenclaw. "What do you think they're supposed to do?"
The stairway circles, and upon reaching the first landing Elizabeth blinks at their surroundings again, at the various bit of trash, the doors… It's all rather surprising. "Has any of these items been looked through yet?"
"The riddles were written in Ancient Runes," and here is the style of runes used. "Eibhlin and I translated them using several different books as well as what we each already happened to learn through class." She then supplies Elizabeth with the list of books, talking as they make their way down, down, down. Once they reach the very bottom, Andromena shoulders her pack and opens it to reveal…a note book, as well as multiple vials.
"I have all of the translated riddles written down here." Flipping it open, she'll lay it upon a pedestal for the others to all read. "Now, if I recall correctly…" Andromena walked towards the accumulated pile of trash, kicking through it until she sees several of the items she recalled from their first visit here. "Now, if I'm right, some of the stuff here should…" She picks up the creepy little doll - no reason to touch the skull! "Somehow go to our riddles. For instance: Name me and so shall you break me. Well, the answer is silence."
"Check out the skull," Alphard told Edgar with an elbow nudge. "It's real! Look at the back of it, it's got this hole like someone bashed it in from behind. Sort of brilliant, no?"
The riddles are as follows in Andromena's notebook…
Door One: To those within the dungeon I am joy. To those fully beneath my gaze, I can be Hell. Door Two: Name me and so shall you break me. Door Three: I have two heads but one body. The more I stand still, the faster I run. Door Four: Try to defeat me but try in vain. When I win I end your pain. Door Five: At night I come without being fetched, at day I am gone without being stolen. Door Six: Here, in this place, you swallow me. Yet, were I more, I could swallow you. Door Seven: Who cares for quills when you have me? Door Eight: I have seen the mountains rise. I have seen the fall of Rome. You shall all die, but I will march on.
"Well, let's take a look," And Edgar goes to look at the skull, turning it around to see the aforementioned hole. He stares at it, inclines it to the right, to the left. "Very brilliant, actually. Any idea what this might've been?" Who knows, maybe an ice pick.
Edgar also points at Four, "That's likely death."
Eibhlin leaves Andromena to explain the doors and translation of them to Elizabeth. She cuts a look at Alphard at the mention of the skull, he would be intrigued by that - leave it to boys.
Elizabeth murmurs lightly, "Door five is obviously the star…" she contemplates.
Alphard was far more intrigued by the skull than the riddles. He'd heard them all before, anyway. With a sudden gleam in his eye he leaned down to pick up the rusty old sword, brandishing it towards Edgar. "Hey, see if this fits? Or.. I guess it wouldn't have been a hole if the sword had done it. Could have used it to chop the guy's head off, though!" Which was just as brilliant, by the enthusiasm in Alphard's voice.
Taking the sword, Edgar reverses the grip on it and tries to shove the pommel into the skull-slot. Maybe that's the solution. And he is careful not to cut himself as god knows what kind of ailments are left behind on that rusty blade.
The pommel is in fact almost a perfect match for the hole in the back of the skull.
Busy with the riddles it seems, a small smirk tugs at her lips. "So door two is silence, the doll with the mouth sewn shut. Door three is the mirror. Door four is death, so the cracked skull. Door five is the star." Elizabeth murmurs.
Andromena, seeing that Elizabeth seems to be thinking the same thing as she, strides over to the pedestal before Door Two. Looking to her female companions…because Alphard and Edgar were busy being death detectives, and very purposely plopped the doll upon it. "Guys," is her voice a whine? It most certainly is. "Don't go breaking anything that might be for these riddles." Because that was what she should be concerned about, and not either of them hurting themselves!
"Six, I'd say water- the drinking jar, maybe. Seven… not sure. Eight, I'd wager is time… though whether that's the sundial or the hourglass is beyond me," says Variel.
"The sundial is for the star," Edgar replies.
Andromena says, confidently. "The sundial is Door One." Uh oh.
Elizabeth nods. "Door one, Sundial. Door two is silence, the doll with the mouth sewn shut. Door three is the mirror. Door four is death, so the cracked skull. Door five is the star. Six is water, the cracked jar. Seven is the sword. 'The quill is mightier than the sword'?"
"Silence. So rare. So rare. SSsssSSsssSSsssoooo preciousSSssSS." The voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once. It was hard to tell if it was man or woman, inhumanly distorted. "Why do they have to wail all the time? No more. No more." A rumbling of some sort of mechanism sounded from Door Two, and then the bronze door lifted up. Beyond was the beginnings of a hallway, though complete darkness ate it up within a few strides.
"Oh. OH! No, that's brilliant, Rowle! I see exactly what you mean, yes! That's right, I'd back that," comes Variel's support. "So… one, sun, sundial. Two, silence, doll. Three… mirror, sure. Four, death, skull. Five, star, same. Six, water, jar. Seven… OH! Oh, that's sharp, that's VERY sharp. Seven's the sword. Leaving eight to be the hourglass. That sound about right?"
"What the-?!" Alphard startled at the voice, which made it a good thing that Edgar had taken the sword. Or someone might have gotten stabbed by it.
Andromena jolts as the disembodied voice begins to echo through the room, so that even Variel's excitement doesn't quite reach her, though she was thinking much along the same lines. "Okay, let's all stop for a moment," she called out, only when the unseen speaker had faded back into - ironically, silence. Andromena peers down newly opened hallway, thoughtful. "Everyone, grab an object - Edgar, give Alphard one of yours. And then we can open the rest of the doors one at a time. Then we'll decide what else to do."
Elizabeth snaps her raven upwards at the sound of the sudden voice hissing, her hand already drawn out her wand as she clutches it at her side. This wasn't good. Not at all… She blinks again as she looks to Andromena, frowning lightly at the suggestion. "But… we only have six people, not eight." she points out with a quieter voice, pausing before she reaches for the doll. Somehow, Elizabeth feels drawn to it.
"Well, someone," herself as one. Of course. "Can go twice." Andromena answers simply.
Variel hears the voice as he finishes his theory, jerking and snapping his wand towards the opening door. When nothing proves to be incoming, he relaxes and listens to the other, Andromena in particular as she dictates the next step. That said, he moves to pick up the jar and stand near the sixth door.
Edgar gives Alphard the skull. Seems simple enough! Besides, he's carrying a sword. Swords are cooler than skulls, everyone knows that.
Eibhlin jumps at the sound of that voice, turning first to the boys. It must have been one of them messing around. Right? But then the door is opening and… They did it. Well they figured one out at least. Its yet to be seen if the rest of them are right. She gives a slight nod at Andromena's suggestion, "We're not trying to get them all at once. We can take turns."
Andromena says, "We can't put them up all at once if every door is going to talk when it unlocks."
Alphard gave Edgar and the sword the sort of look that said he'd expected to get the cooler item. Still, at least a skull was better than holding some cracked jar. With a shrug he walked towards the pedestal marked for Death, and promptly put his down onto the pedestal. Wait for anyone? Nonsense.
Again the same voice came to the kids. "It's peculiar isn't it? Most of the time people do everything to avoid death.. yet in the right circumstances.. they will beg for it."
The fourth door lifted up. It too had a dark corridor behind it.
Huh. Well, as long as they're going for it… Variel waits for the voice to stop and the door to open before setting down the cracked jar on the sixth pedestal.
Elizabeth watches quietly as Alphard takes the skull and places it on death's pedestal. The following voice… "It's commenting on the solution to each of the doors." she murmurs. Not too difficult to puzzle out. And the fourth door is lifted. Then comes Variel. She bites lightly at the inside of her bottom lip as she watches, waits.
"Thief! DEFILER! Suffer the consequences of your foolishness!" That dislocated voice screeches.
A curtain of boiling water pours down from the ceiling, dumping itself onto the immediate area around the pedestal that Variel has just put the empty jar into. Thanks to his sharp reactions, though, he has a split second act before he's horribly burned on the spot.
Setting the sword in the seventh house, Edgar whistles some old sailor ditty along the way.
It took everything in her to keep from rushing to Variel's side as he instinctively jumps out of harm's way, from the sudden curtain of boiling hot water. Elizabeth clutches the star in her hands a little more tightly as she glances to Edgar, setting the sword on his own place now. "Do… you think we need to do the items in a certain order? Like a combination?"
Variel grimaces as he hears the voice howl, backing away as he shouted the incantation to protect himself- "PROTEGO!"- as opposed to any of the various curse words slamming through his brain at that particular moment.
"I don't want to go down that hall," Andromena confessed after Alphard's door came unlocked. She might have said more, but Variel had set about unlocking his door…or perhaps…failing to unlock his door, and she hopped backwards even as she finally withdrew her own wand. "Merlin's beard," she exclaims. "Are you alright, Variel? - Edgar!" Because really. Couldn't he have waited to discover if the red head was okay? Or…indeed, see if Door Four had opened? Jeez.
At least Variel had the sense to move quickly and thus avoid the water. Eibhlin isn't exactly in the way of it, but she is near enough that as it hits the ground some splashes to her hand. At least its little enough, but its still hot. "Ow," she jumps, lifting her hand to place between her lips for a moment. A look of concern following towards Variel for the answer to Andromena's question.
The water splashes off Variel's shield, and anyone standing too close is going to get splashed by scalding droplets. Hot mist spills out into the room, rolling out in a cloud from the epicenter around Variel.
"Fuck," Alphard declared, and suddenly he was looking down onto the skull with a different sort of glint in his eye. The head bashing and decapitation it had suffered seemed less intriguing and more a bit of a warning. "What the hell, didn't we say it was water that was the answer?! Why'd it react that way?!"
"… because… oh, bloody hell, because it was EMPTY." Variel swears in frustration at the obvious and stupid mistake.
"There isn't any water," Eibhlin points out with a bit of a sigh following Alphard's exclamation. "Its just a jar," a nod following towards the other redhead as he realize it as well.
Elizabeth blinks her pale eyes, and for a moment it does seem indeed to be a very obvious mistake. Both Variel and Eibhlin realize this. Despite the harm that could have happened, the corner of her lips tugs faintly with a little bit of amusement. "Well then, we just have to be a little more careful, don't we."
"You can write the most powerful words you wish, but only the Sword can make a man truly listen. And if he doesn't, cut his head off and see what reply he chooses to give then." There was no sign that the voice was aware of what it had said earlier to Variel.
Door Seven opened with a rumble.
"Let me try to refill it," Andromena suggests. She'd missed getting splashed by the scalding torrent, and now she approaches Variel and his jar. His damned cracked jar. "It may not work, but I don't fancy looking for another water source if we can avoid it." Leveling her wand, Andromena says, "Repleo." Her little nose crinkles at Door Seven's reply to Edgar's actions. Decapitated heads.
"Wait, there has to be something in it for that to work. It just replicates something already in the jar," Variel tries to get out before Andromena casts on the jar. He's not sure how aware this place is and that might make it angry, if it fills the jar with, say, dust. Given the chance, he'll move over to tap his wand on the edge of the jar and incant 'Aguamenti' by way of remedying his ridiculous mistake.
"I thought as long as it was once filled with something…" Andromena says to Variel. Well. To everyone.
Elizabeth couldn't help but frown gently as she glances over her shoulder, as the voice rumbles from the seventh door. "Every time one opens… it sounds very dark… Silence, death, decapitation." Since the doll had already opened the second door, she returns it to its pedestal before reaching for the star, seeing as it would be her next choice.
The Mirror's back was painted with one big smiling sun.
"There's gotta be traces in the container. That spell's a duplication spell- that's why we're taught it as a Transfiguration spell, a change to the amount in the container. We just need water, there's a charm for that." Variel reaches out and taps the jar, murmuring "Aguamenti" as he does.
Alphard was rubbing his cheek, where he'd gotten a bit of water splashed against him. Under his breath he muttered something about idiot Weasley. Instead of helping them with the riddle, he peered into the darkness of the corridor he had opened up. "Lumos!"
It seems that Edgar's taciturn ways quite agree with what the Sword voice-over says. He slips in after silently casting a cutting protection charm on himself, and steps in.
"Hey Edgar, where are you going?" Alphard called after Edgar, turning away from the Death corridor and hurrying over to where his Slytherin friend was disappearing into darkness. Light beamed from the tip of his wand.
Variel mutters to himself and tries the conjuring again.
"Right," Andromena says with a trace of chagrin. "Let me try- Hey!" Andromena immediately abandons Variel and his jar in order to follow after Alphard and Edgar. "Don't you two know ANYTHING about adventuring?" She'd read all sorts of books. She had some idea. Namely, don't fucking wander off from the main body of the group without saying so. She remains at the mouth of the corridor, peering after the two Slytherin boys.
Variel casts the extremely difficult spell known as sighing in relief non-verbally, keeping his relief on the successful spell to himself as he fills the jar carefully with water.
Eibhlin blinks, turning towards the boys as Andromena catches sight of them heading off on their own. "Mena's right," she agrees, "We should stick together. Who knows what's in there."
Two, four, and seven now open… And while Variel and Andromena are busy working on the jar just as Edgar steps into his door. Purposefully so. And Alphard and Andromena are already dashing after him. Elizabeth winces, clutching the star still. "They're getting impatient…"
"Water is life. And like life it comes with limitless possibilities! A slow drip upon a man's forehead will drive him insane after a while. Hold him down into it, and he will drown. Sip it afterwards, and you'll be quite refreshed!" The voice answered Variel's success. The door lifted up. This time it was a staircase rather than a corridor waiting, continuing down into the dark.
"… you didn't mention the option to SCALD A BLOKE TO DEATH!" Variel snaps at the voice, taking a deep breath and forcing himself to relax. He turns to peer after the Slytherin boys and shakes his head, moving to pick look about and see what items were left. "THIS ONE WAS A STAIRCASE, IN CASE YOU GENTLEMEN CARE TO KNOW!" He calls towards the two other males.
Making a 'shh' motion to Alphard, like Edgar understands some sort of significance in room number seven, the Crow continues on. The life of a Slytherking has its sacrifices.
Alphard eye-rolled Edgar's shush message. He had never been too eager to take great risks unless he was absolutely sure he knew the odds at stake. With a suffering look on his face, he looked back over his shoulder at Andromena, then finally gestured harshly in a 'come hither' way. To her or to the rest as well was up for debate. Regardless, he wasn't going to leave Edgar alone. One thing was being.. careful when nobody was watching, quite the other to appear careful when people were watching. So he followed after, grumbling quietly under his breath. His wand still providing all the illumination in the darkened corridor.
"Fine," Andromena could be heard to huff in a most long-suffering voice. "Let me grab my pack…" This said in more of a mumble as she returned to the others. "They want to explore whatever is down that hall." She retrieves her notebook and returns it to the pack that contains the vials and reslings it over her shoulder. "Let's just hurry after them, I don't want to get split up. And I think they want us to be quiet. Variel, bring up the rear? And if someone else could bring up another Lumos?" Andromena returned to the mouth of the corridor at Door Seven, and would proceed through when the others gathered behind her.
The corridor itself was oddly beautiful in the unhealthy bluish light of Alphard's wand. Rather than plain stone walls, there were motifs carved into them. That the creator was a wizard was clear by the way they moved. Knights and soldiers marching proudly across a desolate land. They fought different armies on different panels. The landscapes changed, but they were always oddly bleak. Then at the end came the largest piece of art yet, one where the massed armies stood against a single man. A wizard. And from his wand rained hellish fire upon the poor dying.. muggles?
The corridor had widened. Five stone steps led up to twin oaken doors, closed.
"I'll handle vanguard, Andromena- leave it and the light to me. Lumos Maxima," he speaks, summoning a bright sphere of light into existence. As Andromena retrieves her pack and he waits for the other girls to file after her, he flicks his wand again. "Wingardium Leviosa." The charmed sphere of light starts to bob along behind him as he brings up the rear.
Eibhlin crosses the space to follow after the boys, slipping in behind Andromena. "If you need a hand," she offers quietly to take a turn carrying the pack should she need a break. With the Slytherin boys leading the way who knows how far they might end up going. As they move further along the corridor her eyes follow the scene on the walls.
Elizabeth still held onto the star in her hand, wand in the other as she exhales a longer breath. "Boys…" she mutters under her breath. They already had their turn, she wanted hers. Oh well. She shakes her raven head and quickly steps up to the seventh doorway, stepping through quickly in order to catch up with everyone else. Through the hallway, Elizabeth quickly takes in what she can, her eidetic memory recording everything on the walls until they come to the largest piece of art. And there, her heart drops.
A single word is murmured to Alphard as Edgar steps up to those twin oaken doors, looking it over to ensure there are no traps, and then pushing them open if he can, but still, carefully. Thank God he has a slashing protection spell.
"I guess a Sword might be more powerful than a Quill," Alphard whispered with sly amusement as he eyed the gruesome tableau of countless men dying horribly beneath magical fire. Writhing, gasping, their stone-carved flesh burning away as he watched. "But a wand beats a thousand swords any day." The words were barely loud enough to be caught by anyone close. To what Edgar had murmured, he nodded in agreement.
Andromena, unlike Elizabeth, has a markedly different reaction to the carved walls of the hallway. Her hand reaches out, but she stops herself from actually touching anything. (One cannot be too careful). "These are amazing," she murmurs. Because death, destruction, and bloody chaos were things to strike awe and wonder, were they not? Hopefully when Edgar had shushed Alphard he had not meant he expected utter silence!
To Eibhlin, she gives a nod. As yet, the pack was not really bothersome, but it was a nice offer and it earned the red head girl a friendly smile. Stopping at the bottom of the steps, Andromena leaves it to Edgar and Alphard to sort out the matter of the doors.
The doors opened beneath Edgar's hands, and nothing terrible happened to him. Beyond was a great ante chamber, a circular room whose walls were scarred by sooty fire. There were the corpses of paintings on the walls, but only the scorched frames and the flapping frayed remnants of canvas remained. Some parts were bare all together. To the right were broken and burned doors, after which darkness reigned. To the left the doors were closed. Right ahead the doors were blackened, but wide open. From the gap between them came an icy cold gale.
There was a throne room past those open doors, a throne room that was half buried beneath snow. The roof had caved, and beams and great big chunks of stone littered the white blanked floor. At the very end stood a throne. To either side of it loomed two enormous stone statues, wooden warriors with swords in their hands, pointed down.
"They are," Eibhlin agrees with Andromena on the painted scenes that surround them. Beautiful even if the images are dark. Her eyes remain, for the most part, fixed on those images as the boys put their attention to the doors, Andromena's nod being returned. Its when the doors open that she turns to peer deeper into the space.
Elizabeth feels her gaze linger on the artwork, the horrific artwork for a moment or so longer before the doors open underneath Edgar's will. She blinks up at them, taking a few careful steps towards the circular room as more is opened, scorched and leading towards the throne room. No doubt whoever reigned within those walls, they were the source of all the fire marking beyond. But it's the statues… the stone statues that struck fear into her. They reminded her of the giant stone soldiers that stood by protecting the tomb of Egyptian pharaohs, cursed to come to life should the body of their king be disturbed.
Alphard drew the fabric of his hood up against the icy cold wind, protecting his pale features from the storm that raged outside. His eyes were locked on the throne, though, and his eyes shone with a want. A want to sit down onto it, to feel the ancient seat beneath him, to gaze out onto a throne room, even if it was a half ruined one. Yet he hesitated, too.
If Andromena were a grumpier, more passive aggressive sort of person, she might have told Edgar that he had picked a bloody awful room. All caved in and full of cold snow. Instead, she just adjusted her winter robes so that they were closer about her as she followed after the two Slytherins, stopping to stand beside Alphard as he gazed ever so intently at that throne.
"Hold up," Variel says. "That's an awful lot of fireworks. I think we'd better protect ourselves against obvious possibilities before they happen. Anyone -not- want to take a moment to charm themselves against flames?"
Eibhlin nods, "He's right," she starts, turning a glance to Variel at his suggestion. "We should be careful no matter what. Maybe we should just turn back for now?" Another suggestion. "See what else we're up against before we press too far?"
"Well, obviously," Alphard told Variel in his most imperial of tones. As if he he had already considered the possibility of deadly fire-born traps waiting for them. After all, he was the hero of the Sykes Gala attack. A natural born warrior and protector of the people! "Why do you think I stopped, anyway?" Not at all because he was just wanting to gaze at the throne and imagine himself a king with a whole kingdom doing whatever he wanted.
"Impervius Flammas!"
Andromena could also be heard to say, "Impervius Flammas," as her wand made a firm and definitive swish through the air.
Variel predictably carves the air with his wand's tip to activate the spell in question.
"I'm more concerned about decapitation…" Elizabeth says softly. "This is the sword room…" Though fire doesn't look like a bad option either… Swallowing gently, she barely gives Variel glance before glancing away, raising her wand with a purposeful swish. "Impervius Flammas."
Edgar casts another protection spell on himself, negating the earlier one. Which likely makes him an unhappy crow, but what can you do. "If no one else will, I'm going to go sit down on that throne. If I die, tell my parents to give my stuff to my younger brother."
Eibhlin rolls her eyes at Alphard's arrogance, no point in commenting on it. With a swish of her wand she follows suit, "Impervius Flammas." Better safe than sorry after all.
Variel reaches out to quietly grip Elizabeth's shoulder, pulling her back to speak to her under his breath.
Alphard opened his mouth to declare he was going to sit on that throne. Then he considered all the options, his eyes narrow as he eyed Edgar. "Well, since you chose the door I suppose it's only fair you get to sit on it first." And possibly die. Then Alphard could sit on it afterwards if it proved safe.
"You get first pick if there's treasure at the end of whatever this little maze is, Alphard," Edgar replies when the other Slytherin narrows his eyes at him. "Besides, don't you think our resident hit wizard should be in prime condition for take-downs in case we get in trouble?"
"Well," Andromena begins, sounding thoughtful. "You've a point, Elizabeth, but we'll see if those warriors come to life. If we encounter another little trap," was trap the right word? Anyway. "Like the one Variel nearly got scalded for, that's far more sudden. Hey, Edgar," Andromena says to the Crow as he moves for the throne. "Why don't you see if there's anything else you can set on the throne before you plop your behind on it? That way, no one has to die."
Elizabeth blinks back over her shoulder as she's pulled back a few inches, listening. Pressing her soft lips together, she dips her chin with a faint nod. Lifting her wand again, she mutters something quickly and swishes with a practiced motion.
"Fair enough, Carrow," Alphard said, giving Edgar a good-natured pat on the shoulder. They were friends, after all, and if he both got first pick and happened to use Edgar as his guinea pig, then what was wrong with that?!
"Edgar," Andromena calls out, with just a little more pitch to it than she may have wanted otherwise. "STOP." She points to a tile not too far away, and upon it was the image of flames. "Look at the floor. There are tiles at random that have the picture of fire upon them. I'd say avoid those in your trek to the throne."
Alphard hadn't noticed that Edgar was walking forward like he meant to just cross it in a straight line. He'd been more occupied with noticing that, as he walked, some of the floor tiles seemed suspiciously engraved. Of course being Alphard, he hadn't actually considered the possibility that he should warn everybody else, either.
"Uh," Edgar looks down after Andromena quasi-shrieks at him, then he looks decidedly sheepish after a moment. "So it appears. Thank you, Mena." If Alphard wants to go ahead, seems like Edgar will wait!
Variel looks somewhat vindicated when there does in fact seem to be some sort of fire hazard ahead, and starts to move around the room they're in, checking the other doorways for signs of danger as well.
Wand lowering, Elizabeth gives Variel another glance over her shoulder for a split moment before looking away, exhaling a longer breath so that she could focus on the three that have taken upon themselves to make their way to the throne. "I have to agree, that throne is probably protected from all sides." she calls out louder, belatedly in fact as Andromena spots a trigger. "This wizard was a bit more paranoid than I care for… I wonder what he wanted to protect so much."
While the floor tiles show random flame inspired patterns, with the ones closest to the throne room all but impossible to tell because of the snow blown across them, the doors Variel checked showed nothing of the sort. Again, the ones to the left were closed, the ones to the right were broken and burned down. Probably from the three tiles 'flame' marked' right in front of them.
Alphard waited politely. Like a good friend. Because he had given Edgar his word that the other boy would get to sit on the throne first, after all! There was no other reason behind his decision to hesitate than that. Just politeness and loyalty!
"Don't stop now, Edgar," Andromena chides. Maybe this wasn't the place to be so callously teasing, but then she was dating Alphard Pollux Black, so what did they expect? "You're not very far from the throne."
So Edgar doesn't stop! He just keeps the flame tiles in mind and tries to hopscotch his way to the throne or something like that. When he does reach it, he falls upon it and reclines against the seat like a king.
"BLOODY HELL, we coulda been killed." Variel exclaims as he stares at the doorway on the right. "CARROW, BLACK! I know you've got wardings up, but BE CAREFUL. There's… there's scorch marks in front of this door. These flames INCINERATED them, burnt to ash. The wards might just make sure a body gets left behind when they kill you!"
As Edgar plops himself into the seat, Elizabeth feels herself tensing as she watches, but she doesn't utter a word, even as Variel yells at him from beside her.
"What're you talking about?" Alphard asked of Variel as he stood on the threshold of the Throne Room, snow flurrying about his feet. He hadn't gone any further, letting Edgar brave the weather beaten space by himself all the way up to the throne.
"Crap." Edgar draws his wand at something he sees at the edge of his sight, pointing the wand there, accordingly. As a prevention, he stands up to get a better view.
Variel starts towards the room in question as quickly as he can ascertain he's not about to stomp on a flame tile. "I'm talking about the broken doors. There's an ash pattern by them in the shape of a body. Someone triggered them and got burnt to soot marks. The wards we have might not be enough to protect against that sort of-" He cuts off as Edgar curses mildly and stands. He looks about the room worriedly, his own wand already at his side. "Crow? What is it??"
Alphard peered into the darkness to his right (and Edgar's left), licking his lips nervously while bringing his wand up. "Shit," he said, echoing Edgar's assessment. It might not be particularly heroic a declaration, but at least he was standing his ground. Last time he'd been in danger, he'd hidden behind a girl.
THOUGH OFFICIALLY HE'D BEEN A HERO.
Elizabeth winces, glancing behind her for a quick moment before turning forward, swiftly following after Variel and keeping an eye on the tiles, avoiding the ones marked with fire. It's only when she gets to the entrance of the throne room does she freeze in place. Edgar might have thought he sees something, but Elizabeth knows she seems something, lurking in the shadows. "Everyone…" Elizabeth murmurs slowly. "There, to my right…" She swallows softly. "They're… stone statues. The knights, in the corridor. The one battling the wizard." If they had been muggles at one point in time, they certainly aren't now.
"I'll need a defense line here!" Edgar calls out before he points his wand at one of the statues and shouts, at the top of his lungs: "BOMARBDA!" The loud boom that ensues clears almost as soon as it becomes apparent it staggered one of the statue knights, but nothing more than a delaying action.
Alphard might not be the most creative person in the world, shown by the fact that he too threw out a: "BOMBARDA!" When Edgar decided on his spell.
Unfortunately Alphard's spell didn't even strike any of the advancing knights, but rather threw up a LOT of snow.
As the knights advanced, it became apparent that there were six of them. Each stood about eight feet tall, which was still less than the enormous giant statues flanking the throne itself. They were 'armored' in stone, and wielded stone swords. While one of them was halted temporarily thanks to Edgar, the rest were marching on through the snow and sleet. Thankfully all the debris that had fallen from the collapsed roof meant they weren't as quick as they could've been.
"What is it, Edgar?" Andromena prompts. The group must be kept informed! Of course, she follows comfortably just at Alphard's side, peering back towards Variel when he points out the body-shaped stain of soot and ash upon the ground. Well, damn. Movement in the corner of her eye causes Andromena's head to snap 'round, and her wand is raised…not that she could cast the charm she had in mind, not having the ability to do so, after all. The point was, her wand was at the ready, and just because one spell was unavailable didn't mean a dozen others weren't!
As Edgar calls for help, Andromena doesn't hesitate. It helps that both he and Alphard are already out there, too. Pointing her wand at one the legs at one of the advancing 'knights' she calls out, "Defodio!"
The Knight Andromena cast Defodio spell on shattered from the hips up, just enough stone to fill a tub. Only its legs remained, but the force of the spell had knocked even those over, leaving the feet treading air.
Variel is finally clued in on the advancing problem when spells start to fly from the Crow to the advancing line of troops. He looks between them rapidly, then whips his wand up and levels it, eyes focused on his targets as he calmly recites the incantation for his spell- "Confringo."
Variel's target EXPLODED, shards of stone flying in every direction.
Elizabeth inhales a sharp sound as the target that Variel had been aiming at actually explodes, sending shards of stone flying out to create several small scratches on her face. She shakes it off, her wand lifted as whipped in a swirl as she aims the spell not at the advancing soldiers but at the broken beam in the ceiling. "Bombarda!" If successful, it might collapse on top of the stone soldiers.
Elizabeth got to take advantage of her amazing perception of earlier. Unfortunately she just didn't do a very good job with her spell work. While the roof beam - barely still attached to the wall - collapsed, it didn't actually smash into any of the statues. It did however stall yet another statue, crushing its sword and then forcing it to move around it.
Pointing his wand at one of the intact stone statues, Edgar then intones, quite willfully: "Reducto!" Tendrils of blue project from the wand, and…
Edgar's spell works wonders. The knight so assaulted is reduced to nothing but rubble.
Alphard.. yet again.. followed Edgar's lead. He aimed his spell at the sole remaining Knight in the lead, reducing the statue to nothing but dust. The winter gale immediately caught it, and blew the dust away.
Alphard had been the only one who had avoided the shrapnel of debris from Variel's earlier spell. Andromena and Edgar had both been cut up severely. Variel and Elizatbeth less so, but non the less bloodied.
Variel winces as the detonated statue scatters debris violently into their ranks, leaving bleeding scratches along his face and hands. He watches the tunnel collapse and slow two, the others reduced to rubble and dust. He grimaces- that would have been the smarter spell to cast- and takes aim at the last armed statue, the one slowed down by the rubble, taking a cue from Edgar's clever spell choice.
One of the slowed down knights was reduced to rubble.
Andromena cries out when the debris from Variel's exploded stone knight comes flying her way, slicing through cloth and flesh with little resistance. Instinctively she hunches her body and uses her arms to hug herself against the pain. Maybe there was even a little whimper, but Andromena quickly gritted her teeth and forced herself to straighten. Elizabeth wasn't able to bring the ceiling down, but Edgar and Alphard managed to reduce two more to dust. Rather than be creative, Andromena sticks with what's tried and true. She casts the Reductor Curse as well. And she doesn't care if its lost its weapon and is slowed besides.
The very last of the knights of stone crumbled, this time completely to dust. That left just the pair legs. They kept kicking in the air, trying to right themselves to no avail.
Elizabeth is rather relieved as Andromena takes a blast at that one last stone soldier. "You…" she gestures towards Edgar. "Are far too reckless." But there's only so much you can do to watch your back though. And even though that last one is done for, she gives the throne room another look around, now paranoid.
"Fortune favors the bold, and cruelty oppresses the craven," Edgar replies to Elizabeth. "A bad plan is still better than no plan."
Everybody notices the shimmer of light at the entrance of the Throne Room. They all see the specter, the ghost, slowly drifting towards them. A hooded figured both translucent and glowing.
"I'd say I was the reckless one, honestly. Carrow picked an extremely effective spell that -didn't- also turn the target into a bomb. I'd hoped it might wreck the ones next to it, too, but I didn't consider how close they were to…" Variel's speech slows as he notices the ghost. "… us…"
"Are you alright, Meanie?" Alphard asked, noticing the fact that Andromena was cut about a dozen places from the shards of debris that Variel's spell had created. Of course just as he reached the girl, his attentions were diverted. "Oh." A ghost. Ghosts could.. be dangerous. Who wasn't afraid of the damnned Bloody Baron? Even Slytherins feared him, and that was their ghost.
Edgar rubs some of the blood into the concrete dust that's been splattered all over his face. The Crow, it seems, does not quite easily panic in sight of his own life leaking away from his wounds. He regards the hooded figure quietly.
Andromena…chooses not to say anything about reckless behavior as she shuffles towards Alphard. "Nothing that can't be men- " She, too, stops herself short as she sees the ghost approach.
And much like the others, Elizabeth comes to a full stop as the ghost appears, staring at it as her soft lips part, wordless. It wasn't a ghost that she recognizes. Not that she knows many ghosts. "Is… it the wizard that was in the picture?" The one that rained fire.
The ghost, whose face was hidden beihnd the cowl of its hood, paused infront of Andromena, ignoring everybody else. Its frayed clothes bled faint bluish light, and there was an unearthly chill emminating from its figure.
In a thin voice it asked: "Please.. will you help me?" It was a voice without gender, yet not in the creepy and dislocated way of the voice of the octagon chamber. Instead it was a voie torn into pieces by agony, but sorrow. Hoarse from pain.
Variel eases forward in front of the younger Ravenclaw student, watching the ghost quietly. "Does anyone know much about spirits? I can't remember anything besides how unusual they are."
Elizabeth glances over her shoulder at Variel, pausing before he eases himself forward. Placing himself between her and the ghost as it drifts to pause in front of Andromena. She quietly bites at her bottom lip, a hand reaching up to lightly touch her fingertips in the center of his back.
"What has it attached to this world? Say you will consider heling, if only he will answer you your questions. Who is he? How did he die? What does he need to do to find release?" Edgar seems to have all things listed.
Leave it to a tortured spirit to find sweet natured Andromena! As it glided nearer to her and Alphard, she was not sure at first just who it intended to address - if it would speak at all. But when it did, sounding so very broken, Andromena could not help but feel for it. Even so, her hand reached out for Alphard's to take hold of as she gave its request genuine thought. In a dislocated way, Andromena was very aware of where she was, and what she was doing, and how very real it had become. It was no longer a formless adventure. Her responses weren't scripted, weren't already predetermined and written for her. And unfortunately, she wasn't able to remember much more than what Variel had already said - as was evident by her frown. Thankfully, Edgar was there, proving he must have paid more attention in…whatever class it was that taught on this subject.
"I'll consider helping," she speaks now to the spirit. "If you answer a few questions that I have for you." Andromena wouldn't list them until she was sure the ghost would consent to her demand.
"Bargains, cruel bargains!" The spirit wailed, its ephereal arms clutching around a bony chest. "Please.. I lay defiled in the pits of this castle. Bury me, I implore you! Give me peace, give my soul rest, finally, without the defilement of the moster who slay me!"
Alphard accepted Andromena's hand, even if he did so only after a sideways look that was thoroughly sceptcal. Who cared about some ghost, anyway?!
"I will.. I will show you all the treaures, the forbidden knowledge hidden within these stones! Just.. release meeeeEEeEEeee first!!"
That was consent enough for Andromena. "Who are you? How did you die?" She didn't ask what it needed for peace, as it seemed to have already answered that. Instead, she swapped it for, "Who killed you?" And the reason for the hand grab had NOTHING to do with the ghost and everything to do with getting cut up and bloodied.
"What. What killed him. It was a monster." Variel's voice is grim. He doesn't like the sound of- wait, did it say forbidden knowledge and treasures? Variel… looks contemplative, though no more trusting.
"I am.. I am.." But it didn't actually answer with a name. "I.."
"The monster. The monster killed me! Dark.. Cruel evil… I slew it, but its body still lays over by bones. It torments me, knowing that I can never escape its touch!" The ghost wailed, screeeeeeched!
Elizabeth gently curls her fingers into the fabric in the place where her hand rests on Variel's back. "He wants to be buried…" He wants peace. But the monster mentioned… She frowns for a longer moment before she releases her hold. "We need to help him." Even if there isn't treasure or knowledge, she couldn't stand the thought of the poor man being at the state of unrest. "But if we don't know who he is… how do we know if he isn't the dark wizard…"
"Treasure? Knowledge?" Alphard echoed, and the greed wans't really that well hidden. Just because he was rich didn't mean that he wasnt eager to add to his hoard. As the saying went: Much wants more.
Andromena winced at the screech. She had disagreed with Variel when he pointed out that the ghost had said it was a 'monster' that killed it. Most likely a him. "I need to know who you are in order to help you," she repeated, voice surprisingly firm. "What was the beast that ended your life?" Knowledge? Treasure? Those were alluring, to be sure, but Andromena was fearful of a potential trap on the spirit's part. Once she felt secure, then she could always dangle not burying the bones if the ghost proved difficult later on. Never say Andromena wasn't without a cruel sort of cunning.
"How can I reach where your body lies?"
"I am.. the Lost One," the ghost cooed, invisible eyes peering at Andromena from within its hidden cowl. "I.. I don't know.. Everything is so hard to tell when you can't move through walls. I.." Suddenly it looked over its shoulder, tension in its body. "I must go. Save me! SAVE ME!" And then it was gone. Disappearing down into the floor.
Alphard noted: "Shit. We should get back, or we'll miss curfew."
"Rats- you're probably right, Black. I'll hold the rear guard in case any more of those statues chase us. And WATCH your STEP. There was a line of blaze tiles in front of one of the doors." Variel keeps his position, gently urging the Ravenclaw youngers to move ahead of him.
"I'm going to need to at least see to Edgar and I," Andromena says to Alphard with a frown. Both Variel and Elizabeth were welcome to be treated as well, since they hadn't escaped injury either, just not to the extent of herself and Carrow. "While I do so, maybe we ought to take those items off their pedestals? I don't think it's wise to leave them just sitting up there."
"Yeah. What if someone else comes across the castle.. and are too stupid to figure it out?" Not that Alphard had actually figured anything out, but that was besides the point. "They'd get hurt."
Also, they might steal the treasure.
Elizabeth exhales a small breath and quickly nods in agreement. "Everyone should get treated. And we should probably hide the items. Just in case." Her hands fall to her sides as she glances from one to the other. "Come on. Let's go, before it gets much later." She's the first to exit the throne room, her eyes watching the tiles to make sure that she doesn't step on the 'fire' ones.
"I'll take a bit of treatment if you're up for it after everything else. I can wait 'til last." Variel remarks as he holds the rearguard, finally starting to move after the others do. He makes a few notes to himself as he leaves- he'll be doing some calculations before coming here next time.
The group retreats back the way they had come, back to the Riddle Room. Andromena tends to their injuries while leaving the others to remove the 'keys' to the doors and tuck them safely away. Then it's back to Hogsmeade they go!