tushanshu_logs | and you seem to break like time

Characters: Catch-all for Solomon
Date: October
Location: Various places, specifically his apartment and Emily-Helen's pyramid just outside of the city
Situation: Solomon has things to do. And some people have things to do with him.
Warnings/Rating: Permadeath, Necromancy, mummification.

A: The tomb
The kedan finished the pyramid in impressive time. It helped that Solomon was paying them well, and when payment wasn't enough he threatened. At least some people were still afraid of the shadows--and Malicant's recent play had actually helped with that. It didn't make the kedan like him, and now they scattered when they saw him coming, but no one wanted to mess with a Necromancer when a being of the death-plane held so much obvious power over the city.

The pyramid was small, for a pyramid, set on one of the hills where Emily-Helen had enjoyed sunbathing. It was large enough for Emily-Helen's body and the barest necessities for her journey into the next life. Hieroglyphs covered every wall. The sigils protecting the inside and outside had been harder, and Solomon had in the end submitted to approaching Shudder for help with that in a very awkward encounter he had no intention of repeating. The writing of some of those sigils had been incorporated into the ritual when Emily-Helen was interred, but others were pre-written, only to be closed--ones to protect the pyramid from degradation and damage, and to ward the doorway and interior from incursion.

Solomon wasn't fluent in Egyptian, but he had been doing his research and he did remember some of the rituals in which he'd participated when he had visited the Temple there; between those he managed a complete, if simplified, series of rituals to properly inter the turtle-hatchling. He had left messages for those he knew would want to be present, but hadn't made a public announcement. Somehow he doubted Bakura would appreciate that.

The rituals took some time, but even after they were over Solomon waited at the tomb until the rest of those present had left. He send Marcelon away and stayed out of immediate sight but didn't try to hide himself either, standing in the shadows at the bottom of the hill. The door to the tomb had been left open.

B: At home
Leaving aside the work on Emily-Helen's body, Solomon still had plenty to do. There was trying to finish mapping the tunnels under the shell, for one. He had sent zombified birds down into the holes, trying to find where the chink in the shell in the ritual chamber led. So far few of them had returned, and without much success. He had left marks on the diomara where needed.

Right now his research into the Dreaming seemed both laughably off-track and potentially saving. If there was a way to flee into it, or use it as a weapon against Malicant ... there was too much potential in it to give it up, and yet it was time-consuming. Solomon persevered nevertheless, and now that Skulduggery wasn't tainted home was probably the safest place for Solomon right now.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If she'd been unsure before how much of a tease Solomon was going to be, this cleared it up. Raine could appreciate his evenness, the slow measured pace of each kiss, and while it was almost frustrating the implied patience was reassuring. They had time enough, or would. Time enough to learn exactly how far that patience stretched. And what exactly it was he had about her ears.

When he stepped away the look she gave him was utterly exasperated, but her rational mind triumphed after a moment. The Dreaming, manifested in this manner, was hardly a practical place; they would have time later, one way or another; rushing either partner in the pursuit of physical intimacy had the potential to end in disaster. And he was still teasing her. Of course he was. Raine shook her head, unable to quite conceal a smile. All right. Back to something resembling business for now, then. "Consciously manipulating the Dreaming, yes. Which the wards you emplaced have made harder, but not impossible." And, almost absently, she brushed her hair back on one side, tucking it behind her ear.

For just a moment Solomon's gaze tracked the movement of that hand and her hair, and he studied the shape of her ear, something she had always avoided showing. He couldn't recall ever seeing her with her hair tied back, though her initial explanation of mixed-heritage explained why. Then he returned his attention to her face, and there was the faintest smile tugging the corner of his mouth.

He was decently sure Raine intended that as passive revenge, and he wasn't complaining.

"I may have to amend them to allow for the forge," Solomon said. "Especially since I'd need to summon it in future--I'd like to be able to do that without having to maintain all my concentration just to keep it present. Otherwise ..." He surveyed the area. "Is there anything else you might suggest adding?"

The sharp points to her ears, while not something completely surprising, would be enough in a crowd of humans to mark her out without much effort. Hence her preference. It wasn't something she'd have done anywhere else, but here Raine gave the gesture little more thought than to note Solomon's reaction and move on.

"Even having someone else maintain the forge would be prohibitively unreliable; altering the wards may be the best recourse." She glanced around the room again, considering what might be a worthwhile enough addition to merit the effort, but between the study and the schoolhouse and the forge they shouldn't want for much. "Hm. Not right now, no. I think what's here should be for the most part sufficient."

"I agree," said Solomon, and nodded. "Alright. Remain here a moment? I'll get the book." So saying, he left through the archway but returned only a moment later with a different book, this one thinner and newer. It was the one he'd been using to branch out somewhat, to develop stabilising wards and locks around the archway. He knew the sigils contained in it, but not quite so well as the ones that defined the arch itself, so they would likely both have need of it.

He showed it to Raine. "These need to be written into the arch here, here and here," he said, pointing to areas at the top and on the sides. "And at the base of the door, as well. They'll keep the appearance solid. Leave these areas clear, and ignore these sets." He indicated some more. "I need to do some work on them to allow for the forge."

Raine obligingly remained there, took that moment to take a deep breath. When Solomon returned she was composed, and she studied the book when he showed it to her, making mental notes. This facet of magic might be beneficial to learn for herself eventually, too, in addition to what she could about his world's sigils. It would likely have to be put off till much later, however.

"All right," she said, when she had enough of a grasp on what needed to be done to start. She'd need to refer back to the book for the fine details of the sigils, but which chunks needed to go where was easy enough to remember. "Will leaving those undone for the moment compromise anything?"

"No," said Solomon, "though if you leave these--" He indicated matching symbols on each of the sets. "--out, it will help what you're writing stabilise without the expectation to be connected to other sigils. We can add them later and it removes the raw nerve in what you're writing, so to speak."

He tore out the relevant pages with the help of a sharp shadow and handed them to her. "I'll be at the desk."

The forge was too complex a construct to actively allow it and only it through the wards, so he was going to have to amend some of the wards that would prevent the room from being manipulated at all. That meant it would be a touch more malleable than he'd originally meant, but it could well be of benefit.

"Understood," she said, taking the pages, and left him to that work. For her part, Raine set about inscribing the sigils in the indicated manner, making the tiniest of conscious shifts to the Dreaming for an implement to do so, which neatly answered another question and was simultaneously useful. She was content to do so in silence for now, given nothing else of pressing importance to bring up.

It was a good opportunity to test the desk and the area itself, though really all Solomon needed was the flat surface, because he didn't even choose to sit. When Solomon was satisfied with his changes he took the pages and went to Raine, but moved up behind her and stood just a touch too close to be professional. "How are you progressing?"

Even without the close steady presence of his mana -- easier to distinguish now than it had been -- it would have been hard not to notice him behind her. Raine paused mid-movement, only for a second, and finished the symbol she was currently working on before straightening fully and turning to him. "Reasonably," she said, tilting her head at the arch behind her. She wasn't quite finished with the portions he'd indicated, perhaps two thirds, but what she'd done was tidy and precise; she'd been prioritizing care over speed. "Faster, if you'd care to help with the remainder."

and you seem to break like time

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whoops, lost the tab sorry D:

all good

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