Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

Spoiler

Bleh I wrote that kind of wrong but it still works I guess.

Jocelyn spins and sees the pirate from the other night walking towards her with two men carrying a large metal chest. They pass right through her as if she weren't there on their way to the cave. She feels almost as if she was watching a scene from the past playing in her mind though she can still move and follow them. Urchin is nowhere to be seen in this dreamlike vision of hers.

The pirate clears his throat one more time before he directs them into the cave saying.

"Might not look it but this should be a safe place to hide the chest, I'll be right behind you."

The two men take the chest into the cave and the pirate follows them in pulling a knife as he does so.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

Spoiler

Pretty sure I get it, no worries!

Jocelyn cringes as the pirate moves towards them, expecting some kind of attack. When the man moves right through her like a ghost, she jumps and throws herself to the side, a reflexive action far too late. She stood and watched in utter confusion for a moment, looking around for where Urchin and the chest they were carrying went, before cluing in to what was going on.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she left to follow the pirate and his men, trying her best to hide as she did so, in case her apparent invisibility didn't last.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

Spoiler

Well good hopefully it's not to confusing.

Jocelyn follows them into the dark cavern and watches from the shadows as the chest is set where she found it earlier. Before the two men are able to even turn around D'Ombro stabs the first in the back and quickly finishes off the other as well.

She continues watching as the pirate kneels near the side of the chest and takes a book from a secret compartment in the chest. Opening the book he uses the blood of the two men to begin performing what looks like some sort of ritual on the floor of the cave.

The vision disappears just as suddenly as it had started with Urchin looking up at her strangely as they stand on the rocks before the cave.

"Jocelyn is okay. She just stands there looking at cave for few minutes." Urchin asks a confused tone in his voice.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

Jocelyn sticks her hand in the air as if to try and catch the vision before it dissipates, ending up looking even more strange. "I... think we need to go. Hurry." She says after a moment, giving him a hand if need be.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

Urchin merely shrugs his shoulders at the Malkavians strange behavior and with her aid gets the chest of the rocks. He is able to carry it the rest of the way himself though he has some trouble keeping up with Jocelyn as she hurries back to the hospice. Once back at the haven he sets the chest in the corner and sits down on one of the cots to wait for Rebekah to return.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

Jocelyn looks worried the entire trip back, watching behind them as if she was afraid of being followed.

Once they made it back, she seemed to calm down somewhat, but took great interest in the chest, trying to find the secret compartment she witnessed in the vision.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

Urchin merely sits and watches as Jocelyn thoroughly looks the chest over. Despite knowing where to look for the secret compartment she couldn't find a means of opening it. After several minutes of pressing and pulling at various spots on the chest she begins to feel very frustrated.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

Jocelyn searches the entire chest for some sort of latch or button to open the secret compartment she knew was there, but quickly became frustrated when her efforts became fruitless. Eventually, she gives up altogether, leaving the chest alone and going to sit down on a chair heavily, staring at it scornfully.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

Jocelyn sat staring at the chest from her chair scornfully. How to get into the secret compartment and maybe to the book if it was still there. The ritual had reminded her of the circles maybe she could learn to call them to her once more if she could get at the book. Then the voices returned to mock her interrupting her attempts at figuring out the chest.

The pattern is the key to the chest. You must figure out the pattern and then we will be free.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

"Yes, I know that, thank you." Jocelyn responded in an impatient voice, breaking the silence of the room. Grumbling a bit, she gets up and starts trying to get the chest open once more. If that other petitioner like her was able to use the circles, there must be a way to somehow, and that book was the best chance she knew of to try.

She pored over every inch of the chest, trying to find every little catch or button there was on the thing. Once she knew she had them all, she would start trying every possible combination of them, slowly but surely working her way through the puzzle with the mental equivalent of brute force.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

Urchin squeaks in surprise as Jocelyn responds to the voice in her head and gets up to start fiddling with the chest once again. Searching the chest thoroughly she finally finds a small indentation that moves as it's pressed in. Than she sees the pattern as the three surrounding indentation lower with a click. Her joy at noticing the pattern is abruptly interrupted by a knock at the door of the hospice, similar to the one used by Urchin the previous night.

Spoiler

I'll try to get a diagram to show the pattern up tomorrow. have to figure out how best to show it. First box is before you pressed, the second is after.

11011 00011
10101 00101
01110 01110
10101 10101
11011 11011

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

Jocelyn smiled as she felt the click, quickly finding the group of indentations afterwards, and examining it. Once she realized what it was, she felt a small wave of dread settle over her.

She flashed back to the others in the church, trying to get her to stretch her mind with a similar game, played with shells flipped up and down. It was an excercise in futility, they always began arranged in such a way that they were impossible to solve. 'To try and teach her patience and wisdom', they said. 'Because God would not have us solve it', they told her. She finally used the circles to bend one shell inside out without flipping it, making the puzzle solvable, and they got angry at her for it. They took the shells away, and never had her try that game again.

Sighing heavily and focusing on the indentations, she realized that this one was actually set up rather easily. It seemed like whoever had set it last had not put much effort into it, thankfully. She quickly pressed down the other three corners, and the one in the very center, and all of the other indents came down with them, leaving her with a grand feeling of accomplishment...

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

A click issued as Jocelyn solved the puzzle, causing a small door to open in the side of the chest. The door doesn't reveal quite what she expected, inside sits a small ebony box with intricate lettering on each of it's 7 sides. She can't read the language of the lettering and the box feels strangely cold to the touch.

Urchin stood before Jocelyn had solved the puzzle and headed to open the door so it's likely he hasn't seen what she has found. Opening the door and peeking outside he quickly opens the door to allow Rebekah and Aubrey entrance.

Aubrey looks a little wary of the other kindred but upon seeing Jocelyn on the floor he brightens and quickly moves towards her.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

Jocelyn seemed not to notice at first, turning the oddly shaped box over and over in her hands, mumbling about something irregularities. She strained to understand the odd writing or to find another sort of puzzle like the one before, before the voices spoke up again, briefly...

Hey, look behind you...

The woman turned around with a look of confusion on her face, which quickly turned to joy as she saw Rebekah and Aubrey walking in. "Oh!" She exclaimed, setting the box down and embracing him tightly. "You scared me! Be more careful next time!" She admonished, holding him tightly.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

Soon we will be free. The box is the key. No come back and hel...

The voice in her head is cut off as sets the box down to rush into Aubrey's arms. Aubrey embraces Jocelyn just as tightly in return and smiles at her with his usual roguish charm. His voice, enchanting as ever, whispered as he cast a look around the room.

"I'm fine. The baron turned out to be pretty easy to convince of my innocence once I played him a song or two. Not to mention the aid you sent my way in the Rebekah."

Urchin and Rebekah leave the two lovers alone for the most part speaking quietly in one of the corners of the room.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

"Rebekah and Urchin have been very helpful!" Jocelyn says happily. "I've booked us passage on a ship to England, both of us in a private berth, and a big chest we can fill with rocks and tell them it's food. So we don't have to pay for meals, and they won't suspect us if we don't eat for the whole trip." She explains with pride. "I still haven't figured out what to tell them about us sleeping all day, though..."

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

"We could probably just pretend to be sea sick." Aubrey answers the familiar distracted look coming into his voice as he looks around the room. "How long is the trip supposed to be?"

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

"Three weeks!" Jocelyn says, bringing a hand up to his chin. And directing his gaze back to her face. Plenty of time to clean later, after all. "And it will cost us 35 Crowns, another 5 if he thinks we're eating from his stores." She explained. "That chest there is what we have to make them think we've got everything in. Got it?"

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

His attention redirected away from the state of the room he nods his head and says in a still somewhat distracted tone.

"I should have no problem getting the extra coin but we'll have to make sure we're well fed before the trip. We don't want to be draining the crew of blood after all."

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Prologue: Jocelyn Holder

"Can we last that long? I think the first mate likes me, I can get help from him for the trip. I'd still like to bother him as little as possible though..." She told him. "I'm not sure about you though. From the way the two I met were acting, I'm pretty sure it's all burly men on board..."