A wind in the attic (Klue and Hay'aan please).

[Catalyst]

Klue and Hay'aan walked down the streets of Demios one spring evening for reasons best known to themselves. The morning had seen a storm of moderate force, but as the day progressed it quickly subsided, and the spring sun did its best to dry the freshly washed streets. It was now nearly sunset, and the suns lit the street from a low angle.

The pair passed through a poor section of town. Many of the houses about them were rather run down and storm damaged, although a few of them produced smoke from their chimneys.

As they walked, they began to realize they were hearing the music of a flute. The sound came upon them softly, but as they walked it became louder and more noticeable. It seemed to be coming from a house in the final stages of dereliction that precede a total collapse. The roof was nearly completely gone, half of it torn away by the wind and the other half fallen in. The walls bowed outwards under the weight of the upper floor, and it was quite apparent that the house was not a safe place for anyone to be.

The music that filtered out of the house was amazing. The musician, whoever he or she was, had advanced far beyond mere technical brilliance. The song throbbed with pure emotion, a mournful tune of loss and despair. Something white seemed to flash in front of a window in the upper floor, but it was gone in a second and difficult to tell what it was.

[Hay'aan Benedict]

Walking hand in hand through town as the darkening turned the sky to a darker shade was something which gave Hay'aan an inordinate amount of pleasure. Klue was showing her around Demios and she and he were walking and chatting, getting to know each other better and generally looking around.

And she was quite sure that they were lost.

"Are you sure there's a park here?" she asked, looking at him out of the corner of her eye and smiling slightly. "It doesn't seem like park area, you know". She shook her head to emphasise her feelings on the likelihood of it being a park around the next corner and she leant over to plant a soft kiss on his cheek.

Being with Klue and walking hand in hand was something amazing, and Hay'aan was discovering a love of simply being with him. She was normally quite a solitary young woman but she thought that she was, quite possibly, becoming a little addicted to the gadgeteer of Demios.

She turned to say something to him when the lilting melody found its way to her ears and she stopped stock still. Having listened for a few moments she spoke in a hushed tone "Klue... can you hear that? We.... we should find them" she said, looking at Klue earnestly "That house isn't safe, and they shouldn't be there. Come on.."

She tugged him gently and then stopped for a moment and grinned "Did I ever tell you that I'm Captain Smartypants in the Weavers Wood Legion?" she asked, gave him a smart salute and then, her hand still in his, made her way towards the house with the intention of rescuing the person inside.

[Klue Malinconico]

Truth told Klue couldn’t rightly say how they’d ended up in this part of town, it was the sort of area he’d often worked in as Rogator back in Trysvale while investigating this that or the other thing, even patrolled now and again through the night back in his Legionnaire brightenings in order to help keep the peace. But it wasn’t the scenic sort of location a fellow would ordinarily take a girl he was fond of on what was meant to be a romantic stroll through the city. He couldn’t rightly say whether or not there was a park nearby though he wasn’t ready to admit it yet. He couldn’t rightly say how they’d ended up along the row of dilapidated and poor houses either, and that neither was he prepared to admit…just yet.

His only excuse was that the girl at his side and with her hand in his had been far more worthy of his undivided attention than paying much of a mind to where they were going. At least he was wearing his longsword, he’d thought once realizing where they were, it was a Legionnaire’s weapon that in fact he’d ‘forgotten’ to return when he’d resigned his commission but nonetheless it would be a poor escort who’d take his girl out on the town without the means to defend her honor. And beautiful as she was, well he wasn’t taking any chances on that count.

”I think maybe I might’ve been mistaken,” he said with a boyish grin when she asked and it was as close to admitting he’d gotten turned around without noticing…quite likely the reason he’d made a poor ranger in fact…He’d not exactly applied himself sufficiently to the topic of wilderness survival. And then his grin turned sheepish when she kissed his cheek and he squeezed her hand and chuckled. ”Maybe we should turn round and head back the other way,” he declared just as the strains of music reached his ears on the evening breeze. Bawdy tunes and lively fiddles were admittedly more along the lines of his knowledge of music but even to his less cultured ears someone certainly had a knack for it, enough that it struck somewhat of a melancholy note to his thinking.

The house was a mess of a thing there was no denying, age and likely the Dragon Winds themselves had surely taken their toll and that the music seemed to be coming from that place was surprising. It surprised him in fact that the city hadn’t chosen to tear it down before now. ”Aye, I hear it,” he said while still holding on to her hand and looking up at the structure and he frowned, the expression as brief as what he thought he had seen there. His imagination? Or had something just come and gone in an upstairs window? ”Did ye see that? There’s someone upstairs I think,” he remarked before his attention was caught by her declaration and a grin leapt to his face.

”Captain Smartypants…of th’ Weavers Wood Legion?’ he asked and his grin widened all the more when she saluted him, and he laughed, of course without fathoming how she’d come to enjoy such a remarkable rank and title. ”Well then ye outrank me ye know, I was naught but a Lieutenant at th’ time I d’parted th’ Legions. Yer th’ boss then, inside we go and see what they’re about it there,” he said of the flute player, and with a mind on what he’d thought he’d seen in an upper window as well. So hand in hand with her, they made way to its door and when close enough to knock should there even be one to knock on, he did and even gave it an exploratory nudge with his fingers before calling out. ”Serale in there, is anyone inside?”

[Catalyst]

Klue did indeed find a door, although once he got close to it his gadgeteer's instincts made him hesitant to open it. It seemed to be jammed against the ground, and was perhaps providing vital support to the wall above it, which looked to be in even worse shape then it appeared from the street.

The music was quite audible now, drifting from the house through a window that had broken out and fallen to the ground, frame and all. The house was groaning and creaking in the slight wind. Was it their imagination, or did it groan in time with the flute music?

The music stopped when Klue called out. For a moment there was silence, then a thin voice spoke, but the words were not easy to here. "....I can't....light of..." the words quickly gave way to a sobbing sound, and then the flute began again.

[Hay'aan Benedict]

There were times when it was important to think about it and there were times when it was important to act. Hay'aan was very much of the opinion that this was in the latter category. This house was falling down, and soon. There was someone here and they had to do something about it.

"We need to go in" she said, and she looked at Klue with an expression which was resigned to the fact that he wouldn't let her go in alone. In truth, she liked that, but it was still something which was tricky in this situation. "I'll go in front... I'm lighter. .. alright?"

Either way, her hand in his she turned and looked at him. "I... yes.. Captain Smartypants" she said. It hadn't been what she was going to say, but it would do "I joined the Paedia.. and I had a quest to make myself a scarf out of spider silk... I met someone. I'll tell you all about it, but I was given the honorary rank of Captain Smartypants and I weilded my spoozlestick with pride, I tell you...thank you, Klue. Thank you for this... " she leant forwards and kissed him again, this time more bold in her approach and her lips met his in a brief touch, like a whisper moving across his as she looked at him, her brown eyes amazed at his, looking at him and drinking him in. "For this moment, for this brightening. Thank you... now I'd best stop my wittering and we'd best get in there, I rather suspect"

She looked at him and smiled, then slid through the crack and started walking "Serale! We are coming in now... where are you?" she said, loud enough to be heard, she hoped, but no louder.

And in her hand, she held on to Klue, hoping that he was better with that sword than he was with pronouncing h's.


oocso sorry, lovely people. Back on track now!

[Klue Malinconico]

An exploratory nudge on the door with his forefinger was followed by another and a good look at the frame before concluding that should they push the thing open, the whole of it might come tumbling down around them like an uncommonly heavy house of cards. ”Not through here,” he told Hay’aan with a shake of his head though truth told he wasn’t keen on letting her go inside at all…not that he could forbid her of course but he wasn’t above trying.

The music had grown no dimmer in fact it was all the more audible now, and the missing window off to the side was no doubt the reason they could hear it at all. As for the creaking, he didn’t like it a bit and considered again telling her to wait outside while he had a look…if he thought he’d have had any luck. And the voice in response to his call, broken, faint and disconnected…”Sounds like whoever’s in there is away from a source of light, can’t get out on their own…or blind maybe,” he conceded with a frown before running his palm along the window frame to make sure there were no remnant shards of glass left behind.

”Aye,” he said, they needed to go in…technically he needed to go in, in order to insure she didn’t get hurt but didn’t say so and instead agreed begrudgingly while untying the peace bind on his longsword. ”Ye’ve joined th’ Paedia and ye have a…spoozlestick?” he asked belatedly with a curious expression that said he meant to ask more when they’d the opportunity…”You’re welcome,” he said then with a wry grin, ”I know how t’ show a girl a good time aye, lost in poor side and slipping through th’ windows of crooked old houses in search of mysterious flutists.” Or was it flautists? It didn't matter really, the kiss was far more worthy of his undivided attention and she had it no denying as he returned the kiss with enthusiasm and ultimately a want for more even where they stood in these circumstances. After all, he was a fair hand at multi-tasking.

No matter the case, he added while gripping her hand as she made to crawl through the window, ”Take care t’ test th’ floorboards b’fore puttin’ all your weight down an’ tread lightly.” And once he followed her through and took care to test his own weight on the old floor before charging ahead, he had a quick look around for immediate dangers or pitfalls and listened for a response to her call before adding. ”It’s getting dark outside and in here too then. We might want to look for a lantern or at least a couple of candles and somethin’ t’ light ‘em with b’fore it grows completely dark.”

[Catalyst]

The house was of the odd sort that one sometimes sees. Originally the section of town in which it had been built had been upscale, and the houses were built large and airy, with sprawling lawns and plenty of garden statuary. But the inevitable twists and turns of the economy had somehow focused their ill-will on this neighborhood, and it had faded from it's former glory. The result was rows of houses that had once been grand owned by people who could have never afforded them had they not inherited them from family, and who did not have proper funds for upkeep after storms.

The house Klue and Hay'ann found themselves in strongly fit this mold. Despite the bold elegance of its design, the furnishings, such as they were, were meager. The candle Hay'aan found on the mantle was set in a stick of pewter that had been crafted with no great skill. The floor proved moderately sound. The wood of the house was not too far gone in rot, but it was as if the house had been smashed with a giant hammer, and everything was loose, twisted, and shifting. Thus the floorboards would hold, although some had been wrenched loose of their nails and would shift underfoot.

A gust of wind caused the old frame to moan, and somewhere wood could be heard snapping. From the room in which the pair now stood, they could see a narrow stairway leading up. It looked none too stable but would perhaps still bear weight. The music of the flute was quite clear now, wafting down the stairs.

[Hay'aan Benedict]

"Well, quicker rather than slow is how we're going to have to do this" she said, looking around with interest. She found a candle on the mantle and looked at Klue with a raised eyebrow as she handed it to him "Don't suppose you could light that could you?" she asked, taking a moment to take stock.

Once that would done, she turned and smiled at him, her face beaming in the candlelight "I'm going to go up first, alright? Watch your step, it's all loose. Leave a few paces between us, Klue, I think that it will only bear one persons weight at a time..." that said, she started to move forwards. Carefully, but with alacrity was the best thing to do, she decided, and so she moved speedily forward, taking the time to check the floorboard in front, but doing so quickly.

So, treading lightly and not lingering over-long on any one board, Hay'aan made her way across the room and up the narrow stairway. She thought that personally, it would be better if Klue waited down here for her, because upstairs might be dangerous, but she didn't rate her chances, truth be told. He wouldn't leave her side, and fair enough too.

So up the stairs the young couple went, following the sound of the flute

"We're coming up... please, this house is falling down... please, won't you come to where you are safe? I'm Hay'aan.. this is Klue... we're here to help you" she said, calling to the stranger above them.

[Klue Malinconico]

There wasn’t much to see Klue realized once having a look around, he hadn’t expected it really, even had the house not had a poor feel about it, he’d have imagined anything of value might’ve been looted and carried off by now by local miscreants and the like. At least the floorboards themselves were in good standing though he’d still a mind to tread lightly just in case. The moaning of the frame wasn’t exactly comforting nor were the sounds of old wood giving way, but he didn’t mean for them to be inside long. And if what he’d seen in the upstairs window had been any indication that might be the first place to look…The music picking up again seemed all the more to indicate that was the direction to go.

At least she’d found a candle though it didn’t solve all their problems, now ordinarily Klue’s pockets were filled with all sorts of oddities, nature of the trade and an active imagination…he always had bits of string, a marble or two, a few loose screws, small oddities he’d picked up and dropped in his pockets over the course of any given brightening if it would fit….young boys tended to carry things like dead snakes and sticky candy out of its wrapper in their pockets, some of them never outgrew the tendency…except this brightening of course, he’d emptied out his pockets save for spare change and a small pocket knife before calling on Hay’aan.

”I could,” he admitted with a frown in regards to the candle, ”if I had a little flint, or a bit of string…maybe some chocolate and fizzed up water or a chunk of ice and a good shaft of sunslight…maybe there’s somethin’ on th’ mantle,” he said and peered onto the thing to see if he could find any striking sticks or the like. With luck he found something useful to light the candle with but whichever the case with the candle in hand he turned to follow her up the stairs, a few steps between them and testing the weight of each under his own before stepping full on it. ”Take care not to put your weight on th’ rail lest it give way,” he cautioned, worried that the thing could fall away if she were to rely on it for steadying herself.

[Catalyst]

Klue searched the mantle for something to light his candle with, and found a porcelin figurine of a cat. The top half of the cat lifted off to reveal a well-worn flint and steel. It took a minute to get the candle lit- he had to light some tinder and then the candle from that, but soon the candle gave the pair it's warm yellow light.

Once Hay'aan put her weight on the stairs, she could tell that they were sturdy enough to hold her, and the danger wasn't so much them giving way under her as it was them pulling from the bent wall and falling to the side. Carefully she made her way to the top, followed by Klue.

The stairway opened into a large room. A big patch of roof was missing, and overhead a few early stars could be seen in the darkening sky. Beyond the missing patch of roof, something or someone moved in the darkness. The light of the candle did not reach far enough to be much help, but the flute music came from that direction.

As the pair watched, something shiny moved in the darkness, reflecting the light of the candle, and they realized that it was a flute. Apparently the musician had been facing sideways to them, and had turned to look.

Suddenly a figure appeared at the edge of the shadow. It was a woman dressed in a white dress. She stood so that the light fell on her face and the bottom of her skirt, the rest of her body dim in the shadows.

The woman seemed young, perhaps in her early 20's. She was rather thin, and had a fine elegant face that would have been reasonably pretty had it not been so marked by sorrow. She peered at the pair with great earnestness, as if she had been expecting someone, then her face crumpled into despair, and she staggered back into the shadows with a sob.

[Hay'aan Benedict]

Up the stairs and there she was. At first, nothing but a glint of the flute, but then the woman herself came into view Hay'aan was surprised by a number of things about this, but the fact was that they had no time to question things right now, they had to get on with it and they had to do so with maximum speed and efficiency, she thought. How much time they had before the house fell, Hay'aan did not know, but she did not think it was counted in candlemarks, let alone anything else.

The woman in front of them seemed so young and Hay'aan's heart went out to her. It was enormously difficult to understand what could send someone to such a point of despair. But now was not the time to discuss it, Hay'aan considered as the woman's face fell into despair and she sobbed.

"I.. I am sorry... I am. Please.. I am Hay'aan, and this is Klue. We have to.. have to get out of here... please, lady, will you come with us?" she asked, looking at her with interest.

In the dark, Hay'aan peered around to see if there was anything else in the room which might give her some clue as to what was going on. For certainly, stanind in the dark in a house which was falling down and playing the flute was a most peculiar habit and Hay'aan thought that it must have been brought on by a strange affliction indeed ~ maybe there was some idea of that affliction here.

Klue standing behind her, his light leading the way gave Hay'aan courage and she felt quite quite sure that they were going to definitely save this woman, because anything else was simply not acceptable.

[Klue Malinconico]

A cat figurine with flint and steel hid inside, that would do, old or not with effort he got the thing lit and so with a hand to shield the flame lest a draft blow it out he followed Hay’aan up the stairs, taking care of weather and age worn construction that might have sent them toppling over. It said something about the original artisanship though of the dwelling that it had stood its ground against the elements uncared for as long as it had. Still, he stayed close enough so that should the steps give way, he could reach out and try to pull Hay’aan out of danger.

He only glanced up briefly at an already starlit sky before movement in the shadows caught his eye and glancing at Hay’aan there beside him while wondering if she’d seen it too, he looked closer in hopes of identifying the figure there. Whoever it is seemed more worried about them than aggressive in nature, more apt to run than charge so for the moment he saw no reason to draw his sword or act aggressive in turn.

Then she stepped out of the shadow a bit, a woman and pretty too or at least she might’ve been and he frowned curiously while she peered back at them, almost as if she’d been looking for someone she knew and was disappointed they weren’t the ones she was hoping for and if he were the sentimental type…though under Hay’aan’s influence he’d developed a good deal of it in spite of himself and to his surprise rather quickly, it would have struck a largely sentimental chord in him. There was the protective streak though, and that was as in good standing as it had ever been. ”Wait, don’t run away,” he said quietly just as she melted back into the shadows.

She didn’t seem eager to leave though, little enough that he wondered if she’d run from them if they pursued her through the shadows and while he wasn’t opposed to going after if need be to get her out of the house, it was a dangerous prospect for the instability of the house alone not to mention the unknowns. Better if she’d talk to them or come along willingly but if need be he wasn’t opposed to following her and in fact would, but Hay’aan’s bid to get her talking was one deserving of a first try in hopes of avoiding a pursuit, especially when it meant pursuing someone who seemed not in possession of their faculties through a house ready to collapse on itself. ”She’s right miss, this old house is like t’ come down any minute with a good stiff breeze, it’s a wonder it’s still standing. Why don’t ye come out with us an’ we can help ye with whatever it is that’s gone wrong?”

[Catalyst]

The woman's face reappeared at the edge of the shadows. She looked tired and haggard, and at the edge of hysteria. "I *can't* come." She paused and looked around the room, then said in a stage whisper "They still might bring my son back." She held her flute up as a visual aid. "They said they liked my playing, if I play well enough maybe they will bring him back."

Having stood in the shadows for a few moments, Hay'aan and Klue's eyes had adjusted to the dark somewhat, and they could make out the outline of a basinet tucked back in the shadows where the woman had been sitting.

Just then, something in the house broke with a loud crack, and the floor tilted to the left a few degrees. It ended it's movement not with the solid jarring of a structure coming up against a bracing, but with a mushy and unsteady sort of feel.

[Hay'aan Benedict]

ooc so sorry for delays guys.. i'm bad

Hay'aan looked at the woman and she sighed slightly. Whatever the woman was talking about there wasn't time.. no time. She looked at her and she spoke, quietly and firmly "If we do not get out of this house now, whoever has your son would, should they come back, find nothing more than corpses. You can play outside, mi'lady, and I promise you that my friend and I.. we'll help you find your boy if we can, I promise you. But if we don't leave now and they do come back, your son will find his mother dead with two strangers. Do you want that, or are you coming with us?"

She looked at the woman and her gaze did not waver as the house tilted to the left. "Because I'm not leaving without you. So either we're going to live and try to find your child, or we're going to die. Which is it?"

Her voice was gentle, soft and calm as she spoke, but her hand slipped into Klue's and he could feel that she was shaking. She had no wish to die, that was for sure, but also she had not the ability to leave a woman who was obviously in need to her death. She glanced at Klue and tried to gauge his feelings on the situation in that split second, but then she quickly looked back at the woman and awaited her reaction.

[Klue Malinconico]

Klue would beg to differ truth told. If this old house started to come apart and only time to save themselves, he’d haul Hay’aan up over his shoulder and carry her out himself if he had to. But he didn’t say so, now wasn’t the time to quibble or enter into their first spat. Better they convinced this woman to come with them and if it came to it, well he’d haul her out too in the same fashion if need be. Best not mention that either though, he thought.

”She’s right miss, ye’ve got t’ come out of here, we’re not leavin’ without ye,” he said and edged into the shadows after her, no change in his voice, no sudden movements to intimidate her, just slowly ahead in the direction she’d retreated…with a mind to look in the basinet while he was at it.

”I don’t know who it is that’s taken your child, but I’ve got one of my own ye see,” he tried with a glance back at Hay’aan as she took his hand, and a quiet nod that indicated he understood, and didn’t mean to see any of them hurt, ”A daughter. And I’d like t’ see her again. This is no place for them t’ return your son to, it’s not safe…Not for any of us. Come outside with us will you, and we’ll look for your son and get him back.”