The Great Library - Floor 'A' and Beyond, Wednesday Evening
On the 'A' floor, the sheer amount of Jane Austen books was astounding. Pride and Prejudice was right where it was supposed to be, although there were enough that it would take a while for the trio to find the most recent edition if they didn't know where to look.
imac_kenzie
Mac set to working her way through the editions in the lower bookshelves, flicking to the front of each to see the print dates.
"Wow, she really didn't emphasize the number of books in this place quite strongly enough," Mac said, as she slipped one of the books from her little stack back into place on the shelf.
bridge_carson
"It's amazing," Bridge says. "I just wish we were here under better circumstances." He picks up a book to follow Mac's example, putting it back as soon as he realises it's a translated edition. It wouldn't do to end up somewhere where they couldn't understand the language being spoken.
imac_kenzie
Mac hummed her agreement, rather more absorbed in looking through books than on responding.
"Either of you got anything hopeful yet?" she asked, putting another book aside.
Down the end of one shelf where the Pride and Prejudice books ended (about halfway down one of the tall bookcases) one particular copy of Pride and Prejudice was vibrating a little more vehemently than the others. If anyone was to put their ear up against any volume, they would have heard the multitude of hushed sounds that made up the novel, but this was more than that. It was as if there were hundreds of voices shouting out at once, demanding to be heard. As if they could tell that someone was nearby, sensing a reader, the vibrations increased until they were visibly noticeable.
bridge_carson
Vibration means energy, and sensing energy is something he's kind of good at. Bridge reaches out with one hand towards the vibrating book, raising the other in the air like he's answering a question in class. "Uh, guys? I think I've got something."
stupid_toasters
"Something good, I hope?" Lee asked, wandering his way over to Bridge.
imac_kenzie
Mac put the book she'd been looking at away again, following Lee over towards Bridge, looking at what he was pointing to.
"Well, that looks hopeful," she remarked.
stupid_toasters
"Do we touch it now or does it touch us?" Lee asked and then frowned. That just sounded idiotic. "Not touch us. I mean, will it do something on it's own? I don't have much experience dealing with vibrating books."
bridge_carson
"I think we're just supposed to start reading," Bridge says, picking up the book and noting the very recent publishing date. "This is definitely the one we want."
imac_kenzie
"Chapter five, paragraph one," Mac said. "That's what we're looking for, isn't it?"
stupid_toasters
"That's it," Lee confirmed. "Okay. Let's do this."
imac_kenzie
Mac nodded, only a little apprehensively, and reached out to touch Bridge, since apparently having contact was how this thing worked.
"You want to read it?" she directed at him.
stupid_toasters
While Mac asked Bridge the question, he moved to the other side of Bridge and touched his arm lightly.
bridge_carson
"Sure," Bridge says, flipping through until he finds the right page. "Within a short walk of Longbourn lived a family with whom the Bennets were particularly intimate..." he starts to read, concentrating on willing himself and the others into the text as he does so.
stupid_toasters
Whatever Bridge did must've worked because the next time Lee looked up, they were in huge, old, creaky house.
"Are we here?"
bridge_carson
"Looks like," Bridge says, motioning for Mac and Lee to duck behind a bush as he catches sight of a group of guards coming around the corner of the house. "And unfortunately we're not alone," he whispers. "We're going to have to sneak past those guys if we want to get inside."
imac_kenzie
Mac crouched down, car peering out at the guards from behind the bushes.
"If they're doing a set patrol, we might be able to just wait until they're not looking," Mac suggested quietly.
bridge_carson
Bridge waves one non-gloved hand in the direction of the guards, noticing that the path they're taking around the house never actually deviates. Perfect. He looks over at Lee for confirmation. "They're on a set patrol," he informs him quietly. "It's your call."
stupid_toasters
"If we can get by when they're not looking, we should do that," Lee agreed. "Easier for all of us. I don't really want to draw attention to ourselves."
imac_kenzie
"Sneaking it is," Mac whispered, watching them turn another corner. "Are we ready?"
stupid_toasters
"I think we're good to go," Lee said, peering back towards the entrance. "As soon as they move far enough past, we go."
bridge_carson
After a couple minutes, the guards turned the corner as they continued their march around the perimeter of the house.
Bridge stands up and bolts for the front door, glancing behind himself quickly to make sure Lee and Mac are right there with him.
stupid_toasters
As soon as Bridge took off, Lee sprang up and stayed right on his heels, eyes darting around to make sure no errant guard had stayed behind.
The timing was perfect as dictated by the needs of the plot or, in this case, the objective of the protagonists. Sometimes the BookWorld worked in wonderful ways. Sometimes it was prone to alliteration.
Once the trio were clear, the next guard started to walk around this side of the house again. He didn't notice any disturbance or any intruders.
The house itself was ridiculously large, but thankfully free of guards. That large room at one end of the ground floor that was surrounded entirely (inside and out) by encyclopaedias several layers deep was awfully suspicious though, as was the shouting and grumbling coming from within.
Jurisfiction meetings were bad enough when they only left an hour, but leaving Jurisfiction agents in a room together for days on end? Well, tempers flared to say the least.
imac_kenzie
"Well, that was easier than I expected," Mac remarked under her breath, moving a little further into the house, still keeping an eye out for guards, just in case. It felt almost too simple.
She frowned, glancing towards Bridge and Lee to see if they'd heard too, before slowly making a move towards the noise. People yelling certainly required investigation.
bridge_carson
"They must be in here," Bridge says, moving towards the wall of encyclopaedias. He starts to unstack the books and move them out of the way as quickly as he can. This... might take a while.
As each encyclopaedia was pulled away, the noise got louder and louder until the last of the layers, when the noise of the encyclopaedias being moved caught the attention of the room's occupants.
A hush fell over the room and stayed even when one of the double doors was cleared.
bridge_carson
Bridge frowns slightly as he notices the sudden quiet. "I'm not sure if that's a good sign or a bad one," he says to the others.
imac_kenzie
Mac paused in the middle of moving another couple of books as she also realised it had gone very quiet.
"I really hope it's the former," she said, placing the books to the side.
bridge_carson
"Well, I guess we'll find out soon enough," Bridge says, moving some of the last few remaining books out of the way. "Almost in the clear."
The door opened inwards. This became apparent when the door swung open to reveal a group of dishevelled people (and a cat) ready to take on whatever was outside. They weren't expecting three teenagers.
The man with the bushy moustache and the pith helmet spoke first. "State your intentions!"
stupid_toasters
Lee winced and held up both hands to show he wasn't armed with, well, anything.
"We're just...passing through," he said mildly. "Just trying to get where we're going."
imac_kenzie
Mac followed suit showing her empty hands.
"Hoping to find certain people on the way," she added.
bridge_carson
Bridge does as well, adding a little fingerwiggly wave with each hand because, well. Bridge. "And, we, you know, figured you guys might not wanna be stuck in here if you didn't have to be."
stupid_toasters
Mr. Bushy Mustache just continued to glare at them.
"We're really very nice," Lee said. "I mean, look at us. We just look nice and polite. We won't do anything bad."
bridge_carson
"Yeah," Bridge nods. "We were sent here by, um... by a mutual friend." Who, okay, was technically their employer, really, and he didn't actually know if any of these people were Ms. Next's *friends*.
"They're children, Bradshaw!" the Red Queen barked. "Hardly a threat despite their inherent ability to annoy everyone within shouting distance. Enough with the diplomacy and let's get out of here!"
"They're no harm," the Cheshire Cat said with a flick of his tail as he appeared on a half-finished stack of encyclopaedias out of nowhere. "They're with her," he explained lazily, having been to the school library once or twice. "And they're quite mad."
Bradshaw looked at them again. "Well, if the Cat insists," he said. "You're from that school?"
stupid_toasters
"We're from that school," Lee confirmed. "And we're nice. And we're quite mad. The school does that sort of thing."
"Then you must be with Thursday, which makes you and I comrades in arms today. If I'm correct, and I often am in such circumstances, then Thursday is here too and she's gone after the madman behind this heinous attack on our homes. There's one problem with that predictable turn of events. He's expecting her. He knew trapping us in here and wreaking havoc on the BookWorld would draw her in. There's only one thing to do." He turned and called back into the room. "Prepare yourselves, gentlemen!" He paused briefly to field a glare from the Red Queen before adding, "and ladies. One of our own is in need of assistance. We're off!"
[OOC: NFI, NFB due to distance. Pre-played with the marvellous bridge_carson, imac_kenzie and stupid_toasters!]
imac_kenzie
Mac set to working her way through the editions in the lower bookshelves, flicking to the front of each to see the print dates.
"Wow, she really didn't emphasize the number of books in this place quite strongly enough," Mac said, as she slipped one of the books from her little stack back into place on the shelf.
bridge_carson
"It's amazing," Bridge says. "I just wish we were here under better circumstances." He picks up a book to follow Mac's example, putting it back as soon as he realises it's a translated edition. It wouldn't do to end up somewhere where they couldn't understand the language being spoken.
imac_kenzie
Mac hummed her agreement, rather more absorbed in looking through books than on responding.
"Either of you got anything hopeful yet?" she asked, putting another book aside.
Down the end of one shelf where the Pride and Prejudice books ended (about halfway down one of the tall bookcases) one particular copy of Pride and Prejudice was vibrating a little more vehemently than the others. If anyone was to put their ear up against any volume, they would have heard the multitude of hushed sounds that made up the novel, but this was more than that. It was as if there were hundreds of voices shouting out at once, demanding to be heard. As if they could tell that someone was nearby, sensing a reader, the vibrations increased until they were visibly noticeable.
bridge_carson
Vibration means energy, and sensing energy is something he's kind of good at. Bridge reaches out with one hand towards the vibrating book, raising the other in the air like he's answering a question in class. "Uh, guys? I think I've got something."
stupid_toasters
"Something good, I hope?" Lee asked, wandering his way over to Bridge.
imac_kenzie
Mac put the book she'd been looking at away again, following Lee over towards Bridge, looking at what he was pointing to.
"Well, that looks hopeful," she remarked.
stupid_toasters
"Do we touch it now or does it touch us?" Lee asked and then frowned. That just sounded idiotic. "Not touch us. I mean, will it do something on it's own? I don't have much experience dealing with vibrating books."
bridge_carson
"I think we're just supposed to start reading," Bridge says, picking up the book and noting the very recent publishing date. "This is definitely the one we want."
imac_kenzie
"Chapter five, paragraph one," Mac said. "That's what we're looking for, isn't it?"
stupid_toasters
"That's it," Lee confirmed. "Okay. Let's do this."
imac_kenzie
Mac nodded, only a little apprehensively, and reached out to touch Bridge, since apparently having contact was how this thing worked.
"You want to read it?" she directed at him.
stupid_toasters
While Mac asked Bridge the question, he moved to the other side of Bridge and touched his arm lightly.
bridge_carson
"Sure," Bridge says, flipping through until he finds the right page. "Within a short walk of Longbourn lived a family with whom the Bennets were particularly intimate..." he starts to read, concentrating on willing himself and the others into the text as he does so.
stupid_toasters
Whatever Bridge did must've worked because the next time Lee looked up, they were in huge, old, creaky house.
"Are we here?"
bridge_carson
"Looks like," Bridge says, motioning for Mac and Lee to duck behind a bush as he catches sight of a group of guards coming around the corner of the house. "And unfortunately we're not alone," he whispers. "We're going to have to sneak past those guys if we want to get inside."
imac_kenzie
Mac crouched down, car peering out at the guards from behind the bushes.
"If they're doing a set patrol, we might be able to just wait until they're not looking," Mac suggested quietly.
bridge_carson
Bridge waves one non-gloved hand in the direction of the guards, noticing that the path they're taking around the house never actually deviates. Perfect. He looks over at Lee for confirmation. "They're on a set patrol," he informs him quietly. "It's your call."
stupid_toasters
"If we can get by when they're not looking, we should do that," Lee agreed. "Easier for all of us. I don't really want to draw attention to ourselves."
imac_kenzie
"Sneaking it is," Mac whispered, watching them turn another corner. "Are we ready?"
stupid_toasters
"I think we're good to go," Lee said, peering back towards the entrance. "As soon as they move far enough past, we go."
bridge_carson
After a couple minutes, the guards turned the corner as they continued their march around the perimeter of the house.
Bridge stands up and bolts for the front door, glancing behind himself quickly to make sure Lee and Mac are right there with him.
stupid_toasters
As soon as Bridge took off, Lee sprang up and stayed right on his heels, eyes darting around to make sure no errant guard had stayed behind.
The timing was perfect as dictated by the needs of the plot or, in this case, the objective of the protagonists. Sometimes the BookWorld worked in wonderful ways. Sometimes it was prone to alliteration.
Once the trio were clear, the next guard started to walk around this side of the house again. He didn't notice any disturbance or any intruders.
The house itself was ridiculously large, but thankfully free of guards. That large room at one end of the ground floor that was surrounded entirely (inside and out) by encyclopaedias several layers deep was awfully suspicious though, as was the shouting and grumbling coming from within.
Jurisfiction meetings were bad enough when they only left an hour, but leaving Jurisfiction agents in a room together for days on end? Well, tempers flared to say the least.
imac_kenzie
"Well, that was easier than I expected," Mac remarked under her breath, moving a little further into the house, still keeping an eye out for guards, just in case. It felt almost too simple.
She frowned, glancing towards Bridge and Lee to see if they'd heard too, before slowly making a move towards the noise. People yelling certainly required investigation.
bridge_carson
"They must be in here," Bridge says, moving towards the wall of encyclopaedias. He starts to unstack the books and move them out of the way as quickly as he can. This... might take a while.
As each encyclopaedia was pulled away, the noise got louder and louder until the last of the layers, when the noise of the encyclopaedias being moved caught the attention of the room's occupants.
A hush fell over the room and stayed even when one of the double doors was cleared.
bridge_carson
Bridge frowns slightly as he notices the sudden quiet. "I'm not sure if that's a good sign or a bad one," he says to the others.
imac_kenzie
Mac paused in the middle of moving another couple of books as she also realised it had gone very quiet.
"I really hope it's the former," she said, placing the books to the side.
bridge_carson
"Well, I guess we'll find out soon enough," Bridge says, moving some of the last few remaining books out of the way. "Almost in the clear."
The door opened inwards. This became apparent when the door swung open to reveal a group of dishevelled people (and a cat) ready to take on whatever was outside. They weren't expecting three teenagers.
The man with the bushy moustache and the pith helmet spoke first. "State your intentions!"
stupid_toasters
Lee winced and held up both hands to show he wasn't armed with, well, anything.
"We're just...passing through," he said mildly. "Just trying to get where we're going."
imac_kenzie
Mac followed suit showing her empty hands.
"Hoping to find certain people on the way," she added.
bridge_carson
Bridge does as well, adding a little fingerwiggly wave with each hand because, well. Bridge. "And, we, you know, figured you guys might not wanna be stuck in here if you didn't have to be."
stupid_toasters
Mr. Bushy Mustache just continued to glare at them.
"We're really very nice," Lee said. "I mean, look at us. We just look nice and polite. We won't do anything bad."
bridge_carson
"Yeah," Bridge nods. "We were sent here by, um... by a mutual friend." Who, okay, was technically their employer, really, and he didn't actually know if any of these people were Ms. Next's *friends*.
"They're children, Bradshaw!" the Red Queen barked. "Hardly a threat despite their inherent ability to annoy everyone within shouting distance. Enough with the diplomacy and let's get out of here!"
"They're no harm," the Cheshire Cat said with a flick of his tail as he appeared on a half-finished stack of encyclopaedias out of nowhere. "They're with her," he explained lazily, having been to the school library once or twice. "And they're quite mad."
Bradshaw looked at them again. "Well, if the Cat insists," he said. "You're from that school?"
stupid_toasters
"We're from that school," Lee confirmed. "And we're nice. And we're quite mad. The school does that sort of thing."
"Then you must be with Thursday, which makes you and I comrades in arms today. If I'm correct, and I often am in such circumstances, then Thursday is here too and she's gone after the madman behind this heinous attack on our homes. There's one problem with that predictable turn of events. He's expecting her. He knew trapping us in here and wreaking havoc on the BookWorld would draw her in. There's only one thing to do." He turned and called back into the room. "Prepare yourselves, gentlemen!" He paused briefly to field a glare from the Red Queen before adding, "and ladies. One of our own is in need of assistance. We're off!"
[OOC: NFI, NFB due to distance. Pre-played with the marvellous bridge_carson, imac_kenzie and stupid_toasters!]