["Oh, yeah. My magic is a little weird right now. Don't worry about it."
Bela shakes her head.]
We'll have to have a look at what's around you. But most of the time, dark objects are something innocuous. I've seen them be everything from a rabbit's foot to a Christmas ornament. The important thing is how it's spelled. You might get lucky and see something that looks older or out of place around new things.
("Probably the least of my worries right now," Ivan says, letting go of her hand. )
In an exhibit of older, out of place things. Alright. Once more unto the breach.
( She hops off the desk and ushers the small group back outside the lecture hall into the lobby area. )
I'd say we have maybe another... what, two hours, Josie? Before people start freaking out about physically not being able to leave? There are a few tour groups, other lectures, we have time, just not... endless.
[Bela can only see so much through the tablet screen (10), but Josie is going to do her best to start searching (14), trying to see if anything stands out that fits Bela's criteria.]
There's also usually a theme, if the witch who made it has any flair. I once was searching for a rabbit's foot that was cursed. For as long as you held it, you got a string of fantastic luck, but as soon as you lost it - and you always lost it - the luck would turn.
That was the sort of object that would kill you if you gave it long enough.
If it helps, trapping people in an enclosed space is a little too overt for an item that's murderous, in my experience. Unless the effect is immediate, they're generally more subtle.
[Aka, if the thing was trying to kill you dramatically, you'd probably be dead already.]
It all depends on how the item was made, and more specifically the power of the person who made it.
[Sometimes the things you create outlive your notoriety as a witch. And those objects can be a lot harder to keep track of.]
And ideally you don't want the person interacting with it to know what they're picking up most of the time. But there are some artifacts made by power players that can't escape notice.
Lucky us and our obscure artifact. We just need a better way to narrow it down.
("The exhibit's new, right?" Ivan asks, waiting for acknowledgement. "But, there are pieces always on display. So, cross-reference Tulane's collection and the visiting one. One of the visiting artifacts has to be it. Technically, right? What are the chances one already on this campus was randomly triggered? That's a place to start?")
["Ivan's right. People have been walking in and out of this place for years and it's never been triggered. The odds that we have something that specific on our hands is very small."]
Give me a second. I'll see what I can find online.
[Josie is also not doing well with her knowledge of the collection (6), but Bela spots it in the online information just as Hope sets her eyes on it (19).]
The dollhouse.
[It's a small little miniature room set on the far end of the collection, close to the door.]
[Bela can't do much from FaceTime, but Josie at least notices something (12). Maybe not with magic, but as she steps back to look at the other miniatures, her brow furrows as she realizes a pattern.]
In the other scenes, all the doors are open.
[Almost as though the rooms have just been left, as though the scene is still in media res. But the one that Bela pointed out to them does not. In fact, the door is closed. She quietly takes a step closer, murmurs a soft spell, and uses it to very gently push the miniatures door back open again.]
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everyonelives2023-10-16 07:09 pm
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But, he's not the expert. He's the muggle, or he thought he was.
Hope picks up again, holding the phone back so that everyone else is in the picture. )
Anything?
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Bela shakes her head.]
We'll have to have a look at what's around you. But most of the time, dark objects are something innocuous. I've seen them be everything from a rabbit's foot to a Christmas ornament. The important thing is how it's spelled. You might get lucky and see something that looks older or out of place around new things.
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In an exhibit of older, out of place things. Alright. Once more unto the breach.
( She hops off the desk and ushers the small group back outside the lecture hall into the lobby area. )
I'd say we have maybe another... what, two hours, Josie? Before people start freaking out about physically not being able to leave? There are a few tour groups, other lectures, we have time, just not... endless.
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There's also usually a theme, if the witch who made it has any flair. I once was searching for a rabbit's foot that was cursed. For as long as you held it, you got a string of fantastic luck, but as soon as you lost it - and you always lost it - the luck would turn.
That was the sort of object that would kill you if you gave it long enough.
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Let's lean on it not being.
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[Aka, if the thing was trying to kill you dramatically, you'd probably be dead already.]
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Anyone ever tell you you have dark thoughts?
( Maybe he was born with them. )
Okay, what we have is time. Is... there a reason why something this powerful doesn't give off its' own magical signature?
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[Sometimes the things you create outlive your notoriety as a witch. And those objects can be a lot harder to keep track of.]
And ideally you don't want the person interacting with it to know what they're picking up most of the time. But there are some artifacts made by power players that can't escape notice.
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( "The exhibit's new, right?" Ivan asks, waiting for acknowledgement. "But, there are pieces always on display. So, cross-reference Tulane's collection and the visiting one. One of the visiting artifacts has to be it. Technically, right? What are the chances one already on this campus was randomly triggered? That's a place to start?" )
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Give me a second. I'll see what I can find online.
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( Hope brings her phone down, toggles Bela's FaceTime screen to the side and tries to use her best Googling skills. (13)
Ivan's on a roll, so he makes his own attempt: (4). )
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The dollhouse.
[It's a small little miniature room set on the far end of the collection, close to the door.]
I recognize the artist.
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Over there.
( Hope keeps up appearances as the three of them move through the other students. )
And this is our collection that we just got in. One of the great things about Tulane is the dedication to...
( Hope has never been good with bullshit, but Ivan on the other hand: "Culture and tradition, especially locally." )
Yes. And this is a good example of the local meeting the national and everything -- coming together.
( Nobody is lingering by the dollhouse so they have enough privacy to inspect it.
Hope gets an (8) and Ivan a (3). Ivan is probably continuing his fake showoffy lecture to Hope's ... aunt? )
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In the other scenes, all the doors are open.
[Almost as though the rooms have just been left, as though the scene is still in media res. But the one that Bela pointed out to them does not. In fact, the door is closed. She quietly takes a step closer, murmurs a soft spell, and uses it to very gently push the miniatures door back open again.]
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Hope looks up and around at everyone. )
Do you feel that?
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Okay. We should be able to go now.
[She pokes her head over her girlfriend's shoulder and waves to Bela on FaceTime.]
Thanks, Bela.
[The other woman nods. "Everything alright, then?"]
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( It could have been scary, had they not acted quickly. She guesses this kind of object has done its fair share of bad. )
Thank you. Bela.
( Ivan also waves from behind the girls. )
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Josie smiles as she steps back and holds up her hands for a high-five.]
See? Teamwork.
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( "And maybe tonight's nightmares," Ivan says. )
Oh, Ivan.
( It could've been a lot worse. )
I think we should get out of here. I think we've learned enough, don't you guys?
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[Josie brightens as she turns to head towards the door.]
Maybe we can go grab milkshakes instead?
[And give Ivan a slightly gentler easing into the witchy pool.]
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( She could use a few hours away! )