[center][h3]Jeramiah Dupree, [color=f7941d]Arthur Steiner[/color] & [color=0072bc]Emil Günther[/color][/h3][/center] "You know, I've never asked if you were a praying man, Dr. Steiner." The remark seemed to come out of the blue from Jeremiah Dupree as he glanced down the hallway. No one was bothering them - while the building was hardly abandoned, the few professors they had met did not find it peculiar that Emil had requested their assistance in retrieving an item from one of the other professors' office. No one questioned it, nor had they probed into which professor it had been who held Emil's possession (nor what that possession even was). Dupree had considered going to the library for a far-more legal investigation as to what place Faye Desdemona could have meant, followed by a visit to the school archives to examine Atkins' past research projects. In the end, though, both Emil and Arthur seemed far, far too enthusiastic for Dupree's taste. Leaving them to their own devices and to be possibly caught by Lexington would be incredibly cruel. "I merely ask because it may be worth acting as one right now." Sure, no one was here at the moment, no one to bother them, and no hint that their presence had been mentioned to the police, but that hardly eased Dupree's concerns. [hr][hr] [color=f7941d]"I am..."[/color] The professor, the man of stone and Arthur, going by so many different names, kept his eyes locked onto something in the distance. Far down that corridor, the door to the late Dr. Atkin's office, and behind that? Only God knew, but Arthur Steiner's eyes told one easily that he needed to know too. [color=f7941d]"Though that God moves in mysterious ways, sometimes so intricate that you simply cannot fathom His plan. Sometimes I wonder if He simply despices us, and leaves us in our own misery."[/color] Arthur turned his head briefly towards Dupree, a brief hint of a smile appearing on his face. [color=f7941d]"We need no praying here, dear professor; I fear that God has permanently left this institution. Now, let us make haste."[/color] [hr][hr] [color=0072bc]"It all depends,"[/color] Email said. [color=0072bc]"In the morning I usually am not, but in the evenings I sometimes am. Though I'm usually not sure what it is I am believing in. There's just something in the darkness that makes a man believe. Must be the stars. Or something behind them."[/color] No-one asked, but he replied nonetheless. [i]We are acting as one, are we not? [/i] Augers observed the firmament, made predictions based on it, and the insides of fowls spilled on the table. Emil thought wether they had their Faye and Atkins and sunken cities, whether a young student in boy's toga followed a couple of philosophers down the hidden corridors of villas and shadowy stoas. [i]There are no old Greeks; you are all children. That's what the Egyptian priest said in Plato's story. Atlantis, of course. Could be it we're looking for. We sure are as ignorant as children in our quest, just like the Hellenes.[/i] [color=0072bc]"Perhaps someone should stand vigil, there's always a prankster lurking around. Just in case."[/color] The people they came across so far paid no attention to them, but that was surely just a streak of luck. There was no way such a crucial checkpoint of their quest would go flawlessly, was there? With an apprehensive burn in his stomach, Emil followed the professors, suddenly mutely hungering to see what was to come. [hr][hr] "I suppose." Dupree sighed. Hopefully, Emil had considered the idea of a lookout from reading about criminal activity as opposed to regularly engaging in it. "I volunteer as lookout. If nothing else, I would rather not personally witness this." Besides, perhaps he could play off his anxiety and guilty behavior as a result of the fact he had witnessed Atkins' demise personally. He had witnessed a man jumping to his death and splattering across the sidewalk. Even now, though, the fact still felt as if it were off to the side, something Jeremiah viewed with some small measure of horror and some large measure of detachment. He was sure he wasn't reacting the way one should. It didn't help the bizarre circumstances around his death that Lexington had pointed out to him. But what was there to say? He had seen what he had seen, and it was likely best to not mention to Emil and Arthur that he had missed such strange details. They wouldn't think him crazy at this point, but they might just worry about his competency as a lookout. "You two go on ahead. I suppose if you hear me speaking - at least TRY not to look suspicious." Dupree wasn't sure how else to signal that someone was coming. That should work though, he hoped. [hr][hr] [color=f7941d]"I most sincerely hope that you're not referring to yourself when you speak of pranksters, Herr Günther. Dr. Dupree, good luck. We'll try to be quick about it."[/color] Arthur gave a brief look at his two compatriots, nodding to each of them before taking one last look down the hallway. [i]Empty. Not even the sorrow that accompanied Atkin's demise could be felt now. Perhaps it was for the best? They had better things to do that to grief right now.[/i] Arthur produced a key from his pocket, an old brass key, which fit perfectly into the lock. The door creaked ever so slightly, but it was open. [color=f7941d]"I'll call if you're needed inside. Let us hope not."[/color] Arthur's words were short and precise, his voice tuned more so towards his fellow professor than it was towards his student, an inferior. The door was open, yet it was as if it was impossible to comprehend what was on the other side, as if a veil of darkness, perhaps ignorance had been put before Arthur's eyes. It soon dissappeared as he stepped into the office. It was if Arthur and Emil had been the last ones to inhabit the room. Everything, at least to Arthur's memory, was in the exact same places they had left it the day before. Papers, books, pencils, everything thrown around, left, right and center. Even the window was left open, the room was litterarly freezing over. [i]Except that the window was closed shut.[/i] A chill went down Arthur's spine, and it was not just from the physical freezing air. Something was afoot, and he had no idea what it was. [color=f7941d]"Well Herr Günther, it would seem we are in the exact same spot as we were 24 hours ago."[/color] Arthur's eyes met Emil's for a moment, the old yet energetic eyes of the professor clashing with the young and ever curios ones of der Deutsche Jugend. If he had believed it dejá-vu, this would have been less strange for him. [color=f7941d]"You two mentioned some place beside and underneath water? Then we should look for maps and any works he have...had about a city of that nature. I'll check the books, you look through the different papers and maps. Belgium and or of the East Coast, Dr. Atkins dreaded California."[/color] [hr][hr] [color=0072bc]"It seems like we are indeed,"[/color] Emil said; [color=0072bc]"But it also does not. There's something here that was not yesterday, like..."[/color] [i]Like that horrible gift the dead leave you when they die. They leave, but everything changes as if to signify their absence: the stranger light of lamps down the street towards their home; the books they had not finished reading; the windows they had left open; the clothes they were to put on in the morning but never had the chance to do it...Maps and clues they forgot to hide.[/i] [color=0072bc]"Well, you know what I mean, professor."[/color] Emil looked around the familiar room. [color=39b54a][i]One more trip here and I might just call it home,[/i][/color] he thought as he wandered around, looking through the same papers and drawers again. Last time he had been lucky breaking that drawer accidentally, but this time things were surely going to take a different course. Strange light now fell through the window in thin blades. Emil saw dust grains floating around, and his own breath in the chilly air. [color=0072bc]"It sure is cold here, now that I think about it, professor."[/color] [color=39b54a][i]Hah... Professor Dupree's face when I spoke of standing guard. He probably thought I was a hooligan or something.[/i][/color] He knelt to check underneath an old dusty cupboard that now held but a few bottles of whiskey and brandy which Emil eyed thinking of warmth they could provide the chest with. [color=39b54a][i]A shot would be good now.[/i][/color] He rubbed the dust off his knees. [color=39b54a][i]No, professor. Just the stories and articles I read and heard, about criminals and their ways. The mob. Cosa Nostra. Actually...[/i][/color] Suddenly he looked around in wonder. [color=0072bc]"Professor! Hey, professor."[/color] He walked to Steiner who was busying himself with another part of the office. [color=0072bc]"As cliche as it sounds, perchance there is a..."[/color] He stopped for a moment. [color=0072bc]"A secret passage of sorts. You know: pull-a-book-out-and-the-wall-will-open sort of thing. Or something behind the cupboard or the bookshelf over there. It does sound crazy, but this whole thing we've got ourselves into isn't any better anyway. It's worth a shot, no?"[/color] [hr][hr] [color=f7941d]"What is it, Herr Günther?""[/color] Professor Steiner's voice came loudly from behind a set of book shelves, echoing through books, cobwebs and the ice-cold air that Dr. Atkins had left for them to investigate. A nagging feeling in Arthur's head suggested that Dr. Atkins, although a somewhat asocial person, had planned all of this; an elaborate quest for Arthur - and whoever fell into this sickly, yet intruiging puzzle to be solved. But so far, the Man of Stone had only found a nearly molding map of the East Coast, a city map of Arkham, nothing else. [color=f7941d]"...Herr Emil Günther, you young man has read too many of these pulp-fiction novels that kids these days droodle over. You cannot seriously expect that all that mumbo-jumbo written about these gangsters is actually true? No, mein Jugend, such silly thing as a secret compartment is nothing but fanta...."[/color] Arthur's usually confident voice stopped. His hand stopped as it traced over a strip, just peaking out from behind a bookshelf. Now this was not what he had expected, and he now felt the shame of himself eating his own words after having rideculed Emil. He let his hand slip further behind the bookshelf, feeling the strip become two and forming a square. The square had something round and something long and thin sticking out of it. The square was a safe. [color=f7941d]"Herr Günther, get Dr. Dupree in here, now."[/color] Steiner was by no means a muscular man, but it was far from impossible for him to push the bookshelf out of the way to reveal the safe hiding on the wall. But as his loniness was blown away by his two compatriots, his hand reached for the safe. It was already open. He pulled out a single fragile piece of paper from the safe, reading a short series of numbers and letters written hastily with a shaken hand, barely readable. But there was more. An ancient-looking book lay in there too, previously covered up by the paper. Steiner reached for the book, but his hand was reluctant to touch it. But in the dim light, he could make out what the title was. [color=f7941d]"The American Prophecy..."[/color] [hr][hr] Dupree knew it hadn't actually been very long at all. His nervousness had merely dilated the perceived passage of time was all. Emil and Arthur had only been gone for a few minutes (Arthur had a key, had Emil knew? What was he saying, why would Emil know, unless that was why Emil had so casually suggested sneaking in, knowing there'd be no real obstacle. Oh, he needed to talk with those two once they were safely out of harm's way.)[color=292929](Though if she spoke the truth, that was not going to happen again for some time, was it?)[/color] He cast his gaze back down the well-lit corridor, tiled and warm and even with the rows of doors a welcome contrast to their location earlier this morning. Everyone kept in their own rooms, not due to insanity but due to work, though it was arguable if there was a difference. Perhaps it was better to focus on the task at hand before his mind set on wandering too far, wandering all the way back to that cold room where answers lay if they could just untangle the riddles ensnaring them, and there it was going again. Focus. Watch. Try to ensure they weren't going to be dealing with police or fellow faculty. What was it she had warned them about? She had not used the word 'police' but... Someone turned the corner of the hallway. Dupree didn't recognize him in the slightest. He seemed a tad on the older side - family of a student? Unlikely he was a student himself; most of their students came from decently well-off families, and the aged rarely had the funds to acquire a belated education. Dupree prepared himself for some casual - but audible - conversation, keep him from getting too close while Emil and Arthur finished up in Atkins' office. [i]The Agent.[/i] The two words from [color=ed1c24]Faye Desdemona[/color] immediately sprung to mind, and horror followed as its rider. There was no physical evidence, but Dupree just [b]knew[/b] he was staring at the person they had been warned about. If they weren't ready... Plan discarded, Dupree backed away as stealthily as he could manage, keeping to the few shadows in the hall, until he reached Atkins' door and let himself in. The lock clicked after him- his decision -and he looked to Emil and Arthur. Arthur wouldn't understand - hopefully, Emil would. "The Agent is here. We need to go, now." [hr][hr] Professor walked in just as Emil was turning to the door to call for him. [color=aba000]"The Agent is here. We need to go, now,"[/color] said the professor. [color=0072bc]"Well, professor, we better think fast in that case."[/color] The last time he had to scoot from the office they had chosen the window as an escape route, but this time he felt unsure to try the same approach. The chill he felt in the air made him reluctant to go outside, and he felt as if the apprehension he felt came from outside, from the very cold of the universe, rather than from his own heart. [color=0072bc]"Perhaps... Perhaps we can pretend I was lurking around, and that you've found me, like a proper morbid young rascal I am. The agent could buy that?"[/color] [color=39b54a][i]What are you saying, idiot? It's as if you wanted to get caught.[/i][/color] [color=0072bc]"That was stupid. I don't know why, but I felt urged to suggest it."[/color] He could feel a grain of panic in his chest, and it would have grown much larger had he not pulled himself together quickly. Whatever evil craft it was that tried its luck against him, it was faint and weak, and still distant. But it would creep closer before all was over, and he knew it. With the departure of the fear, he found he was less afraid to approach the window. When he did, he saw a figure down there. [color=0072bc]"Professor Steiner, look. The girl. The girl from the courtyard yesterday. At least looks like her, but I am not sure. The one who crept around the mob that stood around professor Atkins's body. What is she doing here, loitering around these premises again?"[/color] [hr][hr] [i]The Agent?[/i] Arthur had been about to open the book of an apparent eonic age, perhaps read whatever nonsense hid itself within the text of the book he had never heard of, when his colleague joined them with a warning. It sounded like a warning at least by the way Dupree announced this [i]Agent's[/i] arrival, the same could be said for Emil. Arthur closed the book as fast as he had been to open it, though not certain of just when he had picked up the book from the safe. Had he touched it at all, such a memory he couldn't find in his right mind now. He came out into view of the two others, the piece of paper in his hand and the book in the other. [color=f7941d]"Inspector Lexington? What would he be doing here?"[/color]. His voice was subdued, yet his stare was as determined as ever before. He looked first at Dupree and the door, now the sound of feet walking with heavy steps down the wood foor outside audible to him, then at Emil and the window. [color=f7941d]"Perhaps, he would have no reason to suspect that we all three were sneaking in here unless you were the cause of the pro...The girl?"[/color] It was indeed the very same girl who Arthur and Emil had spotted sneaking around the day before, as if looking for something. She had disappaeared from their view and attention quickly, yet her reappearance today only made the image from yesterday stand out more clearly. Arthur took a step forward... [b]Clack-clack...[/b] The footsteps stopped just outside the door, which made Arthur stop dead in his tracks and turned around to look at the door. No, not look, glare at it, as if the [i]Agent's[/i] presence was highly annoying to him. All was quiet for a second, before Arthur put the piece of paper into his pocked and marching to the door. [color=f7941d]"We can take care of the girl later. Right now we cannot allow anyone to hinder our search here. Not now that we have this."[/color] He said, holding up the book so that Dupree and Emil would see the book. He stopped in front of the door, grabbing onto the handle, and opening it suddenly. [b]Bang.[/b] Arthur could feel the door knocking into something. When the door stood wide open, it became apparent to Arthur what he had hit. [color=f7941d]"Excuse me, Mister, but I was not aware that the Arkham Police Department was allowed to break into the offices of newly deceased professors. Especially not barely 24 hours after their deaths. Can I help you?"[/color]