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[color=8585AD]"Deal. [i]Master Astorio[/i] seems like the type to value blowing things up anyway, I doubt he'll ask many questions."[/color]

It took Salem a moment to process what he had heard. Did...did Max just agree with him? At most he had expected a scoff followed by some remark about how he could figure it out on his own, but never did he actually expect Max to agree to his proposal. He would've smiled if it wasn't so obvious, so he held his composure and focused on what was at hand here. The clock. Salem sat back and watched as Max worked his magic, twisting and pulling at the thing as it slowly began to fall apart into pieces. It was amazing how far Max had gone with his studies, and it made Salem want to push that much more with his own. Sadly his magic wasn't something that could be rushed. Dealing with living organisms took some extra work and care to ensure that it would work right.

The scene was broken up as Aaron walked into the room, a look of shock and void breaking through his composed facade from earlier. Salem figured he either knew something about this clock, or he assumed that in their boredom they decided to dismantle some of Varis's property. Either way it wasn't ideal. Maddie was quick to fill in the silence and explain, albeit in a much nicer manner, what it was that happened while Aaron was gone. His attention stayed on Aaron the whole time until Lilie spoke up. He didn't think it was enough to cause [i]much[/i] alarm. But they were in Varis's domain and if any of them heard that there was a chance Varis could launch an investigation on her just for the sake of making her miserable.

His eyes gave her a look of sympathy, but they had a cautionary stare to them. [Color=82ca9d]"What matters is that [i]no one[/i] was injured. If anything this [i]investigation[/i] turned out to be fruitless."[/color] He hoped that Lilie may understand, but he doubted she would. Salem sat back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other as his hands folded in his lap and he looked on at Aaron. [Color=82ca9d]"Do you know why anyone would be so brass as to open up a rift into your living room and drop off a timer? Or what this could mean? Should we be expecting an attack in the coming time?"[/color] Between the dreams, Varis, and this, he began to wonder what exactly Aaron was getting himself into.