Oru
Adjunct
Posts: 13
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Post by Oru on Jan 13, 2016 21:52:36 GMT -5
A Youthful sort of scamp slips in with the barest hint of a trailing breeze from the chilled outdoors. 'He' is a lanky, unkempt boy of maybe teenage years, with sprigs of straw-colored hair poking out of his patched cap. 'His' face, though spotted with a bit of well-earned dirt, is narrow and smooth. He'd be an attractive sort if he cleaned up.
Also, if he was a HE at all.
Her name, at least to everyone that meant anything, was Oru. A name of her own fabrication as it were, having eschewed her given name as soon as she could speak straight. Presently, her bosom was cinched tight beneath the layers of hand-me-down clothing, covered entirely with a baggy, patched gray tail coat that would have made the Artful Dodger proud. Oru wore tattered britches and knee socks, with a pair of leather shoes (more obviously then not stolen, due to their relative good contidion.)
Oru gave herself a seat at the end of the bar, and looked around. No suspicious looks so far. No coppers to kick her out. Only a smiling bartender extending a mug of something steaming hot that smelled absolutely delicious -
"Sorry Guv'nor, I ain't got any coin for ya. But iffin you need dishes done, I'll crack em out right quick I will!"
The bartender nodded amiably, and Oru took the offered mug with a deep, relieved sigh. It was something sinfully chocolate, and her first sip was met with a delighted whimper, then a round of furious blushing as she laid into the rest of it with reckless abandon.
Once the mug was placed gently on the counter, she fished into the pocket of her coat and pulled out the invitation. It was beaten and ragged, but undoubtedly had her name and gender written at the top. 'Dearest Miss Oru.' It was like a daydream come true! She read it over and over until the bartender approached.
Oru held out her hand and grinned. Her face, through the smudges, had a few sunny freckles on her cheeks, and her lips, for a girl, were thin and lovely. Her eyebrows were very expressive, and her teeth were delicate and mostly even (Save for the left front one, that one stuck out just a hair more then the others. Liked to make itself known when she smiled.)
The Bartender shook her hand jovially and introduced himself as Bernard. "Right pleasure it is, Bernie! I'm Oru. You just lemme know when I can git to them dishes! Until then... don't s'pose I could git another of them chocolate thingies?"
Bernard chuckled and concocted another. He slid it over, and Oru picked it up and retreated to another side of the sitting room. This place was certainly very bizarre - All the myriad characters in nooks and at booths and tables, elegant ladies and whimsical gentlemen... Oru fidgeted inside her great coat and took a seat at a small table to the left of the door. She sipped her cocoa and took her invitation out again. Se spread it on the table and then pulled out a square, bronze coin of mysterious origins.
((Feel free to join me!))
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Post by dirkquatermain on Jan 14, 2016 23:32:03 GMT -5
A rather nondescript young man with red hair and glasses walks up to the table. "Interesting coin? Greek? Roman?" He extends his hand, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dirk Quatermain. And you are?"
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Oru
Adjunct
Posts: 13
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Post by Oru on Jan 15, 2016 12:16:00 GMT -5
Oru was turning the coin over and over in her hand when the stranger approached. She blinked up at him in surprise, cast a glance around as if he was addressing someone else, and then hastily rubbed her right hando ff on her pant-leg.
"You c'n call me Oru, Sir. Master Quartermain, sir." She looked back down at the coin in her other hand after giving his hand a vigorous shake. "As for the coin..." She furrowed her brow.
The boyish facade slipped away and she leaned back in her chair with consternation, giving a rather lady-like huff of frustration. Quickly afterwards, she covered it back up with her facade and continued with a shrug.
"It says things in Latin 'ere on this side, but I can't read whatever it says on the other side." She held the coin up so he could see one side, then she flipped it over to address the other side with a smile.
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Post by dirkquatermain on Jan 15, 2016 15:06:13 GMT -5
"Just Dirk. Mister Quatermain is my father, and the only thing I'm master of is getting into trouble. Do you mind if I join you?" He asks, taking an empty seat. "May I see the coin? I might be able to help you translate it."
He turns to the bar, "Bernard, a pint of stout and another of whatever the miss is drinking." Turning back to his new companion he hands her her drink. "So what brings you here with us tonight?"
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Oru
Adjunct
Posts: 13
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Post by Oru on Jan 15, 2016 15:43:49 GMT -5
When Dirk asks to sit, Oru bobs her head quickly. She slides the coin quietly over to him as he calls for them both to have more drinks. Inside, she does a happy jig because she knows that one of those hot, delicious, cocoa delights is coming her way.
Part of her is only mildly surprised that he figured out she was a girl - but one look around this place and she realized it didn't right matter to any of these folk. So she pulled off her cap and shoved it into the pocket of her great coat. Then she pulled the coat off and draped it over the back of her chair before running both hands through her sandy blondeish brownish whatever hair. Sighing with relief, she accepted the drink as it arrived.
"I obtained it from a very good friend in a very low place just the other day - then my invitation for the Sitting Room arrived."
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Post by dirkquatermain on Jan 15, 2016 16:13:51 GMT -5
Dirk noticed the slight look a consternation as Oru realized she'd been recognized as a female. To be honest, it was a good disguise, if it hadn't been for the momentary drop of her facade he wouldn't have known. Deciding that she had her own reasons for wishing to pass as a boy, he decided not to pry and bent his attention instead to the coin.
"Interesting. On the face here is the customary Latin you see on every coin; King such-and-such and the like, but I don't recognize the bust or denomination at all. And, this inscription on the back, it's hard to make out. Do you know where your friend got this? As for the invitation, I too received one rather mysteriously. I was doing some research at a library I sometimes work at when the head librarian brought me the envelope. Said it had been left on the desk with my name on it , no other identifying marks. Truly a mystery"
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Oru
Adjunct
Posts: 13
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Post by Oru on Jan 15, 2016 16:32:56 GMT -5
Oru followed his words carefully. She felt a certain boost of confidence that she wasn't completely lacking in knowledge, for she had not recognized those things either. When asked about her friend, she cast her eyes to the side and decided to just out with as much truth as she could. This was a mystery she could not solve on her own, and since he was so freely offering information....
"My friend was an urchin, although on the older side. I had been summoned to his side last night by my other collective...friends. He had been..." She swallowed at the memory. "...He had been very badly hurt and did not live through the night. But he pressed the coin into my hand and said, 'Turn Away the Queen in Green.'"
She pointed with enthusiasm to the bust on the coin. "I think the bust looks female, myself. Although, I have no idea what she's supposed to be wearing on her head. A head-wrap of some kind, or a veil?"
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Post by dirkquatermain on Jan 15, 2016 20:09:33 GMT -5
Dirk looked up at her, "I'm sorry about your friend." he said, sincerely meaning it. He too had felt the bitter sting of losing someone before their time. He bent his attention back to the coin, examining the bust on the face closer. "I believe you're right, it does look like a female. Odd, there are only a few known examples of queens or goddesses on coin facings, and this doesn't look like any of them that I know of." He looked closer, "It could be a head wrap or a veil, or something else. What I would give for a magnifying glass right now." He looked back up at Oru, addressing her. "That thing your friend said, 'Turn Away the Queen in Green', does it mean anything to you?"
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Oru
Adjunct
Posts: 13
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Post by Oru on Jan 16, 2016 16:57:11 GMT -5
Oru smiled gratefully at Dirks sympathetic words, and then turned her attention back to the conversation. She squinted at the face of the coin and nodded as he made his observations. "With her profile I almost want to say it is South American perhaps, especially with the faint design just at her neck..."
After his next question, she shrugged sadly. "Unfortunately it means nothing to me. I certainly have seen women since then wearing green, but I hardly think they were relevant..." She looks at Dirk uneasily. "...unless they were? Aw, bloody hell." She quickly covered her cussing with, "Er, it is all just very frustrating."
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Post by dirkquatermain on Jan 16, 2016 18:20:10 GMT -5
Dirk squinted closer at the coin, noticing for the first time the design she was alluding to. "Sharp eyes. I believe your right, that does look South American. Odder and odder; a bronze coin, with Latin writing and a South American bust. I believe what we may have here is no actual coin at all, but a medallion or token of some sorts, like certain fraternal societies mint for their members. As for the ladies in green you've seen, has their been anything 'off' about them? Anything that seems outside the norm?"
He put his hand to his head, thinking furiously "If only we could read this inscription on the other side. You're sure your friend didn't say anymore about where he came by this piece? The Queen in Green... Bloody hell indeed." He added with a slight smile.
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Oru
Adjunct
Posts: 13
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Post by Oru on Jan 17, 2016 1:02:55 GMT -5
Oru leaned back in her chair, brow furrowed in thought when Dirk mentioned the ladies in green. She skimmed through what she could recall about them and mentioned, "Well, there were two that had interesting clutches... they looked like a shiny leather, almost like some sort of reptile hide. Very unusual. But that's all I can recall about them that seemed unique. Perhaps I haven't seen a Queen in Green yet?"
She smiled a bit back in awkward embarrassment about her previous language. When he asked, she racked her brain and slowly shook her head. "He may have mumbled something afterwards, but he was very near the end and I couldn't catch it, I'm afraid. If the pattern seems South American, perhaps it is in a Mayan or Aztec language?"
Oru ran her hands nervously through her hair. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry, I do hope I'm not taking you away from anything?"
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Post by dirkquatermain on Jan 17, 2016 2:03:44 GMT -5
Dirk furrowed his brow in thought, "Hmm, reptile hide clutches. That does seem odd. Not sure how it would be related though. Perhaps you're right, perhaps the "Queen" has yet to make herself known. The Queen in Green, it feels like I should recognize that. Like something on the tip of my tongue. I just don't know."
He turned back to the coin, determined to wring some answers from it. "It could be Mayan or Aztec. Unfortunately, I don't know either of those. I know some Incan, and this does look similar, but not quite. But perhaps... Maybe with time I could work it through Incan into English."
Dirk looked up at her sudden nervousness and smiled, "Not to worry, my other friends will keep. We're waiting on another guest, and may be awhile. So, until she arrives, I have nothing to do but wait, so I figured I would avail myself of the opportunity to make the acquaintance of the others here. And I'm glad I did, for I've had the pleasure of meeting you, and stumbled onto another mystery that is in need of solving."
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Oru
Adjunct
Posts: 13
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Post by Oru on Jan 17, 2016 22:54:28 GMT -5
Oru smiled graciously and took a nice long sip of her hot chocolate. Dirk's drink too had arrived, perched on a thin lacy napkin on the small round table between them. She held her cocoa with both hands as she looked over at the coin and looked back at the coin.
"Well I know about the Green Man, and other Faery Lore, but I don't think the Queen in Green is related. Unless its a play on words somehow, perhaps it was the only way he could describe something else he had seen. But as for some sort of medallion... What organizations would have such a strange symbol?" She obviously had little to no experience with secret societies, but it also seemed to perk her interest.
"Otherwise, please let me know when I have to release you back into their company. Your friends, I mean."
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Post by dirkquatermain on Jan 17, 2016 23:21:21 GMT -5
Dirk took a deep pull of his pint, thinking hard. "I'm forced to agree, I somehow don't think we're dealing with the fae. I can't believe I'm saying this about anything to do with faerie, but that would be too easy. Hmm, a play on words... Queen in green. Green, and we've got a medallion with South American symbols on it. The jungle maybe? Or... The strange women you saw, with the reptile handbags, do you remember what color their handbags were?"
He looked back down at the coin, trying to pierce it's mystery. "I'm not sure which kind of organization would issue such a token. I'm familiar with Masonic imagery, and this doesn't match any of it. Maybe some subsect or a completely different organization all together."
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Oru
Adjunct
Posts: 13
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Post by Oru on Jan 18, 2016 11:39:27 GMT -5
Oru furrowed her brow. Her hands were nice and warm now, thanks to Bernard's hot chocolate. She gently put it back down on the table and voiced a few opinions out loud. "Perhaps some sect that worships or reveres the old South American Gods. Or perhaps they use the language as a code, seeing as it is spoken very infrequently in these parts."
She cast her gaze to the ceiling and chewed on the corner of her lip to think. They had been wearing shades of soft green, cut like any average ladies day-dress. Their clutches had been... Oh lets see... "Well it was mostly a pale green I think, but it had what seemed like - I want to say - black and white checkered marks on it. Almost like a herringbone?" She was silent a moment and dropped her eyes back to the coin. "I know someone who has an interest in reptiles, perhaps I can ask them if it sounds familiar."
She took another sip of her cocoa. "So let us pretend then then these ladies with the scaled-clutches were part of this mystery. I don't think I've seen them follow me, especially not when I am dressed like this. Although, when I was called to his side I was dressed... well... like a girl. Perhaps I can use that to my advantage, and seek them out whilst in disguise?"
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