Ame Damnee Minerva's Quarters

Isla

Active Member
A bodyguard stands at the entrance of the wooden door. Two lamps hang from the wall on either side. He announces arrivals before any guests may enter her quarters. When one enters her quarters, they find the gray cobblestone floor, ceiling, and walls to be illuminated by many lamps and a rather striking atmosphere, made reality by the consistency of burning lavender incense. Minerva's office is just to the left of the door when one walks in. Everything is well organized and clean; there is never a mess left anywhere.

e28d045dd29eaa795feaea82fc03934c.jpg
Credit to artist for picture. Will remove if asked.
 
Dante - Underground
Dante finally arrived back in New Eden after a few hours of traveling. It seemed the journey back was much less eventful than it was on the way into Oblitus, considering there was no dragon or pack of hungry wolves this time around. His clothes had dried, thankfully, but he still had a myriad of scrapes and bruises from the little adventure. However, those all paled in comparison to what Dante imagined Minerva would want to do to him after his failure to return in time. His unease was only compounded once he'd returned to New Eden to find out that there had been search parties sent out into Oblitus shortly after he left, which he could only assume meant the Underground would take the opportunity to take action. His presumptions must not have been wrong, because the moment he set foot in the Underground he saw people readying themselves for a fight. Apparently, they were winding up to take the Palace. Of all the times... Dante didn't believe in luck, but if he did, it was bad.

Upon hearing the news, he headed straight for Minerva's quarters. He knew he would have to explain his absence, and there was no point in putting it off. And so, the elf steeled himself as he stepped up to the door, looking very much like he'd recently fought a 70 foot long dragon and a pack of hungry dire wolves. The bodyguard looked Dante up and down with a raised eyebrow. "Little late, aren't you?" is all he said. Dante, composed as ever, still managed to look dignified even in his current state. "I need to speak with Minerva," he said cooly. The guard gave him an expression that seemed to be a mix between humor and sympathy. "Good luck with that," he replied as he moved to open the door.

As the bodyguard opened the door, he announced Dante's arrival. "Lady Minerva, the Master of Coin has returned," he said with a bow of his head as Dante stepped in behind him.

@Isla
 
Minerva was busy tightening a second weapon holster around her hip when she heard her bodyguard open the door and announce a rather familiar name, yet dead to her in the moment. She didn't turn to greet the Master of Coin. Instead, she cut straight to the chase like she always did. "Where on Earth have you been? More importantly, why the fuck do you think coming back right now is good for us? Make it quick, Dante. We're getting ready to fight a war in about an hour," she stated irritably. She grabbed her left pauldron and strapped it on, then flipped her hair up and off her neck. "Where did you and Artimeties go? What did you do there? I want details." She knew he would make it worth her while, otherwise, he'd get punished as soon as he walked out that door.

@Monster the Vamelfaer
 
Dante - Minerva's Quarters
Dante smoothed his jacket, already anticipating that Minerva would be short with him, before launching into the explanation he had already been running through his head for the last few hours. "Artimeties and I went to investigate a magical object Cazimir found in Oblitus," he explained, his voice even. "I had assumed that we would return earlier, but we ran into some... Complications. Nevertheless, our efforts were not fruitless." Dante pulled something out of his satchel before walking forward and offering up his prize: a black stone with veins of glowing, blue light. "I have reason to believe these stones are very powerful. If we could fashion them into weapons or armor, I'm sure they could serve the Underground quite well." He hesitated before adding a little more quietly, "Though had I known about the status in New Eden, I would not have gone on this expedition when I did. It was an unfortunate coincidence; one which I do not intend to happen again." Not once did the elf's resolve falter as he explained himself. He had told the truth, and there wasn't much more he could do than that.
 
Minerva listened intently to the coin collector and turned to face him. She placed her hands on her hips as he brought out a rather familiar stone. Her eyes widened a little, surprised. For a moment, she completely dismissed the rest of his query. Dante couldn't have this rock in his possession. It was poisonous to his kind. "May I see the rock?" she questioned, holding out her hand in anticipation. "Where did Cazimir find this? Did he tell you?" Her voice was stern and somewhat gentle, but her temper had disappeared altogether.
 
Dante - Minerva's Quarters
Minerva's change in demeanor was not lost on Dante, and so he hesitated briefly before handing over the stone. "Cazimir found it in Yadressil's Forest," he explained, not taking his eyes off the prize he had worked so hard for, "but Artimeties and I managed to track down the source. A cave, filled with water and protected by a sea dragon. According to the dragon, the place is called the Gates of Aeternia, but he failed to tell us what Aeternia was other than simply calling it 'the city of the lost ones.' Needless to say, that specimen," he pointed to the rock in Minerva's hand, "was not easy to collect." While his voice had not changed, there was an implication in his last statement: Dante expected his rock back.
 
Yadressil's Forest... She'd need to go there soon. She noticed something strange about Dante. He didn't seem to be the same as he was before he left a while back. There was a certain attachment he'd seemed to build for it. Aeternia... Good grief. These rocks in a cave near some place called Aeternia? She shook her head. "I'm sorry to say Dante, I'll be keeping the rock for a bit. I'll let you know when you can have it back, but for now, I'm keeping it in my possession to get a closer look at it, if you don't mind." She was firm in her decision and quite clearly, not sorry at all for holding him back.
 
Dante - Minerva's Quarters
Dante looked displeased with Minerva's decision and paused for a moment before responding. "Very well."

From the look on her face, he hadn't expected her to give it back, though why she felt the need to keep it he didn't know. Still, if that was how she was going to be...

"Now may I ask, what is the plan regarding the raiding of the palace?" he said, changing the subject.
 
She ignored his look of disdain. "Different groups will split up among the castle area. Our group going to approach the bridge to the entrance. Taran, Devon, and Dot will go first and manipulate the wardens, then knock them out. We will arrive inside that way and sweep the area, killing any guards in our way and getting any information we need in order to secure our position on the palace. We'll meet up with everyone in the throne room and decide what to do next from there," Minerva explained, placing the rock inside the top drawer of her nightstand. She walked up to Dante and placed her hands on his shoulders and gave them a squeeze. "Now, go to the physician down the hall and get cleaned up. You look like you just fought a monster." She pat his shoulder and grabbed a vambrace nearby. "Szebbak. My vambrace." She handed it off to her bodyguard and held her arm out. The dragon-like male began to place it on her. It'd always been difficult tightening the padded armor with one hand.
 
Dante - Minerva's Quarters
Dante dipped his head in response to Minerva's order. "Then I shall be ready to fight with the rest of the Underground when the raid starts," he confirmed as he moved to go to the infirmary. As he opened the door to leave, he added in his typical monotone voice, "I only fought a dragon earlier, after all." It was hard to tell, but he may have given a hint of a smile before leaving.

Dante closed the door behind him with a soft click as he walked away, the gears of his mind still working at figuring out what had just happened with Minerva. Why had she reacted like that when she saw the stone? Obviously, he wasn't too pleased to have her take it away; he was too smart to believe that she was really just trying to "get a closer look" at it. He wasn't getting that rock back. That didn't bother him so much though, he did have twenty-two others just like it that he had collected as well, though he didn't feel too inclined to tell her about them. After all, she hadn't asked if the one he handed her was the only one he had, and he was not responsible for her assumptions. Still, it seemed she would not be pleased if she knew he had more of the stones, so he would have to use them carefully. He wasn't about to get rid of an intense power source for his magic simply because Minerva was uneasy about it, but he also wasn't foolish enough to charge into using them head on. Clearly, Minerva knew more about the stones than he did. He'd have to learn what she knew first before he tried to develop a more stable source of magic for himself. So he would lock the remaining stones away in a safe, in order to be tested on at a later date.

A shame, really. They would have been useful in the raid, he thought as he knocked on the door to the infirmary.
 
Back
Top