Museum of Easthaven Overnight at the Museum

[Gregory Renzo]

Gregory hadn't much fancied going to museums. They were very dusty and empty, in his opinion. Often, they lacked people to have decent conversations with. If not the snooty, highly-educated types, the people who often visited them were groups with kids, whether whole classrooms in single-file formation or families in messy bundles. Gregory was okay with kids, he just didn't like it when they came in hordes. In the same way, he was okay with museums in those rare moments when he wanted some quiet time. It was easy to pretend to be immersed in the art, sculptures, ancient bindings, and what have you. Easier still to find a quiet, secluded corner where he could think and gaze emptily at something. 

That was exactly what Gregory did today. It was a weekday and his day off work. Instead of following routine, he made his way to the Museum of Easthaven and spent the day recharging. Dressed in a large jacket over a sweater, his good jeans (which were really just a less ratty pair that had a good fit), and high-cut canvas shoes, Gregory spend most of his late afternoon milling about the museum, never once speaking to another person and simply observing his surroundings.

Once or twice, he sat and just stared at a piece of art like those art enthusiasts did. He could never find it in himself to think about a piece too long. He did remain seated, though, and mentally sang songs that popped up in his mind.

It was nearing closing time when Gregory finally found one of the wings empty. He sat down in the fancily carved wooden bench placed against one of the walls near a dark corner. He let the empty and vast room create an unnatural liminal bubble around him as he closed his eyes and unknowingly let sleep consume him.

"What the--" It was dark when Gregory next woke up. His buzzing phone jolted him awake, a silent alarm set at 6 pm each day to signal that it was time to head to the gym. The problem was that it seemed the museum had closed with him inside. "Hello!? Anyone there?"

[Billy Broder]

Cinder Roll for collection
8d6: 2 + 4 + 6 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 3 + 1
1d6: 6
1d6: 1
3 passes: Complete success

Billy walked slow through the museum. He hadn't been in Easthaven long but he knew that one of the places he for sure wanted to visit was here. Museums had a lot, exhibits, people, history, emotions, thoughts. There was so much to gain from them.

For magic.

Billy was here for magic. He found the exhibits mildly interesting at best. But the place was more important than what was inside it. After looking around a bit Billy eventually found a room with a big statue or something in the middle. It looked old so Billy figured it had a more impressive title than just statue but he didn't look at the info placard to find out. Better he didn't know.

Billy wasn't trying to find information per se but a feeling of wonder or awe.

After a brief inspection he found a bench that was mostly out of the way. Of everything. He sat down and unfolded a napkin from a local restaurant on his lap. Then he closed his eyes and focused. His mind, and thus his power, reached out.

It was like mentally sifting through water, but water filled with oils. He tried to feel for the metaphorical oil with the right consistency and then mentally pictured swirling it closer to him in a circle. Tighter and tighter until the circle bound as much as collected it.

It was a near thing and Billy almost missed it when his focus wavered a bit, but he redoubled his efforts and blocked out everything else around him. Finally, in the end, he folded the napkin in his lap and felt the new component settle into its container. A feeling of interest and mild wonder without a specific direction. It would be a good component even if he didn't have a plan for it just yet.

Billy opened his eyes and was shocked with how dark it was... realizing that the lights were off. He stood up and carefully stored the napkin. His legs were stiff. He must have been sitting for hours trying to collect that component. Billy grimaced a bit at that and started to wander a bit hoping the staff hadn't gone home for the day.

Ooph. What if they thought he was a thief? Should he call Emily and tell her he was stuck so that a cop knew ahead of time that he wasn't some crime lord on a capper?

Before he'd managed to go too fR on that thought process though a call from down the hall drew his attention. Someone asking if anyone was present? Perfect, he could just explain things. No problem.

"Hey! Over here!" Billy called back

[Gregory Renzo]

Gregory heard his call returned and turned towards the direction from which it came from. The museum didn't have the same brightness to it in its closed hours as it did in its open hours. They still kept some of the dimmer lights on to provide enough illumination for the security cameras. As he was coming from a dark corner and from sleep, the dim lighting was more than enough to give him enough sense of the place. He walked towards the wing where he thought he heard someone answer his call. As he walked in the direction of one of the bigger halls, he tried to think of what he should say.

Would they think he was trying to steal anything? That kind of assumption could easily be disproven with a pat down. Plus, he was sure the answer to getting out of this place smoothly was to tell the truth. That always seemed to work. Just as Gregory decided how to word his excuse of sleeping in the museum, he saw a figure of the person. He walked a little faster to meet them.

"Oh good. I apologize if I'm still here after hours. I dozed off in one of the viewing rooms and-- Wait a minute..." he paused when he was close enough to see the other person. No night guard jacket, and no employee ID. His clothing didn't suggest that he was at all an employee of the museum. "You're not from here."

Now that was confusing because the chances that Gregory wasn't the only one they missed is small. Or were the museum employees so lax in their jobs that they barely even check if they'd locked anyone in? Wasn't that bad news for the artifacts in here? Had this guy even been locked in or did he somehow get in through another way? "How'd you get in here, anyway?"

[Billy Broder]

As Billy walked forward to see who was calling from the dark he neared another man doing much the same thing. As the new face came into view Billy couldn't help but feel just a bit nervous. Guy was jacked. Like probably broke people Billy's size in half for a morning pre-workout. The young wizard also noted something else though, this guy was in street clothes not a guard outfit. Either the dress code was very lax or- The man started to apologize for being at the museum after hours and then made the connection that Billy also wasn't a guard. Billy grinned at him when he said the young man wasn't from there. "Yeah sorry, no luck. I was hoping you were security so I could get out." Billy revealed as he walked up to the man.

In the interest of being polite Billy held out a hand to the big guy, hoping it wouldn't return a mangled mess like in a cartoon. "I'm Billy." he said politely.

The man seemed confused that two people were stuck after hours and to be fair, Billy kind of agreed. It made sense for him since he was trying to stay out of sight to collect his component and- Oh! Suddenly Billy wondered what kind of energies could be collected from the museum at night? Maybe a sense of peace? No, not with both of them there wandering. Contemplation? Maybe not. Geez there had to be some upside to being trapped in here right?

"I propelled down from a sky light but the security lasers ended up rotating last second and cut my cord." Billy joked when asked out he got in.

[Third on the Match]

Almorax, Dragon Archivist

DC: 10

Intent: Friendly

Keywords: Fire, Earth, Air, Tongues, Flying, Sound/Song, Mimicry, Abidance

Cinder: 10d6

Strike: 15d6

Luck: 15

A stooped older man appears, glasses perched on the tip of his nose. He has a kindly face, and several books and cardboard tubes for papers are tucked under his arm. He smiles when he sees you, although he checks the intricate golden watch on his wrist.

"It's late," he chides, lifting one wispy eyebrow. "You better not be here for mischief."

As you watch, a wisp of smoke curls out of one nostril, and despite his diminutive size, there's a heaviness to his presence. Perhaps his eyes are ever so slightly slit. You don't know who he is, but you know innately that it would be better to stay on his good side.

He will introduce himself simply as "Al" and offer to show you around the museum if engaged. If you try to touch anything in his presence, he will gently coax you into putting it back. If you do not accept his offer, he will tap his temple and note that he'll know if anything's missing, but have a good evening.

Almorax is a full-blooded dragon. Few know of him or his existence, although if asked, he'll admit to it with a cheerful laugh and not expect you to believe him. He may even be willing to show off using his keywords, but he will not show his true form. His stats can be used for a purely social encounter, but he will not hesitate to fight back if attacked.

[Gregory Renzo]

Gregory gave an amused smirk when his new acquaintance, Billy, confirmed that he indeed had been an unfortunate prisoner in the museum, as well. He reached for Billy's hand and shook it once, his grip not at all too firm to hurt or even intimidate. "I'm Renzo,"[color] he introduced himself with a smile. [color=#44b8ff]"I guess I'm glad to see I'm not the only one stuck here. Can't say the building management will be, though."

He looked around them again, noting the high windows and ceilings meant to bring light into the halls of the museum. There'd be no use using them to get out, they weren't the types to swing wide enough to open a person-sized gap. Even if they could, they were too high up to reasonably use as an escape route. Their next best option was to look for the night guard who might be able to help them get out. "I don't supposed you have a grappling hook on you to use on the same skylight," he joked back.

Just then, out the corner of his eye, Gregory saw another figure walk into the hall they were in. He turned to see the older man stopping a distance from them and checking his watch. Something about him felt... off. It was like looking down a narrow stream that looked like it was ankle-deep but intuitively knowing that it went much deeper than you could imagine. That was the feeling that Gregory felt from the man, and he instinctively decided he didn't want to upset him. "Not at all, sir. No mischief on our minds," he immediately stated when they were chided. He shared a glance with his new friend before he continued. [b][color=#44b8ff]"You see we're stuck here without meaning to be."

[Billy Broder]

Billy shook hands with Renzo and smiled to the man, glad to see the big guy was pretty friendly. The young wizard certainly couldn't argue that no management crew would be pleased to find two randos wandering their building in the night. Renzo looked around and Billy did much the same, curious what they should do. Ideally a guard would be by soon and could let them out. Or more likely call the cops and hand them off as someone else's problem. Which was fair and would still get them out, even if it would then immediately get them thrown into the back of a cop car for questioning. Renzo asked him about having a spare hook on him and Billy chuckled.

"Sorry, no can do. My partner betrayed me last second and took the spare hook. Drat, foiled again." he said as he mimed shaking his fist up at the ceiling. Around this point a new figure seemed to join in.

Billy watched the figure as if the entire world was pulling away and he didn't know why. He certainly just looked like a kindly older man. Renzo spoke before Billy could, usually that was for the best as Billy had trouble being serious, and said they weren't there to cause trouble. He was polite about it too. Good. Better to not add to that and just le- "Someone already knicked all the gold anyway so we couldn't mischief if we wanted too." Billy said, his mouth once again not checking in with his brain at all before going off. Plus, he just used mischief in a completely incorrect way. His mom would cuff him if she heard him say that. She was a real stickler for things like that.

Billy's eyes flicked down to all the tubes and papers the older man was carrying. "You need any help carrying that stuff?" he asked, remembering his late grandfather always trying to carry everything in one go.

[Gregory Renzo]

Billy seemed like a fun person to talk to and maybe hang out with, Gregory thought. He was at least a better companion to be trapped in a museum with than a haughty "art is a lifestyle!" type person. He'd seen a lot of those people in museums in other places and had absolutely disliked their pretentiousness. This guy, even though he were playing the role of a questionable break-in artist, was at least amusing to converse with. Even if he seemed to not know when to not joke around--new company included. If they'd been good friends, Gregory would've probably hit the back of his head lightly.

He smiled at the old man instead and, still using his polite tone, said, "Billy kids, but we'd be happy to get out of your hair anytime, Mister..."

"Al," the old, hunched man replied. He turned to look at Billy. "Even without the gold, there are more mischiefs to be had here. Now, since you're here, would you like a tour of the museum?"

"We wouldn't burden you at this late hour, but if you insist," Gregory said after sharing a bemused look with Billy. Why Al would want to give them a tour was beyond him, but if the guy wanted to go for it for old time's sake, then Gregory wouldn't refuse.

[Billy Broder]

Billy watched the old man, who seemed pretty friendly, and in the end decided he rather liked the guy. When Billy joked about everything gold already being properly stolen it seemed Renzo took that chance to point out that Billy was just joking around. He pointed out that Billy kids. Billy actually had a joke for that but was smart enough not to- "Renzo adolescents." He said. Yep, nevermind. Mouth still running outside of the brain's authority.

It looked like the older man, Al as he called himself, didn't really need any help with carrying things but Billy was still happy to offer all the same. The old man even offered to give them an after hours tour of the museum.

Billy wasn't real big into history to be perfectly honest but... well if Al knew as a lot, and he worked at a museum so he better, then maybe he'd drop some great information about something and Billy could catch it as a component. Either the concept of whatever he showed them if not bits of whatever it was on its own. Who knew, maybe some ancient whoseitwhatsit could have a bit of its historical energy or something scrapped off into a good component. Billy was always down for that kind of thing.

"I think it sounds cool. I'm in." he said merrily.

[Gregory Renzo]

Okay, maybe he judged his new friend Billy a bit too quickly. Gregory would have honestly rolled his eyes at the joke had he not been preoccupied with Al. And maybe he did do a half eye-roll back there, he wasn't sure. He was sure that he put a firm hand on Billy's shoulder, though. Something about the librarian felt off and almost dangerous, so Gregory was doing his best not to offend the man. Billy, it seemed, probably didn't care.

"Why not?" Gregory replied to the offer with a shrug. It probably didn't hurt to have an actual tour through the museum at night. He glanced at Billy when Al turned around and motioned for them to follow him. "Look, Billy babies, a private tour. Ever had one through this museum before?"

[Billy Broder]

I'll be taking charge of the majority of Al's actions from here on, though Noct is also still welcome to control the old dragon if he wants.

Billy nodded to the older man happy to go on this little tour, Renzo seemed so too despite putting a surprisingly firm hand on Billy's shoulder all the same. He seemed weary but Billy couldn't really figure out why. Oh sure the old man seemed a bit strange but they were hanging around after hours so they probably seemed pretty odd as well. When he started to follow and Renzo tossed out a quick, Billy babies, Billy turned around to walk backwards. He mouthed a silent WOW at Renzo.

Of course you know, this means war.

Then grinning he turned again. If his shoes hadn't been tied so expertly he'd have probably fumbled the little turn. Thankfully he'd learned the trick to solid ties on his shoes as a kid. Double knot those suckers.

As the older man led them through the exhibits he seemed to be mulling it all over until he faintly smiled and stopped in front of one. It was an exhibit on man, and the very start showed a wax figure wearing furs and hunched over a small campfire rubbing two sticks together. There was a spray painted trail of cotton that was colored to imply a steady stream of smoke coming up from the two sticks.

"I like this exhibit to start. Mmm. Yes. Dawn of man, using his tools and ingenuity to figure things out. That is man's greatest gift, not his spirit or his determination or freedom. Its ingenuity." He said with a bright look to his eye.

Then he turned and pointed to a small second of bushes in the corner of the presentation. From the bushes parted a small dino face. A velociraptor that looked to be stalking its prey. "That is one of my little additions. Completely inaccurate to how they looked and when they were alive... But the kids love spotting it and pointing it out to each other." he said, sounding rather proud of the misrepresentation of history.

Billy grinned liking the idea too. History be damned if you could make a couple kids happy just with a mostly hidden little dinosaur.

[Gregory Renzo]

Yeah, wow. If Billy was going to be a little childish, Renzo was going to be the same--albeit a little less so they could still somehow get out of any serious trouble. When they were brought to the Dawn of Man exhibit, he looked at it and its details, too. And while he had already seen the exhibit earlier, he hadn't seen the dinosaur that had been added. When he spotted it, he gave a small chuckle. It was in a spot kids at their height would see but adults wouldn't unless you stood right where they were standing. "Clever positioning," he said, sweeping his eyes around the rest of the exhibit to look for other hidden details that he might have missed earlier.

"Oh, there's another one," he said, pointing at another set of bushes at the back of the exhibit. There really wasn't any, but seeing Billy try to find it was amusing. "Do you see it, Billy? It's right over... there." Then he pointed to one of the mirrors next to the exhibit where Billy could see his reflection and laughed when Billy realized what was going on. "Sneaky little things, those velociraptors."

He glanced at Al and gave an apologetic grin. "Sorry about that. This exhibit is quite interesting and educational, truly." And he meant that, but he was looking forward to anything else they might see that seemed a little more Easthaven-specific. Well, he's sure they'd get to those later.

[Billy Broder]

Billy liked the little hidden dinosaur and it seemed Renzo did too. He even mentioned a second one which Billy wanted to see, but when he went to where Renzo said he just saw a reflective surface as well. Billy gave him the side eye and then sighed. "I don't know how you find the time to be a stand up comic and model for the exhibits man." Billy said, gesturing at the cave man in the exhibit. Renzo didn't look too much like the caveman but it was an easy and lighthearted jab for tricking him toward the mirror.

Al seemed to find the back and forth amusing and smiled kindly at the two of them. When Renzo apologized the old man just waved it away good naturedly. "It is all right. You boys have a lot of spirit. I remember being young myself. Would you like to see another exhibit?" he asked gesturing down the hall. He took them past several other small displays that showed a wide range of different times and attractions before the old man guided them through an archway. When he entered it the room seemed to light up all on its own. Not from the lights above but from torches all around the room.

The entire room was the display, with a simple walk way through the middle and ropes on either side. The torches, on inspection, were not real fire but orange paper with fans and lights inside to create the illusion of fire. They must have been tied to motion sensors since Al never pressed anything to activate them. With the light only thrown from the fake torches the scene seemed to show a much older Easthaven. It was shortly after its founding, with wax figures of people in time appropriate attire going about a busy day at market. The exhibit walls were painted with a background of the rest of the town and the square shown looked lively.

Al for his part stood to the side and eyed the two young men with interest to see how much they could see in the scene.

A Strike or Cinder Roll may be used here to spot things out of place either mundanely or of a magical nature.

[Gregory Renzo]

Renzo's Cinder to see magic in the room: FAIL

After Billy's attempt at returning the jab, Gregory gave Billy a smile and a sympathetic pat on the back. "Don't worry, you'll grow up to be such a model, too," he said reassuringly with a chuckle. He nodded to Al when the older man asked them about looking at other exhibits. He was surprised when they reached the exhibit that showed Easthaven in its ancient glory. It had almost seemed like Al had read his mind. A quick glance at the archivist gave Gregory no useful information about his sneaky skills, but he kept the information tucked in the back of his mind.

He walked down the exhibit, looking here and there and easily imagining what old Easthaven looked like. The crowd of wax figures gave him a clue of the period that the scene depicted. He saw a still of children chasing each other and women buying wares from street vendors. There were young men accompanying their mothers and carrying sacks of freshly bought goods. It even had a man dressed in an old-timey suit and watch standing next to an equally well-dressed woman. They were sculpted to look like they were speaking animatedly. It was a lively still of the town square, and Gregory could easily imagine the noise that the scene would have had.

From Al's velociraptor detail in the caveman exhibit, Gregory suspected that there might be other hidden things here for the sharp-eyed to see. He tried looking at the finer details of the scene. Apart from seeing some wax figures with almost unnatural hair colors, he could see nothing else. He wondered if those bright orange heads was the unnatural detail Al had put in, but it seemed to mundane for an exhibit like this. "Knowing Al, he probably placed another easter egg here," he told Billy. "Did you see anything yet?"

[Billy Broder]

"Really? Golly mister I sure hope so!" Billy said in an annoying leave it to beaver-esque impression just to be annoying. As they kept walking Billy looked at several of the other exhibits they saw on the way. Interesting enough though Al hadn't expressly shown them off. Instead they were taken to an impressive room showing off old Easthaven.

Billy looked around less interested than Ranzo. He didn't care much about the towns history or anything like that. The hidden dino had been more his speed. When Renzo asked about any hidden treats here Billy grinned.

The older man did seem to like hiding surprises. Billy started looking around.

Cinder Investigation Roll- 8d6
6 passes - complete success

Billy started to look for small things at first. Then big things. Then he made a slow turn around the room and paused. An odd sort of look came over his face and he started to seriously ponder the room.

"... its a circle." Billy muttered.

The entire room was structured after a ritual circle. It looked random st first but if he thought about it from above everything was arranged in a circular pattern.

Billy glanced over to the corners where he would have put his components. In each spit there was a woman. The wax figures of women ran the age range from a little girl all the way to an old crone. They all looked innocent...

Except they weren't out shopping like the others. One woman had a basket but s chicken leg stuck out. The animal looked dead. The youngest girl was holding a solid black cat, her face expressionless. Another woman was paling a small moppet with needles in it.

Each of them had something thatade Billy think 'that is a witch'

Billy looked over to Al who just gave the boy a wink. He had designed this exhibit to see who recognized it as a ritual circle or found the signs of witchcraft hidden around.

"Easthaven has always had a long history of witchcraft and magic. I've hidden some occult treats in this room." Al said while gesturing to some of the hidden witches in the crowd.

He had actually know each of those women. Some he remembered fondly, others with sadness. True witches of Easthaven.

"Easthaven has always drawn in an odd sort. Must be something in the air." Al laughed it off but now Billy eyed the man more cautiously.

[Gregory Renzo]

Gregory could only raise an eyebrow, confused at how Billy could have possibly seen a circle in the exhibit. He looked around, turning around and round in his spot ahead of Billy, trying and failing to see the circle. "I don't see it," he said, earning a chuckle from Al before he vaguely began to talk about Easthaven's history with witchcraft and magic. What he said certainly hadn't been of much help, if it were even a clue. If anything, it just confused Gregory even more. He walked towards where Billy was standing to try to see the exhibit from where he stood.

"Occult treats?" he repeated, narrowing his eyes and looking at the exhibit again. He looked at the young woman with fiery red hair running through the crowd. Did the hair that made her stand out make her a witch?

"Hey, wanna bet it's her?" Gregory said quietly, elbowing Billy in the arm, not realizing how he's now eyeing their guide. He pointed at the woman, growing surer as he looked at the other wax figures around the room. No one else had the same bright and fiery hair as she did. "Wasn't uniqueness or being non-normative one of the signs of witchcraft in the olden days?"

[Billy Broder]

Billy stood next to Renzo and held out a hand, pointing toward a man standing up on a box and looked like he was giving a speech or selling something. "Start there, I'd wager that is true north." he said glancing at the old man named Al who gave nothing away with his half smile. "From there look at the people. There are a lot in the ground but if you think of it from above there is a wax person every couple of feet in a perfect circle." Billy moved his hand around as he pointed at each figure. They weren't all part of some big circle, but several of them were, and at each true compass direction a figure selling or standing out a bit more than the rest stood. Though none were on a box like the first man Billy had pointed at. "Circles are real important in magic- I've read." The last he added hurriedly. June would be so proud of him.

When Renzo pointed out the redhead, Billy walked closer until he was at the edge of the rope walked way that was meant to separate the patrons from the exhibit. He looked at her, less her hair and more her clothes and what she had with her. Not much, she looked like she was in a hurry but she didn't have on any rings or amulets or anything particularly magicy in Billy's opinion. He doubted she was a witch. "Yeah, could be." he said, not wanting to put down Renzo's guess.

When Renzo mentioned non-normative or unique people Al just chuckled. "It is true that anyone that stood out too much might be accused of witchcraft but that young girl isn't one of my hidden witches. Besides, Easthaven has always been strange. Having fire for hair would hardly be enough here. You would have to be far stranger than that... What is the strangest thing you can think of Mr. Renzo." Al asked. He seemed to be eyeing the larger man intently while his nostrils flared a bit.

He had something in mind but Billy couldn't think of what.

[Gregory Renzo]

Gregory followed Billy's finger when he pointed at the man and followed his motions to see the rest of the circle. It took him a while to really see what Billy meant, but he eventually found it after a few moments of looking. He then counter-checked the girl that he was guessing to be a witch with the rest of the circle. Well, she stood close enough to the figures in the circle that she seemed like she was helping make it, as far as he could tell.

After Billy had given him a clue as to the circle he found, Gregory raised an eyebrow and glanced at his friend. He found it strange that Billy spoke rather eloquently and smoothly just now. He even used unusual terms, like true north--which had two very normal words that made an odd pair. Heck, if anything, that perfectly sounded like something a witch would do. "You're not a witch or wizard by any chance, are you, Billy?" he said with a grin, only meaning to tease him for his seemingly intimate knowledge with wicca. "You like to read a lot of occult-related articles and literature?" If he turned out to be a low-key wizard, Gregory was going to shit himself.

He turned towards Al when he had confirmed Gregory's original guess. At the question, however, Gregory had to pause. Asked at another time, he probably would have given an answer given more consideration. Being asked without prompting put him on the spot, however, and he simply answered the thing that first popped into his mind. "Strangest thing would probably be... talking to animals? Or seeing the future! Definitely that. It would unite a whole village for a witch burning riot... wouldn't it?"

[Billy Broder]

Was Billy magical? That was an easy question to answer. Junebug had grilled him extensively to prepare him for it.

"What!? Pfffft, N-no!"

Nailed it.

Billy looked around nervously and then instantly focused on the first possible distraction he could to change the subject, he was becoming a real pro at subtlety. The kinds of stuff he read. Perfect distraction! "No, not at all. I read normal stuff. Like sports magazines. And the latest Oprah books. Harry Pot- I mean Percy Ja- The.... fifty shades of grey? Actually, I don't read books." He said, getting fairly defensive by the end. Maybe he wasn't getting the hang of this as well as he'd hoped.

When Renzo mentioned a witch burning Al just chuckled. "Talking to animals would probably do it more than reading the future. Though who am I to say for sure. Still, you've seen some interesting things haven't you young man. Maybe if you two stick around a bit, you'll end up seeing more. Easthaven has many things to offer to those who know how to look." he said cryptically.

Turning from them he started walking down the hall again, not prompting them to follow but neither forbidding them from doing so either.