[Day 2, Night - A House South of Town]

[direstnews]

[Written into the ground alongside one of the houses to the south of town tonight are a series of strange letters, forming a rough circle near the wall. A figure of approximately Loki's build, not there during the day's exploration, leans against the wall at the corner. The door to the house is open.]

[Some hours after the sudden switch from day to night, Loki stands in front of the door, a candle before him, a kitchen knife in one hand and a spoon in the other. He checks the mirror set carefully in the darkness, nothing yet visible in its surface. Then he strikes the knife with the spoon's handle, and he holds his breath - and he waits.]

Comments

[direstnews]

I've no notion at all. But it made an attempt to unearth it, and at the end, it served as ample bait.

[Rubs absently at his chest- and then again, as though something feels strange.]

[tearsinnajar]

—Wait a second here, bait!?

[direstnews]

To buy those with weapons a moment's distraction.

[tearsinnajar]

I should thank you, then.

[direstnews]

[Well. Sherlock is here. Chrono is checking the circle already. Plausible lies are getting scaled back, so this answer is probably not what you would have gotten otherwise.]

Unlikely.

[tearsinnajar]

Why don't you walk me through what happened, then. From the beginning.

[direstnews]

I called the creature here.

[Amends:]

...a creature, at the least. It was not meant to be this one.

[tearsinnajar]

[It takes her a moment to digest the concept, but there's been so much impossibility stacked on her in the last 48 hours that she may as well start rolling with it. The monster was just there, after all.]

So what creature did you mean to call?

[direstnews]

A Teller of Tales. A creature from which nothing remains hidden.

Such a being offers answers, for a price.

[tearsinnajar]

[Well, that doesn't sound like a great alternative. Who knows what the price would have been?]

... It sounds like you had good intentions, but from now on could you at least give us a heads up before trying to call on something from beyond?

[direstnews]

[Just. Stares for a second.]

[And then nods.]

I meant to gain us knowledge - nothing more. Had not the Teller been so overtaken, I might have had it.

But there were complications I'd not intended. If all callings are so overwritten, I shall not attempt another.

[tearsinnajar]

Are you alright?

[direstnews]

It did not reach me.

[But he rubs at his chest again as he says it, almost unconsciously.]

[tearsinnajar]

... Are you sure?

[direstnews]

The man crafted all of metal saw it stopped.

[tearsinnajar]

You just seem a little out of it, that's all.

[direstnews]

Something is amiss. I know not what, but it is as though...

[He pauses, considering.]

[tearsinnajar]

Why don't we get you back to where you're staying? All this must have shaken you up.

[direstnews]

There are things yet to be managed.

[tearsinnajar]

Is there something I can do?

[direstnews]

Stay clear of the substance upon the ground, as a start.

[tearsinnajar]

[Glances down at her feet and takes a step back.]

Right.

[direstnews]

[He's heading over to rub out this here strange circle with his foot.]

Otherwise, there's little to be done. We ought not linger too long, in case the music from the night before plays again.