Mission Accomplished (Sept 4)
Jul 10, 2018 22:17:00 GMT -6
Post by Snick on Jul 10, 2018 22:17:00 GMT -6
It had been not be difficult at all for Elizabeta to get the pictures Mr. Llewellyn tasked her to get. Given the fact she had a strong interest in runes, it wasn't the first time she was down in the basement of the NOS Legacy House. So many of the symbols used in the ritual room derived from ancient runic magics. In her room she had a journal where she kept her notes about the various meanings of each rune she was able to identify. Most were taught in class and some she learned in her own research. It was not her priority however so this project of hers was not going as fast as it could if she focused more time on it. Besides school work and her growing ambitions, she had to prioritize. Thus she didn't waste time getting the pictures. She had a dance to ensure was organized and set up properly before the dance began Friday.
Underneath the round carpet there was indeed additional sigals and runes, within what could only be a magical circle. A conjuring circle perhaps? It was not something Elizabeta was familiar with. Definitely something she wanted to research herself, one reason she took the foresight of bringing her own camera. She took a few pictures for Mr. Llewellyn and several for herself.
She had not yet decided if she will tell Mr. Glassman about Mr. Llewellyn's request, she wanted to find out more why Llewellyn wanted this picture in the first place and get closer to him. There was something about the formal FBI agent which intrigued her. That and the simple fact she felt he could help her along the path of her goals once she finished school.
She had a quick breakfast and made her way to his office, wanting to give him back his camera, complete with the pictures she took, see if she could draw out any more information before she had to rush to her first class of the day.
Knocking upon his door, she hoped he had not already left for his first class of the day.
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The door clicked open and Ted glanced over at Elizabeta as she stood in his doorway. "Come in, Miss Nicoli." He said, leaning against his desk and reviewing a binder filled with lesson plans for the day. His wall was, by now, quite full of articles of questionable relevance, and he had begin adding strings of yarn to tie the articles together, even though the ties between the stories might be tenuous in the eyes of someone who wasn't viewing them with Llewellyn's eyes. "Did you bring me what I asked for?"
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Elizabeta walked gracefully across Mr. Llewellyn's office and stopped near his desk. Her eyes flicked over the board, noting the strings moving across and titles of various articles. A few she recalled from her previous visit here but most were new. This year she was going to see if she can figure out just what he was tracking. Muggle Serial killers? Magical mayhem? UFO's and the Supernatural? She really had no idea. Some articles were about natural deaths and murders, others accidents and acts of God. Maybe some were spins made by the Magical Government to cover magical activities, but she had no idea if that was what he was tracking or something completely unrelated. She turned her eyes from the board and back onto her teacher.
"I definitely did, Mr. Llewellyn. It wasn't at all difficult to acquire, and what I did find was rather interesting." Elizabeta expressed, taking the little camera out of her pocket and holding it out to her DADA instructor. "Why did you want to see what was under that rug?"
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Reaching out to take the camera, Ted slipped it away into a drawer of his desk. "It is a puzzle, Miss Nicoli. A puzzle and a test." He said, reaching into the same drawer and pulling out a photograph of the same circle and glyphs that she had found under the rug and a magnetic chess game which had pieces already arrayed on it, as if a game were already being played. He took out his wand, then, and began making a series of very precise, circular cuts in the surface of the photograph. Finally, he placed a thumbtack in the center of the photograph, securing it to the surface of the desk.
"Not everything is as it appears, Miss Nicoli." He said, rotating the outer sections of the photograph. What appeared to be indecipherable glyphs resolved into an indecipherable series of letters and numbers on the top of the circle, and the words, "Come see me in my office" on the bottom. "This gibberish at the top is chess notation. Bishop to king's rook 3, captures my pawn, checkmate. Professor Glassman will want to see you after class."
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It was ingenious and annoying. A very clever way to use the symbols, she had not considered them to be a code. Now that Mr. Llewellyn revealed it was exactly that, it certainly will cause her to change the direction of her research. Codes, hidden within runes and symbols, very clever indeed.
"I have to agree, a very true statement." Elizabeta agrees, misdirection and misleading certain were used often. If she can keep the trust of both these two wizards, she stood to learn quite a bit. "It had not occurred to me the symbols were a code."
"It seems I am your pawn, Mr. Llewellyn...but care must be taken, afterall, if a pawn gets to the opponent's side, it comes back as a much more powerful piece, a queen perhaps." It was a bold statement but it was also just that, unless she did have a plan. Elizabeta didn't have one yet but it wouldn't be long before she did figure one out. "I am a fast learner, or so I have been told."
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"The question you should ask yourself, Miss Nicoli, is who administered this test and why." Ted said thoughtfully. "I am an old man, and crafty in my ways, but I tend to be a little more straightforward in the tests I give. This was Howard's test. Or, more accurately, a test administered by your legacy, as they test all pledges." He said, re-setting the chess board. "For loyalty and character. He arranges tests like this for all of his young, ambitious up-and-comers."
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Not what she wanted to hear but not a death knoll regarding her status in NOS. Yet, she rather not be on Grassman's bad side. Technically Mr. Llewellyn had no idea whether there was any picture of the circle on that camara...but what concerned her more, Mr. Grassman already anticipated she may go for it. Was he watching? Possibly.
"I see. And you were in on it, as I suspected before. Are you positive I did take pictures of what truly did lie underneath the circular rug?" Elizabeta dared, studying the old wizard. She had considered taking pictures of a blank section of the floor but figured he would know anyway, what was underneath the carpet. Since she knew it was a code, she definitely will work on figuring out how it worked exactly, just in case a similar one was used again. She will also have to be careful what she agreed to do for other teachers, to make sure its not other tricky tests.
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Ted turned to look at Elizabeta, and his eyebrows were raised slightly. "Miss Nicoli, if you wish to play obtuse with me, then you may consider yourself dismissed from aiding me for the rest of the day. Do you think Mr. Glassman wouldn't have had you observed?"
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Elizabeta felt herself duly put in her place. It was so difficult figuring out how best to act around Mr. Llewellyn. She had a huge among of respect for him but she should no better then try to be clever with him. He probably seen and heard everything before and knew all the tricks. Perhaps she should end the games and only listen and learn. She sighed.
"I am sorry Mr. Llewellyn. I had not meant to be obtuse, just...clever. Obviously, up against your experience and knowledge, trying to out smart you or Mr. Grassman, is just foolish. I respect you greatly and to learn from you and work with you, is very important. I don't want to lose out on continuing to do so."
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"Better." Ted said, turning to size up the girl once more. "I can only hope that Howard will go lightly on you, and I do plan to speak with him about this test. Although he assures me it was as fair as any other test he administers to his students, I do not like having been placed in the position to administer such a test. Until he makes his ruling, you're dismissed."
Underneath the round carpet there was indeed additional sigals and runes, within what could only be a magical circle. A conjuring circle perhaps? It was not something Elizabeta was familiar with. Definitely something she wanted to research herself, one reason she took the foresight of bringing her own camera. She took a few pictures for Mr. Llewellyn and several for herself.
She had not yet decided if she will tell Mr. Glassman about Mr. Llewellyn's request, she wanted to find out more why Llewellyn wanted this picture in the first place and get closer to him. There was something about the formal FBI agent which intrigued her. That and the simple fact she felt he could help her along the path of her goals once she finished school.
She had a quick breakfast and made her way to his office, wanting to give him back his camera, complete with the pictures she took, see if she could draw out any more information before she had to rush to her first class of the day.
Knocking upon his door, she hoped he had not already left for his first class of the day.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The door clicked open and Ted glanced over at Elizabeta as she stood in his doorway. "Come in, Miss Nicoli." He said, leaning against his desk and reviewing a binder filled with lesson plans for the day. His wall was, by now, quite full of articles of questionable relevance, and he had begin adding strings of yarn to tie the articles together, even though the ties between the stories might be tenuous in the eyes of someone who wasn't viewing them with Llewellyn's eyes. "Did you bring me what I asked for?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elizabeta walked gracefully across Mr. Llewellyn's office and stopped near his desk. Her eyes flicked over the board, noting the strings moving across and titles of various articles. A few she recalled from her previous visit here but most were new. This year she was going to see if she can figure out just what he was tracking. Muggle Serial killers? Magical mayhem? UFO's and the Supernatural? She really had no idea. Some articles were about natural deaths and murders, others accidents and acts of God. Maybe some were spins made by the Magical Government to cover magical activities, but she had no idea if that was what he was tracking or something completely unrelated. She turned her eyes from the board and back onto her teacher.
"I definitely did, Mr. Llewellyn. It wasn't at all difficult to acquire, and what I did find was rather interesting." Elizabeta expressed, taking the little camera out of her pocket and holding it out to her DADA instructor. "Why did you want to see what was under that rug?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reaching out to take the camera, Ted slipped it away into a drawer of his desk. "It is a puzzle, Miss Nicoli. A puzzle and a test." He said, reaching into the same drawer and pulling out a photograph of the same circle and glyphs that she had found under the rug and a magnetic chess game which had pieces already arrayed on it, as if a game were already being played. He took out his wand, then, and began making a series of very precise, circular cuts in the surface of the photograph. Finally, he placed a thumbtack in the center of the photograph, securing it to the surface of the desk.
"Not everything is as it appears, Miss Nicoli." He said, rotating the outer sections of the photograph. What appeared to be indecipherable glyphs resolved into an indecipherable series of letters and numbers on the top of the circle, and the words, "Come see me in my office" on the bottom. "This gibberish at the top is chess notation. Bishop to king's rook 3, captures my pawn, checkmate. Professor Glassman will want to see you after class."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was ingenious and annoying. A very clever way to use the symbols, she had not considered them to be a code. Now that Mr. Llewellyn revealed it was exactly that, it certainly will cause her to change the direction of her research. Codes, hidden within runes and symbols, very clever indeed.
"I have to agree, a very true statement." Elizabeta agrees, misdirection and misleading certain were used often. If she can keep the trust of both these two wizards, she stood to learn quite a bit. "It had not occurred to me the symbols were a code."
"It seems I am your pawn, Mr. Llewellyn...but care must be taken, afterall, if a pawn gets to the opponent's side, it comes back as a much more powerful piece, a queen perhaps." It was a bold statement but it was also just that, unless she did have a plan. Elizabeta didn't have one yet but it wouldn't be long before she did figure one out. "I am a fast learner, or so I have been told."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The question you should ask yourself, Miss Nicoli, is who administered this test and why." Ted said thoughtfully. "I am an old man, and crafty in my ways, but I tend to be a little more straightforward in the tests I give. This was Howard's test. Or, more accurately, a test administered by your legacy, as they test all pledges." He said, re-setting the chess board. "For loyalty and character. He arranges tests like this for all of his young, ambitious up-and-comers."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not what she wanted to hear but not a death knoll regarding her status in NOS. Yet, she rather not be on Grassman's bad side. Technically Mr. Llewellyn had no idea whether there was any picture of the circle on that camara...but what concerned her more, Mr. Grassman already anticipated she may go for it. Was he watching? Possibly.
"I see. And you were in on it, as I suspected before. Are you positive I did take pictures of what truly did lie underneath the circular rug?" Elizabeta dared, studying the old wizard. She had considered taking pictures of a blank section of the floor but figured he would know anyway, what was underneath the carpet. Since she knew it was a code, she definitely will work on figuring out how it worked exactly, just in case a similar one was used again. She will also have to be careful what she agreed to do for other teachers, to make sure its not other tricky tests.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ted turned to look at Elizabeta, and his eyebrows were raised slightly. "Miss Nicoli, if you wish to play obtuse with me, then you may consider yourself dismissed from aiding me for the rest of the day. Do you think Mr. Glassman wouldn't have had you observed?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elizabeta felt herself duly put in her place. It was so difficult figuring out how best to act around Mr. Llewellyn. She had a huge among of respect for him but she should no better then try to be clever with him. He probably seen and heard everything before and knew all the tricks. Perhaps she should end the games and only listen and learn. She sighed.
"I am sorry Mr. Llewellyn. I had not meant to be obtuse, just...clever. Obviously, up against your experience and knowledge, trying to out smart you or Mr. Grassman, is just foolish. I respect you greatly and to learn from you and work with you, is very important. I don't want to lose out on continuing to do so."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Better." Ted said, turning to size up the girl once more. "I can only hope that Howard will go lightly on you, and I do plan to speak with him about this test. Although he assures me it was as fair as any other test he administers to his students, I do not like having been placed in the position to administer such a test. Until he makes his ruling, you're dismissed."
