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 Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2023 11:35 am
There was nothing particularly wrong with Villefort. Especially not now that they’d cleaned the gunk up and the world seemed to heal a great deal of it on its own in just a few days. It was a pretty town, and obviously one filled with history, both good and bad.
And it might also hold the secret to whatever Lucien and Marius had been working on. Something that they’d been working on, based off of the research that Percy did.
Their search led them to what Devyn explained was the courthouse, and was possibly a place that kept records and documents safe after so long. There were a couple offices packed full of things, and a courtroom with benches that seemed to have doubled as a town hall.
There was nothing particularly wrong about the place, but there was that same heaviness that Michael felt before.
He wasn’t sure when he'd split off from where Devyn was looking, but it wasn’t until Michael found himself at the bottom of a set of stairs that he realized he was alone.
For a moment he paused and thought about heading back up, but he caught movement out of the corner of his eye.
A jail cell of sorts had been set up, and a slight figure in all black looked like they were delivering food to whoever was locked up.
As if Michael didn’t already know in his heart.
Percy sat on the edge of the small cot, looking disheveled and face streaked from dried tears. He looked exhausted, and it wasn’t difficult to see the darkened skin of his fingers and hands.
In the blink of an eye, the slight figure was gone, and instead it was a younger Devyn who was sitting at the bars, letting Percy tend to his hands.
But there was such an emptiness in Devyn’s eyes that it still made Michael’s heart skip a beat, despite knowing full well it must have been a memory.
“You had your whole will taken from you,” Michael said quietly into the darkness. He could hear the footsteps coming down the stairs behind him. He hadn’t expected it to take long for Devyn -- the real Devyn -- to find him.
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2023 11:49 am
Devyn tilted his head as he came down the steps holding an old, leather bound folder. He showed visible confusion at first but after looking around the room he thought he might have an inkling for what Michael was talking about. He didn’t want to interrupt him if he was having some sort of memory but he wasn’t sure anything good could come from a memory down here.
“...Everything okay down here?" he asked, thinking that was better than prodding to find out what he'd seen.
Devyn didn't have all of his memories from the time he was under Marius' control, but he had enough of them to know what Michael might have seen down here.
And yet, when Michael wasn't in the room with him, he suspected he'd find him down here.
He wasted no time moving to his side, and placed a hand at the small of his back before rubbing gently. "It's a bit chilly down here." He didn't ask him to leave or come back up with him, but the silent offer was there, anyway. There was no need to rush anything. He had some files of interest, but if Michael needed a moment down here, that was fine too.
Villefort hadn't really had much of a need for jail cells when everyone was too sick, so Devyn couldn't help but be somewhat satisfied that Marius had never needed to expand. Things were a bit worn down--he could see in the stone where someone had worried away a path in front of the cells. Both were open, and a key ring hung by the entrance. It wasn't very cozy down there, but neither was it particularly ominous. There was a heaviness to it, but Devyn wasn't shaken by it.
...He just wanted to make sure Michael wasn't, either.
There were a lot of memories here, and he supposed most of the ones Michael might have access to weren't very good.
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2023 12:06 pm
Michael was grateful for Devyn’s presence, even if he didn’t immediately turn to face him. Even if he felt frozen to the spot as he watched memories unfold before him. They felt stronger here, although he could tell they weren’t good.
Unconsciously, Michael had lifted his hand to the orb that hung around his neck at the same time Percy had in his memories -- except it seemed as though Percy’s had been taken away from him. He looked anxious and distressed.
Even as the memory shifted again with Devyn on the bed with Percy, there was a blankness to Devyn’s expression that unnerved him.
“He didn’t know what the magic was capable of doing,” Michael finally said after a few moments. Percy had been sobbing quietly against Devyn, who had done the bare minimum to offer him comfort, yet there were little things that seemed to placate Percy from completely breaking down.
“He wanted you to break free. He knew you could have done it. Telling you not to -- to listen to what you were told… It might have kept you safe from the unknown, but he held onto that guilt and feeling like he betrayed you for a long time. Maybe for the rest of his life. And then to suggest adopting Marius after everything…?”
Michael’s heart ached. So much that it was painful. He’d felt despair before, but he wondered if just being on Alastor magnified it.
“But you knew all that,” he said quietly as he finally tore his eyes away from Percy trying to fall asleep on Devyn, who seemed upsettingly unlifelike.
“Sorry, I don’t know why -- or how I ended up down here. Find anything interesting?” he asked, forcing himself out of his daze, but it was probably obvious that he was making himself change the subject, likely for Devyn’s benefit.
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2023 12:32 pm
Devyn was quiet as he processed the shared memories. While he appreciated Michael’s effort to change the subject, the information was too much to just cast aside. Of course it would hurt to hear that Percy carried any guilt, even if he’d always suspected as much.
Now, he was just worried that Michael would carry that guilt, too.
"I didn't blame him. It wasn't ever like that." The necklace was steady, but not in a controlled way. Devyn wasn't masking his emotions. There was just enough fluctuation that it was obvious he was just thinking. Feeling.
"He wanted me to be safe. I couldn't tell him everything that I knew. And he was the more rational of the two of us. I wanted to break it. I probably could have. He didn't like that it hurt me. I didn't talk to him much about the whole experience, I knew it hurt him. I knew he'd blame himself. I had a hard time with Marius, at first. After we adopted him. It was a difficult time in my life, but there was a lot going on."
He'd mentioned it in passing before, how he'd taken more blame and lied about what had been done to spare Marius any backlash. It had helped reduce corruption, sure. At the cost of his reputation. It was still blood on his hands, even if it hadn't been by his will.
But then, if he was so confident that he could have broken free, was he not still responsible?
His mood sank, but he released the emotions in a sigh and shrugged. It was a long time ago.
"You've got such a look on your face, Michael. I'm sorry." He rubbed at his back again, and stayed close. Just in case Michael needed any extra comfort. "I wish Percy could forgive himself. I trusted him. I didn't blame him for any of it. And I didn't love him any less just because things were different for a while. And Marius was so good for him. So good for Alastor, too. He chose the best path for all of us. Even though it was hard on him."
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2023 12:37 pm
Michael knew he wasn’t Percy. It was just difficult feeling Percy’s emotions, seeing his memories. There was such a fine line between his reality and the past that sometimes it was easy to get lost.
Devyn was there, of course. And Michael felt his own guilt when Devyn said how he wished Percy could forgive himself.
“You’ve got nothing to apologize for,” Michael insisted, although he did nothing to move away from Devyn. In fact, after a few moments, he turned so he could wrap his arms around him and dropped his head onto Devyn’s shoulder. At least for a few moments.
“He knew you trusted him. I think it was because he knew it was basically a no win situation. And in the end, he decided that you were the stronger option that would have more of a chance at survival than a sick village. But he knew what you would have to do, what it would cost you. Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories,” he sighed, because this wasn’t even why they were there. They were supposed to be looking for information about what Marius and Lucien were working on.
“He loved you, more than life itself.” But Devyn knew that. “And I do, too.”
In the end, Percy had chosen Devyn over his own life. If Michael had the choice, he would do the same.
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2023 1:01 pm
Deyvn tipped his head to rest atop of Michael’s, and he kept him close while he listened. He smiled, and even if it was a bit sad, he knew that Michael meant everything he’d said. “I love you too, Michael. More than life itself.”
But then, he’d had a lot of life to live. Of course having someone to share it with would make a significant difference.
Still, it was nice to hear from Michael, and it was nice to hear it about Percy, too. Even if he did know it.
“He thought so highly of me. I always wanted to do right by him. I tried my best.“ Even in an impossible situation.
“I suspected there might be some old memories tethered to this place.” He turned so he could kiss Michael’s head while he was resting against him. “If it’s too much, we can always take a break or head out for some fresh air. But I love you. What happened here wasn’t fair, none of it was. But Percy was strong for all of us, and had to make some tough choices. But he saved a lot of lives in doing so. And even if it was hard on me, a lot of people came out of it for the better.”
…Some wound up dead, but he’d long ago reasoned that it was a ‘fairer’ punishment than they’d have gotten from the courts. Marius had extracted ‘true justice’, in his own way.
“Marius spent a lot of time trying to make it up to Percy, too. I think he was only able to have the most impact in the years after Percy–after he passed.” Devyn hummed a sigh and squeezed Michael a little closer. “I wish I’d been more involved. I didn’t know how to process losing him. Marius did so much, I wish I could have been there to help. But, I found some notes and diagrams of his. It’s not exactly what we’re looking for but I think it’s a start.” He lifted the collected papers he’d come down with, but even now they were second to Michael’s well-being.
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2023 1:05 pm
It was difficult to process the energy there. Difficult to understand the emotions. Some of it was easy, like how much Percy mourned everything that happened to Devyn and the town. How he cared so deeply for both Devyn, and Marius as well.
But it felt like there was something more that was beckoning him there. More than just old, sad memories.
“I’m sure Marius understood. If he knew how much you meant to Percy… if he knew how much he meant to Percy. Then he would have understood.”
He lifted his head when Devyn mentioned the notes and diagrams, and reluctantly released his hold from around Devyn so he could gently take the folder from him. It was dark down there, but there was enough glowing light for them to see.
“Guess even after the gasses were cleared out, they never switched over to using fire,” Michael nodded to the glowing sconces, reminiscent of the glowing stones that lit Sessrumnir and Valhalla. He wouldn’t have been surprised if any of the glowing rocks had been imported in an attempt to help out the village.
He didn’t know why he was looking at the folder, since he couldn’t even read any of the Alastorian text, but something had caught his eye. Something he was so used to seeing that he didn’t even think about it until he realized--
“That cell used to be bigger,” he said suddenly as he brushed his fingers over the embossed symbol of Alastor on the folder cover, then turned to where a small one had been carefully carved into one of the stones under a sconce. In his memories, there was definitely a couple feet more of space in the still small room that Percy had been in, but at some point it seemed as though another wall was added.
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2023 1:15 pm
A little smile played on Devyn’s face, because for all the old, bitter emotions this place could dredge up, it still meant so much to him that Michael knew enough about it that they could hold a conversation. Of course, he knew he’d overshared plenty and told a good number of stories about this place, but Michael observed and noted things that still filled an emptiness in his heart.
He didn’t have to explain that Villefort was an old town, rooted in its ways and trusting what it knew. They used as little fire as possible–and why bother with it when they had other, less dangerous means of illumination, anyway?
But what interest that had kindled was immediately replaced with Michael’s observation.
“Is that so?” he asked, but it was rhetorical. He trusted Michael, and the faded and obscure memories that Percy shared with him.
He hadn’t spent enough time in any cell to know the dimensions, and renovations of the sort were hardly the sort of thing that would have interested him.
Except, Michael knew.
Which meant that there was likely something about here that was important.
There could have been any number of reasons why the layout had changed, but to mark a symbol–his symbol down here was an oddity.
“Interesting.”
So, of course, he couldn’t help himself, and reached to brush his fingers over the symbol carved into the wall.
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2023 1:44 pm
It only took a moment for the symbol to react, but as Devyn brushed his fingers over it, it began to glow gold. From it, patterns that Michael could only describe as like on a circuit board spread out along the wall from that center point. It seemed to pulse with energy, the gold fading to nothing before rippling outward again.
It pulsed once more, and then a small brick at about waist height protruded from the wall, as though offering a handle to pull.
Michael stayed by Devyn’s side as everything played out. He wasn’t sure what to expect -- something with Alastor’s symbol could be there to get his attention, or it could have been a trap.
Somehow he didn’t think the magic would have reacted in the way it had if Devyn wasn’t meant to touch it.
This time, Michael put his hand on the small of Devyn’s back and gave him a little rub of encouragement.
“That can’t have been random. Do you think it was Marius? Or someone else?” he frowned, but didn’t reach out for the brick to pull it open. It wasn’t his symbol on the wall.
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2023 1:55 pm
Circuitry was not common to Alastor, so Devyn immediately squinted when the pattern spread out across the wall. “I don’t think it would have been Marius. He wasn’t much of an artist, and we didn’t really have technology like this. Lucien would have, though.”
And, circuitry would have been more his language, anyway.
It made sense if they were working together on things. Marius could have given Lucien somewhere private to work, and Devyn had already said that Villefort had never had much crime, anyway. There was no reason for most people to come down here. Construction wouldn’t have been obvious.
Who would have known?
He hadn’t. Whatever was down here, he might never have known if it weren’t for Michael.
Curiously, he gripped the brick and pulled it–pulled a door open. It was only a sliver at first, and he held it there to make sure nothing slipped out.
It seemed ordinary enough, for now.
“I don’t know what’s down here,” he cautioned. “But I can’t imagine it’s anything dangerous. Let me go first, just in case. You’ll have to tell me if you notice anything out of the ordinary. I think you know more about whatever this is than I do.”
But, Devyn was eager to find out. And, maybe eager to give Michael something else to focus on before those memories dragged him somewhere dark.
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2023 2:17 pm
Michael gave Devyn an exasperated look when he insisted on going into the unknown room first in case there was danger. Like that was supposed to make him feel better. But he trusted Devyn, and as much as he wanted to insist that Devyn let him go first, he nodded in agreement. Although not without some grumbling about how of course Devyn would want to go into the unknown room, first.
Luckily for them, nothing jumped out.
While only a couple feet had been repurposed from the existing underground, it seemed as though a larger room had been dug out, although not by much. It was enough room for a desk and bookshelf. The walls were covered in various maps and star charts and diagrams ranging from things such as the workings of a heart organ to the dissection of flowers.
The book case was orderly, although packed full, and the desk seemed to be meticulously cared for, aside from the centuries worth of dust that now covered everything.
There were boxes along the wall that seemed to hold various tools of mechanical and electrical nature, and on the center of the desk was a small, golden circular object, like a compact. Just like on the wall outside, Alastor’s symbol made up the design of the cover. In the center was a turquoise colored gem that glowed briefly before fading, only to glow again after a couple seconds. If it was running on batteries, it seemed as though they were dying, although since it was likely magic, Michael was still under the impression that the lightsource had lasted long beyond its intended lifespan.
“Well… How much do you want to bet that you’ll find a good bit of the documents you’ve been missing and looking for down here,” Michael mused as he looked around, trying not to disturb too much of the dust. Like the rest of the underground, the room seemed to be lit by the same stone sconces that glowed, although it seemed as though there was also a lamp that used technology more advanced than glowing rocks or fire.
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2023 1:53 pm
Devyn took his time to observe the strange little room, and though it was obvious that he was interested in everything, he managed to show some restraint. He didn’t immediately start digging around. There would be time for that.
The necklace around Michael’s neck lit up; it glowed a little brighter and churned at an excited pace, so much so that Devyn had to turn and give it an exasperated look. He was amused, and when a soft laugh fell from his lips it seemed to be good natured and directed at himself. He didn’t try to hide or suppress the emotions.
He was excited at this find, whatever it might be.
Naturally, he couldn’t help but brush his fingers across the dust on the desk in an effort to sweep it away. This room would need more tending to than he could give it now, but he was eager to give it a quick look over and determine what he should bring back with him on this trip.
“Oh, I think I’d bet quite a bit.” His eyes lingered on the boxes of tools, and while the little half smile on his face was a bit sad, it was only because it was bittersweet to be somewhere old and faced with something new.
There were many things he could have been drawn to, but it was impossible to avoid the flickering compact on the desk. It was placed so precisely that it seemed like someone wanted it to be found, and when it was his symbol on the compact, how was he supposed to ignore it?
It seemed to be struggling, and Devyn didn’t even have much faith that it would have enough charge to do anything more than flicker, but he lifted it and hoped for the best.
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2023 6:17 pm
It was cute to see Devyn so excited. Michael couldn’t help but stand back and watch him look around at everything. The necklace was a dead give away, of course. And when Devyn turned to give it a look, Michael just smiled at him.
He kept his hands to himself for now. This was Devyn’s world. There were things with his symbol on it. And with everything around them, Michael was pretty sure Devyn was right in that it likely was Lucien’s office they’d discovered.
And maybe they were one step closer to finding out what he and Marius had been working on, so long ago.
When Devyn lifted the compact, it flickered again. Similar to the wall reacting to Devyn touching the symbol, the compact seemed to rotate the gears inside, and from the center, flickering gem, an image was projected.
It was the head and torso of a man who looked around the same age as himself and Devyn. Except among his light golden brown hair were cat ears. Although Michael had never seen Lucien, it was obvious that this was his image being displayed.
Except that, similar to the technology behind his signet ring, the hologram was able to relay a pre-recorded message.
“If you’re -- snooping around, I wo-- prefer -- put everything back where you found it,” Lucien huffed, but even with the deterioration of the message, it seemed pretty obvious to Michael that Lucien was putting on a show. There was no real reprimand in his voice.
“I would apologi-- that I didn’t tell you -- this little excursion ahead of time, but you’ve -- preoccupied and I was hoping to return quickly with some good news. The fact -- -- found this… I can only -- that I have not yet returned.”
The audio and image kept glitching, but the message was pretty clear in context, and Michael glanced over at Devyn to try and appraise his expression without having to rely on the not always reliable necklace.
“Marius and I thought -- best to attempt contact -- the outside. I have taken my pod with me in case -- -- emergency. I have embedded a connection between -- device you -- holding and myself, so -- -- decide whether -- -- effort should be made -- wait or assist. I trust you will exercise appropriate caution, regardless of -- outcome. You remain my bonded, thus Alastor is as much my responsibility as yours. Take care -- Marius for me. He is young and wise but still needs guidance.”
The message seemed to fizzle out, likely degraded with time. But the center gem pulsed again, just as slowly as before.
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2023 7:25 pm
Devyn had watched quietly, with slightly narrowed eyes. It wasn’t an unfriendly expression, and it wasn’t one he usually wore, but it was reserved for times that required great focus and concentration. He was piecing together the message and filling in the gaps. Some of it was easy, some of it less so.
The message itself wasn’t unpleasant or uncomfortable. Seeing Lucien wasn’t, either. It was bittersweet, maybe, but it was a mystery even more than that.
His thumb hovered over the symbol of Alastor, like he was almost tempted to press it again and rewatch, but if the recording was as damaged as it seemed, it was probably unwise to speed up deterioration. Especially if there was some way to recover what might have been lost.
But, he’d need a Mauvian for that, and all of the ones he knew were on Earth.
He’d been patient before, he could wait.
Instead of replaying the message, he glanced around the little office. “Like I snoop.”
He wanted to go through everything, now. He pocketed the compact, because he couldn’t just leave it here, and planted his hands on his hips as he pressed his lips together in thought.
He hadn’t taken very good care of Marius, much less for Lucien. “I should have found this place a long time ago.”
A small pang of regret, but there was nothing to be done about that now. Deyvn had plenty of regrets, this would just go into the pile.
“What do you consider ‘appropriate caution’ in this case, Michael?”
A thousand years too late, sure, but the papers in the folder he’d brought had information and plans for reaching the island in the sky that led him down here, and now he had a millennia old message from a very good friend saying he’d gone on an excursion to contact the outside.
It wasn’t difficult to piece things together and assume they were related.
He’d wanted to get up there before. The desire had only grown.
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2023 7:58 pm
Michael quietly observed Devyn after the message ended, although he couldn’t help the small breath of fond exasperation when Devyn commented about snooping.
He reached over to place his hand on Devyn’s back again, just so he could touch him and be close.
“It’s not your fault you didn’t find this place,” he promised, and glanced around. “It doesn’t look like anyone did.” Or if they knew about it, they didn’t disturb it. Maybe those who had known Lucien had an office there treated it as a kind of memorial.
As for appropriate caution, Michael frowned.
“It was likely different back when that message was made. Alastor would have been much more dangerous than it is now. I’m sure he wouldn’t have wanted you doing anything dangerous to try and find him if something went wrong but…”
It had obviously been a long time since then. If they went up, they might at least find something to bring back. Maybe a proper burial, or at least a marker to leave with Marius’s grave.
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