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Thanes movements were far slower and more cautious than the other boy and girl's. He travelled behind them, letting them find their niches in the sitting room as he took stock of it for himself. Slightly narrowed eyes took in the covered furniture, which for the most part had been left alone. Minus the desk. With only a slight shiver at the sudden music, the wizard stepped forward, using his hand to slowly pull off all the covers he came upon, one by one. It was an action to stall, for the most part.

Whoever, or whatever was in the next room was his real target. There was something leading them, or at least the puzzle was getting larger and more difficult to solve. Thanes was absolutely sure a key had to do with the music player, but he needed help to move such a large chair.

How to ask for that with dignity was beyond him.

Do you want me to assssk?, Rotary inquired, nearly reading her Forgotten's thoughts directly. She had been helping him with the various pieces of furniture, using her long pale tongue to help pull and tug at all of the different covers. It had never been hard for her to see right through her boy's facade at being the true Lone Wolf. He needed others to survive, or else she would not be there in the first place. Even Thanes would admit it on a good day.

She recieved no reply for some time. The youth was busy thinking.

Dimitri was absorbed in what he was doing, sifting through the envelopes and papers in each of the separate shelves and openings. He came upon the spool of ribbon and the box. Eyes twinkling, he took out the spool. "I don't think she'll like this..." He muttered and set it next to the quill. He then sifted even more through the desk, attempting the locked drawer, eliminating his choices before taking on the most promising one.

Remember crawled out from beneath the dust infested divan with a sneeze before padding over to Dimitri, hopping on the desk to see what was happening. She briefly considered inviting the others over but kicked that thought out of her mind. They could come over if they wanted. It wasn't as if they were waiting for her permission!

Her counterpart agreed with her, she knew, and both shied from whatever small part of the leader position they had unconsciously taken up. He reached over to the box that had seemed so promising and grasped it, inspecting every angle, nook and cranny that thing had on the outside. Then he opened it, eager, almost, to see the inside contents.

Obviously both were too excited to hear the noises. The door wasn't, after all, going anywhere and this room, this desk, seemed much more important than whatever this unknown thing was behind the door.

The Sitting Room

The box in Dimitri's hand was fine, dark wood...the carving rubbed almost flat by years of friction. It opened easily, though, and revealed precious objects nestled in satin. The first was a stick of rich red wax, crumbled white with age along the corners...and the second was an ebony stamping seal. The seal, when inverted, would surely leave an elegant uppercase 'P'.

The chandelier, however, wasn't nearly so cooperative. The crystals chimed, knocking together as Sera touched them...but didn't stop swinging even as she dropped to her heels. With a sudden crack, the plaster in the ceiling split, and the entire hanging structure dropped an inch and jerked to a stop, trembling.

It didn't hold long. Without another warning, the chandelier simply dropped.

Seraphine wasn't paying much attention to the chiming above her head. The music was just so pretty. Her eyes suddenly widened when a bit of plaster fell into her head and tore her from her thoughts. Oh no...

It wasn't...it couldn't...it wouldn't!

But it was, it could and it most certainly would fall on her head. With a shriek the girl jumped backwards out of the way of the oncoming chandelier. She just stood there and stared at the broken chandelier with wide eyes, her hands protecting the top of her head from anything else that may fall on her. Seraphine whimpered a little and sank down to sit on the floor, giving a little nod. "Y-y-yes..." She whined pathetically, obviously very frightened by what'd just happened. Nevermind that she'd brought it on herself! She could've been hurt quite badly! Maybe even be prevented from dancing for a very long time! If that ever happened she'd just...die! All she'd wanted was a stupid crystal.

Dimitri gave a nod, though he knew she couldn't see it. Sera was safe, at least. Thanes hadn't yet answered so he was unsure about how the wizard was. As the dust began to clear, he gave one look at the broken crystals on the floor before picking up Remember. His daemon purred at the contact, settling so he could carry her like a baby.

The plaster dust was clear where Sera was, though still thick wear Thanes was, so he headed over to Sera. His boots crushed the crystals which made him wonder what she was doing. THen it struck him like a rock. She was trying to get that damn chandelier down! This house was hundreds of years old, added to the fact it was probably infected with plaster-eating bugs and she tried to even touch a heavy chandelier, which was probably barely being held up in the first place.

He gave an inward groan. Girls could be such a pain at times. He shifted Remember a bit when he reached her. "What now?" If she didn't have anything important to say, then Thanes could come over and all three of them could look at the stuff in that box he'd found. Although some selfish part of him wanted to keep the knowledge all for himself, he wanted to see if they could figure out something he couldn't about it.

Thanes had been quite surprised by the sudden crashing of the chandelier, but with quick reflexes he had jumped backwards. He fell to a knee, raising his arm to cover his eyes right as the item smashed into the floor. Slowly, he pulled down his arm, gazing at the crystals right before him in surprise.

It was the girl's fault, of that he was sure.

A quick gaze and he was assured that Rotary was quite all right. She had been even farther back than the young Forgotten from the now damaged area. The daemon was shocked though, which could be seen in the flicking of her tongue and the wideness of the red orbs which were her eyes. Thanes? Thanes are you all right?

"I am fine," the young man murmured, answering both the Mimic and his more human companions in one statement. He rose onto his feet, swaying a little as he fought to regain his balance after such a scare. A small nod to Rotary, and she was collecting some of the cracked crystals for him, hiding them deep inside of her chest-like body. "I think there is a more important issue at hand."

With long strides he passed by Dimitri, stopping only briefly by Sera in order to pat her on the head and mutter something that sounded far too much like, "Good girl."

A bit farther on and he was by the large chair that was placed infront of the door that was still letting the music filter on through. Using his shoulder and single arm, Thanes began to attempt and push the large object all on his own, even if it was perfectly hopeless.

The Sitting Room

The last of the dust had settled by the time Thanes pressed his shoulder to the couch. True to expectation, it didn't budge...even as he planted his feet and pushed. It took every bit of strength from the three combined to slide the massive chair to one side.

The music seemed a bit louder, without the chair in the way...sweet tones echoing muffled from beyond the door. The handle turned easily, but left a bit of soot upon the hand of whoever had reached for it. Silently, the door pulled open to reveal the dark chamber beyond.

The Master Bedroom

The music swelled as the door was opened, a bright crescendo of flute and violin. The spiraling posts of a large bed were visible in the light of the storm, flickers of lightning slicing in through the slatted balcony doors.

For a moment, an irregular silhouette of a standing person could be seen upon the balcony...lit by a flash that faded into brilliant after spots. Only a single glimpse, for soon after the lights overhead surged suddenly on. Power flooded to every bulb and socket, drowning out the light of the storm and obscuring the view of the balcony in a heartbeat.

As soon as the lights returned, the record player spun to a groaning halt. The needle lifted from the old record, and silence just as heavy as the vanished dark settled in the chamber.

Now visible, a tall mahogany armoire rested against the eastern wall...doors shut with a simple latch. A jewelry box rested on the surface of the vanity, next to a few bristle brushes and a pale white comb. Upon the table by the window, a glass vase rested...long unused, but still beautifully worked. Scattered candles in curl handled dishes, rich velvet cushions trimmed in beads, and assorted sepia photographs in silver frames dotted the other tables and ledges.

Most eye catching, however, was the towering grandfather clock in the far corner of the room, seemingly solid polished wood and brass, with a large glass face. The hands were frozen, and the time read:

10:42