Post by ParamountKeymaster on Feb 21, 2020 19:18:35 GMT -5
Rainflower's underground workshop was as apparent as ever. The cauldron over the unlit fireplace, the cabinets stocked with ingredients, the refrigerator, the couch, the bowl full of potion-laced candy... Everything was in order, left untouched for a few short days, still abandoned save for the occasional passersby.
It was here, that fateful midmorning, that an ethereal doorway opened, providing a portal for the overweight young man and the Bernese Mountain Dog to step through. Upon entering the cavernous workshop, Evan turned back around and promptly used the Paramount Key to seal the portal shut.
"Well, I'll be a son of a b*tch!" Carter teased, smiling up at his master. "Ladies and gentlemen, he's out of the house!"
"Can we not make a big deal out of it?" Evan sighed, slipping the key around his neck. "I'm already dreading the reactions I'll get when we run into someone."
"Hey, don't whine to me about it, big guy. This was your idea."
"Acknowledged," Evan grunted as marched over to the cupboards. "Let's just run through their stuff real quick. See if there's anything in here that may hint at what they've been up to."
"Sounds like a plan," Carter consented, following Evan and poking his snout into one of the lower cabinets.
Evan took a deep breath and started rooting through the cupboards, uncertain of what he was searching for but nonetheless keeping his eyes peeled for anything out of the loosest definition of ordinary. The exact process through which they would hopefully find Rainflower was by no means a solid plan. Evan was pretty much playing things by ear, driven by a theory and a desire to participate in his own recovery. Sure, he was still feeling self-conscious about his current weight, but not enough to completely hold him back anymore. Above all else, he wanted to believe that his direct influence would finally yield results. That he would be back to normal in short order.
Granted, he wasn't expecting it to be easy.
"GAH-!" Carter suddenly jumped back, the cabinet door slamming shut. The old dog's haunches rose and a low growl escaped his gritted teeth.
The spontaneous display of aggression startled Evan back a few inches. "What? What is it?"
"Sorry," Carter grumbled, his tense body relaxing a little. "Just those little butterfly bastards."
"Ah." Evan awkwardly gritted his teeth and nodded in clear understanding, then went back to his investigation, continuing by first opening a drawer.
"Hm..."
The first thing his eyes landed on was hard to define. The best description he could come up with was that it looked like a little wooden kazoo on the end of a string. Whatever it was, it definitely stood out among Rainflower's collection of bizarre herbs and oils. Curiosity got the better of him as he picked the tiny instrument up by the string for a closer examination.
Carter looked up and tilted his head. "What's that?"
"I'm not sure, but I feel like I've seen something like this before." Evan spun the instrument around on its string once, producing a soft, high-pitched whistle. He continued to spin it, picking up speed, letting the whistle ring out in a thrumming, soothing tone. He kept at it as he glanced down at Carter, noticing that the dog was more or less entranced by the sound, lost in a peaceful stupor. When he stopped, Carter slowly started to bring himself back to attention.
"Huh." Evan brought the device closer to his face, gently fingering it as he studied its intricate details. "I swear I've seen one of these before. I just can't place a name. Was it... bull...? Bull... r... Bullroarer, that's it!"
"Well, whatever it is, maybe don't go playing it like that again," Carter drowsily insisted. "Thing nearly put me to sleep."
Evan peeked inside the drawer he had obtained the bullroarer from. All that was left was a stack of parchment and a number of pencils. At a glance, none of the papers seemed to have any writing on them; only sketches. As he grabbed the stack and sorted through the drawings –one of a tree, one of a butterfly, one of a dragon, so on and so forth– Evan had to concede that despite their notoriously horrible handwriting, Rainflower was a surprisingly competent artist.
He nearly dropped the whole stack when he came across one drawing in particular.
"Maybe that's the point."
Carter raised a brow. "What is?"
Evan crouched down to Carter's level, showing him an intricately-detailed picture of some sort of Lovecraftian abomination. "Stegosaurus spines, lamprey head, tentacle mane... This looks like what I imagined when Swift described the monster."
"Hmm..." Carter was quickly intrigued. "So Rainy has seen it before."
"That seems fair to say." Evan looked between the picture in one hand and the bullroarer in the other. "Maybe they kept this thing around to keep it at ease."
"Distinct possibility." Carter's tail slowly started wagging. "So we're on the right track, then?"
"I think so," Evan replied with a smile, tucking the picture and bullroarer into his pockets as he stood up straight. "Let's see if we can't stay on it."
With that, Evan briskly marched out of the workshop, closely followed by Carter, feeling ready now more than ever to find the beast, the fairy, or possibly even both.
It was here, that fateful midmorning, that an ethereal doorway opened, providing a portal for the overweight young man and the Bernese Mountain Dog to step through. Upon entering the cavernous workshop, Evan turned back around and promptly used the Paramount Key to seal the portal shut.
"Well, I'll be a son of a b*tch!" Carter teased, smiling up at his master. "Ladies and gentlemen, he's out of the house!"
"Can we not make a big deal out of it?" Evan sighed, slipping the key around his neck. "I'm already dreading the reactions I'll get when we run into someone."
"Hey, don't whine to me about it, big guy. This was your idea."
"Acknowledged," Evan grunted as marched over to the cupboards. "Let's just run through their stuff real quick. See if there's anything in here that may hint at what they've been up to."
"Sounds like a plan," Carter consented, following Evan and poking his snout into one of the lower cabinets.
Evan took a deep breath and started rooting through the cupboards, uncertain of what he was searching for but nonetheless keeping his eyes peeled for anything out of the loosest definition of ordinary. The exact process through which they would hopefully find Rainflower was by no means a solid plan. Evan was pretty much playing things by ear, driven by a theory and a desire to participate in his own recovery. Sure, he was still feeling self-conscious about his current weight, but not enough to completely hold him back anymore. Above all else, he wanted to believe that his direct influence would finally yield results. That he would be back to normal in short order.
Granted, he wasn't expecting it to be easy.
"GAH-!" Carter suddenly jumped back, the cabinet door slamming shut. The old dog's haunches rose and a low growl escaped his gritted teeth.
The spontaneous display of aggression startled Evan back a few inches. "What? What is it?"
"Sorry," Carter grumbled, his tense body relaxing a little. "Just those little butterfly bastards."
"Ah." Evan awkwardly gritted his teeth and nodded in clear understanding, then went back to his investigation, continuing by first opening a drawer.
"Hm..."
The first thing his eyes landed on was hard to define. The best description he could come up with was that it looked like a little wooden kazoo on the end of a string. Whatever it was, it definitely stood out among Rainflower's collection of bizarre herbs and oils. Curiosity got the better of him as he picked the tiny instrument up by the string for a closer examination.
Carter looked up and tilted his head. "What's that?"
"I'm not sure, but I feel like I've seen something like this before." Evan spun the instrument around on its string once, producing a soft, high-pitched whistle. He continued to spin it, picking up speed, letting the whistle ring out in a thrumming, soothing tone. He kept at it as he glanced down at Carter, noticing that the dog was more or less entranced by the sound, lost in a peaceful stupor. When he stopped, Carter slowly started to bring himself back to attention.
"Huh." Evan brought the device closer to his face, gently fingering it as he studied its intricate details. "I swear I've seen one of these before. I just can't place a name. Was it... bull...? Bull... r... Bullroarer, that's it!"
"Well, whatever it is, maybe don't go playing it like that again," Carter drowsily insisted. "Thing nearly put me to sleep."
Evan peeked inside the drawer he had obtained the bullroarer from. All that was left was a stack of parchment and a number of pencils. At a glance, none of the papers seemed to have any writing on them; only sketches. As he grabbed the stack and sorted through the drawings –one of a tree, one of a butterfly, one of a dragon, so on and so forth– Evan had to concede that despite their notoriously horrible handwriting, Rainflower was a surprisingly competent artist.
He nearly dropped the whole stack when he came across one drawing in particular.
"Maybe that's the point."
Carter raised a brow. "What is?"
Evan crouched down to Carter's level, showing him an intricately-detailed picture of some sort of Lovecraftian abomination. "Stegosaurus spines, lamprey head, tentacle mane... This looks like what I imagined when Swift described the monster."
"Hmm..." Carter was quickly intrigued. "So Rainy has seen it before."
"That seems fair to say." Evan looked between the picture in one hand and the bullroarer in the other. "Maybe they kept this thing around to keep it at ease."
"Distinct possibility." Carter's tail slowly started wagging. "So we're on the right track, then?"
"I think so," Evan replied with a smile, tucking the picture and bullroarer into his pockets as he stood up straight. "Let's see if we can't stay on it."
With that, Evan briskly marched out of the workshop, closely followed by Carter, feeling ready now more than ever to find the beast, the fairy, or possibly even both.
