[003] / θ-3

[fortune_sought]

[the Doctor and Sophie are at a table by the front windows in an open café in the southern shopping plaza. the building overlooks the botanical gardens, making for a pleasant and quaint atmosphere--the sort of atmosphere the town professes to exude. however, the scene inside the café is far from pleasant or quaint. in fact, the two appear to be in the midst of a rather heated discussion]

[Sophie has a cup of tea in front of her and is slumped over the table in a fashion that would remind her alarmingly of some of the stooping she did as an old woman. however, she is certainly not bothered about her posture at the moment. her face is extremely flushed, though whether from fever or anger is anyone's guess, and she is glaring severely at the man across the table from her] I am calm!

[the Doctor, his face reddened not only because of the impossible fever sweeping through his system but thanks to his deep annoyance with the woman he's sharing his table with, only rolls his eyes and barely manages to keep himself from throwing his arms up in the air in a completely dramatic show of frustration.]

Oh yes, that's calm. Next thing I know, you're going to be smashing your tea cup to the ground and professing the same thing! I only said you needed to relax or you'll get yourself into a deeper state of exhaustion than you're already in!

[scoffs, still glaring] And I'm sure your insults are perfectly calm as well! What we need is a solution! Until we have that, no amount of "relaxing" will solve anything.

Look, even if you won't, you've got to eat something. You need the fuel to keep functioning. [of course, the last thing he actually ate was a bag of candy floss and a corn dog a few days ago, but he doesn't exactly need food all that often.]

[he pushes a plate of pain au chocolat, or chocolate-filled croissants, her way, forcing his tone to be a bit gentler.] Humour me, will you? We can eat and solve riddles at the same time. It's called 'multi-tasking'.

[eyes him for a moment more and then sighs. reluctantly picks up one of the croissants, nibbling on one end of it. she's really not hungry and is a bit apprehensive that the food she attempts to eat might come back up in the middle of their conversation] You might be surprised, but we have multi-tasking in Ingary.

So what ideas do you have about the riddle? Or have you spoken to anyone else about it?

[he takes one as well, but merely keeps it on a small plate beside his glass of ice water. he reckons if his temperature continues to climb, he might even pass for a human in a thermal scan. it's an amusing thought, at least.]

Spoke to--[his previous self]--the other Doctor about this, but I've been trying to work out a solution of my own instead of solving the riddle. [pulls a face] My...own efforts haven't been nearly as successful as I'd hoped, so I'm giving that riddle another go! Got a few ideas of my own, of course, but let's see how the others are doing, hmm? I heard a few of them were up to something, but I was a bit busy at the time.

[he takes his CAT out, setting it on the table in front of them so both he and Sophie can be seen in a video broadcast to all the residential CATs.] Ah hello, there we are. How is everyone feeling? I gather no one's solved the riddle yet, but maybe we need to rethink things a little. Get a fresh--well, relatively speaking anyway--pair of eyes and ears on things. Where are you all at?

[ooc: Joint post! If you couldn't tell, the Doctor is blue and Sophie is orange. We'll both be tagging around. Join in the discussion so we can solve the mystery!]

Comments

[Never mind what Fuu's been doing. RL caught me XD]

[wind-of-reason.livejournal.com]

[Fuu awakens to Miss Sophie's and the Doctor's voices and she turns over with a start. Are they here?]

[Looking around she orients herself - she's in the greenhouse, curled up on the bench in the observation area (http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t114/vampwrite/Luministi%20Stuff/conservatories-lantern-conv-roof.jpg). The voices are only coming from the CAT.]

[After combing her hair with her fingers she activates the CAT to reply to them.]

Good, um, day. Miss Sophie, Doctor.

I'm feeling okay right now. I guess I should say 'for now.' [She feels exhausted and warm even though she figures she must have been sleeping there in just her clothes for a long time. But for being poisoned, she figures that ranks as 'okay.']

Speaking of eyes, I was going to look for a removable eye in one of the statues here. But... I think I need some help. Maybe a lot of help.

[fortune_sought]

A removable eye? [thinks about that] "The eye of the beast." Yes, I see. But what sort of help do you need?

[wind-of-reason.livejournal.com]

Ah, well. There are... lots of statues here. And I was going to check the Kirin statue first, but it's kinda high up. It's eye, I mean.

So I guess I need help checking all these 'beasts'. And if there are some healthy people who can climb ladders... [Fuu closes her eyes for a beat. Even the thought of climbing makes her feel tired and dizzy. Heck, standing is going fun.]

That is... if you think I'm on the right track? I'm just... not sure what else to do.

Oh, but it does seem like the Poseidon sundial is the place from the riddle. There is a ...small indentation, smaller than the coins we got from the first day's riddle, under the statue.

[bit_impossible]

[has a sip of his water before speaking] No, let's stay away from ladders. No one's in any condition to be doing any of that, and besides, the Kirin statue doesn't sound right. There are other "beasts" around, and we can't limit ourselves to just the statues either.

[but he smiles a bit wearily at that last part] Now that's where I agree with you. Can't be more obvious than "guardian of the sea". Just how Resarci and his team missed that, I don't know.


[ooc: Just as a heads-up, we'll go Fuu-->the Doctor or Sophie-->Fuu, etc, so we can keep the three of them in the same train of thought, so to speak.]

[wind-of-reason.livejournal.com]

[ooc: okay!]


Yah. And they had four days to think about it. And they're healthy... [She's not bitter. Honest.]

But, um, okay. I'm happy to stay away from ladders too, but what other beasts are there? [She frowns a bit as she thinks it over.]
There really weren't too many stone statues that were beasts, were there.
Then there were... topiary animals? Cranes, elephant... dragon, bears, dogs... I'm sure that there was more, and they're all beasts. It will take forever to search them all!

Is there anything else? Anything...
[Fuu rests her head in her hand and closes her eyes, thinking of what other beasts she's seen. The lion-and-sun coin...]

Oh! And the gift basket. There were lions in the gift basket.

[bit_impossible]

They probably didn't eat at the Chrysalis. Wasn't half bad there, besides the poisoning incident, that is.

You're right, though. There are a lot of beasts, but think carefully about what was said in the riddle itself. Riddles like that tend to be filled with more information than riddle solver realises. There has to be something there that we're overlooking.

[glances at Sophie to make sure she's still eating that croissant.]

[fortune_sought]

[frowns bitterly at the table] And isn't that interesting? None of the town's residents ate at The Chrysalis. We're the only ones who did.

Hmmm...what other information could have been about that "eye of the beast"?

[catches the Doctor looking at her. makes a face and takes another nibble]

[ooc: Sorry to break the posting order, but you addressed me, and I'm going to be out all day, so I figured this would reduce confusion!]

[wind-of-reason.livejournal.com]

[ooc: it's all good! ^^]


[Fuu gives the Doctor a rueful grin.]

More of 'the devil is in the details' and 'don't miss the forest for the trees?'

[Taking a couple deep breaths she recalls the poem. She'd memorized it because, simply, her life depended on it.]

I'd discounted the first part because we don't need to know where the poison is from right now but...

[She blinks. With a smile she points at the Doctor.]

You're slipping, Doctor. The poem said 'wrath of the sea' and 'guardian of time.' But you said that the location couldn't be more obvious than 'guardian of the sea'. You mixed it up.

I- I feel like I'm grasping at straws here, but could it be that the earlier lines relate to the later lines? 'Hounding you discreetly...' So, maybe the beast is a dog?

[bit_impossible]

[his eyes flash with annoyance. now is not the time to get pedantic with him, Fuu, not when he isn't well.]

The only guardian guarding "time", so to speak--[besides his other self and Braxiatel, but fortunately for them, they haven't got a base spoken of in the riddle, so it isn't them]--is that statue of Poseidon forming that sundial, and since he's the god of the sea, it stands to reason he's the guardian of it as well.

[he sighs and takes another sip of his water to cool off--literally and figuratively] It's a possibility.

[wind-of-reason.livejournal.com]

[His irriation does not go unnoticed, and Fuu flushes (even more) with shame.]

I- I'm sorry. I mean that I'm taking your advice sincerely...

[She straightens up on the seat.]

I'll take even the smallest possibility at this point. So I'll go check--

[Trying to stand, she staggers from weakness. She feels like she's floating, and not in a good way.]

Uuh. I'll go ahead and message doctor Resarci.

[bit_impossible]

Take it easy, Fuu. If you brought your bicycle with you, use that to lean against.

Ahhh, the good Doctor Resarci. Let us know what you find out.

[wind-of-reason.livejournal.com]

[She smiles and nods.]

Thank you. Will do.

[letting him know what she found out]

[wind-of-reason.livejournal.com]

[A very exhausted-sounding Fuu sends you a voice message shortly after finding the antidote.]

Doctor, we did it... We found it.
Thank you for your help. Couldn't have done it without you...

[voice]

[collector]

I feel like never attending a festival funded by a medical clinic again.

[bit_impossible]

[sighs, shrugging off his suit coat] It's not on any of my lists, that much is certain. Where's a good health and safety officer when you need one?

[collector]

Mysteriously vanished or mysteriously never instated in the first place, no doubt. At least the Axis have the decency not to pretend to be anything but the disgusting fascist dogs they are. Don't suppose you have any edible ball bearings to fit into that slot?

[bit_impossible]

Probably the only decent thing about them. [shakes his head] But no, I don't. Never think to stock up on them while I had the chance. [actually, he hasn't thought of them since...well, a very long time.] I'm not exactly sure they'd fit anyway.

[collector]

But at least it would be a treat after. [Despite his words, he has maintained an iron grip on his voice. Listening to him, you'd never realize anything was wrong.] I'm afraid that it's gone right to my head and I can hardly think straight. I keep recalling hope and fear locked in boxes, and that's of little use, not unless you're intent on doing a repeat of that little performance in the botanical gardens.

[bit_impossible]

[he's given up trying to sound well. one can hear the strain in his voice]

[feigning innocence] My mind is a little hazy, Braxiatel. What performance? I don't remember dancing a jig or putting on a magic show.

[collector]

If you're going to be obnoxious, I can shut off this line and enjoy the quiet company of my tea.

[bit_impossible]

[opens his mouth to say something obnoxious in reply, but. he closes it and opens it again, letting out a loud sigh] Sorry about that. My detoxing efforts didn't exactly go as well as I'd thought they would. Doesn't help when I can't figure out what is poisoning us...

[collector]

I asked for a sample of it and was told to imagine what would happen if the poison got out. [He may be masking the strain, but he sure isn't bothering to mask his irritation.] And now we're solving a riddle like toxicology is a treasure hunt.

It could be like the weather, you realize.

[bit_impossible]

[he lets out a little noise that might be a derisive laugh when he hears that, but it's a bit difficult to tell when one is drinking out of a cup] At least it gives us something to do while our brains turn to mush.

And that thought had crossed my mind, but we can't afford to dismiss the threat outright, not when Sophie, Fuu, Xion--all of them--could die.

[collector]

I hadn't intended on it. You can just as easily die from slight of hand as something genuine.

[bit_impossible]

Thankfully, my lessons with Houdini never put me in much peril. But I'm not concerned about that. So long as they're safe...