escordvi | The Ancient Ones dream as they wait in R'lyeh

Entry tags:

The Ancient Ones dream as they wait in R'lyeh

Who: Sherlock and others
Status: Open
Where: Eltrut, Atnam, Nogard, Elah
What: Catch all for MANTA quests and Sherlock learn his newly gained light magic
Warnings: there are some creepy (but motionless) light projections after he accidentally blinds himself

MANTA general: Perspectives in Pursuit (Elturt)

[ Sherlock pours over the three paintings using his magnifying glass. Jin Ramona's signature tiny man has been discovered, but Sherlock is also using other means to identify the fakes in case Ramona decides to switch his methods. He absolutely doesn't care about the reward. This is a puzzle using purely physical evidence. He is in his element and doing his mother's work, authenticating works and discovering forgeries. ]

Hand me that scalpel. I mean to take a sample of some pigments from each of the paintings.

MANTA general: Beta Testers Wanted (Nogard)

[ Anyone who has known Sherlock for any length of time here knows that he drinks a lot of coffee. Indeed, he seems to need it to function as he never appears to have a good night's rest. It only makes sense that he'd test out the Teacaf. He is also a scientist and could make a thorough report of his testing.

There is just one problem. ]

ExcusemeIneedtogetmorewatertotesttheTeacafwithanewratio.

Excuse me, I need to get more water to test the Teacaf with a new ratio.

[ Sherlock says far too quickly. His hands are trembling, and he's practically bouncing from spot to spot. He can't stay still. This is the most awake and active anyone will see Sherlock ~~until he fixes his sleeping problems~~.

Dear Lord, just how much coffee did he drink? Someone should probably keep an eye on him and keep him away from consuming any more today. ]

MANTA Paladin Bounty: Disguise and Deliverance (Atnam)

[ There is a maid who is probably doing the worst cleaning job despite being very interested in the dust on the furniture and shoe scuffs on the hardwood floors. After each inspection, the dust and marks remain, and the maid has moved on. Anyone who catches up to the maid will come face to face with a tall, dark-haired beauty with grey eyes holding a magnifying glass.

Wait. That's Sherlock impersonating a maid. He looks similar to when he dressed to be a bride's decoy. The main difference is he's wearing a conservative maid's uniform instead of a wedding gown and veil. ]

May I help you?

[ He says in a tone fitting his disguise. ]

MANTA Paladin Bounty: Dragon Tails (Elah)

[ Sherlock is not afraid of the dragon. When he first arrived in this world, he had been afraid of them because he thought he was going mad. That is not the case this time. Here is a creature who is injured and needing help. He gets along with animals generally, and he once befriended a snarling stray dog as a child. He hopes to do something similar here. ]

Here, drink this. It should help keep any infections from spreading through your body and help with the pain.

[ The dragon sniffs at the medicine laced water Sherlock puts down and places its head next to the basin instead. Sherlock sits down in a chair, pulls out his casebook, and waits for the dragon to make the next move. ]

C'mon, Sherry. Concentrate

[ Somehow, despite everything, Sherlock makes it through the process of getting a tattoo at the Inkwave Tattoo Parlor. He can't tell if anything has really changed besides the ink on his arm. There might be a faint tingle upon his skin, but that could easily be explained by the tattooing process.

The element Sherlock chose was Light. His talk with Lyney and learning about the elements from Cid helped him make his choice. Sherlock is not luminous on his own. He is someone who gets lost in the dark, makes games out of shadows, and fears the Abyss swallowing him up every night. No, like Miriam, he's fighting against his circumstances. John's not here to be his Conductor of Light and guide him forward. Sherlock remains, and despite the dark, to spite the dark, he's going to grasp for his light. He'll try to give himself hope for something better and fight for whatever future he still has. It also has practical uses for investigation as light will allow him to better see clues and evidence, but Sherlock must admit that he's tied to the sentiment more than anything. Not the most logically sound reason.

Now, if only Sherlock could get something to happen in this vacant area, so he knows it worked. He should be able to imagine and then feel something, shouldn't he? He visualizes and recreates crime scenes in his mind palace. He lived with an imaginary friend for most of his life, never having to think hard to see him beside him. If he just concentrates. Sherlock starts to snap his fingers like he does during an investigation or whenever he needs to punctuate a point in his mind.

A young man with a bright smile and playful eyes appears, made completely of shimmering blue-green light. ]

Jon?!

[ Sherlock startles back, and the light projection disappears. It never moved, never spoke. It was there, and now it is gone. ]

Oh.

[ This is unexpected, but now Sherlock has an idea. He thinks of his dear John Watson and snaps his fingers. A John made of light appears before him. He snaps his fingers again, and the image of Jon appears again. Snap. John. Snap. Jon. Snap. John. Snap. Now, there's a bee. Snap. A book. Snap. A violin.

If someone doesn't come across him as he's just figuring things out, maybe they come across Sherlock later as he's actively testing his limits. He finds one such limit when tries to see how many light projections he can create at once. The light bursts brightly around him and especially in his eyes.

Sherlock stands there blinded, eyes having gone completely pale. What had he just done to himself? Is this permanent? (It's not, but he doesn't know that time or a healing spell will fix things.) ]

Is someone there?

[ Sherlock's thoughts drift to another blind man who lead a cult. He trembles and is completely unaware that he's causing other unintentional, images to blink in and out of reality in his barely concealed terror of his condition. Large tentacles and chains emerge from the ground. Large chunks of rock float in the air. There are nondescript, wooden artist mannequin figures posed in worship before a large statue of a monstrous being. ]

Wildcard

[ Want to do something else? Write a prompt or drop me a line at Sherry's journal,

aviekokyre, or on Discord @ aviekokyre and we can plot something out. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Alhaitham, unsurprisingly, has very little interest in art in general, though that does not necessarily mean that he doesn't have knowledge on the subject. His grandmother was an alumnus of the Kshahrewar Darshan, after all, and he inherited her entire collection of books after her passing, so it was always a matter of time before he eventually went through them (which he did, especially after meeting Kaveh).

Of course, Alhaitham would be the first to also say that theoretical knowledge can only go so far, which is why he doesn't say anything when Sherlock asks for the scalpel and simply passes it over as asked. Truthfully, he's mostly here because he's interested to see the way Sherlock works, especially after the conversation they had a while back. What better way to understand than to see it for himself?

But of course, he has no intention to hold anything up, so he's perfectly fine with helping where needed.]

[ Sherlock is no master of the arts either, and for the most part, he considers himself unmoved by art with music the exception. This is a lie he tells himself because he does appreciate the theater, fashion (at least concerning himself), and poetry... which is a secret he keeps even to himself.

Taking the scalpel, Sherlock turns the paintings on their edges. Each canvas has a little paint which reached the unseen edges when framed. He scrapes off some of that paint and places it onto a small square of paper. Then he wipes off the scalpel completely and repeats the process for the other two. Sherlock peers through his magnifying glass. ]

I could analyze these further if I had my proper chemistry kit or a microscope, but even my magnifying glass brings to light some of the differences. These are all samples of yellow and brown, and you can tell the difference in quality. See?

[ He'll offer his magnifying glass to Alhaitham, and regardless of if Alhaitham looks for himself, Sherlock continues with his explanation. ]

There are varying degrees of grit with each paint. Prolific artists have favored paints because they want the consistency. Even if they make their own, they follow their recipes, so they can make more paint when they run out. The differences suggest that the forger doesn't care what paints they use and probably chooses whatever is cheapest at the time.

[Alhaitham watches quietly at how Sherlock scrapes off some of the paint from the corners of each paining and proceeds to explain his intentions in doing so. Alhaitham nods as he listens, remembering something like this also having come up in Fontanian mystery novels—and of course, from the cases reported on the Steambird.

...at least those have a lot more credibility compared to the stuff that Yae Publishing House likes to come up with half the time.

He takes the magnifying glass when offered, looking at the paint samples himself using it—and just as Sherlock had described, there are indeed differences between them. Subtle enough that most people would most likely miss, unless one truly peered into it like Sherlock... or is familiar enough with the medium, like Kaveh.]

Mmn. [A hum as he straightens back up, passing the magnifying glass back to Sherlock.] An imitation that is purely for looks and has no true substance within... even as a forgery it doesn't seem at all befitting of the real thing.

[He'd say 'mass produced' if that's a term that can actually be applied, but considering how they are still done by hand, its still pushing against that proverbial boundary a little.]

Forgeries are meant to make money. Spending too much on materials cuts into the profits the forger can earn. They only need to fool a person long enough to get their money and then disappear.

[ The magnifying glass is safely stowed away, and Sherlock folds the pieces of paper with the shavings into pouches. ]

What I don't yet understand is why Ramona keeps making the same painting. Flooding the market with fake versions of the same work will only draw attention to the forgeries. That is why we are doing this now. Why not forge other paintings from other artists?

[ The hidden strange little man that has become the "signature" of Jin Ramona can still be present in those works. What is the motivation here? ]

[Alhaitham hums again as he thinks on the points that Sherlock has brought up. He has no intention to contest the idea of what the forgeries are for, but at the same time, if the intent is to turn over the highest profit...]

If profit is the forger's intent, then their actions do not align; from my understanding, part of the value and allure of art lies in its scarcity—the belief that there is only one sole version of a piece, and the only one who has it is the one who bought it. Making these many copies, aside from what you have brought up, only diminishes that and is thus counterproductive.

[A handful of copies to fool would be collectors is one thing, but what they face is much more than a mere handful. So it does call the motive of profit into question a little... doubly so with the forger's supposed 'signature' thrown into the mix. What's the use of making forgeries when they end up ruining the illusion with their own mark? Its utterly illogical. The only thing he can think of is... that the forger wants these copies to be found.]

With these many out and about, I can only imagine they must have been done in batches. [Hmmm...] It might be interesting to compare one from each set, just to see if any information can be gleaned from it.

[ "If profit is the forger's intent..." If.... ]

There was a case I had in Cordona. A painting depicted a person of interest in the background and caused a lot of trouble. I wonder if this painting has some similar meaning, and the forgeries are not just a means to make money. Could there be some personal vendetta? We need to get our hands on as many of these paintings as possible.

[ Sherlock is trying to keep his mind as open as possible with the evidence available, but sometimes he makes too much out of nothing. It comes from inexperience. He doesn't have a wealth of past cases to draw upon, and he has an active imagination. His mind is too open. ]

[Alhaitham listens to what Sherlock has to say in response, hearing as the detective recounts his own experiences with what sounds to be a somewhat similar situation, at least on the surface. Only time and a deeper dive will reveal if there is more to it than this initial first impression.]

Well, the job wants us to find all the fakes that are out there. As long as they're off the market, I don't think they'll care about the other details.

[Is he maybe lowkey suggesting for Sherlock to gather the fakes up for the sake of Research™️? Perhaps.

Of course, the final decision is still up to Sherlock.]

[ Sherlock hums before he snaps his fingers and straightens. ]

Gathering the others would give us more data. We can start visiting the various galleries and affluent patrons.

[ He snaps a quick picture of the three forgeries to use as proof that forgeries are circulating. ]

If they don't care about stopping the man responsible, then they will open themselves up to more fraud in the future. The fact that they have the name of the forger but still do not mean to stop him is suspicious or just incompetence.

[ The only good thing is those who will be affected the most would be people who have enough money to lose and not suffer much for it. Besides their pride, perhaps.

The rich could use some more hits to their pride. ]

[Alhaitham has no grand reasons like Sherlock, but he is interested enough in this case to see where it will lead them. And really, that's more than enough reason for him to stay engaged in this.]

Mmn. It might also give a better idea on the ways and means which the forgeries were being distributed. [He highly doubts it all stems from one singular point, given how many of them are apparently out there... doubly so when one considers how obvious said forgeries are. He can't imagine said forgeries becoming this pervasive this quickly if they were only distributed through a single channel that could very quickly be stopped. No, it makes more sense for there to have been more than one of said channels.

Even so, the question of if those theoretical channels can lead them to the forger himself is another one to tackle entirely.]

There is an art gallery near us. We can start there and see if a better direction presents itself.

[ It's a storefront that Sherlock passed by on occasion. He's never been inside; he is not interested in the arts, and the last time he spent any length of time with artists went poorly. Still, for the sake of a case, Sherlock will venture in.

Besides Alhaitham and Sherlock, there will only be the gallery manager and a customer (or just art enthusiast) inside. Multiple oil painting are hung in frames on the wall. A few stand on easels despite the finished appearance and lack of other painting supplies. The back of the gallery contains the more valuable paintings, judging by their prices or lack of them. The painting they are interested in hangs prominently in the middle. ]

Time to see whether this one is among our forgeries.

[ It likely is. ]

[Alhaitham has zero qualms to Sherlock's suggestion, and so is more than willing to follow the detective of the the gallery in question. Just like Sherlock he also never really had a reason to enter, but as he looks around the place after they enter and note the way it looks he thinks it might be a good place to bring Kaveh over one of these days. He'd probably enjoy something like this.

But before he can do that, there is the mystery of the forger to deal with first. It doesn't take long at all for them to find the painting in question, and Alhaitham eyes it for a second before glancing over to Sherlock.]

I think I can see the silhouette at the corner. [He notes, gesturing at the general area with a jerk of his chin.] But it could always be a coincidence.

[Sure, the probability of that is incredibly low, but its not zero, so it never hurts to double check.]

[ There is a very easy way to check knowing the visual tell to identify a fake. They need to be certain that the silhouette Alhaitham sees is in fact a tiny man and not some trick of the light or shading. Sherlock comes closer to the painting and brings out his magnifying glass.

"Excuse me, please step away from the artwork," says a haughty voice. "We request customers keep a small distance between themselves and the pieces. Especially the ones in this area." The gallery manager walks closer with a posture so rigid that one would think he lacked the ability to do anything but stand.

The manager tries to angle his way between Sherlock, Alhaitham, and the painting. Sherlock stubbornly stays where he is even as his personal space is invaded. Two can play at this game. ]

There's no need to put such effort into protecting a forgery.

[ "That is a genuine piece by [artist name]! How dare you suggest we would deal in paltry knockoffs? We are a fine establishment!" ]

You're in my light.

[If Alhaitham were a lesser man, he probably would have visibly rolled his eyes and snorted at the way the gallery manager is trying to stop them. But as it stands what the man really does is to very pointedly elbow the manager away when they start to get close enough to Sherlock to be both a hinderance and a nuisance to the detective's investigation.]

He said that you're in the way. [He says, with the usual bluntness that comes up when people start being woefully ignorant.] I trust you're not hard of hearing, or else I would suggest for you to get a checkup.

[ Oh, Sherlock's opinion on Alhaitham just jumped up levels for that no nonsense, let him investigate response. The manager seems to have turned a shade of red. "I will not tolerate this behavior! Leave my gallery at once before I call a Paladin to escort you out!" ]

There's the tiny man present in every forgery we've seen thus far.

[ "Wh-what's this about a 'tiny man'? You mean the hero fighting--" ]

No, I mean another tiny man that has no relation to the original piece but is a forger's signature. You're also speaking to two Paladins, so your threat is meaningless.

[Alhaitham has little patience for willful ignorance, so he's more than happy to let Sherlock do the talking and explaining. Of course it helps that he is the one who is investigating and so he is better equipped to lay out the details as and where needed (not that Alhaitham is falling behind in any fashion).]

If he wants the painting so badly, we can leave it. I suppose one might be able to see some value in a forgery that stands proof of one's foolish stubbornness.

[Says that last bit with a small snort as he crosses his arms. People truly do love to be stubborn over the strangest of things.]

Indeed. I will add this place as a location of another forgery, fitting the pattern with the other three we've examined thus far.

[ "Other three?!" the manager sputters. As Sherlock steps back to write a note in his casebook, the manager fills in the space to see the tiny man for himself. ]

We've done what we needed to here. I think there is another gallery a few streets over we can look at.

[ The manager is muttering something about how much he had paid for this. ]

You can try to sell this as a Jin Ramona forgery. Beyond that, the piece is for aesthetics only.

[There's a hum of acknowledgement from Alhaitham in response to everything that Sherlock has just said. Seeing that things seem to have been more or less settled he drops his crossed arms from his chest and turns, already making his way out of the gallery without another word. Rude, perhaps, but as far as he's concerned, they're not necessary; Sherlock has already outlined the next steps, which mark perfect sense, and since they're done here he sees no reason to stay here for a moment longer.

Besides, there's no way to know just how many of these spots they're going to have to hit up to find the forgeries floating around, and Alhaitham would like to be back home for dinner if he can. Kaveh said he was going to make one of his favorites and he's going to be grumpy if he has to miss it. The fact that Kaveh will ensure leftovers for him if so doesn't make it better.]

[ Sherlock also leaves without anything more to say. The manager is left combing every detail of the artwork, trying to convince himself that it is the real thing when he fears that those two rude Paladins are right. It's possible that Alhaitham and Sherlock could have gotten information out of a spiteful manager, but that would require the manager to cooperate. They don't have the time or patience for that.

Once outside the gallery, Sherlock walks towards the intersection. The closest gallery is within easy walking distance and boasts many portraits in the window. The gallery manager gives them a cheerful welcome and goes back to the book they're reading. ]

I'll start on this side.

[ It's possible a forgery might not be in this gallery, but they could still gather some information if they ask the right questions. ]

[Seeing as how Sherlock is far more familiar with knowing where they should go, Alhaitham has no qualms with waiting until Sherlock catches up, and then letting the detective go first so that he may lead the way to their next stop.

This second place, at least, seems to have a rather more receptive manager compared to the previous one, and Alhaitham gives a nod of acknowledgment to their greeting before glancing over to Sherlock, who announces starting from one side, making it clear enough as to what Alhaitham is supposed to do.]

Alright. [He returns, simple as that, and goes to the other end of the collection to start examining them himself.]

[ Their search will turn up empty-handed. The many paintings available at this gallery do not seem to be the one they're looking for. The manager looks up from their book. "You don't seem to be the average browsers. Can I help you find something?"

Sherlock abandons his search and goes to the manager. ]

We're looking for a certain painting of a warrior up against a giant. Have you heard of it?

[ "Aye, I had someone try to sell me theirs just the other day. The whole thing smelled fishy, so I didn't buy." ]

"Fishy" how?

[ The manager shrugs. "The guy seemed too eager to sell at what'd be a loss for something of that caliber." ]

[It doesn't take very long for Alhaitham to realize that there is probably nothing here, though he supposes it does not hurt to check just to make sure; as Sherlock goes to chat with the gallery manager once they're addressed Alhaitham sticks to the task of browsing through the paintings, though now at a much faster pace.

He does pause, however, when the manager goes on to mention about somebody having tried to sell their painting to him—a painting that in all likelihood seems to be another forgery, considering what has been said.]

Did they explain why they were trying to sell at such a low price? [He asks then from where he is, straightening up and looking over to where they are. Obviously they didn't say it was a forgery outright since that would defeat the purpose, but depending on what is said they might be able to get some sort of clue.]

[ "He said something about inheriting it when his folks died, and he needed the money for something or other. Let's see...." The manager flicks through a few pages of their book and pulls out a slip of paper that had been wedged between the pages. "Here."

The slip is handed to Sherlock. He looks at it and then at Alhaitham. ]

This is a name and address.

[ "He said that if I ever changed my mind, I should contact him. Copy it down. Keep it. Don't care. As I said, it smelled fishy, but there you go if you really want that painting." ]

[Well that sounds like an excuse if he's ever heard one—and Alhaitham can confidently say that he's heard a lot of them during his time as Acting Grand Sage. Not that he has any kind of superpower that allows him to know when somebody is lying, but at some point certain patterns just tend to reveal themselves from those who are fibbing.

Of course, such things are never a hundred percent guarantee, which is why it is just as important to follow up, and the slip of paper Sherlock obtains seems to the key for them to do just that.

Alhaitham nods in acknowledgement to this new information, then once at the manager.] Thank you. We'll be on our way.

[And just like before he wastes no time in turning around and taking his leave. It's pretty clear that they've gotten everything that they can here, so there's no point in lingering around for any longer. Time to head to their next destination.]

[ Sherlock follows after Alhaitham with the slip of paper firmly in his hand. He catches up easily enough. The address leads them to a residence which has been worn by time. Einoph Reilpus is the man's name, though no name is on nameplate or mailbox. The window curtains are drawn shut, and there does not appear to be any light inside. The sparse plants against the wall are either overgrown or wilted.

After waiting a moment to examine the front of the place, Sherlock knocks on the door. There's no answer. ]

Hm, it appears no one is here at the moment, but there is plenty of evidence towards recent and regular activity.

[ He points to the cart tracks worn into the ground. There are heavy set footprints as if people were carrying something heavy into the house. The front steps are dirty, but a small area has been worn cleaner from use. ]

[The address give to them turns out to be a place that isn't as hard to locate as one might think it to be, though as they approach their destination it quickly becomes clear that the house itself has seen better days. Its just about worn down enough for people to not think twice about looking at it, though its hard to say if that is intentional or merely a happy coincidence.

Either way, none of those possibilities are going to distract Alhaitham from their goal here, which is getting to the bottom of this case. They try the front door out of standard courtesy, though Alhaitham can't say he's entirely surprised by the silence that they get back in return.]

Mmn. [A hum of agreement to Sherlock's words as he sweeps his own gaze over all the clues that the detective has already pointed out.] This place could be a front to store their goods, or...

[He trails off, glancing upwards to the roof, and the flicker of his Vision that dangles from his shoulder is the only warning that Sherlock gets before Alhaitham himself abruptly vanishes from sight as he uses his flicker to bring himself up to the roof.]

MANTA general: Perspectives in Pursuit (Elturt)

MANTA general: Beta Testers Wanted (Nogard)

MANTA Paladin Bounty: Disguise and Deliverance (Atnam)

MANTA Paladin Bounty: Dragon Tails (Elah)

C'mon, Sherry. Concentrate

Wildcard

Perspectives in Pursuit

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Dice said no to having the painting

dice ruining their fun... sadness

They can have fun other ways

don't tempt him with a good time

Why not have someone get their comeuppances

If that's what it takes to see Sherlock in action