A Request for Help (Private)

[Alice Brown]

Ever since Erika had blown them off, Alice couldn't stop thinking about that tiny piece of human skin with a Hungarian text written on it. It could be everything, a warning, a simple note, some pharaoh's curse. She doesn't know, and that is why she now knocks on the Herald's office door.

Knock knock.

Alice had asked earlier if Martha could help if she had he time, now she has and the Daeva's curiosity has only grown over time. Martha knows so many people and always appears to be very educated herself, if someone could help the Harpy, it would be her. With several prints of the pictures from her phone in her hand Alice waits, dressed in a grey women's suit wearing some simple deep black Chanel heels.

Indeed, she has gotten more serious over time as a Domain official.

Alice

[Martha Villiers]

At the sound of the knocking Martha makes her way over to the door and opens it. Cheerily smiling as she sees Alice...Alice's attire and Alice''s shoes. Her gaze lingers on the shoes and legs with wide eyes before she cheerily looks to Alice's angelic eyes and chirps, "Ah! Madam Harpy! Good evening! How do you do? I do hope you are! Goodness...but you look so splendid! Of course...as always...but truly you do! Those shoes!" she enthuses and hobbles aside and makes a friendly hand waving gesture to invite Alice within.

Martha takes a moment to steel herself from the familiar Beast. Her small hands form fists as she takes that moment to stare again at Alice's legs and shoes.

Martha is dressed in her usual neat school uniform. She has kept her black blazer on, her white cotton blouse, red necktie and her long black gymslip that conceals her legs to mid calf. Once again she is wearing white kneesocks. The white knee sock on her prosthetic C-Leg has rolled to her ankle joint. Her long hair is now ebon black and may even seem longer than usual...and is tied neatly and sweetly into twin tails, fastened with large red silk ribbon bows.

The open door to her Chamber displays the contents easily. The usual pictures on the wall of ballet and John Waterhouse's 'Lady of Shalot.'

Erected to conceal a quarter of her Chamber from view is a tall Chinese screen. A fire extinguisher is obvious as is an office desk. The desk is piled high with neatly stacked notes, college textbooks and dozens of school style notebooks. All look well used. Two book cases are against one wall. Both over filled with pre-owned books. They look, at first glance, to be entirely textbooks and non-fiction. There's a cheap looking laptop and printer on the desk too. An e-reader is also in evidence which carefully rests at the space on her desk.

There are also few comfortable chairs and a couch. A coat rack and a seat are opposite her busy looking desk. The place, though busy with clutter, is clean and also has the aroma of lavender.

To judge by the pile of academic journals on her desk and manuscript notes, Martha must have been hard at work on something.

"It is always good to see you, Madam Harpy! Please...please do be seated! Can I help you in someway? Or are you paying a call for another reason?" all eager and clearly sincere.

[Alice Brown]

The Harpy's smile instantly becomes more sincere as she sees Martha. The tiny woman looks as lovely as ever, though Alice wonders when she decided to make her hair black. 'Herald Villiers, merci! I am doing perfectly well.' She steps inside looking at her own shoes as well. She knows the Herald has a certain fascination for legs and footwear, the Daeva always picks a different pair when she visits Martha. 'They are quite simple, but yet have the perfection of Chanel... Une fille doit être deux choses: chic et fabuleuse.' She quotes Coco Chanel in French while she shortly glances through the office, absolutely loving the interior. She looks at the Lady of Shalott for noticeable second before sitting down.

'I have a text that is written in an older Hungarian language, which the Google Translator seems to have a problem with.' Alice wants to put the piece of paper with the pictures in front of Martha, but the desk is so full and properly organized that she's almost afraid to disorganize the certain perfection of the room. Which is why she simply hands it over to the Mekhet. 'I had to take a picture of it since the original text is now in possession of Regent Brady. I hoped that you might be able to find a way to find the meaning of this text, since... it was written on a piece of human skin it was peculiar enough to be worth investigating, so I thought.'

translate

"a girl should be two things; classy and fabulous" -Coco Chanel

[Martha Villiers]

Martha was happy to talk about the shoes, but swift shift of conversation to the text turns her attentions to scholarship. Nodding carefully, Martha accepts the offered text and studies it.

"I see, I see...I am glad to help, of course!" she now examines the text, peering at it over the rims of her spectacles, "Though...human skin, you say? Goodness! How macabre! I wonder from whom the skin was taken...and why! Such a thing was often done...in Europe at least, for punishment or in the completion of some magical rite...do you have reason to believe anything about the origin of the skin is linked to the text itself, miss?" tiny Martha shudders in a theatrical manner at the Gothic nature of the way this evening was shifting.

"Aside from a translation...is there anything else about this you might wish to know, Madam Harpy?"

[Alice Brown]

'Well, it must be linked, I think. The fact that it is written in blood makes it look like a ritual indeed, or some sort of dark contract. It is probably not because someone lacked a piece of parchment...' The Harpy is not really terrified by the idea, so she can chuckle. Alice thinks whatever else she wants to know, she could always ask about the Helmet... but she doesn't want any problems with Brady. Or better said, not more problems.

'For now, I think not Herald Villiers. Maybe the translation is so interesting that it raises more questions, we'll see. Is there anything you wish to know before you try to help me?' Erika did not forbid them to find out more, so it shouldn't be to much of a problem. 'Then how do you think we should do this? Maybe a more intensive search on the internet, or do you happen to know Hungarian?' With that Alice looks at all the books inside the office. She did not expect Martha to speak it fluently, but something here might be able to help them.

[Martha Villiers]

Martha asked, "Harpy...why does Regent Brady have the original...did she explain her reasons?" she couldn't help but be fascinated by all this now.

[Alice Brown]

Almost apologetically, Alice smiles and takes her agenda from her purse while nodding. 'I guess it would be fair to simply tell the whole story, Herald. A while back there was a helmet kept in a vault at a bank in Sacramento, it would soon be on display in Los Angeles at the LA History Museum but it made a one night stop in our Domain. Regent Brady requested help of others for she wanted this helmet. Now you may ask why, I wrote that down...' she turns a few pages before continuing: 'The helmet belonged to John Zapolya, he was a King of Hungary and before that a Voivoide of Transylvania. Regent Brady told us that the king was a Nosferatu secretly of the Ordo Dracul, who took his helmet as an unyielding mask after his Embrace.'

So far part one of the story. 'Me and some others did our best to get the helmet, and after retrieving it we thought we could at least take a look. I found the skin, then our time was up and the Regent wanted it all. Now I am left with the question what it could mean.'

[Martha Villiers]

Martha blinks at this tale, watching Alice and listening with full attention. A potentially major relic of the Ordo Dracul was stolen to order by one of the Unaligned?

This was all wrong on at least five different levels. Martha blinked again.

She gathered her thoughts as she stared hard at Alice's shoes.

"I understand, Madam Harpy..." she gasps quietly, "I shall gladly help you. We must set to work...immediately!"

Suddenly Dr Brady seemed somehow less benign and Martha began to wonder if the person tasking Alice with the mission actually had being Regent Brady at all.

Martha smiled warily and watched to see Alice's reaction.

[Alice Brown]

Alice studies Martha's reaction attentively, it was important to see how the Herald thinks about this. Apparently, she is at least some sort of surprised. The fact that she is a Dragon might give this extra meaning, which means that Daniella Sage and Ricardo Rodriguez were right. Still Alice doesn't care, why would she? If telling this to the Ordo Dracul could bring Erika Brady into trouble, then there is still no disadvantage to the Daeva.

When Martha mentions work, Alice nods with a happy smile. 'Indeed indeed! But how?' Again the Harpy looks around through the office. 'Is there any chance any knowledge you have, somewhere, that can help us? Or shall I open my laptop so we can search for a better way to translate the text.'

[Martha Villiers]

Nodding Martha hobbles about. As if in contemplation, pausing to tap gently to her head in a theatrical manner. "There shall be less information in the books here on this than here...I am, if I may say so without wishing to sound boastful, modestly experienced in translating many languages, Madam Harpy...some of them most ancient. This will hopefully be an advantage in our work. What the books lack, the all powerful world wide web may yet help...or other libraries!" she smiles. Clearly excited by this new intellectual test. She sneaks a look to Alice's legs.

"Please...let us work now to see the text and see what your initial findings revealed."