Jack looks confused for a little while, the events of the day having soured his mood greatly. Then, dawning crosses his face as he realizes what Jordan is talking about. His face lights up, practically defying the dark, cloudy evening.
"That's... That's great!" Jack says exuberantly, glad that the trip wasn't a complete waste. He composes himself to not draw too much attention before continuing, "Where'd you recognize it from, the doily? One of your books? How's it disturbing that you recognized it?"
The best thing one can say about shopping at this sort of place is that it's cheap, so Orphan's wallet isn't too much lighter as he heads out with the motley purchases. He heads over to Jack and Jordan.
"The pickings were not exactly top-shelf, but I don't expect we're going to want to be keeping any of this stuff anyhow," Orphan says, handing out the selections. "Any luck getting hold of anyone?"
[COLOR="DarkRed"]"No joy, I'm afraid, though Jack took his best shots."[/COLOR responded Jordan.
"But I'm glad you're back. I was telling Jack that I spotted a sigil etched into the concrete of the bridge upright after the ship went down. It appears several times in a pair of books I'm keeping."
He took a deep breath. "We had a Moros candidate for the Mysterium called Trench. Do you remember him, Jack? He gave two books he had acquired to the museum, but no one had time to examine them. The books came to me. They are personal journals; the books date to about 1870 or so. The writing is Atlantean, but a different dialect or linguistic drift from the Atlantean I know. There are also some "constructed" runes in the books. That sigil I saw on the bridge is in the books."
He reflected a moment and continued: "I don't have the status to access the material the Mysterium has on linguistic drift or dialectic Atlantean. The Arrows, according to Provost Dee and Joshua, were going to raid a Sanctum of someone called Kruegen, who might have some research material on these variant runes, but Joshua disappeared and I never heard anything more."
Orphan frowns at the mention of Joshua's disappearance. It having occurred when he was preparing to raid the Kruegan Sanctum... it occurs to him, not for the first time, that this might not be coincidence.
"I know the Arrows are still planning to take the Sanctum," Orphan says. "I can pass along word that we need to look for that material. The only problem is, the Sanctum has apparently fallen into Banisher hands, and so it's possible anything useful there might have been destroyed."
Looking between Jack and Jordan, he asks "This status thing... when you pass along word to the Curator, do you think she might make an exception? It sounds like that information might tell us more about what we're dealing with at the Bridge... and maybe, what to do about it. In any case, it's even more imperative we report in with this information."
Jack nods. "Yeah, we will. The Curator is out at the moment, though, probably having some sort of meal, so it won't really do much good to go straight to the Museum right now.
"I'd also like to get my laptop, at least, and change into some of my own clothes before going there so I can at least make phone calls." Jack looks down for a moment before looking quickly back up, an embarrassed look crossing his face as he holds his hands up as though to calm Orphan down. "Oh, um... No offense, Orphan... I'm not ungrateful for the dry clothes, it's just... you know..."
Jordan took the clothes and had started changing while he spoke. God, these fit. Thanks, Orphan. It's nice not to look like I'm in daddy's clothes. Let me know what I owe you."
As he was finishing and Jack spoke, Jordan asked: "Could ypi drop me back at the marina? My car is still there."
"Don't worry about paying for the stuff," Orphan says. "And definitely no offense, Jack. I'll also be more comfortable when I'm not wearing this ugly stuff."
Orphan thinks for a moment. He still worries splitting up will be a mistake, but at this point what he really wants to do is dry off, get a hot shower, get his phone working again if possible and pick up a back-up pistol to replace the one he'd lost in the water.
"I'm not thrilled with the idea of us splitting up, but at this point things seem relatively safe. Jordan, I can drop you at your car, then I can swing by your place, Jack."
"Sounds like a plan. I can let you guys know as soon as I get a hold of someone in the Pentacle," Jack says. He then adds, "As long as it's a reasonable time, of course."
"Hmmm" Jordan hmmmed. "Hang on. Maybe Orphan's instincts are right. We still don't know if the bridge disaster was just a passive defense of the bridge or whether we were watched. There's safety in numbers. Maybe we should go straight to the Museum."
Jordan smiled grimly. "Besides, Phrym would love the opportunity to laugh at my clothes."
Jack frowned, his stubbornness about doing things according to his plans he has made beginning to flare. He poses, "How about this? We go change quickly, meet up at my place, then head to the Museum? If the Curator isn't there, I want to have my laptop so that I'll be able to try to contact people by Skype-calling them and so that I have something to do if we decide to sit around there while waiting for her to get back."
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