Sunday 11 May 2014

XI: Kshesinskaya's Apartments, Midnight

Midnight finds you back at Kshesinskaya's flat. The place is empty now, and silent.

She leads you up the stairs to her loft room. The moon shines in through the skylight, making everything glow a faint silver. You can hear distant sounds from the city beyond - late night revellers, the rumblings of trams.

There are three paintings in the room.

The first, a very small painting, is of a key, held by an old man or woman's hand.

The second, very large, depicts a dark, featureless figure standing behind a kind of veil.

The third and final one is another arrangement of something like the qliphoth. Ten trees in a forest, with a lurid, starry sky above them. In the centre there is a figure, turned away, with his back to the viewer.

"Here are my pieces," the ballerina says. She appears to be studying your reactions. "What do you make of them?"

5 comments:

  1. -whispers_ Does anyone remember why we're here?

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    1. (Point taken. ;) You are here ostensibly to view the paintings, but I think also to investigate suspicions aroused about this weird ballerina and her ancient artifacts.)

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  2. "Forgive me, kind lady--I am finding it difficult to put my emotions into words. But I have emotions--that is something. A curiosity overwhelms me yet, alas, I know I cannot take the key from the withered hand--or pull back the diaphanous veil but somehow I am seized by the intimation that I can and should. It is most unusual."

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    1. Do you (or anyone else) go closer to inspect the paintings?

      The ballerina is looking at Claspington with an odd expression, nodding slowly. "Would you like to learn how to pull back the veil, or take the key from the withered hand?"

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    2. Brindleton looks closely at Ksheskinskaya as she says this. "I want to know what the third figure is seeing, out there among the trees. And what the veiled figure sees of us."
      "Madame, this may seem naive, but - may I look at the backs of the canvases?"
      Brindleton approaches the third, clearly Kabbalistic one closely, trying to look over the figure's shoulder into the woods.

      ((what a schedule this week - can't believe it's taken me 6 days to answer this post. Sorry about the delay))

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