The Search [ 5/11, Sebastian/Katalin, Closed ]

[Lord Sebastian de Winter]

The lunch had been thoroughly enjoyed, having steered the conversation to more pleasant topics for a brief time. Once they had their fill, Sebastian took her down to the city and directly to the university's library. The campus of the university was almost a small town and in of itself. The library was impossible to miss, for it was not only the largest building in the entirety of the campus, but it was at the direct center. The library had started as a circular building, but over the years, the expansions had decidedly ruined its perfect figure, so to speak. It now had what seemed random wings and segments emerging from it. It still had an elegance to it, but it was a bit chaotic.

Sebastian led the way inside, and began giving her the proper tour so she could familiarize herself with the basics of its organization. "You can probably find a book about anything in this building somewhere, and I do mean anything. I wouldn't be surprised if a treatise on the consistency of squirrel droppings could be found," he gave her a smile before leading the way toward the section on poisons. There were a few books he could show here there, as well as a quiet study area so they could peruse and take notes.

Along the way, a familiar head of dark hair and dark skin could be seen up ahead. "Ah, there is Samar. A friend of mine. A very interesting young man," and one that made Sebastian feel odd. Sebastian liked him just fine, but there was something about that made Sebastian feel odd. An attraction, but it made no sense to him. He had never felt attracted to a man in his life! Thus, he continued to look after him as he walked away. Sebastian was furrowing his brow in consternation, that much was plain!


Lady Katalin de Winter

[Lady Katalin de Winter]

The library did not fail to impress Katalin - first, with its sheer size, then with the overwhelming organization of available information. It was easily the heart of the University, if not Demeria itself when it came to education. Sebastian's mention of an outrageously silly treatise evoked a smile from her as he'd intended, following obediently like a little duckling. She was in all too grave danger of becoming lost, thus why she preferred he do the ferreting for the treatises and books they might need while she skimmed the contents.

The change of his expression caught her attention, intriguing her. It was rare for her brother to look so when he wasn't bent over some dusty old tome or attempting to interpret schematics. Following his gaze to the disappearing young man - another student, Katalin presumed - she wondered what it was about the boy that held Sebastian's attention in what appeared an almost negative fashion. "Interesting in what way?" Asked quietly, she tried to jar his attention back to the situation at hand. He needed to multitask!

[Lord Sebastian de Winter]

Indeed, it was a flashback to their days as children. He remembered quite keenly seeing little Katie following one of her older siblings or a parent from place to place, taking in everything she saw like a sponge. It had been rather cute to see. Katie hated to be left out of everything, but she was never obnoxious about it. A fine quality about her that carried over her into her adulthood. Now here they were, in the largest library in the country, and she was finally exposed to the vast tomes of knowledge they possessed.

"Well, he's a servant to a Master Gareth, a linguist. Quite adept at languages himself, actually, but he is not a student. The reasons behind are vague, but I suspect it has something to do with a lack of funds. Still, with the talent he displays, I'm surprised he's not found a sponsor. I've considering exploring possible angles for him. That and there is... just something about him I can't put my finger on." And it was bothering him. He didn't know what to make of it. Arriving at the section on poisons, he began looking for the master treatise. It was a tome that listed all of the poisons known to the Kingdom.

"Ah," he reached up and stood up on his very toes to reach and grab a ponderously heavy book. "Here it is."

[Lady Katalin de Winter]

Small wonder her mother enjoyed Triadon so much, if she had access to this library. As Royal Physician, the Duchess had likely been granted freedom to make use of the vast amount of knowledge the building contained, a privilege now held by two of her children. Lirianne would be tremendously proud of Sebastian, of that Katalin was certain. And hopefully of herself as well, though she did not have half her mother's experience or knowledge. That, she knew, came with time.

Trying not to gape at the sheer number of volumes and scrolls surrounding them, she cleared her throat and glanced back at Sebastian curiously. "What do you mean, something about him? Something wrong?" Intrigued by her brother's comment, she stood out of the way in case he lost his balance with the book. "I suppose you could talk to Princess Emmaline, she sponsors students at the university... those who are talented but can't pay the fees."

Reaching up to catch the book just in case, she smiled, hoping that helped. Sebastian had an immense heart, and a need to see others prosper who did not have the same advantages with which he'd been blessed.

[Lord Sebastian de Winter]

Sebastian knew his mother would quite proud of him, and to this day, he wished she were still here. Not to simply see his accomplishments, but to be there. More often than not, Sebastian had gone to his mother for advice when he was unsure of what to do, or when he was facing some kind of personal problem. She knew exactly what to say no matter what the circumstances were. However, he tried not to dwell on the past too long. His mother would not have wanted such for him.

"No, nothing wrong, not really. Like I said, I can't figure it out. Like there is something more to him that meets the eye, and I find myself looking at him, trying to figure it out." And then he realized that he enjoyed looking at Samar. However, he wasn't quite ready to make that kind of confession. Maybe in time. "I could, couldn't I? I'll have to remember that." A smile was given to her in thanks.

The book had been heavier than he anticipated. "Oof," Sebastian stumbled back a little, thankful for Katie's help in bringing it down. "I'm surprised it's still holding together, by the Triad."

[Lady Katalin de Winter]

"Well," she replied slowly, "you've always said I have an eye for details. Perhaps you might introduce us some time and I'll see if I can't help you decipher what about him troubles you." It would bother Sebastian for days until he had an answer, if Katalin knew her brother at all. The smile was lovingly returned, glad to be able to help him in any way as repayment for the help he always gladly gave to her. If anyone could help him with aiding Samar, surely it was the Princess. Emmaline was hailed as a generous patroness, even at her young age, for the work she did to promote the talented and poverty-constrained.

Helping to support the large book, she was surprised at its weight, trying not to cough as a light cloud of dust rose from its pages. "It's held together by dust, if nothing else. Where shall we take it?"

[Lord Sebastian de Winter]

"Hmm, perhaps, yes. He's not very hard to find. You'll eventually run into him one way or another, since Master Gareth has him running errands frequently. I've mentioned you to him, so your name will be familiar." Sebastian would like the question laid to rest as soon as possible. Fortunately, he was not going to let such things affect the friendship that was growing between them. Sebastian liked Samar. He didn't want that damaged.

"Come on," he jerked his head to the left, and together, they carried to a table at the end of the passageway. With a grunt, it was carefully set down. Using his hand, he brushed the dust off the title. "Ah, that explains it. Theodore Marbury. Very gifted academic, but he was notorious for his horrid eyesight. At least that means the script will be easy to read." The book was carefully opened. "He has it organized by source. Plants, metals, salts and other substances. But..." A few more pages were turned, "Ah. Wonderful. He made a key that allows us to use symptoms to guide us to the possible poisons."

[Lady Katalin de Winter]

"I'm sure," Katalin agreed as she followed Sebastian to the table. The question of Samar was pushed aside in favor of the tome before her, reaching for the pencil and notebook to start taking notes. "Marbury, you said? That should cover most if not all of what is available in Demeria, though it raises the question, what if this is coming from outside of Demeria?" The thought was not a pleasant one, but it was all too realistic and possible.

Deciding to cross that bridge if they came to it - chances were good that they wouldn't come to it - she settled down to see the key, the list of symptoms kept at hand to cross-reference. "I have my observations of the symptoms here. Is it alphabetized or is the key random?"

[Lord Sebastian de Winter]

"I'm sure there is another text in here that will give a more worldly view of poisons," he briefly glanced back toward the shelves, but opted to stay with the book they had. It was better to eliminate this possibility before he went tearing after another tome. It also took him longer than he liked to realize the implication of her statement. Poison from outside the country? No. He wasn't going to jump to conclusions, not yet.

Turning his attention back to the pages, he took a moment and then nodded, "It's alphabetized. He lists the symptom and then possible poisons that would cause such a symptom. We'll probably have to write these down, and then find the poison that has all the symptoms in common." Fortunately, he had some parchment with him as well as an ink and pen. It was time to start working!

[Lady Katalin de Winter]

She peeked over his shoulder to get a better look at the tome, careful not to startle or jar him. A wrong move could cause damage to the book, and Katalin was far more respectful of printed knowledge than that, especially as she was here under Sebastian's invitation. Frowning a little as the print appeared faded to her eyes, a nod acknowledged his comment about other books, but murmured, "Let's try one at a time for now? Less overwhelming and less chance of missing something that could be important."

Shifting a little, she went to find the page in the journal that held her observations of the King. "I think if we write down those that most resemble the symptoms, then we can start narrowing them down by their ingredients. If it is a stand-alone poison, one that needs no additional items, then we can rule it out. I'm not convinced that this isn't a foreign poison, but my instincts say it's Demerian in origin." So many common plants that by themselves were perfectly safe, innocent, yet blended with others rendered them extremely dangerous. Poison, in some regards, was more an enemy to a physician than disease itself.

[Lord Sebastian de Winter]

The next few to several hours were spent painstakingly looking over the key and comparing them to the symptoms that she had seen in the king. Several ideas were considered, but in the end, her theory that the poison had several components was a correct one. Fortunately, there was a segment within the treatise that dealt with poisons of that nature. Because of this, Sebastian learned the existence of binary, ternary, and quaternary poisons. It made the search much more complex, but he had a strong feeling they were going down the right path.

"Alright, I think we can safely conclude that we're not dealing with a binary or ternary poison. We're looking at quaternary with at least these three components, but the fourth... the fourth..." he let out a sigh, and rubbed at his eye in a tired manner. "I don't know. I think it's going to take more research to find out what it is. I can find out if there are more books that deal with this subject," he looked at her, and then toward the window to get a feel for the time. Had that much time already passed? What a common sensation.

He reached into his pocket to make sure he had his money purse for another meal and instead felt a now familiar piece of jewelry. Pulling it out briefly, he couldn't help but smile at the memory of his Lady of Silver.

[Lady Katalin de Winter]

The hours stretched out, but some progress had been made, thankfully. Katalin straightened in her chair, a hand lifting to rub her tired eyes as she sighed. A long day's work and there was still more to do to narrow down the quarternary poison's fourth component. There were too many options, but she felt confident they were on the right track. "It will wait for now. We're both tired, we need to rest and I need to check on His Majesty, see about his evening medicines." Reaching to tidy up their papers and the books that remained on the table after they'd replaced the ones discarded, she caught the glint of silver from the corner of her eye.

Turning to take a better look, she noticed that he held a piece of jewelry. Katalin was curious and took a step closer to ascertain what it was, seeing that it was a lady's bracelet. Brows furrowed, she asked softly, "Where did you get that? I don't recognize it..." It was nothing of hers or their mother's, she knew, and Sebastian wasn't the best with the ladies. So to whom did it belong? By the smile he wore, she was someone unique, adding to the intrigue she felt.

[Lord Sebastian de Winter]

Sebastian had to stifle a yawn, not wanting to appear rude in front of his sister. But that didn't stop him from enjoying the look of the silver bracelet. Granted, he had absolutely no idea what to do with it. He had no name, and he had idea where to even begin looking for a dusky skinned woman wearing an out of style, but still elegant dress. "Hm?" Sebastian seemed almost distracted when he looked at her and then blinked. "Oh. Uhm," he cleared his throat.

"Well, I encountered an interesting woman who was on her way home from the masque. Her feet were sore from her shoes, and she was alone, so I decided to escort her. We had a rather .. surprisingly pleasant conversation. She kissed my cheek at the end of it, and ran off before I could learn her name. All I have of her is this silver bracelet. I've taken to calling her Lady Silver for lack of anything better to go on." And now he looked a bit sheepish for having confessed it all to Katalin.

[Lady Katalin de Winter]

Katalin didn't scruple to hide her astonished expression as she listened to Sebastian speak about this mystery woman. She wasn't sure what shocked her more - that he'd spoken to a strange woman without tripping over his tongue, or that she occupied so much of his thoughts. This was a rare sight to be sure, though she found herself smiling a little at him. "What does she look like? Was she a noblewoman, or one of the merchants? A common-born woman?" She didn't assume anything, nor did she judge. If there was a woman who caught and held Sebastian's attention, built his confidence in dealing with the fairer sex, then Katalin was not about to stand in the way.

Capping the ink to prevent any spilling and wiping her quills clean, she lifted her gaze to his with interest. Katalin hesitated to apply the word smitten to her brother, but there was something in his face and voice that suggested that this woman was special to him.

[Lord Sebastian de Winter]

"She never took off her mask. All I know is that she has dusky skin," he looked at her for a moment, "She was a nice woman. I felt... calm around her. It was strange. I'd never experienced anything quite like it before." He shook his head in some bewilderment, "I assume she's a noblewoman simply by the way that she carried herself. She may have been the daughter of a wealthy merchant, but I do not believe that is the case." Again, he smiled, "I remember that we had a rather pleasant conversation."

A small frown formed shortly after, "It was a pity I never got her name, though. I should have liked to meet her again."