#earthrunes

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Zara's library has a gift for her, from Leonora! professionally wrapped (She has money for people to do that) in lavender with gray silver string

when she opens it, she may draw out a chess set, of red and black. On one side, the queen Is Elizabeth the first, the other side? Mary Queen of Scots. The details are exquisite.

A smile, and a challenge for Earl - they can keep busy in the library as nonsense occurs outside the doors.

Earl grins, "I'll take Mary's side then, I think my family has some scot Irish"

"Well, I can be the proper queen, aye... en guard."

The game goes smoothly, Earl knows chess, and is bright. Zara however, has dueled dragons!

Odd sounds outside something about "The waffle cones, they do nothing!" go out in the hallways... but move on away again. Thank goodness

A gentle shake of her head, and she moves a bishop.

"Nobleholds can be silly places" He says sagely and softly, and swings his knight into play. He's trying to read her as much as the board. He knows her too well, but that will only help him so much.

She leads him, taunts him, setting up tricks and traps... all so her queen is poised to take his king...

Poor Earl, he does know her, but she knows that he knows her and so he falls for her tricks and traps and when later, ahving taken a few pieces, he realizes how far he has extended away from his king. "Oh no" He is in no position to stop her, just delay

"You could surrender...." A coy smile.

"What would the victrix demand as terms?" he smiles but even as he talks try to delayfurther, his king dancing about

"Escape... " A sigh. "The Dreaming, mayhaps? Somewhere grand."

"The company makes it appealing" he confesses, "you and I and infinity on our terms? "

"Aye." A smile.

"I think you're getting a touch" he tries to bring his last remaining knight to the rescue of his king. It won't workk unless she makes a big mistake "stir crazy love, you want an adventure again, and it's been so swamped the closest thing you've gotten in a bit is warding off flamingo invasions" He shudders 'not that that that isn't a needed defense. The street owes you. If you want to quest, I'm there" A thought "Yes, name it. I have other Yule gifts, but add that onto it."

"I want to quest, aye. Find some lost thing, face a.. a... minotaur, a sphinx, a great giant owl.... I wish to see the Library, to discover treasures..."

"To glean the forgotten, to pluck up the lost, and to gaze on secrets made manifest. " he says, not mocking , "Your Took side is showing again, Zara Baggins" bit of a smile there "If you need out of the shire for a bit, then I am with you"

"My Love." A happy sigh and.... "Check."

"Drat"

She pokes her black tongue out at him.

He laughs, and soon is check mated

And she hauls him off to the back stacks to claim her prize, as tauntauns clatter through the halls.

(End scene)

At some point Zara returns to the front of the library to find a gift labeled for her from Coradel. Inside the wrapping she discovers a little black leather-bound book. The pages within are all written in a longhand scrawl of a fountain-pen. Some investigation reveals that it is the personal journal of a doctor, with pages dating from the time of the Civil War. The pages detail surgeries and procedures to address everything from battlefield wounds to childhood ailments.

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