M. Herbachet's own emotions soared high with Joséphine's pleasure. The delight on his face was plain to see when she tried on the heirloom ring. [b]"Ah, it's simply [i]magnifique[/i], Mademoiselle."[/b] He listened politely to her introduction and replied [b]"Likewise, my dear. I knew that you would be an educated woman, but the University of Lyon? That is quite impressive!"[/b] Of course, it was likely that he already knew that much about Joséphine, but her academic accomplishments certainly deserved some recognition. The notary listened carefully to Samuel, not daring to interrupt for fear of breaking the man's concentration. He looked to the others in that dimly lit room with a slightly opened mouth - a shared recognition of the young man's foreign persuasion. [b]"And you must be the Englishman! And quite a charming one, too, isn't he?" "An inventor, you say? Why, if only you had come to our country sooner, you might have attended the grand technological exposition in Paris last year. I saw the most wonderful and dreadful displays at the exhibits there - I still can't make sense of how they were done, honestly. But such scientific mysteries are better left to young, enterprising minds like your own."[/b] Once the pleasantries had died down somewhat, he offered Samuel the emerald ring. -- One of the other participants that day was a blonde woman with a quiet, even sombre, air about her - which contrasted strongly with the general gaiety of the proceedings. She was fairly young, and judging by her fine clothing, she had come from a family with some privilege. The woman was dressed in a black fitted bodice, with slightly puffed shoulders and a modest neckline. It drew in narrow at the waistline, but opened up wide again at the bottom with voluminous matching skirts. The most striking thing about her was that she wore a lacy black veil over her face, and a prominent cross at her chest. If you weren't mistaken, this was the attire of a lady in mourning... perhaps that could explain her listless and dour attitude. She had sharply declined the cognac before, but she was not impolite in accepting the topaz ring from the notary. [color=f49ac2]"It's beautiful, Monsieur. Would that I could say I would treasure it, but it is as the wise author of Ecclesiastes says: All is vanity and vexation in the end."[/color] She did not place the ring on her finger, instead putting the piece safely away in her purse. M. Herbachet bristled a bit at this, but he addressed her carefully. [b]"Sœur Valérie Bisson. I am surprised to see you without your habit."[/b] [color=f49ac2]"I have taken leave of the abbey,"[/color] she answered quickly. Apparently, Valérie was a dedicated woman of the catholic church, though the subject seemed to make her cringe. Even behind the veil, one could see the rueful expression in her watery blue eyes. [color=f49ac2]"But I have not forgotten my vows. I will see this money put to charitable use, as Christ commanded. Six thousand francs will empower the church to help the needy and to save many souls."[/color] -- The meeting concluded without issue, and it was agreed that everyone would meet at the notary's office again around noon tomorrow to seal the deal. Each participant was directed to the lodging that had been prepared for them. It had already grown late in the afternoon, but there would still be time to unpack your luggage and have some dinner. Joséphine would be staying at [i]l'Hotel Saint-Pierre[/i] on Saint Pierre Road. This was evidently in a wealthy part of town, as there were only a few estates here, each with a large yard to itself. The hotel was finely decorated in a traditional style, and its clientele were fashionably dressed and well put-together. Samuel would be staying at the Croix Guesthouse at Saint Croix Place. This was the large modern hotel which was visible from a distance before. It was one of the tallest buildings around, with eight stories of rooms and amenities. Everything was still brand new and practically spotless. The furniture had a more functional design, but some of the more ambitious architectural elements like the facade and central staircase are in an appealing Art Nouveau style. Valérie would be staying at [i]l'Hotel des Remparts[/i] on Chaude Street. Unfortunately for her, this place was fairly run down and grimy. The hotel was in the bad part of town, and after a certain hour the street outside became populated with shady characters. And the others had their own lodging arrangements. If asked, the attendants at each place would relay that everything has been paid for ahead of time by a middle-aged man, confirming M. Herbachet's story. Each room had been cleaned and prepared for your arrival. Though the furnishings and dimensions were different, each room contained a vase with a lovely bouquet of damask roses and nutmeg flowers. Beautiful and fragrant as they were at first, these very flowers would be the first sign that something wicked was afoot in Loudon. At exactly midnight, you were awoken by a strange light in your hotel room. It only persisted for a moment, but in that moment, the vase seemed to faintly glow before your eyes. Shortly after, however, the smell of the bouquet changed from fragrance to putrid stink. The room filled with a noxious rotting scent, causing your eyes to water, and quickly inducing headache. It will prove most impossible to go back to sleep while the bouquet remains in your room, and you already feel sickened from the fume... [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/iK1gimV.png[/img][/center] [hider=My Hider] Please make a vitality roll to see how badly the noxious flowers affect you! Here's how. Go to my roll thread: (https://www.roleplayerguild.com/campaigns/1116). For the roll, put "1d100", and for the note, please put [Character name] Vitality Roll. Then I'll let you know the results OOC and you can play it out in your post. [b]EDIT:[/b] Okay, upon learning that the dice roller is kinda wonky here - feel free to join our discord server to do rolls instead if you prefer: https://discord.gg/6YRhCCVQ9q [/hider]