The stark white shelves of the library are well stocked in terms of books on architecture. Each of the books they take off the shelves features a bookplate in the inside cover featuring the words 'Sammlung Von Adhemar Grau: Architeckt'. Grau's library is also well served in terms of culture and other artistic works, leaning towards the cutting edge of modernist thinking and philosophy, and the more nihilistic types of literature. There are books here by Gropius and other members of the Bauhaus, Le Corbusier and Taut. There are texts in English, German and French.
It is Hal who first notices that despite the leaning towards the modern, there are no books here less than seven years old. Of course, it would be difficult to get the most up to date literature out here in these backwaters, but Hal knows that you could send to a publishers to have any book you needed delivered from the more civilised parts of Europe, even to these parts.
Searching through the books on architecture for the names of the four architects whose buildings are exhibited in the gallery reveals one fact that seems to united them, despite having different architectural philosophies behind them. It looks like each of the buildings was designed by an architect who later committed suicide.
Having found this fact for Eichler, Maher and Trevail, both men are searching for confirmation on Wittek. For a moment, this takes them out of each other's eyeline as they search the shelves for an appropriate volume.
Roland starts to think that the guy who lives here. this Grau, is clearly a strange one. The lack of new books, combined with the other factors about the house is starting to give him a feeling of something genuinely sinister going on, a very morbid side to everything here.
Why on earth hasn't their host shown himself? Impetuosity taking over, Roland is inclined to start looking for the owner, politeness be damned.
Hal's search takes him along the shelf, in the direction of the gold signet ring displayed on a diorite hand in a break between the books. Hal had ignored the ring up to now, but as his eyes move along the self below they feel drawn upward and he glances at the ring. It glints in the light, and holds his gaze.
Suddenly, Hal feels as if he is not looking at the ring with his own eyes, but with those of another. Another who wishes to place the ring back on their hand in its rightful place. Hal is rooted to the spot as the thoughts and sensations of another fill his mind.
You smell someting sharp; not foul exactly, but dangerous. Your eyes water, you start to choke.
Perhaps it's the gas; perhaps that was the scheme all along.
You can barely see; breathing is painful and difficult. But its the gas choking you, not that foul snake Emil. He's probably choking to death too; both of you caught in something bigger.
God it hurts. Hurts your lungs.
Can't see to read, can't see if Emil is still here. But he's choking, that's what matters.
Hal finds himself collapsed against the bookshelf, coughing and hacking loudly, his eyes watering. He is on his knees half supported with one hand on the shelf. He has dislodged a shelf worth of books, which are now scattered across the floor.
Roland's search takes him along the shelves in the oppositite direction to Hal's. He is looking through the selection of titles, hampered somewhat by only being able to properly read the ones in english.
His fingertips brush against a slim folio volume. He's not sure that this one will help, but it's worth a look. He pulls it out from the shelf. He starts to pick through it. It's not about architecture at all. It's a play of some sort. Something European no doubt - it seems to be about a noble court in some decaying city on the shores of a massive lake. It might occur to Roland that if it was an obscure play nobody in Hollywood had heard of, that it might make a good basis for a screenplay.
Roland is about to turn the volume over to check the title when he hears a loud crash, followed by heavy coughing. His eyes flick up from the book to where Hal had been standing.
Hal has collapsed bodily against the bookshelf, coughing and hacking loudly, his eyes watering. He is on his knees half supported with one hand on the shelf. He has dislodged a shelf worth of books, which are now scattered across the floor.
Roland thinks this looks like what happened to Manny earlier, or maybe this guy has a condition. He absentmindedly slips the play into his jacket, and hurries over to Hal, doing what he can to help.
For Hal it is too soon to process the vision. Hal thinks he's being poisoned. The brandy perhaps? Or something more targeted? Poison darts, gas vented from the ceiling? Hal naturally assumes people will come to his aid. It's the British thing to do.
Upon hearing the coughing and the crash, Richard immediately rises and runs into the library, grave concern almost completely overshadowing the slight hint of fear in his eyes. On hearing the crashing noise and the coughing Kurt head towards it. Manny follows the others at the crashing sound
Richard, Kurt and Manny enter the Library, pushing themselves out of their chairs in the drawing room in response to the crash. In contrast to the image of studious research that had presented itself as the three walked through the library to the drawing room earlier, the scene that greets them is one of disarray.
A whole shelf of books has been dislodged and is now scattered across the floor, the shelf hanging at an angle off its brackets. Amidst the heap of books, Hal is slumped, with a dazed expression on his face that is slowly regaining clarity. It looks like the man had fallen against the bookshelf and sent it flying.
The sculptured hand that had sat on the shelf with the books is now lying mixed in with the pile of architecture books, several falling open to display blueprints, or architectural projections of various buildings.
Roland is kneeling next to Hal. It must have been his quick footsteps as he moved to help that the others heard from the gallery. He looks as if he is doing what he can to help Hal.
"Say, you with me buddy?" Roland looks for signs of awareness on Hal's face. "Someone get this guy some brandy or something"
Kurt asks Roland and Hal:
"What happened?"
Richard stops briefly to survey the devastation, before nipping back to grab a glass of brandy for Hal, only half-heartedly trying not to spill any as he hurries over to the collapsed man.
"Here, take some deep, controlled breaths first, then take a drink. What
the hell happened?"
Richard finds it very hard to believe that two people collapsing in coughing fits is a co-incidence, either something sinister is afoot in this house, or these two 'victims' are linked somehow, likely some sort of scam, or act of misdirection maybe? Richard is certainly worried that the owner of the house might be a little upset that we've wrecked his library, and wonders if they can swiftly replace the books and items onto the shelves. Looking at the piles of books, restoring the original order of the library will be rather difficult.
Richard is surprised no one came when Manny collapsed half an hour ago, but surely someone must have heard the crash of all those books! He listens for any sounds outside of the room. There is little other noise to be heard in the house in between the conversation in the library. You can hear the wind and rain buffeting against the windows, muffled by the glazing. There do appear to be some faint sounds of movement, coming from the dining room, or perhaps beyond it. Other than that, the house seems inertly unresponsible to the collapse of either of the two men.
Hal is obviously badly shaken, but does his best to keep his upper lip stiff and understand what has just happened. After draining the brandy glass in a single gulp he struggles to his feet.“I think I’m fine now. For a moment I felt lightheaded and had what I can only describe as a hallucinogenic episode. It could only be the gas seeping in to the house, or perhaps a narcotic introduced into my system by some other means.”
Hal pauses for a moment before glancing down at the empty brandy glass in his hand.
“Two men suffering similar symptoms within minutes of each other. I suggest we find a common link quickly. I think perhaps it may soon be time to put politeness to one side and begin a search for our absent host.”
Roland stands as Hal stands up. A look of frustration passes over his face as Hal speaks. "I agree. It's time we found our host, damn the mess. Let's go."
Richard nods "Agreed, we have waited long enough, and two troubling events have so far gone unchecked by our host."
Now that something strange has also happened to Hal, Manny feels more sure of himself again.
"Was there a voice friend?" he asks Hal. "An artist in love with the woman in the painting?"
“No,” says Hal grimly. “There was a murder.”
"Who was murdered? The woman? Was Karin murdered?"
“It felt like I was being murdered, but… I was someone else, I don’t know who, but I man I think. My thoughts were of malice and vengeance, not what I would associate with a woman.”
Hal straightens and marshals his thoughts.
“But it’s irrelevant, it was a hallucination, nothing more. Now let’s find our host and find out what cruel joke he’s playing on us.”
With that Hal strides of towards the part of the house the butler retreated to.
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