[semi-open post: It's a kindness that the mind can go where it wishes]

[greentara]

Dark is winding its way to an end but Constance has been tolerating it well enough. She is used to eating sparingly and spending long amounts of time indoors, getting lost in threads of research and exploring the corners of the mansion. Having discovered three wooden crates filled with interesting looking papers, she promptly moved them into the room she has co-opted as a meditation room, not wanting to either lose them or bring any dust or debris into her own room.

The room is small and sparse, lit with a small brazier and a handful of candles. There are tatami mats covering the floor, bordered in a light green color that complements the cream wallpaper. A small wooden table holds some meditation supplies and a Tibetan mandala hangs on the wall but otherwise there isn't much else. Some marks on one of the wooden columns indicate that knife practice has also been an occupation of this room.

The brazier is lit and Constance unwittingly has a piece of cobweb stuck in her hair at the moment as she sifts through a handful of papers.

Comments

[greentara]

"I was down in one of the sub-basements and found a storage closet in one of the tunnels. I can show you next time, if you'd like."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"I should like that very much." Susan glances around the room and does not mention the cobweb stuck in Constance's hair, so as not to embarrass her. "Shall I help you with these now? I've got the time."

[greentara]

"If you'd like. Most of these papers make some semblance of sense, resembling a paper trail of some mysterious individual's life. This folder, however, is incredibly puzzling." Constance offers the folder to Susan.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan takes it, but hesitates before opening. "What has it got? It isn't another sleeping arrangement, is it?"

[greentara]

"No, that I could at least parse. This is more cryptic. It appears to be a puzzle."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"A puzzle! What sort?" she asks, opening the folder.

[greentara]

"A world puzzle," Constance says, dryly. It is, of sorts. The first paper in the folder shows a large array of random letters set in a 30 by 30 square. "My first thought was that it is a word search, but I can't seem to be able to find any words in it."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"A world puzzle," Susan echoes, taking the paper out and holding it up to the light. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with word searches."

[greentara]

"The point of a word search is to find words hidden in the square, whether vertical, horizontal, or diagonal. There are none at first glance -- but then again, perhaps the hidden words aren't even English." Constance frowns slightly. "I'm sure this folder was in the the paperwork I found for a reason."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"And the words oughtn't be connected in a jumble?" If Susan had lived twenty-five years later, she'd be able to suggest a Boggle sort of approach specifically. She traces, in a jagged line, hast.

[greentara]

"Sometimes there is a theme, sometimes not. This could also be something entirely different. If we had a computer, we could input this array and have the machine automatically look for connections."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Would a mobile phone be useful?" Susan asks, looking up. "Crowley gave me his. I really only use it for photographs."

[greentara]

"Unless we use it to document evidence, it won't be much use without internet connection or data," Constance says, gently. "Mobile phones were never built to be self-contained."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"How unuseful," Susan sighs. "Very well. I expect we had best do it the old-fashioned way, hadn't we?"