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 Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 11:46 am
Reims was being careful–visibly so, in such a way that Dering watched him a little closer. Reims had a habit of minimizing how much distress he was in, and if the effects of it were so visible now–
Well, Dering knew Reims could take care of himself. Not as kindly as he deserved.
It wasn’t any excuse not to worry.
His head bowed and he returned to the pages.
“Yes, um.” He searched through the pages, pulling a few out. “I don’t mind this,” he assured. “The books will be here to organize later, it’s okay. If Reims is trying to tell you something is important, I think it’s a good idea to listen.”
What if ignoring it just made the Wonder go quiet? Riker had worked so hard here. Dering didn’t want all that effort wasted. It was worth a change of plans if it meant–maybe–keeping Reims happy.
“ I think, um–here.” Tilting the pages to Reims, but careful not to accidentally touch them to him, he asked, “Like these? I can keep looking.”
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 11:47 am
Reims looked at the pages Dering held out, careful not to touch them yet, just in case.
"Yeah. Those." He leaned closer, reading the handwritten markings."Choir loft. North alcove. And…" His brow furrowed at the last one. "The arch beside the organ."
Three locations. That seemed manageable.
Another note had been written beside the same symbol he'd seen in the memory.
"'Let the stone remember,'" Reims read slowly.
Before he could decide what that meant, or be annoyed that it wasn't helpful at all, he touched the corner of the page.
A clear note rang through his head.
Past Reims stood beneath a carved arch while a short melody was played on strings. The sound did not fade. It sank into the stone and remained there, waiting, while he moved toward another part of the cathedral.
The second melody joined it. Then a third.
The overlapping music shuddered through the floor, and somewhere nearby, stone began to move.
Reims pulled his hand away, breathing sharply, but stayed upright this time.
"Three places," he said. "That's all."
He glanced over at Dering's lute by the door. "The music stays in the walls after it's played. He activated each location one at a time." Reims looked back at the pages. "Would you be able to check whether there are three versions? They should only be a little different. One for each place."
He hesitated, then added, "If there are… I think we can open whatever he was trying to hide today."
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 11:48 am
Dering fell silent for a moment and returned to the pages. He went slower this time, but a small frown had settled onto his features as he went over each line.
“Oh,” he said, comparing the first two pages, and then the third. “Yes, you’re right. They are different. I’m sorry. I didn’t notice before.”
He held the pages out once more, tilting them so Reims could check for himself.
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 11:49 am
Reims didn't take the pages right away. "Why are you apologizing?" he asked, brow knitting together. "They were supposed to look the same. Whoever made this clearly didn't want people noticing the difference."
If Reims hadn't been handed the answer through someone else's memory, he never would have known where to start. Dering had found the variations after being given only the vaguest idea of what to look for.
"That means you figured it out," he added, as if that would have been obvious.
He carefully accepted the pages, keeping them separated so they wouldn't lose track of which was which. The music still meant very little to him, but Dering's earlier certainty made the next part simple enough.
Reims glanced over at the lute by the door again. "You're gonna have to show me what any of this sounds like, if you're okay with that."
He stood carefully, testing his balance before moving away from the lion's support. The summon rose with him anyway, apparently unconvinced that Reims could be trusted not to fall over the second nobody was watching.
"I can tell you where each one goes," Reims said, glancing over the handwritten notes. "I just can't tell what I'm supposed to play when we get there. So… I'll get us to the right places if you can tell me what the music says and play it."
He paused, then added more quietly, "I can't do that part without you."
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 11:52 am
Dering nodded, but didn’t seem entirely convinced he had nothing to apologize for. He had been so confident that they were identical, but now the differences all felt so blaring. With Reims holding the pages, he removed a glove and rubbed at his eyes, blinking a few times.
The color of the world was a little refreshed, but it didn’t help much more than that, and relieving some of the itch from being around so much dust.
He wiped his hand off on his pants before pulling the glove back on.
Riker would have figured it out. He was clever. And Reims probably would have helped him uncover things if he was getting stuck. It seemed like it wanted him to succeed.
…So maybe it saved the clues about something that needed music until someone showed up with an instrument.
His lute wasn’t so vastly different from Riker’s guitar. Did the instrument matter? Or only the song?
Dering nodded, of course. He’d have said yes to anything Riker asked him. Drawing his robes close, he drifted through the room to pick up his lute. He moved slowly, unhurried, but mostly just cautious about accidentally knocking anything over on his way out.
“Are you sure you want me to play?” he asked. “...I will,” he clarified. “But if you want to do it yourself, you could borrow it. I know you’d take care of it.”
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 11:52 am
Reims blinked at him.
"Yeah, I'm sure."
He glanced at the lute, then back at Dering. The offer meant more than Reims knew how to say. Dering trusted him with something important, and Reims didn't take that lightly. But borrowing the instrument wasn't the same as having any idea what to do with it.
"I know you'd let me," he said. "And I'd be careful. But I can barely play my guitar without stopping to think about where my fingers go. And that's even after a lot of practice. I doubt I'd be able to pick up a lute and magically know how to play whatever this is."
He lifted the pages slightly. "You already understand the music. You noticed the differences. I only knew there were differences because I had a memory that gave me a hint. I'd just be guessing and probably make us have to start over five times."
The lion stepped toward the doorway, apparently ready to accompany them, but Reims stayed where he was for another moment.
"And I don't want to do it myself," he added, quieter. "I asked you because I want you to play."
Maybe the cathedral had waited for someone with an instrument. Maybe Reims could have stumbled through it eventually, but he didn't want Dering standing off to the side while he tried to prove he could manage alone.
Still, his gaze drifted toward the dark corridor beyond the door. The last hidden place Reims had uncovered beneath the cathedral had contained a grove of blood red trees, glowing mushrooms that grew from the decay there, and an altar with a suspicious stain across the stone. He wanted answers, especially after the memories, but wanting them didn't mean he was willing to drag Dering blindly into danger.
The lion glanced back at him, wings catching the light.
"We figured this out together," he said. "So we should find out whatever this is leading to together." His grip tightened slightly around the pages. "But stay close, okay? If anything feels wrong, we'll stop. And if something opens, I'm going in first."
His ears warmed faintly, and he turned toward the corridor before it was too obvious. "Come on. The choir loft is closest."
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 11:53 am
There was a practical truth to what Reims said, but it didn’t instill Dering with any more confidence.
He lifted his lute–which felt heavy, and bulky, and cradled it to his chest until he’d cleared the room. The strap bit into his shoulder despite the way he was carrying it.
“Okay,” he said–to everything. To Reims’s certainty, to him asking Dering to play, to figuring it out together, to heading to the choir loft.
He might have settled in the silence, but with Reims’s back to him, he’d have missed any quiet gesture. A nod felt more fitting, but he wanted Reims to know that he’d heard, and he agreed.
And he’d help–however he could.
The gloves suddenly didn’t seem like they were doing much to keep his hands warm.
Usually, Dering was silent when he walked. It was a choice to let his shoes scuff against the floor while he walked. He wanted Reims to know where he was without having to look. It was easy for him to walk in perfect tandem, matching stride, but that effort was forgone in lieu of walking a little quicker so he could catch up.
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 11:53 am
Reims heard Dering's shoes against the floor and slowed his pace. He didn't need to turn around to know Dering was still there, but the deliberate scuffing made something twist uncomfortably in his chest. Dering was trying to reassure him. Even now, he was making sure Reims didn't have to worry.
Reims stopped before they reached the stairs and glanced back.
Dering had agreed to everything, but that didn't necessarily mean he wanted any of it. Reims knew he'd been having a hard time lately. Sorting books had been quiet and predictable, and now Reims was dragging him through a cold cathedral to play music for some mystery that might not matter anymore.
"We don't have to do this right now," he said. His voice stayed patient, without any accusation or disappointment behind it. "The pages aren't going anywhere. Whatever's hidden has probably been there for a thousand years, so another day won't make a difference."
The lion paused farther ahead and looked back at them, tail moving lazily across the stone.
Reims shifted the pages in his hands. No memory came to him in that moment, so maybe his Wonder knew he wanted to slow things down.
"I want to know what happened," he admitted. "But not enough to make you do something you don't want to do."
He wasn't sure Dering would ever simply say no. That made it harder to trust an automatic yes, even if Reims wanted to.
"You were having a good time with the books," he continued. "We can go back and finish what we started. Or take a break. I'm not going to be disappointed."
Reims held Dering's gaze only for a moment before looking at the lute instead, trying not to make the question feel like it was some kind of test.
"I just need to know if you actually want to keep going," he said. "Not whether you're willing to do it because I asked."
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 11:53 am
It wasn’t an interrogation. It wasn’t a test.
Dering knew this.
He could have told Reims he wanted to slow down. He could have told him he was feeling a little overwhelmed. He could have told him he was just disappointed about getting too confident with the music sheets.
He could have said a lot of things.
Could have.
None of what he could say changed the fact that he was always going to say yes.
Besides–Reims didn’t know if another day would make a difference or not. Maybe that was his wonder’s way of saying ‘I need this now’.
And Reims wanted to know what happened.
How could Dering deny him?
“The books aren’t going anywhere.”
Between his speedwalking, and Reims slowing down, he caught up. Now, he settled into the same pace as Reims, but he kept his eyes forward.
Dering wasn’t really smiling, but he wasn’t at all frowning. His face was neutral–a blank canvas, except for his slightly furrowed brows.
“It’s okay. I want you to know what happened.”
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 11:53 am
Reims studied Dering for a moment. It wasn't quite the answer he'd asked for. Dering wanted him to know what happened. That didn't necessarily mean he wanted to be there while Reims figured it out.
But asking again would only make Dering search harder for a better answer, and Reims didn't want to turn the hallway into another place where he felt cornered.
"Okay," he said quietly.
He adjusted the pages in his hands and waited until Dering was beside him before starting forward again, keeping his pace easy.
"But if you change your mind, you can tell me. Even if we're halfway through."
The lion moved ahead of them, stained glass wings scattering pale color across the floor. Reims glanced over at Dering.
"And… thanks."
He didn't try to explain everything contained in those words. For carrying the lute. For helping with the pages. For wanting Reims to have answers even when Dering was already struggling with his own thoughts. For always being supportive.
Reims turned his attention toward the stairs ahead. "Let's see if the choir loft gives us anything useful."
Fin
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