Begin Investigation: The Bodleian Libraries [Closed]

[truthsnomiracle]

Who: Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth
What: Trying to dig up info on Tres Matres in an ancient, sprawling library, with a side-order of law research and shenanigans.
When: The full visit is March 7th through March 21st; the plot-relevant investigation starts on the 9th.
Where: The Bodleian Libraries in Oxford, England
Rating: PG-13 at the worst.
Status: Closed

March 2, 6:37 PM
Bay View Hotel
Room 212
Edgeworth buried his face in his hands while sitting on the edge of his bed, a measure of emotion he wouldn't willingly display publicly and that he felt weak having to indulge at all. The past month had run him ragged; not only had Prospero itself apparently been scrubbed clean of anything to do with the gaps in its history, but even attempting to look into records indirectly related, such as those of companies who had done business on the island prior to its abandonment, had turned up nothing. For a man used to solving violent crimes in four days or less -- with or without the help of a police force of questionable competence -- this kidnapping case was maddening. Was he of all people overlooking something as obvious as that bullet hole in the elevator window?

The prosecutor heaved a sigh and lifted his head... only to notice something out of place near the door into his room. A slip of paper lay on the ground there. Edgeworth walked over while digging out his handkerchief, picked the note up with it, then immediately opened his door with his free hand, poked his head out, and looked both ways. Whoever had left it was apparently long gone. Turning his attention to the note itself, Edgeworth quietly took note of its contents:

The answers you seek are not on Prospero. If you wish to research the "Tres Matres", you must go to the Bodleian Library in Great Britain. A man of your talents should be able to get access.

But beware the senator, and his son. Their followers may try to bar your way or even harm you if you follow this back to the source.

You may also want to check the Papal Library, but access to that is even more restricted, and it is well watched by those who undoubtedly mean you harm.

Go to Oxford, and you will find at least some of what you seek. You will need strong allies if you want to survive trying to find what lies within the Papal Library, however.

With a thoughtful and determined expression, Edgeworth carried the note to the kitchenette in order to place it in a plastic bag. Wright, of course, would have to be the first to know, but it was nearly the first of his two bedtimes now. He'd discuss things with the defense attorney tomorrow.
 

March 6, 6:00 PM
Heathrow Airport
Waiting Lobby
The plan Phoenix and Edgeworth were going to operate under was risky. Given that as non-natives of this world neither of them had legal identities, the pair of them had little choice but to lean on what credentials they had -- their status as officially recognized lawyers in Prospero and a very real need to give law a broader look, even if they had to conceal their real reasons why -- and simply hope that the librarians would swallow the idea that no one could possibly get into the legal profession of all things via identity theft. They both knew how untrue this was, but it was their only chance.

...Or so it seemed. As they waited for the commuter flight that would bring them from London to the Waterbury-Oxford airport, both of their smartphones went off in such a way as to indicate the receipt of emails. Within were research IDs from "Caliban University" -- a name indicative of Prospero, yet never heard before -- and official-seeming permissions to use the libraries.

Someone apparently on their side was a step ahead of them.

Comments

Events prior to March 9th

[truthsnomiracle]

[Reactions to the events in the opening, amusing vignettes, and law research done while pretending to be inconspicuous can go here.]

Investigations (ATTN: MODS)

[truthsnomiracle]

[Attempts to actually find info on Tres Matres start under this heading. The earliest attempt is on March 9th.]

Later events

[truthsnomiracle]

[Things that happen only after some investigation has already occurred that isn't an investigation itself (like more law research and shenanigans) go here.]

March 9th

[truthsnomiracle]

March 9, 9:12 AM
Old Bodleian Library
Microfilm Room
[Since the documents and permissions their mysterious benefactor had provided Phoenix and Edgeworth with gave them a surprising amount of free reign, it was no real challenge for them to get into a building other than that of the Bodleian Law Library. On top of that, the "Special Collections" of pre-1801 material were open for their perusal, something they'd already taken advantage of in their law research given that they had to make a system that would satisfy even people from ancient times. Naturally, no damage to the originals would be tolerated, and for good reason; as such, some of their time in the past two days had been spent squinting into microfilm viewers. It wasn't as profound an experience as handling such time-honored tomes directly would have been, but in the end, Edgeworth was willing to accept the necessity of that compromise, particularly when it was ultimately the information within that mattered and even being in this place at all was such an honor.

The true investigation beginning, of course, meant that far more of the same was probably in store. If they had to be directed to here of all places to find information on the Tres Matres and no one alive had heard of the Church of Three, after all, chances were good that nothing contemporary would help. Of course, such an obscure secret might just fall through the cracks of the microfilmed portion of the Special Collections, too, especially if anyone here had ever had any reason to hide what they were looking for.

As such, Edgeworth was now tapping away at an old yet not completely obsolete computer, part of a network of them in this room that allowed access to the so-called "virtual card catalog" that pertained to the Special Collections. Narrowing down good sources among those related to religion and mythology to check -- and determining whether any of those included the few books and documents yet to be preserved on microfilm -- was the obvious first step. It was a shame that they couldn't have brought Saori along under the pretenses they were operating under...]

[velvetyhelpers]

{ Tres Matres information seems rare at first. Nothing at all in the Babylonian and Sumerian myths, nor the Egyptian, or even the greek. There are hints of Three women of some nature in the norse myths, specifically the three Norns. ]

[straight_and_true]

[Phoenix, however, has been mostly keeping track of what he's found and what wasn't useful that he could see in a typical fifty-cent spiral-bound notebook. He only really touches the computer when he needs to look through the catalog as it is; the luxury of a cheap notebook is that he feels no qualms about drawing crappy diagrams in his attempts to figure out which documents and pieces of information might make sense linked together.]

[He kind of expects Edgeworth just does it in his head, but Phoenix has no such faculty. As it is, he keeps rolling the thought of the Norns around in his head. It's not exactly what they're looking for, but maybe it's just a nominal difference.]

...Hey Edgeworth. You think it might be worth looking more into the Norns?

[truthsnomiracle]

[Edgeworth half glances over his shoulder as Phoenix speaks up.]

They do appear to include a triad of the sort we're in pursuit of, yes. Furthermore, those three seem to stand above a greater race of them, which makes them less likely to be a dead end as the Moirai were.

[Just looking up the proper books and documents for that in the catalog... and now, heading over to where the appropriate microfilms are stored.]

OOC lemme know what styles you are looking into next, or if you need guidance.

[velvetyhelpers]

[ If they are looking up Norns, the statues and iconography of the religious artefact they found in Tartarus doesn't quite seem to fit, nor does the external iconography which would have been seen at the Church itself, within Prospero. It looks close but the Tres Matres themselves look somewhat less abstracted any any examples of the Norns that are shown in Norse art at the time. The style doesn't fit quite right, more or less. However, there are still plenty of myths and artistic styles Edgeworth and Phoenix haven't checked yet. ]

)o) Off of hiatus and I haven't a clue! Whee!

[straight_and_true]

[Well, just because it doesn't seem quite right doesn't mean it's the wrong track. Phoenix keeps a running log of whatever they find about the Norns, just in case. He's found seemingly useless evidence to be key in more than one investigation before...]

Welcome back! :) And don't worry, I know where this is going to a point.

[truthsnomiracle]

[Meanwhile, Edgeworth focuses less on the art aspect and more on how they were followed or revered over the years. After all, it's a suspicious church that they're attempting to find more information about -- one that might have a connection to the holes in Prospero's history, and that they and the other kidnappees might need to protect themselves from.]

[velvetyhelpers]

[ Phoenix's dogged pursuit of the Norns in all respects, and Edgeworth's specific focus on the reverence they were held in leads to the same place, a microfiche document discussing neopaganism and the triple goddess theory, specifically that it was a form of syncretic archetype. However, there is a specific reference to the origins of the Norns, in Gaul, where the later norse ideas seem to have been adapted from. There is tantalizingly little detail about them, but the microfiche, blurry photographs bear some resemblance to the church's icons.]