Enter Inspector Tracey de Carlo--on call to the scene of a malicious murder--a bloodhound set upon the scent of a scoundrel, depended upon to sniff out the cold hard truth! Ah, what a great chance to lift my spirits during this slump!

...If only I could find the place that matches this address.

The detective had agreed to her friend's request, and, confident in her knowledge of the world, asked for nothing more than the plainest directions--but now that seemed to be proving an imprudent act on her part. There she was, in the farthest reaches of Florheim's swamps, without any concrete sign of a great manor in sight. She had tried looking through the decayed foliage forming a web of a canopy overhead, and could see that something beyond the flora was obscuring the rays of the sun far out on the horizon; but that was dismissed as inconclusive just as quickly as it had been noticed. The glint cutting through the tops of the trees from whatever was there was mostly definitely being reflected off glass.

Tracey pried her boot from a pool of mud and turned to leave; but then something soaring through the sky grabbed her attention, and would not let go. It darted low and high, through the wisps of clouds, a silhouette in the setting sun; she could only catch brief glances of it through the leaves, but she was positive that the flying object was reptilian. All her rational little "cells", as she called them, began working feverishly for an explanation.

A...mutated komodo dragon, perhaps? The idea requires a good deal of imagination to believe, but...it doesn't completely defy science. My my, though--that body really is quite large and shaped oh-so differently...just how much mutation would that sort of thing be the result of? Eons' worth?

Her results were unsatisfying at best for her standards--and so she did the only thing she could do to improve upon her theories--she followed the creature.

Hours of trekking through the tangled swamp after her subject brought her to a gently-rolling hill; and standing atop this knoll was a structure that took the sleuth's breath away; an immense, clear dome rose up countless meters into the stratum of clouds, surrounded on all sides by gilded columns and fences covered in etchings of gypsy spirits, and stretching out arms of myriad green-colored corridors, gardens, and wings full of rooms. It gave her a mystical, otherworldly feeling that was both parts discomforting and alluring, like nothing she had ever felt before.

A hint of intuition came to her at the sight of it, telling her that this was certainly the way to where Monroe had beckoned her.
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Once she had entered the dome, all of her friend's directions made immediate and complete sense. Taking care not to lose herself for an instant, Tracey followed the directions to the letter, and soon arrived on the front step of the manor, her magnifying glass in hand and her mind alert to all details from that point on.

She rang the bell twice, and stood waiting, eager to begin.

OoC: That was the first time I've returned to that swamp since the first post of Cadenza's training nearly two years ago--writing that was fun. And now I've finally gotten Tracey access to the Dome (although she doesn't realize the significance of that yet)! XD

(For any who don't know, that flying creature was Cadenza's dragon Avello returning to the Dome. ;P)

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[A timid shapeshifter with an unexpected, inner wolf "side".]
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