Woe Upon Ye, All Who Enter Here [Lukas/Natasha]

GERMANY
As Natasha gathered whatever caught her eye, Lukas moved with focus. Deliberate movements tracing the wooden shelf, knocking whatever books in his way to the ground. The texture was soft underneath his fingers, the smell of rot having already seeped into the home. "Which section was it..." The man muttered under his breath, the floorboards underneath a low creak.

"1470... No, 1520." He half sprint the distance, hand flat against shelving all the way. Lukas stopped suddenly, patting a unambiguios section of the shelf multiple times. "Yeah, yeah, hey Natasha." Lukas called to his fellow Quincy, gesturing with his head towards the bookshelf.

"Watch this." A half grin.

Breathing in, the man turned his gaze back to the wood; hand tightening around it. A faint pulse of spiritual pressure, veins creeping from its surface. Pulling reishi through the wood, it'd give appearance similar to blut, thick blue lines coursing. A heartbeat later, and it'd burst into nothing, revealing a rather large hidden compartment. Lukas pulled his arm back quickly, a pained look describing more of the process than he would bother to put into words.

"That was always a neat little trick," the man grunted as he leaned into the cavity, heft apparent as he pulled himself back to height. "But this is what I came here for."

Turning to face Natasha, the man held an enormous silver case. On one side of it were multiple, thick latches, no visible hinge protruding from the otherwise glossy, smooth surface. Rounded edges pushed into the floor as he lowered it, turning the opposite side to show - Erleuchtete Bestrafung, engraved with another long-dead man's handwriting.

"You know anything about it?" The same surefire, cocky half grin stayed across the man's face.

Excitement.

Natasha would cast her gaze towards Lukas after he called out to her, observing him with quiet curiosity. Hazel eyes would regard the unfolding phenomenon in silent awe as a faint spiritual pulse traveled through the wood. Reishi traveled between man and object, and in the next moment, it burst apart into nothingness. It was certainly quite the sight to behold, earning a nod of approval in response.

A fine trick indeed, though his pained reaction definitely was cause for concern, albeit momentarily. After observing that display, her eyes would move towards the true target of his pursuit. His reason for traveling here. A large silver cased set with several latches locked in place. One could only wonder what was contained within.

Considering the enormous size of the case, Natasha conjectured two possibilities. A Sanrei glove, or perhaps, a spirit weapon that had been locked away and maintained within the depths of this ancient house. With no definitive answer, Natasha clicked her teeth softly, offering a curious glance. She never quite liked the idea of guessing games, but she'd give it a shot nonetheless.

"Judging by the size alone, I reckon that's a weapon or a pretty unique Sanrei glove. If I'm wrong, though, you can most certainly enlighten me, sugar."

GERMANY
"Kinda." Lukas moved to pick the entire thing up, cradling it in his arms not unlike an infant. "It re-formats your Letzt Stil. Originally I think it was some kind of rehab when the technique was harsher on the body, but nowadays? Not common. Figure a lot of the shit I learned isn't very common."

Moving towards one of the few pieces of non-decaying furniture, he set the case down with a slight grunt, steadying the table's surface as it wobbled. "C'mon, help me get this thing open. There's two locks on either side, needs at least one other person to open and operate."

Gesturing Natasha forward, the man pointed to either oblong end of the case, two turn knobs that needed to be held in place. "Oh, and you wanna try and pull reishi out. Call it a party trick."

Re-Format your Letz Stil? Call her a modernized gal, but that didn't sound common at all. Lukas wasn't wrong in that self-assertion at all. Nothing they treaded here so far aligned with the common household, but that was fine. It was an ancient place. If any of those Indian Jones movies were anything to go by, traversing ancient edifices or ruins were anything but common. Following the man along his intended motion, Natasha tilted her head with quiet curiosity brimming in her eyes, observational hazels regarding the case with a sort of fascination. He was unearthing something from the past. Special occasions like that were certainly interesting, and Natasha was curious as to what would be unraveled once they opened the cracked large case open.

"Yea, I reckon yer a real special case regarding this quincy stuff, darling, but that's quite alright with me. Adds to yer' lone wolf charm. A mysterious man with a mysterious past. Let's get this little light show' goin; though, shall we~?"

Humming softly, Natasha chose to approach the case from the right side. An upraised palm pressed against the knob. Exhaling firmly, Natasha offered her utmost attention in drawing out the reishi required to crack this bad boy open. Wondering how the process would play out, Natasha steeled her body in preparation. Due diligence, as a matter of course.

GERMANY
With his eyes on the case, he'd barely even recognize Natasha speaking.

The mechanism gave way, a hiss of releasing, archaic pneumatics as the cover lifted. Pulling his hands off the release, Lukas pushed upwards, the case yawning open. Eight copper rods stretched the case's length, arranged and bound by several concurrent silver rings. Etched in the metals were various forms of iconography - from an arrangement of mathematical formula to quincy symbolism, markings of the old and occult.

A long whistle as Lukas traced the engravings with his hand, Between the metal, a material stretched underneath, one end revealing an opening; the other, an iron plate fashioned into a quincy cross. "Now that's pretty."

With a sharp breath, Lukas closed the case, the locks re-engaging on their own. "So, you find anything good?" He turned to Natasha, readying himself to pick the case up as they left. "Hoping this shithole can be useful for something."

Ah, so this is what he had come for? Natasha offered an impressed whistle as she observed the creation of archaic make. This is what would reconfigure his Letz Stil? A striking piece of equipment, to be sure, but the shut of the suitcase casts her attention elsewhere. In spite of his general warning, this trip had went relatively well, with no discernible hiccup along the way. Whether by way of his general knowledge of the way this ancient home worked, or the likelihood that that most of these supposed traps had lost their luster over the years, everything had progressed without a hitch. That certainly suited Natasha well; those trips were the best. Even so, part of her would have thoroughly enjoyed the idea of a little danger. Either way, she walked away with a collection of books regarding Ginto techniques and esoterically intricate ways to manipulate one's reishi. All in all, that was reward enough in all of this. As such, she nudged Lukas in the shoulder as she slung the bag over her own, following his general route as they exited the time-worn house.

"Of course. Found some pretty good research regarding Quincy heritage and technique. That's good enough for me, I reckon. Here's to hopin' I made for some fine company in yer lil' pursuit. Time to head on home, eh?"