Shroud completely ignored the merchant. He had seen charlatans
before and he reeked of it. He was not selling anything of repute, especially
dressed the way he did. The man was definitely out of place and therefore
suspicious. To distract him from his concentric thoughts, Neave mentioned on
their walk that Dehart had given her something from the shop, that he had
apparently liberated. She produced a small metallic pipe. Its metal reflected
golden and copper hues while at the end near the mouth piece a setting had been
crafted onto it, with what appeared to be a ruby or similarly coloured precious
stone rounded to indistinguishable perfection. She said that she had no use for
it as she couldn’t find where to light it. Shroud took hold of the pipe and
enquired as to whether Dehart had told her any specifics? She shook her head,
she mentioned that she even doubted that Dehart knew what he had taken. Shroud
could feel the pipe in his hands, not just the metal and the intricacies of its
decoration, but he could feel the object, as if some energy was passing through
him. It was pleasurable, like an enticing fire that created rather than
destroyed. He asked her if it had a name. It was called 221.B. according to Dehart, most likely its catalogue number. He
breathed into the pipe yet nothing happened and with disappointment, consigned
the item to the depths of his bag.
Neave suggested that on this floor there was a merchant with
muddied morals who might be able to furnish Shroud with information. If he was
to convince the Merchant class as well as those on the top four floors of his
status, he would have to learn context. The city’s ethics, its customs and
prominent people. He reluctantly agreed and walked into the elegantly signed
Cade’s Library. At the entrance Shroud felt the same feeling as he had from the
pipe. This time he was taken off guard by it, nearly crashing into a bookshelf.
Neave steadied him and offered her help. He refused and told her to leave him
be. She took off down by the history section while he crouched down into a
corner and pulled the pipe back out. He blew on it again but this time a fine
cloud of smoke curled out and spread instantly around the room. As he drew his
breath the cloud returned to the pipe. The crystal started to light up with
pinpricks at first till the whole gem was lit. The light focused onto the top
and a beam of light was created directly into Shrouds eyes moving up and down
left and right for a few seconds. Shroud could feel the wave of pleasure fall
over him. As he looked over at Neave he could now see floating labels. Some
described the rare leathers that bound the books, some showed unique papers
that had been used to craft the tome. Another glance revealed more details
about the authors and the painter of the mural on the wall opposite him. There
were even fleeting details on the dust and
the musky smell that filled in the gaps between the bookshelves. It however
gave no information on anyone in the room, and no details on his experience. Frustrated
he stormed off outside, dismissing the books altogether.
At that precise moment, as he opened the door three small
glass vials smashed onto his head and shoulders. Their contents dripping onto
his skin. A vibrant almost neon green, a pale milky orange and a clear burgundy
colour liquid, like a fine wine. As the colours mingled together on his skin
they were absorbed. The golden veins adopting the colour for a split second.
Shroud dashed back in, ready to prove that the shopkeeper had caused it. Neave
talked him down into a reserved grumble and asked the shopkeeper for supplies.
He allowed them to head into the backroom for him to clean off, as long as he
didn’t drip on the books. As they reached the back, Shroud could only think of
one thing, was this going to kill him?
***
Across the city Chloe, Eryn and Lily awoke to find
themselves in a baron room. One side had thick carved stone bricks while the
others were made of slatted wood. Chloe was hesitant to speak. She was so far
removed from her comfort zone that she no longer had the confidence to ignore
the potential costs of her actions. Eryn almost immediately tried to melt his
way through the stone wall; applying heat through his fingertips. The rock
started to glow red and the ceiling started to drip. It, like the floor and the
other three walls were made of wood but a pool of it started to form. Startled,
Eryn stopped, and so too did the dripping, The liquid wood hardened on the
floor into a smooth, polished puddle. With their attention drawn towards the
oddity in front of them, a door appeared in the wall opposite the stone. Lily
noticing it first, peered outside and knocked the door frame with her blade. She didn’t seem
concerned, in fact to Eryn this whole thing didn’t faze her. He asked himself
why this woman was with them? All three turned into the corridor. It was as
bare as the room they were just in, apart from metal cased torches that were
set at intervals on the right wall. The panelling in either direction faded
into the darkness of the corridor in front of them. Without much choice, they
kept to the left wall and walked forward. The corridor seemed endless, the
torches repeating themselves until they came across another opening on the left
hand side. A wooden walled room with one made of huge stone bricks. The same
room they had left. Convinced this was just a trick Eryn moved on again,
followed by the girls. Within moments they were back at the doorway. Eryn and
the group repeated this multiple times until Eryn was happy that he had exhausted
the corridor.
While he mentioned this fact the stone in the room started
to rumble a little ,its grinding echoed in the room. The entire wall was
reaching out them with countless arms and grabbing hands. Some seeming in
desperation, some in violence, while others beckoned. The hands were made of
the quarried bricks but they were reaching out as if the stone itself was some
kind of barrier they were reaching through. The hands stretching the surface
outwards like poking taught cloth with a fingertip. Nobody wanted to enter the
room. Even Eryn was now open to the possibility that the corridor could get
them out. He was about to try to convince the girls to go with him, when Lily
abruptly walked into the room and allowed herself to be pulled into the wall by
the hands. She disappeared without a scream.
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